Chapter 1- The New Heroes

The meeting room in UA High was currently filled with Pro Heroes, all of them were teachers and workers at the prestigious academy, and they had just spent in excess of two hours discussing the various situations and events that occurred daily at the school. Meetings were tedious by nature, and even the prestigious nature and varied curriculum of UA High didn't change this fact.

Any committed hero fan would have been starstruck by the various pros that inhabited the room: Vlad King, Ectoplasm, Midnight, Power Loader, Cementoss and Snipe were amongst the various pros that filled the room, though they were mostly well known to the public for teaching at UA. There were also lesser-known heroes amongst the group, Eraserhead, Recovery Girl and Nezu didn't have as much of a public profile due to the way they conducted their heroic duties, though they were no less essential to UA's function.

The meeting had covered every aspect of UA's function, from upcoming training exercises to the various pieces of day-to-day decision making that made up the function of such a vast academy as UA High. It had been a long and tedious meeting, and most of the pros wanted nothing more than to go home and relax for a moment.

"The last thing I wish to discuss today is the student intake for the next academic year." The cheery voice of Principal Nezu echoing through the small room, catching the attention of the various Pros "Though it is still several months away, we must already start considering how the next year of students will enter UA High."

"Is there anything that needs to be discussed?" The low drawl of Snipe's voice emerged from his ever-present mask "The intake process is pretty streamlined at this point."

"Perhaps, but that doesn't mean that it isn't worth considering." Nezu shot back, shuffling the papers that sat in front of him "What I wished to discuss was a change I have been thinking of recently, though I admit it will add a fair bit of extra work to our workloads."

There was a general muffled groan from the teachers, knowing that Nezu's ideas had a tendency to be dramatic and extravagant in the extreme, with fairly large consequences for anyone caught nearby. That said, they all knew that Nezu had the best interests of Nezu at heart, and he would never deliberately lead them astray.

"Though we currently live in peaceful times, I think you'll agree that the need for new heroes is as pressing as ever." Nezu paused for a moment, letting his statement hang in the air before continuing "Especially given the current revelations about our Symbol of Peace."

Nezu gestured towards the skeletal form of Toshinori Yagi, better known to the public as the number one Pro Hero, All Might. He had recently joined the UA faculty as a heroics teacher in order to search for a successor for his power, One For All, and several promising students had already caught his eyes. Though only a few of Yagi's close friends and trusted confidants knew the secret of One For All, he had disclosed to the UA Faculty the truth behind his injury and his deteriorating condition, and so he didn't need to strain himself by maintaining his muscular form.

Ever the altruist, Yagi couldn't help but feel responsible for the subject that Nezu was talking about, as his limited time in his muscular form prevented him from performing his heroic duties as much as he would like. Though his status as number one hero was still without question, he knew inwardly that his time was limited, and so new heroes would one day have to step up when he eventually stepped down. Nezu had already told Yagi about the idea he was going to pitch to the group of teachers and faculty members, and while he acknowledged the necessity of the decision, it still left a sour taste in his mouth.

"I think you will agree when I say that a response is needed to this pressing need for heroes, and UA must show a strong hand in the times ahead." Nezu stopped again, a quick glance confirming he had the attention of everybody in the room, even Aizawa at least seemed to be listening "And as such, my proposition is that we open a third Hero Class."

There was a ripple of slight surprise through the group of heroes at this announcement, there hadn't been a change to the structure of the hero course in years. there had always been forty students a year introduced to the hero course, and UA's internal workings were perfectly tuned to accommodate this amount of students.

"Seems like a lot of extra work." Aizawa muttered, uttering his first words since the meeting started over two hours ago.

"That may be Eraserhead." Nezu replied, referring to Aizawa by his hero name in the interests of professionalism "But I believe it to be a necessary change to our school, times are changing, and UA needs to change with them."

"So what changes?" The gruff voice of Vlad King cut in, and he wore his usual stoic expression, arms folded in a typical lack of emotion.

"Yourself and Eraserhead will still teach classes 1A and 1B as we planned before." Nezu answered, gesturing his explanation with his diminutive paws "The new Hero Class will be Class 1C, and all of the other classes will be moved one letter along, so none of the other classes will be affected by this change."

This provoked a nod from Cementoss, who taught General Education, and Power Loader, who taught the Support Class. These other classes didn't receive as much focus from UA as the prestigious Hero Course, but they were both well-refined and highly regarded courses in their own right.

"What about the recommendation students?" It was Midnight that spoke up this time, sounding more serious than usual due to her fatigue "If word of this new class is made public, then our recommendation parents will want more openings."

"We will open up two more slots for personal recommendations, so the ratio stays the same with two recommended students in each class." Nezu waved Midnight's question away, he had clearly thought these situations through "Besides, if we announce that another class is open, then there will likely be more applicants to the course as a whole."

What Nezu had said was technically true, a larger pool of candidate students could be tempted to apply to UA if they knew that the chances of getting in had grown, and this would allow UA to take the best candidates from this pool. But UA was already the most prestigious hero school in all of Japan, and they hardly had an issue with attracting enough applicants to fill their classes.

"As well as that." Nezu continued, shuffling through more papers on his desk "I have discussed this matter with Recovery Girl and Yagi, and we agree that UA is capable of taking on this additional task."

The elderly heroine nodded in agreement from her own chair, though she inwardly chided herself for agreeing to take on an additional Hero Class into her already heavy workload. The Hero Course students already had a tendency towards recklessness and getting themselves into dangerous positions, which usually ended in injuries that she would treat. Though Recovery Girl valued her job and viewed her position as a privilege, she didn't like the idea of having a greater volume of injured young people arriving at her office.

"And of course, a new class needs a new homeroom teacher." Nezu continued, looking over the various heroes to give the illusion that he hadn't planned this promotion for months "Ectoplasm, I take it I can rely on you for this new responsibility?"

The hero in question suddenly raised his head in shock, making it clear to everybody present that he hadn't been briefed about this event in advance and that Nezu had sprung this on him out of the blue. Such things were fairly routine when one worked under Nezu, though this was a fairly large surprise even by his standards.

Ectoplasm was a stoic and fairly quiet hero, and the mask that he wore as part of his hero costume concealed whatever emotional reaction he may have had to the sudden news that Nezu had dropped onto him, and the rest of the room watched Ectoplasm to see what he would say. There was a pause of several seconds, and the only noise that could be heard in the room was a quiet humming of contemplation from the hero.

"Very well." Ectoplasm finally replied, glancing towards his boss, his expression inscrutable under the helmet "I will accept this responsibility that you have given me."

There was a small outbreak of light applause of what seemed to be Ectoplasm accepting the promotion and his new position, but his grim manner of speaking and Nezu's own suspicious aura dampened the celebratory atmosphere.

"I knew that I would be able to rely on you for this." Nezu said, sliding an enormous folder of various papers and forms over to the new homeroom teacher "Here's some material for you to get caught up on, I know we're still months away from the new year, but there's lots to do."

Nezu's chipper and upbeat tone as he handed Ectoplasm an enormous pile of paperwork didn't go unnoticed, and the heroes sitting next to Ectoplasm could hear a low groan come from the hero's helmet.

"What about my existing classes?" Ectoplasm spoke up again, looking towards the papers with barely-concealed dread "The final exams are coming up, and the students still require tutelage."

"I have arranged for your workload to be lightened for the rest of the year." Nezu gave a wave of his paw, metaphorically dismissing Ectoplasm's concerns "We will look into a new mathematics teacher for next year's classes, as I'm sure you will have your hands full teaching the Hero Course."

Ectoplasm didn't reply, but the nod and mumble of assertion that he gave was enough to indicate that he had accepted the position that had been offered to him, as well as the various troubles and responsibilities that would surely come with it. He was truthfully a little melancholy to be leaving his station as a mathematics teacher, but a larger part of him was feeling apprehensive over his new station.

"Eraserhead and Vlad King will be on hand to help you adjust to this new office." Nezu gestured towards the two heroes, both of which gave vague gestures of ascent "The three of you will likely spend a lot of time together planning lessons and course structure, so it makes sense to learn from them."

Ectoplasm nodded again, though truthfully his mind was elsewhere at this point, the gears of his mind already turning to try and guess at how this new future that had been thrust upon him might play out. He allowed himself to feel a small measure of tempered excitement, he had seen how the other heroics teachers talked with pride in how they were able to tutor the heroes of the future so directly, and the thought of undergoing that same experience was an interesting one to say the least.

Even as the meeting wrapped up, and the various teachers and faculty members prepared to depart, Ectoplasm still didn't say a word, caught up as he was in his own thoughts. The whispers of congratulations from his colleagues reached his ears, though he was too absorbed in his own thoughts to reply to the remarks. He knew that he would have to apologise to them for his actions later on, but for now he was far too focused on the matter at hand.

Compelled by an unknown force, Ectoplasm slowly walked over to one of the enormous windows of the UA main building that looked over the city of Tokyo, the gentle tapping of his prosthetic legs the only noise that came from the contemplative hero. As Ectoplasm looked over the city, the setting sun bathing the city in golden light, he realised that his future students were likely training to earn their place at UA right now. The twenty students that would one day make up his class didn't know it yet, but they were already on the road to becoming heroes.

"Students of mine, we may not know each other yet, and I may not know how to best teach you…" Ectoplasm spoke aloud, the statement made to himself as much as it was to his future students "But I swear this, I will do everything I can to do right by you."

As the staff of UA finished their meeting, the sun began to set over Japan, the dying light heralding the end of another day. All throughout the country, twenty young hopefuls trained their Quirks and their bodies in anticipation of coming entrance exams. Each and every one of these young hopefuls were set on an arduous path, and although they were separate, their goals were the same. UA High loomed large in their minds, and so they pushed themselves beyond their limits, preparing for the tasks ahead of them.

As the skies of Japan slowly turned dark, these hopeful students kept on practising, the leisure time that their peers enjoyed pushed aside in order to make time for more training. This was the first of many sacrifices that these young students would make, but they all new that it was necessary to give them the best chance of succeeding and entering UA. And so the training continued, every student training themselves in different way, all united under a common goal.

Over the roar of jet engines and stomp of marching boots, a lone figure stands on a seldom-used strip of concrete, tightening the straps on her jacket, checking over her ramshackle outfit before she took to the skies, her favourite way to train herself and her power. Those who didn't know the girl who stood on the runway would be confused to see somebody so young in such a place, but the nearby soldiers accepted her presence without question, as they were used to her constant presence in this typically military space, and indeed many were well acquainted with her. As she placed a pair of goggles onto her face, she thought of the upcoming UA entrance exam, and her eyes narrowed as she resolved to train even harder than usual.

A figure walks back to a hospital, her hands full of bags of supplies from a pharmacy that she had been sent to retrieve. In the corner of her eye, she sees a stray dog in a nearby alleyway, limping slowly around the bare concrete alley. The girl crouches and holds out a hand in offering to the animal, and when it came to inspect her hand, gentle white light flows from her palm and moves around the startled dog, which quickly runs away. As she leaves the alley, she smiles when she sees the dog running without the limp, it's movements filled with vigour and new life as it excitedly ran in circles. A smile came to the girls face, and she watched the scene for a moment longer before walking away again, reminded of her task to retrieve the various medicines she carried.

A figure stands at the edge of a river, the natural quiet of the forest only being disturbed by the rushing water that wound through the woods. The figure moved his arms in smooth motions, drawing invisible arcs in the air with the motion of his hands. In time with the movement, the water of the river also began to twist and distort, the river moving in patterns that could never be created by nature. Large spheres of water began to levitate from the river, the spheres of liquid rippling and distorting as they were wrenched into the air with practised power. The boy's calm motions were guiding the water through the air in well-practised manoeuvres, the smoothness and accuracy of which spoke to many hours of practise and training with this power.

In a large Quirk-training gym, a single figure ran the same obstacle course again and again, every leap and flip being practised repeatedly until he deemed his motions to be perfect. The gym was long-deserted, and he was the only one still training, and even then he showed no signs of tiring from his punishing workout. He came up to a large gap in the course, the jump would have been impossible for anybody without an agility-based Quirk. Within an instant, the figure disappeared from the end of the gap and appeared on the other side, the sudden change not slowing his movement at all, and so the boy kept running the course, determined to continue to refine and perfect his movements.

The sound of metal on metal rang out from a warehouse on the outskirts of Tokyo, the metallic clanging drawing attention from some passers-by. Inside the warehouse, a lone figure worked tirelessly at his workbench, hammering and shaping a piece of white-hot metal into the form of a large metal helmet, the shape of which slowly took form. Around the figure, various other pieces of armour could be seen, some of which were still cooling in trays of water, and amongst these trays were racks and shelves holding more esoteric devices. The boy held his hammer in a clenched metal fist, and he kept relentlessly working away at the various pieces of equipment, thoughts of UA spurring him onwards.

In another training gym, a massive figure loaded weights onto a heavy iron bar, drawing some surprised glances from other gym members that passed by. A perceptive passer-by would have realised that the figure was wearing a weighted vest and more weights on his wrists, though he seemed to barely notice their presence at all. The figure lifted the weighted bar onto his shoulders with a grunt of effort, and as he turned to retrieve more weights he caught his reflection in one of the gym's mirrors, the sight of thick scales and reptilian eyes filling the boy's vision, and he stared for a moment in appraisal before going to retrieve more weights.

In a private training dojo, a figure practises fighting stances and techniques on a training dummy, the snap of each of her strikes hitting the dummy reverberating through the padded room. With an inhalation of focus, she struck out with an open palm, and her hand seemed to shift and blur as her arm moved out. As soon as she made contact with the dummy, there was a deafening crack of wood as the top half of the dummy flew free of the base. The girl exhaled as she saw the impact of her attack, the sheer force of which had left the dummy cleanly torn in half. With a silent motions, the girl's hand seemed to refocused and turn back to normal as wisps of smoke floated from her palm.

Another figure practised usage of her Quirk in a small room, giant spools of string scattered around her in every direction. The string moved around at the figure's mental command, and if she closed her eyes and focused she could feel every object that the string made contact with. Several objects were held aloft by the string, the weight of which should have made it impossible for the thin fibres to hold. With a final mental command, the string began to retract towards the girl, dropping the various objects that were held aloft by the animated fibres. As the string returned towards the girl, they began to take the shape of a hand as they coalesced at her wrist, and the white string slowly returned to the colour of pale skin.

A figure held a thin bar of steel in his hands, the metal glinting in the sunlight that shone through the window of his room. The bar rippled and twisted, soon the metal was flowing like liquid around his hand, and the boy watched with fascination at the flowing motions of the metal. The liquid steel was akin to a snake of some kind, it's fluid motions defying it's unnatural construction. With a small motion of his hand, the metal twisted again into a recognisable symbol and solidified again. The boy smiled as he looked down at his creation, a small steel recreation of UA's logo sat in his palm, and it filled him with a sense of focus and a renewed ambition.

In a secluded house at the top of a hill, a figure moved through a maze of fusuma paper walls, building a mental map of the maze in her head. She kept turning corner after corner until she came to the exit that she had memorised earlier on, though it was barred by several large wooden planks nailed to the door. With a flick of her wrist, a ring of purple energy appeared beside her, the shimmering image of another room visible through the ring. The girl stepped through the ring and snapped it shut behind her, and a glace back showed her the other side of the barred door, the wood undisturbed from the sudden and impossible escape that had just taken place.

In the garden of a large manor, a figure stood almost perfectly still with his eyes clasped shut in concentration, the only movement being that of rippling green energy around his hands. Several large plastic discs hovered around him, also glowing with the same energy that flowed around his hands. In a sudden burst of motion, the figure flicked out his arms and shot blasts of green energy from his fingertips, each one punching straight through the floating discs. The discs span with the sudden impact, the green bolts had burned straight through the plastic with ease. As the pierced discs fell to the ground, suddenly devoid of the power that had suspended them in the air, the boy opened his eyes to inspect his work, exposing his totally green eyes.

A lone figure stood at an empty shooting range; a wooden air rifle held in his hands as he peered down the sights. He was aiming at several miniscule targets, each one barely visible to anyone that would have passed by, though the figure still aimed with calm intent. With a sharp inhalation, the figure burst into motion, pulling the trigger and snapping back the lever of the rifle before shooting again, unleashing several shots within a few seconds. A single wisp of smoke floated from the barrel at the speed of the various shots that had been fired, but the boy's hands were as still and precise as ever as he set the weapon aside. As the boy reeled the targets inwards, the crosshair pattern on his eyes glinted with focus, and he saw a hole in the dead centre of every target.

In a large estate in Central Tokyo, a figure sits in contemplative calm as she holds her hands out in front of her, her careful breathing the only sound that could be heard in the room. Small, reflective shards of glass appeared in her palm, the clear shards moving around her palm. The glass wound upwards and coalesced into the shape of a beautifully crafted chalice, the intricate patterns in the glass barely visible to the human eye. The girl set down the glass and stood from her place, eager to practise a more dramatic application of her Quirk, she had the precision of her power well practised, but now she was keen to work on the raw power that her Quirk was capable of.

Underneath the lights of an empty stage, a figure danced in dramatic and sweeping motions, the confidence of her movements speaking to the soul of a born performer. As she continued to dance, bright and colourful images began to appear around her, moving in perfect circles and arcs in response to her movements, creating a whirling series of perfectly choreographed movements. The lone dancer was soon surrounded by a dazzling array of images and colours, all of them moving in perfect unison with her dance. Though the girl seemed to move without a care in the world, a trained observer would notice the purposeful way in which she moved, and the focus in her eyes that she hid with a bright smile.

In a darkened room, a figure sat cross-legged on the wooden floors, holding a small plant in his outstretched hands, seemingly inspecting the green and life-filled flower. The figure was wracked with a sudden bought of coughing, the rasps and hacks shaking his frail frame. During this bought, small flecks of blood flew from his mouth and landed on his arm, drawing a dramatic contrast to his deathly pale skin. With a mental command, a pale green haze appeared in his palms before being drawn to the plant he held, the small green organism quickly withering and turning a pale grey, as if totally drained of all life and vitality. The boy set the dead plant aside and pushed a lock of pale grey hair out of his face, calm determination visible on his sallow features.

A figure stood in an empty training room, a large concrete pillar standing before her in the dead centre of the room. It was clear to anyone who had practised combat at any level that this pillar represented a training dummy, though the fact it was made of concrete would likely cause any observer some confusion. She held out her hand with a practised motion, and a glowing mass of purple energy flowed from her palm, the energy coalescing into the form of a translucent purple katana, despite her age the girl handled the weapon with a practised precision that belied her youth. A single sweep of the weapon neatly bisected the pillar with barely a sound, and several more slashes reduced the pillar to a stack of concrete disks. Inspecting her handiwork, the girl turned away and paced towards a series of targets, the ethereal weapon in her hand shifting and changing form.

In a dark room filled with smoke, several candles burned defiantly against the darkness, their flickering light contrasting with the smoke-filled darkness. One by one, the burning lights died, snuffed out by the lack of oxygen as the smoke enveloped their fragile flames, and eventually the room was left in total darkness. The smoke began to coalesce in the centre of the room, the swirling mass moving in strange and unnatural patterns as it gathered together. Out of the smoke stepped a figure, his ashen-grey hair swirling behind him as the last of the smoke vanished, leaving him standing alone in the darkness. The boy regarded the room briefly before turning on his heel and pacing towards a door, his footsteps not producing a single sound as he walked.

A lone figure sat in the centre of a small room, assembling a metal object that seemed to resemble a mechanical spider, though it was clearly a children's toy that lacked any power source or means of moving. Satisfied with her work, the figure set the toy down and gently tapped it with one of her fingertips, a spark of blue lightning leaping from her finger to strike the toy. After a second, the toy burst into life, skittering around the room in a convincing simulation of organic life, and the girl watched as her Quirk affected the device, it's strange motions capturing her attention. With a mental command, the creature returned to being an immobile children's toy, the strange vitality that had affected it being taken away just as quickly

A figure sat on an open balcony, studying her books as the last of the sunlight faded from the sky, darkening the pages that she was trying to read. The girl frowned at the absence of the sunlight, the feeling of the sun was one that she basked in for as long as possible, and its absence made her feel cold and distant. With a gesture from her hand, a small orb of gentle golden light flew up from her palm and hovered in the air above her head, casting the entire balcony in golden sunlight and making the girl's books legible again. The girl was relieved to be back in the light again, and the glow that her Quirk had produced was enough to keep her company until the sun rose again.

And finally, a lone figure walked the twilight streets of Tokyo, his dark hair bathed in the neon lights of the inner city. The figure moved through crowds of shoppers and partygoers, he moved without care, simply enjoying the walk through the city streets. As he walked through the crowds, he could 'see' their latent Quirks like a bright beacon, their unique powers painfully visible to his sensitive mind. The figure flexed his pocketed hands and mentally summoned his Quirk, feeling the gentle darkness of fog at his fingertips, the cloying sensation of his own Quirk quieting the chatter of the various Quirks that surrounded him. The dark fog that accompanied him brought peace to his thoughts, and silenced the ever-present noise and light that his mind used to show him the Quirks of those around him.

And so these twenty young hopefuls train themselves, each and every one counting the days to the UA Entrance Exam, and hoping that their preparations will be enough to earn them a place in the heroics school of their collective dreams. Although they had never met, the fates of these twenty students were entwined, and they were soon to come together with their sheered ambition.

Though they didn't know it yet, these students were destined for greatness, to be part of the future of heroics, to become The New Heroes.

Author's Note

And so The New Heroes begins, I've been planning this story out for a long time, and I'm glad to finally release it into the wild.

So the gist of this story is basically an excuse to tell a story about a class of OC characters, and they'll have their own trials and adventures in the world of My Hero Academia. I'd been kicking around several OCs for a while and I realised that I could have enough students to make up a whole class if I made several more.

I know that this chapter was basically just a teaser, but I hope that it was at least enticing enough to hold your attention. The next chapter will start the UA entrance exams arc, and we will get to meet our various new students.

For those of you who have read Mind Over Matter, this story (and another that I'm revealing tomorrow) will be much slower paced, as here we're focusing on a whole class and I want to give them all a fair showing.

I'd be interested to see if anybody would be able to guess what Quirks our students possess, some of the teaser paragraphs were less telling than others, but all of them reveal the students Quirks in some way.

This story will receive a new chapter every Monday and Thursday, so we will continue this tale next Thursday.

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed this first chapter.