Johnathan and Martha lay awake in bed, neither saying a word, as they had for the last several hours. Both had fallen asleep and awakened several times, and it was almost four in the morning when the silence was finally broken.
"Do you think he'll be back soon?"
Johnathan looked up at the sound of Martha's voice before nodding. "Most likely. Not sure there's anything on Earth that could hurt him anyway."
Martha still appeared uneasy, but said nothing else.
The silence was again broken by a thundering in the distance. Both had heard the sound often enough to know what it was: a sonic boom. They also knew what it meant. Clark was back.
Martha was out of bed and down the stairs in an instant, Johnathan following more slowly. Just as they made it outside, the very earth shook as Clark landed, the snow-covered ground cratering and being torn apart by his impact. They expected him to crawl out in the usual brown leather jacket and jeans, but instead he appeared in a blue bodysuit somewhere between metal and fabric, with a gold belt, red boots and cape, and a prominent S symbol across the chest. "The hell are you wearing?" Johnathan asked.
"It's my costume! You like it?"
Johnathan and Martha both stared at him before Martha asked, "And exactly where did it come from?"
"Aliens," Clark said quietly.
"Be serious here Clark, where did the suit come from?" Johnathan demanded.
"I am. After the ship took off, its autopilot turned on and it took me to the south pole. There was an old scout ship there, and it had equipment that I used to make the costume."
Johnathan rubbed his eyes, before asking, "What happened to the ship you took there?"
"I left it in the Solitude's hangar. That's what the scout ship was apparently called." Clark told him.
Johnathan's eyes widened slightly at that. "How big is this thing if it has a hangar onboard?"
"About the size of the Kansas Statehouse up in Topeka." Clark said.
Johnathan went silent, as he did the math. "Ninety thousand square feet? Ninety thousand goddamn square feet?! How did this thing never get noticed on a satellite or something?"
"Previously it was buried under half a mile of ice, but even now that it's on the surface it has a construction with a similar effect to a stealth bomber. It won't get picked up by radar, and the thing has a reactive camo system, so someone would have to be specifically looking for it on a satellite image."
"Well that's good to know. Last thing we want is the NSA showing up at our doorstep or something." Martha muttered.
Clark nodded as they made their way back inside, "Yeah, we should be fine for a while. Anyway, I also used the fabricator to make a bunch of street clothes that can take at least a decent percentage of the forces my powers cause. All in all, pretty good trip."
Johnathan rose, and picked up Clark's backpack from where it had been left on the table. "Well, school may be out, but you've still got homework. Better get started on learning Japanese first thing tomorrow if you want to be able to speak like an adult while you're away."
Grumbling, Clark took the backpack and floated up the stairs.
6,100 Miles Away
"You CAN become a hero." Toshinori watched as the boy in front of him lost any composure he may have had left. Midoriya must have sat there sobbing for a solid five minutes. It was understandable given the kid's obsession with being a hero but come on...
As Midoriya began to recover, Toshinori helped him up, and guided him out of the alley before sending the boy on his way. The day had probably been a bit much for him, and it was far too late in the evening to start the kid's physical conditioning. Almost as soon as Midoriya turned the corner, Toshinori's phone rang. Taking it out, he looked at the caller ID before answering, "Principal Nezu? What can I do for you?"
"Quite the performance this afternoon Yagi. You exceeded your time limit by about twenty minutes today. You really must learn to let other heroes handle such issues."
Toshinori winced at the scolding. Of all the heroes he knew, only Nezu, Recovery Girl, and Gran Torino could still make him feel like a schoolboy in detention.
"My apologies Principal Nezu. It seemed like the right call at the time, and I stand by it."
"Of course. I cannot fault you for doing the right thing. But that is not why I have called you. A small increase in seismic activity has been detected near the South Pole, that lasted almost exactly ten minutes. The beginning and end of this event were sharp, like a switch being flipped. There was no buildup, and there were no apparent aftershocks. I believe it may be of unnatural cause."
"Have you examined images of the area?" Toshinori asked.
"Yes," Nezu said, "but an event so brief and so small is difficult to precisely track. I have a general area of two hundred and fifty square miles at best."
Yagi sighed and rubbed his eyes. "How does this pertain to me?"
"I had hoped that you could use your connections at I-Island to get us access to their orbital scanners." Nezu said. "They have the best equipment on Earth or in space, and use of their instruments could shorten this project from several days, if not weeks, to mere hours."
Toshinori nodded his assent, despite Nezu being unable to see him. "I am owed a few favors. I'll see what I can do. Good night principal Nezu." Hanging up, Yagi considered his options and ultimately elected to leave the requested call for tomorrow. He would also need to put together a training routine for young Midoriya, and that would take the better part of the evening.
9 Months Later
Clark stepped off the bus he had taken from the airport. He had been sent all relevant information on his host family and knew roughly what to expect. Single mother, one son, who was a UA hopeful just as he was. He began climbing the stairs to the Midoriya family's apartment. Only as he reached the fourth floor did it occur to him he had forgotten the door number. Clark briefly considered using his x-ray vision to find the right room before deciding against it and sitting down in the stairwell to dig the folder he had been sent out of his backpack. The folder he had apparently left at home. Shit. Briefly forgetting his strength, Clark slammed his head back against the wall, leaving an indent in the concrete and shaking the floor. A short woman with green hair poked her head out into the hallway, and seeing him asked "Excuse me, but are you Kent-Kun?"
"Yes... sorry about the wall," Clark said as he stood.
"Oh don't worry. That kind of thing is nothing unusual. I am Inko Midoriya. Please come in!"
Picking his backpack and suitcase up, Clark followed her in as he heard someone begin running up the stairs.
Inko gestured for Clark to follow her, and led him past a room that could easily have been either a bedroom, or a shrine to All-Might. Just as they reached the end of the hall, the door opened again, and a boy about the same age as Clark entered looking thoroughly exhausted.
Inko called over to him, "Izuku! Come meet Kent-kun."
Clark waved at him as a panting, sweaty, Izuku staggered down the hall before coming to a stop in front of them.
Midoriya stood there for a moment before he mumbled something to the effect of "HiI'mIzuku,timeforbed," and stumbled into the All-Might room.
Inko appeared slightly upset until Clark chuckled at the look on her face and said, "Don't worry about it. If he's that tired I think we can forgive a slight lapse in manners."
"Thank you for your understanding Kent-Kun," Inko said as she continued down the hall. "He's been coming home like that almost every day."
"Every day?" Clark asked with a frown.
"Yes," Inko said as she opened a door at the end. "According to Izuku it's because he's been exercising after school, but... I can't help but wonder if something might be wrong."
"If he's suddenly started being substantially more active that could put a strain on his system. Could be he's going too hard too early in his training."
Inko nodded. It certainly made plenty of sense.
The next month passed quickly. Far too quickly for Midoriya'a taste. He wasn't going to make it, he never could have made it, there's just not enough time! Izuku was so caught up in worrying over what would happen at the entrance exam he didn't even realize he had just finished clearing the beach. Every piece of garbage still on the beach was piled up off to the side, waiting to be loaded and driven away. Izuku was halfway between cackling like a madman and sobbing as he climbed the pile, and at the top-
Screaming. Clark HATED the screaming. At home he had lived far from the city, and hadn't had to endure so much of it without doing anything. Now there was nothing but screaming, and he heard it all, but couldn't do shit because the laws of this country apparently prohibited human decency. It wasn't all bad of course. He had become close with Midoriya in the month he had been here, and the kid was about the only friend he had made so far. And now, this morning, he heard Midoriya, far from the apartment, screaming like he was having a limb cut off with a rusty pocket knife.THOOM! Clark was a quarter of the way to Midoriya in under six seconds. He couldn't go any faster in such a densely populated area. By the time he was getting close to Midoriya, the screaming had stopped. Clark's heart was in his throat as he started the final one mile stretch. Tunnel vision set in as he saw Midoriya falling, from at least thirty feet. Then Midoriya suddenly just wasn't there. With a sound of screeching metal Clark slammed headfirst into a towering pile of garbage, scattering it across the entire beach as he fell out the other side and sent up a dust cloud the size of a bus.
"YOUNG MIDORIYA! STAY BEHIND ME!"
"No goddamn way. That CANNOT, be who I think it is," Clark thought as he pushed himself up off the ground, before turning to see an exhausted Midoriya next to... He was in civilian clothes, but there was no doubt it was him.
"Kent-San?!" Midoriya exclaimed.
All-Might turned to Midoriya with a raised eyebrow "I'm sorry, what?"
"That's Kent-San, our foreign exchange student."
"Hi." Clark said sheepishly.
All-Might looked back and forth between the two for a moment before asking Izuku, "Did you tell him you were here?"
Midoriya looked flustered before stammering out, "Wh-what?! No of course not."
"I heard him," Clark interrupted. "Part of my quirk enhances my senses, so I heard him screaming. Would've gotten here faster, but I couldn't break the sound barrier in an urban area."
"Sound barrier?!" Izuku and All-Might yelled at the same time.
"Kent-San, you said you were fast but you never mentioned ANYTHING like that!" Midoriya said.
"Yeah... kinda figured with the world we live in, the words fast and strong have to be used relatively." Clark said.
"You could hear Young Midoriya from across the city, yet you also say you have super speed? May I ask what exactly your quirk is?" All-Might called.
"I call it Last Sun. I passively absorb and manipulate solar radiation to supercharge my senses and physical abilities. I can also directly project solar radiation in the form of a beam."
"But-" All-Might started.
"Nope! My turn. Midoriya-San. What are you doing at the trash beach, with All-Might, at six in the morning?!"
Both All-Might and Midoriya turned about the color of sour milk, as the number one hero began to steam.