Several Days Later
Izuku woke up in his current residence—a dorm room on the UA compound. The time following his talk with his godparents was a whirlwind.
He finished up his business with the police department. He met up with Centipeder and discussed his legal options going forward. Izuku didn’t know how long he’d be in this world but he figured he’d better have himself covered so that his stay here wasn’t a cluster fuck of court hearings. Centipeder suggested that he have someone acting as his guardian for his stay. He was still a minor after all. All-Might offered and Izuku decided to take him up on the offer. Staying with the Bakugous was a no-go as Katsuki was still seething with rage about his predicament.
There were still some issues with going with All-Might, however. He was a teacher at UA and as he’d found out a night or so ago, they would be switching to a dorm system going forward. That meant that Izuku was, technically, back in school.
I wonder if there’s a way for me to get out of that, the hero thought. Izuku had already accelerated his learning. He had multiple degrees and he was only sixteen. Taking high school courses after experimenting with the cutting edge of science with the juggernauts of his generation would be like a university professor from the best of the Ivy League schools teaching kindergarten.
Izuku got up from his bed and headed to the bathroom. He was already given a dorm room on UA’s campus. The dorm was called Heights Alliance, situated on the first floor. Izuku was fairly certain that it was a faculty suite on account of the full bathroom and kitchen. There were also separate rooms for the living room and bedroom. Speaking of the bedroom, it was pretty sparsely decorated on account of Izuku not bringing anything with him save for his super suit. Beyond that, he had the basic accouterments that a room needed. A bed in the corner of the room near the window. A desk with no computer. A closet with just his super suit, UA uniform, and some UA-branded casual clothes that Nezu had loaned to Izuku. Izuku wasn’t sure why he’d been given a faculty room but he was sure it was Nezu’s way of buttering him up for something.
Speaking of Nezu, Izuku will be talking with the principal today. He had been very insistent on that for the past few days. Izuku just hoped that the respected educator was not going to try and get him to stay.
Izuku finished brushing his teeth and washing his face before he left the bathroom once again. Upon leaving the bathroom, Izuku made his way to the living room and turned on the TV that came with the suite.
“And in other news, the Yakuza group known as the ‘Shie Hassakai’ has been disbanded. Just a few days prior, citizens in the area reported noise complaints coming from the area. Further eyewitness testimonies say that a group of pro-heroes seemed to be attacking the compound. The authorities wish for these individuals to come forward in hopes that they can shed light on what happened during this attack specifically…”
Izuku looked at the damage to the yakuza compound. The place was in pretty rough shape. He hoped that whatever heroes took these guys down didn’t go overboard with the amount of force. Then again, according to Carol, you could only give so much leeway to criminals before you had to give them the worst knuckle sandwich of their life.
While caught up in his thoughts, Izuku received an alert from his phone. Or the phone that Nezu had given him when his stay in the school dorms had been finalized.
BZZT
- Nezu:
Dear Midoriya,
I hope I have not contacted you at an inopportune time. Since you’ve had a few days to settle in, I would like to speak with you in my office. I also have two people here who wish to speak with you as well. One of them is All-Might and the other is a big fan of your work. How does 8:30 sound?
Izuku looked up at the clock on his phone. It said 7:50. He had time to grab something to eat at the cafeteria and then walk over to the principal’s office. There was just one issue. Izuku didn’t have any clothes that were fit for a meeting with All-Might in an official capacity. The same could be said for whoever this ‘big fan’ was.
“I’ll just have to bite the bullet and put on the UA uniform.”
____________________________________________________________________________
Izuku now stood outside Nezu’s office. He had about forty minutes to get over here so Izuku had made a quick stop to get a bite to eat from the cafeteria. He grabbed a bagel and a coffee and said hello to Lunch Rush before leaving.
Izuku downed the rest of his coffee and prepared to knock but was interrupted when the intercom near the door whirred to life. “No need to knock, Mr. Midoriya. I know you’re here. I’ll buzz you in.”
BUZZ
The door swung open and Izuku walked in. All-Might and Nezu looked like they usually do and were expected sites. Who he wasn’t expecting to see was Sir Knighteye. Izuku understood that the man was responsible for his legal fees being paid and the one who sent Centepeder to assist him, but Izuku figured that the man was too busy to meet in person. It was a shock to see All-Might’s second sidekick here in the flesh.
“Young Midoriya! It’s great to see you again!” All-Might stood up and walked over to Izuku to greet him. Izuku held out his hand in greeting. All-Might grabbed it kindly. “I hope you’ve been adjusting well to your new surroundings!”
“As well as I could be, All-Might,” Izuku said.
“That’s great to hear! Now there are certain matters that I would like to discuss with you. Before I speak my part, there is someone here who would like to speak with you and thank you.” All-Might gestured to the man sitting next to him. Izuku recognized him as All-Might’s second former sidekick, Sir Nighteye.
The man was tall and lanky in a grown-up sort of way. He wore a tailored three-piece suit meant for a salaryman and his hair was neatly quaffed and combed. He also had bags under his eyes and upon closer inspection, his suit seemed to be just a bit ruffled. The man stood up and walked over to Izuku before doing the customary Japanese bow. “From the bottom of my heart, I would like to thank you, Izuku Midoriya. You did something that those of us who were aware of All-Might’s injury thought was impossible. I would also like to thank you for saving the life of a dear friend and mentor. You have no idea how much this means to me and the rest of us.”
Izuku quickly panicked and started trying to lift Sir Nighteye off the ground. “No, stop bowing. I think you’re taking it a little too far. I appreciate the thanks but the bowing is too much.” Izuku hoisted Sir Nighteye onto his fist and the man smoothed out the wrinkles of his suit.
“I’m sorry, but I’m sure you understand how much this means to me and the others. I felt it necessary to express myself more classically.”
“You’re paying for my legal fees and are indirectly responsible for All-Might being my legal guardian while I’m here. I think that’s more than enough of a way to say ‘thank you.’”
“If you say so, but let us move on to why I’ve come here.” Sir Nighteye took his seat near All-Might once more. He crossed his leg of the other and steepled his fingers. “I would first like to say that your legal trouble regarding HPSC has been squared away. They will no longer be troubling you with allegations or violations from that night.”
“I’m hearing a but coming,” said Izuku.
“There is. During the process of getting the HPSC off of your back, their lawyers demanded to know where you came from. It was likely some attempt to drudge up further accusations based on the idea that you are a foreigner or illegal expat. Toshinori and Nezu accompanied me during the hearing and provided access to a very enlightening video. I’m sure you know what video I’m talking about?”
Izuku nodded his head.
“Good. The video’s authenticity was corroborated by the Chief of Police, Tsuragamae. It also helped that the man whose quirk constructed the video is a known and well-respected member of the police force.”
“That but still hasn’t dropped yet.”
“Right, right. In light of the knowledge that other realities exist, the HPSC is demanding to know how you traveled back to this dimension as well as demanding that you submit to a full debriefing(ie: interrogation) regarding the dimension you’ve called home for the last ten years.”
Izuku went and found a seat on the comfy sofa that Nezu kept in his office separate from the guest seats at his desk. “Let me guess, they’re either a) being paranoid and expect that they’re going to be invaded, b) think that they can go to this other reality and take resources or some other nonsense, or c) they want to abduct powered individuals and turn them into their personal attack dogs?”
Nezu, All-Might, and Nighteye stared at Izuku with astonishment and worry. Nezu voiced his question before the other two could. “How could you have guessed their motives so quickly? And so specifically?”
Izuku shrugged. “They’re a government agency or department that deals with people with enhanced abilities or exotic technology. It’s not hard to guess what some of their motives are. In regards to their potential motives, they should give up on them right now. Earth 616 has dealt with far worse than some uppity other Earth government agency that just discovered dimensional travel is a theoretical possibility. I don’t care who they have on their payroll, the HPSC doesn’t have what it takes to hang with the likes of the Mutant Nation of Krakoa or the Inhumans.”
Nezu and Nighteye’s interests were piqued. “Who are those groups?” asked Nighteye.
“Mutants are what we call the naturally occurring powered people of Earth. They’re humans with abilities. Distinctions aren’t made by appearance and type of power, only the scope and strength of a power. As for the Inhumans, they’re groups of humans who’ve either had their DNA altered by aliens or have those genetic alterations in their lineage. For the second group, their powers get activated by a process called Terrigenisis.”
“For mutants? Yeah, they’re all over the place though they’ve suffered a few extinction-level events so their numbers have been fluctuating in recent years. As for Inhumans, their numbers on Earth itself have sky-rocketed in recent history due to the Terrigen Mist clouds sweeping over the planet.”
“Are there other groups of empowered people on…Earth 616?” asked All-Might.
“Oh, yeah, you’ve got the Asgardians, Mutates, the Sorcerers of Kamar-Taj, Atlanteans, aliens in general, vampires, werewolves, and then there’s the whole host of people without powers who are so skilled that it might as well be a power or the people who use/invent super technology that can rival the aforementioned groups of empowered people. With my world, it’s basically the entire urban sci-fi/fantasy kitchen sink.”
Nezu let that information ruminate for a bit before he got the meeting back on track. “I would like to talk more in-depth about your world later and bring my findings to the HPSC liaison in charge of this particular endeavor. Right now, let’s move on to Toshinori’s business.”
All-Might cleared his throat. He was caught off guard by what he heard from young Midoriya. The different ways that a person could have power on Earth 616 was staggering. All-Might was even shocked to learn that REAL vampires and werewolves exist on that earth.
“Ehem. I’m sure you remember the villain from the Kamino Incident, right, Young Midoriya?”
Izuku nodded. “Yes, his name was All-For-One right?”
“Exactly. While he is most definitely my greatest and oldest foe, there is more to his history than me than meets the eye. This history relates to the origins of my quirk as well as the dark history of Japan. I wish to bring you into the fold on this.”
Izuku was flattered that All-Might trusted him with what he assumed was at the very least a national secret. Still, he couldn’t help but question All-Might’s decision. “No offense All-Might, I appreciate the gesture, but are you sure this is wise?”
“What do you mean?” asked the Symbol of Peace.
“What I mean is that I’m not going to be here forever. Sooner or later, my people are going to come and retrieve me. You don’t have to share sensitive information with me.”
Nighteye shook his head before cutting in. “He wishes to share this information with you because, in a single night, you’ve done more for this cause than any of us have done in a long time. We want to include you as a show of good faith, appreciation, and respect. If you leave, you will still be considered a valued member of our group.” Nighteye turned to Nezu and All-Might. “Did I hit the nail on the head?
“I couldn’t have said it better myself, Mirai.” All-Might turned back to Izuku. “I had promised to explain my quirk to you. That also requires that I explain my secrets. Besides that, the battle with AFO is not over. We may have captured and put him in a coma, but minions are still running around free. On top of that, we have to search for who was responsible for constructing the Noumu’s as well as shut down any bases that AFO could still have. I was hoping you would be willing to join me in this endeavor.”
Izuku thought about this offer. In truth, offering his services to aid in dismantling a criminal empire would be a problem. With All-Might back at full health, if Izuku were to leave it wouldn’t be detrimental to the operation. With Izuku here, they could make some serious headway from the start.
“Alright then, I’m in.” Izuku agreed.
“Excellent!” shouted All-Might. “Then let’s start from the beginning. It all started with a pair of brothers.
____________________________________________________________________________
Carol, Cho, Viv, and Gwen sat in a trendy. Eri, their newest charge, said that she was hungry and the adults in the group didn’t have it in them to say no. The cafe they found had automated checkout and ordering which allowed Viv to spoof the kiosks to get free food. It was the same way that the group managed to get civilian clothes for the duration of their stay.
Everyone was dining and eating while Carol looked through the news roll on her phone. “There’s not a damn mention about where he currently is!” she shouted quietly. “Hundreds of news outlets are covering him and no one knows where he went to. I thought Izuku said that these people were obsessed with heroes, but they don’t keep tabs on their whereabouts?”
Viv, who was having a salad, spoke first. “I believe Izuku was correct in his summary. The inhabitants of this reality are quite obsessed with heroes. That does not mean that the general populace is going to be privy to be made privy their private lives by posting such information on the internet.”
Gwen looked up from her cheeseburger. “Haven’t you found him by looking through the country's surveillance network yet? There have to be a million and one shots of him fighting that All-For-One guy. Are you telling me you haven’t been able to piece together where he went from all that information?”
Viv shook her head and sighed. “I’m trying but their surveillance systems are…woefully inefficient. They overcommit resources to areas that are already well-surveilled while other areas of Japan’s population centers are just complete blindspots. I think we might need Mr. Stark to send a few of his little drones to ranger further out. Cho?”
“I’m already texting him.” Everyone’s phones had been outfitted with new apps and internal tech upgrades to aid them in this new dimension. It was a part of the standard package for any dimensional/time travel operation hosted by Tony Stark. “In the meantime, how about we try hitting paces that we know Izuku would likely visit? His home. His former school. Relatives. Obvious stuff. It can’t hurt to try those out.”
Carol put her chin between her finger and thumb while taking on a pensive expression. “That’s not a bad idea. It would probably be a whole lot more productive than scoping out the scene of Izuku’s latest fight.” Carol looked down the street with her excellent eyesight and scoped out the desolate stretch of the city that was bare of pavement, buildings, or any sign that it was part of a modern world and not some bombed-out apocalypse.
“Who are you all looking for?” asked Eri. the little girl was contently eating her big slice of apple pie next to Carol. She was no longer wearing her bandages or the medical gown that Overhaul seemed to exclusively force her to wear. Now she was dressed in a white blouse and red dress with red shoes. Her horn was flat and all of the blemishes and scars on her body had been healed by Carol.
“We’re trying to find my son, sweety. He got lost when he came here and I’m here to find him.” Eri understood Carol perfectly thanks to Viv actively translating languages between all parties. If anyone said anything then they would hear it in their native language. The only caveat was that the range wasn’t all that good.
“Is he in trouble?” Eri asked.
Carol smiled. “He shouldn’t be. He’s very strong.” Eri just said ‘oh’ wordlessly and went back to her apple pie.
Viv pipped up. “I found what we need. The location of his last known school, residence, and known relatives.”
“We’ll head to his last residence first. He was here to get in contact with his family. That should be the first place that he went to after that fight with that All-For-One guy.”
“Are we leaving now?” asked Eri. Carol almost said yes before seeing that Eri still had a lot of apple pie left as well as a half-full cup of apple juice. She wisely pivoted her answer.
“After you finish eating.” Eri happily continued to eat her food.
____________________________________________________________________________
It was the day that the students were supposed to return to UA as well as begin the new dorm system. Fuyumi had already helped Shoto pack. He seemed strangely at peace lately. It made her happy she just wished she knew what caused it.
There was one last bit of business that she had to handle before she left with Shoto on the moving truck and that was to inform her father. Enji had been strangely quiet since the reveal of All-Might’s injury and his subsequent healing. He would only leave his study to eat, sleep, and bathe. Fuyumi knew that he was working in there. He would come out of his office muttering who knows what and often carrying notepads. She just hoped that he wasn’t driving himself insane with figuring out how to beat All-Might in the rankings. Fuyumi didn’t want to know what he would be like if he were to snap under that kind of pressure.
KNOCK
KNOCK
KNOCK
Fuyumi knocked on the door and came in right after. “Dad, it’s time for Shoto to move into the Dorms. Will you be coming with us or would you prefer…to…?” When Fuyumi walked into her father’s study she was expecting to see something normal. Endeavor looking over cases. Endeavor watching the ‘game tape’ of his previous arrests and brainstorming on how he could do better. Or Endeavor nursing a cup of bourbon.
What she wasn’t expecting to see was her father in the center of a conspiracy web that took up the entire room. There were pictures of various pro heroines from all across the globe with strings connecting to the pictures of All-Might and the new hero on the block, Warbird.
“Dad, what’s going on in here?” asked Fuyumi.
Endeavor turned his head to look at his daughter. He looked like he was surprised to see her, but his surprise didn’t detract from how odd he looked sitting in his leather office chair with the butt of a pin raised to his lips. “Oh, Fuyumi? I didn’t hear you come in. Is something the matter?” asked the Flame hero.
Fuyumi just stared at her father, incredulity overriding years of learned behavior. “I could ask you the same thing! What is with all of these photos and bits of string? You look like a conspiracy theorist!”
“I’m trying to figure out the parentage of All-Might’s son Warbird. I’ve already eliminated Star-And-Stripe from the pool of potential applicants as well as Starburst from Europe, Bulwark from Australia, and Winter from Canada.”
Fuyumi just stared at her father. She could not believe how stupid he was being. Someone had to correct him. “What are you talking about? Warbird’s mother is clearly Lady Surge from New Zealand. Her energy absorption abilities mixing with All-Might’s would have the most likely outcome for Warbird’s power set.”
Endeavor looked at his daughter with contemplation in his eyes. “I had not considered that.” Endeavor typed something on his computer and soon a picture of Lady Surge. She was a white woman with hair that changed depending on the energy she absorbed. Green was a common color to see her hair in.
“This could be a good theory. Let’s see if it holds up under scrutiny.” Endeavor walked to the board and began to write. Fuyumi joined him without hesitation. Neither of them realized it but they were having their first father-daughter bonding experience
____________________________________________________________________________
Izuku was on his way back to his dorm suite at Heights Alliance. He’d had a very enlightening talk with All-Might, Sir Nighteye, and Nezu. To think that the man that they’d caught during his fight with All-Might had his hands so deep into Japan’s underworld. Then there was the fact that All-For-One’s underlings were still at large. Izuku hadn’t seen them during the fight but if they were dangerous enough to continue the work of that villain then Izuku agreed that they needed to be taken off of the street.
As Izuku rounded the corner of Heights Alliance, he noticed that something was amiss with his current abode. Maybe ‘Amiss’ wasn’t the right word. Different would be more appropriate. Several cars were gathered outside of the dorm and Izuku could see other kids his age going in and out of the building with what looked to be their families.
“Huh, I guess it’s finally move-in day.” Nezu had told Izuku about the new dorm system that would be starting up. For the next semester, all students would be staying on campus during and after school hours. UA had essentially become a boarding school. All because Bakugou got kidnapped.
As Izuku walked up to the dorm, he noticed that people had ceased their movements around him. He chose to pay it no mind. There was a chance that everyone and their families were staring at him but Izuku chose to believe that everyone, in that moment, decided to stare off into space. It was better than thinking that he was about to be the center of attention again. He was used to the spotlight when doing heroics back home but wasn’t accustomed to it outside of it. He still got flustered when people came up to him for an autograph.
As Izuku made his way through the dorm to his suite, he noticed a few standouts. There was a grown man dressed like a hobo who was glaring daggers at him. A blonde boy with sparkles shining around him who smiles at him and mouthing the words ‘thank you’ to him. And a redhead giving him the thumbs up.
Izuku put it all out of his mind as he made it to his suite and closed the door behind him.
____________________________________________________________________________
Once Aizawa got up to leave, Shinso was the first to break the silence. “I guess I was wrong. Nezu did find a way to bring the Super Star to our school. Does this mean he’s joining our class?”
Mina answered with glee. “Why else would he be walking into our dorm room? Setsuna is going to be so jealous when I tell her.”
Tooru was equally giddy. “Did you see how he filled out the uniform? And that confident look in his eye when he walked by? Uh, I’m swooning.”
Iida took that chance to walk up to Mina and Tooru, arms chopping away, and reprimand them. “Hagakure! Ashido! Your behavior is most unbecoming for UA students! Treating a fellow UA student, especially one who has done the country and the world such a monumental service, like a piece of meat to be ogled is deplorable behavior! You should apologize to him this instant!”
Iida began to walk toward the suite to knock on the door. Tsuyu stopped him by grabbing onto his arm with her tongue. “That might be a bad idea, Iida. He seemed to be a little uncomfortable with everyone’s eyes on him. It might be best to let him have his privacy for now.”
Kirishima nodded along. “Also, he probably didn’t even notice Hagakure and Mina giving him goo-goo eyes. It’s not like they were catcalling him.”
Mineta turned to look at Kirishima. “What the hell is catcalling?” asked the short grape. He was confused by the terminology.
“It’s calling out to a girl and hitting on them in public. I heard my granddad say the phrase a few times before I asked him what it meant. Apparently, it was popular during the pre-quirk era. I also think it was more of an American thing.”
“More importantly, If he’s being added to our class does that mean someone is getting kicked out?” asked Ochako.
That caused everyone to pause. Jiro looked around then spoke up. “Who isn’t still here?”
Yaoyorozu did a head count and took into consideration who was currently upstairs putting their stuff away and who was saying goodbye to their parents outside. “Everyone is here save for Todoroki and Bakugou.”
Everyone thought about that news for a second. Then everyone had a collective agreement.
“If anyone gets kicked it should be Bakugou,” said Tsuyu. She did not mince words and she would not start now. “Todoroki may be distant but he’s not an asshole.”
Jirou agreed. “Yeah, I’d rather lose Bakugou than Todoroki. On top of that, our class gets to have bragging rights as the ones who have the guy who saved All-Might bunking with us.”
Yaoyorozu placed a hand on her cheek and made a thoughtful expression. “I have to admit that Bakugou is quite abrasive and I would like the chance to keep talking to Todoroki. It’s been years since I’ve seen him back in elementary school.”
Kirishima couldn’t believe his ears. “Do you guys hear yourselves? How can you throw Bakugou under the bus like that? He’s a part of this class too. We can just decide to break it off with him just because something new and shiny showed up!”
Tsuyu cut in. “to be fair, Bakugou would likely throw us to the wayside if it was convenient for him. He immediately broke off from you, Mina, and the others during the cavalry battle so he could get headbands faster. What makes you think he wouldn’t do something like that during an actual emergency? Just break ranks and square up against the head villain to have the glory all to himself?”
“She’s right, Kiri,” said Mina. “I know that you’re trying to help Bakugou get along with everyone and that you don’t believe in hopeless cases, but you have to admit the fact that Bakugou doesn’t want to get along with the rest of us. At least with Todoroki, we know that he’s at least willing to work with others when the occasion calls for it.”
Tooru’s body language signaled that she was nodding along with Mina. “Also since we’re living on campus from now on, I’m not too keen on spending every moment worrying about whether or not one of my classmates is going to snap and set someone on fire.”
“Well, what about Mineta?” Kirishima argued. “He’s a huge pervert and tried to peep on you girls during the training camp! Are you telling me you’d rather keep him over Bakugou?”
“Well screw you too, dude! Throwing me under the bus like that. I’ll have you know that the USJ combined with the attack on the training camp opened my eyes enough that I realized I need to be taking my hero training more seriously. Getting distracted by pretty girls is only going to get me killed the next time those League Idiots decide to jump us.”
Kirishima just stared at Mineta. “Seriously?”
“Seriously,” Mineta confirmed.
“He’s also apologized for being a pervert all those times,” Yaoyorozu added. “Admittedly, he did not apologize in person, but the email he sent out to the girls in our class as well as the girls in 1B was strongly worded and quite convincing of his sincerity.”
“I figured that if I tried to apologize individually and one-on-one it would make you all uncomfortable, so I went with the email option.”
As Mineta finished speaking, Shoji, Sero, Kaminari, and Koda came in after saying goodbye to their families.
Sero noticed the serious mood. “What’s going on?”
“Warbird is staying in our dorm room and Ochako pointed out that since he’s here then someone is getting kicked out. Yaoyorozu figured out that the only people who weren’t there were Todoroki and Bakugou. Excluding Kirishima, we’ve collectively agreed that Bakugou should get the boot.”
Tsuyu’s explanation just started discussions from the top all over again.
____________________________________________________________________________
Shoto had been waiting in the moving truck for his sister for close to an hour now. He’d been hoping to get to the new dorms quickly so that he would have enough time to renovate his room and get some tatami mats installed.
The bicolor boy stepped out of the truck and headed back into the house to find out what was taking her so long. She had said that she was going to check in with Endeavor and that was the first place that he would check himself. He really didn’t want to interact with the old man but left Shoto alone for the most part for these last several days so Shoto figured it would be okay to peak in.
When Shoto found his father’s office, he opened it without knocking and was flabbergasted at what he saw.
“We’ve already been over this, Fuyumi! All-Might would never lay with The Dark Madame, she’s a villain! Even if he would stoop so low as to bed a villainess, Crimson Countess makes infinitely more sense! She is known for her star motifs and comes from a family with powerful energy quirks! They even have a history of battle back during All-Might’s time in America! This theory is solid! Airtight!”
Endeavor loomed over Fuyumi with his arms crossed and his nostrils flaring. Surprising Shoto to no small degree, Fuyumi was standing on an ice platform and leering down at their father. “And I’m telling you that excluding villains from the equation is stupid! All-Might preaches forgiveness and redemption! He would totally try to help a villainess back to the side of the angels. On top of that, All-Might is a man. A human being. He has weaknesses. You can’t tell me that you think he might not have had a dalliance with a pretty female villain who was sweet on him in his younger years!”
Endeavor gave no ground. “Fuyumi! If that were the case then it would have made national news! International news! Dark Madame was one of America’s most highly visible villains for ten years before she disappeared! The news media, the vultures that they are, would have devoured that story for days. On top of that, Dark Madame was a known fling of the villain Drack! That man is many things, but willing to let another man ‘touch what is his’ is not one of them.” Endeavor used air quotes to emphasize that these weren’t his words.
Endeavor and Fuyumi went around in circles with their argument and Shoto couldn’t believe what was going on. Eventually, he had enough and tried to get an explanation. “What are you two doing?”
Fuyumi and Endeavor looked at Shoto then at each other and backed away from each other to show the whiteboard along with the several red strings that Shoto was just now noticing crisscrossing around the room.
“We’re trying to figure out who the mother of Warbird is,” said Endeavor. “It is obvious that he is the son of All-Might. That level of power had to come from somewhere and it was far too convenient for that boy to rescue All-Might at such a time. There has to be some prior connection.”
“And Dad here refuses to acknowledge that my theory holds water.” Endeavor did not acknowledge that with a response. He simply growled and grumbled.
Shoto just looked at all of the theories and pictures before he asked a question. “Wouldn’t Star-And-Stripe be the obvious pick?”
Endeavor and Fuyumi just threw up their arms and yelled ‘We already covered that!’
____________________________________________________________________________
Aizawa broke into Nezu’s office demanding answers. He wanted to know why Warbird was in his class’s dorm.
“Well hello to you too, Aizawa. What can I help you with?” Nezu asked while sipping tea.
“What the hell is that little showboater doing in Heights Alliance?” Aizawa demanded.
Nezu just sipped more tea. “You’re going to have to be more specific, Aizawa. There are plenty of showboaters in Class 1A.”
“Warbird! What is he doing in this school? He’s not a student here! Is this All-Might’s doing? Did he bribe you?”
Nezu ceased his sipping and put his teacup down before giving Aizawa his undivided attention. “First of all, calm down. You’re hyperventilating. Second, All-Might doesn’t have enough balls to bribe me. Third, who are you to make demands of me? The last time that I checked, I was the principal, not you. Now if you want an explanation you will ask for it like a civilized adult and not some rampaging toddler.”
Aizawa took a deep breath and sat down in the chair that Nezu offered. “I would like to know why Warbird is in my class, Principal.”
“Thank you. Now if you must know, Warbird, or Izuku Midoriya, is not in your class. He is not even attending classes here at UA. He is simply boarding until the time that his escort comes to pick him up to return him home.”
“And when will that be?” asked Aizawa.
“Due to certain circumstances, Midoriya will be staying with us for an indeterminate amount of time until the time his guardian makes contact. As such, I have made all of the faculty aware of his situation. You are the only one who has not been made aware, Aizawa.”
Aizawa quirked an eyebrow. “You just told me that we would be looking after the kid until his guardian comes to pick him up. What else is there to tell? Also, if the kid needs to be looked after, why is he here at UA? We’re not a daycare.” Nezu fiddled with his phone and sent Aizawa a certain video file while sliding a copy of Tsukauchi’s report to him as well. “What’s this for?” asked Aizawa.
“You’re familiar with officers Tsukauchi and Katari, right?” asked Nezu.
Aizawa nodded his head. “Of course. They’re some of the best officers to work cases with on the force. Especially, Katari, he helped solve a lot of missing persons cases.”
“And you know how Katari’s quirk works, right?” Aizawa nodded again. “Then you will understand the validity of the video file I sent you.”
PING
“Please read Tsukauchi’s statement and watch the enclosed video. It will enlighten you to Midoriya’s true circumstances. This goes without saying, but what you see is confidential and is not to be discussed with the student body or the general public. Am I clear?”
Aizawa nodded along and opened up the notes while playing the video.
One Eye-Opening Video Later
“How the hell is this world still functioning?!” Aizawa Demanded. “There are world-ending threats almost every other month! People develop powers without rhyme or reason! Aliens are a thing! Magic is a thing! There are multiple race wars just begging to pop off! And why the hell is no one stopping children from getting involved in this stuff?!”
Nezu continued to sip more of his tea. He spoke up once Aizawa reached a stopping point with his tirade. “From the discussions I’ve had with Midoriya, it seems that trying to wrangle some sense of order from that chaotic world has proven to be a fruitless endeavor.”
“How?” asked Aizawa. “They need to get their shit under control! They’re practically living in our dark age!”
“That would be a tall order. As you’ve noticed, there are multiple avenues for one to gain powers in Earth-616. Magic, science running out of control, technology, genetics, divine intervention, training. The list goes on. Trying to force order and regulate such a cornucopia of powered individuals would be nearly impossible. Save for the mutants, there would be no way to predict when someone would gain powers. Not to mention people who are just too powerful to be controlled by the law.”
Aizawa still didn’t back down. He may have been a lackluster teacher but he was still a teacher. “They could at least regulate the children getting into this shit! I know Warbird and whatever merry band of teenage misfits he leads is powerful, but no child should be dealing with terrorist attacks, demonic invasions, and racial cleansings from human\alien hybrids!”
Nezu nodded. “On that, I agree with you. I feel it is a gross oversight on the part of the adult heroes to allow the young to partake in such violence. The problem with our view of things is that our two worlds are very different. Heroics on their side is not a profession, it is a calling. Most people who put on the metaphorical cape and cowl are doing so because they have a personal responsibility to their community, country, or culture to take a stand and fight. There are so many threats in their world that people will take help where they can get it. Be it from seasoned adults or wide-eyed young folks.”
Aizawa fell back into his chair. He didn’t like this. Children should be allowed to be children until it is time to grow up. They should be worrying about stupid relationship drama and acne. Not fighting the kind of shit that would give even the most hardened of heroes PTSD. “Then what about Warbird? Are we just going to let him run around playing hero?” Aizawa asked. “If anything, he should be attending classes while he waiting for the people on his side to come pick him up.”
Nezu chuckled the chuckle of an educator who got to see something that made the job all worth it. “I would love to have him as a student here for any length of time, but it would be entirely pointless for him.”
Aizawa didn’t like that. Education was important for the young. It was how you taught to not do stupid things with the time that they had. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Nezu chuckled again. “Simply put, Midoriya has already finished his schooling. He’s legally obtained three degrees from accredited institutions. Even just speaking with the young man, I could tell that he was a genius, unlike anything I’d seen in quite some time. I believe he’s comparable to David Shield. He’s even offered to impart some of his knowledge to Maijima and Chiyo. I’m particularly interested in the “Unstable Molecule” technology. It could help us reach a real breakthrough in support technology with such advancements.”
Aizawa realized that Nezu was no longer willing to debate the ethics of the other world and was moving the conversation along. However, Aizawa was not going to let go of the situation with Warbird. “I still say that Warbird should be doing something with his time.” Nezu was about to open his mouth. “Giving you access to free patents is not good for a developing mind. He needs to interact with students his age in a school environment. If putting him in a class is pointless, how about he be my teaching assistant?”
Nezu sat back in his large leather chair and steepled his paws. “I’ll agree to it, but I’ll make an addendum. He’ll act as a teaching assistant for you, Vlad, and the support department. This is all contingent upon him being willing, of course.”
“Of course,” Aizawa agreed.
“Then I will leave it to you to bring the topic up with him. Dismissed.”
____________________________________________________________________________
Natsuo entered the house looking for his sister. He needed to get her opinion on a date he was setting up and nearly ran out of time. The first thing that Natsuo noticed as soon as he entered the old-fashioned Japanese home was the fact that the door was wide open, Shoto’s moving truck was still outside, and no one was anywhere to be seen.
“Where the hell is everyone?” Natsuo asked. He looked high and low. He checked Fuyumi’s room. He checked Shoto’s room. He decided to bite the bullet and check the Flaming Turd’s office.
Like Fuyumi and Shoto before him, he was surprised by what he found.
“I’m telling you guys! Lady Liberty is Warbird’s Mom! All-Might mainly operated in the states of California, New York, and Washington before he came back to Japan! Those are all places that Lady Liberty frequented for her hero work! This theory is solid!”
Endeavor just ran a hand over his face in exasperation. “Shoto, we’ve already closed out heroes in those states! You’re just beating a dead horse!”
Shoto turned to his sister for support. “Fuyumi, tell Dad that he’s jumping the gun! There are still plenty of heroes that we could cycle through in those states!”
“Eh, I’ve spoken my piece on Lady Liberty. She came out as gay two years ago so it’s unlikely for her to have had a romantic fling, let alone a relationship with All-Might that resulted in a child. Now her sister, Gal Glory, is another story!”
Shoto threw his hands up. “Oh my god, not this again! I know that she came out as gay, but you can’t deny the possibility that she had sex with All-Might as a way to keep people from getting suspicious about her preferences! What better way than by bedding one of the most desirable men on the planet?!”
“Shoto, if you’re going to suggest such ridiculous what-if then we can not have an intelligent conversation!”
“Says the man suggesting that All-Might has been bedding villainesses!”
Natsuo watched his family go around and around with their theories. At first, he couldn’t tell what they were arguing about. Then he realized that they were arguing about the parentage of Warbird.
Natsuo stealthily walked around his family to get a look at their notes. So far they’d canvased half of America’s hero population and were beginning to branch out into Canada and Mexico. Natsuo felt they were missing the obvious.
BANG
BANG
BANG
He got their attention by knocking on the dry-erase board. Endeavor was the first to notice him and speak. “Natsuo whatever you say, it better not be any form of implication that Warbird’s mother is Star and Stripe.”
Fuyumi nodded along. “Yeah, we had to spend thirty minutes explaining to Shoto how wrong the math on that was.”
Shoto just looked away from them both in embarrassment.
Natsuo just looked at the three of them and stated his argument. “What about David Shield’s wife? Their daughter is blonde but neither of them is and the wife has an energy conversion quirk. All-Might could have easily snagged his best friend’s girl for a night of passion that resulted in two kids.”
A light bulb went off in the minds of Endeavor, Fuyumi, and Shoto.
“Shit!” shouted Shoto.
“We ignored the Civilian Sector!” shouted Fuyumi.
“I’ll get a new board!” shouted Endeavor.
And like that, Natsuo was added to the debate.
____________________________________________________________________________
Carol, Cho, Viv, Gwen, and Eri arrived at Aldera Heights Apartments. This was the place of Izuku’s last known residence before he wound up on Earth-616.
“This is the place.” said Viv. “izuku’s last known location before he came to us.”
“Which apartment is his?” asked Carol. “I’d rather not be going door to door until we find his place.”
Viv held up a hand to her temple and her eyes glowed for a second before she answered. “The second building with number two on it. Third floor. Apartment 2-10.”
The group decided to not cause a commotion by flying to their destination and instead to the time to walk up the flights of stairs. It wasn’t much of a hassle. This group was composed of people who were in great shape or built to handle strenuous activity.
The group reached Izuku’s apartment and Cho was about to knock until Gwen prevented him. “If you’re going to knock then at least shrink down to normal size! I doubt that Izuku’s parents are going to want to have to pay for a new door!”
Cho blinked. “That’s a good point.” He De-Hulked and adjusted his clothes before knocking on the door and waiting.
“Nobodies coming,” said Carol. “Try knocking again,” she ordered.
Cho knocked. Still no signs of activity.
“Is no one home?” asked Eri. Carol picked her up and held her. Everyone started looking at Viv.
“I’m checking.” she was silent for a bit and the group gave her time. Meanwhile, a door to another apartment opened up. From out of the other apartment was an older gentleman with wrinkled, tanned skin, bushy eyebrows, and sharp eyes. He was smoking an old-fashioned pipe and was dressed in a traditional Japanese house coat. He sized up the group before finally speaking.
“Can I help you?” he asked.
Carol, who had been growing more and more irritated with this whole mission was short with the man. “We weren’t knocking on your door, sir. Just go back to your home and let us conduct our business.”
The old man put out his pipe by smacking it against the railing of the apartment before he turned back to Carol. “See, I’m the building super so it's kind of my business when strangers come knocking on the door of one of my tenants. So I’ll ask again. Can I help you?”
Gwen took her chance to step in. “yes, we’re looking for someone who lived here a while back. We’re reasonably certain that his family still lives here and we were hoping to find him here or get a lead on where he could be.”
“And who are you looking for, dear?” the building super asked.
“Izuku Midoriya or any family members he has still living in this complex,” Gwen stated.
The building super smirked but there was a hint of sadness in it. “If you’re looking for Izuku Midoriya then so am I. I thought the kid was dead for ten years then he shows back up out of the blue and on national television savin’ All-Might. I have no idea where he’s staying now so I can’t help you there. As for that apartment, it’s been abandoned for the last eight years.”
“WHAT!?” Carol screamed. It made Eri cover her ears in panic and Carol patted her back and apologized. “What do you mean it’s been abandoned?” she said in a lower register.
“Not too long after the search for Izuku was called off, his father died in a plane accident upon his return from America. The boy’s mother, two years later, died in her sleep. No one knows the real cause. She just didn’t wake up. Since then, I’ve kept this apartment closed and put any belongings that they had into storage.”
Carol took her thumb and finger and pinched the bridge of her nose. She was very obviously frustrated. So frustrated in fact that even Eri could notice it. The little girl patted her new guardian on the shoulder.
“There, there.”
Right about now, Carol was contemplating just going to the head of state and asking them to direct her and her team in the direction of her son. It wasn’t like he was hiding. The government had to know where he was.
____________________________________________________________________________
Tony was busy going over some new projects when his phone rang. “Sir, it’s a phone call from Krakoa. It seems to be from a government line.”
“Thank you, Friday.” Tony looked away from his plans, grimaced, and put the call on speaker. “Hello? Go for Tony!”
“Afternoon, Anthony.” Tony heard the melodic voice of Emma Frost talking in his ear and his mind. Immediately, Tony activated the heavy-duty telepathic defense inside of his Tower. Without taking even a second, a low almost imperceptible hum drummed through Tony’s workshop.
“You’re no fun, Anthony.”
“What do you want, Emma?” Tony asked professionally.
“I’m just doing a little housekeeping. You see some of our younger mutants here on Krakoa still like to galavant among the humans. You know, visit family. Keep up with friends. Procure goods that they can’t on Krakoa because certain governments are still refusing to trade with us. The usual. As such, the Quiet Council has deemed it necessary to keep track of our brothers, sisters, and children abroad.”
“Is there a point to this story, Emma?” Tony didn’t have time for Emma’s games. He only had so much time in the day to just invent before he had to tend to his company or attend meetings with the board of directors. He wanted to get back to that. Not to mention he didn’t want to deal with the X-Men pulling some fuck shit on him just because they felt they were justified.
“I’ll keep it simple, Anthony. One of our Krakoan Residents went missing in New York, specifically within your tower at three o’clock this morning. I’m going to allow you to come forth and tell the truth yourself or you be belligerent and lie thus forcing the Quiet Council to decide without your input. I do hope that you will choose the former. The Council is not one to show leniency to those who attack our people.”
“Give me a minute,” Tony asked before he put the call on hold and called on Friday. “Friday!”
“No need to shout, Boss.” Friday’s Hologram appeared in front of Tony in front of his work desk. “What’s up?”
“Did someone break in here last night? Specifically a Mutant?”
Friday frowned and began to flip through several archives of surveillance footage. She continued to frown until her eyes went wide. “Boss, you’re not going to like this.”
“It can’t be as bad as having the X-Men decide to choose gang violence over talking out this misunderstanding. I need to have something to tell Emma and her ‘Quiet Council.’”
“Well you can tell them that Ms. Gwedonlyn Poole had broken into your tower last night, broke past the firewalls on the Dimensional Travel Machine, and left this reality. She also hijacked The Iron Shogun Armor.”
“Shit,” said Tony.
“Yeah, shit,” Friday agreed.
____________________________________________________________________________
Gwenpool landed in a three-point landing inside of a meeting room. The room was dimly lit but Gwen could tell with her new SAMURAI IRON MAN ARMOR that the place was well decorated. Gwen could also tell that there were other people present. Not just her.
“What is the meaning of this?” demanded the man at the head of the table. He had a head of receding red hair and wore a green-themed three-piece suit. He also had a very big nose.
“Dr. Doofenshmirtz!” exclaimed Gwenpool with childish excitement.
“Who?” asked the man who most certainly wasn’t Doofenshmirtz.
“I think that might be some venereal disease,” said Skeptic as he began searching it up on his laptop.
Geten rose from his seat and began to activate his power to bring as much ice to bear as possible. “We don’t know who you are but you’re not leaving here alive.”
Curious began to take pictures of the armor of the assailant who was attempting to attack them. She was enamored with the idea of who designed it and how much it cost. Was the portal the pilot's Meta Ability or a feature of the armor? She’d heard some rumbling from I-Island into portal creation research but had figured the government think-tank had hit a dead end. If this suit was from I-Island, had the Diet figured out the truth of their army’s existence or was a foreign malefactor making moves on Japan? Curious just had to know.
“Kizuki, I suggest you stop taking pictures and focus on the task at hand.” the man who spoke was well-dressed and well-groomed and carried himself with more sophistication than anyone else in the room. “Your Meta Ability’s talents may be needed to neutralize this threat.”
“Oh come off it, Trumpet. I’m a journalist down to my bones. Can you blame me for wanting to get a scoop?”
Gwenpool ignored the byplay of her current adversaries. “Oh, wait, you’re not dressed right. Re-Destro then!” Gwenpool corrected. “I should have thought of that first seeing as how I’m in this universe.”
“What are you blabbering about?” demanded Re-Destro in a confused tone of voice. “And how do you know that name?”
“Don’t worry about it.” Gwenpool activated the energy katanas that came with the Iron Shogun and set them to stun. She looked around the conference room at the gathered individuals. Skeptic, Curious, Trumpet, Geten, along with Re-Destro. If Gwen could kick their asses and shut down their Army then could make taking down AFO and Shigaraki that much easier.
‘It would also be cathartic. This was such an asspull in the manga. Horikoshi just kept finding ways to keep Bakugou relevant or propping up Shigaraki like some big bad that he wasn’t. It’s gonna feel great to derail at least one of those stupid plots.’
“Alright, I was hoping to find my friend first before I started cleaning up Japan, but this works out just as fine. Get ready for an ass-whooping Meta Liberation Army weirdos! HAH!” and that was the day that the MLA felt the wrath of its most dangerous, ANNOYING, and PSYCHOTIC adversary.
Everyone who heard her talk prayed that they would never have to hear the insane nonsense that came out of her mouth ever again. They also wished that she would stop asking for selfies.
TO BE CONTINUED