Toshinori watched as Young Midoriya's eyes sparkled. "Wow, I can't believe you have your own jet, All Might." The boy practically drooled at the sight.
"Come on, I saved a bit of money." He chuckled.
"I know, but I always assumed that you used the Zeta-Tube Teleporter when it came to traveling to other countries." He spoke up. "I mean, the jet is amazing no matter how you spin in, but zeta tubes ... those are reserved for the great like you."
"Come now boy, if anyone is willing to help, then they are great in my book." He waved modestly. The fanboyism was endearing to the end. "Besides, Zeta tubes, while useful, are more of in case of an emergency. Why do you think we have both the Watchtower and the Hall of Justice?"
"I just assumed the Hall of Justice was more of a museum the League uses to fund the Watchtower." He answered. "Or a backup in case a villain attacks the life support systems and blows up the Watchtower."
"Oh it was blown up before…" When Bruce decided that the best course of action was to use it as a meteor. Man was a fucking nightmare, money or not.
"So what happened to the plan?" Young Midoriya asked, curious. "I thought the plan was UA?" His old Alma mater and the dream of every kid that wanted to be a hero, at least in Japan.
"That it was, but … certain circumstances have thrown things off course a bit." He chuckled with a bit of a nervous sweat. Especially with All For One … "I'm actually not going to be able to teach there." More like once Midoriya was secure, he'd call Nedzu and explain his reasoning.
Young Midoriya slacked-jawed. "Wait, you were going to teach at UA?!"
"Of course. Why did you think I switched over to Musutafu?" He smirked.
"That would've been so cool!" And the fangasming came back. "I could've had All Might as a teacher! I mean, I'm already your student, but I can't tell anybody that, I would've actually been able to say I was All Might's student and not reveal anything about your secret!"
"Don't worry, you'll have another teacher. A young friend of mine." All Might assured. "I just have one favor to ask …" He looked the boy dead in the eye. "Never, under any circumstance … tell your aunt you met me."
The boy snapped out from his enthusiasm, his face was unusually stony. "... I understand." Oh thank god. "But you do know that my other aunt works in the US right?"
"… If it wouldn't blow off your limbs, I'd give you One For All now and accept my fate as a dead man walking." It was a good life.
"Yeah, I would rather keep my limbs..." Midoriya shivered. "I'm still confused how you convinced mom to go along with this though. I never thought she'd be willing to let me go overseas."
All Might laughed. "Oh that was easy. A little sweet talk, higher education assurance, and free room and board!" Plus begging... lots and lots of begging... which actually wasn't as bad as he thought it would be… especially after what the woman told him.
'I think some time away from me and my sisters will do him some good ... they mean the best but… they don't always say the right thing at the right time… I don't want him to grow up thinking he's incapable of doing anything without us around.'
It fit Tornado's MO, but he expected more out of Blizzard … ah well, live and learn. "Now I won't always be there, so any questions you have should probably be asked now instead of later."
"Really, I can ask any questions I want?" The boy took out a long ... long ... long list.
Toshinori pushed down the terror and chuckled. "Most questions. I ain't going to spill on secret identities."
"Of course, of course." He ripped off the top part of the list … which still left a mile long list. "When you were fighting Vandal Savage, how was he able to keep up with you? His meta ability is stated just to be longevity."
"Ah, that one's easy. Hard work." He nodded.
"… Hard work?" Young Midoriya asked, caught off guard completely. "I mean, I get that you might be trying to teach me-"
"No, I mean his quirk is a lie and his longevity is magical in nature. He's been training his muscles ever since the Stone Age and never once skipped out." He explained. "His body is essentially what happens when you do calisthenics every day for the last five thousand years. Even if they don't get bigger, his brain gets sharper and his reflexes get quicker."
"… That is a terrifying notion." Young Midoriya muttered. "Alright, question two, when Superman was brainwashed by Brainiac, was he subconsciously holding back or were you able to match him in terms of raw power?
"Oh absolutely holding back. Even at my best, I could never match what that man could do." He chuckled. "He told me once that he always imagined that he saw the world like it was made out of cardboard. Every second of every day he was controlling his strength down even to the finest detail so that he'd never use too much on any task."
"How did his muscles not atrophy then?"
"Aliens are weird." He waved off. "And that's not me generalizing either. Superman's body was constantly fueled by the yellow sun. He could go two months without eating a bite and still have the shape of a bodybuilder with ten full hours of sleep off of the sun alone." Something Toshi wished he had with his lack of a stomach.
"Alright. Is Wonder Woman a demigod daughter of Zeus or sculpted out of clay? There's a bunch of conflicting evidence that people can't sort out."
"Clay. She was absolutely made of clay." Because regardless of the true answer, if the former was so much as implied, Hera would overhear and tear apart the country … again.
"Are the hawks-?"
"Reincarnation."
Midoriya tilted his head. "But I didn't-"
"You don't have to. If you ever ask them anything, they'll answer with reincarnation every time." He stated. "They have too many headaches otherwise."
The boy nodded slowly. "Mmm … okay … how does the legacy of Green Lantern work?"
"Ah, that's a bit of a complex one. See, Green Lantern isn't so much of a hero as it is a job description." Toshinori answered. "There's supposed to be one to two lanterns per section of the universe."
"But there's been three sighted on Earth."
"Yes. Guy Gardner is …a special case.." Toshi muttered.
"A name!" The boy squealed as he wrote it down quickly. He could have that one, Guy wasn't exactly subtle to begin with. "Okay, last question..." Midoriya's eyes looked up to him with beaming excitement. "What's Batman's quirk?"
Toshi was split on this one. On one hand, telling him the truth would fascinate him... on another hand, the truth might send him spiraling, heck, Toshi hadn't even told him the full truth about himself...
But above all … Bruce would be pissed if he just gave out knowledge casually, knowledge that was arguably his greatest weapon. So… half truth it. "Money."
"... Huh?" The deflation on Midoriya was enough to rival Yagi's emaciated form.
"Money. How else do you think he affords an endless arsenal of Batmobiles, chemical counters, and the entire Watchtower?" He asked. "If it wasn't for his no gun policy, he'd have enough firepower to outdo a lantern ring."
"... But…"
"Trust me, Young Midoriya. Whatever abilities the Dark Knight might have can never rival the power of his wealth." He assured. "… Aside from his ability to gather information." The plans for the man's contingency against him… haunted his nightmares... so much mayonnaise … He fought off the shudder. "Anyways, we best get going before Tornado realizes you're heading out of the country."
"… But we're already in the air." Young Midoriya noted.
"And you think that's enough to stop your Aunt?" Yagi blinked with a raised eyebrow.
"... Fair enough I guess, but how…"
"This is where it pays off to be best friends with a scientist." He took out a button. "Old friend from my college days hooked it up with a nitro setting. So hang on to something!" He clicked the button.
"Old friend … wait, do you mean Daaaaaa!" And they were sent rocketing through the air.
Star and Stripe pulled her finger out of her ear. "Hate it when physics kicks in after something stops moving the speed of sound." Such a loud bang. You would think being friends with the Flash would get her used to this.
"I … but you … she's …" She guessed this kid had some kind of light quirk going off the sparkles. "You're, you're, you're Sta-Sta-!" She was delighted and ecstatic to hear that her sensei was coming over for a long awaited visit from the states, but hearing that he needed her help specifically… she almost wanted to squeal with excitement, much like how this kid was doing right now.
"Yep kid. Star and Stripe in the star spangled flesh!" She cackled loudly and proudly as she stood in her heroic pose, like all cool heroes did.
"Aaaahhh! Can I have your autograph, ma'am!?" He held up a book eagerly, which she signed before he could blink. "… SO COOL!" He yelled in a joyful smile.
"Yes she is." Yagi-sensei chuckled. "She'll be your instructor for the next three years!"
"SHE WILL!?" The sparkles got brighter.
"Yeah, I..." Cathleen blinked as she processed that information. "S'cuse me for one second, little broccoli head..." She took her sensei to the side away from the boy's earshot. "Alright, what's up?
"Well I figured that if Young Midoriya was getting trained in an American hero school, you'd be the perfect mentor for him." Her sensei nodded.
"And I'm extremely flattered you'd think so and I would be a fool to turn something like this down … but why now?" Cathleen asked. "You're all about plus ultra, so it's obviously nothing to do about scheduling."
"Well something came up and he needs to stay out of the country." Yagi-sensei explained. "Plus the recent revelation that his aunts are the Tornado siblings."
"Wait, WHAT?!" She shouted in shock, looking back at the kid. Her expression was incredulous. "... But he doesn't look like a temperamental piece of shit."
"Yeah, I needed to avoid that bullet quickly while I had time." He winced. "So my options were someone who knew about One For All and was out of the country."
"One for All ... " She blinked at that word. A phrase that she's sworn to take to her grave. "You mean he's-"
"Yes, Young Midoriya is my chosen successor."
She looked him over. "… Real Stringbean of a successor. Has he ever hit the gym before?"
"Hey, I remember a certain bookworm of a girl once upon a time who struggled to lift ten pounds." Her sensei snickered.
"Hey… I was ten…" she pouted.
"Plus you know that I never look at power, it's the spirit and drive, and Young Midoriya has that in spades." Yagi continued. "But you are right in the account he does need more training. I've spent the last five months getting him into shape, and he needs at least five more before he's ready to inherit my power safely."
"Hmm … I can get him in shape, but my quirk is more about creativity than combat skill." She noted. "Why didn't you pick Bruce or Diana?"
"Bruce is too busy with his own investigations to focus on another protege... and Diana would probably kill him by accident. Young Midoriya is the type to be over eager with his training and Diana doesn't have the restraint." A fair concern. "And besides, he'll learn all the combat skills he needs in hero school, so as long as Young Midoriya can gain even five percent of One For All by then, he'll be fine. Plus, the boy is a power nerd, he can be plenty creative in the right scenario."
She looked back at the kid, who was still in a state of fan ecstasy, a state she often found herself in her youth. Cathleen sighed in resignation before smiling. "...Alright Sensei, you've twisted my leg, this stringbean is getting the all American workout plan, Star and Stripe edition!"
"I expected nothing less." Yagi grinned. "And when the time comes and he's in shape... give him this." He handed her a vile with... a piece of hair.
"What's he supposed to do with it, eat it?" She snickered. The man was silent. Her face twisted into dumbfoundment, disgusted. "… Are you serious?"
"You know powers are weird." He muttered. "Or do I need to remind you of Arm-Fall-Off-Boy and Matter-Eater Lad?"
"Such accurate names …" She shivered before calling out. "Yo, kid! Front and center!" Cathleen leaned over to Yagi. "What's his name?"
"Midoriya Izuku."
She nodded as Sensei's successor walked in front of them, she then grabbed his head. "Izuku Midoriya experiences twice as much gravity as normal."
"Wait what-?" And the kid instantly fell to the ground. "S...sss…sss…" He gasped out.
"Young Midoriya, are you alright?!" Sensei shouted in concern.
"St...st...star…and… Stripe… used her quirk on me... Best…Day..EVER!" He managed to jump in the air excitedly in spite of the pressure... before crashing into the ground again. "… W-wait … can't you just … have me gain muscle mass … at an accelerated rate?" The kid asked with struggle.
She shrugged. "I could, but A) That kind of growth doesn't last forever. I'll need to use up my command again, and I can only affect two major things at a time. And B), where's the fun in not earning it naturally?" She smirked. "I'd crank it up to ten, but you'd probably remain short for the rest of your life."
"… Crank … it … up …"
"... Wow, that is dedication." Cathleen's smirk widened, slightly impressed. "Should I?" She turned to Yagi.
"Meet him halfway and give him a five."
"Done and done."
"So is it Commander Steel, Colonel Steel, or Sergeant Steel?" Hank Heywood groaned as G.I. Robot asked him for the millionth time. "Cause it's getting confusing by this point."
"For the last time, my name is dependent on my military rank." He argued. "If I win a war against an evil empire, my name changes. When I do something like prioritize civilians over the mission, it changes."
"Just never use Captain. That's my area." Captain Atom smirked. "I gotta have something that'll make me stand out over all the other heroes that use atom in their name. Atom, Atom Smasher-"
"I thought Atom Smasher was a villain." Hank blinked.
"No, he was a hero with growth powers. It was just during that time where laws were super flexible because quirks were causing chaos." Captain Atom explained. "The line between hero and vigilante was blurred."
"You say that like it isn't already." G.I. smirked. "The higher ups already consider most of us criminals, we're just criminals with a boss."
"That's dumb." Hank rolled his eyes again. "We're the ones that actually fight to protect people. There's a clear line between us and them."
"You may need to double check the definition of protect …" G.I. gestured to the multiple bullets flying over a mile wide yard of barbed wire as a teenage boy they got stuck with crawled.
"Tough love, we're making sure he can protect himself." Hank waved off. It was a little out of their usual way of doing things, but when the number one of America wants to do the number one of Japan a solid, you tend to get out of your comfort zone. "You're doing great, kid! You just need to get through twenty more miles of this!"
"How …. acquire … much …?" English definitely wasn't their forte.
"We're the US. We have more barbed wire and bullets than we know what to do with." G.I. nodded. "Now hurry before the missiles kick in."
"What … missiles-" the rocket launcher began aiming. "Aahhhhh!" The kid screamed high pitched in fright.
"It's just like when I was a kid signing up for the army." Captain Atom shed a fake tear. "If I wasn't pure energy, I would almost consider crying."
"Do you even eat?" Hank asked.
"Occasionally, but the food just incinerates since it's basically getting dumped into an incinerator of nuclear power." The agony.
Okay Hank, time for a motivational speech. "Come now! If you can't crawl through barbed wire as bullets fly overhead, how will you ever reach civilians trapped under rubble!?"
"This … not … seem ... humane!" The boy shouted panicky.
"It's Superhumane!" Atom shouted with a chuckle. "Hehehehe...get it guys? Human, humane?"
"...I think Brainiac has a better sense of humor than that." G.I. Stated bluntly. "Now let's activate the landmines."
"Land Wha-!?"
BOOM
Hank munched on a well earned grilled steak as the rest of the team began eating outside. "Ah, if there's one thing to love about having metal skin, it's the increase of protein I need to maintain it."
"You act like you wouldn't be smothering your face in a burger otherwise." Cathy snickered.
"Yes, but now my body has an excuse to not get fat." He chuckled. "So, how long are we keeping him for again?"
"Till the start of the next school year." Cathy nodded as she bit into her chicken. "All Might's worried something might get him in Japan, so until further notice, Stringbean is staying on this side of the hemisphere."
"Really?" Atom asked. "The most peaceful country on the planet?"
"That's a bold claim." G.I. remarked as he drank a can of oil.
"Crime rate is ten muggings a week. That's way less than any other country." The man argued. "Heck, he's essentially doing what Batman tries to do… you know, except less moody and underaged sidekicks."
"That I don't deny." Cathy nodded. "But there's very little that can spook All Might. If he's worried about something, then it's better to take his word for it. Besides, Stringbean's having the time of his life."
"Dogs, so many, run, run, bad dogs!" The boy, now covered in raw meat, ran away in fear from a group of the base's bomb-detecting dogs.
"Come now! If you can't outrun dogs chasing you because we covered you in a bacon scent, how will you ever reach villains on the loose!?" Hank shouted. "Just be lucky we didn't take the werewolves out of storage!"
"I suck at English!" No, no their lives were weird enough where werewolves in the basement were legitimate things.
"Another good thing about metal skin, no cold." Hank smiled as snow blew around them reverently. "Nothing like a trip to the North Pole to really get you motivated in the morning."
"I thought cold place mean freezer!" The kid, dressed in nothing but his sweatsuit, shivered.
"Hahaha. This isn't even in the top ten coldest places! Now, carry the truck!" He latched the rope around the boy's torso.
Kid's eyes bulged. "What!?"
"Mush! Go forward! Mush!" He exclaimed. "Pull, pull like your life depends on it, because it does!" He shouted.
"Gaaaaaahhhh!" The boy pulled in the rope as his skin became blue, his face scrunching unpleasantly. "This cruel and unusual punishment!"
"Come now! If you can't work through the frostbite to carry this truck full of bags of sand down the mountain, how will you ever save stranded civillains!?" He justified. "This is easy work!"
"This not!"
"... You're having too much fun with this." Atom dryly noted as he sipped a cup of coffee.
"What can I say, I like training cadets. Anyone that can survive me lasts a good three years without being killed in the field." Especially when metahumans and quirks were added to the equation of modern warfare … "The kid has spirit. Most would've walked out by now." He nodded.
"That and I think his heartbeat's going out." The living nuclear reactor poked the kid's head… and he fell over like a statue.
Hank got on his coms. "… Hey Cathy, you can use New Order like a defibrillator right?"
"I can, but first I'm going to punch you into orbit for getting him that close to death!"
"… Shit."
G.I. Robot raised his arms. "Now this next pose is warrior three." He explained. Yoga was a great way to relax the body and clear the mind. And given he was nothing but a mind, it was all the more relaxing.
"Um … G.I. Robot sensei?" The boy asked, copying him. "Why are we doing stretches in an empty field? … Follow up question, does stretching actually benefit machines?"
"For the latter, it keeps my bolts from rusting. And for the former ...this is not an empty field." He gestured for the boy to take a deep breath. "It is a minefield."
"What-!?" G.I. promptly proceeded to cover the boy's mouth.
"Watch the excitement, the bombs go off at even the slightest of movements." He stated. "Be calm and serene, child."
"But, but-!"
"If you can keep a level head here, you can keep a level head in natural disasters and wildfires." He explained. "If you're serious about being a hero, then staying calm in the tremulous trial is key."
"… Calm … calm …" The child still shook like a leaf, paled.
"Don't worry, kid!" Captain Atom shouted encouragingly from a mile away. "The bombs aren't lethal!" A bird gently landed on a small patch of ground.
BOOOM
And the bird exploded into a million cooked chunks of overcooked chicken. "GAAAAAAAA!" And the boy was freaking out even more.
"I thought I said to lay out the non-lethal mines!"
"We can fix anything short of missing limbs!" Steel shouted. "I figured that was non-lethal enough!"
"GAHHHHHHHH!" And the boy began running away, explosion after explosion following his path.
"Hey, at least my running regiment is still working." Steel chuckled. "Those dogs definitely earned their bacon wrapped hotdogs."
"… Were you always this sadistic?" Captain Atom deadpanned.
"You have your mad science, I have my training methods."
BOOM
The boy exploded, covered in singe marks … but still standing with a pained expression. "Arigato, Kacchan." The boy took another step forward, this time, actually able to avoid the mines.
"Well, guess you can't argue with the results." G.I. shrugged. "Alright, now we can move on to phase two!"
"Phase two?" Cathy raised an eyebrow. "What's phase two?"
"Bring out the synthetic meteorites and simulated lightning!"
"...GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
"Remain still, and move slowly, and gracefully, or you will be struck!"
Captain Atom hummed to himself. "Hey Cathy, would the quintupled gravity cause the rate of descent to accelerate?"
"Yeah … why?"
"Just making sure. Alright boy. Today, we teach you how to strengthen your willpower through a simplistic but effective method!"
"What… what do now? Drop in lava? Stranded in the middle of the ocean?" The boy exhaustively sighed as he took in a deep breath. It had been two weeks since they started training … and admittedly, while Atom did consider some of their methods to be a bit unorthodox … It was nonetheless kind of fun having a student they could mess with-teach and guide under their watch … yeah, that was… totally the only thing on their minds.
"I call it … yeet!" He responded with a grin, grabbing their shoulders.
"Yeet?"
"YEET!" And he threw the boy through the sky.
"...Are you guys playing a game by this point?" Cathy blinked.
"Honestly it's more of a group bet to see which of us gets him to admit he needs to tone down training." Atom nodded. "Sure he's screamed and complained, but he hasn't actually stopped or asked for it to slow down. We've actually had to initiate that ourselves a few times."
"I don't know if I should call the boy spirited or stubborn." Cathy looked up at the sky with a whistle.
"Spirited. If he was stubborn, he would have gotten a ring by now." He pointed out.
"Save me the nightmares. Stewart and Jordan are alright, but Gardner…. Ugggh…" Cathy shivered. "The thought of him mentoring anyone is not a pretty picture."
"So Batman's having a kid, and now he's got like, ten of them now."
"Five." She corrected as she looked up. "He's coming back down."
"I'm on it." He flew up, catching the kid. "You good?"
"NANDA JIGOKU?!" The boy screamed.
"Translate?" He asked Cathy.
"He basically said 'what the fucking hell'."
"Huh, doesn't really seem like the cursing type." He blinked. "Anyway, if you wanna slow down kid, you just have to ask."
"Slow down! Yes! You slow down!" The kid was nodding his head frantically.
"You heard the kid, Cathy." Atom smirked. "Knock him down by one natural pull. Gravitation!"
"… Bring him down asshole, I can't fly!" He rolled his eyes, bringing the kid down as the woman touched him. "Izuku Midoriya experiences four times normal gravity."
The teenager sighed in relief. "Good. Wait," He blinked, "only four-Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" And Atom proceeded to yeet him into the sky once again.
"… So five sidekicks?" He asked casually. "Could have sworn there was more in the Batfamily…"
"He keeps saying the first Batgirl wasn't his." Cathy explained. "Plus I think one of the Robins still has his mom and dad."
"Mm … so, when are we doing quirk and combat training? So far it's been nothing but the basics."
"Leave the quirk part to me." Cathy noted. "His quirk requires a lot of physical endurance in order for him to use it properly."
"… If that's the case, wouldn't he be able to use it already through natural growth… come to think of it … what is his quirk-?"
"He's coming back down again."
"How is it faster with less gravity?" He questioned, moving up and taking the kid by the ankle. "So how are we doing?"
"Are getting me use high altitudes or falling!?" The boy shouted incredulously, beyond scared.
"Huh, that's actually a pretty good point. I was just getting you used to the G-force." Captain Atom mused. "… Added motivation yeet!"
"Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
"You'd think someone related to the tornado siblings would be used to being tossed around." Atom commented.
"You're kidding, right?" Cathy blinked with a stare. "The only thing the short deranged dwarf cares about is her family. Heck, she'd chain up Blizzard if she could if it meant she couldn't risk her life."
"Hmm … so, pizza tonight?"
"... Yeah, I could go for a slice."
Izuku grimaced as he made his way back to his tent. His body was sore, his mind was exhausted, and his heart was terrified for tomorrow … but …
He was being trained by so many heroes! And his body was improving! This was for the best, the faster he could make use of One For All, the better. So it didn't matter how many bombs they threw at his face, or how many dogs they made chase him around, or how many bullets they shot at him…
… He was EXTREMELY lucky that neither Auntie Tatsu or Fubuki would learn about this, or worse yet, his mom… Izuku was still surprised she allowed him to go at all ... ever since that day of the hospital visit, he lost hope of … anyone in his family actually supporting his dream … Or anyone really for that matter … the closest he ever got before All Might was one random stranger in the middle of the crowd during Mt. Lady's debut.
'Look at the quirkless loser over there.'
'He wants to be a hero? He couldn't even get a part time job.'
'Yo Deku, how about you help me with my homework, if you know what's good for you.'
'Hey, Deku, check out this book. It's as empty as you are!'
'You'd really think a girl would like a quirkless loser like you?'
Ooookay, too many bad thoughts! Just going to repress and focus on something else! Go to bed, focus on how many autographs you've gained since arriving here, and go to bed so you can train more tomorrow! Every time you had a cramp in your legs meant that you were getting stronger! And in time, you would become worthy of getting to the starting line like everyone else! All Might put in all this effort into you, so you couldn't fail him now-!
"For the last time, Pat, I'm fine!" The shouting of an unfamiliar voice randomly in the air. "It was just standard patrol, nothing you or a million other heroes haven't done before."
He turned around the corner, seeing a girl at his age with blonde hair, a glowing staff and black costume with stars around arguing with a man with an aftershave, plaid shirt, and red hair. "Standard patrol doesn't account for a school bus being lit on fire and being thrown at mach ten speed while a giant magnet takes away your staff."
"I got my staff back …" The girl pouted.
"And ripped apart the building that had the magnet attached to it in the process." The man stared down at the girl.
"… No one died?"
"You broke your collarbone."
"Come one, everyone knows Batman gets hit with worse-"
"You're not Batman, Courtney!" The man shouted as he groaned. "I swear he's been a terrible influence ever since he took in Robin."
"Oh, that's big talk, mister 'wear a giant robot suit that's also my car'." She retorted with sass. Giant robot suit?
"I didn't rush into battle with no regard for my life as a teenager!" The man shouted, before sighing. "Courtney, you need to learn to take it easy … you're a kid. Highschool should be your main concern."
"Maybe I wouldn't rush into things if you just let me go to a hero school!" The girl exclaimed.
"You just got the cosmic rod two months ago, and they'll never accept that as a quirk, especially when you're still so sloppy with it!" Cosmic rod … like the tool STARMAN used-?!
"I am NOT sloppy-!" The girl yelled ... as the staff fired a beam of energy ... right into Izuku's face.
POW
"Thank you Kacchan." Izuku groaned in pain, his face sooted again. Burns were barely felt these days.
"Hey, buddy, you okay!?" The girl shouted in horrified worry, going right in his face. His mouth wouldn't respond, his body felt frozen. "Shoot, Pat, I think he has a concussion!"
He stuttered. "Ha …ha … girl. Talking … On'nanoko ni hanashikake raretara dō shimasu ka Sea."
"Actually I think it's just a translation issue." The older man noted before looking at him with concern. "Hey kid, you good?"
No girl was speaking, now you could speak! "Ah… fine, I fine. Lasers not hurt much, training much hardness."
"I feel that." The girl chuckled with a light smile, calming down. "First time I took this glowstick for a ride, I was throwing up for an hour from the G-force." The staff flickered. She frowned at it. "Hey, you took me without asking. Excuse me if my aim wasn't right."
"Staff, Cosmic rod." He observed in awe. Oh he wished he spoke better english, it was one of the few subjects he struggled with a bit, mostly from Kacchan telling him he didn't want 'Deku to be annoying in two languages'. "Same as Starman?"
"Yep! Meet the one and only Stargirl!" She exclaimed with a smile. "Soon to be a member of the Justice League!"
His eyes brightened. "Legacy Hero…. AWESOME!" Mantles to be passed down… much like Izuku had with One For All… the idea you could live up to the greatness of the past…
"Hold up, hold up, 'soon to be' is quite a long way, missy." The older man interrupted. "And last I checked, you're a reserve member for the Justice Society already."
"The Justice Society!?" Izuku had his jaw dropped. The first hero group ever established?! So cool!
"Yeah, but they just gave that to me, I want to earn my way up to the big leagues, not just be the governments in between for them." The girl pouted.
"Isn't it enough that you get to train on the base?" The man sighed as he rubbed his head. "Most aspiring heroes would give their left arm and a leg for the kind of training you get. AND you get to patrol."
"Oh come on, he's here to be a sidekick, right!?" Oh no, she was talking to him! Say something! Say something decent!
Izuku stared, his eyes wavered. "T-t-rain … h-hero … sch-ch-chool …." Nailed it.
"Ugggh…" The man grumbled as he slapped his head. "Just wait here while I give my report. Don't touch anything."
"Come on, you're acting like I'm going to play hot potato with a grenade or something!"
"You have a cosmic nuke in your hand." He raised an eyebrow. "That you constantly play hot potato with."
"The rod likes it, it likes playing." The staff flickered. She cooed. "Aww, I think you're the coolest too."
"Just… Just don't do anything foolish till I get back." He was walking away … wait, Izuku would be alone with a girl! Lifeline, don't leave! DON'T LEAVE!
"Ugh, can you believe him?" The girl rolled his eyes as she was talking to him. No, no, does not compute, does not compute! Shutting down, system crashing! "It's like he doesn't even believe in me at all! I get he's just my step dad, but seriously, would a little 'you can do it' hurt?"
"… You can do it." He muttered, before walking away. He couldn't be around her, but he had to give her that much.
Thrump
And… he suddenly felt arms wrap around his body, hugging him from behind. Her chest pressing on his back. "Thank you." Stargirl whispered happily.
Izuku_Midoriya_EXE has gone offline. Have a good day.
Fubuki cracked her neck as she headed off to the base. Part of her desire to be on a team may have stemmed from partially wanting to stick it to her sister, but she truly did honor and respect any team she got to be a part of ... and being a part of Justice League International was a HUGE honor for her, even if it wasn't the main team. "You know time travel is bullshit right?" She glared at the man that on some days was one of the most sensible members, and on others was the most idiotic… Booster Gold, the supposed 'hero' of the future.
"Come on, time travel is perfectly fine-" He began to speak, his robot partner floating beside him.
"I'm not talking about the act and science behind it." She cut him off. "I mean the part where you can go back in time to get famous, but can't give us heads up on the fucking apocalypse." She glared.
"Okay, that part's only kind of on me." The blonde man put his hands in the air surrendering. "The timeline is too flexible and susceptible to change. One moment we get the happy alternate ending of Terminator 2, the next we get whatever happened in Terminator 16: The ice cream zombie of doom."
"...That didn't happen."
"You're welcome." He smirked. "All in a day's work."
"Ugh, I'd almost prefer to take Captain Celebrity, or god forbid, Guy." Fubuki shivered.
"You at least have to admit, I'm the one with the most charming personality."
"No, that would be Skycrawler." She retorted.
"Unrequited crushes don't count." Fubuki began twisting his arm. "Oh come on, it's super obvious!"
"There is nothing going on." She growled.
"Then explain why seven chairs were totaled when you attended his wedding."
"Infestation of Trench scouts."
"...There were no trench scouts."
"Yeah, you're welcome." She smirked.
"Cute." He grumbled as they arrived at their destination. "Yo Cathy, the number one American from America, how's it hangin'?"
"Same old, same old, flying high on a jet, eating apple pie, preventing mad scientists from creating twin clones of Hitler, you know, the usual." Star and Stripe snickered.
"You'd think the revival of Hitler and naziism in its entirety would happen more consistently in Germany than America." Fubuki noted.
"Idiots exist everywhere, no matter the time, place, or location." The American number one chuckled as she led them through the camp. "So, causal visit or you have something to report?"
"Reports. These morons managed to actually save the day in spite of the odds." Fubuki rolled her eyes.
"Last I checked, you were the one set on fire seventeen times." Booster chuckled.
"Because I didn't think I'd need to carry a fire extinguisher … because you don't give people heads up about the freaking apocalypse." She growled.
"I told you, it takes awhile for the timeline to change enough for me to notice what events need to change! If that didn't happen, then it would be impossible to change the future at all!" Booster shouted. "I mean seriously, it's not like I can just instantly notice-" He blinked. "Oh shit, Deku's here."
Fubuki blinked at that name … and proceeded to suffocate the life out of Booster Gold. Her face was blank, but her eyes darkened. "How do you know that name?"
"Hero name! Hero name!" He gargled, his hands in a desperate attempt to pry off the invisible force from around his neck. "It's… it's your nephew's hero name!"
Her green irises glowed dangerously. "...That is complete bullshit!" Fubuki shouted. "One, my precious nephew doesn't even have a quirk-!"
Star and Stripe blinked, surprised for some reason. "Wait, he doesn't-?"
"And two, if he was going to be a hero, he wouldn't call himself useless!" She screamed, tightening her grip on his neck.
"Skeets … force … field!" The man called his little toy.
"I don't want to become scrap metal!" The floating robot was shaking in fear with his eye dilated.
"I'm … DYING …" Booster's head is turning blue, gasping like a fish.
"For the love of-just look behind you!" Star and Stripe gestured in said direction…
"So… Cosmic… staff… give… strength?" Fubuki's eyes widened. Her precious Izuku-kun was indeed right behind her… talking… to a girl!
"Not really. I mean it does, but nothing superhuman." Said girl, Stargirl if she remembered from the JLI database, answered with a proud smile. "But I do take Judo, which comes in a pinch for dealin' with oversized meatheads."
"Judo … interesting …" He smiled. He was here … at a hero base.
Shocked and angry, Fubuki released her hold on Booster (who was now breathing heavily for air) and started to march towards the teeangers.
"Midoriya Izuku!" She shouted. Her nephew's smile froze as he turned to look at her … before the boy slowly moved behind a tent.
"Oh cool, Blizzard's here-" Fubuki barely registered what Stargirl was about to say as she pulled her nephew out from where he was hiding.
"Izuku-kun." She gave a sweet smile, speaking in Japanese. "By any chance, would you like to explain to me why you're not in the exclusive private academy Inko-nee-san said you were at?"
Izuku stared back sweating before he blinked in confusion. "Wait, Mom lied-ow, ow, ow, pinching, pinching-!" He cried out in pain as she pulled his cheek. "I'm…being trained… to be a hero…."
"...Okay, either you're lying, you're delusional, or someone here is playing a cruel trick on you… either way, someone's going to be feeling pain in the next minute." She glared at Star and Stripe. "You have one chance to play it straight for me. Use it wisely."
The woman stared unflinchingly. "… So I got cashed in a favor by All Might …"
"That explains so much." She groaned. "Come on Izuku, we're heading home. I'll try sorting out the rest when I have the time."
Fubuki's heart twisted as she witnessed her nephew's eyes widened, looking about to leak tears. "But, but-"
"Izuku, this is me being nice. If I was mean, I'd call in Tatsu. You really don't want that." She muttered. "The fact of the matter is that you have passion when you put your mind to something, but this isn't the case where passion alone can save you…" Her hand got touched by Booster Gold. Her head whipped to the man, glaring heatedly. "What do you want-"
He was frowning. "You said you wanted a heads up when the timeline is going to be changed for the worse… this is one of those times." He answered with caution in his voice.
"… I asked for apocalyptic moments, not sending my nephew out to his death." Fubuki's eyes narrowed further.
"Well, this is what's going to happen if you send him away." Booster pulled up a screen… of a decimated Japan covered in ash… like it all decayed into nothing. Fubuki stared at it, her eyes wide at the display of total annihilation.
She made sure the others weren't eavesdropping or looking at what Booster was looking at. "… So Izuku has to die for hundreds to live?" Fubuki asked quietly, feeling complete concern, disbelief, and trepidation. "That's the kind of Justice we're living by?"
"Millions actually." Booster corrected, dead serious. That didn't make her feel any better at all. "And I'm saying that your nephew has a chance to do a lot of good for the world, and if you deprive him of the chance to do so, then that good vanishes in the air…"
"Hmmm..." She growled.
"And he'll also grow to hate you and probably call Tatsumaki his favorite aunt."
….Damn it, the bastard knew what buttons to push. "… Fine …" Fubuki pushed the screen away as she released Izuku, who looked confused but grateful to Booster. She glared at the man. "But know that you are at the bottom of my list for a long, long while."
"I'll live with that." The guy nodded, turning to the boy. "So kid, what's your name?"
"B-B-Booster Gold!" Her nephew yelped, now shaking in excitement and nervousness.
"Sorry, that's my name, and I can't let you use it, unless you got like a million bucks on hand." The oaf chuckled.
"Ugh, you're incorrigible." Fubuki rolled her eyes, marching up to her nephew. "I'll let you stay at it, but if in a month I don't see any significant progress, I'm pulling the string on this whole thing." She narrowed her eyes in finality.
"Don't worry, auntie." He smiled in relief, a smile that pulled on her heart every single time… damn it, this boy was too cute. "They're giving me the best of the best training!"
"Hey guys!" She heard Colonel Steel shout out. "I found the plasma grenades for the boy's training!"
"...I'm free to kill the metal head, right?" Fubuki asked lowly out loud.
"...Give him a five minute head start." Star and Stripe nodded. Colonel Steel blinked…before running away from the group with haste.
"...Whoa, wait, The Blizzard of Hell is your aunt?!" Stargirl shouted to Izuku, eyes sparkled. "...THAT'S SO COOL!"
"... Kind of … embarrassing." The boy flushed in broken english.
"Only because I love you~." Fubuki cooed as she held him close, rubbing his head with affection. On the bright side, if Izuku was here in America, that meant she had easy access to see him at all times… while Tatsumaki would fall behind in Auntie points!