We Don't Need No Heroes

by Scarper Von Hyde

Almost half a year before Izuku's fated meeting with the Slime Villain, our hero finds himself running away from his fears. But instead of letting his fears overtake him and drag him back down to the darkness where they think he belongs, he finds friendship in the most unusual of places and with his new friends' help, they will claw their way into the light where they truly belong.

21. Risk Management

It's been a few days since the raid and Izuku has a bit of news. He's not sure if it's good or bad, but he knows that it's news. But before he shares that news with Himiko and Dabi, he has to beat Himiko in Mario Kart. Again. For the thirteenth time in a row.

His mother is safe, her protective custody being overseen by Detective Tsukauchi himself, Izuku having asked him to do so as a personal favor. Apparently, the two of them got along quite well, but Izuku didn't want to know about what they talked about, he just wanted her to be safe, even if it meant increasing their distance.

They'd finally unpacked all of the boxes of things from the apartment; the police had even dropped off their furniture for them, too. It was a bit of a tight fit, but they had managed to squeeze everything into the one room. Well, it technically wasn't just one room, Izuku had taken Himiko's old sledgehammer to both of the walls when they had gotten back from the raid, turning three rooms into one in less than an hour. Aizawa had not been happy, but he couldn't do anything about it. He had just called maintenance to make sure that there were no rough edges, but that was it.

Besides, Izuku had made sure they weren't load bearing walls and everything. He knew what he was doing. Sort of. He had watched half an episode of House Hunters, that was enough, right?

Next to him on the chewed up couch, Himiko leaned in to ask, "so, they're gonna have all the students on campus from now on?"

"Mhm," Izuku nodded, lifting his Gamecube controller each time he turned as if it could somehow help him beat Rainbow Road. "Yeah, Nezu said something about there maybe being a leak in the staff or the students. They should all be moving in here by tomorrow." He was glad that Nezu had trusted him enough to inform him of his plan, but he also had a feeling that he was only told to prevent him from making a scene if he found out later. "All twenty of them."

"Sucks. I wish we could have the place to ourselves for a while longer." Himiko frowned, not looking away from the screen as she spoke. She wasn't going to lose to Izuku again; she just couldn't. "Why were you called into that meeting anyway?"

Izuku grinned, glad he could finally share the news now that he had a lead in for it. "You know how you're getting to move your online credits over?"

The blood drinker glanced at him from the side of her eye, immediately looking back at the flashing colors on the screen. "Yeah?"

Izuku pointed his chin at a lounging Dabi, the fire user draped across both Izuku and Himiko's legs. "And how Dabi gets to live here for free even though he doesn't go to school?" And even though he was too old to go to school?

Himiko nodded, wondering where he was going with this. "Uh huh."

"Why do I get to live here?" Dabi waved in Izuku's direction, pulling his hand back almost immediately when Izuku glared at him while snapping his teeth. His hand tucked safely against his chest; he asked again, "well? Why is that?"

Izuku shrugged, his eyes glued to the screen as he began his final lap. "I'm the new media relations teacher and team tactics instructor."

Dabi sat up straight, almost hitting Izuku in the face on his way up. "WHAT?"

"Really!?" Himiko all but squealed as she dropped her controller in surprise, turning to Izuku with a wide grin.

Izuku leaned all the way across the arm of the couch, holding his controller high and narrowly avoiding having Himiko and Dabi grab him by his shoulders and start shaking him vigorously. Grinning, he ignored them for just long enough to cross the finish line, winning for the thirteenth time in a row. He threw his controller into the air, pumping his fists above his head in joy. " Yeah! Me!"

"Zuzu."

"Hmm?" Izuku looked down to where Dabi was sprawled across his lap, Himiko right behind him. He managed to resist reacting with a wince to the numb feeling spreading through his legs, but just barely. Just Dabi would have been fine, or just Himiko, but both was just too much. "What?"

"You're gonna be a teacher." Dabi's eyes were wide with awestruck horror, he had lived with Izuku for almost two full years, he knew all of his bad habits. "A teacher?"

"I guess."

Dabi shook his head, not believing what he was hearing. Izuku, the same Izuku who once tried to shove him into the fridge for no reason at all was going to be a teacher. "Are they insane?"

"Probably."

Himiko snorted, "if they knew half of the things you've done…"

Simultaneously, Dabi and Himiko flashed back to a nights patrol that had started out normal but had somehow ended with Izuku chugging a Red Bull and jumping into a trash can with wheels and trying to use it like a skateboard, his reign of terror only stopped after crashing into a parked car and breaking its windshield. That Izuku was going to be teaching impressionable high schoolers. The future was doomed. It's the end times.

"Amazing," Himiko whispered, her eyes filled with conflicted wonder.

"He's going to traumatize them."

Izuku threw his hands up in faux outrage, "I'm right here."

But Himiko ignored his protests, turning to Dabi with a grin. "I bet that one of the heroes are going to cry on the first day."

Dabi nodded, grabbing her hand and shaking it firmly. "You're on."

With a sigh, Izuku covered his face with his hands. "You're both sitting on me, how are you managing to ignore me?"

"Carefully," Dabi said, adjusting his position until he was perched on one of Izuku's legs and Himiko was on the other.

Himiko shook her head, her answer almost the opposite of Dabi's. "Easily."

Izuku flopped back onto the couch, tilting his head back and staring at the ceiling. "You both suck." But he didn't do anything to remove the two from his lap, just letting them sit there and grin at him unsettlingly until they were interrupted by the sound of Himiko's stomach growling.

The fanged girl frowned, "I'm starving."

"Me too, what's in the kitchen?"

With a shrug, Izuku tried to remember what was in supply, "I think there are some leftover burgers in the fridge." If there wasn't, there was always rice and eggs in stock. They better not have to share their groceries with the hero students, if any of them drank Izuku's energy drinks or coffee he might become a four-time killer.

Dabi sighed, running a hand through his hair, frowning slightly at the length of the locks. "I still can't believe that you actually went to Kurger Bing after the raid."

"I said I was going to." Izuku kicked up the leg that Himiko was on, not even straining as he lifted her weight. "And that's why I have the ankle monitor now." He hadn't been making a break for it, but the heroes weren't going to take the risk of him leaving campus again anytime soon after what he had pulled. He had barely managed to convince Nezu that joining the raid had only been his idea and he was the only one with the ankle monitor because of his argument.

Himiko hopped off of Izuku's leg, stretching her arms above her head and heading towards the closest door. "I'm gonna grab some food before I die, you guys want a burger if there's any left?"

Izuku shrugged, reaching over and running his hand through Dabi's hair. "Sure, but don't heat it back up, that's just nasty."

Dabi leaned into the touch, nodding in agreement to Izuku's statement. "Yeah, cold burgers aren't great, but reheated burgers are just… sin."

A few minutes after she had left, Himiko called through the door from the hallway, her voice both frustrated and curious. "Izuku?"

"Yeah?"

Himiko opened the door, a frustrated look on her face that wasn't offset in the slightest by the plate of burgers. "What day is it again?"

Izuku glanced at the stained calendar hanging on the wall, the current day circled with red pen. "Sunday, why?" His eyes widened in shock as he realized why Himiko was asking him about the date. "Oh shit!" The hero students were moving in today not the next. Izuku jumped to his feet, dropping Dabi to the floor in his hurry to get out the door. "Dabi put on some pants, we've got students coming!"

"What?" Dabi shot up to his feet, stumbling forward and searching through the closet for a clean pair of pants, his last clean pair having been lost in a brutal battle with a burrito. "I thought they were coming tomorrow!"

"Well, I fucked up on the date!" Izuku frantically ran his hands through his hair, trying to tame the green curls before stopping, why was he trying to impress a bunch of high schoolers? He shook his head, just pulling on a half clean hoodie from the laundry pile that barely managed to pass the sniff test and his ratty pair of red sneakers. He reached down to adjust his ankle monitor, the plastic of the band sticking to his skin. "So, let's go meet the new neighbors, yeah?"

"Seriously, Zuzu?" Dabi zipped up his jeans, shaking his head in disappointment when he was what Izuku was wearing. " That's the impression you want to make?"

"Please." Izuku rolled his eyes, deciding to let the others in on the absolutely awful first impression he had made already. "When I got dropped down during the camp I didn't help them fight at all." He shrugged, pushing up the sleeves of his hoodie, exposing the scars on his right arm. "Those kids all fucking hate me already. One of them called me a dick in the first five minutes I was there."

"I'm eighty percent sure that you have a secret quirk that just makes people hate you." Dabi pulled on his shoes, almost falling over in the process.

"I agree." Himiko set down the plate of burgers on the table, not wanting to have to go back for them again after they got this over with. "It's like an awful curse."

Izuku shrugged, "I'm just talented like that." He stretched, his back crunching as he leaned down to touch his toes. "But wouldn't that just be my luck?"

"Right? I swear you're like a fucking trouble magnet." Dabi clapped his hand on Izuku's shoulder, frowning when he saw the stain under his hand that was either coffee or blood. He really hoped that it was from coffee, but it really could be either one. Pulling his hand back and surreptitiously rubbing his palm on his jeans, he turned to the door. "Let's go haze the newbies."

"Yeah," Izuku cheered joylessly, perking up only when he said, "I'm gonna traumatize them!"

Himiko sighed, following them into the hall and rubbing her temples, trying to prevent the headache that she knew was coming. "Seriously, what is wrong with you two? Is this a man thing?"

Dabi shook his head, "nah, it's just an idiot thing."

"Yep, we're idiots," Izuku had his hands shoved deep in his pockets before he suddenly perked up, slapping Dabi in the arm while running ahead. "Race you there!"

"You're on!"

"Izuku, Dabi… nevermind, you won't learn." Himiko hid her small smile, watching Dabi and Izuku race each other down the hall, Dabi somehow managing to look lazy even when running while Izuku was almost literally bouncing off the walls. "Idiots," she muttered fondly, following them out the front door to greet the hero students once again, this time on more even footing and as equals.

Well, as close to equals as they were going to get to be.

"Aizawa-sensei, why are they here?"

The air over the students was heavy, Aizawa having just told off the students that had mounted their own rescue operation and interfered with the heroes. All twenty of them now knew that they had come inches from expulsion and it was only because the world needed more heroes now that All Might had retired that had kept them from being sent home for good.

Aizawa didn't acknowledge the ex-vigilantes; instead, he began explaining their presence to the hero students. "They live here, and as of next week, Toga Himiko will be joining the general education department. But that doesn't mean they're here to have fun. Midoriya will be reporting directly to me if there are any problems or if he feels there might be any problems."

At the mention of his name, Izuku stepped down the stairs and into the sunlight, a slight grin on his face as he raised a hand in an informal greeting. Izuku saw this as his opportunity to lighten the mood and make sure he was respected as the top dog and ultimate authority around here. "Yo, what up. Midoriya Izuku here, aka Target, aka," he lifted the leg of his jeans, showing off his ankle monitor, "House Arrest, for the next month. And your watcher for who knows how long! Who's ready for this?"

Rolling her eyes at Izuku's constant need to make an impression, Himiko stepped up. "Ignore him, he's just hungry."

"Starving, actually." Izuku shrugged, jamming his hands in his pockets and managing to lean back onto nothing.

"...I'm going back inside," Dabi said, moving to leave, Izuku following him almost immediately. The students knew they were being watched now and that's all Izuku had really cared about.

"Just because I can't see you doesn't mean I'm not watching!" Izuku waved jauntily, following Dabi back indoors and leaving Himiko with a crowd of confused students and an already exasperated Aizawa. Just what she wanted to deal with.

"I'm so sorry, he's…" She sighed, "he's just always like that." The blood drinker shook her head and turned to follow the others, missing the look that Bakugou was sending at Izuku's retreating form. "See you again soon, I guess."

---

"Targe- Midoriya? What are you doing in the staff room?"

"I guess this was a long time coming, yeah?" Izuku sighed, leaning against the wall of the staff room, holding the lesson plan he had been writing when he had walked in. But this needed to happen. "So, what can I do for the number one, I mean, former number one hero?" He had hoped that by working on his lesson plan he could avoid conflict for the rest of the day while the hero students were moving in, but now he saw that conflict would always come to find him.

"You're the new hire that Nedzu was going on about?" Toshinori didn't know if he could work with this kid and he thought he could get along with just about everyone. And he had gotten along with most people until Midoriya Izuku came onto the scene. "I thought they only employed heroes."

Izuku shrugged, tossing his folder onto the closest table. "Yeah, media relations and team tactics." He knew that UA only hired heroes, but he had something in the works just for that. The ex-vigilante crossed his arms over his chest, glaring up at the retired hero. "But you didn't answer my question, what can I do for you?"

"I… I want to fix things. I don't want this animosity between us." Toshinori wrung his hands, not sure how to deal with someone who genuinely disliked him. He just wanted to fix things.

"Really? You did break my ribs on camera, sooo," Izuku shrugged again, reveling in the look of discomfort his former idol wore. "Then you brushed me off when I asked to help with the raid. And you saw how well that worked. Things have changed in the year since you destroyed my dreams. I've changed. Not sure how you mean to fix that, Yagi-san. Somethings happen that can't be fixed. And some things, well, they shouldn't be changed."

Toshinori nodded, he didn't want to change the boy, he just wanted to change the dynamic between them to something more... sustainable. "I know that I tried to apologize, but I was wrong to try and sweep away all your problems with me with one apology."

"Hmm, you know," Izuku paused, thinking over his words. "You sound more… genuine this time around, if that makes sense. I mean, I still fucking hate you, but I won't try to like, trip you when you're walking down the stairs or anything." It would be much more fun to pull a chair out from under him instead. Or maybe just loosen the joints of his chair and let nature take its course. Izuku fought back a grin at the thought of making the former hero fall on his ass in front of the other staff members.

"Thank you?" Toshinori didn't think he should be thanking the ex-vigilante, but he wasn't sure what else he was supposed to say.

"You're welcome," Izuku said, tone sarcastic as always. "And I guess that I also hope that we can move forward as colleagues, but this, animosity was it? It's not something that can be removed, it has to be built over." He picked back up his lesson plan, tucking it under his arm and walked over to the coffee maker. "These sort of things take effort on both ends, so I have to ask," Izuku grabbed a green mug and filled it with coffee, moving to leave the staff room. Before he exited, he stopped, letting his next words hang in the air long after they were said and he was gone. "Are you trying to fix things because you want to? Or because you think you're supposed to?"

Once Izuku was gone, his words still lingering in the still air of the staff room, Toshinori sighed, pushing back his blond bangs with a shaking hand. "...I don't really know anymore."

---

"This fucking blows," Kaminari leaned back on the couch, glancing towards the main door.

"Can't believe he's snitching on us to Aizawa-sensei," Sero said, arms crossed.

Kirishima nodded, "right? Why are they even here? Didn't they get arrested?"

"Are they staying in the dorms? I know it's not nice, but I don't really want Midoriya in the same building as the rest of us."

"Isn't he a murderer," asked Mineta, unfortunately, he was being given another chance. But he was on thin ice, even one complaint and he was out for good. "Why is someone like that allowed on campus?"

Bakugou all but stomped into the common room, taking down the last of his empty boxes before going back up to bed. "You fucksticks better shut the hell up about Deku." He was the only one allowed to talk shit about him, that's just how things were.

"Aw, Kachaan, I didn't know you still cared." Izuku tucked his lesson plan under his arm, taking a sip of coffee as the students began to settle back down after nearly jumping out of their skin at his sudden appearance. He hadn't even used the door, how had he gotten in?

What they didn't know, was that he had come in through the window just so he could scare them all shitless.

"Tch." Bakugou rolled his eyes, stalking out of the room. He wasn't ready to talk to Midoriya, not yet. "Whatever, I'm going to bed."

"Goodnight!" Izuku said smugly, then gestured to the others with the half-full coffee mug, "why aren't you all getting moved in? You've been here about," He glanced at the clock on the wall, raising his eyebrows in surprise. "You've only had about four hours, you can't seriously be done already."

Shinsou shrugged, "we are, the girls all got help from your girlfriend."

"Himiko isn't my… girlfriend. " Izuku pushed down the need to vomit, did they really believe they were dating? "How did you all get done so fast, then?"

"The scary looking guy helped the rest of us move all the boxes upstairs," Shinsou continued, the others all too scared to speak so casually to a three-time murderer. But Shinsou knew Midoriya better than the rest of them did. He was a good guy, he wasn't as terrifying as he seemed. "Made everything go by much faster."

Izuku said nothing to defend Dabi, the description was right, he was scary looking. "So, that's it then? I can go and finish up my shit now?" He gestured to the folder under his arm, not answering the curious gazes of the students. My students, he thought. Oh god, I'm a teacher now.

Coming through the door that Bakugou had left though, the girls made their way into the common room. "Did you guys finish up your rooms?" Ashido was followed by the rest of the girls, Himiko following them and chattering animatedly with Yayoroza. About what, Izuku didn't want to know. Probably the chemical composition of random objects or blood, or whatever girls talk about. He doesn't exactly have a standard reference point for this.

Kirishima stood, gesturing to the couch and offering it to the girls who turned it down. "Yeah, the scary dude helped!"

"'M not scary," Dabi muttered, coming out of the kitchen with a glass of water and standing behind Izuku, resting his chin in his green curls.

"You're a little scary, Dabi," Izuku said, not trying to remove Dabi from where he was resting.

Ashido waved to get attention back on herself, "Well, I was thinking, and we were all talking about it, so… We should have a competition to see who has the best room!"

Izuku, and Himiko all shared a look, while Dabi and the blood drinker also shared a look, almost able to hear the others think the same thing. This is a bad idea.

But their thoughts went unsaid and unheard, the students all excited to see the sense of taste in decor that their classmates had.

Izuku sighed and shook his head, dislodging Dabi before following the cluster of students and wishing he had more coffee than just half a mug. While Himiko and Dabi got involved in the judging, Izuku hung back, for the first time feeling like he really didn't belong with the students. He just wasn't the same as them, while they all managed to get along comfortably, he had to work for every friendship he had. With a sigh, he just watched as they began to argue about how if it was a contest it had to be between all of them.

Frowning, he realized it was Mineta who made that argument. So the little pervert hadn't learned a thing, had he? Izuku was going to have to have a serious talk with Aizawa about removing Mineta from the class before the licensing exam. Either move him down to General Education or expel him completely. Personally, Izuku would like to dropkick him off the roof of UA, but he had a feeling the heroes wouldn't appreciate a murder on campus.

Izuku shook himself back to alertness, they had come back to the common room, and half of the boys were glaring at Sato for some reason. Were they done now? Could he work on his lesson plan yet, he needed to have it done before he could start teaching. Thinking about the timetable he was planning, he turned to the kitchen, heading to the fridge and pulling out an energy drink. When he came back to the common room, the attention of just about everyone was on him.

Turning away from Izuku and towards Dabi, Shouto just looked blandly at him for a moment before asking, "where are you staying?" He was curious about the ex-vigilante, and he was sure that the theory on his identity was right, but he didn't want to believe it. If it was true, what did that mean for the two of them? For the family?

"The second floor, we've got everything set up down there." Dabi looked slightly uncomfortable, he really needed to have that conversation with Shouto, but he wasn't sure how to lead into it. Little did he know, the thought in Shouto's head closely mirrored his own.

"We had everything from our apartment sent by the cops, even the furniture," Himiko added from behind him, dragging Tsuyu and Uraraka forward towards the elevator. "Come on, you need to check out what Izuku did!"

"Yeah, it is pretty cool." Dabi shrugged, following the group and grinning when he saw the pained look on Izuku's face. "Come check it out."

Izuku shook his head, cracking open the can in his hands and taking a long drink before following them back to the second floor. "You two are just… the worst sometimes."

After an uncomfortable elevator ride where they found that over thirteen teenagers can still fit in one elevator, they were there.

"You all ready for this," Himiko asked, resting her hand on the doorknob.

"Why not." "Yeah!" "Sure." "I guess it could be interesting." "Let's see how criminals live!" "I wonder if it's anything like a prison."

Himiko threw the door open to the chaos within, the students all gasping in shock at the sheer size of the room. "See, it's so cool."

Inside the enlarged room was the sort of setup you would expect in a studio apartment. Hell, at one point it had been the setup of a studio apartment. The bed was just a king size mattress sitting on the floor, the bedding an assortment of dark colors, sheets, blankets, and pillowcases all from different sets. Barely managing to contain it all, was that old green tent. But before that, was the chewed up couch and a red beanbag chair sitting in front of the marble-topped coffee table, the plate of cold burgers sitting next to a very nice three person tea set. Beside those, were the Gamecube controllers, the flatscreen the Gamecube itself was connected to hooked up on the wall, still showing the start screen for Mario Kart.

The farthest wall was covered in one continuous bookshelf filled almost to bursting with things such as the Anarchist Cookbook and everything from fiction to The Poisoner's Handbook. The lowest shelves were filled with the weaponry the trio used, and all of the ammunition Izuku had bought.

Beside the horrifying tent-slash-bed setup, was a hotplate and a coffee pot that had definitely been on fire more than the one time back in the apartment. One of the walls had a computers desk with Izuku's laptop and an assortment of video cameras next to it. A few standing lamps and end tables filled the gaps in the space, but it was just an odd assortment of things. A chaotic variety of things that just shouldn't go together but had been forced into the same space anyways.

Thankfully the walls were blank, but soon they too would be filled with three different clashing styles.

Managing to fight off his fear and confusion, the first to speak was Kirishima. Pointing at the sledgehammer leaning against the wall, Kirishima asked, "did Midoriya knock down two walls?"

Dabi nodded, "yeah, he did. There wasn't enough space for all of our stuff in just one room."

"Hold on," Uraraka said, looking thoughtful. "The three of you stay in one room?"

"Isn't that a little… wrong?" Kirishima asked, not seeing the look of irritation Izuku made at that.

"Oi," Izuku handed the half-empty can to the closest student, pushing up the sleeves of his hoodie and stepping forward. "You wanna fight about it?"

"What! No fighting!" Iida put out his arm, blocking Izuku from moving forwards while chopping the air violently with the other.

"Mrgh." Izuku rolled his eyes, taking the energy drink back from Tokoyami and pushing his way past Iida and into his room. "Leave, I've got shit to work on."

"Well, time to vote," Ashido said energetically, pulling attention back to herself. "To the common room!"

Filing back out of the room, Himiko and Dabi followed the students, leaving Izuku alone with his thoughts and a half-finished lesson plan. "Goddamnit," he muttered, this isn't how he had wanted to start things, but it's not like it could get any worse, right?

---

"Heyo, this is Present Mic, and you're listening to Put Your Hands Up Radio! So it's a Monday, and you know what that means, listeners! Guest stars! Yeeeah!" Present Mic was all but climbing on the table in the radio room, microphone in his hand as he made his announcements. "Today we've got the latest social media superstars, the vigilantes who everyone knows and loves, the Terrible Three!"

Izuku nodded, leaning forwards slightly to make sure his voice was picked up by the microphone in front of him. "Thank's, Present Microphone."

"Present Mic," the voice hero corrected.

"Presently Microphone."

"Present Mic. "

Grinning, Izuku continued, "Presentation Michal."

"Present Mic. "

"Of course. Mresentation Pichal."

Himiko slapped Izuku's arm, "Target, stop, you're killing him."

Dabi shook his head, watching the exchange with wide eyes. "No, keep going, I've never seen someone make a face like that before."

Present Mic sighed, regretting listening to Nedzu about having the ex-vigilantes on the show while the hero students were working on super moves. " Anyway, we're going to do introductions, chat a bit, then answer listener questions!"

Izuku smirked, "what a radical mood."

"Don't… don't do that." Present Mic shook his head, signaling the production manager to start taking calls after the initial interview. "Let's get started, tell me something about yourself!"

Putting on his game face, Izuku managed to swagger even while sitting, playing up the false confidence. "I'm Target, and I'm an adrenaline junkie. I've got no social skills, but I don't fuckin need them, I'm famous! People love me!"

"Don't be so cocky." Himiko rolled her eyes, knowing what game they were playing now. "Vamp Bitch here! I love the color red and cute things like kitties and Targets knives!"

"Dabi," was al Dabi said by way of an introduction before continuing. "I like cryptozoology, and I saw a demon once, but nobody believed me."

Izuku rolled his eyes, the damn demon story again? Really? "Because you didn't see a demon!"

Himiko gasped, "maybe he is the demon!"

"No, he's… no," Izuku said, shaking his head. "Dabi isn't a demon."

"I'll prove it!"

"What? How?"

"...I'm not a demon."

"Holy water!"

Izuku stood, slamming his hands on the table, the two of them riffing off each other and winding the other up in their act. "Don't do that!"

"Guys, I'm not a demon." Didn't Dabi suffer enough without being accused of being a demon?

"I'll find a priest!"

"What? No! Get an exorcist!"

"I'm not a demon!"

Interrupting them before they could spiral entirely into madness, Present Mic nodded to the production manager on the other side of the glass. "Let's take some questions from the callers!" With a flip of a switch, they were connected with the first caller. "Thank you caller number one, do you have a question for our guests?"

"Yeah, hi, I just wanted to say that you guys rock and that everyone out here in Hosu loves you!"

Izuku nodded, "thanks, I love you too stranger! Hosu rocks!"

"Alright, next caller!" This was going well, maybe it wouldn't be a disaster. "You're on Put Your Hands Up Radio, what's your question?"

"Hey, Terrible Three! Hi from Kamino! Great work out here, by the way. So, you're always joking around in your videos, how long have you all known each other?"

It was a reasonable enough question, but it wasn't being asked to ordinary people.

Dabi crossed his arms, leaning back in his seat. "I've known Target for two years, and I regret every moment of it." If Himiko and Izuku were going to be dramatic, he would be too. He has jokes, just you wait.

Izuku flopped into his own chair, rolling his eyes fondly. "Please, Dabi, you love me!"

Chiming in with her answer, Himiko leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table as she talked. "I've only known the two of them for about a year and a half, but we just, like, connected, you know?"

"Unfortunately," Dabi snarked. "But yeah, we all just clicked after I fell out of a tree and they did nothing to help me."

Present Mic gasped, not believing that anyone would be that cruel. "What, that's terrible! Thanks for calling in, listener! Now, moving right along. Alright, next caller!"

"What are your guys' quirks? Like, it's obvious Dabi's is fire, but nobody's seen Vamp or Target's quirks."

Himiko answered first, knowing Izuku was going to have to make a maze out of his words for his answer. "Well, mine is called Transformation, so it's not really useful in a fight. Besides, it leaves me naked when I use it..."

"Oh, that's… huh. What about you, Target?"

"Well, it depends on what you consider a quirk, really. Some people would call my analysis a quirk, or my speed, but that's just skill." Izuku had been working on how to answer questions about a quirk without actually announcing his quirk status to the world. He needed to keep enemies in the dark as long as he could. "Some would say my stamina is a quirk or my charisma. Hell, Dabi and Vamp say my quirk is to antagonize people until they want to kill me! I just don't put a lot of stock in quirks, I guess. A strong quirk doesn't make a good person and vise versa."

"Oh, thanks I guess?"

Present Mic "Next caller, you're on the air!"

"Dabi, you said you like cryptids, so do you have a Conspiracy account?"

The flame user nodded, "I do. I love the Urban Legends tag, and it's actually been helpful on some of our… hunts."

"You should follow me! I'm CryptoCurrentSea!"

Dabi grinned at the microphone, leaning forward excitedly. " You're CryptoCurrentSea? I loved that breakdown you did on Flying Rods and how they couldn't be photographic artifacts! And that Hellhound expose? Amazing."

"Thanks!"

"Thanks for calling in, let's move on to the next caller!" Present Mic let his guard begin to relax, this was going great! "You're on Put Your Hands Up Radio, what's your question?"

"I'm just calling to say that I love Vamp Bitch!"

"Aww, how sweet," Himiko cooed, a deep blush rising on her cheeks.

"Next caller!"

"This one is also for Dabi. What's your Conspiracy handle?"

"It's uh," Dabi hung his head before mumbling, "EatMyAsh. Sorry."

"Wait a minute, you're EatMyAsh? The guy who's always debunking the really crazy theories and doing so much work around the web? Oh my god, I've been following you for months! What's your favorite theory?"

"Thanks?" Dabi was thankful that nobody could see the blush burning under his scars, but from the way Izuku was smirking at him, he could tell. "And uh, my favorite theory is one of the big ones. Not fluoride in the water or microphones in our ovens. I like Fake Space. All of space, it's all fake! The moon? Fake! The stars? Fake! Planets? Fa-"

Cutting him off before he could really get going, Present Mic switched to the next line. "Okay, next caller! You're live with Present Mic and the Terrible Three!"

"Vaaaaaamp! Oh my god! Who does your hair?!"

"Target does my hair!"

"How cute! You're like, besties then?"

"Yep!"

"Absolutely adorable," Present Mic drawled, "thanks for calling in!" He switched to the next waiting caller, "and you're live with the Terrible Three, what's your question, listener?"

"I got a question for the whole team. As a vigilante, what are the funniest things you've seen happen with criminals?"

Dabi grinned freely, reminiscing about their time in Hosu. "Well, one time a drug dealer tried to hide inside a safe and ended up locking himself in it." The guy had been in there for almost two hours before Izuku had managed to use Himiko's sledgehammer to bash the lock off.

"I still like the time someone saw Target and tried to run away only for their pants to fall off!" Himiko stifled a laugh that one always got her.

Shaking his head, Izuku chimed in, "I like that one too. But my favorite would have to be one of the earlier ones. Back when we were first getting started and before we made a name for ourselves."

"You talking about… that?"

Izuku nodded, "yeah, the guy who kept asking if I worked for Target. You know, like the store!" He threw his hands up in mock outrage as the caller laughed nearly hysterically.

"Thanks! You guys rock!"

"Dabi's daily wisdoms. Where do those come from? Is there a website or something?"

"Those are all him, my friend!" Himiko was all but climbing on the table in her excitement, her energy managing to rival Present Mic regarding sheer power.

Izuku nodded, glancing at Himiko with a slightly worried expression on his face. "Yeah, he's some kind of idiotic genius, ya feel me?"

Dabi rolled his eyes, "thanks, guys. I sure feel loved," he snarked.

"Do you guys like memes?"

Dabi shrugged, "I like surrealist memes, Welcome to Nightvale, I Am A Fish, just absolute absurdism. That sort of thing."

"I'm more a fan of vaporwave. Like, on the edge of surreal but more abstract ." Himiko thought for a second before adding, "I also like Classical Art Memes. Like, old paintings with text from Twitter or Tumblr."

"I like to use memes wrong and make Dabi and Vamp cry." Izuku chuckled, stretching his arms above his head, the crunching of his back able to be heard on the airwaves. "I also like t posing and overreacting to things."

"What's the weirdest wisdom Dabi has ever dropped?"

"I think I have to go with 'Islands are the opposite of lakes.'" Izuku shook his head, smiling softly. "It's true, but you never think about it."

"And you shouldn't say it either," Himiko added, the two of them smiling like idiots while Dabi covered his face with his hands, his cheeks burning.

Literally. They were literally burning.

Questions continued on like that for almost fifteen more minutes, the ex-vigilantes all joking around with each other and even with Present Mic. But things being perfect wouldn't make for a good story now, would it?

"I've got a question for Target."

"Hit me with it, what'cha wanna know?" Izuku kicked his feet up onto the table, lacing his fingers behind his head and projecting the persona of the wild young thug that everyone loved. Apparently, he appealed to the 'urban demographic' and was the most popular in both middle and low-income areas.

"I've watched all of your videos on hero theory and how heroes should stop trying to be symbols or act as though they're moral authorities and all that. So I have to ask; what are your opinions on All Might? You know, before he retired?"

Seeing the look on two of the Three faces, Present Mic shook his head, "oof, bad question caller."

"Yeah, Target doesn't really like to talk about All Might."

"He's got some real opinions on that guy."

Izuku shrugged, remembering his promise to himself that if he had the chance to share every detail on how All Might had torn his dream to shreds, he would take it. Now was his chance. "No, no, that's a good question. People want to know, and I give the people what they want." "Honest opinion on All Might? Man was a great hero, yeah, but he's kinda… a dick." Izuku grinned sharply, taking his feet off the table and leaning in close to the microphone, his voice oozing a sickening sort of dark charm.

"Let me tell you the story about a little kid who never understood why he dreamed of being a hero, but he still did. Kid looked up the All Might, the greatest hero, yeah? But there's a reason people say not to meet your heroes." He paused, letting his words sink in for the thousands of listeners. "I asked if I could become a hero without a powerful quirk, and do you want to know what he said?"

"...what did he say?"

The ex-vigilante took a deep breath, wondering if whipping the public into a frenzy so soon after All Might's retirement was a good idea, but he had started down this path, and he was going to follow it through damn it. "He said, 'it's not a bad thing to dream. However, you need to be realistic, kid.'"

There was silence on the callers' end, and the incoming call lines were blowing up, hundreds of people calling in at the moment that the meaning of his words was registered. Izuku just grinned sharply, leaning back in his seat, ready to say the words that would act as nails in the coffin of his dead dream. "But that didn't stop me, I went on to save a life that day. A villain in the shopping district of downtown Musutafu had captured a boy with an explosion quirk, and I wasn't going to stand for that. And that's the beginning of my story, stabbing a villain in the eye to save my enemy."

His dream might be dead, but a dream can't be resurrected without being dead and buried first.

The lines continued to blow up before Present Mic leaned over to the microphone, still staring at Izuku in shock as he announced, "that, that's going to be it for questions today, be sure to write in with requests for guests and don't forget to Put Your Hands Up!" He signaled for the broadcasters to cut the feed, a bouncy beat coming through the speakers and playing in the airwaves as the interview ended. Yamada rubbed his hands over his face, "that went well."

"It really did, didn't it." Izuku kept up his sharp grin, sharing a knowing look with Dabi and Himiko. They knew what game he was playing, the careful game of media manipulation. If things went right, they would be up for hero licenses in the next exam. Less than two weeks to force the heroes to accept him through charm and brute force.

---

"So, you're probably wondering why you've been called here."

They had been called into Principal Nedzu's office, the three of them faced with the rodent in charge and both Aizawa and a very uncomfortable looking All Might.

Izuku kicked his dirty shoes onto the desk, enjoying the glare he received from Nedzu. "It's because of what I said on air, isn't it?" He had kept on eye on the things being discussed for the past few days, and in the top ten trending topics was the revelation that All Might had shattered a child's dream and that child had gone on to become Target. In the top twenty was the fact that Target was the same child who had stabbed a villain in Musutafu.

Izuku knew what was coming now.

"Let me guess, I've whipped the public into a frenzy again, and you need us to shift public opinion back to your favor?"

Nedzu nodded, paws pressed to the wood of his desk. "Exactly. I haven't seen someone get the public so mad since Endeavor insulted All Might on television almost ten years ago."

Izuku's jaw dropped, and he raised his hands in protest, waving them about angrily. "Whoa, don't insult me by comparing me to that prick!"

"Yeah, that's just rude. To compare anyone to Endeavor…" Dabi shuddered, Izuku could be scary and maybe a bit cold at times, but he was still a good person. He wasn't anything like that firefuck.

"Endeavor is a piece of shit, and you can quote me on that," Himiko's eyes were fierce, filled with a simmering rage that she would really love to let loose on the new number one hero.

"As nice as it is that the three of you share my opinion on Endeavor, we have an offer for you." Aizawa shook his head, his arms crossed over his chest. "We were reached by the licensing committee, you three have an opportunity that has literally never been given to anyone in your situation before."

"There was a petition started by a 'Spinner?'" Toshinori said hesitantly, an excited wave rolling over the three teenagers.

"The lizard!" "Spinner!" "Let's make a video to thank him!" "Love that guy." "Good lizard."

The retired hero continued, speaking over the teenagers' excited murmurs. "Anyway, in less than two days it had over three hundred thousand signatures, and with the massive shift in public opinion, it's been decided that the three of you will take the same test as the rest of the hero students. And even if you don't pass, you'll be licensed, but this needs to look legitimate."

Dabi's jaw dropped as he realized exactly what this all meant. "Holy shit, I'm gonna be a hero? I didn't even go to high school!"

"You'll be a great hero, Dabi," Izuku patted his friend's shoulder before letting a self-satisfied smirk make its way across his face. Is plan was working and was doing so faster than he had ever expected. "And you will too, Himiko."

"I'll be a great hero! Maybe I'll bring back the sledgehammer…" Himiko tapped her fingers as she thought about how she would be able to carry both her staff and her hammer.

"Maybe you don't bring back the sledgehammer."

Ignoring Izuku's protest, Dabi turned to Himiko with an idea. "Use it as a super move, that would be so cool!" Hey, I didn't say it was a good idea, now did I?

"You two are going to make me jump right out the window." Izuku sighed heavily, eyeing the window and wondering how hard he would have to jump to actually manage to hurt himself. "But with my luck, I'll still live."

Himiko rolled her eyes, throwing her hands up in disbelief. "See, you're bringing back suicide jokes, why can't I bring back the sledgehammer?!"

"Fine, bring back the sledgehammer!" Izuku pressed his hands to his face before giving up and shrugging half-heartedly. "See what happens when you break a villain's kneecaps on television." Less than a beat later, he changed his opinion. "Oh, who am I kidding, you're adorable, people would love it!"

"Thanks!"

Aizawa cleared his throat, drawing attention back to himself. "If we could get back to the subject at hand?"

"Of course." Izuku nodded, lacing his fingers behind his head, the uncaring image complete. He had his feet up, just now seeing the paperwork that was crumpled under the dirty heels of his shoes, he was in ripped jeans and a stained hoodie, he looked like he had been sleeping outside. Perfect. "So you want us to what? Go on the talk show circuit, do interviews with other heroes, maybe work with someone All Might used to work with? After all, I never got a formal apology for my ribs."

"I hate how perceptive you are, but yes, that's about the gist of it," Aizawa answered, leaning back against the wall, a dark expression on his face. He would rather be training his students right now, not somehow gaining three more of them.

Izuku frowned, thinking about how this was going to play out. "Are we going to train with the hero students? Get them used to our presence?"

"Also yes. I want them to be able to trust you completely."

"Shit, that," Izuku rubbed his clasped hands against the back of his neck, a regretful look on his face. "I might have screwed that up already; those kids fucking hate me." And scaring them like he had on Sunday hadn't exactly helped his case at all.

Himiko nodded, she had taken a poll! "It's true, half of them hate him, the rest are scared of him."

Picking up where Himiko left off, Dabi continued to explain the students' feelings. "The only ones who aren't scared of you are Bakugou, Todoroki, Shinsou, and Jirou. And I think that Iida and Uraraka just feel bad for you. They think you're some traumatized and tormented soul that just needs more friends." Dabi scoffed as if he wasn't more than enough of a friend for Izuku. But he brushed that thought to the side; he knew he could be a bit... possessive of Izuku at times. He wasn't reading into it. But he really should.

"I think I would prefer if they just hated me." Izuku turned back to the principal, "I only have one request for interviews and such. No Endeavor."

"Thank's Zuzu." Dabi wouldn't have been able to function if he had to interview with Endeavor in the same room, he would probably burn down the building around him without even using his quirk.

Izuku nodded in acknowledgment. "I know, I don't want you to have to be near that bastard unless it's absolutely unavoidable. If I see him, I can't guarantee that he won't get shanked."

"Alright, that can be done." Nedzu nodded, committing the request to his infallible memory. "No Endeavor."

"And the first hero to hero chat needs to be someone just as, if not more, popular than us."

Himiko leaned forward; she had an idea of who they should meet first. "I say Hawks. He's charming, funny, and closest to our age."

"Nice choice, Himiko," Dabi high-fived the blood drinker, leaning so far over the arm of his chair he almost fell out of it.

"Thanks, Dabi. It was either him or Mount Lady. Or maybe Kamui Woods. The two of you could bond over tragic backstories."

"Tch." Dabi crossed his arms in irritation. "Forget I said anything nice to you, you're a dick."

"Thanks, Dabi."

Stopping them before they could really begin to bicker, Izuku interjected, "bitches, think of the opportunity we've been givenright here!"

Himiko's brows drew together in confusion as she leaned over to ask Dabi, "did he just call us bitches?"

"He did." Dabi shrugged, "but he's right, we're just being bitchy. We're being given the chance to help reform the heroics industry for the better! Take the spotlight off of the fame and riches and instead turn it onto the problems that have been plaguing lower income areas! We could help find better solutions for homelessness and unemployment! We could highlight the problems that arise from the saturation of the hero market! The societal impact of calling every two-bit crook a villain!" By now, Dabi was all but standing on the seat of the chair, his ice blue eyes shining with passion as he continued to speak.

Izuku just stared up at him with a broad grin; he loved how passionate Dabi got when it came to societies lack of caring for the underprivileged. He really understood this, Dabi had lived through those same hardships, he knew what he was talking about when it came to it. "Bravo! Bravo!" Izuku clapped wildly once Dabi had reached a stopping point, sitting up and applauding as a deep red blush appeared in the spaces between Dabi's scars.

"...shut up." Dabi hopped off of the chair, sitting down and squirming uncomfortably under the impressed stares from the school staff. Keeping his gaze locked on his own shoes, he mumbled thanks. "Um, yeah… thank's for giving us the opportunity? Really appreciate it," he murmured, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly while his cheeks began to burn literally.

Himiko stood, pulling Dabi to his feet after her. "Thanks, we really appreciate it!"

Izuku dragged his dirty shoes across the desk as he stood, leaning back down to shake Principal Nedzu's small paw from across the desk. "Yeah,thanks. I really appreciate this… unexpected offer." He turned to leave, a sharp grin twisting his lip as he followed Himiko and Dabi towards the training area. They had a lot of work to do and less than a week to pull it all off.

Aizawa sighed, running his hands through his hair."That boy has been playing us for fools, hasn't he?"

"Hmm. He really has been, ever since he started this, we've all been one step behind, he's only going along with this plan because he knows something we don't." Nedzu frowned, there wasn't often something he couldn't figure out, but this teenager was one of those things. "Midoriya Izuku has set his sights much further ahead than just UA."

"What's he planning," Toshinori asked hesitantly. "What does he want?"

Nedzu stepped his paws, looking down at the crumpled and stained papers on his desk, the criminal record of Midoriya looking back up at him. "Now that? That is something that even I don't know."