Chapter 88: Plata
As had become a common occurrence in the Yakuza's underground base of late, bloodcurdling screams echo down the narrow halls. Not that it seemed to bother any of the criminals from completing their daily tasks. Especially Kurono, who keeps a brisk pace as he makes his way towards his master with their guest in tow.
None of them are strangers to torture. And even if some were, that quickly changed after they lost Eri. With her, Overhaul usually kept their sessions much farther into the tunnel system. Add onto the fact that with every day, the girl screamed less and less as the pain became routine, it would be unusual to hear her cry out.
But ever since Eri disappeared, things changed. Now, instead of one, they had multiple prisoners in their care at a time. Low-rank heroes, rival gang members, politicians, anyone and everyone they could get their hands on that Overhaul believed could give them some clue on Eri's whereabouts.
And Overhaul, in his genius, discovered quickly that letting their prisoners listen in on interrogations was an effective method in breaking them mentally before he ever got his hands on them. Hence, the screams of his victims became a daily occurrence.
But the screams today aren't from any normal prisoners. Before, Overhaul saw the interrogation sessions as business transactions. They help find Eri and then are returned to their families. Plain and simple. But now, it is no longer business for Overhaul. It's personal. These things, these Skrulls, as they had discovered they're called, had the audacity to believe they could infiltrate their organization and get away with it?! To make a fool of the great Overhaul without consequence?! They were sorely mistaken.
Kurono opens the door to the Shie Hassaiki interrogation room, the smell of iron quickly filling his nose. Overhaul stands above two strapped down Skrulls. The usual pristine and silvery metal of the tables the aliens lay on are soiled with grimy and mucky purple blood. Two Yakuza grunts work diligently to clean up the mess before it annoys Overhaul.
"Kurono," his master greets him. He lifts his hand from one of the Skrull's chests and it gasps, breathing heavily as if a great weight has been lifted. "Seeing you always reminds me what loyalty looks like." Kurono thanks his mask for covering his smile, grateful for the compliment. "Have you brought him?"
"Yes, my lord."
Kurono steps aside, removing the bag over their guest's head. The emissary smiles brightly at them, the sudden light in their eyes not bothering them. One could easily confuse him for an ordinary man in ornate white robes if it weren't for the mess of wires and other technology Kurono has no hopes of identifying that stick out from the back of his head. Or the way the irises of his eyes glow in contrast to his black sclera behind them.
"Gentlemen, I thank you for making the best decision of your lives today." He places a holo-disk on the ground next to him and it activates, but nothing can be seen. "My master was eager to dispatch me here once news had reached him that you had the power to reveal in whom the Skrulls hide."
"You mean once we had something to offer him."
The emissary beams, showing all of its shiny white teeth. "Nothing is free, I'm afraid. Especially not the time of the greatest being to ever grace the galaxy. And you should hope Earth takes as little of it as possible. He has centuries of work that needs to be done once he obtains what he wants from here."
"I see." Overhaul scans the emissary up and down, trying to get a better understanding of how it works. "Your master must be quite confident to plan that far ahead."
"But of course, Kai Chisaki." Overhaul turns back as the sound of heavy footsteps is heard from the holo-disk. "Why, to not have faith in myself would equate me to an atheist."
The Yakuza all subtly lean away from their leader, his anger starting to pour out of him. "That is not my name anymore. It is Overhaul. Nothing more, nothing less."
The emissary balks at him. "You would dare speak in such a way-!"
"Calm yourself," his master commands, shutting the emissary up. The footsteps become louder. "It is refreshing to see another cast away their lesser name to become something more. For at one point, I was called Herbert Wyndham."
The master steps into the range of the holo-disk, materializing before them. He wears an armor that encloses his body, with the entire ensemble being a dark red with the exception of the silver arms, legs, and neck area. A red helmet resembling a face hides his head from view. It contains an eerier dark yellow glow and uncanny silvery-white teeth. "But now, I am known as the High Evolutionary."
Shota Aizawa hates surprises to a hypocritical degree. On the one hand, surprise takedowns are how he deals with most fools he encounters on a nightly basis. And if that should not work, the surprise villains feel when their quirks suddenly stop working is just as effective.
He should have nothing to complain about. But he will anyway. He hates surprises and the inevitable amount of variables they bring into any situation. Which is why Shota likes to be prepared. Using logic and facts to be ready for almost anything a night can bring.
Sometimes to an absurd degree if Hizashi and Nemuri are to be believed. They certainly had a lot to say to him when Nezu finally folded the rest of the faculty into the know about their demigod children this past weekend. The underground hero was relieved. It was a headache keeping track of what he could and could not say in front of certain people.
But he can't be prepared for everything. He knows All Might and Nezu like to take the blame for the USJ attack, but Shota deserves it too. He had gotten comfortable within UA. Too complacent. And because of that, his students paid the price.
The underground hero would like to proudly declare that it never happened again, but it has. Several times. Hosu. The training camp. And not just in regards to villains. Shota has had many other surprises just thrust onto him this past year. Like the fact that aliens not only exist, but that two of his students are alien as well. That was a fun revelation that he could have in no way prepared for.
His traitorous brain reminds him that ever since they first met, Midoriya had told him his quirk was magic. Shota stubbornly tosses that fact away. The problem child knew no one would believe him. And was smart enough to shut his powers off whenever he knew Shota was looking at him. Or claim the hero had been staring at a clone whenever he had managed to catch the kid off-guard with his quirk.
Infuriating.
Being the hypocrite he is however, Shota will admit that not all the surprises he's been given this year have been bad. He certainly wouldn't classify Eri as one. Which is why, even with his hate for surprises being well-documented, he had quickly agreed to meet his adopted daughter early in the morning for something she had been planning.
And it is why after seeing her, he marches back to the school with one thing on his mind.
It's a relatively normal Monday morning for Izuku Midoriya as he walks the halls of UA. The sun is shining. The birds are singing. And he is currently trapped in his teacher's scarf being interrogated. All is right in the world.
"How did you do it, problem child?"
"Do what, sensei?"
"Don't bullshit me, Midoriya. How did you get her inside the school? Inside my apartment?"
"Deku?" Uraraka pokes her head around the corner. "What's going on?"
"I think for the first time, sensei is falsely accusing me."
"I know you had something to do with it!" Aizawa shakes him violently. "Why was Ms. Joke in my kitchen this morning?!"
After having a completely rational and calm conversation with Midoriya, Shota let him go off to homeroom. He intended to follow, but not before he was stopped by yet another surprise.
"Aizawa." Snipe tilts his hat to him.
Shota nods back. "I'm surprised you didn't help Eri and Emi with their surprise breakfast this morning."
"Nah, I knew she was taken care of. How'd it go?"
Shota sighs.
"Okay, okay! How about this one?!" The usually stoic Shota stands stunned in his living room as Emi bounces Eri in her lap. He had never seen her get so close to any adult so quickly. The joke hero tickles Eri's tummy, making her giggle. "Why do we go to bed?"
Eri taps her cheek in thought. "Sorry, I don't know?"
"Because the bed won't come to you!"
Both girls laugh at the joke before Emi calms them down. "Alright, one more, one more. What do you call an alligator in a vest?"
"What?"
"An investigator!" Eri roars with laughter while Emi does the same. "Oh, Shota!" The green-haired woman notices him. "You're here!"
"Joke, why are you here and how did you get into my apartment?"
"Because we made breakfast!"
"And I helped!" Eri raises her hand.
"Yes, you did!" Emi pinches her cheek. "And you did so well! How you can have this bundle of sunshine at home and still be grumpy is beyond me, Eraser." She looks up from the little girl. "A certain birdie told me you haven't been eating properly lately."
Killing Hizashi later has been added to his to-do list.
"But we both know you won't skip a meal that precious little Eri here helped make, would you?"
"Yeah, daddy! I tried my very best to make the pancakes a perfect circle for you! Wanna see?"
Shota Aizawa is a good hero. At least he likes to think he gets the job done. And that includes not letting himself get manipulated or conned by villains on a nightly basis. But here and now, he is powerless against the might of their twin puppy dog looks.
Snipe snorts. "That ain't sound so bad."
"I wasn't done."
At the breakfast table, Eri swallows some eggs. "Miss Joke is really nice, can she be my new mommy?" Shota coughs up his food while sending a death glare at Emi's grinning face.
"They got you good, didn't they?!" Snipe laughs. "Like they was hazing a tenderfoot!"
"Is there something you need?"
The other hero waves him off, slapping his knee. "Yeah, yeah. Just give me a- give me a second." Snipe finally relaxes enough to speak normally. "There is sumthin' else Ah done wanted to talk to you about." Shota stays silent, letting him continue. "Lettin' some of your tots accompany me to the gun range to get their shooting licenses."
"That makes sense. I'll be talking to them about work studies in homeroom today so there probably isn't a better time for a few of them to accompany you."
"Yeah! I don't know what funky tech Todoroki has in theyer guns of his, but if he wants to use'em in the field, he needs that license. Not t' mention Bakugo needs one too for his gun. Evyn ifin' it's got no bullets."
Shota nods along in agreement. "If that's the case, you should take Yaoyorozu as well. I know she has a penchant for making weapons."
"Will do!" The pair walk together in silence for a few minutes, nearing the classroom. Despite wearing a mask, Shota can see it written all over him. Snipe has more he wants to say. "Say Aizawa… there's been soemthyn' else I been meanin' to talk to ya about with Eri."
Shota stops, fully turning to face the other hero. "Is something wrong? Is she okay?"
"Whaaa? Oh! No no, she's fine! I swear it!" Snipe is quick to placate him. "Didn't mean to worry ya! It's… how do I put this? It's the opposite?"
Shota lifts an eyebrow. "The opposite? So you want to talk to me about how great she's doing?"
"Yeah! That!" Snipe pumps a fist. "That's what I meant! The little darlin' is doing guh-reat! A little too much if you ask me." Shota narrows his eyes, imploring Snipe to explain and to explain quickly with a look. "Aizawa, that little girl is crushin' everything we throw at her."
"That's hardly news." Shota crosses his arms. "Ectoplasm and Cementoss have already told me she's exceeding in her studies."
"Yeah but Aizawa, there's exceeding at books, and then there's crushin' the books, do you feel me?" Not for the first time, Shota stays silent, needing more of an explanation. "Ecto hasn't given her anythin' super hard yet but he been droppin' some advanced math in her work and she's gettin' them right! Accordin' to Logan, Laura is sayin' Eri learns new moves in fightin' lightning quick! And Power Loader couldn't stop gushin' over Eri tinkerin' with stuff in his shop! She. Is. Crushin'. It! You see what I'm tellin' ya?"
Shota is silent, muling over both what Eri has accomplished and the fact that no one had told him just how well she had been doing in school until now. Of course, he had known she had been above average for some time but not quite to this degree. Something he'll have to interrogate the rat over later. He's sure Nezu was aware.
"You're saying Eri's intellect is either highly above her age group or…" he takes a deep breath. "We're missing something big that was done to her at an early age."
"Basically, yeah."
Goddamn it. More surprises.
"The HPSC sent out an alert this past weekend. Overhaul is enemy number one." Snipe hums at his words. "Capturing him may shed some light on what else he did to her. Especially since we could never figure out who her parents were."
"And I thought you'd be over the moon if I put a bullet in between his eyes," Snipe jokes.
"Get in line. He doesn't get to escape us that easily. He isn't allowed to. But thanks. I'll ask Nezu to take another look at her parents. See if there was something we missed." They go their separate ways, and Shota takes a moment to get his head straight before heading to class 1-A.
Homeroom hasn't even begun yet and the day has already been long. But an admittedly nice breakfast with Eri and Emi had done a lot to rejuvenate him. More than he'd ever admit. Maybe he could make it through the day and whatever surprises are thrown at him after all.
He feels that rejuvenation wane when he spots Deadpool and Mic lounging by the door, giggling like idiots. "Do I even want to know?"
"We're just here to enjoy the show."
He opens the door and is met with a cascade of screaming and yelling from his class.
"Midoriya! You cannot simply explain away-"
"No, Iida, you don't understand! It's then that I said: it's knife to see you!" Midoriya demonstrates by thrusting one his daggers forward. "Get it? Knife to see you? It sounds like 'nice to see you!'"
"That- that does not excuse you from stabbing Kaminari! We need to get him to Recovery Girl's office immediately!"
"It's alright dude!" Kaminari gives him a thumbs up from where he lays bleeding all over the floor. "I'm in STABle condition." Both cousins cackle and give each other a fist bump before receiving simultaneous chops on the head from an incensed Iida.
The thing that catches his attention the most, however, is Yaoyorozu and the amount of the helions surrounding her. In front, Todoroki stands cool, but Jiro can't stop twirling one of her mic's around her finger, her face beet red and more nervous than he had ever seen her. And he had seen his student in the middle of villain attacks. "T-that's so awesome dude! But I can't say we're surprised."
"I'm not. I knew the entire time."
"WHAT?!" Yaoyorozu and Jiro yell at the same time.
Todoroki is unfazed by their shouting, choosing to simply open his notebook. "Not for certain obviously, but I had my theories and evidence. Ever since Midoriya revealed to us he was a demigod, you claimed you would know if you were part-god as well, but that got me thinking? Would you?"
He flips to a certain page. "All of your similarities with the other demigods we know could be rationally explained. Your aptitude for languages, your wealth, your inept skills at lying-" That earns an indignant ("HEY!") from the Princes of Thunder and Mischief. "Not to mention your otherworldly good looks in combination with-"
"Dude!" Jiro snatches the notebook from him. "You can't just say that!"
"Really?" Todoroki spots Yaoyorozu's face deepening to the same shade of red as her costume. His own face starts to heat up when he realizes the power of his words. "I-I apologize." He looks positively baffled at his own stuttering. Midoriya is paying close attention to their conversation now. "I was advised that girls like to be complimented?" He cups his chin, more to use his ice to cool him. "Unless the problem is that it wasn't enough? I can continue if you-"
"You can't say you knew she was part alien!" Jiro saves her poor friend, scanning the pages of his notebook. While she does, a pool of despair starts to fill in Aizawa's gut. No. It can't be. "Look at some of the stuff you have in here! The lottery is an elaborate hoax to catch time travelers. Art is just a way for rich people to trade huge amounts of money with no questions asked. Female clothes are made with unusable pockets so the purse industry can thrive- wait, I actually believe that one."
Jiro shakes her head, handing the book back to Todoroki. "Look," she points at Yaoyorozu, "the point I was trying to make before is we wanna be more shocked but we're not. To all of us, you've always been a goddess-" The teen sucks in some air through her teeth, looking away and pulling both mics across her face in an attempt to shield herself. "I-I mean goddess as in awesome! Yeah. You've always been awesome! The way you can make anything we need or take charge in the field. N-not to say you weren't pretty like a goddess, you totally were- are! I just meant like-"
While Jiro stumbles her way through her hormones, despair grows inside Shota. Wade and Hizashi can hardly contain their laughter at him.
Suddenly, Yaoyorozu finds herself trapped in a tight embrace from a teary-eyed Ashido, shaking her violently not unlike Shota had been doing to Midoriya just a few minutes ago.
"How could you not tell me?!"
"I didn't know!"
"You knew all weekend and didn't say a thing! The consequences will be dire, Yaomomo!" Ashido notices him. "Sensei! Can you believe this?!"
Deadpool leans in close to him and whispers, "Mr. Aizawa, a third demigod has hit class 1-A." He and Mic cackle wildly as right then, the despair consumes him.
Ashido calls out to him again. "Sensei! Did you hear-"
Shota shuts the door, leans his back against the wall, falling to the floor. He really does hate surprises.
"Kenji Tsuragamae!"
"Woof!" Hosu's chief of police responds, the man turning his dog-shaped head around just as he was about to open the door to his car. The first thing he notices about the stranger is his hand in the pocket of his gray trench coat. His body tenses, his floppy ears rising a bit. Occupational hazard he supposes.
The man seems to notice his unease and removes his gloved hand from his pocket. "Oh, sorry about that! I guess I'm just intimidated by actually getting to meet one of Japan's most influential police chiefs." He laughs, rubbing the back of his black spiky hair. "I just don't think sometimes. I'd probably lose my own head if it wasn't attached!"
He's young but dressed in an expensive suit. Kenji doesn't have to worry about his other hand as it carries a suitcase almost as well as the boy carries his carefree attitude. By all visual accounts, he is not someone the seasoned officer would look twice at on the street. And yet, he sniffs the air, why does something smell off about him?
"Can I help you?" Kenji doesn't believe the young man is attempting to report a crime to him. He hopes he'd be much more urgent if he was, but he's still a man who likes to get to the point.
"Ah, yes!" The man jumps in surprise. "There I go again." he chuckles, pointing at his own head and spinning his finger around. "It's a wonder I haven't gone crazy." He places his briefcase on the roof of Kenji's car and unlocks it. "Just like you'd be crazy to turn this offer down."
The police chief's beady eyes widen when the man lifts the lid to reveal the case is overflowing with cash. His nose is never wrong. Kenji growls, baring his teeth as his hand subtly moves to his waist. "What is this?"
"Like I said, an offer." The man casually leans against Kenji's car, unwrapping a lollipop he didn't know he had and flipping it into his mouth.
"You mean a bribe."
"That's such an offensive term," the criminal shakes his head. "I like to say it's more of a quid pro quo. I hand you several suitcases just like this one with no strings attached, and maybe, you return the favor by looking away when the Yakuza stop by your town every now and then. Easy peasy."
It all clicks for Kenji. "I heard the rumors that Overhaul was bribing officers, but not even I believed he would go this far."
The man takes an extra long suck of his lollipop, before releasing it from his mouth with an audible 'pop.' "Oh, and if you could convince the other higher-ups to look the other way too, that'd be swell. Let them know we'll make it worth their while."
"Woof. You do understand that even attempting to bribe a police officer is a crime, yes?" Kenji gets a firm hand on his gun.
"I'll take that as a no? Trust me, you should take the silver while you have the chance."
"That's enough out of you!" Kenji raises his gun. "You are under- hm?" He tilts his head. In the split second he had looked down to make sure he could get his weapon from his holster, both the man and his case had vanished. Kenji doesn't lower his guard while making a call.
At the appearance of the High Evolutionary, the emissary kneels, but he is the only one to make such a move.
"You are the one who created this?" Overhaul gestures to the Emissary. "Your servant has spoken highly of you and your work during our calls, but I am having trouble believing this thing is really alive. If I had to guess, I would say it is remotely controlled?"
"Feel free to inspect him yourself."
Overhaul nods while the Emissary happily turns around for him. The back of its head opens, allowing the Yakuza leader a peek inside. "There is far more organic material here than I would have guessed." He reaches inside, shifting his hand through the components and soft layers of tissue. He digs his fingers so deep that the Emissary starts to hiss in discomfort as blood drips from the back of his head.
"But you've completely replaced the parietal bone and repurposed it into a housing to both store and insulate the electronic components. With the occipital bone made to act as a battery. Clever."
"The lesser occipital nerve is located so close to the great auricular nerve that I was able to connect the two to route even more power to the system."
"Wait," Overhaul looks at him, connecting the dots. Or in this case, nerves. "But from the auricular, you could theoretically do the same with the buccal nerve, and from there, the mental nerve, and after, the zygomaticofacial nerve which in turn-"
"Which in turn makes both the temporal fossa and sphenoid bones a sort of hub for the rest of the systems," High Evolutionary finishes. "At last, someone who knows what they're talking about," he chuckles. "It's been far too long." Overhaul tries to move an electronic part out of his way to go deeper, but no matter how hard he tries, or how much the Emissary whimpers, it won't budge. "You may remove it. My Emissaries are as plentiful as stars in the sky."
Without warning, Overhaul tears the piece out of the Emissary's head and he screams in agony, stumbling forward as more blood gushes from his head. One of the Yakuza grunts shines a light into the head.
"My, you have either left the head intact or rebuilt anything necessary with-" Overhaul stops, tilting his own head as he feels something. "Fascinating." He looks over to the High Evolutionary. "This cannot be the Auriculotemporal nerve I'm feeling?"
"Test it."
Overhaul grabs a hold of the nerve and pulls back with moderate force. Feeling white hot pain blind him, the Emissary shrieks, dropping to his knees. "Stay still, won't you?" Overhaul tilts his head back, feeling more of the nerve. "I see now. So let's try-" he swirls the nerve around his hand like it's spaghetti and yanks it another way.
The Emissary isn't even allowed to scream this time as his head is yanked back. Both blood and a viscous blue liquid leak from his nose and eyes, mixing into a foul smelling bile that drips into his open mouth, coating the Emissary's teeth and tongue. He tries to puke as the taste of the pus pours down his throat, but it is so thick, it doesn't allow him to regurgitate anything.
"Could you demonstrate your ability to me again?"
Overhaul eyes the High Evolutionary but humors him anyway, using his quirk to reassemble the Emissary the best he can. "It won't be perfect, but he should make it back to you."
The Emissary falls to the ground, coughing and in tears. "T-Thank you, Master."
The High Evolutionary leans closer. "Marvelous. The studying that can be achieved. The tedious duties that could be removed. To be able to work on a subject, to twist and mangle its genomes without the fear of death would be exhilarating. All with a single touch. You could do great things under my employ. Your abilities with my experience and tenacity? My drive to strive higher and higher and push evolution beyond the laws of nature. The possibilities could be endless."
"You certainly have high praise for yourself." Overhaul walks over to a sink, washing his hands. "And why wouldn't you? To create such creatures," he gestures to the Emissary, "would require a lofty degree of intelligence. As well as the finances and technology to accomplish it. So that makes me curious." He narrows his eyes, turning around. "Why are you here? It's certainly not to play with your toys. What can we offer you that you don't already have?"
Sansa runs around the corner, peering down the alley with his gun raised but finds nothing. His cat ears twitch in annoyance before clicking on his radio. "This is Officer Sansa putting out a BOLO on a member of the yakuza who just tried to bribe me."
"Listen kid, I'm well-versed with Overhaul's bribing racket." Detective Tanuma flicks his cigarette away. "And if you think sliding me some petty cash that any idiot could take from a drug bust is enough to get me to-"
"Every week."
Tanuma glances up. "Eh?"
"I'm sorry, I should've been more specific. This is the money you'd receive every week."
Tanuma stares at him for a couple of seconds, before picking up one of the wads of cash and fanning through it with his thumb. "Maybe we can work something out."
Reporter Daikaku Miyagi hastily shuts the two briefcases and hands one of them to his editor, who can't snatch it away quick enough. "So…" he clears his throat, pushing up his glasses. "What kind of stories would Overhaul like written about him?"
"Don't worry baby girl, I'm not going to forget the popcorn for our movie tonight. Yes, I- yup. Okay, daddy has to go now. Tell your mom and sister I'll be home soon. Okay, love you." Matsunaga Yoshito hangs up his office phone and sighs, looking at the young man sitting across from him.
"Listen, I'd be careful if I were you. Word is starting to get around about what you're doing." The lawyer stands, sliding the suitcase back to the Yakuza and putting on his coat. "Tell Overhaul if he wants to stop me from prosecuting you or any of his cronies that end up in the courts, he can hire a proper defense attorney and go through the correct legal channels." He grabs his hat, heading out.
Yoshito walks at a brisk pace down the hall, but just before he's out of earshot, he hears the Yakuza's reply. "I'll give him the message."
"I brought you here because I imagine you would like to know what powers you may gain from me?"
Momo nods expectantly, her heart racing. Through all of the revelations this past weekend, such as discovering her alien origin, finding out she was related to two of her classmates, and having to process that her mother wasn't who she thought she was in many ways, the black-haired girl is ashamed to admit she had neglected a few things.
One of those being what additional abilities she could inherit from her goddess mother.
Momo is a dignified hero in training. So she plans to approach this with the same level of dedication and effort she would any of her studies. Doubly so given how personal it is. But she would be lying if she said she wasn't excited.
She has always loved her quirk. Not just because of how versatile it is, but the challenge it required. Pride can feel like such an ugly word, but none other could best describe how Momo felt knowing her quirk was not some garden-variety power that could be mastered in a day. It took patience. Skill. And constant study.
Which is what made the reward even sweeter when she would commit a new molecular structure to memory. It's what made it thrilling when she'd recall that formula in the heat of the moment and bring it to her aid.
And it's making the prospect of learning and conquering new powers so exhilarating.
"Yes, Mother," she answers Hela obediently. Mother and daughter stand together in UA's gym Gamma as her uncles and cousins watch on. All of them are also curious to see what possible new abilities Momo could unlock. Or in the case of her Uncle Thor, being there to make sure Hela didn't awaken one of her old powers and begin a new 'rampage.'
Normally, Momo wouldn't have minded doing this closer to the dorms, but the day had been hectic to say the least. Between informing the class of her newfound heritage and the three demigods' parents being hounded with questions by students when they arrived, they decided to move to a more secluded area.
Momo had never been more relieved by the stipulations on Thor's hammer when Hatsume attempted to run off with it. She's not sure the God of Thunder would have ever seen his trusted weapon again.
"Very well, let's start with the basics-"
The door to the gym slams open. "Aha!! Found you! Did you think you could run?!"
"Code pink!" Izuku tries to wrangle in the incoming bomb, but it slips through his hands and before anyone knows it, Mina is hopping up and down in front of Hela once more. "Dangit! Where's your handler- Shinso!"
"What?!" The purple-haired boy pokes his head in. "She coated herself in acid and took off, what the hell did you want me to do?!"
"Brainwash her!"
"That's a bit extreme, isn't it?" Izuku gives him a look that conveys he believes in Shinso's hesitation as much as he believes in therapy. "Fine, you got me. She caught on pretty quick and stopped answering me. That wasn't cool, Ashido!"
"You have to finish the story you were telling us before class! Please!" Mina begs. "It was a doomed romance in space and I have to know how it ends!!"
"Damn," Shinso curses, exhaling. "She always tells me to call her Mina. I thought I'd get her that time."
"But first, I wanted to ask you about your late husband, if that's okay?" Mina treads carefully. "I have to know what kind of man can interest a goddess!"
Ever since learning Hela was a goddess, Momo had felt many things about her mother, but fear of the woman was not one of them. Until that moment, when Hela's face lit up at the question. "If I may-"
"Of course!" Hela speaks over her daughter. "Much like Momo, her father was a studious man. His attention to detail was rivaled only by the greatest tacticians in Asgard. This led to him having a meticulous yet rigorous technique, which he used as the only man to ever top me in the bedroom-"
"Mother, I am begging you to stop."
"No need to be embarrassed, dear. This was a common topic of conversation between those of us who served in the armies of Asgard. You are welcome to share details with me when you find a partner."
The fear returns as Momo notices Izuku shift behind her. "Actually Aunt Hela, Momo's doing way better in that area than you'd- ah!" Some might call her tasing her cousin an inappropriate amount of force. Anyone who's known Izuku for any period of time would disagree.
"But very well, I shall finish my original tale. It was almost at its end anyway." Hela kneels to better look at Mina. "And who would I be to sully your day by not completing it?" The pink-skinned girl nods excitedly.
Thor leans over to Loki. "There is no question as to why you and Hela get along so well, brother. I have met very few so enthralled in talking about themselves." The God of Thunder catches his brother's arm before his dagger can stab him.
"Now, there we were," Hela narrates. "Locked in battle among a sea of- Loki."
The God of Mischief rolls his eyes, creating an illusion of the battlefield from Hela's memories around her and Mina. "Once again, all I am to my family is their personal PowerPoint."
"You never explained to me what that was," Thor brings up. Loki facepalms.
"There we were," Hela once again narrates to Mina, flashes of the battle appearing around them. "My blade locked with Angela's at the mouth of the Cave of Ancients as she fought me for control of Hel. The only thing on her mind? To defeat me and restore life to the woman she loved, Sera." Mina squeals in anticipation.
"What happened to your cat?" Izuku questions Shinso. "You were going to use him as a distraction?"
"I was!" The Gen-Ed boy swings his backpack around to his front. "But she slipped away before I could. Sorry, Goose." He pulls the tabby cat from his backpack, petting it affectionately.
Izuku jumps back with Denki, both boys reeling at the sight of the feline. "Shinso, where did you get that thing?!"
Momo and Shinso share a look of profound dumbfoundedness. "Goose? He's my cat, Midoriya. I've had him most of my life. You know that."
Denki shakes his head. "Dude, I don't know how to tell you this, but that's no cat."
"What are you talking about-" He takes a step closer, but Izuku and Denki back away once again. Shinso raises an eyebrow and takes another step forward, causing the two demigod boys to take two steps back. He smirks a little, eyeing Momo. She knows what he's thinking, and she couldn't agree more.
They can use that against him later.
"Ah, a Flerken!" Thor shouts excitedly. "I should have guessed they'd make their way to Midgard eventually, what with humans' proclivity to treat them well."
"Yes, the perfect pet for those who wish to have an apathetic roommate they must feed," Loki snarks dryly.
Shinso shifts Goose away from Thor when he moves to pet him. The god raises his hands to show he means no harm. "You say that like it's a bad thing," Shinso replies just as flatly.
"Uncle, be careful," Izuku warns. "I don't know how we're going to get you out if that thing eats you."
"Wait, Goose is an alien too?!" Due to Thor currently petting his cat, Shinso is helpless to thwart Mina's assault on his person as she barrels into his back, gifting Goose all of the pets. The cat purrs at all of the newfound affection, shutting its eyes and allowing the humans to bathe it with love. As they should. "Best. Day. Ever!!"
"He's not an alien!" Shinso protests, trying to shake the horned-girl off.
"What makes him different from normal cats?"
"Are you even listening to me?!"
"Flerken contain large tentacles inside their bodies." Thor opens Goose's mouth and looks inside. "That they use to store objects in their own pocket dimension. Very useful if you can convince one to do as you say."
"Ooooh." Mina is practically brimming with joy. "A pocket dimension like Midori has?!"
"Precisely, but without as many of the limits."
"I have to know more! C'mon Shinso!"
"Wha- hey!" The brainwasher can hardly catch his breath before Mina is dragging him out of the gym. "Where are we going?!"
"We're going to see if we can get your cat to use its alien tentacles!" She grins cheekily at him. "Besides, you were so excited to introduce us and keep me away from Momo's mom, right?"
The purple-haired boy gulps, realizing he's made a terrible mistake. "You know what, I don't think Goose is feeling very good today-"
"Nuh uh! You're the one that wanted to spend the afternoon with me! No getting out of it now!"
When Shinso looks back at everyone, Momo could swear he is praying to any of the gods in the room to help him. Unfortunately, those prayers go unanswered as he is unceremoniously hauled away. Outside, Shinso spots Aizawa in a similar position to him as the underground hero is dragged across the courtyard by Ms. Joke. They share a nod of understanding.
"Apologies, shall we begin the conversation on your powers again?" Hela offers to her daughter, who accepts in anticipation. Izuku conjures notebooks for both himself and her. "We will start with the basics. So, no sorcery, no fatal touches, or deadly bolts that can kill immortals." Denki gives his father a look of 'I understand why you were so scared now.' "No, we will start with your most broad powers. Control of the dead."
"Woah… like zombies?!" Kaminari asks, his fear from moments ago all but gone. Momo will never understand boys. "She'll be able to make zombies?!"
Izuku taps him repeatedly, his eyes nearly as wild as his hair with the possibilities. "Do you know what this means?! We could totally prank people into thinking a zombie outbreak has happened!"
"Yeah, we can just set them loose in UA!"
"We can have Momo make them running zombies to make things harder!"
"And smart! They can be the zombies that can open doors and climb over stuff!"
"Ooooh, yeah! And-"
"Ahem." A cold chill engulfs the three teens that seeps into their very bones, freezing them in place. Most of Hela's powers may be gone, but Momo realizes that even without them, her mother can still promise a retribution that only the Goddess of Death can bring with her aura alone.
And she's not even the focus of Hela's gaze! She can't even begin to imagine what Izuku and Denki are feeling. Whatever it is, it's enough to shut both of them up immediately and pay attention. The chill is gone almost as quickly as it had appeared. Momo will have to ask her how to do that in the future.
"As I was saying," Hela continues. "Control of the dead. As their goddess, it was my duty to shepherd all Asgardians who passed to Hel to live out their afterlives. But, if I compelled them to do so, they would fight for me."
"I can attest to that," Thor mutters, annoyed.
"As zombies?" Denki asks excitedly. Izuku leans forward, eager for the answer as well.
"No." Both boys deflate, defeated. "My powers are not so crude. Instead, I could bring their souls back in a quasi-physical form to serve me. If I had to describe it…" Hela hums. "Thor, what was the word you and your men used? I remember being quite the fan."
Unlike his son, Thor doesn't seem eager to recall the memories. "The souls we witnessed were nothing but haunting shades of a starless night stretched across an endless ocean, obscured by their own darkness until their glowing armor came into view. We called them Phantoms."
"Wait." Denki hesitantly raises his hand. "Can I ask something?" Hela gives him permission. "Why bring them back as those phantom things? Why not just bring them back to life?"
"Because I cannot."
"Huh?" Thor's son looks around puzzled, as if waiting for Izuku to tell him he's being pranked. It is a well-founded worry. "But aren't you the Goddess of Death?"
"Yes, but I am not Death."
They can see the wheels in Denki's head trying to turn. "Okay, you lost me."
"Death is a separate person," Izuku explains to his cousin. That is news to Momo.
It doesn't seem to clear things up for Denki either. "Okay, so if this death guy-"
"Girl."
"If this death girl exists, why is there a Goddess of Death?" The Prince of Thunder's eyes go wide. "Not that I think that's a bad thing!" he corrects in a panic. Thankfully, Hela lets him off the hook, laughing softly in amusement.
"Even though we wear the title of gods, our powers are not infinite," Thor picks up the explanation. "And while Hela has the power to govern the dead, she holds no sway over the concept of death. That power resides solely with Death, who is the embodiment of that fundamental force in itself."
"That make sense?" Izuku leans back on his hands.
"I think?" Denki mirrors him.
Her mother and uncle's explanation suddenly clicks with the research Momo has done on the different pantheons and Hela's lessons on business. "It's like a company!" Everyone turns to stare at her, and the newest demigod blushes. "S-sorry. What I meant was-" she clears her throat. "What I meant was Death is like a business."
Now Izuku shares Denki's perplexed expression, but Hela urges her to continue. "Think of the different pantheons as branches of a company." She creates a small white board and marker and draws out what she's saying. "My mother is the Norse Goddess of Death, so she is in charge of the Norse branch. Whereas Izanami, Japan's god of death, would be in charge of the Japanese branch. Anubis would control the Egyptian branch and so on. And the owner of this company? Death herself."
Her cousins share a collective 'ohhhhhh' while Hela offers her a smile. "Well done. As expected of you." It seems despite how much her view of her mother has changed, the elation Momo feels when she praises her is still present. "But yes, now that we have cleared that up, since I cannot raise the dead, I bring the souls of the fallen back as Phantoms to fight on my behalf."
"Wow…" Izuku looks up at his aunt, his eyes sparking with analysis and mischief. "Hey Dad, do you think that, just for a day, Grandpa would-"
"He would not restore her powers for any reason."
"But I have so many questions!" Izuku whines. "How many phantoms can Aunt Hela summon at once? Can she just bring them back if they're destroyed? Can she only use the power if someone died nearby?"
"I have questions about the Phantoms myself," Momo interrupts the mutter storm before it can gain momentum. "Are they aware of what's occurring? Do they remember their past lives? Can they speak?" In her quest to prevent Izuku's mumble storm, Momo accidentally began one of her own.
"Do the Phantoms keep the powers of the people they were?" The mumble storm starts to reach critical mass as Izuku joins back in. "How far can they go without you?"
"Can you make Phantoms of animals from Asgard as well?"
"Can you use their senses to see as your own?"
"What about using a Phantom to teleport yourself?"
"Or- OW!"
Both Izuku and Momo cry out as Denki pokes them in their sides, hitting them with a sharp electrical charge. "My head's spinning enough already without you two doing that."
"Denki!"
"Not cool!"
Momo hisses, rubbing her side until the stinging goes away. It only takes a few seconds. She wonders if that's truly how long it takes or if she has enhanced durability due to her demigod status. "I did have one more question I feel is important." Hela waits patiently for her to ask. "How do the souls you command feel about what you are doing?"
Hela clicks her tongue. Not in annoyance or anger, but more frustration with herself. "I should have guessed you'd ask something like this."
"It's just, I did more research this past weekend, and I know you used the souls of both allies and enemies when constructing your armies." Momo closes the notebook in her hand, setting it down gently. "I know that is not who you are anymore, but isn't it morally wrong of me to command souls without their permission? To have them complete tasks they would have never agreed to in life? Is that desecrating their memory for my personal gain? I have so many questions about the implications of these powers, I don't know where to-"
Momo feels a hand on her shoulder and gasps in surprise when Hela is right in front of her, leaning down to look her daughter in the eye. The teen has no idea when she even moved. "Let me put you at ease. To answer some of your questions, no, the Phantoms cannot speak. However, you can still communicate with them telepathically, and they will remember who they were. Once you create a Phantom, you will have the power to store them, but only them, in your pocket dimension until they are needed again. And while you will have the ability to force them to answer your beckoning, if you wish, nothing is preventing you from asking their permission first."
Momo sniffles and feels her stress over her new powers and what possible ethical barriers they could cross start to slowly bleed away. "Is it really that simple?"
"It really is, my little Creati."
"Creati?" Whatever sweet moment Momo had been having is whisked away when she remembers they are not alone. Izuku connects the dots. "Oh! Is that a nickname your mom uses for you?"
Momo's face heats up so bad, her frost giant cousin may get hurt if he comes too close. "Mother!" she yells, scandalized.
"What's the problem, dear? They're family."
"Yeah, Creati. We're family," Denki agrees, an evil smirk on his face.
"And family would never take advantage of that, right Creati?" Izuku asks, his own grin promising the exact opposite of his words.
Momo takes a step back, terrified of how her cousins could use this new information against her- no. She wouldn't let herself fall down that rabbit hole. She had been training all year to think quickly on her feet, and it wasn't just for battle.
Steeling her resolve, Momo rises to her full height and looks down at the boys. Their smiles slip just a little. "Very well. Take advantage as you'd like. But know I will have to retaliate just as viciously."
"You're bluffing!"
"You've got nothing!"
"Am I?" Momo raises her head, looking down her nose at them. "Denki, what of that time you-"
"Hey, Dad!" Denki runs into the living room a few months after meeting Thor. "So you know how you said I can use my powers to augment my strength, speed, and all that stuff? Well I was just thinking about it and I realized, couldn't I do that with my brain too?!" He happily slaps his palm to his temple.
"Wait, Denki don't-!"
There's a large electrical charge that fries all of the electronics in the room. When Thor opens his eyes, he finds his son swaying in place, a stupid smile on his face. Denki gives him a thumbs up. "Whey…"
Izuku bursts out laughing while Denki blushes. "Dad!" The blond shouts, his voice several octaves higher than normal. "You promised you wouldn't tell anyone about that!"
"Is that funny, Izuku?" Momo's question sobers the green-haired boy real quick. "Like when-"
"Like seriously, it can't take that long to change clothes!" Izuku complains, walking with Momo and Kendo after a meeting of class reps. "It always takes forever waiting for you guys to get out of the locker rooms."
"Some of us can't use magic to do it with a snap of our fingers," Kendo points out.
"Indeed," Momo nods along.
"But it still shouldn't take that long! Here." In a flash of yellow, Izuku is in shorts and a t-shirt with his school clothes in his hands. "I'll prove it. I bet I can get this whole uniform on in a minute."
Before Momo can tell him no, Kendo shouts, "you're on!" She enlarges her hand a little, raising it. "Ready?" Izuku holds his pants out. "And remember, you put those on one leg at a time, yeah?" she snarks. Loki's son rolls his eyes. "And go!"
She swipes the air and instead of trying to put his clothes on like any normal person, Izuku repositions his pants under him and attempts to jump into them with both legs at the same time. "Screw your one leg at a time dogma-!"
Unfortunately, Izuku's call to revolution in the world of putting on one's pants is cut short when his feet catch the waistband, causing him to roll mid-air and hit the ground straight on. Thankfully, his fall is broken by his face.
"S-shut up!" Izuku squeaks while Denki laughs at him. "It had been over a decade since I put on clothes without magic, it's not my fault!" The blond barely dodges a stab. Izuku sighs. "Okay, Momo. Message received." Hela's daughter smiles, satisfied. "And for the record, I actually like the name."
"Thank you." Momo hands him back her notebook so he can keep it safe. "I have grown attached to it as well. And in the interest of full disclosure, I had even considered using it as my hero name."
"You totally still could!" Izuku encourages her. "If I hadn't used Mischief, I could see myself using Ochako's nickname for me, Deku, as my hero name."
"Wow. So if you hadn't used the most obvious name for yourself, you would've used… the next most obvious name?" Denki snickers.
"That's rich coming from the guy named after a Pokémon!"
"I've already told you, that was an accident!"
Momo shakes her head at their antics. Turning back to her mother. "I suppose my last concern, mother, is how am I to practice creating Phantoms? There aren't any…" she swallows. "There isn't anything here for me to practice on?"
"Oh, sweetheart, I appreciate your enthusiasm, but you are not ready to create Phantoms yet," Hela chuckles. "To command spirits, you must first master learning how to communicate with them. We can visit a local cemetery and-"
"Actually…" All eyes land on Izuku. He glances at Denki. "We might have an easier way for her to practice."
"I find the defendant not guilty." With a swing of her gavel, Judge Fukuhara Saki sets the man on trial in front of her free. The court erupts as she rises from her seat. The lawyers try to get her to reconsider. The man's friends hug him in celebration while the family of the victim cries in defeat. All in a day's work.
The bailiffs handle chaos as best they can, allowing her back to the sweet privacy of her chambers. Well, almost private. Fukuhara can't get to the suitcase of money on her desk fast enough. Breathing in the fresh scent of the crisp bills sends chills through her body.
"Well done," the young yakuza compliments her from his seat. "As promised." He throws a smaller case of cash onto the desk, and Fukuhara is thrilled. "Your bonus for each of our guys you set free." He stands, tipping his hat to the woman who couldn't even bother to look up at him through her new hordes of wealth. "We'll be in touch."
"Sorry, but I think my price is just way too high for you." Freelance journalist Taneo Tokuda casually leans back in his seat, feet up on the conference room table with an easygoing smile on his face.
The black-haired yakuza across from him mirrors his smile, an open suitcase of cash between them. "Then name your price and I guarantee we can pay it."
"You see, that's the thing." Taneo puts his arms behind his head. "Being freelance means a lot of big shots, like your boss, think I'm easy to buy. But that's what separates me from the competition."
"Playing hard to get?"
"My pride."
"I see." The smirk doesn't leave the Yakuza's face as he stands. "Then we probably don't have anything else to talk about."
"Before you go." The yakuza turns back around, only to find the sight of a camera lens sticking out of one of the man's hands, snapping his picture. "I think it'd be nice to have a face to go along with all the rumors, don't you?"
The yakuza picks up his case, his smile never wavering. "Good. Now people know why I'm there."
The High Evolutionary keeps his eyes on Overhaul, head leaning to the side a little. "What can you offer me, hmm? A keen observation. Maybe your species isn't as barbaric as I had feared." He points to the pair of aliens behind Overhaul. "Skrulls. If not for them, I would have already landed on your planet and taken what I desired. But their presence complicates things. I cannot risk even one infiltrating my forces. They are an infestation that is costly to eradicate."
"But once you learned that my quirk could rid them of their disguises," Overhaul lifts his hand. "That is when you agreed to meet with us."
"We have been tracking several groups in your country that could have potentially worked with us," The High Evolutionary informs him. "But your quirk, as you so adorably refer to it as, offered you an advantage. So I will do the same for you. Emissary."
The High Evolutionary's servant jumps when he's called upon. "Oh! Y-yes, master!" He rises, holding his hands out to Kurono. "If you please." After getting Overhaul's approval, he hands back the cell phone they had taken from him when he entered. He hits a few buttons and one of the tablets in the room pings.
Kurono goes to it and checks the notification, before nearly dropping it in surprise. "O-Overhaul! Sir, this- this is-"
The Yakuza leader rips the device from him. "Spit it out!" Overhaul checks the tablet, and not even he can keep his eyes from widening at what he sees.
"The Yakuza are in dire straits, are they not?" The High Evolutionary asks. "Between the loss of your product, and pressure from rivals, police, and heroes, your finances have been dwindling for some time. In fact, if my calculations are correct, you soon won't be able to afford even basic necessities. What happens to the people who serve you then?"
Overhaul knows for damn sure what happens. The High Evolutionary spells it out anyway. "They turn on you. Which means even more losses you cannot afford. Until now at least." Overhaul puts down the tablet, the staggering amount of money wired to them flashing across the screen. "In return for waging a war on those vermin Skrulls for me, I offer you financial resources."
He waves his hand, and the numbers on the tablet go up again. Kurono can feel his mouth going dry. "Sir, with this we can-"
Overhaul silences him with a raised hand, his mind much more clear than the rest of his subordinates right now as they drool over the possibilities. "To be clear, you are willing to give us however much money we desire to get rid of them?" He points to the Skrulls. "No questions asked?" The High Evolutionary nods. "An enticing offer. The stuff of dreams most would say. But once we 'eradicate' the pests for you like you desire, what happens when you land on Earth?"
"You get Eri." The pressure in the room increases tenfold at the mention of her. "In my years, I have created billions of organisms. Billions upon billions. And in that time, they all served me as I wished. Worshipped me as they should. Revered my word as law. Yes, they all have. Except for two. Two of my creations did something I did not expect. Evolved in ways I did not foresee. And I need to know why."
The High Evolutionary waves his hand, and a holographic image of Eri appears above them. "What belongs to you," he waves his hand again, "and what belongs to me." The holographic images of Nezu and Rocket appear next to Eri. "Are all together in the same place. When I land on Earth, we both get our property back. Will that suffice?"
Overhaul studies the hologram for a few long seconds. Eyes darting from the alien, to Eri, to the tablet as he weighs his options. To Kurono, there is nothing to discuss. Their options are either to falter as an organization and be lost to time, or have their problems resolved in an instant.
Apparently, Overhaul doesn't believe there's much to think about either. "It will suffice." He eyes their new found fortune. "And I already have some ideas on how to use your generosity."