Chapter 6: Internet famous
Izuku's room was filled with deep, rhythmic breathing as he performed his daily exercises. It hadn't even been a full day since he had taken a shotgun to the chest but even still his push-ups were in the hundreds and he barely felt tired, much less pain. With one last exertion marking his four hundredth he pulled himself up, rolling his shoulders he stared at himself in the mirror with amazement. He never considered himself vain, but even he had to admit that he looked good as he flexed his new muscles. A physique that should have taken months to acquire was his in less than a week and as the voice of the doctor telling him of his 'Extreme Metamorphosis' he could only agree.
"What the hell was that bomb" he whispered to himself as the strangeness continued to pile on itself, leaving him completely at a loss for answers. A condition he unfortunately had become more and more familiar with. Walking over to his desk he flipped through the notebook designated for his quirk as he began writing down all the things his metamorphosis had entailed.
"Enhanced strength, enhanced endurance, healing factor" so many things that should have been quirks all their own were now all his. These things added with his general knowledge of quirks made it all seem so strange to him. Sure a strength enhancing quirk almost always had the added bonus of the body adapting to handle the stress that strength would put it under. Otherwise they would break their arm whenever they tried to punch anything.
But healing quirks were very rare, made even rarer still by either being able to heal others or themselves. To have his quirk also be able to heal him on top of everything else was…unbelievable.
"Izuku honey, breakfast is ready" he heard his mother say from the other side of his door, pulling his mind away and leaving the questions for later. Slipping on his shirt and grabbing his phone he left his room behind.
Walking into the living room he could see his mother at the stove, hands held up to its warmth like a fire as she watched over a boiling pot of corn, the smell mixing with the scent of tea and toast that all together smelt nice.
Sitting down at the table, a tense silence fell over the two of them as his mother kept her back to him. When he had gotten home yesterday from his encounter with the reapers his mother had given him a curious look and questioned why he was wearing something different than what he had left in. He had explained that he had gotten it from a store near the beach because he thought it looked nice, trying not to call attention to the lack of his previous clothes that he had thrown away with the rest of the beach junk.
It hadn't been entirely a lie, but he had never been a good liar. While she had verbally accepted the story; telling him that she hoped he had a good time and that he looked nice in his new black and yellow jacket. But she was an even worse liar than he was and he could see in her eyes that she didn't believe him. And now as she turned around and sat down across from him he could feel her eyes on him as they sat in silence, with the only noise being bubbling water and the crunch of food.
"Izuku" she said, making him sink further into his seat as he looked into his reflection in his tea. He didn't want to look her in the eye because he knew he wouldn't be able to keep himself quiet.
"Izuku please" she said again; pain in her voice as his chest tightened, the pressure growing more and more. He couldn't keep this up, he couldn't keep lying to his mom and as he turned his head up to look at her, her own eyes filled with concern and filling him with shame.
"Mom I…" he tried to say as a ping from his phone stopped him mid-sentence. His eyes darted to the screen and saw that it was Mineta.
"Izuku, you need to see this" it said and Izuku eyes moved from his mom and the phone.
"If it's important" she said with a soft smile that didn't reach her eyes.
Hesitantly and with regret he grabbed his phone desperate to quickly find out what it was that Mineta had been talking about. Opening his texts he saw that a video was attached. Pressing play his eyes went wide as he choked on his tea and immediately excused himself, headed straight towards the bathroom.
Locking the door behind him he pressed his back to door as looked back to the title of the video.
"Electric Kid stops gang"
The video was from the perspective of someone's phone that was hiding in a building, their hands shaking from fear as the sound of gunfire and the camera man's breathing. "Where are the heroes!" he heard the person said in a strangled whisper as slowly the phone camera slid above the window sill to show the familiar red coats of the reapers before a blast of blue lightning struck one of them. He watched the recording of his fight; the villains blowing up the roofs with grenades and there and jumping off the roof and landing in an explosion was him. Izuku heart nearly seized in his chest and he prayed that the camera man's shaking hands and general chaos would make identify him hard.
"Holy shit that kid's kicking their asses" the person whispered in amazement, watching as he lunged for the villain's weapon as it exploded. The camera man however was too focused on him to notice the Tsu had taken out the one with the whip quirk. He felt a sting of phantom pain as he watched himself take a shotgun to the chest and crawl his way to an electrical pole. And there at the end the man zoomed in; his body wreathed in electricity and his face clear to see.
"Shit, shit, shit!" he whispered to himself as the heart began hammering in his chest, anxiety forcing the boy to pace back and forth across his bathroom with frantic footsteps. His eyes were flashing to and from the screen, unsure of wear to even look as the magnitude of what was going to happen slammed onto him only for his eyes to finally fall onto the view count.
1.4 million Views
He nearly threw his phone as he dropped it onto the bathroom counter-top with a loud thud. Sitting on the rim of his bathtub he dragged his hands across his face; a muffled moan of agony escaping his lips. It hadn't even been a full 24 hours and already so many had seen it.
"I'm so fucked" he cringed, heel tapping a mile a minute against the floor as he heard his phone ping from another text. Scrunching his eyes he pulled himself back up and lazily grabbed it, clammy fingers fiddling with the screen as he began reading.
"Hey man did you see what I sent you" Mineta questioned.
"Yeah I saw it" he texted back as he sat back down, fingers combing through his hair.
"Over a million dude, it's crazy" Mineta exclaimed "You're like one of the pros"
"I didn't plan on being recorded" Izuku said back, his anxiousness turning hostile.
"U didn't exactly do much to hide yourself" Tsu pointed out, finally joining the group text.
Izuku groaned as breathed through his teeth. He knew she was right but it didn't help to hear it. But it wasn't like he had the time to find a mask or something while those bastards were shooting up the street.
"So what r you gonna do" Mineta asked.
Izuku didn't know, he had no idea of how to even begin to handle this, he was hoping on this never happening to begin with! As he returned to pacing back and forth, beginning to hyperventilate as the thought of the police coming to his door and arresting him sent a dagger of fear right into his heart.
And that dagger was driven even deeper when he heard a knock on the bathroom door.
"Izuku there's someone at the door for you" he heard her say, and he didn't have to see here face to know as the apprehension and worry flowed from her lips. He stared at the door like a child would stare at his closet, knowing full well that was behind it saw nothing he wanted. But unlike an over imaginative child, he could not just curl up beneath his blanket, the consequences of his action had come for him and they weren't leaving.
But wait; "someone" he internally questioned, his mind screeching to a halt at the use of that word. If it was just police at the door their uniforms would have been clear to see and if not they should have at least identified themselves.
"Who is it" he asked, slowly moving towards the door as dread in place of fear slipped its way into him.
"It's a woman who says she needs to talk to you" she answered back.
A woman who wasn't dressed like a cop. Fear for himself was replaced with fear for his mother as he ripped the door open so hard he nearly pulled it off its hinges as his mother leaped back from the sudden action.
Inko looked like she about to speak but Izuku ignored her entirely, as electricity began to flow across his arms in preparation.
Turning the corner he saw a woman standing in his living room, their eyes cold and analytical as she scanned the room. She was wearing grey business suit and short brown hair. As she turned to face him fully, she seemed only mildly surprised by the electricity flowing from him as she gave a small, knowing smile.
"The man of the hour" she said; her voice cold in spite of her words as she walked up and looked down at him.
"Moya Jones" she raising her hand in invitation. Izuku quickly shook off the electricity in his hands as he accepted, shaking her hand as he wondered why this foreign woman wanted to speak with him.
His mother came up behind him, watching the two of them as Moya turned to her. "You have a lovely home Ms. Midoriya, may I take a seat" she said, turning her head to the couch. She didn't wait for a response from the matriarch of the house as she sat down; putting her briefcase to her side as she waited for the two Midoriya's to join her.
The pair of them only had to look to each other for a moment before they both sat down opposite to her.
"Who are you, and what do you want with my son" she asked as she nervously tried to regain a foothold in the conversation.
"You already know who I am" she said as she opened up her briefcase and pulled out a small tablet and the placed it on the coffee table. "And what I want is to discuss this" she finished as she pressed a finger against the dark screen, its surface lighting up to show a video of him fighting the reapers.
Izuku was silent as the video played; his eyes barely focusing on it as he watched his mother's reaction, and it was not a good one. His mother gasped, her hand covering her mouth as her eyes went wide. She watched as her son, fight real villains with real guns. And she watched him get shot.
As the video ended, he watched just stare into the black screen; her wide eyes, brimming with tears as she breathed deep and quick breathes.
"Mom" he said, laying a hand her shoulder which almost seemed to literally shock her back as she whipped her head to look him in the eye but her mouth remained silent.
"I'm sure this must be shocking but I'll need to speak to your son in private" Moya said as his mother could only nod her head like a rusty gate. "Can I speak to you in your room" she said turning to Izuku who was watching his mother, who looked like she had completely detached from the situation, staring off into space as tears ran down her face.
Slowly Izuku got up and lead the woman to his room, looking back to his mother who just kept staring. As the two entered the room and as Izuku shut the door Moya pulled a small black disc from her pocket and dropped it on the floor.
Immediately the device beeped and emitted a matrix lattice that encompassed the entirety of the room as Izuku looked around in surprise.
"Now we can talk freely" she said as she dropped her suitcase onto his desk and opened it once more.
"What was that" Izuku questioned defensively as the woman looked him with an expression that for the first time seemed genuine.
"It's a device that neutralizes sound in a given area; no sound can get in and no sound can get out." she explained as she sat down in his chair "We have a lot to talk about"
"Before I do anything else; I need to know who you really are" he demanded, the entire situation leaving him with a horrible taste in his mouth.
"I am a member of the Hero Public Safety Commission, international division. Our job is to preserve peace and as your encounter with that gang has proven; peace is currently getting bent over the table" She explained, leaning forward.
"The HPSC?" he nearly yelled as the gravity of everything that was happening tripled in weight. The HPSC was the practically the be all end all of the hero industry. They were the ones who doled out licences to new heroes and the ones that investigated the most dangerous crimes.
"And you are Izuku Midoriya; aspiring hero, current vigilante and the one who delivered the bomb" she said, looking into his eyes as if she could see right through him.
Izuku immediately got to his knees; apologizing profusely as he tried to explain that he hadn't known that it was a bomb, tears beginning to form in his eyes as Moya silenced him.
"I know, I've read the report" she said, rolling her eyes as he told him to stand back up. "I'm here because I need your help"
That shocked him, what could he possibly have that she would want or need from him. She answered the silent question by pulling a small picture from her briefcase and showing to him the image of a dark skinned man.
"That's my husband John White; before the blast he had been tasked with infiltrating the First Sons" she said, a look of deep sadness creeping into her eyes as she mentioned the man.
"Who are the first sons, are they some sort of villain group" he asked, to which Moya could only chuckle mirthlessly.
"More like a secret society that has been around since before quirks even existed" she remarked. "And they were apparently working on a device called the Ray Sphere. A device designed to grant quirks by draining the neuro-electric energy from a group of people and concentrating it into an individual"
This was all too much for Izuku; he knew that whatever that bomb had been a normal bomb. No normal bomb could grant quirkless people powers but secret society and spies, this was beyond him. And why him of all people? why had he been the one to deliver it?
"Forgive me but I still don't know what you want from me"
"The night of the blast I lost contact with him and I have not been able to find him" she admitted, a single tear sliding down her face that she quickly wiped away.
"But how do you expect me to find him" he questioned "I wouldn't even know where to begin"
"I know but you're the only one I know I can trust" she admitted which stunned him.
"What do you mean, you're a member of HPSC" he nearly screamed. "What do you mean I'm the only one you can trust?"
"The reason I'm coming to you is because I believe members of the HPSC might be compromised and I can't be certain who or how many that have been" she revealed, flooring the young boy.
"And I know I can trust you because I've read up on everything about you. You're a good kid and what you did to stop those thugs only confirmed it beyond a shadow of a doubt" she praised "And I know that if I were in your shoes I'd want to find the person responsible for all of this"
She stood back up, looking the young boy in the eye "So I'm offering you a deal; help me find John and the Ray Sphere and we'll be able to find the one responsible for all of this and bring them down" she finished, offering her hand to him.
Izuku stared at her outstretched hand, a flurry of thoughts whipping about in his mind. This was all so much. Only a week ago he was just a quirkless kid but now he was being asked to work with a HPSC agent to take down a secret society. Jesus Christ it was all too much. But before anything else he needed to know one thing.
"My friends; Mineta and Asui, they helped me take down those villains, can you make sure they don't get in trouble, it was all my idea" he asked which made the woman smile.
"They will be fine" she said and as the memories of him waking in that crater, that voice from before he woke up and the thousands that died made his decision clear.
"Where do we start" he asked grasping her hand and shaking it firmly, a look of determination growing behind his blue eyes.
"I'll need some time with things as they are. For now continue training for those entrance exams, though with less vigilantism" she advised with a smile
"How did you know I'm… HPSC right" he was about to question before her position made it obvious how she knew.
"Oh and don't worry about contacting me" she said breaking the handshake and retrieving the device from the floor and with it, the matrix disappeared. "I'll contact you"
Putting everything back into her suitcase the two then left the room and to his relief his mother was no longer staring into space, but instead of that she was watching the video of his fight with the villains and from the line of tears on her face he could tell that she hadn't stopped watching it.
"Thank you for letting me into your home and you'll be happy to know that no charges will be filed against your son for his vigilantism" she said as her hand asked for the tablet back to she did.
"Yes thank you" she said picking herself up and drying her eyes with her sleeve that had grown damp from repeated use.
The two walked with Moya to the front door and giving her thanks one last time shut the door and leaving them in silence once more.
"Mom I…" he tried to say before his mother cut him off with a statement that shook him.
"You aren't going to U.A. I pulling you out" she stated, her tone leaving no room for argument. But Izuku made room.
"Mom I know you're upset but" he tried to say again before his mother did something she had never done. With hand outstretched and in a wide arc she delivered a hard slap across his face. With his enhanced physiology the strike barely budged him but it still left him stunned.
Inko too looked stunned by what she had done, looking between him and her hand as she began to yell "NO NO NO" again and again. "No; I'm not going to lose you again" she cried as she stared at him in desperation and grief.
"Lose me, mom I know I nearly died because of the blast but" he tried speak again but once more was cut off by his mother as she screamed.
"YOU DID DIE!" the words left him speechless as his mother ranted and raved, tears falling from her reddened face.
"Your heart stopped Izuku; no pulse, for six minutes! They tried and tried to resuscitate you but you wouldn't wake up. I begged them, BEGGED THEM to keep trying for just one more minute, but I could see them bringing a body bag. They were going to put my little boy in a bag FOREVER! She screamed as she croaked out the words, each one a labour as if a vice had been wrapped around her throat. Her legs began to give out under her as Izuku quickly grabbed his mother, holding her weight as she cried and cried.
"But you came back" she sobbed "My reason for living came back to me" she said as she looked into her sons eyes.
"So no, you're not going anywhere" she urged, balling her fist and weakly hitting her fist on the floor "You're staying here where I know your safe.
It killed him inside to see his mother like this, his body feeling cold as he hugged her to him as she sobbed into his shoulder. But it hurt even more to know that he would have to go against her and make her cry even more.
"Then you should have made her arrest me" he said as his mother looked at him in anger but he refused to silenced again as he continued.
"Six thousand people died mom; six thousand people and their still pulling more bodies out every day, people that will never get to see their mothers again… or their sons. People who had their lives stolen and the thousands more who will never see them again" he asserted his fervor growing deeper with every word.
"Those clothes I got yesterday, they were a gift from a man named Haruki Sato. He lost his son in the blast; he will never see his son again and he asked me to become a hero. What right do I have to just hide away after so many have died? So if you want me to stop, then call the cops and have them arrest me because it's never gonna happen otherwise. Because even if I don't go to U.A I will still save people, you have no power over that. The only power you have is whether or not your son saves people as a hero or a vigilante, those are your only two options" he finished, breathing heavily as his mother stared at him, her eyes breaking as she began to hiccup in sorrow, burying her face back into his shoulder.
"You Selfish, selfish boy" she croaked as the pair hugged each other tight in the hallway.
"I know"
And as the two sat there a call was being made as the woman called Moya raised her phone to her head "The bird has been fed, let's see if he can fly"
And that's number six, and with it the end of the pre U.A arc. from here things will proceed roughly along the lines of the OT but with changes made because of the blast and my own personal changes that i'm sure some of you will find interesting.