The final chapter of 2024…or it should have been, but I got sidetracked by life, so this was done on January 2nd…. It really ruined the goal I wanted, but hey, that's totally not a sign of what's to come. However, this was a chapter that I've wanted to write for a while now, at least the last 10 or so chapters, as I had so many ideas for this alone that you wouldn't believe it.

"Text" – Normal speech

'Text' – Thought

"Text" – Quirk Spirit speaking in the human world

"Text" - Attacks

"Text" – Radio/Communication lines

"Text" – None Japanese speech

(text) – Subtext/meaning behind a spoken word

Chapter 33: Emerald's True Face

Night hung heavy over Musutafu, the streets nearly empty beneath flickering streetlights, clubs, restaurants, and theatres-all spots that would typically be bustling with clients were either closed for the night or operating had diminished capacity as most of their clients were the students of U.A. Students that ever since news broke of the USJ attack, had all been advised to remain in their accommodations.

The air carried a quiet unease, a lingering tension that had freshmen scared to acknowledge it. At the same time, seniors kept level-headed, pondering their situation.

In a luxurious condo block near the best of the commercial district, Momo sat curled in her oversized chair by the window, staring out at the darkened skyline. Her apartment was fitted with sleek, stylish, and mainly imported furnishings, all purchased with the kind of cash most students could only dream of.

Momo hardly noticed, not because she was de-sensitized to wealth from being born into it, but because her mind was elsewhere. Like she told Aoyama, her parents weren't able to visit, though they did spend hours conversing in a video call; the two worried sick for her and spent half the call talking about leaving their business deal in New Zealand half-finished to rush home, but she didn't want that and managed if only barely, to convince them to remain.

She wasn't in the hospital long, as once she got some nutrient-filled fluids and ate a hardy meal, she was good to go…Aoyama remained, but after his father's visit, he didn't speak another word, and she's been thinking about it ever since. With classes all postponed for the last two days, she had plenty of time for it.

Aoyama knew something, but he refused to say what it was, and if she wasn't imagining things, so was his father as the way the man claimed up when she hinted at what happened…that wasn't normal.

"No, it's just that you won't be the first one to have questions. You, our classmates, and our teachers will want to hear about this, and it would be best to tell you all at once. So we can answer all we can."

He said that to her, and she would hold him to that. But when would he follow through with it?

Her phone, the latest model on the market, held in a cute Russian nestling doll-styled cover, started to vibrate on the coffee table as a message came in. Momo wasn't expecting anyone to contact her, but she wasn't something that ignored messages either.

Getting up, she walked over and picked it up and saw the first read where the message came from.

Midoriya

Across town, in Hagakure's building, she sat at the kitchen table in her cluttered apartment, shared with Ojiro. One invisible knee bounced beneath it as Ojiro went about making their dinner, and conversation between them was non-existent. They had tried to act like things were normal, that the attack and villains were the only weird thing about the USJ, but neither could commit.

Like the rest, Ojiro had heard what happened after the fact. They even saw the horrific remains of that Nomu creature, but she…she was there when it happened. Toru recalled how Midoriya had been acting weird since the villains arrived and how quickly he had gone for the killing blow. How easy it was for him to just keep attacking, keep cutting, and draw blood from the beast.

His words and the words of the hand-covered villain only added to the confusion. Artificially created? Stolen quirks? None of that made sense! She couldn't even ask Midoriya, as he was out of it once he arrived, where she was tending to Yaomomo, and after that, he was gone.

She looked at her half-finished cup of caramel chai latte, long since gone cold. Ojiro looked over his shoulder at her, and while he couldn't make out her face, the fact she hadn't finished her drink in the last hour when she would typically be down in 5 minutes was more than enough of a sign.

'Just what the heck is happening?' he asked, stirring their soup. Midoriya and Aoyama had returned to their dorms that afternoon, and they, along with Tetsutetsu and Kamakiri, had gone out to greet them. But as soon as they asked about…well, any of what they saw or heard about, they refused to respond and quietly retreated into their apartment, promising that they'd talk later…

Toru's phone, a device covered with a cute, pink bunny-themed cover, started to vibrate, with the invisible girl snapping it up so fast Ojiro thought she just willed it into her hand via teleportation.

"Apologies about the ghosting…things have been complicated," Hagakure read the message, seeing that it came from Aoyama.

"Who is it?" Ojiro asked.

"It's Aoyama; he's finally talking!" she replied as Ojiro quickly turned off the stove's heat and walked around the table to sit next to Hagakure.

"Should we ask him?" He asked, to which she wasn't sure; Aoyama made first contact after he and Midoriya had just left, but who to say he would be that open?

The following message from the Frenchman answered that question. "I can guess that you have a lot of questions, and it would be rude if I just ignored that or the fact that we owe you some explanations. But before I do, might I ask some questions of my own? To get a better picture."

"He pulls a monster-slaying stunt and asks if he can ask questions?" Hagakure asked, a little peeved, if he would pull that card when she asked questions and if it got her those answers faster.

"Sure. Go ahead, but you must answer our questions, or I'm going to break your door down…or get Ojiro to do it." She texted back to him and waited for his response.

"Aoyama was supposed to contact you, but he's busy speaking with Hagakure, so I offered to speak with you about this." Momo read the message from Midoriya, the first she had received from him since she exchanged numbers with him in their first Police Relations 101 class. She had thought they'd use it to exchange information and notes, but well…

"So it's not just Aoyama after all…" She muttered as she was sure that Midoriya was in on it, but it was nice to have a confirmation. "That is quite all right. I heard that you both returned to your dorms today. I hope you're in good health." She quickly wrote and sent it to him, waiting a minute before she got a response.

"Aside from a new scar on my back, good as new," Midoriya replied before another text came almost as fast. "Would you know if the entire class knows…what happened?"

Momo frowned at that, as he wasn't present, but she could sense his worry in that question. When she replied that just about everyone knew what went down in some form, he went silent for a moment. "Yeah, I figured that would be the case. But it would be hard to keep the rest in the dark anyway. It's time we heard about what happened and why we did the things we did."

She would hope so, as Midoriya… scared her with how easily he could take the lethal option and how comfortable he looked wielding that blade. "But not now, tomorrow. I don't have everyone's number, so could you contact our classmates? It would be best for you to see what we need to explain."

She held back the urge to argue and demanded he explain things now. It wouldn't have worked to do this over text. "I can do that. Are we meeting at school?"

"We'll send you the location for Prof. Midoriya's lab. We'll meet there at 10am tomorrow." Hagakure read Aoyama's response, with Ojiro frowning at the meeting spot.

"Why do you need to go to the lab?" he asked, Hagakure being just as curious. If he didn't want to do it on school grounds, why not meet at a park or the beach? Why his mother's lab?

Hagakure sent that question and didn't need to wait long for a response. "It will make sense then. Have a good evening."

With that, Aoyama's status switched to offline, and they both felt that if they tried calling, he wouldn't pick up. The same was true for Midoriya, who Aoyama all but admitted was in on whatever this was.

"I don't like this. It sounds sketchy." Ojiro expressed their sentiments, crossing his arms.

"Still, they're our classmates; that should count for something, right?" Hagakure asked. This sounded shady, but neither Izuku nor Yuga were back-alley guys. They were even some of the more polite members of their class.

"Not saying it doesn't, but it just feels…" Ojiro didn't quite know how to put it.

"Yeah, I know. Is this what all the movie heroes feel before they're drawn into secret magical worlds?" Hagakure asked, her comparison getting a chuckle out of the tailed man.

"Or a government conspiracy, as those two want to show us something. I bet it's at Midoriya's mother's lab…whatever it is." He replied before grunting and heading towards the wall socket where his phone had been charging. "I'll go get my phone and call everyone else."

"You can start by going down to Tetsutetsu and Kamakiri's place. I can handle things here." Hagakure suggested, especially since she had more class contact details than he did.

"Good idea, and thanks." Ojiro unplugged his phone, nodding at its charge before he walked towards the door to put on his slippers and head out to speak with their friends. He left his roommate to confirm this with everyone else and finish their dinner.

The following morning, the city stirred as darn painted the skyline in muted blues and oranges. The city's non-university-related workers, white and blue-collar, shuffled into trains and buses, walked down sidewalks towards their jobs, or, in the case of the night shift, made the trip in reverse, heading home for a well-earned rest. Many weren't nearly as tired as they thought, with many of their typical clientele staying home.

That fact hadn't changed, though. With it being a Saturday, many students who might have had morning classes decided to head out to have some fun and decompress from being cooped up for nearly three days. The first was more of a half-day as it was the day of the attack, which ended with classes ending early and students being sent home.

Of course, students of the support course proved to be a bit of an exception as while they weren't attending classes or work-shops, the rules did allow them access to campus facilities if they got permission, something many got during their time off school.

So, while it was but a fraction of the typical numbers, students did get up, get ready, and head towards campus to work on projects. One was a particular ecstatic and energetic pink-haired girl who couldn't stop talking about what babies she planned to pop out, a statement made while she patted her stomach.

Momo saw the girl at the station but didn't question her on her…odd word choice, the wealthy heiress having her mind in other places. She had woken early and sped through her morning process. The only pause came when she decided what to wear, as she wasn't going to class…but she still felt compelled to wear her uniform.

Ready, she grabbed her purse and was out the door, where she headed towards the station closest to her condo. Getting there, she blended in well with the support students, but she didn't take the train that would head towards campus; instead, she took the one that would have taken her towards Rotana, the city that sat on the outer rim of Tokyo but was known for its abundance of industrial sites.

It was also where Midoriya's mother's laboratory was located, at least according to the directions she got.

When she got there, she found that she was still an hour early, but instead of waiting at some café, she decided to just head towards the place. A cursory search online told her it had facilities for visitors she could use as she waited.

Imagine her surprise when, despite being nearly an hour early, she found that she wasn't the first one there.

"Iida." She voiced when she saw the straight-laced speedster outside the laboratory.

Like herself, Iida was dressed in his school uniform as he had been conversing with other earlier arrivals. "Good morning, Yaoyorozu. I see that you're an early bird as well."

"I asked him to be my alarm; I just didn't think he'd wake up like it's a regular school day…" Kirishima smiled, nursing a flask of coffee. Iida had knocked on his door when he was still asleep and forced him to get out of bed and get ready on a timer. The redhead also wore his uniform, which seemed to be something of a theme, as the other two present had dressed similarly as if they had classes after this.

"We wanted to try and catch Aoyama and Midoriya and arrive together, but they were already gone," Ojiro explained, as it had been strange for them to leave and knock on their friend's door, only to learn from the building security both had left half an hour before they did.

"I see, so they've kept whatever is happening to themselves?" Yaoyorozu asked.

"That was expected," The group turned, and another arrival spoke up. "They are treating this like a grand reveal." Nezu smiled as he rode in Eraser's capture bandages, Vlad King standing at the underground hero's side.

"Dean Nezu? Eraser-sensei? Vlad-sensei?" Hagakure asked.

"Good morning. Might I ask what you are here for?" Iida asked.

"In the flesh! Am I a miniature bear, an oversized mouse, or maybe an average-sized dog? Who can say?" Nezu joked, which left them confused, the students unaware that it always opened his first meeting with students with that line, something those who attended orientation would have known and experienced.

"As for why we're here, the same reason as you. Professor Midoriya promised us answers to our little USJ mystery. The rest of the staff should arrive shortly." Vlad answered the question.

"Professor Midoriya? Would you mean Midoriya's mother?" Ojiro asked, and when Eraser nodded, the tailed student frowned in thought. "Strange, it was Aoyama who invited us."

"Midoriya was the one that contacted me," Yaoyorozu added.

"All the more reason to suspect that they'll all be involved in whatever is to come. Now, shall we head inside? I heard that their in-house café has strands of tea from around the world." Nezu directed them inside, where they found the décor matched the exterior of the building. The early morning didn't detract from traffic as workers came and went, some heading down the halls or towards the stairs and elevators to head to their workstations.

After a quick conversation with the receptionist, they were seated in the café. Those who wished for it ordered breakfast, as Nezu freely offered to cover any cost, joking that he'd just classify it as an operational expense in the budget.

As the clock ticked down, others arrived, with Yaoyorozu noting that it seemed to have been an unspoken agreement for students to attend in their uniforms. The heiress found herself shifting so that she sat with Hagakure and her group. Serenity was the last of the staff to arrive, accompanying what the students recognized as the detective who interviewed them after the attack.

The Police Relations explained that they had invited the detective to get his input on whatever they knew. What was left unsaid was that Nezu planned for the man to arrive last to make it harder for the professor to back out should she have been informed of the presence of a police officer.

Bakugo was one of the last to arrive, though even he was still technically a few minutes early. As they had all expected, the blonde was visibly angry. Not just about being the only one who didn't attend the USJ, thereby missing out on combat against real villains, but he was pissed about getting a message about something big happening and needing to show up here.

It was Iida who reached out. He looked up Bakugo's details in the class registry. While Iida didn't like him or think much of the explosive quirk user, as a class member, he felt he was entitled to whatever knowledge they were going to learn and made it clear that Bakugo couldn't miss this, something most of them figured he would have decided he was too good for otherwise.

When the clock hit 10am, not a second earlier or a second later, the elevator down the hall opened, and Mineta was the first to see them. "Guys, they're here." He pointed towards Midoriya and Aoyama, the two walking along with a shorter, green-haired woman who looked familiar before they realized she looked like Midoriya and put 2 and 2 together.

"Good morning, everyone. I apologize for the secrecy, but what we're going to tell you isn't something we can freely share." Inko started, her son and his friend remaining by her side.

"Not at all, Professor. Though I wish we wouldn't meet again under such…concerning circumstances." Nezu took it upon himself to be the spokesman for the group of teachers and students.

"I'm sorry, but I'm a little lost here," Kaminari said, looking slightly nervous. However, Yaoyorozu noted that he had seemed nervous since he arrived. "I thought this about the thing at the USJ. Why does it seem…like more?"

"And who might you be?" Inko turned her attention to him, with the boy quickly identifying himself. Inko offered him a smile to try and lessen his nerves. "I see; it is related to that, but to explain that, we must explain the entire thing. Which can't be done through words alone. You all need to see what it is we know."

"So, do you have files on this or something? Stuff that can't leave the premises?" Kendo asked, to which the older woman shook her head.

"You're half right, but it's foolish to discuss that here. Follow me." She turned and walked off, not towards the elevator but towards the stairs, Izuku and Yuga following after her. Looking among themselves, the students and staff found this odd, but they had already arrived, so why not?

As they followed them, Jiro picked up what the trio talked about.

"Were you expecting the policeman, Auntie?" Yuga whispered to his mother, though he didn't shift his pace or position.

"I was not. I hoped that Nezu wouldn't contact law enforcement right off the bat." Inko replied, sounding upset about that development, which worried Jiro; why didn't she want cops here?

"Too late to pull the plug now, but if he proves unagreeable…"Izuku didn't finish the statement, but her nerves got worse at the implication, and Inko shook her head.

"Let's not discuss such things, Izuku. You're only inviting such awful outcomes." Inko reminded her son as they descended the stairs.

"Right, stay positive." Izuku nodded as the trio eventually fell silent.

"Why are we in the underground parking?" Ashido called out as they stood in the underground parking lot for Inko's lab. The place was only around a third full, as some workers weren't coming in today or parked in the above-ground parking lot if they had cars.

"Because the regular route to where we're going would be too small for all of us and take too long if we just split." Inko continued to walk across the space.

"Okay, then, where are we going? We're told to just show up here, and you'll take in damn riddles and around shit." Bakugo finally spoke up, and the green-haired woman turned back to him, looking him over before she replied.

"Just like your mother, no patience. I just said it, didn't I? If you're impatient, you can wait up top like a child. I'm sure the receptionist has games on her phone." Inko told him, to which Bakugo's brow twitched as he growled, taking a step forward.

"Bakugo." Aizawa's unspoken dammed his anger…for now, though the underground teacher noticed that when Bakugo made his aggressive step, both Izuku and Yuga shifted in a way that could only mean they were ready to respond. Aizawa looked towards some of his fellow staff, who nodded back, having seen that as well, and while Midoriya wasn't carrying his blade, they knew he didn't need it.

"I'm liking her already," Hagakure whispered to Jiro, who nodded, as that was a pretty cool roast of their class hothead. Thankfully, they reached the side of the parking lot that seemed set aside for delivery trucks. It made sense; a lab would require such spaces for offloading supplies and hazardous materials. It wasn't like they could toss away dangerous chemicals and biological matter.

However, while there was a large garage door, Inko went to the side where a terminal was installed into the wall; it looked like just a fancy look for the garage door, but when she put in some commands, they couldn't see, the terminal shifted. Transforming as the old, common-looking materials and design were replaced with the much sleeker, more durable, and advanced-looking interface.

On the screen, a woman with dark teal hair and fair skin. It showed her entire body, so they could see that she wore what looked to be a mix of a security and police uniform, with its primary colors being purples and light blue.

"Welcome. You have accessed the security protocols of this fine establishment. I am the Joint Enforcement & Neutralization Network for Yielded Security, but you can call me Officer J.E.N.N.Y!" The woman saluted, looking incredibly friendly.

"Wait, is that, like, an A.I.?" Awase asked Honenuki, who nodded, as Genuine A.I. was rare. For this place to have such a system set up was impressive in itself, but it only added to the mystery.

"Less magical and more sci-fi then." Ojiro reminded Hagakure of their talk the previous night, the invisible girl nodding.

"Morning, J.E.N.N.Y. This is director Midoriya. I would like to gain access to R levels D1." Inko stated. The A.I.'s smile got a little strained.

"I'm sorry, director, but you can't request access to restricted levels when you're in the company of non-authorized individuals." The teachers noted that at least nine cameras had been following them around the underground parking since they entered and had remained trained on them.

"They're guests," Inko explained.

"Well, then, you wouldn't mind giving the override. Rules are rules, mam." J.E.N.N.Y challenged, as guests weren't just given free access. One had to be in a high position to invite them, with the amount requiring an even higher clearance and code.

"Midoriya Inko: 0001. Voice authentication phrase: "Be careful with that, Izuku. You could hurt yourself." Inko spoke up. The terminal has one of the best microphones on the market, so she didn't need to worry about audio. That done, she input the required codes, starting with Kronos's override clearance code.

This gave her a chance to first enter the number of guests she had with her, and then the security protocol overrides code. The code was not only long but also changed every week and was different for each person. It made it a challenge to remember, but it was worth it if it ensured that what was kept under their watch was safe.

After putting in OT2T57S30525R7J to override the security protocols for levels 1 through 3, she stood back and let the system analysts all of it, as well as scan the area to ensure that she did, in fact, only have the 52 guests, first through visual scans, then your heat detection, J.E.N.N.Y being thorough, as she was designed to be.

All this took place in under 10 seconds before the A.I. smiled. "Well, everything checks out. The security override was successful. Now, would they please step forward so I can get a good look at them to create the temporary pass keys?"

"Will this take long?" Midnight asked as Inko stood aside and gestured for one of them to step forward.

"The terminal can't print out pass keys but can log digital ones. It'll give you free access to the facility if you don't try to access restricted areas." The professor explained that Eraser went first, finding that it was a quirk process. Then he looked into the camera, stated his name, and said he was done. The speed meant that they were getting through quickly, as the staff finished and the students went next. Midoriya and Aoyama stood to the side.

"J.E.N.N.Y, we're not guests. We'll wait until the rest are done before putting in our own access info." Midoriya spoke up, looking towards one of the cameras as the A.I. laughed it off.

"Of course, I know you're not guests."

"Midoriya, why'd you say that?" Tetsutetsu asked, to which Midoriya turned his gaze to him and smiled.

"It's protocol." It wouldn't do to tell them that he's not specifying, which could be seen as a red flag, one that J.E.N.N.Y might respond to.

When Mineta finished, having needed help much like Nezu did to be seen by the terminal, Inko directed them to stand close together near it. At that point, the ground beneath moved, slowly at first but gradually gaining speed as it descended.

"What the heck?" Kirishima asked as they descended. The walls around them were featureless, sans the periodic placement of white lights built into the concrete.

"It's a hidden elevator. It's designed for trucks, so it can easily take all of us." Izuku explained, as calm as ever, even as they were bathed in darkness, leaving only the flashing white lights above them as they continued.

"Then why did it just get dark?" Komori asked. While Tokoyami felt Dark Shadow stir, he kept control even with light seemingly in short supply.

"Because the top sealed. It would defeat the purpose of a secret elevator if one could see the missing section of floor and this shaft." Aoyama explained as the group fell silent, unsure looks traded, before being sent towards Midoriya and Aoyama, who, like the professor, acted like this was nothing new.

One of them, Bakugo, found himself growing all the more unsure as none of this made sense. First, Auntie left for I-island with Deku, then she returned and then left again. Deku was quirkless, and she was just a fancy doctor.

But then Deku and Frenchie reappear in his life, both having quirks and acting like it's normal. Then he learns that Auntie became this big-shot researcher, but she never kept in contact with his parents, so who was he supposed to know?

And now this? Just what the fuck was happening.

Answers would soon come when the elevator slowed as they reached the bottom. Around them was a warehouse-style storage facility, with multi-layer shelves designed to hold pallets that could each weigh half a ton. There weren't many people present, all dressed like typical warehouse workers, shifting things about, putting things away or retrieving them, and loading them onto carts to be transported somewhere else.

Walking out, they entered the facility proper. Inko led them to a balcony-like area that gave them a full view of the facility and what it was all about, flooring them that such a place would exist just under their feet, unseen and unnoticed. And they weren't the only ones turning and looking about, as researchers and other workers saw them as well, pointing them out to others as the two groups eyed each other.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome, the true face of Emerald Labs." Inko introduced them all; her presence with a group of students and what looked like All Might only added to the staff's confusion, but they eventually went back to work, trusting her judgment.

Walking through the place, the students couldn't help but take in the sights. As the place was nearly sterile, they saw numerous staff, some dressed in lab coats, others in office clothing or work-shop shop suits. The path they walked along was wide enough that carts carrying people, gear, and other supplies went back and forth. Vehicles seemed so familiar here that intersections had robots like a street wound.

To their sides, they saw labs where people seemed to be working with all manner of things, and at times, they saw work-shops where mechanics and engineers handled their own projects, though most of them wondered if that was safe. The more observant students like Kendo, Tokage, Honenuki, Todoroki, Monoma, and Yaoyorozu all noticed that it wasn't simply doors that entered those rooms but looked like slabs of specially designed steel, so they would assume that the glass wasn't the same type one would find on a building or even a car.

For Jiro, this was evident through his muffled conversations and noises coming from those rooms, where, even when she moved closer to them, she couldn't make out much despite how sensitive her hearing was.

All Might and the teachers had picked up on all of this much sooner, and while they were impressed with the professor's operation and apparent dedication to safety, there was the question of what she was doing here. How did she gain so many employees and keep them under wraps? Where did she get the funding for any of this, as none of it was cheap?

All Might couldn't help but think about…him, as he would have the means, funds, and, at a time, people. It would also line up with how young Midoriya spoke about that Nomu creature's quirks. 'No, don't jump to conclusions. They deserve the chance to explain themselves.' He had to remind himself, even if that ever-gnawing fear in his non-existent stomach made that a challenge.

"Holy crap, it's huge!" Mineta yelled as they just kept seeing more. Meanwhile, Asui, Kendo, and others noticed that it wasn't just workers and eggheads going around as they saw plenty of armed guards, all carrying bigger guns than the standard stuff they saw cops carry. They weren't even the only ones as they saw honest-to-God robots, utterly different from the ones they smashed up to get into U.A.

All the while, screens showed J.E.N.N.Y A.I.'s face here and there, watching people and reminding them to follow the rules and remain safe.

"And well-defended, " the frog girl muttered. The teachers were keeping track of those people the most, though they also noticed something else. Both Aoyama and Midoriya weren't dressed in their uniforms, nor did they walk with their classmates; instead, they remained at Professor Midoriya's side.

Supercharge picked up on Uraraka's actions and the girl's worry. She slowed so she could walk next to her, putting a hand on her shoulder to silently ask if she was doing all right. The gravity quirk user nodded.

"It's impressive, but the fact that you have all this security and built this place so far underground tells me that you don't have a permit to research here." Todoroki cut through whatever awe his fellow students felt; no doubt that was part of their attempt to sell them on whatever schemes they were doing.

Inko turned her head a little to look his way. "Smart boy, but I wouldn't be able to get a permit to do my work anywhere when even I-island refused to host my research." That got heads to turn towards her. With the exception, none had ever been to I-island, the man-made moving island that housed the best and brightest minds.

For any scientist or researcher, just being invited to work there was considered nearly as great as winning a noble prize. They pushed boundaries in just about every field of science; if Inko was truthful, what in the hell could she be doing that was considered too much for them? Nezu asked what sort of taboos were being committed within these walls.

"And what, pray tell," the dean started, bringing them to a stop and forcing Inko to follow suit. "Is your research? Officially, you research quirks, the same as a few other labs in Japan."

Inko, along with her son and godson, turned to him, her eyes hiding much of whatever she felt, though the intelligent creature that was known as U.A.'s dean was nothing if not perceptive. He could see the pride in those eyes, the confidence, but also a lingering sense of betrayal and resentment—not towards him, but towards someone not present…I-island, perhaps?

"That is true, though our legal side also researches things involving biochemistry, engineering, and several other fields." She started. "However, when it comes to quirk research, we push things further than anyone else, studying them from their very building blocks."

Inko's smile grew ever more prideful as she recounted what she could do, what her blood, sweat, and tears had birthed over the years. "It is because of that relentless pursuit that allows us to do things thought impossible, such as quirk transfers or quirk storage, but what is my crowning achievement."

She gestured towards the two at her side, who stepped up. "The creation of quirks."

I'll cut things here, as the rest would take us well over the limit, but I'm happy with what I managed to get done. With the rest of the class and their teachers taking the first step into the secret world that Izuku, Yuga, Intelli, and everyone have known about for nearly a decade now. Though I did debate having Bakugo be the only one not in the know, while it would be funny for him not to know what everyone else does, it just wouldn't make sense.

And yes, Inko is a little bitter about things, as I mentioned much earlier. But since she's not a character who appears often, I really can't express that without flashbacks or characters mentioning it, which seems lazy and cheap, you know? Some have mentioned that this could come into play with the first movie, and all I will say is…stay tuned for that.

The next chapter will be out on February 3rd but if you want to read it early, well the link is at the bottom for my p a t reon.

Special thanks to my Patrons(s):

Emmanuel Baptiste

GodOfConquest91

3rddynasty

Jacob Crispin Rincon

Francesco Alayza

LastCranel27

Frostcore

Broden Hammel

Alexei Barrett

rlp31-

ShelDrake

TheCoolest7248

Uknown Grimoire

p a t reon . com (slash) Ducksmakegreatminers