Izuku stared out the window glumly, watching the clouds far below the private plane zip past. The send off from the airport had been short and sweet. A rare hug from Shoto, a fistbump from Katsuki, Mei and Shoko quickly hugging him before Ochako kissed him goodbye. Izuku’s lips still tingled a bit from the long, heartfelt kiss, her intoxicating smell still lingering. Izuku’s gaze unfocused as he thought about her.
“You know, Izuku, it’s only for two years,” his father said from the large chair next to his, leaning over and patting his knee in a would-be fatherly manner. Izuku was bumped from his thoughts, and glanced over at the large hand on his knee, and then up at his father’s sunken face, the piercing blue eyes meeting his bright green.
“I think, in time, you’ll come to understand why we did this.”
Izuku’s face grew a scowl and he opened his mouth to retort, but he caught his mother’s look of warning out of the corner of his eye, and closed his mouth angrily, his teeth clacking together sharply. He set a forced smile on his face.
“Sure, dad,” he said almost robotically, before turning back to watch the clouds. “What’s two years, anyway? Not like I’m going to miss anything important,” he muttered sarcastically, his chin on his palm, wishing he was anywhere but there.
The tape measure retracted with a sharp snap as Mei turned to jot down another measurement.
“Okay, next your biceps!” she ordered excitedly, turning back to look up at Ochako, standing on a rotating platform in front her.
“Mei, I didn’t ask for a full suit, just gauntlets” she said, her normal blush pushing even redder from all of the contact that Mei had used as she measured her.
“Oh shush, the customer is never sure of what they need!” Mei exclaimed, her manic smile in full force. She waved the measuring tape menacingly.
Ochako sighed and held her arms out from her sides in a T pose, with Mei latching on exuberantly, her fingers feeling the toned and strong muscles tense at the contact.
“Oooh, you’re all muscle-y!” Mei cooed, stretching out her tape measure again, with her manic grin wide and yellow eyes full of glee.
Melissa Shield was normally very patient and reserved during her day to day schooling and research. She had perfect grades, had already created some impressive inventions, and was slated to take over her father someday, if the rumors were to be believed. She even had special grants given to her by the Director of I-Island himself for her help with several problems across the Island.
So it was very unusual to see the normally composed young woman bouncing and waving excitedly next to her reserved father, Dave, smiling broadly as the sleek silver plane finished taxiing into the terminal.
He placed a hand on her shoulder, hoping to calm her down a bit. “Remember what we talked about, Melissa. Things are different now,” he said solemnly, catching her eye as she looked up at him. “Toshinori isn’t the same, and Izuku will be needing help adjusting.”
She nodded, “I understand, Papa. I’m just excited to see them again, is all.”
Dave chuckled lightly, “So am I.”
The door to the plane opened, and Melissa couldn’t help the look of shock on her face as a tall, lanky man with blonde hair walked out.
“Dave! Melissa! So good to see you again!” he called out, smiling brightly in the sunshine, waving to them from the entrance.
It had to be a joke, a trick. Something. It wasn’t right. This man couldn’t be her uncle. Melissa watched him some more as they unloaded their bags, and Izuku picked up a couple of boxes. While Izuku’s enormous growth spurt was expected, Uncle Toshinori’s withered appearance was jarring and unsettling. His eyes were right; kind, yet fierce. Still piercing blue. The hair was more or less right; long and blonde, but not straight and gravity defying.
She reverted to an old nervous habit of chewing her finger nail as she reconciled this new ‘Uncle’ with the one that had been All Might. It wasn’t until Izuku gently bumped into her that she shook herself from her thoughts.
“‘Lissa, you okay?” Izuku asked in English, a slight rounding on the ‘l’ giving way to his native Japanese.
She blinked and looked up at him, smiling brightly and nodding. “Yup, no problem! Just lost in thought. Are you ready?” she asked excitedly, using perfect Japanese, focusing on making Izuku feel at home.
He looked to his parents, who nodded and waved. “We’ll see you in a couple of hours, sweety,” Inko said, leaning up to kiss his cheek. “Melissa will show you the island, and then we’ll meet up for dinner.”
Izuku nodded and smiled softly, giving his goodbye to his father and uncle, and turned to Melissa. “Ready,” he said, a slightly hollow dejection in his voice, “Where to first?”
Melissa’s smile grew slightly. This was going to be fun.
“...and this is Papa’s research lab!” Melissa said excitedly, gesturing to a huge door set into an even bigger building. “This is the best part of the tour, personally.”
Izuku stood shocked and mouth agape, glanced over the huge structure before turning back to his cousin, “This is his lab? It’s enormous!”
“You can fit an entire city block inside,” Melissa said proudly. “Papa works on a lot of different ideas, so the Council gave him a lot of space,” Melissa explained, her eyes sparkling with anticipation. “Come on! He said I could show you where you are gonna be working! And don’t worry, we’ll go back for the other stuff we missed later.”
She pulled on his arm, over to a keypad set into the door, and keyed in the code, waiting for a moment before a small panel set into the massive door hissed open, sliding to the side for them to enter. She glanced back and laughed at Izuku’s look of disappointment.
“We only open the big door when we are moving equipment in or receiving a delivery!” she explained, giggling at Izuku’s expense.
“Still would have been cool to see…” Izuku mumbled, glancing back at the door wistfully as she pulled him further into the darkened building.
“We’ll show you later. We have to finish the tour, and then get you set up in your apartment! Over here!” Melissa said hurriedly, pulling harder on his arm as they approached a double sliding door, which opened as they approached. The scene inside was something out of a movie to Izuku; equipment of all kinds, fabrication units, entire racks of tools and measuring devices, heavy loading equipment, and more pieces that Izuku didn’t recognize.
“So…,” Melissa said tentatively, “this is your space.” She looked around, almost nervously as Izuku walked around slowly, mouth agape as he took it all in, glancing from piece to piece before looking back at his childhood friend.
“It should have everything you need. I hope—”
Izuku pulled her into a bear hug, lifting her into the air and squeezing her tightly, a broad smile on his face.
“Thank you,” he said softly, eyes shut as he tried to contain his glee.
Melissa’s smile broke out just as wide, and she returned the hug, patting him on the back.
“You’re welcome,” she said thickly, her happiness making her voice quake a bit.
“Ah, good, you’re here!” David Shield’s voice echoed out from the door. Izuku looked up, seeing the scientist with his parents. He gave Melissa one more squeeze and set her down before walking up to his uncle and going in for a hug as well. Toshinori chortled as Izuku squeezed his age-long friend, the skinnier man wincing at the crushing hug from his son.
“Definitely your son, Toshi,” David wheezed, patting Izuku on the back, requesting some air. Everyone shared a laugh as the excited teen set him back down, grinning brightly.
“Well, everything should be in order,” the elder Shield said, glancing around the room, softly punching his own chest to get air in his lungs again. “Let me show you some things I think you will enjoy, Izuku,” he offered, grabbing onto the young man’s shoulder and leading him further into the room.
“Don’t forget, Papa, we still need to show him the apartment! Don’t start working yet!” Melissa called out to the two men, David waving back to her over his shoulder.
“It’s been awhile since I have seen him that happy,” Inko said softly, watching Izuku and David as they talked, the scientist pulling the covers off a tall piece of machinery.
“Was it really that bad?” Melissa asked, turning back to Inko and Toshinori, giving the shrunken man another once over. It still hadn’t settled with her that he was that small now.
The parents both nodded solemnly. “He’s been down ever since we told him the plan to move him out here. He misses his friends,” Toshinori said, looking down at Melissa with a grimace. “He… wasn’t happy with me. He still isn’t.”
Inko nodded, “But it’s for the better. He’ll be able to learn and train some more before going to UA, and… well, it’ll be better.”
Melissa noted the pause, but didn’t react. She knew there was something they weren’t telling her. She decided to ask Izuku about it later. A shout from the other side of the room drew their attention. Izuku was holding up what looked like a bright blue cape and the look of glee and awe on his face made Melissa giggle.
“That’s one of yours, isn’t it, dear?” Inko said, grinning as her son proceeded to nerd out over the material.
“Ah, yeah. My Silver Age cape. I was wondering where that was…” Toshinori said, rubbing the back of his neck with embarrassment as his number one fan freaked out, rapidly mumbling about the cape and All Might’s battles with it.
Izuku let out a low whistle as his head swiveled around, taking in the spacious entryway and living room of his new apartment.
“This… is all mine?”
He looked back at Melissa and his father in the doorway, the pair of them nodding, smiling broadly. He turned back and took in the empty room, a large and bright studio apartment, complete with kitchen, en suite bathroom, and huge floor to ceiling windows showing a stunning view of I-Island below them. Straight ahead from the entrance were large French glass doors leading out to a balcony with even better views of the Island and ocean beyond.
“I-I…” he stammered, still reeling from the luxuriousness of his new home-away-from-home. He walked over to the windows and stared down in awe.
“Well, what do you think?” Toshinori asked, a tentative hitch to his voice.
Izuku looked back and smiled. “I think it’s more than enough for me. Are you sure?”
Toshinori smiled and nodded again. “It’s all yours, Izuku. I want you to enjoy yourself and have your own space. And…”
He shifted on his feet, rubbing the back of his neck and sighing before continuing, “I know it won’t make up for yanking you away from your friends, but I want you to be comfortable while I settle things back home.”
Izuku swallowed thickly and nodded, hanging his head slightly. He knew his dad was just looking out for him, but it still hurt. There was a brief silence between the two men, with Melissa glancing between them, unsure of what to say, when there was a soft chime at the door. Grateful for the interruption, she strode over and opened the door.
“Oh good! The bots are here with your furniture!”
She stood aside to let the troop of small rolling bots, carrying various boxes and crates, into the apartment, before following them as they trundled into the large room. Izuku and Toshinori watched in fascination as the small robots started unloading the boxes, before more robots, flying ones this time, zoomed into the room and started opening the boxes and crates with deft arms and claws.
“We better let them get to it!” Melissa called out from the doorway, raising her voice over the din of the robots unpacking and assembling the furniture. “Let’s get dinner!”
After reconvening at a restaurant down the street from the apartment building, and spending a couple of hours eating and socializing with his family, Izuku and Melissa bid everyone good night and they walked back to his new apartment. Upon opening the door, he was quite surprised to see the room fully furnished, complete with couch, large bed, and dining table, and a large TV mounted on the wall.
“Pretty cool, right? They’re prototypes Papa’s team have been working on for a commission from the Island Council. Should really help people around the Island!” Melissa explained, nodding her approval at the robots’ work. Izuku had to agree with her, the work was top rate, and incredibly clean. There wasn’t even a speck of dust to be seen.
“Well, I’m gonna call it a night. I’ll see you tomorrow!” She said as she left the apartment, the door closing behind her softly.
And, quite suddenly, Izuku was alone. He glanced around the new and strange apartment, before sighing deeply, and walking over to the three boxes that were still left, the ones containing his personal effects.
He wasn’t fully tired yet, the combination of excitement from the day and jet lag from the timezone difference stayed his drowsiness. He started unpacking his things, setting up a couple of posters along one of the walls, and organizing some of his hero merch on some shelfs near the bed. After placing his All Might alarm clock on the bedside table and adjusting the time, he sat down on the bed and glanced around again, still not quite believing it was his, and still not quite used to the new space.
A light buzz from his Interface pulled him from spacing out, and as the screen flipped up in front of his eyes, he felt his heart do a bit of a flip. Ochako was calling. Smiling broadly, he established the connection.
“Hey, ‘Chako,” Izuku said softly, glancing at the clock and noting the time, “it’s late. You should be asleep.”
“Mmmpf, can’t sleep…” her voice coming through quietly, and very drowsily, Izuku noted. “Didn’t hear from you all day.”
“Ah, yeah, sorry about that. I meant to call earlier, but it’s been a crazy busy day,” he explained. “Been going nonstop since we landed.”
“Oh yeah? Hmmmmm… I wanna hear all about it.”
He chuckled softly, “Well, the plane ride was uneventful, though Dad was driving me up the wall with his, ‘It’s better this way, blah, blah, blah,’ spiel. I just about jumped out of the airplane and flew here myself.”
Ochako snorted softly, “Mhhhhmmmm, right, cuz Mister Mama’s Boy would scare Auntie Inko like that,” she retorted.
Izuku smirked, “Yeah, Mom would have had a heart attack. But it is really cool here. Got to see Uncle David again, and even found one of Dad’s old capes, the blue one from his Silver Age.”
Ochako giggled, “I can only imagine the mumblestorm and nerd out that happened. That’s been missing for years.”
He sighed exasperatedly, but smiled all the same, “Not you too. Melissa wouldn’t stop teasing me at dinner about it…”
Ochako’s tired and loopy laughter graced his ears at that.
And for a moment, everything was perfect again. “I wish I could’ve seen that!”
It took a second for his brain to catch up, noticing the comfortable silence between the two.
“Annnnnyways, Dad also got me my own apartment, which is way beyond what I was expecting,” Izuku said, “It’s… big.”
He glanced around the room again, “But I’ll get used to it, eventually.”
“That’s awfully nice of your dad. He really does care.”
“I know he does. Just… I didn’t want to leave. I’m already missing you,” he said softly.
There was a large yawn on the other end of the line, whatever energy she had pulled together slipping through her again. “I miss you too, Zuku. But don’t you worry. It’ll be over soon enough, and then we all can go to UA together.” There was a pause, and a shuffling sound.
“Sorry, just getting comfy. Keep telling me about the Island.”
Izuku smiled and picked back up the tale of the tour, excitedly telling Ochako about his new home, before all he heard on the other end was Ochako’s steady deep breathing. Realizing she fell asleep, he whispered a fond good night to her, and closed the call, before stretching, stripping down, and climbing into bed himself, falling asleep quickly.
Izuku’s internship began earnestly the day after his arrival, with Dave immediately putting him through his paces, testing all manner of technology against Izuku’s strength, quirks, and power output. A month into Izuku’s stay on I-Island, Izuku was getting fitted with what he could only describe as a full body harness, similar to what mountain climbers or parachutists would use. Thick woven straps wrapped around his arms, chest, stomach, waist, rear, down his thighs and calves.
He winced as one of the lab assistants yanked down on the straps around his legs, the constricting straps uncomfortably tight, and making his underpants ride rather high. It didn’t help that he was still growing muscle across his entire body, no small thanks to One for All and his father’s genetics. The constant growth made clothes shopping annoying at best. But this harness was another pain all together.
“So, what’s this for again?” he asked over his shoulder to Melissa. He grunted as the assistant yanked on straps across his stomach. “It’s really tight.”
She sighed and rolled her eyes in exasperation, “Izuku, I already told you, this is the test for your cooling suit.”
“Right, I got that,” Izuku said, holding his arms out as he looked them over, “but does it need to be so tight?”
Melissa blinked at him, “I know you are smarter than that. Think about it.”
Izuku looked up at her, smirking, “Uh, better thermal efficiency? By making it skin tight, the suit can transfer heat better.”
Melissa smiled, “I know that you are still new here, but you don’t have to act like one of the other average heroes. You’re allowed to be smart.”
Izuku smiled, “Yeah, okay.” He nodded, and started stretching, feeling the limits of the straps.
“Oh! You mind if I show Mei? I bet she’ll want to see this,” Izuku asked, glancing back at Melissa, who smirked. She and Mei had been chatting for the last month, after Izuku introduced them online, the two inventors hit it off immediately.
“I dunno about that, Izuku. She might, uh…” Melissa glanced over Izuku’s strapped body, “She might get distracted.”
“What, Mei? Distracted? Never,” Izuku said, chuckling as he cued up the Interface, starting a call with Mei.
“Oh! Try the remote camera drone! It’ll be a good test!” Melissa called out as she walked over to a desk.
“Ah, right!” Izuku looked over to a small case on another desk, and the Interface immediately highlighted the small folded drone on its charging port. The Interface synced with it seamlessly, a function that Melissa and Mei had worked on a couple of days previously, and the drone woke, rising into the air with a quiet whirr before zipping to hover in front of him. The video call connected, and Izuku was greeted with a grubby looking Mei on his Interface.
“Hi Zuku!” Mei called out as she wiped her brow with her arm, a huge wrench in hand and a massive smile on her face. “How’s my favorite customer?”
Izuku chuckled, “Well, Mel and I, well, mostly Melissa, but we are working on the cooling suit idea. Want to see?”
Mei nodded fervently, her eyes sparkling, “Oooo, yes!”
Izuku laughed and keyed the drone, activating its camera so it streamed to the Interface, sharing the video with Mei.
“Oh! Wow! Are those kevlar straps for the underlayer?” Mei blurted out, her eyes studying the video as the drone began slowly orbiting Izuku, letting her see each side of him. Izuku nodded as he shifted in the harness.
“Hey Izuku?” Melissa called out behind him, prompting Izuku to turn to face her. There was a series of loud snaps as he turned, however, and Izuku immediately felt relief from the constricting material as it reached its breaking point during his rotation.
The kevlar bands, designed to tie down heavy equipment and restrain large animals, had given away at the force of his muscles.
There was a beat of silence, before Mei let out a sound that Izuku couldn’t even recognise, as she got a peek of his musculature no longer hidden by the bands.
“Aw, no!” Izuku said, looking down at the ruined straps in dismay.
“I, uh, gotta go, Zuku! Kthanksbye!”
And with that, Mei closed the video call. Izuku gathered the strips that lay about him, looking apologetically to an exasperated Melissa.
“Sorry, Mel,” he said, rubbing the back of his head.
“Uh huh,” Melissa said flatly, pulling out another requisition form, the third one that week for kevlar straps.
Ochako glanced over at her phone as it buzzed, opening the message from Mei with mild curiosity.
‘Watch Alone.mov’ was the only attachment in the message.
She shrugged and opened the file.
Her face went bright red and her mouth went slack as the video played. She was immediately glad she was home alone. This was exactly what she needed.
Stupid Izuku and his stupid thick thighs. And arms.
And oh god that core.
She flipped over on the bed, laying back and playing the video again.
“Alright, let’s go over the plan again,” Dave said, glancing at the monitor on the stand in front of him before looking back up at Izuku, who was wearing a sleek black wind suit, his muscular frame defined through the entire suit. They were outside on one of the helicopter landing pads that I-Island hosted, on one of the last good weather days in early December before winter truly hit this part of the Pacific Ocean. The wind was already coming in cold and fast, buffeting the bundled up researchers.
“Altitude test first, high as possible, then velocity test, as fast as possible, heading south, before returning to the Island for powered descent,” Izuku recalled, repeating the flight plan that they had come up with earlier. The suit, designed for this test of his flight capabilities, was covered with sensors that would help the team figure out the right kind of control setup Izuku would need for sustained flight.
“Good. Ready when you are,” Dave said into his headset, after doing a final check of the suit’s connection to their equipment. The team moved behind tall safety glass panels setup on the pad, cameras ready to record, instruments already recording statistics and info. Izuku nodded and stepped out to the center of the pad, focusing on the pool of energy inside of him and willing it into shape underneath him, a bright ring of green light appearing on the concrete under each of his boots and in his palms.
Dave keyed the mic and connected to I-Island’s main flight control, “Island Tower, this is Shield, preparing for launch of Peregrine test flight.”
Izuku listened from the Interface, waiting for the response from the controller. It came a split second later.
“Peregrine Flight, this is Island ATC. Cleared for direct vertical ascent. No cross traffic at this time. Have a safe trip, Peregrine,” the cool, calm voice of the flight controller making Izuku smile.
“Launch!” he called out, jumping into the air with Float making him weightless and putting his arms down at his side. The rings of light, spinning up and compressing the air inside of them, ignited with a roar, huge plumes of exhaust jetting downwards, sending the teen rocketing skywards. The solid light hologram of the Interface flipped up with a thought, shielding his eyes from any debris and the rushing wind.
“Remember, Izuku, the minute you run into an issue, return to the pad,” Dave’s voice said through the radio connection.
“Understood!” Izuku called out against the wind, relishing in the freedom and speed as he rapidly climbed through the atmosphere, passing through a couple of clouds. The altimeter on the screen was flicking through numbers in a blur as he passed through the first thousand of meters in the blink of an eye. There was a brief moment of silence and pressure in his head. He yawned, and relief hit him as his ears popped and equalized.
“Expect it to get harder to breathe as you climb, and stop when you start to feel dizzy or winded. No trying to push yourself today, this is just a starter test.”
Izuku didn’t respond, his attention focused on the altimeter, the numbers passing through two thousand, and not showing any sign of stopping. He could already tell the air was getting thin, but felt fine all the same. Power flow was still strong, prompting Izuku to smirk and push it a bit further, the thrusters widening by a small fraction, his acceleration jumping.
“Crossing four and a half kilometers, expect oxygen to be really thin. Izuku, get ready to throttle down and coast.”
“Not yet!” Izuku called out, pushing it even harder, “I can keep going!”
The rings under his feet shrunk for a split second, slowing him down for a second, before merging into a much larger ring, half a meter in diameter. It reignited with a huge blast, and Izuku’s acceleration jumped.
“Izuku, pull it back, you are crossing five kilometers already!”
“Gotta… push it!” Izuku grunted, his focus split on the power output and the altimeter.
“Izuku! Throttle back!”
He watched the numbers tick past six thousand, and took a deep breath and held it in, the air growing very thin rapidly. The meter on the display showed a line approaching with a label, fine lettering showing [TROPOSPHERE], before he blasted past it, his lungs starting to strain, his heart pounding in his chest. It wasn’t until the numbers approached seven thousand that he lost peripheral vision and his lungs screamed in protest, literally begging to breathe, his ears pounding with his heartbeat.
He blacked out at a little over eight thousand meters, his body continuing on an arc thanks to his momentum as the thrusters sputtered out and vanished.
Ochako groaned as she collapsed onto a wooden bench inside the Todoroki training dojo, wiping a towel across her brow and through her hair. Her bout with Shoto had taken more out of her than she would have liked, but was still pleased with the results, having kept the quiet icy-hot teen at bay for a minute longer than their last spar. Overall, she could see the improvements they were each gaining.
She glanced over at Shoko as she entered the training room, the smaller girl looking tired and worn down, her short red and white hair tied up in a small ponytail. The female Todoroki twin had been improving, but slower than Ochako, despite one on one training with her father and Ochako spending extra time with her. She definitely didn’t look one hundred percent today, Ochako noted.
“You okay, ‘Ko?” Ochako asked, watching her friend closely, as the girl rubbed her stomach absentmindedly.
Before she could respond, however, the door to the dojo was kicked open, and Katsuki stormed in, an angry glower on his face, before vanishing into the boys’ changing room, barely giving the girls a glance.
“I’ll be fine,” Shoko intoned, watching Katsuki go before she turned back to wrapping her arms with boxer’s tape. “He seems to be in a mood,” she said softly.
Ochako nodded, glancing to the door of the changing room, “He’s been really moody lately. Not sure what’s going on.” She turned back to Shoko. “Remember to watch his left hook and the follow up kick.” She rubbed the side of her ribs in memory of the last spar she had with Katsuki, her right side still sore from his brutal attack.
Shoko nodded, and sat down on the mat, cross legged, and began her breathing exercises. Ochako watched her for a bit longer, looking up when Katsuki walked back into the training room, changed into his work out clothes, including his new dark masquera. He tossed his bag towards the bench, and walked onto the mat. Ochako smirked as he started his stretching; the recent addition of his make up was unexpected, but not unpleasant. He had taken to asking the girls for advice on different brands and applicators, much to their enjoyment.
After a couple of minutes, Shoko opened her eyes and Ochako noted a sense of calm had fallen over her, while Katsuki’s stretches had just intensified his energy. He moved about on the mat as Shoko gracefully stood up, and both opponents fell into their preferred stances, with Ochako acting as referee.
“Ready?” Ochako asked Shoko, who nodded silently.
“Ready?” She then asked Katsuki, who smirked.
“Gonna blast you off your feet, Ice Princess,” he taunted.
Shoko’s eyes narrowed, and her fists tightened. Ochako noted a slight flush in her face, which she recognized.
Shoko’s calm aura had vanished in an instant and she was pissed.
Izuku woke to the wind rushing past his face and Dave yelling in his ear, his head pounding from the hypoxia, his body slightly iced over from the immense cold without his inherent thermal regulation. He shook his head to shake off the exhaustion, and the ice crystals clinging to his suit, barely on time. He opened his eyes to see the ocean surface rapidly approaching, the waves just a dozen meters below him, capped in white from the blistering winter wind.
“Oh, shit…!” Izuku muttered, before righting himself and reactivating his thrusters, swooping low and rocketing off parallel to the waves.
“I’m okay! Uh, speed test next!” Izuku called out over the wind. There was a moment of silence over the comm link.
“I have half a mind to tell you to come back after that little stunt, but I know you won’t listen. Continue for the velocity test. And pay attention this time, your mother will have both our heads if something happens to you,” Dave replied.
Izuku grinned at his uncle’s retort and focused on flying, leveling out a couple dozen meters above the water. He glanced at the speedometer and accelerometer on the Interface, noting he was gently cruising at 130 kilometers an hour.
“World record acceleration for fixed wing aircraft was the US SR-71 at twenty meters per second squared, top speed of at least three thousand kilometers an hour,” Dave stated, “Think you can do better?”
“Time to go Plus Ultra!” Izuku called out, a smirk replacing his grin as he increased power to the thrusters in his palms and under his feet. The rings grew brighter as he dumped more and more power into them, accelerating the combustion. He watched the speedometer flick through four, five, six, and seven hundred kilometers an hour in seconds, the accelerometer flickering between twenty-four and twenty-five meters per second squared.
“Here comes the sound barrier, Izuku, get ready for some buffeting. Remember, the air is wet and heavier down here. It might be rough,” Dave explained, right as the speedometer crossed the first thousand kilometer mark. A split second later, Izuku felt a shuddering motion throughout him and enormous pressure built behind his ears, making his head feel like it was splitting open, his eyes crossing from the pain.
Across Izuku’s body, the wind blasting past him increasingly faster started to condense, the cool wet air compressing from the pressure wave, a vapor cone forming as Izuku pushed through the sound barrier, a tremendous sonic burst echoing out behind him. The vapor cloud vanished and the shuddering stopped, the pressure finally equalizing. Izuku blinked and yawned, popping his ears.
“Izuku, everything okay?” Dave asked.
“All good!” Izuku called out, “Pushing the envelope!”
The waves rushed past below him as he blasted through two and a half thousand kilometers per hour, watching the projected longitude markers flick past as he progressed further south. At three thousand kilometers per hour, he noticed a small island on the horizon, but before he could even pull up the satellite map to find out which one it was, he had passed over it and was beyond the horizon. It was only after he reached four thousand kilometers per hour that he noticed the skin on his cheeks start to get warmer, rather than the chill the winter air had provided.
“Starting to get hot!” Izuku thought to the Interface, the software automatically transcribing his words and forwarding the message to Dave. At such high speeds, opening his mouth was probably a bad idea.
“Time to throttle down, Izuku. Air resistance and friction is reaching its maximum for your profile. We’ll have to reduce your profile to reduce friction,” Dave explained. “Good work today, head on back, and we’ll go over the data and start working on prototypes.”
Izuku nodded, mostly to himself. He had to agree with his uncle. No point in pushing it further, when he was at physics' limits. But, almost hitting hypersonic was nothing to turn your nose up at, especially with only his quirk powering the flight. And the GPS was showing that he had traveled over a thousand kilometers in the short amount of time he had been testing. Smiling proudly to himself, he pulled back on the power, slowing down to a much more comfortable supersonic speed, and performed a simple loop in the air, turning around to head back to I-Island.
Shoko neatly dodged Katsuki’s right hook, swinging underneath it before following up with one of her own, aimed right for his side rib, but had to dodge again as he countered with his left knee to block. She cursed to herself and fell back, bouncing back a couple of steps.
“Giving up already, Ice Queen?” Katsuki taunted with a malevolent sneer, his bright red eyes popping out against his dark eyeliner as he watched her.
Shoko glared back in anger, but otherwise had the look of cool calmness. She adjusted her stance again, tightening her fists, and took a second to steady her breath, wishing the pain in her stomach away. They had already gone a couple of rounds, with Katsuki easily blocking or countering most of her moves, to her great frustration as he had been focusing on hitting her core, going for the easiest hits. His annoyingly smug smirk was just making it worse, as if he knew everything she was going to do before she did it.
She huffed and shook her head. “Didn’t want to break you so quickly, Dandelion,” she spat back, the corners of her mouth turning up in a smug grin.
Ochako looked up from her phone in surprise, her mouth open. Shoko actually retorting to Katsuki? Something was definitely up. She closed her mouth and giggled softly as Katsuki did a small sputter before launching into a flurry of blows, Shoko following suit. She watched them go at it for a bit longer and turned back to her phone. A sudden longing feeling hit her and she opened a call to Izuku, just wanting to hear his voice for a bit. The call connected a second later with an odd rustling sound in the background.
“Hi Ochako!” Izuku called out after he slowed down enough to talk safely just before the call connected, the wind whipping past his face as he hurtled through the air towards I-Island, the GPS on the Interface directing him on the proper flight path. “Been missing you!”
“Zuku? What’s that noise?”
“Oh, yeah, I’m driving with the top down,” he said with a smirk. If only she really knew what he was doing…
“Drivi—what?” Ochako asked, her eyebrows raised in confusion.
“Eh, just a joke. So, what’s up, Buttercup?” Izuku’s voice was slightly muffled, but she caught that last bit just fine, giggling in response, her blush intensifying slightly.
“I just wanted to call and say hi. Been missing you too,” she said, a longing in her voice.
“It’s tough, I won’t lie. Halfway tempted to just come back on my own for a bit.”
“Izuku, you know your mother would throw an absolute fit if you even tried it,” Ochako said sternly, smiling at the thought of him going against his dear sweet mother’s orders. Izuku chuckled in response.
She glanced up as Shoko let out a particularly pained grunt after taking another one of Katsuki’s kicks. She grimaced at the thought of taking one without any padding. He hadn’t been holding back lately, and it was wearing on all of them.
“We are all missing you, actually,” Ochako said, pointedly, “’Tsuki isn’t holding back, now that you aren’t here for him to wail on. He’s getting worse by the day.”
Izuku chuckled again, “Yeah, I figured something like that would happen. I’m sorry. Maybe I should have him come out here for Christmas too, just so he can work off some steam.”
Ochako glanced at the explosive blond, “He might enjoy that, perhaps a bit too much,” she said in an undertone. She winced and hissed in fear as Katsuki threw a brutal uppercut that Shoko just barely missed, not wanting Shoko to get hit by that wild attack.
“Hey! ‘Tsuki! That’s un—”
A loud pinging sounded out from Katsuki’s bag on the bench next to her. She glanced down at the bag curiously, before glancing up as Shoko started a series of hits.
“‘Chako, what’s going on?”
“Hold on a sec, Zuku,” she said shortly. Curiosity overwhelming her, Ochako opened the pocket where the noise was buzzing like mad, extracting Katsuki’s phone. Taking a quick look at the screen, there were hundreds of unread messages from someone named Camie, the latest message just a huge mess of emojis, mostly smiley faces, bubbles, and hearts. Ochako could not believe what she was seeing, and blinked a couple of times.
“Well! I never thought I would see the day!” she called out, looking up from the phone to stare at Katsuki in glee.
“What’s that?” Izuku asked, still on the line.
“‘Tsuki’s got a girlfriend!” she said, squealing slightly. “Her name’s Camie!”
There was a moment of silence on both ends of the phone; Izuku stunned, and Katsuki glaring at Ochako with rage as he threw another punch at Shoko. Ochako grinned malevolently as she unlocked his phone and started to read a couple of messages.
“GODDAMNIT, CHEEKS!” Katsuki roared, spinning around and firing a huge kick right into Shoko’s stomach before storming over to Ochako and snatching the phone from her fingers. Ochako grinned mischievously as she watched him throw the phone back into the bag, before looking back towards Shoko.
“Don’t fucking touch my stuff!” Katsuki said, rounding on her, before noticing that she wasn’t there anymore, her phone sitting on the bench, the call with Izuku still connected. He turned to a rough coughing and groaning sound, and noticed Ochako kneeling besides a heaving Shoko, on her back, her hands cradling her stomach.
“Ochako?” Izuku called out, “Everything alright?”
There was only muffled sounds from the other end. He adjusted his angle a bit so the wind would blow over the top of his head more, instead of his ears.
“Ochako!” Izuku called out louder.
“Aw, shit,” Katsuki muttered before joining Ochako, “sorry, ‘Ko, I didn’t me—”
“I’m fine,” Shoko snapped hotly, sitting up quickly, taking a deep breath.
“Are you sure? You’ve been off today,” Ochako said softly, reaching out to rub her friend’s back.
“I said I’m fine.”
“Like hell you are, ‘Ko. You’ve been out of it for the entire match. You’ve never been that defensive,” Katsuki countered, watching as Shoko stood up.
“I said, I’m fine!” she snapped, glaring back at him.
“Just tell us what’s wrong,” Ochako offered, standing up with her.
“For the last—!”
“Sorry, Izuku. Everyone’s okay. Shoko’s on her period and Katsuki just kicked her in the stomach.”
All three of them looked over at Shoto, who had just walked in from the shower, drying off his hair as he held Ochako’s phone to his ear.
“Mhm, you too. Bye,” he said, hanging up, looking at Ochako. “Izuku says he loves you and misses us.”
The call disconnected, and Izuku shook his head, chuckling at what must be happening on the other end.
“Sorry, Dave. Call from Ochako. I’m about 3 minutes out,” Izuku called out, adjusting his angle and speeding back up to meet the ETA, the top edge of I-Island poking out above the horizon.
“Hope she’s doing well. Take your time. No rush,” Dave instructed.
Izuku grinned, knowing just how ‘well’ she would be right now.
“SHOTO!” both girls screamed at the same time, making Katsuki jump.
“You can’t say that, you idiot!”
“How the fuck do you know that, jerk?!”
“Well, she keeps a calendar…” Shoto explained, looking nonplussed at being called out. “It’s a monthly thing, right?”
Shoko was turning a shade of red that even Katsuki would be proud of, while Ochako stormed over to the male twin, snatching her phone out of his hand.
“Yes, but you don’t fucking tell people,” Ochako hissed at him, jamming a finger into his chest.
A sudden bark of laughter from Katsuki made them all look over as he laughed.
“Oh man, I’m glad I didn’t fuck up. Here I thought something was actually wrong. I can’t believe you let something as dumb as a period make you that weak,” he jeered derisively, looking at Shoko with almost contempt.
Ochako noticed a sudden chill in the air and glanced at Shoko before the girl launched herself at Katsuki. There was a slight second when Ochako swore she saw actual fire in Shoko’s eyes, before a huge blast echoed out, and Shoko was alone on the mat, her fist outstretched, wreathed in fire and frost.
“Get fucked, Katsuki,” Shoko growled.
Ochako followed the line of sight and her mouth dropped in awe. A hole in the wall of the dojo had appeared, with Katsuki nowhere to be seen.
Ochako turned and looked back at Shoko, who was already stomping back to the showers, unwrapping her fists, nursing the bruise that was forming. Ochako glanced back to the wall, and then up at Shoto who was staring at the hole.
“Well,” he said, “Dad’s gonna be pissed.”
Katsuki couldn’t remember the last time he had woken up outside. The sunshine was pleasantly warm, which felt great against the massive chill he felt in his chest. How did he end up out here anyway?
A shadow crossed the sun. “‘Tsuki, you dead?” a familiar voice echoed through his head, which immediately felt like it was splitting in two, the onset headache hitting hard. He groaned as he tried to move, his muscles protesting every millimeter of movement. He opened his eyes slowly, blinking in the bright light.
“Cheeks?” he asked groggily as he slowly shifted, “What the hell hit me?”
“Um, well…” Ochako’s voice sounded far off. “Shoko hit you. Hard.”
“The hell?” Katsuki asked, opening his eyes fully and looking around. He had landed out in the zen garden outside the dojo, right into the sand pit. “How did she… What did… How the fuck did she hit me so hard?” he asked incredulously, picking himself up and dusting off his clothes, making note of the burn mark and ice ring on his chest, a perfect imprint of Shoko’s fist.
He looked over at Ochako, who handed him an ice pack. She shrugged, “Not really sure. Never seen her do anything like that before.”
Katsuki pressed the ice pack to his chest, hissing from the chill, but glad the bruise wouldn’t set it. He did not need that reminder in the morning.
“I do find it funny though,” Ochako said, a slight jeer to her voice. “She beat you, even when on her period. So much for weak, huh?” She teased, before turning and strutting off back to the dojo.
Katsuki stared after her. Was it really possible...?
Two weeks later, Izuku strolled through the crowds of people coming from the airport, the air full of energy for the End of Year Festival, a month-long party and celebration held on the Island. Thousands of people coming from all over the world meant that the Island was rapidly filling up, restaurants and stores filling with patrons, and the showcases were busier than ever.
As he passed through the main entry doors for the Arrivals, the cacophony of the huge room hit him, hundreds of families greeting each other, couples meeting up, or chauffeurs calling out for their charges. Izuku smiled brightly as he looked around the massive crowd, marveling at the diversity of quirks he could see. He pushed on, treading carefully as he wove through the crowd up to the security checkpoint, getting in line behind several others. It was moving at a decent pace, so he didn’t have to wait long before he was able to present his work ID and visa for approval through the checkpoint.
Sure, he had to pull some strings, some of them literally, to be able to get beyond the secure point, but the meeting with the Security Chief had been pleasant enough. Of course, having David Shield, Director of Research and Development, in your corner didn’t hurt either. He smiled broadly and nodded to the security guards as he was granted access, and proceeded through to the terminal. After a decent walk, Izuku arrived at Gate 7, the gate Ochako’s flight was supposed to taxi to.
Looking around, he noticed a couple of different characters waiting as well, some with tickets in hand, a cleaning crew, and some with no baggage at all. He decided to lean against one of the thick support columns, signalling the Interface with a thought, and proceeded to browse the internet while he waited, having time to spare before she arrived. He ignored the stares from others he got as he watched a video, but the small woman with light green hair who was constantly looking over her shoulder towards the exit made him curious. She seemed… nervous, or at least jittery. He watched her from behind the Interface for a minute or two, and made up his mind to at least ask if he could help. He waited until she had turned back around again, facing the stewardess station, and gently strolled over to the line of seats she was sitting on, doing his best to look calm and confident.
As he got closer, she looked up at him, and he could see that she was definitely unsure of him, even a little scared. He smiled gently, as non-threatening as he could, nodding slightly to her, before giving a slight small wave. With his enormous catcher’s mitt of a hand, it was rather comical, but he tried.
“Hi there, would you mind if I sat here?” Izuku gestured to a seat two to the woman’s left, using his entire palm open instead of pointing.
At first, the woman said nothing, her emerald eyes dancing across his body as she studied Izuku. He allowed his smile to soften when their eyes met, remembering a few tips his father had given him regarding terrified victims. She broke eye contact first, apparently favoring looking behind Izuku for a moment. Her posture did not relax when she looked back up at him, but at least she finally spoke. “...go ahead.” Her voice was soft like snow, barely loud enough to be heard over the din surrounding the both of them.
Izuku’s smile perked up for a brief second and he gently and slowly lowered himself into the designated seat, stretching his legs out as he relaxed. He glanced up at the TV screens on the ceiling and studied it, verifying that Ochako’s flight was still on time. Everything seemed in order, so he glanced at the other screens with multitudes of news channels playing, not really paying attention to any of them in particular.
His eyes unfocused as he reached out with his quirk sense and was rather surprised to see that the woman had no quirk; the only energy he was seeing in her was her human life signs. He mentally noted that he shouldn’t bring up quirks if they talk, instead choosing to look over his shoulder at the noisy crowds and wrinkling his nose at the overwhelming volume.
“Never was much a fan of airports,” Izuku said aloud, glancing over at the woman, “Always seemed like too many people in too little of a space. Especially with how loud people can get.”
He didn’t expect her to jump at his words, but he didn’t react when she did, keeping a neutral smile as he turned away from her, as if signalling there was no expectation of a response.
“I remember when my father took me on my first plane ride, probably about ten years ago? I think,” Izuku said, squinting to remember the timeline, glancing over at the woman again, “Well, it’s a long story, but I think the worst part was all of the traffic in the airport.”
He shifted slightly in his seat, adjusting his legs. “But the best part was definitely all of the candy the nice flight attendants gave me.” He gave a soft chuckle, a deep resonating sound.
Izuku felt pride bubble up in his chest when he noticed a faint smile flicker on the woman’s lips. She hummed in response, again the sound almost lost to the noises surrounding the two of them. Just as Izuku accepted their conversation to be more one-sided than he hoped, she spoke again.
“I’ve always enjoyed the white noise of the engine,” she said softly. Her eyes scanned the crowd once more before snapping back onto Izuku. “My sister always made sure I had a window seat so I could feel it rumble through the walls.”
Izuku smiled brightly, “Sounds like an amazing person, your sister.”
The woman huffed out a laugh, hardly more than a ‘Ha.’ “She’s the worst trouble magnet I’ve ever seen. And if it wasn’t trouble, it was bad luck.” Despite the negative connotation of her words, she smiled gently, not a hint of sadness in her voice.
Izuku gave a short laugh, nodding and smiling. “But she never gives up, does she? Tenacity is practically her middle name, right?” he asked, giving the woman a knowing look.
The petite woman leaned back slightly, shifting into a more comfortable position. “She tried to change her name to that, actually.”
Izuku’s smile faltered for a split second, his eyes widening in incredulity, “Wait, seriously?” he asked in awe.
She nodded and allowed an almost inaudible giggle to slip past her lips. “Seriously. I had to curse at her to make her realize how stupid it was to have her middle name actually become Tenacity.”
Izuku gave a good chuckle at that, his chest and shoulders bouncing as he laughed, “Oh, I bet that went over great,” he said, laying on the sarcasm, a heavy smirk on his face.
“I’m very proud of that night,” she responded, sitting up a little straighter. She leaned towards Izuku slightly as she added, “One of the only times she had nothing witty to retort with.”
Izuku smiled and chuckled again, “She wasn’t ready for her sister to stand up to her, but I bet she really appreciated it too. I have a feeling that you and her have a bond that is far deeper than any argument could dig.”
He paused for a second or two before continuing, “If it’s okay with you, I’m enjoying our conversation,” he gently and slowly extended his right hand towards her, “I’m Izuku Midoriya, and I’m happy to meet you.”
When Izuku noticed the smaller woman eye his hand for a moment with suspicion, he mentally kicked himself, careful not to show any of his own discomfort. To his relief, the look was quickly hidden by a much softer emotion, relief perhaps, and she extended her own hand to complete the shake. “Chikamishi. I’m Hana Chikamishi. And… thank you for speaking to me.” Hana pulled her hand away from his, preferring not to prolong the contact. “Admittedly, I’ve never been good with crowds, so a friendly face is always appreciated.”
Izuku nodded, his smile growing just a bit, “My pleasure, Chikamishi, I’m glad I could help.”
There was a soft subtle tone from the overhead speakers and a smooth announcer’s voice echoed out, signalling the arrival of the very flight that Ochako was on. Izuku looked over at Hana and noticed that she was sitting up again, and paying attention to the announcer and looking over at the stewardesses as they started working behind the counter to prepare for the next flight.
“Expecting someone on the incoming flight?” Izuku asked, as Hana settled back down again.
She nodded. Izuku glanced up at her hair as it shifted, marvelling at the bright green sparkles mixed in her hair. She responded, “My sister. She insisted that we spend some time together during the Festival, to celebrate another year of having each other.”
Izuku smiled broadly again, “Oh, that’s awesome! What a great way to celebrate the new year! I wish I could spend time with my family like that,” he said, wistfully, turning to look at the door as the stewardesses moved to clear the path.
Hana tilted her head slightly in an adorable show of confusion. “Do you live apart from them?”
Izuku nodded slowly, almost sadly, “Mom and Dad live on the mainland, near Tokyo. I’m out here for an internship for the next couple of years.” He glanced up at her, “Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great opportunity, and it’ll help my family out a lot, but I really miss them.”
A sigh escaped Hana as her eyes drifted down to the floor, something sad hidden within them. “I’m sorry. I know what it’s like, being away from those you love. They say it’s for the best, that they’re working hard to reunite with you. But…” Her voice grew even quieter, forcing Izuku to strain his hearing to catch her last line. “Sometimes, it feels like they’re just trying to keep you out of the way.”
Izuku blinked, surprised at the similarity in their situation. “Yeah,” he said, nodding, a thoughtful frown on his face. “That’s exactly what it feels like.” He was silent for a moment, then pasted a huge smile on his face, “Well, at least we have each other,” he said facetiously, nodding his head sagely, “Just the two of us against the whole world.”
There was a split second of Hana staring at him incredulously before he burst out in full belly laughing, the mountain of a man chortling at his joke like it was the funniest thing in the world. Several others stared at him before looking back to their own business. She watched for another couple of seconds before his contagious laughter took root and she had to cover her mouth as the laughter welled up within her, coming out a soft chuckling sound. Izuku’s smile didn’t fade as he wiped a tear from his eye, and looked over at the smiling and laughing Hana, another surge of pride rising up inside of him, having made her laugh audibly.
“Oh, thank you,” she said quietly, wiping her own eyes, a faint blush on her cheeks. She glanced around, thanking anything that would listen that no one else was really paying attention to the both of them. “I haven’t laughed like that in a long time.”
Izuku nodded, “Any time!”
There was another announcement from the overhead speaker, the plane had docked and was now unloading. Izuku glanced over at Hana, and while she had still reacted stiffly, she still had her smile.
“Well, I guess it’s time!” Izuku said, grunting as he stood up, his back popping slightly, and stretched his arms up to the ceiling, his shirt riding up just an inch or two. He glanced down at her as he finished his stretch, her eyes snapping up to his before looking away again. She had definitely gotten a bit of a show, and the significant blush on her face was proof enough.
“You know, I bet you get this a lot, but your hair is awesome. The sparkles really are eye-catching,” Izuku said, now that he had a much better view of the top of her head.
Hana ran a hand through her hair, the brilliant sparkles almost swimming around her fingers, and smiled softly, “Not as much as you might think.” She looked up at him, “My sister’s hair is even more vibrant.”
Izuku smiled and nodded, turning to the gangway door as it opened, the first of the passengers disembarking. “Well, I’m gonna wait over there. It was great meeting you, Chikamishi. I hope you and your sister have a great time!” he said, giving her a small wave as he turned to leave and walked back over the pillar to wait.
“Um!”
Hana’s raised voice prompted Izuku to stop and look back at his new friend. She had stood up the moment he started walking away, and he could see her doubts about her outburst pile up.
“I…”
Again she hesitated, her cheeks gaining a new tint of red.
“You are much taller than me, and perhaps you can… help me spot my sister?” she asked tentatively, taking a few small steps towards Izuku.
Izuku smiled and nodded, “Absolutely!” he said energetically. “Same hair, right? Shouldn’t be too hard to find,” he said, looking over to the door as Hana moved a little closer to his side. Izuku smiled broadly as he watched her out of the corner of his eye, noting the much smaller woman was trusting him a lot already. They didn’t have to wait long, as the line of business men and small families exited quickly and Izuku spotted another head of bright green sparkly hair.
“Well, I see what you mean about your sister’s hair. Can’t miss that sparkle shine from miles away,” he said, chuckling softly, gesturing to Hana where her sister was. The smaller woman looked up at him excitedly and looked in the direction he was pointing.
“JUNKO!!” she called out, surprising Izuku with the sudden increase in volume, before she rushed over to her sister, almost sprinting with arms open wide, much to Izuku’s amusement. He took a good look at the two sisters, noting the subtle differences between them. Junko’s hair was much brighter and more sparkly, but Hana had more of it, the length going down to her shoulders, while Junko’s was practically a pixie cut. Junko was taller than Hana as well, almost a full three inches taller, as she kissed Hana on the forehead as they hugged, Junko twirling the both of them around.
They were far enough away that Izuku couldn’t hear anything they were saying, but Hana seemed happy. Junko picked up her dropped bag, and with Hana under her arm, they began walking out towards the concourse. As they passed the row of chairs Izuku was in, Hana caught Izuku’s eye and leaned forward, giving Izuku a small, shy wave, her face blushing deeper. Izuku smiled and waved back, watching until the two sisters had entered the concourse and Hana was out of sight.
He turned back to the gangway door, and felt a most wonderful presence enter his sensory range, his smile lighting up as Ochako stepped out, her neck craning as she tried to see him above the crowd. She didn’t have to look for long, as Izuku stuck out in any crowd; his mop of green hair on top of his huge frame was a beacon for her, her smile splitting just as wide as his. She hurried over, squealing slightly as Izuku scooped her up, hugging her tightly as they kissed. They pulled back and laughed, before Izuku set her down and picked up her bags.
“Well, I gotta say, I missed you a lot, but if that’s the response I’m gonna get every time you come to visit, I might stay a little longer,” Izuku said lightly, giving Ochako a sideways smirk.
She slapped him on the arm, “Don’t you dare, ‘Zuku, I won’t stand for it,” she said, her smile replaced by a fake angry frown. “It sucks not having you home.”
The frown vanished, her smile back in full force, “But it is so good to see you!” she exclaimed, grabbing onto his free arm and squeezing it, prompting Izuku to laugh.
“So what’s first,” she asked, looking around at all of the people queuing up for the security check.
“First security, then some food, then the apartment,” Izuku counted off, mentally checking his list. “We have a lot to do on the Island, but most of it will be packed, so I found other things we can do!”
Ochako smiled brightly and snuggled up against her boyfriend’s warm arm, feeling happiness, true happiness, for the first time in months.
All for One was barely listening to the person on the other end of the line, his attention focused on the screen in front of him. Read outs for prototypes and designs and schematics, all of them potentially useful.
“No, I don’t care how much it costs, just find one. If I have to take it by force, I will,” he said sternly into the receiver. “You have your orders, find the parts, or I will find someone who will.”
He slammed the receiver down on the table next to his chair, and rubbed his temple.
“Good help is so hard to find nowadays,” he muttered. Turning to the doctor behind him, he asked, “Progress, doctor?”
The doctor looked up from his tablet, and shook his head, “Still unstable, I’m afraid. This latest version is powerful, yes, but the molecular structure starts breaking down as soon as it reaches critical mass. We need something that will help it stay together longer.”
All for One turned back to the screen and wiped away the schematics, frustration coursing through him.
“I’ll keep searching then. Someone, somewhere, must have the quirk we need,” he murmured.
