Jpx0999 - I could publish it all in one go, but that would mean less time on 'recently published' and, thus, less readers. And I already don't have a lot of them for DoA.

JackRedhawke - Technically the last two chapters are something of a distant epilogue, so I don't feel like there'll be a lot left to say.

Shahryar - Rabbit would burn the world for his girls. Which, admittedly, isn't that much of a step-up from kicking Miruko's butt ngl.

Early afternoon after the Reveal Day, Prime Minister Nana Shimura made an official statement, confirming the findings of the Chinese research team with full authority of her office backing her up.

She has also claimed that the Japanese government has been looking into the phenomenon ever since the initial reports about the 'glowing baby' surfaced, mostly due to a said glowing baby triggering a coming-out of a small group of people with similar, recently awakened 'abilities'.

Something taken seriously because said people were connected to one of the government's agencies.

Which was, honestly, an almost impressive amount of bullshit, but interspersed with truth to the point where it was believable. While making the government not look like complete dunces for not realizing what was happening for so long.

Despite them, well, not realizing what was happening for so long (even if that was due to a conspiracy).

Midoriya suspected that the public would realize that metahumans were slightly older than the glowing baby. A few months older, maybe. The earlier metahuman awakenings would be considered to be questionably true.

There was also a chance that - if the chaos to come was going to be so bad - that the reports would eventually be conflated enough for most people to think that the glowing baby was the first one.

Hopefully it wasn't going to be the case.

The reporters were clearly torn between disbelief and extreme desire to ask every imaginable question to the Prime Minister. Nana Shimura was answering them to the best of her abilities, covering the most important topics.

Emitters, transformatives and mutants. The fact that the discovered abilities thus far were extremely varied, going beyond a more 'typical' superpowers like telekinesis (although it happened from time to time as well).

The belief that the mutants (which include a wide variety of animal-people and cases clearly inspired by more mythical entities) were inheritable without a fail and that they were best treated as a, currently rare, subspecies of Mankind.

She mentioned that the police was already working on establishing the best way of dealing with the potential security risks that this new phenomenon could cause, and that Japan has already managed to obtain a prototype drug that is capable of temporarily suppressing the usage of the non-mutant 'meta-abilities'.

Meaning that if the worst comes to show, imprisoning potential metahuman criminals should be entirely possible. She actually called out the Cardboard Prison's trope, and stated clearly that Japan is fully ready to avert it in its entirety. Huh. What a strange time to be alive.

The Prime Minister has also covered two more subjects that Izuku found interesting.

The first one was announcing that thus far the scientists involved in investigation of the phenomenon found no reason to suspect any sort of microbiological causes. The confirmed new manifestations of the meta-abilities carried no similarities to what could be considered an epidemiologic model.

In shorter words, according to the preliminary investigation, the meta-abilities didn't appear to be in any way contagious. In fact, it wasn't yet clear if they were even inheritable, due to them carrying no identified genetic markers, with the mutations being the only more or less established exceptions.

On the surface it made sense. The fear of being able to 'catch' the mutations would probably contribute to early rejection of the metahumans. But when read in the context that Izuku obtained on the Gunga Mountain…

Was it the Council of Twelve attempting to deflect the world's attention from the truth?

Honestly speaking, it was a logical move on its own. The Council wanted to minimize chaos during the transition period. The government wanted to minimize chaos during the transition period. There was a perfectly fine chance that those words weren't born from All for One's mind-control scheme.

Izuku was also almost certain that a lot of people were going to treat those 'revelations' with disbelief.

The other thing was a few sentences directed to the metahumans. Most of it were reassurances, pretty much platitudes about how the government isn't after their asses and is actually hoping for a peaceful coexistence.

The interesting part was a mention that if they do not want to become 'known' to the world, then coming-out is completely optional. There is, after all, a risk of social ostracism, especially at the beginning, and if your power isn't anything visible, staying hidden is a perfectly valid option.

Midoriya finds himself rather split over that part, really.

Partially it was his idealism clashing with realism. Meta-abilities are, in his opinion, awesome. Hiding them felt wrong, evil even. That's what his idealism was speaking. His realist side…

… yeah, it was a logical move. Every metahuman that decided to stay hidden was effectively speaking one less problem for the government to worry about. Since they couldn't be rejected by their peers and grow angry, eventually turning to villainy.

Midoriya had a strange feeling that the MLA was going to exploit it with their propaganda sooner rather than later, though. He could also only hope that people wouldn't come out to their family, get rejected by said family and then get actively suppressed by them, told to hide their meta-abilities from the world or else.

That would suck.

In his opinion, the Prime Minister could have worded it slightly less… controversially. Then again, that's the Prime Minister. Midoriya is not even officially a government employee, so he can at best grumble.

Grumbling about politicians and their actions is pretty much a national pastime. AT LEAST national, in Izuku's opinion there are very few countries out there that weren't going at least that far.

The heroes weren't yet mentioned. Principal Sasaki said that they wouldn't be mentioned quite yet, the government apparently decided that suddenly pulling superheroes out of their hat during the initial metahuman announcement would make the initiative feel fishy.

Thankfully, he was also certain that there were no attempts from the government to do anything fishy. Preparations of the Hero Association headquarters were proceeding pretty much as planned, some skyscraper (wow) in Roppongi district of Tokyo chosen to house it.

In short, the shitstorm was finally here, and Izuku had no idea how to feel about it.

"Hmm, boring." Mei announces, before wolfing down some more chips. "Are government statements always as boring?"

… that was a very Mei thing to ask.

They were both sitting on the couch in the not-for-long Metahuman Network headquarters, watching the TV together. Uraraka was having one of her therapy sessions with Counselor Inui. Tsuyu was busy being the emotional support frog to her mom, over her upcoming date with Hizashi Yamada.

It's nice.

"Thankfully, yeah." Midoriya replies. When Mei gives him a questioning stare, he elaborates. "I think that an 'emotionally investing' governmental statement would be something like 'the aliens are invading!' or something like that, I really prefer them to be boring."

"Mmm…" Mei is clearly thinking it over. "I guess? We'll probably have to get used to more interesting governmental announcements from now on, hmm?"

… he really doesn't want to acknowledge the truth in her words, but it's probably unavoidable, yeah.

His eyes drift downward, see the slight bulge in her abdomen, making his mind go utterly blank for a moment (omfg he is going to be a parent), then his eyes are back on her face. On her absolutely gorgeous face.

Oh yeah, he is still incredibly in love, yeah.

"Is there something funny on my face?" Mei wakes him up. "You're staring and smiling and…"

"Uhm, nothing!" That was a very smooth answer, Izuku, yeah. "Uhm, it just occurred to me how incredibly lucky I was that you've found me on the internet and contacted me about helping me become a superhero. You know, back then, at the beginning?"

It really sometimes feels like a lifetime ago, despite being 'merely' a few months. So many things changed, even now Izuku can't help but wonder how that happened. And in how many different ways could the events play out.

"Awwww!" Mei smiles before abandoning her snacks for a moment and giving him a hug. Izuku, naturally, hugs her back. "Aren't you the cutest?" That would, in his opinion, be Tsuyu, but…

It's also almost incredible how much better she got in acting like a normal person would. Izuku is amazed at her progress. It's mostly Uraraka, he believes.

…

Okay, guess it's time to prove that Izuku DID make progress with the whole 'character development' on more fields than fighting villains.

He was probably the biggest contributor, even beyond Uraraka. Because it was Izuku that made Mei actually decide to become a tad bit grounded in common sense.

There. He did it.

He actually admitted that something was his achievement, rather than trying to deflect it to pretty much everyone that wasn't him.

Mei takes that particular moment to kiss him. More of a quick if intense smooch before pulling back a little.

"Just felt like I had to do it." Mei then announces, while Izuku looks at her with surprise written on his face.

Huh.

"So, do you want to watch more?" Mei decides to ask. "I think they mentioned that the South Korean government is about to make an announcement too, in a moment, and it's…"

"... probably more of the same thing, really." Izuku sighs. "I could honestly sum all those amounts with the following words: 'We're now living in a superhero genre. Citizens, please stay calm. Our best scientists are working by the clock to find out the exact subgenre and involved tropes.' Or something like this."

She actually laughs at it.

"Yes, that sounds about correct!" She eventually says. Her hands are still clasped behind his head, and he thinks that he knows what that prolonged period of closeness might mean. Then, she decides to surprise him. "Damn, we've really come a long way since our first meeting, didn't we?"

"Yeah." Izuku sighs, almost wistfully. "From two people meeting in a cafe and talking about one of them becoming a superhero and the other being his, errr, support engineer, all the way to… this?"

He still has no idea how that happened. Honestly, most of that wasn't his job. Not another self-depreciation session, just… first it was mostly Mei's support, then Aizawa took over, then Mirai Sasaki swept in realizing what deep of a shit they all were in, then the government was taking steps, hell, in a twisted way even Hisashi Shigaraki was helping their efforts nowadays and…

"Okay, stop that." Mei cuts in, Izuku blinking at her in surprise. "I recognize the look on your face. Tsu-chan says that you have it when you're thinking dummy thoughts. What were you thinking about?"

… their joint pillar of emotional support wasn't there, but it didn't stop Tsuyu from being involved. Wow.

Izuku sighs, and decides that he can as well do it. So, he shares his 'dummy thoughts' with Mei. Who makes a thoughtful face.

"You know, Ochako-chan and Tsu-chan often give you corrective talks on emotions and so on, but I was pretty much excluded because, well, I wasn't very good when talking about emotions was involved." Mei announces after a few seconds. "I think it's a good time to give it a shot, right? I don't feel alright being left out either way."

Huh. She really changed a lot.

"Alright then." Izuku replies. "Give it a shot."

To be honest, he doesn't have high hopes about this. Mei has been meaningfully interacting with people that weren't her parents or bodyguards for a few months at best. And, well, she still had a tendency to default to engineering metaphors whenever she was even slightly uncertain and…

"Do you think that they'd all keep helping you and investing their assets and efforts into you and your organization if they didn't think you were worth the investment?" Mei asks him. "I mean, that sounds like a very bad business plan to me."

…

"Well, I mean, err…" Izuku blinks at her. He didn't expect that. "... that's a solid 9 out of 10 advice, I give you that. It's just that, err…"

"You've gotten a blueprint, but you need some time to produce something out of it?" Mei cuts in, clearly nervous. Even if the voice didn't betray it, the engineering metaphor would certainly do that.

"Err, yes." Midoriya decides to settle on this. It's a pretty good metaphor for 'I heard words of wisdom, now I have to actually start believing in them deep down'. Then, he has another subject to delve into. Namely, why the hell is the mother of his child so anxious. That can't be healthy for the baby in the long-term, right? Right? "... why are you so nervous?"

"Well, uhm…" She blinks at him. "I mean, they are both helping you a lot nowadays, and I kind of felt left on the backseat, redundant even and… "

He ends up flicking her in the forehead. WIth enough strength for her to stop speaking for a moment.

"... what did I do?" She asks. Izuku feels faintly bad for flicking her in the forehead like that, then again, yeah, she was pregnant but like, it couldn't cause anything negative, right? And it didn't count as violence or something, right?

"You thought the dummiest thoughts of them all." Midoriya replies dryly. "First of all, why did you push me to get Uraraka and Tsuyu onboard if you were afraid of being left behind?"

"Well, I…"

"Second of all, this isn't a contest." Izuku continues. "I love you all equally, and I consider it to be a life-long commitment in any field involved. Even if circumstances make me focus on someone in particular, it's temporary. And if you feel neglected, please just tell me that, I'll make sure you don't feel that way. Communication is the word for the day."

"Oh, I see, and…"

"Third of all, you have something that neither Uraraka nor Tsuyu can copy." Izuku replies. "Can you guess what exactly?" He should probably help her work a little on her social skills, and that feels like a good way moment.

It doesn't take Mei a lot of time to think it over.

"My readiness to do about everything in bed for as long as you ask or I hear about it and get curious?" She asks, with a completely straight face. Midoriya ends up actually blushing a little.

"Err, no, try again." He asks.

"Big breasts?" Mei asks immediately. Yeah, thank you for reminding your boyfriend that they kind of grew a little recently, and they were already sizable to begin with.

"Uhm, no." Izuku replies, trying not to blush even more.

"Already confirmed fertility?" Mei asks, her brow raising in confusion over her incorrect guesses, probably.

Yeah, thank you for reminding him that you're pregnant with his child, it's NOT making it any easier for Izuku to stay calm with how close they are to each other.

"No, it's not about sex, Mei." Izuku decides to guide her there. "More, uhm, in general?"

"My money and contacts due to being a zaibatsu heiress?" Mei asks. Again, it's an entirely incorrect guess.

Izuku sighs loudly.

"Wait, wait, I know the answer!" Mei perks up a little. "It's about my inventions, yes?"

He actually kind of wants to pat her head, seeing her so enthusiastic about that subject, but… yeah, wrong answer.

"Yourself, Mei." Izuku replies, Mei blinking at him in surprise. "You're yourself, and I already told you that I love you the way you are. None of them can be like you, just as you can't be like them. You really, really do not have to compare yourself to them, alright?"

Is Izuku getting better with emotional and relationship things? He is mostly winging it as it goes, but he really feels like it's working much more often than it doesn't. Izuku is slightly confused.

Mei, certainly, seems to love his answer, judging from the hug and the kisses that followed.

The internet was a shitshow, a fact that was clearly expanding worldwide with an utmost speed. Japan was for some reason the first one to make an official statement, but only by an hour or so. Then it was South Korea.

Then more countries out there. In most cases merely confirming the findings already presented by their countries' media. When the Japanese government suddenly announces that superpowers exist, well.

Global village, media in other countries reporting on that even before their government's official press conferences and so on. Midoriya was fairly certain that at least partially it was intentional, giving the government up to a few hours to quickly modify the initial statements when needed.

As Izuku stated earlier, it was mostly more of the same. Stay calm, we're investigating the situation, this is no alien invasion or anything (Izuku made up that last part but honestly it would fit the theme of most announcements).

The Internet, as stated, was a shitshow. Going all the way from 'the world is going to hell' or more general 'they are going to fuck the society up!' all the way to 'hey, does that mean that catgirls are real now?'.

People probably needed at least a few days to form something resembling a coherent set of opinions.

Izuku honestly missed most of that, together with the majority of the local Network branch. They were too busy throwing a housewarming party for Eto and Jirou. They were finally moving out, and… well, there were going to be a lot more housewarming parties soon.

Midoriya's favorite part of the event was probably Tsuyu's antics. From her just sitting there, wearing noise-canceling headphones that Momo made for her (the music was too loud for her taste) while clearly enjoying the atmosphere, through her attempts to sing along (it came out rather horribly, but in the most amusing way possible) to her discovering alcohol.

The last stage didn't last for long, resulting in Tsuyu soundly sleeping on the couch, her head on Izuku's lap.

Uraraka clearly found Tsuyu's attempts at singing as one of the most hilarious things she ever saw or heard, judging from her spilling her beer when it happened.

In Izuku's opinion, they all just wanted to not think about tomorrow.

(***)

Fun fact: Tsuyu is an extraordinarily lightweight drinker.

Fun fact number two: She is even more clingy than usual when suffering from a hangover.

Fun fact number three: She probably won't try alcohol ever again.

(***)

"This was…" Shinsou says loudly. "... one of the most hilarious and insane things that I've heard about, much less taken a part in. Knuckleduster, sir, with all due respect: what is wrong with you?"

Knuckleduster - still wearing clown make-up, because of course he fucking does that - points at Stain. Stain (who at least wears normal clothes) groans painfully before pointing at his wife.

Rumi takes that particular moment to run into a wall, loudly cursing the pogo stick she was using to prove to her daughter that she can beat her on the field of 'mechanically assisted jumping ability'.

Honestly, their constant headbutting was growing tiresome.

It wasn't even the weirdest way in which Luna was desperately trying to show her daughter that she's superior to her and thus worth her respect. It was not working, because she was still grotesquely misreading the reason why her daughter wanted to have nothing to do with her.

Shinsou had very little experience in normal relationships and parenthood. Still, the guys in front of him (minus Stain, to a degree, he at least seemed to have realized that they fucked up) were just sad.

Oh, now Edge was giving her mother a smug look of superiority. While still jumping around on her pogo stick.

The party left those two with Rappa (to act as a relief force if things went wrong) for like two hours. Now they come back, and, well, this. Shinsou didn't even know where the hell did they get the pogo sticks from.

Rappa was busy laughing his ass off at Rumi's accident.

"That's the official policy of the vigilantes." Knuckleduster decides to say something actually. "If it's stupid but it works, it ain't stupid. Also, it worked, sooo…"

Shinsou sighs. He's much too sober to deal with this.

"Right, I'll tell Midoriya that things are progressing nicely, and…" He pauses, seeing Rabbit's hands move towards the phone. "Don't."

"W-what?" Chibi Midoriya blinks at him in surprise.

"You're just a soon-to-be branch head." Shinsou replies. "I'm the Hero Association's executive. I thus have the power to officially forbid you from ever mentioning what transpired today to anyone, including Midoriya."

"But w-why?" Rabbit looks surprised.

"Because while we were doing stupid, life-threatening shit, they seem to have been throwing a party." Shinsou replies dryly. "I thus want Midoriya to suffer. Not knowing what exactly has happened is the most that I can do on that field."

"What if he orders me to tell him, though?" Rabbit asks, somehow finding it in himself to not shake.

Right, Midoriya was Shinsou's boss. Goddamnit.

"Well, just give him a different version of what happened each time he asks." Shinsou replies. Yes, he is petty, sue him about it. "He'll grow tired eventually and stop asking, and that will make it our victory."

"... but you wouldn't show up at the party even if they asked you to come." Deadshot decides to ask the question, looking at him weirdly over Rabbit's shoulder.

"Yes." Shinsou replies dryly. "What about it?"

The looks she gets in return make him once again realize that his present company pisses him off.

(***)

What exactly did the Vigilantes/Underground Heroes did, and why was Knuckleduster wearing a clown make-up? We might never know. Damn you, Shinsou. Also some IzuMei fluff, because yeah, she had much less time in the spotlight for a while now.