Chapter 52: Invitation to Join
"You…are a monster!"
"There is no need to be so dramatic, Midoriya," Yaomomo responds flatly, taking a bite of one of her high-calorie bars.
"Dramatic? Dramatic?!" Izuku cries from the ground of the laser tag arena as Todoroki applies ice to his heated body. "You nearly lit me on fire just to win a game!!"
"That's absurd," Yaomomo comments, finishing her bar. She hands the trash to Izuku, who vanishes the wrapper away to be thrown out later and conjures a new bar, which he tosses to his vice-president. "Todoroki and I took extra caution to be sure that the flames were controlled. The fire would have never touched you."
"Just another reason to take me up on my offer for a cooling system in your suit." Melissa trots over to the slowly gathering group of teens, collapsing her bow and putting it back on her belt. "Unless you plan for me to always be there with one of my extinguisher arrows to save you?" Together, both she and Todoroki pull Izuku to his feet.
"She isn't wrong." Izuku groans as Todoroki joins the conversation, making sure his friend is steady on his feet before letting go. "In both Hosu and our exams, fire was detrimental to you. And your system of creating ice is too slow to accommodate."
"Gee, anything else about me you'd like to criticize?"
"Yes," Todoroki replies cooly. He whips one of his notebooks out of nowhere as if the ice-and-fire user is the one with a pocket dimension. Turning past a page with a drawing of a snake-like creature with nine heads, Todoroki points to the profile he made of an intimidating man. "This man is known as Kraven the Hunter and uses poison-laced blades to incapacitate his opponents; why don't you do the same?"
Izuku opens his mouth to respond, finger raised. But after a couple of awkward seconds of trying to figure out how to defend himself, the greenette gives up, closing his mouth in defeat.
"That's tricky." Taking one of her arrows out of her quiver, Melissa wags it in front of everyone. "I've thought about tipping my arrows with sleeping agents, but it's different from making someone breathe in sleeping gas. Not to mention, getting the materials needed for them is a difficult process, even as a professional hero."
"Actually, that wouldn't be a problem with-"
"No." Yaomomo is quick to shut Izuku down. "Ms. Shield is correct-"
"Seriously, Melissa is okay. I promise."
"Apologies. Melissa is correct," Yamomo continues. "Injecting paralyzing agents into another's bloodstream by knife or arrow is dangerous in numerous ways. Depending on the other person's size, weight, and ethnicity, you could easily cause an overdose. Not to mention the moral implications."
"Can confirm!" Mina throws her hand into the air, waving it excitedly. "I have to constantly change the pH of my acid when I fight!"
"See?" Melissa replaces her arrow back in her quiver, the opening re-sealing itself. "Basically, we're just trying to say to not put anything on your knives yet, okay?"
Izuku agrees with her, and after making sure they had everyone, the large group of teens begins making their way out of the building. As they do, Izuku passes out snacks and Josta sodas to everyone from his pocket dimension, much to the annoyance of the food vendors they pass.
"Hey! Sign said no outside food or drink!"
"It wasn't from outside! It was from my pocket dimension!"
The teens quickly hurry along before the man can fully process Izuku's words.
"Will Tokage be waiting for us outside?" Tsu asks Denki as the exit draws near.
"No." The blond shakes his head, putting his phone away. "She sent me a text during the game that she wasn't feeling well and went back to her hotel room. I'm probably gonna go check on her after we leave here."
"While checking on the well-being of a classmate should always be commended, I'm afraid I must inquire about your intentions!" Denki shrinks a bit at the scrutinizing look Iida pierces him with. "This wouldn't be some complicated ploy to allow yourself to be alone in a hotel room with Tokage, would it?"
"You- what?! You seriously think I'd do something like that?!"
Chirp. Chirp. Chirp.
A cricket can actually be heard as every person stares at Denki with an eyebrow raised, their gazes unimpressed.
Chirp. Chirp. Chi-
"Stop it, Izuku!"
The trickster shifts out of his cricket form, cackling wildly to himself.
"Did you learn how to turn into a cricket just for times like these?" Tenko asks in disbelief.
"Yup."
"…Respect."
Tsu puts a finger to her mouth. "I'm not saying Kaminari wouldn't try something like that, but Tokage did look pretty sick when she left. I don't think she was faking. Ribbit."
"Thank you, Tsu," Iida puts a hand on his chin. "Still, I can't say I am entirely too comfortable with you going by yourself, but I suppose if Tokage truly is sick, it would be unheroic to not check on her and attempt to help in any way you can."
Seeing an opportunity, Izuku discreetly bumps Ochako and whispers something to her. Suddenly, the gravity user starts to cough into her hand. "Oh no…I'm not feeling good either…"
"Yo."
Izuku and Ochako turn around and jump when they see Jiro smirking at them, her earphone jacks dancing around her head. Next to the purple-haired girl, Yaomomo glares down at the pair, her height advantage over them never more apparent than it was right now.
Ochako miraculously feels better.
"Tenko and I will go with him. Ribbit." The gamer boy does a double take at being volunteered for an escort mission. "It works out," Tsu shrugs. "We make sure Kaminari won't need help with Tokage, then, I'll go with Tenko to explore the island like we wanted."
Iida takes a second to think it over. Meanwhile, Tenko blinks. The realization that he is going to be alone with Tsu very soon makes him scratch his neck in anticipation as he looks to Izuku and Todoroki for support.
Izuku gives him a thumbs up.
Todoroki's head tilts a little, his neutral expression remaining the same. Finally, after glancing at Izuku, Todoroki gives him a cautious thumbs up, but not before checking one last time it's what Izuku is doing.
"Yes, that does help put my mind at ease, thank you once again." Iida's thanks are punctuated by his chopping.
"No problem. Just remember, you're our friend, not our chaperone. I appreciate you trying to make sure we're all safe, but later, if some of us want to do things that make you uncomfortable, such as Tenko and I exploring the expo together alone, then I ask you to respect our decision."
Iida, as many others, is put off by Tsu's bluntness but recovers quickly. "I understand. And I appreciate you being straightforward with me."
"Always."
They make it outside to find Tokoyami waiting for them. "Hey!" Izuku greets. "You didn't want to join in on laser tag?"
"I was concerned that the amount of shadows that bathed the play area would make Dark Shadow… restless."
"He means we would've kicked all your asses!" Dark Shadow springs from within her partner. "But those guys wouldn't give me a vest or gun!!"
"That doesn't seem right…" Shinso mumbles, the insomniac not exactly the most comfortable with speaking in front of so many people. Izuku helps him get the extra attention off him.
By putting it on himself.
"That's not fair!"
"That's what I said!"
"You have your own thoughts and feelings! You're alive and deserve to be treated like everyone else!"
"Thank you! And if I wanna shoot humans for fun, why do they get to stop me?!"
"Exactly!"
Denki pats Izuku, beginning to leave with Tsu and Tenko. "We're heading out. Text ya in a bit."
"Thanks, Denki. And I hope Tokage will be okay!"
"I'm sure she will be!"
"I am not okay!"
Setsuna wails in the privacy of her room, her body in a fetal position atop the bed while her head spins aimlessly in the air above. "How could you say it'll be okay?! Nothing about this is okay!'
"You didn't let me finish."
The poor girl yelps when a strand of black goo fires from her body, wrapping around her head, and reeling it back in to be reattached in a daze. Setsuna shakes her head, putting a hand through her hair to give her some sort of sensation.
Opening her eyes, and for the hundredth time, wishing whatever this thing is just wouldn't be there, Setsuna's desires are dashed once again when she finds Venom staring back at her.
"Sorry." It didn't sound sorry in the slightest. "But I'm not going anywhere. Not yet."
"Not yet?" Setsuna isn't sure if this is some sort of fever dream or if she died, but either way, the thought that she'd soon be rid of Venom filled her with the hope that leaks into her voice.
Her hand, of its own accord, slaps Setsuna across the face.
"Ow!!" She yells angrily.
Venom snickers deeply, its grin growing. "Looks like you're still alive. And if you want it to stay that way, you'll do as I say."
Setsuna sucks in a breath as the creature's 'head' gets in her face, her eyes involuntarily traveling down to the many sharp fangs in its mouth. "Listen to me, Setsuna. From now, until I get what I want, you are mine. We do what I say. We go where I want. Do all of that, and you'll be back to school as if nothing happened very soon."
"And…" It takes everything Setsuna has to keep her heartbeat under control. "And what do you want?"
Her heartbeat slows out of nowhere. In fact, she can feel her whole body starting to relax. That's- how?! She's anything but calm right now! This thing- some sort of quirk? Whatever it is, this thing just threatened her life, and can take control of her body whenever it wants, how can she feel herself starting to relax?!
"Enjoy it while it lasts." Setsuna's eyes try to look at Venom when it speaks, but its grotesque appearance makes her eyes dart all around the room-
"I am not gross!"
She jumps at the offended tone of the creature. "And, as for your body, that would be me. I had your brain produce a little dopamine, followed by great amounts of serotonin to calm you down. I prefer my host to be calm and focused, and not acting like a big baby."
"Y-you can do that?"
"I can do lots of things." Venom answers, and Setsuna swears it purrs. "And if you're lucky, you might get to see a few of my tricks before I leave." She perks up at its words. "That's what I want. You, Setsuna, will be my ride off this miserable rock. Find me a more suitable host after and you're free to go."
"That's it?"
"That's it."
Setsuna still has a lot more questions than answers. For one, what kind of quirk can travel from person to person and choose who it wants to be bonded to? Unless, it wasn't a quirk? Is Venom a guy with the craziest mutation quirk she has ever seen and needed another person-
"Enough!" Venom snaps at her. "No more questions. And how dare you compare me to one of your silly little 'quirks.' We are so much more than any quirk can ever hope to be." It slowly retreats back inside her. "Perhaps, it would be better if I showed you…"
The green-haired girl's mouth opens to ask what it means, but she doesn't get the chance as the feeling of falling takes over. It's like Setsuna is swimming through a sea of lights and colors while being dragged by an unseen force.
Faster and faster she's pulled. The lights become more blurred as the force picks up its pace. Images of people and places she doesn't know breeze past her so fast that by the time Setsuna has registered a single image, thousands have passed over her in that time.
And as quickly as it started, it stops. The hero student screams, sitting up in bed, her breath coming in heavy pants being the only thing to distract her from her throbbing head. "What- what was that?"
"Only the most infinitesimal taste of the hive knowledge we symbiotes possess." Venom re-emerges from her back. "And only what you needed to know."
"What are you talking about? I don't know anything-" Setsuna gasps. "YOU'RE AN ALIEN?!"
"Now, we are getting somewhere."
"Knight to E6!"
Iida stiffens, bowing to Yaomomo. "Right away, your majesty!"
The bespectacled boy marches to his spot on the life-sized chess board several UA students had commandeered for the match between class reps.
"You gotta admire his dedication." Ojiro sweatdrops, scratching his cheek from his pawn square.
"Role-playing in any form is a serious matter." Tokoyami declares from Izuku's side of the board, not a hint of a joke in his tone. "It would be a disservice, otherwise, to both the character and those who have chosen to accompany you on your journey. That is why, until I am struck down, I will faithfully serve my king as his most faithful knight."
"And don't forget his steed!" Dark Shadow gives them a thumbs-up as she wraps around Tokoyami's body.
"That's the dedication I like to hear!" Izuku cheers. "What about my other knight? I don't hear him pledging his undying loyalty to me?"
Todoroki gives him a single nod.
"Good enough for me!"
"That's no fair!" Dark Shadow rushes Izuku, stopping in front of him. "Me and Fumi ride or die with you, your liege! He should have to say the same!"
"It's implied," Todoroki says simply. "We have been through two life and death situations together. Midoriya is aware of where my loyalties lie."
Tokoyami looks alarmed when Dark Shadow spins around excitedly, probably something to do with their mental link. "So, what you're saying is if we get into another villain attack with Midoriya, we're in?"
"I suppose."
"Deal!" Dark Shadow faces Izuku once again. "Is that alright?" Through his snickering at Tokoyami's facepalm, Izuku manages to give the quirk a thumbs up. "Awesome! Next villain attack, you call us! Day or especially night!" She rushes back to Tokoyami. "Fumi! Fumi! Did you hear-"
"You should not be joking about villain attacks."
"What's the point of living through a traumatic experience if you can't joke about it later?"
Tokoyami blinks. "I…can honestly say I don't have a response for that."
"Then that means I win!"
"That is not what it means!"
"Yay for trauma bonding!" Mina cheers randomly from her spot on the board, causing several others from the class to cheer with her. Onlookers watch on very concerned.
"I have to say…" Izuku glances over to the bishop when Shinso starts to speak. "Besides Bakugo, none of you act like what I thought hero students were like. And I don't know if that's a good or bad thing yet."
Melissa shrugs from her spot next to him. "What? You prefer normal people who talk about normal things? Boring! That's what I've been around my whole life! This is way better!"
"That's quite enough of a break, Midoriya." Yaomomo calls to him. "It is your turn."
"Don't mind if I do! Queen to A4!" When nothing happens for a few seconds, Izuku looks over at his queen, talking in a softer voice, "Hey, that's you. Queen to A4, it's that spot over there."
Ochako, her face red and very much not leaving her hands, nods before walking over to the spot Izuku pointed out.
"Would you stop keeping me calm?! I want to freak out!!"
Slap!
"And stop making me hit myself!"
"Then stop asking for it."
Setsuna groans loudly, flopping back onto her bed and rubbing her sore cheek. Once again, she feels all the normal emotions someone should feel like fear, dread, and whatever else drain from her body thanks to Venom.
"So, let me try again to see if I got this right." Setsuna sits up, massaging her temples. "You're an alien parasite-"
"No! Not a parasite!!"
"Okay, okay! You're an alien whose species lives in symbiosis with a host to survive?"
"Not bad." The sight of Venom's fang grin expanding dampens Setsuna's very brief feeling of victory. "You are correct, and as you have experienced, we do not require an invitation to join you."
Setsuna nods, possibly too much. "Got it." The green-haired girl gulps a little. "Aliens are real…wow…" She exhales in wonder. "I don't think I'd believe it if you didn't show me." Venom hums. "I still hate how calm you're making me about all this."
"Think of it like this." Venom's head seems to almost twitch every few seconds. "If another human was driving you in a car, you wouldn't want them panicking, would you? Humans can do regrettable things when they aren't thinking straight."
"Like crashing the car?"
Venom chuckles heartily. "We're pretty high up, aren't we? You could jump out that window right now and splat on the ground, your delicious organs littering the street, and I could still heal you enough to walk away. Do you want to try?" Setsuna swallows, her eyes looking anywhere but at the alien. Venom's head gets closer to her at a slow pace. "Do it."
"N-no thanks."
"Hm. I guess you're not the first to say no."
"Hold on." Setsuna's brain whirls. "You could heal me from any injury?"
"Almost. Would you like me to stab you and prove it?"
"That's okay!" She waves the alien off in a frantic manner. "No need for that! But, it just doesn't make sense? If you can keep your host alive, why aren't you still with Brock-"
Slap!
"You are not fit to say his name!!"
"You know what?!" Setsuna detaches her hands and tosses them in the bathroom, shutting the door behind them. "There! No more hands! Try slapping me now-"
Slap!
"Ow! Hey! What the-" Setsuna's eyes widen, her words caught in her throat, as she looks down to see her hands perfectly intact. "W-what? But my originals weren't destroyed? And even if they were, it'd take time before they regenerated, not to mention I'd be tired, what's-"
"That would be me." The green-haired girl looks up in alarm at Venom's smug face. "Don't be stupid, Setsuna. If I can heal your injuries, it obviously means I can regenerate your limbs."
"This- this is amazing!" Setsuna proclaims, flexing her hands. "With this, I wouldn't have to worry about losing my limbs! Oh, I could be such a bad bitch! Villains would have no idea where I'm coming from as my hand stabs them from behind-"
Setsuna covers her mouth in horror.
Venom, once again, chuckles. "Interesting." It circles her, looking over his host carefully. Setsuna uncovers her mouth to growl at it, before she slaps her hand back. "I've never been with one like you. But after studying your brain, it seems the more of your limbs we regenerate together, we become more like me."
"Like you?…"
"Aggressive, powerful, and majestic to say the least." Setsuna can't stop her eyes from rolling. "And just a small penchant for killing people." She feels like she's gonna puke.
At least, Setsuna does for a second before it goes away. Dammit, Venom.
"Honestly, I'd prefer it that way." Venom looks absolutely giddy at the prospect. "Don't misplace my intentions, Setsuna. You've seen my memories. You know Eddie's desire to help others influenced me to do the same. But, unlike you, we were willing to soil our hands."
When Setsuna gives it a hard stare, Venom finishes with, "Don't look at me like that. It was usually the bad guys."
"I don't kill people." Throughout her entire conversation with the symbiote, it was the first thing Setsuna had said that held no doubt.
"It wouldn't be you," Venom snickers.
Setsuna inhales deeply, before exhaling at a slow pace. "Then I guess it's a good thing this is only temporary."
Venom perks up, his head slightly rising. "So, you're agreeing to get me off this island?"
"If it means making sure you don't hurt anyone for as long as I can, then yes."
"Excellent." Venom exposes more of his fangs in a sharp-toothed grin, before retreating back into her. "Now! Here's the plan! You get rid of the people at the door, and after, we eat! And unless you want me feasting on your insides or some innocent bystander, it better be good!"
"You eat regular food?" Setsuna questions. "And what are you talking about? There's no one-"
Knock knock.
"Tokage? Hey, you up?" Oh, shit. It's Kaminari.
"Tater-Tots and LOTS of chocolate! As much as you can get! Hurry up!"
"And- and then…" David falls over himself laughing, putting his drink down on the table just in case he accidentally fell out of his seat. "So Hulk gets offended at All Might lifting a bigger building full of people than him, so he picks up a second building of civilians, putting it on his shoulders."
Toshinori looks up at the ceiling of David's private study, cringing at the memory of what his younger self was about to do. Sam, meanwhile, is laughing almost as hard as David, enjoying the story immensely. The alcohol in his system probably helps.
"But was All Might about to take that lying down?" David asks rhetorically. Sam shakes his head eagerly anyway. "Of course not! So, this knucklehead stacks two more buildings on top of himself! Hulk was not pleased. They started going back and forth, back and forth, until-"
"Dave, please." Toshinori tries not to beg. It apparently doesn't work as Sam starts to laugh harder. "In defense of my more rambunctious youth, we saved everyone in record time."
"Not before scaring the daylights out of most of them!"
"This is amazing." Sam takes another shot of his liquor, wiping his mouth. "How I wish I could've been there," he adds wistfully.
"I would've liked that too, Sam. With you, I might've been able to convince this madman to slow down every now and then." David laughs at Toshinori's offended look but skips over it, putting a hand on Sam's shoulder. "But I'm happy you joined me when you did. A lot of what this island has become wouldn't have been possible without you."
"You don't mean that…"
"It's true." Sam's head whips to All Might. "Whenever I've called Dave over the years, besides Melissa, you were always the one he was praising. Whether it was how he couldn't finish a certain project without you or how you reminded him he had been in the lab for too long, Dave has always spoken very highly of you."
"Guuuuuuuuys." Sam takes his glasses off to wipe his eyes while the other two men laugh. "I don't know what to say."
"You don't have to say anything." David leans back in his seat. "Just continue being a great friend and we're even."
Sam shakes his head, standing up with a bit of a wobble. "You are too good to me." He sighs. "But so is this liquor. I should probably head home and get some rest. Big day tomorrow, right fellas?"
"Did you want some help?"
"No, no." Sam picks up a tablet and hits a few keys. "That's why we have robots. You both enjoy your time and I'll see you in the morning." Toshinori and Dave say their goodbyes, before a couple of robots approach the door to help walk Sam home.
Once he was gone, All Might shrinks down, coughing into a tissue provided by Dave. "It seems like he's loosened up over the years?"
"Expensive alcohol helps." Toshinori chortles at Dave's joke. "But no, Sam's a great friend as well. I just like to make sure he knows that."
"That's good." The pair sit in comfortable silence for a few minutes, before Toshinori speaks again. "Have you heard from Melissa after the explosion earlier? Is she doing okay?"
"Hm? Oh, yes. She texted me. She said she was 'making a point' and didn't elaborate. But I'm sure everything's fine now."
"Uh…is everyone okay?"
Melissa Shield runs along with the rest of the UA students, their faces pale and full of worry as they make their way to another part of the island, the sound of mad cackling getting closer and closer. "What is that?" When no one answers, she looks around. "Guys?"
It's Midoriya who finally says something, though Melissa is unsure if he even heard her.
"How could she be here?!"
"Hello, is the invitation to join still available?"
Toshinori and David look up at the door to the study at the sound of the English accent. A man with short blond hair stands somewhat awkwardly at the door, wearing a navy blue button-up shirt with no tie, tucked into dark gray pants with a black belt.
Both men light up at the sight. "Of course!" David exclaims, gesturing towards Sam's empty seat. "We were both hoping to see you before your speech tomorrow!"
The man closes the door behind him, letting his human disguise drop to reveal the red android underneath his clothes. The Solar Gem sits slotted in his forehead. "Pardon my tardiness," Vision apologizes. "The robots at customs seemed very interested in me, making it difficult to proceed through normally."
"It's always something, isn't it?" David sighs, shaking Vision's hand. "We can't just go one year without some sort of hiccup, can we? I'll get a message to our maintenance crew to check it out."
"I wouldn't worry too much about it, my friend," Vision reassures him. "These things tend to happen to me quite a bit due to the nature of what I am." He shakes All Might's hand. "Toshinori. Always a pleasure to see you."
"Likewise," the hero greets, allowing Vision to sit. "We were actually just debating what you planned to speak about."
"Is that so?"
David hums. "That's right. If nothing else, your speeches always leave those in attendance questioning their very existence," he jokes. "And we were hoping for a preview."
"Mainly so we can brace ourselves for tomorrow," Toshinori joins in, causing Vision to laugh politely.
"No, no." Vision adjusts himself in his seat. "I hope to not have any of you questioning your existence per se." The other men lean forward in interest. "But rather, my own. Tell me, David. As a scientist, would turning off an android be the same as killing him?"
David leans back, blowing out a puff of air. "Not even here for two minutes and you're already asking the big questions, huh? Clearly, I haven't had enough to drink yet."
The three chuckle as David pours himself another drink. "You do not have to worry about hurting my feelings, I just hoped you would humor my thought," Vision clarifies.
"It certainly is a deep one." David swishes his drink. "Because if an android can die, then that means it was alive to begin with." David thinks for another few seconds. "I suppose it wouldn't be hard to decipher which side of the fence you land on for this discussion, Vision?"
"No, I suppose not." Vision smiles slightly. "But you could accuse me of having bias as well."
"Not that I could blame you either." David lifts his drink to him. "But depending on which way we take this discussion, we could end up debating what it means to be alive in the first place."
"I don't think we need to go that deep for an answer." David and Vision look at Toshinori curiously. "Now, it's no stretch of the truth that my thought process is much simpler than you two." All Might raises his hand to stop their predictable protests. "So, I apologize for the simplicity in my reasoning, but Vision, answer me this: if you were to be turned off, and never re-activated, do you know of anyone who would be saddened by it?"
Vision pauses for a moment. "I'd like to think my boys, William and Thomas would be, yes."
"There you have it. People would miss you. Therefore, you're alive." All Might takes a swig of his water to finish his point.
"I do like the way you approached the problem," Vision compliments. "But if I may play devil's advocate briefly, that same logic could be applied to a person being saddened by their computer dying. Would you categorize the computer as alive? Or how about if a man living in isolation, with no one to love or miss him, dies? This implies he was not alive as well."
Toshinori lowers his drink. "I should've known you could counter anything I say immediately," the old hero chuckles. "All I'm merely trying to say is that all life, no matter how big or small, make some sort of impact on the world. Whether it's on their environment or the people around them."
"That's very sentimental, Toshinori, thank you."
"If I may expand upon what Toshi is saying," David draws the conversation back to him. "How about this, Vision? Why were you built in the first place?"
A haunted look crosses the android's face, before he smooths it out. "My…creator as I'll call him - Ultron would have preferred I use the term father, but I digress - he created me to assist in the destruction of the Avengers."
"And how's that going?" David asks with a playful smirk.
"Not as well as he would have hoped." Vision smirks back briefly. "Especially considering I am one of the team's leaders."
"Is that what you have to do?" Vision gives David a quizzical look at his question. "I'm saying, after you were freed from Ultron's control, did you have to be a member of the Avengers? Could you not, theoretically, do something else?"
"Well…" Vision hums. "If we are being honest, I haven't put much thought into it, but you are correct. If I do desire, I could look into a different occupation."
"That's what I'm saying." David sips on his drink. "Putting aside the debates of the actual definition of being alive, having a soul, and whatever else people will come up with tomorrow," all three shiver, "Vision, you are not forced to perform any tasks, like say, a normal computer or a cleaning bot. You have the freedom to choose your path. Better known as free will. And I'm sorry to say, my friend, that being able to choose what road you take comes with its own set of challenges. Some spend years searching for theirs…"
Loki looks down at the printed picture of him, Izuku, and Inko. His expression is twisted and his grip tight. Taking a moment while he's alone to let out a shuddering breath, the god composes himself, looking up with a determined glint in his eyes. He vanishes the photo.
"Others wonder what the purpose is of the gifts they've been given."
Tenko waits slightly impatiently at Tokage's hotel room door with Tsu and Kaminari for her to answer. Without thinking, he moves to put his hand against the wall to lean against it, but years of experience with his quirk stop him.
He pulls his hand back, staring at ashy fingers with destructive capabilities he's more than well aware of. Cursing his quirk, Tenko lets his arm drop, flexing his fingers so a mechanical glove would cover his hand.
"And even if you find it, it's still possible to lose it!"
"Don't you dare look," Setsuna warns Venom as she reaches the bathroom, after yelling at Kaminari to give her a second, preparing to change.
"It's not like I haven't seen it all before."
Setsuna glares at the mirror.
"Oh, fine, whatever gets me to food faster."
"Good." They're silent as she takes a minute to change clothes, something lingering on her mind. "Say I get you back and you get to your 'better partner,'" Setsuna says the last part mockingly. "What happens then? What does an immortal alien with all the knowledge in the universe even do with themselves?"
When she doesn't get a response, Setsuna tilts her head in confusion. "Venom?"
"Basically, what I'm saying is, you're allowed to be as lost as the rest of us, and if that doesn't mean you're alive, I don't know what does," David laughs.
Vision smiles appreciatively. "Thank you both for giving me your thoughts. No doubt that patrons will go much more in-depth tomorrow. The topic can call for many different approaches on both sides, but that's why I enjoy bringing it up."
They all nod along, relaxing and enjoying a little peace before the hecticness begins the following day. Toshinori snorts. "One of my students said we'd be talking about when windows were invented. I think if he was here, he'd be even more bored."
"If we are speaking of conventional glass windows, that would be around 100 AD," Vision informs him.
"Why am I not surprised you know that?"
Setsuna opens the door to find Kaminari, Tsu, and Tenko waiting for her. "What's up, dudes!" She waves at them happily, the existential crisis building in her kept at bay by Venom.
"Hey!" Kaminari looks immensely relieved that she's better. Dork. "I guess you're doing okay now?"
"Yeah…" Setsuna starts uncertainly. "I think I'm good now. Probably just caught some bug-"
Slap!
The three teens at the door stare at Setsuna in shock. "Did- did you just slap yourself?" Tenko looks at the others as if to verify they saw it too.
"I told you not to call me a bug!" Venom yells in her head.
"You didn't have to hit me!" Setsuna mentally screams back. "They all saw that! What am I supposed to say?"
"That's your problem."
"Sorry!" Setsuna apologizes a little too loudly.
"You're sorry for hitting yourself? Ribbit."
"Yes! I mean, no? Yeah, no." She quickly corrects herself, Venom's laughing in her head not helping one bit. "I mean sorry for worrying you. Muscle spasms, you know how it is."
"Wow, so clever."
"Shut it!"
"If you say so…" Kaminari doesn't even look convinced, that's how bad it was. "Uh, Tsu and Tenko are gonna go off on their own, but were you up for coming back with me to the others? Or did you want to relax here for the rest of the day?"
"I don't know, Venom, am I allowed to be with my friends?" Setsuna makes sure her bitterness floods her mind.
"Just get me some food and I don't care what you do. No mentioning me or really loud places."
"Yeah, that sounds great." Tokage grabs the doorframe as Venom starts to try and redirect her legs back into the room. "Let me just eat something real quick and I'll text you Kaminari to see where you're all at."
"Well, I wouldn't want you to be alone-"
Tsu croaks a warning.
"We'll catch you later!" Kaminari gives her finger guns. "Take your time and let me know when you're ready. I can fly back to get you, I've been getting way better!"
"Oh yeah, get lots of practice?"
"Yup! Because when I'm with you, my head always feels like it's in the clouds anyway." He winks at her.
Setsuna snickers. "Not bad, slick. I'll let you have that one." Meanwhile, Tenko checks Tsu's expression to see how she feels about lines like that. He gets nothing.
Venom's groan could be felt all throughout Setsuna's body. "Please don't tell me it's gonna be like this all the time…"
Kaminari nods, walking off with Tenko to let her eat, but Tsu hesitates, still studying her. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"She suspects something! We cannot be exposed! Kill her now!"
"Yeah, I promise I'll be fine," Setsuna reassures her fellow greenette, before lowering her voice. "I didn't want to say anything in front of the boys, but I think it's just that time of the month if you catch my drift?"
Tsu nods in understanding.
"But I'm better and ready to take on whatever else is out there!"
"You should probably call All Might to see what it would take to initiate an island-wide evacuation." For once, there is a pinch of worry in Todoroki's voice as he observes the chaotic scene in front of him.
"I'd usually say you were exaggerating, but…" Ochako can't take her eyes off what she's witnessing.
Iida looks like he's going to be the next one getting sick.
"Midoriya, shall I deploy sleeping gas?" Yaomomo's suit begins to rip a little at her arm.
"F-Fumi." Dark Shadow shivers from behind Tokoyami. "Is there a hole deep enough for us to hide in?"
"I am unsure…"
Shinso leans over. "Now would be one of those times I could use my brainwashing, right?"
Izuku shakes his head. "Usually, it would be. But it wouldn't work with her, when she gets focused, she won't even know you're there, much less respond to you. Yaomomo, get sleeping darts ready just in case. Too many people are coming over for gas."
"Why do you all look so nervous?" Melissa is the only one not the least bit fearful of the scene in front of her. "She looks nice!"
"I must've missed my invitation to join the expo in the mail! But they seriously thought they could keep all these wonderful babies away from me just because I didn't have a ticket?! How dare they underestimate me!! Afterall…"
Mei Hatsume turns around, executing a command on her tablet. The employees of the Stark Tech pavilion scatter as several legacy Iron Man armors land behind the support student. "This place was practically made for me!!"
Chapter 53: History Belongs to the Bold
UA Teacher Chat
Rattator: My word! I must say, even with classes suspended for summer break, this has been a nice, quiet, and relaxing day!
Rattator: Which can only mean that something must be horribly wrong! :D
Rattator: Would the perpetrators like to confess, or shall I find you with my own merit?
Rattator: Please do not confess.
Eraserpillar: Why are you pinging my phone on one of the few days I can fully rest?
Rattator: I wish to play a little game.
Eraserpillar : Get your cameras off me. Most of my cretans skipped off to I-Island. Anything they do is their problem.
All Shite: I'll have you know that we are almost through the first day here and your students have been very well behaved, Aizawa
Eraserpillar: You must be following Midoriya's illusions then.
Rattator: Speaking of illusions, have you been able to locate your lost sleeping bag yet, or are you still resorting to using the replacement?
Eraserpillar: I interrogated Midoriya about it before he left…
Midoriya holds up two printed photos. "Here we have two photographs. One is a sleeping bag on the ground. Another is a sleeping bag in a garbage dump in the Philippines. Which is your sleeping bag?"
"Don't you say it…"
"Trick question! They're both your sleeping bag- erk!"
As the prankster struggles in the capture scarf, only one question is on Shota's mind. "How did you get my sleeping bag to the Philippines?"
Heimdall smirks.
UA Teacher Chat
Eraserpillar: The investigation is ongoing…
Karaoke Master: Eri and her friend were with me or one of my clones all morning for their math lessons. That may explain the lack of Nomu incidents.
Karaoke Master: I must say, Eri is accelerating in the subject at an alarming rate, it's very impressive
Badger: Can confirm, Laura was with Eri for lessons and training after.
Badger:
Badger: Which me of you bubs changed my name
Badger: Don't be shy, I'll even give you a fist bump
Eraserpillar: I am suddenly glad to be awake
Badger: Fuck off
Eraserpillar: Wow
Eraserpillar: Creative
Mandalorian: Well you see here Mr. Wolverine
Mandalorian: Laura and Eri got to talkin ya see
Mandalorian: And may have spilled da beans yer don't like the name badger. So, in a serendipitous situation, begged me to change yer name
Badger: wait, how were they talkin?
Badger: I know Eri is learning Spanish and Laura Japanese, but they shouldn't be that far yet
DJ Cockacool: THAT'D BE ME!!
DJ Cockacool: Being multilingual really has its perks, yo!!
Eraserpillar: I am suddenly less glad to be awake
Mandalorian: I said no to changin your name Mr. Wolverine of course, but ya know when kids get those puppy eyes…
Badger: where are you
Manadalorian: We can be civil like about this
Rattator: He's in classroom 3A :D
Mandalorian: Sir!
Rattator: As I said, it's been too quiet
Mandalorian: Wolverine's fixin to stab me!
Rattator: Do make sure to see Recovery Girl after and she'll fix you right up
Rattator: After all, we can really only get away with what we put our students through because of her
Kneecaps Beware: I truly fear for this school once I retire
Rattator: My dear Recovery Girl
Rattator: As if I'd let that occur :)
Kneecaps Beware: Uh huh. And when I die?
Rattator: My dear Recovery Girl
Rattator: As if I'd let that occur :)
Badger: Been there
Badger: It's overrated
Rattator: Be that as it may, none of this goes to explain why the school has been so uncharacteristically quiet today
Mei Makes Me Drink: I have a theory…you could say
Rattator: Well, do go on Power Loader, I love hearing other's hypotheses
Mei Makes Me Drink: Right
Mei Makes Me Drink: You see, yesterday was like any other day with Mei but I don't know what happened, if my patience got the better of me or it was the 607th explosion but…
Mei Makes Me Drink: She was here late as always, complaining about not being able to go to the Expo, when her latest explosion knocked my drink onto my laptop, losing me vital work I was doing for the Commission and locking me out of their system
Rattator: A terrible loss
Mei Makes Me Drink: ANYWAY. She told me she could hack her way in on her own computer to get my work back and in a bit of childish impatience and annoyance, I told her if she could do that, why didn't she just hack into the I-Expo's mainframe and get herself a ticket into the event?
Rattator: Oh my
Mei Makes Me Drink: I meant it more as a "go home for the day and leave me alone!"
Mei Makes Me Drink: But I believe she went ahead with my request…
Rattator: Oh dear
DJ Cockacool: BAHAHAHAHAHA!! We're not going to have an I-Island by the end of the Expo!!
All Shite: Er
All Shite: I didn't want to say anything but…
Mei Makes Me Drink: She's gonna get arrested…
Eraserpillar: I thought you said the kids were behaving, All Might?
All Shite: To be fair, Aizawa, I said YOUR kids were behaving
All Shite: Young Hatsume is not your student
Rattator: I am enjoying myself immensely.
Eraserpillar:
Eraserpillar: You are spending too much time with Midoriya
All Shite: As the kids say, if you can't beat them, join them
Eraserpillar: Ugh
All Shite: @Mei Makes Me Drink Do not worry about young Hatsume
All Shite: We have taken precautions to avoid her getting arrested
Toshinori lifts his phone back up to his face. "I'm sorry, what was that? Yes, you were able to confirm me? Wonderful, then that is right, any damage sustained by Mei Hatsume should be billed to the Mighty Agency. Yes…yes that's right, thank you."
Hitting the end button, the hero glances to David, who walks up to him from where he was having his own private call at another corner of his office. His old friend sighs, cleaning his glasses. "It's as I guessed, Ms. Hatsume was only able to access older armor sets and none of the Iron Legion. As well, any fines incurred will be sent to you. I appreciate the sentiment to not place a teenage girl in debt for years to come, but can you afford all this?"
Chuckling a little to himself, All Might pockets his phone. "Decades of being the number one hero while barely spending any of it, except for necessities and donations, have left me quite the nest. I also agreed to pay any damage to Stark Industries' Pavillion and suits."
"They were okay with that?" David questions, not quite believing the company would just agree to such a simple and straightforward solution.
"Well, I am Japan's Symbol of Peace and have worked with them before to obtain technology for young Shimura."
"And?"
"…And I made a sizable donation to their September Foundation Program."
"There it is."
"There is one more matter to address." Toshinori and David give Vision their attention as he steps back into the room, having just gotten done with a call as well. "Many of the suits Ms. Hatsume has gained remote access to are one of a kind and irreplaceable. While the company does have an AI duplicate of Mr. Stark that could assist in rebuilding the suits, they would prefer they not be damaged or destroyed."
David laughs, looking between his two compatriots. "I suppose they had to say that, but even the older suits were pretty durable. You don't honestly think she'd be able to destroy them, right?"
"D- do you guys do stuff like this all the time?!"
Don't get him wrong, ever since the Sports Festival, Hitoshi has been working hard to get his stamina up these past few months, whether it was working with Eraserhead or Gunhead. But even with all of his training, running around with the hero students as they chased a cackling pink-haired psychotic, who may or may not be trying to sink the island, is draining.
While the brainwasher is bent over his knees, gasping for air like it was going out of style, he feels a light prodding on his shoulder. Looking up, he sees Midoriya offering him a water bottle with an apologetic smile.
Hitoshi nods to him in thanks, and chugs half the bottle in a single gulp. It's the coldest, nicest water he's ever had. He supposes it's a perk of the green-haired boy having some sort of ice quirk.
No longer feeling like he's on death's door, and more as if he's a couple of meters from it like usual, Hitoshi straightens, trying to recover quickly and not embarrass himself around the others. Not that any of them seem to be judging him. "Where did she lead us to now?"
The group stands in one of the more open areas of the island, and in front of them lay a large archway with some sort of energy shield separating them from the next section of the island that Hatsume studies intently.
Around the teens, nice paved walkways swerve around them, fountains entertain children, and trees sit equally spaced throughout. It could almost give the illusion of peace.
He imagines Hatsume will have it burning within the hour.
"We're just outside the most general Pavillion area of the Expo." Melissa hops off her glider. No, Hitoshi isn't the least bit upset that she got out of running all this time. "Companies like Stark Industries and Oscorp get their own areas sectioned off, but for smaller businesses, their pavilions are grouped together in a more theme park kind of setting."
"And what's that over there?!" Midoriya points to a lake near them where it appears different robots race and fight, some even forming constructs from the water.
"That is an aquatic challenge area. Different companies test their robot's aquatic features there in a race to the finish."
"Is it just robots or can people compete as well?!" Midoriya asks, raising his hand and jumping up and down like a child. How this guy talked Hitoshi into any of this will forever remain a mystery to him.
Still, if he wasn't here, he'd probably just be in his room listening to music while cuddling his cat, Goose. Not a bad day by any means. But he can admit in the safe confines of his mind that being out today with the other teens hasn't been awful.
Melissa puts a hand to her chin. "I suppose there's no rule against a person competing, but…"
"Midoriya!!" Hitoshi has determined that Iida really does do the hand-chopping thing nearly every time he talks. "While I have no doubt your swimming skills are excellent, I believe even you would have trouble competing with machinery specially designed to propel through the water!"
Hitoshi nearly trips when Uraraka answers him. "Yeah, but Deku can turn into a swordfish." For once, it seems as though the purple-haired boy isn't the only one receiving new information for the first time. "Did he never mention that?"
Todoroki shakes his head while Dark Shadow emerges from Tokoyami to hover near Yaoyorozu. "No!! He kind of buried the lead on that one!"
"What?" Midoriya puts his hands up in defense. "It's not my fault we haven't really done any swimming exercises at the school!"
"Wait a moment…" Yaoyorozu narrows her eyes in realization. "Midoriya… based on my observation of your behavior, did you learn to turn into a swordfish simply because it is a fish capable of impaling others?"
There's no way Midoriya would be that-
"Yes!" Midoriya confirms. "I figured it would be good to have a fish form and what better one than a fish that could also stab! My dad was so happy with my choice!" He laughs.
Nevermind. Hitoshi has yet again learned not to underestimate Midoriya. At this rate, he's this close to asking the guy if he's into piquerism, but knowing his new maniac of a friend, he'll probably tell him if he's into it or not sooner or later.
Wait, when did he start referring to Midoriya as his friend?
Hatsume hums, her eyes dialing in on the shield. She hits a button on her wrist, producing a holographic screen that she begins to type on, having transferred all of her tablet's functions to it. "According to this, that baby scans everyone's tickets before they go in." Right on cue, a couple walks through the shield with no problem, the color changing from red to green for a brief moment as they do.
"Yeah, but it's no problem if you have a ticket." Melissa chuckles nervously. "You do have a ticket, right Hatsume?"
"I have something better!!" Mei types quickly on her holographic screen. "The drive to succeed, a willingness to learn, and most importantly," She hits one last button, the screen flashing the words 'Access Granted.' "Access to the Island's security network."
"Wait, wait, wait." Melissa waves her hands in front of her. "You don't have a ticket? And you're still here?! I mean, to do that, you'd first need a plane ride, but you could never buy a ticket this close to the Expo, so you would have to hack your way into an airline and put yourself on a flight-"
"I flew first class. Gave everyone on the plane WiFi for free."
"But customs scanned you all as you came in-"
"Mine mysteriously stopped working when it was my turn."
"The system should have stopped the conveyor belt-"
"Mine went faster!"
Melissa stands back in shock for a second, before shaking her head. "You really hacked your way onto the island?…" There's a tenseness shared by them all, unsure of what Melissa would do next, her face neutral. Well, almost all. Mei continues to type on her screen without a care in the world, bringing up the different pavilions near them.
When Melissa lunges at Mei, Hitoshi has a hundred different possibilities run through his mind all at once, and even then, he's still somehow wrong.
"Teach me your ways!!"
To her credit, Mei doesn't seem concerned in the slightest as Melissa shakes her somewhat violently by the shoulders, shouting in her face. "I've always wanted to learn, but between engineering, archery, flying lessons, and school, I never had the time! There were just never enough hours in the day and I still need to sleep-"
"There's your problem right there!" Without missing a beat, Melissa now finds herself being shaken as her fellow inventor yells back. "You're letting something as silly as pesky little sleep hold you back!! Meanwhile, the world keeps turning on and on, leaving you behind! You want my opinion, sleep is nothing but a big waste of time!"
…Okay, maybe Mei isn't as bad as Hitoshi originally thought.
"I'm telling you, stay up with me, and we can have your flying baby hitting Mach 2 before the Expo is done! However…" Mei releases a frizzled Melissa, circling her. "We'd also have to upgrade your flight suit. Because you know, you might die a fiery painful death! But could you imagine the thrill of going that fast!!"
Laughing while the rest of them try to back up carefully, the support student disappears in a blur, latching onto a helpless Midoriya and yanking him forward. "Broccoli here can create illusions; we can use him to test how babies will look in different experiments!!"
"Wait, I-"
"Shush, Broccoli." Mei shoves him to Melissa, who luckily catches the falling boy. "Keep in mind you'll have to be awake too. But don't worry, it'll be hard, and you'll both probably be exhausted and sweaty after, but I believe if you two work at it all night, you could have several new babies by morning-"
"Alright! That's-"
Uraraka lets out a tiny 'meep!' as Mei begins tugging her in a different direction. "Don't worry, Kirby! You'll have a job too! Why waste time with moving equipment when we have you?!
"Legs!" Mei points toward Iida who looks around, seemingly hoping that somehow, she was talking about somebody else. "Transportation and security!!"
"Hatsume!! We do have names-"
"Candy Cane!!" It's honestly impressive how Todoroki doesn't flinch when Mei gets in his face. "Power Loader-sensei says I have a tendency to overheat my babies with how hard I work them, you'll keep them cool! And maybe put out a fire I start every now and then. It's not so bad though! My average has gone down to a fire every one minute and forty-three seconds!"
"What a mad banquet of d-"
"Can you die?"
Tokoyami seems rightfully taken aback by the question. "E-excuse me?"
"Can you die?" Mei repeats with the widest grin on her face.
"Of course, I c-"
"Not you, bird! Your friend, your raven, your quirk!" It is probably pure shock that stops Tokoyami from reacting when Mei opens his mouth and shines a flashlight inside. "Can it come out of anywhere or is it only the holes in your body?"
"Excuse you!" Dark Shadow firmly moves the pink-haired girl away, being careful to not hurt her. "First, get out of his face. Second, uh, I'm not sure if I can die? I've never been destroyed or anything?"
"Great!" Mei rubs her hands together. "You can handle any dangerous radioactive material we need!"
"Any what now?"
Never once had Hitoshi wondered what a gazelle felt like when a lion locked eyes with it. Nor had he wondered what a fish felt as a shark charged it from below. Not once did he think about what it could be like to be a normal civilian watching as a villain aims their quirk at them. But he imagines none of those feelings are dissimilar to what he feels as Mei Hatsume locks eyes with him, her eyes spinning as they zoom in on him.
Running is pointless; he will accept his fate with bravery.
"Eyebags!! You can control people, yeah?!" For once, being worried that the person he's talking to will consider him a villain is the last thing on his mind as he nods. "Excellent! You can gather 'volunteers' to test our babies! For some reason, I have trouble finding some."
Before he can protest, Mei is in the personal space of an extremely uncomfortable Yaoyorozu. "What can you do?"
"You do not know?"
"No! Oh!" Mei tilts her head. "I have a baby back home that could help you! Number 49602 forces people's quirks to activate! Maybe we can find out that way! We just have to stick a few dozen needles in you and-"
"My quirk is Creation!" Yaoyorozu answers hastily. "I am able to create any non-living object I know the molecular structure of by using my fat cells."
Finally, that seems to halt Mei in her tracks, her mouth hanging open as she stares at Yaoyorozu in disbelief. Her eyes never seemingly stop as they zoom in and out on the hero student. Hitoshi has no idea what's going on, something he's finding more and more common as he hangs out with this group, but for Yaoyorozu's safety, Midoriya seems to understand.
"Todoroki!" The son of the number two hero needs no more words to know what Midoriya wants, freezing Mei on the spot up to her neck while she struggles greatly.
"Let me at her! Let me at her! You can't just put a living 3-D printer in front of me and keep her away! Think of all we can accomplish! With you at our side, we can save thousands of hours of building time! We don't have to wait on shipments anymore! No more paying for raw materials! Silly little laws about what's legal to import and what's not don't matter anymore! I could finally get my hands on some Uranium-235!-"
"Oh, look!" Melissa shoves a pamphlet in front of Mei's eyes. "A lot of the pavilions are starting their special activities! Which includes competition-"
"Contests?! Let me go, let me go, let me go, let me go!" Melissa smiles in triumph at her distraction, sticking an arrow into the ice covering the other teen, causing it to melt. Midoriya and Todoroki still stand in front of Yaoyorozu in caution.
"What are we waiting for? Time to put my new babies to the test!!"
"She's not talking about what I think she's talking about, is she?"
"It's simple, contestants." The Pavillion instructor gestures to the mock house next to her. "This home is infested with vermin that, thanks to the homeowner's quirk, are not affected by any conventional chemicals or poisons. What kind of device would you design?"
"I know the perfect baby for this!" Mei hits a button on her holographic screen. "If poisons don't work, then keep it simple with Iron Man armor model number 11!" People scream and run as the armor flies up the house. "War Machine!!"
It aims its multitude of weaponry at the house, including a Gatling Gun and flamethrower, "I'd like to see some rats survive a missile!"
"Underground heroes often need their equipment to be designed with stealth in mind, lest it is useless to them in the field. Your assignment today will be who can most easily sneak up on me-"
"I win!" The instructor gasps and falls over when a dark blue armored suit appears from nowhere, aiming a wrist-mounted gun at him. "Model 43!! Stealth armor! Its guns are also silent! Did you want to see?!"
"I wish they could do something about those birds around the island. They keep shitting on the sidewalk and it's annoying if you step in it-"
"Not to worry, sir!" Mei materializes next to the random man, her fingers blurring through her holographic screen. "I have an armor I think was made for dealing with birds! Let's see- ah! Here it is! Model 38! Phoenix-Killer A-"
"Noooooooo!" Melissa tackles the teen before she can summon the armor.
"Whosoever's equipment gets them across the lake first wins! Go!"
As all the other contestants jump into the water, using their support equipment to drag them through the water as fast as possible, the instructor tilts his head to Mei, who simply waits. "Excuse me, Miss? Are you not going to participate?"
"Give it a second! My baby testers gave me an idea earlier!!" The sound of something flying towards them grabs both of their attention. "Oh, there it is! Model 66!" The white armor aims its hand at the lake. "Ice armor!!"
"No, wait!"
Too late, the lake is frozen and Mei is running across it, cackling.
The mock miniature city behind one of the pavilions vibrates violently as the new armor lands. "Villains with strength enhancement?! No problem for Model 13!"
"I-I said I have a slight strength enhancement!" The volunteer villain quivers, looking up at the hulking armor. "Isn't this a bit overkill?!!"
"Better safe than sorry! And what's safer than the Hulkbuster Armor?!"
Midoriya puts his phone up, eager to film the fight.
"This wouldn't even be a fight!" The man screeches. "That thing would crush me in a single hit!" Midoriya sighs, putting his phone down. "Probably turn me into red paste!"
Midoriya lifts his phone back up.
"How did Hatsume get into one of your labs?" Yaoyorozu asks Melissa as they all watch Mei run from person to person, giving them advice and tips on whatever project they were working on. "I assumed they would be some of the more secure rooms on the island."
"They are." Melissa laughs a little to herself in incredulity. "How else? She hacked her way in."
"And done!" Mei spins around. "All of your babies should be working perfectly now!" In a bit of a surprise moment, the six scientists look to Mei in wonder, as she claimed, all of their previously unworking inventions begin to operate as intended.
For a few seconds at least.
Before they exploded.
Mei Hatsume is truly a wonder. Never has anything in his life made Hitoshi want to actually sleep more than she did. But, for now, it seems they had found something to entertain her enough that the island wasn't in danger of sinking anytime soon. Tomorrow may be a different story, but he's not going to worry about that right now.
Since it seemed that a public lab would be out of the question, Melissa had opted to take them to a more private setting, with the pink-haired girl hacking the door open faster than she could fish the key card out of her pocket.
It's a large room with random tech thrown around seemingly without care. But Hitoshi doubts that, given where they are. At least the air-conditioning is nice.
It's brightly lit with a bright aqua blue and white coloring on all the benches and workstations. Tools that look worth more than Hitoshi's life sit at different stations around the room. He feels him trying to use one of those would equal those old experiments where scientists would make monkeys solve jigsaw puzzles.
"This is my personal I-Island Academy Lab." Melissa walks to the front of the group, looking a little shy, as if she didn't think about where she was taking them before they got there.
"So many potential babies!!" Mei zooms past her, inspecting every item she can get her hands on. "All those Stark babies gave me so many ideas!! Like what if I made my own?! Maybe if I show them what I'm capable of, they'll give them back! Maybe even let me use some of the suits that had higher encryptions!
"Model 50 looked so cool! Number 57 was everything I dream of when I think of mechs! Model 70- actually, nevermind, that one was creepy, and then there was model 63! Imagine what I could do with the Godbuster armor- oh!" She grabs something off a shelf and runs it back to Melissa.
"Can I use these?!!" She asks, holding up a set of wings from the Vulture suit.
"Uh, sure I-"
"Thanks!! Now, please tell me you have these somewhere?!!" The blueprints she holds up are for four mechanical arms. Melissa shakes her head in amusement, leading Mei to one of the back rooms.
"I'll tell you guys one thing." Midoriya slouches against a wall. "I'm going to sleep all day until the dance tomorrow night."
"Same." Uraraka yawns, leaning against him.
Either those two are dating and they know it, or they are dating and they don't know it. It's not Hitoshi's business in both scenarios, but he can't help but notice.
"I know what you mean," Dark Shadow agrees. "Fumi's so tired that even I might sleep tonight!"
"You don't sleep?" Midoriya perks up at the thought of learning more about the quirk.
"I can but I don't need to! I usually just float over Fumi's head, watching him sleep."
"I told you not to tell others that, due to how it sounds!"
"I don't think it's that weird." Midoriya shrugs as best he can with Uraraka against him. Tokoyami's eyes widen a little at his words. "My clones have told me they'd sometimes watch me in my sleep. Mostly out of boredom if it helps."
"They get it! They totally get it!" Dark Shadow exclaims. "I'm attached to Fumi so what else am I supposed to do?! Plus, if he ever has nightmares, I've been there to-"
The quirk can continue no longer as Tokoyami drags it back inside himself. "I believe that is quite enough from you!" They all hear what suspiciously sounds like a raspberry from inside him.
"No, no need to be embarrassed!" Midoriya shakes his head rapidly. It's like the guy has a mental need for people not to feel bad about themselves around him. "Funny story, when I was little and would have nightmares back before I got my clones, I would get scared, but didn't want to bother my parents and wake them up so I…I…" he hangs his head. "I would create illusions of them comforting me."
There's a beat of silence before-
"You are so precious!!" Uraraka, whether on accident or not, uses her quirk on the greenette as she embraces him tightly. "You must be protected at all costs!!"
"Ah," Tokoyami acknowledges, shifting on his feet. "Thank you, Midoriya. But you didn't need to admit that. I have understood for a while that Dark Shadow and I are not the conventional sorts to be seen with-"
"It was those other kids who weren't cool enough to hang out with us, Fumi!" Dark Shadow sneaks out of her partner to correct him. "Not the other way around! Don't get it twisted!"
"You didn't have many friends growing up?" Midoriya asks carefully. Hitoshi looks at the guy, expecting to see pity on his face, but instead, all the brainwasher sees is understanding.
Tokoyami gives the smallest nod. "Many of those who had the potential to share in our revelry were turned away by either mine or Dark Shadow's appearances." His quirk lays her head sadly on his shoulder.
"Me neither." Neither Tokoyami nor Dark Shadow can hide their surprise at Midoriya's statement. The trickster holds his arm up, letting a little green energy flow up to his fingertips. "Everyone around me only cared about the powerful quirks that were good for heroes. That wasn't illusion creation. So I chose to do what I was good at and hide."
"Used to be good at." Midoriya goes a bit red at Uraraka's words, something she seems to enjoy very much. Ugh, kill Hitoshi now. He'll continue his polyamorous relationship with coffee and music, thank you. "I didn't really have any friends growing up either…no one really wanted to be seen hanging around the poor girl."
Midoriya snuggles closer to Uraraka so he can whisper to her, with Hitoshi being able to hear as he was close to them. "When you make me meet your parents, point out your old classmates so I can stab them."
"Only if you point out yours so I can throw them into space." The two giggle together and initially, Hitoshi wants to puke, but all he can see on either teen's face is pure joy. He looks away and tries to push certain thoughts away but can't. If they could grow up like him, without friends, could he be happy like they are one day? Even with a quirk like his?
"If we are all being honest with each other, I will admit that I grew up with hardly any peers as well." Yaoyorozu's words stun them all, Uraraka most of all.
"You, Yaomomo?! But- but-"
"It's true. Most of my time growing up was scheduled for me with lessons and study. And though my family went out quite often, it was typically to social gatherings or work related events specifically curated for my parents. Hardly the environment for making friends. And if I was approached, it was normally a ploy to get closer to my wealth."
"I, too, experienced something similar." Todoroki closes his notebook with a bit more force than necessary. "There was nothing like listening to people praise Endeavor for hours on end."
Midoriya taps Hitoshi on the shoulder. "We may be due for another Endeavor prank when we get home," he says quietly.
"I recall seeing you at many of those parties as well," Todoroki reveals to Yaoyorozu.
She smiles softly, nodding. "Yes, I remember seeing you as well. You were probably one of the few who looked just as bored as I was. There were a few times I even thought of approaching you."
"I was a less… receptive person to others back then; it is probably a good thing that you didn't. But things have changed since." Midoriya gives a not-so-subtle fist pump. "And I would usually hide those types of feelings, such as boredom," Todoroki shrugs. "But I took pleasure in knowing how upset I made Endeavor, while making it clear to all that I did not want to be there." The two-toned hair boy thinks back for a moment. "Actually, reminiscing has made me remember that Endeavor had ordered that I approach you and begin a friendship."
"But you didn't?"
"No. As you suspect, it would have been to gain connections with your family, so I refused. He didn't let me out much after that."
"I apologize that he did such a thing. However," she pushes some of her hair out of her face, "thank you." Todoroki nods in return.
A couple of minutes later, Hitoshi finds his solitude wall time interrupted by Midoriya, who leans back next to him. The rest of the group had spread out through the lab after Melissa's reassurance that nothing in there could be broken, or in turn, break one of them.
"So, what do you think?" Midoriya questions.
"Pretty cool lab."
The green-haired boy snickers. "Good answer. But you know what I meant."
"My earlier statement still stands. Absolutely none of you are how I pictured." Hitoshi looks at the other boy to help make his point. "You were all supposed to make this easy. Be these selfish stuck-up jerks with your perfect little lives who looked down on people like me. Not be so goddamn relatable despite being so sickeningly sweet."
"Wow." Midoriya crosses his arms, a knowing smirk on his face. "Judging people before getting to know them. That's pretty mean to do, Shinso. Good thing you don't know what that's like at all."
Hitoshi opens his mouth to retort but stops, his eyes bulging at what Midoriya had just pointed out. He's always been so sick his entire life of people thinking he would turn out to be some villain like Kilgrave when they learned what his quirk was. Always sick when they would turn up their noses at his dreams of being a hero. Always sick that…that…
That they wouldn't even get to know him.
And here he was. Being a fucking moron and doing exactly what all those jerks had always done to him. Not giving a chance. He looks up at Midoriya, suddenly a bit more hesitant. "I- uh…"
"Relax!" Midoriya elbows him in the arm. "Believe me, you are far from the biggest hypocrite I've had to deal with. I just thought you should know since you didn't want to turn out like those guys. And hey!" He elbows him again. "Maybe now you can see that being friends doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg."
Hitoshi sighs, turning back to watch the rest of the group playing around the lab, while Iida tries and fails to keep some type of order. "Yeah, I guess I have been somewhat of an ass."
"Somewhat?"
"Don't push it." Midoriya laughs but lets Hitoshi continue. "Every time I've been ready for you or one of your classmates to belittle me, the exact opposite has happened. They praised me for my quirk during laser tag. I expected to be made of fun for not being as physically fit as you all earlier, but no one said a thing. And now, I find out you all don't have like, a million friends each? C'mon man, give me something here."
"I'm rich, you can hate me for that."
Hitoshi sighs, banging his head lightly against the wall they lean on. "I suppose that's something…" They're silent for the next minute, but it's not uncomfortable. "And I suppose, for being an ass, I can be a bit more open with you all, because despite everything I thought going into this…" he tries not to look at Midoriya's expectant eyes. "You're all not awful. Hell, I don't think I'd even use the word bad. I might even say you were all…alright."
"That's what I like to hear!" Midoriya grabs his arm, dragging the brainwasher to the middle of the room. "Remember, there's no going back now! Hey everyone! Shinso says he wants to get to know each of you better!"
"That's not what I-"
"You said you'd be more open so it begins! Who's first!"
Tokoyami steps forward. "I was born on a dark and stormy night…"
Hitoshi glares at Midoriya, who doesn't bother trying to contain himself. But when he starts speaking about his own childhood, and seeing the attentiveness everyone gives him, he finds he doesn't mind it so much.
"And the villain is launched through yet another wall! Maybe he'll take the hint and- oh no! I know they're supposed to have hard heads, but even I think this is ridiculous!!"
Two individuals watch one of I-Island's main attractions on their hotel room tv, wishing they could attend in person.
The stadium erupts in cheers as the villain, on loan from Tartarus, frees himself from the hole in the wall. Muscle fibers lower from his head from where they had protected it, reforming to bulge out his arms and legs. "Is that really really the best you got, you oversized tin can!?!"
Muscular's grin is easy to see through the screen as he leaps at the Hulkbuster armor again, trying to bring down the massive suit.
"Here comes Muscular once again, bringing both his fists down on Hulkbuster's head!" The announcer screams. "But the suit is unbothered!! And a repulsor beam to the chest sends the villain flying once again!"
"Astonishing," Wolfram muses, "how we as a species can apparently evolve so much in some ways, and yet remain so primitive in others."
"The scientist tells me that this attraction is hated by most who live on the island. But, due to the revenue it brings both the island and Tartarus, the board of directors insists it stays running." Dictator chuckles. "I assume it's another reason why they came to us."
They watch as Muscular's punch is so powerful, it creates a shockwave when it hits the palm of the Hulkbuster, but again, the armor is unfazed. The villain is grabbed and ragdolled through the air, being slammed into the ground repeatedly and without mercy.
Muscular tries one last time, using his enhanced legs to jump from wall to wall and off the shield protecting the audience while hitting the bot, before using all of his momentum and muscle to bring a devastating attack into Hulkbuster's chest.
And while the machine creaks and dents, it's not enough as Muscular is sent back down to the ground once more, and after several quick but high-powered attacks to the head, the villain is left unconscious, much to the crowd's delight.
The arena fills with sleeping gas as a precaution, the audience still protected by the stadium's energy shield, while Iron Legion drones secure Muscular with quirk-restraining cuffs.
Wolfram sighs. "Shame that he lost. But he's got quite the quirk, wouldn't you agree? Ah, but alas," Wolfram fakes sadness. "It is too bad that there will probably be no way for us to convince him to work with us."
Dictator snickers.
Sam yawns as he scans his way into the lab, his slight hangover thankful that none of the early morning rays could pierce the underground area.
Not surprisingly, David is already there, finishing up some tasks on the computer and only noticing Sam when he gets close. "Good morning!" Sam cringes a bit at the volume, causing David to laugh. "Nuh-uh, you knew you had to work this morning and still chose to drink! You don't get to complain!"
"What choice do I have when you offer me the best alcohol on the island?" He reaches for one of the mini-fridges stashed around the room, grabbing a bottle of water. "And who has that type of energy in the morning?"
"How could you not?!" David goes back to his computer. "I mean, today's the day, Sam! It all goes down tonight! We get everything we've worked for!"
"It is a bit surreal when you put it that way."
"I know!" David replies enthusiastically. "But changing the world always is!" When Sam only nods in return, David calms himself a bit. "Something wrong?"
"It's just…" Sam exhales, taking a large drink of water first to help his throat. "Many before us have tried what we're about to do. And I know you've read the history books. I just can't help but think-"
"Sam." He jumps a bit when David places both his hands on his shoulders. "I understand your hesitation, believe me. I was hesitant at first too. But I also looked at history, and I believe it's on our side."
David lets him go and moved back to his computer. "Many of mankind's greatest inventions could have been their downfall. Look at Nuclear technology. It could've ended humanity with a push of a button, but instead, it ended the worst war we have ever seen. AI has improved our lives in countless ways, look at the Iron Legion drones. Nanotech, the Large Hadron Collider, the list goes on and on Sam, do you see what I'm saying?"
At his still slightly confused look, David says, "September 26th, 1983, an alarm sounds in a Soviet Nuclear early warning center that the United States had just fired five nuclear missiles at the country. Stanislav Petrov saved the world by following his gut and determining the alarm to be a false one, which it was. That's what I'm saying Sam, history belongs to the bold. To those who don't take everything at face value and dare to dream. I'm a dreamer, Sam. Are you?"
Sam swallows, a kernel of doubt still on his mind. His gut didn't trust what they were doing. But his gut did trust David, his oldest friend. So looking up, Sam gives the other man a determined nod. "Let's do this."
David smiles, relieved, before hitting a key on his computer. "Okay, my friend. Tonight, we save the world."