I really have to stop writing these three times a day. But I'll be damned if I'm not inspired every time I do something badass in Shinobi striker or Spider-Man PS4. I'm sure I'll slow down eventually. Fun fact! If you have played with or against a guy named Miharu in Shinobi striker, that was me! Bonus respect points to anyone who knows where I got my characters name from lol.
Anyways, I'm actually curious as to how many people caught the important cameo last chapter, despite me being about as subtle as a sack of bricks through a car window. Or a friendship speech in Yugioh. Either way, it was pretty damn noticeable. I also hope the chapter names amuse you guys as much as they amuse Bentholomew and I. We snicker at them for about 5 minutes each like 12 year olds. I swear I adult. My headcanon is the Symbiote side of Venom is voiced by either John DiMaggio or Eric Andre. Specifically in their Bender or Luci personas. It just makes his lines that much funnier.
With these ramblings spoken, I beckon thee forward.
EDIT, slightly changed the ending of the chapter to be more canon compliant and in character. I think it's a good thing.
Chapter 6: Brainwashed(And Conditioned)
Izuku had spent the past week observing Hitoshi Shinsou, and trying to learn his schedule. Venom insisted it would be good practice for when he had to tail criminals, as well as sharpen his situational awareness. He made sure he only kept his partial suit active, consisting of his facial half mask, gloves, and his boots. This allowed him to traverse the roof tops and follow Shinsou while remaining largely unnoticed. Currently, Shinsou was walking with a girl with pink dreadlocks, who was fiddling with a helmet of some kind, and pointing at Shinsou. He asked her something, and she replied, before she stiffened, and started dancing like a chicken for a moment, before she looked around, took the helmet off, and then began writing things in a notebook frantically. Izuku assumed she was creating some kind of helmet that suppressed Shinsou's powers, but had failed. Shinsou laughed a bit, patted her on the shoulder, and then walked away. He kept on walking until he walked into a dark alleyway, which lead Izuku to suspect something was up. Shinsou then looked in his direction and called out, "You can come out now. You've been following me for about a week now, so why don't you come down and talk me, instead of stalking me."
'Crap, how did he notice us?' Izuku wondered frantically.
Given the nature of his quirk, he's got to be extremely observant and aware of his surroundings. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to use his quirk as effectively. This just proves to me he's the right choice for our group.
Izuku sighed, and then dropped down in front of Shinsou, carefully ensuring Shinsou was the one closest to the mouth of the alley, to subtly hint that he wasn't here to hurt him. Izuku then pulled out a sketchpad and a pen.
"Well, that answer's a couple questions I had, namely whether you were here to hurt me and whether you had knowledge of my quirk. Interesting." Shinsou commented dryly, making an effort to seem bored with the interaction.
Izuku nodded, and quickly wrote down and turned the pad towards Shinsou: I'm not here to hurt you.
Shinsou raised an eyebrow at this. "I figured, otherwise you'd be a pretty shitty assassin, seeing as you gave me the quick escape route."
Izuku sighed, and once again wrote out his response: I realize this could be taken as a hostile approach, but I wasn't sure how else to get in touch with you.
Shinsou tilted his head to the side, before speaking again, "So if you aren't here to hurt me, then what are you here to do then?"
Here comes the hard part kid. You have to convince him that joining you will help him be a hero.
Izuku bit his lip, pondering what exactly to say.
If we speak to you verbally, can we trust you to not use your quirk?
That's risky, kid. Very risky. But it might be the push you need to build his trust.
Whatever Shinsou was expecting, that certainly wasn't it. He eyed Izuku, as if measuring his own response. "You should know my quirk isn't completely under my conscious control. I can exert influence sure, but anyone who talks to me has a...minor risk for a degree of mind control. Most people can ignore the passive effects though, unless they're exceptionally stupid. I doubt that'll be the case with you. So yes, I promise to play nice if you will."
Izuku smiled at Shinsou, and extended a hand towards him. "Izuku Midoriya. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Hitoshi Shinsou."
"Izuku Midoriya. Why do I feel like I've heard that name somewhere before?" Shinsou pondered aloud.
"Uh, did a pink girl with horns happen to yell my name in front of you?" Shinsou didn't activate his quirk, wanting to wait a bit.
"Ah. That explains it. You guys friends or something?"
"Dating actually."
"Heh, nice. She seems energetic but kind."
"She is. But we can talk more about pleasantries after we jump to the reason why we're here."
"And why are we here, Izuku? Don't keep me in suspense."
"We wanted to recruit you." Now, Shinsou activated his quirk, exerting control. Izuku shot up straight.
"Who are you really?"
"Izuku Midoriya, age 16. We are the hero known as Venom." Izuku spoke in a monotone manner. Internally, he was freaking out, and practically screaming.
'Venom, help! He has total control!'
I'm working on it, kid!
"Why did you really come here?"
"We told you the truth. We wish to recruit you."
"And what are you trying to recruit me for, exactly?"
"We-" Izuku began to struggle now, cutting himself off in mid speech.
"Turn yourself into the nearest police station. Don't hurt anyone on the way there, and don't use your powers to get there." Izuku started to step forward, before he fell to the ground, convulsing.
Shinsou saw this, and took a step back.
"WE WANT TO BE HEROES TOO!" Shinsou's eyes widened in shock, releasing his control during his lapse in concentration. Izuku rushed Shinsou, and covered Shinsou's mouth with his hand.
"Please just hear us out. If you still wish to turn us in, we will submit willingly." Izuku took a deep breath, knowing what he had to say.
"I was born quirkless. I didn't know it for awhile, until my best friend at the time manifested his, and well...I didn't. I wanted to believe so badly that I was just a late bloomer, that I slowly deluded myself into actually believing it. Life was rough. My best friend turned into my greatest source of torment, and my mother could barely keep from crying whenever I talked about being a hero to help support her. But through all this, I kept smiling, never letting my hope that I'd one day get a quirk fade." Izuku smiled wistfully, remembering his motivation and his mother's endless support. Then his expression darkened. "That changed when the person I looked up to the most told me I was wasting my time." Shinsou's brow knitted in confusion, before nodding to Izuku. Izuku released him, and backed away, before sitting down. Shinsou mirrored him, sliding down the wall until he rested on the ground.
"Who was the person you admired?"
At this, Izuku sighed a bit, but nevertheless answered: "All Might..."
Shinsou's jaw dropped a bit, clearly not expecting that. "Okay, now I'm definitely interested in you, Izuku. Tell me more. I know what it's like to be an underdog." As he said this, he smiled wryly, looking up at the sky forlornly.
"Yeah, I can imagine so. I don't want to assume too much, but I'm guessing people tell you how villainous your quirk is a lot?" Izuku questioned carefully.
Shinsou laughed bitterly. "Yeah you could say that. My friends in middle school stopped talking to me because of the nature of my quirk. They were worried I'd make them do something humiliating if they pissed me off." At this, Shinsou shook his head, sighing at the clearly unpleasant memories. "Eventually, I guess I just sort of came to hate my quirk a bit..."
"You can't! You're quirk is perfect for hero work!" Shinsou immediately locked eyes with Izuku, clearly skeptical.
"Oh yeah? How am I gonna use this" At this, he pointed to his vocal cords "for the betterment of people?"
"Riot dispersal for one. Hostage negotiation is another situation you could perfectly handle. Talking a guy off a ledge. Sometimes, Hitoshi, a hero doesn't have to use flashy quirks to make a difference. Sometimes, it's their words that have the most impact. With your quirk, I see big things from you. I think you can be a great hero. And if you'd like, we can show the world that the quirks don't define the hero. Our character does." Izuku smiled genuinely at Shinsou, who was overwhelmed by the kindness of the words. Everything Izuku had said were things he had desperately wanted to believe about his own quirk, but was unable to due to his own insecurities. The only other person (excluding his parents) who had ever thought his quirk was cool was Hatsume. And as well meaning as she, she made one feel like a bit of a laboratory guinea pig. He could almost hear her maniacal cackling from here, which made him shudder.
"So what do you say, Hitoshi?" Izuku once again asked.
"I think you can count on me, Izuku." Hitoshi stuck a hand out for Izuku to shake. Izuku glanced down for a second, before smiling and extending his own, a partnership sealed in that very moment.
Xxxxxxxxx
"So Izuku, you said you're dating Mina Ashido, correct?" Hitoshi asked in his usual drawl.
"Uh, that's right." Izuku glanced at him, but kept walking towards the secret base.
"So, uh, would you happen to have any advice on asking a girl out then? There's someone I'm interested in, but I don't really know how to broach the topic with her."
"This wouldn't happen to be about that girl with the pink dreadlocks, would it?"
"Uh, yeah. Her name is Hatsume. And despite her eyeballing me like a mad scientist 60% of the time, she's good company."
They were nearing LeBlanc at this point, which Izuku had sort of commandeered from Mina as his own super secret base. Well, not super secret, because it was a public cafe. But it definitely had an espionage feel to it.
"We're almost there. Mina is meeting us there, and I want to discuss some aspects of this team we're forming."
"You mentioned that you want to form a team. To what end?"
"I want...to maximize the amount of people I can save. And to do that, I need a team with a diverse range of quirks. But I don't see myself as a leader. Rather, I want this to be a group of peers, each one standing equally among ourselves."
They weaved through the crowd, which was thicker than usual on a weekday. One the trains was down most likely, meaning more congestion as people walked to a different station.
"I see."
After this, they switched to small talk, each talking about their dreams, and why they emulated heroes so greatly. Before long, they arrived at LeBlanc. As they walked in, a pink blur slammed into Izuku.
"HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII FRECKLES~!" Izuku's eyes went the size of dinner plates, and his face went damn near nuclear. Mina was hugging him tightly, sort of...nuzzling her cheek against his, like some sort of cat.
"M-M-Mina?!" At hearing her name, she turned to look at him, before quickly pecking his cheek.
"I missed you. It's been a week since we've hung out. School has been kicking my ass!"
"Freckles?" At hearing a new voice, Mina turned her attention towards the guy who could have easily been Aizawa's long lost son. She quickly turned Izuku around, and whispered conspiratorially, "So is this the guy for that thing we talked about?"
"Yes, that's Hitoshi Shinsou." Izuku nodded.
"Excuse me."
"He lookes kind of like my teacher."
"You realize I can hear you, right?"
"Yeah, Mina, but he's a good guy."
"Is the ignore Hitoshi show over yet?" At this, he poked them in the should, an annoyed look on his face. They both turned back to him, rubbing the back of their necks sheepishly.
"Sorry." They said in unison
"Anyway," Izuku glanced around, before his eyes settled on their booth near the back of the cafe, "Let's take a seat and get down to business."
They each took a seat at the table after placing an order with Boss Sojiro, with Mina sitting next to Izuku, Shinsou sitting opposite from them. Mina took Izuku's hand hers before she gave him a victorious grin, and squeezed his hand. He blushed a bit, but said nothing. They waited to discuss their business until after they ate, during which Shinsou had the typical LeBlanc curry reaction. He asked Sojiro the secret to the heavenly curry he made, which was pretty ballsy.
Sojiro laughed and said his science buff friend turned the recipe into a chemical formula to maximize the impact of each ingredient.
'Hmm, if a scientifically prepared meal can't attract Hatsume's attention, I don't know what will.' Hitoshi filed that information away for later use. He'd definitely try to ask Hatsume to come with him next time.
Izuku glanced at both Mina and Shinsou. Both nodded at him, while Mina also gave his hand a reassuring squeeze, prompting him to speak.
"I want to form a team with you guys." At this, both Mina and Shinsou nodded, as they were aware of this. Still, it was better to be completely clear upfront.
"However, given that my...alter-ego isn't exactly the most popular guy in the city right now, we'd essentially be vigilantes." At this, the others shrugged, not really expecting to be labeled any differently.
"Before you go on, Izuku, I want you to upfront with the both of us." Both Izuku and Mina glanced at Hitoshi at this, unsure of what he was going to say. "There was a reason you were labeled as a villain initially. Care to explain what lead that to happen?"
Izuku sighed. He should have known this would come up, as it wasn't an unreasonable question.
"The UA student I fought...was my childhood bully. Katsuki Bakugo." Mina gasped, and Hitoshi's eyes narrowed. "Kacchan...he used to be my friend, but when he found out I was quirkless, he saw it as his duty to beat any notion of being a hero that I had out of me. The idea seemed to offend him on a personal level. I tried not to let it get to me, but I eventually did once my quirk manifested. At the insistence of my...teacher, I sought out Bakugo for a match. This was to serve as my final exam in my teacher's training, as well as a growing exercise for myself as a person. I lost control of myself, with the years of suppressed anger and resentment bubbling up when I had him at my mercy. I was about to drag him to a hospital, but that's when the cops showed up, and they took the sight before them at face value. Bakugo probably did nothing to clear this up, as he clearly hates me, but would never acknowledge it was me who did that to him. I can only assume he heard our hero name in between the introductions my fist had with his face."
"Don't you think you went a little overboard?" Hitoshi asked blandly.
"I do and I don't. One of the last conversations I had with Bakugo involved him telling me to jump off a building so I could maybe have a quirk in the next life."
Both Mina and Hitoshi's eyes widened. Mina threw a hand over her mouth, and Hitoshi opened and closed his hand several times. Mina pulled him into a hug, while Hitoshi said nothing.
"That's awful. I'm so sorry, Freckles."
"What kind of hero tells someone to kill themselves?"
Izuku smiled reassuringly at the two of them, clearly having moved past it.
"It's fine. My issues aren't what we are here to discuss."
Hitoshi nodded, before speaking " You're right. Tell us about your team idea."
Izuku took a breath. This was it. "Pro heroes don't seem like they know why they fight anymore. I'm not saying they're all bad, but take Endeavor for instance...There are some unsettling rumors about him, specifically as a father. Nothing confirmed, but he's the number two hero. That's concerning. I want to remind the hero industry why it exists in the first place. That it's duty is to the people first, and not their sponsors."
"I agree with everything you just said, but as this team stands now, I don't think it will work."
Izuku looked over at Hitoshi, gesturing him to speak his mind.
"First off, you're still considered a villain, at least at the moment. Secondly, I'm a nobody at the moment. Ashido isn't a known entity either. This means we have any lack of claim to legitimacy beyond our own claims to the contrary. And what do you call someone without credibility? A nutjob." Izuku sighed at this, which made Hitoshi chuckle.
"What's so funny, you did just say this was impossible." Mina pointed out.
"When did I ever say that? I just pointed out we need another member. And it just so happens, I have two in mind."
"Who?" Izuku said, asking the question on both their minds.
"Shouto Todoroki and Mei Hatsume." Hitoshi stated simply.
"Todoroki?" At this, the gears in Izuku's head began spinning. Yes, Todoroki would be perfect. He had a powerful quirk, and as the son of Endeavor, the cops wouldn't be able to paint his actions in a bad light unless they really screwed up. Having Shouto also grants them a degree of legitimacy they wouldn't have currently, as he's the son of the number two hero. If nothing else, his presence alone could eventually prompt an olive branch from the Hero Ethics Committee and the Police, if only to preserve Endeavor's reputation.
"Uh, Freckles? You're muttering. A lot." Mina's voice brought him out of his musings, causing him to look back up Hitoshi and Mina. He chuckled sheepishly.
"Sorry, that's just a thing I do. But you have a point, Hitoshi. Todoroki would give us the degree of validity we need to continue operating. That just leaves us with two problems: How do we convince him? And when do we do it?"
Mina coughed, signaling she wanted to jump in. "Actually, I have some thoughts about that. See, Hero internships start in two days. I know for a fact Todoroki is being forced to do it with his dad in Hosu."
The gears in both Izuku's and Hitoshi's head began spinning, and they shared a glance. Hitoshi nodded.
"Then that's when we approach him. In two days at Hosu. Now what's the story about the Hatsume girl?" At this, Hitoshi blushed slightly, before he coughed.
"Mei is sort of driven by experimentation. All we have to tell her she can have her 'babies' being field tested and she'd build us a damn tank if we wanted."
"But we'll need costumes, and names. In your case, Mina, you can't use your hero name you gave in school." At this, Mina beamed.
"I actually saved the name I wanted, and gave out something different when we chose names today. From this day forward, you can count on Alien Queen for back up" She winked at Izuku and threw up a peace sign. Hitoshi and Izuku sweatdropped at this, unsure of what the hell they could say to that.
"Please tell me you didn't use the name I think you did, Mina."
"Oh I absolutely did. Pinky is officially a registered hero name."
How does if feel to know you created a hero, kid? At least her name isn't something stupid like Dogwelder.
Izuku ignored Venom, and looked at Hitoshi expectantly. He just shrugged.
"The only name I was able to even half way like was Brainjacker. And even then, it sounds kind of sinister."
Mina tapped her chin, for a moment, "How about Hivemind?" The three of them blinked.
"That's surprisingly good. That's definitely my codename now." Hitoshi nodded sagely.
Izuku sighed, but pressed on. "Okay, so names are taken care of, now we just need to discuss outfits and gear. I'm set, as my quirk naturally handles that. But Mina needs a new outfit, to hide her identity, and Hitoshi, you need something as well, along with something that will carry your voice, along with some self defense tools."
"I know some Aikido, and I was planning to carry a microphone and a taser until I can convince Hatsume to make something for me. I'll ask her to make something for Mina as well next time I see her."
Mina nodded. "I was actually wanted to make some changes. Maybe some body armor, and something to store my acid in like Bakugo does with his sweat. It'd put less strain on me in bad situations."
"Leave it to me. I'm pretty good at convincing people."
They looked at Hitoshi in horror.
"What? I don't even need my power. Just say 'I need gadgets' and Hatsume will practically make anything you ask her to."
Neither Izuku or Mina were sure how to respond so they just nodded, and resuming drinking their tea.
Suddenly, Izuku sat up, remember something. "Guys, we don't have a team name!"
"Is that really important?" Hitoshi drawled in a bored manner.
"Yea, Izuku, isn't it more important that our actions matter?" Mina questioned.
"It is. We need to say who we are, and what we are about. I have a name idea, but I'm going to wait until we have Todoroki and Hatsume onboard before we release our manifesto." Izuku spoke calmly, excitement slowly building in him. Things would soon pick up.
Xxxxxxxxxx
In the UA principal office...
"So All Might, you see my point yes?" Nedzu spoke, fingers clasped in front of him. "Given the unnatural acceleration of the loss of your powers, and the frightening nature of All for One's threat, we need to take drastic measures. Perhaps young Bakugo is the answer to that. After all, how does one respond to an unstoppable force? By responding with an equally unstoppable force."
"I get your point, Headmaster, but I'm worried about him trying something he can't handle." The Symbol of Peace responded worriedly.
"I know, Yagi. This isn't ideal. Think of it as a trial basis. Bakugo, for all his bluster, respects you. If you told him that you changed your mind and wanted a different successor, he would accept that. Not happily mind you, but he'd accept it." At this, Yagi sighed.
"Fine. I'll talk to him. But this Mirio kid interests me. If Bakugo doesn't pan out, I think he'd a good fit."
"Agreed. If nothing else, the addition of Bakugo's power into the pool of One for All is worth this test run, regardless of the outcome." Nedzu spoke candidly, sipping his tea. "No matter how you look at it, Bakugo's power will play a role in the resolution of this conflict." Yagi nodded, and got up to leave, then heading to the classroom where Bakugo was waiting.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
After explaining the idea, which relied heavily on appeals to Bakugo's pride, All Might rubbed the back of his head and spoke once more.
"So you understand what I'm telling you, Young Bakugo. One for All is quirk passed down among generations. I'm going to be totaly honest with you, Bakugo. I don't think you're the right choice for my successor, but I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt at the Headmaster's request. You should have little issue using the power, as long as you don't try to use both One for All and your explosions at the same time. But on the off chance it's hard to manage, I'm going to have you train with my old mentor, Gran Torino."
"Whatever, old man. I'll master this quirk and make it my own." 'And then I'll show that damn Deku I was better all along, if his idol chose me over him.'
"I'm putting my faith in you, Bakugo. I reserve the right to take back this power should I become unsatisfied with your use of it. You will relinquish it to me, should I deem unworthy. You'd agreed, and I expect you to keep your word. Otherwise, I will MAKE you give it back. I chose you based on your victory in the Sports Festival. I hope you won't disappoint me." The figure of All Might looked at his successor, but for some reason, he couldn't help but feel he'd made the wrong choice.
To be continued...
I bet you guys didn't expect that ending tho.
Anyway! I can't use a poll for this, but it is important. TEAM MEMBER HERO NAMES. I don't intend to have a large roster, and Two are named already, but I don't have one Hitoshi yet or the others mentioned. So feel free to message me some suggestions for his names! Bentholomew and I are actually really bad at this. We spent and hour coming up with Brainjacker. So please help us. ;-;
I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. I'll be back again today maybe! But in the meantime? Raizen out!