Chapter 52: Show Our Best Moves
_When Shoto had decided to do his internship with his father, he figured most of their time would be spent training his fire in the flame-proof basement under his father's hero agency. To Shoto's credit, they did for the first day of the internship, but after Shoto had cooled himself off with the other side of his quirk, he was called to his father's office. Where Endeavor announced the Endeavor Agency had been asked by the Hero Public Safety Commission to head to Hosu and help hunt down the Hero Killer: Stain.
Shoto was quite shocked by the announcement. Not so much by the fact Endeavor had been called in to help handle the mess that was occurring after Ingenium, his father was Japan's number two pro hero. But never in his life, Shoto had ever known his father to be one to act at the Hero Public Safety Commission's order. Shoto had to pause and correct that thought. He was sure this was not the first time Endeavor had followed the Hero Public Safety Commission's orders, but Endeavor always made sure his proceeding actions seemed to be made by his personal choice and only so.
The next morning Endeavor, Shoto and the agency's top sidekick loaded up and traveled to Hosu. Once they checked in with the Ingenium agency, scanning their hero license the same as every pro hero that came to Hosu, that way if all pro heroes were kept track of and if any of them went missing it was more easily noticeable. Then Endeavor and each of his sidekicks were given a small device with a button that once pressed would send an alert to all other pro heroes in the city.
A device Endeavor begrudgingly took and then gave his sidekicks their assigned routes then told Shoto to follow him. With a simple nod, Shoto followed his father out to the street. Which led to a boring day of patrol, there wasn't a single incident that occurred in Hosu. The action that wasn't seen was when a thug snatched an older woman's purse, only to run into Endeavor less than 10 steps later. The thug was ready to curse out whoever he ran into until he looked up and saw the flaming hero looming over him. After that, the thug was quick to hand the purse over.
Towards the end of the day, as Shoto and Endeavor were heading back to Ingenium Agency, Shoto said, "Sir, permission to speak freely."
"Freely." Endeavor.
"Sir, The hero killer is known for attacks in the evening and into the night." Shoto said.
"Is that a statement or is there a question in there?" Endeavor asked.
"My question would be why, sir? Stain doesn't attack during the day, so why are we portal so heavily during the day? Won't our effort be better used to patrol in the evening?" Shoto said.
Endeavor was silent for a moment then asked, "Shoto, in your life have you ever heard about a pro hero being killed." -Shoto nodded- "Those have been outliers, a rookie pro hero in over their head, or a veteran pro hero who should have retired a long time ago. Now excluding Stain's attacks, I can count five of those incidents occurring since your birth, that five kills in 15 years. However, in the last few months, Stain has killed over 20 pro heroes.
"Yes, Stain's hunting time is in the dark evening, but we need to patrol during the days, to show everyone we are strong. We are not afraid of the hero killer and we will bring him to justice." Endeavor said as Ingenium agency came into view, "That is why, when we arrive at HQ, you will be given a choice. It is not typical for a first year to do a night patrol or be given the chance to face off against a notorious killer like Stain, but you are my son and I know you can handle it."
"Sir?" Shoto questioned what his father was saying.
"You have a choice my son, you can either have the evening off and rest. Or you can join myself, Burnin' and the others in an evening patrol." Endeavor said.
"Sir." Shoto was confused, never in his life had his father given him the choice of having an evening off. Even in his childhood, the only time he was given a break from training was when he had to recover from an injury.
"Shoto, ever since your fight against that support student, you have made great progress in learning to control your fire. And you are still in high school, the burden of bringing Stain to justice is on my shoulders." Endeavor said.
"Yo, Endeavor. Shoto." One of the Ingenium sidekicks said.
"Hey, kid, catch," Burnin' said as she tossed something at Shoto. Shoto caught the item and saw that it was a meat bun, "You just set a new record for steps you've taken in a single day. Figured you deserved some kind of reward. Sorry, all of the shops were out of Soba."
Shoto thanked Burnin' and took out the meat bun, taking a beat while Endeavor talked with the Ingenium sidekick. When suddenly a large explosion went off in the distance, all the pro heroes coming in from their patrol stopped and looked at the cloud of smoke.
"Stain." A pro hero asked, voicing everyone's question, but Endeavor shook his head, "No it's not, this is too public. The escalation is too great, this is something else."
Then without warning, Endeavor took off towards the smoke, the only people that moved with Endeavor were his sidekick and Shoto, as they were used to their boss's sudden actions. As Endeavor neared the column of smoke, something white and fast shot across his vision. Endeavor stopped in midair and looked over at the white nomu as it played itself out the side of the building.
It screeched, but then Endeavor heard someone calling out, "Hey Endeavor, nice of you to show up." Endeavour turned and saw Hawks and Gran Torino flying towards him. The white Nomu flew at Hawks, but he cut the creature across the chest then Gran Torino blew it away, "The old man and I got this, go help with the other two nomu."
Around this time Shoto caught up with his father and saw Hawks hovering in the air. Shoto paused for a second, if Hawks were here in Hosu then that means, "Midoriya." Shoto said under his breath as he saw Midoriya's suit of armor suddenly appear over a building. It looked like he had been thrown but he caught himself and flew down out of view, then a third screech came from in the opposite direction Izuku had appeared from.
Endeavor noticed as well and looked down at this son. He generally didn't make a point of remembering people, but he remembered Izuku. He might have been the support student who had won the sports Festival, but what was more important to Endeavor was that Izuku had directly beaten his son to do that, and along the way somehow convinced his son to give up his pointless rebellion and use his fire. "The support student, what is he doing here?"
"From what I understand, He's wanting to transfer to UA's hero course, so Principal Nezu gave him special permission to do a week internship with Hawks." Shoto said, recalling how big the surprise was when Izuku showed up at the train Station with Japan's number 3 pro hero. No one in Class 1-a had seen it coming.
"Help that support student. I'll handle the third Nomu on my own." Endeavor said, then took off in the direction of the third screech, supposedly the third Nomu. Taking a breath, Shoto summoned his ice and rode it down the street. Coming around the corner, Shoto looked down the street and saw a large Nomu that looked similar to the one the League of Villains had used during their assault on the USJ. Slowing down, Shoto slammed his right foot against the ground, the next second ice rushed down the street and froze the black Nomu's feet to the ground.
Izuku noticed the opening and dove down. He flew between the legs of Nomu, then blasted it right in the crotch area. Izuku flipped around and slid across the street. As he came to a stop he noticed it had been ice that held the nomu in place. Quickly following the trail of Ice Izuku found Shoto glaring at Nomu. However, before either of the UA students could do anything Nomu broke out of the ice and rushed Izuku.
Izuku shot into the air and flew over to Shoto, "Todoroki, what are… Doesn't matter you're here."
"Endeavor sent me to help you with this black Nomu," Shoto said as some fire rose from the left side of his body, melting some of the ice that had begun to appear on his right leg.
"Well, thanks for the offer, but I think your help is going to be needed elsewhere. Uraraka thinks Ilda is going after Stain, I'm texting you their locations right now. Get to them and help them. And don't be afraid to give it your all." Izuku said, then took off as the black nomu had turned and started to charge him.
Feeling his photo buzz, Shoto took it out and saw a text from Izuku. Opening it Shoto saw it was a location only a few blocks away from their fight. It appeared to be a back alley, much like the one Stain's previous kills had been found. Izuku had sounded anxious and made Shoto believe that whatever was happening at the location was bigger than the League of Villains's Nomu. Looking up, Shoto saw that Izuku was handling Nomu for the most part with the help of the other Pro heroes who were on the scene.
Looking in the direction of the dropped pin, Shoto took off on his ice to get there more quickly. Rushing over the rooftop and keeping track of his position relative to Ocahco and Ilda's on his foot, Shoto arrived just in time to see Ochaco get kicked to the ground and then paralyzed. Looking down the alleyway, Shoto stopped the hero killer: Stain, he matched the description given by the pro hero he had left to pass along his message. But those descriptions did not prepare Shoto for how armed to the teeth Stain was. It seems his outfit was made more out of blades than normal clothes.
Shoto then looked back and saw Ochaoc and Ilda trying to pick themselves up, and then Shoto noticed the injured pro hero. So that explained why Ochaco didn't just grab Ilda and get out of there. Even with her zero gravity and super strength quirks, she would struggle to carry the two others and outrun Stain, someone who was about to injure Ingenium.
"I will kill every unworthy hero that holds that title. And I will not be stopped until he that is worthy of the title of hero is the only one that remains." Stain as he held his sword ready to attack Shoto's friends. Shoto quickly jumped down into the alley, using his ice against the wall to slow his descent. The moment his foot hit the ground he sent a wave of ice forwards, rushing past the injured Ochaco and Ilda, creating a large ice wall that stopped Stain from advancing.
"You kill unworthy heroes, do you take requests?" Shoto said. While Shoto had begun to use his fire and tried to rebuild a relationship with his mother and siblings, he still had a rough relationship with his father. The training Shoto had suffered through during his childhood, and how Enji had treated his mother. It was going to take more than a couple of good days before Shoto could view his father in a good light. So at the moment, Shoto thought there wasn't anyone more who was undeserving to be called a hero than his Father.
But hearing Stain growl from behind the ice wall, made Shoto shelf that thought for the time. What was more important, was getting Ochaco, Ilda and the injured pro hero to medical attention. The pro hero looked the worst, while Ilda had noticeable cuts around his body, with Ochaco faring the best of the three. Shotoo ran up to his classmates, "How are you doing?"
"We can't move. I think Stain's quirk paralyzed us." Ochaco said.
"How does it work?" Shoto asked.
"I don't know. So much was happening and before I knew it my body stopped moving." Ilda said in a strained voice.
"I think Stain's quirk works off of blood."
"That would explain all the blades." Shoto commented.
"After kicking me to the ground, I remember seeing him lick my blood off that scarred sword of his. I think he has to ingest a person's blood to activate his quirk." Ocahco noted and Shoto nodded to show his understanding. Then the sound of ice breaking reached the three of them and they looked up just in time to see Shoto's ice wall break. Before any ice chunk could hit the ground, three small knives suddenly came into view and Shoto had to step to the side to dodge them. He managed to dodge the first two, but the third one managed to stick itself into his forearm.
Shoto didn't let out an exclamation but his expressions turned cold as he held out his right arm and tried to create more ice. But the pain from his right arm made it difficult. This allows Stain to rush the short distance and bring up a fourth small kine to try and cut Shoto's left cheek.
Stain's speed got him in close before Shoto could properly react. But as Stain's knife got close to Shoto's cheek his entire left side turned ablaze. The sudden flames caused Stain's attack to miss and forced him to jump back so as not to get burned. As Stain landed Shoto looked over at the flames coming from his left side. His ability to properly control his ice was diminished, as with his foot he didn't have much control as he mostly used it for larger, more spammable attacks.
This meant his ice was no longer a viable option as he won't be able to control it around Ochaco and Ilda. Meaning only his fire was left as an option for close quarters. And then it hit Shoto. He suddenly what Izuku had been talking about during the Sports Festival. How if Shoto only ever used his ice then eventually he would come across a situation where he would be limited. Izuku had said eventually he would come across a villain who would be immune to his ice. The current situation might not be entirely that but still, the same effect was in play, Shoto was unable to properly control his ice and would most likely catch his friends in any ice attack.
And what would Shoto be able to do if he was still only using his ice? Would he make his friends suffer the freezing cold of his ice as he fought and captured Stain? Even now, could Shoto make his classmates suffer through that, now he saw them as friends. He didn't know, but it didn't matter he was no longer bound by such a resolution. Shoto had his fire and he accepted it.
That is what Izuku had meant by telling Shoto to give it his all. Because at that moment Shoto being the number one hero didn't matter. What mattered was Shoto protecting his friends, so they could become their own kind of pro hero.
As Stain pulled out a much larger knife, Shoto stuck out his left arm and a jet of flame shot out at the hero killer. As Stain jumped out of the way of the attack, it gave Shoto time to reach over and pull the knife out of his forearm. And before much blood could come out he used his quirk to temporarily cauterize the puncture. Now with the knife out of his hand, Shoto could feel ice build up around his finger. His ability to properly use his quirk on his right side at return.
"Todoroki, Uraraka, get out of here, this is my fight. It was my brother that was attacked. My brother that villains paralyzed. I have to avenge the name of Ingenium. I have to end this villain's terror." Ilda yelled, he had been the one to start this fight. It was his family that had been destroyed. He needs to be the one to finish it.
"That doesn't sound very heroic, talking about revenge and ending something. That doesn't sound like the great hero Ingenium. Are you willing to tarnish your brother's name with your revenge? Is that how you want people to see the name of Ingenium, a pro hero who cares more about revenge than protecting others" Shoto yelled back. Each member of Class 1-A had their own reason for wanting to become a pro hero. It was something that the members of the class had talked about a lot leading up to the Sports Festival. And because of that it was no secret the amount of respect Illda had for his older brother. How Tensei was his role model growing up.
On the ground, Ilda couldn't yet still he paused. For the first time since starting this fight, Ilda looked over at the pro-hero Native. Taking in the wounds the hero killer had inflicted on him. And how because Ilda was more focused on bringing justice to his brother, he had left someone else in critical condition. Tenya knew, if it was Tensei in his position he would be more concerned about getting to Native and getting him to medical attention. Tenya wanted to be like his brother, but at the first chance he got he screwed up.
He had become the very thing Stain proclaimed all pro heroes were like. Acting on their selfish desires. Had he become so consumed with rage that he forgot whose name he had taken, or did he just not care? Was he willing to destroy the good name of Ingenium just to teach a villain a lesson? Had he truly forgotten what kind of hero he wanted to be?
Ilda looked and saw Shoto engage Stain, but Shoto was struggling to keep up with Stain's speed. Stain stabbed Shoto in the shoulder, but Shoto's own cry of pain was overruled by Ochaco's. Ochaco stood up, her hair regained its pink hue, but instead of its bright pink hue, it was a much darker shade. With a yell, Ochaco pounded her fists against the ground, then quickly got onto her hands and knees. The second second she ran forward. She ran past Shoto and shoulder-checked Stain right in the sternum.
Ochaco then helped Shoto pull the blade from his shoulder. Then as Shoto cauterized the wound, she held the weapon out in front of her by the blade. Then in a show of strength, she closed her fist and shattered the knife into pieces. Opening her hand to let the broken knife fall to the ground, she called over her shoulder, "We fight to protect. How about you, Ingenium?"
Ilda could see his friend's entire arm was bleeding, Shoto's shoulder was torn and the wound over his forearm had begun to reopen. Had he been so focused, so pigheaded, so stubborn, so useless that he had to rely on his friends to protect him. They were bleeding so he didn't have to. They were fighting so he didn't have to. How could he be so stupid, so blind to see what he was doing to the name of Ingenium? Was this all happening because of how stupid he was being?
Then Ilda recalled a conversation he hadn't thought about in a while. He had asked his older brother why he wanted to be a hero. Jokingly at first Tensei just said it was the family business. But then Tensei stated the name of Ingenium was passed down through the family, but that didn't mean everyone who bore the name was the same kind of hero. For his time Tensei wanted the name of Ingenium to be known as the pro hero that would always be there for people. To always be ready to help them, no matter what problems they were facing.
Tensei wanted to become a pro hero who helped the people who were in trouble. A mission that he had passed onto Ilda because he believed in his younger brother. Tensei's Ingenium was known for that. But was Tenya's Ingenium going to be known as a pro-hero who sought vengeance over helping others?
Stain, having easily dodged Shoto's ice and fire attacks, managed to get in close. He began to bring his daggers up to stab Shoto, "You rely on your quirk too much. Makes you a careless fighter."
Ilda knew he couldn't stand at the moment he wouldn't be able to stand looking at his brother. Knowing he had failed the family name, he had stained Ingenium's legacy. He would never be able to look his mother and father in the eyes if he couldn't make the right choice. He wouldn't be able to look his classmates in the eyes if he was the reason two of them had been killed. All for a selfish reason like revenge.
It was too late to change his actions of the past, but it wasn't too late to make up for them. And if he was going to do so then he needs to stand up right now. Ilda forced his body to move, he didn't care if it felt like his muscle was immovable if he was carrying the weight of the world. Ilda forced his body to move, the moment he could feel his legs move, he got them under him and activated his engine. He revved the engine within his legs as hard as he could but didn't let off the parking bark until he felt his RPM reached its limit.
"Recipro Burst!" Ilda yelled as blue flames shot out of his engine pipe and he flew at Shoto and Stain. Yet as Ilda didn't have complete control over his body, as he shot forward his upper body fell back down to the ground. This caused Ilda to flip around, similarly to how he did during the break-in when he was under the effect of Ochaco's zero gravity quirk. But this seemed to work out as Ilda flipped around and drop-kicked Stain in the chest.
Stain managed to block the attack with his daggers but was still forced out of the alleyway, where Ochaco guessed the collar of his jacket. Ochaco then slammed the hero killer into the ground then jumped back as Stain swung at her legs with another blade. Ochaco landed next to Ilda and Shoto, who was helping Ilda stand up.
As Ilda felt the hold of Stain's quirk fully disappear he was able to properly support himself, "I'm good."
Letting go of Ilda, Shoto said, "Guess his quirk isn't as powerful as he thought." Now that he had a moment to think, Ochaco had been paralyzed after Ilda, but she had recovered sooner. Maybe the duration of Stain's quirk lowered with each sequential person he used it on. Or maybe the amount of blood, or perhaps the blood time. Shoto shook his head, figuring out the specificity of Stain's quirk would have to wait. What was important was now Ochaco and Ilda were free and about to fight.
Even if Stain was trained and could handle high-ranking pro heroes, he would struggle against the three of them.
"Uraraka, Todoroki. I'm sorry for the way I was acting. I was being stubborn and foolish, I couldn't listen to reason. I'm sorry you've spilt so much blood because of me. I know you won't leave me behind. So together, let's take down this villain and bring him to justice." Ilda said.
With a grunt Stain picked himself up and looked down the alleyway at Ilda, "It's no use trying to pretend you're a hero now. You're shown your true color, and that doesn't change within a few minutes. You came here for revenge, that makes you a fraud. A person who stains the title of hero. Someone has to teach you a lesson." Stain said, pulling out more blades. Honestly, how many blades could one person carry?
"Ilda, don't listen to this lunatics' murderous nonsense." Shoto said. Ilda was just back in the fight and managed to turn the tables. They couldn't lose him at the moment as it was going to take all three of them to take down Stain.
"Now he's right, I came here as a fraud. I came here out of revenge and was going to destroy my brother's good name. I have no right to call myself a hero right now. But I hope that one day, I will stand with you, my friends." Ilda said. Stain dashed forward and Shoto reacted. He pushed Ilda out of the way and blasted fire at Stain.
On the wall of the alleyway, Native grunted and yelled, "Idiots, Stain is only after me and the kid in the white armor. Stop fighting, just get out of here and run."
As Stain blocked a kick from Ilda, Ochaco grabbed one of Stain's daggers and threw it towards Native. With One for All activated, the dagger hit the wall next to Native's head and embedded itself up its handle. "Shut it. If you don't think it's important to save everyone, then you don't understand the first thing about being a pro hero. Then maybe Stain is right."
Stain heard this, smiled and swung at Ochaco, not to kill her but to try and get more of her blood and disable her, get her out of the fight. But Ochaco stopped Stain's attack by grabbing his wrist. Ochaco then looked Stain in the eyes, her pink hair becoming a darker hue, "But that doesn't mean you get to kill him."
As Ochaco held Stain in place, Ilda planted a kick against his chest, sending Stain flying down the alleyway. As Stain recovered midair, Shoto shot a stream of fire at the hero killer, forcing him to drop to the ground. As Stain hit the ground, Shoto cut the fire allowing Ochaco to rush forward. Ilda would have done so as well but the repercussions of using Reprico Burst sounds up.
Ilda could feel his engine stall and his legs heat up, making it hard to use his quirk even a little bit. And his radiator was broken, Stain had disabled that early in their fight and without a way to cool down his legs. Ilda paused and looked at Shoto who was watching Ochaco fight against Stain, looking for an opportunity to use his quirk against Stain without hitting Ochaco.
"Todoroki, can you regulate the temperature of your quirk?" Ilda asked. Even if his radiators were broken, Shoto's ice would be a good temporary fix.
Shoto shot a volley of fire, "Only with my ice in my hands. But with my injury I don't know how precise I can get. Why?" Shoto then looked over and shot more fire at Stain, but it seemed Ochaco was handling her own. The hero student and hero killer were no mean on even ground, but he definitely wasn't gaining any ground.
"I need you to freeze my calf, and cool them down without plugging my exhaust pipes." Ilda said, causing Shoto to look down at Ilda like he was crazy, "Just do it."
Shoto gave a short nod, then knelt down and pressed his right hand against Ilda's legs. After concentrating, ice came out of Shoto's hand and covered Ilda's calves. Feeling his legs cool down, Ilda activated his quirk, he could tell he wouldn't be able to push it past second gear. But that was plenty of enough speed to help his friends out.
Further down the alleyway, while Ochaco might be able to stand on her own, she was bound to mess up in a way. Allow Stain an opening and eventually, he found one. Ochaco's midriff was wide open, so he changed his grip on his dagger and plunged it forward to stab Ochaco. She might have a chance to be a pure hero, like him but she could not soil her purity by going around and saving others that did not deserve to be called the same as her.
Ochaco jumped down from the attack, but she could feel the tip of Stain's blade had begun to piece her cut. So before Stain could act again, she jumped further, this time landing next to Shoto and Ilda, as the taller student stood up.
"Are you good?" Ilda asked.
"He nearly had me there, but ready for more." Ochaco said as the pink hue of One for All started to disappear from her hair, "He's relentless and well trained. I get the feeling he's trained in more than form of swordplay."
"What gives you that impression?" Shoto asked.
"I'm used to training against someone who trained in different forms of martial arts. So how are we going to defeat him? We can tire him out, but something tells me he's going to outlast all of us." Ochaco said.
"And we need to get Native to medical aid." Ilda said, looking over at Native who had fallen unconscious, but still appeared to be breathing.
"So we need to defeat him fast. How?" Shoto asked.
Ochaco and Ilda paused for a second, then he said, "You remember the move Midoriya used at the end of the cavalry battle."
"The light screen." Shoto and Ochaco nodded.
"We do a similar diversion, this is something my brother and his team often do. Uraraka, you and I run straight at Stain, Todookri you get ready to throw something at him. The moment we are just outside of his reach, we split, opposite directions." Ilda explained.
"Covering my attack until the last second." Shoto said understanding the tactic.
"But what if Stain dodges?" Ochaco asked.
Ilda thought for a second, "Todoroki, whichever attack you do, make it fill the entire alleyway. Make it so his only option is to go up." -Ilda then turned to Ochaco- "Then while he's in mid air, you and I attack. He might be able to defend himself, but even he's going to struggle to do that while in the air with two attacks coming from different sides."
"Sounds like a plan." Ochaco said and Shoto nodded.
Ilda and Ochaco shifted into a running stance, Ilda's engine began to rev up and Ochaco's hair took on a more noticeable pink hue. She was pushing One for All up to 15 percent, she was going to make sure she didn't miss. Down the alleyway, Stain pulled out another blade, one almost as long as his katana.
Stain yelled and dashed forward, causing Ilda and Ochaco to run forward as well. As the two hero students they could feel a heat chasing after them. But they paid it no mind and the moment they were a step out of Stain's range, they split. Ilda went right and ran up the wall while Ochaco went right and used a trash can to push her up to the roof.
This left the fire behind them unimpeded to run into Stain. But Ochaco had called it, Stain's reflexes were fast enough. He managed to jump above the fire, dodging it but put him directly in the path between Ochaco and Ilda.
The roar of Ilda's engines were deafening while Ochaco's hair became more pink than brown as they pushed off of the roofs. They jumped at Stain, Ilda had his right left pulled back while Ochaco had a left hook posed for his jaw. But Stain began to move his blade to block Ilda's kick while pulling out a kunai that would cut Ochaco's arm before she could reach him. But they noticed as well and quickly changed their attack.
Ilda switched to his right leg and kicked his brother's attacker in the back, while Ochaco threw a right uppercut in Stain's jaw. The three of them fell to the ground but only two of them landed on their feet. As they looked at Stain, they looked for movement or kind of sign he was going to attack. But after what felt like an entirety they realized the hero killer had been knocked unconscious.
"Search for him before he wakes up." Shoto said as he walked up holding out a piece of rope he had found for Ochaco, "Then lose this to tie him up."
Ochaco looked at the rope and Shoto said, "I've noticed your knots skills are the best out of the class." Ochaco nodded and took the rope. While she searched Stain and disarmed him of all his blade. Shoto and Ilda headed over to Native and began to apply what first aid they could. Both were relieved to find Native still alive for the time being.
Ochaco stuffed all of Stain's blade into a discarded duffle bag and then used the rope to secure his arms behind his back. It seemed all those knot-tying lessons from her father were coming in handing useful. Ochaco then used her primary quirk on Stain and pulled him off of the ground. She then grabbed the duffle bag and stood up.
Carrying Stain over to the others and seeing Native was ready to be transported, Ochaco used her primary quirk on him as well. Then while Ochaco pushed Stain down the alleyway, Shoto carried Native, leaving Ilda to limp alongside them.
Chapter 53: Iron Man's first fight
Izuku was starting to feel tired. While the suit of armor was doing all of the movement, it was still being powered by his quirk. Then there were all the energy blasts he had been firing off. Along with all the flying, Izuku could tell his quirk was starting to get low on energy. Getting a report from Jabisu, Izuku learned his quirk was only working at 40 percent capability. Not only that Izuku could tell that his reactions were getting slow, the black nomu's counters were getting closer and closer. And while the black nomu was able to heal and it didn't seem like it was slowing down, Izuku could only hope he was wearing down the creature.
But then the tide of the fight changed, just not in the heroes' favor. Izuku blasted the black nomu in the jaw and began to fly back. Yet the creature counter was fast enough to plant a fist into the middle of Izuku's face plate. Izuku was thrown back and it took a bit for him to catch himself and hover in the air. Within the helmet, Izuku's blue light of the HUD flicked a bit. Then Izuku heard Jabisu's voice glitching, then all the lights turned off. But Izuku wasn't left in complete darkness as he noticed a large crack go up his face plate.
Quickly reaching up his left hand, Izuku gripped the back of his helmet. The padding released from Izuku's head and the helmet expanded a bit, allowing him to slip it off. Taking a quick look at the crack on the faceplate, Izuku saw it was nearly split in half. Then the black nomu let out a blood-curdling screech that was strong enough to shake the ground.
Izuku looked down at the black nomu as he turned his hand, letting the helmet fall to the ground. Izuku then held a hand up to his ear and asked, "Jabisu you are still there." While the majority of the neural interface was within the helmet, he had a bit at the small base of his neck. This severely limited the interface's capabilities, leaving Izuku with the only option of giving verbal commands.
"For you sir, always." Jabisu said through the earpiece.
"Good, reconfigure neural link interface, redirect all computing power to flight capabilities. Attacks will be done by verbal commands" Izuku said.
"Programming switched." Jabisu said after a few seconds as a small beep sounded off.
"Good, give me the left blade." Izuku said as he lowered his left arm from his ear. As his hand dropped the blade came out and he began to lower himself to the ground, "I think I know how to stop that Nomu." Once his feet were on the ground Izuku brought his right hand over and gripped the blade coming out of his left forearm, "Heat right repulsor. Max power." The light coming from Izuku's right hand grew and the blade gained a glowing red light.
"Hey big olf, let's end this," Izuku said as he pointed the glowing hot blade at the Black nomu, while he dropped his right hand down to his side. A jet of hot air came out of the armor as the repulsor began to cool down. The black nomu looked at Izuku and after hammering the ground and letting out a screech, it began to run down the road.
Izuku ignited his three available repulsors and flew at the black nomu. As Izuku got into the creature's range, the black nomu began to reach forward to grab Izuku. But he barrel rolled out of the way. Izuku then reached out and grabbed the black nomu's right shoulder. Using it like a pivot point, Izuku swung around and rammed his red hot blade into the black nomu's spine.
The hideous creature screeched as the smell of burnt flesh reached Izuku's nose. It made him nauseous but Izuku wasn't done. He let go of Nomu's shoulder and dropped to the floor, with the blade cutting a long deep gasp down Nomu's back. But he still wasn't finished.
As the black nomu began to turn around, Izuku said, "Jabisu redirect all power to the chest piece."
"Sir, that will fry the arc reactor." Jabisu warned.
"I know the math," Izuku said. He could feel the arc reactor on his chest siphon all the power from his suit and his quirk. Its light blue glow turned green as the power built within it. The black nomu was now facing Izuku, as a green spark began to jump out of the arc reactor. Izuku looked up at the creature with a smirk, "Chew on this."
The pro heroes in the area could only work as a large beam of green energy came shooting out of Izuku's chest. It hit the black nomu on the chest and began to push the creature back. But as the black nomu stood its ground, its chest began to heat up as the energy beam carved a way through its chest.
Izuku could feel his quirk bottoming out, the lights of his suits flickering on and off. But he held his ground. The exoskeleton of his armor groaned under the pressure it was being put under as it held Izuku in place against the force of the unibeam. But through the bright light show in front of him, Izuku could see his attack going deeper into nomu's chest.
Until Nomu's screech was suddenly cut out, Izuku's attack tore through its chest and went out its back. Leaving a hole through its chest large enough for a baseball to be thrown through without hitting any of the edges. Yet the black nomu stayed standing and its eyes focused on the support student.
"Sir. Suit power is down 10 percent. Sustained flight is no longer an option." Jabisu told Izuku.
Izuku looked over at the black nomu and it looked like it was ready to charge at him, "Let's hope that's enough."
The air was thick with tension as Izuku waited for the black nomu to charge him, despite the large hole in its chest. But after a few seconds, like a statue the defeated nomu fell forwards and face-planted the group.
"Jabius, vitals." Izuku said.
"Remote vitals unavailable." Jabisu said. Izuku forgot he didn't have his helmet on.
"Is it still alive?" A pro hero asked, but none of them were brave enough to get close and check for a pulse. Except for Izuku, who walked up to the nomu and put his left hand on its neck. The nomu growled, telling Izuku it was still alive.
"Vitals." Izuku repeated the command.
"Low, Sir. Despite its transform it appears nomu still has a typical nerve system. By carbonizing its spine, all electrical nerve signals are now unable to get through. And it appears its regeneration quirk is keeping it alive, but it is unable to heal the carbonized cells." Jabisu said, proving Izuku's theory correct.
Izuku took a small breath at that. It still might have been a mutant creature of horrors, but it didn't sit right with Izuku to kill it. Izuku stood up and called over his shoulder, "It's alive, but it isn't going to be moving around any time soon."
Izuku saw all the pro heroes relaxed, then they started to come up to him, congratulating him and thanking him for his help. It seemed the fight was over when suddenly Hawks called out, "Surfs up."
This caused all the pro heroes to get ready to fight as they looked up. Only to see Hawks standing on the back of the flying nomu like he was riding a surfboard. The wings of the flying nomu were badly damaged, with holes in its plagiopatagium. Hawks' feather blade could be seen stuck in its spine between its wings. As the flying nomu was about to crash into the ground, Hawks unfurled his wings, catching him and pulling him away from the ground.
Hawks floated down to the ground and landed next to Izuku. After looking at the down black nomu, the pro hero turned to his student. "Seems like you handled yourself. How's your suit?"
"Low on power. I'm topped out at 10%, so flight is off the table." Izuku said as Hawks walked over and pulled his feather blade out of the flying Nomu. Izuku looked around, only counting two nomu, "Where's the third one?
"Handled." Endeavor called out as he walked up the gathering, causing Izuku to look over. He immediately frowned at the sight of the Number 2 pro hero. As Endeavor walked up, he noticed the cuts over the flying nomu, he recalled Hawks and Gran Torino had fought that one. Endeavor then looked at the black nomu. Endeavor's eyes landed on the baseball-sized hole in the creature's chest, especially the carbonized call surrounding the hole. Endeavor looked around, noticing none of the pro heroes seemed to have much damage, then Endeavor looked at Izuku. He was missing his helmet and the battle damage was noticeable.
Endeavor thought back to the support student's last fight in Sports Festival, his last attack that looked like something that would leave a hole in a nomu. And from the look of it, Izuku was the only reason the fight had ended. "Well done, Midoriya."
"Thanks." Izuku said in a cold tone. He wasn't exactly on good ground with Endeavor, so the compliment wasn't really accepted. Maybe in the future, but at the moment Izuku only worked with the number 2 hero out of necessity.
"Dad." Shoto suddenly called. This caused Endeavor, Hawks, Izuku and the other pro heroes to look over and see the result of the three hero students' fight against Stain. The trio had various cuts and bruises around their body. Ilda and Shoto slowly lowered Native to the ground, he looked the worst of the ground and needed medical attention. What surprised all the pro heroes was when Ochaco pulled Stain off the alleyway.
Ochaco lowered Stain to the ground and then pressed her fingers together. Stain fell to the ground, while Native slumped against Ilda's legs. Endeavor looked at Stain, then at Ochaco, then at his son, "Shoto. Is that?"
"Yeah, that's Stain." Shoto said as if it was a casual thing to say, "Native needs medical attention. Where are the EMTs?"
Ochaco stepped forward to talk to Izuku when suddenly something went right in front of her. To the rest of the group, one second Ochaco was stepping down onto the road, the next she was gone. Everyone looked around for her, and then her scream from above reached them. "Help."
Everyone looked up and saw Ochaco being pulled up into the air by the white flying nomu, whose hand was around Ocahco's chest. "Uraraka!" Izuku yelled while Hawks looked over where the flying nomu was lying just a few seconds again.
Izuku ran off Ochaco while telling Jabisu, "Redirect all power to flight."
"Sir you won't be able to sustain flight." Jabisu.
"Then I'll improvise," Izuku said as he powered up all four repulsors and shot out a quick blast that rocketed him into the air. Izuku rammed into the side of the flying Nomu. He looked over at Ochaco, who was trying to free herself. But with her exhaustion and injuries, she was unable to properly summon One for All. Using his repulsor, Izuku jumped over to her and put an arm around her waist. "Hold on."
Before Ochaco could question what Izuku was doing. Releasing his grip on his left hand, he extended it out and said, "Blade." The next second the armor over Izuku's left forearm split open and the blade jetted out. As it was still quite hot, when Izuku swung it it easily sliced through the flying nomu's arm, separating the limb from what would be considered the shoulder.
As Ochaco felt herself fall, she grabbed hold of Izuku as the blade retracted. Using short bursts from his three available repulsor Izuku began to slow their descent. But then while they were still up in the air, suddenly someone landed on Izuku's shoulder. Then using him as a launch pad, jumped at the flying nomu.
While Izuku might have been the only hero to act, he wasn't the only one to act. While everyone's attention was on Izuku and Ochaco, Stain had regained consciousness. Using a small blade within his cuff, Stain freed himself from the rope. He then grabbed his broken katana and rushed at Hawks.
Then as Izuku and Ochaco were falling, Stain reached Hawks and licked some of the nomu blood that was covering the pro hero's goggles. Stain then launched himself at Izuku, and used the support student as a footstool to launch himself at the flying nomu. As the white nomu sensed the kero killer, it looked down at him and screeched, but the screech was cut off as STain activated his quirk.
As Izuku and Ochaco reached the ground, Stain reached the flying Nomu and rammed his broken katana into the exposed brain of the creature. What little light in the flying nomu's eye quickly disappeared, as Stain got onto its long neck. As the white nomu crashed into the ground again, Stain's foot went through the back of its neck, nearly separating the creature's head from the rest of its body.
Getting over his stupor, Izuku looked back at Ochaco. If he had his helmet he would have Jabisu scan her vitals. But all he could do was ask, "Are you okay?" All Ochaco could was nod as she was struggling to stand. And she was grateful that Izuku was allowing her to lean against him for him to take most of her weight.
"You must all be purged." Stain called out, as he pulled the broken blade from the dead nomu's brain and held it up to the night sky. The moonlight mixed with the street lamps caught the edge of the blade, showing off the blood as it flowed down and dripped onto Stain's face, "You are all unworthy. Unworthy to protect, Unworthy to fight. Unworthy to be called heroes. These two…" Stain pointed his blooded weapon at Izuku and Uraraka," They were the only ones who fought to protect. They were the only true heroes among you. They stand alone with All Might!" -Stain's bloodlust began to flow out of his, filling the area, "All else must be ….."
Stian was cut off by a man dressed in black military tactical gear who had climbed up the nomu and punched him across the jaw. As Stain fell to the ground, the man stood tall and proclaimed, "Stain, Chizoma Akaguro you are under arrest for the murder of 20 pro heroes." Yet that wasn't the end as he then drew his rifle and pointed it at Izuku. Suddenly 10 men dressed in similar body armor jumped out of a black armor military vehicle and drew their own weapons, all pointed at Izuku, "You, Izuku Midoriya-Sutaku, are under arrest for illegal quirk usage, stealing Military secret design and being a traitor to your country."
As Ochaco looked up at Izuku and saw for some reason Izuku didn't look too fazed by this.
Before any of the men in black gear could take a step towards Izuku, Hawks flew over to the man standing on the dead nomu and put a hand on his shoulder, "I'm surprised the HPSC sent Tartarus guards, especially for a high schooler."
The man turned to Hawks, not undeterred, "We have orders to arrest on sight. That high schooler has made a damn mockery of the military and Hero Public Safety commision."
"Maybe, but unless you have evidence you have no right to hold the kid. And for the illegal quirk usage, he's here under special privilege from Principal Nezu and is doing a hero internship with me. And I gave him permission to use his quirk to fight."
The Tartarus guard looked at Hawks, "He is being charged by the Japanese military and the Hero Public Safety Commission, I don't need any grounds to hold him. He's lucky we didn't have orders to shoot on sight."
Hawks looked over at Izuku and saw that he wasn't willing to go without a fight. While his suit might not be able to fly, its exoskeleton was pretty strong. Yet before Hawks could de-escalate the situation, Endeavor walked up. While the number two hero had no need to protect Izuku, he noticed Izuku's presence had helped Shoto start to use his fire. Now Endeavor didn't think he was in debt to Izuku, the number two hero didn't bow to anyone. But as long as Izuku could help Shoto, Endeavor would continue to use him, "This student just saved the people of Hosu city. So unless you have evidence for holding him, you have no right over him." Endeavor looked down at the Tartarus guard, his flame flaring up around his face, "So I suggest you play nice, or you'll be going up against every hero that is currently in this city. That includes me and Hawks."
The Tartarus guard stared back at Endeavor. It was a battle of wills, and neither was willing to blink first. After a whole minute, the guard lowered his rifle and raised up his other hand. "Boys, stand down. Help with clean up and medical aid." Then he turned to Hawks and Endeavor, "We'll play nice for now. But you've been ordered to appear in court in two days." The Tartarus guard then handed Hawks a letter, "Good luck."
Hawks opened the letter and saw the different charges being pressed against Izuku. He quickly read through it, It was just more formally stating the information the Tartarus guards had already given them "Uh." Hawks crumbled up the letter and tossed it in Endeavor flared fire.
"Hawks, Your carefree attitude is currently misplaced. You of all people know how the HPSC works." While Endeavor had grown to ignore Hawks' carefree attitude, it often got him into trouble in times such as this.
Hawks patted Endeavor's shoulder, "Don't worry, Principal Nezu and I saw this coming. We already have our evidence ready." Though he was surprised by Izukus being charged with villainy in the first degree. Hawks had no idea what the HPSC had planned for that particular charge, "For now let's get our interns to a hospital, they have just finished fighting Stain."
Hawks waved the UA students over and helped them to an ambulance. As Izuku got in, a Tartarus guard tried to follow him, but Hawks quickly jumped him and threw him towards a different car. The UA students were driven to the local hero hospital, where the same Tartarus guard tried to force Izuku to be treated in a separate room. However, fighting through their exhaustion, Ochaco, Ilda and Shoto stood up and blocked the Tartarus guard from Izuku. Shoto went so far as to tell the Tartarus guard to shove their rifle where the sun doesn't shine.
Eventually, the guard gave up and left the group alone. The four were admitted to a private room, where nurses administered First Aid. Ochaco's arm was cleaned and stitched, and the wounds on Shoto's right arm were disinfected and then wrapped. Ilda had multiple cuts all over his body and he had to wear a cast on his left hand.
While the nurses helped the hero student. Izuku laid down on his bed and said, "Canopy." The sounds of gears and motors moving echoed through the room, it sounded like a sci-fi movie, but slowly the front of the suit peeled open and Izuku sat up. He then climbed out of the suit and sat down in a chair. Then the suit began to close up until something went wrong and bits of metal and a gear popped out, falling to the floor. Izuku gave a slow sigh, it was an experimental idea. To help with all those times Izuku had gotten stuck in his suit. Something that hadn't been properly tested. Even if it did work perfectly, Izuku was sure something had gotten broken during his fight against the black nomu.
Once everyone else was taken care of a nurse came over and checked over Izuku. Izuku insisted he was fine, cleaning his suit had taken all of the damage, keeping it from reaching him. However one of the nurses found he had some fracture in his ulna and radial bone in his forearms. Fractures that were almost above being called hairline fractures. If Izuku had to guess, he had gotten the injury when he rammed his blade into the back of the black nomu.
A cast was formed over his arm, to keep the bones aligned while they healed. After a sling was given to Izuku, the nurses excused themselves. As they left, a new nurse walked in, holding Izuku's broken helmet and a sports drink. The nurse walked over to Izuku and handed him his helmet. "One of our EMTs picked this up." -Izuku took the helmet with a bow- "My kids are big fans, by the way."
Izuku stood up and put the helmet on the pillow of the bed, then walked back to the chair, where the nurse handed him the sports drink that was filled with electrolytes. Izuku was questioned and the nurse said, "So strangely, while you were being transported. A weird notification appeared in the medical reports about your injuries. The notification said your quirk was static bioelectricity and you were low on it. This should help a bit with the exhaustion you're going to feel."
Izuku accepted the drink and the nurse left with a bow. As Izuku lifted the drink to his lips and before any of them could say anything, Ochaco's, Shoto's and Ilda's phones went off. Grabbing their phones they saw a text from the class group chat.
Mina: Have you guys seen the news? Stain was just captured in Hosu and in the video, It looks like Ilda, Uraraka and Todoroki were there.
Kirishima: "Yeah Testutestu and I managed to catch the last part, even through the screen, Stain is scary. Though Midoriya was quick to act and save Uraraka."
Gizon: "Uraraka, Ilda, Todoroki are you ok?"
Mina: Ohhhh, Are you worried about your girlfriend?"
Gizon: "Ashido, I'm looking forward to sparring with you when our internships are over."
Ochaco: "Hey guys, we're fine. We face off against Stain and somehow manage to not die. Then getting kidnapped by that nomu was pretty scary. I'm glad Midoriya was about to save me."
Denki: "How is the tin man? It looked like the Tartarus guards were trying to place him under arrest. The audio was weird but it sounded like, illegal quirk usage, stealing military secrets and being a traitor, what were they thinking?"
Tenya_Ilda has added Izu_Midor to the group chat.
Katsuki_Bakugo has left the group chat.
Tapping the new group chat he had been added to, Izuku looked over and Ilda. He had a small smile on his face.
Izuku: "Hey everyone. I'll start off by saying I'm good. I have some small fractures in my left arm, the other three are in worse shape. It was surprised with the appearance of the tartarus guards. I don't know why I'm being charged with anything, but Hawks told he would get the illegal quirk usage dropped. I'm not sure what's going on with the other two, from what I understand I'm being sued by the Hero Public Safety Commission and Japan's military. I'm supposed to appear in court in two days."
Shoto, Ochaco and Ilda looked over at him, despite his text and how it seemed, Izuku had a face of calm. He didn't seem too worried about it. Almost as if he was expecting something like this to happen.
Momo: "You're only getting two days. That's no time to get things squared away. If you need, I can get some of my family's lawyers to help you out."
Izuku; "Thanks Yaoyorozu but Hawks informed me that nothing like that is needed."
Gizon: "Midoriya, while I'm glad you're okay and hope you do well in court, I need to digress here for a moment. ILDA. Is there anything you would like to say?"
The group chat was quiet for a bit then a long text from Ilda came through
Ilda: "I would like to apologize for how I have been acting since the Sports festival. As many of you know, my brother Tensei is the Pro-Hero Ingenium. What some of you may not know is, that he was attacked by Stain during the Sports festival and I received news about the attack shortly after my brother was admitted to the hospital. I visited him and learned that he was paralyzed and would not be able to return to his hero duty.
"I was blinded by rage and anger. I used the opportunity provided from our internship to come to Hosu and track Stain down. I am only alive because Uraraka, and I suspect Hisahito, noticed my odd behavior. Uraraka and Todorkoi were able to find me because Midoriya acted quickly by tracking my phone. I apologize to everyone, I have not been acting as your class president."
Gizon: "I'm glad you're not dead and I'm glad you've seen your mistakes."
Everyone: "/\"
Gizon: "Now, Midoriya, I'd like to thank you for rescuing Uraraka from the League of Villains. It's a concern that she was targeted. -Ashido stop typing- It's a surprise the HPSC and Military are coming after you so directly."
Izuku: "Thanks."
The group chat was quiet for a bit then Gizon sent: "Alright everyone tell whatever pro hero you're interning with that your trip is going to have to make a slight detour. We're going to support our classmate."
Denki: "No offense, but classmate?"
Ilda: "As class president, I give Izuku Midoriya the title of honorary member of Class 1-A. We all know he's trying to transfer in."
Momo: "As vice president, I second that."
Everyone could imagine the smug look Gizon had at the moment.
Gizon: "Thank you. Midoriya is going to court against the Hero Public Safety Commission and our nation's military force. We're going to court to show the support Midoriya is getting from UA. He has done nothing wrong and we need to show we believe that."
Mina: "Cool, but there's one thing wrong with your plan, gumdrop. We're all over japan, and not all of us have the kind of money to spare on a last minute ticket to Hosu."
Gizon: "Venmo contact: Giz_Hisa.'
Gizon: "Pay for a ticket and send a request to that account, I'll reimburse you. As for those special few, I know what cities you're in and how much a train and plane tickets would cost. You request too much, you're paying for your own ticket. Everyone better show up, Katsuki_Bakugo"
Katsuki_Bakugo has entered the chat
Bakugo: Middle finger emoji
Katsuki_Bakugo has left the chat
Satou: "um, I don't have a suit."
Denki: "Neither do I"
Sero: "Same here. You plan on buying all of us tailored suits as well."
Gizon: "Doesn't matter, wear your hero suit. We need to make it clear who is supporting Midoriya. Though Yaomomo, Kirishima, might be a smart idea to make yourself a little more modest."
Kirishima: "I've got a black t-shirt that should work."
Momo: "I can make myself some leggings."
Hagakure: "And what about me, oh wise one?"
The group was quiet for a few seconds as everyone waited for Gizon's response.
Gizon: "No comment."
Everyone could hear Hagakure and Mina laughing, "Alright everyone knows that plan? Good. See you in two days."
Gizon_Hisahito has muted notifications.
Mina: "um okay so that happened. Guess we'll be seeing each other in two days. Good luck Midbro."
Everyone gave a send-off and then turned off their phones.
"Are you guys seriously going to come to my court hearing?" Izuku asked, looking up from his phone. Gizon had just suddenly demanded that everyone show up to support him. Class 1-A seemed to agree with the idea, but still, it was very sudden.
"You saved my life, Midoriya. Without you, Uraraka would have been late to save me and Todoroki would have been late to save us. Your equipment allowed them to save me, and for that I'm grateful. I'm not sure what the HPSC is thinking of doing something like this, but you've done nothing wrong so you have nothing to worry about." Ilda said. He walked to stand and bow, but the look on Izuku's face told him that wouldn't be needed.
"Well, that's mostly true," Hawks said, walking through the door. His wings, face and jacket had been cleaned of smoke but the rest of him was still smokey, "The police chief wanted to come and give you some news, I asked him if I could. I have some personal news to share. Shoto, Ingenium, Uravity. While the city of Hosu thanks you for your service in capturing Stain, none of you were officially given permission to attack. Permission to use your quirk to recuse people, not attack." Hawks had noticed Shoto ready to speak, "Now there are three options here. First, you accept recognition for stopping Stain, but then you are arrested for illegal quirk usage and the small amount of property damage you caused. Your hero careers are destroyed before they can begin.
"Two you are privately thanked by the hero of the city, but receive no public recognition. The only mention of you will be the short clip of you online and Uravity being saved from the flying Nomu."
"Who would get recognition?" Ilda asked. Stain capture couldn't be shoved under the rug that easily. Even without the clip, Stain was a heavily talked about topic for news outlets. He was the type of villain that couldn't just suddenly and never be heard from again. All the clip had done was spread around the news even faster.
"That's where you have another two options. First Endeavor, myself and Native would be recognized. Shoto' your fire could be covered by your father. Along with the cuts from your ice and Uravity's attack, which would be covered by me. Native would be recognized since he was attacked." Hawks said, facing the three hero students in turn.
"What is the other option?" Ochace asked.
"There's one person that is known to have been on the scene. His fighting style has been proven to leave behind burns and cuts. And his equipment can explain how he found Stain. And there is video evidence of him and Stain being seen together. And with his recent victory over power foes, it won't be too much of a stretch to sell him being about to handle himself against Stain." Hawks turned and looked at Izuku. Izuku noticed, but struggled to connect the dots, then suddenly he made the connection.
"Wait, Me? Wait, wait, wait, then how would we be able to explain to me taking down one of the nomu and Stain at the same time?" Izuku asked, pointing at himself. Several people, along with pro heroes, could place him on the street, fighting the black nomu. How could he suddenly disappear to fight Stain?
"All the media is the clip online, which starts with Uravity being taken and you going after her. And if you're publicly recognized for taking down the Hero Killer, it would hurt charges the HPSC has against you? But this decision belongs to you four." Hawks said.
"Midoriya, you're going to need all the help you can get against the HPSC," Shoto said. Endeavor had a few runs in with the HPSC in the past, so Shoto knew how hard they played ball. Izuku had shown himself to be a strong fighter, but there was a difference between a fistfight and a political fight. And Izuku had just won the Sports Festival, everyone knew he was from the support course at UA. He didn't have the same formal training as the rest of the hero course, but if people were led to believe he had defeated Stain without that training. It would make him more of a natural hero, putting him on a pedestal that the HPSC would find hard to knock down.
"I agree with Todoroki. You're going to need a good image going into court, this can help." Ochaco had been to court over construction copyright with her parents. It helped to play nice and to be seen in a good light.
"Guys. I don't want this. Yes, it could help, but I know that I don't deserve it. We should go with the second option, the public might not know what happened, but you three will be able to still hold your heads up high." Izuku said. He had been supported by those around him for so long, that he began to wonder if he could stand on his own.
"This is coming from the same guy that didn't accept first place on technicality, he had to win it. Nothing we are going to say will convince him." Ilda wasn't surprised by Izuku's choice. Even having learned about Izuku recently, Ilda could tell that was the kind of person Izuku was. He was a person of honor and hard work, he only took recognition if he thought he truly deserved it. And he wore his heart on his sleeve.
"All right I'll inform the right people. Now Midoriya there is something I would like to share with you. You once asked me why I was so interested in you when we first met. I told you it was because you reminded me of me when I was your age. That was only partially true" Hawks reached inside his jacket and pulled out a photo. He unfolded it and handed it to Izuku. Izuku took it and looked at it. In the photo, it was Hawks standing next to Hisashi. Both had smiles on their faces as they had their arms on each other's shoulders, "You see, when your father first started working at UA, it didn't take long for him to begin designing the suit of armor. And because of that it didn't take long for the military and the HPSC to learn about it. They thought it was too dangerous for a high schooler teacher to build, that it would be served under direction of the military. So they came to an agreement and tried to convince your father to hand over the designs."
"But doesn't Midoriya suit only work because of his quirk. It's the power source, without the suit it would be inoperational." Shoto pointed out, remembering the conversation Izuku and he had after their fight at the Sports Festival.
"That was something Hisashi pointed out multiple times, but gave up on trying to reason with the military and HPSC. Maybe they were just idiots, or they thought they could find success where your father couldn't. The point being, your father was no push over. And being ones that didn't take no for an answer the military and HPSC began to threaten him." Hawks said.
"That's why he left. To protect mom and I." Izuku said with his head down.
"The HPSC can be ruthless, they are just good at hiding it. Your father continued to ignore them, so eventually the HPSC sent me to talk with your father. I remember the original plan, and frankly I didn't care for it. Because your father, he helped me in a lot more ways than the HPSC ever did. I helped keep the HPSC off his back and he helped find a way to loosen the leash that HPSC had around my neck." Hawks said. He would always be eternally grateful for what Hisashi had done for him.
"So you two knew each other." Izuku looked up from the photo. It was the only photo Izuku had seen in recent years of his father smiling.
"We were good friends. When he died, I thought the issue was put in the grave with him. But then I met you and I realized that the HPSC and Military weren't going to let you slip away like your father. Two days from now in court, they plan to not only destroy you and your father's reputation, they plan to steal your work and turn it into a killing machine." Hawks took a more serious tone as he spoke.
"So what's the plan?" Shoto asked. It was obvious Hawks had a plan.
"The time I spent at UA, I was working with Principal Nezu to come up with a plan for when this happened. I was able to get the illegal quirk usage charge dropped, and a phone call between Principal Nezu and the HPSC made quick work of that. For stealing military blueprints, unfortunately your father's servers were hacked and most of the information was corrupted. So for that we have to attack it from the other angle, prove that the blueprints never belonged to the military. For being labeled as a villain, we'll have to play that by ear. We don't know what evidence the HPSC has, so all we can do is wait."
Hawks looked at Izuku. He expected to see some fear and terror, but Izuku had nothing like that. Izuku had determination and a fighting spirit on his face, "I grew up thinking my father had abandoned me because I had a useless quirk. Then I learned that not only had my father not abandoned me, he protected me and worked until his death to provide a way for me to be a pro hero. I will not let someone with a grudge steal my father's work from me. I don't care what happens. If I'm found guilty, then I'll have Jabisu wipe the entire system. The HPSC nor the military are ever getting their hands on my father's work."
Izuku looked Hawks in the eyes. Izuku was feeling the same feeling when he started to work on his repulsor. A fire had been lit under him and he wasn't going to go down without a fight. His father had stood up to them, and Izuku was going to do the same.
Izuku handed Hawks the photo back, who slipped it back into his jacket. Hawks nodded and then left the room. Izuku continued to sit in his chair as his armor took up his bed. Ochaco, Shoto and Ilda all soon fell asleep, but Izuku wasn't ready to join them yet.
Izuku walked over to his split helmet and grabbed it. He looked it over, the HUD wasn't working so there was no point in putting it on. Izuku looked over at the TV screen that was hanging in the corner of the room.
"Jabisu, connect to this room's tv." Izuku said. If he was going to do some work, it would be best for him to see what he was doing.
"One moment sir." Jabisu said. The TV turned on then the HUD appeared on the TV.
"Principal Nezu and Hawks have worked hard to keep me safe. But there's only so much they can do with the information they have. Let's help them out." Izuku said.
"Is there anything in particular you are hoping to achieve, sir?" Jabisu asked.
"I want to know what the military and the HPSC are going to hit us with. I want to see how they plan on playing ball. For that, I want you to find us a way into Japan's Military's R&D department. Locate any file they have that is similar to Project Hero Suit."
Izuku had so many people who had helped him to get to where he was. It was time for him to see if he could stand by himself. So Izuku prepared himself for a long night.