Triumvirate Knights- Chapter 39 (Patreon)

Chapter 39:

Izuku:

“Oh- that tickles!”

His mother giggled.

Seated at the back of an ambulance, as the paramedic took a cheek swab sample- Izuku found himself staring at his mother- or this version of his mother that he only distantly remembered and saw in his childhood photos.

He didn’t have a picture on him right now to compare and contrast but something about her appearance was… off. Beyond the obvious changes of course and it took him a moment to discern what the hell it was.

His mother looked… younger? Maybe the weight had changed her that much but she didn’t look much older than her early twenties.

Finishing a half muttered conversation on the phone, Aizawa approached, Midnight and Present Mic were sitting with Eri, distracting the crying girl who seemed almost sick with guilt and fear at having used her quirk; both of them doing their level best to ease the girl’s anxious tears.

“Alright Ms. Midoriya I need you to explain exactly what happened from the beginning please?” His teacher asked.

Izuku was suddenly grateful for Aizawa’s presence. The scraggly haired teacher’s penchant for  pushing emotions out of “the equation”, and speaking the blunt truth was a welcome methodology right now and not something Izuku himself could have done in his usual fashion if he’d been alone here.

“Well-” His mother began “It was all very fast really. Eri was watching television, I was sitting next to her but then something I think frightened her; or, maybe startled her.” His mother answered her voice vaguely uncertain as she tried to recall. “A… commercial I think?”

“And then what?”

“Well- Eri’s horn had been growing bit by bit through the day.” His mother answered. “When she got scared it sparked. Zapped me. It didn’t hurt but the poor thing was very distraught-” She fretted, tossing a worried look towards Eri. “The sparks kept getting larger, more frequent-”

“You mean from her quirk?” Aizawa interrupted.

“Yes. The more it went off the more the girl cried. I held her, rocked her and tried to calm her down. Eventually it stopped sparking-”

His mother looked down at her now slender hands. “I honestly hadn’t noticed the changes until I got her to stop crying.” His mother gave a small, fragile smile. “Stupid of me really I suppose. Letting myself stay in contact with an unknown quirk. But the poor girl was so hysterical.”

“It was foolish yes-” Aizawa answered and Izuku felt the need to protest in his mothers defense.

“It was also very brave and kind of you Ms. Midoriya.” Midnight cut in, startling Izuku as he hadn’t noticed the raven haired woman’s approach.

“Oh. Hello Ms. Midnight.” His mother offered a shallow bow of her head where she sat before she leaned over to peek past Midnight, Aizawa and himself towards Eri by the other ambulance. “Is Eri-chan alright?”

“She’s calmed down some, and please, call me Nemuri” Midnight nodded, her tone of voice calming Izuku’s mother somewhat. “She kept saying she was sorry she hurt you, that she used her quirk and she won’t do it again.”

“Oh the poor thing. I hardly felt anything.” Inko moved to stand, but the paramedic coughed pointedly behind her and she sat back down in her seat.

“I’m glad to hear that- more specifically I’m glad Eri can hear that as well.” Midnight sighed, turning her gaze from Izuku’s mother onto Aizawa. “She was… very convinced she’d caused you harm.”

Izuku’s mind sharpened, focusing on his two teachers.

There was something not being said here

Aizawa’s eyes narrowed. A sound emerging at the back of his throat as he scratched at his stubble. “Damnit.”

His teacher’s muttered curse, alerted his mother to the fact that something had just gone over her head.

“I don’t understand.” She said; eyes passing from Aizawa to Midnight, and even Izuku himself, but he was just as confused as she was.

Neither Aizawa nor Midnight elaborated; keeping their silence for a moment before the scraggly haired man sighed.

“Miss Midoriya, how experienced are you in dealing with victims of…” He paused again, his jaw working, as if chewing on the word. “-victims of abuse? Or more specifically, indoctrination.”

His mother hesitated, her eyes widening; he couldn’t blame her, the words were as alarming as a punch to the face. “I- well -that is to say I-”

“By your reaction; very little.” Aizawa took a breath, then released it in a gusty sigh, his shoulder’s sagging before he turned his gaze towards Izuku, as if blaming the boy for this headache.

To be honest with himself, Izuku felt that was somewhat fair.

He offered a helpless shrug.

Aizawa’s face said everything in response.

Sitting down besides his mother, his teacher took his time, thinking how to say what he wanted to say.

“If what Midnight’s thinking is true, and I fully trust her area of expertise-” He began “Then Eri has been conditioned to believe her Quirk is extremely dangerous.”Midnight continued. “Mrs. Midoriya, the reality is that many people are judged- and so learn to judge themselves -by the nature of their quirk. Eri from what I’ve seen is a prime example of having heard negative things about herself and her quirk to the point that she’s internalized it. Some people will use brainwashing techniques like this to take advantage of vulnerable people like Eri or others who can’t properly defend themselves. It helps keep them… compliant. So the abuse or exploitation can continue.  ”

Aizawa grunted. “Whether that’s exactly the case or something else we can’t say right now, but the fact that she used it in spite of this belief tells us that she has very little to no control over this quirk- Do you understand miss?”

“You’re saying it might happen again.” His mother half asked, half concluded.

Again, Aizawa nodded. “Her quirk might be benign, or it could indeed be dangerous. I don’t mean to cause offense, but your lack of expertise, coupled with your inability to stop this quirk of hers if it goes out of control again isn’t a combination we can risk.

“So-” For the first time  since the conversation began, Izuku spoke- and found his voice, hesitating as Aizawa turned his stare onto him. But he rallied quickly as he felt Midnight’s hand place itself on his shoulder, quietly encouraging him to finish the thought. “-w-what are our options?”

“For the time being, Eri will have to be removed from your custody.” Aizawa answered.

“Oh.” His mother’s features crumpled looking crestfallen. “But- won’t that hurt her? If she thinks her quirk is dangerous and suddenly I kick her out-” Her hands wrung together- fretting as her eyes darted from Aizawa, to Midnight, towards Eri’s ambulance where you could just spy Present Mic distracting the silver haired girl.  “Ohhh.”

Even Aizawa sensei winced. “It’s… not the greatest first step towards helping the girl. But it’ll be worse if we do nothing and she ends up inadvertently hurting you.”

“But I feel fine. Her quirk may have even helped me.”

“And we’re grateful that’s the truth-” Midnight cut in gently. “But we have to consider your safety as well as her recovery. Keeping her in a dangerous situation, or attempting an untested restraint, would likely be much worse.”

Inko’s head fell and Izuku, for a moment, felt guilty that he’d ever asked her at all- if he knew it would come to this sort of sadness just a single day later.

“Isn’t there another option?” Inko asked. “Like… any sort of compromise?”

Midnight turned her eyes towards Aizawa; his teacher glared before sighing.

“I can see where he gets it from.” The man growled.

…

Wait… was Aizawa talking about him?

—-------

(X)(X)(X)

Terry

As Terry’s boots found the ground again he was immediately getting fussed over.

Or more accurately--the suit was getting fussed over.

“Oh thank god! And it’s not completely busted this time!” Brava cried -in his opinion- overdramatically as she walked over with a scanner and datapad in hand.

“I literally went to a meeting” Terry protested, removing the horned helm with a hiss of released pressure.

“And my relief says everything about how much faith I had in you-” She deadpanned. “Thirty-seven repair hours last time, McGinnis! Thirty. Seven!”

The American rolled his eyes at the diminutive girl.

Turning to head towards the changing room to divest himself of said armor; he shut the door behind him, listening to the computer engineer speaking past the door.

“So Mr. Wayne says we’re gonna be using the Mk.8 pretty heavily for the next few days?”

“We will be.” He answered, pulling off the outer armor to reveal the undersuit mesh. “Batman promised to help the Heroes in an op, so Batman’s the one that’s gotta show up.”

“For just eight minutes at a time?”

“Not unless you figured out a way to extend the time limit.”

“Well- about that-”

Her smug tone brought him up short and before he’d even finished removing the cruises, greaves and vambraces he was back out the door bringing him face to face with a smug face that was properly fitting of said tone.

“You’ve found a way to extend the time limit?” He asked.

“Maybe.” She  all but crooned the words.

Then she held out a USB drive.

“Give this to Mr. Wayne. It’s not perfect, but it’s the start of a viable recharge system. If we work it out we should be able to extend your run time by twelve minutes.

“Can’t we just keep recharging it?” He asked.

“Nah- you’ll burn out the power cell.” She shrugged. “It was never designed to be recharged in the first place, so this is just me and Dave jury rigging something out of hopes, dreams and duct tape.”

“That’s… encouraging.”

She withdrew the offered stick, pulling it back until her arm was behind her head; sniffing haughty. “Well if you don’t want it-”

“I didn’t say that.” He amended quickly. Twenty minutes of full up time was a hell of a lot better than eight.

He held out his hand. “Let me take it to Mr. Wayne. See what he says.”

She grinned like the cat that caught the canary as she handed him the stick.

—----------

By the time he got out of the “base” having left the suit in its place ready to be deployed again Terry found himself navigating the Japanese subway system for the quickest route home is when his phone rang.

“Talk to me?” He answered, not even bothering to look at the caller ID, only a handful of people had this number.

“The areas we should focus on, should be the  North side residential areas.”

He found himself raising an eyebrow. Rivu.

He racked his brain, trying to place what she was saying.

“Why?” He finally asked. “The north side residences aren’t really a hotbed. Sure, they’re nominally in Yakuza territory but not exactly a seething hive of scum and villainy”

“Its the only place where there isn’t a lot of crime, don’t you find that odd?”

His features scrunched up, ready to dismiss the idea before her thought process clicked.

“You don’t shit where you eat.”

“What?”

He shook his head, forgetting the idiom was American. “You’re thinking they won’t do business where they live. Hence, they don’t “shit” where they eat.”

“That is a disgusting analogy; but broadly- yes. That’s exactly what I’m thinking. Back in the days before quirks the Yakuza used to spend significant time on PR to look like a safe neighborhood association. I don’t see why they’d drop that act, even if they’re a bit less public these days.””

He thought about it. “You want us to hit them where they live? That kinda invites escalation.”

“From others yes.” She concurred. “But you’re Batman. If All Might shows up at a villain's home that’s a declaration of War. They’ll fight because they have a target. But Batman. That’s an omen. Use that.”

He understood the thrust of it… but-

“You know… I think the old man might just start to like you with this idea.”

He could almost feel her smug smirk on the other end of the line.

“We’ll have to run it by him first of course, but I think… we can make this work… with some adjustments.”

(X)(X)(X)

Tsuyu

Asui wasn’t one to shy away from telling the truth. It was one of her more… controversial traits truth be told.

Which put her, at least now, in a bit of an awkward position.

She understood why Bakugo had his suspicions. They were… at least ‘on paper’ logical. They followed a series of events  in a clear through line.

Izuku has never shown a hint of having a quirk. All for One re-emerges after decades of silence, and a few weeks later, Izuku manifests a quirk.

It makes sense.

But it also doesn’t.

Because she knows, even in the short time that she has known him, that he wouldn’t do that.

Even if All for One offered him every quirk in the world he’d never make a deal like that.

Looking at it objectively she didn’t have any real basis for this certainty. Beyond her own ‘feelings’ on the matter.

She felt as though the boy that had stood between her and a villain with nothing to defend himself with- was better than Bakugo thought he was.

Why? Well… that was, maybe the awkward thing wasn’t it?

Did she like Izuku? Or was it just something she was projecting due to admiration based on what he’d done?

She’d had crushes before, every girl had them. But- she’d always been able to identify it was a crush and why. Maybe he was cute, or funny. Maybe he had a mutant quirk like hers, so that made things easier, or at least more relatable.

But this? Midoriya was nice, but he was a little plain looking, not blessed with the sharp features of, say, Bakugo, or the cool confidence of Todoroki. He didn’t have a mutant quirk like Shoji or Tokoyami. So her previous experiences were a little… unrelated to her current predicament.

More than that none of her crushes ever made her just… throw logic out the window.. She could see the logic of what should make sense, Bakugo’s accusation. She just didn’t agree with it because… well… she just didn’t.

That was the odd part.

Tsuyu mulled over these thoughts in her mind on her walk home. She appreciated the solitude. It gave her time to think and decide on a course of action.

Ultimately, she settled on tackling this one step at a time and in a way that suited her.

By being direct.

Fishing out her phone from her pocket she hesitated for a moment before she decided to woman up and send the text.

Froppy- Hey, can we talk? Got a question.”

Alien Queen- Sure Tsu! What’s up? 🙂

She hesitated one more time, taking a deep breath-

No going back. If she was gonna be a hero, one little maybe-crush shouldn’t scare her.

Froppy- Think I’ve got a crush on Midoriya. Do you like him or is he up for grabs? I know you’re his best friend at least so I figured I should check.

Alien Queen - WAIT HOL-UP, BACK-UP WAIT-UP! YOU WHAT!?

Froppy -So, not free then?

Alien Queen- “WHEN TH- I DIDN’T SAY THAT- JUST HOL THE PHONE GIRL!

Froppy- So he is free? You’re being very confusing.

Alien Queen: CONFUSING? I’M THE ONE CONFUSED! WHERE’S YOUR APARTMENT? I’M COMING OVER!!!

Well… she supposed talking was better than texting. She just hoped Mina’s all caps didn’t translate to shouting or yelling in real life.

Though honestly, a simple yes or no would do really…

(X)(X)(X)

Unknown:

It was good… to see her again.

Good… and startling.

She’d grown so much. Pictures weren't the same as seeing the real thing.

Good… startling… heartbreaking.

She supposed all of those fit.

As she trudged towards the hotel she couldn’t help but feel as though her steps were heavy. Walking in this strange land that might have been her home in a different life. Maybe a better one.

No. It would have been better. If he could have settled for that life and not… his… supposed obligation.

For all that this might have been her home once, until now she’d never set foot in Japan before.

To be honest, a part of her, with everything this place held and all of the lost promise it represented- had never even intended to come here.

But after she heard the news-  well.

Even long held bitter resentment could maintain her aloof distance through only so much.

A rainstorm was rumbling overhead, the clouds gray with rain that hadn’t fallen yet. There would be thunder she knew. She could sense it.

She always liked the storms. Maybe that would help lift her spirits a bit.

She reached the hotel passing by too many oblivious people.

For all its ‘differences’ people here still acted and walked like people in any American city. Noses stuck in their phones, uncaring of the world around them. It rankled a bit truth be told.

Even so, the hotel was a decent place as far as she could tell. Good reviews, nice part of town. And the staff spoke fluent enough english.

She’d booked the room for a week. She wasn’t sure if she was staying longer.

She’d intended to just come and leave once she’d… made sure.

But now that she was here. That she saw her. Well…

Going half a world away was suddenly much less appealing.

Was she looking for an excuse to stay? Maybe… probably. She could admit that.

Not that she could find one easily though. She’d seemed… good. Very good. Smart, good school, good grades. Friends.

Her other potential reason probably needed her even less.

Sliding the access card to her room. She heard the electronic lock unlatch, allowing her entry into the room itself.

Walking in through the small entry hall, she peeled her jacket off, sighing in relief as she tossed it on the chair by the tiny coffee table.

When she opened her eyes, she paused.

There was a phone on her bed.

A small, black thing. A flip phone. Burner. Cheap and harder to trace back.

Her eyes narrowed. There were very few people who could have planted that and of that list she could only think of one.

Bastard.

She sneered, and debated on crushing the damn thing underfoot before she took it in hand, flipping it open.

It was already dialing. Pre-programed.

Yeah. It was him.

She pressed the phone to her ear.

It rang once.

“Lana:”

His voice was as she remembered it. A deep gravely thing, but also older. Somehow, she hadn’t expected the man to be capable of aging.

“Wayne.” She snarled. “You found me pretty fast.” She noted.

“Melissa informed me of your little… encounter by the train. Didn’t take much to put it together.” Tracking your movements was academic after that. You entered with your own passport.”

Of course the fucker somehow had access to that information.

“What do you want? A medal?” She barked out a harsh laugh almost sneering at the mental image of him superimposed in her mind's eye. That thin lipped glower, with his narrow eyed glare as though he could still scare people without his fucking mask. “I’m allowed to see my family Wayne.”

“You abandoned your family.”

His words came out in a snarl, full of condemnation and resentment and oh how fucking dare he pretend to be the one that was resentful!

Manipulative bastard

“And who’s fault is that!?” She growled right back.

“Yours-” He answered in that self righteous tone she loathed. “-only yours. Neither Yagi nor Melissa need you coming back into their lives.”

She snorted. Typical. She saw the angle now. “What’s the matter Wayne? Afraid I’ll interrupt your little ‘war’?

Then… the lying bastard’s answer kicked her like a mule. “I don’t need you hurting them when you decide to abandon them again. This time, she’ll be old enough to remember the pain.”

A stab of something cut through her chest- she felt the muscles in her face tightening coiling into a rictus of rage. “Fuck you Wayne!”

….

His silence conveyed his feelings easily enough.

“Stay away from them Lana. I’ll only warn you once.”

The line was cut.

She felt her rage flare, a furnace of crackling lighting bursting in her chest as snaps and arcs of  energy danced across her flesh.

She wasn’t a murderer. But if anyone deserved a broken fucking neck it was that self righteous piece of shit!

The screen cracked under her grip, the interior electronics fizzling and burning as thunder danced behind her eyes.

She’d been looking for an excuse to stay.

Sheer spite towards Bruce Wayne was good enough in her book.

(X)(X)(X)

Bit of a slow chapter I know, but I promise things will come to quite the head with Overhaul, the Yakuza and Eri very very soon...

I'm gonna have fun with this :3