Rolls smirked as she gracefully turned around and headed back to the stage. Her little display of power finished.
It felt nice to let loose once in a while. Holding back was such a drag at times. Plus showing off a bit couldn't hurt, it was just a bunch of robots anyway. Crushing them all in a second was as easy as breathing.
She looked up at Izumi and her friends, they seemed surprised by her display of power. Well, to be fair, she was holding back a lot during her internship. So it felt nice to go all out like this, to 'let loose' as her sister would say.
'Well, it wouldn't hurt to show off a little bit more'she thought.
She stopped. Moments later, a pair of red wings made from pure energy unfurled from her back. With a single flap, she shot up towards the stand and landed gracefully, her wings vanishing as she straightened herself out.
Izumi and her friends' eyes were wide open in surprise. No doubt they weren't expecting that. Then again, very few do.
Well, all but one of them looked surprised.
"Angel" Eri said, a look of wonder and curiosity in her eyes.
Rolls chuckled. "I can assure you, I am no angel".
"Even though you look like one," Himiko remarked. "Seriously girl, where were you hiding those things during the internship?".
"They weren't exactly necessary," Rolls replied. "They only allow me to jump higher and slow down my descent. I can't fly with them like Hawks".
"I see," Izumi said, notebook in hand. That was quite an interesting aspect of her abilities. But how does having psychic abilities give her the power to manifest wings?
"Izumi, I thought you said her quirk was telepathy, telekinesis and mind reading?" Momo asked
"I did," Izumi replied. "Those wings-".
"Are a manifestation of my, well, 'psychic' ability," Rolls finished. "Quirks are weird like that, giving you all kinds of odd and conflicting stuff at times".
Most of the girls simply nodded. Quirks were bullshit after all.
Ochaco, meanwhile, looked at Rolls with shock and wonder. "I, will be able to do that?" she wondered.
"That, and so much more," Rolls said, sending a private telepathic message to Ochaco. "Your quirk may give you a slight edge, but your mind will be your most powerful weapon, Mariata".
Ochaco gave her a grumpy look. "Please stop calling me that. My name is Ochaco, not Mariata".
"Rolls," another female voice said as a girl walked up behind Rolls. "Making friends already?".
The girl had rather pale skin with thin, somewhat cat-like Bluish-lavender eyes, and long straight Periwinkle hair. She had a golden monocle over her left eye, with a chain hanging off one side. She too wore the uniform of Seiai Academy.
"Saiko," Rolls said with a smile before turning back to the rest of the group. "Ladies, gentlemen, and one robot. Meet my girlfriend, Saiko Intelli".
"Greetings," Saiko said with a polite bow. "It is nice to finally meet you girls in person".
"Hey Saiko," Chiharu added with a wave. "Been a while, hasn't it".
"Indeed it has," Saiko said before turning towards Izumi. "And you must be Izumi. It's finally nice to meet you in person. Talking to you in a chatroom doesn't quite compare to talking to someone face to face".
"Well, you were added to our group chat by Rolls, who was added by Himiko without consulting anyone else," Izumi said. "Honestly, it's a bit worrying".
"Yes, I can see why that would be an issue. Having someone you don't know added to a private chat room like that. Not exactly the best way to make a first impression," Saiko said with a slight frown. "Well, I hope I can earn your trust and friendship during the expo. I must say though, I see the adorable bunny comments Midnight made about you during the sports festival weren't unfounded".
Izumi sighed. "I'm never going to stop getting called that".
"Izumi, you're the one who put BUNNY EARS on your original hero costume!" Durandal said.
"They were meant to resemble All Might's hairtuffs!" Izumi said, sounding a bit annoyed.
"Should have made them yellow then," Momo remarked.
"Ribbit, and made the smile on your mask a bit more noticeable," Tsu added
"I think you should just stick with the rabbit motif you've accidentally got going here," Ochaco said/
Izumi sighed. She just could not win. Looks like she'll be stuck as an adorable bunny.
She could see why Midnight gave them a warning about how they
"So, are you going to introduce me to these people?" Melissa asked.
"And you are?" Saiko asked.
"Oh, I'm Melissa Viro Shield," Melissa said with a polite bow.
Rolls' eyes shot wide open. 'She's a Viro! Well, fuck me! In both a good and bad way'.
Saiko meanwhile, who had no idea about Rolls' internal panic, simply smiled. "Well it's nice to meet you, Melissa," she said before she side-eyed Rolls. "Rolls, introduce yourself".
"Oh, right. Sorry," Rolls said. "I am Rolls Royce Phantom".
'Rolls Royce Phantom?' Melissa thought with a frown. 'Might as well put a big neon sign above your head!'. "Well, it's nice to meet you".
"So, I know you're all getting aquated and all that jazz, but can we get back to the Villain Attack please?" Himiko asked, getting slightly annoyed.
"Yeah, she kind of has a point there," Tsu said. "We were about to decide who was about to go next before you kind of dominated the field by crushing all of the robots in less than a second, Ribbit. That is some absurd level of telekinesis you got there. Seriously girl, are you sure you're human?".
Rolls sighed whilst Saiko chucked. "I'm never going to stop getting asked that, aren't I?".
"Now you know what I feel like getting called a bunny all the time," Izumi said with a frown.
"Yeah, I see what you mean," Rolls said. "And yes, you are right, I did kind of butt in out of the blue. My apologies for getting in the way".
"Oh that's ok," Izumi said. "I kind of forgot you two were coming here".
"If you want, you can stay with us whilst we go through the Villain attack," Momo said. "More the merrier".
"Sure," Saiko said with a smile. "We can get to know each other better".
The next fifteen minutes were spent with everyone going through the Villain Attack. Momo used an excessive amount of cannons, Tus went full FROG on the robots, Ochaco made herself weightless and zipped around, Himiko did kind of the same, but with her manoeuvre gear, Mei, who had the same problem as Izumi and couldn't start wearing Isaac, used her railgun and manoeuvre boots to move around quickly, and Chiharu used her 'Chiharu Flattener' to blast the robots since due to the terrain, she couldn't just lay mines beneath the targets.
Most of them had good times, but, naturally, none of them were able to beat Rolls' time. Or Izumi's time for that matter. Only Ochaco got close with eleven seconds.
Melissa watched them all compete, watching how they used their quirks and support equipment to defeat the Villain bots. She could already picture what support equipment she could make them. Of course, a few of those ideas included things that she probably shouldn't be putting into support equipment.
Mother would be oh so pissed off if she did that.
Eri meanwhile watched them with excitement, her big sister and her girlfriends were so cool. Overhaul wasn't going to stand a chance when they beat him up.
"So, who are you?" Saiko asked as she crouched down next to Eri.
"Eri," Eri replied.
"Oh, another Telepath," Rolls remarked. "I'm surprised. I didn't expect to meet someone with a similar quirk to me. One small question, young one. Why do you only speak with your telepathy?".
"My vocal cords were removed to stop me from crying," Eri replied.
Izumi sighed as a familiar look of anger appeared on Saiko and Rolls' faces. Of course she would tell them.
She should really tell her to stop telling people someone removed her vocal cords to stop her from crying. The number of people onboard the Overhaul murder train was starting to get excessive. Seriously, she was considering converting the train to a ship
"Izumi, you wouldn't mind telling me who did this to Eri?" Rolls asked, 'I have some friends who would like to meet them'.
"I'm going to need some spiced apple cider tea," Saiko said, looking at her phone.
"Why spiced apple cider tea?" Izumi asked.
"Because with that tea, I can apply explosive properties on things I touch," Saiko replied with a sadistic smile.
"Oh, that's a bit like my mother's quirk," Chiharu said.
Eri meanwhile was just watching the chaos unfold. Somewhat happy that there would be more people there to beat up Overhaul. She'd have to ask Big Sis if she could record the fight. Young as she was, ever since she was rescued resentment and anger was slowly building up inside of her. All those times Overhaul ripped her apart and put her back together 'incorrectly', hurt. It still hurts. Whenever she used her non-curse abilities it hurt.
And she wanted him to pay for that.
"Remember, young one. Don't let anger consume you," the friendly voice said. "It'll be far too easy for one like you to lash out at those who are undeserving of such punishment".
'I'm trying,' Eri thought, shuddering slightly. 'But, he hurt me. I just want someone to hurt him back. I'm sorry'.
"It's alright, young one. He will get what's coming to him," the voice said. "This I promise you".
Eri smiled as Momo returned to the group. "That was great Momo," Izumi said with a smile, trying to ignore the enraged looks on Rolls and Saiko's faces. "But, was it necessary to make that many cannons?".
"Izumi, you know me," Momo said with a smirk. "If you want to make sure someone stays down, cannons are the only way to go".
Most of the group sweatdropped. "And did your father teach you that?" Inasa asked, sounding slightly worried.
"No," Momo replied. "That would be my uncle. He helped me immensely with my creations, and how to wield a baseball bat like nunchucks. My dad taught me multiple fighting styles, how to beat a man with a plunger, and the serious business that is Pocket Racing".
"Pocket Racing?" the girls said, sounding confused.
"Oh yeah, I know of that," Mei said. "Got banned from most places that do them due to illegal modifications to my cars. Or maybe it was because they kept exploding".
"Figures," Durandal remarked. Of course they would explode.
"So, now that we've done the villain attack, where to next?" Himiko asked, excited for the next activity.
"Oh, well there's all kinds of things to do," Melissa said. "The Villain Attack is just one of many activities that you can do here. There's an obstacle course, race track, robot fighting arena",
"Robot fighting arena!" Mei said, zipping up to Melissa. "Take us there!".
"I'm afraid this will be where we have to leave you lot be," Saiko said. "We have a prior commitment with a friend. But, I'm sure we'll catch up with you later at the party,"
"Oh, ok," Izumi said. "We'll see you later then".
"Indeed we will," Saiko said before she and Rolls bowed and walked off.
The group watched the two girls walk off. Once they were out of earshot, Tsu croaked. "Am I the only one here who's suspicious of Rolls?".
"Why would you be suspicious of her?" Melissa asked.
"No reason," Tsu replied, realising that she couldn't really say that Rolls' powers were suspiciously like Eri's non-Quirk abilities whilst Melissa was around. She wasn't in the know after all.
Ochaco shook her head. She had a feeling she was going to have to tell the group the truth sooner rather than later. Because some of them were starting to get suspicious. Not of her of course, but of others like her.
"Anyway, next activity!" Mei said with a smile.
Five minutes later.
Mei beamed at the sight of the robot fighting arena, stars in her eyes.
The arena resembled the inside of a small factory and currently had two robots about the same size as the UA Sentinels fighting each other.
"This is so awesome!" Mei said, smiling maniacally.
"Why do you have this?" Tsu asked. "This doesn't really show off our abilities".
"It's to show off your creativity and planning," Melissa replied. "It's more designed for the support students, like me. The rules are simple. You have ten minutes to design a robot using premade components and have it go up against a robot designed by a random competitor. There are quite a lot of options to go for, legs, arms, body, head, arms, weapons, and AI behaviour".
Mei started to laugh maniacally. "Yes! This is exactly my kind of event! I can design so many babies! Where do I sign up?!".
"Over there," Melissa said, pointing towards a booth with a small queue in front of it. "Be warned though, it can take upwards of half an hour before your robot gets deployed and she's gone," she said, noticing Mei had zipped over towards the booth.
"She really couldn't resist the opportunity to design a robot, couldn't she," Chiharu said with a sigh.
"Looks like it," Melissa said before turning to face the group. "So, does anyone else want to give it a go?".
"I'll have to decline," Inasa said. "I know nothing about designing a robot".
"Same," Himiko said. "I'm more about stabbing things than building things".
"You should give it a go, Izumi," Ochaco said. "I'm sure a smart girl like you would be able to design an effective combat robot".
"Are you sure?" Izumi asked nervously. "I'm not really a robot designer".
"Yes, but you are super smart," Ochaco said, tapping Izumi on the head. "I'm sure all that quirk knowledge in that head of yours can help you design a robot. Plus it'll be fun".
Izumi thought about it for a few moments. Sure, it did sound like it would be fun. To design a robot and have it go up against a random opponent that was also made by someone else.
Sounds like fun.
"Alright, I'll give it a go," Izumi said before she went off to join Mei in the queue.
Once she signed on, she was directed to a nearby tent with several tablets resting on tables. Each tablet was tied to the table with thick, strong cables so that no one could steal them.
Izumi picked up the tablet and looked through the options available to her. Melissa was right, there were a lot of options. You could almost make any kind of robot here. There were even customisation options, a lot of customisation options.
She could see why you only had a ten-minute time limit to design a robot, left unattended you could be here for hours.
Anyway, going over what options she had, she quickly designed her robot. She forgod guns of any kind, meaning she didn't have to worry about stuff like ammo. She was going for a close combat build. Something fast enough to close the distance with the enemy quickly, but strong enough to be able to kick them into a wall and take a few hits.
She added a few cosmetic options as well to personalise it a bit more. She wanted this thing to look cool after all.
Once she finalised the design and gave her creation a name, she sent it off to be made. She then put the tablet down and returned to the others to wait for her robot to show up.
Predictably, Mei's robot appeared first, after about twenty minutes of waiting. A bulky four-legged robot with Gatling guns for arms, and a single heavy cannon on its shoulder.
Its name was Robert.
"Why did you name it Robert?" Momo asked.
"I named it after Robert Heinlein, a Sci-fi author," Mei replied. "Just like I named Isaac after Isaac Asimov. I like to have some level of consistency with my more robotic babies. Plus I like Sci-fi stuff".
The announcer then announced Robert's opponent. The Excelsior, a rather thin robot with blades for arms. And an ungodly colour scheme and way too many cosmetics.
"That's what my baby has to fight?" Mei said, sounding disappointed. "That thing looks like it'll be able to withstand much punishment".
"Yeah, but it looks entirely agility-focused," Izumi remarked. "One good hit from Robert's cannon and it'll be done for. If it can hit that is. Excelsior is going to be a slippery thing to hit".
The announcer started the match, and the two robots started to move. The Excelsior charged forwards. Making a B-line towards Robert. In a straight line. Not even trying to use the large amount of cover around it. Robert meanwhile just aimed its cannon at it and fired, destroying the Excelsior in one shot.
"Well that was disappointing," Mei said, looking very disappointed. "It didn't even try to dodge".
"I think they just went with an aggressive AI for that one," Izumi said. "A too-aggressive AI".
"Yeah, looks like it," Melissa said, shaking her head. 'Clearly, someone's never designed a robot before'.
"I'm going to be having words with whoever designed that thing," Mei said. "Who makes a robot based around agility, but does not program it to be able to dodge?".
"Whoever made Excelsior apparently," Tsu said bluntly.
"Well, hopefully, the one Izumi's robot goes up against is better designed," Chiharu remarked.
"I hope so," Izumi said before they waited for Izumi's robot to come out.
They didn't have to wait long, only six or so minutes before the announcer announced her robot.
Mecha Usako.
Izumi beamed as her robot rose up out of the ground. Mecha Usako was, sort of, based off of herself. A green robot built to move quickly and kick hard. No unnecessary features like guns, but there was an energy blade on the right arm. And, unlike Excelsior, she hadn't gone for pure speed. Mecha Usako could take a good few hits whilst remaining fast enough to avoid most gunfire. Plus its AI was aggressive but defensive. It would seek to get close to the enemy but do so in a way that wouldn't leave it open to attack. Hopefully, It'll be using cover during the fight and not run towards the enemy.
She also made it green, like her hero costume and gave it bunny ears. Because she's completely given up calling them tufts of hair.
"Did you really call the robot Mecha Usako?" Ochaco asked, a smirk hidden behind her mask.
"W-well, I didn't know what else to name it," Izumi replied. "Besides, I based it off of myself".
"Of course you would do that," Ochaco said with a smile.
The announcer then announced her robot opponent. Wolfeheimer, a robot designed like a wolf with sharp claws and a chain gun on its back.
"Well, isn't this ironic," Durandal remarked. "The robot version of the hero who has a robot wolf, is up against a robot wolf".
"Predator vs. angry prey," Momo remarked. "It'll be an interesting fight, that's for sure. As long as the AIs are competent that is".
"YES!" Inasa said loudly. "I am so hyped for this!".
"I just hope big sister's robot wins," Eri said.
"Knowing Izumi, her bot will give the other one a run for its money," Durandal said.
Melissa turned towards Durandal with a shocked look on her face. "Wait, you can hear her?".
"Yep," Durandal replied with a nod. "Not sure why I can hear what she says telepathically. She can even hear my thoughts. Somehow".
'A telepath who can read the mind of a machine? But that's, unheard of,' Melissa thought. 'Izumi, you need to keep that part of her powers a secret. There are people who would happily kill to get their hands on her'.
The announcer started the match, and the two robots started to move. Mecha Usako moved behind some large machinery as Wolfeheimer charged forward, its back-mounted chain gun tracking and firing at Mecha Usako.
Mecha Usako kept to cover as much as possible, only breaking cover for short periods of time to get closer to Wolfeheimer. The wolf robot wasn't making it easy since it too was moving around, keeping to the wide open spaces as much as possible.
"Wolfeheimer looks to have a similar AI to Mecha Usako, but is reacting differently," Izumi observed, making the motions that she was writing something down in a notebook, yet she wasn't holding one. "Wolfeheimer is keeping to the open areas, knowing that being close to cover means that Mecha Usako will have less distance to travel to reach it. Melissa, these robots are amazing!".
Melissa smiled. "Thank you Izumi. I worked hard developing them".
"You programmed the AI behaviour programs!" Mei said, zipping over to her.
Melissa nodded. "Yep. It was part of a project my class was working on".
"So cool!" Eri said, watching as the two robots continued to fight.
Mecha Usako kept moving from cover to cover, avoiding Wolfeheimer the best it could. But, it knew it couldn't stay in cover forever. Sooner or later it will have to close the gap and strike.
Steam started to leave Wolfeheimer's chain gun, indicating that it had overheated.
Mecha Usako used the opening to charge forward, jumping up and kicking the other robot in the face. Wolfeheimer was quick to retaliate, swiping at Mecha Usako with its claws several times, cutting a few deep gashes into it and cutting off its left arm. Wolfeheimer then charged forward, aiming to cut off the other robot's head.
Mecha Usako turned, activated its energy blade and swung, cutting a deep gash into Wolfeheimer's side. But, the other robot was still functional. And its chan gun just finished cooling down.
Mecha Usako only had a second to run to cover before Wolfeheimer began firing again. This time, due to the damage it had sustained, Mecha Usako took several hits before it could get into cover.
Izumi frowned, her robot wasn't doing well. She was thinking that maybe she should have gone for a more armour body, but that would have reduced its speed.
Mecha Usako rushed around the forge it was using for cover, coming out the other side and charged once more, with Wolfeheimer charging back. The two robots swiped at each other, cutting deep into the other and rending metal and wires.
But one cut deeper.
Wolfeheimer fell to the floor, its body sliced in half. Mecha Usako stood over the remains of Wolfeheimer. Sparks coming out of its heavily damaged but still functional body.
"Yes!" Ochaco beamed. Glad that Izumi's robot had won.
Izumi sat there, wide-eyed. "M-my robot, won," she said, surprised by her robot's victory. It was a close fight, yes, but she had expected her robot to lose. Wolfeheimer looked like a much better machine than her Mecha Usako.
"Yeah! That was so hot-blooded!" Inasa said loudly, grinning.
"Izumi," Mei said, zipping over to the girl. "Tell me what configuration you used to make that! Mecha Usako has given me so many ideas!".
"[Well, that was quite the impressive robot you designed there, Usako]" a voice spoke in German off to the side.
Izumi turned towards the voice, understanding the language. Off to the side stood two students about their age. One was a tall young man with yellow eyes and short amber hair, wearing a dark yellow armoured bodysuit with black tinted goggles. The other was a tall and curvaceous girl with long red hair, red eyes, and had a pair of leathery wings on her back as well as a tail. Wearing a black leotard that was strained against her bust, black boots and long gloves.
Harald Blitzen, AKA the Speed hero, Blitzkrieg. And Astrid Körver, AKA the Alluring hero, Teufelsmädchen. Two students from Millennium Academy.
Izumi did what she did best, and instantly went into fangirl mode. "AH! It'sHaraldBlitzenandAstridKörvertwoofMillenniumacademy'sbestfirstyearstudents!" she beamed at like a thousand words per second. She then zipped over to them, notebook in hand "CanIhaveyourautographs!".
The two German students looked at Izumi with confused looks on their faces. "[Ur, German? Or English? Something that's understandable?]" Astrid asked, looking rather confused.
"[I know Japanese, but I didn't understand a word of that]" Harald remarked.
"[Yep, that's Izumi for you,]" Nejire said, popping out of nowhere.
The two German students jumped "[Who the fak are you?!]" Harald blurted out. "[And when did you get here?]".
Nejire smirked. "[I was always here~]".
"Nejire, I didn't know you spoke German," Izumi remarked. "Also why are you here?".
Nejire smiled. "There's a lot you don't know about me~. Also Ryukyu asked me to do some networking whilst I'm here".
"Japanese, please? For those of us who don't understand foreign languages, ribbit," Tsu said.
"Ah, right," Harald said in Japanese, but with a heavy German accent. "My apologies, I forgot German isn't a common language in Japan. I'm hoping you guys know who I am?"
"Yes, your Harald Blitzen, also known as Blitzkrieg. Denki's cousin," Momo said. "He mentioned you a few times, as has Izumi here," she said, pointing at the vibrating girl.
Harald smiled. "Well, I'm glad my cousin hasn't forgotten about me," he said. "Oh, and this is my girlfriend, Astrid Körver".
"Guten Tag~," Astrid Körver said with a slight bow. "But you can call me by my hero name if you like, Teufelsmädchen".
"Devil Girl," Durandal remarked. "Odd name for a hero".
"Well, I am basically a succubus," Astrid said, twirling her tail in between her fingers. "There are not many names I could use, with the only good ones already being taken".
"Understandable," Izumi said with a nod. "With so many heroes out there, a lot of names are already in use. Coming up with an original hero name can be difficult at times".
"A-fucking-greed," Harald said. "Some of my classmates spent hours working on hero names because the ones they wanted were taken. Then again, most of them aren't exactly creative".
"Didn't you struggle with coming up with a hero name?" Astrid asked.
"That was because Flash, Zoom and Quicksilver were no-goes due to belonging to fictional heroes," Harald replied with a grumpy frown.
"Yes, Denki did mention that," Momo said.
Harald sighed. "Of course he told his friends about that".
"Well you do tell everyone back at school all of Denki's embarrassing secrets," Astrid said. "Only fair that he does the same".
"Oh, believe me, he told us a lot about you," Tsu said. "Like the number of walls you smashed though, ribbit".
Astrid chuckled. "Seems like they got everything down. I must say, you girls are all quite cute. Especially you, Usako~".
"She's taken," Ochaco said, pulling a blushing Izumi back towards her.
"Sorry, we're all taken," Nejire added with a smile, with most of the other UA girls nodding.
"I am?" Momo said before Nejire zipped over and put an arm around her. "Ok, apparently I am".
She was completely okay with this outcome.
Harald sighed. "[Astrid, please stop trying to flirt with other people. You know I'm uncomfortable with the idea of dating multiple people]".
"[Sorry, but I got to flirt. It's just a part of who I am,]" Astrid said. "[But don't worry, you're the only one I truly love~]".
"[Which is all I need to hear,]" Harald said with a smirk. He then turned towards Izumi. "So, Usako, I'm guessing you are the one who made Mecha Usako?".
Izumi rubbed the back of her head nervously. "Yep, that's me. Couldn't really come up with a better name, so I just made a robot version of myself. Why do you ask?".
"Well, my friend Kleiner wanted to talk to you," Harald said.
"Kleiner?" Izumi asked, sounding confused.
Harald and Astrid parted, revealing a girl standing behind them.
She was a short girl who was shorter than Izumi. She had long, messy black hair and red eyes and wore a black and grey wolf onesie that covered her entire body, save for her face. But was holding a large wolf plush in front of her face.
"H-h-h-hallo," the girl said nervously.
'Good lord, this girl is adorable!' almost everyone not from Germany thought.
"Oh, I recognise you now. You're the Mystic hero, Wolf," Izumi said, stepping closer slightly.
Kleiner yelped as she hid her face more behind her wolf plush. "Y-y-y-yes. T-t-t-thats m-me," she stuttered nervously. "I-I-I'm the one w-w-who m-made Wolfeheimer. Your b-bot wa-was v-very w-w-well d-d-d-designed".
"It wasn't the best design," Izumi said. "Your robot was so much cooler. I'm just surprised that my one won. All I did was make a robot focus on close combat".
"I-I-I s-s-see," Kleiner said nervously. "I-I-I ha-have t-to s-s-say, y-you have q-q-quite t-the in-interesting q-q-quirk, U-u-usako. I-I-it's a s-s-strength e-en-enhancer, r-r-right?".
"Well, sort of," Izumi said. "It's actually an energy stockpiling quirk. I can mostly use my stockpiled energy to overall enhance my body, but recently I've learned to use that energy for other things. My quirk has a lot of moving parts to it".
Kleiner's eyes seemed to sparkle as a notebook appeared on one of her hands. "What else can you do with your quirk? How do you gain energy? Does using your quirk deplete your stockpile?" she asked, bombarding Izumi with questions
Izumi blinked a few times in confusion. "Y-you like analysing quirks?".
Kleiner shivered. "Y-y-yes," she replied nervously.
Izumi's eyes sparkled. "Hey, I like analysing quirks as well!".
The sparkle in Kleiner's eyes quickly returned. "Y-you do!".
Izumi nodded. "Yep!" she said, before going on a tangent on quirks, with Kleiner quickly joining it.
Everyone sweatdropped as the two started talking at great speed about quirks, their words barely understandable to anyone.
'Oh god she found another one' Harald and Ochaco sweatdropped as the two
"Ok you two," Momo said as she got in between them. "You can gush about quirks later.
Kleiner let out a disappointed sigh and hid her face a bit more behind the wolf plush she was holding.
"And who's this little cutie pie~?" Astrid asked as she knelt down next to Eri and patted her on the head.
"Eri," Eri replied.
"A telepath quirk," Kleiner remarked. "T-that's q-quite interesting. W-why a-a-are yo-you only u-use I-it to t-talk?".
"My vocal cords were removed to stop me from crying," Eri replied.
An almost murderous aura formed around Kleiner. "I'm going to maul the one responsible for this!" she growled.
"Ok," Harald said, looking at his friend with a worried look on his face. "Kleiner's is pissed!".
"I've never seen her so mad before," Astrid remarked. "But, then again, we've never met a cute, adorable girl who had her vocal cords removed by a dead man walking. But we probably should have seen this coming, considering who her father is".
Izumi sighed. Yep, she was going to have to upgrade the train to a ship, because this was starting to get ridiculous.
She was also going to have to stop Eri from telling people what happened to her vocal cords.
"You know, Eri sort of has an army at her beck and call right now," Himiko remarked. "Considering the number of people she's managed to get on board the Overhaul murder train".
"I think it's more like a ship now," Ochaco remarked.
"Can I just introduce Eri to new people without her making them want to attack Overhaul for harming her?" Izumi wondered.
"I don't think that's possible," Ochaco said.
Izumi sighed. "Sorry about her. Eri's a ward of UA and has been through a lot. My mother is looking after her on their behalf".
"I see," Harald said. "Well, I hope she's being cared for by your mothers. It sounds like Eri's been through hell".
"Oh don't worry, my mother wouldn't dream of harming her," Izumi said. The people who hurt her, however, wouldn't be treated to the same niceties.
"Anyway, ignoring that downer," Nejire said. "Who's hyped for the party later?".
"Ah yes, the party," Harald said. "Almost forgot about that. Shame Denki won't be there, but not everyone can be invited to it".
"Well, it is a big and important party," Melissa said.
"I know, I've been to them before," Harald said. "Not exactly my cup of tea, but I get to meet people who may be useful to know in the future. So, they serve some purpose".
"Anyway, we should be going," Astrid said. "We need to get ready for the party. We'll see you later~" she said before she and Harald departed.
"I-I-I'll c-catch y-y-you l-later t-t-then, Usako," Kleiner said before she rushed off.
Izumi smiled as she waved them off. It was nice to meet someone who liked analysing quirks as much as she did.
"Ribbit. So, it's going to take us a while to prepare for the party," Tsu said. "What time should we meet up for it?".
"Five should be a good time to meet up," Momo said. "The party would have started by then, but nothing important should have happened by then. Even with All Might being there".
"Well then, we'll see you all at five then," Nejire said before she put her arms around Momo, Tsu and Himiko and zipped off with them.
"Well, that was, odd," Chiharu said before she was dragged off by Mei.
"I see you later then," Inasa said before he used a small whirlwind to shoot himself off into the distance.
"And there goes everyone else," Durandal remarked. "Why can't we just depart like normal people?.
"Hey, Izumi, Ochaco," Melissa said as the others walked off. "If it's alright, I'd like to show you something before the party".
"Sure, but we'll have to drop Eri off with my mother first," Izumi said.
"That's ok," Melissa said. "It's getting late anyway, and I don't want to get in trouble for bringing a small child somewhere she shouldn't be.
Izumi smiled before she crouched down next to Eri. "Hey, Eri. You ok with being left with Inko?".
Eri nodded. The young girl was feeling tired. Today had been fun, but Big Sis was going to do adult stuff, and she didn't want to get in the way of them.
Plus, Mama Inko was nice and kind.
Izumi smiled as they made their way towards the apartment Inko was using. Today has so far been fun, exciting, and peaceful. Oh so very peaceful.
Hopefully, it stayed that way.
"Good news. We're all set on our end. Everyone's in position, and no one suspects a thing".
"Good. And our inside man?".
"He's fulfilled his end of the bargain. Now all we have to do is wait to execute the plan. With any luck, we'll have what we need by daybreak. But, we may have a problem, All Might is here".
"Don't worry about him, we took precautions to deal with him. Proceed as planned. If you pull this off, there'll be more than your old position waiting for you".
"Don't worry. That device is as good as ours".
Chapter 60: Nothing Bad is Going to Happen
"So, this is your lab?" Izumi remarked as she, Ochaco and Durandal followed Melissa into her lab.
It was a decently sized room, full of bookshelves, workstations and fabricators.
"Yep," Melissa replied. "This is my workstation. Most of my work is done here".
"So cool," Ochaco said as she looked around. There were so many expensive-looking books and equipment here. She was almost worried about touching them.
Izumi looked at a few of the on-display blueprints, noticing one that looked like a skyscraper without windows with a big fucking engine on the bottom. "Hey, what's this?".
"Nothing!" Melissa yelped as she rushed over and covered the blueprint with a sheet.
Okay, that was weird. Why would she cover that up?
Ochaco meanwhile was looking over all the awards Melissa had. "Wow, so many," she remarked. She noticed that they were mostly in the field of robotics, with only a few being for support equipment.
This did not go unnoticed by Durandal. "Why are most of your awards for robotics? I thought you wanted to design support equipment?".
"I do," Melissa replied. "But, I have a knack for robotics as well. I've started designing machines to make the process of making support equipment easier. As well as assist heroes in their day-to-day jobs. Even with all the advancements in the field of robotics, robots are still highly underused. People are still scared of them due to the Avalon War. A shame. We can do so much with robots. We can make robots that can reliably go to places that we humans can't. And yes, I know there are quirks that allow people to enter those places safely, but they are rare and don't offer full protection against the environments they're in. Plus, you have more points of failure than a machine. I will admit, I am interested in picking Mei's brain about Isaac. A Beta AI capable of using shifter tech. So fascinating. I've never heard of a non-Alpha-level AI being able to use such tech. It'll be interesting to find out how she managed to do that".
"That'll be easy," Ochaco remarked. "She just loves to talk about her babies," she said before she noticed a picture of two people, a man and a woman. "Are those your parents?".
"Yep. David and Felicity Shield," Melissa said. "They're both scientists".
"A scientist," Ochaco said, sounding confused. "But, didn't you say your mother was an ambassador? Did she quit and become an ambassador?".
"No," Melissa replied with a frown. "She, died, the day after I was born".
"She, died?" Ochaco gasped. "But, how? You said your mother was alive and an ambassador?".
"That was a lie. She was killed in a villain attack on the hospital we were at," Melissa said. "I was also hurt during the attack. It left me brain-dead for three years. Yes, I got better. My dad brought me back somehow. Still not sure how he did it, no one is. But, I could do without all the nonsense that came with it".
"You were, brain dead. How are you alive?" Ochaco asked before she turned towards Izumi, who looked unsurprised by this. "Izumi, why are you so calm about this?".
"She already knows," Melissa said. "You did some research into me, correct?".
Izumi nodded nervously. "Y-yeah. Durandal did some research into you, and told me everything that had happened to you. I'm sorry".
"It's ok. That information is publicly available. It's not like I can hide it, no matter how much I want to," Melissa said with a frown. "I don't like the whole 'Miracle child' thing people like to call me. Yes, I spent three years brain-dead. Yes, my father has no idea how he managed to revive me. No, that does not mean that I'm special or something like that. People always thought that I was going to achieve great things just because I came back from something impossible! Even when I was diagnosed as quirkless, people still had absurdly high expectations of me!" she cried. "I just, don't understand why everyone treated us as if we were special!".
"Y-your quirkless?" Izumi asked, a surprised look on her face. Melissa was like her, quirkless.
Melissa "Yes… w-. I am. Got the toe joint and everything. Still didn't change people's opinions of me. Honestly, I was hoping that it would have, because the fame I got because of what happened to me, it's so, suffocating".
Izumi frowned. Melissa was like her, quirkless, and was treated differently due to circumstances outside of her control. But, whilst she was bullied, Melissa was treated as if she was special. And in a way, the fame hurt her.
"I'm sorry you had to go through that," Izumi said.
"It's ok," Melissa said, rubbing her eyes. "I've gotten used to it by now. In fact, I'm glad you two didn't know who I was before coming here. Meeting someone who doesn't know who I am is refreshing and normal. It's why I like to just pretend the entire thing didn't happen, that my mother is still alive and working far away, and that I didn't spend three years brain-dead. It makes me feel, normal".
Ochaco nodded. "I can see why you would want that. Whilst loneliness can be barren, fame can be suffocating".
Izumi frowned. Fame, the biggest thing she was worried about. She spent most of her life not in the spotlight, always dreaming about it but being pushed away from it by those she once called friend. But, now that she was on the path to fame, and was already somewhat famous due to the sports festival. But she still wasn't really used to it. Last time someone asked her for an autograph she had a minor panic attack.
Hopefully, when she really got famous she would have gotten used to it.
"Yes, fame has its own drawbacks," Melissa said. "I just wish that I wasn't famous. But, sometimes life gives you fame for doing nothing".
"Or for doing something that shouldn't give them said fame in the first place, like most singers," Durandal said. "Seriously, how on earth do most of those people get famous? All they're doing is saying meaningless dribble to bad-sounding music. Apart from a few people, most singers are garbage".
"Agreed, I'm not really a music fan anyway," Melissa said. "So, anyway, that thing I wanted to show you guys," she said before she got out a large box and opened it. Inside the box was some kind of mechanical, spider, rig thing.
"What is that?" Ochaco asked.
"It's an exoskeleton I've been working on," Melissa replied. "It boosts someone's strength ten times and gives them an energy shield. But it's still a prototype. The power plant might blow if overused".
"Oh, that's neat," Izumi remarked as she looked at the exoskeleton. "This could really make hero work easier. Making someone stronger can make moving things easier".
"Can I try it on?" Ochaco asked.
"Eh! Why you?" Izumi asked.
"Because you already have something like it," Ochaco replied. "Or have you forgotten that Durandal exists?".
Izumi nodded in defeat. "Fair".
Melissa smiled before she took the exoskeleton and walked behind Ochaco. "Hold still, please. This is a bit complicated," she said before she attached it to her back.
The device was attached to Ochaco's back. Its four legs extended around the back of her arms and legs and attached themselves to her wrists and ankles. "There, the exoskeleton is attached. How do you feel?".
"I feel, I don't know, lighter?" Ochaco said as she flexed her arms and legs.
"It's made from a lightweight material so you don't even feel yourself wearing it," Melissa explained. "It makes moving around easier, so that's probably where the lightness comes from".
"One small question. How is giving the girl who can remove something's gravity an exoskeleton?" Durandal asked.
"There may be a situation where she can't use her quirk but needs to move something, like say a big metal door," Izumi replied. "Reducing the gravity on a door, especially if it's a reinforced door, won't make it easier to move. Plus it'll make her punches stronger".
Ochaco's eyes sparkled. "Now I can really punch a bitch!".
"Pardon?" Izumi shuddered. Violent Ochaco was scary, and hot.
Why did she find aggressive women hot?
Maybe she should stop watching Mirko videos on Hero Tube.
Melissa chuckled. "Well, I'm glad you like it. I hope to get a working version that can be used in the field sometime by the end of the year. Unfortunately, the US Army has also taken an interest in it. Ever since they found out I was working on an exoskeleton they've been trying to drag me onto their exoskeleton program. Even sent me a few threats. But, this is I-Island. We make gear to help heroes save lives. We don't make weapons of war. Leave that to the military-industrial complex. I won't help the military design weapons of war".
Izumi frowned. That was I-Island's purpose, to make support gear for heroes as well as gear to help people with more complicated quirks live a more comfortable life. But, after the Avalon War, the militaries of the world have been trying to get their hands on I-Island scientists. After all, Avalon made great use of I-Island tech during the war, and the world's armies wanted more of their tech.
It's one of the reasons why I-Islands security is leagues ahead of Tartarus.
"Oh yes, I have something for you as well, Izumi," Melissa suddenly said before she passed Izumi a pair of goggles.
"What are these?" Izumi asked as she picked up the goggles and put them on.
"They're my ultimate goggles," Melissa replied. "They're designed to assist heroes out in the field. It has over four thousand vision modes and can intercept any and all radio transmissions within about half a mile. But it only displays it as text".
"Four thousand vision modes! That's more than I have"
Izumi beamed as she looked through the different view options the goggles provided. They were all so cool. A few she recognised from the times she wore Durandal, but there was a lot she didn't recognise. But they were all so cool!
Odd, why did one of the vision modes make Melissa's skin look green? Which was immediately forgotten as the next vision mode was ex-ray-vision.
Izumi's face went beat red as she rapidly cycled between vision modes, desperately trying to forget the image of her girlfriend plus a girl she met today, not really wearing anything.
All Might was going to have words with her if he found out about this.
Anyway, as she was looking through vision modes, she noticed the small clock in the corner of her vision. And noticed the time it was displaying. "Ur, Melissa. The clock on this thing, how accurate is it?".
"To the microsecond," Melissa replied with a smile. "Why do you ask?".
"Oh shoot! We're going to be late!" Izumi blurted, realising the time.
"What!" Ochaco gasped. "Melissa! How do I get out of this thing?".
A sheepish look formed on Melissa's face. "Ah. Well, I may have not added that feature yet. It's still a prototype after all".
Ochaco looked at her with a shocked look on her face. "You mean I'm stuck in this thing!".
"Yeah. kind of," Melissa said. "Sorry".
Ochaco let out an annoyed sigh. "How could you forget to add the ability to take something off?".
"Ur, Melissa. How do I take this thing off?" Izumi asked sheepishly.
"How are you two both stuck in those things!" Durandal asked!
"Sorry, I just don't know why it keeps happening," Melissa said nervously. 'we really have to stop designing our equipment that way'.
One hour later, at the party.
All Might smiled, like he usually did, as he stepped down from the stage, having just finished a speech he wasn't aware he was going to have to give. But then again, he was Japan's number-one hero and the symbol of peace. Of course, the people here would want him to say a few words.
"So, David. Did you really not expect that, or was that planned?" All Might asked as he walked over to his friend.
"Like I said, you're the symbol of peace," David said with a smile. "Everyone wants to hear from you".
"I can attest to that," a blue-skinned woman said as she walked over to them. "You are a difficult man to get an interview with".
"Ah, and you are?" All Might asked.
"Chitose Kizuki, executive director of Shoowaysha Publishing," Chitose said with a smile. "You may be familiar with my daughter, Chiharu Kizuki. She's a UA student".
"Indeed I am!" All Might said with a smile. "Young Chiharu has become quite the hero! But she's still a bit green, especially with her quirk!".
Chitose frowned. "Yes. She had difficulties, learning how to use her quirk. I just wish I had been more active in helping her learn how to use it. Our relationship had been strained after the death of my husband. But we've been working to try and improve it".
"Well, I'm glad to hear it!" All Might said. "Being a hero is a tough job! Having the support of one's family can help immensely!".
"Yes, yes it can," Chitose said with a frown, wishing she had been a better mother to Chiharu. "How is she doing in the hero course anyway? Is she doing well?"
"She's taking it in strides!" All Might said with a smile. "Despite a few rocky moments she is progressing nicely! As are all the students of UA! I have no doubt that they will become fine young heroes!" he said. 'They have to be. With my retirement coming closer and closer, they need to be ready for the real world. If only I had more time'.
Chitose smiled. "I'm glad to hear that," she said before turning to David. "And you must be All Might's old sidekick, David Shield. You are a difficult man to get a hold of, or get an interview with".
"Sadly that's because I've been a bit busy," David said. "Being on the I-Island Science counsel doesn't give me as much free time as I used to".
"I see," Chitose said. "Out of all the people I wanted to interview during my time here you were the only one I was unable to get an interview with".
"Like I said, I'm sadly quite busy," David said. "But, I am free on a few days of the expo, so I might be able to organise a short interview. But that's a big might I'm afraid. You never know what may come up".
"Oh, don't worry, I know what it's like to have unexpected things pop up and ruin your plans," Chitose said with a slight frown. "Well, I hope to talk to you later then," she said before she walked off to talk to someone else.
"I'd be careful of what you say to her," All Might said quietly. "She's known for anti-hero publications".
"Noted," David said with a nod. He didn't like reporters or journalists that much. Most of them wanted to know more about how he was able to revive her daughter or about his relation to All Might. It got very annoying at times.
At least he stopped getting hounded by them when he went to I-Island.
"All Might!" a loud female voice said.
The two men turned to see a tall woman walk over to them. She had a well-muscled build, with long flowing blonde hair and brown eyes. She wore a high-collared skin-tight bodysuit with shoulder pads, boots and gauntlets, decorated like the American flag, as was her cape.
"Ah! Star and Stripe!" All Might said with a smile. "It's good to see you as well! How are things going in the US?!".
"Very well, but I could do less of Megamind's shenanigans," Star and Stripe said. "Apart from him, everything is going well. There are very few villains in the US that I can't handle".
"Megamind's still causing you problems?" All Might said. "I would have thought he would have been thrown into Tartarus by now?".
"He was," Star and Stripe said. "But he keeps somehow escaping before they can ship him off. And I have to capture him. Again. Sometimes I think they should just put a revolving door to his cell because nothing they do can stop him from escaping".
"Maybe we can design something to stop him from escaping," David said. "I'm sure we can come up with something".
"That would be much appreciated," Star and Stripe said. "As fun as he may be, he is getting rather annoying to deal with".
Meanwhile, Momo was having a nice chat with Inasa. "So, how's your brother doing?".
"He's well," Inasa said as calmly as he could. He couldn't really be as loud and boisterous as he normally was, since this was a formal event. "Project Asgard is still going strong, but it's slow going. Organising the colonisation of a planet like Mars is a complicated thing. They already have a few locations planned for the first settlement, as well as a lot of Carusaurum deposits. As well as its name, Opportunity, after the rover. But we're still a good seventy years before they even think of putting people on Mars. There's a lot of complex science stuff that I don't even understand, but from what I can tell, everything going as planned".
"Well, I'm glad things are going well up there," Momo said. "But, I don't understand why it's taking so long to plan? We were able to colonise the moon in less than a year".
"It's mainly because there's a lot more distance to travel," Inasa replied. "Mars is very, very far off. And the distance between us and them is constantly changing. The colony will have to be fully self-sufficient from the get-go. They won't be able to send regular supply ships there".
"So, it's a one-way trip then," Momo said, getting a nod from Inasa.
"Sadly it will be. It'll take years to get there. Unless we can make a fusion drive like the ones seen in the Expanse novels, we're not going to be getting anywhere in the solar system quickly".
Momo nodded. Explains why the plans for the Mars colony ship were so big. It needed to carry both a large number of people and everything needed to sustain them long-term.
And they planned to send several of these colony ships to Mars in one go.
Colonising another world was not going to be as easy as colonising the moon. That's for sure.
"Hey guys!" Himiko said as she walked over.
"Hey Himiko," Momo said with a smile. "Are you enjoying yourself?"
"No, it's not my kind of thing," Himiko said with a frown. "My, parents, wanted me to be normal. And these were the kind of parties they prepared me for. So, to be honest, I don't really like it".
"Yeah, I can see why you would," Momo said. "They're not for everyone. At least the food is good".
"I can see why this isn't for everyone," Inasa said. "I'm not really a fan of these either. Too stuffy for my liking. We're heroes! We're meant to be saving people, not wasting our time at parties eating fine food whilst people suffer and starve".
"I'd have to agree with you there," Himiko said. "As fun as this entire event is, wouldn't the money be better used to help people?".
"Welcome to high society," Momo said with a frown. "Rich people with too much money and no idea what to spend it on, but no desire to spend it on other people. At least my father gives back fairly, unlike most of the people I know".
Sadly a lot of the rich people she knew were very protective of their own wealth and did not like 'giving it away'. And sadly a lot of those people had sons they wanted her to 'marry'. Thankfully her dad's overprotectiveness helped keep the less suicidal and foolish ones away.
Momo had a quick look around the room. Their homeroom teacher was busy talking to some of her sniper buddies from other schools, Mei was busy trying to talk to some scientists, Nejire was talking to some of her fellow third years, Tsu was over by the food tables, Chiharu was talking with her mother, Rolls and Saiko were talking to some four-armed moth girl with glasses, Harald and Astrid were talking to some of their fellow classmates whilst Kleiner was no-where to be seen.
And Izumi and Ochaco were nowhere to be seen. Last she checked they were running late due to complications. What those complications were they did not say, only that they would be late because of it.
"You think Izumi and Ochaco are alright?" Himiko asked with a worried look on her face.
"They're fine," Momo replied with a smile. "They're just running a bit late. They should be here soon".
Meanwhile.
"We are so late!" Izumi said as they entered the main lobby of the I-Island tower. A good hour or so late for the party.
She wore a formal red suit over a yellow shirt with matching trousers and a black bow tie. Because she disliked wearing dresses and finding high heels for a quirkless foot was impossible to do in Japan.
Also because she liked her red boots.
As well as the goggles Melissa had given because, for some reason, she couldn't remove them. How was that even possible?
Of course, the problem of getting quirkless high-heels wasn't an issue outside of Japan, as such, Melissa was able to, and was wearing, a pair of high-heels. As well as a deep blue strapless dress. Her hair was also tied back into a high ponytail. She also took off her glass (which if you were to ask Izumi, was a slight downgrade as she looked hotter with them. Although she would never admit that).
And now the reason why they were so late. Ochaco, wearing a pink dress, over the bodysuit, gloves and boots of her hero costume, as well as the exoskeleton Melissa had given her. Because there was no way she could remove those parts of her costume whilst she still had the exoskeleton on.
"Melissa, next time you make something, make sure someone can take it off!" Durandal said, his body having been cleaned and polished.
"Sorry," Melissa said. "It's something I keep forgetting about".
"You shouldn't be forgetting about that!" Durandal said, sounding annoyed. "It's an important feature of every piece of equipment! How are you supposed to maintain it if you can't remove it?!".
"Later Durandal," Izumi said. "We can worry about removing these things later! You can get these off of us, right?".
"Don't worry, I'm sure I can requisition a pair of bolt cutters to get it off," Melissa said.
"Bolt cutters!" Ochaco gasped.
"Relax, I'll get you out of those before you go to bed. I promise," Melissa said with a smile.
"Let's just get to the party," Izumi said. "I just hope nothing happens before we get there".
"Don't worry, nothing important should have happened by now," Melissa said. "Although I will admit, I'm not exactly a fan of these kinds of parties. The dresses are too formal for my liking, the food, whilst sort of good, is lacklustre, and in tiny portions, everyone acts far too formally for my liking," she said before muttering "And there aren't any stripper poles. Even though I'm too young to be attending such parties".
"There aren't any what?!" Izumi and Ochaco blurted, shocked by what she just heard.
Meanwhile, just outside the party venue, several well-armed merks stood outside all of the doors. The party was in full swing, all the heroes and civilians who were attending it were present, as well as all the students.
No one outside to cause them any unforeseen problems.
Their leader, a tall, bulky man with dark red hair and yellow eyes, wearing a white coat over his combat uniform, as well as a metal mask, made some last-minute checks on his pistol.
"Everything in place?" Wolfram asked into his earpiece.
"Yep. All teams are in position and the entire island's security systems are under our control," the voice of their Hacker replied. "Be advised, we only have a two-hour window to complete the operation once we take full control. And that's IF we're lucky. Worst case scenario we'll only have half an hour".
"Just make sure you can give us an hour," Wolfram said with a smirk. "That's all the time we should need. Activate the island's security".
"Yes sir," the Hacker said. Seconds later, the entire island entered full lockdown. The heroes and hero course students had no time to react before blue tape shot out of the floor and restrained every registered pro and student in the room. Including All Might, Star and Stripe, Blitz, Sukkubus and every single UA student there.
"Chiharu!" Chitose cried as her daughter was wrapped up in capture tape. Rushing over to make sure she was unharmed.
"Nobody move!" Wolfram shouted as he and his men burst into the room, weapons raised. "Step away from the heroes! I don't want to see anyone near them!".
Chitose reluctantly moved away from Chiharu. She didn't want to, but, when you had a bunch of guys with guns telling you to back off, you back off.
There had been too much death in their family already.
"Just to be sure everyone's on the same page, we're in control of the island's security!" Wolfram said as he made his way to the centre of the room, kicking a few heroes out of the way. "I suggest nobody try anything foolish or heroic, otherwise-" he said as the large screen switched to display an overhead shot of a large crowd of civilians surrounded by security robots. "We'll make the security robots think that everyone on this island is an Avalon robot trying to invade it!".
Everyone gasped. Ever since the Avalon War, I-Islands security system had been significantly upgraded, including lethal options to deal with invasions. But now that those systems were under the villain's control, they could easily be turned on the population of I-Island.
One wrong move and thousands would die.
Wolfram smiled behind his mask. "As of now, everyone on this island is my hostage!".