An Unhinged Visitor

[aceinthehood]

Jack Napier wasn't enough of a household name around the hero community that most people would know him on sight. If they did it was because chalk white skin and a grin that ran so far back that it passed his ears made him a hard sight to miss. His Quirk, "Unhinged", was nothing of note - you couldn't make a hero career out of being able to open your jaw and swallow things whole like a snake, though it did make mealtimes efficient.

Jack did have a novel hobby, though, and that hobby was vigilantism. Studying vigilantism, that is. Not practicing illegal public Quirk use for social or ideological gain. Obviously. Jack researched and cataloged the phenomenon the way some people researched appearances of rare birds, from the nationalistic Freedom Ring to the well-loved Rogues of Central City. He was no academic, but in his own way he was still an expert.

Yamada had met him at a conference in New York a few years earlier. (Allegedly.) His pitch to Nezu was that their current enemies were allied around an ideology directly relating to heroism, not personal profit, and that meant security needed a new perspective. Plus, with Stain in the news the kids probably needed a little extra study on dealing with vigilantes, so they could claim him as a guest lecturer and get double the benefit out of him. Jack's Japanese was shaky but competent enough to address a class with, especially with Yamada providing support.

And Jack had neither the cash nor the inclination to turn down a free trip to Japan, no matter how busy his "hobby" was keeping him.

Comments

[aceinthehood]

And he just says it like it's nothing. No irony. No winking. He's just that fucking pure and ugh why couldn't they have him instead of Captain Celebrity as an American export. Things are just way too unfair.

"Can I take home a souvenier?" he asks Mic, after the latter escorts him to the hotel.

"If you mean All Might, no, you can't."

"Damn. How'd you know?"

"Because I'd want him too, in your position. Proooooobably wouldn't be a fan of your other hobby, though."

"Yeah, true."

When Jackie has to pause to take a few calls from home, Mic doesn't ask why so many people want to talk to him at 2am Gotham time. This is a working vacation, anyway. By day he'll be talking to UA staff and doing a guest lecture for the students in each set of courses; by night, the hobby.

And in the evening, he's going to meet All Might for drinks in the hotel bar and try not to lose his shit.

[heavensbrawniestangel]

The countdown is on. He's got some time -- and if he conserves strength instead of using it willy-nilly, he'll be fine. Extend his time by a few minutes just holding his 'flex'.

But he arrives, in his stupid yellow suit and his broad shoulders and everything else that goes with him.

"Hello, Mr. Napier!" He gives a handshake instead of a bow -- he knows how Americans sometimes get weird about customs and culture. "How did your day treat you? I was unfortunately drawn away and wasn't about to attend your lectures."

[aceinthehood]

"No worries, it's probably nothing you didn't know already." Jack's handshake is firm even though he knows this man could take it off at the wrist without breaking a sweat. He smiles - he can't do anything else - and finds them a table at the back, where they won't be as easily noticed or bothered.

"It is fascinating, how orderly you've made Quirk culture here."

[heavensbrawniestangel]

"Fascinating," All Might replies, "and necessary. While America embraces a certain wild west approach to heroism, that really doesn't work for us."

Communistic versus individualistic society. That's just how it is.

[aceinthehood]

"Unfortunately, yes. The American people have to be crept up on like a wary cat, they don't just...do things for other people easily. But that's not all of them, of course, just the ones in charge." Okay, so he's had a drink already.