Mortem ad Wrens

Chapter 13 Of the Few Who Dare

Summary:

tw: calorie counting, trauma, hit list mention

'text' JSL

Text thoughts

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Note from Recovery Girl in hand, Akira made their way to the development studio the next morning before class. They brought a list of needs, wants, and want nots to hopefully guide the conversation with Hatsume. As they approached the door, an explosion caused the door to dent outwards, and Akira jumped back. After a moment, Power Loader slammed open the door, letting the smoke vent out.

"Oh! You're here, excellent." Power Loader cringed back at the workshop before calling, "Hatsume, Mori's here. Pardon the mess, explosions are common in the support course. Although, Hatsume is on her way to setting a new record for the most explosions in the first term." Power Loader shook his head fondly as Akira sent an appraising glance at the overeager, excited girl.

"Mori! I have so many ideas, let's have a look." Hatsume ran up a notch slower than yesterday, although Akira was ready for her this time.

'I brought a list of some basics if that's alright?' Akira looked between the two.

Power Loader looked over their list first, nodding in thought before handing it to Hatsume. "Most of these are doable, although the jump boost capabilities will have to be run by the support company before implementing them. Did you have anything in mind that would need electricity?"

'No, I just thought the solar power requirement should be noted in case Bubblegum gets ideas that use it.'

Hatsume had them roll up their uniform legs so the pair could see how their current braces moved and flexed. Akira did a few simple flips and rolls in the hall then ran through some fighting forms. Hatsume brought up some streamlined hydraulics and the possibility of using their capture weapon as an assistive device as well, which Akira planned if their torso or arms needed support. Hatsume also suggested a device that would provide small shocks to test if their quirk could be supplemented with electricity, but Akira immediately shook their head.

Akira brought up Recovery Girl's recommendation of forearm crutches, which launched Hatsume into a whirlwind of ideas. A little overwhelmed, they looked to Power Loader as she started talking about rocket boosts and sensory activation. He reigned her in a bit, and Akira hesitantly asked about her less extreme ideas.

Over the next two weeks, Akira spent time with Midoriya and at the library trying to research how people with Stranger quirks controlled the manipulation of reality or perception. Unfortunately, it was a largely passive type of quirk, most often presenting in always-active invisibility and minor perception-altering mutations. Most pros didn't directly train that part of their quirk, and the few forums they found on it were scarce and filled with edgy teens trying to sound like they knew more than they did. The pair initially thought Tokage from Class 1-B had a Breaker/Stranger quirk since her interaction with reality was so altered, but the specialty had everything to do with how she used the quirk instead of its actual nature. Instead, it was a Breaker/Thinker quirk since she could get sensory feedback from the pieces of herself. It took most of her focus just to move the parts of her body like a general commanding an army, which gave Akira a small thread of a lead.

Two days before their internship, Akira was trying various means of manipulating their clone while the Mad Banquet had lunch. 'I just don't-' dispelling the clone, Akira started over. 'I just don't get it. Why does no one develop the Stranger aspect of their quirk? It's an entire quirk type associated with reconnaissance.'

Shinso gave them a flat stare, "Because most people think reconnaissance beneath them. There are too many limelight heroes already who don't know jack about stealth."