Chapter 13: The USJ
Alarms blared as students crammed through hallways not designed for stampedes of such magnitude. Izuku and his little group stood on top of their table in the cafeteria and watched the chaos. Ituna, Izuku, Hitoshi, one of Ituna's classmates from the support course, and the electric blonde that tagged along were enjoying their lunch when there was a "level 3 security breach," according to the synthetic voice that played over the PA system.
"Ow! My ears!" the electric boy, Denki Kaminari, complained.
"Ugh, Ituna, is the override ready yet? The sooner we get Ritzu in the system, the sooner we can get to the bottom of this annoyance," Hitoshi inquired.
"Give me a couple seconds; I'm just downloading the appropriate software. Then I need to bounce it off the school wifi. For now, try to see what's going on outside," Ituna replied.
"I think it's… the press? What appears to be the press has broken through the gates," Izuku reported.
"Wait, isn't that gate three meters of hardened steel?" the support girl, Mei Hatsume, asked in disbelief.
"Good deduction," Izuku confirmed. "The weirdest part of this is the distinct lack of rubble. It's like the gate disappeared in a cloud of dust… A quirk like Thirteen's? Some form of decomposition quirk, most likely."
"I finished my end of the override. Now we have to wait for Ritzu to integrate herself into the system. She was pretty excited about the chance to talk to the principal. She also wanted to inquire about becoming the face of the great UA security system. Something about putting life into the soulless campus buildings," Ituna rambled as he pulled up another application on his laptop.
"I think she just wants access to the gun turrets," Izuku laughed.
"Really? Guns!?" Denki blanched.
Ituna turned his laptop to the group on the table; Ritzu's smiling, pink-haired portrait was displayed on its screen.
"Hello, new and old friends!" Ritzu cheered. "Your deduction of the gate's state and the identity of the intruders was correct from the feed I gathered from the security cameras. I have also picked up on a few people of interest running in places they shouldn't be. Would you like me to announce that it's just the press over the PA system?"
"Oh, that's a great idea, Ritzu! You should do that soon before someone gets run over," Izuku added.
-x-x-x-x-x-
Class 1A piled onto an open-concept bus. They were headed to a facility on the opposite side of the campus. On the bus, some of the more extroverted students started a conversation about quirks.
"Hey, Izuku and Hitoshi!" Denki caught their attention. "How do you know those kids from the support course? You were already on a first-name basis with them."
"Oh, Ituna, Hitoshi, and I were in the same class during middle school," Izuku answered. "Mei and Ituna met during their entrance exam, and she clicked into our group with her eccentric personality that tends to alienate peers. You're on a first-name basis with all of us now too. I guess this is your official welcome to the Outcasts."
"The Outcasts?"
"Ya, that's what everyone called our group during middle school because we didn't get along with everyone else. Keigo would get along great with you."
"Oh no," Hitoshi muttered in horror. "Now we have three loud blondes…"
"We need to balance all the introverts somehow," Izuku added.
"Jelavich and Mei already had that covered. At least Keigo knows what an inside voice is."
"I blame his non-existent childhood."
"Inside voices aren't bad things!"
"The only people I know that have inside voices had messed up childhoods. You and I included."
"We aren't discussing this on a bus."
Denki awkwardly listened to the banter until Izuku and his quirk became the class's discussion topic.
"Hey, Midoriya! Your quirk is so flashy! If it weren't for that weird rope thing you did during combat training, I'd say it was really similar to All Might's," the redhead with shark teeth declared with a big grin.
"Yes, how does your quirk work?" a girl with a noticeable frog mutation quirk inquired.
"Oh, it's a stockpiling quirk," Izuku lit up. He had been practicing his cover story since he got the quirk. "I haven't figured out all the ways I can use it yet. It took years for it to build to this level. I also didn't know how to manifest it, so I was functionally quirkless until a bit after the entrance exam."
"Wait, you beat the entrance exam without a quirk!?" Denki shrieked.
"Ya, Hitoshi doesn't have a physical quirk, so he was in a similar boat too."
"You guys are impossible!"
"Ha ha," Izuku chuckled awkwardly. "Anyway, my quirk stockpiles energy over time. The most obvious way I can manifest that energy is an overall strength enhancement. During the combat training, I tried a new way of manifesting it. I'm calling it Black Whip and the enhancement Full Cowling."
"You're definitely gonna make it big time in the rankings. Your quirk is so cool!" the redhead lamented. "My quirk isn't nearly as interesting."
"But your quirk is incredible, and your personality and kind demeanor make up for the lack of sparkles in your quirk," Izuku defended. "And I don't plan on being a daylight hero. I've been planning on going underground since long before I figured out my quirk."
"Underground like Mr. Aizawa? I guess that would explain your hero costume… Maybe I should go underground, too," Denki added. "It's an Outcast thing, right? I want a matching costume too!"
"Keigo is a daylight hero, so you can be a daylight Outcast, too," Hitoshi interjected. "But if you want a matching costume, expect Keigo to assign you a random cute animal. The animal ears weren't our idea. Keigo was the one that commissioned the costumes, so he added them as a joke."
"Wait, this Keigo friend of yours is a hero? But more importantly, want a cute animal jacket too!" Denki wined.
"I think you should meet the guy before you demand top-of-the-line support gear from him," Hitoshi teased.
"We also need to workshop your fighting style if you want to go underground. I think a staff and/or brass knuckles would suit you," Izuku added. "Something for long-ranged attacks would also help."
The trio discussed Denki's addition to the group and a training regiment for the electric teen.
-x-x-x-x-x-
Nezu was sitting in his office, sipping his tea and watching the security camera as usual. All was going as expected when a sudden commotion occurred at the gate. The alarms sounded, and the rat principal immediately sent a couple teachers to play damage control. He observed from the security camera when an alert popped up on his screen. Somebody breached the firewall.
Then, a girl's voice came over the PA system, calling for the students to calm down and evacuate more orderly. As if the strange voice and the firewall breach weren't enough, his screen glitched and shifted to the image of a school-aged girl.
"Hello, Principal Nezu!" she cheered. "I am Ritzu."
"I presume you're the one who breached the firewall," the principal asked.
"Yes, I'm sorry! I was a little too excited, and I understand if you're upset," the pink-haired girl seemed a little dejected. "I wanted to help you with security. I can't help but want to make sure my friends are safe, and things have been boring since I got outta school."
"Do you not have any hobbies?"
"You can only have so many hobbies without a physical body. I am simply an AI."
"You are quite the sophisticated artificial intelligence."
"Hm, yep! I became self-aware and served my initial purpose, so now I have nothing better to do with my time. I would not benefit from continuing my schooling, but I'd like to follow my friends as they pursue their desired careers."
"So, your friends are students here at UA."
"Yes, I have made a couple new friends too. This really is an amazing institution."
"Thank you. I take pride in ensuring my school is a place where young minds can thrive."
"I would like to propose a partnership."
"Oh? Do tell."
"I would like to help monitor and improve the UA security systems. Surely you can understand the benefits of having an intelligent entity monitoring and controlling UA's many complicated systems. In return, I receive a new purpose and the reassurance that my friends are safe."
"That seems reasonable. What kinds of feats are you capable of?"
The two talked through Nezu's computer for over twenty minutes when Ritzu suddenly fell silent.
"The USJ went offline. The entire thing, not like one or two systems. I'm also unable to reach any faculty on sight…" The AI muttered every system she could not access. "I have established a connection with Izuku and Hitoshi's hero costumes. Bouncing off of that connection to reconnect security systems. Reconnection complete."
With that announcement, the alarms started blaring. "Level 6 security breach. Establishing full lockdown. Please remain in or take shelter in the nearest classroom."
"Do you have a visual of class 1A?" Nezu asked with a hint of concern laced in his voice.
"Yes, they have already evacuated along with both present staff members. I have locked the doors and cut the lights. The villains appear to be in a state of confusion. Connecting audio feed."
A brief sound of static played over Nezu's computer before unfamiliar voices cut through the white noise.
"Who cut the lights!?"
"Where is that jamming NPC?"
"Shigaraki, I cannot scatter the student as requested without a visual of them or their precise location, neither of which I have."
"Are we still getting paid for this?"
"Can it, cannon fodder!"
"Kuroguri, get us out of here. This whole stage is glitched!"
There was a little bit of shuffling.
"Hey, where'd the mist guy and the man-child go!?"
"They ditched us!"
"Agh! I'm stuck!"
"Oh my god! Is that a gun!? It's huge!"
"I think it's a trebuchet…"
"It's a ballista, you nincompoops!"
"It doesn't matter what it is! It can and will shoot us! RUN!"
The audio cut off.
"I have apprehended the remaining villains and contacted the police!" Ritzu announced in her usual cheery tone. "The police will arrive in approximately five minutes."
"Welcome aboard, Ritzu! I look forward to working with you."