120 Chapter 119

After changing into a suit at the behest of Nezu, Izuku waited for the jet to land and taxi into a hangar before disembarking alongside the former, Toshinori, and Melissa.

Waiting for them outside was a middle-aged, borderline elderly man in an Air Force dress uniform, four stars adorning each of his epaulets. Cathleen was also present alongside a group of men wearing green flight suits, but she remained in the background as the elderly man made his way forward to shake Nezu's paw, saying, "Welcome to the United States, Mr. Nezu," in broken Japanese.

Exhaling a soft chuckle, Nezu replied, "Please, General, feel free to speak your native tongue," in comparably flawless English.

Nodding his head, the General, also known as Adam Nimitz, responded with a curt, "Then that's what I'll do." before shifting his attention to Toshinori, his steely grey eyes glistening slightly as he said, "It's been a long time, All Might."

"It truly has!" bellowed Toshinori. "Last I saw you, you only had two stars on your shoulders! Congratulations!"

Adopting a smile that would have earned a double-take from most of the people that knew him, Nimitz extended a hand towards Toshinori as he joked, "I have Stars and Stripes to thank for that. Being the Commanding Officer of America's #1 Hero has its perks."

Though he accepted the General's handshake, Toshinori's gaze shifted to Cathleen, finding her staring at him with crossed arms and a broad smile on her face.

Raising her right hand, Cathleen discarded propriety as she said, "Yo, long time no see, All Might! Have you enjoyed playing around in the kiddie pool that is Japan?"

Instead of taking offense at Cathleen's words, Toshinori exhaled a barrel-chested laugh before answering, "Indeed! After all, protecting one's home and country is why most people become Heroes!"

Before Cathleen could respond to Toshinori's words, General Nimitz frowned deeply and asked, "Major Bates, why are you idling around here? Dismiss your men and prepare for our departure." in a stern, authoritative tone.

Offering a military salute, Cathleen responded with a loud, "Yes, General Nimitz!" before awaiting his return salute. Once he had, she turned to her men, ordering them outside before following after them.

("That's one thing I don't miss about being in the military...") thought Izuku, following Cathleen's departure with his eyes. General Nimitz didn't seem too incompetent, but the number of Officers that gained their Ranks through nepotism and ass-kissing drastically exceeded those who earned their position. As such, they had a penchant for hammering down anyone that dared to stand out or express their individuality...

Interrupting Izuku's thoughts, General Nimitz greeted Melissa before staring directly at him, asking, "And who is this sharply-dressed young man?"

Extending his hand, Izuku answered, "Izuku Midoriya, also known by my Hero Name, Paragon. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, General Nimitz."

Raising his distinctly bushy brows, General Nimitz reciprocated Izuku's handshake as he remarked, "Your English is exceptional. Certainly better than my Japanese."

("That isn't saying much...") thought Izuku, even as he outwardly replied, "Thank you, Sir. I've always dreamed of visiting the States and traveling through Europe, so I'm fluent in English, Spanish, and French."

Seemingly ignoring Izuku's response, General Nimitz retracted his hand, returning his attention to Nezu as he said, "We have a helicopter prepped and ready to transport you to your hotel, Mr. Nezu. The President and His Majesty's Representative are anticipating your arrival."

Exhaling a faint sigh through his nose, Nezu replied, "Then it wouldn't do to keep them waiting. Please, lead the way, General."

With General Nimitz doing precisely that, Izuku followed behind Toshinori and Nezu with Melissa, the latter nervously remarking, "I didn't think we would be meeting with the President..."

Furrowing his brows slightly, Izuku replied, "Then let's hope we're simply going along for the ride..." before grasping Melissa's hand for support. In truth, he was also uneasy, but after his discussion with Nezu, he decided to go with the tried and tested 'fake it till you make it' mentality. He didn't feel like a super-elite, but swinging his metaphorical dick around shouldn't be too difficult...

...

..

.

Though he expected to accompany Nezu, given that he had been asked to put on a suit, Izuku was fortunately incorrect in his assessment. Once they reached their destination, an ancient-looking but grand hotel called the Waldorf Astoria, he and Melissa were ferried away by members of the Secret Service, taken to their rooms, and instructed to remain inside.

Fortunately, though they had been assigned separate rooms, the Secret Service Agents didn't protest when Izuku informed them he wouldn't be letting Melissa out of his sight. Instead, their leader, a man with a literal lion's head, told them that if there was anything they required, including room service, they needed only to inform the Agents standing outside.

"How exhausting..." remarked Melissa, removing her shoes and taking a seat atop a fairly modern-looking couch. There were windows behind her that provided a view of the New York cityscape, but while the images displayed were genuine, the windows themselves were actually display screens.

"It's really strange," replied Izuku, removing his blouse and tie as he added, "It hasn't even seven hours since I woke up, but I also feel like taking a nap. Care to join me?"

Adopting a wry smile, Melissa responded, "That depends...are you going to behave? I'd rather not do anything 'intimate' when so many people are around..."

Nodding his head, Izuku took a seat next to Melissa, grasping her hand as he jokingly replied, "Yeah, I wouldn't put it beyond the Secret Service to have this entire building tapped and monitored."

Returning a nod of her own, Melissa leaned against Izuku, placing her head against his shoulder as she remarked, "They're probably scanning my father's jet as we speak..."

"Probably..." admitted Izuku, imagining General Nimitz frothing at the mouth as he ordered his mechanics to inspect and analyze the borderline sci-fi stealth jet. Its hull was impervious to most conventional scanning technologies, but with the power of Quirks, anything was possible.

"Well, not like it matters," said Melissa, closing her eyes and adding, "If countries shared their technology and worked together, overcoming the MWT phenomenon might not be an issue..."

Furrowing his brows, albeit only a little, Izuku resisted the urge to argue against Melissa's claim. He would never claim to understand the 'essence' of people, but he could never be as hopelessly idealistic as someone like Toshinori. He 'wanted' to believe in the innate goodness of humanity, but so long as there were disparities in power and status, there would always be a handful of individuals that fought tooth and nail to secure their place above others. The worst part was that he agreed with this sentiment, as, without competition, healthy or otherwise, humanity would stagnate, and the world would become a remarkably boring place...

...

..

.

While Izuku and Melissa were taking it easy in the former's room, Nezu found himself seated in the conference room of the Presidential Suite, nursing a cup of coffee as he sat across from a constipated-looking man with slicked back brown hair and an inordinately beautiful woman with pale-blonde hair and dignified features, looking more like a Queen than a politician.

"It's good to see the two of you again," said Nezu, adopting a somewhat mischievous smile as he added, "Though, I suppose this is our first official meeting, isn't it?"

"Indeed," replied the queenly woman, narrowing her icy-blue eyes as she expressed, "Japan usually acts as though it is disassociated from the rest of the world. It's pleasing to see you're taking this matter seriously...unlike some..."

With the queenly woman directing her gaze to him, the brown-haired man furrowed his brows and retorted, "My country offered to put boots on the ground, but your Prime Minister rejected our proposal. You can't seriously expect the United States to support the United Kingdom financially while your country monopolizes the resources found within the breaches."

"Monopoly?" parroted the woman, a glimmer of fury manifesting within the depths of her eyes as she stated, "The United States has deployed more than 165,000 troops across Sudan, Ethiopia, Iraq, Iran, and Saudi Arabia using the excuse of 'protecting investments.' Even avarice has its limits, Mr. President..."

Undaunted by the woman's accusations, the President, James McKinney, remarked, "People in your country have been calling this event the end of the world. Your Prime Minister was the one that requested this emergency summit, arguing that the MWT phenomenon is a global threat. Yet, here you are, speaking of personal and national interests. None of us here were born yesterday, Madame Representative. We're all here because we have something to gain."

Turning his attention to Nezu, President McKinney asked, "Isn't that right, my fur-covered friend?"

Maintaining an unreadable smile, Nezu replied, "While my views are more in line with Mrs. Pendragon's, I can't deny there is a considerable amount of truth to your words, Mr. President. The world would be much simpler if everyone worked together to forward global aims, but I fear the situation will need to become far direr before that happens."

Exhaling a scoffing chuckle, President McKinney sat back in his chair and remarked, "I'm still not convinced this is a serious threat. If anything, it's a tremendous opportunity. Our people have already made progress toward stabilizing the breaches. If they succeed, we can forget about populating other planets via space. We'll be able to teleport to other worlds directly!"

"You mean you'll be able to harvest the resources of other worlds freely," asserted the blonde-haired woman, Julianne Soliel Pendragon.

Casting a side-long glare at Julianne, President McKinney retorted, "As if Britain and the United Kingdom won't claim territory. You people invented colonization..."

"..."

Closing her eyes, Julianne calmly asserted, "The history of every country is written in blood, inscribed upon the parchment of conquest. However, that does not mean things must remain as such. A truly modern society is one that moves beyond the limitations and prejudices of its predecessors, creating better conditions for all..."

Opening her eyes, Julianne turned to meet President McKinney's gaze as she added, "There is a reason people with Mutagenic and Heteromorphic Quirks can walk our streets freely while your country can't go more than a week without a school shooting or a high-profile hate crime..."

Clenching his teeth, President McKinney practically growled, "The United States permits people with all manner of views to live within its borders. If we ousted everyone that caused problems, as your country does, it would incite a civil war..."

Inserting himself into the conversation, Nezu mused, "It appears the two of you have much to discuss between yourselves. Perhaps we should reconvene and have our chat later? My flight wasn't particularly long, but I'd like to rest before the summit's opening ceremony."

"No, it's better we speak before the summit," said President McKinney, crossing his arms as he expressed, "I wanted to hear your opinion before you gave it to the general assembly. You're regarded as the world's best economic advisor and data analyst. Tell me, what impact do you think this event will have on the global economy? I'm up for re-election this year, so any information you can provide would be beneficial."

Though she frowned upon hearing President McKinney's words, Julianne focused on Nezu, clearly interested in what he had to say. What neither of them expected was for the diminutive chimera to adopt a broad smile and state, "Put simply, if we don't get our collective acts together, there might not be a global economy in the next few years. I have sufficient reason to believe that the phenomenon we're observing right now is just the tip of a very large iceberg, and our countries are the proverbial ships sailing in the dark, tethered by unbreakable chains. If we stay our course and continue pressing forward without a beacon to guide us, we're going to sink. And I, for one, would like to avoid that particular outcome..."

...

..

.

(A/N: World leaders quibbling like school children o_o...)