Izuku POV, one day later
I lean back in my chair and wince. International news today has been bleak.
A European villain group led by a man named "Wolfram" attacked I-island and performed a heist. There are no details on what was stolen, but rumour is that the attack occurred in the bio-research division. Lord knows what they could have taken.
Meanwhile In Europe, Queen of Swords fought a battle in St Petersburg that resulted in the deaths of almost a hundred Heroes. A few hours ago Star and Stripe made a speech at the UN, begging the Russian government to allow her into their borders. Of course, her pleas were immediately rejected. The Russian ambassador raised concerns that US interventionism would threaten their sovereignty.
It's a story as old as time. Supervillains that lurk in antagonist nations to avoid the watchful eye of All might and Star and Stripe. Queen of Swords is an excellent example, one of the three active SSS class villains on Earth. She roams Russia and the Baltic states, never entering Western aligned nations.
Before the days of All might, true supervillains were common all across the world. But through his international work, he has managed to defeat and contain almost every single one of them. Even Father was unable to face the wrath of One For All.
A villain on the scale of Father can destroy armies, flatten mountains, and level cities. S-class villains are a threat to the world as we know it. The only reason modern society exists at all is because there are Heroes strong enough to protect it. Most people do not understand just how crucial international Hero work is to maintaining world peace.
But, not everyone supports it. Politicians usually hate the idea of calling in international Heroes. They know that relying on foreigners will make their local Heroes appear weak. It's an unfortunate reality of the modern world, life is cheap, and everyone knows it. "Death due to villain activity" is a measured statistic that has to be factored into population growth figures.
My laptop emits a notification sound. One of my scripts has found multiple keywords present in a new article. I open the link into a new tab and take a look.
'MYSTERIOUS VILLAIN KILLS BELOVED HERO ON LIVE TV!'
The article is marked as 18+ and has a gore warning. I open the webpage and click play on the embedded video.
I'm presented with a screen recording of a live broadcast television show. I can't recall the show's name, but I've seen Aki watching it from time to time. The host does interviews and asks questions from the live studio audience.
The camera focuses on the host. She's a beautiful middle-aged woman with long, black hair. She's wearing a white strapless dress, paired with black stiletto shoes. She turns and points finger-guns to the camera, showing off her perfectly manicured nails.
"I'm your host, Hase Emi, and welcome to Celebrity Night! Now, please welcome the ever-gorgeous Hero, Uwabami!"
The camera pans, showing the live crowd cheering as the Hero walks into view. Uwabami waves to the crowd, strutting along with an exaggerated sway in her hips. The ceiling lights track her as she makes her way to the centre stage within the studio. The host gestures for her to sit on the plush couch across from her.
"Uwabami, can I just say that I am delighted to have you here tonight? You have always been my favourite Hero!"
Uwabami lets out a giggle, leaning in toward the other woman.
"Aw, that's delightful to hear! I've always loved seeing you on Celebrity Night too. I must say, you're even more beautiful in person."
The crowd makes a delighted 'oooooo' sound as the host blushes. She averts her eyes and coughs into her fist.
"Ah, t-that is true! Thank you! In other matters, I hear that you have some big news for us. Would you care to share?"
Uwabami strikes a little pose, the snakes on her head standing up and twirling.
"Of course! Now, I'm sure you've all seen my 'Heroic Makeup' line, but I have an exciting announcement! Starting next week I will be-"
Her speech is cut off as a blur appears behind her. There's a sound of ripping meat as four serrated blades carve through her torso. A man in a tattered outfit stands behind Uwabami, her minced corpse resting on his blades.
He flicks his wrists and the carcass is freed from his swords unceremoniously. There's a wet slap as the pile of gore hits the floor. The crowd begins screaming. The host falls out of her chair and scrambles back wildly, trying to create some distance. The villain sneers at the display.
"ANOTHER FALSE HERO, DEAD BY MY HANDS!"
The visceral hatred in his voice silences the room in an instant. The host looks up in horror, hands shaking, her body paralysed with fear. The crowd stills, too terrified to move a muscle.
"UWABAMI, A SO CALLED 'HERO' CONCERNED ONLY WITH HER OWN SUCCESS. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME SHE SAVED A LIFE? WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME SHE FOUGHT FOR THE GOOD OF OTHERS? ARE THESE TRULY THE 'HEROES' THAT SOCIETY DESERVES?"
He allows his lower arms to sink their blades into the floor. His swords are long and serrated, the edge of the blade slightly transparent in the light. They look to be made of bone. They're horrifying weapons, something no sane man would wield.
I'm struck by his appearance. His skin is sallow, a sickly grey that looks two shades below anything healthy. There are throbbing veins protruding from all across his body. His proportions are just as disconcerting, his limbs too long, too sinewy. Spikes of bone pierce from his skin at multiple points, resembling dozens of daggers that protrude from his flesh.
His quirk must be related to the bone growths piercing from his skin, as well as the four swords in his hands. Osteokinesis, but with a mutant effect that changes his biology? I would assume his quirk has something to do with vampirism, but the additional two arms seem unrelated. Perhaps the mutated appearance is an inherited trait from one of his parents?
"I AM STAIN. THE FALSE-HERO KILLER. BY MY HANDS I WILL CLEANSE THIS WORLD OF THE SCUM THAT SULLY THE NAME OF 'HERO'. HOW DARE YOU. HOW DARE YOU FALSE 'HEROES' PERVERT THE MEANING OF THE MOST SACRED TITLE! HOW DARE YOU FAKES IGNORE THE PLEAS OF THE INNOCENT! HOW DARE YOU PURSUE YOUR GREED AND FAME WHILE IGNORING THOSE IN NEED!"
A team of guards flood onto the studio floor with tasers in hand. Stain smiles like a shark, a predator among prey. His image on the screen flickers. His body becomes a blur, flowing like water and striking like a meat cleaver. He performs the work of a butcher upon his victims. Heads are cut free from their necks, limbs are severed, and torsos are neatly bisected. He cuts down all ten of the guards in less than a second.
The way he moves is incredible. His movements are sharp, yet flowing, perfectly conserving his momentum to never stop moving for a single moment. I've never seen a fighter show such a perfect understanding of their economy of motion. The camera can barely capture even a fraction of his speed.
"NO LONGER. NO LONGER WILL I ALLOW THIS TO STAND. I WILL CUT DOWN EACH AND EVERY FALSE HERO IN THIS NATION. NO ONE WILL STOP ME. I WILL PURGE THE SCUM UNTIL ONLY THE TRUE HEROES REMAIN! THOSE WHO ASPIRE TO BE LIKE THE GREATEST HERO, ALL MIGHT! THIS IS MY PURPOSE, TO FILTER THOSE WHO DISGRACE EVERYTHING THAT A HERO MUST STAND FOR!"
The footage ends with Stain leaping through the ceiling.
I lean back in my chair and exhale. I've been hearing about the Hero Killer case for about six months now, but he's always stuck to the shadows. Something must have changed for him to be willing to kill a Hero on live TV. An increase in confidence? Perhaps he's been emboldened after killing a particularly high ranked Hero. I will have to check the death reports in the coming weeks.
Ugh, this is getting bad. The Japanese public can only handle so much terror in their day to day lives. I'm sure Stain intended for his little speech to be instructional, perhaps motivational, but for most of the population it will fall on deaf ears. As far as they are concerned he is nothing more than a terrorist who just murdered a beloved icon.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out. I am expecting a wave of copycat villains and vigilantes to begin appearing over the coming months. The Commission will have to play its cards well to avoid turning Stain into a martyr.
An hour later
My laptop lets out a notification sound. I wheel my chair around and open the relevant browser tab. Ah, it's a message request to my analyst persona, Cicada. I've been using this account for two years now with some reasonable success, averaging three or four clients per month. It's proven to be an intellectually stimulating hobby and something I enjoy doing on the side.
I open the message request and take a look. It's from an account named "Blizzard", a rather distinctive name. I click accept on their request.
A CHAT ROOM HAS BEEN CREATED
User Cicada has joined
User Blizzard has joined
Blizzard: Hello, I am Blizzard, the Telekinetic Hero. I am interested in having some analysis done on myself. I want to see what you would provide to someone if they asked for your services. I will pay your fee upfront.
Simple enough. It's not rare for Heroes to ask for third-party analysis, especially when government-regulated 'Hero analysis specialists' are always so useless at their jobs. I wouldn't trust those so-called "professionals" to determine what colour my shoes are, let alone find a weakness in my combat style.
I imagine that she is looking to have this done in response to Stain's declaration. I suspect that an awful lot of Heroes are panicking right about now, and are desperate to improve their combat skills as quickly as possible. The surge in businesses will be annoying, I'll have to raise my prices.
Cicada: I will have something for you by the end of the week. I have attached details of where to make your payment. I will contact you again shortly.
I close the chat room before the Hero can respond. I have some studies to finish first, so I'll start this new job in an hour or so. Momo gave me a book on mechanical engineering and it would be embarrassing if it took me longer than a week to read it through. I would never live that down.
Two hours later
I stretch my arms overhead. Time to begin my analysis. I begin by searching "blizzard hero" and skimming through her Heropedia page. According to publicly available information, she is a 23-year-old Hero based in the Fukushima prefecture, having graduated from Ketsubutsu Academy five years ago. She is currently ranked number 389 in the Hero rankings and has a substantial social media following. Not bad for upcoming talent.
Looking through online video sites I can find a dozen videos with her name in the title. I take the most popular one and open it in a browser tab on my second monitor.
I go to the tab and hit play, making note of the 6.7 million view count. The video begins with Blizzard standing with her hands at her side. She's a tall woman with a mature figure and sharp, regal eyes. Her outfit is simple, an olive green dress paired with, of course, impractical high heels. She's standing in the middle of the road across from three poorly dressed villains.
I hit pause and begin writing notes on my first monitor. Her outfit is a weakness, specifically her heels. If she could be forced to fight at ground level then she would be at a major disadvantage. The risk of tripping would prevent her from performing any competent footwork.
Her dress also lacks pockets, leading me to believe that she does not carry handcuffs or a police radio. While this isn't necessarily a major weakness, it means that she cannot carry tasers, flashbangs, or other Hero support equipment. The lack of versatility that is typically provided by support equipment makes her a far more predictable opponent.
I hit play and let the video continue. The fight begins with Blizzard floating upward, a faint blue glow surrounding her. She raises her hands to either side and objects throughout the street lift into the air. The wind begins to pick up, creating an intense howling sound.
Is her quirk capable of targeting the air, or is the effect caused by something else? Most psychokinetic quirks have difficulty gripping small objects, let alone gases. Her quirk must be grabbing areas of space, rather than targeting specific objects. That would explain how she can create such effects.
I take special note of her hand gestures. Most psychokinetic quirks have an activation requirement. Typically either via hand gestures, line of sight, or some other extrasensory ability. Blizzard did not look at the objects around her, and she did not point her hands directly at them either. This leads me to believe that she is targeting areas of space around her via extrasensory perception.
Perhaps the hand gesture Blizzard made is not a requirement of her quirk, but merely a force of habit? Many Heroes are trained by others with similar quirks, so it would be easy for her to pick up such a ritual from her teachers. It's worth noting, but it's not of critical importance.
I hit play on the video once again. A small tornado begins to form in front of the Hero. She raises an arm and extends a palm forward. The lowest point of the tornado twists upward, sending spiraling wind toward the villains further down the street. They're sent flying, slamming into a concrete wall. The villains struggle against the intense forces but are unable to escape.
The Heroine floats over to the pinned villains and waves a hand, directing the localised tornado to fade away. She stands over the thoroughly defeated criminals and crosses her arms.
"I hope you have learned a valuable lesson. Do not break the law."
She uses her quirk to bend some nearby metal, before having it fly over and wrap around their wrists. That explains why she does not bother carrying handcuffs. The video ends shortly after that.
So, in total I've learnt several things. She has a psychokinetic quirk capable of targeting the air, and her activation method looks to be via extrasensory perception. The hand gestures she performs do telegraph her movements, but she may be able to avoid using them if push comes to shove. In terms of combat style, she's a ranged fighter. She has an excellent option for nonlethal takedowns in the form of focused tornados.
Now that I have a general idea of her capabilities, it's time to gather some data. I skim through the other videos until I discover one that has what I'm looking for.
Blizzard is in the air, a swarm of objects floating around her. The cars in the street begin to shake as her quirk levitates them. The camera pans out for a moment and I hit pause.
I take a screenshot of the video and import the frame into an editing program. The first thing I need to do is gain a sense of scale. There's a car on the opposite end of the street, a model 22xx Arasaka. A quick browser search reveals that the dimensions of the car are 4.2 x 1.4 metres.
With this information, I draw a line over the length of the car in my editing program. Then, I take the line and divide it by 4.2 to produce multiple smaller segments. Each of these segments should be one metre in length. I create a grid measured in these units and overlay it over the rest of the image.
Perfect, now I can determine exactly how far apart everything is within the set. The objects floating throughout the street are all within a 30 metre radius of Blizzard. There's a tin can further up the street about 31 metres out, but it is not levitating. I'm willing to bet that 30 metres is the maximum radius of her quirk.
Going back to the video, I skim through it until I reach the point where her attack is about to begin. She raises a palm toward her opponent and sends a wave of projectiles toward them. The video is at sixty frames per second, and the objects are crossing about one metre every two frames. That puts them at a little over 100kph.
I make special note of the fact that all of the objects are moving at the same speed, regardless of mass. Even the car she sends flying is traveling at the same speed as the pieces of trash that can't weigh more than a few hundred grams.
This means that her limitation is not the weight of an object, but rather the acceleration. Her quirk is only capable of moving things so fast. I underline this in my notes before continuing with the video.
The fight carries on for the next minute in an intense back-and-forth. The villain is fast enough to dodge the incoming projectiles from Blizzard, but lacks the ranged ability to fight back. They're evenly matched, neither fighter able to land any real blows.
Then, something interesting happens. The villain picks up a piece of concrete and throws it directly at Blizzard. The Hero reacts sluggishly, visibly hesitating. She flinches at the last second and only just barely dodges the piece of stone. Her reflexes are awful.
Why did she not grab the object with her quirk? My Psychokinesis would have no problem with redirecting an incoming projectile. I roll back the video and do a frame-by-frame examination of what happened, comparing it to my grid overlay on my second monitor.
Ah, I think I see what happened. The incoming projectile is moving a metre every frame, almost twice the velocity of Blizzard's projectiles. She must be unable to target objects moving over a certain speed. If so, that gives her a massive weakness to firearms or other high-velocity projectiles. Why isn't she wearing body armour? Aki has a near indestructible forcefield quirk and she still wears kevlar just to be safe.
The worst part is the lack of a dodge reflex on her part. Most fighters will evade attacks purely on instinct, whereas Blizzard froze in hesitation like a complete amateur. She's a ranged fighter with a severe weakness to other ranged fighters. I know that Ketsubutsu does not typically produce top tier Heroes, but this is just sad.
I close the video tabs and pull over my notes onto my main monitor. It's time to theory-craft a strategy to beat her.
The first thing that comes to mind is a very simple plan. Have a villain throw in a smoke bomb, let it detonate, and then allow Blizzard's own quirk to pull the smoke up into the air around her. Then, fire blindly in her direction with a gun before she realises what is happening. With the reflexes she displayed, I imagine it will take her at least two seconds for her to begin dissipating the smoke. That's more than enough time to kill an unarmoured Heroine.
The same plan could be executed nonlethally by changing up the tools being used. A flashbang paired with a dart gun would work just fine, assuming Blizzard's passively generated wind does not bat the projectile away.
Actually, the wind deflection problem can be solved by using a subsonic pellet gun carrying a sedative. In fact, why even bother with the flash bang at all? The lack of body armour makes her extremely vulnerable to ranged ambushes of any kind. Someone hiding in a crowd with a concealed pellet gun could easily take her down without any real concern.
I spend the next hour articulating my thoughts into the document I am writing. It ends up being just under 3000 words, so a fair bit less than my average analysis. That being said, I'm about 80% certain she can be taken out by a preteen with a needle. I can only reword "Learn to dodge." so many times before it becomes repetitive.
With that done, I send through my document to Blizzard and get back to what I was doing before. Which is trying to figure out how the hell fluid mechanics work, why is this book so damn difficult? Well, it is meant for a university student, but that hasn't stopped me before. I'm sure I can figure this out before the weekend.
Momo Yaoyorozu POV
The bell rings. Aizawa pokes his head out of his sleeping bag like a horrible mutant caterpillar.
"Home room dismissed. Go bother Yamada or whatever, I'm going to sleep."
The rest of the class begins filing out into the hallway. I gulp. I failed to factor in Sensei's sleeping schedule, should I ask him my question tomorrow? No, he sleeps after homeroom every day. There is no point in delaying my question. But, will he be mad if I wake him? Aizawa-sensei is hard to predict, mayhaps he would-
"Yaoyorozu, is there something I can help you with? The rest of your class left 23 seconds ago. I have been counting."
I blink. Aizawa's sleeping bag has rotated about 40 degrees, facing my approximate direction. His head is still submerged in his sleeping bag, with no eyes being exposed. I'm not sure how he can sense that someone else is in the room. In fact, how does he know that I am the one in here with him? Is he able to recognise my breathing? Is that even possible?
"You were mumbling under your breath about 'asking a question' for a solid 15 seconds before I got bored of waiting. Now, ask. I only have about 16.7 percent of the day I can use for sleeping."
Damnit, I am picking up more habits from Akatani. Next thing I know I'll be wearing Italian cologne and flinching every time someone mentions the existence of parents.
"Yes, Aizawa-sensei. I have a question about the Hero internships. The rules you gave were that we are to pick from the list of Heroes provided, correct?"
There's a shuffling sound. He unzips his sleeping bag and climbs to his feet with a yawn.
"That is correct, we vet all of the offers to keep our students safe. Is there someone who you want to go with that we vetoed? I'll be happy to review them if necessary, but my priority is keeping you out of danger."
His heart is in the right place. I can always appreciate that Aizawa will go above and beyond for his students, even if he is usually as grumpy as a… I lack an adequate metaphor. Mayhaps a cat without milk? This requires further research.
"Well, not exactly. I recall being informed that if we receive no offers, we can intern with one of UA's staff members. Is that correct?"
He gives me an odd look.
"That is correct. Is there a point to this to this conversation?"
"Would that include any staff member?"
Tension fills the air, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. His fingers flex as he unconsciously reaches for his capture scarf.
"Yaoyorozu, is there someone specific in the UA staff team that you want to intern with?"
I take a deep breath. Akatani believes that Nezu will happily take me on for an internship. Akatani is the smartest person I know, he wouldn't lie to me about this. He's a devious little rascal at the best of times, but he has never led me astray.
"I am aware that Nezu is busy, seeing as he is the principal. However, do you know if he would be open to having an internship with me? I've been thinking about it and… are you ignoring me?"
He pulls out his phone and places it to his ear.
"Aizawa speaking, I'm sending a student up to your office. Please have her expelled or executed, I don't really care. Yes. Of course. Ugh, if we can't have her executed, at least have her banished. Of course, for all of eternity ideally. Perfect. Thank you, bye."
He shoves his phone into his back pocket. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. When he opens them again he has the look of a war veteran suffering from PTSD.
"I beg you, please do not involve me in whatever nightmare you two are about to create."
He turns and does a running leap through the classroom window. I rush over to the windowsill and get a glance of him swinging through the trees on his capture scarf.
What just happened?
Ten minutes later
Deep breaths. Come on Momo, you can do this! All you need to do is knock-
The door swings open on its own. Nezu is sitting in his chair looking over at me curiously.
"Am I a mouse? A dog? A bear? I'm the principal! Now, what can I do for you today Ms Yaoyorozu? I hear you need to be expelled or possibly banished for all of eternity? I've been preparing a pit filled with mutant shadow demon dark evil monster-spiders for just this occasion!"
I think the best course of action is to ignore him and continue as if he said nothing. I'm going to have a panic attack if I actually allow myself to process what he just said.
"Aizawa-sensei mentioned that if we cannot get a Hero to do an internship with us, we can intern with our instructors. That means that such a precedent exists. So I have been thinking… pleaseletmedomyHerointernshipwithyou!"
There's a long moment of silence. Nezu takes a sip from his tea cup, regarding me with an unreadable expression.
"Ms Yaoyorozu, in all of my thirty years of teaching no student has ever asked that question."
"I'm sorry-"
"Which is why I am delighted to offer you this opportunity! Now, I know that the internships start next week, but there is no time to waste! I will inform your instructors that you will not be present for the rest of your classes. Today I will be exploring your potential!"
He leans forward and spreads his paws on his desk.
"Now, your first test!"
He stands completely still. Absolutely nothing happens. There's no sound, no movement. Nothing. He blinks. I blink. He throws a rubber ball at my face.
"Ow!"
I rub my forehead. Why did he do that?
"You hesitated, that slowed down your thinking! We'll need to train you to use your brain at full capacity even in times of stress! From now on I will be throwing rubber balls at you at random times and I expect you to catch them without hesitation!"
I resist the urge to scowl at the chimera while he cackles loudly.
"You… you just wanted to throw a ball at me!"
He beams.
"Perfect analysis! Now, I've been dealing with some pesky North Korean hackers recently. How much do you know about cyberwarfare?"
I only know as much as I have overheard from Akatani's neverending rambles. That is to say, I know enough to cause damage on a global scale.
.
.
.
Author note:
Late chapter, I won't go into why (no spoilers) but it's not due to a lack of effort. If all goes well I'll explain in the author notes of the next chapter and it will be very cool. Although, it is nice to have proper time to read over my chapters. I feel like my writing quality has shot up recently.