My Hero Automata

Chapter 14: Getting into the Groove

Summary: Both regular classes and heroics core classes have started rolling along, the students are finally starting to get into a groove without life-altering interruptions. Well, probably. A certain mad inventor and Momo meeting probably has terrifying implications down the road...

Chapter 14: Getting into the Groove

Momo had the district impression that she was in danger.

Not the sort of danger that had her busting out her battle suit. Physically, she was certain she was...mostly safe. Actually, given who she was currently feeling like she was in danger from, she wasn't quite as certain of her physical safety, on more mature consideration. Maybe she could subtly add a skintight ballistics weave under her clothes? This girl had blown something up at least twice in the first week of school, after all. So it might not be remiss. That, however, wasn't her primary concern at the moment.

Regardless of her slightly questionable physical safety, Momo was most definitely sure she was in danger. Specifically, in danger of the gremlin known as Hatsume Mei creating some sort of mind control device in an attempt to use Momo has her own personal 3D Printer. The idea was something of a special nightmare of hers, though at least in this case she was fairly certain she was being overly dramatic. Even if, given the level of badgering the girl was capable of, she felt fully justified she had legitimate cause to indulge in being so.

It had, as such things often go, started entirely innocently. Hatsume had been begging Power Loader to authorize her to use a bit of platinum. But Power Loader had been adamant than such materials were too expensive for brand new first years to requisition. Momo had been close enough to overhear Mei's passionate argument on behalf of her 'baby,' and suitably impressed by the potential of the device in question. Used to working with Izumi, she'd simply reached over and created the required amount of platinum. It had only been a couple of grams. Well below the self-imposed limit she had long ago set herself for precious metals so as not to damage the market. As such, the action had been almost automatic...but the results had been far more catastrophic to Momo's sanity than the same casual action normally was when she provided Izumi with the occasional extra material.

Mei was now obsessed with Momo. More accurately, she was obsessed with trying to wheedle the things she 'needed,' out of Momo via her Quirk. And, unfortunately for Momo, the girl was a genius whose inventions were almost always interesting enough that Momo kept breaking down and helping her make bits and bobs that would otherwise be hard to come by. Not precious metals, usually, which is one of the reasons it was so hard to resist giving it. It was more typically simply custom parts, or custom fittings and adapters for existing parts. Components with a material worth so low as to be negligible even by the stingy standards of their usual project budgets...but which would normally have to be put on the list of parts to be custom fabricated. A list on which first year student requests took the lowest possible priority.

Yes. Momo was definitely in danger. She'd fallen into a vicious trap that she really didn't know how to get out of, being intrinsically weak to interesting ideas. Oh well, at least she was getting lots of interesting designs for things she could make in the field. Particularly things that went boom. Mei was really good at making things go boom, after all. Even when they really weren't supposed to...

... ...

Izumi was fascinated. She was also ever-so-slightly horrified. But that was currently taking a backseat to her fascination as she ran test, added calculations for other to follow on the room's whiteboard, and absentmindedly answered questions. Today was supposed to have been a simple demonstration day in her Theoretical Quirk Sciences class. Someone with a Quirk that was unable to be properly quantified had been brought in, with the intent on showing how much people still didn't know about Quirks and how they worked...and how badly that knowledge was needed.