Chapter 54: Privatized World Peace
Over the next two days, Izuku did all the research he could do. It was hard going through the classified documents, as many had lines struck through and though he could try and find the unaltered copies he was sure that would get him caught. The night before the hearing, Izuku made sure he had everything ready. The morning of, Hawks picked Izuku up and headed to a tuxedo rental place. Only to learn they had a special order for Izuku that had already been paid for and fit him perfectly.
Izuku asked Jabisu if he had any hand in that, but the AI butler said he didn't. Unfortunately, Izuku couldn't tell if he was lying or not. After getting switched into the suit and Hawks making a failed attempt to brush Izuku's hair, they got back into the car and drove to the courthouse. As they coasted down the road in front of the courthouse they looked out and saw several news outlets setting up their cameras and microphone in front of the front steps.
Hawks leaned over to Izuku and whispered, "Jabisu, you see all of this?"
"I do. Sir Hawks." Jabisu said from Izuku's phone.
"Handle it at the right time." Hawks said as he turned the steering wheel, turning into the parking lot dropped up. Once the car was parked and they got out, as they walked across the parking lot Hawks quickly fixed his hair while Izuku adjusted his tie. As they walked around the corner and up to the front of the courthouse, multiple photographers for new outlets began to take photos, "Look like they got AM syndrome."
"AM syndrome?" Izuku questioned.
"All Might syndrome. Terms we other pro heroes use to talk about how obsessed the news can get when they talk about All Might." Hawks said as he walked through the front door where a security guard was waiting. After waving a metal detector in front of them, he patted them down. The only hiccup was when the guard felt something inside Hawks's jacket pocket and pulled out a roll of mints, "What? I want to smell fresh while I'm taking questions afterwards."
The guards handed the mints to Hawks and waved them through.
As they walked to the elevator Izuku whispered, "Is there a reason why you're asking so carefree and cracking jokes."
"Because they're already watching." Hawks whispered as he hit the button for the elevator, "You can bet that Madam President of the HPSC and some kind of commander of Japan's Military are already in the security room of this building. They're watching our every move. They want to see how nervous we are. So you can act all confident if you want, but they're just going to believe it's an act. I found it's best to act carefree in a serious situation when I want to get on their nerves."
"Okay." Izuku said as they stepped into the elevator.
"But remember the moment we enter that courthouse, that is when we have to be serious. Be calm and collected. Polite, never be forceful towards the judge, only to whatever lawyer the military and the HPSC have sent. Never swear, never be aggressive, only passive aggressive." Hawks said.
"How do you know about being in court?" Izuku asked.
"Watched a bunch of true crime shows." Hawks joked but then said, "The HPSC taught me politics as part of my training."
That was something Izuku could only nod to. Once they arrived on the right floor, Hawks took point and led Izuku to the correct courtroom. After pushing the door open and stepping in, Izuku was met with a nice sight. Up until this moment, he didn't really believe that class was going to show up. But as he looked over at the bench that was on his side of the room, he spotted all of Class 1-A, sans Bakugo, sitting there.
What was more surprising was the four sitting a few rows in front of Class 1-A. From the aisle over it was Powerloader, Principal Nezu, Mr Aizawa then All Might sitting off to the side so he didn't block the view of any of the students behind him.
Izuku quietly walked up to the class and whispered, "You guys came."
"We told you we would." Ilda said.
"Nice suit Midoriya. I'm sure your girlfriend would love to see you in it." Gizon said.
"Hisahito, what did we say about jokes in the courtroom?" Momo whispered/yelled, but Gizon just shrugged.
Izuku overlooked the class and they were all wearing their hero costumes. Kirishima had put on a black t-shirt, while Momo was wearing some black leggings. But then Izuku's focus landed back on Gizon, and Izuku realized this was the first time he had ever seen Gizon wearing his hero costume. Even when Izuku was stalking, spying on. Researching Class 1-A, he had never seen Gizon wear his hero costume.
Overall it was a simple design with a bodysuit with plated armor over it. Similar to the body armor worn by the Tartarus guards. But instead of being all black, only the undersuit was black, with the plate armor being a burnt orange with yellow accents. It wasn't too bad of a design for a pro-hero suit.
"Well if nothing else, we finally had a chance to see what Hisahito's hero costume looks like." Mina said as she continuously poked Gizon in the shoulder as she giggled.
"Please, be respectful." Momo groaned as she massaged the bridge of her nose.
"YOUNG MIDORIYA." Izuku heard All Might whisper. Izuku looked over and saw the symbol of peace waving him over. Izuku excused himself and walked over to his teachers.
"Okay, I can understand Principal Nezu Powerloader, but what are you two doing here?" Izuku asked as he never expected All Might to come and support him, much less Eraserhead.
"I was forced to come." was all Mr. Aizawa answered with a grunt.
"I CAUGHT WIND OF CLASS 1-A'S PLAN ABOUT COMING HERE AND SUPPORTING YOU. SO I DECIDED TO JOIN THEM. THIS ISN'T MY FIRST TIME RUNNING INTO A BIT OF TROUBLE WITH THE HPSC, HAPPENED A LOT IN THE EARLY PART OF MY CAREER. I'M 100 PERCENT SURE YOU'LL BE FINE. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO REMEMBER IS YOU HAVEN'T DONE ANYTHING WRONG." All Might said and then leaned forward and whispered, "AND BETWEEN THE TWO OF US, WE'VE BEEN STUCK AT OUR DESK FILLING OUT REPORTS SINCE THE INTERNSHIP STARTED. I NEED TO GET OUT AND AWAY FROM UA FOR A BIT."
Izuku had to suppress a laugh at the mental image he got of All Might with his giant body trying to sit at an office desk all day long.
"Hey Midoriya." Powerloader said, "I know this might seem scary. The HPSC really doesn't often put a personal hand into this type of situation. But know we're all here for you. And we're not going to let them take your suits. Classroom 6-G is on total lock down protocol, the only person who is going to be able to get in is you. And they would need All Might levels of strength to break down the door."
"Thanks Powerloader." Izuku said as he stepped away from the teacher and walked up Hawks and together they walked over to the table where they were supposed to sit during the hearing. There were only two chairs, which they both took, leaving no room for a lawyer. Yet that was fine as neither of them believed they needed a lawyer. Now all they could do was wait.
A few minutes later the door at the back of the courtroom opened and a single man, dressed in a suit, walked in. Hawks could almost laugh, that was all the HPSC and the military were spending, a single lawyer. They must be feeling confident. But then Hawks recognized the man. Kaisan Shoma.
Hawks cursed under his breath, catching Izuku's attention, "What? Who's the lawyer?"
"Kaisan Shoma. He's the Hero Public Safety Commission's head lawyer. He's the one they send when they are not leaving anything up to chances. From what I heard he's only been called in a couple of times. 16 times I can recall off the top of my head. And all those sessions lasted less than two hours and he won. He can tear any defense apart and leave the other lawyer looking like an idiot."
"So our chances of winning just lowered." Izuku said.
"No, they were lower to start off with. But this isn't no longer a battle anymore, it just turned into an all out war." Hawks said.
Kaisan walked through the swinging wooden gate and walked over to his chair, never looking over at either of them.
"So what makes him so dangerous?" Izuku asked.
"Aside from his eidetic memory. There's his ruthless sense of justice, his ability to always remain calm, while getting into his opponent's head. There's a rumor in the HSPC that his quirk allows him to read a person's mind or it's luck base. Though having read the case files he oversees, I highly doubt it's the latter." Hawks said.
Before Izuku and Hawks could further discuss how to handle the change in the situation. A side door opened and a courtroom officer stepped in, "All rise for Judge Chike."
Everyone in the courtroom stood and as Judge Chike walked in he looked over Izuku and Hawks, then over at Kaisan. Then he tossed a glance back over the teachers and students from UA. Judge Chike walked over to his chair and sat down, "Please be seated."
Everyone sat down and Judge Chike looked over the single case file that had been left for him. He had already been notified by the HPSC that this hearing and the whole case were going to take a single session. And from the looks of their lawyer Judge Chike could tell the HPSC and Military were serious. He could only feel pity for the support student from UA. Though he might have all that support behind him, the number one and number three pro hero, Principal Nezu and all of Class 1-A. That won't mean much when the chips were down and he had to face off against Kaisan's ruthless style of practicing law.
"We are for the hearing of Cass File 58-8548-57K-4I. Izuku Midoriya against the Hero Public Safety Commission and Japan's Research and Development department. There are charges for Illegal Quirk Usage Offense. Hacking and stealing classified military secrets and blueprints of experimental exoskeleton and armor. And then a charge for first degree villainy." Judge Chike said as he closed the folder, "How does the Defendant plead."
Hawks stood up and calmly said, "Non-guilty, your honor. And your honor, perhaps there was a miscommunication as the illegal quirk usage charges were already supposed to be dropped."
"Mr. Takami, evidence? Illegal quirk usage is a serious offence, especially for a civilian. A civilian whose company has been found in hot water before." Judge Chike.
"Izuku Midoriya-Sutaku is a part of UA's support course. However, he is hoping to be transferred to the hero course before summer's start. Due to his winning of the recent Sports Festival, he was given special permission by the Principal of UA, Nezu to do a hero course week-long internship under my mentorship." Hawks explained.
"And was he given permission to use his quirk during the attack from Stain and League Villain on the city of Hosu?" Judge Chike asked.
"Yes sir. At the beginning of the attack I stated, "Once everyone is out of the way, you have my permission to use your quirk and equipment for any means necessary." Hawks said.
Kaisan scoffed and stood up, "Your honor. 'For Any Means Necessary' doesn't constitute proper permission and does not excuse the illegal quirk usage Midoriya displayed earlier this week."
Hawks took a small breath and said, "Your Honor, the city of Hosu was under attack from not only the Hero Killer Stain but three bio-engineered nomu creatures from the League of Villains. Creatures, I remind the Prosecutor, were similar to the creature used earlier this year in the USJ attack. A creature that took the combined effort of All Might and two UA Class 1-A hero course students. All of whom are present in this room and can testify to the strength of the nomu creatures. I, as Izuku Midoriya's mentor of the hero internship, did not have time to get specific about what situations he could or could not use his quirk.
"The city was under attack and we needed to act to protect civilians and save the city."
"Mr Takami, you're made your point. The charges for Illegal quirk usage in the case of Iuzku Midoriya versus The Hero Public Safety Commission and Japan's Military Research and Development dismissed." Judge Chike said, already getting gist of how this court session was going to go, "We can move onto the charges of Hacking and secret Military SEcret and first degree of villainy. Prosecuting, what evidence do you have?"
"Thank you, Your Honor. One moment." Kaisan said, then clicked a button on this briefcase. A moment later the side door the court officer had entered through, opened and a pair of TVs were wheeled in, "Please excuse the interruption, my clients were hesitant about providing physical copies of evidence, they believe digital copies are more secure."
Judge Chike gave a simple nod. It seemed the HPSC was taking over his courtroom and it wasn't like there was anything he could do about that.
"It will be best to start from the beginning." Kaisan said he pulled out a tablet and the TV powered on, "12 years ago, a man by the name of Hisashi Midoriya approached Japan's military research and development branch. He had a master's in engineering for five years and brought along with him a blueprint of an advanced system of the underlining exoskeleton and protective line of armor.
"Mr Midoriya worked closely with many high-ranking officers of the military to turn his creation into reality." As Kaisan spoke, images of blueprints and prototypes were shown on the sign. Izuku recognized the prototype as having a similar design to the Iron Monger from the USJ, while the later blueprints looked similar to his suit. All the blueprints at Hisashi's signature with signatures from whom Izuku assumed to be military engineers, "It was only after the suit was fully built the military learned the reason Mr Midoriya had come to them. It was to trick them into helping, with the plan of stealing the suit. Before the first test could be properly held, Hisashi disappeared along with all research on Project Strength."
"However, Mr Midoriya wasn't able to hide forever and it was discovered he had taken asylum at UA High School, under the role of being a teacher for the support course, overseeing first and second years. As UA High School is a private institution the military has no ability over it. However, being a hero school the military enlisted the help of the Hero Public Safety Commission to act as a liaison. However, for months Mr Midoriya dodge the military and the Hero Public Safety Commission's attempts.
"The matter was only put to rest as a result of Hisashi's untimely death. That was, until earlier this year when Class 1-A of UA High School was attacked by the League of Villains. 'A large metal suit' was the general description of one of the villains, however, the identity of the user became a mystery as they were teleported out of the attack after their suit was destroyed. A mystery that was solved before a proper investigation could be opened, by Izuku Midoriya's action in Fukuoka when he was intercepted by none other than Hawks. It is the Military and Hero Public Safety Commission's belief that Izuku Midoriya was planted at UA as a spy by the League of Villains. And he created the metal suit of armor seen at the USJ attack from his father's stolen design.
"However, because of the failure of the attack, Izuku Midoriya was given orders to stay hidden until the next option was presented for the League of Villains. Yet he has slipped up and his actions have shown who he really is."
The whole time Kaisen spoke he was calm, never sounding like he was accusing Izuku of anything. He sounded like he was stating an undeniable fact that everyone knew, yet Izuku knew practically every word out of Kaisen's mouth was a lie. Izuku might not have known his father, but his mother had told him plenty of stories for Izuku to have a grasp of the type of man his father was. Cautious with a bit of paranoia mixed, Izuku had even begun to see it for himself.
The door leading to Classroom 6-G had to be built, what 7 or so years ago. Yet it was more advanced than any of the other security systems UA had, even after the recent security upgrades. If Izuku was boastful he would think it was more advanced than the security system from I-island, but Izuku had figured I-island was more sophisticated than it first appeared.
Then there were the corrupted files Izuku had managed to put together. Whenever he put one together to gain full access to it, he always met with a question, whose answer was something Izuku was sure he or Principal Nezu would have been able to solve. Not because of their difficulty, but how personal the answers were.
So perhaps he didn't know his father, Izuku knew his father well enough. Enough that Izuku knew his father would have never gone to the military for help. He won't trust the egotistical captains or the war-fearing generals who would have turned the suit into a killing war machine. Hisashi had promised the suit to Izuku, to help him become a pro hero. Proheroes weren't meant to kill or hunt but to protect and save. Something Izuku had been working toward his entire life and now the Military and HPSC thought they could pull the rug out from underneath his feet.
Izuku looked over at Kaisen Shoma, the HPSC and Military had sent him because he was guaranteed to make this a short court case. They thought Izuku would be a coward and let them walk over him. But Izuku knew the truth, and more importantly, he knew how to prove it.
"What evidence does the defence have?" Judge Chike asked, looking over at Hawks and Izuku.
Hawks began to stand up, but Izuku beat him to the punch. Izuku stood up so quickly that he nearly knocked his chair over. He had done the research, he had gotten everything in order. And all this time he had the support of his mother, Mei and her parents, Powerloder and Principal Nezu. Then finally Hawks and Class 1-A, but now was the time for him to step forward. To Stand on his own.
Hawks said Kaisen's practice of law was brutal and ruthless, and Izuku knew he couldn't be any of them. But he could be underestimated and unorthodox, it's what had gotten him this far, what allowed him to get into the support course and win the Sports Festival. Kaisen was known for making his opponents trip over their own words, but Izuku was more than happy to return the favor.
"Your Honor, if you allow it, I would like to pose a question to Mr Shoma. One he does not have to answer." Izuku said.
Judge Chike was caught off guard. He was not expecting a simple request from Izuku. To ask a question, one the prosecutor didn't even have to answer, "I'll allow it." Judge Chike was intrigued about where Izuku was going with this.
"Mr Shoma, what is the power source created for the Military project named Project Strength. You stated the Military had a working prototype and was ready to begin test trials." Izuku said as he pulled out his phone and tapped on it a bit, "However, in all the blueprints and design you submit as evidence I did not once notice a design for a power source. So again I ask, what was the Military using to power the suit you claim they designed?"
That question alone makes several people in the courtroom sit more straight. Namely Principal Nezu, Powerloader along with Shoto and Momo. Principal Nezu and Powerloader were familiar with the inner workings of Izuku's hero suit, while the hero students recalled how Izuku had referred to his quirk before. A giant battery.
"And please remember you do not have to answer." Izuku added, before fully looking down at his phone, rapidly tapping away at it.
Kaisen confidently leaned forward and spoke in his microphone, "We are here to debate your involvement in the League of Villains, not the power source of Military technology. Which is classified and would not be able to be presented in court. There is too much red tape for it to be declassified in such a short amount of time."
Izuku stopped himself from smiling. That was the first nail in the coffin, a good excuse to hide something in court but it didn't matter because it would take time for such a file to be declassified, especially since it never existed in the first place.
"Then allow me to place my card on the table first." Izuku said turning to Judge Chike, "Your Honor, 11 years ago like most four years ago I gained my quirk and due to its odd behavior it was given the name of Static Cell. This odd behavior was my quirk's inability to discharge like most electricity-based quirks, but this defect turned out to have unforeseen side effects as it made my quirk much more powerful than your usual electricity-based quirk. At just the age of 5, my quirk was already about to produce 200,000 volts of electricity.
"In a way, my quirk is similar to a battery." -Izuku still hated the fact he couldn't come up with a better way to describe his quirk- "When my father, Hisashi Sutāku learned of this, he promised me that he would use his knowledge as a mechanical and electrical engineer to create a way for me to become a hero even with my seemingly useless quirk." Izuku tapped his phone one last time and suddenly the TV Kaisen had brought went to static before green coding appeared in the top left on the screen, then quickly expanded down. This caught everyone's attention and Kaisen looked like he wanted to say something but Izuku beat him to it, "Your employee believes digital copies are usually more secure. Don't worry I'm not coping anything, I don't need to since I have the originals. Judge Chike my father never worked alongside the military, he never approached them or anything of the sort. He gained employment at UA High School to work alongside the pro hero known as Powerloader." As Izuku spoke the green code disappeared, replaced with scans of Hisashi's original blueprint, many of them have Higari Maijima. Along with records of employment at UA starting nine years ago, "Working together, Hisashi and Powerloader invent repulsor technology and integrate into the world's most advanced exoskeleton.
"However, before his untimely death, my father was unable to get a working project. In later pages of his journal it is an issue he brought up often, yet that mishap did not influence the Hero Public Safety Commission and our military to try and forcibly seize my father's property. He feared they would turn into a weaponized killing machine, when he had already promised it to me to help me become a pro hero. The only people my father ever trusted to see his design were limited to myself, Principal Nezu and Powerloader."
"That is an interesting opening statement, Mr Midoriya, but documents can be altered and changed. So what do you have to prove that the military never owned your father's acclaimed design?" Judge Chike.
Hawks looked at Izuku, that was going to be the biggest hurdle for them to get over. The winged pro hero would have preferred to focus on the villain charges, but it seemed Izuku wasn't one to wait around.
"Judge Chike. I can prove the military never had ownership of my father's design While disproving any claim from the Hero Public Safety Commission about me being a villain." Izuku said with a confident smile, "When the military realized they would not be able to convince my father to hand over his design, they created a think tank program with a well known company to best recreate my father's design. Shall we have a look over what they created."
Izuku aimed his phone at the TV and swiped up. Suddenly a new blueprint appeared on the TV. It was similar to Izuku's suit, but more rudimentary and bigger, the joints over the shoulder and knee were bulky and a part of the exoskeleton was not covered by armor. It seemed the design was going for a more imposing look than the sleeker and more mobile design of Izuku.
As Gizon looked at the suit of armor, everything started to connect. If Izuku was right, then the military had tried to create their own iron man suit of armor based on what little they had seen of Hisashi's design, it would explain why the Iron Monger from USJ was so similar to Izuku's suit. And if something the military created was used by a villain it would explain why they were trying so suddenly to cover it up, "Wait that's…."
Judge Chike was about to call for order but Izuku beat him to it by pointing at Gizon and said, "No spoilers. Please." Izuku looked back at Kaisen, though he still looked confident Izuku could see in his eyes. HPSC's great lawyer was not expecting Izuku to be this prepared with this type of information.
"The file you are looking at is a design from Japan's Military Research and Development branch. As part of a joint technology advancement think tank, co-engineered by Sutien Co. Now I would like to point out that Mr Sutien, CEO and founder of Sutien Co, has been missing since earlier this year. April 10th I believe was his last public appearance, I'll come back to that momentarily.
"But after years of development Sutein Co had created a work prototype and had scheduled a field test for April 11th. Would you like to see how the test went?"
Izuku looked up at Judge Chike, who had a look of curiosity on his face, but then Kaisen interrupted by standing up, "Your Honor, this evidence is not admissible, the only way Izuku Midoriya Sutaku could have possibly got ahold of this footage was by hacking Japan's military server and Sutein Co's private server."
Judge Chike was quiet for a moment then turned to Izuku, "Mr Midoriya he brings up a valid point. How did you come by such evidence?"
"If you are implying I hacked private servers, no and I'm willing to go under oath to prove so." Izuku said without a hint of mistruthing, all evidence he was presenting was gathered through legal means.
"Then how could you have possibly acquired such footage?" Kaizen further questioned.
"The footage you are about to see is graciously and generously provided by Principal Nezu, principal of UA. High." Izuku said, causing everyone to turn and look at Principal Nezu, who gave a small nod.
Chike Judge waved Izuku off, "You may continue."
"Thank you," Izuku said with a bow and then tapped on his phone. The TV went dark before the video from a security camera appeared. It was fuzzy for a second but the moment it cleared it it became obvious what Izuku was showing off. All of Class 1-A recognized the middle courtyard of the USJ and standing on opposite sides of the frame was Gizon facing off against Iron Monger.
"The video you are seeing is security footage, from UA High School's off-site disaster training facility, the unforeseen stimulation joint. Please note the date and time. April 11th, around 3:30 in the afternoon, making it the midst of the League of Villains's attack against Class 1-A or UA high." Izuku said then allowed the video to play out, "As you can see the suit being used by the villain known as Iron Monger is not only similar, it is an exact copy." Izuku paused the frame on a clear shot of Iron Monger, which he displayed next to the blueprint the military had submitted as evidence, "If further proof is needed, I am in possession of the Iron Monger Suit and can have it delivered here as soon as possible.
"We'll discuss if that is needed later Mr Midoriya." The judge said and Izuku bowed and then continued.
"Thank you, your honor. It is clear that the prototype from Sutein Co was used in the League of Villain's attack at the USJ. And after learning about this act the military has just been trying to cover it up. Make it appear that my father worked with them, and promised them designs and tried to turn me into a villain."
"All you've proven is that the military was trying to build their own suit of armor. You could have used your father's design to build that suit of armor and using your enrollment into UA stole a class schedule and helped the League of Villains attack the hero class." Kaisen pointed out, but he was starting to get worried. His clients had told him there was no way a first-year support student would have been able to present a defence so systemically. While he might have been able to explain a few things away, finding an opening in Izuku's defence, it seemed there wasn't any.
"Yes, proving I am not a villain." Izuku said, which turned out to be the easiest to disprove, "Allow me to prove my innocence. And solve the mystery of who was piloting the Iron Monger suit during the attack." Izuku grabbed his phone from the table and after tapping and sliding his finger to the left. The view of the TV was once again taken up by the security footage of USJ, quickly rewinding until before class had even started, "Class 1-A didn't enter until 3:08:28." -Class 1-A was shown to enter the USJ with Eraserhead and Thirteen, then the video was briefly fast forwarded until- "Shigaraki, Nomu, Kurogiri, Iron Monger and the rest enter the show at 3:09:48." The video is once again fast forwards, everyone is about to catch a glimpse of Eraserhead taking care of the cannon fodder before Iron Monger stepped in and attacked the pro hero. The video doesn't slow down until after Gizon jumps in to save his teacher and then fights against the metal giant. Just as Gizon pushed Iron Monger back, Izuku slowed the video down, allowing everyone to see Shigaraki press his hand against the suit and cause it to decay, momentarily showing the wearer before Kurogiri teleports them away.
"And Iron Monger is taken out of the picture at 3:38:04. Now to answer the question of where I am." Izuku said as the security footage of the USJ changed to one of a hallway and classroom, "This is social studies taught by Mr Aine, at UA's main building on their campus. I entered the class room at 3:00:02." -Izuku is shown walking down the hallway accompanied by Mei before they enter the classroom. The security footage of the hallway is replaced by the USJ footage, then fast forwards until the Iron Monger user is teleported away. Then the footage is sped back up until a teacher's assistant enters the social studies classroom at which point Izuku and Mei stand up and leave the room, "I and my classmates Mei Hastume don't leave until 3:40:18, over two minutes after the Iron Monger is already taken out of the fight. Hatsume and I were directed to my father's old classroom room 6-G" Izuku explains as the security follows Izuku and Mei through the hallways of UA, then over to the Support department and ends with they walking into Classroom 6-G.
Chapter 55: Greatest Victory Of All Time
Izuku tossed a glance over at Judge Chike, who was intently looking over at the TV that was facing him. He had a quizzical look on his face, which told Izuku he was thinking everything over. So far Kaisen Shoma had presented a case about Hisashi stealing from Japan's military R&D department and passing those blueprints down to his sons. Yet the only evidence presented for such a claim were blueprints.
While on the other hand, Izuku Midoriya was presenting a case that never had Hiashi Sutaku approaching the military. Instead was a private inventor who had been approached by the military and after failed negotiation the military had begun to try and coerce him into handing over his blueprints. Blueprint of a highly advanced suit of armor hilt to protect and serve, to turn it into a weapon of war. Worse, Izuku had exposed after further failed attempts the Military had enlisted Sutein Co to build a prototype suit based on what little information they had of Hisashi's designs.
A prototype of which Izuku had presented concrete evidence proving it had been used during an attack on UA High School by a now-known group of villains. While at the same time creating a good alibi of his whereabouts during the attack when the prototype was in use.
Judge Chike was impressed, this was seemingly Izuku's first time in court but he was so seamlessly laying out his defense. But the HPSC had sent in their best lawyer, it might take some time but Judge Chike had seen it before. Kaisen Shoma had been able to find holes in defence like this before. As Judge Chike began to look over at the lawyer, he was sure to see a ruthless man calmly going over his notes, making a rebuttal to all evidence Izuku had just submitted as admissible and be stricken from the record.
Yet as Judge Chike laid eyes on Kaisen, he was met with the sight of the lawyer blankly staring at the TV screen. Judge Chike was sure that if it had been any other lawyer their jaw would be hanging open.
Kaisen couldn't believe it. When he got the summons from the Hero Public Safety Commission, he was curious about what situation he was being called into. He didn't recall any major action in the news about a pro-hero causing large amounts of property damage or harming a civilian and getting sued because of it. The latest had been some apartment complexes being flattened by Mt Lady but that case had been so easy the new intern at their firm was able to handle it.
After reading the report Kaisen had been given he learned he was being called in for a case against a first-year support student from UA by the name of Izuku Midoriya. Who was being sued for stealing classified military designs and blueprints? Not recognizing the name Kaisen asked his secretary and learned it was the same Izuku Midoriya who had just won UA's Sports Festival, beating out all of the hero courses, by using a highly advanced suit of armor.
That made Kaisen feel a little bad for the kid, to have the HPSC and Military attacking him so hard. Moreover for them to give summons to him, meant the HPSC and Military were not taking any chances and wanted the case over before lunch could get cold. But what was more surprising was the fact the initial and only hearing was happening in three days. While Kaisen felt bad for the kid, he would try to show some mercy by making the hearing as painless as possible.
Three days were no means of getting evidence together to form a proper defence.
But now three days later, in the courtroom, Kaisen was dumbfounded by the amount of evidence Izuku was presenting. The military had assured Kaisen that the blueprints belonged to them, there was no way Izuku would have a chance to fake any of it. There was no way Izuku would be able to prove he wasn't a villain, he wasn't a member of the league and he wasn't a part of the USJ attack.
To Kaisen, it seemed the Military were more hellbent than anything else on destroying a high schooler's career and getting their blueprints back. But with all Izuku had presented, it seemed the Hero Public Safety Commission and the Military had not been forthcoming with all the details. But Kaisen Shoma was the greatest lawyer to ever exist. He could find a way to break down Izuku's defence, because when he was given a case his name meant victory for the HPSC.
But where to start? Where could Kaisen fight an opening in Izuku's defence? The identity of Iron Mongar. Kaisen could tell it off that everything the HPSC and Military were doing was to identify whoever was piloting Iron Monger. Make Izuku trip up in his wording and start from there.
"Mr Midoriya, you have proven your whereabouts during the attack on UA from the League of Villains." Judge Chike said. Kaisen silently clicked his tongue, he would have to work backwards from that, but the identity of Iron Monger was still his best card, "Furthermore you claimed you were able to identify the villain known as Iron Monger."
Kaisen looked over at Izuku. Such a claim was foolish, the HPSC had dug deep into the USJ attack. Not only to find out everything they could about Shigaraki and Kurogiri but also to figure out who had been piloting the Iron Monger suit. As it was clear from the security footage, whoever was able to design and build a suit like that and use it to break the law was a serious threat. Yet after weeks of searching, they had nothing. There was no way Izuku had been able to identify the man wearing the metal suit within three days.
"I can, your honor. And we don't have to go far, as the evidence is also within the security footage." Izuku said, as the footage returned to the USJ and rewound to the point Iron Monger and Gizon were facing off, "After learning how Sutein Co's connection to the military R&D department. I decided to have a look at the suit's history. As you'll recall their prototype was scheduled for a test run April 11th. The suit was logged out for a test run, but according to Sutein Co's server the suit was never logged back in. It had mysteriously disappeared."
Izuku typed on his phone and then a security load appeared on the suit, "According to Sutein Co servers, Prototype Bodyguard was logged out at 2:30 by Mr Obadia Sutein, himself."
Kaisen quickly grabbed his microphone and was about to claim once again that Izuku had illegally acquired such evidence, but then Izuku resumed the security footage, this time with audio. The metal villain had recovered from Gizon's answer as it called out, "I'm not finished."
Yet before the Iron Monger could get back on its feet, Shigaraki stepped into frame and pressed a hand against the back of the suit. Iron Monger must have noticed because it slightly turned to Shigaraki, "Shigaraki what are you going?'
"You were given a chance to demonstrate." Shigaraki said as he walked around to stand in front of the overly large suit, keeping a hand against it the whole time, "And you couldn't ever kill a kid."
Pieces of the armor continued to decay, some falling over as the effect spread over the entire suit.
I wasn't finished, Shigaraki." Iron Monger's voice became more robotic and resonated like it was glitched.
"Master says I can destroy whatever I want to. And I don't like your suit." Shigaraki then pressed his hand harder against the armor, but then slightly withdrew his palm while keeping the tips of his fingers pressed against the metal, "However, master seems to have plans for you."
Shigaraki was cut off by Kurogiri suddenly appearing next to him, "What are you doing here?"
"Some students and Thirteen managed to dodge my initial attack. I managed to put Thirteen out of commission, but one of the students managed to escape." Kurogiri explained.
Shigaraki's face took on an angrier expression as he yelled, "If you weren't our way out of here, I would kill you." Then Shigaraki turned back to Iron Monger, just as the metal giant's helmet fell off, revealing who had been piloting it the whole time. An audible gasp echoed through the courtroom and before anyone could question if what they were seeing was true Shigaraki confirmed it, "Kurogiri, teleport Mr Sutein to Master. I'll let the Master deal with him."
Izuku paused the video and cleared his throat, "While it's from a less than fortunate source Shigaraki the head of the attack on the USJ has confirmed it was Mr Sutein who was piloting the Iron Monger suit. Now I would like to pose a question to the prosecutor, one I would like to have answered. You claimed the identity of Iron Monger was a mystery to the Hero Public Safety Commission. Yet did the Hero Public Safety Commission not help oversee the investigation for the USJ attack. So how could they miss such an obvious clue to who is Iron Monger. Or is it perhaps they did find out and along with Japan's military created this elaborate idea to turn my father into a traitor and me into a villain to cover their own skin."
Izuku then turned and looked over at Kaisen, for his part appeared to be mostly calm. Too calm, in fact, Kaisen appeared to be as stiff as a rock, unmoving and barely breathing. That told Izuku that underneath that calm there was a storm going inside the lawyer's mind. Izuku's eyes then slowly drifted upwards to a camera in the room, where there was no doubt the President of HPSC and a military general had just witnessed all of this from the security room.
Izuku then looked back at Kaisen who still hadn't said anything. This prompted Judge Chike to lean slightly forward and ask, "Well Mr Shoma, did you have an answer to his question? Do you have anything to disprove Mr Midoriya's evidence? Because if there is any truth in his words, no matter how small, I do believe an investigation will have to be launched not only into the Hero Public Safety Commission but also into our nation's own military research and development branch, especially into this think-tank developed alongside Sutein Co."
Kaisen went stiff at Judge Chike's comment. Not only had Izuku been able to create the groundwork to clear his name, but was able to turn all the attention to Kaisen's clients.
"Mr Shoma. I'm going to give you one more chance to save face, take it how you will." Judge Chike.
Kaisen quickly leaned into his microphone and said, "My client would like to drop all charges."
Judge Chike nodded and then said, "I'm sure the government will be keeping a close eye on their investigation."
"If they want, I can give them the phone number of the acting CEO of Sutien Co." Izuku said, catching Kaisen and Judge Chike, "It's my moms."
While court was still in session and everyone was trying to act professionally, that did not put a damper on the small quick snort that came from the one of the studenst in Class 1-A. They couldn't help but laugh at Izuku's comment because that was just adding insult to injury.
Judge Chike grabbed his gravel and stated, "All charges against Izuku Midoriya dropped," before banging his gravel. A cheer began to rise from the members of Class 1-A, but it was cut off by Judge Chike pointing his gravel at them and saying, "Court is still in session."
Once the room was quiet once again, Judge Chike calmly announced with another bang of his gravel, "Court, dismissed."
While Izuku and Hawks nearly fell out of their chairs as all the stress left their bodies, Class 10A started to cheer again. On the other hand, Kaisen quickly gathered all of his material and rammed it into his briefcase, before speed-walking out of the courtroom. From his bench, Mr Aizawa looked at Izuku, and when later questioned by Midnight and Present Mic he would admit to being impressed by how well Izuku held himself.
Once Izuku regained feelings in his legs and believed he could stand, he turned in his seat and looked back at Class 1-A. Amongst all their cheer, Izuku noticed Gizon making eye contact with him. The hero student gave a short nod, then made a small fist with his right hand which he covered with his other hand. He then gestured to all of Class 1-A, and Izuku took the message as Class 1-A was going to help cover Izuku's exit.
With that understanding, Izuku stood up and walked to the wooden swing gate. As he walked down the aisle, just as he passed Class 1-A, Gizon, Ochaco and Momo stood up. While Ochaco took the front, Gizon and Momo walked alongside Izuku. As the group continued to walk towards the doors, more and more Class 1-A formed around them, acting like they were Izuku's personal bodyguards.
Once the class was out in the hallway, Gizon whispered to Izuku, "We have a bus out front."
Now with a destination, Class 1-A along with Izuku began to walk to the stairs. As they passed by a security door, it began to open and a voice called out, "Izuku Midoriya, we need to talk…."
Yet before the door could fully open and reveal who was, Gizon quickly stepped over and slammed the door close with a knee, "Sorry, but Mr Midoriya doesn't want to talk to you right now." As a banging came from the door, Gizon grabbed a bench and wedged it underneath the door handle, "Or ever."
Gizon then walked back to the class. Sero looked over at the door then back at Gizon, "Who was that?"
"Someone of unimportance." Gizon scoffed as he kept his eyes forward.
Shoto tossed a glance over to the door, "That sounded like Madam President.
"Who?" Denki asked, and Momo was going to answer but Gizon cut her off, "Like I said, someone of unimportance. She's the last person we want talking to Midoriya."
The banging from the door Gizon had closed off got louder and the voice yelled, "Sutaku!"
"Sutaku?" Kirishima questioned, as Ochaco pushed open the door to the stairwell. She looked around and then turned to Izuku and gestured that he was good to go through.
"That would be my father's name." Izuku said as he stepped from the doorway into the stairwell. The group quickly descended the three flights of stairs and as they reached the ground floor Iida turned to Shoji and asked, "How does it look out there?"
Shoji walked up to the door and used his quirk to look through the crack, "Well, Hisahito called it. I count over 30 different news stations out front. Cameras, microphones, vans, everything."
"Don't worry about them, I can handle them," Izuku said as he pulled out his phone. He made sure the targeted short-burst EMP was ready.
"Then let's move," Iida said. The group stepped out into the hallway, and as they walked to the front, Ilda, Shoji and Sato took the front, effectively blocking Izuku from view. As they neared the front door, the security guards noticed the group and gave them a large berth to get through the doors.
As soon as the doors opened and the front of the group stepped outside, reporters held up their microphones and asked questions while camera operators tried to catch sight of Izuku. At the same time Photographs and journalists began to take photos to use for their articles and blogs.
"Midoriya, was this your plan all along?" "How long have you been aware of Sutein Co involved with the League of Villains?" "How did you learn that Sutein Co had built the Iron Monger alongside Japan's military?" "Do you have a comment about the hidden illegal activity of the Hero Public Safety Commission and Japan's military?" "Midoriya, does this mean you are officially a part of UA's hero course."
Suddenly Izuku held up his phone and said, "Jabisu." The next second a short electric burst went off and all the lights on the cameras, microphone and vocal records turned off. Shoji, Sato and Iida made a path for Izuku through the reporters, to the street. As Izuku reached the edge of the sidewalk, a UA bus rolled up and parked.
Izuku heard Ochaco whisper in his ear, "Get on."
Once the door opened Izuku stepped on the bus and was quickly followed by Class 1-A. As Izuku fell into a seat, he took off his tuxedo jacket and loosened up his tie. He hated how constricting it felt, he much preferred his loose oil-stained t-shirts and worn-out athletic pants. Once everyone was settled, the bus pulled away. At the corner, the bus turned and as the courthouse disappeared from sight, Denki gave a laugh that turned into a chuckle, "Midoriya, dude when you said you had a plan. I was not expecting anything like that."
"What you thought would be a legal process that would take years to get through"' Izuku guessed as he hung his suit jacket on a metal hook.
"Well not exactly." Denki said as he continued to laugh, with Mina and Sero joining him, "I thought you would ease into all the evidence. There would be more back and forth between you and the other lawyer. But no, you just dumped everything on them and asked, "Got anything else?'
"That lawyer looks like he had just watched you pull a rabbit out of a hat." Mina said.
"What I'm surprised about is how you managed to convince the judge that you didn't hack into three of the secure private servers," Gizon said from the back of the bus. Izuku tossed a glance over to the Sports Festival runner-up and found him taking off his hero costume, revealing a white undershirt and jeans.
"I have no idea what you're talking about." Izuku calmly said as he leaned back in his chair with a slow exhale.
"UA, Sutein Co and Military R&D server. How else would you have gotten the security footage and the military design of Iron Monger." Gizon asked as he stored his hero suit over the armrest and then walked back to the group, smoothing down his hair as he walked.
"Wow, barely out of the public eye and you've taken your hero costume off." Mina cracked.
"Yeah, I feel like we need to have a symbolic funeral for it because it's going to be months until we see him wear it again." Tooru joked.
"Hagakure. I was unaware you made it. I didn't even see your boots or gloves." Gizon said, returning the dig at his hero costume.
"Well Hisahito, for your information I didn't hack into any server. Hack insinuates I had to brute force my way through whatever security measures were in place. For UA I just simply happen to know Powerloader's login information and while he is more known for being a teacher for the support course, he plays a big part in UA's security system. As for Military servers, I have no idea what you're talking about, all the information I need was on Sutein Co. And like I said, My mom has been acting CEO since Mr Sutein's disappearance, her password was pretty easy to guess." Izuku said as he rested his head back on the top of the seat. The hearing hadn't gone exactly as Izuku thought it would. He figured Kaisen would have pushed back a bit more, but there wasn't as much resistance.
Which surprised Izuku a lot, making him think the HPSC and Military had something else they were working on. Like the arrest and court was just a cover for something else. Hawks had said they sent Kaisen Shoma because they wanted a gaunt victory. But something didn't feel right, it didn't feel like winning in court was the HPSC's only plan to try and get his suits.
Izuku was pulled from his thoughts as he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. Pulling his phone out, Izuku saw it was a text from Bakugo, "Oi nerd, good job not getting arrested. The old hag is happy you ain't going to prison. When you get back you owe me a fight with your suit."
Izuku sighed. There were some days he wished he could mend his relationship with his old childhood friends, but on most days Izuku knew that was highly unlikely to happen. So for now, Izuku knew that was Bakugo's form of support. Because as much as they could hate each other, neither of them wants to see the other go down a dark path.
Speaking of his suits, Izuku spun his phone around and held it up to his ear like he was taking a phone call, "Jabisu, is the lockdown protocol still active?"
"Yes sir. Has been for the past three days." Jabisu said.
"Thank you. And do me a favor, take a moment and locate Mei for me." Izuku said.
"No need sir. I've been keeping an eye on her since word about your arrest reached her ears. She's been in one of UA's workshops." Jabisu said.
"Thank you Jabisu." Izuku sighed, he knew he owed Mei big time. He knew he should have taken the time to call her up and inform her he was okay. But he hadn't and he was sure Mei was going to make him pay for it.
"I feel like we need to celebrate." Mina called out over the noise, "I mean we all made it through our internships, three of us survived Stain and Midoriya just won a legal battle against the Hero Public Safety Commission. I feel like we need a round of drinks, but none of us are old enough."
"I'm glad you thought through that for once." Iida said with a sigh.
"I know a nice ice cream parlor that's only a few blocks away." Gizon offered.
"That doesn't sound too bad of an idea." Ojirou said.
After many members of Class 1-A voiced their opinion, it seemed mostly everyone was up for it so Gizon directed the bus driver to the ice cream parlor. While the bus drove to the ice cream parlor, many of the members of class 1-A put off a piece of the hero costume. Sero took off his helmet shoulder pads and Kirishima did the same with his shoulder pads. While a few; Iida, Momo, Toru, Tsuyu and Ochaco used the changing room in the back of the bus to change to more casual clothes.
Izuku would have done the same but he didn't have his suitcase. It was still in Hawks' car, so that meant he had to stay in his dress pants and white tailored shirt.
A few minutes later the bus slowed down and pulled in front of a parlour that had the sign of 'Rising Moon Ice Cream Parlor.' As Mina stepped out and overlooked the front of the parlour, she called back over her shoulder, "Wow Hisahito, I never took you to be one to go somewhere so fancy, or so high in sugar."
"I had a life before you met me." Gizon said as he stepped off the bus and headed for the front door. The rest of the group follows him through the front door and into the parlor. At the sound of the door ringing a bell the shop owner came from the back room.
"Hello and welcome to the Moon Rising Ice…." The parlor owner, an older gentleman with slicked back silver-white hair, stopped as his eyes fell on Gizon, "Hisahito, it's good to see you again."
"You as well, Mr Hebun." Gizon said with a small wave.
"I see you brought some new friends this time." Mr Hebun said as he overlooked the student, "UA students from the look of them. Classmates of your's."
"We are in need of celebration and well we were in your part of town." Gizon said as he walked up to the counter and began to look over the different options.
"Twenty hungry teenagers and it's barely past lunch time. I might be about to be able to close up early." Mr Hebun said as he tapped a few keys on the cash register then looked back over at Hisahito, "You spotting your friends."
"Not least you want me cashing in that favor." Gizon said.
"Wait, what favor?" Ochaco asked as she walked up to the ice creams.
"Oh, you don't know little missy. Your friends here rescued me and my family one night." Mr Hebun said, then noticed the small stare he was getting from Gizon, "Told him for his troubles, one of his trips was on the house. But he disappeared before he used it."
"Well we don't have much time before we need to get back on the road. I'll start off the order with a scoop of mint, huckleberry and orange dream." Gizon said, and Mr Hebun rang up on the cash register before moving to scoop up the ice cream.
Once Class 1-A had all gotten their different combination of ice cream and toppings, Gizon handed over a card for Mr Hebun to bill. But the older gentleman insisted that everything was on the house, as he was just happy to see a group of young spirited people come through. Only for Gizon to insist that he didn't want to see such a place go bankrupt. So in the end Gizon did get to pay but it was with a 20 percent discount.
Once everything was paid for, the student got back on the bus and headed back to UA.
Back at the courthouse, Powerloader, Principal Nezu and All Might stepped out of the courthouse just in time to see the bus turn in the wrong direction. At the bottom of the stairs, most of the news crowd were still trying to figure out what had happened to their equipment.
"THEY DON'T APPEAR TO BE HEADING BACK TO UA, SIR." All Might pointed out, that the bus should have turned right instead of left.
"I believe that there is an ice cream parlor down that street. It seems they have decided to take some time for celebrations. I'm sure the more sensible of the class will make sure they do not waste too much time there." Principal Nezu said from Mr Aizaw's shoulder.
The night-time pro hero huffed and said, "They have their interns to finish. Hisahito caused a lot of headaches with that stunt he pulled getting all of Class 1-A here."
"Not all of Class 1-A." Powerloader pointed out, as the absence of a particular member of class 1-A was quite noticeable. Though it was the student Powerloader was fine being left out of the gathering.
"For once Bakugo was the one with the most sense." Mr Aizawa said in disbelief.
"RELAX ERASER, I CALLED UP THE PRO HEROES EACH WAS INTERNING WITH. ALL GAVE FULL MARKS ON 1-A ACTIONS, I'M SURE A LOST DAY OF LEARNING WON'T BE TOO MUCH OF A LOSE." All Might said with a small chuckle.
"And what were you supposed to be doing while making those phone calls? Furthermore, how did Hisahito pay for all those tickets?" Mr Aizawa asked
"I BELIEVE HE USED THE MONEY HE GOT FROM A BET HE MADE WITH HIS FELLOW CLASSMATES DURING THE SPORTS FESTIVAL. IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING YOUNG YAOYOROZU PLACED A RATHER LARGE WAGER OF YEN AND LOST." All Might offered, remembering how Gizon had to explain everything when Class 1-A had all unexpecting handed him yen after a heroics class had ended. They all made sure All Might kept seeing it and while he tried not to question it, he had to raise a concern when Momo suddenly dropped two large duffle bags at his feet and then walked away without a word.
"Eraserhead. Ingenium, Uravity and Todoroki faced Stain and lived, a surprise for sure. And now Midoirya just won a decade long legal battle against the Hero Public Safety Commission. I think we can give them a half hour for celebrations." Powerloader said
"Then what about us?" Hawks said as he walked up to the group of UA staff, "I'm sure we've all gained some white hair from the stress the students put us all through. I think I saw a bar on the way here, whose happy hour started ten minutes ago. We can grab some drinks before heading back to UA." He smiled at All Might, who smiled back. Hawks hadn't been in the presence of the symbol of peace before, so he was happy he had the chance outside of a battle.
"Hawks, I've got a question. I know you and the principal were aware of all this and had been working together to create a defense. But were you aware of Midoriya's plan?" Powerloader asked as he looked over at Japan's number three pro hero.
"I wasn't. We knew the military was after Hisashi's design, but their plan to try and make Izuku a member of the league. We didn't see that coming, but I have to say the kid handled that a lot better than I could have. Didn't see the twist of Mr Sutein being a villain coming." Hawks said as he rubbed the back of his neck."
"Yes Sutein Co is a very beloved and trusted company from the community. I'm sure such news will be making headlines for weeks. Ms Midoirya has a long career ahead of her, that is if she plays her cards right. And if she does it will greatly benefit her and her son as she will surely become the new CEO." Principal Nezu said.
"YOU THINK SHE'LL BE MADE THE NEW CEO." All Might said. Izuku had said Inko was already acting as head of the company for a while now. So it would basically just be giving her the title, but it didn't mean much now that the company was doomed to go under.
"Since she has become acting CEO, Sutein Co stock is well on their way to doubling. The board is pleased with her actions and her skills will help the company greatly as they recover from everything that has been revealed." Principal Nezu said then after a moment pulled out his phone, "It would be wise to sell stock in the company and repurchase them at lower value."
"Oh smart idea." Hawks said, pulling out his phone and looking up SUCO on his stock market app. After a moment it loaded and saw how high they were, "Damn that's high and you said Ms Midoriya helped with that."
"I would wait two weeks or so before purchasing." Principal Nezu said, putting his phone away, "So where's this bar you spoke of?"
The group of pro heroes walked down the stairs of the courthouse and headed down the street to a bar, leaving the media personnel behind as they were still trying to figure out why none of their equipment wasn't working.