Chapter 6
"This exam simulates the sort of extended mission a professional hero might undertake. The scenario is that a master villain has abducted a civilian and is holding that abductee in an isolated, abandoned factory. You receive word on the location of that factory and have decided to go and rescue the victim yourself." the Principal explained. "There are several parts to this rescue mission. First you will have to get by the guards outside the factory. You can use stealth to sneak by them, fight them directly, use trickery to convince them to let you in, or take some other action. If they spot you, they will try to prevent you from entering the building and they will report you to the villains inside the factory. Either being reported or making too much noise outside will cost you any element of surprise and possibly give the interior guards the opportunity to move the abductee."
"Second, you will have to deal with the guards inside the factory who will try to stop you from reaching the civilian. Again, you can use any tactic you think will be effective, but you must get the victim out of the factory. Once you have the civilian free you will need to determine their condition and do what is necessary so they are safe to move. When you are ready to proceed, you will press the button on your communicator to call in an airlift that will pick up the abductee from the roof and take them to the hospital for medical attention and reuniting with their family."
The Principal looked at each of the five applicants and said seriously, "Just as in life, actions and decisions have consequences. In this examination everything counts. You will be evaluated not just on whether you were able to complete the mission but on how you do it, and why. There is no one right answer to this puzzle. We are judging your performance, but also the attitudes and thoughts as revealed by what you do. So, give this your all. Plus ultra!"
Jack looked at the other four applicants. He was told there were originally six students offered the opportunity to compete for the seat opened by Mineta's expulsion for slipping into the showers with the American Cheerleaders during the first day of the Sports Festival. Rumor said he'd done much more than that, but the golden teen thought most of the gossip was exaggeration. Hatsume Mei was the sixth candidate, but she had refused the offer, preferring to stay in the Support course. That made sense, given what Jack knew of her, or her alternate's, future.
He had met two of the other competitors before – Shinso at the Sports Festival and Basilisk in the Business program. The other two were unknowns. Given that the candidates were not going to be competing directly against each other his not knowing their quirks, skills, or personalities was not a disadvantage. He did not have to worry about them at this time, only about what the teachers had planned. If the staff were playing true to form, the students would be more of those robots they had used in the entrance exam. They seemed to have a surplus of them.
But the fact that the school had used the machines twice against the first years already made him think it was unlikely the teachers would find it appropriate for them to make a third appearance. So, the guards would probably be students as there were not enough teachers to play as opponents in five simultaneous simulations. Jack decided they would probably not put upper-classmen against untested first years, so it was likely the guards would be members of Class 1-A and 1-B. There were forty of the first-year Hero students, thirty-nine now, so there should not be more than seven, likely fewer, guards in each factory – especially if the civilian victims were also played by students.
Fighting five- or six-to-one odds, what could go wrong? Jack thought sarcastically. Why am I doing this again?
# # # # #
The final day of the Sports Festival started with a nationally broadcast apology from Mineto Minoru, the bubble-haired kid from Class 1-A. He was surrounded by his parents, Aizawa-sensei and the Principal. After the kid told everyone how sorry he was for his bad behavior and for besmirching the good name of UA they all bowed low. Nezu-kocho voiced his regret for UA failing to inculcate proper behavior into the boy and let it be known Mineta had been expelled from the school. Jack, who was watching from the stands surrounded by his classmates, commented, "Seems a bit much for a school offense. I wonder what he did?"
"I heard he violated several American dance girls," Motin supplied authoritatively. "Quite the scandal."
"I'd heard he is taking the blame for half the boys in his class, who were all molesting the visitors in the locker room." Sano said, his quirk carrying his voice farther than was polite.
Miura slapped his arm. "Be quiet. Don't talk about such perverted things."
Ando, always the thinker, announced, "You know what this means?"
"His family will be shamed forever?" Takaki offered.
"He will always have a memory to keep him warm in his exile?" the Russian added.
"Ah," Nakashima nodded, his blond hair bouncing. "With him out, there's an opening in the Hero class."
"Exactly," Ando agreed.
All eyes turned to Jack.
"What?" he asked, confused.
"Other than Koguma [Bear Cub] Mikhailovich here, you're the only one in the class that has the sort of quirk that could do well in the Hero course," the blond clown said, pushing on Jack metallic shoulder.
"I told you not to call me that!" Motin complained.
"Are you going to apply for the opening?" Takaki inquired, her ears twitching.
"I don't even know if there will be an opening," Jack evaded.
"True," Miura nodded. "They might already have someone in mind to fill the vacancy."
"Maybe the person that scored forty-first on the entrance exam?" Ando suggested.
"That would preclude me. I never took the practical portion," Jack admitted.
"Or they could look at the highest placed non-Hero student during the Sports Festival, which would make you the only choice." Nakashima countered.
"The question remains, would you want to join the Hero course?" Takaki pressed.
"Who wouldn't!" Sano boomed. The others all turned to hush him again.
Jack pondered the possibilities.
That afternoon Oba cornered him when he got home. She was obviously nervous about something. He watched as she sat, fidgeted for a few seconds, then threw herself to her feet and circled the room, only to fall into the chair again when she reached it. When she heard him, she lurched to her feet again and rushed him, stopping before she touched him.
"Oba." He offered a slight bow in greeting. "You seem upset. Is there anything I can do?"
"Ah, yes," she said. "Not so much upset as … well, I wanted to talk with you. Please have a seat."
Jack sat in the chair next to hers, angled ninety degrees from the other for ease of interaction. She sat and visibly calmed herself. He smiled reassuringly.
"Have you heard there is an opening in Class 1-A?" she asked.
"Yes. From the expelled boy."
"I would very much like for you to consider applying for the spot. I think you would do well in the Hero program, and it would be good for you in the long-term."
Jack was only surprised she had heard about the vacancy so quickly. She had not been pleased when he had decided not to try for the Hero course before but had respected his decision and not tried to overtly influence him. Now she was asking him directly to change course. He wondered what had altered. "Do you know why I choose the Business track?"
"I do."
"Do you think there's any hope of my plan succeeding?"
"I'm certain you would do well in your classes and would be a successful businessman afterwards, if that were what you wanted. But your real goal? No. I don't think your current course has any chance of success."
"Are you suggesting my being in the Hero course might change that?" Jack sounded skeptical.
"I'm suggesting that you forget that goal and do what's best for yourself."
"And you think becoming a Pro Hero is what's best for me? I'm not a normal kid. I never dreamed of being All Might or Havoc when I was growing up. I just wanted to be free and to have a real family. How is joining the Hero course going to give me that?"
"Haruto and Yuga are both going to be Pro Heroes. They are family. Someday they may even work together in an agency."
"The Radiant Agency?" Jack asked.
"Maybe. If so, it would be an opportunity for the three of you to work together, protecting each other. And if it were part of Radiant, that would tie you to the rest of our family too." Oba was smiling at her vision.
"But what about …"
"My husband is many things – a brilliant businessman, a bigot, and a doting father – but he is not stupid. He will come to see the advantages this brings to those who are most important to him. He may someday expand his own definition of family. I can't promise that, but it is a possibility." She took his hand. "Is there a reason you don't want try for the place?"
"I'm not sure I can do it. I don't know what it would take to get the position, and there's no guarantee I'd get it if I tried. But other than generic fear of biting off more than I can chew and of being more in the public eye, I don't have any real arguments against it."
"I'll let you think about it, but the school wants to know by tomorrow."
Needless to say, both Yuga and Hinata were for the idea. Even Haruto gave Jack a call to encourage him.
Jack hated the idea of disappointing his family. So in the end he made the same decision he might have made without the coercion – to try for the spot.
# # # # #
Wrenching his mind back to the present, Jack heard the Principal say, "We will run all five tests concurrently to avoid any applicant having an advantage of either planning time or tired opponents. If there are no other questions, we will start in fifteen minutes."
Jack raised his hand.
"Kagayaku-san?" the Principal asked.
"I just wanted to be sure we can wear our costumes for this exam."
"All gear has been pre-approved," he replied. Agoyamato and Basilisk both nodded. Jack wondered what they were bringing.
"Thank you, sir," the golden teen replied. Oba had dropped his latest combat suit off the night before.
"Very well. Fourteen minutes and counting. Meet in front of the main building for your transportation to your test sites."
The students hurried.
"Oh, I think I'm going to be sick," Koumori Keiko, the only girl, clutched her throat as we approached the changing room. She went in her room alone while the four of boys entered the boys changing room together.
Shinso was opening his mouth to say something when Jack cut him off. "Brainwashing competitors during the School Festival may have been within the rules. But any of us using our quirk on the others now would almost certainly count as cheating and would get the offender disqualified, if not expelled."
"I know," the wild-haired boy said bitterly. "I'm not a villain. I'm a hero. I wouldn't do things like that."
"Except you did," Jack replied. "To me and my brother. I just wanted to be sure we're working from the same rules this time." He waited to lose consciousness after responding to the mind controller.
"It's not the same thing," Shinso said, then turned his back on the golden teen. The other two boys were watching with interest.
Jack nodded to them then pulled his combat suit out of his case and walked with it into a shower stall. He closed the frosted door and, after checking for cameras or other watchers, he poured from the mouth and eyes of his social suit. The combat suit looked like a red leotard over orange legs and arms, with red gauntleted boots and gloves and a red hood with a smoked glass full faceplate. Jack poured his energy form into the open faceplate, filling up the suit until he looked like a muscular man. The darkened faceplate precluded anyone seeing into the suit. It was an admittedly intimidating look.
Once Jack was inside, the suit's systems came online, giving him clear vision across much of the EM spectrum, which could be zoomed to offer telescopic and microscopic views, and clear audio input of which he could raise or lower the gain. Once he was ready, Jack stepped out.
The other boys looked at him curiously. Shinso was wearing a loose black body suit with several pocket and a lower face mask. He was carrying a staff. Agoyamato was also carrying a weapon, a long spear – blunted Jack assumed – along with a tower shield. His outfit looked to be chainmail. He had a medieval European theme. Basilisk was also wearing dark armor, but much more modern in its design, with a utility belt and a pair of black tonfa. His head was covered with a dark grey hood that covered his face as well. His normal visor was changed out with a larger one, made of a matte black metal.
Jack wondered why they all had costumes ready when they were not in the Hero course. Without a word they walked to the building entrance and found five carts waiting for them, each driven by their homeroom teachers.
"I wish you success Kagayaku-kun," Morita-sensei said as she drove across campus. "We would all miss you if you transfer. But you would take the pride and happy wishes of Class 1-J with you."
"Thank you," Jack said.
When they arrived, Aizawa-sensei was waiting outside the giant door to Ground Beta. "You have been told by your informant the factory is in the south east corner of the industrial district. They can't tell you which factory it is, just that it's near the edge of town and has been deserted for some time. Take these capture tapes. Wrap the wrist of anyone you take out. Don't hurt anyone too badly. You have one hour to complete the mission – staring now."
Yuga had mentioned how they used a no-countdown start in the practical exam, so Jack was ready and launched himself into the air, kinetic energy pouring out of his boots as he reversed gravity on his suit. It sounded like he wasn't going to be facing robot. Not if the teacher was worried about his hurting someone.
Jack had been considering his options since Nezu-kocho had explained the scenario. His combat suit was not built for stealth. His mode of propulsion was loud. If he wanted quiet, he had to rely on anti-gravity alone, which he could not push to high speeds. He could condense the suit to around twenty centimeters in high, but he would still be loud and bright when he flew. He could release himself from the suit and scout in his energy form, but he was not willing to give up that secret for a school function. If they had no one on the roof, he could dig through it to enter from above, but he thought that unlikely. That meant he could either try to snipe individual guards from a distance, if there was an opportunity, or he could just go in blast first and hope the interior guards were not fast enough to do much to the civilian before he got in.
I wonder if I just blast though the roof or wall without taking the exterior guards out first if they will simply follow into the factory making the odds even worst. Jack considered. Not worth the risk.
Setting his HUD to display an infrared overlay, Jack found the factory easily enough. There were four guards outside. Jack recognized them as Hero course students in costume. He had researched all the Class 1-A and 1-B students, figuring they were who he would face. Two were placed on opposite corners of the roof with good overview – Jiro and Shoji. They were both sensor quirk holders. Two more were wandering the factory perimeter – Tsui and Kuroiro. Both had good mobility and the shadow kid had enough stealth that Jack's sensors were having trouble keeping track of him. There were three other students are inside the factory guarding one hostage - an adult by the heat signature. He could not get any details on the guards.
The full seven! Jack thought.
He knew he had no chance of sneaking in. He decided to take out the mobile threats first. As he did not want to hurt anyone, he decided to use mostly low powered electrical attacks – shock them and stun them, without permanent damage. Light flashes and low power kinetic blasts were also on the menu. As were his matter transformation attacks. They did not work on living things. He would do his best to stay out of close combat.
Tsui was his first target. She was crawling along one of the factory's walls when Jack dived to close the distance and released a kinetic blast from his right hand. She must have heard him, because she dodged easily, leaping free of the wall, and shooting her tongue out at him. He swayed to the side, but he was out of her range.
"… west side." Jack heard a girl's voice over the radio. His suit had picked up their signal.
So much for surprise, he thought. I guess we're doing this the hard way.
A/N: I hate to end at the beginning of the battle. But it would double the chapter length to put it all in and I prefer to keep the chapters relatively short for this fic. I'll try to have the rest out soon(ish).