Apotheosis

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO: CHECKMATE

It was all out war between heroes and villains. With Allmight's weakness exposed, villains became bolder and bolder every day. Heroes and villains were working overtime to keep up. Not only that, but someone was providing them with information on heroes, particular the ins and outs of their quirks, fighting techniques, how to beat them, weaknesses and detailed strategies.

The police had an idea as to who it was that was providing them with these plans. Izuku Midoriya, known for his intelligence, must have been the one. Though they still had no idea what he had to gain by helping villains fight heroes. The main issue was that they had no way of tracking the boy. With the warping ability that his gauntlet gave him, he could be anywhere at any time. It was the same problem with tracking the League of Villains who had Kurogiri in their employ.

Speaking of the League. Their movements had also become bolder with an ally like Midoriya backing them. Just recently in the past week they had conducted an attack on a pro hero rally that was started in response to all the anti-hero and Allmight protestors. The purpose of the rally was to show support and faith in the hero. It had backfired horribly when the villain Dabi showed up along with a handful of Nomus to attack the crowd. Sadly the only heroes that showed up to the rally were low ranking heroes looking to improve their public images and were no match for the enhanced artificial monsters. By the time Endeavor leading a few other high ranking heroes finally arrived to the scene many innocent people were badly injured and Dabi had fled as soon as he spotted the number two hero, leaving them to take out the Nomus. The result was another severe dive in public opinion towards heroes and the amount of protestors had more than doubled.

The quirkless minority who were joined with the inferior quirk class, had now merged with the ever increasing group of citizens who had lost faith in heroes. That was a lot of people calling for answers from not just the heroes but the government as well. They were also demanding a change in hero organization while the quirkless demanded equal rights.

The quirkless citizens have always been crying out for equal rights, however they never had a voice since no one cared about them and neither did they have a figure to inspire them. That's where Izuku Midoriya came in. His debut with his quirkless state and seemingly limitless power gave these people hope and the idea planted in their head they were not as helpless and weak that the majority of the world mocked them for. Then Allmight's quirkless status was revealed by that very teen, further cementing the fact that quirkless people can be strong too if given the chance. With the number one hero's silence on the matter only making the situation worse.

Allmight did not want to keep quite. If anything he would love to explain the situation to the public. Unfortunately that would mean publicly divulging the secret to his overwhelming power, that secret being the one for all quirk. Not only that but he would be forced to tell everyone that power is now in the wrong hands of Izuku Midoriya. The panic that would cause, is not something anyone wanted to be responsible for.

The prime minister's administration was pressured every day, including the Hero Public Safety Commission. Normally Allmight the symbol of piece was also the symbol of the government's strength, and kept the population in a blissful calm that everything was alright. However that all depended on the hero maintaining his unfaltering image. Now that the truth about the state of the symbol of peace was out, the image was slowly crumbling and with it the government's hold over a population that possessed super powers.

It was at this time when faith in heroes was bleeding out that Izuku Midoriya pressed down on that bloated chest with his mighty hand.

CAFÉ CHAUD

"What are we doing here?" Ochako asked.

"You are enjoying a coffee and bagel", Izuku said as he placed said beverage and food on the table in front of her, before sitting down across from her. "I am waiting for something", he glanced down at his watch.