Melissa Shield, the Ninth Wielder
David's Lab- Morning
Melissa carefully laid herself down on the bed of the machine, before raising her arm to give her dad, Uncle Might, and Gran Torino a thumbs up, as they were standing behind a glass window in another room across from her own.
As soon as the three got back home and told David the news about One For All awaking inside Melissa's body, David almost jumped with joy at his daughter finally having her very own power.
But he knew that this wasn't the time to celebrate as he needed to know if Melissa was alright and asked them all to head to his lad to run some tests on her new abilities before she used them.
"Now try and stay perfectly still while the machine scans you," She heard her Dad's voice over a small speaker.
"Got it!" Melissa said and took a deep breath, feeling the nervous energy return as she heard the machine whirring to life.
She couldn't help but imagine Uncle Might lying on the table, undergoing the same scan several times a year for almost forty years. As she did so, she felt a weight settle on her chest.
Was she expected to become some sort of symbol? With this power, she couldn't just stay on I-Island! Where would she go? Will she return home to America or will she go to Japan? Or-
"Melissa?" She found her thoughts once again interrupted by her dad. "Is everything alright? Your heart rate just spiked."
"Y-Yeah!" Melissa said quickly. "I'm just thinking about this quirk!"
"I understand. I promise if something's wrong I'll find it!" David said to her.
Melissa forced herself to relax as the machine started up again, passing over her body several times before finally powering down.
On the other side of the room, the three men were looking at the computer screen that had the data status on Melissa's new quirk
"It seems that One For All has fully infused itself with Melissa," David said as he looked at the monitor that showed Melissa was in stable condition.
"Good, all that's left is to get herself comfortable with the power first before anything else." Gran Torino said thinking about how to train Melissa next.
"Yeah, since One For All is still too much for her to do right now at her current level," Toshinori said in agreement.
"The scan is done, you can get up now," David said to his daughter over the intercom.
Quickly standing up, Melissa walked over to see her dad looking closely at a monitor, with concern on his face. "Is something wrong?"
"Nothing of concern, dear," David said as he turned to his daughter. "For now let's head to the testing area and test out your new power."
With that said, the four moved to the testing room in the building where all the scientists there could test out their inventions, and luckily for them, no one was there at the moment. Melissa was standing in there alone with some practice test dummies, as the room was large enough to move around in without restraint. David, Toshinori, and Gran Torino were nearly in another room monitoring everything that was happening and would only step in to help the girl if things were to get out of control.
"Okay, so where do we start?" Melissa said with an eager tone about trying out her new power.
"We just need to know the current output of the amount of power you can use at the moment." Gran Torino said over the intercom, as that was the only way they could communicate with her.
"My current output?" Melissa said with a raised eyebrow.
"As you're already aware, One For All is a whole lot to handle as the combined physical abilities of everyone who's ever used it create a hurricane of pure force. The physical backlash of its power can be pretty intense, especially for an untrained body." Toshinori explains to her with a serious but kind tone. "You may have molded your body into a proper vessel, but we did it in a hurry and you can't access the full extent of your power just yet."
"Which is why you decided that two years would be the most affected time for me to handle some of One For All's power before the exam at U.A.," Melissa said already figuring out what her Uncle Toshi meant. "If I tried to use One For All, I'd shatter my limbs."
"Correct! When I received One For All, Nana told me that it was based on my body mass. That I needed to have enough muscle to contain it, let alone use it. Which is why I had to train before she would give it to me. You're so much smaller than I was back then!" Toshinori said with a laugh, as Melissa was a bit embarrassed despite her beefing up a bit from her training.
"That's why we're going to figure it out before she starts using it for real," David assured his friend. "For Melissa's sake."
"You've got this Lass," Gran Torino told her to get started. "Just take it slow and careful, like we told us."
"Yeah," Melissa said to herself thinking about everything they taught her about this power. "Like a gas burner." Despite being the only person in the testing room, Melissa could feel them watching her every move.
Shaking her head to clear her mind of distraction, she looked at her hands.
"Just like a burner. Just open up to allow the tiniest bit of gas out." Melissa thought while focusing on drawing out her new power.
She felt the warmth that was One For All again and tried to will the barest hint of power out to her hand. She gasped as she felt the warmth trailing through her right arm, her hand starting to glow a warm golden color.
"That's it!" Melissa heard her Uncle Toshi over the intercom. "Now, show us what you can do!" He encouraged her.
With a bright smile on her face, Melissa closed her right hand into a fist and walked toward the reinforced training dummy. Setting her feet, she pulled her arm back.
"Haaaaa!" Melissa let out a mighty yell, as she punched one of the training dummies, feeling the power of One For All behind her fist as she saw the dummy rocket backward into the room's wall and break apart.
"Melissa, are you okay?!" David asked her in concern.
Melissa stared at the dummy in awe, before looking at her hand, wrapped in its golden glow. She spun around and jumped up and down, knowing her dad would see her.
"It didn't hurt at all!" Melissa shouted with joy.
"That's great!" David shouted back. "How much power did you put behind it?"
"Only one percent, just like Uncle Toshi explained," Melissa replied back.
"That's great. Do you think you can go further?" Gran Torino asked the girl.
"Yeah!" Melissa said pumping her fist in the air. "I'll double that!" She could hear her father and Uncle Might chuckling at the joke behind that.
"Okay, but we'll stop at two percent for today. Remember we're trying to find your current output." Toshinori said to her.
"Mhm, sure!" Melissa said without question and began walking toward the next training dummy, already mentally opening the valve. "Just slightly more. Turn the knob one-half twist to let a bit more gas out." Once again she felt the warmth in her right arm, filling her more completely this time.
Part of her brain was wondering how it would feel when she poured even more energy into her limbs, but then Melissa reminded herself what would happen if she tried. She felt herself shudder involuntarily, and refocused on her arm, making sure that she was only using two percent of One For All's power.
With a cry, she swung at the dummy and watched as it flew across the room.
"How does it feel?" David asked about the girl's current progress.
"I'm still feeling great!" Melissa jumped in the air as she cheered.
"That's wonderful news, Melissa!" Toshinori said with a proud tone.
"Can I try the prototype armor of the Full Gauntlet now?" Melissa asked, curious to explore the feeling of more power in her limbs.
"Of course. Let me recalibrate the resistance on the dummies." David said to her before pressing something on the keyboard.
As she heard the whirring of motors hidden in the walls, Melissa walked back to the entrance and the case that was waiting there. Kneeling, she popped the latches and opened them, revealing a dull gray gauntlet. It didn't look particularly special, but she was also expecting to destroy it by the end of the week, if not sooner.
She'd save the good-looking stuff for when she got into U.A.
Taking the gauntlet out, she slipped it over her right hand and tested its weight. Concentrating, she began pouring One For All into her arm and saw the yellow indicator bars all around the gauntlet begin to glow, informing her that the sensors were working and reacting properly. Smiling, she stood up and flexed her hand, balling it into a fist before she loosened her fingers.
"Okay Melissa, the room is ready. I want you to try throwing a punch with twenty percent of your power." David said shocking her.
"Really? That high?" Melissa said as she didn't expect to go that high in her power yet.
"The copy that we sent to Toshi was able to contain almost thirty percent of his strength before it shattered. By my calculations, twenty percent should be below the breaking point for you." David said estimating the amount of power she can handle at her current state.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Melissa asked with some hesitation in her tone.
"I say go for it, Melissa!" Toshinori said through the intercom, with an encouraging tone. "This is actually why we're testing you to see what level of power you can currently use right now before we start your real training."
"It's a bit sudden but there is no time like the present, so good for it Lass." Gran Torino said to her, also being on board with the idea.
"Okay! I'll do it!" Melissa said with confirmation before standing up and walking toward the newest training dummy and looking at it, determination on her face.
Looking down at her armored fist, she began concentrating, feeling One For All's warmth as it filled her arm. As she poured about twenty percent of One For All's strength into her limb, it felt hot. But it wasn't an uncomfortable heat.
Instead, it felt empowering. Melissa set herself in a basic stance, and with another cry swung her fist at the dummy.
Only for her cry to change into a scream of pain.
I-Island Hospital- Morning
"What did you do to your arm?" The female doctor asked as she put on a pair of gloves.
"It was an equipment malfunction," David explained with a calm expression, sitting on the other side of the room next to Toshinori and Gran Torino who also had worried expressions on their faces, after what happened to Melissa. "We were testing a piece of support equipment for my daughter and it just exploded." He lied to the doctor about what really happened.
After the whole lab incident with Melissa breaking her arm, they immediately rushed the girl to the hospital to receive medical attention.
The doctor gave an incredulous look to David, having a hard time believing someone such as himself could have such a spectacular failure. Eventually, she gave up and with a sigh wheeled her chair over to the bed that Melissa was currently lying in.
"Let me see your arm." The doctor said to her patient.
Melissa held up her arm, which was currently a mess of bruises and burst blood vessels. As the doctor began touching her arm she winced. After inspecting the surface, the doctor's eyes began glowing green and Melissa had to bite down on her lip to prevent herself from crying out as the doctor pressed more firmly, exploring her hand for further damage. She breathed out in relief when the doctor finally let go, wheeling her chair back.
"Well, the good news is there's no lasting injury and no broken bones. The bad news is that there are a lot of burst blood vessels and almost every muscle in your arm is bruised. It must have been quite the explosion to do that." The doctor said while once again looking pointedly at David in suspicion.
"It was a highly experimental piece of technology," David countered to the doctor. "In the early stages of development. By the time the public sees my work, it's always much safer."
"We thought she could handle it since it was a prototype, but we didn't expect it to blow up like that." Toshinori does a good job of hiding his nervousness.
"I admit it was a miscalculation on our part." Gran Torino said with a nod.
"Maybe next time you shouldn't have her helping you." The doctor said while slightly scolding the men.
"It's my fault," Melissa quietly said. "I- my Dad, Uncle, and teacher here were trying to help me become a hero! And we only have until next year before I need that equipment."
The doctor's look softened as she looked down at Melissa. "I understand the importance of deadlines, but now I'm going to have to recommend you don't use your right hand for at least a week. You'll have to keep it wrapped and I will prescribe painkillers. Do you understand what that means?" She told her with a professional tone.
"It means I can't use One For All for a week." Melissa thought with disappointment. "Yes ma'am."
Shield Resident- Afternoon
After the doctor finished her exam and discharged them, the three men led Melissa home where she lay on the couch in the living room, her bandaged arm lying across her chest a reminder of today's failure. The whole ride back home was awkwardly quiet as no one had it in them to speak after the incident.
Melissa could hear her dad, Uncle Toshi, and Gran Torino in the other room talking with each other in private, and wondered what this meant for her future.
"If I can't train without hurting myself…" Melissa thought in utter disappointment.
Soon the adults finished their conversation and headed into the living room where Melissa is at and trying their best to comfort the girl.
She felt tears threatening to fall when her dad placed a cup of hot chocolate on the table near her head.
"How are you feeling Melissa?" David asked seeing his daughter depressed.
"Like a failure," Melissa admitted as she raised her arm.
"Don't blame yourself for something that was our failure, Melissa," Toshinori said feeling ashamed for hurting his niece like this. "I'm sorry that we pushed you to your limits today."
"Toshi, right. I got caught up in your excitement and thought I had the math right." David said to her with a grim expression.
"It's not your fault," Melissa shouted with frustration and regret. "Controlling One For All isn't a precise science either. I could have dialed back how much energy I used, but it just felt so good! Having a quirk! It's everything I dreamed of! And now…"
"Ah, don't beat yourself up too much Lass. It's your first time trying, so it was to be expected. That is how training works." Gran Torino said trying to ease the girl's mind. "Although, that didn't apply to Toshinori when I was training him. He was pretty much able to use One For All right off the bat. So I taught him differently. Of course, he had the body type that was suitable for One For All, so it helped him in." He said remembering how it was for his former student.
"It's true that I was never in that situation, so I don't really understand how it'll work for you," Toshinori said to her with a smile. "But remember Melissa, you've just awakened to your new power. Most kids around your age have already spent at least a decade to get their quirks under control, but you'll learn to manage in time. Hoping to master it right away is like asking a baby to run a marathon. You still have to go through the process of learning how to walk." He said looking at his niece to see her mood lightened up a bit. "You're overflowing with energy at the moment. But with training, your body will learn to hold it better.
"He's right, girl. When Toshinori just got One For All, he could use it at full strength after a few days, but that caused a host of other problems," Gran Torino told her at one point. "He had to learn to tone his power down so that he wouldn't cause more damage than the villains he would fight. Not to mention preventing him from accidentally killing someone. It took a lot of practice to get to a point where he wasn't a weapon of mass destruction. You're honestly better off being familiar with it at a lower power and working your way up to the weather-altering attacks." He said liking this method much better than what he went through with Toshinori. "Right now, your quirk is either all or nothing, one day, you'll learn how to control your output. Then you'll be able to adjust exactly how much power you're using."
"I see..." Melissa said with her head down, feeling a little better after here that.
David knelt next to her and carefully wrapped his hands around her bandaged hand. "Don't worry. I'll analyze the designs while you recover. Next week we'll pick up where we left off." He said with seriousness.
"But what about the exam? Losing a whole week like this-" Melissa argued but was cut off by her father.
"Is painful. But I know you. You're like your mother - you won't let a setback like this stop you from reaching your goal." David said to her with a smile.
Despite the tears leaking out from her eyes, Melissa couldn't help but smile. "Thanks, guys."
"We'll despite what happened not too long ago, we managed to learn a few things from this whole mess." Gran Torino said looking on the brighter side of things. "We now know that the girl's current output of using One For All is somewhat under 20 percent. So it's safe to assume that we should have her practicing at 10 percent of her power until her body can withstand more."
"Agreed, let's not make the same mistake twice," Toshinori said in agreement with his former teacher's plan. "We still have plenty of time to prepare Melissa for the exam, which is why I have a suggestion to make with you David."
"What is it?" David asked with curiosity.
"If it's already with you, I would like Melissa to come back to Japan with me so that I and Gran Torino can train her more efficiently in using One For All," Toshinori said shocking both Melissa and David.
"You want her to leave the I-Island this earlier before the exam draws near?" David asked a bit surprised by the request.
"That might not actually be a bad idea." Gran Torino said getting their attention on him. "Since he's the Number One hero in Japan, he can't stay out of the country for too long, and having the young lass there will make things easier for the both of them when it comes to training her." He said on broad with the idea.
"True but she still hasn't finished her first school year at the Academy, and I at least wanted her to do that first before leaving," David said as he wanted her to learn as much as she could here about being an inventor before leaving the island.
"We'll once she's done here, Melissa can come stay with me in Japan and have her transfer to a different school that has similar teaching like at the I-Island Academy," Toshinori said as he knew that there were schools in Japan that also help students in making support items.
"That could work," David said before looking over at his daughter.
"I don't really mind, besides I've always wanted to visit Japan," Melissa said with a smile.
Don't get Melissa wrong, she loved living on the I-Island but the girl always wanted to visit her uncle's home country in person one of these days and didn't expect it to be so soon.
"When Melissa's hand healed up, she should focus more on studying and helping me finish those gauntlets," David said getting a nod of agreement from the two men.
"That works for us. There is still plenty of time for the exam." Toshinori said to his friend.
"Then it's decided." Gran Torino said as they were in agreement. "Once the young lass is done with school here then I'll take her back to Japan with me, to continue her real training." He said before turning her way. "You can take things slow with your training for now, but once we get to Japan I'll put you through the wringer to help you develop control over One For All."
"I'll be ready for anything you got for me!" Melissa stated with confidence.
I-Island Airport- Morning
Three Mounts later...
The past three months were no different for the ninth wielder of One For All.
Once Melissa's hand was all healed up, she went right back to training to hardness her new quirks power to not make the same mistake twice.
The girl would do light sparring sessions with Gran Torino and Toshinori to get a good feel for her power, as her Uncle returned back to Japan two weeks later with Gran Torino continuing to train her like usual. While still training her control over her quirk, Melissa spends most of her remaining time at school studying to learn as much as she could while still on the island.
She used her free time helping David final touches on the prototype gauntlets gear. Then after three months of trial and error, the father-daughter was about to completely finish Full Gauntlet gear. Melissa had a pair of gauntlets and boots that were designed to help her punch and kick just as hard with causing stress fractures in her arms and feet. Thanks to her Dad's involvement, she was able to improve her initial designs to make sure they were going to keep her safe and protect her from the power backlash. It was discovered after some initial tests that her output was stronger than All Might's. This made sense since One for All was a stockpile quirk that added power with each successor. With Melissa being the Ninth wielder, it made sense that she would have to work harder to control it. They were also making future improvements on the gear when she is able to use more of One For All's power.
In the final month, Melissa has just finished her first year at the I-Island Academy and will be transferring to a school in Japan just like they planned.
A few more days passed and the day for Melissa and Gran Torino to leave the I-Island for Japan came, as Melissa said her goodbye to everyone she was close to on the I-Island with them both sad and happy for the girl's departure.
Melissa, David, and Gran Torino were all standing in front of a plane on the private runway with both the girl's and old man's belongings loaded in the aircraft, as they were saying their goodbyes to each other.
"Thank you for your kind hospitality and for putting up with me during my stay in your home." Gran Torino said with a bow.
"Done worry about it. You are just as much family to me as Toshi is, so come and visit anytime you want." David said to the old hero before looking at his daughter and giving her a hug. "I guess this is it them, huh, Melissa?" He said with a bittersweet smile while she hugged him back.
"Yeah, I'm going to miss you, Papa," Melissa said also having a sad smile but soon got over it. "I promise to give it everything I got."
"I know you will, sweetheart," David said believing in her, as they released each other. "And I'll be sure to finish your hero costume before you start at U.A."
"Right. I'll be looking forward to seeing it real soon." Melissa said with a happy smile.
"Okay, it's time we make our leave, young lass." Gran Torino said to her, as he saw Melissa give her father one last hug before heading to the plane. "Until we meet again, David." He holds out his hand to the man.
"As to you, Gran Torino," David said gripping his hand as they shook. "Please look after my little girl for me." He asked in a sober tone.
"Don't worry, she's in good hands." Gran Torino promised before letting go of his hand and walking towards the plane with Melissa waving her father off.
As the two broad the plane, David left the runway and saw the aircraft taking off into the sky as it was getting further away until it was completely out of sight.
David just stood there was a few more minutes looking where they had left while smiling to himself at how much Melissa had grown from the person she was and now into her own woman who was ready to take on the world.
"They grow up so fast," David said before leaving the airport.
Japan, Musutafu City- Afternoon
Eleven Mounts later...
It took a least a full day for Melissa and Gran Torino to reach Japan, as the American girl began her new life in Japan with her Uncle Might and Gran Torino.
The final few months of training were excruciating for Melissa. She had gotten used to her current training at that it was intense. After arriving in the country, they increased her training to make sure her body could handle it.
Gran Torino had her start out small and gradually used One For All in her spars with him, and even sometimes her Uncle Toshi would join in too when he was free. After a month she was able to use up to 10% of her power without any pain or discomfort. When her Uncle Toshi had recommended that she 'clench her butt cheeks and yell smash' that worked for him years ago. Gran Torino kicked him in the face and told him to stop being an idiot.
After Melissa discovered that she could channel her power through her entire body it caused golden electricity to radiate off of her. She dubbed it her Golden Fleece and Gran Torino put her through her pacing with it. She could still only handle 10% in the beginning but had slowly climbed her way up to 17% before she started to feel pain by the end of the second month, and thanks to her Full Gauntlet gear she could safely use her power under 30% for a bit before tiring out from the strain. Gran Torino had told her it was a steady improvement with all her hard work. Melissa even found a beach full of nothing but trash that had built up over the past few years and decided to clean it up the entire beach with her Golden Fleece, which only took about three mouths as it was a good way to train her power and help the environment. Because of her actions, Dragobah Beach Park has returned back to its former glory as all people illegally dumping their trash there have stopped and all the locals started to return to enjoy the now clean beach.
She had one last month before she would take her exam for UA, and Gran Torino had left shortly after that, having taught Melissa all that he wanted to, and seeing no real reason to remain as he was going to leave the rest to herself and her Uncle Toshi.
Despite leaving, Gran Torino still kept in touch with Melissa and gave her helpful advice when she needed it.
It was during this time that her Uncle Toshi suggested she take some time and relax to prevent her from burning out too soon. Melissa tried to just use that time and work on her equipment and found he dad had locked her out of the lab at Uncle Toshi's request. Eventually, Melissa would hang out with her new friends she made at the school in Japan she transferred to and walk around to explore the city as the blonde American girl noticed that there was so much plant life here, unlike on the I-Island.
U.A. High School Front Entrance- Morning
So the day has finally arrived for the U.A. Recommendation Entrance Exam, as Melissa woke up at 7 AM in the morning sharp. She was not going to allow herself to oversleep on such an important day like this one.
The time she needed to get to U.A. was 8:30, as the exam starts at 9:00. It took about an hour to get ready as Melissa hopped into the bathroom to take a quick shower, dried and fixed her hair, got dressed into the clothes she already picked out yesterday, and eat some breakfast her Uncle Toshi had made for her. Once she was done eating, Melissa grabbed her bag full of gear with the support items she made her gauntlets, and her boots to prevent any broken bones. Then the two of them left the house with Toshinori personally driving her to U.A. exam.
The sun was beginning to rise, as they rode throughout the city with the warm orange rays of light slowly shining down, as they finally reached their destination.
Melissa, now 17 years old, was now standing outside the gates of U.A. High School in awe, as her Uncle Toshi dropped her off in front of the school's entrance not too long ago, wishing her luck and leaving to watch the exam in a different location with the other U.A. staff members.
"So this is U.A.?" Melissa said nervously at how she was this close to the number one hero school in the world. "It's even more impressive up close than in a picture."
She had dreamed about attending this school for years, but it wasn't until recently that goal was even possible for her to achieve. But now this is what those two years of training were for and she wasn't going to waste this opportunity given to her by so many people.
Taking a breath Melissa steeled her nerves and had a look of resolve in her eyes, as she was ready to take on anything this exam had for her.
"Don't worry Papa, I'll make you and Uncle Might proud!" Melissa thought as she clutched the bag in her hand tightly in anticipation of taking the Recommendation Exam.
Right before Melissa stepped through the gate she stopped in place with her eyes widened in shock a cold shriveled down her spine and she noticed someone walking by her in the corner of her right eye.
It was a black-haired boy who was probably around 14-15 years old and wore an old-looking straw hat on his head, wearing a red and black jacket since it was around wintertime, while also having on light blue denim shorts cuffed just above his knees and tan sandals which was a pretty strange chose in clothing given the time of the season.
The boy however paid Melissa no mind and continued his advancement toward the school, while Melissa just kept staring at the straw hat boy and could swear she felt something off the moment he passed by her.
"Just who is that? Another examinee too?" Melissa thought while watching the boy walk into the school's building with interest. "And why did I feel such an air of superiority around him."
It was almost like her Uncle Might's whenever he showed off his power in front of others but this felt completely different as she had only one thought running through her when she led eyes on the boy.
"It's almost like I'm in the presence of a King,'' Melissa said with wonder and interest, as she then walked inside the building after the boy.
TO BE CONTINUED
On the next King of the Vigilantes: The U.A. Recommendation Exam