Chapter 2

Misaka stared at the huge building in front of her. It was truly imposing, the Hero Academy if one looked at it from outside.

10 months had passed since she had made that silent declaration. In these 10 months she had made a considerable effort in her goal of becoming the Symbol of Vigilantism. While at the start of her career as a Vigilante, she was deemed by society to be no better than the Villains due to her methods, now a growing part of it saw her as an unsung hero, cleaning the streets from thugs and criminals that had gone unchecked for a long time. They had even given her a nickname. Recently even the news had covered the Electric Vigilante -her Vigilante Name-(oddly it reminded her of her nicknames in Academy City) for exposing over 50 corrupt heroes. Her face scrunched up in disgust remembering that first encounter with a corrupt hero.

It was a Sunday, and she was coming back from some shopping when she wandered into a less known part of the city.

It seemed as if a Villain attack had happened nearby, but the heroes had managed to promptly deal with them. The hero who, –as she had learned later was the 251st in the rankings- had managed to capture the Villain, had approached the person attacked and pinned them to a wall. As she got closer she managed to make out what they were saying. The Hero was ordering the person, a woman it seemed to strip down. Even after the woman's insistence to stop what he was doing and threatening to call the police, he never stopped. Thankfully for the woman she was there.

"Hey you, stop that! I've called the police and the heroes!"

"Who are you girl? Do you know who I am?"

"All I know is that the girl there is clearly being forced to do something she doesn't want to."

"Do you think it matters? The police can't touch me! I am the 251st ranked Hero –Lichtman-."

"Thank you for telling me your Hero Name. Now I can report you to the commission or we all walk away from here and forget this ever happened."

"Tch, I'll remember that you insolent cur."

"Damn bastard. Hey are you ok?" She turned to face the girl who had not spoken during the whole conversation, surprised to only find thin air there, the girl having left during the confrontation.

'It's none of my business anyways, as long as she is fine.'

That encounter had brought her opinion of the Heroes down by a bit. It had led to a discovery of some sorts about Hero Society. Sometimes the Heroes that protected society did heinous deeds hidden from the public eye, making them no worse than Villains. That had prompted her to delve deeper into the top Heroes and reveal those acts. What she found shocked her. Although out of the top 500 Heroes many were not corrupt, those who were, contended with Villains in terms of treating the citizens. The Hero she had encountered was not even the worse of the bunch. Many heroes extorted or blackmailed civilian to do dirty deeds for them and faced no punishment. The fact that reports of this behavior were skipped made her livid. She compiled all the incriminating data in one USB-Stick and contacted a news agency. While normally such methods were not taken into account, partly due to the little information they had and the inaccuracies. However what she had given them were full reports on every corrupt Hero in the Commission.

That was her first true break in the limelight. While word of a Vigilante striking Villains down with impunity had been getting around the city, the rest of the world had not heard of her. With the release of the Corruption Report as it was called, gaining international coverage and fame though, her Vigilante alias had been spread around the world making the corrupt Heroes fear that their dirty secrets would be exposed. The report also led to the commission being placed under scrutiny concerning their handling of corruption, making them announce new anti-corruption measures. All in all it was all a positive outcome.

Another thing that had come to her attention during her first week of crime fighting was that she had become more prone to acts of violence and attacking with murderous intent, becoming colder and more calculating. That meant she was constantly fighting her more violent needs keeping them at bay. So far she had not managed to find why the sudden change, but she had some theories. The first and most likely one was that during the LVL6 shift against Anna Sprengel, her mind had started falling apart and had been invaded by the Sister's more modest thought process, not being driven by emotions. Another one was that during those two vivid periods she had trouble remembering, her mind had become corrupted. She had decided to leave this problem for future-her to think about, due to not having enough data. Still, this was not that bad. It meant that she a clear head while fighting, and wouldn't hesitate killing people who did horrific deeds due to a sense of morality. A problem for her future self to solve nonetheless.

Outside of her Vigilante persona she had decided to enroll to school. Even if she already knew the curriculum better than the teachers, graduation credentials were needed to enroll to U.A High, where she aimed to go. She had many reasons to go to U.A High, the main one being the prestige and opportunities it presented. Multiple top-level Heroes taught there, and graduates from the school always achieved more in Hero Society. Even if the curriculum there wouldn't help her develop her powers, she was already strong enough and getting even stronger. Another reason was to see the future top heroes and judge them. To be honest she found it ironic, that she, a Vigilante would rate how heroic some teenage hopeful Heroes, but after seeing the rampant corruption in Hero society, she had to observe whether they became Heroes for selfish reasons who let their powers get to their head, or for the betterment of society. After all with great power comes great responsibility.

Flashback

In that first day of enrollment she witnessed firsthand the discrimination the quirkless people faced. It was a meek, green-haired boy and a blonde, spiky-haired boy. She faintly remembered the green-haired boy from that first day she was spirited away to here. A week had passed since then and she had come to grips with the new world, and started work on fulfilling her promise.

To not be suspected of being the Vigilante, the part of her powers she used were at that period were mainly her electricity based her powers. Her school girl's persona quirk was Magnetism. It meant that while she didn't reveal all her cards and draw eyes to her, she still had a powerful ability. Still when she saw the green-haired boy being pushed down and yelled at by the blonde one, she had to fight an urge to not Railgun him to oblivion, quite literally. Instead she chose to take a diplomatic route.

"Hi! Can you leave the boy alone?"

Bakugo Pov

I was doing my daily routine of teaching Deku his place for being a quirkless piece of shit, when a girl approached me and told me to leave Deku alone.

'Who does she think she is?'

"What do you care what I do to Deku here? It's none of your business."

"I won't stay put when I see injustice in front of me! Hey, you down there. Why let him toy with you?"

"Ah, I-I can't fight back. I want to, but I-I'm quirkless y-you see. A-a-and Kacchan is my friend" That shitty Deku still thinks we are friends? Me, associate with a wimpy, quirkless piece of shit. Pah, he is delusional.

"And just because you are quirkless, you will let him hurt you while not even fighting back. That's cowardice. And you want to go to U.A High? You will fail with that conviction, before you even start." Urgh, the bitch is getting annoying. Who even is she? I haven't seen her at this school before.

"How do you…"

"Who are… Shut up Deku!"

"A-ah so-sorry Kacchan."

"I am Misaka Mikoto. Same age as you. I just transferred here that's why you don't know me probably."

"New girl! If you want me to leave Deku alone fight me and win against me. Not like you could, with that weak quirk you probably have."

"You're up. Don't cry later."

Izuku Pov

'What that girl said is true. How can I expect to be All Might's successor when I can't stand up for myself? Will I let the others trample over me? No, I refuse. A Symbol of Peace must fight crime with a smile! I have to become like her. Standing up for myself while helping others. I will train harder than ever and make All Might proud'

Just as I made that silent statement, I heard a shout.

"Let me out, you bitch!"

That sounded like Bakugo. As I turned to observe the fight I saw him trapped by a cage of some sorts, that seemed to swirl like a typhoon. What kind of quirk did that? I'd have to ask her.

"If you say sorry and beg for forgiveness, maybe I will. Let me hear you."

"Never, that useless piece of shit deserved it!"

Ah, Bakugo is going to get mad. I have to stop their fighting.

"Ple-please stop Miss. U-um Kacchan is my friend a-and I don't want him to get h-hurt beacause of me."

"You can still call him a friend after he calls you useless and bullies you?"

I had to stand my ground right now.

"Y-yes."

"Shut, up Deku I don't need your help."

It didn't matter what he said now. He needed help and it was clear.

"Hey, idiot. Know that he saved you."

As she said that, the barrier fell down and she left.

In the barrier stood a lightly injured Bakugo. I breathed a sigh of relief. He was fine.

"Damn Deku, you didn't have to help me. B-but thanks, I guess. This doesn't mean I acknowledge you got it?" He muttered in embarrassment, but still bashing Izuku.

'Ah, wait he actually thanked me!'

Flashback Over

Misaka Pov

The building in front of me was huge. If I didn't know it was a school I would mistake for the office of a Pro Hero or an office building. But still this was the big stage. Though I didn't have any doubts that I would pass, I still felt some jitters. I was used to being the center of attention, and going to the limelight again put some stress on me.

I saw two familiar faces. That spiky-haired boy with the awful personality, and that meek green- haired one. I think it was Bakugo and Izuku respectively. The biggest change was on Izuku, he had become more muscular than before. I hadn't paid attention to him, because after that first day we never met again, but he had really changed. Also wasn't he quirkless? He probably has a trump card. I ignored Bakugo knowing that he probably hates my guts after the embarrassment he suffered.

As I walked to greet Izuku he tripped and a girl caught him before he fell. I held back my laugh. I mean, he looked so ready and he tripped. As the girl left I walked up to him.

"Hey Izuku, are you ready?"

"Huh-h, wh-who are you?"

"You don't remember me? You know, the one who helped you that day?"

"A-Ah, Mikoto-san was it? How are you doing?"

"I am fine. All pumped up to kick some ass. What about you?"

"I-I am not as confident as you Mikoto-san. My quirk only recently appeared after all. At least I'll do well in the written part."

"Don't worry. You'll do just fine. Ah, look we are finally here. I am going to go find a seat. See you later"

"See you too!" 'I really talked to a girl. Today is my lucky day.'

After I sat at my seat, a loud voice started shouting.

"Everybody say Hey!" Silence ensued. "Let me hear you once more!" Still nobody answered. Seeing as his introduction failed, he moved on to the main reason everyone was gathered here. After a brief explanation of the events by the Hero and an annoying interruption by a glass-wearing boy they were was assigned to different groups. She was in Group G in the last area, meaning that she was far away to use her Quirk without repercussions.

Test Site G

Some forty something youths hoping to be heroes, stood in an enclosed area simulating a city. Behind them the intimidating building of U.A stood. There an assortment of heroes stood. The rest of the groups had been finished. Except some extraordinary youths, not many stood out. In particular this group had the generally least remarkable quirk users.

Multiple heroes had gone home, but some stayed, mostly those affiliated with the school in any way.

"What do you think principal? Any of them catch your eye?" A scarfed man asked a short person.

"No one in particular, Eraserhead. What about you?" The person replied.

"Me neither."

The general mood in the room was that this was merely a formality, not expecting something extraordinary.

Down in the testing area, the signal to start was given. Everyone dashed from the start in search of the robots who were their enemies. A single person stood still.

'What is she waiting for?' Those were the thoughts of the contestants, seeing her stand still.

Then with a violent gush of air, she got air. Black wings had sprouted from her back. Those were wings that were made from Iron Sand. Using those she propelled herself to the top of a building, so as to better see the battlefield. From there she had complete view of the battlefield. Though some robots were destroyed, the majority were still fine, ready to be destroyed. The task she was about to do was one that would stretch her limits to the max. Focusing on the electrical signals of the robots she used magnetism to lift them up. She clutched her head. Already she was feeling overexerted and getting a headache. She had to finish what she started though and steadily brought them all together. She then pushed them all inside, making a huge ball of metal. Levitating it even further, she suddenly let it drop from a height of 100 meters . The area had already been cleared, the contestants, fearing that the ball might hurt them on impact with the ground.

Meanwhile

"That girl, what's her name?" A lot of the remaining heroes asked

"It's Misaka Mikoto, according to this file. But her Quirk shouldn't be this powerful." Eraserhead answered. "What do you think Principal?"

"I think that you judged this group too early. Expect the unexpected you know. I have a sneaky suspicion though that the extra power came from overexerting herself. It's better if we have stronger students anyways." The level-headed voice of the Principal came.

Misaka Pov

1 week had passed since the test. She was expecting the test results to come any moment. During the waiting period, she thought back to the mock-battle, and came to a conclusion she hadn't previously thought about. Her calculations were not really refined for battle, leaving much to be desired, and making her powers harder to use when multi-tasking. That was why in the waiting period, she started the Calculation refinement Program as she called it. Of course this was a project that would take a long time to show results so she was in no rush. As she was sitting, eating lunch, the doorbell rang. She went to open it. It was the mailman with her letter.

"Is this where Misaka Mikoto lives?"

"Yes, you are talking to her."

"Ah, then this letter is for you."

"Thank you very much."

Tipping the mailman some cents, she grabbed the letter and went to open it. As she opened it, a projection popped up and a loud voice sounded.

"Good Job. You passed the test, yo. You broke the record for Villain points, shattering All Might's record by some fifty points for a total of 150 of them, double that of second place. Unfortunately for you, due to the results of your actions, you lose fifty points, suffering from a reduction in Rescue Points for endangering the city and citizen's life's. We are happy to welcome you to U.A, Ms. Misaka MIkoto."

All was as she expected. If she wanted to get more points she could have gone melee, but she would go unnoticed. What she wanted to do was make sure everyone knew who the top dog in the school was. If they wanted to fight her; well she'd never turn down a challenger.