The television reporters from the press section of the arena were presenting their commentary. A room claustrophobic with cameras and microphones, all pointed like a military armament towards the fighting stage and the children below.
"Good afternoon, ladies and gentleman. I'm Betty Brant with Daily Bugle TV, coming to you live at the arena where the World Quirk Competition will be underway in just a few short minutes. Heroes, sidekicks and other members of the hero community from all over the country have come to witness this momentous event, a competition between Japan's top hero school, UA High, and our very own Marvel Academy. 34 students are here to show off their quirks in single combat, all to mark a new alliance between two parts of the world. Just look at that crowd, everyone here is excited for this tournament!"
Shinso paid no mind to the crowd roaring around him, he had but one singular focus on the opponent in front of him. With a stoic face, he stepped to the fighting stage with a demeanor and determination to win. His eyes lined up with his opponent, the student from Marvel Academy he would fight. According to the match list, his name was Elijah Bradley. He'd never heard of him, but he knew well enough not to take him lightly. His costume was a dark blue vest jacket with red gloves and combat boots, and white pants as well. A classic All-American fare. The mask he wore troubled Shinso; the same color as the jacket and covering the nose and mouth, with a red domino-mask style imprint around the eyes. It would be difficult to get a read on his opponent. On top of that the guys build seemed to be barely contained by his suit. Shinso wondered if it would have been better to have Hatsume whip up something for him to wear other than his Yuuei gym clothes.
"AL-RIIIIIIIGHHHT, we are ready for the first match of the tournament! First to take the stage, looking like a walking flag, is ELIJAH BRADLEYYYY!"
Elijah stepped out, his shoulders relaxed as he took a deep breath, then walking towards the stage. The crowd cheered for their home-team player.
"Just LOOK at that determination! Here to help provide the facts for our killer audience is my cohost DEADPOOL!!"
The speakers suddenly boomed.
"W-W-W-W-What UUUUUP A-MERICAAAAA!! And hel-LO JAPAN!!! It's yer fav Merc With A Mouth and totally-not-a-Deathstroke-ripoff DEADPOOOOL!!! I'm with my boi Presentation Michael (you don't mind if I use your full name?) to give you lovely peeps the lowdown and play by play of the sick fights we're about to munch popcorn to!"
The teachers in the bleachers were somewhat less than enthused. Others were just...bemused.
"Geez..." Eraserhead remarked. "This guy sounds like he's going to be a pain."
All Might just shrugged and smiled reassuringly at his colleague. "Well...at least he has stage presence."
Present Mic seemed taken aback by his cohosts personality as well. "Well, um...why don't you give us the 411 on our first competitor?"
"You've got it, Present Michael Jordan! Up first from MA is Elijah Bradley, the rep of class 1-Y, sporting a badass patriotic outfit! Word on the grapevine is he's being groomed to be the big C.A.'s sidekick!"
All Might turned to his friend sitting next to him. "Is that true, Steve?"
Cap crossed his arms and looked towards the commentators booth disapprovingly. "I was sitting on that so I could make an official announcement when Eli was ready. I don't know how Wade is always finding out about these things."
Present Mic fired up before Wade could continue shooting his mouth off. "And stepping up next to the stage, he stole the spotlight at the Yuuei Sports Festival, but didn't quite make the cut! Back for another chance at victory, it's Hitoshi Shinso from General Studies!"
Shinso walked out without any hesitation, almost walking too fast onto the stage. His classmates watched from the students bleachers above. Izuku Midoriya paid special attention.
"Hey, Midoriya!" Kirishima leaned over from his seat to face Midoriya. "That Shinso guy...he's the one you fought in the Sports Festival, right?"
Midoriya jumped a little at his friends enthusiasm catching the boy off guard. "H-huh?? Oh, yes. He has the brainwashing quirk..."
Kirishima cut Midoriya off, his excitement taking his attention all over the place. "So, what do you think, Mr. Hero Analysis? Does the guy have a chance? He looks like he's seriously been bulking up since back then."
Midoriya stared intently at the scene, his hand on his mouth as he thought hard about his peer's chances of victory. He admitted that Shinso had changed in the time since the Sports Festival. It looked he had physically prepared for this tournament.
Back on the stage, Shinso still refused to look away from his opponent.
"Hey! You're name's Shinso, right?"
Shinso blinked a couple of times, breaking his death glare, looking at his opponent again. "Yeah, what about it?"
Elijah tactfully raised his right hand in greeting.
"My names Elijah! Although I suppose you know that already. I can tell by the look in your eyes that you're pretty pumped for this. That's good, I want to see what you've got!"
Shinso blinked again at Elijah.
What's with this guy? He's acting all serious and intimidating, but...he sounds so sincere.
Elijah lowered his hands and shot a good-natured look at Shinso.
"Listen, we don't know each other, and I don't want to overstep my boundaries, but you should really loosen up. Let's just enjoy the fight."
Shinso glared at Elijah.
"Yeah, whatever. Let's hope I don't make you eat those words."
Elijah's face grew serious at that response, the two making it clear that neither of them would be making this easy.
Present Mic fired up the amps. "ALL RIGHT COMPETITORS...LET THE FIRST MATCH...BEGIN!!!"
"Well, Midoriya? What do you think?" Kirishima asked again.
Iida was sitting next to Midoriya, and of course overheard Kirishima's question. "We have all seen his quirk in action, and it is quite strong. Even without knowing his opponents quirk, all Shinso needs to do is get his opponent to answer a question. I would think that this gives Shinso an advantage, as far as I can tell."
"No, he's definitely in trouble."
The rest of the class turned to Midoriya. "Huh? What do you mean, Midoriya?" asked Kirishima.
Midoriya continued to stare intently at the stage. "Shinso participated in the Sports Festival...that was publicly televised. That was how Professor Xavier knew about it in the first place. If any of the students here watched our fights...then Elijah knows exactly how Shinso's quirk works, and can counter it."
The rest of the students thought about this revelation. "That's true, I guess Shinso is at a real disadvantage if his opponent doesn't talk to him for the whole fight." Uraraka said with worry.
Kirishima was frustrated. "But that means that if everyone here watched us fight, we're all at a disadvantage here!"
"A troublesome thought." Tokoyami lamented. "All the more reason to keep up our guard around our new rivals."
"There's another issue with this match-up as well." Midoriya continued.
"Another issue? What's that?" Iida questioned.
Midoriya stared at Shinso. He was keeping his composure, but there was something in his face that Midoriya felt was amiss.
He then answered Iida's question. "Shinso is in the General Studies department. Think about it: everyone in the Hero Course has already had months of quirk and combat training, not to mention our experience with actual crisis situations. I bet the hero students here have had similar training, and Shinso is extremely lacking."
Midoriya had no idea how right he was, as Shinso clenched his fist in the hope that it would hide the sweat in his palms.
Damn, I'm in a fix here. Despite all of the bravado I just spat out, I'm sweating bullets!
He recalled his defeat at Midoriya's hands. Shinso steadied himself.
My best card has already been shown. If I can't use my quirk, I might as well cry uncle now.
The two fighters stared in fighting positions, waiting for the other to make the first move.
He was fast. That was Shinso's first thought when Elijah sprinted at him. The fighting stage was 30 meters in length. Elijah stood at least 20 away from Shinso, and he closed the gap before the Yuuei student could think about his first move. He was behind him by the time he started to turn his head, ready to fire off a straight punch from his right arm to Shinso's head. Time slowed down as Shinso's gaze turned to meet Elijah's attack, purple irises fixated on blood-red fist. In that instant everyone present in the arena held their breath.
But...just because I might not have a chance...
Shinso's eyes grew wild.
...doesn't mean...
He ducked the punch.
...I WON'T TRY TO KICK HIS ASS!!!
Pivoting after his dodge, Shinso shot for a straight uppercut, but Elijah just barely blocked it with his free left hand in time.
"AMAZING!!! ELIJAH TRIED TO MAKE THE FIRST HIT BUT SHINSO COUNTERED JUST IN TIME!!!"
The crowd roared along with Present Mic, and Shinso's peers were shocked.
"Woah! Did you guys see that? He timed that perfectly!" Kirishima exclaimed.
Shinso's look of fear turned into a smirk as he struggled to hold his ground against Elijah. In the bleachers Franklin was smirking too.
"What the heck are you smiling about?" Valeria annoyingly asked her brother.
"Nothing. It just looks like this tournament is going to be interesting after all."
"Woah!" Uraraka exclaimed. "Where did Shinso learn those moves!"
Shinso gave ground to his opponent and leaped back, taking a defensive position. Elijah smiled in anticipation as he rushed his opponent again. Keeping his fists close in a tight boxer's formation, he launched jab after jab and hook after hook at Shinso. Although he was barely dodging, he was dodging all the same.
"HA!" Tommy Shepard shouted from the MA bleachers. "Guess he got lucky! Eli's still giving him a hard time!"
The Yuuei students were concerned as well.
"He's barely dodging...if this keeps up he won't last." Yaoyorozu commented.
"I guess he just got lucky..." Sero said.
Miles and his friends looked at the battle intently. "Yeah, it sure looks like he's in trouble..." Miles wondered.
"Don't be stupid." Everyone turned to look at Robbie. "Use your training, and look closer at the battle."
"Shut up, idiots." the Yuuei class turned to Bakugo. "Pay attention, if you really want to be heroes, you'd know better!"
Tetsutetsu got out of his seat. "WHAT'D YOU SAY BASTARD?!" Kirishima tried his best to hold his friend back.
Shinso continued to weave back and forth, Eli's gloved fists grazing Shinso's cheek. Their peers continued to watch as Robbie and Bakugo stared intently at the careful choreography, the shifting in each fighter's eyes, the position of their feet.
Robbie spoke again. "He may be at a disadvantage, but he's doing better than you think."
Bakugo continued. "That brainwashing bastard isn't helpless, he's compensating for his physical weakness, and looking for..."
Shinso watched Eli's left foot lift forward, his right hand reeling back. Shinso's eyes glowed with intensity. There!
Eli launched his right fist forward again, leaving his chest unguarded as Shinso sidestepped.
...AN OPENING!
Shinso swung his foot into Eli's side and grabbed his right arm, pulling him down by the arm to the ground, pulling the arm to Eli's back and holding him down.
The crowd cheered as the Yuuei students shouted in shock and surprise.
"Those moves were amazing! I had no idea Shinso could do anything combative at this level!" Midoriya raised his fist in victory.
Ashido jumped up and pumped her fists as well. "If our General Studies boy can do this, then we've got this tournament in the bag!"
"IS THAT IT? WHERE'S THE FLASH? THE BANG?? THE PIZAZZ??? This is the first match we're supposed to kick things off with a bang-"
Present Mic tried to push Deadpool aside. "Hey man, let's just wait and see what the ref says, yeah?"
Most of the MA students just watched studiously.
"I didn't think that Eli would go that easy on him." Kamala finally said aloud.
Shinso exhaled deeply, as relief or satisfaction, he wasn't entirely sure. A small grin formed on his face. He won, that was all that mattered. Finally, he had proved himself to Yuuei, and most importantly...
"Hey, listen..." Eli interrupted Shinso's unintentional gloating. "I just want you to know, I'm impressed. Seriously, you had some moves up your sleeve, and I didn't expect that. However, I think that there's something you should know. This whole time, I haven't used my quirk even once."
Shinso's eyes widened. He didn't use his quirk at all? This meant that those quick and powerful punches were his natural fighting ability and training! If he was that good normally, what's his quirk like?
"I know that you're probably feeling pretty high and mighty right now, and I'm sorry I had to trick you like that. I was just curious about how strong you were. In any case, you didn't seem to use your quirk either."
Eli noticed Shinso's dour face and smirked. "Well, maybe you'll start to show off more if I do."
If he does..?
Eli's face grew wild, grunting like he was in pain, almost distracting Shinso from the fact that he couldn't hold his grip on Eli's wrist. The reason being that the wrist appeared to be getting...larger?
Shinso stepped back as he watched Eli's muscles start to expand, the skin and suit contracting to define the newly chiseled physique that Eli seemed to create out of nowhere. Not that he wasn't impressive before, but this was on a whole other level. If he didn't look like Cap's protege before, he certainly did now.
Eli stood tall, facing his opponent once more with a reignited fire in his eyes behind the mask, reaching over his shoulder and arming himself with the shield he kept strapped to his back. Shinso grit his teeth as he returned to his previous defensive position, but this time it was flimsy, Eli's intimidation clearly working its magic.
Eli took a stance as well, shield forward-facing. "Alright, Hitoshi Shinso. Let's fight for real!"
Elijah Bradley! His Quirk: Olympian!
He can increase the amount of growth hormones his body produces to upgrade his body to the peak physical condition humans can reach! But producing too much can damage his bodily structure!
The students in the bleachers exhibited a mixture of emotions. Shinso's peers were growing ever more concerned about the outcome of the battle. Eli's peers on the other hand were cheering excitedly for their friend. Franklin in particular did not join his friends in the revelry, respecting his classmates performance with clapping, but at the same time worried for his new friend.
"After a fist fight on seemingly equal footing, Eli has activated his quirk and STOOD BACK UP! Will Shinso be able to fight back with his own power?" Present Mic called out to the crowd.
"HE'S SCREWED!" Deadpool interjected.
"It's worse than I thought." Midoriya muttered aloud. "He's well-trained, by Captain America no less. And he's got a physical enhancement quirk on top of all of that? He's definitely got the physical edge. Even if Shinso has done a little bit of training, he doesn't have the experience to beat Shinso in a fist fight. His only choice then is to use his quirk, but even thenheneedstogetElitoansweraquestionandit'sunlikelyhewillgetachancetospeaksincehisopponenthasalreadyrushedhimtwiceandnowhe'sevenmore-"
"SHUT IT YOU DAMN NERD WE GET IT!" Bakugo finally yelling down Midoriya, who was shocked out of his muttering.
Shinso was starting to shake again. They were staring each other down once more, the roar of the crowd urging them on a backdrop for the coming final act.
Damn, Shinso thought. I'm outmatched, I can tell just by looking at the guy. I need to get him to talk again, then I can use my quirk...
Eli gave him no time as he delivered a right cross into Shinso's face, sending him flying a few feet across the fighting stage. Jumping back, Shinso attempted to regain his composure but was met with Eli's shield being ricocheted off of the ground and upwards into Shinso's chin, the shield flying up into the air. Blow after blow, Shinso had no chance of defending himself as another connection with Eli's knuckles split Shinso's lip. Spitting blood, Shinso nearly stumbled to the floor but Eli grabbed his uniform to hold him up.
Eli looked on his opponent's battered face, and despite the mask covering it up, there was not a hint of satisfaction there. Despite his determination, Shinso didn't put up the fight Eli thought that he would.
"I don't understand." Eli looked guilty and disappointed at the same time. "You had such a fire in you, is this your best? Because for some reason, I don't believe that. You should know, I didn't research your performance in the UA Sports Festival. So, I have no clue what your quirk is. If you didn't use it, then my only guess can be that it was a disadvantage when up against my own quirk."
Shinso's eyes squinted in the sunlight at Eli. That power made Eli so strong. His quirk was a disadvantage? It was just like back then...with Midoriya, and all the others that made it ahead of him with their flashy powers. No...that's no excuse. He could have tried to use his quirk earlier, but instead he tried to play his opponent at his own game. Why didn't he use his own quirk?
"When you fight, you need to use every tool in your arsenal." Eli continued. "You have some serious moves, but unless you use everything you've got when you need to, you'll never have that chance. I didn't want to know what your quirk is because I didn't want an unfair advantage, I wanted a fight on equal footing. If your quirk is that much of a disadvantage in your eyes, then your school isn't teaching you well." Eli sighed. "I'm going to take you out of the ring now. You fought a good fight, but it's over now."
Eli began to carry Shinso to the edge of the ring. Blood dripping down his chin, Shinso internally panicked. There was no way it would end like this. Taken out of the ring, powerless to do anything again!
"Hey!"
Eli slowed his walk to a stop, merely few feet from the edge. Shinso's eyes lit up once more, his purple irises glowing in an intense violet at his opponent. Reduced to desperation, he threw out a desperate animal cry to his enemy.
"You want to know about my quirk, huh??"
Eli looked at Shinso, his grip on the Yuuei uniform no looser.
"Actually, yes-"
Eli fell silent, and Shinso smiled.
"Put me down."
Eli opened his hand, dropping Shinso to the floor. Dusting himself off, he stood up to face Eli.
"Well? This is my quirk. It's called Brainwashing, I think that it speaks for itself. You're under my control now, and right now? I want you to turn around and walk out of the ring."
Eli turned around, and began a calm, lazy walk towards the edge of the ring. The crowd cried out in confusion at this development.
Cap was shocked. "What's going on? Eli! What are you doing?!"
Shinso continued to smile. Victory was finally in his reach, he was really lucky that his opponent was so willing to be fair. He should know that this world of quirks isn't.
"Don't worry, you're almost to the edge now. I have to thank you for deciding to be so kind to me in this fight. I appreciate it, I really do. I admit you did have me at a disadvantage, that quirk of yours is very strong. I actually wasn't sure if I wanted to show my hand at the very beginning. You wanted to gauge me? I suppose I wanted to gauge myself as well. Guess there's some room for improvement, but regardless...I guess you should learn to be more careful when counting someone out of the game!"
That was when the shield came back down from the air and landed on Eli's head, knocking him to the ground. Everyone stopped at this, Shinso's eyes growing wide.
"Ah shi-"
Eli sprung back up and grabbed Shinso's uniform with both hands, swinging and tossing him over the edge of the ring. Shinso tumbled on the ground until he lay on his back. The crowd cheered once more as Eli claimed victory. Magneto raised his hand to Shinso.
"SHINSO IS OUT OF BOUNDS! ELI BRADLEY WINS THE MATCH!"
The crowd cheered more, as Shinso smacked his fist on the ground in frustration.
To think...mere coincidence bringing me down...
The shadow of an outstretched arm blocked his view.
"Need a hand?"
Shinso grabbed Eli's hand and pulled himself up. "Thanks."
The two looked at each other pretty awkwardly. Suddenly Eli grabbed Shinso's hand and raised it up to the crowd.
"Let's hear it for this guy, everyone! Hitoshi Shinso of UA High!"
A roar from the crowd told Shinso everything he needed to know, and Franklin cheered for him as well. The crowd was cheering for Shinso, and for the first time in this entire trip, he began to swell with pride. Eli suddenly patted Shinso on the back.
"That quirk is great! You have great timing and strategic coordinating as well! I almost lost there! Great job!"
Awkwardly smiling in gratitude, Shinso rubbed the back of his head. "Heh...thanks. You did great too."
Cap turned to the other teachers. "Eli did a good job, but your student did just as well to me, Toshinori."
All Might happily shrugged. "Actually Steve, I wouldn't really say he's my student. To tell the truth, the other departments in Yuuei often feel pretty overshadowed by the Hero Course. Shinso's desire to be a hero speaks for all of his peers who feel that they were cheated out of their chance."
Coming out of the infirmary, Shinso made his way to his classmates. Looking down at the bruising from his defensive wounds, he wondered how much worse this fight could have gone if he fought anyone else.
"Shinzo! Hatoshi Shinzo!" He turned to see a brown-haired woman in a pantsuit holding a microphone running towards him, a camera man following close behind.
"You mean me?" Shinso pointed at himself sarcastically. The woman caught up to him, taking a moment more to catch her own breath.
"Betty Brant, Daily Bugle TV, can I get a statement from you regarding your match?"
"Shinso. Hitoshi Shinso. At least get my name right please."
The reporter was flustered by her mistake, but there was something so obviously fake about it that Shinso would have rather she were unapologetic about it.
"OH, I apologize, this is so embarrassing! If its alright with you, can I ask you a few questions?"
Shinso begrudgingly agreed.
"Gr-eat! How does your brutal loss make you feel?"
"Well, I-"
"What about your quirk? Do you think its potential danger to society is what got you stuck in General Studies? Do you harbor any resentment towards your peers?"
"Get lost."
Betty and Shinso turned to Aizawa approaching them from down the hall, his eyes glaring with red. Stepping between them, Aizawa began to stare down the reporter.
"Are you deaf? I told you to leave."
Betty huffed, aggravated at the Erasure Hero's interference. "Fine! Another time then. Guess you've never heard of freedom of the press around here. Let's go!"
Betty stormed back to the press box, her cameraman stumbling behind her. Ensuring that the nuisance was now absent, Aizawa turned back to the stunned young man.
"Why didn't you use your quirk earlier in the match?"
Taken aback, Shinso hung his head low. "I suppose...I wanted to put your training to good use."
Aizawa sighed. "If you wanted to do that, you would've been more logical about it. Sure you understand the fundamentals of combat now that I've taught you, but you're still way too wet behind the ears to rely on that alone in a fight like this."
Aizawa looked at Shinso, sighing once more and scratching your head. "But...you weren't completely useless. Actually you did better than I had anticipated. Nice work, Shinso."
Shinso raised his head to look at his mentor, not smiling, but beaming at the unexpected praise.
"Th-thank you, Aizawa-sensei!"
Aizawa paid no mind to the sentimentality, as per usual. "Don't mention it. Now get back to the bleachers, you don't want to miss the next match, and I'm sure your classmates want to see how you're doing."
"Yes sir!"
Shinso made his way to the seats, Aizawa making sure he wasn't walking funny from his injuries.
"HEY AIZAWA!"
Aizawa jumped back as All Might flew around the corner and zipped right in front of his colleague, trademark smile in place.
"I AM HERE...TO SEE WHERE YOU WENT!"
Aizawa groaned. "It's none of your business, All Might. Let's go back already."
The two pros walked together, and All Might had a pep in his walk as he smiled knowingly at Aizawa.
"It's funny how you scold me for taking a liking to Young Midoriya...when you've done the same for Young Shinso!"
Aizawa became increasingly bothered by All Might's presence as the No.1 Hero shot him a double thumbs up.
"GOOD FOR YOU, ERASER-SENSEI!"
"ALRIGHT, I get it All Might, let's go back already!"
All Might was sheepish the entire walk back as the next match in the tournament was gearing up.
A/N
Another chapter down! Which school will take the next match, I wonder? Let me know in the comments! Please check out the spinoff story "MY HERO ACADEMIA: FROM THE FILES OF SHIELD", now with chapters dedicated to the Marvel Academy heroes. Learn their backstories, quirks, and other stats!
HERE'S THE PREVIEW:
Izuku Midoriya here! We're all on edge since Marvel Academy won the first match, but that doesn't mean we're giving up without a fight!
And I'll be sure to show off my babies at the same time!
M-MEI? MEI HATSUME?! But you're not up next!
Forget those other guys, I've got a special NEW baby to show off in my match, and everyone is going to LOVE IT!
NEXT TIME ON MY HERO ACADEMIA: A WORLD OF MARVELS
"HATSUME'S FIGHTING SPIRIT!!"
Let's show the Marvel Academy how we GO BEYOND!
PLUS ULTRA!!!
