The sight that greeted Izuku as he stepped into the dining room warmed his heart as his family urged him to sit down and eat. He still recalled, in his youth, how much he loved watching and studying heroes; especially All Might. How he dreamed to stand among them, to be a beacon of security to the masses; to be able to make them smile without fear of anything.

Alas, those aspirations were dashed that fateful day when he was diagnosed Quirkless. His social life had crumbled as he was ostracized and belittled for something he had no control over, if it wasn't his peers his own age, it was the teachers that never missed a chance to mock him. His mother had been his pillar throughout all this and he was forever thankful for her; and the less he thought about his "father," the better.

Things didn't seem to get much better when that happened but he'd be lying to himself if there wasn't something good that came out of it. He glanced at his siblings, a smile forming on his lips. They had been as much of a godsend to him and his mother as he had been to them. They were, bar none, the best thing that ever happened to them.

"Are you kids all set? It's your first day of college and I wanna make sure you have everything you need," Inko Midoriya, the family matriarch asked her children.

"Yaa, r'mm raa shhhek," one teenaged boy with a mop of white hair and grey eyes mumbled.

"Tadashi, don't talk with your mouth full. You're going to get food everywhere and I'm going to lose my appetite," chastised a girl with long black hair in a hime cut and purple eyes.

The now identified Tadashi responded to the girl's comment by playfully sticking out his tongue, showing her the half-eaten food in his mouth.

"Eww! What are you, 5?!" the girl exclaimed in disgust.

"Tadashi, swallow your food and don't be juvenile," Inko scolded, prompting the younger girl to grin smugly at the boy; "Ryuko, don't provoke your brother, you'll only tempt him in the end."

"But he started it," the girl, Ryuko, argued.

"And I'm ending it, right now," Inko's tone was firm as steel, leaving no room for further discussion.

As the black-haired Ryuko slumped in her seat, Inko turned to another boy at the table.

"Eito, how about you?"

"Yes, I have all my books and school supplies, mother," the red long-haired, blue-eyed Eito said respectfully and softly.

"And your supplies for your arm, just in case?"

"Yes, that as well."

Inko smiled in satisfaction before turning back to the girl.

"Ryuko?"

"Yeah, I'm good to go," Ryuko answered.

All eyes turned to the final member of the family, Izuku.

"Yeah I'm ready."

Inko beamed happily at them all.

"Fabulous! Now, eat up kids; studying on an empty stomach will do you no favors."

Breakfast continued on peacefully until it was time to go. The four teens were gathered in the foyer before the door, Inko facing them all.

"Alright, final check for school. Pens?"

"Check" the teens chimed in unison.

"Pencils?"

"Check"

"Handkerchiefs?"

"Check"

"Notebooks?"

"Check"

"Updock?"

"Che-wait, what's 'updock?" Eito asked in confusion.

"Ah nothing, what's up with you?" Inko joked then giggled.

"Walked into that one, Eito," Tadashi remarked to his brother.

"Joking aside, do you all have your 'special items?"

"I gotta grab mine," Izuku replied before jogging to his room.

His other siblings showed theirs: a gauntlet, a medallion and a mask. Izuku returned, his skull mask in hand, showing it to his mother before tucking it into his inside jacket pocket. Satisfied, she then wished them well in school, watching them leave one by one out as they waved goodbye.

"Status report!"

"A Class-B Mimizu-type invader broke through containment!"

"What?! How?!"

"Recon Team 3 reported a hole in the old subway line, looks like it dug its way out through there."

"How did we not notice something that big trying to escape?!"

"Personnel was called away to help suppress a Class-A of the same type 3 klicks south of the escape point."

"Tch, so the bastard used the big one as a distraction to slip away. Are we tracking it?"

"Seismic monitoring picked it up moving southwest, making a direct route to Musutafu; current speed puts its ETA at 2 hours"

"We'll never be able to get a sufficient force there in time!"

"Damn it, how can this get any worse? We'll have to get any available Pro-Heroes to stall it until we can-"

"Sir?"

"What?"

"We may not have to. I checked the records and… They are currently living in Musutafu."

"Be that as it may, this is our mess and we'll clean it up. Those four just want to be left in peace and there's no telling what the public will say if they get involved in this."

"Are you sure about this, sir?"

"My decision is final."

The train ride had been mostly uneventful, much to Izuku's gratitude, the subtle shaking of the cars was really the only jarring thing that occurred. The overhead P.A. then chimed.

/Next stop: Yabin Station. Next stop: Yabin Station./

And that was their stop. Out of his peripheral vision, he saw a few people getting ready to leave, his siblings included; one of whom approached the doors but a sudden jolt of the train caused them to trip and nearly fell on him if Izuku hadn't caught them.

"Careful!" He said in concern.

"I'm sorry," a female voice answered.

The person in question, a girl, looked up at him. She had short brown hair cut in a bob with big round brown eyes. Her cheeks seemed to have a perpetual blush giving her a rather cute look, one that Izuku couldn't help but blush at.

"A-are you okay?" He stammered bashfully.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just got a little too eager," she said.

The train then stopped and the doors opened. People then began pouring out, practically pushing Izuku, his siblings and the girl out. The five teens had to take some time to reorganize themselves, thankfully they had plenty of time to spare before they all needed to be in class. It was at this point that Tadashi noticed something above them.

"Hey look, All Might's on the Morning Show," the white haired teen said.

All eyes turned to the screen. Indeed, it was Japan's number one Hero, wearing a yellow pinstripe suit. Sitting across from him was a young woman in a gray dress suit, she appeared to be the host of the show.

/All Might, if you don't mind, I'd like to ask you about something./ the hostess asked.

/And what would that be?/ the blonde Hero ask boisterously.

/Your involvement at Meggido City… and one small curiosity./

/That? Well, I don't think there's much to explain: I was called in to run search and rescue as well as fight off those monsters; just like every other hero called in for that tragedy./

/Did you ever meet any of…them?/

/Them?/

/You know… the Four?/

/Oh… you mean the Horsemen?/ The blond Hero then leaned back in his chair, /As a matter of fact, I did; all four of them./

/And what were they like?/

/Well, keep in mind that my interactions with them were very brief and limited. Not to mention that their names nor the gear they wore really didn't scream heroic. However… I can't deny that they were there to help people./

/Can you explain what you mean?/

/The first one I met was the lone female of the group, Fury…/

Ryuko perked up at that as All Might continued.

/I was running around looking for survivors in the Tibanna district of the city. It was there that I ran into one of the bigger monsters that showed up out of nowhere; this one in particular was using a stop sign as a makeshift ax. Naturally, I braced myself for a fight while it charged at me. That's when she showed up./

/Fury?/

/She lashed out with her bladed whip at the monster's weapon and pulled over its shoulder, essentially making the creature decapitate itself with its own weapon./

/And then what?/

/She then pointed at me… or rather a building behind me, and told me that there was a large number of people hiding out in the basement; she practically ordered me to get them to safety. I was a little surprised at first but then she started to get mad and told me to 'stop gawking and move.' I then looked and confirmed a good few dozen people in the basement like she said. A few of them even told me that Fury was the one who rescued them and brought them there for shelter./

/Wow!/ the hostess exclaimed in surprise, which made Ryuko smile a little.

/I then radioed for an evac chopper to come pick them up. Once it arrived, me and Fury hurried them on quickly but just as we got the last ones aboard, another monster came in, one that could fly. Before any of us could think of a plan, Fury ordered the chopper to take off and me to go with them while she immediately charged at the monster. She used her whip to capture the beast before it could reach us and dragged it down to the streets. Some of the survivors wanted to circle around so we could see if she was okay, myself included. The pilot brought us around and we were relieved to see that she not only managed to kill the monster but she was now riding away on a horse covered in flames. She gave us a wave then rode off elsewhere./

/Where'd she get a horse like that? Or a horse in general for that matter?/

/It might've been part of her Quirk, I really couldn't tell you. But I guess they wouldn't really be called Horsemen if they didn't have actual horses; that's my take anyway./

/Who was the second Horseman you met?/

/That would be War./

Now, it was Eito's turn to perk up.

/I met up with Crust, Master Driller and Fourth Kind at Chinooku Park. We were loading people onto trucks to get them out when we were attacked by a small hoard of monsters. The people began to panic and rushed the trucks. In the chaos, one of them got knocked down and the monsters immediately went for the kill. That's when War showed up, he chopped the closest one in half before he pulled the civilian close to him just as the other monsters surrounded them and pounced./

/What happened to them?/

/It was amazing, War stabbed his sword into the ground and then, for lack of a better term, a small forest of blades shot up out of the ground; killing all the monsters attacking them. When the blades disappeared, he released the civilian and approached us, telling us that he had checked around and found no more people hiding out in the area but two of the roads had collapsed so we needed to take a detour. That's when two huge monsters came barreling towards us and right behind them was another wave of the smaller ones. War told us what road was still clear and told us to leave with the civilians. Fourth Kind asked him what he was going to do and War took his sword and carved a line in the road. He then turned around and simply said 'None shall pass.' He told us to go and we drove off with the civilians./

/And then what?/ the hostess eagerly leaned forward as All Might smiled.

/After dropping them off, we came back later but War had already left and he had left a pile of monster corpses behind him. True to his word, not one of those things crossed that line./

/Wow…that's just…wow!/ the hostess blinked owlishly.

/I know./ All Might chuckled, slightly gushing, causing Eito to blush a little.

/Who did you meet next?/

/That would be Strife./

Tadashi had his full attention on the screen now.

/I met him at the Kumoichi Ward Mall. Me, Best Jeanist, Fat Gum, Air Jet and Gunhead had managed to take down a big monster that was like a mix of a panther and an armadillo but it had smashed up the wall pretty badly. The building was no longer safe as a shelter so we called in rescue helicopters to evacuate the civilians. Just as it arrived and started to land, we had a swarm of monster bugs come flying at us, they were like a cross between a mosquito and a wasp and the size of cats. Understandably, the crowd began to panic and try to run for the helicopters. Thankfully, they didn't reach us because Strife came in on his armored horse; shooting them down. He put his guns away and asked if we were okay. Before anyone could say anything, we heard a commotion from the crowd./

/What happened?/

/It was a little girl, elementary school age and she was crying, saying she wanted 'Puu-Chan.' We didn't know what she meant at first but then Strife bent down and he picked up a teddy bear. The little girl got more agitated so we figured that the bear was 'Puu-Chan.' What happened next, I remember vividly. I don't think I will ever forget it. Strife calmly walked over to the crowd, brushing the dirt off the teddy, and knelt down to the girl's level and then he said 'Is this your friend?' She nodded. Then Strife said to her 'He's being very brave today. What's that?' He put the bear up to his ear, like it was talking to him. 'I'll ask her. He wants to know if you can be brave for him, too?' The girl then put on a cute, brave face and said 'I'll be brave, I promise.' Then Strife said to her 'You just made a promise to a friend and a true friend keeps their promises to the end. Can you do that for me?' She then loudly declared that she would because 'True friends keep their promises to the end!' And then he handed her the bear, it was adorable./

The interviewer cooed at that, as did Ryuko as she glanced at her brother. Tadashi's cheeks turned a pale pink.

/Unfortunately, our little reprieve was short lived because another swarm was coming in along with their giant walking hive. Strife told everyone to get on the helicopters while he handled the monsters. By this point, I knew that the Horsemen could handle themselves perfectly so we ushered everyone on board and took off. Not long after, we saw a huge energy beam shooting into the sky and then, after a few minutes, Strife came into view on his horse again. Everyone was cheering him on as he rode off into the city./

/I guess that only leaves one Horsemen left./

Izuku stiffened.

/Ah, Death, yes. That event took place at Batuu High School. The Wild, Wild Pussycats were there along with Gang Orca, Uwabami, Ryukyu, Endeavor, Majestic and X-Less. It was an army of monsters this time and they wanted in. The students and faculty had managed to barricade the windows and doors before we got there but the monsters were banging against them. No matter what we threw at them, it looked like we weren't even putting a dent in their numbers. Rescue helicopters were already called in but they weren't sure when they would arrive. It goes without saying that everyone was getting nervous, and with monsters banging on the doors and roaring, we knew it would only be a matter of time before it devolved into a riot. Thankfully it didn't./

/Why?/

/For starters, it suddenly went quiet. And then there was the sound of fighting outside. Obviously curious, Endeavor and I approached the window; we assumed more Heroes showed up for support. But when we looked out the window, all we saw was the school grounds filled with dead monsters. Outside the school gate were hundreds, if not thousands of more monsters ready to charge. And standing between them and us… was Death, holding a scythe in each hand and facing the army, ready for more. I don't know if he could sense us or something but he suddenly turned and looked in our direction, locking eyes with us. While they were certainly intimidating, I couldn't see any malice or anything remotely evil in them. Then he turned back around and charged at the monster army. The fight was brutal but we didn't have time to spectate, the helicopters had finally arrived and landed on the roof. We immediately started evacuating everyone out since Death was keeping the monsters occupied. Once everyone was on, we took off. Down below, we all saw Death kill the last few monsters and look up at us. We don't know what happened after since the buildings blocked our view of him after that./

/I guess that's why they say he's the strongest of the Horsemen, huh?/

/Maybe… All I can really tell you is that many of us Heroes who were there were really thankful for them. I don't think we could've saved as many as we did if they hadn't appeared./

/But what of the accusations that they were responsible for the attack in the first place?/

/I have my doubts about that. Because the government is still investigating, there's not much I can tell you but what I can say is that they had done studies on some of those monsters I mentioned, the Horsemen left them no shortage of them to dissect. They say that their biology is completely unknown to anything recorded by scientists./

/Wait, are you implying those monsters were… aliens?/

All Might shrugged at the question.

/Maybe in the most basic of terms. I can't say they're from outer space or anything like that, I haven't the slightest idea, but they're definitely not from Japan./

/Do you think they might come back?/

/It's a possibility, however, we're ready for them this time. The JSDF, Hero Agencies and schools across the country have been working on plans and strategies for such a thing./

/And what about the Horsemen? Do you think they would come back? That they would help us again like you say they did before?/

/Deep down? I think they might. I usually have a good gut feeling about certain things and I believe that, in times of crisis like that, they would come again to protect the people./

Izuku's mind went blank as he felt his heart skip a beat, he wasn't sure if this was real; having heard his idol speak of the infamous Horsemen like that.

"You think it's true… What All Might said about the Horsemen?" a familiar voice snapped Izuku out of his thoughts.

He and his siblings turned to the source, the brown-haired girl Izuku met earlier. Said green-haired teen was the first to respond.

"Maybe… I mean I don't think he would have a reason to lie about anything like that."

"Maybe I'll ask him next time in class."

"In class?"

That's when the four siblings took notice of her attire: a long-sleeve, button-up white shirt, a gray blazer with blue-green stripes on the collar and hem of the sleeves, and a red tie, a dark blue-green pleated skirt, leggings, and a small, golden button on her tie. Of the four, Izuku recognized it as the uniform of U.A. University, Japan's premier Heroics academic institute. It was one of a handful of universities that use uniforms for students. That was when it hit Izuku.

"Oh that's right! All Might just became a teacher at U.A. University!" he exclaimed, making the girl smile cutely.

"Yeah, that's right! And-" She abruptly stopped before turning pale, "-And I gotta go before I'm late!"

The girl quickly turned and dashed away, dropping something out of her pocket.

"Wait, you dropped something!" Izuku called out to the girl.

The brunette skidded to a halt and turned back just as Izuku picked up the item in question, a flip phone by the looks of it. He handed it to her, earning a quick "thanks" in return, before she then ran back the other way; stopping briefly to give Izuku a cute smile. She disappeared into the crowd as she ran off. Izuku's mind was racing at the realization of what had just occurred.

'Holy whoa, I just talked to a girl!'

While Izuku stared off into space, his siblings were smiling; no doubt thinking of ways to tease him. Tadashi was the first.

"Okay Romeo, come on. We gotta get to class, too," he said as he dragged his brother by the shirt.

"It's actually kinda cute watching you getting all flustered by talking to a girl," Ryuko said in a teasing tone, her attention then shifted to Tadashi," And speaking of which…You returned 'Puu-Chan!"

Now why was she saying this when All Might had said it was Strife of the Four Horsemen? Because this young man, Tadashi Shirogane, was the true identity of Strife, the White Rider.

"At least I had a better first impression than you did. All Might probably thought you were gonna bite his head off," Tadashi retorted.

His sister, Ryuko Kurosaki aka Fury, the Black Rider, scowled in annoyance.

"Come on you two, don't talk about this out in the open," Eito pleaded with his siblings.

"Relax, bro, there's no one around. Besides, it sounded like All Might was impressed with your 'drawing the line' stunt. Nothing wrong with feeling proud about that," Tadashi said nonchalantly.

However, Eito Akamatsu alias War, the Red Rider, continued to look around in concern.

"I have to agree with Eito, especially with how loud you're being," Ryuko scolded, "Am I right, Izuku?"

"Yeah, what do you say, oh fearless leader?" Tadashi chuckled.

All eyes were now on Izuku Midoriya, or rather Death, the Pale Rider. He was silent for a moment before taking a deep breath.

"I do agree that we really shouldn't be talking about this out in the open, we don't know if anyone could be listening," he said, making Ryuko grin smugly at Tadashi.

"But…" Izuku continued, drawing everyone's attention back to him.

"I can't really blame Tadashi for feeling a little proud. After what All Might said about the Horsemen, I feel a little lighter now. Like things were worth it in the end," Izuku's voice was a little melancholy but hopeful as well.

The expressions of the other three siblings softened, silently agreeing with their brother as they glanced at each other. Tadashi then draped his arms around Izuku and Ryuko's necks.

"You know, I think today is going to be a good day… maybe even the best day ever," he said.

The four siblings, no, the Four Horsemen smiled brightly; agreeing that today was going to be great.

"What do you mean we're not on the roster?!" Tadashi shouted in anger.

"It's just like I said, you're not on the list. That means you can't attend the classes," the security guard said boredly.

"This is ridiculous, we demand to see the dean!" Ryuko said, her anger flaring.

They were quickly led to the dean's office, hopefully to set the matter straight. However…

"It's no mistake, you were not accepted into our school," the dean flatly said.

"We have acceptance letters," Eito argued.

"Do you have the student ID cards that come with acceptance letters we send out to students?"

"Student ID cards?"

"I'll take that as a 'no.' Really, this is why I can't stand incompetent people like you lot," was the dean's annoyed reply.

"And just what is that supposed to mean?" Tadashi demanded; his anger along with the others' rising.

The dean glared at the secret Horsemen before turning in his chair to face them directly.

"Allow me to make this as succinct as I can. And before you Neanderthals ask, succinct means 'clearly expressed," He began, his disgust evident in his voice.

"Letting worthless Quirkless people attend would frankly be a waste of our instructors' valuable time when they could spend it more wisely on those who would actually contribute to society than any of you. No one gives a shit about you, no one sensible would hire you and any that would would be nothing more than a dead-end job flipping burgers or working the streets for petty cash. The sheer audacity you have to think that you are in any way worthy of being accepted by our prestigious university is beyond laughable. Now kindly remove your taint from the premises before I have security throw you out."

"And the tuition that's already been paid?" Tadashi asked.

"Tuition? I seem to recall it was an anonymous donation… even if it was small," the dean said smugly.

Tadashi's eyes flashed yellow but before he could even attempt anything, Izuku's arm blocked him off. The white haired teen looked at his brother, the green haired boy's own eyes now a fiery orange. Izuku shook his head, silently telling him it wasn't worth it. He then silently motioned for his siblings to leave. They turned for the door… all except Ryuko. Said girl walked up and slammed her hands on the desk.

"Let me make a few things perfectly clear, and I'll use small words so even a Heidelbergensis like you can understand. And before you ask, a Heidelbergensis is what predates even Neanderthals. I don't like your attitude and the way you're treating us over something we had no control over. And frankly, it puzzles me how a conceited little shit like you managed to even get this position. If I were you, I'd straighten out this garbage heap you call a personality before it bites you in the ass."

"Last chance before I call security."

"So that's your final answer?"

Ryuko then stood up, the Dean giving a sneer at her question, and she walked out after her brothers. She then reached into her pocket to retrieve her phone. She dialed a certain number as the four siblings exited the office and closed the door.

"Hey mom? I'm just leaving the dean's office… and I think there's something you should know about."

The secretary stared at the door the four teenagers walked out of before glancing back at the dean's office door and back, a thought grew in her mind:

'I don't know what's going on but I think it's gonna be good.'

The four took their seats at a cafe across the street.

"That scum-sucking Quirkist piece of-" Tadashi raged.

"Let it go. Besides, I think karma is gonna come knocking on his door real soon," Ryuko said with a mischievous smile.

Before any of them could ask what she meant, there was a loud crash of something landing not but a few feet away from them. They were instantly surprised what it was… or rather who.

"All Might?" they said in unison, catching the man's attention.

"Hello citizens! Don't mind me, I was just returning to U.A. after an interview today."

"Yeah, we caught part of it earlier," Izuku gushed.

All might was about to reply when he began to look at the four teens inquisitively.

"Everything okay?" Tadashi asked.

"Pardon me but have we met? you seem familiar."

The four suddenly went on edge.

"I don't believe so," Tadashi said, trying to hide his nervousness.

"I have this strange feeling of Deja vu, I doubt I've seen you on campus, we're nowhere near U.A."

"No, we've never been to U.A. In fact, we were supposed to be starting here today if it weren't for the dean," Izuku said quickly, hoping to change the subject.

"Why? What happened?"

They all sighed; Izuku's idea worked.

"Well, if you don't mind letting a few strangers vent to you about unfair treatment for a few minutes, have a seat."

The number 1 Hero grabbed a chair and sat down, looking at the four teens attentively.

"So, what troubles you kids?"

The dean reclined in his comfy chair, feeling good at having gotten rid of those worthless Quirkless. He didn't need those "people" bringing down the reputation of "his" prestigious university. His intercom then buzzed.

"Yes, Minori?"

/It's Mimori, sir. the president wants to see you immediately,/ annoyance evident in her voice.

Hearing that, the dean shot to his feet and power walked out the door. He couldn't help but be curious at what he was needed for. Perhaps a bonus? A promotion? A reward for getting rid of unwanted elements such as those four from earlier? He would get his answer soon as he walked through the door, only to find not only the president but also the board of regents on video call. Truly, they must've prepared quite the reward for him if they are present for this.

"Mr. Presi–" he tried to say.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO?!" The president screamed, causing the dean to stumble back.

The dean looked between the president and the regents to only now notice that they seemed furious.

"Sir, I don't understand what you mean," the now timid dean said.

The president took a deep breath to reign in his anger.

"We were having our annual meeting when we received a call," he began, frustration still present in his tone.

(Flashback)

The President's secretary peeked inside the room.

"Pardon me, sir but you have a call on line 1."

"Tell them to call back, we're in the middle of a meeting," the president said dismissively.

"It's Inko Midoriya of the Afthonia Foundation, sir. She says it's urgent."

/The Afthonia Foundation? They're the ones that presented the 1.5 billion yen donation!/ one of the regents exclaimed.

/President, put it on speaker,/ said another.

He did so, trepidation filling his mind.

"Ms. Midoriya, how can I help you?"

/It's come to our attention that the Dean of Musutafu University has been displaying some… unprofessional conduct. I was hearing words like 'prejudice,' 'bias,' 'discrimination,' 'Quirkist,' and a few other colorful words that made us at the Afthonia Foundation rather… uncomfortable. These beliefs are not in line with our foundation's principles. I highly suggest you rectify this situation or we will reconsider our endowment./

The call ended abruptly as panic filled those who heard every word.

(Flashback end)

"So I'll ask again. What. Did. You. Do?" the president demanded, glaring at the dean.

So lost in their anger, they didn't notice various items all over the room began shaking.

"…And that brings us to now," Tadashi said, finishing their recount of their ordeal with the dean of the university.

All Might grimaced, sympathy evident in his eyes… Well, if they could see his eyes, they would have seen sympathy.

"I see. I'm sorry you all had to endure that, especially over something you had no say in," All Might apologized, referring to their status as Quirkless.

"You would be part of the handful of people that understand our issues in society."

All Might didn't respond to that as he was a little lost in his memories.

"Which reminds me," Izuku interjected as he looked at Ryuko, "What did you mean by 'Karma knocking on the dean's door?"

"Oh, I just thought that the Afthonia Foundation would be interested to know about the 'unprofessional conduct' at this university," Ryuko answered, a great big smug smile on her face.

All Might perked up in surprise at this. He had heard of the Afthonia Foundation as a multibillion dollar institution that popped up after Megiddo City, providing huge donations for those affected by it, be it housing, food, medical care, even educational assistance. Lately, they have been expanding their charitable donations to other groups not involved with that incident. But one of the biggest mysteries was that no one knew who founded it.

"How are you familiar with anyone in the Afthonia Foundation?" All Might asked.

"Let's just say we're very close to the chairman of the board," Ryuko answered cryptically.

All Might wanted to press further but the large red-headed boy raised his hand, catching everyone's attention.

"Um, I hate to interrupt but… do you feel that?"

Everyone became silent as they soon realized that the ground was starting to shake and it was getting stronger quickly. Utensils and table accessories began to rattle loudly as they and other people were looking around in confusion and fear.

"Earthquake?" Izuku asked.

There was a loud noise coming from the courtyard of the university as the ground began to crack and bulge upward.

"That's no earthquake," All Might said firmly. Was a villain attempting to attack the campus?

No. It was something worse. The ground exploded, sending chunks of earth and concrete into several directions, smashing anything in their paths. At the origin point, a giant serpentine body emerged, an armored carapace covered the entire form. The head was adorned with a crown of horns, four giant mandibles surrounded the beak at the center; the beast let out a hissing screech, revealing countless rows of teeth within. Screams of countless people drowned out the monster's as they began to run away.

All Might was frozen in shock. He recognized this creature as one the monsters that had plagued Megiddo City, some of which still do to this day. He was broken out of his thoughts when the four teens behind started talking.

"Is that an Ashworm?!" He heard Eito shout.

"What the hell is that doing here?!" then came Ryuko.

'How do they know what that is?' He thought in confusion

"Ask later, take it out now!" Izuku practically ordered.

'Take it out? Wait!' All Might questioned mentally before realizing what was just said.

What happened next was so fast, All Might couldn't believe he caught it all. The four quickly ran past him, Izuku and Tadashi donning masks, Ryuko placing a medallion on her belt and Eito removing his prosthetic arm and replacing it with a much bulkier one.

Then… they began to change.

It started small with their respective hairs. Izuku's green hair darkened to black while the curls slackened straight, even starting to lengthen until it was past his shoulders. Tadashi's white hair turned dark gray and began to spike from the edge of his mask onward to the back of his head. Ryuko's black locks turned wine red and lost its uniform cut, becoming coarse; black markings began to appear on her forehead and around her eyes. Eito's red hair turned stark white just as a symbol appeared, forming lines down the bridge of his nose and across his eyes. And then their clothes changed.

Izuku was now shirtless with a purple cowl around his neck. Dark bicep length gloves with pale yellow metal bars running from elbow to knuckles, resembling bones; claws covered the fingers. Armor of the same color and design formed around his lower torso, Purple cloth billowing out the bottom. Matching boots with skull knee guards formed and completed the look. Attached to the hips were a pair of scythes.

'Death?'

Tadashi gained a black bodysuit as silvery armor formed over his torso and calves. Matching armored grieves and clawed gauntlets appeared on his hands and feet respectively. A bandolier and bullet belt formed along with guns in holsters followed by a purple long scarf to finish.

'Strife?'

Ryuko gained wicked looking armor that covered torso and legs. The left arm had a single shoulder pauldron with armor running down into a clawed gauntlet, the right arm was mostly bare save for a bicep band and matching gauntlet, a handle of all things firmly in her grip. The look was finished with a purple loincloth over the front and back.

'Fury?'

Finally, Eito was now wearing heavy looking armored boots and a matching gauntlet on his right hand. Two mismatched pauldrons on his shoulders, a silvery screaming demon-faced one on the right shoulder and a golden, less ornate one on the left, followed with bronze-colored armor on his abdomen with red running over and under the pieces, a short red loincloth forming out the bottom. The final touch was a red hooded cowl over his head where locks of his now white hair could flow out. Upon his back was a very large, very familiar looking sword.

'War'

All Might remained rooted where he stood. Now he knew why these young people seemed so familiar; he had just spent a good deal of his interview reminiscing about them.

These kids… were the Four Horsemen.

"Give me a boost!" Strife called out to War, his voice now different.

The Red Rider held out his large left hand, prompting the White Rider to hop on before his brother threw him skyward. Strife drew his pistols and fired rapidly at the Ashworm, the machine gun speed tore through one of the mandibles, cutting it completely off. The beast howled in pain but another of its mouth appendages was soon attacked by Fury, her whip having snagged a lower one, as she pulled it to one side. The worm tried pulling back but Fury, her hair suddenly turning neon yellow, sent arcs of electricity up her whip; shocking the beast. With it stunned, Death scaled up behind the beast, combining his two small scythes into one big one, before bringing his weapon down and slicing another mandible off. The Pale Rider wasn't finished as he separated his weapon and stabbed both blades into the open wound and pulled. This in turn caused the worm screech in pain and thrash about, smashing into the wall of the building. Fury was starting to get pulled towards the bead, she turned to her sibling.

"Strife, give me a hand!" the Black Rider called out, her brother immediately joined in and began pulling harder.

"War, now's your chance!" Death yelled as he pulled harder.

The Red Rider wasted no time drawing his sword and charging forward. With a mighty leap, he jumped up, driving his blade up along the Ashworm's unarmored underside. At the apex of his jump, he pulled his sword out and made a quick horizontal slash about where the beast's heart would be.

The monster immediately stopped thrashing as it collapsed onto the ground, blood and guts leaking from the underside. The Horsemen flicked away any blood on their weapons before putting them away. They were caught off guard by the sound of someone clapping.

"Well done, you guys haven't lost your touch," All Might said boisterously.

'Oh shit, we were so worried about the Ashworm, we forgot All Might was here!' Death thought in a panic.

The other Horsemen shared the same sentiment but was soon replaced with confusion as a new sound filled the air.

"What's that sound?" War asked.

"That, my young friends…" All Might began as he pointed behind the Horsemen, "…is the sound of applause."

Looking to where All Might was pointing, the Horsemen saw every undamaged window was filled with the cheering forms of the University's staff and students. They honestly couldn't believe what they were seeing, people were praising them. A new sound was then heard, the ever familiar sounds of police sirens.

"You four did great, today," All Might said, staring down the street at the approaching police cars, "Perhaps you guys would like to consider-"

All Might turned back to the Horsemen, only to find that they had disappeared. The number one Hero looked around but couldn't find any trace of them. All Might sighed in disappointment, he really wanted to have an honest heart to heart with them; he never even got their real names. That's when he remembered, they might have given him some clue after all. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.

"Nezu? It's Toshinori. I was hoping you could provide me with some information…"

Hours later…

"So let me see if I got this right…" Inko began, a slight irritation in her voice as she addressed the Four Horsemen; now back in their civilian appearances, "After you called, you had an unexpected reunion with All Might."

"Yes," Eito said, ashamed.

"And he almost recognized you but you managed to distract him with how you were screwed over by the dean," Inko continued.

"Yeah," Izuku confirmed, equally embarrassed.

"Only for an Ashworm to show up and you four transformed right in front of him."

"Mmhmm," Ryuko mumbled.

"Is there anything else I should know about?" Their mother asked, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"If it makes you feel any better, we never told him our real names," Tadashi offered.

Inko took a deep breath and sighed, "Yes, that does make me feel a little better."

The four siblings sighed in relief.

"But it doesn't change the fact that you nearly revealed yourselves to the public. I know you kids are scared of what people will say if they found out, I am too. And I know you did it for a very good reason and I'm so proud of you that you did, I could never be not proud of you doing something so selfless. Just promise me you'll be more careful."

The siblings glanced at each other, as if silently coming to a conclusion.

"We will, mom," Izuku spoke for them, "And maybe someday, we'll feel ready to let the world know. Someday we'll be confident enough to walk with our heads high."

The doorbell suddenly rang.

"I got it," Ryuko volunteered as she got up to answer.

"Well, here's hoping that day won't come before you're ready," Inko chuckled in relief and motherly affection.

Ryuko returned to the living room looking rather pale and nervous.

"Um, mom? Guys? We..um.." she stammered out.

Before anyone could ask what was wrong, a large hand grasped her shoulder as a familiar blonde hair style and big grin greeted the family.

"We meet again, my young friends," chuckled All Might.

The mother and three brothers instantly paled as the whole family of five thought the exact same thing:

'Oh crapbaskets!'

A/N: One thing I forgot to mention after my last update on Love and Iron is that story, this one and GARO: Wolves of U.A. are now cross-posted on AO3. I gotta know everyone, what do you all think of this story?