Welcome back everyone to the third chapter of Hero ex Machina (Hero from the Machine). And here again is my good friend, Tkdboy2000.
Tkdboy: Hello. Don't worry, I managed to get the check done on time this time. Although... Goes to double check
It's fine, also, do you have a guest from the story for us today?
Tkdboy: No. I called Soshi, but he was asleep.
(Facepalm) Of course he was… Lucky for you I have someone for backup…
Tkdboy: Really? Who've you got?
My second favorite person in the anime~
All Might: "I AM HERE!" (appears in her muscular hero form) "READY TO DO THE DISCLAIMER!"
Tkdboy: Gah!
Surprised huh~?
Tkdboy: Uh, yeah!
All Might: "HAHAH~! DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT KIDDO~! I AM HERE TO HELP YOU BOTH OUT~!"
Tkdboy: Loud...
You okay?
Tkdboy: Not a fan of loudness...
All Might: (Looks sheepish) "S-Sorry about that…"
Tkdboy: It's fine...
Still cool to have him here.
Tkdboy: True.
All Might: "Uh, shouldn't I get to what I was brought here, or do you want and autograph first?"
Tkdboy: Oh, yeah, you must be busy. Go ahead with what you were brought here to do.
Although we would love those autographs.
Tkdboy: True.
All Might: "HAHAHA~! I'LL GLADLY GIVE YOU TWO ONE~! BUT FIRST I MUST DO THE DISCLAIMER~!"
Tkdboy: Oh. Right.
All Might: "ANYWAYS, THESE TWO YOUNG ONES DO NOT OWN MY HERO ACADEMIA/ BOKU NO HERO ACADEMIA AND GUNDAM, ONLY THE CHANGES OF THE STORY AND THEIR ORIGINAL CHARECTERS~!"
Tkdboy: We also do not own any other franchises that we may take influence from later in the story.
All Might: "… Oops, my bad… Forgot about that…"
Tkdboy: No trouble.
Anyways, onto the story.
Chapter 3: Beach Training and New Friends
It was the next early morning, Izuku got a text last night from All Might to meet with him at Dagoba Municipal Beach Park in the early morning. He was walking there with his friends. Scolo was carrying Soshi. He had fallen asleep not even 30 seconds out the door.
"Not a morning person, is he?" Izuku asked.
"No," Scolo said nonchalantly.
"He was up almost all night again…" Hansuke deadpanned.
Scolo nods.
Izuku sweatdropps, and then changed the subject. "Thanks again for you guys coming with me~"
"N-no trouble," Scolo says.
"That's what friends are for," Hansuke srated, playfully punching his arm, then winced, forgetting the metal. "Ow…"
"... That sounded painful," Scolo said.
"Yeah…" Hansuke stated, shaking the pain out of his hand. "Forgot Izuku's new body is metal now…"
"I'm sorry…" Izuku apologized sheepishly.
Scolo sighs.
Soshi is still just asleep.
"At least he doesn't ack like Katsuki now that he has a Quirk," Hansuke stated, seeing the silver lining.
"That's definitely true. And Katsuki actually showed him some adoration, so... yeah."
"That was still freaky…"
Scolo nods. "Yeah, it was..."
"And I feel like the craziness is just starting," Hansuke said, deadpan.
Scolo nods again. "Especially with y-you two constantly thinking of upgrades for him..."
"And my own growth," Izuku added.
"Yeah..."
"I feel like he'll be a great hero, even if he didn't get this Quirk," Hansuke stated.
Scolo nods in agreement with his assessment.
Soshi starts to wake up.
"Finally getting up huh?" Hansuke asked.
Soshi yawns. "Yeah..."
"You need to stop staying up so late," Izuku told him.
"... This is my life, not yours..." Soshi said.
They all gave him a flat look. Soshi yawns and starts falling back asleep.
"Hey! Don't fall asleep again!" Scolo shouted. Too late. He was out. "Oh, goddamn it, Soshi!" Soshi was... still asleep. Scolo sighs in disappointment.
"I wish he'd stop doing this…" Izuku sighs.
"Same..." Scolo says.
"We need to figure someway for him to stop that…" Hansuke deadpanned.
"Same..." Scolo says.
"I hate to say it… but I agree…" Izuku agreed. Scolo sighs again.
"Let's change the subject," Hansuke stated.
"Right... training with All Might... how do you feel about this, Izuku?" Scolo questioned.
"Still feels like a dream," he answered.
"Makes sense," was Scolo's response.
"And having a Quirk," Izuku added.
"Again, that makes sense."
"We're almost there," Hansuke told them. Scolo nods, still carrying Soshi.
( Minutes later at Dagoba Municipal Beach Park)
Izuku was struggling to trying to move a refrigerate while All Might was sitting on top of it. Hansuke, Soshi and Scolo were watching.
"Hey, hey, hey, it's pretty comfy up her on this frig," All Might said. "How are you doing down there?" Just then Izuku slipped and fell. "People move these all the time you know, and most of those people don't even have super strength."
"That's truth but..." Izuku started. "There's an extra 600 pounds with you sitting on top of it," Izuku says.
"Nah! I've lost weight," All Might tells him. "I'm down to 560 these days. In this form."
"Great, much better," Izuku said sarcastically.
"Wonder what they're doing?" Hansuke asked the other two. Soshi... was nodding off.
"Probably working on his physical strength," Scolo states.
"I guess you might be right," Hansuke agrees with her.
"Why do you have me dragging trash across the beach anyways?" Izuku asked All Might. All Might just laughs and took out his phone, taking pictures of Izuku.
"Take a look at yourself," All Might tells them. "You aren't ready for my power."
Izuku looked at him and was crying from what he was told. "But I thought you said I was worthy...! WAAAAAAAAAAH!"
"I think he misinterpreted that..." Hansuke stated, sweatdropping.
"Definitely..." Scolo said, covering her ears and pulling her antennas back a bit. "Loud..."
Hansuke winced. "Forgot about your heightened senses…"
"I'm talking about your weak body," All Might tells them.
"Huh?"Izuku asked looking at him.
"My Quirks One For All are a whole lot to handle," All Might explains to him and his friends. "The combined power physical abilities of everyone who's every used it creates a hurricane of pure force. Unprepared bodies can't fully inherit it, even though you have a new body with your new Quirk. Your arms and legs would shoot off if you try to, or, if your arms and legs can come off at will with your Quirk, would actually become scrap metal in your case young Midoriya."
"SERIOUSLY!?" Izuku shouted, fear on his face form the metal image.
Hansuke had a 'yeash' face. "I hope Izuku knows what he's doing."
Scolo winced, both at All Might's explanation and Izuku's outburst.
Izuku shock his head to get the image out of it. "So, this this whole trash this is some sort of hard-core workout," Izuku said. "And..." he looks at All Might, realization dawning on him, "you're my trainer..."
"You got it!" All Might shouted. "But there's another reason to. I did a little bit of online research yesterday. Turns out, this use to be beautiful but it's been a total mess for the last few years."
Izuku stood up while Hansuke and Scolo were listening.
"That right," Hansuke said. "Because of the ocean currents anything in the water ends up here."
"People take advantage in that when they are illegally dumping their trash," Izuku explains.
"... Of course, yawn I scavenge the beach for any salvageable parts to use," Soshi states, waking up again, "but yeah, it would be for the best if the place was clean again..."
"But now all the locals avoid coming here," Hansuke said.
"Heroes these days are all about showing off and catching flashy villains," All Might said. He goes behind the frig and started the crush it. "Thing were a whole lot different before people got Quirks. Service was what really mattered then. Back then heroes were those who helped the community. Even if it was kind of boring." And with that he flattened the frig and the trash behind them blew up and away now being able to see the sun. "You will restore the coastline for this entire section of the beach. That is the first step in your path young ones... toward being heroes."
All four kids turn to see the trash behind them.
"All... this...?" Izuku asked, panicking. "That so much. That's impossible!"
"Not unless you manage your time and energy," Soshi says tiredly.
"Something you've yet to do properly," Scolo snarks at Soshi.
"Young Midoriya, Alupihan, Shinzui, Hikaru," All Might started getting the four's attention, "you four want to go to U.A. right?"
"Of course," all four said.
"You went there," Izuku said.
"So it has to be the best school around," Hansuke said. "Right?"
"It must be," Scolo says.
Soshi nods in agreement.
"We know it's a long shot... and if we are going into different corses..." Izuku said, "but still... we're going to shoot for the moon."
"U.A." All four said, fist bumping in a show of friendship and partnership.
"You've got a lot of spirit, fan kids," All Mighty told them. "But as I mentioned before heroing isn't easy to do without a Quirk. It not fair, but that's the reality, and U.A. is the hardest course to get into which means-?"
"I have to prepare my bodies for your Quirk really fast," Izuku said. "And my own Quirk as well."
"Right..." Scolo said.
"The U.A. exam is in ten months!" Izuku said.
"Not to worry," All Might said holding papers for him. "I got you covered, with the help of my handy 'Aim to Pass American Dream Plan!'" They were schedule made for him. "Follow these to a T and the beach will be clean in no time at all. I even detailed every other aspect of your live while I was at it, along with you train your own Quirk."
Izuku, Hansuke and Aoshi looked at the schedule and Izuku was a bit intimidated by them. "Even my sleep is scheduled..." Izuku said a bit nerves.
"... Well... at least he has your health in mind..." Soshi states.
"Something you should learn," Hansuke and Scolo shot at Soshi.
"If I'm being honest," All Might say to Izuku, whispering, "this is going to be super hard. You think you're up to it?"
"Yeah sure we are," Izuku said, gripping the paper tighter, but determination in his eyes. "I'm going to have to train harder than other people."
"And we'll be here to cheer you on bro," Hansuke tells him, slapping his back, softly.
"Yep," Soshi says.
"You know it~" Scolo agreed, smiling.
Izuku had tears and smiles at his friends. "Thank you, guys,~"
"No problem," Soshi states.
After about an hour of training, a girl with pink hair runs up to Izuku.
"Oh, no, not her..." Soshi groans, before-
"OHMYGODYOUARESOADVANCEDLOOKINGWHOBUILTYOUWHATCANYOUDOIMMADISASSEMEYOUTOMAKEBABIESLIKEYOU-" Whoever this is, she pulls out a screwdriver.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Izuku started, putting his hands up in defense. He tried to explain to the girl, "I'm actually a robot, well, not a hundred present. It's my Quirk, making me a technorganic. … And what did you mean by babies?"
Scolo was thrown for a loop, "You actually kept up with her?"
Thec pink hair girl's eyes widened more. "You're a living machine Quirk user~! Oh, all the baqbies I'm think of right now from you~!"
"Ah, Soshi, you seem to know here," Hansuke pointed out. "Mind introducing us?"
"...Mei Hatsume... a bumbling inventor whose gear tends to blow up..." Soshi states, a hint of rage in his voice.
Mei looks and sees Soshi. "Hey! You're that AI Quirk boy who took first place from me in the Juniors Inventors Competition! I never get silver!"
"Neither do I. Now if you'll excuse us, you're interrupting a rather important training session," Soshi states.
Mei sees what they're doing and gasps. "This is my salvage yard! You can't take parts I make for my babies away!"
"Your salvage yard!? You're not the only girl that takes parts from here. And it's a polluted beach. It's public property that the government has been sweeping under the rug," Soshi states.
"I don't care about that, as long as I can make my babies, that's all that matters," Mei stated, then turned to Izuku. "Mei Hatsume, inventor extraordinaire, I can make anything and am applying for the support course in UA. And, I want to be your inventor, or learn more about you."
"You want to learn more about me?" Izuku asked the girl. He then thought to himself, 'Thank god I'm friends with Scolo, otherwise I'd never talk to girls.'
"He already has two inventors. Does he really need a third?" Soshi sarcastically asks Mei while pointing at Hansuke.
"Ah, he doesn't need to hacks to make stuff, I'm the better inventor her~!" Mei boasted.
"And yet I beat you in the Junior Inventors Competition," Soshi retorts.
"Only because of a technicality!" she stated. "If not for that, I would have!"
"A technicality? I beat you fair and square," Soshi states, "And Hansuke and I are ranked among the smartest people in the world."
"Oh really?" Mei asked, and eyebrow raised. "I bet you don't know the difference from thermal generator to a basic microchip."
"One, it's called a "thermoelectric generator." Two, a thermoelectric generator converts changes in temperature into energy through the Seebeck effect. A microchip is an RFID transponder incased in glass and implanted into the body to serve as a tracker, often used to verify a dog's identity for an owner," Soshi states.
Hansuke hit them both on the head, making both groan. "Okay, both of you stop. You're both smart."
"Right..." Soshi says as he rubs his head.
Mei pouted. "I guess…"
"From what I can tell you two are polar opposites, you, Mei, has a want for knowledge and creativity, but lacks the foresight to hold back, while you, Soshi, have the know how to make something, but lack the fact that you can barely be expressive in your work."
"... That really does describe them to a tee," Scolo states.
"I tend to forget how observative Hansuke can be, even when he doesn't look it," Izuku stated, sweatdropping.
"Same," Scolo states as Mei and Soshi continued to glare at each other.
Hansuke chopped the two inventors' heads again. "Stop glaring like kids…"
"Fine..." Soshi says while groaning.
"I guess…" Mei agreed, groaning as well.
"... Anyways... let's let Izuku continue training," Scolo states.
Izuku nodded. He then went and was lifting an old microwave. Scolo, Soshi, and Hansuke just watch this happen. Mei still pouts, seeing the items she could use being sent away.
Soshi sighs. "We all have to make sacrifices sometimes, Mei."
"Fine…" Mei said in a pout, but then points at him, "but I want to use your lab."
"You'll need to be supervised. I don't want you blowing anything up."
"Deal!" she agreed holding her hand out. Soshi carefully inspects her hand for any sort of joy buzzer, then shakes her hand. "What?" she asked.
"I was checking for joy buzzers."
"Joy… Buzzer…?" she asked, confused. "Is it something that can help heroes?"
"... Okay. I don't know a lot about people. I don't know emotions, I have a hard time being sarcastic. But I know what a practical joke is. How do you not know what a joy buzzer is?" Soshi states. He then pulls out his phone and shows her images of joy buzzers... including the Joker's, which he uses to kill people with a frankly absurd amount of electricity. Realization then dawned appended him at what he just did. "... Shit. Ignore that last one. That's a Villain with a twisted sense of humor that thinks murder is funny."
"Noted, not making that, and I don't see any usage in this thing," Mei stated.
"I mean... you could replicate the Venom Blast. Ooh, I need to write that down." He pulls out a notepad and starts writing it down.
"Oh, I see, what could we do to make it better?" Mei asked, taking her own notes out. "Making it so we can stop villains."
"Yeah, pretty much."
"Oh, how about some sort of expanding glue?" Mei asked.
"Like... wait, can I legally say Paste Pot Pete? Or should I say Trapster? Eh, either way, not a bad idea."
"I was going to say Iron Man or Spider man, but they work too," Mei stated, shrugging. "I like MARVEL more."
"Same. I just brought up DC as examples."
Hansuke and Scolo turned to each other. "Well they're getting along better."
"...You can't just-"
"Yes I can!"
The two started arguing again.
The other two sweatdropped. "I spoke to soon…"
"It'll increase the power if you do it that way," Mei stated.
"Yeah. And also increase how quickly the gun will overheat, giving your attack less chances to hit," Soshi countered.
"Actually the heat will catch them off guard," Mei stated.
"... Overheat is when the barrel gets too hot, Mei. Any hotter and it'll start to melt in your hands."
"Still a cool idea though," Mei stated.
"There's a point where you have to realize that awesome isn't always practical. Here's a Villain example: why bother putting the Hero into an elaborate death trap they can escape from when shooting them in the head with a revolver is more efficient and easier to clean up? Assuming the Hero isn't immune to billets."
Hansuke facepalms and lets out a grumbling sigh. "This is going to be a while to get those two to see eye to eye…"
Scolo nods in agreement as Soshi and Mei continue to argue and Izuku continues training.
(3 Months Later)
Izuku was working early in the morning, waiting for the others. His new body, that he found out, could heal overnight, and strengthen him faster. So he was a bit ahead of schedule, getting a quarter of the beach clean. He heard footsteps behind him, and he looked. "Oh, hey guys, didn't think you'd-" Izuku stated, then stop, seeing a messy bun blond girl walking up to him with a Cheshire Cat smile. "Uh…. You're not my friends…" he pointed out.
Soshi eventually shows up. "Hey, man, sorry I'm-" He sees the girl. "Uh... hi? Who are you?"
The girl ignored him and walked up to Izuku. "Hi~ I'm Himiko Toga~ I've never seen a person like you before~ Are you a machine, human, or both~?" She was in Izuku's face now.
"Uh, miss, please step back. He needs personal space," Soshi states.
She ignored him, still talking to Izuku who was getting flustered. "What does your blood taste like~? Is it red or is it black like oil~?"
Izuku looked confused. "Wait wha-?"
"Hey, that's a bit personal, isn't it?" He puts a hand on her shoulder.
She then drew a knife from her sleeve and ran at Izuku. To most, she looked like a blur, but to Izuku and his new sight, He was seeing her slowly, seeing she was aiming for his face, which was flesh. Just as fast, his face visor/armor came to his face, blocking the blade from his shield and metal.
"Hey!" Soshi pulls Izuku away. "We're not Pros. We're not allowed to fight back." Soshi looks back at the girl. "... I'm calling a Pro."
Toga attacked again. "Please, let me have some~ I need to be you~ I need to know what you're like~ What you taste like~" She had a manic look, but Izuku saw hurt and loneliness in her eye.
Izuku grabbed her arm and twisted it back, making her drop the knife. "Wait, Soshi, I think she needs help."
"Hey, she's a Villain. She may need help, but it could be a façade to get you to drop your guard."
Izuku slapped him over the head with his other hand. "Have a heart Soshi. I can tell she is in trouble; she's trying to hide under other emotions… Like I did…"
"Even if that's the case, she still tried to attack you. I don't think we should trust her."
"Aren't you being a bit-"
"No, he's right, my Quirk is villainous," Toga stated, making the two boys look at her. "I've been told that my whole life…" her manic talk lesioned. "Even my parent called it that… everyone say I sound be normal, not give into my Quirk…"
"... Hm. Then..." He sighs. He's not good at talking to others about issues.
"What's your Quirk?" Izuku asked, shocking the two.
"... I'm assuming it has something to do with blood."
Toga was shocked, no one wanted to know anything about her or her Quirk. "Y-You really want to know about me and my Quirk…?" she asked, almost pleading this was real from the crack in her voice.
"I personally don't trust you. But Izuku does, so I don't really have much of a choice," Soshi states.
Tears were welling in her eyes, real ones. "M-My Quirk is Transform: My Quirk grants me the ability to transform into a physical lookalike of another individual, as well as copy their voice. I can only transform into people whose blood I have ingested. The more blood I drinks, the longer I have access to that person's form."
"...Woah. Okay," Soshi states, "No wonder that was seen as a Villain Quirk."
"Soshi!" Izuku shouts in shock. "A Quirk isn't villains, it's a power, just like yours or mine." Izuku stated, getting a shocked look from Toga. "Heck, what would you do if someone told you your Quirk is a Villain Quirk?"
"Shrug, say that it's their opinion, and go on with my life."
"Wait, you weren't being mean?" Toga asked Soshi.
"If I was being mean, I apologize. That was not my intention."
"Soshi has a bit of trouble showing emotion and speaking his mind," Izuku stated. Soshi nods.
"So he's a moron?" Toga asked, confused.
"No. I have an IQ of 272, I have mastered the art of robotics at the age of ten, I-" He goes on to list more his accomplishments.
"So he has no common sense and wisdom," she stated, getting a nod from Izuku.
"... You know what? I'm just gonna let that comment slide."
Hansuke and Scolo walked in. "Hey guys sorry if we're-" He stopped seeing what was going on. "Did we miss something?"
To be continued
And that's the chapter.
All Might: "Did something happen to take this long?"
Life… that's what…
Tkdboy: Yeah... Life. You should know.
All Might: (Coughs and looks away) "True, so I'll give those autographs then I'll be on my way."
Tkdboy: Right. It was nice having you on for this.
And we should rap this up as well.
Tkdboy: Right. Uh... it's been a while. How do these outros go again?
Just see you all next time,
Please R&R