Author's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Vongrak.
Izumi POV.
"Very well. Let's see what we have here," Amy said, sounding genuinely excited as she stood behind Harbinger and gently placed her hand on it. Her eyes glazed over slightly. "...incredible," Amy murmured after several seconds. "This is what I was talking about regarding special organs."
"I can't recognize half of them, but I can see what they're doing. Some of them seem... redundant within the ant, seemingly designed to withstand significant trauma. I can see insectoid musculature and organs scaled to an absurd degree. A respiratory system completely modified to support an enormous body."
"There's... a venom gland inside its body. Hmmm, interesting. It seems to be a mixture of peptides, made up of hundreds of different amino acids. They're so concentrated that this stuff could instantly paralyze an elephant with just a scratch, and kill it the next instant, and it would be extremely difficult to cure it with medicine alone because they all seem to act independently; it's impossible to counteract the venom quickly," Amy said, genuinely fascinated.
"Oh, that-" Taylor said, sounding surprised, before stopping when we all turned to look at her and she blushed slightly.
"Yes?" Amy asked, raising an eyebrow. Taylor squirmed slightly.
"That... sounded like cone snail venom," Taylor said, embarrassed. "Forget it, just-"
"That's it!" Amy interrupted, snapping her fingers. "I knew I'd seen that somewhere. Yes, they're conopeptides! I remember dealing with some idiot who had one in a private aquarium and decided to handle it carelessly!" Amy said cheerfully.
"Oh! I'm so jealous, there aren't any cone snails in The Bay, they're more from tropical climates! That's amazing. Cone snails are gastropods, one of the few mollusks I'm able to control even though they're not insects! Cone snails are predatory marine gastropods; they have a ridiculously complex cocktail of poisons. What's fascinating is that no two poisons are believed to be the same. Cone snails create their own poisons—hundreds of thousands of different types of conopeptides!"
"They use their venom by injecting it into a modified radular tooth that basically functions as a disposable hypodermic harpoon. Some species hunt fish and can paralyze them immediately, others have venom strong enough to kill a person, like the cigarette snail."
"Although it's said that it can kill a person in less than five minutes, that's really an exaggeration; it takes between one and five hours. However, there's no antidote for the cone snail; you can only keep the victim alive until the venom wears off on its own. Even—" Taylor stopped abruptly and blushed. "I'm sorry," she apologized. Amy chuckled.
"Yes, exactly that. But... it doesn't seem like the venom of a normal snail. This is... very concentrated, very evolved, and some parts are even modified. It seems to be extremely lethal and impossible to avoid. This thing really evolved to be a complete, perfect killer." Amy said, her eyes shining with fascination.
"What are the chances that an ant would end up with the venom of a cone snail?" I asked dryly. Amy looked up at me.
"Something we should know?" Nezu asked seriously. I just looked at Amy.
"Hmm... honestly, I can't say. I haven't had other monster ants, especially from Jeju Island, to study, so I couldn't say whether the queen created and perfected them over generations or if it's simply something unique to Harbinger." Amy said, shaking her head.
"And what if it's waiting to evolve on its own?" I asked once more. Amy's eyes opened slightly before narrowing.
"How... how on earth did I not see this before?" Amy said, her eyes glazed over. "Its whole body... it seems ready to evolve, to adapt. It's... incredible. Its entire body seems to be filled with progenitor cells, they're not fully specialized, like... they're waiting for a command, it's like... part of its biology still thinks it's growing."
"It has... it has regenerative tissue. This tissue looks more like an amphibian's than an insect's, like that of a salamander or newt. This, plus the venom... is this thing copying other animals?"
"Can this thing control and direct its own evolution?" Amy murmured, fascinated.
"Look at it another way," I said with a grimace. Everyone stared at me. "As you know, I have foresight. During our fight, I saw Harbinger eating someone. Then she was able to use that quirk herself." I said, completely honest. Everyone immediately went on high alert.
Unfortunately, this was one of the things I couldn't hide. Yes, I doubted Taylor would start eating humans indiscriminately, but it only took one mistake and sooner or later they'd find out. It was better to tell them now than for them to find out later.
"How sure are you?" Nezu asked solemnly.
"Very." I said dryly. "I suppose that's how she got her tricks. Eat a salamander and a cone snail, then push them both to the limit, and you get those tricks." I said with a grimace.
"That makes sense," Amy murmured, horrified. "Blood and tissues—any type of cell in a person—have the Quirk Factor implemented; it's a basic biological characteristic of a human body. It's not something I can see in detail, or even alter, but I know they're there."
"If this ant is able to eat anything and immediately adapt it to its own body, I can see how it would be able to replicate those cells for itself, giving it a replica of the quirk of the person it just consumed," Amy said incredulously.
"I'm not going to eat anyone!" Taylor said immediately, incredulously, completely pale.
"Nobody's saying anything about eating a person. Maybe a little blood would even be enough," Amy said with a grimace as she shuddered.
"That... the implications. If she's capable of pushing certain biologies of other animals to their limits, what will she do with a quirk pushed beyond its normal limits?" Rebecca Costa-Brown murmured.
"No. I wouldn't recommend it," I said immediately. Everyone turned to look at me. I rolled my eyes. "It's more than obvious, and I already mentioned it. Quirks have vestiges, we've already discussed this. If Taylor starts replicating Quirks one after another, we don't know if those replicas will come with their own vestiges. And if they do, it's only a matter of time before those vestiges awaken and try to get rid of Taylor."
"In case you've forgotten, she's now the only person piloting Harbinger. But if you add more Vestiges, they can probably knock her off the controls, and then we'd have a Harbinger on the loose and out of control. Or worse, you saw during the fight with AFO what happens when the Vestiges inside her body rebel. AFO literally had to destroy and kill them to maintain control of her body." I said with a grimace. Everyone shuddered.
"Okay, no quirks." Chairwoman Go said with a grimace.
"What is a vestige?" Amy asked, confused.
"Every quirk has a vestige of the person it belongs to. A vestige is a fragment or a copy of that person housed within their quirk. Personality, memories, and everything else. Normally... it doesn't make sense to talk about vestiges, since nothing happens inside a normal person."
"It only matters in those whose quirk allows them to steal, copy, or transfer quirks from one person to another. By taking another person's quirk, you're also taking a vestige of that person. Normally, they're too weak to act, but in extraordinary situations, they can awaken and even interact to varying degrees with the other person."
"That's how Taylor is controlling Harbinger. A fragment of her quirk and a vestige of herself reside within Harbinger, granting her complete control without needing to be near its radius. Essentially, a second Taylor," I explained easily. Amy's eyes widened slightly.
"Wow... that... I didn't even know that existed," Amy murmured, fascinated. "No, wait. Butcher," Amy said, her eyes wide.
"It's likely," I told Amy. "I'm not entirely sure if the vestiges are actually involved. It's possible her quirk is simply transferring the quirks of the previous Butchers to the new one, and the vestiges come with them as a side effect unrelated to the quirk, but unfortunately passed on. But it's also quite possible that the quirk itself carries the vestiges on purpose." I said honestly. Amy just shuddered.
"Likewise, it sounds horrible," Amy said with a grimace.
"It's not something that's widely known; after all, that type of quirk is very rare, you could count them on the fingers of both hands. But since the leader of the League of Villains is capable of stealing quirks, it's something we have to take into account," Nezu said seriously. Amy just nodded absently.
"I guess... that makes sense then. Harbinger's brain is completely different from a human's, but... I can see brain patterns similar to Taylor's. I thought it was the influence of her quirk, but I guess it was something else," Amy said, fascinated.
"So... you want to try it?" I asked simply with a smile. Everyone turned to look at me dryly.
"You just said it's a terrible idea," Taylor said dryly. I smiled slyly at her.
"With other people? Yes. Definitely. But with you? There's already a vestige of you in there, so it won't make any difference." I said playfully. Taylor's eyes and the others widened slightly. "I even have something perfect for this." I said as I pulled Taylor's arm out of my shadows.
"What the hell is that!" Taylor exclaimed incredulously. I looked at her, confused.
"Your arm," I said, waving it from side to side. "In case you don't remember, the monster cut off your arm while you were doing your stupid thing," I said dryly. Taylor stopped before blushing slightly.
"And you decided to keep it as a souvenir?" Taylor asked dryly. I smiled at her sarcastically.
"Well, it's not your right arm, but I'm sure you have plenty of 'happy' memories with your left hand. I mean, I certainly do." I said with a wide, flirty smile as I moved Taylor's hand from side to side. Taylor looked confused.
"Happy memories? What kind of—" Taylor cut herself off abruptly before blushing deeply. "Izumi!" Taylor hissed, completely flushed and almost horrified. I burst out laughing.
"So? What do we do?" I asked, looking at the three bigwigs.
"Even if young Taylor never uses Harbinger's ability, it's best to learn everything we can about how her body works. Young Izumi is right; using her own body and her own quirk is the safest way to test it."
"Furthermore, young Taylor is accustomed to fighting and using her swarm in combat; allowing her second body to have its own swarm, even when separate, is only a benefit to her," Nezu said, finding nothing wrong with it.
"It's best to do it now. Miss Dallon will be able to monitor any internal changes within Harbinger so there won't be any problems," Rebecca Costa-Brown said. Chairwoman Go hummed as she nodded.
"Unlike other quirks, once it's made public, we can easily justify it. Harbinger has already been shown to be capable of controlling insects, or we could find another excuse, unlike if it had another quirk, which would be almost impossible to explain. It's best if the knowledge about its ability to adapt and replicate other quirks is kept as secret as possible," Chairwoman Go said solemnly. "If they discover how powerful it can become, they'll try to wrest control of Harbinger from Ms. Miyamura," she added seriously. Everyone nodded.
"Argh, fine, how do we do this?" Taylor asked after several seconds while sighing.
"First, with a little blood," Amy said immediately. "Let's see if she can replicate with just a few drops of blood and go from there." She added, looking at Taylor. Taylor just sighed, nodded, and looked at me. I just shrugged.
"Don't look at me. This arm is like two days old. The blood in it is clotted and unusable." I said while continuing to shake Taylor's arm.
"Give it to me," Amy said without hesitation. I just shrugged and handed it over. Amy frowned slightly before the arm began to heal, or at least, to look less pale and ravaged. I could see the dried, clotted blood begin to trickle slightly as it started to flow before stopping.
"It shed a few drops inside its mouth," I said, throwing my arm up. I just whistled in amazement before approaching Harbinger. I could see the ant glaring at me; it was definitely all Taylor. Finally, it opened its mouth slightly, and I placed my arm with the cut end down, and the blood began to trickle out.
"Try to digest and process it quickly," Amy said immediately. I pulled my arm away and stepped back. I could see Taylor frown. "Good, good, good. The blood was digested without any problem, almost immediately," Amy added, surprised. Taylor just frowned even more.
"I... I don't know how to do it? Or am I not able to? I... I don't think the sample is enough?" Taylor said, confused, as she tilted her head. Amy just hummed.
"I can see the cells carrying the new information from your blood, without a doubt. But... they don't seem to be doing anything? Will I need more samples?" Amy murmured to herself.
"Well, open your mouth and put your arm in," I said dryly as I approached Harbinger.
"Wait, wait, do I really have to eat my arm?" Taylor asked, almost panicking and slightly pale.
"It's just your arm, don't overthink it." I said playfully as I brought my arm closer to Harbinger's mouth, who refused to open it.
"Give me that," Amy growled, snatching my arm. Then the arm began to melt, leaving a kind of slightly trembling, amorphous mass in Amy's hand. "I'm able to convert anything biological into biomass to use while I heal other people and prevent them from cannibalizing their own bodies. This still has samples of your foot, bones, muscles, blood, and everything else needed," Amy said with ease.
Then I touched Harbinger, and the monster's mouth loosened and remained slightly open. Amy didn't even hesitate to shove the biomass into the monster's mouth and then force it to swallow. I could see Taylore shuddering violently.
"Start digesting it," Amy ordered animatedly. Taylor just grunted as she closed her eyes. "Perfect. Yes, that's right. Good, good, good," Amy murmured, completely fascinated. It was a shame I couldn't see any of it. Harbinger was still completely chained and imprisoned. The enormous prison covered her entire body except for her head, and even with my transparent world, I couldn't see through objects.
"I think... I think I've got it." Taylor said, then a surge of power erupted from Harbinger and we all went on guard.
"She did it." Amy murmured, completely fascinated. "The body is exactly recreating the same organ in the brain that Taylor has. Incredible." Amy said excitedly.
"I... I think I'm functioning. I don't feel any different." Taylor said with a grimace.
"It's working. No doubt about it," Amy confirmed.
"Hmm, since it's the same quirk and the same person, and both bodies are close enough for the overlap to be almost exact, I suppose you won't notice the difference until both bodies can separate." Nezu hummed. Taylor just nodded absently. "Or we can just do the smart thing. Shota." Nezu said playfully. Aizawa nodded and walked over to stand directly in front of Taylor, then activated his quirk.
Then several insects that were inside Taylor's hair emerged slightly and began to move in a specific and very synchronized pattern.
"Wow. I guess it works." Taylor said, completely fascinated, as she stared at her insects. Aizawa deactivated his quirk. Taylor made another face. "Yeah, it works. From what I can remember, other me has little less than my normal range? Maybe three blocks." She said. We all nodded.
"Incredible. Simply incredible," Amy said, completely fascinated. "Just think of the possibilities. This ant's capacity for adaptation and evolution is unbelievable. I'm not even talking about more quirks, just other animals. I can list a dozen animals that could be used to enhance and perfect this body," Amy said, her eyes shining with desire.
"Let's not rush things, Miss Dallon," Nezu said calmly. "Before we make any improvements, it's best to let young Taylor adjust to her new body. If what I suspect is true, I'm sure she'll have... a long learning curve." Nezu said simply.
"What?" Amy asked, frowning.
"I suppose there's no longer any danger in keeping her locked up, right?" Nezu asked Chief Director Costa-Brown and Chairwoman Go.
"No, after all this, she's perfectly capable of maintaining control. Sooner or later, we'll have to release her; I suppose now is as good a time as any," Chairwoman Go said matter-of-factly. Alexandria nodded readily. Principal Nezu looked at me and nodded.
I shrugged before my shadows enveloped Harbinger's entire body, along with her restraints, and I simply pulled Harbinger into my shadows, freeing her from her prison. Then I dropped her to the ground. She was still just a torso and a head.
"Hmm, is she trying to make her limbs grow?" I asked Taylor, confused. Taylor just nodded. Amy didn't even hesitate to crouch down and touch her to monitor everything. After a few seconds, one of her stumps seemed to twitch slightly before an arm suddenly grew, and then the other three followed at the same time. Harbinger is whole once again.
Harbinger tried to stand awkwardly, as if she didn't recognize her own body—and I suppose he didn't; it was very different from her own human body. Once she was on her feet, she tried to take a deep breath before she began coughing violently as she hunched over.
""Don't ever breathe like that again,"" I said immediately. Amy echoed my words. I looked at her and raised an eyebrow. She just shrugged and gave me the floor. "Total Concentration Breathing is designed for humans. To use human muscles, organs, and arteries at their peak efficiency. This body... has none of that."
"Breathing like that will just make you choke," I told Taylor. She grimaced, but nodded. "Hmm, I'd have to design a new breathing technique for this body," I hummed.
"Can you do that?" Taylor asked, confused. I shrugged.
"No idea. We'll see. I don't even know if it'll do any good," I said honestly. Harbinger's body was so different from a human's; her body already functioned at its maximum capacity. Total Concentration Breathing might not make a difference to a body that could already exploit its own limits.
"Can you move, young Taylor?" Nezu asked calmly. Taylor nodded, and Harbinger's body began to walk slowly back and forth with uncoordinated steps. "Try jumping?" Director Nezu asked with a smile. Taylor frowned, but did as he was told.
She ducked slightly before jumping. With great force. We all looked up to see her body fly off at high speed, then hit the ceiling and fall back to the ground. We stared at her before looking at Taylor, who blushed slightly.
"I-I didn't know I'd do that!" Taylor exclaimed, embarrassed. Director Nezu chuckled.
"That body is much stronger than yours and very different. You'll have to get used to using it. Stay here and practice," Director Nezu said gently. Taylor just sighed and nodded.
"You can train here without any problem, so don't hold back," Chairwoman Go said with a nod.
"Now, we still have a lot to discuss. Take all the time you need. We'll be here for a couple more days," Principal Nezu said, nodding. And with that, the three of them left along with Aizawa. Taylor, Amy, and I exchanged glances before looking at Harbinger, still lying on the floor.
"It needs a better name. Harbinger is pathetic," I said dryly. Taylor's eyes sparkled with excitement. I smiled slightly. I guess we'd be here a few more days.
Author's Notes: Sorry, more rambling! I promise it's the last of it! That said, this concludes the Jeju arc. Or at least, the important part. The next few chapters will be several POVs before we return.
PS: Yay, second chapter number 300!