Chapter 4 - Pick an Internship
With class having ended, the students of Class 1-A discussed who they were going to sign up with for the internships. They gathered in groups and talking about who wanted them, and who would be a good choice to sign up with. As Aizawa had said, many pro-heroes were scouting during the Sports Festival, and many wanted to pick the top competing students for the internships. This was a mutual benefit for both students and pro-hero, as the student could learn from the best, and the pro-hero would get some publicity for a top-ranked student joining their agency. Matthew, Milo, Sunshine, and Joshua were talking in a group, alongside Midoriya, Uraraka, Iida, Ashido, Kaminari, and Jiro.
"So, who're you going with, Matthew?" Milo asked. "You know, for the internship?"
"I got an offer from this guy that was meeting with Aizawa and Nezu," Matthew replied. "That was when I was called to the principal's office after lunch - this gentleman, named Eustace Candelaria, wanted me to join this special project, that was formed from the U.Q.A.A."
"The U.Q.A.A?" asked Jiro, her tone confused.
"The United Quirkless Association of America," Midoriya replied. "They help individuals without a quirk achieve goals that are difficult for them, and they promote the belief that you don't need a quirk to be a hero."
"Sheesh, don't let Bakugo hear about that," Joshua said sarcastically. "His dislike for people without quirks will go atomic."
"So why did they reach out to you, Matthew?" Uraraka asked.
"They have this project they've been trying to get off the ground, and with my victory at the World Sports Festival, they were finally able to get it kickstarted," Matthew replied. "The project is they formed a squadron of people like me - quirkless individuals who have desires to be heroes. There are six of them, and they want me to be the seventh member of the group, which will serve as my internship."
"And let me guess, you said yes?" Joshua asked.
"Yes, I did." Matthew replied.
"Well, if they're anything like you, they're going to be a force to be reckoned with," said Milo. "Joshua, who are you signing up with for the internship? After all, your community service obligation's almost up."
"Unfortunately, since the news of my heritage is out, none of the heroes want the son of a villain as their intern," Joshua replied, his tone somewhat soured. "They think it'll be bad publicity for their hero agency if I'm around, but here's the weird part - I did get an offer."
"You did?" Kaminari asked, his tone confused. "From who?"
"Some female hero called Mt. Lady," Joshua replied, his tone indifferent. "Any of you heard of her?"
"Yeah, we've heard of her," Midoriya replied. "She's an up and coming pro-hero, who made her debut back when we were in middle school - her quirk is 'Gigantification', meaning she can grow to a giant size."
"And she's also a high-voltage hottie!" Kaminari added excitedly, before quickly saying in an embarrassed and somewhat timid tone, "At least, that's what I would think if I didn't have a girlfriend."
"Wait a minute, isn't she that female superhero who did security at the World Sports Festival?" Joshua asked. "The blonde one, who was wearing purple and tan?"
"Yeah, that's her alright," Sunshine replied, looking at her phone, before holding it up for Joshua to see. "Here, take a look at this."
Sunshine held up her phone, and on the screen was a picture of Mt. Lady, who had defeated and captured a villainous criminal gang. She was posing for the camera beside her defeated foes, but the pose she was striking was rather suggestive, and showy. Upon seeing this, a chill ran up Joshua's spine, and he turned somewhat pale from worry.
"Oh boy…" Joshua shivered out, his tone nervous.
"You alright, Josh?" Ashido asked, her tone concerned.
"Yeah, I'm good, but I'm a little worried as to why she wants me," Joshua replied, giving himself a small shake to calm himself down. "If I had any other option, I would say no, but seeing as how she's my only option, I guess I'll have to go through with it."
"If she tries to flirt with you, don't let her take you alive," said Jiro, her tone snarky, and a small, somewhat whimsical smile on her face.
"Oh, very funny," Joshua grumbled good-naturedly. "At least I don't have to get worried about you getting jealous!"
Everyone had a good laugh at what Joshua said, and then Matthew asked, "How about you Milo - who are you interning with?"
"I'm interning with the number five pro hero, Rabbit Hero: Mirko," Milo replied. "I saw her on the news recently, and I like her style, so I'm signing up with her."
"I heard Kirishima's also going to sign up with her too," Ashido added, her tone cheerful. "He think she's hardcore, and he wanted to learn more about her style too."
"Nice, it'll be good to have a fellow classmate alongside me," said Milo, his tone pleased. "Sunshine, how about you - where are you interning?"
"Uraraka suggested this to me and Annabelle," Sunshine replied. "We're going to intern with Gunhead, the martial arts hero."
"You've interned with him before, Uraraka?" Matthew asked.
"Yeah, he's really cool," Uraraka replied, her tone cheerful. "He taught me different martial arts move, and he's a really friendly guy."
"And you're interning with him again?" Matthew asked.
"Yes, I am," Uraraka replied, before turning to Midoriya and asking, "Deku, who are you going to intern with this time?"
"I'm going with Endeavor again," Midoriya replied. "Kacchan and Todoroki are also going with me as well, but Jenkins is coming along too."
"I guess that's what he wanted to talk about with Todoroki," said Sunshine. "He pulled him aside before class ended to speak with him, said it was 'strictly man-to-man talk'."
Milo looked to Ashido and then asked, "So, who are you going to be interning with?"
"I'm going with Backdraft, the pro hero who works for the fire department," Ashido replied, her tone cheerful. "Our quirks are similar, even though his is water and mine is acid, but I could learn a whole lot from him!"
"That's awesome," said Milo, his tone kind. "I'm sure you two will work well together!"
"And you're fine with your girlfriend being separate from you for a time?" Joshua asked, his tone snarky, and a small, whimsical smile on his own face.
"You're one to talk," Milo fired back, his tone now equally snarky. "Jiro's not going to be interning with you at the Mt. Lady agency."
"I know, and I'm fine with that," Joshua replied. "Besides, it just gives me time to start a workplace romance with Mt. Lady."
"Very funny, Josh." said Jiro, her tone playfully annoyed, as she elbowed Joshua in the side, which made him laugh. "I guess what goes around comes around, right?"
"Sometimes," Joshua laughed out.
"How about you, Iida?" Kaminari asked. "Who are you going to intern with?"
"I'll be interning with Manual again in Hosu City," Iida replied, his tone informative. "Only this time, it won't be to hunt down the Hero Killer."
"The Hero Killer?" Milo asked. "You mean that whack-bag who goes around hunting down heroes he deems to be false?"
"You've heard of him too?" Midoriya asked.
"Yeah, he made a name for himself, in the news back in America," Matthew replied. "There's also a rumor that he has a cult following - a group of people who are dedicated to the ideals of rejecting and getting rid of heroes who they deem to be false."
"But that's not for them to decide," said Ashido, her tone somewhat angered. "They can't go around threatening people, just 'cause they don't match up to their ideals - that's an even worse form of bullying!"
"Yeah, and what if someone decides to change their ideals?" Milo asked. "They could be getting rid of someone who wants to follow the lifestyle of being a 'true hero', and then they just get up and destroy him!"
"Iida, you mentioned that you were trying to hunt down the Hero Killer?" Matthew asked. "Did you encounter him, and if you did, what happened?"
Iida then replied in a tense tone, "My older brother, Tensei, who was the original holder of my hero name, Ingenium, came across Stain. They fought, and Stain not only defeated him, but he almost killed him, and left him crippled for life. I wanted revenge for what Stain did, so I took up an internship in Hosu City, where Stain was operating at the time, and began hunting for him. I did find him, but when we fought, I was almost killed, and he deemed me unworthy for trying to take vengeance on him. If it wasn't for Midoriya and Todoroki stepping in, I would've been dead."
Midoriya patted Iida's shoulder assuringly, and then continued by saying, "We fought and defeated the Hero Killer, but since we didn't have our provisional hero licenses, we couldn't take credit for the fight, and we almost got in trouble with the law. They gave the credit of his defeat to Endeavor, but Stain wants All Might to be the one to stop him. It's strange, but Stain considers All Might to be the standard for what a hero should be, and he judges people based on how they act as a hero. For instance, he saved my life from a flying nomu, 'cause he deemed me to be worthy."
Everyone was silent upon hearing this, and it lasted for a few seconds, before Milo spoke up and said, "Well, let's just pray that none of us encounter the Hero Killer."
"I don't think he'll be a problem for any of us, since he's locked away in Tartarus Prison," Iida replied. "But in case you do, don't face him alone - I learned that the hard way."
It was the afternoon, and The Architect, Alec, and the three goons were walking through the empty streets, with The Architect in the middle, Alec at his right side, one of the three goons at his left, and the two in the back. The Architect was not wearing his tactical mask, but he was wearing a pair of tinted sunglasses, and a black mask that covered his mouth and nose. He had also had his hood up, and his hands in his hoodie pockets. On the outside, he was calm and quiet, but on the inside, his mind was at work.
Alec had informed him that the three goons were going behind his back, and were planning on going against him. They had grown tired of him being in charge, and were wanting to run things their own way, rather than having to listen to him. Originally, The Architect had told them that they were to take over Shigaraki's operations, but now, he had changed his mind and had formed a sort-of 'alliance' with him. This made them mad, and from what Alec had told him, The Architect learned that they were planning an ousting, for both him and his right-hand man.
The Architect didn't need to worry about Alec going against him - Alec was loyal to a fault, ever since he spared his life and agreed to work for him. More than that, him threatening him into working for him was in the past, and The Architect considered Alec his equal. He gave Alec power, and said that whatever Alec ordered would be his orders as well, since he came to him before enacting an order. These three goons, however, who they had hired recently, could take a flying leap for all he cared.
It just so happened, that as the three walked through the empty streets, they came to a bridge, which was over a canal of water that was five feet deep. As they walked over the bridge, The Architect turned and looked at Alec, who looked back at him. He nodded his head, his right-hand man nodded back, and that's when the two decided, it was time to enact some discipline, and show who were the bosses in the group. The goons were about to, quite literally, take a flying leap.
With one swift move, The Architect turned and kicked the goon beside him in the stomach as hard as he could! The goon, who had black-colored hair and darker skin, let out a shocked yell of pain and doubled over, holding his punched stomach! The Architect then turned and punched him as hard he could, sending him flying over the bridge and into the canal! The goon beside Alec, who had brown-colored hair, fair skin, and green eyes, attempted to shove The Architect off the bridge! But he was caught by Alec, who grabbed him by the back of the neck, and used his quirk to stop him from using his! Alec then pushed him forward, The Architect side-stepped, and Alec tossed him off the bridge and into the canal!
The third goon, who was large and had the white and brown furred face and jowls of a bulldog, was too smart for his own good, and he knew not to get involved. He put his hands up in surrender when The Architect and Alec turned to him, and then, when he saw he wasn't going to do anything, the two continued walking along the bridge. Then they walked down a hill that was near the canal, and stood at the edge, watching as the two goons thrashed about in the water, trying to regain their senses from the split-second trouncing they had received.
"You naughty little goons," The Architect spoke, his voice sinisterly polite. "Thought you could try and usurp us, huh? Trying to take control of all that I had built up, huh? Well, well, well… that ain't going to work. I'm the boss here, and when you make plans behind my back, while you keep awake and talk while I sleep, I'm planning too. I'm planning contingency plans for when you turn on us, so that even before the faintest idea of striking comes to mind, I strike first."
The two goons came to the edge of the canal, both soaking wet from having been thrown in, and the goon with black-colored hair said in an annoyed and defeated tone, "We're tired of the way that you and your minion run things - it's time that we do things our way and not yours."
"Tough talk from a bloke in a canal, ay?" Alec asked, his tone somewhat annoyed. "You listen 'ere and you listen good - Architect here has a plan that'll land us on top, but your tiny little brains can't seem to understand it, so leave the thinkings to us, 'cause we can't have that, now can we? So either you're with us, or we'll both drown you like rats in this canal! Understand?"
The two goons still looked mutinous, but they both replied, "Yes sir, Alec."
"Good, very good," said The Architect, his tone somewhat pleased. "Now get out of the canal, pull yourselves together, and let's go."
The two goons obeyed and started climbing out of the canal, while Alec and The Architect walked back up the hill, where the goon with the bulldog face was watching and waiting. The Architect looked at the bulldog-faced goon, who had his hands in his pockets, as a sign that he wasn't getting involved.
"You're getting a raise, 'cause you've actually showed some smarts, and decided not to get involved," said The Architect. "Do you like your raise?"
"Yes sir, woof," The bulldog-faced goon replied, his voice deep sounding. "I like that I now have a raise, woof."
"Good man," said The Architect, his tone pleased. "Let's get moving."
The Architect, Alec, and the bulldog-faced goon continued walking, with the two mutinous goons following, still soaking wet and defeated. As they continued walking, a hooded figure watched from the shadows, and as he went his own way, he started scratching his neck.
"I wonder how Fearless would react, if I told him about this Architect." said Shigaraki.