Super Science
Ch 2: The "Lab"
After accepting his proposal, Izuku was led off the bridge towards the town. Nobody once bats an eye towards them, even when on the edge. The man walked close beside Izuku, almost as if trying to protect him or keep an eye on him. While the two of them walked in comfortable silence, Izuku took a close look at his features.
He was older than himself but younger than his mother, so maybe 30 or so. He was tall and thin as a twig, especially his legs! He was nearly an entire torso taller, and he wasn't very short himself. His hair was messy, matted, and sandy blond. It made his hair look tame by comparison! His eyes were an unusual pale color, making him appear blind, and thick glasses framed his patchy, freckled face. He wore a white lab coat, blue jeans, and green shoes that looked much like his red ones. A name tag on his chest read, 'Hello, my name is Professor Egon Crystallo'.
After taking this all in, Izuku took a deep breath, which made the professor quiver like an animal getting ready to move, and emptied his mind. He allowed himself to go into autopilot and walk with him. After walking for a long time, they eventually made it to the more suburban area of town. When Izuku's mind came back from la-la land, he was in front of a modern yet sizeable suburban home.
After looking over the house, he turned to his walking companion and asked, "So….this is your 'lab'?"
"It's my house, but yes.", Egon replied.
Izuku's face deflated at this response, and he replied in an apologetic tone, "I'm sorry, sir, but I was expecting…."
"More?", Egon asked as Izuku turned away, trying not to show his disappointment. "I understand. The truth is, I was kicked out of my old job for being 'too persistent in the pursuit of something unrealistic'.", he said in a mocking tone with air quotes.
"You're unemployed?", Izuku tried his best not to sound shocked.
"Yes.", He answered honestly, only to backtrack, seeing Izuku's expressions and body language, looking ready to bolt. "But trust me! I have a plan! As I said, I need your help and your mind.", He told him while poking his forehead.
Izuku gulped and asked, "So, what was this dream you were chasing?"
Egon giggles like an excited schoolgirl and waves for him to follow, saying, "I'll show you."
Curiosity grabbed his mind as he followed the man into his home. After unlocking the door and letting him in, he saw a quaint yet very messy and somewhat smelly house with a cat. After being led through stacks of paperwork, old takeout and pizza boxes, and many corkboards filled with notes, he was brought to a room lined with some kind of radiation-resistant metal and was sitting in the center, covered up in a sheet.
Grabbing the sheets, he looked at Izuku excitedly before ripping it off and proclaiming, "BEHOLD!"
"What exactly am I beholding?", Izuku asked while looking at a large, very strange-looking white glowing crystal.
"I call it the Singularity Soul. Life force energy runs through every aspect of this crystal! Creation and evolution are at our fingertips! At least that's my working theory.", Egon told him fiercely.
"Is that really what it does? What else can it do?", Izuku asked with amazement and wonder, getting closer to the crystal.
"I have no idea. I was always so busy with my work that I rarely had time to work on it. But that's where you come in!", Egon admitted with a shrug, making Izuku fall to the ground from his previous statement on it. "I need to figure out what it can and can't do! That's where you come in.", He told him while poking his chest.
Izuku took a more serious demeanor and stepped back, saying, "Before I commit fully to this, I have two questions. Question 1: How are you supporting yourself without a job?"
"My parents died some time ago and left me a fat inheritance. I didn't start using it until a few weeks ago. But it won't last long, and at the rate I'm going, I probably only have enough to get by for a year at the most.", he admitted while rubbing the back of his head.
"Sorry about your parents.", Izuku told him, feeling ashamed to ask, only to get a wave from Egon. "Second question, how did you come up with the theory that this thing is crystalized God?" he followed up.
"Well, it has to do with my quirk.", He explained while rolling up his sleeve and producing a transparent crystal from his palm. "It's called Crystallized Manufacturing. I can create any crystals I want to. The only problem is I've never practiced much with it or studied the structure and chemical compounds of crystals, so I can only create one type. But that's all I need for it!", He explained before breaking off the crystal and putting it against the Singularity Soul, saying, "Observe."
Within a few seconds, the white light emitted from the Singularity Soul seemed to pass from it and into the clear crystal, turning it into the same soft, glowing white. Egon pulled it away and placed it in Izuku's hands.
Looking over the crystal with wonder and awe, he could only say, "Wow!"
"Now the power of the Singularity Soul is in this crystal and holds all of its properties. As such, I have named these Soul Splinters, or Splinters for short.", Egon proudly told him.
Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind, and Izuku asked worriedly, "Wait, won't it run out if you keep doing that?"
"I thought the same, but I'm fairly certain this is limitless.", He then turned to a closet door and, just before opening it, said, "Come and look at this."
Izuku looked into the now open door and saw it was a nicely sized walk-in closet lined with the same metallic material as the room with the Singularity Soul. However, lining every available space in the room was an enormous number of Splinters like the one Egon had just made!
"Holy!...Wow.", Izuku said in awe as he stepped into the room lit up by the many Splinters stored inside. Turning back to the Professor, he asked, "How many are in here?"
"576."
"576!?"
"Told you it was limitless.", Egon chuckled.
Izuku licked his lips, his mind racing with thoughts and decisions until he finally reached a consensus. He knew that being a hero at this point was hopeless. He had given up on that to the point of wanting to take his own life. So, what other choices did he have? Nothing. But now, the winds of fate had blown in a different direction, and here he was.
He smiled, looked up at the man, and asked, "When do we start?"
Egon smiled, snapped his fingers, and exclaimed, "I like your enthusiasm! Tomorrow, here at my place, after you're out of school.", at that moment, Egon saw Izuku's face turn from elation to doubt and finally hopelessness. "What's wrong?" he asked.
"I just remembered. I have school work and tests to do.", Izuku grumbled, knowing that school, even with time management, would eat up most of it.
Egon thought. He looked at the boy's uniform and asked, "You go to Aldera High, right?" Izuku nodded and waged a finger, saying, "Wait right here." Izuku did as he said and only had to wait for a few minutes before Egon returned with a plastic bin and plopped it at his feet, saying, "Okay, here you go! Use this to help with time restraints."
Izuku opened the tub and saw it was filled to the brim with papers. He took the first one on the top and instantly recognized it.
"Wait, I know this test. We just took it today!", He exclaimed before realizing and asking, "Wait, is this-?"
Egon nods and tells him, "Yep. I used to attend Aldera. And before you say anything, of course, it'll work. They never change the curriculum. Ever."
"Isn't this….you know….cheating?", Izuku asked nervously while fidgeting with himself.
Even shrugged and offered, "Maybe. But it's not like they ever gave you a chance, did they?" Izuku gripped the paper hard and looked away with a deep scowl forming. "So use it to coast through everything to get a passing grade so you can spend more time working on the Singularity project with me.", he told him with a smile.
Izuku's lips quiver, and before he could start bawling, he bows profoundly and yells, "Thank you so so much!"
When he waves it off and pulls him up, he tells him, "Don't mention it. Now get home and rest up. You've got a busy day ahead of you."