Chapter 13
Approximately eight hours later, four Heroes and two police officers watched the video screen for any signs. Signs of deception, signs of recollection, signs of regret.
On the other side, in the reinforced holding room, there were two people. Blonde-haired and blue-eyed. Mother and son. Clinging to each other. Whatever signs the observers were looking for, they saw only despair.
"How is the father?" Chief Tsuragamae asked.
"In surgery," Nezu answered, "But they don't expect him to make it. If not for his wife's Quirk, he'd already be dead, and she likely would be, too."
Eraserhead grunted. All Might sighed.
"What do we know?" Snipe asked. And everyone looked to the second policeman, Tsukauchi Naomasa. He was the only one who had been in both interrogations, due to his truth detecting Quirk.
"Aoyama Yuga was born Quirkless," Naomasa looked at his notepad, "When his friends and preschool classmates started to gain their Quirks, he was teased. A fairly common story, unfortunately. His parents tried to prove that he was a late bloomer, having a DNA test and a Quirk Factor test performed. When it was proven Yuga-kun was Quirkless, they spent an extravagant amount of money trying to find an alternate solution. They looked into drugs and cybernetics. But before they could try anything, they were approached by a doctor."
He flipped the page.
"Dr. Zeyasu was already dead, but the Aoyamas did not find that out until later," he continued, "A man claiming to be Zeyasu and using his credentials claimed to have a technique to to extract Quirk energy and transplant it into a host, kick-starting a new Quirk."
"That sounds like..." Eraserhead mused.
"All for One." All Might growled.
"Or one of his minions," the detective agreed, "The Aoyama family agreed. And after three of the supposed treatments, Yuga-kun developed his Navel Laser Quirk. It was similar enough to his mother's Quirk that they did not question it. Until they went to try to pay the doctor. He refused money, and instead gave them three phone numbers and three passwords. He said that they would need to pay him back with future favors. Someone would call from one of those numbers, give the password, and they were to do whatever was asked of them. Zeyasu promised the favors would not be beyond their means. But he also told them that if they refused, he would quote repossess their son's Quirk, with interest unquote."
"After that they changed their phone number and provider," he continued, "And began plans to relocate to France. They received a phone call from the first number on the list. He told them that it was fine if they left Japan, he had favors they could do in Europe, too."
"So they decided to stay," the dog-faced Chief nodded.
"And then they didn't hear anything for eight years," Naomasa resumed, "But near the end of Yuga-kun's first year of middle school, they got another call. They were told Yuga-kun was not living up to his potential. They were instructed, as their first favor, to push him to get into UA. They were told the Hero course would be best, but so long as the boy made into UA, that would be fine."
"And he did," Nezu said, "He was at the cut-off for the Hero course, but he certainly would have made it into the General course. And we didn't discover any of this."
"Yesterday, they got a call from the second number. They were told they would receive a courier package, and that during the uproar today, Yuga-kun was to sneak into the the teacher's bullpen, and plug the thumb drive in the package into any computer. They must have expected it to work."
"A week ago, it might have," Nezu admitted with a weak chuckle. Both of the police officers looked at him in shock.
"One of our students reported a flaw in our network security," Snipe explained, "In testing and patching it, we found another exploit, and fixed that, too. The second exploit was the one Aoyama-kun and his master hit."
"And it was also due to that student's suggestion that we not only stopped the hack, but noticed and caught the traitor," Nezu added.
"You stopped the hack, you said?" Tsuragamae prompted.
"Yes," Nezu confirmed, "The data on the card is all fake. Unless All Might has been taking ballet without my knowledge."
"I have not," the Symbol of Peace boomed.
"We installed multiple levels of fakes," Snipe said, "and a new server with different security for the real data. As well as new protocols for when there is a breach."
"We considered letting the kid go," Eraserhead said, "And following him. But we weren't sure what he was supposed to do, or if that would put him in danger. Which, given the attack when we tried to approach his parents, was likely on the money."
"So what are we going to do now?" All Might asked.
"We will be putting these two into protective custody," Tsuragamae barked, "At least until we determine if there is anything more they have done that would make it better to charge them."
"I told you it wouldn't work," Shigaraki Tomura whined, "There was no way that flashy punk was going to be able to sneak around. Hell, he probably sold us out, given how quickly the Zeroes showed up at his parent's place."
"Perhaps," the voice of All for One agreed, "However it was our best option to make your Plan Beta work. Without the information we will have to go with Plan Alpha."
"Will it even work?" the young man known as Decay asked doubtfully, "All Might's been slowing down. And he's always been hard to pinpoint. If we can't attack where we know he will be, how can we be sure we'll get him."
"We still know roughly where he will be," the mist like being called Kurogiri said, "At UA. Even if we cannot get to the school or his precise location, if we cause sufficient chaos nearby, All Might should respond."
"It was true that he was appearing less frequently" All for One instructed his protégé, "But that has changed since the new year. The Symbol of Peace has been more active. And also more effective. Which is why in addition to the mooks, as you call them, and the prototype Nomu, I have another resource for you."
A being stepped out of a darkened corner of the bar. Mostly black and grey, with vague hints of dark pink in the chest armor and head. Or helmet. It was hard to tell which, though the back swept bat-like wings on the sides of her head matched the pauldrons or her armor, implying the helmet option. The armor also had a prominent belt buckle with a symbol that looked like cross between the letter N and a lightning bolt.
"This is a foe that not even All Might can defeat."
Wednesday classes started with a bang. The students of 1-A noticed that Aoyama was missing. The teens gossiped about where he was and why he wasn't there.
"If he has a cold," Hagakure-chan mused, "should we all start taking vitamin B and C supplements?"
"That won't be necessary," Aizawa-sensei informed them as he entered the classroom, "But it wouldn't be the worst idea either way."
The kids all looked at him. He looked more tired than usual.
"Aoyama Yuga has withdrawn from UA for family issues," Eraserhead told them, "Their reasons and problems are none of your business. Just focus on your studies. As for the class, we are going over the results of the Entrance Exam as well as performance these last few weeks. Once we figure out who, and talk to them, you'll have a new classmate joining you in the Hero Course on Monday."
"Do you know who it is?" Ashido-chan asked, excited.
"What did I just say?" the teacher slash hero asked.
"The de facto company line?" she countered, "Come on, you have to know something!"
"I know lots of things," he told her flatly.
Class 1-A sat together at lunch. Or at least more of them than usual. Bakugou was not with the group, but he was closer than normal. They were joined by Shield Melissa, but not the other 2-G student who had been hanging on to Izuku, Melissa, and Momo.
"Do you think he really left for a family reason, kero?" Tsu mused.
"What else could it be?" Kirishima asked, confused.
"He could have been expelled," Todoroki said softly.
"He did come in last place in the Quirk Apprehension test," Momo remembered.
"It would explain why sensei was so evasive," Kaminari agreed.
"Are you all just overthinking this?" Melissa asked, "Occam's Razor. One of his parents could have gotten sick, or hurt in a Villain attack."
"That's true," Koda whispered.
"Sensei told us to leave things alone," Izuku said, "Maybe we should. If he his hurting, we might make it worse. He might not want to be reminded."
Melissa gave him a compassionate look. And more than few of Izuku's classmates caught that and read into it.
Sunday, May 13th.
"So have you challenged Advisory-sensei yet?" Melissa asked.
The couple were having a spar in the training room. They wore padded gloves and shoes in addition to their normal workout attire. No attacks were allowed except with the pads. Any contact by the pads counted as a hit, even if it normally would have been a valid block. The goal was to practice certain types of attacks and dodging.
"No," Izuku said. He ducked under her jab. He launched a kick at her leg.
"Why not?" she hopped back. The Pink Ranger used her reach and launched a jab at his nose. He started to bat her arm aside, and realized at the last instant it wasn't allowed. He jerked his head to the side, but she still brushed his ear.
"Stupid muscle memory," he scolded himself. Then he added, "Sensei hasn't offered yet. And I'm still studying her style."
"She's really good, isn't she," Melissa inadvertently slipped into a wushu stance, curling around Izuku's punch and into a knifehand.
"Yes," he nodded ever so slightly, trying to keep control of his movements and balance, "I wish I could see her fight Dr. O."
"We'll just have to learn... crap... everything we can from them both," she interrupted herself as Izuku landed a solid hit to her chest.
"That's 11," he said.
"But you only won by four this time," she said. Then she frowned, "Unless you are still holding back."
"We are both holding back," he told her, "This is a spar, not a fight. And we don't want to hurt each other. But if you are talking about not giving you my whole speed and skill, no. You've gotten a lot better. Training with Advisory-sensei in addition to Dr. O has been helpful."
Melissa smiled at that the thought of that. Then her lips tightened and her eyes narrowed.
"Another round," she said intently, "Give me a chance to get closer to you."
"I'd love for you to get closer to me," Izuku told her. Then her fighting gaze turned into a bedroom gaze, and Izuku blushed as he realized the implication of his statement. He started to say something, but Melissa cut him off.
"So a Judo match then?" she offered seductively.
"Actually, we should probably get ready," Izuku said regretfully.
Melissa looked at the face of her Morpher.
"Crap!"
Tokyo Opera City had been destroyed in the peak of The Troubles. The orchestra hall had been meticulously reconstructed forty years prior, using as much of the original material as possible.
The two teens were dressed to the nines, seated on the lower balcony, with a great view of the stage.
The orchestra took their seats. Lifted their instruments and arranged their sheet music.
Boom, boom boom.
The kettle drum started with a familiar beat. Followed immediately by the cricket-ike twittering of violins. Izuku took Melissa's hand. Laced his fingers with hers. Closed his eyes, picturing the scene. One man, alone, his broken wrist supported by the remains of the shield strapped in place.
Then the french horns kicked in, mournfully. But the fanfare grew, more brass folding in. Turned hopeful. Triumphant.
"yibambe," Izuku whispered in spite of himself. The song continued and Izuku's eyes watered. Melissa squeezed his hand.
"Avengers," the conductor called out, turning to face the audience. And the choir walked forward from the sides. The conductor pointed to the audience a moment later.
"ASSEMBLE!" the assembly shouted. Then the rest of the orchestra dropped off as the snare drum and electric guitar took over.
"Always we will fight as one, 'til the battle's won," the choir picked up. They continued the lyrics to a rock song Izuku knew, which made him smile. The audience in general didn't seem to know the two stanzas, but most recognized enough English to connect song to the first part of the medley.
"Forever fight as oooonnnneeeee," the chorus drew out the last word, and the brass picked up again, into the fanfare of the Avengers main theme. Only the original version, rather than the version that was usually part of 'Portals'.
Then the music shifted into the Iron Man theme. Then Thor's leitmotif. Back to The Avengers. It switched to the Captain America theme. And then finishing off Secret Wars version of the Avengers theme.
When the first song trailed off, the conductor turned and bowed, "Thank you. And welcome to the Tokyo Philharmonic's Heroes, a Retrospective."
He faced the musicians again, who turned to the next page.
Next they played a Superman medley. Followed by a Kamen Rider collection. Batman. Spider-man. A medley listed in the program as 'Fate', which neither Ranger-in-training recognized, but they enjoyed nevertheless.
"You really liked that," Melissa smiled at her boyfriend as they walked home.
"I did," he agreed, "Thank you."
"Why are you thanking me?" she chuckled, "You got the tickets."
"For going with me," he said, "for being with me. It was much better with you there. Everything is."
Melissa's cheekbones pinked. The young couple paused, embraced, and shared a brief kiss.
Monday morning rolled in, warm and raining. And Izuku was tired. Even after dropping Melissa off at the Yagi building, the two of them spent longer than they should have on the phone. Talking about Heroes. Whose Quirks matched up with what instruments. What their theme songs would be like, for the Heroes that didn't already have them. And both admitting that as much as they liked it, as inspiring as it might be, they both found All Might's theme music to be a little corny.
So the first year yawned as he walked into class. He didn't miss the charged atmosphere amongst his classmates, but he couldn't think of why.
At least until Aizawa-sensei walked in, escorting an unfamiliar young woman.
"Everyone, this is your new classmate," Eraserhead told them, "She was tied for 37th on the Entrance Exam Practical, and had the better scores with the written exam and her classwork so far. Feel free to introduce yourselves, but keep it down."
Then he slumped into her chair and dozed, surprising the newcomer but no-one else. After she recovered, the girl turned to face her new pack.
She wasn't as tall as Momo, but was taller than the other girls of 1-A. And most of the boys. She had frizzy brown hair, a cute face, bright green eyes, and toned build with average curves.
"Hello," she bowed, "I am Nekotora Katherine, which is a family name from my half-British mom. You can call me Katie or Manx, that's the code name I picked out."
"What hellhole did they drag you out of?" Bakugou asked dismissively.
"I was in Support, 1-H," she answered, ignoring his tone, "I like robotics, and to be honestly might have asked to be in the Support Course even if I had made it through the practical. But after a month in Support, I'm glad to be moving to Hero. Some of my former classmates are... a bit much."
"Oh, what's your Quirk?" Hagakure waved a hand at Nekotora.
"I call it Felidae," Nekotora explained, "I can take on characteristics of one of five types of wild cats. Not a full transformation, just..."
Then she changed. Her ears shifted higher on her head and changed to a cat like shape. Her hands and forearms grew thick fur and became a hybrid of hands and paws. A tail sprouted out from under her skirt. And all of her hair on fur took on the orange and black stripe coloration of the tiger.
"Ah, tiger-girl," Izuku exclaimed, remembering her.
"Huh?" Manx and a number of their fellow classmates grunted in response.
"We ran into each other during the practical," he explained, "Your were fighting a pair of two-pointers and I stopped a three-pointer from ambushing you. Then you showed me that your Quirk lets you take on multiple forms for different reasons like I can."
"Oh, you're helmet-guy," she smacked her clawed fist against her palm.
"I guess I owe you an apology," Izuku rubbed the back of his head, "I know you said it was okay that I took out that three-pointer, but if I had let you defeat it, you would have made it into the Hero Course in the first place."
Bakugou gave an annoyed growl, while most of 1-A looked amused at their president.
"No," Nekotora shook her head, "If you hadn't helped me, I probably would have gotten knocked out there. Then I definitely would have...definitely wouldn't have made it into the Hero course, probably not even now. Plus, like I said, I'm glad I got a chance to try out Support."
The conversation paused, and Manx returned to her original form. Then she asked, "So what about the rest of you?"
Everyone introduced themselves, though Kaminari stepped in when Bakugou refused his turn.
Morning classes were mostly normal, though there was still a buzz of students wanting to get to know their new member better.
When they were released for lunch, 1-A moved as a tighter group than normal. Excepting Todoroki and Bakugou, who both went their own way.
Halfway to the cafeteria, the hall was blocked by two other students. They were standing rather deliberately in 1-A's path, leering at them. One was leering smugly, the other leering lewdly. The first was a blonde boy. He was average height, average build, and above average looks. Not much above average, no-one would call him ugly, but he would never be a model and wasn't especially memorable. The other boy was tiny, barely over a meter tall. He looked more like an elementary student than a high-school student. And instead of hair, he had what looked like seven purple handballs attached to his skull.
"You want something?" Kyoka said sharply.
"Just wanted to look at the loser class," the blonde boy stated imperiously.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Kirishima bristled.
"Class 1-A was supposed to be so cool. You have the top two finishers in the recommendation exam, the top two finishers in the regular exam," he shrugged, "You are the 'first' class. But the truth is you also have the crap students, the ones who barely made it, shouldn't have made it, or are just trouble."
Izuku twitched uncomfortably, knowing part of the claim was directed him, And that the last line was aimed at the absent Bakugou. His former friend and former bully was not making a good impression.
"Most of you got stuck with Aizawa-sensei because he was too lazy to argue," the small boy insisted, "And they hoped he throw out the trash like he always does."
"And he did," the blonde boy sneered, "We hear you are already down one student."
"Aoyama left because his mom has cancer," Ashido told him condescendingly.
Both of the antagonistic boys flinched.
"Really?" the small boy sounded regretful.
"We don't know," Hagakure said pointedly, "We were just told it was a family issue. But you didn't know that, either."
The boys both relaxed, and the blonde countered, "Family issues is just an excuse to spare the class's feelings. So add denial and lying to 1-A's list of problems."
"And that's on top of hogging all the hotties," the purple kid declared angrily. For a moment the blonde boy looked like he was going to sigh. But he matched his partner's angry expression and nodded.
"What?" Kodai asked in genuine if muted confusion.
"Kodai Yui and Yaoyorozu Momo," he pointed at each of them, "The two hottest girls in our year are trapped in your class. Plus the curvy cutie Uraraka, and now the sexy catgirl Nekotora. You can't see Hagakure, but she's definitely got a killer bod. Even your weird girls are better than ours. We got a crazy mushroom, a creepy ghost, and horse who barely speaks Japanese. You got a sexy pink thing and a cute frog. Even the good looking girls in 1-B have problems. Kendo has man-hands and is violent. Tokage's Quirk is disturbing and so is her laugh. And you can't touch Shiozaki's hair and she's super weird, always talking about god and salvation and stuff."
Kyoka's frown deepened. She wasn't sure if she was annoyed the little pervert did not even acknowledge her, or happy that she wasn't being objectified.
The other Heroines were less unsure. They gave the tiny boy disgusted looks. Except Ashido, who preened slightly.
"And on top of all that, this jerk is hogging the hottest hotty to ever hot!" he finished furiously, pointing at Izuku.
"Are you talking about Shield-san?" Izuku's voice was flat. But underneath there was something cold and sharp in his tone.
"Of course!" the pervert missed it, "Have you see those eyes? That face? That body? Wait, of course you have. I'm sure you've seen more..."
SMACK.
Izuku blinked in surprise in surprise as Momo's hand crossed the pervert's face.
"Melissa is a person," she declared, "She is with Izuku because she likes him and he respects her. He doesn't treat her like an object. None of us are objects, you horrid..."
She trailed off as her senses of propriety and shame caught up. Momo also realizing she didn't even know his name. She started to apologize.
But then someone behind the boys started clapping. 1-A and the antagonists realized that the hallway was full of UA students who were watching the altercation. And the other observers started to applaud, too.
The two boys looked embarrassed. Then flinched when they saw who had started the round of applause. It was a girl, about the same height as the blonde boy. She was fit, had orange hair in a single ponytail on the left side of her head, and a very dark expression.
"Ah, Kendo-san," the blonde boy said fearfully, "What..."
"Are you two causing trouble again?" she demanded harshly.
"No?" the purple headed boy tried to say.
"Now who is the liar?" Tokoyami countered.
"Come with me," the girl named Kendo said. Her hands expanded to the size of car doors. She picked up each of her classmates and marched off.
"That was interesting," Ochako sounded unsettled.
"Those two were weird," Melissa said, having found 1-A when Izuku and Momo didn't show up for lunch.
She twined her arm around Izuku's, and noted, "Thank you for defending me, Izuku."
Then she kissed him lightly, drawing gasps and a few catcalls from the other students.
"Okay, get your gym uniforms on," Aizawa ordered, as soon as he stepped into 1-A on Wednesday morning, "You won't be having normal classes today."
They changed, and followed him outside. There was a bus outside, waiting for them.
"Where the... are we going?" Bakugou demanded, just stopping himself from swearing.
"To a special facility on the far side of the UA campus," Aizawa told him, "Now get on the bus."
As the teens loaded, the first few paused as they saw who was already onboard.
"GOOD MORNING," All Might boomed, "I AM HERE... to help with your special lesson."
They all brightened, even Bakugou.
As the bus rolled up to the large dome in the empty field, some of the students noticed a figure standing by the entrance.
"Oh," Uraraka cried out, "That's Thirteen, the Space Hero."
"You know Thirteen?" Izuku asked.
"Thirteen is my favorite hero and my role model," the brunette bobbed her head, "That's the kind of Hero I want to be."
The bus pulled to a stop, and the students unloaded.
"And nice to meet all of you," Thirteen said, "I am Thirteen, also known as the Space Hero. If you are familiar with me, you might have guessed why you are here today. If not, well... You are going to start training on how to deal with disasters. Heroes don't just fight Villains. They have to deal with fires, earthquakes, and any number of other catastrophes. So using my experience, I have constructed this specialized training facility."
"Welcome, to the Unforeseen Simulation Joint."
Thirteen-sensei and All Might-sensei led the teens inside. The entry was a wide brick path, lined with trees on either side. There was a thick, mesh net behind the trees, obscuring what was beyond them. The path led to a set of stairs that descended down a good thirty meters and ended in what looked like a food court. But a huge one, for a hundred or more people and all around it, with a giant fountain in the middle, spread out over at least a square kilometer...
"I designed this place," Thirteen told everyone, "With more than a little help, to make my dream come true. The Unforeseen Simulation Joint, or USJ for short, has just about any sort of environment you can expect to encounter in Japan. Urban with multi-story buildings and a working train system. Suburban with houses, mansions, and even a small scale indoor shopping mall. A field of grass lands, rice paddies, and small forest. A lake that can be fresh or salt water and has a wave machine. Rocky and mountainous terrain."
The students looked out of the vast training arena. It was almost like a theme park, but without the rides. Thirteen gestured for us to follow, and started down the stairs.
"We can also control the weather," the rescue Hero continued, "From rain..."
A modest downpour began to drench the suburban zone.
"... to snow..."
The rain stopped, and snow fell on the mountain region instead.
"... and hail, lightning, fog, and even small scale tornadoes. We can also control the lights to simulate any time of day or night. The USJ can reproduce almost any kind of disaster, in any weather conditions. It is the best facility in the world for rescue training. At least in my opinion, anyway."
Class 1-A looked around in amazement.
"This is awesome," Kirishima said.
"So what are we doing?" Bakugou asked sullenly.
"What we will be doing today," Thirteen said brightly, turning back to us, "Is dividing into four teams of five. Two of the teams will go with me, and two will go with All Might-sensei. You will alternate between being the rescuers, and acting as the victims. After the exercises this morning, we will come back here for lunch, and you will divide into four different teams, and repeat the process for the afternoon."
"Well then," All Might intoned loudly, "Let's get started."
Bakugou Katsuki slammed the door when he got home.
"STOP TRYING TO BREAK SHIT, YOU STUPID PUNK!" his mother shouted at him.
"FUCK OFF, HAG!" he yelled back.
Mitsuki and Masaru looked at each other. The door slam had been harder then normal. And there was an extra layer of disappointment in their son's voice. Mitsuki inclined her head. Masaru sighed, and then nodded.
He met his son in the family room.
"How was class?" Masaru asked.
"Complete fucking waste," Bakugou grunted. When his father didn't say anything or leave, he continued.
"We went to this dumb theme park training city thing. Then we spent all day pretending to rescue each other. Learning how to 'carry people', what to do and not do in a fire. Shit like that. Like I said, a waste. What sort of crappy hero needs to know that?"
"All Might," Masaru said simply. It was the magic word. Bakugou's eyes narrowed and his scowl changed. It became more thoughtful.
"Yeah, I guess," the explosive boy admitted.
"Did something else happen?" Masaru asked.
"I came in SEVENTH!" Katsuki exploded, "Seventh. Not only that shitty nerd Deku, Ponytail, and Icy-hot. Even round cheeks kinda makes sense, she was freaking out over Thirteen and this rescue shit. But even froggy, and the new extra did better than me."
"But it was a stupid class anyway," Masaru reminded his son of his previous insistence, "So does it matter if they did better than you?"
"Of course it does," Katsuki huffed, "Crap or not, I get graded on it. And I'm the best. None of those shitty extras are allowed to be better than me."
"Then what are you going to do about it?" Masaru asked carefully.
Katsuki pondered that.
"We have confirmed the Aoyama Yuga and his mother have been placed in WitSec," Kurogiri reported, "But at the highest level, based on his presumed connection to you, Master. We cannot reach them at this point."
"There is no reason," All for One said softly, "They were a minor resource, not worth further trouble. What matters more is that our other attempts to infiltrate UA have failed. They have increased their security level after the last attempt. So we will need to go with Plan Alpha."
"What is the hurry, sensei?" Shigaraki complained, "I know you want to test the prototype Nomu so we can start on the next generation, but if we can't unleash it on All Might, what's the point?"
All for One's sightless eyes turned and locked on his protege. He said nothing, fearing that mentioning Master Demonus would attract the alien's attention.
"Tomorrow," he finally spoke, "Friday afternoon will be the ideal time for maximum death and chaos. The best time to draw out the Symbol of Peace. Assemble your troops, Tomura. We will give All Might enough time to leave the school. Then we strike."
Friday, May 18th
UA had let out for the day. Melissa and Izuku (and Momo and Sanji) had attended the first meeting of the class representatives. They were mildly surprised to see Kendo was 1-B's rep, and learned her given name was Itsuka. It was a short meeting, to introduce everyone and give the students handouts detailing schedules and basic responsibilities.
It raised a few eyebrows, a first and second year sitting together. But the UA rumor mill had churned enough that most people knew Izuku and Melissa were a couple.
After they were released, they walked back to the Command Center like usual.
"Welcome back," Tommy greeted them, "How was your meeting?"
"Hey, Dr. O. Fortunately it was quick," Melissa said, "but it sounds like that won't be the rule."
"This is going to cut into our afternoon training time," Izuku nodded, "But at least we can still be together."
"It won't hurt you to slow down," the AI told them, "now that both of you have UA lessons and Melissa can stay Morphed for over an hour. Too much training can be almost as bad as too little."
"Tommy is right," Toshinori said as the door slid shut behind him. He took a different route home than the direct path his ward and her boyfriend favored. Multiple different routes, to make it harder to connect Yagi Toshinori and All Might.
"I know that," Izuku said softly.
"We just worry we aren't good enough," Melissa added.
"For now things are peaceful..." Toshinori said. But he was cut off when his phone buzzed. And then one of the other Command Center alarms went off. Not the intruder alert, the one for a Villain attack.
Tommy activated the monitor.
"...no Makoto reporting live outside Kashyyyk Shopping Mall," a tall brunette woman with bright green eyes was saying, "The entire shopping district has been taken over by what has been described as 'a small army of rampaging Villains'. Local Heroes and police have been unable to quell the riot."
They showed a screen of multiple Villains unleashing their Quirks with wild abandon. And other people getting hit.
"There have been dozens of injuries, of civilians as well as Heroes and police, and two confirmed deaths..."
Toshinori turned, transforming into All Might.
"All Might, let us come with you," Izuku said.
"No," the Number One Hero said simply. Then added, "You don't have your license, Izuku, and as a UA student your Ranger forms are on record. If you are seen helping me, you will be arrested and at the very least expelled. This isn't some random Villain you happened to be on the scene for. This would be you deliberately charging into a coordinated attack. The same goes for both of you, even if Melissa isn't known, yet."
Then he looked back and smiled at them.
"Don't worry," he told them, "I've dealt with this sort of thing before. And thanks to the three of you, I'm in better shape then I've been in for years. And a better fighter than I ever was before."
Then he was gone.
Melissa and Izuku were holding hands, worried as they continued to watch the news. Things had settled down slightly. They had fallen into a stalemate, the Villains having hostages and looting while keeping the authorities at bay.
Then All Might arrived. There was a visible wave of relief that went through the press, police, and other Heroes. All Might exchanged words with the cops, and Kamui Woods and Death Arms. The reporters could not catch what was said.
After a round of nods from his allies, the Symbol of Peace charged inside. Kamui Woods and Death Arms moved closer to the entrance, expecting something.
There was a terrifying roar from inside the mall. The camera jostled closer.
A black and grey feminine figure suddenly appeared in the doorway. She held one finger up to her helmet, where her lips would be. And then the screen went black.
"We apologize," a different reporter in a studio appeared seconds later, "We appear to have lost the contact with the Kino-san's team in the field. We will try to see if we can get the feed back."
"That was a Shadow," Melissa blurted out fearfully, "Uncle Might can't fight her."
"That wasn't just any Shadow," if anything Tommy sounded even more scared.
"That was Psycho Pink."