"Wow," was all most of Class 1-A could say. They watched as Green Boi was carted away via robot ambulance. Ice Prince limped off the stage.

How the hell did Green Boi get that much power? Angry Boi wondered.

"Is Green Boi going to be okay?" Blushy asked aloud to no one in particular. "He looked pretty banged up. Why didn't they stop that battle? They were about to stop my battle before it even started, yet they almost let those two kill each other."

Suddenly, Angry Boi remembered that he wanted to choke her out, and he stood up to do so, but Red Boi and Tape Dude held him back.

…

Ice Boi was limping to the nurse's office. He had WAY too much pride to be ambulanced away, but he was kind of regretting that now, because his stomach was doing flips, his left side was aching from the cold, and his right side was aching from the heat. That's the consequence he had to pay for rapidly super cooling and then super heating the air to cause an explosion. He definitely shouldn't have used so much power so quickly and intensely, especially since he was at his limit already. But the way Green Boi made him feel in that moment made him think irrationally.

This whole day, Green Boi had been making Ice Boi think irrationally. From the very start, when he declared war against Greenie, that wasn't his typical attitude. Ice Prince tended to stay in the background and pretend to be a minor character until a major battle popped up. So why the hell did he decide all of a sudden to jump into the spotlight of the class drama?

That was unlike him.

Then there was the moment Greenie stole first place from him during the Sexy 4K Obstacle Course. How could Ice Prince, definitely on the top of the power tiers, lose a stupid obstacle course race to the student who placed last on Ninja-sensei's mini chunin exam?

That was unlike him.

Then there was the moment when he accidentally used his fire against Greenie in the Calvary Battle. Ice Prince hadn't used his fire power in years. Yet in that one moment, he used it.

That was unlike him.

Then he went and told Greenie all about his personal and family issues. Issues that he had kept to himself for years. Issues that he had never spoken to anyone about. Why did I give him the power to weaponize my emotions like that? He wondered.

That was unlike him.

And now, not only did he use his fire bending against Green Bean, yet again, but he released his entire full flame force. He had made his father proud.

But for some reason, he didn't care.

That was so unlike him.

He didn't understand why he did any of that stuff. Not at all, in the slightest did he understand why he had just been so out-of-character today. It was like he had some sort of massive character development. But even if he didn't understand why his character grew so rapidly, he was glad that it did. Because even though that battle was rough and his body was so sore, he felt good. He felt really, really good. There was something heavy lifted off of his shoulders. He felt like he could breathe deeply for the first time in… his entire life…

Is this what happiness felt like?

"Bean Child really is something else," muttered Flame Prince as he continued to limp. Up ahead, the Prince saw someone approaching him. Of course it was his father. With his chest out and a booming voice, Abusive Fire Daddy shouted, "You need to learn to control your left side. It's dangerous to release so much energy like that. But I'm glad you're finally seeing reason, and quitting all this rebellious childishness." He held out his hand. "Join me, Son, and together we shall be unstoppable. I will train you in the path of a hero!"

Flame Prince looked up at his father. He stared the man right in the eyes. He said, "No."

"Huh?"

"You don't control me anymore." He limped away.

His father stared, speechless.

…

Green Boi was in the Emergency Operation Room of Nurse Kisses's office. She was fussing at All American Blonde Slender Man as she prepared for surgery. "He pushed himself way to hard! His bones were broken so badly that they'll never be the same again. He's only fifteen. Do you expect him to even have a career as a pro hero at this rate?"

All American watched as his pupil laid on a cot in the room, trembling with pain. Both of his arms were in splints, and one of his legs was in a brace. The Blondest Hero didn't know what to say.

That's when Green Boi's friends burst into the room. Blushy shouted, "GREEN BEAN!" She, Engine Legs, Froakie and Diaper Shit Kid approached him and asked, "Are you okay?"

Green Boi groaned in pain. Yet he didn't want to let his friends know the extent of the damage, so he deflected the question. "Shouldn't you guys be watching the next match?"

Glasses informed him, "You two destroyed the stage. Tofu Block-sensei is rebuilding it as we speak."

Diaper Shit opened his shitty mouth to say, "What the hell is wrong with you and your fucking quirk? You're useless if you hurt yourself like this each time you use it!"

Froakie smacked him across the face with her tongue. "Shut up. That's not what he wants to hear right now, ribbit."

Nurse Kisses agreed, and shooed the kids away, saying, "I have to do surgery so please leave me to it."

"SURGERY!" they all screamed.

"Please leave me to it. He'll be fine!" she kicked them out of the room and closed the door. The four students stood helplessly outside it, and panicked. Diaper Shit said, "He'll probably never be able to fight again."

"Shut up, ribbit."

Blushy tried to stay positive, and change the subject. "He'll be fine! Nurse Kisses knows what she's doing. And anyway, who was that weird guy in the suit, standing next to Green Bean? He kinda looked like All American Blonde Superman, but only shriveled and nasty."

Glasses shrugged. "Really? I didn't notice. Come on everyone, let's return to our seats and leave Nurse Kisses to her work."

…

With a final kiss, Nurse Kisses healed Green Boi. He exhaled in relief at the fact he wasn't in so much pain anymore. "Thanks so much Nurse Kisses."

"You're welcome," she said. She closed her medical toolbox. "But this is the last time I'm doing this for you." Green Bean and All American gasped in horror. She shook her head. "Did you really think I'd keep healing you and healing you and healing you forever? No. Just look at your hand, Bean Child. It's permanently damaged."

Green Boi's right hand had been broken so badly that it had healed crookedly. It still felt sore, and it looked discolored from all the scars. "Aw man I hope I can still type fanfiction," he wondered aloud.

"Fanfiction is the least of your worries, Bean Child. You were lucky that I could even fix it that much." Nurse Kisses looked serious when she said, "You've got to find another way to use your quirk, or else you should give up on being a hero."

Green Boi felt those words like a bullet to the heart. His eyes went dull. "Give up?" He repeated. His terrified expression darkened the atmosphere of the room. All American patted him on the back and snapped him out of it, saying, "Let's go, Green Boi."

"R-right."

So the two thanked Nurse Kisses one more time and left the Operation Room together. Walking side by side with All American, Green Boi kept quiet. He kept his head low. He started to think, if I can't control this quirk, then why the hell am I trying to be a hero? Prince Zuko was handicapping himself, and I still couldn't beat him. I am so pathetic. I am so fucking pathetic. All American should have given this power to him, or Explochan, or, hell, even Blushy. Anyone would have been better than me.

"I know what you're thinking, Green Boi," All American spoke up.

"Huh?"

"You're thinking, 'All American shouldn't have given me Deus ex Machina. He should have given it to someone powerful, like Half White Prince Zuko.' That's what you're thinking, right?"

Green Boi hesitated. Then he nodded. "He'd be super fucking cool with fire, ice and super strength."

"But he doesn't have the heart for it, kid. You've got heart. Think about it. He didn't even want to use his fire. He doesn't even want to use his own damn quirk, so why the hell am I giving him mine as well? If I gave him Deus ex Machina, he'd probably squander it." All American scratched the back of his head. "You know, giving such a flashy, powerful quirk to someone who already has a flashy, powerful quirk is kinda stupid. They might not appreciate it. You know? And they might not have the heart to cultivate it to the highest potential. Someone who already has so much doesn't know how much they really have. I guess I'm trying to say is that no one knows their privilege until they don't have it anymore. So I'd rather give my quirk to an under-privileged kid. Because he'll understand how to appreciate it."

Greenie nodded. But he didn't seem convinced.

"When I got Deus ex Machina from my Master, I was quirkless," All American admitted.

"Really?!"

"Yup. And I was a delinquent, on the verge of becoming a villain."

"No way."

"Yeah I made that part up." He chuckled.

Green Boi chuckled too. That cheered him up.

…

Green Bean arrived at his class's section of the stadium and sat down beside Blushy. She cheered, "GREENIE!" And Green Boi was met with a chorus of "Are you okay?" from his very concerned classmates.

Green Boi assured everyone that he was okay, and everyone exhaled a sigh of relief. Except Explochan. Explochan was pouting.

Nonetheless, Green Boi asked Blushy, "What'd I miss?"

"Okay, so Glasses Boi used his Super Turbo Engine Legs to push Vine Girl out of bounds. So he won."

"Wow. That easily?"

"Yup. Then Bird Guy used his stand to push Acid Girl out of the ring."

"His bird demon thing is way too strong."

"Totally. Explodey Boi automatically goes to the next round since Spikey Red and Steel Hard had a double knockout. So now it's Glasses Boi versus Prince Zuko. We're waiting for that match to start."

"This'll be interesting."

Blushy laughed. "You really think Glasses Boi is gonna win against that crazy guy?"

Green Boi shook his head. "Of course not. Prince Zuko is way too strong. But it'll be interesting to see if he uses his fire power, or if he just sticks with ice again." Green Boi was smiling.

Blushy poked his cheek. "You have such a huge crush on him, don't you?"

"No stop why do you say these things?"

Meanwhile, Glasses Boi was in the waiting room, stretching in preparation for his next battle. He looked at his cell phone, which he had placed on the table. He was hoping that his big brother would call him. After all, his big brother should have been watching the Sports Festival.

But the phone didn't ring. So Glasses Boi Engine Legs decided to call his brother. He just wanted to hear a few words of encouragement. Unfortunately, the call went straight to voicemail. "I'm currently on a mission, and I will return your call shortly," the pre-recorded message said.

"Of course, he's busy," Glasses said, nodding, and hanging up the phone. "A hero's work is never done." But he did sort of wish that it was done today, so that he could talk to his brother. But whatever. He'd go out and win and then call his brother as a winner. "Yes, Big Brother will be more excited to talk to me after I've won."

So he headed down to the stage to start his match.