And the next chapter is here!
Expect the unexpected.
It was one of the few advices that Hisashi received upon informing his father that Inko was pregnant. A strange advice at the time, but it never felt more appropriate than now.
Inko never talked much about her past during their relationship. He respected the privacy of her past and only concerned himself with their present and future. Some of his friends called him naive for that. And he could understand why, to an extent. But he was sure that Inko would tell him the truth when she was ready.
He never wondered if he would be ready, though. In his defense, how could one mentally prepare themselves for revelation like that? Inko was not only an alien but possibly the last of her kind, too. And now, Izuku had the powers that came from her people.
Despite the initial shock of it all, Hisashi tried his best to be there for both his wife and son. It was his job to show them that he still loved and cared for them just as much as he did before. Hisashi knew that their family would face certain challenges even before Inko revealed the truth about her origin.
He just didn't expect the involvement of GDA in this.
Even someone like him - who dealt only with support equipment and related regulations - had at least a few encounters with the GDA representatives. And while Hisashi had yet to experience a particularly bad one himself, he certainly didn't enjoy the few ones he had.
He certainly hoped that today's one would go better than the others.
"Dad?" Izuku spoke for the first time since their plane took off. "Am I in trouble?"
"Of course not," he reassured his son. "Everything is fine, I promise you."
Izuku didn't fully believe him. Inko noticed that and was quick to comfort him. The private jet that was sent for them had plenty of amenities to keep them occupied and entertained despite the relatively short time flight. But none of them could enjoy those.
GDA was known for many things. But with how secretive the organisation was, it was even more known for all the rumours surrounding them. Assassinations, corruption and conspiracies were just some of the more commong accusations that people threw at the organisation.
All of those seemed much sillier until they involved his family.
The moment Izuku came home and told him what happened, Hisashi's first instinct was to contact his colleagues at the HPSC. He didn't know if some international law allowed GDA to just summon anyone into their headquarters. And, quite frankly, he didn't care.
Kyoryoku-san got to him first, though.
As the President of the HPSC, she was quick to assure the entire family that they had already handled most of the details regarding the visit. Changing the location from Pentagon to the more neutral territory of I-Island certainly eased some of the fears and worries Inko and Hisashi had.
Even with all the assurances from his higher-ups, Hisashi couldn't help but feel nervous about the meeting.
So much already changed in their lives.
And he couldn't help but fear that this meeting would only add fuel to the fire.
-I-
The relationship between HSPC and GDA was always strained. The wedge between two ground dated all the way back to pre-Quirk era and only grew bigger over the decades. Not that the other national agencies, including those from his own country, liked GDA any better.
Being disliked came with the territory when you had to act for the good of the world while also keeping almost everyone in the dark.
The fact that he couldn't disclose the exact nature of the meeting worked in HSPC's favor this time around. And after many stressful calls done over the course of the evening, it was ultimately decided that the meeting regarding Midoriya Izuku would take place on the neutral grounds.
Cecil would give Kyoryoku the credit on this one. Unlike her predecessor, this woman didn't back down from the fight easily.
If only she focused half as much on the threats inside her own country, instead.
As the head of GDA, Cecil had his own share of daily headaches.
The Russians were still pressuring for the release of Cold Warmonger back into their custody. His sources at Midnight City informed him about Understudy and Playblight hitting up several major chemical factories. Meanwhile, their world's best lawyers were busy re-negotiating the terms of the agreement with Belloc regarding both his son and the growing number of rogue Kaiju.
But, of course, HSPC had to go and make his job even harder.
At times like this, Cecil hated his Quirk.
Not needing to sleep was one thing. Not being able to sleep at all?
That just meant that he was awake for all the crap of the world without a break.
"I believe it is time for your meeting, Mr. Stedman."
Shirakumo - or Kurogiri, judging by his current mood - opened the Warp Gate for him, transporting the GDA's Director right into the main conference room at Shield Development. Recruiting the man after All For One's capture had saved them hundreds of millions over the years.
And yet it was nowhere near as pleasant as Cecil's personal teleportation tech.
Especially when the open gate gave away his arrival.
"Cecil Stedman," he extended his hand over to Hisashi Midoriya. "Director of the GDA."
"Good day. It is going to be just me and Izuku here though," Hisashi apologized. "My wife got sick on the way from the airport. We decided that it would be best for her to stay at the hotel."
"I understand," he motioned for the two to sit down. "The meeting was on a rather short notice."
He made a note to himself on Inko's absence, however. While it was expected that some parents would lose their nerve at the idea of meeting someone like Cecil, the timing was just too convenient.
It could have been nothing. But he would rather make sure that it was nothing.
"First of all, I would like to thank you for helping out with the alien. The Guardians were busy dealing with the alien invasion back here. And I don't think Tech Jacket could handle the threat alone," The kid had the potential. But he was prone to acting before thinking. "Second of all, I want to assure you both that Izuku is not in trouble over his interference."
The man and his son visibly relaxed at that. Hisashi still kept his guard up, of course. But he seemed much less likely to grab his kid and run out the door now.
"That's good to hear," the man smiled cautiously. "But I don't think you called us all the way here just for that."
There was hope in his voice.
Cecil almost felt bad about crushing it.
So, instead, he turned to Izuku.
"I am here to offer you a job, kid."
"W-Wha-?" the boy struggled with words. "B-But I- No, this doesn't make any sense. I don't even have my hero license!"
Cecil slid a small piece of plastic across the table. It had his name and a small space for his picture.
"This is the GDA-sanctioned hero license," he explained as the boy picked it up. "As long as you have this with you, you can operate as a hero across the world. Additionally, it gives you the right for international flight using your powers. Provided that you inform us where you are going and for what purposes prior to takeoff."
Originally, GDA developed these for the Guardians of the Globe. Of course, when the team chose to stay independed and technical vigilantes, the GDA licenses were little more than plastic to them.
But to this kid?
He looked like he was just handed the key to the world itself.
"We have already discussed this with your own government and HPSC as well. As long as you abide by the hero-related laws and regulations, they would let you work as a pro hero after the probation period of one year."
"I- I don't know what to say."
A hand slammed down on the table, drawing the attention of the two back to the boy's father.
"But I do," Hisashi stared Cecil dead in the eyes. "He is not doing this."
"D-Dad, wait! But what-"
"We are not listening to any more of this," Hisashi tried to pull his son towards the door. He wasn't budging. "Izuku, please, this is not the time."
"I- I just want to hear the rest of this."
"The rest-? Izuku! You are not doing this!"
He could see the conflict brewing. Best to step in before it flowed into an actual fight.
"Mr. Midoriya, I understand your concerns. Trust me, I do," Hisashi didn't seem convinced. "But I assure you, accepting this offer would be in your son's best interest. Yours and your family's as well."
"Is that a threat?"
"No," Threats were useless in these circumstances. They made people dig their heels in and clash with you at every word. "Your son has immense power. If his showing against that alien is any indicator, we also have reason to believe that his powers will continue to grow. He needs someone to help him understand and master these abilities as they develop."
"Which is why he is going to apply to hero schools next year. Like all the other kids his age."
"But we both know that he is not like other kids his age, don't we?" Hisashi paled. Cecil could see the words die in the man's throat as he kept himself from blurting out the unnecessary information. "I don't know what your son is. But his results from the labs show that he is definitely Quirkless."
A small relief, if the boy's expression was any proof.
A part of Cecil considered bluffing these two into confession. A simple 'I know who you really are' was good enough statement to psyche one of them into spilling the truth. But it was also a gamble. Even if successful, it could make them not trust him and his words later down the line.
In this case, honesty (or variation of such) was best policy.
"How did you get these?"
"GDA monitors all the testing laboratories across the world. We do this in case someone develops a Quirk that is too dangerous to be used out in public or at all," Some would call it a violation of privacy. Those people would be grateful if they knew just how often kids with dangerous or unstable Quirks were popping up these days. "Your son doesn't have a Quirk. And yet he has these powers."
Both were quiet now.
"I don't know what you are or where your powers come from. And quite frankly? I don't care," Izuku looked up at him in surprise. "I deal with Devils and Kaiju on daily basis. And whatever you are, you are not currently posing any threat to the world with your presence. Your powers, though? Those could be dangerous without proper control."
One of his classmates recorded the boy casually tossing the other kid into the wall.
It was manipulative to bring this up. But manipulative didn't equal untrue.
And so Cecil pressed on.
"He needs a place where he can see what his powers can really do. The hero schools are good. But they also have the issue of the attention being split among several other students," Again, not a lie. Even U.A. was not exempt from this despite Nedzu's best efforts. "We could provide your son with the resources and training necessary to ensure that he is not only in control of his powers but that he masters them as well."
"Since when is GDA this involved with aspiring heroes?" Hisashi's eyes narrowed. "Last time I checked, you are only associated with Guardians of the Globe. You don't have the programs aimed at young heroes."
"I wasn't talking about GDA."
Right on cue, the door opened.
Izuku gasped in shock as he immediately recognized the navy blue and white metal.
"Good afternoon, gentlemen," Robot spoke softly. "I believe that I was asked to give Midoriya Izuku a tour."
-I-
Izuku had heard a lot about Shield Development. Who didn't?
Founded by David Shield, it was one of the world's top support tech manufacturers. On top of the high-quality materials used in every piece of equipment, their products also used some of the latest technology available. It was also one of All Might's biggest and oldest backers.
Whenever dad took them to I-Island for their holidays, Izuku enjoyed watching the public demonstrations of the SD's latest equipment and tech. Especially when it almost looked like real superpowers.
He often wondered what it would be like to visit on their workshops. Though he would never have guessed that one of those served as he headquarters for Teen Team.
They were the world's most premier teen superheroes. Back home, where the number of independent heroes was less than a hundred, the idea of someone his age just going out and doing things their own way sounded like a fantasy.
And yet here he was, standing next to this team's leader as they waited for the elevator to get down. It almost made him forget that dad and Stedman-san were discussing his future back in the room. If it weren't for the cameras watching their every move and assurance that he could take him home the moment he decided, dad probably wouldn't have let him come here.
"I- Uh, I really like your new colour scheme."
"Thank you. I was inspired by All Might's original costume."
"You're a fan of him, too?!" Robot gave him a nod. "Me too!"
The ride down was not long. But they still had time to talk about their favourite hero. Izuku was his fan because All Might inspired others and stood up against enemies no matter the odds. Meanwhile, Robot expressed respect for his efficiency and effect on the Japanese hero scene.
"Take these," Robot handed him a pair of what looked like wireless headphones. Noting his confusion, Robot clarified. "These work as translators. For now, they can only translate only two languages in real time. But this should do for now."
"Seriously?" he said that in Japanese. And yet it came out in clear English. Even if the voice sounded somewhat stitled and rigid. "Woah! How is this possible?"
"I am still working out some of the kinks," Robot admitted. "Right now, it records the complete sentences and runs them through the database to come up with the approximate translation. After that, it recreates the sentence in real life."
He made it sound so simple. But this invention seemed almost fantastic in how it worked.
"We have arrived,"with a soft ding, the elevator slowly opened. "Welcome to our Headquarters."
It was a vast space of grey and white metals. In the center of it all was a giant machine with numerous wires extending from its main screen into the ceiling. Around it were several couches, matts and chairs.
This seemed to be quite the living room.
"The place was previously used to test out support equipment of Shield Development. After they expanded, the place was essentially converted into the storage facility," Robot explained as they made their way into the training area. "When I formed the Teen Team, Dr. Shield offered us to use it as the base of operations."
Wait.
"You know Dr. Shield? Personally?"
"He is a valued colleague and a friend," Robot nodded. "We've worked on several projects prior to my superhero career."
"That's amazing!" he couldn't contain his excitement. "What is he like? Is he working on any new support for All Might? Not that he needs it, of course but-"
Something hit him in the back of the head.
A half-empty can of beer.
"Ugh, can you keep it down here?" A half-naked teen rose from under the sheets on the couch. Even from the distance, Izuku could tell he was hungover. "Jesus, how much did I drink last night?"
Izuku stared at the guy as he reached for another can and dunked it in one go. It was hard to recognize the guy at first but then Izuku noticed the familiar mask lying right next to him.
"Is that Rex Splode?"
He looked very different from how he was in all those videos online.
"Unfortunately, it is."
Rex Splode was quite infamous back home. Mostly for his destructive and somewhat reckless way of doing things. Izuku always assumed it was a part of his public persona. Seeing the guy half-drunk and half-naked certainly didn't help his image, though.
"The one and the only," the teen grinned. "And you are...?"
"Midoriya Izuku," he introduced himself. "Nice to meet you."
Rex stared at him for a few seconds before rolling his eyes and walking away.
"I'd advise to ignore him until he sobers up," Robot said dismissible before guiding Izuku away. "Which might take a few days if he continues to drink like this."
"Is he okay, though?" Izuku asked, concerned for how casual the teen was about drinking so much. "Did something happen?"
"He decided to sneak into a night club after our last mission."
Izuku turned to see another person come from the kitchen with a bottle of Rush-o-Rade and some pills. She looked around their age, though her dress pants and skirt made her look older than that. Or more official, at the very least.
"Hello, Melissa," the girl smiled once she handed the drink and the pills to Rex. "I am the administrator of the Teen Team."
"An administrator?"
"I handle inventory, maintenance of the equipment and pretty much anything else the Team need to operate," she gave a not-so-subtle look towards Rex. "Including this, occasionally."
"And you do all of this alone?"
"It's not a big deal, really. I spend most of my time here anyway. Might as well do something."
"Wait, so you guys live here? All of you?"
"Not all of us. Rex and Kate have their own rooms here," Melissa clarified as they stepped into the training area. There were two girls fighting on the mats. "Atom Eve lives in another city, though. And Robot stays at one of the Shield Development labs, depending on where my dad is working at the time. My place is just a few blocks away from here so I practically live here as well."
Her bracelet let out a series of brief and quiet beep's, which caused the girl to sigh.
"Sorry, gotta run," she headed out of the room with a smile. "It was nice meeting you, Midoriya!"
Once Melissa left, Izuku and Robot watched the sparring between Atom Eve and Dupli-Kate. Even though he was not a fan of the idea of heroes fighting other heroes, Izuku was still drawn to the fight between the young heroines.
Atom Eve's abilities were more versatile and, in terms of raw power, above those of Dupli-Kate. Despite this difference in powers, the other girl didn't let up and continued to press on with her attack. While five clones were body keeping Atom Eve occupied with their punches and kicks, four more stood at the sides waiting for something.
That something turned out to be Atom Eve projecting a bubble around herself and pushing the attacking copies off her. It was a move meant to shake the attackers off her. But not much more than that and so her shield quickly faded away, giving the duplicates still standing a chance to strike.
"Alright, alright! I give!" Eve sighed as Kate helped her back onto her feet. "This is what I get for going out with Rex late at night."
As soon as the spar was done, Robot introduced them to each other. He never even dreamed of actually getting to talk to the people from Teen Team. And yet here he was, casually discussing their latest adventures. Despite not being as high-profile as the Guardians of the Globe, they still did a lot of great work on I-Island.
They even battled crazy things like vampires or invaders from another world.
The last one didn't go all that well, apparently.
"Is that why your friend is upset?"
"Rex? Pretty much," Kate shrugged. "He is just angry that everyone is talking about the Guardians. He just needs another wild night at the club to get over the whole thing."
It was hard to imagine any of the heroes back home openly partying in a club. While people understood and mostly respected the private lives of heroes, that didn't extend to anything done in public. For a brief moment, Izuku imagined what it would be like if he got drunk and went partying in clubs.
He shuddered at the image of his parents' disappointed faces.
"So, are you here to join Teen Team?" Atom Eve asked. "It's not every day that Robot brings someone to the headquarters."
"Yeah, what's the deal with that?"
Izuku briefly wondered just what he could say. On top of having the minimal experience of talking to girls, he still had no idea how he could explain his situation. He could slip and out himself as an alien. And then it would be a whole other mess entirely.
Thankfully, Robot stepped in to explain his situation for him.
"As you already know, I was previously approached by GDA to work on their secret project. With Cecil Stedman's permission, I can tell you that the project is centered around preparing GDA's own version of the Guardians of the Globe. Izuku Midoriya was selected to be one of the potential candidates for this new team."
The two girls stared at him.
And Izuku, in turn, stared at Robot.
"W-Wait! Where did this come from?" He went back to the conversation but couldn't remember anything like this being mentioned. Nobody said anything about him joining these new Guardians. "What's wrong with the current Guardians of the Globe?"
"Nothing. As the world's most premiere superhero team, Guardians of the Globe consistently protect and save the world. However, GDA believes that the world needs to be prepared for the potential scenario where the Guardians are incapacitated... or killed."
The thought of the Guardians dying never crossed Izuku's mind. Judging by the expressions on Atom Eve's and Dupli-Kate's faces, they didn't think about it either. And why would they?
Guardians of the Globe... They were the superhero team. The Earth's Finest Champions.
He grew up watching and reading about their adventures. Millions of people like him saw them beat the impossible odds time and again. In the world where fantasy became a reality, they were the very idea of superheroes brought to life.
To imagine them dying... It was impossible.
No, not impossible.
With the exception of Immortal and possibly War Woman, all heroes were bound to die eventually. Even All Might was not going to be around forever. They were heroes, yes. But they were also people. And if it wasn't a fight against a villain or some world-ending disaster, then they could still of old age or disease.
It was a bitter pill to swallow. Especially when there was no real reason to think about such a sad scenario.
"And you think that I should join this team?"
"I think that you have the powers that could help a lot of people," Robot turned to the Eve and Kate. "All of us do. Which is why I've also nominated you two as the potential candidates."
"What?"
"This is- Wow, that's a lot to hear on Tuesday afternoon," Eve sighed. "I am flattered by this, Robot. But working with GDA? There is a reason why we chose to be independent all this time."
Izuku could take a guess on that one. Being an independent hero had its many challenges. He often heard how it was much harder for some to start an independent hero career due to the lack of resources or connections that being a pro hero would provide. Still, there had to be a reason there were so many of the independent heroes in the United States.
Judging by Eve's expression when Robot mentioned GDA, it might have been related to control.
"I understand your concerns, Eve," the machine man conceded. "I can assure you that nominating you doesn't equate forcing you to join the team. All candidates have the right to refuse both before and throughout the entire program."
They continued to discuss what this program entailed. It sounded a lot like U.A. or other hero schools. But they also would have the access to the Shield Development's latest support tech as well as the training facilities provided by GDA. Robot also said that they were going to invite some of the current Guardians to provide lessons or guidance to the recruits.
This was bigger than anything that Izuku ever expected.
"So what do you say, Izuku?" Robot asked. "Do you wish to join the New Guardians Initiative?"
And he couldn't help but wonder if he was ready for something this big.
-I-
In the end, the kid asked for time to think about his decision.
HPSC wanted them to come back immediately. But they also knew that pushing the family too hard to move back might make them look unreasonable compared to GDA. There was also the possibility that Izuku, in a manner befitting teenagers, would do the opposite of what the authority demanded from him.
Cecil had little doubt that Hisashi would have already told his higher-ups about the offer they received. And if Cecil knew Kyoryoku half as well as he thought he did, he knew that they would be working on their own proposal to the kid. And so they gave their family a week and a half before they needed to return.
"I am not sure if I am ready for this, sir."
Cecil was quite surprised by the kid's cautiousness. For someone who so recklessly charged in to fight an alien, Izuku was careful with the sides he picked. He didn't go for an easy and quick way to become a hero with the GDA-issued license. And while he was flattered by the idea of joining the New Guardians, he was also careful not to agree to anything just yet.
It was not a bad thing, however.
Those who signed up for anything without a thought often lacked commitment to see it through. GDA often dealt with the recruits who applied in hopes of living out some crazy spy adventures only to drop out of the program once they saw how much it demanded from them.
Heroes weren't any different, independent or pro.
And Cecil honestly expected the kid to take the license since it saved him three years of studying and work. But he didn't. Not yet, at the very least.
"Should we still consider him a threat, sir?"
That didn't mean that Cecil wouldn't keep an eye on him.
"Until he proves otherwise, yes."
In this line of work, there were no hunches or warm fuzzy feelings. He operated on the cold hard facts and always assumed the worst possible outcome for every scenario. Which meant that he might save more lives when the shit inevitably hit the fan.
"Did you finish with the report on his parents?"
"Yes, sir."
He spent the next couple of hours going through the results of the day's worth of investigation. Nothing stood out in any of them. An average fire-breathing government official. A normal Quirkless housewife. And a similarly Quirkless kid who just happened to develop the powers out of nowhere.
Some of his men suggested a random empowerment. Others brought up an encounter with the supernatural that the kid simply didn't remember. There were also theories that Hisashi Midoriya was more than he seemed. Perhaps some kind of hybrid himself. A few raised a possibility that Hisashi Midoriya was not the boy's biological father and that these powers came from the actual biological parent.
It was good to go through all possibilities, no matter how contrived some were.
Except that they are all looking at the father rather than the mother.
Inko Midoriya's file was simply and straightforward. Abandoned at birth in some remote village. Moved to Musutafu in her early twenties for work. Met Hisashi Midoriya shortly after that. Had a kid a year later.
He didn't operate on hunches. But he did pick everything apart in search of the truth.
Compared to her husband and son, Inko Midoriya's file seemed a little too convenient.
The village she supposedly grew up in had been washed away by a tsunami around fourteen years ago. The other kids that grew up in that village were also nowhere to be found. Like they vanished off the face of the Earth.
Her employment history consisted of seedy and small restaurants that usually paid under the table. The owners had long since changed and most of those places weren't even open anymore. Another part of her background that was impossible to verify.
And today she just conveniently fell sick before their meeting.
Of course, all of this could just be a coincidence.
But Cecil didn't operate on the maybe's.
"I want a separate team watching Inko Midoriya throughout her stay on I-Island. And make sure to put her through scanners the moment you get a clear image of her."
He looked at the scanned image of Izuku. They might not have had his blood sample. But the aglorithms Robot developed could at least analyze the approximate bone and muscle density.
And once they got an image of Inko, they could compare the two.
And Izuku meets the Teen Team of this universe.
Robot is an All Might fan and wears an armor that is coloured in red, white and blue. Because why not? If you want to see what he looks like, you can check out the Spacebattles thread for the image.
And Kurogiri is officially working for GDA now. Why? I will show later.
Many of you have suggested that Izuku pairs up with Eve or Melissa. Some went as far as suggest both of them and Kate, too.
Not gonna lie, still deciding who fits him the best for this story.
Melissa is fun because she is a cool supporting character that could use more love and attention.
Eve is pretty cool, too. But I always saw her as being only with Mark or Rex.
And Kate is another interesting option because she doesn't get much love either.
Decisions, decisions...
Till next Friday!