Chapter 6: The Past Looking to the Future
"So you zapped him and stole a grenade?" Thor laughed as he met Midoriya outside of his apartment. "That'll show Kachow to underestimate you! Good work, Midoriya."
Midoriya rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed at the praise. "It was rough. He really stepped up his game to get me. But...is that why you're here? Usually you don't just show up." You summon me out of nowhere instead with a random lightning bolt.
Truth be told, Deku didn't mind this approach.
Thor shook his head. "Well, no. Though I'm always glad to hear your class exploits have gone well. I was actually summoned by a Midgard acquaintance for some business. Thought I'd see how your battle gear held up."
"If it weren't for that enchanted chainmail, I'd probably have been knocked out when I got blown through the wall," the teen admitted. "So it definitely was helpful. And it didn't slow me down at all."
"Oh, Thor!" Said a feminine voice from a few feet away.
The two turned to see Midoriya's mother Inko was standing at the landing of the apartment complex to get the mail. "Good to see you! Would you like to join us for dinner?"
Thor smiled but shook his head. "I'm afraid I'm just stopping by. Perhaps another time though; your cooking has captured my tongue as I'm sure your beauty catches many an eye."
Deku looked at Thor uncomfortably. "Are you...flirting with my mom?"
Inko just laughed. "You flatterer. The door's always open."
As she left, Deku met his mentor's gaze. "Y-you can't just flirt with my mom in front of me!"
"Got it. Come by and flirt with her when you aren't around," Thor smirked, "I'm afraid I must be going now. Take care, Midoriya, I will see you soon."
Deku just shook his head as Thor walked off. "Gross."
--
About half an hour later, with the halls of UA mostly emptied, Thor made his way to the staff office and knocked.
"Come in," a pleasant voice answered.
Thor entered, as requested, and saw All Might there with Principal Nezu. "Toshinori," he greeted coldly, and then turned to the Principal, whom he had never met before. "Panda," he added with a small bow of politeness.
"Actually, I'm a mouse," Nezu corrected, "but you can call me Principal Nezu. I oversee this fine establishment."
"Principal Nezu of the Pandas," Thor corrected himself with another small bow.
"Anyway," Nezu continued, deciding to ignore the urge to correct Thor further, "All Might here has requested my assistance in explaining the situation to you. I've come to understand that one of our students doesn't possess a Quirk. Instead, he's inherited your unique abilities as God of Thunder."
"Apparently All Might doesn't possess the ability not to spill secrets," Thor snarked.
"Principal Nezu has my utmost confidence, and has been keeping a secret on my behalf," All Might explained.
"Furthermore, with the abilities and costume similarities, there have been rumors going around already," Nezu added. "While neither of you have made the knowledge of it public, it's only a matter of time before the two of you are linked by anyone with a passing knowledge of the History of Heroics. I saw it halfway through day one, and I'm sure rumors are going around already."
"Fair enough," Thor conceded. "Midoriya has not wanted to announce it yet, however, and I respect his wishes in doing so. Is that why I was summoned?"
"Well, no," All Might sighed. "Look, Thor, I know how you feel about me. But since you've chosen a successor... I was hoping to get your thoughts on choosing one of my own."
--
As Deku walked into school the next day, he was surprised that Aizawa was there on time. He checked the time on his phone just to be sure and saw he had a few minutes before the bell rang. Sitting down at his desk, he set Mjolnir down as he always did.
He was tapped on the shoulder, and turned to see Iida standing here. Midoriya tried not to gulp; despite the fact that neither of them had butt heads since the remark he made at the entrance exam, Midoriya still found him to be a bit intimidating. "What's up, Iida?"
To his surprise, Iida bowed abruptly. "I would like to apologize for the attitude I had given you previously, and some admitted feelings of disdain."
Midoriya blinked. "Uh...?"
"You see," Iida said, straightening himself up. "After the exam, I thought maybe you had some insider information about taking out the Zero Pointer that gave you an edge in the standings. But... I see now that I was wrong. You were simply doing the right thing by saving another examinee, even if it was against your best interests."
"Oh," Deku said, unsure of what else to add.
"It seems you had the heroic spirit the school was looking for," Iida sighed. "I feel I could learn a lot from you and would like it if we could start over." He held out his hand stiffly for a businessman-like handshake.
Midoriya grinned and shook the taller boys hand. "Sure thing, Iida. Don't even worry about it. I just got lucky."
That conversation began what turned out to be a VERY eventful day in Midoriya Izuku's life; Midoriya got elected class president (it turns out Iida, Uraraka, and Asui all voted for him), there was a lockdown due to suspected break in, Iida managed to calm the student body down, and Midoriya decided to give the position of class president to Iida.
As he walked home with Asui, Uraraka, and Iida, he hoped this would be the most eventful day of the term; it was a lot of excitement.
Of course, it wouldn't be.
--
A few days later, the class was abuzz at their newest bout of Hero Training.
"So we'll be going to the USJ, an offsite facility, for Rescue Training." Aizawa sighed. "Gear up in your Hero suits, and we'll hop on the bus. You have fifteen minutes."
There was a clattering of seats scraping as the students began talking amongst themselves. Uraraka, Asui, and Iida all gathered around Midoriya as they walked to the changing rooms outside the class.
"I've been waiting for Rescue Training!" Uraraka squealed. "Who do you think will be teaching it?"
"Whoever it is, we must be sure to absorb as much knowledge as we can from their years of experience and expertise," Iida said, grabbing his suit.
"Don't act like you aren't excited, kero." Asui snarked flatly. "What do you think Midoriya?"
The green-haired boy shrugged, but couldn't contain his grin. He even held up his notebook. "Whoever it is, I can't wait to see their Quirk in person."
"Just try not to mutter," Asui teased, causing him to blush.
Minutes later, as they all sat on the bus, Deku sat next to Asui and set Mjolnir down on the bus floor.
"Hey, Midoriya, can I ask you something about your Quirk, kero?" Asui asked.
"Oh. Sure, what's up Asu - I mean Tsu?"
Asui tapped a finger to her mouth and looked from him to Mjolnir. "You know, it makes me think of all the old Avengers stuff they teach in History of Heroics. Isn't it a lot like that viking guy?"
Midoriya shifted uncomfortably. "O-oh yeah. I thought that too when it first manifested. Just like Thor." He was hoping that would be enough to throw her off, but their conversation caught the attention of Kirishima, who was sitting on the other side of him.
"Oh yeah, didn't that guy use a hammer too?" The redhead asked. Thankfully, he changed the topic rather quickly, "I wish I had a cool flashy Quirk like yours instead of this lame hardening." He stiffened his fist for show. "It'll be hard to get noticed in the Hero business like this."
"I think your Quirk is awesome," Midoriya said, voice clear with sincerity. "It's really powerful! I don't think you'd have any problem."
"You mean it?" Kirishima beamed. "Thanks, dude!"
"Yeah, but it's not as powerful as Midoriya's old school Avenger powers, Todoroki's Quirk, or Bakugou's explosions," Kaminari piped in from the other side of Asui. He chuckled a bit. "But I don't know how Bakugou would ever be popular with that nasty attitude."
Bakugou, who had heard this from the back of the bus, scowled. "SHUT UP! YOUR QUIRK IS JUST A SHITTY, WATERED DOWN VERSION OF DEKU'S!"
As bickering continued, Midoriya breathed a sigh of relief. He knew eventually the link between himself and Thor would be made clear. He just wasn't sure how he wanted to go about it.
The students arrived in short matter of time, and were excited - Uraraka especially - to find out they would be learning from one of the top Rescue Heroes out there, Thirteen.
As she began lecturing, Midoriya pulled out his notebook and began taking meticulous notes, trying to ignore Uraraka practically bouncing next to him in excitement. He was so good at ignoring the outside stimulus he at first didn't realize his classmates were shouting until Asui started tapping him on the shoulder. "Hm?"
He looked up from his notebook to see a swirling purple and black portal opening far down below in the open area of the USJ . "Is this... is this part of the exercise?" He asked, nervously.
A few members of the group of people began laughing maniacally.
"I'm going to guess no." Asui ribbited.
Midoriya stepped forward to get a better look only to be stopped as Aizawa threw an arm out in front of the boy.
"Something's wrong." Aizawa grunted.
A hush fell over Class 1-A as Aizawa and Thirteen exchanged glances. After a silent exchange, Aizawa nodded. "You protect the class. I'll handle this."
"But sir," Iida objected, "aren't you a stealth hero? Going up against a large crowd like this would put you at a tactical disadvantage. As class president I -"
"As class president, you watch and learn," Aizawa commanded, pulling a pair of goggles down over his eyes and dashing down the hill in front of him.
The class watched in awe as Aizawa took down villain after villain. Despite their numbers, there was no coordination in their assault.
Still, Aizawa couldn't get every single one; thugs and villains began scaling the hills after the class, and Thirteen turned to the crowd. "Out! We need to leave!"
"Oh, I think not." A deep voice boomed out, forming a dark swirl over the group. It was the same kind that had brought all the villains in in the first place, and it had happened so quickly, most of the class couldn't help but jump.
It all happened before Midoriya could grab Mjolnir at his side; a portal opened up under the two of them, and the world was plunged into darkness. The light returned, and all Midoriya could tell was that he was falling.
SPLASH!
Falling into the water, apparently.
Struggling to keep his eyes open, he righted himself and prepared to summon Mjolnir, but he saw some guy with a Shark head zooming towards him. And with the way he was snapping his jaws, Deku was pretty sure this wasn't a rescuer.
Millions of panicked half-strategies began to fly through his head as he desperately tried to prepare some lightning in his body - a terrible idea in the water, admittedly, but he was saved from the situation as Asui came rocketing through the water and dropkicked the villain in the side of the head.
"Hey Midoriya!" She blubbed through the lake water. Deku gave a small wave. She stuck her tongue out, wrapped it around his waist, and swam up towards the surface. In midair, she deposited Deku on the side of a ferry, and began scaling the side of the boat herself.
As Midoriya caught his breath laying on the side of the boat, he breathed a sigh of relief. Man... Tsuyu is really good at coming to my rescue, huh?
He stood up to see the girl in question hop over the railing. "Was anyone else under there?" Midoriya asked.
Tsuyu shook her head. "No, kero. I even did a quick lap before spotting you. It's just us."
"You had time to do a lap under there?" He asked, bewildered.
She nodded. "I might not be that fast on ground, but you should see me in the water. Perks of the Frog Quirk, kero."
The two looked down to see the Shark-headed villain, and other similarly themed aquatic thugs poking their heads out of the water, staring up at the students on the boat.
"What are they doing, kero?" Tsuyu asked.
Midoriya stared down and looked from villain to villain. He could hear shouts and the sound of fighting in the distance, but all the villains in this lake were just staring up at Deku and Tsuyu in anticipation.
"Wait..." Midoriya muttered, something in his mind clicking. "They're waiting to see what they do. Which means..."
"Which means what?" Tsuyu asked.
"They don't know what we can do!" His eyes lit up almost excitedly. "Which gives us the element of surprise."
"What do you mean?"
Midoriya lifted his hand, grinning. In a moment, Mjolnir had snapped into his open palm. "These guys must not know all of our Quirks. If they did, why would they put someone whose main powers are electricity and aquatic-based in an aquatic area?"
"Kero, oh right!" Asui said, placing her finger to her chin. "They could have put me in the tundra area or fire zone, I'd be next to useless there." She looked over the side of the railing. "We're still surrounded and outnumbered though."
"Yeah, we probably shouldn't stick around for a fight like this," Deku admitted, rubbing his chin. "Still...there's got to be a way we can get to the shore. Think you could jump there?"
"Maybe. But even if I jump carrying you, they'll have no trouble catching up, kero."
"Alright... argh, I know I can think of something!" Deku groaned, squatting down and entering, "mutter mode."
"Kinda creepy, kero, but if it helps you think, go for it."
--
The sound of explosions rang out from the quarry area as Bakugou wasted no time exploding any random thug who dared approach him. And as some tried to run away, they got stuck on Mineta's sticky balls. At which point, Bakugou would explode them anyway. Or, if he was closer, their classmate Kirishima would knock them out with his Hardening Quirk.
"I DON'T NEED ANY HELP FROM YOU EXTRAS!" Bakugou screamed over his own angst-explosions.
"Excuse me, I've trapped about half of the guys you've blown up," Mineta scowled.
Kirishima ran up and punched a thug with Chainsaw Hands (known on the streets as Chainsaw Hands, oddly enough), in the face. "I'm only two knockouts behind you!"
"Just finish these guys off so we can get back to that portal asshole!" Bakugou shouted as he unleashed two full-force explosions at some Freaky Fish Guys.
"Jeez, did you need our help or not?!" Mineta groaned, beginning to bleed lightly as he pulled more sticky balls from his head.
--
"So, kero, how sure are you about this plan on a scale of one to one hundred?" Tsuyu asked, crouching right behind the railing of the boat. .
Midoriya stopped and thought, spinning Mjolnir out of nervous habit. "One to one hundred?"
Tsuyu nodded.
"Uh... I'd say maybe forty-six?"
Tsuyu made a croaking noise. "Well, better than anything I can come up with."
Without warning, the boat rocked violently. The two looked over the side of the ship to see some of the villains had gotten impatient, and were trying to make the vessel sink.
"We're out of time." Deku grimaced. "Ready?"
Tsuyu nodded, ready to leap off the railing.
Midoriya took a deep breath, and stepped onto the railing of the boat before jumping as high into the air as a God of Thunder could - which was pretty high, all things considered. He sent an airblast downward at the water, making a divet in the lake which both propelled him upward, and caused the villains to get pulled in together.
I really hope this doesn't kill anyone, Midoriya gulped, flipping himself after he had burst himself into the air. He pointed Mjolnir straight down and sent a blast of lightning into the water.
As the bolt zoomed downwards, Asui jumped onto the railing and made a flying leap towards the shore. She wrapped her tongue around Midoriya's waist and pulled him into her as the lightning struck the surface of the water, sending an electric current through the lake, zapping every villain in it.
This worked on one level; every villain in the water stopped moving. However, as Asui began to descend, it was clear they weren't going to make it all the way to the shore, and the water still seemed to be electrified. I can't let her get zapped! Midoriya panicked.
Thinking quickly, Midoriya turned to Tsuyu, wrapped his left arm around her waist, and blasted another air current behind them in mid air. He let Mjolnir fall to the ground as the two were propelled forward through the air, and held onto her tightly. As they approached the ground, he turned their bodies so that he hit the ground first, and the two bounced and rolled through the bushes, away from the lake.
When they finally stopped moving, the two had rolled with Asui on top of Deku, just as when they had first hit the ground. Deku groaned in pain, but thankfully his enchanted chainmail had absorbed a good deal of the impact. "Ugh...are you okay, Asui?"
He looked up at her as she lifted her head off of him, and realized that, while a bit scraped up, the most noticeable thing about her was how red her face had become. And it wasn't until how noticing how large her eyes were up close to his that Midoriya realized she - a girl in a skin tight outfit - was laying right on top of him. His face promptly turned a bright red as well.
Asui tried to answer him, but when she opened her mouth, an odd ribbit noise was made instead, prompting her to slap a hand over her mouth.
"A-are y-y-you alright?" Deku repeated, avoiding eye contact.
She nodded, meekly. "I'm... I'm going to get off you now, kero. This is a little embarrassing."
Midoriya couldn't help but agree as she got up. He got to his feet as well, and summoned Mjolnir. The two left the brush and trees and looked back out at the lake, confirming they had not been pursued further; all the villains were still floating motionless in the water.
"We should get out of here, and go for help, kero." Asui suggested, pulling Deku's sleeve. "No alarms have gone off, and we need to alert someone from the school."
"R... right," Midoriya nodded, but looked over towards the entrance where Aizawa had been fighting. "We need to check on Aizawa first. We can't just leave him there alone either."
"Are you crazy?! We're no match for all those villains!" Asui said. "The best thing we could do is get reinforcements!"
"No, I know," Midoriya conceded, rubbing the back of his neck. "I just want to make sure he's not... you know..."
Asui's expression, while still stoic, softened slightly. "Kero... okay. Good point. We'll peak. But we should stay hidden."
Midoriya agreed, and the two took off towards the center of the USJ.