Apotheosis

CHAPTER 46: THE WHEEL

Five months had passed. The Hero Regulation Department had grown even bigger. Its influence and control had increased. Izuku Midoriya coerced and blackmailed his way into more political power. His hands now reached even further than anybody realized. The heroes had no choice, but to bow down and follow the young director's policies. His symbol of balance Nemesis, ever improving, continued its iron fisted campaign to surpass these heroes in every way. It knew no fear, nor pain. It carried out every rescue mission and villain arrest with cold ruthless efficiency.

Izuku had a birthday during these months, coming in at seventeen years old. Not only that but he also grew a few more inches in height and with his constant physical training, filled out a bit more. He was now almost as tall as his ally Dabi. Izuku was honestly happy for the growth spurt. It made him look more mature like an adult, so people took him much more seriously at first glance now.

In other big news in this time frame. His first hero trainees, Todoroki, Iida, and Uraraka were given a special free reign license that allowed them to now act and operate as heroes. All the training and preparation finally paid. Originally Izuku wanted to wait a bit longer before sending them out to work more in the field, but in the end decided there was no time like the present. The three of them went to work as an amazing hero team with Shoto Todoroki as their leader, working with several hero agencies. Izuku taught him how to strategize, plan ahead and lead a group and the dual quirk user took to it with absolute seriousness. His mastery over the fire aspect of his quirk was also coming along nicely.

Iida was taking his training much more seriously. His older brother Tensei was starting to regain his ability to walk again thanks to the new technology. The former hero could never return to active hero duty, but it was a comfort for Tenya to know that his brother wouldn't be confined to chair for the rest of his life. It also made him more determined than ever to find out what Midoriya was planning for the future and help stop it.

Uraraka had made the least progress. Not that Izuku minded. Her quirk while versatile was not particularly powerful and required interaction with physical objects to function. Hence why he preferred a more hands on approach with Ochako by helping to understand more about the nature of her quirk and finding out all the potential possibilities together.

One surprise was his newer recruits Gentle Criminal and La Brava. Izuku was impressed with how quick and efficient they were at plugging the leaks in his department. They had already rooted out several plants from both criminal organizations and the safety commission. Izuku showered them with rewards and perks for their wonderful hard work.

Finally after several months of recovery, physically and mentally, Dr. Higurashi deemed it appropriate time for Eri to start learning to control her quirk. Research was done on it and both Izuku and the doctor believed that they now had a good understanding on how it worked. They decided to start slow, with the girl practicing on insects before moving on to small animals.

"Just try to relax Eri." Izuku reached into the box and pulled out another butterfly. "Like always, we'll take this one step at a time." He gently placed it into the girl's smaller open hands. Eri nervously stared at the pretty insect. "Bugs don't feel pain remember, so you can't hurt it." They were outside in the exercise field of the care center where Eri stayed. The other children were inside for lessons leaving them alone without distractions.

'I'm not sure if that's true.' Aizawa thought, but kept his mouth shut as he sat back and observed. He was there to help with her quirk training as he could shut it down if it went out of control again. Midoriya of course agreed with this concession. It also gave him an excuse to keep an eye on the former villain and maybe overhear something important.

"Now I want you to take this butterfly and rewind it back into a caterpillar." He smiled as he knelled down next to her. "Everything will be fine." Eri cupped the insect in both hands as she attempted to channel her quirk. Her horn had grown a few inches which Midoriya and Doctor Higurashi theorized signified the buildup of energy needed to use her quirk. Golden sparks emerged from her horn and covered her hands.