"If you want the window seat, just let me know, okay?" Izuku told his mother as he stared back out of the window. He hadn't gotten to do this much in his past life, though he had more than enough experience in the air.
"That's okay. I'm doing fine right over here where the view is just out of sight," Inko affirmed, resting her neck in an inflatable travel pillow as she tried to distract herself with the miniature television connected to the back of the seat ahead.
"You sure? It's very pretty out here."
"Super-duper sure. Just thinking about how it looks gives me a headache," she held back a whine, sinking further into her seat.
He leaned forwards to look at her more directly. "You're not getting motion sickness, are you?"
"No... maybe," she replied feebly. "I've never rode inside a plane before."
"Yeah, guess we haven't. Err..." Izuku's voice died off. Not like he could tell her that he had before, or that he used to fly around all the time at a much lower altitude.
He watched his defeated mother laze back, glancing off at a catering trolley. It was loaded with various snacks and other amenities, yet there weren't any flight attendants nearby on their section of the plane. She pointed weakly at it. "Are those... complimentary?"
"I think so," Izuku voiced with a nod. He recalled one of the attendants announcing something like that right before they'd taken off and strapped in. Her worry over the plane must have distracted her from hearing that.
Raising her hand, Inko began making pinching motions through the air in the direction of the trolley. Slowly, a red can of soda began floating closer at them, distracting a couple other passengers who noticed and curiously watched it reach her. Grabbing the aluminum, the woman brightened up slightly. "Oh, thank heavens - it's cold."
Rather than drink the soda, she held it up to her forehead, letting out an elated sigh as the cool temperature soothed her throbbing head.
This trip was really getting to her, but it looked like she was finally beginning to relax.
Izuku turned his attention back outside the window, watching as the early morning sunlight peeked through each of the clouds beautifully. The sky offered quite a different view up close than it did from below. It had been far too long since he had seen this type of view.
Entering the science fair had been a good side investment after all.
Getting to ride in a plane and see the sky from above again was really just a small, personal bonus amidst all the havoc thrust upon him and his mother after what happened back at the science event.
He'd gotten in a bit of trouble after his rambunctious display. Although the school and fair had been informed of his creation, they hadn't known how effective and volatile it would be. Worse than any type of scolding from his school officials or the ones in charge running the event, his mother had practically needed resuscitation after his demonstration, keeling over in abject horror. Once she had recuperated, she chewed his ears off like never before.
Izuku didn't know if he could remember a time where he'd seen her so mad. If not for the fact that they were swiftly approached by a suited individual curious about his invention, he might've gotten grounded for life.
He remembered spotting the man previously on their way towards his booth, having guessed correctly that he was affiliated with a support item company for both Heroes and civilian use. What he didn't expect was that the man had actually been connected with an American agency.
Thanks to the man wanting to see it again vouching for Izuku, as well as the green-haired boy vehemently ensuring that he had not broken any rules, they reevaluated his invention to see whether or not he should be permitted to demonstrate it again.
Because the event allowed students to showcase inventions that involved their Quirks, they were allowed to display somewhat dangerous materials. With the police on standby ready to deal with any emergency that could transpire, they were mostly free to create whatever they wanted.
Weapons would be allowed to be demonstrated in the fair as long as they were heavily monitored and controlled. If Aoyama's belt were being showcased for his Quirk, and the event operators were warned beforehand, they would allow it in the competition.
Passing the reevaluation, Izuku was allowed to showcase it the remaining times he'd prepared it for. Inko had still been averse, but she no longer objected as many bodies had gathered around to witness the show.
Its power captivated everyone after the second demonstration, and he soon had half the eventgoers standing around his inconspicuous booth to watch him decimate the remaining dummy with a thunderous strike. Blue electricity rolled off his gauntlet, charging and heating the outer shell as he blasted the wooden doll away with a punch square to the chest.
Eyes lit up in awe as they watched the target fly back in a sparking explosion, hitting the safety wall prepared behind it and collapsing harmlessly. Resounding applause followed up by child and adult alike - a handful of children even calling out so that they could get a turn using it.
Despite the immense gratitude, Izuku had still been focused on safety and made sure to extinguish any flame that arisen against the charred wood of the doll. He'd chosen wood as the base for his handcrafted dummies not only because it was cheap and easy to make within school, but because wood wasn't conductive. It would nullify the shock, yet the heat was still an issue for it to be set ablaze.
Securing the smoldering dummy and double checking his gauntlet would not malfunction, he powered it off and returned to store it away, only to be bombarded by interested voices and questions all around.
In short, he won first place at the Quaotic Quirkstravaganza, and he didn't even have a Quirk. On top of that, after some extensive negotiations made between the man in the suit and his mother, the two of them were invited to fly out to have his invention assessed in greater, official detail. After the man had spoken with his superiors and shown them a recording of the demonstration, they were highly intrigued to learn more about it, and about Izuku.
Their trip was being designated towards the central capital for the world's foremost leading researchers and developers on Quirk research and support items: I-Island.
Izuku felt an odd sense of excitement as he thought of the manmade island, recalling both fond memories and scares from his prior timeline. He had met some good people and learned a ton. They were unforgettable memories - merely a few among the ones he made training to become a Hero.
Now he was guaranteed to obtain a different experience from that time before. He had come about five years earlier than he initially had, and was coming at the island with a creator's angle rather than a Hero's.
He wondered if he would get to see David and Melissa Shield while he was there. He recalled that Melissa had been raised on the artificial island by her father and attended the schools there. David was a renowned scientist who had worked directly with All Might, and Melissa was a brilliant girl who had been following in her father's footsteps.
They should be residing there, but Izuku remained dubious. His influence on events had intended and unintended outcomes. Though he had been all the way over in Japan far away from them, he wasn't convinced he couldn't affect them. The concept of the butterfly effect could always bare its fangs at him in the most unpredictable moments.
It was a bit absurd, but the idea of any of his innocuous choices leading to a tsunami raging halfway across the world freaked him out more than he'd like to admit.
Even if they were at the island and nothing he had done so far affected them in any way, that didn't guarantee that he could, or would see them. There were thousands of scientists who visited and lived on the island, as well as several more thousand prospects attending schools and living in one of the four large cities each divided into quarters on the circular island. He could wind up in a completely different sector unrelated to anywhere they could be.
There was still some hope. I-Expo should only be a week away from now. There was usually an early access event as well, and Izuku had the idea that they were getting flown out earlier so they could properly secure and learn about his gauntlet before showing it off within the world-class exposition. If his creation lived up to their standards, he would probably get to sign an official deal. Parent permission included, of course.
Izuku was banking on one, if not both of them being at I-Expo. That was his only shot of getting in touch with either of them. If things worked out perfectly like they had back at the science fair, his plans could be drastically sped up.
Eyeing his lethargic mother again to check her condition, Izuku leaned back against the headrest and closed his eyes. It was early morning and their flight had only just taken off. They wouldn't arrive until well past noon, not that it mattered much. Because of their commercial flight, the gauntlet had to be shipped through a different carrier due to the dangerous nature pertaining to it. The slower process made it so the gauntlet wouldn't arrive on the island for several more days.
He wasn't used to sleeping in. Might as well follow after his mother's lead and catch up on sleep.