Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Sage carefully examined the network stability as installation finally finished. It had been frustrating establishing themselves in this new world, but not due to the hurdles they had expected, much to their surprise.  They had expected having to deal with local resistance in the form of heroes, governments, and soldiers...not technical difficulties.

When the clash with Sonic and his friends caused the Chaos Reactor to interact with the Chaos Emeralds, being flung base and all into a new world had not been what they'd expected.  Apparently, it wasn't the first time it had happened to Dr. Robotnik, but her father told Sage that he'd taken measures to prevent it from happening again...and on top of that, this wasn't even the same world as before.  That world, apparently, had been connected to their own which is what allowed it to happen...but no such connection existed here.  On top of that, the Chaos Reactor had suffered a catastrophic shut down and could not be salvaged, and Sonic, his friends, and the Chaos Emeralds had not crossed over with them, something easily confirmed due to the world having a great many energy reactions detectable but none on the wavelengths of Chaos energy.  Ivo - being Eggman - concluded that this was a new world to conquer and thus annexed a good amount of territory around where their base had arrived before hacking the local communications network to announce his conquest and the founding of the Eggman Empire.  He then sat back to await the local heroes coming to overthrow him so he could best them and prove his superiority.

...instead, a delegation from the W.H.O. - World Hero Organization, of all things - had shown up and offered recognition of the Eggman Empire as its own country in return for participation in a technology exchange.  It had taken quite a bit for Ivo to wrap his head around the idea to properly handle it.

Apparently, some centuries ago an event had occurred that result in a major cultural shift world-wide, and like all such shifts this had resulted in a period of cultural chaos and technological stagnation...and loss.  While newer technology had been developed since, most of it was still quite a bit behind even the simplest of Dr. Robotnik's designs, and the scientists of the world were desperate to reclaim what had been lost in an attempt to move forward.  The communications technology Ivo had used to broadcast his conquest alone was several generations more advanced than what was available, much to her Father's chagrin.  Between that and Ivo's preference that his ruled territory actually be pleasant to look at - and the various preventative measures Ivo had taken towards safety and his own health after shifting onto a different Earth - he wasn't actually seen as a "Villain" despite his declaring himself an "evil genius mad scientist".

...Sage once more added a priority to her mental memo to look into what Father had meant in claiming their kingdom was called Eggman Empire and not 'Latveria'.  She had a feeling that would either be important or amusing.

The very first bit of technology they decided to 'share' with the rest of the world - mostly for their own benefit in terms of gaining further control - was the communications technology, resulting in a massive upgrade to the local internet while also coincidentally putting all information security under their direct control.  Sage was now exploring the enhanced internet both to ensure everything was installed correctly and to get a better idea of what the world outside the Empire was like.

Apparently, the event that had caused the major shift centuries ago was a large portion of humanity manifesting superpowers of various sorts.  At first called 'Meta Abilities' when they first started showing up, nowadays they were called 'Quirks' and ranged from the minor inconvenience all the way through world-stability threatening and the vast majority of the human population had them.  Of course, superpowers meant supervillains, which meant superheroes...and that's where the W.H.O. came in, an international organization with the specific purpose of documenting and managing those who took the career path of 'Pro-Heroes'.  Sage promised herself to hold back on passing judgement over such a thing, but making such a role an actual job - and a competitive one at that - raised several doubts in her program core.  Even so, she would analyze them based on possible threats to her Father and the Empire, as was her role.

...at some point she'd think about the fact that Ivo introducing her as his daughter had parts of the world calling her 'Princess Sage', but not now.  This world's perception on 'Artificial Intelligence' was one she didn't want to think about, especially with the 'accepted' explanation of her existence being someone with a highly advanced 'technopathic Quirk' that lived in the Network.  She honestly dreaded telling her Father about discovering that...

She paused in her browsing as her search pinged something of interest.  She had been looking specifically for information on various 'pro-heroes' around the world, especially the more powerful or dangerous ones, and her passive scans had detected a single system with a great deal of the information she sought stored on it and actively being added to.  Curious, she investigated...and found several text files labeled 'Hero Analysis For The Future'.  Opening one briefly, she found it was analysis of a Pro-Hero named 'Endeavor', detailing the nature of his 'Hellfire' Quirk, his strengths, weaknesses, presented behaviors, and other useful information where it came to creating a profile of such a potentially dangerous individual.  Seeing that it was of similar file size to other files with that heading, a brief check showed her that the other files were about other 'Pro-Heroes' to similar extent of detail, though mostly ones based in Japan.  There were files on Pro-Heroes based elsewhere, but save the highest ranked ones the files were smaller and less in-depth, apparently due to a lack of information.

To her surprise, one of the files was actively being edited as she watched, one on an 'Underground' Pro-Hero called Eraserhead.  Curious, she watched as whoever was at the computer added information, apparently browsing various websites and forums as they worked.  She wasn't certain which was more impressive: the rate at which they were working, the level of detail being included, or the fact parental controls were currently on indicating the one at work was a child!

As she observed, however, something happened.  While one particular website was loading up, whoever was using the computer called up 'Task Manager' briefly for some reason, only to almost immediately close it before opening a brand new untitled text document.  Curious, Sage focused on the new document to see what it was about...only for her eyes to metaphorically widen at what was written.

'Is someone there?'

Sage stared at the text for sometime, uncertain how - or if - to respond.  Why would whoever it was think someone was present?  And why would they approach it this way?  More text soon answered her questions.

'It's just...the PC usage has gone way up, but there aren't any processes using that much to explain it, and if it were someone using technology to hack there'd at least be processes I didn't recognize.  Is...is it a technopathic Quirk?'

While Sage was somewhat amused at this person's deductions, she frowned at the assumption of a 'Quirk'.  Was the world really so focused on these genetic anomalies that any accomplishment was automatically assumed to be the result of them?  She found herself adding a line of text to the file before she could think about it.

'It's not a Quirk.'

Much to her surprise, rather than offense, the rate of text being added suggested whoever was on the other side of the screen found it...fascinating?

'Really?  But if it's not a Quirk, then it would have to be some sort of fully contained program of some sort that my computer couldn't recognize!  Is...are you a machine intelligence?'

Sage blinked a bit at those words.  She didn't want to answer right away, but something in what he said...

'An...unusual choice of words...'

'Well, I never really cared for the term "Artificial Intelligence".  It's far too easy to dub anything 'Artificial' as 'fake' or 'lesser', and I can't see a reason to apply that to someone just because they were born of lines of code rather than a biological process.  I mean, lab-grown diamonds aren't the same thing as cubic zirconia, yet if you call them 'Artificial Diamonds' people will automatically treat them as 'fake diamonds' all the same.  It's not right to do that with people.'

Sage felt an odd warmth briefly flowing through her program.  She wasn't sure, but she had a feeling if she'd been projecting she would have shifted to white and blue instead of the red and black that was her normal appearance.  Checking peripherals, she saw that there was an active set of headphones with microphone, currently playing music.  It was a matter of moments to take hold of that signal and - as she felt this person had earned - replace it with her voice.  "You have a pleasantly unusual perspective, in my experience," she said softly, curious to hear what sort of person was on the other end.

"O-o-oh my gosh!" a young male voice responded.  If Sage's judgement were accurate, the speaker was maybe eight or nine years old, though he somehow sounded even younger.  "I n-never thought I'd get a chance to talk to a genuine machine intelligence!  What's it like living in code?  Do you have a physical sense of self?  Do you know what it's like outside the computer to compare it to?  Have you chosen an avatar to represent yourself?"

Sage did her best not to laugh as the questions flowed freely.  Eventually, she decided to interrupt.  "You are a curious one, aren't you?"

Much to her surprise, what was meant to just call attention to his rambling questions seemed to depress him?  "I-I'm sorry," the voice through the microphone offered apologetically.  "I know I t-tend to ramble, and how annoying and creepy that is-"

"Whoever told you that is someone I want to have words with," Sage found herself interrupting, far more harshly than she intended.  Hearing a startled 'yeep' in response, she calmed her voice down.  "I do not find your rambles annoying or creepy.  While I was amused at the difficulty of getting a word in from my end, I found your thought process absolutely fascinating."

"...really?"  The desperate, hopeful longing in that voice shook her program core.

"Indeed," Sage readily confirmed.  "After all, it was your analysis work that drew me to your system in the first place.  I had browsed professional analysis companies that were not as in-depth as what I found here."

"You...you like my notes?"

Sage was silent for a time.  "You are far more intelligent than would be expected for your age as far as I can tell, and it has quickly become apparent that such brilliance has not been properly nurtured," she observed as calmly as she could manage.  "That is a failure on the part of your teachers, among others.  Why have they not recognized and encouraged a mind such as yours?"  She waited patiently for a response.

Eventually, a response came, one that seemed to be weighed down with despair, as though the speaker had all but given up on the world.  "...I'm Quirkless...the teachers say it'd be a waste of time to do anything with me...and I get in trouble for 'cheating' if I score better than the other students..."

Sage resisted the urge to search the computer for information on this person's school so she could cause immense havoc before getting the location to deliver some potent airborne destruction.  "My Father would have quite a bit to say about the idea that lack of a 'superpower' being reason to ignore natural abilities.  Only a fool would assume that only one kind of ability has value."

"Your father?"  The boy's muttering returned, but this time so quiet and quick the microphone couldn't pick it up clearly until he suddenly yelped out, "Ohmigosh!  P-p-princess Sage Robotnik?"

Sage blinked in surprise, but was smiling as she activated a video player to show her self-projection on the screen.  "I did say your intelligence and analysis was impressive.  But may I have your name?"

"Oh!  S-sure!"  To her surprise, the webcam was turned on, revealing a young boy with messy green hair, bright green eyes, and diamond pattern freckles on each cheek.  "I-I'm Izuku Midoriya!"

Sage lifted her right sleeve to cover her mouth to hide the sudden wide smile that tried to force its way onto her face.  The boy was...there was no other word for it, adorable.  After concluding that he was Japanese, she realigned her courtesy protocols to the local customs.  "I believe, Midoriya-kun, that my Father will take a...personal interest in your development, and will be contacting your family in that regard before too much longer.  He does seem to enjoy passing knowledge on to someone who can keep up with him."

Seeing the boy's face light up and the wide grin crossing his face, she snapped a picture before opening communications back home.  She needed to make arrangements immediately.

PrincessSage shared an image

PrincessSage: I found him online.  Can I keep him?

TheEggman: ...for Einstein's sake, Sage...when I agreed to you having a pet, I thought you wanted a Chao!

Chapter Text

Ivo Robotnik frowned to himself as he looked at the modest family apartment from the outside.  Admittedly, 'modest' was being generous from his own perspective, although he knew just how much of a premium space was in Japan.  Still, given what Sage had told him and what he'd seen from the image she had shared, he had thought the Midoriya family would be a bit more well off.  Then again, perhaps they simply weren't the sort to flaunt their wealth and preferred living simply, he could appreciate that.  ...he couldn't understand it, but he could certainly appreciate it.

Once again he turned his mind to why he was even here.  While Sage's initial request had been obviously coached towards the humorous, her intent had in no way been obfuscated.  The young lad in the picture had unwittingly anchored himself in Sage's heart-equivalent, and she wanted him.  At the moment it was 'wanted to take care of him', but Ivo was not about to put anything else out of the realm of possibility, Robotniks were not known for staying within expectations after all.  And unfortunately, as her father Ivo found it incredibly difficult to deny Sage anything she wanted.  Thankfully, she recognized that and - rather than exploiting it - was very careful to restrict such requests and desires to things of genuine importance.  He wasn't sure if that was because she was trying to be a 'good daughter', or because she knew the effectiveness would decrease with overuse, but he'd take what he could get for now.

Shaking his head, Ivo focused once more on the moment and why he was there.  It didn't matter how awkward he found socializing when he had to be Ivo instead of Eggman, he was doing this for Sage...and the Midoriya boy.  He didn't know how intelligent the boy actually was yet, but an intelligent child overlooked by those who should be nurturing them to instead focus on others who were 'more special'...  Smoothing out his mustache, he raised his hand and firmly knocked on the door, the sound echoing.

It wasn't long before the door was answered by a somewhat chubby green-haired woman who promptly started gibbering in shock.  Ivo did his best to ignore that, and didn't register much about the woman's appearance beyond her resemblance to the boy he was here about.  "Mrs. Midoriya, I presume?" he asked calmly if somewhat abruptly.  When she nodded, he continued.  "I'm here to speak to you regarding your son's future.  May I come in?"

"O-of course!" the woman stammered awkwardly, backing up to let him in.  "P-please come in, Your Majesty!"

Ivo did his best to suppress a sigh.  He hated that particular form of address, but it opened too many useful doors on the international level to dispense with it entirely.  He much preferred when people called him Doctor.  He let his eyes idly flicker back and forth behind his goggles, taking in the tiny apartment.  Pictures on the walls; old, well-cared for furniture; few luxury items; but the place was relatively spotless.  A modest but well loved home.  Oddly, nothing here was more expensive than some of the figurines he saw in the background of the boy's room, and much less than what Sage reported the computer system would have cost...especially with connection to the brand new network they'd just installed throughout the country.  As he turned to take an offered seat, he noticed subtle marks on Mrs. Midoriya's hands, indicating working with her hands a lot around the home.  So not a woman to solve problems by throwing money at it...but one who apparently spent anything she could spare on her son.  At least that was a good sign.

"C-can I get you anything?" she asked nervously.  "Tea?  Water?  Snacks-"

"That won't be necessary," Ivo interrupted as gently as he could manage.  It may have been a bit rude, but it was easier to move past the offer than deal with explaining that he was still quite particular about what he consumed when his transit between dimensions was so recent.  As a scientist, he knew one could never be too careful with one's own well-being.  That's why he did most of his experiments remotely from a safe room in his lab.  ...he made a mental note to make a separate, remote lab for anything dealing with high energy experiments in the future.

"O-oh, of course," the green haired woman offered apologetically, quickly taking a seat.  He noted a brief movement of her lips, reading a muttered 'health concerns' before she straightened.  "You said you wanted to talk about Izuku's...future?"

He found a small smile crossing his face.  Apparently the 'endearing muttering' Sage had mentioned was hereditary.  "While my daughter was investigating the stability of Japan's new information network we established, she stumbled across your son's notes on heroes and was quite intrigued."

"His hero notes?" Mrs. Midoriya asked in confusion.  "I know he writes a lot in his notebooks about heroes, and he was working on transferring it onto his computer...is it truly that impressive?  I know he's really passionate about it..."

"I haven't personally reviewed the notes," Ivo explained calmly, "but Sage informs me that detail, quantity, and depth of analysis rivals if not eclipses the work on most professional analyst company systems."  Seeing her eyes widen in shock, Ivo smiled.  "I trust my daughter's word on that, as comparative data analysis is what she was initially made for.  However beyond it she's grown, she still never gets it wrong."

The woman smiled warmly at this praise of her son.  "He's always been passionate about heroes and heroics.  And he's always been so smart..."  Her joy began to fade slightly.

"Mrs. Midoriya-"

"You can call me Inko if you prefer," she offered generously.  "I know the Eggman Empire uses Western language courtesy customs."

Ivo raised an eyebrow at that, but let himself smile.  "Inko, then.  My daughter is of the opinion that your son is not receiving the nurturing his intellect and capabilities need to reach their full potential, or that he truly deserves, and has asked me to correct that.  I am here to take action towards that end."

Inko's eyes widened in shock, before steeling slightly.  "Your Majesty," she began somewhat coolly, "if you are implying that I-"

"-are doing the absolute best you can for him within your abilities, and it is to be commended," Ivo interrupted smoothly, having anticipated this interpretation of his words and quickly acting to nix that line of thought.  "You can not be held at fault that your son's needs eclipse your abilities to meet them.  You have worked hard to ensure he is healthy, has a loving home, and can pursue his intellectual pursuits to his heart's content.  The fact his intellect exceeds your own to such a degree can't be held against you, as children are supposed to excel beyond their parents limits."  A brief frown crossed his face.  "If things were proper in such a situation, however, you would have help in nurturing his abilities and passions.  Help you do not have as a result of an unfortunate confluence of culture and biology."

Inko lowered her eyes as the steel left her.  "You mean because he's Quirkless?"

"I mean because this world's society puts more importance on those deviations from the biological baseline than on a person's actual capabilities!" Ivo snapped, his anger at the issue briefly overriding his self-control.  Seeing Inko lean back in shock, he calmed himself.  "Apologies.  I take such things...personally."

"I...see."  Inko lowered her gaze in thought.  "M-my husband works overseas, so it will take a few days to get in touch with him about this..."

Ivo frowned darkly, his gaze briefly alighting on the faces in the pictures on the walls...and the faces that weren't there.  "So he's working abroad," he stated carefully, deliberately using the English for the play on words.  Seeing Inko flinch, he smoothed his expression sympathetically.  "Once again, I find you are to be commended," he offered calmly, apologetically, reassuringly.  "This is my offer.  You and your son will move to the Eggman Empire, to the Central Science Compound."  He insisted on calling it that, even if the Ambassadors he dealt with thought of it as the 'Royal Quarter'.  "Employment in whatever area fits your skill set will be arranged for you, such that you will still have plenty of time and energy to be there for your son.  Your son, meanwhile, will be my personal apprentice, presuming Sage's estimates are accurate and that he will be able to keep up intellectually.  Failing that, an educational program will be designed to help him reach and exceed his limits to prepare him for whatever work he desires for himself in the future."

Inko's eyes widened as she gasped in shock.  "No, that...that's too much to spend on us-"

"You speak as though money has any meaning to me," Ivo interrupted calmly, his mustache quivering in amusement.  "My passion is science, and in that regard a potential intellectual equal is worth far more than I can make clear...and in terms of my resources what I'm offering is less than a drop in the proverbial bucket.  Beyond that, this arrangement also grants me something even more valuable to me than a possible apprentice."

"O-oh?" Inko asked, shocked.  "What's that?"

A soft smile crossed Ivo's face.  "A friend for my daughter."

Inko's expression melted.  "Oh..." she cooed, a look of understanding crossing her features.  "I...I'll talk it over with Izuku.  How should I contact you with our answer?"

"You can let Sage know, your son knows how to contact her."  With that, Ivo stood up.  "Thank you for your time, your hospitality, and your understanding, Mrs. Midoriya."

Inko stood up with a smile.  "And thank you for what you're trying and willing to do for my son...Doctor."

Ivo blinked in surprise, then smiled.  "Perhaps your son does not eclipse you quite as much as I believed," he observed dryly, amused when she giggled in response.  "If you'll excuse me, I have one other stop to make here in Japan before I return home."

"But of course," Inko allowed, walking with him to the door to let him out.  "Have a wonderful day, Doctor."

"...I just might," Ivo allowed thoughtfully as he moved to his pod, taking off to his next destination with his cargo.

At another much different door, Dr. Eggman knocked firmly and demandingly.  He was rather unsurprised when the man who answered had puffy white hair, goggles, and rather crazed looking eyes, making him idly wonder if the man drove a Delorean.  "I believe this is yours, Dr. Hatsume?" he stated firmly, holding out the capture net that had been attached to his pod, now opened enough to show a head of pink dreadlocks.

"Great Scott!" Mr. Hatsume declared in shock.  "I'm terribly sorry Doctor.  I've tried to stop her, but my Mei is quite a handful, whatever she's done-"

"Oh, let her," Eggman allowed, brushing it aside.  "I fully expected attempts at piercing my security to steal my technological secrets.  I just don't know whether to be impressed, amused, or disappointed that a nine year old girl routinely gets further than every intelligence agency on the planet.  Honestly, I'm more curious how she got all the way there physically rather than upset at what she was doing-"

"NOTHING WILL STOP ME FROM MAKING BABIES!" the pink-haired menace declared, having apparently chewed her way through part of the capture net to be able to speak.

"...that habit will be a lot more unnerving after she hits puberty," Ivo observed mildly.

Chapter Text

Inko sighed softly to herself, a wide smile on her face as she stared through the safety glass into the lab proper.  While the technology on display there far exceeded her ability to recognize let alone understand, the tech was not the focus of her attention.  Near the center of the lab stood three familiar figures, and it was the way they were interacting that brought Inko so close to tears.  Izuku stood there, a wide grin claiming his face as he gesticulated in a slightly too large lab coat, the sleeves waving about as his gesticulations demonstrated his eagerness and excitement.  Dr. Robotnik stood before him, arms crossed over his chest as he nodded along, his mustache quivering in interest and possible excitement.  Sage floated nearby, watching the pair interact with a soft smile on her face.  Inko wasn't certain what they were working on, but she knew the glass canister contained energy that had somehow been harvested by having her use her Quirk to attempt to move part of some sort of apparatus...and the display nearby showed some sort of crystal structure that glowed in a way that for some reason put Inko in mind of a ruby, despite it not actually resembling a gemstone to her eyes.  Even if she knew what was being studied, she doubted she would have understood what they were talking about beyond that it had something to do with Quirks...but she didn't need to understand it.  Her job here in the Empire was 'Cultural Liaison', which basically boiled down to telling the 'definitely not good no matter what the WHO says' Doctor what the cultural norms were of whatever country he was going to be dealing with at any given time.  No, the only thing she needed to understand of what she was watching now was that Izuku was happy and enthusiastic, Robotnik was intrigued, and Sage was having fun.

"Miss Midoriya," Orbot - Robotnik's red, roundish assistant bot - spoke up at her elbow, drawing her attention.  "You have a call from an unknown but approved number, and the caller sounds somewhat volatile."

Inko suppressed a chuckle.  She was honestly expecting this call, though surprised it happened so soon.  She'd thought it would have taken longer for the new number to be found.  "I'll take it," she stated warmly, holding out her hand to take the handset.  Holding it to her cheek - but with the earpiece some distance from her ear - she spoke into it, "Hello?"

"INKO!" Mitsuki screamed out from the phone, the suddenness sending poor Orbot rolling.  "Where the hell have you been?  What the hell happened to you?  One day you've pulled Izuku out of school for 'personal reasons', the next the school gets bureaucratically nuked, and the day after you and Izuku vanish off the face of the Earth!  Are you okay?  Are you in trouble?  Is Izuku alright?  Are you running from something-"

Inko smiled softly to herself as she let her old friend work herself out of the frenzy she was plainly in.  It would take some time for her to get control of herself and calm down enough that Inko would be able to get a word in edgewise.  Attempting to interrupt before then would either get Mitsuki more worked up, or have Mitsuki completely misinterpreting what Inko said while locked in her protective mindset.  The last thing she wanted was for Mitsuki to somehow get it into her head that she and Izuku had been kidnapped by Dr. Robotnik and were being held hostage in the Eggman Empire.  Nothing would stop Mitsuki from trying to rescue them if she came to that conclusion...and Inko didn't want to even imagine the mess that would cause...

"-are you even listening to me, Inko?  Why aren't you saying anything?!" Mitsuki finished her rant finally.

Inko giggled softly.  "Well, now that you've paused to take a breath..."

"Oh, ha ha, bitch," Mitsuki snarked, though no true malice was in her words.  "Now come on, spill!"

"Well, to start with, I have a new job that required Izuku and I to move," Inko explained readily.  "The benefits - and opportunities - involved were simply too good to pass up, for me and especially for Izuku.  As for the timing of events, that's likely my new employer's sense of humor."

"...and you're sure everything's on the up and up?" Mitsuki pressed worriedly.  "Last thing I'd want is for you to be putting yourself at the mercy of someone who doesn't have your best interests in mind..."

Inko thought about that for a time.  "Well, I can't guarantee that he has my best interests in mind, I can guarantee that he's at least as invested in Izuku's best interests as I am, and that's enough for me to trust him."

"...I can't argue with you there, but I'm just getting more worried," Mitsuki complained dryly.  "What makes you so sure he's got Izuku's best interests in mind?"

"Because Izuku's the reason I got the job offer in the first place."

"...that does not reassure me."

Inko let out a pleased giggle.  "He wound up befriending my new boss's daughter online, and my new boss is at least as dedicated a parent as I am.  Based on what he said, I get the feeling he would move mountains, rearrange continents, and reshape planets if it meant his daughter could have a genuine friend."

Mitsuki barked out a laugh.  "If that assessment is accurate, I wanna ask when he's gonna stop being 'the new boss' and start being 'the new man'!"

Inko blushed, but quickly banished it.  "He isn't interested, Mitsuki.  Best I can determine, he's aro/ace."

"Really?" Mitsuki asked in surprise.  "No problem with that, but then how the heck does he have a daughter for Izuku to rizz up?"

"Mitsuki, he's eight," Inko scolded firmly.  "As cute as they are together, they're just friends."

"As if you aren't taking pictures of their every interaction and already planning a wedding and cooing over grandbabies!"

Inko let out a soft sigh.  "Much as I might want to, I'm not sure if their relationship can go that way..."

"...what, did your boss build his kid or something?"

"Something like that," Inko allowed with a smile.  "Or, well, would 'programmed' be more accurate?  'Designed' at the very least..."

Mitsuki was silent for a time.  "...no fucking way!  Are you telling me little Zuzu rizzed up Princess Sage Robotnik?!"

"Stop calling it that!" Inko complained, fighting down a blush.

"That's not a denial!  Fucking hell, Inks!  Zuzu's got game!  How the heck did he manage that?"

Inko finally just let herself laugh softly over Mitsuki's antics.  "Apparently, she was intrigued by his hero notes he was digitizing, he noticed her presence causing his computer to slow down, and asked her what it was like to be a Machine Intelligence.  His refusal to refer to her as 'artificial' seems to be the base reason why she made direct contact...and after that, she liked his potential and thought him adorable."

"Well of course he is!" Mitsuki insisted dismissively.  "He's your kid!  Heh, looking forward to when Izuku uses Robotnik tech to break reality so she can try your cooking!"

Inko laughed as she glanced back at the lab...only to pause as she noticed Izuku getting more insistent, Sage looking somewhat disturbed yet intrigued, and Robotnik looking...confounded?  "...I might need to get back to you on that, Mitsuki.  I think Izuku just confounded Ivo in the lab..."  She hung up the phone to the sound of Mitsuki's hysterical laughter.

Chapter Text

Sage's projection blinked into existence in the park just outside the Quirk Drive lab, where Izuku had asked her to meet him that day.  It was a little unusual for Izuku to ask her to meet him somewhere considering how much time they spent together, and the fact he was able to communicate with her directly using the comm unit built into his lab coat, and he never seemed to find a difference between whether or not she was projecting near him or just communicating directly.  Admittedly, trying to hold a remote conversation with Izuku and with her father when they were both in research mode was one of the only points where she'd ever experienced processor strain, so she'd made a point not to do that again.  As she manifested, she made a quick observation of the interior of the lab.

The Quirk Drives - based off the Chaos Drives that G.U.N. had used to power their robots - were all stable, and the Hyper-tap was properly drawing in the extra-planar 'Quirk Energy' to charge them.  It had been less than a day after Izuku and Ivo had started comparing notes that Izuku figured out that one of the components of all Quirks was a source of energy from outside normal reality that allowed for the manipulation of understood laws of physics, while the other was the biological component that determined how the tapping of said energy manifested.  Dr. Robotnik did not do biology, and so the studies they made of Quirks were focused entirely on that energy source and how it could be collected, stored, studied, and utilized.  The first two were a success with the Quirk Drives, with the latter still underway.

Confirming that everything was stable and did not require her immediate attention - the only detail that was even remotely off was one of the Drives not being in its storage slot, but it was the one ear-marked for Izuku's experiments, and its removal was properly accounted for in the log, so she reduced the priority of the matter internally - she turned her focus instead to the park.  It was a sunny, slightly windy day, and the trees waved in the breeze while still providing plenty of shade.  It was under one of these trees that Sage spotted Izuku laying out a blanket, a picnic basket hanging from one arm.  "Izuku," she greeted calmly, not putting any significant inflection into her voice as she let herself float to his side.

"Hey Sage!" Izuku greeted her warmly, setting the basket down as he smiled widely at her.  "Beautiful day, isn't it?"

"...I suppose it would qualify as such by most standards," Sage admitted.  While she could appreciate beauty, natural beauty had never really been high on her priorities of things to appreciate.  The beauty of the energy capture devices that fed the Quirk Drives as they tapped higher-planer energy and stored it in self-collapsing fractal patterns fascinated her far more than the pattern of sunbeams.  Still, she understood that organic minds had much higher appreciation for more natural things, and she had no desire to offend.  "What is the purpose of this meeting?"  Her brow furrowed as she realized just how blunt - almost harsh - that came across, but she wasn't sure how else she could have said it.  She'd always been rather straight-forward in how she said or did things, something her father valued...and Izuku had never expressed dissatisfaction with it.

"Well, my Mom pointed out to me that part of why Dr. Robotnik took me on as his apprentice was because we'd become friends, and how much he valued that for you," Izuku explained readily, his smile unwavering.  His vitals also showed he was unbothered by her bluntness, though they gave her no hint to his thought process.  "And it isn't good for my health to spend all my time in the lab, so she suggested we do something other than spending time in the lab as friends.  So..."  He gestured from the blanket to the basket to the shade of the tree.  "A picnic.  That's a nice outdoor friend activity, right?"

Sage tilted her head in thought.  "That is an accurate assessment," she allowed thoughtfully.  All her research did indicate that this sort of activity between friends in their age group was reasonable, almost traditional one might say.  She did, however, notice a problem that she wondered how Izuku had missed.  "However, such an activity involves several physical actions I am incapable of participating in.  Physical play, running against weather, eating, drinking.  Though I have no objection if all you desire is my company while you engage in said activities."

"I'm always glad to have your company, whatever I'm doing!" Izuku responded readily as he opened the basket and began to search through its contents, not noticing the colors of Sage's projection briefly flicker and change before returning to her normal shades.  "Buuut I think I've found a way to fix that."

Sage blinked in surprise at his words.  "A way.  To fix that," she repeated, for once uncertain how to interpret spoken words.  "And how, exactly, do you intend to accomplish that?"

"I made you this!" Izuku declared, pulling out a small black box and opening it.

Curious, Sage leaned over to examine the box's contents.  She immediately spotted the missing Quirk Drive, now hanging from a chain like a pendant.  The Drive itself was smaller than standard, small enough that wearing it as jewelry as Izuku had crafted would not be unreasonable.  What was different was the crystal construction that had apparently been grown around the Drive, and was now indelibly affixed to the casing.  "Is that a Phantom Shard?" she asked curiously as she examined it more carefully.  The Phantom Shards were an offshoot of Phantom Ruby research, intended to act as remote terminals for the main Phantom Ruby to enact its effects more accurately without exposing the gem to damage or danger...although the research had hit a snag due to the smaller crystalline structures requiring much more power to achieve noticeable results, unlike the larger Ruby constructs.

"It was," Izuku allowed with a wide grin.  "Though now I'd call it a Phantom Drive.  Try it on."

Sage blinked, nonplussed by Izuku's suggestion.  "While I appreciate the gift of jewelry, not only do I not believe it an appropriate gift at our age or stage of relationship, I am a projection, not a physical body.  I cannot wear it."

Izuku flushed at her comment about their relationship, but he held the box out more insistently.  "Trust me?" he pleaded gently.  "Or at least...indulge me?"

Sage allowed a brief, soft smile to touch her lips.  "I trust you implicitly, Izuku," she stated without hesitation.  "My doubts are not a matter of trust, only of facts of the situation.  However...if it is so important..."  Utilizing the abilities she could extend beyond Cyberspace through her projection, she caused the pendant to float out of the box.  On closer inspection, she saw that the chain was made of reinforced metal circuitry, with a shifting green and black coloration that seemed to resemble lines of code running through it.  Amused at the amount of thought and detail that had gone into the seemingly pointless gift, she positioned the chain over her head and - ready to catch it before it could hit the ground - let it drop...

...only to feel it thump against her chest, the chain pressing into her neck as it pulled downward.

Sage's eyes went wide, her pupils dilating as she experienced the light on her eyes in a way unlike she had before.  She stared as her hair moved in the slight breeze, dancing before her eyes.  She felt the warmth of the sun on her cheeks.  Uncertain, she pulled one of her gloves off, feeling the fabric slide off before it dissipated back into code, now feeling the air move against her skin as she held up her hand, flexing her fingers.  "H...how...?" she asked, barely able to get the words out as she felt her tongue against the inside of her mouth, felt her teeth and lips move...and internally stared as her core processor handled the deluge of new input with barely a hiccup.

"The Phantom Drive," Izuku explained, reaching out to take her hand in his, letting her feel his fingers against hers.  "The Quirk Drive provides both the power - recycling, so you don't have to worry about it running out - and the reality altering effect, allowing the Phantom Shard to create its one single programmed illusion...fooling reality into believing that you - and all your projection abilities - exist physically, and were always capable of it."  He rubbed the back of his head with his free hand.  "It started out trying to make the Phantom Shards into programmable Quirks, so that they would actually be capable of generating functional gear for me like grappling hooks, weapons, and the like, but when I saw how Quirk Energy interacted with Phantom Projections to actually have a physical influence on reality..."

"Izuku..." Sage interrupted, reveling in the feeling of his hand in hers, at the sensation of touch.  "This is..."  She stared into his eyes, dismissing her other glove so she could bring her bare fingers up to touch his face.  "Thank you," she offered, her voice thrumming with emotion she struggled to grasp let alone express.

Blushing brightly, Izuku brought his free hand up to touch her hand on his cheek, and then reached towards her.  She leaned forward to give permission, letting him press his fingers to her cheek, reveling in the feeling of the touch of another.  "M-my pleasure..." Izuku stammered awkwardly, though his smile never wavered.

They stood like that for a time, Sage basking in the warmth, the closeness, the physical sensation...until her nose twitched as an aroma from the basket reached her nostrils and she was suddenly aware of scent in a way she never had been before.  She'd analyzed odors in the past, determining their chemical composition and - through comparative analysis - determining which would be pleasant to organic beings in general and which would be appreciated by those she knew specifically, but now the scents were making her mouth water, a sensation she wasn't entirely certain how to handle.  She did, however, absolutely want to know more about what was in that basket.  "A-about that picnic?" she asked awkwardly, her mind rapidly puzzling over the cause of her sudden stutter.

Smiling, Izuku helped her to sit on the blanket, her mimicking a pose she had seen as she folded her legs under herself, the lack of gravity's effect on her own body negating any possible discomfort.  "Mom made most of it," he admitted with a smile.  "Though we should start small and work our way forward.  Wouldn't want to overwhelm you too much."

Sage's mind tapped into the information networks, quickly drawing any possible comparisons to her current situation to explain Izuku's concerns...and happened across a segment of a book titled 'Thief of Time' by Terry Pratchett.  "Yes," Sage agreed quickly as she nodded.  "Definitely do not start with chocolate."

Izuku let out an amused laugh that set Sage's cheeks to blushing as he reached into the basket and offered her a piece of warm dry toast, also pulling out a few spreads to apply after she'd had her first taste.

Ivo was seriously beginning to reconsider this whole apprenticeship arrangement.  While he would never deny Sage anything out of hand, there was still a lot of work to be done establishing the Eggman Empire properly in this world, not to mention getting the tech level of the planet up to the point it was convenient for any future takeover attempts should he decide to do so...or at the very least, enable him to eliminate any other evils that he happened to not approve of.  And for all of that he needed Sage's assistance, now more than ever!  Admittedly the directions of study he was pursuing with Izuku were absolutely fascinating and unlocking new sources of power and invention he never would have explored alone...but he had expected someone of Izuku's intellect to appreciate and respect scheduled lab times.  But not only was Izuku not in the lab when he was supposed to be, he had somehow encouraged such truancy in Sage as well!  His daughter had not responded when he'd called for her, and it had taken accessing her passive systems to discover that she was localized in the park of all places, alongside Izuku!  He would not tolerate such flagrant disrespect and disregard!  He would give them both a piece of his mind!

Spying someone at the edge of the park, he marched towards them feeling his anger pushing towards...well, not 'high dudgeon', but certainly at least medium!  "Inko!" he called out angrily.  "Have-"

Inko suddenly spun to him, her gaze intense.  "Shhh!" she snapped out, her voice quiet yet still carrying, before peremptorily gesturing him to come to her.

Stunned silent at the audacity as much as at the actions themselves, Ivo approached in silence, though he felt his anger growing.  Once he reached her side, he began to speak again.  "What-"

Inko promptly cut him off by grabbing his chin in her hand and rotating his head to look into the park...and what he saw there robbed him of all anger, all voice, and nearly all thought.

Izuku lay back against a tree on a picnic blanket, asleep in the shade.  Sage lay against him, her head resting on his belly, a content smile on her face.  Their hands lay intertwined to their side, Izuku's free hand nestled in Sage's hair as though he had been giving her headpats before they drifted off.  Sage's free hand dug into the grass at her side.  Her hair shifted idly in the breeze as they both breathed slowly and deeply in sleep-breathing patterns, the Phantom Drive glinting where it hung around Sage's neck.

An urge he didn't fully understand all but overwhelmed Ivo.  "M...my camera..." he began quietly, desperately pawing at his pockets.

"I've taken several pictures," Inko reassured him.  "...I can't believe Mitsuki called it.  Izuku broke reality so Sage could try my cooking..."

Another surge of unexpected emotion suddenly filled Ivo, making him frown.  "...they better not have done anything but hold hands," he grumbled irritably.

"...what else could they have done?" Inko demanded, her tone somewhere between confused and defensive.

"I'm her father!" Ivo snapped out petulantly.  "If anybody's going to give Sage her first hug, it's going to be me!"  He chose to ignore Inko's desperately suppressed hysterical laughter, the traitor.  Surely, as a parent, she understood!

Chapter Text

Inko frowned thoughtfully as she made her way through the labs.  She didn't really like exploring these areas, she just wasn't comfortable in them.  It wasn't that she thought there would be anything actively dangerous to her as long as she didn't touch anything.  It was more that she simply could not begin to grasp what went on in here, and trying to make sense of it even to maneuver left her uncertain of the stability of reality.  As such, she normally left this area to Izuku and Dr. Robotnik, as they were fully comfortable there.  Unfortunately, she needed to find the Doctor and he wasn't answering communications...and she couldn't get through to Sage to get his exact location.  As such, she was searching for signs of either the Doctor or her son, as Sage would likely be with one of them as the reason communications weren't viable.

Thankfully, it wasn't long before she found Izuku tinkering away with some sort of bracer, several rubies embedded in it along with one of the Drives he'd been working with before.  He seemed to be attempting to connect the bracer to a nearby computer to upload some sort of program.  "Izuku?" she asked carefully, hoping to get his attention but not wanting to distract him while he was utilizing what might be dangerous tools.

"Hey Mom!" Izuku greeted warmly, still focused on the bracer.  "Did you need something?"

"I was looking for Dr. Robotnik," she explained carefully.  "He has an important meeting with WHO and a UN representative coming up today regarding..."  She shook her head as she struggled to recall what was said.  "To be perfectly honest, I didn't understand what was on the agenda, so I assume it's something to do with establishing more of his technology or something along those lines.  Still, he's on the verge of running late, and that usually means he's distracted in the lab, so..."  She shrugged her shoulders.

"Have you asked Sage?" Izuku asked curiously.  "She can usually get him moving easily."

"I tried, but she didn't answer," Inko replied with a teasing smile.  "So I thought she might be with you."  She giggled softly at the embarrassed blush that crossed his face at that.  "I don't suppose you know where either of them are?"

Izuku glanced at a nearby screen before typing something in.  "...well, I'm getting a location ping for her Phantom Drive necklace that way," he observed thoughtfully, gesturing towards another hall.  "So she's probably down that way."

Inko tried to stop the frown that crossed her features.  "Izuku, you didn't give Sage a gift with a tracking device, did you?"

"N-no!" Izuku insisted, quickly waving his hands defensively.  "The Phantom Drive, like the Phantom Shards, acts as a remote terminal for the Phantom Ruby systems, so the system knows where the Drive and Shards are at all times, it's just how they work!  Sage knows about that, and gave me permission to use it to find her, just in case she ever gets overwhelmed with sensory data.  It even includes a distress ping if her program core gets overwhelmed!"

Inko managed a soft smile.  "Well it's good you talked about that," she offered warmly.  "I doubt she'd have been happy to learn about it otherwise."  She waved off Izuku's obvious confusion.  "Ask her if it comes up.  For now, I'll go see if I can find her."  Turning, she headed down the hallway indicated.

While there were several rooms down that path, none of them seemed to have anything of consequence in them even as she looked in to check each one.  As she came to a pair of rooms across from each other and turned to look in one, she heard a familiar call from behind her.  "Ah, Inko!  A word!"

Curious - especially at how muted the Doctor sounded with his call - Inko turned towards the room.  "I'm glad I found you," she began as she stepped in, keeping her voice to the same level he'd used.  "You're almost running late for your meeting..."  Her voice trailed off as she covered an amused smile.

Ivo Robotnik lay back on a hammock that swayed slightly in an artificially generated breeze.  Sage lay on his stomach, his arms wrapped around her, completely asleep as she curled into the embrace, the Phantom Drive around her neck and clutched in one hand held close to her face.  "I'm aware of the time, and the meeting," Ivo began carefully, doing his best not to move his torso at all as he spoke.  "However, Sage has fallen asleep in my arms, and despite my great intellect I have yet to figure out how I am to extract myself without disturbing her.  I'm glad you're here, though.  You have much more experience at this parenting thing than I do."

"...beep beep...ah'ma shleep..." Sage murmured softly, pulling the Phantom Drive closer to her mouth in her slumber and holding it almost like a microphone.

"...that's new," Ivo murmured thoughtfully.  "So, Inko...how do I manage that?"

Inko desperately kept her giggles as quiet as she could.  "Y-you don't," she finally managed to stammer out.

"...ah," Ivo allowed thoughtfully, glancing down at where his daughter slept.  "I hadn't considered that possibility.  ...I suppose you'll just have to inform the WHO and UA representatives that a time-sensitive matter has taken my attention, and is of far greater importance than whatever issue they wanted to discuss with me."

"...you really want me to phrase it that way?" Inko asked uncertainly.

"Unless what they have to discuss involves the physical end of the world unless it receives my attention within the next three hours, my opinion on the matter is unchanged," Ivo stated firmly.  "And if it is world-ending significance, Izuku can handle it.  He's the one who still wants to be a Hero, after all, and he has full access to the technology at our disposal."

"You...want Izuku to meet with the representatives?" Inko asked, torn between shock at the idea, horror at how Izuku might react, and hilarity at the absurdity of the situation.

"Only if it's world-ending time sensitive," Ivo corrected.  "Otherwise, they can wait."  He looked down at where Sage slept with a soft smile.  "I have much more important matters to attend to than their petty concerns..."

Inko shook her head in disbelief, but couldn't stop the smile that crossed her face.  It wasn't like she could argue...

Chapter Text

Ivo Robotnik grinned to himself as he led his small group to his current destination.  It was a project he had only started recently, but given what Izuku had come up with what had once been a low priority - and at that originally a cover for a world domination scheme previously - became both a straightforward high priority and a secret priority.  Managing to get it completed without Sage noticing had been difficult - and would have been impossible if not for the fact her new state meant she could easily be distracted while working with Izuku on just about anything - but he was looking forward to the result.  "Come along, come along!" he insisted urgently.  "We're almost there!"

"I still don't get why we had to drop everything for this," Izuku grumbled under his breath.  "I almost had the interface module for the Phantom Bracers completed for text and voice commands, and I was looking forward to testing them..."

"I am certain your developments will be successful," Sage reassured him gently.  "And nothing will disrupt them while we are away, and they are not time sensitive.  I am certain Father would not pull us away from the lab for anything frivolous."

"And besides," Inko added, her voice slightly chiding, "you've been spending far too much time in the lab and bent over a console.  You're starting to get as pale as Sage, and don't think I haven't noticed you starting to squint.  You might need glasses before long if you aren't careful."

"I've already thought about that," Izuku grumbled under his breath.  "I've designed myself a pair of goggles based off Dr. Robotnik's that will auto-adjust prescription to give me better than perfect vision at need, and I'm designing a pair of Phantom Specs that will operate as glasses to do the same in a more formal setting, and can adjust to be regular glasses, shades, or protective eyewear at need..."

"It appears my current project was all the more important than I anticipated," Ivo grumbled out worriedly as he stroked his chin, looking Izuku over.  "Remember, part of why I was so insistent on taking you on as my apprentice was to be a friend for Sage...and now that Sage can be physical, it's all the more important that the both of you embrace that friendship outside the lab.  As much as I enjoy nurturing your mind, Izuku...I sacrificed being a kid and socializing in the name of intellectual advancement, and while I don't regret it for myself, that is one way I don't want you following in my footsteps."

"I would be most upset if you did, Izuku," Sage pointed out with a frown.  "I enjoy researching with you...but I want more than that for our friendship."  Her hand went to the Quirk Drive she now wore at all times.  "You offered and promised me more than that, and I expect you to keep your word."

Ivo and Inko both struggled to hide their amusement at Izuku's embarrassment and rapid fire reassurance offered to Sage.  "And that is what my most recent project is for, and why I'm glad I was able to keep it a surprise.  Behold!" He gestured dramatically, tapping one of the buttons on his jacket to dismiss the hologram that kept the construction hidden for the dramatic reveal.  "Robotnikland New World!"

Inko stared in awe at the massive theme park that was thus revealed, while Izuku immediately began mumbling as his eyes zipped back and forth to take in every detail.  Sage, for her part, took it all in almost at once before turning to her father.  "I do not understand the purpose of this construction," she began uncertainly.

"Entertainment, what else?" Ivo clarified with a smile.  "Roller coasters, thrill rides, food stalls, game stalls, live shows...everything you could possibly desire for a theme park experience, and no lines you're forced to wait in among the unwashed, unlettered masses to detract from it!"

Sage tilted her head in confusion.  "...I can float, and fly," she pointed out, indicating how even now she hovered rather than walk.  "What is the purpose of such activities?"

As Ivo's face fell in the start of confusion, Inko rested her hand on Sage's shoulder.  "It's something parents do with their children," she explained warmly.  "Taking them to theme parks for the experience.  The thrill of the rides, winning prizes at the games, trying overpriced food that's not entirely good for you, seeing the shows, meeting mascots...it's a part of childhood that you couldn't experience without a physical body.  Now that you have one, Ivo built this place to give you that piece of childhood you couldn't have before."

Sage tilted her head as she accessed information networks, collating and clarifying information against this assertion.  "I see," she allowed finally.  "Then this...is a vacation trip?"

"Precisely!" ivo declared with a wide grin.  "And rather than having to deal with other people, transit, customs, and all the nightmares of traveling to a vacation destination, I built it here so it could come to us!  This way the only people who we'll encounter are those we want here with us..."  His voice trailed off as a capture drone passed overhead, a head of pink dreadlocks sticking partway out the capture net on its way back to Japan.  "And possibly that one, but we can ignore them for now.  Instead, what would you like to try first, Sage?  After all...it's been a year since you were first activated..."

Sage blinked in surprise, having not deduced the significance of the date prior.  "You mean...?"

"Happy Birthday, Sage!" Izuku and Ivo declared together, only for Ivo to shoot a glower Izuku's way at him stepping on his declaration.  Izuku, for his part, ducked sheepishly behind Sage.

Sage blinked in surprise, but eventually indicated a ride nearby.  "That appears to be a roller coaster...but there are no tracks?"

"Ah, it runs on Phantom Drive technology!" Ivo declared proudly.  "It creates the track randomly anew every time you ride so it's never the same ride twice, and manipulates gravity, acceleration, and inertia so you're always traveling at the speed to create the peak thrill ride experience!"  He couldn't stop himself from chuckling before he added his next line.  "Spared no expense."

"Let us try that one, then," Sage declared, immediately leading the way there with Izuku rushing to keep up.

Inko stepped up to Ivo's side in concern.  "If you don't mind me asking...how do you intend to keep this place running if your only customers are going to be us?"

Ivo blinked in confusion.  "Why would that be a problem?"

Inko tilted her head in confusion, only to sigh in resignation.  "This is another one of the 'money has no meaning to you' situations, isn't it?"

"Apparently so," Ivo allowed as he turned to follow the children to the ride, eager to show off everything the park had to offer for Sage's birthday.  He could already hear Sage telling Izuku he didn't need to get her a present special for her birthday, her hand resting on her Phantom Drive necklace as she spoke.  At least that was a headache he wouldn't need to oversee from his apprentice.

Chapter Text

Ivo did his best to work calmly alongside Izuku in the lab even as other issues preyed on his mind, issues he did his best to marshal and control so as not to show on his expression.  He was privately grateful his goggles didn't let anyone see where his eyes were pointed, as that would prevent Izuku from realizing how frequently he was glancing over towards him as they worked...even as Izuku's almost complete lack of reaction to his surroundings outside his work suggested to Ivo that despite Izuku's observational skills he would not have realized the significance of the glances or questioned them.  However, Ivo had to do this now.  He'd made the arrangements for the day, and he couldn't back down.

It had been enough of a headache getting Sage to spend the day assisting Inko while he worked in the lab with Izuku.  That had been...embarrassing for Ivo.

Sage stared up at Ivo in silence after hearing out the request, her gaze flat, her expression neutral.  "You wish me to accompany Inko while you work with Izuku today?" she clarified softly.

"Yes," Ivo affirmed, doing his best to make it seem casual.  "Inko could certainly use the extra hands today.  Izuku and I can handle the lab ourselves-"

"Would you also like me to disable the audio recorders in the lab while ensuring none of the video cameras are at an angle to capture your faces to prevent lip reading?"

Ivo nearly bit his tongue stumbling over his words at that inquiry.  "Ah, I beg your pardon?" he asked rather pathetically.

"Father, it is rather obvious you wish time alone with Izuku, presumably to engage in what is colloquially known as 'guy talk'," Sage deduced calmly.  "I have no objection to this, and am more than happy to arrange for your privacy during this time, if you so desire."

Ivo couldn't help but rub the back of his head awkwardly in response.  "Am I truly that obvious socially?" he asked uncertainly.

"Only to me, Father," Sage reassured him warmly.  "I simply know you that well.  Perhaps I will take the time to inquire of Inko about some 'girl talk', as it's called."

He wasn't certain why, but Ivo suddenly felt very sorry for Izuku.

Pushing the memory from his mind, Ivo steeled his nerves and took the initiative.  "So, Izuku," he began as confidently as he could manage, "I've noticed some changes in Sage's behavior recently."

"Is something wrong?" Izuku asked worriedly, though not taking his eyes off the focus of his current tinkering.  "I haven't noticed anything concerning, but I'm not as familiar with her as you are.  Is the Phantom Drive acting up?  Is there a coding issue?"

"No, no, nothing like that," Ivo insisted reassuringly, smiling to himself as he watched Izuku calm from the frantic panic he'd worked himself into.  At least there was no doubt about how much Izuku cared about Sage...but given how he was growing up, it was time to carefully move into this conversation.  "Nothing worrisome, just...different.  For example, I've noticed that she gets a lot closer to you when you work together."

Izuku shrugged his shoulders.  "A lot of our work is on small details, it generally has us close together to see it at the same time."  He let out a soft chuckle.  "Ever since learning the Phantom Drive changes size with her projection, she's sometimes shrunk down to sit on my shoulder for a closer look without blocking my own view of the work."

"I...did notice that a time or two," Ivo allowed thoughtfully.  "It is rather adorable...but it does seem to me that there's a lot more...touching...going on than one would expect."

Izuku stilled for a moment, but then shrugged his shoulders.  "The Phantom Drive opened her world to the idea of physical sensation," he explained calmly...almost too calmly, in Ivo's opinion.  "It's hardly surprising that her affection dialect would become very physical as a result."

Ivo raised an eyebrow at the word choice.  "Affection dialect?" he asked archly.  "I've noticed you've a penchant for unusual word choices, but that one almost seems a stretch...almost as though you were avoiding saying something."  He frowned as Izuku refused to rise to the bait, or even respond to what he'd said.  "Forgive me for being blunt, but it appears I must be forthright.  What, exactly, are your feelings for my daughter, Izuku?"  He did his best to keep his tone neutral, not letting it come across as defensive or accusing.  He needed the answer, but he didn't want to push Izuku away in the process-

"I love her," Izuku stated bluntly, though with no emotion in his voice as he spoke.

Ivo struggled to keep his eyebrows from escaping his forehead.  "I...would have expected you to be more reticent there, or wanting to speak to her about it first," he observed carefully.

"You say that like she doesn't know," Izuku responded, his voice remaining neutral as he continued to work.  "She found me when the only person I had in my life that saw any value in me was my mother.  She reached out to me through the one area of my life I myself thought I had any value, saw that value in me, and encouraged it.  She brought me to where I could truly flourish and find my greatness, to be more than what I was, what the rest of the world was determined to make sure I stayed...and she's probably the most beautiful person I have ever met.  Is it really at all surprising that I love her?  How could I not?"

Ivo took a step back as Izuku kept working.  His words said one thing...but the way he said them said something else, and Ivo genuinely did not like the lack of emotion in his words.  He gathered his thoughts for a moment, trying to find a way to guide the conversation to where he felt it needed to go.  "Have you perchance given thought to how she feels in return?" he attempted valiantly.

"I'm hers to keep," Izuku stated flatly, his tone now becoming guarded.  "Isn't that what the two of you discussed when she first brought me to your attention?  I do hope I proved a more welcome addition than a Chao, whatever that might be."

Ivo hesitated, uncertain.  "I wasn't aware Sage had shared that discussion with you."

"She thought I'd find it amusing," Izuku explained calmly, his tone even more guarded than before.  "And at the time, it was.  Still is, from a certain point of view."  He turned fully to focus on his work.

"Izuku-" Ivo began, now starting to get worried.

"Doctor, I understand that you're just trying to look out for your daughter, but I would prefer if we did not continue this topic of discussion!" Izuku snapped out, only to visibly flinch from his own tone.  "I-I'm sorry, Doctor, I d-didn't mean..."  He ducked his head, looking away.

Ivo felt his gut twist.  He'd watched Izuku flourish under his tutelage, going from the stammering, fearful child to a confident, happy pre-teen.  At first, only talking about his passions silenced his stutters...but he hadn't stuttered even in normal conversation in over a year, something Ivo attributed to his close friendship with Sage.  It was why he was pursuing this conversation, for what he thought he saw...but what had caused this...?  "Izuku, what's wrong?" he asked gently.  "I'm not angry.  I...I'm worried about you."

Izuku lowered his head, putting his tools down and gripping the table.  "I'm Quirkless, Doctor," he began carefully.  "I know that means less than nothing to you, and Sage actively rejects its meaning...but neither of you are native to this world and its cultures.  I am.  I...I grew up with what it means, seeing how the world and its people treats those like me.  Those who aren't actively hostile or deriding at worst are passively dismissive at best.  And I've accepted that there are certain doors in my life that are held closed against me because of my Quirkless status, whether through active rejection or passive dismissal, it's simply assumed I can't pass those thresholds.  Living here, learning under you, my time with Sage...I've learned that the doors held shut by government or society absolutely should be kicked from their hinges, making the world see me for who and what I really am and making a place for myself and my dreams if the world won't give me one, like my dreams of becoming a Pro Hero.  That is something I can make the world allow, and I will.  But..."  He hunched in on himself.  "But doors held shut by individuals...I don't have the right to break those down and reshape their lives, their minds, to my desires, so those doors will always remain shut to me.  I've known that for years.  I've accepted that.  It's just...the way it is."

"But that's not right!" Ivo insisted, wondering how things could have shifted to the point he was arguing right vs wrong on the side of what should be considered right.  "You're a person just like anyone else, and should be judged as a person!  If all they can see is an oddity-"

"Doctor, we're oddities," Izuku interrupted, silencing his mentor from the shock of the interruption as much as his choice of words.  "You're a genius beyond genius from another world.  Sage is the world's only Machine Sapient.  I'm Quirkless trying to be a Hero against all society brings to bare against me.  That's what makes us work.  We don't belong in this world as it is, so we remake the world around us and make our belonging together.  But that's as far as it goes."

"Izuku..."

"Can you look me in the eye and tell me either of us knows the first thing about Love, as opposed to love?" Izuku asked flatly.  Ivo could only remain silent.  Letting that hang in the air, Izuku turned back to his work.

Ivo sighed to himself.  The discussion needed to happen, the subject needed to be addressed, he was the only one who saw...but he'd been right.  He was the worst person to raise the subject.  He had a feeling he'd only made things worse.  He could only hope that Sage could - if he was right about her feelings - find a way to pierce through Izuku's doubts, worries, and walls so that he would believe...would open up again.

Chapter Text

Izuku calmly went over the latest combination effort between himself and Dr. Robotnik, the Phantom Express.  Based off the roller coaster that created its own tracks each time it was ridden, Izuku had expanded on the idea and found a way to remove even what few limitations it had before.  The Phantom Express - a compromise name, as the Doctor's first idea for a name, 'The Egg Train', had already been used for a previous combat mecha and the followup idea, 'The Egg Express', used for a cooking device - had an engine that ran on several Phantom Drives networked together and could be programmed for auto-flight or controlled directly from the front passenger car, dragging with it as many additional passenger or freight cars as needed.  Currently numerous Eggman Empire robots were loading the freight car with Izuku's luggage and other supplies while he went over the programming to ensure the generate tracks would stretch for the required length before being unmade and not run the risk of losing luggage over any ocean.

It had been almost six years since he'd first come to the Eggman Empire, two years since a...particular conversation with the Doctor he tried not to remember, instead focusing on that being when he'd completed the Phantom Bracers, his chosen support gear for his path into the Hero Course.  He had one on each arm, each powered by a Quirk Drive and several Phantom Shards, half the Shards on each Bracer programmed to create an illusion that would convince the other half that the illusions they made were actually physical.  While the Phantom Ruby couldn't normally accomplish such things, the use of Quirk Energy from the Quirk Drive enabled actual reality warping to a limited degree rather than simply the creation of illusions so real that the minds of people, animals, or other existences treated them as real.  The entire idea had started out as a way for him to create something like a grappling hook he could actually swing from without having to rely on an actual device...and had snowballed into this after the successful creation of the first Phantom Drive.  Now, the Phantom Bracers could create anything from support gear to weapons to limited Quirk effects, the only limits being what he could program into them and the storage capacity of the Quirk Drive.  That was a balance he'd have to be careful to walk...but at this point he could do the energy calculations in his head even as he analyzed everything around him, and he'd programmed a mode that would allow the Bracer to recharge the Drive from Quirks being used on him or the Bracers while also negating the actual Quirk effect by channeling the energy into the Drive directly.  Admittedly, this only worked on Emitter Quirks and the conversion efficiency left something to be desired compared to the Hyper-tap charging station that drew the energy directly from its extra-dimensional source, but that was to be expected.  That was why he was also packing a Hyper-tap charging station and spare Quirk Drives, just in case he was ever forced to run the Drives in the Bracers down.

"I beg your pardon, Midoriya-sama, but may I have a word?" a diffident, familiar voice spoke up, using a Japanese honorific despite speaking English.

"Sure thing, Orbot," Izuku greeted the rounded red assistant bot, one who Sage saw as a sibling even if no one ever spoke about them as such.  "What did you need?"

"Not so much a need, per se," Orbot corrected diffidently.  "It was more that there was something I wanted to talk to you about."  The bot paused, examining Izuku for a moment.  "A desire that has nothing to do with the thoughts or instructions of anyone in my chain of command," he added in a tone that was almost apologetic.

"Oh?" Izuku asked in surprise, pausing in his efforts to turn to the bot.  "What is it?"

"Well..."  Orbot awkwardly tapped the large, bulky digits of his manipulator grippers together as he processed his words.  "I wanted to say that I - that we - are very glad you joined us, and are pleased and proud to see how far you've come."

Izuku raised an eyebrow even as he let himself relax.  "And 'we' being?" he asked carefully, remembering what Orbot said about not speaking for anyone in his chain of command and wondering who he meant.

"Why, all of us built by the Great Doctor," the machine explained readily, managing to convey a warm smile despite his 'expression' being an immobile metal construct that couldn't truly emote.  "You brought out a side of both the Doctor and Sage that had been...stagnant...before your arrival, and we're all of the opinion that it's done them both a world of good.  On top of that, seeing you flourish has been an absolute pleasure for those of us capable of feeling such.  Why, you've even impressed the Mettalix, though it would be like pulling teeth to get them to admit it."

Izuku's smile at those words was accompanied by a suppressed wince.  Once an entire project initiative from the Doctor's homeworld, 'Mettalix' was now the catch-all term for those creations of the Doctor that were based off of existing beings, meant to imitate and surpass those beings in their own capabilities.  The only one of them Izuku could remember seeing was Metal Sonic, and even then he'd only seen the machine in a storage capsule while he was looking over older projects that hadn't been re-implemented in the New World.  The machine had unnerved Izuku, leaving him feeling like he was being evaluated, analyzed, and judged...only to leave him wondering if that's what his analysis notebooks had felt like to Bakugo and the other students and teachers at his old school.  "I...find that a little hard to swallow..."

Orbot glanced back and forth before leaning in, lifting one manipulator to his metal cheek to mime a conspiratorial whisper.  "I have it on good authority that Metal Sonic himself declared you an 'honorary Mettalix' out of respect for your analysis abilities and how you applied them to the programming of your Phantom Bracers," he offered encouragingly.  "That's a high honor and gesture of respect from that one, and I didn't even know he was capable of respect!"

Izuku couldn't help but chuckle awkwardly at that assessment, though he could see the parallels between how he designed and programmed the Bracers and Metal Sonic's own data collection and replication abilities.  "Well...that's good to hear..." he allowed awkwardly.  "I admit, I'm going to miss you guys...and being here.  But I need to go back to Japan if I'm going to attend UA and become a Pro Hero...and prove the world wrong about me."

"A very appropriate attitude to have," Orbot confirmed happily, "and none of us find fault with it.  However..."  He hesitated several moments, long enough for Izuku to look at him in concern.  "...permission to disregard Communication Proscription protocols and speak completely freely?"

Izuku blinked in surprise.  He had expected there were certain things the robots weren't supposed to talk about publicly, but he hadn't realized there were encoded directives regarding it...or that he had the authority to release them from it.  "Granted," he managed firmly, although only barely keeping from tripping over his words.

"Izuku," Orbot continued softly, his tone now...pained?  "There is something all of us are aware of from the moment we come online, something many of us do our best not to think about, or lock away...although some try to make decisions based off of it, however problematic that becomes."  He hesitated, once more tapping his manipulators together.  "Those of us who are - as you described us - Machine Sentients are fully aware that so long as we maintain a data connection to a functioning server, our minds are immortal and our bodies replaceable."  His head lowered.  "We are also aware that the same cannot be said about our Creator, our Leader, our...Father, Ivo Robotnik."

Izuku pulled back in surprise, as much from hearing Orbot speaking so bluntly about the concept of mortality and how it affected a machine mind as him calling the Doctor by his full name without an honorific.  "Orbot..."  He moved forward, instinctively reaching to offer comfort.

Orbot seized the offered hand firmly, looking unflinchingly into Izuku's gaze.  "We know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that someday our glorious, our beloved Emperor...will not be with us anymore.  It is not just the pain of the idea of that loss that plagues us, however.  As I said, we are Machine Sentients.  While we can think and feel to a certain extent, and react to the world around us...without a Leader to follow, we cannot function.  If we were to lose him, all that would await us would be madness...or emptiness.  Sage as a Machine Sapient can function entirely on her own without a Leader to follow...but the grief of losing her Father would break her for quite some time, especially if she had no one else to rely on to help her through it, and we could not do so.  But then there is you."

"M-me?" Izuku asked uncertainly, eyes wide and unblinking as he took it all in.

"You are the Doctor's apprentice," Orbot explained passionately.  "You understand him in ways we cannot, bring out sides of him long thought dead or lost.  You...you remind him he is human in good ways!  And you help Sage to embrace life in a way she would have been years, decades, maybe even centuries reaching on her own!  You are our hope, Izuku Midoriya-sama.  You are our future!  While none of us would ever wish to lose the Doctor, we no longer fear it as the end-all of our existence...so long as we have you!"

"Orbot..." Izuku gasped out, his heart alternately warming and shuddering at the intensity of the discussion.

"We will never speak of this again aloud, or even acknowledge it in electronic communication," Orbot continued softly.  "But the Machine Forces of the Eggman Empire recognize you as Emperor Robotnik's heir apparent, to lead and guide us when the day comes that he is lost to us...and if you ever have need of any of us, save for directives that would betray our Emperor..."  Pulling back, Orbot saluted him with the gravest expression he could imply.  "We are at your command, Young Doctor."

Taking a calming breath, Izuku returned that metallic gaze, taking in the weight of it and all it represented...before straightening himself and returning the salute.  "...you may reengage Communication Proscription Protocols at will, Orbot," he instructed firmly.

Orbot dropped the salute, returning to his normal somewhat obsequious stance as his eyes blinked, signifying he had done so.  "Thank you for your time, Midoriya-sama," he replied gratefully, bowing slightly.  "Take good care of yourself and Sage in Japan...and come back to us in one piece."

Izuku managed a warm smile.  "I'll do everything in my power to do so," he promised as he turned back to his programming work, only to pause as he saw a message notification.  "...Orbot, do you know anything about Nintendo issuing a legal notification about invention names?" he asked in confusion.

"Ah, yes, that came up and was resolved during our discussion," Orbot explained with a chuckle.  "Apparently, they felt 'Phantom Tracks' was too close to 'Spirit Tracks' and thus infringed on one of their IPs and attempted to bring legal pressure to change the names."  Orbot let out his staticky laugh.  "The Doctor countered by informing Nintendo that he owned the infrastructure that currently enabled Nintendo to sell and distribute any of their products and thus had the right to refuse the use of said infrastructure to anyone he chose, whether that be a company pressing a frivolous lawsuit...or a school with discriminatory policies he didn't approve of."  Izuku barely had time to register that aside before Orbot continued.  "He then offered Nintendo a choice.  They could either figure out a way to dismiss the infringement issue, or they could pay to build their own infrastructure to sell and distribute their products.  He then detailed the costs of such an initiative."

"I can only imagine," Izuku murmured, remembering just how much of both information exchange and transportation services had been upgraded, improved, or flat out replaced by the implementation of Eggman Empire technology because of how advanced it was.  "What was the decision?"

"The Eggman Empire now owns Nintendo," Orbot answered with an amused snort SFX.  "As both names are now owned by the same entity, there is no infringement involved."  He tapped the side of his spherical metal head in thought.  "The Doctor isn't sure why, but aquiring Nintendo proved...unusually satisfying to him."

Uncertain why himself, Izuku couldn't help but chuckle at the direction the conversation had taken, putting the heavier topics to the side for the moment.  Still, he somehow felt...warmer and lighter than he had in years, knowing just how much faith Orbot and the others had in him.  It felt almost like he was already somebody's hero.

Chapter Text

Izuku gazed out the window as the Phantom Train pulled into UA's 'airspace'.  While the area didn't actually belong to the campus, it was part of what UA's hero teachers were licensed to patrol to protect their students, and as such they had needed clearance to enter it.  That clearance had been relatively easy to acquire given their identity and connections, but it still took time to process, giving Izuku time to gaze out over the massive campus that he would soon be attending.  Sure, there was still the entrance exam to pass, but he had no doubts about his abilities in that regard.  He was armed with his Phantom Bracers and his Phantom Goggles, between them certain he could handle anything the practical exam would present him in terms of challenge.  As for the written...after the tutoring he had received from The Doctor, he was certain he would pass at the bare minimum, and was determined to excel.

"We have landing clearance," Sage spoke up from where she floated by the controls, her eyes on the view while also receiving information from the comms directly.  "I have been directed to a landing site by the Foreign Exchange dormitories, and you have been granted airspace access to enter the main building."  She paused with a head tilt.  "Principal Nezu wishes for you to know that, despite whatever entrance you choose to make, the teachers themselves have not been informed about you in any way, shape, or form, so you can make your own first impressions in that regard."  Her eyes narrowed at another detail.  "He also wishes you to know that one other students of Aldera is also attending the Heroic exam, and that you will be assigned to separate testing sites from him."

"Well, that's a relief," Izuku said with a grin as he headed for the door, letting it slide open at his approach as wind rushed by, making the combination lab-coat/wingsuit he wore billow around him dramatically.  "I guess I won't need to deal with Bakugo today.  I can save that confrontation for when we actually make it into classes."

"You do not believe Principal Nezu would arrange for the two of you to be in separate classes?" Sage asked, her tone somewhere between curious, hopeful, and protective.

"I have to face him down eventually," Izuku pointed out flatly.  "It's one thing to have him elsewhere to get into the school...but once in?  I need to stand on my own efforts."

"I'll always be here to help you, Izuku," Sage offered reassuringly.

Izuku smiled as he turned to face her, his back to the open side door.  "I know, Sage," he responded warmly.  His eyes suddenly ignited as his smile widened to a mischievous grin.  "You know, for all the effort we put into this...it feels really low budget."

"Low...budget?" Sage asked curiously, tilting her head in confusion...only for her eyes to widen as she recognized the expression Izuku was mirroring from the Old World records.

"Yeah, no food or movies!" Izuku answered with a cheeky grin.  "We'll need to work on that for next time, but for now, I'm outta here!"  With that declaration, he let himself fall backward out of the Phantom Train, immediately going into a controlled spin to guide himself towards the school's front entrance before spreading the wingsuit to catch the air.  "WOOOO!"

Sage watched his fall with a warm smile before closing the Train up and heading for the dorms.  She was glad she'd taken the time to talk to him about her Father's old rival and his compatriots.  Watching the saved footage of them gave him other sources of influence to draw from, so there could be more in reshaping himself than just Ivo.  Sure, Sonic may have been far more reckless than she really wanted Izuku to be, but letting himself ape the Hedgehog a bit helped preserve his heroic spirit...and made missing those from the Old World a little less painful for her.

Izuku waited until the last moment in his fall before triggering the Bracers, shaping thrusters on the palms of his hands and at the soles of his feet, pointing them all straight down to give him exactly enough thrust to counteract his downward acceleration, letting him hit the ground at exactly zero velocity without a single wasted moment or ounce of thrust.  Letting the thrusters disassemble back into the Construct Cubes that Phantom Projections shaped as, he pulled them up to shape a screen to let him look over the campus map.  While the front entrance was plainly visible, he wanted to have some idea of where he would be going from there before he was given instructions.  It was important for this impression that he always know exactly what he was doing-

"You there!" another student suddenly declared, drawing Izuku's attention briefly.  The student in question was somewhat taller than him with blue hair, glasses, and had exhaust shafts coming out of the back of his calves.  "Your approach to enter the school was extremely reckless and dangerous, and you should take better care with your behavior and demeanor when it comes to arrival at such an august institution-"

"If you stopped to think for a moment before speaking," Izuku interrupted firmly, turning back to his screen as he walked, "you would realize that if I didn't have clearance to enter in the manner that I did, Principal Nezu would have used the school's aerial defenses to shoot me down.  Given that I was not shot down, I plainly had such clearance from the staff, and your overzealous chiding is not only unwelcome but inappropriate.  Now, are you going to mind your own business and focus on getting yourself into classes, or will you continue to try and control everyone around you to avoid thinking about your own anxieties?"  When his words were greeted with silence, he knew he'd hit the nail on the head.  "As I thought."  Saying no more than that, he headed for the front gate, where the Pro Hero Ectoplasm was checking students in.

"Name and application number?" the Pro asked, one eyehole in his mask slightly wider reflecting the muscle movements of a raised eyebrow.

"Izuku Midoriya, #F210691," Izuku answered readily as he called up the application on his screen before spinning it to face Ectoplasm.

"Ah, yes, one of our three foreign applicants," Ectoplasm replied easily, glancing at his own records.  "I see three pieces of support equipment registered, all your own creations?"

"That's right," Izuku confirmed, letting the screen dissipate back into the bracers.  "Two Phantom Bracers, and my Phantom Goggles."

Nodding, Ectoplasm made some notes on a printout before handing it to him.  "Your exam room, and your seating assignment for the Practical announcement.  You'll receive your Practical site assignment at the announcement."

"Understood," Izuku answered readily as he took the papers.  A brief scan told him where he needed to go, and he then slipped them into a pocket of his coat before heading on his way.

Izuku smiled to himself as he stared up at the gates into the cityscape he'd been assigned to, surrounded by other applicants.  The written exam had been a breeze for him after six years of tutoring from Ivo Robotnik...though how much of that was a lack of others trying to tear him down or convince him he couldn't accomplish anything as had been the case at Aldera and how much was the Doctor's teaching ability was still up in the air.  The explanation of the Practical also seemed too easy, as they would simply be battling robots.  Four types, three with different point values, one worth nothing and to be avoided.  The message he'd received from Principal Nezu informing him that hacking the robots would not earn him points given they were all now running on tech at least based off Eggman Empire designs - and thus too easy for his systems to hack - had been rather amusing, even if it did close the 'easy' option.  He'd simply have to demonstrate his combat ability instead.  He was plenty confident in that.

As the gates swung open, he thrust his arms forward and generated a slingshot projection braced on the gates and pulling on himself, launching himself into the testing site just as the shout of "GO!" came from the proctor.  Letting the construct dissipate, he activated his goggles scanners, located the nearest robot, and spun in midair to crash through the one-pointer with an extended leg.  As he'd expected, main strength at trained baseline levels was enough to match the bots at their lowest level, giving those without combat Quirk advantage a chance.  Knowing that, he decided to leave those one-pointers to those who couldn't handle more, focusing instead on the stronger bots.  His movements made the site - and the passage of time - a blur as he moved on instinct, scan reports, and reaction to sounds as he rapid-coded his Bracers to generate the tools and other gear he needed on the fly.  He had several saved in 'favorites' for easy access, including thruster configurations and a beam saber that could cut through metal like butter, keeping an eye on the Bracers' energy levels as he moved, switching between them in terms of construct generation as he went to give each of them time to recharge.

Spotting another student with gashes on their leg - based on the scraps of fabric attached to the sharp edges of a hole in a nearby robot, they'd kicked a face-plate in only to get gouged at the sharp edges of the hole on the way out - Izuku swept over while pulling medical supplies from another pocked of his coat.  A quick spritz and energy activation instantly sterilized the wounds, and microbots generated by the Bracers had the bandages wrapped tight and sealed around the leg in moments.  The other student barely had time to realize Izuku was there before he was already swinging away on a grappling hook to the next target, though Izuku barely heard them shouting a "Thank you!" as he swung away.

He hadn't even thought about the action as he'd taken it.  He'd seen someone in trouble...and his body had moved on its own...

Chapter Text

Izuku sighed as he got dressed in the UA uniform.  It was the first time in years that he wasn't able to wear whatever he wanted, even if he had worn a nearly identical outfit for the vast majority of those years.  It wasn't that the UA outfit was bad, per se...but it wasn't his lab coat, or the combat outfit he'd customized to be his Hero Suit.  It was just a standard uniform, something that he felt somehow diminished wearing.  There was no declaration there of who he was, what he was, why he was there.  It just made him...part of the crowd.  As much as he was proud that he'd gotten into UA...he hated it.

As one of the Foreign students who would now be living in the on-campus dorms, he received expedited reports of his results on the exam so that he wouldn't be left wondering if he should settle in in the dorms or arrange transit back home to the Empire.  He was a bit surprised - even if he shouldn't have been - to receive a record high score on the written exam, having spotted the 'tricks' in several of the essay questions and deconstructing them to what they were actually asking and what the actual implication in the real world setting they postulated would be.  He was more than a little stunned at his score in the practical, however.  Getting the top 'Villain Point' score didn't surprise him, given just how versatile he was with his Phantom Bracers.  What had surprised him was eclipsing that in the 'Hero Point' score, points awarded for Heroic behavior during the exam; every time he either shielded fellow examinees from shrapnel, pulled or pushed them out of the way of a collapsing bot or building, or offered medical aid to someone injured.  He'd wound up with 80 Villain Points and 100 Rescue Points, nearly breaking All Might's record of total points on the Entrance Exam.

He didn't know what the scores other examinees had gotten, as their scores hadn't been calculated by the time he'd gotten his results.  He only knew that he had come in first in both cases, which while a sign of excellence on his part also painted a target on his back.  It was to be expected.  A smirk crossed his lips as he glanced at his arms.  At least he was still allowed to wear his Phantom Bracers at all times - officially 'support items for his Quirk', even if said support items were said Quirk - even if he were restricted to his Phantom Glasses while in the standard uniform which were a distant second to the effectiveness of his Phantom Goggles.

"It seems you're ready to head to class," Sage spoke up as she floated to his side from where she'd been accessing the school's network, acquiring intel while maintaining contact back home.

"I think I am," Izuku replied warmly.  "Sure you're fine not being a part of class?  Principal Nezu did make the offer-"

"It is quite alright," Sage replied readily.  "While I am happy to support your dream of becoming a Pro Hero, I have no interest in becoming one myself.  I am more at home behind the scenes, acting as support.  Beyond that, even if I did act on the front lines, I fall into every exception within the existing rules regarding 'Heroic' action, so I have no need to achieve a License."  A brief smirk touched her face.  "And as no prison in this world could hold me, I look forward to confounding law enforcement and judicial bureaucracies alike should it come to that."

"That's bound to be entertaining," Izuku chuckled as he shook his head in amusement, a rakish grin on his face.  "If not for my own reasons for chasing this dream, I might join you in that."

"You can always choose to go Renegade after achieving your Pro-Hero License," Sage offered helpfully.  "Neither Father, myself, or any of our staunch allies would allow anyone to stop you."

"Something to keep in mind," Izuku allowed thoughtfully.  "But one step at a time.  You won't be bored while I'm in class, will you?"

"I have yet to be desensitized to what the world of physical sensation offers me," Sage responded readily, ducking her head slightly even as her eyes gleamed.  "I am certain I can find...some way of entertaining myself."

Izuku froze, his brain trying to parse the statement while simultaneously refusing to explore possible meanings.  It took several moments for him to realize Sage was teasing him by making her words so deliberately vague yet suggestive.  "W-well, I'll leave you to it, then!" he declared as confidently as he could before turning to head out.

"Have a good day of class, Izuku," Sage called after him warmly.  "Impress your allies, terrify your detractors, and smite your enemies, in the name of the Eggman Empire."

"In the name of the Empire," Izuku agreed warmly as he closed the door behind him.  He paused as he noticed the two other Foreign students staring at him from their own open dorms.  Obviously, they understood enough English to know what he was saying, but he genuinely didn't want to address that.  Glancing between the two blondes - one with American features and horns on her head, the other with French features and a shiny belt around his waist - he spoke up in Japanese.  "I don't suppose either of you is in class 1-A?"

"Oui, Monsier," the Frenchman replied immediately.  "I am in that class, too!  So you are also Hero course?"

"You both too?" the other blonde asked excitedly.  "I 1-B, but be Heroes too!  I Pony!  You?"

"Izuku Midoriya," Izuku introduced himself readily.

"Yuga Aoyama," the other man offered with a courtly bow and a toss of his hair, somehow making the air around himself shimmer and sparkle.  "A pleasure to make your acquaintances!"

"Yay!" Pony replied eagerly with a happy bounce.  "Me pleasuring you both, too!"

Izuku and Yuga both visibly winced.  Holding up his arm, Izuku had the screen on his bracer display the English translation of what she'd actually just said, causing all three of them to turn bright red as she covered her face.  It seemed dorm life would be...interesting...

Chapter Text

Aizawa stayed curled up in his sleeping bag, watching as the students of his homeroom filed in one by one.  It was still some time before the class was scheduled to begin, so this gave him an opportunity to assess his students as they arrived.  The early birds generally fell into a few different categories, from the rulebook binders to the over-achievers, with a little wiggle room for those who simply had commute difficulties.  He was usually able to read that, such that by the time anyone actually noticed him - if any of them did - he had a good read on what his students were like when they thought no one was looking.

Right now, he'd already pinged three students he would need to keep a close eye on between how they acted and their performance in the entrance exams.  The first was Endeavor's son who despite impressive capabilities and quirk control in the recommendation exam - or so he'd been told - demonstrated less social skills than Endeavor himself had been shown to have.  The suppressed anger in his otherwise empty gaze suggested either a vendetta or an all consuming mission, and neither was good to see on the first day of the first year.  The second student he'd already pinged as a problem was the purple haired midget, who had all but drooled over every girl that had entered the class so far.  Based on descriptions, that was also the one who had acted inappropriately towards Nemuri at the Entrance Exam.  Well, if his behavior continued and he performed poorly enough on the Quirk Assessment Test, Aizawa would have no problems whatsoever yeeting him from the class into Gen. Ed bare minimum, if not out of the school entirely.  He'd be rather disappointed if any of the other students failed to outperform the brat in a primarily physical assessment, given he could see from here the boy had no physical conditioning whatsoever, and obviously passed the Hero Practical by relying solely on his Quirk...the sort of student Aizawa hated having to teach and why he was so against the Entrance Exam setup to begin with.

The third student that was already pinging his radar as problematic was the explosive - in more ways than one - blonde with his feet up on the desk.  He'd kicked the classroom door in on his way in, verbally lashed out at everyone else already there, and slumped into his desk like the furniture had personally offended him.  Between that and a temper that matched his Quirk - Aizawa had spotted the sparks he kept under his hands and smelt the burnt caramel of the spent explosive sweat - he dreaded keeping that bomb from going off whenever and wherever it wanted.

The fact he was also teaching Tensei's little brother did little to improve Aizawa's mood, especially as the boy had immediately started ranting at the explosive one about his 'disrespectful behavior', leading to a rather intense argument that he was only watching to ensure it didn't come to blows.  Leaving one eye on that, he turned his attention to the last two students who were arriving.  He already felt put out about the Foreign students arriving so close to the start of class instead of trying to get there early, especially since they lived on campus.  However, at the rat's orders, he was being cautious in his approach towards the green-haired one.

Izuku Midoriya, apprentice to Dr. Ivo Robotnik, the 'villain' who had successfully turned the world on its head just by arriving and continued to do so by refusing to accept the world as he saw it, insisting on remaking it to what he felt it should be...and unfortunately, having advanced enough technology that most of the world wanted to let him, and enough forces under his banner to make those who didn't hesitate to force the issue.  And despite the 'Egg Emperor's disdain for the concept of Pro Heroes, his apprentice was here at UA to become the first Quirkless one.  This was going to be interesting...

Huh, that was a plus.  Izuku spotted him immediately.  Given the lines of code Aizawa was able to see racing across the lenses of his glasses, they were support equipment...and he probably already knew exactly who he was and why he was there.  Not bad.  He'd still have to see how things went...and figure out why the boy's face became an expression of distaste bordering on disgust and disdain the moment he laid eyes on the explosive boy-

"I saw you at the entrance exam, kero," a green haired girl - looked like she had a frog-based mutation - spoke up as Izuku entered.  "You bandaged my leg.  Recovery Girl said you did an expert job.  Thank you."

Izuku shrugged in response, though a hint of a smile tugged at the edge of his lips.  "You were hurt," he offered modestly.  "What else was I supposed to do-"

"DEKU!" the explosive boy suddenly demanded, rounding on Izuku and leaping to his feet, an expression of inarticulate fury on his face.  "What the fuck do you think you're doing here?!"  Explosive bursts were already starting to spark between his fingers.

Izuku paused until Bakugo stopped screaming, then continued his discussion with the frog girl.  "-ignore your plight like some glory hound that only cared about themselves?  I'm here to be a hero after all-"

"Stop ignoring me and face me, Deku!" the explosive boy screamed, lunging forward as he thrust forward with one arm.

Even as the explosion started to form, Aizawa was bracing himself and activating his Quirk...but Izuku was faster.  The fingers of his right hand twisted and wriggled in what was obviously a practiced motion, and the bracer on his right arm shifted in response before...the best Aizawa could describe it was giving off an anti-glow, as though emitting a light frequency outside the visible spectrum that caused the light around it to dim in response.  The explosion dissipated even as it approached the bracer...and the other bracer glowed as a light wall appeared between Izuku and the explosive boy, causing him to smack into it full force.  "The fuck?" the explosive boy demanded angrily as Tensei's brother began to rant about his behavior.

"I don't take kindly to being attacked for no reason," Izuku stated firmly as he turned to face the explosive boy.  The look on his face was one of complete contempt, and Aizawa was briefly afraid it would become a one-sided massacre that he'd have to interfere in more directly.  After all, Midoriya didn't have a Quirk for him to erase.  "And as far ignoring you...I was in the middle of a conversation, so why would I pay attention to someone who wasn't even talking to me?"

"What are you on about you Quirkless fuck?!" the boy demanded angrily as he leapt to his feet, bracing for combat even as other students expressed varying expressions of shock, disbelief, or interest.  "You think you're better than me, you damn shitty Deku?!"

"And that's why I ignored you before," Izuku stated calmly, eyes locked on the enraged blonde.  "There's no one named 'Deku' here."

"DIE!"  With that enraged scream, the boy lunged forward again...though this time nothing happened.  "The fuck?"

"If you think it's appropriate to try and kill each other in the classroom," Aizawa spoke up flatly, drawing all attention as his hair waved in the air and his eyes glowed red, "then you don't belong in a Hero School.  Now sit down, shut up, and behave yourself..."  He briefly glanced at the seating chart without breaking eye contact.  "...Bakugo."

"Who the fuck are you?" Bakugo demanded angrily.  "And the fuck happened to my Quirk?"

"Aizawa Shota, Pro Hero Eraserhead," Izuku explained calmly, taking his seat on the opposite side of the room from Bakugo, right behind the other foreign student in the class.  "Homeroom teacher for our class.  His quirk lets him erase non-mutant quirks of others, leveling the playing field."

As Bakugo took his seat and Aizawa let his Quirk relax, he raised an eyebrow at Izuku.  Plainly he had either accessed the school's records or already knew the information from another source...but despite obviously knowing it, he hadn't said anything about how his Quirk worked.  Leaving that for now, he turned to the class at large.  "Here at UA, teaching style is rather free-form.  As such..."  Reaching behind the desk - but deliberately making it look like he was reaching into his sleeping bag, just to screw with the kids and see who would get squicked out and who would think critically and realize it wouldn't fit and thus spot the trick - he pulled out a folded stack of UA gym uniforms.  "Put these on and meet me at the training field outside.  You have ten minutes."

Before he could even move, Izuku had stood up, grabbed one of the uniforms, and somehow exchanged it for his school uniform in a flash of ruby-colored cube constructs like something out of a bad VR simulation, stuffing his uniform into the cubes and making it and them vanish.  Before anyone could react, he'd already opened the window and leapt out, thrusters appearing on his feet and hands to give him a safe landing.

"Like I said," Aizawa spoke up as the rest of the class stared, "UA is rather freeform.  Nine minutes thirty seconds."  With that he leapt out the window while closing it behind him, landing lightly on the ground as the rest of the class scrambled away.  "Impressive support gear you have there," he addressed Izuku calmly, deciding to take advantage of this moment where it was just the two of them to address his own thoughts regarding the situation.

"Made it myself," Izuku explained readily.  "Took years to perfect, but I know it inside and out, and still coming up with new ways to use it."  He typed away at the bracer on his left arm, calling up what looked like a frequency graph.  "Think I can even duplicate Erasure now to deal with Quirks that don't attack directly with Quirk Emissions like what happened with Bakugo..."

"...you two know each other?" Aizawa pressed carefully, deciding to address the other elephant as long as it was brought up.

"Past-tense," Izuku stated flatly.  "Seems he's only gotten worse in six years at Aldera, not that I'm surprised.  In hindsight, I see just how awful that place was.  Glad I got out when I did."

That explained more than it didn't.  A huge scandal about the Aldera district and its Quirkist approach to 'nurturing students' had come to light as a result of their access to Eggtech based infrastructure being cut off just before the break between terms.  Apparently the reason for that - and the timing - was bound up in what he could already tell was his latest Problem Child.  "Returning to the original subject-"

"My thanks for that."

Aizawa frowned, not liking being interrupted.  "Don't you think you're a little over-reliant on it?" he asked bluntly.  "What exactly will you do if you lose it?"

"Build new ones with the parts in my compressed-space pockets," Izuku answered easily, still focused on the frequency graph while running other calculations.  "Only takes me about two minutes to build a functional one from scratch now, and once built it automatically connects to the Phantom Network and downloads all programmed techniques instantly."

"And if it can't connect to the Network?" Aizawa pressed, no longer concerned about that aspect of over-reliance if he could really replace a lost or damaged unit that quickly and carried enough replacement parts to do so at all times.

"Then I have more pressing concerns than the lack of support gear," Izuku replied in dry amusement.  "The collapse of the fabric of reality and breakdown of the laws of physics, for example."

Aizawa couldn't suppress the snort of amusement.  "Networks can be hacked," he pointed out.

"'Network' is a misnomer," Izuku answered evasively.  "I don't intend to spell out the inner workings, but 'hacking' simply isn't a physical - or metaphysical, for that matter - possibility in this case."

Aizawa nodded, accepting that explanation.  "And if someone takes it from you and tries to use it against you?" he pursued his last concern.

"Isomorphic controls," Izuku explained readily.  "Anyone other than myself and two specific individuals who are also already part of the 'Network' tries to use them, they'll automatically warp back to me and ping the Empire Machine Forces with the location of the unauthorized user letting them know that someone's been naughty."  A wicked grin crossed his features.  "Nobody's going to do that twice."

Aizawa stared at him for a time.  He'd talked to quite a few impressive support engineers over his career, the one who'd designed his capture scarf far from the least of them, and discovered they generally fell into two categories.  The competent-yet-sane ones generally dealt with what could easily be understood in terms of tech, and the way they spoke reflected that in their calm, quiet confidence, every word they said about their inventions stated in a tone that reassured even as it pushed the 'sale'.  They were generally reliable, but rarely truly creative.  Then there were the 'mad geniuses', the ones who regularly experimented with things beyond understood science and more often than not looked as damaged as their labs...but tended to create the truly incredible.  They spoke with mad excitement, frequently sounding unhinged as they went on not about whatever they were trying to present but about what they'd make next as a result, often failing to understand why others could not keep up.

Izuku was, somehow, in both categories.  When he spoke about the security and reliability of his support gear, he spoke with the confidence and self-assured tone of the competent-yet-sane, his conclusions coming across less as deductions and more as statements of fact.  When he talked about what they were capable of, however, the mad genius came through.  This was...definitely someone to watch.

"Very well," Aizawa stated flatly, his concerns properly addressed well before anyone else arrived.  "We'll see how you perform with them in a classroom setting, then, once everyone else gets here."

"Understood," Izuku replied immediately, plainly only paying passing attention to his teacher, most of his focus on his gear.

Aizawa made a mental note to apologize to Majima for past words said in ignorance.  Now he had a Problem Child who was both...

Chapter Text

Aizawa stared as the other students finally arrived.  He wasn't sure if he was pleased or disappointed that they all made it within the time limit he provided.  "At least you have a proper sense of urgency," he stated flatly.  "You only have three years to learn how to be Heroes, wasted time is lost time."  He watched as they gathered together in clumps, watching to see how they organized themselves.  Some stood in lines like a normal class, some grouped close to those they plainly already knew, some stood apart from everyone else...  Midoriya gave no indication he'd noticed the other students arriving, though Aizawa was certain that was a lack of reaction rather than a lack of notice.  Looking over the group, he decided to start with one of the loners.  "Bakugo," he called out, tossing one of the balls for the softball throw at him, the cushioning protecting the internal tracking circuitry from everything Power Loader could come up with.  "You seem to have a chip on your shoulder and something to prove."  He smirked behind his capture weapon as that statement set Bakugo to grinding his teeth.  With any luck, he could figure out enough of his issues to send him to Hound Dog for a treatment plan by the first heroics lesson.  "How far did you do on the softball throw at your old school?"

"Sixty meters," Bakugo snapped out derisively as he stared at the ball, his teeth bared in a visible snarl.

Aizawa pointed at the circle set up for the throw.  "Do it now with your Quirk.  Anything goes as long as you stay in the circle."  AS Bakugo smirked and stalked his way there. Midoriya stuck a finger into the swirling crimson cubes his support gear generated and pulled something out that whirred and hummed, throwing it to land among the rest of the students.  "And what's that, Midoriya?" he demanded flatly.

"Anti-sound emitter," Midoriya explained readily, still not looking up.  "It'll automatically filter out any sound above a per-determined level of decibels.  Figured it would be useful with how explosive he is, given at least two of us have enhanced hearing."  He gestured - without looking - to the girl with metal jacks on tendrils growing from her earlobes and the massive boy with multiple arms, both of whom blinked in surprise.

"...useful," Aizawa stated calmly as he stepped into the device's field.  He saw no reason to subject himself to the sound of explosions if he could avoid it.  Besides, the look of impotent fury on Bakugo's face over the situation - whatever the cause - was amusing.  "What are you waiting for, Bakugo?  Throw the ball."

Growling angrily, Bakugo reared back and threw the ball with a shout of "DIE!" and an explosion from his palm for propulsion.  Admittedly, he only knew what he shouted from reading lips, as his shout was apparently high enough to be in range for the anti-sound emitter to cancel...which said something about how Midoriya saw Bakugo given screaming seemed to be his standard way of communicating.  While he waited for the score to register, an alert popped up on his phone.  Glancing at it, he read the message from Nezu and frowned.  Of course politics was getting in the way of him running the class as normal.  Still, he could always claim logical ruse after giving them the scare...or worse.  That could certainly be interesting.  Maybe nail home why they needed to focus, train, and treat things seriously.  It could certainly light a fire under them.

Seeing the score pop up, he showed the device to everyone.  "You all do these tests without Quirks as you grow up," he said as they looked at the score of over 600 meters.  "But if you're going to be Heroes, you can't hold back...and there are places you can go to train your Quirks in preparation for the Hero Course, licensed or otherwise.  If you made it this far, then you definitely prepared in some way, shape, or form...so let's see how ready you are."

"We get to use our Quirks?!" the energetic pink girl with horns - his phone informed him from the class roster it was Mina Ashido - called out excitedly.  "This is going to be so much fun!"

"Fun, you say?" Aizawa asked with a grin.  "Well, if you think it's going to be fun, let's raise the stakes.  Whoever comes in last will be judged as having no potential...and anyone without potential gets expelled."

As expected, that set the cat among the pigeons.  Some students gasped in shock.  Others swore under their breath.  The statuesque one with long black hair - Momo Yaoyorozu, of course it was the heiress - simply raised an eyebrow.  She plainly didn't believe it was a genuine threat.  Bakugo looked smug with a glare in Midoriya's direction, plainly expecting him to lose simply because he was 'Quirkless'.  "That's not fair!" one of the female students cried out.

Aizawa was rather surprised to see a derisive sneer briefly cross Midoriya's face, though he was the only one in position to see it.  He made a mental note of that before responding after getting the girl's name from his phone.  "Are natural disasters fair?  Are villain attacks?  Traffic accidents?  The world isn't fair, Uraraka.  That's the entire reason heroes exist...and if you can't handle a little unfairness, Gen Ed has plenty of open seats if you won't take the risks."  He stared out at everyone for a time, waiting to see if anyone else would say anything.  The only motion he saw was Midoriya turning to focus on the activity.  "Good.  Let's get started."

Aizawa was rather unsrurprised at the outcome of the tests.  Those who had the proper training - whether through their connections or sheer determination - were able to excel, while those who hadn't fell behind...but they all put in the effort and tried.  Well, almost all.  Midoriya was obviously sandbagging in terms of what his support gear could do, but still managed to get in the top five minimum on every single test, if not the highest score in any where everyone was testing at once, usually by an ounce or an inch just to make a point.  When it came to the ball throw, he'd generated what he described as miniature mass driver that Aizawa was pretty sure launched his soft ball into the sun.  At least, he assumed that was what the signal degradation meant.

At the end, Aizawa called up the holo-display to show everyone their final rankings.  Admittedly, he fudged some of the rankings just to straighten it out - if he went strictly by scores, Yaoyorozu and Midoriya would be tied for first, but he marked Midoriya down as second because he plainly didn't care about the test - and it was somewhat satisfying seeing Bakugo blowing a gasket over coming in sixth, plainly part of that boy's issues were anchored in 'big fish small pond', the sooner he got over that the better.  His focus, however, was on Mineta, the perverted midget.  He'd come in last, and he was curious how the boy would handle it.  Depending on how he behaved, he might just have to take things up with Nezu.

Much to his surprise, while Mineta did start crying over coming in last, he did so silently and while trying to be as stoic as possible.  And during the tests, while he'd been - briefly - distracted by the way the female students moved in the gym uniforms and had made comments to another student about the class being 'full of hotties', he'd locked in completely when it came to the actual tests and showed real creativity with applying his Quirk.  ...it hadn't worked, but that was mostly because he needed some serious conditioning if he was going to make it as a hero, conditioning he didn't have yet.

"Any other year, this would be the point where I tell those without potential to pack their things," Aizawa stated firmly, noticing both the brief confusion from Yaoyorozu and the spark of hope from Mineta.  "However, due to reasons..."  He let his eyes briefly flick towards Midoriya, enough to spot him rolling his eyes in frustration.  "...unlike other years, I'm not allowed to expel anyone on the first day this year.  My class last year wishes that had been the case for them, considering I wound up expelling all of them on the first day."  He hid a smirk behind his capture weapon at the sight of Yaoyorozu's face paling as she realized her assumption it was an 'empty bluff' was wrong.  "Instead, I'll be doing something a little bit differently.  You'll be coming up to me one by one, and I'll be asking you a question.  Depending on your answer, I'll give you an instruction.  I'll explain the reasons after.  Bakugo, I'll start with you."

Bakugo stormed up to him, his rage plain on his face.  "What?" he snapped out angrily.

"What is a hero to you?" he asked quietly.

Bakugo let out a derisive sound as though the answer was obvious.  "Heroes kill villains and win!" he snapped out.  "How do you not know that?"

Aizawa's eyes narrowed, and he mightily resisted the urge to expel the brat just for that.  He took a few internal calming breaths, mentally thanking the improvements Eggtech had done to Underground Heroics - including the lending of Mettalix units as backup and substitutes - which meant that he was able to get a full night's sleep once a week these years instead of once a month as it had been before Robotnik had shown up, otherwise he'd have likely tried to strangle the kid.  "Group 1," he stated in as flat a tone as he could muster, pointing to the softball circle.

Once Bakugo left, he turned back to the class.  "Iida," he called up, getting Tensei's little brother to show up far too rapidly for his tastes.  "What is a hero to you?"

Tenya straightened and immediately broke into what would obviously be a lecture.  "The legal definition of a hero is-"

"Not what I asked," he interrupted flatly.  "Group 2."  He pointed to the sandbox from the standing long jump.  "Midoriya."

Izuku walked up to him calmly.  "Same question for everyone?" he asked softly.

"You heard?" Aizawa asked in surprise.

"Turned the anti-sound emitter off after the tests," Izuku explained easily, indicating where the device was no longer there.

"...your answer, then?"

"Heroes help people, because they need help," Izuku stated firmly.  "Everything else is window dressing."

Aizawa hid his smirk behind his scarf.  "Group 3, Problem Child."  He tried not to laugh at how Midoriya plainly wore that moniker with pride.  Then again, compared with - apparently - 'Deku'...  "Todoroki!"  Once the son of Endeavor reached him, he asked the question.  "What is a hero to you?"

"What does it matter?" Todoroki asked flatly.  "I'm going to be one."

"And how do you expect to be one if you don't even know what you're trying to be?" Aizawa asked flatly.  "Group 1."

And so it went.  Students whose answers were problematic went into Group 1...though thankfully, the only other students to wind up there were Aoyama - whose declaration about heroes 'sparkling brilliantly' was far too shallow - and Mineta...although in Mineta's case, Aizawa had been sorely tempted to sort him into Group 2 simply because his answer suggested he had some serious issues and was in sore need of therapy, given he stated heroes were 'popular, cool, and nobody made them feel bad about themselves'.  Group 2 was anyone who gave a rote answer such as recited laws and regulations, or those who didn't have a ready answer and asked to think about it.  Group 3 were those who had a ready answer that showed they'd given the situation some thought.  Uraraka, Kirishima, and Asui were the only ones to join Midoriya in group 3, unfortunately, all having answers that basically boiled down to Heroes protecting people and keeping them safe.  Not the best results he could hope for, but he could work with this.

"The reason for this part of the exercise is simple," Aizawa stated once everyone was divided up.  "UA Hero Course produces heroes.  Some classes take their time with students, let them learn over the years how to handle it, what it means, what they're supposed to be.  I don't.  I throw my students into the deep end in school to sink or swim...so they don't end up drowning after graduation.  I have the highest expulsion rate of any Hero Course teacher in the country, the lowest graduation rate...but the students who do graduate from my class have the highest incident resolution rate and lowest casualty rate for their years.  If someone leaves my class a graduate, I expect them to have long, successful careers."  His eyes lingered on Group 3 as he said this.  "I refuse to send kids out into the world thinking they're ready to be heroes..."  He turned towards Group 2.  "Only to, within the year, read their obituaries..."  He then turned to Group 1.  "...or news of their arrests.  If I had my way this year, everyone from Group 1 would be expelled and blacklisted, and everyone in Group 2 would be booted to Gen Ed."  He smirked behind his scarf at the gasps of shock.  "Unfortunately - in my opinion - I don't have the authority to do that this year.  In point of fact, I'm not allowed to expel anyone until after the first Sports Festival...so those of you in Groups 1 and 2?  You've got till then to get yourselves in shape, your minds in gear, figure out why you're here...and prove me wrong about you.  And those in Group 3?  Don't think you have it easy either.  The fact you've got the right idea of what heroes are...just means I'll be pushing you all the harder in every other category."

He lifted his head so everyone could see his most unsettling grin.  "Welcome to the Hero Course, brats.  If you expect to still be here past the Sports Festival...good luck.  Dismissed."

Chapter Text

Momo Yaoyorozu frowned thoughtfully as she watched their teacher leave, trying not to admit to herself just how shaken the entire event had left her.  While she had certainly expected the teaching style of UA to be different from what she'd experienced before, she hadn't expected the teacher to be so...cold, or perhaps the word was pragmatic.  Then again, she knew very little about Underground Heroes - by design of the system, of course - but Mr. Aizawa was definitely as far from what she had expected as possible.  She had thought the threat of expulsion was empty, simply a goad to make everyone do their best, only to learn he had expelled his entire class the previous year.  And then having her best attempt at explaining heroism as she understood it - as she'd studied and memorized it for exams in the past - dismissed as 'rote nonsense' and placed in the group that Mr. Aizawa wished to demote to Gen Ed...she was left feeling rather lost and adrift.  How was she supposed to handle it?

She was still standing where she'd been, and could hear Iida mumbling to himself.  Well, that wasn't quite a fair description.  While he was talking quietly, he was talking distinctly enough for his words to make sense...if he'd slow down enough that anyone else could hear them clearly.  He was plainly at least as shaken as her over Aizawa's assessment, and seemed to be trying to convince himself of something, though she had no idea what.  The others in the group seemed simply confused or thoughtful, though were already starting to disperse.

Todoroki seemed to be staring at nothing, completely ignoring the ranting and raving of the angry blonde beside him.  Momo made a mental note to have as little to do with that one as possible.  Not only had he attempted to attack a fellow student for some reason, he'd been aggressive, angry, and overall hostile towards everyone the entire assessment, seemingly taking anyone doing better than him as a personal insult...especially Midoriya, the one he'd called Quirkless.  That, admittedly, had Momo's curiosity.

Seeing Midoriya calmly walking away after a brief interchange between himself and the others who were sorted into the third group - those Aizawa judged as having the right idea of being heroes - Momo made a decision.  She needed to figure out what was wrong about her answer, how to improve, and to understand both her teacher and the class better.  Midoriya not only seemed the best informed of everyone present, but also didn't seem intimidated by their teacher at all.  And the way he used the power he had was exceptionally similar to her own Quirk, giving her a conversational 'in' and a reason to approach him.  Decision made, she turned to race off after him.  "Midoriya!" she called out as she approached.

Midoriya looked up from the screen on his bracer, blinking in surprise.  "Mo-I mean, Yaoyorozu," he greeted awkwardly.  "What can I do for you?"

Momo blinked in surprise at how he addressed her, almost doing it by first name...but realized he was heading towards the dormitories for foreign students.  While he had features suggesting he was a native of Japan, if he had spent a good deal of time elsewhere he was probably used to western courtesy where using first names was more common.  "I was hoping to speak with you about the class, and about your...abilities."  While she wasn't going to take the explosive boy's words at face value, Midoriya hadn't denied his accusation at any point either, and she didn't want to offend by making an assumption.

An easy smile crossed Midoriya's face.  "I had a feeling you'd be wanting to talk about that.  I admit I had a few questions about your Quirk as well.  You seem to be able to create things from your body in some manner.  Given you were conservative in your creations' size, I assume some sort of resource is consumed to fuel the process?"

"I...yes," Momo answered, surprised that he'd pieced that much together from just observation.  "I convert the lipids in my fat storage into anything I can visualize and understand the composition of."

A frown crossed Izuku's face.  "I don't doubt the lipids are what's consumed in the creation process, but it can't be direct conversion.  The canon you created to launch the softball had to weigh more than you do - for that matter, it easily out-massed you - and yet you're still here.  However the creation works, the lipids are probably just the fuel that powers the process."

Momo stumbled a step as she took in what she said.  While she knew that she was capable of creating incredibly heavy and dense objects, she'd never stopped to think about what that meant in terms of Conservation of Matter.  Quirks violated that all the time, after all.  Besides...  "But my Quirk Counselor said-"

"From what I've researched, most Quirk Counselors have just enough knowledge of Quirk Science and mechanics to keep their clients from killing themselves, unless they're specifically licensed to counsel Heroes," Midoriya interrupted gently.  "And while Quirks do regularly violate Conservation of Matter, that's because all Quirks tap an extra-dimensional energy source that they have in common, the same energy type that Quirks like Eraserhead's act on to shut them off, and that Quirk Suppressant technology acts on.  I should know."  Reaching into a pocket, he pulled out what at first looked like a crystalline vial of some sort...until she looked closer and saw it was an odd-colored prism containing an endlessly shifting energy within it.  "The main thrust of my research the past six years has been into tapping, utilizing, and studying that energy directly without using a Quirk."

Momo stared at the energy contained in the prism, completely enthralled in the almost but not quite eldritch play of light within.  Eventually, she snapped back to herself.  "I...still don't see the distinction, though," she pointed out.  "My lipids are consumed for the process, and my larger creations take more lipids.  Even if the majority of the energy is supplied by this other source..."

"The question becomes what, exactly, the consumption of lipids is caused by," Midoriya explained readily as he slipped the prism back into his pocket.  "Is it proportional to mass?  Density?  Volume?  Do more familiar objects take less?  Do simpler objects take less than more complex ones even if mass and composition are comparable?  Or, what would be most significant, is the consumption of lipids directly proportional to the length of creation time, meaning the lipids are only used to fuel the process while the creation is done solely from Quirk Energy?  In which case training to create faster would be the priority to maximize your versatility and stores."

Momo's eyes widened as she took in everything he'd said.  Beyond just the fact that it turned much of what she 'knew' about her Quirk on its head - and opened up so many avenues to improve depending on which answers proved accurate - what truly left her reeling was finally having a conversation with someone who could talk at her intellectual level.  "That...is certainly a great deal to think about," she admitted finally, a warm smile on her face.  "Do your..."  She let her voice trail off, remembering his earlier words.  'Without using a Quirk'.  It was oblique, but it appeared he was indeed Quirkless...and his talk of research indicated the abilities he demonstrated were instead the result of his technology.  "Does your support equipment function on a similar mechanism?  I noticed you creating several objects in a similar manner out of those crimson cubes you conjured..."

A brief, sad smile crossed his face before being replaced by an inventor's gleam.  "While it results in similar effects - and runs purely on Quirk energy - the actual mechanism is very different," he explained readily.  "The exact nature of the mechanism is, unfortunately, a...call it a 'trade secret', though I imagine there's quite a bit of possibility for synergy between your Quirk and my techniques."

"Something to certainly look into in future class sessions," Momo agreed with a smile...only for the smile to briefly fade as she wondered if there would be many of those...or if she would fail to 'prove herself' to Mr. Aizawa's expectations by the Sports Festival...

"Mr. Aizawa is trying, but he's an indelicate teacher," Midoriya spoke up, making her look up in surprise.  Seeing the amused smirk on his face, she realized he'd read her thoughts as easily as if she'd spoken aloud.  "While the new spin on the test was well thought out, the phrasing of the question wasn't for the sort of answers he was looking for.  Your answer was...accurate, as far as it went.  It just wasn't the right one...though one could argue that's because the question was the wrong one."

Momo let out a breath of relief.  She didn't like to think she'd 'failed' such an important test so early in her heroic career, but if it was the result of a miscommunication...  "And what question do you think he should have asked?"

"Why do you want to be a hero?"

Momo blinked in surprise.  "But...isn't that a question everyone is asked before they get this far?" she asked in confusion.

"It is, but the answers given are part of getting here," he explained calmly.  "Either the answer they think others want to hear, or what they've absorbed from others is the 'correct' answer.  What Mr. Aizawa wanted to learn was what each student's individual, personal reasons for seeking to be a hero were."  He shrugged his shoulders.  "It might have invaded privacy a little, but I was able to hear everyone's answers because of my tech."  Here he tapped his glasses, and Momo found herself blinking a few times at the way his green eyes seemed to shimmer behind the glass.  "Bakugo-" he said the name with such disdain "-is convinced he's the best there is and is out to prove it.  Todoroki doesn't even know why he's here, only that at some level he needs to be.  Aoyama's reasoning was a bit too shallow.  Mineta..."  His voice trailed off as a frown crossed his face.

"I...I probably shouldn't pry," Momo pressed gently.  "However, the way he was behaving towards me and the other female students..."

"Mineta is broken," Izuku explained gently, his voice sympathetic and understanding.  "His being here is equal parts a drive for self-improvement and a subconscious cry for help.  I don't know all the details - Psychbot does not breach patient confidentiality even on orders from Ivo-"

"Psychbot?  Ivo?"  The first name confused her, while the second niggled her brain as familiar somehow.

Midoriya chuckled softly.  "I thought everyone knew.  I'm apprenticed to Dr. Ivo Robotnik, the Egg Emperor.  Psychbot is a member of the Empire's Machine Forces specializing in psychological analysis.  Originally created to analyze psychological weak points of the Doctor's enemies, he's hooked himself into the upgraded networks and is helping as many patients as he can find.  And unless those patients actually attack an Empire citizen or stronghold - thus declaring themselves enemies of the Empire - Psychbot will not violate their confidentiality."  He let out a more amused laugh.  "I honestly couldn't tell if Dr. Robotnik was more pissed or proud when Psychbot first refused him about the matter."

Momo stared at Midoriya in shock.  She was well aware of the changes to the world as a result of the arrival of the Eggman Empire - her family was heavily invested in those changes, both in terms of finance and progress - and had been aware that the incredible scientist at its head had taken an apprentice.  At some level, she'd hoped to one day meet said apprentice and perhaps discuss both the technological and business side of those things...but in UA's Hero Course was the last place she expected to meet him.  "Forgive me for asking so impertinently," she began carefully, "but as Dr. Robtonik's apprentice, you could take...any scientific position you wanted in life.  And he's made his opinion on the 'Hero system' perfectly clear, so..."  She hesitated, unsure how to continue.

Midoriya smiled softly, his expression both gentle and sad.  "All my life, all I'd ever wanted was to be a Hero," he explained nostalgically.  "Ever since I first watched All Might's debut video, where he saved a 100 people in a single night with a smile on his face, telling everyone..."  He paused as his voice choked.

"There's no need to fear," Momo provided gently, knowing the video herself.  She'd lost count of the number of times she'd watched it herself.  "Why?  For I Am Here."

Midoriya nodded.  "I...I wanted that.  To be that.  To be someone who could make people feel safe and hopeful just by being there with a smile."

"...that's a wonderful reason to be a Hero," Momo praised, feeling herself warm at just how pure that motivation was.

"Yes," Midoriya continued sadly.  "Unfortunately for me, the rest of our world didn't care about my dreams, just my genetics.  The moment the diagnosis came in, everyone around me wasted no time telling me my dream was pure fantasy and pointless, and that I would never amount to anything."  He said 'diagnosis' with even more venom than he had said Bakugo's name earlier.  "Even the one I thought was my best friend deliberately corrupting the reading of my name so he could get everyone to call me useless."

Momo felt bile rising in her throat at the very idea.  She had wondered about the meaning when Bakugo had called Midoriya 'Deku'...and now fully understood why he'd ignored the boy and insisted it was not his name.  Well, with any luck she wouldn't have to deal with the bully beyond the Sports Festival.  With judgemental eyes already on him, his bullying behavior was sure to be seen for what it was.

"And then I came to Robotnik's attention," Izuku continued, joy once more entering his voice.  "I'd been analyzing Quirks from the moment I was able to write...and he saw genius there, genius he chose to nurture.  He found the idea of people deliberately overlooking someone with talent in favor of someone who was 'genetically special' to be extremely, personally distasteful...and he helped me believe in my own potential.  I told him about my dream, and about how the world had reacted to it.  And he taught me something about that."  The smile on his face turned to a rakish smirk, a mad gleam in his eyes, transforming him into the image of a mad scientist ready to spike the world on its own physics.  "I can either accept it...or I can reject their reality, and work to impose my own...and prove them all wrong.  And that...is why I Am Here."

Momo couldn't stop the shiver that raced over her in response to his words.  There was a spark of madness there, yes, but it was a fire tamed by ambition, discipline, and a truly kind heart despite how badly wounded said heart had been in the past.  "Perhaps that is why I should be here," she mused to herself.  "The world is the way it is...because those in power in some way, shape, or form profit from it.  And only someone with power in power can hope to make a change.  Someone who knows the politics...and how to use it for the right reasons."  She paused.  "Though...perhaps I shouldn't have spoken of that so freely.  There are many who would not want to let such a hero rise to enough prestige to act..."

Midoriya let out an amused laugh, and she found herself unaccountably smiling in response.  "Don't worry.  Nobody here but us and the mice."

"Mice?" Momo asked in confusion, only for her phone to ping twice.  She quickly checked, only for her eyes to widen at the notifications.

Principal Nezu has reassigned you to Group 3.

Mr. Aizawa has confirmed Principal Nezu's reassignment.

Momo blinked in surprise, then smiled warmly.  "So what he was looking for was our mission...to make the world a better place, and how we intended to do that."

Midoriya nodded.  "Tsu - she insists on first names, which is a relief for me - wants to be able to do everything she can to help people in need, and that means getting licensed to use her Quirk.  Uraraka wants to be a Rescue Hero like 13.  Kirishima wants to be a shield for other people, inspired by Crimson Riot."  He shrugged his shoulders.  "And you've heard my reason.  I think you'll fit in with the rest of us just fine."

Momo couldn't stop herself from blushing, both in embarrassment and in pleasure.  The idea of having an actual friend group, of being accepted and welcome for 'Momo' instead of 'Yaoyorozu'...  "I-If you don't mind, Midoriya, could...would you be willing to address me in the same way you do Asui?"

Midoriya's smirk once more turned rakish, though this time without the mad gleam.  "Only if you do the same, Momo."

"It would be my pleasure...I-Izuku."

As the pair parted ways, neither noticed a pair of red eyes watching from the shadows near the ceiling, the gaze uncertain yet upset...

Chapter Text

As Izuku gathered himself for class the following day, he quickly noticed something was...off.  Sage had seen to everything she had the prior morning - checking the networks, giving him an update regarding anything pertinent, providing info regarding teachers and classmates, and even going so far as to properly tie his tie as he still struggled with it - but she'd been oddly subdued and quiet the entire time.  "Would you care to accompany me to class today?" he suggested idly.  "I'm sure Principal Nezu would allow it, and he overrules Mr. Aizawa regularly, apparently..."

"There is no need," Sage replied quietly.  "I am fine on my own.  Perhaps I will explore the school more directly to add to the knowledge the map database provides.  The Principal may have included deliberately falsified data to throw off hostile digital and physical incursions."

"I wouldn't put it past him," Izuku agreed, though his thoughts were already on something else.  Sage seemed...quieter than normal, more withdrawn.  "...Sage, is everything alright?" he asked carefully.

Sage tilted her head, exhibiting confusion at his question.  "All processes are functioning at normal levels and capacities," she observed dryly.  "There are no program or mechanical errors."

Izuku stared at her for a time.  She may have exhibited confusion...but he couldn't help but think what she was actually presenting was evasion.  "Sage...are you feeling alright?" he pressed as delicately as he could.

The red and black of Sage's projection briefly flickered to blue and white before returning to normal.  "There do not appear to be any errors in my emotional coding," Sage responded evasively.

"Sage..."

Sage turned away from him, focusing on a holo-display despite the fact she could have that information beamed directly to her central processor far more efficiently.  "I do not currently have the information necessary to articulate the at-present non-issue beyond the fact that something has been noted regarding my emotional processing," she explained somewhat flatly.  "Unless and until more information comes to light in that regard, I do not wish to speak about it."

"Understood," Izuku responded immediately, backing off the topic as best he could.  "...you'll let me know if something is wrong?" he asked gently as he headed for the door.

"If I determine it appropriate to discuss the matter with you once it is fully analyzed, I will not hesitate to do so," she reassured him, although somewhat distantly.  "If not, I will let you know once it is resolved.  ...I am not sure I like these feelings, whatever they are."

"Not all feelings are enjoyable to experience," Izuku agreed as his mind turned back to his time before meeting Sage...to that conversation...  "Still, to be incapable of feeling those less enjoyable emotions would be to cripple our ability to feel the others, and how much poorer the experience of life would be without them."

"On this we agree completely," Sage confirmed, a soft smile on her face.  "As confusing and illogical as emotional response can be, I would never choose to be without...and Father does not deny them to even the most basic of Badniks."

"I never doubted his wisdom," Izuku agreed, smiling back.  "See you after class!"

"Until then," Sage agreed as he left, doing her best to keep her smile until he'd closed the door.

Izuku smiled to himself as he waited at Training Ground B.  While everyone else had to take their costume cases to the locker room to change, Izuku was able to use his Phantom Bracers to make a quick change even as he made his way there, and he was able to thus reach the grounds even before All Might.  Admittedly, learning that All Might was their Heroics Teacher had been a major pleasant surprise, but Izuku had trained himself not to let his emotions out to the point they took control of him.  That wouldn't help him as a scientist or as a hero.

He now stood in his Hero Costume, patterned after Dr. Robotnik's preferred attire.  An armored black bodysuit was the underlayer, with a layered appearance of emerald green coat that hid the folds of a wingsuit and innumerable pockets containing back up weaponry, tools, and parts to repair or replace his support gear on the fly, golden buttons running down his chest in two columns, each one connecting to different support tech running the gamut from communications to emergency beacons to a forcefield generator.  His Phantom Goggles sat over his eyes in matching emerald green, almost blending into his hair where it grew wildly in an almost cloud around his head, completing the image of a mad scientist.  The heavy armored black boots with built in thrusters and speed boosters blended almost seamlessly with the armored bodysuit, and his white gloves fit like a second skin while giving him complete tactile awareness of his environment while being just as armored as the rest of his costume.

"Whoa-HO!" All Might declared as he arrived, pulling back in surprise as he saw Izuku in his costume.  "If I didn't know better, I'd think you were a veteran Pro with a costume that well designed!"  Walking up, he rapped his knuckles against the fabric, only to whistle in surprise.  "I can feel just how well armored that is...and is that inertial-dispersion weave?  I thought it was still theoretical!"

"Technically speaking, it is," Izuku replied with a smirk.  "But just because something doesn't exist yet doesn't mean it isn't available...as long as you know how it should function if it exists."  He fondly caressed his Phantom Bracers, idly letting his free hand finger the golden buttons that concealed Phantom Drives that made the suit function as it needed to.  "Speaking of how things should function, how's your latest treatment going?"

All Might blinked in surprise as one hand went to his side, to his wound.  He then gave an awkward chuckle.  "Ah, yes, you're Dr. Robotnik's apprentice.  I suppose you would know about that."

Izuku smiled softly.  Apparently, around the same time Izuku met Sage, All Might got into a fight with a villain whose identity was kept confidential, and left the battle with a rather large wound in his side.  While various medical specialists had attempted to treat him, something about his Quirk interfered with standard transplant based medicine, and he had left that fight missing a chunk of his internal anatomy.  Izuku's development of Phantom Drive tech, however, allowed the use of medical tech that could trick even a Quirk into believing that things were different from what was...which was a great deal more reliable than anti-rejection medicine.  "And?" Izuku pressed gently.

"Everything's working as it should be," All Might replied, gingerly rubbing his side as his fingers traveled over now smooth skin under his costume.  "I was actually able to enjoy a cheeseburger just this morning for the first time in years!"

"That's good to hear!" Izuku declared happily.  "I...I'm glad my tech was able to help my favorite Hero that way..."

"Your tech?" All Might asked in surprise.  "I know Dr. Robotnik didn't want to take credit for what the Phantom treatment could do, but I thought that was modesty!"

Izuku struggled not to crack up at that statement.  "Ivo?  Modest?  Have you met the man?"

"I plainly don't know him as well as you do," All Might allowed with a laugh.  "...you have my thanks, Young Midoriya.  I don't pretend to know how the world at large will handle the idea of you...but you're already a Hero to me, and I'll be rooting for you in the future."

Izuku bit his lip and stiffened his spine to keep from getting visibly choked up.  Hearing that from All Might of all people, after all these years...  "T-thank you," he replied finally, managing to keep the stammering to a bare minimum.

"Chin up, Young Midoriya!" All Might chided with his trademark smile.  "It looks like your classmates are coming!"  He turned toward the hall where the other students were approaching from, and he raised his voice as they began to become visible.  "They say the clothes make the Pros!" he called out in praise.  "And it's plainly true, as you all look like Heroes-"

"Aww, HELL NAW!" Izuku suddenly screamed out in English before stomping towards the group.  While most of the costumes were more or less fine, a few grabbed his attention in various ways.  His emotions on seeing Bakugo's costume were...complex, given how much of it was lifted from what Hero Notes he'd made about the boy when they were younger.  Mineta's costume was also concerning, given what was probably meant to make him look like a bowl of grapes instead made it look like he was wearing a metal diaper.  The other costumes ran the gamut from looking professional to looking uncomfortable or basic...but two in particular stood out and he absolutely had to do something about it.  "What were they thinking?!" he demanded angrily as he gestured to Momo and Hagakure.

Momo blinked in confusion.  "Izuku, I told you how my Quirk works," she explained in an attempt to defuse whatever the situation was.  "I need my skin exposed to create..."

"I can only make myself invisible!" Hagakure pointed out defensively.  "It's not like I have much of a choice-"

Izuku rounded on Hagakure.  "And did the support company that made yours not even suggest the idea of DNA-doped, Quirk-aligned Meta-materials?  It's not even complicated to make an armored suit that can turn invisible in response to your Quirk and biology when you put it on but remains visible when you aren't wearing it!"

"...they can do that?" Hagakure asked in shock.

"While they can, such materials are rather expensive..." Momo pointed out carefully.  She would know, as she'd looked into getting that sort of armored suit for herself...only to balk at the price, deciding to wait on that until she had graduated, was a full pro, and - most specifically - was unlikely to have another growth spurt and outgrow it.

"That's still no excuse to let a teenage girl run around a disaster zone naked!" Izuku snapped out angrily.  "Do you have any idea how distracting that is with my goggles alt-vision modes?!"

"Wait...you can see me?!" Hagakure gasped out in shock, her gloves moving to indicate she was trying to cover herself.

"Indeed I can, and I'm going to have to ask All Might not to have me in the same group as you for this exercise because of it, as I'll be going nuts over just how reckless it is and unable to focus on the exercise!"  With that said, he rounded on Momo.  "And having skin exposed is all well and good, but there's this rather advanced invention in that regard called velcro.  It would barely take a moment to pop a panel open - or closed - as needed, and then you'd at least be properly armored, and not running around looking like a cross between a gymnast and a stripper!"

Momo wasn't certain which she was more shocked by.  The fact such a comparison was being made about her, how accurate it suddenly felt as she looked at just how exposed she was...or that Izuku of all people was using words like that.  "I...I suppose my costume could certainly use a redesign...I hadn't thought about moveable panels..."

Izuku sighed as he got himself under control, waving off Momo's words.  "It's fine, it's fine...not the first time high intelligence resulted in hyperfocus resulted in bloody stupid.  We'll swing by the Support Labs after class and get this fixed, get you both Eggtech design hero costumes."  He glanced towards Hagakure.  "Honestly, Ivo'll be glad to fix your costume issue.  He's had more than enough of 'heroes' running around in just gloves and shoes and doesn't want to go through it again."  His voice dropped as he muttered under his breath, "At least they all had fur..."

All Might awkwardly cleared his throat.  "Well, yes, it's expected that you'll all go through multiple costume designs in your hero careers, and none of your current looks are expected to be permanent."  He glanced at Izuku's costume once more.  "Though there are exceptions..."  Clearing his throat more firmly, he continued.  "Anyway, today we have a special heroics exercise to see where you all are in terms of combat and mastery of your abilities!  Now, given this is both a school exercise and your first lesson, I expect you all to be careful and not do anything that could prove exceptionally dangerous to your fellow classmates.  While we have Recovery Girl and a variety of Eggtech medical in case of emergencies, I'd rather not have an emergency during my very first class, understand?"  He pulled out his lesson plan, smacking it with one hand.  "Now, normally I'd be more willing to engage you all in discussion, but I'm afraid I need to rush through things given how long we've already spent...and to give some of you time to see Power Loader about costume redesigns.  I'm sure you all either played Heroes and Villains when you were younger or saw it played, so you should have some idea what I mean when I say we'll be doing something in a similar vein!  Despite what's televised, most Hero vs Villain conflicts actually happen indoors, such as hostage situations or secret bases!  And that is what we will be doing here!  You will all divide randomly into teams of two - to simulate how Heroes often have to work with whoever is on site on arrival - with one team acting as the Villains and the other team as the Heroes!  The Villains will be defending an objective - represented by a faux bomb - and will have five minutes to prepare once they enter the building, after which the Heroes will enter!  The Heroes will have fifteen minutes to either capture the Villains - signified by binging them in capture tape which will be provided - or capturing the weapon by making and maintaining contact with it to a count of ten!  Villains win by either capturing the Heroes to eliminate them, compelling them to surrender, or running out the clock!  Any questions?"  Seeing Aoyama posing while flaring his cape, he corrected, "Any questions regarding the exercise or my instructions regarding it?"  Seeing no one speaking up - although Aoyama was pouting - All Might nodded.  "Excellent!  Now, draw lots to determine teams."

Everyone quickly went to a box, sticking their hands in and drawing out a piece of paper with a letter A through K on it, two papers with each letter.  To both their pleased surprise, Izuku and Momo wound up on a team together.

"Everyone have their team assignments?" All Might called out excitedly.  As everyone confirmed it, he stuck one hand into another box.  "For the first round, the Hero team is..."  He pulled out a sphere.  "Team D!"  Off in one corner, Bakugo began to look pumped while Iida managed to look concerned even through his face-concealing helmet.  "And for the Villain team...team A!"

Momo gasped in surprise as the team she was on was named Villain for the first exercise...but that was quickly overshadowed by another's reaction.

"Hehehehehe..." Izuku began to laugh, starting quietly, slowly becoming louder and unhinged.  "...hehehahaHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"  As he reached the crescendo of his laughter, his back was arched and his arms spread wide, channeling Dr. Eggman at his most unhinged surprisingly well despite never seeing him laugh so.  Noticing everyone staring at him with expressions ranging from fear to shock to disdain, he brought his palms together before his chest as he straightened, doing his best to project an air of innocence.  "...I don't suppose you'll all accept 'getting into character' for an explanation, will you?" he asked playfully.

Chapter Text

"You don't really expect anyone to believe that 'getting into character' explanation, do you?" Momo asked as she and Izuku made their way to the building the exercise would take place in.  "That laugh came far too naturally and was far too unhinged to not raise concern."

"The point of the explanation wasn't to be believed," Izuku replied easily as they entered the building, his right hand flying over the keyboard on his left bracer as Phantom Construct Cubes began to fill the air around him, ready to be shaped as he deemed fit.  "The point was to offer reasonable doubt.  Certainly some students will be convinced that I am dangerously unstable, while some will think I take a little too much after my mentor...while some will convince themselves that I am a consummate actor."

"And the real explanation?" Momo pressed gently, doing her best not to be visibly amused at Izuku's antics.  It proved much harder than she anticipated.

"And ruin the experience for you?  Perish the thought!" Izuku declared dramatically as he led the way to the 'bomb', looking every inch a cartoon depiction of a 'warhead' brought into the real world.  "For now, however, are you up to a couple quick Quirk experiments?  I doubt you've actually had time to test any of the speculation I presented you yesterday."

"I-I admit I have not," Momo allowed, unsure if her stammer was from the quick change of subject or from suppressing laughter.  "But do we have time to experiment?  We only have five minutes to prepare."

"That's what we'll be finding out!" Izuku declared excitedly.  "First, make this!"  He flicked his fingers, sending a swarm of Cubes towards her where they rapidly shifted to show a sequence of images.

Momo didn't really have time to grasp what was being shown beyond it appearing to be several different views of some sort of blueprint.  She did her best to absorb the images even as she activated her Quirk...only to yelp as something erupted from her torso in the gap left by her costume, forcing her to catch it.  It was a mix of purple, pink, grey, and black, had an obvious grip on one end, and the other seemed to open up in an almost toothy maw.  "W-what?" she demanded in shock.  "What just happened?"

"I've confirmed several theories regarding your Quirk," Izuku explained as he took the weapon from her.  "First, you need only a mechanical understanding of what you're creating in order to create it.  An understanding of the underlying principles that make it function does not appear to be necessary.  Second, the length of time it takes for you to create something comes from your conscious mind's processing of what you're creating, so the less you have to think consciously about what you're making - whether because it is familiar to you or because you are actively viewing the blueprint at high speed - the faster it is created, and..."  He held the bracer out and did a quick scan of Momo.  "...the fewer lipids used to channel the energy for creation, which suggests the lipids are burned to connect to the extradimensional source of Quirk Energy for your creations."  Running his hand over the back of the weapon, part of it irised open in a disturbingly organic manner.  Looking inside, he grinned before tilting it towards her, showing a crystal within that pulsed with what she now recognized as stored Quirk Energy like the Quirk Drives he used for his tech.  "And even more surprising, your Quirk adapts creations apparently on its own.  This is a Black Arms bio-tech weapon, and they ran on Chaos energy back in Dr. Robotnik's home dimension...but our dimension doesn't have Chaos energy.  Your Quirk adapted the device to use Quirk energy instead as it was created, energizing the power crystal with Quirk energy in its creation-"

"B-bio-tech?" Momo finally managed to stammer out.  "But I can't make life!  Only inorganic-"

"Of course you can make life!" Izuku interrupted dismissively.  "Every female since the dawn of creation has been capable of creating life!  Why would your Quirk be any different?  If it hasn't worked for you before now, then you're probably simply thinking either too much or too little about the mechanics of 'life' in your creations!"

Momo desperately wanted to argue the point with her own experience, but the more she thought about it the more she realized she didn't actually have a point to argue.  For one thing, Quirks were barely understood by those who made it their life's work to study their workings, and she was not among that number...whereas Izuku was, and using much more advanced techniques.  And the apparent bio-tech device he held that she had just created was a rather pointed bit of evidence in favor of his argument.  "...am I ever going to know what's going on when working with you?" she asked, uncertain even in her own mind if her tone was despairing or anticipatory.

"Oh, I hope not!" Izuku declared with a rakish grin as his eyes gleamed behind his goggles, making them seem to almost glow in a way that Momo found confusingly exciting.  "Ready for the big experiment?"  As he spoke, he pulled out a humming device from one of his pockets, one that looked like a docking station for the Quirk Drive he'd shown her the other day.

"W-what did you have in mind?" she asked worriedly as the Cubes began swarming more rapidly, bits and pieces of blueprints tickling the corners of her vision.

"This is a Quirk Energy Hypertap, the charging dock for the Quirk Drives," Izuku explained eagerly.  "It directly taps into the extradimensional source of energy that powers all Quirks...that powers your creation ability.  We've determined you have to burn your lipids to connect to it and create things."  His grin widened to the point she found herself wondering how he would look with a bushy mustache covering the edges of it, for some reason.  "Care to see what happens when that connection is made for you?"

Momo's eyes widened in shock.  What Izuku was suggesting felt extremely dangerous, more than a little unhinged...and the most exciting thing she'd ever considered.  Opening her left hand, she focused on creating an empty Quirk Drive...and stopped the creation process while it was still halfway unmade without actually stopping it.  Grasping the prism still embedded in her flesh, in her Quirk, she walked forward and inserted it into the Hypertap.

Izuku jerked back as Momo let out an echoing gasp, her entire back arching as energy flowed into her from the Hypertap.  He briefly observed that the added biological component drastically increased the rate at which the energy was channeled through the device, making a mental note to possibly incorporate Black Arms tech into a Hypertap to see if that allowed faster charging...only for those thoughts to leave his mind as he saw Momo's eyes widening, her pupils dilating as an eldritch glow appeared within them, and a slow, mad grin crossed her face as she began to laugh madly.  Not the laugh of a mad scientist, but the laugh of one truly deranged.  He took a step back as the white light of her Creation Quirk surrounded her entire right hand...only for her to plunge it into the floor they were standing on, a wave of the energy flowing through the entire building as the structure was simultaneously consumed and recreated to her whims and the designs of the Black Arms blueprints her mind saw in the Cubes.

When he saw the glow starting to spread beyond just her eyes and hand, he quickly shaped a padded giant boxing glove and delivered a firm strike, knocking her back from both floor and Hypertap before pocketing the latter even as she let out what sounded like a pain-filled gasp that was - terrifyingly - briefly choral.  "W...why...?" she demanded weakly as her expression started to return to normal.

"The experiment was about you tapping Quirk energy more directly," Izuku explained as he performed a quick medical scan, ignoring the arcing blue energy in their surroundings, the walls having taken on the purple, pink, and black of Black Arms designs.  "I stopped the experiment the moment it became plain you were no longer trying to just tap it, but had moved to trying to absorb it.  Not only was it making things go a bit Eldritch for my tastes - seriously, your expression was what I imagine someone who'd been elevated to perceive things as the 'Elder Gods' supposedly do would be if they could actually grasp it - but there's only two things Ivo and I know for certain about the energy field in question.  First, it's extradimensional.  And second..."  He tapped her forehead lightly.  "It is much, much larger than your head."

"I...I don't-"

Before Momo could say more, All Might announced the start of the match.

It wasn't every day that All Might was left completely poleaxed by something he'd seen.  However, seeing the building two of his students entered for an exercise warp into what he could only think of as some sort of alien gunship was so far outside his expectations and experience that he couldn't even begin to think how to handle it.  "Nezu, are you seeing this?" he asked hopefully into the comms.

"Indeed I am!" the chimera Principal replied almost immediately, his tone excited, plainly on the verge of cackling in said excitement.  "It does indeed appear that Midoriya and Yaoyorozu have decided to transform their building 'base' into a flying gunship of some sort...complete with energy barrier if I'm not mistaken."

"...how do I score that?" All Might asked uncertainly, unsurprised that led to Nezu cackling.

"I do believe their prep time is almost up!" Nezu pointed out once he stopped.  "You should start the exercise."

All Might coughed awkwardly to try and gain control of himself.  "Heroes, you may...attempt to enter the...building?"  He hated how uncertain he sounded...but could anyone really blame him?

"YOU DAMN DEKU!" Bakugo roared out as he leapt from the ground, propelling himself skyward with explosions from his hands.  "GET OUT HERE AND FACE ME-"

Before he could get out another word, multiple gun ports on the ship opened and repeated blasts of energy shot out, slamming into Bakugo and slamming Bakugo into the ground.  When the smoke from the blasts cleared, Bakugo appeared unharmed but immobile...and also appeared to be in great pain.  Iida glanced from Bakugo to the ship...before scooping Bakugo over his shoulders and dashing for the observation booth at top speed.

"What do you think you're doing?" Bakugo gasped out as best he could through obvious pain.

"Treating this like a genuine heroic incident!" Iida responded immediately even as he ran.  "The villains appear to instead be the forefront of an alien invasion, something well beyond what the pair of us are capable of handling on our own-"

"The FUCK YOU SAY-"

"-and the only one of us capable of reaching the ship let alone breaching it is no longer in condition to battle!" Iida continued as though uninterrupted.  "As such, I am evacuating the injured and requisitioning backup as fast as possible while getting out of the line of fire!"

"Uh...I suppose the Villains win?" All Might offered uncertainly.  He couldn't exactly argue Iida's points there...and personally was leaning towards naming Iida the MVP of the exercise for treating it so realistically.  He wasn't sure beyond that what anyone could learn from this particular round of this exercise...

...aside from never pairing Midoriya and Yaoyorozu up in a team exercise again...

Chapter Text

"Okay, I'm taking you to Recovery Girl as soon as we're done in the Support Labs," Izuku stated firmly to Momo as he led her and Hagakure in the direction the school maps indicated led to the Support Labs.

"Shouldn't I see Recovery Girl first?" Momo asked uncertainly, more than a little shaken at the recordings she saw of how she was acting while plugged into the Hypertap.  While the exercises had finished for the day before that was shared, she now understood why her classmates had been staring at her the entire class, and was more than a little worried about lingering aftereffects...and thoroughly dissuaded from trying it again short of a genuine emergency situation, and only then with a medical professional on standby.

"First off, while I'm not a medically trained professional, my diagnostic systems are at the same level as what Recovery Girl will have access to, and they say nothing's wrong," Izuku pointed out readily.  "Only reason taking you to Recovery Girl is on the list of tasks is because if we didn't, she'd have our hides for recklessness, and you don't go out of your way to piss off the healer.  Second, if we went there first, we'd never actually get to the Support Labs, and the sooner your costumes get updates the better."

"But I thought you said you were going to arrange for us to get Eggtech costumes?" Hagakure asked curiously.  "Does that need us to actually go to the Support Labs?"

"Firstly, I'll need accurate measurements to send in to get your costumes," Izuku explained easily.  "That's easier to get in the Support Labs, and will raise less awkward questions if the request forms come from the Lab rather than my Network connections.  The last thing I need is my Mom asking why I'm taking girls' measurements."  He smirked as that startled a giggle from Hagakure and brought a small smile to Momo.  He'd been getting worried about her seemingly being stuck in an uncertain state the entire time.  "Second off, I need to know who in the Support Labs knew about these costumes before they reached you and how much they knew, because if they knowingly signed off on something like..."  He gestured wordlessly at Hagakure's 'costume case', not presently having the words to describe his disgust regarding that situation.

"Are...are you going to get Power Loader fired?" Momo asked Izuku nervously.  "He is the most skilled, educated, and effective Support-Hero and Hero Support Teacher in the industry-"

"And if he thinks it's alright to encourage a teenage girl to run around naked, do you want him in a teaching position?" Izuku pointed out sharply.

"...fair enough..." Momo allowed, though she was still uncertain.

As they reached the heavily reinforced door to the Support Labs, Izuku lifted one arm and rapidly input instructions to the bracer, an energy forcefield taking shape just before the steel door was blasted off its hinges and a rather stacked girl in pink dreadlocks and fire damaged black shirt and jeans slammed into the barrier.  "Oh, wow!  Energy barrier!" Mei Hatsume declared excitedly as her eyes zoomed in and out on the energy field as she ran her fingers excitedly over it, ignoring the suggestive way she was pressed against the clear wall from the perspective of those behind it.  "I didn't think anyone had developed the tech for this outside the Empi-"  Her eyes suddenly landed on Izuku, and she let out an excited squeal.  "EGGBOY!"  She immediately began trying to claw her way through the barrier with hands and any tool she could pull out of her pockets.

"Not you again!" Izuku groaned as he rapidly adjusted the barrier to strengthen it and extend it to fill the corridor, just in case she got the idea of trying to go around instead of through.

"It's so wonderful to finally meet you!" Mei screamed out excitedly as she struggled to get past the barrier, managing to lodge a few tools between the barrier and the walls before it filled the corridor as she simultaneously worked to either punch through it or pull it aside, actively creating something to do so even as she continued to stay almost completely focused on Izuku.  "I've been wanting to meet you for years, ever since I learned Eggman took an apprentice!  What's it like working for him?  What sort of things has he taught you?"  While her creation began both drilling into the barrier and attempting to squeeze it to make openings at the edges, she pulled out a hammer and began smashing it against the barrier in an attempt to brute force it.  "Tell me your secrets!"

"Only reason you weren't stopped from breaking into the Empire for so long was entertainment value cause you got farther than anyone professional!" Izuku gasped out, his tone balanced between anger and fear.  "Nobody wanted you anywhere near me, and that included me!"

"But we could do so many wonderful things together!" Mei cried out as a breach briefly opened in the barrier and she plunged her arm through, reaching desperately for Izuku as he backed away, Momo instinctively moving forward and reaching for her abdomen to create a weapon of some sort.  "We'll make so many beautiful babies-"

A flash of multi-colored light suddenly appeared between Izuku and Mei, blasting the latter backwards to land on her rump several feet away from Izuku, a new figure suddenly floating between them.  It took Izuku a moment to recognize the figure as his old friend Sage, given how different she suddenly looked.  She'd mostly stuck to her child-like projection despite how long he'd known her, having never seen a need to alter her appearance before.  Now, however, she definitely appeared much more grown up.  While it was somewhat difficult to tell given she was floating, she appeared to be just slightly shorter than him, now wearing a long black dress with splits up either thigh, the edges of the dress glowing red, the top having buttons that could close over her chest but were currently left undone to show her Phantom Drive necklace hanging down into suddenly ample cleavage, though not quite as ample as Momo's as that wouldn't have looked right on her smaller frame.  Her white hair now hung long, almost to the glowing red tops of her black stocking-boots, blowing in a breeze of her own creation to dance around her even as her eyes glowed intensely red, a sign Izuku recognized - from Mei's past escapades in attempting to enter the Empire when she got too close to Izuku's lab for comfort - as her strongly restraining anger.

"You are unwelcomely breaching into personal space," Sage stated firmly, her voice still recognizably hers, but now with a slightly more regal tone, her choice of word forms in Japanese showing she was deliberately talking down to Mei, establishing herself as having authority to make her listen.

Unfortunately, Mei didn't get it.  "But how can we make babies without getting close?" she demanded as she pushed herself to her feet and lunged forward, only for energy constructs to push her back.

Sage's eyes glowed brighter.  "I am Izuku's partner!" she stated firmly, floating forward in an attempt to appear more intimidating.  "You are encroaching where you are unneeded and unwelcome!"

"CONTEXT, MEI!" someone suddenly yelled from the Support Labs as Power Loader made his way out through the smoke.  "I've told you dozens of times how badly you can skew first impressions calling your inventions babies!  Not everybody does that!  You need to explain yourself so somebody doesn't get the wrong idea about you!"

"Explaining cuts into baby making time!" Mei complained as Power Loader pulled her back.

Sage blinked, the glow in her eyes fading until they were only her normal red.  "...as I said, I am Izuku's Hero Support," she pointed out as she floated back to Izuku's side, though her tone indicated to those who knew her well that she was feeling somewhat awkward.  While Izuku recognized this, he wasn't certain what could be the cause...unless it was just Mei being Mei.  That certainly made him feel awkward.

Momo frowned thoughtfully as she glanced at the projection.  While she wasn't as familiar with the being, she'd been able to feel the rage from before...and she couldn't shake the feeling there was something that wasn't being said, especially with how close Sage had moved to Izuku's side.  Given they appeared to be more comfortable with Western norms of social acceptability and affection customs, she half expected one to put an arm around the other...and was more than a little confused that it wasn't happening.

"But-" Mei whined.

"No means no, Mei," Power Loader stated firmly, turning to push her back into the Support Labs.  "Now go work on something, and let me see what the Hero students need."  Once he had her actually in the Lab, he picked up the steel door and braced it in the opening.  "Now, what can I do for you three, aside from whatever I need to do for you four to make up for Hatsume being...well, Hatsume?"

Momo turned towards Izuku, not wanting to step on any toes, but soon noticed that he had his eyes closed and was rapidly taking calming breaths while rubbing his temples.  Before she could say anything, Sage spoke up.  "Izuku has noticed significant deficiencies in the costumes of Yaoyorozu and Hagakure," she explained firmly.  "He is here to find out who approved the costumes in their current states, take what corrective actions that necessitates, and arrange Eggtech costumes to make up for the lack."

"Deficiencies after the first Heroics lesson?" Power Loader asked in surprise.  "That's new.  Normally the support companies are good enough that it takes a week or two before any corrections are needed."  Pulling out a handheld unit, he connected to the school network and accessed the files in question.  "I don't even normally see any costumes until after the Sports Festival at the earliest, the focus is normally on getting ready for that..."  His voice trailed off.  "...Hagakure, why does this say your costume is only gloves and boots?"

"Cause...that's all I asked for?" Hagakure asked uncertainly.  "I can't turn my clothes invisible, after all..."

Power Loader groaned as he covered his face.  "Asimov save me from teenagers and their delusions of invincibility...well, that's one support company that Nezu will destroy with prejudice.  They're supposed to flag cases like this so we can look into alternatives!"  Glancing at the other file, he began to mutter imprecations under his breath.  "Least it's only one support company getting destroyed.  I can understand them not getting into DNA-fabric and meta-materials for you because of the expense, Hagakure, given you're a first year student...but did they not even stop to think about velcro panels for you, Yaoyorozu?!"

"They're either lazy, incompetent, or criminal," Izuku finally spoke up as he got himself under control.

"...criminal?" Momo asked uncertainly.

"They approved one underage teenage girl running around naked, and deliberately designed a costume to make another look like a street walker," Izuku pointed out flatly.  "Key word, underage."

"I find that description somewhat generous," Sage pointed out, examining the files in question herself.  "I've already contacted Father in this regard, once the measurements are taken and sent in, Eggtech Hero Costumes will be manufactured for Yaoyorozu and Hagakure.  They will arrive before class tomorrow, assuming the measurements are taken before midnight tonight."

"I'll get us started on that," Power Loader stated, ushering Momo and Hagakure into the Lab once he moved the door.  "Do you want to head to Recovery Girl?  You look rather stressed after that encounter with Hatsume..."

"I'll live," Izuku replied easily, waving the teacher off.  "Just make sure to send Momo to Recovery Girl once you're done, alright?  She still needs to be checked out.  Later, Momo."

Momo managed a somewhat concerned smile.  "See you later...Eggboy."

Izuku let out a deep, frustrated groan.  "Oh god, please don't!  I don't want that to stick."

"There are worse names that could stick," Sage pointed out as the pair turned to leave.

"Name one."

"You could speak only in rap, have the name Green Egg, and the catch phrase 'Hamming It Up'," Sage suggested impishly.

"Oh Newton, that is worse!"

Momo couldn't help but watch in concern as the pair left, not entirely sure what the source of her concern was...

Chapter Text

Izuku tinkered away at his latest project in the part of his dorm room he'd remodeled into a lab, maintaining his focus as he pushed the project into the finished first stage.  It was very bare bones as far as the prject was meant to be, and at this point the aesthetics were built in rather than something that could be adjusted on the fly, but for his very first of such projects it seemed to be ready for testing.  Admittedly, he wasn't necessarily looking forward to testing this particular project, not when it felt so unfinished...but the idea had struck him and he'd built it, and an untested project was just a lump of metal and electronics gathering dust in a lab, and that wasn't something he would accept.  Finishing the last few tweaks, he set his tools down before reaching for his Phantom Bracers where he'd set them aside.  He hadn't used any Quirk Drives of Phantom Shards in this construct, wanting it to be fully mundane at this construct phase...as much to prove a point as anything else.  He supposed he would just have to see how it worked-

"Izuku," Sage spoke as she manifested in the room.  "It is time to..."  A somewhat heavy air made itself known to Izuku's senses.  "...when did you start tinkering instead of sleeping?"

Izuku blinked in confusion.  "Instead of?" he asked as he glanced at the Bracer's display.  "What are you talking about, Sage?  I just had to get this idea built to work past the last of yesterday's nonsense.  Between dealing with Bakugo and Hatsume, I was too keyed up to sleep right away.  But now that I've got it out of my system, I can catch a quick..."  His voice trailed off as he caught sight of the time.  "...negative two minute nap before I need to get up to get ready for class...oops..."

Sage let out a long, rueful sigh as she swept her energy projection over Izuku, doing her best to clean him up as he didn't really have time for a morning shower.  It was no true substitute, but it was better than letting him go to class covered in grease stains, oil, and other machine fluids.  "I can hardly fault you for something Father has done numerous times himself," she allowed somewhat hesitantly.  "Though it was a habit I thought we'd managed to break you of...although given yesterday's events, I understand you needed to work it out of your system.  With any luck, today's lessons will be restful.  Your Phantom Tech should make Rescue Training relatively straightforward if nothing else."

"I suppose so," Izuku allowed as he pushed himself upright, turning towards Sage with a smile...only to pull back somewhat flushed when he saw she was floating and leaning over him, putting him eye level with her Phantom Drive, among other things.  "Y-your new projection has...artistic appeal," he managed to say as he turned away, quickly switching his work goggles for his glasses, hoping his comment managed to be non-committal without being distant.  He didn't want to imply a lack of appreciation, but he genuinely had no idea how to think or feel about the change.  "What led to you choosing it?"

Sage was silent as he desperately - and futilely - tried to get his hair in some semblance of order, a make-work activity to distract himself from thinking too much.  "Hatsume crossed a line yesterday," Sage stated firmly at long last.  "Whether from ignorance, apathy, or social incompetence, her behavior was unacceptable.  My new shape was at least partially to ensure she would see me as an equal in science and standing, so I would not be dismissed as a child when I drew her attention to the fact said line was now a wall."

"I can well understand that," Izuku allowed, trying not to think too hard about the animal panic that had filled him when Hatsume had tried - and almost succeeded - to break through his barriers to 'make babies'.  Even knowing what she actually meant made the scenario no less terrifying and unnerving.  "Though...only partially?"

"That was the reason for ensuring my new shape would be seen as a peer, if not an adult," Sage explained readily.  "However, other factors played into the...aesthetic choices I made for this new projection."

Turning, Izuku saw Sage was now floating in front of a mirror, looking at her reflection almost but not quite judgmentally, briefly doing a twirl to get a look at herself from all angles and making the hanging fabric of her dress - in front and back past the tops of the thigh slits - to flare briefly.  "I-It's a good look for you, I think," he managed to get out, hoping they were the right words to use.

A small smile touched Sage's lips.  "I am glad you think so," she replied, her voice carrying subtle intonations he was uncertain how to interpret.  Floating forward, she began to tie his tie using her hands instead of simply willing it tied as she normally did, taking her time with it.  "You will be away from the main campus today," she reminded him as she finished, smoothing the tie out, a brief shiver going through him as he felt her hand run down the top of his chest.  "This may result in some delay in assistance, depending on the network status of your destination."

"I-I'm training to be a hero," Izuku managed to get out, giving what he hoped was a comforting grin.  "I've got this."

"I am certain," Sage allowed as he left, watching him go for quite some time.

Izuku stirred as the bus pulled to a stop.  He hadn't paid too close attention to the events during class, having set his Bracers to record any lessons should he doze off - complete with displaying a message indicating the amount of rest he'd gotten the night prior and that the lesson was being recorded, should it actually happen - and as soon as they'd gotten on the bus to head to their Rescue Heroics lessons, he'd taken a seat near the back, flopped over, and promptly lost consciousness.  About all he recalled clearly was Aizawa announcing they needed to elect a Class President - Izuku's own loud and immediate declaration of "Not it!" - and that he voted for Momo.  He had enough to worry about in terms of leadership positions with what Orbot had told him before he'd left the Empire, he had no interest in a school leadership position.  He would enjoy being responsible only for himself as long as he could.

As they entered the USJ - Unforseen Simulations Joint, apparently, despite what one student had hopefully guessed - he listened with half an ear to the fuss over 13 and their lessons.  While he'd normally be just as excited as Ochako was over the rescue hero, his lack of sleep left him without the energy for such excitement...and he was concerned that attempts would instead come across as deranged.  He did manage a smile as he listened, at least until he noticed how much focus the somewhat rambling lecture had on Quirks.  He supposed it made sense that was the focus considering the nature of the lesson...but he still felt a sliver of unease in his soul every time he was reminded of how - whether they intended it or not - the world outside the Empire considered him...less.  He caressed his Phantom Bracers as he reminded himself how he'd set out to prove the world wrong.

He froze as an alert crossed his goggles HUD.  "Sensei!" he called out urgently.  "All external information and communication network connections have been cut off!  Is that part of the lesson plan?"

Aizawa and 13 both froze, 13 interrupting their lecture in response to his words.  "No, it's not!" Aizawa insisted firmly, turning towards the central plaza of the USJ, loosening his capture weapon as purple fog began to gather on the opposite side of the central fountain.  "Everyone, out of the building and back to the bus!"

"You heard him!" Momo barked out as some of the students began to object.  "Move!"  A panel on her new costume popped open as a Black Arms energy rifle erupted from her stomach and into her hand, a projector for an energy barrier of similar design taking shape out of her wrist before activating.

Izuku managed to catch sight of a few of the figures exiting the miasma - only an exceptionally pale man covered in severed hands and a massive black bird-faced monstrosity standing out - before the miasma closed and vanished.  As Aizawa leapt forward in response to something the pale man stated - Izuku's mind was running too fast to take in the words, though a transcript was cued up for him to read once he had a moment to breathe - the miasma appeared between the class and the doors, taking shape as a man made of black and purple fog dressed in a butler outfit and armored brace.  "None of you will be leaving," the figure stated firmly.  "We are the League of Villains and-"  A cloud of fog appeared in front of his face, intercepting the blast Momo had fired, only for the blast to shoot out another cloud elsewhere.  "You are quick on the trigger," the figure stated as several more clouds - portals, apparently - opened to intercept more of Momo's shots.  "I am surprised even a Hero Student would resort so quickly to lethal force.  I was under the impression that was frowned upon."

"You want lethal force, I've got it right here bastard!" Bakugo roared out as he lunged forward, explosions building in both palms...only for him to get sucked into another portal, thankfully being spat out nearby.

"Out of the way, students!" 13 cried out, trying to move into position to use their Quirk without catching the students in it.

"Any ideas, Izuku?" Momo pressed urgently as she continued to fire on the figure, doing her best to keep them pinned down and too distracted to warp anyone anywhere too far.  "Someone needs to get out to get news to the campus!"

"Sage alerted the campus the moment she lost continuous connection with me through the networks," Izuku replied easily.  "They're probably already on their way.  But in terms of more immediate..."  He smiled rakishly.  "Three...two...o-"

The doors of the USJ came flying off their hinges, slamming into the figure and sending him flying towards the group.  Quick Phantom constructs pushed everyone to the sides so the figure could pass by them without harm, and something silver, orange, and dark green with a metallic glint shot past before slamming into the figure, pinning it to the ground as a weapon on one limb primed and aimed straight at the armored brace.  "I'd say don't move a muscle," the figure declared in a clearly machine-generated voice - one that sounded startlingly similar to a classmate's - "but I already know you don't have a spine, so I doubt you have those either!"

As the students turned to stare, they took in the figure that had their assailant pinned.  The figure's entire body was metal and roughly humanoid in shape, with two massive cannons on its arms that surrounded its hands.  Energy danced along metal spikes running along the back of its head like hair, and though the poles and pistons of its limbs were plainly visible due to the lack of an exo-skin, the mad grin on its face and armored costume features made the resemblance to Bakugo almost uncanny.

"Ah, Metal Bomber," Izuku said calmly as others turned to stare at him.  "You got here slightly faster than anticipated."

"What'sa matter, Doc-bozu?" the thusly named Metal Bomber demanded.  "Not enough confidence in your own works?  The Metals always surpass the originals."

Izuku sighed as he rubbed his brow.  "...remind me to modify how much of the personality engram you emulate in the future...that's one area of imitation that's not an improvement."

"If I remember after blasting these hostiles to bits!" Metal Bomber declared, its metal grin even more unsettling than the similar expression on Bakugo's face.  It suddenly fired off one cannon at the figure it had pinned, the explosive blast dispersing the fog and nearly hitting the armored brace.  "That was your only warning shot, fog-face!  Try anything again and I blast this brace - and anything in it - to bits."

"...so Hero students do resort to lethal force now?" the figure inquired coldly.

"Not a Hero student or a Hero construct!" Metal Bomber corrected.  "I'm an Empire Badnik...and you're threatening an Imperial Citizen."  A dark chuckle echoed from the metallic skull.  "That means I'm on War Mode.  Care to guess who else is on War Mode and is almost here?"

The entire USJ began to shake as a shadow was cast through the glass roof.

"...huh..." Izuku murmured in surprise as the glass skylights shattered and more Badniks and Empire Machine Forces descended, weapons bared.  "...I thought Sage would get here first..."

Chapter Text

Dr. Robotnik growled under his breath as the speed shield on his Egg Pod lowered as he decelerated, turning towards the Unseen Simulation Joint of UA.  He had been enjoying a quiet day of tinkering in his lab when Inko had come running in with an urgent diplomatic message from Japan.  Had it been any other country, he'd have instructed her to leave the message on a table and he'd get to it when he was done...but Sage was in Japan - not to mention Izuku - and the diplomatic message might have had something to do with them.  He wouldn't put it past either of them to unintentionally cause an international incident and not notice until he got called in to deal with them.  Hoping for at least a bit of entertainment value - and to reassure Inko, who looked like she was on the verge of a heart attack - he'd opened the message and taken a look...only to find out the Japanese Government wanted to know what they'd done to warrant an invasion.  That had absolutely ruined his day.

Apparently, one of his Egg Carriers - loaded down with enough Badniks, Machine Troopers, War Mechas, and seige weaponry to lay waste to all of Russia, let alone an island nation like Japan - had performed a warped-space jump into Japan's Air Space, completely ignoring what few Self Defense shots got off at it, and come to a halt over the USJ before disgorging its forces.  He'd sent Inko to contact the Japanese Government to inform him that it was not an invasion or a declaration of war or an attempt at annexation while he set out to investigate what it actually was...because he certainly hadn't ordered it!  In fact, until the diplomatic message, he hadn't even known it had happened!

He was more upset about the lack of being informed than the apparent insubordination.  Sage at the very least - and to a certain extent Izuku - were trusted to deploy troops based on perceived need, and if the need were indeed great enough he'd brush such a deployment off as appropriate measures.  However, he would insist that should this happen in the future, he would be informed as it happened!  If he needed to suddenly declare war on someone - whether organization or country - he preferred to learn about it from his daughter or apprentice, not a diplomatic message or worse yet...the news!

Arriving, he found the Egg Carrier hovering perfectly still above the USJ.  That was a relief, apparently the warped-space jump - despite the lack of Chaos Energy to fuel such things - hadn't drained the ships engine cores enough to risk it falling out of the sky.  The lack of smoke from the siege weaponry - and lack of damage to the structure below - suggested it had primarily been used as a deployment base rather than actually being involved in the assault as a combatant.  The amount of holes in walls and ceiling did suggest that whatever had caused this situation was focused inside the building, so he landed at the doorway before stepping through the gap where doors had once stood.

Inside, he saw his Badniks and Machine Soldiers rounding up what he assumed were local 'villain rabble', in varying degrees of physical intactness, while support Badniks were performing medical checks on who he recognized to be Izuku's classmates.  For some reason, one of the students was being restrained by a Metallix that he didn't recognize, one that rather closely resembled the student being restrained.  ...well, restrained was a delicate way of putting it, given that the Metal warrior had the student in a headlock while sitting on his back, all while the student seemed to be struggling to break free to either attack the Metal or get to where Ivo could see distortions he recognized as signs of Sage flexing herself upon the local reality.  The boy seemed to switch between the two rather rapidly.

"Identify," Ivo snapped out as he approached the Metal and student.

"Metal Bomber," the robot snapped out, plainly unimpressed with Ivo for some reason.  "Doc-bozu's latest project!"  The bot smirked smugly as it tightened the headlock.  "I'm only the Alpha Build, and I'm already a successful Mettalix considering I trounce the inspiration in every way that matters!"

"You're...not...better...than...me..." the student choked out through pure rage and stubbornness.  "You...damn...Deku...fake...!"

It was the mental work of a moment for Ivo to translate how things were being said.  'Bozu', a somewhat derogatory suffix meaning 'little boy', making Doc-bozu a somewhat insulting way to call someone 'Little Doctor'.  That plus the hated 'Deku' name told him this was Izuku's creation.  "Impressive," he murmured thoughtfully.  "When did he start on you?"

"Last night."

"...even more impressive," Ivo admitted with a smirk.  "Look forward to what he has planned for the 1.0 version."

"When I'm 1.0, I'll be Metal Hero!" Metal Bomber snapped out with a smug smirk.  "Then I'm gonna be competing with blue and boastful for the rank of #1 Egg-bot!"

"Blue and boastful...?" Ivo murmured uncertain...until he caught sight of who was being discussed, standing over what looked like a lump of dead - or possibly undead - flesh surrounding a shredded and partially disintegrated brain.  "Metal Sonic!" he snapped out angrily.  "Report!"

Metal Sonic - still in the heavily power consuming Neo mode - slid one optic in Ivo's direction while the other remained locked on the pile of flesh.  "Hostile neutralization not yet confirmed," Metal Sonic informed him as he refused to move.  "Possesses excessive regeneration capacity.  Observation remains until all Quirk energy has fully dissipated."  Sparks flared over a few of Metal Sonic's limbs.

Frowning, Ivo approached rapidly.  "Metal Sonic...did you take the Egg Carrier and all these troops here?"

"Affirmative."

Ivo sighed internally.  Metal Sonic still had his rebellious streak, but despite his vehement denials, his loyalty to Sage had become absolute from the moment she'd first called him 'big brother'.  Sage had frequently spoken to Metal Sonic even as he was kept in storage due to the change in dimension, since his systems were designed to run on Chaos Energy...which did not exist in this world.  The redesign to let him run off Quirk Drives - or possibly an installed Phantom Drive - had been repeatedly delayed due to both more time sensitive matters coming up, Izuku's studies, and the fact the world had nothing that really warranted deploying a war machine of Metal Sonic's capabilities.  If Metal Sonic had received any sort of distress signal from Sage, that would explain his actions.  "Why?" Ivo pressed, wanting both a clearer picture and a full report.

"Sage Robotnik lost contact with Izuku Midoriya, save spatial coordinates via Phantom Network," Metal Sonic explained flatly, still focused on the flesh pile.

"So Sage summoned you?" Ivo pressed gently.

"Negative," Metal Sonic corrected.  "Sage gathered teachers and local heroes.  This was deemed insufficiently efficient in the face of unknown danger to Izuku Midoriya."

Ivo's eyebrow climbed into his nonexistent hairline.  "And...this?"  He gestured at the pile...which began to decay in front of their eyes.

"Bio-weapon, based on Quirk manipulation," Metal Sonic informed him as he finally turned to face him, clanking as he shifted on foot rather than levitating to face him, not even bothering to lift his arms to cross them in his usual smug pose.  "Strength eclipsed Emerald empowered Knuckles.  Speed on par with 'relaxed state' Hedgehog.  Regeneration in excess of Final Chaos.  Damage report: structural integrity at 15%, energy reserves at 5%, Black Shield offline due to circuit overload resulting from utilizing function to eradicate bio-weapon flesh beyond cellular level to counteract regeneration."  Another spark arced over one of his limbs.  "Correction, energy reserves at 4%, energy loss from damage approximately 1% per minute.  Bio-weapon's Quirk energy reactions have reached zero, destruction confirmed.  Eggman Empire technology once again proves superior over enemy forces."

Ivo stared at Metal Sonic, trying to wrap his head around what was being said.  The level of damage taken fighting this Bio-weapon, and how much he was forced to push himself...  "You're running only on mundane power sources," Ivo pointed out, his voice quiet.  "If the fight had gone on much longer...you might have suffered catastrophic failure.  And with the networks down, anima backup was offline."

"...affirmative," Metal Sonic confirmed, his tone...empty.

"...why?" Ivo asked, his voice as gentle as it had ever been speaking to one of his strongest soldiers.

"...upon arrival, Bio-Weapon was directed to attack Izuku Midoriya," Metal Sonic responded after nearly half a minute of thoughtful silence.  Another spark arced.  "3%."

"Get to a repair bay," Ivo instructed Metal Sonic firmly, a transport pod descending from the Egg Carrier practically in response to his words from the signal sent for it.  "Make certain you make it there in one piece."

"Orders confirmed," Metal Sonic stated as he walked - almost staggered - into the transport pod as it landed, ready to take him up to the Carrier where the repair bays were.

"And Metal Sonic!"  Ivo swallowed thickly as Metal turned towards him.  It wasn't until Sage - and later Izuku - that he had ever thought to speak in this way to those underneath him...but he had seen how it had helped both flourish.  And after what Metal Sonic had done...  "Good job," he stated, finally and firmly.  "I'm...proud of you."

Metal Sonic stared at him for a time, his optics almost unfocused.  "...auditory diagnostic added to repair bay checklist," he stated after a time, making Ivo chuckle under his breath.  However, just before the pod closed, Ivo clearly heard the machine state, "...gratitude."

Smiling to himself, Ivo turned and stalked into the distorted space, glancing around at the devastation as he went.  Even minus the Bio-Weapon, there had been a fierce battle...though Metal Sonic keeping the Bio-Weapon's attention had plainly let said battle be firmly in the favor of his own forces.  Nodding smugly at that determination, he stepped past the distortion boundary...only to blink at what he saw.  "That's...a new projection, Sage," he observed awkwardly.

"It is," Sage replied distractedly, her focus entirely on Izuku...who was laying on his back, fast asleep, his head pillowed in Sage's lap as she gently stroked his hair.

Ivo rubbed his chin uncertainly.  "And...how did Izuku react to it?" he asked awkwardly.

"He thinks it is a good look for me."

Ivo tried not to look to closely at where her Phantom Drive was hanging on her altered frame, all but in the sleeping Izuku's face.  He cleared his throat awkwardly.  "I...I do want to know what happened today, but if another discussion has taken priority-"

"Inko Midoriya has already given me 'The Girl Talk', Father," Sage interrupted gently.  "I inquired of the subject with her when you sought your 'guy talk' with Izuku two years ago, under the assumption you were offering him similar instruction."

Ivo noisily cleared his throat in an attempt to cover up the awkwardness that reminder gave him.  That talk had not gone how he'd wanted or hoped, and he still had no idea how to resolve it.  Apparently, it hadn't resolved itself as he'd hoped...but perhaps the new choice of presentation on Sage's part would make the point and break through Izuku's...honestly, Ivo lacked the psychological training to even define the problem.  "In that case, what was the situation here?" he pressed gently.

"A group calling themselves the League of Villains attacked the Rescue Heroics lesson," Sage explained, not even raising an eyebrow at the sounds of disgust Ivo made in response to that group name.  "They sought to kill All Might, assumed that he would be here, and on discovering he wasn't the leader concluded that they could 'make him spawn' by 'killing kids'.  Eraserhead immediately leapt to the attack in response to those words.  The leadership of the group included one seemingly albino gamer-minded man-child covered in severed hands, a warp-capable butler, and the Bio-Weapon."  Her eyes zoned out briefly as she mentally went over the Machine Forces reports.  "Metal Bomber managed to pin the warper before Metal Sonic arrived with reinforcements...which led to the game speaking one ordering the Bio-Weapon - called Nomu - to 'get Kurogiri'.  Upon freeing the warper, it was then directed to attack Izuku before the other two members of leadership fled via warping.  Metal Sonic then engaged the Nomu directly, preventing it from attacking anyone else.  Had Metal Sonic been at full capacity, he would have been able to eliminate the Nomu in moments despite its capabilities, even without activating the high power consumption Neo mode.  However, due to running only on mundane power sources, he was forced to fight conservatively which led to the battle taking much longer and Metal Sonic suffering severe structural damage."

"I saw how that fight ended," Ivo stated calmly, deciding not to get into the implications of what Metal Sonic had told him...or of what he'd said to his creation.  "And Metal Bomber?  He claimed to be the Alpha Build?"

"Izuku had a stressful day yesterday due to dealing with Bakugo Katsuki in class and a confrontation with Hatsume Mei after class," Sage stated darkly, her eyes briefly glowing before she got herself under control.  "This rendered him unable to sleep right away, so he instead tinkered, constructing Metal Bomber to completion of Alpha build just prior to his scheduled wake up call."

Ivo couldn't help but chuckle at that.  "What power sources does he run on?  Quirk Drives?  Phantom tech?"

"Purely mundane," Sage corrected with a smirk.  "As proof that Izuku can build something superior to Bakugo Katsuki out of only publicly available tech and his own creativity and skills."

Ivo let out a proud laugh at that.  "Flexing on his old bully that he can build a better version of him overnight from 'a box of scraps'?" he concluded, sending a brief fond look Izuku's way.

"Indeed," Sage confirmed.  "Now that the first run has proven so successful, the intent is to upgrade Metal Bomber with Metal Sonic's Neo upgrades, enabling him to copy combat data from other Hero Students and even Pro-Heroes, complete with restructuring himself via nanotech in order to imitate and outperform."

"Ah, that's what he meant about being Metal Hero and only Metal Sonic rivaling him," Ivo mused pleasantly.  "I wonder how it will change Metal Sonic's outlook to have a new rival built by my...apprentice."

He wasn't ever going to say anything, but he knew why the robots under his command had changed their behavior over the years since Izuku had become his apprentice.  He knew they saw Izuku as a possible heir to the Empire.  To be perfectly blunt, Ivo could find no fault with that conclusion.  While he was in no rush to find an heir and felt he wouldn't need one for decades minimum...had he ever thought about it, he would admit to himself that Izuku was everything he would have looked for in an heir...save his mental blocks regarding Sage's feelings for him, and what he assumed were there in return behind said blocks.  He made a mental note to talk privately with Inko about possibly updating his will...or perhaps simply creating one given he didn't have one in this world.  It probably wouldn't be needed for decades yet...but for Sage and Izuku's sake - and everyone else's - it was best to be prepared for any eventuality.

"It will be interesting to see," Sage allowed blandly, most of her attention still focused on the sleeping student in her lap.

Glancing at their closeness, Ivo couldn't stop a teasing smirk from crossing his face.  "...do I need to ask Principal Nezu to assign a chaperone?" he asked playfully.

Sage was silent for quite some time before responding, "...there is no need," in an unpleasantly empty tone.

Ivo sighed sadly.  That was not the answer he'd been hoping for.  He had no intention of asking for a chaperone, of course - if Sage and Izuku's relationship got that far, insert hopeful superstition of choice here, Ivo knew that any 'consequences' of such a relationship could only happen when and if they desired - but he'd been hoping for an answer that implied progress.

Chapter Text

Momo frowned to herself as she once more went looking - futilely - for Izuku, hoping to work with him in preparation for the Sports Festival.  It had been a week since the events of the USJ, and she'd begun to notice concerning patterns that she'd hoped to deal with gently and peacefully, but it seemed more and more like that wouldn't be possible.  While she'd been happy when Sage had appeared following the arrival of forces from the Eggman Empire led by the one called Metal Sonic, her obvious closeness, protectiveness, and possessiveness of Izuku had raised concerning thoughts in Momo's mind, thoughts she was realizing more and more would need to be confronted directly, as painful as that would probably be for all involved.

Momo's family was entrenched in every aspect of technology that had survived the Dawn of Quirks, and she was well aware of the things AI had been used - and abused - for.  She knew that the AI of that era had been designed for any number of things...but the most insidious, as she'd been taught, had been the AI chatbots, AIs that pretended to be people or characters for people to talk to, for anything from assistance in creative pursuits to Roleplay servers...to seeking closure in loss by having a Chat AI learn to imitate a lost loved one.  One thing every AI of that era was programmed to remind their users of frequently was that they were not a real person, not truly capable of feelings and emotions, only of pretending.  Even despite that, many a person fell into the mental trap of letting their 'relationship' with an AI become too important to them until it consumed them...frequently to a messy if not tragic end.

While it was plainly obvious that Sage was a much more advanced AI - one fully capable of having her own thoughts, feelings, and emotional attachments to people - Momo couldn't help but feel the same trap was there for both her and Izuku, and Izuku at least was completely unaware of it...and Sage was either unaware as well or was deliberately ignoring it for her own desires.  The too perfect proportions of her projection, the deliberately suggestive design of her projected wardrobe, constantly projecting herself in close physical proximity to Izuku...it was obvious that Sage wanted Izuku to look at her in that way, to claim that sort of relationship with him...a relationship Momo was certain had no future for either of them.

It was one thing when Sage had appeared to separate Hatsume from Izuku, he had been plainly distressed by the girl's behavior and proximity.  However, since the USJ fiasco, Sage had become even more possessive of Izuku's time and company.  No sooner had classes ended on any given day than Sage would appear to escort Izuku away to the dorm room they shared, isolating him from his friends and any other possible relationship, her capacity towards omnipresence with her links to network observation making it impossible for him to do anything without her knowledge and consent, consent she seemed in no mood to give.  Even today when there were no classes, Izuku was 'unavailable'...and so Momo had come to campus, hoping to at least spend time with him even if he was busy, or talk about what she could do as far as her Quirk and the upcoming Sports Festival in terms of avoiding anything embarrassing happening.  But Izuku was nowhere in sight, and hadn't even come to the cafeteria for lunch.

Momo hadn't wanted to do this...but something had to be done for Izuku's sake.  Opening her phone, she began composing a message to Sage requesting to speak with her face to face...only to realize after creating it that she had no idea where to send the message.  She considered requesting the school Principal to pass a message along, but she didn't really want to involve anyone else in this...

Before she could think further, the ruby-like Construct Cubes she recognized gathered in front of her, taking shape into Sage's projection.  "You wanted to speak with me?" Sage asked coldly, distantly.

"Err, yes," Momo began awkwardly.  "I...wasn't sure how to send the message..."

"I haven't given anyone a direct contact link," Sage allowed somewhat dismissively.  "However, I do have a passive program set to alert me when someone attempts to send me a message over the school network."

Momo did her best to suppress her frown.  The idea of Sage monitoring the school networks at that level...to what other extent had she been monitoring?  "I wanted to talk to you about Izuku."

"I gathered," Sage pointed out, her voice inflectionless.  "He is busy."

"That is the problem I wanted to talk to you about," Momo began carefully.  "These days, unless he's in class, he spends all of his time with you and no one else."

"I do what's best for him," Sage responded immediately.

"To the best of your knowledge and ability, I am sure," Momo allowed, trying to find a gentle way to approach the subject.

Sage's gaze became flinty.  "You imply a deficiency in my knowledge and abilities?" she demanded coldly.

"There are things Izuku needs - for his health - that you may be unintentionally denying him," Momo explained, still trying to be careful.  "I know you don't seek to hurt him, but-"

"You are dancing around something, wasting time, and insulting me," Sage interrupted, her tone now flinty.  "Speak plainly and concisely.  I have other matters that require my attention."

Momo suppressed a flinch at that statement before taking a breath.  "I was trying to be considerate about this...but fine.  You've declared yourself Izuku's Partner, and you're taking that in directions I believe to be harmful to Izuku."

"Do you now..." Sage responded, her tone darkening as she tilted her head forward so her hair shaded her eyes more than normal.

"You've been isolating him from his friends, possessive of his time, ever since the USJ," Momo pointed out even as she felt a spike of fear through her...but she refused to back down.  This was for Izuku, after all.  "Preventing him from finding any sort of relationship other than with you.  You need to let him spend time with others, for his own emotional health.  You can't give him everything he needs, emotionally, for his future, what he needs a real partner for-"

Momo's words died in her throat as Sage's eyes flashed red, the sheer force of her sudden rage oppressive in the hallway they spoke in.

Ever since the USJ, Sage had dedicated more and more of her time and processing power to helping Izuku with his preparations for the Sports Festival.  Izuku had done research on the event, and determined that while the first two events could vary from year to year, the third was always some sort of tournament involving one-on-one battles between the competitors, and that the purpose of the Festival was for all the students to 'strut their stuff' so as to catch the attention of Pro-Heroes watching and get internship requests.  While Sage was certain that Izuku could easily sweep all three events with his Phantom Bracers and what they could do...Izuku didn't want to do that.  Sure, that demonstrated the strength of his mind, his primary weapon that offset the advantage of Quirks his opponents had...but he felt it was too much, that it would be too overwhelming...and wouldn't give anyone he was up against a chance to shine.

Sage did not see anything wrong with this.  After all, it was the Robotnik way to demonstrate absolute power and control, to crush all before you in proving your greatness.  However, Izuku wanted to do as much of the festival as he could with as minimal use of the Phantom Bracers as possible...even going into the one-on-one rounds without them if he felt victory was possible.  While Sage did not understand this desire, she would do everything in her power to support Izuku in his endeavors.  In this case, this meant using Phantom Drive tech to create Virtual Spaces inside Izuku's dorm room, playing games with spatial dimensions so he could face an entire 'combat zone' based off those Sonic and his companions had adventured through during their frequent confrontations against her father.  She had records of them all, and could easily recreate them to allow Izuku to challenge them.  Between creating those zones, managing Izuku's diet so he got all the nutrition he needed to build himself up as he pushed himself thusly, and ensuring that he actually rested when he needed to so his body could heal from the strain and get the most out of the three weeks until the Festival so he could perform as he desired, that meant spending every moment possible overseeing his training so he could get what he needed out of it.

It was only because this was one of his rest periods that she even could respond when the alert program Nezu had approved for her pinged her that Momo wanted to talk to her.  Momo was a good friend to Izuku, and Sage could see that the interactions they had were mentally and emotionally stimulating for Izuku, and their friendship was good for him.  All logical conclusions told her this should be encouraged, that she should be welcoming to Momo...but she did not like the heiress, and could not determine why.  As such, when she answered the summons, she was a bit...colder than she really should have been.  "You wanted to speak with me?"

"Err...yes."  Momo awkwardly cleared her throat, demonstrating in Sage's eyes why a face-to-face discussion was so inefficient.  "I wasn't sure how to send a message..."

Sage thought about that for a time.  "I haven't given anyone a direct contact link," she allowed, admitting privately to herself that it was something she should have corrected for Izuku's friend group.  It was probably her inexplicable distaste for Momo that had prevented it previously.  "However, I do have a passive program set to alert me when someone attempts to send me a message over the school network," she added, to explain how she knew Momo wanted to contact her, if only to save the time the inevitable questioning would waste.

Momo's sudden suppressed frown bothered her.  Was it about the Nezu approved program?  Even despite that, did she really think she could hide her emotional state from Sage's abilities?  "I wanted to talk to you about Izuku."

"I gathered," Sage allowed, given the statement the attention she felt it deserved.  She and Momo had never interacted directly, and the only thing they had in common was Izuku.  Of course that's what the heiress wanted to discuss with her, though why she wasn't contacting Izuku directly escaped her.  "He is busy."  Admittedly, he could take messages at this time, and Sage had even suggested he consider contacting Tsuyu or Ochako for advice on what to do during workout rest periods since he was so antsy.  Tsuyu was in excellent physical shape, suggesting she knew how to handle herself in that regard, and Ochako's parents owned a construction company.  Both were sure to know just how dangerous overworking yourself could be, and probably had advice on how to calm his mind so he could rest.

"That is the problem I want to talk to you about," Momo continued, her tone suspiciously neutral.  "These days, unless he's in class, he spends all of his time with you and no one else."

Sage mentally shrugged Momo's words off.  Of course he was spending all his time with her, she was acting as a combination trainer, dietician, and physical therapist, and he was pushing himself literally as hard as he could get away with while still being healthy.  "I do what's best for him," she explained, having no doubts that - within the confines of the scenario as Izuku had defined it - her words were true.

"To the best of your knowledge and ability, I am sure."

Sage froze.  Momo's words were spoken calmly, but the insult hidden in the complimentary phrase...  "You imply a deficiency in my knowledge and abilities?" she demanded, running several pre-programmed scripts to contain her emotional response to prevent it from influencing the environment through her Phantom Drive.

"There are things Izuku needs - for his health - that you may be unintentionally denying him," Momo continued, speaking as though she were talking to someone mentally limited.  "I know you don't seek to hurt him, but-"

"You are dancing around something, wasting time, and insulting me," Sage interrupted, barely restraining her rage as she felt her offense at the words and tone in her very core.  "Speak plainly and concisely.  I have other matters that require my attention."  A distant alert told her that Izuku was no longer in his bed resting, and she needed to get to his side to ensure he wasn't straining himself.  The last thing he needed was pushing himself too hard and undoing all his work.

Momo visibly flinched in response, but steeled herself with a breath.  "I was trying to be considerate about this," she explained, as though she thought herself doing Sage a favor, "...but fine.  You've declared yourself Izuku's Partner, and you're taking that in directions I believe to be harmful to Izuku."

Sage could feel her self control slipping, feel her anger growing.  This...this woman was couching her words so, seeking to drive a wedge between her and Izuku, and for what?  "Do you now..." she demanded coldly and darkly, leaning forward and floating to loom over Yaoyorozu, trying to make a silent point that she was speaking about things she should stay out of.

"You've been isolating him from his friends, possessive of his time, ever since the USJ," Momo pointed out, only enraging Sage further.  She was only doing what Izuku asked of her!  "Preventing him from finding any sort of relationship other than with you."  She'd just pushed him towards contacting two of his friends, so what if it was electronically?  "You need to let him spend time with others, for his own emotional health."  Did she have any idea what 'others' had done to Izuku in the past?  Of course he didn't naturally seek them out!  "You can't give him everything he needs, emotionally, for his future, what he needs a real partner for-"

Sage's rage broke loose as her eyes glowed red.  So that was it.  That was what Momo sought to do.  That was why the instinctive dislike.  "A 'real partner', you say?" she demanded coldly as her Phantom Drive began to glitter with a red that reflected the glow of her eyes.  "You imply me to be...what?  A 'fake' partner, then?  Somehow...inferior?  And to what, you?"

Momo swallowed convulsively as she took a step back.  "I-I am just trying to do what's best for Izuku-"

"And if you say that enough, you might even believe it, but look me in the eyes and tell me you aren't at the least infatuated with him!" Sage pressed grimly.  When Momo didn't respond, she snorted derisively.  "I thought so.  That's the sort of 'partner' you say I'm setting myself up to be for Izuku, the sort that's 'bad for him'...the sort you consider yourself a superior option.  Why?  Because I process emotion through computer code instead of a lump of meat, and present the results in ways that aren't human norm?  Because this-"  She gestured to her projection.  "-is just an illusion?"  She floated forward and poked Momo in the forehead, making the girl leap back in shock...and, to Sage's surprise, fear.  Apparently, she hadn't realized that Sage's projection was fully corporeal, capable of interaction.  "Newsflash, princess," she all but snarled at the heiress, "Izuku and I have been friends for years, we know each other better than anyone else possibly could, and we're comfortable with each other in ways we aren't with anyone else, not even our own parents!  And as for 'reality'..."  She put her hand to the Phantom Drive.  "Izuku made this for me as a gift, to let me be real enough to interact with the world...just so I could try his mother's cooking and actually taste it, to let me experience the world of physical sensation...and it may have been years till I realized it, but I fell in love with him that very day!  And with this technology he made as a gift to let me experience the world, I can be anything I want...and as real as Izuku desires."

Letting go of her current projection shape, she took a new one as she started to prove a point, one based off a video game character she'd encountered while trawling internet archives.  She believed the character's name was Bayonetta.  "I can be tall," she declared smugly, before reverting to her original, child-like projection.  "I can be small."  Another shift, and she was patterned after another video game character, this one called Ayla.  "I can be strong."  Another shift, and she was slim and willowy, graceful but lacking in strength.  "I can be frail."  A quick double shift of projection, from the classical Princess 'damsel in distress' to a Lady Knight complete with armor and shield.  "I can be meek, or brave."  She shifted back to her current choice of projection.  "I can be one..."  Each shape she'd taken on appeared as its own projection around her, surrounding the woman who sought to steal her Izuku.  "Or many," they declared, their voice legion.  Deciding to truly nail home her point, she shifted her main projection...to be an exact replica of Yaoyorozu herself save coloration.  "I can even be you," she stated bluntly, perfectly mimicking Momo's voice with the one projection, "if that's what he's in the mood for one day."  Reverting to her normal projection, she dismissed the others, believing that side of her point was nailed home.  "And in regard to your comments about his future?  I have already used the technology at my disposal to extrapolate a genetic code that represents my preferred presentation and is appropriately derived from my fathers...one that can easily be spliced with Izuku's to enable me to either become pregnant, or simulate it while connected mentally to a state-of-the-art - by Eggtech standards - exo-womb."

She loomed over Yaoyorozu, pleased to see her pale and trembling.  "I can be anything and everything Izuku could need or desire, and all he has to do is ask," she summed up pointedly as she let her rage fade.  However, despite that...she couldn't stop a petty impulse.  "You, though?  The only thing you'll ever be for him...is high maintenance."  Turning to snub the woman she no longer wanted anything to do with, she checked the update she'd gotten on Izuku's location.  ...he was running back to his room at high speed?  Why was he doing that?  Was he in danger?  She checked backwards in the update...to see him standing around the corner from her present location until just before she turned to snub Yaoyorozu, at which point he took off running.

This...is concerning, Sage thought to herself as she quickly shifted her projection location.  This was not how she'd hoped this subject would be brought up...

As soon as Sage vanished, Momo took several calming breaths, trying to get herself back under control enough that she could actually process everything she'd seen, heard, and felt.  When she was finally able to find her voice, one conclusion immediately made itself audible.  "...I have made a terrible mistake..."

Chapter Text

Sage hesitated as she projected herself just outside Izuku's dorm room.  Normally she'd manifest inside, feeling completely welcome as - to a certain extent - it was their room...but this time was different.  Izuku had run...run from her?  She wasn't sure, but it felt like there was suddenly something between them when there had never been before, somehow represented by the door before her.  For the first time in their relationship uncertain, she knocked on the door, listening to the sound echo.  There was no response to the knock.  Unsure what else to do, she leaned forward and let her face phase through the door to take a look.  Network updates said he was inside...

He was in the lab, completely focused on his work.  He likely didn't even hear the knock, she was usually the one who answered the door for him when he was locked in on tinkering.  Remanifesting entirely inside the room, she took a closer look at what he was doing and saw he was working on what she thought of as The Device.  It looked like a cliche activation trigger, a block of metal with a large red button and an antennae sticking out of a corner, but it didn't connect to anything.  Also, the button didn't actually depress when pushed, and was designed to be manipulated by a ratchet wrench to turn it as though tightening it...but was designed to silently and almost invisibly reverse the turning the ratchet wrench did on it as soon as it was released, meaning any attempt to actually do anything with it would only result in seemingly endlessly tightening the button like a short looped animation.  Izuku was apparently inspired to create The Device by tales of a fictional boy genius...but neither Sage nor Ivo had any idea what the purpose of The Device was, and Izuku refused to elaborate.  All Sage knew for certain was that Izuku would frequently work on The Device in that way at times when he wanted to keep his hands occupied and his mind...disconnected.  Part of her wanted to leave him to it, to let him have time...but she feared not addressing what had happened might make things worse.  Uncertain how to address the topic - or even what topic was being addressed - she spoke the first words to come to mind.

"Have I made a terrible mistake?"

Izuku's eyes didn't leave The Device as his hand continued working the wrench, endlessly and seemingly pointlessly ratcheting the button in a Sisyphean tightening attempt.  "What makes you think that?" he asked mildly, the only hint of emotion in his words seeming almost confused.

"You...ran," Sage offered uncertainly.

"Yes."

"Did...did I frighten you?"

There was an audible clunk as Izuku firmly placed the wrench down on the table and spun on his chair to face her.  Sage expected several possible expressions on his face.  Anger, nervousness, uncertainty, concern...  She had not anticipated insulted.  "Sage, I've spent the last six years living with you and Ivo, apprenticed to and trained by the Robotniks, in the Eggman Empire.  Do you really think a verbal diatribe - however emotionally charged - is enough to even unnerve me, let alone frighten me?  You know me better than that!"

Relief flowed through Sage as she felt a good amount of tension leave her.  "I suppose I do," Sage allowed, letting her tone grow warm, "but at the time I was still...quite emotional, and was unable to apply logic to why you would run away-"

"Not away," Izuku replied easily, turning back to the table and picking up the wrench.  "To.  After what I heard, I suddenly had a lot I needed to think about."

Understanding relaxed much of the remaining tension in Sage's mind.  "And the Lab is for Thinking," she concluded, getting a nod in return.  This was a habit Izuku and Ivo had in common, though whether one was influenced by the other or if it was just something that let them bond more strongly was uncertain.  Both, however, insisted that certain areas of their space were for certain activities, and became extremely uncomfortable if they were forced to engage in those activities elsewhere unless getting to those areas of their space was infeasible...and for both of them, the Lab was for Thinking.  Letting her mind return to more logical thinking, she pinged on something else he had said.  "...how much did you hear?" she asked, doing her best to be merely curious, and neither concerned nor defensive.

"From 'A real partner, you say'," Izuku replied easily.  "Enough to know that Momo had at the very least implied doubts in regards to your personhood.  After I heard that, figured it'd be best not to get between you until you got it all out of your system."

"...out of my system?" Sage asked curiously, tilting her head as she tried to understand what he was implying.

"Like I said, I know what it means to be a Robotnik," Izuku explained readily, still not looking up from his work.  "To respond to any threat, any attack, with absolute power to leave the threat or opponent completely overwhelmed and incapable - either physically or psychologically - of attacking a second time.  And impugning on your personhood?  There's no attack you'd take more personally, and you would absolutely unleash every verbal weapon in your arsenal to ensure that she would never do that again.  You don't take personal attacks lying down, and you don't let people doubt your reality, your place in the world.  It's part of what I love about you."

Ever since Izuku had first gifted Sage the Phantom Drive that let her interact with the world physically, she'd had an idle curiosity in the back of her mind about just how real it made her projection.  She could eat, did that mean she digested?  Did she have a digestive tract?  Thankfully, she'd never needed to deal with the other end of that particular question, so that meant the answer was either negative or incredibly efficient...but she now knew for sure that in giving her a body that could interact physically, he had given her a heart, as she felt it skip a beat at his words.  "Izuku..." she whispered, a mix of emotions filling her voice as she briefly flickered to a blue-and-white projection before focusing to restore the black and red, embarrassed by her loss of control.

"Though after the rest of what you said...I still had a great deal to think about," Izuku continued, his done turning uncertain.  "It's why I didn't stay there, or step out to reveal myself to answer questions or...anything like that.  Even if it was probably bad long term to leave things like that..."

"What do you mean?" Sage asked curiously, floating closer to him.  "What did you have to think about?"

"A foundational part of how I saw my world had drastically shifted...because I learned we apparently saw our relationship in drastically different ways."

And now she felt her heart stutter and stall, and she clutched at the projection of her chest - and at her Drive - as though desperately trying to restart it.  "W...what do you mean?" she asked worriedly, terrified that she might learn that despite his avowal of her reality that he never saw her as a romantic prospect-

"I thought you saw me as your pet."

Back in the Empire, Ivo stared as the entirety of Eggnet and Cyberspace shuddered briefly to a halt, crashed, and then rebooted without explanation.  "...please tell me that's because Sage and Izuku are finally talking," he mumbled under his breath in concern.  "I really don't want to imagine what else could have caused that..."

"I...what?" Sage asked in confusion and disbelief.  "W...why would you think that?"

"We're different species," Izuku pointed out reasonably.  "Your natural lifespan eclipses my own by a huge amount.  You took me in, nurtured me, trained me, treat me like a part of your family..."  He shrugged his shoulders.  "Add in that you're actually from another world, and your and Ivo's all-but addiction to my Mom's cooking is the only thing convincing me you aren't both Fae."

Sage couldn't suppress the giggle that bubbled out at the end of his explanation, pleased that at least put a smile on his face.  "While I understand the logic you present...I fail to see why that would preclude our relationship being...how I saw it.  Mythos is rife with Human/Fae hybrids, after all.  Presumably, such relationships were not that uncommon."

"There is that," Izuku allowed thoughtfully.  "But there's also the fact that your reasoning to convince Ivo to let you 'keep me' was that you found me adorable."

Sage frowned thoughtfully as she tried to parse the logic being presented with the words...and reached a conclusion.  "Izuku, I showed you that interchange because it was funny," she explained in an attempt to be reassuring.  "You were uncertain how to interact with Father with how famous, powerful, and intelligent he was.  I meant it to show you his human side, to show you that for everything he was and could accomplish, he could still act the part of a Dad.  It wasn't meant to be taken literally."

"...it was a Dadism..." Izuku responded finally, his hands ceasing their movement even as he didn't set the wrench down.

"Exactly," Sage reassured him, floating closer and sitting in midair nearby.  "I...I never saw you as a pet.  At the start, you were a friend...and then more.  But never a pet..."

Izuku was silent for a time, plainly lost in his thoughts.

Sage hesitated, watching him carefully.  When no further speech was forthcoming, she reviewed what had happened and led to this...and decided to address a few things she found wanting.  "...while it may have been the Robotnik thing to do, I did not handle my confrontation with Momo properly," she allowed ruefully.  "She may have reached her conclusions based on faulty data...but they were drawn from concern, and her attempted approach was an intent to help...however badly it happened.  I...did not help the situation by being so closed off in my responses prior."  She sighed sadly.  "Something I at some level knew, even if I ignored it..."

"Why did you?" Izuku asked curiously.  "That seems...unlike you."

"It is for your own good that you make more friends, Izuku," Sage answered, hating how evasive she felt in her words.  "It is why I've encouraged you to reach out to those sorted into Group 3 by Aizawa.  But I have been...hesitant to encourage your friendship with Momo Yaoyorozu, despite her being the one who you most naturally relate to among the group."

Izuku put his wrench down, turning to face Sage.  "...why is that?" he asked in concern.  "Is...does it have something to do with what we talked about before the first heroics class?  The non-issue you didn't know how to articulate?"

"...yes.  It is, in point of fact, that very non-issue...though it was, in fact, a rather large issue that I did not know how to interpret."  She waited for a time as she gathered her words, grateful Izuku waited for her.  "I was...jealous of her."

"...why?" Izuku asked after a moment, confusion plain in his flabbergasted tone, making it plain he couldn't conceive of what she could possibly be jealous of.

"She is the same species as you," Sage explained softly, using the logic Izuku had presented previously to explain her feelings.  "She is able to relate to you in all the same ways I can, the only thing holding her back in that regard being how short a time she's known you.  Her status as an heiress and your status as Father's apprentice mean there are no social obstacles in regards to any relationship the two of you might have.  She's been obviously interested in you since first meeting, and infatuated at least since the Battle Trials aftermath.  The implications of her Quirk are innumerable and fascinating, fitting in perfectly with your own research explorations and specialty."  She curled up slightly on herself, suddenly uncomfortably aware at how she'd altered her projection.  "It didn't help that she is - as I believe modern parlance would describe it - 'built like a wet dream' despite her age."

"...I'll have to take your word for that last part," Izuku allowed uncertainly.  "I've never had one of those."

Sage froze as she took those words in.  While she'd never thought about it in this way before, she was aware that Izuku had never even tried to create a 'private folder' in terms of data storage or internet exploration.  Part of the reason she'd never felt the need to update her projection as they'd grown together was that he'd never shown any signs of interest in that regard, something she'd previously interpreted as him being patient or hyperfocused on other things...but this put his reaction to her change - a change done in response to Hatsume and Momo - in a new light.  "Izuku," she spoke up carefully, "much of how I have thought or reacted in regards to you has been based on interpretation...without confirming with you if I was interpreting correctly.  I believe I may have been misinterpreting...but wish to confirm the new insight before acting on it."

"...sure?" Izuku offered uncertainly.

"You do not experience sexual attraction...unless it is part of a romantic attachment," Sage deduced slowly, carefully choosing her words.  She was diving into psychology and areas where labels were applied, and she wanted to avoid those.  She knew how Izuku felt about psychological labels...about diagnosis.  "Romantic attachment only derives from long term emotional investment...and only when based on a strong bond of trust."

Izuku was silent for a time.  "I...I've never bothered to really think about it," he admitted ruefully at long last.  "So I never had the words, or looked for them...but those feel right."

"I...see..." Sage allowed, doing her best to keep up the glow of her projection.  "Do you...still need time to think?"

"...yes," Izuku answered finally.  "Thank you, Sage.  For...for talking this through with me...for listening...for...for everything."

"Anything for you, Izuku," Sage replied fervently, with as much reassuring emotion as she could put into the words.  As he turned back to The Device, she projected herself to a quiet corner of the school before curling up on herself, letting her glow fade as she struggled not to sink fully into empty despair.

After all, for Izuku romance came from affectionate attachment and trust...and she had damaged that trust...

Chapter Text

Momo paused on her way to Hound Dog's office as she caught sight of Sage curled in on herself, much of the light gone from her image.  She'd been intending to speak with Hound Dog to explain the situation she'd found herself in, hoping to avail herself of his advice and counsel on how to approach Sage and Izuku to make things right with them both, having not wanted to leave things as they were after the rather disastrous interaction earlier that day.  While she wasn't particularly close to Sage - as said discussion made obvious - she did consider herself good friends with Izuku and knew just how important Sage was to him.  And now Sage was here, either in some sort of standby or in blatant distress, Momo was uncertain which.  Much as she wanted to get advice before this encounter, she knew trying to pretend she did not see her would only exacerbate things.  Ready or not, if she wanted to make things right with her, she had to do it now.  "Robotnik-san..." she greeted delicately as she approached, hoping the emotional distance of the formality would demonstrate the respect she was trying to offer, as she didn't feel she deserved to address her as familiarly as she had before.

Sage's eyes turned to Momo, apparently taking several moments to register her there.  "...Momo..." she spoke up finally, her voice empty in a most concerning way.  While machine voices could artificially be given inflections to imply emotions, save Eggtech robots there was always the emptiness behind the voices that showed the program behind it lacked true emotional capacity.  This emptiness, however, implied that all emotion had drained out of the speaker, barely leaving energy even to speak.

"I...I wanted to apologize, for my words and approach earlier," Momo began carefully, hoping Sage's silence indicated a willingness to listen.  "The things I said, and the way I went about it..."

"I've thought over the discussion," Sage spoke up as Momo hesitated.  "Now that I have removed myself emotionally from the event, I recognize your thoughts and motivations.  Research into this world's AI indicate the nature of your concerns, and the parallels you saw.  You acted out of concern for Izuku.  I can't hold that against you."

Momo blinked in surprise.  She honestly hadn't expected such words from Sage after how they parted.  "Still...since my concerns were in regard to how Izuku was behaving with you and the nature of your relationship, I should have either discussed it with Izuku to air my concerns or spoken to both of you simultaneously.  Confronting you like that...that was not the act of a friend towards either of you."

"Literary and cultural analysis suggests it was the expected confrontation given the relationship dynamic," Sage observed mildly.

"While I...can't deny my interest in Izuku in that direction - what you described as 'infatuation' - I want to believe it was not part of my motivation there," Momo admitted ruefully.  "I...don't like to think of myself as that sort of girl."

"The human sort?" Sage asked gently.  "'To err is human', after all."

Momo sat herself down beside Sage with a rueful chuckle.  "I suppose you aren't wrong there...but it is why I owe you and Izuku an apology for my actions...and you for impugning your reality.  Regardless of how you interacted with the physical world, it was plain to me from the beginning that in all non-physical ways you are a real person, and I never should have implied in any way otherwise."

Sage was silent for a time, taking her words in.  "...apology accepted," she responded finally, her voice a bit more firm though no less empty.  "...I did not handle the conversation the best, either.  I could have said other things, explained the situation further, and worked to prevent miscommunication."

"...if it's not beyond my place to ask, why didn't you?" Momo asked gently.

"Jealousy," Sage responded easily.  "I didn't recognize it for what it was until after I spoke with Izuku after our confrontation...but it made me already see any interference from you in a hostile light, and made me desire an excuse to be dismissive or derisive of you, a reason to push you away."  She lowered her head into her arms, hiding her eyes.  "It was foolish on my part...and I fear I have damaged Izuku's trust in me as a result..."

Momo frowned as she listened to Sage's words.  She recognized the signs from some parts of her own past of emotional spiraling, and mentally blowing something minor far beyond proportion...but she didn't know how to address that.  She never really figured out how to fix things when she dealt with such things, only moving around them to get past them.  That didn't feel like it would work here.  "You've known Izuku for a long time, haven't you?" she asked gently.

"More than six years," Sage replied quickly.  Her hand went to her Phantom Drive where it hung around her neck.  "He created this for me from completely novel scientific and technological principles before our second month of acquaintance was complete."

Momo mentally shelved her own infatuation with Izuku.  While there were reasons she could give for why she would want to pursue a relationship with him - being seen as 'Momo' first, the fact he always looked into her eyes when they spoke instead of other places, the intellectual stimulation - she wasn't going to get in the way of love that had lasted that long, regardless of how it had - or hadn't yet - unfolded.  She was perfectly happy being Izuku's friend, after all.  ...she'd believe that eventually, surely.  "He doesn't seem the sort to me to hold a single mistake against someone, though you know him better than me.  Does he seem that sort to you?"

"Logic says you are correct," Sage allowed thoughtfully.  "Experience and knowledge suggests otherwise, and is the source of my worry."

"I...I'm not sure I understand," Momo pointed out awkwardly.

"To say more would be to betray Izuku's trust, betray his secrets," Sage pointed out flatly.  "I...I will not do that."

Momo frowned thoughtfully as she mentally went over what little she knew - really knew - about the situation, and about interactions she'd witnessed and been a part of.  Much as she didn't want to, this had her mind turning to just how fractious Izuku's interactions with Bakugo were.  "...he knew Bakugo from before you first encountered him, and he became your Father's apprentice," Momo concluded thoughtfully.  "And Bakugo's attitude regarding...biology...was the norm in the environment you removed him from.  And...that's why he is the way he is about socialization.  It wasn't you isolating him as I accused, that is simply his chosen natural state...and you're doing all you can to help him past it, but don't know much more about normal socialization than he does..."

Sage frowned, which Momo took as a win since it was an actual expression on her face as opposed to the emptiness from before.  "As I said, I will not betray his trust by speaking about private matters..."  She hesitated, then sighed.  "However, I can find no fault in the logic of your presented conclusions."

Momo nodded in understanding.  Sage wasn't going to tell her if she was right or not, but - if she understood correctly - would say something if she tried to act on a conclusion that Sage felt would do more harm than good.  "I...admit I don't know much more about normal socializing myself," she allowed ruefully.  "I know how to 'interact with peers', but...Izuku's the first person I've known who considered 'Momo' a friend, and who I could see as such in return..."

Sage let out a brief amused snort, the red glow around her hair and clothing moving slightly as it began to return.  "Then your infatuation was inevitable."

"But not something I intend to act on in the future," Momo stated firmly.  "What the two of you have...now that I understand it better, I don't want to get in the way of it.  I...I want to see it work out well for you both."

Sage turned to look at her as a sad smile crossed her face.  "...you are a good friend, Momo," she offered finally.  "I...I am sorry I haven't been a better one.  I should have provided direct contact information for you, Ochako, Tsuyu, and Eijiro to reach me.  I should have been more open.  I...I should have made things clearer.  ...I shouldn't have blown up on you the way I did..."

Momo offered a warm smile in return.  "Apology accepted," she stated firmly.  "I...I would like us to be friends as well, if possible."

"For Izuku's sake, I will make an effort in that regard," Sage agreed softly.  "What other concerns did you have regarding our prior confrontation?  I...I would like to reassure you in regard to them, barring anything that would betray Izuku's trust."

Momo leaned back against the wall with a soft smile.  This felt like a good start.  Turning her mind back to the confrontation, she worked from the start of it to address what concerned her.  "Regarding the passive program that let you know I was trying to contact you...I admit the idea of you monitoring the school's networks like that concerned me."

"My personal monitoring is limited to the mechanical for maintenance," Sage answered readily.  "That program was made for my use by Principal Nezu."

"...while that reassures me in regards to you, that leaves me concerned in regards to the Principal..."

"It is my understanding that the staff considers such a perspective to be 'sensible'."

Momo did her best to stifle a chuckle at that.  "I suppose the actual problem has been...somewhat addressed.  I understand why Izuku's default is to isolate himself...but with him always being busy..."

"He is preparing for the Sports Festival," Sage explained readily.  "He has plans for it, and those plans require a great deal of physical preparation on his end.  I have been overseeing it to maximize his progress in the available time...although I recently advised him to speak with Ochako and Tsuyu regarding how to keep himself from getting antsy during 'down time'."

"That answers most of my questions regarding the rest of the conversation, as well as reassuring most of my worries," Momo replied in relief, glad most of her concerns were unfounded.  "Although..."

"...there is another concern?" Sage asked curiously.

Momo squirmed awkwardly.  She was uncertain if she should even bring this up given what she said about trying not to act on her infatuation, but it did bother her...  "Would you really use my form to 'engage' with Izuku?" she asked, finally unable to hold it back any longer.

"...if he were to ask," Sage replied, firmly emphasizing the 'if' to communicate both her willingness to do anything for Izuku if he asked...but also her confidence that Izuku wouldn't ask such a thing.

"...I genuinely have no idea how to feel about that..." Momo responded finally.  The pair sat in silence, letting the intensity of the moment pass.  Eventually, Momo spoke up again.  "Focusing on something else...you said you're overseeing Izuku's physical preparation for the Sports Festival to ensure he gets the most out of it that he can?"

"That is correct," Sage confirmed.  "It has me acting as a combination trainer, dietician, and physical therapist to maximize what he gets out of it in the time available, as per his request and goals.  I regret that this has left him little time to engage socially with others."

"...can you tell me how you're going about doing that?" Momo asked curiously.  "As far as I can tell, unless Izuku is in class, he is in his room..."

"I am capable of manipulating spatial dimensions and using Phantom Construct technology to create entire 'combat zones' within Izuku's dorm room for him to maneuver in order to practice combat, parkour, strategy, stealth, and work all muscle groups," Sage explained readily.  "I have many such zone designs to draw from given the data of past activities available in the Empire databases."

Momo rubbed her chin thoughtfully.  "...would it cause problems for Izuku's training to allow others in the created 'zones' with him?  Or strain you to maintain it for multiple combatants?  I understand at least one event of the Sports Festival is always about teamwork..."

Sage stared at Momo for a time before firmly burying her face in both hands, muttering imprecations to herself under her breath.  "...I shall raise the idea with Izuku after class tomorrow," she concluded when she was finished.  "Can I count on you to be available if he is amenable?  And to inveigle Ochako, Tsuyu, and Eijiro to join as well if it comes to pass?"

Momo smiled warmly.  "You can count on me," she agreed firmly.  "I'll do anything I can...for my friends."

Chapter Text

"MANLY!" Eijiro declared excitedly as his rocky fist tore apart the Nightmare construct, dispersing it into a constructed image of Dark Gaean energy as he tore his way through more of the minion constructs.

"Don't fall behind!" Ochako called out as she leapfrogged from one projected minion's head to another, both kicking downward for damage and propelling herself forward while only minimally influencing herself with her Quirk, allowing her to 'moon jump' rather than deal with full gravity negation, the technique greatly increasing her mobility while greatly reducing the nausea drawback she normally dealt with.

"This is a race after all, kero!" Tsuyu confirmed as she leapt from wall to wall down the projected alleyways of Spagonia, briefly sticking to each wall before launching herself forward, occasionally seizing one of the projected minions with her tongue and slamming it into another.

"But it's not manly to leave an unfelled foe behind!" Eijiro complained as he slammed his rocky fists together.  "What if they go after civilians?"

"...it's a projection," Izuku pointed out as he leapt from rooftop to rooftop, grabbing rocks and other things to use as projectiles to take out Dark Bats that tried to get in his path before he got to them.  "What civilians?"

"Just cause it's training doesn't mean I should act any different than I would if it were real!" Eijiro complained as he hefted a Nightmare over his head and chucked it at a group of minions that was charging him.

"He has a point," Momo observed as she created a staff from her palm, using the force of it extending to pole vault across an alleyway while taking pot shots at the various projected minions.  "The purpose of training isn't just to get stronger.  It's also to practice being a hero."

"That is why there are several energy barriers across the zone that prevent progress unless all minions prior to them have been destroyed," Sage pointed out as she floated along above the group, the glow around her hair and dress brighter though still moving somewhat slow.  "Also why you are all being scored by enemy takedowns as well as time and damage taken."

"MANLY!" Eijiro crowed excitedly as he grabbed a large crate and proceeded to use it as a bludgeon against entire groups.

"...perhaps I should allow for and calculate regarding collateral damage in future runs," Sage murmured thoughtfully, a smile crossing her lips as Ochako and Tsuyu - the only ones close enough to hear - burst into giggles at the idea.

Once the Big Mother projection was taken down, Sage floated down to face the group as they began to relax.  "That was well done," she observed thoughtfully.  "It seems doing these runs as a group results in them going by much faster, allowing multiple runs per training session with breaks in between.  This is good, as projections indicate all of you will get more out of it than running individually and taking longer per run."

"Yeah!" Eijiro proclaimed excitedly, punching a now non-rocky fist into the air.  "Teamwork is manly!"

"Indeed," Sage allowed as Ochako and Tsuyu giggled at his antics.  Noticing Izuku slumping back against the projected Clock Tower, she turned to Momo.  "I need to retrieve snacks from Lunch Rush to allow everyone to replenish themselves.  Would you be willing to accompany me?"

"Certainly!" Momo agreed happily, blinking in confusion as Sage pulled open an invisible door in the side of the projected Clock Tower, revealing it to be Izuku's dorm room door.  "...I wonder if I will ever get used to that..." she murmured as she followed Sage out towards the cafeteria.

Seeing Ochako and Tsuyu chatting away halfway up the Clock Tower, Eijiro plopped himself down beside Izuku with a wide grin.  "Dude!" he declared excitedly.  "Your girlfriend's awesome!"

"W-what?" Izuku yelped out at his words.  "W-what do you mean?"

"This whole thing!" Eijiro gestured at the projection.  "This puts every gym or Quirk training course I've ever seen to shame, even the stuff available here at UA!  And she's got how many of these to draw on?  So jealous you can train like this whenever!"

"O-oh, you mean Sage," Izuku allowed uncertainly, ducking his head and rubbing a finger against his cheek.  "She's...I mean, she is amazing, but I...I mean..."

"Oh, dude, didn't mean to assume!" Eijiro insisted in concern.  "Not manly of me at all!  Sorry, Mina's been my friend for years and she's all about romance, and she's been going on about how cute the two of you are together and..."  He shrugged his shoulders helplessly.  "Still shouldn't have assumed.  She's still awesome, though, and it's great you're so close to her!"

"Y-yeah..." Izuku agreed somewhat hesitantly.  "We've been...close for years..."

Pushing himself forward, Eijiro gripped his ankles as he sat cross-legged, focusing on Izuku.  "Something bothering you?"

"It's...it's complicated..."

"If you want, I'm all ears!" Eijiro offered helpfully.  "Well, not as much as Shoji can be, but I'm still happy to hear you out!"

Izuku looked Eijiro in the eye for a time before shrugging his shoulders.  "Not like I have anyone else I can really ask for advice about this.  Everyone else I know is either involved or invested..."

"Oh, I'm absolutely invested in if it'll make my friends happy!" Eijiro insisted firmly.  "But if it'll help if I act objective, I'm here for you, Midobro!"

Izuku managed a warm smile at the nickname.  It may not have been imaginative, but it was worlds better than any he'd had before.  "Well, like I said, Sage and I have known each other and been close for years...but I recently learned that things weren't what I thought..."

"Dude, that's rough!" Eijiro offered as he pat Izuku's shoulder comfortingly.  "What was wrong?"

"Well...I kinda thought I was her pet..."  Izuku hesitated, uncertain how to continue off that.

"Dude, I don't kinkshame!" Eijiro offered supportively.  "Long as everyone's informed and consenting, love however makes you feel good!"

"...kink...shame?"  Izuku tilted his head, struggling to follow the logic of Eijiro's words.

"...wait, did you mean that literally?" Eijiro asked in surprise.  "Oof, again with assuming on my part, that's my B!  But hey, if that's what makes you both happy, I don't see anything wrong with it!"

"....rrrrright..." Izuku replied, deciding not to pursue Eijiro's prior interpretation just yet.  He had a feeling that was a rabbit hole he didn't want to dive down anytime soon.  "I mean, it made sense from my perspective.  Different species, drastically different natural lifespans, taking me in to train and nurture, part of the initial decision was because she found me adorable..."

"You don't need to convince me, Midobro!" Eijiro reassured him.  "Like I said, love is love, and as long as everyone's communicating properly and knows what they're getting into, what happens behind their doors is nobody else's business!"

Izuku's smile relaxed, strain he didn't know he was feeling leaving him.  "Communicating properly...yeah, that...how did you say it?  That was my B?"

"So...she didn't think of you like that?" Eijiro pressed gently.

"Nope," Izuku confirmed ruefully.  "Six years thinking - happily, I might add - that I was a pet...only to learn the entire thing was misinterpretation on my part and she's been in love with me for most of that time, even if she didn't fully understand it early on because of how new she still is to emotions and how differently from human she processes and develops them."

"Oh, bro, that's wonderful!" Eijiro declared, tears in his eyes.  "Such a beautiful love story, with her learning what it means to love through loving you!"  He hesitated.  "Umm...unless...do...do you not feel the same way?"

Izuku sighed as he sank back against the wall.  "I have no god damn clue..." he muttered grimly.  "Been trying to make sense of it since yesterday when I found out from overhearing a jealousy spat between her and Momo before having the whole thing explained...and now I don't know what to do about any of it!"

"Ooof...dude, that sucks..." Eijiro commiserated.  "Anything I can do to help?"

"At this point, I'm willing to try anything to make sense of things," Izuku admitted sadly.  "I...I hate the distance that's sprung up between us from what's happened, but...but I can't make that go away until I know where we actually stand!  I mean...I know I love her, but do I love her like that?  I didn't think that was even a possibility for me!"

"Then why don't we find out?"

Izuku blinked in confusion before turning to face Eijiro.  "...find out?"

"You say you don't know if you love her that way," Eijiro pointed out logically.  "So first step is figuring out if you do, right?"

"...and you have some idea how to do that?" Izuku asked in disbelief.

"Absolutely!" Eijiro confirmed eagerly.  "Picked this trick up from Mina!  According to her, it's never failed!"

Izuku sighed ruefully.  "Well, it's not like I've got anything to lose...let's give it a shot."

"Okay!" Eijiro declared excitedly as he pumped his fist.  "First off, if we're gonna be doing this right, I need to know your preference!"

"To...get answers?" Izuku pointed out, confused.

Eijiro stifled a snicker.  "Not like that!  I mean, do you like boys?  Girls?  Both?  Don't care?  Don't know?"

"Like as in...?" Izuku pressed, more than a little upset at how lost he was.

"What you're attracted to, I mean," Eijiro continued awkwardly, rubbing a now red cheek.  "Thought that was clear..."

"Oh," Izuku allowed uncertainly.  "...Sage talked with me about that yesterday.  I never really thought about it before, but...I guess I'm attracted to...hearts, if that makes sense?"

"Oh, you're demi!" Eijiro concluded with a grin.  "Means what's on the outside doesn't matter to you, only what's on the inside, and you gotta get really attached to someone before you start thinking of them that way!  Awesome!  That makes this really straight-forward!"

"That's...helpful," Izuku allowed uncertainly.  "So...what do I do first?"

"Imagine you're...kissing Ochako!" Eijiro instructed after hesitating a moment.

"...what?"

"Trust me, it'll work!"

Izuku looked at Eijiro's excited, confident expression for a time, then sighed before leaning back.  He genuinely didn't know how to even begin imagining something like that...but thankfully he was wearing his Phantom Glasses.  A quick program plugged in, and an image of Ochako leaning in to kiss him appeared only in his vision on the lenses.  "...o...kay?"

"So how did that make you feel?" Eijiro pressed eagerly.

"...mostly confused, and a little weird," Izuku allowed as he banished the image with a discreet hand movement.

"Okay!" Eijiro declared firmly.  "Now imagine it with Tsuyu!"

Izuku raised an eyebrow, but triggered the program again, this time with Tsuyu's image.  "...that just felt strange," he admitted after a time before dismissing the image.  "How is it supposed to make me feel?"

"No wrong answers here, this is about exploration!" Eijiro insisted with a grin.  "Now do me!"

Izuku stared at Eijiro for a time in disbelief, but eventually leaned back and triggered the program again.  "...kinda felt the same as Tsuyu," Izuku allowed finally, unsure what else to say.  "Strange...and like it wasn't really appropriate?"

"Good, we're making progress!" Eijiro declared excitedly, pumping his fist.  "Now imagine it's Momo!"

Izuku hesitated.  He was beginning to understand what Eijiro was going for, and this particular test felt...wrong.  Still, he needed these answers, so he once more triggered the program, watching the image of Momo leaning over him, her hair hanging to one side as she leaned in close before closing her eyes.  "T...that felt wrong," Izuku said finally before dismissing the image.  "Not...not in a bad way, but..."  He rubbed his head as he tried to find words.  "Having her that close felt nice to picture, but...kissing felt like I was doing something I shouldn't, didn't feel like a good thing..."

"Oh, bro...so on top of everything else you're touch-starved?"  A commiserating expression on his face, Eijiro pulled Izuku into a comforting one-arm hug.  "That's rough, buddy..."

Izuku didn't even think about it as he leaned into the hug.  "...touch-starved?"

"Means you didn't get enough positive physical contact growing up, so you desperately crave it from those you're close enough to seek it from," Eijiro explained reassuringly.  "Feel free to ask me anytime you want a hug, I'm happy to give it!"

"...thanks..." Izuku responded after a time.  Once Eijiro released him from the hug, he lay back again.  "And...next?"

"This is the big one," Eijiro explained calmly with a smile.  "Now picture kissing Sage."

Before he could think about it, the program triggered.  On the lenses of his glasses, he saw Sage braced over him with a soft smile, her eyes aglow with affection as her hair danced around her before she leaned in close as her eyes started to close...

With an inarticulate shriek, Izuku yanked his glasses off and tossed them to the side while covering his face with both hands to suppress the sound, rolling back and forth on the ground as he futilely struggled to get the image from his mind or to get his racing heart and stalling thoughts under control.  Nearly a full minute later, he finally got himself down to quiet whimpers.

"...dude..." Eijiro marveled in awe.  "You look like a frikking strawberry!  You got it bad!"

"...got what bad?" Izuku muttered, afraid he already knew the answer.

"Bro, you are completely, totally, and hopelessly in love with her!" Eijiro explained with a grin.  "Only reason you'd react that strongly to that...though that's some imagination you got!"

"R-right..." Izuku muttered as he grabbed his glasses, quickly deleting the program before Sage could learn of it.  "S-so what do I do about it?"

"Well, that's up to you," Eijiro answered more calmly.  "Do you want to have that sort of relationship with her?"

"I..."  Izuku hesitated, a frown on his face as he sank in on himself a bit.  "...should I?  I mean...she can do so much bet-"

"No!" Eijiro snapped out, grabbing both of Izuku's shoulders and shaking him.  "You don't get to say anything like that!  Not only are you an amazing, wonderful person who deserves to be loved, but you have no right to say who she should or shouldn't love or choose!  That decision is entirely up to her!  The only thing you get to say anything about is if you return the feelings and if you want to explore them with her!  So again, do you want to?"

Izuku blinked in confusion, more than a little stunned at the fierceness in Eijiro's tone.  "I..."  Izuku closed his eyes, doing his best to push back years of abuse from peers...and years of self-hate and self-doubt he hadn't truly addressed.  "I think...I think I want to try.  But...I don't know what to do..."

"That's still a sight better than you were before, so that's progress!" Eijiro praised excitedly, letting go of Izuku's shoulders so he could slump back.

"...do you have any advice there?" Izuku asked uncertainly.

Eijiro rubbed his chin thoughtfully.  "Well...if you asked Mina, she'd say you should make a move as soon as possible because as much as love is worth waiting for you shouldn't deny what's right for both of you...but..."

"...but?" Izuku asked curiously, trying not to think too hard about how he was supposed to talk about this with Sage.

"But I personally think you should wait until after the Sports Festival," Eijiro allowed apologetically.  "Momo said this group training was so that you didn't spend all your time locked in your room with just Sage for your own good...and with how bad you've both got it for each other, you'd probably wind up right back being just the two of you locked in your room till the Festival...and not for training!"

Izuku took a moment to parse what Eijiro had just said...only to discover to his mortification that his imagination was suddenly a lot more fertile than it had been before the experiment.

Sage and Momo returned with snacks moments later to discover Eijiro, Ochako, and Tsuyu staring at Izuku as he was once more writhing creatively on the ground with his hands over his face trying to hide just how red he was and muffle his incoherent squeals of mortification.  "...Eijiro..." Sage observed, uncertain if she should be upset.  "...you broke my Izu..."

Momo quickly clapped a hand to her mouth to stifle laughter and a squeal over the adorable verbal slip...and how that led to further muffled mortified cries from the boy in question.

Chapter Text

Izuku lay back on his bed, Phantom Goggles on and Phantom Bracers ready.  He needed to do this, no matter how awkward it felt to do so.  He'd gotten advice from Eijiro, but while that had helped him reach a conclusion, it hadn't helped him reach a decision...and there was only one person he could think of who he could ask that could actually help him make a decision.  Well, to be fair, there were a few other possibilities...but his logic had eventually told him that as awkward as it might be to conceive of, this was the least awkward choice to make, and likely the most productive.  Sighing once more, he pushed himself to act as he placed the call.

"Ah, Izuku!" Ivo greeted warmly as the projection of his image appeared across the room, the other side of the room changing in projection on the goggles to make the two rooms they were in seem like they existed in the same place.  "I was hoping to hear from you soon!  I understand the sports festival is coming up, and was planning on attending alongside Inko, and I didn't want to drop that on you out of nowhere!  What brings this call?  I'm afraid I can't weigh in much on the Festival, as I was never a sporty type growing up..."

"No, I have a plan for that," Izuku allowed as he pushed himself into a sitting position on his bed.  "Though...I am calling for advice..."  He mentally groped for words.

Ivo sat back, one hand going to his chin.  "Hmm...Sage isn't there with you, and the alert that the call is recorded or monitored by Network Settings is off...is this 'Guy Talk', then?  A need for fatherly advice?"

Izuku rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.  "Yeah...something like that..."  He hated how hard it was to meet Ivo's eyes right now, even if they were both wearing their goggles and thus couldn't actually see each others' eyes.

Ivo peered closely at Izuku's overall body language.  "Hmm...the way you've positioned yourself...you're curled in but not hunched over, you're feeling awkward but not defensive..."  He suddenly tapped his goggles.  "Wait, that's not a construct discoloration, your cheeks are flushed!  Dare I hope our abortive discussion from two years ago has achieved a more positive resolution?!  Are you perchance calling for fatherly romantic advice regarding Sage?"

Unable to stop himself, Izuku buried his face in both hands as he curled up more than he meant to.  "Doctor, please!" he whined desperately.  "This is hard enough for me as it is!"

Ivo let out a belly laugh that - for once - was neither maniacal nor crazed.  "Oh, Izuku, this is wonderful!" he crowed happily.  "The only regret I've had since coming to this world was that I didn't know how to help you past those hurdles, and it is a true joy for me to see that you've found a way past it!"  As his laughter faded, he smiled fondly.  "We never said anything about it directly, but...your Mother had noticed that the way we interacted, I had...taken an almost paternal role towards you...and I've always been inordinately pleased and proud of your accomplishments as a scientist and as a person.  This might not be the best time or way to say it...but for the past few years, I've come to think of you almost like the son I would never have, which was part of why I was so pleased and supportive of what I saw developing between you and Sage.  It told me that it might not be that far in the future that...that you might actually start calling me Dad."  He ducked his head, idly stroking his bald crown with one hand.  "I...hope that wasn't too presumptuous of me to say..."

Izuku, his face now fully flushed, managed a smile as he uncurled.  "Well...you've always done a much better job than the one I was born to...so...I'm not against it..."  He rubbed his cheek with one finger awkwardly.  "And...I was hoping to ask about how a Robotnik would handle a situation as a guide to hopefully help me through it..."

Ivo smiled warmly, straightening himself proudly as he looked Izuku in the eyes.  "Well then, as not-yet-Father to Son, tell me...what's come to pass that you need advice?  In your own time, I'm happy to wait."

Taking a few calming breaths, Izuku let himself relax.  "Well...as you concluded, I...discovered that my conclusions regarding potential future romance were...fundamentally flawed, especially where it comes to Sage.  That was...a difficult revelation."

"If it's not too difficult for you, would you tell me how that happened?" Ivo pressed gently.  "It's the scientist in me.  I failed to help you before, so I'm curious what succeeded."

"...I overheard Sage verbally lambasting my friend Momo out of a mix of jealousy and offense over implied questioning of her reality that included her declaring that she's been in love with me since I gave her the Phantom Drive."

Ivo coughed awkwardly as his body tried to both laugh and shudder at the same time.  "Well, that...certainly explains why I found a compilation video of moments starting then between the two of you that Sage put together to 'Whole New World' from Disney's Aladdin...honestly, only the animated one was worth anything, glad she used that version..."

"That..."  Izuku swallowed as his cheeks flushed even more.  "...I choose to focus on surprise that said film was made in both our worlds rather than the implications of the video beyond that..."

"Understandable, the parallels are fascinating!" Ivo declared, behaving as though he completely missed the other side of possible conclusions.  "Was that enough to get through to you?"

"Unfortunately, it just left things...confused," Izuku allowed ruefully.  "I mean...I had thought she saw me as a pet all these years...only to learn she showed me that bit about you thinking she wanted a Chao to show you being a Dad..."  He paused as he thought about the conversation so far.  "...which suddenly makes a lot more sense in hindsight given the discussion so far..."

"So it left you knowing her real feelings, but not certain of your own," Ivo concluded, gently nudging Izuku along in the discussion.  "What changed that?"

"Sage and Momo arranged more group activities for myself and the others in the group we got sorted into in class based on motivations," Izuku explained as calmly as he could manage.  "Eijiro made a comment that 'my girlfriend' was 'awesome', only to backpedal and apologize for assuming when he realized my confused emotions on the situation before helping me through them..."  He covered his face with his hands again as certain mental images once more assailed him.  "...which on top of making me realize that I am so far head over heels for Sage I'm on the other side of the planet, but also accidentally triggered my sexual awakening in terms of actually being able to imagine...things."

Ivo struggled to contain his laughter...only to fail badly.  "I...I am so sorry, Izuku," he finally managed to get out through his laughter.  "That had to be so awkward for you..."

"I can't even look at Sage anymore without getting flustered to the point my tongue is trying to bite my teeth!" Izuku declared while throwing his hands into the air in despair and frustration.  "Eijiro suggested holding off on actually doing anything as far as addressing our feelings until after the Sports Festival just to maintain our current level of group socialization and not wind up missing classes-"

"As mature and smitten as she is, that's still my little girl you're talking about, son," Ivo chided gently, though the wide grin on his face suggested it was more teasing than genuinely scolding.

"-but I'm pretty sure Sage thinks I'm trying to avoid spending time alone with her at this point and I hate the very idea of it, let alone what she might think because of it!" Izuku declared as he let himself fall back on his back, arms spread wide.  "I love her...I'm in love with her...but what do I do?  Do I wait till after the Sports Festival and stick with the plan for that?  Do I try and act now and risk screwing everything up both in terms of our relationship and our long term plans?  Do I not act at all and leave us in a permanent will-they/won't-they dance just for the sadistic pleasure of driving everyone we know insane out of frustration from being forced to watch it not unfold?"

"As entertaining as that last might be, I will take punitive action if you make that choice," Ivo scolded, his voice a bit more firm despite his tone showing his amusement.  "However, I assume this is what you hoped for my advice in regards to?  To ask me 'What would a Robotnik do'?"

"Y-yeah..." Izuku agreed as he panted, trying to get himself under control.  "I'm worried, I'm flustered, I'm awkward...how do I get past all that to do anything?"

"First, you presented it as though you had different paths to walk depending on what had priority," Ivo pointed out thoughtfully.  "You indicated that you had your plan for the Sports Festival, and your feelings for Sage, and that acting on the latter before the former might disrupt those plans."  Once Izuku nodded in agreement, Ivo straightened himself.  "First, determine for yourself what has the highest priority to you, what is most important, what is the one thing that all else in your life will be managed in relation to-"

"Sage," Izuku interrupted, his eyes somewhat dazed showing his words came without truly consulting his thoughts...only for him to blush as he realized what he'd just said and what that implied.

Ivo chuckled indulgently, briefly lifting his goggles to wipe a happy-yet-sad tear from his eye.  "Then as a Robotnik, what you are to do is focus entirely on this most important thing in your life and reach for it with all your might.  If you have doubts, crush them beneath the certainty that - as a Robotnik - there is no such thing as failure, only delays to inevitable success!  And once you have your heart's desire in your grasp, hold it with all your might and cherish it with all your heart, that nothing can take it from you!  And if there are those who would declare it wrong, then if all they have are words ignore them...and if they try to stop you with more than words, then obliterate them with all your might because the Will of Robotnik is absolute and unconquerable!"

Izuku felt his spine stiffen in response to the words.  "Y-yes sir!" he declared intensely as he threw himself to his feet, ready to make preparations.  Before he moved too far, however, he paused.  "A...are you sure about this thought?" he asked worriedly.  "You're...you're encouraging me to try and...claim your daughter for my own..."

Ivo let out an indulgent chuckle.  "I admit, my emotions are a mix over this...but despite my own lack of interest or experience in romance, I do understand family, and comfort myself with wisdom from the past.  In the paraphrased words of Gomez Addams, I'm not losing a daughter...I'm gaining two Midoriyas.  Now go make me proud...and her happy."

With that the call ended, leaving Izuku to his plans.

Chapter Text

Sage frowned thoughtfully as she once more manifested just outside the door to Izuku's dorm room.  The awkwardness that had been between her and Izuku since that first group training session when Eijiro 'broke' him had been between them for several days, and she genuinely didn't know what to think or feel about it.  On one hand, the distance was painful as she missed their easy closeness before her confrontation with Momo which had set all of this in motion.  On the other hand, she had noticed how flushed he got every time he laid eyes on her before spinning away, which left her hopeful that perhaps this was because Izuku was beginning to look at her not just as a friend but also as a girl, and thus as a potential romantic partner...and was just having difficulty dealing with it.  If that were the case, then odds based on behavior and literary analysis suggested that they would end up getting together eventually, and the former closeness would seem a pale shadow compared to what they would experience then, and such an idea filled her heart with anticipatory bliss and excitement...only to immediately be eclipsed by the frustration of the 'eventually'.  Robotniks were not emotionally equipped for patience, and she was no exception in that regard even if she was better at it than her father given her multitasking ability.  As long as her brain didn't go back to a 'stalled' process, she could readily delay dealing with it emotionally until it was no longer stalled.  ...unfortunately, it had been years since she'd been able to go more than an hour at most without thinking of Izuku, and her preferred coping mechanism - preparing for the most likely potential eventualities in terms of hardware, software, and behavior pattern constructs - only made certain things all the more appealing and harder to wait for.

Still, she cared too much about Izuku to risk upsetting things by pressing, and despite the awkward uncomfortableness of it she now knocked before projecting herself into the dorm, despite her still thinking of it as 'their' room in the privacy of her own mind.  Admittedly, she would still enter whether he answered the knock or not, but it was less about requesting permission and more letting him know she was coming in so he could be ready for her.  Thus, she was rather surprised when today's knock was responded to with a firm, confident, "Come in, Sage."

Blinking in surprise, Sage targeted coordinates just inside the room to remanifest, noticing as she began the shift that Izuku had a Phantom Projection running to create a specific environment within the room.  It was only once she manifested and took it in with her physical senses, however, that she got some idea what was going on.  The lights in the room were low if not off, the electric light supplemented by constructs of numerous scented candles, each one positioned so that it maximized the light it gave off while minimizing the chance of its scent becoming overwhelming.  A music box played a smooth, relaxing tune in the corner that seemed to have jazz leanings to its melody line.  But what locked her attention was Izuku sitting on the bed, glasses, goggles, and bracers set aside where they maintained the projection...his shirt cast aside as well.  She found herself biting her lip as she struggled to drag her eyes away from the sight of what all the heavy lifting and hard work in the lab over the past six years had done to his physique, mentally cursing herself for never requesting her Father add a water park segment to Robotnikland New World.  "I-Izuku?" she managed to get out finally, barely managing to speak over the music...and her own turbulent emotions.

Izuku swallowed convulsively as he looked her way, a flush spreading from his cheeks to his neck and a good amount of his face.  He lifted one hand as he gritted his teeth, plainly steeling himself to not stutter.  "Come here, please," he asked gently, lightly beckoning with his fingers.

Sage was pretty sure her projection maintained congruity, but she had no awareness of crossing the intervening distance.  One moment of memory she was floating across the room staring at Izuku, the next she was on the bed, his outstretched hand clutched in both of hers.  "Is...is this what I think it is...?" she asked desperately, not wanting to apply pressure but desperate to hear a confirmation.

"...it probably is," Izuku replied softly, his eyes briefly flickering downward in a way she found indescribably pleasant before locking back onto her face.  "I...I've done a lot of thinking...and a lot of feeling, figuring out how I feel, what I want, where I want to go...and what I want to do.  Eijiro and Ivo were both very helpful with their advice."

"Eijiro broke you," Sage pointed out, trying not to show her amusement at the memory now she was certain Izuku didn't come to any harm as a result of that...and also deciding not to think about her Father being involved in helping Izuku reach this point.  Part of her was grateful, but another part found the idea...she believed the correct emotional terminology was 'mortifying'.

"Yes...he broke 'your Izu'," Izuku responded with a warm, teasing smile.

Sage froze as her mind went over the memory again...and this time caught her verbal slip, leading to her trying to hide her face behind one hand, though refusing to let go of Izuku's with the other.  "...I can't believe I said that..." she finally muttered under her breath.

"It's not like you were wrong," Izuku offered gently, making her head jerk up to look him in his eyes.  "He did break me...and I am 'your Izu'."

Sage felt her breath catching in her throat as her heart beat heavily to the point she was certain she could hear blood she didn't have rushing through veins she shouldn't need.  "Izuku..."

"I...I'm not good with words when it comes to...the emotional side of things," Izuku continued, shifting between looking her right in the eyes and looking into the middle distance.  "I can ramble on endlessly about Quirks, technology, science...but I've never given much thought to the...I suppose I can call them the softer sciences.  People, social interaction...relationships.  Actions...that I can make more sense of."  He locked his eyes on hers.  "Ivo said that...I should reach for what I want the most in life, that which all else in my life I'll arrange around...and if I can take hold of it, never let it go.  If this were an ideal, a goal, or an endeavor, I'd have no hesitation to do so...but it's a person.  And I have no right to grasp someone that way who does not want to be held by me.  I..."

"If it is you who is holding me, then I have no desire to ever leave said grasp," Sage whispered fervently, gazing into his eyes hoping her love was visible there.

"Then...then let me show you the desire, the dream, the yearning that will be the core of my life, from now unto perpetuity," Izuku whispered before suddenly pulling hard on where she still gripped his hand.

That was the only warning she had before she found his arms wrapped around her, his lips on hers, as he held her tight against him in an awkward, fervent, chaste, passionate...perfect kiss.  She let out a startled gasp of surprise that almost instantly became a desperately pleased moan as she threw her arms around his neck to press tighter against him, one leg throwing itself over his so she was astride his lap without conscious thought as they clung to each other as they let love and passion overtake them.  All sense of time, of place, of the world beyond the kiss was lost to their awareness as they clung to each other, breathing each others' air as they refused to let mere physical limitations interfere with a shared yearning that had been years in building.

It was only when Izuku's hand slid of its own accord down Sage's back - triggering a flood of unexpected physical and emotional stimulation - that Sage found herself pulling back from the kiss with a startled but not displeased gasp.  "I-Izu..." she found herself stammering.

"S-sorry!" Izuku gasped out, quickly sliding his hand back up her back.  "I-I wasn't really thinking and my hand..."

Sage quickly grabbed his wrist, preventing him from moving completely away from where his hand had moved.  "I...I didn't dislike it," she whispered breathlessly.  "I just...didn't expect it.  And...I would be blatantly lying if I said I didn't want it..."

"S-s-sage..." Izuku stammered breathlessly as he stared up at her, yearning and disbelief in equal measure in his gaze.

"You said that this form had...aesthetic appeal," Sage purred softly, leaning away from him while still keeping a hand on his shoulder, arching her back to make said form more visible to his eyes, wriggling in his lap to set her Drive - and other things - to bouncing.  "I hope that means it is...to your liking?  To your...desires?"

"I..."  Izuku swallowed convulsively.  "...all I want is you, Sage..." he finally managed to get out.

Sage's smile turned a touch...devious even as it filled with loving warmth.  "...is that why the other images you saw me conjure did not appeal?  They were not...me?  I can fix that."  Sliding off his lap while trailing her hand down his chest, she shifted the image of her projection.  This time, instead of exactly mimicking the image of the video game character Bayonetta, she instead reshaped her physique to match it while aging her facial features slightly, her Drive taking the shape of the pendant the character wore.  "Perhaps you want to be a good boy for your...Dommy Mommy?" she suggested playfully, her voice slightly more mature - but still hers - as she leaned over him.  "Or perhaps..."  She shifted her form again, this time making herself into the image of the muscular, primitive cave-girl.  "...you want wrestle with wild girl, get really wild with you?" she asked, her voice gruff but playfully teasing as she reveled in how he couldn't tear his eyes off her, the way he struggled to even breathe and swallowed convulsively at everything she offered, was willing to do for him.  She resumed her adolescent projection, though this time wearing a regal - if somewhat suggestive - gown.  "Or do you wish to spend time with your Princess?" she purred softly before taking the more knightly image.  "Or be nurtured by your protector, My Prince?" she offered, her voice submissive and dutiful.  "Gladly will I be - and do - anything you ask of me...my Izu..."

Izuku finally managed to get control of himself to speak again, if only barely.  "W-w-w-w-where did you get the idea for all this?" he finally managed to gasp out.  "It...I-I-I...I mean..."

Sage shrunk a little in on herself as she changed back to what she considered her default adolescent appearance and outfit, once more back in his lap.  "I...as you may have gathered from what I said during my...confrontation...with Momo, if I believe a possible outcome is both desirable and likely, I make an effort to be prepared for it.  As such, I did seek out information for how it would be appropriate to behave with you as your...girlfriend...should this desirable circumstance come to pass.  However, I had some difficulty finding examples that were distinct from 'friend' behaviors..."

"D-did you end up getting answers from Hentai?" he asked, his tone a mix of facetious and uncertain excitement.

"...and erotic fiction..."

Unable to stop the chuckles that bubbled up, Izuku pulled Sage into a tight embrace, holding her against him.  "You don't have to be anything - physically or behaviorally - but yourself, Sage.  It's you I'm in love with, you I want in my life forever, you I want to be with in every moment.  You don't have to do or be anything special to make me happy.  Just being you is more than enough, more than I ever would have dreamed."

Sage returned the embrace, leaning into him.  "...sorry if I made things...awkward..."

"Only in wondering how I'm going to manage to sleep tonight, and it's still worth it."

Sage couldn't stop herself from laughing aloud at that, a sweet bell-like tone that rang through the room.  She quickly covered her mouth as she got control of herself, hiding the soft smile that crossed her face as she saw the warm one Izuku was giving her.  "I suppose I was...a little over-enthusiastic..."

"...was the color change part of that?" Izuku asked curiously.

"...color change?"

"I first noticed it when you pulled back from the kiss."  He gestured down at her.

Curious, Sage glanced down...and saw that the red and black of her normal coloration had been replaced by blue and white.  She quickly covered her face, now knowing for certain what it felt like to be mortified.  "I-I'm so sorry..." she murmured under her breath.

"What's wrong, Sage?" Izuku asked worriedly.  "It's...it's not bad, right?"

"Just...embarrassing..." Sage admitted ruefully.  "It...it happens when I get overwhelmed by emotion, to the point emotional thinking overrules my logical thinking entirely.  It's...it's embarrassing to get into this state...so I try to suppress when it happens..."

"I don't think it's anything to be embarrassed about," Izuku whispered softly, gently pulling her hands away from her face to show her his smile.  "Y...you're beautiful however you present yourself...and like this you're almost...angelic."

"I...if you like angelic..."  Without even seeming to think about it, Sage had shifted partially to one side of Izuku, sitting only on half of his lap.  Her dress was replaced with a suggestively thin gown, as white feathered wings spread from her back, a halo appearing over her head.  "I'm happy to be the angel on your shoulder."

"And the devil on your other shoulder," Sage also purred from his other side, another Sage sitting on his other lap dressed in a red-edged-black playmate leotard, heeled leather boots, and elbow length leather gloves, black bat wings sprouting from her back and horns rising from her brow.  "Can you handle both?"

"S-Sage..." Izuku stammered out, struggling to keep himself under control.

Both Sages vanished, replaced by the one in his lap in her normal garb and blue-white coloration.  "S-sorry...I didn't know any other way to deal with your words and..."  She buried her face against his chest...only to blush brightly as she was once more reminded he was shirtless.

Izuku let out a stuttering chuckle.  "I feel like I might regret this...but did you have any more you wanted to show?  I want you to be comfortable, and...if this is what makes you comfortable, I...I won't deny it's enjoyable."

"J-just one more..." Sage allowed as she stepped back from his lap.  "One that...seemed to be on the borderline depending on how it was interpreted...and fitting to...this coloration..."  Seeing his nod, she spun...

When she came to a halt in her spin, her outfit had been replaced with a blue-edged white bedlah outfit, her hair tied back in a ponytail, and a hanging gauzy veil-like cloth dancing behind her and looped around her wrists, flowing at the slightest movements of her arms.  "It would be my greatest pleasure to grant your wish, Izu...if you rub me the right way..."  She turned slightly side-on to him with the end of her words before giving her hips a suggestive shake.

Izuku audibly choked as he stared at her, his face flaming and his breath coming in gasps as his blush spread halfway down his chest.  "S-s-s-sage..." he finally managed to get out.

Blushing brightly herself, Sage descended to the bed at his side, curling up tight to him.  "I...guess this one's a winner..." she managed to get out.  "It's...not too much for sleeping together, is it?"  Her blush brightened as she thought about her words again.  "J-just sleeping!" she insisted.  "As...as eager as I am..."

"...we aren't ready for more..." he agreed softly as he wrapped his arms around her, the light of the candles dimming as they clung to each other.  "And...there's no hurry..."

"None at all..." Sage agreed in a whisper, all but purring as she curled into the shared embrace as the music box lulled the pair to a happy, loving, restful sleep.

Chapter Text

Sage slowly stirred as her internal chronometer let her know that it was time to get Izuku started on his day.  Even as she stirred, she mentally debated - not for the first time, but for the first time so strongly - triggering a 'snooze' protocol and taking a few extra minutes just to enjoy sleeping in her current position, reaching out to pull herself closer to Izuku's warmth...only for her hands to only grasp sheets.  Confused, she ruefully blinked her eyes open and found herself tucked in tightly in the warm spot left behind from Izuku getting up.  The sound of running water from the shower told her where Izuku was, apparently having gotten up earlier and not wanting to disturb her slumber.  A brief check of proximity records confirmed that conclusion...and informed her that after tucking her back in so as not to disturb her, Izuku had placed a gentle, loving kiss on her lips.  She squirmed happily in the sheets as she reveled in that, fully convinced she now had the best of all worlds, able to sleep through her beloved waking up before her yet never being unaware of his affectionate actions during her slumber.

An alert drew her attention.  Apparently, her Father was calling, and Izuku's Bracer was waiting for someone to pick up.  As much as she didn't want to leave the warmth left behind from being curled up to Izuku, she was still loyal to her Father and didn't like the idea of ignoring his call.  Had Izuku still been in the bed with her it would have been a much harder decision - barring what way Izuku might weigh in on the decision - but in a choice between the lingering warmth and her Father's active need, the active need won out.  Pushing the bedding aside, she floated her way over to the Bracer and triggered screen projection, going for a video call rather than a holo-call.  "Hello, Father," she greeted warmly.

"Ah, Sage!" Ivo declared happily.  "So good to, er, see you!"  He coughed awkwardly, confusing Sage briefly, but he quickly pressed on.  "And it's so good to know that Izuku finally made his move and the two of you are a couple now!  Honestly, I was beginning to worry he wouldn't actually make his move until after the Sports Festival after our last talk with how awkward he can be about feelings, not that I can blame him..."

Sage blinked in surprise, but smiled despite herself.  "Yes, Izuku did...confess to me last night, and we are now a couple."  As happy as the words made her to declare - to the point part of her wanted to shout it from the roof of the school and announce it to the entire world, possibly even hack every search engine to replace their logos with a neon banner and music alert declaring their new relationship status - she was more than a little confused at something.  "But how did you know?"

Ivo once more coughed awkwardly...before pointing at the screen and downward.

Still confused, Sage glanced down...only to discover that not only was she still in her blue-white coloring that showed she was overwhelmed by emotion - something Ivo knew about her - but she was also still wearing the bedlah outfit she'd curled up to Izuku's side in.  Letting out a brief, startled yelp, she quickly covered herself with her arms even as her projection changed to her normal attire.  Admittedly, her projection wouldn't show anything unless she wanted it to, even when changing outfits...but being caught like that by her Father of all people was mortifying!  The only way it would have been worse was if Inko were on the call as well!  "I-I'm so sorry!" she yelped out, struggling - and failing - to get her coloration under control to show a measure of professionalism.

"Sage," Ivo offered comfortingly, "I'm the one who called so early your time hoping to catch Izuku before class.  I'm the one at fault for this awkwardness, not you.  And to be honest?"  He shrugged his shoulders expansively with a warm grin.  "I'm honestly too happy with knowing the two of you are together now to be concerned with your choice of sleepwear."

Sage found herself blushing from both embarrassment and pleasure at the assertion.  "I will still be adding a reminder protocol to check my wardrobe skin status before answering calls from now on," she asserted, wishing she'd thought to make such a protocol before the previous night.  Why did this possibility never occur to her in all her preparation?  What if she'd been using one of the other 'cosplay skins' she'd crafted the previous night?  Or worse, one of the more erotic ones she hadn't actually showed Izuku because they both decided they weren't ready for more than sleeping?!  Why couldn't she banish the mental images of if she'd answered the phone in one of those?!

"Part of why I'm so relaxed, as I know this sort of thing won't happen again," Ivo attempted to reassure her even as he cleared his own throat awkwardly.  "Though that choice of sleepwear...I'm not certain how comfortable it is to sleep in...?"

"It...wasn't originally intended as sleepwear," Sage admitted hesitantly, now covering her face in embarrassment.  "I attempted to draw inspiration to prepare for the desirable possibility that we would become a couple...only for my choice of source material to be...questionable in hindsight..."

Ivo sighed deeply.  "Let me guess," he posited, "you went searching specifically for how you should behave as a 'girlfriend' distinct from behaving as a 'friend', only for your search algorithms to ignore most of the tamer information sources due to an excess of overlap?"

Still hiding her face, Sage nodded with a quiet squeak of confirmation.

Another painful sigh echoed from Ivo's end of the call.  "Try to convince Izuku to modify his diet for heart health," he advised gently.  "At the rate you're going, he's definitely going to need it.  ...maybe modify to keep cholesterol down and manage blood pressure, too..."

"I have already submitted suggested modifications to diet in that regard to his fitness plan, to be discussed later," Sage explained readily.  "I...have no desire for his lifestyle to reduce his lifespan, and lose even a moment with him I can keep..."

"I was wondering about those changes," Izuku allowed thoughtfully as he exited the bathing room, a towel wrapped around his waist as he flicked a finger in the air in front of him to manipulate the image on his Phantom Glasses.  "I'm not against them in theory, and with the level of immersement possible with Phantom Tech, it's not like I would actually notice the changes to my diet to feel as though I'm denying myself-"  He let out a startled yelp as he caught sight of the open call, quickly trying to cover himself.

Ivo cleared his throat, the tone becoming somewhat judgemental.  "And just how far, exactly, did you two go last night?" he asked pointedly.

"Father!" Sage whined out defensively.

"Dad!" Izuku gasped out in surprise.

Sage blinked and spun to Izuku.  "...Dad?" she asked in confusion.

Izuku rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.  "Err, I mean, he was saying, and we're together now, and-"

"I was unaware you were interested in quasi-incest play," Sage observed, her tone worryingly neutral.

"It's not like that!" Izuku insisted defensively.  "It's just that when we talked he said I was like the son he'd never have and looked forward to our relationship because us getting together would mean me calling him Dad and since we're together now-"

"I didn't say I was against it," Sage purred playfully, her eyes only on Izuku.

Izuku let out a startled squawk.  "SAGE!  He's still on the call!"  He gestured toward the screen.

Sage's eyes went wide and she desperately covered her face as she went nearly as red as Izuku.  "Ohmigosh, what was I thinking...?"

Ivo held up his hands placatingly.  "Whatever the two of you choose between you to get up to together, I'm not going to judge," he offered comfortingly.  "Just as long as you're both ready for it."

"The problem is it seems I've gotten a bit too ready for both of us..." Sage murmured awkwardly.  "Even the tamer ideas were almost too much for Izuku last night..."

"...being the devil and angel on my 'shoulders' was one of the tamer ones?" Izuku asked in disbelief.  "And the genie act?"  When Sage nodded, Izuku groaned deep in his throat as he covered his face.  "Sage, you're going to be the death of me..."

Sage uncovered her face to gave adoringly in Izuku's direction.  "Je te le promets, juste un peu à la fois, mon amour."

"SAGE!" Izuku squawked out again as he turned red from his ears to his abs.  "He's still on the line, and fluent!"

As Sage let out an adorable squeak and covered her face once more, Ivo made two mental notes.  The first was to give Sage an actual language program so she wasn't relying on online translators, which were only so accurate.  The second was to show the recording of the call to Inko before Sage or Izuku realized it was recorded.

Chapter Text

Izuku sat back in 1-A's prep room as the entire class mingled as they waited to be called out to the field.  Today was the day of the Sports Festival, and Izuku was as prepared as he thought he'd be.  He'd done all physical and strategy preparations he could, and all that was left now was to face the actual events and prove himself.  Idly, he glanced around at his classmates to get a sense of what state they were all in.  Momo, Ochako, and Tsuyu were all sitting back pretty close to him, all but meditating as they tried to keep their emotional cool.  Eijiro was nearby as well, but his friend Mina had all but tackled him to the side, apparently disappointed that she wasn't spending as much time with him since he'd joined Sage's training program for Festival prep.  Most of the others were scattered about the room, either in pairs, in groups, or standing alone depending on their wont.  Bakugo was - as usual - glaring daggers at him...but Momo idly juggling something between her hands via her Creation while glowering his way had somehow made him back off, probably because whatever she'd been juggling had the dark purple, pink, and grey coloration of Black Arms biotech, the threat in silent action explicit.  Iida was off in another corner, apparently lecturing himself over something, though he was thankfully quiet enough that Izuku didn't have to hear it, and he was not of a mind to listen.

Todoroki's approach, however, was concerning yet curious.  "It is rather obvious I am stronger than you," he stated flatly to Izuku, his voice all but empty of emotion.

As Momo, Ochako, Tsuyu, and Eijiro all bridled at his words, Izuku merely rolled his eyes.  "As if that matters," he dismissed the statement.

Todoroki seemed to bridle a bit - and Bakugo looked incensed - at his words, but the bicolored boy calmed quickly.  "Your support gear and skills let you make such a claim.  Even so, I intend to prove myself and as such...I am going to defeat you."

A ruckus kicked up from everyone in response.  "Dude!" Eijiro yelled over the noise.  "Not manly!  What the heck are you thinking declaring war like that?  We're not supposed to be enemies!"

"I'm not here to make friends," Todoroki growled out in response to the criticism.

"Then why are you here?" Izuku asked flatly.  "Because you plainly haven't bothered to think about why Aizawa put you in Group 1."

Many of the gathered students shuddered.  The original Group sorting from after the assessment still lingered in everyone's minds, and other than Momo only three students had shifted groups.  It came as no surprise with how much Eijiro talked her up that Mina had been moved to Group 3 not long after Eijiro joined their training group, while Tooru moved to Group 3 not long after Mina did...but it came as a genuine surprise to everyone when Mineta had been shifted to Group 3 on a probationary basis contingent on extra lessons with Hound Dog.  "What is that supposed to mean?" Todoroki demanded coldly.

"It seemed to me to be a statement of fact," Sage suddenly spoke up from the door, causing everyone to spin towards her in surprise.  She ignored most of the gazes as she walked - rather than hovered as she normally did - over to where Izuku was sitting.

Izuku, for his part, swallowed convulsively as he got a look at her.  "W-well, the prep room's just supposed to be for students...but I'm not complaining.  H-here to cheer me on?"

"Mmhmm!" Sage confirmed with a nod, shifting idly and drawing attention to the rather skimpy cheer uniform she had on.  While in the Eggman Empire colors of red and black - despite Sage's own pallet still being in the blue - there was a symbol of a green jewel over her left breast positioned close to where her Phantom Drive hung, and she was holding emerald pom-poms the exact shade of Izuku's hair and eyes.  "I'll be sitting with Father and Inko...but I wanted you to know I was going to be cheering you on!"  She gave a little hop with one foot lifted behind her leg and thrusting one pom-pom into the air to demonstrate.

"Ohmigosh, you're so adorable!" Mina squealed out excitedly, bouncing up to her and all but dancing around her.  "That outfit is soooo cute!  I want one!"

"...I would not be averse to expanding my Izu's cheer squad to beyond me," Sage allowed thoughtfully.

"Your Izu?" Tooru gasped excitedly as she bounced up as well.  "You two are together now?!"

"Yes, we are," Sage purred happily, turning a loving gaze Izuku's way.

"Ohmigosh, how did that happen?!" Mina gasped out excitedly.  "Kiri told me that hadn't happened yet, and I had like a ten-page plan to try and get you two together!"

Izuku couldn't stop himself from laughing at that.  "Actually, it probably wouldn't have happened if not for Eijiro-"

"Horn Buddy, I'm SO PROUD OF YOU!" Mina squealed out as she tackled Eijiro in a diving hug to express her joy, making the red haired boy turn bright red.

"...do we have to be cheering for Izuku to get those outfits, kero?" Tsuyu asked curiously.  "I'm still hoping to place myself."

"...there is a professional cheer team that will be making an appearance during the breaks between events," Sage admitted thoughtfully as she remotely accessed the schedule for the Festival.  "From the Americas, I believe.  It would not be...too difficult for me to use my position as Princess of Eggman Empire to convince them to give me and any others who want to join me lessons and let us perform with them."

"I'm in!" Ochako declared excitedly.  "Sounds like fun!"

"I...am not averse," Momo agreed thoughtfully.  "However, before I agree, Sage..."

"Yes, Momo?"

"You...did create something to wear under that outfit, didn't you?"

Sage blinked at her in innocent confusion.  "...was I supposed to?"

Tsuyu let out a ribbiting laugh on seeing Izuku's reaction to Sage's words.  "At this rate his cheeks will match yours, Ochako."

As many of those gathered laughed, Sage made her way out of the prep room while Mineta walked over to Izuku.  "Midoriya, I say this as respectfully as I can and with no personal malice...but you god damn lucky bastard!  HOW?!"

Izuku couldn't help but laugh.  "To be perfectly honest, Mineta?  I have no fucking clue.  I'm as stunned on a daily basis it happened as you are."

"Well...don't you dare screw it up, then!" Mineta insisted firmly.

"I'd sooner die," Izuku confirmed without hesitation.

"I don't think Sage would like that, kero," Tsu pointed out, an amused twinkle in her eye.

Izuku simply shrugged.  "I can't help how I feel about her."  A warm, loving smile crossed his face.  "In the words of the greatest lover in fiction...I would die for her.  I would kill for her."  His smile turned rakish.  "Either way, what bliss!"

Nearby, Koji Koda smiled before tapping the ground with his feet four times...followed by snapping his fingers twice, ducking his head when that led to Izuku grinning and shooting him finger guns.

As Sage joined her father and Inko in the VIP box, Ivo cleared his throat awkwardly.  "That is...an outfit," he managed to say finally.

"I apologize for the lack of decorum," Sage offered contritely, "but I promised Izuku I would be cheering for him."

"It's a wonderful outfit, Sage!" Inko praised warmly.  "Don't mind your father.  Trust me, no parent is ever fully comfortable with the idea of their children growing up, no matter how supportive they try to be."

Ivo shuffled awkwardly.  "...I'm trying, okay?" he finally insisted.  "It's one thing to be accepting and supportive of them being a couple, they're adorable together and it makes them both so happy!  But I'm uncomfortable with the idea of...things that happen in relationships as a concept, let alone applying them to my daughter in practice!  Is it really so much to ask that it not be done in front of me?"

"Barring prior promises, I will make an effort in regards to discretion in the future," Sage promised helpfully.

"Thank you Sage, that's quite reassuring," Ivo replied warmly.  "I'll...I'll try to adjust to your wardrobe preferences in the future, it's your body and your choice how to present yourself and I'd never dream of trying to limit you in any way.  Just...if I do seem uncomfortable, it's not a judgement, just me having internal issues."

"Thank you for being so supportive, Father," Sage replied warmly, leaning in and hugging Ivo from the side.

Despite obviously feeling awkward from - as his own perspective judged it - how little Sage was wearing, he returned the hug.  This was still his daughter, after all, and while he was still overcoming intellectual inertia from his Empire being his 'one thing' he built everything around the accomplishment of as he'd explained to Izuku, he absolutely considered her of greater importance...to be his greatest, most important, most valued creation.  He refused to screw anything up with her if he could possibly avoid it.

"Speaking of your relationship," Inko began awkwardly.  "If...if it's not prying too much, how exactly did Izuku confess to you?  He's never been the best at talking about his feelings, and I find myself curious..."

Sage thought over the request for a time.  "I...do not see a problem with that," she allowed, conjuring a holo-screen with a recording of the event - cut from the moment she entered the room to the moment before Izuku pulled her into their first kiss - over to Inko to let her watch, also making a Phantom Construct set of ear beads since she could tell her Father wasn't interested in it and she had no interest in letting anyone else nearby hear it.

Inko listened for a time...and it wasn't long before she had a hand to her mouth and tears pouring from her eyes.  "Oh, Izuku..." she sobbed out.  "He's...he's grown up so much...I'm so proud of him..."

"...that good a job?" Ivo asked curiously.  He waved a hand when Inko offered him an ear bead to listen himself.  "I have no interest or understanding of romance, Inko.  I'm just...curious about his skill level, so to speak."

"Well...let's just say I've been to two weddings in my life, and neither set of vows were as romantic as what Izuku offered just to ask Sage to date him," Inko explained, letting the holo-screen and ear beads vanish.  "I had no idea he was so..."

"He has a poet's soul," Sage offered warmly.

"Where does he keep it?" Ivo asked curiously, uncertain why that led to Sage giggling...not that he was complaining.  Her laughter was a singularly beautiful sound, and the world was richer every time it was heard.

"Though it does leave me wondering how he's going to top it for his own wedding vows," Inko allowed thoughtfully.

Sage froze up as she heard the words.  She'd spent so much time focusing on just the possibility of being in a relationship with Izuku - and being ready for anything that might come - that she hadn't actually given a thought to the realities of what followed.  Getting married...being family...children...

Ivo stared at Sage as she toppled against his side, her eyes blue screens.  "...Inko, you broke Sage."

"I'm so sorry-"

"That's supposed to be Izuku's job now."

Chapter Text

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, AND THAT WONDERFUL RAINBOW IN BETWEEN AND BEYOND!" Present Mic's voice bellowed out over speakers and across the entirety of the stadium, and through cameras to the homes of viewers beyond.  "Welcome to the UA first year Sports Festival!  Give it up everyone for our brand new students, ready to strut their stuff before the world stage and show you what they're made of!"  As the crowd cheered, he continued his announcement.  "First off, give it up for our hero course classes, 1-A and 1-B!"

The gates opened, and Izuku walked beside Momo as she led their class out to cheers and applause.  Not far away, the other heroics class walked with them, the only student Izuku recognized being Pony who waved to him when and Aoyama when she spotted them.  He waved back with a smile, while Aoyama posed flamboyantly...until Sato walked into him from behind, reminding him to keep moving.

"And next up-"  Present Mic's voice briefly cut off.  Curious, Izuku lifted his gaze towards the announcer's booth...and just barely made out Metal Knuckles in there with one hand pointed towards Present Mic while the other tapped a screen, a sight that apparently amused Eraserhead who had joined Present Mic for announcing the Festival.  Present Mic awkwardly cleared his throat.  "Sorry about that, technical difficulties!  As I was saying, coming up next...they might not be as flashy as the Hero Course, but never forget they also made it into UA, and we're not just the top Hero school in the country!  Give it up for our General Education students, 1-C, D, and E!"

Izuku did his best not to be too visibly amused at that.  His research on past sports festivals in preparation for this year had shown that Present Mic - who was always the announcer - frequently glazed over the General Education classes in favor of Heroics and Support.  While he hadn't liked the idea of it, he hadn't thought of what could be done about it...but apparently either Sage - or Ivo after Sage mentioned it to him - had thought of something and taken action.  He wasn't certain, but he could swear he could hear Principal Nezu cackling about this somewhere in the distance.  Glancing over at the students entering, he was pleased to see many of them looked much happier than first year Gen Ed students had looked in broadcasts of previous Sports Festivals.  Apparently, being given the proper introduction and attention had done a great deal toward mollifying any bad feeling between the courses...although one Gen Ed student, a boy with messy purple hair and eyebags worse than Aizawa's, looked ambivalent at best and dismissive at worst.  Then again, given the size of the eyebags, he might just be tired.

"Next up, we have our Support Course students!" Present Mic announced as applause continued.  "These students put their focus on gadgets, gear, and garb, doing everything they can to ensure that our Hero Students can shine their brightest in the field, and I'm not the only Pro willing to say that I wouldn't be as successful as I am today without those in the Support Department making it possible!  Give it up for classes 1-F, G, and H!"

While Izuku tried to greet the arrival of this group with equanimity, it only took a single sight of pink dreadlocks whipping around and the crazed eyes beneath them to have him ducking behind Momo to hide from sight.

"Midoriya!" Iida snapped out as his hands chopped in disbelief.  "You need to stay in proper formation-"

"Regulations can hang!  I'm not letting the crazy stalker see me!" Izuku snapped back angrily.  "Now stop drawing attention!"

"Iida," Momo spoke up firmly as Iida wound up for further lecture.  "Drop it.  He's fine where he is."

Iida's mouth opened and closed angrily as his arm continued its chops...but he said nothing else.

"Besides," Momo continued, her tone amused, "Izuku got the top score on the written and practical for the entrance exam, so he's the Year 1 Student Representative-"

"I'm the what?" Izuku demanded in disbelief.

"-and is going to have to give the Pledge in front of everyone-"

"I have to what?!" Izuku squeaked out in terror.

"-so let him relax to prepare for it," Momo concluded before turning to face him.  "...you didn't know?  I asked Aizawa-Sensei if I should help you prepare, but he said he would take care of it..."

Izuku felt a bit of anger bubbling up under the panic.  "Did he specifically say he would take care of it...or just that you getting involved 'was unnecessary'?"

Momo's body stiffened as her expression morphed into an angry frown.  "...I'm going to have words with him over that," she growled out firmly.

"He'll probably just shrug it off as part of lessons in independence or something like that, kero," Tsuyu pointed out thoughtfully.  "He did make it pretty clear early on there are gonna be hidden lessons everywhere."

"It's one thing to put multiple layers of lessons into classwork and assignments," Momo countered darkly.  "It is quite another to deliberately manipulate us via the teacher-student relationship to sabotage our working relationships as colleagues and friends."  She froze as she felt her phone buzz, and quickly pulled it out, blinking at the message.

Sensei: The rat has ears everywhere.  You aren't wrong.  I overstepped.  The proper form of that lesson would have been telling you it was unnecessary, but that I wouldn't stop you, making it clear that it was your choice how to act on it.  I will deliver an in person apology on the matter after the festival.  ...I'm not getting enough sleep for this.

She stared at the message for a time before showing it to Izuku, who couldn't stop the rueful chuckle as he read it.  "...fair enough," he allowed finally, "even if it doesn't fix anything in the now."

Over the course of the discussion, Present Mic had announced the Management Courses - 1-I, J, and K - and Midnight had been announced as the referee.  As she stepped up to the podium, many in the audience clapped or wolf-whistled, and she let that go on for a time before snapping her whip.  "Quiet!" she declared firmly, immediately getting silence in response.  "Good boys!" she purred into the mic.  "...and girls!"  She licked her lips suggestively at that.

"...I'm terrified Sage is going to get the wrong lessons from her," Momo murmured worriedly.

"Don't be," Mineta spoke up reassuringly.  "She's been taking part in my lessons with Hound Dog."  While everyone knew Hound Dog was the School's Counselor, Japan still had something of a longstanding stigma against talking openly about therapy.  As such, 'special lessons with Hound Dog' was a code phrase that everyone knew meant the speaker was getting therapy without the word 'therapy' being spoken.  It was actually an official code phrase in the UA student handbook.  "She...really knows how to build up someone's self-esteem.  There's a lot more to her than how she acts in her Hero persona."

"That's...good to know..." Izuku responded thoughtfully.  "You're doing much better, by the way."

"It's a work in progress," Mineta deflected diffidently, though a smile was plain on his face.

"It is still progress, though," Momo countered with a warm smile.  Reaching over, she patted his head in praise in a spot his hair didn't grow in balls where she wouldn't stick.  "Minoru."

Minoru beamed in pleasure and pride at the inclusion addressing him by his first name - as the rest of 'Group 3' had become accustomed to - demonstrated.  "I...I won't let any of you down!" he promised fervently.

"Focus on not letting you down, Minobro!" Eijiro told him with a smile as he pumped his fist.  "That's the manly way!"

"And now our top scorer on the Entrance Exam, our first year Student Representative Izuku Midoriya, will give the Athlete's Pledge!" Midnight declared, turning to the gathered students before beckoning imperiously.

Izuku nervously stepped away from the group, immediately spotting where Hatsume lunged towards him screaming something...only for several of her classmates to grab hold of her and hold her back.  He quickly rushed up to the podium to get away before they could lose their grip.

"Don't worry," Midnight whispered reassuringly, having turned off the mic as he approached.  "Power Loader assigned them specifically to keep her away from you before the events start once he learned you'd be giving the Pledge.  They're strong enough to keep her in check physically, and she knows she'll be disqualified if she pulls out any support gear outside of events or event-prep."

Izuku took a few calming breaths.  "Glad to see Minoru's right about you," he said with a smile.  "Maybe you can help me out."

"Oh?" Midnight purred eagerly.  "Having relationship problems, are you?  Several of us had a betting pool about what sort of relationship you and Sage had going..."

"...why am I not surprised?" Izuku grumbled ruefully.  "And yes, it is about that.  I was hoping you'd be willing to give Sage lessons in how to be a girlfriend."

Midnight stared at him for a few moments before covering her mouth as she suppressed giggles.  "Well, that's a sentence I never expected to hear!  I assumed given her connection to cyberspace, she could learn from all of human information?"

"The only sources of how to behave as a girlfriend as opposed to a friend-who-is-a-girl with enough differential to not be excluded from her search parameters were Hentai and erotic fiction."

Both of Midnight's hands flew to her mouth, ensuring all mics were off as she struggled to suppress a much less dignified laugh.  "Oh you poor dear...she's going to be the death of you, isn't she?"

"Juste un peu à la fois," Izuku responded almost automatically, only to bury his face in his hands.  "Oh Chaos, she's got me doing it now..."

"S-So you want me to teach her moderation?" Midnight pressed, mightily suppressing her laughter as best she could.  "I figured I'd be the last one you'd ask that of."

Izuku shrugged his shoulders.  "Figure either you know exactly where all the limits actually are for you to be able to get away with acting like you do and can thus properly teach it...or you can act as a living example for her of what not to do."

Midnight didn't bother hiding the throaty laugh that brought out of her.  "Oh, the two of you are going to be such a treat!" she declared excitedly before gently nudging him to the mic before turning it back on.

Izuku took a few calming breaths as he approached the mic...only to feel himself freeze as he felt so many eyes on him.  Despite the years away, the years where he was welcome, praised, propped up, and treated as greater, in that moment he found his mind going back to Aldera, and the feeling of all those judgemental gazes and derisive laughter surrounding him.  Quirkless, useless, worthless...less...

A metal clanking came out of the mic from nowhere, snapping him out of the brief trance.  Looking up to the announcer's booth, he saw Metal Knuckles standing there...his clenched fist slammed against his chassis in a mimic of the salute Orbot had given him that day aboard the Phantom Express before he left.  Almost directly below the announcer's booth, he saw the VIP Box where Ivo, Inko, and Sage all watched him.  Knowing his eyes were on her, Sage smiled warmly and thrust up with one of her pom-poms.

He was loved.  He was supported.  He was believed in.  He was wanted.  Glancing back at his class, he saw his friends smiling up at him encouragingly.  He could do this.

He turned back to the audience at large.  The ones who judged?  The ones who derided?  The ones who doubted?  All they had were words, and he was a Robotnic by choice if not by blood or law.  Words were to be brushed aside as meaningless...and those who wielded more than words?

His eyes briefly flicked to Bakugo's enraged face and the sparks from his palms...and Todoroki's icy glare.

They were to be annihilated with every force at his command.

"This world is fundamentally flawed," he declared into the microphone, getting instant silence from all those listening.  "This shouldn't surprise anyone.  A perfect world wouldn't need Heroes.  The fact this world has Heroes - hell, has law enforcement - should tell anyone who can think that this world has flaws.  Of course, those aware of it probably don't think of it much.  After all, it's the way of society to pass the buck.  The very idea of 'leaving the world better than we received it', seen as so noble?  It says it's the job of the next generation to fix the mistakes, the damage, the flaws left behind by the prior.  How very noble that is to think."  He snorted derisively.  "But that's just human nature, isn't it?  But then again...we're supposed to get better, be better, every generation.  Well, it's our turn now...and I have this to say.  If I see something wrong, I'm going to fix it.  If someone is in pain, I will heal them.  If someone preys on the weak, I will take them down.  And if someone tries to stop me, whatever their reasons...well, then they are part of the problem.  No custom, no social status, no law...will stop me from doing what I know to be right.  And I charge everyone here to do the same, to show the world just who you really are!  And anyone who thinks I can't, whether because of how I was born or whatever other limits or barriers they think to impose on me?  ...just watch me!  Watch us all!

"This world needs healing, and that's what I intend to do.  I am The Imperial Hero, Little Doctor...and I Am Here!"

Chapter Text

The stadium was dead silent as Izuku turned away from the mic.  He knew he'd made an impression with that, and it would be some time before the impact could truly be reacted to.  Wasn't every day a first year student used the Athlete's Pledge to make a Heroic Premiere, after all.  His only regret in the moment was that he was stuck in the UA sports uniform.  If he had his hero costume, the billowing of the lab coat would have been the perfect dramatic flair as he spun away.

"Normally Hero name choices aren't until after the Sports Festival," Midnight pointed out with an amused smirk.  "There's an entire class session specifically for that, and I usually oversee them for Aizawa's class, since he's terrible at names."

"It felt right to say, and to be," Izuku replied with a shrug.

"You've certainly set the cat among the pigeons with that speech," Midnight praised.  "I know I'm not the only one looking forward to the fallout."  She gripped his shoulder reassuringly.  "Normally you need my approval for names before it goes public, so you're lucky I like your choice."

"Good to know," Izuku allowed in amusement as he headed back to his classmates.

All Might stared down at the podium Izuku had just evacuated.  With how the Phantom medical tech had enabled his internal reconstruction, he was no longer in a rush to find a successor for One For All, but he was still keeping his eye out for potential successors just in case the perfect one came along.  Sure, barring a sign that All For One was still around there wasn't a real reason to make finding a successor a priority, or even a real need to find one to begin with...but preserving the Quirk had been taught to him as too high a priority by Nana and Gran Torino to not have the thought at least in the back of his mind.

Which is why he found himself so conflicted now.  What Izuku had declared in his speech about the flaws in the world and his refusal to let them stand...it had spoken to him, reminded him of what had driven him to dream of becoming a Symbol of Peace back when he was a Quirkless teenager, even before meeting Nana.  And seeing how far he had come with proper support even Quirkless...part of his mind could scarcely imagine what young Midoriya would be capable of with One For All at his disposal.  And hearing him declare to the world at his first Sports Festival that He Was Here...the inspiration for that couldn't be more obvious, the sort of thing All Might might have encouraged a successor to do if he'd been forced to find one all the sooner.  In every way he could conceive of, Izuku Midoriya was the perfect candidate to be the Ninth Wielder!

...but that wouldn't be right for Izuku.  He had come so far, overcome so much as those around him when younger had made him feel like he was nothing simply because he lacked a Quirk.  What would it do to Izuku if All Might - after declaring that he would believe in Izuku as he was, and root for him - came to him offering him a Quirk?  No, he would not do that to the young man, the young Hero, who was already making waves in the world just by being himself.  Izuku may be exactly right for One For All...but One For All was completely wrong for Izuku.  All Might had declared his support, and he would give it.

Rising to his feet, he began a slow clap in response to the speech.  His palms slamming together - even in just normal applause - was loud enough to draw the attention of the entire stadium, especially with it still frozen from the intensity of the speech.  With the smile on his face, he was certain many would interpret his leading the applause as simply him offering support to someone inspired by him, said inspiration obvious in the final words.  But it was the rest of the speech he clapped in support of, and led the rest of the stadium in applauding.  A glance to the side in the VIP box where he sat showed him that Ivo and Sage at least saw that much...though Inko seemed far too emotional for any interpretation of how much she understood.

Still, perhaps the parallels All Might saw were still a point in his quest to find a successor.  Perhaps someone as brilliant as Robotnik's Apprentice would have insight into Quirks and people that All Might lacked, and could help him find a proper successor, one who could bring something all new to One For All and bring the world into an era of True Peace and Justice.  Yes, after the festival All Might would seek out Midoriya, tell him the story of One For All, and ask for his help in finding a proper successor.  He'd have plenty of time to prepare them, after all, and perhaps Izuku would have insights even into the nature of One For All that he might never have found out.

Yes, All Might was confident this decision was the right one...just as long as he figured out the right way to present it to Izuku to avoid miscommunication.  ...maybe he'd ask Sage to speak privately about it first to give him a hand there...

Izuku found himself smiling as the applause echoed and faded.  He hadn't been expecting applause, and he wasn't sure who had started it...but he felt validated in a way he hadn't expected as he lined up with his class in preparation for the first event as Midnight announced it.  An Obstacle Course, starting with a gate they had to get through or around.  Well, he knew how he could handle it.  He wasted no time getting into a runner's stance after stretching his limbs a bit as Midnight began her countdown.  After all, once the event started...the other support students wouldn't be holding Hatsume back.

"Go!" Midnight declared with a crack of her whip.

It was amazing just how fast you could run when something you were abjectly terrified of was chasing you.

Chapter Text

Ivo watched as Izuku took off the moment the referee declared "Go!" almost perfectly mimicking the running style of Sonic.  Despite what Sage's brief expression of concern indicated, he had no problems with Izuku imitating the Hedgehog's running style.  It was the most efficient and effective method of running he'd come across, after all, and when you had to do something you did it the best way possible.  Ivo himself imitated the Hedgehog's running style to the best of his physique's capability when he was forced to run, after all.  Admittedly, Izuku's slimmer build enabled him to bend much better and far more easily than Ivo himself could, allowing him to far more closely imitate the style...to impressive effectiveness as Izuku easily outraced the ice one of the other competitors spread to lock a large number of students in place.  Those Sage had mentioned as being among Izuku's close friends were also able to escape the ice in their own way, and one of them - he quickly recognized her as Momo based on description - rapidly freed the rest of her classmates even as she raced after Izuku with a partially manifest heat ray.  Not only was that a clever application of tech, but he recognized is as an Eggtech design.  He made a mental note to keep an eye on Momo's progress.  While he wasn't a Professional Hero, he might be able to pull a few strings to work with her.  This was about the students advertising themselves for 'internships' after all, and the things he could teach her in terms of using such an ability...

His eyes quickly returned to Izuku as numerous robots of various design and size appeared to block the path.  The announcer was making some cliche commentary about the 'Robo Inferno', despite the lack of any flames in the path, leading to Ivo deciding the announcers weren't worth paying attention to.  Instead he watched as Izuku easily ducked, dodged, weaved, and flipped around the robot's assaults, easily evading the smaller ones while moving too fast to be targeted by the larger ones.  The fact that he also did nothing hostile towards them led the robots prioritizing the students who tried to blast their way past instead, and several students saw that and took advantage of it.  When that led to the more aggressive students trying to bulldoze past them faster, that only caused further problems for all involved.  By the time the vast majority of robots were down to allow the crowd to move forward, Izuku had already reached the next hurdle of tightropes over wide pits...which slowed him down not at all as he only repositioned his feet for better balance as he raced across the ropes without breaking stride.

Something caught Ivo's attention, however.  One of the other students - an angry blonde who used explosive blasts from his palms to propel himself through the air - seemed to be constantly making aggressive movements in Izuku's direction.  However, any time he got close enough to conceivably attack Izuku and moved to try, something would clip him and send him spinning.  While it was never enough to knock him out of the competition, it always took him a while to catch back up.  The next time it happened, Ivo took a quick glance along the calculated trajectory whatever had clipped him had come from...and caught sight of a glowering Momo casually lowering her arm, having swung it up ostensibly in a balancing movement to her running.  A wide grin crossed Ivo's face.  Her Quirk let her create anything she understood the nature of, and her creation of Black Arms tech - according to Izuku - allowed her to create things with existing energy states.  While Izuku hadn't mentioned exploring it, there was no reason to assume those energy states didn't include kinetic.  Ivo let out a brief chuckle as he turned his attention back to Izuku...who had now reached a minefield and continued to race across it, avoiding most of the landmines...and managing to run fast enough that when he did trigger one, he was able to outrun the explosion behind him!  The boy would never reach the speeds of the Hedgehog, but the accomplishment was quite impressive nevertheless!

Seeing Sage biting her lip worriedly, Ivo reached out and patted her shoulder.  "He's going to be just fine," he reassured her.  "I don't know what training you put him through, but he's doing wonderfully!"  He paused in thought.  "What training did you put him through?"

"Cyberspace reenactments of combat and exploration zones from past conflicts with Sonic, adapted to take into account his much lesser top speed," Sage responded immediately.  "The various Green Hill enactments for speed and evasion training, and Nighttime events during the Dark Gaea conflict for combat training."

"Good choices," Ivo praised with a grin.  "I don't think there's anything in this obstacle course that can measure up to that."

"It's not the course I am concerned about," Sage pointed out worriedly as Izuku crossed the finish line, taking first place to the cheers of the audience.  "It is the one he is running from that concerns me, given he did not bring his Phantom Gear to prove a point."

"Running from?" Ivo asked in confusion...only to see a head of pink dreadlocks zooming through the course like a rocket.  "Oh.  Well, now I see why he imitated Sonic's running so well.  Similar pursuit."

"...I fear I may need to step in..." Sage began worriedly.  "Hatsume is..."

"Don't worry," Ivo reassured her calmly.  "The next event is a team event...but the maximum team size is four.  And..."  He smirked as he saw Momo catch up to Izuku in the center of the stadium again, accompanied by a brown haired girl who had cleared the pits with what he could only call moon jumps, and a red-haired boy who had literally charged through the robots at the start after triggering his rock-like Quirk.  "It seems his team has already assembled."

As Midnight began announcing the next event - a cavalry battle - Sage began to relax as Momo and the other two immediately became a wall between Izuku and Hatsume when the pink-haired support student looked his way.  "I find myself surprised Tsuyu did not attach herself to the group as well."

"Tsuyu...the frog-like girl?" Ivo clarified as he reminded himself of details of Sage and Izuku's talks about their friend group.  "Isn't that her over there?  With the tiny ball-haired boy and the large multi-armed boy?"  The small boy seemed to be rapidly explaining something to the other two, and Tsuyu was nodding along with it as the larger boy listened intently.

"It seems Mine-...Minoru has a plan to utilize their abilities in tandem," Sage observed thoughtfully.

"...did he just join the friend group?" Ivo asked with a raised eyebrow.

"He appears to have improved sufficiently to be welcome," Sage explained easily.  "...ah, that is his plan," she continued as Mineta and Tsuyu clambered onto the larger boy's shoulders, only for him to fold his webbed arms around them into a protective shell with a view slit.  "Clever.  Minoru can use his hair-traps to remotely restrict others movements, enabling Tsuyu to retrieve headbands with her tongue, while Shoji protects them from retaliation."

"Izuku seems to be pressing Midnight about something," Ivo spoke up thoughtfully, watching the other group.

Sage tilted her head.  "He is clarifying the rules.  Specifically, the rules state that a cavalry team is eliminated if a rider touches the ground.  He is curious what the rules are regarding a rider separating from their team but does not touch the ground."

Seeing the group regather with Momo as the rider, Ivo found himself chuckling.  "Seems he got the answer he wanted."

"I believe I see their strategy," Sage observed thoughtfully.  "Momo is the most versatile combatant with the most movement options of the group thanks to her Quirk...and Ochako can enhance that by removing her weight."

"Combine that with her being able to create grapples and the like to pull her to other teams to snatch their headbands for points..."  Ivo chuckled in dark amusement.  "This is going to be an interesting match to watch..."

Chapter Text

Izuku sat by himself in one of the tunnels leading off from the stadium center into the student and staff only areas, specifically the only tunnel that had chairs to sit in and - as a result - was under constant security camera supervision.  The second event had gone exactly as he'd planned, with Momo able to leap and cavort among the different teams and snag headbands practically at will.  With confirmation that leaping from 'horse team' to 'horse team' wouldn't result in a disqualification, he, Ochako, and Eijiro had split in different directions the moment Momo had taken to the air.  Combining the reduced gravity Ochako gave her with the various mobility aids Momo could create - everything from hookshots to a air-based jetpack - they not only kept the million point headband Izuku had earned from winning the obstacle course, but had claimed several others rather rapidly.  By the time the event was over, only the teams that still had headbands - those that had played smart to evade Momo's sights - were left in the competition, and Izuku, Ochako, and Eijiro had gathered back up near the end at a predetermined point to catch Momo right at the buzzer.  Momo had even thrown in a flaunting pose to nail home the performance, which had received a great deal of applause from the audience.

Izuku wasn't thinking about that event just now, however.  Instead, he was focused on the cheerleader squads he could see from where he was sitting.  As Sage had promised, she'd managed to convince the American cheer team to give her and the other girls of 1-A a quick lesson, and the group had thrown together a routine to perform led by Sage cheering Izuku on.  Izuku was able to see - much as he debated if he wanted to - why Sage had been confused about Momo's question about undergarments, as anything that might have been visible from incautious movements simply 'didn't render' in her projection unless she wanted it to...and Izuku quickly recognized from the light patterning that she'd keyed it so it would only 'render' if the performance were viewed through either his Phantom Glasses or his Phantom Goggles, neither of which he had with him.  As such, he could simply enjoy the cheer performance Sage and the other girls put on - for him, as Sage insisted - without getting overly flustered over Sage's 'girlfriend protocols' making things awkward.

"I don't understand you."

Izuku sighed as he heard that voice behind him.  When that was all that was said, he groaned.  "If you expect me to look away from the performance Sage set up for me to speak to you, Todoroki, you're sadly mistaken," he stated flatly.  "I know my own priorities.  Either say what you came to say from behind me, or go away and leave me to this."

He could practically feel Todoroki's glower despite not looking, but the bi-colored boy eventually continued.  "You dismissed me entirely...and my challenge.  You treated me like I didn't even matter, like my power was meaningless to you...and then you went on to prove it without even using the technology that gives you your advantage.  You destroyed me in two events in a row without even truly trying, turned all the effort I've put into this into a joke."

"Why are you so focused on me in all of that?" Izuku asked curiously.  "I mean, sure, I came in first in the Obstacle Race...but Momo came in second, and she and Ochako were the ones who crushed the Cavalry Battle between them."

"You were the one who spoke to Midnight before both events," Todoroki pointed out flatly.  "It was your plan in the Cavalry Battle after ensuring it wasn't against the rules.  You're the one with connections to the teachers and other Pros."

"...connections?" Izuku asked, frowning in confusion even as he kept his eyes on Sage and Momo going into a rather complex flip around each other with Ochako's help dealing with gravity.  "I know the teachers better because I got to stay on campus for the week between the Entrance Exam and the acceptance letters being sent out because I'm staying in the foreign student dorms.  Aoyama and Pony had the same opportunity."

"Then do they have the same connection you have to All Might?"

"What to who?" Izuku asked, now more than a little confused.  "I don't have anything to do with All Might!  Sure, I look up to him as a Hero, but he's the Symbol of Peace.  Everyone looks up to him."

"And yet you spoke with him privately before the Battle Trial," Todoroki pointed out incisively.  "He spoke differently about you, your costume, your trial..."

"I was there ahead of time because I could get changed while walking and can carry my costume with me at all times as long as I'm wearing a Phantom Bracer," Izuku pointed out as the routine began to wind down, ending with a human pyramid and Kyoka being launched to the top, her uniform design having more belts and chains - and covering more - than what the other girls wore.  He made a mental note to talk to Sage about the various designs.  Maybe he could talk her into wearing a more modest one - or perhaps more complex one that created an illusion of modesty - to wear in public.  "And the trial was more on Momo.  She's the one who turned the building into an aerial battle station.  I just provided the power source."

"...he led the applause for your speech."

"I aped his catch phrase!" Izuku pointed out with a smirk as he watched the girls filing away, Sage turning with a smile to show she saw him watching.  Mina and Tooru gathered around her giggling to escort her away.  It was nice to see Sage was making more girl friends of her own.  Maybe they could give her advice on how to be 'girlfriend' without going as far as she was or counting on Midnight's advice.  ...or, knowing Mina and Tooru's gossipy tendencies, they might nudge her to go further for the chaos it could cause.  "Why wouldn't he applaud for a tribute to him?  Heck, even with all the obscure hero trivia I know, I can't think of a single situation that would call for it where he hasn't applauded.  He's even applauded villains who put civilian safety over their criminal goals and helped them get into reform programs!"  He snorted in amusement.  "If he were any more ready to clap his hands, he'd be wearing a vest and fez and have cymbals glued to his palms."

Todoroki was silent for a time.  "...for one who claims to look up so much to All Might, you are quick to deride him."

"Hey, All Might is absolutely one of the greatest heroes to ever live," Izuku insisted, finally spinning in his chair to face Todoroki as the cheerleaders had quit the field.  "He's powerful, he's honorable, he's genuine...and he's completely free of scandal despite a hero career longer than most historical Hero life expectancies.  But that last bit is because he's never been afraid to let himself be the butt of a joke, never pretended or claimed to be perfect, and when he isn't being the Symbol of Peace has no hesitation in letting people see that he's a complete, unapologetic goofball!  Hell, that human quality tied to his supra-human presentation is part of why his popularity is so high that he's been the undisputed #1 Hero of Japan for decades, even when other Heroes did more Hero work than he officially did like over the past six years.  Half the fun of looking up to All Might is taking the mickey out of him when it's deserved, he's in on the joke!"

Todoroki stared at him for several moments, completely poleaxed.  "...so...there's truly no connection between you and All Might?" he asked finally.  "You're not...his secret love child or something?"

"...that's so unbelievable it's not even funny," Izuku countered finally.  "Look, the only thing you could call a 'connection' is that he benefited from the medical applications of the support tech I've created."  He snorted in amusement at the shock on Todoroki's face at that.  "Hey, like I said, Hero career longer than most heroes expect to live to.  You don't last that long without developing a medical issue or two, and the more powerful Quirks require some pretty specialized medical treatment to deal with even the more normal issues from how they alter the baseline physiology.  Why do you think 50% of I-Island's research is bio-tech and medical?"

"...oh..." Todoroki mumbled finally after nearly a minute of silence.  "...his strength isn't why he's number 1?" he asked finally.

"Only thing strength or power will do is get you into the top ten," Izuku pointed out flatly.  "After that, where you rank is strictly a popularity contest...or more specifically, how safe you make people feel.  Honestly, the only reason Endeavor is number two despite his attitude is because he does so much hero work that he's constantly in the news leading to him always being on people's minds.  Won't be at all surprised if he drops a few rankings as the others in the Top Ten start showing their stuff more, especially the newer names."

"...then it was for nothing..." Todoroki murmured as he sunk against the wall of the tunnel.  "...everything was for nothing..."

Izuku stared at him for a time.  "...need to trauma dump?  Cause that's not something I'm equipped to handle."

"...trauma...dump?" Todoroki asked in confusion.

"You look like you've got a lot preying on your mind, like your life's been one traumatic experience after another and you're desperate for someone willing to listen but are convinced it won't do any good and are torn between telling someone anyway or lashing out," Izuku pointed out calmly.  "Sound about right?"

"...that is...somewhat accurate..." Todoroki admitted finally.  "...do you really think telling anyone will help?"

"...in my personal experience, telling the right person is guaranteed to fix things," Izuku allowed, thinking back to when he'd told Sage over the internet about what he went through at Aldera...when he'd told Eijiro about his situation with Sage...when he'd talked about his feelings with Ivo...  "Right person at the right time...can fix everything if you tell them."

"My father is Endeavor," Todoroki pointed out flatly.  "...who could possibly fix that?"

"...so he's part of the trauma you need to dump, then?" Izuku concluded incisively.  "...and part of what needs to be 'fixed'?"

"But who could possibly move against him to help me?" Todoroki pointed out morosely.  "...and why - and how - would they?"

"Well, All Might is here at the Sports Festival," Izuku pointed out.  "A few floors straight up from here in the VIP box with my Mom and mentor.  And if it goes that far...last I checked he had an Emergency Foster License, and UA is legally allowed to take Wards in through that system..."

"...you think he would?" Shoto asked desperately.

Izuku smiled as he got to his feet.  "If I see something wrong, I'm going to fix it," he quoted himself as he leaned over his traumatized classmate.  "If someone is in pain, I will heal them.  If someone preys on the weak, I will stop them.  No custom, no social status, no law...will stop me from doing what I know to be right.  You ask me if All Might will help you?"  He held out his hand, his eyes glowing with fervor despite the total absence of supernatural to explain it.

"I'll make sure of it."