Izuku had been too unconscious, at the USJ, to appreciate All Might's fight with the Nomu. If it was like this, though? He'd really missed out, because All Might was beating the shit out of Wolfram. Beating him like a rug. Like a rented mule. Like he owed him money. And the most frightening thing was, All Might didn't even look angry. Izuku – well, Izuku could fully acknowledge that if he'd been in All Might's position he'd be incandescent. He'd be fully ready to give Wolfram the Old Yeller treatment, as he'd once heard it euphemistically called. But no. All Might was still smiling, outwardly calm.
It really was quite terrifying, but maybe that was the trauma speaking. Most people seemed to find All Might's attitude reassuring. And, to be fair, Izuku was pretty reassured now that All Might was standing between him and a horrible death.
Credit where it was due, Wolfram wasn't going down easy. Words were lost in a berserker shriek, hands thrusting out like some demented conductor that sent waves of torn metal rushing at All Might as the hero bounded forwards, dodging where he could and smashing through where he couldn't, blow after blow, each one growing stronger as All Might tried to work out how much Wolfram could take. Wolfram went down, rolling, skin bizarrely purpled and bulging, coming back to his feet as All Might lunged forwards and threw a straight punch.
Wolfram, defying all reality, reached up and caught the blow. His arm bent at the elbow, the impact not prevented, but he had hold, teeth bared in a grinning snarl, and All Might's other fist hit him in the stomach and sent him through a wall.
"Just give up!" All Might shouted. An inarticulate roar was his reply, but when Wolfram emerged from the hole he'd made he was staggering, the remains of the Amplifier on his brow flashing more and more frequently, an erratic lightshow. Izuku gritted his teeth, stumbling the last few steps to sink to his knees next to Tsuyu.
"Tsu," he said, "You alright?"
"I'm alive," she said, and Izuku couldn't help but notice the divot in her borrowed Kevlar vest where the spike Wolfram had tried to kill her with had dug before she'd grabbed it. She didn't say anything more, however, just reaching out and hauling herself to her feet. An invisible force tugged at Izuku's arm, but Wolfram was losing control quickly, only pulling metal from behind him. Tsuyu noticed, though, reaching out to steady Izuku as he staggered at the pull.
"Time to go," she said. Izuku nodded.
"Right."
Supporting each other they stumbled away, hearing the booms and crashing of the continued fighting behind them, making it to a doorway before they halted, half turning. Izuku, the first to turn, got an excellent view of All Might's latest attack: springing to his left the man avoided a plunging serpent of steel spikes, letting it crash into the ground as he leapt forwards, arm coming back and Wolfram flung up both arms, metal shrieking and tearing to form in front of him – Tsuyu anchored Izuku against the pull – and All Might swept the defence aside with a backhand, his other hand swinging around and smashing Wolfram into the ground with crushing force. Izuku felt the shockwaves in his boots and grimaced.
All Might sprang back, a moment before Wolfram thrust a hand upwards and the scattered metal around him tore inwards, jagged metal jaws that closed with a terrible crash. All Might didn't cease his leap: he landed just in front of Tsuyu and Izuku and, though Izuku couldn't see past his broad back, he saw All Might punch out and heard the thunder of impenetrable flesh meeting steel, saw the explosion of shrapnel as whatever attack Wolfram had aimed was destroyed. All Might shook his head.
"Attacking innocents as a distraction, now?" he said, his tone disapproving, "I'm not surprised, but I am disappointed."
Wolfram gave no words in reply, but Izuku could hear the ragged breaths he heaved in, the screech of metal around them, feel the tugging at his prosthetic arm that ached in the remaining flesh. A fear that the pressure would be too much for the plastic and metal of the prosthetic or the flesh and bone of his arm clawed at his stomach but Izuku forced it aside. There was nothing he could do: what would be, would be. All Might started forwards, moving enough that Izuku could see Wolfram: the man sagged, his skin thickly veined with purple, madness in his eyes. His hunched position gave away his injuries, and Izuku thought that only the metal that wound around Wolfram's limbs was keeping him standing. No match for All Might, yet Wolfram refused to yield. If there was anything admirable in him, it was his defiance.
"Last chance," All Might said, his rumbling voice level and calm, "Surrender."
Wolfram dragged his head up, tearing his eyes away from the ground to look All Might in the face. Bloody spittle drooled from his mouth, a parody of spitting in disgust, but he shook his head.
"No," he rasped, so very quietly, and All Might brought up a fist, ready to leap.
Wolfram screamed.
Defiance, desperation, pain were all in that scream but they were drowned out by the rage, the hatred, savage determination distilled into a single howl and the metal around mimicked that savage noise, rising at Wolfram's command. His hands lifted above his head, wrenched up by thin tendrils that pierced bloodily into the battered limbs and manipulated them as Wolfram desired. Wolfram's scream went on and on and Izuku dropped every other thought in favour of preventing his prosthetic from dragging him back into the mess, clinging on to the doorframe as force dragged at him, Tsuyu wrapping her tongue around him and anchoring him against the pull as Izuku gritted his teeth and hoped against hope that his arm wouldn't give way. It dragged, dragged, All Might stepping back and planting a hand against his outstretched arm to keep it in place and Izuku's breath came out in a clenched teeth hiss as pain built in his shoulder, building and building until Izuku would have welcomed All Might tearing the prosthetic off at the elbow, Tsuyu's grip crushing around him.
Wolfram screamed and screamed and All Might lifted a fist, smile taking on a grim aspect as he decided the only way to stop Wolfram was to bring him down. Izuku's eyes blurred with tears, the pain in his shoulder worsening and it all… just…stopped. The pressure went away, the wind died, the metal dropped and Wolfram stumbled a step forwards.
"No," he said, "No. I'm…I'm invincible…"
They watched him crumble to the ground, falling like a puppet whose strings had been cut, and Izuku slumped in echo, sliding down the wall to thud onto the floor, his arm aching savagely but still attached. Tsuyu joined him a heartbeat later, landing with a croak that was more of a groan. Izuku rested his head against the wall, reaching up to prod gingerly at his nose. Not broken like he'd originally thought, he concluded after a moment of eye-watering pain, but he'd have a very impressive bruise come morning.
And that wouldn't be the only one, given the aching in both shoulders. Wolfram had really done a number on him, hadn't he? Some awful luck to run into the bastard.
"Red Hood, Froppy, are you alright?" All Might asked. Izuku tilted his head up to squint at the man.
"I'm alright, ribbit."
"Been better, but I'll live," Izuku said, "Why the code names?"
All Might shrugged, stepping in closer so that his broad frame blocked the glaring lights around them. Izuku's squint eased slightly, now that the blinding lights weren't stinging his eyes.
"Just in case," he said, "Best to be careful when there might be journalists around. Hey, Windsteam!"
The man All Might had called, dressed in a costume that reminded Izuku almost of Barry Allen – tight but padded, a helmet around his head that left his mouth open, although it was red and blue rather than the red with gold highlights the Flash had preferred – walked over, almost bouncing on his heels.
"All Might?" he asked, words quick. Almost certainly a speedster of some kind, but Izuku couldn't cudgel his thoughts together enough to remember if he'd heard of the man. All Might gestured.
"The mercenary leader, Wolfram, is over there. Make sure he's contained, will you? I think the Quirk Amplifier he was wearing malfunctioned and knocked him out, but be careful. I need to take these two to medical."
Windsteam nodded solemnly, looking over at them, dark eyes glinting from behind clear lenses.
"These are two of your students? They do good work, All Might, damn good work. It'll be a privilege to work with them in the future."
And just like that he was darting away, a whisper of wind behind him. Definitely a speedster. All Might reached down, picking Izuku and Tsuyu up and tucking each of them under an arm.
"Apologies for the rush," he said, "But if I didn't take you to be looked after, Recovery Girl would have my hide."
The world blurred around them and the next thing Izuku knew he was being dumped onto a bed. He oof-ed on impact, but the bed was comfortable enough so Izuku didn't keep complaining. Instead he leaned his head against the headstand, closing his eyes for a moment to get his thoughts under control. Just a minute, while he rode out the adrenaline crash: just a minute to get over the pulse-pounding rush of nearly dying.
A hand touched his cheek, pain ricocheting from a sliver of glass embedded there and Izuku went from zoned out to violence in less than a second, his hand snapping up and grabbing the offending fingers, his fingers digging hard into skin and muscle as he jolted upright. A hand hit his chest, stopping his leap.
"Ah, it's alright," All Might hastily said, "Just a doctor. A doctor!"
Izuku shifted his head to the side, meeting the gaze of a man who looked to be in his early thirties, with thick brown hair and blue eyes. Caucasian, lips pursed in pain and Izuku belatedly let the man go.
"Bloody hell, All Might, what do you feed these kids?" the man asked, his Japanese American accented. All Might chuckled awkwardly, rubbing at the back of his head as the doctor looked back at Izuku.
"Sorry, kid. Should have realised you'd be jumpy. Names Matt, hero name Medicall. Served my time with Recovery Girl."
"Sorry," Izuku said, switching to English to give the apology a little more weight. Matt shrugged.
"Not the worst way a patient's woken up on me."
Izuku made brief eye contact with All Might and chose not to admit that, if his prosthetic hadn't been non-functional at the moment, Matt would have caught a mouthful of artificial knuckles.
"Medicall, I leave these two in your capable hands," All Might said, "I need to make sure that Wolfram is contained. I left him with Windsteam, but his Quirk is powerful."
"I'll look after them," Matt said, bending close to Izuku again. Izuku gave him a suspicious side-eye but submitted to inspection: Matt tutted softly to himself.
"Alright," he said, "That glass needs to come out, preferably sooner than later. I don't have any kind of painkillers."
"I'll be fine," Izuku said, getting a nod in return. Matt rustled through a large medical kit, coming out with a pair of tweezers and an apologetic expression.
"Try not to move, yeah? Think of it as, I dunno, a macho thing. You know?"
"Recovery Girl would probably have just threatened me," Izuku said, "Are you sure you worked with her?"
"Believe me, I'll never forget," Matt said, grinning slightly. The tweezers pinched and tugged and Izuku shut his mouth, grimacing as a sliver of glass was pulled out of the injury.
"How did this even happen?"
"Jumped through a window to escape Wolfram."
Izuku could feel Medicall squinting at him so he shrugged.
"It was on the thirtieth floor, I think. Exciting."
"Exciting?" Medicall asked, tone incredulous. Izuku smiled slightly, ignoring the way it stung his injuries.
"Less exciting than fighting Wolfram would have been," he conceded, "But when you really need to make an escape, free-falling into smashing through a window has its merits."
"I'll take your word for it," Medicall said, pulling one last piece of glass from Izuku's cheek and slapping a band-aid over it. The man came around, standing in front of Izuku, and put a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm gonna use my Quirk on you, alright? It'll let me map out your body structure and see if there're any more injuries that need treated before moving on. It'll feel weird, like a tingling, but there's no danger."
Izuku appreciated the warning, at least. It did indeed feel extremely weird, like a vibration in every single atom of his body, shuddering through his bones and flesh. It didn't last long, though, maybe fifteen seconds, and Medicall drew back with a nod.
"Alright," he said, "My professional opinion? You should be fine. Bruised, yeah, and I'd advise no strenuous activity for at least a week, but there's nothing serious. Mild strain on the shoulders. If there's an issue with your prosthetic, though, you need to get someone who knows better than me to look at it. I need to check your friend, but I'll get you an ice-pack for your nose."
Izuku nodded.
"I'll talk to someone, thank you," he said, "I don't want to keep you from your other patients."
Medicall patted him on the back, bustling away to see to Tsuyu. Nice man, Izuku thought, although not as brusque as he'd have expected from someone who'd been Recovery Girl's protégé. Izuku glanced around the room, noting the costumed people who were quickly moving around it, and concluded that he really wasn't needed for anything. Confident in that, he sat straighter and reached across, lifting his left arm into his lap with his right and frowning down at it. He hoped the damage wasn't too severe: with any luck something had just been wrenched out of place and he could make repairs before surrendering himself to the allegedly tender mercies of the expert, aka Hatsume. Otherwise, he'd have to deal with being one-handed until he could meet with Hatsume again. Not the end of the world, but not what he'd like.
"Don't look too cheerful, ribbit," Tsuyu said, sitting down next to him, "People will think we beat Wolfram alone."
Izuku breathed out a soft laugh, tipping his head back up to look at her. She looked tired, but there was a faint smile playing at the corners of her lips.
"You alright?" he asked. She nodded, rubbing her chest again.
"Just a few bruises," she said, "I'm glad I wore the armour, though. That bar came a bit too close for comfort."
Izuku pulled a face but nodded.
"It comes in useful, sometimes. I wonder if Wolfram's woken up – didn't look like he was in good condition. Then again, the Quirk Amplifier looked like it was broken…can't imagine that would be healthy."
Something like a Trigger overdose, maybe. From Izuku's research the symptoms of a Trigger overdose were usually more along the line of uncontrolled Quirk activation, but the Amplifier was a piece of experimental technology that had been badly damaged and Izuku had noticed the way Wolfram's Quirk had been cutting out while he'd been attacking them. Could Quirks even become overloaded? Izuku didn't know of any research on it, if there was even a way to do research on something like that.
"Here," Tsuyu said, passing him a small ice-pack, "Medicall gave it to me, for your nose. And to take your mind off thinking, ribbit."
Izuku glared down at the innocuous square, fully aware that actually putting it on his nose was going to hurt like hell. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and pressed the pack to his face. Predictably, it hurt like the blazes for the first few seconds, at least, before the cold started infiltrating his flesh and soothing away the pain. Izuku opened his eyes, blinking against the blurriness.
"A bug must have flown into my eye," he lied. He would have tried to sneakily brush away the tears, but with one hand holding the icepack and the other out of action that wasn't really an option.
"Or cutting onions, ribbit."
"Darn onion ninjas," Izuku said. Tsuyu nodded wisely, settling back in her seat as Izuku finally managed to blink the blurriness away, the pain receding to something more manageable.
"How long will it take to heal?" she asked. Izuku shrugged.
"Broken nose takes a couple of weeks. It's not actually broken though, so probably about a week. I must be too used to Recovery Girl being around, thinking that's a long time."
Tsuyu nodded in agreement, leaning back in her seat. Wind rushed through the room as the door was flung open, All Might returning, and Izuku pulled the icepack away from his nose as the Hero dropped David and Melissa Shield nearby. They both looked ruffled, still clinging onto one another, and Izuku had to swallow an inappropriate laugh at the expressions on their faces. High-speed travel didn't agree with everyone, apparently. Medicall came over in All Might's wake, waiting until All Might had dropped the two Shields on two beds before striding over to them.
"Are either of you hurt?" he asked. All Might took a step back to stand next to Izuku and Tsuyu, giving them a quick glance. Izuku gave him a thumbs-up, getting a broad grin in response.
"Well, the two of you seem quite healthy, other than being shook up," Medicall said, "Quite a surprise."
"A triumph, wouldn't you say?" All Might boomed, "All of the heroes who confronted Wolfram are safe and well. I'd call that a success!"
Melissa turned her head to look at All Might, finally registering that Izuku and Tsuyu were there. She blinked at them, a smile blossoming onto her face.
"Izuku! Tsuyu! You're safe!"
"Despite our best efforts, yes. Ribbit."
"Not just our best efforts," Izuku said, "Wolfram should get at least a little credit."
"Only a little?"
"When you have that kind of Quirk and you're juiced on what's basically Trigger, getting zero kills or serious injuries is just embarrassing. Three out of ten villain, definitely worse than Shigaraki at the USJ – although I might be biased since, you know."
"He took away your ability to count to ten?"
"To be fair, Wolfram's done that too," Izuku said, moving his shoulder so that his arm flopped slightly, "But it hurt a lot less so he gets less points."
Flippant, maybe, but Melissa probably didn't need a dead serious discussion right now.
"So, Melissa," Izuku continued, "First encounter with villains. How was it?"
"How was it?" she said, pointing at him, "How was it?"
Izuku tilted his head, politely questioning. Melissa shook her finger at him.
"I was more frightened by what you did than what the villains did!"
"Really?" Izuku asked doubtfully. Melissa glared at him.
"You pushed us onto the top of a moving elevator!" she protested.
Ah.
Izuku grinned.
"In a fairground you'd have to pay for that sort of thrill," he said, quite reasonably in his opinion, "Besides, the two of you are civilians. Getting you out of the line of fire is the first part of our duty, and that was the fastest and safest way."
"I would have preferred taking a moving elevator to our way down, ribbit."
"Grappling hook express," Izuku said, "I use it more often than I'd like. The rush doesn't hit the same when you've only got one working hand, though."
"Adrenaline junkie," Tsuyu accused quietly and Izuku nodded, unashamed. He flung himself off tall buildings regularly: there was no way he was going to manage a convincing denial. Melissa shook her head, silently awed.
"I can't believe that I believe you, but I do."
"Stay around the craziness for long enough and you get used to it, ribbit. You're adapting quickly."
Rude, but accurate. Izuku sat up straighter, waving his hand to catch All Might's attention.
"So Wolfram's in custody, and his men too," he said, "What about Sam? He was hurt, wasn't he?"
All Might's smile faded, his expression turning grim for a moment before it settled on neutrality. It looked quite disconcerting, really. He glanced over at Medicall.
"Can you give us the room?" he asked. Medicall shrugged in a philosophical manner, walking out and closing the door. Tsuyu stood but All Might waved her back down.
"You already know enough, Miss Asui," he said, "And I trust you to be discreet. I like Medicall, but he answers to the American Hero League and they can be…pushy."
Well, that was surprisingly ominous. Hopefully it never came up, Izuku said to himself, already knowing that he sounded like an idiot.
"The helicopter Wolfram planned to escape on got away," All Might said, "And Samuel is missing. He could be dead, but to me it seems more likely that he took the Quirk Amplifier plans and fled. Perhaps even on the helicopter. Principal Nedzu is searching through the camera footage at the moment."
So the Amplifier plans were just gone. In the wind, along with the primary assistant of the man who'd created them. Izuku put his head into his hand, exhausted. David Shield made an unhappy noise, because apparently even geniuses could be stupid.
"I can't believe he did that," the man said, "I…I trusted him. He was supposed to get actors, just actors, so we could retrieve the Amplifier. That was all."
Izuku forcibly repressed the urge to leap at the man and choke the stupid out of him, because that was a lot of stupid to squeeze out with only one hand working, and looked back up. All Might had turned his whole body towards Shield.
"What do you mean, actors?" Izuku asked, tone as flat as it had ever been. Shield winced and refused to look at All Might, instead turning a pleading gaze onto Melissa.
"I – it – I thought it would help! Tosh – All Might, All Might's been getting older, he's not doing as much heroism as he used to, so I thought that if I could boost his Quirk it would help get him back to his prime! I know how you love being a hero, All Might, I wanted to help. But when I took the Amplifier to the higher-ups, they told me it was too dangerous and locked it away. It couldn't help you, locked in a box!"
"Dave," All Might said, sounding more wounded than Izuku had ever heard, "What do you mean, you thought it would help?"
Shield's mouth worked soundlessly for a moment, his expression agonised. Izuku leaned towards him, unsympathetic, anger curling in the pit of his stomach.
"There are so many people who could be Heroes, good Heroes," Shield said, "They just need a boost to their Quirk. And you, if you could strengthen your Quirk, I thought…but Trigger can't be controlled properly, it's too unstable. So I designed the Amplifier for you, All Might. To make you strong again, as strong as you were when you were young. So you could keep being a Hero like you want."
Did – did Shield not know about All Might's injury, about One for All? It would make sense of the way he was acting, but surely – they were good friends, maybe even best friends, how could he not know? And with All Might being injured, how could Shield think that just strengthening the Quirk would make up for All Might missing half his intestines?
The anger grew just a little, burned a little brighter. Maybe he was being unfair? Maybe he should cut Shield some slack. Izuku really, genuinely considered it for a moment.
No. Absolutely not. Maybe Izuku was being unfair, but Shield had nearly got all of them killed. He deserved some unfairness. Besides, even if he'd somehow not known about All Might's injury, All Might was getting old. Ramming untested technology onto him was not going to compensate for the onset of old age.
Izuku, to himself, acknowledged that perhaps he had some unaddressed trauma from Jason, regarding how Bruce had refused to retire despite getting older and older, and that it could be affecting his judgement. Just for a moment, before he repressed it again. Anger was much easier.
"I…Dave, I appreciate the thought," All Might said, once again proving himself a much better man than Izuku was, "But why keep it a secret? Why resort to this banditry? Why not just speak to me?"
Banditry. Izuku liked that description, actually. Shield, in the face of All Might pulling the 'I'm not mad, just disappointed', looked devastated.
"I wanted to help," he said, "But the Amplifier was locked away, the results were locked away. I knew you wouldn't go against the board to take it so I…I thought that if I could arrange for it to be stolen, somehow get you to try it on, you'd realise! Everybody would see how well it worked, the board would reverse their decision, and you could keep being a Hero!"
That was it.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Izuku demanded, finally goaded beyond his limit, "You keep saying you're his friend, that you're doing it for him, but you're only bringing up him being a hero! If you were really his fucking friend, you'd stop putting all your fucking hopes and dreams on his back!"
Shield recoiled as Izuku stood up – All Might shifted slightly, but didn't actually step between them – and Izuku stepped forwards, incandescent.
"But no. Instead of having a discussion with literally anyone who could talk sense into you, you decided to stage a fucking attack on an entire conference, hold every person in the Expo hostage, steal the Amplifier and then just, what, just demand that All Might use it? And then, because all of that stupidity wasn't enough, you didn't even vet the fucking mercenaries you hired properly?"
Izuku had gone shrill in outrage. He couldn't find it in himself to care, too caught up in the anger, and Shield's hang-dog expression only fed the fury.
"I thought I was doing the right thing," Shield said mournfully, and Izuku couldn't help but want to punch him in his idiot, remorseful face. He stepped forwards without thinking, fist curling. Shield flinched. Melissa opened her mouth. All Might and Tsuyu lurched forwards in his peripheral vision and Izuku threw his hand up.
"I'm not doing this," he snarled, "Talk some sense into him, All Might. Please."
Izuku just about saw All Might nod before he was gone, bursting through the door and storming off into the building.
He made it to an empty corridor without succumbing to the urge to go back and scream himself hoarse at Shield, leaned his head against cold metal, gritted his teeth and screamed without opening his mouth. Once he was done – once the bright edge of his anger had been bled off at least a little – he closed his eyes, counted to ten, and turned around. Tsuyu, leaning against the wall opposite him, watched without judgement.
"Feel better?" she asked. Izuku didn't quite manage a smile, but he nodded and held up his hand, forefinger and thumb a fraction apart.
"Little bit."
"Good," Tsuyu said, apparently completely genuine, "For a moment there I thought you were going to punch him in the face, ribbit. Surprised you didn't."
"I didn't because if I punch him in the face I'm not sure I'll be able to stop," Izuku said. Tsuyu looked him in the eye, nodding thoughtfully.
"I'd drag you off him," she said, "Eventually."
Eventually, huh? Shield had better watch his back, it seemed, but Izuku wasn't about to criticise holding a grudge. They'd nearly died, Tsuyu was entitled to be a little angry. Well, a lot angry, really.
"Thanks, Tsu."
"Any time."
Izuku slumped back against the wall, leaning his head against the metal, and sighed.
"I just can't believe he'd be so stupid," he said, "And now the Amplifier's out in the wild, where Sam could sell it to anyone. A whole new Trigger epidemic, only this doesn't wear off after half an hour."
"It might not be that bad," Tsuyu said, "He's only one person, and he doesn't seem like a criminal mastermind. He set up the mercenary attack, ribbit, but he got shot and only escaped because Wolfram was trying to kill us."
"Yeah," Izuku said, "There's that. Hopefully he'll land wherever he's going, make a mess of his first attempt to sell the Amplifier and get picked up by the authorities."
And hopefully that wouldn't be in Japan, so the MLA and All for One would never even get the chance to steal the blueprints. Izuku wasn't going to hold his breath on the chances of them having no overseas contacts, but it would at least make it less likely. Tsuyu rubbed at her chest, where Wolfram had nearly impaled her.
"I hope so," she said, "I'd hate to have to do that again. Wolfram was enough for a lifetime, ribbit."
"Two lifetimes," Izuku agreed. They let the conversation lapse, standing in comfortable silence until there was a knock on the wall and All Might poked his head through the corridor doorway, his smile slightly sheepish.
"Ah, there you are," he said, more quietly than Izuku had expected. Izuku followed the line of All Might's glance and saw the camera mounted high on the wall, shaking his head at it. Sold out by his own Principal.
"Your classmates have been found and returned," All Might said, "They're quite unharmed, although worried about the two of you. I gather the last they heard Wolfram was bearing down on you, and then there was the explosion and part of the building collapsing…I assured them you are safe, however."
All Might hesitated.
"Miss Asui, could you perhaps return to the medical station? The rest of your class is there and I think they would appreciate seeing you. Young Midoriya, I will not stop you if you want to go with her, but perhaps we could have a word?"
They both looked at him and he waved his hands.
"Not to reprimand, of course. Just a question I'd like to ask."
Tsuyu gave Izuku a quizzical glance and he shrugged and nodded in return.
"No problem, ribbit," she said, taking his meaning and leaving. She paused at the door, as though to give him time to speak up – he appreciated the thought, but he'd be fine. All Might watched her go before falling back against the wall, sighing heavily and letting his Hero form go to the sound of a racking, hacking series of coughs. Izuku waved away the steam that wafted around them, watching as All Might rubbed at his face. One of his hands came away reddened, another deep cough pulling at the mans chest.
"Pushed myself too hard," All Might said ruefully, "Not that it takes much to do that these days. Wolfram was harder to bring down than I thought."
All Might slid down the wall, into a crouch, and closed his eyes. Izuku said nothing, glancing up at the camera – if Nedzu had control there was nothing to worry about, but still. Cameras everywhere in this place. The silence lingered, stretching out like thick glue, like toffee stuck to your teeth, tacky and clinging. Izuku folded his arms, biting his tongue.
His attempt to fold his arms was efficiently foiled by the way his prosthetic hung loosely, leaving him with his right hand awkwardly holding just above his left elbow, but that awkwardness was eclipsed by the awkwardness of their shared silence. Izuku gritted his teeth, hoping that All Might wasn't here to demand he apologise to Shield, when the man himself stirred.
"Are you alright, Midoriya?" he asked. Izuku blinked.
"I – of course, sir. I'm sorry, for shouting at Shield. It wasn't professional."
All Might chuckled, deep and weary.
"David is an adult. If he can't handle some well-deserved criticism, he has much larger problems."
Well, maybe. Izuku wasn't going to apologise, though All Might looked like he wasn't going to demand one.
"Wolfram had multiple Quirks," All Might said, "You might not have noticed, it wasn't incredibly obvious, but…did you notice purple veins, spreading across his skin?"
Izuku nodded and All Might shook his head.
"Every time they were present, he was stronger. Tougher. It's why I was having trouble putting him down: I didn't know how much he could take, and I didn't want to kill him by accident. David, after you left, admitted that he'd told Wolfram about the Amplifier."
"Oh, for fuck's sake," Izuku said, very quietly. All Might smiled wanly.
"That was my reaction, too. Although I can't really blame Dave for that – he doesn't know about All for One. And even if he did, he'd think him dead."
All Might was far too forgiving, Izuku thought. If the League of Villains started to turn up with bootleg Quirk Amplifiers Izuku was going to come back here and throw Shield off the top of the tallest building he could find.
Izuku took a very deep breath, letting it out very slowly. No. He could go over how stupid Shield's plan had been until he was blue in the face, nothing would change. All Might shook his head.
"I have to wonder if maybe I caused this," he admitted, "I've never told Dave about One for All. He knows that I got hurt, but if I told him about my Quirk and about All for One…maybe he wouldn't have felt the need to build the Amplifier. I've always kept my cards close to my chest, but perhaps if I was more open…"
"You know him better than I do," Izuku said, not ashamed to admit that he didn't really know how to answer the question All Might was asking himself. Oh, Jason had known about keeping secret identities, known quite a lot, but he couldn't think of any sort of parallel. If All Might had told anyone, there'd be the risk of people going after his loved ones or civilian identity, of course, but Izuku thought the larger threat would be all the people who'd want One for All. All those people who'd try to trick All Might into handing it over or force him somehow, not to mention the panic that would ensue when people knew about All for One.
"Not a fair question to ask, I know," All Might said, "Maybe it would have helped. Maybe Dave would have made the Amplifier earlier, to try and help me against All for One. If he had just told me, talked to me – I could have persuaded him out of this stupid plan! But it's too late now."
Silence again, brief but heavy. All Might was the one to break it again.
"You know, when I offered you One for All, I noticed that something seemed to be troubling you – beyond the implications of taking the Quirk. I could never work out what it was. It looked something like outrage."
Izuku narrowed his eyes, thinking back, and trying to pin-point what could have made him angry then. It was…right.
"I think I understand, now that I've seen your issue with Dave. It's kind of you, but it's unusual for someone to be so angry that so many people put their hopes on me. Especially someone so young."
Izuku stayed quiet, tipping his chin down and looking at the ground. What could he even say? It was just so…so stupid. Putting every hope on one person, but what happened when they broke? What happened when they'd had enough, when they snapped?
Somewhere deep within, Izuku acknowledged that his anger was driven at least partly by fear. An unstoppable Hero sounded good, so long as they remained a Hero. If they ever went bad then, well.
"It's hard not to notice, when you look," he said, "Everyone talks about you. Even the villains – Shigaraki wouldn't shut up about you at the USJ, and Stain too. Larger than life. It's too much pressure."
"It might be," All Might said pragmatically, "I'm not immune to burning out. But I've never wanted anything else, never done anything else. A hero to my bones, you could say, and I've never regretted it."
He paused. Izuku looked up again, meeting All Might's bright blue gaze. The man chewed at his lip before starting again.
"Times have changed, since I became a Hero," All Might said quietly, "In Japan, mostly, but in America too. I did a lot of work there when I was younger. But those were darker times, harder times. There were more villains, and they were more violent. I think a lot of people…they're afraid. They're afraid that when I retire, those bad old days will come back."
"Everyone's afraid," Izuku said flatly, "Denial won't stop it from coming. Even you can't be a Hero forever."
"How very cynical of you," All Might said, though he sounded amused, "Perhaps you're spending too much time with Aizawa?"
Izuku glanced at the camera. All Might followed his gaze and winced.
"I hope he's not watching," he said quietly, "Although he shouldn't be. He doesn't know about All for One, although I've been thinking of bringing him in. It's a lot to add to his plate, but if All for One is behind the League of Villains and planning to work with Overhaul against the MLA our investigations might overlap anyway."
Izuku put his head back in his hand for a moment.
"Thank you, sir, for reminding me that the MLA exists," he said, "If they get their hands on the Amplifier blueprints I'm going to resign."
"When you're still a student I think it's just transferring," All Might joked, "Although I will definitely be speaking with Dave about building an Amplifier Nullifier. Is that name too long? I don't want it to sound like I want him to build a Quirk Nullifier because I'm not sure that's even possible."
Izuku wistfully looked up, imagining a world where he could just slap a Quirk Nullifier onto someone and go to town. God, what he wouldn't give for sixty seconds of pure, un-augmented combat with Shigaraki or Overhaul, see how well they held up without their bullshit contact kill abilities. His pleasant daydream, however, was interrupted by a pair of fingers snapping in front of his face. Izuku blinked and gave All Might an accusing look.
"Pleasant dreams?" All Might asked, grin gaunt but warm regardless. Izuku wrinkled his nose.
"Just thinking about how much easier my job would be if I could shut down someone's Quirk by slapping a bracelet on them."
All Might's expression went distant.
"God, wouldn't it just?" he said. Izuku imagined that he was probably having a very similar daydream to Izuku's own, just with All for One in the position of punching bag. Honestly, Izuku was inclined to let him have his moment. Everyone needed some happy thoughts.
"Perhaps Dave will get his intended use out of the Amplifier after all," All Might mused quietly, "I can't imagine it will be pleasant, but to prevent anyone else from facing All for One I'd sacrifice more than pain."
Izuku nodded.
"Speaking of a successor," he said carefully. All Might looked up at the ceiling, then down again.
"Yes," he said softly, "My successor. Did you have a chance to talk to Melissa?"
"Yeah," Izuku said, "I spoke to her. Gave her the basics right before two particularly dumb mercenaries broke down the door and tried to take us hostage."
All Might winced and Izuku grinned.
"She did a good job, got one of them with a taser. Stole my thunder a little bit. And then, the rest of the way – she's brave. Smart. Adapts well. Depending on how well she gets over it, because this is a hell of an introduction to being a hero, she'll do a good job with One for All. But you need to talk to her."
"How likely am I to get punched in the mouth?" All Might asked, and Izuku was strongly reminded of Aizawa asking the same thing after Stain. The more things changed.
"I'd say emotional damage is more likely than physical."
"You're a cruel man, young Midoriya. A cruel man."
"I spend too much time around Aizawa, sir."
All Might smothered a cough in a laugh, shoulders shaking with the combined force of it, and Izuku glanced at the camera.
"I hope Aizawa's not watching this," he echoed.
"You know Nedzu will tell him, right?"
Izuku sighed.
"Well then, sir, we'll suffer together."
Izuku rubbed his face after saying that, mentally berating himself. If there was any way to make sure that Nedzu would tell Aizawa, just to cause trouble – ah well. Who knew, maybe if karma saw that he was heading for some torturous training with Aizawa it wouldn't set another bunch of villains on him. It was good to have hope. All Might stood, brushing off his legs and looking towards the door.
"Time to head back to everyone else, I think," he said, "But…before you go, one question?"
Izuku shrugged.
"Ask away, sir."
"I know you don't want to take One for All, and I respect that," All Might said, "But. Now that All for One is making moves, strengthening villains to confront me…Melissa won't be ready for months. If something goes wrong…if something happens to me, can I count on you to take One for All? Just to…to save it, to keep it for Melissa or whoever else. I can't let it go anymore, not without stopping All for One."
Izuku looked at him, meeting that bright blue gaze again. All Might didn't ask again. Izuku didn't do him the disservice of offering some baseless platitude.
"I'd be proud to, sir."
Hours later, after the debriefing was over and the mercenaries had all been rounded up - and, more importantly, he had made a a phone call to his Mom, to reassure her that he was alright - Izuku finally got a chance to sit down in a lab and take a look at his prosthetic. He took off his jacket and gauntlets, piling them close at hand, and rolled up his long t-shirt sleeve, grimacing at the limpness of his arm.
He might have also been avoiding the paparazzi: they were circling like wolves. Or sharks, that was maybe a more appropriate analogy for being on an island: either way, Class 1-A was going to be building some street cred for this. If Izuku got outed to the MLA because of it, he was going to murder Wolfram. Why couldn't villains just quit causing him so much trouble? He was starting to wonder if Nedzu had been right about seeing a medium: a shame this world didn't have an equivalent to Zatanna or Doctor Fate. Maybe even Constantine, if things got much worse.
That dream aside, however, he really wanted to be able to count to ten again without waiting until he got back to UA, partly because he liked having all his fingers working and partly because trying to stop Hatsume from forcibly upgrading him would be a lot harder with only one hand, so here he was, in a lab Melissa had directed him to, looking at his prosthetic. The door hissed open and he glanced over, to his left, to see Melissa walk in. She looked frazzled, but the smile she offered him was genuine.
"Hiding from the press?" she asked. Izuku shrugged.
"I like my privacy," he said, "Plus, I do a bit of infiltration work. The last thing you want is for some crook you're supposed to be tricking to say 'hey, ain't you that kid from the tv?'."
"Oh," Melissa said, "Yeah, I can see that. Is that why you wear the, you know, the full face helmet? Although you weren't wearing it all the time at the Expo…"
Izuku spun around in his swivel chair, facing her.
"It's not quite that bad," he said, "I'm not that memorable out of costume, and I wear a disguise. Dress different, talk different, be different. It's mostly paranoia, and also because I hate the press. I wear the helmet mostly for the gadgets and to stop myself from getting head injuries."
"Yes," Melissa said wryly, sitting down, "Your helmet. You really blew it up?"
"Please don't remind me. It didn't even work – I'm fifty-fifty on whether Hatsume will be furious, or if she'll get all enthusiastic and install a nerve gas dispersal device or something."
Melissa beamed.
"She's so enthusiastic, isn't she?" she said, far too fondly for Izuku's liking. He repressed his shudder with the ease of long practice, shaking his head, but Melissa didn't notice. Instead, to his silent alarm, she looked thoughtful.
"Although, nerve gas might be going to far. A powerful sedative, maybe."
"The sad thing is, I'd probably be alright with that."
Or maybe some sort of powerful capacitor, set to discharge on command. Those electrified domino masks and cowls had always seemed to work pretty well for the other Bats: it would just mean that medical treatment would be harder to give if Izuku was ever incapacitated around allies. Well, he already trusted a couple of people enough that he'd tell them how to take his helmet off.
"So you're trying to repair your arm?" Melissa asked. Izuku nodded.
"I'm not the engineer you or Hatsume are," he said, "But I know a bit, and I made sure to get this down. Enough for basic repairs, and to diagnose issues."
Izuku carefully selected a tiny screwdriver from the selection of tools he'd laid out, turning the limp arm over so the bottom of the bicep faced up. Melissa leaned over, watching in fascination as he carefully unscrewed a row of miniscule screws, slipping the screwdriver between two of the plates and levering off the first plate.
"That's nice work," Melissa said, "How many plates are there?"
"Four above the elbow," Izuku said, "Eight below it, on the forearm. A bunch on the hand. They fasten into the support structure."
He took off the other bottom plate, prodding the screwdriver into the gap. The lights above were bright enough that he could see the innards of the arm, and he delicately moved threads of artificial muscle and tendons aside.
"Those two central bones, they're metal? Contain all the important bits?"
"Right," Izuku confirmed, "There's some auxiliary stuff outside, plus whatever Hatsume's added in like the emergency grappling hook, but the important stuff's in there. My guess is that when Wolfram was dragging me about he's ripped some of the innards out of position. Hopefully it'll be a nice easy fix."
"It's like you're trying to curse yourself," Melissa said, but she fetched a small flashlight when Izuku asked. She held it over the gap, frowning.
"This would be easier if we took the arm off and apart."
"This is more fun though. Besides, it's good practice for field repairs."
"I dread the day I understand something like that."
Izuku carefully took a piece of the inner bone away, nudging one of the wires inside, and raised an eyebrow as his little, ring and middle fingers spasmed. He nodded thoughtfully.
"Not really any way to get around the wires being messed with," he said, "Hmm. There must be a break somewhere. You got a soldering iron?"
"Absolutely not," Melissa said, "I'll do it. I've always wanted to try my hand at surgery."
Izuku protested weakly, but Melissa was not to be denied: she walked over to a cupboard and came back with an assortment of tools, a tinted mask and a determined expression.
"Look at it this way," she said, "When I'm doing rocket surgery on you, I'm less likely to add alterations than Mei is."
Less likely? Izuku didn't like the sound of that. Still, having help would be nice. But he was going to be doing the rocket surgery.
"You can watch," he conceded, "But I'm doing the work, unless it's impossible. No offence, but I'm a little delicate about my arm."
Melissa's expression flashed with contrition.
"Right, of course. Sorry."
"Don't worry about it. We'll have to take the power source out first. It's just above the elbow, and I think the damage is likely to be there too."
The power source was fairly easy to remove: essentially a battery, once the plate covering it was removed it slid right out. Izuku weighed it in his hand, thinking. Hopefully it shouldn't be damaged, but he'd have to keep checking just in case.
"Advanced battery, nice," Melissa said, leaning in to peer into his arm, "Lasts about twelve months, right?"
"Right," Izuku agreed, "Hatsume was insistent that she could build in solar panels, or a nuclear battery, but I stuck with the simple option."
"Simple has merits. Now then…I think it's the connection that's the issue. I don't think any of the artificial muscles or tendons are damaged, although I'd like to get a scanner just to check. We might have to take the arm off after all."
"It should be alright," Izuku said, "If I just…there. You see how the prosthetic connects up there, where the link port is? That's what links my nervous system into the arm. If that connection's been damaged, that'd leave the arm non-functional."
"And it'll take someone who has surgery experience to fix," Melissa added, tapping at her mask. It zoomed and enlarged, giving her a better view.
"You know, I think I'm jealous of Mei's Quirk," Melissa told him, "She can do this without even needing any technology. Very useful. This does alright, though, so…hmm."
"Yeah, it looks like a couple of the connectors have been pulled out of position. Takes a surprising amount of force, that, but I can patch them up…can you pass me those pliers? The smallest pair."
Melissa silently handed them over and Izuku took them, squinting into his arm.
"Thanks."
Melissa scoffed softly.
"I can't believe you were going to do this on your own. I mean, isn't it awkward?."
"Call it paranoia, plus it's good practice to know how to maintain your body. It's just usually not this technical," Izuku said cheerfully, tucking his chin into his chest to try and get a better look at his arm. Melissa shook her head.
"If you say so."
The door hissed open again and Izuku twisted his head around to see All Might entering, ducking apparently automatically despite the doorway being more than tall enough to accommodate him. Force of habit, probably: he scanned the room and nodded to Izuku. Melissa turned to look at him for a moment before returning her attention to Izuku's arm.
"Oh, hi Uncle Might," Melissa said, Izuku offering the man a nod.
"Don't mind me," he said, "Finish your, uh, repairs."
All Might walked around the table and Izuku returned his attention to carefully shifting one of the contacts back into place, prodding it down. It would need looked at again once he got home, but even a slapdash repair would do here.
"Since you're here," he said, multi-tasking, "I guess everything's under control? How's Wolfram?"
"At the moment?" All Might asked, "Potentially Quirkless."
"Quirkless?" Izuku said, looking away from his arm. All Might nodded.
"He woke up in restraints, of course, tried to break out. All of his effort, he could barely rattle the handcuffs. His Quirks are non-functional. Medicall said he's seen something similar before, with long-term Trigger patients: he called it Quirk burn-out."
"I think I've read something about that," Melissa said, "There was a paper, written by a Doctor…Doctor Soul, I think? It was part of a study on possibly de-criminalising Trigger in America, and covered the results of overdose of different strains. I think. It was interesting but, you know, I'm not a biochemist. And it kinda doesn't apply to me, so…"
"I barely even knew Trigger existed before I had to deal with it," Izuku offered, "So I wouldn't beat yourself up about it."
All Might nodded in agreement, but Izuku heard him mention that he might ask Medicall about the study as he went back to studying his arm. He made sure that all the other contacts were in place before replacing the battery. A throbbing pulse went from wrist to shoulder and he bit his lip, wincing.
"You alright?" Melissa asked. Izuku nodded.
"Just a jolt," he said. He pointed the pliers at his prosthetic fingers and wiggled them, grinning. He tried to hide the wash of relief that went through him at his arm working again, but he wasn't sure he quite managed.
"Wonderful!" All Might said cheerfully, "It's always good to see that things can be repaired."
Izuku gave him an arch look, getting a blinding smile in return. He shook his head, running through a series of finger movements designed as a reflex test.
"Might be other problems," he said, "Reactions are a bit slow, but I can deal with that myself. You want me to clear the room?"
"No, no. I don't mind if Melissa doesn't. Melissa?"
Melissa shrugged.
"We're, uh, co-conspirators here I guess, so I've got no problem with you staying."
"You don't have to phrase it like that," All Might said sadly.
"It is technically correct," Izuku supplied, "I'll stay. Just don't expect too much from me."
Just to punctuate his words he popped off one of the forearm plates of his prosthetic, letting it clatter to the table. He sighed, picking at the innards. One of the artificial tendons twitched slightly and his index finger and thumb curled. Raise the pliers, curl the fingers himself, watch the tendon move. Good. Undamaged. All Might and Melissa were watching him with a sort of fascination and he smiled at them both.
"Imagine if it wasn't prosthetic," he said, chuckling at their perfectly matched expressions of disgust.
"Mr Midoriya's morbid sense of humour aside, I suppose I should start here," All Might said. Izuku glanced up, watching the man take a deep breath before letting it out, and steam plumed from his body. When it was gone Melissa yelped in shock, the smaller real form of All Might slumping back into his seat.
"Oh my God, are you alright?" Melissa asked, "Are you – are you hurt? Did Wolfram-?"
All Might waved his hand, chuckling – Izuku saw him hide a cough in his hand, flicking it down to hide the flecks of blood.
"No, no," he said, "It's a…a part of my Quirk."
Melissa was still staring at him, but there was a calculation in her tone when she spoke again.
"You haven't been like this forever though, right? Your Quirk didn't make you look like that?"
All Might laughed again.
"No, no! When I was younger there was very little difference between my, my Hero form, I suppose you can call it, and my civilian form. It made hiding my identity quite difficult in fact – I had to pretend to be an All Might impersonator more than once! I still came third in the impersonator contest I entered though, ahaha!"
Izuku bit his lip to hide a laugh. Melissa looked at All Might as though he was insane.
"Uncle Might, that joke's older than I am. It's older than you are!"
"I like to think of it as well seasoned," he said, before some of the joviality faded. Izuku went back to checking his arm, testing each tendon in methodical fashion. Most of them seemed to be still functional, at least. Small mercies.
"I've been like this for about five years," All Might said, "Since I – well. I suppose it's best to start from the beginning."
Two hundred years ago, at the Dawn of Quirks, there were two brothers. Izuku listened to the retelling with half an ear, more focused on his arm than re-hearing the story, but he could tell that Melissa was fascinated. He'd only given her the cliff-notes on One for All: this was the whole book. And it was a good story, he'd admit.
He had to wonder, though: what had made All for One choose crime? Where had he come from? If he'd set himself up as a legitimate businessman giving and taking Quirks for a fee he'd probably be a household name by now, richer than God. But no. Instead he was a crime lord, half a corpse and hopefully soon to be entirely a corpse. But that sort of psychology was a little out of Izuku's wheelhouse.
"So you thought you'd won," Melissa said, "But you didn't. You didn't tell my Dad about, you know?"
"I told him that I'd been injured," All Might said, "But not who by. I suppose I…I didn't want to bring up All for One again. Re-open old wounds, as it were. I maybe should have, but it's too late now."
Melissa nodded. She glanced off to the side, a frown tugging at her brow, and chewed her lip.
"I…I need to know, Uncle Might. It's been five years since you were hurt. Why are you only asking if I'll take your Quirk now? Is it…is it because you know All for One's back, now?"
Melissa did an admirable job of remaining calm, but her voice cracked slightly on the last few words. Izuku looked up and saw raw, real panic cross All Might's face.
"No!" he said, too loudly, and Izuku glanced at the door. Melissa looked All Might in the face: Izuku could see him pale in his peripheral vision.
"No," he repeated, more quietly, "I've explained it badly. Let me try again, maybe. I suppose it – five years ago, when I defeated All for One, I remember waking up in hospital. Arguing with Sir Nighteye, because he told me that if I kept being a Hero I would die, that I should retire, but I, I couldn't! I couldn't. I couldn't, because I couldn't bear to stop being a Hero. And All For One was gone. We kept arguing, Nighteye and I. It ruined our friendship, but I was still a Hero. It's only been recently, when I can barely keep myself together long enough to patrol, that I've really started to think about a successor. And knowing that All For One is still alive? That's made me even more reluctant to pass the Quirk on. I'm supposed to protect people: how can I give someone One For All in good conscience, knowing that All For One has killed seven of the past holders?"
All Might coughed at the end of his impassioned speech, the handkerchief he pressed to his mouth coming away red. He touched his stomach and smiled ruefully.
"He's killed all eight of the holders," he admitted softly, "It's just taking a little longer for it to work on me. So no. Now that I know All For One is back, I don't want anyone to take my Quirk and put a target on their back. But he's so powerful that, that Nighteye's right. Letting the Quirk die with me is beyond irresponsible."
All Might sighed.
"I won't pressure you," he said, voice solemn with promise, "I know how dangerous it will be. And, I admit, that I haven't offered it to you already is my fault. I was so stubborn, and by the time I began truly looking for a successor I thought you were happy without being a Hero. I didn't want to…I don't know. I didn't want to make you feel like I was giving you the Quirk in pity."
Silence. Melissa was still frowning, but it was more in thought and Izuku thought he could see tears glimmering in her eyes. He cleared his throat, breaking the silence.
"You know," he said, "When you offered me the Quirk, I didn't think you were doing it because you pitied me. You aren't that kind of person. But I did think, you know – the person I used to be would have jumped at this chance. Would have been desperate for it."
"The person you used to be?" Melissa asked. Izuku shrugged.
"I've always wanted to be a Hero. Could never imagine that I could be one without a powerful Quirk, until I did. For what it's worth, I think you could be a pretty good Hero with just your tech, Melissa. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't take the offer."
Izuku clicked the last section of his arm back into place, putting the screwdriver down and slowly turning his arm, flexing the artificial muscles. All Might and Melissa watched silently, letting him put his next words together.
"Taking One For All, becoming All Might's successor, is more than becoming a normal Hero. You could still try to become a normal Hero, sure, but it'd be a waste. You're going to be taking on the mantle, becoming a Symbol of Hope and Peace, capital letters included. You'd be a good choice."
"I'd be a good choice?" Melissa said, "Not you?"
"I've already said no," Izuku said, instinctively deflecting, and then he shrugged.
"I might do alright with One For All, sure. But it's not me. My skill set is completely different, and my attitude is…let's say I wouldn't do it justice. And I don't mind that. I think you'd do One For All justice. All Might thinks you'd do it justice. What do you think?"
Melissa looked conflicted.
"I don't know," she softly admitted, "I want to say I would. But I don't know how much that's, you know. I don't know how much that's the person I wanted to be, desperate to be a Hero."
Izuku traded a glance with All Might, who leaned forward.
"Melissa," he said, "Nobody really knows if they'll do something justice before they do it. When the mercenaries attacked here, Midoriya told me that you defeated one of them. Did you hesitate?"
"I – no."
"And afterwards, when Midoriya suggested that you try to retake security, did you refuse?"
"No."
Izuku leaned forward himself, meeting her eyes.
"When you heard that Wolfram was after us, you offered to stay behind because you thought he only wanted you, and it would save Tsu and I," he said, "That's pretty heroic, in my book."
"If you're really unsure," All Might said, "You don't have to choose right now. One For All is a powerful Quirk. Very powerful. In order to use it even a little, you need to be physically strong enough. Midoriya probably is. You, Melissa, will need some training. And, luckily for you, I've come with this: the All American Mighty Plan For Success!"
All Might brandished a sheaf of papers at them, suddenly beaming. Izuku took them from his hand, thumbing through the plan while All Might continued to beam at Melissa, talking more quietly.
"My estimation is that it'll take maybe six or seven months to reach the required level, so you have time to think it over," he said, "And if you choose not to accept One For All? I won't think less of you, and you'll be healthier and stronger! It's a win-win!"
"This is a good exercise plan," Izuku said, "Very professional. Probably as good as mine, actually."
All Might grinned at him.
"Give me a little credit, young Midoriya. I've been in this game for a while. So, Melissa. Will you take the chance, and follow the Plan for Success? Will you give yourself a chance, to be a Hero?"
Melissa smiled, slow and gentle, and took All Might's hand.
"Of course I will, Uncle Might. I, uh, I suppose I'll be there?"
She winced immediately afterwards, All Might badly stifling a chuckle.
"That was awful," she said. All Might patted her hand in a consoling manner.
"I've been trying to set up a Heroic Puns and Quips elective at UA," he said happily, "I can add that to your training plan!"
Melissa tried to look horrified, but she laughed when All Might did, swept up in his enthusiasm. Izuku, smiling, watched on. She'd do a good job, he thought, and the future seemed a little brighter than before.
A cynical part of him could almost feel the other shoe dropping.
All Might is definitely working out that there's something going on with Izuku, he's just too polite to say anything. I think that's all for chapter notes, though: as always I hope you enjoyed and reviews are welcome: next chapter is planned for June, if the schedule holds.
So, here's a question for all of you. During my downtime between finishing a chapter of Legacy and starting one for Empress - and vice-versa - I've been working on a pair of one-shots, and I wanted to see which people might prefer. I know that the fandoms probably don't cross over at all, but I thought the question might be worthwhile. So. Warhammer Fantasy - or, more accurately, Total Warhammer 3 - crossed with Dragon Age, with portions of Warhammer races being transported to Thedas in the wake of the End Times, just for the start of the Fifth Blight that forms the story of Dragon Age Origins. Or, Battletech/Mass Effect, with the Quarians making contact with the Taurian Concordat at the eve of the Second Succession War. Which do you think sounds more interesting?