"Good evening, Recruit Squad A, I'm glad that you were all able to make it."

A tall man in a dark grey uniform paced back and forth on a stage in front of around 20 people, all of which were around 18 years old. He reached a podium at the center of the stage, facing the crowd.

He hummed as he looked over the crowd, scowling as he saw one of his top wardens-in-training with his feet up on the chair, picking his teeth, looking uninterested. He leaned forward with a grunt. "Is there something else you would rather be doing, Flashpoint?"

He saw the boy look up at him slowly, baring his teeth, his palms glowing slightly. He stayed like that for a moment, his squadmates staring at him, almost trying to will him to stand down. Eventually, the boy huffed, putting his feet on the ground.

"Good. Let us continue." the man hummed, looking through the papers that had been provided for him, flipping through them. Placing the ones that weren't needed to the side, he looked back over the crowd.

"In three days, you will become Wardens in full. I hope I don't have to tell you what this means. It means that you will be able to use your Meta Abilities to their fullest potential and uphold the laws and regulations that allow our glorious way of life to continue!"

He gave a pointed look to Flashpoint, who gave half an effort to look even a little excited. He would count that as progress. Clearing his throat, he continued. "Because of your nearly complete training and exemplary test scores, Director Shigiraki has asked for me to hand out some basic assignments to you all tonight, as a show of faith to your abilities."

He made sure to keep his face impassive, but noted how two or three of the kids weren't smiling at the news. Good, their instincts were probably warning them of the trap that had been set. These weren't a reward for good test scores, this was their final test.

"Over the last few months, small pockets of Outlaw activity have been popping up. And while we have so far been unable to find out the culprit, you will be assigned patrol routes and search for this Outlaw."

He tapped a few buttons on the podium, bringing a set of images up onto the screen behind him. They all seemed to have been taken by the same person, a figure that had edited a green smiley face over their own, with graffiti behind them.

There was some scoffing at the messages shown on the graffiti, some laughter, but for some of them, there was only narrowed eyes and analytical gazes scanning the photos for useful information.

"As you can see, this Outlaw, who was given the name "Vandal" by the media, has been popping up in various cities, and defacing buildings with his weak propaganda." At the push of a button, small pamphlets were placed on each of the tables.

"There have been various police reports about a 'masked figure swooping in an saving them' after some assaults, and the locations seem to match up with the buildings defaced. Ladies and Gentlemen, it seems that we have an Anti-MLA vigilante on our hands."

He waited a moment for people to get their booing out, or their insults, all directed at 'Vandal'. Some called him weak, some pathetic, some said that they were just bitching that they didn't get into the Warden Recruitment Program. He nodded to himself as he noted that his top 4 Warden's-in-training weren't saying a word, focusing on the screen.

Flashpoint had a deadly focus when it came to his training, his Meta Ability allowing the boy to create explosions from his palms, and after some modifications by one of the WRD's doctors, from the soles of his feet. They weren't as strong, but they were enough to assist his aerial movement.

Then there was Harmonic, whose ability to create and shape both Ice and Fire made him incredibly strong. They were still having some issues with his overreliance on his ice, often ignoring or forgetting about his fire, but he had been deemed fit to serve. The only thing holding him back was himself.

While those two were definitely the top of the class, there were others not far behind. Genesis was above all of her squadmates when it came to their academics, and her ability to create anything that she could remember the atomic structure of was incredible. Her only issue was confidence, sometimes having moments of self-doubt. They were fairly rare nowadays though.

And finally, there was Atomiser, who had for some reason been placed in the program at the specific request of Director Shigiraki. He was a quiet student, but did well enough. His Meta Ability was to disintegrate things when he put all 5 fingers on them. It was powerful, and it had taken a very long time for them to be able to allow him to not disintegrate things accidentally, but now he had it completely under control. 14 years of training will do that to a person.

He sighed, checking the clock at the top of the room. Closing the booklet, he clapped his hands, getting the squads attention. "You are all excused. Remember, you have an hour and a half for personal endeavors. Use them wisely, and then head to the dining hall for dinner."

There was a chorus of 'Yes Sir!', before all of the recruits stood up and marched out of the room. He stood beside the doorway and saluted them all, giving subtle nods to his top 4.

He sighed as the final recruit exited the room, and closed the door behind them, going back to his desk at the side of his room. While he was a trainer for Wardens now, he had never forgotten what he had wanted to be. His desire had never faded, not even after the MLA had taken over Japan.

He pulled out a sleeping bag from one of the drawers of his desk, putting it on as he laid down underneath his desk. He would play along with what the power-hungry maniacs that called themselves the government wanted him to do. He would train the youth, but he would do it his own way.

He was going to make sure that the best of the next generation knew the sins of the past, that they knew what the society the MLA had made was built on.

After all, Aizawa was a Hero.

Izuku dropped to the ground as soon as he arrived at the destination, spinning around in a circle.

He found that he was in a small room, with a metal door on one wall, one that was painted pure black, and the other two were just brick. Scanning the room further, he saw a large metal box on the roof, a screen on all sides showing various graphs and writing.

Making sure that his hood and mask were still secure, he stood back up, but kept himself ready for combat. He wasn't the absolute best at fighting, but being able to be anywhere around your opponent instantly made fights a little easier.

[Greetings. For your own security, please choose an alternate name that you would like myself and for others to refer to you as.]

Izuku blinked, staring at the metal box in the roof that had just talked to him . The voice had a posh tone, but spoke clearly and succinctly. Wait a second… "Are you an AI? A computer?"

There was a beep, before the screens on the box all showed an emoji of a 'thumbs up.' [Correct. I am an AI. Please refer to me as |UNIT N3ZU|, or Nezu for your convenience.]

Izuku found himself nodding unconsciously, surprised that he was talking with an actual AI. Oh wait, didn't he want him to make a name or something? "Uh, Nezu, was it? If you need a codename, I'm not really sure. Maybe something like 'Blink?"

There was a whirring noise before the box let out another ding. [That is an acceptable name. Welcome, Blink.]

Izuku laughed, but there was no real amusement behind it. "Yea, I feel really welcome here. You blackmailed me into coming here by threatening my mother. Tell me what you want before I warp into your processor and rip it to shreds."

Izuku shuddered as he heard a sound akin to laughter come from the machine, the electronic undertones making it sound wrong . [Do not fret, Blink. As long as you at least listen to what I have to say, and to offer, your identity will be safe.]

Izuku huffed, crossing his arms, but nodding. "Got it, listening. Go."

[I have been monitoring your exploits on Read-it, as well as monitoring police reports that mention a 'masked savior' not registered as a Warden. My first query: Are you helping these people, or is it a coincidence?]

Izuku nodded again, his stance loosening a bit. "Yes. I patrol most nights, and when I see someone that needs help I step in."

[Thank you for your honest answer, your cooperation has been noted. Second query: why do you graffiti anti-MLA statements?]

He huffed, not really wanting to admit it, but knowing that he would be found out if he lied, as Nezu had mentioned earlier. "For the worst cases, it makes me almost physically sick to see people treating each other like that. Art helps cool me down. Art defacing the propaganda that fuels such treatment cools me down even better"

[A respectable answer. Third query: if a hypothetical resistance force approached you with an invitation to join them, what would be your hypothetical response to such an invitation?]

Izuku blinked. And then he blinked again, his mouth opening and closing without a sound. He coughed, clearing his throat, before looking at the box in the ceiling. "What the fuck?"

[Ah, you seem to be exhibiting confusion. My apologies, I must have been to blunt with my question. Take as much time as you need to respond to this query.]

Izuku took his time alright. He sat down in the corner of the room furthest from the door, making sure that he was ready to warp in need be, thinking over the AI's request. There were a few things he needed to unpack before he answered.

Firstly; there was a legitimate resistance force. Izuku couldn't help but feel child-like wonder at what it was like. Fighting in a resistance force was what a lot of the main characters in the movies he had watched did.

Secondly; this resistance force wanted to recruit him. It made sense to him. He had a very powerful, very unregistered warping Meta Ability, disapproved of the way the government let people treat each other, and was easily blackmailed if he refused.

And that was the third point he made to himself. Was he even in a position to refuse this offer? UNIT N3ZU had already shown that it could find him even with all his precautions. And it wasn't like he could just take his mum and leave the country either.

After the MLA had taken over japan border security became the top priority of most of the countries in the world, making sure that no-one from Japan could arrive there, fearing that if they were allowed to settle there, they would do the same thing to their governments that happened to Japan.

Damn, he was stuck between a rock and a hard place, wasn't he? Refusing the offer and being outed by this AI, getting hunted by the Wardens with just him and his mum, or accepting the offer, not getting outed, and being hunted as his resistance persona, his mum staying safe.

Was there really any question about what he should do? With the safety of his mum on the line, Izuku knew that he would do just about anything. "Nezu?"

[Yes, Blink? Have you reached a decision?]

Izuku stood up, nodding towards the box. "Yea, I have. I see no other alternative than to accept this hypothetical offer. Is that a good enough answer for you?"

At that, there was click of the door behind him, and Izuku found himself instinctively warping to the other end of the room, facing the door. He found himself staring right into the eyes of a tall, blond boy with bright blue eyes.

The rest of him was covered in a mask and dark clothing. Izuku could tell that he was incredibly buff, and by the looks of his eyes, smiling. "I think we've heard enough, don't you, Nezu my main AI dude?!"

[Greetings, Slipstream. I was not aware you were listening to our conversation.]

The man, apparently called Slipstream, just scoffed. "Don't bullshit me Nezu, I know you've got the entire hide-out tapped the fuck out with cameras and microphones."

[I neither confirm or deny your baseless accusations.]

The man rolled his eyes, approaching Izuku, sticking his hand out to shake. "Nice outfit dude. You're practically all set up for this gig already! You can call me Slipstream. Real names are for later, when there is like, a boatload more trust between us, you feel me?"

Izuku nodded slowly, taking the man's hand and shaking it. "I get it. Nezu said you were listening right? So you know the name I chose?"

Slipstream chuckled. "Blink, right? With your Meta Ability, it definitely makes sense! It's a wonder that you weren't picked up by the WRD, they would drool over an ability like yours."

Izuku dipped his head. He knew that his type of Meta Ability was highly sought after. The director of the WRD had even recruited one of them to be his personal assistant, that was how much they were admired by the MLA.

"I know. My Ability isn't registered honestly. They just think I can remember stuff really well."

Slipstream laughed. "A family of rebels then! No way your parents aren't in on all of this if that's the case!"

Izuku's eyes shot up to the boys, his hand already reaching towards the boy. "If you even think about hurti-"

He paused as his hand sunk right into the boy's chest before he was pushed backwards by an unknown force. Slipstream's smile faded slightly, his eyes dropping a bit. "I know you're a little scared, a little freaked right now Blink, but we're good people. Were not going to hurt your mum, promise."

He then looked up to the box on the ceiling. "Yo Nezu. Wipe everything pertaining to Blink's identity from your files. Total blackout of info, got it?"

[Of course, Slipstream. Performing purge now.]

Izuku loosened up a bit at that, feeling a little better. Even if it was fake, and no purge was happening, they at least wanted him to think it was, meaning they would leave his mum alone either way.

Slipstream's smile returned as he turned to the side waving Izuku through the door. "Alright Blink! Now that you're part of the team, you should probably come meet some of the gang!"

He then turned and walked out of the room swiftly. Izuku paused for a moment, before following the man. He might as well get to know the people he was now stuck with.

Nezu laughed as he watched 'Blink' follow 'Slipstream' away from his room.

Sitting in the comfortable metal box, supplied with food and water via tubes, Nezu was able to make an incredibly convincing AI. His Quirk, High Spec, made him incredibly intelligent.

Coupled that with a desktop computer wired into the internet and power of the city? He was a force to be reckoned with. Not that anyone in the resistance knew about his non-AI existence. No-one but the absolute highest among the resistance, that is.

He chuckled to himself grabbing a bit of food and nibbling at it as he watched 'Blink' interact with the higher-ups of the resistance. With a Quirk like his, they just might be able to start some of their offensive plans.

'Izuku Midoirya… I truly believe that you are a key to a brighter future. Good to have you with us.'

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