Chapter 33 - Already saving someone?

"What the fuck am I doing on a helipad? Wasn't it a jet?" Leo cursed on the school roof, clearly bewildered by his situation. All Leo could do was look around him, searching for this so-called private jet of his... dear Principal.

But the results stayed the same, with no jet or personnel in sight. Heck, all Leo could hear was the howling of the winds breezing past him. Checking his returned wrist phone built by Puter, it showed 7:55 a.m. Only five minutes before the supposed arrival of the jet that Fury promised.

Not wanting to foot the bill, as Fury warned, he immediately called the Secretary to Fury's office. *Dialing~* 'You better pick up, or I swear, I might rob a bank!'

Leo's mom made well enough that they could be considered upper-middle class on the financial scale of America. But to foot the bill of a pilot and jet fuel? That'd be crazy!

*Pick's Up*

"Ah! May I spe-" But before he could finish his sentence, the person on the other end beat him to it. "Mr. Morningstar, Director Fury expected you would call. His message to you is, 'Just be there at the exact time.' That is all, thank you, have a safe flight~ *Click*" After that, the person who sounded like a woman hung up the line.

"Talk about in a rush," Leo said as he stared at his wrist phone. 'Well, at least I'm in the right place,' shrugging to himself. Deciding to wait the minutes seated on the floor, he placed his bags down and used them as a comfy seat.

Sitting down, the winds blew against his mane of hair. It's wild, long, and unruly, fluttering like a flag in the winds. With minutes passing, the approaching sound of humming could be heard by him. Darting his eyes towards the source, he raised an eye when he still couldn't find it.

But when he squinted against the wind unconsciously, he saw a transparent glimmer in the air. Then like magic, panels of color started appearing, revealing the promised jet.

'Talk about an entrance, and it was silent too. If I was to compare, it sounded like a normal house fan.' Standing up from his sitting position, Leo quickly picked up his many bags.

Looking at the aircraft, he marveled at the design. The plane was slick-black and slim in design, with no part being bulky. It possesses two large, angle-adjustable rotors, one housed in each wing. As it made its smooth descent, its rear doors opened, becoming a ramp of sorts.

"Aren't you a beauty?" He said to no one in particular. 'An early Christmas present? Nah, Principal would curse me in no time flat first.' Not wanting to gawk any longer, he entered through the ramp and headed to the cockpit.

"You're my pilot?" Leo asked out loud, making his way closer. Without looking back, the pilot replied, "What did Fury threaten you with?"

'What? Is this some sort of passcode or something?' "I'll foot the bill for your gas and time?" The teen said with a hint of questioning tone. "HawHaw! That sounds about right, come on in and get yourself strapped right beside me!" The pilot squawked out a laugh?

Following his instructions, Leo sat right in the co-pilot seat. Looking at the pilot in a better view now, he noted that the pilot had eagle-like features. "How am I not surprised that the pilot has a bird quirk?" Leo joked as he strapped in.

"HawHaw! If you had my quirk, you'd crave being up high! Now, sit back and relax, kid. Oh, and just to be clear. Do. Not. Touch. Anything. Understood?" His joking tone slowly morphed into seriousness. "Wasn't planning to," Leo said, already closing his eyes.

"Good. I-Island is a three-hour flight with this sweet ol' pal of mine."

"Hmm," And Leo drifted off. The jet's near-silent emissions helped with it.

_______________

"Hey!"

*Tap* *Tap*

"Kid, we're here!" The pilot awoke Leo from his short nap. With somewhat groggy eyes, Leo saw the outline of a floating I-Island from a couple of miles away from them.

"*Whistle~!* Leo couldn't help but whistle at the island before him. It's a technological marvel worthy of being called Atlantis if it ever sinks and is found by future historians.

"Yeah... she's a beaut, isn't she? You know, 50% of the world's titanium production went into that island for nearly a decade of its construction. Built like a bomb shelter and light as a bee! Its security is as tight as a virgin's asshole and only open to the public every Expo!" The pilot commentated as Leo sat amazed, looking at the island.

"Can't think of any other material besides titanium that you can use to build that. Anything else will make it too heavy," Leo said in response.

AN: [It may be hard to believe, but it's mostly built from iron in canon! A material that rusts easily and is heavy as well. Horikoshi must've been high when he decided that!]

As the plane got closer and closer, the pilot had to disengage the plane's stealth feature and simultaneously talk with the island's air traffic control tower.

While that happened, Leo simply kept watching the beauty of it all. The island had four different cities, equal in humungous size, separated by large bodies of water and natural foliage. From above, Leo could see the beautiful beaches, great lakes, and the unbelievable height of its central tower.

Lost in the scenery, Leo didn't even notice that the plane had quietly landed; props to the engineers who designed its noise-friendly engine. "Alright, we've landed. Remember, I'll be back after four days of the New Year!"

"Thanks for the lift," Leo thanked and walked out of the jet, 'Huh, I never really got his name. Next time, I guess.' Thinking this, the ramp closed shut, and the craft ascended again. Disappearing in the distance. Literally.

Now all alone, Leo couldn't help but feel something was wrong. "Why am I alone exactly? Shouldn't there be a guide?" Talking to himself, looking around the helipad they landed in with no one in sight.

'An invisible jet, so why can't there be invisible people appearing out of nowhere too?' Leo mused, deciding to walk and follow the signs for new arrivals.

A notification rang on his wristphone from Principal Fury himself during his walk!

[Morningstar, you reached the island. Rather than getting a guide for you, I am allowing you, as one of the Island's Board Members representing SHIELD Academy, to explore freely. Do note that I expect proper behavior at all times. You represent the Academy, myself, your family, and most importantly, yourself. I do not need a report of a student of mine making a motherfuckery of himself. Happy holidays.]

'Well, isn't that convenient? And the Academy actually has a Board Member seat here? Goes to show how far its influence reaches.' He thought as he silently followed the signs.

Eventually, he reached an area with multiple thick metal motorized doors, opening and closing through vertical movements. Seeing one of them with a staff attending it, he made his way there.

The staff seeing Leo's approach stood straight but curious; it was rare for people to go to the island during this time. With a bit of suspicion, he radioed in the situation. [This is Ground Personnel #420-666 to security. I have an approaching male, blond, muscular in build, mid-teen, 6ft 3' in height, making his way over to Immigration. Be alert. Over.]

[Security Office, Immigration Area. Copy.]

As this was happening, Leo's advanced hearing heard all this and couldn't help but smirk at the staff. 'Do these pricks actually think I'm suspicious? I, a muscled and brawny person, arriving on an out-of-season Expo date and not looking like a scientist, looks suspicious? Welp, can't fault them, I guess.'

Making his strides as intimidating as possible to shit with the staff, he reached the staff, who gave a series of orders through his communication device.

"Good day, may I know-!" Before the staff could question Leo further, he handed out his affiliations. "A student of the Hero Course under SHIELD Academy. I'm sent by the Director of the Academy." Leo said straightly.

Another thing, he didn't introduce himself. He didn't need to, nor did he want to. Why redact relevant information about yourself when you're going to be introducing yourself to everyone you meet? Especially to someone he'll just meet by passing?

The staff, looking and scanning Leo's Academy platinum badge, got the green light when the scanner became green. Though internally, he was amazed, 'A SHIELD student is actually in front of me!' Getting a better look at Leo's features, he couldn't help but compare his pudgy normal body to Leo's beefy build.

"Please head in to be scanned. Allow the conveyor belt to bring you, so please stand still; thank you, and have a nice day!" The staff gave out a textbook instruction, and Leo nodded in response with a wide grin that unnerved the staff slightly.

Stepping in, the motorized door opened and closed quickly as soon as Leo passed. With Leo gone, the staff immediately radioed in and told them it was a false alarm. [F-False alarm! The person in question is a SHIELD...]

_______________

"Sigh..." A lot of scanning took place that honestly tired Leo out mentally. "I probably developed cancer with all the scans and x-ray they did," shoulders droop in exhaustion.

The main security feature within the island's immigration area is scanning every visitor who enters the island. Which will showcase their entire background. But if a person has a criminal record, said person will be denied entry and dealt with immediately if the person resists.

[IMAGE]

Quirk usage is also prohibited during said scans to ensure no shapeshifters and to avoid quirks that can tamper with their records. Said usage is detectable easily. But, of course, you must send your information before getting a ticket and being allowed entry to the island. The scanning is merely a failsafe.

Thinking back to his original task, 'Now... how am I supposed to find Mom exactly? Is this what the Principal meant by exploring? Testing me into some sadistic game of finding your mom out of the thousands of scientists? Where is the information desk when you need them?'

"Although... HeroTube just might have the answer." After a quick search and inputting, 'Where to ask questions in I-Island?' multiple videos appeared. Clicking into the highest viewed one, it started.

[WHAT'S UP, HEROTUBE! TODAY, I"LL TAKE YOU...]

Sadly, Leo had to waste 10 minutes of his life for the actual answer he needed. "Seriously... the title literally said, 'LOCATION OF INFO DESK!' yet it took this shit video 10 minutes to tell me where!" He spoke irritably. Still, within close distance of the arrival hall of the airport, there was no one in sight, only security bots that threaded around.

In the video, this place would be crowded whenever the Expo happened, yet it was a ghost town! With the island having four cities, having a total population of only 50,000 can be called underpopulated. But considering the average IQ and academic holders within the island is prestigious for any country, it lacks the stupidity that the common populace of the world has!

*WHoooSH~!*

In his slight irritation, a missile-like object just passed by him overhead, making him slightly duck by instinct. Using his quirk to get a better look at 'missile,' his irises glowed in activation. Getting a better look, he observed that it was a slim feminine suit, to be exact. Its movements in the air were too fluid to be a robot.

During its flyover, the suit slowly angled itself vertically, quickly soaring the island's skies with its back thrusters glowing blue in overdrive, compared to its earlier glow of orange when it was near him.

"Invisible jet, a floating metal island, and now a hi-tech suit. What else have I not seen?" He mused to himself. Still observing, he noticed the metal flap plates behind the suit now glowing embers. Similar to a melting metal.

"I'm not tech savvy, but that can't be goo-" In the middle of speaking, it happened. *POOF!* Charcoal black smoke sputtered out of its thrusters; the ascending suit now had the Earth's gravity work on it.

And to assure his earlier thought was right, the suit flailed with their arms waving about as the person plummetted to its demise. "You either got luck or bad luck. Luck with me being able to fly. Bad luck with you having a non-graduated Hero try and save you."

Leo blasted off, cracking the pavement upon his lift, not wasting any more time. "First person I gotta save is in a life and death situation... no pressure, Leo. No pressure."

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CHEERS!