Eh, this chapter is short enough. Might as well drop it now. I need a good distraction.

Oh yeah, Across the Spider-Verse is out and my god if I ever got the small chance to make a movie / TV show I'd want it to be stylized like that. I think there was some Netflix show by Kid Cudi…Extragalactic or something…that did a similar animation style and it just makes things POP more, y'know?

So, if you're curious where we currently are (in terms of future writing); we're close to finishing the festival arc. There's gonna be some brief 'filler' chapters, then the Hero Rankings arc, and some more stuff I can't get into. This chunk of chapters was mostly written in October / November. This arc will go on for…six weeks. Then there's gonna be a two week break, and then we get into the big stuff. That'll be 12 weeks.

So…this next chunk of chapters is gonna go from here to October.

Also- TV Tropes page. That needs a good update. Just saying…just implying…just-

Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease update it

Anyways, here's your chapter. Here's the Discord: /cgFmXz3qJ5

"All Might?"

Snooze.

"Hey, All Might!" Izuku said. "A-are you asleep?"

All Might's snores were halted by Izuku's question. It snapped him out of his dreams, and dropped him back in reality.

"Huh? Whazzup?" All Might asked, rubbing his eyes. "Something wrong?"

"We're almost to the island, Toshi." Ben said. "Kid's a bit excited to see the place."

All Might looked to his left- Izuku had taken the window seat, and had his face pressed up against the glass. "It's sooooo big!" He gasped.

All Might blinked a few times. "I understand your excitement, young Midoryia. But, wouldn't this better be shared with Miss Ochako?"

"She's kinda got her own thing right now." Ben jabbed a thumb over to Ochako's seat. She looked nauseous.

"You've flown...multiple times..." The air sick Ochako growned. "You can fly as a giant mothwoman, a walking candlestick and a techno alien...you can FLOAT- HOW AM I GETTING SICK!?"

All Might winced. "A-ah."

"Yeah, she's not doing so great with air travel." Ben 10k said, looking away.

I-Island- the moving paradise island. Every Pro Hero firm in the globe invested money to establish a technical paradise for the research and development of Quirks and support biggest cities on the island are home to thousands of scientists and their families. Scientists mostly study the Quirk phenomena and provide methods to aid Pro Heroes.

Ben and Toshinori had some business here.

"I can't believe I get to start my summer vacation here." Izuku said, face still smooshed up against the window.

"S-same." Ochako coughed, her air sickness starting to fade.

"Are you sure it's okay that we came along?" Izuku asked Ben and All Might.

"Oh yeah, not gonna be an issue." Ben said. "The invites were clear. We're welcome to bring anyone."

"And Ruby's not with you because..." Izuku narrowed his eyes.

"Baby shower." Ben said. Izuku made a face. "Don't worry. Ruby and her friends have...a weird baby shower routine."

Ruby roared as she fired off a flamethrower in the middle of a pit, letting it melt a giant ice sculpture of Vilgax. The girls behind her cheered.

"YOU GOT THIS, SIS!" Yang yelled.

"INCINERATE THAT DOUCHE!" Mirko yelled.

"I WANNA HEAR THE LAMENTATIONS OF HIS WOMEN!" Kathleen yelled.

"Hey, uh- Ruby?" Weiss yelled over the sounds of the flamethrower.

Ruby stopped her rampage for a sec. "Yeah, what's up?"

"What's the gender of the baby? You said you'd reveal that."

"Oh! It's a girl." Ruby grinned.

Weiss blinked. "Right. Carry on."

Ruby went back to using the flamethrower.

Ben sighed. "The love of my life."

Izuku and Ochako gave Ben a weird look.

"Well, if you say so." Izuku said.

The plane's intercom went off. "Attention, passengers! The plane will soon begin its descent to I-Island."

"Thank God," Ochako groaned.

All Might took a deep breath. "This is gonna be exhausting." He muttered, before his form started to gain some bulk. "I have to maintain my muscle form for a bit longer than usual, since we're on the island."

"You kids should change too. UA allowed you to bring your hero costumes for a reason, you know." Ben pointed out.

"Right!" Izuku said, as Ochako stumbled out of her seat.

"Let's hope I can go without throwing up on my costume." Ochako said, as she pulled out her UA suitcase. She opened it up, and noticed a black puddle on her costume.

Ochako blinked.

"Unless I already did."

The black puddle gained some green lines, and immediately morphed into a familiar shape. "Ship!" The creature chirped.

"S-ship!" Ochako frowned. "How did you get in there?"

Ship tilted his head and extended his neck. "Ship?"

Ochako sighed. "Oh, I can't get mad at you. You're literally too cute."

"Guess he didn't want you to go." Ben chuckled. "It's no big deal. He can hide in your helmet or something."

Ochako picked up Ship and handed him to All Might. "Watch him for me, okay?" Ochako asked.

All Might nodded. "Can do!"

...then Ship started to slip around in his hands. All Might shivered.

"Why is he so cold!?"

The immigration inspection took no time at all. Thank God they didn't detect Ship, who was hiding in Ochako's helmet. Ochako could hear his whines from time to time.

"-the Island is currently holding the opening of I-Expo." An intercom lady said. "It will show off events and research our development teams have been working on for quite a while. Only those with invites may attend the preview."

Ochako and Izuku stepped outside the gates, and into the beautiful view of I-Island. Ochako's jaw dropped as she saw it. This place was unlike anywhere she'd ever been. It was like a theme park, a metropolitan city and a technological utopia, all mixed into one.

"The pictures of this place really don't do it justice." Izuku said.

"I...I wanna live here forever." Ochako said. "This place is AWESOME."

"Unlike in Japan, people are allowed to use their quirks however they wish on this island." Ben said. "So, there's a lot of flashy quirks and pavilions designed to show off skills."

"Making time for that later." Ochako grinned.

"Now, where's that darn hotel?" All Might said, looking down at his phone.

"OH MY GOD, IT'S ALL MIGHT AND BEN 10K!" Someone yelled.

That really opened the floodgates- in an instant, people and reporters were swarming Ben and All Might.

"You saved my life once!" Someone yelled.

"Sign my phone case!" Another yelled.

Ochako and Izuku were thrashed around in the crowd. Ochako worried about being trampled- it happened to someone she knew, but in all honesty, they kinda deserved it.

Don't piss off bulls, people. They get mad.

It was an hour later now- the line that Ben and All Might had made was finished. Izuku and Ochako were both exhausted, and found comfort on a bench.

"God, I didn't expect that much attention." Ben 10k said, shaking his wrist. "So many autographs."

"At least you're getting POSITIVE press nowadays." All Might joked. "Remember Will Harangue?"

"Oh, God- don't get me started on that bozo." Ben groaned.

"I just hope we're not late for our meetup." All Might commented.

"Late?" Ochako said, looking up from the bench.

"Late for what?" Izuku asked.

"Oh! Well. I wanted to drop in on a dear old pal of mine." All Might explained. "I haven't seen him in years, now."

"Same here- you get so surprised how fast time can pass when you're older." Ben said. "Sorry if it's kinda out of nowhere."

"Oh, we don't mind coming along." Izuku said. "If they're a friend of yours, they're a friend of mine."

"You just wanna ask him questions about All Might's glory days." Ochako teased.

Izuku looked away. "Somewhat."

"By the by..." All Might leaned in to whisper. "Yes. This person DOES know about my secret."

"Woah, must be a good friend if they know that." Izuku said.

"We used to have a group chat." Ben joked. "We should re-ignite that."

"Oh, but people already left it...It'll be awkward." All Might said. "Do we really wanna do that?"

Ben nodded. "Oh, true. Didn't think about that."

"Anyways, I'm glad he's on this island." All Might admitted. "Danger tends to follow anyone who knows the truth about my powers."

"Makes sense why he'd live in a place like this." Ochako said. "I think I heard Izuku say this place's security system was on par with Tartarus."

"I didn't just say that as a comment- I mean it." Izuku said. "There's never been a crime committed on I-Island."

"And things are gonna stay that way." Ben said, with a grin. "Especially since we're here."

BOING. BOING.

Ochako looked up. Was someone using a pogo stick or some springs or something? That bouncing noise was getting closer.

All Might noticed it too- he looked up, by the stairs of the park. He chuckled.

"There you are, Uncle!" A voice called out.

Ochako's eyes widened. UNCLE!?

It all happened so fast- the blonde girl on the pogo stick jumped off, and landed in All Might's arms. All Might laughed as he swung her around in his arms. The two were laughing and smiling.

And Izuku and Ochako were lost. Ben was almost tearing up at the sight.

"I wanna do that with my daughter one day…" He muttered.

"You're having a girl?" Ochako said.

Ben put a finger to his lips.

All Might held up the girl, a lovely pale-skinned young woman. Her outfit consisted of a white short-sleeved dress shirt with plaid cuffs, a huge bow of the same pattern around her neck, and a dark raspberry pink waistcoat. These were accompanied with pale gray Capri pants, which were worn with checkered pink socks and heeled brown boots. She was also wearing a wristwatch and pink oval-framed spectacles.

"It's been so long, Melissa!" All Might said. "Look at how big you've grown!"

"I can't believe you're actually here!" Melissa grinned.

"We're truly grateful for the invite." All Might said, as he set Melissa down.

"I'm only here for the trip away from the office." Ben joked. Melissa grinned, as she leapt at Ben as well.

"NO NO NO WAIT-!" Ben yelled, before Melissa tackled him to the ground.

"S-sorry, Uncle Ben! I thought you were ready for the same thing." Melissa said.

"It's okay..." Ben groaned. "My back was already hurting..."

"I almost didn't recognize you!" All Might said, ignoring Ben's hurt body. "When did you get all grown up?"

"I am seventeen now, y'know!" Melissa said.

"Are you!?" All Might sounded panicked. "God, it's been so long-!"

The two tackle hugged each other again.

And yet again, Ochako and Izuku were confused.

"Ibuprofen…" Ben muttered.

"You fought Vilgax AND Aggregor." Ochako said. "You're fine."

"When I was 20, yeah…" Ben groaned. "Nowadays if I sleep on my side, I will feel the pain of a million suns."

Ochako rolled her eyes. "I think you're being dramatic."

"I'm not. And you'll know the pain someday as well." Ben said, as he got back up.

Izuku squinted. This is All Might's old friend? They must've met when she was a kid or something. Or...maybe her quirk makes her look young?

"And Dave!" All Might said, looking around. "Where's he hiding?"

"He better not tackle me too." Ben said.

"Oh, he's in his lab." Melissa said. "He's had a breakthrough in his research recently! He doesn't know you two are here, actually. This is just a suprise to celebrate his work."

"So that's what this is about." Ben said, brushing himself off. "What's old Davey cooking up this time?"

"Confidential." Melissa said. "He hasn't even told me."

"Scientists and their secrets." Ben sighed, shaking his head. "I know what that's like."

Ochako coughed to get some attention. All Might and Melissa looked at the two.

"Oh! Right, where are my manners?" All Might said, slapping his forehead. "Melissa, I'd like you to meet two of UA's finest first year students."

"Izuku Midoriya." Izuku said. "But you can call me Deku."

"I'm Uraraka Ochako! Nice to meet you," Ochako said.

"It's nice to meet the both of you as well! I'm Melissa Shield." She shook both of their hands.

"Melissa is the daughter of my friend Dave. I'm legally her godfather!" All Might grinned.

"Ooooh. That explains the Uncle All Might thing." Izuku said. "For a second, I thought SHE was your old friend."

Melissa laughed. "Please, don't be silly."

"Ochako studied under me during her internships, so that's why she's here." Ben said. "And Midoryia and All Might have a special bond, thanks to their similar powers."

"I saw you in the sports festival footage! I can see why All Might took a liking to you." Melissa said. "Your powers are extremely similar."

"Give or take," Ochako shrugged.

"I still have tons to learn." Izuku said nervously.

Melissa circled Izuku and Ochako. She was analyzing them, looking at their costumes and mumbling something to herself.

"Hm." Melissa said, as she finished her examination. Ochako and Izuku looked at her curiously. "Oh! Sorry, I just like looking at hero costumes. Usually to get ideas for my own tech. I'm a part of I-Island Academy- think of it like the UA of MIT or CalTech."

"You must be pretty smart, then." Ochako said.

"Top of my class." Melissa smiled. "It does look like you should upgrade your gear, though." Melissa was looking at Izuku's scarred hand.

All Might cleared his throat. "Uh...shall we?"

Melissa snapped out of her analysis mode. "Oh! Sorry, I got distracted." Melissa grabbed her pogo stick gear, and compressed it down into a small cube. "This way!" She said, running off.

All Might and Ben followed her, as Ochako chuckled. "She kinda reminds me of you."

"I can see why. But I don't mumble like that..." Izuku said, as they followed behind.

David Shield was a well-known figure on I-Island. He'd worked on a number of projects and built hundreds of pieces of support equipment that helped save millions of people.

David was scrolling through his phone during one of his downtime periods (which he seldom had these days). He was looking over old images of himself and Toshi, as well as all the other heroes they'd worked with when All Might was in America. All those happy moments were passed, and they had lost a few faces in those images. Nonetheless, David saw nothing but wonderful moments in them.

"Professor?"

David put away his phone, to see his assistant Samuel, walking back in. "I finished putting the equipment away, just so you know."

"Already?" David chuckled. "Thanks so much, Sam."

"Why don't you get out of the lab and go have lunch with Melissa?" Samuel asked.

"She's busy today with the academy." David sighed.

"I thought they were on break because of the expo." Samuel frowned.

"Independent research." David said. "Confidential stuff, won't even tell her dear old Dad."

"Well, only because you won't tell me YOUR projects. It's only fair."

David perked up- he looked over to see Melissa, walking into the room. "Melissa!" He said. "Hey!"

"It's good to see you, miss." Samuel smiled.

"Right back atcha, Sam." Melissa smiled. "Thanks for always looking after papa, since he's working here constantly."

Samuel laughed, as David held up his hands in defense. "I'm not THAT bad. Now, Ceres North, she was WORSE than me. Now, what are you doing here?"

"Welllll, since you completed the first stage of your research, I invited someone here to celebrate with us. Well, two someones." Melissa grinned.

"Who would that be?" David asked.

Melissa looked to the door. "Well, I'll let them speak for themselves."

David looked at the door as well- and his eyes lit up when he saw HIM.

"YES! I AM HERE!" All Might yelled, "SHAKING WITH EMOTION FOR OUR HEARTFELT REUNION!" All Might rushed in and picked David off his feet, and hugged him like he did Melissa.

Ben blinked. "I knew it was gonna be emotional, but not like this." He snickered, as he walked in.

"Something tells me they were REALLY close." Ochako muttered.

"You have NO idea." Ben said. "Now! If you excuse me-" Ben rushed into the hug as well. "DAAAAAVE!"

It was a giant mess of hugs and laughter. Izuku and Ochako were still very, very confused.

"I need an entire textbook to figure out the history between these three." Ochako said.

"Shield...THAT'S why that name sounded so familiar." Izuku said.

"Huh?"

"Some years ago, when All Might was working with the Outcasts, he had a sidekick that developed a lot of the tech they used." Izuku explained. "He made one of All Might's first costumes, too! Plus, he's one of the world's top scientific minds and won a Nobel Quirk Prize."

Ochako's eyebrows went up. "Woah, really? That explains the tears."

Yeah, the three grown men were crying. I shouldn't shame them for being emotional, but I'm gonna point out how funny it is.

"It's been so many years-!" All Might cried.

"The emails don't do it justice!" Ben said.

"I'm actually getting crushed here!" David yelled, trying to squirm his way out of the giant bear hug All Might was giving him.

Melissa laughed. "I think papa's surprised about the gift."

"Y-yeah," David said, as All Might set him down. "Totally astounded."

"We both have Melissa to thank for that." All Might grinned.

"Man, how long has it been?" Ben pondered.

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

The three of them shared a hearty laugh. "You do have a point!" Ben smiled.

"So, where's the missus?" David asked Ben.

"Probably doing something awesome." Ben shrugged.

Yang yelled as she slapped her elbow a few times. She jumped off the ropes, and slammed into Mirko at full force.

"KICK HER ASS, SIS! I DON'T CARE HOW HIGH RANKED SHE IS!" Ruby yelled.

Weiss blinked. "Is it...normal to do this at a baby shower?"

Kylie sipped her apple juice martini and shrugged. "At least the gender reveal didn't cause an earthquake."

"...fair." Weiss nodded.

"Ahh, love of my life." Ben sighed.

"It is wonderful to see you both, honestly." David admitted. "I've been going a little stir crazy."

"I hope you don't mind, but we brought guests." All Might said, as Izuku and Ochako came inside the lab. "This is Izuku Midoryia and Uraraka Ochako."

"Hm." David said, looking at the two. He smiled, and nodded. "I think I might've heard somethings about you in their emails. It's nice to meet you both."

"First of all, it's an HONOR to meet you sir." Izuku said. "Big fan of your wor during the golden age."

David laughed. "You weren't kidding, Toshi. He IS a huge fan."

"I dunno much about your work, but...if you're an old friend of All Might, I trust you're the best of the best." Ochako said.

"I remember seeing you in the news a while back, actually." David said. "Your battle during the sports festival got a lot of attention."

Ochako blinked. "For real?"

"Yeah, people were outraged that you didn't win. Heck, I was offended." David said.

"That kid's a dick, by the way. He threw rocks at me." Ben frowned.

"What?"

"Long story." All Might coughed. "How about we do some catching up?"

David took note of All Might's coughing fit, and nodded. "Sam- how about you take the rest of the day off? I gotta infodump with these two knuckle heads."

"Sure thing," Samuel nodded. "See you at the expo?"

"See you then." David said, as Samuel exited. "And, Melissa...how about you show these two around the island?"

"Oh, of course!" Melissa said. "Sounds like fun."

"You're not busy, are you?" Izuku asked.

"We'd hate to get in the way of your work." Ochako said. "Especially during an expo. I can only imagine what you thought up."

"It's fine, actually! I finished my project a few nights before." Melissa said. "Cost me a few nights of sleep but it's done. Besides, I'd never pass up a chance to show off I-Island to a future hero."

"Oh!" Ochako said. "Then, lead the way."

The three of them walked out, and shut the door. The second the door closed, All Might started to cough up a storm. Smoke arose from his body as he dropped to one knee. David knelt down to help All Might.

"Thanks for catching that," The deflated All Might said. "I was exhausted after that brief meet and greet but I didn't want Melissa to see me like that."

"I didn't realize it was this bad..." David said, helping All Might up. "I'll have to thank Ari for mitigating the damage."

"Could've been a lot worse, honestly." Ben said. "Be thankful he's alive."

All Might stopped coughing and took a few deep breaths. "There we go..." All Might sighed. "I'm not the man I used to be."

"Not to me." David smiled, as he pulled up a seat for All Might. All Might sat down, and took a deep breath.

The three men sat in silence for a moment.

"So...those were your successors." David said. "I'd like to talk about that, actually."

I-parks Island's were a fascinating location. The energy generated by all of the guests was palpable. Live concerts might be heard in the background. There were a variety of aromas in the air, ranging from overpriced food stores to quacking ducks swimming in the ponds. Lights were flashing everywhere. Structures and buildings were never the same, each having its own unique feature.

"This place is nuts," Ochako said, watching a few heroes pass by. Izuku was furiously scribbling down details about them in a ledger.

"It's got everything a person could need. There's a normal city area too, so this place isn't exactly ALL fun and games." Melissa sighed. "But we can't travel."

"Probably to protect the scientist's work and everything." Izuku said.

"Right you are. It's also why I haven't seen Uncle Might in ages." Melissa said. "I haven't been on actual soil in years!"

"Wow, that's crazy." Ochako said. "This is my first time even being away from Japan. I dunno if I wanna go back now."

"Lemme show you MY personal favorite place to go." Melissa said, pointing over to an important looking pavilion. Inside it was a beautiful blue museum showcasing super-advanced support equipment for Pro Heroes.

"I know aliens exist, but..." Ochako said, watching Izuku and Melissa geek out about all the tech. "I've never seen tech like this."

Ochako looked up at her helmet. She could hear Ship wagging his tail. "Easy, boy." She whispered, taking her helmet off.

Melissa walked over, holding a really 'robotic' looking helmet. "Here, try this on."

Ochako traded helmets with her. Ochako put it on, and was immediately greeted with 26 views of multiple cameras scattered throughout the island. "W-woah!" Ochako said, turning her head like crazy.

"Sorry if it's overwhelming." Melissa said. "I REALLY wanted to show this one off."

"Lemme guess- you made it." Ochako said, slowly getting used to the helmet.

"Sure did! It allows someone to supervise over 26 different places at once." Melissa said. "You can fine tune it to a specific one."

"This is pretty cool," Ochako said. Maybe she could get this for her 'Spanner' costume.

"Everything here was also made using different inventions that papa patented." Melissa sighed.

"I bet you're proud of him." Izuku smiled. "My dad's the same way. He's in the support industry."

"Really? That explains a lot of your enthusiasm towards the field." Melissa said.

"You have no idea," Ochako joked. Ochako's eyes were darting from camera to camera, when she spotted two familiar faces at a cafe area. Looks like...they were on a date or something.

"Hey, Ochako...I might be crazy, but I think your helmet just growled at me." Melissa said. Ochako took off her helmet, just in time- Ship's head had popped out of the helmet and was looking at Melissa intently.

"A-ah!" Ochako said, scrambling to get Ship underwraps. "Bad boy! Bad! Get back in the helmet."

Melissa stared curiously at the dog. "A Galvanic Mechamorph pet?"

"Y-yeah, Ben kinda...trusted me to look after him. I WAS gonna have Ship stay with some of his sidekicks, but he snuck inside my suitcase." Ochako sighed. "I dunno what the island's policy on pets is, so..."

"Oh, it's no big deal!" Melissa said, petting Ship's blobby head. "He's kinda cute."

"Only when he isn't trying to make a particle accelerator out of race car tracks." Ochako said, taking back her helmet.

"Ship did what?" Izuku asked.

"Long story. Anyways, I saw that one of the cameras was on a cafe area. I thought I saw two of my classmates there...mind showing us where that is?" Ochako asked.

"Oh, you mean Aroma Mocha? That's not too far from here." Melissa said. "Come on."

Izuku looked at Ochako. "Wait, who's here from Class 1-A?"

"You'll see." Ochako grinned.

The cafe area was beautiful- it was right near an artifical lake. Perfect for a lunch date. Maybe that's why one of them chose it.

Izuku had caught onto which Class 1-A student was here- no one had the riches for it besides her. And from there, it was pretty easy to figure out who had accompanied her.

"Heyyyy!" Ochako yelled, getting both of their attention. "Momo! Jirou!"

Momo's eyes widened as she saw Ochako, and Jirou went red in the face. "Uraraka?! Midoriya!? What are you doing here?"

"Oh, well..." Ochako began. "I was invited by Mr. Tennyson to the expo since I'm his sidekick, and Deku-"

Ochako froze for a moment. She needed an excuse, so as not to let the secret of One for All out. "...is here to test out some new support items that could prevent him from hurting himself."

Izuku nodded. "Y-yeah!"

"Huh?" Melissa said, as Ochako quickly pulled her aside.

"All Might likes to keep his partnership with Deku a secret so that no one goes after him." Ochako lied. "Privacy and what not."

"Oh, that makes sense." Melissa said, believing it.

Momo smiled. "Jirou and I were just waiting on our meals- how did you know we were here?"

"Oh, probably because she spotted you with my monitoring device I developed." Melissa said. "You chose a BEAUTIFUL part of the cafe to sit by, you know."

"Did we? I didn't even notice." Momo said, looking at the view.

"Y-yeah, me neither." Jirou frowned.

Ochako slowly realized she'd ruined a moment.

The introductions came soon after, and the five of them were soon engrossed in conversations about UA.

"Wow, you guys all got to work with pros?" Melissa asked. "Out in the field?"

"Just normal training and a few patrols." Jirou said. "I worked with Nightcat and Momo worked with Snowfall."

"Weiss certainly IS an elegant hero." Momo said. "A bit tough, though."

"I helped with a hostage situation. That was fun." Jirou said. "Only the evacuation part, though."

"That's still amazing though." Melissa pointed out. "You have to wonder how heroes like that have any time to relax."

Blake downed a bottle of wine. She couldn't let Kathleen lap her AGAIN.

"CHUG! CHUG! CHUG! CHUG!" The women chanted.

"COME ONNNN! YOU GOT THIS BABE!" Yang yelled.

Ochako shook her head. Weird thing to wonder about. Izuku hummed, as he looked around. "Hey, I was curious- have you guys seen Kaminari around here?"

"Kaminari? Why'd that bolt head be here?" Jirou joked.

"I remember him saying something about getting a temporary job on the island." Izuku said. "You don't think he has a job here, do you?"

"Totally unrealistic," A voice said, setting down a drink for Midoryia. "That dude sucks."

"I mean, I wouldn't say that-" Izuku said, as he looked at the waiter. Kaminari smiled back at him.

"Sup, Midoriya? How's it hanging, you ladies man?" The electric youth teased.

"Looks like you struck the jackpot, too!" Sero joked. Izuku looked away, flustered.

"Wow, speak of the devil." Ochako said, looking at Kaminari and Sero. They were wearing the typical black and white waiter get up, aprons and everything.

"Like Midoryia said. They needed extra wait staff, so Sero, Mineta and I decided to take the job." Kaminari explained.

"So, where IS Mineta?"

Kaminari and Sero shared a look. "Well. Uh, about that...he didn't make it off the ground in Japan."

The girls and Izuku shared a look. "Why?"

"...I can't say it in a public place, but he brought along some questionable magazines. I think he's a flight risk now." Sero said.

"Oh." Ochako said. "Oh no."

"A bit of a subdued reaction, but yeah." Kaminari said.

"Wait, I'm confused. How is bringing a few naughty magazines a crime?" Momo said.

"Oh, it's not just a few. It was like. An entire suitcase full of it." Sero said.

The group made a face.

"Yeah, he's TOTALLY a flight risk now." Izuku muttered.

"So, we recognize three of you four friendly ladies, but whooooo's the chick with glasses?" Kaminari asked, trying his hardest to look hot.

Melissa looked through him. "I'm gay."

Kaminari deflated.

"But good try. You need to rely less on your weird walk and more on your confidence. You have no filter, and I mean that in a good way." Melissa said.

"Oh." Kaminari said. "Thanks."

"Wow, that went totally different than I thought it'd go." Sero said, clearing stuff off of a table. However, he accidentally dropped a glass. "Aw, cra-!"

Before the glass could hit the ground, something caught it. Dark Shadow snatched the glass up, and handed it back to Sero.

"You need to be more careful, Sero!" A voice called out. "You're lucky we were passing by."

Well, this is just turning into a bunch of coincidences now. Iida and Tokoyami walked up to the group. "Well now! This is a surprise."

"Iida? Tokoyami? What are you doing here?" Ochako asked. Melissa's eyes lit up as she saw Iida's costume.

"You forget that I'm from a long line of heroes. It's to be expected that my family would get an invite to I-Island-" Iida paused, as Melissa began to circle him. "Can I help you, miss?"

"Sorry! First time I'm seeing an Ingenium costume up close." Melissa said, looking at the spare engines. "So aerodynamic, yet bulky! How do you manage it?"

"We'll discuss that fascinating topic later." Iida said. "Anyways, I'm here because my family was busy."

"And Tokoyami is here because..." Ochako asked.

"I placed third in the Sports Festival." Tokoyami said. "I was honored to get such an invite."

"I wondered if you'd be here, actually." Momo smiled. "My father is a shareholder in some of the expo's sponsor companies. I had an extra ticket, so I gave it to Jirou. Tsu, Mina and Tooru said they'd love to come, but they were busy."

Ochako narrowed her eyes. *Oh my god, they set it up to where it was just Momo and Jirou alone! How am I the last to realize this!?*

"I wonder if there's anyone else here from Class 1-A." Izuku said.

"Well, if I had to guess, because I got an invite, it's fair to assume that maybe Todoroki and Bakugou are on the island." Tokoyami said.

"Please. Bakugou is a hard no." Jirou scoffed. "Todoroki is a maybe."

"I guess we'd know if he was here." Kaminari laughed. "We probably hear him exploding something right now-"

BOOM.

All eyes went to Kaminari.

"...oh my God, I can see the future-"

"That was LOUD." Melissa said, rubbing her ear. "Where did that come from?"

Iida pointed over to one of the displays across the lake. "There! That's a training ground. No doubt Bakugou is showing off."

"Or beating someone up." Sero said.

"What's the difference?" Tokoyami said.

The group (minus Sero and Kaminari, who were still working) made their way over to the training ground. They expected to see Bakugou, standing atop the mountain...

But they were greeted with someone else.

"A clearance time of 38 seconds! Our young hero takes 8th place!" The announcer yelled. The dust cleared, revealing Kirishima.

"Okay, not who I expected." Ochako said.

"Man, there's a lot of UA students here." Melissa commented.

"We're one of the best in the country. Don't be so surprised." Iida said.

"Fair enough." Melissa shrugged.

"Y'know, where there's Kirishima..." Jirou said.

"Bakugou is sure to follow." Ochako frowned, and sure enough, Bakugou stepped up to the plate next. He didn't notice his classmates standing above him. Or, maybe he did. He probably didn't want to acknowledge them.

The second the course was reset, Bakugou blasted himself away from the start. He started blowing up robots left and right, yelling typical Bakugou stuff.

"DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIE!" Bakugou yelled, before exploding the face of one of the robots.

"...die?" Melissa asked.

"Bakugou's intense." Ochako said.

"Noted." Melissa nodded. "Why's he so angry?"

"I dunno." Jirou said. "But he's loud as shit."

"A clear time of 15 seconds!" The announcer yelled. "First place!"

Bakugou grinned, as he regrouped with Kirishima. "Eat it." He smirked.

Kirishima rolled his eyes, before he noticed Class 1-A. "Hey, isn't that Midoryia and the others?"

Bakugou glared up at them. The class waved nervously, and Kirishima waved enthusiastically. He was clearly annoyed to see them and turned away.

*Typical Bakugou fanfare.* Ochako thought.

"I take it you and Bakugou were invited because he won the Sports Festival." Tokoyami said.

"Right on the money, Tokoyami!" Kirishima said, giving a thumbs up. "I had to force Bakugou to go, actually."

Bakugou looked away from the group. Strange, he'd usually be close to strangling Midoryia by now. Maybe it was because they were in public-? No. He'd always make time to angrily chew out Deku.

Ochako hummed. Maybe Izuku standing up for himself changed his tune.

"Y'know, Deku- you should run this thing! It's perfect for you." Kirishima said.

"Really?" Izuku asked.

"Yeah! Perfect way to test out your new techniques." Kirishima said.

"He's right, Midoryia. I'd love to see you in action." Melissa said. "After all, then it'd give me an idea of what sort of support items I should have you test."

Izuku looked around, and noticed everyone looked pretty eager to see him do his thing. Izuku smiled, and nodded.

"Alright, I guess I'll do it." Izuku said, cracking under peer pressure.

"Alright! Resetting the course!" the announcer called out and, with a snap of her fingers, the wrecked Villain-Bots were replaced with fresh ones. The multi-colored machines whirred to life and got into position as Izuku walked down into the arena himself. He took a deep breath and began to hype himself up.

Ok...speed's the name of the game here. So might as well, Izuku thought to himself, One for All: Full Cowling!

Melissa watched in amazement, as Izuku's body zoomed across the stage and up the mountain. A single punch was enough to bring down each robot with ease. So fast, so strong!

"Woah." Melissa said. "I can see why he needs support items."

"And that's just at 5% of his power." Ochako said.

"Wha-five percent?" Melissa gasped, "That-no, you're joking. Right? You're pulling the anime joke. 'This isn't even my final form!' Right?" (edited)

"We're not. His true power destroys his body." Kirishima said. "I've seen it- not pretty. How do you think he got that scar on his hand?"

"In truth...thought it was related, like a piece of shrapnel sliced across his hand from a punch. Not the punch itself."

"Ya know, fair, but...lemme put it this way. Ya know those REALLY big villain-bots they use in the U.A entrance test?"

"Yes, the Executors. I-Island designed them on special request from the Commission and Principal Ne-" Melissa began.

"He beat one," Ochako finished.

Melissa's eyes widened. "Woah." Melissa went back to watch Izuku finish the course, and he'd beaten Bakugou's time with ease. "We have a new number one!" The announcer yelled. "And with a second to spare!"

So, he's a power type like Uncle Might, Melissa realized. Incredible!

Bakugou was taking the news...better than anyone expected. He was still absolutely fuming, but he wasn't yelling obscenities and death threats. So...progress? (edited)

Izuku met back up with his classmates, who were highfiving and fist bumping him for an excellent display. "You certainly couldn't do THAT a few months ago." Kirishima said.

"You've come a long way, Midoryia. I envy your progress." Tokoyami said.

"T-thanks guys," Izuku said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. Bakugou's only response to the whole thing was just a grunt of annoyance before he turned away. Of course, then he heard the announcer call out.

"Resetting the course, now!" the announcer happily said. Someone else must've stepped down to test their skills.

"Our next contestant has taken the stage!" The announcer smiled, and everyone wasn't too shocked to see Todoroki walking out.

"There he is." Kirishima grinned. "Thought I saw him earlier. No way I could miss a haircut that unique."

"That's the son of Endeavor!" Melissa gasped. "Your class is filled with a lot of interesting people."

"It gets hard to juggle the cast," Ochako joked, having her body briefly possessed by the author of this story.

Todoroki took a deep breath himself before he ran up to the base of the fake mountain that served as stage for the course. Cold mist surrounded his hands before he slammed them down on the faux-rocky surface. A wall of crystals spread out and over the mountain, ice shards piercing and destroying the various villain-bots.

The whole process took a whopping 14.5 seconds- Izuku's record was safe, but now Todoroki had taken Bakugou's spot at number 2. Todoroki took a deep breath, as the announcer looked at the scene in shock.

"Sorry about the mess," Todoroki apologized, as he walked off. He noticed Bakugou, who was absolutely malding at the sight. "Oh. Hello, Bakugou."

Icy-hot bastard! Bakugou mentally yelled, but on the outside he was still just fuming.

"Hm. Are you ok? You seem ready to explode," Todoroki said.

Did Icy-Hot just make a goddamn pun?!

Todoroki looked up, to see the others. "Oh. The others from Class 1-A are here too." Todoroki said with a small smile.

"Hey, Todoroki! Great run!" Ochako yelled out.

"Thank you."

"Almost beat Izuku's time!" Kirishima cheered.

"Did I? I wasn't aware…" Todoroki said, walking up the way to meet with the others.

Izuku greeted Todoroki with a smile. "Great job, Todoroki! That was amazing."

"Thanks, Midoryia. You set the bar pretty high, though," Todoroki replied.

"Please! I could beat both your stupid times if I wanted." Bakugou scoffed.

Ochako blinked. …technically I could too, but I'm not in the mood to stunt on them as XLR8.

"I can only assume you're here on behalf of your father," Tokoyami correctly surmised.

Todoroki didn't respond immediately, his gaze dropping to the ground. "I'm here for myself," he finally said, his voice quiet but firm. "Just wanted to see this place for myself.

The rest of Class 1-A exchanged glances- only Izuku (and Bakugou) really understood. Iida cleared his throat. "Well! If we're all here…I think we should attend the gala as a group."

"That's a great idea," Ochako agreed. "A big old group hangout."

"And we mingle with some awesome heroes!" Kirishima added. "I'm so pumped for this."

"As you should. The gala may SEEM boring, but once you realize who's standing in the room with you, you'll be more excited to talk with them." Melissa said. "I've met tons of pros like that…"

"Pass." Bakugou scoffed. "I've got no interest in talking with some random heroes from God knows where. And I don't have a suit."

"I kinda knew you'd say that." Kirishima smirked. "So, I packed one for you."

Bakugou's eyes shot open. "W-what the hell!? How'd you get my measurements?"

"Your mom."

"WHAT!?"

"Your mom gave them to me! She said something like 'that stupid brat is gonna try to skip out on any event that needs his spiky hair combed down', so she tasked me with bringing your suit." Kirishima explained.

"...that sounds like his mom alright." Izuku muttered.

Bakugou rolled his eyes. "Fine. I'll go. But I'm not making small talk with anyone."

"Suit yourself," Melissa shrugged.

"He can't even do that, Kirishima had to-" Todoroki pointed out.

"DO YOU WANNA DIE, ICY HOT?"

Ben was waiting off to the side while David examined All Might's physical condition. It wasn't an incredibly invasive examination, of course, more like just any other monthly check-up. Right now, the I-Island doctor was taking the Number 1 Pro's blood pressure while he was in his more fragile-looking form.

"Your quirk levels have gone down. They're pretty low right now, below 50%." David noted.

"50%? Declined that quickly, did they?" All Might asked. He knew that sharing One for All with young Midoriya would've made an impact, but to have the power already down to half-power was surprising. He would've given it a more optimistic estimate, maybe 75% at most.

"You've been losing your quirk slowly. By the end of the year, you may or may not have a quirk…" David said. "Probably because of passing the torch."

"Thought I'd have a bit more time before the embers died out," All Might admitted, "End of the year...it seems like that's just around the corner, doesn't it?"

"We are in the month of July. Let's hope nothing terrible happens between here and now." David said, crossing his fingers.

"You've been taking this well." Ben said. "When we first told you, you were freaking out."

"If you just found out, you would react the same, I'm sure," David countered, "The Symbol of Peace is losing his power. Those words alone could send cities into mad panics and criminals would inspired nationwide."

"But we also explained that the power isn't gone forever. It just won't be in my hands anymore," All Might added.

"That part helped, I admit. You said you had a plan for it and...well, I trust you on that. I wish you could give me a little more detail, but I understand the hesitation."

"They're good kids. Ochako may not be an alien expert just yet, but she can learn pretty quickly." Ben said. "Same with Midoriyia. The motor mouth on that kid isn't just a fun trait. He can walk the talk.

"I see. He's got the knowledge, just needs to apply it, right?" David asked.

"Exactly! Young Midoriya's knowledge of the Pro world is incredible and his persistence reminds me of-!" All Might began.

"Your own, right?"

"EXACTLY!"

"I'm still a bit worried about the fact you're putting a bunch of 'rookies' in the front lines, though." David said. "Something could happen to them."

"I think they're more prepared for it than we were we back then. They know the risks." All Might said.

"Plus...technically the front lines came to them. I mean, you heard about USJ," Ben said.

"That I did...and that's exactly why I'm concerned. Because those concerns are founded," David added.

"I know how scary it must be for us adults. I can get where some of those adults we were against were coming from." Ben said. "...well, most of them."

"Yeah." All Might looked away. "Most of it."

"Well, on a lighter note, outside of the decreasing Quirk levels, everything seems to be mostly ok," David said.

"That's good. Like I told Ochako, I could be in worse condition if not for Ari and a few life saving surgeries." All Might said, putting his hand over his heart. "I feel better than I do a few years ago, too."

"Good. Now, maybe I can actually meet your successors tonight."

"Wait, what's tonight?" Ben asked.

"Oh, did...did you not read that part? There's a gala later tonight, plenty of visitors are invited. Pros, investors, corporate representatives, the list goes on," David explained.

"Oh, yeah. Almost forgot. Hope my outfit is okay right now." Ben said, looking down.

"You'll be fine." David said. "Probably."

"Ah that! Well as long as I don't have to give a speech because I do not have one prepared!" All Might chuckled nervously.

"...Yeah, about that." David said.

"Oh, I do, don't I?"

"Yeaaaaah, sorry about that...one of my coworkers found out and insisted," David chuckled nervously.

"Oh, come on!" All Might said.

"I did try to say 'no,' but then other people found out and it just escalated from there."

"Greeeeat. I suck at public speaking." All Might said.

"Just imagine everyone is a giant piece of bread. Becomes easier to talk." Ben said.

"...what the hell does that mean!?" All Might yelled.

"Honestly, it works. Ruby's advice. No one we know is really good at public speaking except for Weiss," Ben chuckled.

"That's so fair." All Might said. "Well then, I better throw together a speech. See you at the Gala?"

"See you there," Ben nodded.

"Of course! And again, terribly sorry for springing this on you last minute," David apologized.

"It's fine, I've LITERALLY been in worse situations." All Might said, as he and Ben left.

The island was built to bring the world's greatest experts together in a secure environment to study Quirks. The biggest cities on the island are home to thousands of scientists and their families. Scientists mostly study the Quirk phenomena and provide methods to aid Pro Heroes. Such a location would be an easy target for criminals.

Fortunately, various countermeasures were in place to avoid criminal incidents.

Yet none of them detected the threat.

The man behind the soon to be devious plot stood in the airport, sickened by the sights and sounds of the outside. A place like this didn't need the distractions of joy. It should be serious and purely focused on science.

He held his phone up and dialed a number. The phone went to his ear as it rang. It soon picked up.

"We infiltrated the Expo without a problem." He said, looking around. His crew had dispersed, to avoid suspicion. "So, when do the goods arrive?"

"...3 PM." A roboticized voice said. "Gate 66."

"Then we'll be waiting." The man said.

He hung up his phone.

I-Island was about to be under attack.