Apotheosis

CHAPTER 47: REWARDS

The crowd watched as Shoto Todoroki kept the villain at bay with his ice quirk. The skill and finesse of his power was matched only by its raw strength. The criminal he was fighting had the ability to manipulate asphalt and was using it to wrap that very substance around his body, generating a suit of armor, making him look like a large golem. The civilians had yet to be evacuated which prevented him from going all out to defeat him. Luckily with the strategic lessons Midoriya gave him, Todoroki had learned how to think things through and plan. So instead of hammering the villain with ice and fire he was merely corralling him into a safe zone away from the innocent lives.

While that was happening, Tenya Iida used his speed to grab civilians in the area and deliver them out of danger while Ochako used her quirk to remove rubble and damaged vehicles out of the way. All together they were shaping up to be quite a hero team.

As soon as the area was clear Shoto went full force using his firepower to melt the asphalt. With the special katana that Midoriya designed and built for him he could hack away at the villain's armor at the same time. The villain panicked and tried to manipulate the melted asphalt to fight back, only for Shoto to freeze it all in place with a swing of his other sword. Once he got through the armor he grabbed ahold of the frightened villain and dragged him out of it before encasing most of him in ice.

"Please!" The nearly frozen criminal cried. "Please don't take me to Midoriya! I don't want to lose my quirk!"

"He doesn't do that to the villains we arrest." Todoroki calmly lectured. "You'll get processed like every other common criminal." The police finally converged now that it was safe to approach and started dragging the sobbing pathetic man away. Ochako, who happened to be hovering close enough to hear their words levitated down to ground.

"You'd think if they were so afraid of Midoriya taking their quirks then they wouldn't cause trouble in the first place." She scowled as she watched the officers take him.

"Yeah." Shoto didn't pay the villain anymore mind, he merely nodded his head and agreed with her logic. "Iida report."

"I'm several blocks east with the crowd." Iida said through the communicator. "Everyone is safe. No injuries to report."

"Good we're headed to you." Shoto looked at Uraraka who nodded back and folded her mechanical wings together so she could walk easier. Midoriya wanted them to have good relations with the public, and not just behave like well-oiled machines. The Titan robots were for that. He gave Todoroki specific instructions to greet and assure the public after their heroic acts. If there was a crowd at least. No show boating was allowed though. According to Stain, there was fine line between being a true hero that made everyone feel safe and assured, and then there was being an attention whore.

The three heroes of the HRD converged together in front of the crowd of civilians who were unfortunately caught in the crossfire of this villainous assault. Uraraka had a naturally outgoing and bubbly personality that was ideal for the public. She smiled and waved at the people and told them that everything was fine, and the villain had been stopped. Iida joined her, putting on a show in case Midoriya was watching. He had yet to determine the full reach of his boss's eyes and ears. Best to play the role he was given for as long as possible. Shoto pulled down the scarf that covered the bottom half of his face and did his best to smile at the crowd. He didn't want to come off as cold as he did at the sports festival. He especially didn't want to be as prickly and unapproachable as his father was when he was a hero. No, he wanted to be a hero that his mother and siblings could be proud of.

Shoto shook several hands, politely refused some attempts at gaining autographs and some eager journalists wanting a scoop. His phone suddenly vibrated in his side pouch. He pulled it out to see an unknown number on the emergency channel. How odd? The only one who uses this channel is Midoriya.