52 - |

Chapter Text

"Well," Kaminari mused aloud. "We're here."

Momo looked about, seeing her and her teammates within the concourse of a stadium.

Her group appeared to be with several others as well. From her count, in total, four of them.

"Hey check it out!" Hagakure chimed in. "I can see Tokoyami!" She waved, and Momo followed the general direction she seemed to be waving in and found their black-cloaked peer standing amongst another group of students. He was scowling, as usual, but he noticed them and nodded in their direction.

"Do you see anyone else from our class? Or from Class B?" Momo inquired, looking over to Kaminari. He was already searching, hand above his brow.

"Hmmm… not seeing anyone in particular…" The blonde mused, looking around. "Guess it'll be just u-"

"Hi."

"YAAAH!" Kaminari yelped, turning around and seeing the source, his scream startling even Momo.

"Sup, fellow Recommended." Tokage Setsuna's mouth floated down from where it was near Kaminari's eyes and slotted back into her head, her hands on her hips in her skintight costume. Beside her, a stoic looking silver-haired girl wearing a mask that covered the bottom half of her face and a lavender, fur-collared, knee-length kimono.

"Sweet! Two Recommended Students in our corner! We got this for sure!" Hagakure's gloves seemed to bounce up and down. Several other students joined in around Tokage.

"Hey," A boy with fire hoses for arms asked as he joined her. "Know these people?"

"Yeah, we go to UA. " Tokage smirked. "

"Tokoyami is with his group too," Kaminari gestured with his thumb behind him. "So, how was your firm-life?"

"We had a firm of eight people, so for me and Yanagi," She gestured to the silver-haired girl. Momo remembered. Yanagi Reiko. She had that ghost-like quirk right? "It was a breeze." Tokage suggested, her typical grin ever so present on her visage. "Was kinda tough on day two but we got it sorted out. How about you guys?"

"I'll… tell you after our exam," Momo shrugged. She looked to the side, seeing Shishikura still glaring daggers at her.

"The screen's on." Yanagi spoke "Did you get the right villain?"

"Hehe," Kaminari brushed his nose with his finger. "You bet we did- oh my tag's green!" He said with surprise, looking at his tag. Momo looked at her own tag on her hip, and she looked about. Tokoyami's group had their tags glow green.

One group, huddled off to the side, were surprised when their tags began to glow red. Momo bit the inside of her cheek.

"Hmmm, alright then." Said a voice as the screen came to life, Mera Yokumiru yawning as he smacked his lips. "Now then, let's see who chose correctly, and who didn't." Mera said. "Look at your tags. Green if you pass. Red, if you fail."

"What the?!- How can we fail!?" Yelled one of the leaders of the group, a tall girl with clamps on her hands.

"Sorry youngsters, but you chose incorrectly. Please proceed to the exit of the Stadium district. Your teachers are waiting."

The sole group, consisting of about ten or so people, departed with their heads hung low.

"Ah. Fukidashi is there." Yanagi muttered and Tokage turned, and she frowned lightly as Momo followed her gaze. A boy with a comic panel for a head was walking out with the group. Her group, Tokage's group of eight, and Tokoyami… five. Thirty-one people remaining

"To those who remain, congratulations on passing the preliminary portion of this Provisional Exam." Mera spoke from the screen on high. "Hmmm, going by the intended groups… We have three of four. Not bad I say." He coughed into his hand a little. "Now, due to the size of your current team of heroes, it is within the range of participants necessary to not enable a point adjustment. As thus, your passing exam threshold is fifty points. As long as you remain above or at fifty, you pass." He then went on to explain the Point Deduction system, with Momo taking note and looking at Shishikura, and then at her team.

Could they be docked points due to their espionage? Even when it was needed to essentially pass??

"You there, with the red scarf." Momo turned, seeing the red scarf boy with shoulder-length black hair with his hand raised.

"You mentioned a point adjustment; Why is that?"

"If there is a circumstance in which the team here in question is undermanned by thirty or more percent of it's ideal fighting strength, the group in question is awarded a point threshold decrease depending on the original intended manpower of the Practical Exam" Mera explained. "I hope that answers your questions. Now then, heroes. What is your mission?"

As the various murmurs broke out between the groups, Momo felt the eyes of her own team on her and stepped forward. "Our mission is to stop the Ghosts of Kyoto. Our intelligence has stated that they plan on destroying a government bureau in protest of recent political law amendments." She took a deep breath. "We are to defeat the villains and save both the civilians and government workers on site from them."

"Do you have a theory on what weapon the villains will be using at the bureau?" Mera asked on the spot.

"Poison gas." Momo replied on the spot, remembering the research.

"Hmm." Mera didn't react overtly on screen. It didn't sound too bad. Reminded her of her mother whenever Momo reported on her acing a test.

The sleepy proctor shrugged, looking off to the side. "Alright then. Best of luck heroes."

Then the screen winked out. "Okay everyone, ready?" Momo turned around, eyeing her group and Tokage's.

"You bet we are!" Kaminari gave a thumbs-up. Hagakure's gloves were gripped as they bobbed up and down, the girl obviously nodding.

"As are we." Said Tokoyami.

"Glad to have you with us, Tokoyami." Momo answered.

"Team Pink-3. Gold-5. And Navy Blue-7, please make your way to the starting gate." Said a loud voice within the concourse. The teen hero prospects made their way down to the gate.

"Soooo Yaoyorozu," Tokage jogged up beside her. "What did you have planned?" Marching up to her as well was Tokoyami , alongside a taller girl with dragon-like eyes and sharp fangs. Her darker skin stood out among the rest of the crowd, along with the small patches of scales along her arms and neck.

"I'm the leader of Tokoyami's group. Name's Tsunami Rivu, hero name Kairyu!" She smirked, showing a toothy grin as she was dressed in a skintight body armor with padding from neck to toe. "But you can call me Rivu!"

"Well, it's nice to meet you." Momo replied as Tokoyami approached.

"I can vouch for her. She rallied our small group well." He said.

"I lucked out and got some smart cookies like you," Rivu replied with a smile and a pat on Tokoyami's head. The crow-headed boy glared up at her as Momo heard stifled giggles from Kaminari and Hagakure.

"Hey hey!" And out from the boy's cloak was Dark Shadow. "If he gets some I get some too!"

"Dark Shadow, get back in there!" Tokoyami commanded.

"Awww, I'd never let my favorite birdie go without some scratches~" Rivu cooed as she knelt and began to pet the beaming shadow demon, who was smiling like a dog whose ears were being scratched. Momo had to look away and cover her giggles while Kaminari and Hagakure outright guffawed in laughter.

"Haaa, this is the stuff…"

"About the Ghosts of Kyoto please." Tokoyami grit out through clenched teeth, and Momo coughed as she looked back, seeing her group. Tokage stood by with an amused grin.

"Alright then." Rivu patted Dark Shadow one last time and stood up. "Game time, people."

On cue, they felt the ground rumble beneath them.

"Must be the arena changing like before at the sports festival." Tokage surmised.

"Alright everyone!" Momo called out, looking at the mass of students. "Our enemy is Best Jeanist, and his presumed minions will be those who have worked in his agency! So expect Hot Iron, Hairspray and Trimmer to act as his lieutenants! They have poison gas tanks that they plan to use to storm the bureau! " Momo turned to Rivu. "How good is your team of fighters?"

"Pretty good I say." Rivu showed off her flashy canines.

"Can I trust you to find which of the minions have the gas tanks?"

Tokage grinned. "Way ahead of ya. We can focus on the civilians too."

Momo nodded, feeling a little assurance. "If we can neutralize Jeanist, do so. Otherwise focus on the civilians. There should be a safe area to take them." Momo's arms were flowing as she made walkie talkies and handed them out. "Use these to keep in contact. It's all on the same frequency." She said, producing more and more. She even saw the perpetual malcontent Shishikura take one, although he glared at it as if it took lunch money from him.

"Right!" Hagakure chirped with a shake of her gloves, her comm unit in hand. Kaminari grinned with Romero as Habuko nodded.

The doors opened behind them.

"Your Provisional Examination begins now." Momo turned, and ran out the door. Already she began to take in the fact that they were in a unique environment. Before them lay a simple ziggurat-like looking building that acted as the government bureau.

"Eight floors. Let's get inside and-" she was cut off as she looked up, seeing a helicopter descend at the top of the building.

The painted logo on the side had a skull in white-blue flames with the characters of Kyoto at the bottom. And at the opened door, the Number Three Hero in Japan, Best Jeanist stood with three other well-dressed sidekicks, all in matching denim jumpsuits.

She saw them jump down to the top of the ziggurat.

"Intercept them!" Momo called out. "We have to get the civilians out!"

Rivu's body changed, her bodysuit fitting perfectly as her human shape contorted into a blue-scaled serpentine dragon with water and moisture forming on her claws as she took off. Tokoyami followed her with Dark Shadow, the monster morphing around him as he took off into the air. Black Fallen Angel that form was, Momo remembered from training. The black-haired girl also saw a boy with jet engines on his knees take off, followed by the fragments of Tokage.

"Crap, it's gonna take ages for us to get up there!" Kaminari yelled. "Come on!"

"Right! Let's go!" She waved as they ran through the front door.

The grapple gun and her web pellet paintball gun in hand, she aimed and took off. They had to get to the ghosts before they reached the ventilation room on the fifth floor!

(X)

"This is getting crowded." Shoto muttered, seeing how their massive group was crowding up the concourse.

"Yo, it's Todoroki!" Kirishima exclaimed as he ran forth with a big grin.

"Kendo's here?! Awesome, now we're gonna pass for sure!" And right beside the redhead was the steel-skinned Tetsutetsu.

"Classmates of yours?" Intelli inquired as their group began to file in.

"Yeah." Kendo replied with a nod. "Tetsutetsu is in my class, and Kirishima is in Todoroki's." She turned to her muscular peer. "I see you're grouped up with him again?" She asked with a wry smile.

"Oh you bet!" Tetsutetsu exclaimed with a clenched fist and a thumb pointed his way. "I thought we were going to have an issue but, turned out pretty great!"

"You can say that again bro!" Kirishima said with a grin as wide as his steel-haired peer. "Still, our firm was rather small, like, only 5 people." He said as he pointed at Shoto and the group behind him as they fanned out to give each other personal space. "The other one only had like 6 too. How many are in your group?"

"Eighty plus." Nagamasa said behind Todoroki. "Some of them are here as well actually. Seems like we weren't the only ones to come to the same conclusion." Kirishima perked up.

"Oh hey, you're the hairy guy from Shiketsu! I'm Kirishima Eijiro!" He said, offering his hand with a big grin. Nagamasa accepted it.

"Nagamasa Mori, at your service."

"Eighty plus people…sheesh, how did ya manage all of that?" Tetsutetsu asked Kendo. The redhead gave Shoto a sideways glance.

"Manage is overstating things…" She muttered, Shoto was unphased.

It wasn't his responsibility to corral that bedlam and mass of idiots to the right spot.

"We came up with the correct location and villain using Intelli's quirk and other factors." Nagamasa elaborated.

Intelli meanwhile was cupping her mouth in thought, a thermos in her hand.

Her brow was furrowed- it had been all morning and her nervousness was gnawing on Shoto's own thinning patience and anxieties.

"Alright then," Came a voice over the loudspeaker and the dual quirkboy looked up, seeing the large screen flicker to life.

"So, that's where all the missing teams went…" Mera mused through the screen.

Missing teams?

"Well, let's first see who is supposed to be here. If your tag glows green, you pass the Preliminary Portion. Red, you fail. Now then…" Mera reached over, clicking on something as Shoto looked at his tag.

It was yellow.

He felt a knife of incredulous shock punch him in the chest- and judging by the sounds he wasn't the only one.

"Oh hey our tags are green! We pass!" Kirishima beamed, turning towards Tetsutetsu whose tag also glowed green and clasped his hand in manly vigor. He then noticed everyone else talking up a storm on their changing color tags. "Huh? Why are you guys yellow?"

Shoto took a moment to look around and indeed, he could see more yellow tags, and he noted that they were all from the various disparate members of his agency.

"Administrator!" A female student with hair akin to chains stepped forward. "What is the meaning of this?" She pointed at her flashing yellow tag.

"Wait, he said missing teams…" Intelli muttered, and her hands went to her face.

"What does he mean?" Shoto asked, his voice a little hurried.

"I suppose we should fill you in. Teams Green-8 and Red-5 have passed fine, but for Teams Green-3, and Black-0, your situation is a bit more nuanced" Mera explained. "It is true that the evidence provided to your trailers did have differing locations and attacks and villains. But unlike other agencies where double or triple leads were red herrings meant to mislead; for your agency, every lead presented to you was completely valid."

A wave of mutterings and shouted questions were thrown at the monitor.

Mera spoke over them. "The evidence collected in your agencies points to attacks taking place right now." Mera explained. "The point of this exam is to emulate hero agencies here in Japan. Tell me, what is the difference between your firm, Miss Green-33," He said, looking down at Kendo. "And that of Mr. 98, standing close to you."

"Who? Me?" Kirishima tilted his head. Tetsutetsu lightly smacked his shoulder.

"Who else, idiot?!"

"Well… it's the size of our agencies." She said,

Shoto felt the answer smack him in the face as Intelli muttered a whispered "Oh no…" behind him.

"Exactly. Now tell me, what do large agencies do when they have multiple leads for multiple locations? Something they're uniquely capable of doing by virtue of having so many members?"

"They split their resources as needed." Shoto mumbled, feeling his blood turn colder by the second.

How could he have been so… stupid?!

Apparently Mera heard him. "Ding ding, we have a winner." The man even went so far as to lift up and lazily wave a little flag.

"The fact is, your agencies were meant to split your members into various teams to support other agencies nearby who needed the extra-manpower to take on their villain groups. You didn't. So, at the moment while this isn't an automatic failure, even with you successfully repelling this villain attack here, which let's be honest you are grossly overmatching on sheer numbers alone at this point, your passing the provisional exam now entirely depends on how many other attacks succeed or fail without your participation. If a majority of the teams counting on your support manage to pull it off, then you pass. If they don't then you fail. Simple really. And then there's how you perform in the upcoming exam as well."

The wall of noise and protests bellowed out of the stadium like a wave but Shoto didn't have time for such; he only had one question as he rounded on the pale and sick-looking Intelli. She had a hand over her mouth as her eyes darted back and forth, and she went back to guzzling from her thermos.

"How many other leads were there!?" He barked.

"Including ours- eight." She answered.

He quickly turned, starting to do a headcount of how many other members of his agency were here to try and get an idea of how many had been left high and dry.

"Oh, and given how much manpower you'll have for this exam, there will be a stricter point threshold for passing as well." Mera explained. Shoto wanted to kick himself right now. "Normally, the point deduction system we will be employing has a pass-fail threshold of fifty points. But given your immense numbers… your threshold will be sixty-five points. Fall to sixty-four and you fail. Now who wants to tell me the mission parameters here?"

More yelling, protests and groans. Shoto grit his teeth, feeling his fingers clench.

Dammit… This really wasn't good.

Kendo stepped past him. "Our mission is to save a hero school." she elaborated. "Our villain is targeting the Sutanri Junior Hero Academy."

"And who is this villain, Miss Green-33?" Mera asked.

"Saikyou and the Hateful Eight. Their objective is to kill the children and teachers at the school, all of whom have quirks. Saikyou is our only opponent who has a Quirk of some kind, utilizing physical brute force." Kendo elaborated. Shoto took a moment to look around, finding Intelli gnawing on a nail, no doubt calculating their highly reduced chances at passing. Nagamasa remained silent, inscrutable under the mountain of hair that was his quirk.

"She's your class rep? Reminds me of Yaoyorozu!" Kirishima exclaimed.

"They plan to use firearms." Kendo continued. "several gunmen with military equipment while Saikyou will use her quirk."

"Hmm" Mera nodded lightly in approval. "Very well, best of luck heroes. Make your way to the Starting Gate. You have ten minutes. Take note, with your manpower, the villains won't be as generous as the other villains are in the other examinations. If anything, they'll only respond with greater force when pushed into a corner…" and the screen blacked out,

"Alright, let's move everyone!" Tetsutestu called out as he jogged forward by Kendo's side. "Let's kick some villain ass."

"Let's group up Todoroki." Kirishima said as he gestured to him to follow. "You wanna come too, Nagamasa?"

"If you insist." The hair-covered boy looked down at Intelli. "Will you be alright, Saiko?"

"Y-yes," Intelli nodded, taking a deep breath. "Just needed a moment… once we are in, I'll have to set up."

Shoto nodded, turning and walking ahead through the crowd with Kirishima and Nagamasa at both sides.

He came to the front before long, seeing Kendo talk with Tetsutetsu and a girl with the claws and face of a mole.

"So, our plan for attack is to neutralize the villains fast. Right?" Tetsutetsu asked.

Kendo nodded. "We have the numbers advantage as they said, and they only have one quirk user… that alone tells how frightening this guy is gonna be." She looked out, seeing everyone else arguing, she sighed and rubbed her temples. "This is gonna be a nightmare…"

She took a deep breath. "The doors aren't open yet." she muttered suddenly, then tapped Shoto on the shoulder. "Hey, I need somewhere to stand high."

Shoto raised an eyebrow wondering what she was asking him for when he caught her eyebrow raised expectantly and realized what she was requesting.

Part of his pride chafed at being relegated to a footstool.

The other part of him realized his margin for passing or failing this exam was far far far more thin than he liked right now.

With a shift of his foot Kendo was suddenly standing on a block of ice four feet tall, quite literally towering over the room.

She yelped, nearly losing her footing on the slick surface before she found her stability and let out a shrill whistle to catch the attention of those who hadn't noticed her sudden elevation in height.

Two fingers in her mouth let her make a sound that made Shoto wince where he stood, and sent his ears ringing. "Hey! Guys." She called. "Team leads or whoever- we need to start making a plan like right freaking now."

"Agreed." Nagamasa called in sharp support. "If we all just run in there, with every team acting on their own, we will fail, even if we have a supposed numbers advantage."

There were several seconds of muttering, quick designations of team leads and other such moves before a cavalcade of what the various teams seemed to designate as their "captains" marched up to the block of ice.

"Alright so-" Kendo clapped her hands. "We've got three groups: Combat, Escort and Searchers. Combat's self explanatory, they're the ones that have to fight the bad guys. These are our fighting quirks. Escorts are our support or non-combat quirks. They get the civilians out of the fighting grounds and Searchers are people who can move fast or have quirks suited to searching large areas quickly. Just because it's a fake school doesn't mean they won't have some of the civilian kids hiding away somewhere not in class."

Shoto listened as Nagamasa and several others volunteered to "lead" the combat team; frankly, he didn't care who led. He wasn't a people person and had no interest in the role. As long as everyone stayed relatively out of his way, he could fight freely without worrying too much about collateral damage, making this situation a relatively simple fight. His ice could freeze the whole stadium in an instant if push came to shove after all.

The escort and searcher teams were smaller than the combat team, either because more people wanted the glory or because they just had that many combat quirks, he couldn't really say.

The plan as far as it went was basic, but basic in this case was good when there were so many unknown moving parts. He only recognized a handful of people in this crowd and judging by the number of cliques people were gravitating towards, like Kirishima and Tetsutetsu with him and Kendo, that was likely true across the board.

They didn't know each other's quirks, abilities, dispositions, skills, temperament, reliability or anything else. Very few agencies could ever or would ever work like this unless it was a true emergency.

Before anything more could be hashed out the buzzer went off, the warning light beginning to flare bright yellow before the doors opened and it was time to get moving.

Filing through with the rest of the group Shoto found the school grounds made for them.

Three 'buildings' not dissimilar to an old-fashioned boarding school.

They were square, squat things for the most part, with the third building being three stories where the others were only two. Perhaps eight rooms per floor? It wasn't an insignificant amount of ground to cover but given their numbers it likely wouldn't be a challenge to search- or at least not as much of a challenge as it potentially could have been if they had the "appropriate number" of people meant for this exam.

"Come on, let's go faster." Someone said, and like that the crowd of examinees rushed forward, all but sprinting across the lawn towards the school grounds.

Shoto was no exception, but his eyes moved back and forth, searching for where the villain team might make their approach. There were only a few cargo-sized doors in the open baseball stadium, as the school wouldn't fit inside a normally enclosed arena, that could be opened to admit a group of any significant size to the arena at once and all were a fair distance away, giving them plenty of warning.

The second their feet hit the courtyard proper orders were being shouted out.

"Form a perimeter around the grounds!" Nagasama demanded, "Split yourselves in groups of three! Call for backup immediately if you hear or see anything!"

"Come on Todoroki." Kirishima smacked his shoulder, startling him. Frankly he'd completely blanked on the redhead's presence. Following him and Tetsutetsu, they made their way to the eastern side of the practice area.

Slipping between the buildings he could already see the escort and searcher teams starting to move. Various kids with big printed number signs on their shirts, all excited to watch the exam, were being filed out in short order.

Where are they- He thought to himself.

He didn't have to wonder much longer-

When the blow came- it came fast, unbelievably fast.

There was no explosion, no sudden door opening or warning, one second they were in the relative calm of the faux school grounds. The next, villains were literally firing from all around them.

They burst from beneath the loose sand of the arena grounds, emerging from maintenance tunnels and hidden boxes, the mouth of their ramps leading upwards, having been seemingly hidden there this whole time, waiting. They came up with weapons raised and it was only on pure panicked reflex that had Shoto bring up an ice wall that saved him, Kirishima, and Tetsutetsu from being hosed down with automatic fire.

Other combat team members weren't so lucky.

He saw several of them get hit, the red from the paint balls mimicking real blood so much Shoto almost believed for a moment that they'd been shot for real, especially as they hit the ground with screams of genuine pain.

The villain group surged forward, tightening the noose like a constricting predator.

"Hey! Get back here!" Someone shouted behind him.

Whirling back around to look, he saw kids, several of them, running… sprinting away from the main group.

Some of them were caught by other Hero hopefuls before they made it too far but one moved past the line of combat team members now openly fighting the villains, slipping towards the villain lines at the stadium seats.

One of the villains straightened up…

And pointed down, pulling a second trigger twice on the weapon, releasing puffs of air that ruffled the kid's shirt and hair, before planting a hand on his shoulder.

The kid sat down on the sands of the arena, the little sign on his shirt turning to a bright red X.

Shoto's teeth were grinding now.

Panicking civilians to add to the chaos.

Panicking civilians who, if they got killed would make things even harder, points-wise.

And to top it off the little Help Me Company bastard was grinning, pleased at having succeeded at 'dying'. "Guuuh I'm dyiiiiing~."

One of the villains rounded the corner of his ice wall and with a slap of Shoto's hand against the cold surface the ice moved again, a thin spear bursting out of the wall to skewer the weapon in the man's hand and ripping it out of his fingers.

The goon recovered quickly, ducking low under the spear and to Shoto's surprise, drawing a knife and coming straight at him hand to hand.

Very few if any ever got close enough to fight him in melee, and for a moment the Todoroki prodigy was struck almost stupid at the fact. He stepped back, dodging swipes from the knife with a painted edge before he got his bearings and shifted his foot to freeze the man like a winter carnival statue.

Then Kirishima slammed into the guy like a linebacker and crushed him against the wall.

"Come on!" The redhead demanded. "We gotta go help!"

Shoto turned, seeing some gunmen still raining fire on the heroes as they had recuperated and were taking defensive positions.

He saw some kids form a wall of earth, others using their quirks to act as human shields like one slime boy and a girl made of some sort of rubber.

Tetsutetsu was suddenly and violently thrown into a concrete wall with enough force to crack it. Shoto's head whipped about, scanning the courtyard.

A massive chunk of earth erupted around the students as if a missile had crashed into it, hero-hopefuls being sent flying as he turned in surprise. A shape moved within the massive cloud of dust and debris, causing the dust cloud to part almost instantly.

"My my, seems like Endeavor's little pup has come to play."

A little old woman with whitish-pink hair and dressed in a red cheongsam with a black bodysuit underneath stood there.

She might be small, but she was not hunched over, standing proud as the screams from the heroes, children, and teachers began to ring out.

Shoto felt his fire come to life. This had to be her.

"Come on everyone!" Kendo was rallying the befuddled heroes. "Let's get her!"

"Hn." The old woman made a sound, raising her hands as her fingers moved in a flicking motion…

What came next was like being smacked in the face by typhoon gales. Shoto grit his teeth, digging in his heels to form icy footholds to stop himself from flying back.

The winds died down, but most of the attackers were now far from the older woman who still stood perfectly still…

Memories of the Sports Festival flooded into him. 'Her quirk… is it as strong as Midoriya's?!'

Shoto noticed more men appear from the hidden bunker entrances under the sands, rushing forward towards the school.

With a grunt, Shoto unleashed his fire towards the incoming armored men in black, but another strong gust dispersed his flames as he looked and saw that Saikyou had flicked in their general direction.

"Come now boy," The old woman snarked. "Should you really be focused on them?" Shoto fired a massive ice surge her way, and the little woman who was standing perfectly still a moment ago was gone, air erupting where she last stood as if someone had taken flight. He looked up and saw her in the air.

As projectiles and laserbeams came rushing at her, he saw her barely move her arm, aiming it his way as Shoto braced himself.

The typhoon gale-like push sent him into the ice walls he'd set up prior. He bounced off them and rolled across the ground, causing Shoto to take even longer before he could steady himself.

He saw her land, but not before firing another power-flick to the ground to slow her descent.

"Take thiiiis!" yelled some students as they charged. Shoto could see a large one with hands like wrecking balls. Another came rushing in while looking like a massive hulking crocodile.

Wrecking ball boy came in with a mighty right hook. Her hand rose, almost languid-like as the back of her knuckles rapped against the oncoming steel ball and sent the youth's fist crashing into the dirt beside her.

With a solid whack of her cane across his face the kid's head whipped about and then a barely there thumb flick on his forehead sent him skidding across the floor, carving a trench with his bare back.

Saikyou pivoted, avoiding the chomp from the crocodile boy's jaws, bending like a leaf in the wind as she swerved to the boy's side with grace unbecoming of her age.

Her shoulder was right beside the titanic mutant boy's ribs, and with the barest of movements, the reptilian youth was knocked back. The impact visibly hurt him as he held his stomach and fell into a kneeling position in the dirt.

She turned, raising an eyebrow towards Shoto.

He felt nervousness swell within his stomach. Kendo, Tetsutetsu, and the others were running towards the school where the mercs were trying to reach the civilians.

"That look in your eyes, much like your father's." The old woman said, and Shoto blinked, feeling a boiling anger swell within him. "Hmm. Yes, exactly that. Now would you humor this old soul?" She mused. "Don't disappoint me."

She doesn't want to be disappointed, huh?

The flames roared and the ice at his feet spread out, cracking the earth as he glared at her. "Bring it."

Saikyou chuckled as more students began to charge in, her arms loose and ready.

(X)

'The new generation gets all of the fancy stuff these days. Big stadiums, buildings for simulations… They didn't have these back in my day.'

The thought moved through Toshinori's mind as he stepped into the stadium, but he honestly couldn't help himself.

Back in his day, the license exam was little more than an internship. You proved yourself in the situations that you could control in the field. There weren't enough heroes to hold the line as there were today.

"Nice place," Melissa commented, but Toshinori could already see her trying to look through the different monitors to find her friends as they sat in the arena.

Toshinori himself spotted a few of them, wincing at the opponents everyone was facing. He knew the call for help went out far, but it was still a strange sight to see his peers within the Top Ten heroes on screen.

"It isn't for tourists."

Toshinori turned, and Melissa flinched a little. Aizawa only gave either of them a sideways glance before returning his tired attention to the screen.

"Well, there's nothing to say that other teachers can't join in," Toshinori explained.

Another flicker of a gaze from Aizawa, this one lingering on Toshinori's smaller form and Melissa taking a seat in the bleacher in front of her. The Eraser hero gave a long sigh, seemingly piecing everything together right then and there before Yagi even got the chance to sit down.

"How are they doing?"

Aizawa shrugged.

"They haven't failed yet."

Toshinori's brow flicked up slightly.

"That almost sounds like praise. I saw Vlad steaming a while back. Some of his students must have failed in the preliminaries."

Aizawa just hummed, looking up at the screen, frowning at what he saw.

Toshinori looked up and shuddered as he saw Young Todoroki be sent flying by the force from a flick from that old woman.

"They're fighting ol' Saikyou?"

Melissa turned to him, a curious expression on her face.

"You know her?"

Toshinori chuckled.

"Yeah, back before even my time, she was an accomplished hero," he explained.

"I'm surprised she was willing to come out of retirement for this," Toshinori commented.

"She was convinced when she saw the participant list," Aizawa lazily said, tired eyes drifting over to the screens, "A few names there inspired her, apparently."

Toshinori shivered. If Saikyou got 'inspired', she usually wound up devastating the countryside, hence her being more of a 'rural' hero.

Those poor kids.

(X)

Peter tapped on his wrist, his web shooters activating as his HUD began to light up, outlining Orca's minions and the big whale man himself.

The big guy was in red, his minions in orange pouring out of the drill-tank/troop transport which looked as big as an RV, Peter's allies in blue and the civilians in green.

He could see Shindo and Monoma touch hands, a large mass of vines sprouting out from Shiozaki's hair and began moving quickly to collect and shield the civilians.

And then Orca rushed towards them like a runaway train.

Peter leapt into a backflip right before the massive orca's hand slammed down in the space where the boy once was, crushing the tile. He twisted in midair, trying to kick the large beastman.

But the pro's hand shot up, catching the kick and swinging him like a bat before releasing the young hero. Peter felt his back hit something hard as he heard a shout of pain and surprise.

"WATCH IT PARKER!" Bakugo screamed, unleashing a series of explosions as he took off and roared, striking at some of the black armored minions and sending them flying, avoiding bolts of those goo guns. He turned as he aimed for Orca, raising his hands he let out a roar as fire and fury surged outwards.

Orca raised an arm, protecting his face as he pushed his hand into the ground, grabbing a piece of tile with his bare hands and chucking it at Bakugo, who ducked and dodged to the side.

Orca moved faster than anyone of his size had any right to, blocking a sparkling green blur that was trying to go for his blindspot.

Izuku grit his teeth as Orca swung his arm, and the boy was sent flying from his backhand.

Several of the minions got into a firing line, leveling their guns onto Shoji and Ibara.

Peter shot up to his feet, webbing lashing out to grab the first gun before they could open fire. A single yank knocked the man into his partner and gave Shoji the moment that he needed as he sprinted forward.

"Octo-Lariat!"

Four arms crashed into two guards, hitting them hard in the chest and sending them flying. However, the other villains rallied instantly, pulling out batons and knives to engage in close combat.

Elle was right by Shoji's side, and to Peter's surprise, her arms swinging with what seemed to be white spikes coming out of her arms, batting aside knives and batons.

"Hurry up!" She screamed, weapons clashing "I got my role, do yours!"

Shoji nodded "Right!" He turned and rushed away, Peter saw Camie doing the same as she gathered some civilians to run out of the lobby.

Orca moved, dodging blasts from Bakugo and weaving between strikes from Izuku. A swing of his massive arm nearly caught Peter as he jumped in to assist.

"You're all blind," he said, "I am not the threat here." Peter could see the ghost of a smirk and fangs poking out of his mouth. "After all, I'm here to kill all of the ones responsible for polluting our planet!"

Peter's eyes narrowed behind his mask. And then it clicked the moment he heard it.

The ticking.

Peter's head snapped to the tank, and on the side, a clock started ticking down. He heard a cocky scoff from the whaleman as he looked his way.

Peter leapt over him, launching off the villain's fist like a gymnast. It gave him a moment to see everything shift around him. The civilians being taken away on vines, and a flash of green that started darting around the edge of the battlefield.

So, at the apex of the flip, Peter shot out his webs, both ropes of the white stuff grabbing onto Orca's back.

"Minnesotaaaaa!" Orca was struck in the gut by a charging Izuku, who staggered him with a flying kick. "SMASH!"

The whaleman stumbled a few steps. Peter chucked a web bomb straight at him, timing the detonation as the hero recovered with a shake of his head.

It went off and Orca became a white-gunk covered heap, struggling to break free. Peter fired more webbing, pelting him to keep him rooted as he heard yelling and screaming behind him. Peter turned, still seeing some of Orca's minions running towards anything that wasn't them. Any leftover civilians, his teammates, and towards the staircase. He saw two big masses of vines at the balcony depositing the bunches of civilians as some were running up the stairs, courtesy of Camie's escort.

Shindo placed his hands to the ground. Peter felt the earth rumble and shake before it exploded, striking some of the minions as tile and earth rose up from Shindo's quirk, Vibrate, creating a makeshift barricade between the villains and the stairs.

Peter heard Orca roar as he broke free of the webbing. The 'villain' turned, glaring his way, micromachine harpoon spear in hand. Peter knelt down, hand to the floor.

"Bring it Free Willy!" He saw the whaleman charge, leaping up with a roar. Peter jumped out of the way from the crater the man made with his landing before firing two web shots past the man, yanking himself forward like a slingshot to slam both feet into Orca's head, knocking the whale man on his ass.

Orca rolled with the blow, smoothly reaching his feet as his red eye glared at Peter.

Peter felt his Sense flare up.

The air seemed to distort for a second, and Peter's legs pushed him to the side, jumping out of the way of… something.

"The hell was that?" Peter muttered to himself as Orca rose. He aimed his web shooters, going into burst-mode as he fired in a rapidfire staccato to bind him…

Orca reached down, ripping a slab free from the ground to stand as a physical shield as Peter rushed forward, using the shield himself to close the distance again.

Sense flare!

Peter twisted in mid-air, firing his web shooter before he pulled hard. Fire and fury erupted, blasting apart the dividing barrier between him and Orca. It caught the whale man, making him yell in pain. The American couldn't see him as he skidded back from the shockwave, the heat rushing over him. Peter landed and turned, glaring hard at Bakugo as he tossed aside the pin from his grenade gauntlet.

"Are you serious?!" Peter barked in anger.

"You were able to dodge with your precog! Quit being a pussy!" Bakugo yelled as he took off into the sky and towards Orca.

Only for the smoke to seemingly part and Bakugo, to his credit, blasted to the side, avoiding the invisible shockwave. Peter changed his web shooters to full burst and aimed two large web bullets that drained his remaining reserve in the current cartridge at the center of the smoke, reloading on the spot. He saw Orca leap out of the debris cloud, cape flared and arm wide. His eyes curved in a dark grin.

"Seems like I need to up the ante." Orca mused. "Now, let's see how you handle this."

Peter rushed in and Orca turned, swinging with a backhand that seemed ridiculously fast. Had the man been holding back?!

His Sense screamed, and he brought up his arms to defend as the strike caught him and sent him flying backwards. He rolled across the ground, getting back on his feet as his arms throbbed.

That… was actually gonna bruise.

Sense!

He dropped, and Orca's jaws clamped down where his head would have been.

"You're trying to eat me?!" Peter barked, jumping back and firing more webbing as Orca wisely covered his eyes.

Peter felt his sense tingle and he aimed at the wall before he fired and pulled, avoiding another invisible blast. Where was it coming from?!

"You're fighting me, Orca!" Bakugo yelled as he blasted towards Orca. He aimed his palms and fired.

Orca met the attack, rushing in with a speed that caught Bakugo unawares, and he barely avoided a swipe from Orca's mighty paw. Peter landed on the wall, looking back as he reloaded his web shooters. He felt his sense tingle, avoiding a hail of foam bullets from some minions that took aim his way as he dodged and ran across the wall.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Izuku and Elle moving across the battlefield, finding any minions and knocking them out as best they could, trying to clear out the last of the stragglers before pressing the attack on Orca.

He saw Bakugo blast away at Orca, but the whale man was unperturbed, almost smiling as he kept the blonde bomber on the backfoot.

Peter pivoted and pushed off the wall, rocketing towards Orca. He fired his web shooters and they latched onto the man's shoulders. He pulled, aiming to yank him off balance.

Orca had other plans.

Reaching up and behind him the man grabbed hold of the webs, yanking Peter off the ground. At the end of a lasso, the boy from Queens was smashed into a body. He heard a cry of pain as they met the ground and skidded away. Peter groaned.

"Get the fuck off me!" Bakugo snarled, kicking the wall crawler off before stumbling to his feet. "ORCA!" Bakugo yelled, blasting off with a backblast of fire and force not dissimilar to a grenade going off that caused Peter to stumble backwards and against the debris. He snarled.

"You're the fucking worst!" Peter yelled as he fired a web line and swung after Bakugo as Orca rolled his neck and got into a stance.

"HOWITZEEER!" Bakugo spun rapidly, rushing in close like an actual missile, only for the bomber to stop dead mid-flight. His momentum was violently reversed with enough force that it would likely cause the blonde whiplash by tomorrow.

He brought his hands together in front of Orca's face. "STUN GRENADE!" A fury of light and sound erupted in Orca's face.

The whale man cried out at being blinded. Before either of them could press the attack, more of the minions whipped around, breaking off their attack on the civilians. They laid down cover fire for their boss, forcing Bakugo and Peter on the defensive.

Mid-leap Peter stumbled, a glob of rapidly hardening goop catching him at the ankle, and Bakugo too was knocked out of the sky as his hand was swallowed up by its own direct hit. Both of them turned, glaring hard at the black-covered goons.

"Get lost!"/"FUCK OFF!"

They yelled as one before Bakugo fired another full blast and sent the minions flying. Peter fired a full cartridge burst and got several of them as he landed, ducked, and dodged. Leaping rapidly, he knocked out each unlucky villain with a straight punch to the jaw. Once. Twice. Thrice. Four times and four minions went down.

He turned and webbed-up an unfortunate minion as the wall crawler stood and felt the foam harden his foot to the ground.

Peter tugged on the webbing and slammed the minion down on the ruined tile floor. He bent down and bashed the hardened foam on his foot with a fist. Just in time too as his sense flared and Peter leapt away from Orca and his trident. The man then swung in a wide arc, Peter feeling the tip of the dull blade nearly catch his chest. However Orca pivoted and with his motion, swung the weapon towards a rapidly-approaching Bakugo. The boy was caught by the spinning weapon and fell from the sky like a stunned bird as Peter aimed…

Only for the whale man to turn, red eyes gleaming in battlelust as he ripped out a chunk of concrete in the same smooth motion and hurled it at him, catching Peter in the chest as it knocked the wall crawler end over end.

"Is this all you have!?" Orca yelled, arms wide as he showed off those sharp teeth. "Next All Miiiiiiiight!"

Peter was halfway to his feet before Orca was on him, his punch catching him in the chest and sending him flying across the room and into the wall. Peter's vision was spotty as he coughed in his mask while his HUD sputtered and flickered.

Peter got back up, hand against a chunk of debris as he felt the soreness in his chest with each deep breath he took, and he heard a yelp of pain and Bakugo was sent flying through some tiles and debris from a weaponized piece of rubble. Peter reloaded his cartridges and glared at Orca as he approached him.

"Come on." Peter uttered, and he ran back into the fray as he heard the roar of Bakugo charging in with him.

(X)

Itsuka was frantic, running towards the school with a mole boy named Momotaro, Kirishima and Tetsutetsu. Behind her was Niijima, a girl with a straw doll-like body from another school who was legging it with Kaibara.

That opening salvo by Saikyou was downright brutal, and had taken out almost a fifth of the hero candidates immediately. The girl kicked herself for not being able to see it sooner.

The right amount of hero candidates meant that a small group would be able to get Saikyou's attention while the others would be able to go to the school and save the civilians. Instead, they had the equivalent of a JSDF battalion of hero prospects. Too many people. Too chaotic and clustered.

It was a perfect chance for the old heroine to cut loose, and for those trained soldiers to take the initiative and go to the school.

The HPSC had brought in legit commandos to play the role of villains? Or had these guys been switched in to handle groups like hers that were over the expected strength parameters of what they were supposed to have?

A scary thought, but Parker, Todoroki, Midoriya, and Yaoyorozu from Class A had fought against similar foes on I-Island according to Vlad-sensei.

Well, time to measure up!

"Can't believe we lost some people at the start already!" Momotaro griped. He was a nasally boy with a large nose and small eyes that looked huge behind his goggles, but his sharp mole-claws were perfect for digging.

"Nothing we can do now!" Tetsutetsu chimed in. He saw a door up ahead. "Alright! Coming throuuuugh!" He roared as he busted down the door.

"The shooters went up top!" Itsuka said as they ran inside, slowing their run. The redhead could hear the roaring and screams outside combined with the sound of windows being shattered.

"Get them away from the side of the school where the fighting is. Put them in opposing classrooms!" Itsuka declared, seeing a camera out of the corner of her eye. "Kirishima, Tetsutetsu, take the lead." She turned towards Momotaro. "Can you dig us some tunnels to help protect the civilians too? The more protection and places to hide, the better." She opened a janitor's closet and the mole boy grinned.

"You can count on me!!" He cheered as he dove, his claws and arms pumping as he punctured through tile and concrete with ease. Itsuka turned towards Niijima and Kaibara.

"Kaibara, you and I are the main attackers. What's your quirk like, Niijima-san?"

"I have the constitution of a straw doll. I can be nimble and strong in grappling and take a light pounding, but I'd rather not get a strong pellet or anything flammable sent my way." The black-haired girl with blonde drills in her hair exclaimed.

"Okay! Stairs!" Itsuka yelled as she remembered the layout. She could hear gunfire topside. "Kirishima, Kaibara, and Niijima take the nearest set of stairs!" She pointed to said location down the hallway of the school. "Me and Tetsuetsu will handle the farthest one!"

"Meet you topside dude!" Kirishima said, giving a thumbs-up towards Tetsutetsu as the dainty looking girl and black-haired youth ran up the stairs.

"Likewise!" Tetsutetsu turned towards Itsuka and nodded. "Lets go, Class Rep!"

"It's Battle Fist!" Itsuka heard more screaming and wind rattling as she opened a door.

Behind it she could see the kids and teacher hiding under the desks in the classroom.

"This way! Move move move!" Tetsutetsu yelled.

"Ohh! Heroes!" Said a kid with a very deep voice and looked… a bit gaunt.

"We're saved!" Another exclaimed with a nasally squeaky voice.

Yep, definitely not grade schoolers…

Itsuka ushered them through, opening the door as kids began to file out quickly into the other classroom where other civilians had been gathered already.

All of a sudden, she heard an explosion go off directly above them on the third floor. Itsuka perked up, as did her steel-haired friend as the kids now bolted for the other classroom…

Running up the emergency stairs, Tetsutetsu was right behind her as she ran, enlarging her fist as she rushed towards where she heard screaming.

Punching the door, she sent it flying across the room where it served as a shield to the rubber bullets that punched through the window. The villain was right outside the glass!

Lucky break.. "Go!" She ordered as she ran ahead, yelling as she jumped on a chair and then out the window at the stunned looking jetpack-wearing soldier.

She brought her big fists down in a slam, making the soldier fall and the jetpack crunching under the impact. The ma- no, woman given the shape of her figure, rolled away before she raised her rifle and took aim.

With a roar, Tetsutetsu leapt out of the window, grabbing hold of the woman in a flying, falling tackle to knock her down.

Itsuka rushed in, closing the distance, her giant expanded hands striking the woman right in the gut. The blow sent her flying multiple yards and she landed on the pavement in a roll.

"How are the kids?" She asked, the steel-haired boy looked her way and grinned.

"Safe and sound." He said, looking ahead and seeing that the villain was both unresponsive and unmoving. "We don't got anything to restrain her, do-"

Itsuka reached into her thigh-satchel, pulling out some simple zip-ties. "I got it covered. After this, we head to the upper floors and help the others."

Tetsutetsu's grin was wide enough to split his face as Itsuka went on ahead. "That's our big sis of Class 1-B!"

Itsuka couldn't help but smile and shake her head, but the good feeling was gone as she felt more gusts of wind from the battle raging in the stadium and the courtyard.

(X)

Momo rolled across the floor, biting back a curse. She was NOT having a good time right now…

The primary reason for that conclusion was the absolutely pungent smell of hairspray that literally made her eyes water and her mouth gag.

Through a gas mask!

She could still smell the citrusy scent!

Hairspray's quirk was exactly what it said on the tin as she came out of cover and fired her paintball rifle.

The more acidic his foods that included processed meats, cheeses and onions, the more concentrated the resulting hairspray, almost to the point of being seemingly poisonous. His fingers had hairspray nozzles at the end joints, and he wore a gasmask similar to her own. The poison gas canister had to be in his backpack!

Hairspray ducked behind cover, avoiding the web bullets as Momo's hands began glowing. A brave soul with jet boosters for legs charged in, trying to get Hairspray to come on out. However, Momo could hear the coughing, the grunts, and the hits that they were taking.

But, her tool was finished.

She tossed a flashbang down the corridor, earplugs conjured in her ears as she heard the bang accompanied by a shout of surprise and minor pain. She turned, seeing Hairspray stagger as she began to pelt him full of web.

The repeated impacts and the growing white gunk pinned him to the wall as he struggled and cursed. She made sure to shoot for the hands, binding the nozzles against the wall and smothered them in web.

"Hairspray down!" Momo said into her walkie talkie, speaking aloud in an effort to compensate for the gas mask.

"Hot Iron is being tricky! Hey, Tokoyami! Send in Dark Shadow! He can take the heat! We're on the sixth floor!"

"I like ya but I ain't doin tha-" Dark Shadow's response was cut off as Momo looked around, taking off the gas mask and panting as she heard yelling downstairs and in the general vicinity. So far the majority of the hero team was able to enter through the ground floor. Looking down from her place on the roof, she saw many civilians departing towards the safezone outside.

Momo moved towards the stairwell, making the turn as she remembered the layout of the floors from the group's research.

The door to the stairwell burst open as water surged out of it. Momo backed off and conjured a hand mirror, using the mirror to peek outside while using the wall for cover.

The inside of the halls consisted of widespread carnage, and some walls were scorched. A denim-covered hero with massive steel protrusions on his hands that were glowing red was swiping and dodging with grace from a smaller Dark Shadow. Hot Iron barreled through a wall before lunging for Tokoyami himself. He was strong! Or perhaps the denim was a support item that increased his strength and durability?

She walked down the hall with her paintball rifle, tossing away the mirror. Wincing at the heat searing on the walls, she turned, seeing a fire extinguisher in its casing. Taking the butt of her paintball rifle, she smashed it open as she heard the sounds of combat from another hallway.

She peeked around it, seeing Hot Iron batting away Dark Shadow and making the shadow monster yelp in pain as it retreated and shrank. She saw Rivu dive in, and Hot Iron simply sidestepped her attack.

He came down hard on the dragon girl's back, Rivu yelling in pain.

"Get off of her!" The denim-clad man turned, and was struck by Tokoyami as he swung his arm, Dark Shadow forming around his limb into a giant claw despite his smaller size from the light sources. The man rolled away, the metal irons that made his hands blazing red once more.

Rivu struggled to get up, seething as Momo took aim, firing several shots and hitting the villain in the chest.

The man yelped and staggered as white gunk appeared. As he moved the hot irons on his hands in an attempt to remove the webbing, Rivu roared, firing a surge of water at him and sending him crashing through a wall. Momo heard footsteps and turned, seeing scared civilians behind her.

"W-We were trapped…A-And-" Momo nodded, running back to the fire extinguisher and grabbing it.

"Tokoyami!" She yelled, the raven-headed boy turning as Momo threw the red canister with all her might down the hall. Dark Shadow caught it perfectly

"Dark Shadow!" Tokoyami commanded as he charged, his shadow monster carrying the extinguisher.

"Aye! Eat this, overalls!" Dark Shadow cried as he hurled it at the stunned Hot Iron. The canister exploded into foam upon contact when the fau-villain brought up his iron hands to defend himself from the incoming projectile

Rivu roared, charging and twirling her body. "Kairyu!" Water surged around her claws and face as she sped right towards the stunned villain, twirling as the water formed around her like a drill. The attack struck him dead on with Momo hearing the villain scream as she slammed him into a wall.

Momo felt relief as she turned towards the civilians who were hiding in the other room. "There are other villains on the lower floors fighting downstairs. They have poison gas canisters. Go to the roof. You'll be safe there."

"Thank you heroes!" The civilians said as they trotted past. Momo then heard them mull amongst themselves. "They aren't half bad…" She heard them say. She trotted down the hall, seeing Rivu take the backpack off of Hot Iron's back.

"Jeez, this thing is heavy. They were fighting us with this weighing them down…" Rivu winced, the serpent girl turning towards Momo and Tokoyami. "So, that's two right?"

"All that's left now is Trimmer and Jeanist. They're down below, trying to get to the air ducts no doubt." Tokoyami said.

"Indeed, the air conditioning control system is there." Momo activated her walkie. "Status on civilian evacuations?" Her hands conjured handcuffs which she passed to Dark Shadow who used them to restrain the unconscious villain.

"You're under arrest bub!" Dark Shadow jeered.

"He's totally your inner self right?" Rivu said with a smirk. The cloaked boy rolled his eyes.

"We're ferrying them all out!" Romero replied. "We got a combat team heading up to the fourth floor where the AC unit is. Better hurry! Kaminari and Habuko went with them!"

"Good work, keep at it."

Momo hung up and turned towards her two comrades.

"Shall we?" Rivu smirked, tossing the backpack containing the gas off to the side.

"The combat team hasn't responded back…" Tokoyami mused.

"Jeanist may have taken care of them, or they're pinning them down." Momo mused as she turned around. "We need to hurry down below and-"

"Hey Yaomomo." Rivu spoke, and Momo turned, eyes befuddled at the dragon girl's casual use of a nickname only reserved for Class A. She had a sharp-toothed grin.

"Forget the stairs. I got an idea."

(X)

"Jeez!" Setsuna yelled, backing off as she avoided the slash of Trimmer. Like the other sidekicks, he too was covered in Support Company Denim, his hands a complete mishmash of scissors and shaving razor blades.

Trimmer smirked as Setsuna retreated via her floating body, grateful that her costume only had organic mesh material made from her skin cells. One of her eyes was focused on the casually approaching Best Jeanist. All around him, various other hero students were either on the ground or their knees, their costumes betraying them as Jeanist had manipulated the linens to bind them up.

"I won't let you!" Setsuna yelled, seeing Jeanist move towards the air conditioning room. If he got there and had the canisters in the backpacks inserted into the vents, it'd be game over for the civilians still inside! Setsuna split herself up into countless pieces.

"Trimmer." Jeanist ordered. "Don't hurt her too much. She needs to choke on her failure."

Trimmer, grinning like a madman, charged with his bladed hands as he leapt forth, performing a corkscrew motion as she did the best she could to split her body even further to avoid the worst of the damage.

Even so, she had placed her torso and upper arms in front as a barrier, bearing the brunt of Trimmer's blunt-bladed assault.

Obviously he would go blunt considering that he was a hero and this was just an exam… but damn that hurt!

Jeanist was walking casually towards the air room as Setsuna gained on him, her fragments coming back together to form hands, her legs and her face. She decided to take the canister, bite his neck and choke him out using her thighs. She saw something drop out of Jeanist's sleeve and onto the ground as her body was about to form back together…

Only for something to explode out, all fluffy and tightlike as Setsuna gawked in surprise. She wasn't able to move!

"What the hell!?" She yelled, seeing what had been dropped. It was… yarn! Her face bits were stuck.

She attempted to force the rest of herself forwards, arms and le-

More yarn balls fell out, and the strands all caught her pieces as Setsuna cried out. Forty-five pieces… that was as many as she could make!

Best Jeanist turned, eyes glaring at her. "Perhaps you should have considered an alternate approach." The green-haired girl did her best to struggle, but the yarn was stuck to her, and to the walls, floor, and ceiling. "Come Trimmer." He reached into his pocket, pulling out respirators as Setsuna's eyes widened.

"Come on guys!" Said a voice, muffled by doors as Setsuna's eyes turned, and she saw even Jeanist turn slightly too. Setsuna recognized it… it was that Kaminari guy from Class A! She heard a rush of footsteps. He had backup but-!

"Trimmer. You do the honors." He lifted the backpack of canisters up, and his sidekick took it before walking at a faster pace towards the ventilation room. Jeanist turned towards the stairwell door…

Crap… "We're gonna fail…" Setsuna struggled as hard as she could, but she couldn't get out of the yarn!

(X)

"This isn't fair."

Toshinori's eyes flickered towards his ward.

Melissa's irritation at the tests had been growing with each hit that her fellow students took and every time that the great heroes of their time simply turned the table with a well-placed move.

Frankly speaking, it wasn't fair, and the worst part about it was that most of them were holding back.

He knew what Endeavor, Orca and Jeanist could really do. He'd fought alongside all of them enough times to see them prove why they were top ten heroes.

To throw them against students, children in the legal sense of the word, was almost cruel.

Only…

"Fighting villains never is," Aizawa explained without a hint of mercy, "There is no code of conduct for some villains, while heroes are limited by a whole number of different things. Students have to prove that they can work against these impossible situations as best they can, or else they'll only be a hindrance in the field."

"But against top ten heroes?" Melissa complained.

Aizawa looked pointedly at Yagi. The blonde felt himself sigh slightly.

"It's to make sure that they push themselves. Sometimes, there will be a situation where backup won't come, and you and your team are the only people standing between a villain and disaster."

"And regardless of the fairness, of the hardship, they have to keep going," Aizawa finished.

"In all honesty, I think everyone here hopes that these kids will never have to fight a battle at this scale," Yagi commented.

Or, more accurately, he hoped they would never have to. Being the Symbol of Peace meant that he was the one that needed to take this load, make a better world where they didn't need to.

But… the world needed more symbols than just him.

(X)

"Here you go!" Izuku set down the portly old man atop the atrium overlooking the lobby, which was becoming a decimated warzone in a hurry. Webbing patches. Ruined upturned tile and flooring. The drill tank on the other side of the room made gathering civilians all the harder. "Just follow the vines! My teammate is taking you to a safe zone!"

"Thank you!" The man said as he got up, joining other people that were running or limping(as best as one could fake a limp) to the hallway where Shiozaki was. "Not bad for a kid…" He muttered before departing.

Izuku turned and jumped down the stairs, landing near Utsushimi who was blowing rainbow vapor from her lips behind upturned furniture. From her, various shimmering clones of himself, Elle, Peter and Shoji were rushing out to confuse and distract the minions.

Izuku ran past Shindo and Monoma as Elle blitzed around the illusionary-mist covered battlefield, slashing and hacking with her bone blades and taking advantage of the confusion from a distance. Shoji was running about and doing the same but closer towards the escalator as to protect the one viable access point to the second floor and to the safe zone.

"SMAAASH!" He shouted, vaulting over debris to punch one of the men in the side, knocking him into a wall. Turning to look at Shoji, he called out to the multi-armed boy. "Any more civilians?"

"Towards the windows!" He yelled, playing the role of overseer of their rescue efforts.

He ran towards the window area. He should be helping Peter and Kacchan against Orca, but with so many other enemies around they and the other team were at risk of being overwhelmed without any speed to cover multiple angles at once like he could.

Negotiating his way across the lobby he rounded the far corner, only to find several of the gunmen waiting for him. Leveling their guns, they fired and it was only pure reflex that let him fall into a slide, the gray foam bullets whizzing over his mop of green hair.

The slide carried him forward just enough. "Idahooo!" He charged, and threw a backhanded punch towards the closest minion, catching him in the arm and side. "SMAAASH!" The blow sent him flying. Izuku moved on to the next target, jumping and unleashing a roundhouse kick that sent another gunman flying via striking him upside the head. He landed and grabbed hold of a nearby coffee table, lifting the thing one-handed by the leg and using it as a shield, feeling the impact of foam pellets bursting on the other side as he shoved with it. He smashed it against one minion's helmeted head, breaking it with a crack of splintered wood, knocking the last of the gunmen on his ass. He panted, turning and finding three civilians hiding in a corner broom closet. An older couple and what he could only assume was supposed to be their teenage daughter, or perhaps a bystander taking cover with them. "Let's go!" He yelled, helping the older people up and placing the older man on his back and the older woman in his arms while the young lady stood up. "Just follow me, and keep your head low!"

"Y-Yes, thank you!"

He ran with her around the lobby, seeing the battle unfold as he saw Orca locked in battle against Kacchan and Peter.

Orca backhanded Kacchan who was trying to come in with a blast from behind, sending the blonde skidding across the ground. Peter charged in and decked Orca in the head, stunning him as the American webbed Orca's face and kicked off him. As the whaleman tore the webbing off his face and spat a tooth out of his bloodied lip, he stared them down. Orca didn't seem phased at all…

Izuku saw Kacchan land, turning about in a pivot with a battle-hungry grin on his features as the blonde oriented himself towards Orca.

Izuku finally arrived at the atrium, Shindo wisely coming over to take the old lady off his hands as he set the old man down. The young lady also trotted forward, almost out of breath.

(X)

"Oh! Check out Shoto! He's about to fire a big blast at that granny you were scared of, Uncle Might!"

There was a snort, and the Symbol of Peace's head whipped around, Aizawa rubbing his mouth. Yagi's impressive eyebrows rose up like a teeter-totter.

"Did you just laugh?"

"Focus on the match," Aizawa said quickly.

(X)

It was bedlam out there, and all from… one damn old lady!

From her foxhole, Intelli stood by with her two classmates as they finished preparing a new batch of tea while the girl relayed orders. She'd quickly commandeered the services of several "mover" quirks, two with a semblance of increased speed and a girl with wings named Konishi.

So far, throwing their heavy hitters at Saikyou wasn't working. She was anticipating them, sending them all flying back and making it all the harder to land a good hit on her. Any projectiles were dodged with a grace not fitting of a woman her age, or she used any raised debris made from the scarcest of kicks as shields.

Todoroki was holding his own, but he was being thrown around as well. The woman seemed almost fixated on him, taunting him the most. As she sipped some warm tea from a paper cup, she felt her mind flex and expand as her IQ increased.

Saikyou was able to possess the physical power of All Might of all people while barely moving a muscle. Her short, controlled motions resembled those of a martial artist. She always maintained her posture, her stance every time that someone came close and only moved when she needed to. She hadn't even moved from her spot save to dodge and bend down with the occasional leap.

She took another sip, her brain pumping as she ran over her hypothesis in her head.

There was no buildup, no collection of power or even movement for momentum. It was like she wasn't supposed to move to ensure that her quirk would activate.

It clicked.

"Listen up!" She said, pointing to the three she'd 'commandeered' for this. "I need you all to carry the message around. I know how her quirk works and how to beat it!"

(X)

Shoto could already feel both of his sides starting to overextend.

With every ice blast, a fire shot needed to go out. Keep things even, keep things moving, all to avoid draining himself.

But it was at moments like this that he was actually aware that his fire wasn't on the same level as his ice.

Saikyou had rarely moved, many of the students in the arena and the stands were trying to attack her en-masse.

"You're all," Saikyou said, her eyes glued on the dual-haired boy as she positioned her foot towards another piece of earth. "So predictable!" And the upturned dirt and grass went flying his way. He conjured another massive ice wall, defending from the onslaught and ducking, feeling the pellets fly overhead.

He charged his fire side as he surged up what remained of his ice block, to prepare a fire blast as he came to the top-

Only for Saikyou to be right in front of him, an amused smirk on her wrinkled face, her open hand outstretched and close to him.

"Predictable." Was she said as she made contact with his gut, a little more motion than usual-

And Shoto felt a sledgehammer hit his stomach, sending him flying and skidding across the ground like a stone before coming to a stop. He coughed out parts of his breakfast as he cradled his stomach.

He saw the woman out of the corner of his eye stand still and approach-only to duck incoming fire from a girl firing her fingernails like a machine gun at her. Or a big hulking girl charging with her rhino horn on her nose.

Shoto focused on her, doing his best to get oxygen back in his lungs as his eyes were locked on her movements. She simply brought her hand up as the girl approached.

"Yo! Todoroki!" Said a voice as Shoto turned as he panted, seeing a rocket girl land close by

"Intelli says her quirk is movement!" The girl shouted. "The less she moves the stronger she is!"

Shoto blinked. What. but… what?

"How!?"

The girl cursed, reaching into her pocket she fished out her phone before holding it up to him.

It was a picture, a picture of a note that he recognized Intelli's handwriting on.

Quirk based on stored kinetic force. Less movement = more stored force. It's why she doesn't move unless necessary. All Might lite while still, weak while moving."

Shoto read the note, the flow of the fight making it ring true as he examined everything that had happened so far. "So we make her move, and she can't use her power."

"Yo Todoroki!" He heard a familiar voice as he climbed to his feet, seeing Kirishima and Tetsutetsu approach at a run.

"Her quirk. It's movement, or rather lack thereof." Shoto shouted as the winged girl took off and the other two boys joined him. "She is capable of incredible strength, but it can only be done with the least movement in any body part. Like a reversal in kinetic physics of some kind."

"Yeah! Kendo got word!" Tetsutetsu said, "She says she's got a plan."

"All we gotta do is keep her eyes on us!" Kirishima exclaimed as his skin became rigid and cragged.

Shoto nodded "Okay." Fire and cold erupted from his arms.

"Let's go!"

"Ohhh man! I can feel that fighting spirit, Todoroki!" Kirishima grinned ear to ear. "Let's take her down! Manly style!" He charged, Todoroki surging with ice right towards Saikyou.

"Can you handle fire?!" Shoto asked.

"I can!" Tetsutetsu was in a dead sprint, and Shoto aimed upwards as he made a glacier to push up and over. He turned in midair, releasing a firestream aimed at the ice mountain he had made, his fire boosting his momentum as he swallowed his left side in an inferno, giving him air as he smothered the Class B metal boy in it.

But Tetsutetsu was right in the thick of it. The heavier and dug-in metal boy who had bent towards the ground to let the gale winds, flame, and steam pass over. They charged right through the steam, smoke, and debris of it all. Kirishima reared back for a punch, and a red-hot Tetsutetsu did the same, roaring as they charged.

Saikyou didn't look phased as she dodged the strikes from the two boys, even as Tetsutetsu's smoldering heat made her back away to avoid the burn. No doubt she was trying to use as little movement as possible for her quirk.

Saikyou unleashed a slight backhand and sent Kirishima stumbling across the ground. Tetsutetsu kept on coming at her, still blazing orange.

Now she looked annoyed.

She stepped on the ground which burst like an egg, tripping the iron-skinned teen mid-charge.

Then, from under the earth behind her something burst out, grabbing onto her. It looked like some kind of straw-made doll?

"What the hell?!" Saikyou yelled. The doll's legs wrapped around her legs like a snake, keeping them separate, and her arms kept her target's arms out of position as she moved, puppeteering the enraged old woman.

"Atta girl Niijima!" Kirishima yelled.

"No doll will…stop me!" Saikyou uttered, writhing as the girl kept doing full motions, forcing her arms in constant motion. She turned about, walking and facing away as Shoto could see Niijima's determined smirk.

"You're right… but she can." Shoto barely made out the girl's retort as she let go, the woman's limbs and her body were wide open, the old woman stumbling forward towards the crater Niijima had burst out of.

And the ground under her erupted again, a massive fist exploding outward.

It collided with Saikyou's jaw, her head whipping back as Kendo Itsuka roared out with her enlarged hand, the redhead being pushed up by some… mole person.

With a battle cry, Kendo then reared back her unused left hand, and grabbed onto the villain, her limbs in her fingers as she came down with a ground-pounding blow, the old woman's face catching the brunt of the blow.

"Down you go!" Kendo yelled out, subduing the villain.

"PRACTICAL EXAM SECTION: SCHOOL ATTACK. COMPLETE. VILLAIN GROUP: HATEFUL EIGHT. CAPTURED AND NEUTRALIZED." Said the electronic voice over the loudspeakers as cheers began to break out.

(X)

Saitama Kyouka flexed and stretched her neck, looking back at those kids as they marched out. They came in far more bloated numbers than anticipated, which gave her the green light from that sleepy-eyed dog in Mera to not hold back one bit.

"You knew my old man?" Saikyou turned, seeing Todoroki turn as he finished his talk with Kendo, the girl looking her way as well. "You mentioned him quite a bit."

"Yes, Todoroki Enji was a former pupil of mine." The old woman replied, the villainous nature gone as she stretched her arms a little. "Came to me for training here and there when he was a bit older than you… Truth be told I was enjoying retirement quite a bit until I saw you at the Sports Festival last April." She smiled lightly. "You are making greater strides now than your father ever was." She turned towards the other kids as they approached. "Keep getting stronger in your own way."

"I plan to." Todoroki nodded. "But, my goal is not to become my father. My dream is…"

"Become stronger than him?" Saikyou mused, turning and cocking an eyebrow. That was a typical young'un response and all.

"Maybe… I don't know. I thought as much but right now… right now I…" He paused, looking to the side, seeming a little unsure.

To be fair, most youngsters were unsure these days. He didn't possess that blazing determination she saw in Todoroki Enji forty-some-odd years ago.

She smiled lightly.

"Well, I may not be around to see it but… if I do, I am curious to see what your dream will bring, young pup." She turned towards the redhead. "You there, what's your name?"

"Kendo Itsuka ma'am." The girl replied. Saikyou looked her over, up and down.

"Keep up the good form and keep your mind sharp. I'm going to be feeling that uppercut for a week." She smirked before she turned around, walking towards the JSDF Navy SEALs she was working with as they were bantering and laughing, no doubt going through their experience against these future heroes.

It was fun stretching the ole One Inch Blow. Working with that quirk made her quite the hero back in the day, when she tried to match up to that stupidly curvy minx Shimura and that hunk of a man in Gran Torino. Why did he keep sticking with her anyway? All she did was fly! She couldn't cause the seas to part like Moses with a flick like she could!

"Wonder how ol' Torino is doing these days." The gray-pink haired woman mused aloud as she continued to stretch as she walked, pulling arms and-

Urkhk

And she felt a bone creak and she winced. "Ahhhh there it is…" She rubbed her back. "I wonder how Enji-kun is doing…"

(X)

"Take thiiiiis!"

Ochako came down with a yell, hand on her light-as-a-feather plank of wood as she charged, bashing it across Endeav-Entei! It's Entei!

Entei's head.

The man didn't stagger or stumble. There was even some shock, his sidekick Burni-Lady Suzaku turning with a wide-eyed look. Along with several of her teammates.

One second. Two seconds. Three…

And Ochako felt her stomach turn to heavy lead as she saw the man-on-fire turn, eye and lip twitching and blood dripping from his crown as he recognized her. His eyes seemed to burn even hotter as the burnette felt the temperature rise in the room.

"You…" Endeavor snarled. And… she wasn't aware that his eyeballs could light on fire… that was… absolutely terrifying…

"Ehe… ehehe." She laughed nervously.

A part of her wanted to say sorry.

The bigger part of her wanted to run.

She listened to that bigger part of her.

(X)

"Ummm sir," Kamiji Moe turned towards her boss as they took on the roles of Vice Boss and Boss of the Entei Yakuza for the Provisional License Examination for the HPSC. "Shouldn't we handle the rest of these heroes? We do need to set the building on fire for the insurance and-"

"She hit me with a plank." Endeavor growled, and he took off like a bullet, somehow even faster thanks to Uravity's quirk. "GET BACK HERE GIRL!!!!"

"SOMEBODY HELP MEEEE!!!!" Came the girl's wail as Moe sighed in sympathy. No one needed to be on Endeavor's bad list for the day…

Did he have a history with the round-faced girl?

"Whelp…" Moe turned, and Burnin smirked as her green hair spotted the enemy heroes now focusing back on her after seeing that display. "Alright then heroes! Try and stop me if you can!" Her hands turned to emerald flame, and she charged into the fray. A horned girl with bright yet determined blue eyes and blonde hair stared her down and charged, standing on two horns with three others floating beside her surging forth.

Ohhhh playing chicken? "Bring it onnnnnnn~!"

(X)

"Foolish children." Jeanist muttered, and with a tug of his arm, he brought the entire cavalcade of youths with him like how one would pull clothing bound together from a washing machine, boys and girls yelling in surprise as they were tugged out, like links in a chain.

That fast…

'This is… the Number Four Hero?!' Setsuna thought, fear and the awaiting doom of failure looming down on her. Parts of Jeanist's denim attire along his sleeves were gone, but the threads were growing tight all around them, and they were all trapped.

"Now, die with the bureaucracy that holds our country do-Ugh!" Jeanist' monologue was cut short, and the man was frozen, eyes wide as he seemed unable to move.

"Best Jea-" Trimmer, who had the door open, turned his head.

"Don't look towards me! Stick in the canister!" Jeanist uttered, his entire body stiff and his eye wide. "In... the vent! These heroes…have a paralysis quirk! "

"Heh, not bad, snakeface." The Gorilla boy uttered.

"It's Habuko…" The lizard girl uttered. "Can't blink…. Kaminari, you in position?"

"You bet I aim!" Kaminari, who was bound but had his arms outstretched with his fingers aimed and… some unique gear on his hands too! "How about this! One Million Volt Stream!" He yelled, and from the gloves he possessed, a bolt of electricity raced out and struck Jeanist.

Jeanist was blasted with electricity, the man shaking as he fell to his knees, his denim singed.

"Ha! Idiots! With Jeanist between me and you!" Trimmer yelled in front of the ventilation shaft, one large enough for that canister to be placed in and activated. "You can't hope to get me!"

"Nah…" Kaminari's voice held a smirking edge. "Just needed to distract you for a second."

Before the villain could ask, there was a massive crash.

Trimmer turned, and immediately dropped the canister and brought his hands up to defend himself… as a giant water dragon burst through, with… Yaoyorozu riding on it! A paintball rifle was held up in her hand like some action movie star and Tokoyami was right behind her with Dark Shadow conjured and pinning him!

"Light 'em up!" The dark monster shouted.

Setsuna mentally cheered as Trimmer was slammed into the wall by Rivu, and Momo landed on her feet, pelting the minion with paintball pellets galore. Setsuna couldn't see from her angle, but the shouts of pain and anger made the greenette feel good deep down.

And there was a sudden shout of pain from Habuko, Setsuna unable to turn around to see why, but it must have been the linen Jeanist had under control affecting her sight, making her unable to look at him. The man turned around, and both arms were outstretched as the denim from his costume sleeves remained on the kids who came up with Gorilla kid, Habuko, and Kaminari. The denim from his leggings lashed out towards the other end of the hall, and got Tsunami, Yaoyorozu and Tokoyami!

"What the devil?!" Tokoyami shouted.

"Sleeves and shirts may be my proficiency when it comes to manipulating clothing and fabric, but I can assure you… every piece of linen upon my person," Jeanist spouted. "And upon my foe, is my weapon." He clenched his fingers, and Setsuna yelped, feeling the yarn tighten around her. She could hear the groans and cries of discomfort from the ones behind her.

"K-Kaminari…!" Setsuna shouted.

"Can't…my hands…they're jammed! I'd get all of you!"

"Gnnngh… do it!" Gorilla shouted, as a few others agreed. "We can take it. I am not going to fail! Not no way, not no how!"

"Y-You sure?!"

"Don't!" Habuko shouted. "There's…civilians! In this room!" Setsuna panicked, and she heard a gasp from the other end as she turned as best she could. It was Yaoyorozu. She must have been surprised that some civilians hadn't been evacuated yet.

"A pity." Jeanist spouted as he walked calmly towards the end of the hall, keeping a bound Tokoyami and Dark Shadow pinned to the ceiling near the lamp, and Rivu against the wall with Momo at an awkward angle. Setsuna felt that pit of despair slowly return.

Damnit! They even got the drop on him!

"But, sadly, heroes." He said as he got to the door, his eyes looking down the hall and focusing the attention on the heroes. "I win." He opened it wider and…

A floating fire extinguisher?

It came down, with a girlish "Hiyah!"

The extinguisher clocked Jeanist right in the head. Hard.

A collective. "Oooooooh…" Spoke out from the crowd.

"What the…" Setsuna uttered as Jeanist stood, and stood…

And fell right on his back, a large welt on his crown and his eyes rolled back. Immediately, all of the linens became loose, and the students let out a sigh of relief. Tokoyami fell and landed on his feet, Rivu transformed back into her human state, and Momo landed on her feet.

The fire extinguisher was still floating over Jeanist…

Hagakure?

HAGAKURE BEAT BEST JEANIST!!!?

Setsuna felt a little faint.

"Does that mean we win?"

"PRACTICAL EXAM SECTION: GOVERNMENT BUILDING ASSAULT. COMPLETE. VILLAIN GROUP: GHOSTS OF KYOTO. CAPTURED AND NEUTRALIZED."

(X)

Peter's world rattled when his body hit the wall, leaving the lobby as he broke through and entered a break room/back room of sorts in the convention center.

He barely got a second to breathe right before the living tank that was Gang Orca smashed through it like a runaway train in an attempt to grab the sparking green blur that was Izuku.

With one hand, he forced the boy to dodge, but his other hand was already in motion. Izuku wordlessly gasped as Orca's fist drove the air out of his lungs. It didn't matter how fast Izuku was comparatively, Orca had more combat experience in a week than most students had seen in their lifetime. They weren't the first quickly-moving fighters that he's ever had to battle, and despite that, he was still here.

So the attack hit with Izuku being knocked back, and Orca almost lazily put up an arm to block the series of explosions that came down from Bakugo, but his eyes shifted over to Peter instantly. The body was barely in the air from his attack before Orca simply leaned backwards, letting one of the blasts go wide. Peter's eyes widened, and he had to spin in midair to avoid the fire.

He looked back at his opponent. Or the fist of his opponent.

Peter's head snapped to the side with the blow, and he hit the ground hard. A warcry split the air, only to be cut off as Orca's hand grasped over Ella's mouth.

The next instant, he was bringing his hand down, hard.

Elle's eyes shot open, but with Orca's hand over her mouth, she couldn't even scream in pain. Just then, the room lit up with explosions that looked like they'd been shot out of a machine gun, peppering Orca's back. The larger villain turned, which was when Peter struck. The teen's leg hit the villain's wrist, knocking his grip loose and letting him grab Elle before jumping away. He set her down only a few steps away behind a wall while Orca dealt with a series of explosions that seemed to at least be blinding him for a moment.

"I'd say he's built like a tank, but honestly that's disrespectful to the gains that man has." He mused.

"Then rush him!" Elle screamed.

A thought that sounded good but Orca's hand grasped a rock. He threw it like a baseball pitcher, smashing through a wall with the force alone. It was a small moment of respite, one that two students took full advantage of.

As one, Spider-Man and Deku's fists lashed out. Both hit the raised fists of Orca as minor shockwaves erupted from their blows. The whale man retaliated with a series of quick blows that could have turned stone to dust, but Peter and Izuku dodged and counterattacked as Orca either took the hits or brushed them aside.

This dude was made of friggin lead!

Peter latched himself to the ceiling, rolling along the tile to avoid an upward strike that tore through the concrete. Izuku leapt back, a series of rocks in his hand.

They flew out like a machine gun, not damaging Orca, but throwing the dust of the concrete into the villain's eyes. For a single second, Orca was staggered.

Peter dropped from the ceiling, his foot coming down like an ax on the villain's head to finish it!

Remembering Mirko's kicks during their sparring session, as if on instinct, Peter completed the axe kick, the motion looking like a crescent moon, staggering Orca as the blow made him buckle at the knee and went down to it as Peter followed through, the ground cratering under Orca.

The villain's eyes snapped towards him before Peter's sense screamed at him.

'SHIT!'

"Got you!"

Then, everything was sound.

The sonic blast hit point-blank, and Peter didn't even feel himself hit the ground. He was screaming in his own suit, his hands on his ears, only the vague vibrations telling him what was going on.

Then, a jerking sensation, and a small blast of heat before a sudden stop.

Did he hit a wall? Did someone throw him aside? He didn't know, he couldn't hear anything, he couldn't even see anything!

He grit his teeth. He needed to get up, he needed to help!

But he couldn't, so he laid on the ground, trying to get up. His arms and legs felt like jelly. God, was this what being a newborn horse felt like?!

Peter shook his head, trying to force his eyes to focus. The HUD on his suit was working overtime, and he saw Elle holding him.

"Retreat for now."

"Thanks?" Peter tried to utter, in English as his entire body was on fire and it probably sounded more like a groan.

Elle's head tilted, and Peter felt gravity take him. He nearly hit the floor face-first, only being stopped by a quick hand.

Though, he still hit the floor through his hand, so not the best result.

"Ow."

Elle, for her part, didn't really care as she charged forwards to the battle. Orca stood in a maelstrom, Izuku weaving in and out for quick hits, roaring all the while as lightning arced around him. Bakugo peppered the villain from a distance with explosions, roaring with Izuku as well. Elle jumped right in, ducking just under a backhanded swing from Orca, throwing a fist towards his face.

A fist where bones jutted out of the skin, sharp singular points going straight for Orca's eye. Peter could see his eyes widen, but his other fist hit her dead on the chest. She skipped once, then flipped, and charged again, howling like an animal, bladed bones coming from her knuckles now.

Orca roared in frustration at the thundering strikes from Izuku's jackhammer-like blows, the slashes of Elle at his legs causing him to fall to his knees and Bakugo aimed his gauntlet.

"Move it Deku, Bones!" He barked, and the two jumped as Orca roared.

The pin was pulled, and Bakugo fired as Orca's sonar blast went off. Fire and fury raced out to meet the invisible shockwave as both passed through each other, sound versus a literal explosion. Orca was sent flying, skidding across the ground and slamming into the wall which caused a massive indent. Bakugo staggered on his feet, Izuku going to his side and supporting him as he fell to his knees, although the boy pushed him off as if he had leprosy.

"YOU WON'T WIIIIN!" Orca bellowed, and Peter turned, seeing Orca land on his feet and hands after he had staggered out, his coat falling to the ground, his red eyes wide, sharp teeth exposed.

"THIS SOCIETY WILL CHANGE! AND IT WILL CHANGE IN FIRE!"

Damn, he's doing a hell of a job selling the villain act.