It wasn't until mid-afternoon that I received a text and it wasn't from Mei.

'Hi, Connor. What's up?' Izuku sent.

'The sky.' I sent back and he sent a happy face in response. 'How are you?'

'Doing okay. Gran Torino was pissed that the internships were cancelled by the association and he wasn't allowed to keep training me.'

'Ha! Tell me you were there when he called the association!'

Izuku sent several laughing faces to me. 'I wish I had recorded it. It was hilarious.'

'I bet.' I typed. 'I had a couple people at the agency be sad that I wasn't staying for another week.'

'That's something we should talk about in person.' Izuku sent. 'Are you busy right now?'

'I'm busy sitting on my ass doing nothing while I wait for Lois to get off work.' I typed and I could swear I heard him laugh.

'Want to meet up? We can grab a coffee or something.'

'Sure. Any requests for what I should wear?' I asked jokingly, as if it was a date.

'Casual Slob is fine.' Izuku responded and sent a tongue-sticking-out happy face.

'Old jeans and an inappropriate t-shirt it is.' I responded and received a thumbs up in return.

'See you in fifteen.' Izuku said and ended the text chain.

I stood up and looked at my jeans. They were new and not really appropriate for Slob Chic, so I went to my bedroom and changed them for a faded and worn pair. I took off my dress shirt and rooted through my t-shirt drawer for something good.

I laughed when I found the perfect one and put it on. It was a little tight, because I hadn't worn it in a while, which was also perfect. I zoomed out of my room and locked up the house before jogging several streets to get the train. Izuku was at the station and waved when he saw me. When I came to a stop in front of him, he started laughing and pointed at my t-shirt.

“That's... so... appropriate!” Izuku said between laughs.

I struck a pose and showed off the t-shirt to everyone around us waiting for the next train, and a bunch of them laughed, too. “In my defense, I was left unsupervised.” I quoted my t-shirt. “I almost wore the one that said 'Supervision is not as cool as it sounds'.”

Izuku laughed pretty hard until the train arrived. “I still can't believe... you managed to convince the t-shirt place... that it didn't break copyright on 'Superman' by using the same font!”

“They're still printing any word with 'super' in it like that, too.” I said with a grin.

Izuku clapped me on the back and we boarded the train. “Do they send you any new ones?”

“Only after it sells well.” I said and we sat down. We didn't want to show off by standing up and not letting the train's movement affect us.

“You must have a few of them that I haven't seen. Those things sell like crazy.”

“We have been a bit out of touch on the personal time for a while.” I said and crossed my feet. “How is Mei, by the way?”

“Working on a new project.” Izuku said with a huge smile.

“Ha! I knew it.” I said and he gave me a questioning look. “I tried to text her yesterday and this morning that I have a support check for her from Endeavor's secretary and she hasn't responded.”

“Yeah, you know how she gets sometimes.” Izuku said and I nodded. “So, tell me about what went on at the agency.”

“Have you got a few hours to spare?” I said with a laugh.

“Roller coaster?” Izuku asked.

“Rodeo bull. I was thrown off after a second and then someone told me to grab the rope and hold on.”

Izuku looked thoughtful for a moment and then nodded. “I've got some time to spare.”

So, I told him a watered down version. I didn't include everything, like doing the secretaries, because that wasn't something Rachel would have wanted known. I did include people's reactions after my mistake with Burnin and then keeping busy by taking Lois' advice and volunteering all of my time. I also told him about Fire and the potential there if I had stuck around.

By the time I was done, we were off the train, had spent some time in a coffee shop, and had walked around for a while.

“Damn, Connor. Just damn.” Izuku said with a shake of his head. “That wasn't a rodeo bull, that was a stampede!”

I chuckled. “Karen Starr was the interesting one, though.”

“She broke your fingers!” Izuku exclaimed.

“You sent me that picture of you training with Gran Torino! I was so jealous!” I exclaimed right back.

We exchanged knowing looks for several seconds before we both laughed.

Izuku's cell phone beeped at him and he took it out and checked it. “Mei's begging for coffee.”

“She's finally out of her fugue!” I chuckled. “It's not that far from here, so a quick jog and we'll be there and a quick train ride over will get you to her.”

“Yeah.” Izuku said and send a reply. “We should get together later and I can share...” He stopped talking when his phone beeped at him. He typed something else and put his phone away.

“Is everything okay?” I asked and he didn't look at me as my phone beeped. “Just a second.” I said and took mine out and saw it was from Mei. She wanted me to bring the check over right away. “I'm sorry, Izuku. I won't stay long.”

Izuku just nodded and didn't say anything.

I started jogging and he kept pace until we reached the coffee shop. He entered and I ran on to the train station. We were going in slightly different directions, because I had to go home to get the check and he was going right to Mei's. I hopped onto the right train and rode it back to the train station near my home, jogged back to the house, and retrieved the check.

I didn't bother changing and left the house again. I ran back to the train station and had to wait for the right train, then rode it to near Mei's place. Another short run had me at her house and I knocked.

The door opened and an older woman that looked somewhat like Mei stood there. “Can I help you?”

“That depends on if you're married.” I said without thinking.

“Happily.” She said and wagged her hand to show off the wedding ring, then her eyes almost sparked with recognition as she smiled. “You're Connor Kent.”

“That's me.” I said and took a pose with my hands on my hips, which let her read my t-shirt.

She laughed at the joke on the shirt and stepped back. “Mei's with Izuku in her room. It's the second door on the left at the top of the stairs.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Hatsume.” I said and stepped past her. “I apologize for the flirting. It was an automatic reaction when I saw you.”

She blushed and then looked pleased. “I'm not as upset as I should be about it, so it's okay.”

I couldn't stop my response to that admission. “I knew I should have kissed you first and then asked for forgiveness.”

She laughed and kept blushing as she waved at the stairs. “I'll be having a talk with Mei later for not warning me about you.”

“I don't really flirt with her, so how would she know?” I asked and went to the stairs.

“I sincerely doubt that, Mr. Kent.” She whispered.

I pretended I didn't hear her and went to the second door before I knocked. “It's Connor.”

The door opened and Mei stood there, her target eyes stared into mine, then she looked down and read the shirt. She giggled at it and then her eyes went lower. “Is that a check in your pocket or are you just glad to see me?”

I quickly pulled it out and handed it to her. “Nothing but the check, Mei.”

Mei looked a bit sad and then smiled as she took the check. She stepped back into the room and motioned for me to enter.

“I can't stay. I've got to get home and...”

“It's okay, Connor.” Izuku said from a chair next to the bed.

“Come in.” Mei said and made the motion with her hand again.

I held in my sigh and entered her room. I had never been in her room before and it was half-mad scientist lab and half-tomboy. I had expected something like that and it wasn't a surprise.

Mei walked by me and hopped onto the bed to sit down. “I finally finished my most brilliant baby yet!”

I remembered what she told me she was working on. “I'm not allowed to...”

“You promised.” Mei said.

“As long as I had my temporary license.” I said.

“You said for the length of the internship.” Mei said. “It's not my fault it was cancelled.”

“But...”

“I'll give you full access if you keep your word.” Mei said and my eyes widened.

“You can't seriously mean...”

“Administrator privileges.” Mei said with her eyes sparkling. “You know I would never do that if this wasn't important to me.”

I looked over at Izuku and he nodded, almost in resignation. I sighed, because I felt the same way. “We have to wait until dark before I can do what you want.”

Mei's eyes almost glowed. “That's only three hours away!”

“I said dark, not dusk.” I corrected her. “I'll have to be sneaky about it, too.”

“That's fine.” Mei said and opened the check. “I'll just have to be patient and... oh, my GOD!”

“What is it?” Izuku and I asked at the same time.

“This isn't just a support check.” Mei whispered and unfolded the attached paper. “She bought the device outright and wants me to send her the plans I made for it, so if anything happens to me and I can't repair it myself, she won't be stuck without her powers again.”

Izuku looked over her shoulder and whistled at the amount. “They pay that much for support gear?”

“Not normally.” Mei said and read the rest of it. “A company usually buys the exclusive rights to it and then lease it out to heroes that can utilize it. Since it's a unique device that even the best support company they have on retainer couldn't build for her and have it work right, she wants to own it completely.”

“Are you going to accept?” I asked.

“YES!” Mei shouted and grinned at me. “When I cash this, she gets it all and will also advertise on their hero site and at the agency that she got it from me! I can't pass that up! It's the number two agency in the whole country and hundreds of people pass by there every day! You can't get that kind of advertisement for any price!”

“I'm so happy for you.” Izuku said and hugged her.

“You better get to the bank before it closes and I'll head home.” I said and they both looked at me. “Lois expects me home for supper.”

“You have to come back tonight to do what you promised.” Mei said and stared into my eyes.

I couldn't say no after everything, so I nodded.

“I need to clean up and change.” Mei said.

I turned and got out of there, went down the stairs, and saw Mei's mother. She gave me a little wave and I waved back before I went out the door and sighed loudly. I jogged away from the house towards the train station.

Did Lois know about Mei wanting me to use my powers to help her? I asked myself and stopped at the train station to wait for the right train. I hopped on and rode it as I thought about how I was going to accomplish what Mei wanted me to do.

Like I had told her, I was going to be very careful because I did not want to get caught. Despite my nonchalance about breaking the law, it was still a lot of trouble if I was caught and charged as a vigilante. It was a permanent mark on your hero record that not many people could live with.

Personally, I didn't care about it. It was what other people would think of me that was the problem.

I sighed again and rode the train back home. It would take a bit of planning and a bit of luck to pull it off, and surprisingly, I was looking forward to it. Mei's offer of full access was too tempting to ignore. My goals could be achieved much quicker with her support and I couldn't refuse.

The train stopped at my stop and I jogged back to the house, entered, and sat on the couch again. In my mind, I slowed my perception of time down and started to plan. Contingencies were always a good idea, so I would need some face paint, an improvised mask, and all dark clothing that I had never worn before. Even if I was somehow caught, with luck, no one would recognize me.