[Exemplary] A Promise of "All Might"

[All Might]

"I don't understand why you're doing this boss." the ninja muttered, "It's not like you needed the help. Everyone in that joint together wouldn't have stood up to you."

"It's not about whether we needed his help for that job, it's what we'll need him for in the future."

"But he refuses to join." Murasaki said, the secondary glaring at the massive blond man as he leaped away. 

"Only for now." San Yi said with an evil grin, "That guy, Might, he probably comes from a simpler world." 

The ninja rolled his eyes, "There's no such thing as a simpler world."

"No, no, I've seen em'. Primes can come from just about any type of world. I've seen cartoons walking around, people from places where people don't have to worry about money, or sex, where any act of violence can basically be shrugged off. That guy was a genuine superhero, he probably came from a world of clearcut good and evil."

"So why would he want to work with us?"

"Because he'll see, eventually, that we represent a lighter shade of gray." San Yi said, "I can tell already, he's a brawler like me. Maybe a little stronger, a little faster, but not as good at taking a punch. Together, the two of us would be an unstoppable martial arts machine."

"Is that why you let the girls go?"

"Yeah. Besides, what would we do with them? We're not in the slave trade, my no-good brother wasn't even that low. The Floating Lotus has honor."

"We didn't have to keep in chains, just push em' through and-"

"He wouldn't accept that."

"They're just girls." the ninja muttered, "dime-a-dozen secondaries who were probably thought up for the specific purpose of getting f-"

"He won't see it like that. He sees us pushing the 'true victims' into our own businesses, rather than shepherding them into the hospital and shelters? We'd go right to the top of his shitlist."

"You could take him, right?"

"Sure. I've been in the Omniverse a long time. Way longer than him. He makes himself impossible to deal with, I'll snuff him out. Over and over, if necessary." the brawler said, as he and his companion walked towards one of their safehouses, "But we're the best out of every gang in the Tier, right?"

"Of course we are!" Murasaki said in agreement.

"He'll either abandon Coruscant to find someplace easier to be a hero in, or he'll get wrapped up in the gangs." San Yi said, "And if we're the best option for him, he'll be on our side."

"Not sure why you even want a superhero. He's going to object to everything, the drugs, the weapons."

San Yi shrugged, "Not so much these days now that Cleaver's in prison. If we don't make it too obvious, he won't notice."

"Lot of ifs, boss."

"Lot of complaints, not the boss."

"I just expected a bigger draw from this."

"A new Prime in the Lotus isn't enough of a reward?"

"He's not a Lotus yet. Might never be."

"We'll see."

---

"Do not fear!" Might cried as he burst through the flaming doorway, "Let's get you out of here!" he grabbed the coughing man, and flung him onto his back like nearly a dozen others. Wading through the flames, he grit his teeth to focus on anything but the pain. 

"Is there anyone else on this floor?!" he shouted, and after hearing a grunted 'no', he aimed for the nearest outside wall. "SMASH!" he cried, slamming his fist against the wall. The plaster was obliterated, the wood crunched, and the brickwork on the outside slightly bent. "Damn it! I said- SMAAASH!" he threw another punch, and then a third, before the wall left a hole big enough for him and his rescues to escape the blaze. He dropped to the street below, and set them down on the sidewalk on the opposite end of the street from the fire. 

"It'll get the whole neighborhood." groaned one of the women, watching the apartment building going up. She was right, the old-fashioned city wasn't quite built up to modern code, even with the post-modern cities above. 

"Has anyone called the fire department?" he asked.

"It'll take em' fifteen minutes at soonest to get here, at soonest." she muttered. 

"Then I'll have to make do!" Might said, "If anyone can walk- please go and call first for ambulances, then the fire department! I'll need to concentrate!" Might didn't answer any questions as he closed his eyes tight and focused.

It didn't need to be complicated, it just needed to be- there! It had only taken a few minutes, but now he had what he needed. The freshly summoned firetruck sat pristine on the road, and Might ran to its side, turning the correct nozzles and unfurling the fire hose. "Hydrant, hydrant- hydrant!" making a short dash for the red hydrant, he placed the fire-hose in the correct position quickly, used to the action from assisting fire departments in his own world, and turned the hose on the house. 

He let a rip, and the water quickly began snuffing out the flames. A few minutes later, more firetrucks arrived, smaller and less blocky than his own summoned vehicle, and they joined him, connecting to other fire hydrants.

Soon, the fire was contained, and killed. 

He shook the fire chief's hand, delivered a winning smile, and donated a truck.

And then he was off again. He stopped on a nearby rooftop to cough his lungs out and focus on healing the burns on his skin and repairing his costume. To his dismay, it had changed unconsciously in the process. Namely: his pants and shirt were gone, once again replaced with a skintight bodysuit. It wasn't his regular costume at least, all-black instead of red white and blue. And the Izuku-green jacket returned to how it was meant to be. Irritated, he ran his fingers through his hair, only to find that the two blonde spikes he had slicked down had returned back to their regular position, "Ah well." Might said, "Guess it's just too much a part of me to change."

Over the next few hours he stopped seven muggings, broke up two more gang fights, caught an abusive husband in the act and knocked him out, rescued a kitten from a tree, prevented a robbery at a corner store, and ate a sandwich summoned from the same glistening rainbow light he had used to create a firetruck. 

It was.... a successful first patrol. The city was an absolute mess, he found. There was an occasional stormtrooper, but they were either overworked to the point of stress, or absolutely couldn't be bothered to keep the peace. The regular police officers were a little bit more proactive, but from what little he heard, the citizens tended not to trust the police force to solve a situation. When a situation got bad enough that bringing in more guns couldn't make it worse, that was the point when the Tier Five CPD were called. 

Any time Might looked for more trouble, he could find it. 

It kept him a busy man, and kept his mind off darker topics. 

Such as the Floating Lotus Posse. 

"We're a collection of exiled ninjas, martial artists, and kung fu enthusiasts." San Yi had said, once they had cleared out the horrible place. 

With a little searching, Might found the numbers to some women's shelters, and made contact with nearby hospitals, along with calling the cops. The man in purple, one Ninja Murasaki, had complained a bit about calling in the cops before they could do anything with the place, but San Yi had shut him down. 

"We call ourselves the Floating Lotus Posse." San Yi continued, "We're a gathering of similar souls- men whose only useful skills revolve around their fists. We do what we can for our communities, and curb the other gangs around here. For now, we don't have big goals- just keeping our little patch of the city safe. Every other gang around, we'll be sometimes an enemy, sometimes an ally, but we're always ready to fight, and we have better codes than anyone else we know."

Might sighed, "I can't, San Yi. I've made a promise to myself- to hold myself to a certain standard. I'll acknowledge that this was a good thing you did today, but I can't bend to darkness. I can't compromise with criminals. I will not abide by organized crime. I can promise you that for as long as there's someone worse, they'll be my priority, and you have my thanks for bringing this place to my attention... but that's where it ends."

"You can't compromise with criminals Might? You're a vigilante yourself. I see no badge, no white armor."

"..."

"Let's fight people who deserve to be beaten, Might. Let's fight together. From one criminal to another. One vigilante to another."

Might shook his head, "Hopefully I won't see you again, San Yi!" Might cried back with a smile, trying to put the offer from his mind. 

Would it really be the wrong course of action? A whole other group of vigilantes at his back would be nice. People who know the area, who can work with him, their leader already having shown himself a brawler at Might's level. 

But he needed more information first. He didn't know what else the Floating Lotus was a part of, and if there were other hero teams around, he'd make headway in joining them before trying anything else. After all, for all he knew there could be a Superman in the Omniverse! A Wonder Woman, a Batman, a Green Lantern, a Spiderman, a Captain America! He just didn't know. It had been a childhood dream- to join the Justice League. He coded himself after those old-school American comics made when superpowers were flights of fancy rather than a fact of life. 

If people like them existed in the Omniverse, he would hope that they would accept him. 

The Floating Lotus- perhaps if he could reform them, make them something less yakuza and more like an anti-crime brigade, they would be useful. But for now, he would leave the thoughts of possibly allying with them on the backburner, and focus on finding more information, and stopping crime in the process.