Beta'd by kylekatarn77 and Poliamida
35. The Stage is Set
Fame is a beast that you can't control or be prepared for.
-Tom Holland
Carefully, Izuku reached out and picked up the chopsticks, holding them between his thumb and fingers. With a slow, deliberate motion, he reached out, picking up the chunk of egg. Sweat beading on his brow, he carefully moved it up to his mouth, leaning forward and hastily taking a bite. He felt a thrill of success and-
There was a loud snap, and he jerked back as splinters peppered his lips. Chagrined, he leaned back, and opened his hand so that the wooden pieces fell out onto the table. Using his left hand, he swept them off into the trash can next to the table.
"Izuku! That was so good! You're getting the hang of it already!" Mei praised, eagerly watching him from across the small table. Her own meal was forgotten on her plate, her eyes fixed on Izuku's progress.
"Thanks Mei, the arm you made is really amazing," Izuku answered, reaching out and gingerly picking up another set of chopsticks.
"Ten minutes!" Hari shouted, hurrying through the dorm kitchen. "Ten minutes until bus time!"
Her shout made Izuku twitch, and he snapped yet another set of chopsticks. Sighing, he let them fall, taking up a final pair with his real hand and quickly snarfing down his meal. Mei did likewise, quickly cleaning her plate, then taking hers and Izuku's and stacking it in the dishwasher. It was a deliberate action for her, one that Izuku had traditionally done, until Bakugo had yelled at Mei for making Izuku put her plate away one handed. Mei had yelled right back, but after that she'd started to clear the dishes herself.
With that out of the way, Izuku walked out to where the bus was already waiting to take them to the Provisional License Exam. The newly finished Power Suit was already stowed along with the modules he'd be using for the test, two of which were new creatures. One was a tank of the capture foam he could spray using a nozzle, another was a special module they'd created specifically to allow Izuku to release excess electricity from Kaminari's own gear, allowing him to recharge his suit and allow his classmate to continue using his quirk. They'd had to replace Kaminari's gear so that instead of simply blocking electricity it stored it, but it had been worth the late nights in Izuku and Mei's opinion.
Mei sat next to Izuku on the bus, though she did talk to many of their classmates, as did Izuku. It was still something of a shock to Izuku for both he and Mei to be so well liked and accepted by the others. Even Bakugo was mostly polite, at least for him, towards Izuku and the others. He'd somehow fallen in with Uraraka, and by extension Iida, along with Shinso. Shinso and Bakugo constantly traded sarcastic barbs back and forth, but Shinso seemed to enjoy it and Bakugo was at least willing to put up with Shinso if it meant someone else would be around him.
Hari drove the bus, while Mr. Aizawa sat up front taking a nap. It was a long trip, and though Izuku felt nervous, he was also confident. After all, this was only a test. Even if he failed, neither his life nor Mei's was on the line, and compared to the trails they'd faced over the summer it was almost normal.
Except, he, Izuku Midoriya, was on his path to being a hero. And for the first time, it seemed like everyone around him believed that he could do it.
They arrived at the testing site around lunch time, and everyone piled out to a grassy area to sit and eat. Izuku meticulously used his prosthetic arm to feed himself. He was getting far better with it, but for more delicate tasks he still needed a lot of improvement as his set of a dozen shattered chopsticks showed.
"So, did Mei finally put that flamethrower in?" Kaminari asked as they ate.
"No, I put in a laser instead," Mei said with a sigh. "Flamethrowers require too much fuel. I'll have to find a way to manufacture a fuel that can easily fit inside the arm before I make a flamethrower attachment."
"Whoa, really, can we see?" Ashido asked, leaning forward.
"Don't be stupid, if he fires that thing off now we'll get in trouble and he'll not have it for the test," Bakugo snapped.
Jiro rolled her eyes. "Nobody asked you, Bakugo."
"Well, I mean, I don't think this is a good time to use it," Izuku muttered. "If I fire it it drains my battery really fast and my arm usually goes dead and we won't have time to recharge it."
"I could recharge it in a snap!" Kaminari offered. "Come on, at least show us the laser dude!"
Izuku looked to Mei, who grinned eagerly. "They want to see our baby Izuku, you have to show them how amazing you are!"
"Well, it's you who made it, Mei," Izuku protested, but he did activate the laser module so that it popped out of his palm. It was stored in his forearm, and could fire for only a few seconds before it would utterly drain his arm's power reserves. If he was in the Power Suit, it could work off of the suit's power, but he had to still be careful about overusing it as the laser was incredibly energy intensive.
"That's so badass," Jiro sighed. "Mei you've got to make us something like that."
"If you lose an arm, I promise to make each of you a super cute baby," Mei agreed seriously.
That made everyone else look uncomfortable for a long moment, though Izuku managed to giggle nervously. While Mei's social skills were indeed rapidly improving, she was still odd by any definition of the word, but that was something Izuku had grown to love about her.
"Hey, has anyone else noticed that we seem to be the center of attention?" Shoji said quietly. "Don't look around, but the students from the other schools are all observing us carefully. I think we've attracted some unwanted attention."
Izuku couldn't help but nervously glance over his shoulder, and sure enough a group of older students from another school were indeed looking right at him. He nervously spun around, feeling a cold sweat breaking out on his back. "Why are they looking at us?" he whispered.
"Maybe they don't have any social skills," Mei suggested. "Mr. Onizuka taught me it was rude to stare, maybe no one told them."
"I don't think that's it," Yaoyorozu said, shaking her head. "We're the youngest ones here. We stand out a bit."
"They're just jealous," Bakugo said with a derisive snort. "Or maybe they're scared. How many of them have taken on the League of Villains and won?"
"We don't know what the test is like," Iida mused. "But there's certain to be only a limited number of slots available."
"Then I'm going to guess they're sizing us up," Shinso said with a shake of his head.
"They know your quirks!" Izuku said with a gasp. The others all looked at him, and he blushed, but quickly explained. "We were all in the sports festival, right? And they broadcast our battle with the League of Villains on live TV. So...so they already know what we can do. And...and if it were me…."
"-you'd be coming up with some nerdy plan to paste us," Bakugo growled. "Just like you did at the Sports Festival."
"Oh crap, does that mean we're going to be facing an army of Izuku's?" Kaminari groaned. "I so am not ready for this."
Kirishima slapped his friend upside the back of his head. "Shut up man, you are ready. You helped take down All For One, right?"
"If they have a plan, then we need a plan," Uraraka declared, smaking her fist into her palm. "Izuku! What can we do?"
All eyes turned to him, and Izuku paled. "W-w-what are you all looking at me for?!"
"You're the one who always comes up with the crazy plans, Midoriya," Ashido said, grinning widely. "That's how you kicked my butt! So, what should we do?"
"Um, well, we don't know what all their quirks are, and even if we could find out, the test is in only a few minutes, we won't have time to plan for all of them," Izuku muttered. He looked up at Yaoyorozu. "We'll need radios again. And...and I think you should give one to Mei."
"Of course." In moments, Yaoyorozu had made the same small earpiece radios she had before and passed them out.
"Izuku, why do I need a radio?" Mei asked, confused.
"There's an observer's section," Izuku explained. "And the Power Suit has built in motion sensors, and Jiro has her sonar. If you get up to a high enough place, you can help coordinate us like you did in the forest."
"Of course! I can monitor the situation and let you know where all the bad guys are!" Mei agreed eagerly. "I wish I had a few drones we could use for aerial reconnaissance!"
Izuku looked to Yaoyorozu, but she frowned and shook her head. "That's too complicated for me to make without a lot of study time beforehand. I really have to understand what I'm creating, and I've never really looked at drone schematics."
"That's OK, we'll build some super cute drone babies! I bet we could attach them to the Power Suit and Izuku could launch them to survey the battlefield."
"For now, we'll need to rely on our limited sensors and especially human scouting," Izuku said. He pointed to Hagakure. "You'll be our best bet to monitor the situation. Whatever it is we're supposed to do for the test, you and Iida will be our eyes on the ground."
"You got it Izuku!" Hagakure eagerly agreed.
Izuku nodded, still thinking. "Shoji, Jiro, you'll be our long range intelligence. Make sure to relay what you're seeing and hearing to Mei so she has all the information."
"I take it I'm the muscle again?" Kirishimi grinned, cracking his knuckles.
"Yes, this time, I won't be able to be a brawler, this model of the Power Suit is more suited for fast movement and capture, not destructive force," Izuku explained. "So you, Bakugo, Ojiro, Sato, and Uraraka are our front line."
"Just stay out of my way and I'll slaughter them," Bakugo said with a grin, explosions rippling from his fingers as they twitched in anticipation.
"I guess Sero and I are on extraction again, ribbit?" Tsu asked.
"Well, that and immobilizing our opponents. Maybe we have to capture them somehow?" Izuku guessed.
"That sounds right up my alley!" Sero laughed.
"Yeah, I'll likely be joining you for that. With my capture foam and grappling hook, I'm well suited to immobilizing our opponents this time around," Izuku explained. "Sorry we didn't get the main Power Suit fixed yet, but even then all the missiles and other weapons might um, be a bit overkill."
"And what about me? Same plan as before?" Shinso asked.
"You might actually be best on the front lines now," Izuku mused. "With your capture weapon you're pretty good at grabbing people now, and if you can surprise someone with your quirk we can take them out quickly."
"I'll do whatever I can," Shinso agreed. "But what do we do if they split us up? Or if we're forced to compete against one another?"
"I'm not willing to take you guys out just to pass," Ashido said with a shake of her head. "What about the rest of us, Midoriya? Back on long ranged support?"
"Yes, Todoroki, you'll be our backup. If anything goes wrong, you step in and overwhelm everyone."
"I was thinking about just striking out on my own," Todoroki said with a shrug. "But this may be our best chance. I might be able to succeed on my own, but I'm not abandoning all of you."
"Don't be a dumbass," Bakugo snapped. "You go off on your own and you'll end up getting overwhelmed and end up with your face in the dirt! You screw up and it makes the rest of us look bad!"
"Why Bakugo, I didn't know you cared," Todoroki said, his expression neutral and his tone deadpan.
"You idiots don't even understand what's happening, do you?" Bakugo demanded, glaring around at the class. He got more than a few glares back, but Bakugo snarled and shook his head. "It's not just the freaks here who are watching us. Look over there. You see that?"
Izuku looked, then gasped in shock. There were a dozen news vans parked near the facility, and they were all unloading gear and equipment.
"Why are they here?" he wondered aloud. "I've never seen the License Exam broadcast on TV except in documentaries and stuff."
"It's because of us," Iida said, sounding stunned. "They're here to watch us."
Bakugo nodded. "That crap teach said about us going through hell? Welcome to it. They're gonna watch. Guess what? If even one of us fails this test, the crap's really gonna hit the fan. Cause we're all supposed to be All Might successors so-"
"So you better be nice, Bakugo," Uraraka said, stepping forward and poking him in the chest. "No swearing, no calling people idiots. And would it kill you to smile? And I don't mean one of those weird, creepy smiles. Yes, like that one, knock it off! No, smile! Like this!" Uraraka grinned broadly, her cheeks dimpling as she did so. Even Izuku had to admit it looked kind of cute, though obviously Mei was much cuter when she grinned.
Slowly, Bakugo's lips curled upward, his jaw working as he tried to smile.
"Somehow that's way, way worse," Jiro sighed.
"Look, Bakugo, just do what I do," Shinso said, putting his hand on Bakugo's shoulder. Bakugo glanced at the hand and frowned, but he managed to school his face into an only mildly irritated expression.
"What's that?" Bakugo said, his tone strained as he spoke through his clenched teeth in the disturbing grin he still held.
Shinso shrugged, his expression utterly blank. "Some people just weren't meant to smile. Just relax your face and try to look bored. It might not be a smile, but you won't make any babies cry either."
"Oh screw you, what would you know about-" Bakugo began, but he suddenly flinched as Shinso's lips spread, showing his large, flat teeth. With his sunken eyes, it looked like nothing so much as a skeleton grinning at you.
"...Yeah OK." Bakugo's face relaxed and while he mostly just looked bored, Izuku had to admit that at least he didn't look like he was about to enjoy killing a small animal or have a tooth pulled.
"It is very good you are learning social skills, Bakugo," Mei said, nodding with approval. "I had to learn how to talk to people too. It sounds boring at first but friends are actually really nice once you make some."
Bakugo looked at Mei for a moment, then shrugged. "That might be one of the least stupid things you've ever said. Whatever. Come on. They're going to start our party soon. Be a shame if we were late to it."
Izuku hurried back to the bus, removing his prosthetic arm with Mei's help. They took out the Power Suit from beneath the bus, and Mei quickly assembled it, putting it on as fast as he could. Once it was on, Mei attached the arm to the suit's exterior, locking it into place. Izuku flexed it and nodded. "Neural interface seems to be working."
"Of course it is, we tested it like five times!" Mei said. She suddenly jumped forward, wrapping her arms about Izuku. "Don't get hurt, OK?"
"I won't," Izuku said. He bent down and gently kissed Mei on the lips. "Don't worry. I'll show the world how amazing our babies are. After all, the press is here today."
"Make sure you tell them to give us lots of funding. Mr. Aizawa said starting a hero agency is expensive and making your own support company costs a lot of money too," Mei said. "But be safe first. Even if it means our babies get hurt. I don't want to make you another arm, or a leg, or anything else."
"I promise. You've got your eyes back, so it's up to you to help keep us safe," Izuku said.
Mei tensed up, but then quickly nodded, reaching up to touch the goggles she was now wearing. Izuku still had a few upgrades he wanted to do to them, but Mei had been thrilled to be able to zoom in on things again. "Our babies will keep us both safe. Now go show everyone why you're the world's greatest hero Izuku!"
After a final hug, Izuku hurried into the lobby of the training facility. The rest of Class 1A was near the front, and Izuku was worried he'd have to push his way through the crowd to get to them. To his surprise, people made way for him, whispering as he passed. Izuku amplified his audio input, using a few filters to allow him to pick out individual voices and conversations.
"That's Izuku Midoriya, the one who saved All Might."
"Jesus, look at that thing he's wearing. It looks like something out of a scifi movie or something."
"Why the hell we'd have to end up with him? He might just be a kid but he took on the whole damn League alone."
"Crap, I have to pass this year."
"Just stick to the plan, it'll be the Crush, just like always."
"Yeah, the Crush. Poor damn firsties won't know what hit them, they got Aizawa. Bastard never says anything."
"We crush them and move on."
"Jiro, Mei, can you hear me?" Izuku whispered.
"Yep, what's up Midoriya?" Jiro asked.
"Comms are open! What's going on Izuku?"
"Jiro, have you heard anything about a crush? Do you know what it is?"
"Yeah actually, I keep hearing the other schools talking about it when they look at us. I didn't bring it up earlier 'cause I don't know what it is. You know anything Mei?'
"Hold on," Mei said. "Hmmm. Ok, I found something on the internet. It says there's something called 'The UA Crush' in hero licensing exams. Apparently, all the other schools target UA because of the prestige in taking out UA students from the exams, and because they tend to have more information about your quirks and our babies because we're so amazing."
"Just like you predicted, Midoriya," Jiro said as Izuku joined the class.
"Predicted what?" Ojiro asked, turning to Izuku.
"Apparently all the other classes are planning on ganging up on us," Izuku whispered quietly. "They have this tradition called the UA Crush where they all come after us in the exams."
"What? Why didn't Mr. Aizawa warn us!" Kaminari asked, sounding panicked.
"Shhh, not so loud," Kirishima urged. "Probably another one of his 'logical deceptions.'"
"Oh, they think they can take us, do they?" Bakugo said, a wide feral grin spreading over his face.
"Don't say anything else," Iida said, his expression growing dark. "We know now. Hatsume, do you have eyes on the training field yet?"
"Yes! It's a big arena that you're in the middle of. There's a city area, a swamp and river, a forest, and a mountainous canyon. It's huge! I really wish I had a drone or two right now. Hey Hari, do you think we could build a drone really fast? What, no, I'm talking to them on the-"
Mei cut off for a moment, and there was static on the line. Then Hari's voice came over the line. "Ok, look, Mei's going to get into super huge trouble if they realize what's going on guys. There's government types all over the place who are going to be monitoring you."
"You mean she won't be able to pass us information?" Todorioki asked.
Hari sighed loudly. "No I mean she's going to have to be subtle about it, except that Mei thinks that subtle is something Izuku has to use a razor to deal with every few days."
"No! That's stubble, Hari! Subtle is what Hagakure does!" Mei voice's voice said, though it was distant and somewhat tinny.
"Shh! Ok, I'm passing her back the radio. I'll run interference. I'm pulling for you guys. And yes, Mei, if I find a drone lying around I'll give you one. Sheesh."
There were more sounds of the radio being passed back, and Mei said in a hoarse whisper. "Ok, I found where you guys should head. The canyon has a lot of narrow choke points. If you make for that the other schools can't gang up on you. Also, there's these weird devices I'm picking up with my infrared scanners on my eyes. They're all kinds of different sizes, but they're all little boxes. Hmm, they seem to have numbers on them, from one to ten."
"Shh, Hatsume, the government guys are coming up to the stage, they're going to say something," Jiro whispered.
"Jiro, I don't know if you're talking about me or Hari. Just call me Mei."
Jiro blinked. "You really think we're that close?"
"Well you did save my life one time, and while I don't know if most people think that counts I think it would just be easier for everyone, plus Mei is only one syllable so it's easier to say."
"Shh, Mei, they really are talking, we need to listen, I'll patch you through," Izuku said.
The government officer who slumped in a chair before the microphone looked like a man who had seen better days. His eyes were more bloodshot than Mr. Aizawa's were after he'd been overusing his quirk, and there were so many dark circles under his eyes Izuku half thought he'd taken a few punches.
"Let's just get this over with," the man mumbled, his speech slurred. "You're all here for the hero exam. Yay. We've got so many people trying to be heroes it seems like we're doing these day and night. Which would be great and all except we only need the highest quality applicants instead of just dumping people into the street. But that's what the test is for isn't it? Ugh, whatever."
Izuku blinked. This wasn't how he'd imagined the talk before the test going. The man yawned hugely, smacking his lips loudly into the microphone before continuing. "Well anyway, the test today is one we cooked up just for you." He pressed a button, and the walls of the room they were in suddenly folded outward, showing them the stadium that Mei had described. It had to be several kilometers in diameter, and Izuku could barely fathom the expense the government had to have gone to in constructing it.
"Impressed? Well get over it. The first test today is simple." Behind the man, a box appeared on the screen with a glowing number on it. "Each of these boxes is worth a certain number of points. To claim the point, find the box and open it, then take out the point banner and tie it somewhere on your body. No hiding it, it has to be visible. Of course, things really aren't that simple…"
"To pass the test, you need to get to 10 points, then return here to the safe zone. You could run around and get enough points for yourself to pass, but you can also take the points off of another testee. Once they're back to base they're safe, but before then, they're fair game. Oh, and only the first 100 people to get 10 points and enter the zone will pass on to the next part of the exam."
"Crap our plan isn't going to work at all," Kirishima muttered.
Bakugo snorted. "That's why plans are dumb, things need to change anyway."
"Are you done?" the announcer demanded. Bakugo gave him a shark-like grin, and the man flinched and swallowed. "What are they even sending me these days…? Anyway, we're going be starting in-"
"Mei, did you get that?" Izuku whispered.
"Yep! Looks like you're going to have to split up. I think you need a team to defend and keep others from passing, and a team to go out and get enough points for all of you!" Mei declared.
"She's right," Iida agreed. "But who's on offense and who's on defense?"
"I'll be on offense," Izuku decided instantly. "My suit is best for mobility and rapid movement. Hagakure, Yaorozu, Ashido, Tsu, you're on retrieval one with me. Iida, Sato, Shoji, Kota, and Aoyama, you're on retrieval two. Bakugo, you take Shinso, Uraraka, Sero, and Tokoyomi. You're on defense one. Todoroki, take Kirishima, Kaminari, Jiro, and Ojiro, get on defense two."
"Heh, so you want to keep everyone else from passing?" Bakugo laughed. "You've got bigger balls than I thought, Midoriya! I like it!"
"You really think we can take on everyone?" Sero asked, sounding worried as the other hero hopefuls took off running.
"You don't have to stop everyone from passing, just hold out until we get back with enough points for everyone!" Izuku called as he and his team began to run themselves. "Mei, I need a destination!"
"You got it Izuku! Head north 6 degrees, five hundred meters, into the swamp! There's a collection of boxes I can see that are worth 20 points."
Izuku nodded, lifting off into the air as his hoverboots fired. He looked to the distant stands, where his enhanced vision showed him a collection of cameras and reporters following his movements. It was time to show the world their faith in him, and in class 1A, was justified.