Night had fallen, and the expo's pre-opening day had wound down as well. It was time for them all to leave. The group had already split up, with the polycule and Melissa heading back to the major hotel. Melissa's apartment and lab weren't too far away, so she had walked with them, "I had an amazing time, everyone!" Melissa beamed at them, "You're all wonderful, and I think you'll be amazing Heroes!"
"Thank you, Melissa-san." Momo bowed to her, getting a laugh from the happy blonde.
"I have an offer!" Melissa said, hoping that this could be her start, "I know I'm only a student, but I've created quite a few Support Items. You actually saw one of them earlier. I made that pogo stick!" The item itself wasn't that impressive, no matter the height it could get. But the shrinking tech? Oh yes, that was the ticket, "Tomorrow if you come to my lab, I could show them to you." She looked bashful all of a sudden, gripping her arm behind her back and swaying, "Uhm, if you trust me, I could-"
"We'd love to see your gear, Melissa. If it's half as awesome as that pogo stick, we'll be leaving this island happy customers!" Setsuna grinned, "Looks like we've got ourselves a support technician, ladies!" She pecked Izuku on the cheek, "And man."
Melissa beamed at them, almost tearing up, "You won't regret it!" She waved, "I'll come get you tomorrow then! Bye, everyone!"
"See you later, Melissa!" They all waved back as the blonde walked away, and made their way into the hotel. "Melissa is awesome. Can we keep her?" Nejire bounced excitedly as she walked. The rest of them giggled. Something told them Melissa would become a very good friend.
As for Melissa, she made her way to her apartment, and then stopped short, "Uncle Might?" She smiled, and hurried to the man, dressed in plainclothes rather than his costume, "What are you doing here?"
"Why, here for you, of course, Melissa!" All Might laughed, "I had something I wanted to discuss with you!"
"Sure!" Melissa smiled up at her uncle, "Come on then!" She took his hand. "So, what's this about, Uncle Might?" She asked once they were safely ensconced inside her apartment. She turned around, and her eyes widened, "Uncle Might? You're…steaming?"
"Yeah…" His voice sounded strained, making Melissa gasp, "That's… kind of what this is about. I was hoping I'd get to explain… before…" She trembled for a moment as the steam engulfed her uncle. "Please try to stay calm. I know it's going to be a shock." His voice. What had happened to Uncle Might's voice?! She then let out a strangled noise of shock when it cleared, revealing a man who looked almost nothing like the man she knew.
"U- Uncle Might?! I-Imposter!" She squealed, looking around for something to defend herself with.
Toshinori let out a choked laugh, coughing up a small amount of blood into his fist, "Ahaha… You did the same thing Midoriya-shōnen did when he first saw me." It amused him greatly to see that.
"W-W-What's going on? Who are you?!" Melissa backed up a step.
Toshinori's gaze turned sad, "I know I don't look it right now, but I'm still All Might, Melissa." He let out a sigh when it became clear she didn't believe him before he reached down and pulled his shirt up. Melissa let out a scream when she saw the disgusting wound on his side. "Yeah. Not pretty, is it?" he dropped his shirt, "Six years ago now, I fought my arch nemesis in the hardest fight of my life. That wound was the result. I can't use my Quirk like I once did… and since I lost most of my stomach… well…" he opened his arms, like he was saying, 'this is the result.'
"B-but…" Melissa trembled, her hands hiding her mouth, "But we-" She quivered, "We… we didn't hear anything about this! Nothing about a giant fight! That would have made the headlines everywhere!"
Toshinori shook his head, "No. No, I asked that it not be made public. Kept everything as secret as possible. The Symbol of Peace could not be daunted by evil."
"Uncle Might…" She accepted his words and the fact he was her uncle with sadness, tears blurring her vision. She was just barely keeping strong and not weeping, "You… for so long…"
"Yeah…" Toshinori looked at the floor. "You're now one of a very small but… growing group that knows about my injury. The only others on the island are your father and the group I arrived with."
"I see…" Melissa wondered why they were with him. What was their connection? She drew a shuddering breath and wiped her eyes. She could cry later, "Why tell me now?"
"I won't be able to continue being All Might for too much longer." Toshinori delivered the devastating news, and Melissa felt cold, "My retirement will likely be within the year and I… I didn't want you to find out from a screen."
Melissa clenched her fists and flung herself forward, "Uncle Might!" She cried out, wrapping her arms around his spindly neck, and hugging him tightly. Toshinori rubbed her back comfortingly, "Is there anything I can do?"
Toshinori rumbled in laughter, "No… it's just my time, Melissa. I've been a Hero for over forty years. Even if I hadn't been injured, I'm still getting old. It's time for the next generation to step up. The kids I arrived with? You? You're my bet for the future." He smiled as Melissa pulled back and saw fire in her eyes.
"I'll do my best, Uncle Might!" She declared, holding her fists clenched in front of her chest.
"I know you will!" He laughed and ruffled her hair, "And now it's time for me to go. You'll probably see me like this more often than you'll see me as All Might while I'm here, so in case me or Dave never told you, call me Toshinori or Toshi."
"Okay, T-Toshi." She stuttered for a moment, very much not used to calling Uncle Might anything other than 'Uncle Might.'
"See you tomorrow then, Melissa." Toshinori made his way to the door, but froze at the door handle. His discussion in Dave's medical suite had been niggling in his brain for a while now. He turned, "Melissa."
"Hmm?" She had turned to walk to her bedroom, and turned back, "Yes?"
"I'm just curious…" He said, "Do you still dream of being a Hero?"
He almost didn't catch it, but his sharp eyes noticed the little micro flinch that ripped through her like lightning, "I… I moved on, Uncle Might. My dream is to help others like Papa helped you now. That's how I'll be a Hero." She said, her tone remarkably even for someone who was lying. Probably to herself.
Toshinori looked at her for a few moments, before he smiled sadly, "A year ago, I saved a fanboy from a Villain. He grabbed my leg as I took off to try to keep him from discovering my injury. I had been almost out of time and wasn't paying attention. He flew with me, and I chided him for it. He'd almost gotten himself killed. But he didn't care. He only cared about asking me this question: Can a Quirkless person become a Hero? It stopped me in my tracks, and because of it, he found out anyway. Saw my broken body and I showed him my scar."
Melissa's heart was pounding, "What did you say to him?"
Toshinori closed his eyes, "At the time, my spirit had been so broken by my injury and decreasing ability to save people, that the only thing I could see was him lying in a pool of his own blood." He didn't see Melissa's horrified look, "I told him no. I told him I didn't believe a Quirkless person could be a Hero." That look of horror turned into one of resignation. And still, he didn't see it. "I cared so much for his physical wellbeing that I forgot about his mental wellbeing. I told him to be realistic. He could be a doctor. Or a policeman. And then I left him up there on that roof."
Melissa clenched her fists, and for the first time in her life, she wanted to give All Might a scathing retort. But before she could deliver it, he continued.
"Ten minutes later, I was at another crime scene. Because I had been so distracted by that boy, I had dropped the contained Villain I had saved him from." Her look of horror came right back, "The Villain had a Quirk that turned his body into sludge, and he had captured a boy with a powerful explosion Quirk and was trying to body jack him. I was out of time for the day, and the rest of the Heroes could do nothing. And then that little middle schooler I had left on that roof ran out." Toshinori opened his eyes finally, "Quirkless. No training. No weapons. He didn't have anything, and he was the most heroic person in that entire plaza. He bought that boy, his own bully, seconds to breathe. And I knew my time limit was worthless. I had stopped putting my money where my mouth was. And then a miracle happened. That boy had been misdiagnosed, and his dormant Quirk awoke. He managed to save the boy himself, even if he couldn't defeat the Villain." Melissa wasn't sure what to feel about that. She didn't think it was possible to be misdiagnosed as Quirkless in this day and age. "I fought through the pain to save the both of them, and I took that boy under my wing to train him."
"Why are you telling me this, Uncle Might?" Melissa trembled, wondering where he could possibly be going with this.
"A month ago, that boy was heavily injured during the U.A. Villain attack at the USJ. For three weeks, he was forbidden from using his Quirk at all." Toshinori said, "And yet, where any other student would have taken time off, he continued fighting. Where others may even have given up entirely, he persevered. He lost an arm, so he learned to write with his left. He couldn't use his Quirk, so he used muscle and ingenuity."
'Izuku.' Melissa thought, dumbfounded as her eyes started to water. 'He's talking about Izuku.'
"Missing an arm and forbidden from using his Quirk, that boy continued to outperform almost every other student in his class. He proved me completely wrong. You don't need a Quirk to be a Hero." Melissa clapped both hands to her mouth to stifle the sound she made. Toshinori's eyes were also shimmering as he looked at his honorary niece. The other blonde looked like he'd just flipped her world. "He proved me wrong…" He opened the door, "And I'm sure you would have as well, Melissa." He left and gently closed the door behind him. He was glad the building was empty. No one should have seen him come in with Melissa, so he felt safe walking out as Toshinori.
Melissa stared at her closed door in complete and utter shock. She trembled like a leaf, before sinking down so far that her butt touched her ankles. She put her head on her knees and hugged them tight. She trembled for a moment, and then she started to sob.
-]|[-
"Hey, Melis…sa?" Mina's cheerful greeting died in her throat as she stepped into Melissa's lab. All of their eyes widened when they took the cheerful blonde in. Her face was swollen and her eyes rimmed red. Like she had been crying.
Momo stepped forward, "Are you okay?" She asked gingerly.
Melissa gave them a wide smile, "I'm great." She beamed at them, "Maybe even better than great! I just… I heard something that I really needed to hear last night. I was still a little emotional this morning."
"Happy tears then?" Nejire smiled back at her.
"Yeah, definitely happy tears!" She giggled, "Well, come on in! Your new costumes won't make themselves!"
"I don't know, Yaomomo probably could." Setsuna teased the heiress, getting laughs out of the rest as they made themselves at home. "Wow! Look at all these trophies! You're really talented, huh?"
Melissa smiled bashfully, "Actually, I wasn't really getting good grades. I had to study really hard."
"No way!" Mina yelled, "If you were getting bad grades, then I have no hope!"
Setsuna snorted, "I gotchu, babe." She was well aware of her girlfriend's academic struggles.
"Okay!" Melissa chirped as she took a seat, "So first let's take a look at your current costumes and get your thoughts on them. That'll definitely streamline the process. Did you bring the data I requested?"
"We did!" Izuku confirmed, "Should I go first?"
"Sure!" Melissa took his data stick and plugged it in. The table in front of them lit up in a brilliant glow, and Izuku wearing his costume was projected in front of them. "Wow! What an awesome design!" She spun the hologram around, "I think I love your costume already." She giggled, "Could lose the cape though. There's a reason Uncle Might's latest doesn't have one."
"The cape is actually functional." Izuku told her, making her furrow her brows, "I use it as a capture device." His eyes started to glow green, and Melissa watched as the cape (one of the few things that had actually survived the USJ in decent order) snapped out, grabbing a nearby vase gently and moving it around. Izuku then quickly put it back into place. "It's detachable which means a Villain grabbing it isn't a huge deal."
"Huh, that's actually really well thought out. Congratulations, Midoriya-kun." Melissa clapped for him, making him blush, "Are you actually looking for improvements? I'm not sure who made this, but it looks to be very solid."
"Well, maybe in some respects." Izuku said, "The helmet maybe. It looks pretty cool, but I'm not sure how defensive it actually is. Also, after seeing your shrinking tech, I was thinking of maybe being able to pack the cape away when it's not needed. The helmet too, maybe."
"Like in The Dark Knight?" Momo asked in excitement.
"Exactly!" Izuku grinned at her.
Melissa took a note of it. "I can certainly do that!"
"Also, I was really hoping to find some better fireproof materials for it." He grimaced, looking down at his arm.
Melissa took a deep breath, "I don't suppose you have footage of it." Izuku pursed his lips and nodded, and she gave him control so she could watch the final moments of the fight with the Nōmu. Melissa reached up and rubbed her eyes, "Izuku-kun, I hate to say it, but your suit is already made out of the most fireproof material on the entire planet that I'm aware of. Or at least the most fireproof material on the planet that won't also kill you if you wear it or be brittle enough that it'll just crumble off you. Unless Yaomomo-" She had found that nickname adorable and was really happy that her new friends allowed her to use it, "-can pull… I don't know… Vibranium out of her tummy… that's it."
"We're still working on the lightsaber!" Mina declared, pouting.
Momo pouted as well, "Excuse my Quirk for having limitations like everyone else." That brought a fresh set of giggles.
"How does your Quirk work, Yaomomo?" Melissa asked.
"As of our current understanding of it, my Quirk uses my lipids as fuel in a reaction that outputs more energy than the lipid itself puts in. With that energy, I can create anything that I either know the formulas for, or that I can visualize and understand. That's why I can make something like a fully functional computer, but have not yet been able to create that lightsaber. There are just too many unknowns. I also learned how to simply use that energy to empower myself, though that's a fairly recent development." She giggled, "Back before U.A, we thought my Quirk directly transmuted my lipids to whatever I was creating. I also needed surface area to work with, which is why my costume exposed so much skin."
The other girls took careful note of the explanation, and they definitely noticed Momo didn't keep her story straight. She made no mention of the Quirk Evolution. She said she learned to use her energy in other ways.
"I see! What a phenomenal Quirk!" Melissa replied, stunned that something so versatile actually existed. She then remembered the mental note she'd taken the previous date. "I have to ask. Were you holding back during the Villain Attack yesterday? It looked like you were… I don't know… straining?"
"Wow, you noticed?" Momo asked, "Yes, I…" Her face scrunched up, "The first time I figured out I could use my energy to empower myself, I shattered every bone in my arm to splinters. If Izu hadn't discovered he could heal with his Quirk, I might still be wearing a cast."
"WHAT?!" The other girls shrieked, "Why is this the first we're hearing of this?!"
Momo blushed, "S-Sorry girls. I just… didn't really want to think about it. It was so painful." They could definitely understand that.
"Well." Melissa coughed again, "I suppose moving onto yours is the best, because I definitely have ideas there." Melissa plugged Momo's drive in, and Momo in full costume appeared before them. "Now, you said you needed surface area. Past tense?"
Momo pouted, "I was hoping to keep this secret from everyone but Izu – since he helped me develop it – for the sports festival, but yes." She held out her arm which started sparking with red lightning, and then a bolt struck the table and left behind a pencil. She grinned as the other girls looked at her with wide eyes.
"…That's fucking bullshit!" Setsuna started to whine.
Melissa coughed, "Okay, that's…" She started to fan herself, "Phew, what a Quirk." She mumbled, thinking of all the possibilities. She shook her head, "Anyway, I'm guessing you'd like to show less skin? It is…very daring." She blushed, just looking at it.
Momo giggled and side-eyed Izuku, who was holding back a small pout, "Honestly? I got kind of used to it. And I think Izu likes my old costume." Izuku blushed red hot at having been caught. "Though if I don't have to worry about any more… malfunctions, I will be perfectly ecstatic."
"So, more modest, while still being sexy." Melissa nodded, eyeing the costume, "Well, time to get to work." She stood and enlarged the hologram, "Okay, first of all, the heels have got to go. Why they STILL insist on these stupid things, I'll never know. How did you even run and do those jumps in heels?"
"Plot armor." Momo deadpanned, and Setsuna spat her drink out. The rest of them burst out laughing.
"Well, I guess now that it's been acknowledged, it'll stop working." Melissa laughed along with them as she grabbed the hologram and yanked off Momo's boots. She then threw them in a convenient holographic trashcan. "Next up is this shelf." She turned Momo's hologram and grabbed her Yaoyorictionary and yanked it and the belt off, before dumping it in the trash can.
"Wait?! Why?!" Momo yelped, "My Yaoyorictionary!" She pouted heavily, "I need that! Sometimes I need to consult my encyclopedias for on-the-spot creations!"
"That's so cute!" Melissa exclaimed gleefully, before shaking her head and telling herself to be serious, "Stand up." Melissa told Momo, and she did. "Turn around, please." Melissa grabbed the… shelf that made up the back of her belt and lifted it with the book as well. She then pushed and jammed it directly into Momo's back.
Momo lost her balance and fell forward with a pained yelp. Izuku had to catch her, and her hand flew to her back which was aching. "OW!" She was scrunching up in pain as Izuku hurried to heal her, "Why?" She looked at Melissa tearfully.
"I'm so sorry, Yaomomo, but I had to get the point across. Imagine that wasn't a relatively gentle shove, and instead you got hit by a Villain and you fell on it. Like this." She made a 'T' with her hands, and Momo paled dramatically, "That is a broken spine waiting to happen."
"Oh… Oh my." Momo trembled in Izuku's arms at the very thought.
"There's plenty of other, and much better ways we can implement your encyclopedias." Melissa told her, "I understand having redundancies. A hardcopy can't be EMP'd, for example. But it's just not worth the risk of carrying it. My Nanotech won't really work for this, unfortunately. Instead, we'll do this." She ran to the back room and came back with two items, "First is this." She said, showing off a device that looked like a vaguely futuristic gauntlet. She put it on her own left arm and turned it on. The device lit up, looking very much like a Mass Effect OMNI tool. Only not in only the shade of yellow and much more high definition. "Not only is it light, convenient, and safe, but it's also far more useful than a book." She typed onto the hard light keyboard, and the atomic structure of a titanium alloy popped up, with descriptions and properties. "Honestly, this thing is so useful I should add it to all of your costumes. You can use it to scour the news to find Villain attacks or disasters." She typed in again, and the news popped up like she said.
"That's AWESOME!" Mina and Nejire squealed, "Oh wow, that'll be SO useful! Why is it not standard issue?!" Nejire asked.
Melissa smiled, "Well, Papa and I are still working on it." She turned it off and took it off her arm, "Also…" She blushed, "It's really expensive."
"Money is no issue." Momo said without a thought.
Melissa blinked, before shrugged as she put it down on the table. She quickly pulled one of her own files from the database and attached it to Momo's hologram. "THIS, on the other hand, you should really enjoy." That done, Melissa walked over and casually grabbed Momo's right wrist, making the dark-haired woman blush. Melissa clipped something onto her wrist, "There we go! Why don't you click that little indent on the back?"
Momo eyed the red band with the black section, and carefully tapped it. Immediately the device lit up and started to expand, forming in hexagonal sections until it covered Momo's hand from her fingertips down to just above her elbow. "Wow! What is it?" It was even in red, so it was perfect already for her costume.
"I call it the Full Gauntlet." Melissa smiled, "Basically, I watched a bunch of Uncle Might's recent fights and decided to see if I could create anything that could contain his explosive power. I'm not really sure why I built it. It was more of a thought experiment than anything, to see if I could. I guess maybe I thought someday Uncle Might would get old, and would start needing more support gear than he used to need. In any case, I did some pretty exhaustive math calculating Uncle Might's power, and that gauntlet should be capable of taking his full strength three times. So that should help you quite a bit!"
Momo stared at her with her jaw on the floor. Izuku did as well. The other girls were surprised as well, but nowhere near how Izuku and Momo were. 'OH MY GOD!' They screamed at each other telepathically, 'DOES SHE KNOW?! Or is she just giving it to you because she assumes it'll help because you "can't be as strong as All Might?"'
Momo didn't get to respond because Melissa smiled and asked, "Do you like it?"
"I LOVE IT!" Momo managed to squeak back, 'And as long as I know the schematics, I can just remake it when it breaks!'
"I'm glad! We can try it out on the roof later!" Melissa declared, "Anyway, for the rest of your costume… I'll work on a couple designs later. I'll give you some options and you can choose which one you like best! Before I do that though, we should probably do some tests on your Quirk. Worst thing we could do is make it and have it turn out that the material blocks your Creation even with the lightning, right?"
"Right!" Momo beamed at her, "And all in red, please." Momo smiled primly.
Melissa giggled, "What the customer wants, the customer gets!" She looked at the other girls, "Who's next?"
"Oooh! Pick me! Pick me!" Mina cheered, handing Melissa her own drive. They all smiled at the pinkette's enthusiasm.
"Stylish and functional." Melissa said approvingly, "So, any complaints?"
"Not really complaints." Mina replied, making a wishy-washy motion with her hands, "But I want to be more mobile."
"Same!" Camie fist bumped her girlfriend.
"Also, Midori and Momo helped me figure out how to… well…" She blushed a light lilac, "Er…squirt, for lack of a better term."
"TMI." Melissa, Setsuna, and Nejire all said it, smirking.
"MY ACID!"
"Definitely TMI!" Melissa laughed as the girl turned purple.
"No fair!" Mina waved her arms up and down, "I'm supposed to be the tease!" She whined. They all started to laugh, as she shook her head. "Anyway, I can… launch my acid, but not only do I have to do this-" She clapped her hands in front of her and made a shape with her palms, "Which takes both of my hands to do… but it really doesn't go that far at all."
"I'm kinda the same, for real." Camie pouted, before blowing on her palm. The gas rose into the air and stayed up there, and then started to burn brilliantly. No heat came from it, although there were faint sounds. "I can like, totally control it a little bit like this, and make some mirage-like illusions. But they're easy to tell as fake. I can't really make it spread much faster, and it's only if someone breathes in a good amount that it's at full power. If they do, they're totally mine, and for a good amount of time too, ya feel? At the USJ attack, I totally managed to cover us with it to hide, but the Nōmu thing just, like, blew it away so it never took full effect. Plus, if I had any complaints, it's that I don't have any strong takedowns. I'm strong, but if someone stronger gets close it's gg."
"Hmm, similar issues with you both, then." Melissa tapped her chin, "I think I've got just the thing." She smiled brightly at them, as she pulled into the database. "For Mina-chan!" She put a set of gloves on Mina's costume. "These gauntlets should help you build fluid pressure on each arm, allowing you to shoot your acid at a good distance."
"Oooh!" Mina sparkled.
Melissa grinned and went back into the database, "And if that excites you, I'm sure you'll love this." She grabbed another item, "Don't worry. This is just a placeholder." Mina's costume on the hologram vanished, replaced by a generic bodysuit. She turned the holographic Mina to face away from the real one.
"Uh, what's this sup-" Mina stopped, as Melissa's Nanotech animated on her hologram, forming itself into, "IS THAT A JETPACK?!" She squealed in excitement, making Camie's eyes bug out in glee as well.
Melissa laughed at the reaction, "Yup! However, it can only be used for short bursts." The two girls deflated slightly, "Even I'm not good enough to make a fully functional jetpack that can shrink and get out of the way, fly endlessly, and use no chemical fuel. This thing can't fly you across a city, but if you need to get on top of a building? It's definitely good enough for that, provided the building isn't more than four or five stories high. You could also use it to shoot yourself forward and close the distance with an enemy. After every use, it will need to recharge itself for a couple seconds before it can be used again. Of course, I could try to make some boots incorporating my pogo technology, which should make landings easier as well."
"That's AWESOME!" The two girls cheered.
"In addition, for Camie-chan, we can expand on your ability to disperse your gas." Melissa said, "We can make gas grenades that you can fill up and throw. Or maybe in pellet form, on a utility belt. I can also see if I can't design some pipes into your costume which lead to compressors in your gloves. We could deploy a mask with my nanotech which will allow you to shoot the gas from your hands to spread it quicker too. To give you more stopping power…" She typed again, and brought something out from her database, "Maybe something like this?" She revealed new gauntlets, which sparked with electricity.
"Oooh…" Camie grinned, "Yeah fam, mama likes."
"Plus, we can have some extendable batons on your utility belt." Melissa said, "If I have any more ideas, I'll throw them in and send all of you the files once I'm done."
"I love it already!" Mina declared happily.
"Same!" Momo, Camie, and Izuku followed. Though to be frank, Melissa didn't have much to do for Izuku.
"Okay, so Nejire-chan or Setsuna-chan first?" Melissa looked at the two.
"I'm probably going to be like Zuzu, so Set can go." Nejire told her, "I don't think there's all that much we can do for mine." She pouted, knowing her own abilities were all more refined than the others already.
"Okay!" Melissa was a little disappointed, but four out of six wasn't bad. "Let's see then, Setsuna-chan." She took Setsuna's drive and plugged it in. "Love the color scheme." She commented as she slowly turned the hologram. "Jetpack as well?"
"Not really a need for it." Setsuna replied, before her torso popped off and levitated upwards, touching the ceiling. She grinned playfully down at Melissa.
"Ha! I see your point. Was that your max speed?" The blonde asked.
"Not even close." Setsuna bragged, "Where I'm lacking is in stopping power." She drooped a little, "I can spy easily enough, but if I had to fight, say, Yaomomo in hand-to-hand, I'd get a few licks in, sure, but she'd probably waste me in one hit."
"Yaomomo, can you make me a cube of aluminum? Three inches is fine." Melissa asked the dark-haired woman as she stood, before she made her way back into her storage area. When she came back, she was wearing yet another set of gauntlets. These ones looked more traditional, and were even armored.
"What's that?" Setsuna asked curiously.
Melissa smiled somewhat maliciously, her glasses glinting. She took the proffered cube from Momo… and then crushed it. Her fingers straight up carved into the block and split it in two. Half of it fell to the floor in a metallic clunk, and then she opened her palm, revealing the crushed other half. She then punched her other fist into it and flattened it even more.
"Are those CRUSH GAUNTS?!" Mina squealed in excitement.
"My best approximation!" Melissa declared proudly.
"GIMME GIMME GIMME!" The Star Wars fan cried out, leaping at Melissa who yelped and danced out of the way.
"No way! They're mine!" Setsuna threw herself at Mina and the two started rolling around.
"Mina-chan, would they even fit your fighting style?" Izuku asked, looking amused at his girlfriend's reactions. "Set could throw hands at a distance. Ba dum tshh."
Setsuna abruptly stopped, groaning, "Zuzu, that was awful." She whined, making the others giggle.
Melissa got hers under control, "Sorry Mina-chan, I don't think these would play nice with the other mods I'm thinking of for your costume. It would steal too much power from the jetpack and the compressors for your shooters."
"Awww…" Mina pouted, "I guess the other stuff is cool too." Her pout quivered.
Izuku broke and pulled her into a hug, "Mina-chan, you're already great at close combat. You need range, remember?"
"Yea, yeah, I know." Mina sagged, "I'm just being a brat." She let out another giggle.
Melissa smiled, "And you, Nejire-chan?"
Nejire let out a sigh, "Honestly? I really don't know, other than that cool arm thingy you have for Momo. It would be really useful to be able to look up info whenever. Maybe a heads-up display? Also, maybe just better materials? Or maybe some devices I can power with my Quirk? I'm really not sure. My Quirk is already kind of fantastic." She blushed, feeling like she was bragging.
"Tough cookie, huh?" Melissa was playfully putting her hands on her hips as she said this.
"Ehehe!" Nejire giggled in turn, happy Melissa wasn't offended.
"Well, Izuku-kun didn't have a whole lot to do either, so that's fine. I'm sure I'll have a lot of fun with Yaomomo, Camie-chan, Mina-chan, and Setsuna-chan."
"Bit of a mouthful. Just call me Set, Melissa-chan."
"Setsu-chan?" Melissa asked, and got a thumbs up.
"Melissa?" Izuku got the blonde's attention, "All of this gear you've shown us is totally amazing! Did you never think of using any of it to be a Pro Hero yourself? I'm sure you could be amazing!"
Melissa smiled melancholically, 'Of course, it would be you who asked…' She closed her eyes, "I dreamed of it when I was younger." She opened them again, "But it was a dream I… wasn't allowed to have. I'm Quirkless, after all."
Dead silence. "Q-Quirkless?" Izuku stammered, looking at her with wide eyes.
Melissa nodded solemnly, despite still smiling, "I was determined to be a Hero in other ways. Like Papa was for Uncle Might and so many others. I wanted to do the same. To help people with my creations! And I still do…" She looked down, "It's just… I don't think that old dream ever truly went away… and my conversation with Uncle Might last night blew that door wide open." She looked at him, and it was like they were the only two in the room. "You were misdiagnosed… weren't you, Izuku-kun?" Her voice got quieter, "Uncle Might told me…"
"Yeah." Izuku's voice wobbled, and he swallowed heavily, "W-Were you treated poorly too?" Momo grabbed his hand and squeezed in support. From his other side, Camie did the same.
Melissa shook her head, "There were some mean kids, but the teachers always put a stop to it. Plus, Papa was David Shield. If the teachers didn't stop it, their parents sure did." She wondered for about half a second why he asked, before she paled. "W-wait, were you-?"
"Bullied?" Setsuna spat out like the word itself offended her. Just the sheer vitriol told Melissa all she needed to know.
Melissa looked at him with scared compassion. "H-How bad?"
Izuku looked down, looking like he was fighting to keep from crying. Part of him didn't want to reveal anything. But they were his girlfriends and a newly found kindred spirit, and he didn't want to keep things from them. They had been so supportive of him and had done so much to drag him out of his shell. He felt they deserved to know. After a few false starts and chokes, he managed to get something out, "Well… I only ever had one person tell me to jump off a roof, so better than others, I guess…" He finally confessed, feeling lighter after he did so.
The atmosphere in the room turned positively volcanic. Mina, Camie, and Setsuna shrieked, "WHAT?!" as Melissa clapped a hand to her mouth in horror.
Nejire got to her feet and crouched in front of him, grabbing his face gently with both hands, "Who?" Nejire looked as serious as he'd ever seen her look, "Who did it, Izuku?" She didn't even use her pet name for him.
Izuku took a deep breath, "It's in the past, Nejire-chan. I never considered it." The girls sagged in relief.
All but Momo. Something ugly was bubbling in her stomach. "It was Bakugō, wasn't it?" Izuku's eyes widened, and he snapped to her, "Wasn't it?" She insisted, and all of their expressions (sans Melissa, who was clueless) hardened as Izuku could say nothing. "I'm going to kill him." Hearing the prim and proper Momo say such a thing stopped half of them short. Momo nodded, seemingly to herself, "I'm going to kill him, and then I'm going to have him expelled." They all looked at her hand… where she was now holding a knife. She looked like she didn't even realize she had created it. She looked serious, and then confused, and then looked where they were looking. With an 'eep,' it started to glow and dissolved back into her.
Izuku grabbed her hand, "Momo…" he said, softly, "Please, let me handle it."
"Handle it?" Setsuna exploded, "Handle it?! He's one of our fucking classmates! How is THAT handling it?!"
"He said, she said." Izuku shot back at her, stopping her short. He took a deep breath to calm himself, feeling like his emotions were about to burst, "That school wasn't just hell for me. Forget not having a Quirk at all. Just having a weak Quirk put you lower on the totem pole. The teachers did nothing, and outright looked the other way. You wouldn't even get a slap on the wrist for using your Quirk in class. Just a half-hearted chide to not do it. If you had a powerful Quirk, they all but, err…" He blushed, and made a very obvious motion with his hand.
"That…" Nejire's eyes were wide open, "I… Zuzu, I know you want to handle it yourself, but that is NOT normal."
"No kidding, fam!" Camie exclaimed in shock.
"Zuzu," Setsuna looked horrified, "That's totally against the law! After first grade, if anyone used their Quirk in class, they were immediately reprimanded!" That much was corroborated by everyone but Melissa, who obviously did not school in Japan.
"I think we definitely need to tell someone. Even if not about that… bitch-" They all sputtered as Momo was the one that said that, "-then at least about the rest of the school!"
Izuku pursed his lips, "…Okay." He said finally. "But that just proves my point. Bakugō was as much a victim of his environment as I was. No one other than maybe his parents ever tried to rein him in. If anything, they acted like rainbows shone out of his butt! What he did was awful but…" He stopped and clicked his teeth, "If someone takes his dream away… I don't want it to be me. Too many tried to take my dreams away for it to be me." He stared at his hand, before clenching it into a fist so hard his knuckles audibly popped, "I'll make him see what he did was wrong, even if I have to break every bone he has to do it."
They all mulled it, before Mina finally spat out, "Fine." She took Nejire's place and grabbed his face, making him look at her, "We won't interfere. Not unless he makes us. BUT!" She growled, "If he doesn't fucking shape up, I don't care if it gets ME expelled. I'll fucking melt him!"
Izuku sagged in relief, "That's all I can ask." He grabbed his girlfriend and hugged her tight. "Thanks, Mina." Once they disengaged, Izuku stood and looked at Melissa, "Melissa… No one believed in my dream. No one. Not a teacher, not any old friend, not even my mom." They all flinched, "Sometimes I wonder what would have been, had my Quirk not come in. All I had was the dream in my head, but I was so beaten down I never moved forward towards it. I came to associate not having a Quirk with being useless. It's all anyone ever called me; Deku. The one who couldn't do anything." That ugly feeling rose up inside of the girls once again, "I would have done anything for just one person to believe in me." He said, and he looked at Momo's Full Gauntlet, currently in band form on her wrist, "All of these amazing creations you've made… You can use them too. Not just people with Quirks. If you're happy simply creating support items to help save others, then we'll all be happy with you. But if you still dream of being a Hero, then I'll support you with every fiber of my being."
Again, Melissa felt like she was punched in the chest. First by Uncle Might last night, and now again by Izuku. She shook in place and let out a shuddering breath, "Izuku, I'm going to hug you now." She said, matter-of-factly, "Girls, I hope you don't mind." And before any of them could open their mouths, Melissa was hugging the stuffing out of him. He windmilled his arms to keep from falling back, before hesitantly wrapping his arms around her right back.
Nejire smiled widely and stood, before barreling into them and making it a group hug.
-]|[-
"Okay!" Melissa put on a cheery face despite how heavy things got down below. She also felt lighter than she had in ages. They were up on the roof of her school building, preparing, "So, Full Gauntlet test one!" She declared, putting the camera on, and getting ready to film. She wanted actual tangible data on her invention. "All of the devices are ready!"
"Yes mam'!" Mina cheered, eagerly ready to press the buttons Melissa had taught her.
"Fam, how the heck do you have access to a satellite?!" Camie was agog at the sheer influence Melissa wielded.
"Ehehehe…" Melissa rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, "Well, I mean… Papa is…" she started poking her fingers together cutely, blushing.
"That's ADORABLE." Nejire and Setsuna squealed at the cuteness.
"Why are we using it, anyway?" Mina asked, "It's kinda cloudy, isn't it?"
"You have a point, but I have access to it, so no reason not to use it even if it doesn't get anything useful. On the off chance it does, I'll be glad, right?" Melissa coughed into her fist, "Anyway, shall we get started?"
"I'm ready!" Momo declared, pressing the button on the Full Gauntlet, and deploying it as she took a combat stance. She raised her fist and cocked it back ready to punch.
Izuku's eyes widened, and he teleported, "STOP!" He grabbed Momo's arm just as she had started to spark, and far more intensely than normal.
Momo stopped short with a squeak of fear, "Izu! What?!" They both ignored Melissa squawking as she realized that no, her eyes were not dirty liars and she had, in fact, seen him teleport.
"Momo, it's a gauntlet." Izuku said, "What's it going to do for your elbow, upper arm, and shoulder?"
Off to the side, Melissa facepalmed with an audible clap, "I'm an idiot."
Momo meanwhile was as red as the gauntlet, "Thanks, Izu." She steamed, but thanked her boyfriend with a peck on the cheek. Izuku chuckled in relief, before he backed away. He was vaguely worried. It wasn't that he doubted Melissa's work. It was more that he had a thought in the back of his head that he and Momo were forgetting something. He started to glow as he rooted himself with his telekinesis. "Okay, how about this, then?" Momo raised her right arm and gripped it just below her wrist with her left. She then tucked her middle finger under her thumb and prepared to flick, 'One For All, 100%!' She thought as her body started to glow. She angled it towards the sky and made sure there were no buildings in the way. "Go!" She yelled, just as Izuku thought to use his power to protect their ears too.
Momo flicked, and pandemonium erupted. A gigantic blast of wind shot from her into the sky. The blast was so powerful that Momo herself shot backwards and crashed into Izuku. But the blast itself did something none of them had been expecting. The cloudy day turned sunny as Momo blasted the clouds in front of them away. A slice of the sky seemed to have been carved away in front of them, and everything above and behind them was still cloudy.
The other girls were totally agog… up until they realized Momo was screaming. "MOMO!" They shouted and ran to Izuku and Momo, with Melissa gasping in horror as she caught just a glimpse of Momo's mangled middle finger sticking out of the shattered finger of the Full Gauntlet. Her hand then vanished as Izuku's flaming arm clamped on her hand and started bathing her in its healing power. Momo writhed even as relief hit her, grabbing onto Izuku as she continued to sob.
They all surrounded the two, rubbing everywhere they could reach in comfort as Momo's sobs petered out. Finally, she let out a shuddering breath and pulled her hand away. The middle finger of the Full Gauntlet had been shattered, just as Melissa had seen. Momo shook like a leaf as Izuku clung to her.
"What happened?!" Setsuna demanded, "You split the fucking sky!"
Nejire looked at Melissa, "Didn't you say it was supposed to be rated for at least three punches from All Might?!" She did her best not to sound accusatory, and hoped Melissa understood she was just frazzled if she failed.
"I, I don't understand!" Melissa said, looking horrified at the sheer agony she had just seen Momo go through, "I doublechecked everything! I even had Papa help me with it when he sat down and watched some of Uncle Might's fights with me! I'm sure that it should have been able to withstand it!"
Momo, somewhat still in shock, blurted out, "His injury! He's weaker now than he used to be."
It dawned on Melissa, "Oh you're right! I didn't even…" She stopped, and Izuku paled as all of their gazes snapped to Momo, "…Why would that matter?" She asked.
"Wh-wha?" Momo stammered as all eyes turned to her.
"Why would All Might being weaker matter, Yaomomo?" Setsuna asked softly. "What does that have to do with yourQuirk?"
Momo's brain ground to a halt. Inside her head, if one were to look, they would see a set of grinding gears. And then they engaged, started spinning, and Momo realized what had just come out of her mouth. And for the second time that day, Momo did something she normally didn't even do once a year. "Ah, fuck…" Her partners had really rubbed off on her, hadn't they?
Izuku sighed in defeat as the girls all screamed, "MOMO?!"
He closed his eyes and reached out with his telepathy, searching for a very specific mind. Around him, everything fell away, replaced by ghostly apparitions as his mind raced around I-Island. Finally, he found him. 'All Might?'
'Wah?!' Toshinori jumped. He was currently at a restaurant and very slowly chewing on a small piece of burger. Something he so rarely got to do, 'Midoriya-shōnen?'
'Yeah, it's me.' Izuku said, 'Er… something came up.'
'What happened?' Toshinori asked him.
'The jig is up.' Izuku said, flatly.
'What?' Toshinori's voice was even flatter. And more confused. 'Explain.'
'Momo was testing a bit of support gear Melissa had made. Something she'd made as a thought experiment to see if anything could contain your power. You know… in case you got so old you couldn't use your Quirk safely anymore.' Izuku told him, and Toshinori snorted in happy amusement, 'She estimated using your previous fights that the device should be able to contain a full power punch from you three times. Momo shattered its finger in one blow, and then when they were questioning it, blurted out that it was because you were weaker because of the pain. We…we're going to have to explain One For All. The girls are too smart. They started questioning it almost immediately.'
'Young man, One For All is young Yaoyorozu's secret now. And yours. I can only advise. And even I had my confidants. It's your secret to share now.' Toshinori was a little amused and upset at the news, 'Still, you guys couldn't last even a month?'
Izuku snorted, 'Sorry, All Might. Guess we suck at lying to our friends.' He took a moment, 'All Might? If Melissa asks…'
He didn't get to finish. 'Just tell her the same thing I told Dave when he asked.' Toshinori replied, and quickly relayed his message to Melissa.
'Thanks, All Might.' He opened his eyes, and saw that Momo was still laying down on his lap, but she was sweating heavily from the scrutiny from the girls. "It's okay, Momo."
"Wah?" Momo looked up at him.
"It's okay. It's your secret now." He repeated what Toshinori had told him.
Momo sagged, and sat up, "Okay. Was he mad?" Izuku chuckled and shook his head.
"Was who mad? What's going on, Yaomomo?" Mina asked, looking like she was going to tear her hair out.
Momo rubbed her face, "Couldn't even keep it a secret for a month." She grumbled.
"Oooooh, is this about your 'Quirk Evolution?'" Nejire realized what this was about, making air quotes.
Momo sighed and drooped, nodding her head. She looked at the blonde, "Okay, Melissa, is there any chance we could be overheard up here?"
"Oh dear." Setsuna mumbled, "This is going to be another big one, isn't it?"
Melissa reached inside her back and took out a device. She typed something into it and shutters closed up over the one entrance to the roof. Another quick command had the device emitting a localized low-level EMP, scrambling all electronic devices and preventing them from recording anything. "Now? Not a chance."
Momo let out another sigh, and began to speak. "Do any of you know what All Might's Quirk is?"
"That's easy." Mina scoffed, "It's…" She stopped, furrowing her brow, "It's… a strength enhancer?"
"A body builder?" Setsuna asked more than stated.
"No one really knows." Melissa said softly, looking confused at the non sequitur, "I don't think he's ever spoken of it."
"He hasn't." Izuku said, "It's a Stockpile Quirk."
"Wahhh?" The girls looked confused as hell. Nejire piped up, "But that makes no sense! Stockpile Quirks take decades to build up!"
"Yeah, All Might has been a Hero for like forty years and he was still totally OP when he was younger." Camie shot out, "And what does this have to do with Yaomomo?"
"You're right." Momo admitted, "It would be impossible for any one person to build a Stockpile up as much as All Might has."
The penny dropped for Melissa, "…Any one person?" Her eyes were slowly widening until it looked like they were going to pop out of her head.
"…Holy shit. Are you saying-" Setsuna's eyes literally popped out and started floating in front of her.
"What? I don't get it?" Mina chimed in, looking extremely confused. Camie looked as confused as Mina, and Nejire was a tiny bit late on the uptake but also looked like she had started getting it.
"All Might's Quirk is called One For All." Izuku said, "Or rather, it was called One For All. It was a stockpiling Quirk that combined with a 'useless' Quirk. One that could be given to another person."
"…Are you fucking serious right now?!" Setsuna demanded.
"Yeah." Momo smiled, though she was very nervous, "He was the eighth person to hold it… and now it's mine."
"…HOLY SHIT!" The rest of them screamed. "THAT'S AWESOME!"
"Girl, no WONDER you got so fucking overpowered so quickly!" Setsuna marveled.
"How does it work?! How does it work?!" Nejire bounced up and down, wiggling in excitement.
"Holy shit Yaomomo, I can totally see why you tried (and failed) to keep it a secret!" Mina speared Momo with her words.
Momo almost sagged in relief that none of them looked upset. She then looked to the blonde and bit her lip, "Melissa…"
"Let me stop you right there." Melissa held up a finger, "I just watched you all but blow your finger into a million pieces." All of them cringed, "So if you're about to ask what I think you are, no, I'm absolutely not upset that Uncle Might never offered it to me. Slightly upset and curious that he never mentioned it at all, but not that he never offered. It's yours, and I wouldn't take it even if you offered."
Momo smiled finally, "I'm glad."
"I can actually answer that, Melissa. I asked when I contacted him." Izuku piped in.
"Oh?" Melissa looked at him. She considered, before she shook her head, "I'd rather hear it from him. Is that okay?"
Izuku smiled and nodded, "Yeah. That's fine!"
Melissa smiled back, before focusing back on Momo and bowing, "Momo, I'm so sorry for-"
"Now let ME stop you right there." Momo giggled as she held up her own finger, making Melissa stop talking and raise her head, "First, it's Yaomomo." Melissa smiled, relieved that Momo wasn't mad, "Second of all, you had literally zero way of knowing what All Might's Quirk was or what we were hiding. Up until yesterday, you didn't even know he was injured. That accident was not your fault."
Melissa sagged, "I still feel bad. But thank you." She held her hand out, "If I could have it ba-"
"Nope," Momo said, making Melissa's lips click shut in shock. She held the gauntlet up, "Is it still in working order, other than the middle finger?"
"…You can't be serious?" Melissa gaped, and her girlfriends weren't much better.
"Wait, wait, wait!" Mina cried out, not wanting to see Momo potentially breaking herself again. "I'm sorry Meli-chan, but it didn't work at all the first time! Why would you try it again?! And I just don't get it! If it was supposed to be able to survive All Might, why would it not work at all?"
"Plus Ultra." Momo said, firm and determined. "And unfortunately, it was stupid of me to go 100% first try now that I'm thinking about it."
"I don't get it either, fam." Camie was frowning heavily.
"It's a stockpile." Setsuna said. She was slower on the uptake than Momo, but she had worked it out as well. "All Might was constantly getting weaker for the past six years, but that didn't just mean how long he could fight for."
Nejire nodded, slightly slower than Setsuna but having already worked it out too, "By definition, a stockpile Quirk only keeps growing. I can't remember any that actually expend the stockpile during use. Just because All Might kept getting weaker didn't mean that One For All did as well. It kept getting stronger at the same time as he got weaker, making it seem like his strength stayed consistent. He was just so strong no one could tell that he was losing more than just time."
"Ooooohhhh!" Mina and Camie realized, "So, Yaomomo is going to be even stronger than All Might?!"
"Only if I can learn to use it at full power." Momo said, firmly, "And that means going Plus Ultra. Some pain now will hopefully mean no pain later. Melissa, if you please?"
Melissa swallowed, 'So…this is why Uncle Might chose her.' She held her hand out and examined the device, "…Yeah, it should still work." She said, softly. "But…"
"I have to get better." Momo said resolutely, "What you've all seen from me before was just 5%. THAT was 100%. I need to figure out what percentage I can safely use with the Full Gauntlet. Maybe I'll never be able to use the full power, but with the Full Gauntlet, I can at least bridge the gap. I could keep it at a weaker level where the Full Gauntlet wouldn't break, and gradually work my way up to not needing to use it outside of emergencies. But I can't do that unless I try again and figure out that safe range." She looked to the right, "Can you brace me, Izu?"
"Yeah." Izuku smiled at his girlfriend, his admiration for her, and his and Toshinori's faith in her reinforced. "I have you. Always."
Momo smiled, and pecked him on the lips, before walking back to the staging area. She took a deep breath, and took her position again, "One For All… 50%!" Her body lit up, both from Izuku's bracing and her own lightning crackling. "GO!" Her ring finger flicked forward, and again a windstorm erupted. This time it only punched a thin hole in the clouds, rather than carving a trench through them. Momo yelped and shook her hand out. All of them were worried, but Momo yelled out, "I'm okay! Ow, that hurts!" They watched as her ring finger started to shatter, and the bits of the gauntlet clattered to the floor. Thankfully, her finger only looked slightly bruised. Izuku hurried to heal her.
"It couldn't even take 50%?" Melissa looked really frustrated.
"Maybe the gauntlet was already structurally compromised?" Izuku asked as he quickly finished healing Momo.
"Yeah, I think Izu is right." Momo called out, "I think I could have at least used it once if it wasn't already broken." She took another deep breath, and this time tucked her index finger in, "25%!" She called out, and flicked. She was blown back slightly, but slid to a stop quickly. The blast that erupted from her finger was much smaller and more unfocused this time. It didn't even reach the clouds before dispersing. "Yes!" She cheered, "My finger doesn't hurt at all!"
"YAY!" The rest of the girls cheered, "You did it!"
"Oh!" Momo yelped as she looked at her hand. The entire gauntlet had shattered and was now crumbling off her arm. "…Oh bother, I'm so sorry Melissa! It didn't even last a day!"
"Don't be." Melissa said sternly, "I don't care how many times it breaks. As long as it keeps you safe. I can always remake them."
"About that." Izuku slowly smiled, "Hey, Melissa." The blonde looked at him and he waved her closer.
"Yes?" She walked over, and then blushed when he (blushing as well) got close to her and cupped his hands in front of his face and whispered to her. Her eyes slowly got wider, until she blurted out, "Oh my god! You're right!" Izuku backed away, holding in his chuckles as they watched Melissa's eyes sparkle. Melissa shot towards Momo and grabbed her arm, "You're my new best friend. Come with me!"
"Ah!" Momo yelped as she started being dragged away by the really excited blonde.
"Izu…" Nejire asked, "What did you tell her?"
Izuku only smirked.
-]|[-
"Sorry I'm late!" Izuku called out as he ran into the building. The past day and a half had been a complete and utter whirlwind. Momo had been given the schematics for Melissa's invention and had recreated the Full Gauntlet in seconds. She had asked if Melissa wanted to make any changes or improvements, but the blonde had glumly told her that she had already basically maxed out material sciences to create the prototype she had given the heiress. There would be no improvements to the device's ability to absorb shock and keep Momo safe. Momo had rapidly figured out that the gauntlet's 'Instant Shatter' point was indeed 50%, though that left Momo herself unharmed. Her bruised finger had been because of the first gauntlet being structurally compromised. At 35% it could handle three shots before breaking. 25% was the sweet spot that they had found. Momo had been able to use it for quite a while without a single sign of the device breaking.
After the testing, they were way too wired, and so they had made their way to the beaches. After another fun day in the sun with his girlfriends (and much to his inner guilt, eagerly enjoying the sight of Melissa in a red and blue bikini), they had gotten right back to work. The Polycule had needed to do a bunch of homework, much to Mina and Camie's utter dismay, but it had been a very heavy condition from the U.A. staff. They were missing class after all, even if coming to I-Island was very much worth it for any aspiring Heroes. They only hit the Expo in the evening, this time without their guide.
Melissa meanwhile had sequestered herself in her lab, and not even All Might himself could have dragged her out. The blonde had allowed herself to relax for the rest of that day and then had sunken into a manic frenzy for two straight days as she invented and prototyped and corrected mistakes and invented some more. They hadn't even seen the blonde as she got to work designing their costumes.
But now that was at an end. It was finally time for that reception party, since the I-Expo officially opened tomorrow. Which meant it was finally time to see his girlfriends in pretty dresses! He was even looking forward to dancing with them! But he saw none of them there. In fact, not even the other girls were. Inasa turned, "My man!" The boisterous man was wearing a very well-fitting black suit with a teal tie.
He and Izuku exchanged high-fives. Izuku himself was in the same suit he'd worn on his date with Momo, and he looked sharp. Momo had wanted to have another one tailored for him, but he found that kind of wasteful. Todoroki was standing by himself in the corner of the room, wearing an off-white suit. He looked like he wanted absolutely nothing to do with this entire night, but it wasn't worth coming by himself. Kaminari and Nirengeki were in dark blue suits, and were both talking with Honenuki, who had a dark gray one.
"The girls aren't here yet?" Kaminari whined, "Man, I'm vibrating out of my suit here! I can't wait to see Komori-chan!"
"Hehehe! Good to hear!" The shortstack came in, wearing a very cute red dress with yellow polka dots, not unlike her Hero costume. "You clean up nice, Kami-kun." Kaminari flushed a tiny bit at the complement, but beamed at her.
"You look great too, Yoarashi-kun." Itsuka walked in next, wearing a teal cheongsam that did absolutely nothing to hide her amazing legs. Her orange hair was done up beautifully by Momo, and she was dolled up with matching lipstick and eye shadow. She blushed as she looked up at the taller boy, who couldn't get his eyes off her.
"H-Hey…" Yup, he was speechless. Izuku smirked as he filed it away.
"Watchu smirking about, huh?" Camie's voice popped up, and he turned.
His mouth and throat immediately turned into the Sahara because he was clearly about to die of thirst. His girlfriends were obviously gorgeous just to start, but oh my god. Momo was in a completely different style of dress than last time, though it was the same color and just as sexy. Camie was wearing a purple one that glittered almost like stars. It was so tight it almost looked painted on and had an open back. Mina was in the little black dress, and she clearly wanted to kill him. Setsuna was also in purple, though a richer one than Camie that stopped near her knees. Nejire had chosen a puffy light-blue one and he wasn't at all sure how she had managed to tame her extremely long hair, but she had.
'I'm going to dieeeee!' He whined to himself.
"Nope. Not allowed." Nejire glomped his arm, hugging it tightly.
Damn it, he'd muttered it! "Y-You all look great!" He was proud he only stammered on the first word!
Yui came in behind them, and she looked equally as gorgeous as the other girls. Like Momo, she was in a red dress, though hers was as daring as Setsuna's. Really, Izuku wouldn't have called it for the quiet girl.
And finally, Melissa came in, "Oh? You're all still here?" Melissa was dolled up to the nines. Her hair was brushed and coiffed. She was wearing a blue, strapless top with a white dress. She looked gorgeous, and even Momo made a tiny 'eep' noise when she saw her. "I thought you would have been at the party already!"
"We wanted to all go together." Izuku explained, flushing lightly, and feeling like scum for it when he already had five girlfriends.
"Yup!" Mina flung her arm across Melissa's shoulder, "Couldn't leave without our new bestie!" She grinned happily as Camie did the same on her other side.
"Awww, you guys." Melissa blushed as well, "Well, let's get goin-"
A loud alarm BLARED, making all of them clap their hands to their ears. A robotic voice started to sound from every intercom in the room, and in fact, on the island itself.
THIS IS AN ANNOUNCEMENT FROM THE I-ISLAND SECURITY SYSTEM. WE HAVE RECEIVED A REPORT THAT AN EXPLOSIVE DEVICE HAS BEEN FOUND IN THE I-EXPO AREA. I-ISLAND WILL NOW BE IN HIGH ALERT MODE. RESIDENTS AND TOURISTS SHOULD RETURN TO THEIR HOMES OR LODGINGS. THOSE THAT HAVE COME A LONG WAY SHOULD GO AND WAIT AT THE NEAREST EVACUATION CENTER. ANYONE STILL OUTSIDE TEN MINUTES FROM NOW MAY BE ARRESTED WITHOUT WARNING. PLEASE REFRAIN FROM GOING OUTDOORS.
Izuku turned as a clang sounded behind him. They all watched as shutters started coming down over every entrance, exit, and window.
IN ADDITION, MOST OF THE MAIN BUILDINGS WILL BE SEALED OFF BY THE SECURITY SYSTEM.
As the robotic female voice started to repeat the final parts of the message, the shutters all clacked closed with finality, leaving the teens with a very uneasy feeling.