Turns out even though our event was over we still needed to stay after, so we were ordered to change into our uniforms and to wait for in our class. Looking around it was easy to see that Izuku was the worst off because of the sling for his arm. Most who fought had some scratches or bruises but seemed fine otherwise.
It was a pretty cheerful attitude as everyone congratulated each other for fighting hard and for placing where they did. Those of us that actually fought received the biggest praises. The only person in a bad mood was Baku because he had a scary look on his face while biting down on his medal. No one was brave enough to talk to him.
We ended up waiting a bit over half an hour, originally Cat was with us but got called away because of a commotion (apparently some people realized Midnight was the ref for the first years and got mad that they missed her and the first appearance of Black Cat). When Mr. Aizawa did arrive, he surprised us with a compliment to our efforts "Listen up, first I just want to say not bad out there. But don't let that get to your head, a general studies student was able to pass into the hero class causing us to push down a hero course student."
This came as an obvious shock to my classmates as I got the image of that blue-haired student with the mind control quirk. Before my mind could think about whose being replaced (I feel like most of the class would vote Mineta) Mr. Aizawa got our attention again by explaining the situation. "Now before any of you freak out and ask any stupid questions this class is safe and no, we do not know which student will be replaced in class be, mostly because that has yet to be decided. While that is being decided the advancing student will start conditioning for the advance class."
Guess it makes sense that a student from general studies wouldn't be used to the same amount of exercise as the hero course. He then let us know that school would be canceled for two days to allow the students to rest. When we come back is when we would be told the results of the agencies that want to hire all this, I didn't notice that Izuku kept taking glances at Iida's empty seat. After that, we were dismissed.
When I and Momo arrived at her place her parents were waiting for us with a large dinner ready for us to celebrate our hard work and my victory. Her dad joked that if I fought Momo and didn't let her win he would have skinned me, but he looked so scary I almost believed him. While eating Momo's parents explained that their phones have been ringing like crazy with people congratulating them. Some agencies even tried to be sneaky and try to use them to convince us to intern with their agencies.
After the meal, we went into the living room and talked about our experience in the tournament. Momo's dad's face was stone-like when she got to the part of why she was wearing a cheerleader outfit. It turned back into a happy face after that and stayed that way into the end. The next thing Momo said made her parents have serious and nervous expressions. "It's sad that Tenya-kun couldn't stay for his medal though."
From the way, they were looking at us and their silence I had a hunch "By any chance do you know what happened that made Iida leave so early?" it didn't even consider the fact I was being impolite asking like that, I was so curious.
Her parents looked at each other then faced us "while we believe each family is owed privacy, we believe we should tell you what we know and stop you from trying to invade their privacy by hounding your friend with questions. As to what happened, his older brother the Pro hero Ingenium found and made contact with the hero killer Stain. This lead not only to his defeat but near death as well. From what we heard his injuries are so serious that not even Recovery Girl or any other quirks will be able to help him recover enough to continue his hero work. At this point, it's safe to say Iida's older brother is now forcefully retired."
It's actually kind of a surprise for me to hear, never before have I heard of a hero retiring. Back in my world no matter what damage is taken my heroes never stayed down. To hear one being beaten that badly made me forget to breathe for a second.
Momo's parents asked us to keep this info to ourselves and that if anyone should find out about Iida's brothers' situation it should be from him when he is ready. After that, we stayed up for another two hours just talking about the tournament and how we would have handled fighting different opponents. That night I made a promise to check out the infinity stones, maybe they can help Iida's brother.
The next day I made up an excuse to leave by myself and went to check up on the two infinity stones. While they diffidently look better compared to when I first arrived they are nowhere near what they were in their original form. After looking around and making sure I was alone I pulled out a small box I made for the stones. Turns out if someone looked closely they would be able to find the stone's energy and through that find the stones themselves. Don't want that so I made a box to store them in and hide their energy so it would be next to impossible to find them.
After finding and putting them into a new hiding spot I headed back to the mansion to relax the rest of today and tomorrow.
After two days of relaxing and spending time with Momo and her parents it was time to go back to school and what do you know? It's raining cats and dogs. Thankfully we were given raincoats. Another plus was that today Iida arrived at school.
Looks like some people found out what happened to his brother thanks to the news but all they knew was that he was sent to the hospital and nothing else, not of Stain or his retirement. They want to wait to announce his retirement until his agency can come up with who should replace him.
So far everyone was giving Iida some space except for Izuku who was brushed aside in the nicest way I have ever seen. Aside from that everything was the same as any other day. Sure, the main topic in the class was the tournament but thankfully the atmosphere was pretty positive with the only downer being Baku who still had a scowl on his face. I just wasn't sure what to think as Toru was talking about being stared at in the street, but I can figure out if it was because of the tournament or because they saw a school uniform floating. Back home that would have started some serious ghost girl rumors.
A few minutes after the bell Mr. Aizawa arrived looking good as- well good as usual. Apparently, our nurse went overboard on using her quirk to heal him. Behind him was Black Cat in her hero(?) suit. I tried to schedule some time with her during the break, but she was kept busy with work and looking for a place to stay that the school approved of and that she liked. I was invited to check it out at a different time.
He quieted down the class by warning us that we would be spending today on something important. Looking around most of my classmates got a nervous look but I was more curious on what was hero informatics? At least that's what I think he said. I couldn't tell if he was quiet for dramatic effect, but he whispered "You need code names. It's time to pick your hero identities." The effect was immediate as most of the class jumped in their seats in excitement.
Not liking being interrupted Mr. Aizawa's eyes flashed red as he partially activated his quirk to scare those out of their seat into submission. Some even shushed each other. Seeing he had our attention again Mr. Aizawa continued to explain that the choice of our identity is related to the pro hero draft picks that he mentioned before our break. Usually, drafting doesn't become a problem until our second year but because of the attention, we got agencies are wanting to get a hold of us as soon as possible. "The agencies drafting you now are pretty much betting on your future potential, so remember to work hard because they can and will pull back their offer." I could hear Mineta shaking and complaining about "stupid, selfish adults!"
To make sure she understood Toru asked the teacher "So even after being recruited we still need to prove ourselves." after telling Toru she was correct Mr. Aizawa showed the class who received offers and how many.
PETER-5000+
TODOROKI-4123
BAKUGO-3556
After that, no one came even close, with Momo having 806 offers and Tokoyami 360 after her. The numbers slowly became smaller after that. In fact, there were only 10 names on the board, making it show that 11 people didn't receive offers. I could hear Momo let out a disappointed sigh over having far less offers than the top spots but tried to congratulate her neighbor Todoroki like a good sport. He simply replied with the theory that most are because of his dad.
Even Cat looked surprised that the number difference and asked if this was normal. Mr. Aizawa explained that usually the offers are spread out but this time the gap is big. He explained that because we are first years the fact, they are making offers can be a big gamble so they need to be sure we can handle whatever they need of us. So, it makes sense they chose to mainly sponsor the strongest students.
Ochako was grabbing Iida and shaking him back and forth as she cheered over being given offers while Iida stayed stoic. Mineta was doing something similar to Izuku as he rubbed salt on his wounds by telling him the obvious about his zero offers and how it might be because of how he injured himself.
Done letting us talk Aizawa continued with the class. "Don't think just because you haven't received any offers, you'll have time off. Everyone here will spend time working with pros. Just because you handled a villain attack doesn't mean you know what it's like being a hero on the street keeping watch."
Seeing where he was going, we realized why we were deciding our hero names today. The class got more excited at the thought of making up our professional name. As if setting her up Mr. Aizawa told us to take our names seriously or "You'll have hell to pay later!" opening the door as if on it was practiced Midnight entered the class in her rated R costume showing off her body. If people ever accuse me of staring, I'll deny it, just like I'll deny I have a tight suit problem.
After Midnight reached the other side of Mr. Aizawa, he announced that she and Black Cat would officially be helping us decide our hero names. For a second there Mr. Aizawa stared off into the air, probably remembering something. Focusing back on the class Mr. Aizawa pulled out his sleeping bag from its magical hiding spot from under the desk (and I checked under that desk too before class) as he warned us "Make sure to take this seriously, this isn't just choosing a cool nickname but could also affect how people think of you when they hear your name. Tell me which is more likely to be hired in a popular agency: someone whose name tells you everything they need to know or an idiot who got his name from a preschooler?"
After that whiteboards were handed out to the class as we were reconstructed to come up with our hero names. Of course, I was quick to write mine down since I already had one. After a few minutes passed with almost everyone having written something down Midnight called it was time for us to show our names. This took everyone by surprise and Black Cat commented on it. "What did you think no one was gonna know? You do realize the point of superhero names is, so people know what to call you out loud and publicly, right?"
I quickly raised my hand to ask a question I have been wondering about for a long time since living in this hero society. When midnight called me up, I asked my question real quick. "Uh, actually before I show my idea, I was wondering why hero's get actual hero names? I mean if I wanted to know someone's name, I can just look them up on any search engine and find them without much difficulty. " I know this because it's exactly what I did. Turns out the governments around the world agreed that basic hero's information should be public. Within an hour I was able to look up the records of most of the faculty at my school and even Momo's parents who have been retired from the hero work for a good while now.
Around me, my classmates started to talk at the same time trying to explain why hero names are a thing, but I quickly noticed that while their claims seemed logical (at least most of them) not a single one matched.
Mineta: "It's so women know what to scream at the top of their voice!"
Ochako: "I just assumed it would be weird using your real name while dressed up."
Jirou: "Pretty sure it's similar to how some artists have stage names."
Todoroki: "To help separate work and life."
Momo: "To help raise your market value."
Kaminari: "So you can have an original badass name!"
Tokoyami: "To isolate your work from people with the same name like your family."
Clapping her hands Midnight was able to get the class to calm down. After making sure no one was going to interrupt she addressed my question. "Great question little Parker and I think I know the answer! You see originally identities were a hero's secret, but the public was still able to find ways to find out our personal information. Add on to the fact that the governments around the world were being attacked by the public for not only helping to hide hero's identities but using their tax money to pay them like they do the police. Of course, now heroes have other ways to make money but that still cost the price of giving our identity to the person asking to know who they are giving money to. It wasn't until about 30 years ago when heroes also fully supported the revealing of our identities when impostors would take advantage of having similar powers and announcing themselves as the hero everyone loves and gives money to. Of course, this is a topic with many problems solved in the form of keeping our hero names even if our real identity is still public information. Does that answer your question?"
While it wasn't a perfect answer it did satisfy my curiosity, so I replied with a yes. With confidence of using the name I got so used to I showed the class my alternative name. "The Amazing Spider-man!" everyone looked at me with a shocked expression, I couldn't tell if it was a good shock or bad.
Midnight coughed into her hand and told me some terrible news. "Yes, as much as the name suits your skillset, I'm afraid that name is already taken, along with almost any variation you can imagine."
"Wait seriously?!"
"I'm afraid so, from the top of my head I believe the list goes: the human spider, man spider, Spider man, Spider-man with a hyphen, Amazing Spider-man, web of Spider-man, Spectacular Spider-man, Ultimate Spider-man, Spider-man Noir, Spider-man 2099 who tried to trick people into thinking he was from the future and needed money for a time machine, Superior Spider-man and the list goes on and on."
What the hell! Not only could I not use my own hero name but people stole every other version?! hell some don't sound like hero names as much as they do book covers! Feeling disappointed I walked towards my seat with a cloud over my head and the class looking at me with looks of sympathy.
After me, Aoyama stepped in front of the class and revealed his chosen hero name. "For my beautifully chosen hero name, I have decided on "I can not stop twinkling." Mona-mi, you cannot deny my sparkle." I thought hero names were supposed to be like nicknames, you know short, to the point. Oh, and not sound kinda dumb.
But low and behold Midnight supported his name, just giving him a few ideas to shorten it. "Here take out the I and shorten the can not to Can't. that should work better." "Still just as beautiful!" this took everyone by surprise as even Black Cat made a scream of surprise over the name being accepted.
Black Cat commented on an idea she had. "Come on you have the perfect hero name just waiting. Just imagine it "Aoyama- The Flasher!"
While I coughed at the suggested name Aoyama cupped his chin as he thought about it. "It does have a nice ring to it." even Midnight was having trouble taking this seriously, having to choose between explaining why that shouldn't be a hero's name, glaring at Cat for making such a dirty suggestion, or trying not to laugh herself. Having not taken the joke far enough Cat added the icing on the cake. "Just imagine your arrival catchphrase is already ready for you "Stop or I'll flash you!" HAHAHA!" Cat just couldn't hold it in anymore and fell on her knees laughing. The laughing got turned up when Aoyama mentioned keeping the catchphrase even if he doesn't keep the name.
Midnight just sent him to his seat while trying to hold back a smile. Seriously though are there so many names that most that he could take were already taken? Is that why she accepted such a name.
Either way looks like his name got a pass as the class made a noise of complaints about that name being accepted and one classmate saying he wasn't even French. Damn people are freaking out over this whole name thing huh.?
Mina quickly took over Aoyama's previous spot and excitedly showed us her idea. "My idea is the acid Hero: Alien queen!" while the class looks satisfied with her name Midnight had a scared look on her face. "You mean like those ugly creatures in the movies?! I think not!"
Mina walked towards her seat with a disappointed look on her face while the class looked at her with similar expressions. Some even started to freak out even more over not being able to come up with a decent name. Taking her chance Tsu raised her hand, asking for permission to show her idea. Midnight more than happily called her up.
Upfront Tsu told the class she had this name in mind for a while and showed the class "The rainy season hero: Froppy." this got a good reaction from Midnight and Cat as they complimented the name. Midnight saying that it makes her approachable while Cat mentioned the possibilities of merchandising. Nice to see Cat still loves money.
The mood of the class did a full 180 as the class started to chant Froppy as if she was their savior. Quick to be the next one up Kirishima went up front and revealed his name. "The sturdy hero: Red Riot!" Midnight liked the name and asked if he was paying homage to the chivalrous hero: Crimson riot. Kirishima admitted to this as he explained that he's a personal fan of Crimson and inspires to be like him. Midnight warned him that if he chooses to bear the name of someone, he admires then he has a lot more to prove and live up to. Kirishima accepted the challenge with a "manly" smile on his face.
After that, there was a few moments of silence as the rest of the class was brainstorming ideas for their hero names. After a few more I got my idea and wrote it down, raising my hand as soon as I was done. I was quickly at the front of the class again showing my new hero name. "Okay, so my idea is "The Spider Hero: Arachnoid!"
Almost everyone looked at me with questioning looks on their faces. Midnight asked me on the noid part of the name. "I understand the Arach part for the spider-powers but what does the noid stand for?"
"I'm not just gonna be using my quirk when I'm a hero, you see I also use webs but it's not natural so I make it using a web shooter that I put on my wrist. Truthfully my abilities are a mix of my quirk and technology."
Midnight and Cat gave me a pass, liking that I was able to use my imagination to make such a creative name. After I got back to my seat Kaminari started to complain out loud over his difficulty in coming up with a cool name. Next to him Jirou caught his attention and suggested the name Jamming-way. Liking the name, he thought she was referring to making it sound like Hemming-way. Jirou corrected him by telling him that the name was perfect because even though his quirk was strong, he keeps jamming his brain. He screamed at her in anger as she walked up to the front of the class.
Without any fear of the crowd Jirou show the class her name "The Hearing Hero: Earphone Jack". Midnight sent her back to her seat with a pass and a complement. After that, my classmates got their courage and went up one after another to show their names. Shouji chose the name Tentacole that got a pass and a complement from both women. Although Cat's was mostly about him being the perfect advertisement for sushi companies.
After that everyone went up one after another and got their names accepted, most of the time with complements from Midnight and little comments from Black Cat. The weirdest was from Todo and Iida as they just went with their first names. But because there was no rule against it (Probably because no one has tried to do it before) it was accepted.
When Bakugo tried to go up his name "King Explosion Murder" was quickly declined because of being too violent for a hero name. Before Baku could defend his chosen name Cat insulted it by saying "It sounds like something someone with 5th-grade syndrome would come up with after watching a bad action movie." Baku quickly turned to her and told her "Shut up, don't make fun of Fast and the Furious!" after that he tried to argue for his name but failed to do so and was forced to come up with another one.
After Ochako showed her name Izuku went to the front of the class and showed his name. This caused a group reaction of surprise as he chose the name "Deku". after being questioned if he was sure Deku answered that for a long time he hated the name, but someone helped him realize that it could also be something good. So, he decided that it has to be his code name.
Now that everyone chose their hero names Aizawa finally woke up and pulled himself out of his sleeping bag. As he explained how the internships are going to work Midnight and Black Cat started to stretch from standing a while. Midnight stretching her arms and Cat her legs.
Aizawa explained that we would be doing this for a week and for those that didn't receive any offers are still going to have a chance to choose an agency to work with. 40 agencies decided to take anyone from our class, but we were warned these agencies cover a wide variety of specialties. Some focus more on a rescue on land while others fight crime near water. As the bell rang, we were handed out the papers with the agencies that chose us and the ones for the class. As the teachers left the class Mr. Aizawa warned us that we had two days to choose our agency so to look quickly but carefully.
It's now a few minutes into lunchtime and I'm still looking over all the agencies that made me offers. Around me, I can hear my classmates complain about how hard it is to decide what agency to work with even though they have even fewer options than me. When Mina asked if anyone has chosen an agency Mineta quickly replied that his top choice is Mt. Lady.
Tsu quickly called him out about choosing her because of something perverted. He didn't even try to argue or defend himself, responding with the word "Possibly!"
Ojiro went over to Mina and mentioned how surprising that she received no offers even though she did well in the tournament. She just replied in agreement with him. Ochako who was listening in on their conversation turned to Deku and asked who he was thinking of joining with. Turns out he couldn't hear her as he was mumbling to himself about seriously deciding to research all the agencies and seeing which he would go for.
A few of our classmates went over to his seat and started to talk to him, seeing him taking the list of agencies so seriously. Ochako tries to give Deku some confidence by mentioning the agency she has chosen. Turns out she chose a battle agency run by a hero Gun Head. Deku asked surprised if she was sure she wasn't to take a battle agency and she confirms it "Yeah he sent me an offer! Besides, I think that learning how to fight from someone like him can be great for me as I grow as a hero. This way I won't be stuck as a single category Hero."
Finished with her explanation Ochako asked Deku why he was trembling. He answered that he was exorcising by making himself hold himself above the chair. As our classmates were awed by Deku's willingness to train even in class I stood over and walked over to him. When Deku glanced at me and tried to say hello I quickly reached my hand over to him and pinched his bandaged arm. This got an immediate response from him as he yelped in pain and grabbed my arm, trying to make me let go.
"Parker what are you doing?! That hurts!"
Not letting go I responded "Making a point. When you're injured you need to rest. Not force your body to break itself." Of course, I feel like the biggest hypocrite as I say this. Gosh if only I had a penny every time I ignored my advice, but Deku doesn't need to know that.
Ignoring Deku's excuses I turned to the group talking to Deku and scolded them for supporting his training while injured. Tokoyami tried to say something, but I shut him up with a glare. Because I was looking in that direction, I was able to see Iida stare deeply at his sheet and circle a couple of agencies.
After class was over Deku (who I'm proud to say learned his lesson) and Ochako started to leave the class after realizing Iida had already left the class. Before they could leave as well ALL MIGHT arrived and asked to talk with Deku alone. After both of them left Momo offered Ochako a ride home so she wouldn't be alone. Ochako was more than happy to ride in a limo for a ride home. I just asked for them for a chance to turn in my paper since I already made my choices for potential hero agencies. One was a combat agency in a place I never heard of before and the other two were stationed in Hosu city, the place that reports indicate where Stain was.
Truthfully my goal isn't to search for the serial killer but to watch over Iida instead. When he wasn't putting up his bad acting normal skills, he had a serious demeanor on him the rest of the time. And earlier when he was looking at the list of hero agencies his eyes reminded me so much of Eddie Brock, my old friend turned enemy. The eyes he had weren't someone searching for a job seriously but of a man looking for somewhere to release his wrath.
I don't know exactly where Iida chose to go but if I was a betting man, I would put the money I never had at where Stain could be located. So, after turning in my paper, I returned to the class and quickly noticed that Ochako had left, with Momo explaining that Deku finished early, and they decided to leave together.
After that, I spent the rest of my time getting my suit ready for fieldwork and trying to keep an eye on Iida. Turns out his family even reached out to me when they heard I would be working at a rescue agency in the same city as their son. They asked me to watch over him and to stop him from doing something that can't be taken back. It was obvious they had an idea of what Iida was up to but didn't know how to stop it. So, I gave them my word to help how I could.
On the first day of the internships, everyone was at the station with Aizawa seeing us off, mostly to remind us not to slack off and to learn as much as possible. Also, to remind us about our costumes and the rules that come with them. After he ordered us off, we replied with a "Yes sir!" and went our separate ways.
Iida and I were going the same way since we were the only ones who are going to Hosu City. We were strongly recommended to choose other locations, but we held firm. I only declined because hearing Iida only confirmed my suspicion, he's going after the hero killer.
Before we could reach the train Deku and Ochako called out to us, mostly focusing on Iida. While we did stop Iida didn't turn to face them. They tried to get Iida to talk to them by offering to listen, reminding him that they're his friends. He turned to them with what could barely be called a smile and just replied with a single word "Yes."
After that, he continued walking towards the train while I waved bye at the two as I followed the depressed classmate.
When we got on the train I waited until we started to move to start my talk with Iida, didn't want him getting any ideas about leaving. As soon as we were moving, I stood up and asked Iida for a moment alone so we could talk. I could already see him try to decline so I added that it was about something he should know.
Curiosity getting the best of him we exited the cart we were in and went searching for one that was empty. Thankfully it didn't long for us to find one that gave us some privacy, so as soon as the door closed Iida turned towards me and asked what I wanted to say.
I stood straight up to Iida and looked him in the eye, which was easy since we were similar heights. "Why did you treat our friends so horrible when they were just trying to help?"
This got a scowl on his face as he asked me "Is that seriously what you're wasting my time for?"
"Then how would you like me to waste your time? Maybe talking about your trying to do something stupid?"
Frustrated at me Iida tried to walk away but I grabbed his shoulder with more strength than a roided football player and held him firm on the spot. He tried to pull away but failed to do so. When he also failed to pull my hand off, he asked me what I'm doing.
"I'm trying to talk you out of doing something stupid."
"And what stupid thing might that be?" At this point, he looked like he was ready to punch me and was barely holding back.
"Some would call going to the city where a serial killer is knowingly crawling the streets stupid."
"If that's the case, why are you going?"
"To do my job as your friend and try to talk you out of it. To tell you that if you're not careful you'll do something that can't get taken back."
"You mean justice? The people he killed? For the lives he ruined?!"
"Whose lives are you thinking about? The victims or your own? Let me tell you this feeling of justice your feeling is just revenge that you're lying to yourself to call justice. I should know."
Confused at my last words he asked me what I meant by them. So, I told him about Uncle Ben. "I know your pain, no if anything I felt much worse. I know the pain of a loved one being attacked but more importantly, I know the pain of that loved one dying. He was my Uncle Ben and he was my greatest role model, along with my Aunt May. You know my life story is a bit like Deku's. I didn't have my quirk until about a year ago, so I was always bullied. But when I finally got my quirk, I was so cocky that I went to a fight club. They were having a cash prize for beating the champ, so I lied to my folks and went donning my first spider-man suit."
"That's nice and all but what does that have to do-"
"I'm almost there, okay? I think it's important you know how stupid I was. Now I won the match and after the show, I was backstage with the owner going to get my winnings. Only I would have to sign a contract and I didn't want people to know who I was, so I left empty-handed. As I was waiting for the elevator, I heard screaming from the owner's office and turned back to notice a burglar running my way towards the elevator that just arrived."
"And let me guess you caught the burglar and forced the man to give you money that led to you becoming an illegal hero for hire right?"
"Complete opposite really, I let him take the elevator ahead of me. By the time the owner caught up the burglar was already gone. When he asked me why I didn't stop him I just threw his earlier words back at him, "Not my problem"."
Iida had a look of total disbelief over what I did, just staying silent as he listened to the rest of my story. As I was retelling him about that night, I could feel myself start to tear up, still unable to talk about it without feeling shame and disappointment in myself.
"After that, I found out that Uncle Ben went to the library to wait for me since that was the excuse I gave him to go to the fight. While waiting for me someone car-jacked him and shot him when he tried to stop the thief. After that, I found out the police had found the car thief's location and I arrived there first. I caught the man and all I could think about was justice. Justice for Uncle Ben and my Aunt May who lost her husband. But most of all I was focusing on the pain he cost me, and when I had my hands on him it wasn't about justice anymore but revenge. But when I got a good look at the man that killed my uncle, I realized it was the thief I let go earlier that night. I was still going to kill him and almost did, but I realized that it was my fault more than anyone else. That's where I realized the importance of Uncle Ben's words. "With great power comes great responsibility."
Iida just looked at me with serious eyes as he did some major thinking behind those eyes. After a minute he asked me "You have my sympathy and I understand what you want now. But you are asking for a lot right now. I need to think alone if you wouldn't mind."
I nodded to him, understanding his need. As I walked away, I said one last thing to him. "I won't follow you or anything, I just wanted a chance to talk and to be there in case you need help. Also, do me a favor and be nicer to our friends next time you see them." After that, I left him alone in the cart and sat in the one next door for the rest of the trip. In a few hours, I would experience what being a hero in this world is like. I wonder how the others are going to enjoy theirs.
The sun was up high when I arrived at my agency, a small cozy building that had people in costumes coming and going in groups of 3 minimum. Walking inside the entrance was almost empty except for a secretary at the front. Walking up to her I introduced myself and explained that I was here for my internship. Not saying a word to me she nodded and typed something on her computer. A second later a reply was received, and I was told to take the stairs up to the next floor and go to the last door of the hallway. After that, she ignored me and went back to typing on her computer.
Following her instructions, I quickly arrived at the door of who I'm guessing is the head of this agency. I knocked and was called in. Opening the door, I saw a middle-aged man in a suit typing something on his computer as a hero was sitting in front of him with a nervous look on her face. Truthfully, she didn't look much older than me, if anything she looks like she just graduated from her school. The thing that stood out the most about her is the mouthpiece of her mask since it was connected to the gloves of her suit.
After waiting quietly for a minute than man finished typing on his computer and turned to the female hero. This caused her to sit up even more straight and helped me realize this was a job interview. Weird how I was allowed in.
After looking at her for a few minutes with his masked the man smiled at her and told her "Welcome aboard Smoke, happy to get to work with you."
The newly hired Smoke had tears of joy as she stood and bowed to the man. "Thank you, sir! You won't regret it, oh thank you!"
The man waved away her thanks as he told her not to worry about it. After giving her a moment to collect herself he asked Smoke to step out for a bit so he could talk to me for a moment, explaining that she would be joining him for patrol after my meeting.
The hero agency leader welcomed me and asked how was the trip. I responded fine and asked if we were going to go on patrol already. He confirmed my suspicion and told me to get changed in the neighboring room and asked when I came back if I minded that we were bringing the newly hired hero along. As we left the agency with the hero Smoke the boss quickly introduced himself as his hero name Mixer. His power lets him mix his skin DNA to match the material of whatever he touches. Although that doesn't mean if he touches someone with super strength, he'll have super strength.
As we started our patrol Mixer explained how things worked for the hero occupation, focusing on his agency's specialty, "criminal apprehension". he started by explaining that the government is what pays us and the amount we receive is determined by how well we did in the reports made.
So, in the order of how it normally goes for our job.
Crime happens
As police head out, and they call heroes for backup
We receive the call and stop the crime as quickly and with as little damage as possible
Mixer even made his point system for how to do the best job possible for any situation. When I commented that it was a stage for us to depend on the government for money when heroes are so popular Mixer asked Smoke if she knew why. She quickly replied that heroes can and do make money with side hobbies and jobs, but it's almost always related to the hero business. Of course, some agencies tried to make money with sponsors only, but time usually cost them to die out.
With that part out of the way Mixer started on explaining why we do patrols. "As you know it's important for us to keep our eyes open at all times but we're not out here just for that. It's also to scare away idiots thinking about starting something. Sure, if they don't know who you are then you won't be much of a repellent but with time and fights, you'll start to get some street cred."
Feeling like this was a good time I asked the question that I had for a while. "If you don't mind me asking what's it like building an agency? Do you just look for an empty building for sale, get it, then open shop?"
Mixer turned towards us, and by Smoke's expression, she wanted to know as well. "Nice question kid, at first it was like that, just the added step of telling the government where you were located. But then more and more heroes' agencies tried to set up shop in the places where they felt all the action went and now, they made a list to get one. First, you must be a pro hero with at least 5 years under your belt. Second, you need at least one sidekick. Next is the tricky part and where you'll need plenty of money. You apply to the agency planning committee in the government and wait for your reply. They will automatically say yes if you have the first things, I said but here's the hard part. They will give you a list of open cities that need agencies of the type you are trying to make, and it will be up to you to get it up and running. So, you might not have any choice but to buy a very expensive building to set your place up. Of course, there are other things but that's the big stuff to handle."
Sounds like a nightmare. After that he got a bit more detailed on our job and where we have jurisdiction and all that. It was like this for the rest of the day, Mixer showing us around and all. After we were done for the day, we went to a building that he lets heroes that work at the agency stay at for free. They do pay bills there though.
The second day was similar but this time with a different pro hero than Mixer who was at a meeting. Smoke was with us and the three of us got to talking. The hero we were paired with is called Artist, mostly because if he draws something it comes to life for real. As for Smoke, she can burn the fat and food in her body to make smoke from her mouth. She can make different types, but the drawback is when she uses her quirk the more dangerous the smoke the worst of a taste it leaves in her mouth. Toxic smoke won't affect her other than making her throw up. So went the second day with no crime.
It wasn't until the third day that I finally got some action, it was nearing night time and it was almost the end of my team's patrol. Again, I was paired with Artist and Smoke when we heard someone screaming at us, a civilian running towards us with a Nomu chasing him while holding what I think was a hero.
It was not the same one I fought before but not taking the chance I quickly webslinged myself to the strange humanoid and gave it a powerful kick to the chest, causing it to let the hero go and fly backwards into the ground. I quickly webbed it to the ground to keep it in check while I checked the down hero, thankfully she was only unconscious.
From behind me, I heard Smoke and Artist running up to me and checking out the situation. The civilian was able to explain that Nomu are appearing in large numbers and attacking people in the center of town.
Getting to work quickly Artist called and reported what's happening. After reporting we were told to wait for orders from Mixer. Not a fan for waiting Mixer sent a message to all heroes in his agency that stated all combat specialists are to guard our area while others are to fall back. He called me directly and ordered me back to the agency building, screaming at me when I declined to follow that order.
In the middle of the argument, I received a message from Deku that was simply coordinates for a location. At first, I was confused but as soon as I realized that the coordinates are for here in Hosu I realized that he needed help and ran off. As I was swinging to the location on the map my spider-sense went off and warned me of the giant black and white hand coming out of nowhere to grab me. After dodging it I quickly realized it was a creation of Artist and quickly started to swing away before he could try something again.
I wish I could say it was a quick and easy line towards my destination but then I'd be lying again. No turns out there are plenty of Nomu showing up and criminals taking advantage of their appearance by staying out of the way of the conflict and raiding the unprotected stores and people.
On the way to the location that was in the text, I had to stop multiple criminals from taking advantage of the chaos. Although I did want to see them struggle to take the giant flat-screen TV out of the window they broke while they left the unlocked door alone. Pretty soon I knew I was in the right area, not because of the map on my digital lens but because of the sound of combat and the sudden shift in temperature, letting me know Todo was here as well.
Arriving at the fight I saw who I could only guess to be the hero killer Stain fighting my classmates with most of them being forced on the ground. So far Todo was holding him back by threat of fire, but Stain was inching closer. Acting quickly, I called my temporary boss and told him my location and about Stain being here before quickly cutting the call before he could scream at me. Oh well looks like I'm out of a job.
Looking back at the fight I quickly saw that Stain was able to pass Todo's defensive fire and was about to stab him with a couple of knives. Before he could follow through with his attack I jumped into the fray and attached a web to the serial killer and pulled him towards me, he tried to cut me as soon as I was in range, but I did a flip in the air dodging him and giving him a kick to the chest that sent him falling away from my friends. "I'm not cutting in, am I?"
While I stood protective in front of my friends who were asking about me being here(even Deku who sent me the message, heck they knew I was in town. Is it that much a surprise?) Stain landed roughly on his feet checking his knife for something but didn't find it considering his annoyed expression.
Stain put his focus on me, asking me "Are you another child looking to become another among the world of impostor heroes?"
"No, I'm just a guy doing what I think is right. And right now, that means punching you a bit and handing you to the police. Helping my friends is just a bonus."
"Then what do you hope to achieve with my capture, tell me, little hero. Will my arrest jump-start your hero reputation, or do you expect a great reward?"
"Truthfully neither. Spent most of my life with people not liking me and as for reward? I'm not a minimalist but I don't have many needs either."
"Then one last question, do you consider yourself a hero?"
"Yeah, I do, despite what anyone says if I do what I believe is right then a few rules aren't gonna stop me."
"Ooh, you interest me. All of you students break rules for personal reasons but those reasons are so different. The one in armor cares only for revenge, the elemental and enhanced one cares more for their friends than the law or the other hero. I have no doubt that if the first boy didn't attack me the others wouldn't have arrived or cared. But you, you remind me of ALL MIGHT sticking to your beliefs and not caring of the consequence as long as you are satisfied with your action. Show me young hero if your all talk!"
As he attacked me, and we started our fight I heard Deku shout a warning at me "Careful! If he tastes your blood then your paralyzed!"
I caught the swipe he was about to make and head-butted him, falling to my back to dodge another slash he made with a blade and used my hands as a springboard to give him another kick that sent him flying back a few feet. "Perfect, cause I tend to try not getting cut!"
As Stain got back up and grabbed some swords and knives that he dropped so far I couldn't help but remember Kraven, especially the first time I met the hunter on the streets. After getting ready Stain gave me a warning before attacking me. "Don't get cocky kid, I've hunted some big names and made whole cities fear just my name!"
He was quick to attack, much faster than before but I could easily keep up, stopping his attacks and putting a few hits in every once in a while. After about a minute he tried a little trick of swiping at my head. When I bent down he tried to kick me but Instead a face full of foot as I flipped away while sneaking in that kick. I couldn't resist saying the words I said back then to Kraven "Sure against your average hero you're good, maybe even the best. But against me" I caught both of his knives in my hands and broke them as a show of force "you're out of your league."
I shot a web to the killer's chest and pulled him towards me, easily dodging his last-ditch effort to hit me and gave a nasty punch to the face that made the floor crack when he landed. Going to check if the fight was finished, I confirmed that he was unconscious and webbed his hands together behind his back.
After that, I went to check up on everyone and noticed that Deku and Iida had the worst of it while Todo also had some nasty cuts on his left side. Lastly, I went to check on the only adult hero here but he was mostly fine, only unable to move because Stain's quirk was still in effect on him.
I waited a few minutes to let Stain's quirk wear off (apparently, he doesn't need to be conscious for its effect to continue) so that everyone could walk on their own while I made sure to send the recording of what happened to the police.
As we started to leave Deku had to be carried by the Pro hero since his injuries made him unable to walk. Iida asked me to allow him to drag Stain back, but I told him it's a stupid idea to make an injured person do something like that. Todoroki agreed with me. I did contact emergency service but they were spread out so thin it was quicker to get the injured to the hospital ourselves.
After a few moments of silence, the Pro hero apologized for being of no use during the fight. Deku tried to cheer him up by saying no single person could handle his quirk but quickly shut up after remembering how the fight ended. Todo joined in on the conversation. "It's true. It took three of us to get him to a standstill, I'd hate to imagine if we were missing even a missing person. Besides you shouldn't try to compare yourself to Parker here, when it comes to close-range combat, I doubt many can step up to him." Aww so nice of him, and here I thought he didn't like me.
Looking behind me I could see Iida making a grimacing face as he refused to look at me. The rest of the way to the main street was filled with silence, although I can't tell the specific type. After walking for a bit, a short old man in a hero suit screamed at us, more specifically Deku, and used some kind of jets under his feet to fly into the air and kick Deku in the face. When asked how he found us he answered that some other heroes told him. While he had a look of anger on his face an apology from Deku was enough to earn his forgiveness. Soon after we heard footsteps as a group of Pro heroes ran up to us and asked if we were okay. Their focus quickly shifted though as soon as they saw Stain.
I made sure to tell them that I contacted the authorities, and we were just heading somewhere that would be easier to meet up with the police. They decided it would be better to wait here since we had so many injured and it wouldn't be safe to move around with such a dangerous person in our custody.
After letting Deku stand on his own the heroes started to check on Deku and Todo, asking how their injuries were feeling. While they told the pros they felt fine they expressed concern for Iida since he had the worst injuries of everyone here. In the middle of this Iida walked up to his other classmates and bowed his head, begging for forgiveness for getting them involved and injured. I could tell he was serious as he didn't try to stop his tears from falling. "I know nothing I say can make it right, but I just need to say it! I am so sorry; I couldn't see past my anger. Even when Parker talked to me, I couldn't stop thinking how it would be different with me but in the end, it was even worse."
His comment on me got a confused look for Deku and Todo but kept their focus on Iida as Deku responded to his apology. "I'm sorry to Iida, even though I'm your friend I couldn't tell what was going on." This just caused Iida to cry even more as Todo tried to get him to stop.
The next second three things happened. My spider-sense went off. I pushed Deku out of the way of the attacking Nomu. I was caught by Nomu's feet as it flew away with me by holding onto my neck and chest. The grip it had on me was strong enough for it to be hard to breathe and make me unable to break free.
Thankfully I wasn't air-born long but it wasn't because one of the heroes saved me. No instead it was the Hero killer himself who somehow got free from my webs and jumped high enough to reach the Nomu and kill it.
Because of the damage to my neck, I was unable to get up, much less defend myself against the legendary killer. Behind us the group of heroes was muttering to themselves, trying to get an understanding of the situation but quickly got into battle position. God, I hope any of them are decent fighters.
While I was still coughing Stain pushed me to the ground, no doubt wanting to keep me in a weak position. All of a sudden, a new louder voice joined the heroes, the voice belonging to the number two hero Endeavor. He asked why everyone was here and started to explain his situation when Stain and Endeavor noticed each other. The sight of each other was enough to get both fighters to stop moving.
Before Endeavor could attack the old man told him to stop as they watched stain let me go and turn to the group of heroes. As he did this, he removed the rags that acted as his mask and caused a group of heroes to freeze at the sight of this new image.
At first, I thought it was strange that even the pros were getting scared of an ugly face but when I finally got a good look at his eyes I froze for a second. Because for that second it was no longer Stain standing above me but Norman Osborn, in his green goblin suit smiling at me. Strangely, I have seen similar eyes on other enemies but just at the memory of Norman and I can't move.
While I was having a mental breakdown Stain was stepping forward, preaching at the failure of the hero system and how it creates fakes who don't deserve the title. "If I'm a villain then so be it but know this! No fake will kill me, only a true hero can do that! Only ALL MIGHT can kill me!"
As he took another step forward to the frozen group of heroes I quickly jumped in front of Stain, blocking his view of the others. This came as a surprise to Stain as he asked me one question. "Do you truly believe yourself a hero who can protect them?"
Standing straight, I made sure my cracked lenses met his eyes as I responded with a firm yes. He gave me a small smirk and then his eyes got a blank look as he lost consciousness. I would later find out he got knocked out thanks to previous wounds
thanks again to my editor for helping make sure this comes out as nice as it does. sorry for the long wait and i hope you enjoy.