Chapter 28 - Internships

The Hero Killer Stain glanced around at his surroundings. His mysterious visitor had taken him to a darkened tavern. It was dank and completely empty, save a sole figure sitting on a stool, leaning against the bar. He was clad all in black, contrasting directly with his messy silver hair. A large disembodied hand was clasped on his face as some sort of macabre mask. Stain disliked him on the spot. Behind the hand man was a small television that had "sound only" pasted across the screen. The warping man had taken his place behind the bar counter. It didn't take long for stain to realize where he really was.

"Now I get it," said Stain. "You must be the ones who attacked UA. And you wanna recruit me to build up your little group again."

"Yeah," the Hand Villain said simply. "It'll be great, you've got so much experience."

"And what's your mission?" Asked Stain.

"For now?" The Hand Villain replied. "I just wanna kill All Might. I like to destroy anything that pisses me off." He held up a picture of a young boy with messy green hair, wearing a UA gym uniform. "Like this little brat here. Game over."

Stain felt the anger boiling deep inside of him. "I was a fool to think you could offer me anything," he growled. "It turns out, you're the type of person I hate most in this world." He quickly drew two large combat knives from his side. "The goals of your "league" are those of a child. What meaning is there to killing if you don't have real convictions?"

Kurogiri, the Warp Villain, sighed inwardly. Tomura Shigaraki cares only about wanton violence, so they brought the Hero Killer in to guide him. Perhaps they made a mistake. "Master, should I step in?" He asked in the direction of the television set.

"Let it happen," said the voice from the television. "It's possible this is the only way he'll learn anything. He needs to think about the ways he must grow, how he can mature. Only then can he reach his potential."

Izuku and his classmates returned to school with great fanfare. He was accosted on the train on his way to work several times from people who had watched him in the sports festival. They were impressed by his abilities and strength, asking if he was really trained by Batman as rumored, and even asking for autographs. He found it all very overwhelming, and was quick to blend into the crowd once the train had reached his stop. Upon reaching his class, his classmates were all abuzz with stories of their own celebrity. Their performance in the Sports Festival had placed them on the map with fiery beacons to light the way.

A moment later, the door to the class opened, and an unbandaged Aizawa sauntered in with a simple "morning class."

"Mr. Aizawa, you don't need your bandages anymore," said Asui. "That's good news."

"The old lady went a little overboard in her treatment," said Aizawa, scratching his cheek absently. "Anyway, we have an important class today on Hero Informatics." The class shifted uneasily in their seats, looking at each other nervously. Hero Informatics sounded hard, perhaps something to do with hero laws or protocol. Aizawa cleared his throat. "You need codenames."

The students around Izuku cheered. Aizawa activated his quirk and growled, and they fell silent. "This is related to the first year draft pick I mentioned before the festival," he said. "Normally, students don't have to worry about the draft yet until their second or third year, but this class is different. By extending offers to you, Pros are essentially investing in your potential. Be warned, many offers can be rescinded if their interest in you dies down before graduation."

"So you're saying that we'll still have to prove ourselves even after we've been recruited?" Asked Hagakure.

"Stupid selfish adults," said Mineta sourly.

Aizawa cleared his throat again and clicked a presentation remote towards the smartboard behind him. "Here are the totals for those who got offers." A list of the student's names sprang to life, each with a different size bar graph and number attached to it. As expected Todoroki had the most offers, along with Tokoyami and Iida close behind him. There was a significant gap between them and the rest of the students, but many were still excited about the prospect of Pros wanting to work with them.

"Congratulations, Todoroki," Said Yaoyorozu. "You must be proud."

"These offers are most likely because of my father," Todoroki said plainly.

"I thought you would have gotten more, Midoriya," said Kaminar.

"Probably because of how much he hurt himself in the final round," said Mineta.

Izuku scanned the board and saw that he was near the bottom. Like his classmates said, he hadn't received very many offers, but he had expected that. Despite taking second place in the festival, as he was still quirkless he represented an upstart to the status quo. He assumed that many pros simply viewed him as a liability and didn't want to take him on.

"Despite these results, you'll all be interning with pros, got it?" Said Aizawa. "Even those who didn't get any offers. You've already had your first taste of combat when the villains attacked the USJ, but it will still be beneficial to see pros at work, up close and personal in the field. That's why you need hero names. These names will likely be temporary, but take them seriously."

As if on queue, the door opened and Midnight waltzed in and up to the front of the class. "He's right you know," Said Midnight. "The codenames you choose could be your codenames for life. So you better be careful."

"Midnight is going to have final approval over your names," said Aizawa. "It's not my forte. The name you give yourself is important. It helps reinforce your image and shows what kind of hero you want to be in the future. A codename tells people exactly what you represent."

Izuku looked that the markerboard that was just handed to him. He had considered what he wanted to do about his code name, but hadn't come up with anything solid. He had considered choosing something to honor his mentor. More than once Bruce was going to give him the mantle of Robin, but Bruce had specifically avoided that conversation, and after seeing the Joker's video, he could understand why. Bruce had also told him the importance of becoming his own hero. "I can't tell you what path to take," he had said to him. "I can only prepare you to make the choice when you get there." He and Kacchan used to dream of their hero names when they were little, and now he was living that dream. One that was denied of his friend because of his weakness.

One by one his classmates presented their names. Before he knew it, it was now Izuku's turn. Slowly, he approached the front of the class, everyone waiting eagerly to see what awesome name the Protegee of Batman had to present them.

"What'd you choose, Modoriya?" Said Kirishima excitedly. "Something like Batkid or Batwing, right?"

Izuku took a deep breath and showed them his chosen name.

Deku.

The class stared at him in confusion.

"Are you sure about that, Midoriya?" Asked Kaminari.

"Yeah, man, remember, that could be your hero name forever," said Kirishima.

"I know," said Izuku.

"But why?" Asked Midnight. "Don't you want something a little more akin to your mentor, the Dark Knight?"

"No," said Izuku. "It has to be this. This name was given to me by someone who. . . never got the chance to be here because of me." Izuku fell silent, trembling slightly. Everyone glanced at each other uncomfortably. The fun had gone from this exercise.

"I like it," said a voice from the back. Everyone turned back towards the source of the voice: Uraraka.

"Really?" Asked Mineta. "Who would want the hero name 'useless'?"

"Sure, if you take it at face value," said Uraraka. "But when you think about it, I think it fits him. Everyone here has underestimated Deku in one way or another, and each time he shows us more and more that he's the most capable person here. Everyone expects him to be useless because he doesn't have a quirk, but then he takes them down. Besides," she added. "It reminds me of the phrase dekimasu, or 'you can do it.' And we all know that Deku can do anything he sets his mind to."

The atmosphere of the class changed. Everyone smiled and looked at each other in approval. Izuku was speechless, feeling a swelling in his heart. For so many years he bore that name as a reminder for his failure in life, both as a quirkless boy desperately dreaming for a life he couldn't achieve, and for his part in Kacchan's death. But now his friend had given it a new meaning for him, something that gave him hope. He turned his head away as he sat down at his desk, trying to hide the tears welling in his eyes.

Lastly, the stage fell upon Iida. He had been trembling so hard he could barely hold the pen in his hand. Dread and nausea built up inside him as he tried to write his chosen hero name. But the truth was, it wasn't one that he had chosen, nor was it one he wanted to bear under the circumstances.

He had gone to see his brother in Hosu general hospital the day of his attack. The Hero Killer Stain had left him for dead, and he almost didn't survive the surgery. They had stabilized him, and he was on his way to recovery, but Tensei had revealed something to Tenya that shook him to his core.

"I can't feel my legs," Tensei had said. "I wasn't sure if I wanted to say anything yesterday, but they're useless."

"What?" Tenya gasped. "No!"

"I think the hero Ingenium is finished," said Tensei. "At least for me."

"What are you saying?" Said Iida. "Don't talk like that! You still have so many people to help and inspire, brother."

"I'm sorry," said Tensei. "I'm afraid it is. That's why I want you to take the name."

When Iida returned to school after their break, he tried to play off that everything was fine, and that there was nothing to worry about. He was the Class President, and he couldn't allow himself to display weakness in front of his classmates. He had to be strong, for them, his brother, and himself. As he sat at his desk, he tried to force himself to write the name "Ingenium" on his whiteboard, to honor his fallen brother and carry on the family legacy.

But he just couldn't. He wasn't ready.

He approached the classroom and showed his chosen name to his class. "Tenya," he said unceremoniously.

"You're using your real name, too?" Said Midnight. The class glanced around at each other, confused. Izuku looked at Uraraka, who shared his concern. They had been worried about their friend ever since they learned of Ingenium's defeat at the hands of a villain. Izuku had seen through his facade of calm and peace at once. Beneath his friends eyes lay a look that Izuku recognized in himself: a maelstrom of sorrow, pain, confusion, and an intense desire for revenge. This was uncharacteristic of the Iida they came to know and love, the by-the-book Class President, the one who always chose the right, taking the highroad, and put the safety and care of others before himself. Now, those traits seemed to be buried in a deep chasm of grief that he couldn't escape. It was a pain that Izuku lived in every day, and one he wanted to spare his friend from, somehow.

Aizawa told the class they were to hand in their picks by the weekend, and class was dismissed. The students all chattered about what agencies they wanted to go with. Uraraka had excitedly told Izuku that their fight in the sports festival had inspired her to learn more hand-to-hand combat, so she had chosen the Gunhead Agency. Izuku was looking through the list of his own. There were a few smaller-time agencies that had extended offers to him, but there weren't any that caught his immediate attention or interest. He wasn't sure how he was going to make his choice. He took a picture of the list and sent it to Bruce, hoping he could narrow down the choice for him. He didn't see any offers from Bruce for internship, but that didn't surprise him. Bruce preferred to work alone, and didn't align himself with any agencies. Even though he is a founding member of the Justice League and provided a significant portion of their funding, his title is really only that of ceremony, as his status was technically that of part-time and he usually only worked with them out of necessity.

Izuku's phone pinged, indicating a message. Bruce had answered his query, but his answer confused Izuku:

Titans Hero Agency.

Titans Agency? Thought Izuku. As in the Teen Titans? Izuku's confusion grew. They were an American agency, and he didn't even think they had a Japan division. They weren't on his list of offers, or even on any of the lists provided by the UA staff. What was he planning? He asked Bruce for more information, but his only reply was that he would be collected the day his internship starts. He supposed he didn't have any recourse but to wait.

Iida was walking towards the entrance of the school at a brisk pace. Izuku hadn't noticed that he was gone, and he and Uraraka had to run to catch up to him. "Iida wait!" Izuku shouted. Iida stopped, but didn't turn. Now that they had caught up to him, Izuku was at a loss for words as to what to say. "Iida, I don't know what you're going through," he said. "But you're not alone. If you ever want to talk, you can let us know. We're friends, right?"

Iida turned to face them. "Yes," he said with a small smile. Perhaps he was trying to dispel their fears about him, but to Izuku, his unearthly smile worried him further. Without another word, Iida turned and began his journey home, but Izuku stopped him. He took out a small disk-like device from his utility belt and handed it to Iida. "This is a personal communicator. It connects to a secure virtual network from anywhere in the world. Just in case you need it, okay?" He said. Iida took it and placed it in his pocket, bowed, and left for home. Izuku looked at Uraraka, who looked just as worried. Izuku wanted to do more for him. He wanted to be there for him as a friend should, but he didn't think anything they would say would get through to him.

The truth was, the communicator worked both ways. He had a chance to glance at Iida's paper, and the only agency that he had chosen was one in Hosu City, where his brother had fallen. He had given the communicator to him as it also served as a tracking beacon. He desperately hoped, however, that his fears were unfounded, and that he wouldn't need it.

The day of his internship came quickly. Izuku was packing his things, his Hero Suit prepped and ready to go. He still had little understanding of where he was going or what he would be doing, but he couldn't suppress his excitement. Bruce had made some modifications to his suit since the attack at the USJ. The weave in the plating had been upgraded, and now allowed for greater durability without sacrificing his speed, and he had added an experimental exoskeleton that increased Izuku's strength by 25%. The capacity of his utility belt had been expanded, allowing him to carry more tools and weapons. Lastly, his explosive gauntlets, prototyped by Mei Hatsume, had undergone rigorous repair and improvements and now functioned better than ever. Izuku knew he probably wasn't going to see any combat during this time, but he couldn't wait to take it all for a test run.

Izuku was finishing up his packing when the doorbell rang. It had to be Alfred, he was probably going to take him to the Titan agency, wherever that was. He rushed to the door and opened it eagerly, but was surprised to see that it wasn't Alfred at all. Instead, it was a tall, handsome man with long black hair that dropped to his shoulders. He wore a simple blazer and button up shirt, which did little to hide his impressive build. Izuku recognized him at once. It was the American who accompanied Bruce at the Sports Festival.

"Hey there!" He said cheerfully. "You must be Izuku Midoriya. The name's Dick Grayson. It's good to finally meet you."