Chapter 14

February 14, 2168

0604 Hours

Twin pairs of short, stubby legs made their way down the sidewalk at a good clip. The two boys laughed and jostled each other around, their banter distracting them from the chaos that was unfolding not even a block away from them. As they rounded the corner, a twinkle of light began to shine in the green haired boy's eyes as he took off to get as close to the action as he could. The taller, blonde haired one was quick to follow. It was a fight between two pro-heroes - Death Arms and Ryukyu - and some sort of bestial villain the size of a small house. It was the fight where Midoriya had died.

Bakugo Katsuki knew it was a dream. He knew this was so because he'd had this exact same dream innumerous times for years on end. There were some aspects that were different between each night; but for the most part it played out the same way.

As the fight progressed the buildings would be smashed apart, causing rubble to crash down around the crowd. He'd look up just in time to see an absolutely massive chunk of concrete coming straight for them all. Realizing that such an object would surely flatten them all, he took action. With speed and strength that he knew for certain he didn't have at that age, Katuski would take aim and blast the debris into smithereens. The explosion would instantly catch the attention of those around him, including Izuku who'd still been focused entirely on the battle.

As his best friend picked up on the situation they were in, he'd begin to start shouting for everyone to get away from the area. The mass of civilians quickly turned into a stampede as they made a mad dash to evacuate the city street. Just in the nick of time, too, as the fight between the heroes and villain only escalated in brutality. Death Arms was practically sent flying by a single, powerful kick. Ryukyu looked to her comrade in concern, the momentary distraction leaving her open for a devastating punch from the villain.

The sound of the impact was like a bomb going off. Blood erupted from both her nostrils and mouth. The attack was a savage one, but Ryukyu was too stubborn to be felled by a simple sucker punch. She rose to her full height, then spat at the ground to her left. Between the blood and saliva, a single one of her gigantic teeth struck the pavement. The Dragoon Hero sucked in a breath then let loose a viscous roar. Using her wings, she launched herself at the villain with renewed ferocity.

Before she could engage in combat, however, a familiar battle cry resounded throughout the city. It promised both salvation for the innocent and immense pain for any who dare threaten them.

"DETROIT SMASH!"

The move was so fast that Katsuki couldn't even track it. One moment, the villain was standing tall and strong, looking around for the source of the noise. Next, they were simply embedded in the ground, with their arms and feet sticking out from the hole in various directions.

A figure emerged from the impact crater. He had his fist raised in the air as a symbol of victory. Cheers erupted from the people around Katsuki while Midoriya looked ready to burst from his fan-worship.

Huh, so All Might showed up, he thought. It didn't happen every time he had this dream, but it was a regular enough occurrence that he could predict how it would end. All Might would praise the two of them for their actions, explaining how they were able to save the crowd. Izuku would ask that same damn impossible question and then… then it'd focus on him.

Just as he'd done a hundred times before, the Symbol of Peace made his way towards Katsuki and Midoriya. He got on one knee and addressed them in his signature booming, charismatic tone. "My boys, do you realize?"

He leaned in close to them in an effort to portray his seriousness. "Do you realize that all these people are alive because of you two?"

Katsuki was able to maintain his cool demeanor on account of being aware that he was in a dream. Izuku, being a figment of his subconscious, was practically bouncing with exuberance.

"Please, tell me your names. I wish to recommend you both to the Hero School Program. I'm certain that someplace like UA would accept you both without hesitation."

Right on que, Midoriya piped up from Katsuki's side. "Are you sure, All Might? I don't- I don't have a-"

His ramblings persisted for a few seconds before he finally paused to steady himself. He took in an immense breath and summoned all the courage he could muster in order to continue in a more collected manner. "All Might. Please, I have to ask you something serious. I need you to answer me honestly. Can someone like me - someone without a Quirk - become a hero?"

"My boy, the journey to become a hero will be perilous and far more difficult without something so beneficial," All Might explained earnestly. "But I can tell you without a doubt in my mind that if anyone can accomplish this, it's you."

Izuku's eyes gleamed with an intensity that could outshine the brightest stars. After saying all he had to, the Symbol of Peace shifted his focus.

"Congratulations, Young Bakugo. You've saved these innocent people and Young Midoriya. His parents will be able to see their child once again. They'll never have to grieve for his death and wonder what they could've done differently. I congratulate you, my boy, for being a hero."

It was a nice dream.

He preferred the nightmares. Somehow, it was easier to deal with the pain of the past than think about what could've been.

XXXXX

Katsuki awoke silently as the alarm clock at his bedside blared incessantly. He turned it off with a single smack, then grabbed his water bottle. Any remaining sense of grogginess faded from his body as he drained the entire thing. Not only was cold water a good way to wake up quickly in the morning, but it was important to keep himself hydrated on account of how his Quirk worked. It was hard to produce sweat without any liquids in the body. Especially for today. As he went about the rest of his morning routine, he noticed the butterflies in his stomach.

Which he then proceeded to crush without remorse.

There was no reason to be nervous. Cautious, certainly. After all, he was about to take the entrance exam for the greatest heroics school in all of Japan - some would even say the world. There'd be hundreds of other kids there at UA, some with Quirks and skills he'd never dreamed of. It'd be pretty stupid of him to not be on his toes the entire time.

But nervous? No. Katsuki had no reason to be nervous. After all the work he'd done, he had confidence in himself.

His mind wandered as he viciously brushed his teeth. It wasn't too long ago that he would've dismissed the entirety of the competition as "extras". Nothing more than a sideshow on his way to become the Number One Hero. It was still his dream to reach the top, of course, but his reasons for doing so had changed over time. It took a few hard knocks to the head and several heart-to-heart conversations, but…

"Hey, brat! Hurry up, your friends are waiting!" His mother shouted.

"They're not my friends!" He yelled back.

"Like hell they aren't! Just hurry it up!"

Katsuki gave a single, inaudible grunt before picking up the pace. It's not that he hated his… acquaintances; it's just that it was hard to truly call anyone a friend after so long. The last time he'd acknowledged someone like that was with Izuku back when they were toddlers. Before he'd turned into an absolute ass.

After a few more moments, he emerged from the bathroom and made his way to the living room. All around him were some of the most important people in his relatively short life: his parents, the Midoriya's, and the two morons who for some reason decided to keep him company. Neither Asui Tsuyu nor Shoji Mezo went to his school; instead, he'd met them at an event hosted by Ryukyu.

It was something the Dragoon Hero had been doing ever since the incident. It was a special event for children to meet their heroes over the course of three days. It was almost like a convention, though with a much younger audience in mind. Katsuki knew that his own emotional baggage would never compare to hers or the other heroes who'd failed to prevent the deaths of all those people that day.

It was during his first time there that his life took a rather abrupt turn. Things had been going well: all of the other kids had taken the hint and were keeping their distance, he'd gotten to see Ryukyu outside of Izuku's funeral, and All Might himself had stopped by for a few minutes to give a speech about what it meant to be a Pro Hero. All-in-all, it was nice. It was halfway through the ordeal that Tsu had shattered the status quo and came right up to him. She deliberately chose not to heed his rude behavior. It took years before Katsuki was finally able to convince her to tell the truth. Apparently, she'd seen his prickly nature as some sort of defense mechanism for repressed trauma and had set out to comfort him. She'd learned early on that he was an ass well before the emotional trauma, but that still didn't stop her.

Shoji was a different case: he'd stuck to them like glue after their initial meeting. When neither of them had immediately run away or screamed "monster!" to him, he asked if they could be friends. It was honestly sad that he set the bar so low, but the two of them were quick to make the multi-armed boy feel welcomed. Bakugo was an asshole, not heartless.

These were all completely normal ways to make friends.

"Are you sure you two have had enough to eat this morning? I've heard that the entrance exam can be quite demanding, you'll need all the energy that you can get."

Bakugo rolled his eyes. It sounded like Auntie Inko was trying to fatten his totally-not-friends up before a hard day's work. Again.

"No thank you, kero. We already ate enough," Tsu politely declined. She then turned her attention to the grumpy little pomeranian walking past them. "Good morning, Bakugo."

Bakugo responded with a grunt and a lazy wave. Shoji opted for a simple nod that he returned in kind. He made his way to the kitchen to grab breakfast: a single energy bar. Chocolate brownie flavor. Perfect.

He ate the whole thing in two bites and continued on to the front door.

"You got everything you need, brat?" His mother asked.

"Of course, you hag!" He snapped back. Neither Tsu nor Shoji so much as flinched as the two bickered. Once upon a time, the two of them had balked when they'd heard him talk to his own mother like that. Their jaws practically smashed through the floor when they'd heard her reply in the same manner. But over the years, they'd become desensitized to the chaos. Bakugo was starting to think that they honestly might be enjoying it.

"There'll be plenty of time later for the two of you to give us all hearing loss," Hisashi mediated, "but these kids have an entrance exam to get to, so…"

Masaru was quick to seize the opportunity to prevent another shouting match. "You're absolutely right! Better to be there an hour early than a minute late! Now, on you go, you three."

As his father started to push them out the door, Inko swiftly moved in to intercept. She took Bakugo off to the side and in the most gentle, most loving, most heart wrenching way possible, she whispered to him.

"Izuku would've been so happy for you…"

XXXXX

Izuku sneezed.

Will looked over to him. "You okay, boss?"

"Yeah. I mean, I feel…" he trailed off. Izuku intended to look his teammate in the eye to assure him, but something else caught his attention. "Mei, this is a reconnaissance mission."

Her face scrunched up in confusion, though her hands stayed busy as she gathered the rest of her equipment. "Uh, yeah? I kind of knew that already."

Without even looking up from his own gear, Hitoshi was able to clarify. "What he means is, why are you packing a rocket launcher?"

"Micro rocket launcher," Mei retorted. "It's not like I grabbed a SPNKr or anything. Besides, I have my reasons. All of you read the AAR."

Indeed, Fireteam Legacy's AAR, or "after action report", had been quite clear about the misgivings towards their gear. Apparently, the villain they faced had a Quirk that could rearrange the molecules on his skin into a carbon structure that repelled all of their weapons. That coupled with his impressive strength and the fact that there was enough Trigger in his body to kill a full-grown bull meant that he was quite the opponent. If it hadn't been for their augmentations, Legacy would've actually been in trouble.

Those at the Commission agreed. They advised every team to start packing a more versatile armament for any new mission: nothing was off limits. High caliber rifles, 8-gauge shotguns, grenade launchers, and anything else in the armory. Every last item was now officially at their disposal; all they had to do was walk up to the quartermaster, ask politely, and it was theirs. Will said something along the lines of Christmas coming early, though Izuku thought that the phrase "open season" was more apt of a description.

Doctor Halsey decided to take it one step further.

She and all of the other scientists at the Commission had been working alongside the one and only David Shield to produce top of the line equipment for them. His role in the Spartan program was being kept under wraps for the time being. Actually, Izuku was pretty sure that if they got their way, word of All Might's former sidekick's assistance would never see the light of day.

The Commission didn't try to keep Doctor Shield's involvement a secret from the Spartans, however, they were instructed to keep their mouths shut around him. Despite all the help he'd been providing, he was still in the dark about the more clandestine aspects of the program. Nevertheless, Doctor Halsey had convinced the scientist - and pretty much everyone she talked to - that only the absolute best would be acceptable. Doctor Shield thus delivered.

In truth, most of what they already had access to could be considered overkill, but Izuku wasn't one to turn down advanced equipment produced by the brightest minds of I-Island. Several prototype weapon systems, high explosive armor piercing (HEAP) ammunition, hyper dense mono-molecular combat knives, jetpacks, threat sensors, arc grenades, and numerous modifications to their SPI armor.

Despite all that, both Doctors had insisted that the best had yet to come. Everything they'd received was actually just the first part of a much larger resupply operation that Doctor Halsey and the others had been planning. Needless to say, Izuku and all of the other Spartans were eagerly awaiting to see what else might be on the way. Especially those like Mei, who'd taken to modifying everything they could get their hands on.

"Besides, it's not like that's the only thing I've got. I still have my primary and sidearm," Mei continued. "I just want to bring the Hydra along in case we find ourselves in a… situation."

Izuku had a hard time disagreeing with that sentiment. Try as they might, they'd never come up with a plan that was perfectly fool-proof. Mendez-sensei's lecture about Murphy's Law had been playing through everyone's head for the past few weeks now.

If something can go wrong, trust me, it will.

With that in mind, Izuku decided to take this moment of safety they currently had to… talk. Talk to his friends. There wasn't a whole lot of that when they were on a mission. "Any particular reason you grabbed the Hydra, or did you just wanna play with the lock-on feature?"

Mei shrugged. "Eh, little bit of both. I've been messing around with the targeting-and-tracking system… I think that - with enough time - I can add a feature that makes it optically tracking, kind of like a TOW missile."

Optical tracking. That could turn out to be incredibly useful. The missile would follow wherever they were aiming their sights at. It'd be a bonus to have such a feature on such a portable weapon system.

"Any particular reason why?" Hitoshi asked. He'd finished examining the dual M6D Magnums he'd become acquainted with and was now checking out his BR55 Battle Rifle. "I mean, is an automatic, heat-seeking missile launcher not enough on its own?"

There was a manic gleam in Mei's eyes as she turned to regard Hitoshi. "Why settle for the standard when there's always room for improvements."

"See," Will cut in, "this is why the Commission's afraid to reveal us to the public."

Hitoshi scoffed, Mei grunted, and Izuku let out a hefty sigh.

It was a topic that all the Spartans had been discussing for a while now. When would they be revealed to the world? Some of them were excited at the possibility of interacting with the public, whereas others were savoring every day that they could stay hidden amongst the shadows. Izuku found that he was on the fence regarding the issue. On one hand, he wanted to step into the light and show the world that stronger heroes were among them. Protecting them from the threats they couldn't possibly predict. On the other hand, they'd lose a great deal of their animosity which would directly impact their fighting efforts against the MLA.

"For the best, as far as I'm concerned," said Hitoshi.

"Indeed. Our psychological warfare efforts have proven to be extremely effective," Mei argued. "It's been confirmed that villains are turning themselves over to the authorities at the mere mention of Spartans being in the area."

"We can continue to give the bad guys nightmares and stand as a beacon of hope for the people of the world," countered Izuku. "They're not mutually exclusive."

Will nodded his head in agreement, while Mei put a hand to her chin to contemplate this new proposition. Hitoshi's lip twitched into a small frown, but that was all he offered. Izuku gave him one of his patented "blinding-the-sun" smiles to cheer him up. "Besides, with all this new gear that the Doctors have been giving us, I'm sure we'll be able to fill any gaps that show up!"

"Hey, that reminds me! You remember that super-secret surprise that Doctor Halsey promised us?" Asked Will. "Well, I was talking with Serin the other day and she was able to hear one of the Docs say something along the lines of Project: MJOLNIR. What do you think?"

Izuku didn't have the slightest idea what that could mean. The look of utter confusion on Hitoshi's face told him that his friend was in the same boat.

"I'm still set on the idea that it's some sort of VTOL," Mei replied. "Warthogs and armored vans are nice, but you just can't compete with good old fashioned air superiority. I mean, other hero agencies have their own dedicated aircraft, why wouldn't we? Especially ones that have some teeth on them."

"We'd have to be cleared to fly over Japan's airspace," Izuku pointed out.

"You really think that'll be a problem for the organization that's already invested possibly billions of yen into the training of child-hero-soldiers? OR all of the accompanying military-purpose weapons and equipment?" Hitoshi deadpanned.

"Well, not when you put it like that," Izuku said.

Their conversation was cut short by the sound of someone bursting into the room and proclaiming their arrival. "Heroes of the great and reckless Mythic Team! Heed me! I bring earth-SHATTERING news!"

"Hello, Hawks," Izuku called out. The others chimed in with their own hey's and hi's. They felt no need to snap to and give him their full undivided attention like some of the other Commission agents. Even if he wasn't a Spartan, Hawks was one of them.

Their winged friend didn't skip so much as a beat as walked over to sit right in the middle of the four teammates.

"We're just about to head out for our next assignment," Hitoshi explained. "Catch you on the flipside?"

"Ah, but that's precisely why I'm here! Sorry, munchkins!" Hawks said in a tone that wasn't apologetic in the slightest. "Your old mission just got handed off to another team. Never fear, though, for I need you for something a thousand times more exciting!"

February 15, 2168

0101 Hours

Aizawa had to admit, the prospect of finding the so-called "demon-heroes" of the Commission had him on edge. From his connections in both the underground hero community and the police force, he'd been able to construct a general idea of what he should expect when he finds them. Huge, intimidating, reclusive, and most notably, armed to the teeth. Several of the officers that'd met them in person had explained that the heroes looked like they were better geared to fight a war rather than the average drug-runner. But it was the eye-witness accounts from the villains themselves that really intrigued Aizawa.

I swear, they were invisible! I knew they were there, I could smell something, but I couldn't see them anywhere!

All it took was one punch and I was out; it felt like I'd gotten hit by a train. From what the Doctor's saw, they said that wasn't too far off.

They butchered us, man. Between their aim and their freaking karate-kid martial arts moves, it was nothing short of a slaughter.

They were so fast; I didn't understand what was going on. I shit you not, it happened in the blink of an eye. We never stood a chance.

Nezu was convinced that they were using some sort of active camouflage system that was often used by Special Forces around the world. Same went with the strength. There were actually quite a few powered exoskeletons that'd been patented - some were even commercially available. Their skills could be written off as some sort of training, but the thing that'd been perplexing him the most was their apparent reflexes. In short, it was off the charts; which wouldn't be so surprising if it weren't for the fact that every single one of them shared this ability. Not even Nezu had a viable theory for how they'd acquired this.

With all of that in mind, Aizawa knew the only way to get through the night without being put into a full body cast was to be as cooperative and non-aggressive as possible. He had to let them know that he was on their side, that he was a fellow Pro. But if things did take a turn for the worse… Well, it was best to make sure that it didn't come to that. His Quirk didn't work on exosuits, after all.

But that didn't mean his senses were any less valuable - especially his hearing. Aizawa stayed perfectly still as he called out to the figure behind him. "I hope I didn't give you any bad impressions."

"If you had, then I wouldn't have bothered getting this close to you," said Hawks. The young hero hovered lazily a few meters away. With his laidback posture and easygoing tone of voice, the average citizen might think that the Wing Hero had simply flown over to have a nice chat.

Aizawa knew better.

"Besides," Hawks continued. "You're a fellow Pro; I don't imagine you mean any ill will."

There was definitely some implication there, but even for the sake of his own life, Aizawa couldn't determine what exactly it was. He took extreme care to not startle the Number Three Hero as he turned around to face him. "Of course not. Just wanted to get a good look at the new kids on the block."

The fake smile that Hawks had quickly turned into a frighteningly real one. "They're something else, aren't they?"

"I've never seen anything like it," Aizawa admitted. "If it was just one or two of them, I'd be able to write it off as another undercover hero employed by the Commission. But this? No way."

Hawks merely hummed in approval. Aizawa would make sure to let Nedzu know that he was right: the guy did share some sort of bond with the others. Time to see if they could use that. He let the silence linger for a few more seconds, then trudged on. "You know what I want."

Hawks' smile was positively dripping with arrogance. "Well, duh! It's what everyone wants: a chance to meet the Demons of the Commission. Only question is-"

He flew a few meters closer, though stayed at his elevated position. "-why do you want to meet them?"

Aizawa mentally prepared himself for this next part. Deception might not have been his forte, but he knew that the best lies had aspects of truth in them. "I want to understand what makes them so effective. Their skills, their physical prowess, their synergy:it's out of this world. I'm a teacher. I don't want to see my students simply do good; I want to see them excel. If they can catch even a glimmer of any of that, then the next generation of heroes will undoubtedly be leaps and bounds beyond what we have today."

The third greatest hero in all of Japan took in a great, big breath, then stuck out his tongue and blew a raspberry. "Yeah, that was really convincing. I've had scam calls about limited warranties for a car I don't even own that were more authentic."

Aizawa would deny that the Pro's reaction had thrown him for a loop. It wasn't that he believed Hawks would immediately trust him and spill everything he knew, just…

Damn, he really hadn't planned this out well, had he?

He realized that none of his prefabricated reasons would work. In order to pull this off, Aizawa would need to tread carefully. Deception was a fine art: an art that he'd never had to use on anything more than a class of impressionable teenagers. This was going to be interesting. "Alright. The truth, then… I'm worried."

There was no change to Hawks' posture, but the subtle arc of his brow told Aizawa what he needed to know.

Go on.

"These new Demons," Aizawa drawled, "or whatever it is they're really called. They're different, and I don't mean in the sense that they have fancy armor, or special training, or are carrying enough weapons and ammo to fry half a city - even though that's all another point in itself. It's their attitude."

He'd now fully secured Hawks' attention. The signs hadn't been in his smile, rather, it was in his eyes this time. Gone was the tranquil curiosity they'd previously possessed. Now, they bore a fierce scrutiny that could only be attributed to a bird of prey sizing up its quarry.

Aizawa remained steadfast and pushed forward. "It's not uncommon for a hero to break a couple of punk's bones or put a few new holes in them, but your colleagues have taken to violence like a duck to water. The way they handle villains - heh - they could give Endeavor a run for his money. I haven't heard of them working with anyone but you, they ruthlessly put down their opposition, and they're always on the move from one target to the next. Their minds are completely and unwaveringly focused on the task at hand. And that gets me thinking, why train them this way? Why train them to be so vicious? Why train them to be so relentless? They don't act like your average underground hero, patrolling their usual routes and taking down drug-runners…"

Now, it was Aizawa who was moving forward. It was at a careful and steady pace, but he needed to drive his point in. "They act like they're soldiers at war."

In reality, he was pulling all of this out of his ass. He had to admit, though, that as Hawks hadn't immediately laughed at his face like he did last time, there could be some validity to what he was saying. Which was unimaginably terrifying to think about. Neither he nor Nedzu had stopped to consider that the Demons were the Commission's response to a serious threat they'd discovered. Or maybe the rat-bear-thing had thought of this and simply neglected to inform the person who was currently sticking his neck out for the cause about such speculations.

It wouldn't be the first time.

"Woah," was the Wing Hero's response. He'd raised one of his eyebrows about halfway into Aizawa's explanation, and then raised the other one towards the end. It appeared that he'd impressed him.

"I'm impressed."

Called it, Aizawa thought.

"Alright," Hawks said slowly, "alright, you've obviously been doing some homework. Tell you what…"

Hawks seemed to be mulling over his next words. The fact that he was taking the time to formulate an actual answer versus just saying the first thing to come to mind was far more concerning than it had any right to be.

Especially when Aizawa realized that they weren't the only ones up on this rooftop. Being aware of your surroundings was something the homeroom teacher tried to impress upon his students as early as possible - so it'd be kind of hypocritical of him to not practice what he preached. It was still unsettling how long it took for him to notice their presence.

Hawks reacquired a piece of Aizawa's very much divided attention by clicking his tongue. "How about we ask them?"

The nothingness that Aizawa knew for a fact wasn't nothingness had collectively decided against speaking to him. Who would've guessed.

"Aw, shucks," Hawks smugged smugly. "Looks like they just haven't warmed up to you yet. That's alright, though, I know just how to remedy that!"

Aizawa wasn't sure how he knew, but there was absolutely no doubt in his mind that Nedzu had - in some way - expected this. The little rat was probably counting on it, actually.

Hawks flew the last meter or so of space between them, then dropped onto his feet and put his arm around Aizawa's shoulders in a friendly gesture. "All you've gotta do is show them that you can be trusted, and what better way to do that than getting in my good graces!"

There were a couple of leaps in logic being overlooked here, but Aizawa had decided that he was now, officially, too tired to care.

"Hang with me for a few weeks and I guarantee they'll see that you aren't just some stick in the mud. Here."

The Wing Hero pulled out a pen and a slightly crumpled piece of paper from his jacket. He wrote something down, then gave it to Aizawa. "That's my number."

"Do you need mine?"

"Nah! I'll find you when I want to!"

Outstanding.

"Well, I'm beat. I think I'm gonna call it a night and head back home. Oh, but don't worry, Eraserhead, I'm sure Mythic Team won't mind escorting you back home."

It was the most intensely uneventful walk home that he'd ever had.

Author's Note: Hey, I know it's been awhile. Sorry about that. With each chapter, I have to do more thinking and planning, so I'm probably not going to stick with a schedule anymore. I'll still try to post as frequently as possible. Until next time!