Chapter 26: The Island of Technology and Memories

"The immigration inspection is complete. The island is currently holding the pre-opening of I-Expo, an event that showcases research and development projects our teams have been working on. Only those with invitations may attend the preview."

With all that info from the announcer lady in her head, Ochako made her past customs, and out towards the greater landscape of I-Island. Which, she had to admit, was amazing.

The entire place looked like an outdoor amusement park, with weirdly-shaped buildings covered in the brightest of paints all around the grounds, palm trees in neat ordered rows alongside the street lamps, and a few things the brown-haired girl could only assume were modern art.

"I can't believe so many people are here before the Expo is open to the public…"

Ochako was only half-listening to All Might right now. "The pictures don't do this place justice…"

Her mentor nodded along at that. "Now, let's see, the hotel should be nearby…"

SPROING! SPROING! SPROING!

Both of them looked up, curious at what could be making such a sound. Looking up, their eyes made their way towards a set of stairs to their left to see… a girl on a pogo stick? Yeah, from what Ochako could tell, it was a blonde girl with blue eyes behind those glasses of hers, and –

"There you are, Uncle! Finally!" she said, as she suddenly abandoned her pogo stick and jumped straight towards All Might with a hug. "Welcome, Uncle Might!"

"Hahaha! It's so good to see you, Melissa!"

As the two of them chatted, Ochako couldn't help but feel like she recognized that girl from somewhere. This Melissa character somewhat reminded her of Nejire-chan, now that she thought about it… But there was definitely more to her than meets the eye…

Ochako shook her head. Questions for later.

"And Dave? Where is he hiding?" All Might asked.

"Oh, he's in his lab. He had a breakthrough on some research he's been focusing on for years," Melissa explained. "Actually, he doesn't even know you're here. It's a surprise!"

"So that's what this is about…" the No. 1 Hero said, before turning back to Ochako. "Right, young Uraraka, allow me to introduce you to to my friend Dave's daughter!"

"It's really nice to meet you! I'm Melissa Shield!"

Grabbing Melissa's extended hand, Ochako shook it. "Hi, I'm Ochako Uraraka!"

The speckle-wearing girl seemed to nod at that, before letting go and grabbing her pogo stick, saying, "If we hurry, we can surprise Papa in his lab! This way, Uncle Might!"

Magma Iwata placed the phone on his ear, as he waited for the call to pass through. Eventually, it picked up, as he said, "We're in. No problems. When does the gear arrive?"

"As soon as I do. You'll find them with your partners for this mission."

"Then we'll be waiting."

"I AM HERE! SHAKING WITH EMOTION FOR OUR HEARTFELT REUNION!"

Sure enough, Dave was in quite the shock. "Toshi… All Might?!"

"HAHAHA!" Toshinori laughed, as he ran and hugged his old friend, spinning him around. "All came all this way to see you, Dave, old buddy! Man, how long has it been?!"

"Aw, come on! Don't make me say it, I feel old enough already, you jerk!"

"You do have a point!" Toshinori laughed at that, before softly smiling. "Glad to see you again."

Bumping his fist, Dave smiled back. "Agreed. Glad to see you, too."

Turning back to the kids, Toshinor could see that his successor was shaking in her costume. "Young Uraraka, let me introduce you to someone incredible, David Shield!"

"I've heard of him!" Uraraka said with excitement. That was good to hear, actually. Not as many people focused on his younger years back in America as they did with his current "Golden Age," so it was nice to know that the next generation was aware of the foundations of the past –

Oh. Oh, no. Pain. Time's starting to run out.

Toshinori really hated to do this, but he had no choice. A subtle cough quickly cut into the conversation Dave was having with young Uraraka, as his old friend understood. "Listen, it's been a long time. Can the two of you give All Might and me a little time to catch up?"

Young Uraraka, bless her soul, nodded in understanding. "Yeah, of course."

"Melissa, why don't you take our new friend on a tour around the Expo?"

Toshinori's honorary niece smiled. "Sure thing, Papa, sounds like fun."

With the two of them out, Dave asked his assistant, Sam, to go take a break, too. With all three of them out of the room, smoke began to pour out of his body, and he began coughing.

Dave held him close to steady his balance. "Hey, are you alright, Toshi?!"

"Thanks for catching it," the blond man said, covering his mouth to not accidentally spill any blood. "The amount of time I can keep my muscle form has gotten even shorter…"

"You said it was bad in your email, but I didn't know it was this serious…"

Contrary to what Melissa believed, Dave was fully aware that Toshinori was coming this year. His old friend had to know about his deteriorating strength, he couldn't just walk in, deflate, and not expect any questions. And besides, as Dave had said time and again, his health mattered.

It left a sour taste in his mouth, but Toshinori hoped to keep Melissa in the dark for a long time to come. Thankfully, he was good at keeping secrets, and young Uraraka…

Well, hopefully another USJ Incident won't force her to spill anything.

Now that Ochako thought about it, Melissa was pretty nice!

Aside from being friendly, she knew exactly the best places to go on the island, and gave the brown-haired girl all of the details about the place. Interestingly enough, it was apparently believed that the scientists and their families couldn't leave I-Island to prevent any leaks on their top-secret work, and Melissa said that was actually only half-true.

The internet and phone services weren't completely monitored by any government, so leaks were still able to happen from there, but the whole "no one can leave" aspect of the island was also a bit misleading. Melissa herself admitted that she left I-Island before, heck, she was actually a student of the Shiketsu Support Department back in Japan!

So, yeah, apparently, the only things that prevented anyone from leaving this place were just the appropriate travel paperwork, and being sworn to secrecy that they would never tell a single soul what happens on this man-made island. Oh, and all of the attractions.

Because, holy shit, were there a lot of attractions here.

A lot of the attractions were actually a bunch of Heroes from all around the world, now that Ochako thought about it. From what Melissa told her, a lot of Heroes were invited by I-Island to come here and show off their new gear and sign autographs. The gravity-user figured that was kind of the case, since there really weren't any crimes going on this island.

So, yeah, Heroes acting more as mascots than law enforcement. Go figure.

"A lot of the Pro Heroes will be at the big party tonight," Melissa said, as the two of them kept walking down the streets. "But I'm sure you already knew about that, huh?"

Well, that definitely did explain why All Might asked her to bring formal wear, now that Ochako thought about it. Even if her parents' financial troubles were all but gone now, she still hated spending their money on such fancy clothes. Oh, well. She figured she'd repay them later when she was making however much moola being the next Symbol of Peace paid.

Eventually, Melissa dragged her to some underwater-themed exhibit with a bunch of nifty support items, like a jet that worked both in the air and water, a diving suit that could go four miles below the surface, and a 360-degree sensor helmet. Overall, not bad.

But the big treat was actually who they found at the exhibit.

"Looks like you're having fun, Uraraka."

"Whoa! Kendo!"

David Shield couldn't believe what he was seeing.

He had placed Toshinori on one of the scanners for a few minutes to see what was happening, and… these numbers… Holy hell, his Quirk levels were dropping faster so fast!

"I know you were seriously injured by All For One, but to suddenly get these numbers is absurd!" David said, as he looked at his old friend. "What in the world happened to you?"

"I suppose if you're a Hero for a long time, your body starts to fall apart…"

David could feel his fingernails dig into his skin. "At this rate, the Symbol of Peace will disappear. The only reason Japan is able to keep its crime rate at six percent is because of your presence. Other countries hover around twenty percent, and some are even worse than that… Honestly, part of me wishes you never left, America could use you."

"There's no need for you to be so pessimistic, Dave," Toshi said, as he walked up to David. "The world is full of capable Pro Heroes, not to mention the good people like you who support them. Besides, I can still be All Might for a few hours each day, I'm not dead yet –"

"Come on, what if a monstrous Villain appears, and you're not capable of saving us again?"

"Listen… just in case that day comes, understand that I have no intention of stepping down."

David wanted to believe what Toshi said was true, that he'd be there. And while he may believe that he could still fight, the truth was he couldn't. Not like he used to. He needed to be back in his prime. And David… he was going to make sure that would happen.

As it turned out, Kendo wasn't alone, as she was being accompanied by Yaomomo and Jiro. A few quick introductions to Melissa later, and the five of them were at a nearby cafe.

As it turned out, they weren't alone there, either.

"Thanks for waiting," the waiter said, placing Ochako's drink on the table.

The girl's ears perked up, "I know that voice… Shinso! And… is that Monoma?"

"Ha-ha! You might be wondering what I'm doing here, Class A scum!" the smug blond said. "As it turns out, they needed not one, but two waiters to staff this place! And since Kendo was already going with all of you, naturally I decided to follow along! Brilliant, isn't it?!"

"He actually played rock-paper-scissors against Kaminari to get the job, who actually wanted to come here to make some money on the side," Shinso said, glaring at Monoma. "But don't worry, Kaminari is actually on the island with the rest of our classmates, he just can't visit the preview. That also applies for Hatsume, and any other Hero students who might –"

"Yes, yes, well said!" Monoma cut him off. "Anyways, I made sure to bring along more members of Class B alongside Class A, to make sure that our numbers remain even! And even if you may outnumber us now, once the I-Expo officially begins, we shall outnumber you –"

"WHY ARE YOU TWO SLACKING OFF?!" a familiar voice yelled. "YOU WANTED TO MAKE MORE MONEY, DIDN'T YOU?! BUT YOU'RE NOT WILLING TO WORK HARD?!"

"Iida?!"

"A clearance time of thirty seconds! He's in eighth place!"

Katsuki paid close attention as the Hero doing the announcement work for the scoreboard raddled off Kirishima's score. Not bad, but the blond could do better. Time to prove it.

"Please welcome our next challenger!"

Walking up to the platform with his Hero gear all decked-out, he looked around to see… oh, sweet. Uraraka and the rest of his classmates came to watch. Now he actually had an extra reason to go all-out. Quickly, he bent his knees, placed his hands behind him, and…

"The Villain Attack Course has been reset. Ready… GO!"

BOOM!

Launching himself upwards, he quickly found where the first Villain Bot was hiding and blasted it, before quickly changing trajectory and taking out a second one below him. He kept the pattern going of blasting them and then swinging around, so fast that he didn't even notice when he ran out of Villain Bots. They were all just… gone. How anticlimactic.

"Look at that time! Only fifteen seconds! FIRST PLACE!"

Katsuki nodded along, as his attention slowly panned up to Uraraka and his school chums, being accompanied by some girl he didn't know, and one of Class B's members, Kendo.

Ugh. If that Copycat bastard was also on the island, he swore to God…

Shaking his head, he quickly jumped up the railing, where the lovable One For All wielder was there to greet him. "Hey, there, Katsuki! So, you're doing the Villain Course?"

"Yeah, you gonna do it, or what? Try and get a better score?"

The cheeky girl put her hand on her chin. "Not so sure. Only one way to find out…"

Katsuki smiled, as he quickly made his way to the other side of the railing, while Uraraka made her way into the arena, getting the attention of the announcer lady. "We've got a new challenger coming in at the last minute! Will she end up on top, or fail in front of the entire Expo?!"

Present Mic, she was not.

Katsuki watched as Uraraka activated the classic tell-tale signs of One For All, as the pink lightning started emanating from her body, ready to go as soon as…

"The Attack Course is set! Ready… GO!"

With the signal given, the pink-cheeked menace immediately blasted off like a rocket, sending herself falling back down as she smashed into the first robot. She probably amplified her own gravity to come barreling back down, Katsuki figured. The second Villain Bot, however, was simply tapped on the shoulder, before it suddenly became flatter than a pancake.

Oh, I get it, he realized. She increased the robot's gravity, crushing it.

For the next heart-pounding few seconds, Uraraka switched between smashing through the bots like a rocket, or simply giving them the death touch, never once pulling out Blackwhip to either help her move or to bring any of the Villain Bots closer to her. He wondered, Is she still having trouble handling it, or does she not want the public to know about it just yet?

Regardless, by Katsuki was finished formulating the sentence in his mind, Uraraka destroyed the last of the Villain Bots, turning off her Quirk, and walking back.

"INCREDIBLE RUN! She's in second place at sixteen seconds!"

The explosive blond softly frowned at that score. She could have gotten the upper-hand on him if she didn't keep alternating between her two different methods of attack. Then again, this wasn't a real battle, so she might not have been putting in all of her effort. Still, though…

Ugh, now I'm starting to sound like Aizawa-sensei…

"That was a good showing, Uraraka!" Four Eyes congratulated her.

Ehh, whatever. They were on vacation, so the ash-blond figured they didn't need to be training like the League of Villains would pop up anytime soon, so it was fine. And besides…

BOOOOOM!

"THIS IS INSANE! FOURTEEN SECONDS!" the announcer screams, as IcyHot turned the entire exhibit into an iceberg. "This gentleman has jumped to the top of the pack!"

…there was always a bigger fish.

Konako Haizano walked into her hotel room, where her teammates were waiting, as she closed the door behind her, and then flashing her suitcase at them. "Picked up our gear."

"Good," her boss, Magma, said. "And what about our partners for this mission?"

"Trailed behind me, before he went into the room next to us," she said.

"Then everything is going on track," the third member of their team, Tsumuji Kazetani, said, before he sighed. "Still, do we really have to work alongside that joker?"

"Hey, you heard the guy who's paying us: That man's the star of the show, we're just the backup. And besides, behind that doofus mask, lies a man who knows how to fight."

"I guess," Tsumuji groaned. "But did we have to really listen to him talk about tea?"

"The I-Island Expo Preview will be closing at 6:00 PM. Thank you for coming, enjoy your night."

As the announcer lady signed off, the majority of the people headed out of the Expo grounds and back to the streets of the island. The keyword in that last sentence was "majority," as there were two people who were currently sitting at the front steps of a cafe, tired as hell.

"Ugh…" Shinso groaned, letting his legs lay on across the stairs, half-dead. "The Expo isn't even open to the public yet… if we're this slammed now, will we ever get to rest?"

"Shut up, I don't wanna think about it," Monoma cursed.

"Hey, Shinso! Monoma! How did your shift go?"

The two teenagers looked up to see Uraraka, alongside the rest of their classmates, greeting them. "You should be proud of the work you've done today," Iida said.

Feeling something in his hands, Shinso looked down to see that Iida placed a piece of paper into his palm, and did the same for Monoma. "What are these things?"

"Invitations to the big Expo reception later tonight," Yaoyorozu said, smiling.

Shinso could feel himself shake in joy. "There's a party…?"

Monoma, meanwhile, looked up to his classmates in shock. "These are for us…?"

Kendo nodded. "Melissa took pity on you, for some reason."

Jiro chuckled at that, as she said, "She figured you could use a break."

"I had a few extras," Melissa admitted. "I'd love for you to have them."

As the two of them accepted the tickets, Iida took the lead. "I heard that there will be quite a few Pro Heros attending the party, as well. It's imperative we don't tarnish UA's reputation. We'll change into our formal clothes and go in as a group. Everybody meets in Lobby Seven at the central tower at 6:30 PM, sharp. Don't you dare be late. I'll contact Todoroki and Bakugou, and by extension, Kirishima, and share this information. Thank you, you're dismissed."

As Iida blasted off, the rest of the group quickly disbanded, promising to meet each other again in a bit. Ochako was about to head off to her hotel room, but before she could…

"Uraraka. Can I show you something before you get ready for tonight?"

As David watched Toshi walk out the door, he sat down on his desk, and pulled out his phone. One of the oldest pictures on that thing was the one of All Might's debut. Not the Japanese one, but the one from back in America, when they were both so young and bright-eyed.

He remembered the day Toshi saved his life, not even in costume. Just some guy in a dark tank top who busted through the walls of a burning building and pulled everyone out. Eventually, he did get himself a costume, and the two of them would go around, taking down bad guys.

And when Toshi shared his dream of becoming this "Symbol of Peace," to be able to create a world where everyone can smile… it sounded ridiculous back when he proposed it, but now? Now it was the cornerstone, the pillar that kept their entire world up.

And David Shield vowed to make sure it would remain up… forever.

"So, this is your room?" Ochako asked.

"It is," Melissa said. "Originally, I would have had my own lab on the I-Academy campus, but since I'm living in Japan at Shiketsu, this will have to do. Whenever I come back home, I bring whatever work I have with me and finish it here, in my makeshift-lab-bedroom… thing…"

As the lights turned on in her room, Ochako looked around to see that, sure, it was a bit of a mess, but it still looked like something straight out of a sci-fi movie. Oddly-shaped desk, some robot claw sticking out of the wall, a weird printer, and even a couple of knick-knacks.

So, yeah, what Ocahko would assume a teen genius's bedroom would look like.

"Whoa… that's a lot of trophies…" Ochako let out a low-whistle at the sight of all the metal trinkets littering the top of Melissa's shelf. "You must have some super-intelligence Quirk…"

"Oh, no, nothing like that," Melissa said. "I'm actually Quirkless."

The brown-haired girl looked up in silence upon hearing that.

"You… don't have a Quirk?" Ochako slowly asked.

"Nope. After I turned five and I still didn't have one, I got taken to the doctor, and they said that I was in the minority of the population, and that I would never develop any kind of power."

She knew that being Quirkless was possible, but… despite being something that affected roughly twenty percent of the world, she never really thought about it, probably because it was something that didn't affect her... Not until what Katsuki told her at the Sports Festival.

"...For nearly a year, I laughed at his misfortune, called him a useless Deku, and beat him up. Just for not having something most of us take for granted."

The sad fate of Deku was one that would be on Ochako's mind for as long as Katsuki kept searching for his childhood friend. But in the meantime, there were people all over the world who might be in similar situations, or worse, all because they lacked a…

"Gosh, I'm sorry. I'm sure it must be hard."

"Huh?" Melissa turned around to look at her. "What do you mean?"

"To be told you don't have something that comes naturally to everyone else…"

The blonde girl nodded in understanding. "Well, I was definitely in shock for a while. And, yeah, I was made fun of by some mean kids, but… I'm happy now. I have a goal in life, I have a group where I belong, I have friends… and if things go well… maybe even a boyfriend real soon."

"Wait, really?"

Melissa nodded, as she opened up a box she pulled out, which contained… two red bracelets? "This is a support item I made a while ago after observing Uncle Might using his power."

"What is it?" Ochako asked, as the bracelet slipped onto her wrist.

"Try pressing the button here on the back."

The brown-haired girl did so, and in a flash, the bracelet grew, wrapping around her hand and forearm, until it stopped, revealing an entire sleeve made of red metal now on her arm.

"A glove?"

"As far as names go, I was thinking, Full Gauntlet," Melissa said, her face both stern and soft. "At the Villain Attraction, I noticed that you were limiting yourself on purpose. So, I was thinking… maybe your Quirk is too strong and therefore your body can't handle its full power."

Ochako could feel her jaw drop. How did she figure that out?!

"I made the gauntlet strong," Melissa said, as she made some air punches with her fist. "It should be able to withstand Uncle Might's punches three times, so I think it would be a perfect fit for you, too! You should be able to use your full power if you have it on."

"For real? All of it…?"

"Please, take them with you."

Ochako's brown eyes snapped back up from her hand to Melissa's blue. "I can't!"

"I want you to use it," she insisted, smiling once more. "Just promise me you'll be a true Hero someday, and you and your friends will never stop helping people in need."

Ochako Uraraka… could get behind that. "I promise."

BZZT-BZZT!

Ochako quickly felt the buzz in her pockets, as she pulled out her phone, to see that it was Iida of all people calling her. Quickly accepting, she placed it to her ear. "Yeah? Hello?"

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING, URARAKA?!" Iida's voice blasted through the phone, hurting Ochako's ears. "IT IS WAY PAST WHEN YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE HERE!"

Oh, right. The party. Shit.

The elevator doors opened up on the floor everyone was gonna be at, as Ochako ran out in her pink dress. "Sorry about that, you… guys…? Uh, where is everybody?"

The only ones in attendance at the moment were Todoroki, wearing a white dress with a red tie, Shinso and Monoma, who were wearing their waiter uniforms, and of course, Iida.

"They're not here yet," the speckled teen said, who was now wearing a blue suit and a yellow tie, waving his hand around. "Does a proper meeting time not mean anything to you people?!"

The elevators opened up once again, revealing Kendo in a sleeveless blue dress that went all the way down to her shins. "Sorry I'm late, it took me a while to get ready…"

"Best. Night. Ever," Monoma whispered to himself.

The elevator opened up once again to reveal Yaomomo in a green dress, with Jiro in a purple one hiding behind her. "Apologies for the tardiness, Jiro is feeling shy."

"This is fancier than anything I've ever worn before," Jiro admitted. "Feels like a costume…"

"Oh, Kaminari would have sold his soul to see this," Shinso grumbled.

"You could always send him a picture," Monoma said.

The elevator doors opened up once more, revealing Melissa in a dark blue dress, her hair now in a ponytail. "Oh, good, I thought I missed you guys! Let's get downstairs to the party!"

"Hold on, we still need to wait for Kirishima and Bakugou," Shinso said.

"This is no good," Iida grumbled, as he tried calling their numbers again. "Neither of them are picking up their phones. Knowing those two, they're just blowing off the party."

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to I-Expo's opening night reception. We at I-Island hope you enjoy yourselves. Now, I wonder if we could get All Might, the No. 1 Hero up here…" the announcer said. "He's visiting from Japan; wouldn't you like to hear him say a few words?"

If Toshinori could tell that old man on the stage to shut it, he would. Unfortunately, he had an image to maintain, so all he could do was smile awkwardly, as everyone stared at him.

"Come on, maybe a round of applause would help! Please, join us on the stage!"

As the rest of the people in the room began to clap, Toshinori looked at the one person he could plausibly blame for this. "Really, Dave? Could have warned me…"

"This was bound to happen when they found out you were in town."

"You owe me one…" Toshinori grumbled, as he made his way to the stage.

"Our competitors are about to begin. La Brava, start the cameras."

"Roger that, Gentle!"

"Moron," Katsuki grumbled. "You're absolutely positive we're going in the right direction?"

"Yeah," Shitty Hair let out a half-chuckle. "I mean, I'm pretty sure we are…"

"Pretty sure?!" It was official: Katsuki couldn't believe that Kirishima of all people somehow managed to convince him to come to this stupid party. Sure, maybe the fact that the moron brought two suits was a bit of a tell, but the pitch was still coming from Kirishima.

And look where it got them now: Completely lost.

"Well, I left my phone back in the room, so we're going on instinct here…"

And that's when the alarms suddenly went off.

Fucking wonderful.

Author's Note: The introductory chapter is over, now for the fun part.

Melissa Shield has officially made her debut in the series! Sure, we've technically seen her in previous chapters, but she didn't interact with the main cast just yet.

SentinalSlice: I originally wasn't planning on showing Izuku's side of the story whatsoever until Kamino, so I guess I'm gonna be doubling-down on whatever I can whenever I can before the big reveal. Hopefully that satisfies you. Also, Kodai will definitely be ousted soon, and Overhaul will still be a massive menace for the future.

Knightmare Lord: Well, not exactly job applications. It'll be explained in the next two chapters or so. But other than that, yes, Overhaul is working with Humarise.

Searcheroftruth: Your theory will be either proven or disproven at a later date.

NickThePick: Oh, hey, we got a new reader! Let's get you up to speed! So, for starters, no, Midoriya isn't a meat suit for the original All For One. Eraserhead and Ms. Joke are indeed a couple, Kodai might have a couple of screws loose, Aizawa being Eri's dad is gonna be a major plot point in the future, your theory about the Todoroki siblings is all but confirmed at this point, Izuku is indeed a massive drama queen, and his tragic past will indeed be delved in deeper at a later point. The HPSC is done for, everyone's got jokes, and the dynamic between Uraraka and Midoriya is gonna be one of major interest as we reach the story's end. Leave as many kudos as you can, and see you next time!

Anyways, back to the regular old shilling…

I'm pretty sure as you all know now, I have also made a Twitter account to post my art, so if anyone is interested in checking it out, /ErnaloreProf is the link.

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Thanks for reading, and once again, see you next time!

- Ernalore