Katsuki frowned as he looked over the stack of papers that Star Might handed him. "What is this?" he asked.

Had literally anyone else heard him in that moment they would have been utterly floored. His tone was so… respectful. Not simpering and meek, as those were two things that Katsuki could never be. But none of the usual rage and fire could be found in his tone. The dismissing of someone because he thought himself better than them? No… he spoke to the new hero with a growl but one controlled, like an old dog who wanted to just take a nap but wouldn't actually bark or bite when you passed by them.

They had just gotten done with a workout, Katsuki admittedly impressed with the gym that All Might and Star Might used. While the Number 1 hero hadn't joined them (stating that he'd already worked out and needed to take care of some other things… while oddly looking a touch nervous when he glanced at his daughter and Gran Torino) it was clear that his workout room was designed for him, to help him improve his already great strength. But… it also was designed to do other things too. Work on speed. Endurance. Stealth. Dodging. Deflection. Katsuki in particular had loved the machine that had multiple swinging arms that forced him to constantly be on the defensive, blocking blows; he was able to dial it up to as fast and as hard as he wanted and while a few times he'd been sent to the ground with his head ringing he'd quickly found the right pattern to fall into a healthy rhythm… and then began to slowly crank it up.

Even better had been the misters, filled with a neutralizing agent, which made his sweat just… sweat.

No more having to worry about blowing up gym equipment if he got a little too into his work out routine.

But now he was showered and dressed and sitting at the desk in the office that Gran Torino had gruffly told him was going to be his for the next week. It was a plain thing, with no decorations but a nice desk and computer all the same, and Katsuki couldn't help but imagine it being far bigger and decorated with all his awards and trophies given to him by a thankful nation.

"These," Star Might told him, "are cold cases."

Katsuki frowned at that. "Cold cases." He narrowed his eyes when she opened her mouth. "I know what f… what cold cases are."

"Wonderful," she said with a grin.

And turned to leave.

"Hey!" Katsuki shouted. "What the fu… what is this?"

"I thought we just covered that," Star Might said as she continued out the door, forcing Katsuki to get up and leap over his desk in order to give chase. "You aren't that quick on the uptake, are you?"

"I'm quick on the fucking uptake!" he snapped. "But I do want to know what the deal is when you dump this shit on me and then walk away!" He waved one of the slips of paper about. "What am I supposed to do with these?"

"Some heroes have an entire team helping them," Star Might stated. "A Man In The Chair who talks to them, people looking into ways to defeat a villain-"

"Fucking losers, all of them!" Katsuki snapped before finally remembering himself. "If you can't save people on your own you aren't really a hero."

Star Might merely continued walking and Katsuki had the oddest sense she was mentally chuckling at him.

"What do you want me to do with the cold cases?" Katsuki asked.

"Whatever you want," Star Might replied as she reached an elevator. "This is your down time. A chance to rest your body. Some of those are cases All Might never solved. Other ones are from heroes who put them into public record, hoping someone could solve them. Others aren't even from Japan. That is the history of Heroics… the side that children don't think about as they are playing games in their back yard. The things that get forgotten about when the news has something more sensational to report. The thing heroes hate to talk about in interviews but keep them up at night, wondering what they could have missed."

And with that she stepped into the elevator.

"Welcome to the real world of being a hero, Bakugo."

And with that the doors shut.

~MC~MC~MC~

"Try it now," Anakin said.

Tenya nodded. He wanted to wash up. There was grease on his fingers. Gunk too. He wasn't even for sure WHAT the gunk was just that it was… gunk. He had stains on his shirt but the sleeve was already ripped so he had long decided there was no way to salvage that and as such he just needed to accept that it was getting thrown away. He had ran his fingers through his hair once and now knew he desperately needed to wash it before whatever he had smeared onto his scalp dried.

And yet he found himself oddly… content.

'There is something about this that is… peaceful. The complexity… but also the simplicity.'

Tenya knew he was a bit more… tightly wound up… that most people his age. Or double his age, come to think about it. Everyone teased him that he was a stern old man trapped in a young body. He didn't mind the teasing; in fact he took pride in the fact that he was so composed and not ruled by impulse like so many others. He had been told by just as many other people that such traits would make him a steady hero. Maybe not the most popular… but someone that the public could rely upon. That other heroes could rely upon. Their rock.

The thing people tended to forget about rocks was they felt pressure, same as every other thing the universe. The only difference was because they showed no signs of damage people had no problem piling more pressure upon them. Tenya himself felt pressure constantly and knew that he was partially to blame for that, as those around him just figured that he could handle whatever they threw at him because he didn't fall apart into hysterics.

And as much as he didn't want to admit it… he knew that one day he was going to crack and when he did it was going to be horrific.

But as he looked over the engines in his legs he found himself oddly at peace. He smiled as he began to lightly jog, feeling the engines kick on… and be utterly whisper quiet.

"What's up?" Anakin asked when Tenya suddenly stopped, staring at his legs. "Something not feeling right-"

"No… I mean yes but… no." He shook his head. "I always thought my engines were rather quiet. Not like some of the automotives that people drive along. But now it feels like they were roaring jet engines compared to how silent these are…"

"The sign of a well running machine," Anakin said. "A lack of noise can be the most beautiful thing in the world." He moved to sit down on a stool, Tenya moving again but not nearly as fast. Instead he decided to slowly rev up his speed, to feel how the engines in his legs responded. To understand them fully. It was something he'd done when his quirk had first really begun to show itself, forced by his brother to slow down so he truly understood what was happening. And he found it to be a delightful experience currently. "Its peaceful, isn't it?" Anakin said, as if sensing what Tenya had been thinking. Of course from the comments Ahsoka had made concerning their shared quirk it was entirely possible that he DID sense everything Tenya was thinking. "Working on machines. It calms the mind. Let's you focus yet not focus."

"Yes," Tenya said softly as he came to a stop.

"People don't get how I can find it relaxing, working on old junk. But its my way of meditating. I'm able to sink myself into a project… to focus on fixing something. Its complex because machines are complex but its also simple because it isn't the end of the world. Sometimes just working on some faulty wiring is the most peaceful thing in the world because I have to be focused on everything else but I can't be worrying about all that when I am trying to get two wires to connect properly. So I can push that all away… and when I come back to it all the stupid little distractions that were keeping me from seeing the real answer are just… gone."

Tenya blinked at that. "And you are still doing something important. Maybe not as important as the problem but…" He struggled to express himself.

"Your mental health is important," Anakin informed him. "It… took me a long time to realize that. I spent so much of my life thinking that I just needed to ignore what I was feeling." He looked down at his hands. "There was a furnace in my heart. And I would throw in all the things that were bothering me, that were making me frustrated and embarrassed… but also making me scared right into it. Making me ashamed. All of it. And I thought that was good. That it was a great way for me to deal with my problems without forgetting them. Obi Wan told me to release my anger and I thought that meant ignoring it and the things that were making me upset.

"But I see now that it isn't about forgetting it… that isn't healthy. Just like clinging to it isn't the right answer. You need to work through it. To determine why something is bothering you… why it is making you upset. And how you can move past it. Not forget. But let it no longer hurt you any more. Hound Dog told me once that anger and hate and all that is like a bug. You don't ignore the bug biting you. You don't keep it in the room either. You find it, figure out how to deal with it, and do."

Tenya was quiet for a long time.

"Kid?"

"I… get mad when people bring up my parents," Tenya said softly. "I have seen then maybe twice a year and only for a few hours. Tensei is my parent. And I hate it when people don't see that. And I'm scared that if something happens to him…"

Anakin nodded and got up, moving to his shelves and pulling out a blender. "Come on, let's see if we can figure out how to make this actually run without producing a burning smell."

Tenya nodded, pulling out the tools Anakin said he could use.

~MC~MC~MC~

Shoto laid in his bed, staring at the ceiling.

Well, it wasn't HIS bed. His bed was back at home. Far nicer than the basic bed that he was lying on. The mattress back home had what felt like a hundred different buttons on the remote to allow it to adjust the firmness, the temperature, vibrating action… all in the name of providing him the best night sleep after a hard day of training. The mattress he was on now was, he was willing to bet, no different than any other mattress. Just a firm thing that probably had seen dozens of people sleep on it. The sheets were thin and had a few loose threads, something his father would have never allowed. The lights in the room had no dimmer abilities and with it being late afternoon he could see the sun still shining through the window, due to there being no thick curtains to block the rays.

And yet he had just woken up far more refreshed than he had since…

Since…

Shoto frowned at that and pulled out his phone, scooching up a bit so he was at least sitting up, and sent the text asking if she was available to talk.

He only had to wait a minute before the phone rang.

"Hey, I was just about to ask if you could talk!" Ochaco said happily, her voice just as chirper as ever. "Great minds, right?"

"Yes," Shoto replied. "How is your internship?"

"Fucking awesome!" Ochaco said and Shoto blinked as her cursing. "Er, I mean… yeah, sorry about that. Going to have to work hard to remember that I need to talk a certain way in class. Mirko is a lot… looser… in terms of how people should act. Going to develop some bad habits if I'm not careful."

"I see," Shoto said.

"But its been so great!" Ochaco declared. "Yesterday was all about getting me settled in and showing me around but today we did a ton of training. Spent a lot of time on the ground and I think some of my bruises have bruises but I'm learning so much about close quarter combat. Situational awareness too. I bet Mr. Aizawa is going to be thrilled with that. Mirko loves to attack me when I least expect it so if I suddenly have to go don't be surprised, okay? I'm getting better at it though… she suggested that the next time he pulls any of his fucking surprise shit I should attack him right back, just to see if I can get some extra credit. Not sure about that…"

Shoto merely listened on as Ochaco talked. He found it rather relaxing to just let her words wash over him. He knew his father would have hated it for so many different reasons. Said that she was wasting time with her prattle. That she was discussing meaningless things. That nothing she talked about actually mattered. That she should know her place.

'Perhaps that's why I enjoy it so much?' Shoto wondered.

"But how your internship going?" she asked, cutting through his thoughts.

"It is… good. Not what I expected."

"What do you mean?" Ochaco asked.

He paused, considering his words carefully. "I got up early to help with the youths… we are holding a summer camp for children who were victims of a villain attack."

"That sounds so wonderful!" Ochaco exclaimed. "I bet you're really good at that."

That made Shoto frown. "You think so?"

"Oh yeah!" she exclaimed. "You're quiet and steady… kids need that. While it might be nice to have someone who is loud and fun kids who dealt with villains need someone to just… be there."

That made Shoto frown even more. "I… never thought that I would be good around children."

"Oh, not as an entertainer or the like!" Ochaco said before quickly adding, "But that's fine! Some kids need jokes and laughs but others need someone that makes them feel safe. And I think you could make a lot of kids feel safe. You are strong and really skilled and you are really… steady. A rock."

"But my quirk is ice."

That made Ochaco laugh. "Okay, maybe you can make kids laugh!" Shoto's brow furrowed at that. "I mean that you are steady. Someone they can depend on. You wouldn't startle them or make them scared… you would just… be there. Its something I learned about as I was preparing for UA, studying up on Rescue Hero work. There are some that help distract kids but others who help them feel safe."

And that made Shoto think of his mother. Made him think of all she had gone through and wonder how she would have fared had she had a 'rock' to keep her steady. To provide comfort but not expect her to giggle and laugh and cheer. Just… let her be scared because she felt safe.

"Some of the children… they didn't like doing things if I weren't right next to them…"

"Exactly!" Ochaco declared. "You know, I was thinking about it but didn't want to say it because I'm a bit biased but I think you'd be great as a Rescue Hero!"

"You… you do?" Shoto said, rather surprised.

"Yeah!" Ochaco proclaimed. "I mean your ice could do so much to help out… send it out into cracks to help lift up large objects, create structures to protect people… and then there is the fire half of your quirk." Shoto braced for her to talk about how he should use his- "That makes you fireproof, right? That means you could be an amazing firefighter!"

Shoto blinked.

"I… well, I can be burned…" He reached up and touched the burn scar on his face.

"Oh! Yeah, I guess you can. Sorry. But you are still able to withstand intense heat, right?"

'Thank you,' Shoto mentally thought. 'Thank you for not falling apart and telling me how sorry you were.' He hated that when people talked about his scar that they would spend so much time focusing on it or worse trying to dance around it. The fact that Ochaco admitted her mistake and just… moved on? It was startling but… nice.

Really nice.

"Yes," he said.

"See, right there! You could help with fires better than most other heroes!"

Shoto swallowed at that. 'My father… he would never accept that. He wants me to be the Number 1 hero in Japan… and Top Ten Heroes are daylight heroes, ones that engage in flashy battles. Who fight villains and… fight villains.' His father didn't take the time to rescue people… in fact Shoto knew that his father had one of the worst civilian injury rates in all of Japan. He claimed it was because his popularity meant people got too close but Shoto knew it was because he didn't care. He wasn't interested in protecting people… just defeating them.

And that's what he wanted for him.

He thought of Frostburn helping little Kagome, who had been burned so bad she didn't even have any hair on her head and might not be able to grow any ever again thanks to her scarring, try on silly wigs with the other kids. Thought of Hondo who didn't like to be touched but had asked for a hug from Shoto when he'd gone to take a nap.

Shoto thought about the fact that if it had been his FATHER he would have been beaten into the mat for DARING to show he was tired… certainly not offered to let him take a nap.

He laid on the bed and wondered why he had had the most restful sleep he'd ever had.

~MC~MC~MC~

Enji growled to himself as he sat in the back of the limo, looking over the documents that his assistant had given him.

"They all got internships," he growled.

"There was no stopping that," Taika stated calmly. "We knew that there would always be agencies that would take them on. UA works hard to ensure that not a single student doesn't get an internship-"

"That is for first years. And the pathetic losers that can't even make it through the first round." Enji trembled as he looked over the documents that showed just who every student had been sent to intern with. He recognized far too many names and already was planning out how he would make those traitors pay. "I told them that UA was supposed to be offlimits. That we weren't going to take anyone. And now we have the likes of Mirko and Nighteye taking on interns-"

"Sir Nighteye took on the same intern he took last semester," Taika stated. "They have developed a… well, I'm not sure. But it doesn't matter anyway. Sir Nighteye, per your own comments, is just a glorified support hero-"

"He was All Might's sidekick!" Enji roared. "Lemillion says he wants to save one million people… I am no where close to that number! That is a threat to me and all I am trying to do! And Mirko… she is growing in popularity-"

"We knew that she would be a tough sell when it came to the boycott. But the fact remains that many Top Ranked heroes chose not to take interns from UA-"

"And they haven't taken interns anywhere else!" Enji snarled. He ignored the fact that he hadn't taken on any himself, wanting to leave himself open for when Shoto finally realized how foolish he was being and finally came crawling back to him. "How can they be this stupid?" He glared at Taika. "You explained to them what we were supposed to do?"

"I did," his assistant said, not reacting to his rage. He didn't know if he should be happy with that, since it meant less wasted time, or angered that the man wasn't respecting him the way he should have been.

"They would have never done this if All Might had told them not too," Enji snarled. "This is an insult against me. A mockery of my standing. And I'm not going to let it stand." He grit his teeth. "Every hero that took an intern from UA is now blacklisted."

"Sir-"

"No, I mean it. Contact everyone we do business with. Let them know that if they continue to work with anyone that is on that list then I will personally cut all ties to them. Costume designers, support gear companies, anyone looking for me to be a sponsor for their shitty energy drink or their new line of breakfast cereal. I see myself on a t-shirt then I will sue them to oblivion. I find out some daycare has my picture next to Mirko I will burn the damn building to the ground." He held up his hand before Taika could say a word. "I don't mean literally."

"Then I suggest you don't say that out loud."

Enji rolled his eyes at that. "I am not a fool, Taika. Don't ever assume I am again. I know how these gullible sheep are, taking every word I say and assuming that I am speaking only the truth. But the point remains that I don't want anyone that was involved in the UA nonsense working with us. I want them to know the cost of not listening to me."

Taika let out a sigh at that. "Sir… UA is rather powerful. If we go against them any harder than we already have-"

"What? What will they do to us? I am the Number 2 hero in the world and eventually I will be Number 1. And when Shoto finishes this foolish rebellion of his he will be Number 1 after me. And if he does't then I will find a new heir." He paused, glancing at the man. "Speaking of… why haven't you been able to arrange a meeting between me and Star Might?"

He needed that meeting. Needed to explain to her the importance of them working together. Get her to see that only by abandoning her father would she be able to rise up further in the ranks and know it was due to her OWN skills and not her father's name. he would become her mentor. Her friend. And then… her lover. It would be difficult, considering he was still married to Rei, but he was sure that he could easily figure it out. They would need to be legally bound together because the public, despite how radical they could sometimes be when it came to change, would not take lightly to a bastard child as a hero. And it would ruin Star Might's career to be pregnant out of wedlock.

'I won't divorce Rei,' he thought to himself. Despite what he knew even Taika thought he would never abandon his wife. They had been… good for one another. He wished that she could come to her senses but her actions had shown that would never happen. But he still also needed to find a way to be with Star Might. Already he had quietly reached out to his lawyers to see about citizenship in countries that allowed for multiple wives…

"I have sent her several messages," Taika informed him. "No response." He paused. "She is a busy woman, and a new hero as well, so I am sure-"

"Make it no longer something you are sure about and something you KNOW," Enji snapped. "I want us to meet soon, before her father can truly get his tendrils into her. I need her to understand-"

He never got to finish.

One moment they had been moving peacefully along the road, the tinted windows making it hard to see exactly where they were but Enji still able to tell they were moving. The limo was soundproofed as well, to give him the grandest of rides.

The next moment the limo came to a violent halt, sending Enji crashing into the front. He bit back a cry as he felt something pop in his shoulder and he hoped that he had just rammed into a joint and not dislocated it. Taika lay on the ground, utterly dazed, a small cut on his forehead.

"What happened?" Enji snarled as he threw open the window to the front of the limo. "What-"

The words died in his throat.

Where should have been the front of the limo, his driver sitting at the wheel in his crisp black suit and cap, was instead twisted metal with the scent of leaking fuel and viscera filling his noise.

Enji moved towards the door, forcing it open and stepping out to find that the engine block of his limo had been completely crushed and people were screaming in terror, running about and pointing to the sky.

He looked up before a slight smile tugged on his lips before he pulled out his phone and called his Commission Contact.

"This is Endeavor. Hosu is being attacked by multiple beings that resemble Nomu, the villain that attacked All Might and Star Might. I am on the ground and will deal with this problem. Tell all heroes to stay out of my way."

With that he went to the trunk of his limo, opening it and entering the passcode to retrieve his support gear. He didn't have time to change into his hero costume but that didn't matter.

'I will defeat them all myself. All Might struggled against one… I will reduce all of these villains into ashes. And then the world, and the heroes that thought they could defy me, will understand just how powerful I truly am!'