Izuku rolled over in bed, his hand instinctively falling to the space Ochako had been occupying for the last month. A pang of longing gripped him as his hand wandered over the other side of the bed. It had only been a day since she had left for Japan, but it still hurt not having her there. He sighed and rolled out of bed, stretching with a groan and a yawn before shuffling towards the shower to get ready for the day.
The month-long New Year’s party had been an amazing time, especially for Izuku and Ochako. No one really wanted it to end, but now that January was over, there was work to be done, deadlines to meet, and projects to finish.
After drying off and dressing in a jacket, t-shirt and jeans, Izuku made his way through the crowds of dreary scientists and researchers to David Shield’s facility, effectively on autopilot, paying little attention to anyone or anything. He only looked up and engaged when the door to his office opened up, the lights turning on as Izuku entered.
“Time to wake up. Chop chop,” he directed pertly to the room. Giving a loud clap with his huge hands, he woke the office’s automated systems, activating machines across the room. He glanced around at the various projects that he and the Shields had been working on over the last three months, a small smile crossing his face as he walked further into the room and stopped at their latest creation. He noticed a sticky note on several metal plates with Melissa’s neat hand-writing scrawled on it, smirking at the instructions she left him.
Izuku picked up the heavy inch-thick plates and set one of them on the welding table, starting to draw out the required design with a marker. After spending a couple of minutes and wiping away more than a few mistakes, he stepped back to admire the design, nodding to himself, satisfied with the basic shape.
“Right, time to cut,” Izuku murmured to himself. He focused on his pool of power, taking a tiny chunk of it, pushing it into his hand. He held up his right hand with his pointer and middle finger up and focused on the power, creating a small ring around his fingers, slowly increasing the concentration of the energy. The ring spun faster and faster until it ignited into a warm yellow jet of flame, becoming brighter and smaller until it was bright blue and as thin as a knife. Izuku took his improvised plasma cutter and began cutting out the design he had drawn on the thick metal, slowly carving at the plates, a wide grin on his face as his imagination ran wild with the design he had in mind.
Five months later, in mid-July, Melissa held the pearlescent metal of Izuku’s Interface up to her well-trained eye, searching for any errant seam, only partially listening as Mei rambled away on the monitor, off on some tangent about gas compressibility. Sitting next to Melissa, Izuku listened intently, rubbing the back of his neck where the Interface usually was, while glancing back at her every couple of seconds, a nervous look on his face.
Melissa finally nodded in satisfaction and set the half-ring device down on the workbench, and frowned slightly before shaking her head, turning to look at Izuku. The look of anticipation on his face reminded her of a puppy waiting for a treat. She smiled and handed the device back to Izuku.
“It’s up to spec. Ready for the first test,” she stated, watching closely as Izuku slipped the Interface back on his head, his eyes closing as the pads connected with his nervous system.
“This new upgrade should really help, ‘Zuku! Mel is a genius!” Mei chirped excitedly, bouncing a bit as she watched remotely.
The bright green light pulsed across the back of the interface and Izuku opened his eyes, smiling. The green holographic screen popped up, and sure enough, a new icon on the bottom toolbar appeared.
“All set. Testing oxygen supply upgrade,” Izuku announced, issuing the mental command to the Interface. Two strips on each side of the interface slid forward over his ears and angled in front of his nose, connecting in front of his face as a series of panels slid down from the cross bar, and formed a seamless mask with six regularly spaced vents that enclosed his nose and mouth.
“How’s the fit?” Melissa asked, taking his head in her hands, and manipulating his head around to make sure it was snug and not pinching.
“Fits fine,” Izuku remarked, his voice coming out of the mask with a slight reverb from the electronics inside. His eyes creased up as he smiled, turning to show the mask to Mei, who clapped with glee and giggled madly.
“Oh good! It looks fantastic!” she exclaimed, her face alight with happiness. “That’s gonna be your early birthday present!”
Melissa nodded, “No more oxygen problems when flying at high altitude or underwater, if you ever have that problem,” she boasted. “The mask will provide two hours of oxygen, which refills from the air around you over time. It should also work as a gas mask, filtering out toxins, gases, etcetera, as well as functioning as a rebreather. Still a work in progress though, gotta finish the reclamation system,” she finished, grabbing Izuku’s head and manipulating it as she looked over the back of the band, poking at the exposed circuitry with a tool, the mask retracting quickly into the sides of the Interface.
Izuku grinned as his chin was thrust down by her exuberant exploration of his head. “Are you gonna finish it now?” he asked, a nervous waver in his voice as she poked around. He glanced back at her over his shoulder, catching her knowing smirk.
“Well, not tonight,” Melissa sighed, “We have to go collect your parents in—” she glanced at the clock on the wall “—an hour, so we better get going. Bye Mei!” She clicked a button and the panel slid shut seamlessly, sealing the Interface.
The crazed inventor waved her hand at the camera erratically as she spun around in her chair to turn back to her drafting table before the video call ended. Melissa put away the tools she had been using while Izuku stood up and stretched.
“Just need a couple more hours with it, and it’ll be ready,” Melissa commented, smiling as Izuku walked to the door and held it open for her.
“Can’t wait!” he exclaimed excitedly, getting the lights as they left.
Darkness fell on the lab, but in the darkness, a shadow moved around the tables, coming up to a large metal frame with a cover. The cover was pulled back, revealing what looked to be a patchwork metal diving suit. A camera flashed before the shadow moved again, melding back into the darkness silently.
Izuku and Melissa patiently waited outside of the airport terminal, standing next to a limo parked in the arrivals loading zone, animatedly discussing different ideas, occasionally glancing at the constant waves of people exiting the airport.
Izuku had to hand it to the people who ran the Island, they knew how to party. He supposed that it was the best way to keep the permanent population sane, given how hard some of them worked. He was almost sure that at least two of David’s assistants slept in their offices, only coming out for research and bathroom breaks. The Midsummer’s Festival was another month-long party, a prelude to the Expo, a way of celebrating their amazing achievements and preparing them for the showcase. And boy, did they celebrate. Dances, catered dinners, and spectacular displays of fireworks and entertainment practically every night.
Toshinori and Inko had been invited, naturally, as All Might was practically the face of global heroics. The celebration was for heroes and the support technicians, after all. As Izuku was now a resident of the Island, he was allowed a plus one. The look on Ochako’s face as she exited the terminal with his parents was all Izuku needed to be set for the next month. Her smile was absolutely radiant and all he could do was bask in the warmth of it, smiling back and holding his arms wide as she ran to him and jumped for a hug.
Toshi and Inko chuckled as the two embraced, exchanging knowing looks, before Toshi cleared his throat. “Well, I won’t jump, but how about one of those hugs for your old man?” he asked, smiling broadly.
Izuku chuckled and set his girlfriend down, kissing and releasing her from his bear-like embrace. He gave his father and mother a hug in greeting. Melissa hugged Ochako, welcoming her warmly.
“Oh, Izuku, it’s so good to see you,” Inko cooed happily, reaching up to touch his cheek. “You are getting taller each time we see you!”
“I’ll say,” Melissa huffed, a slight frown of exasperation on her face, “Every time I try to fit him, I have to make alterations.”
Izuku sheepishly grinned as they all chuckled. “How about we go get dinner, instead of standing around here?” he asked, picking up his parents’ and Ochako’s luggage with ease. The others piled into the limo as he loaded the luggage. Once everything was settled, the self-driving function took control and smoothly pulled away from the curb, entering the flow of traffic, and began the trek towards the center of the Island, Izuku’s apartment, and dinner.
“Approaching infiltration point. Ten meters.”
The leader glanced at his watch, marking the time. “Thirty seconds until the next cycle, and the codes reset again. Make it a fast ten meters, Blue,” he ordered quietly into the mic, using his expert hacker’s code name.
“Five meters. Going as fast as I can, Red.”
Red grumbled as he watched the time tick away. He just needed to be patient. The submersible was moving at the proper rate, turbines spinning slowly so as to not make noise for I-Island’s underwater sensor net to pick them up. Any faster and they’d trip the net, causing the Island’s security to immediately be alerted to their presence, which was the exact opposite of what you wanted when you were trying to steal something.
The ‘something’ they wanted to steal was well worth the investment into underwater infiltration tech. A stealth submarine with a mini-submersible stolen from the Americans, marine laser cutters from a Russian oil company, and the best scuba equipment money could buy, but it was pennies to the dollar on the value of their mark. Coupled with his crew of thieves and burglars, all he had to do was wait and he’d get the biggest payday of his life.
Red glanced over at Green, the man watching their exterior cameras and sonar. He had to appreciate the man’s dedication to their current job. Hadn’t said a word yet, just watched his screens. Yellow, however…
“You know, boss, this job’s been pretty easy so far. Are you sure you need me? I could be napping right now.” the pompous loud mouth asked from the chair at the navigator’s desk, his feet up on the table nonchalantly.
Red glared at him and walked off sharply, “Watch the volume, Yellow, and stow that attitude. This is serious,” he retorted with a hiss, keeping his voice low.
But before Yellow could respond, Blue’s voice came back on the radio from the one-man submersible.
“At infiltration point. Local net intercepted. Feeding looped ‘All Clear.’ We’re ready, Red.”
Red nodded, and while still glaring at Yellow, “Good, get back here. We’ll get the sub into position,” he replied into the mic, before knocking Yellow’s feet off the table.
“Go get White,” he ordered to the younger man, who smirked and jumped up and ducked through the bulkhead door to the rear of the command center. “And be quick about it!” he called out in a lowered voice, frowning at Yellow’s over the shoulder thumbs up. Red turned back to the room to catch Green’s eye roll, sharing a small smile with his brother. They had been on plenty of jobs with guys just like Yellow and White, and every one of them was too damn cocky.
Red approached the helm, and began his task of maneuvering the much larger vessel into place, barely pulsing the engines to nudge the sub into position next to the wall of the Island. At their position, a hundred and fifty meters below the water surface, there were four kilometers of wall above them, and another kilometer below them, all of it containing the most powerful and advanced technology in the world. But ‘Southeast section #1456, stack 89’ held particular importance behind its five meter thick steel walls.
Just another thirty meters through four corridors and one maintenance tunnel lay the workshop of one David Shield, and all of its treasures.
Red glanced at the map again despite having memorized it days ago, as he put the sub into its final position, right alongside the wall of the floating island. He activated the neutral buoyancy and automated vector adjustment controls, allowing the sub to maintain position on its own.
“We’re here, boss,” Yellow announced as he ducked into the command center, White and Blue following close behind. Green stood up and joined them at the center table that was covered in the map and detailed instructions.
“Good, let’s go over the plan again, just so we are all on the same page,” Red directed, glancing at Blue. “The sensor net is interrupted and stuck in a loop, so we are effectively invisible.”
Blue nodded. “Which will allow us to park the sub right next to the wall, and attach the docking clamp,” Red continued, turning to White.
“I attach the docking clamp to the outside of the sub, climb back inside, wait for Red to maneuver the sub into place, and then extend the clamp, which allows—” White explained, turning to Yellow.
“Me to get the laser in place, to cut through the hull. Five meters of steel should take about eight hours, give or take, as long as the laser has adequate cooling,” Yellow responded before looking at Green.
“I take the metal plates and move them aside as they are cut out, and prepare them for resealing,” Green stated, turning to Red.
Red nodded, “Once the hole is cut, I enter, clear the room, and then we form up.” He glanced down at the time-table.
“The researchers take lunch at noon, and per recent I-Island HR regulations, they have to leave the office for lunch.” He glanced at his watch, “Which gives us nine hours until they come back to the office. Eight to cut, one to get in, get the target, and get out unnoticed.”
Red looked up at each of the members of his crew. “Are we all clear on what we need to do?” Each of them nodded in response.
“Good. Let’s get to work.”
Ochako pulled her last shirt out of her luggage and brushed out the wrinkles before placing it on a hanger and into the large closet off of Izuku’s bedroom. She hummed happily, smiling to herself as she finished unpacking for the month, excited to finally be on summer vacation and close to Izuku.
She ran her hands over the clothes in the closet and bit her lip as she stopped at one of his large hoodies, a multicolored one that his mother had given him a couple months back. Without a second thought, she pulled it off the hanger and slipped it on, the massive hoodie looking like a tent on her much smaller frame. She giggled as she swished the coat around, and then bunched it up in her hands and took a deep breath; the wonderful, slightly minty smell of Izuku lingering on his clothes was one of her favorite smells.
“‘Chako, you almost done? I got the movie ready. What—”
Izuku paused in the bedroom, staring at Ochako who was grinning mischievously as she turned around, bunching the excess fabric behind her back, showcasing her curves through the fabric.
“What was that, Deku?” She asked demurely, raising an eyebrow.
“Guh,” he finally murmured after staring for a whole minute, his brain failing to reboot from the visage in front of him.
“Um...yeah, nevermind about the movie,” he managed to mutter.
Ochako’s smile turned very smug, her gaze turning hungry.
“Good answer,” she purred.
“How we doin’, Yellow?” Red asked, leaning back to look through the hole they were making in the island’s wall. The docking collar was doing its job, the large metal tube keeping the water out while they removed huge chunks of the steel exterior at a time with the laser cutter. He had to shield his eyes from the bright glare of the laser sparking..
“By my count, we’re just over a quarter of the way there,” Yellow replied, glancing back as he adjusted the laser a bit more. “Two hours in, another six to go. Goddamn nerds are too paranoid for their own good,” he huffed, tapping the display of the cutter as the power feed for the laser fluctuated slightly. He picked up the latest inch-thick semi-circle of steel and passed it back to Red.
Red grabbed the chunk of cut metal and passed it to White. They shared a slightly nervous look as they swapped. So far so good; the job was going smoothly enough, but they were waiting for the inevitable problem that all plans ran into. Red shrugged nervously before turning back to watch Yellow as White passed the chunk to Green who set it next to the other chunks, stacked in order so they could weld them back into place to cover their escape.
“‘Course, it’d be great if the wall was thinner,” Yellow wished hopefully, glancing back at Red.
“Don’t count on it,” Red said flatly, watching the laser spin slowly as it carved out a perfect circle a meter in diameter, slowly moving through the metal wall.
The next morning, Izuku rolled over groggily, immediately feeling for Ochako in the bed next to him. When he didn’t feel her, he looked up and noticed the bathroom door was shut, the sounds of the shower echoing softly. He let his head hit the pillow and fell back asleep quickly.
He was woken back up, however, when he felt a warm and soft sensation running up the blanket, followed by a comforting weight on his abdomen as Ochako straddled him, filling his nostrils with her sweet scent and planting soft kisses on his face.
“Mmhmm, good morning to you, too,” he murmured, before meeting her kisses with his own. She smiled as they made out, increasing the intensity of the kisses and running her hands over his bare chest, up to his neck, and through his soft hair, touseling it heavily. Izuku responded in kind, running his hands down her flank, over her waist, coming to rest on her thighs, squeezing them firmly, making Ochako moan slightly as she kissed him harder.
A sudden knock on the front door jolted both of them from their make out session, glancing at each other questioningly.
“Izuku! Ochako!” came Inko’s muffled voice through the door.
They sighed in relief, before giggling together, their heads touching gently and giving each other one more kiss before Izuku picked them both up and slid out of the bed, setting Ochako on the ground, and patting her on the butt as she sashayed over the closet. She gave him a salacious look over her shoulder before disappearing through the door. Izuku smirked and picked up a shirt off the floor, throwing it on before walking to the front door, and opening it to greet his parents.
“Morning, Mom,” he murmured as he leaned down to hug his mother, her beaming smile practically blinding him in his drowsy state. He looked up at his dad as Inko gave him a good squeeze and smiled.
“Morning, son,” Toshi said, smiling brightly.
“Did you sleep okay, Izuku? You look like you barely got any sleep,” she asked with motherly concern as they parted, her hands running over Izuku’s face and through his tousled hair.
Izuku smiled nervously, and rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, well…”
“That’s my fault, Auntie,” Ochako announced unabashedly, walking up behind Izuku. He glanced back, speechless.
She was wearing tight jeans, with a black turtleneck and inch tall platform shoes that made her already impressive height more pronounced. Both his parents and Izuku smiled as she did a flourish to show off a bit. Izuku stared, noting that she did seem taller than normal, but just attributed it to the shoes.
“Hi Uncle!” she chirped, waving at Toshinori, “Ready when you are, Auntie!” she finished, walking up to Izuku, giving him a kiss goodbye and walking out the door, stopping behind Inko.
Inko nodded, still smiling, and turned back to Izuku, “We’ll be out for a couple hours shopping for new dresses, so be sure to have fun with Melissa and your dad,” she explained, glancing up at her husband, a gleam in her eye. She leaned back in and gave Izuku another hug.
“Have fun!” Izuku said, joining Toshinori in waving them off as they walked down the hall. He turned back into the apartment, gesturing to his father to come in and set about getting ready himself. Thirty minutes later, they were on their way to the Shields’ lab.
“Huh, that’s weird.”
Red’s head popped up to look at Yellow who was staring down the hole. The laser shut off and retracted from the hole, the final cut piece falling from its place, clanging loudly on the floor below.
“Guess we got lucky! The wall’s a lot thinner than we were told!” Yellow said excitedly, looking back at Red with enthusiasm. “Only three meters thick!”
“Easy kid, let’s take a look before you get too uppity about a small lucky break,” Red said cautiously, glancing back at Green nervously. Green shrugged and passed Red his pack, which he grabbed and started shuffling along the collar to enter the hole. He shimmied through the hole in the wall, poking his head out of the hole to look around. The room was dark, but the flashlight on his head lit up with a button press, and showed that it was bare, except for a couple of crates along the far wall.
“All clear,” Red said, pulling himself out of the hole, adjusting his pack as the others climbed through. He looked around for some indication as to which room they were in, but the door was free of labels except for the illuminated exit sign. He glanced back at the others and they all nodded that they were ready.
Red glanced at his watch, noting that the extra time they had gained. “This might actually be okay,” he whispered to the others, pulling out the time-table. He pointed to the bullet point labeled ‘8-9AM’. “We should be leaving just as the researchers are arriving, so let’s be fast and quiet. No mistakes and no chances.” Nods from his team helped reassure him a little.
He turned to the door and walked over to the panel, unlocking the door, and opening it silently. He leaned out and looked up and down the hall the door led to, and waved back to his team after seeing that the coast was clear. They followed him out, fanning out, pulling out assault weapons as Red looked up at the corridor marker and checking the map, verifying their location.
“Okay, down this hall,” he pointed to his left, “then right.”
Red pulled out his weapon and led the way, turning down the hall, moving at a quick pace. The area should be empty with the party starting later in the day, but their accelerated schedule meant that things could be very different. The wall thickness was bothering him though. His client had been right about everything else.
A flicker of light down the hall made him stop, breaking him out of his reverie, gun at the ready. They had orders to not kill anyone if possible, but he didn’t want to take any chances at alarms being raised. He stood still as he watched a researcher close and lock the door he had just exited, yawn deeply, and turn the opposite direction, trudging off.
Red held his breath until the man was out of sight, completely oblivious to the infiltrators. He relaxed entirely when he heard the distant ding of the elevator, the researcher heading home. He shared a glance with his brother next to him who nodded, the team moving on again as Red signaled ‘move out’.
The team stacked up behind him when they reached the corner, and followed Red as he continued. They walked with a determined pace, but silently. They turned another right corner after ten or so meters, and then a left a few more meters later, coming to a stop in front of two large doors. Red glanced up and down the hall, and took another look at his watch, noting that it was almost eight in the morning, and they had very little time left.
He approached the door, and jimmied the security panel open, pulling out a small circuit board from a pocket on his pack and placing it on the main board inside the panel. There was a pause of a couple of seconds, before a soft beep sounded, and the doors opened with a soft hiss.
Red motioned for the team to enter the lab as he pulled the circuit board out and reseated the panel in place, leaving no trace they had unlocked the door, before entering the lab himself. He glanced around before locking onto the object of their heist. They walked up to the large frame and pulled the curtain back, revealing the patchwork metal suit.
“Looks bigger in real life,” Yellow whispered, gazing at it in surprise.
Green and White nodded as Red walked up to the suit and took some measurements, the only ones their client hadn’t been able to get. After collecting the data, he stepped back down and the team gathered around him.
“Okay, the suit is bigger than we expected, but we planned for that. Yellow, you’re wearing the suit. White, go watch the hall and alert us if someone starts heading this way. Blue, be sure to scrub the cameras as we leave. Green, I need you to cover Yellow. He won’t be able to see well due to the helmet. I’ll bring up the rear to make sure that we stay hidden,” Red ordered, glancing at each person in turn, who nodded.
Yellow glanced up at the suit and started shrugging off his gear, pulling off his heavy pack and outer jacket. White moved to the door, holding it open and glancing down both directions of the hall. Blue got to work on the cameras, cracking through their security with his mini-computer on his wrist, while Green helped get the suit ready for Yellow.
Red watched as Yellow donned the suit, his slightly bulkier frame filling it out, but not all of the way. Whoever this suit was for was a monster of a human. Green finished tightening the fasteners on Yellow’s back and the suit clicked shut, sealing its occupant inside.
“Ready,” Yellow’s voice echoed out of the suit, making everyone flinch from the loud noise. Red glanced at White by the door, who gave him a thumbs up.
“Okay, let’s get out of here. I’ll get Yellow’s gear,” Red whispered, picking up Yellow’s pack, stowing his boots and vest inside. He glanced up as Yellow took his first step in the suit, noting that it seemed laborious and slow.
“Damn, this thing weighs a ton. Gonna have a hard time moving fast in this, Red,” Yellow said, quietly this time, as he struggled to move the suit down the stairs.
Red shared a glance with Green who shrugged.
“Okay, let’s just be steady then. Don’t wear yourself out or we’ll be in even more trouble,” Red offered, motioning to Green to help Yellow, the both of them taking a side and putting Yellow’s arms over their shoulders to help support him. Slowly but surely, they made their way to the door.
“...And I really think I just need to adjust the compressor rotor timing speed to get the rebreather working properly,” Melissa said, her hand on her chin, deep in thought as she bounced possible fixes off of Izuku, who was more than happy to be her ‘rubber duck’. Izuku and Toshinori shared a strained smile at the inventor’s stream of consciousness.
Izuku shifted slightly, trying hard not to bump into the jittery white-haired woman next to him in the cramped elevator, her coffee cup shaking slightly in her hand, nodding as Melissa continued brainstorming as they sunk down into the island with the rest of the researchers. He was just glad that it was the last day for a month that he would have to make this trip, growing tired of the claustrophobia inducing elevators.
The elevator dinged and came to a stop at sublevel 5, some of the researchers leaving when the door opened. Izuku glanced up at the display on the wall of the elevator and fought to contain a groan of impatience. Toshinori smiled and chuckled softly, patting his son on the shoulder. The Shield Lab was on Sublevel 30, and the elevator was still packed. The closeness of the elevator didn’t bother him, it was the impatience of waiting for the Interface to be upgraded. A random thought hit him at that moment. Perhaps that’s why he enjoyed RPGs so much: all of the upgrading.
He chuckled to himself as the door dinged again, with more of the researchers leaving, making room for the rest of them to spread out a bit. For twenty levels, they patiently waited until finally it was their turn, the doors opening onto the atrium with a ding.
Red looked back over his shoulder at the sound of the elevator announcing its arrival. They were finally around the corner, but they still had so far to go, and the weight of the suit wasn’t helping anything, with Yellow panting like a dog from the exertion. He turned back to the task at hand, and readjusted his grip to help Yellow.
“Blue,” he grunted in the mic, “give us a hand!”
The man appeared from around the corner and swapped with Red, taking his position under Yellow’s arm, while Red stretched, popping his back. He looked back and was satisfied that no one was coming down the corridor yet, but he didn’t waste any time, switching with Green, motioning for him to go ahead.
“Come on, Yellow,” Red grunted, “We’re almost there.”
“Almost- there-” Yellow huffed, shuffling his legs forward, left, right, left, right.
After stopping at the coffee stand in the atrium, the trio made their way down one of the side halls to the lab, chatting about ideas and bouncing potential solutions off of each other, while Toshinori offered his sage advice. Nothing was out of place when they walked through the large double doors, Izuku and Melissa each going to their workstations and Toshinori taking a seat to watch. Izuku pulled up the designs of his suit, looking over it while Melissa got her station ready for minor surgery on Izuku’s Interface.
None of them noticed that the covering on the metal frame off to the side was askew.
“Home stretch, Yellow,” Red grunted, panting with Yellow as they finally entered the exit room. He and Green leaned Yellow against the wall, the larger man exhausted from carrying the suit, his breathing labored and heavy.
“White and Blue, are we clear?” Red huffed into the mic, looking up as the aforementioned members walked through the door, sealing it behind them. They each nodded.
“Cameras scrubbed,” Blue reported.
“No one knows we are here,” White stated, checking on Yellow, who gave him a weak thumbs up.
“Right, let’s get gone then,” Red ordered, “White, go get the sub ready. Blue, double check the sensor net.”
He turned to his brother and shared a knowing look before they leaned down and heaved the suit and Yellow in it onto their shoulders.
“Just a little further, we are home free,” Red huffed.
“Heh- yeah-” Yellow grunted.
They made their way towards the hole in the wall, straining to move the suit. None of them really paid attention to where they were walking, however.
Yellow’s right foot came down on the last semi-circle of steel wall plate, clipping the edge of the dense metal. Momentum and Newton’s Laws took over, sending the trio forward as their balance was thrown off. The heavy metal suit, designed by David Shield for All Might to wear, collided with the metal wall, knocking Yellow unconscious as his head impacted the faceplate. His partners’ heads slammed into the wall, discombobulating the pair of them.
“Fuck!” Red hissed, rubbing his head where the welt was forming.
He looked over at the metal suit, a huge crack running through the top and side of the helmet.
“Fuck,” he murmured, clambering to check on Yellow.
A loud groaning, creaking, metallic sound coming from the hole made Red and Green look up.
“Oh fuck…” Red whispered.
The moment the metal suit had impacted the wall, energy was imparted in the metals, causing a slight deformity within the wall’s structure, which compressed and translated through the ice-cold, subsurface steel, creating a slight variance in the surface layer, directly underneath the magnetic seal of the docking collar. Designed for tolerances no more than a couple of nanometers, an entire millimeter of variance was too much for the precise engineering. The slight bump in the metal shifted the seal and increased pressure on one side, upsetting the delicate balance the collar created with the outside water pressure.
In less than thirty seconds, the fifteen atmospheres created by 150 meters of water above the docking collar collapsed the thin metal tubing, pressing the weight of the ocean into a previously sealed system. Red could only stare as the wall of water blasted in before his, Green’s and Yellow’s bodies were tossed across the room, slammed into the far wall by the torrent of water, dead on impact.
I-Island was now taking on water at the rate of an Olympic swimming pool every minute.
The first room filled in less than thirty seconds, before the water found alternate avenues to travel, mostly venting, ducting, and other holes in the walls. It rose until it touched the ceiling, lifting ceiling panels, and overflowing into the next rooms. The electrical system in the rooms shut off almost immediately, the breakers getting popped by the conductive seawater arcing in the outlets. I-Island’s automated maintenance system received one alert for the breaker, followed by successive alerts from other rooms as they filled.
The door, designed to separate, but not contain pressure, started to leak at the seams, and after a minute of the torrential pressure, burst, ripping the metal doors from their tracks. Water was blasted into the hall as fast as the hole in the wall would allow. Here, special designed vents along the walkways allowed for water to flow into channels, which led to sump pumps in the subfloors, specifically designed for removing water in case of a leak or fire.
The channels filled, overwhelmed by the flow, and the rising water lifted the float valves, activating the pumps. Large turbines began sucking up the water, sending it through pipes under the floor, through the wall, back to the ocean. But they were never designed for entire swimming pools of water.
The water continued pouring in, rushing along the corridor, slamming into the wall at the intersection, and pushing deeper into the facility.
“And that,” Melissa murmured, eyes squinted as she focused, her tongue between her teeth, turning a microscope rotor into place within the Interface with a pair of tweezers, “is that!”
She inspected it, and checked the read-out on her computer monitor. She verified that the Interface was now processing the local atmosphere, filtering the air and storing oxygen within the newly added canisters on the side. They added slightly raised bumps on the backside of the device, but to her eye, it actually improved the look of the device. She turned it over in her hand and held it to her ear, nodding, a satisfied look on her face.
“Totally silent, too. Perfect for right on your head,” Melissa stated, passing the newly improved device back to Izuku, who took it gratefully and put it on. The magnetics locked into place on his head, allowing the cool device to interface with his nervous system. The HUD popped up, and Izuku noted a new bar on the left side, a bluish level meter indicating his oxygen level. It was slowly rising, now that the reclamation and atmospheric processing circuits were working.
“You and Mei are the best,” Izuku praised, giving Melissa a huge hug.
“I try,” she said, smiling into her friend’s shoulder.
A strange feeling that Izuku was not expecting suddenly appeared, based on his feet. He glanced down and saw one of the worst things you want to see when you are thirty levels below sea level: rapidly rising ice-cold water steadily covering the floor.
I-Island’s security and maintenance was supposedly the most advanced in the world.
Or at least that’s what Tony was told on his first day as a Maintenance Systems Technician, five years ago. The middle-aged man had been hand selected by his boss, the System Lead, mostly for his impeccable record at other institutions and a glowing recommendation from his previous boss.
And it wasn’t a hard job. Sit, watch the monitors, verify reports against control systems, and run scheduled maintenance tasks as they are needed. So the very last thing he expected to receive was notifications of a rolling blackout through South-East Section #1456. He watched in surprise as room after room was reporting popped circuit breakers. In his five years, he had never seen anything like it.
He recalled his training. Step 1: Confirm reports against control systems.
He logged into the central reporting system, found the section in question, and confirmed that rooms were going dark at a staggering pace. Okay, Step Two.
Step Two was to attempt automatic recalibration of the system. He entered the requisite code into the command line, and waited for the system to reboot, taking a sip of coffee as the command processed. He glanced up at the monitors, noting how Section #1456 wasn’t reporting anything else, which was bizarre in and of itself.
The console flashed after it had completed the recalibration and he nearly soaked the terminal with coffee as he read the report, shakily reaching for the red emergency phone next to him.
The terminal flashed again, the newly recalibrated sensors firing alert after alert. Each room was reporting catastrophic flooding, electrical failure, and pump failure, and the automatic system was recommending bulkhead seals be activated.
Tony picked up the phone, heard the dial tone and waited as the phone autodialed, his eyes not leaving the screen, staring as the reports flooded in. The phone rang.
The automatic alert system was now reporting that 7 of the 100 active pumps had failed due to overpressure. The phone rang again.
He stared as the system predicted a total loss of the section within 3 hours at the current rate without bulkhead seals. The phone rang a third time.
“Fuck it,” he cursed, slamming the phone down as his boss was obviously not around to pick up the emergency line.
“I’m sorry,” Tony apologized, fingers hovering over the ‘Activate’ button. “I’m so sorry.”
He pressed the button, dooming all inside the section to a watery grave. In less than a second, the system activated the emergency bulkheads across the section, hydraulics firing two ton steel doors into place across every 10 meters of hallway, in a desperate attempt to stop the flow of water.
The heavy steel doors of the lab rang like a bell with every hit from Izuku’s fists, the metal creaking and caving with each successive punch. He glanced over his shoulder as he pulled back for another. Melissa and Toshinori had been trying to communicate with anyone outside of the room, but the minute the water touched the outlets, they shorted, making the room go dark. The only light was from an emergency flashlight and Izuku’s interface, two small lights on the side of his face giving bright white illumination, showing that their situation was getting more dire. There was another deep ringing as Izuku struck the door, putting more of a dent in the six inch steel plate.
“Izuku!” Melissa called out over the noise of the water rushing in and his furious assault on the door. “Stop for a minute!”
He looked back and saw her shivering in the freezing waist high water, her clothes already soaked through.
“They have got to be sending help!” She exclaimed, glancing at the door behind him, “Maybe we just need t-t-to w-w-wait…” she finished, shivering harder. Toshinori looked between the two young adults grimly. Izuku could tell that his father knew that no one was coming.
Izuku turned from the door and pushed through the water, a frown on his face, stopping in front of her and picking her up in a bear hug, increasing his external body temperature by a couple of degrees to keep her from getting hypothermia. He stared at his father, silently hoping that he was wrong, but something was telling him differently. They both nodded slightly, each knowing what needed to be done.
“I don’t know, Mel,” he muttered solemnly, “something about this doesn’t feel right.”
Melissa sighed into his warm embrace, resting her head on his shoulders. While she thoroughly appreciated Izuku’s abilities at a time like this, especially his seemingly ‘sixth-sense’, she was preoccupied with the why.
“Yeah, the emergency systems should have gone off much sooner. And where is all of this water coming from anyway? There’s no way there’s a leak,” she reasoned, glancing over at the door.
“Either way,” Izuku stated, “we need to get out of here. Rescue probably won’t get to us in time.”
Melissa sighed in resignation and nodded, “Yeah, you’re probably right.”
“Climb onto my back, so I can carry you and keep you warm, and I’ll get that door down,” Izuku instructed, setting her down, turning around and squatting so she could clamber onto his back. The water was rapidly approaching Izuku’s waist, the chill starting to get to even him, his feet cramping slightly from the cold. He spread more heat through his extremities to keep up with the rapid heat loss. He glanced back at his father who nodded firmly.
“This is going to be monumentally exhausting,” Toshinori groaned to himself as he pulled at his tie and jacket, his form filling out into the huge muscular form of his alter-ego. All Might tossed his jacket aside, no longer needing the much smaller covering. “Alright, Izuku, I should be good for an hour or so.”
“Right, I’ll do a majority of the work,” Izuku grunted as Melissa wrapped her arms around his neck. All Might hesitated for a second, staring at his son with a mixture of pride and trepidation. He opened his mouth to argue.
“We might need you in reserve, Dad,” Izuku stated flatly, leaving no room for discussion. All Might nodded, smirking slightly at his son’s stubbornness.
“Now… let’s get the fuck out of here,” Izuku spat.
They strode over to the steel blast door with Melissa holding on tightly to Izuku. He pulled his right arm out from underneath Melissa’s legs, focusing on the massive power inside of his core, pulling a tiny blob off and forcing it into his hand.
“Cover your eyes,” he ordered back to Melissa and All Might. Melissa buried her face into his shoulder while All Might shielded his eyes.
A ring of bright green light spun around his fist, spinning faster and faster until Izuku pushed it into his pointer and middle fingers, the ring tightening into his practiced plasma cutter, the bright light casting stark shadows across the rapidly filling room. Izuku frowned in concentration as he got to work cutting through the metal plating like it was butter, the metal melting quickly under the intense heat of his power. He was especially glad to see that it worked well under the water, the water instantly boiling away from his hand as he cut, until finally, a huge chunk of steel was free.
Izuku shifted Melissa over on his back, and gave the chunk of steel door a heavy shove with his shoulder and stumbled into the hallway from his momentum, the water pouring out of the lab through the hole they made. Izuku caught a glimpse of other researchers in the hall before his head was plunged under the water for a brief moment. Melissa pushed up as he went under, and slid off of his back, helping him stand up after his tumble. One of the men sloshed over and helped him, patting him on the back as Izuku choked up the disgusting seawater. After Izuku righted himself, nodding to the man who helped him, he caught his breath and noticed the group looking back through the hole in surprise.
“All Might!” a couple of them exclaimed at the same time. He ducked through the hole, his trademark smile plastered on his face, waving as he exited the room.
“Good to see everyone!” All Might boomed, shaking hands with one of the researchers. “But this isn’t the time for fan greetings and signatures! We need to make a quick exit! This young man and I will start clearing the way for everyone, so stand back and watch a pro at work!”
All Might glanced over at Izuku who nodded and began cutting into the large blast door.
“That’s a two-ton door! Almost a foot thick! There’s not enough time to cut!” One of the female researchers shouted, panic rising in her voice.
“Hm…” All Might hummed thoughtfully, walking over the large steel door, and knocking on it. “Well, Young Midoriya, what do you think?”
Izuku stopped cutting and looked up at his father and idol, before glancing over at the researchers in mild annoyance. Debating on what to do was wasting precious time.
“Cutting takes longer, but ensures that no one on the other side, if there is anyone, gets smashed by incoming metal,” he explained shortly. He watched his father weigh the pros and cons before Melissa let out a slight huff of annoyance.
“Izuku, did you forget that you can sense people’s heartbeats? Or are you just playing stupid?” Melissa asked, glaring at him, “Because now’s really not the time for jokes.”
Izuku blinked. “Uh…” he muttered.
Crap. How did he forget that?
Mentally smacking himself in face, he reached out with an outstretched hand and palmed the door, pushing out with his power to feel any and all sources of energy around him. The wires in the walls came alive to him, as did the pumps working overtime in the subfloors. But no human heart beats for at least the next two sections of the hallway. Beyond, he felt many more, but they would get to them soon.
“Next section is clear, All Might,” Izuku listed, “same with the one after that, but the third has about seven or so people in it. I’m also seeing a couple of people stuck in the rooms off the halls.”
“Right then! Time to get to work!” All Might boomed, taking a step back. “With me, young man!”
Izuku glanced back and recognized All Might’s stance immediately. He grinned and imitated his father, pulling back his left fist to mirror his father’s right, while his right arm held Melissa in place.
Together, they lunged forward, and shouted in unison.
“SMASH!!”
Hana coughed harshly, trying to expel the water from her lungs and throat, wincing as her sister slapped her on the back. A slip on the metal floor would have been fatal, especially with the sudden inhalation of water, but for once, she was glad that Junko had snuck into her lab before the water arrived. There was no telling what would have happened if she were truly alone when she lost her footing.
“You’ll be fine, get it all out,” Junko coaxed, holding Hana’s hair back as her coughing fit petered out. The Chikamishi sisters were kneeling on top of Hana’s workstation, numerous vials and research papers were scattered thoughtlessly after Junko had scrambled to pull her younger sister out of the freezing water. “I’ll get us out of here, you focus on breathing.”
“H-How?” Hana snapped. “We’re s-sealed in by p-proper bulkh-heads, much stronger th-than your kn-ife can handle.” Inwardly, she cursed her chattering teeth for sucking much of the heat from both herself and her words. Rather than voicing her frustration, she huddled closer to her sister, pressing her entire body against Junko in a hauntingly familiar, yet unfortunately fitting, way.
Junko’s heart beat faster automatically, her body heating up little by little as her blood raced through her veins, a neat trick she had learned after a particularly cold winter. “I’ll find a way, you know I always do. I’ll get us out of this shit, Lily, I will keep my promise,” she whispered into Hana’s hair.
“You weren’t even s-supposed to be here in the first p-place,” Hana murmured, her voice and dismay clear as her own body warmed up from her sister’s body heat.
“What, and miss out on you making breathable water? Damn, sis, I thought you knew me better than that!” Junko quipped, a fake smile no doubt cutting across her face.
Distantly, Hana knew that ‘in the middle of a deadly incident’ was not the appropriate time to lecture her sister on I-Island regulations, but clinging to normalcy was important for staying sane during crisis. She pushed away from Junko and leveled a glare at her. “One, it’s not ‘breathable water’, and two, I keep telling you that you can’t be here. You don’t have the clearance or intelligence to work alongside me. You knew I needed to finish the project for Mr. Shield before I could even begin to work on anything for you, and even then I’d need to break at least a couple non-disclosure agreements to so much as hint at anything I was doing in terms you’ll understand,” Hana chided.
“Oh! Oof!” Junko clutched her chest dramatically, feigning immense pain. She spit a glob of blood off the side of the workstation and sharpened her smile further. “You wound me, sis. But hey, maybe I can help provide a new perspective on things. After all, it’s not stupid if it works, yeah?” Junko punctuated her quip with barking laughter and Hana tried to keep the smile off her face in response. She didn’t try very hard.
At least until Hana felt freezing cold water lick at her legs. Her throat seized up to strangle the startled yelp before it could escape, and the two sisters were reminded that they were still trapped in a dark lab with water rising at an alarming rate. “Junko?” Hana breathed out, her fear once more invading her voice.
“Shit,” Junko swore in English before slipping a small flashlight out of her sleeve. Hana blinked, staring at the small light as the object fell neatly into her hand, immediately recognizing it as the one that was supposed to be in the emergency supply drawer. Junko clicked it on as it settled into her palm in one smooth motion. She flicked the beam of light around the room, searching for any means of escape that both of them could use. An audible boom from the other side of the sealed doorway drew her attention towards it for a moment, but it was far too muffled by distance to be of any importance.
However, Hana wasn’t bothering to search with her. Instead, her eyes were drawn to her sister’s other hand, the one drifting upward to touch the large, jagged scar slashed across the left side of her neck. Junko had always said she was proud of the scar, proof that she was stronger than God had thought, but Hana didn’t like dwelling on it. Flashes of old memories rose to the surface.
Hot blood gushing through her fingers, choked gurgles that should have been words.
‘No one is coming.’
Her shirt is stained dark red.
‘Don’t take my sister, PLEASE!’
There was another thud from outside the room, this time much louder and immediately followed by a clang of steel on steel decking. Hana jumped at the noise, watching as Junko trained the flashlight on the bulkhead. The two sisters held their collective breath.
“I swear,” Junko growled, “if the water fucked up a blast door, I’m gonna—”
A heavy, slow pounding on the door cut Junko’s threat off, and Hana’s heart leapt. It wasn’t just the water that caused the ruckus, it was a person! Someone actually came for them!
As Hana scrambled towards the edge of her workstation, which was now entirely underwater, Junko slapped her hand on her sister’s chest. “Stay put, water’s still cold as hell,” she commanded.
“But what if—!” Hana started to argue, but Junko ignored her entirely. She planted her feet on the very edge of the table and leapt across the water to land in front of the bulkhead.
“HEY!” she shouted, banging on the door twice with the butt of the flashlight, “We’re trapped in here, can you hear me?!” She stopped and listened for a second before two more hits sounded out from the other side, these two much louder as an obvious response. Junko looked over her shoulder at her sister and lit her face up with the flashlight to show off an exaggerated smug smirk. “There, I found help. Told you I’d get us out of here.”
Hana huffed a quiet laugh, carefully ignoring the freezing water soaking through her work boots. “You are impossible.”
After a couple of seconds of silence, anxiety and doubts began to fill Hana’s head. Without a means to check what was happening on the other side of the door, she couldn’t be certain whether the knocking response meant ‘We are here’ or ‘we’ll be right back.’ But then the door began groaning slightly, making both sisters look over to it. There was a warm red spot slowly growing in the top left corner of the door, spreading out and glowing brighter as it heated up. Hana jumped as a sudden burst of sparks and a loud jet-like flame burst through the metal and slowly made its way around the door.
Junko’s sharp whistle brought Hana back into her head, pulling her attention away from the progress of the cutting their saviors were doing and towards her older sister’s extended hand. It was time to leave. Without a word, Hana took Junko’s hand and slipped into the ice cold water, Hana clinging to Junko for warmth and balance.
As the sisters stopped in front of the bulkhead, Hana noted that the water closest to the door wasn’t as cold as the water by her workstation, an observation made easy to see as the water boiled near the cutting point. At least they wouldn’t freeze waiting for their exit to be finished. “Come on, jackass, I got shit to do,” Junko muttered impatiently as her eyes tracked the sparks flying from the steel door. Hana didn’t have it in her to scold her sister yet.
The moment the bright flame finished its circuit around the door, the water filling Hana’s lab followed the loose section of steel into the hallway and drained through the widening hole. Instead of collapsing onto the steel floor, however, the freshly-cut section was held in place by two unnaturally large hands. Hana’s eyes widened as whoever the hands belonged to set the section down just beside the doorway.
She locked eyes with Izuku Midoriya, his obviously practiced smile radiating confidence and assurance. “Midoriya,” she whispered breathlessly. “You came for us?”
“Chikamishi!” Izuku exclaimed, his smile sliding ever so slightly, his eyes immediately filling with concern. “Oh, uh…” he stammered, throwing a glance to his left for a split second. His smile came back in full-force in an instant, however, a fraction more genuine than Hana expected. “I was in the area, thought I should help out. Let’s get moving, though. The water isn’t stopping,” he finished, reaching out with his oversized hand.
When the man offered his hand to Hana the first time, at the airport, she hesitated. Men his size were usually incredibly strong, even without a contact-based quirk, and any number of horrible things could happen even in a crowd.
Izuku, however, was no man. He was a hero.
Hana didn’t even bother to stifle her gracious smile as she grasped her hero’s hand to step outside of her lab. “Thank you. Thank you so much,” she murmured.
“My pleasure,” Izuku remarked, watching her as she stepped out beside him. He turned back to the room and held out his hand to the other person in the room, halting as he looked at her, his smile freezing in place to keep it from visually falling.
Everyone reacted the same when they noticed her sister’s scar, heroes especially. The pity, the horror, the curiosity, all shoved deep under a layer of respect for an obviously personal injury. They didn’t usually react with a moment of anxiety and, dare Hana think, doubt. So when such emotions flashed through Izuku’s emerald eyes, she couldn’t help but turn around to follow his gaze.
Junko had very pointedly ignored Izuku’s hand as she stepped into the hallway after her younger sister, distrust obvious in her entire expression as she leveled the significantly taller man with a defiant glare Hana had seen too many times.
Before the tension between her hero and her sister grew too large, Hana decided to step in. With a swift jab, she drove her elbow into Junko’s ribs hard. Caught off guard by the sudden attack, Junko yelped and threw a stormy glare at her sister, who returned the glare full force. As much as Hana loved her sister, both of them knew when she was being a dick.
Junko looked away first with a tch. “Thanks,” she spat out sarcastically.
With a frustrated sigh, Hana resolved to talk to her sister about Izuku later. For now, all of them needed to leave before the water caught up to them all.
“Alright folks, no time to dawdle. Young Midoriya, another door to cut open here!” All Might’s voice boomed out from behind Izuku, making Hana jump. She leaned over to see the hulking hero helping several other researchers through the hole in the hallway blast door.
Hana watched as Izuku gave her another look, one that whispered of relief and reassurance, smiled and nodded, before turning around to the other side of the hallway. She wasted no time hurrying towards the crowd of her coworkers, her sister’s deceptively quiet footsteps following closely.
A thought struck Hana as she reached the crowd of scientists. Izuku didn’t have any equipment on him, yet he was alone when he rescued Hana and her sister, and All Might himself was specifically asking him for assistance. Curiosity won out, and she looked over her shoulder, watching Izuku walk away with a purpose.
Izuku reached up with two fingers outstretched, and a second later, a searing bright green light burst from his fingers, which he placed against the metal door, moving it slowly and deliberately around the frame, cutting a deep furrow through the steel blast door.
All at once, a childish glee filled Hana as she watched Izuku cut through the thick bulkhead easily and she regretted not asking about his quirk earlier. Such immense heat at the tips of his fingers, and without any lasting damage, if his undamaged hands were anything to go by! It had been months since Hana had the chance to pick apart a quirk for fun with her sister, a past time she recalled fondly very often.
Before Hana could release any of her bubbling fascination, she noticed Junko’s hand had drifted up to her scar again, her sister’s eyes vacant and filled with an old hatred for something no one can see. A familiar pain curled around Hana’s heart and crushed her excitement, as it did every time her sister was thrust into her memories. As usual, she reached over and pulled her sister’s hand away from her scar.
Junko violently ripped her hand out of Hana’s grasp instinctively, her hollow eyes locking onto Hana’s own as a snarl quickly formed on her face. It all fell apart when life and recognition returned to Junko’s eyes, and with it came the same usual guilt she always felt when Hana pulled her out of her head.
Silently, Junko offered her hand to her younger sister and Hana interlaced her own fingers with her sister’s without a second thought. It wasn’t clear whether the gesture was an apology or to comfort either Chikamishi sister, but neither cared about the why at the time. They were safe and together. That was enough.
“And that,” Izuku groaned as he set aside another chunk of steel door, “should be the last of them.” He panted slightly, not from the exertion, but from the concentration. Keeping his body temp up to try to warm up the water, focusing on his plasma cutter, and continuously reaching out with his power sense to search for others in need of rescue was taxing his mental faculties.
He leaned over and helped the last three researchers out of their lab, pulling them through the water, before standing up and looking back, doing a quick head count. Twenty-five researchers and one civilian, safe and accounted for. He was soon joined by All Might who had been making sure that everyone was out of the rooms and ready to move. A quick glance from his father told him that they were ready, despite the water being up to the middle of their chests. Almost all of the others were either treading water, or clinging to the wall fixtures to stay afloat.
“Listen up, everyone,” All Might called out over their heads, getting everyone’s attention, his signature smile in place, beaming to everyone. “I know you all are tired, soaked to the bone, and colder than an Alaskan winter, but we have only a couple more walls to break down. Everyone stay alert and be ready!”
Izuku watched as everyone listened to the world’s greatest hero talk, almost enraptured, smiles on almost every face, like they knew without a doubt that they were going to be okay. After All Might finished talking, there were shouts of joy and confidence. A feeling of longing settled in as Izuku wished he could garner that kind of respect and admiration. The feeling was washed away quickly though, the chill from the water reminding him of their situation.
He turned sluggishly in the water to look at the door behind him, noting that there was no way he and All Might would be able to knock this down with the amount of water around them. Apparently his father had the same idea.
“Young Midoriya, time to start cutting again, I think,” All Might said, placing a hand on Izuku’s shoulder.
He blinked and looked over at his father, nodding, a frown on his face. “Gonna have to cut fast this time though. No time for accuracy.” Izuku pushed his way through the water to center himself on the door, reaching out to the side with both hands as far as he could reach. Satisfied with the size of the hole he had to cut, he glanced back.
“This is gonna get real hot, so stay back!” Izuku called out, waiting for everyone to get clear. He got a couple of nods, prompting him to focus deep and push power into his hands, tight rings on bright green light bursting into existence around his opened palms, the eerie glow casting odd shadows in the water. The rings spun around his hands faster and faster, elongating into a pulsing weave, flashing across his forearms angrily, desperate for release.
Izuku grunted as he slammed his opened palms into the metal door, pushing heat into the door as fast as he could. The metal under his hands immediately flashed redhot, transitioning to orange, then yellow, then searing bright white, the glow spreading steadily through the metal. Steam began forming around the metal that was submerged, the water sucking away the heat and boiling. He pushed harder, spreading the heat through the internal crystalline structure until he felt it shift. He released the heat and leaned back slightly before pulling his right arm back and punching hard, sending the molten steel flying into the next room, the water immediately flowing into the empty corridor, taking everyone with it, despite All Might grabbing onto as many of the researchers as he could reach.
Izuku watched in surprise as the water crashed into the next section but was immediately sucked away into the side drains, the pipes gurgling as the water flowed freely. Several of the researchers, including Hana and Junko, had washed onto the floor, sputtering from the sudden dunk, but were otherwise okay. But more pressing matters were at stake. This room was empty before he let the water in. Would the next one be too? Izuku needed to know so they could make their next move. He took off, sprinting down the hall to the next door, and immediately getting to work cutting a small hole into the metal. He pulled the plug out and waited. When no water came through, Izuku had his answer.
He glanced back as a couple of shouts echoed towards him. The water was rapidly winning against the functional pumps in the subfloor, and even with everyone moving quickly out of the way, they had little time. He turned and got to work cutting a hole big enough for them to get through. In record time, he had the hole cut, and was helping people through, one at a time, smiling at Hana as she and Junko slipped through together.
All Might brought up the rear, and just in time, too. The water was starting to lick at the bottom of the hole he had cut. Once everyone was in, Izuku hefted the metal plate back in place, and got to work undoing his precision cuts with a high temp weld, sealing the group into the dry section of the corridor. Once he made sure the seal was water-tight and cooled, he flipped over and sat down, leaning his head against the cool bulkhead, resting from all of the exertion the day had taken.
He watched as the others took care of each other, gathering to attempt to dry themselves off as best as they could or huddle for warmth. All Might was talking to Melissa, Hana sitting back to back with her sister, her eyes lighting up slightly as they made eye-contact. They held their gaze for a minute before Junko spoke up and drew Hana’s attention. He did one more look around the room, before resolving himself to finish the job at hand.
Izuku sighed and pushed himself up from the floor, shaking hands with a couple of the researchers as they thanked him as he walked to the opposite blast door, giving it a feel for any sign of water on the other side. He was relieved to feel that the steel wasn’t ice cold like the previous doors had been, a good indication that the next room was empty. He didn’t want to chance anything, however, and got to work cutting a small hole near the top of the door. When no water came out, he sighed in relief, nodding to All Might and the others, before cutting another passageway into the next room.
“The room after this section is the atrium,” Melissa stated, looking thoughtful, “if I’m remembering the layout correctly.” She glanced up at All Might as Izuku cut, shielding her eyes from the intense light of Izuku’s torch.
“Elevators are across the way,” Hana interjected, moving forward with Junko behind her, “Though I doubt they’re active.” She glanced between Melissa, All Might, and Izuku.
“Any ideas on how we get out?” she asked. All Might opened his mouth to respond, but Izuku was faster.
“We open the elevator shafts, and I’ll get everyone up. It’s just a matter of where the elevator cars are at,” he said matter-of-factly, grunting as he hauled the thick metal plate to the side, before sticking his head through the hole.
“All clear!” he called out, standing up and moving through to the next section of the corridor, ducking through the hole.
“Oh, sure, NOW we get the rooms without water,” Junko grumbled almost childishly. “Right at the damn end, of course. Why not.”
Everyone started filtering in through the hole as Izuku walked up the last blast door, his hand outstretched. But he didn’t even need to touch it to feel the cold sucking away the heat from his hand.
“Were it so easy,” Izuku grumbled, studying the door for leaks or deformities. “The atrium is flooded, judging by how cold this door is.”
“Wait, seriously?!” one of the researchers called out, his voice echoing in the tight space, “We are so close! Why’d you have to go and jinx us?!” He shouted, turning on Junko.
Junko wasted no time flipping up her middle finger at the researcher. “Bite me, ya two-bit pharmacist! You think I want to be trapped in here with you egotists?!”
Hana sighed, “Sister, behave.”
“Easy, everyone,” All Might advised, holding his hands up in a calming manner. “We aren’t out of here yet. Keeping calm means we get out of here safely.” He glanced around the room, staring at the researcher who had spoken. The much smaller man looked down, and muttered an apology. “I know you are scared. But don’t worry. Young Midoriya won’t let us down.”
Izuku looked over his shoulder at All Might’s mention of him, staring at his father as he winked back at him. Izuku smirked as All Might’s presence helped to dismiss the other’s fear. ‘Still,’ he thought, ‘the only way out is through.’
“Well,” he said after a minute of deep thought, turning back to the crowd, “I have an idea, but you might not like it.” He looked at his father, whose eyes squinted just a bit, the experienced pro trying to think of what his son could be planning.
“Care to share with the rest of the class, Midoriya?” Hana piped up, staring at him intently. He caught the brief flash of fear and anxiety in her eyes, a look far too at-home for Izuku’s comfort.
“I’m assuming that the atrium is totally flooded, and that the elevators have pressure locked doors,” Izuku explained, glancing at Melissa and the other researchers for confirmation, “Which means the water has to get out somehow. I think I can boil off the water, letting the ventilation system handle the steam, and then we can deal with the doors.”
A look of recognition from Melissa made him nod. “I’m gonna have to go into the water and heat it up myself,” he explained, glancing between his father, Melissa, and Hana. “Which means sealing everyone else back in the other room.” Hana opened her mouth to argue, but Izuku shook his head, pointing to his Interface, “I’m the only one that can breathe underwater here. It has to be me.”
Hana shut her mouth sharply, her eyes widening slightly. “Shield was able to finish it?” she asked in a hushed whisper, her eyes flicking to his Interface for a moment.
Melissa huffed, giving the green haired researcher a look of mock anguish, “For the last time, Hana, call me Melissa!” Izuku gave her a curious glance, which Melissa waved off. “I’ll explain later,” she responded quickly.
Izuku nodded and turned to look at his father who had been quiet during the exchange, giving him a questioning look. All Might looked up from his thoughts, his signature smile on his face. “I know you can do it, Young Midoriya. Just take care,” he reassured. Izuku nodded, reading between the lines of his father’s words carefully.
‘Just take care.’
More like, ‘Don’t die or else your mother will kill me.’
Izuku chuckled and nodded. They shared another unspoken word before All Might turned and started to gather everyone up, corralling the researchers through the passageway. Hana leaned in and gave Izuku a tight hug before turning away, pulling her sister back with her. Izuku smiled as Melissa gave him a hug as well, pressing her face into his chest, and squeezing tightly.
“Just be sure to be safe. If it doesn’t work, come back immediately. We’ll think of another way,” she whispered.
“Don’t worry, Mel. What better way for a field test?” he asked, teasing her a bit. She grinned into his warm and wet shirt before pulling back and giving him one last look, turning to leave the room with the others.
And then it was just All Might and him in the corridor, the two men looking at each other, one with fear and pride, the other with resolve and confidence.
“Be safe, Izuku,” All Might murmured, staring at his son, wishing that he could take his place.
“I got this,” Izuku said resolutely, pulling the steel plate away from the door with his telekinesis, holding it tightly in his large hands.
All Might nodded, and with one final look, ducked into the other room. Izuku sighed, smiling to himself. His father was worried for him, but if he was honest with himself, Izuku was more worried about his father. They had been going for a couple of hours and he knew that time was running short. Now that he was alone, Izuku got to work, using all of his abilities to their potential. The plate was made weightless, forced into place by telekinesis, and he began welding with a focused beam of energy from his own power stores.
After a couple of minutes, the door was sealed. Now, Izuku could begin the really hard work. He turned to face the sealed door between him and the atrium.
“Here goes nothing, Mel,” he said to himself, thinking the command for the rebreather to the Interface. The device split open, extending the mask in smooth panels across his face, sealing his mouth and nose with a water-tight seal. He took a couple of experimental breaths, pure oxygen flooding into his lungs as he inhaled deeply. He smiled to himself at the successful test.
Now that oxygen was no longer a concern, he had to deal with the water problem. He studied the door for a couple of seconds, before he decided to just throw caution to the wind. Pulling on his power, he dumped two huge chunks into his arms and focused the rings of energy into tight coils. This cut didn’t need to be precise, it just needed to be fast, so Izuku slammed the power into his palms and unleashed two large beams of bright green energy, coiling them around the door, immediately cutting through the heavy steel like it was paper.
As soon as the beams had started cutting, the water rushed in through the holes, gushing into the air pocket of the room. But once the wall had been fully cut open, the metal gave way, pushing the entire door into the room, a wall of water behind it. Izuku watched and braced, letting the metal slam into his outstretched palms as the room flooded. Within seconds, he was submerged.
Izuku blinked through the seawater, letting his eyes adjust to the burn of the salt, getting his bearings. He made a mental note to have Melissa and Mei find a way to make the visor seal around his eyes. After he was finally able to see, he laid the remains of the steel door on the floor, his motions slowed and exaggerated by the viscosity of the water. Once the door was down, he pushed off from the floor and swam out into the center of the atrium, taking stock of the situation.
The room was completely flooded, and it didn’t take Izuku long to figure out why. One of the blast doors to other hallways was only partially closed. He cursed under his breath and kicked off to the lower door. As he got closer, he saw exactly why the door had jammed: the coffee stand that had been there earlier in the day was lodged in place, crushed by the closing door. Pushing on the cart was futile, as was pulling on it, the metal cart wedged in tight against the hydraulically driven door. He frowned to himself, and decided that cutting was the only option. He got to work, making quick work of the thin steel metal of the cart, slicing it in half, until the two pieces finally dislodged and fell to the floor slowly. He waited a second, before giving the door a hard punch in frustration. That seemed to do the trick, as a second later, the door smoothly closed tight.
Izuku shook his head before moving around to check the rest of the doors. Once he verified all of the doors were sealed, he took a look around before deciding on checking on how high the water level was. He powered up through the water until he finally reached the water line, a good 20 feet above the floor. He didn’t even need to breach the surface of the water to see that the atrium wasn’t completely full, much to his delight. If he had to guess, there was about ten more feet of space above the water to the ceiling. Feeling much better about the situation, he dove back down and planted himself on the floor of the atrium, suddenly grateful for his increased muscular density.
Now there was nothing holding him back, so he reached deep inside of his pool of energy, pulled out as much as he dared, and spread it out evenly across his body. Immediately, he felt his skin get hot in the water, a slight shimmer as it began heating up rapidly. He closed his eyes to concentrate, focusing on taking his body temp to new all time highs.
Hana shivered as she pressed herself against her sister, the long morning stuck in freezing, wet clothes finally getting the better of her. Not for the first time, she wished she had fought a little harder to keep Izuku from leaving all of them. Hana was surprised at just how warm the young man was, as though he held an entire sun within his heart, yet his touch did not burn her. It was warmth unlike anything her sister could generate, and it even lit up every room he entered. She wished she had met him years ago, when Junko and herself really needed someone she could trust to fight the bitter cold. He had a job to do, however, and Hana knew none of them were getting out of this crisis if he didn’t finish… whatever his plan was.
Idly, Hana allowed her eyes to wander the room she found herself trapped in. Most of her coworkers huddled together to preserve what warmth they could, despite their sopping wet work clothes. Interestingly enough, Melissa was leaning against All Might’s right side, the much larger hero holding the genius American close to warm her up.
A thought occurred to Hana, one that Junko would curse at her for. It was remarkably easy to make connections between All Might and Izuku, even at a glance. The two heroes were similar in height and build as well as raw strength. Both wore their smiles as masks, empty reassurances of invincibility to keep civilians calm, although Hana had noticed that All Might’s was so ancient and practiced, she wondered if he remembered why he smiled in the first place. If Izuku was so warm…
Without a word, Hana gripped her sister’s hand and approached the number one hero. Junko made the mistake of following along with her sister’s wishes without protest, even as All Might turned his attention towards the two of them. “All Might, sir?”
All Might’s smile widened ever so slightly, his own version of adjusting his mask so it fit properly, and spoke in his usual bold, if gentle, way, “Young Chikamishi. Was there something you two needed?”
Remember what your sister taught you about getting what you want, Hana reassured herself, taking a deep breath to calm her nerves. “F-Forgive me for this selfish request, but I was… wondering if I could also get a hug? Like Melissa?” Hana murmured, her voice petering out at the end.
Before All Might could respond to her silly, stupid request, Junko yanked on her sister’s arm. “Really, Hana? You don’t just ask All Might for a damn hug!” she admonished.
It was always easier firing back at her sister than it was speaking to much stronger people, so Hana hissed, “I’m very cold and All Might looks very warm, unlike you, sister. You were in the water longer than I was, need I remind you?”
All Might released a deep bodied chuckle at the sisters’ back and forth, one that again reminded Hana of Izuku. “Oh, it’s not a problem!” he remarked, opening his other arm to the women. “By all means, there is plenty of room to share.”
Hana couldn’t help but smile softly. Well worn mask or not, All Might was truly genuine when he offered comfort. “Thank you, sir,” she hummed before turning to Junko. “You heard the hero. More than enough room for your frosted heart.”
It was easy ignoring Melissa’s stifled laughter when Junko’s eyes widened comically. “Oh hell to the fuck no,” Junko swore. She was unable to form any further protests before Hana yanked on her sister’s hand hard, pulling her belligerent sister directly into the number one hero’s left side. To prevent her escape, Hana stepped into the hug and pressed herself against Junko’s back. Serves her right for being a bitch to Izuku and her friends.
“Oi!” Junko barked, squirming and pushing against All Might in a fruitless attempt to escape from the hug she was forced into. Hana pressed into her sister more firmly, and Junko stilled, her whole upper body almost flush with All Might’s torso. “...fine, you get one minute, All Might. But not a second more.”
“Fifty-Eight,” All Might stated, a playful twinkle in his eye as he glanced down at the Chikamishi sisters.
“Fifty-seven,” Melissa continued, her voice bouncing with mirth.
“Fifty-six,” Hana purred quietly, borrowing a vicious smile her sister used all too often.
Junko groaned loudly, drawing proper laughter from the three surrounding her.
Izuku felt the mask slid off of his face, and he greedily took several lungfuls of air, panting from the exertion of controlling his power output for the last half hour while he boiled off the water. He looked around the thoroughly soaked room, smiling proudly as he watched the last bits of steam and water vapor get sucked up by the automatic ventilation system. The entire room looked like it had been put through a car wash, but at least the swimming pool of water was now gone.
His gaze fell on the elevator doors in front of him, and his mental checklist reminded him of what needed to be done next: check the cars’ location. He pushed himself up and trudged over to the left elevator door, the one that he, Toshinori, and Melissa had exited earlier that morning. The lights weren’t active on any of the buttons, nor was the display over the door working. He sighed in slight disappointment, knowing that it would have been too easy. He squared his shoulders and lunged forward, forcing his fingers into the gap between the doors of the elevator and began prying it open, when he felt an odd pulse behind the door.
He stopped and stared at the door, stepping back as the door suddenly opened, slowly cranking open. A series of flashlights fell on his face, and he smiled brighter than he had in days.
“How much longer do you think it’ll be, Uncle?” Melissa asked, shivering into his side, rubbing her hands together to try to generate some heat.
All Might didn’t have an answer. It had been over thirty minutes now, and while he knew Izuku had more than enough oxygen, they certainly didn’t. Twenty seven people crammed into a tiny section of corridor meant air was going to be limited. Using a breathing and relaxation technique that Torino had taught him, he had limited his own oxygen usage, but even he could feel the quality of air starting to fall.
A sudden bang on the wall behind him jolted him from his thoughts, and he released the two women he had been holding, standing up quickly and gesturing everyone to stand back. There were two more quick bangs on the metal, and then low vibration. After a couple of seconds, sparks flew out from the top of the wall, large red heat spots appearing as the wall was cut. A minute later, and the wall was free.
All Might was overjoyed to see Izuku smiling as he pulled the entirety of the wall free and let it fall to the ground with a loud crash. But he was very surprised to see several rescue workers behind him, their helmet lights scanning over the crowd of people.
“It’s okay, everyone!” Izuku called, “Help is here!”
There was a pause before Melissa and Hana let out snorts of laughter, leading to All Might laughing heartily.
“What?” Izuku asked, perplexed.
“Well done, broccoli boy,” Hana jeered, walking up to him and tousling his steamed puffed up hair.
He reached up and felt his new hairdo, chuckling as everyone started to walk out, laughing with him. All Might was the last to leave, stopping by Izuku, placing his hand on his son’s shoulder and leaning down.
“Well done, my boy. I’m so proud of you,” All Might whispered, smiling brightly as Izuku beamed.
The trip to the surface was relatively short, compared to their ordeal in the lower floors. Up the shaft with the rescue workers in groups of five or six, helped to waiting ambulances and medical staff in the parking lot outside, and then interviewed by I-Island security for details.
All Might and Izuku got the worst of it, by far, when Inko and Ochako made their appearance, the men getting an earful from their respective mates. But seeing Hana and Junko off, wrapped up in blankets, made everything okay for Izuku. Security told him that nearly everyone called him a hero and that without him, they wouldn’t have made it. Izuku tried to downplay it, of course, but even All Might wasn’t letting him get away without most of the credit. But he didn’t have any answers for why it happened in the first place. No one did.
Across the road from the parking lot, a woman with white hair and wearing a dress of pure twilight black reached into her matching purse and pulled out a phone, pressed a number and held it to her ear.
“Retrieval unsuccessful,” she murmured into the device, “but tell him that I think I found his latchkey.”
She hung up without further preamble, staring at the two large men talking to a group of others. One, All Might, the greatest hero in the world, and the other, who could have been All Might’s son, just based on his age and build. That thought made her eyebrow quirk up. She watched from a couple more seconds, before turning and vanishing into the black of the alleyway behind her.
