Chapter Text
“Shouldn’t you be studying or something?”
“It’s summer, Torino. No homework.”
Gran Torino shakes his head, using his cane to open Tenko’s door the rest of the way and enter the dark room. He finds his ward where he usually finds him: at his desk playing his damn computer games.
“Preparing to be a hero doesn’t stop just because you’re out of school, you know.” The old man scrunches up his face as he maneuvers his way around the room. Being safe rather than sorry, he uses his cane to pick up some of the dirty clothes that litter the floor and deposit them into the laundry basket. “Pretty sure I told you to clean your room today.”
“I’ll do it before I go to bed, don’t worry.” Tenko doesn’t take his eyes or focus off his game.
“Uh huh.” For some odd reason, maybe it was the fact that he has been living with the boy for the better part of ten years, Gran doesn’t believe him. “And your training camp? All ready for that?”
“Yeeees.” Gran snorts at Tenko’s annoyance with his constant questions, which are starting to get to him. “I already collected all of the supplies I need and I’m mostly packed.”
“I can see that…” Gran lifts the pack of energy drinks out of the suitcase and drops them back in. “Alright, zygote, you better be listening to me. I want you treating this like an actual summer camp. So no portable batteries, small TVs, game systems, or anything. No electronics!”
“Torino-“
“Nope!” Gran walks back up to where Tenko is sitting, smacking his chair on the back. “The only thing you’re allowed to bring is your phone, and you better only be on that blasted device if you’re dying or everything’s on fire!” He shakes his head. “It would be good for future young heroes to learn to coordinate together without all their fancy technology.”
“We can use technology to help with teamwork, you know that, yeah?” Tenko motions his head to his computer. “I’m doing that right now. Using my game to learn how to work with my friends from school.”
“Bah,” Gran dismisses the excuse, pulling up a second chair next to Tenko so he can sit by him and watch the screen. “Heh, what’s this? Doesn’t look like that League game you play all the time.”
“It’s almost the same thing.” Tenko’s mouse clicks furiously across the screen while his other hand blurs across the keyboard. “Instead of champions, you use gods from the different pantheons.”
Gran hums. “Makes sense. You’ve been obsessed with that stuff ever since Hosu.” Tenko doesn’t look at him, continuing to play. One of the characters continually spams the voice command system.
VA1: Attack left lane!
VA1: Attack left lane!
VG1: Gank left lane!
VHH: Help!
VHH: Help!
VVP: Please?
The old man scrunches his face. “What the hell is that?” he asks while rubbing his head.
VH1: Help left lane!
VHS: Need Healing!
VHH: Help!
VRS: Save Yourself!
VVN: No!
VVN: No!
VHH: Help!
“Rando we got paired up with ‘cause we needed a 5th person for our team.”
“That’s annoying,” Torino grumbles.
“Yeah, but we find ways to get back at them.” Tenko shifts his keyboard so Torino can type too. “In a second, hit these keys here.” He points to the ones on the board. “Okay, give it a sec…” In game, the annoying guy’s character dies. “Type it now!”
He’s a bit slower, but Torino does what Tenko asks.
VER: You rock!
VER: You rock!
VVX: Cancel that!
Torino can’t help himself and falls back in his chair laughing. “Alright, kid. I won’t lie. That was pretty satisfying, even if it is pretty stupid.”
“Ha!” Tenko grins at him, finally facing away from the game to fully look at Torino. “See? I told you that you’d like games if you gave them a try!”
“Hold your horses there,” Torino raises his hands, “I’m not saying I like the game. I’m saying I like being an ass, which has always been true.”
“Well, video games give you plenty of opportunities for that.” The annoying guy’s character spawns back in.
VSTT: I have returned!
Tenko gestures back to the keyboard. “Type these keys here.”
VVGT: That’s too bad!
Torino and Tenko snicker together once more, spending the better part of the next hour laughing together as they annoy the same guy over and over. Even getting to the point where Tenko doesn’t have to tell Torino what keys to hit anymore.
“Alright, alright.” Torino shakes his head after the game, hopping down from his seat. “I gotta get to bed. And you do too! So don’t be up all night playing again! We’re getting up early no matter how much you’ve slept!”
“Yeah, yeah.” Tenko waves him off, taking a swig of his drink before fully turning around. “But just admit it. You actually liked the game!”
“…I didn’t hate every second of it.”
Tenko groans loudly, spinning around in his chair to queue up a new game. “Annoying geezer.”
“Caffeine-riddled brat,” Torino chuckles. He walks to the door but stops just before leaving. “Hmph. Once you’re back from camp, if you want to show me more ways of being a jackass to these kids that annoy you…” he breathes in deeply, “I suppose I don’t have much else going on these days.”
It’s silent for a few seconds before Tenko answers. “Yeah…I wouldn’t mind that.”
Torino nods, leaving the room and-
“Gran Torino? Are you there?”
What?
“Hey, did you hear what I was saying? Sir? Hello?”
Gran Torino is sitting in Tenko’s empty room, staring down at a dusty keyboard. He hadn’t bothered turning on the light. That’s how the kid would prefer it anyway. “Yeah,” he mumbles over the phone he’s holding with a much tighter grip than necessary, barely audible. His voice is crusty and rough. “I’m here.”
“Okay, great. The rest of the heroes will be meeting at the police station in a few hours to hash out the last details on our rescue plan for Shimura once we have a lead. We’ll see you there?”
“Yeah.”
“Wonderful. I’ll put you down. Have a good day.”
Torino clicks the phone off, dropping it onto the desk. The harsh bang! it makes when it hits the wood rings throughout the silent house. Not that it bothers Gran, who stays still in his chair, staring into the dark room, as if that would make its missing occupant somehow miraculously appear.
It doesn’t.
So Gran doesn’t leave the room until he absolutely has to.
Piotr is a simple man. He only wishes to do what’s right. To protect those who need it. And to do that, he uses his simple powers. Turning every part of himself into metal. A bit boring, some of his old comrades would joke with him, but effective. And they always knew they could rely on him in the field. Afterall, he had met very few objects that could pierce his metal skin.
So yes, as Colossus, Piotr is second to none in protecting those he cared for against any physical harm that would befall them. But emotional? That’s where he had always unfortunately struggled.
Case in point as he and Logan march through the hero’s hospital looking for a certain conference room. Doctors, nurses, and even heroes quickly got out of their way as they moved. You didn’t have to know Wolverine to recognize his, and excuse his language, his ‘get the f*ck away from me face’ as his old friend called it.
Logan hadn’t talked much since and his class had arrived back on Earth yesterday.
As they reach the room of the meeting they’re already late for, Piotr reaches out and grabs the other mutant’s shoulder before they go in. “Logan, a moment.”
As expected, Logan doesn’t react well, spinning around with his claws extended and ready to tear apart whoever was behind him. But when he remembers it’s just Piotr, he calms down, retracting his claws and mumbling an apology.
“No sorry is needed, friend,” Piotr reassured him. “But perhaps, after we find the missing boy, you’d like to talk about seeing your son again?”
“There ain’t nothing to talk about.”
Piotr nods wisely. “I was afraid you might say that. So, just in case, I planned an alternate activity based more on your preferences.” Logan’s ear twitches and he slightly turns his head to hear him better. “Perhaps you’d enjoy an evening of beer and sparring?”
A few seconds pass, before the ghost of a smile appears on Logan’s face. “Now we’re speaking the same language.” He pushes the door open, which quickly quiets the others on the other side. “Alright, let’s set this straight. If any of you had a real lead on the kid, we wouldn’t be here. So why am I here?”
Nezu’s nose twitches. “I wish nothing more than to prove you wrong, but we cannot at the moment. Unless you have any information to add, Mr. Quill?”
The hologram of Peter shakes his head. “Nah, that’s it.” He crosses his arms. “According to the Cortex’s log, it transported the League to the middle of nowhere in the ocean.”
“I-Island,” Aizawa says grimly.
Toshinori clenches his fist. “Which means they’re long gone by now.” Next to him, Gran Torino twists his cane so hard, the wood starts to crack.
“…Right, since no one’s gonna elaborate on that, I’ll just pretend to know what you’re all talking about.” Peter checks a tablet next to him. “Anyway, the rest of the Guardians and I should have the riots and uprisings here on Knowhere put down by the end of the day. Once we do, Cosmo can handle what's left and the rest of us will come down to help in the search.”
“Are you legally allowed to do hero work in Japan?” Tsukauchi tilts his head.
Peter laughs, turning around to face the detective. “Yeah, I got your authorization right here.” He hits a few buttons on his tablet and holds it up for Tsukauchi to read.
“Let’s see, it says… this pass allows Star-Lord and his group of ass-kickers to do whatever the hell they want… wherever the hell they want…”
Peter shuts off the tablet. “Listen, buddy. We’re the Guardians of the Galaxy. And that rock you’re sitting on, Earth? It’s part of the galaxy last time I checked. That’s all we need.” He pauses. “And snacks. Steak for Gamora and Drax. Fruit for Mantis. And…I don’t know what the heck Groot eats. Sunlight? Trash for Rocket and Pac-Man cereal for me.” He winks at the detective and turns back to Nezu. “I’ll be in touch,” Peter says before vanishing.
Tsukauchi sighs long and deep, slumping in his chair. He knows he’s a man who’s going to have to explain a lot of things to his superiors that aren’t going to make sense.
“On my end,” the officer pushes on, flipping through his little notepad. “We secured the villains calling themselves ‘Spinner’ and ‘Mustard.’ Spinner has gone on and on about how he failed Shigaraki and needs to make it up to both her and Stain.”
Nezu hums. “And the boy? Mustard?”
Tsukauchi looks up from his notes, perplexed. “Nothing. We haven’t gotten a word out of the kid.” He flips his notebook shut. “Suffice it to say, we don’t have any leads on what they plan to do with the Shimura boy.”
A chair scratches the floor. Gran Torino is halfway out the door before anyone even has the chance to say anything. “Then let’s go find some leads instead of wasting our time here.” The door slams shut behind him.
Toshinori looks back and forth from the door to everyone else, before getting up and bowing. “My apologies,” he says. His anger at the kidnapping was barely restrained in his voice. “But I believe I should go too,” Toshinori finishes, before leaving after Torino.
“I…suppose our meeting is concluded.” Tsukauchi stands. “I’ll do one last sweep of questions on the students to make sure I didn’t miss anything. They’ve all been in the hospital for nearly two days, and most seem pretty anxious to leave.”
Nezu nods, while looking sadly down at a tray of tea no one had touched. “I’d imagine most of the children want to be with their families after a harrowing experience. Will you please assure them the hospital plans to release them all tomorrow morning?”
“Of course,” Tsukauchi promises. “And it’s understandable. I know there aren’t many things more reassuring than knowing you always have family to lean on. Right, Principal?”
Nezu chuckles, putting away his tea set. Piotr grabs the last cup before the mouse can fully finish, giving him his thanks as he drinks the tea. Nezu looks thrilled. “I’m afraid I can’t relate, detective. The closest I have ever had to a family were the other animals illegally experimented on with me, and they all most likely perished long ago.” It’s strange to hear someone say something so tragic in such a casual upbeat tone.
The principal looks to Piotr and Logan, as if to ask about the subject, but Logan cuts him off, bidding a quick farewell and leaving. Piotr follows as quick as he can, making sure to finish his tea and return it to Nezu first, thanking him again.
“Maybe some tea could have calmed you-“ Piotr starts.
Logan snorts. “I’ll drink tea if I’m ever fighting Freddie goddamn Krueger. Until then, don’t ask.” He leads them into a separate room. “Call your sister. I’ll call Eloise. Between the two of them, they should be able to get the rest of the stateside Japanese team over here if they take the jet. Kev is not allowed to fly it.”
“The Japanese team?” Piotr looks at Wolverine, flabbergasted. “But their facilities are far from complete. And the Hero Commision has not approved of their operation in Japan yet?”
“I’ve lost count of the amount of times I’ve had to watch a bunch of unprepared teenagers fight for their lives when they weren’t ready. I’ve also lost count of the amount of them I’ve seen die. I’m done adding to that count.” Logan puts the phone to his ear. “And I’m done asking for permission.”
“And you’re sure nothing new has come to you since the last time we spoke?”
Ochako shakes her head, hating that it was the truth. But after racking her brain over the past two days over every and any detail she could remember, she knows nothing new had come to her since being in the hospital.
Tsukauchi sighs, taking his hat off to wipe his brow, clearly tired. But the detective still takes the time to offer her a reassuring smile. “Well, I appreciate you humoring me anyway. Rest assured we’re doing everything in our power to find your friend and get all of you cleared medically.”
Ochako bites the inside of her cheek to keep from being rude. “Thank you, sir,” she politely responds instead. She doesn’t want to blame the police for what happened, because Ochako knows it’s not their fault.
But if what Toga and Compress said was true, they’ve had the League’s location for a while now and could’ve moved to arrest them anytime before this attack happened! She takes a deep breath. Ochako can’t pretend she understands how police investigations work, however, so she’s just going to let the police do their work.
And if she knows her boyfriend like she thinks she does, her and her friends are going to do their own work.
Tsukauchi, not being privy to any of her conflict, hums nicely to her. “Don’t worry, you’ll all be out outta here by tomorrow.” He places his hat back on and moves down the hall to the next person. Exhaling, Ochako moves out of the way for a couple of nurses rushing past her. She can’t help but notice the strange looks they give the room she’s standing outside of before they pass. Not that she can blame them.
Izuku just hadn’t been himself the last couple of days. Ochako opens the door, quickly shutting it behind her as a wave of arguing hits her.
“Maybe we’re missing something! There must’ve been some way to have Shigaraki take us instead of Tenko!” Eleven argues.
“Look at the facts! Shigaraki may hate us, but Tenko is her brother! She wasn’t ever not going to take him!” Twelve replies. “If she had kidnapped Izuku, he would’ve been a bonus, nothing else!”
“All these new powers and things keep getting worse! How are we getting worse at protecting everyone?” Nine laments, making himself into a ball in the corner.
“Ochako?” In a room full of clones arguing with one another, only one acknowledges her. Clone Thirteen stands frozen, before looking around the room in embarrassment. “We didn’t know you were coming. We usually try to clean ourselves up before you do…”
“Why do you think I didn’t tell Izuku I was coming?” Moving around the clones to the far side of the room, she finds why her boyfriend had insisted on her telling him when she was coming. Izuku is in the bed, sitting up, his hands in his hair with his eyes screwed shut tight. His breathing is so quick, he’s bordering on hyperventilating again, just as he had done after Tenko was taken.
Even with enhanced senses, he doesn’t even realize she’s there.
“You bringing up what we could have done isn’t helping anyone!” Two yelled at another clone that Ochako isn’t as familiar with next to the bed.
“It will help us,” Six emphasized. “Izuku keeps holding back, and that’s why his little friends keep getting hurt. We need more power to stop villains in the future-“
“I know what kind of power you want-“
“The power to protect everyone he cares about!” Six speaks over Two. “And if we have to step on some people to get there, then so be it.”
“It’s been two days, why won’t he let me out, dude?” Four leans against the wall, banging his head against the wall. “Everyone’s probably as sad as us, but Izuku won’t let me play any pranks on them! How are we supposed to make them laugh?!”
Three puts a tired hand on his shoulder. “I believe that to make others laugh, we should first be able to start with ourselves.”
“Please, I think we all know that you don’t need to be happy to make others laugh.”
Three ignores Five, looking back at Four. “Either way, I think we can both agree we are not exactly in the right mental state for a multitude of pranks.”
Four shakes his head. “Does it matter? If we got too far, Yaomomo will always-“
“Not her!” Eight covers his mouth. “Don’t you remember what happened before the attack?! She saw… she saw… you know what she saw! What we really look like! Has she told anyone else? Do they want anything to do with us anymore? Or maybe-“
Ochako can’t take it anymore. Especially not when she sees Izuku start to tug on his hair more and more fiercely. Getting on the bed and being careful not to remove his gravity, Ochako grabs his hands and carefully removes them from his head.
As expected, he resists her at first, making a little whining sound and thrashing around a bit as she forces his arms to his sides. But in his panicked state, he isn’t very strong, making it easy for her to keep his hands lowered.
As soon as he realizes he can’t lift his arm, Izuku’s eyes snap open in alarm. “Ochako?” He looks at her a little bit closer, as if confirming she’s really there, before backing up suddenly. “Ochako!” He starts to try and wrestle his hands out of her grasp once more. “You should’ve told me you were coming- sorry about that all of this- I know it’s weird but I-I’m f-fine, I just-“
A gentle hand touches his cheek and turns Izuku’s face, until green eyes are forced to meet brown. “It’s okay,” Ochako whispers, smiling at him. “It’s going to be okay,” she says while gently pushing Izuku to lay down on the bed.
While Ochako had never seen what was happening before, Izuku had told her about it before in his effort to be upfront about himself to her.
He called them clone panic attacks. Times when Izuku gets so rattled internally that he can’t control his clones and they threaten to overwhelm him emotionally. They were apparently much more frequent for him growing up, but had stopped once he had gotten into UA, which he said was mostly thanks to her.
While the gravity girl still gets a little red thinking about that admission, she’s thankful that Izuku told her about them and what he usually did to stop them. Which helps her when Izuku tries again to reach up to his messy mop of hair.
“Please…” Ochako would give anything in the world to not hear Izuku sound so sad. “It’s all too much… I need something to focus on…”
She knows he usually uses the pain of tugging on his hair to focus on, but Ochako has a better idea of something he can put his mind to. Something they both need with how hard the past couple of days have been.
Putting a hand on his other cheek and without warning, Ochako pulls her boyfriend into a deep kiss. Izuku’s eyes go wide in surprise and almost all at once, the clones quiet down. The seconds feel like hours but finally, she feels his tension start to melt as one by one, the clones around them slowly all disappear.
Izuku’s eyes close and he snakes an arm around her back to pull her closer against him, pushing his lips firmer against hers. Ochako lets out a muffled squeak in surprise, causing the two to disconnect momentarily, panting. Izuku looks at her as if he did something wrong and opens his mouth to apologize.
Ochako reassures him in the best way she knows how at the moment. By attacking his lips with her own again. Izuku reciprocates almost immediately this time, eagerly kissing her back and placing a hand on her waist, giving it a gentle squeeze. Ochako makes a noise of approval at that.
What she doesn’t approve of is the next time they separate for air, Izuku smirks, way too proud of himself. Feeling her competitive edge creep in, when Ochako pulls him in once more for another kiss, she does something she had only ever done briefly at camp.
She kisses Izuku harder than before, causing him to gasp in surprise. And when he opens his mouth, Ochako pushes her tongue against his. Izuku falls back in the bed but Ochako doesn’t let up on her attack.
Even if she technically has no idea what she’s doing.
But Izuku doesn’t complain as she wraps his leg up in both of hers and half lays on top of him, still keeping them locked at the lips. Izuku tries to shift them to gain any sort of advantage back, but a hand lightly brushing through his hair ends that.
A weakness that funnily enough, his mother told her the night they met. Though, Ochako isn’t sure Inko quite imagined her using the information this way. For some reason, that sends a thrill down her spine.
A shiver Izuku seems to share when she runs her other hand down his side, making him sigh at the feeling when she squeezes his waist. But her boyfriend, being the quick learner he is, mimics the action on her, running a hand down her side.
Ochako hums nicely at the action until his hand gets closer to her hips. Not realizing her shirt had ridden up a little, Izuku rubs a bit of Ochako’s bare skin on accident. All at once, she feels a jolt of pleasure shoot through her that causes her body to rock forward over Izuku’s.
Both teenagers gasp and quickly separate, trying to catch their breath and maybe hold on to everything they were just feeling for a little longer. They both had goosebumps and were still tingling in certain places as they each tried to discreetly wipe their wet mouths.
To say Ochako’s plan worked may be a bit of an understatement. Izuku had no signs of his previous worries as he grinned up at her. His clones are long gone. She grins back. “Are you feeling better?” she can't help but ask a bit cheekily.
He laughs. “I don’t think that’s how you’re supposed to treat someone having a panic attack.”
“Are you saying you didn’t like it?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Thought so.” Ochako exhales, resting her head against Izuku’s chest as he pulls the blanket over them. “I know it didn’t fix everything, but I thought it could help us both get our minds off things for a little bit.”
“Thank you,” Izuku says genuinely, holding onto her. “And I guess my clones told you everything on my mind?” Ochako snorts and nods. “So, what’s on yours? Is it Tenko?”
“Yeah,” she confirms. “But not just that. It’s…” She sighs. “Do you know how you told us what Mustard made you see with his illusions on our trip back here?” Izuku frowns. He does. “Well…it wasn’t just you. To keep us away from you, Mustard separated Iida and I and showed us our own nightmares.”
“What did you see?…”
“That robot… from I-Island…”
“Ultron?”
Ochako squeezes Izuku hard. “Yeah, him. It was just him over and over, taking you from us. I’d fight and fight and fight like hell to get you back. And the worse part? I would. I’d get you back. Only for him to show up and kill you right in front of me.”
She fights tears, rubbing her wet face against Izuku’s shirt. He doesn’t say anything about it. “Over and over. He’d take you. I’d fight. And then he’d kill you. In some new horrible and twisted way, you’d die over and over right in front of me. And Ultron…he just kept mocking me. Telling me how stupid I was to think every time we reset that would be the time I save you!”
Izuku wraps her in his arms. “I’m sorry.”
“It was awful,” Ochako sniffles. “I’m not gonna lie… it was pretty satisfying to punch Mustard in the face after.” They snicker together as Ochako wipes her face. “But then…it was still fake. Because in reality, we stopped Ultron’s plan and you came home with us. That’s what got me through it. Knowing in the back of my mind it wasn’t real and could never happen.”
She grabs his shirt tighter. “But then Tenko got taken. And he didn’t come home with us. The USJ, Hosu, I-Island, we were always together. It was like the villains could never actually hurt us. But now…with him gone… it all just feels so real. That’s what I needed to get my mind off of…”
“Ochako…” Izuku holds her tighter. It’s incredible how someone so naturally cold can also be so warm. “I know I’m better at making things fake than real… but I promise I’m gonna find a way to get Tenko back and bring us all back together.”
“I know.” Izuku seems surprised when she lifts her head up to look at him. “I know that because I know you. And I know you’re only still here because Toga hasn’t texted you an address yet.”
He pales. “Well- I- I-”
“And when you go, I’m coming with you.”
“Ochako…”
“I’m not asking, Izuku.”
The door opens suddenly after a quick knock, and Yaomomo pokes her head in. “Hello? Midoriya?” She looks around to see Ochako alone in the bed. “Oh, Uraraka. I believe I must’ve missed Midoriya? I was hoping to speak to him.”
“No, sorry, Yaomomo. He went to go talk to the teachers about something.”
The disappointment is evident on her face. “Ah, I see. Thank you.”
She closes the door and Izuku reappears in a flash of green light. “Sorry…and thanks.”
“You’re going to have to talk to her about what happened before the attack eventually.”
“I know…” Izuku slumps. “But about before-“
“I’m still not asking.”
The pair stare down one another for a few seconds more, before Izuku relents and lays back. “Fine…but that’s it. Just us. No one else.”
“When will you be leaving to retrieve Tenko?”
Izuku groans, banging his head against the hallway wall. “How did you know?”
Todoroki shrugs, leaning outside of his room. “It seems like something you’d do. Did you need any extra assistance on your team or with covering your escape?”
“Yeah, I guess. If you could make sure Aizawa doesn’t go near the illusions I leave behind-“
“Todoroki? Who are you talking to?” Yaomomo rounds the corner with a tray of ice chips she had been handing out to the class.
“I was speaking with-“ When Todoroki turns back, there’s no one there. “Ah, I suppose that’s all he needed help with.”
“I just think it’s pretty manly of you to be going after Tenko man.” Kirishima gives Izuku a thumbs up. “And if you need someone sturdy with you, I’m your guy!”
“Or if you need acid, I’m your girl!” Mina jumps in the air.
“You guys too?! No, no, we’re fine, but how does everyone know?!”
“You know that after I recklessly chased after Stain, I cannot in good conscience let you go through with your plan-“ Izuku sighs at Iida. “-Without me accompanying you.”
The demigod perks up. “Really?”
“I know you well enough by now, Midoriya, that when you set your mind to something, words won’t convince you to abandon it.” He pushes up his glasses. “Only action. And if I just come to curb your more reckless tendencies, I will.”
“Wow. Thanks, Iida.”
“Of course, my friend!” Iida checks his phone. “Now, I have been thinking of other possible recruits and thought Yaoyorozu would be invaluable. I invited her here to-“ He looks up. Izuku’s gone. “Hm. He must’ve gone to do more recruiting.”
“If you need a lookout either out there or here at the hospital, I am more than willing to assist,” Shoji tells Izuku.
“…At least it makes sense about how you’d know.”
“You guys are being pretty loud, even without our quirks,” Jiro twirls one of her earphone jacks around her fingers.
Sato gives him some pastries.
Koda gives him a hug.
“So, I hear you’re forming a team to go get Tenko back.”
“Would you-!” Izuku shoves Denki back inside his hospital room while repeatedly shushing him, the blond snickering at his antics. Izuku groans as he makes sure the door is firmly shut behind them. “How does everyone know that?…”
“Doesn’t matter dude, I want in.”
“Denki…” Izuku sighs. “It’s a stealth mission.”
The son of Thor tilts his head. “So?”
“And you’re kinda loud?”
“No I’m no-!” Denki cuts himself off, clearing his throat. “No I’m not,” he whispers.
Izuku snorts. “Nice cover, but I was talking more about your powers.”
“What about thunder and lightning is loud- okay, okay. You don’t need to say anything, I heard it,” Denki glares at his chuckling cousin. “But that’s not all I can do since camp!”
Electricity streams off one of Denki’s hands and onto several pieces of hospital equipment that lift them a few centimeters off the ground. Letting them back down, Denki unplugs one of the monitors and puts his hand over it. “Look.” He powers the monitor back with his powers. “I’m not overloading stuff anymore. I’m getting better!”
A nurse with off-white hair opens the door to the room, glaring at Denki. “Oh, sorry about that…again,” he apologizes sheepishly, before plugging the monitor back in. She sighs, leaving.
“Okay, but also this!” Lightning surrounds Denki, enhancing him physically. Just like his dad taught him before the Sports Festival, but the teen can’t help but notice how much more pronounced the lightning is and how much lighter he feels. Proof that he is getting better and better with not just the new tricks he’s learning, but the old ones.
He places his hand on Izuku’s shoulder, and the trickster jolts back when lightning surrounds him too. “I can’t keep it going if I take my hand off you, but my dad once mentioned he could share his powers with other people so-“
“It’s like I’ve been supercharged!” Izuku looks down at himself in wonder. Lifting his palm, he concentrates, watching it glow brighter and brighter. “I can even feel my energy blasts coming easier! So, I could theoretically learn how to use your powers while augmenting my own. This is amazing! Even if it’s not practical while it’s touch-based, we can work on that! Do you think I could share my powers too?”
Denki shrugs, letting him go. “Maybe. Does that mean I can come, bro?”
Izuku’s smile falls. “I… it’s just, Denki, look at yourself!”
The blond shrugs, dismissing the many bandages that cover his body. “So what?”
“Spinner’s swords are forcing you to heal the normal, slow way so you shouldn’t be moving around much!”
“Are you of all people about to tell someone they can’t do something stupid while hurt?” Denki crosses his arms, leaning back on his foot. “C’mon man, I feel alright. Plus, I know this trip is supposed to be ‘stealth,’” he air quotes the last word, “but we both know if things go bad, I’m your best bet if you gotta go loud.”
When Izuku still looks unconvinced, Denki sighs, dropping down onto the foot of the bed. “Dude, please. You gotta let me come.” His voice is shaky. He had hoped Izuku would just agree and he wouldn’t have to explain why he needed to go so bad.
“What’s going on, Denki?”
The blond doesn’t look up, but he can hear that Izuku has moved to stand in front of him. “Can’t we just leave it at you saying yes?” he tries.
“We could. But if you don’t tell me why you’re upset, then that would bother me. And then I’d have to stab you for that. So, why don’t we skip that part?”
Denki snorts. “You skipping the stabbing part?” He looks up. “Now I know the attack got to you.”
“Never,” Izuku dismisses, giving him a small grin. “But look how many times you were cut at camp. I don’t like sloppy seconds.” The cousins chuckle together. “But seriously, what’s bothering you?”
Denki groans, falling back. “Yeah, alright. So, you know how my dad is Thor?”
“…I am aware.”
“And you know how they have all those stories of Thor, the strongest Avenger! Of how he saved entire planets on his own and vanquished some of the strongest beings in the galaxy!”
“My dad used to call that stuff propaganda but yeah, I know about it. Why?”
“Well, that’s just it!” Denki shoots up. “I haven’t done anything!”
Izuku tilts his head. “Huh?”
“Think about it, bro. After the Sports Festival, I haven’t been able to save anyone!” He throws his hands in the air. “At Hosu, I couldn’t beat that Gorr guy! Couldn’t scratch him! You beat him! Same with Ultron! At best I was bait until Tenko could decay those guys. And at camp, I was out before the fight even started!”
He flops back down, rubbing his eyes. “I know I said I’m trying to not be like my dad, be my own hero, y’know? But I didn’t mean we had to be different in every way! Like, for example, I figured we’d be the same in the whole saving people department! But nope, I couldn’t even handle that!”
Denki gets back up and starts to pace. “I feel like I’m barely handling anything right now! In just over a year, I had to relearn everything I thought I knew about my ‘quirk!’ Reconnect with my dad. And study a bunch of stuff about space! I went from knowing nothing about space to knowing way too much! Do you know how many planets and alien species there are? Too many! Brood, Kree, Shi’ar, Irkens, Phalanx, Xandarians, ahh!!!
“And that’s on top of having to study regular Earth classes just so I could squeak into UA because news flash, some of us aren’t as academically gifted as you and Yaomomo! They want us to graph polynomials! I’m still trying to figure out what a polynomial is! Not to mention- OW!”
Denki reels back in pain, clutching his bleeding side. “Hey! You stabbed me!”
Izuku waggles the knife at him. “Only lightly!”
“What happened to sloppy seconds?!”
“You were spiraling!”
Denki holds out his hand. “Give me the knife.”
“No.”
“Give me the knife, Izuku.”
The trickster backs up, holding the blade up as high as he can. “Come and take it!”
No sooner are the words out of his mouth that Denki tackles him. “Hand it over!”
“Never!”
The cousins roll across the ground, wrestling for control of the knife. Denki shoves Izuku against the ground, pinning him with his superior strength, but the Prince of Mischief is always quick to come up with a plan.
He licks his palm and pushes it in Denki’s face. “Ew!”
He throws Izuku off, who waves the knife at him in victory. “Ha! Face it. You deserved to be stabbed for being so dumb.”
Denki pauses his next attack. “What?”
“Dumb!” Izuku emphasizes. “We wouldn’t be alive without you! Back at Hosu, do you think Ochako could’ve fought Gorr without you? Don’t tell her I said this but no! Without you, he would’ve beaten and probably killed her!”
Denki’s eyes widen a little as he calms down. “And at I-Island!” Izuku continues. “You freed me! Remember? From Ultron! You rescued me. You rescued Dr. Shield! One of the greatest scientists in the world! You rescued Vision, a pro hero with centuries of experience by the way. And you rescued All Might, the number one hero in the country! And how did you follow that? By talking smack to a genocidal robot! Right to his face!”
Denki cracks a grin. “I guess I sorta did, didn’t I?”
“You’re a powerhouse,” Izuku compliments. “And just like you sharing your powers, whenever you’re around, the villains have to focus on you or they’ll lose. Sure, maybe it means you don’t always get the last hit, but even without trying you make everyone around you better.”
Burying his face in his hands, Denki groans. “Maaaaan, what the hell? Why are you so nice?”
Izuku giggles. “You ask only minutes after I stabbed you.” Denki groans again. “And…okay. If it means that much to you, you can come.”
“Thanks, bro.” Denki stands, grabbing Izuku’s hand and helping him to his feet. Before he lets go, the blond pulls Izuku in for a quick bro hug. “Sorry about all that. I’m cool now.”
“You never stopped being cool.”
Denki snickers. “Shut up.” He pushes Izuku away. “But uh, do me a favor and don’t tell anyone about this, okay?” Izuku makes a motion of zipping his mouth shut. “Cool. Alright.” He shakes his arms and legs a bit. “That was uh, a lot of talk about feelings…”
“Yeah…” Izuku shakes himself off as well.
“And you know, we’re guys. Sure, it actually sorta helped and nothing blew up but still, we don’t talk about that stuff.”
“No, yeah. Totally.” Izuku nods vigorously.
“So, I feel like we gotta switch to talking about something guys like.” He taps his chin. “What’s a typical guy thing to talk about…”
Izuku mirrors him. “I’m not sure… oh! Wait! I got it!” Denki looks at him curiously. “You know how when Tensei is Ghost Rider, he can technically make anything he rides into a Hellfire version of itself?”
“With awesome flames, skulls, and chains? Yeah?”
“Okay so imagine that… but with a Helicarrier!”
“…Tell me more.”
“Please! Like I said, I don’t know anything! I swear-“ The petty criminal screams as Gran Torino cracks him on the side of the head with his boot. He’s sent tumbling across the building rooftop to lay unconscious with the half-dozen others who can’t tell Torino what he wants to know.
The last conscious criminal shakes in fear when Torino lands back down in a puff of air. He cries out and falls back when the old man whirls on him. “I- I- “
“Same question.” The criminal slides as fast as he can away from the hero, only stopping when the rooftop’s edge forces him. Torino continues to advance toward him. “Where is the League’s base?”
“I don’t know-“ He yells out in pain when Torino covers the last of the distance between them in an instant, plunging his foot into the man’s gut. The thief pukes whatever’s left in his stomach. He’s barely done when Torino grabs his hair and forces him to look at him.
“Someone has to have some idea!”
“Rumors man! There were rumors!” The criminal gasps out. “A-about who the League are involved with! Ain’t nobody tryin’ to get with-“ Using his quirk to accelerate his foot, Torino kicks the man in the side, using the satisfying sound of several cracked ribs.
“And if I did?!!” Torino grabs him by the scruff of his shirt and holds most of him over the edge.
“Wa- wait! Wait! Please!”
“I’m not asking you again! Better give me something I can use!”
“G-Giran!” The criminal wails. “He’s a broker! They say if you want anything with the League to go through him! That’s it! I promise!”
Torino pushes the man out a little further. “Where do I find him?!”
“I don’t know! He usually finds you! Please man!” Tears start to fall down the criminal’s face as he looks down at the far drop below him. “P-please! I’ve told you everything! I…” He sniffles. “I got a kid, man…”
Torino snarls. “Yeah. So do I.” He lets go.
The criminal screams, but he only falls for seconds before a massive figure catches him and gently puts the passed-out man down behind the old hero. “What are you thinking, Gran Torino?!” All Might asks in disbelief. “He could have died!”
Torino rolls his eyes. “Don’t lecture me, you oaf. I saw you coming literal kilometers away. You have the subtlety of a train wreck. I knew you’d catch him. I just wanted to scare the punk a little more.”
“I understand you’re angry, sir. Believe me, I am ready to put a hole through a mountain if that’s what it takes to get him back!” His fist starts to shake. “That boy is so very strong. And in so many ways I will never be able to understand. He doesn’t deserve this. And as his teacher, I will make it up to him when we get him back. But until then, we cannot stoop to levels of-“
“Do you remember how we found the boy in the first place?”
The question catches All Might off-guard. He looks over the edge of the building. “I suppose it was in an alley much like that one down there.”
“No. I mean how we found him.” All Might doesn’t answer. “Luck.” Torino turns around. “And chance. We only found the kid originally because a random person, an anonymous caller, tipped us to his location. That’s how we found him. And now he’s gone again. And I’m sure as sh*t not leaving it up to luck again to find him.”
Torino marches past his old student. “C’mon. I got intel we can use.”
“Oh, Yaomomo!”
Much like Momo had predicted, Midoriya freezes as soon as he sees her in the room. His hand reaches back for the knob behind him, a fake smile already adorning his face. As if he hadn’t been avoiding her for days now. As if he hasn’t pulled a single prank or exploited any loopholes since they have gotten back.
As if she, or the rest of the class for that matter, can’t tell how much Tenko being taken has affected him.
“Sorry, I was supposed to be meeting Ochako right now. I must’ve gotten the wrong room-“
“Midoriya, we need to talk. And we are doing it now.” There was no room for argument in her voice, just authority. As her mother had taught her.
At least Midoriya seems to get the message. He ducks his head. “Ochako set me up, didn’t she?”
“Being tricked doesn’t feel so good, now does it?”
Midoriya looks up at her with a glare, but she can tell there’s no heat behind it. Deciding to accept his fate, the son of Loki plops in a chair next to her, looking more and more uncomfortable the closer he gets to her. Momo hates it. It reminds her of how uncomfortable she made people intimidated by her wealth growing up.
“So, uh, what are we talking about?”
“Rumor has spread throughout the class that you are assembling a team to retrieve Tenko from the villains yourselves.”
While Midoriya still looks worried, Momo can’t help but notice there’s a great bit of relief. “It got around that fast? Okay…” he wipes his palms on his sweatpants. “First off, I’m not asking people to join, they’re asking me. Second, what do you want to not rat us out to Aizawa?”
“You misunderstand.” He tilts her head at her. Mina’s constant comparisons of him to a puppy become clearer by the day. “I wish to join you.”
That same fear from earlier jolts Midoriya as he seems to literally try to jump away from the idea. “I- no, that’s alright. We’re trying to keep the team small and-“
“Are you saying you don’t think my quirk would be useful in a mission like this?”
Midoriya backpedals immediately. “No, of course not! It’d probably be one of the best!”
Momo hums. “Ah, so you’re implying it is I who wouldn’t be useful?”
“Never! I- I-“ He begins to ramble. Her rival in the prank war excelled in a great many things, but also holds a few glaring weaknesses. Such as his inability to let his friends talk down about themselves. The fact he was so quick to defend her actually gave Momo more hope this talk may end well.
She interrupts his babbles. “And this is why we needed to talk.”
Midoriya stops. “Eh?”
Momo leans forward. “Let me start over. Are we friends?”
Midoriya’s face doesn’t change. “I repeat. Eh?”
“Are. We. Friends?”
“I- yes? Right?” Midoriya asks, a little confused. “I mean, technically we’re the leads on opposites sides of a war because I know you don’t exactly approve of my pranks and we’ve never really confirmed, or I guess I never really asked because that would be rude and the last thing I’d want to do is assume because then I’d be a jerk or at least come off as one which might make you change your answer and-“
“Midoriya,” Momo cuts off his rambling, amused as she might be.
“Oh! Right! Uh, yes?”
“I’d like to think so too.” Momo leans back. “And as my friend, I’d like you to be honest with me.”
“About what?”
She lowers her head to him. He knows what she’s talking about. And to prove her point, he sighs. “Yeah- okay. I know.” He shifts in his seat. “You haven’t told anyone about what you saw, yeah?” Momo shakes her head fervently. “Okay…okay that’s good. And you have to promise not to tell anyone what we talk about here, alright?”
“I swear.” Momo attempts to add in as much conviction as she can. To show him she means it.
“Okay, and you have to swear not to make a videotape of yourself explaining it and passing it around.”
Momo shakes her head at the absurdity. “Do you really think I’d do that?”
It was Midoriya’s turn to lower his head to her with a ‘really?’ look. “You know almost better than anyone that I live in technicalities.”
“Okay, okay, I swear. Now may we please continue?”
“Okay…” Midoriya breathes in and out slowly, his breath trembling a little. “To put it simply, what you saw at training camp…was me.” Momo tilts her head in curiosity but doesn’t say anything, allowing him to continue. “The real me, I mean. My dad’s Asgardian, as you know, but he was technically adopted from Jotunheim, the realm of the Frost Giants.”
Momo’s eyes go wide. “Your blue skin…” Izuku nods hesitantly. “But wait, your father-“
“Odin cast a powerful spell on him while adopting my dad.” Midoriya breaks the minimal eye contact they had. “That’s why his skin isn’t blue. And it’s why he looks like the rest of the Asgardians. It’s why…” he looks down at his hands. “I look like them too. Now our true selves only show if we touch another Frost Giant or… if we touch something made by them.”
“The sword I gave you on the station. It was from Jotunheim.” Momo cups her chin. “This makes so much sense. Nordic mythology always spoke of Loki being a Frost Giant but, as we had met the man himself, I thought the stories must’ve merely been wrong but they weren’t.” She snaps her fingers. “This explains your ice powers as well. Along with your vulnerability to fire. I had been trying to connect the dots for ages because I had assumed the legends were wrong and Loki, in reality, wasn’t a Frost Giant based on his appearance but the answer was much simpler than that-“
Stopping herself as she realized she was about to start mumbling much like Midoriya does, Momo looks up. “While that does help explain a few things and I appreciate you for telling me, it doesn’t explain why you ran? Or why you’ve been avoiding me.”
Midoriya chuckled dryly. “I guess, since we’re being honest, the reason I ran was… because I felt exposed. You have to understand Yaomomo, until recently, no one had seen that side of me, not even me! I saw it for the first time when I showed Ochako, because I wanted to show her I was serious about not hiding from her anymore before we dated. And I accepted that because it was my choice.
“But you seeing me wasn’t.” He cringes a bit at the memory. “And…I don’t know.” Midoriya scratched the back of his head. “I’ve talked about not having friends growing up. Something that changed at UA. So when the class accepted me, I dreaded losing any one of you.” The Tenko-sized hole in that statement goes unsaid.
“I hadn’t really planned on telling the whole class I was an alien,” Midoriya chuckled nervously. “But I-Island kind of forced me to. I knew it was the best way to protect you all. But still, Denki and I, we’re aliens, but we don’t look like aliens.”
“Much to Mina’s disappointment.”
Momo inwardly cheers when Midoriya laughs a little at her joke. “Yeah. But since we don’t look different from you all, I thought… you know…”
“You are afraid of being treated differently if your appearance is more outwardly alien,” Momo finishes for him, since Midoriya seems to be having trouble getting the words out.
He nods again. “My dad told me what it was like to be treated as if you were different from everyone. Like you don’t belong. And I guess when you saw me, I was afraid of that happening too.”
Momo smiles softly. “Thank you for telling me. And I promise not to tell anyone until you’re ready.” Midoriya makes a noise, as if disagreeing at the notion that he’ll ever be ready. “And for the record, blue or not, I prefer having my friend Midoriya around than the guy who’s been hiding the last couple of days.”
Midoriya perks, a mischievous smile beginning to form on his face. Much to Momo’s relief and horror. “Are you admitting to liking my pranks?”
“…We’re having a moment. Don’t ruin it.”
Midoriya laughs, genuinely laughs, falling back in his seat. “Fiiiine. But if I’m being honest, pranking the class wouldn’t be as fun since no one makes me want to out-do myself like you.”
Momo sighs. It’s official. Midoriya is feeling better. “You are lucky you are endearing.” Midoriya chuckles a bit more. When he calms down, she says, “but for the record, UA wouldn’t be half as fun without you either.”
She stands. “As friends who’ve just made up, I believe a hug is customary.” Midoriya beams at having not lost a friend, quickly jumping to his feet. “No pranks!”
“I promise!” He crosses his heart. “But after you help us rescue our teammate, it’s back to thwarting each other?”
“Absolutely.” Midoriya snickers as the two embrace, the hug giving Momo the same feelings as if she was making up with a little brother. The feeling doesn’t last long however when suddenly-
“HOW COULD YOU?!” Mina slams the door open, pointing an accusatory finger at the pair. “You know, I didn’t want to believe it when I realized the two of you were missing but here you are, hugging! Midoriya! How could you do this to Uraraka?! You were both 1-A’s power couple! And Yaomomo, how could you betray Todoroki and Jiro like that?!”
“No, no it’s not what you think!” Midoriya waved his arms around in every direction. “We were just having a moment because I had been avoiding her over something personal but we’re better now!”
Momo blushes. “What do Todoroki or Jiro have to do with this?!”
Midoriya and Mina stare at her. “You don’t…know?” Midoriya asks hesitantly.
“Know what?!”
Midoriya scoots closer to Mina. “Is this what it was like with me and Ochako?” He whispers.
“Multiply this by ten and then you’ll get a small idea of what you two were like.”
“Oh my gods.”
“Right?!” Mina looks between them. “Um, I guess that’s my bad. Gotta go!” She runs away.
“Me too!” Midoriya does the same.
“Wait!” Momo chases after them. “Why would Todoroki and Jiro be upset?!”
Izuku’s phone dings. He looks down at it.
A text from Toga with an address. It’s go time. He texts everyone else and opens his door, only to be stopped by a conflicted- “Tsu?”
“You should leave it to the heroes. Ribbit.” Izuku swallows as her big eyes find him. They’re red from her crying. “We’re not fully trained. We don’t have anything close to a license. And we’d be no better than the villains if we went after Tenko ourselves. Ribbit. Ribbit.”
Izuku looks away. “Tsu, I-“
“I guess I’m no better than a villain then.”
He looks up, shocked at Tsu’s words. She looks a lot more certain than when he originally opened the door. “I kept telling myself those same things over and over, and you know what they did? Make me cry even more. And finally I thought to myself, would I rather cry alone or cry with Tenko once I get him back.”
“Tsu…”
“Whatever you’re planning. I’m coming. And I’m not asking, Midoriya.”
Tenko winces when a harsh light shines in his face as soon as he exits the portal. Hirona forces him on his knees, before taking a step back to be with Nagant and Kurogiri. All the gamer can tell about where he is is that it’s dark. The only sound he hears is countless machines working. A factory, he guesses. And by the sounds of it, whatever they’re building here, there’s a lot of them.
A hologram activates in front of him. Tenko reels back when it goes for his throat, but he calms down when he remembers that it can’t hurt him. “It feels hypocritical of me to desire revenge against you. I feel I should be above letting such petty feelings drive me.” Ultron looks down. “But for you, I am willing to make an exception.”
“And you will have it, but we do have a schedule to keep, my friend.” Tenko whips his head when a man appears from the darkness, wearing a nice suit and a bulky mask. “Apologies, my boy, I had hoped this meeting would happen sooner but the feats I-Island is capable of have kept us quite busy.” He removes the mask. “I have long requested from the heroes a chance to speak with you. For some reason, they always denied me. But as you can see, I am no longer asking.”
Hirona’s eyes widen. Nagant raises an eyebrow.
All for One opens his eyes. “Hello, Tomura.”
