Melissa continued to stare at the component in her hand aimlessly, as she had for the past five minutes. It had been two days since the training incident, and Melissa kept finding herself lost in thought about it all.
Everything had seemed so fine. She had even been monitoring the data from the gauntlet live, but she didn't notice anything was wrong until the whole street had been covered in smoke. When it had dissipated, Izuku lay there unconscious. Sure, he woke up an hour later with only a minor headache, but that did little to ease her worries.
Her Full Gauntlet had only been built with All Might's strength in mind. Fa Jin was honestly perfect for the support item, but it wasn't built to account for things like mental load from Danger Sense, or help maneuver through Smokescreen, or whatever other crazy abilities he might unlock.
Like whatever the Second's Quirk was. The one that could kill him if it activated at a poor time.
She let out a sigh as she thought back to when he had woken up and told them that morbid fact. She didn't know if she found the fact that he insisted on continuing training anyways endearing or terrifying. It's like the idea of improving his Quirk possibly helping to bring everyone back threw out all common sense in his head.
Her dad used to tell stories all the time about how All Might was overdoing it. He'd rant about it whenever his trademark smile crossed their morning news. That he needed to take a break and think about himself. She had always laughed whenever he brought it up.
"That's silly, Papa! Uncle Might's the best, so he can do anything and be perfectly fine, right?"
She didn't realize until now how much she had put her uncle up on a pedestal, like the rest of the world. To think that lately every time she saw some news report about All Might's quick work, that he was just struggling not to cough up blood, and his dad was helpless to stop it. She couldn't sit aside like that, not for Izuku.
Izuku was amazing, and not just because he was All Might's successor. He showed compassion to people like Eri. He was willing to stand up for what was right even when it wasn't easy, like when he had saved her from those thugs. He also was somehow an even bigger nerd than Melissa herself was, having watched more Pre-Quirk Hollywood movies than she had!
Okay, maybe that last part wasn't very relevant to what made him so great a person, but it still personally meant a lot to her. They had a surprising amount in common, shooting ideas about Quirk's and Support Item's off each other easily. But what probably meant the most to her was the talk they had the night they met, after Nezu had dragged them to U.A.
~The day after the Rapture~
"Did you ever ask All Might if you could be a Hero?" Izuku had suddenly asked.
"Huh?" Melissa turned to him right before she could enter her room for the night. "What brought on that kind of question?"
The two of them had just been led to the Dorm room that they would be sleeping in by Nezu and were getting ready for the night. Eri had already entered Melissa's room, leaving the two of them alone.
"I just…" Izuku seemed unable to look her in the eyes. "I've always wanted to be a Hero. But I've been told it's impossible my whole life. That it's pointless. I just wanted someone to tell me I could do it. I was wondering if you've ever… forget I asked!"
Izuku quickly tried to run into his room, but Melissa reacted just as fast, grabbing him by the wrist. "Izuku wait!" As he remained silent, unable to look her in the eye, she continued to speak. "I never needed to ask him that. I always wanted to be a Hero, but… maybe not in the way you think it."
"What do you mean?" Izuku eventually asked.
"I was always a little jealous of other kids when I was little due to being Quirkless." Melissa admitted, feeling a little embarrassed talking about such old feelings. "I was never bullied for it, thankfully, but being Quirkless made me feel like I was, well, good for nothing."
"Good for nothing…" Izuku seemed to resonate with her words for some unknown reason.
"Yeah. Everyone looked up to All Might, who could use his amazing Quirk to stop Villains and save the day. I felt like there was no way I could be even a fraction of the Hero he was. When I told All Might that, do you know what he said?" Melissa asked him.
"What?" Izuku asked, enraptured by Melissa's story.
"All Might told me about the suit my dad made for him. The very one he had just used to save my town. He said it was my dad's work that he turned to when he needed support. That he was All Might's Hero." Melissa explained. "That's when I realized there's more to being a Hero than having a nice Quirk. Being a Hero means being there for someone in need in your own way, like Dad was for All Might!"
"Yeah, you're right." Izuku agreed, before a sigh escaped his lips. "I think that's what All Might was trying to tell me, the first time we met."
"What do you mean?" Melissa asked, realizing that this must be what Izuku had been trying to truly ask about.
"When I first learned about All Might's injury was also when I first asked him if I could be a Hero without a Quirk. I think he tried to tell me the same thing. That there are other ways of being a Hero, even if it's more thankless, like police work. I don't think he had been in a good place for a while though, because it came across a bit harsher than that." Izuku was staring at the floor again. "Honestly, the All Might I met on that roof wasn't that great a person. He told me that he only smiled nowadays to distract himself from the pressure and said to my face that I needed to see reality."
"He did?" Melissa couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"He ended up impressed with my actions and gave me One for All anyways and realized that he wasn't being the Hero he set out to be later!" Izuku insisted, trying to placate her. "Seriously, after training he seemed to improve greatly in attitude. I guess I just wanted to know what he had told you. If he had always been so… bitter about things."
"I can't imagine what Uncle Might must have gone through, but I do know that he always saw the best in people. It wasn't due to his Quirk that Uncle Might and my dad partnered up. It was because they both believed in the same goal." Melissa saw that he was still unsure, so decided to give him a more physical reassurance. She wrapped her arms around him in a big hug, producing a squeak from the boy. "It was your actions even without a Quirk that impressed him enough to give you his. The same ones that let you stick up for me against a group of thugs without any powers. I'm sure he thinks you'd be an amazing Hero, even without a Quirk."
"Y-You're probably right. Thanks Melissa." Izuku finally said, moving out of her hug with face flushed. "I just feel so much pressure now that I have his Quirk. When I think about how many people need someone like him right now, I can't help but feel useless."
"Well, that's what the gauntlet is for silly!" Melissa said, grabbing Izuku's arm with the Support Item attached to it. "With my Support Item's, you'll be able to master that Quirk in no time. That's a Shield family guarantee!"
"Yeah, got it!" Izuku said, nervously glancing at her hands around his, face still beat red. He quickly took his arm back and retreating to his room. Before he closed the door though, he stopped and turned to Melissa with a nervous grin. "Oh! I guess if you're making my gear now, that'll make you my Hero! I guess I got lucky."
"Huh?" Melissa felt her own face redden as Izuku quickly closed the door, leaving her alone in the hallway. She had never had anyone call her a Hero like that before.
For some reason, it really made her heart flutter.
Melissa snapped out of her thoughts again, glancing over at the clock. She had just wasted another five minutes zoning out. She slapped her cheeks, trying to focus. She needed to help Izuku somehow, not keep daydreaming about him like… like some schoolgirl. Which she was, technically.
That wasn't the point!
The point is that she had to think of the future. She needed to develop some sort of equipment that could deal with the potential danger of multiple Quirks. While Nezu had given her near-limitless access to the entire support lab, she had almost no idea where to start. Her dad always made this look so easy. A sudden slurping sound came from behind her, and she turned in a fright.
"Who-?! Oh, it's just you Eri." Melissa quickly calmed herself, staring down at the small girl. She had a juice box that she was drinking from and staring up at Melissa curiously. "Is there something you need?"
"What are you doing?" Eri asked, walking around and standing on her tiptoes to peak onto the worktable. Melissa picked up the girl and put her on her lap so she could see.
"I'm making something so that Izuku doesn't hurt himself when he's training. You remember what happened a few days ago, right?" Melissa asked, and Eri nodded sadly.
"That was scary." Eri said, before putting a hand on her horn. "Nezu wants to train my Quirk too, and I was excited before. But I keep thinking I might mess up. I don't want to hurt someone by accident."
"Oh, Eri." Melissa ran a hand through the girl's hair, trying to put her at ease. "I know you're worried, but you can't get better if you don't try. I wasn't always so good in the lab, you know?"
"Really?" Eri looked up at her in surprise.
"Of course! Nobody knows how to do things perfectly without a little training." Melissa said. "It was right after I had decided to do engineering as a kid. My dad had shown me so much, so I figured I could make something simple by myself. So, I started messing with some tools, aaaand nearly set the house on fire."
"Really?!" Eri repeated even louder.
"Yes, really!" Melissa insisted. "I wanted to give up then and there. I thought that there was no way I would ever be able to be as good as my dad if that's what happened after my first attempt. But he showed me what I did wrong, and with his help I was able to get better."
Eri nodded along. "I see…"
"I know you're scared of your Quirk, but you won't get any better at it without trying." Melissa tried to encourage Eri further. "Trust Nezu. He knows what he's doing. He's in charge of the best Hero school in the country after all."
The doors to the lab opened suddenly, and the two girls swiveled in their chair to see the paltry principal himself standing there. "I'm so glad to hear you have such faith in me, Ms. Shield. And I can assure you, I have the perfect plan already in mind for Eri's training. I was just looking for her to explain the details myself."
Melissa gave him a suspicious look. "How long have you been waiting there?"
"That's not important!" Nezu quickly brushed off, before turning to Eri. "Don't worry. I've already gathered several plants and other organic material that could be used for testing without a possibility of hurting them. And once your more confident in your abilities, we can move on to living creatures that can easily and painlessly lose limbs like small lizards and starfish. And in the off chance that you lose control of your Quirk, there's always," He paused for a moment, before pulling something metallic out of his vest. "This!"
"Is that a gun?" Melissa gaped at the object in his hand. It looked more like a cartoonish peashooter due to its small size, but she could clearly see the proper mechanisms that indicated it as the real thing. She swiveled in the chair to shield Eri from the mad mammal. "I take everything back! You're absolutely insane!"
"Please calm down, this thing isn't loaded with normal bullets. It's of absolutely no danger to anyone." Nezu said, pressing a button on the side and pulling out the magazine. Inside were what appeared to be darts. "These are the Quirk-Erasing bullets that we recovered from Overhaul's lab. I sorted through them after young Midoriya's training accident. Their duration of effect ranges from a few minutes to an entire day, and I loaded this gun with the former. In case either you or Midoriya go over your limits, this little thing will stop you without harm."
"Without harm." Melissa repeated sarcastically, staring at the gun waving in Nezu's hand warily. She eventually decided that her trust in him wasn't misplaced and looked down at Eri. "Well, Eri? Are you ready to do some training again?"
"… Yes. I think I am." Eri finally said as she hopped off Melissa's lap and ran out the door of the lab. "Thanks for telling me that story, big sis."
"Big sis?" Melissa said in surprise as the girl and Nezu wandered away. Eri hadn't called her that before, but she didn't mind. The girl must have really warmed to her, to call her that. She never had any siblings, but she supposed her relationship with Eri was similar enough to one. Turning back to the worktable, she began to look around to find what to work on. "And I've spent another few minutes not getting anything done due to distractions. I wonder if this was how my dad felt when I was little and kept interrupting his work."
'Wait a minute, my dad's work!' Melissa suddenly realized, turning in her chair again and hopping off. When she had gotten her stuff from the apartment before coming to U.A., she found a briefcase that was typically used for Support Items.
Presumably it had been something meant for All Might, but I-Island usually didn't allow for its creations to leave the island so casually. She didn't want to think her dad broke the rules, but after learning about All Might's injuries, he could see him skirting a few laws.
She walked over to the briefcase, which was sitting on a nearby table. She easily cracked the code that kept it locked (it was the same one her dad always used), and carefully opened it. Inside was what looked like a headset, along with a letter addressed to All Might. She hesitantly picked up the letter, taking a couple seconds before deciding to rip it open and read the contents.
~ Hello Toshi,
If you're getting this message, then I managed to get you my Support Item without issues. Since I know you'll ask, no, I didn't have permission to bring this to Japan during our surprise trip. But it was for your own good. This device can be used to monitor your Quirk's activity by measuring Q-Fields, something so complicated that I would need a few dozen more pages to explain in full. To keep it brief, this gadget should analyze your Quirk and help you better judge how much time you have available to work each day. I know it might look a little gawdy, but you should be able to fit it underneath that perfect blonde hair of yours!
In all seriousness, I'm truly sorry. I wish I could have given you my true creation, but I'm afraid that is no longer an option. There was a disagreement between me and the Board about the good it could do. It was a miracle that I had enough parts not taken away to even put this reader together. But I promise you, soon I'll have my work back one way or the other, and then you'll be able to be the Symbol of Peace again for real. I'll be your Hero, so you can be everyone else's. Just use my Support Item so you don't do anything stupid in the meantime.
Your Hero, David ~
"Dad… You really did it." Melissa stared at the note sadly. She already knew that he must have snuck equipment out of I-Island, but his note was damning. And that was just the tip of it. Melissa knew that one of his dad's projects got confiscated by the Board due to a security risk, but that was bound to happen at least once to anyone who worked at I-Island long enough. But if it could have truly fixed All Might's Quirk?
She had attempted to read a few of the papers involving Q-Fields that passed his fathers desk, and while most of it went over her head, she knew it was somehow linked to Quirks. If these put together scraps could monitor Q-Fields, she only needed one guess to know what the complete work could accomplish. No wonder it got confiscated. If it could somehow increase one's manipulation of Q-Fields, then they could theoretically increase a Quirks power limitlessly without any of the standard downsides in stimulants like trigger.
It'd probably be the single most dangerous device since the invention of the atom bomb. And this letter spelled out his dad's intention to steal it back. Forget career ruining, he could be locked up for life or even executed depending on which country's research he used to create it.
'He was willing to go that far for Uncle Might.' Melissa realized somberly. She thought about what Izuku had said about All Might. About how he wasn't in the greatest place after his injury. That the smile of the Symbol of Peace was just plastered on to deal with the mounting pressure. Of course, his father was willing to go so far for his best friend.
She let out a sigh as she lowered the letter and stared at the Support Item that his father had made, trying to think what to do now. She couldn't report her dad, especially not since this device can't even harm anyone. The smart thing to do would be to close the case and walk away, pretend she never saw any of this.
Or… she could do the same thing her father did and bend the rules a bit. After all, no one knows that the device is here but her. And a device for monitoring Quirks would be perfect for Izuku to train the unstable One for All with. Dad was willing to take a risk for Uncle Might, so she'll take a risk for Izuku.
She gently picked up the device in her hands, looking it over carefully. It appeared to be a half-ring that went around the back of the head, before hooking over each like hearing aids. Deciding to test the device, she lifted it up and onto her head. It automatically started up, and a holographic interface appeared over her eyes, projected from the glowing pieces near her ears. A single line was being displayed.
[No Q-Field Signature's detected. Please equip to a user with a Quirk.]
'Oh, right. That makes sense.' Melissa laughed a bit to herself as she removed the headset. At least she knew it worked. Looking over the device, she couldn't help but note how flimsy it seemed. One lucky strike to the head could destroy it. And considering the nature of One for All as mostly a power-type, Izuku will likely end up in a ton of fist fights, where attacks could end up anywhere.
'Well then, I guess my first step will be to build a helmet around this thing!' Melissa decided, walking over to her workbench with newfound determination. With all the crazy stunts Izuku had pulled lately, it's only a matter of time before he landed on that big head of his. A helmet was only natural as a Support Item. Maybe she could add something that massages the skull to lessen the pain from Danger Sense as well?
But before all that, she'd need a design. It couldn't be all drab and boring. It needed to stand out and make everyone feel safe, like Uncle Might's costume did. Though maybe it could have less red, white, and blue. She doubted Izuku also wanted to go for the All-American theme. It had to be something unique. Maybe she could just ask him? It would ruin the surprise, but he assuredly would have made notes about it somewhere-
'His notebooks! He wouldn't mind me looking through them, right?' Melissa glanced up at the clock, realizing that Izuku was likely busy in the library at this time. A quick peak in his room was all she needed for the perfect costume.
Pretty soon, Izuku will have the perfect costume, and be fully ready to go out as a Hero! That'd be sure to lift the kids spirits when they come to U.A. in a couple days!
"Do I really need to do this?" Chameleon asked annoyed, staring at the small bunch of greyed hair in their hand. They spared a glance back at Kagome, who was doing her best to keep a straight face.
"It's the only way to get past the Doctor's biometric locks, and we need to crack that to unlock access to the higher level Nomu's." Kagome said nonchalantly, playing off her inability to keep eye contact currently as an air of indifference. "You only need to do it once, then I'll change the system to work without it. So, hurry up… er, please."
Chameleon just let out a sigh as they turned back to the computer and began to morph into the familiar appearance of Doctor Ujiko/Garaki. Once their eyes were off her, Kagome also let out a silent sigh. She couldn't believe it, but things had finally managed to come together. While searching the dark corners of the lab, she had managed to find a preservation unit filled with the Doctor's DNA. Apparently, him and All for One had made quite a fortune giving copies of his Longevity Quirk to rich foreign donors, thus he always had the materials ready to synthesize his Quirk Factor on short notice.
Then all she needed was an opportunity to acquire Chameleon's abilities for her personal use without drawing suspicion from Nine and the others. Fortunately, Nine had finally left the lair for the first time earlier to test his new Quirks out before the big mission, and the two other men had followed along to try and impress him with their own abilities, leaving her alone with Chameleon.
After some idle chatter, she had finally convinced them to do a favor for her. Kagome watched with bated breath as 'Doctor Garaki' put a palm on the scanner, leaned forward to accept the retina scan, then said the code phrase. homines ultra terminum humanum. It was the most popular phrase from the Quirk Doomsday Theory, the Doctor's oldest thesis on the nature of Quirks. She had caught him mumbling it absent-mindedly multiple times while going about the hospital. And after learning it's meaning, she knew it had to be the password.
No humans beyond human limits.
The Doctor's every work was about defeating Quirks before they defeated mankind. He believed that there would eventually be a point where Quirks would eventually grow so strong that the human body couldn't handle them. That's what all his experiments with the Nomu and All for One had been for. Finding a way for humanity to continue past the supposed Singularity that was approaching.
Well, that, and Kagome suspected he just wanted to live long enough to prove to everyone that his theory was right. Being laughed and ostracized out of your profession, then living for a hundred odd years with your greatest work seen as insane ramblings probably wasn't great for your mental health. Though his insanity was never in question, if the copious amounts of human experimentation didn't already give that away.
There was a beep of confirmation, and the terminal finally unlocked. Chameleon looked back at an excited Kagome, still in the form of the Doctor. "Is that all?" They asked in a gravelly voice.
"Yes, yes. That's all." Kagome said dismissively, nearly pushing Chameleon out of the way as she moved to sit down. Chameleon rolled their eyes at her excitement, shifting into Kagome's own form before walking away.
"Alright, I'll go join the others then." Chameleon said as they walked up the stairs, before muttering in annoyance. "Jeez, that form was uncomfortable. You think someone so smart would bother finding some way to make himself younger."
Kagome ignored them as she made her way through the depths of the Doctor's systems, the only sounds echoing within the subterranean lair being the clicking of the keyboard. She quickly started going through the options available to her as she found them, but unfortunately Doctor Ujiko hadn't appeared to update his software since the early age of Quirks, and she was having trouble navigating the pages.
"Let's see… This should be the Nomu's?" Kagome clicked one system, and the diagnostic data for the previously locked off Nomu revealed themselves. A quick skim of the notes revealed that most of the 'High-End' Nomu's, as the Doctor called them, were incomplete. They either didn't have all their Quirks installed or weren't at 'acceptable levels of neurological activity', which she guessed meant they were too brain-dead for his tastes. "Hmm, maybe it's best to let unstable biological weapons lie. Next!"
Clicking down to the next system, Kagome found what appeared to be a secure email application. They were assuredly very interesting, but she had more important things to look through. She clicked the next system, which finally opened up what looked to be the Doctor's restricted electronic library. She quickly searched up All for One and opened the file, reading each word with bated breath. Skipping the part about its function, she jumped straight to the section labelled for transplanting the Quirk.
She found the part listing where the Quirk was stored, and quickly made note to retrieve it later. Further down the page were details on the procedure of transferring the Quirk itself. But as her hopeful eyes scanned further down the page, they continued to widen in horror.
"Continual medical supervision?! Four-month long surgery?! Constant and excruciating pain?!"
Kagome stared at the terminal with a disbelieving look. She quickly realized that she should have seen this coming. Nine was recorded as being in that death-like state for quite some time. She should have realized it was due to the transplant process. She immediately began trying to think of more options.
There was no way she was going to do the method listed here as is. Not only was there no one that could monitor her even if she wanted the procedure done, Nine would never give her the chance. It was hard enough just getting some alone time to do this. But she didn't write a thesis on the possibility of artificially transferring Quirks for nothing. There had to be some way she could improve the process.
'Let's start with the technology that Doctor Ujiko used in the first place.' She quickly thought. The ability to artificial copy someone's Quirk Factor and implant it into another were revolutionary breakthroughs. Now that she thought about it, it was strange that the Doctor kept these inventions a secret. Sure, he had developed them for a Supervillain, but the public wouldn't have had any way to know that, and it certainly would have made research quicker with a public or government backing. Maybe All for One wanted to keep the technology for himself?
She switched files from All for One to the Quirk Transfer Device, and her eyes nearly bugged out at the amount of information and addendums added to it. She checked when this file had been created, only to find that it was almost as old as the Doctor himself!
'That can't be right. Maybe it was just a proof of concept then?' She quickly navigated to the oldest subfile for the Device and found a note typed out by the doctor, back from his original identity.
[Subject: Quirk-based Technologies
With a great amount of work from my new benefactor, I have finally acquired both data and even some physical parts from I-Island's secret research team. They were fools not to rescind my access to the island after mocking me and my research! While the parts appear to be nothing but scraps to me, this data will prove invaluable for completing the dream of both I and All for One. How I would love to have obtained a complete device, but those paranoid people have likely found our breach, and have made a second attempt impossible.
Oh well, I should be able to reverse-engineer some working equipment from the parts I've received eventually. They are truly like nothing I've ever seen, and I was at the front of Quirk discoveries for decades. It should be impossible for I-Island to have created these devices without another century of research at least. And it's clear that they are aware of that fact, if the level of security on them was any indication. But it matters little now. The technology is in my hands, and eventually I will crack the code on what they are so desperate to hide from the world!]
"He… stole it?" That would probably explain why he never went public with his work. I-Island was crazy about keeping its research close at hand and revealing that the Doctor had it would probably result in half the world's Heroes searching Japan with a fine-tooth comb. Kagome read the next couple pages of notes, but they were filled with all kinds of technological jargon that she couldn't be bothered to understand. The most important thing was that the Doctor's work wasn't the most advanced piece of equipment when it came to working with Quirks. If she could just get onto I-Island and find the equipment he was referring to…
'Oh yeah, I'll just break into the most advanced and secure location on the planet. And I'm sure I can find the time to pop over while helping Nine conquer Japan.' She thought sarcastically. Deciding to search through the computer more, she found a search bar and looked up I-Island on a whim. It went through all the Doctor's work, and while most of the hits were from the database file on the location, there was a single hit from his emails.
She quickly opened the relevant email, and slowly felt her hope returning. It appeared to be a message forwarded by some American villain group she hadn't heard of, but the original sender caught her attention.
'Mr. Samuel Abraham, I-Island Scientist…' Kagome noted the sender and read through the message with a sly grin. Now all she needed was an excuse to get onto the island and provide a big enough distraction to find the equipment without any disturbance. The sound of thunder boomed outside the underground lair, and she felt the beginnings of a plan form.
She quickly went to grab the original All for One from its secure storage, making sure to place it within an equally secure but inconspicuous container usually used to transport transplanted organs. Nine and his upcoming plot may prove more help to her own goal than she originally perceived.
Next Chapter: The Ninth Day