At the World Heroes Association, Aizawa already has a giant headache.
It was daytime in Japan, and he had just landed when he was informed that he was needed straight away at the skyscraper in Tokyo. He slept in the cab all the way before being prodded by the driver to head inside. His tired body dragged itself up the marble steps and into the elevator before his skinny figure slumped on the railing inside the elevator.
When the doors opened, the man shuffled his feet into the immediacy of a meeting room. A simple room with white walls and a long marble table. A few Pro-Heroes sat with varying degrees of concern on their faces. Aizawa nodded at a few of them and took a seat across from the head of the table.
"Thank you for joining us," Nezu said. The small anthropomorphic being sipped on a piping hot cup of tea with a genial smile on his face. His beady eyes locked on Aizawa's bloodshot ones as he peered around the room.
"Were you all waiting for me?" Aizawa asked.
"Some of us were interested in what you learned," Nezu said.
"Not much," Aizawa picked at his fingernails. "It seems Hawks and Deku are as clueless as we are about the signal. How is Kirishima?"
"Unwell," A voluptuous woman with dark hair and a whip clasped to her belt said from the side of the table. "It's as if he never had a quirk."
"Anyone else effected, Midnight?" Aizawa asked.
"No major players," Midnight said. "The signal has actually slowed some since Deku arrived in Detroit. It's as if whoever is doing this knows and is trying to prolong their time in the shadows."
"I heard different," Aizawa said. "That the signal was getting faster."
"The point is that we aren't getting closer right now," Nezu sipped his tea again. "And we still aren't sure if these effects are reversible."
"What I know is that people are waking up," Aizawa said. "Lemillion wasn't defeated by a villain. But the public doesn't know that officially. So are we going to keep spreading the idea that there's some crazy hero killer out there?"
"It's the best way to control the masses," Midnight stated. "I'd rather they rely on us than panic that some random signal is zapping away people's quirks."
"And how long is fear supposed to quell them," Aizawa said. "Eventually, it will get worse."
"We hope that Deku and Hawks get to the bottom of this," Nezu said. "I believe in them. Do you, Eraserhead?"
Aizawa gave a curt nod. "Of course. I believed in Deku since day one. Hawks not so much."
"Excellent," Nezu turned over a piece of paper. "I had another issue to bring up. Yesterday, Lagniappe made headline again for unnecessary force. There was no video of the incident, but there is of the aftermath."
"I saw it," Aizawa said. "Lagniappe shot the face off a quirkless perp."
"And your thoughts?"
Aizawa shrugged. "Good girl."
"Shouta," Midnight shook his head. "This Moxie chick is becoming a real problem. This is the fourth time the Americans have referred her to us to have her license suspended. She killed a quirkless man who was already defeated."
"She was protecting minors and another quirkless man, need I remind you," Aizawa shot back.
"If this was a first time thing, fine," Midnight said. "And listen, I like a girl that toes the line every once in a while, but she's been quite unheroic lately."
"Unheroic," Aizawa chuckled. "Look, you do what it takes to make the streets safe. I don't care about those rules. And most people don't. We have heroes today doing all kinds of garbage. Social media. That OnlyHeroes site. Quite a few of your friends post on there, don't they?"
"Yeah, but their not blowing the brains off some random street thug," Midnight shouted.
"No, they're just blowing everyone else," Aizawa said.
"Enough," Nezu said. "This is not helpful. I understand both of your points, but we need to understand that we all want the same thing. A safer world. And Lagniappe is the number five hero and likely to be number one shortly. So, I'm going to put it to a vote. If majority rules, then we suspend her license until there is an adjudication hearing."
"I don't want to vote," Aizawa crossed his arms.
"Why not?"
"Don't you realize the collateral damage caused by Pros on a daily basis," Aizawa said. "Bakugo would destroy a block basically every week. That Muteki kid is a walking nuke everywhere he goes, and he's taken down his share of buildings as well. It's a miracle no one has been seriously injured yet. Even Todoroki paid no mind to property damage in his time."
"And they all were influenced by Deku," Modnight laughed. "Maybe he's the problem."
"Okay, then explain Mount Lady smashing whole streets of cars and pedestrians every fight she has," Aizawa said. "So clearly, we can accept a level of collateral damage, right? To ensure the safety of our future. Right?"
The table remained silent. Nezu took another sip and set down his porcelain cup with a slight clatter.
"We have to vote, Shouta," Nezu said in a soft tone. "The AHA referred it to us. That's the rule."
Aizawa sat back. Scanned the rest of the room.
"Fine," he said. "Let's do it."
The rapturous shutters of the cameras rattled like a battlefield of machine guns around Claire. The reporters babbled questions to the shut door at the end of the hallway. She hugged the folder around her chest with her elbows bumping past cameramen and Capitol Hill aides pushing past the waves of media.
Claire slid past one more person and opened the door. Some reporters tried to get inside, but the cops blocked their way. She slipped inside and shut the door.
At her desk, Linda slurped down a fifth of vodka. Her chubby ankles rested on the desk, she gulped down the alcohol and threw the glass across to the other side. Alistair grabbed the glass and poured another shot for Linda.
"Nine in the morning, and they're already pestering me," Linda shouted and waved her stubby hands on the air. Alistair slid the glass back to her. She grabbed it and downed the drink in one gulp.
"It's going to get worse, too," Claire pulled out a newspaper from her folder. She placed it on the desk. The cover had a photo of the crime scene a few days earlier on Detroit.
"I don't understand why the press cares about a couple of tweakers," Alistair scoffed.
"It's Moxie," Linda said. "That dumb redneck broke about twenty hero codes."
"So," Alistair said. "The Hero Codes are like campaign fundraising rules. Nobody follows them."
"I can find five rules broken by a Pro-Hero every time they stop a crime," Claire said.
"The problem is that one of them got away," Linda said. "We have no idea what he plans to do. And the one in the house is alive. He's lawyered up and is going to sue for Hero Brutality."
"They'll settle," Alistair said. "I'm sure Deku already talked to Moxie, and she will tone things down. Moxie is a good girl. I know from firsthand experience."
"You were her classmate," Claire nodded. "What do you know about her?"
"Plenty," Alistair flashed a sly grin. "Nothing pertinent to this hearing, however."
"I don't want to hear this," Linda said. "The issue is that if Lagniappe is suspended, people will blame Deku. And then the other Party will blame me and grill me about it in the hearing."
"Just tell them it's not your fault," Alistair shrugged. "When they ask about Deku, just say he is his own man. And Moxie is her own woman."
Linda sighed and got up. She slipped on her pantsuit jacket and brushed through her hair. "They're gonna try to pin this on me somehow. So, either I have to distance myself from Deku, or-."
"Or nothing," Alistair said. "Just be honest and relax. You've done great by Deku and all of our class."
Linda snatched her bag from the coatrack and shrugged the leather strap onto her shoulder. She nodded and gave a soft look to her two employees. "Just be prepared in case we need to split from him. I can only support him so long. He is a loyal person. He'd never turn on his students. So, if he doesn't, I'll have to turn on him."
The old woman exited into the hallway. Questions battered the woman, but she simply smiled as the door shut behind her.
Alistair sighed. He sat on the desk and ran a hand through his blonde hair. Claire dropped the folder by his hand latched to the edge of the cocobolo desk.
"You okay?" Claire asked.
"I just think it's unnecessary," Alistair said. "We don't have to play dirty. Yet, at least."
"You're quite protective of your teacher," Claire moved to stand between Alistair's legs. She leaned on the desk and placed her hand on Alistair's.
"More so Moxie," Alistair said. "I don't want to severe any ties that I may need."
"I thought you wanted to be Press Secretary," Claire said.
"And what do you want to be?" Alistair stared into her eyes.
"I don't know," she said. "My career goals have changed quite a bit since showing up in Washington. Maybe a congresswoman?"
"You think you can play this game?" Alistair's green eyes quivered.
"Is that what we're doing? A game?"
"Maybe we can find out."
As Alistair leaned in for a kiss, Claire flipped open the folder. Before both of them could be enraptured in their emotions on Linda's desk, she scanned the cover sheet of the top secret document.
PROJECT SAM Overview.
"I'm telling you, it was her!"
In the cafeteria, Izuku ripped into a lamb empanada. He had just slammed his tray down across from Hawks in the corner of the spacious lunch room. Seated in a booth reminiscent of the red leather in an old Chrysler, he chewed while making angry grunts into the crispy dough. Across from him, Hawks sighed and averted his gaze towards the giant bay windows showing the quiet shoreline of the island.
"The cops already said there was no break-in," Hawks said as he picked at his scrambled eggs. "The window was solid. No trace of anything. Maybe you were still sick or delusion."
"I'm not delusional! I took the red pill!" Izuku shouted.
"Calm the fuck down," Hawks seethed through his teeth.
He turned back to the cafeteria from their corner. A couple of students gave concerned glances towards the sweating Deku. Hawks waved back at them with a forced smile. They turned away save for Ivan in the taco line who had one of his tendrils pointed at Izuku.
"Sorry," Izuku said.
"It's just that you already talked about seeing one of your students," Hawks stirred some hot sauce into his eggs.
"Blake is different," Izuku said. "He's dead. I think. And I know Synaes is in town due to that art show at the convention center tonight. Plus, Austin was in the test on Monday."
"So, your Icelandic blind student snuck into your place and took your old scarf."
"No, not just a scarf," Izuku spat. "Gran Torino's old scarf. The one he gave to me."
"Why would anyone want to steal that shit?"
"Because it's valuable!"
"Izuku," Hawks grabbed a chicken wing and ripped some of the meat off the bone. He chewed and swallowed.
"What?"
"Maybe you just misplaced it."
"That scarf was special," Izuku leaned his head on his hand. He stared out at the sea of students waking up with breakfast. He let out a long breath and pulled at a small fray of silk on his jacket sleeve.
"I'm sure it will turn up," Hawks said. "Unless you can hire a detective to help you. But anyway, I wanted to talk to you about a couple of nights ago. So, things have changed a bit with the game. Something happened to Dabi, and it has…."
But Izuku was not listening. He stared out at the students, and he noticed some of his class eating and rummaging through the room. Sigi glared at Riley from across the room while eating a bratwurst in a menacing manner. Aiden poured a bowl of protein powder into his beef bowl. Melanie chirped to a second year student who appeared quite annoyed while scooping up a head of lettuce onto his tray. In the opposite corner, Ivan fed a small cracker to some unseen presence in his palm. Next to him, Ayumu dozed on his shoulder while Tao shouted about having animals by the table.
Hire a detective? Izuku thought to himself. Why hire one…when I can just-.
"Alright, class!"
Izuku skipped into his apartment. His new crop of students followed him inside. Rows of unpacked boxes lined the perimeter with a leather couch hugging the back wall. A plasma television hung on the beige facade in front of the bedroom with the windows pouring sunlight into the room and showcasing the Detroit skyline.
The students filed into the room. Skylar had his phone out live-streaming the entire place. It wasn't every day that Deku invited students over to his place. Tao took his shoes off and walked soft over the carpet. Sam The Dog ran around the room excited, and Merle tipped his hat at Deku before stopping before the teacher.
"So, I know we haven't done much in the way of actual lessons yet," Izuku rubbed his hands together. "But I think it's time for a group project!"
"Is this another test?" Sigi asked with an unamused quirk of her eyebrow.
"In a sense," Izuku stated. "Nobody will be kicked out of the school. And this grade will depend on how well you work as a team."
"Isn't that like our last test?"
"Except this one will focus more on your intuition and…problem-solving skills!" Izuku said. "The best heroes save people, but they also figure out the puzzle behind crimes! So, you are in my apartment because I am missing something from here. Anyone guess what it is?"
"Your mom," Aiden said out loud to a couple of chuckles.
"Yes, I do miss my mother, but it's not that. It is this!"
Izuku took out a piece of paper from his pocket. He unraveled it and showed the class a picture of Gran Torino.
"That's Gran Torino," Mai said with a small smile.
"Yes, and you see that yellow scarf?" Izuku pointed at the fabric around him. "Your job is to use the…uh…clues in this apartment to find the whereabouts of this scarf!"
"A scarf," Sigi said. "You want us to find a scarf?"
"If you can find a scarf, you can find a person," Izuku said. "So, I am putting you into teams. The only rules are that this must be found by end of today. And also, you can utilize any resources you have. The scarf is hidden somewhere in Detroit and maybe even closer!"
"Can we ask a Pro-Hero like Hawks for help?" Merle asked.
"No!" Izuku raised his hand. "No, he wouldn't want to know about something like this. Let's keep this between each other, and whoever wins gets a very special prize!"
The students exchanged looks at each other. A city-wide scavenger hunt sounded exciting to some of them. To others, it was not. However, they were not in a position to turn their teacher down. They looked back at Deku, and the entire group nodded.
"Excellent!" Izuku said. "So, I will tell you the groups, and you may begin!"
Wow whats going to happen next? Who will be in what group? What is the special prize?
Find out soon!
Thank you. See you soon!