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“The Heroes of the Future. That’s what scientists are calling this program. A way to make sure future generations are safe, wherever they might wind up. Isn’t that right, Doctor?”
“That is correct, Miss.”
“Can you tell us more about it.”
“Well, it’s really quite simple. What we are doing is just taking Heroes of the past and essentially ‘freezing’ their conscience, so that, when the technology becomes available, we can download them.”
“Wow. That seems so unbelievable.”
“Many people used to say the existence of quirks was unbelievable. It’s one of a scientist’s greatest pleasures, to make the unbelievable happen.”
“There have been some concerns brought up. About what it might do to a Hero’s conscience, about the dangers of encouraging young Heroes to do this.”
“All which are very understandable. That is why, for now, we are only taking Heroes above a certain age, and only ones that are retired. We don’t want to encourage anyone to agree to anything dangerous. We just want to make sure that we are protected by the very best.”
~
“Are you sure about this? You know, we retired to live a quiet life. This will force us to work forever. No rest.”
“...I know.”
A hand, softly taken in another. Both of their skin is wrinkled, paper thin. You can see the blue veins that pulse beneath. They look down at their hands, how their fingers instantly connect. “Are you still beating yourself up? You know that Midoriya’s death isn’t your fault-”
“Ei.”
They both stop talking. They’ve fought about this many times before. While one may have accepted it, that doesn’t mean the nightmares ever go away.
Red eyes look into red. They're both soft. Communicating without words. A lip quivers, forcing the other to reach forward to and place a kiss on his forehead.
“I just want to do a better job protecting people.” It’s whispered. Vulnerable.
“You’ve done an amazing job protecting people. No one faults you for what happened. No one could have saved him.”
“I should have been able to.”
Gently, a thumb wipes a tear away. A smile splits their lips. “Well, if you’re doing it, then I am too.”
“Ei, no, you never wanted to do this forever-”
“But I do want to be with you forever. And if you aren’t going to the heavens with me, then I’m going to the future with you.” It’s a promise. A strong promise. One that will never be broken.
Lips press against lips. They hold each other tight. Tomorrow, they will call up the company to sign their contracts.
Tonight, it’s about them.
~
Ochako yawns, sitting up from her pod. A digital voice greets her. “Good morning, ma’am. It has been 8 system hours since you have entered the pod. It is 6 in galactic time. Translated into EARTH time, it is 8am. Here is your breakfast.”
A small lid pops up from the side of the pod. There are three pills there. Ochako takes them, humming as her stomach instantly fills up. She feels energized and ready to take on any mission she will be given today. Looking up at the ceiling, she grins. “Thank you, Riot.”
“Of course, ma’am. Looking after you is my number one priority.”
The voice is that of a man’s, smooth and low timber. Riot always sounds so bright and happy. She’s watched older videos of him, back when he was a human and a Hero. He always seemed so happy to her, always ready to smile, always ready to pick people up and lend a helping hand.
It’s why she had chosen his ship.
Ochako had initially been wary about the AI steered ships. She’s a pilot, she’s used to steering with her hands. On having that control. When she had been retired though, she had been given one choice to get back amongst the stars.
Once she saw who she will be working with, once she saw the old videos, of how the world worked a thousand years ago and how Riot worked with it, she had been pretty amazed by him.
And in the five years she has worked with him, it’s been nothing but good.
The lights flicker, and for a moment, she thinks she hears a voice. Then everything is back to normal.
…except that has been happening more and more lately. It’s nothing too serious. The lights will go out for a couple seconds, or all the doors will slide open or the touch screen will pop up showing a picture of the Alliance’s All Might station.
The most concerning is that everyone, including Ochako, have sworn that they have heard a voice. It’s very faint, like it’s coming from inside the walls. But even pressing her ear against it, she can’t make out the words.
It’s a male’s voice for sure. It sounds like it’s calling for something.
Or maybe Ochako is just rationalizing it. Afterall, they’ve had the ship checked over several times. She has been reassured by many mechanics, from the official Alliance ones, to the outside mechanics that she would secretly visit just to get a second opinion, that there was nothing wrong.
And yet the lights still flicker. And she can’t get over the feeling that she’s missing something.
Shaking her head, Ochako gets up to start the day. Their daily patrol won’t wait just because she thinks there might be ghosts or something haunting these halls.
…not that there are ghosts. Ghosts aren’t real. And they certainly don’t haunt spaceships.
Something that Ochako reminds the two crew members she overhears in the hallway, gossiping about the latest light fiscal.
Shaking her head, Ochako puts it out of her mind. She has bigger issues to attend to.
~
Ochako tends to her daily routine- work out, breakfast, then making the rounds on the ship before heading to the top deck. When she gets there, she isn’t surprised to see that her crew is already hard at work.
It is surprising to see that they all look a little anxious. “What’s the situation?” She demands, already sliding into Captain mode.
Tsuyu is the first to respond. “It’s nothing serious, ma'am, but it appears we are going faster than we had originally set course for.”
“That means we’re going to have to stop earlier than we had planned to refuel,” Monoma grotches.
Ochako frowns. They had been set in auto mode the past couple of days, since they were in peaceful territory, and had planned to make a stop on the Yaoyorozu space station, where the crew was going to take a well deserved week long break.
That’s still their destination but…”What’s the closest space station we can refuel at?”
Tsuyu gives the database a look. “Hmmm, it looks like the closest one we are to is the All Might.”
Well. It’s not ideal, but it’s not the worst either. The All Might is a prisoner station, one of the biggest that the Alliance owns. It’s where the biggest, baddest most wanted go. War lords and dictators and pirates.
Ochako doesn’t like going to it. The woman who ended her piloting career, Toga, is there. She’s not scared of her, she swears.
But she also doesn’t like talking to her. Something the Twerian had been trying to get her to do.
On the other hand…it is where Midoriya is stationed with his own ship, the Dynamight. Together, they patrol the area, to make sure that no one can break in or out.
It’s been forever since she last talked to Midoriya. They were the best of friends in the Academy, helping each other get through the hellish classes. But at graduation…
Her face flames and she shakes it. No, no, no. She shouldn’t think of it now. She has Captain duties to attend to!
Clearing her throat, she puts on her best neutral face. “Alright, then set course for the All Might-”
Again, the lights flash. The ship shakes, for half of a second. And, for just a moment, she thinks she hears someone cheer in excitement.
And then it’s all done. Ochako has to look at Tsuyu, to make sure that even happened. Tsuyu gives her a look.
Ochako pinches her nose. “Call Hatsume and have her meet us there, just to get a check up on the ship.”
~
In her pod, Ochako doesn’t hear anything, unless the ship’s alarms go off. Which is why it’s weird that she wakes up.
Ochako slides the lid back, rubbing her eyes as she squints into the darkness. On the floor boards and the ceiling, there are several low lights that glow blue. She steps out of her pod and creeps to where she keeps her blaster gun. She grabs it and heads for the hallway.
It’s not till she reaches the door that she realizes that Riot has not greeted her.
Swallowing, she peeks into the hallway.
There is nothing there. Which of course, doesn’t mean anything. Taking a deep breath, she creeps down the hallway, her back to the wall, gun in hand.
She doesn’t see anyone. But she does hear someone talking.
Narrowing her eyes, she grips her gun harder. As quietly as she can, she creeps closer. Then she jumps, right in the middle of the doorway, pointing her gun at whoever is inside.
Except…the room is empty.
Waving her gun left and right, she clears the space, her confusion growing. There is absolutely no one here.
But there is a hologram playing.
Ochako puts her gun down as she walks closer, her eyebrows furrowing. The hologram is that of old Hero interviews. Ochako recognizes most of the heroes. Creati, CopyCat, Riot, Chargebolt, and Dynamight. They’re all standing on a stage, covered in soot and bruises and cuts, obviously having just come out of a fight.
Chargebolt is charming the person doing the interview, laughing with them and throwing ridiculous finger signs. He seems to be in some kind of competition with CopyCat, both of them doing their best to make themselves look like the bigger fool. Creati seems to be trying to reign them in. And Riot-
Riot is talking to Dynamight.
Ochako watches the two of them for a moment. This is an interview she hasn’t seen before, since she had only researched the ones that focused on Riot.
Riot doesn’t speak at all. Not to the interviewer. He’s too busy laughing with Dynamight. He leans closer, whispering something in Dynamight’s ear and Dynamight covers his mouth, his shoulders shaking. Riot’s eyes practically sparkle as he places a hand on Dynamight’s shoulder, leaning closer as he bursts into giggles too.
Huh. Ochako knew the two of them were close, could tell because Red Riot always seems to be bringing the other up in his own interviews, even when there was absolutely no need. Doing her research, she knew the basics. The two graduated from U.A, were in the same class. As far as she knew, they were really good friends.
Watching them now, she feels like she’s missing something.
The interviewer, seeming to realize that Riot and Dynamight weren’t paying attention to them, turns the microphone onto them. “Do you have anything you want to share?”
Riot looks sheepish at being caught. Dynamight just looks annoyed, right before a sharp grin spreads across his face. “Actually yeah. I have something I want to announce.” He looks at Riot.
Riot blinks at him, mouth opened as if he can’t believe whatever Dynamight is about to say. Dynamight turns towards the interviewer, grabs the microphone, and leans forward. “I want to announce that we-”
And then the hologram shuts off.
Ochako nearly falls over, not realizing that she had been leaning closer, as if she would be able to hear him better. She manages to catch herself on one of the chairs, quickly looking around to see if anyone saw her.
The lights turn on, forcing her to cover her eyes as they adjust. “Captain Uraraka.” It’s Riot. He sounds…off. “I apologize. My sensors must have malfunctioned.”
That takes all of Ochako’s attention, distracting her from her question. “Riot, run a diagnosis.”
There’s a pause. “I do not think that is necessary, Captain.”
She looks up at the ceiling. “Riot, if your sensors are malfunctioning, that’s not good. It could lead to you not waking me up in an emergency.”
Ship AI’s can’t get nervous, she’s not sure they’ve been programmed to do anything else but have their main personality. But she could practically feel the shift in tone, the long pauses he takes as he answers. “I am sure everything is fine, Captain.”
Ochako puts her hands on her hips. She knows that other Captains and their ships argue- she’s heard the stories Midoriya sends her of his own ship- but she never had to. Riot has always been an agreeable sweetheart.
Why is he fighting her on this? She takes a moment, pursing her lips, before sighing. “Hatsume is going to take a look at you again. I’m just…I’m worried about you, Riot.”
Another long pause. “Captain.” Pause. A sigh, as much as an AI can sigh. “I apologize for worrying you. It is not my intention.”
“Do you have an intention?” Ocahko had said it, partially as a joke, trying to lighten the mood.
The words that come next surprise her. “I just miss him so much.”
Ochako’s eyebrows furrow. “Miss who?”
The lights flicker. When Riot talks next, he sounds like he usually does. “There is nothing I can hide from you, Uraraka. You are my Captain and I am your ship. Whatever you need, just ask. Now, I think it’s time for bed. You humans need at least 8hrs of sleep.”
“Wait, Riot, who is him ? Who are you talking about-”
“Time to go back to sleep, Captain.”
Riot refuses to talk to her after that. All Ochako can do is go back to sleep. But she isn’t going to forget this.
She has some research she needs to do.
~
There was always going to be some risk by having humans- humans with lives and personalities, with their own goals and ideas and traumas- be turned into AI to power the ships that carry them through space.
It’s why, for most of the program, until they refined it, it had been exclusively for Heroes. Those whose entire life had been dedicated to helping those in need. It lowered the chance of bad eggs getting in.
Which doesn’t mean they didn’t have any troubles. Heroes had to be confident in themselves. Some of them were a little too confident. Heroes were a job people admired. Some Heroes took a little too much pride in that.
Heroes had to sacrifice a lot. Some of them sacrificed too much.
They never got rid of AI, even the ones that caused trouble. It felt too much like killing an actual person. The trouble makers or those who just couldn’t handle the stress of piloting a ship were regulated to less important jobs.
Ochako, in all the years since she’s been the Captain of this ship, had never had a problem with Kirishima Eijirou. Kirishima was polite. Respectful. Cheerful. The only time she’s seen him get mad is when they are battling against pirates or raiders.
For normal people, he’s been annoyed with them, sure. A couple of her crew making him talk in short sentences. Sometimes he won’t respond to them at all when they ask him questions. It’s never been unwarranted and those crew members had quickly found themselves transferred to a different ship.
But Ochako had never had that problem. If they ever needed to talk, they did it. If they ever needed to work on their relationship, they did. It’s important for a Captain and her ship to get along.
Except, Riot won’t talk to her about this very specific problem.
He’s not completely shutting her out. He talks normally, keeps her to her schedule normally, and flies the ship normally.
But if she brings up that night, if she brings up that hologram, he just shuts down. Acts like he hadn’t heard her at all.
It’s all very fishy. And Ochako is determined to get to the bottom of it.
Since Riot won’t be of help, she has to go offline, contacting a couple of people from both U.A. and those that head the AI program. She had only done a surface level search through Red Riot’s files before agreeing to the program. She’s going to have to go in deeper.
Her contacts seem worried about her insisting they send it on paper. “Is something the matter with Red Riot?” One of them asks. “I know there have been some malfunctions lately. Do we need to pull him in?”
No. Absolutely not. She didn’t want Riot to be reduced to some business AI. She knows how much he loves being a ship, loves the adventure of ship. She remembers one of his interviews for why he wanted to join the program.
“It seems like the next logical step of being a Hero, right? To help the people of the future. Being able to explore space just seems like a bonus.” She remembers the way he had bashfully scratched the back of his head, as if he was admitting something embarrassing. His cheeks had only gotten more red. He had leaned in, as if he was going to say a secret. “Also the thought that I might be in the future, with all the people I love, getting to hang around them and do the job we love most? Who wouldn’t want that?”
She had reassured the AI contact everything was ok. She’s not going to take this away from Kirishima.
It had taken far longer than she would have liked to get the papers. Once she does have them, she makes sure that Riot is distracted, helping Ojiro with something, before she locks herself in her room.
The first thing she looks over is his family life. Unfortunately, most of everything she reads is something she already knew. Kirishima grew up with a single mom. In every interview with his family, Kirishima never mentioned a dad, or if ever wanted to see his dad.
Whoever this mysterious father is can’t be the “him” Kirishima is looking for. Ochako moves on.
In the interview Ms. Kirishima had done, she talked about her boy and how proud she was of him. It was very clear that Kirishima and his mom loved each other very much, just by the way the two talked about each other.
But Ms. Kirishima never referred to herself as “him” so Ochako doesn’t think Kirishima is missing his mom.
Ms. Kirishima had talked about Riot’s younger self. How he had always been rowdy, but was a lot more shy than people knew. She mentioned some middle school friends.
But Kirishima himself never mentioned any of them. She doubts, thousands of years in the future, he’s missing them now.
The AI research center had conducted interviews with several other Heroes, friends of the red head. All of them had been asked about Kirishima and his disposition.
“Kiri is the best,” Acid Queen had said. “I’ve never met a more hardworking person in my life. He’s always trying to improve himself, to be better than before. And between you and me, he gives the most wonderful hugs.”
“Kirishima is a good guy.” It’s Tape who is next. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone hate him. Maybe villains? But even they seem to have a soft spot for him. I mean, the guy made friends with Dynamight!”
It’s actually Dynamight who goes next. “Red…of course Eijirou is perfect for your program. I’ve never met anyone as perfect as him. And I’ve seen myself.” There’s a laugh. It tapers off. Ochako has seen a few videos on Dynamight. He’s loud and brash and proud. Apparently he hasn’t changed as an AI either, according to Midoriya.
But when he speaks next, it’s soft. “Eijirou is the best man, period. He’s gentle when he needs to be and a stone at other times. He’s been my rock for most of my life. I don’t know where I would be without him. I don’t know if I would be the man I am today, without him. If there’s anyone who deserves glory and recognition, it’s Kirishima Eijirou. You would be stupid not to have him in your program.”
Interesting enough, it looks like Kirishima also had done an interview, when they had been asking about Dynamight.
“Katsuki is the most manly man I know. I know you guys are aiming for the stars, but to me, he is the stars. Bright, beautiful, and wonderful. The fact that I can touch him still amazes me to this day. Without him, I don’t think I would be Red Riot. Without him…I don’t know if I would be half as happy as I am.”
…Ochako is starting to get a thought.
Following her hunch, she searches through the records for the name Dynamight. It comes up 321 times. Bakugou comes up 467.
Katsuki comes up over a thousand times.
Ochako leans back in her chair, closing her eyes, thinking back to all the interviews she looked at before. Riot talked a lot. About his friends, his career, how much he loved being a Hero.
And always, always, he would throw Dynamight’s name in. He could be talking about food or pets or just how sunny the day is, and it would all relate back to Dynamight.
Dynamight, Dynamight, Dynamight…they’re best friends. She read that in Riot’s file. They became best friends during their first year at U.A. They had gone through the Shigaraki war. They stayed best friends afterwards. They graduated together and then moved into their own apartment. A lot of reports that they were glued to the hip.
She read that some people called them the kind of best friend anyone would want. But…
Would you be missing and searching for your best friend years in the future?
Ochako makes a call.
She gets in contact with Midoriya.
~
“Uraraka!” Ochako flushes a little at the person on the other end of her connection.
Midoriya Izuku looks different from when she last saw him, which was graduation. She tries to talk to him whenever she can, but they are both very busy people. And since graduation, things have been…awkward.
Still, despite the scar on his cheek and how he seemed to get taller, he still has that boyish charm. Ochako gives him a smile. “Hey, Midoriya. I’m sorry if I’m bothering you.”
Midoriya seems to trip over something in his room as he rushes to say “No, no! Trust me, you’re not bothering me at all.”
Distantly, she thinks she hears someone say “ Fucking smooth, Deku.” If she is correct, that is Dynamight, Midoriya’s ship.
Holding in a laugh at the pout Midoriya shoots at the ceiling, she speaks up, a little louder than necessary. “I wanted to give you a heads up. We’re headed your way.”
The lights of her ship flicker. Red is paying attention to her.
Dynamight usually has a comment for everything Ochako has to say. Now, he’s quiet.
Midoriya frowns. “Is everything ok?”
Ochako waves him off. “Yep, everything is good. We need to refill and then Riot is getting a quick check over. I wanted to give you a heads up, because I was wondering if you would…maybe want to meet up? So we could, uh, talk?”
“O-Of course, Uraraka! Let me get you a docking slip next to me. It’s been a while since you’ve been to All Might. I’ll have to show you the new things they added.”
Ochako allows a real smile to her face. “I would love that. See you soon.”
“Yeah, see you. ”
Ochako ends the transmission, taking a deep breath. Riot is silent.
But something like anticipation hangs in the air.
~
“So what is the real reason you called me.”
Ochako blinks at Midoriya, her mouth opened in surprise. They had arrived at the All Might last night, slowly docking into the slip next to the Dynamight.
Since they’ve gotten here, Riot has been more chatty than normal. And not a single thing out of the ordinary has happened.
Ochako had agreed to meet Midoriya at an off ship cafe. She thought she would have to worm her way into getting the information she needs.
She forgets that Midoriya knows her better than she knows herself sometimes.
Blushing, she laughs. “I guess I can’t get anything past you, huh?” Looking around, as if Riot could follow her here, she leans forward. “I was wondering if you would have hologram interview #3678 in your archives. I know you went into a deep dive when you first researched Bakugou Katsuki. It should be in there.”
Midoriya raises an eyebrow. But he does what she asks. On his wrist, he searches through the archive he had gathered, pulling up the number. Ochako had to be extremely careful when getting the number, not wanting to tip off Riot.
“Ah, here it is.” He pulls it up, the interview playing. Midoriya frowns. “I don’t think I saw this one. Kacchan isn’t really involved, so I skipped past it.”
Ochako leans across the table, skipping through the interview till she reaches the part she left off.
Bakugou Katsuki grabs the microphone, leaning forward to stare directly into the camera. His eyes are bright. His smirk is wide. Behind him, Kirishima looks shocked, as if he knows what he is about to say. “I want to announce,” the blond begins, “that I, the Great Explosion Murder God, Dynamight, intend to marry Red Riot one day.”
There’s a shocked moment, where both the interviewer and the other Heroes don’t know what to say. In the corner, Chargebolt is giving him a thumbs up.
Dynamight throws up his chin. “The second that Japan recognizes same-sex marriages, I will be down at the courthouse, registering our names. Red Riot is mine, and I intend to keep him till the day I die.”
“Katsuki,” Kirishima says, sounding breathless. “That was so freaking manly. But I’m not going to be out done.” Giving his signature move of slamming his fists together as he activates his quirk, he turns to the camera. “I’m going to marry this man so hard. He’s going to be my husband and I’m going to build him a house and we’re going to live our lives, forever connected.”
Chargebolt makes a “so-so” motion. But Dynamight looks like he is about to cry.
The interview cuts off there.
“Huh,” Midoriya says. “I wonder why them being married was never mentioned in their records.”
“Because Japan didn’t legalize same-sex marriage till after they died,” Ochako breathes out. She leans back, a smile on her face. “Midoriya, I think I figured out the solution to my issue.”
Midoriya frowns at her.
“Come back to my ship.” Grabbing his hand, she runs out of the cafe, heading straight for their docks.
She skids to a halt when she gets there. If she’s not mistaken, the ships are much closer than when they had first parked them.
They were nearly touching.
The lights on the outside of the Dynamight flash orange. Red Riot gives a flash of red back. She would bet anything, the two were communicating.
All Ochako can do is smile. Of course. Riot was kind and selfless. If Ochako set course to go anywhere in the universe, he would go. He would never ask to come to a place she was so clearly avoiding.
But…he might have a few “accidents” that force her to come here.
Midoriya steps up beside her, crossing his arms. “I guess I know why Kacchan was so impatient for you guys to get here.”
“The two of them were probably missing each other.” Ochako looks at Midoriya. Looks at him long and hard. Hesitantly, she slips her hand in his.
Midorya looks shocked, looking down at them. She gives him a smile. “I would be a monster if I were to separate them for too long again.”
Midoriya’s face erupts into a blush. “Y-Yeah. Kacchan would kill me if I didn’t invite you around more often.”
“So I guess I’m going to be around more often.” She takes a step closer.
Midoriya gulps. He takes a step closer to her. “I guess.”
She gives him a smile and pushes down her fears. After all, she wants a love like Kirishima and Bakugou, who are still so clearly in love, even after thousands of years.
Before them, the two ships continue to blink at each other. Ochako is hoping that they’re enjoying their long awaited reunion.
What would it be like to meet the love of your life again after thousands of years? She can only hope to know.