Trial by Fire

It was the last day of the first week of school, and the class was already on a field trip. They weren't leaving school grounds, but they would be visiting one of the outer facilities. Aizawa said he would explain when the class arrived at their destination. Jason sat on the bus. Before Chris could take the seat next to him, the white and red haired girl stole the seat. Chris kind of froze up, not really knowing what to do. Jason was just as confused. Momo, stood up from her seat in the back. "Chris, I have a seat open next to me back here." Chris nodded and made his way to the back. Jason sat in silence as the bus began to move. The girl spoke up. "I didn't get the chance to say it earlier this week, but congratulations on your victory Monday." "Monday? Oh, the combat training. Thanks." "You were completely outclassed. Chris was stronger and Iida was faster. Ochako's quirk wouldn't do much good against either of them and you're quirkless. I saw no possible way for you to come out on top. But you were in control the entire time." "...Yea. Experience and training, I guess. I mean, I've been fighting bullies with strong quirks my entire life." "Shoto." "What?" "My name. It's Shoto Todoroki." Jason smiled. "Nice to meet you. I'm Jason Miller." She turned her head to look at him. Jason was slightly taken back to see the intense scar covering her left eye. She looked forward again.

The bus stopped at a stadium several miles away from the main school. The class got off the bus. Chris approached Shoto and Jason, who were now having a conversation about different heroes and their fighting styles. Jason smiled at Chris. "Hey man. Enjoy your time with Momo?" "Yea. We talked about jewelry." "Jewelry?" "Anyways, what are we doing here?" "Some kind of training. Duh." The class quieted down as the main doors opened. A shorter person in what appeared like an astronaut suit walked out. "Hello everyone!" Chris lit up. "Is that… is that Thirteen?" The class looked on in awe at the very famous rescue hero Thirteen. She raised her arms in excitement. "I'm glad you all are here to train with me and Eraser Head today. All Might will join us a little bit later, as he's currently stuck with paperwork. But we must press on with training! I would like to welcome you all to the Universal Simulation Joint!" Aizawa turned to the class. "There are locker rooms as you enter the building. Get dressed and meet up inside. Don't go too far."

The class met up inside, dressed in their beloved hero outfits. The massive colosseum-like building hosted a multitude of false environments, including a forest region, a city region, a mountain region, and a lake. The center of the room was large and spacious. Thirteen began speaking to the students. "The USJ was designed to help train you all in the basics of rescue operations." Aizawa nodded. "Being a hero isn't just about fighting villains. You also need to be ready to help clean up the mess or save lives from natural disasters." The class nodded, expressing their understanding. Aizawa and Thirteen turned and faced the center of the room. A very large shadow wall had appeared. Kirishima spoke up. "What is that?" Before Aizawa could answer, people began to walk through. First a dozen. Then two dozen. Soon a small army was now inside the USJ. The final two to exit the supposed portal was a young man covered in grey hands and a very large, muscular beast with its brain exposed and the head of a bird. The portal disappeared. It then became obvious that the portal itself was a villain, as a mass of shadow with glowing gold eyes stood next to the young man. He looked around, speaking with a voice that belongs to someone who smoked a pack of cigarettes a day. "...Where is All Might…?" Iida looked at Aizawa. "Sir, is this another test?" "No." A chill went down everyone's spine as Aizawa put on his signature goggles and readied his scarves. "This is real." Jason took a step forward, instinctively protecting those behind him. Chris felt his gut turn, his mind immediately flashing back to his fight in the alley way. Aizawa turned to Iida. "Run to the school! Get the other staff!" "Nobody is going anywhere." The Shadow was now behind the class, blocking off the door. "We are here for All Might. Where is he?" Jason spoke up, turning to face the new threat. "Not here. Buzz off." "Rude child." Kirishima hardened himself. "Alright, big tall and ugly, get out of our way!" "I am not here to fight you." "Well too bad! Come on, guys!" Jason rushed in with him. "Let's rock!" The two guys charged forward. The shadow grew until it consumed the group.

Chris landed on the beach near the lake. Tsuyu, another student from his class, landed in the water with a splash. Several of the thugs and goons who had come through the portal were now surrounding the students scattered around the facility. Chris was gripped with fear. There were three creeping up on Chris. "Hey there, hero wannabe." The others chuckled. Chris began looking for places to hide. Looking for places to run to. Looking for Jason. Then he stopped himself. A voice echoed in his voice: the very same voice that guided his actions for a decade after hearing them for the first time. If you run, you'll never stop. You have to fight, even if you know you'll lose. Chris forced himself to smile. He raised his arm, ready to fight. One for All coursed through his arm. Then he stopped. If he did that, he would only take out one of the villains and lose his arm in the process. Then he had a crazy idea. One for All receded from his arm, focusing into a single finger. He aimed at the biggest villain of the three and flicked. The directed shockwave slammed into the villain, sending him flying. The other two villains looked on in awe. "...What… how did he…?" Chris wasted no time. His right pointer finger was destroyed, but he had many more fingers to work with now. He fired off again with his right middle finger, this time aiming for the guy closest to him. He was sent flying. The third guy began his charge towards Chris, trying to dodge and weave. Chris couldn't get a proper lock onto him, so he aimed his ring finger at the ground near the guy and let loose. The shockwave still sent the man flying into the lake. He smiled in excitement. He had won his very first real battle against villains.

A villain dropped to his knees, now unconscious after several powerful blows to his ribs and head. He was the last of five thugs who had tried and failed to defeat Jason. Jason wasn't even giving his full attention to the fight. He was too busy watching Chris's fight from a distance. He had a big smile. "...Good work, man…" Kirishima sprinted up to him. "Hey! You good?!" "Yea, I'm good. Shoto started making her way down the mountain and I saw Mina and Momo sneaking to the center. Let's go join them." "Alright. I'm with you all the-" Kirishima was interrupted by a blood curdling scream, originating from the center of the USJ. They two men rushed to the source.

Chris looked on in horror as the giant bird beast tortured Aizawa. The man with hands knelt by Aizawa. "All Might was supposed to be here. Where is he?" "...I'm not telling you anything…" The beast, something that the guy had called a 'Nomu', grabbed Aizawa's head and crushed it against the ground. The teacher screamed again. Jason knelt beside Chris and whispered. "...What's going on…?" "...They want All Might…" The shadow appeared next to the leader. "Shigaraki! I'm sorry, but the fast one got away." "...What did you say, Kurogiri…?" "I'm sorry. The other heroes will be here soon." "...no… no… no no no no no no!" He began shouting. "We planned this assault for weeks! We failed! Failed!" He angrily pointed at Aizawa. "You will suffer for this! Nomu! Kill him!" "No!" He turned to see Chris rushing forward, One for All coursing through his arm. He raised it up, ready to send the villain to kingdom come. But then the Nomu stood up and, with incredible speed, took the punch to the gut. Chris looked up at the beast. It hadn't even budged. Chris was gripped with fear again as the monster raised a hand. "Move!" Jason tackled Chris out of the way as the Nomu created a crater where Chris once stood. Jason stood up. "Stay down." Jason charged the Nomu. Kirishima charged alongside him. The Nomu swung his arm in a wide arc. Jason rolled, dodging the attack. Kirishima only survived the impact because of his quirk. He was sent flying. "Kirishima!" Jason didn't have time to worry about his friend as he dodged a grab from Shigaraki. Jason grabbed his arm and put the villain into an arm bar, preventing him from moving. "Call him off or you'll lose your arm!" "You…" Shigaraki looked into Jason's eyes. "...I'm going to kill you myself…" Jason let go and dodged the Nomu's swing. He rolled backwards and landed on his feet, arms raised in a defensive posture. Shigaraki stood up. "...All of you wannabe heroes… I swear… once your hero is gone… all of you will know… you are nothing… all of you are-" The entrance to the USJ exploded. All Might could be seen standing in the rubble. He wasn't smiling as he ripped his tie off. "I do not appreciate you villains attacking my students. Especially on my teaching day."

He rushed forward, taking out several villains before hitting the Nomu full force. The Nomu didn't budge an inch, surprising the number one hero. The Nomu tried to punch All Might, but All Might was faster. He dodged the attack and landed three more on the Nomu. The Nomu was unphased as it landed a solid hit on All Might. All Might fought the urge to cough up blood. The Nomu finally had leverage over the mighty hero, landing several heavy punches on him. All Might received a punch to the face and flew a few meters. He stood up, but then fell to a knee, coughing. Jason swore as he finished helping Chris up. "This is bad. Go find- Nevermind. He's up." Kirishima walked up, still a little dazed. Shoto ran up. "What the hell is- oh my god." "Shoto, get these two out of here." Shigaraki looked up at his allies. "Nomu. Kurogiri. Kill All Might. I'll deal with these wannabes." The four heroes in training, got ready to fight. "Let's clear this level and go home." Shigaraki charged forward. Jason smirked. "Round two, asshole!" He charged forward, despite his friends' protests.

Then All Might rushed forward, surprising Jason. The Nomu intercepted with a roar. The two collided, creating a shockwave. Jason rolled a few meters before landing on his feet. Shigaraki was flown into the air. "You're a fool if you think you can beat him! The Nomu was built with all of the quirks needed to kill you!" Shigaraki landed. "Including shock absorption!" All Might smiled. "So what?!" He exchanged several powerful blows with the Nomu before the two erupted into a flurry of lightning fast attacks. The force of the battle prevented the students from getting close. Chris held onto Jason. "He's going to fight that brain guy head on?!" Kirishima hardened his hand and dug it into the ground to keep himself from flying away. "They're so damn fast!" All Might shouted over the noise. "So you were made to fight me, big guy?! If you can really withstand me firing at 100% of my power, then I'll have to go beyond that and force you to surrender!" Chris managed to look up. "...Incredible…" "Those aren't random punches." Chris looked up at Jason, who had managed to remain standing. He was watching the battle. "Every single one of those punches are targeting a weak point on a humanoid body. He's really giving it his all." Chris continued watching the fight too. All Might threw the Nomu into the forest region and charged after it. "A real hero…" He blocked a punch from the Nomu before punching it back. "...will always find a way for justice to be served!" With a mighty roar, All Might jumped into the air with the beast and threw it back into the ground before landing next to it. "Now for a lesson." He reared his arm back. "You may have heard these words before, but I'll teach you what they really mean! Go beyond…" He swung his arm forward. "...plus…" The punch landed as All Might screamed. "...ultra…!" The Nomu rocketed through the ceiling. The entire facility shook from the shockwave. Jason held onto Chris. "Dammit, stay down!" Shoto created an ice wall to stop the falling debris from hitting her. Kirishima hardened himself just before concrete dropped on him. They all looked up at the hole in the ceiling. Kirishima was utterly shocked. "...That was like the finishing move in a video game… he beat the shock absorption right out of him… I've never seen that kind of brute strength…" Jason smirked. "He was punching that thing so fast that it couldn't recover." Shoto nodded. "...He really is the best…"

All Might stood up straight. Chris elbowed Jason. It was difficult to see among the smoke, but steam was definitely seeping out of All Might. Jason looked closer and noticed. "Shit." All Might faced Shigaraki. "It's over. It's time for you to surrender." "...No. You're weakened. Come, Kurogiri. We must kill him before reinforcements arrive." "I am with you, Shigaraki." The villains charged. Chris was moving before he could think. "No!" One for All coursed through his arm. His legs were shattered from the jump forward, but he couldn't feel the pain in that moment. A portal opened up near Shigaraki and another opened up near Chris. Shigaraki was now flanking Chris. He smiled as he reached his arm out. "Game over, child." Jason was too far away. All Might couldn't move. This was the end.

A bullet tore through Shigaraki's arm. Everyone looked to the source. It was Snipe: the Cowboy Hero. He reloaded his revolver. The other heroes teaching at UA were there. Kirishima shouted in excitement. "The cavalry has arrived!" "Kurogiri!" Kurogiri teleported Shigaraki away, but not before Snipe put a few more bullets in him. The two leaders were gone. The ranks of the dwindling villain horde panicked and tried to flee. It was over. After an hour of nonstop combat and casualties on both sides, the battle was over. Jason picked up Chris with the fireman's carry. "...You did a good job today, man." "...Thanks…" They nodded to All Might, who was now hiding nearby until the other students left, due to losing his buff form for the day. Jason carried Chris out of the building with Shoto and Kirishima following close behind. Against all odds, they had survived their first encounter with real life villains. Chris did his best to look at Jason. His friend wasn't smiling. "...You ok, dude…?" "He won this round." "What?" Jason's eyes narrowed. "Shigaraki. He beat me this round." Jason began walking up the steps of the USJ, Shoto and Kirishima following him and Chris.

"I won't lose again."