A/N: Edit finished 16 August 2018. Beta provided by Kylekatarn77.

Chapter 9

The days before their first off-campus heroic training exercise had Class 1-A in an excited flutter. While their hero training did include daily exercising and quirk training, said training didn't include scenarios or more advanced training like they had experienced with All Might's Battle Training class. Too often they found that All Might either didn't show up to teach or was only there to give suggestions on techniques or strengthening their quirks. Izuku was worried, especially since every attempt to speak with Toshinori fell through due to unknown reasons his mentor hadn't explained. I'm beginning to plateau again. I was hoping to be past thirty percent for the Sports Festival and now I fear I may not reach it. Aizawa wants me to focus on my schoolwork and Recovery Girl says I should only focus on increasing my power threshold when working with either All Might or Aizawa.

On the day of the exercise, Aizawa returned to their classroom in the afternoon. "For today's Basic Hero Training, All Might, myself, and another hero will supervise."

Three heroes? Must be something special. Sero, sitting next to Izuku, raised his hand and asked, "Is it Battle Training again or are we getting to do something new?"

"Something new. The school does need to prepare you to handle disaster relief, from fires to floods." Aizawa displayed a long card, printed with the training topic. "It's time for rescue training!"

The class cheered, with many happy about the change. Not everyone was pleased with the training focus, but they didn't complain about the selection.

"I'm not finished yet," Aizawa said. He pressed a button and the wall opened, revealing their packaged costumes. "You all have the option to wear your uniform or your workout clothes. Some of your uniforms may not be suitable for parts of today's training, but that's for you to decide. This will be a good opportunity to find out if there are any elements of your costumes you want to consider changing. You'll get the opportunity after the summer vacation, but for now try and keep that in mind. The facility we'll be at today is off campus, so we'll be going by bus. I'll answer questions after we arrive."

Class 1-A strolled out to the bus, dressed in their costumes. Izuku glanced around, happy to be back in costume and taking time he hadn't before to scan everyone's suits. Many wore tight uniforms like him, modified to best show off and take advantage of their quirks.

"Why are we still standing around?" Aizawa said, entering the bus. His tired eyes found Izuku. "Midoriya, get everyone organized and on board. I haven't heard from All Might, so he must be meeting us there."

Izuku nodded and shouted, "Line up!" Although there was some pushing and shoving, the class formed an orderly line and boarded the bus. He followed, near the back, and sat on the sideways seats near the front, between Asui and Satou. The bus departed U.A. for the off campus complex and their rescue training session.

"There's something that's been troubling me, Midoriya," Asui said after a few minutes.

"What is it, Asui?"

"Call me Tsuyu," she responded. "You know, your quirk reminds me a lot of All Might's."

Caught off guard by Tsuyu's calm remark, Izuku's face flushed and his old, nervous personality slipped through. "W-w-what you thi-ink so?" he stuttered. Oh man, this isn't good! All Might and I haven't talked about what story I'm supposed to tell my classmates. I don't know if I can continue to rely upon the story we told Kacchan and his mother back in middle school. While it's technically correct, lying is tiring. Plus, somebody might catch me in a lie, other than Kacchan that is.

"Thinking about it, Asui has a point," Kirishima said, ignoring Tsuyu's name correction. "We all saw the tapes from battle training, where you jumped from floor to floor with ease and smashed Bakugou into an angry, bruised mess." He grinned, and continued. "Of course, if it's just a simple strength enhancing quirk, that's still pretty cool. You can do a lot with that, unlike my hardening quirk." His arm stretched out and soft skin turned into a hard, crystalline material. He twisted his arm, showing off the way his quirk showed off his muscular forearm. "It's great for fighting, but it doesn't look terribly cool and it ain't flashy in the slightest."

Izuku laughed, pleased by the change in topic. "But your hardening quirk is cool, Kirishima. It's definitely a good quirk for a pro and I bet you'll figure out a way to make it flashy."

"You really think so, Midoriya?" Kirishima asked. "Having a strong quirk isn't all it takes to be a pro. Don't forget that you need to be popular too!"

"My navel laser is both strong and cool," Aoyama bragged. "It is perfect for a pro."

"That's until you blow up your stomach," Ashido teased. Aoyama looked away with a dismissive sigh, as Ashido turned to Izuku. "Tsu's question got me thinking: Aizawa-sensei gave me a packet about everyone in our class to help with anything I need to write that needs specific details and your quirk was censored with a thick black bar. I'm a little embarrassed to admit I forgot about it until now." She leaned forward, grinning. "So what is your quirk?"

"It's…uh, complicated," Izuku said, looking down. I'll just have to rely on what we told Kacchan. "I assume you all heard the story that the kid who got the answers closest to All Might was quirkless, right?" They all nodded, leaning in close. "Well, that was me and until a few years ago, I thought I actually was quirkless. What ended up happening is that my mother met a woman who claimed she could pass on her quirk to someone without one. Truth is that she activated latent quirks into something workable. A friend of hers worked with me afterwards, since my body wasn't prepared for what I was capable of." I hope that's enough to satisfy them.

"Man, that's pretty cool," Kirishima said. "Although speaking of cool and strong, I'd say both Todoroki and Bakugou fit the bill."

"Yeah, but Bakugou's an asshole. Only edgy teenagers and crazy villains will like him," Tsuyu said, leapfrogging off Kirishima's statement.

Katsuki leapt to his feet, shouting, "Watch when I'm more popular than you, frog girl! Enjoy only having babies and weirdoes as fans." Tsuyu pointed at him and his reaction as if it proved her point. It does in a way, Izuku admitted to himself. I wonder if they'd believe me if I said he was worse when we were kids…

"You know, Bakugou," Kaminari began, "It's pretty sad that barely two weeks in and we all know that your personality only appeals to, how did Asui put it? Edgy teenagers and crazy villains? I mean, you're a laugh, but Endeavor is nicer than you and his son doesn't even like him."

"How about I smash you face in, Pichu?" Katsuki shouted. Izuku sighed, watching Katsuki get caught in a shouting match with half the class.

"Shut up, we're here," Aizawa called back as the bus stopped. They followed him from the bus and into the massive complex where their training would be happening. Inside were six zones, designed like attractions of Destinyland but with hazards rivaling the craziest variety shows.

"I didn't know U.A. High hired the ride designers for Destinyland," Momo said, awed. "Looks like there are zones for floods, landslides, conflagrations, earthquakes, and more! I'm almost worried about what they don't have zones for."

"You're very perceptive," the mystery teacher said, joining Class 1-A. "This facility is home to nearly every disaster and accident you can imagine. I designed it myself. Welcome to the Unforeseen Simulation Joint!" Their mystery teacher was stocky, wearing a white space suit with a black dome and yellow rain boots.

"You're Thirteen, the Space Hero," Izuku said as his memorized notes came to the front of his mind. A few of his peers gasped, familiar with the pro hero before them.

"Hey Thirteen," Aizawa said. "Where's All Might? He never showed, so I thought he was meeting us here."

Thirteen waved him over and leaned in close. "I thought Nedzu would've told you, Eraserhead. He used up nearly all of his time during his morning commute." Izuku saw Thirteen hold up three fingers and sighed. I knew he was down to only three hours a day when he pushes it, but I didn't realize it was that much of an issue. It would be easier if I could join him in the field as a hero, shouldering his burden.

"How illogical," Aizawa complained. He turned to his students and raised his voice. "Looks like All Might won't be joining us, unfortunately. Let's get started, then."

"Before we do so," Thirteen cut in, "There are some things I want to talk about before we start. As many of you know, my quirk is Black Hole. It can consume and destroy anything. While I use it to save people and handle disasters, it has the capacity to kill. I suspect some of you have similar quirks, those that are dangerous and potentially lethal. In our quirk-based society, their usage is heavily restricted, monitored, and regulated. While it appears stable, with one mistake a powerful quirk can kill countless people.

"I've been briefed on your previous classwork using quirks. Aizawa's test was determining your potential. All Might's battle training showed you how your quirks can work in combat. Today, you will learn how to use them to save lives. Your powers are – and I stress this because some students always have narrow views of who they are as heroes – not meant to harm others. I hope that when you leave today, you will understand what it means to help people. I expect great things from all of you."

As they applauded Thirteen, Aizawa plowed ahead. "Great. Now to begin…" He drifted off, his gaze focused on the plaza between the different zones. Like the rest, Izuku followed Aizawa's line of sight. Black and purple mist swirled, expanding, until a hand grabbed the side of the forming hole and a head emerged. With shaggy grey hair, red eyes, and a discolored hand covering his face, Izuku knew it was a villain. Dread and fear coursed up his spine and he stepped back onto someone's foot. All Might said nothing about this feeling!

"Huddle up and stick together!" Aizawa shouted back at them. He ignored their confusion, moving forward. "Thirteen, protect the students."

Dozens of people – villains – poured through a giant, black tear in the USJ. "What's going on? Are those more battle robots?" Kirishima asked. "They look…human."

"Worse," Aizawa said, pulling on his goggles. "Those are real villains."

A figure emerged from the mist, formed from the same black and purple wisps. "Thirteen and Eraserhead… According to our staff schedule, All Might is supposed to be here."

"So that was you scum, that day the press somehow got on campus." They've been planning that long? Even longer?

The man with the hand mask stepped forward. "Where is he? We've come all this way…and brought so many playmates. All Might, the Symbol of Peace…is he here?" His attention turned to Izuku and the other students standing behind Aizawa. "I wonder if some dead kids will bring him here. Well, there's only one way to find out."

Blood pounded in Izuku's ears as the others shouted about the villains. He noticed Momo speaking with Thirteen and Todoroki frowning as he looked around the USJ. They thought All Might was going to be here. If that's the reason they came here, then what is their goal? To fight him? Kill him? The last thought froze his blood. "This place is far from campus and we're the only ones scheduled to be here," Todoroki told some of the others. "Without the sensors activating, nobody at U.A. knows what's happening here."

"That's smart, for a bunch of villains," Kirishima said, hardening a fist. "They must be after something, going to such lengths."

"They're here to kill All Might," Izuku whispered. Judging from the shocked reactions, his voice had carried beyond his own ears.

"Thirteen!" Aizawa shouted over any potential panic. "Evacuate the facility and continue to try and make contact with the school! One of the villains is jamming the facility's sensors and our communications. I'd bet they have someone with an electric-types quirk blocking everything.

"Kaminari. See if you can break through the villain's interference and get in contact with U.A. It should only take five minutes for reinforcements to arrive, once you get through." Kaminari nodded, a little green.

"Sensei, you can't mean to fight them all alone," Izuku said. He had only seen and fought Aizawa in one-on-one situations. "You can't erase all of their quirks. Your fighting style is much better suited towards fighting one-on-one, especially if you can ambush your opponent. Fighting so many in a crowd won't – "

"Only the laziest of heroes is a one-trick pony, Midoriya," Aizawa said, calm even as his scarf released its tight bonds around his shoulders. "Thirteen. Protect my students." With that, he flicked his scarf out and leapt down the staircase.

While Izuku wanted to watch Aizawa take down the multitude of villains, he followed Thirteen and the others towards the exit. They were only a dozen meters from the doors when the black mist appeared before them. Terrible yellow eyes glowered from the black and purple fog. "I cannot allow you to leave," it – no, he – said, shocking them. "We are the League of Villains. Forgive our audacity, but we've come here to your school – a source of heroism – to kill All Might, the Symbol of Peace."

I wish I wasn't right, Izuku thought. Why couldn't they just be regular villains? Instead, we have to fight an entire League dedicated to killing All Might.

"We were under the impression that All Might would be here today," the smoke villain continued. "We will have other opportunities to strike at him, if he doesn't appear today. Even with the change in schedule, consider yourselves…unlucky.

"For my role remains unchanged."

While Thirteen prepared his quirk, Katsuki and Kirishima took the initiative and jumped past the pro hero to engage the villain. They both threw a devastating punch, hitting the villain simultaneously.

"Then we'll just have to take you down first," Kirishima bragged, his hardening quirk still active as he landed. "Bet you didn't see that coming!"

The mist villain reformed, revealing a long metal collar and a simple black and white suit beneath his smoky head. "That was close… Though you may be students, you could one day become the next generation of great heroes. That cannot happen."

Thirteen gasped, startled, and shouted, "Get back you two!"

Before Katsuki and Kirishima could move, a thick, dark fog overtook the young heroes. "Begone. Writhe in torment until your final breath," the villain said. Izuku braced himself as the smoke flowed over and surrounded him. A moment passed as a strange lightness overwhelmed his senses before he emerged, shouting, and fell several feet into the Flood Zone's huge pool. He closed his mouth just as he hit the water, but that wasn't enough from preventing a brief torrent of water slipping up his nose.

He teleported us just like he brought those villains in. Why are they going so far in their attempt to kill All Might? There has to be more going on than a simple assassination. If that's what it was, there would be easier ways to get him.

Izuku would've let his thoughts continue, but a villain charged him underwater. With shark features and haphazard scuba equipment, it was clear the villain had been specially deployed to the Flood Zone due to their ability to kill in the water.

"Don't take it personal kid, but it's over for you!" He charged, mouth open wider than Izuku's head. As he neared, Tsuyu appeared from the side and smashed into the villain with a fierce kick, knocking him aside. Her tongue flicked out, wrapped around Izuku, and they fled the water. He landed onto the deck of a ship floating in the pool, Tsuyu's tongue releasing its hold on him. A second later, Minoru Mineta joined him on the deck with a hard impact.

"Thanks, Asui," Izuku said as Tsuyu climbed aboard.

"I remember asking you to call me Tsuyu." She glanced back and frowned. "We're in trouble out here. There's at least a dozen in the water."

Izuku nodded, and remembered something the mist villain had said. "Even with the change in schedule…"

"They knew our schedule," he said. "They got it that day the press rushed onto campus last week. Todoroki was right when he said they had been prepared for this, even if things aren't going as they thought."

"But it's not like they can kill All Might!" Mineta shouted, punching the air. "He'll thrash them once he arrives. We just gotta wait."

"Mineta," Tsuyu said, sounding more confident than she looked. "They must have a plan to kill him. Otherwise, what would be the purpose of coming here? Killing us might be part of their plan, and I fear they were able to get so many villains involved so they could try and kill us, but their target is All Might. If we wait for him, there's a chance we might not make it, and they may just kill him anyways."

Mineta began to panic and Izuku couldn't help the feeling of demoralization flooding him due to Tsuyu's words. He gave the frog girl a concerned look and she looked away, abashed. She's trying to be honest with Mineta. We're in the dark about what's happening and she's right that they have a plan for killing All Might. But if they're going this far to try and kill him, there must be a reason why…

His thoughts drifted and drew upon old memories from his childhood watching All Might and their meetings between taking the HRLT and entering U.A. "You can be a hero!"

Izuku clenched his fists and turned to Mineta and Tsuyu, both with long, uncertain faces. "If we want to prevent them from killing All Might, then we have be heroes. We have to fight and win."

"HOW CAN WE POSSIBLY WIN? YOU SAID THAT THEY MIGHT BE ABLE TO KILL ALL MIGHT! WE…WE HAVE TO WAIT FOR U.A., MIDORIYA!"

Izuku placed both hands on the nervous boy's shoulders. "Mineta! Calm down and think. The villains down there, waiting for us. They're suited for aquatic combat, right?"

"Don't ignore my point," Mineta whimpered, shaking. Oh how I want to tell Mineta how proud All Might will be of him when we win, but I have to stay focused on the present.

"The ringleaders must've recruited their team knowing about the different environments in the USJ, right?" Tsuyu asked. Izuku grinned.

"Exactly! Their Intel told them that. However, even all of their planning has left us with one oddity: they brought you, Asu…I mean Tsuyu to the Flood Zone. If I was planning this, I would've sent her elsewhere."

"What does that mean?" Mineta asked, confused.

"They don't know about our quirks, Mineta," Izuku said, his confidence rising. He saw its impact on the other two, how they straightened. "It's because they don't know about our quirks that their strategy was to scatter and overwhelm us with numbers. While they have us beat in terms of numbers and experience, we only need to outthink them to win."

He grinned and finished, saying, "We win by exploiting the fact they are unaware of our quirks. Even the little of Tsuyu's they've seen will make them wary."

"I didn't show off much of my quirk during battle training, too," Tsuyu added. "I can jump really high and stick to walls. My tongue extends up to twenty meters. There are some other frog abilities, but they aren't that helpful right now."

Izuku nodded. "You have a good range of skills, Tsuyu. I just have my strength, although I've been working on new ways to wield it. However, I can only control a quarter of my potential power without hurting myself, so I won't be able to create and use as much force as I'd like."

There was a plop sound as Mineta removed one of his balls. He stuck it to the ship and said, "It's really sticky, especially if I'm feeling good. While a new one will grow to replace the one I've removed, if I pull too many too fast, I'll bleed. Fortunately, they bounce off of me instead of sticking."

Izuku exchanged a look with Tsuyu and smiled. "If we play our cards right and what I'm thinking of works, I have a plan to get us out of the zone."

And before he could begin explaining his plan, the ship rocked as it begun to take on water.

Izuku calmed his nerves as he came to stand on the ship's edge. The villains below jeered as his companions prepared to fulfill their parts of his plan. If this doesn't work, I'll be the one they get first. I won't let them touch my friends as long as I breathe. With one last deep breath, he jumped and shouted, "Face my might!" He soared over the villains, almost hovering for a moment, and then begun to descend towards the water. They grinned, and although a pulse of fear coursed through him, he drew back two fingers with his thumb and filled them with One for All.

I have one chance to get this right. Here goes nothing. He released his fingers and a shockwave struck the water's surface and created a deep depression. There was a moment when he feared it would fill normally, but then the depression turned into a whirlpool. As it formed Izuku shouted the first words that came to him.

"AWAJI CRUNCH!"

The impact gave him a second wind and he rose from the water. Izuku turned back to the ship and called out, "Tsuyu! Mineta! Now!"

Tsuyu sprung from the ship, tongue launched as if it was a grappling hook. It caught Izuku and reeled him in. Once the three were reunited, Mineta threw a long barrage of purple balls into the whirlpool, sticking to the villains as the whirlpool dragged them together. Their attack completed, the three heroes soared over the trapped villains and landed near the Flood Zone's edge with a soft splash.

"Your plan worked without any improvisation, Midoriya," Tsuyu said as they bobbed in the rippling water.

"As I said, they were unaware of our capabilities. Hopefully any villains between us and the entrance are as ignorant." Izuku smiled even as his eyes drifted to find Aizawa still locked in combat with the villains in the central area. There's still more fighting until we've won, but we won the first skirmish.