"A double patrol?" I asked curiously.

It was the morning of the fifth and final day of the Internships. Bakugou and I had spent the morning sparring against one another without Quirks, trying to out-predict the other, but after a quick lunch, Sir had taken us aside. Mirio wasn't in today – it seemed he was around all the time sometimes, but I suppose he tried to get a lot of time to help out with internship week – which left us with Centipeder and Bubble Girl.

"Indeed." Sir Nighteye remarked. "The two of you have done well in getting the basics of predicting your opponent's moves down, but for your last day here it's smarter if you are pushed to do a bit more practical work on the streets."

"So, Sir has split us into two teams, and we'll be trying to run you through everything the two of you have learned while you were here!" Bubble Girl noted with a smile. "Bakugou, you'll be with me."

"And Andromeda, you're with me." Centipeder insisted. "You especially need to make up for the time lost yesterday after the Stain incident."

I winced a bit at that, but Bakugou just huffed. "What do I need to go over then?" Bakugou grumbled.

"Public appearance." Nighteye, Bubble Girl, Centipeder, and I all stated in unison.

"For all your combat training, you need to interact more with the public." Bubble Girl added. "Even if you're going for a scary strong type look, you need people to know you're there, that you can stop the villains, that they're safe."

Bakugou didn't look at her at first though, instead looking at Nighteye briefly, with an odd look I don't think I've seen on his face before. Curiosity? Confusion? No… It's something else but I can't tell. "Fine. But if a villain shows up-"

"Then you'll fight if Bubble Girl gives you permission to do so, not before." Nighteye curtly interrupted. "Same with you Andromeda. After the Stain incident, it only makes sense the law enforcement would be on the lookout for others trying to take the law into their own hands."

Ah, yeah. Unfortunately, despite Stain never getting to do his stopping of the Nomu, a video displaying his ideology had still gotten released. I couldn't say who did it even in the story – Shigiraki and the League didn't like him, even if it ended up benefiting him in the end.

"Yeah yeah…" Bakugou muttered, but he nodded anyway. And I just let out a breath I didn't even realize I was holding.

Centipeder. Yeah, that could be fun. I wonder how his Quirk works… are his arms Centipedes or does he like, make copies of his head and neck, or are they like a swarm of them or-

… Izuku's rubbing off on me. But then I've always liked his design.

Boring. That's what this week had been so far. And not for lack of trying, much to Kendo's shock. Mt Lady had seemed to be reinvigorated ever since her speech at the start, running her through the problems and positives of enlargement Quirks, the secrets she knew about hero work – the two met apparently given that she mentioned taking out insurance on your own agency building – and the two had even gone on patrol.

They were doing that right now, but it was hard to call it 'Patrol' when…

"Mt Lady!"

"I love you!"

"You're hot!"

Fans. Most of them male, some girls, but they seemed to swarm around Mt Lady whenever they were somewhere even remotely public. Although to Kendo's confusion, Mt Lady put on a happy face… but whenever she glanced back, she got this odd grimace.

"Five days. You folks can't let up for a single day, can you?" Mt Lady asked, a slight edge in her voice… before dropping it to a mutter. "How can I-"

"Your sidekick is-"

"-UNDERAGED!" Mt Lady called out with an angry face that would put 1-A's Bakugou to shame. It had been the first comment any of these fans had made about Kendo the whole week and given both Mt Lady and the fanbase's reactions, they drew the line at the sort of attention Mt Lady got being given to minors.

"Ah… yeah, sorry about that." Mt Lady remarked as the two stepped past the crowd who were mostly dispersing or keeping an eye on the guy who had spoken up last. "Man, I didn't think being this much of a hit with the fans would make it harder to patrol."

"You don't patrol much then?" Kendo asked, not really confused by that.

Mt Lady sighed. "I do sometimes, but not this often, usually with someone else with me. Less crowds and they can help get someone into a position where I can use my Quirk without hurting or damaging anything." She moaned. "And-"

She stopped as a phone ringing tone sounded off… and she pressed the side of her horned mask. EXCUSE me? That was a phone!? "Mt Lady. Yeah? How many... How tall?" At that, she stopped for a moment and it seemed like she was about to protest… then her head whipped around and looked at Kendo. And she grinned. "I can't, but I have an intern with me to combo on it. You said no guns?" She asked whoever was calling her. With a nod and a bigger grin, she giggled. "On it. Mt Lady and Battlefist are on it." And with another tap, the call was off… and she grabbed Kendo's arm and RAN.

"Aaah! W-what was that?" Kendo asked, dragged along as Mt Lady put more energy and enthusiasm into this than anything else in the past week!

"Some moron's doing a hostage situation, he's been pinned on the roof of a skyscraper with a couple of goons and a couple of hostages. Only one gun between them though." Mt Lady quickly explained, shoes slamming into the pavement. "They wanted to see if I could grow up and sweep it. I can't… but that's where you come in."

She seemed to almost cartoonishly screech to a stop there, and Kendo could see why. That was one hell of a building, not the biggest of the skyscrapers, but still bi-

Wait.

"How are you going to get me…" Kendo started… before paling as Mt Lady let go of her arms, before reaching under them. "Oh no."

"Everyone!" Mt Lady called out to the gathered police, press, and other lookers-on. "Behold, the team-up of Mt Lady, and the up and coming hero Battlefist!" At that, she started to grow rapidly, her hand somehow managing to maintain a roughly regular level of grip as she did, even as the arms moved while she grew! "Go, my cute little intern!"

Anything Kendo would have said in reply was drowned out as she was launched into the air and up past the point of the skyscraper, about a story or so above the three in black. Working on instinct, she swelled her hands up to full size, before clapping behind her, the force of the clap flinging her into the gunman, slamming him into the roof and unconsciousness. She pulled herself up, seeing both of the other men reacting in shock as she reached out and grabbed them both.

"Hostages secure, the villains are captured!" Kendo called out, both men not even trying to struggle in her grip.

… the entire thing had taken less than ten seconds.

"That's my intern!"

Katsuki… REALLY hated trying to put on a public appearance. He was loud, he was angry often, he yelled, and he could be violent. He knew all of this, he accepted it all, and he was at peace with it, and anyone else who didn't like it could go fuck off as far as he was concerned. He hated lies with a passion, and he felt like putting on a public persona that wasn't who you are would be worse than an insult to those who saw him fight as a hero.

"You're not much of a people person." Bubble Girl summed up.

Katsuki flashed her a look. "No duh. What was your first clue?" Bakugou asked.

Bubble Girl sighed. "I think I'm starting to get why Sir wanted to talk to you privately at that time." She answered. Even so, she smiled and waved to people as they passed by. "You can't even smile for them?"

"Why? I don't exactly feel like smiling right now." Katsuki noted. It didn't help that Deku and the others had fought the fucking HERO KILLER, or that he was still dealing with people looking at him like he was a villain.

"After what happened at the sports festival, I wouldn't blame you." Bubble Girl commented. "Believe it or not, I used to be one hell of a prankster in middle school. Foul smells and the like can be insidious if you use my Quirk. If I had that dragged out on TV, I'd feel upset too."

Katsuki felt a scoff rise in his throat… and pushed it down. She was trying to connect, that much was blatant, but at the same time, he wanted to see where this was going. "Ya don't exactly seem like that sort of fun-loving type now," Katsuki said.

"Oh, I have fun, I just do it another way." Bubble Girl noted. "I wanted to go into Hero School for High School, but it just sorta… came to me when I was in Middle School one day. I asked myself 'is this what a hero does?' and it sorta… clicked, y'know?"

And Bakugou… just shook his head. "So, you just changed your whole damn self to be a hero? Doesn't make any damn sense." He insisted.

"This is me… it's just me realizing that I could do better." Bubble Girl explained. "… do you want to know why Sir put making a joke as both of your little test?"

"What does that stupid teamwork exercise have to do with this?" Katsuki questioned

"Because it's more than just teamwork." Bubble Girl cut in. "You haven't seen it, but Sir thoroughly believes in the idea that without humour and energy, there's no hope for society… so we lead by example by being personable. Fun. Willing to make jokes. Or else."

… ok damnit, he'll bite the bullet. "Or else what?"

"Or else he breaks out the Tickle Machine."

Katsuki legitimately stumbled at that out of sheer shock, but before he could say anything, he shook his head to steady himself before he stopped, turned around… and leaped into the air, firing off a set of explosions to send him higher.

"Hey! What are… you…" Bubble Girl's voice trailed off not just because he was getting further away. She could see exactly what he was trying to get a better look at.

Katsuki landed on the roof roughly, staring out in disbelief in what he had briefly suspected before. Plumes of thick grey-black smoke rising into the air slowly, all cantered in one location, one direction, and one central place. And it was enough that even his own blood briefly ran cold.

"Damnit Galaxy Suit."

At that Bakugou started to run forward to go into a jump… but as he did, the world seemed to distort around him, as if nothing was solid anymore.

"The fuck?" Katsuki called out, looking around as a wave of vertigo overcame him. "What sort of shitty-"

Another man watched on from a few roofs over, keeping a solid gaze on the stumbling Bakugou. He didn't like the idea of playing distraction, but at the same time, he knew that it would be worth it to see that smug asshole fail.

And if Bakugou got out, he'd just use some other trick. He wasn't called Genjutsu for nothing after all.

Moments earlier.

The streets of Japan are… both weird and not. Australia barely compares to them, but then most of Australia is underdeveloped and, compared to the US, UK, and Japan, underdeveloped industrially and in terms of metropolises…. Metropoli? Whichever it is. It reminded me of the city when it was busy back before all this though, with all sorts of stores – both mass brands and independent – decorating the streets between office buildings, but the streets were never empty, a steady stream of people walking about. This wouldn't be so weird to me if it wasn't for the fact that this seemed to be the norm… I was still trying to get used to it even after five years.

"How do you manage to keep up the attention when looking out for villains with the streets just… always having someone on them?" I asked curiously.

Centipeder chuckled a little at that. "Ah, a bit overwhelmed? Or are you asking me because… well, we both draw attention?" He commented.

I winced at that. Yeah, unlike Bubble Girl who got the occasional cursory glance for being a hero or blue, and even then not as much seeing as most people in this area were used to her, Centipeder and I both had the same issue that we were distinctive. People looked at us a lot, we stood out in a crowd, we got people talking or muttering. It was like all eyes were always on us. At least with Bubble Girl, I could distract myself by talking with her, but with Centipeder it just reminds me people are looking at him too.

"No, I get it," Centipeder noted with… what I think is a smile? Hard to tell with the Centipede. "Even if you get used to people looking at you for your mutations or attire, it's something else to be out on patrol and to feel it get stronger. Sometimes you find it hard to look out for villains because then you can't shut the stares out."

We continued to slowly walk down the street, some turning to look at us as we passed. "So… how do you cope with it?" I questioned.

"I remind myself that it's not just because I look like this that they look at me," Centipeder noted as he pulled out from his shirt pocket… a stuffed toy of him made from wool. "It was after one of my first big rescues with Sir Nighteye. Arsonist villain had set an entire complex on fire, and it was just him and me working together. He took on the villain, I was getting people out. The villain aimed at this child and I leapt out in front of them. And they sent me a get-well card… along with this toy their grandmother made." He let out a happy sounding squeaky smile at that. "It reminded me that even if we're weird… when we're in costume, our weird is part of our costume. It is who we are. And even if they look at us like that normally… well, does it matter so much when we can stand out and help others?"

I blinked at that. Huh. "And…. how do you manage to find villains that way?" I said, trying to bring the first question back.

"Oh, quite simple," Centipeder explained. "One of the easiest tells is they try their hardest not to look at you while tensing up slightly.

And that I heard someone snap their fingers, and a burst of sound and light as something in a nearby shop window exploded. I cried out and tried to cover my visor, only to hear an engine revving-

"Andromeda!" At that, I felt Centipeder toss me aside and my vision cleared enough to see him narrowly leap over a vacant but somehow running car… which even as it crumpled and the glass shattered, the body of the vehicle seemed to swing up as the fuel tank beneath exploded, bending and contorting unnaturally before slamming into Centipeder, pinning him to the wall by his neck and his arms. People were starting to scream and run already, even as I landed, skidding past the person who, by his grin, I could only assume was the assailant.

He was a black-haired man, about as tall as Iida at full height, seemed to force his hands against an invisible object… before sighing as he lowered them, eyes hidden by sunglasses and a big black headset combo – both decorated with silver skulls. "There. Ain't gonna have Mr. Creepy Crawly there stop me from having my fun." The young man said, dressed in a black hoodie with cyan lightning bolts on it, jeans, and simple sneakers… and yet something about him seemed more dangerous than his little look said. "So… Andros." He held up a hand "Ah-ta-ta-ta, no, we're talking business here, so it's Andromeda. Love the name by the by."

I pulled myself up to full height, already starting to gather up gas just from the stress of the situation alone. Not enough to cloud up the suit – not yet, I wanted to show a bit of subtlety at least. "Who are you?" I questioned. "And why are you after me?"

"Oh, I'm not that nice, man!" The mystery man. "Ninja's gotta nin. Oh, by the way, the old bag from the USJ sends her regards!" At that, he swept his left arm out and then towards me. Given what he implied with the car before I leaped back, a TV bursting open and wires spewing out towards me, narrowly missing before seeming to tug the rest of the set out with it, rapidly converting it into a metal, plastic and glass fist. The ninja glanced behind him and smirked, pulling back his right hand, a parked motor scooter seemingly abandoned in the chaos or just parked earlier sparking briefly as silver circuit patterns briefly seemed to illuminate it, before rushing towards me as he brought his right hand forward-

Only to be slammed into by Centipeder's extended arm and flung into a nearby wall! I spared a glance over and couldn't help but grin, even as the pro pulled his arm back. "You will leave my intern alone, thank you!" Centipeder growled out

And yet Mr. Ninja didn't seem worried, more… annoyed. "Oh, quiet old-timer, I ain't interested in you." With that he thrust his now free right hand to the side again, forcing the car frame to dig deeper into the wall. "There. Not gonna break you, but you're not gonna interfere in this."

Centipeder's eyes glanced at the ninja, then to me and then to the bike. And then he took in an unsteady breath. "Andromeda, he's pinned us here! You have permission to fight!" He yelled.

"Super Vaporize!" I declared even as the ninja cursed, the mega fist swinging towards me while Nebula Gas issued out of the nozzles on my gloves, the shoulder thrusters, and my boots to rapidly encircle me. As the fist drew near, I reached out with both hands and grabbed it, skidding out of the grey-black cloud as Blood Stark.

"Bit soon to call for the permission old man!" Ninja dude remarked, actually pouting as I tossed the giant first to the side, where it collapsed into a pile of wires and pieces. "I mean who knows, he could-" And that's as far as he got before bursting into laughter. "Ah, I couldn't even finish that with a straight face. If you tried to run, I'd have just grabbed another car."

I just stared at him. My Blood Stark form was mostly the same as before, with one key difference. It had taken a couple of tries to manage it, but the dark red 'belt' around my waist now held the Fullbottle Holder and the Steam Breaker that Mei had made for me on the left and right side respectively. "Why is that old lady after me?" I questioned, wanting to find out something!

"Hell if I know," Ninja-man remarked with a shrug. "But getting to fight someone like you is perfect. Cause I can still feel your phone in there." He brought up his left hand and snapped his fingers, a burst of light, sound, and heat erupting from my chest as my absorbed phone blasted out of my form, a small amount of the suit briefly lost as wispy strands of Nebula Gas escaped, before swiftly repairing. "Ah, they might not do it accidentally anymore, but phones like yours can be made to explode with the right touch! Makes it easy to track a man too"

Right. Technopath, as if the rest didn't make it obvious enough, and it's how he found me too. Get your head into the game, Andros. I ran towards him, relying on the sheer speed to get close as I swung a punch forward, slamming it into – another television set that he had dragged out of the same store, even as more devices were rapidly pulled out. "Don't want to try and take a hit yourself?" I pointed out mockingly.

"Against you? Nah, you're more suited for this. You know how much violence is on TV these days." Oh god, he's making cheesy jokes too. Even as I took that in, the TV pulled off before the devices and appliances bombarded me, a few TVs which I batted aside with my enhanced strength, but even as I did I spotted a massive washing machine being lifted up, the ninja posing with both hands above his head. "Spirit Washer!"

The washing machine, despite the size and weight, moved pretty fast. But not fast enough that I couldn't guess where he was going to throw it and simply leap into the air and over it, lashing out with my right arm only to be met by a barrier of metal debris, enough of which for me to kick off it and land back on the road after a brief flip.

SNAP!

As I steadied myself my head turned to look at the source of the sound to my left, a streetlamp falling towards me. I hopped back, letting it barely miss me, but it never hit the ground, floating in the air for a moment before flinging itself towards me, slamming into my stomach, and flinging me down the road. It seemed to extend out impossibly far after me, the light starting to glow intensely. I covered my eyes up quickly, and from the burst of sound and the feeling of heat washing over me it was clear he had overloaded the light itself to make it explode. The glass shards? They'd mostly bounce off of my body, I can deal with the rest later.

SNAP!

… the second one on the other hand is a bit overkill. I removed the hand away from my eyes and looked at the falling street lamp, gathering pressure in my pipes before bursting up with a powerful leap, grabbing the lamp on the way up and essentially tearing it loose from the ground, punching the light out in the process.

"Fool me once, shame on you." I pointed out as I landed, gently placing the lamp down to one side.

The ninja smirked and balled his hand, the metal from the destroyed items all gathering and forming into a storm of metal fists. He's going to try and go for a rush of punches, but it'll either fling each like a shot or just try to attack randomly. He's got enough of them that jumping would just leave me exposed.

He let out a laugh as he swung out his fists, punching the air one at a time as the fists started to fling themselves towards me. Perfect. As I used my speed to move right to dodge the first one I pushed the cord out of my left arm, swinging it wide as a fist from the left side started to move, trying to cover the widest angle it could. The cord wrapped itself around the metal fist before I pulled the cord in towards me while still sweeping my arm, forcing it to slam into another one of the fists, which both slammed into a few more before all of them collapsed to the floor, the ninja shaking his hands.

I'd have grinned if I could have as I forced myself forward – only to hear a distorted beeping as the scooter un-imbedded itself from the wall and slammed into me, sending me briefly rolling to the side.

"I'm sorry, what?" I asked in half anger, half incredulousness. I looked at the ninja… who had swung a foot out. "… ok, that's kinda clever." He hid the fact that he could do that until I rushed forward. "But for the record… Red Riot hits harder."

"'Red Riot'? Badass." The Ninja remarked. "And you noticed I wasn't continuing to hold most of my stuff when it broke?"

"Easy assumption to make." I insisted.

And at that, the Ninja smiled even wider. "I knew this would be fun… so let's see if I can finish this off now!" At that the metal that dropped earlier gathered into not a storm of fists, but a swarm of metallic chunks and shards! "Ninpou! Metal Sto-"

And before he could finish his sentence, a massive black metallic fist SLAMMED into the back of his head with enough force that it slammed him into the road, forming a small crater from the impact! The metal debris dropped to the ground harmlessly – although Centipeder remained pinned behind the torn up and embedded car piece – as I looked on, Hazard's bulky silver and purple form loomed over the man.

"Jeez Andros, yer like a magnet for this stuff!" He laughed out. I chuckled lightly at that but… the amount of force… I walked over towards the ninja who… seemed to be out cold.

"I could handle him, Hazard… but I'm glad you're here all the same." I remarked with a sigh, even as I pressed my fingers against his neck. Still got a pulse, good. "You need to be careful though! You'll be lucky if he just has a concussion from that! Way too much."

"Andromeda, who is this?" Centipeder asked. I winced at that, something that I noticed Hazard copy.

"Ah… just passin' through, don' worry." Hazard insisted. "Just gotta finish up and I'll be on ma way."

Centipeder looked at him, and then to me… and sighed. "This is already an… unusual situation. I don't believe I saw a vigilante show up on top of it." He commented with a tone that made it clear that it was a one-time thing only. "Especially after someone lets me down?"

"On it!" I remarked, pulling away from the ninja and walking over to Centipeder and his pinned state. After a couple of steps with him looking towards me, his eyes widened in what I could clearly tell was shock. He was looking past me. I didn't think, I acted on instinct from those reactions as I spun myself around, swinging out with my left arm and letting loose a chord. It flung out and wrapped around… around….

Around Hazard's fist, inches away from the ninja villain's head. "Ey, what's the big idea, Andros?" Hazard asked.

"The big - you were about to kill him!" I exclaimed.

"He tried ta kill you!" Hazard shot back. "It's what he deserves!"

"Only as much as tha guy deserves. I heard what he said."

Oh… oh no… oh noooo. "Taro… you're not saying you're trying to go eye for an eye?" Please tell me you're not doing that.

The strain on that fist lightened a bit at that. An awkward silence filled the area, as damning as anything else. "Don't get me wrong. I ain't no hero killer." Taro commented. "But there's villains… and then there's outright killers. Scum like this."

No… nonono! "You didn't do this back in the alley-" I started

"Cause tha moron just insulted ya! Ya could have taken him wit'out me easy. No guts ta him" Tao yelled. "Tha system ain't harsh enuff on villains! Sure, there's tha robbers, but tha guy SAID he wanted ta kill ya! He ain't gonna stop that just fer bein' in jail!"

"Oh yeah. Kan and Teronosuke are morons frankly. If it were up ta me, they'd get hospital time but… ah… tha company… ain't happy if ya go that far."

"That's what you meant when you wanted to give those two hospital time…" I noted in shock.

Taro didn't answer that. He just let the silence hold for a moment. "Yer better than me Andros. Ya can try ta be the hero. Lemme just stamp out the problems." He started to bring the other fist down and for a moment everything moved slowly as I pushed off the pavement, tugging at my cord before unwrapping it to fling me at him, slamming my body into him and knocking him away from the wannabe ninja.

I stumbled to my feet and moved back slowly. "Centipeder-"

"You still have your permission," Centipeder remarked. "I want the full story later."

I nodded at that even as Ta- as Hazard pulled himself to his feet.

"Why? I don't get it, why protect tha guy?!" Hazard asked incredulously. "Ya were fine in the alley, yer just gonna flip flop now?"

I went to speak… and then stopped. As much as I don't want to admit it, he has a point. I could have told him to head off after knocking the guy out and just called the cops…

"Then I'll just have to rely on you all to be my reminders… to be what reminds me not to stray from the path of a hero again!"

… huh. Well. Right back at you Iida. "Because I made a mistake back then," I commented. "I should have called the authorities then… but that's why I'm a hero in training. Because I can learn from my mistakes. To use them and others to remind me not to stray from the path of a hero." I glanced back briefly at the out cold ninja… and then back forward. "… and a hero shouldn't let anyone die if they can help it. Not even the villain."

"So, we have to fight then Andros?" Hazard queried.

"Andromeda." I corrected coldly. "And no. You're a Smash, and I'm not the ten-year-old you first met." At that I crossed my arms, reaching out to the Nebula Gas in him and pushing my arms out to the side.

Hazard started to hiss, issuing out a sickly almost black gas into the air, but it wasn't a huge cloud like the others had been in testing, it was more like leaks… leaks that were slowing and sealing up, the gas being sucked back into him! He let loose a burping sound as it was all pulled in, letting out a slight chuckle. "Ah, yer tried ta turn me back didn' ya? Ferget what my Quirk does Andromeda?" Hazard laughed. "I purified tha gas. It's mine."

My arms went to my sides at that, and I clenched my fists, staring this man that I trusted, that I confided in, who confided in me… who had shown his darker side and I just hadn't wanted to see it. It hurt. It broke my heart. And it pissed me off.

I wanted to call him out on why this was such a bad idea. Why his methods were wrong. I wanted to string him up for what he implied. But all I felt was a surge of anger, as I let out a wordless yell, something he joined in with as we rushed at each other.