acosta: Yeah they certainly didn't behave in the way he was expecting, definitely something he'll keep in mind for future "tests"

Also Happy Thanksgiving to anyone who celebrates it! This chapter is a little longer than the last few, and is a looooot of talky talky. It's time to fully reveal the potential of everyones power!

Season Two, Episode XVII

Our Quirks

. . .

Kaiji Adachi

. . .

We traveled separate from the Zodiac Twins to the compound of the Wild Wild Pussy Cats. Trying telling somebody that, out of context, and see if they still think you're sane.

By the time we arrived it was late afternoon, with all the delays and the uh... Surprise test, things took longer than expected. Arriving at the compound, we were greeted by the Heroes that would be hosting us. The four of them standing before the doors, each and every one looking absolutely ridiculous in their catgirl-maid costumes, especially the big muscle guy.

"Sorry we didn't really give a proper introduction earlier," The apparent leader, dressed in red, began. "But we're the Wild Pussy Cats, as your teacher said, I'm Mandalay, this is Pixiebob, Ragdoll, and Tiger."

Would you be surprised that the big guy was Tiger? No? Me neither...

"We'll be hosting your training camp here," Tiger added, voice rough as sand paper. "This entire mountain range is all our land, and we'll make good use of it working you all into shape!"

"Buuut lets worry about that after you've been settled in," Pixiebob added with a nervous laugh. "For now you three can take your things to the guest rooms on the first floor."

"Right, of course." Sen replied first, bowing respectfully. "Thank you very much for allowing us to stay here."

I nodded as well, "Yeah, much appreciated... If you don't mind me asking, how's Yin doing?" I know they'd only just arrived, but I was still worried. I hadn't really held much back with that punch and was afraid I might have seriously injured her.

Mandalay shook her head, "She's in pretty rough shape," Dammit, "Bones in her arms are cracked, and she's got a nasty concussion, but our healer will arrive sometime tonight and get her all patched up."

"The healer isn't already here?" Suru questioned.

"They got a little held up on the road," She shrugged, "Either way, don't worry about that for right now, just get settled in and we'll go over your training regiments."

Holding any further questions, we were lead inside. Shown to the side of the first floor we'd be staying in. There were other rooms here too, one looked like a classroom, there was a cafeteria too. But I wasn't able to fully explore before we reached our destination. The girls both got their own room together, I was set up in my own. It looked large enough for a big group of people, shame I was the only one here who'd get to use the space...

After setting my bag aside, and grabbing a new shirt, I made my way back outside. The others were already on their way out as well, and Aizawa was waiting in the open space out front. Hands stuffed in his pockets, waiting for us. I wasn't thinking much about the training though, mostly what happened in the forest. I don't know why I took charge, or really... How? I've never really been that confident in myself before coming to UA but... Knowing we had to do something, knowing that we couldn't just keep running-

"Class 1-Z!" Aizawa interrupted my thoughts sharply, "Roll call!"

I straightened up, looking to my classmates and realizing they had equally been taken off guard. Were we all worried about what happened? "R-Right sorry, ready to get to work, sir!" I answered.

"I said Roll Call," He repeated, "Now sound off."

What was he- "Pariah." Suru answered suddenly, stuffing her hands into the pockets of her jacket.

"Cindra." Sen followed suit quickly.

Alright, I guess we're doing this. "Rizado."

A faint smirk flashed across his face, just for a moment. "Hmph, good... We need to go over your actions in the forest... And why you thought it was okay to engage a villain, even without your licenses."

"T-To be fair sir," Sen offered a rebuttal, "The laws due state that using quirks for self defense is not illegal, so long as excessive violence is not pursued."

"You damn near broke her arms." Came a voice from behind, as the compounds doors opened. And out stepped Yang, the other Zodiac Twin, her mask had been removed letting us see her face. She was quite beautiful, with sharp features and intelligent golden eyes. "I'd call that excessive, unless you're going to admit to not knowing how to control your powers." She scoffed.

I spoke up, "I know exactly how much force I used, and given the implied circumstances of the situation... I don't regret my actions, but will accept punishment." Looking back to Aizawa quickly, "It was my idea to lay the trap, and try to take her out, I didn't exactly leave these two much choice..."

Aizawa held my gaze for a moment, before his eyes shifted to Yang. "Has your sister woken up yet?"

To which she nodded, "Yeah, she's resting now but she was awake enough to give me the rundown on what happened."

"And?" He pressed, "How did my students perform?"

"Ahem, well..." She cleared her throat nervously, "Despite the, obvious break in rules, they completely outsmarted, and outmaneuvered Yin..." Was that shame in her voice? Had we damaged her Pride? I guess that made sense. "Yin is... Not very happy about it."

Aizawa nodded his head, "As she should be, given the circumstances of her defeat..." Before looking back to us, "Your ability to think critically and perform in what you believed was a crisis situation is impressive, but you need to learn when to act and when to run, too many heroes are killed because they think good intentions is enough to win the battle or save someone."

I bowed my head slightly, "Of course... I wouldn't have acted if I thought we didn't have a good chance of success."

I don't think he believed me, I sure didn't. But either way, he moved on rather than pressing the matter. "Anyways, we'll call the results of that test... Unexpected, but there was another reason for going through with it, and that was to assess your abilities to some degree, so the Zodiac Twins could get a read on you first-hand." He explained, "Most training at UA is slow and technical, we build strength and foster mental growth before moving into the intensive physical regiments, you've probably noticed from past training that your regiment has been different... Well we're about to up the ante."

Mandalay stepped outside as well, moving to Eraserhead's side with Yang. She was holding a clipboard, various papers attached to the front. "Your training up until now has been both about reinforcement and analysis, trying to figure our how your Quirks all work... Or so I've been told."

"And as of the Sport's Festival," Aizawa took the board and continued, "We've finally reached conclusive answers to how your Quirks tick, and how we're going to improve them." Before his eyes darted up from the papers, right to me. "Kaiji Adachi, Quirk; Lizard... After extensive examination of bloodwork, we've discovered your DNA holds a codex of genetic information on hundreds of species reptiles, both current... And extinct, some of which we can't even identify."

I stared back at him, blinking in surprise. "Are you saying," The slow realization hitting me as I looked down at my hands. "I could have more forms? Different reptiles?"

"Bingo," He answered simply, "Though, some of the fragmented DNA strands are stronger than others, like your current Croc Form, it has a higher percentage of a complete DNA strand than any other, which is likely why you figured out how to use it first... We just need to figure out the triggers to accessing other strands." Okay, that makes sense I guess. "So, that's what we'll be focusing on as well as increasing your time limit in these forms." Before he flipped the page over, leaving me with a lot to think about as his eyes darted to Sen. "Sen Shi, Quirk; Aura."

What? Hold on...

"So uh, my Quirk is a little shy... I don't really have a name for it yet."

Did she finally come up with a name? "Aura, sir?" Sen seemed just as confused, so I guess not.

Aizawa nodded his head, "Yes, after witnessing you use your quirk at the Festival, and speaking with your Grandfather about it, we've come to a conclusion on how your power works."

Sen looked relieved to hear that, actually. "And what did you find out?"

"So far, you've been comparing your Quirk to your Grandfather's, because they are very similar," He explained, "However, there is a key difference, when your Grandfather activates his power, is flows through his muscles and supercharges his body... His augmentation, is internal, yours however is external."

Uh... "And what exactly does that mean?" I asked curiously.

"Sen's body doesn't get stronger when she activates her quirk," Aizawa shrugged, "The energy that surrounds her acts as a barrier, a projection of her power cells, enhancing her movements and her attacks by magnifying her impact as she pushes off surfaces or strikes blows." Before his eyes went back to her, "You remember when your aura flared up during the match right? And Ryoko punched you in the face? You hardly felt anything from that blow right? Same as when she slammed you around the arena floor, you bounced back pretty quick despite your condition."

Sen swallowed nervously, "I-I guess you're right... I certainly felt the impact, but it wasn't nearly as painful as I thought it would be."

"Exactly, your aura acts as a barrier, a layer of protection over your skin that dampens trauma to a degree," He stated, "However, your power cells can only support so much energy at the moment, when we examined your body after that massive outburst in the match, Recovery Girl found that your Power Cells had entered a state of hibernation to recover."

"Hold on," Suru chimed in, "Are you saying that's why she looked so thin afterwards?"

"That's my understanding," Aizawa nodded, "Every action you take that is enhanced by your aura, whether its attacking or defending, strains your power cells directly, not just your muscles." He added, before smirking, "So the goal of your training, is learning to wield your aura properly, and increase the amount of energy your power cells can release."

That didn't seem to make her feel very good. "A-And how do we do that?"

"Like exercising any muscle," Mandalay spoke up with a big grin, "We'll tear it apart and let it recover stronger over and over again!" I suddenly understood why we needed a healer...

"Of course there is also the emotional trigger," Aizawa added, "Keep in mind, every time you've activated your ability, there has been an outside influence... When you were angry at me during our first Quirk testing, when you were angry at Ryoko during the match, and when your mother cheered you on at the festival, the latter of which seemed to get the most powerful response." Yeah no duh, "So, why don't you tell me what emotion you were feeling when that happened?"

Sen blushed lightly, eyes drifting down nervously. "It was... Well, a lot of things... I was started to feel fear, and anger because Ryoko was going to beat me, but when I heard her voice..." She paused shaking her head, "My mother was never an outspoken woman, and... Hasn't been a part of my life very much, because I just remind her of my terrible father... So when she shouted out to me, I was so happy... So determined, so confident in myself."

Aizawa nodded his head, "So positive emotions seem to have a bigger impact than negative ones, we'll work with that." Before making a quick note on his clipboard. "And you," Aizawa's gaze shifted over to Suru, who's blank silhouette of a face looked back at him. Aizawa maintained the stare for a moment, before sighing. "I don't even know where to start with you," Shaking his head, "Those two? Sen and Adachi? They had one page of notes," Flipping over the clipboard, "You though? You've got seven."

To which she shrugged casually, wearing that big smug grin of hers. "You should know by now that I am a very complex individual." Clear amusement coloring her voice.

"Right... Ahem, anyways," He gave one more exasperated sigh before continuing. "Sonzai Suru, Quirk; Glitch... Through examination of previous training exercises and study of your power cells, we've drawn the conclusion that you're Quirk isn't necessary as straightforward as you thought."

"Skipping time and teleporting are straight forward?" I blurted out, "Are you saying its about to get even more complicated?"

"Maybe not complicated... Terrifying might be a better word." Oh great, love hearing that. "You said your quirk gives you three abilities, Teleportation, Timeskipping, and the Rift." He continued, returning full attention to her.

"Hang on," Sen chimed in, "We've never seen the rift before, can you explain that one to us please?"

Yeah, now that she mentioned it... Up until now, we'd only seen two thirds of her Quirk. "I wouldn't mind knowing too."

Suru shrugged, "Fine by me, what do you say? Demonstration time~?" She asked, looking to Aizawa.

To which he nodded, "Go right ahead, it'll help explain my point."

"Alright, hang on everybody we're going for a ride." Suru brought her hands together, cupping her palms around something. Before she started opening them, between her fingers was a swirling orb of grey and white. It began to expand rapidly, spreading around us all in quick succession.

I instinctively tried to step back, but couldn't get clear in time. As the orb swallowed us up, everything turned to grey and black. We were still standing in the yard outside the camp, but I couldn't see colors anymore. On top of that, I noticed that both Yang and Mandalay were looking around confused, as if they couldn't see us.

"Welcome to the Rift!" Suru's voice drew my eyes to her. And I was surprised to see her body was no longer a blank silhouette, but rather a white one amid the sea of grey that blanketed the area. "My own pocket dimension, pretty cool right?"

Sen was touching herself all over, as if trying to asses whether or not we were really here. "This... Mr. Aizawa, is she right? Is this really a different dimension?"

"That's a bit of an exaggeration," He shrugged casually, "What she really does is creates a space in our reality that can't be touched or heard, as you can see." He swept a hand through Mandalay's head suddenly, it shifted and blurred but nothing seemed to happen otherwise as the image returned to normal. "However, after extensive examination of this power, and her others... As well as intensive debate with several experts on quantum physics and the laws that govern reality..." Man, Suru was exhausting him even when she wasn't in class. "We've figured out exactly what makes your powers tick, and how they function."

Suru nodded her head, "Alright, so spill it, don't keep me waiting." She replied, bringing her hands back together as the light around us returned to normal. A felt a strange shift in my weight, as we returned to... Reality, I guess?

"Oh, you're back..." Mandalay greeted, sounding just as confused as she looked. "So uh... How did the demonstration go?"

"Perfect," Aizawa nodded with a smirk, "So, Suru, I'm assuming you don't know why these two weren't brought into the right with us right?"

She shifted slightly, as if taken off guard by the accusation. "Well... Maybe I just didn't want to bring them in?"

"Like you don't enjoy showing off," He retorted, shaking his head. "What our studies have found, is that your strange body... Well, it is almost constantly emitting power cells, your power cells to be precise." Casually flipping through his notes. "Dormant cells, emitting from the body that cling to surroundings, objects, people... Tell me, have you ever been able to teleport to a place you haven't been before? Or teleport someone you've just met?"

"N-No... On both accounts." She replied, crossing her arms.

I think I was starting to understand, "You're saying that her cells leaking into these places and sticking to stuff are what lets her do these things?"

"Exactly," Aizawa nodded. "Suru, what would you say the range of your rift is? How far can you get from a person or object before it reappears in reality?"

She had to actually think about that one, hesitating before giving a response. "Maybe forty- no, fifty yards at least." She shrugged.

"And the maximum range of your teleportation at any given time?"

The dots connected in her head almost immediately, and Suru facepalmed. "Oh my god how did I not realize this sooner!?"

"Though our theory is untested," Aizawa continued, "We believe that once within a certain range, your cells respond to the dormant ones you're leaving behind in places you've already been too." Before holding up one finger, "However, you've also told me that you can increase your range of teleportation by focusing hard or using more energy, meaning its possible to activate distant dormant cells at will correct? That's my theory anyways... And what we'll be working on here."

"So just expanding my range?" Suru questioned, "Sounds kind boring but-"

"That's Eraserhead's plan," Mandalay interrupted, placing her hands on her hips. "That explanation gave me an idea too... We'll work on that later though." Ominous.

"Hmm, maybe..." Aizawa shot her a suspicious glance, "Anyways, as it stands you now know what you'll be focusing on... The Pussy Cats and Zodiac Twins will be working you harder than you've been worked ever before," A somewhat amused smirk crossing his face. "It's going to feel like you're dying... But if you make it through, you'll become exponentially stronger... Are all of you ready for that?" He demanded, as a car pulled up from the dirt road nearby.

Well, I'd already come this far. "I'm ready."

"Do we really have a choice at this point?" Suru shrugged with a chuckle.

"Only the cowardly choice of backing out," Sen nodded with a smirk. "I for one an eager to surpass my limits, Plus Ultra style."

It was then that I noticed the two figures at the vehicle that had pulled out. One helping out the other, into some kind of chair. "A little late," Aizawa turned attention to them as well, "But I suppose now is a good a time as any for a reunion."

My eyes widened, as I saw a familiar face. It had only been days, but I was so relieved to see him after what happened. Even if he was confined to that chair, back adjusted so his wings could still spread out from it. I felt a big grin spreading across my face, "Mako! You're here!?"

Aizawa nodded his head, "A brutal boot camp like this seemed like the perfect place to work on his medical studies, while also letting him train his healing Quirk as well."

The winged boy rolled on up to us, wearing a proud smile, even in his current situation. "Hey guys, don't you worry... If anything happens, I'll get you patched up in an instant!"

It was a rocky start, sure. But with Mako here again, I was looking forward to this training camp now more than ever! No matter what challenges it was going to throw at me...