X-23 and Eri followed Uraraka, Jiro, and Yaoyorozu to the restaurant. The five girls were all sitting at one table under an umbrella for shade. Normally, X-23 would want to take off on her own, but the need to build relationships with others was something Eri has to work on and who better than 3 future caretakers. As much as X-23 wants to be there for Eri, she knows at some point there could be a time where Eri must stay with someone for a long while and it is vital for Eri to be comfortable around them. That is why Kurt, the Bamfs, and Peter have been near Eri; for the little girl to get comfortable around them.
"Alright, Eri! Here you go! One Apple!" Kaminari, dressed in a waiter suit, handed Eri an apple.
"And for the ladies," Mineta walked up to the table, also dressed as a waiter, "2 Lemonades, Cherry Cola, and Jasmine Tea." Mineta handed the drinks out between 4 girls.
Eri looked at the apple mysteriously. She carefully took it and held it close to her nose to get a whiff of it. Everyone watched Eri examine the apple as if she was trying to decipher if it was safe to eat.
Kaminari awkwardly laughed, "Hey, Lil' girl it's fine. The apple isn't poisonous or anything."
X-23 placed her legs on the edge of the table and leaned against her chair. She rolled her head to the left where Kaminari was, "That's her instinct to new foods. I'm hoping to break that tendency at some point." X-23 took a sip from her cola.
For a moment Eri stared at the apple before putting it down. "I'm not hungry." Eri said, "But it does look good and smells kinda yummy."
Yaoyorozu picked the apple up, "In that case, you should save it for later as a snack." Yaoyorozu created a small preservation bag, placed the apple inside it, and gave the bag to Eri to hold.
Eri placed her headphones and music player into the bag and wrapped the strap of the bag around her body. Eri examined the new faces around her, "I'm sorry, I don't think I know your names."
"Oh!" Uraraka placed a hand near her mouth in realization, "We never introduced ourselves. I'm Ochaco Uraraka."
"I'm Kyoka Jiro," Jiro said with a small wave.
"Denki Kaminari, at your service," Kaminari bowed.
Mineta pointed to himself, "I'm Minoru Mineta."
"And I'm Momo Yaoyorozu," Yaoyorozu said with a smile.
"Nice to meet you all. I'm Eri," Eri said with a small hum.
"Pleased to meet you, Eri," Yaoyorozu replied with everyone nodding their heads.
"So, X-23," Jiro spoke while messing with her left earphone jack, "You know what you're gonna do with her here? It's a big place with so much to do."
"I'm just gonna wing it," X-23 replied, hands placed together behind her head, "I didn't exactly come here with a plan in mind."
"I don't think any of us did," Uraraka jumped in, "It's a new place with many wonderful attractions here and so much sightseeing! I'm excited to see what the future holds!" Uraraka let out a small gasp, "Maybe even something for us to use in the future as Pro Heroes!"
"Pro Heroes?" Eri tilted her head, "What's 'Pro Heroes?'"
"You never told her what a pro hero is?" Yaoyorozu asked, surprised.
"Never felt the need too," X-23 rolled her head, earning a few pops in the neck.
"In a world where Pro Heroes is the biggest profession, the largest economic market, and the most popular topic in society, you did not think that would be one of the first things to tell her about?" Jiro deadpanned at X-23.
X-23 stared at Jiro and placed her legs on the floor before straightening her back. Jiro felt her heart pumping faster for she believed X-23 was now ticked off. X-23 leaned forward and placed her elbow on the table with her fist in the air, her claws not popping out. Jiro's expression became startled as she expected X-23 to unsheath them. Mineta hid behind a terrified Kaminari as he knew that stare very well.
"It is important for Eri to learn what and who pro heroes are, but I am more concerned with getting her affiliated with her humanity and letting her mind adjust to her surroundings more than showing her the world." X-23 explained in a rational tone of voice, "It's already been explained to you guys where Eri hails from, so healing her mental psyche is my first priority before teaching." X-23 got back into her previous relaxed position.
Jiro let out a sigh of relief. She thought X-23 was gonna tear her apart for her comments. Kaminari moved Mineta back in front of him since X-23 wasn't going to snap till he heard a familiar voice yelling.
"Will you let go of my arm already?!"
Everyone's head turned to see Tsu dragging Spider-Man over to the table. Once there, Tsu relinquished her hold on Spider-Man's arm. The web-slinger quickly pulled up his right sleeve to see a red blemish imprinted on his arm. Spider-Man looked at Tsu, "Owwwwwww!" Spider-Man exasperated.
Tsu rolled her eyes, "Did it fall off?"
"That's not the point!" Spider-Man scoffed.
"Can you take your relationship problems somewhere else?" X-23 said with annoyance.
"Only if that attitude leaves too," Tsu remarked.
X-23 shot a glare at Tsu, "What was that?"
"Nothing," Tsu plainly said.
"Ladies, please," Spider-Man then pointed to Eri, "Don't start a fight in front of an innocent child. She's too young for violence."
Eri mumbled to herself, "I've seen plenty of that…"
"She loves Looney Tunes and Tom and Jerry," X-23 says, "Besides, violence is the name of the game when it comes to heroes so she'll be exposed to it sooner or later."
"That is true," Uraraka said, "As much as we vouch for world peace, we seem to make strides to it with violence."
Jiro snickered, "It's a yin-yang, Uraraka. With peace comes violence. We can't have one without the other."
"And you can have peace, I've seen that before," Spider-Man said, "But when you're at peace too long, you forget how to fight back and become ignorant in the belief that words can stop a conqueror. If you and others are to be a peaceful group, you must remember how to fight when it is needed." Spider-Man stretched his arms and let out a yawn, "Welp. It was nice talking to ya, but I wanna get to doing things I haven't done in a long time."
"Like what?" Uraraka asked.
"SWING AROUND THE PLACE WITHOUT A CARE!" Spider-Man immediately shot several webs onto a tall building and yanked himself away, "IT'S LEGAL, TSU! YOU CAN'T 'TSU' ME!"
"THAT WAS CRINGEY!" Tsu shouted and jumped after him before using her tongue as a way to swing around like Spider-Man.
"That was weird," X-23 said and got up, "Regardless, I'm gonna take Eri around the place." Eri then got up and walked next to X-23.
"Okay! Bye, X-23! Bye, Eri!" Uraraka waved to them as well as Jiro and Yaoyorozu.
"Bye." Eri waved back as the duo walked in a random direction. X-23 could hear Iida's voice back at the table where he proceeded to chastise the boys about not working much to the girl's entertainment.
Eri and X-23 passed by many attractions and events taking place. They saw Bakugo, Kirishima, and Todoroki taking part in several contests to see who was better than who before Bakugo pointed to a mountain that was filled with robots and the group ran towards it. They also passed by several heroes who were famous in other countries with X-23 looking at the Monster Hero: Godzillo with amusement.
Eri was feeling comfortable around the crowd by now. They paid no attention to her, and that's fine by her, and when someone did bump into her on accident, they apologized with a smile. At first, Eri got anxious when she was touched, even on accident, but hearing the strangers apologize and smile made her feel better to the point where she would make a motion with her hand as if to say it was okay.
Eri and X-23 stopped in front of a booth that was unmanned.
"Wanna give this one a try?" X-23 said, "It's simple."
Eri looked at the booth. In front of her were baseballs and across from her were several pins stacked on top of each other.
"You take the ball and throw it at the pins," X-23 explained as she picked up a ball. "Watch." Eri watched X-23 take a position, wind her arm back, and throw the ball as hard as she can at the pins. The pins flew everywhere at the impact of the ball hitting them. A single 'ding' was heard to indicate they had one point. The pins suddenly floated in the air and came back together with another ball dropping in front of the two.
"Now you try," X-23 said and handed Eri the ball.
Eri looked at the ball and stared at it for a moment. She looked to X-23 then back to the ball. Eri pulled her arm back and made a wild throw as the ball missed the pins wide right.
Eri made a displeased noise as a buzzard went off to signal no point.
"Don't be discouraged, Eri." X-23 knelt next to her and handed her another ball. "Try again. This time, I'll help you." X-23 held the ball, "What hand do you use more? Left or right?"
"Huh?" Eri was confused.
"Which hand do you use to color?" X-23 rephrases the question.
"This one," Eri held out her left hand.
"Okay, that's your left hand," X-23 said, "A good way to remember left and right is that whichever hand makes an 'L' will always be your left."
"Okay," Eri made note of that. X-23 placed the ball in Eri's hands before standing next to her, mimicking Eri's position. "Don't throw the ball until I tell you. Now, you wanna plant your feet on the ground firmly," X-23 said as Eri did so, "Next, you want to move your right foot forward, but not too far." X-23 moved her foot forward as Eri did the same, "Then, pivot your body at an angle." X-23 pivoted her body and Eri copied, "Then you just do this." X-23 slowly demonstrated a pitching technique. "Got that?" Eri nodded her head. "Okay, do what I did, but don't throw the ball."
Eri looked towards the pins and did a fake pitch, but her elbow lowered and her arm drifted in the air.
"Don't let your arm lower, keep it overhead." X-23 said and redid the pitch, "You can hurt yourself doing it the way you did it."
Eri's face twisted a bit as she attempted pitch again, this time, her right shoulder moved to the side so her whole upper body moved.
"Eri, keep your right shoulder in place," X-23 reminded her.
Eri let out an inaudible frustrated growl as she attempted the pitch again. Her balance was off as she stumbled forward. X-23 quickly caught Eri before she face-planted onto the hard floor.
"Keep your feet firmly planted," X-23 said. This time; however, Eri let her emotions show.
"I'm trying!" Eri snapped with unforeseen aggression.
X-23 was taken aback by this outburst as Eri held her hands at her mouth.
"I….I'm sorry…" Eri said with a gasp, "I-I didn't mean too…" Eri clamped her eyes shut with tears streaming out from the sides.
X-23 recuperated and knelt in front of Eri, "Eri." X-23 spoke. Eri flinched and moved away slightly. X-23 took a deep breath and softened her tone, "Eri, it's okay." Eri opened an eye and looked to her guardian, "It's okay. I'm not mad at you. It's fine."
"You…..you're not?" Eri murmured.
"No," X-23 got closer and stroked Eri's hair, "I'm not mad at you. I know you didn't mean to yell. You're just frustrated."
"I can't get it right…" Eri looked down and dropped the ball in her hands, "I'm trying, but I can't do it…"
"Yes, you can, Eri." X-23 picked up the ball and held it out towards Eri, "I was bad at it too when I first started, but I got better because I practiced. Practice helps us get better at things, Eri."
"But what if I fail anyways?" Eri somberly asked without looking up.
"It's okay to fail, Eri." Eri looked up to X-23, "But it's not okay to quit." X-23 looked over to the pins, "I want you to try again, but this time let go of the ball."
"But what if I miss?"
"Like I said. It's okay to fail, but it's not okay to quit." X-23 handed the ball to Eri. "You can do it, you just have to focus and believe in yourself. I know you can do it."
Eri eyed the ball for a long time. She studied the ball as she felt the sturdy feeling in her hand, looked at the red stitching that held the white leather together, and the perfect spherical shape it was in to make sure the throw was as accurate as possible when released. Eri looked at the pins and felt something she never felt before in her chest. It was like a small flame was lit inside her. Her mind shut everything out as the pins were all she could think about. The flame got hotter and hotter before it exploded within her. A surge of energy went through her body with goosebumps appearing everywhere and her hair feeling fuzzy.
In a swift and clean motion, Eri threw a perfect pitch with all her strength behind the throw as the ball shot towards the pins and blasted them everywhere.
X-23 let out a small laugh, "You did it, Eri."
Eri stood still for a moment, her mind fixated on what just happened. She did it. Eri, despite the earlier mess-ups, succeeded when it mattered the most. The adrenaline rush was suddenly gone and replaced by a new feeling, one that made Eri feel….good. She felt good but didn't know how to describe it.
"Wh...what's happening?" Eri was rubbing her arms for they felt tingly, "I feel different. But it's not bad either."
"Accomplishment," X-23 said, "What you're feeling right now, Eri. It's called accomplishment. It's a good feeling."
"Accomplishment…" Eri repeated and let her hands slide off. Eri looked over to the still knocked down pins as the buzzer kept going off, indicating that they won. Eri let out a small giggle as she couldn't shake the feeling away of 'accomplishment.' X-23 smiled down at Eri knowing that this was a great first step.
"Congratulations!" A robotic female voice said from the booth as a holographic screen appeared above them, "You have knocked the pins down two out of three times! You may choose from any of these small items as a prize!"
"Prize?" Eri watched as part of the ground in between her and the pins rose out of the ground with many different items being displayed. Eri looked to X-23 as X-23 gave Eri an approving look. Eri walked towards the items and looked at them. There was so much to choose from, but how many can she get?
"How many can I get?" Eri asked out loud.
"Just one, Eri," X-23 answered.
Eri was looking over everything and was having trouble deciding what to take. They all looked so wonderful to her. How could she choose just one? It was then Eri's eyes caught sight of something. It was a small blue-furred dog with an orange eye color and black iris. One of the ears was blue like its fur and the other was black; the tip of the tongue was sticking out, and it had a black spot over its left eye. Eri was mesmerized by the stuffed animal as she reached out and took it. Eri stared at the dog as the item box went back into the ground.
X-23 walked up to Eri and looked down at her, "That's what you want?" X-23 asked as Eri suddenly hugged the dog.
"Fluffy," Eri commented and held it close to her.
"It sure does look fluffy," X-23 grasped Eri's hand and the two were about to walk elsewhere until Eri saw Deku and Melissa walking by with Dr. Banner and Midnight accompanying them.
"Izuku!" Eri shouted, slipped out of X-23's hand, and ran to them.
Everyone turned to the little girl running to them with surprise.
"Eri?" Deku watched Eri run up to him with the blue dog above her head.
"Look what I got!" Eri showed off the dog.
Deku smiled at Eri, "That's nice, Eri, how'd you get it?"
"I threw a baseball at pins and knocked them down," Eri explained.
"Did you now?" Deku asked rhetorically and knelt to her level as X-23 walked behind Eri, "Are you going to give the dog a name?"
"A….name?" Eri looked at the dog.
"Yeah, a name," Deku repeated.
Eri stared in silence as everyone waited for Eri to come up with something.
After a minute of silence, Eri parted her lips and spoke, "Spot."
"Spot?" Deku asked.
"Mmhmm," Eri pointed to his spotted eye, "Spot."
Deku smiled more and stroked her hair, "That's a nice and cute name."
Eri let out a small giggle in response that made everyone smile.
"Hey, Eri," Eri looked up to X-23, "Don't run off like that. You could bump into someone and get hurt."
Eri nodded her head, "Okay." Eri felt a hand on her head and turned to see Midnight kneeling next to her left.
"Aren't you just the most adorable thing I've ever seen?" Midnight said with glee.
"Everyone keeps calling me that," Eri responded with slight annoyance at these repetitive compliments.
"Can you blame them? You're as cute as a button," Midnight took her hand away.
Eri kept her eyes on Midnight, "I don't think I know your name."
"Midnight, sweetie," Midnight replied, "I'm a teacher at the school X-23 and her friends go to."
Melissa kneeled on Eri's right side, "Say, do you like seeing people use their quirks to do cool things?"
Eri averted her eyes to Melissa, "Um….I don't know. I haven't seen many quirks used in 'cool ways.'"
Melissa smiled, "Let's fix that, shall we?" Melissa stood straight forward, "How about you and your guardian follow us? I promise you, it'll be a sight to see and a memory to remember."
Eri turned to X-23 as X-23 shrugged her shoulders, "Your choice, Eri." Eri looked back to Melissa and nodded.
"Great!" Melissa took the lead of the group once more and began to walk to her left, "Follow me, everyone!"
Everyone got behind Melissa and followed her as X-23 got next to Deku, "So, how is she?"
"Melissa?" Deku looked at her and watched her walk in front of them, "She reminds me of myself. Passionate about her career choice, has a will to become the best in it, and knows the history of support heroes and items, and no matter how many times she's been put down she's gotten back up and pushed forward. It's because of those traits that I feel a connection with her. Like she understands things about me that most people wouldn't."
"Like what?"
Deku rubbed his left arm, "Well…I am a late bloomer on gaining my quirk; that is why I hurt myself constantly because I am not used to it like everyone else. I didn't have my entire childhood and more to learn how my quirk works, it's drawbacks, it's strengths, everything. So, my entire life before my quirk developed I thought I was quirkless. Well…Melissa is quirkless." Deku looked straight, not watching anything or anyone, but just thinking back to his interactions with Melissa. "I may not be quirkless now, but that doesn't mean I don't remember the same prejudice and lack of humanity from before. And that is something Melissa can understand about me that most couldn't. How it felt to be lesser than someone else because they were born with something while we were born with nothing."
X-23 listened carefully to what Deku had to say. It was sad to know how similar yet different her world is compared to Deku's. Discrimination is flipped on its head. Instead of mutants being segregated, it is the mutantless population. For X-23, it's a breath of fresh air to be able to walk around and not be judged for having claws and a healing factor, and it should especially be a remedy for Kurt because he doesn't have to hide anymore. Alas, the trauma Kurt suffered from being hunted his whole life by regular humans at home left him with a fear of going out in public alone. Whenever she is with Kurt, Kurt is okay, that is how they were able to walk the streets and get food before Hosu City was attacked. X-23 has been trying to get him to do things alone, but he refuses to do so in the open. It'll take time, but Kurt will find the strength to do it at some point.
Not wanting to linger on a sensitive topic, X-23 decided to talk about Deku's right arm, "So, what's with the red boxing tape?"
"Oh, this?" Deku raised his arm, "Earlier when we all left the hotel, and after All Might and I met her father, Melissa took me to her lab to show me her inventions and introduced me to this one. She made it herself. It's called the 'Full Gauntlet' and allows me to draw more power from my quirk than I originally can without risking damage to my arm. If it works as intended, it would be a great item for me because, as I said earlier, I tend to push myself further than I should."
"When do those moments happen?" X-23 asks.
Deku placed a hand on his chin as he recalled all the moments when he overused One for All, "Mainly whenever I am in danger with little options. However, there have been times when I did use it unnecessarily and hurt myself." Deku smiled a little in embarrassment, "I got it from Recovery Girl for those moments...er...actually for all of them."
"With an invention like that, it sounds like Melissa will be a useful support hero." X-23 then had a thought, "If she is the daughter of the best support designer in Japan we could use her items during our time in U.A, right?"
Deku turned to X-23, "That's what I was thinking, but since U.A has its courses for Support heroes I don't think they would allow it. If they do though, it would be limited. Plus, Melissa is technically a US support student and not a Japanese one. She'll need to transfer to U.A to be able to make items for us. Aside from that, I doubt U.A didn't send a letter to her father. Probably turned them down, but that's just a thought."
"Hmph. They have their reasons," X-23 ended the conversation as the duo walked with everyone in silence. It was then a large chomp broke the silence as everyone turned to Eri.
Eri's face lit up with delight as she bit into the apple she had saved from before, "Mmmmmmm this is yummy!" Eri happily continued to eat.
"Fuck you, Spider-Man!"
"You kiss your mother with that mouth?"
"I've never kissed her at all!"
"You sad, strange little man. No wonder you're so grumpy."
"Guys, please!"
Kirishima got in between the two as Bakugo was practically foaming from his mouth and staring daggers at Spider-Man. Just a moment ago, Spider-Man had bested Bakugo's record in a competition of who can destroy all the bots in the area the fastest.
"Bro, you can always go again and beat him!" Kirishima said with a smile.
Bakugo looked to Spider-Man then back to Kirishima before shrugging off the redhead and going back into the arena.
"Such a hothead," Tsu said from her seat as the three of them watched Bakugo shouting at the poor announcer to reset the clock and bots.
"He's committed to beating your time, huh?" Kirishima asked rhetorically, "His tenacity and strive to be the best is awesome!"
"And a weakness," Spider-Man crossed his arms.
"How so?" Kirishima tilted his head.
"It makes him too stubborn and can get him killed," Spider-Man said.
"And how's that any different from you?" Tsu asked.
"Because I know when to stop." Spider-Man looked down to the area seeing Bakugo getting ready, "Bakugo is right that a hero should always win no matter what, but sometimes, we have to lose a battle to win the war. It's not something no hero likes to do, but if it must happen, let it happen."
"From the stories you tell me, you should listen to your own wisdom." Tsu jabbed. Spider-Man snickered in response.
Kirishima looked down to Bakugo and watched him blow away robots, getting faster and swifter in his movements to speed his time up, "I think he knows that but to Bakugo, that shows weakness and that's not who he is."
"I know, but I just wish he would understand that winning and being the best isn't everything," Spider-Man said before he felt a faint sense from his spider-senses. Spider-Man turned to his right to see Melissa's group approaching them.
"Hey, guys!" Spider-Man waved to them.
"You're not doing a good job at keeping your promise to my mother, Spider-Man." Deku quipped.
"Sorry, didn't mean to leave you around X-23 for so long, are you okay?" Spider-Man faked his concern.
Deku raised a thumb, "I'm good!"
"Ha. Ha. Ha." X-23 laughed dryly and punched Deku's shoulder.
Deku rubbed his shoulder, "Ow! Hey, he said it, not me!"
"You were closer," X-23 replied.
Kirishima chuckled as Bakugo landed in front of Spider-Man with a massive grin.
"I beatcha webhead!" Bakugo exclaimed with pride.
"Neat," Spider-Man replied.
"Beat you at what, exactly?" Deku questioned.
"At that," Spider-Man pointed to the arena when, suddenly, the area was covered in a large glacier of ice with the announcer shouting that a new record was just set.
"WHAT?!" Bakugo's mood switched from prideful to rage as he saw Todoroki walking up the steps towards them. "YOU BASTARD! THAT WAS MINE!"
"What was yours?" Uraraka asked as she and the other girls just arrived.
"MY RECORD!" Bakugo shouted, "I BEAT WEBHEAD'S RECORD JUST FOR THAT HALF-HALF BASTARD TO BEST IT!"
"Where's Mineta and Kaminari," Eri asked.
Yaoyorozu answered, "They stayed behind, Eri. They have a job to do."
"I think I heard Iida just before we left," X-23 recalled.
Uraraka nodded her head, "Mmmhmm. He was going to come with us, but a doctor needed help moving stuff and Iida volunteered to help. It's for tonight's event."
Jiro looked to Bakugo with an annoyed looked, "You're gonna go back aren't you?"
"DAMN RIGHT!" Bakugo blasted back down to the ring much to the announcer's dismay. Meanwhile, Todoroki shrugged his shoulders and sat down at the bleacher's several feet from Dr. Banner and Midnight, who were conversing about the Marvel Universe.
"He didn't even drop an F-Bomb that whole time," Kirishima mentioned as he watched Bakugo get denied another chance which resulted in him threatening the announcer. Kirishima, Spider-Man, and Deku all went down to drag the explosive user away.
Eri had gotten behind X-23's leg for the scene in front of her had startled her.
"So cute!" Everyone told themselves at the sight of Eri behind X-23.
X-23 rubbed Eri's head and looked to Uraraka, "Go try it."
Uraraka blinked, "Huh?"
"Go try it," X-23 said again without an explanation.
"Ummm….okay?" Uraraka hopped down to the ring to get ready.
Yaoyorozu gave X-23 a curious look, "Why'd you tell Uraraka to do that?"
"When I faced her, Mineta, Hagakure, and Tsu, she didn't impress at all." X-23 said, "And she was the one I was hoping to get the best fight from."
Tsu placed a finger on her chin, "What separated her from the rest of us?"
"Untapped potential," X-23 answered and leaned against the railing, "She's shown her willingness to improve on her weaknesses and will go to great lengths to improve. She showed her will to improve when she accepted Gunhead's internship offer; however, I can tell she isn't putting much effort and training into creating a new style of fighting."
Jiro twirled an earlobe around whilst adding in her thoughts, "Sounds like you've taken an interest in Uraraka. Why don't you help her?"
"I'm preoccupied with other matters at the moment," X-23 rubbed Eri's head again as she got in front of X-23 to watch Uraraka, "Besides, she isn't ready for my kind of training. None of you are."
"How can you tell?" Yaoyorozu asked.
X-23 kept her eyes on Uraraka. Uraraka was dashing from robot to robot and using her newly acquired skills to punch or kick through them. Uraraka would also grab a bot and throw it to destroy bots that were further away. When Uraraka reached the last bot and wrecked it, it was revealed that Uraraka's time was 1:30.
X-23 snickered, "Too slow," She mumbled before straightening herself out, "Everyone held back in your tests other than me. When you start pushing them, then I'll consider taking some of you under my belt." X-23 said to Yaoyorozu, watching Uraraka walking back to the starting line, "Till then, you're not ready."
"Okay then," Jiro sat on the bleachers behind her, "Why don't you go try it and show us how it is done?"
X-23 looked back to Jiro before looking down at Eri, "I'll be right back."
"Okay," Eri said as X-23 went down to the ring, passing by Uraraka and the rest of the boys who were heading back up.
"I can't believe I won't get another chance!" Bakugo shouted, "Is there a limit to how many tries one person can get?!"
"Maybe it's because of your attitude," Todoroki commented, "It's not very welcoming."
"Who asked you?!" Bakugo seethed.
Todoroki simply kicked back and watched as X-23 was stretching her legs.
Uraraka took X-23's previous spot next to Eri and looked down at X-23, "This should be exciting to watch."
The instant the announcer said go, X-23 unsheathed her claws and made a mad dash towards the first bot and decapitating it before continuing towards the second and so forth.
Eri gasped at the sight of X-23's claws, never having seen them before. The way they came out from her skin looked painful, and from the showing in front of her, they can cut through the metal bots with ease.
X-23 looked up at the robot above her as it was perched on a ledge. X-23 quickly made her way up as she used the mountain in front of her as a way up with her claws stabbing into the mountain and using her legs to propel herself up with each jump. When X-23 got to the top, she sliced the robot into large bits before chucking the metal at other bots below her. When the last bot was demolished, the timer sounded off with the announcer revealing her score.
"45 seconds!" The announcer said.
X-23 walked as far back as she could and got into a running position. X-23 sprinted off the edge of the cliff and landed in front of the announcer. The announcer jumped back at the sight before letting out a small laugh.
"Quite a showing," The announcer said.
X-23 nodded her head and went back up the stairs where she was greeted by Eri first.
"That was amazing!" Eri said with excitement before it turned into worry, "Your hands…do they hurt?"
X-23 grinned lightly, "Not anymore. I'm fine, Eri, don't worry." Eri nodded her head as Melissa asked if they wanted to move onto other things with only the girls tagging along as Todoroki, Bakugo, and Kirishima went off on their own. Tsu also left stating she wanted to see more of the aquatic section.
The day continued with the group traveling around the rest of the park. With Melissa by their side, the gang pretty much had a front of a line pass for everything. Currently, it was nearing towards the evening with the group inside a building known as 'The Future of Hero Support.' Inside were some of the up and coming technological advances that soon hero's will be able to use for support in their daily duties.
Everyone was fascinated by them as the tech being shown ranged from jets that outclassed any known military jet, a massive, cybernetic, golden gauntlet that extended to the shoulders with the capabilities to level buildings in one punch, a suit of armor that Melissa simply calls 'Mjolnir 117,' a portal gun, and a-
"LIGHTSABER!" Deadpool yelled out as he was holding the Jedi weapon in his hands.
"When did you get here?!" Melissa shouted at him, "And put that back!"
"I've always wanted to hold one of these things." Deadpool said as he nuzzled the hilt next to his face, "An elegant weapon, for a more civilized time." Deadpool pulled back and rubbed his head with his free hand, "How do I turn it on?"
Spider-Man let out a groan, "Deadpool, do as Melissa says and put it back."
"Don't be stupid, Spider-Man, you know I don't listen to authority. Or reason. I only listen to one thing." Deadpool replied as he shook it.
"Just to the sound of your voice," X-23 rolled her eyes.
"No. Sometimes I ignore that too." Deadpool looked inside the hilt. Right as he peeked into the small hole, his finger slipped on a button as a blue laser suddenly ignited from the hole and pierced his eye. Melissa shrieked in horror as she was thinking someone just died!
"Oh, that's how it works," Deadpool said as he pulled the laser out of his eye. "I thought this would burn, but it doesn't." Deadpool turned to everyone as his eye had already regrown to reveal his blue eye color.
"Blue eyes, huh?" Midnight commented.
"Yeah, surprising for a Canadian," Deadpool replies.
"You're Canadian?" Yaoyorozu asks.
"Yep, and proud of it!" Deadpool points to X-23, "And so is she and her family line!"
Melissa walks to Deadpool and swipes the lightsaber back before turning it off and placing it on her belt, "Don't touch anything, Deadpool!" Melissa shouted, "I'm typically nice, but when you dangerously play with my stuff, that kindness is thrown out the window!"
"I see that," Deadpool didn't budge as his left hand was slowly reaching for the lightsaber. His hand was met with a smack as he pulled back and rubbed it, "Ow! Fine, mommy, I won't play with laser swords from a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away!"
"Good!" Melissa was about to put the lightsaber back, but paused, "Actually, I think I'll keep it with me since I have a child here."
"Hmm?" Eri looked up.
Melissa smiled at Eri, "Not you, Eri. I mean Deadpool."
"Just because I do stupid things doesn't make a child," Deadpool quips.
Eri shrugged her shoulders and turned around to look at more displays. Eri's eyes landed on a display that held a large object in the glass. A white and grey backpack with a red medical plus symbol on it. It had what appeared to be a red canister attached to it, two modified tesla coils on the top with one being larger than the other, and a tube that connected to the bottom of it that went to a strange-looking object. It appeared to be a handheld beam pointer with a handle on the top of it, a grip at the bottom of it, and a cylinder at the end of it with a large hole in the middle.
"What is that?" Eri asked Melissa while pointing to the medical weapon.
"That is a project that is still in the works," Melissa answers, "I still haven't named it, but its purpose is to heal injuries quickly on the battlefield. It's to help heroes recover quickly from all injuries they may have suffered during an ongoing battle and allows them to go right back into the fight with no drawbacks whatsoever."
"What's holding you back?" Dr. Banner asks as he is intrigued by this medical marvel.
"A way to heal injuries," Melissa continues whilst not showing her surprise as she forgot that Dr. Banner was part of the group since he's been silent a majority of the time. "I have a theory that the healing could be distributed through a beam so that whoever is 'The Medic' welding this can be at a distance. However, since I have not been able to figure out how to create this healing beam, I can not tell you how far it can reach. I can only hope it can be from a safe distance."
Dr. Banner placed a hand on his head, "Could a quirk help?"
"Oh yes, definitely," Melissa said with a smile, "Preferably, one that could heal from any kind of…." Melissa slowly turned her head towards Deadpool, "...wound...oh curse my luck…"
Dr. Banner smiled and pat Melissa on the back, "I can tell you don't want to work with him."
Melissa shook her head, "I've heard what he's done all day at the park because of my drones reporting and I would rather not deal with him. The only reason why I haven't booted him from the park is that I feel like having him in my line of sight is safer for everyone else."
Dr. Banner agreed silently before speaking, "What if I told you there is someone else with the same quirk?"
"Really?!" Melissa's eyes beamed with hope, "Who?" Melissa's mood faltered as Dr. Banner pointed to X-23, "So I either work with the grumpy one or the immature one? Oh boy…"
"Scientists work with what they have. As far as I know, these two are all you have to complete this groundbreaking invention." Dr. Banner spoke, "But it will be worth it to work with one of them in the long run." Dr. Banner left to look at other things as Melissa was pondering her thoughts. She looked back at the medical device then back to X-23 and Deadpool.
"As dad always said, an inventor's life is never easy."
The evening was now upon our heroes and they decided to head back to the hotel to get ready for later. The party was postponed for a bit due to an 'unexpected shortage of supplies.' No big deal for the I-Island since they had supplies everywhere they could borrow from.
As the gang was heading back, Melissa split off from the group indicating that she was going to get ready at her private room within the I-Island. They all waved bye to her as the group continued their path. Eri let out a small, disappointed noise.
"What's wrong?" X-23 asked.
"I don't want today to be over," Eri exclaimed, "It's been so much fun!"
X-23 pondered for a moment, "How about we do one more thing to end the day? Something you really, really want to do."
Eri looked up to X-23, "Okay! I'll tell you when I see it."
They continued to walk until they reached the park exit to give Eri one more chance to find something to do.
"Did you find something, Eri?" Uraraka asked.
"No," Eri said with disappointment before her eyes perked up. Not far from their current position was a stage that had bright lights above with a glowing 'karaoke' sign above it. "What's that?"
"Karaoke?" Midnight answered, "It's a fun activity where people take turns to sing pre-recorded songs. It mainly happens in front of a crowd big or small."
"You mean like if I wanted to sing 'Jailhouse Rock,' I would be doing karaoke?" Eri asked.
"Yes, essentially," Midnight turned to Dr. Banner, "What's 'Jailhouse Rock'?"
For a moment, Dr. Banner was confused until he remembered what Peter told him a while back, "It's a song from my dimension. Eri knows it because she has Peter's music player and has been listening to music since she got it." Midnight nodded her head as she was curious about how music was in their dimension.
"I wanna do that!" Eri shouted, "I wanna do karaoke for my last thing?"
"Are you sure?" X-23 questioned.
"Mmhmm!" Eri gave X-23 a nod, "That is what I want to do!"
With that being said, everyone went to the karaoke stage where they met an employee of the park.
"Allo mates," The employee said with an accent, "Looking to do some karaoke are ya?"
"Yes!" Eri shouted as the employee looked down at her with a smile.
"Ain't you a cute little marshmallow," He said and tipped an imaginary hat, "Alright, before you get on, I need to know a few things. Who's going on stage and what song are you doing?"
Everyone looked amongst themselves waiting for someone to speak up.
"Spider-Man, Izuku, Jiro, and Laura," Eri volunteered them.
"Wait-" They all spoke then stopped when Eri gave them a pleading look.
"Spider-Man?" The employee's eyes transitioned to the webbed hero with a look of fascination, "My my, I didn't expect to see you here. I thought you would be getting ready for tonight's dinner event. You did get an invite, right?"
"I did, but she wanted to do one last thing," Spider-Man nudged his head towards Eri.
"I see," The employee clapped his hands together, "Okay you five, onto the stage."
Spider-Man, X-23, Jiro, Eri, and Deku all got onto the music stage as the rest of them walked towards the front. When the employee asked the five what they wanted to play, Eri took out her music player and pointed to a song. The employee was confused as he never heard of this song nor this band.
Spider-Man quickly got next to the employee, "It's an original song!"
"Ahhhhh!" The employee smiled again, "I do love original music. Alright, this is pre-recorded so it's also in a karaoke form I assume?"
"Yup!" Spider-Man answered, "Just play the instrumental version and we'll do the rest."
The employee moved his right hand to the music player; his fingertips being earphone jacks like Jiro's. The employee plugged one finger into the music player and, with his left hand, plugged another finger into a large machine.
Midnight turned her head slightly to the left to see a small crowd gathering behind her, "Here comes the audience. I hope they don't get stage fright."
The employee grabbed a microphone and tapped it to test it, "Alright, time for the intro." He moved the microphone away, coughed into his hand, breathed in sharply, and spoke into the mic, "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls!" The employee yelled out as his voice echoed far and wide, "To end off today's events here at the I-Expo, a group of young folks here will like to perform on stage alongside Spider-Man!" The crowded 'oooo'd' at the sight and thought. Some seemed curious and eager to hear while others were concerned. Spider-Man singing? The others with him as well? Will it be a good performance? Probably, but who's gonna judge for the rest of eternity?
"This song is original!" The employee informed and pointed to the group behind him, "Get ready to rock people!" Microphones poofed onto the stage along with a guitar, drum set, and a bass.
I-Expo's type of karaoke stuck to the original idea of karaoke, but with the addition of instruments so the people could act like they are playing the song too despite them not playing it.
A digital screen appeared in front of the five so they know what they are singing. Everyone got into place with Spider-Man taking the drums, Deku on bass, Jiro on guitar, and X-23 and Eri taking the lead microphones. X-23 was nervous and a bit hesitant. For as courageous as she is that didn't mean X-23 had her own set of fears, like singing in front of a live audience for one.
Jiro's guitar strings lit up as they indicated what note to hit so the act seemed real. Jiro grinned to herself, forgetting the crowd in front of her and started to play the guitar as the song started. Deku and Spider-Man also began to 'play' their respective instruments.
X-23 took her microphone in her hands and stared at it. She didn't want to do this. This was out of her comfort zone. X-23 looked to Eri to see how she was doing, and what she saw instantly made her worries disappear.
Eri was smiling. A big, bright smile.
Time paused for X-23 as she stared at Eri. This whole day, X-23 was trying to get Eri to smile and the best X-23 got out of Eri was a small giggle when she knocked the pins over and winning Spot. After that, any attempts seemed to have failed, but right now, at this very moment, Eri was smiling.
X-23 put her fears aside for all she could think about was keeping that smile on Eri. If that meant embarrassing herself and receiving mockery for a long while, then so be it. X-23 rather suffer though that than see Eri lose that smile she worked so hard to get.
"At least Father isn't here to see this…"
The lyrics on the screen glowed blue to signal them to start singing. X-23 and Eri took breaths and sang at the same time.
"Can you feel life
Moving through your mind?
Ooooooooh,
Looks like it came back for more
Yeah...
Can you feel time
Slippin' down your spine?
Ooooooooh,
You try and try to ignore
Yeah,"
Everyone in the crowd was surprised! Their singing wasn't half bad! It wasn't bad at all!
"But you can hardly swallow
Your fears and pain
When you can't help but follow
It puts you right back where you came
(Live and learn!)
Hanging on the edge of tomorrow
(Live and learn!)
From the works of yesterday
(Live and learn!)
If you beg or if you borrow
(Live and learn!)
You may never find your way
WHAAAAAOOOHHH, oh, oh, yeah."
The crowd was getting into the song as was everyone on stage! Eri was getting giddy and moving around the stage with X-23 following her to make sure she doesn't fall off or trip from getting too into it.
"Can you feel life
Tangle you up inside?
Yeah,
Now you're face down on the floor!
Oh,
But you can't save your sorrow
You've paid in trade
When you can't help but follow!
It puts you right back where you came
(Live and learn!)
Hanging on the edge of tomorrow
(Live and learn!)
From the works of yesterday
(Live and learn!)
If you beg or if you borrow
(Live and learn!)
You may never find your way
Whoa, whoa, OH YEAH!"
Jiro's guitar solo hit as a spotlight was put on her. Her eyes were closed as she was rocking out on the guitar with a large smile on her face.
"(Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah!)"
Unbeknownst to the group, this was streaming from the get-go around the island with the lyrics at the bottom of the screen. In a hotel room, Kurt, Mina, and Hagakure were singing along with them and the rest of class 1-A students everywhere around the island were watching from their locations in awe. Soon, the whole island was singing in unison!
"There's a face searchin' far, so far and wide.
There's a place where you dreamed you'd never find.
Hold on to what if!
(Hold on to what if!)
(Live and learn!)
Hanging on the edge of tomorrow
(Live and learn!)
From the works of yesterday
(Live and learn!)
If you beg or if you borrow
(Live and learn!)
You may never find your way"
X-23 quickly picked up Eri as the little girl kept her smile on and looked to X-23. X-23 smiled back and continued to sing with Eri side-by-side!
"(Live and learn!)
Hanging on the edge of tomorrow
(Live and learn!)
From the works of yesterday
(Live and learn!)
If you beg or if you borrow
(Live and learn!)
You may never find your way"
X-23 moved her and Eri to the back to be in the middle of Deku, Jiro, and Spider-Man. Altogether, they finished the song with the crowd going wild.
"Live and learn!
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
Live and learn!
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah!"
"Best. Day. Ever." Eri muttered with pure happiness.