The Burden of Time [Aizawa x OC]

- twenty one -

A few days later, July, Aizawa, Miss Joke, Principal Nezu, the cop, and myself were gathered in the conference room once again. July sported a sling in which he had to wear for the next week or so following his gunshot injury. I sat next to his uninjured side, gulping down some coffee.

Principal Nezu began the meeting by clapping his paws together. "Let's give this meeting another try, shall we?"

This caused Aizawa to blush faintly and clear his throat. Miss Joke snickered in response. I shifted uncomfortably, trying to forget the awkward encounter that occurred during the previous attempt at holding this meeting. July remained uncharacteristically silent, which he had been since Aizawa and I visited him in the hospital.

"Great, okay." The cop gestured toward a presentation that was pulled up on the screen. "As you all know, we need more information about the League of Villains. And we believe that this local bar that a few low-level members of the League of Villains frequent may be our best bet."

"And that's where Stand Still will come in." He continued, pressing a button to move the slideshow to a picture of the bar in question. "We need someone who can blend in and gather information without raising any suspicion. Also, we believe that her ability to freeze time will come in handy in case things get out of hand." A brief pause while moving to the next slide show, providing a picture of some of the patrons. "Stand Still, you will need to dress accordingly and blend in with the crowd. You will be the eyes and ears of this operation."

I nodded, taking a deep breath to calm my nerves. Between the four of us, outside of my hero costume, I am the one who could blend in the best. I began to fidget with a pen in front of me, anxiety building slightly at the thought. I would have to be extremely careful given my status in America. It would only take one person to recognize me for this entire mission to blow.

July, however, appeared much more relaxed. He leaned back in his chair with a small smirk on his face, as if he was enjoying the mission already. He used his free arm to reach for his energy drink and took a sip.

The cop continued. "We'll have backup nearby in case anything goes wrong, but Stand Still will be the main point of contact. You'll be equipped with a communication device and a hidden camera, and we'll be listening in on everything."

Principal Nezu added, "Uncle Sam, Miss Joke, and Eraser Head, you will be positioned at different points around the bar to keep an eye on Stand Still and make sure she stays safe."

July gave a nod, his serious expression showing that he was taking the mission just as seriously as everyone else. Miss Joke smiled, seemingly excited about the mission. Eraserhead simply "hmph"ed in response. The team spent the next hour discussing logistics, going over contingency plans, and making sure that everyone knew their roles.

~~~~~~~

"Great - How that we've got that covered, we must discuss remediation for Aizawa's two students that failed the provisional license exam." Principal Nezu stated, turning off the presentation on the TV. "The full time teachers discussed this and agreed that Uncle Sam should be the one to teach the remedial course."

I looked over to July, whose eyebrows were raised in surprise. "Why me?" He asked. He adjusted his injured arm softly, undoubtedly questioning the decision of the UA teachers following his poor decision making.

"Quite frankly, they are two difficult students." Principal Nezu said. "After watching your interaction with them and the other students,we believe you'd be the right person to whip them into shape."

I chuckled at this, nodding my head in agreement. July was known for structured and no nonsense training. He took molding future heroes very seriously. And, really, his personality was the only one who would fit well against two problematic students. If they would try to give him a hard time, he would give it back tenfold.