"Wow, your room sure is nice!" said the arachnid redhead.
"T-Thansk." the shy girl replied.
It's been quite a few days since they met, weeks perhaps at this point and Valerie was still as nervous as ever. It's no fault of them, it's just… how she was apparently. To try and combat this issue, Jarvis just told the girl to invite her friends over to sleep. She didn't know exactly the logic behind his idea (seeing as how she was still learning how the world truly worked), but she put some thought into it. At the end of the day though, she could only armed herself with enough courage to ask just one person.
"Hey, did you make those?" Annie asked, pointing at a couple of drawings and paintings hanging on her wall.
Truth be told, her room was fairly decent if Annie is to say anything. Definitely not what she would picture for a rich girl, but it looked rather nice. There was a desk , a bed, two nightstands, a full size mirror, a balcony and it apparently had a personal bathroom, as well as a large closet or something… Ok, maybe it was a little like a richgirl, but it had a certain aura of clumsiness to it all. Like she didn't exactly know how to live with such luxuries. Truth be told, neither would Annie. However, those pictures caught her attention. They were superheroes and looked really cool. From Captain America and his mighty shield, to the Wondrous Wasp flying with grace alongside the Astute Ant-Man riding an ant. From the Mighty Thor to the Armored Iron Man and the Incredible Hulk. There were even portraits of the original X-Men, the Fantastic Four and…
"Wow, is that my dad?" she asked, as she got up close to clear her doubts. "No way, it is! Man, this is so cool!" she said with excitement before turning to the blue girl once more. "Come on, Val, you have to tell me if you made these ones or if you bought them."
"I-I-I m-m-made them…" she said, with a low volume.
"That's pretty great. Did someone teach you, or are you just that good?" asked Annie, making the girl blush a little.
"...C-C-Captain A-A-America t-taught me… S-S-Said it c-could h-help me relax…"
"Oh yeah. You're basically the Avengers' child if what Jarvis said is anything to go by." Annie said, making the girl blush slightly more. "Keep forgetting that, you know? But man, having Captain flipping America as an art teacher? No wonder these all look so great!"
"I-I-I'm n-not sure if I would g-g-go that far… I still h-have things to learn…"
"Probably, but from what I can see you're doing great so far." Annie said, turning to the imagery of her father, courageously rescuing someone as he was swinging. "You… you definitely caught that spark, you know?" the arachnid stated, looking at the picture in front of her with some melancholy in her expression. Something that Valerie was quick to notice.
"A-A-Annie?" she asked, calling for the redhead, who shook her head a little.
"Yeah, still here… sorry, I guess I spaced out a little bit." Annie said, turning her head around and seeing that Bill did in fact bring her bag to the correct room, as it was on top of the big bed. "Okay, let's hope that Bill didn't slide anything in my bag. I have a feeling that the little toaster knows how to hold a grudge." she said as she went towards the bed and started to go over her stuff.
As she did, Valerie was still wondering how all of this was happening. Not like she was hating it, or anything just… how was it that she found herself having a sleepover with the daughter of one of the pillars of the hero community?
"Ok, no electro jammers or anything like that, which means we're good to go!" the girl said as she pulled some clothes from her bag. "Now that that's clear out, I should probably change. After all, a sleepover can't start until you're in your PJ's… I think…" she said, as she was about to take off her shirt, much to the surprise of the blue girl.
"W-W-W-W-W-What a-a-a-are y-y-y-you doing?!" she stutterly asked while blushing like no one's ever blush before.
"Um… I'm changing?" she said, for she was already halfway from taking her shirt before Valerie stopped her.
"B-B-B-B-But I'm s-s-s-still here!"
"... Boy, you really are a shy one, aren't you?" Annie said, pulling her shirt back on.
"S-Sorry… I-I'm going to w-wait outside i-if you like…" the girl said.
"Come on, Valerie, you don't have to. Mainly because it's your place." Annie told the girl, before looking around the room. "Question, is that the bathroom, the closet… or a theater?" she asked, as she pointed at one of the large doors of the room.
"I-I-It's the b-bathroom."
"Ok, then how about this? I change there while you change here, okay?" she asked, as she started to head for the bathroom.
"O-Okay?"
"Alright then!" Annie said as she entered the room. "I promise not to peek as long as you don't!" she joked, only to have Valerie blush even more than before… somehow.
"P-P-P-P-Peek?!"
"Kidding, I'm kidding… boy we ought to get that fix at some point." the New Yorker said as she entered the bathroom. "Ok, I'm changing now… Oh my god, that's the fanciest toilet that I've ever seen!"
Afterwards, the two changed, Annie just putting on some shorts alongside a short sleeve shirt of a light blue color. It also had four elements from the periodic table. More specifically, the elements Germanium, Nickel, Uranium and Sulfur. Funnily enough, it was arranged in a way that it could be read as 'genius', which in the case of the young Parker, was very appropriate. In Valerie's case, she was wearing a two piece pajama made out of a button-down sleep shirt and pajama pants. They were of yellow color and at least the lower part of the shirt was adorned with a few smiling stars… something that Annie found kind of adorable.
"Ok, got any plans for what to do Valerie?" asked Annie.
"N-N-Not really… t-this is the f-first time that I've d-done this…"
"Understandable. It's kind of my first time to." said the New Yonker, surprising the blue girl.
"R-Really?"
"Well, excluding those few summer camps at Xavier's. Other than that, I guess it is."
"Oh… I-I didn't know that." Valerie said, turning to the bed. "W-Well… i-if you're feeling s-sleepy, you can t-take the bed… "
"... Valerie, your bed is big enough that two cows could lay there and still have room to wiggle around." Annie told the blue girl.
"Oh… I-I just t-thought… i-it could make you uncomfortable…"
"Why does it sound like you're referring to you instead of me?"
"... M-Maybe?" Valerie said, unsure of herself while Annie chuckled a little.
"Man, you really are a shy one, aren't you? If it were any other person, I would probably ask if you really are planning to go to the hero course of U.A?" she joked, only to flinch when Valerie put on a weird face that could probably be described as a kind of funny, yet disconsolate look. "Great Paker, look what you just did?" Annie silently beratted herself as she decided to calm Valerie. "N-Now Valerie, I was only joking, there's no need to cry." she tried to say, as the blue girl looked down.
"... I wasn't going to cry…" she said, although neither was sure if she meant it.
"Could have fooled me." Annie muttered to herself, although she quickly regretted it when she saw glimpses of Valerie's weird expression. "I mean… Of course you wouldn't! You're the bee's knees this side of the globe! So don't put on that gloomy look! Show the world that pretty smile of yours!" she awkwardly tried to say.
"... S-Sorry…" Valerie said, looking at the floor.
Annie saw this and couldn't help but to acknowledge how uneasy she was feeling. She tried to think of a way to try and make her feel better. She started to scratch her head and before she knew it, an idea popped into her mind. She went to her bag once more and pulled something.
"Hey, Valerie!" Annie called, snapping the young adoptive Van Dyne back to reality. "Come here, I want to show you something cool!" she said.
Valerie did as she was told. Walking towards the redhead, who looked pretty excited.
"You ready?" she asked, to which Valerie replied by nodding slowly. "Ok, on the count of three. One… two… three!" Annie said, as she pulled something off her bag.
When she saw what it was in the redhead's hands, Valerie almost felt like castaway finding land after days of floating over the vast ocean. Her eyes widened to the point that one would almost think that she and Kamala exchanged powers. Simply not believing what was in front of her.
It was… it was…
Fear.
Valerie was feeling nothing but fear at the moment.
She did everything that she could. She ran as fast as possible. Tried to teleport as much as she was capable of. And for a moment, it almost looked like she was about to make it too little too late.
From afar, she was able to make out the image of her friend and teacher fighting some large monster, as well as the villain Supercharge and who appeared to be the leader of the assault. It didn't look like either of the two were doing that great against all of those foes. Supercharger seemed to be more than capable of fending off the two of them, so add in another pair of villains, one of them being easily bigger than a bear and it was safe to say that they were having a hard time. She also managed to see that pale man covered in hands managed to grab a hold of her teacher. He managed to get him off his back, but was afterwards holding his arm. As if he had just been seriously hurt just by having contact with the villain.
Annie wasn't having good luck in her endeavors either. Having to avoid the attacks of both Supercharger and that big monster was no easy task even for her. She tried to web the monster, but the only accomplishment that she had was to slow it down. Something that didn't make Valerie feel any relief at all. That stuff, even if it's not as tough as Spider-Man's current webbing, was still stronger than steel. Even Robbie, who could probably stand on even terms with Annie in terms of strength and power had a hard time even getting less from him. And even then, that was mainly because of his usage of that magic fire of his and that the webbing that Annie had at the moment, was not as resistant to fire as the main deal.
So for this thing to snap it that easily… just how strong is it?
But her heart almost stopped when, after knocking Supercharger away for a bit, the monster closed in on her and was about to deliver a mighty blow on her. One that could no doubt cause serious harm. However, at the last second, mister Aizawa managed to somehow close the gap and pushed Annie out of harm's way as much as possible. The results of his action? He got pinned down in the ground and Annie, while avoiding most of the damage, still received some sort of cut in the upper part of her left arm.
Right now, she was on one knee, watching how that monster literally snapped Aizawa's right arm, instantly breaking it as if it were but a dry twig. She grinned her teeth, for she was feeling as if there was nothing that she could do to help her teacher.
"Dammit Parker, think! If you don't do something, hobo teach Aizawa's going to-" she was thinking, however her mind was interrupted when the creature stepped on her teacher's other arm, breaking it as well. That infuriated Annie even more than she was already. She was about to do something, but had to jump away when a bolt of electricity was shot at her. "And then, there's this jerk who does nothing but leech on my back!" she thought, as she jumped away.
"Young master, it's been some time now. What if the pros are already on their way?" asked the mist villain to the pale man.
"And who's fault is that exactly?" the other villain sarcastically asked back, for he still remembered how he failed to secure one of the two students that managed to escape. "If it weren't for the fact that you're our exit, I would have already killed you, Kurogiri." he said.
"Once again, I'm sorry for my failure. But you must remember, that their presence will be both immanent and problematic as well."
"... Yeah, you're right… We won't be able to keep the other pesky heroes off our backs if that happens." said the villain, as he looked at Supercharger and Annie doing battle between one another. "How long will it take for him to kill that brat?"
"It seems like she lives up to the reputation of her father. The fact that she has held her own up till now is quite impressive." Kurogiri said, as the girl dodged a blast from the villain and was successful in sending him skittering a few meters back with one kick to the face.
The girl jumped away about five to ten meters. Landing, she tried to recover some of her breath. As she did, she started to look around in hopes to find something that could aid her in her fight. Thirteen and the rest of her classmates were still at the entrance. She could probably try and ask them for help, but she was debating if asking them was a good idea if their fearful expression was anything to go by. And Miss Thirteen was tasked to keep them safe and the safest place for them should be as far as possible from that Nomu thing and the others. It seemed like it only listened to that pale man, so perhaps if she takes him out she could potentially reduce the danger of the monster. However, that would have its fair share of issues as that mist guy seemed to be watching his back. That's without taking into account Supercharger wanting to fry her. Yet there was something that caught her attention when she looked at the direction of the two villains. Over by the water nearby, he saw the trio of Izuku, Tsuyu and Minoru floating there and watching the fight.
"What are the three of them doing there? They should be trying to look for somewhere safe!" she thought.
"Well, I guess that we should take our leave before the heroes arrive…" the leader of the villains said, filling with relief those who heard… Why was Tsuyu seemingly drowning Minoru?!
"Dammit, this is no time for games, take things seriously for crying out loud…! I can't believe I'm the one thinking that!" Annie thought.
"... But before that…" he kept on saying, turning his gaze to meet those three kids in the water, much to their terror as well as Annie's. "We shouldn't leave before… we make sure that All Might remembers what happened here…"
Before they could do anything, the villain launched towards the trio of kids. More specifically, towards the girl of frog-like powers. They were able to see what happened to Eraser Head's arm from up-close. That man… somehow started to decay his elbow with the simple touch of his hand. It was still somewhat hard to pinpoint exactly what had happened, but Midoriya was certain of something. If he were to touch Asui, then she… she would…
Thankfully, he never quite reached her. Seemingly stopping a couple of inches from her, the kids were questioning just why did he stop? It wasn't until Izuku took a more careful look at the villain, that he noticed something. There were a couple of silk threads that could be easier to see once light hit them in the right angle. Following where the threads lead to, he saw Parker holding onto them to avoid him getting anywhere close to her classmates.
"...You know… I was told that you would be pesky… but so far you've been nothing but annoying…" the villain said, his comment obviously being directed towards the redhead.
"Know what…? I'm going to take that as a complement!" she said as she yanked him away from the trio. She then swung him towards Supercharger, who was about to try something before having the leader of the group of villains crashing into them. "You three, quit fooling around and go somewhere safe!" Annie told Izuku and the other two, just as the villains started to pick themselves up.
Supercharger was getting more infuriating by the second. If not for Spider-Man, his message would have been spread years and years ago… but now… was he really about to face the same fate at the hands of his child?! He would not allow it! But as for the pale man, one of the hands that covered his face was loosened up when he was the one that covered his face.
"Father…? Father, where… where did you go?" he asked, covering his face with his own hand as he started to search for the falling one.
"What is it with this guy?" Annie questioned, as he finally found it.
"Ah, father… there you are… I'm so sorry, she caught me off guard…" he said, as he placed it once more in his face. Not before sending a hateful glare at the American with those red eyes of his. Once he was done, he remained silent, many questioning just what he was about to do until he spoke. "Nomu, forget about Eraser… kill her!" the villain venomously said.
Nomu turned to where the girl was and roared. Her spider-sense was already blaring like crazy, time freezing for Annie.
"Grab teach and get out of here!" she managed to yell before the monster found itself in front of the girl.
Even she knew that despite her speed and reflex, the likelihood of her evading this one blow was not in her favor. For a brief moment, she was already assuming that she would have to take the hit and pray that she could somehow survive. However before it could happen, she felt a pair of arms wrapping around her and pulling her away. Before she knew it and before Nomu could connect the hit, Annie was pulled inside a magenta-like portal. From the other side of the portal, Valerie was successful in saving Annie, although because of the force of the punch, they still felt the shockwave that threw them a couple of meters from where Valerie had taken them.
"How?" asked the head villain, questioning just how it was that the redhead was saved from impending doom for the fourth time in the row.
It wasn't until Kurogiri spoke upon noticing something that he learned why. "Isn't that the student capable of teleporting?" he asked as he saw the two girls rolling in the ground twenty or so meters away from where Nomu had attacked.
"... Again with the cheating… why do they cheat so much?!" he angrily asked.
Meanwhile with the two girls, they were starting to pick themselves up from the blast. Annie held her head, for she believed she may have a minor concussion at least from all the times she's been thrown around all day long. But when she opened her eyes to see just who it was that saved her, did her eyes widened beyond belief.
"Valerie?" she questioned as the blue girl snapped from her confusion and looked at the other American.
"A-Annie, are you alright?!" she asked.
"Forget me, what are you doing here?! I thought that you left with Tenya?!"
"Do not be so hard on the little girl…" a voice said from behind them as Annie's danger sense picked the threat. "Her being here was partly my doing. Although it did look like she was about to head back here anyway. I just speed things a little."
Thankfully for the two, the villain was pushed away from them by what seemed to be some sort of sonic attack. Turning around the duo saw the one responsible for getting the villain away from them. It was Kyoka, who apparently used those appendages on her ears to connect them to her boots to provoke the sound. Soon enough, more figures started to appear alongside her. Those being the vice-rep Momo, Mashirao and… why was Denki putting on such a goofy face?!
"What is it with this class and pulling this kind of nonsense?!" thought the redhead as they arrived next to their side.
"Yeesh, you look like you were put through a meat grinder!" Kyoka said, as she and the others flinched at the sight of the arachnid… maybe.
It was hard to tell if Denki did the same, with that stupid expresion of his.
"Pretty accurate, considering that I feel like I was put through one too." she said, turning to Kyoka. "By the way, what exactly did you do?" she asked as the girl of dark purple hair smiled.
"It was my quirk."
Kyoka Jirou - Quirk: Earphone Jack!
She's able to amplify and send her own explosively loud heartbeat when inserting her plugs. She's also able to hear even the faintest of details!
"To put it simply, I hit him with the amplified sound of my own heartbeat." she told the American, who chuckled a little.
"If your heart is that noisy, then I don't want to imagine how Katsuki's will sound." she said, trying to get on her feet.
"Wow, Parker Take it easy!" Mashirao told the girl.
"Don't worry, I just needed to catch my breath for a bit." she told them, getting back up, although still holding her bleeding arm. "By the way, why does Denki look like that?"
"Kaminari-san seemingly fried his brain when he unleashed the full power of his quirk on a couple of villains a while back."
"Well, at least if it's permanent there won't be that much missing." she said, making Kyoka chuckle.
"See, Parker gets it!"
"Call me Annie please." she muttered.
"More and more cheating… Why do you heroes love to cheat?!" they heard the leader villain ask, although Annie complained.
"Says the guy that decided to attack a school." she said, taking a step towards the villains.
"Annie!"
"That Nomu guy is manmade, right?" she asked, confusing the other students and surprising the villains. "You said that he was the final boss. So I take it he's the one you brought to kill All Might… I punched that thing and I'm sure it felt like what a normal person would feel after trying to punch through reinforced concrete, so he definitely would fit the criteria there."
"... You are definitely a sharp one." Kurogiri said, acknowledging the intelligence of the girl.
"She cheated again… that's what they always do."
"If by cheating you mean observation skills, then by all means. I did."
"What do you mean, Parker-san?"
"Why can't I be called Annie?" she murmured, before answering Momo's question. "Take a look and you'll see what I mean."
"I still don't get it." the blonde kid said.
"Look at his head. Notice something unusual?" she asked.
They did, despite the slight fear that they felt when they looked at the creature. It was a creature of literal black skin. Looking almost like it was covered in the darkest of ink. It had razor-sharp teeth that were all inside a beak-like mouth. It had big eyes that didn't show signs of having eyelids. And lastly, his… his…
"H-His… his brain is exposed?" said Momo in shock, as Annie nodded.
"From an evolutionary standpoint, leaving something as vital as the brain exposed doesn't make that much sense. And since quirks are the ones that follow this pattern even more than other sources of born-powers, it shouldn't be logical for this to be the cause of a quirk, especially in a natural way. The inhuman business from five or so years ago didn't affect Japan as much as other parts of the world. If anything, the number of inhumans barely made it past the three hundreds and most of them were in the southern parts of the country. And while the x-gene could in theory cause this, it should only be the case on those of the Epsilon class. Maybe Gamma level mutants if you squint hard enough. And this kind of power is probably comparable with Beta or Alpha level mutants at the very least." Annie noted, looking at Supercharger. "So either he's a mutate like Battery-Man, some otherworldly and/or mystic being or was made in a lab. And considering just how obedient he is… well, I guess the answer is rather obvious."
"... How do you know all of that stuff?!" Kyoka asked.
"S-She's just that good." Valerie spoke, smiling at her friend.
"Well, it's not that hard to research that kind of information… but it's rather surprising that you managed to reach that kind of conclusion that fast." Momo said.
"... You just keep getting annoying by the second… but you're also right…" the pale villain said, a grin forming behind the hand that covered his face. "Nomu was perfectly designed to oppose All Might himself… You can call him the Anti-Symbol of Peace! So tell me, what exactly are you planning on doing against something that powerful?!" the villain dared, only for Annie to remain quiet for a bit.
"A-Annie… a-"
"The moment I jump away, go with the others." she told them.
"Wait, what do you-" but before Kyoka could ask, Annie leaped away from the group.
Nomu was quick to follow, almost being near her in less time that it took Annie to get about twelve or so meters from the others. However, before it could reach Annie, she shot some webbing at its eyes and then she shot a thread towards the ground. She pulled the thread, impulsing herself towards the ground and avoiding the attack from Nomu. She then did what no sane person would do in her situation and jumped towards the back of Nomu. In the brief seconds that she bought herself in blinding it, she leaped on top of its shoulders. She then delivered a powerful hit at Nomu's brain and something that no one expected happened.
It gave a cry of pain.
"What?!" Kurogiri asked, not believing what had just happened.
"That should be impossible…! Nomu has a shock absorption quirk that was meant to counter All Might at 100%...! How is she even harming him?!" asked the pale man.
She delivered two or three hits more before she was forced to leap away from one of the pale villain's hands suddenly appearing behind her. She landed a couple of meters away from the Nomu creature, who suddenly fell to one knee.
"See what I mean? Next time, at least give it a helmet." she quipped. Although despite the damage that she caused, it still felt like hitting a brick wall.
The others were in quite the state of shock. This thing was made to kill All Might, the top hero of the country. Yet their classmate managed to find a way to bring it to its knee? Their awe would have probably lasted longer if not for the fact that Kyoka decided to yell.
"What do you mean, next time?! Don't give them ideas on how to be better at killing us!" she yelled.
"Hey, if they're dumb enough to accept that design, then they probably won't even remember that." she answered, before turning at the hateful-filled villains glaring at her. "Especially considering the way they decided to name themselves. What was it again? The League of Villains? Just when I thought you could-" she was saying, before a bolt of electricity sent her across the battlefield, much to the horror of their classmates. Especially the blue teenager.
"Annie!" she shouted as she hurried to her side.
Back with Annie though, she was starting to try and pick herself up yet again. But try as she might, it was harder and harder to do each time she fell. Her fight with that Joey person, taking on those other goons and trying to stay out of the reach of both Supercharger and Nomu was already showing its toll to her. Heck, Avoiding Nomu alone was already taking everything that she had in and then some, and she feared that it wasn't even that serious. And that blast from Supercharger hurt like heck. Even if she were to take into account the fatigue that he had after fighting her teacher, that guy was probably the second or third biggest threat in the battlefield as of now.
She tried to stand up once again, but unfortunately for her, she was hit by another blast from the villain. She landed just a few meters away at most but that did not mean that the attack hurt any less than the first one. It was quite the surprise that she's even still awake. Looking from the ground, she saw the supervillain, energy cracking around him as if it were a cloak of electricity. All the while glaring at the girl.
"Once too many. You arachnids ruin my plans once too many! If Joey couldn't end you, then you are mine to slay! And I will fry anyone who dares get in my way!" he shouted as he hurled another bolt of electricity.
This time however, Annie managed to find some small bits of strength in her to move out of the way. Even still, while she managed to avoid the attack, she still fell once more. However, before her opponent could throw another attack the redhead raised her right arm and shot a barrage of web pebbles. Supercharger saw this and moved out of the way, covering his face by bringing both arms together. Yet, he never felt the pebbles hitting him at all. Instead, he looked around and saw that he was never the intended target. No, the one that was the target was none other than Nomu, who was now covered in webbing.
"That should buy us some time in case-" she was thinking, but stopped when she took notice of something. The parts of its brain that she managed to hit were… starting to heal? It was rather slow, but still. "Don't tell me that thing can somehow heal itself?"
Supercharger looked between the two. His anger rose more and more as his eyes started to glow a bright blue. "Am I not that great of a threat to even be acknowledged…? Is that what you think of me?!" he yelled, releasing a great amount of energy out of his body.
"If Tenya did manage to escape, then where is that help?" Annie asked.
"I'll try to scout from above! You guys try to think of where we can find the dummy!" Tokage told her teammates from high above the forest.
She had used her quirk to split her head and her arms from her body to try and scout from the air. A sight that still creeped out the rest of her peers.
"I don't think I'll ever get used to seeing that." Rin told the others.
"Neither will I." Awase said, turning to their large and hairy classmate. "Say, Shishida, can't you like, use your nose to track the dummy or something?" he asked.
"Oh, so just because I look like some sort of beast, it means that I am now the team's hound or something?" he asked, feeling somewhat insulted.
"... Will it be wrong if I say maybe?"
Meanwhile back with the rest of the class, they were all on the lookout for ground Omega. And among them, there was a certain student that didn't mind giving some positive constructive feedback… maybe.
"What is it with those idiots? They should be looking for the stupid dummy, not having some dumb argument!"
"Says the guy whose team spent all the time going in circles." Kamala pointed out, making Kamakiri grunt. "Seriously, we even started to think that one of us would end up having to look for you instead of the dummy."
"And considering that one of you fell in the river, it's safe to say that we were probably onto something." Honenuki said, as everyone else nodded.
"Tsk, we were fine."
"No we weren't! You three did nothing but give me a headache!" Kaibara shouted at Kamakiri while pointing at him in an accusing manner.
"Maybe if you had done something of use, we could have pulled it off."
"What do you mean 'of use'?! I was the only one using my head while you knuckleheads were bringing the forest down!"
"Hey, that was a manly idea! We should have kept on doing that!"
"It was not a- Ghaaa, you're giving me another headache!" Sen complained as Robbie placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Let it go, Kaibara. While you're still sane." he told him as the other boy sighed.
"Yeah, I think I will."
"As always take your mistakes not as something entirely bad, but as something that you can learn from. Once you graduate you'll be expected to meet perfection." Snipe told the class as he was overseeing the team that was in the forested area. "Usually you don't hear these sorts of things, but if you are to fail, fail in a controlled area where you can be told what went wrong and improve on it."
"... So, you're saying that it's ok if we don't do that well in class?" the inhuman of the class asked, as Robbie sighed.
"I would appreciate it if you don't twist my words, Miss Khan. What I-" he was about to say, but was interrupted by his phone ringing. "Well, that's odd. I wasn't expecting someone to call me during school hours."
"You should pick it up, Snipe-sensei. It could be important if they're calling you at times like this." Fukidashi told his teacher.
"Perhaps you're right." he said, picking his phone from one of his pockets. However, once he saw who it was to be calling him, it surprised him a little. "Principal Nezu is calling? I wonder what it is that he needs to be calling during class time?"
"Is everything alright, sensei?" Komori asked her teacher.
"I'm not sure… I'll be outside taking this call. You kids stay here and keep an eye on the match, understood?" he told them as they all nodded.
Once they did, Snipe headed for the door and exited the room. And while he was taking the call, his students were currently wondering what it was that could be happening.
"Is it just me, or did Snipe-sensei seem… a little off?" Bondo asked.
"What do you mean, off? It's not like we can see his face with that mask of his." Shoda told him.
"I mean like… I don't know how to put it in words…"
"As if a dark aura was shrouding him in worryness and unknowing?" Kuroiro said.
"That… that actually makes sense."
"Why does it feel like he likes to quote fortune cookies?"
"I don't know what kind of cookies you've had, but they sure as hell don't sound like the ones I have had." Robbie told Kendo.
As for their teacher, perhaps what Kuroiro had said was quite the accurate description, for that was what Snipe was feeling.
"What?!" he said in a low, yet worried tone.
"Yes, it seems like U.S.J is currently under siege."
"How can that be the case, sir? The idea alone… I know that what happened on Wednesday was nerve racking, but something like this?"
"Indeed, which is why I need your and the rest of the facultie's help in the matter." the principal was saying. "The class president, Ida Tenya, managed to escape the facility and came here as fast as possible. He's currently in the infirmary with Recovery Girl. He claims that he's fine and that the important task at hand is to go and rescue his peers. And while I do agree with the sentiment, I still want to make sure that he has no sorts of injuries."
"Just one managed to evade the villains?"
"Not really. For what he said, he only managed to come here thanks to the help of Miss Van Dyne. Although seeing as how he's the only one to have reached the school… I fear that she might have been taken back by the villains."
"Are you sure sir?"
"Young Tenya said that it seems like one of the villains has some sort of teleportation quirk far more horned than Van Dyne's powers. So I take it that even if he couldn't catch up to one, he could at least get a hold of the other one."
"That… is there anything else that we know that we could use to our advantage?"
"Only that there's a large group of villains of more than a dozen or so villains. Perhaps more. He also mentioned that they tried to make contact with us, but that the message never went off."
"So that means that they're jamming telecommunication? Makes sense, otherwise it shouldn't have taken one of them to make a run for it." he said as the principal nodded in agreement… not like he could tell though.
"He also mentioned that out of the three that spoke, one seemed to be some sort of foreigner. And that they were probably in the look out for All Might."
"So it means that they knew that All Might was scheduled to be there today. That could explain what happened days ago, they were probably looking for information on when it would be best to attack." Snipe said, as he tried to piece the puzzle. "Speaking of, where is All Might?"
"He exerted himself during hero work on the way here. He was resting at the school, but when he heard of what happened he pushed past his limitation and raced straight towards U.S.J." the principal told the gun-wielding hero. "I fear for what could happen. His health is already not the best, so pushing himself like this could cause serious harm. That's also without mentioning what the villains could have under their sleeves. If they're smart enough to have this kind of coordination as to attack where we couldn't reach our students fast enough and to cut communications on top of that…"
"I have some students doing an exercise, but I'll get them back and send them straight towards the school. After I make sure they're safe, I'll join you and the others."
"Please do hurry. I've already had classes suspended and all of the students on campus to gather at the entrance. The police are already on their way to aid in securing the students here at school while also coming along to apprehend the invading villains."
"Understood, I'll be there as soon as possible." said the marksman as he hung up. "Dammit… how could we let this happen…"
He quickly turned around and opened the door so as to enter the room once again. The sudden opening of the door did startle a few of the students. It seemed like prior to it, some were probably having some small talk, maybe thinking of what they could do once their turn came around. He normally didn't mind, they should do those sorts of things. They are kids after all, students that outside of doing school work, should enjoy their time together. How he wished this emergency weren't happening, but unfortunately he can't do anything to change that. He can, however, make sure they are at least well. He headed for the console in the room at a fast pace, something that the class was quick to take notice of. Once there, he pressed a button to address those in Ground Omega's forest.
"Attention students, the exercise, as well as the class are suspended. Return to Ground Omega's entrance and wait to be picked up. This is not a drill, so please hurry." he told them, confusing them, as well as the other students in the same room as their teacher.
"Snipe-sensei, what's going on?" asked Shiozaki, in a quite worried tone and expression.
The teacher turned around and saw that same expression in not just her, but the other students. Part of him didn't want to tell them what was happening. But that wouldn't be right. They were students, yes but they were also heroes in training. One day, it will be them the ones to deal with this situation. And more importantly, they deserved to be told the truth.
"I won't lie, to any of you… the U.S.J complex is currently under siege by a group of villains." he said, much to the shock of the class.
"What?!" Robbie asked, in a tone that none thought he could have, one of worry and … fear?
"It is as I said. Somehow, a group of villains managed to infiltrate the school and are currently holding most of class A there for what I understood."
"Most of?" Kamala asked.
"The class representative of their class managed to make it back to school grounds, but the rest are still under the mercy of the villains. I'm taking you back to campus where you'll be safe and then I and other members of the hero faculty will go there to rescue the other class."
"That's-"
"You can't be serious?!" Robbie suddenly interrupted the worried Pony, with a surprisingly upset tone. "There's people in danger and you want us to stay back?!"
"Wow Reyes, calm down." Honenuki said, trying to calm his classmate.
"Yeah, the one of exploding temper is supposed to be me." Kamakiri said, only to be met with Robbie's not so nice expression.
"This isn't some joke! An entire class, with two of my friends mind you, is currently in problems and they expect me to do what exactly? Nothing?!"
"I… I do have some conflicts too, sensei." Kendo suddenly spoke. "I mean, we are heroes in training, you can't seriously expect us to sit back while someone's lives are in danger?"
"Yes, I do expect that as a matter of fact. You said it yourself; you are heroes in training. You shouldn't be worrying about these sorts of situations just yet. I wish that his crisis weren't happening, but now that it is, I want to make sure that you are at least safe."
"But just taking us back to campus could be taking important time that could be spent in rescuing class A. It would be smarter if we just head straight there instead."
"Kendo's right! The hero faculty alongside over forty students of the hero course should be more than enough to deal with whatever bastard thought attacking a school of heroes was a good idea!" Robbie told the teacher.
"No, my decision is final."
"But-" Robbie tried to argue once more, but stopped when Snipe put a hand on both his and Kendo's shoulders.
"Your worry tells me that one day, the two of you will grow into exemplary heroes. Ones that I will be proud to see graduate and fight alongside… but that day is not today." Snipe told the heads of the class, who stopped to listen to his words. "I know that you want to help and perhaps you are more than capable of doing your part… But outside of the fact that me allowing you to go there as you are, will mean that I failed as an instructor, we also don't know what the villains could do. What if they attack those of the other courses? The ones that are not being prepared to fight back? If you want to help, can you help in keeping them safe?"
"But… class A…"
"I understand your worries, Khan. But please, allow us to do our jobs; not only as pro-heroes, but as your teachers." he told the inhuman before addressing the entire class. "Allow us to keep you all safe and to protect you all when danger comes near you."
Afterwards, the entire class was left speechless.
"Look man, I'm not exactly in the best of lights right now. Would it kill you to wait a little before I have to pummel you?" Annie said, doing her best to stand up.
Before her, stood Supercharger, who's expression was probably close to the definition of the word livid. He was about to shoot at the injured girl once more, but stopped. There was a sound that he heard, one of running and it was getting rather close to him. He turned around, only to see a green-haired boy jumping at him and railing his fist back, preparing to throw a blow at the villain.
"SMAAAAAASH!" the boy shouted, as he threw a punch with so much power that if not for her ability to stick to surfaces, Annie was sure that she would have flyed backwards the same length as an entire baseball field.
The blow was also more than enough to lift quite the amount of dirt. Everyone's vision was rather obscured thanks to that. The only thing that they could use to guide themselves was their hearing, which Annie used to hear footsteps coming in her direction. She would have tensed her body and done her best to try to make a run for it if not for one small little detail… her spider-sense didn't ring for the first time since the invasion of U.S.J.
"Annie!" the arachnid heard someone calling for her. Someone that she knew very well.
Arriving to her side was the adoptive Van Dyne,who couldn't have looked more relieved in her life as she saw her friend. There were a few small tears in her eye as she kneeled down to try and help Annie.
"Annie, here! Let me help you!" Valerie told her as she helped her get back on her feet.
"Valerie?"
"Parker-san, are you ok?!" the two suddenly heard.
Suddenly, the other shy student of class A came into the picture. It was Izuku Midoriya, who upon seeing the state of the redhead also hurried to her side to help her.
"Izuku, you too?!"
"Parker-san! Y-You're injured!"
"Why, thanks captain obvious. What are you two doing here? I thought I told you to go with the others to a safe place?!" she asked the two, only for her to turn to Midoriya specifically. "And I remember specifically telling you to get teach away!"
"D-Don't worry, Parker-san. Mineta-kun and Asu- I mean, Tsuyu-san are taking Aizawa-sensei with the others." he told the American, who was now standing up once more. Even if she did stagger a bit. "I return knowing that you could probably use some help. Holding just one of those villains is already too much as it is, but holding four of them by yourself…? I saw Vector-san also hurrying to try and help you, so I asked her to try and get me as near as possible to try and defeat the villain in one clean blow."
"Still, you shou- wait a minute…" Annie said, as she realized something. "D-Did you just call Tsu by her first name?" she asked the Japanese boy.
"Umm…"
"You did! You totally did! What the heck man?!" she basically shouted at the boy, perplexing both him and the blue girl at the same time. "How come she gets people to listen to her when she tells you all once, but when I do it for an entire week?! Nada! That's what I apparently get!"
"A-Annie, do you really think this is the best time to do this?" Valerie asked, only to hear another voice.
"What happened?!" said… Supercharge?
As the smoke started to dissipate, they all saw Supercharger picking himself up. He was on the ground, only a couple of meters away from where he once stood. Something that simply didn't add up to the trio of teens. Didn't Izuku hit him full force? Because if he did, then how come he only flew a couple of meters away? Annie was never heit and yet if not for her powers then she might have been sky high due to the amount of power that the green-haired boy unleashed. Speaking of, that attack was more than enough to K.O a giant robot. How is that guy even conscious?
"T-That can't be! I'm sure that I used One f- I mean…" Midoriya stopped, for he almost blurred out the secret behind his awe-inducing power to the two Americans. "I'm sure that I hit him as hard as I could… how is he even standing?"
"I-I'm not sure…" Valerie said, only for her to look at her classmate as she noticed something. "M-Midoriya… your arms…"
"My arms?" he asked, as Annie noticed it too.
"Holy… you didn't break them?" she said, as the boy finally saw what his classmates meant.
He looked at his arm, more specifically at the one that he used and they were right. He didn't even notice it until they pointed it out. He… didn't even break a single finger? He was sure that it was 100%, and… there was no recoil?
"Does… does that mean that my body is now able to use the full power of One for All?" Midoriya asked himself.
As the trio were wondering just what had happened with the boy's quirk, the dust finally cleared out. They all saw that where Midoriya had hit, was some kind of purple mist of sorts. Doing a quick scan in the area, they all saw another cloud near the Nomu guy as well. It didn't take them long to put two and two together. That purple cloud guy had used his quirk to cover his ally. He intentionally teleported his attack into Nomu, who they knew could take the full power of the blow.
"Kurogiri, why did you even bother to save that minion?" asked the leader.
"If it is just the two of us and the remaining villains, then we'll be if not outnumbered then potentially outgunned. Supercharger is incredibly powerful and with Nomu still recovering from the American's surprise attack, we cannot allow us to lose him." he explained as he saw Supercharger looking at him.
"I may not have agreed with the other criminals at the Bar with no Name on most things, but there was one thing I agreed with Joey Pulaski. And that is that you are deserving of more than you are given. I'll remember this gesture." he said, as he turned towards the American and her two classmates. And seeing an opportunity for an open path, he shot a blast directly at the redhead.
The attack was more than likely to hit her if she did nothing and stood there. And while Annie could have dodged it any other day (albeit with some difficulty), right now, she wasn't in a state that would have allowed it. Neither of the others were fast enough to move her out of the way either. The only thing that they could probably do, would be to get in the way and take the hit… or in Valerie's case, something else entirely.
She did get in front of her friend, much to Annie's dismay. However, she also had enough time to create a portal in front of them that sucked the bolt of electricity. At the same time, she generated the other portal around ten meter on Supercharger's left. The blast soon started to head to the villain and made direct contact with him. At first, they thought that they'd done it. But when they saw the electricity re-introduce itself in his body as if he was a sponge absorbing water, their hopes started to fade away.
"That was smart, girl… if it had been someone other than me, then I could see that working." he said, as his eyes glowed blue. "However, I'm not just someone else. My main quarrel is with the child of Spider-Man. I'll be willing to spare you if you move out of the way." he said, as Valerie suddenly fell to one knee in exhaustion.
"Valerie/Vector-san!" the other teens said with worry.
"I-I'm… I'm fine… j-just… a little tired…" she said in between breaths.
"Tire? But…" Annie was trying to say, until she remembered something.
Her powers took a great toll on her. It usually requires her to use it multiple times and continuously for her to start feeling the effects. She had a feeling that… that she had rushed out to help… to help her? She looked rather relieved to see her. The same way someone would be after seeing a loved one after hearing that they had been in some sort of accident and that cloud guy did say that she had planned on returning anyway. Did… did she overexerted herself to get here… just to ensure her safety?
"Valerie… don't tell me that you're like that because of me…" she thought, in an almost pleading manner for it to not be the case.
"Last warning. Move, or you'll die alongside her."
"I-I won't move!" Midoriya said, raising both of his fists.
"Izuku…" Annie said, as she looked at the boy. "Do as he said!"
"I said I won't do it!"
"Izuku, knock it off! I just needed a little break and you gave it to me. I can hold him off while you and the others go with Miss Thirteen!"
"Parker-san, you held them off by yourself, yes! But if you keep doing this on your own…" he said, as he turned to the redhead to see that she was hurt. She was hurt, exhausted and was shaking a little bit. Whether it is because of what she has been through or… how she was feeling for the situation in hand he wasn't sure. He was also shaking a little bit, but was not planning on leaving. "I-I… I want to keep my friends safe… and I don't know what you think right now… but you are a precious friend of mine and nothing will change that!" he yelled, surprising the redhead.
"You.. you still…"
"My dream is to become a hero… One that can save others with a smile on his face. For so long I thought that it was out of my reach but… but now that I'm here I won't go back on what I always wanted!" he said, forcing a smile on his face. "S-So don't worry… everything will be alright. I promise!" he said, as Valerie started to stand up once more.
"Valerie, stop it! If I can't get the two of you to listen, then at least-"
"I won't leave you!" she shouted, shocking the redhead. "I-I… I won't leave you… no matter how much you tell me to do it… I won't… " she said while slightly trembling and turning around to see Annie in the face. And while her eyes were watery and there were signs of an obvious fear in her face, she still had a small and genuine smile with her as she looked at her friend. "D-Don't you remember… what you told me?"
"I-I-I-I-I-Is t-t-that what I t-t-think it is?!" Valerie asked the redhead.
"An honest to Einstein web-shooter? Yep!" she told her, as she held in her hands a silver bracelet.
The sight of said piece of equipment made Valerie's eyes sparkle to the point that they looked like small stars. Sure, Nadia sometimes builds inventions like this one, but… this was a web-shooter. The same that Spider-Man used to swing across the city and fight both criminals and supervillains. And… and she gets to see one in person?!
"So, what do you think?" Annie asked her, although she had a feeling that she knew the answer if her expression is anything to go by.
"I… this…"
"Want to try it out?" she asked the blue girl, much to her surprise.
"Y-You mean it?"
"Sure, go for it! Just, try to be a little careful, ok? I know that you'll take care of it and that this thing is rather sturdy… But just in case, you know?" she said, as she presented it to the girl.
Valerie felt rather unsure at first. This was something that could probably, no scratch that. This was the fantasy of so many people worldwide. To even see, let alone hold something like this was a wish come true. And Annie was willing to grant that wish to her? After pondering the question for a bit (and after Annie insisted on it), Valerie slowly and carefully grabbed the device. She looked at it as if she was holding a large bar of gold. Afterwards, she pulled her right sleeve and carefully put the bracelet on. It felt… It felt rather awesome to do this.
"Go on, try to do some cool pose." Annie told the girl, who looked at her unsure of it.
"Y-You'll-"
"Come on, I won't laugh if that's what you think. I mean it, you obviously want to do it. And don't even try to deny it." she told
The girl pondered whether or not to do it. She obviously wanted to (let's be real, who wouldn't want to if they were in her shoes), but… She took a look once more at the device in her wrist and after taking a deep breath, she armed herself with the courage to do it. She did one of Spidey's signature poses. The one with his arm all the way back while he shoots a webbing out of the arm in front of her. She was rather stiff and nervous, but boy did it feel amazing. Although that feeling died a bit when she heard Annie chuckling a little. She almost wanted to ask Nadia to build something that could zap her out of existence, but it all changed when Annie spoke again.
"You look pretty cool!" she complimented Valerie, surprising her to no bound.
"W-What?"
"The pose, you're pulling it off!" she told her, although it didn't seem like Valerie agreed as she returned to her normal stand.
"Y-You're only saying that to be nice…" she said, as Annie put a hand on her shoulder.
"Valerie, look at me and try to tell me that I didn't mean what I said." she told her as she offered her a smile.
At first, she was more than ready to tell her that. But… the way that Annie was smiling at her. It was so sincere… so bright. She knew that she doesn't have that much experience in the outside world, but that smile was not the kind that could be faked. It was the very same that Cap, Jan and the others gave her. It… it was a warm one.
"Ooo, I know." Annie said, as she went to her bag and retrieved something.
"W-What are you l-looking for?"
"This!" she said, as she pulled some rectangular metal thing. She then walked towards Valerie and took a small capsule off the bracelet and replaced it with the one that she got from her bag. "That one was empty. But this one has the tank full."
"Tank… you mean?!"
"Yep, want to try them out?" she asked the blue girl.
"Y-You mean, I can really use it?"
"Well, it's really hard to even pull the leverage down for a normal person. But if what I heard is right, then you're probably strong enough to pull it off. Just aim and give it a double tap." she told her.
Valerie looked at the device and then at one of the walls of her room. If she was to do this (which she was having a hard time believing she was), then she wanted to make sure not to accidentally break anything. She lifted her arm, closing one eye to make it easier to aim and once she felt like she was aiming at her desired target, she did what Annie told her to do. She pressed the mechanism twice and from it, a web-like substance was shot to the wall. It was honestly a little harder to do than she first thought despite her strength being superior to that of a regular person, but boy if it didn't bring a smile to her face.
"That… that was…"
"It was cool, right?" Annie asked, as the blue girl turned and nodded.
"T-Thanks Annie. I-I didn't knew y-you finished with the f-formula!" she said, as Annie chuckled.
"Yeah… about that. I still haven't cracked it… hehe." she said, confusing the girl.
On their first reunion in her house, Annie mentioned working on the web-formula for the web-shooters. She even stated that she wouldn't build her own until she found out how to actually do it. Valerie knew that she could do it, for what interactions she had with her, she noticed that she was more than just smart. She was probably on par with Nadia in terms of intellect and that girl managed to replicate Dr. Pym's original Pym particle experiment. But if she hadn't done it… then…
"T-Then where d-did you get this?" she asked.
"Oh, that's just my dad's old web-shooter." she said, making Valerei's heart skip a beat.
… Did… Did she… DID SHE JUST SAID WHAT SHE THOUGHT SHE SAID?!
"I-I-I-I-I-Is this…. is this…?! EH?!"
"Yeah… it's one of his original web-shooters. The one that he started with and that he used for like, the first five years of his hero career," Annie answered, as Valerie was sure that her heart skipped a couple more beats.
… Forget gold, this was better than having an entire ten kilos of Vibranium! This was basically the same as holding Captain America's shield!
"... P-P-P-P-Please take it off!" she suddenly said, surprising Annie.
"Wait, what? You didn't like it?"
"N-N-N-No! I-I-I mean yes! I-I-I mean… d-d-do you know what this really is?! I-I h-h-have what's essentially a t-treasure of the hero community around my w-wrist! T-This is like u-using a n-national t-treasure as a toy!" she told her.
"Um… ok, I guess?" she said as she removed the bracelet. "I think you're exaggerating though?"
"W-W-Why would you let me do it?" the blue girl of white hair asked.
"Well, you seemed like you needed a boost in morale… and I thought that this could help."
"A boost?" Valerie asked as Annie nodded.
"Yeah… do you mind if we sit?" she asked Valerie.
She didn't mind, so the two sat in the blue girl's bead next to each other and started to speak once more.
"Look V, you… you seemed so nervous and unsure… I just wanted to help."
"Wanted… to help?"
"Yeah… why do you seem so scared?" she asked as Val sighed.
"It's just that… I'm not s-sure if I'm even meant to be here…"
"What do you mean?"
"... Kamala has these awesome inhuman powers, S-Shinso can control people by just talking to them, R-Robie has those magic flames… and you… you're so smart, strong and looks like you can take on the world and win… I'm not sure I can even… am I wasting everyone's time?" she asked, while looking down.
"Don't say that."
"I-It's easy to say when you're… when you're you…"
Annie started to feel for the girl. To say that about yourself… then, an idea popped into her mind. "Hey, if it makes you feel better, I can tell you something about me. Deal?" she asked.
"Tell me… something?" she asked as Annie nodded and signaled her to get closer.
She did, and once they were close, Annie whispered to her. "When I was a kid, I was afraid of the color black." she told her.
Did… did she hear right.
"The… color black?"
"Yeah, I know. What a kid, right?"
"B-But… how?"
"Let's just… for now let's say that I had this nasty experience when I was little. And I do mean little. Since then, I was terrified of anything related to black." she said, while scratching the back of her head. "Clothes, shadows, you name it. I even remember this one time in kindergarten. I almost had a heart attack when I saw this kid's hair."
"You… you mean it?"
"Yep. In my defence, no one should have had hair that black… but yeah, that was that." she said as she turned to face the girl. "I'm better now but… if you think that I'm some fearless can do anything type of girl… sorry but I'm nowhere near being like that."
"I… I never expected that."
"I'm sure no one would, but it did."
"... Then… if even you felt like that once… what hope is there for me?" she asked.
Annie looked sad for a bit. No one should think that. She knew that Valerie had a troubled history. No one knew the full details but… the fact that she says this about herself. Just what happened to her? Then, her last hopes to fix this came to mind.
"Hey Val, do you have a dream?" she asked, snapping her back to reality.
"A dream?"
"Yeah, is there something that you want to do in the future?"
"Well… what a-about you?"
"Me? Well… I guess… I have a few. Like graduating with honors at E.S.U, make mom and dad proud and even being able to get the jump on Wolverine one of these days."
"W-Wolverine?"
"Yeah, when I was young he told us how he never gets sneak on and specially not by brats like us. So I took that as a challenge. One day I'm going to get a jump on, get it on camera and it will be glorious! I'm sure that I'll be rember for ages to come!" she said with excitement. "... But… I guess one of my biggest is to, well. Just do my part."
"I don't get it.."
"You see, my parents always told me to do good. If someone trips, you should give them a hand. If someone looks troubled, try and see if you can help. I grew up seeing them do good and learning to do good. Even my sister is this perfect angel in the eyes of many. Always ready to help out… Guess that I want to be part of that. I want to be a hero and do my part in making this world a better place." she said, while smiling. "So, what about you?"
"W-Well.. I'm not sure…" she said, while glancing at a certain picture.
Annie caught this action and smiled. "I should have guessed. It's actually a nice dream." she said.
"Y-You mean it?" she asked as the redhead nodded.
"Yep… actually… do you think we could share it?"
"Share it? As in, the two of us becoming…"
"Yeah! I think it could be cool!" she said, a bit excited. "Besides, it could be great for the two of us! That way, neither of us are allowed to slack off, because that means we'll be hindering the other one."
"I… I'm not sure. I don't think I can pull it off…"
"You can and will, I know that. And I'll make sure that it happens and that you can see it as well! So, Valerie…" Annie said, as she took both of Valerie's hands and held them tight. "Let's become Avengers together!" she told her as she gave her such a bright smile.
"O-Our dream… You've done so much already… I c-can't slack off, can I?" she asked her as she smiled at her friend.
There was one more reason that she approached Annie out of the others. Robbie and Shinso were out of the question, that was the most obvious one. Kamala was nice and the two had a common interest, which was their fascination with heroes, but that same fascination scared Valerie. She was the Avengers child, so what would have happened if a fangirl and the shy child of the fangirl's heroes were left alone together? yeah, she didn't want to find out… But Anna-May?
Sure, the two share the fact that they were the kids of one of the greatest heroes the world has ever seen (even if Valerie was only that through a miracle in all honesty) and sure, the blue girl did have some fascination with Annie's father… but with her it was rather different. She looked so sure of herself, so confident in her abilities that she could do anything if she put her mind and body into it. She was rather kind, always giving everyone a thumbs up and encouraging words. And despite her sometimes jokester and wild acts, was anything but responsible, or at least did her best to be responsible. She was just… good. And Valerie was constantly drawn to that good in her. Valerie didn't see her as the daughter of the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, she got to know her through another light. One that revealed an aura that made one want to follow her, knowing that everything would be alright as long as she was there. And she was able to transmit that feeling by smiling at you. No words, no signs, just… just a warm and sincere smile.
To Valerie, Anna-May was just…, well, Anna-May… her friend. Her best friend at that.
And Valerie would never let go of her, even if she asked her to do so.
Looking at the two shy kids in awe, Annie couldn't help but to chuckle. Of course these two would pull this sort of stunt on her. But hey, if there's one thing that she knows to do, is not to stagger.
"Alright you two… guess we're all in this mess together." she said, as she, even if still weak, stood alongside Izuku Midoriya and Valerie Vector Van Dyne.
"So you've chosen to perish alongside Spider-Man's spawn?" Supercharger asked.
"More like we're willing to share the beating that we're about to give you!" Annie told the villain, who simply glared at the group of teens.
"Very well!" he growled, charging electricity and reading to go on the offensive.
At the same time that he was doing that, a portal appeared to their left side. From it, the hands of the pale man started to approach them. They all knew the danger that this could mean and the likelihood of receiving help from Momo and the others didn't seem likely as they were soon surrounded by the few conscious villains that were still around. To top it all of? Annie saw that Nomu's brain was finally healed up and that Izuku's attack managed to snap a decent amount of webbing from him. And so, he slowly turned towards the trio of Parker, Van Dyne and Midoriya, ready to snap the remaining of his bounds so as to launch itself to them. They were all in quite the troublesome spot. Annie's spider-sense rang loudly as it warned her of dangers 360° frome her. And then…
BOOM
They all suddenly heard, stopping what they were about to do as they all turned to the source of such loud noise.
It came from all the way to the entrance of the U.S.J compound, as smoke and debris covered where they all assumed the doors once stood. And soon enough, a mighty and powerful presence could be felt all around them. For the villains, it was almost as if gravity itself grew tenfold, trying to force them to the ground and on their knees. For the students though, they felt something different. As if their hearts suddenly became more at ease and their worries started to grow smaller and smaller once the presence started to walk. For every step that the presence took, the atmosphere started to change, almost as if all conflict was about to be over. And as he got closer and closer, the smoke started to dissipate, revealing the figure more and more as he walked in.
Despite not having that oh so shining and iconic smile that made him so well-known, he emanated a warmness that surrounded his students as if a blanket giving heat to a scared and frightened child. Some, like Annie, suddenly saw the image of a baby crying, only to be calmed by the love and care only a parent could provide to their child. Soon, Uraraka and Ashido's eyes started to water as they saw who he was. Shoji, Sato and Sero all smiled at the man. Midoriya, the adoptive Van Dyne, Ojiro, Jiro, Yaoyorozu, Mineta, Asui and even Kaminari surprisingly enough, all looked in awe at the figure.
And young Parker, smirked at the sight of the newcomer.
"Have no fear, students…" a booming and mighty voice was heard all around the facility, as the smoke finally cleared out. "... I am here!" said none other than All Might himself.
"We're safe!" Mineta suddenly said while crying, as he was heard by the rest of his peers.
"He's here… All Might…" Midoriya said in relief.
"A-Annie… It's All Might!" Valerie told her friend, with tears of joy falling down her face.
"It really is him, Valerie…" Annie nodded, as she turned to face the number one hero of Japan standing tall and mighty above the villains that he will be soon to beat. "Tsk, he sure took his sweet time getting here." she said, but was just as happy to see him as the rest of her classmates.
"Ah… looks like our game is about to hit a continue…" the leader of the villains said, as he too looked above to where All Might stood.
The Symbol Of Peace had arrived.
My Hero Academia: Legacy Bits! - A piece of Art!
"I-I'm almost done…" Valerie said as she looked at the canvas in front of her.
The blue girl was in her room, doing one of her new favorite pastimes, drawing. Steve Rogers, the Captain America was the one to introduce it to the shy girl. He saw her worried look and made it his mission to find a way to try and help her ease her heart. So, he started teaching her to draw. To paint and to plaster her ideas and dreams in either a piece of paper, a board, or in this case, a canvas.
At first, she felt nervous as usual, but when Captain America wants to help you by teaching you something that he feels could do you good, you don't say no. You give it your all and double it, for that was the effect he had on people. It wasn't easy, but with Cap's encouragement, Valerie soon became better and better in the ways of the pen and paper. In just a few months, she has grown into quite the artist in his eyes.
She has drawn and painted a plethora of images. From scenery, to animals, to landmarks and more. But the one thing that she enjoyed drawing more than anything else… were superheroes.
From the Fantastic Four, the Uncanny and Astonishing X-Men, the Amazing Spider-Man and more. And she's not just fond of drawing them, she enjoys drawing heroes from other corners of the Earth, the universe even. Richard Rider's Nova, the Starbrand, the Shi'ar Guard, Captain Marvel (Mar Vell to be specific) and many more from the cosmos. She has also made portraits of the Black Panther, Sabra, Les Heroes de Paris, Le Peregrine, Captain Britain, Union Jack and of course some of Japan's top heroes. From Ryukyu, to Grand Orca to of course, All Might himself. And lastly but in no way least, the heroes of her childhood.
The Mighty Avengers.
The blue girl looked at her latest work and smiled. It was almost done, just a few details and then she would be done with this particular and special piece. However before she could begin with the final touches, there was a knock on the door. The girl was startled and was soon a complete nervewreck. One thing that came with her drawing was that she was extremely shy of people seeing her drawings. Especially if they were either not done, or if she was working on them at the moment. Valerie flustered as she looked all around her room.
"Umm… o-one moment, p-please…" she said, to buy her some precious seconds.
Valerie managed to spot a piece of cloth on top of her bed that she thought would be enough to cover the canvas completely. She quickly went to her bed and grabbed the cloth. She then returned to her original spot and covered the canvas. Once that was done, she sighed in relief and turned to the door of her room.
"I-I'm d-done." she shyly said as the door opened.
The person that was on the other side of the door, was a man that may look like he was around his prime, but was around a hundred years old, maybe a little past the hundreds actually. He was a blonde man with blue eyes, had a perfect smile and was… more than in top physical condition. He was also a man that everyone and she does mean everyone in the hero community looked up to. Even the likes of Spider-Man, All Might and Mighty Thor saw this man with the utmost of respects.
He was Steven Rogers, better known as the Symbol of Freedom and Scourge of All that is Evil; Captain America.
"Valerie, I see that you're well today." he told the girl with a warm and caring smile.
"C-Captain Rogers!" the girl smiled as she looked at the man.
"How come he gets to be called 'Captain Rogers', but I'm still just plain old Tony?" a voice suddenly asked.
Coming to the side of the man out of time, came the genius, playboy, filantropis and most of all, the Armored Avenger himself. Anthony Edward Stark; the Invincible Iron Man.
"Seriously, I'm the one paying for your education, you know?" he joked.
"Not according to what Janet says." Steve replied.
"Ok, fair enough, but I give her an allowance."
"So do I, as well as most of the others."
"True, but you give her what? A nickel for her to buy herself a milkshake near Brooklyn, or what?"
"They do on Tuesday at this place that I used to go to when I was still a kid."
"Oh, goodie, you want to send the kid to a place that is as old as you."
"Actually, my father took my mother there when they first met."
"So it's somehow older than you. Great, I'm sure that they still have the frozen caveman and some thought to be extinct disease in the basement then." Tony said.
"W-Well… y-you said that you d-don't like it that much when p-people call you boss… And I d-don't want to-"
"Kid, I was kidding. I don't mind and I'm sure that Grampa Steve likes to feel special when you call him that." he said, as he walked towards her and rustled her hair. "How've you been doing?"
"I-I'm doing fine, Tony." she said as she smiled at the raven-haired man.
"That is good to hear." Steve replied.
"W-What are you doing here? I-Is something wrong?" asked the child.
"Janet invited some of us to have dinner here." Steve replied. "Tony and I are some of the first to arrive. But I have a feeling that Thor might not be too far behind if those clouds are any indication."
"Vision is coming here too, believe it or not. And who knows if Clint can come with all of that S.H.I.E.L.D paperwork. I know just how annoying it can be." Tony said with Steve nodding in agreement. The paperwork was not his favorite part about being director when he had that position. Then, Tony looked at the covered canvas and smirked. "I see that Picasso here has made a new piece." he said, as the girl paled.
"I-I… w-well…"
"Is it another portrait of me? Those are probably your best pieces, kid." he joked as the girl blushed.
"W-W-Welll… it d-does have you in it…" she said in a low volume.
"Oh, so it already belongs to a museum." he joked, as Steve rolled his eyes. "Tell me, is it ready yet?"
"Umm… I'm a-almost done… J-Just need t-t-o add a f-few d-details…"
"So, is it ok if-"
"Whaaaa, p-please don't!" Valerie panicked when she saw Tony try to remove the cloth from the canvas.
"Tony."
"Kidding, I'm kidding." he said as he pulled his hand. "Seriously, kid. You're good, you shouldn't be afraid of what you do."
"Ignore Tony, he doesn't understand artists like us." Steve told the blue girl, who smiled.
"I'll let you know that I'm more than fluent in that department, thank you very much." the billionaire told the soldier.
Before he could reply though, the voice of Nadia could be heard.
"Valerie, you have to come! Tigra and our little brother are here already!" she yelled.
"Come on, Valerie. She came all the way from the west coast to have dinner here. You should come downstairs to thank her for that." Steve told the blue girl, who nodded.
"O-Ok." she said, as she started to walk downstairs.
After which, the two men followed soon. Closing the door, it caused a gentle breeze that ended up causing the cloth to fall from the canvas, revealing Valerie's work.
It was a recreation of the founding of the team. Of how the team fought and defeated it's first ever foe. Loki, the norse god of mischief. As of now, his allegiances were still somewhat foggy at best. Thor said that he was now on the path of righteousness, even going as far as to abandon his title of god of lies, for one of stories. But while his stands are questionable today, back then they were pretty cemented. He was almost the very incarnation of evil. A force of chaos that emanated a malice that dwarfed even some of the scariest of demons. His snake tongue was sharper than the sharpest of blades and his plans did nothing but bring misery and despair to those who found the misfortune of being caught in them.
But when there's darkness, there will always be a light to oppose it.
And on that day, when he grew too powerful for any one hero to defeat, an assembly of the greatest the world has ever seen came together. And they all joined forces to expel that evil from their world and to vow to remain strong and to always defend those that could not defend themselves. On that day, Earth's Mightiest Heroes, the Avengers were born. And that picture had all of her founders.
The Golden Knight, shining bright enough to guide those lost in the darkness. The Wondrous Fairy flying high and mighty alongside powers that some would consider dwarfed hers and despite that, she was more than enough to keep up. The Dwarf that could grow into a Giant, who's imagination knew no bound. The Green Goliath, who's strength shatters mountains with no effort. And the God of Thunder, who's storms drove the dastardly and wicked away.
And then… there was one more person in that painting. One that was not meant to be there.
A Traveler who dreamed of a better tomorrow.
It wasn't a lie, nor was it a dream… It was her one true desire.