CHAPTER 26: THE KNIGHTS
"Uraraka!" Izuku called from his temporary office. "Can you bring me the file 11-C?" He asked politely.
"Sure", Ochako sifted through the folders on her own desk until he found the right one and walked into his office to hand it to him.
"Thank you", Izuku sat there with his jacket off and sleeves rolled up. His gauntlet of course was always on.
"Do you ever take that gauntlet off?" The girl suddenly asked. "Its just I always see you wearing it"
"Of course I don't take it off", Izuku frowned. "Do you realize what they would do to me if I ever removed this", he waved his armored device at her.
"So how do you keep your arm clean?" Izuku sighed at her question.
"There's a hydration and disinfectant mechanism built inside", he told her with complete seriousness. "I thought of everything"
"Alright", Ochako grossed herself out imagining if he didn't have an internal cleaning method built into his invention.
"Damn these people are stubborn", Izuku cursed as he read the forms he submitted. "Rejected again"
"What are you trying to do this time?" The gravity girl asked.
"Well I'm trying to have a ban put on hero merchandise", Izuku replied. "All it does is further glamorize the hero profession and put money in the pockets of their agencies and the corporations that back them"
"That seems appropriate and fair", Uraraka thought about and that would be a good idea. They really shouldn't be encouraging children into these jobs without them fully understanding what they're getting into. It was all part of Izuku's plan to get people to be heroes for the right reason and not become celebrities.
"Yes, because at the end of the day pro heroes are really nothing more than public servants", Izuku scowled. "Where are the firefighter figures, or the police chief t-shirt, or hell where's the action figure of me. This is a job not a marketing platform", he sighed in exasperation. Getting himself worked up again wouldn't help any. "Some people in the senate are obviously in bed financially with some of these companies. I just have to weed them out"
"Well when we get our own office building and more staff this department can get more done", Ochako smiled pleasantly. "Thank you again Izuku for hiring my parent's construction business"
"Its nothing, I needed someone to build our branch office in the city while the fortress was handled by a different more private construction company", Izuku told her.
"Be that as may this job well help my family out immensely, and I um…just wanted to…", Uraraka blushed brightly and stepped around his desk. She quickly leaned down and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. Izuku's green eyes widened as his own face turned red. He placed a hand on the spot she just kissed. "Thank you"
"Y-Your w-welcome", he cleared his throat quickly and repeated. "Your welcome", that was a little bit of the old him still in there somewhere. "Anyway come look at this", he gestured to another folder on his desk. Ochako opened it up and read it.
"Yeah that's not good", what she was reading was a rather slanderous article that someone wrote condemning Izuku's actions lately.
"Actually I think it's funny", he smirked. "Just a bunch of sad rambling idiots that are afraid of change"
"Well you did take down two popular heroes recently"
"And we're better off without them. Look at this", he pointed to his computers where documents were open. "Look how many heroes are getting their act together just to avoid being publicly humiliated and stripped of their quirk and status", the numbers showed the average of pro heroes that were working harder than ever. "My method is working, yet these fools are acting like I'm committing murder"
"Maybe you should do an interview?" The brown haired girl offered.
"I think my actions should speak for themselves, but maybe your right", Izuku thought about. "Maybe if people had it explained they could perhaps understand"
"We need to find a media outlet that's fair to guests and won't try to persecute on live television", she thought about it while he groaned in annoyance. Going on some talk show was something he'd rather avoid, but maybe he could have it work in his favor.
U.A. DORMS
"According to the former heroes Uwabami and Mt Lady, the two heroes have apparently lost their quirk after their encounter with Director Midoriya", Yaoyorozu read from one of the articles that had been circulating lately. "The young director has yet to comment on exactly how he's able to remove the quirks from people"
"You don't think he'd do something like that to a student do you?" Mina asked with concern. If the guy could take away the quirks of heroes he didn't like, then what about them.
"I bet he was going to do that to Bakugou that day he came here", Jirou commented. "Luckily Aizawa Sensei pulled him away"
"Just what the hell is his problem anyway?" The pink girl scowled. "I get it he was picked on and bullied for being quirkless, but that's no excuse to being a monster to those that had nothing to do with it"
"In other worlds this is all Bakugou's fault", Tsuyu supplied.
"That's not what I'm saying", Mina argued. "Kirishima back me up here, you've talked to Bakugou about this right?" Kirishima snapped to attention before dropping his normally positive demeanor.
"Actually I haven't talked to him since Midoriya came to visit", he sighed dejectedly. "How do you talk to guy that you used to think only acted like an asshole when you find out that he actually is an asshole?"
"Well we at least need to get his side of the story before we make accusations", Mina said.
"What side? He picked on a defenseless person, so he's clearly in the wrong. I'm not sure I want anything to do with him anymore", the spikey red head argued back.
"Well we need to know the full story!" Mina raised her voice.
"How about you go talk to him! You get his side of the story!" Kirishima was getting rather angry now at her persistence.
"Stop yelling", Aizawa walked into the living area on his way out the door. "I've been called away. I'll be back, so don't start a fight while I'm gone", he said before he exited the building. The students remained silent a bit before the pink girl spoke again.
"I can't", Mina finally said. "If he really beat up a quirkless person for no reason what do you think he'll do to one of us if we stand up to him?"
"You're afraid…" Kirishima noticed. "Of Bakugou?"
"Yes. Yes I am", the acid girl admitted.
U.A PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE
"We think we've found something", Nezu began his explanation. "We noticed a usual amount of robots at this shipping yard, so I did a little digging"
"What did you find?" Toshinori asked. The principal grinned with hope.
"Izuku Midoriya is a genius, he created a device meant to be used against his gauntlet", Nezu said excitedly.
"No way!" Even Toshinori was ecstatic to hear that. There was a way to physically beat him after all. There was hope.
"Yeah apparently he built this thing in secret in case the infinity gauntlet was ever removed and used against him. A friend in the senate who has access to classified files slipped me a secret document that Midoriya wanted destroyed", the principal pulled out a copy to hand to him. "He calls it the Anti Gauntlet, according to the file its purpose is to absorb the energy from the stones and render the Infinity Gauntlet powerless"
"How would we get our hands on it?" Aizawa asked.
"That's the part you're not going to like Shouta Aizawa", Nezu sighed.
"Let me guess, one of my students is going to be put in danger again?" The homeroom teacher glared banefully.
"Not likely. We just need him to get in, get the device and get out while we provide the distraction", Nezu told him.
"Who were you considering?" Toshinori asked.
TRAINING ROOM
"DIE!" Katsuki blasted another boulder to bits. He had tried booking this training time with shitty hair, since he could physical absorb the damage of his explosion, but Kirishima wasn't talking to him anymore. In fact no one in his class wanted anything to do with him anymore. Even Kaminari, Sero, and Ashido were avoiding him lately. On top of all that he had been forced to regularly attend counseling to help control his anger.
"You still seem pretty angry to me Kacchan", that mocking voice spoke. He had yet to tell Hound Dog of this hallucination of Deku that wouldn't go away. "Still practicing for your provisional license remedial class. The last thing society needs is you out there on the streets fighting crime. You are and always will be a danger to innocent lives", Deku said appearing before him still in the appearance of how he looked at the junkyard. "I know better than anyone how dangerous you really are and now your classmates know it to"
"I don't give a shit what they think!" Katsuki snapped at the image his mind conjured.
"Ah but you do", Izuku smirked. "How can you be the best if everyone ignores you? How will you get that attention and praise you crave so badly?" Katsuki glared at this imaginary manifestation. "You care about what they think of you. You care very badly what everyone thinks of you." Before he could continue to argue with this hallucination his teacher walked into the training.
"We leave in thirty minutes get changed and meet me in front of the school", Aizawa said blandly as he turned back around and left as quickly as he came. Katsuki slumped his shoulders and headed towards the locker room ready to face whatever his punishment would be.
After he was clean and dressed he made his way to the front entrance where Eraser Head was waiting patiently for him. The man gestured to the car and Katsuki got in without a word. They drove through the city in silence. Both of them obviously preferred it that way to be honest. After half an hour they arrived at what looked like some kind of hospital or health center.
"Are you going to tell me what I'll be doing here?" Bakugou asked gruffly.
"You'll see when we get inside", Aizawa said equally gruff. Gesturing for him to follow they made their way inside. Inside the lobby a woman, clearly a doctor going by the white coat, was there to greet them.
"Ah Aizawa glad you could make it", the woman greeted.
"Bakugou this is Dr. Higurashi", the woman smiled pleasantly at the blonde. She was an average heighted woman with dark brown hair tied in a bun and round black rimmed glasses on her face. "You'll be working with her today"
"Your principal has informed me of why you are here", the woman frowned lightly. "You may see this as a punishment, but I hope you'll come to see this more as an opportunity", she regained her smile as she led the two of them into the facility.
"I still don't know what it is you want me to do", Bakugou stared forward while they walked through the clean halls.
"You see young man this facility takes in special children", the doctor explained. "We care for them, teach them, and help them in any way that we can", she paused before she explained the next part. "Most of these children are young, but have had hard lives. Some were abandoned, born into abusive homes, or suffered at the hands of others", they walked into an observation room which contained a large one way mirror that looked in on a classroom filled with small kids around ages five, six, or seven.
"Tell him the most important part", Aizawa said as he looked through the window.
"The kids you will be assisting me with…", Dr. Higurashi began. "Are quirkless", Bakugou's eyes widened to ridiculous proportions as he turned his gaze from the woman to the class full of quirkless children.
"There are some rules you must abide by Bakugou", Aizawa began while ignoring the teen's look of shock. "One you're not allowed to yell at the children, or physically harm them", the teacher paused for a moment. "Also you're not allowed to use your quirk around them", that was actually one of the doctor's rules. The children are already struggling with depression, so best not remind them of what they don't have.
"How long do I have to do this?" Katsuki swallowed nervously.
"As long as it takes", Aizawa said dryly.
U.A DEVELOPMENT STUDIO
"That's mine", Mei Hatsume placed another of her personal tools in the box. "That's mine", she grabbed some of her blueprints. "That's mine", another set of tools. "I brought this from home", she unplugged the coffee machine and placed it in another box.
"Hatsume", Power Loader tried to get her attention. "Hatsume!" He yelled this time making her stop and turn to him. "Are you sure about this?"
"I handed in my forms to the administration so yeah I am absolutely sure", Mei said excitedly. "This is why I wanted to attend U.A in the first place to invent things for heroes"
"By joining up with Izuku Midoriya?" Power Loader couldn't wrap his head around how she thought allying herself with that guy would allow her to accomplish her goals. Just the other day his student suddenly handed in her resignation or drop out papers to the principal, much to the shock of her teachers and the school staff. When asked why she simply said that she was offered a position in Midoriya's Hero Regulation Department. "Mei, that boy is crazy", how could she not see that?
"Crazy?" Mei seemed offended by that. "So just because he has big ideas and big goals he must be crazy?" She slammed the box closed and turned around with a huff. Midoriya wasn't crazy, he was simply very ambitious. "Thank you for everything Sensei, but I need to follow my own path", Mei said before walking quickly out of the work shop.
"I just hope you realize what you're getting into before it's too late", Power Loader spoke quietly to the empty room. Part of him was glad that the studio wouldn't be blown up every other day, but another part of him would miss the girl and her antics. Mei Hatsume was definitely the most interesting student that he's had in a long time.
3 DAYS LATER
"Is everyone in position", Aizawa spoke into his mouth piece.
"Yes", multiple voices repeated.
"Good. I'm going over the plan one last time", the underground hero began. "Nezu has hacked the camera feed of the shipping yard, so Midoriya will have no idea who was here today, so don't worry too much about being spotted", he heard the principal confirm his part of the plan through the head set. "I'm going to go in with a disguise to distract the robots. Better they come after me than our unfortunate volunteer", he stressed that last part with great concern. This was the part of the plan that he hated. He turned to look at the student that stood beside him waiting for the plan to begin. "Iida, as soon as the robots leave the area you dash in. You're looking for a large metal shipping container labeled 56", Tenya was chosen for this job as the agency that he was involved in for his work study was right down the street from the shipping yard. It was the perfect alibi, and Midoriya would never suspect a U.A student would take his device. It was almost too perfect of a plan. Something Aizawa felt uneasy about. "There should be something in there that looks similar to Midoriya's gauntlet. Simply get it and get out. Do you understand Iida?"
"I've got it Aizawa Sensei", the class rep confirmed.
"Remember if something happens or if something doesn't seem right I don't care about the device I want you to get out of their immediately", the underground hero warned. "It's not worth your safety or life, do you understand?" He said sternly.
"I understand", Iida nodded as he put his helmet on and walked out of the alley to get into position.
"I swear if something bad happens to him Nezu", Aizawa threatened his boss.
"Everything will be fine", Nezu's voice assured him. "We planned this out perfectly"
"Then why do I still feel sick to my stomach?" The underground hero still couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong about this whole situation. This was what they were looking for though, a mistake on Midoriya's part. All villains even the smart ones make mistakes at some point, but Midoriya was more than just a smart villain.
"Don't start the diversion until the interview begins", the principal reminded him while ignoring the man's worries. Currently an interview was about to go live featuring the wielder of the infinity gauntlet himself. They decided to use the time that Izuku was on the air to swipe this Anti Gauntlet right out from under his nose while he was busy answering questions. Even with his warping abilities he wouldn't just suddenly leave the interview, at least according to the psychological profile that Nezu did on him. "I have the channel on, it will start in few minutes", Aizawa placed the helmet over his head that would keep his face and identity hidden. He was wearing a dark jumpsuit that was very different than his normal costume and lacked his patented capture scarf. There couldn't be anything that would leave him recognizable. "It's starting go!"
XXXXXXXX
"Hello my name is Shino Ryuunosuke of J News Nightly, and today we have a very exciting interview", a man with green skin and dragon-like horns sticking out of his head spoke with joy. "Director Midoriya, the young head of the government's new Hero Regulation Department has agreed to come on and speak to us about his recent actions", he paused before looking to the left of the stage. "Please welcome Izuku Midoriya", the camera panned over to reveal said teenager standing there in all his glory, wearing his pressed gray suit and gauntlet still secured to his left hand.
"Good afternoon Ryuunosuke", Izuku greeted him with a smile, reaching out with his right hand to shake the man's offered one. He took a seat across from the interviewer after introductions were out of the way.
"So let's begin. You were hired by the prime minister over a month ago to be the director of the Hero Regulation Department or H.R.D as it's taken to being called", the man tried to avoid the awkwardness of talking to a teenager as if he was an adult, but it was obvious.
"Yes that is correct", Izuku nodded.
"So what is the purpose of this department? What does it do?" Ryuunosuke asked.
"Our job is simple. To regulate and reform the hero profession", Izuku explained. "Removing heroes that don't fit the new standards and elevating those that do"
"I think I speak for most of the population when I say we understand Endeavor and Weather Dominator. After what they've done, but why Uwabami and Mt. Lady? I don't think they deserved what they got"
"That's interesting that you can't see how those two woman grossly misrepresented what it means to be a hero", Izuku remarked with amusement. "Those two cared more about their popularity than they did doing their job. Last I checked being a hero isn't the same as being a celebrity"
"You may have a point, but…", the interviewer was cut off.
"No I do make a point. That's what I'm doing is making a point", Izuku said a bit harshly.
"But removing a person's quirk? Don't you think that's a harsh punishment?" Ryuunosuke questioned.
"You know I'm actually quirkless", the teen supplied. "You make it sound like being quirkless is some kind of torture. Is that what you think being quirkless is like?"
"W-Who is that man in the mask that works for you?" Ryuunosuke quickly changed the subject to avoid answering the question. Which Izuku picked up on.
"That is a special agent of mine. His identity is classified", the gauntlet user explained. "He secretly keeps an eye on the heroes for me and brings me information that they would normally keep quiet about", Izuku smiled. "For example, the amount of property damage caused by Mt. Lady whenever she uses her quirk in public or the fact that Uwabami makes millions of dollars off her products and modeling"
"That's common knowledge, your just exacerbating things people already know for your own benefit", the interviewer accused.
"Really? Common knowledge you say? Is that why the agencies use money and influence to keep these facts out of the media", Izuku accused right back. "In fact anything that would make these people seem less heroic seems purposely kept out of the news"
"I think your just assuming things without any proof", Ryuunosuke said thinking he had him on the ropes. "Is it not true that you are attempting to ban hero merchandise?" He suddenly asked changing the subject and shifting the focus once again to try and make the boy look bad.
"Yes I am", Izuku smirked seeing the game the man was playing, but unlike Ryuunosuke he had a secret weapon. "I think it's ridiculous that public servants have action figures and t-shirts. All the merchandise only further glamorizes the profession of heroism and misrepresents what it means to be a hero"
"But if this law gets put into effect you'll hurt a lot of corporations and hero agencies", the man added.
"I'm sorry I thought heroes were meant to protect civilians not their corporate backers", Izuku fired back. "Speaking of backers and dirty money", the boy smirked wider as he reached around his chair and pulled out an envelope. "Remember when you said removing a hero's quirk was a harsh punishment. Well in the case of Mt. Lady and the snake hero I gave them the option of earning their quirks back by telling them to donate their time and energy to charity or perhaps community service. I even attempted to put them in contact with a wellness center that takes in depressed quirkless children, that I've been financially supporting for quite some time", he had taken the left over money he had after he finished his gauntlet from his time as a villain and donated it to the program. Dr. Higurashi was very grateful for said donation and when asked for his name he just told her to call him Deku. It was the first name that came to mind. "Those two women have yet to do anything of the sort and have instead used their time, money and influence to start a smear campaign against me."
"Well what would you expect when you're the one who-", Izuku cut the man off.
"They have payed to have articles written condemning me for my actions and they even payed off a certain reporter to steer this interview in a way that paints me in a bad light. Isn't that right Shino Ryuunosuke?"
"That's not true", the man denied. "We have a thing called integrity here at J News", Izuku simply opened the envelope and pulled out largely printed photographs of Uwabami and Mt. Lady discussing things in a green room with Ryuunosuke and then a picture a them handing the man untraceable cash.
"I'm sorry…what were you lying about?" Izuku cocked his head in a coy fashion. "My agent is very good at what he does isn't he?" He had purposely had Stain spy on them, having a good idea of what they were up to. That was the whole reason he agreed to this interview in the first place.
"L-Let's uh…let's cut to a commercial", the interviewer was sweating now.
"Nope! Keep rolling!" Izuku belayed those orders with his own. The camera operators were more afraid of Midoriya then they were of losing their jobs so they kept going like he said. "Don't you think the people should know that not only are their heroes corrupt but their media heads are also just as corrupt and self-serving?" The dragon faced man remained silent.
"Now then I'm going to say what I came here to say", Izuku turned to the camera. "All I'm trying to do is to give the people heroes that they deserve. Not some pompous celebrities or monsters that abuse their quirks and status for personal gain", Ryuunosuke was completely ignored now as Izuku pointed his index finger at the camera. "This is your fault all of you who let the hero profession rot and become what it is today. If anyone has a problem with my methods and wants someone to blame, simply look in a mirror"
MEANWHILE
As soon as the interview started Aizawa put on his disguise and started to move towards the shipping yard. He spotted the tall black imposing Titans guarding the front entrance. Honestly for a genius Midoriya was incredibly stupid sometimes. The fact that he had robots guarding this yard was like putting a big sign out that there was something important hidden here. It still seemed too good to be true to Erasure Head though.
With a long overhand toss he threw a cluster of smoke grenades at the machines. The robots turned their heads tracking where the grenades came from until the spotted him. With a growl the Titans began stomping towards him. Aizawa turned and tan towards a nearby building tossing more smoke bombs behind him to keep their full attention. Using a grappling gun to reach the roof quickly, the robots promptly followed by climbing the side.
"Iida now!" He ordered into his communicator. The boy quickly ran towards the unprotected gates and with his engines propelling him forward took a big leap over it. Dashing through the shipping yard Iida's eyes scanned left to right searching for the container labeled 56. He noticed a surprising lack of robots inside the yard, but he didn't have time to ponder that for long as he was on a time limit.
"There it is", Iida finally found the one he was looking for. A dark green metal shipping container with the correct number on the side. Glancing around for any possible guards or Titans he quickly made his way to it. Pulling the leavers, he opened the container and finally saw what they sought. A glass container containing a platinum gauntlet similar to Midoriya's, but the stones were blank and colorless. Iida walked into the container, never noticing the portal that formed in the air above it. Opening the surprisingly unlocked case he reached in and grabbed the device.
"Iida have you found it yet?" Aizawa asked though the communicator.
"Yeah I have it", the class rep responded.
"Good, get out there now", the teacher ordered. Suddenly the communication was cut and Iida nearly fell over when something lifted the container he was in up into the air.
"Iida! Iida!" Shota Aizawa shouted into his mic. He had safely escaped the robots by hiding atop a different building that overlooked the shipping yard. With a pair of binoculars he was able to see what was happening. The shipping container that his student was inside of was being lifted into the air by a telekinetic force and pulled into a portal. "What the hell is going on!? Nezu you said Midoriya wouldn't notice until it was too late!"
"I don't understand the interview is still going on live…unless", the principal suddenly realized that they were deceived from the very beginning of this plan.
ELSEWHERE
Iida panicked as he felt the container suddenly land on solid ground. He clutched the gauntlet to his chest protectively, as it was their only hope at defeating Midoriya.
"Tenya Iida, would you mind stepping out of there", a familiar voice called. The young man held the gauntlet tightly as he reopened the doors of the shipping container and walked out. He was no longer in the yard, the container was moved to a whole new location. A large high ceilinged conference room with a long table in the center. At the head of it sat Izuku Midoriya with his fingers interlocked together and to his right occupying two of the chairs sat Ochako Uraraka and Shoto Todoroki. While Iida wasn't surprised to see Uraraka here, Todoroki was a huge shock. "You're just in time for the end of the show", Izuku smiled and grabbed a remote control. It was then that Iida noticed the large monitor screen above and behind Midoriya, playing the interview that was supposed to be live. He spun around in his chair to watch the rest.
"The prime minister gave me full authority to deal with corrupt heroes any way I see fit. Soon you all will see that this is all for the better", the Izuku on the television paused before finishing his speech. "But until then I don't think you've all been properly made aware of how bad the heroes of today really are, so starting tomorrow I'll be bringing to light all the dirty secrets the Hero Public Safety Commission tried to keep out of the media", the real Izuku flipped the screen off before turning back around in his chair to face Iida.
"I bet you're confused", Midoriya cocked his head.
"The interview was never live was it?" The class rep was finally starting to put the pieces together. This was a trap.
"We filmed it yesterday and I ordered the J News to not air it till the next day and claim that it was live", Izuku noticed the death grip that Iida had on the Anti-Gauntlet. "Will you let that thing go already", using the reality stone's power he ripped the gauntlet out of the other boy's hands and slowly crumpled it into a ball. "Aluminum and plastic rocks, any kid with a decent allowance could buy these materials at your local crafts store", he tossed what he now revealed as nothing more than a crumpled prop behind him. "I mean come on. Did you really think I would build a device that could be used against my Infinity Gauntlet?" Iida's eyes widened further as he took a cautious step backwards.
"I purposely planted false information for Nezu and set up the hook and bait at that specific location close to your internship because I knew they would use you while someone else provided the distraction", Izuku revealed the workings of his elaborate trap.
"Why? Why would you bring me here?" Iida's eyes went from Izuku to Uraraka who looked back at him with concern, and then to Shoto who looked apathetic.
"To talk", He gestured towards the seat next to Todoroki. Seeing that this was all a trap from the start and he probably wouldn't get far if he ran Tenya decided to cooperate by sitting down and removing his helmet. At least until he found a way out of this. "Relax no one is going to get hurt here. After this meeting is over you'll be returned to the city safely"
"Iida is here now, so can we begin?" Todoroki asked with a small amount of impatience.
"Soon, we're just waiting on three more people", Izuku supplied. The group heard a noise coming from a set of double doors on the left side of the room. "Ah! That should be them now", the doors swung open first revealing a grinning blonde girl named Toga Himiko, then another known member of the League of Villains called Dabi walked in behind her. The patched up man's eyes widened for a brief moment when he spotted the Todoroki boy before righting himself, an action that didn't go unnoticed by the dual quirk wielder. It was the third individual that had Iida standing up out of his chair. The hero killer Stain in the flesh and looking as murderous as ever.
"What is this!?" Tenya demanded. Shoto remained calmed, but he too wanted to know. The only one not curious was Uraraka for she was already told of the plan and knew ahead of time who would be joining them.
"Sit down Iida", Izuku ordered calmly. "There will be no fighting here and if it starts I won't hesitate to end it. Trust me when I say you don't want that", he threatened. Iida glared at him, but slowly complied by returning to his seat without another word. Izuku smiled at him then turned to the three new comers. "Now if you three would be kind enough to also take a seat so we can begin", Toga of course immediately took a seat to Midoriya's immediate left, directly across from Ochako. Dabi sat down next across from Todoroki and Stain sat parallel to Iida not the least bit intimidated by the boy glaring daggers at him.
"Now then let's begin", Izuku clapped his hands gaining there attention. "I'll keep this simple. The reason I've called you six here is because I've chosen you to be the first of the enforcers for my new department. I'm calling it the Knights of Balance, the main purpose of course being to restore balance to the world of heroes. The secondary purpose is of course to serve as examples of what heroes should be, and that is where you three come in", he pointed to the three on his right. "I think you three have the potential to be true heroes and I want to help get you there with exclusive training, promotion and better gear than what U.A could provide"
"And what exactly do you need them for?" Shoto asked while eyeing the three villains.
"I need them to keep the villains of society in line during this transition", Izuku sighed. "Look I'm not stupid. There are more villain groups out there and I don't expect them to remain idle while I slowly take apart and put back together our messed up hero system. In fact I bet some of them even prefer the corruption and will probably attempt to throw a wrench or two in my plans, so Stain, Dabi and Toga will work from the shadows of society and bring these villains down from the inside. Don't worry I've ordered them not to kill anyone and that goes double to our former hero killer here", he levelled Stain with a look and the man scowled in displeasure, but didn't protest. "While they are busy I want you three to become the faces of the H.R.D.", he smiled warmly at his would be knights. "The first of a new generation of heroes"
"You already have our answer", Uraraka told him while Shoto nodded in agreement. They were both ready and willing to help give rise to the new standard of heroes. The only one who wasn't convinced was Tenya.
"How can someone like you create a better hero system?" Iida argued. "What gives you the right?"
"It's not about whether or not I have the right. I'm the only one who can fix it, because I'm the only one with the will to act", the gauntlet wielder scowled at him. "If it wasn't for me everyone would have remained blind to the problem and the corruption until it grew so bad that there would be no fixing it. Sometimes when a forest grows sick it must be burned down to give rise to new life. Tell me Tenya Iida would you prefer the corrupt hero system to the better one I want to create?"
"You'll have to forgive me Midoriya?" Iida glared at him through his glasses. "But the only corruption I see is here in this room", he leveled each person in the meeting room with an equal sharp gaze before sliding back in his chair. "If that's all I think I'll take my leave", without another word he quietly and respectfully left through another set of doors. Uraraka was about to chase after him but Izuku stopped her.
"Let him go", the green haired teen told her. "He doesn't know he's on an island and can't leave on his own", he chuckled lightly. "Feel free to talk amongst yourselves I'll be back in a few minutes", Izuku stood up and opened a portal behind him that he vanished through leaving the five of them in a very awkward silence.
OUTSIDE
Iida wandered the building and construction zones passing by more robots than actual workmen who were all too busy to tell him where the exit was. He had trouble navigating his way around the labyrinth of corridors and briefly wondered if he should just use his quirk to sprint around until he found the exit. His train of thought ended when a portal opened in front of him and out stepped Midoriya holding a digital tablet.
"You look a little lost", Izuku smiled waving him over. "Come. Let's take a walk and I'll send you home after", Iida didn't want to rely on him or have to spend any more time near this person, but without knowing where he was exactly he had no other option. Following the other boy Iida remained silent while he talked about the base that was still being constructed around them.
"We just finished the main building yesterday, by morning the labs will be done I'm sure Hatsume will be pleased to hear that when she arrives", Izuku continued to chat away as if he was conversing with a friend. "I'm hoping by later this week the training facility and robot factory can be completed and I can finally cut the red ribbon on our new base"
"You mean your base", Iida corrected.
"I like to think of it more as a home. It's always good to have a home, a place to belong. Don't you think?" Izuku asked. "Living a life without purpose or a place to belong, can you image what that must feel like?"
"Why are you doing this?" Iida snapped at him.
"I'm trying to put you in my shoes, make you see things from my perspective", Izuku explained. "You've come a long way since I saved you from Stain, but you're not quite there yet"
"What do you mean I'm not there yet?" Tenya raised a brow at the other boy's words.
"Your so close to seeing the world as I see it", Izuku calmly walked around him. "You've already seen the way I exposed Allmight and Endeavor. I've brought all the lies of this hero society to light and now I'm trying to reform it into what it should have been all along. All you need to do is just see it and acknowledge it for yourself"
"What if I can't see it?" Or more accurately what if he didn't want to see it?
"You already did see it, you just chose to ignore it like most people do", Izuku smiled and held out his digital tablet screen. "So how is your brother doing?" He suddenly asked as if to seemingly change the subject.
"Leave him out of this!" Iida fumed.
"It must be terrible to watch your once wonderfully heroic brother reduced to a wheelchair", Izuku sighed sadly. "Poor Ingenium, the once incredible fast turbo hero now a just slug on wheels", he saw it coming and could have done any number of things to stop the punch headed towards his face, but let it happen instead. Iida's fist met Midoriya's cheek and nearly sent him tumbling back. Luckily Izuku had enough grace and poise to keep his feet firmly on the ground.
"How dare you talk about him like that!" Iida shouted as his body shook with rage.
"If you just listened for a moment you would hear the point I'm trying to make", the gauntlet user wiped the blood from his lip with his thumb, not even bothering to heal such minor wound. "Did you know your brother didn't have to be confined to a wheelchair?" Seeing the look on Tenya's face he concluded that his brother must not have told him. "Yes he was offered an experimental treatment that would at least give him back the ability to walk", Izuku showed him the tablet screen revealing files, documents, and schematics of a set of exo-legs designed to be fitted to his brother's lower body. "Unfortunately the technology is expensive, even for your family, and when he filled out an application to the Hero Public Safety Commission to help pay, they rejected it", Izuku paused to let that sink in.
"Why would they do that?" Iida asked. He wanted to refuse this boy's claims, but the proof was right there in his hand. He saw the application and immediately recognized his brother Tensei's signature.
"Well normally the H.P.S.C would help severely injured heroes with medical expenses. That is as long as the medical procedures will eventually lead to said person's return to their hero profession", Izuku explained the lesser known policies of the government. "Your brother Tensei's exo-legs would only have given him the ability to walk again as the technology has yet to get to the stage where he could go back to being a hero. So they deemed him useless just like everyone in the world deemed quirkless people like me useless and discarded us like trash to be forgotten and unnoticed", Izuku handed the shaking taller boy the tablet so he could read through it all himself. "Do you want to know what they used the money that they could have used on Tensei for? Not long after his request was denied the hero Endeavor, in a fight against a group of villains, burned down a lot of businesses in the crossfire. They spent more money on paying off the business owners, buying their silence and compliance, than what they could have used giving your brother some of his mobility and dignity back"
"How did you find all this out?" Iida was furious with the way the H.P.S.C discarded his heroic older brother, but he needed to know how Midoriya came by such information.
"You're talking to the director of the Hero Regulation Department", Izuku chuckled with pride. "Once I gained my position I was granted legal access to all the classified files. All the dirty little secrets the H.P.S.C tried to keep out of the public to make the heroes look clean are now at my fingertips"
"H-How could they be so callous?" Iida collapsed to his knees as his hands tightened around the screen.
"There it is", Izuku kneeled down with him. He placed his gauntlet covered hand on the other boy's shoulder. "Now you finally see what's wrong. Corruption. Heroes are not heroes and those who are weak or useless don't matter in this world", taking the tablet from Iida's hands he continued. "I re-opened your brother's application just last week. With me backing it he'll get those exo-legs and soon be able to walk again. And who knows, maybe if a certain director with a few connections and influence could hire a couple scientists to advance the technology in a few years…we could perhaps see the return of the Turbo Hero Ingenium." Iida's teary eyes snapped up to look at the green haired teen.
"Why are you doing this? To make me join you?" Tenya wanted so badly to believe that Midoriya was a villain at heart that would stoop so low. He really wished he could write him off as that. It would be so less complicated.
"Of course not. Tensei will be helped whether you agree to join me or not", Izuku shrugged as he stood back up. "It's your choice", he gestured to the open space behind him. "You walk out of here and be done with all of this. I wouldn't hold it against you. I just wanted to see a great hero like Ingenium be given what he is rightfully owed."
"What about your crimes? All the horrible things you've done all in the name of this new better society you envision?" Iida inquired as he too went back up on his feet.
"Tenya…I'll confess…I do get great satisfaction in punishing corrupt heroes", Izuku admitted. "I'm only human, therefore I'm flawed. I did enjoy it greatly to see the look on Allmight's face when I revealed his lies to the world", Izuku sighed as he looked away. "I had to do a lot of terrible things to get where I am today. Some of it I loved, but other things like hurting my mother and causing Uraraka to get expelled I regret with all my heart", Izuku gave him a pleading look. "I'm not going to lie, reforming this hero controlled society is going to be a messy affair and I can't do it all by myself. That's why I need your help. I need Ochako and Shoto. As much as you detest Stain I need him too, that includes Dabi and Toga as well", he held his right hand out in front of Tenya. "This is going to be a group effort, so Tenya Iida…will you be a part of it or not?"
On one hand Izuku Midoriya had a point about what was wrong with society and heroes, but there had to be other methods to fix it. All this violence and robbing people of their quirks was just wrong no matter what angle you looked at. Midoriya wanted revenge against the society that rejected him that much was clear to Iida and this is how the boy planned to get that revenge. To the young hero in training it didn't matter how the other teen tried to justify himself for he knew in his heart that Midoriya was wrong about how he wanted to go about this change.
It was then that Tenya got an idea in his head. While Izuku couldn't be stopped physically and politically, what if instead he was taken down from within his own organization? At the very least he could supply people like Aizawa and Allmight information on the inner workings of Midoriya's department. Perhaps he could even find out how the gauntlet worked and its potential weaknesses. With that they might be able to stop him once and for all. Perhaps Tenya could even convince Shoto and Ochako to see reason as well with enough time.
'I can't let an opportunity like this go', Iida thought as he reached out to shake Midoriya's offered hand. "Alright I'll see where this goes, but if something happens that I don't agree with then I'm out." He was fully committing to the role of teen convinced to another's side of ideology.
"I can agree to those terms. It's not like you're under a contract or anything", Izuku laughed believing that he had finally won Iida over. The president of class 1-A retained his serious face, but on the inside his head he was already swarming with concerns. He had no idea what the future held now or what would become of him should this plan backfire, but for now it was the best shot he had.
Sorry for the delay classes start soon and I'm busy getting ready for that. Plus the interview scene wasn't meant to happen until a few chapters later but with the way people reacted to last chapter I decided to work it in now and get it out of the way. I actually thought people were getting bored with all the political stuff and I kind of wanted to get back to some action. Which we will be getting back to in the next chapter.
I'm very excited for the future if those comments were any indication. Izuku is going to do worse stuff later on and I can't wait for the reactions to that
So before the people who wanted Shinso jump on my back, don't worry I still have plans for him. It's just that he would need a lot of work before he could join the group. Shinso is going to eventually be Izuku's new project once the dust settles so to speak.
Yes Iida's going to be the double agent in the group. This could go multiple ways. Maybe he eventually abandons this role and fully joins Izuku or he could eventually get caught and what might happen then?
As for Bakugou. I really felt this was a fitting punishment for him, to have to take care of quirkless kids. I'm not really trying to redeem him. I just want to get him to a certain point where at least he can admit he was wrong. After that I'm done with him. He'll still be in the story, but we just won't be spending that much time with him anymore.
Some have asked about the Liberation Army. I started writing this before they were introduced in the manga so I'm not sure whether or not to add them. I have a few ideas, but I'll let you know later.
!IMPORTANT MESSAGE!
Now I need your help again like with the junkyard name. The Knights of Balance are each going to be given their own codename. It doesn't have any importance to the story it's just mainly for fun. I'm going to tell you what each of their code names will be except for one. Stain's is Guillotine, Toga's is Chameleon, Dabi's is Dragon, Shoto's is Fahrenheit, and Ochako's is Angel. However I can't figure out a good one for Tenya. If anyone has a good suggestion for his codename please put it at the end of your review.
Teaser of next chapter: I'll be giving the knights a little training arc.