Archive of Our Own ^beta

“So, you’re finally going to tell me what all this is about?” Shinso-shonen said, pulling along his carry-on as they boarded Toshinori’s private (though discrete) jet.

“Just as soon as we take off,” Midoriya-shonen assured him, carrying a slightly larger bag behind him.

Toshinori had noticed Midoriya had been rather odd when they’d met up, earlier that night. At first he thought it was just nerves regarding explaining things to Shinso. After all, it was entirely likely the secret of One for All might come out if and when Shimura-sama made an appearance, and half-truths wouldn’t exactly cut it a third time. But then Toshinori saw how Midoriya acted at other times, and he wasn’t so sure.

He would stare wistfully out the dark windows of the airport, sighing rather dramatically for a teenage boy. Other times he would suddenly smile and blush to himself like a schoolgirl with a crush, even going so far as to squirm in his chair a bit. It was actually rather unnerving. Toshinori might have considered he’d been replaced or mentally compromised by a villain, but whenever he actually spoke with someone: Midoriya was perfectly coherent and acted like he always did.

Perhaps I’m just being too nagging, Toshinori reasoned, shaking his head a bit.

Midoriya Izuku had another longing he’d seen once or twice. A desire for freedom so profound that he’d literally learned to fly. It had begun that day, five months ago, when during the UA Entrance Exam: Midoriya had not unlocked the massive stockpile of energy that changed Toshinori Yagi into All Might, but instead the Quirk of his master: Float. He’d soared through the metallic skull of the 0-Point Robot, and ever since: he’d been fighting to master the key of pure freedom he’d been gifted so graciously.

He’d trained to negate his own gravity and float in place or be pulled “up” by the spin of the Earth, spent hours at a time playing chess and sparring on ceilings to adjust to having a new perspective and sense of weight, trained under Gran Torino and Edgeshot both to finally perfect the ability of actually flying and finally tapping 5-6% of the reservoir of power that One for All had stashed away, and then an entire month of moderately normal classes to help him refine his mindset and the normality of his power. Midoriya had even assembled a few study clubs; polishing his English with the 1-B exchange student Tsunotori, trading tactical scenarios with the mentally adept of his classmates, and beginning to practice with a third Quirk he’d discovered within himself: an energy tendril of some kind he called Blackwhip.

Toshinori was unspeakably proud of his pupil. In each field he was progressing by leaps and bounds, and he’d taken on an impressive number of such pursuits. Still… the world wasn’t waiting for him to get stronger. In all truth: he very likely was far from strong enough to deal with the enemies rising against him.

All the more reason to be ready to step in while he’s growing.

They fell into an awkward silence as the automatic pilot taxied them onto the runway and started them into the air. Toshinori tried not to notice Midoriya staring out the window and letting out some air wistfully. He noticed him tapping his pocket a little nervously, right over his phone.

Considering this newest fact, Toshinori felt himself smirk a little. It wasn’t as short a list as it used to be, but there was certainly a limited number of options as to who he wanted to text so badly.

Bakugo-shonen was rather high on the set of possibilities. Midoriya treated him like a best friend (childish and tantrum-like as his constant violent outbursts might be), but he’d never seemed particularly addicted to contact with the explosive one. They’d been fighting ever since Toshinori had met the two, almost fifteen months ago. That fateful day when he’d ran without thinking, and All Might had found his successor. Even when they’d been up against him in their final exam, their cooperation was only superficial at best.

Jiro-shojo was certainly on the list of potential causes as well. First as a comrade and brother in arms, born of their joint takedown of the Hero Killer Stain; then solidified through her rather consistent flirtations over the month of June, her constant affection perhaps touching an unknown need for attention which Midoriya had otherwise been repressing. Though, if the rumors were true: she was more or less just practicing her new emotional manipulation skills, and they weren’t any closer than the majority of his rather substantial friend group. His “Dekusquad.”

Perhaps Yaoyorozu-shojo? They seemed to have found a sort of kindred spirit in one another. While she was almost certainly one of his closer friends (by caveat of being able to understand his mumble storms and give even Midoriya a run for his money on analysis) and a strong bond at that, she didn’t come across as someone that should usually cause withdrawal…

Perhaps it was Ida-shonen, or one of his other friends in the “Dekusquad”? But no. Ida, Todoroki-shonen, Tokoyami-shonen, Asui-shojo, Shiozaki-shojo, and even the array of other friends who didn’t yet qualify were no doubt enjoyable to be around; were not “longing for in under twelve hours” worthy. 

His mother? But he hadn’t been this skittish during the entirety of his first week at UA combined. Maybe, but…

Ah, but of course. Who else could it be? Uraraka-shojo. His best friend, and quite evident object of affection. It seemed many things originated with her. With his birthday not long ago, and her having planned a party for him… well, maybe he should have accepted that invitation? Who knows what had happened? Perhaps they’d finally talked about their feelings?

It would certainly be better if they had now, as opposed to waiting some ridiculous amount of time to even acknowledge one another. If they didn’t address it by now… why, they might spend the next year having will-they-won’t-they’s. And that could lead to who knew how many disasters. Villains playing on their unresolved feelings, moments of doubt, potential pitfalls of their hesitating when the other was mentioned…

Though I suppose I should counsel them on dealing with threats and entanglements on the job… hm, perhaps a Hostage lesson sometime after we get back? With no more Midoribots I’ll need to think of something else which will get them to act irrationally… better ask Aizawa on that one.

As they continued to ascend, Toshinori continued to think about new plans and new lessons, but he also began to think back. Back to his glory days, and even further beyond to his early career. Whatever happened to the Allmobile…?

“Hey Fran!” Melissa asked, jogging over to her seventh-favorite cafe’s manager, “What can I fix for you today? I’m off from school to help get my things into the amature expo booths, but I’m all done if you need me to give your ice cream machine a tune-up?”

The stiff man shook his head, turning in place and pointing towards the serving tables.

“I need you to fix that one ,” he said, his grey mustache ruffling as he spoke.

Melissa turned and glanced along his finger, noticing a new waiter handing some drinks to a couple of guys, seeming… exceptionally bright, all things considered. He was smiling, and he had a bit of a swoosh to his step as he slid around the other tables and anyone who happened to be standing in his way.

“Okaaaay?”

She gave Francis a raised eyebrow, wondering what he was up to this time. He sniffed, his demeanor shifting into that of his usual “pre-lunch rush briefing” mode. It was very much like a Major giving orders to his men.

“The Expo was kind enough to send my employees tickets to bring their families here for the event,” he explained brusquely, “But as most of them prefer to go home this time of year, I ended up with a handful of spare two-way plane tickets. So I sent out a job offer to some of the high schools in the nearest countries; those in North America, Eastern Asia, Australia, the works. They’d be able to make some spare pocket money this week and see the expo on their time off.”

Melissa nodded. It sounded like a good business plan to her.

“I didn’t get many responses, but I did get a resume from a UA student in the first-year Hero course. One Denki Kaminari,” Francis explained, nodding at the boy.

Taking a closer look, Melissa nodded. She could see that sort of agility and quick reaction being a good Hero trait. It still left one question unanswered though.

“So?” she prompted.

Francis sighed.

“He’s a model employee, but he hasn’t gone to see the amature expo or any of the preview booths that are up yet. Not once. He spends his breaks just sitting at the back table, staring off into space and sipping on a water. He isn’t even using his hourly drink pass to get something tasty out of the kitchen!”

“There could be a lot of good explanations as to why,” Melissa assured him, “Maybe he’s just anti-social? Or he could be waiting for the full expo preview tomorrow so he can experience it all at once? There are people who like to be surprised like that.”

Francis nodded in agreement, placing a hand on her shoulder.

“And if those are the real reasons: I’ll keep my monobrow out of it. But I’ve got a sinking suspicion that it’s more serious than that. He won’t confide in an old geezer like me, no matter how much I might want to help, but a young girl around his age? …well, how could a boy like him resist?”

Placing a hand on her hip and giving him a small smirk, Melissa raised an eyebrow.

“And how would you know what he can’t resist?” she teased.

The look of mildly offended innocence was too picturesque not to make her laugh a little.

“Let’s just say: he’s a shameless flirt with the customers when he thinks he can get away with it. He’s respectful though, so at least I don’t have to worry about you filing harassment charges against my establishment.”

“Is that why you said to double check with you before coming over here this week?” she asked, slapping his arm and starting to head towards one of the tables, “You were afraid some pervert would start working for you or something?”

He put up his hands in what she could only describe as the visual version of the phrase “can you blame me?” Melissa just shooed him off with a hand and grabbed an empty seat.

The best way to begin any form of research or scientific implementation was to observe the problem. So, what better way than to see what she could pick up about this “Denki.”

The first thing she figured out was that he was Japanese. She had a hard time telling nationalities at the best of times, let alone across a plaza, and his English was passable, but she did detect a familiar accent. That made him Kaminari, not Denki. It would be rude to presume such a close bond before she’d even met him, after all.

The second thing was that he was very good at hiding his emotions. Whenever he was around others: he was bright and affable and witty, and all those things people liked. But when he thought nobody was watching: Kaminari’s eyes lost that spark, and his posture seemed to tense up just a bit; as if he was forcing himself to relax around people.

Third… Kaminari seemed oddly fascinated with girls. Not in an obvious way, and less creepy than some guys, but noticeable. Whenever Kaminari chatted with one: those gold eyes would become transfixed on them. Their clothes, their expressions, their faces in turn, and even the way they moved their arms. Melissa recognized that gaze.

Kaminari had the same look her dad got when he was trying to figure out how something worked, and how to replicate it. The same look she’d seen on her own face when she would practice in the mirror to make sure she could pass herself off as… normal.

It’s a good thing you had me come over, Francis, she thought to herself, finally grabbing a menu to indicate she was ready for a server to come over and get her order, Kaminari’s broken alright. The question is: can I fix this particular problem?

Melissa was good at fixing things. She always had been, really. But that wasn’t her actual talent. Sure, her dad built support gear, and she’d made a few proofs of concept for her classes, and even a handful of items she’d constructed as hobbies, but that was more the application of her craft.

She was a scientist at heart. An explorer. Ever since her dad had put on those old 60’s & 80’s space shows (which she knew the episode names by heart, but still called that to annoy her papa), she’d been transfixed with the concept of mysteries and discovery. Of building solutions to problems rather than fighting through them.

And as an applied scientist: it was her job to create new things that smarter more technical people could turn them into useful things. She would hear about buildings being more easily destroyed these days, and develop a new type of steel that would absorb energy more easily. It was up to someone else to figure out how to put those together into a standing structure and not have it blow up when all the beams started channeling gravimetric stresses into one another. She wasn’t so much a problem solver as a problem transmuter.

Which brought her back to Kaminari. People were made of meat and electricity, which were a lot more complicated than simple food dispensers and light switches. She could fix those things because someone had a map she could read and a quick brain that could put together how to apply that 1:1. But brains didn’t have good maps, or blueprints. People didn’t follow the rules very well. Would she help, or… would she just change one big problem into a bunch of little ones of equivalent mass? Maybe she would find a bunch of small ones and fuse them into a monster that would terrorize the poor student? That would really suck.

“Now, I don’t think I’ve seen your face around before, Miss-?” a voice cut into her thoughts.

Melissa looked up to see a bright smile underneath golden eyes and sun-colored hair, with a black lightning bolt design across the top.

“Well,” she whispered conspiratorially, “I’m friends with the owner. He said to stay away in case any of his new waiters turned out to be perverts. Do you think I’m in the clear?”

Kaminari looked around dramatically, as if worried they were being watched.

“I think you’re safe,” Kaminari whispered in turn, “I’ll keep my eyes out for any though.”

She smiled. Pretty good sense of humor; now she just had to get it not to be faked.

Taking Melissa’s order, Kaminari strolled back towards the window to get it put through to Carl. She could have sworn she heard the words “ ... glad I didn’t convince Mineta to come … ” in Japanese as he went.

[“Oh, Tensei! Yeah, yeah, yeah, right there-- YES!!”]

Tenya pressed his headphones closer to his ears, the volume already at the maximum safe decibel level for human ears to avoid damaging his hearing. But even then: he couldn’t block out all the sounds coming from the fore cabin where his brother and his teacher were “relaxing” together.

He supposed it had really begun eighty-four days ago. During the Sports Festival of Tenya’s High School, UA: Tensei had been on patrol to locate the Hero Killer Stain. By sheer happenstance, a trick of timing that was more random chance than horoscopes, Tenya had managed to call right before the two had met one another.

It still sent shivers up Tenya’s spine, thinking about what might have happened if he hadn’t reached his brother in time and insisted he take a sidekick with him, and give up the hunt in favor of defense. Might he be dead now? Or worse? Luckily, he escaped with only minor flesh wounds and bloodloss, and been recently rebranded as Indelible: the Unforgettable Hero. And then, twenty-nine days later, right after the UA internships: he and Midnight had decided to rekindle their old romance from their High School days, and it had been downhill for Tenya’s sanity ever since.

They’d taken the Idaten private jet to see the I-Expo Preview to which they’d been formally invited, which meant that it was just the three of them some 12 kilometers above the ocean. Naturally, Nemuri-nee had wanted to spend some time with Tensei-nii, and Tenya hadn’t wanted to interrupt their reunion. They were, after all, adults. They shouldn’t have needed a chaperone. Evidently he was… mistaken.

[“Just a l- little bit deeper! Come on Tensei! Sweety!”]

They’d taken the cabin area, where they had a view of the sea from the bow, right over the robot pilot core. There was a bed for lounging or sleeping, a television, and a bathroom, so reasonably they wouldn’t need to come out until the morning for breakfast. But ever since they’d gone in: Tenya had been plagued by periodic bursts of sound that he very much did not like listening to.

Why couldn’t they be like normal people and abhor having sex right next to other people? Did they even have the proper logistics for undertaking the activity? Hydration, protection, and a whole spiel of safety requirements were probably sorely lacking, especially with Nemuri in there. And why did they have to be so loud about it?! Did they somehow forget Tenya was only able to get a few meters away?

No. No, of course they hadn’t. Nemuri no doubt was counting on his torment with this, especially after he’d so rudely refused to give her half of his dinner. Her continual theft of Tensei’s plate should have been a call for help; a quiet way of showing she was running low on funds or proper meals, and was in fact starving herself to get by. Meanwhile he, a well-fed student without such concerns, had selfishly kept his ramen to himself. And now she was making him pay for it through the ear.

Even worse: Tenya was pretty sure that if he hadn’t been there: they wouldn’t have remained confined to the cabin for their… activities.

[“Tensei, you naughty, naughty boy. It looks like it’s time for the queen to give out some punishment…”]

Oh sweet Kami no…

[“Come here, so I can show you how a real woman takes it from behind.”]

NooooOOOOOOOOO!!!

Tenya had no recourse. He went into the bathroom aft, cramming into the tiny stall and turning off his headphones. Leaving them on: he had his phone go to the maximum volume, the echoes making it well above safe ratings. Hopefully the noise-canceling technology would help block out that better than the awful things happening across the plane, while those noises would be taken care of by the extra door and the music.

[“Tensei you animal!!”]

Not working!!

He looked around desperately for a way to shield himself. But there were no convenient blenders and screws! No chalkboards! No cats to use as nunchucks until they clawed out his ears!!

Must drown them out!!

A thought hit him. His engines made sounds sometimes. When he revved them up really high, they made a growling and then a sharp whining sound. If he could maintain a high enough speed for long enough: he might be able to overcome the sounds coming from the front.

“Recipro-”

[“You almost had me there, ‘Sei. But now it’s time I flip the tables on you and take charge! Prepare your behind for a sound beating!”]

“BURST!!!” Tenya screamed, firing his mufflers so loud they cracked the glass mirror (though that might have been the heat from the exhaust).

The familiar DRRN sound finally overriding all other sounds. Tenya sighed and tried to make it last as long as he could.

He managed to hold it a whole two minutes longer than usual, before his Quirk gave out and he felt himself start to sway with dehydration. He had to get to the sink… or better yet: the minifridge… But the door was so far away.

Did I poison myself? he wondered, mildly terrified.

But no, his engine didn’t create exhaust in the normal way. It burnt citrus juice for fuel, specifically orange. Even what his engine could release was little more than water vapor and a christmas-y smell. And the bathroom was well ventilated. He must have been so desperate to keep firing that he started burning past the reserve point, and started depleting his own energy. It hadn’t happened in… years now, but he’d seen it before.

I should probably get some juice before I start to damage myself too much…

Pushing open the door, Tenya stopped dead when he saw Tensei and Nemuri standing in the main room again. Well, Tensei was standing. Nemuri was laying on the counter of the in-flight bar. They both looked over at him as he emerged, a truly evil smile on the latter’s face.

Neither of them seemed at all disheveled, and Tenya could see through the now open door that the bed was in pristine condition, not even having been sat on yet.

“You okay there, Tenya?” Tensei asked, his voice cracking a little with strain, “Sounded like you had some trouble in there.”

Tenya was fuming. He didn’t bother responding. He just slammed the door and put his headphones on, wishing he could get away from his stupid, lovestruck brother.

“Congratulations Izuku!”

“You have to stop using One for All immediately!”

Recoiling in shock from the array of inputs, Izuku felt his mind reeling as he tried to figure out what was happening. The entire mindscape had changed from the prior two times he’d been there.

The first time: it had been a void of black winds and mists, broken only by Nana, a concrete floor, and a wall. Periodically the swirling darkness would form into a vaguely humanoid shapes, but they’d quickly pull back apart into component breezes.

The second time: the wall and floor had been gone, and Nana hadn’t been present. Instead, he’d met with the fifth user: Banjo, who’d given him some pointers on how Blackwhip worked.

Now though: the winds were less ragged, blowing about the area like there was a sphere of glass holding it back. The concrete floor was back, but now more defined and tangible. The wall now had a firm distance away, about three quarters of the way across the orb of calm. Rather than shadowy figures though, he saw six distinct people, and one body made of a golden fire. Five were seated in tall thrones, staring at him intently, while two stood facing the wall, almost… avoiding him.

Nana was back, which made Izuku relax some. And Banjo was there, which was nice. The others though… who could they be?

Izuku himself wasn’t much more substantial than last time though. His arms and feet were tangible, as were a pair of strips up his legs into his hips, his eyes, ears, and a section of his back for some odd reason.

Hold on a second-

His brain finally connected the two statements that had been shouted at him when he’d arrived to words, and what those words meant.

Why is that a congratulations?!

Nana stood up, walking over and pulling him into a hug.

“The congratulations are for finally getting together with Ochako! You and your Senchan , hm?”

Whatever visible parts of Izuku’s face must have gone up in fire with how much he was blushing. Two of the other vestiges chuckled, but the last one seemed to wilt a little. Izuku managed to hug Nana back, which meant she would take another few seconds and then release him.

Once he was free, Izuku managed to float himself over to the center of the eight thrones. He glanced around to each of the people there, trying to gauge them. He couldn’t tell their order, and had a vague curiosity as to who would be in charge. By seniority: Nana would be one of the more junior members, but she seemed to be a rather forceful personality. Then again, maybe she was just more prominent because he was more connected to her? But then: why wasn’t All Might here?

“He’s this one, sweety,” Nana said, indicating the being of fire, “Since he’s still alive (thank heaven), he won’t appear here like the rest of us.”

Okay, so if that’s All Might, and he’s 8… and you’re next to him as 7…

He turned to the light-haired guy with scars, but he shook his head.

“Call me Hikage,” he introduced himself, “Shinomori Hikage’s the full title, but I’m not picky, kid. And I’m fourth, not sixth. En’s busy talking with your spy buddy.”

Oh…

Izuku would have frowned, not exactly sure why they were all re-arranged. There wasn’t a spiritual seating chart, was there?

Hikage laughed.

“We just grab whatever chair we feel like,” he said, jerking a thumb at the single jewel above each of them, “They aren’t exactly numbered.”

That made more sense.

So if this “En” is 6, and Banjo-san said he was 5, you’re 4…

He pointed around to the empty chairs and then to the men standing at the wall.

2 and 3? he guessed, figuring that the white-haired man sitting at the head of the group had to be First.

“Right on the money,” Banjo said, before leveling a finger, “And if you wanna call me Daigoro or Lariat, those are okay too. I know you’ve got a Hero thing, and Nana’s playing for the whole “family connection” what with her… ah… nevermind.”

Izuku glanced over at his adoptive grandmother, seeing her glaring at poor Banjo. Evidently it was a touchy subject.

Banjo’s a pretty cool name, he thought to them, Funky, even.

“Right?!” Banjo grinned, “I knew I liked you!”

“If,” First interrupted, “we could get back to the matter at hand? Now that introductions are out of the way.”

He glanced back at the other two, frowning.

“So far as they go.”

Izuku glanced at the vacant thrones, then to 2 & 3. They seemed… oddly apprehensive towards him. Maybe even a touch hostile? He probably shouldn’t take their chairs. Maybe “En” wouldn’t mind? No, best just to stand.

“Park it here,” Banjo insisted, patting the seat between him and First, “They won’t mind. They don’t treat it with any respect when they do sit in it. Crouch on the cushion like some kind of animal.”

“They’re imaginary cushions, Daigoro,” Hikage rebuked him gently.

“And they’re imaginary boots,” Banjo sniffed, “your point?”

“Despite our usual opposition,” Nana cut in, “Daigoro does have a point. However, he also has no room to talk. I suggest we let Yoichi speak.”

Izuku managed to move his misty body into a sitting position, settling himself in the chair beside First; “Yoichi.”

“Shigaraki Yoichi,” he introduced himself, “Based on your sudden tenseness: you recognize my family name. The same one my adoptive nephew carries.”

Shigaraki Tomura…

“That’s the one. But I’m afraid I haven’t been preparing to meet you here for the sake of discussing our family tree, nor toasting your new relationship. Rather: we need to warn you of the dangers of One for All.”

Sitting up as straight and attentively as he could, Izuku nodded, giving First his full attention. He smirked, clearly liking the title.

“I suppose the first thing to do is give you good news,” he amended, seeming to relax just a bit, “It won’t kill you. You’re at least beyond that concern at least.”

Oh… that’s good, Izuku tried to stay positive.

He wasn’t aware that was a concern after training his body. Certainly he could still be deformed, but death was… not really in the picture, at least on his own. Then again, if that was the good news…

“Sometimes you ain’t so lucky, kid,” Hikage spoke up, touching a finger to the double-scar on his eye.

You-?

“Mhm,” he nodded, “You won’t have to worry about it, seeing as you’re a better vessel than I was.”

Izuku glanced at the muscular frame of his fourth predecessor. That couldn’t be right.

“Not physically,” Hikage laughed, “But I had a Quirk. You didn’t. The human body isn’t designed to handle multiple Quirks at once. Don’t you ever wonder why the Nomu are so deformed? They probably had to be genetically engineered to high hell and back, or else be born with a very strong medical Quirk to survive having more than one in them. I died of old age when I turned 40.”

Stunned wasn’t even close to how dumbstruck that made Izuku. Old Age? At 40?! All Might had been a Hero longer than that!

“Like I said, you and Toshi won’t have this problem. One for All only counts as one. Thanks to Yoichi and Stockpiling’s power getting all mixed up, each time it gets passed on from someone with a new Quirk: it gets shunted to the core, so it doesn’t do that. Downside is: it won’t help anyone until after it gets passed on.”

Couldn’t you just pass it on and then have it… passed back?

Hikage shrugged. Izuku turned to First, but he just blinked in surprise. He turned to look at the two recluses, a frown on his face.

“You know, we don’t actually know,” he admitted, “The only ones who had it long enough to try were those two, and their paranoia almost prevented it from making it past the first transfer. I wouldn’t recommend trying it.”

Just curious.

First chuckled quietly.

“Yeah. You are that.”

Then the air turned more sober.

“Well, now onto the bad news,” First said, “One for All won’t kill you, but it will desiccate you.”

Izuku stared at him, then glanced past to All Might’s fiery form.

I thought he was injured fighting this “Family Enemy” he keeps mentioning? You mean his true form-?

“Is a result of our Quirk,” Nana whispered, nodding.

But how?! I thought you said- Izuku’s blood ran cold, Is it because we’re Quirkless? Drawing on our vitality or something!?

First shook his head.

“Nothing so drastic. Tell me, have you ever heard of the Quirk Singularity Theory?”

No… no way, it couldn’t be an emergent Quirk, Izuku thought, shaking his head.

“Not that either, though I wouldn’t be surprised if we develop one or two, supposing you find a way to pass it on,” Yoichi smiled wryly, “But that’s not the aspect of the Theory I wanted you to consider. How much of the Theory do you actually know?”

Well… the theory is based on the now evident fact that as Quirks intermingle and combine through the generations: they’ll slowly become more complex or more powerful. And then both more complex and more powerful. It has two major backing theories. The first is actually part of the original theory: and used to be called the Paranormal Singularity Theory, before being changed to the more dramatic: Quirk Doomsday Theory. It posits that eventually there will be Quirks that are either too powerful for children to control or simply so complex that when they mature they’ll explode in some fashion, which will result in massive death. One possible reason is given that Quirks might begin to develop to the point they can spontaneously develop new powers barely related to the actual base, such as someone with the ability to generate Ice and Fire suddenly able to control smoke. It’s ended with a supposition that there will be a Quirk which will become so diverse that it will become a commonality, rather than a unique aspect of each person. There’s also a sub-theory to Doomsday called: Quirk Retribution Theory, which takes the pessimistic view that before Quirks stabilize, and probably during the massive death due to uncontrollable Quirks: there will arise a Quirk so chaotic and powerful, or a number of the same, that they will wipe out humanity because they can’t be controlled or stopped. Followers of that belief have some rather radical beliefs and methods, especially since most of them tend to be beyond the law in terms of sentencing and even capture priority. The more modern theory departs from the pessimism of the old a bit, and is more commonly called the Inverse Singularity Theory these days. It suggests that the human race will evolve in a general fashion as Quirks begin to become more universal. That subdivides into two further sub theories: Meta Theory and Unification Theory. Each suggests a slightly different way the disasters could be averted. Meta Theory suggests that certain Quirks will become hereditary over time, such as the Ida Family “Engine” or the Asui Family “Frog,” and that certain castes or tribes will form with dominant or recessive Quirks, much like hair color is today, and that the singularity won’t come to pass, but instead that a new social age will be created by the stabilization, largely dependent on the styles of standardized Quirk around when that happens. Unification Theory is the more radical, and was supposedly written by a descendent of the original theorist. It presents the idea that humanity as a whole will develop stronger will and greater physical abilities distinct from Quirks specifically to host them, and that as Quirks begin to mutate and overwhelm what would have been the threshold for human survival: we ourselves will simply be more capable of resisting the destruction the original theories posit.

Most of his ramble (which he’d even added imaginary emphasis for, to help with their listening convenience) hadn’t so much as caused the vestiges to blink. However, his knowledge of the Retribution Theory seemed to unsettle them all. Even 2 & 3 looked over, narrowing their eyes a bit.

“I… hadn’t heard that earlier one,” First said hesitantly, glancing to Nana and then to All Might, “Neither of them had any experiences with that theory.”

I thought you had access to my memories?

“The broad strokes, kid,” Banjo said, “Comes with the territory of living in your head. Your identity informs us of some of the big things which define you, and specific memories you recall: we can see in real time, but otherwise: we try to avoid it. We value your privacy, after all.”

That’s reassuring, Izuku admitted, relaxing a little, But All Might and Nana wouldn’t have heard of this theory. It’s related to a religious and political movement called Humarise, who consider it almost holy text. They believe that the only salvation is for the Quirkless to band together and create a new generation of “pure” humans to take over after the Quirks annihilate themselves. That… or remove Quirks now before it’s too late. It only started forty or fifty years ago, and All Might was probably training with Nana by then, so he wouldn’t have been approached.

“And how do you know so much about a terrorist cult?” 2nd asked, growling out a question that made Izuku jump in fear.

I was approached after being suicided-baited; four years before I met All Might, Izuku thought at him in-particular, keeping his thoughts as firm as he could, They said that it would start to change in earnest during my generation, and I was critical to rebuilding the world. I turned them down. I don’t believe in any of the theories. They’re all too broad.

The second user harrumphed, mumbling something about Humarize “not being a bad idea.” Izuku didn’t know if he liked 2.

“Well, it’s time to revise your views, Izuku,” First sighed, “You and All Might may have just proved at least one of the sub theories.”

His opinions on the two aloof members of the mindscape forgotten, Izuku focused on the leader once again, suddenly alert.

“See, that addendum about mutation at the end there is pretty clearly rooted in fact,” First explained, “Sort of a logical projection, if you will. We already know many Quirks cause minor adjustments to their user as they develop. Stuff they need to better support the variations from their parents. Such as, for instance: someone developing more resilient organs to endure flying at high speeds without suffering G-strain as bad? Perhaps veins that are able to flex to allow energy to move through them more easily when it’s inside their arms? Lungs able to expel smoke better when their body generates large clouds of it? Maybe even muscle cells that can run more efficiently on pure, non-caloric energy as opposed to nutrients, and don’t have to be as big unless in use, or as resilient to help support the rest of the body until they... "inflate"?”

Izuku realized what First was getting at.

And suppose the source of that energy was hampered or went away…

“They wouldn’t support the old input nearly as well,” Yoichi confirmed.

But that kind of change… He would have noticed! Any time he deactivated his power, he’d notice the difference in weight and size-

“Izuku,” Nana said gently, “Toshi never truly “turned off” One for All. Not until his injury forced him to. Even then, he kept it up as long as he could, as often as he could. It became like breathing to him. When I gave him One for All: he managed to activate it instantly, on instinct. And after that… he slept with it active, at least partially. Even when he was exhausted, he still kept around 30% running, like how your face remains tense when you’re not using it, but unwinds when you sleep. Forty years uninterrupted Quirk use. He was probably a skeleton underneath his power well before the battle. He just… didn’t notice. In a way, our “Family Enemy” may well have saved his life in devastating his body. He likely had so little musculature left… his organs might have started failing on their own before he could recognize the danger. If you’d emulated him, even by leaving it on at 1% since you received it: you very well could have 15 to 20% locked down by now, not realizing your muscles were literally decaying beneath your skin.”

Izuku looked at the flaming figure, so thin and familiar. He pictured how he looked as Toshinori-sensei. Gaunt, desiccated, fragile. And then he would inexplicably inflate into All Might, and seem as solid as ever. He’d compared it to a fat swimmer at the pool sucking in his gut to appear broad-chested… maybe that wasn’t so far from the truth.

How do you know this?

“To be honest, we didn’t for a while,” First admitted, “We thought it was due to the injury, same as everyone else. We didn’t realize what One for All was doing to him until, well… until you took it, and we noticed it start to change you as well.”

Before he could think, Izuku brought his hand to his eyes, looking for that tell-tale sign of bone and skin. He seemed fine…

“So far: your body hasn’t changed much,” Banjo assured him, “Only a few percent beyond what it should actually be able to handle. Luckily for you: Toshinori isn’t a complete idiot. Having you build muscle to sustain the power was a good move. Now you have to keep on that path. Instead of letting the Quirk mold you to it, you have to reinforce your body to handle the Quirk, and mold it instead.”

But using it at all… don’t I risk, well… undoing my work?

“Not if you’re careful,” Hikage assured him, “One thing I paid careful attention to when re-comparing my own life to Toshinori’s was when we used One for All. I never slept with it on, or did menial tasks with it unless I was training. He did. In essence: his muscles were never tearing or being used, even for the simplest action. While he skyrocketed the Quirk’s power, his own body was similar to someone with a paralyzed limb. It didn’t get used, and the body broke down useless tissue. What he was using was probably exclusively his newer cells.”

So as long as I only use it when I’m fighting or otherwise going beyond my body’s natural power, and I make sure to work out normally on the side… I should be fine? Izuku hoped.

“Mostly,” Nana said, seeming pained, “You probably shouldn’t let yourself float when you sleep. It’s not convenient, regardless, but…”

For a moment, Izuku wanted to argue. Then he thought about how the changes of Stockpile might translate to Ukiyo. Nana sniffed irritably.

“Rename my Quirk will ya…?” she mumbled.

My bones might get unnecessarily fragile, he guessed, or my fat cells might start to degrade on their ability to store calories.

“Probably,” Nana admitted, moving past her irritation at his artistic license, “But that isn’t to say you shouldn’t let some of the changes take place. If you constantly practice at flying high speeds, your body will adjust “ Ukiyo ” to let you endure the G-forces better, and eventually you’ll be able to fly at 100%. As you are, you’d probably knock yourself out trying, if you don’t kill yourself.”

Right. So: strain my Quirks or use them sparingly, Izuku confirmed, feeling a bit down.

Nana seemed sympathetic, and he remembered she too was used to being able to just float, care-free.

“If you talk to Recovery Girl or maybe Toshi’s friend: I’m sure they’ll be able to find a way to help reinforce your body a little,” she promised, “then you can fly more casually.”

“And it’s not to say you’ll be shackled like this forever,” First added, “just until your body and One for All acclimate to one another. If you want to go flying for an evening to unwind, it won’t destroy you. It’s like… eating ice cream and playing a rocket simulator for an afternoon instead of working out. It’s not the healthiest, but as long as you do it in moderation-”

All of the vestiges coughed at First, casting shame.

“-then you should be fine,” he finished.

That made Izuku feel better.

“That’s about it,” Banjo said, relaxing a bit, “you want us to fill you in on anything while we wait for En to finish up with your buddy? You’re getting a pretty good handle on Blackwhip, so I can’t say much more than practice, practice, practice. Texture is everything with it. You’ve got a feel for adhesive vs bludgeoning, but you’ve got to mix them a bit. You can’t catch a car with just one or the other, and you certainly can’t lift things.”

Um… what are the Quirks I haven’t unlocked yet? Izuku wondered, touching his ear thoughtfully, The newest one… doesn’t seem to work.

“Synergistic failure, I’m afraid,” Hikage sighed.

…no way, he thought, almost giddily, I actually got it right?!

“Way,” Yoichi grinned, “From what we can tell: your body recognized Stockpile as a dangerous power source, and tried to deflect your conscious attempt to access it by moving to a Quirk which it thought it recognized.”

Senchan’s Anti-gravity.

“Exactly,” Nana said, “Her Quirk and Float are very similar, and since you were no worse for wear when hers permeated your body: my Quirk was marked as “safe.””

And when I drew out Dark Shadow’s sentience,

“Blackwhip resonated with her awakening,” Banjo confirmed.

That’s so cool!! Izuku mentally cheered, What about Stockpile itself?

The vestiges shrugged.

“I helped keep the power down to what I used to operate at,” Nana admitted, “But turning it on? That was all you. You overrode your fear and your body’s subconscious desire for safety and… boom .”

Izuku nodded, trying not to let his pride grow too big.

What about the smoke?

“That’s En’s. Smokescreen, they call it,” Hikagi said, “Your connection with Yaoyorozu might be part of it, but it’s not really the same kind of synergy. Plus, she hasn’t used it on you, so…”

He shrugged.

Will it just finish awakening later, or… will I have to find someone else to help get it out?

“You could probably force it, but I wouldn’t risk it,” Hikage said, “The other Quirks came that way, so your body’s probably going to fight against forced awakenings. You’ve probably already noticed how it’s hard to go anywhere that isn’t 5, 6, 30, or 100% with Stockpile, right? Your body’s fighting you. You’ll have to either fight it into submission, or hopefully meet someone who’ll sort of… reawaken it.”

Well, 6% is pretty good so far. I don’t want to kill anyone on accident yet.

3rd sniffed, and Banjo threw a pebble at him.

What about your Quirk, Hikage?

“Danger Sense!” he said proudly, “I’ve been trying to help you get ahold of it, but it’s always been forced, and your body rejects it. Even when it does work: I’m starting to worry it’s going to do more harm than good.”

How so?

“For me: it just made a buzzing in my head when I was in danger. But when I tried to warn you about Shi-”

Hikage broke off and glanced at First.

“...about Tomura: it just seemed to distract you and fill your head with interference. I worry it might cause you actual pain if you unlocked it.”

What does it do?

“Just what it says on the tin, Izuku,” Hikage chuckled, “It’s like a sixth sense for danger. It works on two levels: personal danger and physical danger. The former is kind of like a reading of intentions, going off when it feels bad intentions from someone nearby, as well as how they’re acting on it. It can be a bit difficult if someone nearby is angry or sad though, since that acts kind of like static on the radio. Clouds what’s actually happening, kind of. The other side is when something’s actually gonna hurt you, like a falling rock or something, which you get a general direction and image of, or at least I did.”

He raised a finger in warning.

“Don’t rely on it though. It can be fooled. If you run into someone who thinks they’re helping, even if it’s harming you: Danger Sense won’t go off. The first level trumps the second, so if someone tries to toss you a knife and it ends up coming in sharp-end first on accident: you could get stabbed.”

Good to know.

“As for those two…” First said, nodding at 2 & 3, “I’ll try and convince them to tell you themselves. The names aren’t even that descriptive like ours, so telling you them will just get you theorizing about the wrong kinds of training. Better than you getting bad info from us and developing mental blocks or something.”

I understand. Thanks for everything.

“No problem, Izuku. You’re family now, after all,” First joked, leaning back in his chair.

They fell into an odd silence for a few moments, as if waiting for En to come back. When nothing happened for a few seconds, Banjo sighed dramatically.

“Alright, I’ll tell ya about my Hero days. Don’t twist my arm over it.”

Thank you Banjo-senpai!

“OchakoOchakoOchakoOchakoOchakoOchakoOchakoOchakoOchakoOchakoOchakoOchako.”

Mei continued to repeat her newest friendy-bestie’s name, her nose millimeters from Tea-head’s face. She was sleeping, but this was no time to sleep!

The plane gave the tiniest of twitches, and Tea-head started in her sleep, cracking an eye. It was small, but Mei’s eyes were good at seeing details.

“Aha! You’re awake!” she cheered, stepping back and grabbing her newest baby off the chair where she’d left it.

“Nnnnygh….” she groaned, glancing out the window as she rubbed her eyes, “Hatsume… it’s still night. Go back to sleep…”

“But babies!”

“But sleep…”

Mei frowned, shaking the unimpressive-looking mass of grey fabric, padding, pipes, and insulated wires. It made enough of an annoying flapping sound that Tea-head finally sat up and glared at her.

“Fine. What is it?” she grumbled.

Mei held it forward. Tea-head glowered at her.

“I don’t even want to know what you think that is.”

Scowling, Mei reached under and into the array with one arm, keeping firm grip on the top with the other. She tugged, and the whole thing flipped inside out. Instead of a flat expanse of unrelated technology: it transformed almost instantly into a familiar pink and white bodysuit, though with a few, notable differences.

Rather than the skintight spandex of Tea-head’s original version, this had a small layer of padding which blunted her curves a bit, as well as prevented the nearest pointy stick from killing her. The boots, gauntlets, and helmet were all laid out on the chair where it had been sitting, now with a few connection points sticking out of each. The suit itself also had a few protrusions which were no doubt familiar to the Heroine in training.

Placed slightly above the waist, arrayed in a four-point ring about where her center of mass would be: were tiny nozzles, reminiscent of spacecraft’s RCS thrusters. That was, of course, because they were. Additional ones were placed around her boots, her shoulders, and her gauntlets.

Tea-head’s eyes widened as she recognized the additions. She sat up, and Mei flipped it back around to the ugly grey side.

“Since it’s so complex now, it has to be put on properly,” Mei insisted, “strip and I’ll help you get it on.”

Ignoring the red face of her friend, Mei did one final system’s check, turning away to make sure she’d get undressed more quickly. Keying a button, the inner layer of the suit detached from the main body, releasing a black jumpsuit which would be much closer to the original in terms of shape. She tossed it over her shoulder at Tea-head.

“That’s your emergency armor layer,” she explained in a loud voice, “it’s fit to your skin layer, so don’t have anything else on when you wear it. It’ll compress any injuries you take to staunch bleeding and minimize pain when you move.”

While she got that on, Mei unplugged her phone from the diagnostics port and gave it a final visual inspection. Sometimes machines could be wrong. She never was. At least: when she wasn’t experimenting. But experimentation was meant to go wrong a lot. That’s why it was an experiment.

“This feels… not bad,” Tea-head managed, tugging at the suit a bit as she got it smooth against her skin around the neck and thighs.

Mei didn’t bother waiting to chat. Instead: she brought the feet over and showed her how to clip it back in before starting to pull it up. There were connectors at the knees, hips, shoulders, elbows, neck, and wrists.

“This way: the actual suit can flex with your body instead of catching,” she explained, letting Tea-head press closed the flap which ran up her left side on her own.

Next came the equipment. They auto-locked on, Mei giving her charge a quick tutorial on how to remove them with two successive twists while pressing in.

“Your fuel is stored in the veins along your body,” Mei informed her, pointing to the places the puffier parts connected to her suit, “but the biggest reserves are in your boots and gauntlets, where you’ll be using the most blasts. They’re pretty powerful, so make sure you get used to them before trying to fly. Or Don’t! I’ll get good data either way!”

Tea-head took a moment to admire the suit, flexing and moving around in it. Mei thought it looked like a dream.

“Wow… it’s amazing!” she finally decided, “And way comfier than my old suit!”

“Then it looks like it’s time for a field test!” Mei declared, kicking one of the seats so it was in the laying position.

“Field test?”

She sounded worried.

“Nah. No room. I’ve designed this baby to be ultra-comfy, now that it doesn’t have to spend half its mass fighting your nausea,” Mei exclaimed with pride, “Take a nap, and call Doctor Hatsume in the morning if you have any problems.

Laying out on the broken chair, Mei took a deep breath and passed out, utterly spent.

“Well if it isn’t my favorite customer,” Denki beamed, setting down Melissa’s usual drink and giving her the usual 10000 watt smile.

She just smirked back, which meant she was in a good mood. Well, she’d reacted at all, actually, and that meant she was in a good mood.

Denki had noticed Melissa tended to get very caught up in her work. Kind of like Midoriya, honestly, just less muttery and more long, staring silences at spots in the near distance. So the fact she wasn’t just accepting the drink without even realizing it wasn’t the waterbottle she’d brought with her was a very good sign.

“If it isn’t my favorite server?” Melissa returned, accepting the sky-blue drink and bringing it to her lips for a slow sip, “Although, I’m pretty sure we both say that to anyone we’ve seen twice at this joint.”

“Pshhh,” Denki waved the suggestion away, “Nah, only the girls.”

Melissa mouthed an overdramatic “ah,” raising her head and closing her eyes for a moment.

“So what Fran told me was true? You are a hopeless flirt, and I’m just the latest heart you’re gonna break?”

That made Denki actually laugh. It was really probably more the reverse.

“I’ll plead guilty to the first one,” Denki admitted, “but the second’s not fair! I’ve known you what, a whole day come my next break period? I would think you’d know me well enough by now to know I wouldn’t do that to a friend.”

Melissa giggled, and Denki had to resist the urge to smile more softly. She was very pretty, and really really nice. But a promise was a promise, and even if Denki wanted to try exploring the little spark of attraction… the Expo only lasted a week.

“Well, that’s good,” Melissa said, swirling the little All Might candy which floated atop her drink, “I’ve had a few guys and girls try to win my heart, and they always come away in tears. I’m the heartbreaker on I-Island, and I don’t intend to give up that title to just any sweet sap who comes along, alright Denki?”

Denki held up both hands in surrender.

“I wouldn’t dream of it. I’m the one who’s heart tends to get broken by pretty people, so I’m not even in the running for backup.”

An errant thought brushed Denki’s brain, and for a single instant the smile flickered before the thought was pushed back into the deep recesses where it belonged. But, as always: Melissa was not to be trifled with in the matters of observation. She pointed at Denki’s face, frowning a bit.

“You okay? That frown looked like it was from somewhere else.”

Chuckling and giving a little spin to the little tray Fran had provided to try and draw Melissa’s eyes away from Denki’s expression while… he tried to get the mask back up.

“I’ll talk to you about it on my next break,” Denki promised, feeling a small wiggle of guilt and unease slide into his stomach and up the spine.

The excuse let Denki put the thoughts away for a little bit, going back to the things that felt easy. Smiling, making jokes, noticing little details in people’s outfits or postures which made Denki’s remarks seem thoughtful and brought extra tips, and otherwise flirting with every woman who came across the way, including Adventure and Life themselves (as Ashido was adamant that both were “cruel mistresses” and Denki felt like that was enough for them to count and thus qualify for flirting).

For some reason, it just felt right to be that way. Throwing out compliments and getting flustered reactions just felt good. Teasing was lots of fun. More fun than the other guys seemed to find it. And it felt really good to be flashy and cool! But for some reason Denki just seemed to come across as annoying, judging on others’ expressions.

So Denki kept pretending to just be the weird one. Even when Denki didn’t feel like he was weird.

The next hour passed very slowly. Occasionally Denki would swing by and drop Melissa another drink, which she always smiled and paid for with a coin she would flick off her thumb. It was sort of a ritual for them. Otherwise, Denki just pretended to be who Denki always was, and did the job. And then it was time up, and Denki was somehow already back in the chair opposite Melissa, who was sketching something in her notebook so quickly and intensely, there was no way she would look up before the break ended.

Pulling out his phone, Denki checked the time. It wasn’t even noon yet, and it was already rather busy. Would the Expo proper be better or worse? Maybe going to the preview would have been a good idea?

“Okay!” Melissa said, closing her notebook, “what is it that’s got you down?”

It took Denki a second to realize she’d stopped her sketching. Yesterday she’d worked without fail for hours.

“Um… kind of a personal thing,” Denki admitted, rubbing his shoes together awkwardly under the table, “I just… I’ve been feeling really off lately, and I don’t know exactly why. I thought I’d be able to figure stuff out by being away from school and stuff, but… I don’t really know what’s wrong. And I’ve been trying to pin it down, but… even the little stuff doesn’t feel like the big problem.”

“Oof, that sounds like a doozy,” Melissa sympathized, “I’m pretty good at fixing things, if you want to talk about it?”

Denki weighed the options, then shrugged.

“That’s really about it. The closest I could figure was… well, there’s a girl who I think’s pretty hot, but I can’t exactly go for her. But it’s not like, a big big deal. We’re still buddies, and she’s flirty with everybody, so I don’t feel to too left out.”

“Why’d you give up?”

“She’s dating two other girls.”

She whistled in surprise.

“I just feel kinda scummy to still like her, ya know?”

Melissa shook her head.

“Can’t help you there, pal. I don’t get falling in love. Aro/ace for life.”

“Damn,” Denki sighed, mentally reaffirming that Melissa was not a good vessel for affections, “No idea how I can figure out the actual problems then?”

She considered that for a bit, before lighting up with what looked like an answer. Denki couldn’t even deny finding it kind of cute.

“Simple,” Melissa said, “You’ve gotta forget about it for a bit.”

Denki just stared at her.

“Huh?”

“No really!” Melissa assured Denki, waving her hands a bit, “You’ve gotta let your brain reset. Put it on the back-burner.”

Reaching into her pocket, Melissa pulled out a little tape measure and a tiny notebook. She scribbled something down and handed it to Denki.

“Here. When you get your lunch break: text me and I’ll show you around the Expo. You can just take it easy and let me do the thinking for a bit. And who knows? Maybe your brain will figure it out for you in the meantime?”

Staring at the first girl’s number Denki had ever received, she remained perfectly still for a second. Then the generosity of the offer struck Denki and he tried to accept it graciously.

“A-absolutely!” Denki beamed, “It’s in a little over three hours, so that should be plenty of time to-”

“Three hours?!” Melissa screached, looking at her watch and palling, “I’m late to meet Uncle Might!”

She unwound her tape measure, and it flashed bright white, a hexagon pattern all along its surface. Then it bent and twisted in the air, transforming into a pongo stick. She leaned over and gave Denki’s hand a little squeeze.

“I’ve gotta bounce, but I’ll be back in time to pick you up for the Expo, kay?”

“S-sure…”

“Thanks. Sorry. See ya then!” she called back, bouncing off towards the main entrance.

Denki stared after her.

Don’t catch feelings, you idiot.

…too late.

While from the outside the I-Island airport seemed just like any other, the interior was something else entirely. Compared to the bleeding-edge technology, AI customs officials, holographic monitors, auto-scanning immigration conveyors, and even the shuttering gates which collapsed into nothing without taking up any interior wallspace: even the robotic-piloted jet-liners, space-age runway materials, & laser-guided air control seemed as primitive as stone knives and bearskins. Izuku was so enamored with the area, he’d almost completely forgotten about the similar marvel he was wearing on his own body. Almost.

The auto-refitting fabric was a deep navy, highlighted with white and maroon lines, accented with just a hint of gold and silver in the boots, gauntlets, and belt. The deep burgundy of the cape’s interior helped offset the crisp, spring-sky blue of the outside, making him stand out even among the array of Quirks and costumes already present as they made their way towards the scanning tunnel.

Izuku actually felt a little bad that Shinso was just stuck with the standard UA gym outfit. He did have what looked like Aizawa-sensei’s scarf, though he seemed to have got that tangled around his arms as well. Usually the fabric sat in an untidy bunch along his homeroom teacher’s shoulders and neck, and he’d seen Shinso wear it that way before.

Maybe he doesn’t quite know how to wear it yet? Izuku wondered sympathetically, I wonder why En didn’t help him with that?

“Now, my young charges!” All Might said into his thoughts, “I know you’re very excited to begin exploring the Expo, but we must remain responsible, even in times of relaxation! So, once we drop off our bags at the hotel: we’re going to go play a prank on an old friend of mine, and then you can roam to your hearts’ content!”

Izuku felt himself sweatdrop a little. All Might could be a little strange sometimes. His bombastic persona was a bit much in large doses outside of Hero work. He was about to share an apologetic look with Shinso when a terrifyingly familiar laugh echoed through the scanning hallway.

[“ MwAAhahahahahahahaha!!! ”]

“N-Nezu-sensei?!” Izuku squeaked in horror, glancing to Shinso’s face and half expecting to see the white-furred principal pop out of the folds of his scarf like he would with Aizawa sometimes.

“No, that’s mine,” Shinso sighed, pulling his phone out as it repeated the chilling, maniacal laugh again.

He tapped something on the screen, and it stopped. Somehow: Shinso didn’t seem nearly as unnerved as Izuku felt whenever he heard that cackle. Then again: Shinso hadn’t been part of “The Maze” a couple months ago…

All Might for his part, seemed unphased by the events transpiring around him. He just laughed, a nearby hologram popping up to match it to audio records as it scanned him and confirmed he was indeed All Might. Izuku noticed their ticket numbers pop up and smiled to himself. Pure chance, of course, but still funny.

They finally emerged from the hall into the open air and bright sunlight of the Island’s interior, and Izuku took a moment to run forward and drink it all in. It was a marvelous place, filled with all kinds of amazing buildings, pavilions, and people!

Heroes were wandering around as casually as normal citizens, the Owl mascots were bobbing around for photos, and even the normal people seemed somehow livelier and more colorful than back home. Gigantic constructs of science and Quirk were dotted along the area, from a waterspout of some kind which someone was bending into a welcome sign in English Cursive, a 3D ferris wheel with omni-directional grav grip, a supermassive harp which seemed to be playing in real time with someone at its base, and dozens of other marvels of engineering. For a second, he just had to stare out at it all.

“It really is something, isn’t it?” All Might chuckled, stepping past him, “Now… where did that map say the hotel was…?”

Luckily for All Might: there were friendly guides also present, who could help them find the hotel without trying to remember the map from back at the entrance. Un luckily for Izuku and Shinso… she happened to say his name rather loudly when she saw him, and in the excitement: they were all pushed around in the crowd.

“HAHAHAHA! One at a time! Form an orderly line for autographs!” All Might laughed, taking it all in stride.

“Shinso-kun!” Izuku called, managing to leap up above the crowd and hover above the worst of it.

A fibrous cable shot out from the sea of people, catching his wrist around the gauntlet. Izuku gave a tug, and Shinso came soaring out, in a pose not unlike Aizawa’s when he did stuff like that. He managed to get all the way up to Izuku’s level before the scarf loosened and he started falling again. Izuku made sure to catch his friend’s free arm as he snapped the unfurled end back to himself with a rather fluid motion.

“All Might! We’ll-!” Izuku tried to shout over the crowd, “We’ll wait over by-! …oh, he can’t hear us.”

Shinso just sighed and shook his head. Evidently he wasn’t going to help by calling as well.

Hovering over to the edge of the near-mob trying to get autographs from the world’s #1 Hero, Izuku and Shinso touched back down, glad he’d thought to snatch their bags before they were trampled. If his notebooks and the plush he’d brought had been damaged… he shivered.

Shinso grabbed the nearest fence and sat down, balancing rather impressively on the thin rail. Izuku decided he’d rather stand. He started regretting that around the twenty minute mark, when the line was still showing no signs of slowing.

Izuku was tempted to just lounge in the air for a bit, Quirks being legal to use freely on I-Island providing him an opportunity he didn’t often get, but the conversation with Nana and First came back to him. Getting him and Shinso out of the crowd was one thing, but just flying for fun? …maybe later, though it was bumming him out that the element of his life that freed him the most was now restricted as well.

A strange noise brought Izuku back to reality. A sort of “boing” sound, repeating every second or so, and getting louder. He turned to see a bright red pogo-stick bouncing along towards them. Atop the double-hinged contraption was a girl maybe a little older than Izuku himself, with bright blonde hair, aqua-blue eyes, and a very pretty face.

She came to a stop and dismounted right next to Izuku, making him turn red in alarm and self-consciousness. She didn’t even seem to notice him; which was a rather impressive feat, seeing as he was wearing a rather famous costume.

“Ah… shoot,” she sighed, her American accent reminding him a bit of Pony’s, but somehow nothing alike, “I was hoping to meet him before the crowds got here…”

Izuku itched the back of his head, chuckling a little and glancing at the still-laughing All Might.

“Yeah, they tend to converge pretty quick…”

The girl jumped in surprise, straightening up and looking at him in shock.

“Ohmigosh, I didn’t even see you there!” she apologized.

Then she blinked, adjusting her glasses and looking him up and down a few times.

“That’s a pretty good cosplay. Why aren’t you in line?” she asked, leaning a bit closer than he was comfortable with and inspecting the materials, “Actually… no, this isn’t a cosplay. This is an actual Hero costume…”

She tugged at the cape, frowning.

“Not just any Hero costume… Papa made this! How did you get ahold of the original costume Papa made for Uncle Might?!”

Now she sounded very accusatory, and Izuku was starting to panic.

“H-he loaned it to me!” he quickly explained, waving his hands in an effort to quiet her down, “My costume was destroyed a week ago, and since I was his guest: he said I could use this for the day! Pleasedon'tkillme!!”

Izuku clapped his hands together in a pleading gesture, bowing his head in habit. She remained silent for a second, then giggled. He glanced up and saw she was smiling, laughing behind some curled fingers.

“You’re kind of spastic, man,” she teased, “That’s two in as many days I’ve met.”

Then she offered her hand.

“Sorry for accusing you a bit. I’m Melissa. Melissa Shield. I’m a student at the university here.”

Smiling awkwardly, Izuku quickly removed the gauntlet of his right hand and accepted.

“I’m Midoriya Izuku. I’m a first year Hero student at UA, back in Japan.”

He moved to pull back and return the gauntlet, but she didn’t let go. Instead: she pulled his spiral-scarred palm and fingers up for closer inspection.

“Hm… you might want a new design. Falling apart and allowing you to take this kind of damage is just begging for some support items. What kind of Quirk do you have?”

“Oh- it’s a-“

“BS,” Shinso cut in, smirking, “His Quirk is a radical mutation. He’s got a bag full of tricks that not even he knows what’s in.”

Shield-s— no, Melissa (American names were weird) turned to look at Shinso curiously, still moving around Izuku and inspecting him kind of way too close.

“Really? Are you friends?”

“Y-yes!” Izuku squeaked.

“No.”

Shield chuckled again.

“You two are kinda strange. You remind me of my new friend Denki, a bit.”

“You know Kaminari-kun?” Izuku asked, shocked.

He hadn’t been aware anyone from class aside from Senchan & Shiozaki were going to be here.

“Evidently I do,” Melissa beamed, “so… Midoriya? Izuku? I’m sorry, Japanese names are kind of strange to me.”

Izuku thought for a moment. She knew Kaminari, and he’d trusted her enough to let her use his given name, and evidently she was related to David Shield, which meant she was probably coming to meet All Might to bring them to him. He nodded to himself.

“I’m Deku.”

“Deku? …cool. Now: Powers. Whatcha got?”

“Um, I can freely control my body in 3D space, I have a power-type ability where I can enhance my strength and speed, energy tendrils I can produce and control, and a couple new ones I, um… I haven’t figured out yet. They have to do with smoke and headaches, I think.”

Melissa hummed, grabbing his hand again and pulling the sleeve up to look at the entirety of the scar tissue.

“That would explain the oscillating fracture pattern and necessity for surgical super-alignment to fix it…”

She tapped a few spots, making Izuku flinch, before standing back up; her eyes shimmering with excitement.

“I’ve got just the thing, Cuz’!” she said, “After we take Uncle Might to see Papa, I can let you try it out!”

“Um, okay?” he agreed, rather startled, “…what did you call me?”

“What, “Cuz’”?” she asked, tilting her head, “Oh, it’s an abbreviation for cousin.”

Izuku turned bright red.

“A-All Might’s n-not my-“

“Your assumption’s not wrong,” Shinso spoke up, traitorously, “just incorrect.”

Melissa laughed, moving over to look at his capture scarf.

“Well, All Might isn’t really my uncle, so I guess it all checks out! How about you, Shinso(?)?”

“Shinso’s fine. And I’m just here because he needed my Quirk for… meditation.”

“Really?” Melissa asked, seeming absolutely enamored with the idea, “why’s that?”

Shinso and Melissa talked about his Quirk for a bit, and Izuku took “All Might watch” back up. Melissa seemed nice. Kind of an older, hyperactive sister vibe, but that was nice in its own way.

“So, how did you meet Uncle Might?” she asked, coming back over suddenly.

Izuku managed not to flinch this time, just taking a second to consider his answer before panicking.

“My Quirk, um… the way my Quirk works, I… kind of need a strong emotional bond to unlock a new power, and my body needs to meet certain conditions to survive that. I couldn’t actually use it until I ran into All Might on accident, and he helped me train to survive the first power coming in. I don’t know how he knew, or why I got Ukiyo- Ah, my flying power- first, but ever since I’ve just been trying to become a Hero and prove I was worth the time.”

Melissa suddenly became very, very quiet and still.

“Did you know your Quirk was locked, or…?”

Izuku shook his head, looking at her. He knew that tone. She couldn’t possibly be-

“I thought I was Quirkless until I was 15. I’ve only actually had access to it for about five months now,” he confirmed.

She smiled rather sadly.

“17, and still nothin’,” she joked, “think there’s hope?”

Swallowing hard, Izuku nodded, feeling tears in his eyes. If he hadn’t met All Might… would Melissa have his Quirk? Would she be the ninth user, waiting to face their immemorial enemy? He didn’t know. But what he did know was: he had to prove even more that he was the right choice.

“There’s always hope.”

Melissa’s hand went up and she bopped him on the nose, smirking.

“Don’t be so serious. I’m fine without a Quirk,” she said, acting pretty well, “I’m just glad one of us finally got one after all the waiting.”

Izuku knew she was probably hurting a little. To have known there was a chance, infinitely slim, that he actually had a Quirk, and that someone else had won the astronomical lottery… it would be like being diagnosed all over again.

“Right… you said your dad gave All Might this suit?” Izuku asked, trying to deflect the subject, “That means you’re the daughter of David Shield, the world-renowned scientist.”

Shinso shot him a sarcastic look which was either “wow” or “smooth.” Izuku tried not to grimace back. He was bad with pretty girls, okay?

“I can’t fault your logic,” Melissa laughed, the sound much more genuine now, “But yes, that’s my dad. I’m actually kind of surprised Uncle Might let you wear this. I wasn’t allowed to even touch the Bronze Age suit when he pulled it out of storage.”

“You’ve seen the Bronze Age suit?!” Izuku gasped, “I thought it was destroyed almost-”

“- twelve years ago during the battle against Grand Stationary! ” they said together, getting more excited as they managed to synchronize.

“I was only five at the time, right after I was diagnosed,” Melissa confirmed, “He came to console Papa and me, and for some reason said he was feeling nostalgic when he left, so he took it and… well, there’s a reason we update suits.”

Izuku just stared at her in awe. She’d lived her whole life with All Might as a family friend, an uncle in all but blood. It was almost beyond comprehension.

Shinso tilted on his railing, looking annoyed.

“What’s up, Shinso?” Izuku asked, turning to try and see what he was looking at.

“You two,” he groaned, leaning back much further than Izuku would have thought possible without tipping, “You’re acting like a pair of long lost otaku twins, and it’s disgusting. Isn’t your harem big enough already?”

“Harem?” Melissa asked, sounding confused and maybe a little wary.

“I do not have a harem!” he insisted in a quiet scream, not wanting to draw attention to himself, “Half of them are in relationships to begin with!”

Shinso just smirked, and Izuku turned a deep crimson in frustration. Melissa fought to hide her grin behind her hands.

He ended up just walking over and tapping Shinso’s outstretched shoe with a finger, toppling him back into the bushes behind the fence. Izuku and Melissa then took his prior spot and continued to chat about All Might and Heroes.

“Ah, That Took Longer Than I Thought It Would!” All Might said, still clearly in his bombastic persona, “Young Midoriya: Who’s This Young Lady? I Thought You Already had… a…”

He trailed off, seeing who it was kicking her legs back and forth beside Izuku, having just explained how her custom “hexagonal expansion particles” worked. Evidently it had to do with the fact that Hexagons were, in theory: “the bestagons.”

“Hi Uncle Might!” Melissa said, hopping up into his arms for a hug.

“M-Melissa!” All Might proclaimed in return, his voice so full of emotion it surprised Izuku a little, “Look at you… you’re all grown up.”

“Only seventeen,” she laughed, landing back on her feet with a by-now familiar bounce, “Come on, we’ve gotta surprise Papa before he gets off work, and we’re already late! I had to leave Denki at the cafe early to get here, only to find out you couldn’t not draw a crowd.”

To Izuku’s alarm, she produced her pogo stick again and started bouncing towards the center of the island. She waved at them to follow.

“Catch me if you can!”

All Might just laughed, grabbing his bags and running after her. Izuku looked to Shinso, who swung one of the ends of his scarf around like a lasso before ensnaring his foot. Izuku snagged their luggage with Blackwhip (only dropping one of them before he got a hold of it again), and flew after them at around 6%, or what would have been a quick sprint on the ground. He made sure Shinso wasn’t flying off a couple times, but he seemed like he was having the time of his life.

“Everything’s in position, sir,” Sam said, stepping into his office and closing his phone, “The entire group is in the loading bay we set aside. They’ve reported everything going according to plan.”

David Shield sighed, feeling his gut twist at the prospect. Maybe there was another way? A better path? Some device he could construct or a drone which could take care of this more easily? But no. No, they’d know it was him that way, and Melissa would get hurt. This needed to be taken care of, and she needed to be there to see the world which came of it.

“Good. I trust you picked someone good to pull it off? I wouldn’t want them getting caught by the Pros we have on the island and tracing the purchase to us.”

Sam shook his head.

“The funds were transferred through dummy holdings, I’ve used a specialized vocoder and redirected the phone signal with the device you gave me each time, and I made sure to acquire them from a reputable acting and con artist troupe who work out of Hong Kong. They’ll hold up, and everything will go according to plan,” he assured David.

Still, something felt… off.

“What troupe, specifically?”

“The Big Shengda Group, why?”

“Just… a feeling,” David sighed, “Go make sure the security force don’t catch onto them. If we’re playing both sides against the middle: we need to be sure our hand isn’t tipped early.”

“Yes sir. It won’t take a minute.”

And then he was alone again. David pulled out his phone and tapped his oldest picture still on file. Toshinori… back in his glory days. His first costume, a striking mid-air pose, and that big old grin… A lifetime ago.

A knock came from the door, and David glanced up in surprise. Usually Sam just came in. But… no, it wasn’t the side door.

“Come in,” he called.

A familiar mess of golden hair popped in, azure eyes behind circular frames of glass.

“Hi Papa,” Melissa said, grinning from ear to ear, “Hard at the grindstone?”

David chuckled, putting his phone away and turning to look at his little girl. Well, not so little anymore.

“What can I do for you, Melissa dear?”

“How about what I can do for you ?” she asked, giving him a cheeky smile.

David just raised an eyebrow, wondering what genius invention she’d pulled out of her hairband this time. Melissa stepped clear of the door and gestured towards it.

“I found one of your old friends, and brought him over!” she said.

There was a rush of navy and sky blue, and a figure swooshed into the room, grinning and shouting in a very familiar voice.

“I AM HERE!!”

David stepped back, alarmed. Had his picture come to life?! Hovering there, his pose identical to the one he’d just been looking at, dressed in the costume he’d designed for Toshi all those years ago…

But no. It wasn’t All Might. His face looked older, more shadowed, and his hair was a forest green; curly instead of the sleek blonde. And he was certainly smaller. He looked like a teenager, not the young man who’d come to America. But at the same time… he was similar. The same aura of compassion and power radiated from him, and that was undeniably the “Young Age” costume David had designed and created.

Who was this imposter? His vocal and facial impressions were perfect for the All Might of today, if not that of some thirty-five years ago.

“And I...  AM SHAKING WITH LAUGHTER AT MY WONDERFUL PRANK!!” came another voice, followed by a much more red blur.

The Real All Might came through, taking up a more classical Hercules pose, both arms upraised and curled back towards the shoulders. He was indeed laughing, and leaving David all the more stunned.

“Toshi…” he breathed, his mind racing.

So many things were suddenly spinning out of control in his head. The plan called for a capturing of Heroes to make it seem believable things would be pulled off at I-Island of all places, and he’d even gone to the trouble of inviting Endeavor specifically so he wouldn’t come, not wanting any of the top 100 Heroes around the world to be anywhere near when the sham started. But now All Might was here…

No, things would be fine. He just had to play this quietly. Even the thieves didn’t know he was in on it, so having a game around All Might would just make them all the happier at the prestige it would impart to them. And with All Might’s injury: as long as he kept Toshi in the limelight for a bit: he’d be out of time by the time the party rolled around, and would be stuck doing nothing but pretending he wasn’t dying.

David hated using his friend like that, but in order to cure him… or at least staunch the bleeding while they looked for another option… no, this had to be done.

“I haven’t seen you in so long!!” All Might proclaimed, rushing him and spinning him in a circular hug.

As he was set down, David’s mind came back to him, and he managed to take note of the room again. Melissa was beaming at him around All Might’s shoulder.

“Were you surprised, Papa?”

“Uh… yeah,” he admitted, smiling and allowing himself to feel happy at seeing his old friend again.

Glancing over at the figure still holding the action pose- …in midair.

“And who’s this young lad?” he asked, seeing the facial muscles relax into a much more cherubic expression, emerald eyes popping out from under the shadows.

Another boy was at the doorway, clearly hesitant to come in. That one had purple hair, more bedhead than curls though.

“This is Midoriya Izuku, one of my students from UA!” Toshi exclaimed, gesturing to the green one, “I’ve been training him to use his Quirk, since it’s so damaging to his own body, and I decided he could use a reward for his efforts, and brought him along. He won second place at his school’s Sports Festival, so he used his ticket to bring his friend Shinso Hitoshi here with him.”

“I… see,” David managed, “Then Midoriya here is your-?”

He glanced up and down the costume, wondering just what connection would allow his suit to be worn by a high schooler. The second one, Shinso, spoke up for Toshi.

“Protege is closest,” he said, yawning, “Adopted son wouldn’t be far off, as your daughter so cleverly identified earlier.”

All Might coughed in alarm, and David laughed. He liked this Shinso. He had a good sense of humor.

Midoriya, for his part, dropped back to the ground, red in the face. Though, at the same time: his eyes and mouth were wound up in the biggest smile he’d ever seen on someone over the age of seven. He rushed forward, seeming exceptionally excited about something.

“Y-you’re the world-famous David Shield!” he exclaimed, “You won the Nobel Quirk Prize in 2155! You designed all of All Might’s Costumes, from this one to the one he has now! Young Age! Bronze Age! Silver Age! Golden Age! The entire world looks to you as the standard for the term “State of the Art” when talking about technology related to Quirks! It’s an honor to meet you sir!”

David laughed, surprised the kid knew so much about some old scientist like him, for a Hero student.

“Looks like I won’t need to pull out the introduction machine,” he joked, holding out his hand.

The kid seemed to vibrate with energy as he forced himself not to explode during the handshake. Well, he certainly had Toshi’s inability to stay still when there was something to be done…

All Might coughed again, and David’s senses went on alert. He hadn’t been a sidekick in decades, but he knew that sound. He was hiding his pain. David had to act quickly to give him the room.

“Melissa?” he asked, faux-calmly, “Why don’t you show Midoriya and Shinso here around the Expo? I’m certain you’ll be able to give them a better tour than if they wandered around by themselves. Neither of their costumes seem particularly well-suited to them, after all.”

His daughter’s eyes flickered a little when he said that. David followed her momentary gaze and saw her looking at Midoriya’s hand. Odd, he would have thought Shinso’s use of a gym outfit and some kind of overly ambitious sports tape on either arm would catch her eye first… unless she’d seen under Midoriya’s gauntlets and knew something he didn’t.

Well, that’s for her to fix. I have a bigger issue.

The kids waved goodbye and headed out, and not a moment too soon. All Might vanished in a puff of smoke, and left a decrepit shamble of a man in his place. Only his eyes still seemed like Toshi; glowing with that sense of justice and tough kindness.

“How long?” he asked, knowing Toshi would know what he meant.

“Three hours,” Toshi coughed, bringing a handkerchief to his mouth, “At best. It drops faster the harder I push myself, and sometimes I shave off how long I can last permanently.”

“Come on, let’s get you to my medical lab,” David said, gripping the skeletal shoulders of his old friend, “I’ll see if we can find a new cause or maybe some new way to fix this. I’ve got some new scanning equipment, and a few support items you might like.”

“You find me a replacement lung yet?” Toshi joked.

“As a matter of fact: I built you one just in case the one you’re left using started having trouble keeping up,” David smirked, “After the news about that supervillain who you launched into the sky, I figured I’d have one on hand. I had the specs back when you first got hit, but no time to build it, since you were adamant to get out of the hospital before anyone saw.”

Toshi chuckled, a bit wistfully it seemed.

“Things turned out alright in the end. Do you have some new toy that’ll put it in me and seal my side up again without leaving me bedridden for the next week? I’d rather see the Expo than spend my vacation in a bed.”

“Come now, Toshi,” David chided his old friend, “I know you, remember? I knew you’d only accept it if I could be in and out before the press caught up to you. When have you ever known me to go in without a plan that isn’t triple and quadruple checked from bottom up and roof down? You’re the one who rushes in without a plan.”

“No, no, nonono!” David yelled, frantically jumping from spot to spot on his diagnostic computer.

Toshinori just watched from the exam capsule, sighing as he watched the data come up on the big monitor. Pretty steady readings in the bracket from five years ago or so, though it only showed about a month’s worth before showing the first gap down.

The day he was injured against All for One, the entire graph turned red and turned downward. It was a fairly moderate decline, and as they’d theorized back when they’d been taking weekly readings on his injury: the projected course was for sometime in the next five years that he’d finally be rendered incapable of using his Quirk.

But there was new data David was unaware of; could never be aware of, lest the forces of evil come after him in retribution, or All for One’s followers go to try and weedle out a few more secrets on their adversary’s Quirk. Five months prior, he’d transferred his Quirk and its immense stockpile of energy to Midoriya, his protege and successor. The screen showed another gap down at that point, showing a far less optimistic rate of decline. It gave him another year at best.

Damn.

“We were keeping up,” David said frantically, still clearly panicking, “You were taking your supplements, your tracker didn’t monitor any unusual stress on your body that could account for this.”

“D-David,” Toshinori coughed, sitting up and feeling his new, mechanical lung against his ribs as it increased its pull a little to let him speak, “You couldn’t possibly have known this would happen. I pushed myself a few times further than I should. It could have been any number of-”

“I’ve monitored those too!” David snapped, pointing to the data.

The screen zoomed in, showing the area in more detail.

“Right here, ten months earlier: you changed the weather with a single punch, and the drop registered, but it wasn’t nearly severe enough to cause a cascade failure! And here, forty-six days after the major cascade; your battle against that bird villain who pushed you beyond your limits: the same uniform drop as before, meaning this isn’t a systemic decline. Something happened to- to- …to rob you of what little time you had left with your Quirk!”

Toshinori got out of the tank and stepped over to his friend. Oh how he wished he could explain that it was a wonderful thing, and not terrible.

“Sometimes,” David sighed, placing his head in his hands, “Sometimes I wish you’d just stayed in America… We needed you. Still do.”

“I had to go home eventually,” Toshinori tried to remind him.

“Go home and kick up a fuss until you got noticed by the biggest bad on the planet,” David sniffed, sounding a bit irritable.

“I couldn’t let him wander around unopposed!” Toshinori objected.

“No… no you couldn’t have.”

They fell into an awkward silence, and Toshinori felt tired. He’d never felt awkward around David before. It wasn’t a pleasant sensation, especially when the other person was his old friend.

“The world’s got 20% crime across the board,” David said out of nowhere, “It used to be 15. Japan’s at 7%, and used to be 3, back in your prime. You let people feel safe, even when you weren’t there. But you disappeared from the public eye more and more these last five years; this year most of all. The criminals of the world are waking back up, and without you… nothing’s going to stand in their way this time.”

Toshinori considered that for a moment. They’d expected a rise in crime during the transition, but…

“There are plenty of excellent Heroes out there,” Toshinori assured his friend, placing a hand on his shoulder, “People to take up my standard. I’m training some of the best right now; the reason I’m no longer on the streets for my full three hours. The world might get dark for a little bit, but it’ll only shine all the brighter when the light returns.”

David was quiet. He’d never been one to believe platitudes and motivational phrases. They’d always made their own luck, after all.

“That boy… Midoriya,” he said softly, “He’s your replacement, isn’t he? The other one, Shinso… he compared him to a son. I noticed him wearing your old costume, but…”

They were veering dangerously close to forbidden territory, but if he could reassure David at least a little, it might prevent him from panicking and doing something rash.

“Yes,” Toshinori admitted, “I met him, and I found the spirit of a true Hero in him. He has a ways to go, but each and every day he impresses me further. During his final exams, he had to undergo some rather rigorous practical testing. For a full twenty seconds: he was able to stalemate me .”

David gave him a critical glance.

“You were holding back, I assume?”

Toshinori shook his head.

“Melissa glanced at his hands when I mentioned support gear. Did he lose one from backlash?”

Another no.

“Maybe a fluke? Your time running out, or you were limited in some way?”

“I still had most of an hour, and Nezu wanted them to taste failure. He beat me fair and square.”

David whistled, evidently impressed.

“Why for so short a time?”

“His teammate managed to achieve the conditions for victory, mostly. And while he didn’t lose any hands in backlash… well, his arms aren’t exactly the pristine smooth you’d expect for a teenager. He probably couldn’t hold on any more, thanks to the pain.”

“Even so, the feat stands,” David admitted, “You think he can really do it?”

Toshinori nodded once more.

“If he can’t alone: he’s got a bad tendency to get other people wrapped up in his crazy ideas. He’ll have backup, and the Heroes who he inspires will be there to catch him if he falls.”

Finally looking up, David smirked a little.

“So he’s got something from his mother’s side after all? Aside from the hair, of course.”

Toshinori opened his mouth, trying to dispute the quite clearly incorrect point once again, only to realize he actually had no idea how to respond to that. Midoriya did seem to be a carbon copy of his mother, barring a certain few traits that… were eerily familiar.

Could it be? I don’t think I have any kids, but…

David started laughing, turning back to the computer and switching the programs in some way or other.

“The look on your face, Toshi! I’d almost believe it if you’d ever spent more than two seconds off the job.”

Folding his arms in annoyance, Toshinori turned to go get his clothes back on. He barely caught the look of conflict that passed over David’s face.

“Here, this pavilion’s really good!” Melissa said, pointing to the large, blue and white building she’d brought her new cousin and his friend to, “Everything in here’s been designed with some piece of technology or research from Papa’s lab! I’ve been working to get some of my amateur pieces noticed so I can get in here on a technicality.”

Deku seemed the most enamored with the place, but she was going to make sure Shinso got invested too. She started with the big hits, the stuff to blow away the competition and get them interested enough to enjoy the little things.

“This here is the air-to-water multi-platform Beagle,” she said, directing their attention to an aircraft which was able to transform its wings into skirt-like propulsion measures when in different environments, “And beside it: the ultra-deep operations suit, capable of operating at three times the pressure and cold as conventional diving gear.”

Leaning close to the exhibit, Deku’s eyes lit up as he saw how deep that really was. Shinso seemed less impressed. Well, Melissa could handle a little bias from the crowd.

She pulled them over to the next segment, grabbing the helmet there and trying to shove it onto Shinso’s head so he could see. He was pretty agile, she’d give him that, but she had an ace in the hole.

“Hold him down, Cuz’!”

He grabbed his purple-haired friend from behind in a bear hug, and Melissa got the device secure in an instant. Shinso’s irritated face was displayed on the dozens of monitors overhead, alongside his now myriad of information displays inside the helmet.

“This one can show the user every angle around them, and automatically connects to any networked cameras or observational systems nearby!” she proclaimed proudly.

“So much!” Deku praised, while Shinso just tried to get it off.

“Oh yeah, Papa actually developed this one with my help,” Melissa explained, “Well… more like my inspiration.”

Deku grinned quietly.

“I got into a lot of trouble too,” he sighed.

Melissa’s mind went back to younger days, back when she’d still held onto the childlike dream that her diagnosis was wrong, and some magical superpower would be hers one day. Her crazy experiments with whatever she could find lying around, rationalizing that she could be a Hero with gear instead of abilities. Then the day when Uncle Might had told her that her Papa was his Hero.

“Somehow, I think we got into less trouble than most kids,” she said, trying to cheer him up with a soft punch to the shoulder.

He laughed and rubbed at the spot in pretend pain.

“You look like you’re having fun, Deku.”

Melissa didn’t know that voice. She turned to look behind Deku, seeing a cute girl in a pink skinsuit. Black and white lines traced up and down the thing, with nozzles and pipes at odd places. There were even these big old bulbs around her wrists, and massive, puffy boots. She had this pinched expression, like she was trying to make up her mind if being irritated was the right choice.

Deku’s face lit up like a Christmas tree, and he rushed her.

“Senchan!!” he said, his voice full of unadulterated joy.

He clasped her into a massive hug, lifting her up and even flying a bit as he spun her around. Her half-scowl shifted to a massive grin, laughing as they twirled for a second.

“Hello Midoriya,” someone else said.

Deku stopped spinning who Melissa could only assume was either his best friend, girlfriend, or both; glancing around at the other three people who’d come with. Only one of them seemed moderately normal. The first person seemed to be a kind of punk-rocker, dressed in a ripped t-shirt and black, leather jacket, with some kinds of speakers on their boots with no doubts connected to the chords extending from their ears.

“We heard everything, FYI,” they said, waving the audio jacks up in the air like a victorian-era boxer.

“K-kyoka-san!” Deku sputtered.

Girl then.

The second looked kind of… under dressed. This one was definitely a lady. She was certainly prim enough in her posture, and was absolutely stunning. She could really pull off the fluttery, red cape she had around her, which was impressive in its own right.

“It is our duty to ensure you stay on the righteous path of a Hero, Midoriya-kun,” she said, in what Melissa thought was a teasing tone, “After all, if you were cheating on Ochako-chan: that would be grounds for letting Kyoka kill you.”

“I’d do it too,” “Kyoka” said.

“Y-Yaomomo-san!!” Deku protested, not able to get out much more than their names before someone else cut him off.

The last one looked like someone who’d just walked out of the roman empire. Her hair was made of green vines, a pair of them criss-crossed over her forehead to look almost like a circlet or crown. The white robe she wore was simple and elegant, reminding Melissa of some of the religious imagery she’d seen of angels and virgins and messiahs. She hadn’t paid a lot of attention to that stuff, so she couldn’t name which ones.

“While I do not condone the slaughter of innocent pastries,” the last one spoke up softly, somehow making everyone else shut up and listen, “I do not condone betrayal of one’s loved ones even more firmly. So do not count on my coming to your defense on this, Deku-kun.”

“Shiozaki-san!” Deku whined, “You’re not all supposed to gang up on me…”

Senchan (or Ochako or whatever her name was) rested against Deku, smiling at the other girls.

“Yeah, it’s not fair if he doesn’t have the rest of the Squad to balance it out.”

Melissa realized who these must be. The infamous “Dekusquad” Shinso had mentioned in passing, and theoretically: also the harem he’d joked about. She decided to play a little prank of her own.

“Oh, you four must be Deku’s harem!” she beamed, offering her hand to them, “Shinso was telling me about you all. It’s so nice to meet my little brother’s friends.”

It was kind of hilarious to see all their reactions. Ochako (Senchan was totally a pet name, right?) turned pink, pulling Deku closer almost instantly. Yaomomo (probably a nickname too, but she didn’t know what else to call her) went pink too, but seemed more confused. Kyoka followed suit, but rolled her eyes and muttered something about “my harem.” Shiozaki just rolled her eyes, forgoing the pink.

They eventually got some proper introductions out of the way, which smoothed out a lot of the questions. “Senchan” was indeed Deku’s pet name for his future wife, but her actual name was Ochako Uraraka. Kyoka Jiro was in the rock outfit, and actually did seem to have a harem from the other two: Ibara Shiozaki and Yaoyorozu Momo (or Yaomomo, which was a cute nickname).

“It’s wonderful to meet the four of you,” Melissa beamed.

“Four?!” Ochako gasped, looking around in terror, “Oh no, Hatsume!!”

Melissa didn’t know who Hatsume was, but based on how everyone paled and broke into a search pattern without even a glance: they were a very dangerous lost child. She turned to Deku and Shinso, only to see them start getting height to try and spot them from above.

Deku’s friends are very interesting…

Ojiro’s tail smashed through the last robot with the same ease it had crumbled the Midoribot a week prior. Shoto grinned softly at the memory. He’d be forever appreciative of the satisfying destruction of those things, and Ojiro’s part in dispatching one of them.

“Twenty-one seconds!!” the lady running the show cheered, continually acting surprised at how well everyone who completed the course in under half a minute did, “He’s jumped right up to fourth place!”

Giving his buddy a thumbs up, Shoto stepped out to the starting circle while they deployed more bots to be ready for him. Ojiro gave him a tired nod. Shoto supposed he’d be tired too, bouncing around like that; his tail certainly seemed sore.

“Looks like we have another Hero Student, folks!” the announcer exclaimed, rousing the crowd rather nicely, “I see some determination in his eyes, this one. I wonder if we have a challenger for the top spot?!”

The roar of cheers from the crowd seemed to agree with her assessment. Shoto supposed it was likely to be true. He was rather well-suited to this task.

“Ready!?” she shouted, raising a hand, “GO!!”

Bending down, Shoto placed his right hand to the ground to boost his foot in generating his signature, massive glacier attack. He figured the cleaning bots would be able to reduce it into clean water or something. Not particularly relevant.

“Whoaaa!!!” she screamed beside him, watching the ice almost literally rolling over the little mountain where all the enemies were planted, “Fourteen seconds! A new First Place!!”

“Excellent job, Todoroki!” Ida praised, standing beside Ojiro at the entrance and pointing up at the stands, “And look! Midoriya and crew are here! We should go greet them!”

Glancing up, Shoto saw that he was indeed correct. Standing up by Hagakure (who had declined the event) were Midoriya, Yaoyorozu, Uraraka, Shinso, Jiro, the vine one, and the mechanic one from the sports festival.

“Ok.”

They headed for the stairs, only to find most of the group already rushing down to get in line for the little game. Now that they were up close, he realized some of them were dressed in the wrong outfits. Midoriya was in some strange, dark blue costume he didn’t recognize. Uraraka’s outfit had all these odd, backwards cups sticking out of her clothes all over. Shinso had some sports tape or something around his arms. Even the vine-haired one looked different; her white robe now much less ornamental-looking and more utilitarian, with bits of the bronze-colored armor she wore popping out at the seams now.

Yaoyorozu was at least wearing her normal outfit, but now she had a cape, some strange wrappings on the inside of her forearms, and her belt was taller. Shoto frowned, narrowing his eyes and leaning in a little. No, it wasn’t her normal outfit. There were openings at the sides now, and the harness had been changed to a double bar of fabric across her mid-chest and a full collar at the throat. There was also a new earpiece, which seemed to have a flip-forward lens.

Only Jiro seemed to be wearing her usual gear, but maybe that wasn’t as much of an improvement as it could have been…

Ojiro bopped Shoto on the head gently.

“Don’t lean and stare like that. I know you don’t mean anything by it, but it gives off a bad impression,” he whispered.

“Oh.”

Shoto stood back up, but it didn’t seem like anyone cared. Maybe Ojiro was wrong?

“So, who’s gonna go first?” Midoriya asked, bouncing on his feet and vibrating in the way he liked to when he was excited.

“Deku-kun, you’ve gotta go first!” Uraraka insisted, “You’ve gotta beat Todoroki’s record!”

“Eh? B-but I don’t think I can-”

“It’s a fated battle between men!” Uraraka said, blowing air out her nose intensely.

“I won’t know until I try!” Midoriya said excitedly, switching his tune immediately.

As he jogged out to the starting circle, Shoto pointed at the stairs.

“I’m going to watch,” he said flatly.

“We’ll cheer for you!” Hagakure promised, waving her gloves and grabbing Ojiro’s hand, “Come on, or we’ll get bad seats!”

Shoto didn’t understand that girl. They’d be standing at the railing. What kind of bad seats could she be talking about? Maybe it was one of those answers he just didn’t want to know?

The arena was still being cleared of ice while they got situated, letting them pick a spot while Midoriya waited to go. A lot of people seemed to think he looked rather plain, based on their muttering while he waited. They quickly changed their tune when Midoriya powered up.

The familiar, green lightning arced across his body, and he lifted a few centimeters off the ground. A blast of air pressure shot through the area, tugging at skirts and hats.

“Ready?! GO!!”

A secondary shockwave reverberated through the stands as he rocketed through the nearest four robots faster than Shoto would have been able to follow if not for Aizawa-sensei’s training. Shoto noticed that he was mixing and matching his flying against his physical enhancement power. The little clusters he’d pinball around with just his arms and legs, perfectly deflecting to both destroy the things and send him well on his way towards the next. Meanwhile: when getting to lonely ones or between groups with his flying to help him cut down on attack time.

“Fifteen seconds!!” the announcer lady cheered, “Second Place!!”

Midoriya nodded, waving a little as he flew up to the stands. He glanced over at Uraraka and some blonde girl she was chatting with, almost as if looking for approval.

“Ssssssssssssso close!” Uraraka drew out, beaming at him.

“Why didn’t you use Blackwhip, Midoriya? You could have shaved off at least a second and tied,” Shoto asked, pointing at his hands and the new gauntlets he was wearing.

“Oh, um… these are too thick,” he mumbled, removing one of them and showing how thick the metal was, “I couldn’t get Blackwhip through it.”

“Too bad.”

Well, at least he wasn’t getting uppity about coming in a second shy, unlike some people Shoto knew.

“I wish Bakugo could have come,” he sighed, “He would have been interesting to see take this challenge on.”

Jiro snorted.

“If he left the island in one piece. Now shut up, Yaomomo’s going. Go Get ‘em Girlfriend!!”

There was some truth to that. The part about Bakugo blowing up the island, not the girlfriend stuff. That was just Jiro doing her Jiro thing.

“Let us all meet up in Lobby 7 at 6:30!” Tenya said, revving his arms a bit, “That way we can all enter the party together as UA representatives should!”

“Sounds like a good plan,” Kaminari spoke up, taking a seat beside the rest of the group, “But the preview closes at 6. There won’t be much time to get from here to there, and the dinner rush will be starting at all the restaurants. You didn’t happen to get a set table time, did you?”

Tenya did his usual chopping motion, and Izuku grinned. It was so familiar, yet so stupid. He loved his life sometimes.

“It is not merely a reservation, Kaminari-kun! It is the I-Expo opening banquet! We must be formally attired and bring out invitations in accordance with American custom! Surely your ticket mentioned it?”

Kaminari’s expression fell.

“No… I don’t have a ticket,” he admitted.

Melissa giggled and rummaged in her pocket for a second, before drawing out a little slip of paper.

“Now you do.”

Kaminari’s entire face turned to one of tearful joy.

“Melissa you absolute angel! I could kiss you!!”

Everyone chuckled at his usual antics, though Melissa just smirked and mumbled something Izuku couldn’t hear.

“I take that as my cue to depart! I will see you in one hour!” Tenya said, before bolting off into the evening sun.

Izuku shook his head, glancing around at everyone else. He supposed he could just fly back to the hotel with Shinso; he had enjoyed riding along behind, after all. Yaomomo, Kyoka, & Shiozaki grabbed Kaminari, saying something about having some spare fancy clothes, Hagakure’s voice bouncing along beside them. Hatsume was starting to attack Todoroki with insinuations that he needed some new babies for his Quirk, to which he seemed exceptionally scared by, when Ojiro came over and rescued him.

“Deku?” Melissa asked, touching his shoulder gently, “Could you come with me before you go get ready? I have something I want to show you.”

“Oh! Um… I guess that’s okay?” he mumbled, glancing over at Senchan.

Melissa knew he was involved with her, surely. This was probably something completely innocent and not something that would get him into trouble…

“Ochako can come too,” Melissa assured him, “I just only have the one thing and if you got one then everybody would want something and… ya know.”

“Sure! Let me just get her,” he agreed, feeling much more relieved.

Senchan evidently overheard, as she was asking Shinso to get Hatsume back to the hotel for her, and promising she’d make it up to him later. He just waved her off, seeming more tired than usual. By the time Izuku got over to her, she was turning back and smiling at him.

“Now that everybody’s taken care of: we can fly right over!” Senchan beamed, grabbing Izuku’s hand and taking him over to Melissa, “If that’s okay with you, Melissa?”

“Of course! I’m always looking for new experiences!”

A quick touch to her sides, and carefully grasping either of their hands: and the three of them were in the air. Izuku was doing most of the actual flying, but Senchan’s negating their gravity and at least propelling herself was a definite boon. Melissa mostly just laughed in delight, directing them towards the large structure down the highway from the Expo. It amazed Izuku how massive the place was, that this artificial island had so much traffic so far apart that an entire roadway was supported.

They touched down right outside Melissa’s school, which she said she’d show them around after the Expo, if they wanted. Izuku very much wanted to, but Senchan politely declined, saying she was probably going to be sleeping after the Expo.

“To each her own,” Melissa laughed, entering in a passcode at a door and gesturing for them to follow her inside.

The room was amazingly professional for a school. A full holographic design desk (admittedly cluttered with notebooks, pages, and pencils), a full floor-to-ceiling bookcase, a walk-in storage closet, an overhead 3D printing apparatus with multi-material nozzles, and even a little set of shelves where a good deal of awards were stacked.

“Whoa…” Senchan breathed, clearly awed by the extensive spending on display.

“Sorry about the mess,” Melissa said, walking over to the closet and stepping inside, “It’ll only be a sec! Now… where is it…”

Izuku went over to the awards, looking many of them over. Most were school-related, but there were a few amateur scientist awards at a more public level. Senchan slid up beside him, getting onto the toes of her boots as she tried to look closer.

“Wow, Melissa! You’re really smart!” she praised.

Her answer came from inside the closet, a little muffled and echo-y.

“Not really. I was actually getting really low grades only a little while ago. But I sat down and worked through it until I got to where I needed to be. And now: I am here !”

The three of them giggled at her imitation of All Might.

“Now if I could just find out where “ here ” is for this stupid…”

Trying not to feel like an intruder, Izuku glanced around, looking for something to keep the conversation going. His eyes alighted on a handful of picture frames on the shelves, all featuring Melissa herself, her father, or both of them. Many also depicted All Might.

“You’ve known All Might a long time…” Izuku mumbled, not intending for her to hear it but evidently speaking up a bit more than he thought.

“All my life. Uncle Might’s the one who inspired me to become a hero, after all.”

“A Hero? Like us?” Senchan asked, tilting her head in confusion.

“Oh no, I gave up on that back when I was five,” Melissa sighed, not holding any bitterness in her voice, “I mean like the kind of hero Papa gets to be. Aha! There you are!”

Melissa emerged with a little box in her hands, just about big enough to hold the tracker ball Aizawa-sensei had used back on Izuku’s first day of class. A bit of nostalgia touched Izuku, and he completely lost the conversation for a second before she spoke back up.

“Uncle Might once told me that he liked to think of Papa as his hero, because Papa’s designs and discoveries helped him out while he was working, and helped make the world a safer place even when he was off the job. So I’m gonna be the kind of person who helps people out that way too.”

Opening up the box, Melissa revealed a red double-band of what looked like the same red material as her Pogo stick. She grabbed Izuku’s hand and removed the right gauntlet, moving to place the item on his wrist, but he stopped her.

“I don’t want to risk this,” he said, pulling Ochako’s bracelet off his hand and moving it over to his left wrist instead, where it would be safe.

Once that was taken care of: Melissa attached the red bracer and stepped back.

“Touch that blue button on the top.”

Pressing the spot she’d indicated, Izuku tilted back in surprise as the thing lit up with Melissa’s trademark hexagonal pattern, expanding and flashing a bright white. It wrapped up and down his forearm, tightening and winding around until it resolidified into a bright red gauntlet. Izuku felt very comfortable in it, flexing his fingers a little and giving his arm a slight back and forth.

“I designed this while watching Uncle Might,” Melissa explained, glancing at Senchan and directing her words to her more than Izuku, “I figured that not all Heroes would have the endurance for their Quirks’ full power, so I designed some things that could act as reinforcements. This is the newest prototype, but I didn’t think it would be ready in time for the Expo. It employs force field technology to help absorb impact energy anywhere on the body, but its capacitor is fairly limited, and it’s toughest closest to the projector on your knuckles. I had an idea that it might work best if I could get two working in tandem, but I couldn’t get the materials in time to try that.”

“But how did you know Deku could use something like this?” Senchan asked, tilting her head.

“At the faux-villain game,” Melissa explained, “I could see Deku was restraining his power a lot, and I saw his scars a bit earlier. I figured he probably was holding himself back so as not to kill anyone, namely himself. Now he should be able to go full power!”

Then Melissa’s face turned contemplative.

“Well… maybe. The energy cap is only so high. If Uncle Might used it, I’d guess it could handle… maybe three full-power punches? But as long as you aren’t that strong and you don’t hear it crack or anything: you should be good if you let it convert the charge every night.”

Izuku glanced up at her, honored but also a bit wary.

“But, if this is such an important and powerful device, shouldn’t it be used for something important?”

Senchan’s expression fell; going from her usual excitement to one of concern. Melissa just stepped forward and gave his arm a squeeze.

“That’s why I want you to have it.”

Nodding, Izuku rubbed at his eyes, trying not to activate the I-Island emergency flooding system. Senchan gave him a sideways hug, and Izuku forced himself to remember that he was important. He was achieving his dream now.

Luckily, any further emotions would have to wait, as his phone picked that moment to ring.

“ Hello ?”

[“ Yo, Midori ,”] Kyoka-chan’s voice came through, [“ You don’t happen to have a spare tux or formal wear or whatnot, do you? ”]

“ No, not that I’m aware of. Why? ”

[“ Kaminari. I was gonna lend him one of mine, but it turns out we’re… well, let’s just say you two are closer in height. Can you help a sister out? ”]

Izuku sighed, noticing Senchan snickering with Melissa as she eavesdropped and translated.

“ We’ll be right over. I’m sure that if nothing else: we can make his work tux look better with a few trades. ”

“You’re sooooooo pretty tonight, Tensei… baby…” Nemuri hummed, walking her fingers up his armored chest, “So shiny… and tall… and… fruity.”

“Fruity?” Tensei asked, trying not to laugh at his evidently tipsy date.

She’d started the night with a single, tall glass of something red and evidently quite tasty. She’d now been through twelve of them, and wasn’t showing any signs of stopping. Of course, being a heavyweight in terms of tolerance meant she wasn’t exactly likely to slow down once she started seeing double.

“Your drink smells like yum…” she informed him, leaning close and making a sipping expression at the edge of it, “Almost as good as you.”

“I see.”

Nemuri pouted, looking up at him with remarkably sharp eyes, considering.

“I am counting the seconds to when I can drag you away and start rocking your world,” she said, all the wobble in her voice vanishing for a few seconds, “I give it two speeches before I get bored and threaten to make a scene. One if these libations keep making my liquored tongue more loquacious…”

Easing his arm around her, Tensei plucked the drink from her hand, deftly switching it with a similar glass. The only difference being: this one was full of water. Nemuri didn’t seem to notice, taking another dainty sip without missing a beat.

“I’ll make you a deal,” he promised her, starting to move them towards a nearby table, “if you can sit nicely through three of them, I’ll let you sleep in tomorrow instead of dragging you back to the Expo.”

His offer just seemed to make Nemuri feel even less compliant. She let out a soft and almost Victorian sigh. Her finger traced the rim of her glass, making a soft ringing sound.

“If I make it four, will you promise to bring me whatever I want in bed?” she asked, her tone much like a young girl asking to be let out to see the gardens one last time before the Scarlet Fever took her.

Tensei couldn’t help it this time. She was just being too cute. He’d have to take her to more parties.

“I’ll bring you all the pain-killers, water, and other remedies you need when your head starts fighting back tomorrow,” he chuckled, “I’ll even hold your hair when you need me to.”

“What, this hair?” Nemuri grumbled, lifting up a lock of her rather sleek, black ponytail on a finger and inspecting it ruefully, “It isn’t even mine. I borrowed it from Uwabami. I’m thinking of cutting it short. Boys always like a tomboy with a short-cut, and I detest the snake-haired harlot who gave it to me…”

Imagining a short-haired Nemuri wasn’t exactly difficult. Her current style was very close as-is. All of her hair was pulled back into a slim knot at the back of her skull, then allowed to drape back down to her waist in a single waterfall of onyx waves.

“I’ve always liked more effeminate women,” Tensei admitted, wondering just what other information he could pry out of her at the moment, “Call me old fashioned, but I think being different is what lets us complete one another.”

“Which is why I get to wear the pants in this relationship,” Nemuri decided(?), agreed(?), “You couldn’t handle all this in a dress. You’d be fighting off hornies trying to steal me left and right, and your hands would wander so often we might as well move to a private island and start repopulating for the apocalypse.”

Evidently in her intoxicated state: Nemuri had forgotten she was currently in a dress. Tensei decided not to bring it up, and just agree.

“You really think I should keep my hair though?” she asked, bringing the end up into her lap as she sat down, stroking it like a cat, “It’s so long, and it’s all matted and pointy most of the time…”

“It makes you look like a working girl, not some has-been in accounting. It’s cute.”

“I thought you said you liked feminine ladies?” she accused.

“You don’t have to turn into a man or be a brute to be tough and dedicated,” Tensei laughed, “This isn’t medieval Europe, after all.”

“Aw… you big sap,” Nemuri giggled, using the end of her hair as a stand-in for her horse-tail whip and brushing his face with the end, “but being medieval can be fun. Being primal can be even more fun. Civilized boys never pull on my hair.”

She shot him an accusatory glance, but Tensei fought not to give anything away.

“I make no promises.”

“That’s a “yes,” if ever I heard one.”

Tensei snorted. Nemuri just said whatever she felt like sometimes. It was impressive when she got things right the first few times, but after a while: he’d started to see how she played on chance and used embarrassment as pressure. It was much more amusing these days.

Maybe that was why he liked her. Sure, the seductress angle was kinky and stuff, and she was quite beautiful when she didn’t thirst after minors, but at the end of the day: Nemuri made Tensei laugh. And if nothing else: she was steadfast when it came to things she actually wanted to do, rather than just whims.

A soft ringing came from the front of the room, and the two of them glanced up to see someone standing at the mic with a spoon and a goblet. Evidently it was speech time.

Nemuri grabbed Tensei’s arm in a vice grip.

“Three,” she said, her voice very intense.

Tensei patted her hand, and she seemed to accept that as an agreement.

It was a rather dull speech, in all honesty. All about how far the Expo had taken them this year in terms of scientific breakthroughs regarding Quirks and the natural world, on the newest gear standardization for Heroes and officers of the law. In reality, it sounded very much like this guy was only interested in how much it had increased the size of his wallet. Nemuri certainly thought so, starting to quietly imitate him as it droned on.

“ And in the fifth fiscal month of the last trimester, we not only produced twice the amount of baby-saving vaccines, but also added another twenty-thousand per year to my stripper funds, ” she mumbled in an exaggerated “old man voice” whisper, making Tensei suck in his lips and bite down to keep a bland expression.

When it finally ended, they clapped politely, but Tensei quickly stood up as the next person went up to speak.

“If I sit next to you through any more of those little improv sessions, I might have to rebrand again to “Insensitive,”” he teased, taking a couple steps back and giving her a flirtatious wink.

Nemuri just smiled back. Not her usual seductive smirk, but a genuinely affectionate twist of the lips, like she was happy to see him.

Wow, she’s WAY more out of it than I thought.

The second speech was shorter, and at the end, Tensei’s date was flicking her fingers back and forth between the two of them in an “I’m watching you” signal that told him quite plainly: she would not be waiting for common pleasantries if he didn’t start making his excuses the second the third ended.

“It seems we have a most distinguished guest here tonight,” the next guy said, gesturing at the crowd, “The Number One Hero himself: All Might! Mr. All Might, would you mind coming up and saying a few words?”

Tensei could almost taste the scream of joy and excitement Nemuri was no doubt holding back. All Might was notoriously bad at public speaking, unless he had a script or it was to fans who he could just pander to. In the words of one of the greatest examples of double-handed writing ever: The negotiations would be short.

The familiar gold, red, and blue Hero stepped up onto the stage, and had barely begun his opening statements when the screen behind him blared an alarm and turned red.

[“We have received a report from the Security System. I-Island will now be on High Alert Mode. Residents and Tourists should return to their homes or lodgings. Those that have come a long way should go and wait at the nearest evacuation center,”] it alerted them, [“Anyone outside ten minutes from now may be arrested without warning. Please refrain from going outdoors. In addition, most of the main buildings will be sealed off by the security system.”]

Indelible’s helmet slung forward from its resting place behind his shoulders, locking into place as he prepared for action. Nemuri didn’t so much as twitch, just taking another sip. Probably for the best. She would probably get herself hurt if she tried going after a bomb in her current state.

Before he could do much more than put a hand to his ear to patch into the emergency response frequency: the doors on all sides slid open, revealing groups of men armed with automatic weapons. Definitely not Island Security. Indelible prepared to rush the nearest group and kick their weapons aside when a voice spoke over the repeating message. It belonged to the evident leader of the group, a man in a white coat and a metal mask. Not a villain Indelible recognized, but even so: he had to protect the civilians.

“It’s just as you heard,” he chuckled, his grammar sounding as if English was a second (and not very familiar) language, “We have taken over the security system. Don’t think you’re going to put up a fight. If you do-”

The man snapped his fingers, and the screens changed from the alert to a camera at the street level somewhere else on the island. The security drones were out in force, and there were civilians standing around as if hoping they’d be protected, or else scared of the devices.

Damn. They must have someone else in the control rooms. If we don’t stage a coordinated strike against both parties, we’ll be putting innocents at risk…

“...then the security machines will bare their fangs at all the good people on this island,” he continued, “That’s right: All the people on this island are hostages. Of course, you all are, as well.”

That last bit caught Indelible off-guard for a moment. Surely this gang couldn’t be so arrogant as to assume they could hold off a room full of Heroes, including All Might and himself especially. He wasn’t one to believe in himself as special over others, but Indelible also didn’t believe in false modesty. The two of them were among the fastest Heroes in the world.

Holes opened up in the floor, releasing blue, tape-like bands of energy and ensnaring all of the costumed Heroes. Indelible strained for all of a second against his bindings when a gun sounded a single, silencing shot.

The main villain walked up to the podium, continuing to threaten everyone. He kicked down poor All Might, but Indelible’s attention was elsewhere. Midnight hadn’t been captured.

“ Nem, ” he hissed at her, noticing a slight flicker of her eyes as he spoke.

But she didn’t respond. She could hear him, but she wasn’t reacting.

No. No, she needs to stay unseen, he realized, turning back towards the front, hoping he hadn’t drawn attention to her, wait for the opportune moment… The problem was: the opportune moment didn’t seem to be fast in coming.

The fake villains were certainly very convincing, David had to admit. This “Big Shengda Group” certainly had some acting chops. Even he’d almost believed when that gunshot had gone off and their leader had made that threat towards Melissa.

Luckily, he did know better. Melissa was trapped either in a lobby or being shuffled back to her campus dorm. He hadn’t seen her at the party, nor either of the other kids she’d been hanging out with at the party. Hopefully she wasn’t getting into too much trouble, but the first kid (Toshi’s protege) seemed pretty timid, while the other one looked just exhausted, so if anyone was going to be pushing things: it would definitely be her.

Hmmm, I’ll have to check the actual explosives detector after all this.

“Keep moving,” one of the actors snapped, jostling his back with one of the rifle props.

David stumbled forward a few extra steps, playing along. Sam seemed even more calm, but he wasn’t exactly a prime actor.

They entered the main vault, a spherical dome with hundreds of sealed boxes, lit with blue lights to give the place a space-age feel. David felt a chill run up his spine. He was so close, yet suddenly in far more danger than ever before.

The device he needed to get to Toshi was nearby. If he could just play it right: he might be able to play things off and give All Might the helm before things got too suspicious, but after the troupe got back into Chinese territory. All the questions would end there.

Even if the truth came out, nobody would believe the Chinese government’s statement on the matter, and he’d be under minor investigations for maybe a week before it was all behind them. But while the people around him weren’t particularly dangerous: the room itself was.

Things kept in this room were only sent here because they were deemed too dangerous to be publicly known yet, but needed to be kept around in case somebody else figure them out and they needed to find a way to defeat the concepts. Nobody wanted them getting into the wrong hands, not even him. As such, he’d designed each box to vaporize the content, including the data cards which held the only copies of the research itself, should they be breached without proper authorization.

It was so fast: even All Might’s old mentor couldn’t speed his way through before it would be irreparably damaged. And in the event it was destroyed, the resulting blast tended to be rather… hazardous to the opener. Which presented a bit of a problem.

“Alright. Get to it,” their chaperone said, gesturing them towards the console and finally lowering his gun.

David nodded his thanks and pointed to a panel on the upper tier.

“Sam: get up there and start performing some housekeeping queries,” he instructed his loyal assistant, “I want you to keep the system busy and running response codes as consistently as possible. Try not to fry the node though, that’ll cause a lock down.”

“Yes, sir,” he nodded, jogging up the stairs and logging in.

Taking up the main console, David felt a twinge of unease. Was this really the way? Toshi had an apprentice; he had a plan. But no, he had to do this. Not for himself, and not even for his friend. This was so Melissa could live in a peaceful world, and follow her dreams; not live in fear of beasts in the shape of men like All for One.

“I’m having it run system checks on the emergency systems,” Sam informed him, “I’ve overridden it to run sequentially rather than synchronously. That should jam them up just enough.”

“Good,” David muttered, setting up a monitoring program to catch all the handshake pings, “Keep an eye on the inspection worm. It has a tendency to pop up when you think it’s dead.”

And on it went, playing cat and mouse with the system. They’d get one shot at opening up the vault safely, and they had to be 100% certain it was going to work. It wasn’t even that it was necessarily difficult, just time consuming, otherwise he would have tried it in a much less obvious way. Still, he wasn’t exactly taking his time.

If Toshi’s time limit arrives before I get the helm to him: this’ll all have been for nothing…

All Might glanced up once more at the glass ceiling, where young Midoriya appeared. He stared down, his eyes burning with his usual determination. It seemed he was going.

No. You can’t, All Might thought to his protégé frantically, shaking his head slightly.

Midoriya’s eyes remained adamant, burning with the fire of determination. Then he was gone.

I’ll have to scold you for this later, All Might mentally sighed, tensing up to keep from deflating, But it’s in your nature. It’s why I chose you. You’re unable to sit still when there’s a need to save people.

Glancing back over the room, All Might felt the same drive in himself. He needed to get free and protect his friend. To take out these villains and restore peace to this private nation. But if he so much as glared at these fools the wrong way… how many thousands might be killed before he could stop them? David, his assistant Sam, Melissa… they’d all be gone, and he would be to blame.

His eyes flicked to Kayama-san. She was still just sitting there, taking the occasional sip of her drink. Clearly she didn’t have an issue with waiting. But at the same time: her eyes continued to follow each guard for a bit, establishing his patterns and habits. She was fighting, just much more quietly. He’d have to take a leaf out of her book. (But only one. Heavens knew where she’d put that book, or what was on the pages.)

He had to play this cool, or his students would end up in even worse trouble. Maybe, if he was quick enough, if they could draw the attention of the guards and maybe get the leader out of the way for a moment: he could break free and help out? But he had to be ready. He had to see that opportunity when it hit, and be strong enough to seize it.

I’m pathetic sometimes, he thought, feeling his body shake as he maintained his muscle form.

It was going to be a long night.

The first real obstacle came with the blast shields on the 80th floor. They were rushing around the corner when they all came up short against a barrier. It was flat at the top of the next stair set, blocking them from going up. On the side there was a similarly armored door. Everyone started crashing into each other as they tried to all assemble on the landing.

“Oh… shoot,” Melissa cursed, stamping her foot, “I didn’t think they’d know how to activate the B-cube…”

““B-cube?”” Ida asked.

“It’s a joke. Blood Brain Barrier is a medical thing that protects the control center from the rest of the body, an acronym is BBB, or B cubed. So the special defense between the upper floors where things function and the lower commercial floors got a nickname,” Melissa explained, “The only problem is: in order to get through, we’d have to alert the people inside, which is exactly what we don’t want.”

They all started tossing out ideas. Jiro suggested trying to hack the system with her jacks, but admitted she didn’t have the finesse with her pulses to do binary yet. Denki wanted to suggest the same, but realized it would be almost one for one. Melissa was about to, but mumbled something about “not being fast enough to catch the alert” when it went through from her tampering. Even Todoroki suggested freezing and melting a wall until it eroded.

 After around four minutes, they all stiffened up at a sound. A soft, electronic jingle echoed through the group, and everyone’s head snapped to Uraraka. She was standing next to Midoriya, puzzling what to do when she realized the sound was coming from her and she stiffened up.

“I thought… the phone lines were all down…?” Shinso said, bringing his arms up a little in what looked like an offensive posture.

“They are,” Yaomomo confirmed, looking equally wary.

“Senchan?” Midoriya asked gently.

Reaching into her pocket, she drew out a touch-screen phone that didn’t look like any brands Denki knew. He knew she was desperate for money, but…

“Hatsume-san built this from my old one earlier,” she mumbled, touching the answer button timidly, “she must have built it so it could-”

[“Tea-head!”] a vaguely familiar, hyperactive voice called out, [“All my internet stopped working! Fix it!”]

Everyone seemed to relax some, so theoretically it was okay. Uraraka seemed more relieved than any of them, in fact.

“We’re actually working on that. I need your help with something though,” she said, gesturing Jiro over, “We’re stuck up against some security, but we can’t hack it without alerting someone. You couldn’t take care of that for us through my phone, could you?”

[“Psh, what do you take me for? I could unlock the entire building in a heartbeat. Plug me in, sister!”]

Jiro’s cables flew out and connected to the door panel and the phone, closing her eyes and tilting her head a little as Hatsume started muttering over the line. Denki bit his lip, worried something would go wrong. Melissa gave her hand another squeeze of reassurance, but it didn’t get a chance to really help before the fateful word came from Uraraka’s phone.

[“Oops.”]

“Oops? Oops what?” Uraraka asked sharply.

[“Nothing big. I just… kinda maybe tripped an alarm. …yeah, just open the door and run.”]

Shiozaki pulled the door open without hesitation, gesturing everyone through. Denki was the one to pull this time, getting Melissa to keep up.

“We can’t go up the main stairway, but we might be able to circumvent the security by going through the central room here,” Melissa directed them, “The plant factory doesn’t connect to the upper floors anywhere but the central elevator, but it’s open air up to the 90th, so if we can shuttle everyone up: it can get us a lot closer.”

“Gonna be a lot easier said than done!” Ida called, “Look!”

The massive security doors began to slam down the arched hallway.

“And behind us!” Yaomomo pointed out, making everyone turn to face the booming sounds coming from the other way.

The one directly between them and their intended door began to swing down.

“Todoroki, Shiozaki!” Midoriya called, flying at it with his usual electric aura.

“ On it! ” the pair shouted.

Todoroki summoned a massive ice pillar to hold the thing open for a few moments, while Shiozaki started grabbing everyone and funneling them through. Midoriya blasted ahead and punctured the door to the plant factory, using Blackwhip to grab everyone from her hair and ferry them in before the gates closed.

Denki almost got whiplash, being tossed from vine to tendril, but once Melissa landed: helping her get up took priority and they were running inside.

“You don’t think we could use that elevator you talked about?” Denki asked pointedly, just wanting to be sure nobody had overlooked the obvious answer.

“No,” Melissa gasped, clearly getting out of breath, “it’s routed to the command room. We’d need someone on the inside.”

“Kay… just checking.”

They got inside and ran towards the center anyways, as they’d need to get up to one of the bridges near the central column. Denki was the first to see it, but Jiro pointed it out before he could.

“Look! Someone’s coming up!” she shouted.

Shinso spoke up this time.

“Everyone pick a bush and hide!” he directed, “We’ll wait for them to pass and then loop around them. Uraraka can float us; Midoriya: you push!”

Everyone scrambled for cover. Melissa pulled Denki behind a patch of ferns and placed a finger to her lips. Denki nodded and they all hunkered down, waiting for the ding of the electronic bell that would mean the time for their stealth training had come.

Wait, we’ve never had stealth training! Denki thought belatedly.

“ Get down! ” Jiro hissed, tackling him and Melissa into a nearby bush.

Shiozaki grabbed Yaomomo, Midoriya pushed Uraraka into a tree, and everyone else was already under cover by the time Denki looked up. Well… that made more sense than just standing in the middle of the room and hoping they wouldn’t be seen.

The elevator dinged to a stop, and a pair of footsteps echoed through the room. Everyone tensed, their eyes staring at the foliage between them and their attackers. Midoriya seemed to see them in his tree and mouthed something. Jiro made a tiny jerk of her head.

“ Dang… they’re definitely villains from the party, ” she explained with a whisper, signing the words over to Yaomomo and Shiozaki.

Denki silently cursed. They didn’t have a legal right to use their Quirks against a person, even on I-Island, unless their opponents used them first. If those two had guns, they’d be absolutely unable to act until someone was shot, which was not an okay time to start acting.

“Come out where we can see you, you damn kids!” one of the thugs called, “We don’t have any problem offing some snot-nosed little pricks who didn’t know how to stay with the group.”

Midoriya tensed, but Jiro shook her head at everyone. She made an X with her arms. They had no idea where they were yet. The gambit might still work.

Uraraka’s phone rang once again as Hatsume tried to call back, and the entire room seemed to explode with motion. Midoriya rocketed out of the tree, carrying his girlfriend towards thicker cover as gunshots tore the branches to powder.

“Knew you were around here somewhere!” one of the mooks cackled raucously, “Looks like it’s time to enjoy some target practice!”

Shinso flew out of a wall hedge Denki was certain couldn’t hide him, coming up beside Jiro.

“Why don’t you just let us go?” he called over, “We won’t make any trouble!”

“Ah-ah-ah!” the thugs called back, “we heard all about your little magic trick, Mr. Purple-hair! We aren’t morons! We had the database check you when we saw you break in!”

Shinso let out an annoyed sound.

“Nothing for it then,” he grumbled, twitching his fingers and making his new arm wraps start to flutter.

Before he could vault the bushes, a wall of ice expanded between them and the villains. Everyone turned to Todoroki, who’d stepped out and generated the defense. He pointed to a patch of frost on the ground, separate from the rest.

“Everyone congregate there!” he commanded, “We don’t have time to fly, I’ll get you up there myself and hold them off!”

Jiro pushed Denki, Melissa, and Shinso towards it, pausing momentarily to help up her girlfriends who seemed to be having a short discussion. Uraraka was apologizing to everyone, while Midoriya and Ida assured her it wasn’t her fault.

A series of deep booms started coming from the other side. Somehow, the enemy was burrowing through the ice, and it didn’t sound like they were using bullets now.

“Is that everyone?” Todoroki asked, the strain in his voice evident as he anticipated the attack which could come at any moment.

“Everyone who’s going up,” Shiozaki said, standing clear, “I’ll help you.”

“I’ll keep their attention focused here myself. Slow up any reinforcements. You’ll be needed up top,” Todoroki insisted.

Yaomomo shook her head, standing by Shiozaki.

“We work better in open areas like this. Plus, Shiozaki’s at home in the flora, which will help us against their unknown Quirks.”

“Then I’m staying too!” Midoriya called, stepping forward, “I can fly up after we win!”

Todoroki gave him a look, and they seemed to share a silent discussion. Then Midoriya stepped back onto the ice. Jiro frowned and grumbled something, then stepped off herself.

“I’m not leaving my girls to die without me,” she huffed, “We’ll split off and give ‘em some grief. Oh, and Denks?”

Jiro grabbed Denki’s shoulder and twisted him around a bit, placing a quick kiss on his cheek before whispering in his ear.

“ Go get your girl’s home back. ”

Denki blushed for a moment before Kyoka-chan pushed him into Melissa’s arms, and the ice started rising towards the ceiling.

“Be safe down there!” he called after them, getting a big thumbs up from all three as the ice wall broke apart.

Melissa directed them towards a nearby door, and they all rushed for it, trying their best to ignore the sudden purple monster that was attacking the friends they’d left behind. Ida and Ojiro punctured the metal barrier easily, but that was where the good news ended.

“They’ve erected defenses on this level as well!” Ida groaned, jogging in and then coming back.

“If only I’d put this stupid new phone on silent!” Uraraka grumbled, kicking at the air while Midoriya comforted her.

Denki growled and pulled at his hair, thinking of his friends down below getting beat up while they were essentially trapped up here. His eye caught on a hatch in the ceiling.

“Yo, Melissa?” he asked, pointing, “Wassat?”

“That’s the access hatch for the electrical room,” Melissa explained, “This room has to have separate lighting and electrical for the plants to remain heathy and be tested properly. Why?”

“It wouldn’t happen to have… a way up to the next floor, would it?” Denki asked.

Melissa shook her head, and Denki’s hope plummeted.

“It does, but it’s only accessible from the inside. If we tried to puncture it: it would alert them we’d got around their security.”

“Then we just need to get someone up there to let us all up without being seen?” Shinso asked, walking into the damaged hall and looking along the windows and up at the ceiling, “Because I think there’s an air duct that leads outside.”

“Well… yeah, I suppose so?” Melissa shrugged.

Hagakure’s voice spoke up, and Denki felt a smile tug at his lips.

“I can do the not seeing part!”

“And I can help you not fall off the side of the building,” Denki said, sparking his hands a little.

Everyone turned to him.

“How can you do that?” Ida asked.

Praying he wouldn’t look ultra stupid, Denki sparked his hands and tried to do the static thing he and Ojiro worked out before and during finals. He slapped it to a wall and then the other right above it. Taking a deep breath, Denki pulled his hand off and went one higher. His fingers held at the tips. Barely.

“Static stick!” Denki proclaimed happily, “I can get Hagakure a little change in charge when she gets to the edge of the pipe, and she can climb right up. …probably.”

Nobody seemed super eager to try it. Denki heard a distant explosion from down below.

“Look, if she starts to fall: Midoriya can fly out and catch her, and we’ll have to take the long way, but if it works: we might be able to save everyone and get back downstairs before someone offs our friends!” Denki insisted, “Just trust me on this, guys.”

Everyone glanced at each other, and Denki felt his heart sink. Then Ojiro placed his hands on Denki and Hagakure’s shoulders.

“I think you guys can do it,” he said, nodding, “I say we give it a shot.”

Ojiro’s confidence seemed to spread, or maybe the desperation to try and get back on track. Denki held out a hand to Hagakure, who accepted it as the others started getting the access hatch open.

“Let’s do a trial run first,” Denki suggested, charging her skin.

Hagakure giggled, mumbling how it tickled, but didn’t seem in any pain. Denki went back to the wall and showed how using the fingertips helped maintain the charge. She took a few tries to get used to it, but eventually got a feel for how to climb with just electricity. By the time she was ready, Midoriya was getting antsy about flying them up.

“I wish I had your new battery power, Ojiro,” Hagakure sighed.

Denki tried charging her a little extra, just in case, but it didn’t seem to stick. It worried him, but he had to have faith in his friends. Shinso suggested they give her some kind of lifeline, which Ojiro agreed with on the spot. Midoriya flew them up to the grate; Hagakure sliding in first and then Denki getting in as far as he could. Midoriya gripped her wrist with Blackwhip, giving her a quick series of codes to tell him if he needed to let go, give her more, or reel her in. Hagakure gave them the okay, and called back when she was at the exit. Denki charged up the tube, and a few seconds later she said she was ready to go.

Then came the waiting. Ojiro was pacing, flinching each time a boom from down below shook the floor, and glancing out the window as if expecting to see an invisible girl shaken loose from the side. Midoriya stayed up by the hatch, arm extended into the metal vent as he continued to extend the lifeline. Denki would have been pacing too, but Melissa had his hand in a vice grip.

Everyone froze and glanced up when Midoriya withdrew from his position a little bit, waving to get their attention.

“She broke the line,” he said, “I still had a little slack, so I think she made it.”

Denki thought Midoriya didn’t sound too sure, but they were on borrowed time.

“I’ll keep watch and try to make a net just in case,” he assured them, “Go wait by the ladder, so she can let us up.”

“I’ve deactivated the major lockouts,” Professor Shield said, sounding very distracted, “Shift the queries to the failsafe systems now, we need to keep the system on the move before it figures out it’s being toyed with.”

“Just a moment… there we go,” Sam mumbled, hiding his excitement, “We’re in the clear.”

“Good… good… keep an eye on it anyways…”

Sam hid behind his monitor before rolling his eyes. The Professor was certainly smart, but he was also a massive idot. Sam knew his job, and he also knew what his boss would and wouldn’t see, even if it was right in front of him.

David thought this was his plan to get the device back and continue the research or give it to All Might or something. In actuality: this was Sam’s plan. The research couldn’t continue here, and David wouldn’t leave because of his daughter, meaning that they’d never see a dime off the thing, even if All Might proved it perfectly functional. So, when he’d reached out to an “acting group” to help them pull this off, Sam had improvised and improved the plan a little. He’d contracted some actual villains.

They had an understanding. Only Professor Shield and Sam could get it out safely, and only they could sell it. These punks couldn’t duplicate it, which meant that even when they had it: they’d need Sam to help them produce more to meet their quotas. So, once they had it: they’d take the device and Sam off to their home base (which he presumed was somewhere in China), and he’d get a nice cut of the profits. If they didn’t hold up their end of the bargain, well… he could start making defective copies and they’d have no choice but to capitulate. He was their only hope, after all.

“How’s it coming?” the guard called, walking over from the control room and looking between them with folded arms.

Sam gave a miniscule shake of his head, and the guard tapped a finger against his elbow twice; indicating he understood. They weren’t there yet, but things were proceeding as planned.

“It won’t go any faster if you keep asking,” Professor Shield grumbled.

“Hey, I’m not exactly thrilled to be sitting on top of thirty Heroes and hoping they don’t go crazy and take us all out,” the guard protested.

“And you think I am?”

Shield turned to look at the guy with cold fire in his eyes.

“This could backfire on me a lot harder than it could for you guys. Go watch the screens, and I’ll call you when we’re done.”

The guard took an involuntary step back. Evidently he’d forgotten that David used to be a Hero Sidekick to All Might. He might not look intimidating, but he had a presence sometimes. Sam was glad he was under its influence right now. He might give the whole thing away, and then they’d really be in a bind.

The two men went back to their jobs, and Sam focused back on his mundane task. It wasn’t really all that critical. Professor Shield could probably do it while doing his own half, it would just take him a little longer. Still, if having him help made David less suspicious, Sam would fetch a coffee if that was what it took.

Who knows, maybe I’ll be able to get into acting after this is all over? Something to do when I retire.

After getting through another block, Sam heard a soft voice from the control room. It sounded like their leader, Wolfman or something. Reaching up, he twisted his left ear forward, the protrusion turning like a knob.

Sam’s Quirk wasn’t amazing. It was essentially just a volume dial for his hearing. When working on machines, he could hear most of the components working and spotted problems well before most of the sensors and alarms; but it did have another use. He didn’t usually use it, but he could eavesdrop fairly well on most conversations.

“ ...like they took out Nobu and Daigo, but the bots secured the ones they left behind. The rest of them made it past the Barrier. We’re closing up the gates so they can’t get any closer without taking a lot of extra time. ”

That sounded like the main guard, the one who’d just come in. Swordkid or some such.

[“ No, open up and let them through, ”] Wolfman’s voice came over the earpiece, [“ The bots can deal with them. Thin the herd. I’ll come up and be there to finish off the survivors. ”]

“ Got it. ”

Sam felt his stomach drop. Some of the Heroes had got out? Some were headed up, and they’d taken down at least two of the villain’s ranks? Named ones, even.

Crapcrapcrapcrapcrap.

Sam didn’t have a lot of options. Rushing David would just make things worse, and he couldn’t really contribute more than running interference for him like he was already doing. Hopefully his heart didn’t give out.

“We’re in,” Professor Shield said, his voice unnaturally loud in Sam’s ears.

Quickly turning his hearing back to normal, he leaned around his screen, eyebrows raised in question.

“I just have to crack the individual security codes and disarm the internal explosives,” David explained, “If you can handle the latter, I’ll get those taken care of.”

Breathing a sigh of relief, Sam logged off his terminal and went over the the one he’d need to work on.

It’s almost over… it’s almost over …

Peeking into the window, Mashirao hissed a bit of air between his teeth in annoyance. The room they’d been funneled towards was lit by some kind of green coil, nestled between the plus-shaped catwalk’s left and far lanes. The entire walkway was crawling with the defense droids, and they had to get to the other side. Which of the other sides he didn’t know, and Melissa couldn’t guess which way would be open.

“I say we go for a head-on strike,” Kaminari volunteered, crackling some lighting along outstretched fingers and stepping forwards, “Ida? Can you give me a boost?”

Ida stepped forward, taking either of Kaminari’s forearms in his hands, and having the electrical Hero student do the same. Hagakure made a worried noise, and everyone glanced at her, using her bowtie to determine where her face was.

“But, if he zaps them all, won’t he get us too?” she asked worriedly, “and we don’t have Yaomomo to make us a tarp.”

Uraraka and Shinso slid apart, each extending their hands to show off Midoriya behind them. Their green-haired leader flexed his hands a couple times and released his black tendrils, forming them into a web and then into a general wall-shaped protrusion.

“I can’t block us all, but I think I can hold the door if we stay on this side,” he conceded.

Kaminari released Ida’s hands, frowning a little.

“But that would mean I couldn’t let loose until Ida got back behind the lines. They’d probably get me by then. Hm…”

“I can throw you.”

It took Mashirao a second to realize that he’d been the one to speak up. Flexing his tail a bit, he tapped it on the ground and fluffed his tuft.

“My tail can conduct Kaminari’s electricity if my feet are grounded,” he reminded them, “we’ll have to modify your toss, but I can survive and cover you once you attack.”

Nobody raised any objections.

“Okay then,” Midoriya said, setting his jaw, “Anyone not going in with Ojiro and Kaminari: get behind me.”

He took up position by the door, ready to rush forward and slam his makeshift barrier against the frame. Mashirao knelt down and gestured for Kaminari to hop on, smiling to himself as his friend awkwardly mounted his shoulders.

I thought Kaminari’d be heavier for some reason, Mashirao mused, moving to the door and positioning himself to push through and leap in one motion.

“Ready?” he asked.

Midoriya called out an affirmative, and Kirishima patted his head. Mashirao smirked and took a deep breath.

“Three… two… one… go!”

Slamming his tail down, Mashirao pushed through the doors and up into the air. Getting his hands under Kaminari’s shoes, he pushed his friend forward and up, arcing him towards the intersection. He wasn’t able to see if Kaminari landed, as he was heading for the ground much faster, and there were bots waiting for him.

Giving himself some spin with his tail, Mashirao batted the nearest pair onto their sides and got into a fighting position. The droids started attacking en masse, and Mashirao quickly had his work cut out for him. Each punch or swipe of his tail was sluggish and club-like, as he was loathe to lift his feet and risk not being properly grounded when the lighting came along.

“1.3 Million Volt: Indiscriminate Shock!!” Kaminari roared not long after detaching, making Mashirao glad he’d stuck to the floor as he had.

The golden energy flowed out, and a good deal flashed to his tail, the appendage acting like a lightning rod on his side of the room. The robots didn’t seem to mind either way though. They simply compacted slightly, letting their shells absorb or insulate them from the electricity.

“Kaminari, they’re armored!” Mashirao called out to his buddy.

“Then it’s time to crank it up a bit!” Kaminari decided, “2 Million Volts!”

“Wait, no, if you do that-!”

“...crap,” Kaminari managed, before the expected result manifested, “wheeeeeey…”

He sighed as the droids released capture lines and ensnared Kaminari. With no more fear of shocks, Mashirao got his footwork going and managed to disable a few more of the bots. Each strike seemed to release some of his stored electricity, and when he hit the exposed cores: it seemed to be quite effective. Still, he wasn’t exactly fighting numbers he could handle on his own.

“I thought you got over acting like that?!” he groaned at his bestie, twisting to bat aside one of the bots trying to flank him and feeling the last of his electrical reserves deplete, “Crap…”

They were closing in now, no longer holding all their units in reserve to hold Kaminari, and focusing on the active threat. Mashirao felt himself starting to tire, his tail feeling sore and a little bruised.

A whoosh of air shot past Mashirao on either side, followed by deafening impacts. Bracing against the twin slipstreams, he felt Hagakure’s familiar hands on his back, preventing him from being swept back too far.

“Thanks,” he breathed, looking after the two who’d gone past him.

One was Ida, kicking through the enemy towards Kaminari, his engines lit up blue with his fastest attack style. The other was Midoriya, but very different from the way Mashirao remembered leaving him. His jacket was discarded, and his right arm was encased in a red bracer of some kind. Most confusingly, his lightning had turned a deep shade of purple, rather than his usual emerald green.

Two white-grey bands of fabric shot over Mashirao’s head and ensnared Kaminari as Ida tossed the stupefied fool over the ranks and back towards the girls. Shinso pulled the blonde almost straight down into the floor, Melissa and Uraraka barely stopping Denki from receiving yet more brain damage.

The group was starting to devolve into general mayhem, Midoriya and Ida just beating on robots while the rest of them stood by. Shinso seemed to be anxious to step in too, but one of his arm ties had come loose and he was rewrapping it anxiously.

“Which way, Melissa?” Mashirao asked, glancing to her to try and get their guide to look up from her charge.

“Deku picked the right way! It leads to an open air zone. Deku should be able to fly us all up to the top floor without setting off any of the aerial defenses. We’d bypass some of the narrower floors,” she suggested.

“Right it is.”

Getting around behind the current brawlers, they headed for the door. Mashirao made sure the girls got through first, before grabbing Shinso’s arm and pushing him after them. Then he glanced back at the other two. They were retreating slowly, evidently trying to create a barrier to cover their retreat.

Mashirao frowned. Ida’s engine was sputtering, his tail was sore, Kaminari was out for the count, and Shinso wasn’t reliably trained yet…

“Deku, Ingenium!” he called, waving them towards the door, “Hurry!”

The two boys glanced back. Detecting the tone of his voice, they disengaged and ran to meet him, letting him slam the door behind them before stopping to catch their breath. Mashirao placed a hand on Midoriya’s shoulder, nodding ahead.

“You, Uraraka, Hagakure, and Melissa will have to go on ahead,” he sighed, getting the group moving after the latter, who was pointing towards a new stairwell.

Midoriya seemed alarmed.

“We can’t split the group again! We-”

Mashirao shook his head.

“Ida, Kaminari, and I are almost out of juice. Those robots are hard to hit, and if we come up to the end weak: we’ll just get in the way. Plus, Melissa’s going to need you to fly her and anyone else going up to the top. Less people means faster results, and we’re really on the clock now. Next time we hit a cluster of security bots, you need to take them and go. We’ll hold them back and cover your retreat.”

Midoriya looked at him, clearly still torn up about the cost, but he bit his lip and nodded. Mashirao patted his shoulder in thanks.

“Don’t worry. We’ll all get through this. Go get them ready.”

His friend pulled forward, jogging up to talk to the three he’d be taking ahead.

“It’s a good thing you brought the Full Gauntlet,” Melissa said before he could speak up.

The viridet chuckled weakly, itching the back of his head.

“I kinda… don’t know how to take it off,” he admitted.

The group laughed, and Mashirao smiled to himself. It figured.

Then the atmosphere seemed to get much heavier. Midoriya swallowed, and his face told all of them that he had something to say they wouldn’t like.

“Ojiro and I talked about it, and… we think we need to split up,” Midoriya said, taking some of the responsibility, “Senchan, Melissa, and Hagakure will come with me up to the top floor when we get to the air turbines. Tenya, Ojiro, Kaminari, and Shinso will stay behind and guard our backs once we get to somewhere they can use guerilla tactics.”

There were instant protests to the plan.

“We cannot abandon you to go on ahead, Izuku!” Ida protested, “You won’t stand a chance against the villains without backup!”

“Can’t take all the girls and leave us… you sly dog… wheeeey…” Kaminari wheezed.

“Okay,” Shinso shrugged.

“W-wait, why can’t I stay with Ojiro?” Hagakure protested.

Mashirao cleared his throat, and they all looked to him.

“Guys… we’re low on time, and not all of us are in fighting shape,” he reminded them, “not to mention: those droids are coming from all sides. We’ll hold them off while you four go on ahead. Everyone who can fight has to now. Shinso’s staying behind because he can’t fight. You can, Hagakure.”

He couldn’t see her frustrated face, but he could hear Hagakure’s little whine of protest. Still, no one else argued about it.

Melissa took them on a winding route, avoiding rooms she said “seemed like bad ideas” once she thought about them. Mashirao didn’t know what that meant, but he had to have faith. Soon enough, they came out onto a landing.

The entire area was a flat terrace, with massive air turbines stacked up between three pillars full of rooms and floors which held the top of the tower in place. Ida set Kaminari down in the center of the area, taking up position facing one of the pillars. Shinso took the other, letting out his arm wraps a little. Mashirao took up the last, hoping they could provide some meaningful help.

“And you’re certain those anti-air missiles won’t get us if I fly here?” Midoriya asked as Uraraka prepped his passengers and he wrapped them with his Blackwhip.

“Too many air currents,” Melissa confirmed, “they shift to radar systems this high up, which won’t pick us up if we stay close to the tower itself. Since we’re sticking to the inside: we’ll be fine.”

Mashirao glanced up at them as they took off, watching the bowtie and tutu as they floated away. He couldn’t watch them go all the way though. Before they’d gone halfway, the familiar wail of the security bot sirens started from all around them, and the three boys had to focus on their task.

“Remember: we’re in this for the long haul,” Ida said, “Don’t take risks, don’t glory hunt, and don’t be afraid to fall back here and there when you need a second.”

“So… don’t be a Bakugo?” Shinso quipped.

The four of them chuckled, before the fray made it too loud to hear anything else.

“Oi!” the guard (Swordkiller! That had to be his stupid name!) called towards Professor Shield and Sam, “You stay here! Finish the job and hand it off to Goggles back there! I’ve gotta take care of something, and I don’t have time to babysit you two anymore!”

Sam glanced at the Professor, letting some of his real fear show in his face. If things really got out of hand, and if the Professor suspected…

“Get to the admin slot,” he said, pointing, “If we’re lucky, All Might called their bluff and he’s on his way here. We can give it to him and if nothing else: make sure he keeps it.”

“R-right…” Sam pretended to agree.

The plan was absolutely not going to be handing it over to All Might. Professor Shield was just too stupid to see. He was too stuck in the past. Too blinded by his high ideals to understand that some people weren’t here to make history, they were here to make a living.

They continued working frantically, the Professor muttering under his breath as he exploited backdoors in much of his own code. It took them a few minutes more than Sam would have liked, but then the system lit up blue.

“I’m in!” Professor Shield said excitedly, “It’s unlocked, in block 1147. Go get it!”

Jogging up the stairs, Sam went over to the block as it unlocked and slid open, revealing a silver case. He pulled it free, popping it open and showing it to the Professor. Inside were the devices, the research, and the head guard. Everything they’d need to return to work on it. Or rather, everything Sam would need to return to work.

“You did it! And hopefully the Villains are still at least keeping up the charade,” Sam assured him, closing the box and heading back down the stairs.

“Yes, all because you helped set it up for me though,” Professor Shield admitted, smiling up at him.

Sam felt a small sinking in his stomach, but ignored it. He’d have his chance to join in on this. He wouldn’t take it though. He never had the will to make the hard calls.

As the Professor started walking up the stairs, a soft voice called into the room.

“P-Papa?”

Both men turned to the doorway, Sam feeling his blood run cold. How was she here?! The one person who might be able to ruin this now.

“Get as high as you can!” Melissa shouted into Deku’s ear, her voice trailing back to Ochako and Hagakure a little, “You should be able to bust through a wall and get us in, right?”

Ochako almost laughed. Deku didn’t know the meaning of the word “restraint.” Of course he could get them through!

She was quickly proved right as Deku drew back his arm and punched at the floor just below where it rejoined with the main building, pulverizing the wall in a shockwave of purple energy. It was like the power he’d had back during the sports festival had returned to him, but now without the self-damage.

He quickly let them slide off and onto solid ground, flexing his arm a little. Ochako glanced over at him, wondering if he was hurting. He seemed to be grinning a little, which was usually a good sign.

“You okay De-” but she was cut off by a sudden flash of metal as somebody charged down the hall and slashed at Deku with something.

“ Deku! ” the three of them called in alarm as the pink-haired guy drove Deku back towards the hole he’d just made.

He had swords for arms, and seemed to be pretty good at using them. Deku blocked a few strikes with his gauntlet, but he wasn’t holding his ground. Ochako stepped forward to help, remembering a few of her anti-knife moves from Gunhead, only to be pulled back by Melissa when the chatter of gunfire slid between her and the pair of duelists. Two more villains with automatic weapons were running down the hall right towards them. Guns were less easy to handle.

She didn’t see Hagakure, or any floating blood, so hopefully that meant she’d gotten out of the way and was sneaking around to the other side. Ochako didn’t dare check; potentially giving her friend away.

The two gunmen pointed their barrels directly at the two girls’ faces, their own expressions hidden by their masks. Ochako looked for an opening, a way out, anything that wouldn’t get her and Melissa killed.

“Boss says no witnesses,” one of them confirmed, bringing his hand down from his ear and back to his trigger.

Ochako flinched, clutching Melissa in a vain effort to shield her some as she heard a dull thud from Deku’s fight. Had he been knocked down, or had he landed a blow? She might never find out.

“ STAY AWAY FROM MY OCHAKO!!! ” Deku screamed, rocketing through their guns so quickly the two men were torn from the ground and slammed into the opposing wall just by the air pressure, crumpling into piles and groaning weakly.

Glancing up, Ochako looked over at the sword guy, seeing him embedded in the ground and letting out short, wheezing breaths. She glanced back to Deku, to see him standing a ways down the hall, holding his shoulder and wincing slightly.

“My Ochako”? she realized suddenly, blushing in embarrassment.

Deku had called her by her first name only once before, and in a very private setting; to scream it in a battlecry to defend her? It was a lot for her heart right then.

“C-come on,” he wheezed, starting to walk down the hall, his hand still squeezing his shoulder, “We’re almost there.”

Melissa nodded, jogging up past him, while Ochako slowed up when she reached him.

“Izuku… is your arm okay?” she asked quietly.

He gave her a small grin, his adrenaline clearly preventing him from getting embarrassed for the moment.

“I, uh… I think I swung my arm a bit too hard. I might have pulled something,” he admitted, “I think I can fix it, it’s just… ow.”

Smirking affectionately at him, Ochako offered her hand. He placed his red gauntlet in her fingers, and she brought them to a short stop. Twisting him around, she pulled and heard a pop, along with a sharp inhale from her Deku.

“Better?” she asked, smiling and tapping her fingers together.

Deku rolled it once and grinned.

“Y-yeah! How did you-?”

“Daddy does it all the time at home. Mama taught me how to help him or anyone else,” she said simply, grabbing Deku’s hand again and dragging him after Melissa, who hadn’t stopped for them.

They caught up without issue, and Melissa didn’t ask. Her eyes seemed very distant, like she was looking at something far away, and as she ran towards it: she was getting less and less pleased by what she saw. Ochako glanced at Deku in worry, and he shared her concern.

After a moment, they came up to the door labeled as “Storage Room” and the hall beside it which Melissa said would lead to the main server. They were about to turn down it when they spotted a pair of familiar people inside the much larger room.

No, no it couldn’t be true! Sam was his closest ally, his best assistant. He wouldn’t throw it all away for something as simple as money!

“I helped you build this… this and so many other things. But when our biggest payday ever came right into our laps… you just gave up,” Sam rebuked him, “You were the one who betrayed me. Now I’m going to take my due.”

“Such dramatics,” the leader of the villains laughed, beckoning him closer, “Speaking of your due…”

There was a single shot, and Sam fell to the ground, his arm limp and blood soaking into his suit

“And here’s that bonus we talked about,” he sneered, lining up again.

The second shot rang out, but it wasn’t Sam who was hit this time. Without thinking, David’s legs had driven him to dive into the line of fire and intercepted the bullet with his own torso. He didn’t even feel the pain, just the vague wetness of the blood against his stomach.

“Papa!!” Melissa screamed, his poor baby girl who was so brave, who didn’t deserve this.

“That’s enough out of you!” the underling grunted, pulling her away down the hall, “We’ll just keep you nice and safe here, just so your daddy doesn’t play any more games. How does that sound? Maybe before the night’s over, you’ll have another daddy to worry about.”

David felt his blood chill colder than any other revelation that night at the implication they would hurt his little girl. He tried to get up and save her, be a Hero one last time, but his legs suddenly didn’t want to work. Why couldn’t they just do as they were told for once!

Toshi… too late, I finally understand how it feels… I was too hard on you back then…

“Aw, what’s this? Want to play Heroes like a toddler?” the villain mocked, “Too bad. The real world doesn’t care about intentions, or about higher minded-ideals. Fake or Real, it didn’t matter: you hired villains to do a villainous thing. You’re one of us now, Professor.”

He lifted David off the ground, pulling him towards the door.

“I was going to take Sam originally, since he claimed he could mass-produce these beauties for me, but seeing as he’d probably eat most of the profits… better to have a broken man working the line, as opposed to someone who thinks he can order me and my crew around. Your daughter will stay here, of course. One last bit of leverage. We’ll let the shame of knowing she has to bear your name and whatever else is left over here, just so you don’t have any ideas about escape.”

David heard him yell some orders after his pink-haired minion, something about a helicopter and not taking too long. He heard Melissa continuing to scream for them to let him go, despite repeated attempts by her captor to keep her quiet. All he knew was that his head was ringing with the feeling of failure as the metal constricted his body and he was pulled along. He felt everything start to weigh him down.

No wonder villains are so careless. If it feels as low as this, as heavy as this… why bother caring?

“Give him back!!” Melissa screamed as she was pulled down the hall, away from the big villain and somebody bleeding into his grey suit, “Deku! Ochako! Deku, don’t let them take him!”

Toru slid around behind the pink-haired guy, trying to find the right moment. If she could just grab his gun and give him a nice tap on the head…

Why can’t he have a cartoonishly obvious weak spot? Unless there’s one under his goggles? Hmmmmmmmm.

“Would you stop struggling?!” Goggles begged, sounding kind of frazzled, “You don’t have to be so dramatic!”

Melissa tugged around to face him, looking hysterical and incredulous. Toru couldn’t blame her. She’d been threatened with some pretty awful crap just about a second ago, though the guy did seem fairly harmless.

Sighing, Goggles let go of her shoulders and held her wrists.

“I’m not going to do any of… that to you,” he promised, holding fast as Melissa tugged against him, “I’m a criminal, not an absolute bastard. Besides, you think I want this money for myself? I have a wife who I want to buy a pretty dress. I’m going to put you in a storage closet and then leave, kapish?”

“I won’t let you take my father!” Melissa insisted.

Goggles sighed, his arms pulling as she tried to tug away, and Toru spotted her chance. Stepping forward, she pulled his gun from its holster, grabbed it by the barrel, and whacked down on top of his head with all the force she could muster. The poor guy crumpled like a very poorly built stack of cards.

Melissa took a step back in alarm, looking to the evidently floating gun for a moment. Then a look of recognition came into her eyes, and she beamed at the spot over Toru’s left shoulder.

“Toru! I knew you were somewhere around here!” she sighed, running forwards and hugging her tightly in a surprise embrace.

“Yep!” Toru managed to wheeze, “For the moment!”

She released her, and Toru got her breath back. A distant rumble and boom made both of them turn towards the hallway they’d just come down. A moment later, Midoriya’s electrified body shot out, holding Uraraka in his arms. Without wasting a moment, Melissa pointed the other way.

“They’re taking Papa and the device up to the helipad!” she informed them, “the stairs are just down that hall!”

Midoriya nodded, and the two of them vanished almost instantly as he lit up with the semi-familiar, purple lightning. Melissa turned to Toru, but she shook her head on instinct, grabbing one of Melissa’s hands and shaking it back and forth to get the motion across.

“I’m your bodyguard with Midoriya gone,” she asserted, “you said you could get everyone free from up here? Let’s do it to it!”

Melissa smiled at her, before tugging her along. Toru felt glad she’d come. She didn’t get to show off much, but her powers could come in handy here and there…

Senchan held Izuku tightly as he rocketed through the halls, not daring to waste a second. He’d taken too long breaking the restraints, and now the Professor was being taken away! He couldn’t afford to wait, and only restricted himself because of turns and keeping himself conscious.

In theory, he could withstand a little more G-force than he was pushing, but Senchan’s grip was already pretty weak, and he didn’t want to hurt her accidentally. Izuku considered leaving her behind, but he might need backup, and there might be reserve guards who would find her while he was somewhere else.

Before long though, he came to the elevator which gave access to the roof, and was able to set Senchan back on her feet. To his amazement, she didn’t even stumble, just placing a hand to her heart and taking a deep breath.

“Wow! You really go fast, Deku-kun!” she gasped as he hit the “up” button, “So, what’s the plan?”

Izuku frowned, taking a quick inventory of where and what everything was.

“They must have a helicopter waiting for them. Anything faster would get spotted by the anti-air missiles, and they wouldn’t risk their exit if someone managed to get the system back up. They took the Professor alive, which means they need him for something. So, if I can get in and grab him, then get back to the ground, that’ll buy us a minute or so…”

An idea popped into his head, and Izuku grinned at Senchan.

“Once I get the Professor, you can float us all, and I can fly us back down to where Tenya and Shinso are! We can put him with Kaminari and circle around him!”

Senchan gave him a thumbs up.

“I’ll be right here for when you need me!” she promised, “just don’t get too hurt, okay?”

Izuku nodded.

“Good. Then you’ll need this:”

Leaning forward, she placed a kiss on his cheek, making Izuku’s face turn red. Ochako giggled at him.

“We’ve kissed for real, and slept in the same bed too. How does that make you so flustered?”

He managed to mumble something, conveying the words “pretty” and “special.” Based on how brightly she smiled, Ochako got what he meant.

Then the doors dinged open, and Izuku turned to face the enemy. They were barely boarding a camouflage helicopter, which meant he wasn’t too late. Charging up to 30%, Izuku realized that wouldn’t be enough, and went for forty, hoping it wouldn’t break the gauntlet. The lightning around him changed from purple to a light blue, not dissimilar from his usual emerald aura.

No time for that now.

Kicking off the back wall, Izuku kicked in Ukiyo and pushed it to his max, even further than what he’d done below. With Stockpile enhancing his body, his perception was fast enough and his veins strong enough to keep him both conscious and able to act while in motion. He flew directly for the Professor, leaned against the side of the craft as it started to lift off.

Izuku reached for his friend’s father, only to hesitate at the last second. The villain had secured the Professor by bending the helicopter’s metal into a sort of harness around him. Izuku could break it, but if he tried to pull the man out in one motion: he’d be ripped in half. He had to let go and erupt from the other side, stopping in midair over the expanse of the city.

His eyes flicked over the craft, trying to identify any possible way to get in and out without risking the crew. He wasn’t supposed to hurt anyone with his Quirk, and while he could get away with a technicality when the bladed guy had tried to stab him and then to shoot Melissa and Ochako, he wouldn’t be able to unless they put a gun to the Professor’s head or his.

That problem quickly vanished, as the leader swung a pistol around to start unloading at Izuku. Clearly he was only too happy to oblige Izuku the opportunity to fight back.

Launching upwards to avoid the bullets, Izuku dove at the helicopter again, readying Blackwhip and firing a line at the tail, just shy of the blades. He managed to get a solid grip, and pulled himself into a strange, looping angle. The arc carried him around and inside the vehicle from the same way he’d come the first time, and right behind the villains.

Not daring to waste a second: Izuku tore the bindings off the Professor and pulled him free. A gunshot rang out, and Izuku felt a sudden pain in his right shoulder. The two of them fell from the aircraft, plummeting towards the buildings below.

“What’s with this thing?! Is it full of “shoulder-only” bullets?!”

“IZUKU!” Ochako’s distant shout came to him.

Willing Blackwhip out of the wound, Izuku pried the bullet free and secured the spot with as much pressure as he could manage, making a sort of dark bandage across his shoulder and arm. Once the pain faded just a bit, he was able to fly over and catch the Professor.

The man was somehow still unconscious, and Izuku didn’t want to bother waking him. He was probably swimming in self-guilt right about now, and they didn’t need that.

They were almost halfway down the building, but already the extra weight was starting to tax Izuku’s abilities. His Quirk was evidently made for speed and maneuverability, not power. He’d have to work on that more.

Izuku could probably make it down to his friends or back up to the platform without too much issue, but he needed a justification to pick the latter. Ochako could handle herself, but she wasn’t equipped with any combat gear, and against firearms… he didn’t dare wait to see what would happen.

Heading back up, Izuku noticed the helicopter was still ascending. Hopefully that meant his fears were baseless, but if they weren’t: he might have to see how well Blackwhip would work in tearing military-grade armor off of its frame.

Luckily for the villains: Ochako was waiting on the platform, ready to take the Professor once Izuku got him up there. She gasped at his arm, but Izuku waved her off. He could heal later.

“C-come on, we need to-” Izuku started, but a rumbling sound made them turn to look up at the helicopter again.

It was still rising into the air, but somehow it seemed off. Then Izuku realized what, and stepped between it and the others. The helicopter was flying, but its blades had stopped moving. Not only that, but the framework was starting to crumple inward.

“Didn’t they say that device was a… Quirk Enhancer?” Ochako asked, her tone one that left no doubt she knew the answer.

Izuku nodded anyway, clenching his fists. A metal controller with that enhancement, on an entirely artificial island…

“I think we should get down… right now,” Izuku said, gathering up his side with Blackwhip and getting ready to fly again.

“Wait, what about Melissa and Hagakure?” Ochako asked, “They’re only a few floors down!”

A million courses of action flooded through Izuku’s head, and he settled on the only one he could think of. Aizawa-sensei would kill him if he ever heard what he’d done, but… he needed to save them.

“Hold on.”

“Hold- eeep!” Ochako managed as Izuku tugged her and the Professor off the building and dove for the ground.

Twisting in mid-flight, Izuku pulled her close and pointed at the terrace where thousands of the security bots sat around a little cluster of empty space. Their friends seemed okay. That was good at least.

“Hold onto the Professor!” he shouted at her, “Have Shinso catch you two and pull you down!”

“Deku, wai-!”

But he didn’t wait. He gave a spin and threw the two of them towards the only safe place he could see, before turning and rocketing back upwards. He knew they’d be okay. He trusted his Senchan. He trusted Shinso. He trusted Melissa’s gauntlet.

Estimating the floor they’d be on, Izuku wound up and charged his arm to 100%.

Please work, please work, please work, Izuku thought, closing his eyes and swinging his fist into the concrete.

There was a concussive blast as he shattered the entire side of the building, letting him fly directly in and towards the control room. His arm twinged, but it wasn’t bruised or broken. Good. He might need that arm later on.

“Melissa! Hagakure!” he called, desperate to find his friends as the building began to shake.

Shoot, did I destabilize it by hitting it too hard?

“Deku!” a voice called, and to his relief: Melissa came running out, “What just hit us?!”

“I did, no time to explain,” Izuku informed her, shooting out some tendrils to grab her by the waist, “Where’s Hagakure? We have to get out of here right now!”

“Why, what’s going on?” a disembodied voice asked, immediately getting ensnared by the tendril she grabbed.

There was an awful wrenching, tearing sound, and the roof moved away from them. All three looked up to see the entire top of the building start to get ripped asunder and pulled into a massive cube of metal and debris, various tendrils holding it up above the tower. A manic cackle echoed down to them, and Izuku swallowed in terror.

“That. That’s what’s going on,” he said lamely.

Heading for the stairs without preamble, Indelible raced up each flight as fast as he could without tripping or missing a clue to where the students might have gone. The only clue came on the 80th floor, where he found a door blasted open to the plant factory.

Racing inside, Tensei skidded to a stop in alarm. There were a truly massive number of robots present. While all of them were inactive, only a small portion seemed to be due to the system reboot. Dozens were frozen to walls or in glaciers. A few were burnt and charred. A couple were caught in trees (okay, that was kind of odd) or had their wheels caught in grass. The vast majority though were disassembled across the center of the room.

Standing near the entrance were two people, four on the ground in various states of exhaustion. Two seemed to be villains who’d been bound by thick chords, but the others were all students Tenya had introduced him to.

Leaning against the doorframe was the Yaoyorozu girl, her cape wrapped around her body and a queasy expression on her face. Laying in her lap, evidently out cold was the vine-headed Shiozaki. Or rather, formerly vine-headed. She seemed to have received a very rough haircut, leaving her with very little past the top of her ears.

Standing at the forefront, evidently not sure if the shut down was a ruse or not was Todoroki, who he knew from Hosu. Behind him was the last of the group, the girl who’d helped Midoriya beat Stain. Instead of her boot amps though, she was carrying what looked like a minigun, though there were no evident barrels to it.

All of them were breathing hard, which meant they were alive, which put off the worst.

“Are you all-”

Twisting around in alarm, Jiro brought her gun to aim at Indelible, tensing as if to fire before relaxing. In fact, she relaxed so much her knees seemed to give out. She dropped to the floor, letting her weapon roll to the side.

“They did it…” she breathed, sounding less joyful and more relieved.

Jiro managed to crawl over to Yaoyorozu and lay her head on Shiozaki’s back, but after that she stopped moving. Her back still rose and fell though, so evidently it was just fatigue.

“What… happened here?” he asked the group at large, wondering if he should expect to find Tenya in a similar state of weariness and injury.

“We won,” Todoroki informed him, sitting down on a toppled robot without another word.

They certainly didn’t look it.

Running outside, All Might looked up the rather imposingly large tower. Sure, he could get up that. Just a jump up the side there, a quick bounce off that ledge… yeah, he could make that.

Bending his knees, he built up all the power he could still touch in his once boundless wellspring of power. In theory, he could still jump the whole tower in one go, even if in his prime it would be doubtless. The real question was if he’d get there in a timely manner.

It would be so helpful if I could tap Master Shimura’s Float for a moment as well, he mentally sighed, considering how his pupil could access a good number of other powers which proved quite useful as he learned to command them.

Pushing his doubts and wishes aside, All Might leapt off the concrete, feeling it crack under the force of his leap as he streaked up the side of the tower. The glass of the windows and their frames all blurred into a single blue-grey smudge beneath him as he almost flew towards the first terrace. Readying his fists, he counteracted his force and stopped himself just after passing it, dropping down to land on his feet once again.

Wasting no time, he leapt again, carefully locating each position to stop and recapture his speed. In theory, he’d be able to get up the whole tower in a minute or so this way, as opposed to maybe twice that long had he simply gone in one big jump.

Still not fast enough!

Pulling on the very depths of his Quirk, All Might forced himself to jump higher, faster, more accurately. He would not let his weakness take any of his students’ lives. Especially not young Izuku’s, and certainly not Melissa’s.

The glass next to him began to deform and shatter with the force of his passage, but All Might didn’t care. Buildings could be rebuilt and replaced. Lives could not. He was in the business of prevention and reaction, not real estate, after all.

He heard a deeper crunching, and saw the artificial stone and metal too was starting to break a bit behind him. Well, that might be a bit less easy to fix…

It took him maybe forty seconds to get to the gap where the top of the building separated from the uppermost segment, but he didn’t stop there. He saw a helicopter pulling away, and that meant he was close to too late.

“ HALT VILLAINS!! I AM NOT DONE WITH YOU!! ” he roared, puncturing the side and dragging the two men out of the cockpit as he tore through the flimsy craft.

Landing on the helipad, All Might set the unconscious goons aside and looked up at the burning husk of the aircraft. It wasn’t falling, which was kind of… odd.

Without warning, a blow to the back of his head knocked All Might onto his hands and knees. He barely managed to react and jump forward as two more came from either side. He got a look this time. The metal of the helipad, the pipes and wires and framework, all of it was forming into square pillars and trying to attack him.

“ Sam said that your Quirk was declining… ” a demented and distorted voice said, “ That your power was slipping away. It certainly seems to be true. You missed my preparations entirely. ”

“ Because they were all for naught, ” All Might informed him, “ Let’s see how you handle a: TEXAS SMASH!!! ”

Leaping forward, he lunged his left fist in a straight punch towards the remains of the helicopter where the leader of the villains was evidently hiding. To his alarm, a wall of metal slid into his path and intercepted the blow. Not only intercepted, but completely negated.

“ What was that? A lovetap like that wouldn’t handle me at my normal strength! ” the villain laughed, “ Now you’re utterly beneath me. ”

All Might was batted back down to the ground, only to see it start to rip itself asunder around him. The entire building shook with some kind of muted detonation, and then began to move upwards. Looking around in horror, All Might realized the villain was somehow drawing all of the metal in the area towards himself, literally pulling the top of the tower off.

“ As expected of the mighty David Shield: his equipment is top notch! I can feel it revitalizing and enhancing my Quirk! The power is exhilarating! I might not even sell it! The world would bow before I, Wolfram. In this age of metals and machines, I would be a God to these insignificant children! ”

““ Above all: a god must have compassion! ”” All Might berated this Wolfram.

Leaping back into the air, he tried not to get distracted by the absolutely massive pillar of metal, pipes, electronics, and other discarded machines he was drawing up to himself. He tried to keep his feet on what remained of the concrete, knowing that if his feet were captured: he’d be dead in moments.

Managing to get a good leap in, he tried one more strike. He was stopped again, but managed to dig through the attack just a bit.

“ Well, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to raise the price a bit if I do decide to sell, ” Wolfram mused, “ Let’s have a public demonstration of how it can kill any Hero, even All Might. ”

Another attack came from behind, and All Might had to go back to evasion. Sliding past a pillar here, dodging a block there, it wasn’t easy: but the guy wasn’t particularly creative. Even Sero-Shonen would have thrown in a feint or two by now. Maybe not Kaminari, but at least the electric user had determination to fall back on.

I’d love to play the waiting game, but even with the minutes Midnight bought me: I’m perilously close to my limit!

Taking another risk, All Might tried attacking the pillar the guy was growing out of the tower. If he severed it, maybe he could distract the guy, or at least limit him for a moment…

The bastard might be predictable, but he was also devious. The two henchmen All Might had pried from the helicopter earlier were now ensconced in the trunk of Wolfram’s little castle, and being moved to intercept his attacks. He’d have to kill one or both to actually break it, which Wolfram clearly knew he wouldn’t do.

“ Do try to keep it entertaining for me, won’t you? ALL MIGHT!!!!!!”

The attacks started coming faster, more erratically. It was almost like the guy was in some kind of rush now. All Might managed to block one of the attacks, only to get pinned against another. He couldn’t let himself become stationary, and broke out the top. Another attack sprouted from the first, batting him aside.

By the time All Might got his footing again, another twelve pillars were all coming at him from every direction. He couldn’t dodge or block them all. He’d just have to endure the blow and break out, or risk getting hit where he didn’t have control.

A flicker of light caught his attention, and suddenly his surroundings shifted. All Might nearly threw up in alarm as he was suddenly a dozen meters to the right of where he’d been. Glancing to the side, he saw a familiar suit of white armor, with blue and crimson stripes.

“ In-Indelible!! ” he gasped, amazed, “ How-? ”

“Some help from your students,” the elder Ida said, nodding to the villain.

Glancing up, All Might saw a trio of figures surrounding Wolfram. Making himself an ice halo around the villain’s pillar, Todoroki-shonen was freezing attacks in their place, stilling them and directing the villain’s attention to either free them or continue the fight. Yaoyorozu-shojo was flying somehow, changing direction with alarming suddenness and releasing small streaks of light from her arms into the villain’s face which exploded on impact with small bursts of light.

Are those missiles?

But most gratifying of all was the light blue electricity of the viridet who was returning to All Might and Indelible, black tendrils pulling along two unconscious figures. Midoriya had recaptured the villains All Might had let become hostages.

“ Keep those two back, ” All Might instructed his companion, “ It’s time my students and I gave a lesson in teamwork. ”

Think! Izuku mentally berated himself, feeling the ground underneath him start to move and lift.

He had Melissa and Hagakure, so that was good. He still had another two full strength punches or so with the gauntlet, and somewhere around 40% consistently without feeling too strained. He’d have to discuss how that was affecting his cells with the vestiges later, but right now that wasn’t his big concern. His concern was getting his friends away from the metal-bending monstrosity currently pulling the entire top segment of a building apart.

Going to either side will alert the villain that we’re here. If we try going down, I’ll have to make a lot of noise and break each floor, leading to the same problem. One 100% punch down spreads out too much to get us anywhere quick, unless I could direct the blast somehow…

Izuku looked to the tendrils extending from his left arm. One was wrapped around his bullet wound, keeping him from bleeding out, and the other two were securely around his newly adoptive sister and his classmate. Blackwhip. The power Tokoyami and Dark Shadow had awoken. The power Kyoka had helped him capture. The power YaoMomo showed him how to direct and strengthen. The key was in all of them!

Clenching his fist, Izuku saw a brief flicker of golden lightning as he pushed his power to 80%. Then he directed Blackwhip to emerge from his right arm. He spun it into a cone-shape, wrapping it around the gauntlet and his arm to focus the blast along his punch. He prayed it would work, as if he was being honest: Shibara would probably be a boon to train with when using this particular power.

“Hold on!” he screamed to the girls as he swung, “SMASH!!”

The air pressure and shockwave of force ripped a cylinder of destruction straight down the whole upper bulb, a distant shattering sounding from somewhere below making Izuku worry he’d hit the main tower and broken some windows. But those concerns could wait. Without pausing to see if the villain noticed the attack, Izuku dove down, pulling the other two with him.

Kicking in Ukiyo, Izuku raced straight through and into the open air. To his amazement, everyone was still there. Over by the doors, but still there. He then realized the shattering had been Todoroki trying to reinforce the tower so it didn’t fall and kill everyone. He should probably apologize for that.

“ALL MIGHT!!!” a shout came from behind them.

Izuku felt himself drawn back up to help, and knew what he had to do. He slowed as best he could, dropping off his passengers before turning once more.

“IZUKU!” Ochako shouted at him, grabbing his wrist with an angry tone.

“MIDORIYA!” Shinso agreed, ensnaring his left arm with one of his new toys.

He stopped turning back with a pleading expression. The group returned the look.

“I can help,” he insisted, “I need to help.”

“And no one’s denying that,” Indelible spoke up, stepping forward, “but you have to wait until your actions can do the most good. I’m not a good Hero because I’m fast. I’m a Hero because I apply my speed.”

Clenching his armored fist, he extended his arm to Izuku, his eyes deadly serious.

“The Hero Killer thought I was very nearly a fake. While I don’t agree with his tenants, I think we both know that he did have one thing right: a Hero is more than a badge and a license.”

Descending to the ground, he looked among his friends, desperate to move.

“Okay. What’s the plan then?” he asked, trying to convey with his tone that they were short on time.

Indelible pulled Todoroki forward.

“You get me and Shoto up there,” he instructed, “His ice can help give us more options against someone with that level of power. I can run interference and help All Might keep ahead of the attacks. You’re gonna be our last line of defense. Anyone who’s in danger: it’s your job to get them clear. Got it?”

Izuku nodded, grabbing both of them with a pair of tendrils and bending his knees to jump.

“Everyone else: get below!” Indelible told them before the trio flew up towards the slowly drifting platform the villain had commandeered.

Two people were a lot, so Izuku was slowed, but he could make it a short ways. He just had to focus, and not hit the side of the building. A shot of guilt ran through him as he saw the holes he’d made in it. Hopefully they didn’t make him pay for that…

“Hurry up, Izuku-kun!” a voice called from below, before slicing past him and into the air above them.

For a wild moment, Izuku thought Nana had somehow returned to the world of the living. The noirette who flew by had a similar cape snapping in the wind, and was certainly tall enough. But then he realized it was YaoMomo!

“Ochako-chan doesn’t trust you not to get killed!” she called back, maneuvering with what seemed like rather jerky movements, though he didn’t see the mechanism causing it, “Neither do I, if it comes to it, and I’d rather not lose any of my best friends tonight!”

Grinning up at her, Izuku pushed himself further than he had before, catching up as quickly as he could. She was trusting Ochako to help her fly, and Ochako was trusting her to keep him alive. He had to trust them too. Not to protect him, but to be okay without him taking point. He wasn’t the Symbol of Peace. Izuku had to be… something else.

Coming up around the edge, Izuku was alarmed at the monstrosity the leader of the villains had constructed around himself. It was like a tree of steel and unnatural tentacles, and made his skin shiver just looking at it. Even worse, it seemed to be giving All Might a really bad time.

A multi-pronged attack was coming at the Number One Hero from all sides, and it didn’t seem like he’d be able to dodge. Without thinking, Izuku hurled Indelible at his mentor.

“Go!” he yelled, letting Shoto down to start his ice maneuvers.

Creati was already engaging. Her arms were leveled at the little white spot in the center, and a pair of odd protrusions had emerged from the skin. Out the barrels she’d made came thousands of rockets the size of pens, impacting the villain’s general area in either small flashes of light and sound or puffs of smoke and glitter. She didn’t stay in one place either, darting around in a dizzying spectacle of aerial dance.

Shoto started by freezing the existing pillars of metal, sealing them to the ground as best he could while forming a track around the guy’s back so he could stay in motion too. Every so often: Shoto would pause to send a fireball into the thing, as if to keep him guessing.

Deku didn’t need to be told what to do. He saw the two hostages and moved before Indelible had reached his target. The Full Gauntlet felt a little loose, and a few cracks were along the underside, which made him pause in getting them free. He was getting close to its limit, but limits were made to be broken.

Calling on Blackwhip once more, Deku wrapped it like he had his wound, literally holding Melissa’s gift together as he took on his task. 35% turned his lightning red, and proved enough to crack the casings around the two hired guns. He went back up to 40, and the light blue energy returned to help Izuku avoid getting hit as he escaped with his prizes.

Creati and Shoto can keep him distracted for a moment. I need to get these guys to safety before re-engaging.

There was only one person who Deku trusted to handle that, and he was standing right next to his Hero.

“ Petulant Children! ” the villain roared behind him, “ I am Wolfram! I am invincible! Your attacks are as nothing to this power!! ”

Wow, that power went to his head pretty quick, Deku laughed to himself, skidding to a halt and pivoting as he dropped the two men beside the Pros.

“ Midoriya-shonen, ” All Might said, but Deku wouldn’t risk his friends for a conversation.

This Wolfram guy had just started monologuing. That meant one of two things. Either A: he thought he’d won and was vulnerable (very probably) or B: he was getting annoyed and mentally reinforcing himself. Either way, the danger level had just risen sharply for Shoto and Creati.

Kicking in Ukiyo’s full power, Deku held the speed for only a split second, forcing himself not to black out as he crashed into Creati and pulled her out of the way of a massive cube of metal and debris that was about to crush her.

“Sorry Creati!” he apologized, hoping he hadn’t hurt her or run into anything that would make Kyoka and Shibara kill him for.

It took her a moment to shake off the dizziness from the sudden movement, but she seemed alright. Creati gave him a smile and a nod, reassuring him immensely. Then she looked down, and a light came into her eyes. The same light he recognized from her getting an idea.

“Deku, I’ve realized how you can defeat him,” she said, beaming at him, “The security system! There’s one tool he never used against us, and we might be able to access!”

It took him a second, but then he realized what she meant. Deku grabbed her shoulders, shaking her a little with excitement.

“I’ll be right back then!” he agreed, before letting go and plummeting like a rock.

Cracking his neck and preparing for a final assault, All Might bent his knees and leaned forward on the tips of his feet. He had about forty seconds left. Best make the most of it.

Pushing off with all he had, All Might rocketed directly towards the spot where he could hear ragged gasps. One good slug to the head and he’d be ready for machine-assisted breathing for a bit. Winding up for a final blow, All Might squinted through the smoke as he neared the still-glowing spots of Creati’s little tricks.

A missile strike. Ha! Those two are a dangerous pair…

A hand shot out of the smoke and caught All Might by the throat, followed by a handful of still-hot, metal wires. He was effectively pinned, and in a single instant.

What?!

The smoke cleared, and Wolfram became fully visible. It wasn’t the heat capacitors glowing, but Wolfram himself. His body had begun to glow with a red-orange light inside his skin. His frame, which had been rather average before, was now almost bursting with muscles and energy. His mask had broken and gone, leaving only David’s device and a manic grin.

“ A clever little trick, ” Wolfram admitted, “ I only wish I could give it praise for working. ”

“ What is this? ” All Might demanded, “ What kind of trickery has that machine wrought on you? ”

“ Trickery? The only trick here is that you didn’t see all the cards up my sleeves, ” Wolfram taunted, reaching forward with his other hand and gripping All Might’s side.

The Number One Hero gasped and choked in alarm as his weak point was attacked. Impossible! No one knew of that injury but-

No! It can’t be!

“ That’s right! I met that man , ” Wolfram confirmed, “ He heard about our little game with Sam and the Professor, and decided to supply some insurance in case things got dicey. His only condition: that I watch your face twist in horror and pain as I laid out what truly happened here tonight. ”

“ All… for… One… ”

The villain’s face seemed to twist in glee.

“ That’s right. But he wasn’t the one who planned tonight, oh no. That honor goes to your dear friend: Dr. David Shield. See this crown of mine? The one that lets my strength compete with yours and turns my metal-controlling Quirk into that of a god? It was built by him for you. Someone thought it might be dangerous for such technology to exist, and had it taken away from him. Imagine that. So he did what any reasonable person would who’s had something stolen from them: he tried to get it back. His master plan? To have a bunch of “fake villains” come in and take his entire home hostage, so he could quietly go up and get it for you, who would then save the day, none the wiser. Your first sidekick, the creator of the vast majority of new Quirk-based technologies, was the true villain tonight. I was just the executioner of his plan, and that man was the audience taking bets. Are you ready to guess who the fool was? ”

As much as he wanted to dismiss the comments as a lie, All Might felt in his gut that it was the truth. David had been the one who’d been behind this device’s recovery.

But at the same time, the betrayal was one he understood. David wanted him to continue to shine to the world, and was willing to take the fall for it. It wasn’t right, but it wasn’t motivated by greed or selfish desires. It was something All Might could forgive in the end.

“ The only fool here is You! ” All Might informed Wolfram, “ You see, I didn’t come here to lay blame. I came here to stop villainy! And unlike you: I didn’t come alone. ”

A blast of air cut the wires holding All Might, releasing him to fall to the ground in a spectacular pose instead of being thrown or dropped. Midoriya landed beside him, looking up at the villain. All Might grinned, noticing Midoriya had broken the guy’s wrist in the attack.

“ Thank you Mi- no, Thank you Deku. I shouldn’t have to rely on the power of those under my care, but I think we both know that this fight is one I’m not going to win alone, ” All Might thanked and apologized, “ I noticed you using more power than usual. Can I count on you to lend me your strength for a little longer? ”

Deku grinned brightly, clenching his fist excitedly around some red glove he’d picked up somewhere.

“Always, All Might!” he agreed happily, ““For as long as this power is mine: I’ll lend it to anyone who needs my help!””

That sounded a bit… quote-y. Had he picked up a phrase from another Hero? Maybe one of their predecessors had given it to him.

“ Then let’s get to work!! ”

“はい!"

His limit was near, but All Might wouldn’t let that stop him. He never had before.

The ground shifted, and Wolfram’s pillar began to pull away from them, what little remained of the tower’s top he couldn’t use starting to crumble and fall away. All Might gasped and looked down, momentarily distracted. He had to prevent the fragments from falling onto the people below!

“We’ll handle it!” Indelible shouted, grabbing the students and leaping into freefall, “Take him out!!”

The lances of ice going out to catch the larger blocks was all the assurance All Might needed that he could undertake his task. He turned back, only to see Deku was already on the attack.

In the brief moment he’d turned away: his pupil had begun to pursue the withdrawing villain. Multitudes of metallic pillars shot together, smashing and fuzing as they tried to get in a solid hit, but the little speck of azure lightning deftly cut around each and every one of them. But the real threat was one too far away for Deku to see. One All Might only caught thanks to his being removed for the critical moment.

The attacks were coming from the remains of the tower only, causing it to crumble. The rest of the metal, the already collected material Wolfram had been battering them with since the beginning: was being gathered. Each and every speck of steel and iron was being poured into a massive cube above his head, only visible against the night as a patch where the stars weren’t visible. Midoriya had no idea he was about to be hit with an attack which could pulverize the entire tower and crack I-Island in two!

Looks like it’s time to play sidekick for a change!

Launching from his spot, All Might intercepted some of the attacks coming at Deku, forcing Wolfram to redirect his attention once more. Much larger attacks came at him, but invigorated with a need to keep his successor safe and give him the opening he needed, each one crumbled before a single blow.

Some of the attacks became rubble after All Might smashed them. Others he dodged, and they became his newest route of getting close. He could hear Deku’s own attacks, the blasts and crackles of his punches, kicks, and electrified aura more than clear against Wolfram’s continual spouting of insults and power-fantasies.

“ It’s time to see how your ultimate attack stacks up, Wolfram!! ” All Might called back, running along one of the latest pillars, “ How about it? Let’s see if that gamble pays off!! ”

“ MY PLEASURE!!! ” the villain screamed, swinging his arms forward.

The cube’s motion was so titanic that the mere act of pushing the air out of its way made a deep rumble. All Might continued to sprint across the pillar, knowing he’d only get one shot at this. Deku whipped around it, coming up right beside him.

Was he running on the underside?!

“All Might!” Deku called, “Jump!”

Not a doubt existed in All Might’s mind as to the validity of his pupil’s plan. He didn’t have to know anything about it, other than that it was Deku’s. So he leapt with all his power. He reached the pinnacle of his arc, and felt a pair of hands grab his feet, lifting him further, faster. Deku was pushing him, sharing his flight for a moment to accelerate him towards the block with extra speed!

Winding up, All Might felt Deku do the same, the double power of One for All coursing through them. This attack would be one for the history books.

The Full Gauntlet cracked again, starting to shatter around Deku’s arm. He couldn’t guess how long it would last, and doubted it would survive another 100% attack. But he needed that last blow. He would just have to improvise.

Releasing his Blackwhip bandage around his bullet wound, Izuku winced and focused all his power on the dark energy tendrils. They were supposedly fueled by emotions. He tried to gather that feeling he’d contained when destroying the fake city against All Might. The rage, the need, the drive, and the full 100% of One for All behind the Quirk.

Grabbing the sensation, he ensnared the Gauntlet with all the force he could, squeezing it back together. At the same time, he filled his arm with the same full power from Stockpile, letting the two forces hold the Gauntlet still from either side. One compressed, one expanded. He might lose his arm with this, but that cube wasn’t coming down any other way.

“Jump!” he instructed All Might, flying up and catching his teacher to help speed him along.

They neared the cube, and Deku knew what he had to do. Winding back his left arm, he twisted at the last moment and threw All Might at Wolfram. 40% was enough to get All Might there, and all his body could handle with just the Gauntlet’s fields.

“ MIDORIYA!! ” All Might called in alarm.

Deku just sent him a final smile before flying at the cube even faster. All Might could get the villain. His job was to save lives.

Drawing back his right arm, Izuku focused his mind. He’d have to time this perfectly.

100% Stockpile… 100% Blackwhip… Full Gauntlet… 60% Float…

Izuku! Don’t, your body won’t be able to take it!! Nana’s voice echoed in his head.

Kid, my Quirk won’t save you! Think about your joints!! Banjo protested as well.

Izuku ignored them. He could do this. He would do this.

It’s not that we doubt you, Ninth, First’s voice calmed him, It’s our power we’re not sure can keep up with you .

As Shibara would say: have faith, Deku soothed them, before inhaling and preparing for the pain that would no doubt follow.

“600,000%... DARK GAUNTLET: DETROIT SMASH!!!!” Deku screamed, throwing his  fist and feeling his knuckles connect with the smooth, steel surface.

There was a single heartbeat where the attacks stopped one another and the world was still. Then there was a rending blast of pressure and power, and Izuku forced his body to keep going forward.

Izuku pushed through, and he felt the block of metal give way. Not just give way, it felt… soft. Suddenly the resistance was gone, and the blast shot outwards to all sides. Blackwhip snapped and tore along his arm, and he felt Stockpile crack his skin as the pressures became unequal. He shut it down, hoping Blackwhip would act as a splint until he could get it fixed.

Turning around in midair, Izuku felt the sunrise on his back as he looked down on Wolfram’s final attack.

The cube hadn’t just been broken. It had been utterly destroyed. At the center, where Izuku had punched and then shot through, it had been reduced to a fine powder, descending in a shower of multi-colored specks. Outward from that, it had broken into pieces no larger than pebbles, with only a handful of chunks larger than Izuku himself. Those were all flying away at such high speeds that he wondered if they might make it all the way to the sea outside of I-Island’s wall.

You’re a reckless, suicidal, idealistic, and steely-eyed bastard, Ninth, an unfamiliar voice said in his head, I might just learn to tolerate you.

Then the vestiges vanished from his mind. Izuku smiled. Based on the deepness of the voice, he’d guess that was… Second. Cool.

Waking was not a pleasant experience. First there was the pain. He’d been shot before, but never had to just let the bullet sit. It was a new level of “ow.” The second was seeing Melissa standing before him, her gaze turned upwards at the monster he’d created. That hurt deeper, and more than he’d ever thought possible.

Then there was a shockwave that rattled David’s skeleton relentlessly, cracking his glasses with the displacement of the air. He looked up, seeing the miniscule body of a boy as he pierced a cube of metal in the dawning sun. After a second, he realized it was the young Deku Toshi had introduced him to.

For a brief instant, the boy was caught in the sun, the exploding block behind him forgotten. His fist was raised, and his legs swept back. He looked just like Toshi had, way back in the day. Even though he wasn’t wearing the Young Age costume anymore…

I’m sorry I didn’t have more faith in your choice, Toshi.

Tears began to fall from his eyes, but David didn’t have the strength or will to wipe them away. He’d failed, and now his failures were hurting everyone around him. It would have been better if he’d died. Now Melissa would have to live with knowing he was no better than a villain, and he would have to suffer as she was treated all the lesser for it, when she deserved everything.

Someone in white armor was carrying a trio of people on his back, who passed him without a second look. David recognized two of them. Sam, and the pink-haired guy who’d been in charge of taking over the island. The two who’d worked behind the scenes to ensure this all went off properly. They were the true failures, but the blame passed to the ones who were in control. Which ultimately ended with him.

There was a soft puff of air as All Might landed on the far side of the platform, holding Wolfram’s broken body in his arms. He set the villain down and fell to his knees. His time limit was well and truly passed, but transforming back around all these kids would be disastrous.

“Alright kiddies,” a new voice came from behind him, “Let’s get you all downstairs for a sound spanking and some food. Yaoyorozu-chan, your girls are waiting for you in private room 106. Might wanna get on that. Elevator goes right down.”

David didn’t know what any of that meant, but soon everyone was filing past him. Everyone except for Melissa, the Deku boy, and his friend… he couldn’t remember her name. The three of them embraced as he returned to the ground, his clothes in rags from the last attack. He offered up his right arm, wrapped in some kind of black fibers, which faded away to reveal some kind of red boxing tape. Then it shattered into a thousand tiny pieces, leaving the boy devastated.

Melissa assured him it was okay, and the trio went with their comrades, a soft thump sounding as they passed. And then it was just the villains and All Might, who deflated almost at once.

“You’re blaming yourself, aren’t you, David?” he asked into the silence.

He couldn’t bring himself to answer. Toshi knew. He just wanted to hear David say it.

“You did what you thought was right. That didn’t make it right, but it doesn’t make you evil,” Toshi said, attempting to console him.

“It does!” David insisted, “Regardless of motivation, I put people in danger! Needlessly!”

Toshi got to his feet, his costume drooping off his shoulders as he walked over to him. Despite all he’d done, Toshi’s eyes still had only affection for him.

“You wanted to help me. You thought it would be an inconvenience for a night, and bring forth the rewards of keeping the Symbol of Peace for another couple years,” he sighed, “But even if I had received the device, I don’t think it would have helped. I can’t tell you why, but my day is over. It’s time for the next generation to take up the torch. They’re a little young, and they’re not ready for all the weight of the world yet, but it’s time to let them share the load so they can be ready when we quietly pass on.”

Tilting his head back, Toshi looked up at the last of the stars to fade away in the morning light. David understood his meaning.

“I should have thought of Melissa. She’s going to have to spend the rest of her life knowing her father isn’t a Hero of any kind…”

“Worse,” Toshi corrected him, “She’ll have to live with knowing her father’s human, and can make mistakes just like the rest of us.”

David couldn’t hold back his tears anymore, wishing for any way to right his wrong, to make amends for his mistake, or just to stop the pain.

“Deku!!!” Ochako called as her bestie/unofficial boyfriend descended from the sky towards her and Melissa.

“O- Senchan!” he called back, stumbling a bit and having to jog a few paces after hitting the ground.

Without waiting for him to come to a stop, Ochako wrapped him in a hug, followed by Melissa. He was in so much trouble, but he was also really brave and kind of hot right now. Ochako knew it was more Ashido and Tokage’s realm to thirst over boys, but Deku was hers, and he currently lacked a shirt. Those abs. And his biceps? Oh boy. Not to mention his most redeeming feature: that lovable, squishable, kissable face of his.

“So, looks like Full Gauntlet worked out pretty well for you!” Melissa teased, “You still want me to keep it, and I quote: “be used for something important?””

Deku flushed and held up his arm. He seemed to have wrapped it up in Blackwhip like he had his bullet wound. Ochako gasped in alarm as she saw he’d let it back into the open, and it was far more gruesome than she remembered. Quietly, she also noted that her little heart charm she’d given him for his birthday was still safely wrapped around his left wrist.

“Yeah! Wait, I mean No!” he said, flustered, “I mean: it was really useful! I could use this in emergencies, if you can fix it? I heard it start to crack a li-”

He broke off as Blackwhip retracted into his body, revealing the Full Gauntlet. For an instant it seemed fine. A little cracked, but otherwise unharmed. Then it simply fell apart, the vast majority of the pieces no larger than Ochako’s fingertips.

“Oh no!” she gasped, bringing her hands to her mouth in worry.

Deku seemed unsure how to feel; his face blank in the sort of shocked and guilty way someone is when they break a vase at someone else’s house. Melissa shook her head and grabbed his good shoulder.

“It’s fine. Now that I know it works, I’ll file a patent and get someone to build you even better gear!” she assured him, pulling Deku towards the elevator where Midnight-sensei was gesturing them to hurry up.

As they passed Melissa’s dad, Ochako felt a bit of worry come into her that Melissa would stop and need to confront him before she was ready. She decided to intervene by slapping Deku upside the back of the head.

“Hey- ow!” he protested.

“Ochako, why did you hit him?” Melissa asked, aghast but clearly not going to intervene.

“That is the last time I let you go off and fight a villain on your own!” Ochako berated him, “Do you know how heavy YaoMomo is? I had to hold her up for like twenty minutes, with her flying around and doing tricks and all sorts of stuff! And the only reason I threw her after you is because you wouldn’t stop and listen to me! You wouldn’t let me help!”

“B-but Senchan-!” he tried to protest.

“Don’t Senchan me,” Ochako cut him off, “You’re in big trouble! I promised Inko-san that I’d take care of you, and you keep running off without me!”

Taking a deep breath, she held up a finger and nodded to herself, mentally calming down. This was the boy she liked. He was an awesome Hero. She didn’t want to hurt him.

“Okay, I’ll admit: I wouldn’t be super useful on the front lines with this guy” she conceded, “but you didn’t even wait long enough for me to offer my ideas. I was gonna let you drag Shinso up with you. You think he might have been able to help you get out of this without breaking Melissa’s stuff, and without you needing to leave your arm open to more injury?”

Deku opened his mouth as if to say something, before pausing and pursing his lips, looking down at his feet. Ochako nodded, then stepped forward to cup his cheek and get him to look into her eyes.

“Just… I know you’ve got your whole “body moves before I can think” thing going on. I love that about you; I really do, but you have to stop using it as an excuse. You’ve proved you’ve got a Hero spirit. Now you have to use that Hero brain of yours and think before your body moves. You have to rely on us. Even All Might needed help up there. You’re not invincible.”

Swallowing, Izuku nodded and pulled her into another hug, wincing a little as his hurt arm brushed her shoulder. She hugged back, making sure to make him wince a little more before releasing him to Indelible and Midnight, who had a few first aid items out and clearly wanted to visually confirm how he was doing before just accepting an “I’m fine.”

That out of the way, Ochako went over to YaoMomo and slumped against the wall next to her. Melissa took her other side. She rolled her head around to face the Vice Rep., grinning tiredly.

“So, how’s your night been?”

“Not bad,” YaoMomo mumbled, “I gave Kyoka a cannon of sorts, so she had fun with that, and that’s always cute. Shibara unlocked some level of godhood I believe, or at least divine aid to her Quirk, which was quite attractive to see. And then I got to call in a missile strike, which I do believe was the highlight of my night.”

Ochako nodded along, understanding maybe 20% of what she was going on about. YaoMomo tended to ignore explaining context sometimes, and fixating on the wrong details. It was funny when someone used a phrase that utterly baffled her, but was common in the rest of the world, but when you were trying to get a story out of her: it usually ended up with polite smiling and nodding while praying someone else would clarify.

Deku ended up wrapped in a lot more bandages than accounted for the visible injuries he’d had earlier, but Ochako really didn’t want to know what his explanation for that was. Instead, she let him collapse into her lap, his head resting against her stomach as he looked up at her; clearly exhausted. YaoMomo generously let him rest his shoulders on her thighs, but he seemed not to notice that was his que to become mega flustered.

“Midoriya?” YaoMomo asked him suddenly, “speaking in terms of Quirks: do you know why someone’s powers would suddenly mutate?”

“M-mutate? Wh-what do you mean?” he asked, suddenly far more alert.

“I mean, branch into abilities hitherto unseen,” she clarified, seeming suspicious but not worried, “Shibara suddenly had access to a new strength this evening, and as you are quite the analyst, I was hoping you might know.”

Deku relaxed a bit, before considering.

“Well, it depends on how she changed? Was it a new extension of her vines, like sprouting flowers or something? That might just be an unforeseen level to her Quirk maturing, or an incorrect assumption of how it works now coming into conflict with the true nature of it. Like someone who thinks they pull water from the air to use in their Quirk actually drawing it from their body or from the ocean via portals.”

“Or was it something completely unrelated, like shooting lasers from her eyes? That’s… well, harder to explain.”

Ochako turned to see how YaoMomo was reacting to the questions. She seemed to be contemplating, which wasn’t a usual expression for her. Usually she just knew stuff.

“I’d say it’s somewhere in between. She was able to suddenly control all the plants in the room you left us in. Not only that: her eyes were covered with blood, and yet she acted as though she could see. She claimed the leaves were seeing for her.”

Deku nodded slowly, before suddenly starting in excitement.

“If I’m right, she’s experienced something very rare for people not in the Hero profession!” he said, sitting up and looking at YaoMomo with bright eyes, “Did anything really scary or traumatic happen to her right before she first used these new powers?”

“Y-yes, how did you know?” she asked, recoiling a little in alarm, “Wait, you don’t thinking-?”

“YaoMomo: I think Shiozaki had her Quirk Awakening,” he confirmed, “She can control and sense through her vines normally, but if her body reacted to a danger beyond her ability to overcome: she might have subconsciously forced it to fully unlock, like how adrenaline lets people lift cars off children. She must have control over all plants now!”

Ochako felt a chill run up her spine. That was a horrifying concept. Someone with control over one of the twelve Kingdoms of life was kind of terrifying to think about. She was glad Shiozaki was on their side. And YaoMomo. And Todoroki. And even Bakugo. Heck, she was glad Deku was on the Hero side. The idea of his brain and analysis getting into the hands of some villain group like the League of Villains was… unpleasant.

“Midnight-sensei?” Ochako asked, her brain suddenly remembering why they were on top of the tower that night, “Is everybody okay? We left you all down at the party, and Kyoka was with Shiozaki downstairs when we ran on ahead…”

Midnight grinned and bopped her nose with a finger.

“They’re all fine, cutie. I put all the guards to sleep and got all the people on our payroll up and moving before too long. Nobody’s hurt more than a few scratches, and a stylish new haircut for Shiozaki-shojo, of course.”

Then Midnight glared at Deku, who quickly laid back down and curled towards Ochako’s body in fear.

“With one notable exception…” she grumbled.

Once all the students were taken to their rooms and the Heroes who’d been downstairs were all on the job again, Indelible finally had a second to sit down. Tensei let out an exhausted sigh. He’d done very little, but he was still burned out. He hadn’t expected to go into action, and especially not in enclosed spaces where he couldn’t really sprint.

Nemuri finally finished her work handing over all the crooks she’d caught, and walked over to his spot on the steps of the tower. He waved tiredly to her, about to open his mouth and ask if she wanted to find somewhere to get breakfast at when she grabbed his wrist and pulled him towards the city. He stumbled to his feet, alarmed at her sudden coldness.

“Nem, what’s-”

She looked back at him, her eyes sharp as blades. Tensei wisely shut up and simply caught up to match her pace. After a second, she let him hold her hand, so hopefully he wasn’t in too much trouble. Still, he was too scared to ask after that look.

Their course didn’t deviate as Nemuri took him out of the Expo and into the city around it. She didn’t say a word, merely grasping his hand as tightly as if he was about to fall off a cliff, and she wasn’t going to let him. Tensei was wise enough not to ask where they were going, and Nemuri certainly wasn’t telling.

Eventually, they made it to a food shop, and she wordlessly pushed him onto a chair. She spoke politely enough to the waiter to get them some Hayashi Rice (seven plates of it, actually, which was either her being amazing at guessing his calorie burning, or some kind of torture method he wasn’t aware of), along with some grapefruit juice for him, but otherwise she didn’t seem to be in the mood for conversation.

I’ve never seen her like this before, Tensei worried internally, She’s so intense, it’s like she’s a grenade which didn’t go off properly, and I have to retrieve her from the battlefield.

He tried to see her thoughts in those sky blue eyes of hers, but there was just a quiet force there. It wasn’t like she was hiding her feelings; they were just so powerful he couldn’t get a read on what she was going for.

He ended up eating five of the plates, and Nemuri tackled one on her own, but the seventh she seemed inclined to share with him. She seemed to be going for a cutesy vibe where she’d feed him, but her eyes were still so full of that… energy, he was a little freaked out, and wasn’t able to fully enjoy it. Still, at least she let him replenish his juice levels.

“Nem, are you-”

“Waiter!” she called, interrupting him with a raised hand with a handful of crumpled bills, “Does this about cover it?”

Tensei couldn’t help but notice most were ones, and oddly bent rather than crumpled or folded, but he had a feeling that was just her persona leaking out again. Still, they were accepted, and she started dragging him back towards their hotel.

“Nem, is this about my leaving you back with the others? You know I-”

“I know. You did your job.”

Her response was chilling. It was brisk, and while he didn’t detect a coldness in her voice, it was far too clipped. Tensei wondered just how badly he’d screwed up to make her act like this.

They did make one other stop before heading up to their room. She headed to the cafeteria and grabbed an aerosol bottle of whipped cream from next to the waffle maker, then shoved him into an elevator. Unlike anything else, that worried him. Tensei had only seen Midnight use that particular food as a reprimand tool once. He still had nightmares about poor Stampman…

“Tensei?” she asked, trilling her voice in a familiar way, “I need you to unwind a little. I need your stiffness to be more focused tonight, and I’m not in the mood for a massage.”

It was then that Tensei realized what she was getting at, and what her emotion was. It was so alien to think of Midnight as being pent up, but evidently now that she was going after him more exclusively… and seeing as he had run rather quickly from a room she was in…

I’m not going to survive tonight, am I?

“N-Nem? Are you sure we-”

“I’ll compensate them for the furniture,” she breathed seductively, “The question is: are you going to leave me to screaming in the shower, or are you going to join me tonight?”

Tensei swallowed. Nemuri was a really good girlfriend. She was attentive, understanding, flirty, pretty, cuddly, and most of all: she didn’t push, and knew when to lay off. He was pretty sure he’d fallen for her hard, and making her his one and only was very much on the table. Given how she seemed to want this night to go, the big three words might come out before they were asleep.

“No,” he said, cupping her cheek, “the real question is: why aren’t you pinning me to the wall yet?”

Nemuri’s expression lit up, and she quickly pressed a kiss to his lips, letting him twirl her as they exited the lift. To his alarm, she decided to surprise him by breaking free and sprinting for the door. He didn’t use his Quirk, so the chase lasted until the last second, but he caught her up into his arms by the end, stepping across the threshold like a newlywed couple.

She patted his chest to know she wanted to be let down, and he obliged her. Nemuri looked him dead in the eye and grinned hungrily.

“Clothes off,” she commanded, “Bed. Now.”

“ It is time: For Celebration!! ” All Might said, pulling a metal set of tongs from his chef’s apron and kicking his grill to start it up, “ There will be kabobs for everybody later, but who wants something American to start this party off with? Melissa, I know you like your hamburgers with three cheeses. ”

“Uncle Miiiight!” Melissa whined as his students laughed around her.

Regardless, he brought around the flavors she liked. A sharp cheddar, a swiss, and a paper-thin layer of parmesan. Even if she was an adult, he was the cool uncle, and entitled to some teasing.

Most of the students seemed inclined to wait for the kabobs, as they were more similar to what they got back home, would be pretty filling, and didn’t require them to open their mouths more than a few centimeters. He remembered how hard it had been to transition to the much larger bites when he’d gone to America. Still, Yaoyorozu, Uraraka, Shiozaki, and Midoriya all went for a burger. He decided to play a little trick on them and started working on no less than twenty patties, sliding over to the assembly table to start preparing a little game of sorts.

His students were all laughing and chatting, and it touched his heart to see them so happy, even after a rigorous battle like they’d just finished. Still, he had to wonder if they were really okay. Melissa was joking and playing around just as much as the others, but he had to wonder if she was just hiding how much she was broken up inside.

Luckily, it seemed like he wasn’t the only one keeping an eye on her. Kaminari and Midoriya were the closest; the latter glancing over at her every two minutes or so, even as he talked with Uraraka and Yaoyorozu about something or other, while the former was actually sitting next to her and making clear attempts to help keep her laughing.

Even more interesting was Hagakure, who seemed to be oddly protective of Melissa. If Kaminari made a joke that didn’t land, or said something that made her frown, the floating shorts would move over to him and he’d receive a sharp bop on the head. Sometimes Jiro would slide over and zap him as well, muttering something about him being a “baKaminari.” It wasn’t a bad pun, but it was a bit weak for someone of her linguistic talents.

“ Alrighty then! ” All Might shouted, summoning his students to the table.

“ We have a special challenge today! These four, ” he indicated the students who’d accepted a hamburger over a kabob, “ have decided to challenge the cooking power of All Might! Now we’ll see if they can put their mouths where their mouths are! ”

That seemed to confuse all of them, but the confusion quickly turned to alarm when he brought around the quartet of plates holding their meals. Each hamburger was made with extreme excellence, and even more extreme mass. Four patties each, with layers of cheese, lettuce, ketchup, pickles, mushrooms, caramelized onions, avocado, mayonnaise, mustard, tomatoes, pastrami, and bacon; all wrapped up in grilled buns and a Texas-sized toothpick through the center to hold them all together. They were accompanied by an enormous scoop of fries, and something between a cup and a bowl containing the fry sauce to dunk them in. Add on top a drink larger than All Might’s fist of their favorite beverage each, and they were looking at enough calories to kill a lesser teenager.

“ You have five minutes to eat it all!! ” he laughed, “ Losers will forever be marked with the shame of being unable to match the Might, nay: the Gravitas of the All Might Kitchen!! ”

The four students looked up at him, each expression some different shade of disbelief. He grinned and slid sideways, showing a much more moderate set of plates with a single patty each, and no additives so they could make what they chose.

“ Do you withdraw, and take the single, or are you ready to go Plus Ultra? ” he asked.

Uraraka cracked her knuckles and settled herself before the burger. Midoriya was right next to her, head back and performing some odd kind of breathing technique. To All Might’s alarm, even Shiozaki and Yaoyorozu seemed unfazed by the time limits and were already getting their napkins ready.

“We can still have those ones afterwards, right?” the heiress asked casually.

“ Um… sure? O-Only if you can handle it!! ” he quickly recovered.

Raising a hand with a stopwatch, he placed his thumb over the starting button.

“ Ready? Begin!! ”

All Might watched in horror as the four took a synchronous massive bite of each of their burgers. They all paused and let out sounds of enjoyment as they chewed. Midoriya was vibrating with excitement, his eyes lighting up with his usual energy with anything Hero related. Yaoyorozu let out a small whine of joy as she squirmed in her seat. Shiozaki was more subdued, but her hair fluttered a bit as she closed her eyes and put her hand to her cheek. Uraraka was the most eccentric though; kicking her legs under the table before taking a second bite.

Midoriya and Shiozaki took sips from their drinks to wash down their first bites, allowing the other two girls to start getting ahead with second and third bites. All Might realized he probably should have cut the time down to three minutes if he actually wanted to make it a race.

Or made bigger patties…

Yaoyorozu made it her business to eat well, Uraraka’s constant starvation probably made her body override any rational thought and just consume, and while he couldn’t speak to why Shiozaki was confidently working on her fries instead of the burger, Midoriya’s ability to consume high amounts of calories and protein in a short amount of time probably had to do with the ten months of training All Might himself had put him through.

Sure enough, by the three minute mark: there was little left on any of their plates but a handful of fries and a stray pickle or two. Uraraka was currently sipping at her pink fry sauce like it was an expensive wine, and eyeing Midoriya’s remaining fries, while Yaoyorozu was dabbing at her lips as if she had eaten a singular bite of expensive sushi, not gobbled down a massive hamburger. Shiozaki was holding her stomach, clearly the only one who’d gone beyond her limits, with young Jiro rubbing her back and looking quite concerned.

“You guys are crazy,” Melissa said, taking her third bite of her double patty with just cheese and a much smaller amount of toppings.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Uraraka said, tipping her drink upwards so she could start chewing on the ice, evidently unable to wait for it to melt.

“This is quite a normal midday meal for us,” Yaoyorozu confirmed, hand errantly grabbing at empty air where her fries had been.

“Kill meeeee…” Shiozaki groaned, leaning against the heiress limply and causing Jiro to look downright alarmed at the statement.

All Might was grateful Midoriya hadn’t said anything, only to realize the green-haired boy had vanished. He looked around, only to see him at the grill himself, flipping up some more and taking orders from the other Hero students.

When did-

“Hey, All Might.”

“ Ye-! ”

Without warning, All Might felt himself blank; the world fading away into dull echoes.

“ You will have the burger Midoriya is making for you, and you will enjoy it, ” a commanding voice echoed through his entire mind.

Toshinori couldn’t fight it, and couldn’t even register much other than a sudden burst of amazing flavors. It was like all that existed in reality was that burger, and savoring it. The textures meshed like some kind of dance; the crunch of the lettuce and pickles against the squish of the cheese and chewiness of the onions. The flavors twisted and swirled like music, each mixture of salty and savory forming a rhythm of pulsing ecstasy, with periodic bops of sweetness or spice that somehow enhanced rather than disrupted the energy.

Then, as if it had only been a passing dream, he awoke and found himself sitting at an empty plate. All Might glanced around, glowering a little at Shinso, who was taking a nap in the shade of an umbrella.

Ugh… now my artificial stomach hurts. Why did David equip it with pain receptors??

There was a sigh of relief at his other side, and All Might turned to see Midoriya there, looking at the empty plate.

“ Midoriya, I- ”

“Shinso only put you under for an hour or two,” he explained, “We needed you to eat something for once.”

“ We? ”

Midoriya tapped the side of his head.

“The Vestiges of our Predecessors and I talked while we were on the plane here. They have some… interesting thoughts. One of them being… that you’re dying, All Might.”

He seemed dejected, but not emotional. Either he was in shock about the revelation, or had come to terms with it. All Might worried either way.

“They say your Quirk overuse, especially since it’s a foreign Quirk, caused your body to conform to the powers in ways that are dangerous once you gave it away. The only way to keep you alive is to try and force your body back to how it was before you got One for All,” Midoriya explained, “You need to eat a lot more, and work out without Quirk use, to start rebuilding your muscles and train them to consume calories again.”

“ Midoriya, I’ll be fine. I still have a ways left before the embers of One for All fade, and once they do: I have no doubt you’ll take care of this world in my stead. ”

That seemed to worry Midoriya even more. He scowled at All Might and pointed at the grill. The Number One Hero looked over, seeing Shiozaki standing behind Jiro and holding her hands, helping her to cook a patty for herself. Yaoyorozu was watching intently, all of them laughing together as the flip landed the thing back on the side it was already on.

“Don’t you want to enjoy your life?!” Midoriya asked, distraught, “To enjoy seeing all the people be happy who you helped give that freedom? Don’t you have something to live for other than the legacy of our Quirk? Something to help you keep going?”

Then his tone turned quiet, and All Might turned back to his pupil, alarmed at his next words.

“I’m not going to be the next Symbol of Peace, All Might,” he almost whispered, “I’m not charismatic like you. I’m not strong enough yet. And… and I don’t want to end up alone like you did. The Vestiges all ended up dying alone, leaving behind families and friends to save the day. I’m okay sacrificing everything to save people, that’s why I want to be a Hero. But… but I don’t want to be alone. I feel strongest when I help my friends, and rely on their power just as much as they rely on mine.”

He looked up at his Hero, and All Might felt a pang of guilt in his chest. Midoriya cried a lot, but they were always big, flashy tears, often with hydraulic pressure. But the ones coming from his eyes now were clearly restrained, as if he was forcing back all he could, but some were still leaking out in his own self-disappointment.

“I need you to be here to help me find out who I can be. What it means to be the chosen one, and not be the only Hero of the story. Even when your power’s gone: I’ll need you.”

Placing a hand on Midoriya’s shoulder, All Might nodded.

“ Okay. ”

“Okay?”

“ Okay! ” All Might laughed, “ If you need me: I’ll be here. We’ll see about keeping this old buffer going a little longer. I’ll be by your side until you’re ready, and even after you’re whatever Hero you need to be… we’ll find something for me to do. ”

“Promise?” Midoriya asked, almost like a little kid to their parent.

Toshinori gave in, giving Izuku a hug.

“Promise.”

Tenya couldn’t seem to get a handle on this chair. It was shaped like a top, and always seemed to be resting on both the bottom tip and one of the sides, leaving him at an odd angle. If he leaned forward, he could use his legs to make a three-point stand, but it required him to use his abs and thighs to hold steady, which made it highly uncomfortable, and lacked most weight support.

“Izuku, how goes your training?” he asked, looking over to his friend.

Izuku was no longer performing the exercise, but instead seemed to be quite lacking in core strength and balance. He was spinning in a lazy circle, just rolling the whole chair around its central column. It was impressively uniform, and he didn’t seem to be getting dizzy. Uraraka was similarly rotating, smiling and laughing some.

“Tenya, it’s not training!” Izuku grinned, “It’s a silly chair! You’re s’posed to have fun with it. See?”

Reaching out, he grabbed Uraraka’s arm and gave her a push. The two of them spun even faster, getting up onto the tips of their chairs for a moment as they blurred in their centripetal motion.

“But- these are perfect for training and strengthening the stomach muscles!” Tenya protested.

“They’re also fun, Ida,” Uraraka teased, “You know? Fun. F. U. N.”

“I assure you: I have plenty of fun!”

Her disbelieving expression was quite disrespectful. Tenya clenched his fist and stuck a leg out. He revved his engine, letting it release some exhaust and speed him up.

I’ll have so much fun… I’ll have the most fun anyone’s ever had! I’ll be the champion and king of fun!!

As it turned out, all he ended up achieving was the need to sprint to the restroom and vomit. He… wasn’t very good at spinning yet.

I must improve… Spinning is a most excellent trick.

Her father was resting in his hospital bed, the two police officers outside giving her twenty minutes. Melissa looked at him, sighing. He hadn’t said anything the entire time she’d been here, and they were coming up on the ten minutes mark.

“I only have one question,” she finally said, deciding to speak first, “Why didn’t you trust me?”

He closed his eyes, still facing towards the window. The pain on his face was almost enough to make Melissa leave him alone in his guilt. Almost.

“Why?” Melissa asked again, her tone firm, “When did you decide I wasn’t strong enough? What statistic made you believe the Heroes of today aren’t good enough to keep me safe? Which villain’s insane rant convinced you that it was better to give up your life for maybe another year of coddling Uncle Might, than focusing on making other Heroes strong enough to fill his shoes?”

Through her interrogation, he didn’t look at her. He just squeezed his eyes tighter, a few tears slipping out as he listened. Melissa stopped, silently demanding answers. Her father didn’t speak for a bit, just continuing to silently endure his pain.

Another minute passed in silence, and Melissa started to wonder why she’d even come.

“My friends are having a beach day today,” she said, sniffing in irritation, “I left early to come see you. I thought… I don’t know, maybe that if you had some answers I could understand. Maybe that- that understanding would somehow make it possible for me to forgive you, or at least to move on. But I guess we’ll never know, huh?”

Curling up on herself, Melissa cursed herself for getting her hopes up. Of course he didn’t have an answer for her. Even if he did, she probably wouldn’t have been satisfied.

“I used to be like you,” he said quietly, drawing Melissa’s instant attention, “Idealistic. Imaginative. …Strong.”

He turned to her, still holding back tears.

“Then I had to confront the real world. Me and Toshi. He held firm. He believed that he was just a symbol; and one that could be replaced. I started to see how fragile peace was, and that he was the only chance we had at starting to establish a framework to maintain it. But we were both wrong. The world is lazy. Too lazy for Heroes like you and your friends. It doesn’t deserve you, but it’s lucky to have you.”

“Instead of building ways to support All Might’s peace, the world lounged in it; not realizing what it had until it began to fade. Instead of finding replacements to take up his standard, All Might just found himself surrounded by those who didn’t have the power to match their ideals, and those who were so focused on their strength that they neglected their hearts, and the hearts of those around them.”

“So when I realized that the time of Peace was coming to an end… I didn’t want you to have to face the world and become cynical like me. Not yet. Not when you’re still so full of youth and passion. I wanted to buy more time for you to build the framework I never finished. For your friend Midoriya to become the symbol All Might sees in him. I was… lazy. Instead of helping you take fate by the horns, I tried to prevent it from arriving. And now… now you’ll be all the more vulnerable for it.”

Melissa listened intently, feeling a bit of dampness in her own eyes. She understood his apology for what it was. In the end, he’d been doing what he thought was right, even though it was wrong. That alone didn’t make him a villain. It just made him… human. Like everyone else. Still, maybe that was something he hadn’t realized after all his years. That some villains were villains because they were human, while others were villains because they were choosing not to be human. Which, Melissa wondered, proved the greater threat?

“Well… I suppose I had to grow up sometime,” Melissa chuckled half-heartedly.

“I suppose. That red arm brace Midoriya wore… that was yours, wasn’t it?” her papa asked, his tone deceptively calm.

Melsisa nodded.

“I called it: “Full Gauntlet.” It was supposed to reinforce the user, in case their body wasn’t strong enough for their full Quirk. It was kind of an emergency piece of tech that somebody like Uncle Might could use if they got into a bind and were running low on stamina or durability. Deku’s Quirk is so tough he can only use a couple percent of its full strength, so it helped him go full power a couple times last night.”

Her Papa nodded, smiling.

“A useful idea. Based on the results, I’d say it’s worth entering into next year’s expo, if you finish the design. It didn’t look like it lasted.”

Melissa smirked. Always the problem finder, her dad. Problem finder, and problem solver.

“I’m actually thinking of passing off the technology to the US company who makes Hero Armor plating for your designs,” she said, “It’s more than proved itself, outmatching the power of a David Shield enhancer. I think that’ll get me a few points.”

He chuckled.

“I always knew you’d replace me someday.”

“No,” Melissa said, reaching out and taking her father’s hand, “I can’t replace you. I’ll never be the father you are. Or the inventor. But… I think I can succeed you someday. When I’m ready. When I’ve learned what I need to learn. I even have my own Hero to support, just like you had Uncle Might.”

“Midoriya? Is he…?”

Melissa shook her head.

“He won’t be the one who takes care of me, Papa. But… he will be a good little brother for me to live for keeping safe. One day, when he’s a Pro., I’ll be able to look at this picture like you look at the one you took of Uncle Might way back when.”

Pulling out her phone, Melissa showed her father a picture of Deku in flight, chased by an array of surface-to-air missiles as he sailed up the tower.

“I pulled it off the security cameras,” she explained, admiring how focused and Heroic he looked, “he’s quite the risk-taker, no?”

“I suppose that’s just one more way he takes after his mentor,” Melissa’s father sighed, “Tell Midoriya… tell Deku, I said thanks for saving me from my own stupidity. And… tell Toshi: I think he picked well.”

“I bet they already know. But I will.”

“Thank you.”

“Miss?” a voice came from the door, “One minute.”

Nodding, Melissa stood up. She looked at the door, then to her dad.

“Bye Papa. I’ll visit later.”

She leaned in for a hug, wrapping him up as tightly as she dared.

“I love you, Melissa. You’ll always be my little girl. Everything I do: it’ll always be for you.”

“I know. I love you too Papa. even when you make mistakes.”

“Hey.”

Mashirao looked up from his seat on the edge of the sand, but he didn’t see anybody. Then he felt something soft and fluffy on his shoulder. He smirked, leaning back towards Hagakure and resting against her as well.

“Hi.”

“This trip was pretty fun, huh?”

“It was.”

“...too bad we never got to dance.”

Glancing into the empty space where she was, Mashirao hummed his response, wondering what she was up to.

“The sunset’s pretty romantic,” she continued, “ Hint Hint. ”

Ooooooh.

“Yeah. Um… do you want to dance then?” he asked, his tail wagging just a little as a shiver ran down his spine.

“Yesssssssss!” she cheered, the pressure of her head on his shoulder vanishing, replaced by a tugging of invisible fingers on his hand, “Come on, I’ve got an idea.”

She pulled him to his feet, yanking him across the beach to the edge of the water; the heavy walls around the island still hanging above them but utterly forgotten as Mashirao realized why she wanted that spot.

The spray from the water and the light from the sunset combined, catching on her skin here and there to reveal her shape. It was vague, and he could barely make her face out, but for a few split seconds, Toru came into focus as an angel, outlined by little diamonds of light. He felt his jaw go numb.

“Am I pretty?” she asked, placing a hand in his and one on his shoulder.

Mashirao managed a nod, letting her maneuver him into a dancing position and then start to sway gently. Without thinking, his tail slid around to rest at her back, just above his hand.

“You’re… wow…” he managed.

“I like being wow. Thank you.”

For a while, they just danced, letting the sun set beside them. Mashirao felt content.

“Ojiro?” she asked as the light began to fade.

“Yes?”

“I… can you call me Toru from now on?” she asked, sounding very timid, “I- um… I really like you. Like, more than other people. I know Monoma and I seemed… kind of friendly, a bit ago. But it was just friend stuff, I swear. I’m not really… I’m not into him. And I want people to know that… that you’re special to me.”

Mashirao remained quiet for a moment, just continuing to dance with her.

“Okay. I can try. Do you want to call me by my name too?”

She was silent, but there was a subtle flutter of hair by his chin.

Oh, she’s nodding. …how cute.

“Mi-Midoriya-shonen!” Toshinori called after Izuku, barely managing to keep up in his skeletal form, “Don’t run so- …oh jeez… holy… ugh… so fast!”

Izuku forced himself not to grin. He’d already pulled the joke of waking him up early on their final day on I-Island to begin his “Health for Life, Japanese Homebrew” training, and that was teasing enough for one day.

“Don’t worry, All Might! It gets easier by the eighth month!” Izuku insisted, reminding All Might of around the time he was able to start dragging the cars off the beach, and All Might had insisted they would be easier than the fridges.

They were not, incidentally.

Still, Izuku did slow up just a bit, letting All Might catch up until they reached the top of the hill, now able to overlook much of the island. Toshinori was gasping for air, clutching his right side for a change.

“Blasted… natural… lung…” he wheezed, “at least David’s… holds up…”

Izuku sighed, offering his mentor a water bottle. The two of them stared up at the sunrise for a moment, the contents of the plastic quickly vanishing.

“I think- gah, I think you might be onto something with the whole… lack of real muscles thing,” Toshinori admitted.

Izuku remained silent, closing his eyes and holding his arms out at either side. At the top of the hill, he could feel the breeze. Oh how he wished he could fly…

“All Might?” Izuku asked after a bit, still staring out at the sunrise.

“Yeah?”

“Why didn’t you ever tell Professor Shield about One for All?”

Toshinori was silent for a bit, and Izuku wondered if he might not answer at all. But then he let out a regretful sigh.

“Because… I knew he’d want a family one day. I knew that he’d want to have the comfortable life I fought to give the world. With my secret… my true secret: he’d always be in danger. He’d act in such a way that would let people like our “Family Enemy” know how to manipulate him, and me as well. And his family might become targeted because they’d use him to get to me. I was already far too close to him, and he kept so many secrets anyway, I guess… I figured it would be one less thing he would have to keep from people.”

Izuku mulled that over. It didn’t really seem like it had helped much, in the end, but maybe he wasn’t aware of some significant context?

“You keep calling him that,” Izuku noted, “Does our “Family Enemy” have a name, or is it more a metaphor?”

“If he had a name, it’s been long since forgotten. Maybe one of our Predecessors knows it, but I’ve never found out. He always went by the name of his Quirk when I knew of him. He was called: All for One. ”

Izuku considered it. First must have a sense of humor or poetic irony. Then he realized why his role was so important. Why All Might was so determined to hold on to every second of his life.

“He must have stolen some kind of long-life Quirk,” Izuku muttered, “If he was still alive to hurt you. And with that much time… he could have almost any power. He could have duplicates upon duplicates, and compacted and mixed abilities…”

Holding out his hand, Izuku studied the spiral scarring, remembering how his fusion of Blackwhip, Ukiyo, and Stockpile had combined to create a blast of a power far beyond what he could ever have managed with any of them individually. With someone who could pick and choose, and likely could support them far more than he could…

“More than that, he has enough to give out a few when things get rough,” Toshinori agreed, “That villain we fought a couple nights ago; Wolfram: he evidently had one of what are no doubt hundreds of All for One’s collection of Power-type Quirks. It wasn’t much, but with David’s device: it was enough to catch me off guard, and without your aid: I would have probably been defeated.”

“Well, I’m glad I could he-”

Izuku broke off, feeling his skin chill. The morning was warming up, but he realized something he’d been taking for granted.

“...All for One’s still alive, isn’t he?” Izuku said, not really asking.

Toshinori wilted, nodding.

“I thought I killed him. The top half of his head was almost powder, and his organs were splattered across the ground and my hands. But there was no body when I was found, and given the recent appearances of the Nomu and this development… Yes. Yes, I think he’s still alive. Him or someone he’s given his Quirk to.”

“That’s somehow even more concerning,” Izuku shivered, looking back at his mentor, “Someone with the power that forced eight generations of Heroes to fight against it, mixed with the emotional and unpredictable whims of someone like Tomura? …At least someone as ancient as All for One would be predictable; set in his ways and able to be worked around…”

They fell into an uncomfortable silence, when Toshinori asked Izuku a question for once.

“Why do you want to know?”

“It’s my fight now. I figured I should-”

“The Vestiges could have told you. At least some of it. But you asked me. And… you asked about why I keep it a secret.”

Izuku smiled to himself sadly, bowing his head in rebuke.

“I want to tell Ochako and Melissa about it before the Quirk Analysis she’s running today,” he admitted.

“Wh- why?!” Toshinori choked out, bringing a handkerchief to catch some blood.

“Melissa will probably find out about it anyways, or at least suspect. If she knows more details, it’ll mean more accurate data, and I can use that to get stronger in time to be ready when All for One’s Quirk rears its head again.”

“Fair enough, but it’s a gamble I don’t advise! Not to mention, Uraraka has no reason to know. She’s not going to read your analysis.”

Izuku looked at his mentor sheepishly, before looking at his red shoes.

“Oh.”

“Yeah…”

“I- I don’t wish to make light of your feelings,” Toshinori said, his tone cautious, “I know that your affection for her is real, and you may very well pursue those to their ultimate end. I wish you all the happiness if that happens, but… you are only just sixteen, Izuku. Your first love isn’t necessarily the last. I- I’m not saying she won’t be! Just… it’s a step that seems a bit premature?”

“I know. I just… if I’m going to tell anyone, I want her to know first. I was gonna tell Mom first, but with how worried she’s been lately… I don’t know, maybe it’s better if she doesn’t have that hanging over her? Her anxiety has been getting worse. She’s been taking more pills than she should too, to try and cope…”

Izuku didn’t mean to pry, but he tried to help out by cleaning the house when he was up earlier than his mother. He found her prescriptions constantly, and by referencing the dates… she really wasn’t doing well. He worried it was his fault.

“Telling Uraraka is a romantic and profound gesture, just as telling Melissa is a tactical gamble with immense trust,” All Might said, inflating and placing his hands on his hips, “But I worry you might be doing it for the wrong reasons. Tell me: does Uraraka show signs of being interested in you for who you are?”

“Yes,” Izuku said, without hesitation.

“Then you aren’t telling her to try and enhance your relationship?”

“No,” Izuku answered again, just as quickly, “I want to tell her because I trust her, and because I want to be honest with her. She’s my best friend, and my partner. Whatever kind of partner she ends up being, even if it’s just as colleagues: I trust her with my life.”

“Very well. In that case, even though you don’t need it: you have my permission to tell her. On one condition: you wait until you’re certain for yourself. You can have no doubts. Once it’s told, it can never be un-known.”

Izuku nodded. It made sense.

“What about Melissa?” All Might asked, sounding more serious now, “Are you telling her because you trust her as well? Or because she knows me, and you trust her because of that relationship? Or are you really assembling a Harem of competent women to craft a new generation of Super-Heroes and take over the world, like the rumors suggest?”

That last part was obviously a joke, but Izuku still turned bright red and sputtered out his alarm and objections, making All Might laugh.

Melissa handed over the various flashdrives she’d compiled with every iota of data on each of their Quirks, feeling a sense of loss as she saw them all ready to go.

“Don’t forget to video chat me,” she said for what felt like the millionth time, hugging all of them again, “And don’t worry if you don’t understand something in those. I can email you more stuff if you have questions.”

“ Melissa, they’ll be fine! ” All Might laughed, patting her on the back, “ I’ll be sure to take good care of them. ”

Still she couldn’t help but worry.

“Thank you again for this data, Melissa-san,” YaoMomo said, bowing.

Her girlfriends bowed as well, Shibara a little unbalanced as her hair was still only to shoulder level.

Meanwhile, Shinso was looking over Ochako’s shoulder as she plugged it into her new super phone and started to read, her eyes lighting up. He, on the other hand, seemed confused.

“That’s not our language,” he mumbled, brow furrowing.

“It’s mine though…” Ochako drooled, “Physics…”

Deku seemed equally excited, but he managed to contain his excitement and bowed too.

Then all that was left were herself and Denki, who seemed sheepish. Melissa smiled.

“You want a goodbye kiss or something?” she asked, folding her arms and grinning at him.

“I- …I wouldn’t presume,” he said, blushing.

Melissa leaned over and placed one on his cheek anyways.

“Call me,” she assured him, “I’ve never done long distance before. It could be fun. Plus, having a boyfriend on my phone would help me turn down date offers easier.”

Denki seemed kind of put out at how practical she was being, so Melissa gave him an extra hug.

“Not to mention, you’re pretty great sometimes. Who knows? I hear sex is a great workout if you do it right,” she teased, trying to get his spirits up.

Denki managed a smile, and she squeezed his shoulders. He pulled away and gave her a goodbye bow, before running after his friends. He waved back at her, and Melissa returned the gesture, watching her new brother, friends, and boyfriend all head out the terminals.

“See you later Heroes!”