Freya grunted as she strained to lift a heavy metal beam, using it to lift a pile of other debris to create an opening large enough for a human to pass through, and then hold it at exactly 3 feet off the ground for 3 minutes. The pro-hero Thirteen stood by with a stopwatch timing her, as well as watching to make sure the beam didn't go too high or too low as she held it. Freya was sure her muscles were about to commit mutiny as they protested the strain she was putting them under. All together even with the leverage the beam she was lifting she was still moving an effective weight that was easily over a ton. Her enhanced strength made it possible to do without tools, but it was a strain.

Sweat poured from every inch of Freya's body, making her grip on the beam slippery and even harder to hold. She wasn't sure how long she'd been holding it, it took all her focus to keep it at the right elevation. The rule of the exercise stating she had to maintain that height was because of the structure of the debris pile. If she lifted it too high the pile would become unstable and have cave ins that would crush any civilians inside she was trying to rescue. Thirteen had first made her do the calculations for determining this structure and the correct course of action with minimal equipment and on a time limit. It had taken her a whole day to have the proper method drilled into her head, now she had to be able to act on it.

"And time" Thirteen said, clicking the stopwatch "gently lower the beam back down."

Freya sighed with relief as she did as she was told, slowly dropping the beam back to a resting position and falling back on her rear in exhaustion.

"A remarkable improvement Valkyrie, your muscles and their ability to grow in strength drastically so quickly are truly impressive" Thirteen said "going from being unable to even move the bar without mechanical assistance to being able to successfully hold it for the designated time in just two days is a rate of improvement you simply don't see with most quirks."

Freya nodded, wiping the sweat from her brow and gasping for air. She could already feel the burning in her muscles fading to a dull ache as her rapid regeneration accelerated the process of her muscles recovering and strengthening. "I have to ask though" she said after taking the time to catch her breath, "why are we just doing exercises like this? This is supposed to be an internship."

"You came to me to learn more about being a rescue hero correct?" Thirteen replied "well right now we're working on applied skills for use in a rescue operation. Since this is an internship of course we'd do live training if we could, but it's not like we can just create a natural disaster situation on demand. Even if we could, intentionally endangering actual lives just so you could practice saving them would be the least heroic thing we could possibly conceive of."

Freya blushed a bit at the response, when put that way it seemed rather silly to ask why they weren't doing field work. "Still… I don't feel right just doing basic training like this on such an important week…" she said "we're part of the advanced course, we're expected to graduate and immediately be the best of the best… I don't know if I can live up to that if I spend my live training week just doing lessons we could normally do in class. Even if it is a more intensive program."

Thirteen was silent for a moment, watching as Freya finished recovering and stood back up, taking a moment to drink some water to replace what she'd lost via sweating. "I see, you're not dissatisfied because you want action, but because you're worried you aren't growing enough?" Thirteen asked "that is a valid concern, but not one you should worry about right now. Not at your current level anyway."

Freya looked over to Thirteen questioningly. Was that meant to reassure her or insult her? At her current level? What was that supposed to mean?

"Rescue heroes like us typically have low experience compared to most pros, it's natural, since disasters are uncommon compared to regular crime." Thirteen said "it's why we have facilities like the USJ, so we can practice freely and master the skills we need to learn to respond to a crisis. It may feel like you're progressing slowly compared to your peers, but if you intend to be a rescue hero, that is a reality you will have to face."

Freya sighed and looked down, clenching her fists in frustration. It was true she came to UA to be a rescue hero, but she'd thought that was all she was good for before learning about her enhanced strength. It was still what her end goal was, but she'd realized that she needed to become stronger in battle too. Fighting against Darwin had shown her how far she still had to go in battle, and how important combat strength was even for a supporting hero. She'd been the first one to go down in that fight, completely outclassed in both skill and power, and rendered useless for the majority of the battle. She may have recovered in time to heal Onaka and help her save the day, but her weakness was frustrating.

"I can't accept that" Freya said, "even if I can't be as strong as a normal combat-oriented hero, I can't just accept being weak. Even as a rescue hero, there are going to be times I have to fight, times I need to be strong and experienced. Even if its only enough to provide support in a battle I need to be stronger!"

Thirteen rubbed the 'chin' of the spacesuit they wore to contain and control their quirk, thinking about Freya's words. "I'm afraid there's not much I can offer you in terms of combat experience, even if we were to go out on a regular patrol and fight criminals, my quirk simply isn't suited for the task, it's too dangerous for me to use out in the streets freely. But I can reassure you that you're getting stronger, tell me, you got zero villain points in the entrance exams correct?"

Freya nodded, "of course, back then I didn't even know I had enhanced strength, breaking metal robots was far beyond me."

"If you were to take that exam again, do you think you would fare the same? With the strength you possess now?" Thirteen asked

That gave Freya pause as she glanced to the metal beam she'd been training with. Before she'd been able to deadlift maybe 500 pounds, it was impressive for someone of her age and body-type, being multiple times her weight. Now she was able to lift four or five times that much, control it, and hold it for several minutes. Translating that to striking force, she was probably capable of breaking the faux villains from the exam with relative ease now, provided she got a solid hit in on a joint or the head.

"Your physical training during the regular year has been intense, but even someone as dedicated as Law hasn't been able to personalize your training to fully draw out your strength" Thirteen explained "this training is pushing you to your limits repeatedly and increasing them. When we're done here, your body will be many times stronger than before. After that you can learn how to use that strength in battle. You may have less experience fighting, and not be as strong as some of your peers, but you will be strong."

Freya nodded and dried her hands on a towel, grabbing the beam again "understood, I'll give it my all then, what's the new goal?"

"Three minutes again, let's reach a point where you can do that comfortably and build your endurance a bit" Thirteen said, resetting the stopwatch and preparing it for another round.

"Got it! RRRRRRAGH!" Freya roared as she lifted the beam again and began to hold it in place. Thirteen started the timer, and the training continued.

- Mako's internship -

Mako sighed, she'd decided to intern with a hero known as "Armory" because he was a weapons specialist and thus his combat style was much like hers. But her time at the military base he was stationed at had been nothing but dull drills and spars with his sidekicks that were always laughably one-sided one way or the other. Some of them, mostly the newer ones, she could defeat without breaking a sweat. And the older and more experienced ones weren't even challenged by her. Allegedly there was a notorious terrorist group in the area that they were keeping watch for, but the closest thing to an attack that had occurred was when a bird flew into one of the windows of the base hard enough to accidentally set off the alarm system.

Mako sighed again as she entered the cafeteria for lunch, grabbing her tray of food and sitting at a table with the other sidekicks. The food was decent enough, for a military-style base, but it did little to brighten the day.

"Hey, don't look so down Avatar" one sidekick said, he was a young man, one of the ones she could beat easily. He was relatively attractive, with short blonde hair and a constant stubble that Mako was sure he kept on purpose to look manlier. He was well built and didn't have any major physical defects, and he was only a year or two older than her, having graduated recently and joined up here. Unfortunately, after the first time she'd crushed him in a spar he'd grown infatuated with her, another layer of irritation to pile onto the pile that made up this internship. "If you're bored, we could slip away to the town for a nice dinner date this evening." He said with a wink

"The answer is still no" Mako said curtly "I'm not about to fall for a guy who broke down crying the first time I shot him in the side during our first sparring match. Ask me again when you grow a pair." Her harsh rejection elicited a chorus of laughs from the table as her suitor blushed and moved away in embarrassment.

"Man, Avatar you are a real treat to have around" another man said, this one was an older and more experienced man with long black hair and metallic skin, a mutant type whose ability to produce weapons from his body had utterly overwhelmed her in sparring matches. "Watching you show the newbies up has been the most fun we've had in months." He chuckled

"Glad I was able to bring some form of excitement to this place" Mako sighed again as she finished her plate of food and pulled out a book to read. The one solace she had here was that the abundance of free time she'd had was allowing her to catch up on her reading. Reading new material was important for improving her quirk as it gave her more characters to draw from and possibly add to her quick reference book as someone she could rotate into her roster on the fly. But her training in school had focused more on improving her emulation quality, switch speed, and improving the strength and durability of the weapons she created. She had enough options to serve her purposes as a hero for the time being, any further reading for fun was to be done on her own time. With the hectic schedule of classes and homework, there'd been precious little of that.

"Tolkien huh? Lord of the Rings? Not a bad choice of book" the man said, "thinking about adding any characters to your roster?"

"Maybe Legolas, everyone else seems to have skills already available from other emulations" Mako said as she turned the page "but his bowmanship skills are impressive, still it's not like my classmate Serena who uses a bow because it synergizes with her quirk better, I'm probably still best off using a gun in most scenarios."

"True, but a bow is quieter, if you're in a situation you need a ranged weapon to take out guards silently, you might consider him for that" the man suggested

Mako smiled slightly, there was one upside to working with so many sidekicks, regardless of their individual skill levels and experience, they were all full-fledged heroes good enough to be recognized by the government and licensed. They provided valuable advice and ideas that came from a place of knowledge and personal experience. And they all had way too much time to kill, and so were eager to share that advice with her if only as a way to pass the time.

"That's a good point, I'll keep it in mind, thank you" Mako said, nodding to the man. The man smiled back and returned to eating his meal, and she returned to reading in peace.

"Say, why do you always read so much?" a woman asked, she was one of the most respected heroes on the base, second in command only to Armory himself. Her hero name was 'Deadeye,' she was rather average looking, short red hair, freckles, and a lithe body built for endurance rather than strength. Her eyes were the standout feature, having multiple rings inside the iris due to her quirk, which gave her extremely precise eyesight, enabled her to see things like electrical signals and infrared, and allowed her to zoom in further than any sniper scope. She specialized in sniper rifles and could hit a moving target in the head without fail from over a mile away. They hadn't sparred at all since close combat wasn't her specialty, but she'd earned Mako's respect with her marksmanship. She had resolved to acquire any fictional media representation of the woman she could at the first opportunity and use it to add her to the roster if possible, even if she couldn't replicate the woman's quirk, using a scope she could likely make a half-decent sniper herself.

"I mean, before it was suggested using a bow for stealth missions, you didn't have any characters from that book you wanted to possibly use your quirk with, so why keep reading?" Deadeye asked

Mako closed the book and turned to face the woman. "I simply enjoy reading, its fun" she said with a smile.

"Is it? I never really got it, what's fun about it?" Deadeye asked, plopping down her tray and sitting next to Mako.

"It's hard to explain, but haven't you ever wished you could be somewhere else, someone else, experience fantastic new things and go on wild adventures?" Mako asked "live a life better than your own for a time?"

"Well… not really, I always thought I was pretty awesome no matter what anyone said, and my life is pretty rad, even if it has been boring for a while now" Deadeye said with a shrug.

"Heh… lucky" Mako said, looking down "I'm… not quite as confident in myself. And my life so far has been dreadfully dull. It hasn't been bad really, I know I really shouldn't complain considering the lives some of my classmates have led. But I've always wanted to just get away from it all. Be someone far cooler than timid boring old me, in a life more exciting than my dreary tedious life. Stories give me a way to experience things I never could otherwise. I lose myself in them for a time, and suddenly I'm not Mako the timid girl at a boring school, I'm a fantastic mystical warrior fighting the evil overlord for the sake of the world!"

"So, it's escapism then, that ain't healthy" Deadeye said with a frown

"Not entirely, I mean that's part of it" Mako said, blushing a bit in embarrassment with how much she'd just rambled on about her hobby. "Part of it is also just the story itself… like you know how you and the other guys here trade stories of your exploits and enjoy them? Kinda like that, the stories themselves are entertaining even if you haven't lived them, you get excited and laugh or cry and feel emotions based on the story. The better its told, the more you feel."

"Huh, I guess I see" Deadeye mused "so when you read books, it's like the book is one of your comrades tellin you a story about their exploits?"

"Yeah, exactly! It's like a friend telling me about the fantastic things they did." Mako said enthusiastically "and through them I get to feel as if I'm living it too!"

"Heh, that does sound kinda fun, tell ya what, when you get home from this internship, why don't you send me a list of books you think I might like kiddo" Deadeye said "start me off small, I don't think I could get through a monster like that Lords of a Ring thing you got there"

Part of Mako wanted to scream in nerdy fangirl fury at the butchering of the title of the book, but mostly she was just happy to have gotten someone she had come to respect interested in reading. "I'll do that," she said with a smile.

The lunch break carried on with the same dull and dreary pace it had progressed at before, and Mako sighed again. The internship was boring, and she might not have been getting much field experience… but making friends with the heroes here was nice. "I guess it isn't all bad…" she said to herself with a slight smile as she cracked open her book again "now where was I…?"

- Bato's internship -

Bato looked around, he hadn't ever imagined using his quirk in quite this mundane a fashion. He was stuck dressed in a suit and tie at a formal party event that he and the pro he was interning with had needed to attend. The fleshy creations his quirk produced were wandering around carrying plates and trays as servants. They were better-made than most of his creations, having a proper humanoid shape and weight distribution, even if the proportions were a bit odd, with thin upper legs and arms that didn't look like they could support the bulky forearms and calves they were attached too, and rounded torsos with stubby little heads.

Apparently, this party was a trap meant to lure in a villain, and most of the guests here were either additional targets or heroes in disguise. He was using his explosive creations as butlers for the party, as well as a tool to force the villains to surrender when the trap was sprung. The threat of the room being filled with explosions would hopefully be enough to avoid a conflict from the outset, but in case it wasn't several heroes were on standby with barrier quirks and the like to protect their allies when he detonated his bombs. Each one had enough explosive force prepared to incapacitate one person without inflicting life-threatening injuries. It'd taken the better part of three days to fine tune the appearance and power output of his creations appropriately. Too weak and the threat would be meaningless, too much and they'd kill the targets instead of just knocking them out.

"Well hello there, you must be the head butler" A woman said in a sultry voice as she approached Bato. She was one of the party's legitimate guests, a few informed civilians who were here to provide legitimacy to the party, they weren't informed of the full details of the plan, but they were aware that they would be volunteering for a potentially dangerous operation and had been compensated accordingly. "That's quite a quirk you have, generating so many servants to follow your commands and handling a party like this all on your own." She purred as she got closer to Bato, making him begin to blush as she leaned in, giving him a perfect view of the cleavage her long red dress provided her. Her brown hair swayed from side to side at her shoulders as she shifted her body to cause an enticing jiggle.

"Ahem… It's uh… not all that impressive" Bato said, forcing himself to look away. He'd been warned by the pro he was working with that some of the volunteer guests were going to be bored rich people looking for excitement in their lives, and that that make him a target of their attentions as the only human servant in the room. He had not expected that seduction was what his mentor meant however. He was now thoroughly out of his element. He was a plain looking boy at best and was rather used to not being paid much attention. He liked it that way, since he wasn't great at navigating social situations and felt much more at home when working on a task alone.

"Oh but it is, can you imagine how useful an ability like that is for people like me?" the woman said, stepping closer and giggling at Bato's blush. "So many servants, for the cost of just one man? I've half a mind to claim you for myself right now?"

Bato's blush deepened "ummm… I'm… I'm sorry Madame… but I'm on duty right now… we can discuss hiring my services at a later…"

"Oh no I don't mean that at all. My favorite servants get claimed in more than just a occupational sense" the woman said with a grin "I use my quirk on them… I think you'd find it to be very… enjoyable"

Bato squirmed as he kept trying to back away from the woman, eventually finding himself cornered. The woman smiled as she leaned in and gave Bato a kiss on the cheek. Then backed away a bit and grabbed his arm "there, you're marked as mine now, nobody else will touch you until I say so. Now then, if you'd come with me please." She began to pull Bato towards the door, smiling confidently as she did so.

Bato felt an odd warmth through his body as the sensation of the kiss faded from his cheek. Suddenly going along with the woman's requests seemed like a much better idea. His creations could hold down the fort here for now, and he could detonate them remotely from a safer place, if a villain took him down the moment the trap was sprung the servants would be useless. Perhaps going with her was a good…

Bato's thought process was interrupted by a man stepping between him and the woman. It was the pro he was here with, the pro hero Mindblow, capable of causing explosions in any area he could see using only his mind.

"That's quite enough of that Scarlett, this one is off limits" Mindblow said as he broke the woman's grip on Bato's arm.

Scarlett pouted and crossed her arms "aw but I went through the trouble of using my charm on him and everything, come on just a little fun? I'll give him back later."

"Out of the question, I know what you have in mind, this boy is far too young to get mixed up with you and come back with his free will intact." Mindblow said "the government may be willing to overlook your usage of your quirk on your playthings due to your agreeing to aid us on demand, but you are not to interfere with a young man's future just to satisfy your own desires."

"Hmph, fine, I'll go find someone else to play with then." Scarlett said, then snapped her fingers "there, he's freed."

Bato blinked a few times as it felt like a fog lifted from his mind. What had he been thinking? Running off with some woman in the middle of an important mission to capture villains? He was a hero in training, he couldn't possibly do something so irresponsible! He looked to Scarlett as she stormed off in frustration, then to Mindblow.

"Scarlett Rose, code name Madame Cupid" Mindblow said, turning to Bato. "She's not a pro-hero in the traditional sense, instead running a very profitable fashion company. However, she does have status as a government agent due to her quirk 'Lovestruck' being incredibly useful in missions involving espionage, interrogation, or assassination. She's a very dangerous individual, especially to a young hormone-filled teenager like yourself."

"I don't get what just happened, she gave me a kiss on the cheek and suddenly I found myself going along with her, was that her quirk?" Bato asked, rubbing his cheek a bit to rub away the feeling of her soft lips on his skin.

"Yes, whenever she makes an intimate gesture with someone, be it a kiss, a sensual touch, or more… explicit… activities" Mindblow explained "she gains a certain degree of influence over their minds. The more intimate she gets, the greater the effect. The quirk only lasts a certain amount of time before it begins to fade, but if she uses it on someone enough, or if they're particularly susceptible to her like you would have been, the effects can linger permanently even after the quirk has worn off."

Bato shuddered, he could tell what Mindblow meant, even now that she'd released him from the quirk he couldn't help but feel that being subjected to her quirk like that wouldn't be all bad. It was certainly a thought lingering as a remnant of her quirk, and that had just been a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks for stepping in there… I hate to think about what might've happened otherwise." He said.

"Don't worry about it, I'm sorry I didn't warn you about her specifically in advance, didn't think she'd take an interest in someone who looks so… plain…" Mindblow said, "no offense…"

Bato shook his head "none taken, I get it. I'm plain-looking and socially awkward… not exactly a chick magnet. She was only interested in me to use my quirk as free servants for her anyway. Nobody would care about me otherwise."

Mindblow cocked his head and looked at Bato. He recognized that tone of voice and self-depreciation. Those were the words of someone with no self-esteem. The boy probably got praised for his powerful quirk a lot, but the rest of him was so plain most people probably only ever complimented him on that. It must've led to him believing he was only worthwhile because of his quirk.

"You should give yourself more credit," Mindblow said with a smile, "I may not be an attractive female, but you've got some good looks. Plain sure, but you make it work. That suit fits you well, your body is in fantastic shape from your training, and your shyness gives you the right air of vulnerability that can draw the ladies in."

Bato raised his eyebrows in surprise at the compliments "You mean that? No, you can't be…" he said

"Have more confidence in yourself, you're not ever going to be a model no, but you're attractive enough if you look at things objectively. A bit of confidence would go a long way for you, and while I don't know your personality all that well, you are a hero in training, so I can only assume you're a decent guy." Mindblow interjected "some lady is going to be very taken in by you someday… but enough of that, we've got a job to do."

Mindblow turned and walked off to mingle in the party for a bit longer while Bato felt himself smiling. Nobody had ever given him a pep talk like that one before, but he hadn't sensed any dishonesty in the pro hero's words. It felt good to be told he had a chance like that, even if he wasn't entirely convinced of it.

Not long after, the final target arrived on the scene and the trap was sprung, pro heroes casting aside their disguises, the civilians making a hasty exit from the room with the assistance of designated heroes, and the villains being grabbed by Bato's creations, other heroes, or being held up by quirks aimed at them. A few of the villains tried to stage a resistance, but with a command from Mindblow Bato detonated a few of the explosives to knock out some villains as an example. With the situation made apparent, the villains had little choice but to surrender and allow themselves to be restrained.

In another room where the civilians had evacuated through on their way out of the building, Scarlett stood with her phone, calling a number. "Hello, yes its me, I've found a potentially useful one. No, I couldn't draw him away to take total control, but I marked him for you to finish the job if you want him." She said, then waited as a distorted voice replied to her over the line "not to worry, he'll be an easy one. I'll send you the info on him via the usual means, just let me have him when you're done, I haven't added a new plaything to my collection in too long."

Scarlett smiled as she hung up the phone and began to make her way towards the exit. She smirked as she left the building. She may have been thwarted today, but she always got what she wanted in the end. "I'll get my way soon enough pet… so keep on refining that body and quirk for me like a good little hero student." She chuckled as she got into her limo and closed the door. Then the limo pulled away, and she was gone.