Hello everybody!
Wow, I'm really glad for all the support you've given me! I recently checked my stats, and so far this story's over 2,000 views, 75 favorites, and 95 followers!
I'm so happy!
Anyways in terms of the challenge, the first one to get it right was SteampunkDragon987! Who correctly guessed the clone as ARC-77, Captain Fordo.
Now the reason I didn't use ARC is because, in this story's canon, there is no precedent for ARC troopers, while maybe in the future I might implement special forces clones, such as ARCs and Commandoes, at the moment they're all regular troopers but they will develop a ranking system as more clones come.
SteampunkDragon987: Again, congratulations! Your clone will be put in the story in the near future!
RandomBullshi: Thank you!
Red5T65: You were very close to answering before SteampunkDragon987, I believe the difference was around a half-hour between the two. I'll have other opportunities in the future, however.
SempaiJager: Dang, so that's where Frodo went after sailing off, he decided to become a Clone Captain. All seriousness, however, you're right, just late. Thanks for reviewing though!
Possiblespy3187: Thank you! I admit, that is one of my worries but I will do my best not to make him one! I understand that conflicts and loss are necessary for growth!
Storm: Thank you for reviewing again, I admit, you've got some good questions and scenarios that I haven't even thought of! And don't worry about the nagging, I love your questions! As it is, some of them are going to be answered in this chapter.
Also, I realize that by accident I repeated a quote, as such, chapter one's quote has been changed since the quote better fits chapter three's theme.
On another note, I am currently working on a cover image for the story, I'm really excited to show it!
Now on to the chapter!
LEGION: THE FIRST STEPS
"Overconfidence is the most dangerous form of carelesness."
Izuku and his new friends were walking together early in the morning, they all decided to meet together before class started and had met up at the train station.
"So you've got about a thousand clones stuck in your head? Just waiting to come out?" Kyoka asked with her brow raised.
"More like 2000 apparently, I 'make' a clone a day, and they're all just waiting there. I recently discovered how to 'boost' my production but summoning clones takes energy, I just recently managed to get somebody other than Jango." Izuku explained while the others walked slightly ahead.
"Dude, imagine just having entire squads of clones out on the streets patrolling."
"Exactly! Imagine! Clones everywhere, all of them keeping the peace. I'd be exactly the hero everybody needs." He said with a smile.
"And your quirk includes armaments, correct Izuku?" Iida asked as they neared the school.
"Yep, so far I've got the rifles, carbines, pistols, thermal detonators...I'm pretty sure I might have some missile launchers too if the explosions I keep hearing in my head are accurate," Izuku chuckled out.
Iida sputtered and the rest paused in surprise.
"You got any vehicles?" Ochako asked while popping up next to Izuku.
"Uh, well...so far no. But I might! That'd be really cool. So far my quirk's provided me with some unique stuff so I can't wait if I do. I want to see what my quirk come's up with." Izuku replied with a grin full of anticipation.
"Well mon ami, you certainly will become a puissance to be reckoned with against any villain." Yuga dramatically said as they finally entered the school.
"By the way, where did Jango go? I know he ran up ahead of us."
"Ah, we actually been doing some tests, to see if we can bring stuff back into the mindscape, as it turns out, anything that Jango's wearing or carrying can go in, but it's limited to nonliving things. We actually got special permission to make him a personalized costume. He was super excited and ran ahead to try it on."
"Well I'm certainly glad that you and your brother are taking such care for your careers, you know, sometimes I find myself astonished at how easily it is to forget that he's a part of your quirk." Iida commented as they neared their classroom.
"Yeah, I forget it too. I wouldn't change a thing however," Izuku smiled as they walked in and took their seats.
Once class was settled, Aizawa came in and they started their day, all of them however were eagerly anticipating their last class of the day.
Heroics 101.
The door opened with a flourish, and the Number One Hero came sliding in.
"I AM!"
All gasped in wonder.
"COMING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!"
"IT'S ALL MIGHT!"
"We really get to be taught by the number one hero!"
"It's really him!"
"This is so awesome!"
"That's not his regular costume."
"I think that's his silver age."
"Heroics is gonna be so badass!"
"PEDO MIGHT!"
…
…
…
Izuku slammed his head down on his desk and held his head between his hands, shaking in pure disbelief.
The rest of the class was completely silent, all of them in shock at what they'd heard, even Bakugo had no words and was staring at Jango in pure disbelief, the slightest sparks of horrified rage in his eyes.
Said culprit unashamedly stood next to Izuku, wildly pointing at All Might with an unrepentant grin on his face.
All Might in turn was pinching the bridge of his nose, smile significantly strained and he groaned in slight frustration. He already knew that today was going to be a long day.
"Sigh, hello again, young Jango." He forced out.
"Wait, you know Jango?" Kyoka was the first to ask, the first to get out of their shock.
All Might sighed again before nodding, "I feel as if I should explain so as to not let any ideas roam free, I have known these two for a while now, and some time back we got involved in a situation that TAKEN OUT OF CONTEXT," He glared at Jango who kept grinning, "could be taken very inappropriately." All Might slumped a bit, "Since then he's never let me live it down." All Might finished with a light reddening of his cheeks.
"Midoriya, I can't believe you have the balls to call All Might a pedo to his face," another student called Kaminari commented from a couple desks over.
"IT'S NOT ME!" Izuku cried out in embarrassment, "I can't control Jango like that!"
Jango simply cackled.
All Might sighed again before continuing, "ANYWAY, HEROICS 101, TODAY WILL BE BATTLE TRAINING!"
Bakugo now snapped out his shock laughed loudly in excitement, the rest of the class soon followed.
"THE FIRST RULE OF HEROES, HOWEVER, IS LOOKING GOOD!" Pressing a button, a series of suitcases appeared each one with a specific number from 1-21.
"GO AHEAD AND MEET ME IN GROUND BETA! I'LL SEE YOU SOON YOUNG HEROES!" All Might said with his signature smile back in force before quickly zooming over to the class.
Izuku and Jango grinned, the latter being especially touched at having his own suitcase. Earlier when he'd when to the support studio to try it on he'd been denied as the suit had already been sent to the classroom. He'd taken the time instead to talk to Snipe for some more shooting tips and practice until school started.
The class rushed to the locker rooms to change over, and one by one they came out looking like heroes. Jango came out wearing a gray, somewhat loose body suit, with silver armor plates all over his body but kept the joints free to keep his mobility. He also had specialized armored vambraces, with some gadgets inside them already. Carrying a brown belt with many pouches for medical supplies, the most interesting thing was on his back. A nice, silver jetpack with what appeared to be a torpedo on it, the nifty helmet with a narrow visor, antenna, blue decals and what appeared to be rising yellow wings on the forehead completed the overall aesthetic.
"Please tell me that missile is for aesthetics." Iida's voice was recognized even though he was in even more armor than Jango.
"Hehe, what do you think?"
Iida shuddered, having already heard of the animosity between Bakugo and the Midoriyas he could only pray that they were not paired against each other.
"Wow Izuku, your costume looks so cool!" Izuku turned and immediately flushed at Ochako's costume.
'Why is it skin tight!'
"Uh...I saw your costume design, wasn't it suppose to be like Thirteen's?" Izuku asked while desperately trying to fight down his blush.
"Y-yeah, I guess there was a mistake," She shyly looked down in embarrassment and Izuku rubbed the back of his head.
Izuku himself was wearing a dark green body glove instead of a suit like Jango, he was covered in white armor pieces instead of silver like Jango, and at all the same spots but with a bit more coverage and added protection to his hands and the collar piece was wider, segmented, and covered his chest pieces. His shoulder pauldrons were longer too, with the left having the UA emblem (he would save the leaves till after he graduated), and on the right were the same rising wings as Jango's helmet. Around his waist was a similar belt to Jango's but added a half-robe around his waist.
He had forgone a helmet like Jango, wanting to have the world see his smile.
"Well, at least you run less risk of tearing or getting caught on something." Jango shrugged out.
"Oh, Jango! I didn't even know that was you! You look amazing!"
"Thanks."
Izuku looked around and saw Kyoka and Yuga in their costumes nearby, and waved at them. All Might soon came in with a whoosh, and loudly announced his arrival.
"YOU ALL LOOK GREAT! LET THIS BE THE FIRST START OF YOUR JOURNEY AS HEROES!"
"Sir! We're in the same training ground as the entrance exams, are we going to be doing urban battles again?" Iida asked with his hand held high.
"NOT QUITE! YOU SEE, MOST VILLAIN ATTACKS YOU SEE ARE BROADCASTED IN BROAD DAYLIGHT, BUT TRUE VILLAINS KNOW TO STAY IN THE SHADOWS, BACKROOM DEALS, NEFARIOUS BASES, AMONG OTHER CRIMINAL ACTIVITIES ARE DONE OUT OF SIGHT, WHICH IS WHY WE'RE DOING INDOOR BATTLE TRIALS, WITH YOU ALL AS TEAMS OF TWO, WITH ONE EXCEPTION, FACING AS HEROES VS. VILLAINS WITH THE GOALS OF CAPTURING EITHER THE VILLAINS OR A BOMB, AND DEFENDING SAID BOMB OR CAPTURING THE HEROES. QUESTIONS?"
"Will we be expelled if we fail?"
"How much can I beat them up?"
"Is this cape magnifique?"
"How will we be graded?"
"HOLD ON, I'M SUPER STRONG NOT SUPER FAST AT HEARING, IN ORDER, NO, THERE IS A LIMIT, YES, BY A VARIETY OF FACTORS BASED ON YOUR PERFORMANCES, HONESTLY I'LL ONLY BE HALF GRADING SINCE I'M STILL NEW AT TEACHING."
"Will you admit to your pedophilia, All Might?"
"SHUT UP, JANGO."
"How will we be deciding teams?"
"BY BALLS!...SIGH, YES JANGO, I KNOW, NO NEED TO SAY IT OUT LOUD." All Might said while holding a box of balls.
"Is that really the best way?" Iida asked in concern.
"Well, far as I see it, it makes sense, on the field we won't be able to choose our partners whenever something happens," Izuku answered, Iida quickly understood and apologized.
"NO SWEAT! NOW FOR THE SELECTIONS!"
"Wait, hold up." Another student asked, the boy was wearing a gi and had a tail, other than that, pretty normal-looking guy.
"You said that there was an exception to the whole 2v2 thing?"
"I can answer that." A new voice said from behind All Might, the class was dumbfounded when the principal popped into view from behind All Might's shoulder.
Most of the girls found it adorable but were too respectful to say it out loud.
Jango was not one of them.
"Ha! You look like a plushie, Nezu!" All Might froze at the audacity, but he really should be used to it right now. Jango and impulse control did not have a good relationship.
"So says the discount Snipe, Mr. Jango."
"Oi!"
"You see students, quite simply I wish to try another one of my experiments, as such Mr. Jango will be separated from his brother here during this exercise. Officially, the reason is to introduce the concept of unexpected variables early on in the classroom, unofficially, Cementoss would be rather cross at having to fix another one of Mr. Jango's incidents." The principal explained while remaining perfectly balanced on All Might's shoulder.
"Oi, how was I supposed to know that the missile would do that much damage to the building." Jango protested semi-seriously, the effect was ruined by the chuckles that would escape.
"The issue was not the missile launcher, rather the chain reaction it caused due to all the thermal detonators you left lying around," Nezu replied with a smirk.
…
…
…
"Okay, that's fair."
'THEY'RE BOTH INSANE!' Almost everybody else thought at the same time. Izuku merely shook his head in exasperation.
"As such, one villain team will have Mr. Jango on their side to help."
"How come a villain team?" A boy by the name of Sato asked.
"BECAUSE IN REAL LIFE, VILLAINS WILL ALWAYS HAVE THE UPPER HAND, WHETHER IT BE KNOWING AN AREA, PREPARATION, OR OUTNUMBERING YOU." All Might answered for the principal.
"Amazing, for UA to prepare us for this already, this truly is an amazing institution, "Tenya praised. Izuku nodded along but wasn't about to sing praises like his friend.
"Alright then, let's set the teams!"
MIDORIYA IZUKU AND AOYAMA YUGA (A)
BAKUGO KATSUKI AND ASHIDO MINA (B)
TOKOYAMI FUMIKAGE AND KIRISHIMA EJIRO (C)
ASUI TSUYU AND MINETA MINORU (D)
SERO HANTA AND KAMINARI DENKI (E)
HAGAKURE TORU AND SATO RIKIDO (F)
KODA KOJI AND SHOJI MEZO (G)
JIRO KYOKA AND OJIRO MASHIRAO (H)
URARAKA OCHAKO AND IIDA TENYA (I)
TODOROKI SHOTO AND YAOYOROZU MOMO (J)
"AND LET'S START IT OFF, FIRST TEAM TO GO WILL BE THESE GUYS!" All Might yelled while grabbing two balls.
Of course, it had to be A and B.
Izuku and Bakugo glared daggers at each other, neither refusing to back down.
All Might was suddenly a lot more thankful that Principal Nezu had decided to implement his experiment. He had a feeling that things were about to get...tense.
"So, you got any ideas?" Ashido asked while stretching, Bakugo simply scoffed before walking towards the door.
"Just stay outta my way extra, and guard the bomb. I'm going to destroy Deku." He snarled while stomping down the hall.
'This time it's you're gonna die Deku, and I'll prove to you once and for all that you're nothing but a pebble in the road."
Ashido's indignant cries were unheard to him, and she ended up staying behind to guard the bomb.
"Well, that was rude!"
"Mon ami, are you alright?"
Izuku exhaled sharply through his nose, staring at the building in front of him.
"Let's just say that Bakugo and I have a bad history, he's going to go straight after me, I know it. From what I saw, his partner's got an acid quirk, and she did great on the flexibility tests...how rapid can you fire?" Izuku asked his partner, who, fortunately, was keeping the dramatics to a minimum.
'I wonder if it's just a side effect of his quirk, or he just loves to pose around.'
"Mm, I'm not good ta rapid-fire, mon ami, but thanks to these mirrors I can launch multiple beams at once!"
Izuku nodded before asking his next question, "But too much and it hurts your stomach right?"
Yuga slumped in disappointment and nodded but cheered up a bit as Izuku patted his shoulder.
"I've got an idea then, but first we'll need back up." Extending his hand, he summoned 77, who surprisingly enough appeared in his own armor.
"77 reporting for duty, sir!"
"You have armor?"
"Recent addition to the armory, from when you overloaded your quirk at the entrance exam! Well, kind of. It was an armor manufacturer, and we decided to design something that would work."
Said armor was a black body glove covered in white armor similar to Izuku's although the chest plate and abdomen armor weren't split, and the helmet was completely different, rounder, with what appeared to be a filtration system around the mouth, Izuku commended their initiative.
"Alright, more questions for later. First, Yuga, you and 77 are going to look for the bomb, I'll face Bakugo."
"Are you sure, sir?"
"I have to."
"ALRIGHT THEN, HERO TEAM, YOU CAN GO IN!"
The three entered with caution, and having read the floor plan headed up towards the stairs, reaching another floor, 77 took the lead, but held his fist up, pointing to his helmet and then towards an adjacent hallway, Izuku nodded and charged up One For All and clothes-lined Bakugo.
"77, Yuga! Head on up and find the bomb, I'll take him out." Izuku said while palming his pistol before deciding not to use it, this was personal. He wanted to beat Katsuki with his own strength.
"Deku..." Bakugo snarled in fury, practically frothing at the mouth, Explosion roaring to life in his hands.
"Bakugo," Izuku replied in turn. One For All already charged, and the two stood off.
"You think you can take me out? You're nothing with or without your quirk!"
"Today I prove you wrong, it's you and me, Bakugo."
"No, it's just me, DEKU!"
And with that, they charged.
"Wow, they're really going at it." One of the students commented as they watched the admittedly savage fight going on between the two.
"Sir, should we really let this go on?" Another question, the amount of violence they were showing was...disconcerting.
"All Might," Jango called from a corner, the class as a whole turned to him, "You and I both know that Izuku needs this. He's got a score to settle."
All Might's smile strained, but he simply turned to the screen, and the others were left wondering what exactly was All Might's relationship to these boys.
In particular, this drew the interest of one boy with dual-colored hair, his eyes narrowing as he stared at the armored boy across the room.
Izuku grunted as he impacted against the wall before crashing to the floor.
"You're still weak!" Bakugo growled as he grabbed Izuku by the shoulder and threw him back with an explosion.
"That is why YOU LOSE!"
Charging from above with explosions at hand, Izuku lashed out with a double kick, striking Bakugo in the chest and sending him into the ceiling, he blew his hands against the ceiling and launched himself back down with a kick, Izuku rolling away just in the nick of time.
Spinning on his back he kicked out Bakugo's feet and took the opportunity to get back up. Bakugo used his explosions to gain some distance and rolled over before blasting forwards again, Izuku in turn had launched forwards and their fists met each other's face. The two spinning around from the impacts and falling to the ground.
Izuku groaned before activating his ear comm, "Yuga, what's your status, have you found the bomb?"
"Oui mon ami, but we've run into a bit of trouble," Yuga replied, he was currently hunched over, stomach rolling in pain while 77 was in a stand off with Ashido, said girl had planted various acid traps throughout the room and proved herself highly athletic jumping and flipping around the room, avoiding the stun shots from his pistols and Yuga's beams and fling acid at them. 77 already had to remove his chest piece from the acid.
"Alright, I'll...head over there right now," Izuku groaned out before getting to his feet and slowly heading down the hall.
"Hey Deku."
'Crap.'
Izuku turned and saw Bakugo on his feet, a wild, maniacal look in his eye. As if something had completely shaken him, pointing a gauntlet towards him.
"I'm going to prove to you right now that you're nothing! If those support extras made everything right, then all the sweat I've made has been collected and ready!"
Izuku's eyes widened as he made the connection.
"YOUNG BAKUGO DON'T, THAT WILL KILL HIM!"
"NOT IF HE DODGES!" He yelled while pulling the pin. The sheer power of the explosion was enormous as it cracked the concrete in the hallway, blew out windows, and traveled down the corridor at great speed.
Izuku barely moved out of the way into an adjacent corridor but the blast still hit his side, scorching his armor and leaving it cracked. On the upside, however, he was relatively unharmed thanks to it, but the fall hurt his leg.
"Oh, I could kiss whoever made this armor." Still, however, his movement was severely limited.
He idly overheard Bakugo arguing with All Might in the next hallway before focusing on his own partner.
"Mon ami! Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, I managed to avoid the worst of it, stay on Ashido and get that bomb!"
"FINE THEN! COME ON OUT DEKU! LET'S FINISH THIS ALREADY!"
Izuku glared at the ground, knowing what he had to do.
"YOU'VE BEEN HOLDING OUT ON ME, DEKU! WHERE'S THAT GREAT STRENGTH YOU SHOWED AT THE EXAM! YOU THINK YOU'RE TOO GOOD FOR ME! YOU'RE STILL NOTHING!"
"Tch, I can't believe I've been forced to do this," Izuku grumbled as he exited the hallway.
"THERE YOU ARE! FINALLY READY TO DIE!?"
"Shut up already, let's get this over with," Izuku said as One For All surged to life again.
"YOU LOOKING DOWN ON ME! I'LL BEAT YOU SO BAD YOU'LL NEVER THINK ABOUT BEING A HERO AGAIN!"
"Let's go!" Izuku and Bakugo jumped forward, Explosion and One For All at the ready.
Unheeding of All Might's warnings to stopped, Izuku drew his hand back.
"CHICAGO!"
All Might paused.
"SMASH!"
And Izuku shot Bakugo.
The stun round did its work, and Bakugo flopped hard to the ground, the sparks of his quirk going silent.
Izuku stayed bent on his knees, breathing deeply, sweat dripping off his body and blood dribbling in his mouth. Honestly, the funniest thing was how the air smelled like caramel.
Izuku sighed before wrapping the capture tape around the boy's wrists, while he won, the victory felt hollow, he'd wanted to win with his own strength, not just shoot him. He absentmindedly noticed Bakugo's elimination announcement but continued staring.
As it was though, he couldn't help but feel saddened.
"What happened kacchan? We were brothers once." He whispered before heading over to the others.
Back with 77, he and Yuga continued wearing down Ashido, who'd taken to skirting near the bomb, the two couldn't shoot directly at it for fear of shooting the bomb and 'detonating' it. They couldn't get close because she'd surrounded herself with an acid moat that melted the concrete around her.
That, however, gave Yuga an idea.
Spotting the only place that she hadn't put acid, he called to 77.
"77! Run towards the bomb when I tell you to!"
77 nodded but Ashido continued to grin. "Sorry boys, but you're not getting this bad boy! So declares the Alien Queen."
"Desole, Alien Queen, but heroes always find a way! Now!" Yuga yelled as he shot his Naval Laser towards the last support, the floor underneath the bomb quickly started to fall and Ashido stumbled while 77 ran ahead and tackled the bomb before turning and landing on his back.
Ashido herself fell through the floor landed on the concrete pile on the next floor.
"Owie."
"HERO TEAM WINS WITH ONE MINUTE TO SPARE!"
Both 77 and Yuga sighed in relief.
"Great plan, Aoyama."
"Only because you are so formidable a comrade, and Yuga, s'il vous plait.
"Formidable, huh?
"You know Francais as well?"
"Meh, not really but it sounds similar to English and Izuku studied that, All Might obsession see?"
They sat down for a bit before looking over to the hole where Ashido fell.
"You alright?" 77 asked in concern.
"Uh, I kind of hurt my legs."
"Alright, let's get you out of here. Yuga?" 77 asked as he got up on his feet, Yuga nodded and rose as well, secretly glad that he had the foresight to wear a diaper under his hero costume.
Not that he'd let anybody know of course.
Crawling down to where she was, they helped her get up and then supported her so that she could walk out, stumbling a bit due to the damage to her leg, they decided to do a two-man carry by linking their arms and having her sit like a chair.
Along the way, they met with Izuku who congratulated them for their success, eventually, the medical robots came and took away Bakugo, Izuku, and Ashido towards Recovery Girl and 77 and Yuga went back to the observation room.
"WELL NOW, WHILE WE'RE WAITING FOR THE OTHERS TO RETURN, LET'S QUICKLY REVIEW, NOW, ALL OF THEM DID DIFFERENT THINGS, BUT WHO WOULD YOU SAY IS THE MVP OF THE GROUP?"
77 and Yaoyorozu raised their hands. All Might chose Yaoyorozu to go first.
"I would say Aoyama sir, since he was the one who had the most focus on the mission and caused the least amount of collateral damage. Midoriya and Bakugo's fight became a slugfest and they lost focus of the objective, Midoriya himself should have simply shot Bakugo from the beginning instead of letting the fight drag on like that. Ashido did well in defending the bomb, but her liberal use of acid and lack of foresight left her exposed to Aoyama's quick thinking and adaptability. I...I'm not sure if 77 counts, sir." She finished with a slight mumble.
"Don't worry, I don't. I'd also like to say that I agree, boss needed to do it, but from an objective standpoint it would have been better to shoot the angry pomeranian, pom-pom's self-explanatory and pinky was great, dodged every shot I gave her, and got some good licks in, but she left herself open." 77 continued even with the slight giggles of the class over some of the nicknames.
Yuma was beaming in satisfaction as All Might nodded and agreed with him being the MVP of the exercise.
77 clapped him on the back and for once Yuga felt that he didn't need to worry about being normal.
"By the way, call me Fordo."
Yuga paused at the word and smiled.
All Might had the other teams go and do their trials, and Jango took notes on each one for Izuku. Idly, he noticed Yuga and the newly named Fordo talk to the side, he was glad that his vod'e were making friends, he hoped that once Izuku managed to manifest the rest, they'd also make friends.
Quite honestly he was still very angry at how Bakugo almost killed Izuku, he'd almost barged right into the trial, but Nezu stopped him and had promised to address the situation.
He'd also reminded him to deactivate his jetpack rocket.
Whoops.
Still, he was glad that Izuku managed to win on his own, even if the victory would be hollow.
'You're doing great vod, you'll make it one day.' Earlier, Jango had done lots and as such was designated for the final villain team.
He was completely unaware of Nezu standing next to him, looking at his notes, attempting to read them but unable to.
"Oh? What language is this?"
Jango jumped off his seat before staring at the furry principal next to him.
"Really?"
"What?"
Jango just sighed, "It's called Mando'a, me and Izuku came up with it to encode our notes. We also plan on using it to discuss battle plans and moves, surprise the enemy you know?"
"I see, and what notes have you taken on your classmates?"
"I'll read them out to you."
2nd match. Teams D and F.
Team D: Asui Tsuyu (Frog) Mineta Minoru (Pop-off) - Heroes
Team F: Hagakure Toru (Invisibility) Sato Rikido (Sugar Rush) - Villains
Team D attempted to do an infiltration through the roof, Asui threw Mineta upwards before leaping herself. Noted for some excessive force in the throw. (possible causes?)
They entered quietly, although it should be noted that Mineta spent the entire time staring at Asui in a perverted manner. They were discovered by Hagakure, who was patrolling the hallways around the bomb room while Sato stayed to guard.
Once they reached the bomb room, Mineta was ambushed by Hagakure and Sato engaged Asui.
Mineta...groped Hagakure, and I very much hesitate to call it an accident 'due to invisibility' as he attempted to excuse. Should keep an eye on him in the future.
Needless to say, revenge was swift and brutal.
Sato finally managed to pin Asui despite her better speed and agility.
Questions to be answered.
Asui – What are the limitations to her quirk, can she embody all kinds of frogs, or a specific family/species, if so, there is potential for camouflage, poison, and stomach expulsion. Blue dart frogs?
Mineta – Quirk is excellent for trap placement and restraint, personality leaves much to be desired.
Also while I understand what he's going for that costume does him no favors. How many can he make? How long do they last? Possible counters?
Hagakure – Her costume is literally boots and gloves, utterly ridiculous. The chances for sexual assault against her are extreme, especially due to her invisibility. Perhaps the armory can manufacture specialized armor that can be turned invisible, should ask that crazy girl at the support course.
Sato – Seems to lose cognitive function with the more sugar he consumes, does it vary with other sugars? Do sweeteners work? What about countermeasures?
"I've got some more based on what I've observed so far through the matches."
Nezu had a certain gleam in his eye that honestly, unnerved Jango a bit, even with the lax relationship they had.
"Oh? Tell me more."
Jango then went over the various notes he had made throughout the trials, some notable entries were on Tokoyami's Dark Shadow and how it reacted negatively to Kaminari's Electrification, and how the latter's powers seemed to be limited to surrounding himself in electricity and large discharges. The resulting cognitive malfunction was also a worrying factor.
Koda and Shoji's match-up was somewhat redundant as they both had excellent potential for scouting and reconnaissance, even knowing their enemy positions however did nothing as Shoji's strength was nullified by Ochako's Zero Gravity and Iida was too fast for Koda.
Izuku, Bakugo, and Ashido all came back at different times during the matches, the latter having been the least injured, she quickly stood next to Yuga and Fordo, the latter who was quick to officially introduce himself with his new name.
Finally, the last match came up.
TODOROKI SHOTO AND YAOYOROZU MOMO VS JIROU KYOKA AND OJIRO MASHIRAO (+ JANGO)
"Alright then, let's do this," Jango said as he and his fellow villains walked forward into the building. Finding the bomb on the top floor, Jango paced around and messed with his pistols.
"Huh, those pistols are new Jango," Kyoka said while using her jacks to try and get a layout of the building.
"Snipe helped me make 'em, we grabbed a pair of pistols from the armory, stripped them to get a better look inside, and then modified them with a new casing and a better heat capacity," Jango replied before turning to Ojiro.
"So, any ideas so far?"
"What me?"
"Well yeah, kinda want to hear everybody's opinion."
"Well Todoroki has ice powers, so maybe he'll start off with that?"
"That Yaoyorozu girl can create stuff from her body, so we're looking at overwhelming force and a lot of variety," Kyoka said as she kept her jacks in the wall, listening for any cues.
Her eyes suddenly widened in fear and she turned to warn them.
"Look out!" But it was too late, in less than 30 seconds the building had been frozen completely, Kyoka's face was stuck to the wall and Ojiro was frozen on his feet.
Jango was just pissed.
"This guy thinks he can just waltz right through us? Well, I have a surprise for him." He said as he bent over and prepped his jetpack rocket."
"Young Jango, no rockets," Nezu said through the comms.
Jango groaned, but set it back, crouching he turned on his jetpack and the heat melted the ice around his feet just enough so he could break out.
"I've got an idea, he thinks he can just walk in, we'll let him think that way. Kyoka, you still hear anything?"
"Y-yes, h-he's on the s-second f-floor." She shivered out, Jango felt bad for her, those jacks must be sensitive. He put his jetpack on the lowest setting, and let the heat off near her head, the ice soon melted and she gave a gratified shiver.
"I need you to stay here, Kyoka, pretend to comm me saying that Todoroki's here, and Ojiro if he gets close to you, knock the wind out of him with your tail. I'll stay hidden by the bomb and shoot him if he gets close or after you hit him."
"Right."
'He even froze the bomb, in real life that'd probably cause something to go wrong.'
Soon enough Kyoka heard a single pair of footsteps approach and pretended to comm Jango.
"Jango, he's up here in the bomb room."
'Must have missed him on the way up.' Todoroki thought to himself, completely disinterested in his opponents.
"Sorry, the difference in power is too great." He said while walking past Ojiro, who in a rare moment of indignant anger, swiped with far more force than he intended to. The blow from his tail to Todoroki's sternum not only knocked the breath out of him but cracked bone, out of breath, Todoroki was unprepared for the arm that reached over and under his neck, cutting off his breathing.
Panicking, Todoroki completely froze his right side along with Ojiro, which allowed him to get his breath and fall to his knees, coughing and trying to regain his composure. Glaring at the frozen boy next to him, he kneeled back up with a cold rage in his eyes.
"A valiant attempt, but ultimately futile."
"You sure about that?"
Todoroki gasped in surprise as he turned towards the left and was face to face with the barrel of a gun.
Jango quickly stunned him and the boy fell over in a slump.
"Hm, jetpack's too slow, and if I go high I'll just blast myself. Flamethrower it is."
"Flamethrower!" Kyoka gasped out as Jango unleashed a torrent of flames over the ice, turning it off when it was melted enough.
Ojiro was violently shivering, but Jango could make out the thanks in between the chattering of his teeth.
Kyoka was already free, having used her jacks to break the ice apart, doing the same to Ojiro who continued to shiver. Jango grabbed Ojiro and held him close, "I need to get him outside into the warmth., you think you can handle being here alone?"
"Yeah, I can manage."
"Good, stand back."
Using his flamethrower, he melted a section of the wall before moving back a bit and blowing up the wall with his rocket.
"Don't forget to tie him up," Jango said before flying off with Ojiro to the next roof.
Kyoka quickly tied up Todoroki, who was still out like a light and stood guard in case Yaoyorozu made it in.
"Kyoka, you hear me?"
"Yeah Jango, what's up?"
"I've got eyes on Yaoyorozu, she's got making her way up with ice boots and a bo staff."
"Understood," Kyoka said as she vibrated the remaining ice that wasn't melted around her to break it apart and get better footing.
"I'm ready."
"Halt evildoer!" Momo yelled as she entered before slipping on the water that flooded the room and sent her sliding towards the wall with a crash.
…
…
…
"Are...you okay?"
Yaoyorozu merely groaned in defeat.
"GOOD JOB EVERYBODY, WE MADE IT THROUGH CLASS WITH ONLY SOMEWHAT MINOR INJURIES, THAT'S GREAT! TAKE THE TIME TO LEARN FROM WHAT YOU'VE EXPERIENCED TODAY! NOW WATCH A HERO GO, AS IF HE HAS SOMEWHERE TO BE!" All Might said as he rushed away in a gust of wind.
Everybody stood in awe at his sheer speed and Nezu chuckled before gaining his attention.
"Apologies for him, he's a very busy man you see. But what he's said is true, today you all ventured into your first steps to become heroes, as such you were bound to make mistakes, use the resources you have to analyze your performances, critique them and develop new ideas and plans so that next time you can be better. Class dismissed."
One by one, the class left the room, all of them excited and talking about what they learned and what they wanted to improve.
Except for two, one a boy who'd been raised to be the perfect weapon, who in rejecting one side of his quirk had completely, utterly lost.
And the other, a boy groomed to believe that he was everything, his expectations broken in a single day.
"One more thing, Bakugo Katsuki. Please stay behind."
Bakugo gulped in fear.
Looks like the day still wasn't over.
Later on, Izuku and his friends were in the classroom, discussing the trials, Izuku was actually reviewing Jango's notes and adding his own analysis and hypotheses.
He really needed to get a one-on-one session with his friends soon to discover more. On that note, it'd be awesome to have some time with his other classmates too.
He peered out the window and noticed Bakugo walking down the courtyard, already heading home.
Izuku felt conflicted, but as he stared at his new friends and classmates having fun, especially Jango and Fordo, he decided to put his mind at ease.
In one universe, Izuku would have gone after Bakugo, and tell him about One For All.
In this one, he decided to let go.
The consequences of that decision, would not be fully realized until far into the future.
And that's a wrap! Again, I want to thank you all for your continued support, I wanted to extend this chapter up to the beginning of the USJ arc, but I wasn't able to write it in time. As it is, tomorrow I'll be heading over to MEPS, and Tuesday I'll be in Chicago for boot camp. I'll be inactive for two months before heading to A-school. By then I'll be back in action, but updates may be more sporadic.
I also have a cover image in the works, unfortunately, it's not yet ready and you'll have to wait till I'm out of boot camp to see it. I think I'll post the unfinished version though just so that you can see what I have in mind.
Again, I want to thank all of you for your support. I'll see you all in December!