Nedzu hummed as he compiled his latest set of paperwork. He may be a hero, but he was also a principal. Having to manage UA is harder than any villain fight (except against Afo). The daily destruction and repair done to both the gyms and the repairing of said gyms, the constant ordering of new supplies, and the less said about some of his staff's spending habits the better.
His favorite case had gone cold. The Moleman hasn't struck in almost two months. No reports of the four armored robbers.
Nothing.
Dead Silence.
It was difficult to comprehend. A Criminal that successful doesn't just disappear. He's planning something, and there is no doubt about it.
Izuku hummed as he calibrated the lens of his laser weapon. He had it set on a tripod and was adjusting the inner workings of the laser's "barrel". As he finished it he closed the latch on the side and stood up. He walked away from it and grabbed a set of welding goggles. He set the goggles over his eyes and held up a small remote. "Attempt number five, let's see how long it will take to cut through a sheet of reinforced steel." Izuku muttered as he pressed a button on the remote.
The laser let out a faint hum before a beam of blue energy fired. The glow from the laser illuminating the warehouse far greater than the lights. The sheet of metal in the laser's path began bubbling as the beam slowly cut through it. Izuku pressed the button once more when the beam was at the half way point.
He retrieved a pair of welding gloves and slid them on. The metal around the cut still glowed a bright red from the sheer heat of the laser. He smiled as he checked the depth of the cut and the width of it. "Almost there, just need to increase the magnification and adjust the power output." he muttered before walking away, taking off the welding gloves, and writing it down in a small notepad.
'Soon the laser cutters will be done, then I'll have a more high tech alternative to the Saw arms.' he contemplated. "Still, best to keep some of the saws around, the lasers will always be somewhat delicate." he muttered as he opened the latch on the side once again.
He made the necessary adjustments before he felt something brush up against his leg. He turned back to find one of the R units trying to grab his attention. "What is it?" he asked while standing up. The R Unit rushed back as Izuku followed after it.
The Droid ran up the stairs, making sure he could keep up, before it stopped at one of the slightly open windows. Izuku felt his blood run cold as he watched a small group of heroes approach from just up the block. Izuku quickly pulled out his phone and typed in a command.
The R Unit ran back down the stairs and gather with the others. The Brick Units and the laser project were quickly covered by a false floor he had installed. The R and B Units lining up and entering power save mode while taking the shape of a large machine. Issue mk1 went straight to the wall before adjusting its form to resemble some kind of container.
All that was left in the warehouse was Izuku and a small workshop set up that wouldn't look out of the ordinary for someone of his hobby. One of his spare P.A.M. units activated and drove to his side.
Decoy mode was up.
If the heroes burst in, all they'd find is a young man making harmless machines. No form of malice or illegal activities here. Course the disguise would be useless if the heroes just decided to wreck the place, but at least he wouldn't be immediately outed.
Izuku slowly breathed in and out, steadying his breathing to make it appear as though he wasn't a criminal in disguise. He made extra sure to hide the important notebook with the Brick models hiding below his feet. All they'd find on his person would be the simple Blueprints for his future legal designs.
He could hear a slight scuffle outside, so against his better judgement he walked to the main door and peered through the window. He watched as the group of heroes were busy raiding one of the other warehouses. A small group of villains having apparantly chosen one of the warehouses away from his own as a safehouse. 'Not so safe anymore huh?' he questioned while watching the mounting destruction that resulted from the battle.
The villains were hopelessly outmatched by the heroes and were quickly beaten into submission. Izuku sighed as the police finally arrived and took the criminals away. He stopped looking as he saw the heroes started to check the other warehouses near by.
"This will take all day, I can't risk it." he muttered out loud as he watched the heroes fanning out even farther. Izuku shook his head, taking a moment to return to the workshop area. He set a pair of earplugs into his ears and started working on the frame of one of the legal projects.
If a hero did bust in he had plausible deniability. He had investors backing his project, this warehouse had long since been abandoned by any company, and his earplugs meant he wouldn't have heard the fighting. The P.A.M. Unit followed him, using its arms to help hold the Beta frame and adjust it for inspection.
Nedzu watched as Powerloader seemed to gush over this new machine which was being sold across Japan. This Personal Assistant Machine, or P.A.M. for short which Powerloader had purchased with the both his own funds and some of the school's. He had approved of the usage of school funds for this purchase due to his own curiosity over this new project.
Many of Japan's elite and some of the more understaffed public servant areas (i.e. hospitals and construction) had bought these strange machines. Its design was purely utilitarian, nothing fancy, just purpose.
He was curious about who had made such a machine. The fact that it exists purely to help people with their lives was a great bonus. Though having to listen to Powerloader gush about it with an intensity normally only found in hardcore smut was something he could do without.
"Please, if you could get to the point?" He asked his staff member in a desperate attempt to change the subject. "Oh, well rumor has it that a bright young mind was the one who created these little Droids." Powerloader replied as the P.A.M. let out a small chirp. "Well, which school is this young mind from?" Nedzu asked. "No one knows, the leading theory is that he isn't going to any of the major schools." Powerloader replied.
"Really?" Nedzu asked as his eyes hardened. "Indeed, there are a couple videos circulating on the web over the young man's presentation to some investors." Powerloader added in as he pulled out his phone and started searching something up on it. "Still, someone like that not attending school is quite worrying." Nedzu considered his own words as Powerloading just shrugged.
"Well, our entry exams are just a month away, so we might see him then." Powerloader suggested. "Maybe, did they catch his name?" Nedzu asked. "Nope, his face is hidden from view and they cut out the audio of his name, not to mention the blur and vocal modification. They made sure no one knows who is who." Powerloader replied as he showed Nedzu the video.
Nedzu watched the screen. The young man arrived, his name cut from the audio, and activated the P.A.M. units. They drove around, gave small demonstrations as the young man explained their capabilities. Then the investors started asking them to preform specific tasks, and Nedzu smiled as the P.A.M.s performed each task to a T.
"Powerloader, I believe I can find out the young man's identity. When I find him I'll send a letter to U.A. to see if he's interested in joining." Nedzu said as he handed Powerloader his phone back. Nedzu began to walk away as Powerloader continued inspecting the P.A.M. Model. "Oh, I may also order three more of these P.A.M.s while I'm at it." he said before walking away.
Izuku checked his phone to make sure what he was reading was true. Someone with connections to the investors wanted to meet up with him. They even gave him a location and time should he accept. The man in question apparently being the head of a major Zaibatsu.
He put his phone back as he considered his next move. He was already in the midst of applying to an online school, the family funds were slowly being increased by the sale of his P.A.M.s. All he really needed right now was a more effective way to make P.A.M.s quickly, they were selling much faster than expected.
The train he was on stopped and he filed out with many of the other passengers.
He was only a block away from the meeting now, and rapidly approaching it. When he did reach it he found one of the fancier restaurants with a man sitting at a private table. The staff guided him to the man, most likely having been told of the meeting before hand.
Izuku looked at the man as he took his seat. Yotsubashi, the head of Denerat and its subsidiaries, a man with his fingers in the pockets of many media and support companies. "Come, sit young Midoriya. I simply wish to talk." he said as Izuku did so. "What do you wish to talk about?" Izuku asked cautiously.
"Oh, I'm mostly interested in what drove you to create the P.A.M. Units in the first place? I myself have purchased one but I want to know what led to their creation." He asked. Izuku nodded; "Ok, it's a bit of a long story, so you may want to relax." Izuku said as Yotsubashi nodded.
"When I was three my dad left the country due to having to work in the states. I hardly even knew him, sometimes I talk to him over the phone but that's few and far between. My mother, the kind soul that she is, raised me all on her own. She had to balance her own work with raising and caring for me. As I grew up I began looking into history and was captivated by the technology of the past." Izuku paused as Yotsubashi gave him a look.
"Can you clarify on the 'technology of the past'?" he asked. "According to the few survivor records of Pre-Quirk times, and those from before the Third World War, humanity had almost revolutionized space travel. Just a few more years and there could have been a moon colony if all those resources weren't diverted away by the start of World War Three. Some of the things we lost between the War and the total societal upheaval caused by Quirks makes things like the P.A.M. or those robots at U.A. look like children's toys." Izuku paused again as Yotsubashi nodded.
"So, with a collection of knowledge and pure grit, I made something to give back to my mother for all she did for me. Thus the P.A.M. was born, and improving life with each modification." Izuku finished. "I must say, your mother must be quite proud of you." Yotsubashi said. "That she is, that she is." Izuku nodded.
"Well, I must say that I never expected you to be so open." Yotsubashi commented. "I see no reason to hide why I made the P.A.M.s, their nature makes it obvious." Izuku answered. "Still, to do all this, with a Quirk of your own is truly remarkable." Yotsubashi said as Izuku frowned. 'More of this Quirk obsession nonsense?' he lamented.
"Now, Now, I'm just saying. Almost no one gave you a chance. The fact is that if one of those investors hadn't possessed a truth Quirk they may have rejected you. I just want to know what you yourself think about Quirks?" Yotsubashi said while raising a hand. Izuku looked him square in the eyes before he took a deep breath.
"What I think about Quirks, well... I never really saw what the big deal was. They're part of the body and something that seemingly defies natural science. The Hero System glorifies them and the villains show what happens when they aren't under some kind of control. The issue is that they are both outdated by around two hundred years or so." Izuku said as he leaned back in his chair as Yotsubashi leaned forward.
"Society has become so obsessed with them, treating them like they're some freak anomaly rather than the normal that it is. I never saw the appeal of some Quirks, add in the fact of all the crazy eugenics that have risen up in response to Quirk's existing. I don't hate Quirks, even with all the harm done to myself due to said society's obsession with them, I just don't think society is handling it correctly. Using laws for a time of chaos at a time of peace is never a good thing." Izuku paused as he took a breath.
He looked up and saw that Yotsubashi was smiling. "Interesting, so that is your perspective on Quirks?" he asked. "Its an observation. Times need to change, the damage done by the hyper fixation on Quirks has to be undone before the whole system implodes." Izuku bluntly stated as Yotsubashi nodded.
"I see, thank you for this talk. Would you like to stick around for the meal?" Yotsubashi asked. "Sorry, I have to go, I enjoyed our talk." Izuku said as he stood up and left
"Should we follow him?" A voice crackled in Yotsubashi's earpiece. "No, leave him be. He's already connected to one of our subsidiaries." Yotsubashi replied as his food arrived. 'Ah, such insight that can only be found from an outside perspective.' he pondered.
"You recorded what he said right?" He asked the earpiece. "Indeed sir, think he's a potential recruit. He may be hiding a Meta Ability considering how intelligent the young man appears to be?" the voice asked. "No, the boy's files say that they conducted every test possible to determine if he has a Quirk or not. What the boy is, is a philosopher looking at our society from an outside view." he replied. "Understood, but Re-Destro, some of the others may target him." The voice argued.
"I know, I know. The boy is obsessed with a time before Meta Abilities. Yet not for our destruction, but for our benefit. He doesn't despise Meta Abilities, he just see's them as yet anything thing in life. Something that people have, not some crazed weapon that has to he controlled. The boy would fit perfectly with the moderates in the MLA." Yotsubashi said. "Would he ever join?" the voice asked. "I doubt it, but I do wish to see how he can progress on his own. Keep him well funded, I will watched his career with great interest." Yotsubashi said.
Izuku huffed as he returned to the warehouse. The talk with The CEO of Denerat yesterday shook his nerves. "All that talk about Quirks, why does everyone have to go to Quirks?" he lamented as he opened the door and walked inside.
"Let's, just do... something to take my mind off of it." he muttered as he looked over the workshop. He pulled out his phone and the workshop changed. The Brick Models and their weapon arms popped out from a hidden floor. The B and R Units came apart and lined up ready for his next command. The Issue mk1 walked over and stood at the ready.
He looked around the room, taking in his creations. Then something hit him, where to strike next? He inspected the gathered Droids, an idea slowly forming. He let out a smile as he knew just where to strike next.