Sliding down a cliff hadn't been on Izuku's agenda today, but with Aizawa as a teacher he probably should have expected this.
"Well, that's the last of the mud I'm touching today." Izuku says as he dusts himself off.
"Indeed, let us see what you get today." Momo says as she creates a tape measure.
"Someone's excited." Tsu comments as Izuku raises his arms into the air.
Izuku merely sighs as a tank appears, before shrugging and climbing onto the tank.
"That's good?" Ochako asks as Momo jumps onto the tank and begins taking measurements.
"It's not bad." Izuku says quietly.
"Double tracks!? How does it work?" Momo asks as she admires the suspension.
"The outer track has a special female adapter that meshes with the drive wheel of the inner track." Izuku explains, Momo's enthusiasm quickly spreading.
"Fascinating, I wonder if I can adapt that to other tanks?" Momo asks as she frantically writes notes.
"Not easily, but you could. Might be useful for swampy terrain. But I would recommend just making a Churchill instead." Izuku answers thoughtfully.
"Can someone explain that in normal speech?" Kaminari asks.
"Tracks are complicated." Ochako says.
"Put the go wheels next to each other and push." Tsu explains.
"Ok." Kaminari mumbles, deciding to ignore this from now on.
"We want to get to base by lunch, is this fast?" Kyoka asks.
"Not at all. This is even slower than the TOG." Izuku says calmly.
"Then we really should get going!" Iida commands, annoying Momo who was happily measuring the tank.
Eventually the tank got moving, but by then the class had left them behind.
"You never did say what this is." Ochako says as she relaxes in the gunner's seat.
"Super Heavy Tank T28, a prototype breakthrough tank. It's also known as the 105 mm Gun Motor Carriage T95 from its brief redesignation as a self propelled gun. This was dropped because it was far heavier and had a longer gun than artillery." Izuku explains.
"Did it ever lead to anything?" Momo asks, curious about any bigger designs.
"No, with it's pathetic speed and lack of turret it was considered rather useless once the war was over. Heavy tank design moved on to the T29, which had a turret and was used as a test bed for multiple new guns and other systems." Izuku lectures.
"Unfortunate." Momo sighs.
Despite the T28s low speed, it eventually passed the rest of 1-A. Its strong armor left it impervious to any attack and as a tank it didn't get tired. Pixie Bob moved to attack it personally as it approached and managed to get it wedged between a pair of rocks.
"Has she left yet?" Izuku asks patiently.
"She has, shall we get out and continue on foot?" Momo asks.
"Of course not! This turtle has one more trick up its sleeve. Can you make me some C4?" Izuku asks with some irritation.
"I have a bad feeling about this." Tsu says.
"Don't hurt your feelings. They're all special." Ochako taunts with a giggle.
"Seriously?" Tsu asks, and Ochako responds with a cheeky smirk.
"And we're ready!" Izuku says as he jumps back into the tank with Momo.
"Fire in the hole!" Momo shouts as Ochako vibrates with enthusiasm.
"Hey look, they're stuck!" Kaminari laughs as the class catches up to the tank.
"Serves them right for not offering us a ride." Mineta whines.
"We left them behind at the start." Kyoka says before jabbing Mineta with her jacks.
"They could have still given us a lift." Toru complains.
"If we were nicer, I think Yaomomo would have made one of those tiny tanks from the sports festival for us." Mina says.
"That would have been nice." Kyoka says with a distant look.
"Enough complaining! We should assist them in extricating themselves from their vehicle." Iida instructs.
"Fire in the Hole!" Momo's shouts and everyone turns to the stuck tank.
A series of explosions along the tracks send destroyed bolts flying and the massive tank's body falls from it's now useless outer tracks.
"That's a nice feature." Sero comments as the tank drives off once more.
"Is it actually slower like this?" Tsu asks incredulously.
"On mud like this, yes." Izuku says as he concentrates on maneuvering through the forest.
"Without the outer tracks all our weight is on a much smaller area, so we're sinking deeper into the mud." Momo explains. "With the reduced mechanical resistance we should go faster on pavement though."
"Wonderful." Tsu says.
"That tank isn't fair." Pixie-Bob complains as she watches it enter the clearing despite her best efforts to stop it.
"Life isn't fair." Aizawa retorts, he had grown a soft spot for Izuku's tanks once he noticed the effort Izuku put into driving them well.
"Still, he must be quite lazy getting around without having to walk." Pixie-Bob continues.
"You should try to drive something like that through a forest." Aizawa says irritably.
"How hard..." Pixie-Bob begins before Mandalay kicks her in the shin.
"As someone that actually drives, I can tell you it's a lot harder than it looks." Mandalay says strictly.
"Fine." Pixie-Bob mumbles.
"Midoriya, nice driving." Aizawa says as he approaches the tank.
"Thank you, sir." Izuku says hesitantly.
"I would like you to quickly explain how several other tanks would have fared here." Aizawa asks, pretending to be irritated with Izuku's tactics.
"Of course, the TOG would perform similarly, but its length would hold it back during navigation while it would help when crossing streams." Izuku begins with growing enthusiasm. "The Gun Carrier would be in its element, it has the lowest ground pressure and is an excellent size. The Matilda on the other hand would get stuck and would require frequent stops to deal with mud infestation under its track guards. Honestly the only worse choice would be the Carro Veloce, but at least that is light enough for Ochako to lift."
"Good, I don't expect the Bob Semple would do well?" Aizawa asks.
"Actually, while it would be terribly irritating to drive, it's basis as a tractor leaves it in a good position to handle this terrain." Izuku answers.
"Excellent. Carry on." Aizawa says before moving to greet the returning pack.
"You forgot the Mark IV." Ochako says after Aizawa was out of earshot.
"I don't think he needs to ask, it got through worse in class." Izuku says.
"And what about all the other tanks you've summoned?" Tsu asks.
"No one remembers all those days of training you know." Ochako says while looking at some unseen person.
"Are you pretending to break the fourth wall?" Tsu asks.
"Maybe." Ochako answers evasively.
AN: A rather casual ride through the woods, fitting for the T28/95. It's too strong to summon for a fight and too interesting to just bash endlessly. I actually had to do some research for this one, scouring videos to find out how the tracks worked. It's honestly a rather simple system, works sort of like a screwdriver, it meshes with an opposite pattern and is held together with the pressure of the bogie's bolts.
I'm sure I saw a suggestion for this tank, but I couldn't find it. A cookie for that guy though. If they create a tank Izuku could in theory summon it, but it's unlikely since the pool is already huge, and I would rather write about real tanks for now. While it's true that bitches love cannons, cinnamon buns and rays of sunshine can love them too.
Lastly, I know I haven't been posting as much lately, I've been falling through spirals of negativity lately. But writing this reminded me how much fun it can be. So I'll be abandoning my semi-schedule and writing at my own pleasure for now.