How To Make a Man Blink

Practical Exam Testing Area

'I gotta say,' thought Slade as he walked down the tunnel into the testing ground, 'This is kind of a new feeling. Being actually nervous about an exam at school.' Now it wasn't to say that he hadn't doubted his chances of passing a test before, but few school tests had stacked the deck against him this heavily before. The density shifter glanced over at his partner as they entered the exam area, which in this case was a large suburban area with several houses between one to three stories tall.

"Momo," said Slade, snapping his partner out of her thoughts as she looked over to him, "How are preparations going?"

"I've just finished making the items we need," said Momo, still seeming a little out of it as she handed Slade some specialized goggles and a utility belt carrying a number of gadgets, "I made as many as I could while keeping enough lipids in reserve to make a few more big objects, not that it'll matter once Sensei uses his quirk on us."

"That's what all these preparations are for," said Slade as he shifted his density enough to make himself too heavy for Aizawa to sling around easily, "We just need to remember what Clay told us."

Practical Exam Waiting Room: A Few Minutes before the Next Exam

"Honestly," said Clay as he crossed his arms with his hand on his chin, "I think you're best bet is making a run for it."

"Can't say I really like the sound of that," said Slade as he leaned back in his chair. Both he and Clay were sitting at a table in one of the waiting rooms with Momo and Uraraka. Tsuyu and Tokoyami had passed their test against Ectoplasm and Iida and Ojiro's test was about to draw to a close. The room itself was laid out in a similar fashion to a break room with a few cafeteria tables and some vending machines. All in all, it made for a somewhat more relaxing atmosphere than the monitor room, which was why they'd all moved here to plan for their upcoming matches.

"Hey if this was an ordinary fight I'd tell ya something different," said Clay, "But you know just as well as I do that you're on a time limit against an opponent that excels at being hard to hit. Not to mention he can cancel out your quirks for a short interval, leaving hand to hand your only option and his experience will make him more than a match for the both of you."

"But since his acrobatic abilities do outclass us that much, how can we get away from him when we do encounter him?" Asked Momo.

"Well for that, I'd recommend a few tools if you can make them," said Clay, "For my Uncle the name of the game is to make him blink. His quirk only lasts as long as he's maintaining eye contact, which means anything you can do to obstruct his vision you do it. So flash grenades, smoke bombs, tear gas, heck LED lights or mass amounts of dirt, anything that will make him break eye contact and blink. Do you think you can make any of that stuff Momo?"

"I should be able too," replied Momo, sounding somewhat unsure, "I'm familiar with what makes up most of what you just mentioned. But I don't see how any of that will help if he erases my quirk to begin with."

"Preparation," Said Clay, "You've got a short amount of time when you enter the exam site before the match starts. So you use that time to make as many tools and weapons as you can. Once the match starts there's no telling where Aizawa will pop up, but the most likely place will be either the middle of the exam site or right near the exit. He likes to attack from above or any perceived blind spots, so remember to look up every now and then."

"This is all well and good Clay," said Slade, "But you do remember that Momo can't make stuff indefinitely right? If we just go crazy and make enough bombs to ward off your Uncle, it'll weigh me down and tire her out."

"The amount of gadgets you make will be up to you," said Clay, "In the best case scenario, you keep forcing him to retreat by blinding him repeatedly. But in the event that you run out before you get to the exit, well that's when you'll need to make a stand Slade."

"But wait," said Uraraka, "You've just been telling them to run for it this whole time. If they wind up fighting they won't be able to use Momo's quirk to make more blinding tools."

"I didn't say they'd both stay," said Clay, "You remember that Slade's density changes are different than a regular hardening ability."

"Wait," questioned Uraraka, "You mean those permanent changes Slade was talking about-."

"They can only be changed by his quirk," Momo finished, "This means that whatever density you're at when sensei erases your quirk, you'll remain at."

"Bingo," said Clay, "Slade can start the match off at a heightened density, one that'll make him too hard for Aizawa to sling around easily. Add to that a few close combat tools and strategic use of blinding bombs, and Slade should be able to hold him back long enough for Momo to get to the exit."

"It does seem like a solid plan," said Momo as she put a hand to her chin, "Though I'm a bit worried that we'll be slowed down with Slade at high density while we're carrying a lot of gear."

"We'll probably use a lot of it up relatively quickly," said Slade, "And I won't be at maximum density, just tough enough to take his hits without being thrown for a loop. All you'll need to worry about is making what we need and crossing the finish line."

"I still feel kind of bad though," said Momo, "Just running off and leaving you to do all the fighting."

"Hey that's only if things get real bad," said Slade, "If we're lucky, all the distractions we'll use will keep him at bay until we both cross the finish line."

"Just remember not to underestimate 'em," said Clay, "There's more than a few good reasons my Uncle has survived to more or less show up for the holidays every year. Also, remember to pay close attention to his hair, it shoots up when his quirk is active and drops down when he's not using it. And one more thing, ever since his fight with that Nomu, his eyes have been a bit more unsteady and his quirk isn't lasting as long."

"We'll need all the advantages we can get," said Slade, "Alright, now let's talk shop because we're gonna need a list of the top ten items to hold off Eraser Head sensei."

Practical Exam Area: Now

The two students hurried along, stopping occasionally to peer around corners and glancing at roof tops as they went. "Alright," Said Slade, "Any sign that he's seen us?" Momo used her quirk to make a small police baton which she handed to Slade.

"My quirk appears to still be working so far," said Momo, "So he's not in this area." 'Thankfully,' she thought in her head as they continued moving down the street of the replica neighborhood. 'I know Slade said he was nervous, but he doesn't seem at all hesitant about what he needs to do. While the only useful thing I can do here is run away while he holds off sensei. I guess it's not so surprising, especially given how I went out in the sports festival, and against someone like Eraser Head, I'd probably be immobilized in an instant.'

"Okay," said Slade, stopping in the middle of a four way intersection. This snapped Momo back to reality as she almost ran into the tall student's back as he turned to her. "Time for another check."

"R-Right," said Momo as she began producing a small straw, "He doesn't seem to be here either." Slade simply nodded his head as he turned and started walking with Momo following close behind, though with a sheepish expression still on her face. Finally, Slade couldn't take it anymore and decided to address the apparent elephant in the exam area.

"Is everything alright Momo," asked Slade as he continued to glance around for their teacher, "You've been pretty quiet ever since they announced the practical exam and you had surprisingly little input when it came to the plan. You know we wouldn't have been offended if you had any objections right?"

"I, uh, well I didn't really have anything to add," Replied Momo, "The plan seems solid enough, especially given all the input we had from Clay, who knows our teacher better than anyone. In some ways it almost feels like cheating because we've got so much more intel on our opponent than anyone else."

"Momo," said Slade as he stopped and turned around, "I might not know you well, but it's obvious even to me that something's bothering you. If it's the plan then we still have time to alter it and try one of your ideas."

"I doubt my ideas would do any good," said Momo with a somber tone as she averted her eyes, "I might've gotten into U.A. on a recommendation, but in comparison to some of the others I haven't done much. I followed Todoroki's lead at the sports festival, then I got knocked out of the ring in hardly a minute against Tokoyami. And when Jirou and I followed you two into the Eight Ball Knuckles, it was my poor choice of attire which got us into that bad situation in the first place. It was only thanks to you and Clay thinking ahead that we were able to get out of there in the first place and with the information you'd been looking for."

"Momo you really shouldn't- $ #!" Slade had caught the movement of a shadow above them. As they both looked up, there was their homeroom teacher, dangling upside down from his scarf which was wrapped around some powerlines.

"You shouldn't let your concentration slip so easily," said Aizawa as he dropped down in between them. Slade acted first with a wide roundhouse kick which their sensei simply leapt over before landing behind them. Slade turned and charged forward with a wide left haymaker aimed at his opponent's midsection.

"I think you've forgotten," Said Aizawa as he easily dodged Slade's arm, "I've taken your quirks."

"But not our weapons!" exclaimed Slade as he swung at Aizawa with his right arm. Aizawa was forced back farther than he expected as he noticed that Slade had an extendable baton at the last second. The density shifter didn't let this short moment of surprise go to waste as he swiped at their teacher a few more times, each one backing him up to a wall until he was forced to leap frog over Slade and land behind him. "Momo now!"

Aizawa glanced back as the creation quirk user swiped at him with an extendable staff. The teacher ducked around and evaded her strikes, noting that she was swinging at him in a half-hearted manner before rolling to the side to avoid a few strikes from Slade. "Not bad team work," commented Aizawa as he slung his scarf around both of their weapons and yanked them out of their hands, "But let's see how you do without these." He then swung both of the weapons back towards his targets.

Slade moved in front of Momo, shielding her with his body as the blunt weapons bounced off of his hide. "We brought more than just those," commented Slade as he pushed his goggles down and pulled out a couple of flash grenades which he tossed at Aizawa. Their teacher leapt away as the grenades ignited, filling the area with blinding light for a few moments, allowing Momo and Slade the chance to escape.

"Not bad," Aizawa couldn't help but comment as he used his scarf to pull himself up onto a nearby roof, "Having specialized tools to block my vision and picking a predetermined density. No doubt Clay gave them all kinds of advice for this fight. But will it be enough I wonder?"

Momo and Slade turned another corner, with Momo throwing out a smoke bomb every now and then in a random direction behind them. "I hope that keeps him off of us long enough to get to the gate," said Momo as they stopped to peer around another corner, "We've used up half of our smoke bombs to create distractions."

"If we have, it'll only be a small reprieve," said Slade as they snuck around the corner and further up the street, "Sensei's a patient guy when he needs to be. If he can't find us within a few minutes, he'll just go wait by the gate. Which means if we don't hurry he'll be waiting for us, assuming he isn't already."

"That means avoiding confrontation will be impossible," said Momo, "And if he forces us to use the remainder of our grenades, we'll be finished."

"Are you sure you can't make a few more," questioned Slade as they turned another corner.

"Maybe a few more," replied Momo, "But my remaining lipids are getting low. I can probably produce a dozen more at best or a few large objects, but after that I'll be too weak to fight effectively, not that I've been much good at the moment." Slade stopped then, having heard enough at this point to ignore Momo's attitude any longer.

"Alright that's enough," said Slade as he bonked Momo on the head with his hand.

"OW! What was that for?" Questioned Momo as she rubbed her head.

"Listen to yourself," Said Slade, "You've been in a funk since before this exam started. You didn't have this problem at the USJ when actual lives were at stake and by my count you only really suffered one defeat at the sports festival if you don't count where you placed in the race. Not to mention I lost at the sports festival too, even if it was a draw. As for the bar, we planned for days before actually going in there and even then there was no guarantee things would go our way."

"But they did," said Momo, "You and Clay, Todoroki and Midoriya. Our class is full of so many amazing people-."

"And you think you're not?" Questioned Slade as he put his hands on her shoulders to stop her from speaking. "Momo you are literally one of the smartest, most beautiful girls I've ever met. You've killed it academically and helped our classmates pass the written exams. You not only have an amazing quirk you have a sharp enough mind to use it. I knew that when we were picking class officers. Clay didn't vote but I did, because I knew you were smart, so if you've got an idea stop doubting yourself and just say it!"

Momo averted her gaze from Slade for a moment, but then she looked him in the eye with renewed determination. "Alright," she said, "I may have an idea but I'll need you to buy me some time in case-LOOK OUT!" Slade whirled around to face their pursuer, but he was too slow to react as Aizawa's scarf wrapped around part of his utility belt. Slade just managed to grab a couple of items before the belt was yanked off of his costume.

"A nice strategy to start with," said Aizawa as he caught the belt and tossed it aside, "But a hero knows how to work with or without their toys."

"Why don't you ditch the scarf then," said Slade as he charged forward, swinging his right arm in a chopping motion. But Aizawa was ready for tricks this time and dodged out of the way of the Taser Slade had equipped himself with before attacking. The teacher then responded by tossing a number of caltrops onto the ground, a move which more annoyed Slade than actually stopped him as he stamped on a few of them before taking another swipe at their teacher. "Clay told us about these too, tricky but no match for a guy with titanium boot soles and heightened density."

"Slade," said Momo, "Hold him off for just a minute, it should be all I need!"

"With pleasure," replied Slade as he switched on a second Taser he'd managed to grab from his belt. 'So she's moving with conviction now,' thought Aizawa with a slight smirk as he bobbed and weaved out of the way of one strike after another, 'I just might be curious enough to see what it is, but I best not make it too easy.' The erasure hero bent low at one of Slade's jabs and kicked upwards, knocking the Taser out of his hand before twisting around and wrapping his scarf around the second Taser, leaving Slade without any weapons as he yanked it away. Slade wound up his fist then, acted as if he were about to throw a cross strike. But instead he stopped short and led his attack into a low round house kick.

But Aizawa's experience and speed showed through once more as he leapt over the kick while wrapping up Slade's standing leg at the same time. "You may be tough but that doesn't mean you can't be imbalanced," said the homeroom teacher as he pulled with all of his might, causing Slade to fall over onto his back, and get a few pricks from the caltrops that were underneath him. "Truthfully all I need to do to win at this point is find Yaoyorozu, which'll be easy considering she ran down a dead end. But given that she's asked you to stall me I'm a little curious what she's up to."

"YOU'RE ABOUT TO FIND OUT?!" Yelled Momo as she stepped out from behind the wall she'd hidden behind and tossed all of her remaining flash and smoke bombs. Slade averted his eyes as they ignited, filling the area up with a fair amount of light and smoke, forcing Aizawa to leap back with his own eyes covered. The density quirk user wasted no time in undoing the restraint on his leg before racing around the corner, which was relatively easy now that he could lower his density without Aizawa's quirk stopping him.

"Alright," said Momo as she led Slade a few feet away and handed him a bundled cloth that looked a lot like their teacher's scarf, "Did Clay ever show you any capture tricks with cloth bindings?"

"A few, why?" Questioned Slade as he examined the material, noting that it was almost exactly the same make as Aizawa's scarf.

"Good," said Momo as she pulled up a pair of black sheets, "As soon as that smoke clears we'll move, so here's the plan."

Aizawa was sitting on a nearby lamppost waiting for the smoke to dissipate. 'They did a good job of blocking my vision,' he thought, 'But there's only one way out of this little alleyway they're in and I'm sitting right in front of it. So, what'll your next move be kids?' The sound of running feet hitting the pavement alerted the erasure hero as he saw a large black sheet emerge from the mostly dissipated smoke cloud, conveyed by the two students underneath it. 'A sheet, not a bad idea given that I have to have line of sight for my quirk to take effect, but limiting in quite a few other ways.

The teacher leapt off of the telephone pole he was on and used his scarf to wrap up the areas of the sheet where he saw their heads were located, or what he'd thought were their heads. As he pulled back to stop them, the sheet came off, revealing that the two figures he'd entangled were actually a pair of small mannequins that were being held up by Slade and Momo. "Try using your quirk against this!" Exclaimed Momo as she switched on a very bright, portable stage light.

The sudden brightness of the LED light forced Aizawa to close his eyes as he heard Momo signal Slade. What he didn't see was Slade, at low density, leap off of Momo's shoulder, unfurling the scarf-like material he'd been given. With a few acrobatic twists and spins in midair, Slade was able to wrap up Aizawa's upper body before landing and increasing his density to yank the erasure hero off of his feet and towards him. The two students culminated the final part of their plan with Slade holding down Aizawa while Momo slapped the cuffs onto his wrists.

"I'm starting to see why Clay loves using that cloud scarf to fight," said Slade as he pulled up the goggles on his head, "Wrapping people up like mummies is actually kinda fun." Momo nodded her head in agreement as the horn sounded to end the exam.

"Team Slade and Momo have passed the exam!" Said the automated voice over the speakers.

"We did it," said Momo as she suddenly became unsteady on her feet, "We actually pass-." The creation quirk user would've fallen over if Slade hadn't caught bridal style.

"Easy there," said Slade as he began carrying Momo to the exit gate, "You overused your quirk a little didn't you?"

"I'm sorry," said Momo tiredly, "producing all the necessary materials for my plan drained the last of the reserves I could use for my quirk. Between that and our last charge I'm basically out of energy."

"Well feel free to rest awhile, you've earned it," said Slade with a gentle smile, "In the end it was all thanks to you that we won the day." Momo smiled at this, and then had to do her best not to let tears of joy spill out of her eyes.

"I-I guess you were right S-Slade," said Momo, "Maybe I-I can do this a-after all."

Practical Exam Monitoring Room

"HAHAHA!" Exclaimed Clay as he clapped his hands a few times, "Ah that's my Uncle. He's always going on about logic and the harshness of the world but in the end he's still a big softie at heart."

"I'm not sure what about that whole match said he was going soft," said Uraraka, who was also happy that their classmates had passed, but still confused by Clay's statement.

"Well logically speaking," explained Clay, "There were was more than one opportunity he could've exploited to get around Slade and stop Momo from executing her plan. But instead, he gave her the time she needed because he was curious to see what she would do. In the end, I think what he really wanted to do was restore Momo's confidence, which had been lacking a bit lately."

"Wow," murmured Izuku, "I guess as scary as he can be sometimes, sensei really does want to help us be the best we can be."

"Yeah but don't let him know that you know that," said Clay as he pushed his goggles down over his eyes, "He won't stand for anyone thinking he's soft." The cloud user then turned to head out of the room.

"Oh right, I guess we're next," said Uraraka as she moved to follow Clay out, "Wish us luck Deku!"

"Uh yeah," said Izuku with a wave, "Good luck guys, do your best!"

"Thanks," said Clay as they walked out the door, "Here's hoping it's enough."

And so the Erasure Hero has been subdued by the creator and the density shifter! For those of you wondering why this is kind of a short chapter, this just seemed like a good place to end it. Despite that, I hope you all enjoyed this latest entry and as always, feel free to leave a comment or review about what you liked/disliked or any neat little ideas you might have to make the story better. Be sure to stop in next time as Clay and Uraraka face off against Thirteen, as well as dealing with Uraraka's tendency to overreact to certain topics. 'Til next time.