CW: Descriptions of blood and gore, depression.
==========================VI==========================
…U.N. established the World Hero Association (WHA). The International Villain Threat Index was created to serve as a universal standard for villain threat rating.
The original IVTI classified villains on a two-part scale ranging from F to SSS. Ranks are given after arrest or a warrant and can increase or decrease after review. Below is the IVTI as it was first written during the establishment of the WHA:
Class 1: E-A Ranked Villains
F-Rank: A common villain who uses their quirk. Generally non-destructive with crimes ranging from non-lethal assault to theft. Most F-Rank villains are one-time offenders.
E-Rank: Villains who have repeatedly used their quirk for small non-lethal crimes. A villain who aided or committed a murder but lacks sufficient destructive capabilities may be assigned to this rank.
D-Rank: A villain who has used their quirk to take a life, premeditated or not. Villains of a D-Rank must have displayed the destructive capability to cause significant damage to people and property using their quirks.
C-Rank: Villains from C-Rank and up have earned their ranking by committing multiple murders and possess the capability to commit mass murder.
B-Rank: A B-Rank or higher classification will go to murderers who have killed police officers or heroes. A higher rank may be given depending on the rank of the hero killed, and the villain must have the destructive capability of a modern tank.*
A-Rank: An A-Rank villain has slain multiple heroes and proven to be a consistent and public threat to society. Most A-Rank villains possess the destructive capacity to destroy several buildings.
Class 2 Villains, or disaster class villains, are differentiated from Class 1 by the sheer danger they pose. Villains designated a Class 2 ranking are far rarer but possess highly destructive quirks and have usually committed horrible crimes.
Class 2: S-SSS Ranked Villains
S-Rank: An S-Rank villain designation is given to an A-Rank villain who has proven or has the potential to contend with a member of a nation's Top 10 heroes. The use of lethal force is permitted if the villain cannot be apprehended.**
SS-Rank: A double S rank will be given to an S-Ranked villain who possesses the destructive capability to destroy a city.
SSS-Rank: The rarest designation, only given to Villains with enough power to rival the military of a developed nation. The appearance of a triple S villain requires the intervention of multiple top-ranked heroes with the possibility of military intervention. If the villain cannot be safely contained and imprisoned, law enforcement is permitted to execute the villain.***
*This requirement was overturned in 2299.
**While still permitted, most heroes in the post-All Might era will attempt to non-lethally apprehend villains.
***SSS-Rank villains are only given their rank after it has been submitted and approved by the WHA.
The current edition of the IVTI has been restructured with a focus on the destructive power of the villain rather than the crimes. Historians attribute this to the social and political climate during the WHA's inception, and quirks being less common at the time. The revised version has been adjusted to apply to individual villains as well as organizations. The modern version of the IVTI is divided into 3 classes based on the danger a villain poses.
IVTI (2230)
Class 1: Lower-Ranked Villains
F-Rank: A non-violent villain responsible for small crimes like theft using their quirk.
E-Rank: A violent villain on the level of a group of civilians. A group of F-Rank villains will be given the organization rating of E or D. Villains with an E or F ranking are generally considered unskilled.
D-Rank: A villain who has used their quirk in violent crime that results in death. E-Rank organizations will be assigned this designation upon escalation of violent activities.
C-Rank: A villain who is skilled enough with their quirk and fits the requirements for a D-Rank. C-Ranked villains Villains this rank and above are considered to be too difficult for the police to handle and require the assistance of a hero.
Class 2: Mid-Ranked Villains
B-Rank: A villain who has committed multiple murders and possesses significant destructive power.
A-Rank: A villain who fits the requirements of a B-Rank who has extreme destructive capabilities. Multiple heroes are recommended to take on a villain of this rank.
Class 3: Disaster-Ranked Villains
S-Rank: A villain or group of villains with the power to destroy a small town. Villains of this rank are usually measured to be on the same level of power and skill as a member of a nation's top ten.*
SS-Rank: A villain or group of villains with at least some members of the A-S ranks. Possess the power to destroy or cause significant damage to a city. Multiple high-ranked heroes should be dispatched.
SSS-Rank: A villain or organization possessing the strength to rival the military might of a nation. SSS-Rank organizations have several S to SS-ranked villains and may be led by an SSS-Rank villain. SSS-Ranks on either level should be treated as a national emergency with multiple top-ranked heroes and a military response in extreme cases. International intervention may be required.
*Some villains that have committed non-lethal crimes may be given higher ranks based on the destructive potential of their quirk.
Modern Criticisms:
In recent years, several human rights groups have protested the IVTI's designation system. The most common argument is designation as a villain carries an immense social stigma, limiting opportunities even amongst one-time offenders. Others claim that the focus on the destructive aspect of the quirk is given more attention than the actual crimes. A common argument is that the system is discriminatory toward those with Mutation (Heteromorphic) Quirks since they are always active criminals who break the law will be given a villain designation.
The hero associations of several countries, most notably France, the United States, and Japan have been accused by several human rights groups of inflating villain rankings to increase the severity of prison sentences and imprisoning villains without trial. Defenders of the IVTI have cited that those villains are too great of a danger to public order to be let out on bail. Many high-ranked villains are tried in absentia or attend their trials digitally from prison to prevent escapes.
-Excerpt from New Dark Age, a history textbook on the Quirk Wars [2230 edition]
==========================VI==========================
'Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.
-Alfred Lord Tennyson
==========================VI==========================
[Tau Household, June 21st, 2242]
The beeping of her alarm roused Haylee from her deep sleep. Blinking as she rose from the bed, she gazed at the clock—6:15 AM.
Marvelous.
Saturday training with Midoriya started at 7 AM, but she usually showed up around 8 AM because tended to sleep in after studying late at night.
Not that she tended to sleep long. Most nights she got a comfortable 5-6 hours of sleep and was raring to go the next day. Void energy supplemented most of her need for rest anyway, and she was used to not getting a lot of sleep.
Haylee rubbed her eyes and rolled out of bed, yawning as she stretched. Once she was awake, she pulled off her underwear and tossed it in a bin as she entered the bathroom. It had been a big adjustment getting used to these new clothes. Initially, the cotton was immensely irritating to her skin. The textile fabric wasn't alien to the Tenno in general, as she'd seen some of the other Tenno showing off the clothes they'd purchased from the Ostrons and Quills. Haylee had never understood the appeal.
But having no choice due to her transference suit being damaged and needing to blend in she'd gotten used to her new wardrobe over the past few weeks. At least she didn't have to worry about picking what to wear since all her clothes were the same. Ordan had told her that he'd read that most teenage girls liked to accessorize and keep up with the latest fashion. She didn't see the appeal.
Haylee relaxed as the warm shower water hit her skin. Another thing she didn't think she would enjoy was bathing. Back in the Origin System bathing was reserved for the elites, especially in space where water had to be recycled. With how toxic the majority of the Earth was, there weren't many opportunities to bathe or swim safely other than a dojo. She never took up the offers to use the public baths of the clans she worked with in the past, preferring to let her transference suit clean her or scrub herself down with a cloth in the comfort of her orbiter.
Showering felt especially rewarding after a long day of training on the beach. Turns out, getting all sweaty, surrounded by trash and sand was messy.
'Better that than blood I guess.' Haylee thought as she rinsed the soap and shampoo off. Finished, she wrapped herself in a towel and walked to the sink to use the hairdryer. As she wiped the fog from the mirror she caught a glimpse of herself. The training was paying off, she'd started to build a bit more muscle. Her gaze wandered over to her chest, specifically the large scar between her breasts.
Sometimes it still stung. Phantom pain from the Void-touched blade of her stolen sword. Void weapons were one of the few things that could do permanent damage to a Tenno's body. If Ballas had decapitated her or destroyed her brain she probably would've died, physically that is. The Orokin first assumed from their experiments that destroying a Tenno's brain permanently killed them. It did prevent them from regenerating their physical body, but their Oro remained in a state between life and death. There were only two ways to give them peace. The first was to absorb their Oro, something only the Tenno and Sentient could do to permanently kill each other. The second was discovering the Requiem sequence to sever their immortality, something that was discovered by the Tenno far after the Orokin fell.
Of course, there were other ways a Tenno could die, chiefly of which was overexerting Void energy. Reviving their Warframe past its limits, overusing their powers, or simply losing the will to exist.
She traced her finger down the scar. Her organs had healed but the scar remained, an eternal reminder of her failure.
If she was faster Teshin would still be alive.
If she were stronger Natah wouldn't have been sucked into the portal.
If she was more powerful maybe…
"Feeling down, kiddo?" In the mirror was the vestige of the Man in The Wall, smiling at her with its golden eyes. "You have all the power you'll ever need now. All you need to do is accept it. Divine power at your fingertips."
"Shut up." Haylee glared at the thing wearing her face. "I don't want any part of your games. You can't make me, there is no deal binding us anymore. You aren't even the real thing."
It cocked its head to the side. "It would be so easy though. You want to be stronger, don't you? This is unlimited strength, yours to control. You could rule this universe. Claim its throne for your own." It grinned wider than any human could. "You could do anything you want!"
"What I want is for you to leave me alone. I don't need your help." Haylee started to turn away.
"C'mon, don't be a bore, kiddo. Use your power, just once. I'll leave you alone for a while if you try it out, I promise." It placed a palm on the inside of the mirror.
Haylee hesitated. This thing showed up every so often to bug her like this. It was far more manageable now that the entity behind it was dead and gone. It couldn't hurt to use a little bit of the power she'd inherited…
"Promise?" She raised an eyebrow, to which the vestige nodded. 'Fuck it. If it's too much I can just stop.'
Breathing in, Haylee felt the constant flow of Void energy flowing through her body. Beyond that, she could sense the endless ocean that used to be the Man in The Wall's power.
Infinite.
Chaotic.
Untamed.
The only thing separating it from her was a mental wall. She imagined using a small Void key to open a little pipe, letting just a little through. The effect was instant, Void lightning sparking off her skin. It was incredible like she had the power to do anything. She could perceive every cell in her body at once, feeling nothing but the raw pleasure of letting the Void flow through her. The water clinging to her hair, the humid air brushing up against her skin, the drool leaking from her mouth…
But just as soon as she started she stopped, legs giving out. She could hear its laughter as it faded away. Struggling to her feet she wiped her mouth. Using that power was dangerous. It was addicting. She probably wouldn't have been able to stop if she had let it go any further.
The rush was like cutting loose in a battle times one hundred. A high without comparison. For that brief moment, she hadn't cared about anything. Natah and Ordan could've been lying dead in front of her and she would have felt nothing.
"I can never do that again," Haylee muttered aloud. This wasn't like the time in the past when the Man in The Wall took over her body for a split second after she drank the Kuva. This time, she was in full control of her actions. That was the worst part because she didn't want it to stop. It was only her strong sense of discipline that kept her from letting the floodgates of power open.
She almost slipped up and let herself become just like the Man in The Wall, and of her own volition too. It terrified her. She couldn't use that power as a shortcut. "I'll just get stronger the normal way."
==VI==
Grasping for her water bottle, Haylee only had one thought.
Whoever came up with the saying "pain is just weakness leaving the body" was full of shit, because if that were true she would be stronger than All Might considering everything she'd been through.
"Young Tenno," Mr. Yagi held out her water bottle. "Don't push yourself too hard, and remember to hydrate." He reminded her.
"It's… fine," She gasped before gulping down half of its contents. "Phew, been through worse training before." The Dax training was far more brutal and unforgiving than basic strength training. Haylee wasn't out of shape per-se. In fact, she was probably more physically fit than Midoriya, at least in the endurance department. In terms of raw strength, he had her beat though.
Midoriya was insane, in her opinion. In the good way of course. The boy was nothing if not dedicated to his training regiment. He'd even mentioned using hand grip strengtheners under his desk while he was at whatever school he went to. Aldea? She didn't remember the name. Nearly every day he came to the beach, hauling larger and heavier scrap and garbage each week. Impressive improvement for a quirkless kid. He was doing work that she would have to transform into Excalibur to do.
'My Warframe is strong… but I'm not.' She thought as she sat down on the stairs near the beach, watching her friend begin to lift an arcade machine.
Mr. Yagi watched her with a slightly concerned look on his face. "There's nothing wrong with pushing yourself young lady, but you won't be doing yourself any good if you collapse. I know your… quirk lets you regenerate but that doesn't mean you should push yourself too hard."
Toshinori sighed. The girl was sticking to the meal plan he'd created, similar to the one he'd drafted for Izuku. While the young man was working all his muscle groups to strengthen his whole body for One For All, Tenno was focusing on building more muscle and strengthening her new quirk. He'd offered his advice after she'd told him what she was aiming for.
"I want to become stronger," Haylee explained. "When I'm like this, I mean." She pointed to herself to clarify."
"You mean when you aren't transformed?" Toshinori inquired.
"Mhm," she nodded. "When I'm in my Excalibur form my abilities drain my energy levels, and it doesn't regenerate very quickly. If I swap back to myself it fills it up in about two to three minutes, but that takes time and I'm more vulnerable."
"How did you regain your energy before?"
"Warframes can regenerate their energy in a few ways. The first is Modifications, old Orokin tech that we used. A few of them could expedite the regeneration process without leaving my Warframe, back when they were proxy bodies." She held up two fingers. "The second way was using consumable energy dishes, and lastly by… " She shuffled awkwardly in the passenger seat. "Killing."
Toshinori tried to keep his eyes on the road. Sometimes he had to remember that this girl, while mentally and emotionally a teenager had been fighting longer than he'd been alive. "I see." It broke his heart. No child should be forced to kill like that. The casualness of how she said it, only hesitating because she knew how uncomfortable it made him.
Toshinori hadn't killed many people in his career. He'd made it his goal to save everyone. When he did have to resort to killing, it was always a sad occasion. There was only one person he'd killed that he felt no regret, but also no satisfaction in killing: All For One. The standard he set was used by heroes across the globe. He still remembers back when he was a child, heroism was a much darker profession. While still heaven compared to what he'd read about the quirk wars, nobody had hope.
Whenever Toshinori thought about what he'd heard about the Orokin, it filled him with the same disgust he felt toward All For One. Tenno, Karris, and Tau lived in a world where people like All For One had won and ruled with an iron fist. One All For One was bad enough, locking the WHA and Council in a cold war for years, constantly scheming. He didn't want to imagine what a world ruled by him would be.
The Orokin were the worst parts of All For One dialed up to a hundred. The worst of them being the Executors. A whole society of decadence and cruelty. Unlike with All For One, even if they managed to kill some of them like Karris attempted they would just resurrect themselves. They were a level of evil so high that he didn't even blame the Tenno for killing them, especially since they were the only ones who could ensure it was permanent.
Children like her, the only ones powerful enough to topple evil. It didn't sit right with him. He disagreed with Karris and Ms. Tau's actions in having the Tenno keep on fighting, but he recognized that they were quite literally the only ones capable of enforcing any source of order in the system they lived in.
Genocidal clone armies, technologically advanced merchant cults, a techno-organic plague that assimilated anything it touched, incursions from another dimension, and the Sentients.
All things children like her had to fight day after day because they were the only ones who could.
Toshinori pulled himself away from those dark thoughts. "So you want to be able to fight without killing."
She nodded again. "Excalibur's attacks were designed to kill. The only one that doesn't is Radial Blind, and I have to lower its power to not cause damage to people's vision. Maybe I could try to lower the energy I put into the rest of my abilities, but it's still a sword." She knew she could make her abilities stronger at the cost of an increased energy cost, but never had a reason to make them weaker. "It should be possible…"
Toshinori pulled into the driveway of the Tau household. "There are several heroes who use swords. Japan's 5th Ranked hero Edgeshot, to name one. I know there are several others who work for the government or are underground heroes that use them. America's #10 hero is another I can think of, and he fights similarly to how you would with Excalibur." He turned off the car. "It's not uncommon for heroes to use weapons. Some even use guns with non-lethal rounds, although that isn't as common in Japan."
Haylee's eyes perked up at the mention of guns. "Although gun certifications for field duty are only given to graduates. You could be given a tranquilizer pistol but that would be all you could use until you were licensed." He added. Haylee comically pouted like a child being told they couldn't get candy at the store. "I know you have experience, but they won't make an exception even if they knew that."
The girl sighed. "I know… I guess I could try lowering the energy output on my blades. It would help with conserving it too…" She muttered to herself, just like young Izuku did. Seems like he was rubbing off on her. "But that doesn't really help with me when I'm like this. I'm fast, but not that physically strong." She flexed her arm to show the slim muscles of a runner. "I never had any need to be strong because I had my Warframe and I can't grow bigger. My Void abilities are extremely strong but I'm not. Plus I can only immobilize or disintegrate, and only one of those is an option against live targets."
"So you're a glass cannon," Toshinori replied.
"Eh?"
"It's a gaming term. It means you can deal high amounts of damage but you can't take much in return."
Haylee stared at him with a slightly offended expression. "I can take a hit!" She exclaimed briefly before looking down at the center of her chest. "As long as it's not lethal…" She mumbled.
"Even heroes with regeneration need to be careful. Every quirk has its limits. With enough training perhaps you could strengthen the limitations of your new quirk." Toshinori advised.
The blue-haired girl's eyes widened and she looked at him inquisitively. "What do you mean?"
"You've been studying, correct?" She nodded half-heartedly. "Have you started on quirk science yet?" Haylee shook her head. "Well, your abilities aren't technological anymore, they are a quirk. Most quirks are like muscles, and the more you use them the stronger they get."
Haylee looked down at her hands, faint sparks of Void energy arcing between her fingers. "So you're saying that it's possible that training my quirk could help me increase the amount of energy I can use while transformed?"
"It's certainly a possibility. Your abilities are unique, and I've never seen a quirk like it before. We don't even know why people from your universe even have quirks in the first place. Even if it doesn't, maybe you can find a new facet of your abilities that wasn't possible until now?" Toshinori counseled. "I can give you a meal plan and some strength exercises to do. They will be different than young Midoriya's since your goal is different. You also should be able to build muscle faster with your regeneration fixing any tears you make."
So far, Tenno had been following most of the advice he'd given her. She and young Midoriya came to the beach nearly every day. Even with her regeneration, they didn't stick to strength training every day. Izuku's body needed time for the muscles to recover. He would lift trash for about three to four days a week, and the rest would be spent running, swimming, or stretching. Occasionally he would practice a few punches.
Tenno's training was different. She mentioned she didn't want to interfere with Izuku's training, so instead of carrying trash to the dumpster, she would lift a few makeshift weights with someone spotting for her. When she wasn't doing that, she was running to build more stamina, channeling her quirk the whole time. She would run until she was about to collapse before returning to rest. Toshinori knew she was trying to abuse her ability to regenerate to maximize the exercise but he didn't agree with the mindset.
Besides her body, she was also training her quirk. Transforming between forms to make the processes faster, target practice with her Radial Javelins, and attempting to weaken the power of her blades. She would also meditate, channeling her energy and floating in the air with her legs crossed.
"Take a break, you've earned it." Toshinori patted her on the shoulder before walking over to cheer Izuku on.
==VI==
Haylee watched as Midoriya struggled with yet another arcade machine. 'Did someone dump a whole arcade here or something?' She wondered. 'I wonder what an arcade is even like. Maybe I should go sometime…'
The green-haired boy heaved the machine into a bin by the other set of stairs before dashing back across the beach, Mr. Yagi trailing behind him yelling words of encouragement.
'Midoriya wants to be a hero like All Might, one that saves everyone…' Her mind began to wander, thinking back about today's earlier events in the shower. 'The Tenno, we were the closest thing that the Origin system had to heroes.' People like Cressa Tal seemed to believe that the Tenno were. 'There's a difference between a soldier and a hero though. We did what we could with what little of us there were. Here though, this universe has heroes everywhere…'
Haylee sighed, leaning forward. 'Sometimes I wonder… would it have been different back then, if we had heroes?'
Flickering bulkhead lights. The smell of smoke and screams filled the air. Garbled shouts and banging from the other side of the classroom wall. A deal was struck.
'All the pain we suffered…'
The swing of a pipe crushed a skull. She slipped on the bloodstained floor. A new unholy power flashed to life as she fearfully blasted the other attacker away.
'Everything we lost…'
She let out an anguished wail as she kneeled over their bodies, blood, and brain matter staining her suit. The smell of burning flesh wafting through her home.
Her hand began to shake and her breathing picked up.
'If we had heroes, would it have made a difference?'
"H-hey, Tenno? Are you alright?"
Haylee looked up to see Midoriya standing over her with a slight look of concern on his face. He sheepishly held out his hand to help her up.
'I guess that doesn't matter now…'
Regaining her composure, she waved it away. "I'm fine. Just pushed myself a bit too hard." She lied, the fleeting feeling of panic fading away. "What's up?"
==VI==
Izuku wasn't entirely convinced. To him, it had looked like Tenno was having a small panic attack. "Mr. Yagi is taking the truck to the dump so we have some time to rest. I- I wanted to talk about your quirk again if you don't mind." He fidgeted nervously.
"Sure." Haylee nonchalantly responded. His notebook was out in an instant. 'Where does he keep that thing?' She wondered while glancing over the pages. He stopped on a drawing of her Excalibur form. "Hmm."
"Eh?" Izuku worried.
"The drawing looks nicer."
"Oh. I erm… redrew it. Do you like it?"
"That is what nicer means…" Haylee rolled her eyes. "Did your dad teach you to draw too?"
Izuku looked down sadly for a second at the mention of his father. "No, I have some drawing books I like to read. Have you ever watched anything from Kishibe Studios?"
Haylee tried to look like she knew what he was talking about. Was it some sort of anime studio? That was what they were called, right? "I don't really watch television. I just train and study."
"If you'd like I can give you some of their works, I mean, if you want to of course…." He offered timidly.
"Sure."
"But since you don't know, they are an old animation studio founded by Kishibe Rohan before the quirk wars. He was one of the greatest mangakas from that time, and people still reference his works to this day."
"So you learned to draw by reading his manga?"
"He was just an inspiration I guess." He pulled out his phone and searched for something. "This book helped a lot." On the screen was the cover of a drawing tutorial book featuring an old man with slicked-back gray-green hair.
Haylee handed Izuku his phone back. "Did you want to be an artist?"
"N-no, I wanted to learn to draw so I could design a costume and support gear for if I became a hero… ow!" He yelped as Haylee flicked his forehead.
"When you become a hero. Not if. You need to be more confident in yourself." Haylee chided. "You have the number one hero in the world training you. Of course you'll be a hero. Why else would be training you if he didn't think you could?"
'To inherit One For All.' Izuku wanted to say. 'Should I tell her? I need to tell her eventually. Toshinori said it's okay to tell her…' He felt like he was living a lie.
Toshinori told him he could be a hero without a quirk. Tenno said the same thing, albeit in a much cruder way. He'd only had his father believe in him before he died, and Inko had only recently apologized for not supporting him.
Izuku could never blame his mother. Hisashi's death had hit her hard. They didn't struggle financially thanks to the annuity from Hisashi's job, but it had taken her years to recover. He knew that she was afraid of losing him too.
The number of people who believed in him had multiplied these past few weeks. Toshinori, his mom, Detective Tsukauchi, Tenno… they all believed in him.
"You always get so nervous whenever we start talking, or whenever I compliment you. But whenever you start talking quirks or heroes you're like a completely different person. And your workouts too." Haylee continued. "I know you can be the confidant guy I see then, so what's up?"
"Its- I- I just get worried I won't live up to Tosh- Mr. Yagi's expectations of me…" He trailed off. Sometimes these thoughts crossed his mind. What if Toshinori decided that someone else would be better off with One For All. The little traitorous ideas that he was just a quirkless nobody, despite knowing Toshinori had been quirkless himself. "And that I'll just be quirkless Deku."
Haylee stopped herself from flicking him again, Midoriya avoiding her gaze to stare at his open notebook. "Deku? Like a puppet?" She wondered.
"Useless." He whispered.
"Oh."
"It's an alternate reading of Izuku that my childhood friend came up with as a nickname. It kinda stuck because I don't have a quirk."
"Sounds like a shitty friend." Haylee scowled.
Izuku fidgeted. "We haven't been close for years. It's just what everyone else calls me now."
"If I hear someone call you that I'll kick their ass." Haylee clenched her fist.
Izuku looked up quickly, color draining from his face. "Please don't! It's not a big deal!" He stressed to her.
Haylee pursed her lips. "Fine," she relented. "But you shouldn't take that kind of crap from anyone. I'd say to tell em' to fuck off, but…" She spared a glance to Midoriya. "You are a kinder person than I am. I just lost the patience to deal with stuff like that" Midorya looked like the kind of person who'd never sworn a day in his life.
"You had something similar happen to you?"
She nodded sadly. "I don't really like to talk about it, but," more like couldn't talk about it. Having to keep where she was from a secret from Izuku was exhausting. It would've been so much easier if he hadn't seen her and the others wash up on the beach. 'I want to tell him, but it's supposed to be a secret. Maybe I should ask Mr. Yagi if its allowed.' She continued, "Where I grew up was, to put it in the nicest terms possible, a real shithole."
Shithole was certainly a word you could use to describe the Origin System. It was a massive understatement, but not untrue.
"My quirk wasn't anything like my parents," She explained, assuming that Midoriya would be thinking about her Warframe form. "A mutation." Brought on by the Void. "And people there didn't like that."
"I see…" Izuku said. The public's reaction to quirklessness was mostly neutral, sometimes pitying or apathetic like his teachers. At the worst he would be ridiculed by his peers, told that it was just kids being kids and they would grow out of it.
It was the opposite of how the people with quirks, or meta-abilities as they were called back during the Dawn of Quirks and Quirk Wars. They had it a lot worse, worrying that they would be killed or locked in a camp for the way they were born. Things had gotten a lot better in the past two centuries for most people.
Complex mutants, people with dangerous, or quirks that people considered "villainous" were the new targets of discrimination. It wasn't as common in the big cities, but out in certain parts of the world, especially those that weren't as developed or rural areas… he'd read the stories online.
Haylee struggled with the next part. "It only… it only got worse after my parents…" She trailed off, but he knew what she was trying to say. "But Natah and Ordan took care of me, trained me."
Izuku remembered the black-haired woman and white-haired man. He hadn't spoken to Tenno's guardians back then and still hadn't met them. Tenno hadn't met his mother either. "They were heroes where you lived?" That would make sense since she looked like she was wearing a hero outfit when he'd first seen her.
'Something like that.' She wanted to say but opted to nod instead. "Ordan was hurt pretty badly and couldn't do much but housework, and Natah was… occupied most of the time. I had to learn to fend for myself."
"Void Devil!"
"Abomination! You should've been exterminated!"
"You should've stayed in the Hell you were born from!"
"Monster!"
"Murderer!"
Haylee hid her trembling right hand out of sight. It wasn't shaking out of distress but barely contained rage. She closed her eyes and exhaled. "Japan is a lot nicer. I like it here."
Izuku had questions but kept them to himself. She said she didn't want to talk about it much. Where did she grow up? She wasn't Japanese and he didn't recognize the language she wrote in. He didn't want to make her more uncomfortable than she already was by asking personal questions.
There were a lot of oddities about her. Sometimes she would ask something that should be common knowledge. The way she approached training, how strange and varied her abilities were like she had multiple quirks. This was the first time she'd talked about where she came from.
When Toshinori had first introduced her, Izuku noticed how she reacted to his story. He knew things were being kept from him but that it wasn't out of malice. Whatever it was, he wasn't being told because Toshinori wasn't allowed to share it with him.
What he did know was Tenno Haylee hadn't had a nice life where she lived, her parents were dead and she was adopted by alleged underground, undercover heroes from another country. She had a powerful, versatile quirk, and was experienced with using it. She obviously had some formal training, which she had just confirmed. It sounded like she'd had to use it to fight too, given her torn outfit when she'd arrived on the beach.
"Sorry to dump all that on you when you were talking about yourself." She interrupted his train of thought. At least he hadn't mumbled all that. "I don't know what you've been through, but you don't have to go through it alone." She flashed him a small smile. "And I don't think you need to be like me. You have a good heart."
Izuku's face flushed red. "T-thanks."
Haylee poked his cheek. "C'mon, what did I just say? You gotta have more confidence in yourself. You're smart, you train like a lunatic, and you're brave when it counts. Remember when you stood up to Hunhow?"
Izuku shivered as he remembered that man's presence. He'd thrown himself between Tenno and Hunhow when it looked like he was about to attack. Hunhow was terrifying and had radiated pure bloodlust. Despite that, he'd stood firm even though he stood no chance of stopping whatever attack was coming. "Yeah."
"You stood up to Hunhow, which is impressive. Suicidal, but impressive."
"He's Ms. Tau's dad, right?" Izuku queried.
Haylee's face morphed into a familiar scowl. "Mhm. He's… a former villain. Very dangerous."
'Ms. Tau probably had to grow up with the stigma of having a villain as a father…' Izuku thought.
"The only reason he was so hostile is because he didn't know where we were and was worried about Natah and Erra, the other red guy." Her frown softened. "I understand why he… became a villain. He's still a prick though. Doesn't care about anyone outside his family, and especially doesn't like me. The feeling's mutual which makes him a pain to live with, but at least he ignores everyone else." Her scowl faded as she looked back at him. "But still, standing up to him isn't something anyone would do. It takes real guts." Haylee pointed at Izuku. "So don't forget that. If I catch you doubting yourself like that I'll flick you again!" She teased, making playful flicking motions with her fingers.
"I will! I will!" He raised his hands in defense, smiling and blushing.
Haylee giggled. "I'll hold you to that… Oh yeah, we totally got sidetracked. You wanted to ask me about my quirk?"
"Oh. You've probably already thought of this, but can you make weapons other than a sword besides your Exalted Blade?" He pointed to the note he'd made. "Like maybe a spear, since you can make those javelins appear?"
Haylee shook her head. "I've never tried to change my abilities. They don't work that way."
"How do you know if you never tried though?" Izuku challenged.
Haylee was about to retort when she remembered what Mr. Yagi said.
"Your abilities aren't technological anymore, they are a quirk."
"I guess I could try it, but I don't think it's gonna work though." Haylee stood up and motioned for him to follow. She transformed as they approached the shoreline, grunting as her flesh morphed and bones popped. Once they reached the shore she turned around, making sure no one was watching. They were technically unsupervised since Mr. Yagi wasn't here to give her permission to use her quirk. The piles of trash would block the view from the nearby road. "Alright, let's give this a try. Don't be disappointed if it doesn't work." Her modulated voice echoed around the trash piles.
Despite the name, Radial Javelin wasn't an actual javelin. It manifested around its target as copies of Exalted Blade. She needed a clear location of where her target was or the blades wouldn't manifest to strike it. Without any mods, she was limited to a range of twenty-five meters. She could push it further but it would increase the energy cost significantly.
"First, Exalted Blade." She raised the sword above her head, holding it like a spear. It felt awkward. Warframe abilities were supposed to be static in how they behaved, only changing depending on very conditional mods. Trying to forcibly change the fundamental way it functioned just felt wrong. It wasn't possible to modify them other than mods or burning extra energy to increase their range, power, or duration, which was incredibly inefficient and draining.
"And then… Radial Javelin!" She resisted the instinctual urge to slam her sword into the ground to cast the ability, instead trying to throw her sword which predictably vanished once it left her hand. The only projectile that emerged was the overhead slash from the blade which cleaved into the incoming waves. "Shit."
Over the next few minutes would summon her blade, trying to merge the two abilities. The sword would still disappear and fire off a single slash. She tried holding onto Exalted Blade and changing the shape of the projectile but it still wouldn't work. Even trying to cast Radial Javelin using the ocean as a target and throwing the sword instead of slamming it into the ground wouldn't work. "I don't think it's possible," Haylee muttered, annoyed at her failure. She'd used these abilities thousands of times before and still couldn't figure it out. Excalibur wasn't Styanax, and she'd tried to copy the feeling of throwing an Axios Javelin. Styanax wasn't a frame she'd used very often though.
"I have an idea," Izuku interjected. "You said it needs a target, right?"
Haylee nodded her armored head.
"Can you choose Exalted Blade as the target?"
Haylee tilted her head in consideration. "I don't know. I've never targeted myself before."
"Can you choose how far away they manifest from the target?" He scribbled down a quick sketch on a blank page. "Like this?" Izuku held the notebook up to her faceplate. The sketch was of her cocked back arm, blade in hand, but with the summoned Radial Javelin swords floating alongside her Exalted Blade, fitting together like puzzle pieces in the shape of a spear.
"I'll try it, I guess." Nothing she'd tried had worked. Midoriya was the one that came up with the idea and she hadn't thought to ask for his advice. Maybe someone looking at it from the outside is what she needed.
She summoned the blade, feeling her energy levels dropping even lower. She would have to swap back to recharge soon. 'Alright, imagine the blade. The blade is the target. Move the others into position alongside it.'
Haylee felt the energy around her hand increase, air crackling as the ability began to drain more energy. She looked over to see the Javelin swords hovering next to her Exalted blade. 'Closer…' The two abilities began to converge, and to her surprise, the blade's shape began to change. The blade turned into a long rod, straightening out. The handle elongated in front of her, sprouting a sharp pointed tip. 'Fuck me, it's actually working!' She thought.
"You're doing it!" She heard Midoriya cheer behind her.
But just because the shape was changed, it didn't mean it would work. The drain was increasing and she was close to bottoming out on energy. Would it disappear once it left her hand, or would the Javelins make up the new spear still target it and make her arm explode? "Midoriya, step back behind something, quickly." He obliged, peeking out behind a fridge.
"Radiant Spear!" With a yell, the luminescent weapon flew from her hand, the power of Radial Javelin propelling it forward with her throw. Immediately, her shields flashed red as the new move drained all the power it could to compensate for the lack of energy.
The spear sailed through the air before entering the water and disappearing into the depths. Izuku ran up next to her and squinted, trying to see where it went.
'For such a flashy move, it doesn't seem to pack that much power for the energy it con-'
About seventy-five meters from the shore, a flash of light, like a Radial Blind shone from the ocean. The spear had hit something, maybe a fish. The water bubbled for a split second before a huge explosion of water erupted.
'-sumes.' If Haylee wasn't transformed her mouth would've been agape. She turned to look down at Midoriya, notes temporarily forgotten as the mist from the explosion began to sink back into the ocean. "What are the chances that no one will notice that?"
==VI==
The two teens quickly sprinted back to the stairway, Haylee transforming back along the way. Once they made it back she grabbed Midoriya by the shoulders. "That was awesome! I can't believe that actually worked!"
Izuku was so excited he wasn't even phased by a girl holding onto him. "It was so strong too! That explosion must've been at least twenty meters high!"
"And the light too, it was just like Radial Blind! I didn't even use that!"
"I need to write this down!" Izuku began to jot down more notes, sharing Tenno's excitement about their discovery.
If Haylee was paying attention she would've sensed the presence of someone approaching, but was too focused on Izuku and the sound of pencil on paper.
"Ahem!" They both froze upon hearing a woman's voice, one all too familiar to Izuku. "Izuku dear, what is this about an explosion?"
Haylee slowly turned her head in sync with Midoriya to see a short somewhat chubby woman with hair that matched her friend.
"M-mom?!"
==VI==
Inko pulled up next to the beach. She hadn't been visiting the beach lately and wanted to check up on her son. She didn't work too much since the money they received from Hisashi's old job more than covered their expenses. Her job was just to put a bit of extra spending cash on the table and she liked having something to do outside of taking care of Izuku.
FWOOM!
A large explosion of water erupted with a brief flash of light away from the shore. The explosion wasn't all that loud all the way by the road but it was definitely noticeable with how close she was.
'Is it a villain? Izuku and his friend should be down there with Toshinori…' She swore if they got into another villain attack…
Inko quickly walked to the staircase, slightly worried. There weren't any other explosions so her fears diminished, especially when she heard the sound of footsteps and muffled laughter.
"-strong too! That explosion must've been at least twenty meters high!" She heard Izuku say as he came into view at the bottom of the stairs. Next to him was a blue-haired girl she recognized from Toshinori's photos, Tenno Haylee. They both failed to notice her as they excitedly talked about what Inko assumed was the girl's quirk causing that explosion.
"Ahem!" Inko cleared her throat. "Izuku dear, what is this about an explosion?" Both teens slowly turned toward her, expressions like a child with their hands caught in a cookie jar. Good ol' disappointed mom stare.
"M-mom?!" Izuku sputtered out. "Uh…"
"Where is Mr. Toshinori?" She questioned.
"He went to go drop off some trash," Haylee answered, desperately trying to avoid Inko's gaze.
"So you were using your quirk without supervision?" The girl shrunk back with a guilty look on her face.
"It's my fault, I just wanted to test out something Midori- that Izuku suggested." Haylee clarified. "I know we should've waited for Mr. Yagi to get back…"
"You're lucky that nobody else saw you, young lady. You could get in serious trouble using your quirk like that." Most of the time, even with Japan's strict quirk usage laws you wouldn't get in trouble. So long as you weren't causing a disturbance, using your quirk for work requiring a license, or engaging in vigilante behavior heroes would turn a blind eye most of the time.
Creating a large explosion with your quirk on public property would be classified as a disturbance.
Haylee's face reddened in embarrassment. She wasn't used to being scolded like this. To be fair, it was kinda her fault though. She was the one who decided to use her quirk, so the least she could do was take the blame so that Mrs. Midoriya wouldn't punish Izuku. "I'm sorry…" Haylee bowed politely.
"Don't apologize to me, apologize to Toshinori when he gets back. He's the one who would get in trouble since he's supervising both of you." Inko said while crossing her arms.
"Yes ma'am!"
'Such a respectful girl.' Inko thought. With that, her gaze softened. 'She's sincere about her apology.'
"Mom, this is my friend," Izuku said, trying to steer the conversation. "Tenno Haylee."
Haylee bowed in greeting. "Nice to meet you Mrs. Midoriya."
"Izuku has told me a lot about you, but it's a pleasure to be my son's friend in person." Inko smiled warmly.
Izuku blushed, hoping that his mom wouldn't embarrass him in front of his friend. Thankfully Inko's conversation with Tenno swiftly moved away from that. Izuku awkwardly stood by as they got to know each other, answering questions like where she went to school, her family, and how she liked Japan.
"I'd love to meet your guardians. You know, Izuku's birthday is coming up next month, if you'd like to come over with them we'd gladly have you. Toshinori will be there too." Inko offered. "It's been so long since we've been able to celebrate with someone."
Izuku made a loud squawking noise.
"Oh, I'm sorry honey, I should've asked you if that was alright!" Inko exclaimed.
"N-n no! It's fine!" Izuku flailed his arms around. "I'd like- like to have them over too!"
'What's he so flustered over?' Haylee shrugged. 'It's just a birthday celebration, isn't it?'
'Crap! Why did she have to invite her over? It's not like I don't want her to come over… but I'd be having a girl over!" Izuku sweated nervously. 'And on top of that Toshinori will be there too!'
"I guess that would be fine, I'm not sure if Natah and Ordan will be able to come though," Haylee said. 'And I'm definitely not asking Hunhow.` "What day are you thinking? I'd have to ask them in advance."
"July 15th is his birthday, we will be celebrating at 6 pm." Inko elaborated. "I'll be cooking dinner and we will have desserts as well, chocolate cake."
Izuku could've sworn that Tenno's pupils turned into little chocolate bars at the mention of that. 'Now she's for sure going to come.'
Haylee gave Inko an enthusiastic thumbs-up, wiping a bit of drool from her mouth. "I'll make sure to be there. I don't do anything besides study and train so my schedule is free. I'll text him," she pointed to Izuku. "And let him know if Natah and Ordan can make it."
==VI==
"And then Mr. Yagi came back with ice cream, and he scolded me a bit for using my quirk but he was proud of the progress I made" Haylee concluded.
Natah shook her head. "You shouldn't be using your quirk out in the open like that.
Haylee deflated. "Yeah… I know. I just got caught up in the moment and didn't think. It won't happen again."
"So whaddya getting the kid for his -Happy Birthday!-," Ordan slapped himself in the face. "Birthday?"
"Midoriya said that I didn't need to get him anything when I asked him, but I wanted to get him something. He's a good kid." Haylee explained. "I don't really know what to get him. He likes heroes…"
"Give him a sword." Ordan interrupted, leaning his head backward over the couch. "Can't go wrong with a sword."
"Absolutely not." Natah protested. "He's just a child."
"I'm just a child." Haylee pouted.
"You know that's different Haylee." Natah pointed out. "And where would you even get a swor- Ordan, put that away."
Ordan froze, a half-formed Skana made of bone protruding from his arm. Whistling innocently he pushed it back into his body. "C'mon, a sword is a traditional gift!"
"No real swords," Natah relented. "You can give him a wood-training sword."
"I'll take it!" Ordan cheered. "And I guess that means that we'll be going?"
"Yes." Natah nodded. "We haven't had the opportunity to do anything relaxing outside of training and paperwork for licensing. Plus I'd like to meet Midoriya as well." She didn't count being nearly unconscious on the beach as a meeting.
"What should I get him then?" Haylee wondered aloud.
"I'll give you some money and you can go shopping for something to get him. Maybe ask Mr. Yagi for ideas? He is training the kid." Ordan offered.
"Alright." Haylee nodded. There was another thing she needed to ask Mr. Yagi too.
==========================VI==========================
AN: I've said before that Izuku and Haylee aren't going to get romantically involved. That's not going to stop Izuku from developing a crush on a cute girl who spends a lot of time with him and supports his dreams though.
Poor Izuku is feeling the pressure and letting his intrusive thoughts of inadequacy leak out. Good thing Haylee is there to (try) and cheer him up!
Villain Ranks are largely based on Mirrond's villain ranking system. The way it is written in the textbook for this chapter's codex entry isn't necessarily the way that governments implement it. A villain like Stain would be Classified as S-Rank due to being able to stand up to pro heroes. S-Rank is a pretty broad spectrum for higher-ranked villains because Gentle Criminal would also be classified as an S-Rank despite not being a violent criminal. Technically that isn't the way they are supposed to classify them but since he's a large enough threat they can do it. The only ranking that needs approval from the WHA is SS-SSS. Some are ranked by their estimated destructive capability based on what they know about the person's quirks, even if they haven't committed a crime equivalent to that rank. Heroes also get assigned an internal threat rating as well.
There's a pretty big gap between S and SS, because it goes from "someone who can destroy a few buildings and/or needs multiple heroes to take down" to "this person just annihilated/has the potential to annihilate a city". S-Ranks would range from Eraserhead at the lower end to Season 3-4 Tomura on the top. SS would be characters like Thirteen (if she didn't hold back), Overhaul, Post-MVA Tomura, and Geten. Triple S is characters like Twice, All Might, All For One, Natah, several dawn of quirks warlords, and organizations like the LOV, Chaos Theory, the Fatui, and Humarise. Shie Hassaikai would be classified as an SS-Ranked organization.
Since the rankings are based on Combat Power/Destructive potential its not based on the skill of the person/organization, only their threat level. Some S+ ranks would be easier to take down than others, seeing as people like Twice and Thirteen have high ranks despite being fairly physically weak. And S rank could theoretically take down an SSS rank depending on the skill level and combat experience they have. Just because you can destroy half a city doesn't mean you can use the quirk in close combat without hurting yourself.
Oh yea, I forgot to mention the combining abilities thing. It's not something Haylee will be able to do very often, and only with abilities that would have some synergy together. I'm not a big fan of stories where Izuku asks people if they've tried something with their quirks that would be something anyone has thought of. In this case its different because Haylee hasn't tried to change her abilities outside of making them stronger/longer range or duration. My headcanon is that mods do this without restriction but a Warframe can do it without them, its just very inefficient and draining. Haylee had such a problem with figuring it out because she was stuck in the mindset that its not possible and has decades of experience doing it the way it was supposed to function. Here, having someone like Izuku is really helpful because he has a different point of view on how quirks work.