3

"Would you believe I just awakened my quirk?"

The tension in the room shattered like glass as his mother couldn't help the small smile and chuckle that escaped her. The two officers and detective in the room appeared to relax as well, although there was an air of curiosity around them regarding the boy that was apparently a late-bloomer at the most hilariously convenient of times.

"I thought that was already a foregone conclusion, Izuku?" Inko asked with a smirk.

"What do you mean?"

"You're 10 years old with the brain of a college student," she replied, maintaining her amusement. "Even if those sparks in your hair turned out to be nothing significant, I think we can safely say that your brain power certainly isn't natural."

"Wait, the sparks in my hair? I just found out about those today. You knew about them?"

Inko raised an eyebrow at her son. "You didn't?"

Izuku was sliding further into incredulity the longer the conversation went on. His mother knew about the sparks in his hair that he could now surmise were connected to the warmth he felt on occasion. His mother was straight up telling him that she knew about them and hadn't mentioned it. Sure, both she and he were highly suspicious about his quirk status given the evidence at their disposal, but she proceeded with his training as if he didn't have one. Being dubious is one thing, but she had verifiable proof of the contrary. Why hadn't she said anything?

"I didn't want you to become complacent," she spoke up. Izuku was taken aback at first until it dawned on him that he likely muttered that whole thing aloud without realizing... again. Shaking off his embarrassment and ignoring the amused smiles of the police and detective, he fixed his mother with a frown.

"You thought I would become complacent if I knew I had a quirk?"

Inko's face softened. "Izuku, the basis of your training was to prepare you for the arduous task of becoming a pro hero without the use of a quirk. If the extent of your quirk was enhanced intelligence and sparky hair, that objective wouldn't have changed, but your motivation to improve despite lacking a quirk may have been truncated, even if only subconsciously." Her smirk returned. "Besides, I've been teaching you to use your brain in a fight, and going by how scuffed your gakuran looks, it seems to be coming in handy."

Okay, Izuku could concede that point. He didn't have to like it, but he did understand.

"If I may interrupt," Detective Tsukauchi spoke up, not wanting to ruin the, frankly, entertaining discussion between mother and son but still needing to conclude his business there. "Had your husband, er, ex-husband now, ever expressed any overtly or suspiciously quirkist sympathies before today?"

'Ex-husband?'

"What do you mean by, 'ex'?" Izuku hesitantly queried. If his father truly returned with the express intentions of killing him, he'd understand why his mother would preemptively declare him as her ex-husband before even filing for-

"Oh, honey, Hisashi doesn't exist anymore," Inko softly answered.

'...Okay, what?'

He quickly composed himself and locked eyes with his mother. "You mean… he's dead?" Izuku couldn't decide on feeling relief or grief at the revelation.

"A little more than dead," one of the police officers mumbled just loudly enough for everyone to hear. His partner elbowed him in the ribs and shot him a glare, to which he shot a deadpan stare in return. "Am I wrong? What would you call someone literally being torn apart by their atoms and then dispersed into the open air?"

"Yeah, but you could at least be tactful about it," the second officer hissed back. "The kid just lost his father!"

"A father who was trying to kill him," the officer maintained his deadpan. The sound of the detective clearing his throat and the venomous glare he was shooting them ended the bickering before it could continue any further.

Meanwhile, Izuku had effectively blue-screened at the details of his fa- at Hisashi's death. His bewildered eyes met the green of his mother's in a silent conversation between the two. She solemnly nodded to confirm that he did indeed hear them correctly.

"You… you atomized him?" he finally managed to get out.

"He was threatening you."

Izuku waited for any further explanation, but one never came. "Um, right."

He knew she was ruthless, especially during training, and he knew of her past as an underground pro hero, but that newest bit of information only confirmed one thing to him:

His mother was fucking terrifying.

He was thankfully saved by the detective rising from his seat and speaking up again. "I think we can conclude things here, for now. We've gotten all the information we need, and you no doubt want to spend some time with your son. Thank you for your time, Mrs. Midoriya; we'll contact you again if we need to go over anything else."

With a bow, the detective left with the two policemen in tow, leaving the Midoriya duo to themselves in their living room. Izuku sighed and melted into the couch next to his mother, and he leaned into her touch when she softly ran her hand through his hair.

"How are you feeling, son?" she asked with a hint of trepidation.

Izuku exhaled, feeling as though he was releasing all of the events of the day. "In a word? Exhausted."

"That's certainly understandable," she said with a soft smile. "Why don't you tell me about your quirk?"

It was as if a switch was flipped within the boy as his eyes lit up with excitement. He practically launched off of the couch and started moving the the coffee table and any other wooden piece of furniture a healthy distance away from him. Standing in the middle of the room, he reached for the familiar warmth inside of him, and he ignited in a pillar of multicolored flames.

Inko was mesmerized at the sight. She hadn't anticipated his quirk to be so…

"Beautiful," she mumbled aloud without taking her eyes off of him. Izuku preened at the praise, and his flames began to take on a crimson hue across the board. That was surprising enough to the duo, but the resulting increase in temperature alarmed them. Izuku panicked when he saw the footprints he was burning into the carpet, and he quickly cut off his quirk.

He had no idea what had happened. When he first awakened the quirk, the flames were brilliant and powerful, but he was also actively projecting them to keep Bakugo at bay. They weren't burning nearly as brightly just then, but they transitioned to a solid red when his mother complimented them, and they felt even hotter than they were earlier that day without even increasing in size. Were the flames tied to his emotions? It seemed like too much of a hair trigger to be the case, and why transition to purely red when he was feeling happy? Could he access other colors individually? Would it make a difference? The red flames were demonstrably hotter than the multicolored fire; would that be the case with the others?

He was snapped out of his thoughts by his mother struggling to suppress her giggle fit. It immediately dawned on him what happened.

"I said all of that out loud, didn't I?" he asked with a sheepish scratch to the back of his head.

"Mhm. You really are my son," she said with a warm smile, noting the white embers wafting from his hair. The smile then tightened into a thin line. "There was one thing you said, though, about projecting your flames to keep Bakugo at bay. What did you mean by that, exactly?"

Izuku, now knowing his mother could literally atomize a human and sensing potential danger, told her about everything that happened that day. He told her about the initial scuffle with Bakugo, he told her about his teacher's blatant bigotry, he told her about Bakugo hunting him down and his suspicions that the teacher orchestrated it, and he told her about his quirk's activation.

The blankness of her face after he finished deeply unsettled him. He could see a ravenous fury in her gaze that contrasted with the careful nothingness, and it had him sweating bullets. It may not have been a very heroic thought, but he was just glad to not be the target of her wrath and prayed for a quick demise to anyone that was.

Across town, the teacher in question was reading a copy of Meta Liberation War in his study when a chill ran up his spine. For the briefest of moments, he felt as if the eyes of the Grim Reaper itself were bearing down on him.

'Probably Midoriya's fault. The principal is already on the ship, but the sooner I can get the rest of the faculty on board with Destro's ideals, the better.'

Back in the apartment, Izuku was nervous about what his mother would do to anyone who had even accidentally wronged him in his life. "Um, mom? Y-You're not going to tear Bakugo apart and then reassemble him into a pig or something, right?" He truly hoped he did not doom his sorta-friend (was that still even applicable?) to a horrible fate.

"Hm?" Inko was broken out of whatever unholy machinations she was conjuring in her mind. "Oh, no, I'm certain that Katsuki learned his lesson and won't be bothering you for a while. Besides, I can't reassemble someone after taking them apart, there's no going back for them. Anyway, I'll be sure to have a talk with Mitsuki about him soon."

Her eyes darkened and the bloodthirsty grin she usually reserved for training made its way back onto her face. "I'm more concerned with your teacher who thought it acceptable to put my baby in harm's way."

And then, in a flash, her grin disappeared and the bloodlust vanished alongside it, and she was back to sporting the loving smile he was familiar with. "You mentioned being able to heal someone's fingers after they were 'forcefully readjusted.' The color was pink, right?" At his nod, she hummed and stroked her chin. "Going by the yellow embers you sported when dodging and the white embers that appear when you're thinking hard over something, it's likely that your flames each have individual properties to them, and they come together to create an inferno that functions similarly to… Endeavor's."

The way she spoke Endeavor's name with such utter disdain surprised Izuku. He didn't know that they knew each other. It was also possible that she just knew of him and disliked him for one reason or another. He wouldn't really blame her if that was the case. Questions for later, though.

"For now, freshen up and get ready for dinner. I'll make you some more celebratory katsudon for awakening your quirk!" Inko declared and darted into the kitchen.

Izuku sighed; he was more than familiar with the katsudon bribe. 'Guess Endeavor is a sore subject for her.'

The next morning, Izuku rolled out of bed to prepare for the usual light spar and informatics training that happened on Saturdays. However, a knock at their door surprised them, as Inko wasn't expecting anyone that day. Opening the door, a short, white-furred animal in a suit stood on two legs in front of her with a smile.

"Nezu?" Inko asked in shock.

"Mrs. Midoriya, how lovely it is to see you again!" Nezu chirps. "Or, shall you return to being Ms. Akatani, given that the remains of your husband have likely entered the lower atmosphere?"

Inko's eyes widened before narrowing at the animal of indeterminable origin. "How did you find out about that already? It literally happened yesterday." She paused, and then she slumped in resignation. "You know what, of course, you found out about it. You're Nezu."

"That I am!" the creature agreed with grin that just bordered on predatory.

"I'd ask you why you're here," Inko began before stepping aside and motioning for him to enter, "but the fact that you tracked me down and came in person means that you have a good reason, and I probably won't like it."

Nezu's smile faltered as they entered the living room. "You're correct, unfortunately. I wish we could have met again under better circumstances, but alas, it is not to be."

Inko sighed and nodded, turning her head to her son who was attempting to be inconspicuous and eavesdrop on them without being seen. "Izuku, come meet an old acquaintance of mine."

Izuku blanched at being detected, and he dejectedly meandered into the living room while his mother mirthfully shook her head.

"Izuku, this is Nezu. We worked a few cases together when I was still active," Inko explained to the boy who had already set his analytical gaze onto the furry creature, who in turn had given Izuku one of his own.

"Why, hello, young Midoriya! Am I a mouse? Am I a dog? Am I a bear?"

"You're a chimera, although the specifics of what animals compose your DNA is a bit tricky. Your snout is too pointed to be that of a dog or a bear, but your paws and tail aren't reminiscent of mice, at least none that I'm familiar with. Even so, your general appearance does suggest rodent of some kind, but that could also just as easily be a marsupial's appearance. That would explain why your tail has fur and isn't bushy, but it still wouldn't explain the nature of your paws."

Izuku only paused to accept the cup of tea handed to him by his mother, who had taken the opportunity afforded to her by Izuku's mumble-storm to make tea.

"…Then again, I suppose you wouldn't be much of a chimera if the lion's share of your DNA came from a singular animal…"

"Hmmm, not necessarily true, but you are certainly on the right track- oh dear, your hair has combusted," Nezu commented before taking a sip of his tea. "Oh my, you remembered my favorite blend after a decade, how lovely!"

"You've saved my life- directly or otherwise- on several occasions," Inko softly responded. "You're also one of the few people in heroics that I trust implicitly. It's the least I could do."

Izuku had abandoned his muttering about Nezu's species when he pointed out that his hair was on fire. He reached up to investigate, and he found pure white flames in his hands that quickly died out. His head ached a tad, and he was certain that it was part of his quirk, but he filed it away for the moment.

His mother had just mentioned her time as a pro, and she never went into detail about that around him. He still didn't even know why she retired in the first place, but he had been able to gather that she retired shortly before he was born.

'Something must've happened or had been happening for a while before I was born to make her so…jaded. Her hatred for Endeavor feels almost personal, so maybe that has something to do with it?'

"So, Nezu, what's the crisis?" Inko finally asked.

"I don't believe it has reached crisis levels as of yet," Nezu began with a thoughtful hum, "but I've recently come across evidence pointing towards the reformation of a long thought dead terrorist ideology; it was thought to be dead on an official capacity, at least."

Inko frowned. "A terrorist cell doesn't sound like something you'd contact me for."

"It does when it involves the reason your now departed husband returned to attack your son," Nezu solemnly replied.

Inko's gaze hardened into stone. "So that's what the bastard was talking about, then."

"What do you mean?" Izuku hesitantly inquired.

Inko sighed. "Hisashi was content with staying out of our lives when I informed him of your diagnosis. For years, I didn't even want to tell him that I was training you despite your status, but I felt he had the right to know. So, I called him and got him up to speed. He hung up on me the minute I made it clear that I supported you following your desires despite your quirk status, and I didn't hear a word from him after that. That was two weeks ago.

"Yesterday, when Hisashi showed up, he went on a rant about the quirkless being un-evolved blights on mankind and that we should all have the rights to wield our 'meta abilities' freely, and having those without 'meta abilities' around only fills the need for laws restricting peoples' freedoms. He then said that he 'wouldn't stand for having a null rise above his station.' It was around the time he spat a fireball at me and tried to break down your bedroom door that I… handled him."

"Oh…" was Izuku's simple reply. He did not know what to say to that.

"He was abrasive and rather opinionated when I met him, but blatantly spouting heavily quirkist sentiments is a new development. Although, maybe I shouldn't be surprised since he did back out when he thought he had a quirkless son. True colors, and all that."

"It's the terminology you say that he used that worries me," Nezu stated. "It's straight from Destro's Meta Liberation War and the movements it spawned."

"I thought Destro wrote that book after he was imprisoned?" Inko asked.

"He did, and the bulk of his army was rounded up either and imprisoned or killed- officially, anyway- but many of the sentiments surrounding quirk liberation in his biography remained in a portion of society. That portion has only grown and festered over the years.

"While not outright supporters of Destro, there are several factions that align themselves with the basic premise of the original Meta Liberation Army. For the moment, they're small pockets of pro-quirk activists, small-time villains, and terrorists leading indoctrination campaigns to bolster their numbers."

"And you think Hisashi fell victim to one of those?"

"It is a possibility, I'm afraid."

Inko sighed once more and ran a hand through her hair. "Just great. Things can't ever be so simple." She paused, and she refocused her gaze onto the chimera. "So, a collection of potential terrorists and cultists are festering around the country. That does sound concerning, but I wouldn't imagine it would be alarming for you."

"I've had some of my employees and some other unaffiliated heroes go undercover in a few of those cells, and they all came back with information that suggests a common thread between them: a singular benefactor sponsoring each cell," Nezu responded.

"Anyone of note?"

"Potentially too much note.

"How so?"

"They all led back to disposable shell companies of Detnerat."

And with that, Inko was stressed. Her stress level had steadily been climbing over the course of the conversation, and the revelation that quirk supremacists were being funded by the already shady lifestyle support company worth billions didn't help matters one bit. However, something else stuck out to the former pro hero.

"Earlier, you specified that they align with the ideals of the original Meta Liberation Army… Is there another Meta Liberation Army that we should know about?" Inko hesitantly ventured.

Nezu did not immediately respond, choosing instead to take a sip of his tea. Inko did not like that at all, as it was one of the creature's tells that he was stressed as well. Anything that had Nezu stressed was a high priority threat that needed to be dealt with.

"I have my suspicions," Nezu carefully started. "There has been a notable presence of Detnerat within Deika City as of late, and the CEO himself has spent quite a bit of time there. Not enough time to draw suspicion, but enough time to draw a few disturbing conclusions if you know what to look for."

"Deika…" Inko tried to jog her memory. "That's the weird city up in the sticks, right? Tens of thousands of people there who tend not to move out to anywhere else…"

Inko paled.

"Potentially tens of thousands of isolated people living within an MLA indoctrination camp," Nezu answered with a solemn nod. "An army being gathered right under our noses."

A heavy silence followed as the horrifying implications were readily apparent to all occupants, Izuku included. His brain was in overdrive trying to account for any and all possibilities and any ways to prevent a war from starting. His thoughts sped up, and he started running through several ideas, theories, and plans at a ridiculous pace.

"Young Midoriya, your hair has combusted again."

Izuku did not flinch this time, as the white flame encompassed even more of his hair. Inko was mildly alarmed while Nezu was curious at the development. Izuku, paying no mind to either, mentally rewinded several instances at his school where the adults openly praised strong quirks and promoted a "might makes right" mentality while shunning and paying less attention to those with weaker quirks or anyone deemed to have less potential.

How they treated him, the only quirkless student, went without saying.

Looking up, the white hot fire sitting atop his head flared a brief moment before Izuku met the gaze of the two adults.

"I think our school district is one of these indoctrination zones," he bluntly stated.

Inko's eyes widened at the declaration, and Nezu hummed in consideration.

"How did you come to that conclusion, Midoriya?"

"One of my teachers likely put a student with a strong quirk up to assaulting me after giving me detention, yesterday. It was, ironically, why I wasn't home for my fath- Hisashi's return."

Inko's eyes widened even further as it sank in for her as well. "You believe that man is part of this whole operation?"

"He's a cog in a larger machine, but yes. I've caught glimpses of what's in his and others teachers' desks, and I might have seen a copy of Meta Liberation War in one or two of them, but that might just be confirmation bias at work. I can't say for sure.

"What I can say, however, is that in instances where I'm sent to the principal's office for one fabricated reason or another, I've seen some of the things he has on display. I doubt he keeps anything truly incriminating in his office, but he does have a strange mask that only goes over your eyes on his desk. I asked him about it once, and he said that it was a memento of an old revolutionary he studied in graduate school. He didn't explain any further, but he likely believed that a child as young as I am wouldn't ever be able to put the pieces together, so he didn't seem too bothered about letting that much slip."

"Can you draw the mask?" Nezu asked.

"Yes," Izuku answered. "I'll go grab a notebook before whatever is going on with my quirk dies down and I get the worst migraine of my life."

He left to his room, and in no time at all, he returned with a notebook and quickly began sketching away. Nezu tilted his head to read what was written in the cover, and the phrase "Hero Analyses For the Future Vol. 8" grabbed his attention. Izuku looked to be finishing up, so he elected to put a pin in that thought for the moment.

Upon finishing, he handed the notebook over to Nezu, and sure enough, it was Destro's mask exactly as it was printed on Meta Liberation War. He and Inko shared a glance and had a silent conversation.

Izuku, meanwhile, immediately felt the effects of his quirk when the white fire on his head finally petered out, and the searing migraine came in with an ungodly vengeance. He slumped over on the couch and clutched at his head, causing his mother to leap from her seat and rush to his side.

"Izuku, are you alright?" she worriedly prodded.

"Yes," he managed before taking a breath. "I just… need to… not think for a bit."

"You overexerted your quirk," she fretted over him while Nezu took a look through the rest of the notebook, a growing look of intrigue developing on his face. The young boy had detailed analysis of pro heroes and their quirks, including their strengths, weaknesses, how they could cover those weaknesses, and what improvements they could make with their quirks or support gear to think about trying out. A disturbing smile twisted onto the animal hybrid's face.

Inko momentarily stilled, feeling the unrestrained glee in her comrade. That was never a good sign, and turning around to see her son's Hero Analysis notebook in his paws made her heart drop.

'Dear God, please don't let him turn my son into a mini-me.'

When Izuku managed to get back to a sitting position, Inko sat down next to him and ran her hand through his hair before focusing back on the chimera who sported a chilling smile.

"So, with all of that distressing information in mind, what did you need of me, specifically?" Inko questioned.

"For now, I'm gathering allies and getting them up to speed. For the moment, I cannot be certain which pros are or are not sympathetic to the MLA's message, but I want to be prepared in case I need to create another war council anytime soon."

"Does the Commission or the national government know about any of this?"

"The Commission is, to my knowledge, aware of the existence of a reforming MLA, but directly attacking Detnerat and all its connections would do considerable damage to the Japanese economy, so there is a tentative stalemate in place. The national government is not aware of any of this, otherwise the JSDF would be storming Deika City as we speak."

"Should we…" Inko ventured with hopeful gleam.

"I wouldn't recommend it. It would likely plunge the nation into a civil war that society isn't ready for, regardless of who comes out on top," Nezu verbally responded before sparing a glance at Izuku. The boy was still nursing his migraine and had his eyes closed, but he was clearly listening. Nezu silently signed to Inko in an old code developed on the field:

'Supervillain attack. All Might out of commission. Duration indeterminable.'

Inko's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, and she nodded in understanding. Things truly just could not have been simple. Exhaling, she pressed on. "Anything else?"

Nezu's smile returned, and Inko already did not like where this was headed. "I would like to offer you a job at UA, of course."

Izuku's eyes shot open at the animal hybrid's declaration, and his mouth was left agape. Inko wasn't fairing any better.

"…Excuse me?" she choked out.

"Did I forget to mention that I am the principal of UA?" he cheekily responded.

"Yes, that may have slipped your mind, dear friend," Inko responded through gritted teeth.

"It was a development that occurred during your absence from heroics," Nezu began. "It's my way of shaping future generations of heroes away from the Commission's influence, and, hopefully, to create less situations where fantastic heroes like yourself become too disillusioned with the ugly truth."

Inko's glare softened, and she took a minute to gather the right words to respond to Nezu. "To do that, you'd have to clean up the ugly truth that's hidden away."

"Oh, don't fret, taking down the Hero Commission is next on my list after the MLA," Nezu happily responded.

Inko couldn't help the chuckle that escaped her. "Never change, Rat."

"I also presume you will be pulling Izuku from his current school, given the knowledge that it is likely an MLA indoctrination center," he continued. "Might I suggest my services in handling Izuku's schooling personally until he's old enough to take the UA entrance exam?"

Inko did not need to look at her son to know that he had practically melted at the offer. She refused to look in his direction so that she wouldn't fall victim to the puppy eyes that he'd almost certainly be wielding against her. She would not fall victim to it; she would not.

She would NOT.

Goddamn it, she did.

Concurrently, Izuku was doing his very best to contain his excitement; he really did not want to accidentally activate the red flames of his quirk and torch the apartment. Throwing his best application of the puppy eyes with tears included, he silently pleaded with his mother to take the offer.

She didn't even need to look at him to fall victim to his efforts if her resigned sigh was any indication.

"If I say yes, will you ensure that my son is in good, capable hands?" Inko asked. She knew that she didn't need to ask that, as Nezu was probably the most capable person(?) she knew for this task. She just needed confirmation for herself that reentering the hero-sphere was the right decision.

"Of course," Nezu assured. "A mind as brilliant as his truly deserves the best cultivation possible."

"You just want to groom him to be your successor for your world domination plots."

"I will neither confirm nor deny that statement."

"Ugh, fine, I accept.

"HELL YEAH!" Izuku shouted, speaking up for the first time since his quirk deactivated and launching himself at his mother for a vice grip of a hug. Gladly returning it, she shot her guest a curious glance.

"What would I even be teaching?"

"I've been thinking of creating an underground heroics course for the 2nd and 3rd years interested in going that route. We already have the space in the building, and, with you on board, I'll have an instructor for it. You won't begin until next school year, so you'll have this time until then to earn your certifications," Nezu explained.

Inko nodded, wrangling her positively hyper son who was going on and on about attending UA, studying under the principle himself, and potentially learning from his own mother in an official capacity.

That was until something dawned on him. "Wait, what does this mean for my training?" he asked, slightly worried that the new routine would throw off his training schedule.

"Your current training should not be hampered," Nezu answered. "In fact, you will have more opportunities to train even harder since you'll have access to UA's training facilities."

Izuku brightened at this initially, however, a chill crawled up his spine when he glanced at his mother. The vicious, toothy grin she was sending his way made his blood run cold, and for a single moment, Izuku wondered if he made a mistake.

"Well then, I'd like to humbly welcome you to our UA staff, Verdant," Nezu said after getting up from his chair and extending a paw.

Inko flinched at the use of her hero name before sighing and shaking Nezu's offered paw. "I suppose I have to get used to hearing that name again. One condition, though."

"Name it."

"I get to deal with Izuku's teacher personally."

"Only if I get to knock the school building down with a wrecking ball after flushing out the vermin."

"Deal."

The soft sound of snickering made her turn to her son with an annoyed glare.

"Verdant? Really?" Izuku managed through giggles.

"It was original at the time!" Inko defended. "And you have no room to poke fun, Mr. Small Might."

"Touché," Izuku conceded with a smile.