Izuku had time to reflect on all that's happened as he was escorted to the viewing room by Aizawa. Despite his sudden acquired power, he trained to keep his body in its peak state. Working for almost ten months straight as a vigilante that managed to evade the Eraserhead until he got complacent is no small feat.
Granted, he doubted he could have ever done that before that day. He wouldn't have had a chance to become a hero like that. He worked out his mind but not his body. No, he wasn't unhealthy by any metrics, but he was painfully below average in his class. Sometimes he wonders if he really deserves this power, this new lease on life, especially after what he did that led him to it in the first place.
"Don't get hooked on the past, problem child." The tired hero remarked, bringing Izuku out of his spiral before it got off the ground. Izuku looked up to see the man glancing back at him as they made it to the door, stopping right outside.
Aizawa turned around and addressed the boy directly. "You've gone through a lot, and while it should be illegal, it wasn't. Of course, you'll have to be more careful now that we've registered your power as a quirk to keep appearances, but I have faith in you." He flashed a predatory grin. "After all, you'll have to bring your Plus Ultra game if you want to keep pace with me in my territory."
Izuku nodded with vigor, smirking at his soon-to-be new teacher. "Never thought I'd see Eraserhead go soft, much less for someone who's bested him."
The boy cackled as Aizawa flicked his forehead. "You really are a problem child. Anyway," he turned back around and gripped the door handle. "You ready for this?" Izuku nodded, and Aizawa opened the door.
/
Everyone in the viewing room turned to face the door opened by Aizawa. Many smiles greeted the 1-A instructor as he entered, followed by confused expressions as a child carrying a hammer walked in behind him. Seeing all the eyes on them, Izuku gulped and crept slightly closer to Aizawa, who put a grounding hand on his shoulder.
Kayama, Yamada, and even Nedzu looked especially surprised at the gesture. All of the attendants' weariness abated – save for one perplexed skeletal man – and was replaced by a mountain of even more questions as the hero cleared his throat.
"This is Izuku Midoriya, known as the former 'vigilante' Thunder." Aizawa brought a hand up to emphasize air quotes around the distinction. "I say 'vigilante' in the loosest terms for reasons that will be explained in due time, but Nedzu and I have agreed to place him in 1-A for the coming school year as an emergency measure given his circumstances."
"Oh, Shou, is this the kid you've been raving about back home? Why didn't you let me meet him?!" Nemuri questioned.
"I haven't raved about him, Nem'," Aizawa countered. "I merely mentioned how he has more potential than most of my kids."
"We all know that's equal to calling him the next coming of All Might, don't even try it." Nemuri chuckled. "He's a cutie, too," she cooed, prompting Izuku to take a step back. Aizawa caught his back before flashing a quirk-powered warning glare.
"Moving on," Aizawa continued. "Midoriya here will be acting as another pair of eyes. Obviously, he won't be a judge, but I'll be using any of his insight as a supplement to my decisions during later evaluation."
Izuku stepped forward after a second of hesitation and bowed with a giddy smile. "I'm very honored to be among so many heroes; thank you for letting me sit in with you!"
The skeletal man's eyes widened as he heard the boy's voice. He recognized that voice, the boy who knew his secret. How did he get a power like Thunder's?! Did he- no… but he's…
Before anyone except for Izuku could react, Yagi Toshinori buffed up into All Might and blitzed the young man as he rose from his bow. He reached out to grip his throat, and… felt metal?
Everyone in the room sat stunned, except for Nedzu, hiding his own under his ever-enigmatic grin. Why did All Might attack a teenage vigilante?
The small cloud of dust collected from the rapid movements of the pair dissipated to reveal them glaring and snarling at one another, the veteran hero's hand gripped around the kid's hammer. Despite the strength that everyone knew All Might had, it looked like he was struggling to move his arm while the kid stood like a statue.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing, All Might?" Izuku growled out with animosity that had everyone flinch.
"Me? What the fuck do you think you're doing? You said you were quirkless when we met! Were you lying, or did that bastard give you one?!"
"Bastard? What the hell are you talking about? Quirks can't be given." Izuku retorted. Apparently, that was the wrong answer as All Might tightened his grip on Mjölnir. He looked down at his hand, noting the struggle in his grasp. He looked back up with an unamused expression and sighed. "Stop trying to crush Mjölnir, please. The furthest you'll get doing that is getting a sprain."
He lazily pulled the hammer out of All Might's grasp as Nedzu spoke up. "Stand down, All Might. He is dead, you know this. Young Izuku here has no contact with Him."
Toshinori glanced at Nedzu and immediately froze under the principal's icy gaze. "Trust me, Toshinori. This is a fight you won't win if you pick it."
Reluctantly, the blonde man deflated and went back to his seat. Nedzu shifted his now warm attention to Izuku and Aizawa. "I didn't want this to occur so soon, but it might be best for you to explain what your power is, Midoriya."
Izuku sighed. "I didn't want to say anything yet, either, but if you believe everyone here is trustworthy, then I will."
Nedzu frowned. "I'm very sorry, Izuku. I did not foresee this happening. I can assure you, though, all present staff can be trusted with this secret."
The greenette nodded before stopping and glancing towards All Might. He flashed a grin, not unlike Aizawa's, that had the skeletal figure freeze and sent shivers to anyone else who saw it. "In fact, I think it might be best to explain what led to me gaining this power."
Nedzu's shell cracked again, eyebrows raised in surprise. "Are you sure, young Izuku? It was an intense series of events." Of course, he knew. He's familiar with Tsukauchi and made sure to get his side of the story once he and Thunder met.
"I'm certain. Consider this a secret for a secret." Izuku replied, keeping his eyes locked on the golden-haired hero. Nedzu smiled into his teacup as Izuku readied himself to speak. My my, Izuku, quite a petty, yet justified, choice.
/
Only a few thoughts and looks were shared among the staff in the viewing room following Izuku's story. All thoughts were directed towards Izuku or the man who set his story into motion. Of course, Izuku omitted Katsuki's involvement in the ordeal. He knows now that what the blonde bomber did throughout his life was wrong, but he wanted to give him a second chance. If he fucks up again, it's on him.
"I think we'll have to have another round of sensitivity training, Toshinori," Nedzu told the man.
Toshinori shivered at the thought of even one more lecture from the principal but wordlessly nodded.
"Good! I will also be demoting you to a teaching assistant for Foundational Heroics. You are free to propose plans for 1-A and 1-B, but they must go through Aizawa and Kan first. What they say goes, no questions asked, do you understand?" Nedzu didn't want Toshinori to be the primary teacher, but the Hero Commission had his hands tied. This event gave him the leverage he needed to get his way.
Toshinori once again nodded, much to the principal's delight.
"Perfect! I'd like to remind all staff not to let their emotions get in the way of their duties or professional relationship with Toshinori. What he did was inexcusable and a violation of multiple protocols, but that's not an excuse for unnecessary hostility here at U.A."
The teachers in attendance nodded amongst themselves. "Very good! Now, I believe the practical exam is about to begin!"
/
"Robots… why did it have to be fucking robots?" Hitoshi Shinsou muttered to himself. "I knew I should have focused on my body more!" He grunted out in frustration.
As he ran through the city ruins, his eyes caught a floating set of clothes manhandling one of the robots. What was she doing?
Turning his full attention, he saw that she had ripped off a panel, pushing a button that rendered the bot inert. I guess that's my only chance. I hope I'm strong enough to at least do that.
As he was about to go find a one-pointer to test himself on, one of them rounded the corner and readied to strike the invisible person, completely unaware of the danger. Hitoshi's feet moved before he could even think.
"Get down!" he yelled as he tackled her out of the way of the robot's swinging arm, taking them both to the ground.
He immediately got up, quickly noticing the different shade of green on the robot's side, yanking it with surprising ease he would remark later, and smashing the off button before the machine could attack again.
"...Holy shit, I did it." He muttered to himself. He was broken out of his amazement by something soft pressing into his back and wrapping around his shoulders.
"Thank you so much! You really saved me there!" A feminine voice squealed as she hugged the insomniac.
"Hey, hey, easy," Hitoshi remarked as he raised his hands to his ears, causing her to let go.
"Oh, I'm sorry! I'm just really glad you helped me out there. My name's Tooru Hagakure. How about you?"
The boy hesitated for a second before shrugging away his concern. Maybe she'll be different when she finds out. "Hitoshi Shinsou. Glad I could help."
"I'm glad, too, Shinsou! Do you want to team up? You don't seem to have a quirk useful against these bots, either. We could watch each other's backs!"
Hitoshi let out an amused huff and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't see why not."
/
Back in the viewing room, everyone was focused on one or two monitors, admiring and critiquing the various applicants in their minds.
"A lot of interesting applicants this year, aren't there?" Kan remarked, looking at a boy shooting out a gluey substance to immobilize the robots.
"Every year, the quirks on display get stronger and stranger," Ishiyama replied, his attention square on a short kid pulling purple orbs from his hair and flinging them at the bots.
"A few are also focused not just on the bots but camaraderie. So noble!" Kayama added, admiring the purple mini-Zawa working together with the invisible girl.
Izuku was gazing at all the available monitors, enjoying seeing everyone put their all into the exam. His eyes locked onto a monitor with a blonde teenager in the midst of blowing up a three-pointer, and he froze for just a second. His grip on Mjölnir tightened as he fought back the flashback in his mind. He forced his eyes to another blonde, this one with a lightning bolt in his hair, electrifying the robots. Unbeknownst to him, his stuttered movement caught the eye of both Aizawa and Nedzu. They'd keep an eye on one Katsuki Bakugou if it affected the kid like that.
"I think it's time for the main event! Will you do the honors, Aizawa?" Nedzu jovially asked.
With a scoff and a shrug, Aizawa leans over the terminal and presses the big red button. "Let's see how much potential these brats really have."
/
Denki Kaminari felt confident in himself. He had at least 30 points after all the bots he fried! Hopefully, that would be enough, but he wasn't going to put his foot on the brakes yet. There's still time to get more points and do even better! Nothing would stop him, not even– what's that rumbling?
Looking up towards the corner of the block, he and the other applicants gazed upon a massive robot. "Is that the zero-pointer?!" Denki exclaimed.
"Let's get out of here! That thing isn't worth even trying to take out!" A pink-skinned girl shouted past him, skating away on a weird gray liquid.
Denki agreed with the pink girl's assessment and turned around to run until a grunt of pain sounded out. He turned back and saw a piece of rubble crushing the leg of a girl with purple hair and headphone jacks as earlobes.
He didn't even think. He just ran toward her.
"Hey, are you alright?" He worriedly asked her as he made it.
A few grunts and attempts to move the debris off later, she replied. "N-no, I'm stuck!"
Denki looked at the rubble, then up to the zero-pointer, and back to the rubble. "I'm not strong enough to move that off you…"
"Then get out of here! I don't think they'll let the bot crush us."
Denki shook his head, determination in his eyes as he looked back at her. "Even if that's true, I can't run away and do nothing." He held up a hand and let his lightning flow through it. "I'm gonna shock that thing still until time's up."
The purple-haired girl's eyes widened at the boy, surprised he'd do something so crazy. "Th'name is Kyoka Jirou. Don't die out there, buddy.
Denki smiled at her. "Denki Kaminari. I'll do my best to keep you safe, Jirou."
Jirou nodded as Denki rushed toward the monstrous robot, electricity crackling along his body.
Not wanting to short-circuit yet, Denki decides against using his Indiscriminate Shock in favor of something else. Instead, he lets the current of electricity flow, feeling the hairs on his arms stand on end as the energy pool rises to a near-critical level. Then, focusing on his strength, he slams his hands onto the bot's leg, sending a wave of yellow arcs up the building-sized enemy and stunning it.
/
As the teachers and Izuku look on in awe at Kaminari's boldness and determination to protect his immobilized ally, a red flash appears on Maijima's terminal. Underneath his excavator helmet, his eyes widen in terror as he catches the attention of the other heroes in the room.
"That attack disabled the safety on the zero-pointer! Once it breaks free, it'll go on a rampage, and I can't send the shutdown signal!"
Everyone in the viewing room pales in realization at what that will mean.
"Oh dear, we need to find a way to stop that thing before someone gets hurt!" Nedzu worriedly remarks. Naturally, all eyes turned to Toshinori, the fastest and strongest of the heroes in attendance.
He looks down at the ground in shame. "I used up all of my time today already, and I overextended that when confronting young Midoriya…"
Izuku looked at the grim expression on the older hero's face, then back to the big screen, which now displayed the robot winning the struggle against Kaminari's stun attack. This is going to be so stupid, he remarked to himself as he grabbed Mjölnir and ran to the corner of the wall.
Aizawa saw Izuku grab his hammer and run, putting two and two together. "What are you doing, problem child?!"
Izuku didn't spare a glance as he furiously whipped Mjölnir in circles, his body beginning to glow with blue arcs of energy. "Being a fucking hero." He muttered before slinging his arm forward, breaking through the wall, and careening towards the exam site.
/
It didn't take a genius to realize something was wrong with the zero-pointer. Denki himself felt something shift as the electricity coursed through them. When he felt the robot fight back against his lightning, he knew this was a war of attrition he would probably lose.
His thoughts came true as the zero-pointer backed its leg away, breaking the contact and freeing itself from the stunning attack. Denki was thrown backward with the force of the attack returning to him, falling on his behind.
"Shit, I think I short-circuited it by mistake!" He shouted as the robot's eyes shined red, unlike before.
Jirou watched with sheer terror, her face completely paled, and her pupils shrunk as she saw the robot ready itself for an attack. "It was nice while it lasted, I guess… thanks for trying, Denki."
Denki met her eyes with his own fearful gaze, realizing the inevitable. "I'm sorry, Kyoka…"
Once again, Denki felt a shift, this time in the air, as he sensed more electricity. He looked up and saw a blue light growing in the sky. "What is that?" He pointed up, prompting Jirou to look as well.
The punk girl couldn't reply as an enraged scream sounded from the light. Soon the light grew close enough to see the source: a person?
Not one second later, right as the robot began to attack, the automaton exploded in a flash of blue light and electricity. Denki and Kyoka shielded their eyes as metal clanging to the ground filled their ears.
Opening their eyes after a few moments, they came face to face with the person who crashed into the zero-pointer.
That kid did that?! He's gotta be our age! Both teens thought to themselves as they got a good look at their savior. The boy's face betrayed his body and actions, a rather plain-looking face they could only describe as cute. His face had eight distinct freckles, and the boy rocked green-black hair.
The rather plain-looking face was contrasted by his outfit. He had something akin to a cream-colored toga wrapped around his upper body, with a black tunic underneath. The tunic had short sleeves, accentuating the boy's muscular arms. While the clothing below the waist was long, it didn't hide the muscles underneath.
Still crackling with blue lightning, the boy dropped the hammer he was holding – did it seriously just crack the ground from that? – and made his way toward the shell-shocked pair.
"Are you two alright?" the green-haired teen asked as he started effortlessly clearing the rubble, still trapping Kyoka. He wore a concerned and disarming smile as his attention shifted between them.
"Y-yeah, we're alright… thanks to you." Denki finally broke the silence that had since only been filled by the other boy.
Their savior let out a soft chuckle. "You did really good out there, too. The robot's safety short-circuited, that's all. Of course, it wasn't your fault, either. Power Loader should have accounted for electrical quirks."
"Wait," Kyoka interjected. "How did you know we did well? I haven't seen or heard you anywhere here." She raised an accusatory jack in his direction to make her point.
The boy shrugged and blushed, his smile turning bashful. "W-well, I was with the teachers in the viewing room. I can't say much, but I'm already being given a spot in 1-A."
"Wait a minute, you're Thunder, aren't you?" Denki exclaimed with an excited smile. "I thought your power looked familiar! I saw clips of you online!"
Izuku froze, thankfully having already excavated Kyoka's lower half from the debris, and looked toward Denki like a deer in headlights.
Now able to actually focus, Kyoka felt the kid's heartbeat spike considerably, and her eyes widened. "You totally are Thunder! No fucking way…"
Izuku looked at her with a betrayed expression before connecting the dots with her earjacks. Must be able to hear heartbeats. Good to know. "Y-yeah, I guess so. We're trying to keep that on the down-low as much as possible, though. My name's Izuku Midoriya. Considering what you just went through and what I did, you can just call me Izuku."
"I'm Denki Kaminari, and this is Kyoka Jirou!"
"After saving us like that, I think you've earned the right to call us by our first names." Kyoka quipped.
"Fair enough. It's good to meet you two. Hopefully, I'll see you in 1-A."
"What makes you so sure we'll get in? Do you know our scores?" Kyoka asked.
Izuku's face gave way to a sly smirk as he put a finger to his lips. "I know a portion of your final scores, but I'm not at liberty to say anymore. Call it a hunch, though." He teased.
Kyoka huffed as Denki walked closer to the former vigilante. "Well, knowing you're him, it's an honor to meet you." Denki smiled. "You're part of why I wanted to become a hero, to be like you. I love the whole lightning and Thor motif you have going on!"
Izuku chuckled awkwardly as he scratched the back of his head. "Heh, yeah, Thor is a huge inspiration for me, too."
If Kyoka sensed anything off with his response, she didn't comment on it. "I think I should get to the infirmary if you two are done flirting."
Izuku and Denki immediately sputtered and reddened while the girl smirked to herself. If we really do make it into 1-A, I think we'll have a lot of fun.