A Hero's Resolve (Part 1)

Chris stood outside of Jason's door. He had been there for a while. He didn't dare knock, not knowing what he would find inside. Jason would only ever leave his room for class and barely says anything at all. Shoto and Momo walked up to Chris, each holding a paper plate with slices of pizza. Momo handed her plate to Chris. "Just knock." Chris took the plate, but didn't answer. Shoto knocked. "Dinner. Pizza again, courtesy of Momo." Still no answer. Shoto sighed. "I might actually kick his door down today." Momo put a hand on her best friend's shoulder. "He's only been quirkless for a month. We just have to have faith that he will get better and be here for him every step of the way." "Momo is right." The group looked over and stood up straight. Fatgum, now walking without the support of a cane, approached from the elevator that none of them had paid attention to. "Jason is our friend and we need to be here for him in his darkest hours, because we all know he will be there for us in our darkest hours." Fatgum looked at Jason's door. "Still not coming out?" Chris shook his head. "Only comes out for classes. I'm not even sure that he's eating enough." Fatgum crossed his arms. "Learning that he's the clone must be getting to him. Even if it isn't true, there's no way to really know until one of them dies." Momo nodded. "When a clone dies, they turn to dust." Shoto looked up at Fatgum. "There's another way of telling. When I was battling Dabi, he told me that clones are only ever half as strong as the original." Chris crossed his arms, annoyed. "Jason has never truly gone all out with us before, so it's impossible to measure what half strength is for him." Shoto sat against the wall. "I'm staying here until he lets us in. Even if he doesn't want my help, I'll be here." Chris also sat down. Momo smiled. "I'll go get some blankets." Kirishima and Mina came in from the stairwell, stopping for a moment. "...what's going on here?" Shoto smiled. "Camping outside of Jason's room until he comes back out." Mina smiled. "Slumber Party! I'll go get my pillow!"

Jason heard everything from inside his room. He was sitting on the floor, staring into his closet. He had hung up his hero costume. Why should he wear it? All Might himself said it best: you can't be a hero without a quirk. Jason stared at the hardwood floor as his friends gathered outside and got ready to sleep in the hallway. Jason remembered all of his battles from before he revealed his quirk. He couldn't defeat the Nomu that nearly killed his friends. He had fought and beaten Stain, but that was with the help of Shoto and Chris. Then Muscular was just taking everything Jason could throw at him, completely unaffected. All for One was the final nail in Jason's coffin. Even with his quirk, Jason would've died if All Might hadn't weakened him first. Jason began to cry again. He was a complete sham. Was this life telling him to give up on being a hero? Was his path meant to be like this? Did any of it really matter if he really was the clone? Jason cried as these dark questions tormented him.

All Might sat down in the teacher's lounge, across from Aizawa. "You wanted to see me?" Aizawa nodded. "It's time for us to discuss Chris and Jason's training." All Might was confused. "Jason is quirkless now. Are we still moving forward with the plan?" "There are some minor changes being made. Jason will remain here for one on one training with me for the duration of the period. Chris will still go with you and Gran Torino." All Might nodded. This 'plan' Aizawa was referencing was a very closely guarded secret. Only five people knew about it so far: All Might, Aizawa, Nezu, Gran Torino, and Detective Naomasa. The secrecy was kept in order to prevent the supposed UA spy from figuring out what was going on and relaying the message back to the League of Villains. Not even the students in question knew. All Might folded his hands together. "So I take Chris and you keep Jason here. Is it really safe to keep Jason involved with the school? Mirio was the best student in the whole school last year, but was only allowed to graduate after losing his quirk because he was almost done with training anyways." Aizawa sipped his coffee. "Jason is different. Yes, he is skilled. We saw that when he defeated you during his first year. He may have had help from Chris, but it was Jason who made you open to attack. Regardless, it's not his skill that Nezu and I are keeping an eye out for." All Might thought for a moment before shaking his head. "I don't see why." "He's their leader." All Might looked back up at his colleague as he continued.

"Jason inspires everyone around him to become more. Kirishima, the scared first year student who always doubted his abilities, has now turned into a shield determined to protect everyone. Momo, the scared woman who doubted her abilities, is now filling a leadership role in everything she is a part of. Mina, the lazy low scoring student, has started pushing herself academically in order to try and keep up with her friends. Shoto, the girl who refused to use her fire because she couldn't let go of the past, has now started striving to become the best hero she can be in order to protect the people close to her. Finally, there's Chris. He would've been an amazing hero no matter what, but it was his rivalry with Jason that pushed him every day to master his quirk. However, to everyone that interacts with him, regardless of if they're a hero, civilian, or even villain, Jason stands out as the golden example of what it means to be a hero. There is a very real reason as to why the hero community is calling Jason the next Symbol of Peace." All Might was shocked. "Really?!" Aizawa was dumbfounded. "We've been calling him that ever since the defeat of All for One. Are you seriously that dense when it comes to the hero community?" All Might laughed a little. "I'd rather not answer." Aizawa sighed and stood up. "I'm going to check up on Jason tomorrow. Losing his quirk hit him harder than anyone could've expected. Eri would probably like to see Chris and Momo again anyways."

Ms. Harper was just finishing up cleaning the house when she answered the doorbell. She smiled. "Jason?! What are you doing here?!" Jason smiled. "Hey. It's been a long time." Ms. Harper was confused. "...I came to visit you and Chris just last week… are you ok…?" Jason lost his smile. "...I'm sorry." Dabi came out from where he was hiding, igniting his flames. Toga, with a bloodthirsty smile, had a knife drawn. Ms. Harper took a step back, tripping on the carpet and falling down. Void held his hand out. "You're coming with us. That was not a request."