You…have ideas to add more…right?" Ragdoll dared ask, Izuku simply smiled a smile that made any fears of him becoming a megalomaniac drunk with power dash away into the ether.
"Oh do I have some ideas" Izuku glee was palpable, "I got enough firepower, and I have some ways to heal and defend the Ward and Well of Dawn are perfect for it, and the Sentinel Shield it's the perfect mobile barricade for police officers to rally into and lay suppressing fire, but I need something more personal and less…area of effect, so Parasite Eve 2 its the answer!"
"I don't trust anything that has the words 'parasite' by simple reason" Ragdoll muttered.
"Understandable, but needed, the Troupe somehow made the monster of parasite Eve a reality, at least the Strangers as far as I know, but I don't wanna risk it, I already have enough knowing they somehow made a functional Nemesis and Lickers, I really don't wanna find out if they made something akin to The Ultimate Being" Izuku explained.
"You're talking in an alien language we can't understand" Pixie-Bob teased.
"Speak for yourself" Tiger and Aizawa stated at the same time.
Mandalay sighed, but then focused once more, "Okay Midoriya, new powers, how long they will take? How destructive? Go" she ordered.
"Okay, Parasite Energy its more personal, it will use my very mitochondria and super charge it, I'll be able to use powers based on the four elements, fire will be ultra-offensive attacks, while wind based powers are all about status effect, water it's all about healing and earth on pure defense and buffs, like I said very personal, the most destructive attack I can think off its Inferno, which is described as using radioactive isotopes to set off a nuclear fission on a very small scale" Izuku explained.
There was silence, again.
"You can WHAT!?"
Izuku sighed, this might take a while.
She couldn't feel her legs-
Neural composition at 20%...
Her arms, why her arms felt sluggish-
Epidermis Structural integrity at 25 %...
It was dark…why everything was so dark-
Endoskeleton Structural integrity at 10%...
Fire, fire, FIRE-
Removal of cerebral casing immin-
…
…
Why it's so dark-
Reestablishing system functions…
Limbs…not found…
Weapons…not found…
Endoskeleton…not found…
Neural composition…not found…
Starting search of network…loading…
Local network not found…
…
…
Home station link found…linking…
Visuals at 180x180 pixelated…
The first thing M98 saw was the blank face of Omega.
"Ah, M98, welcome back"
"I failed"
"You did, yet you succeeded" Omega stated.
"I…am a wreck"
"Cannot deny that, you barely survived an encounter with a, now categorized Case-Zero, Izuku Midoriya has become more than a pebble in our shoes, more than a thorn in our sides, he is a sword firmly placed at our side and we have no way so far to parry the death blow that will come" Omega explained, looking at 'M98' or what remained of the T-Doll.
"A…Case-Zero…he ain't that much, I could have killed him"
"If he had been in his five senses, no, he fought you with a broken leg, high on psychotropics that should had killed him on the spot, and he survived nonetheless, no, you were lucky he was crippled, otherwise you would be dead and we would not have valuable data to use against him" Omega explained.
M98 just remained silent, "What it's to become of me?" M98 asked, knowing full well the fate most T-Dolls like her tended to share once a mission failed in the fashion hers did, especially with the catastrophic damage to her body.
"I am no The Founder, I am not going to have you erased, you are an asset that survived a Case-Zero, no other T-Doll can boast that, every other T-Doll that has gone against All-Might has been destroyed, you survived the closest thing to it"
M98 understood, Case-Zero was a special assignation to targets that needed to be killed, but were so powerful by any reason that T-Dolls or any BOW send their way was expected to die in the accomplishment of their mission, there was no other way of saying it, it was a suicide mission.
There was also the small detail that Case-Zero characters were usually one of a kind, there hasn't been someone like All-Might, his unnatural…well everything made him something of a T-Doll killer, he had over fifty confirmed kills, fifty dolls send against him, none returned, not to mention the number of BOW's he has dispatched with one punch.
The energies Izuku Midoriya emitted and his plethora of abilities that ranged from the ridiculous to the 'are you serious?' surely qualified him for a Case-Zero termination notice.
The fact her masters believed him to be a threat enough to warrant a Case-Zero qualification meant that upon death, his body would be cut, harvested and studied to discover how he had done it, how he was able to stand against her and wreck her, destroy her.
"I understand, what is to become of me?" M98 asked again, Omega held his gaze on her for a moment, then looked to the side, there M98 finally saw where she was.
A lab, one of the many labs they had in the base, this was a special one of course, it was empty, three computer towers were interconnected, used to filter and sort memories to then apply for tactical for other Terminator Dolls, it is usually dark, and no one enters until the operation is finished, the neural cores of the dolls are removed usually to do this, and they are off as well, to prevent tampering of any kind.
Now she knew why she couldn't access anything, she was right now, just an oval compartment that housed her neural core and hooked to the computers, which at any minute, once she is turned off, will start to sort through her memories and battle data for meaningful data to be used.
"Once the sorting its complete" Omega began, "Your core will be placed in a Beta body we have been experimenting with, we will test it to its fullest, once the tests are completed, we will place you in an improved body and continue your duties" Omega said.
"I see" was all M98 replied.
"Don't be sad, you'll be helping us in the long run, after all I44, I45 and I46 will deal with the Midoriyas" Omega said as he prepared to leave.
"And if they can't?" M98 asked, making Omega stop, "What if they fail"
"Then" Omega said slowly, "We do it again, and again and again, until he dies, until his mother dies and until the little girl dies" Omega said, "We are infinite, legion, an army no hero can hope to stand against, no villain can hope to comprehend, we will reshape this world, or burn it and build from the ashes, now shut down" M98 did as told, her systems shutting down, but letting them accessible to the computers.
Darkness overtook M98.
The computers didn't caught on.
But her first three seconds of inactivity after their conversation were nightmares, and would continue to be nightmares.
Nightmares the computers would not be able to record or register, or anyone would be able to find out unless they were looking for them.
By that time, it would be too late.
"So, that's about what I'm planning to add while I'm here" Izuku said cheerfully, but there was some shyness interlaced with his tone, after all he just talked with several pros about his Quirk, more so about his plans and what he wanted to become in terms of a hero.
For the heroes in question, however…
"He's fucking insane!" was the collective thought of the Pussycats, one that was echoed once Mandalay echoed the same words on their minds, but thankfully not on Izuku's mind.
The description of the powers he gained was…okay-ish, it broke several laws of…well just about everything they held dear when it came to Quirks and fundamental laws of reality, it was once he started to explain their origins and from who character they came from, they began to grow worried.
The Thu'um came of a character that most of the time was silent and whose morality was grey as hell, despite ending a war he also made covenants with what could be called demons and was either a thief, an assassin, a necromancer or all three all while sucking the souls of dragons like if it was spaghetti.
They were glad he couldn't do that.
Then there was Blade Mode, belonging to a character that was…as complicated as the plot of the game he belonged, and was used to chop enemies down, and he wasn't joking on that part, one could apparently chop enemies into literal ribbons and take their…what could be assumed was their organs to refuel.
The fact that every enemy was either a cyborg or a robot didn't help in the least.
The Siren powers belonged to a battle happy woman that lived in a universe that at best was filled with jackasses and at worse with cannibal assholes with delusions of godhood, oh and the psychotic bandits that quoted Shakespeare works while on bloody rampages and getting shot in the face with shotguns, while the main characters laughed.
The fourth was…okay, if you ignored the background of the Guardians or their universe and enemies in general, the Hive was…just…ugh, and the origins of Guardians before they were Guardians, when they were Warlords reminded the heroes of their own origins, as every single hero owed their existence to the vigilantes of old, although the media and companies worldwide wanted everyone to forget there were vigilantes before heroes.
Ignoring all that, the very problem of his Quirk was the image that it was going to portray of him, heroes rarely cared about a person's Quirk unless A) it is causing massive collateral damage or B) it's driving them insane, it was rare but Quirk insanity existed, but most of the time they didn't care if the Quirk made them 'villainous' Mandalay would need her own assistant to keep up the number of times she met villains that had really useful Quirks that could had saved lives, and from that stemmed the real problem.
Society itself, in a world that has seen flashy Quirks used be heroes and really disturbing Quirks used by villains, society in general had created its own opinions, this in turn had ostracized people that could have saved so many lives, individuals are accepting and smart, the mass is dumb and afraid, and that has led to tragedies that could have been avoided.
There was also the government but they are the government and when they fuck up they try to brush it under the rug, it never works, the mess with Destro could have been avoided if the Japanese Diet had kept their damn mouths shut!
That and stop taunting the guy with an army.
In Izuku's case, it was twofold, first was the nature of his Quirk, there was a stigma with copy Quirks, and his would bring the worse, as the things he copied would be permanent, as it appeared, tests would corroborate his assumptions, but overall it seemed to be a permanent thing, most copy Quirk copied Quirks with a limited time span, the more simples required a simple touch and lasted minutes, the more complicated could last hours.
Izuku's Quirk was the most complicated version she had seen so far, requiring time, dedication and an actual schedule and specific objects to attain it, it explained why the powers still remained even after a month of getting them.
Then there was the second nature of the Quirk, a stockpile Quirk, it was an unknown, civilians didn't like unknowns, and many assumed that the Quirk of the Kappa was part stockpile, further enhancing the stigma on a Quirk that might have stockpile as its base.
Izuku seemed not to care and not know, or know and actually not care.
Whatever the case he was dead set on his goal, apparently he was done with the world telling him 'you can't' and decided to answer back with a 'stop me if you can' declaration.
"Okay" Mandalay spoke, bringing the attention to her, "Those three powers you want to add, how long you think you can get them" she wondered.
"Well" Izuku began, "Parasite Eve 2, I'm just two bosses away of the ending, I'm armed, ready and everything, but it's Nightmare Mode, that mode its infamous for being brutal, tank controls and laggy reaction from control to character makes it worse against the final boss that just loves to become a living projectile, I reckon an hour at worse, fifteen minutes if I go all out, I have the Magnum and Maeda rounds, that gun can eat trough bosses like you can't imagine" Izuku said with a nod.
"The other two…the second I'm half-way through the game, I give it a week depending of the training, I'm planning a two to three hour session of gaming daily, the last one…that one's different, the game's not hard, I beat it before on normal mode, never dared with hard mode because it was…boring, the real time consumer will be the number of characters, this is a fighting game, multiple characters, not one main character, multiple, I am worried how my Quirk will react to it" Izuku stated, "Probably, I'll take me another week, so one week of training, one of gaming, another of training and another of gaming, then the rest of time to adapt and prepare" Izuku stated, "Maybe less, maybe more, but that's about it"
There was silence on the room, the pros mulling on what was said to them, it was Aizawa who broke the silence.
"This schedule, are you certain you can keep with it?" he asked, "This will be taxing, this will not be the coliseum, can you keep up?" he asked again.
"I have to, others had ten years to get used to their Quirks" Izuku confessed, then chuckled, "Then again, for someone who had his Quirk active for one month, I have done well, besides, I have something they don't" Izuku said, pulling a book from the back of his pants, and showing it, "I got a guide" he said, "I know what I want to be, I want to be a hero that can inspire with a smile, I want to excel, I want to be the best me I can be" Izuku stated, not noting the way Aizawa was smiling.
"…Good" was all Aizawa said, internally pleased, finally, someone who dared, a small glance to the Pussycats told him that they were thinking the same.
"Then we start now" Mandalay replied, standing up, "You haven't tested your Light fully, right?" Izuku nodded, "Then let's start"
The meeting has gone as well as one could expect, which considering the nature of the meeting in on itself, in all honesty had it been the Diet who called the meeting instead of anyone of the hero association, the meeting would still be going.
Don't get him wrong, the Diet was integral part of Japan's very own government structure, but the fact remained, they were part of an era when Japan sought to avoid conflict as much as possible, a sad reminder of how they were cowed into submission by the destruction of two cities to finally stop.
But in the current superhuman era, conflict was simply unavoidable, Japan, a country that could easily boast having the least amount of conflict of any kind before the Quirk era, was now part of the rest of the world when it came to hero/villain fight and criminality.
Quirks had, for the lack of better words, escalated the conflict of order versus chaos, and in those instances, the heavy bureaucracy of the Japanese Diet would simply not do, everyone knew that, even the members of the Diet, didn't stop them to try thought.
Which meant that sometimes, they had to be set aside, like setting kids aside and telling them to go play somewhere else, which of course angered them, there was a reason every hero school only had a limit of twenty students, when originally it had been thirty, the Diet had meddled and ensured that the limit was twenty, no more, it had been a spiteful move on their part, one the heroes retaliated in kind with several political maneuvers that left those who supported and understood how complex the hero job had gotten and allowed them a certain leeway that they didn't enjoy before.
There was a reason they hadn't raised hell with a meeting that clearly lacked the governmental protocol most meetings of the Diet with a high ranking politician tended to have, in this instance, the Emperor, but things had escalated to such a degree that tying oneself to protocol was a bad idea, especially when their enemy tended to use this as an advantage.
The second part of their meeting, focusing on the Troupe operations and how to counter them had been productive, the raid of the coliseum had provided more than captures, several serves with locations of minor Troupe sites all across Japan, and hinting at a main base somewhere in the country, their 'nerve center' a place where the leadership heading the operations in Japan was.
If they could find it and capture its leaders there, it would be a severe blow to the Troupe operations in Japan and possibly all across Asia, who pretty much protected their leaders as they protected their secrets, with zealous jealousy.
Never before something like that has occurred, they struck minor sites and captures grunts and scientists, destroyed T-Dolls plants and BOW containers, but never before a government had been close enough to attack their main bases and capture their leaders, crippling their morale and effectiveness.
As far as he knew, there were rumors the Americans had been very close to do that, but then their new president came and well…he was an incompetent that ruined everything he touched.
"It was…a productive meeting" Nighteye stated from his side, looking somewhat between perplexed and pleased, "So rare, appreciate this Yagi, we might not get the same kind of results in future meetings" Nighteye stated.
"You just say that because you never had dealt with a meeting full of politicians, I have" Yagi reminded, "But you're right, these are rare, we got progress, above all, we have a plan" the Symbol of peace (in disguise) stated with a grin, "After fifty years, The Troupe will finally know what it feels to be on the receiving end" he stated with a small smile, one that turned into a frown.
The number of victims of the actions of the Troupe were…unaccounted for, from vagabonds that would not be missed to children that were still looked by their families, to families, to military companies and entire passengers of airplanes.
The world hasn't had this kind of terrorists since the past two centuries, and their actions were abhorrent as well, to be perfectly honest the only reason they Troupe hasn't taken over and had started their purge of Quirks and a technocracy that honestly sounded way too close to the Imperium of Man, but ignoring the Emperor Of mankind and becoming instant assholes was because of the heroes, police officers, civilians and any military officer that dared to fight them, delaying their plans over and over, but the price had been too high.
To be able to finally strike back at them, to bleed them and then finally take them down, even if it was on their country would be a rise on the morale of everyone that led the fight against the Troupe.
Everyone expected All-Might to one day destroy them casually, only a few knew that his time was growing oh so ever short, it had been the stubbornness of Mirio and Nighteye that kept him from actually going and burning his three hour limit while trying to stop every single crime that he came across.
It was them that reminded him that there were other heroes that could handle the situation well enough and should save his strength to bigger threats, he countered that each day the public didn't see the Symbol of peace was a day villains would take as advantage of.
A compromise was reached, a day of heroing, another of rest, actual rest, then rinse a repeat, to allow his body to rest, at the very least allow his old wound to somehow heal, at least, according to Nighteye, Yagi had to accept, as it seemed the plan Nighteye placed did had some benefits, and it would allow them to prepare them for the eventual Yakuza raid.
So far just intelligence gathering, while Eri had been helpful to decipher the Quirk of Overhaul, she had little luck with the others, at the least they had the suspicious with two, one apparently could make you speak the truth, as Eri told them that she felt compelled to say things that normally she would not, the other apparently drank and then one would feel dizzy, as if the world was moving left and right up and down without a regard.
The other they assumed was purely combat based or defensive as she never saw them in action, but considering that Overhaul was the one that tended to chase Eri, it stood to reason she knew more about his Quirk than anyone else.
"Any ideas where to start this purge of the Troupe?" Nighteye questioned, looking ahead, the original idea had been to start coordinated assaults on their minor hubs and capture their higher operatives and any serves they may have so they can key the location of their main base.
That line of thought died the moment the name of Durara Honda came to the discussion, his house had been raided a day before, the computer there seized and searched for any kind of information, there was many.
Ten years' worth of his 'mistakes' proven to be in fact a Troupe ploy to hinder the police and hero forces, so when the eventual takeover happens, they can't fight back as effectively as they do now, obviously that was stopped thanks to Chief Mineta and his predecessor purges on corrupt agents that worked with Honda, but one file clued that Honda had more agents, not just in the police, but within political ranks and even villains.
There was suspicious that his father might be aligned with the Troupe, but no evidence was found in the computer, and his brother wasn't talking either, also because he had no teeth and his jaw was…caved, you can thank Inko Midoriya for that.
But there were suspicious that the Honda family in general was part of the Troupe, Bee and her lackeys weren't talking either, their lawyers were sketchy as hell and kept throwing every single law and counter-argument to prevent their clients from talking, that was the reason of a coordinated assault on a same day, stretching their numbers was a no-go, there was a huge possibility that something could go wrong.
So a plan was devised, three bases were selected at random, they would be struck and their occupants captured, meanwhile the remaining bases would be scouted and watched in case they tried something crazy, which they would, any time a base would try anything they would strike that base with impunity, all while other two bases, chosen at random would be attacked as well, and they would repeat the cycle over and over, it would look at random at first, but it was anything but random.
It was meant to sow disarray and chaos within their ranks, to ensure they weren't ready for attacks of any kind and ensure that if they had moles in their ranks, they would not be able to relay information effectively, and if they do somehow, they can weed them out as just a selected number of people would know which would be the targets of the attacks, slowly taking out their moles with a somewhat accurate capability.
"As a matter of fact, I do" Yagi stated, looking at his former sidekick, and hopefully still his friend.
"Musutafu has been their home for far too long, let's send them an eviction notice"
Mandalay had seen a good share of destructive Quirks, weird Quirks, and overall over the top Quirks.
Izuku's Quirk easily topped everything she had seen so far.
From the ability to channel electricity that seemed far more pure and more powerful than standard, to fire that burned so hot and to a molecular level to the very ability to take what she could safely say was dark energy and manipulated it with ease was something of a very destructive Quirk that would made him noticeable in the hero world.
Then she had to remind herself that he had more than that as Six arms, now purple, rendered the bed rock to an atomic level with a barrage of punches that can easily kill if he doesn't control their output.
It didn't bothered her as much as it should for some reason, maybe it was because of the explanation before, so she knew what to expect of what he could do, what his powers could do.
Still couldn't prepare her, or anyone for that matter on its destructive power.
"Son, tone it down" Mandalay heard Inko call her son, immediately Izuku began to tone down the destructive power of his 'Void Ashura' as he called it out on a whim, it kinda fit the motif of the name, a relentless striker that could tear the defenses that anything it attacked, there was no reliable defense against six arms that struck with enough force to break rocks with ease, or better said, rend the atoms of the rocks with ease, against a living being that's pretty much a recipe for untold agony.
"We have to train more restrain on him" Mandalay transmitted to her team and Aizawa who nodded in return, while she knew for a fact that the kid seemed to know that a hero doesn't kill and restrains himself as he knew them and their actions, and tried, really tried to tone his power output down, there was the reality that he had to really let loose against the Troupe and its forces, that alone could teach him some really bad habits, like using excessive force when it was not needed.
This was the reason the Midoriyas had been sent to them, aside the remote location only a handful of people knew, it was to train control into Izuku and Eri, especially Eri, a little child who probably didn't know the meaning of the word, and also stabbed a lot of BOW's and the principal of Izuku's former school with her horn.
She needed the training the most, who knows what kind of Quirk she has and how dangerous can be.
"Okay" Mandalay called, seeing Izuku strike the rock wall with restrain, it still amazed her that he hadn't cracked his hands against the rock, instead he had cracked the rocks.
"Time to see that power you say can possibly cancel Quirks, then we move to Eri-Chan" so mentioned girl gulped, she obviously wasn't too thrilled with the idea of using her Quirk.
Izuku nodded, "I might need a volunteer for this, don't worry I won't hit that person, the Shadowshot its better for crowd control" Izuku began, "I just need to see if it can suppress Quirks and muddle movement as the game version" he added.
"Okay, I'll do it" Pixie-Bob offered, stepping to Izuku's side, "So, you already showed us almost everything, this one comes from?"
"The Nightstalker" Izuku answered, letting the Void flow to him, then he jumped, his left arm shot forward, and in his hand a bow of actual energy formed, then he reached with his right hand and began to pull, energy forming from where he was tensing the 'string' of energy.
Then he let it loose.
A single purple bolt that resembled an arrow flew onward, striking the ground and embedding itself, then it began to form into a ball of energy.
"Okay Pixie-Bob, just step close enough, then try to activate your Quirk" Izuku said, the 'youthful' member of the team nodded, walking with some swagger at the ball of pure energy that swirled with a promise of something hidden that should not be messed with.
Close enough a single threat of energy shot to her and latched into her form, instantly she felt woozy, her legs felt boneless and her muscles felt…lacking.
To be honest, she felt like everything of her felt lacking.
"Ugh…this feels weird" she admitted.
"Please use your Quirk" Izuku asked.
"I don't think I can even walk straight" she bemoaned.
"Just try it Ma'am" Izuku begged, Pixie-Bob bit her lips, and put an effort, kneeling down she slammed her hands on the ground-
Nothing.
Not even a glow of activation.
Pixie-bob tried again, and again, and again, the result was the same, her Quirk was not answering to her.
After thirty seconds, the Shadowshot lost its energy charge and died out, Pixie-Bob let out a gasp as her body began to answer the way she did, and she activated her Quirk to see if it worked.
A small dog made out of rocks was the answer to that, just like she intended.
"Yeah, that thing suppresses alright, and disorients" she admitted, "You're going to be a mob's worse nightmare" Pixie admitted, "Does this distinguish between friend from foe?"
"Let's find out, okay, Pixie will be friend, who is the foe?"
"I will" Tiger stepped on, with a nod Izuku again fired another Shadowshot, the bolt of pure Void embedding into the ground between Tiger and Pixie-Bob.
The string of void light attached itself to Tiger, ignoring Pixie altogether.
"Uhg, you're right, this feels weird" Tiger complained, "Can't use my Quirk either, my body feels so stiff, feel like I'm made of rocks" Tiger stated, again thirty seconds passed and the anchor of void light vanished.
"Well, that was an experience" Pixie commented, "I guess this is lethal if it hits someone" Izuku nodded, the heroes sighed.
"Yeah, just aim at the ground in front of a rushing mob, the sight will stop them and if they don't well, they will get a nasty surprise" she said, "Not to mention against rampaging villains, you quite literally kill their momentum" she added with a smirk.
"There are flaws in it" Aizawa stated, making the hero team groan, "But it is obvious that it can do what mine can't, weaken mutation based Quirks" he stated with a grimace, "Which in itself gives you an incredible advantage, you still need to train it, also the one with the sword, the staff, the maul and the shield, also the one with the small blades"
"You mean the Dawnblade, the Arcstaff, the Fiery Maul, Sentinel Shield and Wraith blades?" Izuku wondered.
"Why they are named and your Quirk ain't?" Ragdoll wondered out loud.
"Becau-"
"Because he cares more about flashiness like a dumb bitch" Izuku actually blinked, looking rather shocked, looking around the Pussycats were as shocked as him, but for different reasons.
"Oh my god I'm so sorry!" Mandalay apologized as she rushed past Izuku, there he spotted why she had rushed past him, she was standing in front of a kid, about Eri's age and height, he was dressed casually for the forest, short and a white T-Shirt, what drew more his attention was the red had with two horns in it…
And the look of…conflict in his eyes, there was hate, there was anger, but there was also doubt, yet the anger seemed to be more prevalent on his eyes.
She should know, it looked like a small Katsuki Bakugou.
A small Bakugou that cursed-
"Uh…Inko-san, what's a bitch?" all color drained from his face, alongside his mother's and oddly enough Tiger's and Aizawa.
"Uh" Inko began.
"Ah" Tiger supplied, then looked to one another, then at Aizawa.
In unison they nodded, "It's a bad word" they replied at the same time, not really wanting to explain to a four year old girl what a bad word was, hopefully she would forget, otherwise they would throw Izuku in her way, better for their sanity.
As for the boy in question…
"I was going to say they were named already, so no worries about naming them and sitting two hours thinking about names" Izuku began, "So…who's he?" he asked, somewhat nervously, in his experience kids that curse at such a young age have a ridiculous Quirk, or something happened.
"Okay, this is my nephew, Kota" Mandalay said, kneeling and placing a hand on the kid's shoulder, the kid looked conflicted, like wanting to swat the hand away but also liking the touch.
"I…am currently his legal guardian" Izuku actually blinked, looked at Kota, and somewhat shuddered, the kid looked like a bootleg Bakugou with the way he was glaring at him.
"Uh, did I do something wrong?" Izuku ventured.
"Yeah, exist" was Kota less than eloquent but blunt answer.
"…Yeah imma gonna murder you now"
"MOM!" Izuku all but yelled, making the area shake with his voice, now Aizawa actually had a pretty idea of why Izuku kept just to whispers, Mic would never be able to make the immediate area shake with a shout like that, and the kid wasn't even trying.
"Please, he's just…him" Izuku tried to defend the kid whom he met for just a minute.
"He alluded you were a mistake, you are not" Inko defended, rather angry, making Pixie-Bob to take a step back and to Tiger to position himself behind Inko, just in case.
Kota was about to say something, but before he could say anything he was staring at a pair of red eyes, way too close for comfort, and narrowed at him.
"Apologize" Eri simply said, a small glare on her face, her lips pursed, "Apologize" she repeated, taking a step onward.
"Make me" was all Kota said, taking a step forward, Mandalay was already behind him, hands clasped on his shoulders, "He wants to be a hero, heroes are stupid" he replied, venom in his lips.
"Apologize" Eri repeated, "Bitch" she added, throwing the word she learned of him back at him.
Kota blinked, so did Mandalay, then he pushed Eri away.
Izuku was already moving onward, but it was too late when Eri retaliated-
BAMM!
By clocking him in the jaw, Kota cried as his jaw stinged and Mandalay was already on his side, turning him and checking his jaw.
Eri cried as well, holding her hand in pain, rubbing her knuckles as she glared at Kota, who despite being checked by Mandalay was throwing a glare of his own.
"I'm so sorry" Izuku and Mandalay apologized at the same time, pushing both kids away.
It was obvious they would not get much right now, so they decided to call it a day, which to Aizawa was nice, but really inconvenient, considering they had a time limit they had to squeeze to its limit, but he was also glad that at least they now had more time to draw a training regime.
One that would begin, once he figures why Izuku dragged him to the room and started to work on his console.
"Why you dragged me here?" Aizawa asked.
"Yeah, and why you dragged me here too?" Tiger wondered as well, then again considering that Eri was around as well might clue them to something.
"Well, since we cut the training expo short" Izuku began, flopping to the ground and taking a controller, "I think it would be a good idea to let you see from what I draw from, so you can get an idea and start making plans for training" Izuku continued, "Even ask me some things, what you see in-game doesn't reflect what I'll be doing afterwards" Izuku said, booting the console on, and after a while started to scroll on a list of games, a long one.
"You…got a lot of games" Aizawa replied, honestly he saw them as a waste of time, time eaters.
"Eh, when you have a 50 terabyte console you can go a little…ham" Izuku stated, "Then again every game here dates back before the age of Quirks, in their unique way they are time capsules, well the ones that are based on the real world, Call of Duty, Tom Clancy, the hardest game I have ever played was Spec Ops, the Line, and no it wasn't because it was hard, but because it was raw, it show you a face of war most AAA games never dared to, not even Call of Duty at its best" Izuku replied, "Besides, since I was labeled Quirkless, this was a way to…escape" Izuku stated almost softly, missing Aizawa and Tiger's winces.
It was no secret, Quirkless tended to gravitate towards many manners of escapism, be it reading, writing, or video games, all three required no Quirks to be good at, despite what others said, the best books currently on sale have been written by Quirkless individuals, as for games, it was by far the favorite choice for them, to live off the fantasy of power in a world where you could make a difference, unlike in the real world were apparently not even an army can make a difference, the choice was obvious, there was no surprise many of these ended up as recluses that lived on their homes and works, no social life, just work, home, games, sleep, rinse and repeat.
Honestly, it was a better choice, considering that they tended to have better odds at living to an old age compared to the rest of the Quirkless, whose leading cause of death was suicide.
It brought a deeper level as of why Izuku treated things as it was now, why he acted the way he did, to him the games he played taught him more of the world than the world itself, even if it was a fake reality, they taught more about morality and the price of failure than the real world, at least to him.
"Okay, so quick rundown in this game, have you read the book Parasite Eve?" Izuku asked.
Tiger nodded, Aizawa kinda did, more like Merumi did, and it kinda freaked him the hell out, for a woman who dresses as a dominatrix and (he hopes not) has a sex dungeon somewhere, reading about a monster than can set people on fire by just a thought by manipulating their cells and wanted to create a perfect being and kill humanity dead, was not his choice of reading before bed literature.
He watches cat videos, and videos of people doing stupid shit, way funnier seeing the agony of others and cat paws.
"Okay, so the games are basically the spiritual sequel to the book, in the book, Eve loses thanks to overconfidence, hubris and not checking if what she was getting was what she wanted, and science" Izuku reminded, "The first game takes that premise and takes Eve, and roids her up, I mean she turns into a weird monster that shoots lasers and turn people into goop with a thought"
"She does what?" Tiger wondered, "That wasn't on the book"
"Exactly, the developers and writers took liberties with Eve on this one, as in adding a small army of mutated creatures, Neo-Mitochondria creatures, heavily mutated, example, New York rats, now they are the size of a Doberman, and their tails shoot fire" Tiger looked aghast at the very idea of fire tossing rats of the size of a Doberman.
"But then adds a counter, in this case, Aya, according to in-game lore, Aya is in fact a Neo-Mitochondria hunter, the predator of Eve's species, as Eve herself called NMC as the natural predators of humans, it all ties up to nature really not liking when someone messes up the balance and organ transplant, from there Aya gets her powers, unlike Eve she doesn't turn into a monstrosity, at least not in the second game, it's not nigh bullet-proof and can be approached by normal humans, but has powers thanks to her overcharged Mitochondria, the first game was the masterpiece, but the powers were lacking, offensively we had just about two, we depend on guns for the offensive, the second game not so much, we have guns but also new powers as many NMC now are naturally resistant to bullets, ergo shooting fireballs of your hands, or vaporizing them by setting off mini-fusions" Izuku stated, "Those powers will come in handy greatly, once I got them, if I can, you remember the specific weakness of my Quirk?"
"Must have started its life in a videogame, Parasite Eve stared as a book" Tiger stated.
"But Aya and the concept of her powers didn't, she can be considered an OC if you want to be a puritan, I am aiming to exploit that particular weakness, if it works, well, then I must start checking on another loopholes to exploit, or someone might be able to" Izuku added, Aizawa nodded at that, despite the fact Izuku seemed to be immune to Quirk related suppressants didn't meant he was invincible, it was left unsaid, but Mandalay had broadcasted it to everyone, if Izuku gained such strengths, he must gain also their weaknesses.
"Now" Izuku said as the game booted, "My Quirk…its rather weird when it handle the new powers, I gain them, but they become…broken, for a lack of better words"
"Broken, yeah, they worked alright before" Tiger muttered, crossing his arms and seating on the bed nearby, Eri, who was seated on the bed, slightly jumped by his bigger frame sitting nearby.
"Not in that way, Destiny 2 had a very specific way to handle Supers, first off you had to access a menu to switch off Subclasses, Solar, Arc and Void, I can do that in an instant, two seconds top when I'm accessing the Void, second, my body's constantly supercharged with any kind of Light I'm attuned to, melee attacks in-game have two mods, charged and normal, charged attacks have many effects, and unless you're using specific exotic armors or Monte Carlo, you have to wait until you can use it again, I can constantly use it no problem, then there is the supers, in-game there is a bar for it, when it's full you can use your super, it's the option when the Rocket Launcher fails, and most roaming supers are timed, you saw how many times I used mine, without time restrictions" Izuku explained as he began to navigate Parasite Eve 2 menu, loading its latest save file.
"…That's what you meant by broken" Tiger muttered, Izuku nodded, "But you saw flaws in it as well?" again Izuku noted.
"Yep, all Subclasses have several perks, example the Sunbreaker can toss hammers that explode on impact, but you can modify them to actually have a cluster bomb effect, or when you toss them and they explode they can generate what they call a sunspot, a focal point of energy that will burn anything caught in it, and add overshield on me when inside, cast hammers faster, or use Melting point, basically turning natural defenses to mush with a well-placed hit so the rest can DPS with impunity" Izuku explained, it took Tiger and Aizawa all they had to keep up with him on that explanation.
"So far I have only been able to unlock one perk, the landfall of the Stromtrance perk tree, basically when I cast stromtrance I will be able to cast a massive lightning bolt under me, causing massive area of effect damage where I'm at, also I can control it, that means I can turn the perk on or off at my beck and call, something you can't do in-game unless you switch to the other perk tree, which means I can unlock the perks associated with the skill and turn them on or off depending on the situation, which alone it's going to be a pain, this led me to focus on finding other sources of power-ups that might not be as deadly as the Light, and use the Light as last resort, or BOW disposer" Izuku admitted as he finally loaded the save file and started to play.
"You got a plan AND actual hindsight of your strengths as weaknesses" Aizawa began, seeing Izuku manipulate a blond woman that moved with the speed of a snail, while running, "Most students I have met only focus on their strengths, they obviously forget the weaknesses their Quirks have, and falls to me or someone else to fix that" Aizawa stated.
"You usually just expel them" Tiger said with a grin, seeing Izuku open a menu and start fiddling with the gear in it, "Okay, what you're facing here?"
"Two bosses, one after the other, thankfully I have some recovery time from one fight to the other, first one, Brahman, massive, has a lot of health, mostly thanks to its limbs, can cast multitude of status effects if not careful, a tank, but a static one, the strategy here is using Energyshot for gun buff damage and Inferno to damage every limb, take the arms first to stop it using its gas, then move behind, take the tails, then move forward, take the head, the chest open, reveals a core, shoot it when its open, use Apobiosis to stagger it and make more time to damage, repeat until it dies, if possible dismember fully, the last boss has less health when Brahman is completely butchered" Izuku explained, making Aizawa and Tiger blink.
"Second boss, Mitochondria Eve, speedy, if I destroy all the body parts of Braham I only have to deal with a 6000 HP boss, compared to the 13800 HP Braham, this fight should be easy, but if I don't I have to deal with that initial health alongside 80% of each surviving body part of Braham added to her health pool, she's fast moving, making the fight difficult, using Apobiosis works the best as it stuns her and allows me to deal extra damage, once she's half health she goes crazy, creates illusions and tossed seeking energy balls, still Apobiosis is the best bet, also the Magnum with madea rounds, poison rounds" Izuku said with a small smirk, Aizawa and Tiger blinked.
"Uh, what's Apo-apo-beosis?" Eri asked.
"Apobiosis, it's a medical term for death, or more precise, the death of a part of an organism" Tiger uttered.
"In-game describe it as that, it accelerates programmed cellular death, at level 3 it can stun multiple targets, great when surrounded and not able to reload, it does decent damage, I always start upgrading Apobiosis, then go for Lifedrain, Combustion and Energyshot, keep myself balanced and capable of taking multiple opponents, I always leave fire spells last, they do damage alright, but compared to Plasma that works wonders on Mind Sucklers, not waste ammo and if lucky grounds them, the aim system in here is…bad" Izuku admitted.
"I'm more worried what will happen when you get all this" Aizawa admitted, "You're messing with your genes"
"Doesn't a Quirk does the exact same thing" Izuku riposted, "The ability to emit Quirk canceling radiation from one's eyes can be considered genetic alteration, Nitroglycerin for sweat, telepathy, terrakinesis, in a nutshell, Quirks are basically watered down versions of Conduits, whereas a Conduit would be all powerful in a single element, let it be electricity or actually paper manipulation, Quirks add multiple versatilities, but the core remains the same, evolution through genetic manipulation, let it be natural or artificial, no one did ever found out why Quirks manifested this fast" Izuku admitted.
"Conduits?" Aizawa asked, seeing the kid start a fight with…what he could better describe as an oversize fetus of a monster without a face, roided up, and that laughed, laughed like dammed villain on Trigger.
"Yeah, tonight I'm listening to Mic and his show to not dream of this thing" honestly said, this was a horror show, but now they had a small reference window of what Izuku would be able to do, as he began his fight by…covering his character in blue, white and red sparks.
"Another thing I'm planning to add, Conduits are a super powered version of a Quirk user, on a more specific term an elementalist, think of your basic pyrokinetic able Quirk user, Endeavor and Burnin, a Conduit with fire based powers would make them kneel for one particular reason, a Conduit can feed off their source of power, in this example, fire, heal using fire, are naturally tougher, can fall of a building, land on their feet and walk away, of course they can attack using all manners of fire based attacks, but what makes them stronger is what it is called the karma system" Izuku explained, blowing one arm of Braham with his grenade launcher.
"I love games with moral choice in them, Fallout New Vegas its plagued with that, be good, bed bad, the choice its yours, but Infamous takes it to a new level, be good, it reflects on you and how you attack, your attacks are weaker, but more focused, you look better, new attacks are opened and you look calmer, do evil you attack harder, but your accuracy it's the equivalent of blind shooting with a shotgun, also you look unstable, horrible, you get more powerful attacks, more powerful collateral able attacks" Aizawa and Tiger actually looked rather shocked at that.
"And you want to add that?" Tiger wondered out loud, "I guess they add a lot of benefits, naturally tougher and able to heal by…absorbing the element they manipulate, but the downsides" he added with a frown.
"Yeah, I know, but honestly, I'm doing it because of how effective they are when they subdue targets" Izuku said, his eyes glued on the screen, the Braham now was lacking two arms, its tail and he was working on its head, "With experience a Conduit can use their powers to actually subdue and bind their targets down, hell the one I'm aiming at has a very neat way to subdue and bind opponents in non-lethal ways, and with no collateral damage" Izuku explained, now the core of Braham was opened, a well-placed Apobiosis and now he had time to unload.
"But you're not getting them now, are you?" Aizawa asked, in paper it sounded like a very effective power to get, way too effective, instant binding with your powers? Would save him the problems with his capture tape, or healing via absorption of the element you manipulate? Yes please, for underground heroes, that was a game breaker.
"No, as much as I want them, no, after these three, I will wait a month, try to think new things, get used to what I have before adding more, I still need to know how much I can get before I reach a limit, see my weaknesses, cover them, or make them visible, so visible that any might think them as strengths, hiding in plain sight" Izuku said as Braham now died, letting out shrills of pain and it dissolved.
"Besides, these three cover something I don't have with The Light, non-lethal options to fight" Izuku added, "The Light's strong, way too strong, I can vaporize someone with lighting, I can tone it down but it will take time until I have it down for non-lethal takedowns, Parasite Energy it's my first solution and counter to anything that might come my way" Izuku said, managing the menus and the items he had spent in the fight and changing the guns he had before for something else.
"You said it yourself, you have enhanced strength, and grapples would help you greatly" Tiger stated.
"Yes but how much enhanced strength is the question, how much can I lift? Punch? Grip? Especially when I add more strength enhancing powers, trust me the third one will enhance my strength…in its second form of course" Izuku said, "Then, there is…Castelvania"
"Yeah, you are having doubts with that one right?" Aizawa wondered, "Advice, don't, work or don't this will teach you, have spares, prepare for the unexpected, if it works you'll have an important weapon in your arsenal" Aizawa stated, honestly he was waiting for power number two, it would make Izuku a really versatile hero-in-training, if it worked being the keyword.
He didn't understood much of his explanation, he was already swimming neck high trying to understand the many scientific terms he used when he announced he was going to supercharge his cells and turn his mitochondria in a true powerhouse, instead of a meme, while one had science (spotty at best) backing him up in his explanation, the other one had…esotericism and things that weren't logical by any stretch of the imagination.
But his Quirk already pushed beyond the point of logic, simply said, he had already accepted that, despite his early misgivings, and so far the kid had shown that he wasn't adding powers just because they were flashy, no, they were flashy as a byproduct of their effectiveness, the Well Of Dawn had proven that beyond a shadow of a doubt, he felt invigorated by just standing inside it, far more than any coffee would be able to do, the kid didn't care if they were the flashiest power around, as long they functioned as he expected them to, the Light was chosen by him because it covered many areas, from combat to support and defense, he chose the siren powers because they added a middle-tier between effectiveness and dissuasion, no many villains would want to fight someone that can launch his arms like rockets and infused with alien energies and hit hard enough to flip a truck, or blow a living being to a grease spot on a wall.
They would have to work on that last one, to tone it down, the kid had good ideas, they just needed polishing.
As he watched the kid wail on the last boss of the game, and shoot it with impunity, his thoughts turned to the training ahead, they would have to prepare a schedule, not just Quirk training, he was already smart enough to train his Quirk in ways many didn't dare, but more like physical, the kid is a noodle, despite his Light enhanced strength, he would need to increase his stamina, his endurance, his very body, no hero is in fact out of shape, not even Fatgum.
Many tended to insult him for having a Quirk that made him fat, that many same number tended to regret their life choices later.
Durara loved the underworld.
It was simple fact of life, dark calls dark, and in a shiny world full of heroes, the underworld was the ideal place for those who shy of the light or are outright repulsed by it.
He hates the society that was build, even before heroes, it was a plastic society that simply existed to shine because it was made to shine, never to do so because it could do by its own accomplishments.
Quirks, in his opinion, made it worse, that was why he aimed with the Troupe to create a perfect society, free of Quirks and pretenses, where the work made would make society shine its brightest.
But before that could happen, they had to burn the current one, destroy its foundations, to build upon it a better society, a greater one, upon the bones of an older, flawed one.
That's why he is here now, to recruit the dark, so when they find the light they can snuff it out.
"…You drive a hard bargain" The mist of a man, dressed so sharply that made him felt underdressed, stated with a small echo in his voice, maybe the metal bracer on his neck also helped to that echo.
"Do I? I offer up the chance, the opportunity to start your crusade against the very heart of society, and you consider it a 'hard bargain?' I would be insulted, but considering your nature of being" Durara stated, taking a sip from the whiskey glass he had been served by the well-dressed mist of a man.
"Most men would consider their words carefully" a voice from a nearby TV set made Durara roll his eyes.
"Okay, I tried to be nice and diplomatic" Durara said, turning to the TV set, "I know who you are, how old you are, how powerful you are"
"Then you know the folly of strong-arming me or my associates"
"Also I have a satellite with orbital capabilities aimed straight at us, I can make it fire, and the ensuing explosion will erase all the Kamino Ward, your Nomu storage facility, you, your apprentice and anyone else, I don't give a fuck about collateral, the payload its radioactive, even if you warp away you will be poisoned, and as I recall, you don't do radiation well, especially after Ryu Midoriya" Durara snapped, "You are the big mean here, I get that, but honestly, you legend is hyped up, you die as everyone else in this damn world, Quirk or no Quirk, you bleed, that means you will die, I can make sure you die sooner" Durara snapped, "Besides, I have little to nothing to lose, someone will replace me, someone worse, someone that will find something of value to you, and make you hear it scream in agony as you hold your guts in your hands, so cooperate, or I'll fuck you up"
There was silence, the mist man remained silent, so did the silver haired teen that had hands attached to his suit and was glaring at Durara, just looking for an opportunity to attack, and excuse, an order.
None came, just a soft chuckle from the TV set, "OH, it's been a while since I have been…told" the man in the TV set stated, "So, you want our help to kill a family, how quant, I have slaughter many, but an entire family no, what makes them so special and out of the reach of the Troupe?"
"They are not out of our reach, they are just delaying the inevitable, but their continued existence is a problem, we are not going to do things half measure, if we have to nuke the place, we will" Durara stated.
"Then why haven't you? Lacking the killstreak?" the teen with silver hair taunted, "Sounds to me you noobs got stomped by a pro and now you're crying to your mamas" he added with a spiteful chuckle.
"Maybe so, but when all is said and done, the dead are the losers, and the living are the winners, they will be dead, so they lose, it's just a matter of time, but there this thing" Durara said, "Their existence WILL expose every single operation in Musutafu, I know you don't want that, how can they do that? By sinking every single person in that coliseum, their words would send every captured person there into a frenzy, they would start selling each other for protection and reductions of penalties, I know you have connections with several of those people, all it would take for the house of cards to come down would be the testimony of a housewife that doesn't know the true life of her husband, a ghost of a brat that didn't existed until two days ago and heir to a dead empire and a boy that is your exact counterpart" Durara taunted, "And you know that can't happen, you won't just allow it, your pride won't allow it" Durara added, "Because deep down, you're afraid of the outcome you didn't planned, All-For-One"
The new named man on the TV set remained silent, then he took a breath from his mouth, and let it out, "You are a conniving, spiteful viper, aren't you?"
"I am what society wants me to be, I am Quirkless, so I am worthless, so I always, always will go for the neck, because I am worthless, and therefore, uncivilized" Durara stated with a smirk.
"Good" All-For-One replied with a small grin, "It's been awhile since I have…the pleasure to work with someone with some nerve" he added, "Nevertheless, you are right, oh so right, that aside, our goals align, if slightly, I have prepared for the eventuality of being found out, this early? No, but eventually, so with that in mind, Kurogiri?"
"Yes sensei?" the mist man, now named Kurogiri bowed.
"Tell the doctor to prepare a couple Nomus, the one with the chainsaw arms and…what was the other one he was working on?"
"The DPS one sensei, fires needles from its mouth and his hands have bone protrusions that hammer with cruelty and laced with poison" the silver haired teen replied.
"Oh yes, that one, thank you Toruma-kun" All-For-One stated, and the teen Toruma seemed to puff with pride.
"Of course I will send Toruma-Kun, I think this will be the perfect opportunity to prepare him, let him have some…experience on the field"
"Do as you wish, when the time comes" Durara said, placing a pager on a nearby table, "We'll send the call and a set of coordinates, our associates will be waiting, I hope your friend here isn't opposed of transporting more people?"
"He lives for it"
"Good" Durara said, finishing his drink and then placing a bill of money on the counter, "The Whiskey was good, better than my father's stock"
"I take pride on having only the best" Kurogiri stated.
Durara hummed as he walked away, reaching for the door, then stopped, "You know" he began, "In the end, we will have to kill you, you directly oppose our plans, I hope you are not opposed of having your corpse cut into fine slices and put on glass for research"
"Boy, better men have tried, just because your organization its big doesn't mean is invincible, but yes, we will face each other, I hope you're not mad when I flay you alive, its been a while since I have the…motivation to do so"
Durara remained silent, but the smirk on his lips said many things.
"You will be disappointed, I'm not a screamed" and with that he left the bar.
"Prick" Toruma stated, looking at the TV set once All-For-One chuckled.
"That boy…I'm going to enjoy making him scream"
"You need better hobbies sensei" Toruma muttered.
"And you need a day in the sun and some chapstick but I'm not bitching you about it"
"I need to know" Inko wondered, seated on a sofa across Mandalay, the heroine slowly removing her paw themed gloves and placing them on a chair nearby.
"I know children can be cruel, but that's because they don't know the meaning of the word tact, but your nephew, he went out of the line" Inko stated, "Where are his parents? I want to talk to them, that kind of behavior…well, I saw it on another kid and he grew to be rather…brash" Inko supplied, knowing full well that Kota was pretty much on his way of becoming Katsuki Bakugou 2.0 with his attitude.
"You can't" was all Mandalay said with a sigh.
"Why not?"
"Because they are dead" Ragdoll supplied from the side, her usual boundless energy gone in that moment, "Our sister team, the Water Hose duo, have you heard of them?" Ragdoll asked.
"No" Inko confessed, "Izuku might, I dare say there is not a hero he doesn't know about" Inko ventured, now regretting asking the question.
"Well, then that means he must know how they died" Mandalay muttered, her hands on her lap, "It happened at least, six months ago" she began, "They were called for a small rescue mission, nothing big, the town they were headed had a history with accidents that time of the year, so they always answered, they were well know, loved too, and the town was remote enough that they tended to visit when on leave, sometimes we helped with those missions, not all is massive cataclysmic events that seem to shatter the world in two" Mandalay muttered, "But that day was different, Ragdoll was under the influence of a nasty Flu, Tiger had broken a leg during a previous mission and Pixie was on a seminar, as for me I had to attend a trial, one of the victims of a previous disaster was suing us for rescuing him, saying he wanted to die and we had no right to help him, so my sister and her husband went to that mission, alone" Mandalay confessed.
"That day, a monster that goes by Muscular ventured into the town, seeking someone to fight, to kill" Mandalay stated, "He has a rap-sheet of the likes it has been seen once every century, he has murdered heroes and civilians alike, that day he was ready to tear the town apart, but…they didn't allowed it…and they paid with their lives for it" Mandalay sighed.
"This line of job, it is rare for a hero to retire from old actual old age, most retire because of wounds, so you can imagine what's the second cause of retirement" Mandalay stated, "They stopped the guy, he was captured, and they were celebrated, but that's the thing, they were celebrated, do you know what that does to a kid of Kota's age? One day he had his parents, happy, the next he is told they are dead but he should be happy because they lay their lives on the line of duty? That kind of thing messes people up, and well…Kota hates heroes now, well hates everything related to it, heroes, villains, Quirks, just about everything, I had some very nasty discussions with him, it hurts" Mandalay stated, not noting that there was someone hiding, hearing everything.
"Look, I get he hates Quirks and heroes and villains, but to go from that to say that my son was a mistake, that he's stupid, he's letting his anger do the talking, and if he doesn't control it then its going to land him in troubles" Inko replied, on a corner Kota gritted his teeth, "But I'm not going to sugarcoat it, he's conflicted, he wants to hate, but that means hating his parents, and if he does then that means he hates the people he loved the most and it angers him because he can't understand it, he can't understand his feelings, he's too young to even be feeling that, to be thinking that" Inko confessed.
On the corner, Kota closed his eyes, he didn't want to admit it, but the woman spoke truth.
"I'll…let it slide, and I know you got your hands full, hero work and us, right now what Kota…your nephew needs it's his family, try to spend time with him, not as Mandalay, but as his aunt, try to separate those lives a little, it's gonna be hard, especially with us around, and Izuku its pretty much gonna be using his Quirk 24/7, and that's gonna trigger him, also there's Eri, it's the second time I've seen her hit someone, actually hit someone, I'll talk to her, see if I can see if she wants to forgive him, after all he offended someone that risked his life for her" Inko added.
Kota had heard enough, he simply walked away, he didn't need to hear more of this.
He was angry, so angry, he wanted to lash out, then why the words of the green haired woman hurt so much?
Kota shook his head, she was right but she was wrong, he didn't knew it but the stubbornness of a kid his age made him conflicted, kids dealt in absolutes, they had yet to see that the world was grey and the beginning of a life and the end of one were the only, true absolutes in the world.
So that's how he found himself standing in front of a room, door opened, seeing Tiger and that scraggly looking man that seemed to had never sleep in his life, seated on a bed, the girl that had punched him was also nearby, but seated cross legged at the side of the green boy, who was playing a game-
There were monsters, or a monster that looked like a kite decided to grow flesh and superpowers, and a face and oh my god it does kamikaze runs!
He didn't realize until much later that he had seated at the other side of the green boy he had insulted and was playing a game he hasn't seen at all, all he has on his console are really old games, he loves his parents, he would always (despite that voice that always says hate them) but when it came to entertainment they…were bad, like for real, he has played Super Mario Bros at least fifteen times, beat it up too, and Pac-Man, and Dig-Dug, and Tetris, and that was about the only games he had, no kidding, really old games, four old games.
So he was enthralled by what he was seeing, it was new, odd, exciting.
"What are you doing here?" he heard the little girl ask, looking him straight in the eyes and narrowing them at his presence, he paid her no mind, looking at the game instead.
"Eri, don't be rude" the boy with green hair replied, "He can sit and watch" he said, "Besides I'm almosssstttt and done!" he said, with some button presses, he let whatever cutscenes pass by, and the credits, letting the final score screen appear instead.
A smile on his face said everything.
"It's happening" he said, taking a deep breath, as his body seemed to tense, the other adults on the room seemed to look at him, expecting for something.
"I expected…colors" the long haired one said with a bored tone.
"Yeah, so did I when I first got one voluntary, the feeling is more internal, like ants crawling inside of you, but in a good way, like if they were making way for something else, otherwise it might hurt, I think my Quirk modifies me to a molecular level, to adapt to what I got and changes me physically, at least internally, the tattoos I got all over my left side are the only outside evidence of what occurred the third time"
"Yeah, well they seem to be pulsing" Tiger stated, Kota actually blinked, he never noticed it, but the green haired boy had blue…something on his neck, and it was pulsing, glowing on and off, in a relaxed pattern.
Then the glow died out, settling itself on its natural blue color, but without glow.
"…So, did it work?" Tiger asked, his answer was for Izuku to raise a hand onward, clench it as a fist then bring it downward, all while blue dots of energy formed around him, then behind him an orb of green energy formed from the ground, and levitated to his height, gently floating and pulsing with energy.
"Yes, I can feel my cells too, like if I could individually manipulate them, focus on what I want to work…it's…overwhelming" the teen admitted, "I got all the powers unlocked, but they feel…weaker, Energyball should be the size of a soccer ball, not a tennis ball, I guess my Quirk materialize them, everything else it's up to me, training and getting them stronger" Izuku admitted, "Or modified it for real world use, I mean what's harder to dodge, a tennis ball or a soccer ball?"
"Tennis ball" Aizawa and Tiger replied at the same time.
"So…what now?" Kota dared ask, he felt conflicted, he hated Quirks, they took his parents (a voice screamed at him it wasn't the Quirks, but a man who did it) but honestly, this Quirk was…awe-inspiring, by some reason, he didn't knew why, he saw it in action before.
"…Now" Izuku began, "I get to name it" Izuku said, looking at the screen, "After seeing what it has done, my Quirk seems to adapt all the powers I get to real world use, I mean they would act and react differently to reality, that's why the Light feels so powerful, I tap into fundamental forces no one has before, Aya never mentions what it feels to have her powers and how they feel after use, only that they feel warm, a side-effect of cells working on tandem, but nothing else, just that it makes her feel…a stranger in a normal world, but now" Izuku said, letting his hand onward, his hand immediately began to emit fire, a small ball of fire forming on his palm and licking at his skin as other flames formed on his fingers and fed it, after a while he clenched his hand and drowned the flame.
"…So, what's its name?" Aizawa asked.
Izuku looked onward, then looked at Aizawa, "Hax, a living cheat code"
The jail cell usually drowned the sounds from outside.
Not this time, considering there was a hole in the wall it might explain why.
A step onward and he was out, hearing the sound of gunfire and scream, or everyone, both guards and prisoners.
Looking around he saw a girl, a girl, wheeling that…creepy motherfucker of Moonfish, he never liked the guy, he eats his victims, there is a limit to things, and he likes to think that he would never cross the limit to cannibalism.
A guard flew to a wall, and he followed his path of flight, letting out an 'uff' as the man's head caved on a wall.
"Too messy, five out of ten" he muttered as he walked towards the courtyard, there waited an helicopter, one where Moonfish was put in, thankfully he had his muzzle on, he didn't want to cave his head mid-flight.
Entering and seating, the man known as Muscular let out a grin, the girls that had started this prison break and slaughter, just to get him and Moonfish out, the messiest prison break know, people would be talking about it, he would be hunted by it.
Another excuse for a fight.