"ERI, YOU'RE MY HERO!"
Tensei's words echoed in Izuku's head while he sat at his desk and waited for class to start. The rest of the scene played out in Izuku's mind.
Tensei blinked as confusion crossed his face.
"I'm sorry…who are you?" Tensei asked, his confused gaze taking in the rest of the room. "Mom? Dad? Tenya? Why am I in the hospital? Is this blood?" He asked, his confusion growing.
Before anyone could say anything, Recovery Girl stepped forward.
"What is the last thing you remember?"
Tensei's brow creased as he tried to recall.
"I saw something in an alley…then I was here…"
It turned out that rewinding Tensei's wounds had rewound his memory as well. As confusing as the situation had been for him, Tensei took it well when everything was explained. Eri had been a bit worried that she'd done something wrong, but Tensei, ever the Hero, had put on a big smile and thanked her profusely even if he couldn't remember the severity of the injury.
The door to the class creaked open, gaining Izuku's attention.
When Aizawa entered the classroom, all chatter had ceased. He stared down the class in silence.
Izuku was honestly more confused than intimidated. How could Aizawa have a week off from classes and still look so bedraggled?
Izuku's mind wandered while Aizawa tried the 'stare at them until they act right' technique.
Yesterday, after returning to the dorms with Eri, they had been greeted by their hesitantly hopeful family. One look at Izuku and Eri had been enough to tell that their trip was a success. As a family, they'd celebrated Eri's success. It was an intimate and quiet celebration with family. To his great surprise, Mina, Toru, Momo, and Kyoka joined in seamlessly.
Mina and Toru's infectious energy meshed well with Yuki's exuberance as they attempted to teach her how to breakdance.
Momo's calm and caring nature synced up perfectly with Eri's more quiet and sedate personality as they played with custom dolls in a custom dollhouse, all specially made by Momo for Eri.
Kyoka surprised him when Yuki wanted to show off her new skateboarding skills. The way Kyoka held her hand to keep her steady, encouraged and guided her through every little move, and the way Violet's face lit up with pride and joy when Yuki was rolling along on her own…it was downright maternal.
The four women had joined in on a quiet family evening and it had felt entirely natural. Their presence wasn't something to get used to, it was as though they had been part of their family from the very start. Izuku couldn't get it out of his mind, had it always been this way and he just hadn't noticed until now?
"Internships start on Wednesday and go through Sunday. Some of you got more invitations than others," Aizawa said suddenly, making pointed eye contact with Izuku, snapping him back to reality. "Before you ask, I'm not going to say who got how many. Since you'll essentially be working as heroes, you'll need-"
The door to the classroom slammed open and Izuku's Mama strutted in bedecked in her risqué Hero costume.
"HERO NAMES!"
The classroom exploded into cheers and Aizawa had already crawled into his sleeping bag by the time they'd quieted down enough for Midnight to speak. No one even questioned why she'd taken over the class.
"We've gone over this in my class before. A Hero's name is branding. When people hear it, what do you want people to envision? A name like All Might evokes strength, while a name like Midnight evokes passion~" She punctuated the word by snapping her riding crop against a palm. "For that reason, I would recommend steering clear of references, puns, and worst of all-" Her eyes darted to Izuku. "-a combination of the two. Small Might, for example." Izuku's face heated as his girlfriends who knew of his dark past snickered. "Let's come up with some ideas and present them! If you can't come up with one, you have until you turn in your internship paperwork tomorrow."
Papers were passed out and the students eagerly began writing. Everyone there had wanted to be a Hero for long enough that they either already picked a hero name years ago, or had a pretty good idea.
Aoyama glided up to the podium to present first. He flipped his card and read it aloud, proud as ever.
"Sparkling Hero: Can't Stop Twinkling!"
It was the loudest Hero name Izuku had ever heard so naturally his Mama loved it.
Mina popped up and practically danced to the podium, her head bobbing from side to side in excitement as she did so.
"Acidic Hero: Alien Queen!"
Midnight pursed her lips. "Are you sure you want a name that so directly references pop culture? What about 'Alien Hero: Queen'? It's still close, but less of a direct reference."
Mina pouted cutely. "I'll think about it, I GUESS!"
Izuku couldn't help the way a corner of his lips turned up at just how cute Mina was when she was being bratty.
Tsu walked up to the podium next.
"Ribbit, I've had this name in mind since grade school. 'Rainy Season Hero: Froppy'."
Several of his girlfriends cooed, none louder than Nejire from where she sat on Aizawa's desk flipping through the internship offers. The name just fit Tsu so well.
Iida walked up next. He paused for a moment to look down at his card then made eye contact with Izuku, genuine appreciation coloring his emotions with broad strokes.
"The Ingenium name has been passed down within my family since the dawn of Quirks. If you've seen the news this morning, then you know I don't need to take on that mantle as of yet," He said with a grateful smile as he flipped his card. "Until that day, my Hero name will be 'Speedster Hero: Hellephant'."
The whole class cheered for him, having all been watching the news at breakfast when the story about Ingenium broke.
Ochako laughed nervously as she flipped her card.
"Cosmic Hero: Uravity."
Midnight cooed. "Anan will love that!"
Himiko stalked to the podium sporting a smile that threatened to split her face.
"Bloody Hero: Copycat!"
"Look here, Sweety!" Midnight cheered as she held up her phone. "Your dad made me promise to video this."
Denki flipped his card.
"Electric Hero: Chargebolt!"
Hitoshi, looking as bedraggled as his adoptive father, flipped his card. Izuku didn't miss the way Aizawa cracked an eye open to watch.
"Hypnosis Hero: Puppeteer."
Kirishima pounded a fist to his chest.
"Manly Hero: Red Riot!"
"Paying homage to Crimson Riot? That'll place some expectations on your shoulders, you up to that?" Midnight asked with a challenging smirk.
Kiri's response was immediate and rang with truth.
"You bet!"
Rumi stomped up to the podium and slammed her card down.
"Rabbit Hero: Mirko!"
Midnight raised a brow. "Isn't that the name of your favorite MMA fighter?"
Rumi crossed her muscular arms over her chest and smirked.
"YUP!"
Midnight frowned.
"I'm not going to convince you to change it, am I?"
The muscles in Rumi's arms rippled and her smirk grew.
"NOPE!"
Mina threw her arms up in the air. "Then I'm going with Alien Queen!"
Midnight just sighed.
Mei was vibrating with energy as she sprinted to the podium and flipped her card, the thing was barely legible due to the shaking.
"GRIMDARK HERO: THE EMPRESS!"
Midnight raised a finger, no doubt intending to question how well the 'Grimdark' part would be received.
"Oh, forget it," Midnight muttered under her breath instead.
Mezo flipped his card, quietly announcing his Hero name.
"Transmorphic Hero: Kraken."
Violet flipped her card, a blush coloring her beautiful face.
"Rocking Hero: HeartThrob…"
She…she went with the name he'd given her. Izuku sat up straighter and beamed at the woman. She quickly broke eye contact, but Izuku didn't miss the small smile and the way her blush darkened. He certainly didn't miss the genuine affection coming out of her pores.
Sero coughed awkwardly before flipping his card.
"Tape Hero: Cellophane."
Tokoyami made his way up next and Izuku noted the way his emotions were soaring high even if he hid them well, the date must have gone well. On his shoulder, a raven made of shadow perched. Izuku was wondering why Dark Shadow was taking on that form when the sentient Quirk in question manifested, hovering over the opposite shoulder. The raven, Izuku had to assume was Dopple, cawed. The lights flickered and Dark Shadow grew in the span of a moment when the lights were out.
"Raven Hero: Nevermore."
Izuku squinted suspiciously up at the air vent where amusement mixed with the air. He could swear he saw the flash of reflective eyes through the vent's grates. Nezu messing with the lights for dramatic effect. Why was he not surprised?
Shoto was next, his face completely blank as he flipped his card. He reached up and gingerly touched his scar as he read.
"Duality Hero: Frostburn."
Izuku didn't miss the significance. Looking back with a clear mind, Izuku could remember what Shoto told him about that scar more clearly. His mother had poured boiling water on his face. While it had hurt him, Shoto could set himself on fire without much consequence. The burn hadn't been bad, but then his mother had panicked and applied her ice Quirk directly to the burned skin. Ice being applied to the burn did more harm than good, causing the scar to be far worse than it otherwise would have been.
Toru popped into existence at the podium, making Midnight jump.
"Rainbow Hero: Prism!" She chirped, her prismatic eyes flashing with every color of the rainbow.
Bakugo stomped up to the podium, firing off miniature explosions in the palm of his hand for dramatic effect.
"Explosive Hero: Ground Zero!"
Izuku was surprised Bakugo didn't just go with seven synonyms for explosions. Color him impressed.
Momo made her way up the podium next, graceful as ever, her every step seemed to be measured and calculated.
"Creation Hero: Genesis."
A fitting name for a 6'4" goddess of creation.
Violet wolf-whistled at her girlfriend, causing Momo's serene face to redden and her composure to crack.
Izuku got out of his seat and made his way to the front. His Hero name was something he'd largely kept to himself but had in mind since he discovered he could evolve Quirks. He knew it would be controversial, but he also knew it was unavoidable. Izuku's eyes flashed with viridian lightning as he looked out at his future colleagues, his friends, and his loved ones.
He flipped his card.
"Evolving Hero: The Singularity."
Iida's hand snapped up and spoke before Izuku could even think to call on him.
"As in the doomsday theory?"
Izuku nodded and the whole room broke out into whispers.
Midnight raised a hand for quiet.
"Izuku, Son, are you sure about this? That name will carry a lot of negative connotations."
Izuku squared his shoulders, he had wanted to avoid making a speech since nobody else had, but it seemed he would need to.
"I believe Quirks will grow so strong that they become difficult to control, not uncontrollable. With me being able to evolve Quirks, I think it's only a matter of time before I become associated with the theory. I aim to get ahead of that and hopefully change people's perception of the theory. The theory talks about the world ending as we know it. The singularity, at its core, is a turning point when irreversible and unstoppable change begins, but change doesn't have to be a bad thing."
Izuku paused and glanced down at his clenched fists, thinking back to what All Might told him whenever he was hitting his limits during training.
'REMEMBER WHY YOU CLENCH YOUR FISTS, MY BOY!'
Izuku remembered. He remembered the villain fights in broad daylight that resulted in civilian and Hero deaths, like the Muscular fight. He remembered the Quirk discrimination he and others faced. He remembered that Yuki had seen her parents murdered in the safety of their own home for the crime of being different. He remembered the hell that Eri had gone through because her Quirk was deemed more valuable than her human rights.
He remembered why he clenched his fists.
Tendrils of Blackwhip unfurled from his back like Asps poised to strike. Viridian energy crackled along the surface of his skin. The bottled lighting in his eyes overflowed as he spoke.
"I will bring about that irreversible and unstoppable change. For the sake of my children's futures, I will end the world as we know it."