Soooo, I'm back, hopefully with a better schedule, hopefully with a good chapter and more story to come. If you don't remember where we were, things had just taken a bad turn as Izuku was captured along with Mina, the princess he was acting as a bodyguard for, and I promised Izuku was not going to be tortured.

That's not me going 'ahah, surprise, he actually is', that's just me pointing that out.

(XX)

Izuku had expected to wake up in a dusty, rusty cell, or to not wake up at all. Instead, when he opened his eyes, he was in a small but clean room that looked like a one-room apartment, with a small bathroom, a bed, and even a minibar with cans of soda and bottles of water, plus a closet with a few change of clothes that seemed close enough to his size to be unnerving. His own clothes were still on him, but it was clear he had been searched for anything dangerous, and all his buttons, as well as his shoes and his gloves, were gone.

He had expected to wake up under guard, but there was no one to so much as keep an eye on him, though he was sure the camera in the corner of the room was enough considering he had nowhere to go.

He had expected to be locked up, and at least on that front he was right. The room had no windows and the vents for the airflow were too small for him, while the door was locked.

"Hey, kiddo." A voice called from an intercom, and he recognized the voice of the man he had fought in the train, "Swordkil here. The boss wanted me to tell you that he can't wait to have a chat with you. Get dressed with something better than those scraps."

"What if I don't want to?" Izuku asked.

"No problem, I'll just kill you. See those vents? They aren't just for air conditioning." He replied, letting the implication linger. Izuku gulped. He wasn't sure if the threat was true, but it was realistic. Wherever they where, it wasn't just a simple hideout. This was a place built to hold prisoners indefinitely, so he was sure they had a way to stop them from misbehaving.

"Is there a camera in the bathroom too?"

"Nah, you got the nice room. Feel free to change in there." Izuku nodded, grabbing some clothes and moving to the bathroom. There was no lock, of course, but the door stayed closed when he pulled it in. He looked around, not finding any sign of cameras, but there was still the chance of a microphone.

He sighed. Calm, he had to stay calm. The HASC was certainly tracking him, if nothing else to save Mina…

Shit, Mina! He had to move, figure out where she was, find out what their plan was…

He had a lot of work to do. And he wasn't going to waste time.

Izuku's clothes were simple, long black pants, a green button-up shirt, and shoes. When he left the bathroom, the intercom came to life again. "Good enough." Swordkil said, "People are waiting for you outside." There was a click and the door of the room opened, letting Izuku walk out. He made sure to not run, but he realized quickly there was no need. Swordkil was already waiting outside.

"Surprised?" He asked, "Come on, boss is waiting." He gestured for him to walk to the left, leaving Izuku just enough time for a quick look around the corridor. It was simple, grey walls and a floor that had seen better days, no decorations, and, he counted quickly, about five doors, three per side, before the corridors ended on both sides on what seemed to be an elevator.

He started walking, trying to figure out everything he could. The doors were at equal distance from one another, so the rooms were likely all the same size, though Swordkil had already implied some were better than others. As they reached the end of the corridor, Swordkil pushed a button on his watch, and the elevator door opened. Izuku walked in, still followed by the man. As he did, Izuku checked him to figure out his chances. He had a pistol on his left side, the one he was careful to keep away from Izuku, and Izuku knew about the weapons in his arms.

"Don't do anything funny." Swordkil warned him, pressing the button for floor 1. They started going down, and Izuku noticed they had been on Floor 3. There were ten buttons, but he couldn't know if it meant there were actually ten floors.

"What do you want from me?" Izuku asked, "I'm not betraying the HASC."

"Well then it will be a very brief conversation." Swordkil replied, as the elevator stopped at their destination. "Come on."

He stepped out in another corridor, but this one was shorter, leading to a large door Swordkil opened with both hands. The room inside was, to put it simply, a dining hall. Several wooden table with chairs, a pair of fridges filled with drinks, and a door that clearly led to a kitchen. Sitting at one of those tables were a pair of tall, imposing men.

The first one, a large man with orange hair that stood like flames over his head, and a stubble to match, slammed his fist on the table, a smell of burnt wood raising as he did so, "- an easy job! And now Dusty got almost killed, and who knows if Gust's leg can even…" He paused, glancing at the new arrivals, "Who the fuck is that."

"Just the kid Swordkil got. Ignore him." The other one replied. Izuku recognized him immediately, since the metallic face mask he was wearing was hardly difficult to identify. He was the man with a magnetic Quirk that had defeated him. "Either way, Iwata, calm down. Your boys failed their assignments, so if anything I should be angry. But I'm not, right? So do me a favor, and try to fucking control yourselves." He said, leaning forward and staring directly into the fiery man's eyes. After a long second, Iwata looked away, "Good. I'm gonna cover their health expenses. You are getting a third of the price we agreed on, since we only accomplished a third of our goals."

"The woman Dusty got might not make it."

"If that's the case you'll get half instead." The man said, "Don't bother trying to haggle, I'm not giving you two thirds. I'm already being overly generous."

"Fine." Iwata raised both hands, "Enough for me, Wolfram. Now get me a portal, I want to get out of here."

Wolfram waved his hand, and seemingly out of nowhere a portal opened, the same kind Swordkil had used to escape the train, he realized. The moment Iwata stepped through, Wolfram sighed. "Enough for me? Fucking better be, I'm being too generous if anything." He mumbled through gritted teeth, before turning towards Izuku. When he did, his demeanor changed completely. He was smiling, looking at Izuku. "Hello, sleeping beauty! It's been a bit."

"How long?" Izuku asked.

"Couple of hours?" Wolfram shrugged, "I don't really remember. Still, come on, sit down. Swordkil, tell the cook to whip something together. What would you like? Udon? Ramen?"

"I'd like to get out." Izuku replied, looking directly into his eyes. Wolfram snorted.

"I like you. Nice attitude. But seriously," His smile turned cold and vicious, and Izuku for the first time was seriously worried he had taken him there just to kill him, "Sit down." He repeated. Izuku did, sitting on the other side of the table, and the smile relaxed. "Good. So, I'll repeat the question, then…"

"Anything is fine." Izuku said. When Wolfrad raised an eyebrow, he sighed, "Katsudon?" He asked.

"Finally." Wolfram nodded at Swordkil, who walked to the fridge, grabbing a pair of canned soda and leaving it on the table before disappearing in the kitchen. "If you need me to, I'll taste your food, but I don't have any reason to poison you." The man continued, before moving his finger lightly, the can flying into his hand. Izuku froze. That wasn't right. Aluminum wasn't magnetic, so he shouldn't have been able to do that. Was his power something else? Maybe metal control?

He noticed his look, and decided to speak quickly, "Why am I here?"

"On this planet? Millions of years of evolution, I suppose." Wolfram said, before chuckling at the joke, "But seriously, it's because I have a great interest in you."

"Why?"

"Because you are Quirkless, aren't you?" He asked, leaning forward. Izuku reflexively leaned back, but Wolfram just looked at him for a moment, before moving back, opening the can, and gulping down some of it.

"So what?" Izuku asked.

"So what? Wait, the HASC never told you why they want Quirkless people?" He shook his head, "Assholes, all of them. Well kid, you are lucky. Uncle Wolfram will give you all the details."

"I'm not a kid. I'm an HASC member, Izuku Midoriya." Izuku replied, trying his best to appear intimidating, "I wish to discuss my release and the release of Mina Ashido, a civilian."

Wolfram snorted. "Alright. So, Agent Midoriya," He said with enough airquotes Izuku could feel them, "Why don't we talk business? Specifically, your value."

"My… value?"

"Ah, got your attention. Yes, your value. You are Quirkless, and that makes you a prized possession for any organization across the Intergalactic community." He took another sip of tea, "You are worth billions of credits on the 'totally not slave' market. Especially if you can reproduce."

Izuku gripped the table, "I… What…"

"Of course, this is entirely hypothetical. You and I, we both understand humans stick together, right? I don't sell my fellow men. Not when we can have a good relationship instead. So, can we, Midoriya?" Izuku slowly nodded, his brain racing to figure out what he meant, "Excellent. Now, let me explain. Let me go back to the Intergalactic Community's early history, when we humans were busy bonking stones together. Imagine for a moment that you are the first species to meet another sapient interstellar traveler. Awesome, right? Well, not so much when they turn out to be enemy. A war starts, and soon the problem becomes that your enemy is similar enough to use your weapon, access your reserved quarters, and who knows what else. Maybe they can read minds, so passwords and codes are useless. Maybe they can instantly learn how to use your weapons, so relying on them not understanding them is out of the window. What do you do?"

"I find a new way to stop them." Izuku replied, "But what?"

"Genetic passwords." He replied, "You make it so your tech identifies specific strands of DNA your species has and the other does not. Room locks, weapons, technology of any kind… You add those, and the other species can't use them." He shrugged, "Or that's the theory, at least. The problem is, as more species start showing up, it turns out DNA is not as unique as we thought. Call it convergent evolution, call it false positives… You need to start to get more specific, and if you get too specific, the unlucky fucker that is born with a mutation in the strand you are using gets a false negative. That is annoying if it's a door that won't open, much more dangerous if it's an alarm system programmed to kill anyone that doesn't have the right sequences." He drank the rest of his can, before tossing it. It flew unnaturally until it landed in the trashcan, giving Izuku more ammunition for his theory that his power was some sort of metal manipulation.

"So how did they solve that?" Izuku asked. Despite the situation, this was still a useful information, and he wasn't about to say no to it. Especially when it kept Wolfram talking. He needed to know where Ashido was and hopefully where the base was.

"They didn't." He noticed the disbelief in Izuku's eyes, "What? Not every problem has a perfect solution. Sure, for some stuff they could use the DNA of only specific people, but for general-issued weapons, and doors multiple people had to pass? The genetic lock couldn't get too specific."

"I see." Izuku nodded, "So humans are highly compatible?"

"Seventy-five percent of all species in the galaxy have enough common genetic code with us we can consistently use their technology. That's for people with Quirks, mind you, and it's already terrifying, even if it's going down over the generations. No, what's really terrifying to them are people like you. Quirkless humans have a ninety-five percent compatibility."

"That's… That's a lot." Izuku admitted, and suddenly a lot of things were making sense. Why so many Agents and Trainees relied on the same kind of weapon, why he hadn't met anyone else using the Orgue and barely anyone used the item he had used to change his face, why so many weapons in the HASC were standard issue despite their armories being full of more varied weaponry… They probably weren't compatible like he was. "Is that it though?"

"Is that it?! Kid, I don't think you appreciate how valuable that is in the right market. Imagine I wanted to infiltrate an enemy base. It takes a lot of work to infiltrate without being caught by the alarms: false genetic signals, compatibility tests that can take weeks, genetic editing… Someone like you meanwhile can just stroll in the protected areas of ninety-five percent of the Intergalactic Community, collect whatever you need, leave, and so long as you avoid or disable the more mundane methods of detection, something stupidly easy to do with the right equipment, no one will ever know."

Oh Izuku understood. He understood very well why the HASC wanted Quirkless Agents, why they had jumped immediately on him becoming one of their own. If he could infiltrate anywhere… But even then, he wasn't fully convinced. This was definitely part of it, but Wolfram wasn't telling him everything.

"Of course, there is also the other part."

"The… Other part?" Izuku asked.

"Curious? I'd love to chat more." He shrugged, "But later. I have a business meeting, and you have a lunch to finish."

"Can I see Ashido?" Izuku asked. Wolfram raised an eyebrow.

"What, you have the hots for the princess? Can't go a day without her?"

Izuku blushed, shaking his head, "N-No! I just want to make sure she is safe!"

Wolfram laughed, "Kid, you are way too easy to fluster. But alright. Swordkil, when you are done get him to the princess suite and let them talk for some time. Her delivery isn't before a couple days anyway."

Before Izuku could ask more questions, Wolfram stood up and walked through a portal. Izuku punched the table. "Delivery?!"

"Yeah, your little princess is going to space." Swordkil replied, clearing up his boss' dirty plates, "Apparently the planet that took over her own wants a puppet Queen to rule over her people."

"Why Ashido?!"

"Young, basically no connection to her homeworld, no allies, born low enough in the line of succession no one will think she is made to rule… She will basically rely entirely on the Morlana's support to rule."

"But she doesn't want to do that." Izuku replied, holding back his anger.

"She won't really have a choice. If I told you 'rule your people in our interest or watch them die', which one would you choose?" Izuku made to answer, but he didn't know what to say.

"Yeah, figures." He shrugged, turning around, "Worry about yourself though, at least she knows what her future is. Yours is entirely up in the air."

Izuku grimaced, "What will you do with me? Realistically, I mean."

Swordkil turned towards him, and pointed at his plate, "Finish your meal like a good kid and I'll answer that."

-x-

One meal later, Izuku was sitting at the table, Swordkil facing him, a cigarette held between his fingers. "I think the boss wants you to join us."

"… What?"

"Yeah, I mean, you heard him. You are incredibly valuable. We get contracts in space sometimes, and with you and me we'd get even more." He puffed out a plume of smoke, "I wouldn't mind. I like your style as a fighter, and you seem to be pretty versatile. Give it a couple years, maybe a couple implants, and we can get you on par with me."

"What if I say no?"

"Then we auction you in space. Quirkless Humans sell for… I think one of your age would go for ten billion credits on the black market. That's the price of a small warship, by the way, more in certain districts. Then it's either becoming a spy for whoever buys you, never seeing Earth again, or, well…" He grimaced, "Let's just say that the big names that already have some of us try to keep the stock of Quirkless people filled. New genetic material from a source that won't expire for sixty or seventy years at least is always welcome."

Izuku shivered, "No."

"Yeah, I agree on that one. We worked for an alien crime lord, powerful one, that had… a 'stock' he was trying to expand through various means. Main one, of course, was reproduction." He saw Swordkil's face twist, a rare show of emotions that really sold how much that disgusted him, "Some of the stuff I saw… I've been in a lot of bad places, and I've done my share of terrible things, but that's still one of the few things that gave me genuine nightmares."

"What-"

"Trust me, you don't want to know. Bottom line is, I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy, let alone on someone that just happens to have interfered in our business."

Izuku looked at him, trying to figure out if he was just trying to scare him, but the disgust seemed too genuine for that. And that was why the HASC existed, right? Because there were a lot of terrible fates that could befall everyone on Earth out there, and Izuku and the others had the job of saving those people. "Even if I believe you, I don't know if I can do this. My whole goal has always been to save people. I wanted to be a Hero, but then the HASC invited me. I can't just… waste that."

"Wouldn't be a waste if it put you here. Maybe being a space mercenary will turn out to be your thing." Swordkil shrugged, "Look, Quirkless to Quirkless, everyone is using us. The HASC is using you, the boss is using me, other nations are trying to use theirs, and the aliens are using those poor fuckers they have. America even has a whole program on I-Island that is trying to make a Quirkless person for their version of the HASC. So don't get too comfortable with any employer."

"You seem comfortable with your boss."

"Because I know I can trust Wolfram to not sell me out, and he can trust me to do what he says. Can you trust the HASC? They didn't tell you why you are valuable, so what else are they hiding?"

Izuku's mind went back to the underground arena, and he wondered again who those people he had fought were. What was 'the family', and who was the girl with green hair? The HASC had never told him.

He sighed, and Swordkil nodded. "Yeah, I figured. Alright, if you are done with that dinner let's go see your girlfriend."

"She's not my girlfriend!" Izuku shouted. Swordkil snorted.

-x-

"Izuku!" Mina hugged him tightly as Izuku was led into her cell, Swordkil muttering a sarcastic 'she's not my girlfriend' while rolling his eyes. Izuku gave him a middle finger and the man laughed.

"Alright, have fun you two." He locked the door behind them, though he knew there was a camera in the corner of the room.

Mina, still hugging him, started to cry on his chest, Izuku gently patting her back and holding her head. This had to be terrifying for her. He was… Well they were trying to recruit him, but he had no intention of being sold in space, so pretty much his only choice was to get sold. And somehow, Mina, who was being kidnapped to be brought to space and made the ruler of her own planet, still had the worse fate. She was going to spend her entire life doing whatever the Morlana did, while essentially legitimizing their rule over her own people. They would despise her, and every other member of the royal family would see her as a traitor. "I'm sorry Mina. We failed you."

"D-Don't be stupid." She said in his shirt, "No one expected this to be dangerous. To be real."

"I know, but it's not an excuse. I'm a member of the HASC, and protecting you is my job. A Hero can't wash their hands of people dying because 'no one expected it'. I can't either."

Mina sniffed, "That's not fair."

"I guess not." He sighed, "I'm fifteen, though. In a few months I'd be starting a Hero school if I had a Quirk. Knowing my luck, I'd probably get myself in danger there too."

Mina snorted, despite herself, "Seriously?"

"Oh, I'm sure. I'd probably get my hand destroyed or…" He paused.

Hand.

Destroyed.

"What?" She asked, noticing him freeze.

"Sorry, just…" He shook his head, "Just thinking of something." He smiled, but inside he was screaming. Maybe they had a way out of here.

-x-

"What the hell happened?" Swordkil asked, looking at Izuku's hand as he left his room.

"I punched the mirror." Izuku replied, grimacing. His right hand was completely enveloped in white bandages, but it had bled pretty bad before.

"Are you stupid? What, you got angry because your girlfriend earlier didn't even give you a kiss?"

"She's not-" He winced as his attempt at pointing at Swordkil was destroyed by the damage he had done to his right hand.

"Seriously kid, what will that even do? You just hurt yourself for no reason."

"I know." Izuku replied. It hurt really, really bad honestly. He had almost passed out, but he had managed to reach what he wanted. Now he just had to hope that it worked, or he would feel really stupid.

"… I can get you checked in the infirmary, if you want."

"No." He said, "I'm not joining you."

"… Alright, but at least I'll give you some painkillers. You look like someone is eating that hand."

"Someone tried." Izuku replied, a deadpan look on his face. Swordkil stared at him, then shook his head.

"Alright, not the weirdest thing I've heard. Look, just eat your dinner."

"I want to go to Mina." Izuku replied.

Swordkil stared at him, "What game are you playing?"

"I want to eat with her." He replied, gritting his teeth, "She is eating in her room, right? I want to eat with her."

Swordkil stared at him for a long moment, then he sighed, scratching the back of his head, "Teenagers…" He muttered, "Alright, the boss wasn't going to eat with you anyway. Something came up." Izuku waited to see if Swordkil was going to say anything, but when he didn't Izuku just let it go. He supposed he wasn't just going to share everything with him, even if they considered him harmless.

Ten minutes later, Izuku was sitting on Mina's bed, eating off a tray with his free hand, the other held closely to his chest. He winced as another burst of pain ran through his hand.

"Izuku, are you alright?" Mina asked, "It looks like it hurts a lot, but you haven't touched those painkillers."

Izuku nodded, "I just… Don't worry about it Mina. Can I just… ask a question?"

"Sure. What is it?" Mina asked, a worried look on her face. He couldn't fault her, Izuku was fairly sure he was turning pale. If this didn't work, this whole lot of pain he was putting himself through would be pointless though.

"I… I wanted to know what you will do. If this really… happens."

Mina made a small 'o' with her mouth as she realized what he was asking. What if nothing changed and she was sent off to another world. "Well…" Mina begun, uncertain, "I guess I will have to rule my home planet on the Morlana's behalf. Which sounds super difficult, but I doubt I will actually get to do anything, at least for the first few years. And…" She gulped, "I guess I will have to get married. They will probably pick my husband, now that I think about it…"

"I'm sorry…" Izuku started, but Mina shook her head.

"I told you, right? I knew I'd probably not be allowed to- to pick." She took a deep breath, "I'm going to have to marry someone deemed 'worthy of me' no matter what, so might as well get used to the idea."

"Whoever it is, you are going to kick his ass if he doesn't behave himself." Izuku said with a smile. Mina chuckled, despite herself.

"I suppose I will have to. I mean, I was going to be a Hero, so… S-So…" Tears started to pool at the corner of her eyes, and Izuku moved quickly to hug her again as she started to cry on his shoulder. "I-I just wanted to be a Hero! I wanted to live a good life and help everyone around me! W-Why are they doing thii-is!?" She asked, her voice cracking.

"I don't know Mina. I think… I think sometimes people make the wrong choices in life and then are scared of going back and face what they did, so they just keep doing bad things." He looked up at the camera, "Maybe they could turn their life around by doing the right thing once."

He knew it was pointless, of course. He was idealistic enough to believe people could get better, but not from a kid telling a jaded soldier he was a bad person.

They sat there, talking for a while longer, Izuku wincing as the pain in his hand kept getting worse, his face paler and paler from the pain. Finally, he wobbled and fell against Ashido, the alien girl yelping as she grabbed him before he fell off the chair.

"Alright kid," Swordkil said as he opened the door, "That's not normal. I don't know what you did, so let me see that hand and I'll take you to the infirmary."

"No, it's… It's fine…" Izuku said.

"Like hell it's fine, come here." Swordkil gripped his wrist and pulled off the bandages, staring at the wound. Mina gasped. Izuku had cut through the back of his hand and cut a wire of his synthetic nerves, and he winced again as Swordkil looked at them, first unable to figure out why, then his eyes growing wide in understanding. "Oh you little bitch-" He started, and then the wall of the room exploded.

They all turned toward the dust as natural light streamed in the room – not underground then, Izuku realized – and a group of men harmed to the teeth burst through, their laser pointers aimed at Swordkil's chest. "Freeze!" The one in the lead ordered.

Mina looked at Izuku, who grinned weakly and looked back at her. He looked at the men, and was sure he saw long, flowing azure hair and a pair of familiar antennae.

Then he passed out.

-x-

"When Izuku woke up, he was in a hospital bed. Again.

And Hado and Doctor Hatsume were looking at him. For a moment their eyes were filled with relief, but that moment passed, and they all at once glared at him.

"You absolute idiot!" Hado shouted, "You dumb, stupid, reckless, selfless, self-sacrificing idiot!" And then she hugged him tightly, Izuku feeling tears pool in his eyes and stream down his face. He hugged her with one arm, the other too painful to move.

"I'm s-sorry." Izuku said, "But… But I couldn't let them send Mina to the Morlana. I had to…"

"I know." She whispered in his ear, "I know. I'm sorry, I… I was the one that's supposed to watch over you, and I'm doing a terrible job at it."

"That's not true." Izuku replied, "It's just a dangerous job."

"Speaking of that." Doctor Hatsume interjected, "What you did was stupidly dangerous, Midoriya. When I told you that your prosthetic will send us a signal if something happens to it, the point was to make you feel safe, not to tell you to cut your hand open and break it on purpose." She raised a hand when he made to speak up, "Don't. I am a doctor, Midoriya. My job is to look out for your health, and to make sure you look out for your health. Never, ever do this again."

"How is… How is my hand?" Izuku asked, shaking a bit. He had taken a stupid risk, he was aware of that. At the time, he had only been able to think about saving Ashido, and had decided it was a risk worth taking, but now that he assumed everything went well – Hado wouldn't have talked like that if Ashido was still in trouble – his fear for his hand was… Was a lot stronger.

Doctor Hatsume sighed, "Thankfully, you didn't damage your hand beyond recovery, and we managed to fix the cut synth nerve without needing to replace it entirely." She pointed at his bandaged hand, "But you are gonna have another scar, a big one, and I can guarantee your fingertips will feel numb for months, possibly more. If you didn't do this, in less than a year I predicted you would recover entirely. As it is, I can't be sure of that anymore. Best guess, you will have to spend another two weeks out of job to recuperate." She shook her head, "Don't try to grab anything important with that hand for a while, is what I'm saying."

Izuku sighed. It was better than he had expected, worst than he had hoped, but… It was enough. "Did we save Mina?" He asked Hado.

"Yes." Hado replied, pouting as she looked at him, her cheek puffing a bit, "Yes, your stupid idea was good, and we caught that Swordkil guy. Not the rest of his gang though. They escaped while we were searching the facility. You were lucky your cells were in the above ground section of the building, but the underground was a maze."

Izuku smiled, "How is she?"

"Worried." She replied, shaking her head. "Your mom was not informed this time, the HASC decided to cover up your disappearance for seventy-two hours and recovered you before it became too dangerous to keep up the charade, but you should call her soon, before she gets suspicious about your phone 'only working for texts'. Komori, Kodai and Shishikura are worried sick too."

"At least Haya and Hatsume aren't." Izuku replied cheerfully, only to notice the sudden turn Hado's face took. "What? What happened?"

"Haya… Haya is…"

"Hatsume is in trouble." The doctor said, sighing deeply, "And your other friend… I'm sorry, kid."

Izuku stared in disbelief as the words sank in.

"She is… She…"

"I'm sorry. We tried our best."

Izuku cried as Hado hugged him.

(XX)

I'm really sorry for that.

I really spent those seven months on the fence about Haya. Part of me wanted her to live through, but I felt that would make her scene rather cheap, a classic shonen move of making someone seem dead only to bring them back. While I'm always very careful about killing characters, in this case there was really little reason to keep hero alive, beyond just me liking her as a character.

Aside from that, Izuku's hand being monitored in case of any anomaly was something I mentioned, though I bet you read that as getting check-ups

And we got more info on the Quirkless and why they are so valuable, along with some good sci-fi horror story to remind us that the world out there can be pretty ruthless. Of course, I wasn't about to have Wolfram just infodump everything about why they are so valuable, but it's a much better start for Izuku to figure it out.

Some sadness and a new arc next, not too long for the next update I hope.