Heroes Never Die It's Hero Time

by Guardian-Sigil

One would think that in a world where everyday people possess impossible abilities nothing would really be a surprise. Izuku Midoriya, who upon the age of four was diagnosed as quirkless, was denied of his dream of become a hero that can save everyone with a smile. But fate gives him a chance; allowing him access not to one but a universe of powers and abilities.

18. Ch:18 Exposition Ex Machina

Warning, this chapter is nothing too special. Sorry if you were expecting some kind of action, you'll just have to wait a little while until we can get back to the fun stuff. Essentially the name of this chapter is kind of on point is what I'm trying to say. But it's a necessary one.

Thanks for reading by the way, also take care of yourselves out there and be supportive of those around you. Everyone needs to stay as positive as they can be in these times, and we'll have our moments of frustration leak out and when it does be sure not to lash out at the wrong people. Thank you.

---

Ch.18 Exposition Ex Machina

Slowly expanding into existence, a dark swirling warp gate forms just inside an empty well-kept bar.

A shaking Shigaraki steps through his hands furiously scratching at his exposed neck. "We got crushed...they got Nomu…our cannon fodder was taken down in a flash, and all because of those…kids!" He pounds his fist against the counter as the warp gate vanishes behind him. "The Symbol of Peace is in perfect health! He took down Nue like he was nothing!" He leers over towards the television screen sitting at the end of the counter. "You were wrong, Master."

"No, I wasn't." A disembodied voice responds from behind the screen, out of sight, and somewhere disclosed. "We merely got ahead of ourselves. Yes, we underestimated him. Good thing that League of Villains came cheap."

Shigaraki is just about to correct his master, when the warp gate returns and a mutated Nue collapses onto the hardwood floor, followed by Kurogiri who calmly steps over Nue's prone form.

"What has happened to Nue?"

Kurogiri briefly examines Nue's new features.

He's almost unrecognizable, only his torn clothes and long black hair serving as a reminder of the once human teenager. But now he's just as tall if not taller than Nomu was and his physique is equally as powerful, but yet so much more mutated with unmatching features and limbs.

"We are…unsure."

A second voice speaks out from the screen. "Unsure, what do you mean?"

Shigaraki grips his neck in frustration. "There was a kid there… He had…the same powers as Nue, here." His gaze narrows towards the dark screen. "Similar powers to you."

Yes that boy, that kid with green hair and freckles was able to transform into almost identical forms as Nue. But how is that possible, Quirks are hereditary yet neither of them look at all similar. And now…Nue's some sort of monster… Just what the hell are these two?!

"Deku…"

Everyone turns to the hulking figure that's currently attached to their admittedly once clean floor.

"It was Deku…" Nue shakily adjusts his head enough to look Shigaraki in the eye. "He did this."

"Deku?" Shigaraki can only assume he's referring to that green-haired kid that Nue challenged to fight. "Yes, that brat could transform, too."

"Yeah…that's him." Nue pushes himself enough off the ground that his upper body will allow him to sit up. "I'll kill him!"

"Calm yourself, Nue."

Nue instantly silences himself in response to the command, but he's still fuming in anger.

"We will need a full explanation from you, at a later time."

The second voice cuts in. "Now tell us, what of our creation? Nomu? Why is he not with you?"

Kurogiri is the one to respond. "He was sent flying, and without proper coordinates, there was no way for me to find him." He then gestures to Nue. "Although I thought it best to hold on to this one."

"After all the trouble we went through to make him as strong as All Might, he was still unable to defeat him."

Shigaraki begins to scratch at his neck again, if he doesn't stop that soon he will end up drawing blood. "No…he didn't…"

The second person behind the screen is rightfully confused. As well as offended, as if Shigaraki is saying that their hard work and effort was but a waste. "What are you saying? Nomu was the greatest doomsday weapon against the Symbol of Peace we had! We even had my assistant mutate him further to boost his strength and endurance. He was more than suited to kill All Might!"

"Nomu…was taken out by…children."

"Preposterous! That is impossible! No one! Not even All Might could defeat him!"

Shigaraki slams his fist against the counter. "Well, they did! Those kids…those brats, were able to take down all of our pawns like they were nothing!" He then looks towards the defeated chimera who's taken to leaning his massive frame against the wall. "And one of them…that Deku could transform just like him! Then there was the one that blew Nomu away with a single shot!" He raises his hand flexing his fingers as if imagining decaying each of the brats' heads in his palm. "But…the most irritating one was her…"

"Her…?"

"There was one…one kid who seemed almost as strong as All Might…"

That girl with the round face and brown-bobbed hair. She delivered a smash so strong that he slightly thought that All Might himself was standing before them like an almighty god descended down from the heavens to put mere mortals in their place.

"…Oh?" There's a hint of interest in his Master's voice.

"She…I think she had two Quirks."

Now the second voice sounds intrigued. "Really?"

Nue jolts up a bit with confusion. 'Two Quirks? She only said she had one the last time we met…'

Shigaraki decides to take a seat before going into an explanation. "She used a Smash attack to attack Nue here…and then…it seemed as if she could manipulate gravity too." He grabs his head, leaning forward into it in frustration. "She was the key to their victory."

Without her power, Nomu would have certainly survived that blonde's explosive blast. Sure Nomu would have still been dealt burn damage, but he would have recovered. The only reason that last attack worked so well as it did was because that girl, at least from what Shigaraki can tell, could make things weightless with that pink light of hers. And so Nomu had no support nor a chance to defend himself from the blast and due to his weightlessness, he was easily launched out and away from him and the U.S.J.

He grips his head even harder. "Without that pest we might have actually gotten the chance to use Nomu against All Might…"

"No use crying over spilled milk. This endeavor was not a complete loss… I believe you've learned a lot, haven't you?"

Shigaraki would hate to admit aloud especially in front of the others, but he has learned a bit. First off, he made far too many mistakes, it wouldn't be so farfetched to say that he failed from the very start. He failed to consider the students' Quirks and abilities, he failed to properly look into Nue's background, and he had no definite way to confirm whether All Might would actually be there or not. And of course, he never accounted for other unknown variables such as surprise appearances by unknown heroes like that hero that took on Nomu for a little while. Just who was that guy anyway? Was he really a hero? Either way he can take away a lot from this defeat.

Understanding what he must do next time Shigaraki nods, showing his Master that he has learned.

"Good. Now focus on finding stronger troops, take all the time you need." That will be Shigaraki's next step. "We can't move freely. That's why we need a Symbol like you, Tomura Shigaraki. Next time, the world will know of the Terror you represent."

Shigaraki, despite his rage and frustration, smirks from underneath the severed-hand attached to his face. He will not fail in his mission; he will bring about Terror onto this society and its heroes.

While they've been exchanging words, Nue has come to his own dark realization. He is unable to transform himself back to human! How?! Why?! Just what did Deku do to him?! He will not live his life out as a monster! "RRRRRAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHH!"

---

A police detective watches on as his colleagues and pro heroes herd the horde of villains into a transport vehicle awaiting them just outside the U.S.J.

The detective is a tall man with short, black hair and black eyes. As a member of the police force, he's wearing a standard tan overcoat and matching hat, underneath he wears a black suit, a green tie with matching slacks, and dress shoes.

"That's a lot of villains… How many is that so far?"

One of his fellow officers replies while taking a head count of the criminals as they march. "Not including those…animals we have over sixty individuals."

A few screams and shouts ring out as one of the mutated koi fish thrashes about snapping at anybody that gets within range.

The detective is quick to take charge. "Make sure to keep that thing secure! The last thing we need are mutant animals running amuck in the ecosystem."

One of the pro heroes, Cementoss, steps forward. "Allow me to assist you."

Cementoss appears to be a humanoid block of cement with black eyes and gray hair tied into a short ponytail. His body shape is even blocky all around his body. His eyes are generally closed, and his lips are pulled upwards. His hero costume consists of a sleeveless brown suit that includes yellow stripes, shorts, and an elongated collar. He also sports gray shoes with yellow soles.

Cementoss slaps his hands against the cement ground and several pillars of cement burst from the ground and surround the thrashing mutant fish. The thin pillars wrap themselves around the fish, restraining it like ring-shaped weights. With the koi fish completely immobilized Cementoss uses his Quirk to push the cement forward to the transport vehicle.

With that potential crisis avoided, the detective decides to see the students as several members of the U.A. staff decide to check on them as well. "Well besides two of them, it looks like they're all unharmed."

Nezu, the ever chipper principal of U.A., is more than happy to confirm the detective's statement. "Yes, all in all I'd say we were quite lucky that no other major injuries have occurred."

Present Mic looks to his fellow coworkers. "Hey, where's the big guy, All Might?"

Snipe points towards the direction of the main school. "He went on back to campus, said something about wanting to check in on our injured students."

Snipe has the appearance of a stereotypical western cowboy. His face is covered by an old-school tan gas mask with his purplish shoulder-length dreadlocks visible from the back and sides. On his head, he wears a brown cowboy hat with a large "S" stamped in the middle of it. He wears a large red cloak under which he wears a plain black tank top with white armor strapped over the right side of his torso, and a brown belt with a gun holster attached at his hip. He has baggy black pants with yellow chaps over them in stereotypical cowboy fashion.

Meanwhile, the students of Class 1-A are huddled together as one big group, probably because after being separated like they were they are not ready to leave each other's side just yet.

Tooru Hagakure notices the soot clinging onto Mashirao Ojiro's costume and tail. "Ojiro, looks like it was into the fire for you this time, and all alone? Nice going." She offers a friendly pat to his shoulder.

"I thought everyone was alone… I only survived with hit-and-run tactics." He rubs the back of his aching neck. "Although those flaming salamanders didn't make it easy."

In the background a large red lizard-like creature spews out flames from its mouth before scurrying away only to be intercepted by the pro hero, Ectoplasm and his clones.

Tenya Iida is bowing his head in respect to one Hanta Sero. "Sero! Thank you for your service, your efforts saved us all!"

Sero is admittedly a bit embarrassed, but he still appreciates the praise. "It was no trouble, man. I bet you'd have done the same."

From nearby Minoru Mineta is holding his head in anguish, with tears of relief flowing down his cheeks. "That was terrifying."

Denki Kaminari nods. "No kidding, I got held hostage and we had to fend off a flock of monster birds."

Momo Yaoyorozu quickly tries to correct his statement. "They were actually cockatiels; you could tell by their beak and wing structures. Although they appear to have undergone some sort of mutated evolution of some sort."

Kyoka Jiro smiles sheepishly from her side. "I…don't think that really matters."

Fumikage Tokoyami is having a discussion with Koji Koda, Eijiro Kirishima, and Mezo Shoji. "Right, guess those lowlifes were spread out, waiting for us."

Kirishima frowns. "Looking down on us, cuz we're kids. So unmanly."

Shoji eyes each of them looking for any signs of injury. "How'd you guys handle yourselves?"

Tokoyami smirks. "Very well, Koda here was most valuable in the battle." He gives his shy teammate a smile. "He was even able to take command of the monster frogs." Heck at one-point Koda commanded the mutant frogs to attack the villains.

"Kero?"

Tokoyami jolts finally realizing that their resident frog-girl was in hearing distance. "Um, no offense."

Tsuyu Asui is quick to brush it off. "None taken." She holds a finger to her cheek. "I'm just worried about Midoriya and Uraraka."

Principal Nezu overhears and is swift to ease her worries. "Not to worry, they've already been sent to the Nurses' Office. Recovery Girl should have them back up to optimal health in no time!"

Tsuyu sighs at the reassurance. "Thank goodness."

Mina Ashido shoves her way to the front of the group. "What about Thirteen?!" After what's happened the worry has done nothing but build up in her mind.

The detective is the one who responds. "Thirteen has terrible lacerations and burns across their body, as well as a gash in their arm, along with an undisclosed amount of venom injected into them." Upon seeing the concerned and worried looks of the students, he quickly changes gears. "But the best of the best doctors are already on the case! In fact, Thirteen's condition is already stabilizing so their life isn't in any more danger."

Tsuyu has one other person to worry about. "And Mr. Aizawa?"

"Both of his arms were smashed to splinters. His face is also fractured. Thankfully he doesn't have any brain damage, and Recovery Girl will oversee his recovery as well."

The students visibly relax, glad to hear that their teachers are going to make it.

Iida propels his hand into the air, drawing the detective's, and everyone else's, attention. "Sir, what of Midoriya and Uraraka?!"

"Midoriya and Uraraka… Ah! It seems they were sent to the Nurses' Office since both of their injuries were miniscule compared to your teachers'. I actually have some business over there myself." Deciding now is a good time to make his leave, the detective turns to one of his coworkers so that they can oversee the students. "Sansa, I'll leave the rest to you."

Sansa, a literal catman, salutes in response to his superior. "Understood."

Mina and Hagakure blink in surprise upon seeing the police cat. 'He's a cat?'

Hagakure gushes at the sight. 'Aw, look at his little bell.'

'Is it weird that I want to pet his head?'

Nezu in the meantime is considering how they can prevent this situation from ever occurring again. "We'll need to completely revamp our security systems." He cups his chin while in thought. 'Perhaps I can get One-One to assist me.'

One of the police officers, one that resembles an oni, runs up and salutes his superior. "Detective Tsukauchi! I have a report. We've apprehended what seems to be a villain in a thicket about 400 meters from here!"

The detective turns to face the officer. "In what condition?" From what he's heard, one of the villains was sent flying out of the U.S.J. so he must be in critical condition.

"He seems unharmed and he's not resisting arrest oddly enough, he's not responding in any way."

Knowing he is no longer needed; the detective turns to the principal of U.A. "Principal. I'd like to go over the school with a fine-toothed comb, if you don't mind."

Nezu smiles up at the taller man. "Ah, of course. I'm sure some won't be happy, but the police certainly have jurisdiction! Investigations are your field of expertise. Do what you feel is necessary! U.A. will fully cooperate."

"Thank you. Principal."

Before he can leave, Shoto Todoroki approaches the two authority figures and addresses the detective. "Sir."

"Ah, yes?"

"What of that man? Tetrax Shard?"

"I'm sorry, who?"

Nezu's smile falls, he's just as confused as the detective is.

Todoroki goes ahead and explains. "There was another intruder, he's a large man wearing a strange grey and black suit with a helmet completely covering their head. His name is Tetrax, Tetrax Shard. Uraraka and I encountered him and then he helped us fight off Nomu, but he was injured. I was wondering what ever happened to him afterward."

"I'm sorry, but we didn't find anybody with that description." The detective quickly looks towards the transport vehicle and the villains inside in an attempt to spot the man fitting the boy's description.

Nezu, unable to let his curiosity and concern slide, addresses the young man. "Mr. Todoroki. Please tell me, why was this intruder here?"

"He said he was searching something?'

"What pray tell?"

"I believe he called it the…Omnitrix."

For a brief moment, Nezu's eyes widen with shock, before returning a neutral glint. It was so fast that hardly anyone could have noticed it.

But the detective…somehow must have sensed the flash of emotion in Nezu because he gazes down at the short chimera with slight concern and intrigue. "And what is that?"

"Well, according to Uraraka, it's that support item Midoriya wears." Todoroki gestures to his left wrist. "His watch."

"Hm, I'll look into it. Thank you for letting me know." With a bow of his head the detective leaves for U.A. 'The…Omnitrix, huh? Why would a villain be after a student's support item?' Guess he'll just have to try and find out.

Meanwhile, Nezu is lost in his own thoughts. 'Tetrax Shard…was after the Omnitrix? I have to find this mysterious intruder…'

A few possibilities on how to find this Tetrax cross his mind, but none seem like they'll be successful. As he continues to ponder his phone begins to ring in his pocket.

He checks the number before popping it into his ear. "Hello, how may I help you?" He listens as the caller explains themselves. "Ah, yes. Thank you for calling…I was hoping to have a chat with you. If you would I'd like to speak to you in person…"

---

Ochaco Uraraka enjoys the surprisingly comfortable bed and sheets, but that could just be she's so exhausted that anything other than pain would feel comfortable right about now. Her left arm is all bandaged up and thanks to Recovery Girl the swelling has already gone down.

On the bed next to her own, is Izuku Midoriya. He's in way worse shape than she is with a bruise on his cheek, and bandages across his chest and arms. His once new hoodie is now folded up as neatly as it could be on the chair next to his bed.

They both release their built-up stress with a deep exhale. "What a day…"

Recovery Girl swings around in her high seat. "The situation being what it was I won't scold you two as harshly this time."

They both visibly relax, grateful that they can avoid getting an earful for their actions.

"This time." She warns sternly.

They both go stiff in response, silently promising themselves to try and not be back at the Nurses' Office any time soon.

Without any warning, the infirmary's doors slam open. "I AM-GWAH!" There's a loud thud as something collides with All Might's stomach.

"Be quiet!" Recovery Girl removes her cane from All Might's stomach. "These children have already been through enough without you disrupting their rest."

All Might rubs his side, and for a moment the Symbol of Peace himself looks scared. "Y-YES, MA'AM."

Izuku tries to sit up in his bed but a sharp pain from his side prevents him from doing so. "All Might?"

Ochaco sits up from her seat. "What are you doing here?"

All Might is happy to answer with a shining smile and chipper attitude. "ISN'T IT OBVIOUS? I CAME TO APOLOGIZE OF COURSE!"

A harsh silence falls upon the students and the nurse, it's hard to take an apology seriously with his current demeanor.

All Might also identifies the issue. "BUT IF I MAY I DON'T THINK THIS THE PROPER FORM TO DO IT." With a puff of smoke All Might is gone, replaced with his much weaker and skinnier form, and just like that Yagi Toshinori is here.

Ochaco's jaws drops down in absolute horror and shock! Did he forget that Izuku was there?! How is he supposed to explain his weakened form?!

Unbeknownst to her, Izuku is just as surprised as she is, but because he assumes the same exact thing as her: how could All Might just expose himself in front of the others, especially Uraraka?!

Both Izuku and Ochaco yell out simultaneously. "What are you doing?! You can't show that form!" They then turn to each other after realizing what the other had said. "What you knew?!" They both shyly look away. "Um, no…yes, wait what?!" They then jab accusing fingers at each other. "Why didn't you say anything?!" They then both turn their glares onto Toshinori. "Why didn't you say anything?!"

Toshinori chokes back a chuckle. 'They're both in sync…' He coughs, catching a few drops of blood in his hand. "I'm sorry for the scare, but yes everyone in this room knows about my true form…and my injury."

Izuku's eyes widen, so Ochaco really did know about All Might's condition, guess now he only has one real question for her. "W-when did you find out?"

Before Ochaco can answer Toshinori answers for her. "Last year, I had a run in with each of you on separate occasions." He gestures to Ochaco. "I met Uraraka after her escape from the Rojo villain."

Ochaco remembers that day vividly, after escaping the villain and talking to the police she went home and met All Might at the station. Who knew this is where they would be a year later?

"And I met young Midoriya a month or so before that…"

'So…he did remember me.' A part of Izuku is actually kind of glad to know that All Might remembered him, but the other part of him is shaking with worry. Worried because he told All Might that he was Quirkless! Will he really believe that he's a late-bloomer?! But if he does remember him, does that mean he remembers…what he said? What he did?

Toshinori continues on. "After these recent events, I thought it only be fair to disclose this to the both of you. Not to mention I don't have to strain myself to keep up my facade when around either of you…and Recovery Girl…but she's known about this for a long time."

Ochaco is unsure how to take in the fact that Deku already knew about All Might's predicament, sure it's nice to have one less secret to keep from him, but on the other hand… If Deku already knows about All Might's condition, why not include Deku in on One For All? Is All Might still worried about potential threats or does he not trust Deku?

Toshinori positions himself at the foot of their beds, this way he can look them directly in the eye. "I'm sure you both have questions, but…if you would indulge me. I have some things I'd like to get off my chest."

The two settle their minds to focus solely on All Might and what he has to say.

"First of all I wanted to apologize to the both of you…" Toshinori takes a deep breath before continuing. "You both suffered so much because of my arrogance…earlier today I wasted my time limit and as a result you and your classmates had to face those villains all on your own without me. What's worse is that you all essentially were protecting me since the villains were there to kill me." His eyes cast themselves downward, hiding the look of shame washing over them.

"Not only that but I've clearly been negligent in my duties as a teacher." He gazes up at his successor, hoping she is willing to forgive him for his arrogance and mistakes. 'You are unable to properly control your power and I should have better prepared you to wield One For All. I should have helped you more, otherwise you wouldn't have been as injured as you are, and you could wield it without fear or restraint.' He bows his head. "I promise to do better as a teacher, not just to you and Midoriya, but to every single one of you students."

He raises his head to address the young man. "Finally, I have to apologize for not being the hero I'm supposed to be." Their eyes lock together, and a silent message is passed onto Izuku. 'I'm sorry for not supporting your dream.'

Somehow, Izuku understands what All Might is trying to communicate to him. All Might really does remember that day, which means he does remember what he did to Izuku. And now, now he's trying to make amends… Izuku would really like to accept the apology and let bygones be bygones, but he can't lie and say that there isn't a part of him that isn't going to forgive the pro hero. After all he was…is a Quirkless kid with dreams of becoming a hero. Is All Might saying this because he thinks that now that he has a Quirk, he can be a hero? Or is he saying…that even someone who is Quirkless can be a hero? Then again maybe…maybe he's overthinking this, and All Might just wants to set things right between them…

With his individual pieces said, Toshinori bows his head to the both of them. "Please accept my humble apologies. From now on I promise to the both of you that I will be more diligent in my responsibilities as your teacher."

Neither of them respond initially, one is still wrapped up in his own mind and conflicting emotions, so that only leaves Ochaco with the capability to answer. "All Might…this wasn't your fault. You couldn't have known that those villains would try something like this. I mean you're still only human, how could you have known?"

Izuku has to agree, no matter his feelings towards the hero, it wasn't his fault that the villains attack them. "…She's right, it's not your fault. And I'm sure the rest of our class feels the same way." He offers a small smile in return in an attempt to appease the hero.

That small smile is enough for Toshinori, because it fills his heart with such great relief and happiness to hear that, so much so that tears begin to leak out from his eyes. "Thank you…"

While Toshinori wipes away his tears, Recovery Girl watches on with a warming smile. She can't help but find the sight so endearing.

From behind her the door slides back open.

The detective from earlier removes his hat while greeting them all with a friendly smile. "Pardon me."

Recovery Girl smiles back at the familiar face. "Aw, so nice to see you."

The detective turns his attention to Toshinori. "Long time no see, All Might."

Toshinori's eyes light up, he's so excited that a bit of blood splorts out from between his teeth. "Tsukauchi! Didn't know you were here!"

Ochaco eyes the newcomer worriedly, he's seen All Might in his weakened form! "All Might! Is this, uh, o-okay?!"

Toshinori chuckles. "Yeah, it's fine. This is my favorite detective on the force, good old Naomasa Tsukauchi!"

Naomasa Tsukauchi laughs as he closes the door behind him. "Ha ha, thanks for the weird intro." He steps forward to greet the students. "It's a pleasure to meet the two of you, as All Might said I'm Detective Tsukauchi."

The two children respectfully respond in kind. "Nice to meet you, sir."

"Not to rush any of you, but I'd like to get your statements, especially about the villains. If we can I'd like to start with you, All Might."

Toshinori holds up his hands as to gesture for the detective to wait for a second. "Wait, hold on. Are the students all right? And how are Aizawa…Eraserhead and Thirteen?"

Detective Tsukauchi smiles, he appreciates how even while weaker than before All Might will always worry over others. "Besides your friends over here, the students got nothing more than a few bumps and bruises, nothing to stress over. And the two teachers are out of danger, for now. If you three heroes hadn't put your lives on the line the students wouldn't have made it out unscathed."

Toshinori frowns in response to the detective's praise. "I see but you've got one thing wrong, Tsukauchi." He gestures a hand to the very children that just fought off an army of villains. "In this fight, the Students put their lives on the line too! In fact, they did much more than the rest of us. Especially me." After all, how can he have the gall to say that he saved the day? If anything, these students were more capable than all of the pro heroes today. "To be thrown into a real battle so young…and survive. Now these first-years know how scary the world can be. Have you ever heard of such a class?!" He can't stop the sense of pride flooding through his chest and out through his voice. "Those foolish villains picked the Wrong fight! Because the members of Class 1-A are going to be Mighty heroes indeed!" He offers a grin to the future heroes in question, who have been listening on with admiring and shining gazes. "I'm…going to make sure of it."

That makes Tsukauchi smile. "I'm sure you will. But I'd still like a statement either way."

"Of course." Toshinori follows the detective out of the infirmary, but not before one last wave to the students and a respectful bow to Recovery Girl.

Recovery Girl grins cheerfully. "Not to worry, Miss Uraraka will be able to leave as soon as I remove her bandages."

"Great, then I'll collect her statement right after." Tsukauchi closes the door behind Toshinori as they both make their exit.

Ochaco waves one last time as the door shuts closed. "Now then…" In a flash she swirls around in her seat. "You knew?!"

The sudden outburst makes Izuku jump back in fright. "Ah, uh, y-yeah! B-but i-it was a w-while ago!" He leans to the side to look at Recovery Girl. "Y-you knew too, though?"

Recovery Girl smirks in response. "Of course I did, who do you think oversaw his recovery when he first got injured?" She jumps off from her seat before approaching Ochaco. "Now let's get you all fixed up." She puckers her lips ready to heal Ochaco's last remaining wounds.

Ochaco nervously backs away not really wanting a kiss to the cheek from the elderly woman.

---

Ochaco yawns into her palm as she makes her way to the exit.

Recovery Girl waves her off from her chair. "Have a safe trip home sweetie! But make sure you see the detective first; you'll find him in the break room."

"Of course. Thanks again for healing me."

"It was my pleasure." She waves her cane at her, mocking to hit her if she doesn't leave. "Now I got to get this one out of here." She points her cane towards Izuku, who flinches at the sight of the swinging cane that resembles a large syringe.

Ochaco chuckles as she waves him goodbye. "I'll see you later, Deku."

Izuku waves back. "You too, hero."

That really makes her happy to hear as her grin stretches even further across her features. That last compliment gives her a little boost to her step as she takes off for the break room.

When she arrives in such a high spirit, she decides to steal her mentor's line one last time, maybe it'll amuse his friend. "I am here!"

"That's my line!" Toshinori snaps at her from within the break room.

Seated next to him on the couch, Tsukauchi laughs into his hand. Ochaco smiles apologetically to her mentor as she takes the seat across from them.

After calming down from his laughing fit, Detective Tsukauchi stands and reaches his hand out to the girl. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Miss Uraraka. All Might's told me a lot about you."

Ochaco's steely eyes shift over towards Toshinori. "How much did he say?" She asks with suspicion, wondering what else he had to say about her.

Toshinori nervously sweats under her gaze, turning away and whistling to himself in an attempt to look innocent.

Detective Tsukauchi smirks. "Enough to know that you've taken more than his lines."

Ochaco's eyes jolt up in astonishment before she jabs a finger at Toshinori. "He knows, too?! Is there anyone you didn't tell?!"

The Symbol of Peace retreats back from her accusing finger. "Um, y-yeah, so I probably should have told you in the beginning, but Tsukauchi knows all about One For All and by extension you."

"Is there anyone else I should know about?"

"Not many, other than us there's Recovery Girl, Nezu, and two others."

"Well I knew about Nezu."

"You did?" Toshinori sounds surprised.

"We met the other day when you weren't at school."

"Ah…" He can't help but wonder what exactly they talked about…probably about him.

"Wait!" Ochaco slams her hands against the coffee table. "How come you get to tell people about One For All, and I can't get Deku in on it?!"

Tsukauchi sits quietly by, but he raises an eyebrow at Ochaco's request. Just who is this Deku person?

Toshinori admittedly saw this conversation coming. "Young Midoriya is a fine young man, but as I mentioned before this knowledge will paint a target on everybody who knows about it. Tsukauchi here is a long-time trusted friend as are the others that know about our secret."

"Deku can be trusted!" Seriously, he is really good at keeping secrets, especially Earth-shattering ones.

"Can you guarantee that?" Toshinori asks with all seriousness. "I'm not trying to question your friendship, but sometimes a secret like this can be too much for someone to handle." That and also…if they were to let the young man know about One For All, he also has to explain that he himself is also Quirkless. And he doesn't look forward to the fact that he'd also look like a hypocrite to the dear boy, he's already been through enough he doesn't need to know that his inspiration is a liar too. "After all knowing that the Symbol of Peace is not a naturally born hero may be enough to set him on edge."

"But Deku…he isn't like that. I'm sure he'd understand." She leans back in her seat. 'All Might was Quirkless before he got One For All. And Deku is still technically Quirkless so he would understand better than anyone. Wouldn't he?'

"Maybe…but I feel it best if you keep him in the dark for now."

"But-"

Tsukauchi rudely inserts himself into the conversation. "If I may…I agree with All Might."

Ochaco is taken back by the officer's sudden interruption but she doesn't voice it.

"Think of it this way, if the knowledge of One For All were to get out, what do you think those villains you fought today would do with that?"

Ochaco's entire body stiffens as she thinks about how much worse the attack would have been if the villains had decided to come after her instead. There's no way she would have been able to stand up to that Nomu nor any of the villains by herself…

Tsukauchi knows that he's got her thinking. "They'd try and take it for themselves and they'd target Mr. Midoriya in order to get you and One For All. Do you understand?"

"I do, but…it just seems so unfair."

"It is unfair, but that's just how it has to be." Tsukauchi removes his hat and places atop the coffee table as a way to make himself look more approachable. "But rather than thinking of it as a lie or secret, think of it as a means to protect him."

"I…guess I can do that." It might be for the best…but that doesn't mean she has to like it.

Toshinori smiles glad to hear that she'll stop trying to tell young Midoriya about One For All. Even with today's events, he still is a bit wary of the boy. If anything, showing him his weakened form again was an attempt to get the boy to open up to the pro hero. And in doing so maybe he'd give some clues away about his newly acquired…Quirks.

Tsukauchi is also glad to hear Ochaco complying. "Alright, I'd like to get started with gathering your statement. If that's okay?" He pulls out a small notepad and pen to take notes, since this is All Might's successor, he doesn't want to use a recorder in case any of them bring up that fact into the conversation.

Toshinori looks expectantly at the detective. "I hope you don't mind, but I'd like to stay and hear this for myself." Since he showed up so late, he's still not clear on exactly how things went.

Tsukauchi completely understands Toshinori's reasoning. "I don't mind."

Ochaco understands too. "Me neither."

Without any more delays the detective would like to get right to it. "Great. So, tell us everything that occurred from your perspective."

Ochaco then spends the next few minutes describing how the events of the U.S.J. played out. Starting with how they met Thirteen there and then the villains wrapped themselves into the U.S.J. Then of course how they were all warped away by a villain named Kurogiri. She explains how she was warped away to the Landslide Zone with Shoto Todoroki and how expertly efficient he was in freezing all villains and monster hamsters before they could even make a move.

Tsukauchi looks over his notes. "If I may; one of your friends, Shoto Todoroki, brought up how you ran into an unknown intruder."

A look of concern crosses Toshinori's features. "Who was it you ran into?"

Ochaco looks between the two adults, they are clearly waiting for an answer. She has no idea how much Todoroki actually told the detective so she might as well answer as truthfully as she can. "His name was…Tetrax Shard." She then realizes something. "Wait, whatever happened to him?! He was hurt pretty bad?"

Tsukauchi shakes his head. "We couldn't find him; he was just as slippery escaping the U.S.J. as he was getting into it."

Ochaco sighs glad to hear that a possible alien wasn't apprehended by the human police. "Oh, uh, that's too bad…I kinda wanted to ask him a few things." But where did he go? She'll have to bring it up to Principal Nezu later.

"Speaking of which, did he mention anything to you?"

"I…don't think so."

Tsukauchi's eyes narrow as if sensing her lie. "Did he mention something called the Omnitrix?"

Ochaco is actually surprised that Tsukauchi knows about the Omnitrix, before remembering that Todoroki must have brought it up to him earlier. "Yeah…he did."

"For full disclosure, Mr. Todoroki said that you knew what it was. Care to fill us in on it?"

'I knew it.' She needs to play her cards right, if not she may just cause way more trouble for everyone. "The Omnitrix…is that watch-thing Deku wears, to help access his powers."

"Deku is…?"

Toshinori answers for her. "He's young Midoriya."

"Ah." He gives Ochaco a curious look before moving on. "Why would this Tetrax be after Midoriya's support item?"

Ochaco thinks about her response, again she has no idea how much Todoroki said already and if she's caught in a lie then there's going to be even more questions that she may not be able to answer. "He said…he said he was sent there to get it."

"Then who sent him?"

"I…don't know. He never said."

"Was he not sent by the same villains?"

"No."

Tsukauchi and Toshinori share a look of concern and intrigue, just who is this Tetrax guy and why was he after a seemingly useless support item. After all support items are specifically made for their wearer's own Quirks and bodies, they would be useless to anybody else other than the intended owner.

"Alright, what happened next?"

"We fought him and then…" She considers mentioning how Tetrax explained a possible threat on Izuku's life, but she decides to keep that part out of this. That something she needs to bring up to Principal Nezu and Thirteen instead. "He offered to help us fight the villains."

Both the pro hero and the officer are justified in their astonishment. "He what?"

Ochaco can sympathize with their confusion. "He said he can't stand the idea of the villains attacking innocent children."

"So, he didn't arrive with the villains?"

"I don't think so, that Shigaraki guy didn't seem to know who he was either."

Toshinori has a burning question. "Wait, so he did help you fight the villains?"

Ochaco suddenly becomes nervous, looking away shyly. "Yyyeeeaaahhh, I sort of…accepted his…offer to help."

"You what?!" Toshinori bursts out in outrage.

Ochaco flails her hands about in self-defense. "I didn't have much of a choice! He was a good fighter, even Todoroki had a hard time taking him on, and he just offered a truce. So…I made a decision, and…I feel like it was the right one at the time." She nods her head as if to confirm her choice.

Toshinori calms himself, dragging a hand down his face in an attempt to do so. "I don't fault you for your decision, but it was too risky. He could have been trying to trick you."

"He…wasn't. He seemed really sincere."

Tsukauchi finishes scribbling away into his notepad. "Well whatever the case. What happened next?"

"Well after we came to an agreement we went to the Central Plaza and there we saw Deku fighting against someone who turned out to be Henzu Uuichi."

"Who?"

Oops, she didn't mean to let his name slip out. "Oh, he's a…um, guy that…um."

"Uraraka."

She sighs giving into the detective's demand. "I met Henzu Uuichi a while back…during the mutant attack on the mall a year ago."

Toshinori jumps up from his seat. "He was there?! A villain was there?!"

"Well…he wasn't a villain at the time. Actually he helped us fight off the mutants, but he left afterwards."

Toshinori sits back down. "Why was he there at the mall in the first place? Why did he help then?"

"Well…he was there with…Deku."

Both of the adults sit up a little straighter, and Toshinori's worries grows tenfold.

"Yeah, Deku was just as surprised to see him. Actually the two of them had a sort-of falling out after the mall incident and they haven't spoken since then."

The detective makes sure to jot this info down for later. "Interesting. I'll be sure to ask Midoriya about this." This Midoriya kid is certainly a magnet for odd individuals, isn't he?

Ochaco cups her chin. "When I think about it Bakugou knew him too. And if I remember correctly Deku said that all three of them went to the same school."

Tsukauchi writes that down as well. "Thank you. Please, continue."

"R-right. Well Tetrax, Todoroki, and I fought off the villains while Tsuyu, Iida, and Deku got to safety. But then Deku came back to help!" She's starting to get excited recapping the day's events like one would excitedly explain an epic fight scene from one's favorite anime. "But then Bakugou came out of nowhere, and bam! He captured that warping villain! It was super cool and badass…!" It finally dawns on her that she's singing Bakugou's praises, and that's scary to think about. "Don't tell him I said that." It comes off more as an order than a suggestion.

The adults let out a few chuckles before composing themselves.

Ochaco decides to get things back on track. "Another thing, that Nomu guy was way too strong: he apparently had two Quirk!"

Both adults nearly shoot out from their seats. "What did you say?!"

"Yeah, I remember, that villain with the hands, Shigaraki, said that Nomu had more than one Quirk! He had Shock Absorption and I think some kind of Regeneration-type Quirk."

The authority figures share a very worried look, it's clear to them all that this cannot be in any way good for them and society as a whole.

Detective Tsukauchi adjusts his tie. "Well thankfully, Nomu has been captured so we'll look into it."

"Anyway that guy was way too fast for us and Tetrax took a hit for Bakugou."

"Took a hit?"

"Yeah, he protected him, but he got injured in the process." She makes a few punching motions with her fists. "But we couldn't stop. So, we fought on and then Deku came in and saved us!"

"Saved you?"

Ochaco gets excited again, with stars in her eyes as she replays the epic scene in her mind. "Yeah, he got a new transformation that was able to take on Nomu! Hell he was even immune to Shigaraki's Decay Quirk!" She pumps her fist into the air. "And together we were able to use my Zero-Gravity and Bakugou's Explosion to blast Nomu away!" Her smile falters and she slowly lowers her hand as she takes on a much more somber tune. "After that, Uuichi…did something."

Tsukauchi tilts his head to the side. "Did what?"

"I'm…not sure. He just grabbed Deku's Omnitrix and then boom he was a giant mutated monster!"

Toshinori recalls the foul monster that escaped in the end. "You mean the one I fought?"

"Yeah, and from there you arrived and that was about it. The villains left and Uuichi got away."

Tsukauchi leans back in his seat overlooking his notes. "I just have a few follow up questions: Would you say the leader was this Shigaraki?"

Ochaco nods her head rapidly. "Yeah, that warping villain kept looking to him for directions and he was ordering that Nomu thing around."

"What else can you say about them?"

"Hm, that Shigaraki guy was…easily aggravated almost like a kid. But he was fast, and his Decay Quirk was terrifying." She shivers at the thought of how close he was to disintegrating her own face; now that's an image she doesn't need.

"Another question: did Shigaraki ever say anything that could suggest how the Nomu came to be?"

"Um, not really… Oh, he did mention something about Nomu being created or made to kill you." She points at the deflated All Might.

"Kill me?"

"Yeah… All Might?"

"Yes."

Ochaco fidgets in her seat. "Do you think…do you think they know about your…injury?"

Toshinori shares a look with his friend before giving his reply. "I don't know. As I said my secret is a well-guarded one so I know without a doubt that those that do know about it could have let it slip." Although he can't really say the same about young Midoriya… "Again it could be possible that they didn't know about it and were just trying to take me on."

Ochaco doesn't look too relieved, it's not exactly comforting to think that the villains could have potentially brought down the Symbol of Peace.

Deciding that they've grilled the girl enough for answers, Tsukauchi grabs his hat off the coffee table. "Okay, I think that's enough."

Ochaco rubs her fingers together. "Are…are you sure?"

Tsukauchi offers her a kind reassuring smile. "Absolutely, this will be of great help to us." He holds up his notepad and waves it around in his hand. "Hopefully we can get some answers and track down the villains responsible for all of this." He stands up and bows to the young woman. "Thank you for your time, Miss Uraraka we greatly appreciate it."

"Oh, y-you're welcome. I'm just glad I could help in some way." She bows in return. "I-it was also nice to meet you."

"Same. Now please be careful on your way home."

"Thanks." Ochaco picks herself up and walks towards the exit, but not before turning around. "And All Might…thank you for what you said…earlier ."

Toshinori offers a kind smile in return along with a small nod.

Glad to be done, Ochaco is more than happy to take her leave and head on home for a well-earned rest.

The two adults sit in silence as Ochaco closes the door and leaves.

When they are sure she isn't returning, Toshinori turns to his friend. "What do you think?"

Tsukauchi grins back at him. "I like her, I can see why you picked her." His grin falls though as does his bright demeanor. "But if you mean my thoughts about what she said…there was much of it I wasn't expecting."

"Such as…"

"This Tetrax fellow, the Nomu, and how this Henzu Uuichi plays into this." He reviews his notes and can't help but notice how often Deku was written out onto it. "But what's most concerning is how two of these factors are somehow related to Mr. Midoriya."

Toshinori can't help but agree with his friend's inference. "He should be healed enough for questioning by now."

Tsukauchi stands up and adjusts his hat. "Probably, Recovery Girl does work quickly. But I think it'd be best if I questioned him alone."

"I understand."

---

Recovery Girl takes her seat and begins typing away at her computer. "How are you feeling?"

Izuku groans from exhaustion, but at least most of his injuries are taken care of. "Better." His gaze falls upon his tattered hoodie sitting on the chair nearby. "Wish I could say the same for my new hoodie."

"I'm sure if you brought it to the support course, they'd fix it for you. After all it was ruined partly because of our obliviousness so it's the least that we can do."

"Thank you. I appreciate it."

Recovery Girl swirls in her seat. "Why'd you bring it, if I may ask?"

Izuku is happy to share how he got it. "Oh, it was actually a gift from Uraraka."

"Oh, was it now?" A sly smile appears on Recovery Girls' face.

Izuku blushes a deep red in response. "Wait! No, I mean yes! I-it's not like that!"

The infirmary door slides open, and Detective Tsukauchi makes his return. "Am I interrupting something?"

Recovery Girl smiles up at the man. "Back already?"

He steps inside, removing his hat in the process. "Yup, I need to get a statement from Mr. Midoriya here. Is it alright if we had the room to ourselves?"

"Of course but be careful." She jumps down from her seat before strolling her way out. "Don't be pressing him too hard, all of these students have gone through enough already."

"Yes, ma'am."

Tsukauchi takes a seat by Izuku's bed, as Recovery closes the door. "Are you ready to get started?"

"Yes, sir."

"Great, alright walk me through everything that occurred from the beginning."

That's what Izuku does. He walks the detective through everything that occurred from his perspective: their arrival at the U.S.J., the villains invading, and Kurogiri warping them all away. He then explains how Tsuyu, Iida, and him ended up in the Flood Zone, and using their combined efforts and reasoning, they were able to escape the villains and the giant koi fish. Next, he tells the detective how they tried to get back to the entrance, and they ended up passing by the Central plaza where they unfortunately witnessed Mr. Aizawa's crushing defeat in the hands (and claw) of the Nomu. He goes on to explain that the villain Nue called Izuku out and they had a fight, during the fight he was able to save Aizawa and get him to Tsuyu before Nue could attack. He then goes on to say how Ochaco, Todoroki, and the others arrived just in the nick of time and together they were all able to fight off the villains and defeat the monster known as Nomu.

Detective Tsukauchi briefly looks over his notes. "Now I have some follow up questions."

"Alright."

"Can you explain to me what the…Omnitrix is?"

Izuku internally gasps, how does this police officer know about the Omnitrix?! Did Ochaco say something? Or did they…did they find Tetrax? "The…?"

"Omnitrix."

"Oh, r-right… Um, my Omnitrix is this." Izuku lifts his left arm and gestures to the strange device attached to his wrist. "It's my one of a kind support item."

Tsukauchi eyes the device, as if he's engraving the design into his mind for later. "It certainly is one of a kind, I definitely have never seen something like it before."

"Its purpose is to help me control my Quirk, One Man Army."

Tsukauchi's smile falters and his eyes give away to a brief moment of distrust. "Ah, yes your Quirk from what I hear it's a very unique one."

Izuku smiles sheepishly. "Yeah, I guess it is."

Tsukauchi's gaze hardened ever so slightly. "Mind tell me when and where you got your…Omnitrix?"

"Oh, um…about…a year ago."

Tsukauchi makes sure to write that down. "So, you haven't had it for that long?"

"N-no."

Tsukauchi eyes the device suspiciously, his mind full of swirling questions and possible answers, but none of them seem to be correct.

Izuku fidgets under the detective's gaze become very uncomfortable with where this conversation is going. "Sir, if you don't mind me asking, but why are you so hung up on my Omnitrix?"

Tsukauchi eyes the young man before deciding to indulge him. "I'll level with you I want to know why someone would risk breaking into U.A. to take it from you."

"Take it?" Izuku's mind instantly goes to Tetrax, and if the heroes ended up capturing him.

"There was a separate intruder today, who was searching for this item and I would like to know why that is."

"Oh, well…I'm not sure… I don't know why he wanted it." Yes, he does, but he can't tell that to the officer. Not like he'd believe him anyway.

Unbeknownst to him, Tsukauchi doesn't believe his current answer. "Well, I can't assume you would know the reasons behind someone else's motives. I guess it can't be helped." He has to be careful how he goes about his questioning otherwise he could tip the boy off.

"Is that all, sir?"

"No, not yet." Tsukauchi goes through his notes to make sure he isn't skipping over anything. He would like to ask more questions about his supposed Quirk, but he's already pushing his luck. So, it's time to change topics. "Can you explain your relationship with one Henzu Uuichi, A.K.A. Nue?"

Izuku instantly gets that the detective has already been made aware of Nue's identity, after all several of his classmates overheard him saying it so it's not unexpected. So, there's no avoiding this anymore. "Y-yes."

"I was told you two had a history, care to specify?"

Izuku rubs the back of his neck, while avoiding eye contact with the officer. "We uh…used to be friends…"

Tsukauchi raises an eyebrow. "Used to be?"

"We…had a pretty bad fight, and we haven't talked since…" Izuku's eyes cast themselves downward before drifting to his watch, and the source of their dead friendship.

"Until today…" Tsukauchi finishes.

"Y-yeah, that was a surprise." Was it though? Henzu basically disappeared off the face of the Earth after their fight, and he was never a model citizen, so it really shouldn't have been that much of a surprise.

"I know All Might fought him, and according to All Might, Uuichi's or Nue's body had some…similarities to your forms. Do you know why?"

"Well…I think it's because of this." Izuku gestures to his watch.

'Now we're getting somewhere.' Tsukauchi gestures for him to go on.

"Well understand that Henz-...Nue's Quirk is called Osmosis and it allows him to absorb all kinds of solid matter, and even certain types of energy like electricity."

Tsukauchi quickly writes down these details.

"During our…fight he grabbed my Omnitrix and tried to take it from me. His Quirk must have been active and because this thing is so…closely linked to my powers he must have absorbed my powers rather than the item themselves." That is honestly his best assumption on what happened. How else can he explain Nue's new abilities? "He tried the same thing today…but that didn't work out for him so well." No kidding, the guy completely transformed in one of the most monstrous things he's ever seen!

Tsukauchi closes his notepad before getting up to his feet. "Alright, that's all I needed from you. Thank you for indulging me for so long."

"O-oh, i-it's okay! I'm happy to help."

Recovery Girl decides then to reenter the room. "Are you two finally done?"

Tsukauchi places his hat back on. "We just ended, ma'am."

"Good, I'd like to let this one rest before he can go home."

"Understood, I'll take my leave." Tsukauchi steps through the door before looking back at the young man. "It was a pleasure meeting you Mr. Midoriya, I look forward to what the future holds for you."

"Thank you."

Tsukauchi leaves without another word, he makes his way back to the break room while flipping through his notes.

When he arrives Toshinori is awaiting his return, his head quickly snaps up towards the door. "How'd it go?"

Tsukauchi rubs his forehead. "…I'm beginning to see why you're so wary of him."

"Why?! What'd he say?"

"It's more like what he didn't say." He scans his notes. "That boy…he is for sure hiding something." His Lie Detector Quirk definitely picked up on it, the boy was lying through his teeth when he gave certain answers, and it all has to revolve around that watch of his and his Quirk…

Toshinori is dying to know. "Like what?"

"That is unclear. But…whatever it is, it's definitely related to his supposed Quirk."

Toshinori looks visibly shaken, he knows full and well that if Tsukauchi is unsure about something then it's something to worry about. Is there a chance that young Midoriya somehow gained a Quirk since he last saw him? "You don't think…?"

"I hope not…but we supposedly have one villain with multiple Quirks, and a student capable of using multiple Quirks…"

Toshinori grabs at his head, he really hopes this is not the worst-case scenario, but the dread filling up within him tells him otherwise. It can't be though, he defeated that devil a long time ago there's no way he could still be lurking around. "It can't be… Do you think…?!"

"I hope not." Tsukauchi turns grim. "But if there's a connection between the two of them then that could explain a lot. For example, how did the villains know about the U.S.J. and that you'd be there?"

"I…" The Number One Hero's eyes widen with shock. "They could have been…told." Was it young Midoriya that told them?! Is he somehow connected to these villains?! And if he is…then it's his fault! He turned the boy away and now his negligence is coming back to haunt him. "This is all my fault…I shouldn't have been so harsh with the boy."

"Toshi…?"

"I…met him…a year ago, in this form. And…he asked me if someone Quirkless could be a hero…"

Tsukauchi eyes widen as if everything has just clicked into place. "You…didn't?"

"I did…I said no." Toshinori shakes with grief and guilt. "The instant I said that…I knew I crushed his dream, but I just…walked away, I turned my back on him."

"Toshi…"

"And because of me…he got himself involved with those villains…all so he can be a hero."

"What are you saying?"

"Maybe…Midoriya is not a willing participant but an unknowing victim…perhaps he's being manipulated."

That has to be it! Perhaps he's unknowing handing the villains and that devil what they want to know! That's a possibility, isn't it?! Then again this could just be All Might's way to gain some semblance of hope. Hope that young Midoriya can be saved and released from his servitude to the villains. But that's assuming that this is the case.

"Perhaps…" Tsukauchi puts away his notepad. "I'm going to hold my own investigation on Izuku Midoriya."

Toshinori was not expecting that. "Are you sure?"

"I think it'd be for the best. The best-case scenario is that I don't find anything incriminating and we can all just brush this under the rug."

Toshinori doesn't want to ask, but he does. "And the worst case…?"

"The worst case is…that we have a traitor among the students of Class 1-A."

'Dear God, please don't let it be true…'

---

Izuku finishes tucking his torn hoodie into his yellow backpack just as the elevator shaft opens up.

Ochaco steps through first, examining the main lobby of Japan's Plumber Base. "It's been a while since we've been here."

Izuku smiles, brushing his hand against the bandage on his cheek. According to Recovery Girl, a bruise isn't a big enough injury to justify using her Quirk on it. "You said it. Why do you think Nezu called us in so suddenly?"

As Ochaco was leaving her interview, both her and Izuku had gotten a text from Principal Nezu asking them to report to the Plumber Base before they head on home.

Ochaco shrugs as they make their way to the main hanger. "Don't know…maybe it has something to do with that Tetrax guy." Speaking of which, Ochaco can't help but wonder whatever became of him. 'Tetrax…just who are you? And where did you go?'

It doesn't take them long to reach the second level where the doors open up to a meeting area with a large table and at the end of the rooms are two separate gates that lead to different parts of the ship.

"We are here!" You know, maybe they should stop using that line so often before it loses its luster.

Seated upon the head chair is Principal or rather Magister Nezu and posted nearby on top of the table is a little spherical-robot named One-One.

Glad-One cheers at the announcement of their arrival. ^Hooray! It's so good to see you!^

Sad-One's reaction couldn't be any more different. ^Darn, I thought you too were dead…^

Ochaco and Izuku deadpan at the dual-personality robot. "Thanks for the vote of confidence…"

Magister Nezu smiles at their antics. "Please, don't mind One-One he was very worried for the both of you."

Upon being addressed by an authority figure, the teens greet the little chimera. "Good to see you, sir."

"Likewise, and might I say I am so glad to see both of you on your feet." Magister Nezu's smile falls as he bows his head slightly forward and he holds his paw to his chest. "I also must apologize, neither of you should have been in any way involved in this egregious act of villainy."

Izuku is quick to wave away the accusation. "It's okay, there was no way to know what the villains were planning to do."

"Thank you for trying to elevate my worries, but it still stands that the entirety of U.A. has been compromised." Nezu claps his paws together. "But that is not why I called either of you here for. Now I hate to make you both relive through today's events, but there's something that must be addressed."

Ochaco goes ahead and takes a seat. "What is it, sir?"

The doors leading to the operations room opens up and a lone figure steps out. "Me."

Ochaco shoots out of her seat so fast that she knocks it over. "It's you! You're Tetrax!"

Izuku is just as confused, slamming his hands against the table. "What are you doing here?!"

Tetrax Shard strolls over to the table, his helmet is still cracked but other than that he's walking around fine, free of injury.

He takes a seat opposite of the teenagers. "It's like I promised, I need to explain myself to you all."

^How kind of you.^

^I don't trust him. I bet he's here for our organs so he can sell them off.^

Izuku looks to their superior to see if this is alright. "Principal Nezu?"

Magister Nezu adjusting himself on his seat which is made up of a small stack of books so he can properly see over the table. "It's quite alright. I can guarantee that he was not in any way in league with the villains."

Now that is a relief to hear, the last thing either Ochaco or Izuku want are to get involved in another all-out fight, especially with someone so capable.

Nezu turns to their guest. "Mr. Shard please indulge our curiosities."

Tetrax nods his head from behind his helmet. "Of course, let's begin by explaining why I am here. If you couldn't tell, I am not in fact human."

Ochaco gives the alien a deadpanned stare. "Yeah, we sort-of figured that out for ourselves."

"Right, but as an extraterrestrial being, I knew I couldn't be found out by your planet's heroes…" Tetrax makes air quotes while saying "heroes". "And so after I witnessed your fantastic display of strategic battling, I made my escape and came here." He gestures to their current surroundings.

Izuku curiously stares up at the being. "But how'd you know it was here?"

Glad-One graciously provides an answer. ^Well how else do you think all the aliens that come here find us? It's public knowledge to them! Much like how everyone knows where their local police station is.^

Sad-One is of course ready with a quip of his own. ^It also makes it easier for our enemies to find us.^

The teens roll their eyes, figuring the robot was exaggerating.

Tetrax sheepishly rubs the back of his helmet. "They're actually right about that."

"What?!" They both cry out in surprise! Sure it makes sense but isn't it bad if alien criminals can find them too?!

The ever chipper Nezu simply laughs off their worries. "Hahaha!"

While Nezu calms himself down, Tetrax decides to get things moving. "Anyway if I may. After I arrived here, I had your little droid here contact the local Plumbers, and Magister Nezu arrived shortly after."

Well that explains how he got here and why Nezu called the two over here.

But that only increases Izuku's inner curiosity. "Wait, if you're an alien, what kind of alien are you?" He excitedly has his Hero Transformation Notebook at the ready, he's also been filing its pages with new aliens that he's had the pleasure of coming across in Mr. Baumann's store.

Tetrax smiles from underneath his helmet. "See for yourself." Tetrax reaches behind his head and after a switch of a button his helmet shifts and opens up until it sheathes itself back into his suit.

Nezu smiles on as the space cadets' jaws drop at the sight before them. "Diamondhead?!"

Tetrax looks at them with confusion. "Who?"

If he knew what they were talking about he certainly wouldn't be in the unknown. Tetrax is seemingly a carbon-copy of Diamondhead, because he's a Petrosapien. Although with a few differences such as a slightly different frame and no long shards of crystal sticking out from his hide.

"Huh, so that's how I got my new transformation."Izuku peers down at the Omnitrix. "When you grabbed it, it must have absorbed your DNA… That might explain how I got the Megawatt DNA as well when I think about it."

Tetrax approves of Izuku's deductive reasoning. "Yes, the Omnitrix is a device that stores and collects DNA of all intelligent life forms in the known universe. While also providing the wielder access to all of the DNA within it." His tone changes, becoming deeper and more foreboding. "And there are many that would do anything to get it."

Ochaco nervously sinks down into her seat. "Such as the one that sent you after it?"

"Yes."

"By the way…are you still here to take it?" Ochaco gestures to the watch, and in response Izuku instinctually backs away gripping said device protectively.

"…No, it's like I said, I am here to ensure it doesn't fall into the wrong hands." Tetrax then adds in the following with a casual demeanor. "And besides I couldn't take it even if I wanted to."

"Good point." Ochaco sweat drops, she had forgotten that the Omnitrix is literally fused to her friend's arm. So, he couldn't exactly press and button and slip it off, now could he? "Then why were you searching for it if you were sent to take it?"

"The one who hired me will only use its power to destroy and conquer, I couldn't risk it. So I took advantage of the situation deciding that I would ensure the Omnitrix's safety."

Izuku pipes in his take. "In other words you went against your orders."

Tetrax gives the kid a cocky smirk. "Exactly. And it's a good thing too."

Nezu claps his paws together and places them atop the table before addressing the Petrosapien. "Mr. Shard, please. Would you care to tell us who it is that hired you?"

"Yes…it was the most dangerous being in the universe, the one known as…Vilgax…" He draws out the threat's name to express how dreadful the danger truly is.

Nezu's usual calm and cheery demeanor is shaken, at least for a brief moment. "Are you sure?"

"Yes." There's no sugar coating this, Vilgax is the one that hired and sent him here.

"Oh my."

Ochaco rubs her ear, not sure if she heard the bounty hunter correctly. "Vil-what?"

Izuku is just as lost as she is. "Who is that?"

Nue gestures for Tetrax to explain away.

"Vilgax is a conquer and destroyer of worlds, a powerful being who has made dictators grovel at his feet to appease his violent tendencies. He's destroyed civilizations not for their resources but for sport! Wiped out entire species of aliens! He's so dreaded planets have surrendered themselves just to avoid his wrath bearing itself down upon them!"

The space cadets gulp, is this Vilgax guy really all that dangerous?

Nezu rubs his scar which runs down his face. "And somehow, he's been made aware of the Omnitrix's existence and he has his sights after it."

Tetrax grimaces. "Yes. And with it he will certainly create an army of transforming minions that can tear through any environment, army, and force that they come across all in the name of galactic conquest."

Izuku's eyes widen with realization. It must have been this Vilgax guy sending all those robots down after him all those months ago, but he had assumed that whomever was sending them had given up. Guess not…

Ochaco grips her hands together, in an attempt to keep herself cool and collected. "W-What do we do? H-how can w-we defeat him?!"

"You can't." Tetrax delivers this line rather bluntly.

Izuku and Ochaco freeze up, the blood draining from their faces as the temperature drops several hundred degrees.

Nezu tries to offer the two a kind reassuring smile. "Now, now there is no need to panic."

They both cry out while completely in sync. "How are you not panicking?!"

Nezu holds up a single finger. "A lesson for you both. Panicking never helped anyone; it's much more productive to stay calm and take everything at face value." As of now this is how things stand. "For one, a benefit of living here on Earth, especially in such a place as Japan, are our fine pro heroes that risk life and limb to defend the innocent and withhold the peace." Unbeknownst to the heroes, they are actually the main reason why the Plumbers of Earth don't have to deal with such vile alien criminals. "As such many of those who would otherwise cause harm to Earth or its inhabitants opt to stay away and not jeopardize their own resources on such an endeavor."

Tetrax takes over the explanation from here. "Especially when you consider how unique each humans' powers can be, there's no possible way for any enemy army to assume what the enemy has waiting for them. Not to mention you have the Symbol of Peace, All Might, protecting over your country and not to mention your place of education."

Izuku's eyes disappear from under his green locks. "Wait…you know about All Might?"

"Why of course. Someone with such great power as his doesn't exactly go unnoticed."

Ochaco blinks in rupees. 'Huh, how do you like that? All Might's also famous across the galaxy and not just the planet. Wow, I really have a lot to live up to, don't I?'

Tetrax continues. "In other words as long as you remain here on Earth, even Vilgax will play things cautiously."

Izuku isn't too reassured by that claim. "Will he?"

"He has to." Nezu turns in his seat so he can reassure the boy properly. "For you see, our fellow Plumbers station across the galaxies have recently established a truce with this very same Vilgax." He sighs in defeat. "However, we cannot make a move on him either."

"Why not?"

"As Mr. Shard has said, Vilgax is a highly dangerous individual so much so that our so-called truce is more of a cease fire and any aggression from either side could result in the destruction of not only Earth but many other planets across the universe."

Ochaco is actually shaking in her seat. "B-but t-then…w-what do we do?"

Nezu frowns in response, shaking his head. "I don't know."

"That's not reassuring…"

Tetrax raises his hand with an offer. "If I may, I might just have a solution."

The others look at him expectantly waiting for him to continue.

"This base is capable of scanning the entirety of Japan in order to keep track of any and all registered aliens living upon it. Correct?"

Nezu nods. "Why of course."

"Right well Vilgax gave me this." The bounty hunter pulls out a small rectangular device that's red in color and has a small screen embedded into its surface. "It's a special device that uses the same technology that allows Vilgax to locate the Omnitrix whenever it is activated." He hands the device to Magister Nezu so he can examine it himself. "So using the same technology and with the help of your droid we should be able to create a program of sorts to act as a jammer." He gestures towards the Omnitrix wielder. "Whenever Midoriya activates the Omnitrix the frequency it releases as a result will be scrambled across your scanner and hence Vilgax will be unable to detect his location."

Ochaco leans forward in her seat. "But will that really get rid of him?"

"It's no guarantee, as long as the Omnitrix remains here he will undoubtedly send more agents here to retrieve it."

Well that's not good, they'd prefer a more permanent solution, but it's still not a bad idea.

But Tetrax isn't done yet, there's one more thing they can do. "So, we must also take the Omnitrix off world."

Neither of the teens find the joke funny. "What?!"

He can't be serious?! Does he really expect Izuku to just pack up and leave for who knows where?! While a maniacal conqueror purses him until the end of his days?! Or does Tetrax mean they should try and remove the Omnitrix? There are several issues with that two: one, they can't remove it unless he plans to cut his arm off. And two, Izuku really doesn't want to part with the device…it's given him so much, and not just powers. Giving it up would bring everything he's worked towards to a screeching halt, and there will be no way for him to become a hero.

Tetrax can almost sense the despair and fear radiating off the boy, so he quickly tries to make amends. "Hold on, allow me to explain. What I mean is we lead him away with a fake Omnitrix."

That instantly snaps Izuku out of his funk. "A fake Omnitrix?"

Ochaco is equally just as confused. "How will we do that?"

"Simple." Tetrax takes the device back from Nezu and holds it up. "Using this device I can mimic the signal given off by the Omnitrix and as such Vilgax will believe that I have it. And that I am on my way to hide it and keep it out of his possession. In doing so he will abandon Earth to pursue me."

Izuku shakes his head, that can't be their best strategy. "That's crazy! If you were to do that he'd come after you and those you care about!"

Tetrax offers the boy a smile. "I appreciate the concern, but you have no need to worry." He jabs his thumb towards his puffed-out chest. "I'm pretty slippery despite my physique and besides…I have no one to lose…" His voice falls slightly.

They all notice the change in tone, but neither of them wants to be the one to point it out.

Tetrax coughs bring them back to the plan at hand. "What do you say Magister?"

Nezu hums to himself while in though, but it doesn't take long for him to have an answer. "I think it's our best option. To ensure Mr. Midoriya's safety, we must see this through."

"Thank you."

Ochaco isn't buying this either. "Are you sure you're okay with this? You could stay and we can come up with something else?"

Izuku agrees. "Yeah, you could always just say and help me with the Omnitrix and maybe my new Diamondhead form."

Tetrax shakes his head in denial. "I wish I could, but I cannot stay."

"Why not?"

"One, Vilgax will know I betrayed him and send others after me. So, either way I will be hunted. Also…I'm a wanted fugitive here now."

"Huh?"

Nezu scratches his ear trying to make this bit of news sound casual. "Yes, you see after hearing the collective statements of the students, there's a nationwide search for our dear Mr. Shard. He cannot stay, not without risking the exposure of aliens."

"I understand, sir."

Tetrax nods before getting up from his seat. "Good." He turns to One-One who's been quietly listening from the sidelines. "Now, droid let's get started on this program."

^Aye! Aye!^

^You can't boss me around.^

One-One hops off the table and follows Tetrax to the main operating room so they can begin programming their scanner and Tetrax's detector.

Nezu leans back in his seat. "In the meantime, there's a few things I'd like to discuss with the two of you."

Ochaco takes a guess about what it is. "Is it about the U.S.J.?"

"It is. During the police investigation…I granted them access to the U.S.J.'s camera footage."

Izuku and Ochaco share the same thought. 'There were cameras?' But then again not like they would have come in handy since all signals were cut off from the main campus.

"And there were some things that really concern me…such as the villain known as Nue, or rather Henzu Uuichi." The cameras are also installed with microphones, so they were able to pick up on certain conversations. "From my understanding of the situation the two of you know this person, do you not?"

Izuku swallows a bit of saliva before nodding. "We do…" he takes a breath before continuing on. "He…was my best friend back in junior high."

"Was he?"

"Y-yes, but we had a fight…" he would rather not get into it.

"Mr. Midoriya."

Izuku peers up at the principal.

"Please…tell me, you will not be in any trouble."

Izuku believes him and goes ahead with his story. "Nue…or rather Henzu was a friend and we all got caught up at the Mutant incident at the Kiyashi Ward Shopping Mall, that's actually the first time I met Uraraka. But before that…he had always known me to be Quirkless… He…felt betrayed…and so I wanted to explain myself to him…"

This is the first time Ochaco's hearing the full story as well. "Deku what happened?"

"I told him…I mean sort-of I didn't tell him about aliens or anything…I just said that I finally got my Quirk is all." And that lie made him feel like he owed Henzu. "But then…he wanted me to make it up to him." So he did, and he can only look back at the results with a powerful taste. "And there was a train…apparently it was filled with gold or something…"

"Deku…"

"Henzu…Nue wanted me to help him rob it by…crashing the train into a passenger train…"

Ochaco lets out a gasp while Nezu remains silent.

"That…was when I couldn't stand by anymore and…we had a fight."

"Like an argument?"

"No…I became Lodestar and we had an all-out brawl…but he did something."

Nezu gives his student an inquisitive look, while Ochaco pushes for answers. "Did what?"

"Do you remember how he grabbed the Omnitrix?"

"Yeah."

"Well, he did the same thing then and…I think he got my alien powers through his Osmosis Quirk. And after the U.S.J….well you all saw what happened to him." He became a monster. "And that was it…he didn't come back to school and he never answered my calls…our friendship had officially come to an end."

Nezu hops off from his pedestal and approaches the boy, placing a gentle paw to his hand. "My boy, you have my sincerest apologies for your loss. Losing a friend is never easy, especially to villainy." Or any situation for that matter. "In any case, this does clear up a lot." He removes his paw. "We best be careful from here on out when it comes to safeguarding the Omnitrix, and not just from Vilgax, but from Nue and others that could potentially use its power for nefarious ploys."

Ochaco shoots out from her seat, her fists balled up and raised as she leers determinedly at her allies. "I'll help too." There's no way she's going to let Deku get attacked by some cosmic villain, at least not alone.

"Thanks." Izuku smiles up to them , appreciating their support. "But are we sure I should be the one to have this…?"

He stares down at the alien device. Is it okay for him to be the one to wield this power? Especially if it's capable of being used to destroy and conquer worlds? Is it okay to leave it in the hands of a child?

"Mr. Midoriya."

Izuku snaps out of his stupor, as Nezu waits for him to calm down.

"I don't think there is anyone else more suited to wielding the Omnitrix than you." Nezu eyes the young man with pride. "You are a smart and capable young man, one of the finest I've ever met. So, believe me when I say that I don't think there's anyone else more suited to wield this device." Well there may be one other person that he can think of, but they're not here anyway so it doesn't matter. "Besides we can't give it to someone else even if we wanted to! Hahahaha!"

Nezu may be laughing, but Izuku's just happy to hear that the Principal of U.A. believes in him.

All too soon the main doors open back up and One-One rolls his way into the room. ^We finished!^

^You may now sing my praises.^

Ochaco gaps at One-One as Tetrax follow close behind the robot. "That was fast!"

Tetrax helps One-One onto the table. "Your droid here is a lot more efficient than it would seem."

Sad-One leers up at the Petrosapien. ^Don't patronize me.^

"The jamming program is up and running." Tetrax holds up his newly upgraded detector. "And this now has the capability to not only locate the Omnitrix but mimic its signature."

Ochaco examines the device with intrigue. "How do we know if it worked?"

Tetrax looks to Izuku for the answer. "Let's try it."

Izuku smiles in understanding, excitedly he presses down the Omnitrix and is replaced with the one and only Grey Matter.

Ochaco allows the little alien to step into her open palms so she can lift him up and keep him at eye level.

Tetrax turns the signal detector towards them, with a pleased smile on his face.

Grey Matter tilts his head to the side while examining the screen. "It worked?"

Nezu is also pleased with the results. "It appears so."

Tetrax pockets the device. "Now that this device can send out signals, Vilgax will have no way to locate your position."

Nezu hates to bring down the mood, but he's the type to look at things as they are. "Even so we must proceed with caution. Vilgax is a patient and calculating foe, he may very well still send his agents here to Earth." He offers an encouraging smile to the students. "But I think we'll be more than ready for when he does."

"Well in any case, I think I should take my leave."

The rag tag group of various species head on down to the hanger where a ship that neither Ochaco nor Izuku recognize sits. Apparently after making his escape from the U.S.J. Tetrax used the cloaking device of the small ship to make his escape and come here to the Plumber Base.

Before Tetrax can take off however, One-One goes ahead and begins inspecting the shuttle to ensure it's capable of space travel.

The ship is nothing special, it's a simple ship with the small cargo area leading into the pilot's seat. The docking hatch is the back of the shuttle, with a ramp as the means to climb aboard.

Even though it is nothing that spectacular Ochaco can't help but admire the spacecraft. "Is this your ship?"

Tetrax knocks his knuckles against the side of the shuttle. "Um…it's more of a rental." His real spaceship is undergoing repairs on another planet, so he had to settle for this.

Before Ochaco or Izuku can ask what Tetrax means, One-One jumps down from atop the shuttle. ^Mr. Shiny-man your ship is fully operational!^

^We are not legally obligated to ensure your safety in the incident of the ship imploding.^

"Thank you." Tetrax steps aboard the ramp, but not before facing the space cadets one last time. "Well it's been quite the experience." He holds his crystallized hand out to them both. "It's been a pleasure to fight by your side."

"Same." Izuku takes and shakes the man's hand, although he struggles to stop himself from wincing under Tetrax's firm grip.

Ochaco bows in appreciation. "Thank you for your help."

"You're welcome." He turns to leave climbing up the ramp towards the cargo duct.

"Wait!" Ochaco just remembered that there was something else she needed to ask. "You could have just walked away; you didn't need to help us."

Tetrax stops to hear the girl out.

"So, I guess my question is…why?"

Tetrax takes a minute to think of his response. There's a lot he can say on the matter such as his less than spotless past and his innocent people, but there's no need to bog down these children with those details. "I once walked away from my responsibilities… I turned my back on those that couldn't defend themselves…after that I chose to never allow that to happen again." That's right, he'd rather risk his own life for those that cannot. "Before I leave I have just a few pieces of advice for each of you."

He points to the gravity manipulator to ensure that she's listening. "Be more decisive with your decisions and trust in yourself and those around you. Sometimes your instincts are a far greater means of decision making, don't let fear and uncertainty hold you back. "

Ochaco looks up at the warrior with an expression that radiates resolve. "I will."

Tetrax nods pleased that she will take his advice seriously before he turns his attention onto the wielder of the Omnitrix. "And you…you can't rely on the Omnitrix."

That is not the advice Izuku was expecting. "Pardon?"

"You rely too heavily on the Omnitrix, and in doing so you risk not only your life but those around you, and the Omnitrix itself." He pounds his fist over his chest. "You have a warrior's heart and a strategic mind, being able to fight without the Omnitrix will only increase your own capabilities in a fight."

Izuku considers the advice and comes to the conclusion that Tetrax knows what he's talking about. He thinks back to how earlier that day how the others kept him back from the fight. Because in truth there was nothing he could do at the time, not with the Omnitrix out of commission. He needs a way to fight when the Omnitrix's aliens aren't accessible to him. But how? Maybe he should look into some kind of support gear or weapon? But what?

With nothing else to say Tetrax boards his ship, until he decides on one last thing. "One more thing." He grabs a dark flat disk from his belt before tossing down to Izuku.

The disk flops between Izuku's hands before he finally catches it. Upon being caught the disk expands and shoots outward, the sudden movement surprises Izuku so much that he drops it. But the device doesn't fall to the ground instead it hovers just above the floor.

Izuku grins excitedly as he examines his brand-new support item. "A hoverboard?!"

The hoverboard is a rectangular shape with a light green base and a strange green alien insignia inscribed on it.

Ochaco awes at the device as Izuku picks it up and continues to examine it.

Tetrax finds their expression rather amusing, if only they knew how common this technology truly is in the galaxies. "I think you'll have more use for that than me." Besides he could always get another one.

Izuku presses down on the side of the hoverboard and it shrinks back down into its original disc form. "So, cool!"

"Aw, no fair! Don't I get one?" Ochaco's cheeks puff out as she grumbles about the unfairness of the situation.

That complaint honestly takes Tetrax by surprise. "What? Can't you already fly?"

Ochaco blinks in bewilderment "Excuse me?"

"You manipulate gravity, don't you? I figured you would use the ability to fly."

Ochaco's eyes light up. Holy shit! That's true isn't it?! Why didn't she think of it before?! Well now all she needs to do is figure out how to do it. Look out Deku, you're not going to be the only one ruling the skies!

While Ochaco revels in her new found realization, Nezu takes the chance to address their new friend. "Mr. Shard, thank you for everything. You protected my students and now you're giving yourself up to the wolves." Nezu bows, his back at a perfectly 90-degree angle. "I thank you for your service, and I can guarantee that you will receive all cooperation from the Plumbers." He salutes as a way to honor his promise.

Tetrax offers a salute of his own, accepting the kind offer. He gives the students one last look of expectancy and with a curt nod he enters into his shuttle just as the ramp rises and closes up the interior of the spaceship.

Izuku and Ochaco watch on as the shuttle roars to life and wind gushes out from its engines as the shuttle begins to float up and into the air, from above a hatch opens up revealing the bright blue sky above. The ship slowly rises out through the narrow tunnel, it's cloaking device activates turning the entire ship invisible, the only sign that it's left the tunnel is how the leaves and the branches of the trees above whip around. And with a loud boom like that of a jet the trees fall silent as Tetrax begins to ascend to the planet's upper atmosphere.

The students watch on as the trees finally settle and the passage begins to seal itself back up and then they are left alone in their thoughts. Thoughts on what their possible futures hold for them now, and the hope that this plan will work out in their favor.

But Nezu has another concern, one that falls upon the responsibilities as a principle rather than a Plumber. 'Our students have gone through so much on their own… But I fear for how the public will view this incident. We need to assure the people of Japan that there is nothing to fear, that this was a temporary lapse in preparedness.' Hopefully an opportunity to show how well the school is actually conducting itself will be upon them soon.

---

A humanoid drone addresses the commander of his ship. "Master, we've detected Tetrax Shard's ship exiting the planet's atmosphere."

The commander or rather Vilgax, the destroyer of worlds smiles from underneath his breathing apparatus. 'I knew I could rely on him. He was so willing to betray his own people; I knew he'd be perfect to complete this mission. And soon I will have the Omnitrix in my grasp.'

Another drone rushes up to its master's healing pod. "Master! Tetrax Shard is not trying to board our ship, instead he's activated his hyperdrive!"

"What?!"

A third drone wheels around from its post. "Master, we've detected the Omnitrix and the signal is coming from abroad Tetrax Shard's ship!"

"It cannot be?!" But then again. "Prepare to intercept him!" They must intercept his ship before it can escape.

"It is too late, he just entered hyperspace." With one last beep of the drone's monitor, it confirms that Tetrax has left the solar system.

Vilgax roars out in anger, if only he wasn't restrained to this accursed pod, he would be thrashing about smashing away his useless minions. "Rahhh!" That traitor, Tetrax, will not outrun him so easily! He will hunt him down and take what is rightfully his. "Quickly we must pursue him!"

"We cannot, the ship's main reactor is still undergoing repairs." Even though they've been working on the ship for months it's difficult doing repairs when they cannot return to their own planet and instead have to resort to sneaking in shipments of supplies and material.

Vilgax is seething with rage. How dare that insulate bug defy him?! "If we cannot pursue him, then we will send another after him. Someone who will not give up his Hunt or betray me." Yes, he will hire someone that will not give up a hunt, someone who will honor their allegiance, someone who will hunt Tetrax to the very edges of the universe if they must.

Then again…his well-toned and experienced instincts are betraying his rage. Perhaps Tetrax doesn't mean to escape with the Omnitrix but lead him and his army away from it. Perhaps the Omnitrix is still on the planet?

Either way he cannot pursue Tetrax without a properly functioning ship, so he is stuck here for the time being. With only the Earth's various media outlets to occupy his time. Admittedly he's become rather fascinated with this planet, just how does a population of lesser lifeforms evolve so spontaneously with powers that could rival his own strength? Not like that fact scares him in any way…in fact it only serves to intrigue him further. Perhaps this planet will prove to be a worthy challenge, and a fine addition to his grand empire.

A news article projects itself onto the surface of the healing pod. Vilgax examines the article and its headline; "U.A. Attacked by the League of Villains".

Vilgax rereads the header, it looks like things are getting even more interesting.

---

You were warned, it was a bit of a boring chapter. But it was a necessary one in my opinion and I hope you all feel the same way. The next few chapters will be similarly the same, but I will try to add a few more action scenes here and there when I can. Anyway I'll see you all next time.

*For full disclosure, Nue will remain in his mutated form moving forward.

*I know some of you wanted All Might to tell Izuku about One For All, but I want to hold off on that for now.

*If you don't know, One-One is a character form the "Infinity Train" series. Go check it out it is well worth it.

*Izuku's new hoverboard is the X321 model. Or the original version of Ben Ten's hoverboard.

*As for Izuku's and Ochaco's future support items, I already have ideas on what I want to give them and how they get them. Hopefully the next chapter will continue to see this go through.

*Also I'm going to say this because I know a lot of you are going to ask, but Vilgax is going to hire the greatest huntsman in the galaxy to go after Tetrax.

*Speaking of Tetrax we will not be seeing him for a while. Keep in mind that I took a lot of inspiration from the Ben Ten series so I'm treating Tetrax the same way. He will eventually return every now and then, but I would not expect him back any time soon.

*Also for disclosure we won't be starting the Sports Festival Arc for another 2-3 chapters mainly because there's a few more things I want to address and add in one chapter for fun before we get to the Sports Festival.

Replies to "Guest" reviewers:

Aztec 13: Whoa this chapter is even more awesome than the last one, we get to see thirteen showing what it takes being both a hero and a plumber saving Mina from the mutated snake, Izuku facing his former best friend only be knock down but with the help from Ochaco he was able to survive, and he also unlock diamondhead that is so awesome.
I can't wait for the next chapter for the aftermath of the attack like thirteen and Tetrax talking about vilgax just can't wait, please continue.

CreateGunner1209: Glad you liked Ch.17 I knew you would. I wanted to be sure that Thirteen and Izuku had a struggle in their fights, this way when they won it would be so much more satisfying. And yup, Diamondhead is now part of Izuku's arsenal. Now I hope this chapter was good for you, unfortunately, Thirteen is out of commission for a little bit because of their injuries but they'll get filled in on everything thanks to Nezu.

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Guest: This is so awesome

CreateGunner1209: I think so too

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Guest: Loving this story so far, question do you have any plans to give izuku ghostfreak/z'skayr and/or wildvind
They are two of my favorite forms to be honest but I feel like ghostfreak could be interesting if just for how the idea of how people would react to the idea that part of deku's "quirk" is sentient and evil and could potentially work with how it seems that 1-A has not as good an opinion of the green bean as they do in canon if chapter 14 is to be indicated.
But in the end, this is your story not mine and it is up to you to determine how this story carries out. Regardless of what you decide to do I can't wait to see how the story unfolds from here.

CreateGunner1209: I do have plans to give Izuku Ghostfreak and Wildvine, but that won't be until the summer. Also I wouldn't let what happened in Ch.14 get to you, Izuku's classmates judging him was a one-time gage/joke. Thanks anyway, and I do agree with your statements.

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Atom king: This chapter is amazing one yet, with Bakugou at the beginning of the chapter showing that he has clam down, thirteen showing off more of their skills and strategy in dealing both the mutant snakes and the teleportation villain but best is when they risk their live to save Mina from the snake now that is how true hero do things.
The first fight with Izuku and Nue was awesome and brutal with Izuku as four arms and Nue in his deform version of four arms, the back and forth was insane, I do like the captain America reference with Izuku saying that he could do this all day and the joker from the dark Knight with Nue taunting Izuku when he's running towards him that is awesome, but also Izuku plan to use Nue to save Eraserhead from the Nomu that is smart thinking throwing Nue and with the help from tsuyu using her tongue to garb Eraserhead from the air.
Now when look like things about to get bad with Nue more angry at Izuku, Ochaco came in and stop on his tracks and she didn't came alone with Tetrax and Todoroki to help fight the villains. I have to say I like Ochaco covering for Izuku and the Omnitrix is great and with Tetrax playing along that is just again great and the bit with Ochaco shutting up todoroki by saying his name is a little funny. Anyway Tetrax fighting off the nomu while Izuku tsuyu lida and Eraserhead went to join the others students, I like part with Tsuyu letting Izuku go back and join the fight and her making Izuku promise to be ok, this makes me hope the two become close later.
And finally the best of this chapter is down right incredible with everyone showing their skills but the best is with Tetrax and Izuku after getting hit by the nomu he told Izuku to use the Omnitrix to protect life on all worlds from there after saying it's hero time he unlock diamondhead ,that is awesome with the new alien DNA unlock he quickly turn the tables on the villains, with teamwork Izuku, Ochaco, todoroki, Kirishima and Bakugou were able to destroy nomu, I like that change it shows how strong the kids have gotten, but what comes up must come down after that Nue jump in and try to take the Omnitrix again only this he gone full monster and went on a rampage attacking anything he see luckily All might made it and stop Nue from hurting anyone else.
This chapter like I say is amazing and wait for the aftermath, but I do have one question will Izuku keep the hoverboard?

CreateGunner1209: Honestly, I think this is my best chapter yet too. In all fairness I've been building up to Ch.17 for a while so it was nice to see some things come together.

I liked the Nue vs. Deku fight too, mainly because it helps to highlight the later fights making them feel earned and satisfying. Also I am so happy to hear that you got my references to Captain American and the Joker. I knew people would notice the first one, but I wasn't sure people would get the reference to the Joker one, so thanks.

I wanted to be sure to include some good character interactions during Ch.17 between characters like Ochaco and Todoroki, Izuku and Tsuyu, etc.

I do believe that the chapter was as great a sit was, was because of the final battle. I knew it would be great! And I am so happy that you agree.

As for your question…I think you have your answer already, but yes. Izuku is keeping the hoverboard. I had that idea for a while and he will incorporate it into future hero work and exercises.

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Aztec 13: Hey it's me again I been juggling with this idea I had this morning, the characters of gentle and la brava in the main story they make online video they're not bad people, anyway they make videos to be remembered the videos themselves are not that popular to the hero community but what if they're popular in the alien community that Gentle and La Brava have huge fan base that is out of this world, I can imagine their reaction to this news would make them really happy, what you think?

CreateGunner1209: That is something to think about. I'll give it some thought and see if I can incorporate it, but I can't make any promises. Thanks for the idea though.

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AbyssShadow: This chapter was amazing, it was soo enjoyable to read. I also feel your at a perfect point for Ochaco to have her breaking point. Her emotions are at a all time high right now and she's most likely gonna meet Detective Tsukauchi right now, another random person that knows about One for All. I feel All Might's reaction to this would be to tell her about All for One early and how he thinks Izuku is connected to him. Obviously she knows the truth about Deku, so I feel she should tell him about the quirk.

CreateGunner1209: I tried giving Ochaco her little outburst moment in this chapter, I hope it was believable. But I want to hold off on the reveal of AFO for a little bit, mainly because All Might is trying to hold onto he belief that the villain is dead and if so then there's no reason to tell Ochaco about him. But that moment will eventually arrive don't worry. And Izuku will eventually know the truth, but please be patient it will come in due time.

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MoonCell: I liked this chapter. Personally I hope that the gift of ochako is not used in Izuku's costumes and that he uses it as his civilian outfit. A good name for Izuku would be Deku "The Multi Hero" referring to his multiple forms
Good villain name for very original Henzu, I honestly thought it would be called a chimera or something like that ... XD Appearing Doctor Animo was busy ... XD
I was kidding with the word "ships" ... XD, but seriously I must say that nowadays people cannot enjoy something if there are no Ships and that is pathetic.
About the intagibilability I mentioned it because in Ben 10 more than once it demonstrates ways to cancel the intangibility and about clockwork, I mentioned it by mistake, the aliens I wanted to mention were brainstorm, overflow, upchuck, upgrade and gutrot ..but I forgot them XD
I read the note at the end of the chapter but as a writer you should not succumb to the demands of the people who demand specific ships if you do not think that those ships can happen naturally in history or if they are important to history in fact. There have been serires who have suffered for the ships, an example of this is shokugeki no soma, the series suffered a lot because the author could not decide which girl would stay with the protagonist and at the same time not anger the "fans" or yahari pray no seishun love come wa machigatteiru where the last volume of the novel was delayed because the writer's bosses forced him to write the ending that the "fans" wanted.
You let those people kill each other for their ships ... I am not interested in "ships", I am more interested in the progress, growth and learning of the characters

CreateGunner1209: I've been debating the same thing on how to properly use Izuku's new hoodie. I think I came to a decision, but first I need Izuku to get his hoodie fixed up. Anyway I like the name suggestion, I haven't decided on anything so I may ask you guys (the readers) for more suggestions.

I'm glad you like the villain name for Henzu (Nue), chimera was a good choice but then I saw the MHA: Hero's Rising movie so that name's been taken already. And yes, Dr. Animo has been busy in the background, he will eventually reappear but not for a little while. His mutant monsters will be acting as sort-of reminders that he's hanging around somewhere.

Also sorry I didn't get your joke about the ships, anyway I am still on the fence of whether to include them or not. If I feel like they would improve the story somehow then yes, but until then it's a no. And it's probably going to be that way for a while.

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Divino: Great finale to season one! Textrax's brief appearance was well done, as its not like he really ever appeared in the original series (or the whole of Ben 10) that frequently. And of course, I love that finally Diamondhead made his way into the picture -. You're really good at this man, I couldn't imagine another way to have a "Deku 9" story.
Though I'm not sure how I feel about Mutant Nue's handling, as he was just a rageful monster, I kind of get why you did it. This isn't a roadtrip with multiple overarching villains such as Kevin 11, so the personality (at least for now) wouldn't necessarily add anything to the finale of his arc. Still, excited to see if Nue evolves throughout the story, and of course, still on the edge of my seat for Squidface.

CreateGunner1209: I think it was a great finale too. And I will be treating Tetrax pretty much the same way as the Ben Ten series did, so don't expect him back for a while. But I think bringing him in, perfectly allowed Izuku to get Diamondhead! Also "Deku 9" was actually my original working title for this series, obviously I went with something else. But I thought it was funny that you though the same thing.

Also Nue's rampage was as result of his mind and body being overwhelmed by unfamiliar and painful sensations. I mean if someone was to suddenly transform into a hulking monster with various powers and strengths I bet they would be in a panic too. And that's why Nue was roaring and thrashing about rather than holding complete conversations, but then he got the sense knocked back into him and thus was able to communicate agin in this chapter. That said, I do have future plans for this character. As for Squidface I will now be referring to him as Vilgax rather than commander.

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BlueRanger-Lyric: Wow, this chapter was really nicely done, I'm really liking how this series is being made and all the changes that are made, and as for how Uraraka will react to finding out All Might has allies who know about his secret, if he tells her why he doesn't trust Deku and where he thinks he got his "Quirk" from, I would think she would ether laugh at how ridiculous it is for him not know how he really got it, or be angry and disgusted by him for believe that Deku would involve himself with a villain, and would tell him how wrong he is about her friend, and how horrible he is for thinking he would do that, and make he feel worse about the whole thing, and maybe push him to apologise to Deku from everything and let him in on the secret of One For All, but what do you think?

CreateGunner1209: Glad you enjoyed Ch.17, it was a lot of fun to write. As for All Might not telling Deku about OFA and AFO it's because he wants to confirm if AFO is even still alive. Basically, even though he is suspicious of Izuku he can't jump into any conclusion quiet yet. I will further address this topic next chapter. As for All Might's apology here, if anything it All Might trying to reach out to Izuku so if he is right about everything then he can try to reach out and save him, but if he is wrong then it acts as an apology to what All might said a year ago.

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Guest: Are you planning to give more gravity base powers to uraraka, like making things weightless from a distance but individually or like having her own orbit to defend from long range attacks, kinda like gravattack?
Because super speed and super strength from one for all is pretty obvious.

CreateGunner1209: I do have plans to give Ochaco more abilities that will play out eventually. I want to introduce my ideas gradually. And if this chapter was any implication she maybe getting a new way to move around using said gravity.