Soul Space was quiet in the way only a private pocket dimension could be—soft golden light filtering through invisible seams in the ceiling, the faint scent of fresh linen and distant pine, the gentle hum of an existence that answered to no one but its occupants.
James sat on the edge of Eri's new bed, watching her small chest rise and fall beneath the blanket. The room the dimension had conjured for her was perfect: pastel lavender walls, a shelf of plush animals, a nightlight shaped like a smiling moon, and a rocking chair in the corner that looked like it had always been there.
He had waited long enough.
James reached into his inventory with a thought. The Soul Stone materialized in his palm—warm, glowing orange, alive with quiet power. He held it above Eri's forehead, close enough that the light touched her silver hair like a halo.
"I release you," he said softly. "No more commands. You're free to wake when you're ready."
The stone pulsed once—bright, then dim—and the connection severed cleanly. Eri's eyelashes fluttered. A tiny breath hitched. Her fingers twitched against the blanket.
James placed the Soul Stone back into his inventory. Four slots still empty. He exhaled, feeling the weight of that single occupied slot lift like a chain finally unclasped.
At the exact same moment, from the master bedroom down the hall, he heard the rustle of sheets and three familiar voices stirring awake.
Hayley's low, sleepy growl first. "James…?"
Hope's voice followed, sharper, alert. "He's not in bed."
Jozie's softer tone, still half-drowsy. "Something feels… different."
He stood, smoothed the blanket over Eri one last time, and stepped into the hallway just as his wives emerged from the master suite.
Hayley led—dark hair tousled, wearing one of his oversized hoodies that hung to her thighs, dragon-scale tattoos faintly shimmering along her arms. Hope behind her—red hair loose, eyes already glowing gold with that tribrid intensity. Jozie last—blended Saltzman features soft and curious, wearing one of Hope's old band tees.
They froze when they saw him standing outside the new door.
Hayley's nostrils flared. "Blood. Bandages. A child."
Hope's gaze snapped to the room behind him. "Who is she?"
Jozie stepped forward first, peering past James. "She's… tiny."
James raised both hands. "Come in. I'll explain."
They filed into Eri's room. Hayley moved like a predator assessing a new territory; Hope scanned every corner for threats; Jozie knelt immediately beside the bed, brushing a strand of silver hair from Eri's cheek with heartbreaking gentleness.
Eri stirred again. Her red eyes opened slowly—wide, unfocused, then sharpening on the strangers around her. She didn't scream. She didn't cry. She just shrank back against the headboard, pulling the blanket up to her chin.
Hayley growled low in her throat—not at Eri, but at whatever had done this to her. "She smells like pain. Old pain. Repeated."
Hope knelt on the other side of the bed, voice soft but edged with fury. "Who hurt you, little one?"
Eri's gaze darted to James. Recognition flickered—dim, but there. She remembered the man who had taken her from the white room. The one who had made the bad man scream.
James sat on the foot of the bed, keeping distance so she wouldn't feel cornered.
"I found her yesterday," he began. "In an underground lab beneath an old yakuza headquarters. They called it the Shie Hassaikai. The man in charge—Chisaki Kai, they called him Overhaul—was using her. Her Quirk rewinds things. People. Injuries. Time on living things. He kept… taking her apart. Putting her back together. Over and over. To make bullets that could erase Quirks. She was six. Maybe seven."
Hayley's hands clenched into fists. Claws extended, then retracted. "He's dead?"
"Very," James said simply. "I made sure of it."
Hope's eyes flared gold. "Good."
Jozie reached out slowly. Eri flinched at first, then—after a heartbeat—let the older girl's fingers brush her bandaged arm. Jozie's touch was careful, almost reverent.
"You saved her," Jozie whispered.
"I did," James said. "But she can't go back out there. Not yet. Not ever, if we don't want her used again. The world out there… it's not kind to kids like her. Heroes will want to protect her, sure. But governments, villains, scientists—they'll all come sniffing. I couldn't risk that."
Hayley looked at him—really looked. "You brought her here. To us."
James nodded. "She's safe here. Soul Space doesn't let anything in without me. And I'm not letting anyone touch her again."
Eri's voice came then—small, cracked, barely audible.
"…No more needles?"
Hayley dropped to one knee beside the bed, eye-level with the girl. "No more needles. No more white rooms. No more hurting."
Hope leaned in. "You're with us now. We don't let people hurt what's ours."
Jozie smiled—soft, warm, the kind of smile that made people believe in good things again. "We'll take care of you. All of us."
Eri blinked. Tears welled, but didn't fall. She looked from one woman to the next, then back to James.
"You… all of you?"
James nodded. "They're my wives. Which makes them your—"
Hayley cut in smoothly. "Mothers. If you'll have us."
Hope's voice was steady. "Three mothers. One very overprotective father. And a whole dimension that will keep you safe."
Jozie wiped at her own eyes. "We adopt you. Right here. Right now. No paperwork. No courts. Just us saying it. You're ours."
Eri stared at them for a long moment.
Then—slowly—she lowered the blanket from her chin.
"Okay," she whispered.
Hayley let out a shaky breath that was almost a laugh. Hope smiled—small, fierce, proud. Jozie leaned forward and pressed the gentlest kiss to Eri's forehead.
"Welcome home, sweetheart."
James felt something in his chest loosen. He hadn't realized how tight it had been.
They spent the next hour there—Hayley carefully unwrapping bandages to reveal the scars, Hope using a trickle of witch magic to ease the lingering pain, Jozie humming a soft lullaby she didn't even know she remembered.
Eri didn't speak much, but she didn't flinch away anymore. When Hayley offered her hand, Eri took it. When Hope draped a blanket around her shoulders, Eri leaned into the warmth.
Eventually, Eri's eyelids grew heavy again—this time from safety, not compulsion.
Hayley scooped her up like she weighed nothing. "She needs real rest. In a real bed. With someone watching over her."
Hope nodded. "We'll take shifts."
Jozie looked at James. "You're going somewhere."
It wasn't a question.
James stood. "Yeah. I am."
James looks at his family one more time, Hayley holding Eri protectively, Hope watchful, Jozie already thinking about how to make the little girl feel at home.
He exhales softly.
"I have things to do now," he says, voice calm and final.
He opens a portal in the center of Eri's room—the familiar silent blue swirl.
Steps through without looking back.
The portal closes behind him.
He emerges back in the MHA world (likely a quiet alley or rooftop in Musutafu to avoid attention).
As he starts moving through the city streets/night, his mind turns inward:
He thinks about ending the League of Villains and All For One—permanently. No more half-measures. No letting them rebuild. Shigaraki, Kurogiri, the remnants, and especially the shadowy figure pulling the strings (AFO).
He's decided: they all die. For Eri's safety. For Izuku's future. For All Might's legacy. For every kid they'd hurt if left alive. He's going to hunt them down, one by one, and finish this threat before it can grow again.
Then, once he's alone in the MHA world, the blue holographic screen flickers into existence in front of him (visible only to James):
[Wow, such a cutie Eri is & lucky to have 3 mothers 😉😉😉😉]
James doesn't respond to it. Doesn't need to.
The screen fades away.
He keeps walking, fire and water ready in his palms, monsters in inventory, mind set on the task ahead.