BEN 10 DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. MY HERO ACADEMIA DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. I ESCAPED THE LEAGUE OF VILLAINS, BUT I GOT ABDUCTED BY ALIENS ON THE WAY OUT. AGAIN. SERIOUSLY, THIS IS LIKE THE THIRD TIME THIS MONTH.
Aftermath chapter!
My Alien Academia
Chapter 33
Reignited
Ochako watched with no small amount of anxiety as Brainiac fitted a silver socket into where her shoulder used to be. He had numbed the area thoroughly, but watching the cybernetic port inserted into her flesh was unnerving, and she clutched her mother's hand with her own gloved one the entire time.
Fortunately, it was over in minutes, even with the doctors anxiously questioning every move Brainiac made. He was even able to answer them so well that they were almost calm at the end.
"Finished," he announced. "The connection to your nerves is stable, and awaiting the new limb."
"How long will that take?" Uraraka's mother asked. "Can you start now?"
Brainiac reached into the bag next to him. "In order: not long, and yes."
The new arm was a flawless silver; the joints and shoulder were spherical, but no one could see how they actually attached to the other pieces. The upper and lower parts of the arm looked very much like metal versions of the real thing, save for where they segmented to allow for movement.
"Hold still," Brainiac ordered, and set the shoulder into the socket in Uraraka's side. There was an audible click, and Brainiac leaned back. "Done."
Ochako looked at the arm, hanging limply at her side, and then at Brainiac. "I can't move it."
"Give it a second, it is calibrating."
As if on cue, Ochako felt a slight vibration through the arm; with more than a little trepidation, she tried to move just one finger. Her heart leapt when she saw her right forefinger twitch; a moment later, she slowly lifted her new hand, flexing her fingers and rotating her wrist.
"It works," she whispered. "I can even feel with it!"
"Tactile sensors," Brainiac explained. "They feed your brain with the same input your skin would. It's actually based on my own outer shell."
Ochako tried and failed to stop the tears from falling. "Th-thank you."
"There are still several tests I would like to run," Brainiac reminded her. "Firstly, please try to use your Quirk on your pillow."
Ochako tried, but when she placed all five of her new fingertips against the pillow, nothing happened.
"The arm relies on mental commands," Brainiac said, his monotone slightly kinder now.
"Right." Ochako bit her lip as she focused. Come on, activate!
There was a slight tingle where the prosthetic met flesh, and then her arm changed. Pink circles of light appeared just over the metal surface of her fingers, like a digital version of her left hand. What she didn't immediately notice, however, was the symbol on her shoulder; it was the same as that on Brainiac's chest, though hers glowed a neon pink.
This time, when she placed her hand on the pillow, it started to rise! Yukiko let out a muffled cry and hugged her daughter. Tenma, who had been watching anxiously on the far side of the room, practically tackled his family with a hug of his own.
"That was just step one," Brainiac said mildly. "We still need to test the deactivation process."
"Sorry, you're right." Ochako sniffed, and wriggled free of her parents. "I just need to do what I've always done, right?"
"Affirmative."
Ochako brought her fingertips together; it could have been her imagination, but she thought she felt a strange tingle when flesh met metal. To her relief, her Quirk cancelled out, and the pillow dropped into her lap. However, that was when she noticed something off, which Brainiac noted on her face.
"Is something wrong?"
"I… don't think so." Ochako frowned. "When I use my Quirk, I can feel a tiny bit of nausea, even if it's only for a second. It usually depends on how heavy the thing I'm using my Quirk on is, and it gets bad if I use it on myself for longer than a few minutes. This time, I didn't feel anything at all."
Brainiac nodded in understanding. "That would be the arm. It is sending a signal through your nervous system to your brain to correct any imbalance in your equilibrium. You will still suffer fatigue if you use your Quirk too often, but the nausea should no longer be an issue."
Tenma fixed him with a dark glare. "You messed with my baby girl's brain!?"
Brainiac shrugged. "Only the part that was making her sick."
Before her father could do something he'd regret, Ochako got up from her hospital bed and bowed. "Thank you so much, Brainiac-san."
"You're welcome." Brainiac reached back into his bag and pulled out a booklet. "This contains all the features and proper cleaning methods for your limb. It possesses some self-repair functions, but I would advise against inflicting catastrophic damage. If that happens, tap the symbol on your shoulder three times, and I will return to replace it. You could also ask Midoriya Izuku to contact his cousins, and they will get in touch with me, if you cannot."
At the mention of her boyfriend, Ochako's good mood vanished. "How is he?"
"I have not been made aware of his current status," Brainiac admitted. "All I know is that he is still alive. If there are updates, they will come from Ultiman or Ultragirl."
"Thanks," Ochako repeated, and accepted the booklet.
Brainiac nodded, and then tapped one of the discs on his chest; a moment later, he vanished in a flash of green light.
"I… suppose that's that," a doctor said uneasily. "We just need to run a few more tests, and then you'll be free to go."
The Urarakas hugged again, but the moment was cut short when Nezu spoke up for the first time since entering the room.
"I'm glad to hear that, but while you're running those tests, I would like to speak to the family regarding her future at UA."
"Wait, I thought I could still be part of the Hero Course!" Ochako protested.
Nezu smiled kindly. "Since you appear able to still use your Quirk, I see no reason to expel you from Heroics. No, I wanted to let you know that we'll be implementing school-wide changes."
Nezu went on to explain that the League of Villains' attack on the training camp had been an unforgivable breach in security. After discussing it with the HPSC, Nezu and the other teachers had agreed to move the students into dorms, for their own safety. Visits to families would be taken in shifts, under police or even Hero escort. The new program would last indefinitely, or until it was deemed safe for everyone to return home.
"I can assure you that what happened at the summer camp will never happen again," Nezu concluded. "We have added security features only ever used in Tartarus Prison; if someone who isn't a student or teacher even thinks about using a Quirk within a hundred feet of the school, we will know about it."
Personally, Ochako was a little conflicted about that. On one hand, that kind of security meant that she could sleep soundly, without wondering if some Villain was going to take another arm. On the other hand, there was a fine line between security and freedom.
Nezu apparently read the conflict in her expression. "Believe me, this was not a decision we came to lightly. With law enforcement and most Heroes focused on bringing down the League, the hope is that these security measures will only be temporary."
Ochako's parents shared an uncertain look. "Can we have some time to discuss it, Nezu-san?" Tenma asked.
"Of course; the dorms will be ready in five more days, so you have until then to make a decision."
After Nezu left, Yukiko hugged her daughter again. "When we get home… let's talk."
…
The other Rising Stars were similarly conflicted when they were informed about the dorms. Each had tough decisions to make over the next few days, and though they discussed it with their families, it was in each other that they knew exactly what they were going through.
Book: My parents seem a little apprehensive, but I think the school's security measures are winning them over.
Glasses: I am in the same situation. Tensei has also encouraged me to continue attending UA.
Tape: My mom thinks it's a good idea because of all the safety, but my dad says we should just move out of the country.
Book: Is that a serious consideration?
Tape: Nah, my dad freaks out all the time. We couldn't afford a place in a different country anyway.
Snowflake: Endeavor says I'm going to the dorms. I don't really have a choice.
Crayon: do u not wanna go?
Snowflake: I want to keep going to school, but if I do, I won't be able to see my brother, sister, or my mom.
Book: We will be allowed to visit our families.
Snowflake: Not as much as I want. I just reconnected with my mom.
Comet: Can she video call?
Crayon: Ochako! ur bak! hows ur arm?
Comet: Made of metal now. Still getting used to that. We can talk when I see you guys at school.
Book: Your parents agreed to let you go? I thought they would be against it.
Comet: I told them that the Villains might come after me again. Learning to be a Hero will help keep me safe.
Tape: That's pretty much the same argument my mom is using on my dad. See you at school, Ochako!
Crayon: my parents r talking bout it. I told em I would walk to skool if I had 2. Shoto, wat r u gonna do?
Snowflake: Like Ochako said, I can video call. I just have to get my sister or brother to bring in a tablet or something. My mom isn't allowed to have electronics in her room yet.
Glasses: What about Tsu? Has anyone heard from her?
Book: No.
Crayon: ^
Snowflake: ^
Comet: What did I miss?
Tape: She threatened to call Aizawa when we said we were going to follow the cops and try to save Izuku. I haven't heard from her since we left the hospital.
Comet: … oh.
Crayon: u still mad at her Hanta?
Tape: I don't know. I still wish we could have helped Izuku, but a part of me knows she's right.
Book: Hopefully, we will see her at school, and we can work things out.
Book: Ochako, have you heard anything about Izuku?
Comet: No. If Ben or Ken or whoever shows up, I think they're going to tell Nezu-sensei before us.
Crayon: that sux, but im sur Midori wil b ok. just gotta stay postive
Comet: Thanks, Mina. I hope you're right.
…
The first thing he noticed was how much pain he was in; specifically, it was significantly less than he remembered. Second, he could hear someone talking, but it sounded far away, or like it was underwater, though it was getting closer.
"—an you hear me?"
He tried to answer; rather than words, an inhuman gurgle crawled its way out of his mouth.
"What?" The voice sounded familiar, but his mind was fuzzy, and the connections just weren't getting made.
He tried again. "Ugh."
"One more time, but with words."
He took a deep breath. "Ow."
"Okay, that was a word. Good."
Ben, Midoriya realized. That's Ben's voice. What's going on? Did he save me from the League after all?
"Where…"
"Hold that thought, kid." Midoriya felt a hand gently pat his shoulder. "Azmuth, he's waking up!"
"Make sure he doesn't move, I haven't finished installing the third emitter!"
"I'm sure you heard the grumpy alien, Izuku, but I need you to stay still for a few more minutes," Ben said, his voice kind, but strong.
"Okay…" Midoriya said. His mouth felt like it was full of cotton.
He thought he might have blacked out, because a few minutes only felt like a few seconds. He then heard a low hum, and then his pain receded.
"Can he move yet?" Ben asked.
"First, see if he can open his eyes."
Oh. I was wondering why I couldn't see anything.
Midoriya's eyes slowly cracked open; as soon as they did, he almost had a panic attack. He was pretty sure the room he was in, not to mention everyone in it, wasn't supposed to be green.
"What's going on?" He demanded, looking around.
"I think he's talking about the light," Jen said from the far side of what looked like a hospital room; she was wearing civilian clothes, but she was as green as everything else. "It's the gene-lamps that Azmuth set up. They're keeping you stable."
Midoriya had no idea what a 'gene-lamp' did, but he guessed that they were the handful of what looked like spotlights that floated near the ceiling.
"Azmuth had to do some smart-people stuff to keep you alive, and then Ken had to fix all your injuries." Ben gestured to his son, who was fast asleep on a chair. "Poor kid's been hopping between three universes, trying to make sure everything's okay. He finally passed out an hour ago."
Midoriya tried to sit up. "It still feels like I'm injured."
"He took care of the big stuff," Ben admitted. "You have to heal from the rest on your own."
"That's fine, I can just turn into Swampfire and—" Midoriya cut himself off midsentence; his eyes closed, and his right hand drifted to his left wrist. "Oh. Right."
Ben nodded sympathetically. "Yeah, the watch is gone."
And so is the Ben I know, Midoriya thought, as tears fell. "I'm so sorry."
"Hey, don't be." Ben pulled up a chair next to the bed and sat down. "I'd rather lose that watch than you."
Azmuth huffed irritably and jumped onto the bed. "Save the sentiment until after you can leave this room without dying. Show me your left arm."
Midoriya started at the harsh tone, but when he opened his eyes, he saw that Azmuth looked almost as sympathetic as Ben. He lifted his arm, and then noticed just what was wrong.
"What happened to my arm!?"
In the green light, it looked like a huge mass of black scar tissue covered his forearm. Jagged tendrils reached out over the top half, curling around and up; the longest part reached just past his bicep, while the other side ended in a few points, just below his knuckles.
Ben sighed. "I asked Azmuth, and he just gave me a bunch of science-talk that I didn't understand. Maybe you'll have better luck."
Azmuth ignored him. "To put it as simply as I can, the Ultimatrix stored genetic samples of every species in its database. When it was damaged, those samples were forcibly merged into your own DNA; of course, such a thing almost immediately began killing you."
"That doesn't make sense," Kara cut in. "The Ultimatrix did the same thing to Ben for years, and there wasn't a problem."
"Because then, it was happening extremely slowly," Azmuth said sharply. "This was explosive and unstable. Human DNA is robust, but not enough to handle over a million foreign genetic samples attacking it at once. If Ken hadn't frozen this boy in time, he would have been dead before I could even scan him."
Midoriya paled when he heard just how close to death he'd come, though a small part of him was amused; as part of his cover story, he'd once said that his own transformations might kill him without the watch, and now, it was true.
"W-what happens now?" he asked.
"For the moment, you stay in this room," Azmuth ordered. "The gene-lamps will keep you alive until I finish a portable version. After that, we'll have another discussion."
Midoriya nodded and leaned back in the bed, only to sit up straight a moment later. "Wait, what happened? How did I get here? What about the League of Villains and All For One? The news said someone was hurt! Who was it? Is everyone okay?"
Ben shared a look with his family. "Everyone's… okay. Actually, you were in the worst shape out of everyone. I'll tell you the details after you get some rest."
Midoriya wanted to know those details now, but his brief surge of adrenaline had already left, and he could barely stay awake. All he could manage was a slow nod, and then everything went dark.
…
All Might sighed. "How bad is it?"
"Better than it could have been, worse than we'd like," Gran Torino said. "People think you fought All For One alone, and that you beat him."
"But…?"
Sir Nighteye didn't even look up from his phone. "But… people are scared that someone like All For One even exists. I'm not sure who leaked that he had multiple Quirks, but the public is at least partially aware of what he is capable of. People with more than one Quirk are extremely rare—most of the time, it's mistaken for Quirks with more than one use, like the Todoroki boy. Regardless, fear of multi-Quirk individuals is at an all-time high."
Gran Torino scoffed. "That kinda crap happens all the time; some unknown thing shows up, does some damage, and folks wet their pants for a few months."
"Most of those 'unknown things' don't level half a ward," Nighteye countered. "And I doubt that All Might will be able to manage another fight like that."
"You're right." All Might held one clenched hand in front of his face, examining every detail of the skinny limb. "I pushed myself too hard in that fight. I can hold my muscle form for maybe an hour, and even then, I'm nowhere near my full strength."
Nighteye sighed. "What will you do now?"
"Retire, I think." All Might shrugged. "I'll make a public announcement, tell them my Quirk is actually a Transformation-type, and that I can't use it long enough to reliably continue to be a Hero."
"Really?" Nighteye stared at his old friend. "You're giving up? I would have thought you'd continue fighting until the end."
"Young Mirio will be graduating at the end of this year, and he's sure to make it into the high rankings at his first try. He's well on his way to being the new Symbol of Peace." All Might leaned back in his hospital bed and tried to ignore the pain lancing through what remained of his guts. "Besides, there's something else I want to work on, while I have any strength left."
"Shigaraki," Gran Torino said, rather than guessed.
"Exactly. All For One claimed that he was Nana's grandson, and I'm not surprised he'd use something like that to hurt me."
"You want to go after the League?" Nighteye shook his head. "In your condition, you might not be able to defeat them all, especially with Nine now affiliated with them."
"I don't plan on fighting Shigaraki," All Might corrected. "Maybe… maybe I can reach him, save him. He's Nana's grandson, surely—"
Gran Torino stopped him with a stern whack from his cane. "Don't even think about it, Toshinori. That boy is a lost cause, and there's no way in hell you're going anywhere near him."
All Might was aghast. "How can you say that!? He's—"
"A criminal, one who's been linked to more than a few murders, and he's attempted others, including one of your students." Gran Torino sighed. "This is what All For One wants; he knows that you'll lower your guard around that boy, and he's positive that he'll try to kill you. That bastard has plenty of talents, and knowing how people will react is one of them."
"If that is the case, it might be better for you to bow out gracefully," Nighteye reluctantly added. "If you retire and fade away for a new light, it won't be as devastating as it would be if you were killed."
All Might didn't realize tears were flowing down his face until they dropped onto his hands. "I failed Nana… I can't fail her grandson!"
Gran Torino whacked him again, much gentler this time. "You didn't fail Nana, idiot; she sacrificed herself so that you could carry on in her place. And you succeeded; All For One is beaten and locked up forever, just like every holder of One For All before you wanted. As for Shigaraki… you can't save someone who doesn't want to be saved, Toshinori."
"I still want to help somehow," All Might protested.
"You can, even if you retire." Nighteye hesitated, then put a hand on his shoulder. "You can focus on teaching the next generation of Heroes; even if Mirio becomes the brightest light, we all know what can happen if the Symbol of Peace tries to do everything alone."
All Might nodded slowly. "I… I see your point. I'll give it some thought."
"On the subject of Mirio," Nighteye continued, "have you spoken to him since the battle?"
"No, why?"
"Something happened when he rescued Midoriya, something… unexpected."
All Might gave him an inquisitive look, but his former Sidekick wouldn't elaborate. "Okay, I'll speak to him after the press conference."
…
The next time Izuku woke up, everything was still green, but he was feeling better, with most of his injuries faded to a dull ache at worst. The pain flared up a little when his mother burst into the room to give him a bone-crushing hug.
"My baby!" she wailed. "I'm so glad you're awake!"
"M-Mom!?" Out of reflex, he returned Inko's hug. "What are you doing here!?"
Inko pulled back enough to give him a pointed look. "You got hurt, Izuku. Where else would I be?"
"R-right, sorry." He paused. "Um, where are we? No one told me."
"Ben told me we're on a space station called the Watchtower." Inko laughed, but Izuku could see the stress in her eyes. "You know, I used to dream of going to space when I was a little girl, but this isn't how I expected to get there."
"So… we're in Ben's universe," Izuku said as his brain sluggishly processed everything. "When did you get here?"
"About an hour after you did." Inko wiped away relieved tears. "It took almost a day before they let me see you, though."
Izuku nodded, but then a thought came to him; he dreaded voicing it, but he knew his mother had to hear it. "Mom, about Ben…"
Inko tilted her head. "He's right outside."
"No, no, the…" Izuku tapped his left wrist, where the Ultimatrix used to be. "The other Ben. He's… he's gone, Mom."
Inko stared at him for a long moment as she realized what he was talking about. Tears welled up again, and this time, they were tears of grief. Izuku soon joined her, and the two wept for someone only they considered family.
…
Outside the infirmary, Supergirl turned to Azmuth; she had been listening in, and had relayed everything she'd heard.
"Is there anything you can do?"
Azmuth shook his head. "If the Ultimatrix hadn't been destroyed, I might have been able to piece together the hologram's matrix, but it still would have been too corrupted. The best we could have hoped for was a hard reset, with no memories of what had happened before."
Ben sighed. "I kind of regret asking you to make him, Azmuth."
"And I regret that I didn't realize that it had become self-aware. If I had considered that a possibility, I would have used a more robust system."
"Why didn't you anyway?" Ben asked.
Azmuth looked down at his feet. "I never thought a tutorial program would be needed beyond a certain point."
"Lotta mistakes from you lately," Ken commented.
"I'm aware," Azmuth said dryly. "And I am trying to fix some of them."
"Speaking of fixing things," Ben said, "how's progress on Izuku's cure?"
"There… isn't a cure, short of a Celestialsapien providing assistance." Azmuth gave Ken a look, who shook his head. "Then the best I can do is keep his condition from killing him. Anything more than that is something I have to discuss with him and his mother."
"Wait, are you actually going to ask his mom for permission?" Ben stared at him. "Since when do you care about that?"
"Like I said, I am trying to fix some of my mistakes." A beep from a small device on Azmuth's hip made him pause. "I will be back in a few hours. Hopefully, I'll have everything I need to let the boy actually leave that room."
"Azmuth." Supergirl, who had been the most hostile towards him, took a step in his direction. "Thank you."
"There's no need for that."
"Maybe not, but I'm doing it anyway."
For the first time in many weeks, Azmuth smiled.
…
Japan had been stunned by All For One; not since the rise of All Might had a Villain caused so much devastation. An entire generation had been given a brief, yet violent picture of how bad things used to be, though they were assuaged when, as always, All Might had emerged victorious.
Any renewed sense of safety was quickly torn away when All Might announced his retirement, and revealed his skinny form. He cited injuries sustained during the battle as the reason for why he couldn't use his power like he used to. As much as he wanted to continue his work as a Hero, he said that it would have been irresponsible to do so. He went on to say that he was confident in Japan's future, with so many students from schools across the country that he claimed would outshine any Heroes before them.
Some people couldn't believe it; All Might had been an invincible pillar of society for decades, and for him to admit any sort of weakness shook them. Others refused to accept reality, claiming that the government was pressuring him to retire, or that the man in the interview wasn't actually All Might. There were protests aimed at the HPSC, All Might's Agency, UA, and even a small group who blamed Midoriya for triggering the battle that led to All Might's retirement. Most of these ended after one or two days, though the internet would remain a hotbed for debate for months to come.
Another announcement that followed All Might's retirement was the release of the identity of the League of Villains. Some, like Shigaraki, Kurogiri, Dabi and Nine, still concealed their true identities, but the police had worked tirelessly to unmask the others. Soon, all of Japan knew their names, their faces, and their Quirks, prompting a nationwide manhunt. Hero vigilance was at an all-time high, and despite fears of a rise in crime following All Might's announcement, the first 48 hours actually saw a decrease in criminal activity.
"It could have been worse," Aizawa commented during a break in UA's lounge. "Our announcement of the dorm system barely got any attention."
"Even the attention we did get is mostly positive." Midnight idly swirled her coffee in its cup. "People are seeing that we're taking the students' safety very seriously."
"And that's just over the security measures we made public," Aizawa added. "What they don't know is that we'll have a dozen retired Heroes as extra security."
"What happened to the Underground Heroes we had before?"
Snipe grumbled as he took apart his pistol and put it back together. "They got pulled back to hunt down the League. Most of these old-timers have only been out of the game for a couple'a years, so they still know what they're doin'."
Aizawa grunted, but didn't address that point further. "How is construction coming along?"
"Cementoss and Power Loader's robots will have everything done by tomorrow morning," Ectoplasm said. "As far as I'm aware, it's only a matter of moving in furniture, rugs, that sort of thing."
"I've seen what these dorms are going to look like when they're finished," Midnight complained. "My first apartment didn't look that nice!"
"You had to pay for your own apartment," Aizawa reminded her. "We still need to arrange transportation for anything the students want to bring from home."
"Actually, that's already taken care of." Thirteen had just sat down to join the meeting, but now stood back up. "All Might had his Agency rent out moving trucks for us; we can have the students and all their personal effects moved in over a two-day period."
Aizawa was surprised, until he remembered that All Might actually employed several hundred people, usually to take care of the minutiae of Hero work, which freed him up to do the heavy lifting.
"I do feel bad for those guys," Midnight sighed. "Some of them have worked for All Might for years, and their last job is to be a gopher."
"Plenty of other agencies will be happy to hire someone who worked for All Might," Aizawa said, not that he really cared; besides, employees of Heroes who unexpectedly retired received generous compensation from the government.
"By the way, do we know how many students are actually gonna stay on with us?" Present Mic had been unusually quiet until now; normally, he was obnoxiously loud, but he could be quite thoughtful when the mood struck him. "I saw a lot of General Studies kids drop out."
"The Business Course took a hit too," Snipe added. "I think we lost about two hundred students, all told."
"None from the Support Course," Thirteen said. "Some were considering it, but Shield-san apparently sent them all a rousing email. If I didn't know that All Might wasn't around, I'd swear he wrote that speech for her."
"And what about the Hero Course?" Midnight asked.
Vlad King crossed his arms. "I haven't heard back from all of my class yet, but the ones who did make a decision are staying on. What about you, Eraser?"
Aizawa closed his eyes. "Almost all of mine have either said that they'll at least give the dorms a shot, or gave a definite yes. The only one who hasn't given me an answer is…"
"Midoriya?" Vlad asked, when Aizawa trailed off. "What's his condition?"
"Ultiman gave me a bit of news on that this morning." Aizawa pretended to ignore how eagerly the other teachers paid attention. "He's awake, and stable for the moment. However, he can't be moved yet, and he hasn't been made aware of all the details that happened during and after the attack on the camp."
Present Mic flinched. "He doesn't know about his girlfriend?" When the other teachers shot him a look, he shrugged. "What? Just 'cause they're not making out in my class doesn't mean I can't figure it out."
"I don't think he knows yet," Aizawa admitted. "And his friends don't know about his condition either. I'm hoping that will change soon, because at least three of them email me for updates every few hours."
"Let's assume that he makes a full recovery," Thirteen said. "Do you think he'll continue on as a student? The only other person who suffered as badly as him was Uraraka-san, so I wouldn't blame him if he quit."
"Honestly… I'm not sure."
…
Neither Izuku nor Inko really talked about anything except Holo-Ben until the next day. Their grief made trying to do anything feel like crawling through molasses. It wasn't until the next day, after a long time crying and nightmare-riddled sleep, that Inko brought up school. Izuku had been confused about the dorm system, until Ben and Ken brought him up to speed.
"So, yeah, the League of Villains got away, which has a lot of people on edge," Ken concluded. "Security for your school is a big deal right now, and it was decided that it would be safer if all the students just lived on campus until the bad guys got put away."
"I guess I can understand that," Izuku said, "but could I even stay a student at UA? Without the Ultimatrix, I'm back to being Quirkless."
Ken rolled his eyes. "First of all, you don't need powers to be a hero. Remember, I told you my girlfriend doesn't have powers, and she's arguably the third-scariest person on the planet."
Izuku smiled weakly. "Y-yeah, but my Earth isn't as open-minded about who can be a Hero."
"Well, let's pretend for a minute that you still have the watch," Ben said. "Would you still want to stay in your school, or do you want to back out? After what happened to you, no one would blame you."
Izuku took a moment to put aside the fact that the Ultimatrix was destroyed, and really thought about his future at UA. He still wanted to be a Hero, to the point that he couldn't imagine doing anything else. However, the League of Villains had made a pretty good attempt at killing him, and there was every possibility that they would try again.
Then there was the most important factor to consider.
"Mom?" He looked Inko in the eye. "What do you think?"
Inko stared down at her hands. "Honestly, Izuku, part of me wants to take you far away from Japan, find the most remote location in the world, and hide you from those monsters. But I know that you would make yourself sick with worry over your friends, and everyone else we'd leave behind." She reached out and gently cupped Izuku's face. "Before I support this, I want you to promise me two things. First, I want you to never get this hurt again—actually, I want you to do your best not to get hurt at all, but death and crippling injuries are at the top of the list. Second, I want you to be honest with yourself—whatever you decide, I want you to walk that path without regret."
Izuku absorbed all that for what seemed like an eternity; finally, he nodded. "I can do that, Mom."
Inko smiled through her tears. "Okay, then. If you still want to be a Hero, then you have my blessing." She hugged him. "Oh, one more thing—when you're at the dorms, remember to call often. At least three times a week, and one text a day to tell me that you're all right."
"I can do that." Izuku sighed. "But I still don't have the Ultimatrix."
The door to the infirmary slid open, though Izuku thought that no one was there; then he looked down, and saw Azmuth walk in, with something tucked under his arm.
"No, you don't have the Ultimatrix," Azmuth said, and hopped onto the bed. "But that device was old and faulty; I'd planned on giving you a replacement after additional time observing you. Obviously, things have changed, and my hand has been forced."
Ken rolled his eyes again. "Oh my god, just give him the thing already!"
Azmuth scowled at him, then turned his glare to Izuku. "Hold out your arm."
Izuku did so; his left wrist was suddenly concealed by a black disk that bore a familiar hourglass symbol. As soon as it touched his skin, a thin band emerged and looped around, binding it to his arm; there was a quiet beep, and then the dial flashed several times.
"That's it?" Inko asked. "It almost looks like a regular watch."
Azmuth ignored her, and started rotating the dial one way, then another. "The primary function appears to be working. I'll be deactivating the gene-lamps now; you don't need them."
A few seconds later, the green light faded, and Izuku sighed in relief; green was his favorite color, but he could only stand it for so long. With everything appearing normal again, he could finally get a good look at the scar on his arm; what he thought was black was actually a dark green, and wherever it covered his skin, there was a slight indent, as if the outermost layer of flesh had been carved away.
"Any increase in pain or fatigue?" Azmuth asked.
Izuku focused on his arm for a second. "It's a little sore, I guess? I don't feel tired."
"The pain will fade in a few hours; the new Omnitrix is stabilizing your DNA, and suppressing the damage from the foreign samples."
"Whoa, whoa!" Ben held up a hand to stop him. "Omnitrix? You finally got around to making a new Omnitrix!?"
"You have a perfected version of the Ultimatrix," Azmuth snapped. "Why are you complaining?"
"Because he's not getting the shiny new toy," Ken teased, then casually picked his father up by the shoulder. "Let him explain, Dad."
While Ben pouted, Azmuth continued. "As I said, the primary function of the new Omnitrix is to keep you alive. The power requirements for such a task have necessitated several failsafe protocols."
"Like what?" Izuku asked.
"Your transformation time is still limited to one hour," Azmuth said gravely. "If you reach that limit, all other functions will be suspended while the Omnitrix focuses entirely on keeping you alive. During that time, you will suffer extreme fatigue, muscle pain, and some sensory loss—likely sight or hearing. This will last for at least twenty minutes, but could continue for several hours."
"That sounds pretty extreme," Ben said, all joking gone from his voice.
"You fail to realize just what happened to the boy," Azmuth snapped. "He went through the genetic equivalent to the Big Bang, and only survived by the skin of his teeth."
"Oh." Ben sat down on a chair and shut his mouth.
"As I was saying, the failsafe shutdown will only happen if you stay transformed for a full hour. If you turn back to normal before then, the Omnitrix will require a five-minute recharge. You shouldn't have any problems after that."
"Basically, don't let the battery completely die, or you'll need a soft reboot," Ken added helpfully.
Izuku nodded. "Y-you said I can still transform, right? I don't see a button to turn the watch on."
Azmuth stroked his tendrils. "I was informed of how you were captured, and the inherent weakness of a manual change. The new Omnitrix will respond to your conscious thoughts, rather than manual selection."
"You're giving him Master Control, too!?" Ben huffed, but it was clear he wasn't actually upset. "How come it took so long for me to get it?"
"First, because the boy is more selfless than you were at that age," Azmuth replied. "Second, none of your enemies figured out how to stop you from transforming. Third… who said I was giving him Master Control? His transformation time will always be limited because of his condition, and any new accessible alien DNA will have to be carefully unlocked, or it could destabilize the entire process, and we'll be right back here."
Ken decided to translate again. "You can turn into any alien you've already got by thinking about it, but don't expect many new guys."
Izuku looked down at the Ultimatrix—no, he had to remind himself that this was the Omnitrix. He thought about testing it out, and as soon as he did, the dial began to spin on its own, and with the sound of glass shards hitting the ground, a green sheath grew out from the watch, stretching to just below his knuckles, and up to just below his elbow.
"And it will do that when you're ready for action," Azmuth added, somewhat unnecessarily. "It's an added stabilizing feature for your arm."
"O-okay." Izuku focused on one alien, and in a flash of green light, he turned into Four Arms. "Hey, it worked!"
"Of course it worked," Azmuth grumbled.
"Hey, kid?" Ben looked slightly apprehensive. "You might want to turn back, Four Arms is kinda—" with only a brief groan of warning, the hospital bed crumpled under Izuku. "—heavy."
Izuku turned back to normal—without touching the dial on his chest—and blushed. "S-sorry!"
"Don't worry, I'll fix it," Ken said. "Still, that takes care of a test, right?"
"Indeed," Azmuth said. "Brainiac will need to run a few tests to be sure, but I imagine that he can go home later today."
"Your friends are worried sick," Ken told Izuku. "They've been bugging your teacher to bug me every time I visit your Earth. You're gonna have some explaining to do, especially the arm and your eyes."
Izuku blinked. "My eyes?"
Ben facepalmed. "We didn't tell him!"
Ken sighed. "You might want to use the bathroom mirror."
With some help from his mother, Izuku stiffly got up and walked to the bathroom. For a long moment, he stared at his own reflection, unable to comprehend what he was seeing. The whites of his eyes were gone, replaced by a dark green identical to the mark on his arm. His irises actually glowed a neon green, almost like green bolts of lightning trapped in glass.
For some reason, the first thought that went through his head was that, between their messy hair and now his eyes, he and Ashido might be mistaken for being related.
"Well…" he took a deep, shuddering breath. "This is going to take some getting used to."
"If it helps, it's purely cosmetic," Azmuth said. "Though you should inform me if you feel any pain in your arm or your eyes." He shrugged. "Anyway, my task here is done. I have to return to my lab, there is some work I need to do."
"Azmuth-san." Inko stood in front of him, blocking his path, and bowed low. "Thank you for saving my son."
After a moment's hesitation, Azmuth smiled. "It was no problem." He then paused, as if remembering something. "By the way, the new Omnitrix still has the Ultimate function, but none of the aliens have been assigned a hyper-evolutionary slot. Ben, you can go over his available aliens so that he can make his ten choices."
"Wait, what?" Ben did a double-take, but Azmuth was already gone. "Even when he's sorry, he's still a jerk."
Izuku didn't know what to say; he was still overwhelmed by everything that had happened. Thankfully, Ken helped him over to another bed with an understanding smile.
"I guess we have some stuff to go over before you go home, huh?"
…
Uraraka's return was so important to her class that entering the dorm was almost an afterthought. More than a few tears were shed as she hugged her friends, while her new arm was examined and complimented.
"So, it's just as good as the real thing?" Sero asked as he lifted her arm up to shoulder-level. "Quirk and everything?"
Uraraka gently tugged her arm free. "Yeah, and I can now punch people really, really hard!"
"Absolutely fascinating," Iida said. "I cannot wait to see how you use it."
"Of course, what we're happiest about is that you're back," Yaoyorozu said pointedly. "We were worried."
"Thanks, Momo." Uraraka spotted Asui near the back of the crowd, but before she could say anything, Asui turned away, shamefaced.
Uraraka frowned, but Aizawa cut in. "You can discuss everything else later. Right now, I want you all to get acquainted with the dorms."
More than one student gaped at the interior; if Uraraka hadn't been over to Yaoyorozu's house, she would have been overwhelmed. The dorms were nicer than her parents' house; it felt like she was in a fancy hotel, not part of her school.
"Everyone has an assigned room," Aizawa said. "There's a shared kitchen, which will be fully stocked. If you have a particular request for food, you can submit it. You'll also have separate restrooms and laundry rooms."
"Wait, so the showers aren't shared?" Mineta whined, only to have his mouth taped shut by Sero.
Aizawa ignored the little pervert. "We will have a curfew, but that only applies to being inside the dorms. It'll be up to you when you go to sleep, but making poor choices will affect your performance in class, so keep that in mind." He looked down at his phone. "Your things from home will be here soon, so you'll be able to decorate your rooms as you see fit." He turned around. "Anyway, that's it. I'm going to take a nap."
"Aizawa-sensei?" Uraraka held up her hand, as if they were in class. "What about Izuku?"
Aizawa sighed. "All I know is that he's recovering. Whether or not he comes back to UA is his decision."
Among the majority of the class, the students looked worried; even Bakugo scowled more than usual. It was worse for the Rising Stars; their reactions ranged from clenched fists to barely-checked tears. Uraraka noticed that Asui was rubbing at her eyes, refusing to look at anyone. Part of her wanted to comfort her friend, but she thought that she should do that when the entire class wasn't present.
Maybe seeing Deku-kun again will make her feel better, she thought. I just hope… I just hope he does come back.
"Ochako." Uraraka turned to see Todoroki; he tried to look stoic, but she had known him long enough to see the distress in his eyes. "I need to apologize."
She blinked and tried to figure out what he was talking about. "Oh, you mean what happened during the attack? Nezu-sensei told me about that." She smiled and gave him a quick hug. "You saved my life, Shoto. Don't apologize for that."
Ashido grinned and gave Todoroki a quick kiss on the cheek. "Told you she'd be cool about it."
"You were right." Todoroki smiled at Uraraka, then at Ashido.
"Of course I'm right, I'm your girlfriend."
"We're official now?"
Ashido winked at him. "If we're not, Mineta will keep staring."
"Good point." Todoroki put an arm around her shoulders, and ignored the whining coming from Mineta's direction.
Uraraka was happy for them, she really was, but it was a pointed reminder that her own boyfriend was still missing. Even when—not if, because she refused to give up hope—he came back, there were other concerns. Part of her was worried that her prosthetic would disgust him, and he would want nothing to do with her; she knew Midoriya better than that, but she couldn't help herself.
For now, she focused on getting her room ready. She could worry about everything else when the time came.
…
"Welcome back, Midoriya-san." Nezu smiled widely at his student. "It's good to see you up and about."
"Th-thank you, Nezu-sensei." Midoriya bowed, glad that Nezu wasn't mentioning his eyes or arm; he was still getting used to it himself. "I'm glad to be back."
Nezu nodded at him, and then at his escort. "Thank you for saving him."
Ben smiled. "Hey, anytime."
"As long as Izuku doesn't make a habit of needing saving," Jen added as she ruffled Midoriya's hair; he tried to pull away, but she had super-strength, and he didn't.
Ken coughed to get Nezu's attention. "Everything's okay over here, right?"
Nezu sighed. "The Villains are still out there, but things have been quiet since the Kamino Incident. I think we can handle it."
"Just remember that we're only a phone call away," Ben said. "If you need backup—"
"I appreciate the offer, and I will certainly keep it in mind," Nezu interrupted. "However, we need to be able to save ourselves, and we can't do that if we are always relying on outside help. Also, the more people from outside this universe arrive, the harder it will be to maintain Midoriya-san's cover story."
"Yeah, can't let my little cousin get in trouble, can I?" Jen laughed and hugged Midoriya hard enough that he could feel his ribs move.
Thankfully, Ken pried her arms open to allow Midoriya to escape. "Anyway, we were just dropping him off—"
"Don't forget your lunch!" Jen teased, and Midoriya's head drooped.
"—so we'll be going," Ken finished.
Ben laughed and gave Midoriya a one-armed hug. "Remember what we said the first time you visited—if you need anything, even if you just want to talk, call us."
"Thanks, I will." Midoriya raised his arm to show the Omnitrix. "Can you thank Azmuth again for me?"
"I'll be sure to pass it along." Ben stepped back. "Come on, kids, we need to go home."
"By, cousin!" Jen gave Midoriya another bone-crushing hug before joining her father.
"Try not to get kidnapped again while we're gone," Ken added.
Midoriya rubbed his aching ribs. "I'll do my best."
"He can be witty!" Ben laughed for a moment, then looked at Nezu. "Take good care of him, okay?"
Nezu bowed. "To the best of my ability."
That answer seemed to satisfy the Tennysons, because without another word, Ken snapped his fingers, and they were gone.
"I'm pleased that you decided to return to UA," Nezu said as he walked with Midoriya. "I received an email from the principal of Shiketsu High, wondering if you would transfer to his school if the idea of staying with UA was too traumatic. I'm happy to tell him that won't be necessary; he'll have to find his own star pupil."
Midoriya blushed at the idea of two adults fighting over him like a rare collectible, and decided to change the subject. "I h-heard about Ochako, Nezu-sensei."
Nezu's smile vanished. "Yes. More than one Hero graduate of mine has been hurt in the line of duty, some fatally, but this is the first time a current student was so badly injured. I believe that we—the faculty and Pro Heroes alike—were overconfident with our security measures. From now on, we will be constantly improving, searching for any way for an enemy to get past, and correcting that error."
"That's a relief to hear," Midoriya said.
"Here's another," a familiar voice added. "Classes don't start for another two days, so you haven't missed anything."
Midoriya jumped when he saw his homeroom teacher. "Aizawa-sensei!"
"Izu!" Eri was a blur as she tackled his legs. "You're back!"
Midoriya immediately knelt to give the little girl a hug. "Y-yeah, I am."
Eri looked up, and her watery eyes met his altered ones. "You look different."
"I… got hurt. But I'm okay now."
"Okay." Eri took a moment to wipe her eyes. "Are you going to stay here too?"
"Uh-huh." Midoriya smiled. "That means you can see me, Ochako, and all our friends every day!"
Eri's eyes went even wider, as if she hadn't considered that. "Yeah!"
Aizawa coughed into his fist to get their attention. "Come on, I'll show you to the dorm."
Midoriya held Eri's hand in one of his, and his suitcase in the other. He was so busy talking to Eri that he missed the amused glance Nezu shared with Aizawa; a few minutes later, the latter used his finely-honed reflexes to quickly, but gently, pull Eri away. Midoriya barely had time to register that Eri was gone before he was tackled again; this time, it was by four people who were all taller than him.
"My flying buddy has returned!" Hado shouted gleefully as she hugged him.
"Nejire, I think he's turning blue," Melissa said, futilely tugging at the other girl's arm to try and free Midoriya.
"Nah, that's purple." Togata laughed. "He's blushing at the same time."
Amajiki just mumbled. When Midoriya was finally freed and got his breath back, he wondered why Amajiki would be part of the group hug. Then he saw how Togata had a firm grip on his friend's shoulder, and realized that he'd probably been forced to participate. However, he felt a bit of fondness for Amajiki when he saw that he wasn't actually fighting to get free.
Aizawa allowed the Big Three and Melissa access to Midoriya for a few minutes, then pointedly asked what they were doing, considering third-year classes had already started.
"C'mon, Aizawa-sensei," Togata protested, "the last time we saw this guy, he was covered in…" he paused when he saw Eri watching intently. "Er… he didn't look too good."
"Yeah, we're just making sure my flying buddy is okay!" Hado added with an unrepentant grin, and Melissa nodded behind her.
Amajiki sighed when the teacher turned to hear his excuse. "I was dragged here."
Aizawa's own sigh was a perfect echo of the student's. "Fine, you've seen him, now get back to class, or it's detention for all of you."
The older students scurried off, but not before Togata put Midoriya in a friendly headlock—and slipped a note into his pocket. Midoriya had no idea what it was about, but he promised himself that he would look at it later.
There were no other interruptions on the way to the dorm, but without those distractions, Midoriya was feeling even more nervous. He was worried that his friends would look at him differently; not only had he been kidnapped—again, he had to remind himself—but he'd come back changed. He wasn't vain by any stretch—at best, he considered himself uninteresting and boring to look at—but he feared that people would think he had been mutilated.
What if they think I'm disgusting? What if Ochako thinks I'm disgusting?
He had to remind himself that while his arm wasn't exactly attractive now, he still had his arm. Uraraka had lost hers, and he was determined not to think less of her for that. He had plenty of anxiety, but he thought he knew his friends well enough to know that they wouldn't think less of either him or Uraraka for something so petty.
"If anything, they've been rather supportive of Uraraka-san," Nezu commented lightly, and smiled when Midoriya jumped. "You were mumbling about all of that. Not loudly, and only I heard it, but you should really work on that."
"Y-yes, Nezu-sensei." Midoriya stopped outside the dorm and took a deep breath.
"Why don't you stay outside with me for a little while, Eri-chan?" Nezu gently pulled Eri away from the door. "I think it's going to get loud; we can go in when things calm down."
Eri, still uneasy around loud noises and strangers, nodded and stood behind the principal.
When he saw Midoriya hesitate, Aizawa rolled his eyes and opened the door. "Just get it over with."
Some part of Midoriya was actually hoping that everyone would be waiting for him when he stepped into the dorm. Instead, the lobby was empty, though he heard footsteps around the corner.
"Hey, is someone there?" The familiar voice made Midoriya freeze in his tracks. "Aizawa-sensei, you just left, it's not rational to—"
Ashido's teasing died as soon as she stepped into view. Her eyes went wide, and the book bag tumbled from her trembling hands with a loud clatter. She and Midoriya stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity.
Then Ashido took a deep breath, and Midoriya prepared for the inevitable.
"MIDORI!" Ashido launched herself at him, but recent experience had taught Midoriya the value of bracing himself, and he caught his friend in a hug before she could knock him off his feet.
"Ohmygod, you're back!" Ashido grabbed him by the ears, turning his head to the sides. "Are you okay? How bad were you hurt? What happened to your eyes!? They look like mine! We could totally be siblings!" She paused to take a breath, then turned her head up and shouted. "Hey, everyone! Midori's back!"
"WHAT!?" There was a crashing sound, followed by what seemed to be a small stampede as Class 1-A stormed downstairs to see their wayward Vice President.
Iida was, not unexpectedly, the first to reach them; he threw all decorum out the window as he grabbed Midoriya in a rib-cracking hug. For once, he didn't have a single lecture to give, and only babbled a mixture of thanks for Midoriya's return, and questions about his health.
Sero had actually been behind most of the crowd, but used his tape to swing from the ceiling to get ahead. Unfortunately, his haste caused him to misjudge his landing, and ended up crashing on top of his friends. Nobody seemed to mind, and Midoriya even laughed a little.
They had barely gotten to their feet when Yaoyorozu and Todoroki both collided with them. The former did nothing to hide her tears as she hugged Midoriya, and even kissed the top of his head like he was her little brother. The latter didn't say anything, but he put his hand on Midoriya's shoulder and didn't let go.
The rest of the class pushed in close, their voices melding together into an incomprehensible mess. Almost all of them made sure to have some kind of physical contact with him, as if to make sure that he was really there; even the more stoic members of the class, like Tokoyami and Shoji, briefly patted him on the back. Only Bakugo refrained, staying at the back of the crowd, but when Midoriya made eye contact with him, Bakugo nodded and walked away. For him, that was the same as a tearful welcome.
Suddenly, there was a lull, and the crowd backed off. Midoriya was confused, until he felt a pair of arms wrap around him from behind; he looked down, and saw that one of those arms was made of metal.
"Welcome back," Uraraka said; her face was buried into his back, so her voice was muffled, but Midoriya heard her clearly.
He twisted around so that he could face her, and gently pulled her arms free. He looked at her prosthetic arm, and she looked first at his altered eyes, and then at his arm. Midoriya slowly interlaced the fingers of his left hand with her right; both of them smiled through their tears.
"It's good to be back," he said.
With those simple words, the dam broke; they held onto each other tightly and sank to their knees, sobbing uncontrollably. They only noticed Eri, who had been watching until now, when she worked up the courage to come inside and hug her guardians in an attempt to make them feel better. They brought her into the embrace, but the crying didn't stop, and Eri eventually realized that the tears weren't those of sadness, but relief.
It was only later, when Midoriya had cried himself raw and his emotions had settled, that he realized that one of his friends hadn't been part of the reunion.
…
Azmuth didn't normally need to double-check his findings, especially when it came to a simple maintenance. However, he now paced his lab as he read through the results of his scans for the fifteenth time, and Eunice was left wondering if she should get something to calm him down.
"Boss, what's got you so worked up?" she finally asked.
"Did you perform the scans on the satellite exactly as I instructed?"
Eunice crossed her arms. "Of course I did. I've done this sort of thing a thousand times."
Azmuth tossed her the datapad he'd been reading, which expanded to fit Eunice's human-sized hand. "Read section thirteen-B."
Eunice read the section in question. Then she read it again, to be sure she wasn't mistaken. "Please tell me this is an equipment malfunction on our end."
"If it was, do you think I'd be this concerned?" Azmuth shook his head. "I'm certain, Eunice. The DNA samples were taken; not destroyed, not degraded, but taken."
"All of them?"
"All of them."
Eunice felt a bead of sweat trickled down her neck. "What do we do about it?"
"We can't start a panic—not on Ben's Earth, nor on Midoriya's. For now, we'll insert more scanners over the planet, and hope we can differentiate the pure DNA from the hybridized humans."
"That's your plan?" Eunice asked incredulously. "Hope?"
Azmuth sighed. "Right now, it's all we have."
…
Midoriya sighed and rubbed his eyes as he sat down on his new bed. It was now late at night, and he had finally recovered from everything earlier in the morning enough to put his things in his room. He still had a few boxes to unpack, but they were mostly decorations—a few of his favorite All Might posters and collectibles, along with a few Hawks-themed items. He planned to set those all up tomorrow, when he had the time.
There was a knock on his door, which was surprising; everyone was just as emotionally drained as he was, so he wasn't expecting anyone to come out of their rooms. He opened the door, and smiled at Uraraka.
"Hey, Deku-kun," she said tiredly. "Were you asleep?"
"No, not yet." Midoriya leaned through the doorway and looked down the hall. "Um, I don't think the girls are supposed to be on this side of the dorms at night."
Uraraka blushed. "W-well, I won't tell anyone if you don't." Her expression turned worried. "Besides, I need your help."
"Anything."
She briefly smiled at his immediate response. "It's Tsu. She hasn't been herself since… well, since the League took you."
Uraraka gave an abbreviated explanation of what Asui had said at the hospital. Midoriya didn't blame her for trying to stop their friends; even if they had somehow located him, they would have had to contend with All For One, which was certain death.
"Where is she?" he asked.
"Just outside." Uraraka rubbed her left shoulder with her right hand, and Midoriya noticed that she didn't float, even though she used all five fingers. "I tried to talk to her, but she's been avoiding me. Maybe you can get through to her?"
"I'll try." Midoriya's mind briefly flashed back to Kota. "But I haven't had good luck with people who don't want to listen."
"Thanks, Izuku." Uraraka stole a quick kiss, and then turned to leave. "See you later?"
Midoriya smiled. "Definitely."
Before he left to find his wayward friend, Midoriya went back to his desk, where several framed pictures sat. There were photos of his parents, along with one of the Tennysons, but the one he lingered on had been given by Ben upon Inko's request.
For all that the Midoriyas considered Holo-Ben a member of the family, he had never had his picture taken. When Ben saw how broken Holo-Ben's 'death' had made Inko, he had given her a copy of a picture of himself as a teenager; even if it wasn't actually Holo-Ben, it looked exactly like him.
"Thanks," Midoriya whispered to the photo. "For everything."
After quietly closing the door behind him, Midoriya set out to find Asui. She was wandering just outside the dorms, but she remained under the outer lights, which technically meant that she wasn't breaking curfew. Even from a distance, Midoriya could see the shadows under her eyes, and the listless way she walked; clearly, she hadn't been sleeping well, if at all.
"Hey, Tsu?" Asui jumped a good ten feet into the air at the sound of his voice; when she landed, she whirled to face him. "Can we talk?"
Asui seemed to shrink in on herself and stepped back. "I'd rather not."
Considering that when Holo-Ben had kept things to himself, it had led to his death, that was not the answer Midoriya was looking for. When Asui tried to back off, he moved forward and grabbed her hand.
"Please, Tsu?" He put his free hand on her shoulder. "Talk to me."
Asui refused to look him in the eye. "I d-don't deserve to talk t-to you."
Midoriya was shocked to see tears running down her cheeks; of all his friends, Asui was the least likely to break down like that. "What makes you say that?"
"I…" Asui sniffed and tried to pull back, but Midoriya didn't let go. "I'm a terrible person. Everyone wanted to save you, but I stopped them, and then you got hurt, and it's all my fault!"
Midoriya blinked as he processed the rush of words that poured out, and even Asui seemed surprised at herself.
"Tsu…" Midoriya took a moment to put his feelings into words. "What happened to me was nobody's fault. I mean, maybe it was my fault, since I decided to fight Villains with no backup, but you had nothing to do with that."
"But if I hadn't stopped everyone, maybe we could have found you before it was too late!"
At this point, Asui was sobbing, and it broke Midoriya's heart. He gently pulled her in for a hug, though he kept his grip loose enough that she could escape if she really wanted to.
"What would you guys have done if you had found me?" he asked. "Everyone in the League is dangerous, and they have Nine with them. That guy is a legend! And there were a bunch of Nomus, and All For One."
"B-but we could have—"
"Some of the top Heroes in Japan couldn't rescue me in time," Midoriya interrupted. "It took Ben and All Might to take All For One down. If you had been there, you would have died." He took a risk and stepped back so that he could point at his eyes. "I'd rather have this happen than lose any of you."
"I still should have supported them," Asui said stubbornly.
"You were trying to save them," Midoriya corrected, and put both his hands on her shoulders. "Tsuyu. I am not mad at you. I don't blame you. None of this was your fault."
"He's right." Both of them turned and saw the other Rising Stars behind them. Yaoyorozu wiped away a few stray tears of her own. "Tsu, I am so sorry if we made you feel like you were a bad friend."
"Momo is right!" Iida did nothing to hide his own emotions as he chopped at the air, and nearly hit Todoroki. "We were so worried about Ochako and Izuku that we neglected your own feelings! If anything, it is us who should be apologizing!"
Ashido held out her arms. "Come on, Tsu. It's just not the same without our favorite frog-girl."
The corner of Asui's mouth quirked up, despite her attempt to stop it. "I'm your only frog-girl, I'm your favorite by default."
"Exactly, now let us hug you."
Sero, who had been hanging back, stepped in front of them. "One thing, first." He walked up to Asui, who looked ready to bolt. "Tsu… I am so sorry for what I said. Can you ever forgive—oof!"
The wind was knocked from his lungs as Asui tackled him. "Shut up and hold me… ribbit."
In an echo of that morning, the other Rising Stars gathered together in a group hug. They had all thought that they had run out of tears by then, but they were mistaken. Unlike before, Asui's tears were of relief and forgiveness, and after a little while, she fell asleep in Sero's arms.
As Midoriya led his friends back inside, they all realized something that helped them sleep a little better that night:
The Villains had done their best to break them, but the Rising Stars would still shine bright.
(Update—miwa, TV Version)
The music starts, and Midoriya is seen running down a hallway at UA. The other Rising Stars are right behind him, and as they run, the rest of Class 1-A joins them as they burst into their homeroom.
The scene changes to a split image, with Midoriya staring at his left arm on one side, and Uraraka doing the same to her right arm. The two turn around, and the images become one; they smile at each other and high-five, only for Midoriya to start floating. In the background, the other Rising Stars laugh, while Uraraka panics.
The scene rapidly changes between Inko in her home, smiling sadly at a picture of Holo-Ben, Nezu working at his desk while Eri draws in the corner, the Big Three training while Melissa and Hatsume work on a half-built machine, to All Might, Sir Nighteye and Gran Torino, standing respectfully in front of a grave.
The next scene shows Midoriya in his costume, about to leave the locker room. He glances over his shoulder, and his eyes grow wide when he sees Holo-Ben, who gives him a thumbs-up. Midoriya blinks, and when his eyes open, Holo-Ben is gone. He wipes away a tear and pushes open the door.
There is a bright flash of light, and then Midoriya is leaping through the air as Rath, followed by the other Rising Stars as they charge a group of robots. There is another flash of light, and then the Rising Stars are standing on a pile of destroyed robots. Aizawa is lecturing them, and both Midoriya and Ashido look particularly embarrassed.
The scene changes one more time, showing Midoriya standing face-to-face with Ben, who smiles down at him. Ben holds out his left hand, which Midoriya takes with his own. Their watches glow, and then Ben vanishes, leaving Midoriya to watch the sunrise.
And there we go! This arc is over!
*Waves arms like Kermit the Frog*
Speaking of frogs, I wasn't going to leave poor Tsu all depressed and junk for long. We've got way too many bad vibes IRL, I'm not gonna hit y'all with more here. After what they've been through (and what's coming; DAMN, the manga got dark), they deserve some happiness.
So, yeah, Izuku now has a new Omnitrix! And unlike Ben, he's got a handicap that could literally kill him if he goes too far. Also, this is Deku we're talking about; he has to have some kind of disfiguring injury at some point, or it just feels weird. And, yes, we'll have some new Ultimates. I'll keep some of my favorites, but I plan on adding a few new ones.
And Ochako has a shiny new bionic arm that helps mitigate the side-effects of her Quirk. There's more, we just haven't reached that part yet.
And another mystery revolving around Azmuth's satellite! What could it be? What might happen next? Find out next time on Dragon—wait, no. Anyway, you won't know the answer for a long time.
Now for some bad news. While I will still be writing, my updates are going to happen less frequently. This is because I kinda got distracted from writing my next book, and I've barely even looked at it for almost a month, which sucks, because I wanted to have it done by the end of March. That is looking less likely now. Like I said, I'll still keep writing fan fiction, but it has to have a backseat to my career.
Seeing as how my next book is going to be out in the next couple of months (I will glue myself to my laptop to make sure of it), now is the perfect time to buy the first one, Alpha Sanction, by Josh Gottlieb. You can find it as a PDF on my website (link in my profile), or on Amazon as an eBook or physical copy.
If you want to support me in other ways, there's always my P-atreon (link in my profile). My dream is that I one day get enough support that I can live on my own and do nothing but write for the rest of my life.
I'd like to thank the generous patrons who have helped me get just a little closer to the dream:
Serious Muffins: SpaceEmperorSpar, Nimrod009, Anders Lyngbye, Matthias Matanovic, ChaosSpartan575, John Collins, Red Bard, Aaron Meek, Shaolin Khalil, killroy225, Zann Nightroad
Incredible Muffins: RaptorusMaximus, michaelb958, Crazyman844
Ultra Muffins: Matthew Bunting, RangersRoll
Next Chapter: School resumes, and the Rising Stars prepare for another step towards becoming Heroes.
Plus Muffin!