Chapter 25: Toga's Plan
While Izuku was sitting in that alley, Toga and Pony found themselves sitting in a nice open-door café. The two had just placed their orders, with the blonde vampire going for a pomegranate smoothie while the American blonde was delighted to find that this place served creamy oatmeal apple smoothies. After placing the order, the two just sat there in comfortable silence while enjoying the breeze as it blew past them. From her seat, Toga watched her friend as she sat there, eyes closed and the wind blowing through her long, golden locks. It was a sight that caused the bloodsucker's cheeks to become tinted with a blush.
Slowly, a grin formed on Himiko's face. Expect for some loud complaints coming from one of the other establishments nearby, something about the Ida family not being able to send anyone, and some last-minute helpers having to cancel, the moment seemed perfect for Toga's Mountain of Love Plan to begin.
"So," spoke Toga as their server appeared, placing their drinks right in front of its owner. "Enjoying the trip so far? Bet you really liked your alone time with Izuku~!" Pony, who had been taking a sip of her drink, suddenly opened her eyes wide while deeply inhaling so that half of her smoothie vanished in an instant. What happened next was the most peculiar sight. Pony looked like she was trying her best to cough while clenching her teeth and raising a hand to her head. Like she was trying to clear her throat after something went down the wrong pipe while at the same time dealing with a brain freeze.
"What?!?" Pony said once she finally got herself under control, her voice coming out like a whispered yell. Something that Toga found cute as she sipped her own drink. "What do you mean by that?"
Toga waited a few seconds before answering, just continuing to sip her drink while hiding a smile. "Oh, nothing much," said Toga, doing her best to sound innocent as she set her drink down. "It's, well, just that you and Izuku are friends but it's rare that you two spend time alone together. You know, just the two of you. As far as I know, the only time that happens is when Kendo is too busy to join you when you head to manga cafes."
Pony blinked at that, an embarrassed blush appearing on her face as she leaned back in her seat. For a moment, she said nothing while looking away and scratching her cheek with a single finger. "A-Ah, so that's what you meant," she said at last, sounding relieved. "Ok, well, it was nice. We got to meet a lot of American heroes, though it's a pity that Stars and Stripes isn't here. It really would have been so cool to see her. Maybe even seeing if she'd use her quirk on us or give some sort of demonstration. Then we, ah, talked about…what happened…this morning."
Toga took another sip of her drink, eyeing the horned blonde as she did so. Pony's shoulders were hunched as she looked down at the table, her hands placed on her cheeks, made in a poor attempt to hide the blush that had taken up a good portion of her face. Then there were her eyes. Even looking downward, Toga could see the pure love emanating from them as she thought about that moment. Now the blood drinker couldn't help but smirk as she set down her drink.
"Oh?" she asked, resting her elbow on the table to prop up her arm and moving her head so that her chin was placed on the back of her hand. "You mean that rather 'intimate' position you both found yourselves in? Your arms around his waist, pushing your body close to his while your blouse rides up to expose your cute belly. Your legs wrapped around one of his as Izu strokes your tail." As Toga spoke, Pony's features changed. At first, she sat there, with her hands still on her cheeks and those big blue eyes of hers staring at her friend. Then, with each word Toga spoke, the blush on Pony's face deepened until she became lobster red. Before long, things had escalated to the point where steam was shooting out of her horse ears as well as the tips of her horns.
"Y-Yeah, that," murmured Pony, still red and steaming as she said that while averting her blue eyes. "Honestly, I was afraid what he said when we woke up was just him being nice. Turns out I was very, very wrong."
As more steam began to shoot out of Pony's ears and tail, Toga couldn't help herself anymore. Her mouth opened, smiling in a way that showed off all her teeth as a blush appeared on her face. So far, her plan was working! Izu, whether he did so intentionally or not, had fully wooed Pony! Now it was up to her to finish the job!
At that moment, Toga's nose began to bleed as she imagined the best, thought even she knew it was the least likely outcome. It started with her and Izu on the bed in their wonderful hotel room, dressed for bed. Both were sitting on their knees, Izu's hands on her back pressing her close to him as they kissed deeply. And while they did that, others crawled onto the bed. On Izu's side was Itsuka. Meanwhile, on Toga's side was Pony. And at the foot of the bed was Melissa. When the others were close enough, Izu and Toga broke off their kiss and reluctantly separated before turning around to the others. Izu began to kiss Itsuka, his hands running up and down her back as they swayed with need and passion. Meanwhile, Toga had pinned Pony against the bed and was making out with the horned girl's neck. Soon enough, they began to trade with Melissa moving in to take Itsuka's place while the orange-haired girl began moving to kiss Toga and Pony. Soon enough, Toga's imagination began to trade them off as they moved from partner to partner on the heart-shaped bed.
…Though it did feel like there was an element missing. But what was it? Maybe a girl with a bit of sass like Jiro from 1-A? That was something, but that punk girl didn't seem like the type. In the brief moments that Toga had interacted with her, she had not given off any 'girl in love vibes'. Maybe someone else from 1-A like Ashido? Nah, as fun as she seemed and would more than likely bring something exotic to their love pile, she seemed to have a stronger connection to Kirishima. Even if it wasn't love. And the more she considered it, none of the girls in 1-A she had met would work. Even that cutie Uraraka. Hatsume? No, hard pass as Tetsutetsu was clearly crushing on her, and there was no way she would lure in the mad inventor while crushing the heart of a friend. Maybe she should ask her aunts or her Uncle Millicas? Maybe they would have some good ideas.
Mentally shaking her head, Toga went back to enjoying her fantasy, which, at this point, had all the girls surrounding Izu. Grinning, Toga imagined reaching for the bottom of the oversized t-shirt she was wearing and-
"The only problem was this guy who just suddenly harassed me," continued Pony with a sigh. In an instant, Toga's fantasy shattered before she could turn it into a Rated-XXX dream and force the author to change this story to mature audiences.
"What?" asked a blinking and annoyed Toga as she stared at her friend. Pony was no longer blushing or steaming, the memory of what happened causing her to shift uncomfortably in her seat.
"This…creep," began Pony, taking in a deep breath while her face twisted in frustration. "He…just came up right behind me and groped me. Then he called me some things and said told me I was 'good enough' for him to…" Pony trailed off for a moment, shuddering at the memory. "The way he spoke. It was like he thought that everything he was saying and doing was perfectly natural. Like it was…his right…or something." Again, Pony's words trailed off. Only this time, it had less to do with the memory of the creep who had assaulted her and more to do with the bloodlust emanating around Toga!
Suddenly, the blood-drinking blonde slammed her palms onto the table with enough force that their drinks were nearly knocked down. She then began glaring from side to side, grinding her teeth in a way that resembled another angry blonde that they all knew. At first glance, it would have looked like she was looking for the creep who had done this to Pony. As if she suspected that he was still nearby. However, the truth was quickly revealed as she stormed away from the table, only to later return with a plastic knife.
"Pony, if you ever see that creep again, let me know," said Toga as she put the still wrapped plastic knife on the table with the same grace as a professional hitman does when they place a loaded weapon out in the open. "I will cut that bastard's hands off."
"Ah," began Pony her eyes darted from Toga to the plastic knife. "I don't think that will work."
"Life finds a way," was all Toga had to say about that, shrugging as she did so.
"Toga, it's fine," reassured Pony. "I spoke to the heroes, and he isn't getting let off with a warning or anything like that. At least he shouldn't. Hopefully." She then shook her head. "Listen, can we please drop it. I really don't want to talk about that guy anymore."
At first, Toga just stared at her friend for several long minutes. The fact that this creep had done something like that so openly in a public space suggested to her that it was not the first time he had done something like that. How many times he had gotten in trouble, serious trouble for it, was up in the air. But, if she had to guess, it was either rare or non-existent. In her experience, people who acted like they were entitled to do whatever they wanted rarely changed. Especially those who went through long periods of their lives with no one ever calling them out on their shitty behavior. Like that Mineta guy. It was more likely that he would get angry and head out again, unable to comprehend the gravity of the situation he was in. That or he would blame it all on his victim, aka Pony, and go after her.
Then…
"Alright," said Toga at last, relaxing her body and smiling, causing Pony to smile back at her in gratitude. In the end, it really didn't matter. Perhaps whatever punishment he got would knock some sense into his empty head. And if not, well, if he tried anything with Pony or near them, then Toga didn't have to go far looking for him. She just needed to make it look like her cutting off his hands was a simple accident.
After all, if she didn't, then both she and Izu would be in serious trouble.
"Well, other than that nasty business, sounds like the two of you got a little closer," continued Toga, deciding to move full steam ahead with her plan. "So, did you decide to confess your feelings for him before you parted, or were you planning on doing that tonight at the dance? Because, if that's the case, I'm willing to make sure that the two of you get some additional alone time in the hotel room." Red returned on Pony's features, starting at her neck and moving upwards at a record pace! She opened her mouth to say something, but only a tiny squeak managed to come out before her head fell back allowing her soul to leave via her open mouth.
A few seconds passed, with Toga watching her friend in amusement while sipping the last of her drink. By the time she had finished and placed another order, Pony seemed to regain her senses.
"T-T-Toga! W-W-W-What are you s-s-s-saying?!?" demanded Pony.
"That you had the perfect opportunity to tell Izu just how much you love him," responded Toga, her tone almost sounding rhetorical. "I mean, you pretty much said that he likes the way you look. Something that, for the record, I fully agree with. The two of you get along great, to the point where everyone knows you have a crush on him. Come on, he's the cinnamon to your apples! You were meant to go together perfectly!"
"Everyone knows?" squeaked Pony, her pupils turning into tiny dots.
"Well, almost everyone," amended Toga. "I think that Izu at least suspects you have feelings for him. Same with Itsuka." The blonde then leaned forward a bit, her eyes full of mischief. "Come on. Don't tell me that when he told you he liked the way you looked or how your tail felt in his hand, that you didn't want to wrap your arms around him and kiss him."
"I," began Pony, wearing an expression that said she did want to do just that. However, before she could say anything else, she shook her head. Then, she lowered her head before speaking in a defeated tone. "Even if I did want to, it wouldn't feel right. Itsuka has known Izuku longer than I have, and we both know that she's special to him. Plus…I know you like Izuku a lot." She then paused to take a deep, steadying breath. "Look, I'm only in Japan as an exchange student. The odds are that any relationship I have will end when I return to the States. Sure, I could work to gain full citizenship, and Izuku is worth it, and I love spending time with him…but I love spending time with everyone. The last thing I want is to make everyone uncomfortable by, well, you know."
"Honestly, I wouldn't mind," said Toga with a grin and a shrug. "Heck, you confessing to Izu wouldn't even cause me to hesitate in telling both him and you how I feel about you both." Pony looked ready to respond to that, but the words that Toga had said seemed to just sink in. In that moment, Pony's blue eyes just seemed to triple in size.
"…What?" asked the horned girl.
"What? You think gender matters to a girl who can become anyone?" asked Toga. "I'm a girl in love who wants to be with all the people that I love! Do you really think that someone else confessing how they feel to Izu would be enough to stop me? As if." Toga then paused, noticing Pony blushing. Seeing this caused a predatory grin to appear on the blood drinker's face. Instantly, Toga left her seat and moved to the one right next to Pony before moving her face right in front of the other blonde's. All without ever losing that smile. "Oh, what's this? Have you been thinking similar things about me?"
"Well, ah, that's" began Pony, her eyes darting away, though there was a bit of a smile on her face. It was enough for her to say she had not just been thinking, but feeling the same way about the blood drinker without actually saying it.
"I…I do kind of have a fantasy about being in a poly relationship. Like in the harem animes I watch," admitted Pony, her hands moving back to her cheeks as Toga pulled her face back. "I never told anyone this, but I always wanted to have a bigger family. Right now, it's just me and my parents. I rarely ever get to see any of my other relatives, and when we do get together, all they ever do is scream at each other. Or demand money. So I sometimes dreamed that I was a part of the cast in harem animes. That we would go on these amazing adventures together and, while we would still fight with each other from time to time, we would never let it drift us apart. Not for long. In the end, we're always together sharing a similar love."
"Hmm," responded Toga, still grinning. "Well, it looks like you're almost there already. Let's face it, before I came into the picture, you guys did the whole entrance exam thing and fought Nomus. Then, with little old me, we rocked the Sports Festival and did that whole heroes vs villains exercise. I'd say we've gone on quiet a few adventures. Not only that, but we've also done some laid-back things as well. Like going on this trip. So all that's missing is us not going our separate ways when the day ends. Is that right?" Slowly, blushing even harder, Pony nodded her head. "Then why don't we take that leap?"
"Well, ah, is it even allowed?" squeaked Pony.
Toga shrugged. "Who cares?" she said while rolling her eyes. "We should all be free to love others the way we want. If everyone agrees, then I don't think there is anything wrong in loving multiple people. And its not like this is something unique. My Aunty Asai did the same thing with the people she loved. We could even ask her for tips!"
"B-But what about Izuku and Itsuka?" asked Pony, clearly fighting back her shock that the school nurse who dressed like a nun had been in that kind of relationship. "What if they say no?"
"Oh yeah, about that," began Toga as she scratched the back of her head playfully. "I sort of already thought of that. Basically, my plan is to let those two get together first and then we approach them!" At that, Pony blinked in confusion. So, Toga continued with her predatory gaze returning. "I'm pretty sure that you have noticed that Izu isn't as timid around girls as much as he used to. He's certainly far better than when I first met him." At that, Pony nodded. "And as you said, Itsuka is someone special to him. So it would be only right if she confessed her feelings first. Or he confesses to her first. Once one of them accepts the other's feelings, we let the two of them date each other for a while just to be respectful and allow them to see just how wonderful being in a relationship is before approaching them. We then bare our hearts and suggest a poly relationship."
Pony blinked. "But…what if they don't. Tell the other how they feel, I mean," asked the American blonde.
"That's when we intervene," said Toga, crossing her arms over her chest while allowing a superior smirk to appear on her face. "We sit them down, separately and ask them why they are dancing around the subject. If they give some lame excuse like 'a villain might target my loved ones,' then we slap sense into them. A villain who is willing to go after your loved ones won't stop just because you're not dating someone. They'll just go after friends and family. Plus, we can point to all the other heroes who have families. If they go on about 'I need to focus on my studies now', then we smack them upside the head and point out just how much harder it will be to date in the real world. Best to do it now. The point is, we pound it into their skulls that ignoring feelings is dumb. Then, if Itsuka still says no, then we, along with any other girls we know feel the same way, confess to Izu. That's only fair, right? I mean, we gave her a chance that she rejected so we should be able to confess to him with a clear conscience. If Izu says no, then we still tell him how we feel with Itsuka by our side. And if he still says no after that, then we promise you'll be waiting until he is ready."
"Wow," said Pony after blinking in surprise. No doubt impressed at how well thought-out Toga's plan was. After all, she had been fantasizing about that moment every night since she developed feelings for Izuku. Then, she looked away from the fanged blonde shyly. "And, ah, what happens if they do get together but say no to including us? Do we…"
"We respect how they want to love," said Toga firmly. "The offer will always be on the table. But, until they are ready, that doesn't mean I won't stop loving you." At that, Pony's head jerked upwards to look at Toga, who was grinning with a dangerous twinkle in her eye. "But, fair warning, you might not be able to handle all the love I'm willing to give you."
At that, Pony's heart couldn't take it anymore and fainted. A pity, as Toga was also willing to go over her plans on how to convince Inko to let them date, as well as living together alone and with no adult supervision while still attending U.A.
-x-
Elsewhere, Melissa Shield sat at her desk within the hangar holding her mech-suit. The machine was currently in its travel form; her metallic suit that she would also wear was currently being worn by a hard light mannequin.
She had had such high hopes for today. She had wanted to show her pappa and Uncle Might her creations, giving them a full demonstration now that her desire to become a hero had been renewed. The main body suit was made from the same material she had used to make the Full Gauntlets and, in the future, would wrap around her body in a similar manner as the original device. However, unlike the Gauntlets, she had been forced to make some cuts in order to make the suit as flexible as a normal hero suit. Basically, while the Full Gauntlets could protect the user from their own strength to the point where Uncle Might could use her full strength three times before breaking the suit could handle being punched by her uncle fifteen times at ten percent of his full might! Of course, they were both the prototypes as she had planned on upgrading them over time as she produced more data while also advancing the technology. Then, once she had shown them some of the other types of punishment the suit could take, as well as going over all of the safety features, she would give both her pappa and Uncle Might the same demonstration she had given Midoriya and his friends.
Only that wasn't going to happen. Both men had flat-out refused to even look at it, perhaps due to why she had made it.
A sob escaped her, one of man as her tears ran down her arms and were pooling on her desk. It wasn't the fact that they had rejected her idea. No, as a scientist, she had many people reject her ideas before, including her own father. It was all part of being a scientist. Others were meant to poke holes in your creation, providing a point of view that one had perhaps not considered. Yes, it hurt when all your hard work was undone by others, including your own family, but that was just how things were supposed to work.
No, what hurt her so much was that they hadn't even bothered looking at it. They didn't come to see her invention, even if they were only doing so to humor her. They didn't watch her presentation, making their own comments or concerns. The only thing she got from them was a flat-out refusal to even entertain the idea that she could be a hero.
Yes, that's what hurt the most. She might have understood her Uncle Might as he wasn't all that present with her life, but her pappa was a different story. The man had helped guide her, helped her study to become one of the best young scientists on I-Island. He had seen with his own eyes some of her better projects. But now? He had no faith that she could do something like this.
As another loud, wet sob escaped her, Melissa turned her head to the lit computer scene on her desk. Despite her vision being blurry due to the tears, the readout was large enough as well as clear enough for her to know what was going out: the downloading and integration of her A.I. system. It was the final step that would complete the process of her pride and joy. Once it was installed, the full power and capabilities of her suit would be unlocked and at her disposal. And even though it had started the previous day, it was at ninety percent. Meaning it would take a couple more hours to finish before-
"What's the point?" she asked herself aloud. That was the question. What was even the point of trying to finish this project? If her father and her Uncle Might weren't even going to give it the bare minimum of a chance then why finish? She supposed she could just let someone else use the suit, some hero out there who just wanted to be flashier and have more power. But that wasn't why she built it. She had done it so that someone with no power, like herself, could be a hero. Only she doubted anyone would allow her or anyone like her to have that chance.
Slowly, her hand went to the keyboard, where her hand began to hover over a special key. With a press of a button, she could halt the data transfer. With another, she could cancel it completely. That's honestly what she should do. Why give a suit the A.I. she had developed herself for herself if she was never going to use it?
Her hand began to shake as she held it out. Then, she made her decision.
-x-
"As you can see, we take the security of this facility very seriously," said one of the leading scientists of the I-Island council. This scientist, a white bearded man with curly white hair, seemed to lead the pack. He was also clearly the oldest, or at least looked the oldest, with the majority of the rest appearing in their early to late fifties and sixties. The lone exception was the only member of the council who was not a scientist. He was a man who appeared to be in his early to late twenties, with long red hair that was tied up close to his shoulder blades before stopping somewhere close to the middle of his back. The man wore an old-fashioned suit, something that looked like it came right out of the Victorian era. The upper part of the suit looked a lot like a long coat, grey with intricate designs along with frills coming out of the sleeves and golden buttons.
This man was the head of commerce on I-Island and the owner of the fanciest hotel: Millicas Gremory.
"Yes, yes, yes. So you say," snapped Ms. Pan. She was stationed at the back of the pack, walking next to Hisashi Midoriya. Well, walking was a nice way of putting it. The black haired woman moved throughout the metallic hallways with a look of utter irritation on her feature, along with a look in her eyes that screamed she wanted to knock away everyone in front of her so she could be in the front of the line. Meanwhile, Hisashi had a small notebook out, which he constantly scribbled notes onto.
"Is there something you find lacking Ms. Pan?" asked another one of the scientists. "Please, believe us that we have tested a number of these security measures on pro heroes in the past to test their-"
"You used second and third-rate heroes struggling for cash," growled Ms. Pan, her nose crinkling as she said this. As if just the words themselves left a bad taste in her mouth.
"What my colleague is trying to say," began Midoriya, sensing the growing irritation from the group despite never looking up from his notes. "Is that Abysswell has insured all of the wonderful inventions you fine people have tucked away in the vault. Many of them to the tune of millions, if not billions of dollars. With all these additional individuals on I-Island here for the Expo, as well as your lack of stance on quirk usage, we just want to make sure that security is still up to par. Using heroes whose ranks are in the triple-digit range does raise some red flags." What Midoriya left unsaid was that, if he found their security to be lacking in any meaningful way, resulting in a preventable loss of property, there would be no payout from Abysswell. That was why the two of them were here, a preliminary measure meant to assess the amount of security that was being taken for the Expo and report back to their Board of Directors that everything was fine. That, as well as noticing any flaws that would allow them to deny their coverage.
"I can assure you that every endeavor was made to reach out to more high-ranking pros. Er, save All Might and Stars and Stripes of course," said the elderly scientist as he stopped within the hallway, causing the rest of the group to halt as well. "Those two, well, I honestly doubt anyone could make a security system that could hold them long enough. Given their monstrous abilities when not holding back."
"We did reach out to some higher-ranking pros out there in the world," continued a female scientist. "We have proof of correspondence that we made every attempt to bring in other heroes at were at least within the top fifty of each country. However, even with the amount of money we offered and some upgraded tech for their hero costumes, they all turned us down. Apparently, they believed that getting taken down by our security wouldn't look good for their image. And, had they succeeded, we would not be releasing any of the footage we obtained to help boost their image."
"Right," said Midoriya with a nod. "Because the more information that gets out to the public, the greater the odds that a break-in will be successful. Good call."
However, Ms. Pan still fumed. "That still doesn't account for the lack of quality in your testing!" she stated with a huff.
"Madam, if I am?" asked Gremory, a polite smile on his face. "While it is true that we could not get the 'best-of-the-best' to test this facility's security, none of the people we hired were lacking. All of them had upstanding records of which I am sure me and the rest of the council will be happy to provide to you. Furthermore, all of them came from highly respectable hero schools. Meaning their training with their quirks was higher than the average thief."
"Yes, we will be requiring you to give us those records," snapped Ms. Pan. As she said this, she noticed the eyes of the other scientists following Midoriya as he walked over to the side of the hallway. The man was muttering to himself and looking over at a door leading to the stairwell. "Please, pay no attention to the old drunk."
"I don't drink," replied Hisashi in a tired tone, not even bothering to look back at her. He then pointed his pen at the stairwell. "From what I have seen, you have an impressive setup here. There are a number of blast doors that you can remotely close once you narrow in on the threat, trapping them in place. There are also a number of robots that are equipped with weapons meant to capture intruders. You even have specialized restraint cords on the ground level."
"Though why you only have those there is a mystery," grumbled Ms. Pan, raising her chin up as she spoke. "It would have been wiser to have them along the halls."
"Actually, we have those in the ventilation shafts," commented Gremory. "Once they have been activated, a signal is sent to the control center at the top floor, alerting them of the intruders. So far, we have only captured a pair of twins who were staying at my hotel. Harmless mischief." At that, Ms. Pan let out a huff.
"But with all that said, your security in the stairwell is lacking," commented Hisashi as he stepped towards the door and opened it. He looked around for a moment before shaking his head. "No security cameras, no motion detectors, and few blast doors. A glaring blind spot if I ever saw one."
"Ah yes, the stairwell," commented the head scientist as one hand stroked his beard. "To be honest, we have so few people using the stairwell in any meaningful way. Not even for a fire drill, as our drones and explosion response systems take care of any serious danger before the rest of the building is aware. We only really keep it there as an absolute emergency. Even then, what few blast doors we have are designed in a way that would cause the stairwell to collapse should they try breaking through via force. Hacking them would alert us instantly. Any potential thieves would have to leave the safety of the stairwell in order to move forward, forcing them out into the open to be spotted. So when you pair that up with the fact that you have to climb a total of two hundred stories in order to reach the vault, which has its own separate stairwell and additional security, we are confident in our security."
"You can never be too careful," muttered Hisashi as he made his notes. If he were being honest, the security surrounding I-Island was far more impressive. With all the scanning, sensors in the water, air radar, and other such methods, what he was seeing now seemed to pale in comparison. It was like they were saying, 'If you make it this far, you deserve to steal from us'.
After glancing at the head scientist once more, Hisashi turned a few pages back to his notes. As the man had said, the control center for the entire island's security was on the top floor, along with the vault. All members of the security team were heavily screened for their backgrounds as well as quirks. Anything, including shoplifting, in their past would have immediately disqualified them for the position. Then there was I-Island's A.I. itself, which filled in for any human errors. To get to the vault, you needed to go through this area of the building and, even if you got into the vault, the only way you could safely retrieve anything within it was to have the computer open it. If force of any kind was detected, the computer system that was built into each department would launch all safety boxes, where they would fly to a secure location…at the bottom of the ocean. When you add all that on top of the fact that the island was only really open to the public during a time when there was a vast increase in heroes present, who would be spending time in and around the facility, the idea that anyone with a brain trying to steal from this place is laughable. On paper, everything appeared to be secure.
With that said, Hisashi knew nothing was ever one hundred present secure. The man had seen so many highly complex security systems fall apart because one element was thrown out of balance. And he had made note of two major flaws. One was the stairwell, as a potential threat could just climb it without worry, as the blast doors would only be activated during a threat. If they made it to the security office and managed to take down all the guards there, then they could turn the entirety of I-Island's security protocols against the very people who live here. The other: an inside job.
As Hisashi looked up from his notebook, he noticed movement just past them. Curious, Midoriya moved over a couple of steps to see it was a man wearing a lab coat entering a long code into a doorway. When the door opened, all Hisashi could see inside was a tank with something…or someone floating inside it. But before he could make out anything else, the man stepped inside, and the door quickly shut, followed by heavy locks.
"What was…" began Hisashi as he noticed a few of the scientists looking at him with puzzled expressions, pointing to the door with his pen while speaking.
"Ah yes, David's lab," replied Gremory, a curious look on his face as he now stared at the door. "Dr. David Shield. One of I-Island's most brilliant minds."
"Now, now. That's quite hurtful you know," laughed the head scientist, placing a hand over his heart while looking like he had been seriously wounded. A few of the other scientists chuckled at the scene, none of them truly seeming to mind that someone under them was smarter than they were.
"I said 'one of', didn't I," laughed Gremory as a brief smile appeared on his face. The kind that comes from doing this sort of song and dance many times. But, when he looked back at the door, his smile vanished. "His last project, well, we had to confiscate it as well as all of the research he had done. We had major concerns and his answers didn't really relieve them. He took the news pretty hard. Now, with this new project, he's pretty much thrown himself into his work. Honestly, his behavior has me more than a little worried about him."
"Is the project insured?" demanded Ms. Pan.
"We only have the final product insured," commented the head scientist. He then turned to Gremory. "Now, don't go worrying about Dr. Shield. I understand how he feels. There's not a single person on this island who hasn't had at least one of their projects scrutinized or taken away. Heartbreaking really, but it's the job of the council to way risk vs progress and all that. But we always bounce back. Once Dr. Shield finishes this new project and presents it to us, he'll be back to his old self."
"That's not what has me concerned," replied Gremory while shaking his head. The red-haired man moved in closer to the head scientist and Hisashi before speaking in a low and almost conspiratorial tone. "It's about his daughter, Melissa. It came to my attention that the young woman ran out of her father's main office earlier today in tears. Apparently, she had completed a new project she had been working on and wanted him to see it, only for him to refuse. I am in the dark on how he refused or what was actually said. I want to give the man the benefit of the doubt and believe he said no due to wanting to focus on his current project. But there is a part of me that believes, given the state she was in, that he was less than kind when they spoke. Perhaps even taking out his frustrations on her."
"Dr. Shield? Doing that to his daughter?" gasped the head scientist in disbelief. However, the older scientist then shifted where he stood, and when he spoke next, his voice was filled with uncertainty. "I have noticed that he is losing weight lately and looks like he's not getting enough sleep. But if something was wrong, then Sam would have alerted us. Right?"
"Well, he was more vocal about that last project being taken away,' Gremory lightly pointed out. "It could be that he's keeping his silence out of fear that we'll step in again. But, then again, this is all speculation."
"What project was she working on?" asked Hisashi.
"Can't say," replied Gremory. "She kept it all hush-hush. Said it was a personal endeavor. Given her track record and her recent awards, I saw no real reason to question her further. But perhaps we should ask them more about it at the party tonight? Dr. Shield will be in attendance, and Melissa is escorting our guests from U.A." Upon hearing that, Hisashi paled.
"Yes, a wonderful idea!" exclaimed the head scientist. "Why, I think I will speak to Melissa about her project myself. Perhaps I'll even offer to allow her to present it to me. Don't want to discourage her after all."
But as the head scientist prattled on, Hisashi just stood there as a cold sweat appeared on his face. Crap! He had completely forgotten that on the first day of the Expo, there would be a huge gathering/party composed of heroes, scientists, and other high-level people, along with their guests. That included the two people Hisashi really didn't want to run into. His son and his former boss! Being in the same room as Izuku or Todoroki would be awkward enough, especially considering their prior meetings today. But together?
A part of him wished he could just skip it. Just hang out in the crappy, cheap motel his company had provided for him and get some sleep as well as some cheap food. There he could hide until the Expo ended and a plane would take him back to the States, allowing him to return to his miserable existence. But he knew the odds of that happening were nonexistent. Given the amount of money that the items in the vault were worth and insured by Abysswell, he had to be on site in the highly unlikely event something happened. Could he leave it to Ms. Pan? No, the company would demand that they both be able to give a report. Having two people denying the Council of I-Island their claim was far better than just one. And he was the more experienced, seasoned agent. So, yeah. He had to go into a room where either Enji would grab him by the collar before dragging him off to continue being yelled at or spend time with him son. Both were equally unappealing positions to be in.
…Maybe he could hide under the buffet table?
-x-
At the same time, David Shield stood before the large tank in his lab with a new prisoner to test. Floating in the green, semi-transparent fluid was a woman wearing a specially created sports bra and matching shorts. Because she wore so little, David took note of the number of small scars covering her body. Most of them were souvenirs from her time in prison. If he weren't so focused on his end goals, he would have said that even these marks did not distract from having a highly desirable body. The only thing he really found distracting about it was the fact that her head was shaved, done regularly to prevent her from using her quirk.
"Alright, moment of truth," said Dr. Shield as he turned to look at Sam before examining the remains of the other prisoners they had used up to this point. Currently, there was a container filled with their clothing and other effects that would soon he heading towards the incinerator. This would hopefully be the last one that they needed, both due to the fact that the raid was happening in a few hours as well as being the last test subject they had. If it failed, they would need to get some more and quickly.
"I'm confident that it will succeed this time," remarked Sam as he worked the controls. At that, Dr. Shield nodded, though he still held in a breath as the machine came to life. The heart of this process, its key component if you will, worked well enough on its own. The problem with it, and that they had been having, was reaching complete control. But with each criminal they sacrificed for the greater good brought themselves one step closer to complete mastery.
"Let's aim for fifteen," said Sam, typing in the code. "Last time we tried this, we were off by a year before we disposed of the failure." Hearing that, Dr. Shield nodded again as he went over to the controls to help Sam. This was one of the issues that they had with the key component. For some reason, they were unable to use its ability in small increments. Nor could they use it slowly and stop it when they reached a desired result. So, instead, they had chosen a specific age and then scanned the body to ensure that they had gotten it right.
Once the last key had been pressed, the device came to life. The woman in the tank screamed in pain as lime green lightning moved through the fluids before dancing upon her body. She shook back and forth, her vitals signaling she was in distress, but nothing more. Perhaps pain or discomfort, but neither man cares all that much. As long as she lived and was healthy in the end, her distress was irrelevant.
Then it began. The woman, who was in her mid to late thirties, suddenly began to shrink. Her features began to become softer and more youthful, while her breasts became smaller. Scars vanished right before their eyes, while she also lost a large amount of the muscles she had, making her skin seem all the softer. As for her head, long flowing purple and indigo had already appeared, going down all the way to her hips.
"Looking good. Looking good," muttered David Shield under his breath, his eyes fixed more on the data on the console before him rather than the girl in the tank. There were a number of ways he had to identify someone's age without the need for human-created procedures like birth certificates and the like. And right now, he was using all of them. All of them showed that this woman, now a girl, had de-aged to the exact amount.
"I believe we have a success Dr. Shield," said Sam once the lime green lightning had faded. "The subject's vitals are steady. There are no irregular skeletal or organ deformities like in some of the previous batches. According to the computer, her neurological signs are good as well. Her brain has also de-aged, though she should still have all her memories and experiences from before."
"Her age seems steady. She has completely stopped de-aging as far as the computers can tell," commented Dr. Shield with a nod before standing up straight, a smile on his face. "I believe we've done it."
"Should we dispose of the test subject now?" asked Sam.
"No. At least, not tonight," said David with a shake of his head. "This is the last test subject we have available. So we need to make the most of it. We'll keep an eye on the subject tonight and see if it really has stopped de-aging or if its just moving so slowly the computers can't pick up. Then, in the morning, we'll question the subject to see if its memory has been rewound as well. If not, then it is perfect."
"And if there is a memory issue?" asked Sam, clearly concerned.
"Then we dispose of the subject and try again," said Dr. Shield, his tone uncaring as he turned around. And as he did, he motioned for Sam to give the signal. The raid would happen tonight.