Chapter 4
Making New Friends
Part 1
October 13th
"So Elisa, I take it there's a reason you stopped by. Besides us having our monthly coffee and doughnuts," Peter Maza asked before sipping his mug.
Elisa's father was a firm-looking man with gray hair and tan features. He wore a blue jacket with a white shirt and dark blue jeans. Which Elisa knew he only wore on his days off.
"You know me so well; it's scary," she said jokingly but quickly changed her expression. "But there is a reason," she added.
Elisa spent the next 15 minutes telling her father about Izuku and Uraraka's situation. But she carefully left out they were from the future and the part about their powers. She felt asking him for advice was the best idea, given his veteran experience as a police officer.
"Well, normally, a situation like this would see both of them sent back home," he told her once she was done talking.
"But that's just it, Dad. Both of them can't go home as they don't have any family in Japan. Which means they would be the government's problem, right?"
"It's true...they would."
"Izuku and Uraraka shouldn't have to go through that. There's gotta be something I can do for them."
Seeing the look of determination on his daughter's face made Peter proud to know she wanted to help the teens.
"I've never seen you act like this, honey. I mean, it's good you want to help, but you didn't say how you met them?"
Knowing her dad would ask this, Elisa already went over this while driving earlier. She created a story to tell him that would protect the teens. A part of her hated lying to her father about this. But given the situation, she didn't have a choice.
"I met them while coming home last night. I brought them inside, where they told me their story. Since it was late when we were done, I let them stay the night."
"...I see," her father said. "Given their ages, letting them stay with you makes sense. If you brought them to the station, they would be handed over to Family Services, or Immigration would take them."
Elisa nodded yes to this before taking a bite of her bear claw.
"You know, I might be able to help. I've got some friends who owe me some favors," Peter said.
"I would appreciate that, Dad. But I take it that Izuku and Uraraka will have to do something as well?"
"Correct, they're going to need to study for the tests they're going to take. Also, they will need a legal guardian," he added, looking at her seriously.
"...Me?" Elisa asked.
"It was you who wanted to help them. And I'm too old to raise any more teenagers," Peter replied.
"I did say that," Elisa thought, unsure about raising two teens in the future.
"Listen, I know it seems scary. Your Mother and I felt the same way with you, Derek, and Beth. Raising teens can be a challenge. But I know that a challenge is something you never back down from."
Taking in her father's words, Elisa knew that this would be something new to deal with. But like he said, she never backs down from a challenge.
And a part of her wondered if Izuku and Uraraka would also be up for this.
Meanwhile, back at Elisa's apartment, Izuku was sleeping. In his dream, he found himself in a familiar place. It was the world of the vestiges, which he had visited before, an island surrounded by stars.
"Midoriya, Midoriya! Can hear you me?" cried out a voice. Looking around, he saw no one there at first. But then he felt someone behind him. He turned around and saw the source of the voice.
It was a tall woman wearing a dark, sleeveless bodysuit with a high collar, yellow gloves, white boots, and a matching short cape. Her hair was black and shoulder length.
Blinking in surprise, Izuku couldn't believe who he saw.
"You're...you're All Might's teacher!" he said in amazement.
"I was young Midoriya. And before you ask, yes, I know who you are. Along with the other former wielders of One for All," she replied seriously first, then smiled as she offered her hand to him.
"But I should introduce myself. I am Nana Shimura. It's nice to meet you, Izuku."
"Oh, same here, Senpai," he replied, accepting her hand.
"So, is there a reason you wanted to talk with me?" Izuku wondered.
"There is. You see, it has to do with your and your friend's situation."
Remaining quiet, Izuku listened carefully as Nana began her explanation.
"You already know this, but you two have been sent to a time long before Quirks emerged. You must be careful. You shall be physically and mentally tested in ways you can't imagine," Nana said ominously.
Izuku wondered what she meant by that.
"Don't be afraid young Midoriya. For confronting fear is part of being a Hero."
A smile formed on his face after hearing this.
"I appreciate you saying that. But before you continue, Senpai, you wouldn't know what sent us to the past?" he asked, hoping Nana would know.
But sadly, she shook her head at this.
"I wish I did, but such things are beyond me and the other users of One for All."
Izuku sighed in despair.
"However...I do know this. You seem to be lucky in meeting the old protectors of man," Nana told him.
"Um...what do you mean by that?"
Before Nana could speak again, she felt their time was ending.
"It seems you are about to awaken. I will tell you more soon, but keep this in mind: you must learn to open yourself to new possibilities," Nana said to him before she faded away.
Waking up quickly, Izuku looked around and saw it was 8:30 AM. He was breathing heavily at first but calmed himself down. Then he remembered what occurred in his dream.
Usually, when this happened, he would talk to All Might about it. But that was an impossibility due to his situation. Izuku wondered if he should tell Uraraka or Detective Maza about One for All.
'I think Uraraka would be surprised by this at first. But given I've known her for almost a year now. She would come around to it. Detective Maza might feel differently, especially after her reaction to learning about our Quirks,' he thought.
But finally, he decided to put this off for now as the young hero got up to make breakfast. As he was eating his cereal. Izuku was thinking about one thing that Nana said to him.
"You seem lucky to meet the old protectors of man."
'The old protectors of man?...what could that mean...hold on, is she talking about the ones Uraraka and I met the other night?' he wondered.
"When she gets back. I'm going to ask Detective Maza about this!"
"Ask about what?" Uraraka asked as she came into the kitchen.
"Oh, um...well, about those two who brought us here the other day. We never found out about them," Izuku answered quickly.
Uraraka went quiet as she took in his response. "Hmm...you're right. We were so busy with other matters. It never came up."
"Exactly, so when we see Detective Maza, we need to ask her about them," Izuku added before resuming eating. Uraraka joined him and ate her breakfast.
Later on, after getting dressed, the two watched TV. After a while, they heard the front door open and saw Elisa enter the apartment.
"Glad to see you're awake. I've got some news for you two," Elisa said, then told them about what she and her father had spoken of earlier.
"So Uraraka and I just need to take some tests. To become citizens of this country."
"Correct, and that will help you enroll in school," Elisa told Izuku.
"This would also mean that I would become your guardian. How do you feel about that?" Elisa asked.
Both teens looked at each other at first, then they went quiet as they thought about this.
"You don't need to answer this right away. If you need time, I understand," Elisa added next.
Both agreed to this but knew they would need to give an answer at some point.
"Um, Detective Maza," Uraraka began, "The other night when we talked, we never asked you about the two who brought us here. We assumed they were Pro Heroes, but given that they don't exist yet, who or what were they?"
Elisa was not surprised by this question. She suspected the teens would ask about the Gargoyles at some point.
"Well... it's kinda a long story. But if you want to know, you'll have to wait until tonight." She answered.
While disappointed at this answer, the two agreed to wait as they went about their business.
Later that night, Elisa meet up with Goliath again who told her about the other's decision to meet the two teens. Which lead the two to dicuss on how the meeting should go.
(Eyrie Building)
October 14th
In the late afternoon. Elisa, Izuku, and Uraraka stood at the entrance of a rather tall-looking building. Looking up from where they stood, both teens saw it rise up high into the sky.
"What is this place?" asked Uraraka.
"This is the Eyrie Building, one of the tallest structures in the city," Elisa answered as she led the way inside.
When the two saw the security guard, both were initially concerned. But Elisa said it was okay, as she was a frequent visitor here. Then she handed them some visitor badges.
Afterward, they entered the elevator and took it to the very top. The teens saw they were in a surprising place as the doors opened.
"Who, what, how?" they both asked as they found themselves inside a great hall with stone flooring, large, decorative tapestries hanging on the walls, and filled with antique furniture and decorations.
"This place is Castle Wyvern. It's a medieval castle from Scotland until it was bought, transported, and placed atop this building," Elisa explained to them.
"Wait a second. Someone was able to bring this whole castle here from across the ocean. That must have cost a ton of money," Uraraka asked, stunned by this.
"Well, people with enough money can do things like that. But that's enough questions for now. Let's head outside," Elisa said as she led the way into a grassy courtyard lit by lamp posts and decorated with exotic plants in stone planters.
Following Elisa, the two went up to the top of the castle's tower. Here they had a great view of the city.
"Wow, you can see everything from up here!" Izuku exclaimed.
They took out their phones to take some pictures. Since they couldn't use them to talk, Izuku thought it would be good to use them to record
their experiences in the city. As long as they kept them charged.
"So what does us being here have to do with our question from earlier?" wondered Uraraka.
"You're about to find out," Elisa answered calmly. Then she told them to look at the statue perched on a pedestal nearby.
As the two looked, the sun had set, and darkness came over the city. Many of the lights from the buildings came on. But that wasn't all that happened. A strange noise got their attention. The sound of rock cracking came from the statue as numerous lines snaked their way all over the stone surface. Then they saw the stone break off as the statue moved. A shadowy figure stood up and roared loudly as its entire body spread out.
Izuku and Uraraka were absolutely stunned at what they had just seen. This reminded them of their encounter in the Wild, Wild Pussycat's forest, where they faced living earth creatures. But this one was different, as it was flesh and blood. As the beast turned to face Elisa, the teens realized who this one was: it was the being they met the other night.
"Izuku, Uraraka. I would like you to formally meet my friend, Goliath," said Elisa as she introduced them.
"... I-it's nice to finally meet. Um, probably, I mean," Izuku said nervously as he shook Goliath's large hand.
"Thank you. I'm sure this must surprise you both," replied Goliath as he looked at the two.
"You could say that! It's not often we see a statue come to life," Uraraka added.
"I'm not a statue," replied Goliath. "What you witnessed was how I and my kind awaken from our slumber."
Hearing this made the two blink in silence.
"D-Did you say how your kind awakens?" Uraraka asked.
"That's a correct young one. For you see, I'm not a human like you and Elisa. I'm a member of an ancient race that has become forgotten by the world."
"And what is your race called?" Izuku wondered.
Goliath smiled at first, then answered.
"We are Gargoyles!"
To Be Continued.
