Turns out, it was just Bakugou, blowing up robots in a fun event, Kirishima cheering him on from above.
"Die!" Bakugou yelled out, moving to blast them.
"Die?" The crowd asked a bit nervously.
"This is great!" I cheered, standing next to Kirishima as Bakugou finished up.
"Cleared in 15 seconds! First rank!" A female announcer called, and I really wanted to show up Bakugou, but what was the point? My pride?
"Midoriya?" Kirishima asked, looking at me before turning back with a surprised smile.
"Why are you here?!" Bakugou yelled as I waved to him.
"Uh, my mom's boyfriend brought us." I yelled back, rubbing my neck as I glared back at Bakugou. He wouldn't accidently say anything the others could use to catch me in a lie now. He was part of the secret, after all.
"Like, half the class is here. Why're you here, though?" I asked my explosive friend, who grumbled under his breath.
"What?"
Kirishima put an arm around Bakugous shoulders and grinned. "His mom is modeling some hero gear, and I'm the tag-along." He spoke, laughing as Bakugou elbowed him off.
"Better a tag-along than not at all. Just don't let Mineta or Kaminari see her." I teased, jumping over the railing and throwing caution to the wind. If I didn't go all out, I'd probably be able to at least match Bakugous score.
"Alright, we have a new challenger! What rank will he get?" The announcer called, and I powered up my full cowling. Just strength and speed should be enough to put me on Bakugou's level. But if i didn't use black whip, at least, he'd be pissed. Damn, what to do.
"Villain attacks! Get ready... go!" I heard, moving and using black whip to help maneuver, hitting the targets as quickly as I could, enjoying the feeling of friendly competition.
It was going great until I tripped over my feet, my face beet red as I got up and used black whip to hit the last robot, destroying it.
"This is great too! Sixteen seconds, second rank!" The announcers called, getting up with a sigh. Damn. I'd never hear the end of it.
"Oh well, accidents happen. That's why we train, right?" I asked with a laugh, trying to play off my embarrassment.
"Second place is still really good." Mellisa reminded me, and she had a point.
"Fair enough. There's no point in being the best if there's always a gap between me and the second best." I replied, making sure Bakugou heard me.
"What'd you say!?" He yelled before dragging me back over to the competition area just as the announcer revealed the results of the current competitor.
"Fourteen seconds! He immediately topped the rank!"
No way. Now it was personal. It was supposed to be more or Bakugou up there.
"Oh, hey Todoroki. You're here too?" I waved to my classmate.
"I came as my father's representative." He explained, and I tried not to scowl at the mention of his father. What a waste of oxygen.
"There's some really incredible gear here. Honestly, even the most boring piece has amazing applications if applied properly." Glad to have an excuse not to go back down into the competition area.
"I have no plans to check gear for Endeavor." He told me as Bakugou came over, yelling at him.
"You appear suddenly, wanting to show off, huh?!"
Midoriya, are the others here, too?" Todoroki asked, angering Bakugou more.
"Don't ignore me!"
"Kacchan, jeez, calm down. The competition is still right there. If you want to out-perform him, just go back down and do it." I told him, watching him grumble and hoping back down to take another turn
Todoroki silently joined our growing group as we waited for Bakugou, who only broke Todorokis score by a few seconds but boasted about it anyway before we moved on to other attractions and exhibits. For once, we were just normal teens doing normal teen things, the subject of the reception party coming up. I didn't bring any formal clothes, but if All Might was invited, then he'd probably take mom anyway, so I could avoid a party. Unless he planned to propose to her there, then he'd probably bring me.
"Okay, well, I'm going to my room. Yaoyorozu, please give the tickets to the others, it'll be nice to see everyone at the party." I told them, walking off from the group and texting All Might so I'd know where I'd be going. I liked my friends, but I was starting to get a little overwhelmed being surrounded by so many strangers. If I could recharge my social battery, I'd be good to go in case All Might needed emotional support, in case he did propose. Jeez, I was really overthinking this, wasn't I?
After a shower and wondering if I should put on more muscle as I stared at my physique in the mirror, I found a suit in my size on the bed, groaning before putting it on and looking at my hair. How had mom fixed it before?
After a mix of texting her for tips and more hair spray than I'd like to admit, I got most of my hair to lay down, with the exception of two strands in the front I managed to get to stand up in a V, smaller than All Might did, but enough of a tribute to my mentor and future father.
Man, that was a kick to the mind. On the plane, it didn't really click that Toshinori would be my dad. But now, I was excited. I wondered if it meant a brother or sister in the future.
Now I was excited to go to the party. If he didn't propose there, then maybe at least Mina would be there, and I could enjoy being packed in the monkey suit and surrounded by strangers. Oh man, there would likely be heroes, too.
Taking a deep breath and leaving the room, i saw Toshinori and Mom leave their room, and I waved to them.
"Could you give us a moment?" He asked my mother, who stepped back into the room.
"Tonight?" I asked, and he nervously nodded, patting his pocket.
"Indeed. I assume I'll end up called to the stage, and when I do, I'll bring your mother up, and I'll ask her there. If not, then I'll bring her out to the balcony to do it. Do you understand what that means? After tonight, until I can no longer be All Might, I can't be Toshinori around you or your mother. In fact, our lives will change drastically in other ways as well." He told me, and it was a big adjustment. But right now, I wasn't worried about that.
"Mom loves you. You're already basically my dad. So what if some things change? The important stuff stays the same, doesn't it?" I asked, and he seemed to think about my words for a moment before I bowed in front of him, a little awkwardly in my suit.
"You ready?" I asked as I stood, and he gave me a nervous nod, walking into the room and coming out with my mother, now buffed up into All Might.
"Well, let's be off." He told us, as my phone rang.
"Ah, sorry!" I told them, answering quickly before the song revealed who it was.
"Hello?"
"Izuku, why didn't you tell me you got tickets to I-Island? I feel like I'm bumming off you and Yaomomo." Mina told me, and I laughed a little.
"You aren't. We like gifting you things." I explained, following behind All Might and my mother.
"I know... but I just feel bad."
"Don't. Come to the party, we'll have a good time. Besides, I need emotional backup, and who's better than you?" I told her, listening to her click her tongue.
"Corny dork."
"Pink romantic."
After a pause, she told me she'd be there, and we said goodbye before I hung up.
"Girl troubles?" All Might teased, getting a soft smack on the leg.
"Don't tease him so much." My mother told him, but she was laughing too. He made her happy. How could I want anything but their happiness to grow?
Taking the elevator down to the lobby, all my friends were there, and the three girls who'd been left behind in the room, too. Mineta was acting human still, actually exchanging pleasantries with Mellisa and making her laugh. I was almost proud of him before i remembered he was just doing the bare minimum.
"Looks like I'm the last one to arrive." Observing my friend while running my fingers nervously through the hard hat I was currently calling hair. It was worth it since I'd look good in front of all of All Mights associates.
"Wait, where's Kirishima?" I asked, figuring he'd be here with Bakugou.
"All Might? What are you doing here?" Uraraka asked, looking at my five foot three mother and then his seven foot three frame.
"Why's your mom with All Might?" Mina asked, and the cat was out of the bag.
"I came here with my mom and her boyfriend." I reminded them, grinning ear to ear before checking the time.
"Oh, All Might. You and mom should be going. It's not befitting the number one hero to be late to a party." I told him, hoping to get them both to go. I could handle the questions from my peers.
"Right, of course. Let's be off, Inko." He told my mother who took his arm, like you saw couples in movies do, stepping into an elevator together.
"Just give me until after the party, okay? Please, this is a special evening for my mother and All Might, so don't spoil it." I told them, taking a deep breath. They were going to ask too many questions now, and i wouldn't be able to handle it. I wish I'd taken a nap and avoided this whole party.
"Hey, it's okay. No one is gonna push the issue, right?" Mina asked them, and they all answered yes. Whether it's because they respected me or feared the look on her face, I'll never know.
"Thank you." I told them, and I didn't feel as overwhelmed by overthinking and anxiety.
"We should be going as well, though. It wouldn't be fitting of heroes in training to be late either." Iida told us, and any worry left was squeezed out. I was among friends here. I'd be okay.
We did wait for Kirishima and Bakugou just a few minutes more, but we had to get going when they didn't show or pick up their phones.
We'd taken two steps before an announcement came on the pa system, stopping us in our tracks.
"This is an announcement from the I-Island emergency system. We have received a report that an explosive device was discovered somewhere on the I-Expo grounds. I-Island will now be in high-alert mode. Your safety is our top priority. Residents and tourist should return to their lodgings. Anyone remaining on the street after ten minutes will be in violation of the law. As a precautionary measure, most of the main island buildings will now be sealed off."
The message repeated while I tried to call All Might and my mom, but I all of a sudden, I didn't have any signal.
"I'm not getting any signal. Looks like my service is completely blocked." Todoroki spoke, worrying Mineta.
"Are you serious?" The purple headed midget asked, but he was looking braver than usual for once.
"The elevator's not working either." Jiro informed us, more bad news for our little group.
Mellisa held a hand to her chin, thinking about the situation. "It's strange that the system would go on high alert. That's not the protocol whenever explosives are discovered."
There was a low buzzing in the back of my head, and I turned to Iida and Yaoyorozu.
"Let's go to that party." I told them, walking over to them.
"For what reason?" Iida questioned.
"Because that's the place we can find All Might right now. Mellisa, do you know of any way we can get down there without the elevator?"
She pointed to her right. "Yeah, sure. We can use the emergency stairs. That will at least get us close."
"We'll follow your lead then."
We hurried down to the level just above where the party was being held, and even from where I was, I could see All Might bound and laying on the floor.
"Men with guns." I whispered as before dropping down and waving over Jiro.
"Get your jacks in position, and when you're ready, I'll signal All Might." My eyes landing on my mother, who was kneeling as close to All Might as she could, a gun pointed at her head. If they hurt her...
"I'm ready." Jiro whispered back, and I used my phone flash light to signal the hero.
I moved my hands and fingers, speaking in sign language to the hero.
"You can talk to us. We're listening."
All Might spoke, and I waited next to Jiro, keeping an eye out for any of those guys with guns.
As her jack retracted, Jiro looked at me worried. "This is bad, Midoriya. They've got control of the security system, and the whole island are being held hostage. All Might said to leave as quickly as we could.
Looking at my bound idol, I shook my head and signed one more thing to him.
"It's okay. We are here."
Regrouping with the others, we explained the situation to them.
"We've received All Might's orders loud and clear. He's our teacher. I suggest we follow his instructions and escape this place. Otherwise, we'll be going against his will."
"I'm afraid I have to agree with what Iida is saying. We're still only students. We can't fight these villains if we don't have our hero licenses." Yaoyorozu reminded us, but why couldn't we?
"Why don't we get out of here and tell the heroes outside?" Denki suggested, almost repeating what they'd already said.
"It's not going to be very easy to escape. The security system here is on the same level of that of the Tartarud prison, which is where they keep the most dangerous criminals in the world!" Mellisa told them, and they electric blonde sighed.
"Then all we can do is sit here and wait until everything's over, I guess."
"Are you really okay with that, Kaminari?" Jiro asked, Kaminari looking up at her.
"Well, what choice do we have?"
"Don't you think we should at least try and stop them?"
Mineta, for the little bravery he'd shown today, made a valid point.
"Those villains have even got All Might trapped. If the pros can't handle it, what chance do we have?"
"Aren't we training to be pros ourselves?" Todoroki asked, looking at his hand.
"Well, yes, but we're not allowed to work as heroes, you know that." Yaoyorozu argued, and he closed his hand.
"Does that mean that it's right for us to do nothing at all?"
"Well, it's complicated."
My notebook was already out, handing it to Melissa.
"Directions, written and drawn to the security control room." I told her, turning to Yaoyorozu.
"Can you make goggles that can do night vision and infered?" I asked her, checking my pockets to inventory in my things. Two pens and a notebook, one of the first and all of the second with Melissa. A couple of coins in my wallet, my school and personal ID, and old All Might fan club card.
"What? Midoriya, you can't be serious! You'd be breaking the law." Yaoyorozu argued, and I glared at her.
"My mother has a gun pointed at her head. All Might is bound, and if he moves, someone dies. We're the only hope this island has, and if you want me to sit on my ass while my family is in danger, fuck you." I snapped back, and for a second I just felt anger before it faded. But I didn't apologize, even when Mina seemed taken aback by my sudden outburst.
"I know we can't fight, but if we can't take back the security system somehow, then All Might and the other pros can. Please, I don't want my parents to die." I begged them, my voice cracking as all my pent-up aggression turned into sadness.
"I know where the security system is. It's on the top floor of this tower. If these criminals managed to take control of it, then the authentication locks and passwords have probably been disabled. We should be able to restart the system and restart the system ourselves. We just have to stay off the villains radar until we get to the top floor. That's all. If we do that, the whole island will be safe again." Mellisa told them, and I could see it. I wasn't the only one who wanted to try.
"Sure, but how do we keep on the low for that long?" Jiro asked her.
"The security system hasn't hasn't discovered us yet. That means the villains probably don't know it very well."
Taking off my jacket, I set it aside while I stretched, powering up slowly. I wanted to be fast, so All Might could do the rest.
"I'm not waiting anymore. God help any villain in my way because I'll just wipe the recordings later." I told them, headed for the stairs, someone stopping me.
"Think about what you're doing." Mina told me, her hand holding onto mine.
"I did. And I found I'd rather face jail time than lose anyone I care about." I told her as I turned to Yaoyorozu.
"Get them to the security room, madam president." I joked as I pulled my hand away from Mina and opened the door to the stairwell, taking a deep breath before I started running, using float and black whip to keep building speed. I didn't care if when I got to the top and there were a hundred guns pointed at me. I'd rip them all apart if I had to.
For a moment, I faltered, the thought scaring me. Was I really prepared to take a human life? A nomu was one thing, but a living person? Then I remembered that my mother, the kindest person I've ever known, the one person who loved me when I didn't love myself, had a weapon pointed at her, and the answer was easy.
If it came to it, I'd kill anyone for the people I loved.