Chapter 42 - A Discussion

THE CAFETERIA

Sue, Johnny, Reed, and Ben took their seats naturally at the table, but Mirio had to circle the table a couple of times to search for the best seating position.

Remaining vigilant was important so Mirio had to be seated in a way that allowed him to react at a moment's notice – his abilities rarely dictated anything.

In the end, Mirio carried himself in such a way that should he lose his powers someday, he would be able to function without it.

Of course, Sue and the others realized Mirio's cautiousness and drifted to one side of the table, but it wasn't as if they had excluded Mirio intentionally.

After realizing what they had done, Sue grew a bit embarrassed. The group had always been tight-knit, but now, there was one more at the table.

It had been years since Sue, Ben, Reed, and Johnny were in one place, but even a decade could not wash away the natural habits they had developed in High School.

At that time, Ben was the bodyguard, blocking the bullies from a very skinny Reed, and the jealous, cynical girls from a very innocent Sue.

Reed was the resident genius, finding new ways for everyone to make some quick cash, saving a bunch of kids from rough homes and a life of financial struggles.

Johnny was always the person who'd draw the attention, taking all the shots and mocking to spare everyone else. At some point, attention-seeking became his personality instead of something he did for his friends.

Everyone started thinking that Johnny was just a boisterous fool who loved attention, but Sue knew it was the way he contributed to the group/

And as for Sue, she had the most important job in High School – keeping Reed's head straight. Sue could recall the hundreds of times she would have to pull Reed away from the teachers in class because he would often argue about their mathematic equations.

Of course, a Ph.D.-level teacher wouldn't want a kid to tell them about the fault in their equations during sessions, especially if said teachers were banging the students.

As he tried to find a seat amongst them, Mirio took note of their conflicting nature but natural chemistry. It reminded Mirio of himself, Nejire, and Tamaki – The Big Three of UA. They had been through thick and thin like Sue, Ben, Johnny, and Reed.

'I wonder how they're doing now.' Mirio thought, wondering if they were looking for him.

After all, it would not be a stretch to find someone with a quirk who could locate him even across Universes. Unlike most other heroes, as a disciple of Nighteye, Mirio was knowledgeable of special Quirk users collected by the government, kept apart from society due to their specific abilities.

'I will be found.' Mirio confirmed internally, 'It's about when.'

Noticing that Mirio was just standing still, not able to find any seat amongst the group, Ben slid a bit to the right and 'unintentionally' bumped Johnny off the seat.

"Hey!" Johnny yelled, falling to the ground with a force that would cause some bruises to his butt.

"Sit beside me, kid," Ben offered, directly ignoring the fact that Johnny was cursing several generations of his family. "Best seat in the house."

Mirio laughed a bit before accepting the seat… it was not hero-like to take a seat from a bully, but he could tell Johnny and Ben were mostly just playing.

Well, maybe semi-playing.

"Thanks."

"No problem," Ben beamed, slabbing the table twice as a signal for the servers to bring the food over. "If it wasn't for you… I wouldn't see my wife again and honestly, we've been thinking about having kids recently."

"Really?" Sue smiled gently, genuinely happy for Ben. "I thought you guys couldn't have kids due to her condition?"

Ben scratched the back of his head and laughed boisterously. "Well… we went for a check-up and found that Debbie needed to stay on a strict regimen of Vitamins, but other than that, we should be fine… it is not a high chance, but it's better than none."

Mirio frowned since he could tell that Ben was not being entirely honest.

"I feel sorry for the kid," Johnny remarked, pulling a seat from the nearby table, and sticking himself between Sue and Reed. "I mean… how would your son get any girls Ben? He will probably be bald for the rest of his life."

BANG

Even as a trained hero with twice the peak human capability, Mirio barely caught the moment Ben threw a spoon at Johnny, and Johnny subsequently dodged the point-blank shot.

DING

The spoon crashed against the wall, causing a somewhat noticeable indentation. Also, the strength Ben displayed and the quick response of Johnny was something that shouldn't have been possible.

Not without some serious NAVY training.

"You missed," Johnny bragged, leaning back a bit too much, unintentionally knocking the tray out of the hands of the incoming server.

But before the tray could touch the ground, Mirio permeated out of his seat, catching the nearest plate of food and holding it upright to stop the gravy from spilling. When Mirio raised his head, expecting to see the rest of the dishes spilled all over the floor, he was instead greeted by the sight of something unexpected.

Reed and Sue clutched two dishes in each of their hands, surprised by their own actions.

'Yup… something is definitely wrong,' Mirio mused internally, already noticing that Sue and the others had changed physiologically.

While it was nothing surprising for Sue, Ben, or Johnny to push themselves beyond the limits, Mirio knew that Reed should never have been able to catch the dish. Reed was like a control variable, so the moment Mirio noticed something was wrong with the Genius, he instantly knew they were all affected.

"That was strange," Reed laughed nervously. "Let me be the first to state that something is not right."

"Just get a dish and start eating," Mirio whispered.

"But—"

Reed wanted to argue, but Sue reiterated what Mirio said: "Just keep eating Reed… now is not the time to discuss what happened… it isn't that big of a deal anyway."

What had happened was not exactly something outside the realm of possibility, and when they were in Reed's lab, stranger things often happened. Reed, Sue, and Mirio placed the dishes on the table and everyone started to eat, having a bit of conversation between every few bites.

"So…" Ben was finally too curious. "I have to know how you got me into the Space Station… One moment I was outside getting stoned to death by fragments of asteroids and the next – well, you were there."

"What did you feel at the last moment before you blacked out?" Mirio asked, wanting to make a point.

"Nothing… I felt absolutely nothing," Ben replied, shuddering at the thought of that brief moment when Mirio held him.

"Exactly," Mirio chimed, taking a slurp of the noodles on his plate. "That's my Quirk – Permeation… but when I activate it – I can't perceive anything."

"You must be shifting into a deeper state of Physical Reality," Reed proposed his theory. "You perceive a deeper state of reality where senses cannot be defined by the Laws of Physics."

Seeing the confused look on Mirio's face, Johnny laughed. "I think you broke him."

"He's saying you see the world as it truly is," Sue sighed and explained.

Mirio sighed, reminding himself to brush up on some science since he still didn't understand anything. Of course, Mirio's quirk had been evaluated before, and Sir Nighteye explained his permeation Quirk in much simpler words.

Alas, his quirk could have changed since jumping Universes – twice. Sue thought for a bit and stopped Reed from explaining since she knew it would only confuse Mirio further.

"What do you see now," Sue asked, holding up a straw she found on the table.

"A Straw."

Sue nodded and brought the straw closer to Mirio's eyes, trying as much as possible to stay in line with his nose.

"And what do you see now?" She asked.

"A line…" Mirio replied unsurely.

"Exactly," Sue nodded, withdrawing the straw and taking a bite out of her meal. "You saw a straw when you looked from far away, but saw a line when it came closer… your second view was more in line with what the world actually is, while your first view is based on human perception."

"You're saying," Mirio frowned, trying to find the right words. "… in a state where I can see or feel nothing, I am seeing the world?"

"I am saying," Sue paused and smiled slightly. "Sometimes… a blind man can see more of the world than anyone… your 'Quirk' allows you to detach from senses and every preconceived notion programmed into your mind by life, experiences, and even evolution."

"It's quite amazing actually," Reed added between bites.

"Enough talking shop," Ben said, grabbing his second dish. "How about you just show us."

Mirio smiled and easily pushed his hand through the table, brushing his fingers against Johnny's legs below.

"What the fuck!" Johnny leaped out of his seat and shuddered like he was caught in the most intense cold of his life.

"Johnny!" Sue complained. "Come sit down."

"No," Johnny yelled and darted to the door. "I need to take a bath… and text a model."

With Johnny gone and Ben laughing his ass off, Mirio withdrew his hand through the table and shook his head funnily.

"I am sorry, Mirio," Sue sighed, apologizing in Johnny's place. "He is sensitive to touch when a slut isn't the person doing it."

"You're amazing," Reed whispered.

Sue blushed a bit. "Thank—"

"Can I hold your hand?" Reed continued, looking at Mirio instead of Sue.

Ben froze…

Mirio froze…

And Sue froze…

All of them could tell Sue was probably gonna blow a fuse at any moment since she thought Reed was finally paying her a compliment, but as it turned out, he was more interested in Mirio.

Mirio silently stood and walked towards the door, careful not to make any noise. Ben followed his example. Johnny was about to re-enter the cafeteria, but when he saw both men walking out, he knew to stay away.

After all, Hell had no fury like a woman's scorn.

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