My Iron Giant
-Filling out Expectations-
The forest was a quiet place, a peaceful place, where no would disturb the isolated. Kurogiri took a deep breath, enjoying the serenity that accompanied the gentle breeze. He would only get to appreciate it for a brief moment, a rumbling emerging from underneath him.
Stepping a good twenty feet back, a hand emerged from the soil, uprooting trees as a being forced its way to the surface. Standing as tall as the trees surrounding them, Gigantomachia gazed down at the comparatively small man with a quizzical gaze. The naked, rugged skin was the only armor he needed. His jaw appeared as solid as a rock with clumps of hardened skin along his back.
"Does master need me?" He asked, just like a loyal dog would if it could speak.
"I am your master now." Kurogiri spoke simply.
"Wrong." Agitation began to leak through the larger man's persona, glaring slightly at Kurogiri. "You are like me, we serve master."
"You serve by the illusion of choice." Kurogiri corrected. "I serve out of necessity."
The moment the portal user saw a twitch from Gigantomachia's muscles, Kurogiri opened a portal and whisked the being away. He only felt a strong wind brush against him, knowing that if he was slower he would have been killed by the much stronger creation.
He waited two and a half minutes, then summoned another portal in the air in front of him. A rush of water poured out of it, the larger being crashing onto the ground while coughing up gallons of saltwater.
"You are certainly stronger than I am." Kurogiri stepped forward. "You have quirks allowing you to not feel pain, strength to reshape mountains, convert morale into stamina, an endurance that can only be imagined, no need for food or water while fighting for days, engineered to be as close to the perfect warrior as possible."
Once the giant took in a deep breath of air, he lunged once again at Kurogiri only to be sent once again through a portal. After waiting three minutes, Kurogiri summoned Gigantomachia once again from the ocean.
"You serve not who is stronger, but who can bring you to your knees." The shadowy being stepped closer, despite his smaller stature he loomed over Gigantomachia.
"You will do as your master commands."
"So Izuku me boyo." Hisashi playfully greeted his son, who was standing hunched over in the doorway of the students dorms. Even as he was crouched, Izuku still was forced to look down to his father. "I was wondering if there was a way I could drive you to the festival today, like a big Uhaul or something UA has stored around the place. Enji told me this place had all sorts of fancy equipment."
Izuku's main optic scanned the immediate vicinity. "Where is Mom?"
"I sent her to try and convince UA to have the good seats since you're going to win anyways."
Unless there was a contest to fit through an air vent.
"Izuku!" Ochaco's voice called out. "Where are-oh! There you are!"
Izuku did his best to maneuver his body out of the door, stepping inside as his father slipped in to check out the area. Ochaco was already dressed in her UA sport attire, holding a bagel in her hand. She was briefly stumped by the appearance of Mr. Midoriya, but she quickly recovered. "Hey Izuku, I was wondering if you wanted to do the speech this morning or you wanted me to do it for you. I know how hard it's been to talk and-"
"The opening speech?" The man smiled, turning towards the metal boy. "Oh you'll do great! You have plenty you can share with the world. How you awakened one of the best hero quirks, how you avenged All Might, how you're going to be the next number one hero, and how you're going to continue the family legacy that I started."
The man gave a few pats on the metal leg before turning to Ochaco. "He's got plenty to work with, but thanks for the offer. I'm sure you'll make a great sidekick or PR representative for him."
There was a side she really wanted to kick right now. Yet steeling herself, and remembering that this was Izuku's dad, she remembered he was a hero in America so there must be some wisdom behind those words.
Even a morsel.
A crumb.
A speck of dust.
"I'll see if I can talk to the Principal about it for you. He'll be glad to know you're able to give the speech, next number one." Hisashi walked off, Izuku reaching out to stop the man but he was too far already.
Ochaco scratched her head, utterly confused on how she was supposed to feel about him. The confidence in his son was nice, but it felt a little much. The last time they drifted, she knew he wasn't thinking much about him and hardly formed an opinion of him. To Izuku, his own father was pretty much a stranger.
Which was why he was probably being nice to him.
"Izuku?" Ochaco asked up to her Titanic friend, who put all of his immediate attention to her. It was difficult after the revelation recently, knowing that he wasn't fully better yet. In their club, they tried so hard to undo the directive but no results. Still, she would do her best to know what he wants so that she can help fulfill that. "Do you want to give the speech?"
"It is decided." Izuku pointed towards his father walking across the early morning campus grounds.
The smaller girl sighed, rubbing her forehead. "Yeah, I guess, but you didn't really get to choose."
"Easier to not choose."
"That doesn't make it better." She folded her arms, leaning her forehead against his leg. He was going to struggle speaking out there, his nervous tendencies paired with his drawn out speech to make sure he pronounced everything correctly. It wouldn't be fun for him at all, and then she had an idea.
Stepping back, she grew nervous as she was aware she would take advantage of his situation. "Izuku."
Like a machine, he stood at attention noticing her serious demeanor.
"I'm doing this for you….Fix your voice."
She commands, he obeys.
[Command Recognized and Confirmed]
[Activating all audio output]
She waited for something…usually there was a noticeable difference or change. Like pieces of metal moving, new parts, but he just…stood there.
"Are you ok Izuku?" She questioned with a tinge of fear.
"I feel fine." He said, no stutter, no delay, his voice filtered through his Titan body yes but clearly his voice. Izuku himself realized what he just did, holding up a hand towards where his mouth would be if he made a big metal one. "I..can talk? This is, wow, I don't know what to say. I guess I'm saying a lot of things, but that means I have to say a lot later for the speech. A crap what am I going to do about the speech?!"
Finally able to express himself, Izuku's voice began to wake up the others that weren't so early to rise.
Ochaco didn't care though, she just smiled brightly with her heart squeezing with a small amount of guilt. She commanded him, his free will that she was trying so hard to achieve ignored, but it was for the greater good.
Izuku can speak again.
"HELLO EVERYBODY! CAN I GET A HEEEEYYY!"
The crowd went wild, screaming, cheering, whistling, hollering, someone throwing off their shirt, simply making as much noise as possible.
"THAT'S WHAT I LIKE TO HEAR!" Present Mic's voice echoed through the stadium over the speakers.
"This isn't supposed to be a shouting competition." Eraserhead complained, his voice too projected over the speakers but no one could hear him over the continuing cries.
"Well if it was I would win." The bombastic host boasted. "Anyways let's get this show on the road! But we need drivers on our road, so let's give it up for our participants starting with our hero class ONE A!"
Up in the stands and high enough to see it all, Snipe stood with his arms under his cloak, his weapon ready if the need arose. While it was concerning to learn about how there was a robot ready to literally stomp out the competition if they threatened Uraraka's well being, Midoriya was still a good kid and had made a lot of progress. He was sure that if the directive pushed him to act, Izuku would be able to not kill whoever was risking Uraraka's safety.
While he kept an eye out in case some villains tried to show themselves, he mostly was watching those who were most likely to instigate the conflict. Nearly all of them were in Bakugo's class.
According to Hound Dog, Bakugo had suddenly shifted in his willingness to comply, but his content of the current situation was still poor. Something was up with the boy, and with his history with Midoriya. Snipe was going to keep a special eye on that one.
Todoroki, son of Endeavor and most recently discovered cousin of Midoriya. Nezu himself asked him to keep an eye on that boy, raising Snipe's suspicions as to why. A cold front to everyone he talks with, an old scar across his face, and not ever using his fire half of what his quirk record stated. Obviously there was a lot of issues to unpack there.
Many of the others seemed neutral, the only reason to watch them was because of the chance they might accidentally send a harmful blow to Ochaco.
Yet one stood out to the cowboy themed hero far more than the rest. The way they carried theirself was almost fake, their curious glances towards their surroundings was calculated, their resting posture kept themselves ready to counter an unexpected blow.
This particular student has had fearsome training.
"I see you have already taken a liking to my student." A feminine voice spoke to his right.
Snipe nearly blew off her head, his hand twitching right above his revolver as he twisted his body to face the newcomer.
A woman appearing in her late thirties with midnight blue hair carrying random pink streaks tied into a ponytail. Her outfit consisted of a dark sleeveless outfit with a large utility belt and combat boots. While her face held a smirk, her eyes hardly had any life or mercy in them.
"Ya took on an apprentice?" Snipe questioned the woman with caution. "I hardly reckoned Lady Nagant for the teachin' type."
"I did always like doing things solo." She gazed back at the students, marching towards their place in the stadium like good little soldiers. "Not even you were the exception."
"You made that obvious." Snipe took a glance towards the sky, trying to spot if Hawks was going to show up as well. "So, how the hell does one manage to get out of Tartarus? I had it in mind that the commission locked you up for good."
"Someone paid my bail." She shrugged, Snipe turning towards her bullshit statement.
"That's not how it works."
"It is if they pay enough."
"Now the class that everyone has been fighting for press passes for-!" Present Mic's voice cut them off.
"Seriously, they even tried to blackmail me for them."
"Really? How?"
"GET ON WITH IT!" Someone in the crowd screamed at the top of their lungs, a short burst of flame ejecting out of their mouth.
"Ah, sorry. GIVE IT UP FOR CLASS ONE B!"
They screamed, slamming their hands on whatever would make the most noise, jumping up and down, and making whatever small children were present cry from the overwhelming noise. Out marched the next group, Snipe seeing the class come out of the tunnel with Midoriya himself bringing up the rear.
"I heard you took on a student yourself." Lady Nagant leaned over the railing, her eyes searching the class until she spotted a bobbing head of brown right next to the mech. "She doesn't look like much. Hope you didn't pick her just because she has influence over the walking tank."
Snipe remained silent, examining the next classes to come out of the tunnel.
"Looks like some of our support department is really loaded up this year! And-HOLY SMOKES IS THAT THE THING FROM ALIENS?!"
"Of course Power Loader's taste in movies rubbed off on his students."
"Tell me." The woman asked in an accusatory tone. "Did you train her to be a killer?"
"She's not me." He quickly refuted. "She'll be better."
"It's a slippery slope." Lady Nagant pushed off the railing, beginning to walk away. "I wonder which way she'll slip?"
Monoma glanced around at the competition, eager to show himself in front of the crowd. Though every time he saw Midoriya he was reminded of the permanent change to his body to mimic his. Granted, it was a wonderful quirk to always have access too, but if used too often he would become quickly dependent on it.
Feeling over his shirt, he quickly found the ports in his body that were connected to various components of his body. Recovery Girl denied surgery to take them out, again because of something that happened to Midoriya.
No, stop thinking about Izuku, this is his chance to show why he held confidence in himself from day one.
Reassessing the competition, and ignoring Midnight's "walk" up to the podium, he identified those to keep an eye on.
Bakugo, Class One A. Someone with a powerful quirk and augmented with a highly advanced prosthetic. He challenged Midoriya, and lost but the fact that he didn't back down even with the loss of a limb was to be noted.
Todoroki, also Class One A. Ever since the familial reveal of Midoriya related to his family another surge of posts flooded the internet on the controversy of the known and unknown family history of their relations.
Always Midoriya involved. Inside Monoma knew that the boy wasn't in control for plenty of this, but it still felt like he was earning so much without doing anything but existing.
Woah, was this how Ida felt? No, he wouldn't be a jack ass like that.
Monoma would focus on himself, and earn the spotlight instead of trying to push someone else out of it.
"And now for the student pledge, Midoriya Izuku!"
But that was really hard to do given how Midoriya is constantly handed it.
"Why is he giving the pledge to represent us?" Ida asked to himself in a whisper. "His speech is incredibly limited."
That….was actually a good question.
"I swear." Tokage seethed out. "If you try to put him down one more time-"
"Shh!" Kendo shushed her class. "He's got a point. I know we don't always see eye to eye with Ida but at this point you're just hating him for the sake of hating him."
Monoma kept quiet, reflecting back on his words of advice about how to handle Ida. It was hard for anyone to tolerate Ida when a teacher requested it, but it was doable as long as they ignored him every other time. But to actually take the time and consider the worth of every sentence that came out from the taller boy's mouth?
Yeah, no thanks.
Izuku stepped up nervously next to the R rated heroine, the woman holding out the microphone for him to take. Taking advantage of his mechanical's body natural ability to prevent unnecessary shaking, he grabbed the audio device with his two fingers and held it in front of himself.
Gazing out towards the crowd, he swiftly counted all of the unfamiliar faces that were watching him, holding up their own phones to record him. Oh gosh he hated this. All he wanted to do right now was run back into the woods. How does Ochaco even do it?
Glancing towards the girl he just thought of, she held up her two thumbs while giving him a smile. Not needing to, he focused on his real body and took a deep breath, using his lungs for the first time in over a month.
What should he say?
What needed to be said?
What would All Might say?
[Reviewing Memory]
[Memory Found]
A particular rooftop was in view, Ochaco's room with the skylight sitting on top of it with the shadow of a figure landing next to it. Zooming in, the muscular form of All Might stood tall and proud while holding a grocery bag of treats.
"Good evening Midoriya." The man greeted with a small smile, before a puff of steam came out of his skin, revealing the skinny form of Yagi Toshinori. "I thought I would swing by and check on you while young Uraraka was sleeping."
He sat down on a bench next to some glowing mushrooms, taking out a small wrapped hot dog and spreading a ketchup packet onto it. "I really shouldn't eat these, having only half a stomach and all, but Recovery Girl did say I could stomach something normal every other week."
With a small bite, he chewed thoroughly before gazing back at the towering form of Izuku's first form. "Young Togata says you haven't been hungry, and that you don't show signs of malnutrition, but I still can't imagine a day where I don't get to go out and pick up something to eat."
A brief gust of wind blew his now oversized shirt against him, really showing off just how frail he was at the moment.
"I don't do it for the food you know." All Might absentmindedly mentioned. "Sure it tastes great, but it's the people I love to see. Not as All Might, but as every other person. Whenever I showed up as a hero, everyone suddenly forgets how they can help and instead leave it to the pros. Now, I'm not asking everyone to go running into every villain fight they see, but it's the small things that make the biggest difference to me."
Finishing his short meal, he dabbed a napkin around his mouth before looking back up at Izuku. "I don't like looking like I could break if I tripped over a pebble, but it's easier to blend in this way. When there's no professional heroes around, you see the ones that help people everyday. A young man reaching up to grab an item out of someone else's reach, a woman calming a distraught child, a group of boys running to aid someone who spilled their groceries."
All Might smiled, reminiscing on the past as he stood back up. "Even you, in extreme circumstances ran to help someone in need when no one else would. Twice putting yourself at risk knowing someone had to do something. UA may be a school to shape people into the best heroes they can be, but I never want to overlook the heroes all around us."
He buffed up, his muscular form filling out his shirt as he stood tall in the night. "Becoming a professional is difficult, but anyone can be a hero."
[End of Memory]
Izuku felt something running down his face, reactively reaching up his hand to wipe it away only to get a clink of metal in response. Ah, he couldn't reach his real body in the mechanical one. Looking around he saw a quiet audience, all of them more silent than he ever witnessed on television.
A hand placed itself on his leg, Izuku looking down towards Midnight who wasn't acting like her usual self.
"That must have been a very personal experience." She whispered with a kind smile. "But thank you for sharing that with us."
His optic widened, Izuku swiveling his body to look up at one of the many jumbo screens in the stadium. The frame was frozen on All Might's appearance, the same as the end of his trip through memory lane.
He had just shared a memory with everybody instead of giving his speech.
"We certainly miss you All Might." Present Mic's voice brought many back to reality. "Let's see if we can live up to those words today, and show the world that UA has HEROES!"
Somehow with the audience from reverent silence to roaring excitement, Midnight patting Izuku to head back to his classmates. It only took a few steps for him to join the others, Ochaco leaning up as best she could to wiper up towards him.
"I don't remember that from your memories, but if he was alive…do you think it was from when you weren't in control of your body?"
"Probably." He thoughtfully whispered back.
"And now for the first event!" Midnight's whip cracked hard, startling some of the students closest.
The jumbo screens, flickered, now back under UA's control. A path began to map itself out around the stadium, three main parts being highlighted. After staring at the screen for a moment, Izuku turned himself to examine the approximate positions of where they would be at.
Near the entrance, a field of non lethal mines, a pitfall with stone pillars connected by metal cables with a bunch of cushioning at the bottom, and finally near the exit tunnel for the start of the race…
Entrance exam robots, and a lot of zero pointers.
Seeing them at first brought back a sliver of the fear he felt when he first faced them, but then he remembered, he literally threw a zero pointer….while he wasn't really conscious but he had confidence in his new abilities.
Glancing to his palm, he recalled all of the forms he took, all of the trial and error it took to understand what his limits were, and while there were plenty of mysteries he had plenty of strength.
He was All Might's protege, inheritor of One for All, and future number one hero. If only his four year old self could see him now.
With his fist tightened, he paid attention to make sure he didn't miss any details of the race.
"First rule!" Midnight announced. "If you leave the path, you're out! Second rule, no harming other competitors! Third rule, no teams!"
"WHAT?!" Ochaco's voice was so loud it even cut off Midnight.
"Don't worry, sportsmanship like helping up another student will be allowed, but any team ups to take on a challenge to make things easier or do something you otherwise couldn't do yourself is prohibited. Teamwork happens after you earn your spot in the top forty positions. That's the cut, make it through everything and get through that tunnel and place fortieth or higher to get to the second event!"
"So simply put-" Present Mic added on. "No team ups, don't stray from the path, don't hurt anyone, and place in the top forty!"
"This is still a competition." Eraserhead spoke. "So feel free to be competitive."
*CRACK* "Everyone take your places!" Midnight commanded them, many of the students rushing to be at the front.
Over towards the overshadowed class one A, Shoto Todoroki eyed his "cousin." He was one of the few he actually thought would be hard to compete against. Shoto held no opinion towards the boy, only curiosity.
Was Midoriya like him? A victim to a scheme to overcome the number one hero to further their own father's pride?
From what little he saw of his uncle, the man clearly acted nothing like his own father, and yet his wife seemed just like his own mother.
Either way, Shoto needed to win today, to prove he didn't need his father's fire to be the best. It was nothing against Midoriya, but Shoto knew he couldn't hold back his ice when it came to the metal boy.
Then he glanced at the other big robot that was similar to Power Loader's own hero suit. It had large clamps for hands with miscellaneous parts attached around the entire thing. It completely enclosed its pilot with construction style machinery, who he could see through her glass cockpit that only showed the upper half of her torso and her head. It was reinforced with a metal grill around each piece of her windows. It was big, clunky, and while it looked like it could handle itself it definitely was not made for speed.
That was his conclusion until he saw the treads at the bottom of its feet.
"Damn." A pink skinned girl cursed aloud. "You think I could get one of those?"
A blond boy with a black lightning bolt chuckled beside her. "Seriously Mina? That thing wouldn't match your style at all."
"But it fits the theme!" Mina whined.
Another student with dark hair and headphone jacks for earlobes joined them. "Doesn't the alien queen get killed by the construction mech?"
Mina gasped, now reexamining the mech with a new perspective. "Maybe we should stay away from her."
"Even if she's the only other person with pink hair?" The blond teased.
Mina grabbed her horns, yanking her own head around in frustration. "It's not fair!"
"Dagnabbit." Ochaco kicked the dirt next to them. "I was really hoping to show off how cool we can be."
"You can be cool." Izuku mentioned while scanning the competition. "I watched you fight at I-island. You're really good with your equipment."
"Not like I can use it here." Ochaco whined.
"I-I-I-Izuku?!" Komori stuttered right behind him, Izuku and Ochaco turning around to face the smaller girl. "You can talk now?!"
"Um…yeah. It's…" Izuku suddenly felt incredibly uncomfortable, the sudden freedom of speech feeling….imprisoning in a way. Before he could just stand around and talk only if needed, but now that he could speak there was the sudden expectation of him to do so.
"It happened earlier today." Ochaco quickly cut in, noticing his nervous demeanor. "I think he's still getting used to it."
"A-ah, right." Komori nodded. "Well, good luck you two! I hope I can join you in the second round."
"Don't sell yourself short." Ochaco smiled towards the mushroom fanatic. "You have a really versatile quirk and have tons of knowledge about all sorts of mushrooms! I'm sure you could think of a way to leap through the race."
"Oh!" Komori instantly lit up as ideas ran through her head. "That's a great idea!"
"I trust none of you are planning any team work?" Ida approached in a slow march.
"Nah." Ochaco waved it off, missing how annoyed Komori suddenly got. "Just chatting."
He nodded, seemingly accepting the answer. "Very well, but we must prepare ourselves swiftly to-"
"Oh! I'm terribly sorry!" Monoma bumped into Ida. "It's just so crowded you know?"
Ida looked around, seeing most of the competition had given Izuku a large clearing around the mech. "Not necessarily, but-"
"You should get ready though." Monoma fiddled with his pant legs, a sudden tightness around his shins. "The race is about to start."
Ida nodded, gauging Monoma's current state. Despite how the class generally treats him, especially this particular blond, it was off putting how Monoma was acting right now.
Then it hit him.
"You just copied my quirk!" Ida accused him with a sharp swing of his arm.
Monoma smirked, pulling up his pant leg and revealing-
"Woah." Ochaco whistled. "That's new."
"Hm?" Monoma glanced down to his leg, seeing that instead of Ida's quirk his leg was covered in sleek silver metal, glowing exhaust ports alongside the back. Taking off his shoe, he witnessed it cover his foot like a boot. There wasn't an identifiable plate of metal, but instead intertwined metal cables that mimicked muscle. "That…is new."
"It reminds me a little bit like Rex's quirk." Ochaco noted.
"I have been copying it a lot in our club." The boy thought aloud. "But…my quirk doesn't work like that."
"Sorry." Izuku apologized. "It might be mine holding onto parts from other quirks."
Monoma and Ida both snapped their heads towards the boy in shock.
"You can speak?" Ida questioned.
"REEAADY?" Midnight called out, alerting them to the impending race.
"SET!"
Nearly everyone moved closer to the front, Ochaco still lingering next to Izuku as she gave him one last glance. "Good luck, not that you need it."
"You too."
"GOO!"
Izuku took one step forward, ready to charge ahead and live up to the Principal's request. Yet there was a problem, the tunnel was blocked. So many students rushed in, already pressed against one another as they struggled to squeeze through. To make matters worse, a sudden rush of ice locked their feet to the earth. A living obstacle wasn't something he could just plow through.
"Move it already!" Hatsume's projected voice from her suit yelled at the crowd. "I've got babies to sell!" Using her large arms, she slammed them down on the ground, helping to break up some of the ice but also making some of the students trip over themselves.
"Izuku." Ochaco spoke worriedly beside him, the girl still not leaving his side despite the race having started. "How are you going to get through that?"
"What's this?" Present Mic questioned with clear knowledge of what was happening. "All of the students are barely moving!"
"This was the first real obstacle." Eraserhead announced. "Made by the competition itself. Just like any job, the more competition there is rushing to win will overcrowd the path to success. Not even the biggest or strongest could get through that without making enemies."
He scanned the tunnel one more time, finding no way for him to be able to get through without hurting someone. He couldn't stray from the path, and he didn't want to risk melting the ice with any lasers. His eye looked up towards the stands, and then above them.
Shoto was in the lead. Though he couldn't slow down as there was a classmate right behind him.
Bakugo had easily escaped his confinement to the ice, using controlled detonations to essentially run along the wall above the students. When he tried to capture him in ice again, Bakugo blasted himself away from the wall and onto the other. Someone mimicked him, a girl kicking off from wall to wall seemingly weightless. He had no time to watch everyone behind him, he had to keep going.
Now as Shoto exited the tunnel, the shadow didn't seem to fade as hulking figures were awaiting them. Multiple robots, much bigger than himself with some being around a hundred feet tall. These are the kinds of threats he was prepared to deal with, the kind Midoriya posed to his goal.
A cloud of frost escaped his mouth, the air biting his skin as the temperature dramatically decreased. Bracing his right foot, he was ready to show his father right here, right now that he will be the number one hero without him, without any part of him.
*FWOOM*
"And there he goes folks! No one said anything against flying!" Present Mic yelled over the speakers.
Something was coming from the air, behind him, and fast. Turning around to prevent getting ambushed by one of UA's robots, he saw Midoriya flying out of the stadium and towards the zero pointers.
*BRRRR*
A bright laser, nearly blinding Shoto, erupted from Midoriya's main eye, cutting the center zero pointer in half down the middle. The two pieces fell away from the center, crashing into the other robots as they began a chain reaction of destruction.
*BOOM*
Midoriya slammed into the ground on his feet, and began to run straight through the path he just cleared. He was incredibly fast despite his massive size, and he was ahead of Shoto.
*VROOoooom* A figure ran straight past him with a trail of blue being left behind him. As Shoto realized he was now third, two more students passed him. Bakugo with a fiery passion, and Yaoyorozu on a motorized bike. Finally his legs responded, the boy dead sprinting ahead to retake his first place position.
He couldn't lose.
Izuku kept his pace, feeling more relaxed once he saw Ochaco managed to overcome the tunnel obstacle rather easily. But Monoma was catching up, using Ida's quirk that somehow altered into a mechanical version that enhanced it. Behind him was Bakugo, which was expected.
The mechanical boy knew how much Ochaco despised him, her own perspective on his memories having bled into his own. But neither of them could deny it, Bakugo was a born fighter and would not accept defeat.
But, behind him was a face he hadn't personally seen since their trip to another dimension. Yaoyorozu with a casual expression on her motorized bike. Doing a deep scan proved that they were indeed different. This Yaoyorozu had the average mass of someone her size, and while her cells weren't as condensed her muscles were definitely well built.
Her vehicle of choice was also cost effective with her quirk, being made with simple materials and mechanisms. While not as extravagant as the first Yaoyorozu he interacted with, they were more conservative for someone with a creation quirk. Perhaps this Yaoyorozu was more limited with the amount of mass she could produce?
Maybe she won't be as much competition as expected, but this was still only the first event.
Speaking of..
"And Midoriya reaches the pit fall!" Present Mic screamed out. "Will he leap and bound upon the pillars? Or will he simply fly over it?"
"His weight could collapse the platforms, destroying the obstacle." Eraserhead warned. "But it might be a better option than flying."
[ALERT]
[Incoming Aerial Combat Drones]
Izuku snapped his head towards the direction of what his sensors were picking up. Zooming in, he saw a cloud of robotic jets with humanoid features descending from the sky. Their weapons, while filled with non lethal options, had plenty meant to take out electronics.
So that's what the third years in the support club were working on. Of course Nezu didn't want this to be an easy win for him.
Deciding to try out the obstacle first, he jumped over and landed with a resounding thud on the first pillar of stone. It cracked under his weight, Izuku immediately activating his flight systems and hovering over the crumbling stone.
The drones moved in immediately, firing concentrated EMP bursts at him alongside super charged bullets. Flying to the side to avoid whatever they could do to him, Izuku targeted the first three and sent a concentrated blast from his eye. He got one, but the cloud easily swerved away from his attack.
It split into ten different groups, all with their own flight patterns and all of them targeting him from all sides. Doing his best to stay within the track, Izuku rocketed upwards and tried to resume the race. A group cut him off, launching a spray of potentially dangerous bullets at him.
Izuku held his hand out, a blue field trapping the bullets sent at him into it, all hovering in the air. With a thrust, he launched them back at the group of drones. The randomized spray seemed to work, hitting five of the drones that all sputtered out, even if they were hit in non necessary components.
He couldn't stay still, thirty more drones coming for him. Holding out both hands, he flew backwards while taking in as many bullets into his shield as possible.
[ALERT]
[Processing Power at 98%]
Shit, even if he wasn't at his physical limit he was at a mental one. He can't make or use his current loadout any more than he currently was. Throwing the bullets back towards the largest and closest group, he managed to take out eight this time.
Their programming, their agility, and Nezu's command of them was frightening.
Cutting out his vortex shield, he focused on flight and dived down towards where no drones were present.
The pitfall.
Izuku weaved between the pillars, drones attempting to ambush or crowd him from behind the obstacles. Holding his hands out, his fingertips lit up as smaller vortex shields emerged around his palms, except this time they were thrown forward, capturing the bullets and bringing them back to their origins.
Thinking about it, there was a low probability he would actually get hurt if he got hit. But the idea that he would be eliminated if he did, dodging and weaving through bullet fire, taking out swarms of enemies all doing their best to take him out…it was exhilarating.
Bakugo was doing his absolute best to not blow the trash can out of the sky. He used another explosion to leap over to the next pillar, internally going through all of his dictionary of swears as Deku flew right in front of him.
He couldn't attack Deku, or any others, but he was going to take out some of those annoying metal buzzards.
Aiming his prosthetic arm at one of the swarms, he mentally selected the rapid fire function combined with compressed blasts.
"Die." He whispered to himself, knowing that if he said it loud enough he would have to go through another three hours of anger management.
*BOOMBOOMBOOMBOOM*
Bakugo took out a good number of them, eliminating the annoyance that kept flying around him. Only for half and half to just slide right by using his ice on a cable.
He growled, pissed off at everything and everyone.
Just you wait Deku, his plan was going to get him back on top of the food chain.
Izuku flew up out of the pit, smoke rising from the bottom of it and filling the air. After the satisfaction of the fight, Izuku turned back to look at his handiwork. Ochaco was about to enter the smog, something that could harm her lungs.
[Primary Directive: Protect -Nice Girl- AKA -Ochaco Uraraka-]
Izuku's hand shifted, the fingers turning into blades as his palm began to whir with power. His wrist spun rapidly, making his arm into a powerful fan. It began to blow the smog away, but it didn't get rid of the source of the problem.
From his palm a winterized blast was emitted, condensing moisture and crystalizing it to cover the floor of the pit. That way, it would put out the fires, and in case someone fell it still left them with ten feet of powdered snow to land in.
"Look at that! A hero cleaning up his own messes! Not even I stick around for that."
"He just made his mess safe, he didn't clean it up. That's your job after this."
"Seriously? I thought Cementoss took care of all of that?"
"He's already got his hands full today."
Finishing his handiwork, he took one last glance at those he was competing with. They were gaining fast, but he still had plenty of time.
"Finally!" Mei shouted with glee from her suit. "Time to show off what this baby can really do!"
Her own version of a power loader shot out its hand, connecting with one of the pillars and reeling the girl towards it. Her feet clanged along the side, the treads spinning as she pulled herself up.
It was strange, seeing something so close to his own arsenal being developed already. Then again, UA already made giant robots for fun and Power Loader already had his own super suit. Earth already had impressive technology, but it didn't often see the point in developing it when there were quirks to solve their problems.
Getting his head back into the game, Izuku turned around and began to charge ahead. While many of the drones had been taken care of, he could detect Nezu launching another swarm in case he decided to fly again.
Rushing with his feet slamming against the ground, the earth cracked underneath each step as he approached the final event.
"Midoriya has kept the lead ever since the first event! But will he get past THE MINE FIELD?!"
"He's a walking tank, and these were designed with students in mind."
Izuku's optic blinked, seeing that even though there were charges to them, they weren't lethal to a standard person. Like Eraserhead said, he was a walking tank. These wouldn't even leave a scratch. The positioning was too close for his steps to avoid stepping on one with his massive feet.
While it was fun to fly, he shouldn't waste any more time.
Taking a step forward, he prepared to literally walk his way through.
*Click*
[ALERT]
[RAPID CHANGE IN MOLECULAR INTEGRITY DETECTED]
*BOOM*
"Oh, but they are quirk modified." Eraserhead spoke as Izuku landed on his ass. "Especially in cases like this where people are not born equally. We make sure to push everyone to their own limits."
Holy crap!
Izuku got up, feeling his joints groaning in protest as his self repairs began. That was, rough, like he just got punched by himself all over at once.
*boom*
A distant explosion from behind, Bakugo was catching up. Izuku wouldn't mind losing himself, but not to Bakugo. Ochaco would scream about that for eternity.
Pushing himself up, Izuku knew that he couldn't simply rush through it in his current form without being knocked around. Flying would occupy too much time. So, how was he going to get past all of the mines?
Izuku nearly hit himself, realizing the obvious answer. Of course, he probably wouldn't have come up with it soon enough to win if it wasn't for sharing a mind with Ochaco.
His optic lit up, the boy bracing his feet as he took aim. The obvious answer, was to shoot at it.
*BRRRR*
A single wide blast from his optic detonated a straight path towards the tunnel, a powerful explosion rupturing the air around it.
"HOLY ****"
"And that's why we have someone with a censor quirk for our broadcasts."
"Get a drone over here ASAP! The boy knocked out the cameras for our slo mo finish!"
"It's all covered in dust anyways."
Inside the stadium, a cloud of smoke mixed with the dirt flooded from the entrance tunnel. Subtle thuds were heard, the audience in murmurs over what it was. A camera drone swooped down near the phenomena, its image displayed towards the screens.
A single green light broke the clouded visions, a large figure stepping closer and closer. A metal arm broke through the haze, swiping away the cloud and displaying Izuku himself, walking into the stadium.
He held his fist high, cheering shaking the seats as he held his gaze towards the open skies.
He did it All Might, he was following the path of the number one hero.
Oh boy! Finals are here for me, and this chapter has been in development for weeks! I probably mentioned it before, but I wasn't planning on writing anything more past the USJ battle. But ideas kept stirring, people kept loving the story, so I wrote more. Out of my other current MHA fics, this one is still the closest to being finished, so I might pull another writing binge like I did with A Sad Boy in a Tree-House and just focus on this fic until it's done.
Doubt that will happen though.
Mei has her own super suit! Monoma gets an upgrade, Todoroki has daddy issues, Lady Nagant has made an appearance, and Ochaco is trying to compete without all of her equipment.
With these next rounds coming up, is there any particular mech you want to see? Small scale, something about twenty feet tall. Otherwise he might accidentally step out of the arena.
Now with a tv tropes thanks to Arakiisjogenius
Any questions, comments, or jokes are welcomed. As long as they're funny.
Obsidian Nova Arc: Yep, especially when they have their own priorities that don't line up with your own. Ochaco is still very hesitant to use her power over Izuku, but is starting to dip her toes into actually using it to help him.
Harleking31: None of them are dropped, just delayed.
Planar-Walking-Entertainment: Yep, Izuku will have to adapt if he ever wants to enter a normal building. I love writing the cute scenes between all of the action and drama, a sense of normalcy.
Animeguy1101: That's a good point! But this is the sports festival arc, so we'll see if he actually makes it through it.
alexthecoolmac: Thanks! It was something I thought would make it seem less of a priority for Izuku to solve so he can focus on how to fight more.
AnimeFan13579: Some might just roast marshmallows over it.
CommandantCo: There's a lot of mystery behind Momo that's starting to come to light. I'm glad you noticed the similarities between Bakugo and Ida! But question is, can either one be redeemed at this point?