Restriction

"This is the law, that for every action, there is an opposite and equal reaction—"

As he took notes, Izuku shared a quick glance with Momo as she checked her phone under the desk. She grimaced and mouthed that there was nothing in the news. Teachers from the support building had come over to substitute as the heroics teachers were all out, and the students had been kept busy with material more suited to engineers. Izuku chewed the tip of his pen, feeling the nervousness of the whole class. Adding complicated math and science to the mix made for a stressed study body.

At least this teacher had found a way to tie the math to their own specialties.

"We're going to put your physics work in context of a superhero in the midst of a battle. Specifically, the benefits for each of you individually of either throwing a car at a villain versus driving a car into them at 80 kph—"

Izuku, Katsuki and Yaoyorozu were in their usual race to finish the math first, not for any prize but simply personal honor, when the door opened. Everyone paused as Aizawa entered, not in his usual heroic gear of black and gray but instead in a full business suit. The students straightened up in their seats, glancing at each to see if anyone knew anything.

At seeing his look, the teacher's shoulders dropped. "It passed, didn't it?"

Aizawa gave a tight nod. "Not yet, but it's going to. The principal's calling a meeting soon. Classes will be canceled after the bell for the rest of the day. Go on—homeroom teachers will follow after."

"Sweet," Mineta grinned, but his voice trailed off seeing the tension in Aizawa's eyes. "Wait...what's passing?"

"HR 179," Yaoyorozu said, now realizing why the teachers had been out."But sensei, I thought there was a protest against it."

"'HR'?" Ashida echoed. "What's that?"

Aizawa sighed and leaned against the chalkboard.

"It's time that you begin paying attention outside of class to the world around you," he started. "Today the Diet will pass the Hero Restriction number 179."

Kirishima made a small sound of understanding. "I heard about that. That's the one that says we can't drink, right?"

Kaminari groaned. "No...I was so looking forward to my first legal glass."

Aizawa gave him a look that promised an early morning surprise dorm inspection.

"That's what the media focused on," Aizawa said. "But there's several riders on this restriction. No alcohol, nothing mind-altering, no opioids—"

"What?" Iida said. "But...my brother needs those as painkillers."

"A lot of heroes do," Aizawa said. "It's the only thing that can keep up with some heroes' metabolisms. Hell, morphine's the only thing that I don't neutralize. If this had passed last year..."

His eye twitched above the scar.

"But more importantly," he continued, "this bill was seen as a test run for HR 180. Representative Hirohito has been drafting legislation to force licensed heroes to take national identification cards with locator chips. They would see where we are at all times."

"Wouldn't that be a good thing?" Koda asked. "In case someone got kidnapped or lost in a disaster?"

"Gah!" Mineta squeaked. "No! I don't want anyone knowing where I go!"

Everyone cringed, their minds filling with the salacious places he would visit.

"But if you were trying to get drugs off the black market," Izuku muttered, a slew of ideas popping up. "Or if you wanted to start a business or run for office...they'd want to know who you talked to."

"That in itself is a precursor," Aizawa said. "Nezu is afraid this will turn into strict 'accountability' guidelines for heroes. Running patrols on time, never falling behind or moving too fast, always taking precise routes. Monitoring expenditures for things the government considers improper. And I'm sure all of us who spoke against this will be high on the list to receive locator chips. As will be families of heroes, to make sure there is no evidence of collusion."

"We're not machines," Jiro said. "They can't micromanage us like that."

Uraraka choked. "My parents would have to wear chips?"

Aizawa tensed. "Principal Nezu called them something else..."

He didn't say it, as it was too vulgar to use in front of children, but from their looks, they understood. A former lab rat would not be happy about being forced back into the maze.

The school bell rang to dismiss all students. The class was quiet as they returned to their dorm, several of them gathering in the common room to commiserate, to catch up on homework or call home. Kaminari invited Kirishima to his room to "take care of something before Aizawa gets there," with Jori and Ashido accompanying them.

Izuku instead signed out at the main office with a note that he would be leaving to do some quick shopping and be back before long. He hoped he found everything he needed in one trip. A government that kept its eye on its heroes meant that they would record everything he bought to see if they approved.

Which meant he needed to stock up before they started checking. Specifically, he needed some black gloves, a vest, some slacks and decent shoes.