Chapter 9
"Midoriya Izuku."
Even though there was no malice in the calling out, the teen fidgeted.
"Born July 15th, 2222, in Bakuta General Hospital, Musutafu Japan," Nezu continued to read, "15 years old, 16 in four months. 164.3 centimeters tall, 60.7 kilograms."
"Mother, Midoriya Inko, possessor of an unnamed Quirk which allows her to pull objects within three meters and weighing less than one kilogram to her hand. Father, Midoriya Hisashi, possessor of an unnamed low level fire breathing Quirk. Working in America for eight years, has not been back to Japan in five years."
The dog-mouse paused in case the young man had anything to say. Izuku kept quiet.
"At age four you underwent the Toe Test. Of course, while the Toe Test is 100% accurate for people with standard Quirks and who are Quirkless, it is not accurate for the so called 'Late Bloomer' Quirks, of which approximately fifty-nine percent do not have the extra joint on their pinky toe and forty-one percent do have the joint. Despite that no further tests were performed and you were considered Quirkless until last year."
"Currently attending Aldera Middle School, where you hold the number two position in your year. Normally this would not be impressive; Aldera is a public school and has not had a stellar reputation. But the number one student at Aldera is also the number one student in Japan by a healthy margin, and has been for the last five years."
Japan's standard tests and global rankings currently started when students reached fifth grade and continued through the last year of middle school. Since high school was not mandatory and many high schools were focused on specific career paths, they did not have global rankings after ninth grade.
"Aldera has been 'upping their game' as the saying goes, to try to challenge Mizuno-san. And the fact that you have moved from third position to second, and are keeping relatively close to her is impressive. Point of fact, you scored fourth overall on the written portion of the entrance exam. Sixth, if I include the recommendation exam. Which is quite good."
Izuku looked slightly proud, but still said nothing.
"You also had the number one score this year on the practical exam, and that is including the recommendations. Second point of fact, you have the third best practical score, ever. Your three mode transformation Quirk, 'Echos' is powerful and flexible."
Then Nezu's eyes narrowed and he pinned the boy in place with a sharp gaze, stating intensely, "If it is a Quirk."
"Sir?" Izuku tried to sound surprised and confusion, but not worried. He was not sure if he succeeded.
Nezu hit a button, and the seeming works of art behind his desk were revealed to be four large monitors. Monitors which now showed pictures of a city street from various angles. The top left monitor showed a street level view from the left side. Izuku was in full view, in his Mode Green and paused mid-sprint. The top right screen was a higher up view from the right side. The tops of the buildings could be seen, but the top half of the boy's helmet was still in frame. The bottom left video was from the end of the street. It showed Izuku from behind, the brunette girl trapped, and the zero-pointer moments away from stepping on her. The last monitor, the bottom right, was a top down view of the street. The 'obstruction' robot was on the left side, as was the girl. And the Ranger was in the middle of the screen.
The principal hit another button, and all the recordings started to advance.
Izuku watched as his past self reached for one of the Dragon Daggers. Played the familiar fanfare three times, audible in the videos. The first time nothing happened. The second there was a roar. And the third time, the Dragonzord tore out of wherever the Echo Project had left its components. Izuku studied that Zord, agreeing with All Might. The Zord it was virtually identical to the the design Izuku and Melissa had discussed and she had then drawn. Other than the two different color eyes. And being full sized.
The Dragonzord was far faster than he had realized, and destroyed the zero-pointer with ease. Then past!Izuku reached the girl and protected her from the debris. The Zord vanished as he changed modes. So Nezu paused it and stepped it back a few moments, so they could see the Zord roaring in triumph.
"Your explanation of your Quirk doesn't say anything about being able to summon a Megazord," Nezu said blandly, "Is that new, or was it an omission?"
A certain part of Izuku's brain grabbed control of his mouth before his rationality could stop it.
"That wasn't a Megazord," Izuku said firmly.
"Hmm?" Nezu looked confused.
"Even if that is a Zord," Izuku explained, "and not a regular robot or some other sort of Quirk projection, it isn't a Megazord. A Megazord is a combination of multiple Zords, usually three to five, not uncommonly six or more rarely just two. Generally it is also only considered a Megazord if it is a humanoid transformation. Though some people on the forums claim that vehicle or quadruped combinations still count as Megazords. But those are also fairly uncommon and I personally don't agree with that view."
"You seem to know a lot about that," Nezu's eyes narrowed.
"I am a Power Rangers True Believer," Izuku said, "I would have thought my transformations made that obvious."
"So you are saying that you aren't a Power Ranger and that wasn't your Zord?"
"I have never seen that dragon before it appeared above me yesterday," Izuku said carefully.
"Which isn't a denial," Nezu smirked.
"Do you really think that after two hundred years, the Power Rangers are back?" Izuku asked with real hints of both excitement and doubt, "And I am one of them?"
"Yagi Toshinori was seriously injured five years ago," Nezu said, "No Quirk or medical technique could heal him. Even cloned organs rotted as soon as they were transplanted. We thought he had at most five or six more years from now. Much soon, if he kept straining himself as All Might. Then, not quite a year ago, he meets you. Less than a month later he is miraculously in perfect health. Arguably better than before that injury. He won't explain how it happened, yet claims there is no way to reproduce the results."
"Shield Melissa, known to certain circles for her near obsession with the Pink Rangers, came to Japan two months after that. Toshinori introduced her to you, and within two months, she is applying to UA and moving to Japan. Not that I am complaining."
"We are dating," Izuku interjected.
"While I will never underestimate the power of teenage hormones," Nezu grinned, "It makes far more sense if there was another reason for her to come to Japan in the first place. And the same reason helped compel her to stay."
"Beyond those two major factors, we have the sudden and expensive rebuild of the Yagi Company's basement. The major contribution you made to the cleanup of Dagobah Beach despite not being seen transforming. Your martial arts expertise without any recorded training. Toshinori contracting an abandon quarry as a very large and private training space."
"Which brings us to this," Nezu gestured to the displays, "You are trying to save the young women. You copy the reported actions of the Green Power Ranger. And a Zord appears. Or if not a Zord, than an inexplicable giant robot dragon. A robot accompanied by an energy source I have never seen before, and was only able to detect because of one of the research projects Shield-san handed in this past year."
Then is a slightly more light and amused tone, Nezu added, "Which also makes me think she has been sandbagging in class."
"Inexplicable and Ranger adjacent events seem to be surrounding you, Midoriya-kun," Nezu said firmly, "and like one of my fictional heroes said 'When you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.' Which, combined with Occam's Razor, leads to a singular conclusion. You are a Power Ranger."
"What if I am?" Izuku said, an edge to his voice, "Will you reject my application? Try to steal my Morpher or other technology? Report me to the government?"
Nezu met the boy's eyes for a moment. Then without looking away, he typed something onto his keyboard. The screens fritzed. One of them briefly showed the words 'File Corrupted' in English.
"I have deleted the recordings. And I have started a process to scrub the drives. In five minutes, it would take a wizard to get the data back. And I find I must consider the possibility that magic exists."
"Wha... why?" Izuku was confused and on the verge of tears.
"Midoriya-kun, I apologize. I have been told that my... zeal for solving puzzles and mysteries can get the better of me. That I can come off like a villain. That was not my intent. I am not going to blackmail or threaten you. And whatever the truth about you may be, it would be an honor to have you attend UA. I just wanted to let you know that I know. That I will keep your secret. I would not have spoiled Toshinori's Hero identity as All Might, had he not told me you and Melissa already knew."
"I wish to help you" Nezu told the boy sincerely, "While I find the idea of the Ranger Tech very enticing, now that I know it is real, I would never release it without your permission. 'You' meaning the Rangers as a whole."
Then Nezu frowned and muttered, "That's assuming this magic super alien technology and its infinite extradimensional energy source is even something we can workably release."
"I... I need to talk to the others," Izuku said cautiously.
"Of course," Nezu nodded, "And know that whatever all of you decide, you, Midoriya-kun, have more than earned your place at UA."
"What did he say?" Toshinori asked, when Izuku entered the Command Center.
"He knows I am a Ranger," the young man said, "I didn't confirm it, but he had too many hints. Toshinori's healing, Melissa's decision to move here, me being Quirkless. Other minor elements. But he also seems to think there are other Rangers."
"Which makes sense," Toshinori nodded, "You are the first solo Ranger that I know of."
The Hero looked over to Tommy, who nodded.
"Some Rangers have operated independently for a little while," the AI confirmed, "But so far as I know they have always been part of a larger team."
"And we are trying to remedy that," Melissa insisted. Then she looked at Izuku, and asked, "So what did he want? Did he want to scan your Morpher?"
"No," Izuku shook his head, "Nezu-sensei said he just wanted me to know that he knew. He even deleted the videos of the Dragonzord..."
"No, he deleted them," Melissa moaned in dismay.
"He said he wanted to help, if we would let him," Izuku continued around her. Then he turned to Toshinori. He asked, "Do you trust him, Toshinori? He knows that you are All Might, but..."
The young man trailed off in uncertainty.
"Nezu is a trainer and supporter of Heroes," Toshinori dropped into his All Might voice without changing forms, "He has kept my secrets since I graduated from UA. Including secrets I haven't told the two of you. Or even David."
Yagi inclined his head at Shield.
"You think we should trust him?" Melissa sounded unsure.
"I have trusted him with my life, both directly and in terms of the secrets he has kept," the Hero gave a more direct and definitive answer, "That said, it is your choice. I can understand if you don't feel my say-so is enough."
"He didn't have to tell me. He didn't have to delete the videos," Izuku said, "and Toshinori trusts him. I think we should trust him. Show Nezu-sensei the Command Center and introduce him to Tommy. Tell him that I am the only Ranger. But it is your choice if you tell him about your project or let him help you, Melissa."
"I agree with Izuku," Tommy said, "If he is going to be your principal, and can help us here. And I trust Toshinori on this."
"I'm already out voted," Melissa sighed, "And it is most your secrets for now, Izuku. And Dr. O, too. So let's bring him here. And then I'll decide if I'll ask him to help me with the Pink Echo Coin. Fair?"
The three men all nodded.
Sunday morning, Izuku met Nezu outside the Yagi Agency building. Izuku had been assigned the task of bringing the bear-dog to the Command Center. Because he was the Ranger, and it would give Melissa time to think.
"Do you speak English, sensei?" the teen asked, as they walked down the stairs, to the basement.
"I am fluent in over sixteen form of communication," Nezu told him, "Including English."
"Over sixteen?" Izuku looked confused, "That's an odd way to phrase it."
"I am also conversational but not fluent in five additional languages," Nezu explained, "And I have also mastered four programming languages, but those aren't really complete forms of communication, especially between people. So I speak sixteen languages fluently, but do have other ways to communicate."
"Am I to assume we are going to be speaking English?" Nezu asked a moment later.
"Yes," Izuku said, "It's Melissa and Tommy's original language, and is a good excuse for Toshinori and I to practice it."
"Tommy?" Nezu prompted, squinting thoughtfully, "One of the other Rangers?"
"Something like that..." Izuku trailed off as he placed his eye to the retina scanner, his hand on the palm scanner, and said, "Echo Ranger 1, Mode British Racing."
The door opened with a deep and definite click.
"Welcome, sir, to the Echo Command Center," Izuku said, leading the principal inside.
"This is... This is not what I was suspecting," the mouse-bear admitted.
The tiny principal looked around at the gleaming room. At the wall of Ranger Tech. And then his eyes settled on the tube behind the tables.
"A tribute to one of the few admitted Power Rangers," Nezu nodded at the projection, "Doctor Thomas..."
Then he made the link to what Izuku had said out on the landing.
"You could definitely call me that," the A.I. said with a self-depreciating chuckle.
Nezu's jaw dropped.
They told the newcomer almost everything.
Tommy spoke about the Shadow War, and the subsequent creations of himself and the Echo Coin.
Izuku explained how he found the Echo Coin. The Coin's legendary and extraterrestrial guardians. How he met Toshinori.
Toshinori talked about how Rita healed him, Including more about living with his injury and the experience of magic healing then he had told anyone before. Then he segued into Melissa asking to visit for the summer.
Melissa told them about how she detected the spike in Morphin' Grid Energy through its effect on her Coin fragments. How she came to Japan, and when Toshinori introduced her to Izuku, how her scanners immediately identified him.
The boys then engaged in a bit of friendly ribbing, explaining that of the eighty four Ranger gadgets, only nine had originally been working. But thanks to Melissa, now fifteen of them worked. She shot back that twenty-one were in working order, just six of them didn't have enough Grid Energy to turn on.
Then they concluded by talking about the fight with Shadow Darkonda in Kyoto.
They specifically did not tell Nezu about the Dai Clan. Not about the Squadron Rangers, not about their living descendants. They also kept Melissa's project quiet.
"Well," was all Nezu had to say when Izuku and company wrapped up.
"That basically sums up my reaction when Izuku spontaneously morphed in front of me," Toshinori chuckled.
"If you had asked me about the Power Rangers last week..." Nezu shook his head in exaggerated dismay.
"You didn't think the Power Rangers were real?" Tommy asked evenly.
"No, I knew they were real," Nezu said, "But I wasn't a True Believer like these three. An anti-terrorist organization with advanced weapons, armor, and vehicles. And aliens have to exist, so I was willing to accept that the Rangers might have been using alien tech to fight against so-called Evil Space Aliens."
"But instantaneous, Mahou Shoujo style transformations?" the bear-mouse continued, "Giant transforming and combining robots? And extradimensional source of infinite, clean energy, and, and special technology that only works off said power source? Magic? And almost all of this being done by teens and young adults with no special training or government oversight? It was inconceivable. At least until I saw Izuku's Zord."
Then he paused and looked at the other two adults.
"And Tommy and Toshinori's assurances aside," Nezu added in a slightly teasing voice, "I'm still not totally convinced that magic is real."
"I felt the same way," Melissa said, "But magic is real."
"Unless declared integer," Tommy added. Nezu laughed, the only one getting the full reference. Melissa did chuckle, understanding the meaning of the joke if not its origin.
"So what is our next step?" Nezu asked them, "I would like to help you all. And would love to get my hands on those devices. If you will let me."
"Let me ask you a question, Principal Nezu," Melissa countered seriously, "Or maybe two. First, what do you think is the best thing we can due to help Izuku?"
Nezu frowned, "Obviously the best thing would be to undo whatever this Demonus did. To give Izuku free access to the Morphin' Grid. That would make him more powerful than he is now, and hopefully give him full access to his Zords."
Then the genius sighed, "But I'm not sure that is practical. After all..."
He waved to Tommy.
"... whole teams of people with more knowledge and experience tried. And they couldn't figure it out. Maybe something has changed. Maybe our lack of knowledge would let us try something which seemed stupid or impossible to Tommy' allies. Maybe there is a Quirk or Quirks that could help. But none of that is worth relying on. Nor is it likely to be quick."
Tommy nodded, as did Toshinori.
"So the best thing we can probably do, is to help him with the tech," Nezu continued, "Try to get more of these tools working. Or the Zords. Even if they require the Grid to function, maybe there is something we can do to supplement it. As an example, you mentioned the railgun you found and have been trying to integrate. If we could have the railgun operate off an electric battery, with solar panels to charge it, the Zord would have a weapon without needing the use the Grid to power it. I would need more insight into the Zord and other Grid Tech to be certain, but that feels viable."
"Okay," Melissa grew even more tense, "You didn't mention my Coin fragments, or how they reacted to Izuku's Grid connection. What about trying to use those to tap into the Grid. To power the Zords or other gadgets."
"I assumed you would not want to give up or risk your treasures," Nezu said softly, "But if you were... You are Quirkless as well, Melissa. That is a requirement for being a Ranger?"
"The Echo Coin rejected every candidate with a Quirk," Tommy confirmed, "There is something about Ranger Powers and Quirks that do not mesh. Since we don't have anything other than Izuku's Coin to test it, we haven't been able to determine exactly why or how that is the case."
"So if Melissa is willing to risk her Coin pieces," Nezu started to get excited, "the best option to help Izuku, would be to see if we can replicate the Echo Project. See if we can repair one of your Coins. Make you into a second Ranger."
"We can't repair them," Melissa said softly, "They are all far to badly damaged."
"I'm sorry," Nezu forced himself to calm down, "I should have expected you would have already thought of that. Well then..."
"Instead, I am trying to use the notes from the Echo Project to combine the Coin fragments," she cut him off, "To try to fuse multiple partial Coins into a pair of new, working Coins. And then combine them into a single Coin. Like Izuku's Coin, multiple Coins merged to make up for the current state of Earth and the Grid."
"You are working on this?" Nezu's eyes sparkled.
"I've gotten pretty far," she confirmed. Then she frowned, "I think. But I've run into some roadblocks. Izuku... everyone has urged me to seek help. But we need secrecy. To keep the proverbial circle small. But if the smartest man in the world figured out the secrets and inserted himself into the circle, I'd have to be a fool not to take advantage of it. Right?"
"No. Not an idiot. Proud and cautious. But not wrong or foolish. That said, will you let me help you?"
"Yes."
Tommy and Toshinori both silently relaxed. Izuku didn't, having trusted his girlfriend would do the right thing.
"Great. So the first step is establishing a resonance between the Coin fragments..."
Of course, having two geniuses instead of one had its own drawbacks.
Monday Nezu couldn't join them because of a UA staff meeting. All Might, too. Melissa and Izuku trained like normal, and then she had him help her study for her finals. Mostly just reading questions to her. But Izuku knew Melissa was also having him start to learn material that UA would cover when he attended in a few weeks.
Tuesday the whole group met again. This time Nezu brought his tablet with him.
"So, I have been considering the two issues you said you were having, Ms Shield," Nezu said, "But I intentionally have not reviewed the Echo Project files or your own notes that you emailed me. I am starting going at this blind, so I can come up with ideas that you may not have considered thanks to what you already know."
The girl nodded, "That's why I've tried bouncing things off Uncle Toshi and Izuku."
"But I have a more thorough grounding in science and engineering," Nezu countered, "Anyway, the first issue you mentioned are the gaps in the hypothetical Pink/Blue hybrid coin. When you line up the Coin fragments, even if you rotate them, there is a space the coins don't cover, is that correct?"
"Yeah," she said softly.
"And I understand that the fragments of each coin have to maintain their proper position relative to if the Coin were intact. But do the individual, stacked Coins need to be concentric?"
"Yes... Well, maybe not? I guess so long as they all still fit within the outline of the new coin... It might be possible. It would make calculating the resonance waveform exponentially harder. But with the two of us working together, and the upgrades to Tommy's processing power you suggested, we may be able to do it."
"Excellent," Nezu clapped his hand, "Of course we will need to test it and it may still prove unworkable, but it is a place to start. So, secondly, you said your attempts to create the Pink/Yellow hybrid Coin have failed. The waveform is stable and the Coins' metal begins to soften, but ultimately the new Coin doesn't come together. At the last moment the matrix collapses. Correct?"
"Yes," the younger blonde confirmed, annoyed with herself.
"And you are trying to imprint the matrix using the QP torch that is melting the metal?"
"Yes," she repeated.
"What if, instead, we pressed the Coins?"
"Pressed them?" Tommy asked.
"Yes," Nezu nodded, "We create a physical mold with the shape of the new coin. We press the Coins together physically, and transmit the waveforms of the Grid matrix through the mold. It will give a broader and more stable contact, for both facets of the process."
"I did actually consider something like that," Melissa said softly, "But the issue was the material for the molds. We need something that can maintain physical and spiritual stability at those temperatures, while also being able to cleanly transmit the new structure."
"Hmm," Nezu frowned, scratching under his jaw, "Right, I missed that. That is an issue."
"What about that?" Izuku asked. He pointed at the wall of Ranger tech, at the one item that wasn't a machine of some sort.
He pointed to the fragment of the Squadron Blue Kirin Zord's armor they had brought back from Kyoto.
"The... pamphlet said that nothing government tried could cut it or melt it 200 years ago," he reminded Melissa and told Nezu, "And technology may have stagnated, but I think some of the tools have improved right? Plus we have you two, and Ranger tech. If nothing else, I should be able to cut off the three slugs you'll need with the Tiger Saber, and then you just need to worry about carving them."
"Three?" Nezu sounded confused. And Melissa gave her boyfriend a questioning look.
"Yeah," Izuku said defensively, "One for the head of each of the two Coins. And then one for the tails. At least, I would think that both should have the same reverse side. That might help when you join the two Coins into the new Echo Coin. They will already have a connection that way."
Then he paused and looked at both of them humbly, "Right?"
"Genius," Melissa rounded the table and kissed Izuku noisily, "My boyfriend is a genius."
"What?" Izuku was confused., but not unhappy.
"The Coins are three dimensional," Nezu said, "But we have been treating them like they are two dimensional. Only caring about the head of the Coins, not the side or the tail."
"So if we..."
The next Saturday rolled around, cooler than usual for late March, but also bright and clear.
For the first time in months, Izuku announced himself at the Yagi building, rather than just using his access and heading down to the Command Center. Because he wasn't going to the Command Center. Or even inside.
"Good afternoon, Jo-san," Izuku said after pressing the intercom, "I'm here to pick up Melissa."
"I'll let her know you are here," the receptionist said.
A minute later, the young woman walked out. She was wearing a white blouse and pink, pleated skirt. She also had a black jacket and leggings in deference to the temperature.
"Hi, Izuku," she said.
"Hey, Melissa," he said shyly, "You look very nice."
"Thanks."
It wasn't their second or even their twentieth date. But it was the most official and formal one since Christmas Eve. There was a limited number of days before the new school year. Which would spell a major uptick in both of their workloads. So the young couple was taking time for a more traditional outing.
"What are we doing today?" Melissa asked, as he took her hand.
"Lunch," he said, "I was thinking pizza but you can decide. Then I have tickets for the new Star Trek movie, The Beginning of Time. After that I found a new antiques store a few stops down the line. And then dinner, before I bring you home."
"Hmm," she muttered, "That sound good."
"But?" he prompted.
"You know I like Star Trek as a whole. But these new 'Hero Generation' movies... Like why did they give Captain Picard such a convoluted Telepathy Quirk? All the strange limits, just so Troi stays relevant. Why not just give him something else? Or even better, they should have just made him Quirkless."
"It's a reference," Izuku said, "The original Captain Picard actor also played Professor X, in the original X-Men movies."
"Really?"
"Yes," Izuku nodded, "I have the first two on DVD. I found them in another antique store, a few years ago. The owner didn't know what they were. I had to convince him to let me pay a reasonable price, he thought they were just junk."
"You can't stream any of those movies anymore," she sounded jealous and amazed, "Must people think that the copies were all wiped out in the Troubles. Still, 200 year old DVDs... Have they deteriorated?"
"They had, a little," Izuku told her, "But the software my dad works on was able to restore them. Just don't tell anyone he used it to fix some old DVDs for me, instead of more critical data."
"I won't," she assured him. Then Melissa rolled her eyes, "Given the data that project is trying to get back, I think a few old DVDs are a much better use of the CPU cycles. What if we skip the Star Trek movie, do lunch and the antique store, then go back to your place and watch those movies?"
"My mom will be there," Izuku reminded her.
"Better her than dozens of strangers," she said.
"Arguably true. Okay. So where from lunch?"
Despite planning to walk to UA together most days, Izuku was alone for his first day of class. Melissa said they should go apart, so Izuku wouldn't start off being labeled as her boyfriend. Izuku accepted that.
Knowing this would spare her from having to get up early for him, Izuku left almost an hour earlier than he needed to. He wanted to take some time to look around the school building, if not the rest of the UA campus. And he wanted to be one of the first to class.
After a roundabout stroll, Izuku reached class 1-A. And heard voices inside.
There were four other students already in the room. On the far side of the room, a boy with spiky red head and a girl with pink... everything, were talking to the boy from the exams that Izuku thought was related to Ingenium. Or maybe 'talking' wasn't the right word, since the taller boy was lecturing the other two, who were amused but unconcerned. Seated in the middle of room was a girl with shoulder length black hair. Even if Izuku was no longer interested in looking at other girls, he could tell from a purely technical standpoint that she was attractive. Not as cute or beautiful or sexy as Melissa, but still a very pretty face and an above average figure. That said, her expression was rather empty.
She glanced over at Izuku and nodded, "I am Kodai Yui. Nice to meet you, new classmate."
"Oh, hi," Izuku was fluster by her sudden statement, lack of greeting, and flat tone, "Nice to meet you, Kodai- san. I am... Midoriya Izuku. Please take care of me."
Izuku barely stopped himself from saying his name in Western order, and wondered if he had been speaking too much English.
"Please take care of me," Kodai-san repeated the platitude.
"Wait, you're Midoriya-san?" the pink girl broke away and walked over to them, "You are the top scorer?"
"I am?" Izuku said. Then he vaguely remembered Nezu-sensei mentioning that. But he had lost that when the conversation turned to his secret.
"The hologram I received had the top ten finishers," the speedster explained, "as well as my individual score. You were the top scorer, which does not surprise me. Was your confirmation letter different?"
"I didn't get a confirmation letter," Izuku said, "The principal asked to talk to me, and told me then. But I guess it didn't hit me. It wasn't really the point."
"Why would the principal want to talk to you?" the tall boy asked.
"He talked about my parents," Izuku misdirected.
"Your parents?" Kodai-san said.
"It's basically me and my mom, since my dad has been in America for the last eight year," Izuku answered her question, "He's working on the Digital Recover Initiative."
"Ah." That seemed to satisfy the speedster. Izuku breathed a silent sigh of relief.
Izuku had taken his seat, and watched silently as his other classmates filtered in. Until a specific blonde wandered in. And it was neither the blonde he was always hoping to see. Nor the one he had been dreading seeing, now sitting behind him. Silently fuming and glaring daggers at the back of Izuku's head.
"Hey, it's Ranger guy," the electrokinetic who Izuku had saved proclaimed. And pointed at the green-haired boy.
"Ranger guy?" Ashido-san, the pink-skinned and pink-haired girl turned to look at the newcomer, "What's that mean?"
"This guy saved me during the practical exam," the blonde boy said, "And he looked kind of like one of the old Power Rangers."
"Really?" Ashido bounced out of her chair again and closed on Izuku.
"What's a Power Ranger?" another girl asked. She had long green hair, frog like features, and has introduced herself as Asui Tsuyu.
The boy with half-red and half-white, who had not bothered to give his name, gave Izuku a condescending look.
"The Power Rangers are my eternal rivals," the teen with the head of crow declared extravagantly, "They are the enemies of the Darkness that I represent."
Ashido snorted a laugh. Then she said, "Ignore the chunni. Like two hundred years ago, before there were Quirks, there were these teams of Heroes called Power Rangers. They fought all kinds of weird and nasty monsters. Aliens. Even demons. And they had these cool costumes and even giant robots."
"That sounds... unlikely," Asui-san asserted.
"It was a TV show that somehow a bunch of idiots and assholes have decided is real," another voice interjected. Izuku didn't bother to acknowledge Bakugou-san.
"Oh yeah?" Ashido did, "Then why are there Ranger museums in America? And Kyoto?"
"Why is there a museum to Sonic the Hedgehog here in Tokyo?" he shot back, "Nerds and idiots. That doesn't make it real."
The argument escalated, until a yellow lump in the front left corner of the classroom unfolded.
"Shut up and fall in," the tired, black-haired man walked to the podium, "Or do you want to get expelled before your first test?"
Then he smiled at the students darkly, "Which will start in twenty minutes."
Author's note: Originally this chapter was going to include a longer class intro and the Quirk Apprehension test. But then reality happened, and I needed to get it out today. So I pushed those out to the next chapter.
RIP, Jason David Frank. May the Power protect him.