I do not own My Hero Academia or any of its characters.
New Positions
Lee watched the TV in silence, his girls seated around him, Toru on his lap, all remaining silent. The Hero Billboard chart for the year was finally being released, the first one since All Might retired. Lee suspected Mirko might be decently high on it this year, given that she had extended him and his girls an offer to take them on for another work study if they got the chance.
In the last couple of months, Mina had failed time and again to seduce Momo. Meanwhile, Toru remained embarrassed and shy about the idea of having threesomes or having sex with Mina. Not that she wouldn't, of course. In the last three months, the three of them had already had probably a dozen threesomes, several of which were started by way of him walking in on Toru and Mina making out. Most, however, were the result of Mina intentionally walking in on Lee and Toru just so she could join in. Somehow, in three months of nearly nightly sex, no one had said anything about it, aside from a few jokes. And the staff had all been silent on the subject.
"Number ten," the female announcing the billboard placement called out finally, "dropping down one rank from the last chart, Dragoon Hero, Ryukyu!"
Ryukyu walked up onto the stage.
"Number nine has also slipped in rank, but he won't be defeated!" the announcer said as an older hero dressed like a samurai in black armor walked on stage. "Equipped Hero, Yoroi Musha! Number Eight, from the 'Clean-and-Tidy' commercials, it's everyone's favorite Laundry Hero, Wash!"
Lee sighed as a hero in the form of a washing machine with pipe-like arms and legs extending from the sides and bottom respectively, then his eyes visible from inside the open door stood up on stage. "How does he, of all people, make top-ten? Ryukyu deserved that spot. At least give him the lowest of the top ten."
"You know that's not how the board works," Momo said.
"Yeah," Mina said, reaching across Toru to rest her hand high on Momo's inner thigh. "The most useless hero could be ranked first as long as they're popular."
Momo slapped Mina's hand lightly, Mina withdrawing it to rest between Toru's legs instead, Toru squeaking in surprise.
"True," Lee said. "I just hope Rumi does well."
The others all nodded.
"Number seven, in a huge leap up the charts," the announcer continued, "it's Kamui Woods!"
The screen switched to a brief interview with Mt. Lady about Kamui's placement and the rumors that they were dating, which she refused to comment on. Then, it was back to the placements again.
"Number six," the announcer went on. "From the orthodox school of manliness comes a regular in the top ten, Shield Hero, Crust! Number five! This bunny's spirit is infectious! Rabbit Hero, Mirko!"
Lee and the others cheered so loud and so long that they missed Edgeshot being announced as place four, and Best Jeanist as place three, though they managed to catch that he was still recovering from his fight with All For One.
"Number two," the announcer was saying. "He does things his own way, which is how he reached the charts with lightning speed! Winged Hero, Hawks! Finally, he's been the temporary number one, but today he'll officially inherit that sacred spot! After all this time, Flame Hero, Endeavor!"
The video switched to Endeavor, who had updated his uniform to include white armor on his shoulders and back, along with new vambraces. The announcer began to give each hero a chance to say a few words, with Crust butting in as Ryukyu was speaking to tell her she deserved her spot, Ryukyu having been trying to say she would have turned it down had she been allowed on account of feeling like she didn't do well enough. As she did, Lee pulled his phone out, texting his congratulations to Rumi.
"I can't wait until you go pro and instantly make first place!" Mina said.
"It'll take a while for me to get top ten," Lee said. "I'd be satisfied with making enough money to afford you two, and Momo, if she wants, as sidekicks."
"You say that like you think we'll expect to be paid," Mina snorted.
"Yeah, we'd be there just to be with you," Toru agreed.
"My family has plenty of money without me making a salary as a sidekick," Momo said. "Besides, I'll be a spot ahead of you the whole way."
Lee laughed. "I don't doubt it."
"Com on, guy," Hawks suddenly said, interrupting Edgeshot's speech. "Who wants to hear this kind of canned crap? Stain, maybe?"
Everyone stared at him in stunned silence for a moment.
"I like this guy," Rumi smirked. "He's fun."
"As always, you enjoy causing a commotion," Edgeshot said.
"I just have a problem holding back, sometimes," Hawks said, taking the microphone. "Okay, so, if we're talking about popularity, Best Jeanist is at the top, thanks to the boost he got being on hiatus." He lifted into the air. "I'm runner up, thanks, Edgeshot is third, and Endeavor eeks in at forth. I'll skip the rest. To be honest with you, I think the approval rating is the most important right now. Isn't it about time the charts were overhauled?"
"He'd choose his words more carefully if he fought Overhaul," Lee said, the others nodding.
"Don't you think we should change how we do things?" Hawks continued. "Our great symbol is no more. At this critical juncture, why does it seem everyone's playing it so safe? Enough with these rehashed PR lines. Maybe we should stop pretending and say what's on our minds, huh?"
"I like him," Lee grinned. "He's right, too. Approval ratings reflect the trust the public has in a hero. It's easily as important as their actual success."
"That's true," Momo nodded. "Even if you are an effective hero, if the public doesn't trust you, it hampers your ability to save them."
Hawks announced he was done speaking and dropped back to the ground, passing the microphone to Endeavor.
"Since this child decided to fan the flames, I won't say much," Endeavor said. "So instead, just watch what I do."
Hawks, and Hawks alone, applauded. Lee nodded approvingly.
"If he can keep his temper and arrogance under control, he'll be able to gain a lot of popularity," Lee said. "He's easily the most effective there, so he just needs to be more approachable."
"A smile wouldn't hurt," Toru agreed.
"It would without practice," Mina said.
The others laughed. After a few more minutes, Lee ran over to the school, finding Aizawa and getting permission to leave school grounds for the rest of the day. Aizawa agreed, and Lee returned to the dorm to get the girls. They all headed to the front gate and called a cab, heading to a small hole-in-the-wall restaurant they had found a month earlier that they liked.
"So, do you think Endeavor will keep the top spot?" Mina asked.
"I think so," Lee nodded. "He's definitely top when it comes to success, so as long as he can keep from being a complete asshole to everyone, the spot should be his indefinitely."
"Quick, turn on the news!" someone shouted suddenly, running into the shop.
One of the waitresses turned on the TV in the corner and they all froze, seeing a live feed of Endeavor fighting a Nomu, Endeavor flying using flames from his feet while the Nomu seemed to have a jetpack. The fight wasn't going well. The Nomu seemed to be keeping pace with Endeavor, and it was regenerating any damage he did. As they watched, the Nomu deflected Endeavor as he spun like a top, turning his flames into a blade, using him and its own extending arm to completely separate the top half of a building at an angle, causing it to begin sliding. Lee swore, jumping to his feet instantly and pressing the button on his left arm's black bracelet. Instantly, his newly redesigned suit raced out of the now-shining bracelet to envelope him under his clothes. On the legs, it attached to the boots, and it encased the rest of his body in a suit nearly identical to the last version, except with the addition of a more splinted appearance on the chest, biceps, forearms, and inner thighs. It was also connected to his neural implant to control telepathically and he could form or retract only the helmet and gloves if he wanted, the helmet being identical to the last. When not deploying the helmet, the material ended along the bottom edge of his lower jaw, then below his ear and up around the base of his skull. He extended the armor with his gloves deployed, but the helmet retracted for the moment.
"Stay here!" Lee said.
"Be careful!" all three girls said.
Lee nodded before deploying his helmet and exploding out of the restaurant, tapping into his lightning to push himself to max speed. As he rocketed past the sound barrier, without a sonic boom, as usual, he had Legacy send Aizawa a message that he was going to help Endeavor. Aizawa accepted it and also told him to be careful. Then, as Lee reached the collapsing building, which had slid halfway and tipped enough that it was just beginning to fall, he shot up the wall to the top of the split.
"Hawks, everyone out?" Lee shouted to the number two hero, who nodded.
Lee nodded and turned to Endeavor just as Endeavor blasted the building into rubble, allowing Hawks to use his feathers to divert the pieces away from the civilians he'd evacuated. Just then, a hero with a quirk that turned his arms into cannons opened fire on the Nomu, as did one who had metal disks making up his arms, which he could fire as projectiles. The Nomu avoided several shots before getting hit by the one with cannon arms.
"You're in the way!" the Nomu shouted in a distorted voice, Lee's eyes widening.
A half-dozen grey Nomu fell from the smoke cloud in globs of some kind of fluid before landing around the area below them all. Two of them headed for a pair of civilians, only for Hawks to shoot down, using a pair of feathers as swords to slash them. As he did, Lee shot down the side of the broken building, blasting a punch into another one and sending it exploding into two more, all three bouncing away from the civilians they had been about to attack. Once they'd landed, Lee crashed down on the pile, setting his hand down on one of them.
"Lightning Bomb!" he shouted as electricity screamed across the Nomu, all three spasming and shrieking before falling still.
Then, Lee looked up just as Endeavor suddenly burst into a ball of flames so hot Lee could feel the heat even through his suit. The Nomu sent out four arms at Endeavor, launching himself forward at the same time.
"Prominence Burn!" Endeavor roared, a massive beam of flames exploded off of him, entirely engulfing the Nomu.
Except, it had thrown its head. Lee watched it spin away from its body, Legacy reporting it was still alive, even as the rest of the body was disintegrated. Just as Endeavor's attack ended, the head flipped on its own.
"Not...enough!" the Nomu said, a pair of bone and muscle spikes exploding out of its severed neck at Endeavor.
Lee exploded into motion, lightning screaming along his body as he shot through the street and up the side of a nearby building. He exploded off the side, using a blast of lightning from each foot to launch himself as fast as he could while aiming carefully. Endeavor's arm was going to break, but if he was careful, that would be all. The spikes sped toward Endeavor. It would be close.
Then, he slammed into Endeavor's side. His aim had been a bit off. In addition to Endeavor's upper right arm, he also shattered the right side of his ribcage. However, the spikes that were aimed to kill Endeavor failed. One aimed to impale his head grazed the right side of his neck, earning a large spray of blood but still shallow, according to Legacy. The other spike, meant to impale Endeavor through the abdomen, slammed into Lee's abdomen, sending him spinning away from Endeavor, but not getting through his suit. Lee stopped himself from spinning just in time for Hawks to hurl him at Endeavor, then catch both and land them on a roof before taking off to deal with the other Nomu again.
"Good...timing," Endeavor said through clenched teeth, holding a hand to his neck.
"Sorry about your arm and ribs," Lee said, turning to the Nomu as it landed across from them. "I'll take over from here."
Endeavor shook his head, cauterizing his neck's gash closed. "This is my fight. Help Hawks."
"You sure?" Lee asked.
Endeavor nodded, then exploded into the air, roaring in effort as he streaked after the Nomu, who kept just ahead of him. Lee turned, streaking down the building and through the street, dropping several Nomu just before Hawks could reach them by way of a punch to the gut that he didn't pull back nearly as much as he normally would, allowing it to rupture organs and shatter bones. He understood the Nomu used to be humans, but "used to" didn't mean "are", and Lee didn't have any qualms about dealing permanent injuries, or worse, to the Nomu in exchange for successfully protecting the civilians around them. Hawks landed beside him, nodding approvingly.
"You really are fast," Hawks said. "This is the last of them, aside from the main one."
Lee nodded, both looking up at Endeavor, who had been impaled in the shoulder, only for the spike to retract back to the Nomu as they both shot around and around through the air in a pair of streaking lines, one blue and the other orange. Finally, Hawks took off into the air, distracting the Nomu for a few seconds at the same time as sending feathers to give Endeavor a speed boost. However, as Endeavor drove a fist literally into the Nomu's head, the weak point, Lee assumed since it threw only the head out of the way of Endeavor's big attack earlier, the Nomu merely roared and took off even faster, taking Endeavor with it as he tried and failed to burn it from the inside out.
Lee narrowed his eyes. His flames were too weak now. He was too exhausted.
"Hawks, now!" Endeavor roared, suddenly erupting into flames yet again, halting the Nomu.
Then, Endeavor angled slightly, allowing the Nomu to push them both higher and higher. They punched through a cloud, Endeavor's flames shining brilliantly. They climbed higher. Then, suddenly, Endeavor's Prominence Burn fired again, straight into the air this time. And this time, it was so powerful that it shone like the sun. Then, they fell, exploding into the ground like a meteor. As the dust cleared, however, Endeavor was on his feet, though slumped forward, with his fist in the air. Lee smiled. He'd done it. And he'd copied All Might's final stance for added effect.
Lee shot forward, skidding to a stop beside Endeavor, seeing him barely conscious. "Well done. You've definitely made your son, no, probably your whole family, proud."
Endeavor managed a small, exhausted smile. "I'll need...some...help walking."
"No problem," Lee smiled. "You've earned a rest." He looked to Endeavor's shoulder, seeing the wound was mostly cauterized, through only to slow the bleeding, not stop it and cause internal bleeding. "You really are something."
Endeavor smiled tiredly, and Lee helped him out of the crater as an ambulance arrived for Endeavor. Lee and Hawks helped him into the ambulance before Lee took his leave, returning to his girls and returning his suit to its bracelet form, sitting down in his seat again.
"You were amazing!" Mina cheered.
"That was awesome!" Toru agreed.
"Well done!" Momo smiled.
Lee thanked them, smiling, and they all placed their orders, settling in to enjoy their date.
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