36

.)

Chapter Text

Izuku had to admit to himself that the design and make of Gym Gamma was ingenious. Coupled with Cementoss' quirk, the facility became an easily customizable training ground capable of catering to the various needs of U.A.'s students, no matter the quirk.

And as if Izuku wasn't already looking forward to training at Gym Gamma, there was also the fact that the class would be developing super moves for the next coming days until the school's second term would begin and the license exam would take place.

The prospect was not only a pleasant surprise to Izuku, but also a nice and steady reprieve from the chaos that he had experienced in the past month. In fact, the assignment was compelling enough that Izuku devoted a good amount of effort in the activity, leading to where he was now, standing in front of an entourage of Ectoplasms. 

Three Ectoplasms stared Izuku down as they all stood atop one of the plateaus Cementoss had created. All four of them were silent, quietly observing the other to gauge who would act first. After a few moments, the Ectoplasm in the middle of the trio was the first to act. Albeit, it was by talking rather than starting a fight.

"I see that you are still in fine working condition despite your run-in with the League, Midoriya. I'm glad to see that you haven't been slacking off since then."

Izuku smirked. "I wouldn't think of it, sensei. I have much to do, after all. Slacking off on my training and exercise would prove detrimental to my goals in becoming a hero."

"Glad to hear it!" The middle Ectoplasm's grin stretched across his face. The other two at his sides moved slightly, shifting into ready stances prepared for a fight. "Let's see it then."

Izuku nodded. "I'll try my best." 

He then walked backwards, taking steady steps back up until he plunged himself backfirst off of the plateau. All three Ectoplasms rose an eyebrow in confusion. 

An uneasy silence stretched on for a few moments, with little sign of life coming from the now unseen Izuku. One of the Ectoplasms was about to head forward to check on his student when it happened.

Five bug clones suddenly appeared, two forming from a cloud of bugs in the air and three climbing up from the ledge of the plateau. Their buzzing pierced the air, creating a buzz that wasn't present a mere moment ago. In fact, if Ectoplasm had any say in their appearance, he would say that they almost seemed as if they had appeared out of nowhere, simply coming into being.

"You're not the only one who can make copies of themselves, you know," the swarm chorused.

Ectoplasm smirked. "Ah yes, your swarm clones." The three Ectoplasms separated themselves, putting some distance between each other. 

"You know," the leftmost Ectoplasm said, "I was rather impressed when you showed off this ability during the sports festival."

"Even more so by the fact that each clone expressed different actions all at the same time," the rightward Ectoplasm emphasized.

The center Ectoplasm took a second to gaze at each clone. "However, I'm not sure if I should be more impressed by the synchronization of your clones, since I can't seem to notice any discrepancies among them."

"I've trained my quirk for a long time, sensei. Multitasking and synchronization are two things that I've focused a lot of time on."

The middle Ectoplasm let out a small laugh. "Of course. Your feats show your skillfulness. So, why don't we find out just how skilled you are, hmm?" 

The middle Ectoplasm stayed where he was, dedicating himself to watching all the swarms to relay situational awareness and support to the others. The other two at his side launched forward, both aiming at the two non-floating swarms in front of them. The leftward Ectoplasm started with a flurry of kicks, while the one on the right went in for a punch.

However, the swarm clones moved as if expecting the action; both swarms effortlessly dodged the incoming attacks without a wasted movement. With two clones fighting on each side, that left a single Ectoplasm and three swarm clones left. 

"You know," the still unmoving Ectoplasm began, "these clones by themselves are already enough to count as a super move."

The unmoving Ectoplasm dodged an incoming swarm clone, moving to the left as the swarm brushed past him. "I'm interested in how many other super moves you have up your sleeve, Midoriya. I feel like you hold aplenty, considering how skillfully you use your quirk."

Another swarm clone came upon Ectoplasm, though this time he allowed it to hit him. As he had expected, the impact of the swarm's punch had little force behind it. The attacking swarm easily dispersed, forcing it to reform further away behind Ectoplasm.

Suddenly, Ectoplasm felt one of his clones panic; he watched as a whole swarm covered the clone, stinging and biting it until the clone disappeared.

"Such tactics aren't good for dealing with criminals if you don't wish to significantly maul them, Midoriya." Despite his words of advice, Ectoplasm watched the process happen again and another of his clones disperse. That left himself and the five clones still present.

"I advise that you change your strategy if you wish for me to pass you, Midoriya."

"Don't worry sensei. I know what I'm doing." The words came from all the swarms at once, each clone relaying the message in a different voice. The swarms repositioned themselves, leaving two behind Ectoplasm and three in front.

"Trying to unnerve me? I promise that it won't work." Ectoplasm had some other clones that he had left off to the side to begin searching the area around him for Izuku. The situation was eerily similar to the one Izuku had displayed during the sports festival against Todoroki, which meant that all Ectoplasm needed to do was find the real Izuku and take him out in order to disperse the entire swarm.

As his other clones carried on with their search, Ectoplasm continued to stand where he was as if nothing had changed. "You know, Midoriya, it takes a sufficiently strong blow for my own clones to dissipate." 

Ectoplasm was stalling by this point. However his own clones were coming up empty on their search. Wherever Midoriya was, he was hiding excellently.

Ectoplasm dodged the first attack which came from behind, moving to the right as the swarm moved past him. Another came at him from in front of him. Like before, he let the bugs crash into him, forcing them to disperse. 

Another clone came moving toward him, and he relaxed himself, aiming to let it hit him yet again. The swarm lifted an arm, readying it in a punch. "I'm not sure what you're planning to do with a simple swar—"

Ectoplasm recoiled from the attack, stumbling backwards from his spot. Unlike before, there was an actual force behind the swarm. He immediately reoriented himself, turning himself around with eyes wide. Although initially confused, the answer as to what happened was instantly obvious to Ectoplasm. "You're wearing your bugs as a suit?!"

"As I said, I have a strategy," the two clones in front of him admitted. "Had one since even before the fight began."

"I knew that you were the real Ectoplasm," another swarm said, "and that the other two beside you were fakes. That's why I went for the killing move on the other two, and decided to go hand-to-hand with you."

"You knew?" Ectoplasm asked. Then it dawned on him. "Then you have a bug on me?"

"Ever since we entered the gym, long before you split up and created more of yourself."

"Mighty impressive." Ectoplasm smirked. "I couldn't even hear any of your footsteps. That buzzing is doing well in masking your real position."

Ectoplasm shifted slightly. "Unfortunately, that won't be enough." Ectoplasm deftly turned and let out a flurry of kicks onto the swarm clone that had punched him. However, he stumbled forward as his prosthetics went through the swarm, revealing it empty.

"What?"

"I've done the classic switcheroo," the clones said in tandem. "Can you figure out which is me?"

Ectoplasm went to open his mouth to create more clones, but stopped himself as a swarm flew onto him, covering his mouth. 

"No more clones for you."

Ectoplasm went for another clone, the one to his right. Another of the swarm went for him from behind, swiping a leg and causing Ectoplasm to fall.

Ectoplasm quickly rose up, but before he could turn, the bugs around his mouth created a veil over his eyes. However, just as quickly as they had risen, they fell back again to his mouth, revealing the various swarm clones around him to be in different positions than before. Ectoplasm looked left to right with no avail, unable to determine which clone held the real Midoriya. 

Suddenly, the swarm around his mouth left him. As he was about to open his mouth to speak, he found that he couldn't. He felt at his jaw and mouth, and felt various threadlike strings keeping his mouth closed.

"Spider silk," the swarm informed. "Like it?"

Ectoplasm was impressed by Izuku's actions. Not only had the boy created an effective counter for him, but Izuku had effectively cut off the usage of his quirk. He was a sitting duck, with little he could do to counter the bugs.

Ectoplasm had one of his nearby clones come to him, apologizing to Asui, whom it was currently working with, and promised to be back soon. Within moments, the clone arrived.

"You've gone beyond my expectations, Midoriya. I admit my defeat against your strategy. Nice job."

As the clone talked, the real Ectoplasm attempted to remove the spider silk from his mouth. It was immensely difficult, but he was able to do it, albeit very slowly.

"I don't believe that there's much else I can do for you, unless you decide to create more super moves. You can go along to the support course. See if you can find anything that you can do to improve your costume."

The various swarms dispersed, revealing the clone holding the real Midoriya to be the second one on the left. "Thank you, sensei. I'll consider your advice, and I'll go… eventually. I'll work on some more of my moves, for now." 

Izuku then hopped off the plateau, leaving the real Ectoplasm still struggling with the spider silk wrapped around his mouth.

"Hey, Midoriya! Would you mind coming with me?"

Izuku cut off his connection to his bugs and opened his eyes, finding Kaminari in front of him.

"Where, exactly?" Izuku asked.

Kaminari gave a stunted laugh, rubbing the back of his head in response. "Well, uh, to... Hatsume's lab."

Izuku knew exactly what Kaminari meant. "Alright." He stood up and walked towards Mei's lab, Kaminari quickly matching his pace.

"Oh, thank you, Midoriya!" Kaminari exclaimed. "You don't know how relieved I am to have you along with me. Hatsume's pretty scary, you know! I'm not sure how you handle her."

"That she is," Izuku admitted. "Dealing with her and understanding what makes her tick is a accustomed skill. It's taken me years for me to get used to it."

"Though, why exactly are you going back?"Izuku asked. "You already have your gear, don't you?" Izuku pointed the sharpshooting gear on Kaminari's arm. "It isn't broken, is it? Mei would have a fit if it was."

"No! Of course not! I wouldn't dare break it after how useful it's been in regulating my quirk, you know? It's just that… she's been asking for a progress report for some time, as well as time to test out some other things she says she has for me. I've just… been avoiding her until now."

Izuku chuckled. "And you're planning on having her attention divided between you and I so she gets less serious with your stuff?"

Kaminari rubbed the back of his head. 

"Don't worry about it," Izuku said. "I understand how she gets sometimes. Anyways, how's the gear holding up for you?"

"It's great! I don't have to be shocking everyone around me like before! And I have pinpoint accuracy as long as I have these glasses!" Kaminari gestured to said eyewear. 

"Glad to hear it." By this point, the two of them found themselves in front of the door to Mei's lab. However, they were also met by somebody else, who was simply waiting outside to door to the lab.

"Oh! Hey, Todoroki," Izuku greeted. "How are you?" 

Todoroki slowly turned to face Kaminari and Izuku. "Ah, hello Midoriya, Kaminari. I'm doing quite well, thank you."

"What are you doing just waiting outside?" Kaminari asked.

"I didn't want to impose. I saw a couple others enter before I got here. I'm simply waiting until they're done."

"Oh, you don't have to do that Todoroki," Izuku said. "You can head in whenever you want. Mei's never too busy for more people. Well, not the way she works, anyways. Unless she gets caught up with someone in particular. Or— You know what, forget that I said anything. Power Loader sensei is in there too, I've checked. He'll be able to help too. "

Todoroki took a second to consider Izuku's words. "If you say so, Midoriya. Mind if I accompany you, then?"

Izuku smiled. "Go on ahead." 

"Todoroki nodded. "Thank you."

Izuku nodded in return, and went to open the door to the lab. However, he stopped just before his hand reached the handle and turned around to face Kaminari and Todoroki. 

"Oh! And one more thing. Don't be afraid to refuse anything that you guys don't want, alright? Otherwise she'll keep adding to your stuff and you'll find that you'll have more things than you know what to do with. And then before you know it you'll be caught up in fifteen other experiments you didn't realize you agreed to doing."

"Speaking from experience, Midoriya?" Kaminari asked with a smile on his face.

Izuku sighed. "Too many times."

Izuku reached the handle, opening the door to find an erratic Mei fussing over a resigned Pony and a distressed Monoma. 

"Hi Mei, Pony." Izuku waved. "Hello Monoma."

"Oh! Izuku!" Mei screeched. "What are you doing here!?"

"Well, I was just—"

"You're just in time! I have something for you!" Something found its way into Mei's hands. It was a sleek black object with two small bumps protruding from it. Said object consecutively found its place onto Izuku, planted over his nose and mouth.

"What the heck Mei!" Izuku paused.

"Huh?" His eyebrows furrows upon hearing his own voice; its tone was deeper and more echoey, no doubt modulated through the use of some sort of mechanism in the mask. 

"It's a three in one!" Mei supplied. "Not only is it a gas mask, but it's also a sound muffler! This baby here cuts off sounds below a customizable decibel! That way, you can now mumble all you want behind enemy lines without getting caught! And as a bonus, it comes with a modulator so you can be all spooky-like with your voice!"

Izuku attempted to pry the mask off to no avail. "It's clamped shut." 

"It's voice activated! That way the enemy can't force feed you anything or expose you to noxious fumes."

"What's the passphrase?" Izuku asked, continuing to struggle with the mask.

"Get more wonderful babies from Mei Hatsume!"

There was a faint clicking sound, and the mask popped right off. "Of course it is," Izuku muttered.

Mei sprung into action again. "Oh! And I also have this fligh—"

"Oh, Mei." Izuku interrupted, dragging Kaminari in front of him. "Kaminari's here for that checkup you've been waiting for."

Kaminari's eyes widened in realization. "Wait! Midori—"

"He is?!? Well why didn't you say so! Give him here!" Izuku initiated the handoff, and Kaminari was then in the hands of Mei.

Kaminari flailed his arms around. "Wait! Hatsume! Is this really necessary?!"

As the two of them wandered off further into the lab, that just left Todoroki with Izuku, as well as Pony and Monoma.

"That was kind of mean, Izuku," Pony said.

"Eh." Izuku shrugged. "So, why are you here? You didn't finally succumb to Mei's pleas for that harness, did you?"

"No!" Pony pouted. "I'm just letting Monoma tag along with me."

Monoma scoffed. "More like... escorting, no?" 

There was a sudden shuffling and clanking of metal that came from behind a whiteboard, revealing Power Loader. "Well, it looks like Hatsume's going to be busy for a while. What can I do for you guys?"

"Oh! Power loader sensei," Izuku said. "I forgot that you were here."

"Yeah, of course you did. Mei caught all of your attention, as per usual. Despite the fact that I know you have a bug on me. Doesn't matter." He turned his gaze towards Pony. "Tsunotori? What did'ya need? Anything I can help you with?"

"Oh! Nothing," Pony cheered. "Monoma just wanted me to accompany him here because he's scared of Mei."

"Am not!" Monoma cried. "Besides! I just wanted another pocket watch! And that… girl just kept on going on and on and on! Ugh. I don't need a synthetic arm rocket or a custom optical helmet."

"Another of your pocket watches you said? Should be pretty simple. I'll get right on that." Power Loader turned. "And you, Todoroki?"

"I just wanted some adjustments to my costume, is all," Todoroki said.

"Ah, splendid. Always a pleasure to work with costumes. You brought your's, yes?"

"I did," Todoroki said, taking out said costume.

"Great!" Power Loader exclaimed. "Come with me then. We'll go over the details over at the costume section."

As Power Loader and Todoroki left, that left Izuku alone with Pony and Monoma. Pony looked between the two boys, somewhat nervous for having them right next to each other. After all, it wasn;t as if the two had had too many friendly interactions as of yet.

"So you can copy up to six now?" Izuku began politely, much to Pony's relief.

"Huh?" Monoma asked.

"You have five pocket watches already on you." Izuku gestured to Monoma's jacket. "Meaning that another pocket watch would mean you can copy six quirks at once."

A smug look felt upon Monoma's face. "Well, it looks as if you've had me all figured out, Midoriya. As expected from the one I consider to be 1-A's one and only deserving and qualified member."

"That's quite an improvement, given your previous limit of three," Izuku said, ignoring Monoma's comment on his class.

"Indeed! I'm getting stronger everyday!" Monoma bragged. "As is the rest of my class, unlike your own classmates. However, I'm sure that you've gone leaps and bounds, Midoriya. It's just in your nature to do so."

"Thank you, Monoma."

"Of course."

There was a moment of silence. Monoma was the one who broke it, that time.

"Though, there is still one thing bugging me."

"And what's that?" Izuku asked.

"It's your quirk." Monoma tapped Izuku on the shoulder to emphasize his meaning. "It exists, despite what my own quirk is telling me. Have you found out what that's all about, by any chance?"

"I have."

"You have?!?" Monoma jumped at the words.

"I'm not telling you, however."

"I— Yeah, I suppose that that only makes sense," Monoma muttered.

"I'm not telling anyone, actually," Izuku said. "So don't feel left out."

"Wait, what's wrong with your quirk, Izuku?" Pony asked.

"It's nothing," Izuku soothed. "Don't worry about it."

Izuku stumbled into his room, tired from the effort of the day's training. He landed on his bed and stared at the ceiling, relaxing as he made the connection with the arthropods in his room. 

The atmosphere provided a fair level of serenity to Izuku. In fact, Izuku would have jumped out of his bed when QA began to speak if he wasn't so deep in thought and bugs. Instead, Izuku merely startled when QA's voice shattered the ambience.

"What I wouldn't have done to have someone like Mei on my team. You're lucky on that aspect, Izuku. You basically have a high rating tinker all to yourself!"

Izuku groaned. "You waited until now to speak again? Why can't we at least have these conversations on my own terms? You're the one in my head, after all."

"Please. Besides, this way you can talk out loud all you want without looking crazy in front of your peers." 

Izuku sighed. "I suppose." He laid back on his bed, closing his eyes to direct his swarm. "So, what's up?"

"Oh? Just 'what's up?' You're not going to ask any questions about w-me?"

Izuku shook his head. "No. I've conceded to the fact that you're not going to give me any information unless you deem it necessary. There's no point in arguing at this point."

"Huh, really? Because personally, I'd still be arguing with the passenger in my head if I was in this situation. You sure?"

"Mhm."

"Huh. Well, alright then. As to answer your question, not much. I've just decided to check up on you. Have those urges in check?"

"I do. It's still just a dull buzz for now."

"But not for long. I give you until the end of the week until it becomes unbearable. Though, on the other hand, what do you have on the potential solution I clued in on?"

"I think that what Nezu did was pretty smart of him." Izuku smiled. "Though that's not really unexpected considering his intelligence."

"And how so?" 

"Well," Izuku began, "while I'm sure that there's a remote way to access the place, the actual location of the control room is pretty well concealed. For one, the control room is hidden away from the main building, which is something that most people wouldn't expect. Second is the fact that it's completely underground and enforced with a thick layer of steel and various other metals, with only a single entrance that's hidden in plain sight amongst the dorms. Plus, only somebody the size of a small child — or more appropriately, Nezu — can actually crawl down the ventilation shaft that leads to the room."

"Correct. But there's still one thing; if your principal is the only one who can fit down there, how exactly are you going to deactivate the school's surveillance so you can get along with your off-school activities?"

"That's easy. Thankfully, I don't have that restriction of size. I have my bugs." As Izuku spoke, a few scouts were currently within the control room, observing the screens and watching for any possible ways to provide Izuku any shortcuts when the time came to execute his plan.

"And what?" QA asked. "You plan to have a bunch of flies try to press down on the keys and rewrite the coding so that you can go in and out of U.A. without being caught?"

Izuku smiled, taking a glance at the box that still remained at the foot of his bed.

"I like the way you think." QA praised. "Seems that you've really thought this out. I'm glad to see that my power has fallen upon someone so resourceful."

"You really mean it?"

"Of course, Izuku. It's stimulating, and I just love seeing you progress."

Notes:

Well, this chapter was originally going to end in a cliffhanger, but… Eh. We can save that event for next time. And thus, it looks like there aren't any cliffys for you guys. Ah well, I know how many of you are probably disappointed with my poor decision, but you'll just have to live with it ;)

Well, that's all for now. See you all next week!