BEN 10 DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. MY HERO ACADEMIA DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. I TRIED TO GIVE MYSELF POWERS AGAIN, BUT THE GOVERNMENT DOESN'T LIKE IT WHEN YOU TRY TO EAT FUEL RODS FROM A NUCLEAR POWER PLANT.

Let's find out what the rest of the Rising Stars are doing, huh?

My Alien Academia

Chapter 17

Internships

"Not good enough!" Ryukyu roared as she smashed through the mines Yaoyorozu had set up to block her. A moment later, the intern was snatched up in the Dragoon Hero's massive claws. "And now you're dead."

Yaoyorozu hung her head. "I'm sorry. I can't use anything too dangerous for training, but what else am I doing wrong?"

Ryukyu put her down and then turned back to her human form. "For starters, you're not as focused as you were at the start of this week." She held up one hand when Yaoyorozu started to protest. "You're worried about your friends, and that's why I'm not that upset; you're young, and it's better to learn from this when no one was seriously hurt. Still, now that you know that they're fine, you need to center yourself again."

"I understand." Yaoyorozu bowed and accepted the bottle of water that Hado tossed her way. "What else can I do to improve?"

Now, Ryukyu smiled. "It's quite simple; while your strategies are varied in what you create, they're still one-dimensional. You're only targeting me from the front. I gave you plenty of time to set up traps, and you tried that, but only in the direction I was coming from. You could have set up timed explosives or other traps that could have impeded my movements, but on my sides, or even from behind if you timed it right. When I use my Quirk, it's hard for me to turn quickly when I charge."

"You also kinda fall apart when your plan doesn't work," Hado added. "You should be more flexible."

When Yaoyorozu thought about it, her mentor was right. Everything she'd done in training, the USJ attack, and the Sports Festival had all been responses to frontal attacks. With enough time to prepare, she could set up attacks from a dozen angles; her only limit was her supply of lipids, and her own creativity.

"I'll let you think about that while you get some food," Ryukyu said kindly. "After you're done, I want you and Nejire to spar for a little while." She gave her older intern an amused look. "No Quirks this time; you still need to work on close-quarters combat."

"Sure thing!" Hado chirped, and then hooked her arm around Yaoyorozu's. "Come on, I'll show you where Ryukyu keeps the chocolate. Some dragons hoard gold, Ryukyu hoards sugar."

"Hey, that's mine!" Ryukyu chased after her interns, who giggled as they ran.

It only took a minute for the 'chase' to end, but by the end, Yaoyorozu had cheered up significantly. Then again, it was hard to be anything but cheerful when Hado put her mind to it.

"So, any word from Izu-kun?" she asked as they ate.

"Not since yesterday," Yaoyorozu said. "He told us that he made it back to Hawks' Agency, but that's it. It's the same with Todoroki and Iida."

Hado pouted. "It's not fair. You get to hang out with him and all your friends every day, but I can only see Izu-kun once a week!"

After getting to know the older girl a bit more, Yaoyorozu had discovered that Hado was almost incapable of being serious. She was less wild when they'd gone on patrol, but she approached everything with almost childlike glee.

"Actually, we don't really 'hang out' that much," Yaoyorozu said. "Most of our time is focused on schoolwork, though we try to spend Sundays at my house."

Hado frowned as she tried to balance a cookie on one finger. "Yeah, that's one of the downsides of being a Hero—it's so hard to just kick back and have fun with friends! It's always work, work, work, all the time. Seriously, Mirio and Tamaki are two of my best friends, but we have to work super hard to spend time together."

"I suppose that's the price of being a Hero," Yaoyorozu said.

"No!" Hado stuffed the cookie in her mouth and shot to her feet. "No, we're gonna be different! We're gonna be Heroes who make the world so safe that we can spend a whole weekend with our friends if we want!"

Yaoyorozu had to admit that that sounded nice. As much as she wanted to be a Hero and improve society, her thoughts would drift to the times she and her friends had relaxed at her home. Reading, joking, watching movies—everything people didn't expect Hero students to do. But she had so much fun with her friends, and she was determined not to lose that.

"Well, if that's our goal," she said and stood up next to Hado, "then we'd best become the greatest Heroes we can be."

Hado grabbed the other girl in a hug and spun her around. "Yeah!" Both of them blushed when their stomachs growled. "But first, let's finish lunch."

Cellophane panted heavily as he swung after Air Jet; the Buster Hero was putting him through his paces, but he knew that it would only make him stronger in the long run.

"It's good to be back here," Air Jet said as they landed on a rooftop. "This is near where my old Agency used to be. Musutafu is a great place for newer Heroes to patrol; the crime rate is low, even by Japan's standards, and the area is beautiful in the spring."

"You know…" Cellophane paused and took a sip from his water bottle. "My friend lives around here. He told me that he used to see you around his neighborhood before you moved."

"That friend wouldn't happen to be one of the kids attacked by the Hero Killer, would he?" Air Jet asked.

"Actually, yeah." Sero leaned over the roof to look at the people below; some, who had noticed the pair, waved up and shouted greetings. One person in particular, however, caught his eye. "Hey, Air Jet, that lady doesn't look like she can see very well with those grocery bags in her face."

Air Jet followed his gaze. "Good eye, Cellophane. I'll let you handle watching over her; just make sure she gets across the street okay, and ask if she needs assistance."

"Will do!" With a leap and a strand of tape, Cellophane swung down to where the woman in question was reaching the crosswalk. "Excuse me, ma'am?"

The woman was pretty, and looked fairly young, but she wore clothes that wouldn't have been out of place on Sero's own mother. She also had hair that was a familiar shade of green, and eyes that were unmistakable.

If this lady isn't related to Izuku, I'll eat my helmet. He never mentioned a sister, though.

The woman angled herself so that she could see him around the bags of groceries she carried. "Oh! I didn't realize we had a new Hero in the neighborhood."

Cellophane shook his head. "Sorry, I'm just an intern right now. I was just wondering if you needed help crossing the street? It looks like it's hard to see with those bags."

The woman smiled. "That's so thoughtful of you! I'd appreciate it; my apartment is only about half a block away, if you don't mind the walk."

Cellophane glanced back at Air Jet, who waved him off. "Shouldn't be a problem." He even offered to take one of the lady's bags, which she allowed, and they started walking.

"I don't know if you're allowed to tell me this," the woman said after they crossed the street, "but are you a UA student? I'm just curious, because my son goes to that school."

At that point, Cellophane had been all but convinced that this woman was related to Midoriya, but he was surprised that she was his mother. She looked too young.

"I am a UA student," he confirmed. "Your son wouldn't happen to be Midoriya Izuku, would he?"

The woman smiled brightly. "He is! Do you know him?"

"He and I are in the same class, actually." Cellophane bowed, a little awkwardly with the groceries in his hands. "My name is Sero Hanta; it's a pleasure to meet you, Midoriya-san."

Inko tilted her head in thought, but then her eyes dropped to his elbows; he could see something click. "Oh, I saw you during the Sports Festival! You did very well."

"Thanks, Midoriya-san." Cellophane chuckled. "At least I made it to the final event."

"And that's more than most students can say in the first year!" As they walked, Inko's smile dimmed. "I hate to sound like a worried mother, but have you heard from Izuku about what happened in Hosu? He told me he was fine, but the police weren't letting him tell me details."

"Sorry, I don't know much." Cellophane had tried to push his worries back, but faced with his friend's mother, they returned with a vengeance. "All I know is that everyone came out okay. Izuku was the least hurt, I think, and the worst injury just needed a few stitches."

Inko let out a breath. "Well, at least he's fine. I know he's capable of a lot, but I still worry."

"I get it," Cellophane assured her. "After what happened, I got a bunch of calls from my mom, and I wasn't even in Hosu!"

"Well, that's our job," Inko said. "Even when our boys become Pro Heroes, we're still going to worry."

Note to self, Cellophane thought, make sure Izuku talks to his mom about everything. She's trying to act strong, but I can tell she's about to freak out.

A few minutes later, the pair arrived at the Midoriya home. Cellophane waited patiently outside, while Inko dashed back and forth to bring in the groceries.

"Thank you for your help," Inko said when they were done. "If this was just your first time training to be a Hero, then I think you'll be wonderful when you graduate."

Cellophane blushed behind his helmet. "Thanks, Midoriya-san. I have to get back to Air Jet, but I'll tell Izuku I ran into you; he'll flip!"

Inko laughed and waved as he jogged off. "Tell him I'm making pork cutlets when he gets home! It's his favorite!"

"Sure thing!" Cellophane smiled to himself. "If this is how it feels to just help people, I can't wait to be a Pro."

Alien Queen spun gracefully out of the way as the branch of the tree cracked and fell. As she came to a halt, she caught the kitten that was falling right behind the branch. A few civilians who had watched it happen clapped and cheered.

"Nice job, Alien Queen," Sky Dancer said as she hopped down from the tree. "That branch shouldn't have snapped like that, though."

The intern handed the kitten to its owner, a little girl that hugged the animal tightly and thanked her before running off.

"What do you mean?"

Sky Dancer tapped the tree with one finger. "It looks pretty healthy, but the branch broke as soon as I put my hand on it. It could be that it has a bacteria that's weakening the wood. When we get back, we'll submit a report to have an expert check it out; I'd hate to see all the trees in this park get sick."

Alien Queen had already liked Sky Dancer, but as they patrolled, she found herself respecting the woman a great deal. Sky Dancer was friendly and outgoing, but she was very responsible in her duties as a Hero.

"I approach being a Hero like I do with dancing," she had said, when Alien Queen had commented about it. "It's fun, yeah, but it's also a lot of work. Being a Hero is like mastering a dance routine; if you miss a step, it can throw the whole thing off, and you have to be the very best to recover without anyone noticing."

Another thing that Alien Queen liked was how easily her mentor explained everything. Ashido wasn't the best student, especially when the lessons were boring, but Sky Dancer had made almost everything relatable to dancing somehow, and that made it fun.

It also didn't hurt that it kept her distracted from worrying about her friends who had nearly died.

Sky Dancer must have seen something in her expression, because she put a hand on her shoulder. "You okay? Still thinking about your friends?"

"Yeah." She sighed. "I know they're okay, but it's so annoying that they can't tell me the details yet!"

Sky Dancer nodded. "Right now, just be thankful that nobody got seriously hurt, and Stain is finally off the stage." She smiled teasingly. "Hey, you mentioned all three of those boys were cute. Any of 'em really catch your eye?"

Alien Queen smiled. "All four of the guys in our group are cute. Midori is adorable, but he's totally off the market, even if he doesn't know it yet; I'm pretty sure Tsu has dibs on Sero, so he's not an option, either. Iida's got a jaw that could cut glass, and Todoroki is that sexy loner type."

"Sounds like you've got options, but you didn't answer my question."

"Right. Um, I'm not really sure? I guess I'm just window-shopping right now." Yeah, she'd had a crush on Kirishima for a little while, but even though that boy was her friend, he was even more oblivious than Midoriya, so she wasn't sure about those feelings anymore.

"Well, let me give you some advice on that front." Sky Dancer skipped a few times through the air before landing again. "Don't make any hasty decisions, but when you do find the one you want, don't let them go if you can help it. I almost made that mistake when I met my partner."

During the time spent in Sky Dancer's office, Ashido had noticed a ring sitting in a bowl on her desk—it was apparently an unwritten rule that Heroes shouldn't take that sort of thing into the field—next to a picture. It was of Sky Dancer herself, but in regular jeans and a t-shirt, next to a shorter woman with dark hair and glasses. The two looked very happy together, and Sky Dancer made sure to tap the ring every time she left the office; she'd explained that it was like a lucky ritual, and a promise to come back.

"Then again," Sky Dancer went on, and ruffled her intern's hair, "you're too young to start thinking about this stuff right now. Hey, since our patrol is almost over, why don't we grab some ice cream on the way back? It'll make writing that report less boring, and then I can show you a few moves before calling it a night."

Alien Queen grinned. "Sounds great!"

Froppy didn't think of herself as a violent person by nature, and she certainly wasn't someone who vented her frustration through violence, but tonight was different. After all the perceived guilt of not finding out about her friends getting hurt until the next day, she needed an outlet. Fortunately for her, she got her chance when the drug smugglers were in her sights. They had tracked the smugglers to a larger ship earlier, but when Selkie had investigated it, he and a few of his other Sidekicks had been trapped in the ship's hold. Rather than ask for help and waste time, he had sent the rest of his team, including Froppy, after a smaller boat that was trying to get away; too bad for the criminals, they had been found out.

The first one was knocked out with a swift kick to the head. The second she put in a sleeper hold, and a third was dragged with her tongue into the waiting arms of one of Selkie's Sidekicks, an imposing man called Water Runner. Sirius, Selkie's first mate—the Seal Hero insisted on using nautical terms for everything in his Agency—was impressed.

"Good moves," she whispered, "but you might want to be aware of how much force you're using."

Froppy nodded; angry as she was, she still kept her self-control. "Right, sorry, ribbit."

Sirius, a kind young woman with blue hair and a sailor-themed costume that Froppy had bonded with quite easily, smiled. "Don't worry about it. This is why you're here, to learn. Now, we just need to check the smugglers' boat for anyone we missed."

As if on cue, a mass of tentacles blew open the door to the ship's lower deck, straight at Sirius and Water Runner. The Sidekicks were facing Froppy, and hadn't seen the attack coming, but Froppy did. She pushed Sirius out of the way with her hands, and Water Runner with her tongue at the same time.

Unfortunately, that left her wide open; two tentacles, both tipped with fists, smashed into her stomach. The air was forced from her lungs, and she was driven into the rocks the smugglers had been hiding behind.

"Froppy!" Sirius glared at the octopus-man who emerged on the deck. "Get him!"

The two Sidekicks charged; Sirius managed to get a couple of quick blows off on the man's face, while Water Runner tangled with the tentacles. However, Water Runner took a face full of ink, and then both he and Sirius were smashed to the deck; Froppy thought she heard a bone break.

"Stupid Heroes," the Villain spat. "You take down my crew, you face the consequences." He glared at Froppy, who was still catching her breath. "Shouldn't you still be at school, little girl?"

"Shouldn't you be in a bad pirate movie?" Froppy shot back.

The Villain's tentacles reared back as he registered the insult; the opening was only for an instant, but that was all Froppy needed to shoot her tongue right into his eye. The Villain staggered back and clutched at his face.

"Argh! You little—I'll kill you for that!"

"I have to disagree!" Both Froppy and the Villain turned to see a humanoid seal dressed in a wetsuit on the other side of the ship. His arms were crossed, and his expression was stern.

Froppy allowed herself to relax, just a little; now that Selkie was here, she had no doubt that this would be over soon.

… Except that she saw one of the Villain's tentacles reaching for Sirius, intending to use her as a hostage.

Froppy and Selkie moved at the same time. The former's powerful legs let her tackle Sirius out of the way, while the latter put his fist in the Villain's other eye. A few more punches, and the criminal was out like a light.

"Excellent work, everyone," the Pro Hero said as they tied the smugglers up. "Sorry it took me so long to get here, but escaping that trap took a while."

Froppy made sure the knots she'd been taught were secure before taking her eyes off the smugglers. "But how did you know where we were, ribbit?"

"Two things." Selkie held up two fingers and grinned. "First, I know these waters well; these rocks were the best place to hide until daybreak. Actually, this isn't the first time I've caught criminals here; the reason it isn't heavily patrolled is because we use it to trap smugglers. The second reason is that each of my crew has a homing beacon that I can track underwater—those pins we all wear. It pays to be prepared."

Froppy had seen the identical pins worn by everyone in Selkie's Agency, but only now realized their significance; she nodded. "Maybe I should do something like that with my friends, ribbit."

Sirius, who was tending to the injured Water Runner, looked at her. "The ones who were attacked by the Hero Killer, right? Did you get any more news about them?"

"Just that they're out of the hospital. I was really worried about them, ribbit."

"Your compassion is admirable, Froppy," Selkie said. "However, there's something you should know about being a Hero—this job is dangerous, yes, but we train extensively to deal with it. It's perfectly fine to be concerned for your friends' wellbeing, but constant worrying is a distraction you can't afford in the field, and a disservice to them as Heroes. You need to trust them to handle things, or at least make it out of a crisis alive."

Froppy took the man's words into consideration; she did respect and trust her friends, and everyone had walked away from the Hosu incident in one piece. Instead of beating herself up about this, maybe she could view it as a learning experience.

Seeing that what he'd said had made an impact, Selkie brought his hands up to his chin and smiled goofily. "Oh, goody!"

"Please don't do that, Captain," Sirius groaned. "How many times do I have to tell you that it's not cute?"

For the first time in days, Froppy smiled.

Todoroki meditated in the training room, completely focused on the flames shooting up from his forearm. The fire was held at about six inches tall, and more uniform, rather than a raging inferno; his goal was to maintain that kind of control, until his skill with fire was as great as his ice.

This kind of exercise was the only thing Endeavor allowed him to do for the rest of his internship. He had insisted that his son work like that because he was still healing, and Endeavor had to speak with the press about 'his' defeat of Stain. Had the man been anyone else, Todoroki would have thought his father was being overprotective.

Finally, after almost an hour of practice, Todoroki was bored. He cut his flames and pulled out his phone; it wasn't like there was anyone else around to tell him no. However, only one of his friends was active, so he set up a private chat. He could have simply texted, but he was too used to the messenger app at that point.

Snowflake: Hi, Mina, are you free?

Crayon: dude! How r u doin?

Todoroki had the tiniest smirk on his face; Ashido was a little more exuberant than he was used to, but she was easy to talk to.

Snowflake: I'm fine. I'll have my stitches out by the time we get back to school. I had the worst of it, so Izuku and Tenya should be 100% recovered. How about you?

Crayon: its been grate! Sky Dancer is awesome. We saved a cat in a tree today. Then we had 2 rite reports cuz the tree was sik

Snowflake: That sounds interesting. Aside from the Hosu thing, all I've done is train.

Crayon: boring

Snowflake: I know. Have you heard from anyone else?

Crayon: y Shoto, a pretty girl is paying attention 2 u. don't tell me u r not interested

Todoroki had been prepared for this. He had known Ashido long enough to know that she liked to flirt, and had come up with a plan in case she turned her attention to him.

Snowflake: Oh, I just figured you and I were meant to be.

Crayon: ahodksn WTF!?

Todoroki's smirk widened.

Snowflake: I mean, look at our hair. You're pink, I'm red and white. It's perfect.

Crayon: STAHP. The world is going sideways and I don't no how to handle it!

Crayon: r u messin w/ me?

Snowflake: A little. Turnabout is fair play, and I wanted to see what your reaction would be.

The fact that she was cute had absolutely nothing to do with it at all. Honest.

Crayon: my revenge will b swift and terrible

Snowflake: I'm sure it will.

Crayon: fear me!

Though he didn't realize it, Todoroki had a true smile on his face. It was small, but it was genuine. His new friends—and he was amazed how quickly they had gone from 'Midoriya's friends' to his friends—were the best entertainment he'd had in years.

"Hiyah!"

"Oof!"

The small group of Sidekicks winced as Uraraka got up and dusted off her hands, while her opponent remained on the mat. He was stunned and breathless after the suplex Uraraka had given him.

"Nice work," Gunhead commented. "The setup for that last move took a little long, but it was well-executed."

Uraraka beamed. "Thank you, sir!"

Gunhead wasn't done. "However, showy moves like that are really only good for tournaments, or if you're durable enough to power through any counters your enemy might make. A good punch to the kidney is just as good, and much faster to pull off. Besides, you need to grab your opponent with both hands to do that, and if you hit him with your Quirk, it reduces the effectiveness, because you're not using his own weight against him." He paused, and then addressed the entire room. "Also, who taught her how to do that?" The man on the floor wheezed and held up a hand. "Okay, yeah, you deserved that, which is why I'm only giving you ten laps after you get your breath back."

Uraraka's smile vanished. "I'm sorry, I was just asking around to see if someone could teach me a really powerful move."

"That's fine, and I approve the initiative to learn." Gunhead's mask hid his face, but Uraraka imagined he looked stern at that moment. "However, I'm here to teach you efficiency, and how to survive. That was the point of those disarming moves. Even if you do become good enough that you can afford to show off, I recommend against it. All it takes is overconfidence and a thug with a knife or a gun, and that's it." He shrugged. "That's why so many Heroes lost to Stain. I know a lot of them, and they were cocky. At least Ingenium took the Hero Killer seriously, which is probably why Stain didn't kill him."

Mentioning Stain removed what remained of Uraraka's good cheer. The Hosu incident had scared her even more than the USJ attack, even though she hadn't been close to the danger; if anything, finding out secondhand that her friends had been attacked had been far worse than if she'd been there in person.

Gunhead patted her on the shoulder. "If you take nothing else from this internship, remember to treat each fight like your life depends on it—even if it doesn't, someone else's life could. There's no place for showboating when lives are at stake, and any Hero who says otherwise doesn't deserve the title." He spoke up for the entire room again. "Okay, everyone hit the showers. Uravity, you stay behind for a minute."

"Sorry again, sir," Uraraka began, but Gunhead cut her off.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, not unkindly. "About your friends, I mean. You were pretty worried when you talked to that boy on the phone."

"Ochako? Hi, it's me—"

"Are you okay, Izuku!?" Uraraka's voice cracked as she interrupted her friend. Yes, he had called only a few minutes after getting back to Hawks' Agency, but she was still worried after that first call from the hospital.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine. Nothing's changed since last time."

Uraraka took a deep breath. "Good. I just wanted to be sure… because now I can be absolutely furious with you!"

"What?"

"The. Hero. Killer," Uraraka ground out. "You know what he's done to experienced Heroes, and you picked a fight with him!"

"I didn't have a choice!" Midoriya paused for a moment. "I'm sorry, I can't tell you everything right now, but I promise that I had a good reason, and I'll explain everything when I see you."

"You'd better, or I will send you into the sun!"

Or kiss him, a traitorous part of her mind thought. Uraraka shoved that away for now; she was supposed to be mad at him. He had definitely scared a few years off her life!

"I'm… I'm really sorry, Ochako." Midoriya sounded like he was about to cry, which was not fair, in Uraraka's opinion. "I guess all of you are upset with us, huh? I'm sorry we worried you."

Definitely not fair.

"Look, Deku-kun, we're only upset because we were scared for you guys. I mean, you're one of the best friends I've ever had, and then I heard that you were attacked by a lunatic who kills Heroes." Uraraka sniffled; now she was on the verge of tears. "This is not how our first year of high school is supposed to go."

"I'm sorry," Midoriya said again.

"Cut it out," she said. "Just… we're gonna be upset, but then we're gonna be happy you're okay, all right?"

"Yeah. Yeah, okay." Midoriya paused. "I think I need to go. See you at school?"

Uraraka rolled her eyes; as if that was actually in question. "Yeah, I'll see you in a few days. Bye, Deku-kun."

"Bye, Ochako."

After she hung up, Uraraka leaned back against the nearest wall, and she rubbed at her stinging eyes.

Of all the boys she could have had a crush on, it had to be the one who got into the most trouble.

Uraraka blushed at the memory; Gunhead had been right outside and had heard her half of the conversation.

"I guess I'm still a little rattled," she admitted. "I think I'll feel better when I see them in person."

Gunhead nodded. "That's usually the case, especially with close friends." He gasped and brought a hand over where his mouth would be behind his mask. "Or is it… that one of them is more than a friend?"

Uraraka managed to blush in embarrassment and giggle at the same time. Gunhead had the tendency to act like a schoolgirl whenever they weren't training, and it was adorable, probably because it was so out of character for a man who looked like he ate entire platoons of soldiers for breakfast.

"We're just friends," she said.

Gunhead scoffed. "Please, I've known Pro Heroes that have been teams for years, and one only gets chewed out like that by their significant other, or someone who wishes they were."

Uraraka's face grew hot enough to catch fire, but didn't say anything.

"Oh, that's so cute!" Gunhead giggled, but then became serious again. "Here's another bit of advice for you, both in life and as a Hero: don't have any regrets. You got a scare when someone you care about—as more than a friend—was in serious danger. You don't want to live your life without telling him how you feel."

With that, Gunhead left, but Uraraka hardly noticed. She had a lot to think about.

"Keep stretching out that hand," Manual advised. "Carpal tunnel isn't fun."

"Why can we not just type all of these reports?" Iida asked as he massaged his hand. "Wouldn't that be more efficient?"

Manual waved his own hand in a so-so manner. "Kind of. The Public Safety Commission likes to have digital and physical copies of each incident report. For some reason, they want handwritten and typed physical copies, and we'll both have to sign everything in triplicate."

"It feels like Heroes are doing more paperwork than actually helping people," Iida complained.

"That's not true," Manual said. "However, as government employees, we have to uphold the bureaucracy." He smirked. "Also, your brother called and asked that I give you some kind of punishment for being so reckless. He suggested cleaning the toilets for the rest of your internship; we compromised by having you do all the paperwork."

Iida wondered if there was any way to fight Stain again. It had to be less of a hell than this.

"Good work, kid," Hawks called out lazily as he watched Jetray fly through a series of hoops, held aloft by some of Hawks' feathers. "Keep your turns sharp, and remember that you'll have to trade speed for accuracy. You'll want to keep that acceleration up as soon as you finish the turn."

"Got it!" Jetray shouted back as he pulled up and into what was less of a loop and more of a square. "Time!"

Hawks glanced at the stopwatch on his phone. "Eight seconds to complete the course. Did the package survive?"

Jetray looked at the egg held with one of his feet. "I think so… wait, no, there's a crack."

"We'll try it again one more time before the internship is over." Hawks sighed. "Okay, pack it in for now. You're almost at your time limit, right?"

As if on cue, the dial on Jetray's chest began to blink red, and he quickly landed on the roof before he turned back to normal.

"Your maneuverability is getting there," Hawks said. "I'm not worried about your overall speed, though. Short of someone with a warp-Quirk, Jetray might be the fastest thing on Earth."

If Ben hadn't been in recharge, Midoriya was sure he would have laughed. "Is there anything else I can do today?"

"Always so eager to improve, aren't you?" Hawks chuckled and led his intern inside. "Take it from me, appreciate the relaxation when you can."

Midoriya smiled. "When I'm the number-one Hero, and Villains are too afraid to even think about committing a crime, then I'll relax."

"Thinking about taking All Might's place, huh?" Hawks reached out and ruffled the boy's hair. "And surpassing me?"

"I don't want to take All Might's place." Midoriya's answer surprised Hawks, and if the way the boy blinked was any indication, he'd surprised himself, too. "All Might isn't something I want to be. I mean, I want to save people, but I never saw myself as the new Symbol of Peace or anything. I just… want to help people. And I want to make a world where we don't need some savior to fix everything." He suddenly started flailing his arms. "I m-mean, I don't th-think All Might isn't amazing, and I appreciate what he d-did for Japan, but—"

"I get it," Hawks interrupted gently. "All Might pulled us out of a dark time, and into a place of light. But now that we're here, where do we go? Is that where you're getting at?"

"I think so," Midoriya said. "I guess what you said about creating a world where Heroes have too much free time really stuck with me."

Hawks smiled; it wasn't his usual half-fake smile that he gave to reporters and civilians, and it wasn't his teasing smirk. Instead, it was genuine happiness.

"And here I thought I'd never be the one to inspire people," he said, and patted Midoriya's back. "All right, that's enough mushy stuff; let's go get something to eat."

When the internships ended, Midoriya was reluctant to leave. Hawks was a surprisingly insightful teacher; he was especially helpful with Midoriya's aliens that relied on speed or ranged attacks, though he also helped him with his slower aliens by showing how a fast opponent could beat them, and vice-versa.

"Thank you for all your help," Midoriya said after he finished packing, and bowed. "And for saving my life."

"No problem, kid." Behind Hawks, Takeda rolled her eyes and flicked him. "Ow! What was that for?"

"Show a little sincerity, boss," Takeda scolded.

"I am being sincere! It took me literally two seconds to save him!" Takeda reached out and grabbed his ear. "Ow, ow, ow! Okay, let go!" After using a few of his feathers to push Takeda away, he smiled at Midoriya. "Seriously, though, you were great this week. If you ever need a referral or something, call me. Oh, and if you don't somehow get your own Agency immediately after graduating, I'd be more than happy to take you on as a Sidekick for a while. It'd be nice to have one who can actually keep up with me."

Midoriya wondered if he was about to faint; the number-three Hero in Japan had basically just offered him a job, and he wasn't even done with his first year of high school! He bowed again, much deeper this time.

"Th-thank you!" he managed, and started to leave.

"Hey, kid… Midoriya." Hawks gently grabbed his shoulder. "Hang on a sec; I want to give you something."

Takeda handed the boy a small, unmarked box, and winked. "He called the manufacturer five times to make sure the measurements were perfect."

"Yuki!" Hawks whined. "Don't tell him that!"

"Gotta keep you humble somehow, sir."

With trembling hands, Midoriya opened the box. His eyes went wide when he saw the contents. Inside was a visor, exactly like Hawks', but tinted green instead of yellow. To him, it was more than just sharing a piece of gear; it felt like Hawks liked him enough—respected him enough—to declare that Midoriya was associated with him.

"I had them change the color," Hawks muttered, and Midoriya swore he sounded embarrassed. "Green seems to be more your thing, right?"

"Hey, I have an idea!" Takeda pulled out a camera. "Midoriya-kun, why don't you get back into your costume and give the add-on a try, and you two can have a picture together!"

"Yeah, why not?" Hawks grinned at his soon-to-be-former intern. "Do you mind?"

"Not at all!" Midoriya grinned back. "Can I show my friends?"

Hawks watched from his window as Midoriya got into the cab that would take him to the train station. His smile was long gone now; instead, he looked almost sad as he thought about the boy's future.

I hope he keeps his head down after this, he thought. He's probably got too much attention on him already, and not the good kind.

"Hawks?" Takeda stood next to him; gone was her energetic smile, replaced instead with grim apathy. "The Board wants to speak to you."

Damn it.

"Of course they do." Hawks sighed. "Can you at least tell me if this is about the kid?"

"Only partly." Takeda Yuki—alleged Antihero, but actually an operative for the Hero Public Safety Commission, and Hawks' handler—held out a nondescript cell phone. "For now, there's a mission regarding the League of Villains. You'll find more in the briefing."

Hawks grabbed the phone with slightly more force than was necessary. He was about to turn it on, but a thought occurred to him.

"Hey, Yuki, what do you think of the kid? I mean, really think of him. Do you think he'll be a Hero?"

Takeda shrugged. "It depends if he lives long enough. If you want to help him along, the Commission certainly won't stop you."

"But what do you think about him?"

Takeda met his gaze; Hawks' expression didn't change, but his wings tensed when he saw the unfeeling look in her eyes. Though she still had the name, Takeda Yuki wasn't home at the moment; her Quirk and other personality, Soldier, had taken over. He noticed a slight rippling underneath her clothes—she'd seen his wings move, and her own Quirk was ready to counter him. Hawks didn't take it personally; as befitted her other half, Soldier was trained to view any Quirk activation as a potential threat. The worst part was that Takeda herself had no idea that Soldier had an ulterior motive; she actually bought the story the Hero Public Safety Commission had cooked up for her own history.

"I think he'll make good bait if you fail in your mission."

Hawks' neutral expression morphed into something more determined. "Then I won't fail."

Soldier smirked, though there was none of the playfulness she had as Takeda. "That's the spirit."

After a long train ride, Izuku finally got home; he had barely made it through the door when his mother tackled him with a hug that drove the air from his lungs.

"IZUKU!" she wailed, and then spun him around, inspecting every inch of him. "Are you okay? Did the Hero Killer hurt you? Why didn't Hawks take care of you?"

After everything stopped spinning, Izuku gently interrupted. "I'm fine, Mom; Stain didn't even scratch me."

"Well, that's not technically true," Ben said. "I mean, he cut you in half. A few times, actually."

Inko looked between her son and the hologram. "Cut him in… cut him in… oh dear."

Thankfully, Izuku was able to catch her before the unconscious woman hit the floor. "Ben! That didn't help!"

Ben winced. "Sorry."

Midoriya made sure to arrive at UA nearly an hour early, where his friends were waiting. "Sorry I'm late, my mom was still really worried and—whoa!"

Todoroki and Iida stepped back to avoid the rush of five bodies crashing into their friend.

"You absolute idiot!" Yaoyorozu shouted, even as she tilted his head one way, and then another, as if looking for injuries. "How could you be so reckless!?"

"Yeah, man, you scared us half to death!" Sero added.

"I felt horrible for not finding out sooner, ribbit," Asui said. "Never do that again, Izuku!"

Ashido was crying as she hugged his arm. "If you ever want my forgiveness, you'd better buy me ice cream!"

At that point, Midoriya was about as flustered as he could get, though Todoroki and Iida were similarly stunned; they had been subjected to the same treatment just a few minutes earlier. The three boys knew that their friends weren't angry at them, but they had spent most of the week holding in what they'd wanted to say, and now it was all coming out at once.

Only Uraraka didn't shout or berate Midoriya. Instead, she just hugged him and rested her cheek on his shoulder. One of Midoriya's arms was still being tugged at by Ashido, but his other arm was free to hold Uraraka close.

Her hair smells nice, he thought as his head leaned against hers. Like strawberries.

"I'm okay," he said, just loud enough for everyone to hear. "We're all okay."

There was a flash of green light, and two people stepped onto the beach.

"We have to hurry," the girl said. "We don't have much time."

"We have enough time to do this right," the man assured her. "We can grab him after school; no need to get the entire planet riled up."

"Screw this planet!" The girl punched a piece of junk and shattered it into pieces. "All that matters is the Ultimatrix."

"You heard Azmuth, we have twenty-four hours."

"Yeah, and he said that the prognosis becomes less certain every minute we delay! Let's just grab the watch and get out."

The man gave her a piercing look, and she took a few deep breaths.

"Are you good? Because I can do this by myself."

"I'm good."

The man nodded. "All we have to do is wait for him to go somewhere isolated, and we can grab him without witnesses. Worst-case scenario, we knock him out and take the watch."

"Can we make that our first option?" The girl grimaced at the trash all around her. "And do we have to hang out in this garbage?"

"You've walked through sewers, stop complaining." The man glanced at the sun. "We've got a few hours. Get ready, because we might only have one shot at this if diplomacy fails."

"We can't fail," the girl insisted. "Dad is counting on us."

I'm letting you all know that updates will be slower for a while. A couple of days before posting this chapter, I suffered an injury that damaged my hands. It's not too serious, I think. I'm just going to let my hands rest for a couple of weeks.

So, we won't have long before the next half of this arc starts. Some of you guessed correctly who the strangers are, some of you were way off, but you'll get a full explanation over the next couple of chapters.

I know that this chapter was a little shorter than most of my others in this story, but it was just a quick peek into what the other Rising Stars were doing. Oh, and that description of Inko? She's been eating healthy and exercising for about a year now. I got into decent shape with half that kind of effort, so someone who is determined to keep up with and support her superhero son would probably do a lot better. Also, I like Mama Midoriya to be healthy and stuff.

Have I mentioned that I want there to be a whole lot of wholesomeness in this story yet? So many of my other stories are dark and grim, but with everything that's going on, I think we could use something that is a little uplifting.

Except for Takeda. I like the idea of someone having a sentient Quirk that actually turns them into a sleeper agent. Expect more of her later, along with her Quirk.

However, if you're a fan of darker stuff, please take a look at my book, Alpha Sanction, by Josh Gottlieb. There's action, mystery, and even humor, so go ahead and check it out on my website (link in my profile) or on Amazon! With all that's going on, we could all use something new to read.

You can also show your support through P-atreon (link in my profile). Every donation brings me a little closer to writing every hour of every day, sleep be damned. I'd much rather be doing that than searching for a job (and no one is hiring right now because of the pandemic).

And now, I'd like to thank my most generous Patrons:

Serious Muffins: jafr86, SpaceEmperorSpar, Nimrod009, Anders Lyngbye, Matthias Matanovic, ChaosSpartan575, John Collins, Calleo, Casey Pak, Red Bard, Ultimatrix10, Shaolin Khalil, killroy225

Incredible Muffins: RaptorusMaximus, michaelb958, Crazyman844

Ultra Muffins: Adam Costello, Jeffrey Perigo, Matthew Bunting, RangersRoll

Next Chapter: Midoriya returns to school, but hardly any time goes by before he's drawn into another crisis…

Stay safe out there.

Plus Muffin!