It was hot. Very hot. It was summer and they were away from everyone, so whatever they did there, stayed there. Everyone's silence allowed them to let their Quirks' ambitions act with relish to be whatever they wanted to be...
"You'll never be a hero without a Quirk, Deku!"
The blast to the boy's face jolts not only his senses, but also hurts him by leaving tiny burns on his battered face. A blow to the side of the arm and another knee to the stomach could not reduce the pain that little boy received, precisely from the damage that hurt him the most: The stomp to his dreams.
And, as all the children laugh at the blond boy responsible for such acts who, now looked at the sobbing child on the floor with a strange grimace of horror and realization, everything goes black.
...
"...bro! Hey, Katsuki! Wake up, bro!"
Katsuki Bakugou opens his eyes as he yawns, straightens his back and tries to ignore the scolding of half (if not more) of his classmates. Being part of the elite school wasn't just anything, which is why they received students as youngsters to be able to solidify their Quirk for college, which would take their labors to the maximum in a professional performance. And yet, this event would not let him be in his hero's costume, let alone act like one if in the due act something unusual happened.
"You should not sleep through these ceremonies, Bakugou. Our job as heroes rules to tolerate these activities as the public images we are and..." Blah, blah and blah were the babblings of Iida Tenya leading the class as if they were still learning something when they were all just together for the opening of a mere giant shopping mall.
He steps away for a second and settles on the railing, looking around the huge place with disinterest. Kirishima and Jirou mimic him, dazzled by the number of people on the other side, so far away from the rest, with huge, well-structured floors. A building that cost a lot and was commissioned for the construction company of the parents of "Bubble Face" AKA Ochako Uraraka. Coming from a situation of complicated poverty to being from an elite family in so few steps while she was studying to be a hero allowed her to be able to stop worrying about her parents to fully focus on her dream of helping heroes...
"Iida, you talk a lot." She stopped him; Shoko Todoroki. A young woman with red and white hair who, with her beauty and powerful Quirk, captivated more than one... Sure, until you remembered that her half-cold Quirk didn't compare to how icy her way of being and talking to others was.
"In his defense, Bakugou always needs to be reminded of these things." Momo Yaoyorozu expresses resignedly.
"Hey, Shoko. By the way, when will your boyfriend show up? You said he'd be here any minute, didn't you?" Mina Ashido shouted at her with exaggerated excitement, it was clear she wanted to see if this could break through the ice queen's icy armor.
The latter gave her a sidelong, calm look, which made her swallow deeply in case perhaps she broke a heartstrings.
"He's not my boyfriend... But Dad would be happy if he were... And I wouldn't complain..." She murmured after her refusal, thoughtfully. No one expected more from her, her quiet refusal clearly assured that Mina was just talking nonsense.
And, while all was still quiet, surprise caught the blond and those watching from the railings when they saw numerous heroes enter the place with speed, looking everywhere, possibly in search of someone. Aspiring hero students from both classes on either side quickly picked up on the situation as the police cordoned off the area so that civilians would not disrupt the passage.
Suddenly, everything got weird. Shoko was surprised to see her father coming out of a hallway with an apprehended and escorted subject. His head covered by his hood, a thing that generated intrigue in her immediately as he was evidently a suspect of something. She knew nothing of this.
Quickly she pulled out her phone and dialed the number she had on her schedule. It took a few seconds for the line to pick up before the receiver answered.
"My dear sis-!" the guy behind the line tried to greet briskly, but his sister's cold voice and seriousness held him back.
"Dad's taking a guy under arrest, what's going on and why didn't you tell me?"
She heard a sigh, and with that confirmation, she knew perfectly well that her brother Touya knew about what was going on.
She showed annoyance, as she always wanted to be able to help them both despite her position as a student.
"The information was leaked just now. We didn't want to ruin the moment with your little boyfriend, but..."
"But... What?" she complained when her brother fell silent at the realization that he knew something else, especially when he referred to 'him'. "Touya, don't tell me that-."
"Shoko, he was somewhere else. He didn't intend to come to the exhibition... But now that we know about the bombs..."
"Bombs?!" she was overwhelmed at what she had heard, catching the attention of her companions who mitigated that statement with their own murmurs so that no one nearby would be upset by any misunderstanding.
"Everything is neutralized, but be prepared to evacuate if he-!" he tried to explain when he stopped. It seemed he had received something on his phone he willed himself to look at it to be overwhelmed at the surprise. "Oh, God... It's not there... Shoko, listen, don't get upset." He tried to inform her, but she clearly looked upset in her stoic expression for not understanding anything.
"Don't get upset about what?!" she complained, annoyed.
"Because he's coming right up to your position."
The young woman was surprised at the statement, which is why she turned slowly to see the glass window shatter into pieces as a body came noisily in from outside. He managed to stop himself with a set of activations that released air pressures to inhumanly hold the body from following the traction of the movement because of the speed at which it was coming. After this, he fell to his knees, as he slowly pulled himself together and his entire metal suit firmed over his body as he rearranged himself to deactivate the parts not needed for what he was coming to do now. Shoko stood frozen, phone in her hand, watching the heavy being rise up before her.
That's when everyone noticed it: an imposing dark green and light green metal suit, notable for having reinforcements on elbows, shoulders and knees. A helmet unified to a mask that gave an appearance to a smile and two huge antennae that went backwards resembling horns.
"Status." Ordered the systems-altered voice subject over him as he advanced to the railing, where Kirishima moved Bakugou out of the way so he could approach this one and analyze everything.
"Systems at 78%, sir. Your body is still numb from the G-forces and having stopped it abruptly also jolted your senses. I recommend rest-."
"I don't have time, OFA. Bombs on the chase. Heat analysis." The guy reminds it as activates some sort of scanner and analyzes the ground from where Endeavor looked up at him in surprise and the heroes recognized him. "Superior analysis." That's when the projection allowed him to get past the concrete schematics, but he still still couldn't see something. "Energy analysis. All protocols." And there, he could see the many cars from the parking lot sector. Zooming in, and getting past the physical barriers of the moving vehicles, he managed to identify the parked one that had electrical activity by a meter. "Got it!"
He threw himself from the railing, mitigating the fall only in the last few inches of impact with pulses of energy and pressurized air that manifested in openings in the suit that quickly closed after use. Disarticulated, he continued running to the fountain, passing Endeavor who followed him with his eyes. He stretched out his arm, launching a shot of energy from his palm, bursting the beautiful decor.
"I've already contacted the aesthetic team to replace the fountain." It was a female voice that notified the boy of his act. This one just focused on what mattered to him, preparing a laser assault with his arms.
"Tell them to prepare a paycheck, Melissa." He reported to rise into flight slightly and prepare to turn in on himself. The shot allowed the concrete to be punctured just enough for him to come down by just dropping over the marked area. A clean assault that left no debris to access the parking lot.
"Shoko!" It was the voice that caught the attention of the girl who had stood watching everything in silence. Turning around, she saw a huge gray dragon that quickly transformed into a blonde-haired lady entering through the gap in the window. "Him, where is he?!" She demanded an answer, to which the young lady pointed to the gap.
"He's looking for the bomb." She explained, calmer as she watched the boy sort it all out. "I think he found it because he came down almost immediately."
"We've got to warn him-!" Crazed the woman, grabbing the girl by the shoulders to her surprise.
"Warn him? But of what?" she asked blankly.
"That there is little time left and the one here is just a decoy." Explained a brown-skinned, rabbit-eared woman earnestly who came in after a jump. Her legs having a mechanical/electronic system that allowed her to jump in here. "We're trying to inform the rest that it's nearby, but we don't think they'll make it in time... And given the case..."
What appears to be the bomb; a belt of C4's with an electronic counter and numerous wires, flew out of the hole at the heroes' feet. The guy in the suit flew all the way up, noticeably fatigued from the current exertion. It seems he had realized the falsity of this one after deactivating it.
"This wasn't it. Status." He ordered almost breathlessly, trying to recover from the physical and mental stress; the mask of his mask came free and down to his chin, where steam spewed out in a breath from his mouth, as he staggered towards the exit from which everyone moved and ests was remounting. Some tried to catch him in his inevitable fall, but he just avoided them so he could keep going.
"Systems at 75%. Fatigue is-."
"Get the adrenaline ready." He demanded as he felt his irritated eyes droop from exhaustion.
"Exposing yourself to two injections in a short time could-."
"Do it!" He grumbled angrily as he already prepared to fly immediately, taking off instantly. "Deploy the heavy unit to the next location! I might not make it in time!"
"You Can, what do you think you're doing?!" It was the voice of Mirko who, having come down with Ryukyu when they wanted to intercept him, were only left watching him fly away and scolding him from the communicator. He clicked his tongue, trying to think how to avoid the scolding that would come later from Ryuko. But then he felt the injection in his neck and his senses sharpened as his heart pounded.
"Fifth gear!" he came to shout as the skin on his face felt horribly compressed and stretched by the pressure that was slowly but aggressively beginning to build against his body. The whimpers from trying to breathe and maintain control overwhelmed him.
"He's subjected to G-forces. He won't respond." Grumbled the bunny as she began to hear the boy's whimpers for breath in the face of the pressure. Ryukyu held her chest as she tried to ignore what they heard and as turned around noticed the brunette come in again, shouting uproariously. "Shoko, get down here! Bring your little friends if you want, since you said you were going to introduce them to that idiot and we're going to have to scold him later! See you later! Endeavor, get your daughter and her friends out of here and find that asshole of You Can! Leave this one to me! I need him to tell us a little more about what his little group of lunatics were planning to do!" the doe shouted as she cracked her knuckles, overwhelming the apprehended criminal in panic.
...
Izuku knew what was involved in continuing to travel at this speed. Having trained for so long allowed him to be able to retain the impact of gravity on his body to travel without fainting, but now...
"I'm fainting. This is too much." He mourned in his thoughts as he tried with his utmost efforts not to close his eyes or faint as he traversed cities at untold speed. OFA, the artificial intelligence system (Other Frickin Assistant) could handle taking him on autopilot as a final emergency. The drones were not an option because of how late he was able to order them; plus they were not in their beta phase, much less was he able to do a simulation or staging to give them the proper test performance.
"The energetic status of the equipment is degrading at 60%, sir. Our arrival is being awaited by the police and the site has been evacuated." Reported the system as the pressure in the young man's body decreased where the young man could no longer contain the nausea. The mask is released as he expels vomit onto the roof of a building. Luckily he'll remember where it is and come to the cleanup later.
"Take me there, OFA... I need to recover." He stammered sickly as he tried to deal with his condition.
"We're getting close now. I suggest resting."
"Later... After..." He mumbled not wanting to hear that suggestion again. "Status."
"Systems at 70%. We're here."
"It's about time. Let's do this one more time..."
The body comes to an unnatural halt with the pressure of energy and air used to stop the movement. The shock is aggressive on the boy's body, causing him to bleed from the nose finally as his eyes water from the pain. These became even more irritated as a memory overwhelmed him in that instant.
"Heroes can handle anything, Deku! If you miss once, it's over! That's why All Might is the best!"
He couldn't help but let out an angry bellow as he felt his heart pump violently. The systems to allow him to go down stop at his command and he plummets down, falling into an excellent heroic pose that draws everyone's attention as they cheer his arrival. He picked himself up off the ground and started running towards the parking lot where the police provided him with access. He then stopped just as everyone turned away overwhelmed at the sight of what appeared to be a huge projectile approaching. This one slowed down as it was on released ground, coming down without damaging anything, just so the armored subject could act as he approached it and could quickly type into the small computer at the disposal inside. Deactivating its protective systems, this one opened as, dropping the columns supporting the walls of the equipment, allowing to see a set of different couplings for the suit that would come to be of heavy activity for what it seemed to need now.
He settled himself on the platform, putting on a show for the observers as the massive suit began to mount over the armor he was wearing, finally encompassing a huge, aggressive implement.
"Keep the way clear! Widen the evacuation area if I ever need it!" This one ordered as he began to move as fast as he could with his massive equipment into the place. The heat vision quickly allowed him to find the vehicle, but also people who did not leave the place and seemed to be waiting for him. This one stopped, knowing there were only minutes left to stop the impending explosion.
"Move away from the bomb or I'll be the one to move you from it." He demanded evidently annoyed. "I don't have time to deal with you guys."
One of the subjects was sweating profusely but smiling confidently. In his hand he appeared to be holding a detonator, which meant he was the one who could ensure the explosion if he wished.
"Oh, but we have so much ti-." He could not even finish the sentence as a huge punch hit his body. The device falling at the feet of the huge metal titan who promptly crushed it with a stomp; the other tried to attack with his Quirk, but a hit against a car left him enough incapacitated.
"I knew it was false, for you would not have prepared that second option if you spent so much time and effort on an accountant. You intended to die here, taking me with you. Unfortunately, I don't have time to die yet." He took the vehicle in his hands and hugged it to himself, pulling it out of the area as best he could. The prediction and estimation of time playing against him as he turns the vehicle and notices the counter ensuring 5 minutes, less than he estimated... "Or maybe I have."
He moved quickly. Time was against him so he decided to leave the site, laying the vehicle on its head so he could see if he could turn it off... Then he noticed the inordinate amount of wires on the belt. 2 minutes.
"Motherfucker..." He was overwhelmed at the sight. "Dismount the heavy armor!"
"Sir, the explosion could-."
"DO IT NOW!" he shouted as the parts were being disassembled at the station as fast as possible, some parts not coming off or being ripped off by him in desperation.
"Hey, hey, Izuku, what are you pretending?! The armor will withstand the blast but your body not at all, let alone in that state!" Claimed a shrill female voice that was clearly scolding him. "Gentle is around to help you! Don't let his hero die before his eyes, you bastard!"
"SHUT THE FUCK UP! I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS!" He exclaimed angrily, ripping the communication device he tore from his helmet, overwhelming the people behind the line who did not expect that outburst. Some rose from their seats, watching in horror and fear as the boy ripped off the explosive belt and soon propelled himself swiftly into the sky.
Many heroes on duty immediately received notification of a loss of connection to the communications system manager, entering a secondary phase so as not to lose autonomy. However, most of them were well aware of what that implied and could not help but send messages, demanding explanations as to what had happened to him. The people in the room saw the red signs presenting emergency messages, asking for the man in the metallic suit who now, arms folded across his chest, was traveling swiftly skyward while trying to preserve his physical strength as much as possible. The camera on his face showing his nose bleeding as his eyes and breathing couldn't keep up with the demands.
The counter reached 30 seconds. It is then that they saw him stop propelling to see him turn on himself, throwing the weapon as far as he could. Not being enough when the explosion occurred and hit him, immediately ending communications between headquarters and the boy. Everyone stood up as they watched the cameras with the loss of connection, the horror that even the vital signs system was responding, leaving a worrying picture.
La Brava, the little woman who had scolded the boy for his crazy idea, received a call from Gentle, her boyfriend who was now on duty, which worried her about having to report the situation. Answering the call, she perched the phone to her ear, preparing for anything.
"La Brava! There was a huge explosion in the sky! It's awesome! I'm getting to the scene! There's a huge metal body falling from the sky! It looks like... Izuku? No, NO! NOOOOO! BOOOOOOY! IT CAN'T BE!"
The woman slumped in her seat as she clutched the device against her ear. Her worried breathing, no less as the entire crew came to her to hear the news, as she covered her mouth to stifle the cry of anguish at seeing her boyfriend so worried at what he seemed to be seeing. A man quickly snatched it from her and put it on speakerphone, being that his distressed expression was more than evident as he left it in everyone's presence.
"I got him, he was falling so fast!" Confirmed the man, something that allowed more than one to breathe, but didn't confirm anything important yet. "The suit's in one piece! I'm about to get this thing out of him! Ah, done it! Shit! He's not breathing!" everyone was overwhelmed at that, being that they were listening to the man quickly applying every medical CPR process with effort. More than one felt his desperation, if not even his sobs. "Come on, boy! Breathe, damn it! Don't do this to me! Don't leave us like this! Your mother wouldn't have wanted to lose you like this without a fight! Come on! Come on! Breathe! Breathe!"
A quick preparation ensured the use of the electrical system at the man's disposal. This one seemed ready, delivering a shock, then resuming resuscitation movements.
"YES! BREATHE!" It was the man's confirmation between sobs that made everyone relieved and even shout with emotion after the situation. The man who would have put the device on speakerphone just let himself collapse in his seat, trying to catch his breath. "The doctors are here, everything will be fine!"
"Midoriya-shonen..." Murmured one of the men with blond hair, his overwhelmed gaze set on his phone. The image filtered through the media of Gentle contentedly in tears, carrying on his arms the boy with blood all over most of his face and a blank stare towards the medics who came with a stretcher. His anguished look cannot help but feel remorse and even guilt for not having insisted on the idea of the boy being his successor, now with more longing...
...
The airship moves over the city at a steady pace. The pilots secure everything while the youngsters of the A class of the public high school associated with the UA watched everything enraptured by the presence of the technology of the place. The three heroes riding in it, either escorting the youngsters or for their interests, were somewhere between tense and nervous about the loss of communication with the boy not answering calls, perhaps because of the so many he was receiving at the same time.
"It certainly looks like You Can has done a great job with these new vehicles. They don't even vibrate inside." Iida Tenya was fascinated as he adjusted his glasses. This caught the attention of several as he demonstrated relative closeness to the armored guy.
"Wait! You know him, Iida?!" Kaminari was fascinated by such a revelation, this one looked uncomfortable at his carelessness, confirming it with embarrassment.
"Yes, my family is a shareholder, even though our shareholdings have no impact on the company as it is private. Todoroki and Momo do too, that's why we already knew each other before."
"Wooow..." Mina got excited. "The guy we were going to meet was him?! You Can?!"
Todoroki doesn't respond to anything, concentrating on her phone that seemed to be watching the news along with the vice president. Jirou is excited to meet him, as she seems to know his background, which she is quick to mention.
"You Can..." Mentions the axial girl in his ears. Endeavor and Ryukyu become interested as the girl quickly rambles her knowledge. "It is said that he is Quirkless and always dreamed of being a hero..." This catches the interest of Katsuki who didn't seem to be interested in anything at all, getting up from his seat to listen better. Doubts now could not be ignored if he remembered the corporate brand symbol of the vehicle that picked them up: it was a simple acronym: Deku. He did not believe now that this coincidence was so irrelevant.
"That's true." Aoyama confirms with a seriousness unusual for him. "It's amazing..."
"It's said that he abandoned his first and last name after the death of his family in a villain's attack." Mineta integrated earnestly. He seemed to have a deep respect for him, something Sato nods in affirmation.
"His father, they say around. His mother went through a couple of other things before she pass-."
"Suicide." Corrected the blonde heroine, overwhelming everyone in the place. Mirko clicked her tongue at the pitying looks some had about that. Katsuki froze in place at the news with his teeth clenched together so as not to show a facial reaction. He had long ago stopped by the Midoriya's house only to learn that they were no longer there. His mother only told him that they had moved because of the bullying of the boy, so this fit even more into what he didn't know. "She committed suicide years ago."
"God..." Toru muttered, sensitive about the information. "Why?"
"They were alone." Endeavor confirmed, surprising everyone by hearing his sensitivity on the subject. "No one was going to help one more kid in the pile who had his mother as a terminal patient, being that they couldn't pay the bills and had no insurance. She pulled the plug on herself to spare her son the suffering... He... He told me once." He confessed as he averted his gaze from Shoko who looked shocked at that revelation. It seems she didn't knew that story. "I just wanted you not to misinterpret the facts. Forget what I said."
"Half late for that, candle!" the rabbit complained, annoyed. To then glare evilly at the youngsters. "Don't even think of showing pity for him, you just spit on his work and effort!"
"How rough." Kirishima muttered, understanding the threat. "That explains why he's fought so hard to help others, his medical lines have allowed many lives to be saved... Perhaps to not allow what happened to him to happen again."
"Makes sense." Tokoyami expressed. "A loss of such magnitude would mark someone forever. But it's amazing that he preserved his sense of humanity to make up his mind to help others."
"Oh, it was always amazing." Rambled the blonde with a beautiful smile, she seemed so deep in thought that it only managed to revive her. "Ever since he was helping the heroes in the shadows by selling information on the movements of criminals and even assessments of their Quirks. He was always an amazing guy with great intellect, which could be exploited when AU director Nezu managed to get in touch with him." That's when she shied away from the stares and clasped her hands together, playing with her thumbs. "It was inevitable that when he started to dedicate himself to creating and selling second-hand but excellent quality support equipment, everyone would decide to support his project so that he could push it forward... No one expected SHIELD to put their interest in him and, with all the financial and hero support, to do all this... You'd think at thirteen he'd have been overwhelmed with so much, but Nezu was like a father to him and thanks to that is that-."
Everyone focused on Shoko and Momo who had exasperated with surprise and Ryuko did not wait to activate the monitor that was immediately equipped behind the remote control button at her side. The image caught everyone's attention, getting them to see the huge metal subject moving in a limited and hurried way in order to deactivate the explosive belt in the vehicle. They all watched from the perspective of the cameraman who pointed out the exaggerated amount of wires that took the titan by surprise, which showed his desperation as they watched him disarm himself with as much haste as he could muster.
"You son of a bitch! What are you doing?!" Mirko complained angrily, evidently not understanding anything of what she was seeing other than the fact that the boy was walking away from his defensive mechanisms.
"He's short on time. He needs speed if he wants the bomb not to explode there, so he intends to take it to the one place he wouldn't hit anyone..." Endeavor understands with a complicated expression, something that catches everyone's concern.
And, as the red-haired hero made clear, the boy performed, propelling himself skyward with the bomb clutched to his body. The cameraman struggles to keep up while another camera, fixed on a helicopter, captures the as it speeds past them into the sky. Ryuko notices that the height and distance should allow them to see it from the vehicle, so she runs inside the platform to one of the tiny windows to see if she could notice it, which she did when she saw the small dot of bright light heading skyward. Most imitated her, trying to see. Those watching from the TV only became concerned when they saw that no camera could follow it, the reporter's narration being the only thing able to help them understand what was happening.
Then, the explosion. Ryuko was overwhelmed and didn't even take long to run away, freeing the individual exit after isolating herself, opening the hatch and letting herself be carried away by the air as she transformed into a huge dragon and didn't take long to fly as fast as she could towards the place of the explosion. Endeavor was so overwhelmed by what he saw that he was left watching the screen, noticing how the camera managed to show the metallic body falling at high speed to crash to the ground. Mirko was clenching her fists so tightly that anyone watching would swear they would bleed at any moment.
The body stops in front of what appears to be a pocketed web created from the air itself that keeps the speeding body from crashing to the ground. Endeavor breathes again as he sees that a hero manages to lay the boy safely on the ground while assisting him, but is overwhelmed when he removes the helmet and desperately tries to assist him. After removing the metal bib, he didn't take long to assist him with CPR and a defibrillator that he always brought with him, which relieved everyone's worries, but not for long as he struggled to revive him. The fact that he turned his back to the camera and the reporter's story only added to the tension of the situation...
The people cheered as the hero appeared excited and happy. He embraced the body, which he raised and, turning to the approaching medics, showed before everyone the emaciated face of the metal hero with his eyes lost to the sky and blood all over his face. His light green hair shakes in the wind, overwhelming the frozen Katsuki who is unable to say anything or even think. Midoriya Izuku, that boy he tortured in his childhood, was now a hero and even a bloody tycoon. His hero name clearly influenced the golden hero. The fact that Deku was the name of his corporation. His hero costume made perfectly by this company. Why he never went looking for him... The fact that everyone adored him... Him.
He throws up. Nausea shakes his notion as he remembers everything he did to the boy. The horror of Izuku's cries but in turn the screams of trying to gather courage, mitigated by the laughter of him and his minions. The burns he inflicted with his explosions. THAT moment where he told him to die. The pity that he left just like that without ever facing him, which now made him sick with guilt.
As Kirishima tries to help him pull himself together, surprised by his state, he looks at Shoko as he feels her gaze. She, despite being sensitive about the previous situation, seemed to have expected his reaction as she bore her eyes into him earnestly. Then he feels his stomach and head about to explode; she knew the truth of everything and doesn't know what to do or say about it.
The blond can only pray that the migraine will go away in a while before they reach the mainland and nothing will explode but his Quirk...
[ Izuku Ironman concept because I don't like how many fanfics usually treat the idea. It can be used if they want it that way xd ]