Percy didn't need to wait long before the rest of the competitors finished. He watched the action, with appreciation, and mounting excitement, from one of the large screen's in the stadium. Midoriya, Todoroki, and Bakugo, were all neck-in-neck, coming into the final obstacle. At first, Percy had given the edge to Bakugo, the boy's explosions let him all but fly, so if he could maintain his control, he would have been able to simply coast over the final hurtle.

If the other two hadn't been present.

Percy had, at first, been confused over what Midoriya had planned. The kid's quirk, which to Percy's understanding was little more than a strength augmentation, theoretically didn't lend itself well to the final challenge. Being able to channel enhanced strength into different limbs, wasn't all that helpful in avoiding a minefield. Sure, he could try and jump it, but Percy didn't think Midoriya quite had the finesse or control yet to do something like that.

Evidently, Midoriya had the same thought. While the other two had taken off into the minefield. Midoriya had stayed back. For the last several moments, as other students caught up to the leaders, Midoriya had been digging around under the surface of the earth. Percy watched on, momentarily confused, before he caught on to what the kid was doing.

"Clever, kid, as long as it doesn't blow you to high hell." he murmured to himself, propping up a little more comfortably against a nearby wall.

Midoriya had dug up close to a dozen of the small mines, and placed them all near or on top of one another. Percy was pretty sure he knew what was coming, and a moment later, he was proven right. Midoriya took a step over his pile, turned around, and cocked one arm back. Green electricity danced over his blue jumpsuit, before he punched at the ground. His fist never connected, but the force of the action, shot a powerful gust of wind, that triggered the mines. The Mines exploded, the bright hue of the eruption momentarily encompassing the entirety of the screen Percy was watching.

It was something that wouldn't have at all worked, if they had been real mines. But since the mines for the exam weren't lethal, the effect was a little different. Instead of outright killing the green-bean, the explosion catapulted the boy through the air. His small frame tumbling and cartwheeling as he screamed.

A laugh bubbled up before Percy could stop it. The sight was utterly ludicrous, and Midoriya might have been just a touch insane, but Percy appreciated the hell out of it. The kid had nerve, and he respected that.

Midoriya sailed, but the force of the first explosion hadn't been enough to get him to the finish line, rather, it just got him even with Todoroki and Bakugo. In a move that made Percy proud, Midoriya swiveled in the air. Right before he would have fallen to the ground, Midoriya managed to contort himself, just enough, so that he was positioned with his back facing the finish line. He cocked his arm back one more time, as the green lightning sparked across his frame. He punched, and a second explosion rocked the minefield. The camera went out again for a few seconds, back came back on, just quickly enough so that Percy could watch Todoroki and Bakugo get knocked off course.

Percy looked back toward the finish line, just in time to watch as Midoriya sailed through the opening, landing with a skid, face-first, into the dirt. Todoroki finished a hair behind, followed by an irate looking Bakugo. Honestly, Percy had to commend the two for being able to recover as well as they had. That explosion had launched them pretty well off-course, and it spoke to their own personal ability, that it had barely even slowed them down.

He pushed himself off the wall, and slowly meandered to where Midoriya still lay prone on the ground. Reaching down with his new arm-he was still shocked by how seamlessly it moved and responded-he plucked the smaller boy up, and set him on his feet.

"Hell of a move there bud," Percy commented, patting Midoriya gently on the back. "Do me a favor though, please never do that with an actual landmine,"

Midoriya panted out a small laugh, looking up at Percy as he tried to regain his breath. "Yeah," he gasped out, "I don't really think that would end too well." Percy chuckled, and turned his attention back to finish line, ignoring the way Bakugo and Todoroki shot similar glares in his direction.

Over the next several minutes, the remainder of the students, or at least those who had made it far enough, managed to cross over the finish line.

Midnight's voice carried over the coalescing student's "It's now time to announce the second event!"

Percy turned away from Shoji and Tokoyami, whom had been explaining to him how they'd managed to get through the course, and led the way to the stage. The giant screen that acted as the roulette wheel, lowered back onto field, and began to speed through options.

"And the next event for the festival will be…" Announced Midnight, as the screen stopped, illuminating the next event, "The Civilian Rescue!" The announcement was met with a roar of approval from the crowd. Midnight had to wait a few moments for the cries to die down, before she spoke up over the din, "This event will pit the top forty-five students from the obstacle race against one another, as they compete to gain the most points by rescuing hostages from a burning building." As she spoke, the ground began to rumble, and the center of the stadium opened up behind the students, revealing a large freight elevator.

The elevator rose, bringing a large, street into view. It looked to Percy, as though one of the buildings and roads from the training facility had been moved to the stadium, as the three-story building rose into the center of the field. Behind Midnight, the giant screen changed images, showing the inside of the building. In several of the rooms, were mannequins and life-like dolls.

"You will have five minutes to rescue as many civilians as possible. For every civilian that is rescued, your team will receive points. Your will receive additional points, for rescuing all of the civilians, in under the time limit, as well as your ability to combat the fire, once the civilians have been rescued. The top five teams will be advancing. Any questions?"

Iida's hand shot into the air, "Madam Midnight!" he declared loudly, and Percy just sighed over the title, "Judging by the number of participants, and limits of having four to a team, does this mean that one person will be left out?"

Midnight's expression turned predatory, as she turned her glimmering eyes over to Percy.

"Oh godsdamnit" he muttered, as Midnight licked her lips excitedly.

"Why little Iida," she purred, "I'm so happy that you asked." She snapped her whip unexpectedly, making several of the students jump in surprise. "This is U.A. after all! Which means that you are all expected to know that nothing is ever as it seems!" She pointed a finger at Percy, "For taking first place in the previous event, Percy Jackson will have to handle this event with a handicap." She grinned maliciously, "He'll be forced to compete without a team."

Percy just blinked at her in surprise. As every head in the stadium turned to look at him. The camera zooming in on his surprised face.

"You're-your're kidding me, right?"

"Of course not, as a hero, your ability to perform when the odds are stacked against you is the most important tool in your arsenal!" Midnight announced.

The stadium was quiet, as all eyes remained on the man out of time. Then, Percy smiled, a feral. One his classmates recognized all too well. The kind of smile he got on his face, when he was particularly excited about something.

Then, he laughed. It was loud. Starting low in his chest, before crescendoing into fortissimo. Others in the group of students just looked at the laughing man like he had finally lost what little sanity he had left.

Percy's classmates were a different story altogether. Especially those who had seen him fight at the USJ. Percy didn't just excel when the odds were against him.

He thrived.

Kirishima voiced the collective thoughts of 1-A, "He's about to make us look really, really bad, isn't he?"

BREAK

Rumi was almost in tears, and her stomach was starting to ache, she was laughing too hard. "Oh my god," she said between laughs, "This is going to be awesome! I don't think it could have gone any better if I had planned it myself!"

She was ecstatic. This was what she wanted. She wanted Percy to prove, not just to her, but to the entire world, that he could do more than just succeed without a team, he could thrive. That was what this was really about. It wasn't so much about proving to Rumi that he deserved to work for her. She already knew he could keep up with her. No, this had turned into proving something to everyone else. It was about proving that she was right, that a hero didn't need a team to be successful. That a hero's true strength was in what they could do on their own.

Did she have maybe too large of a chip on her shoulder? Of course, she did. Ever since she was a little girl, she had been told that she wasn't strong enough to be a hero. That her quirk wasn't good enough. That was why she hadn't made it into any of the big schools. Why none of the major agencies had wanted to sign her. Why she had needed to go through it all on her own. Even when the Cats had started to mentor her, she had refused to sign an official contract with their team. Besides, the Cat's weren't helping her grow stronger, merely helping her through the process of starting and managing a pro-agency. But there was more to it than just that. She hadn't signed, because she had something to prove. She wanted to be a symbol.

She had used the naysayers, and the doubters as her motivation. Every time someone had told her that her quirk wasn't strong enough, every time someone tried to knock her down. She would shake it off, stand back up, and go after her goal even harder. Now, here she was, top-seven in the entire country. On the precipice of cracking the top-five. She was going to prove to the world that it had been wrong. She was going to prove that she hadn't needed to be a part of some fancy agency, or have a prestigious alumnus to be the best. She had gotten there on her own power. Her own determination. Her own drive. Rumi wanted to be symbol to all of the kids and people around the world, that just because someone told you that you weren't good enough for something, you could be. She wanted little girls to be able to look at her and say, 'I want to be like her. Strong, independent, and able to do it all myself.'

A voice in the back of her mind, told her that she wasn't necessarily going to do it on her own though. That if she did in fact, offer Percy an internship, then without a doubt, his influence would help relaunch her career. However, she viciously shut that voice down. Percy was only correcting the damage he felt he caused to her reputation. She knew, that if he hadn't woken up, that she would have gotten top-five billing on her own. So, using him to fix the damage wasn't a team up. More to the point, as an intern, he would be subservient to her. Answer to her. That wasn't a partnership. It was a mutually beneficially mentorship.

At least, that was what she was telling herself.

Mandalay just shot her an amused look, "You're enjoying this entirely too much,"

Rumi just shrugged, "Can you blame me? When was the last time that a student had to do the second event, the one meant for teaming up students, on their own? It's prove-it time now, and I want him to prove it."

"Awe," Ragdoll cooed, "Has someone finally stopped lying to themselves, and has finally realized that she wants our little lion to be her cute little intern?"

Rumi glared at her friend, but ultimately just ignored her. Leaning back in her chair, she stretched her arms over her head, idly wondering if she had time to run and grab a snack while the rest of these kids had their go. She really only gave a shit about Percy's run, so she was content to just zoning out for the next few minutes.

Lazily, she flicked her screen, focusing it back on the man in question, as he propped himself up against a bench that had been created for the students to wait on. Rumi wondered if he was running through strategies, trying to dissect the best possible route to take, or what kind of an approach he would end up taking. Would he be overly aggressive, and go for as many civilians as possible in each run, or would he take things slow, be more careful and deliberate about.

She didn't know, but she knew that whatever was going on in that head of his, would lead to something impressive.

BREAK

Are we getting lunch at some point? I'm starving.

He tried to quiet the rumbling in his stomach, but to no avail. He'd used a lot of energy in the previous event, and he was famished. He shrugged it off, nothing to do about it he supposed. Instead, he tried to take his mind off of his growling stomach, and focus on the event. He was slated for the last round. Percy was starting to suspect that someone might be manipulating events to make things more dramatic.

It was exactly the kind of thing he would expect a creature like Nezu to do, if he were honest. It was as he said when he'd first met the man, Percy was a star attraction for people. A jewel meant to be shown off. He figured that the little rat was somewhere behind the scenes, manipulating things to thrust him, and therefore the school, into the spotlight.

Percy wasn't going to complain.

If anything, the thought of added competition served to energize him even more. He took a sip from the water bottle he was holding, relishing in the way his body felt more invigorated by the tiny sip. The students had been supplied with water in preparation for the dehydration of the second event..

So far, Percy had been rather impressed by the groups that had gone. First had been Todoroki's group. A combination of Yaoyorozu, Iida, and surprisingly enough, Kaminari. Percy had wondered over the third choice for the group, but he had learned that, because of the way his quirk had worked, his body had evolved to have a much thicker skin, literally, than most people. Something about the expulsion of electricity working to solidify his body so he didn't fry himself completely when he used his quirk. Percy had tried to understand when Midoriya had explained, but the kid tended to ramble, and Percy had a wandering mind. Either way, the group had worked quickly and efficiently. Yaoyorozu creating communication devices and fire extinguishers to communicate with one another, as well as clear obstacles in the way of the hostages. Before Todoroki simply froze over the entire building, putting out the flame.

Percy had been wondering how they would handle the building, but wasn't too surprised to see the building be brought back down into the bowls of the stadium. Only for a new building to appear a few moments later.

Next had been two teams from class B. One had Kendo, his acquaintance from the entrance exam, and a group of girls that Percy didn't know. They had done well enough, though none of them really had the quirk necessary to douse the fires, and while they had done well in getting the hostages to safety, they their inability to combat the fire had cost them. While there were fire hydrants on the street, none of them were able to direct the water well enough to handle the flames.

The other team had done well for themselves. The leader, Tetsutetsu, had a similar quirk to Kirishima, though his body turned to steel. He led the charge into the building, while the green haired girl, Ibara he thought he recalled, used her quirk of vines to wrap up large numbers of civilians. Percy had thought that her vines would have been burnt away by the flames, but they were far more durable than Percy had initially suspected. The final two, had proved to be an interesting combination. One of the other boys had a quirk that softened things, and he effectively softened the floor of the building so that it sunk into the earth. The other kid could manipulate things on the atomic level, and he used his quirk on the fire hydrant. The result had been a flood that put out the flames. Their time was good enough to take second.

Next had been Bakugo and his group of Kirishima, Ashido, and Sero. Honestly, in Percy's opinion, it was a very well rounded, and thought out group. Kirishima's hardening made him a hell of a lot more durable to the flames, and Bakugo's own quirk had made him nigh on impervious to the heat of the fire. Ashido and Sero teamed up to be a rather nice combination of burning away the rubble in order for Sero to wrap up large numbers of civilians at once.

They had finished ahead of the other two teams; however, they were behind in overall points. While they were by far the quickest team, they had not been able to deal with the fire itself, where the other two teams had managed it. Bakugo had tried blowing up the hydrants, while Kirishima directed the water as a block. But it hadn't worked out, and they ended up placing third in the rankings.

Midoriya's group, to Percy's surprise, included Hatsume. He hadn't even seen the girl before that point. But Midoriya had also teamed up with Uraraka, and Tokoyami. It was a versatile set, that worked well together to clear the building quickly, and Percy hadn't even been surprised when Hatsume had broken out a device that dispelled fire retardant, and doused the flames.

They had finished just behind Bakugo's team, which was a respectable time. The rest of the teams didn't really do too much to either surprise or impress Percy. There were a number of quirks, though versatile, that did not work well for the given scenario. Still, Percy was pleased to see all of his classmates giving it their all, and was pleasantly surprised by the multifaceted and clever ways that the kids used their abilities.

The final group of note, was that of the kid that had tried to 'declare war' on Percy's class. Percy had been confused, seeing some of his own classmates with the kid. He had been even more confused, by the blank, non-blinking stares on his classmates faces. Ojiro might not have been the most expressive person, but he never just stared off into space like he had been. Percy furrowed his brow as he thought about it, but ultimately decided to file the information away for later. The kid's group was fairly successful, and managed to earn a spot just behind Midoriya's team.

Before too long, his own number was being called, and he pushed himself off from where he'd been watching. He bumped fists with Shoji as he walked out, the crowd roaring around him as he got into his starter's position. He knelt down, getting into a runner's start. He would have to go without utilizing the wind to augment his speed on this run. The wind he created would likely only serve to literally fan the flames of the building, and make his own life that much harder.

Luckily, he still had an ace up his sleeve.

He was largely immune to fire. He had once fallen into literal lava, yeah it had hurt like hell, and it took magic and seawater to heal him fully, but he lived. So, he wasn't concerned with running through a burning building. He was already naturally faster than almost anybody in the building, his divine blood granting him greater speed, mobility, and dexterity. His plan was relatively simple.

Haul ass. Save live as many lives in one trip as he could, and then burst the hydrants to douse the flames.

Easy.

He closed his eyes, focusing on his breathing. His blood started pumping, and his hairs stood on end, as he felt excitement and adrenaline course through him.

BEEP

BEEP

BEEP

"GO"

At Midnight's call, Percy launched himself, throwing himself into a third-floor window, right at the heart of the flames.

Crashing through the window, the floor buckled suddenly under him. Percy's landing had been far harsher than he had intended. But he wasn't concerned with the building collapsing. This was a test of speed. And even if there was some hidden aspect of the test, where he would lose points if the building collapsed, he didn't care. Percy would make up whatever he lost in his time.

Besides, it's not like he would act like he was if it had been a real building, with real people.

The flames licked at the sides of Percy's jumpsuit, and tugged at his chest, but Percy ignored it, already spotting several of the civilians in the room. Vaulting over a fallen I-beam, Percy wrapped an arm around the shoulders of a faux little girl, throwing her over one shoulder. He jumped over an overturned bed, and grabbed another pair of civilians, both of whom, he tossed over each shoulder.

His plan was to just stack as many as he could on top of each other. Midnight had never said that they needed to be treated as though they were human, only that they couldn't be thrown out of the building.

He adjusted the weight, not breaking stride as he tore across the third floor of the building. The doorway to the next room was blocked by debris, so Percy simply went through the wall, crashing through the weakened woodwork like it was tissue paper. The building moaned, and creaked, under the stress Percy was putting it under, but he paid the noise no mind. Grabbing another civilian, he tucked it between the one already on his shoulder, and his neck. It was uncomfortable, and more than a little awkward, but it would make do.

He really wished the fire hadn't sapped all of the water out of the air, otherwise, this entire process would have been a lot easier.

It wouldn't be until much later, that someone explained to him how much more difficult he was making the test for himself.

BREAK

He was impressive. As interesting as it had been to watch him in the obstacle race, it hadn't been a showcase of what he could do. But this-this was fun! He was fast, almost as fast as she was, which was impressive, as he all but flew from room to room. He also looked, just a little bit, utterly ridiculous. It reminded her of that ancient video of All Might, carrying those people out of the building. Percy must have had at least six people on his back, all hoisted up and stacked on top of one another, as he shot a hole in the side of the building, and jumped out. But as she watched, something gave her pause, and her foot stopped tapping in excitement.

He deposited his stack of bodies, before he turned, not wasting a movement, and rocketed back towards the building, shooting a jet of air out his hand that tore a hole in the second floor of the building.

"He's on pace," Mandalay said softly, her eyes equally fixed to the screen as Percy just jumped straight through a burning wall to snag two additional civilians.

"Is he fireproof?" Pixie-Bob asked, "Because I don't think he's using his quirk to protect him. I've been looking for any sign of water on him, and I don't see anything."

"I think you're right," Tiger said, squinting at the screen. Percy was literally standing on top of a flame, as he reached through a separate wall of fire to grab a pair of hostages.

Rumi wasn't listening, she was too focused on analyzing him, and his movements. They were good, given the situation, but he was jerky, there was a reckless, almost carelessness to his actions. Like he was simply reacting to the situation, instead of having a proven and effective course laid out. Now, Rumi appreciated risk-takers; and Percy Jackson was most certainly a risk-taker. But there was a fine line between a calculated risk, and reckless. At that moment, Percy was being reckless.

She wasn't faulting him for it; to be honest, all of the students' approaches had been reckless, heedless of the damage they were causing to the building, or the way in which they handled their passengers. Hell, she knew herself well enough to know that she'd be doing the same thing. But what she was seeing, compounded with something she'd seen before.

Again, it could be chalked up to the nature of the test, but Rumi didn't think so. She thought back to videos she'd seen of him, back when he was still a vigilante. There had been a building fire on the southside of the city. Percy had been there, had gotten the citizens to safety before using his quirk to put out the flames.

Exactly like this test.

Only it hadn't gone so smoothly. Sure, Percy had gotten the people out in time, and had managed to put out the fire. But he had rampaged through the building, charging through walls, destroying structural supports, and paying little heed to the safety of the people he was rescuing. The result had been that the entire building had collapsed. Everyone was safe, but their homes were gone.

Was it heroic? Absolutely, anybody willing to put themselves in harm's way to help someone in need, was a hero. But Percy was a fighter at heart; if what Mandalay had told her was correct, it was all he knew. It was something Rumi herself identified with, after-all, she had been there herself once upon a time. When you spent your entire life fighting, eventually, you approached everything you did like it was a fight. It was a habit that Rumi had needed to break as she became a pro. There was a time for knocking down doors, and there was a time for opening them gently. There was a certain subtly to being a hero. Not crashing through windows, or smashing down walls. Or, if you did need to do those things, a way to do it so it didn't bring down the entire building.

Percy was stacking civilians three at a side when the thought occurred to her. Percy was a genius in combat scenarios. She had seen for herself, the kind of situational awareness, and tactical brilliance the man possessed. But that's where his creativity seemed to end. He wasn't applying that kind of thinking to these types of situations.

Again, not his fault. Percy had never to focus on anything other than staying alive, or keeping other people alive in a fight. Not clearing out buildings or rescuing people. This scenario, illustrated perfectly to Rumi, the current limits to what Percy was able to do, and all of those limits, were self-imposed.

The man had to realize that there was water in those hydrants. She knew he knew that. She also knew that he could manipulate water in a way that should have been impossible, and yet, he seemingly had boundless control over it. So why wasn't he creating bubbles of water to carry the passengers to safety, or simply flood the house?

The answer was relatively simple for Rumi. Percy simply was not used to thinking that way yet. Again, she wasn't blaming the man. It had taken Ragdoll literally beating it into her own head before she had stopping charging headlong into delicate situations.

And that's what Percy desperately needed.

Percy needed someone to show him how to do those things. It wasn't a knock on his abilities, or skill and strength, it was simply something he'd never been taught. From what little Mandalay had told her, Percy's entire life before coming to their time had revolved around fighting. Which was why he was so damn good at it. The man was a monster on the battlefield. She had seen the clips, and experienced first-hand, exactly what he could do, and it was beyond impressive. But not all of hero life, was charging headlong into fights, and someone needed to teach him how to do the other stuff.

Sure, that was part of the reason he was in school, but from she understood of his relationship with the class, she felt she had reason to worry. Through no fault of Percy's, according to the Cats, he was all but an assistant teacher during the hero courses. Which was all well and good, Percy had experience and expertise that the kids desperately needed. That, and the man spoke his mind, which was a trait Rumi really respected. But that was the problem, he only had Aizawa to balance him out, and the man clearly had his hands full with the rest of his class, he wouldn't want to waste time on the person who could be a pro already if he really wanted.

Percy was going to need someone to beat into him all of the little things he was missing. How not to collapse a building when he jumped into it. The proper way to handle civilian extraction.

How to move with even an ounce of grace, rather than like a tractor-trailer.

And as she watched Percy stumble and charge his way through the building, and make good time as he did so, Rumi realized that she wanted to teach him what was missing. She wanted to show him the little things, shape him into the hero she knew that he could be.

He was already good, but she wanted to help get him be great. Be something more. Most of all, she wanted to help him, the same way that he was trying to help her. Repay him for what he wanted to do for her.

"God. fucking. damnit." she ground out through clenched teeth,

"Sounds like someone had a breakthrough~" Ragdoll sang out,

"Shut it Raggy," she grit out. It was hard enough realizing that she wanted to work with someone else. Wanted to teach and guide them and help them become something more. It didn't help to have it rubbed in her face the entire time as well.

Percy had cleared the second floor, still running ahead of the lead time. What Percy lacked in finesse and grace, he made up for in sheer physicality. What he lacked in refinement, he offset with brute force. It was effective, but it was also needlessly reckless. Someone needed to beat into his head that charging headlong into every situation was going to get him killed in the long run. There wasn't much that a man like Percy couldn't do, but in their world, in their career, recklessness like he possessed was dangerous. If what Mandalay had told her was correct, then somewhere out there, were people with the power to seriously hurt him.

People who had already seriously hurt him. That thought, accompanied by the mental picture that sprang to mind when she thought over his injuries, was enough to make her stomach clench painfully. She didn't like the idea of seeing him hurt. Which meant he needed to learn how to act, not just react.

As she watched him not so carefully load the final group of passengers onto his shoulders, she made her decision.

BREAK

Percy dumped the final load of faux civilians onto the ground in the recovery area. He had been making good time. He hadn't been able to focus too clearly on the time limit, but it certainly felt like he'd done pretty well so far.

He turned around from the recovery pile, stretching out with both of his arms, as he felt for the water supply nearby. He could feel both sets of hydrants, aching for him to release the water beneath them. Turning his palms so that they faced skyward, he willed the water to rise.

The hydrants burst, simultaneously, as the water within their confines burst from the depths of the underground piping. The water rose into the sky, arcing toward the flaming building like a rainbow. Percy brought both of his hands together, so they were nearly touching, before rotating both in a clockwise motion in the air. The water reacted, contorting and bending so that a perfect ring of water formed around the outside of the building.

Percy then quickly extended both of his hands outward, commanding the water to flood the building. At once, the liquid followed his command, as the ring of water descended upon the inferno. Starting from the base of the building, the water burst into motion. Encircling the first floor of the building, and quickly smothering the fire, as the water expanded, and spread, flooding the first floor. Percy quickly commanded the water to rise through the building, as level by level, room by room, the fire was extinguished. The entire process only took a matter of seconds, before the fires had been put out, and the flames completely extinguished.

There was a crash, as one side of the building crumbled. The roof caving in and collapsing inward, pulling down the entire western side of the house. Percy winced, that had been the side he'd crashed through a support beam. He'd been rushing, too focused on getting civilians in and out as quickly as possible, and hadn't really been paying all that much attention to structural stability as he ran through the house.

Ah well, not like it was the real thing anyways. I'd be more careful if there had been actual people in the building.

The crowd roared its approval at his display, and Percy looked over to the giant scoreboard, smirking in triumph as he saw his name sitting at the top of the leaderboard. His natural immunity to fire had been his greatest asset. Where others had needed to slow down, and carefully navigate through the flames, even those with abilities that negated the effects of fire, Percy had been able to simply charge through.

Percy walked over to the other students, high-fiving Kirishima as he did so.

"Bro!" He shouted, clapping Percy on the back, "That was awesome and all, but you're making the rest of us look bad!" The wide smile on his face clearly indicating he was only joking, Percy just shrugged as he perched himself beside Shoji and Yaoyorozu,

"Don't hate, appreciate," He responded with a cheeky grin, only to frown, as something was thrust into his arms. Looking down in confusion, he saw that it was an all-black tank-top. Following the slightly trembling arm that was holding the clothing, he saw Yaoyorozu, determinedly not looking at him, a furious blush on her cheeks.

"P-please. As much as I appreciate your success." she stammered out, "Y-you, that is y-your, s-shirt."

Percy looked down again, and realized that somewhere along the way, the flimsy tank-top he'd been wearing had burned off. There was a bit of steam coming off of his slightly pinked skin, as a result of the flames. Percy chuckled, and grabbed the offered clothing, slipping it over his head, much to the relief of his blushing deputy.

"Yaomomo~" Ashido whined from somewhere nearby, "Why would you go and do something so cruel. I was enjoying that!"

Percy just sighed, doing his best to ignore the comment. As Present Mic's voice filled the stadium,

"That concludes the second event! Now, because of the uneven nature of the teams in the event, it has been decided that a sixth team will advance to the next round! And these six teams are! In first place, Team Jackson!" As a camera panned in on Percy, he repeated his actions from the first event as he gestured for a camera. Like before, a camera appeared in front of him. This time, Percy raised two fingers in front of him, as he placed the rabbit ears behind his head.

"Once more" announced Present Mic, "It appears as though Jackson is sending someone a message! But to who? And why? We may never know!"

"For the love of god, just finish announcing the winners so we can get this over with,"

"Jeez, no need to be such a sourpuss. Anyways! In second place, Team Todoroki, with Team Tetsutetsu in Third, and Teams Bakugo, Midoriya and Shinso coming in fourth, fifth, and sixth!"

There was a roar of approval from the crowd, that just barely masked the raw cry of rage echoing from Bakugo at his placement. Percy just laughed, kid was making strides towards not being an egotistical ass, but some things were simply quintessentially Bakugo.

"We will now have an hour-long recess for lunch, before we continue with the festivities!" Mic announced, as ushers began guiding the students towards the waiting exits.

Percy had started towards the exit, when he noticed Midoriya and Todoroki leaving via a different exit. He watched, his brows furrowed, as Midoriya disappeared around the large pylon of the exit. A few moments later, Bakugo skulked down the same exit.

Well now, that seems interesting

Diverting his path, Percy made his way from the group, and followed the path his classmates had taken. He turned down a darkened hallway, and saw Bakugo, perched against a nearby wall, his eyes narrowed in concentration, a voice was echoing down the hall, but it was muffled and Percy couldn't understand what was being said.

Making an effort to stay quiet, Percy slid down the hallway, finding purchase next to Bakugo. The boy turned in surprise, looking at him in confusion, but Percy just raised a finger to his lips, as Todoroki's voice hit his ears.

"…are you All Might's secret love child or something?"

It was a good thing that Midoriya freaked out as he did, because Percy could barely suppress the snort that threatened to spill out.

"Well?" Todoroki demanded, "Are you?"

Percy exchanged an incredulous look with Bakugo, apparently the other boy was as disbelieving as Percy was.

Nothing against Midoriya, but he doesn't exactly have All Might's…personality

"That's not it at all!" Midoriya countered, having finally managed to get a hold of himself, Percy heard him groan, "Not like you'd even believe me if I said that…" he mumbled, "Why would you even think that about me?"

Todoroki hummed, "I didn't actually think you were, I just wanted to gauge your reaction, and judging by what you've said, I can at least assume that there is in fact a connection between you."

When Midoriya didn't say anything, Todoroki continued, "You might already know this, but Endeavor is my father. He's been number two for forever; stuck right behind All Might. It's ate away at him since before I was born. If you truly have something from the number one, any kind of a connection at all, then I have even more of a reason to beat you."

Why are all these kids so dramatic. Was I like this when I was fifteen?

"My dad has an overwhelming desire to rise in the world. It's the only thing that drives him forward. He's made his career as a hero as an overwhelming force, which is why All Might is such an eyesore. Someone he could never beat. Since he couldn't surpass the number one, he came up with a backup plan."

"What are you trying to tell me Todoroki?" Midoriya asked,

"…Are you familiar with quirk marriages?" One of Percy's fists tightened as Bakugo's shoulder's stiffened,

Please tell me that doesn't mean what I think it means

"It was more of a problem with the second and third generations, after the appearance of quirks. Those with powerful quirks joined houses with those of equally powerful quirks, in the hopes of creating something even stronger than what came before." Todoroki explained when Midoriya didn't respond,

Oh fuck me sideways…

"Father is a man with means and money, it was no trouble for him to win over my mother's family, and soon they were wed." Todoroki's voice tightened, "He…created me…He didn't have me, that would imply there was a feeling of love. That man only loves one thing, and that is not me. He created me to fulfill his own desires. Create a hero with a quirk to surpass All Might."

This feels far too familiar

"In my memories, my mother…she's never smiling. She only ever cries. Cries at the sight of me. She couldn't stand the sight of me, couldn't stand what I represented. 'Your left side is horrifying,' that's what she said as she poured boiling water on me."

Percy dug his nails into his palm, the cool blood that ran through his fingers worked to quell the growing hurricane of rage that threatened to overwhelm him. The story, it felt far too familiar, hit way too close to home.

"That's why I picked a fight with you, to show him. I'm going to prove to him that I can be strong on my own. Prove that I don't need his vile power, I'll beat you, and then I'll beat Jackson without using his fire."

With his piece said, the small patter of footsteps led Todoroki away from the small hallway. The hall was still for a moment, before Midoriya's own footfalls chased after the stoic young man. Percy turned his attention to Bakugo,

"Tell no one what you heard," he said, Todoroki was not one to speak without reason, in fact, this little altercation was the most he'd ever heard the young man speak. Percy was not about to allow his emotional declaration to be spread wildly, not that he truly believed that Bakugo would do such a thing.

The boy just scoffed, before nodding, and brushing past him, before he turned the corner, he called out over his shoulder, "Don't lose until you get to me. Icy-Hot isn't the only one with something to prove here." Before Percy could respond, the explosive young man disappeared around the corner.

Turning, Percy took after the teenagers.

What Todoroki had said resonated with Percy in all of the worst ways. The kind of resentment, bitterness, and anger that Percy had felt from the young hero, reminded Percy of another young man. Another hero whose father had failed him. A young man who came from a broken home. A young man who had wanted to do right by the people who had been wronged, and had been manipulated and twisted by forces who recognized the vulnerability that came from that kind of an environment.

Percy would not allow himself to sit back, and watch as another Luke Castellan was created. Granted, the situations were not exactly the same; Luke's hatred of the gods, and of his own father, was the result of fate, and destiny. A tragedy set to befall, that Hermes, through divine law, was not allowed to prevent. But the similarities were still there. A broken mother, a neglectful father, and a vengeful son.

All it took, was one bad day. One bad day to drive someone over the edge, and the wrong person to seize the opportunity presented. Percy wanted to believed that Todoroki was good. That he would make a good hero. But he wanted to be sure that the boy understood that his destiny was his own, and his life should not be ruled by his father. Since that was what it was. Even if Todoroki believed that every action he took, was in defiance of his father, the fact that he was living his life by that defiance, meant that his life, his every action, was dictated by another. Todoroki was his own person, with his own power, and Percy needed him to understand that.

Luke had been Percy's mentor. The one person that Percy could look up to, as a model for what a hero should be. For the type of man that he had wanted to be. Watching his downfall, and the aftermath and carnage that followed, had haunted Percy for some time. If he could prevent that kind of tragedy from befalling someone else, he would do everything in his power to stop it.

Midoriya had clearly said whatever he had wanted to say, as he was just standing silently in the small courtyard. His fists clenched with a defiant expression on his soft features. Percy strode by him softly, pausing only long enough to pat the boy on the back, before allowing his long legs to cover the small distance between himself and Todoroki. The boy had been in the process of walking away, his back to Percy and Midoriya when Percy caught up to him. He placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, drawing his attention.

Todoroki looked up at him, annoyance painting his features, but Percy didn't care. In a burst of will, both of their bodies were covered in water vapor, as Percy's power carried them away. The reappeared, Percy's power carrying them to his favorite place in the city, the beach.

"What are you doing?" Todoroki demanded, his eyes narrowing at Percy, as he took a step back, standing defensively.

"We need to talk," Percy said, turning to look out on the ocean. He took a brief moment, inhaling deeply, as he allowed himself to revel in the familiarity of the sea. Even with his father gone, the sea still granted him a calming presence. A sense of home, and belonging, that he had been longing for, until he had finally allowed himself to open up in this new time.

"We couldn't do that at the stadium?" Todoroki asked, though he did sidle up and stand next to Percy.

Percy shook his head, "What I'm going to tell you, I haven't told to anyone since I came here. I'd rather not have anyone eavesdrop."

Todoroki frowned, his head tilting slightly, in a silent affirmation of Percy's admission.

"I'm going to tell you a story, and I just ask that you hear me out, until I'm finished." Percy asked. For a moment, Todoroki looked like he was about to refuse, but it was clear that he was curious. Percy, despite making an effort to be more open the past few weeks, was still a mystery to most of his classmates. He never talked about his life before. Never told them about where he was from, or what his life had been life. Even Todoroki had to admit that he was curious about what the young man felt was so important to say, that he had drag them so far away from the stadium.

He nodded, and Percy let out a breath, "I loved my father, but I can say with utmost honesty that he was far from an ideal parent. For the first twelve years of my life, my mother swore to me up and down, that my dad had died at sea. Lost during a battle in war. That was a lie. As it turned out, my father had similar powers to me. He hid them for most of his life, before he found people like him. Those people, started a camp, a camp to help people like us, those with strange powers. It was a safe haven, somewhere we could train our powers, and hide from those who wished to capture us or worse."

Percy was taking some creative liberties with his story, but he figured he could be excused for the sake of getting his point across. As well as not sounding like a madman.

"I was twelve when my powers really began to manifest. I'd always had them. I'd always done weird things, but it wasn't until then, that I truly came to understand what was going on. My mother decided that our time of being on the run was at its end, and took us to that camp my father had helped create. At that camp, were kids. Kids of the first true generation of quirk users. In spite of how many of us there were, in spite of the variety of our powers, who we were and where we came, we had something that united us all. Something besides our quirk."

Percy paused, but thankfully, Todoroki didn't interrupt,

"For all of us, at least one of our parents was always absent. On some level, we all understood, we were hunted, our lives were dangerous, and it was dangerous for our parents to be around us, but it still hurt. It still felt like they'd abandoned us, didn't want us. Of course, like all things in life, some people had it worse than others. There was a guy at camp. He was someone I looked up to more than anyone. He was the one to first teach me how to fight, took me under his wing and mentored and guided me. His name was Luke."

Percy let out a shuddering breath, running a hand through his hair as the stream of memories flashed in his mind. "Luke…Luke had it bad. His dad was just as distant as the rest of ours, and in many ways an even worse father. He had left Luke with his mother, Mary, when he was an infant. Mary…was mentally unstable. She was calm one moment; rational, loving, and maternal. Then, at the drop of the hat, she would become dangerously unhinged, sometimes almost violently so. She hadn't always been that way, but Luke's father…well…he was rather instrumental in an event that traumatized Mary to the point of breaking her psyche. Luke blamed his father for what had happened. Moreover, he blamed his father for abandoning him and his mother to their misery, as he gallivanted off across the world. He'd had children with multiple other women, and had left them as callously as he had left Mary and Luke."

"Luke finally had enough, and ran away when he was eleven. He managed to find his way to the camp, and every year he had to watch, as children conceived by his father, was brought into the camp. Every year, he watched as children, many of whom, didn't even know the identity of their parents, were brought to camp, and simply abandoned there. Left to fend for themselves. Luke grew more bitter, more resentful. Swearing to heaven and earth that he would do everything in his power to be what his father was not. Then, when he was seventeen, there was an accident. His father, for the first time in years, had communicated with Luke. Luke had thought that maybe his old man was turning over a new leaf, was trying to reconnect with him. He wasn't, and instead, Luke was horribly scarred after an attack outside of camp. An attack that wouldn't have happened if his father hadn't reached out to him."

Percy's hands clenched into fists, and he tried to focus on the salty-scent of the ocean to calm himself, "Luke was never the same. His bitterness, and resentment; they became outright hatred. Loathing. You think of the word and that's how he felt. He hated not just his father, but all of the parents, for cursing us with the lives that we had. For abandoning us when we needed them most. He believed our power was a curse, not a gift. Well, turns out, our families had their enemies; enemies who wanted to use someone like Luke. Who recognized that the anger and hurt in him, and used that to their advantage. He was manipulated, his mind bent and twisted by honeyed words, and false promises. Until one day, he betrayed us all."

"In the end, Luke brought an army to our doorstep, led the enemy of not just our parents, but of all our kind, because of his own hatred of his own power. Of the blood in his veins; his father's blood. I lost a lot of friends fighting him. A lot of good people, who didn't need to die. All because our parents were arrogant, and Luke had been hurting. Luke hated our parents for abandoning us, for cursing us with our power and never speaking to us again. He called them arrogant, cowardly, and self-absorbed. He had wanted to live his life to be the opposite of the man who had created him, but in the end, he was far more similar to his father than he ever realized."

Percy's bitter frown morphed into a melancholic smile, "It wasn't all for naught however. At the end, Luke realized what had happened, realized that he had been used, his feelings manipulated, and he turned his back on the people that had promised him revenge. He was the key to our victory. He gave his life, to save all of ours. In the end, he was a hero, and because of his sacrifice, our parents took a more active role, seeing what they had created. How their actions, had nearly resulted in the end for us all."

Percy finally turned away from the ocean, staring Todoroki in the eye, "There's a reason I'm telling you all this." He said simply, placing a hand on the young man's shoulder, "I heard what you said to Midoriya; your vow to not use your father's power. Believe me when I say that I understand what you're thinking. More than anyone, I understand. There were points in my life, where I thought as Luke did. Where I was overcome with rage that my father had allowed me to be born, knowing the dangers he was bringing me into."

His voice took on a near pleading edge, "But I need you to understand something, your powers, and your abilities are your own. Your actions, your life, are dictated by nobody but you. Nobody can tell Todoroki Shoto what kind of man he will be, but Todoroki Shoto. You are more than your father's son, you are you. You don't want your life to be dictated by the wills and aspirations of your father. To not by controlled by him. But I need you to understand, that by trying to prove that you don't need him, you are allowing yourself to still be controlled by him. He is dictating your life, manipulating what you are trying to be. You said your dad's entire life has been dedicated to the single goal of beating All Might. That he's so single-minded that it's literally the only thing that drives him forward. If your only goal in life, if your only aspiration is to prove him wrong, to push yourself only using part of your potential, then you aren't proving you're your own man."

Percy allowed his grip to tighten on the boy's shoulder, "You just prove that you're really his son."

With his piece said, Percy released his grip on Todoroki's shoulder. For a while nothing more was said. Todoroki just stood there in silence, his face scrunching up, as he thought on and processed Percy's words.

Finally, Todoroki spoke, "You…have given me much to think about. I don't know if I agree with everything you said, but I won't discount what you're saying."

Percy nodded, that was all he could ask for. All he could hope for. He couldn't make the choice for Todoroki, the boy had to come to his conclusions on his own, or else Percy was no better than Endeavor. Regardless of the boy's eventual choice, Percy took solace in the fact that he had at least gotten through enough for the young man to consider his words.

Checking his phone, Percy sighed, "We should get back, we only have half-an-hour before the next events start, and I still need something to eat."

Todoroki didn't say anything, too consumed on his own thoughts. So Percy just placed a hand on his shoulder, and with a burst of water vapor,

They vanished.

LONG AN AHEAD: All right, a hell of a lot to unpack here, so let's start with the event. I hate the cavalry battle. It's exciting-ish to watch on camera, but I feel like it's not that great of a test of a groups abilities as a hero. Sure teaming up is important, but it doesn't actually apply any of the skills necessary to be a hero. That's why I thought of this, a slightly different event meant to not only test how well students worked together, but how they worked in a rescue effort, something that would occur in a real situation. More to the point, I'm sick of reading the same event over and over described slightly differently and wanted something fresh. As for Percy, some of you might not like what I'm doing here, with Percy not really considering collateral damage, but think about it like this. Percy has never trained to be this kind of a hero. All of his training has been for combat, for fighting and defeating monster's not for rescuing people from burning buildings. His methods wouldn't translate, and his thought process would simply be, in and out as fast as possible, consequences be damned. It's a similar problem we've been seeing in comics and other media for years, but it's one that makes sense for Percy's situation. At least I think so. More importantly, it sets Percy up to learn something, he's a fighter, he's a hero in the mythological sense, but not yet in the contemporary sense, which means he needs someone to teach him. Something that will be difficult, given the fact that he's basically a teacher's assistant. As for the teams themselves. I fretted over how I wanted the teams to go for a long time, but ultimately came to the decision to keep things the same, for a very important reason. The tournament arc is crucial to the development of several of these characters. Midoriya, Todoroki, Uraraka, and it even sets up the half-baked attempt to give Yaoyorozu a character arc in the final exams. Those, I felt, were too important not to include. BUT! The tournament obviously won't play out the same way it did in canon. So that'll be fun.

On to Shoto. Oh this broken little mess. When I first watched the series, I saw a hell of a lot of parallels between him and Luke. Obviously, things with Shoto worked out a hell of a lot better, but that's because he never had someone try and twist his mind to shape him into something terrible, like Luke did. Percy see's that connection, and realizes that there's a horrible possibility that history might repeat itself, that's why he steps in. That's why he tells Shoto things that he hasn't told anyone else. Granted, he fudges the details a little, cause gods, but still. I think it fits.

If you've made it this far, thanks for reading through my ramblings, I really appreciate it if you did. Please, let me know if you're enjoying this so far, as always, the support from ya'll is awesome, and I'm so happy so many of you seem to love this story as much as I do. Thanks again, love you all and stay safe,

Love,

LilDB