Fresh from getting their provisional licenses, the students of 1-A were in high spirits as they entered the classroom, ready to start the new semester. Giving Ochako's hand one final squeeze, Izuku separated from his girlfriend and found his desk, getting ready for the day.
Right on time, the door slammed open and the yellow sleeping bag of Aizawa stood on the other side. As the class watched, their homeroom teacher opened his sleeping bag and stepped out, carrying it with him to his desk but, notably, not putting it away.
"Today, we're going to discuss work studies," Aizawa explained as he placed a pile of forms on the desk.
"What are those?" Kyoka asked.
"It's similar to an expanded internship," Izuku explained. "Except with greater roles and responsibilities, which we can do now that we've got our provisional licenses."
Aizawa's glare caused Izuku to shrink before their teacher sighed. "Midoriya is correct. Normally you wouldn't be able to apply for work studies until your second year, but since you have your provisional licenses early, you are allowed to apply this year, if you can find a hero to take you on."
"What do you mean, find a hero to take us on?" Kirishima asked.
"For that, I am going to hand over the explanation to the Big Three," Aizawa responded.
"Who're they?"
"They are the top three third-year students. Each one strong enough to be a hero in their own right, skipping past the usual sidekick stage and having the potential to go independent if they wanted to." Aizawa turned toward the door. "You can come in now!"
The door opened again and the students of 1-A saw four students walk in. Three of them were unfamiliar to most of the class, but the fourth was very familiar to them, due to her relationship with two of their classmates.
Izuku felt his face turning red as he glanced across the room and saw that Ochako was already trying to disappear under her desk. He realized that she probably started when Aizawa mentioned the Big Three, and cursed his inaction as half of the class was staring at him.
"What the hell?!"
"You didn't tell us you were dating the top student at the school!?"
"Actually, I'm in second place right now," Melissa Shield offered helpfully. "Mirio's currently the top student."
"Still!" Mineta protested as he pointed frantically at the blonde girl standing at the front of the class. "How is this fair Midoriya!? Why do you have two amazing girlfriends while I don't have any!?"
"Wait a second," Denki said, "I thought Sensei said they were supposed to be the Big Three. So why are there four of you?"
"I can answer that!" Nejire said with a giggle. "It's because we're all great!"
"Huh?"
"Just like Mirio and Melissa regularly trade first and second place back and forth," Tamaki began to say as he pressed his forehead against the chalkboard. "Nejire and I regularly trade third and fourth place."
"It's not fair to only focus on three of us when we are changing position so frequently, so we decided to expand the definition to include all four of us!" Nejire happily exclaimed.
"Without giving me a choice," Tamaki complained. "You still force me to be social when I'm in fourth place even though I don't have any reason to be."
"You-" Nejire slapped Tamaki's shoulder, a sour look on her face. "It's good for you! You need to get out more anyway!"
"No, I don't!" Tamaki protested as he looked away from his fellow third-year.
Deciding that there was no time like the present, Mirio stood behind the desk and coughed, trying to get everyone's attention. "Everyone! It's time to discuss work studies!"
A few students turned their attention toward him, but many were still talking among themselves, he heard snippets debating the definition of the Big Three, while Izuku and Ochako had several students still trying to ask questions about their relationship with Melissa before Mirio got an idea. Raising his fist, he slammed it into the desk, getting everyone's attention.
"I have it! It's better to show than to tell, right?" He turned toward his fellow upperclassmen. "How about one of us fighting the class to show them how our experiences helped us?"
Despite the bright smile on his face, the class couldn't help but feel intimidated.
Fifteen minutes later, class 1-A had changed into their gym uniforms and were standing in Gym Gamma, staring at the four third years who were currently debating amongst themselves who was going to fight the class.
"Pfft, look at that," Katsuki pointed an accusatory finger at the metallic costume case Melissa was holding. "The quirkless girl can't even fight without her costume. What kind of useless extras are the third years, if a quirkless girl's supposedly the second-strongest student in the class?"
The third years all suddenly went silent, before Melissa spun around and faced the class, her eyes closed and a confident smile on her lips. "Oh? You think I'd be an easy opponent then?"
"Of course! What good are you when you don't even have a quirk?"
"Fine then," Melissa opened her eyes, and several students found themselves shuddering at the intensity of her aquamarine eyes. "I'll be your opponent."
Mirio laughed from his position next to her. "Be sure to go easy on them, ok?"
"Why the hell would she need to go easy on us?" Bakugo demanded, his finger still aimed toward the metallic case she was holding. "She can't even fight properly without her suit."
Melissa's smile shifted slightly, causing Izuku and Ochako to wince as they felt their chances rapidly diminishing. "Well then, who's first?"
Surprising everyone, Denki stepped forward. "I'll go first! You shouldn't give me such a perfect target for my electricity." Sparks began to flare around his body as he confidently held up a finger gun.
Without breaking her smile, Melissa began her wind-up and threw the case just before Denki discharged his electricity. He had guessed correctly and his lightning was attracted to the metallic shell of her costume case, but he didn't expect to see it come flying at him. He felt the case connect to his chest, launching him toward the wall of the gym where he came to rest.
"What the-"
"Holy-"
"In a real fight, a moment's hesitation can get you hurt, or worse," Melissa said as she took advantage of 1-A's surprise, quickly crossing the gap to retrieve her case. Picking it up, she shoved her left hand into the now-open case, and when she removed it they saw she was now wearing an armored blue gauntlet.
"You're right! I'm going in!" Kirhisma called as he charged at Melissa, several of his classmates falling behind him.
Melissa didn't say anything, merely turning her attention to the red-haired boy as he approached and raising the case to block his blow. He heard a grinding of metal against his hardened skin, reminiscent of his training with Tetsutestsu, until they disengaged, both taking a step back. As he watched she raised her gauntlet and he saw the energy line of one finger glow blue as she prepared to flick with that finger. When she did, a massive blast of air pressure hit him square in the chest, sending him flying. On the sidelines, the students saw her grab a gray piece of armor and press it against her upper arm, where it activated and connected to her gauntlet, encasing her left arm completely.
"If we can't get close, let's try ranged attacks! Fire!" Mina called out and lobbed acid at the girl while Aoyama fired his navel laser.
"Trying to gang up on me?" Melissa said as ducked underneath the attack, throwing a boot to one side of her. When she saw Mineta's sticky balls and Sero's coming toward her in an attempt to incapacitate her, she hopped to the side, landing with practiced precision on the open boot, which sealed itself around her left leg.
"W-what the heck?!" Toru exclaimed. "How is she this good!?"
As she was talking, Melissa activated the thruster in her boot and zoomed forward, shoulder-checking Mina and sending her flying.
"It's a matter of skill." Tamaki began explaining from his position facing the wall. "She's had years to train herself to this level."
"We all have," Mirio added. "Despite her disadvantages, this is still the level she is fighting at."
"Disadvantages?" Toru asked.
"He's talking about the fact that she's quirkless!" Bakugo roared as he pointed his hands behind him. "Time to show all you extras that she's nothing without her fancy tricks!" With a roar Bakugo let loose explosions with his hands, sending him flying toward the girl. "DIE!"
"Too predictable!" Melissa countered, lifting her case above her head and bringing it into a downward swing, aiming for Bakugo's face.
"Who are you calling predictable?" Bakugo said and adjusted his right hand to fire an additional explosion, launching himself behind her. He fired another small explosion to add rotation to his motion, and aimed a fist at her face…
…only for Melissa to spin around and bring her unarmored knee up, turning Bakugo's momentum against him as he slammed into it.
"You-" Bakugo shouted out.
"Not bad for a 'quirkless' girl, huh?" Melissa said, her voice laced with venom. "Maybe you should rethink your quirkist bullshit." Before Bakugo could respond she fired the thruster in her boot, pushing her knee further into his stomach and sending him flying away from her, before she dropped the second boot on the ground and landed on it, wrapping her other foot in its armor.
Fumikage came in next, urging Dark Shadow to attack the girl. With a light laugh, she pointed her gauntlet at the creature and fired a laser through the living quirk's face, causing him to cower in fear. Taking the opportunity, she rushed Fumikage and hit him with a clothesline, before pulling out a piece of armor and attaching it to her upper leg.
From their position on the sidelines, Toru saw Izuku and Ochako watching as Melissa used her thrusters to dance around Sero and Mineta's attacks while pulling the second gauntlet out of her case. "Why aren't you trying to fight her? You can't just forfeit because she's your girlfriend!"
"I'm not," Izuku admitted. "But I'm not going to fight her until she's wearing her armor."
"Why?!" An exasperated Toru asked.
"I don't want her to get hurt."
"You'd hurt her? Seriously?!" Toru waved her hands frantically, expressing her worry.
"Izuku wouldn't be the one hurting her," Ochako said.
"What do you mean?"
"It's her quirk," Tamaki answered.
"Wait, I thought she was quirkless?" Momo asked.
"No, quite the opposite." Mirio began to explain.
Melissa turned to see her lab door open and was shocked by the sight. Walking into the door was a woman who looked just like her, holding a trembling girl with pale blue, almost white hair and piercing red eyes. She gently sat the girl in a chair, where she sat unmoving.
"Who-who are you?"
"I'm you," the other woman said. "At least, if you want to believe the biometric scanners. And I have something for you."
"For me?" Melissa asked, dumbfounded. "What's going on?"
With a somber smile, the older woman offered her a small test tube filled with blood. "I'm here to save the future. Drink this."
"What? Why?" Melissa recoiled at the object.
"It contains a quirk. Specifically, it contains Uncle Might's quirk. Well -" The older woman had a sad smile on her face. "I knew it differently, but that's how you would know it best." She waved it encouragingly.
"Uncle Might's… quirk? Did something happen to him?"
"No!" The older woman reassured her. "He is still alive and well. I actually talked to him on the phone a few hours ago."
Melissa felt a sense of relief at that. "And he knows you have this?"
"Yes. Don't worry! This isn't his exact quirk, but a copy of it. It's hard to explain and I don't have a lot of time. Just - please take it."
Seeing the pleading look in the older woman's eyes, Melissa nodded. She uncapped the rubber stopper and drank the blood in a single gulp, feeling the metalling tinge on her tongue. She had to suppress a gag as the woman offered her a bottle of water. "Sorry, that was the best way to do this."
"So now what?"
"In a few hours, you'll start to feel differently. Whatever you do, don't try to use the quirk."
"Why not?"
"Let's just say you'll break a lot of bones," The older woman had a fond smile on her face as if remembering a happy memory. "But that's not what's important! What's most important is you'll have someone visit you. They'll help you with the next part."
"The next step?"
"I gave up on my dream of becoming a hero, thinking it was impossible," The older woman gently laid a hand on Melissa's shoulder, their marching aquamarine eyes locking. "Don't give up that dream. With the quirk I just gave you, you can be as strong as Uncle Might. Stronger, even! Be the hero you always wanted to be - the one I couldn't be."
"What about you?"
"My mission is done." She indicated the girl sitting in the chair. "Now, I need to keep her safe, to protect her from an ancient evil." She gave her younger self a sad smile. "If they get their hands on her, it would spell disaster for everyone. With any luck, this is goodbye, and you'll never see me again."
"Her quirk is very powerful and, much like mine, very difficult to control." Mirio continued. "Worse, actually - her quirk could be fatal if she pushes herself too far."
"Her armor is a full-body support device," Izuku explained to his classmates. "It lets her use her quirk without hurting herself."
"Just like your full gauntlet?" Toru asked curiously.
"Mhmm." Izuku nodded his head. "That's what actually inspired the full gauntlet - something to help me use my quirk since my body is still adjusting to it."
"Aww, that's so sweet!"
"That also explains why she's moving faster," Shoto observed.
"You saw it too?" Momo asked.
"I thought it was just because of the thrusters on her boots, but it makes sense now." Shoto glanced at Izuku. "If that's the case, I'll also wait until she is fully armored."
Turning back, Melissa used her case as a shield to block Rikido's attack, before throwing out an armored knee to knock him back. She grabbed another piece of armor and pressed it against her upper leg, and it began attaching itself as she ducked to avoid Mezo's sneak attack. Using her low profile she spun around, attacking the student with a leg sweep and tripping him, before jumping in the air to avoid Rikido's counterattack, causing the sweets hero to fall on top of his classmate. From her position in the air, they saw her pull out the remaining leg piece and press it against her other leg.
As the five watched, Melissa took down the rest of their classmates quickly, until they were the only ones left. "Aww, I need to get faster about putting my suit on while fighting."
"You're disappointed by that?!" Toru exclaimed.
"You've seen how hard Izuku trains to overcome the fact that he got his quirk late," Ochako said. "Lissa has been pushing herself just as hard for years."
"And she's only number two?!"
Mirio laughed and rubbed the back of his head. "In many ways, my quirk is the perfect counter to hers. If I didn't hone Permeation to the level I have I'm not sure we'd trade the top spot the way we do."
"Well, time for the final showdown." Melissa reached into her case and removed the final piece of her suit, her armored chest plate. Pressing it against her torso, the students watched as gray plates extended to cover her back, fully encasing her body in the body armor. The blue energy lines that had previously danced around the pieces of armor began filling in as golden sparks flew around Melissa's face, forming a web of electric blue that stood out against the gray and dark blue metals.
As the golden sparks dissipated, she gave the five remaining students a bright smile. "Ok, I'm ready!"
Izuku found himself smiling as he looked at Ochako, who had a fierce grin of her own. "It's our turn, then!"
He stomped the ground and felt the cement crack underneath him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ochako press a hand against herself and Momo, both of them briefly glowing green as she activated her quirk. "Todoroki, now!"
Shoto launched waves of ice and fire toward the third year. As she stood there the ice and fire converged, causing a massive explosion and causing many of their classmates to lose their balance. Izuku stole a quick glance and saw that Ochako and Momo were both still standing before he launched himself toward his girlfriend.
He knew better than to think a single attack would take her out. As the dust cleared, he saw Melissa standing there with her arms crossed, but the attack had been strong enough to force her back several feet.
"Take this!" Izuku twisted his body as he attempted to kick Melissa, and felt his boot connect to her side, knocking her aside.
"Oooh, sneaky!" She smiled as she twisted around and lowered her center of gravity, using her hand to stop herself from sliding. "But can you keep it up?"
"Don't forget about us!" Ochako said as she and Momo began descending from the sky.
Melissa adjusted her crouch in anticipation of jumping away, only to find herself surrounded by ice, pinning her in place. Unprepared, she took the full force of the two girls hitting her, enough to shatter the ice that was holding her and sending her flying back.
Melissa stopped mid-air, using her thrusters to straighten herself out as she hovered there. "Well then. Looks like you were saving the best for last." Melissa said, her playful smile morphing into a serious expression. "Time to see what you can really do!"
Melissa launched herself at the girls, only for Izuku to intercept her midair, Full Cowling flaring around him as he blocked her punch with his arms. "You've got to get through me first!"
"Of course!" Melissa tried to use her thrusters to maneuver around Izuku, but he anticipated her move and kicked his leg out, using her as leverage to launch himself toward the ceiling, before reorienting himself and sending himself back down toward the American girl.
"Take this!" Izuku spun in midair in an attempt to land a kick.
Melissa brought her arms up to intercept, only to feel a strong cable wrap around her legs. Looking down, she saw Momo standing alongside Ochako, both girls pulling the cable in an attempt to slow her down. Izuku took advantage of the momentary distraction to land another blow, sending her flying.
Rather than trying to steady herself, Melissa let the momentum carry her forward, watching as the two girls ended up being dragged along with her. She watched in satisfaction as they both let go, Ochako using her quirk to make them float as they began to gently arc toward the ceiling. Not having time to remove the cable, Melissa twisted to minimize the impact as she felt herself slam into the wall.
"Shoto!" Izuku shouted.
"On it!" Not wanting to give the upperclassman a chance to recover, Shoto launched his ice, forming a glacier at the suspected point of impact.
"Did we get her?" Momo asked as she and Ochako gently floated toward the ground.
She got her answer when they heard a rumbling, as they saw the ice starting to crack before exploding outward. "This is fun! You guys are good!"
Before anyone had a chance to recover she shot toward Shoto. He tried to raise a wall of ice to protect himself, but her momentum allowed her to crash through, sending him flying. Spinning around, she was prepared to face Momo and Ochako for a second time, when she heard a loud electric discharge from behind her. Realizing what happened, she turned around to see Toru standing there, holding a pair of electric prongs.
"Sneaky! I like it!" Melissa suddenly relaxed as she touched a hidden button on her arm, bringing up a holographic display. "You forced me to go all out before using an electric attack to temporarily overload my armor. Which meant I would have to either hold back or risk breaking it." Melissa complimented the group. "I think we've seen enough!"
"Really?" Momo asked in confusion.
"Be glad she doesn't want to go further," Ochako said, sighing in relief.
As the students of 1-A sat there trying to recover, Shoto looked at Melissa. "What kind of quirk is that?"
"It's energy manipulation!" Melissa proudly exclaimed as she removed an armored gauntlet and held up her hand. As the students watched, they saw golden sparks dance around as her hand began to emit a soft golden glow. "I can use it to overcharge my muscles to an incredible degree." She gave a mock punch. "But if I use more than the bare minimum, I hurt myself."
"Just like Midoriya?" Eijiro asked.
"Before you ask, no we're not related. And she's not related to Kaminari either!" Izuku called out, already seeing a thoughtful look on Shoto's face.
"So you put all that energy into your armor instead?" Momo asked curiously.
"Yep!" Melissa held up her other hand and they saw the glowing blue lines. "It acts as an energy regulator, pulling off the excess energy before it hurts me. I can't go all out. Otherwise, I'd shatter my suit, but it still helps.
"What a useless quirk. No wonder you two are together." Katsuki said. "What good's a quirk that hurts its owner more than a villain?"
"Who's the one who got laid out on his ass, again?" Ochako asked with a thick sweetness in her voice.
Bakugo's growl was cut off by Mirio's laughter. "Almost all of us have difficult quirks to use. It took me years to learn how to control Permeation, and I'm still fine-tuning it myself. And Nejire's had to spend years learning to aim her quirk properly."
"Just you wait, once I have the experience I'll show all of you what a real quirk can do!"
Melissa simply laughed. "I can't wait to see you try."
AN: Here's something a little different.
As I thought more about my previous one-shot 'To Save the Future,' I realized I had painted myself into a corner with the plot, and I wasn't particularly interested in writing beyond the one-shot that I created. HOWEVER, thanks to discussion on Discord I've worked out a slightly different dynamic to achieve the same goal.
But rather than start at the beginning, part of me wanted to start work in the middle, to get an idea of how things would look once everyone is established, and I like what came out. I'm actually inclined to look deeper into this AU and figure out more to do with this, and this could very well end up showing up in part when I do.
Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think.
