Chapter 2

Accessing the Gathering. Access Pending. Password Pending…

Password Accepted. Welcome user: OverWatched

One new message pending from user: LizardGirl113

LizardGirl113: Hello again. Uhm, I wanted to thank you. I didn't know what would have happened to me and my family if you didn't come to us like you did. The police and reporters call you a criminal, even when Ryukyu vouches for you they still say you're no better than the Sludge Villain. I don't believe that, like you said before, heroes help people. And that's what you did. You saved us.

OverWatched: Please don't have the need to thank me, I did what needed to be done before something bad happened. And you were pretty brave yourself, you reacted to the flashbang and knew to close your eyes and cover your ears. Lead your family to safety and find me backup. I may have died if not for you. So let's call it even.

LizardGirl113: Even so! You were totally badass, at least from what I saw. I can't believe you're not an official hero. Your quirk gotta make you able to pass those tests.

OverWatched: Sadly, I never took the tests because I knew I'd fail. My quirk isn't exactly meant for combat. What I did was purely training along with the weapons and armor I created.

LizardGirl113: Seriously? That's insane! When I tried to apply for the UA Hero Program I was practically denied off the bat due to my own quirk. It's not strong or combat oriented like the others. My quirk pretty much lets me only take my body apart into pieces that I can control and move about. Not exactly that cool or useful.

OverWatched: I disagree completely. That would make you an invaluable intelligence operative or a very tricky close combat fighter. Don't give up and train hard, you'll make it.

LizardGirl113: Maybe, but I decided I didn't want to be a hero. At Least not like the pros…I heard what you said about the pro heroes with Ryukyu. I know it's wrong, but when she went to help you I may have detached an eye and ear to my house and overheard it.

OverWatched: A hero like them? Then what sort of a hero are you wanting to be?

LizardGirl113: Well…a hero like you? Would you train me?

(Takoba Municipal Beach, Musutafu)

Izuku did warn her that she would not like what she had to do to prove to him that she could make the cut to be trained and act as part of his group. Though when he brought her to the dump site called Takoba Municipal Beach and told her that her task was to clear a section of the beach within a month, he was shocked to see her take it head on.

For the first week of her task, she did complain a lot as she struggled to move the large pieces of trash. He didn't tell her a thing, didn't give her any advice on what to do or how to do it. She needed to figure this out on her own and prove to him that she could handle a task like this in order to actually be trained by him. However she didn't figure out this was also training in its own way. Each piece of trash she moved, its size and shape, would work different muscles as she did her job. Slowly she was learning that this was more than just the work of being a good simaritain, and with this realization she took the task on with more confidence and a smirk across her face.

By the end of the second week, she had gotten the hang of it all. She started to work smarter, not harder, as she fashioned a cart to help move more trash and found a rusted dolley to help move the heavier objects she couldn't move on her own. This did impress and surprise Izuku, he didn't think she would think like this without him saying something. Thanks to her work, she was moving ahead of schedule he made for her. She was moving faster and quicker than he anticipated and didn't think she would take much longer to clean up her section of the beach.

At the end of the third week she had finished her task, and when he came early in the morning to watch over her he was instead greeted with the sight of her yelling with pride as she stood over the wall overlooking the beach she had cleaned. He stood beside her, smirking as she collapsed onto her knees exhausted, and when she looked up at him he offered her his hand. He pulled her up and brought her arm over his shoulder as he brought her to sit on a bench. She earned his respect, and was slowly winning more of his trust as they sat and finally exchanged names so they didn't have to use their usernames to call out one another.

After their names were exchanged he warned her that there was no turning back now. If she delved into this world of his she couldn't walk away and be able to say she forgot. And as he said this, the same toothy grin she showed him over the weeks came back with a nod. She was ready. She wanted to be a hero like him.

(Unknown Location)

"Athena, add Setsuna Tokage to the registry. Give her basic level clearance to all files, projects, and blueprints. Give her the codename…hmm. What codename would you like, Setsuna?"

Setsuna was busy gawking at the base Izuku had brought her to. For starters, she wasn't ready for the portal he called a Tech Gate to open up and give them a path to the base. Nor did she expect it to be hidden away at such an obvious place within the city. It was literally hidden under a dumpster near an alley close to the Police Precinct. When he moved it aside and saw the metal square flat against the cement she thought he was joking til he put his thumb against it and it hummed alive before opening up and projecting a swirling blue portal before them.

She shocked her head when he called her name again, clearing her throat. "Hmm, what was that boss?"

Izuku sighed as he reached behind his head and scratched the back of it. He didn't wear his visor or mask around her anymore, leaving his face open for her to see. "I. Need. A. Codename."

Setsuna blushed slightly, looking at the computer screen. "Hmm…I always wanted my hero name to be Lizardy. Would that be okay?"

"You hear that Athena?"

The AI chuckled, the computer typing in the name on its own before multiple files, programs and other things Setsuna could not keep up with before it stopped and her name was below Izuku's in the database. "So…that means I'm part of your team now?"

Izuku chuckled and nodded his head before getting out of his chair and going to a workbench. "Yes it does. Even if your training fails, I could always use logistical support since Athena can't do everything at once."

Athena huffed to herself before disappearing from the screen to go work on something else as the two talked. Setsuna chuckled at the sigh, even if Athena was an AI, she could understand that annoyed huff. "So, what are we working on today?"

"First we need to prepare a proper outfit for you for when we start training and are sent into the field. So, you gave me your costume design you submitted to the UA and I am using that as the base of the attire. Now I need you to think of what you want to work on. Do you want to be strictly combat? Maybe recon? Even a medic. Whatever you want to devote yourself to we will work on."

Setsuna thought to herself for a moment, she didn't really put too much thought into it. Sure she could learn to fight like Izuku, but he seemed to be fine in that department. He didn't really need back up if he kept working on himself and his support items. After a few seconds, she thought of what she wanted. "I want to help you with recon and surveillance."

Izuku nodded, snickering as he took a utensil from its charging dock and started to write on the tablet screen at the bench. "If that's the case, we will work on stealth tactics and close combat. With that in mind, I want you to review everything I have on a pro named Eraserhead. He is perhaps the best underground hero and is potentially the best in stealth operations."

Setsuna only nodded, smiling as she walked away and went to the computer Izuku had to start looking for the files for Eraserhead. Izuku rolled his eyes as he realized that he would have to invest on more computers and monitors if he planned on actually building a team. Inside his head he laughed at himself. He never planned on taking on a team of his own, too much trouble and work to do so. However, seeing the resolve in Setsuna's eyes when he met her the first day, he couldn't deny that there could be people out there like her that saw the need for the fight he waged. He only hoped that they would show themselves sooner rather than later.

(Ryukyu Agency, Musutafu)

It had been nearly a month since Ryukyu was face to face with Izuku Midoriya, the last bit of family she had left after the Sludge Villain attack on her brother and sister-in-law nearly two years ago. The photo he left her never left her person, even on patrols she kept the picture close to her at all times. And now as she sat in her office, alone with her thoughts rummaging in her mind, she held the picture so gently as if it was about to turn to ash in front of her eyes. She couldn't hear the knocking on her door before it opened, and when the blue haired intern walked in to see her teacher staring at the photo again she needed to start asking questions.

"Ms. Ryukyu, are you going to tell me what that picture is yet?"

Ryukyu blinked before looking up, a blush dusting her cheeks as she cleared her throat. "S-sorry Nejire, it's uh…it's a picture the vigilante left behind when he escaped after the Sludge Villain arrest."

Nejire frowned, going to sit across from Ryukyu on the other side of the desk. "It's more than that. Ever since you found it you've had it on you and are almost always looking at it."

The response made the pro sigh heavily, looking at the door and smiling at Nejire softly. "If I tell you this, you must promise me you will not tell anyone else."

"Of course Ms. Ryukyu! Not a soul!"

She needed that from Nejire. Even when she got into her depressive moments, Nejire always was able to pull her out of them. "Well…Remember how I told you I lost my brother and his family to the Sludge Villain a few years back?" Nejire nodded. "Turns out…my nephew survived. The vigilante everyone calls Soldier, he left this there. The photo of him and his parents on his thirteenth birthday, two weeks before the attack."

Ryukyu sighed softly again, placing the photo down with such care for Nejire to see. The intern smiled and saw the happy family, looking at them and their signature green hair except for the father's. He had the same color hair as Ryukyu. "So why are you sad? He's alive right? We need to find him and bring you two together!"

"I want that more than anything, Nejire. Trust me every part of my being is screaming for me to go find him and hold him close. But…when I saw him, it was clear that he wasn't the same shy, timid boy I knew. Whatever happened after the incident changed him into the vigilante he is now. And with being a vigilante, he and I are on two separate sides of the law. As a pro hero, it's my obligation to arrest him, but as his aunt…I don't know."

Nejire listened to what Ryukyu said intently, listening to every word to try and understand what the situation was and what they could do. This was a problem for her teacher and friend. She sighed in defeat, not knowing what to say or do for her.

"Besides, I don't even know how I would find him. There isn't a single trace of Izuku Midoriya living anywhere."

This, however, was something Nejire could help with. She smirked and took her phone out, typing away as she accessed an app. "You say he is Soldier, right? Then all we need to do is find him at the Gathering app!"

Ryukyu rose out of her seat and went to sit beside her young apprentice, looking over her shoulder as she saw her get on what looked like some sort of gossip blog app or something. "The Gathering? You think he is on some sort of app like that? Izuku was never one to gossip."

Nejire chuckled as she found where she wanted to go, and with a smile she nodded to herself. She knew about the rumors of the vigilante Soldier being able to be contacted on the Gathering. But seeing it for her own eyes was better then she ever expected. "No, the site itself is mostly a cover. If you know the right words, the right places to go, you can find someone named OverWatched. Rumor has it he's the one you go to if you need help. And OverWatched is also thought to be the Soldier vigilante, but no pro hero that uses this app seems to be able to draw him out. It's like he knows."

Ryukyu blinked, then blinked again before seeing the blinking line waiting for a message to be typed to the user called OverWatched. She gently took the phone from Nejire when she offered it to her, and typed the only thing she could think of.

BTBlueWave: Izuku, it's me. I need to see you, please…

She looked at the phone for what seemed like an eternity, nothing showing any signs of him typing back or even seeing the message. Nejire could see the worry on Ryukyu's face, the terror and hope that this wasn't a fake thing. A joke to pull on gullible boys and girls. After a few more minutes, she was about to put the phone down. But fate decided to throw her a bone. She looked down, seeing a message typing before being sent.

OverWatched: Understood. Soldier will come to you soon. Please be patient, he is currently on a mission. Thank you. -Athena

Ryukyu couldn't keep herself up as she fell to her knees, tears running down her cheeks as Nejire came to wrap her arms around her mentor. The two sat there for almost an hour, Ryukyu just so happy to know she was going to see her little nephew again. She just had to wait for him to get back from…from…

"Wait, he's on a mission?"