To prepare for the tournament, Tofu Block Man made a stage of solid tofu. "This specialty blend of soy and wheat proteins should be able to withstand even the toughest of attacks."

"Thank you Tofu Block Man!" shouted Mic Man into the microphone.

"Why are you screaming?" groaned Ninja Eyes. "These mics are sensitive enough to pick up your voice even if you whisper."

But Mic Man was shouting too loud to hear Mr. Ninja's complaints. "Get ready to watch a bunch of kids kick each other's butts! I know this is what you really came here to see folks! Super powered kids beating the hell out of each other? Sounds too good to be true! But it is true, because this is a UH Sports Festival and we do whatever the fuck we want! Who do you think will win this first match? I've got my bet on that whacky little Bean Child! Let's see how he surprises us this time! But let's not underestimate Mind Control Kid. After all, we haven't seen his quirk either!"

Screaming Mic was much more excited about this battle than Green Boi was. He was standing in the hallway beneath the stadium, squeezing his eyes shut, and trying his best not to cry. He didn't even know why he felt like crying. Martial Arts Kid had just given him the secret to beating his opponent. In just a few moments, Mic Man would give the cue, and Greenie would walk out onto the stage and beat the shit out of Mind Kid. So he should be smiling, not crying, right?

"Hey!" called out a familiar Action Packed Voice.

"All American?" exclaimed Green Boi, suddenly cured of all his negative emotions. He turned around to see Withered All American walking toward him. "Yup it's me," said the pleased hero. "I'm here to say good job so far! Although, I wish I could have spoken to you earlier. I wanted to tell you not to cry so much."

"Oh, right," Green Boi replied, absolutely thankful to the heavens above that he had not been crying just now.

"Looks like you figured out how to use Deus ex Machina."

"Um, not really. I still feel like I'll accidently kill someone." Oh, that was probably the reason why he felt like crying. He was scared of making this the most violent UH Sports Festival in the history of the school. "I dunno, it just feels so unpredictable. Even after all this time, and all this training, I still feel as if my body can't handle this power. I feel as though I'll never be able to use it at 100 percent." Tears appeared in his eyes. "I'll probably be lucky if I can use about 5 percent, max. And I feel as if I've only made it this far in the Sports Festival because of luck and my friends helping me out. I guess I'm just feeling really low self-esteem right now and it's kind of rough."

WHACK.

All American whacked Green Boi on the top of his head. "Hey, kid, you're standing here right now because you did what you had to do to stand here right now. Yeah some people helped you. Yeah you were a little lucky. Hell, you probably even cheated a little bit. But whatever. You're here. You're here, and I'm proud, and stop crying, because you couldn't have gotten to this point unless you worked for it."

"Ow you made me bite my tongue!" Greenie whined.

With a puff of smoke, All American entered his super flex mode. "Listen, whenever you're scared or nervous about a fight, just try and deal with it by smiling! Don't you want to be the kind of hero who saves people with a smile?"

Green Boi nodded.

"Then stand tall! I'll be cheering you on, because I'm counting on you!"

Green Boi, although still nervous, nodded his head, and forced a smile. "Thanks All American. You always know what to say." That's when Green Boi heard Mic Man scream into the mic, "ALL RIGHT, TIME TO GET THIS BATTLE STARTED!"

"And that's my cue! I'll win this fight for you, Blonde Superman!" and he bravely walked onto the field.

The purity of Green Boi's determination made All American shed a tear. "And I'm the one who told him to stop crying," whispered the hero to himself as he wiped it away with the back of his hand.

…

"It's Precious Green Bean Child from Class 1-A of the Hero Course, versus Blue Haired Mind Control Kid from General Studies!" Mic Man announced. "The rules are simple! To win, combatants must either immobilize their opponent or force them out of the ring! Or, they can knock their opponent unconscious, or force them to give up! And don't be afraid to hold back kids, because Nurse Kisses is on standby to heal all your injuries! So put your morals aside, and don't be afraid to play dirty! But, of course don't kill anybody! Real heroes use their powers to beat villains within an inch of their lives, but they don't kill them!"

Tofu Block Man took a seat at the referee chair and a said, "I'll stop the battles if they get too dangerous."

"And that's also the best seat in the house!"

By now, Green Bean and Mind Control Kid were face-to-face on the Tofu Stage. And that's when the latter started talking trash. "Just give up now, Bean Child. Give up like that stupid friend of yours did."

Green Bean made a fist and thought, Just ignore him. Just ignore him. Arts Kid-kun told me not to talk to him.

"But I'm sure you're all tired of hearing my voice!" Speaker Mic announced. "I'll shut up and let the battle begin!"

"Is everyone in Class 1-A a quitter like that?" asked Mind Control Kid. "Making excuses like 'pride' and 'honor' so they don't have to fight?"

Ignore him. Ignore him. He can't say anything to me that Explochan hasn't already said.

Speaker Man was standing on his chair and pointing at the kids on the field as he yelled, "Are you ready folks? Grab onto the edge of your seats because here we go! Battle, start!"

"I think it was stupid of that monkey kid to give up his slot to fight in the tournament," Blue Haired Mind Control Kid said. "What a stupid fucking idiot."

"Hey fuck you, don't talk shit about any of my friends, I love each and every one of them and they are the light of my world and—" shouted Green Bean as he made a fist because he was about to whack the hell out of him. But, just like that, he got caught in Mind Control Kid's mind trap.

Dammit. Dammit, dammit, dammit, Green Boi mentally swore.

Mind Control Kid said, "Yup. I win."

Arts Kid jumped out of his seat and yelled in frustration, "GREEN BEAN! ALL YOU HAD TO DO WAS SHUT THE HELL UP!"

But Greenie couldn't shut the hell up, and now he was standing motionless a couple of steps in front of Mind Kid. Mic Man didn't like that. "Huh? Where's the flashy action? This is the first match! It should be wild!"

The other Class 1-A students watched in horror as Green Bean just stood there, blankly. "Is this one of Green Boi's weird plans?" asked Engine Legs, who was sitting beside Blushy. She replied, "Uh, I don't think so."

Green Boi just stood there. And Mind Control Kid just stood there. And Mic Man was going insane, shouting, "Holy shit, they aren't moving! Bean Child is just standing there! Is this because of Mind Control Kid's quirk? What kind of quirk could he possibly have that's making Bean Child act like a zombie?! Could it be that Mind Control Kid's quirk is extremely powerful?!"

"Guess your flashy powers can't save you now, huh Bean Child?" grumbled Mind Control Kid. "Go ahead and turn around and walk off the stage for me, okay?"

Green Boi obeyed. He turned around and strolled toward he opposite end of the stage.

Speaker Mic was screaming, "What the hell is happening folks? Bean Child is walking off the stage?!"

Up in the stadium, the rest of Class 1-A was really confused. "Green Boi!" shouted Blushy. "What the fuck are you doing?!"

"Don't walk off the stage or you'll lose!" yelled Engine Legs. "Didn't you listen to the rules?!"

"Shit shit shit shit, Green Boi!" Arts Kid yelled. "Snap out of it!"

Explochan sat back in his chair, with his arms crossed, and thought, Green Boi better lose, or else he'll fight Prince Icy Hot in the next round. And that Royal Son Of A Bitch might hurt him.

"Damn he walks slow," mumbled Mind Kid. "Speed it up my guy, we don't have all day."

Meanwhile, Green Bean was thinking, No, no, no, no, no. Why won't my body listen to me? I feel so numb, and heavy. It feels like sleep paralysis. I know I'm awake, and I know I'm in my body, but it just won't respond. It's moving on its own. This is bad. This is so bad. But this guy's quirk is so strong! He really would make a great hero! Pair him up with a hero like Jetpack Jeffery for aerial backup support, and this guy could easily stop hostage situations and—holy crap, no, pay attention! You're like three footsteps away from the edge. Think Greenie. How can you snap out of this?

Although his mind was foggy and his body was moving on his own, Green Boi could see ahead of him. In the archway entrance to the stadium, All American Blonde Slenderman was peeking in, watching him. Oh no! In two more footsteps, I'm gonna disappoint the Blessed One. Green Bean, snap out of it! Greenie took another step. Then he blinked.

When he opened his eyes, he saw nine shadowy figures lurking in that same entranceway, where All American had been.

They were terrifying.

Holy Shit! He was so startled that he momentarily regained control of his two forefingers. And in that moment, he used the godly power of Deus ex Machina to make his fingers swish a little. That little swish of his fingers caused a blast of wind pressure so powerful, that it nearly knocked Mind Kid out of the ring. And it snapped Green Bean out of the mind control.

So that was good! But his fingers hurt pretty bad. And what the hell were all those shadows? Green Boi didn't know, because when he blinked again, the only person standing in the entranceway was All American. Green Boi turned around and looked at his opponent, and was about to ask him if he saw that too. But before he could ask, Mind Kid shouted, "He broke out of my control! How did you do that?!"

Greenie was about to say, I don't fucking know! I think a couple of ghosts took control of my mind for a second. But he remembered that he couldn't talk to this dude, so he covered his mouth. His fingers hurt, but his mind was clear, and Green Boi needed to make quick work of this guy.

"Come on, say something," Mind Kid taunted. Green Boi winced in pain, and kept silent. Mind Control Kid took a step back, and wondered, Why isn't he answering me? Did he figure it out? Or did that monkey kid tell him about my quirk? "Hey, Bean Child, did Monkey Boi tell you not to talk to me? That cheating little fucker. I guess Class 1-A can't win without relying on each other."

Ignore him. Ignore him. Ignore him. Green Bean reminded himself as he ran toward Mind Control Kid.

"You jerks in the hero course and your damn flashy quirks piss me off! What about useful quirks that aren't super sparkly? What about guys like me? Huh? My quirk could easily capture villains! Easily! Without any flashy battles, collateral damage, and innocent victims! I'm more useful and practical than 80 percent of the heroes employed today! But no, I get stuck in Gen Studies with a bunch of extras and background characters!"

I know! Green Boi thought. My sentiments exactly! And I'd be just as bitter as you, had I not been blessed by All American Blonde Superman. I wish I could sit down and share the tea with you and tell you all about how my quirk is Mutter Mutter and how everyone treated me like I was quirkless. I wish I could tell you about how much I looked up to Explochan and wished I had a quirk like his. Green Boi bit his bottom lip to prevent himself from giving a character-growth-inducing-shounen-anime speech to this guy. It was insanely hard not to do that. After all, it was a primal instinct for him as a main character to have a heart-to-heart talk with his enemies. I'll use the power of friendship on this jerk after I whoop his ass. I really need to win this fight.

"GUYS I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT'S GOING ON!" Mic Man screamed.

Green Boi threw himself at Mind Kid and started to push him off the stage. Mind Kid shouted, "I'm not going down that easily!" he punched Green Boi so hard that Greenie's nose started to bleed. Then he punched him in the injured hand. Green Boi whimpered in pain and eased up enough for Mind Kid to reverse and try to push Green Boi out of the ring.

But Green Boi reversed the reverser, grabbed him, and judo flipped him out of bounds.

"HOLY SHIT!" shouted Mic Man.

"Oh thank All American," Arts Kid exhaled with relief.

What the fuck! He won!? Angry Boi thought.

"Yay! Green Boi!" cheered Blushy and Engine Legs.

Sadist Woman walked up to Mind Kid, who was laying on the floor with the wind knocked out of him. She knelt down beside him. She looked him in the eyes, and laughed a little. She stood up. Then she raised her dilly-do in the air and said, "Mind Control Kid is out of bounds. The sexy little winner is Precious Green Bean Child!"

"Why in the name of All American was that so difficult?" whined Greenie as he struggled to catch his breath. He stooped down, and offered his good hand to Mind Kid. "Good match."

Mind Kid was surprised. He took Green Boi's hand and stood up. But he complained, "It's not fair that you were blessed with such a flashy quirk. Guys like you are expected to become heroes. Guys like me, well, let's just say no one would be surprised if I ended up in jail."

"But obviously you're not a villain. You're studying at UH."

They started walking off the stage together. Mind Kid replied, "Yeah. But brainwashing people isn't exactly a heroic quirk. When people find out about it, they automatically assume that I'm going to become a villain. They're all like, 'Yo if I had your power, I'd totally make girls date me!' or 'I'd go make a continence store give me all their money.' And I'm like, 'Dude, no, why the hell would I do that?'"

"What kind of shitty people have you been talking to? I'm glad you have your quirk, and not those assholes."

Mind Kid chuckled. "I know, right. Fuck those guys. But it still kind of sucks that people hesitate to speak to me, or they look so scared when I open my mouth. Why are they so afraid that I'm going to mind-control them? Why are they so afraid of me? Maybe if I become a hero, they'll see that I'm someone who can be trusted. Someone they can talk to. Maybe they'll see that I'm a good guy who wants friends that aren't afraid of him."

"Yikes, dude, I'll be your friend. We can talk about whatever and stuff. What's your Twitter handle? I'll follow you if you follow back."

Mind Kid burst into laughter. "Wow. You actually are precious. Your boyfriend is really lucky."

Green Boi's entire face and neck reddened. "He's not my boyfriend!"

"Oh, damn, it must have been a nasty break up, huh?"

"Why does everyone keep saying that?!"

By now they were both near the seats of the stadium, right about to enter the hallway. But some of the general studies kids leaned over the railing and shouted, "Blue Hair-kun! You did great!" and "General Studies Represent!" and "Wow you almost beat that guy! Great job!"

One guy pointed at some heroes sitting behind him and shouted, "Blue Hair, listen to them!" He was pointing to Lizard Hero 1, who was saying, "If I had a sidekick with a quirk like that last week when I was fighting that mob boss, then maybe all those hostages wouldn't have died." Robot Hero 22 nodded, and added, "With more combat experience and perhaps some support items, that kid could make it far in the hero industry."

"Did you hear that?" General Studies Kid W asked.

"No I'm all the way down here!" replied Mind Kid. "I can barely hear you and you're shouting! How'd you expect me to hear that? Hold on, I'm coming up there!" He rolled his eyes. "My classmates are idiots." Then he turned to Green Boi. "I'm never giving up. I'll get on the hero track, get certified, and be a better pro than any of you Class 1-Assholes."

Green Boi nodded. "I'll take that as a challenge." Suddenly, Green Boi felt like his body was heavy. Huh?! Did he Mind Trap me?

"By the way, if you're not on guard, someone's gonna defeat you." Mind Kid released his quirk. "But if you lose after you whooped my butt like that, I'll kick your ass." He smirked. "So be careful."

Green Boi nodded. "I will." And he got mind trapped again. But that time was an accident.