Chapter 5: Revelations
Katsuke Bakugou always prided himself as a light sleeper. Which is why he got an apartment on the top floor of his apartment complex, so that the sounds from the streets wouldn't disturb one of his favorite past times of sleeping.
Tap-tap-tap
His eye twitched but he made himself keep his eyes closed.
Tap-tap-tap
"WHAT DO YOU WANT, NERD?" Bakugou shot up in bed and turned to the window where Superman was hovering, frozen mid tap.
The fiery hero opened the window and his old friend climbed in. "What?" He growled, then noticed the damage to the super suit. "The hell happened to you?"
"I need you to do something." Izuku said.
"I don't have time for your shit, Deku," Bakugou crossed his arms.
"I need you to hit me!" he interrupted him.
"Run that by one more time," Bakugou blinked in surprise.
"I need you to punch me in the face, Kacchan," Izuku nodded.
"… Is this a trick?" Bakugou eyed him cautiously.
"During the fight tonight I actually got hurt," Izuku explained.
"Fight? What fight? You were on a date with Round Face…" Bakugou narrowed his eyes, "Did you do something, Nerd?"
"The League of Villains showed up and we had to end the date early and fight bad guys," Izuku shrugged, "We're meeting again tomorrow night at her place."
"Interesting," Bakugou nodded.
"Interesting? What's inter-" Izuku was cut off by a jab right to the face, but it hurt Bakugou far more than him. Izuku felt nothing but judging by the four-letter words of multiple languages flying out of the blonde's mouth as he cradled his fist, he wasn't so lucky.
"Whatever the hell it was, you're good now, you son of a … shit… that hurts!" Bakugou cursed.
"I didn't mean put your back into it!" Izuku argued.
"I wasn't going to pass up an open invitation!" Bakugou hissed.
"I need to check at the Fortress…" Izuku glanced out the window.
"Fortress?" Bakugou asked, but gasped when he suddenly found himself out of his pajamas and in his hero gear. "Never do that again…" Bakugou pointed a finger at his friend. "Never… Never do that again…"
"I've been meaning to show this to you for a while, Kacchan," Izuku said, taking a step toward him.
"Oh, hell no, you aren't flying me…" Bakugou said, but next thing he knew he felt a burst of speed and flying over the city headed north with Izuku holding him by one arm. "I hate you so much right now…"
With Izuku's speed it only took them minutes to reach the artic. The two lowered to the ground and Bakugou stared at the massive crystal-like structure. "What the hell, did you actually travel to the north and made an ice castle?"
"back in junior high… remember when I disappeared for a while? yeah, kind of… I … um… call it my Fortress of Solitude…" Izuku scratched the back of his head.
"Whatever you say, Elsa…" Bakugou rolled his eyes.
"Oh, let it go and come on…" Izuku shook his head and lead Bakugou to the entrance.
Bakugou blinked when he saw dozens of hovering robots maintaining the interior. "Welcome Kal-El…" one said as it approached, then scanned Bakugou. "Welcome Kacchan."
"This way," Izuku said, and he walked toward the central platform.
"You have a bunch of robots? Yet you call this place a Fortress of Solitude?" Bakugou said as he followed but taking in everything.
"They're not much for conversation," Izuku replied, "The only one that really talks to me and well, he's kind of stiff, too." He said placing a hand on the central platform, and it lit up in the shape of an S.
A moment later before them a man who resembled an older Izuku appeared before them. "Greetings, my son."
"Meet my dad, Jor-El." Izuku introduced, before turning to the hologram. "Father, I come with a question."
"Then we shall attempt to answer it together, my son," the hologram gave him full attention.
"During a fight earlier, I somehow lost my abilities," Izuku stated, "Do you have any ideas?"
"Your powers come from a combination of the solar energy from the yellow star as well as the lower atmosphere of Earth compared to Krypton. There are only two possibilities." The hologram stated, "First is you encountered red solar radiation or a stronger point of atmosphere, or you encountered a fragment from our home world irritated from the energy of Krypton's core during its explosion."
"A fragment of Krypton?" Izuku asked curiously.
"It is possible, we have learned before the destruction of Krypton that the radiation from our world's core causes rapid and severe genetic damage to our specific DNA. During initial investigations in the weakening core, several Kryptonians lost their lives. It is reason to be during the destruction of Krypton, debris could have made its way to Earth as you did."
"Kryptonite, eh?" Bakugou chuckled, "Most powerful nerd in the world, and your weakness is a rock. Fitting."
"That would be a good name for it, yes," the hologram nodded in agreement.
"Something to start looking into anyway…" Izuku nodded. "I need to talk to All Might about something, too…"
"Yeah?" Bakugou eyed his friend.
"One of the villains tonight, Toga," Izuku said, "She needs to be peacefully captured as soon as possible."
"Himiko Toga? She'll never come easy," Bakugou laughed, "What makes you want to focus on her out of all the thugs?"
"She's pregnant, and I doubt the League of Villains have access to good healthcare…" Izuku said, and Bakugou stopped laughing immediately. "You ok?" Izuku asked his suddenly pale and unusually silent friend.
"Y-yeah, I'm good, I'm good," Bakugou nodded, "That's… that's just a surprise."
"You sure?" Izuku asked with concern, "Your heart's racing…"
"Stop scanning me, you nosy bastard," Bakugou stepped away, "Get me back home so I can get some sleep and get to talk to the big guy."
"If you're sure…" Izuku said, "Hang on…"
"Hang on to what?" Bakugou asked then gasped when what felt like a hurricane force wind to his face and he found himself in his apartment.
He sat down roughly on the bed and didn't sleep any the rest of the night. "Son of a…"
-S-
Toshinori Yogi glanced up from his desk at the sound of a knock. "Come in!" He called, pumping himself up into his All Might form. Izuku Midoriya smiled as he walked in.
"Young Midoriya!" All Might grinned at the boy he helped raise. "What brings you Hong Kong? Covering the Annual Hero Summit?"
"No, Toshi, I needed to talk about something," He said, glancing to the tall man in a suit also in the room.
"I don't think you ever met one of my former sidekicks," All Might said as the man stood up and approached him, "Meet Sir Nighteye."
"Pleasure to finally meet you, Izuku," Nighteye said locking eyes with the reporter and shook his hand.
Nighteye suddenly found himself in a ruined city, rubble and fire was all around him.
He glanced up when he heard running and saw Uravity in a torn costume and blood running down the side of her face from a cut on her forehead, but she didn't pay any attention to it. She was focused on something else at the epicenter of the destruction.
Lord Explosion came stumbling out, his costume even more ragged and covered in blood, and one arm obviously broken.
"Bakugou! Where's Deku?" She said, but Bakugou grabbed her with his good arm.
"Don't… Don't look…" Bakugou whispered, tears threatening the corners of his eyes.
"Bakugou?" She looked up at him fearfully.
"Izuku… Izuku loved you… very much…" His lips trembled as he said it.
"No… no… no…" She shook her head as she began to sob, "NO!" She cried into Bakugou's chest, as Bakugou glanced up at a ripped red cape with Superman's symbol on it, waving on a bent steel beam sticking out of the rubble.
"Doomsday…" Nighteye breathed.
"Excuse me?" Izuku blinked, but Nighteye shook his head.
"Don't worry about it, young man," He said, "I'll leave you to speak with All Might."
The two waited for Nighteye to leave. "I have an unusual request."
"Unusual? What has been usual with you since you decided to become a vigilante?" All Might laughed.
"I need your help to get other heroes on board on getting Himiko Toga away from the League of Villains," Izuku said, removing his glasses.
"That's a tall order…" All Might breathed, "She's one of the League's most dangerous villains, and she has a dead or alive mark on her head you know? What makes her so special?"
"Just say… two lives are on the line," Izuku replied.
"Izuku… she's a villain…" All Might said softly.
"No, she's a person," He responded, not backing down.
"Ok… ok," All Might nodded, "I'll do what I can, but I can't promise anything."
"That'll do, Toshi," Izuku nodded, "I got something else I have to check into now. You going to be back in Japan soon?"
"Yeah, soon as this Summit is over," All Might nodded, and Izuku started to leave, "Oh, and Young Midoriya… I'm proud of you. Keep up the good work… Superman."
"That means a lot," Izuku smiled, putting his glasses back on and leaving the office.
-S-
Izuku made his way through the same museum he had fought in earlier that morning, carefully moving through the yellow tap from where Superman and Dabi had gone through walls. He stood outside the exhibit that had almost took him down for several moments before finally getting the courage up to step inside. And he felt… nothing. Absolutely no effects, unlike earlier.
"Mr. Shimura wants everything from this exhibit moved to Shimura Tower," He heard a young woman ordering people boxing up meteor rocks from their displays.
"What's Mr. Shimura want with these exhibits?" Izuku said walking up to the young lady. She had long silver hair with a matching silver suit, and a single yellow horn on the side of her head.
"That's classified, Mister…" She turned toward Izuku.
"Izuku Midoriya, Deirīpuranetto," He smiled at the girl. "You're awfully young to be working for Shimura, Miss?"
"Eri," She said tightly, "And if you'll excuse me…"
"Some of these rocks could be dangerous, you know?" Izuku pressed on, "It wouldn't have something to do with another attack like on the construction site a few days ago?"
"That wasn't an attack, that was an accident done by quirkless errors," Eri fired back, glaring at the reporter.
"Superman found evidence of otherwise," Izuku pressed.
"What?" Eri seemed taken off guard.
"Yes, it was a bomb with a radio frequency going to Shimura Tower," Izuku kept on.
"I … I don't know what you're talking about!" Eri said, taking a step back, and from the sound of her pulse rate and the change in the pitch of her voice she was telling the truth.
"Here's my card," Izuku handed her, "If you have any info at all, please call me. I just want to clear an innocent man."
"I… ok…" Eri nodded, looking at the info, before shoving it into her jacket pocket. "Good day, Mr. Midoriya…"
Izuku nodded and turned and walked away. Shimura had the rock. This wasn't good, but it'll just have to be a bridge he'll cross when he comes to it…
-S-
Later that evening Izuku stood feeling oddly nervous at the door to Ochako's apartment. He was wearing a nice polo shirt and slacks with a bouquet of pink roses held behind his back.
He knocked on the door after a few deep breaths, and after a few moments Ochako answered and beamed happily at him. "Deku!" She exclaimed then smiled even wider when he offered the flowers.
"They're almost as pretty as you," He said the first thing that came to his mind. Mentally slapped himself but the smile and flush to her cheeks said he said the right thing.
"Maybe last night when Momo did me up…" She glanced at herself, wearing a dark skirt and a pink sleeveless top that hugged her figure. "Come in, come in, dinners almost ready."
"Need some help?" Izuku asked as she placed the roses in a vase.
"Sure, do have some veggies to chop for the stir fry," Ochako smiled and the two entered her kitchen and he started working on the veggies, and she went to the wok.
Small talk broke out, but he could feel something was in the air. She was tense, and with his super hearing he could hear her heart racing and she tried to hide it, but she was trembling.
"Ochako-Chan, is something wrong?" Izuku asked, and she stiffened at the honorific.
"No, nothing's wrong. Quite the opposite," She said, then huffed in frustration, "This isn't stupid high school. It shouldn't be this difficult!"
"Ok, here goes," She finally took a deep breath, but couldn't look at him, instead focusing on the meat she was stirring around with a wooden spoon. "I like you, Deku. I … I really like you. And I feel like that's the most juvenile thing to say. But I do. It's the best way I can say to explain how I feel."
She looked up and paused to breathe for a few moments. "I've felt like I've carried these burdens alone for so long. I've never had someone who wanted to just … help before… let alone really mean it. You've been so good to me… you've been so good to my parents. Putting yourself out there to try to prove my daddy wasn't responsible for what happened. You've listened to my secrets and honored your promise to never use them for a story. I … I want to see where this can go… you and me… us… I want to see what 'us' can be… I… I feel completely comfortable in opening up to you. Baring my secrets… baring my soul. I trust you completely, Izuku." She smiled to herself, desperate to not look at him or else she'd lose her nerve. "I hope… I hope you can feel you can trust me. I promise… I'll keep your secrets just like you kept mine. I … I want to offer to take your burdens like you've offered to take mine. If… if you want to that is…"
"You're the first person in years besides my parents to see Ochako, and not just Uravity," She was fully force trembling now. "I understand if you don't feel the same way. It's just been so long since I've had anyone I just… with my line of work you never know what's going to happen so if something good comes along you just have to try. If you just want to be friends, that's fine, I'm good with that. I haven't had a real friend outside the job in years too… so that's cool, plus ultra cool, so yeah…"
As she began to nervously ramble, and tears began forming in her eyes, Izuku stared at her. He did trust her. And he did like her as much if not more so than she did him. But could he accept this with his own big secret. And what would happen if she puts two and two together on her own? Would she hate him for keeping such a secret from him? And she did put everything on the line when she told him the truth of how she felt about the agencies and how the heroes were treated. That alone proved that for whatever reason she trusted him. Yet here he was hiding in plain sight.
"Ochako…" He spoke her name softly.
"You know what? Just forget all that," Ochako shook her head, "Just pretend I drank some of Bakugou's liquid courage before you came and lost control of my tongue. Ok?"
"Ochako, look at me."
Ochako looked up and Izuku stood facing her, his face stoic and his glasses held in a trembling hand at his side.
To Be Continued…
