Chapter 20
Family Matters, Part 3
Uraraka frowned at her phone, as if it was responsible for her irritated state. It had become a habit for the Rising Stars to talk to each other after school, but one star wasn't shining that night.
Comet: Has anyone heard from Izuku?
Book: Not in the five minutes since the last time you asked.
Comet: Sorry
Crayon: relax, Ochako. im sure Midori is just busy. Maybe his mom needs him and he turned off his phone?
Glasses: Yes, I am certain that everything is all right.
Comet: I know, it's just that he always responds. It's weird.
Tape: Hey, if he doesn't send any messages by tomorrow morning, I can ask Air Jet to swing by his place. He patrols near Izuku's neighborhood on weekdays.
Uraraka was touched that Sero would ask a Pro Hero to go out of his way to check on Midoriya, even though there was no evidence that anything was actually wrong. Even if there was, they could only say anything if they didn't hear from him after 24 hours, or had proof that something bad had happened.
Maybe she was just being paranoid. After all, the League of Villains had tried to kidnap him in Hosu, and they might try again. What if they knew where he lived?
She nervously started to pace. Yes, she was definitely paranoid, but she didn't care.
You'd better have a good explanation for this.
…
"Well?" Azmuth tapped his foot impatiently. "Answer the question."
Midoriya shrank back. "Um, w-well, the common theory is that a latent gene in our DNA activated about two hundred years ago, and powers began developing at an accelerated rate. Four out of every five people on my Earth now have some kind of Quirk, even if it's just a vestigial mutation."
He was suddenly reminded of a man who lived in his neighborhood. His Quirk was just a pair of hooks on the sides of his head; they didn't do anything, but he was so proud of them, and had sneered at his Quirkless neighbor every chance he got. Midoriya had seen him once or twice since winning the Sports Festival; now, he seemed terrified of the boy he'd thought inferior.
Ben frowned. "Okay, I'm not a scientist by any stretch, but I'm pretty sure that's a complete load. Azmuth, tell me that's a complete load."
"Oh, it is," Azmuth assured him. "Such a drastic change in your species' evolution wouldn't have happened without outside interference."
Supergirl leaned back in her chair. "Someone altered the humans on that Earth? Why would they do that?"
"As a proof-of-concept," Azmuth said.
Ben stared at him for a long moment as he processed that. "Azmuth, tell me you had nothing to do with that."
"I could, but it would be a lie."
Midoriya looked between them. "W-wait, what?"
"That's what I was going to say." Ben fixed Azmuth with a glare that would have impressed Aizawa. "Start talking."
Azmuth sighed and sat down at the foot of the bed. In that moment, he looked every bit his age. "A long time ago, when I was working on the designs for the Omnitrix, I encountered a problem. I couldn't figure out how to stop the DNA of other species from permanently overriding that of the host. However, until I knew what such an override might look like, it would be a flaw that I couldn't fix. My best estimates were that it would take me another hundred years before I perfected the technology, and I refused to wait that long. Controlled experiments weren't yielding the data I needed, so I sought… an alternative. This presented another obstacle—genetic manipulation on a large scale is illegal in our universe."
"Then why didn't anyone say anything when I fixed the Highbreed?" Ben asked.
"The Highbreed were intent on destroying the universe," Azmuth said. "Besides, you did it to save them from extinction, and after the Highbreed's war, no one was in a position to do more than raise a protest, and you were so popular that to do so would be political suicide. As such, everyone just let it go.
"What I was planning had no motive other than to advance my own project. Even my best arguments wouldn't get past the lawmakers. However, the law only specified that large-scale genetic manipulation was illegal in our own universe. So… I went to another.
"Upon reaching this other Earth, I seeded alien DNA into the genetic codes of the humans, to be passed on to their children. The human genetic code is remarkably resilient, and the population made for excellent test subjects. I programmed the dispersal technology to eventually affect eighty percent of the population by the time the project was complete; the other twenty percent remained unaltered as a control group. After that was done, I observed the effects; I took my readings, and used them to build the safety features of the Omnitrix."
At that point, Midoriya was fairly certain that his heart had stopped. Azmuth had just admitted that he had visited his Earth generations ago, altered the DNA of the human race… just so that he could speed up his own work?
"Hold on," he said shakily. "My parents have Quirks. Shouldn't I have been part of the eighty percent?"
"Hmm?" Azmuth shook his head. "No, the monitoring system I left in orbit would send out a 'kill-code', if you will, removing the alien DNA from randomly selected humans if the percentages got too skewed. The eighty-twenty split was the optimal level."
Midoriya didn't want to believe what he was hearing, and he almost thought he couldn't believe it. Unfortunately for him, his understanding of the universe—of the multiverse—had expanded enough that he really didn't have a choice. A part of him wanted to be furious with Azmuth for this violation of his Earth, but he was in too much shock to do more than stare.
Ben, on the other hand, looked outraged; if not for his wife keeping a firm grip on his shoulder, he might have reached out to grab the little alien.
"You experimented on a planet!" he shouted. "How many times did you threaten to take the Omnitrix away from me because I did something stupid, when you… argh!"
Azmuth raised a brow at Ben's anger, but otherwise didn't react. "I had made plans to remove the foreign DNA. It would have been a simple matter after only a generation, and I almost did so. However, I discovered something… unexpected. So unexpected, in fact, that I chose to let the effects of my experiment become permanent.
"You see, the DNA of some of the aliens I used shouldn't have been compatible with others, but the human DNA acted as a bridge, allowing for offspring with abilities more varied and powerful than their parents." He crossed his arms. "In a way, it was almost like a prototype of how the Ultimatrix allowed for the creation of your own children."
"Don't go there, Azmuth," Supergirl warned, her eyes now faintly glowing red. "You leave our kids out of this. After everything you've said, I'm not sure I'd trust you anywhere near them ever again."
Now it was Ben's turn to stop his wife from doing anything, but everyone knew that Supergirl could get free from Ben's hand at any moment.
"If you knew about my Earth," Midoriya said, "how come it took so long for Ken and Jen to come over? Why didn't you just take the Ultimatrix back as soon as it arrived?"
"I was going to, but not long after it came to your Earth, it found you. I've since learned the value of what a good-hearted human can do with that device, so I chose not to interfere. In fact, had Ben not been afflicted with that poison, I would have been content to let you live out your life blissfully unaware of my actions." Azmuth chuckled, but there was no humor in it. "Even then, I almost considered not saying anything, until you asked. I may keep many secrets, but I'm not a fan of lying."
"This…" Midoriya sank into his chair and put his head in his hands. "This is too much. I can't—" He stopped and looked up. "Wait, what about the animals?"
Azmuth blinked. "Pardon?"
"Some animals have been documented with Quirks," Midoriya said. "My principal isn't human, and he's one of the smartest people on the planet."
Ben raised an eyebrow, and then slowly turned. "Azmuth…"
"I didn't know!" he said quickly. "I haven't actually looked at the data over the last few decades, mostly because I've been dealing with your messes! We're still dealing with the fallout from the Highbreed war." He stroked his mustache thoughtfully. "It could be a random glitch in the dispersal matrix; after so many years, it might have degraded. I'll have to examine the readings."
"Yeah, you do that," Ben said, his voice dangerously low. "You lectured me about all the times I messed up, and now I've found out that you're a hypocrite. Not really the first time, though; I don't want to remind you about the sword, do I?"
Azmuth actually flinched. "No, you don't." He saw the looks he was getting from Ben and Supergirl, and sighed. "I am sorry. I'll take my leave for now; we can talk about this later."
"Don't hold your breath," Supergirl muttered as Azmuth vanished in a flash of light.
Ben sat back and rubbed at his eyes. "Sorry, Izuku, I had no idea about any of this."
If the reactions he'd seen were any indication, Midoriya believed him. However, he looked down at the Ultimatrix. "How come you never said anything?"
Holo-Ben appeared and shrugged. "Because nobody's DNA registered as tampered or damaged! At this point, Quirks are normal for your Earth." He frowned. "I mean, maybe if we met someone from that first generation, but it's been about two hundred years. I'm pretty sure they're all dead."
Midoriya sighed; he tried to calm down, but everything from the last few hours—especially the recent revelation—was starting to catch up with him. "What happens now?"
Ben glanced at his phone. "Well, we should probably get you home. You've been through a lot, and you have even more to process."
"W-what about Azmuth?"
Ben grimaced. "I'm going to talk to some people. I doubt he'll face any legal consequences, but his good name is going to take a hit once this gets out—assuming we let it get out. I'm angry with him, but Azmuth has done a lot of good, for more than one universe.
"If you need anything, though, don't hesitate to call us." When Midoriya looked confused, Ben smirked. "We can modify your phone to reach this universe, trust me."
"We owe you," Supergirl said. "You brought us the cure for Ben, and you saved our daughter's life. If you ever need us, we'll be there."
Midoriya stood and bowed respectfully. "I-it was no problem!"
Ben rolled his eyes. "Kid, a bit of advice—just say you're welcome, it'll speed things up."
"Oh." Midoriya hesitantly nodded. "Y-you're welcome."
"As for what we all just learned…" Ben sighed. "If I were you, I'd keep it under wraps. I don't think people would be happy if they found out your Earth had been tampered with by an alien. If you do want to tell someone, make sure you trust them."
Midoriya nodded again. There was no way he could keep this to himself forever; he'd have to tell someone, or it would eat at him until nothing was left. But who could he tell?
His mother? Possibly, but she wouldn't be able to give much advice.
Nezu? He'd be able to process it quickly, but Midoriya wasn't sure how he'd take finding out that his existence was due to a glitch.
The Big Three? They were only two years his senior, and had no idea about the Ultimatrix.
His friends in the Rising Stars? The same problem.
He then realized that he trusted all of them. As those he held closest, they deserved to know—both about his world's secret, and his own.
…
It took another two hours, but Midoriya was eventually brought home; or, rather, to the beach he'd started at, though he didn't recognize it.
"What happened to all the trash?" he asked as he, Ken and Jen stepped through the portal. Even late at night, it was easy to see that the beach was pristine.
Ken shrugged. "All that garbage was bugging me, so I teleported it into the sun."
It spoke volumes of how done Midoriya was with that day that he didn't react to that statement. Instead, he just nodded tiredly, which got an understanding smile from Jen.
"It's a lot to take in," she said. "Just remember, you can call us if you need anything."
"I will. Thanks." Midoriya was about to ask for a ride to his house, when Jen grabbed him in a rib-shattering embrace.
"Thanks," she whispered. "For saving my dad. And me too, I guess."
Midoriya would have been embarrassed, getting a hug from someone he'd known for less than a day, but he was too busy not being able to breathe.
"Jen!" he gasped. "Air!"
"Sorry!" Jen let him go, and when Ken cackled, she glared at him. "Shut up, or I'll get revenge for that prank last week."
"Go right ahead," Ken dared, and then winked at Midoriya. "I stole her phone and made it play Uptown Funk for three hours straight. Well, Valerie helped."
"I knew it!" Jen dashed over and punched him on the arm. "I knew you were covering for her!"
Midoriya hadn't realized until that moment how grateful he was for their antics. That, and their easy acceptance of everything that he'd found out today, had done wonders to soothe his nerves. It almost made him confident in his decision to tell his friends and family what he'd learned, and what he'd been keeping secret.
"Um, th-thank you," he said as he sketched an awkward bow. "I'm still trying to figure all this out, but I think I'm glad I know now."
Ken, who had been holding his sister back with one hand against her forehead to keep her from hitting him, smiled. "Hey, it's no trouble on our end, and remember, if you ever need something, just ask."
Jen took advantage of her brother's distraction to kick him in the shin, and then turned to Midoriya. "And if anyone asks, you're just talking to your cousins in America. It'll mesh with your cover story, too!"
Midoriya blushed; he had told the Tennysons and their extended family about what he'd said and done to explain his 'Quirk', and they had all rolled with it in good humor. Ben had even said that he didn't mind having another cousin. Midoriya had been embarrassed, but there had been a warmth in his chest; his family really only consisted of his parents, so having people willing to even pretend to be part of his family meant a great deal.
Ken pulled out his phone for a moment. "Well, it's really late, and you've got school." He raised an eyebrow at Jen. "And so do you, so we should all head home."
Jen rolled her eyes, then hugged Midoriya again, much gentler this time. "See you around, Izuku; don't be a stranger."
Midoriya awkwardly hugged her back. "Y-yeah, I wouldn't mind talking to you all again. It was kind of fun."
Jen laughed and stepped back. "We'll try to have less killer mecha-worms and mass chaos next time. Maybe do something smaller, like stop a bank heist."
Ken nodded. "Ooh, or catch airplanes when they fall out of the sky! Superman does that every other month."
"Those airlines have really bad maintenance policies," Jen commented as she headed for the portal. "By, Izuku! Thanks again!"
After she was gone, Midoriya looked to Ken. "I g-guess she doesn't hate me anymore?"
Ken shook his head. "She never hated you. She might have doubted you because you weren't the one Dad meant to have the Ultimatrix, and she was stressed earlier today, but that's in the past for her. As far as she's concerned, she'll have your back, come hell or high water." He gently elbowed Midoriya. "And so will I, and just about all of our friends and family. The superhero community is pretty close on my Earth."
"Th-thanks," Midoriya said, and sincerely meant it. "And if y-you guys ever need me, I'll always be ready to help."
Ken ruffled his hair fondly. "Yeah, I can see why the Ultimatrix chose you. You're a good kid."
In a blur of motion, Ken brought him back to his home. It took Midoriya a moment to regain his balance, and when he turned to say goodbye one more time, Ken was already gone.
Well, I can always talk to them later, he thought, and opened the door. He had barely entered the house when he saw his mother, sitting on the couch and looking very annoyed. He also noticed that she was holding the note he'd left.
"Um… I'm home?"
Inko narrowed her eyes. "I would like an explanation, Izuku." Her gaze traveled to the Ultimatrix. "And you, Ben."
Ben flickered into view and made a show of hiding behind Izuku. "Busted!"
…
By the time Izuku and Ben finished their story, it was almost two in the morning. Inko had spent the last twenty minutes drinking tea; she held the cup with trembling hands as the weight of Azmuth's revelations came crashing down on her.
"And you had no idea about any of this," she said to Ben.
The hologram shook his head. "I was programmed with limited information on the real Ben, and even less on Azmuth. I had no clue he'd even been to this universe, much less experimented on the people here."
Inko frowned and set aside her cup; she reached towards the television remote, and it slowly flew to her hand. "I… I have a lot to think about. But I do want to know one more thing." She looked Ben in the eye. "The other Ben was proud of Izuku?"
"He was completely selfless." Ben gave Izuku a look. "Maybe a little naïve, but his heart was in the right place. If I needed proof that he was the worthiest person to wield the Ultimatrix, I have it now."
Inko nodded; she walked over to her son and gave him a hug. "You scared the living daylights out of me, Izuku; please, if you're going to do something like this again, give me more than a note."
Izuku hugged her back. "Y-you're not mad?"
"Well, I'm not happy you ran off, but I've been encouraging you to be a Hero for a year, now. I'd be a hypocrite to be mad at you for doing the right thing." She smiled up at her son. "And you saved lives today, without getting hurt. I'm proud of you, my little Hero."
Izuku couldn't stop the tears that flowed down his cheeks, and his mother was quick to do the same. "Thanks, Mom."
"Now, I think you should get some sleep." Inko's wobbly smile was a perfect match for her son's. "Proud or not, you still have school."
"Yeah, okay. Goodnight, Mom." Izuku headed for his room and collapsed on his bed. "That went better than expected."
Ben nodded. "I kinda expected you to get grounded. I guess she was just happy you're okay."
Izuku was about to close his eyes when his phone buzzed; with a start, he realized that he'd missed dozens of messages from his friends while he'd been away.
"I need to tell them."
Ben shrugged. "It's your decision, buddy, but you should at least let them know you're okay."
"Right." Izuku took a deep breath and accessed his messenger app; none of his friends were active, but it wouldn't hurt to give them a message for when they woke up.
All Might: Hi, guys. I want you all to know that I'm okay. Sorry for not getting back to you sooner. Some stuff came up that I can't get into now. I promise to explain everything after school.
Izuku wondered if any of them would want to be his friends after he told them the truth. Maybe they'd even hate him. It would hurt, but he would understand; even if they didn't want anything to do with him after this, they deserved to know.
…
Uraraka could say with some confidence that she'd gotten good at reading Midoriya. Granted, he wasn't exactly a subtle person at the best of times, but her point stood. A casual observer might say that he was his typical nervous self as he got to school that morning, but Uraraka saw that it went deeper than that; every time his gaze landed on someone, it was as if he was seeing them with new eyes, and what he saw shook him.
He also looked tired; there were bags under his eyes, and if it weren't for the aforementioned anxiety, he looked ready to fall over.
Uraraka—not to mention the rest of their friends—was more than a little curious about what Midoriya wanted to tell them. When they tried to get answers at lunch, he froze, looked around nervously, and told them in no uncertain terms that it had to wait until they were alone. Whatever he wanted to talk about, it was for those he trusted most, apparently.
On the one hand, it was touching that Midoriya trusted them that much, but on the other hand, Uraraka was nervous about whatever he wanted to tell them. It was obviously important, but there was a haunted look in his eyes that had Uraraka wary.
When school finally ended, Midoriya led them to Gym Alpha, which was empty.
"I sent an email to Nezu-sensei last night and asked if he could make sure we could use this place," he said. "He'll be here soon."
Uraraka blinked in surprise; she hadn't known that Midoriya had regular contact with the principal, and if her friends' reactions were anything to go by, neither had they.
"Ah, good, you're here!" Sure enough, the little principal strolled into the gym, a steaming mug held in one paw. "My apologies, Midoriya-san, but the others you requested can't be here today. If you wish, you can tell them later."
Midoriya nodded. "Thank you, Nezu-sensei, I will." He took a deep, shuddering breath, and turned to his friends. "So… you're probably wondering what this is about."
"Yes," Todoroki answered simply, with one eyebrow raised.
"Right." Midoriya sat down on a bench and stared at his watch. "I need to tell you all some things. I… I lied to you about some stuff, and I learned something yesterday that I had to share with someone. If you don't want to be friends with me afterwards, I understand…" He paused and rubbed at his eyes for a moment. "But you deserve to know the truth."
Uraraka sat next to him. "Deku-kun, what is it?"
Midoriya waited until everyone had found a seat somewhere—Nezu had decided that Iida's shoulder made for a good perch—and then held his watch out in front of him.
"Show them."
The other students all jumped when a boy in a green jacket suddenly flickered into view. He smiled and waved at them.
"Hi, everyone," he said. "I am the tutorial program for the Ultimatrix. I was created in the image of Ben Tennyson; you can all just call me Ben."
Uraraka stared, and then turned to Midoriya, who was keeping his eyes locked on his feet. "Izuku?"
"Right, so this started about a year ago…"
…
It took several hours for Midoriya to tell them the entire story. By the time he was done, everyone had missed their trains home, but no one really cared. They were rooted to the spot as they processed everything they had learned. Even Nezu was unable to keep up his cheery smile, and was deep in thought.
"Aliens." That was the first word Yaoyorozu had said since the story began; she had taken notes at first, but her arms had hung limply at her sides for a while now. "We have our Quirks because of alien DNA."
"Y-yeah." Midoriya swallowed nervously. "I reacted pretty much the same way last night."
Ashido was sitting on the floor, staring at her hands with wide eyes. "So, if this 'Azmuth' guy hadn't messed with our planet… I wouldn't be pink?"
"I believe that Izuku is saying that none of us would look as we do," Iida said, absently reaching down to rub one of his calves. "Except, perhaps, Izuku and Momo. Or anyone whose Quirk does not alter their appearance."
Sero's hand drifted to one elbow. "And this was done to us because that guy was trying to build that watch?"
Ben, who had chimed in whenever Midoriya had seemed stuck, waved his hand in a so-so manner. "Technically, it was for the Omnitrix, but yeah."
"Izuku, why didn't you tell us about that—what did you call it? The Ultimatrix? Why didn't you tell us sooner?" Uraraka looked like she was about to cry; whether it was from a sense of betrayal, or just being overwhelmed by everything she'd learned, it made Midoriya flinch.
"I'm really sorry." He shrank in on himself, arms pulling his knees to his chest. "I just… everyone always treated me like I was worthless because I didn't have a Quirk, and then you guys became my friends, and I thought…"
"You were so used to people wanting nothing to do with you because you're Quirkless, so you thought it might happen again." Asui, who sat on his other side, nodded shakily. "That's it, ribbit, right?"
Midoriya could only nod.
The part of Uraraka that wasn't reeling from what she'd just learned wanted to be upset with him. They were friends, and he had lied to them all since day one—though the lack of surprise on Nezu's face when Midoriya had explained the Ultimatrix suggested that he knew about it. On the other hand, Midoriya had said before that he'd never had friends because he 'thought' he was Quirkless… when in reality, he was Quirkless. Uraraka had nothing against Quirkless people, but she had seen reports on the news about the occasional hate crime against those without Quirks. She had always thought that that was ridiculously bigoted, but after what she had learned, the Quirkless were the most normal of them all.
She looked down at her hands, and the soft pads on her fingertips. If Azmuth had never experimented on their Earth, would the lack of those pads be the only thing different about her? Would she have been the same kind of person? Would she have ever met her friends?
Would I have never met Deku-kun?
Uraraka didn't know it, but all of her friends were going through similar thoughts. And all of them considered, in a moment of irrationality, to blame Midoriya—but he was as shocked as they were, with the benefit of having an extra day to process it.
And just because he was Quirkless didn't mean he was unaffected by Azmuth's actions; he was Quirkless because of Azmuth, which had left him feeling like a freak for most of his life. The Ultimatrix had finally allowed him to fit in with everyone else, and even be admired for it, which was why he had lied. If anything, coming clean was a sign of how much he trusted them all.
Uraraka couldn't find it in her to be mad at him. Still…
"Is there anything else you haven't told us?"
Midoriya blinked. "Er… I've been training with the Big Three on Saturdays?"
Yaoyorozu tilted her head. "That explains why Hado-san had that nickname for you, but what does that have to do with your other secrets?"
"N-nothing." Midoriya flinched again when his friends all gave him a look. "I don't know, it was the only thing I haven't told you!"
Uraraka sighed and rested her head on Midoriya's shoulder. "Okay. Okay. So, what do we do now?"
Nezu shook himself out of whatever thoughts were plaguing him and addressed the students. "I suggest that we keep this information to ourselves. Even if anyone were to believe us, the result would only be mass panic; our society is already a powder keg, there's not need to keep the gasoline next door." He glanced up at Midoriya. "However, if you think Togata-san, Hado-san and Amajiki-san can be trusted, I will ensure that they will be present."
"Th-thank you, Nezu-sensei." Midoriya tentatively put his arm around Uraraka's shoulders. "So, you aren't mad?"
Uraraka frowned. "I'm not happy that you lied to us, but I understand why you did. Just promise me that you won't do it again, please?"
"I c-can't say that I'll share secrets that aren't mine," Midoriya said nervously, "but if it has anything to do with me, I'll come to you guys."
Ashido giggled; at first, everyone thought it was because of how cute Uraraka and Midoriya looked together, but then they heard the slightly hysterical edge to it.
"And how are we gonna deal with the fact that we're all part alien?" she asked.
To everyone's surprise, it was Todoroki who answered. "Honestly, it doesn't matter much to me. It answers where Quirks come from, but it doesn't affect our daily lives, does it? We are who we are. Finding out the origins of Quirks doesn't change that I want to be a Hero."
At the unspoken challenge in his tone, his classmates straightened up.
"You are absolutely right, Shoto!" Iida began chopping enthusiastically. "If anything, we should be proud that the past has forged us into aspiring Heroes!"
"I agree," Yaoyorozu said, and smiled at Midoriya. "And thank you for trusting us."
Ashido looked uncertain for a moment, but then, to the surprise of everyone, Todoroki put a hand on her shoulder, and she smiled.
"Hey, I just realized," she said, "now, I really am the Alien Queen!"
That was the last straw; that little joke was enough to send all of the students into a laughing fit. Some of the laughter was a release of stress, and the rest was relief; though their view of the world had changed, that didn't mean that their chosen paths had.
They would still become Heroes, and they'd do it together.
…
A universe away, Ben rolled his eyes as Kara literally carried him into the house. "We could have just had the Watchtower teleport us home."
"Considering what you've been through, I'm not risking you getting your molecules tossed a million miles for at least a week," Kara said archly.
Ben raised an eyebrow. "Still, taking a Javelin into the atmosphere, and then flying us home? I think you're overdoing it."
Kara just shook her head as she sat Ben on the couch, and then ran her fingers through his grey hair. "First you got those grey streaks, and now this. You're starting to look your age."
"Hey, I'm like a fine wine," Ben protested, and then grinned roguishly. "I just get better with age."
Kara smiled good-naturedly, and then kissed his cheek. "Stay here, I'll heat up those leftovers."
"With the microwave this time?" Ben asked nervously. "You almost set the house on fire with your heat-vision last week."
"You're lucky you're recovering, or I'd throw you into the sun for that." Kara poked him in the shoulder, though it was with enough force to knock him over on the couch. "I'll be back in a minute."
Ben watched her leave, and then closed his eyes for a moment. "I know you're there, Paradox; between Bruce and you, I'm good at knowing when someone's sneaking up on me."
Professor Paradox smiled as he stepped into view. "Hello, Ben; it's good to see that you survived your ordeal."
Ben opened his eyes and glanced at an old clock nearby; the hands had stopped moving, which meant that Paradox had stopped time for this little conversation. Whatever his time-traveling friend wanted to talk about, he didn't want to be interrupted.
"I'm guessing that there are timelines where I didn't make it?"
Paradox's smile turned sad. "Indeed; there are infinite possibilities across the multiverse, my friend." He then held out a paper bag. "Gumball?"
Ben glanced back in the direction of the kitchen. "Eh, Kara's frozen in time right now, so what the heck."
As Ben popped the candy in his mouth, Paradox turned to face the clock. "How long will you be mad at Azmuth for?"
"Probably a while," Ben admitted. "What he did was wrong, and he knew it."
"He was desperate to finish the Omnitrix," Paradox said. "You may not be aware, but your universe was on the verge of dozens of wars, and Azmuth had become convinced that the Omnitrix was the best chance of peace."
"But it was never used for that purpose," Ben pointed out. "What changed?"
"The Plumbers were able to defuse the situation in key areas, creating a domino effect." Azmuth chuckled. "You might have noticed that Azmuth gets tunnel vision when it comes to his passion projects."
Ben sighed. "Like I said, what he did was wrong, but he is still one of the only friends I have left from back home… even if he is a huge jerk half the time. But I'm guessing you didn't come here to discuss the drama?"
"Sadly, no." Paradox turned to face him, and Ben saw something he never thought he'd see in his eyes—fear. "I came to deliver a warning. Something is coming, Ben; something so dangerous that even I dare not stray too close to look for details. When it comes, the champions of the multiverse must band together, or we will all die."
Ben rested his elbows on his knees and sighed. "How long do we have?"
"A year at the most, but likely far sooner." Paradox pulled out a pocket watch and stared at it for a moment. "For now, I am doing what I can to locate those champions. Two are on this Earth, which is why I am here to warn you."
"I'll be ready," Ben promised.
"That is assuming that you are one of those champions," Paradox warned. "This is a cosmic game, with rules and players that have been chosen eons in advance by forces beyond even my comprehension. All I have narrowed down is that one of this world's champions is a Tennyson, but it might not be you."
"Got it." Ben made a mental note to have his family train harder over the coming months. "Any other news?"
"I believe that two more champions are from Midoriya's Earth." Paradox shrugged. "It is likely that your young friend is one of them. However, I do have a lead on how to locate the others; please inform the Justice League that I will be borrowing John Constantine for a while."
"Zatanna won't be happy, but I'll let them know." Ben tried to relax, but with Paradox's warning fresh in his mind, it was hard. "Say hi to Secret for us, okay? We haven't seen her in a while."
"Of course; she's just running some errands for me." Paradox paused, and then put his hand on Ben's shoulder. "Be vigilant, my friend; this danger, this… Crisis… threatens all of creation. I do not think all of us will make it out of this alive."
Ben blinked at that, and when he did, Paradox was gone, and time resumed its march. He sat back to think, and didn't notice Kara's return until she placed the food on his lap.
"Here you go," she said, and then saw how pale her husband was. "Ben? What is it?"
Ben picked up his fork, but his appetite was gone. "I just got a visit from an old friend."
(Datte Atashi no Hiro—LiSA, TV Version)
The music starts, and the scene opens to show Midoriya walking to school. Holo-Ben walks behind him, only to fade and be replaced by the real Ben Tennyson. He also fades as Midoriya enters the gates of UA and runs up to his friends. There are several fast shots of them in different classes, and then it changes to them in various stages of putting on their costumes.
The scene changes again; this time, the Rising Stars are split up. Yaoyorozu, Uraraka and Ashido are fighting thugs at the USJ, Sero and Asui are leaping over obstacles, and Midoriya, Todoroki and Iida are facing Stain. The scenes dissolve and leave Midoriya, battered and bruised, with his visor on the ground, facing a line of enemies; on the left is Stain and the first Nomu, while on the right is Shigaraki and Kurogiri. In the center is a tall, shadowy figure who reaches out for him.
Midoriya takes a step back, only for hands to rest on his shoulders and back. He turns his head and sees Holo-Ben on his right, Ben on his left, and All Might and Hawks directly behind him. The four of them fade, replaced by the Rising Stars, and the Big Three behind them; further back is the rest of Class 1-A and the UA teachers.
Midoriya blinks away tears, and then picks up his visor. He secures it on his face, smiles, and then holds up the Ultimatrix.
Chapter 21
Fate Turns
Yaoyorozu was objectively an extremely intelligent girl. It was obvious that she was a genius after spending just a few minutes with her. However, she had a tendency to overthink things, to the point that she would miss the obvious.
In this case, she was kicking herself for not figuring out that Midoriya's 'Quirk' was something completely different. In fact, she was surprised that no one had ever called him out on the Ultimatrix; people were just so enamored with his power, because that was how one was judged in a society where Quirks were everything.
Considering that Midoriya didn't actually have a Quirk, and was reminded every day when someone said how cool he was, it must have been painful.
Now that Yaoyorozu knew the truth, that simple fact made her sick. Midoriya had been living in constant fear that someone might find out about the watch, and if the truth came out, the government would probably take the Ultimatrix away, and Midoriya would be arrested for fraud, all because he wanted to help people.
On the next Sunday, when her friends were at her house, she called on one person who might have an idea of how to help Midoriya—though calling him a person was up for debate.
"Ben?" she called out softly from the kitchen, where she was getting snacks for the next movie. "Are you there?"
It had taken a few days for Midoriya's friends to get used to Ben, but now that they knew about him, they made an effort to include the hologram whenever they could. Soon, it was like he had always been a part of the group—though, technically, he had. He just couldn't spend the same amount of time with them; he had explained that he could either allow only Midoriya to see him, or everyone, so he had to be careful.
To her surprise, the hologram did indeed flicker into view. "Yeah, just taking a tour of the place. Your house is huge! I mean, I already knew that, but it's something else to wander around."
"You can do that?" Yaoyorozu didn't know how she felt about the AI that could turn invisible to all but Midoriya at the drop of a hat wandering through her home.
Ben shrugged. "The range is limited, but I got a good look at the aquarium. How did your parents get a hammerhead shark?"
"They never told me," Yaoyorozu muttered, a little sullen, but then returned her focus to her question. "Anyway, I was hoping you could tell me something."
"Sure, go ahead." Ben crossed his arms. "There are a few things I can't disclose, though; it would go against my programming."
"Right. Um…" Yaoyorozu glanced back in the direction of her friends. "Is Izuku all right?"
Ben tilted his head. "In what way?"
"It's just that… he's been jumpy since I've met him, and I suspect he's been that way for a long time." Yaoyorozu frowned. "He was mistreated by people because he's Quirkless. Is he still afraid of that happening again?"
"Probably," Ben said. "He doesn't talk about it as much as he used to, so I think he's doing better. Actually, he's been a little less nervous than normal since he came clean with you guys. You were the first real people to be his friends, and I think that's all he cares about."
Yaoyorozu was touched, but also worried; with so few people that cared for the real Midoriya, it was a small foundation.
He's powerful, but he's still fragile.
"Thank you for telling me," she said. "I promise that we'll do all we can for him."
"Careful how you phrase that," Ben teased. "Uraraka's already making moves, and I don't think Izuku's poor heart could handle two girls fighting over him."
Yaoyorozu blushed at the implication, though it wasn't true; yes, Midoriya was cute, but he wasn't her type. For one thing, she preferred someone who didn't have to tilt their head back to look her in the eye.
Ben grinned and vanished, leaving Yaoyorozu to fume alone. After a minute, she grabbed the snacks and rejoined the others in the theater. There, she saw what Ben had been talking about—Uraraka was pressed into Midoriya's side, head on his shoulder. She had been doing that a lot over the week, and Yaoyorozu suspected that it was only a matter of time before one of them finally confessed to the other.
Midoriya, slightly red-faced—from Ashido's teasing, if the pink girl's saucy grin was anything to go by—turned and smiled at her. "H-hey, Momo, Tenya was about to start the movie!"
"Then I came at the right time," Yaoyorozu said as she handed out the food, though she knew Iida wouldn't have started without her. She then took the spare seat on Midoriya's other side. "I think you'll like Thor, Ochako."
"I don't know, Iron Man has been really good so far." Uraraka barely shifted to look at the other girl. "What's this Thor guy got?"
"A hammer that defies gravity," Yaoyorozu teased.
Uraraka reached around Midoriya and held out one hand. "Popcorn, please."
…
The following Monday, Class 1-A took their seats and waited for Aizawa to enter. As always, he gave them a sharp look to make sure that the students weren't goofing off; when he saw them sitting attentively, he nodded.
"All right, before we begin, there's an announcement I need to make." Aizawa shuffled a few papers on his desk. "In a few weeks, you'll have your final exams before summer. I expect you all to study and train even harder; the written portion will be your most difficult so far, and the practical portion is brutal." He gave the class one of his rare sadistic smiles. "Students have been known to drop out of the Hero Course altogether just from trying to pass."
Midoriya bit his lip nervously, but the groan from Ashido was telling—thanks to tutoring from him, Yaoyorozu and Todoroki, she had risen to fifteenth in the class. However, a bad grade on the written part of the finals would send her plummeting back down to the bottom.
Aizawa sighed, as if what he was about to say next personally offended him. "Don't worry, there's more than just the stick as an incentive. The metaphorical carrot is the Summer Training Camp that UA holds every year. Think of it as a camping trip, though you'll be working to improve your Quirks and your skills while there." Before the class could even finish the first murmurs, Aizawa's hair rose and his eyes glowed, and they settled down. "However, if you fail the test, you can forget about going—in fact, if you do badly enough, you should seriously rethink being a Hero. Only the best will graduate from UA and become Pros. Remember that."
The class mulled that over as they started working, but as soon as they got a break, they split up into groups to talk amongst themselves.
"We're all going to the summer camp, right?" Uraraka asked. "I don't want to go without you guys, and I don't want to be left behind!"
Iida nodded vigorously. "I feel the same! The coming weeks will push our bodies and minds to their limits, and beyond!"
Midoriya had an idea about that, though he'd have to ask Nezu if it was okay; he was sure that it was, but he would have a lot of apologizing to do if he was wrong.
"Hey, remember what I said I did on Saturdays?" he whispered. "I think you could all join me. It might help for the practical exam."
"And we can study at Yaomomo's house for the written portion!" Ashido clasped her hands and pouted at Yaoyorozu. "You'll help me, right?"
"Of course," the other girl said, "but I expect you to have better than a passing grade."
Ashido gave her a thumbs-up. "You got it! And then we can have fun at the summer camp! Oh, I can't wait!"
"First, let's pass the exam, ribbit," Asui said. "Then we can have fun."
Sero cracked his knuckles. "Then let's get to it!"
…
Hero Training that day was one they were all looking forward to—combat training, which included Quirks. All Might was the teacher that day, along with Nezu, who had stopped by.
"Have any of the students shown any noticeable changes?" Nezu asked. "Good or bad, but I would like to know."
All Might nodded. "They've all shown at least a little improvement, but I'd say that the highest marks have to go to young Bakugo, as well as young Midoriya and his friends." His eyes widened. "Excuse me."
The Symbol of Peace vanished in a blur, and caught Kirishima before he collided with the far wall. The boy looked up at him and grinned; he was a little scuffed up, but his full-body Hardening had kept him from getting too hurt.
"Thanks, All Might-sensei," he said. "I got taken by surprise. Can I get back to the fight?"
"Yeah! Rath isn't done with this fight!"
Midoriya's newest transformation had surprised All Might; its form wasn't the strangest, but its impact on his personality had been polarizing. Rath, as he called himself, looked like a humanoid tiger, with a large claw curving forward on the back of his hands. He wore jeans and a black tank top, and the dial that came with all his transformations as part of a belt. The man-tiger bounced eagerly on the balls of his feet, impatient to go at Kirishima once again; his fighting style had been pure aggression, the unstoppable force to Kirishima's immovable object.
Well, immovable until Rath had punched him out of the ring with the force of a cannon.
"Very well, you two, but please try not to destroy the entire gym," All Might said, and put Kirishima down.
"We'll do our best!" Kirishima took a moment to reinforce his Hardening, and then charged. "Come on, Midoriya, don't tell me that's the best you've got!"
Rath let out a roar and met him head-on. "Let me tell you something, Kirishima Eijiro! Rath only held back because he didn't want to break the school, but you asked for it!"
Kirishima held up his arms to block Rath's punch; this time, he braced himself properly, which kept him from another involuntary flying lesson. Still, he was sent reeling; the force from the blow was enough that he could feel it through his Hardening!
With his arms covering his face, Kirishima didn't see Rath's open hand until he gripped his wrist and heaved him over his shoulder. Rath slammed him up and down for what felt like an eternity, the attacks coming so hard and so fast that Kirishima couldn't react. It was all he could to do maintain his Hardening, but he could feel his control slipping.
Finally, Rath let go, but Kirishima had barely started to get up from the mat when he saw his opponent jump into the air, body parallel to the floor and elbow extended in a way that Kirishima had only seen on TV.
You've gotta be kidding me!
"Polaris Piledriver!"
The impact was too much for Kirishima, and he was forced out of his Hardening. The breath left his lungs in a rush, and his body immediately felt like one giant bruise. Barely able to move, he tapped his hand weakly against the mat to signal that he was done.
Rath jumped to his feet and pumped a fist. "Yeah! Rath wins! Rath is king!"
Sero, who had taken a break after his own spar with Sato, chuckled. "Hey, Your Majesty, you wanna tone it down a notch?"
"Fine, whatever," Rath growled, but tapped the dial on his belt, and turned back to normal. He immediately ran over to Kirishima and helped him up. "I'm so sorry, Kirishima-san! I told you Rath was dangerous, but I've never actually used him in a fight, so I got a little… carried away."
Kirishima took a few deep breaths, but grinned with good humor. "Hey, no worries, Midoriya; I mean, I've been bugging you to use that one since last week." He winced. "Damn, but Rath packs a punch."
All Might let go of the tension he hadn't realized he'd had until now. Midoriya had struck him as a very kind soul, so seeing him fight so ruthlessly was alarming. He had been ready to intervene if the boy took things too far, but it turned out that he had enough self-control to stop.
Once again, All Might felt a little ashamed of himself. Every time Midoriya used a new part of his Quirk, he was reminded of All For One; during their fight six years ago, that man had pulled out a new power every ten seconds, and while none of them had been as outwardly drastic as Midoriya's transformations, seeing someone with such variety brought up too many bad memories. His mind and his heart told him to be kinder to his student, but something—maybe his instincts, maybe the remnants of One For All seeing a similarity between Midoriya and his nemesis—screamed 'threat'. Even Nezu's assurance that there was no connection hadn't completely removed his doubts.
At least young Midoriya has friends to keep him on the straight and narrow, he thought, as Sero and Todoroki walked over and started talking to Midoriya. I doubt All For One ever had anyone even try.
…
Asui was the first to notice that something was off about Midoriya and Uraraka as school ended. It was a small thing, really; both looked like they were about to speak to one another, but then decided against it at the last second. At first, Asui ignored it, but it happened more and more as they prepared to leave the school. Finally, when Uraraka glanced at her for a split second, Asui saw the embarrassed question in her eyes, and she made her decision.
"Make a distraction," she whispered to Sero. "Trust me."
Sero maintained his smile as easily as Asui maintained her blank expression, and reacted with believable surprise when she stepped on his foot. He yelped in pain, though Asui hadn't stepped that hard, and tape shot out of one elbow in 'reflex'. It hit Todoroki, who stumbled into Ashido, and they both fell; Iida and Yaoyorozu hurried over to check on them. Sero apologized profusely, maintaining the façade for another few minutes, until the realization dawned on them.
Midoriya and Uraraka were gone.
…
"H-hey, Ochako, what's going on?" Midoriya stumbled as Uraraka pulled at his wrist. "We should check on the others!"
"It's fine," she assured him, though her words were shaky. "I asked Tsu to do something, and I guess she got Sero to make a scene. I just… I needed to talk to you in private, and I didn't want to be rude to everyone else."
"Oh." Midoriya blinked; Uraraka had brought them to a shady corner of campus, under a tree. "I g-guess I wanted to talk to you, too."
"Really?" Uraraka wished her heart would stop beating so fast. It was probably unhealthy at this point. "Wait, hold on a second. Ben?"
Thankfully, no one else was around when Ben flickered into view. "Yeah?"
"Can you also give us a minute?" Uraraka bit her lip; she could feel her face heating up. "Please?"
"Sure thing." Ben grinned knowingly at them, then plugged his ears and slowly faded away. "La-la-la, I'm not listening…"
After he was gone, Uraraka and Midoriya looked at each other and stared for a moment.
"S-so, I was wondering/Deku-kun, can I ask—"
The words jumbled together as both spoke at the same time. They stopped, and both opened their mouths to speak; they stopped again, smiled, and laughed.
"You go first," Uraraka said.
"No, you brought us here," Midoriya insisted. "You go first."
Uraraka took a deep breath. Come on, Ochako, you can do this. You've faced Villains, this is nothing!
… Oh, who am I kidding, I'd take Villains over this any day.
"Okay, Deku-kun…" Uraraka looked up into his eyes. "I, uh, wanted to know if you were doing anything after school on Friday?"
"Nothing in particular…" Midoriya's brow furrowed; Uraraka could practically see him put the metaphorical pencil to paper, ready to connect the dots. "Why?"
"I was wondering if you'd l-like to go somewhere with me." Uraraka mentally patted herself on the back for only stammering once, before going in for the knockout. "And, to be clear, I mean this as a… as a date."
As expected, Midoriya's face turned an alarming shade of red; unexpectedly, rather than flail about, he gave her that wobbly smile that she found adorable.
"R-really? Sure! I mean, I w-was going to ask y-you the s-same th-thing."
They stared at each other for a long moment, and then both burst out laughing.
"We're hopeless, aren't we?" Uraraka wiped away a tear. "The others have been teasing us for weeks, and now…"
"They're never going to let us live this down." Midoriya said ruefully, but his smile never faded. "B-but, um, what are we going to do on our d-d-date?"
Uraraka froze. "You know, I was so focused on this moment, I didn't actually think that far ahead."
They both fell into another fit of giggles.
"Yeah, it's like you said." Midoriya tentatively reached out and took her hand. "We're hopeless."
"Yep." Uraraka looked up at him, and then blinked. "Darn it. I need to catch my train, but I don't want to leave."
"We'll see each other tomorrow?" Midoriya offered.
Uraraka smiled; she then took a moment to gather her courage for one more step, and gently kissed him on the cheek.
Midoriya froze, to the point that he actually thought his heart stopped. Uraraka Ochako, the girl he'd finally admitted to having feelings for, had just kissed him. For a moment, all he could focus on was her face; the blush on her cheeks, her smile, and her sparkling eyes…
All of which changed into a mortified expression, and Midoriya felt his heart drop into his stomach. Had he done something wrong? Was she regretting her actions? Did she realize that she didn't really like him after all? Then he saw that she wasn't looking at him—rather, at something behind him.
He turned, and saw the rest of their friends watching them. Yaoyorozu had her hands over her mouth as she bounced in place. Ashido and Sero had matching grins. Iida had a proud smile on his face. The only ones who hardly reacted were Asui and Todoroki; both kept their expressions blank, though they each gave a thumbs-up.
Ben flickered into view and took one look at Midoriya and Uraraka. He grinned, and a bow appeared in his hands; arrows with heart-shaped tips appeared next, and he pretended to shoot them at the new couple.
"So, um…" Uraraka took a step back, and then started to run. "Seeyouguystomorrowokaybye!"
To avoid further embarrassment for the day, Midoriya ran along with her to get to his own train. If they 'happened' to brush against each other as they ran, they didn't comment, but it was probably one of the reasons they couldn't stop smiling.
…
"Oh, my baby!"
Izuku was starting to wonder if his mother had a strength-enhancing Quirk that she'd never revealed, if her rib-cracking hug was anything to go by. To be fair, he should have known that she'd react like that when he told her about what had happened with Uraraka, along with the rivers of tears.
"I'm so happy for you, Izuku!" Inko finally took a step back and wiped her tears away. "This girl sounds absolutely wonderful, and I know that she's lucky to have you, too!"
"Mom!" Izuku looked away, embarrassed, but he couldn't keep the goofy grin off his face. "Y-yeah, I think I'm pretty lucky."
"Well, I'll leave you to it, young man." Inko smiled as brightly as her son could ever remember. "I'm just glad that you're having some normalcy in your life. I was worried you'd be so involved with becoming a Hero that you'd shut out everything else."
Izuku thought about how his friends had decided to stick with him, even after finding out he'd lied to them. "I don't think I have to worry about that, Mom."
"Good. Oh, and about your date?" Izuku shivered at the mischievous look in his mother's eyes. "I don't have a problem with you going out, since I know you'll have a chaperone. Right, Ben?"
Ben, who had been 'sitting' on the couch watching them, nodded. "You got it. I'll make sure they're home at a reasonable hour."
Izuku gave him a look. "How would you do that?"
Ben pointed at the Ultimatrix. "Break the rules, and I'll withhold the Ultimate function for an extra week."
"I'll be good," Izuku promised quickly.
"And now I feel better," Inko said. "Oh, Izuku, if you have any questions, I'm sure I could share some stories about your father and I when we first started dating—"
"Actually, I still have some homework, so I'm going to get right on that, bye!" Izuku grabbed his backpack and ran to his room, the laughter of Ben and his mother ringing in his ears.
I hope Ochako isn't going through something like this.
…
A small part of Uraraka was wishing that she'd never met some of her friends. She didn't mean it in the slightest, but it would have saved her a lot of teasing. At least it was only on the chat that the girls had set up for themselves, but still…
Crayon: I new it! I new u 2 wud get 2gether! Ha!
Frog: I wish I'd bet some money, ribbit. Ochako, you still owe me for buying you two some time.
Book: It was very sweet of you, Tsuyu… almost as sweet as that exchange between Ochako and Izuku.
Crayon: It was adorkable, and I luv it!
Comet: Thanks. Would you three please get boyfriends so that I can tease you?
Frog: All in good time, ribbit.
Crayon: boyfriend? U 2 alredy making it oficial?
Frog: Honestly, if I didn't know better, I'd have thought you and Izuku had been together for a while.
Book: ^
Crayon: ^
Comet: Well, we like each other, OK? Can we at least have our date before going further?
Crayon: How much further? :P
Uraraka blushed and shut her phone off. Her hands went to her face in embarrassment, which immediately sent her floating through the air. She canceled her Quirk before she flew too high, and landed with a thud on the floor.
"Ouch," she hissed, and rubbed her sore knee. She'd done worse to herself whenever she accidentally made herself float, but she'd gotten much better at mitigating it after training at UA, and with Gunhead.
Her knee did little to distract her from her embarrassment; earlier, when she called her parents to let them know that she was going on her first date, her father had thrown an exaggerated fit. He had gone on and on about how 'his little baby girl was all grown up', until her mother had finally wrestled the phone away from him. She had then asked her daughter if she needed a refresher on 'the Talk'; it had been asked with such sincerity that Ochako hadn't been able to tell if she'd been teasing or not.
"At least my friends will stop messing with us after a few days," she muttered. "I'm going to have to deal with Mom and Daddy forever." She paused. "Wait, am I already calling us 'us'!?"
…
The week came and went in a blur for Midoriya. There were no Villain attacks, no internships, and no 'logical deceptions' from Aizawa, so by his standards, it had been a pretty boring week. There was only one noticeable change to his routine—Uraraka.
She hadn't exactly gotten clingy since they'd decided to date, but she stayed a bit closer to him whenever they walked together. She also smiled at him more; of course, she usually smiled around him, but now there was just a little more to it.
They had decided on something simple for their first date—a simple dinner, and a walk down the beach. Specifically, Dagobah Beach, which had briefly been on the news when it had been discovered that someone had cleaned it up in a single night. Midoriya and his friends knew the truth, and it had become like a shared joke between them whenever it was brought up.
The only hiccup in the planning for the date was the method of transportation. Midoriya could get there fairly easily, but Uraraka needed to take a train. She had originally been fine with paying for a couple of extra tickets, but Midoriya had offered to give her a ride.
"You don't have a car," Uraraka had pointed out.
"You're right." Midoriya had tapped the Ultimatrix with one finger. "I've got something better."
Uraraka's eyes had gone wide. "Deku-kun, you can't do that! We don't have licenses to use our Quirks in public!"
"Actually, the law specifically states that we can't use our Quirks to 'disrupt public affairs, damage property, or injure someone outside of self-defense if the attacker uses a Quirk first'," he had replied. "I can fly over the clouds, and no one will notice."
Uraraka had tried to argue against it, but he was technically right. They had even brought the matter up with Iida and Yaoyorozu—on the condition that they not speak about it to the others. They had agreed that Midoriya's plan skirted the edges of what was considered acceptable Quirk use, but it was the kind of thing that was generally overlooked, unless someone caused a scene. Midoriya had promised that no scenes would be caused, which was enough for them.
Which was why, on Friday night, Uraraka was waiting outside her apartment for Midoriya to literally pick her up. It was exactly six-thirty when Jetray swooped in to land in front of her.
"H-hey, Ochako," he said nervously. "Y-you look n-nice."
Uraraka nervously brushed some hair behind her ear. She hadn't really put extra effort into her appearance; a dress wasn't exactly suited to walking on the beach, after all. She was wearing a dark-green tank top under a pink button-up shirt, and a pair of white shorts; the only thing she'd added was a little makeup, something she'd only used a handful of times.
"Th-thanks, Deku-kun." She looked at Jetray dubiously. "Um, how are we getting to the restaurant? Can your arms carry me and fly?"
"N-no." Jetray turned and presented his back to him. "Just hold on tight."
"Really?"
"Or I can carry you with my feet."
Without another word, Uraraka hopped onto his back and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Don't worry, we'll be there in less than a minute. Right, Ben?"
"What am I, your GPS?" Ben grumbled from inside the Ultimatrix. "Just don't hit any turbulence, and you'll be fine."
Uraraka most certainly did not squeak when Jetray took off into the sky, and she would send anyone who suggested otherwise into orbit. Thankfully, the terror was over almost as soon as it began, because Jetray pulled in to land in an alley, where he could transform without anyone seeing him.
"S-sorry," Midoriya said. "I didn't mean to scare you."
He sounded so miserable that Uraraka couldn't stay mad at him. Instead, she just rolled her eyes and looped her arm through his.
"It's fine," she promised. "Come on, let's get some food!"
As she led Midoriya down the street, she took a moment to take in her date's appearance. He wore grey shorts that went just past his knees, and an open blue shirt over a white t-shirt. There were also his ever-present red shoes, which made Uraraka wonder if he had ever worn shoes that weren't that color.
What had her distracted were the muscles she could feel under his shirt. They weren't excessively bulky, like All Might, but the muscles of someone who regularly exercised and kept to a healthy lifestyle. After a moment's consideration, she decided that a bodybuilder wasn't to her taste anyway.
"You too," she said.
"Huh?"
"You said I looked nice," she explained. "So do you."
"Th-thanks." Uraraka tried not to laugh when she felt him shaking like a leaf; at least she was better at hiding how nervous she was! "Hey, there's the restaurant."
While Midoriya had suggested the walk on the beach—a little cheesy, but it was sweet, and it was free, which appealed to both of them—Uraraka had been the one to find a place to eat. It wasn't quite a hole-in-the-wall kind of place, but it also wasn't somewhere that needed reservations, or a Yaoyorozu-level budget.
After finding a booth, the two started to look at the menu when things felt a little awkward. Both of them wanted to say something, but nothing felt right.
"Hey, Deku-kun?" Uraraka waited until she had his full attention before continuing. "Are we trying too hard?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, yeah, we're on a date, but we're still friends. We don't have to act differently just because we, uh—" Uraraka blushed.
"B-because we l-like each other?" Midoriya finished, and she nodded. "Yeah, I think you're right."
Like that, they relaxed, and started talking again. The only difference now was that they were willing to share things about themselves that they hadn't before. For instance, Midoriya was surprised to learn that Uraraka was taking it upon herself to learn physics, even though they wouldn't have classes on the subject until their third year at UA.
"Part of it is because of my Quirk," she admitted. "A lot of how I want to use my Quirk is learning how gravity applies to things, and then taking it out of the equation. I even sent a worksheet I completed to a physics professor in Tokyo; he was really confused why I deliberately chose the opposite of the answer, until I explained my Quirk." She giggled at the memory. "He said that he'd never met a reverse-physicist before, but I might be the first."
For his part, Midoriya let slip that he was actually pretty good at cooking, mostly out of necessity. It had started when he had gotten old enough to stay at home without supervision, and his mother could work again.
"No one wanted to babysit after they found out I was Quirkless." Midoriya shrugged the old memory away, but Uraraka allowed herself a moment of anger on his behalf. The nerve of those bigots!
"What about your dad?" she asked. "Wasn't he around to help?"
She wanted to slap herself for such an insensitive question. What if his father was dead, or had gotten a divorce? She didn't want to go into something so personal, especially on their first date!
"He's overseas most of the time," Midoriya explained, not bothered in the slightest. "He sets up meetings between companies, usually stuff that's too sensitive to be sent over email, and stays around to make sure that any deals hold firm. It's not that he doesn't want to be around, but he makes enough to keep our home and make sure we have enough money to live off of. Mom doesn't actually have to work, but she thought that if she made some money, Dad could come home more often."
"When was the last time you saw him?"
"I video-call him every few weeks. I think Mom talks to him a couple times a week, but it's only for a few minutes." Midoriya paused. "If you mean in person, then it's been a little over two years."
Uraraka couldn't imagine going without seeing her parents for years on end; just a couple of months had been heartbreaking!
The two continued to talk until their food arrived. They had both ordered okonomiyaki, a type of savory pancake that was a little heavy on the calories, but considering how much they exercised, it wasn't that big a deal.
After eating and paying for their meal—Uraraka insisted they split the bill when Midoriya offered to pay for all of it—they headed back to the dark alley. One transformation later, and Jetray was taking them to Dagobah Beach.
"Wow, the news didn't do it justice," Uraraka said as they landed on the sand. "This place is beautiful!"
Midoriya had to agree; the last time he had been here, there had been too much going on in his head to really appreciate just what Ken had done. The sand looked like silver dust in the moonlight, and the gentle waves were soothing to hear.
They stood there in silence, watching the ocean, until Midoriya tentatively reached for Uraraka's hand. Their fingers laced together, though she made sure not to touch him with all five fingers. Hand in hand, they slowly walked to where the waves met the sand.
"Yeah," Uraraka whispered, "this is nice."
…
She had to keep running. She'd had enough, and had to get away. She couldn't go back with the bad men again—not to the needles and the pain and the darkness. But he was following her; she didn't know his name, but he would find her, just like all the others who found her when she ran away. But she had to try.
And then she saw them.
There were two of them, walking in the sand—though she didn't know why people would do that. They were holding hands, and the girl was resting her head on the boy's shoulder.
She didn't know either of them, but they had to be better than the bad men. And so, she made a decision, and turned.
…
Midoriya wondered if there was any way he could freeze time. This moment was about as perfect as it could get; for a few blissful minutes, there was nothing but him, Uraraka, and the beach.
And then something collided with him, sending him tumbling into the sand.
"Deku-kun, are you okay!?" At least Uraraka had kept her footing, but Midoriya was now trying to figure out just what the heck had hit him.
'It' turned out to be a little girl. She couldn't have been more than five or six years old, with long pale grey hair, and a small horn on the right side of her forehead—though whether it was a minor Mutant-type Quirk, or just an element of something else, Midoriya didn't know. She wore a ragged dress, and was barefoot; what alarmed him were the bandages around her arms and legs.
That set off alarms in the mind of a would-be Hero. There was a little girl who was possibly hurt, clearly didn't have the best quality of life, and if her trembling was any indication, she was absolutely terrified.
"Hey, hey," he said gently, and helped the girl to her feet. "Are you okay?"
The girl opened her eyes, revealing red irises. "P-please… help me."
Uraraka knelt down so that she could look the girl in the eye. "Of course, sweetie. Why don't we get out of this sand, okay?"
The girl must not have expected that kind of reaction, because she looked bewildered. Uraraka gently guided her to the street, while Midoriya dusted himself off.
"Ben," he muttered softly, so that the girl wouldn't hear, "I need you."
Ben—who had remained 'off' until Midoriya called for him—didn't materialize, but he was immediately aware that something was wrong. "What's up?"
"The girl looks like she was in trouble. Can you call the police through my phone if we need to?"
"You got it, buddy, but we've got incoming. Keep your guard up."
Sure enough, a man was walking quickly down the street; when he saw them, he increased his speed to just under a jog. He was easily six feet tall, with shaggy hair that almost looked like a lion's mane; his clothes had once been very nice, but looked like they'd been worn a few too many times.
"Eri, there you are," the man chided in a gruff voice that tried to sound sweet, and failed miserably. "Come on, you know better than to wander off." He looked at the teenagers and smiled; it looked more like a sneer, and did nothing to ease their nerves. "Sorry about that, kids; Eri likes to run off sometimes, but she needs to go home now."
The girl, Eri, whimpered and hid behind Uraraka.
"Sorry, she seems a little freaked out right now," Midoriya said, thinking quickly. "She fell down, and she might have gotten sand under her bandages. Can we have a minute to clean her up?"
The man shifted in place uneasily. "Fine, hurry up; my boss wants her back pronto."
Midoriya decided to take a big risk and turned his back on the man as he knelt in front of Eri; he had to trust that Uraraka would watch out for him.
"Are you hurt?" he whispered as he pretended to inspect Eri's bandages.
"No." Somehow, Eri realized that she had to be quiet. "He's a bad man. He'll hurt you!"
"We'll try to avoid that," Midoriya said as he brushed some sand out of her hair, and then stood up to face the man. "Sorry, it looks like she hurt her leg. We should get her to a doctor."
"No need, my boss is a doctor." The man gave Eri a hard stare. "He'll fix you right up, won't he, Eri?"
Every passing second sent up more red flags. Eri was clearly terrified, and now this man was trying to keep her away from any sort of authority. Were they dealing with a kidnapper and his victim?
"Excuse me, sir?" Uraraka was the picture of naïve innocence as she spoke. "Are you this girl's father?"
The man sneered. "Do I look like her dad? Look, I'm being nice, but this is your last chance—give me the girl, and no one gets hurt."
The innocent look melted away, leaving only fierce determination. "Funny, I was going to give you the same warning."
With a growl, the man pulled a knife from inside his coat and lunged. Uraraka reacted with apparent ease—she grabbed his wrist, twisted it to make him drop the knife, and used his momentum to knock him down.
This was all they could legally do. Without licenses, they couldn't use their Quirks, unless their attacker did so first. Midoriya scooped up Eri and backpedaled several paces; one of them had to keep the girl safe, so he had to trust that Uraraka could handle it.
"The police have been called," Ben said, his voice tense. "They'll be here in five minutes."
"Bad move, little girl," the man spat as he stood back up. "I'm gonna beat you bloody for that!"
Even to Midoriya's less-experienced eye, the man was no trained fighter; his punches were wide and obvious, and his footing was terrible. Uraraka danced around each swing, striking at openings with her knees and the heel of her palm. Individually, the blows weren't too damaging, but they added up, and the thug was rapidly running out of steam.
"Oh, screw this!"
The man roared, his mouth opening far wider than it should have been able to; his teeth grew into large fangs, and tan fur sprouted over his skin. Now, he really did look like a lion.
"Any last words, before I rip you to pieces?" he asked, holding out his claw-tipped hands for emphasis.
To her credit, Uraraka only raised an eyebrow. "Yeah—bad kitty!"
Midoriya couldn't help but wince as Uraraka stepped in close and drove her knee between her attacker's legs. One of the man's paws went down to cover his groin, while the other flailed out towards her. Apparently, his transformation made him faster, because Uraraka couldn't avoid his claws as easily as before; one of them raked across her left arm, and she cried out in pain.
That was enough for Midoriya. A Quirk had been used—also, much more importantly, the son of a bitch had hurt Uraraka. This was going to end now.
Uraraka had barely registered the searing pain in her arm when she saw a flash of green light in the corner of her eye. The next thing she knew, a full-sized Humungousaur brought a huge fist down on the lion-man. There was a gasp, and possibly a crack of something breaking, and when the fist pulled back, the thug was back in his human form, unconscious and probably in need of a hospital.
There was another flash of green light, and then Midoriya was running up to her. "Are you okay!?"
Uraraka looked at her arm; the cut was long, but shallow. "I don't think it's too bad."
Midoriya nodded, and then hugged her fiercely. "Good. I was…"
Uraraka just hugged him back with her uninjured arm. "I'm okay. We're both okay." She looked back and saw Eri, staring at the unconscious man with wide, disbelieving eyes. "And I think she's okay, too."
Midoriya nodded again, and then pulled off his outer shirt to wrap around her arm. "That should hold until we can get you to a doctor."
"Thanks, Deku-kun." Uraraka looked at the makeshift bandage that was quickly becoming stained with red. "Sorry about your shirt."
"I'd rather lose the shirt than you," he replied, as the sound of approaching sirens was heard.
Uraraka would later blame her blush on adrenaline.
…
With a potential kidnapping victim and Uraraka's injury to consider, the police brought them to the hospital first. Eri refused to be parted from her rescuers, holding onto Midoriya's hand the entire time, save for when he had to go to the bathroom, or was speaking privately to the police. When he came back, he found her hanging onto Uraraka; it would have been sweet, had the poor girl not looked so terrified.
The police quickly identified their attacker as a low-level Yakuza thug, who was wanted for several Quirk-related assaults. Considering that, and how the students had only acted in self-defense, the police barely gave them a slap on the wrist, and only because they were required to do so by law.
"Your school will be informed," an officer said. "But we'll keep your names out of the media, just in case that punk's bosses want revenge."
"Thank you," Midoriya said. "What about Eri?"
"The girl?" The officer looked over at Eri, who had all but fainted from stress; she was asleep on a chair, and rested her head on Uraraka's lap. "Unfortunately, she doesn't match the description of any missing persons. We also ran her fingerprints, but she's not in any system; whoever had her didn't want anyone to know about her."
Midoriya felt pity stab into him. "Then what's going to happen to her?"
"I don't know," the officer admitted. "Putting her in the foster system might be a bad idea, especially if her captors want her back. Plus, she's pretty traumatized."
That was an understatement; when the doctors had tried to take a blood sample, Eri had taken one look at the needle, screamed, and tried to get away. Only the combined efforts of Midoriya and Uraraka had calmed her down, and even then, the latter had to let the doctors take blood from her first, before Eri let them do the same to her. She also refused to let anyone but Uraraka and Midoriya change her bandages; that was when they saw the deep scars going up her arms and legs. It was obvious that Eri had been emotionally and physically scarred by a barbaric perversion of medical practice.
Something about Eri's circumstances was oddly familiar to Midoriya, and he almost hit himself for not realizing it sooner.
"Um, can I make a call?" he asked. "I think I know someone who might be able to help."
The police officer shrugged. "You can ask them, but they'll have to contact us before any decision is made."
"I understand." Midoriya hastily excused himself and went out into the hallway before dialing a certain number on his phone.
It only rang once before it was picked up. "Midoriya-san? This is an unexpected surprise. Is something the matter?"
"Hello, Nezu-sensei," Midoriya said. "I need your help."
…
Uraraka tilted her head as Midoriya returned a few minutes later. "What was that about?"
"I called Nezu-sensei to see if UA could take protective custody over Eri," he explained. "It's the safest place I could think of."
"That could work." Uraraka looked down at the sleeping girl in her lap and gently stroked her hair. "What did Nezu-sensei say?"
"He said he'd talk to the police about it; we'll find out more later." Midoriya pulled up a chair so that he sat in front of her. "Are you okay?"
Uraraka looked down at her bandaged arm. "I'll be fine. If I go to Recovery Girl, I probably won't even have a scar."
Midoriya sighed and leaned forward to put his head in his hands. "Thank goodness."
"Thank Gunhead; he's the one who showed me how to fight." She reached out and tilted his head up to look at her. "This isn't what I was expecting for a first date."
He flinched. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be! We helped someone who needed us, Izuku!" She smiled. "Besides, the next one can only be better, right?"
"Yeah, I guess—wait." Midoriya blinked. "You w-want to go out on another date?"
Uraraka wondered how to articulate just what she wanted to say. Nothing she could think of seemed to work.
Screw it, direct approach.
She pulled him in close and kissed him. This wasn't a peck on the cheek, but a real kiss that Uraraka hoped would convey just what she was feeling. At first, Midoriya froze; then to her surprise and delight, he leaned in and kissed her back. It was a little clumsy—neither of them had any experience with this sort of thing—but it felt right. They pulled back after several seconds, both grinning.
"So… are you my girlfriend?"
Uraraka gave her best teasing smirk. "Nah. You're my boyfriend."
Midoriya nodded. "I'm okay with that."
"Uh…" They looked down and saw Eri staring at them with wide eyes. "What are you doing with your faces?"
When a nurse came in to check on them, it was to the sight of the two teenagers blushing and sputtering.