Quick TW for mentions and discussion of suicide, you have been warned.
POV Izumi
"So, this is it," I said, holding my letter up.
"Yup, I'll go in my bedroom and open mine if you want to stay out here and open yours," Melissa offered.
"Yeah," I agreed.
I opened the package as she walked into her room. There were some papers and a small device not too dissimilar from the one I had built. I hit the button on it and it lit up.
"Hey Izumi, let's get this over with," Yumi said, as a hologram appeared from the device. "You passed the written exam and even tested out of some of the subjects. Now onto the practicals, you passed the Support one with flying colors getting a total of ninety six out of a hundred. Now for the one you really want to know about, the Hero one. You got fifty five points from taking down the robots and for helping other applicants and helping save your girly friend from the Zero Pointer you were awarded sixty eight rescue points making your total for the Hero one hundred twenty three the top score of the entrance exam since All Might's one hundred and fourteen. You will be taking support classes in the morning and hero classes in the afternoon in class 1-A. You earned this kid," the recording said, smirking before dimming out.
I stood there stunned at the fact that I had not only gotten into the support course, but also the hero course and was going to be taking classes for both. After a couple of moments I knocked on Melissa's door where I got silence. I knocked again.
"Y-yeah, you're good to come in," she said, her voice wavering.
"Mel, is everything good?" I asked, opening the door to see her glaring at the hologram device.
"Maybe, I-I'm not sure what to think," she said. "I got into both courses, class 1-A."
"Same," I said, smiling at the fact our schedules would be the same or very similar. "So, what's wrong?"
"The person who made my video was All Might. He's going to be teaching heroics for the first years," she said. "I can't believe they're letting him teach since he has no license and honestly is only the number one because of his dumb freaking world shattering quirk."
"Hey, Nezu's smart," I said. "I don't think he'll be left alone with any students unless absolutely necessary. I can deal with seeing him as long as he doesn't try to do anything with you and I."
"The thing is he sent me a letter a week ago. He said he doesn't know what you did to make me go against him but he will show me the truth," she said, letting out a forced laugh. "He said he thinks you have some sort of hidden corruption quirk and are a villain trying to tear society apart."
"You're joking," I said. "He thinks I would pretend to be quirkless and go through so much bullying and pain just to tear society down? Does he not know how much mental and physical pain I went through for being quirkless, did he not know that I almost killed myself because of him and I wouldn't have even been announced dead? That most quirkless kids don't make it past the age of ten because of suicide and acidents?"
"Wait, what?"
"Ninety nine percent of kids who are declared quirkless at age four kill themselves before they enter middle school in Japan. In America it's different since their population isn't as dense and there are more quirkless people than you realize. There's actually a study that's ongoing that might show that some people who have basic mutations might actually be quirkless but just receive left overs from their parents."
"Izumi, you're going on a tangent again," she said, smirking.
"Sorry, still, why would he think that just because you won't do what he says?"
"Because he's used to being in power, now he's not since we won't listen to him," she said.
"Still, he was like an uncle to you and now he's not since I drove a wedge between you."
"Izumi, he's a quirkist bigot and that's why we aren't close anymore, it has nothing to do with you and even if it did I wouldn't care because I love you," she said.
I sat there frozen for a moment. That was the first time either of us used the L word.
"I-I love you too," I said, leaning forward and pulling her into a hug.
"While I hate to ruin this touching moment there's something that might be of concern for you two," Tony said from my phone.
"Heh, what is it?" Melissa asked, chuckling a bit at his kindness.
"Well, since you included a request to be able to take gear you are working on from the school to your own lab, Nezu and Power Loader would like to check it out to make sure that it is safe enough for you to work on things at. They said anytime in the next week would be preferable, should I set it up for when you are normally there?" he asked.
"Actually, can you see if they can look at it tomorrow?" I asked.
"Nezu just replied saying it would work and asked what the address is," he said.
"Send it to him and then don't bother me unless it's important enough to require me immediately," I said, putting my phone away.
"Of course," he said.
"So, why don't you want him bothering us?" Melissa asked.
"Because, I want to cuddle with my amazing girlfriend while watching television," I said, grabbing the remote and turning it on.
"For the first time ever UA has started a special corrections course for troubled kids who have a want to become heroes but also have a criminal record, right now there are two students who are in this course. UA announced that they will be in the Hero course but also have special classes they will take separately and also be under strict watch as to keep the other students safe as well as having to live in a special housing on the campus. There are also rumors of the school hiring a hero to help with the Hero course but they have made no announcements confirming nor denying these rumors. Onto other news the appeal of Lady Nagent to be released from prison but not receive her license back has been getting a lot of followers, especially from heroes who have worked with her and even some who say that the stress of the job might have caused her to snap and that she should be allowed to live her life as a normal citizen when it could have happened to anyone with how much stress the job can put on them. The HPSC has stated that they will consider agreeing if somewhere would offer her a job and keep an eye on her as well."
The news kept going for a few minutes before switching to an interview of some heroes about the giving of troubled youth second chances at being heroes.
"I think it's a good idea, they just need to make sure to get rid of any bad habits and train them how to do good and not make the same mistakes they made in the first place," Ms. Joke said.
"I agree, when I was younger I made some admittedly dumb decisions and if it wasn't for my parents letting me fix them I wouldn't be where I am today," Ingenium said.
"Really, Mr. Perfect hero made mistakes as a kid?" Ms. Joke asked.
"Huh, I guess we might have some classmates who have been arrested before," Melissa said.
"Yeah, I just hope they aren't too bad. I also hope we don't get any really quirkist classmates," I said.
"Well, if we do, we can just deal with them together because we are stronger and better together," Melissa said, giving me a squeeze.
We laid there in each other's embrace for a while watching the random news before we realized it and we both woke up holding onto each other by a loud noise.
"Alright, time for you two to get up if you want to be at the lab before Nezu and Power Loader," Tony said.
"Morning," Melissa said, yawning.
"Good morning, wait, oh crap I didn't tell Yumi that I wasn't going to be home," I realized.
"I informed her," Tony said. "She said just be safe."
"Of course, thank you," I said.
"Let's get to the lab so we can make sure it's clean," Melissa said, getting up.
The two of us got around and walked to the lab grabbing a coffee on the way. We got into the first floor and saw that the entrance we had built for when we became heroes and used this as a base of operations was fairly clean. We went up to the second floor where our main labs were and the mechanical lab was what could be best described as organized chaos. We took some of our projects that were still unfinished like my staff and her bracers on the table in the middle away from the machines. Once we got the mechanical lab cleaned we went to the chemical lab where we didn't do too much other than some fillings for gas canisters and smoke disks. Once we cleaned the small clutter of clean vials of what we used last time we were here we went to the base floor where there was a knock at the door.
"Nezu and Power Loader are here," Tony said, appearing with the holo projectors we had placed around the whole building.
"Alright, Tony, don't appear or talk unless I tell you to," I said, watching as his form fizzled out. "Hello, nice to see you," I said, opening the door to see Nezu on Power Loader's shoulder.
"Hello Miss Midoriya," Power Loader said.
"My mom's name is Midoriya, just call me Izumi," I said, not liking being associated with her name.
"My apologies," he said.
"Nice to see you again Izumi," Nezu said.
"You too, come on in," I said, stepping off to the side.
"Hello Miss Shield," Nezu said, looking at her as Power Loader walked in.
"Principal," she greeted.
"Alright, so explain the layout to us please," Power Loader said.
"Well, we have this small entrance room as well as three meeting/conference rooms on the first floor while the mechanical and chemical labs are on the second floor along with a break room. The basement is a testing room," Melissa explained.
"Well, let's look at the labs first," Nezu said.
"Well, follow me," I said, walking over to the staircase and leading them up.
"Wow, this is some nice equipment," Power Loader said. "All almost brand new and in perfect condition," he added, looking at the textile fabricator.
"I made sure everything was the best and safest," I explained.
"How did you pay for all of this?" he asked.
"Um, let's leave that till the end," I said, looking over at Melissa who was smiling slightly.
"So, let's look at the chemical lab?" he asked. "Why do you have a chemical lab?"
"We have been working on our own smoke bombs and gasses to use with our equipment," Melissa explained. "If needed we can show you them at the end."
"I would appreciate it just to make sure you aren't using anything too dangerous," he said.
"This is amazing, this calculation is using Midnight's quirk as a basis right?" Nezu asked, looking at the calculations we had pulled up.
"Yeah, her quirk has a slightly unique effect with how the smell goes unnoticed until it has taken effect on the person so we are trying to duplicate it along with a couple of other ideas based off of ancient methods like a gas that causes people to go berserk and just attack whoever is closest to them and one that could cause their mind to think they are weaker and make their punches less powerful," I explained.
"Amazing, have you succeeded in making any of these yet?" Power Loader asked.
"Well, we have a basic form of each of them however we can't duplicate the way the scent doesn't go undetected until in full effect. We have also been using ourselves as test dummies to build a resistance to them," Melissa said.
"Smart but dangerous," Nezu said.
"Don't worry, Yumi is here and we use the rats we find trying to get in to make sure they aren't deadly," I said.
"Ah, you mean Arrowette," Nezu said.
"Do you have a permit to test on animals? Normally at UA I have to check them and do the tests along with some other teachers present," Power Loader said.
"Again, everything will be explained at the end. Don't worry we haven't done anything illegal," I said.
"Well, let's see the testing room so you can explain all of this to us," Nezu said, jumping on my shoulder.
I led all of us down stairs after entering the passcode that locked the basement from everyone else. Once we walked down, lights turned on showing a dirt floor fighting ring.
"This is where we spend time sparing with our chosen equipment," I said, motioning to the walls where there were two sections of weapons.
One had many pistols and small worn weapons around a pure black bodysuit with a golden belt and a red, black, and silver hourglass in the middle. The other had a black suit with purple on the sides and a cape on the back that was black on the outside and purple underneath. In the middle of the chest was a rounded yellow bat shape. The cowl had two elongated ears going straight up to mimic a bat's ears. The belt was golden with a black bat matching the chest in the middle and a thigh holster on the right side.
"I'm assuming these are the costumes the two of you have designed and built for yourselves," Nezu said.
"Indeed, we also have most of our basic gear built. My staff isn't finished and her bracers still need a bit more work before they are true widow's bites," I said.
"Based on the pre-quirk hero Black Widow?" Power Loader asked.
"Yup, I plan on taking her title," Melissa said.
"I thought the designs for most of the Avengers' gear was locked behind the E.D.I.T.H. codex," Nezu said.
"Let's look at the final room and I'll explain everything to you, but I will require you to sign NDAs just to cover my bases," I said, remembering what Yumi and David had helped me design to keep information from getting out.
"This is our testing room," Melissa said, opening the door to a small room with reinforced glass on one wall and doors on either side leading to a large open room that was reinforced with a layer of lead, cement, steel, and a couple of other metals.
"This whole building, it's built to industrial specifications. If it was an old Stark Ind. building that Miss Shield was given use of from her father I would understand, but it was built not too long ago," Power Loader said.
"Let's sign those NDAs and then we can understand what is going on, even though I have a suspicion," Nezu said, looking at me.
We went up to one of the meeting rooms where the printer in it had two freshly printed copies thanks to Tony who heard me mention them. Once they had signed them and I looked them over I set them on the table.
"Alright, Nezu, I'd like to hear your theory," I said, looking at the stoat.
"If I am correct, the codex was solved as announced by David Shield, however the identity was being kept a secret, you are the person who solved the codex, Miss Shield," he said, looking at her.
"Not too far off, but not quite me," she said.
"Actually I solved it," I said. "Tony."
"Hello, nice to meet you two," he said, appearing on the other end of the table.
"Wait, Tony Stark?" Power Loader asked. "But you died centuries ago."
"I'm not the real Tony Stark, just an AI based on him and with most of his memories. Izumi is the person who solved the original codex and now owns Stark Ind. which is why this building is built to the necessary requirements. This building is a Stark Ind. building for the personal use of the owner and anyone she allows," he said.
"Amazing, I understand now why you had us sign those NDAs," Power Loader said.
"Hmm, how long did it take you to solve it?" Nezu asked.
"Since starting it, four months, but it took me two months after looking at it the correct way," I said.
"What do you mean by that?" he asked.
"Let me show you. Tony, pull up analysts on Arrowette," I said.
The windows darkened and the door locked. In the middle of the room a screen popped up with photos and drawn images of Yumi in costume as well as other things such as name, quirk, how it works, strengths, weaknesses, and even good team up combos. The thing was it was all coded using the codex.
"I can't understand any of this," Nezu said.
"This is a full analysis on Yumi, Tony, translate it please," I said.
All the words vanished before reappearing in English.
"Only Tony and myself know how to translate the codex. I put all of my old analysts on heroes that honestly had some dangerous information onto a computer server that is hidden somewhere I can't tell you," I explained. "The English and Japanese versions aren't saved on it and only appear if I ask Tony to translate it also, no phones work in here once any analysts are pulled up. If needed I can print the analysts out but it will be encoded so I would have to tell a person what is on it since they can't decode it without the original script for the codex which has been removed from every computer and device as well as any back ups and anything. The only ones that can possibly exist are copies printed before I solved it, but both Mel and I burned ours to keep all of our personal research on it from getting into the wrong hands."
"Well, I can certainly agree that these are dangerous. Are the originals destroyed?" Nezu asked.
"Mostly, I'm not completely finished copying all of them over, but the originals are hidden with the computer for me to finish inputting them before I'll burn them to keep the information safe. I'm also working on setting up a server for heroes where they can input information on known villains as well as find information to remove the need for having to go through the HPSC and making it more available. I actually have a whole new department at Stark Ind. that I made just for creating and protecting it that has only retired heroes who have experience with technology as well as a clean history checked by me personally," I added.
"Izu, you're going on another tangent, again," Melissa said, putting her hand on my shoulder. "Aren't you going to tell them about that too?"
"About what?" Power Loader asked.
"Eight months ago I was in an accident which left metal that couldn't be retrieved without killing me or putting me in more danger so an electromagnet was put in my chest and it's powered by this," I said, lowering my shirt to reveal the Arc reactor.
"Ah, I can see why you would want to inform us. Don't worry about this messing with your placement in the Hero Course," Nezu said.
"Thank you, now I want to discuss something else with you," I said. "Tony, turn the screen off but keep the room on lockdown."
"Done," he said, as the screen disappeared and he made himself look like he's sitting in a chair.
"I would like for Stark Ind. to enter a partnership with UA. This would include us giving you a large Arc reactor to power the facilities at the school as well as ones off campus like Anan's USJ," I said.
"Hmm, and what would you receive in return?" Nezu asked.
"An ally as well as a direct connection to certain heroes who we would otherwise not have without going through the HPSC who I believe to be corrupt," I said.
"Oh, and what brought this line of thinking?" Nezu asked, as Melissa looked confused.
"They are one of the most powerful governmental bodies who have turned heroics into a contest instead of what it was when Tony was a hero. Doing what you could to protect the innocent and root up evil. Sure the Avengers were known and everything, but their fame was from being the only heroes in the world. Same could be said with the X-Men who came not too far after them with their quirks or as they called them mutations. They have tainted heroics and put all emphasis on being a hero with a good quirk. The only top hero who doesn't have a world breaking quirk and is there from hard work and doing what's right is Mirko. Also, I have suspicions that Hawks might be hiding something that if exposed would ruin them. I have a plan to start looking into them without being too suspicious but that would require UA to partner with Stark Ind. I'll even give the Support course an upgrade. All I'll ask for is a spot on the board of directors for David Shield," I said.
"Interesting request. I see no reason why I wouldn't accept or that it will turn out to be a bad thing for UA, I assume however that Mr. Shield will be asking you for input on his decisions," Nezu said.
"Actually, I plan on letting him decide what would be best," I said.
"You wish to keep yourself and personal bias out of it, understandable and respectable," Nezu said. "We'll iron out the small bits later during a meeting where Mr. Shield is present but I think this would be in the best interest of all involved parties."
"Glad we can be in agreement. I do have a couple of other things, but I'll bring those up to you during that meeting. Since there's a month before the school year starts we should set it up before then," I said.
"Agreed, I'll send your assistant some dates for the meeting," he said, standing up.
"Alright Tony, you can take the room off lockdown now," I said. The widows lit back up and the door clicked unlocked.
"It was a pleasure to meet you and your labs are safe to take projects to and from school as well as work and test them. Oh, and looking at all of the devices you have in your costume designs are amazing. I can't wait to see what you two do in the future," Nezu said.
"I can't wait to see you two in class," Power Loader said, walking out with Nezu on his shoulder.
"Well, that went well I would say," Tony said.
AN-
Next chapter will be the first day at UA and the Quirk Assessment. Also, Aizawa will still be a jerk, but he will not be a quirkist nor will he take any quirkist comments. Also, I rolled a die to see who would be 1-A and 1-B and I got some interesting combinations. Also, if you want to know what you decided by choosing 1 or 2 you'll find out during the battle trials which will be different since All Might isn't running them and Yumi will be. Also, everything that I say or mention that is different from canon is with reason and will have a follow up later in the fic. One of these will be seen in the next chapter. Also, I am not sure how I am writing these so fast while all my other fics are a struggle for me to write. Honestly I'm not sure how much longer I will be able to write almost a chapter a day so if for some reason I just slow down or stop don't be surprised. Make sure to follow, favorite, comment, and kudos! Link Out!