When Izuku Midoriya first heard that they were going to be spending the next month training with students from Titans Academy, arguably the most influential and prestigious school for aspiring heroes in the United States, he was filled with excitement.
Most of his notes were of Japanese heroes, since they were the ones in his streets and on the television. He'd done some online research on various international superheroes, this was Midoriya after all, but there was still so much to learn from the largest hero community on the planet. The student he'd been partnered with was a great example of that.
Both Midoriya and Tim Drake were in their hero costumes, standing on the grass of the track field to spar. The pairs were all allowed to set the rules of their practice sessions as they wanted, and it hadn't taken much thought for these two heroes to agree on their limits: no Quirk use for Midoriya, no support items from Tim.
By this point, both had gotten sweaty from their fight. Part of that was from the costumes, but mostly it came from the stress of keeping combat going as long as they had. Sure, this wasn't some bare-knuckle brawl, it was a lot slower than that, but it was fighting nonetheless.
Tim had landed two blows for every one of Midoriya's, but the exchange rate was a little more complicated than that. Tim was undoubtedly faster than his sparring partner when said partner wasn't allowed to use Full Cowling, but even without tapping into One for All Midoriya hit much harder.
Having properly sussed out each other's strengths and weaknesses, there was a lot less in the way of blows and a lot more thinking. Each was watching the other for any hint on the next move.
Let's see...he's been using more small, quick jabs, especially from his right arm. But when I dodge to the left he usually has a second strike waiting, so if I... Midoriya's thoughts were stopped when he saw Tim's footing shift, and this time Midoriya was ready, raising one arm to block the blow and prepping his feet to deliver a low kick right afterwards.
It would have worked if Tim hadn't used his left arm instead, jabbing Midoriya right in his solar plexus. Tim hadn't been able to really put his weight behind the blow, but it was still enough to stagger Midoriya a little.
"You up for a break?" Tim asked, the strain from their sparring showing, his black hair matted to his head from the sweat. Midoriya took Tim's open hand to steady himself, and they walked off the track field to the nearby cold water bottles stashed inside of a plastic ice chest. (Provided by Mr. Grayson for them all.)
Tim got to it first and tossed Midoriya some much needed refreshment, and while he was taking his first steady sip, Tim asked him, "So, you've got to tell me what it's like to inherit One for All."
Suddenly, Midoriya was choking on his water. After making sure he was no longer in danger of asphyxiation, Midoriya looked around, and was comforted by the fact there was no one close enough to have heard Tim's question. Now, Midoriya wanted to look anywhere except at Tim. "Uh, wha-what are you talking about? My Quirk's actually called Full Cowl, and, uh-"
Midoriya's attempted deception made Tim laugh, a quiet sound from someone who wasn't used to sharing it with others. "Don't worry, I haven't told anyone, and I'm not about to, at least without your permission."
That certainly helped settle Midoriya's nerves. As he was starting to calm down, he focused on Tim. He was a little taller than Midoriya was, with a more slender build. His costume was similar to the two Robin's who had come before him, but with a larger emphasis on red and black as the main colors, without any green accents and only a yellow interior for his otherwise black cape. Oh, and his smile felt weirdly familiar.
Now that Midoriya didn't have to worry about explaining to All Might that he'd somehow shared the secret with another person, he started wondering about something. "So, how exactly did you know about, uh, about my Quirk?" Just because Tim knew, that didn't mean Midoirya wanted to be speaking about it openly around his classmates.
Then, remembering his sparring partner's hero name, a possibility came to mind. "Wait, did Batman tell you? Does he know?!" The Caped Crusader frequently came up in talks of the most influential American superheroes, despite the fact he was completely Quirkless. To Endeavor's chagrin, he held the title for many as the World's Greatest Detective.
Midoriya was pretty sure Tim's eyes widened at the question, but with the domino mask over his eyes, he couldn't really be sure. "No, Mr. Wayne didn't tell me, though I'm pretty sure he knows."
Looking bashful, Tim continued, "It was in middle school that I started being more interested in heroes, and I studied as much as I could about them, including on All Might. While I was researching him, I figured out the truth of One for All, and after he lost his powers in the Kamino Ward fight, I knew he'd passed it on. From there, it wasn't hard to figure out you were the successor. The timeline fit, you're in the first class at UA he's ever taught, and you've been seen together frequently. It was a simple deduction."
[[TIM DRAKE/ROBIN! HIS QUIRK...WAIT A SEC, HE DOESN'T HAVE ONE! THAT'S RIGHT BOYS AND GIRLS, THIS HERO DOESN'T HAVE ANY POWERS, BUT DON'T LET THAT FOOL YOU! ROBIN CAN HOLD HIS OWN IN A FIGHT, AND WITH MORE SUPPORT ITEMS THAT YOU CAN IMAGINE, PLUS HIS KILLER SMARTS, HE MORE THAN LIVES UP TO THE LEGACY OF HIS HERO NAME! -Present Mic]]
That was a lot to put together, and Midoriya was more than a little astonished that someone his age was such a good investigator. But, remembering the question that brought the topic up, he finally answered it as best he could. "Well, being his successor is...a lot. Even if no one else knows I'm supposed to be the next Symbol of Peace, I still do. Sometimes, I just wish I had someone to talk about it with."
They'd started walking back to where they'd been sparring, when Midoriya felt a hand on his shoulder.
Turning to look, he saw Tim was giving him a warm smile. "Well, you have me now, right? Plus," he winced a little, and they both started walking again, "I can kind of relate. I had to work so hard to be accepted as the third Robin, especially after what happened to Jason. They were considering abandoning the name entirely, but I proved myself to Mr. Wayne. Still, I wonder if I'm doing the right thing, if I'm the kind of person who actually deserves what I've been given."
Midoriya nodded, amazed to find someone with such a similar experience. To be sure, their actual situations were almost more different than similar, but sharing their struggles together felt...nice.
"Alright everybody! Enough training, gather around!"
Nightwing's voice pulled Avery away from her workout with Tenya Iida.
The stick-in-the-mud supreme was actually pretty good for workout ideas, since neither of them thought traditional sparring would be the best idea. Well, maybe she'd led him to think that was the case, but whatever.
With a skip in her step, she darted off towards her teacher, leaving Iida to follow after her grumbling about unsafe running speeds.
What a geek, she wasn't even using her Quirk.
Once everybody had gathered around the teachers, Nightwing grinned at everyone. "That was great work, everybody, you're starting off strong!"
The other class's teacher, Eraserjeans or something, continued to look and sound unpleasant as he added, "I think 'great' is a little much, but it could have gone worse. More important, you all have classes to get to, right now. The students from Titan Academy will be using the same schedule as Class 1-B, so you won't be seeing much of each other until the end of the day.
"What you all do between the last bell and your curfew is entirely up to you, but just remember that the American students can only leave the campus with their designated buddy. Anyone found breaking that rule will be punished, along with their negligent partner."
After everyone had a little time to change into their school uniforms, it was time for actual education and stuff. None of it felt entirely foreign to Avery, and she wished there was a teacher with Present Mic's level of enthusiasm back home. Since he taught English, and they already spoke it, he was teaching them about Japanese culture instead.
Schoolwork was never much of an issue for Avery though, and before she knew it class was over and she was tapping Iida on the shoulder in the hall. He turned his sharply-cut head to look at her.
"Wanna race?"
Ever since she learned they'd been paired up, this was what she'd been eager for.
Actually convincing the class rep to use the track field outside approved class time had taken half an hour, but she knew it would be worth it. They'd each changed once again, this time into regular sportswear.
The solid blue tank top and shorts accentuated Iida's angular build far better than the suit of armor or school uniform did, at least in Avery's eyes. The guy was built like a star quarterback, with rippling muscles and wide shoulders to support them. The metal pipes sticking out of his calves were a bit odd, sure, but Avery did her best to stare at the more appealing parts of him instead.
Avery's own tanned skin was covered in a bright purple sports jersey, one for the Central City Stars, and shorts that showed off her long legs. They were the only part of her that hinted towards her talent at running or her position as a student hero. She had always been thin, and even half a year at a hero school hadn't been enough to build much in the way of visible musculature. It was something she was a little self-conscious of, though she did her best to hide it. Like the rest of her insecurities.
Both team leaders were each standing on one end of the 500 meter track.
"Ready, set...go!" Iida announced, as he immediately took off. He'd primed the engines in his legs before the countdown, so they were already bellowing fire and increasing his speed right from the get go.
Avery stood at the starting line, watching him run with interest. Iida had good form, if she ignored the way his arms were moving. In fact, she'd noticed his arms bending in weird ways a lot so far that day. Almost always in right angles, too.
As Iida hit the halfway mark, the fire pouring out of his legs turned a bright blue as he yelled, "Recipro...burst!"
Now he was really going fast, and with no clue that Avery hadn't moved from her spot.
Nodding her head, having seen what she was sure was Iida's top speed, Avery stretched her legs a little, and as she did sparks of purple electricity began openly dancing across her body.
Her fuschia pupils sparked with lightning, and Avery let the Speed Force into her body.
From her perspective, the world slowed to a crawl as she moved between the two ends of the track in what felt to her like seconds. When she passed Iida, he looked as still as a statue. To an outside, she actually reached the end of the track in close to a tenth of one second, blasting through the sound barrier and creating a sonic boom in the process.
[[AVERY HO/THE FLASH! HER QUIRK: SPEED FORCE! HER BODY ABSORBS AND STORES ELECTROMAGNETIC ENERGY! WHEN SHE WANTS TO GO FAST, SHE CAN TURN THAT RESERVOIR INTO A CONNECTION TO SOMETHING CALLED THE SPEED FORCE, ALLOWING HER TO GO REALLY, REALLY FAST! THE AMOUNT OF ELECTRICITY SHE USES DETERMINES HOW FAST SHE CAN GO AND FOR HOW LONG! -Present Mic]]
Suddenly, she was looking at Iida from the opposite direction, and Avery could tell he was surprised by her burst of speed from the look on his normally stoic face, his mouth agape and his eyes wide.
He didn't stop running though, barreling forward using his super move until he met her side by side at the finish line. Suddenly looking very sweaty (while Avery looked pretty dry for someone who had just gone past Mach 12), Iida looked at her with amazement in his eyes. "That was incredible. I've never seen speed like that before." Then he reached out a large, calloused hand.
"Thanks," she responded, shaking it. Feeling smugness and adrenaline blasting through her veins, she gave him a wide grin and told him, "I should apologize though, I probably should have said before.
"I'm Avery Ho, and I've the Fastest Woman Alive."
