Beta'd and Edited by Poliamida and kylekatarn77

67. We Press On

I hate feeling like Han Solo in a world of Jedi. I'm supposed to be the Jedi.

- Harry Dresden

For once, after a major battle, Izuku's gear was mostly intact. The Power Suit stood in its charging station, completely unscathed. It was undergoing a few diagnostics, as Izuku had used it to fly about for a while, but all systems looked nominal. As for the Ultra Armor, it had taken a serious beating, and had suffered damage. A few pieces would need to be replaced or repaired, but overall it was in surprisingly good shape.

Despite the good news, Izuku found himself gripping the edges of a 10 gallon bucket, vomiting bile into it. He'd started to go over the Ultra Armor's damage, and had found dried blood and other bodily fluids on the fists. The final straw had been the bits of human hair that had fallen out when he'd washed off the fists. So now he was contemplating the bottom of a bucket, gasping for breath.

After a few minutes, Izuku slumped down, leaning up against the workbench, closing his eyes in utter exhaustion. How many had he killed? He could still remember those screams, still smell the smoke, and dust, and excrement, and worst the iron tang of blood.

"I can't do this," Izuku whispered. "Iida's dead. So many of them are dead, and it's all my fault."

He lay there in his own misery for what seemed an age, feeling dizzy and hopeless. He'd retreated to the workshop to try to fix the armor for the League and MLA's counter blow he knew was coming, but he couldn't do this. He couldn't face the death and destruction.

"Thought I'd find you here."

Izuku blinked, his vision clearing a bit. He saw Bakugo examining the bucket. The other boy grimaced, shoving the bucket to the side with his foot, his hands in his pockets. With a groan, Bakugo slumped down by Izuku, looking up at the Ultra Armor.

"You kicked ass today, you know that, right?" Bakugo observed in a nonchalant, conversational tone. "And I don't just mean with that robot suit. You took charge. Shit, I could only think of keeping Ochako and me alive. But you saw the whole picture. Got us out alive. Thanks."

"Not all of us," Izuku whispered. "Iida...he's still back there. I didn't want to...but, we had to. Leave him. I had to worry about those of us still alive."

Bakugo shrugged. "Yeah, you did the right thing. We'll get him back, someday. Shit, you already killed Re-Destro. We'll just have to go back and mop up. After we beat the League of Villains."

"Are you serious? Bakugo, I did horribly. I can't lead this class. I'm just a kid!" Izuku protested.

"Didn't see Nezu, or Burnin, or even Togata come up with any plans," Bakugo said with a dismissive snort. "That was all you. Hell, you're the one who came up with the idea to get us back to UA, then get everyone's folks here so they'd be safe, fort up with the other heroes. It's a good plan."

Izuku considered that. His relationship with Bakugo was much improved of late. Since the other boy had lost his quirk, it was as though he'd lost his need to prove himself along with it. He was still prone to outbursts of anger, but he was also more patient and willing to listen then he had been. Still, for Bakugo to compliment Izuku like this...it was unusual.

"You really think so?"

"Shit, what do I know? But yeah. From one quirkless loser to another, yeah. You're smarter than I am with stuff like that. I know I'm not stupid, I can plan and stuff. But like, I'm better with just one or two people. Maybe a few more, dunno. But I can only deal with shit that's right in front of me. One fight? Yeah, I can figure out how to win that. But you had that whole damn battle in your head. Now you're figuring out this whole war, right? So what's your next move, Nerd?"

The nickname didn't really come as an insult, not anymore. Izuku looked up at the Ultra Armor, but his eyes lost focus as he thought ahead. "They'll come for us, and soon. UA is a strong defensive position, but we have serious issues. If I were them, I'd try to infiltrate with Toga. Have her come in as one of the families, or swap places with a student. Then, I'd have her open up a vulnerability in our defenses. Plus, they have Kurogiri and his warp quirk. He can easily bring in a number of their strongest fighters. That makes fighting defensively a losing proposition for us, on all counts."

"Yeah. So what do we do?" Bakugo prompted.

"We have to go after them. We rally what pros we can. Sir Nighteye is the key. His foresight could help us counter any spies in our midst, and he can help us locate the League. We strike them, and hard. Togata has One For All, the power of All Might. I saw the aftermath, he fought off hundreds all on his own. And those were some of the MLA's strongest troops. He's our ace in the hole."

"Sounds good to me," Bakugo agreed with a nod. "You point me in the right direction. I'll kick their teeth in."

Izuku nodded, looking over at Bakugo. "How's your gear holding up?"

Bakugo reached to his back, pulling out his grenade launcher and holding it before him. "She's dry. Gonna need some more. Why I came here, actually. Momo's worn too thin to be making any more for me for now."

Izuku nodded. "Yeah, I can help you with that, we-"

There was a sudden explosion, and Izuku let out a yelp. He stood, looking around for the source of it, while Bakugo got to his feet, dropping the launcher and raising two fists. "What is it?"

"I don't know," Izuku admitted. He slowly moved forward, looking around the lab, but not seeing anything. He sniffed, smelling a faint whiff of ozone.

"Hey, someone killed Mei's rats," Bakugo called.

The hairs on Izuku's neck rose, and he hurried over. He found Bakugo examining the twisted and blackened remains of the rat cage. Two of the rats were inside, charred messes. They had been blown to giblets, and something had been gnawing at them. There were scorch marks all around where the cage had been set.

"There!" Bakugo suddenly growled, his hand striking out to the cabinet nearby. There was a squeek, then a series of pops as Bakugo withdrew his hand.

"What the hell!?" Bakugo snarled, holding up the rat. "Mei making some sort of suicide bomber rats?"

Cold sweat ran down Izuku's back, and he stepped forward slowly. Gingerly, he reached out, taking the panicked rat's head in his hands as it tried to bite at him and Bakugo. He found the tag.

"KEM-003c," Izuku read. "My God. She did it."

"Did what, exactly?" Bakugo demanded. "The little bastard keeps trying to bite me!"

"Here, put it in this," Izuku said, grabbing an empty missile storage unit. It was thick and padded to absorb shocks, and should contain the rat. "I need to go find Mei. Do not let that rat get away."

"Why, I should just snap the little prick's neck," Bakugo said, sucking at fingers after tossing the rat inside. There were more pops as the rat ran about the container, squeaking.

"Because that rat is how you're going to get your quirk back," Izuku said, and ran off, leaving a stunned Bakugo to stare after him.

It wasn't hard to find Mei, she and Hari were in the training grounds activating the various robots.

"Mei!" Izuku shouted as he ran up. "KEM-003c! It manifested!"

Mei immediately dropped what she was doing, causing her father to let out a long string of curses as a power source for a robot landed on his toe. "What!? Already? What about the others? The control group?"

"The other KEMs are dead, 003 exploded them," Izuku gasped. "Bakugo's with it now. I think it worked though. It blew up it's cage and escaped, but it was in our snack bin and Bakugo managed to grab it."

"Yes! I knew that those cute babies would work!" Mei cheered, running full tilt towards the workshop.

"Mei! Where are you going?" Hari called. "What's a KEM?"

"King Explosion Murder!" Mei answered. "I'm going to go make Bakugo better!"

They were back at the workshop in a few minutes, where a puzzled Uraraka was holding a weeping Bakugo.

"Izuku, what is going on?" she demanded. "Katsuki just started babbling about rats and how it was impossible, and his mother's saying she's going to leave with him and-"

"No time!" Mei called. She ran over to RICE CRISPR, which was humming along in the corner. She pulled out a tray of samples, each labeled in Izuku's neat handwriting.

"KEM-003c," Mei said triumphantly, pulling out a vial. She held it up, then frowned. "Hmm. We really should do more testing before we start human trials. And study the specimen a bit, I-"

"Can you do it?" Bakugo demanded, jumping out of Uraraka's arms and scrambling over, his eyes red, tears and snot coating his face. "Can you really...can you give me my quirk back?"

"Well, obviously, I can give it to a rat," Mei said, pointing to the container where explosions could still be heard. "But, well, maybe those other two died when it manifested, or maybe 003c killed them. We should do further testing."

"I don't give a damn!" Bakugo snarled. "I was completely useless out there today! All I could do was put on bandages and shoot off a pop gun! Dammit, Iida might still be ALIVE if I'd had my quirk!"

"Wait, you think you can give Katuski back his quirk?" Uraraka said, clearly trying to process what was going on. "How? Never mind, I wouldn't understand if you explained. But, why didn't you tell us?"

"We didn't want to give you false hope," Izuku explained. "This is a delicate, complicated process. It could have taken years to produce results."

"I already edited this version to be compatible with the human genome," Mei mused. "I do that with all my trial versions. Most of the time I have to junk them, but it's good practice."

Bakugo inched forward, his fingers twitching as he reached for the vial. "I don't give a shit about risks. We need to be ready. If I have my quirk back, I, I can do better! Please! What do I have to do, drink it?"

"Katsuki, are you crazy!?" Urarak demanded, grabbing his arm and jerking it down. "Look over there!" She pointed to the rat corpses. "That could be you! Don't be reckless!"

"Dammit Ochako, what if I could have saved Iida if I'd had my quirk!?" Bakugo demanded, turning to grip Uraraka by the shoulders. "Or Kuroiro, or any of the others! It's worth the risk!"

"Not to me! You still helped! You're still alive! I already lost one friend today, and I am not losing the man I love because he's too reckless to know when to be cautious!" Uraraka shouted.

Bakugo stumbled back, looking stunned. He leaned on the worktable, his eyes wide. "What...what did you say?"

Uraraka stepped forward, stabbing Bakugo in the chest with her finger. "I said I saw Iida die today, and I'm not watching you die too!"

"No...you said...you said...you love me," Bakugo whispered.

"Oh." Uraraka paused, her hand lowering slowly. "Um. Yeah. I think I do. Love you, I mean. You're a bullheaded, violent, angry son of a bitch, but I do love you, Katsuki. And I'm not losing you."

Bakugo considered that. "I…" He swallowed, his adam's apple bobbing up and down. "I love you, too, Uraraka. Shit. Never thought I'd say something like that."

"Well, I'm glad that's out of the way then," Uraraka said, blushing. She glanced at Izuku and Mei, biting her lip. "Um, maybe we should, you know, go back to the dorms. To talk."

Bakugo blinked, then blushed. "You're not distracting me. Not even with that. But…" he took a deep breath, looking to Mei, who appeared puzzled by the entire exchange. "What's the risk?"

"Well, I don't know. We only tried the rat sample, but I have to analyze the data to really know the odds. And you might have a 67% chance of exploding, or maybe of it just doing nothing. But there is at least a 33% chance of success!"

"Mei, I don't think we should just give it to him," Izuku said cautiously. "This wouldn't be reversible. If this hurt Bakugo, or gave him a weak version of his quirk, we'd be-"

"Izuku? Mei? What's going on? Why are people yelling?"

Everyone turned to see Eri step into the workshop, her face flushed. "Daddy's really mad, he said some words that made mommy tell him off. I came to come find you."

"Or maybe we do have a safety net," Bakugo said, his tone thoughtful. He looked to Izuku. "Think she could control her quirk? She turns back time on people and stuff, right?"

"Um, maybe?" Izuku guessed. "Eri, how are you with your quirk these days?"

Eri frowned, then gasped, spying the dead rats. She hurried over, taking off her head band. She put her hands on the rats, and her horn started to glow. An instant later, both rats were whole, and their chests rose and fell. Eri let out a gasp of pleasure, holding up one of the rats. "See! I'm better now! Daddy and mommy help me practice! I can fix it when people are hurt now!"

Gingerly, Izuku took the rat. It breathed, but it hung limply in his hands. He examined it closely, opening the animal's eye. It didn't respond.

"The wounds are healed," Izuku observed. "And it's alive, but...something's missing."

"Oh." Eri looked down, tears appearing on her cheeks. "The bird did that too."

"The bird?" Uraraka asked, kneeling down to take the other rat from Eri.

Eri nodded, tears trickling down her cheek. "One of the cats killed it and left it on our front porch. I made it better, but...it died again. I kept making it better until mommy took it away. She said, I can make the body whole, but the spirit is gone. I don't really understand what that means."

Izuku felt the rat's chest. Already, the heartbeat was fading. After a minute or so, it faded entirely, and the corpse began to grow cold.

"Eri, that's incredible!" he declared. "You're going to be an amazing doctor!"

"No! I'm going to be a hero, like you and my big sisters!" Eri declared. "I don't care what the brats say! They're mean! Daddy said so!"

"If she can do this," Uraraka said, shaking her head. "Do they always die?"

"No," Eri admitted. "When I did it to a mouse that I saw get caught in a trap, it was OK. Maybe if I do it real quick, the spirits are still there. But if I'm not fast enough, then...then they die. Or disappear. Like…" She sniffed, looking away. "I don't want to talk about it."

"So there's a time limit," Bakugo observed. "You couldn't just rewind me to how I was a month or two ago or something?"

"Maybe?" Eri guessed. "But...but you could also get disappeared. That happened when I tried to fix a dead kitty I found. It had been dead a long time, it wasn't even smelly anymore. But I wanted to make it better. I tried, but…"

"So there's a time limit on people," Izuku mused. "But you can still break down machines and objects fine?"

"Uh-huh. Mommy says it's 'cause they got different kinds of spirits. They remember what they were longer than people or animals do," Eri stated.

"Well then, we should commence human trials immediately!" Mei declared. "Eri can just reverse Bakugo to a day or two ago if he explodes!"

Eri let out a squeak of fright, and Uraraka hugged her. "Shhhh. It's OK. We trust you. This is your chance to be a hero, like Izuku and Mei. Can you do it?"

"No," Eri said, shaking her head. "I need Fluffles first. He helps me be brave."

"Shit, don't tell me that's back at your house," Bakugo sighed.

"Katsuki!" Eri gasped. "You will have to wash your mouth out with soap! Don't use bad words like that!"

Bakugo rolled his eyes. "The dog. Where is it?"

"In the car. He's keeping it safe," Eri explained.

It only took a few minutes for Izuku to run and grab the stuffed dog, which he hurriedly handed to Eri. "You ready, Eri?"

"Yes," she agreed. She leaned close to Fluffle's ear. "It's OK, Fluffles. I'll be brave enough for both of us."

"So just let me drink the damn thing already!" Bakugo said, reaching for the vial.

"What? Are you dumb? You do not drink viral solutions, Katsuki!" Mei lectured, holding the vial away.

"Fine, what do you do with them?" Bakugo growled.

Mei fished out a needle from the work tray, then put on a pair of gloves. "You inject them, of course."

Bakugo suddenly paled. "Oh. Um, OK."

Uraraka suddenly giggled. "Oh my God. Katsuki, you're not…?"

"I just don't like them, OK!" Bakugo snapped. He looked away, holding out his arm. "Look, just, do it fast. Shit. Maybe we should get Recovery Girl to do this."

"It's OK, Katsuki," Eri said. She held up Fluffles. "Here, he'll help you be brave."

"I'd rather have a bullet to bite and a shot of whisky," Bakugo muttered, but he took the dog and gripped it tightly, Uraraka coming over to rest her hand on his shoulder. "Just-"

Mei grabbed Bakugo's arm, stabbing the needle into a vein on his wrist expertly and depressing the plunger. Bakugo let out a groan of pain, squeezing the stuffed dog and closing his eyes.

"You were very brave," Eri said, patting Bakugo's arm. "You should get a lollipop."

"I think KEM-003c ate all of mine," Mei said, sticking her head into the cabinet. "Oh well! Now we just have to wait!"

"How long?" Bakugo asked, holding up his hand. He rubbed his fingers, but nothing happened.

"I do not know, but at least several weeks," Mei told him. "I administered the virus to KEM-003c four weeks ago. I admit I did not monitor it very carefully for the past several days. That is actually a very quick time for a gene editing virus to work!"

"Dammit, we don't have that much time!" Bakugo snarled. "What if the League attacks tonight?!"

"I am sorry that my incredibly cute baby that allows a person to manifest a quirk that Izuku and I created in only six weeks does not work fast enough to make you happy," Mei said seriously.

Bakugo fell silent, looking sheepish, and Uraraka blushed, looking down.

And then Mei ruined the effect by laughing. "Ha! That was a joke! You see, Mina has been teaching me sarcasm! I am getting much better at it!"

"Yeah, ok," Bakugo agreed. "So, like, I won't just randomly explode or whatever right now?"

Mei shrugged. "I do not know. But if you do we will make sure to get Eri quickly so that she can make you better."

"Don't worry Katsuki! I will save you!" Eri promised. "I am going to be a super great hero! Just like you!"

"You already are, kid," Bakugo said, bending over to give Eri a quick hug. "Thanks."

Then he stood, nodding to Mei. "Thanks a lot, Goggles. Even if it doesn't work this time...well. Now I have hope. Thought I'd be...well. I thought maybe I'd be like Izuku, which wasn't too bad. You going to get a quirk now?"

Izuku shook his head. "No. Mei and I talked about it. She'll get her quirk back. But not me. I was born this way. And Mei's babies are better than any quirk anyway."

"Our babies, Izuku," Mei said, smiling and stepping close to give him a hug. "Our babies."

"Yeah," Bakugo agreed. He glanced at Uraraka. "Still want to go back to the dorms?"

"Bakugo! Eri's here!" Uraraka hissed.

"It is OK," Eri said, taking Fluffles back. "You can go sleep. I know you fought lots of bad guys today. Make sure Ochako keeps an eye on you though. I will come help if you need me."

"Yeah, um, that's exactly what I'll do," Uraraka agreed. She took Bakugo's hand and led him from the workshop. "Come on. Wait much longer and I really will fall asleep."

They departed, and Izuku smiled faintly. They weren't even trying to hide it anymore. Then he glanced at the Ultra Armor, and had an idea. "Hey, Eri, do you think...maybe you could fix that for us?"

Eri looked at the damage, a determined expression on her face. "Yes. I can fix things, just like mommy and daddy. They showed me how."

It took several minutes, and by the end of it Eri was trembling and exhausted, but the Ultra Armor was restored to pristine condition.

"Eri, you're amazing!" Mei cheered, hoisting the little girl up over her head. "You are the cutest baby ever!"

"OK," Eri said sleepily. "Can I take a nap now?"

"Yes," Mei agreed, taking Eri over to the futon that was in the corner and laying her down on it. She tucked Eri in, and a moment later, she was sleeping. Mei stood back, smiling down at Eri. Then she turned to Izuku.

"We should make a cute baby too."

"Yeah, we'll need to come up with something to counter Shiguraki's quirk, and the rest of the League," Izuku said with a sigh. "We've mostly ignored them. What sort of idea do you have?"

"No, not that kind of baby," Mei said, pointing to Eri. "Like her."

It was at that point that encountered a severe runtime error, and had to be restarted. Fortunately, Mei was there to help with the bootup sequence, though that nearly led to another cascade failure.