Acid-Reign

by FandomPariah

My first foray into the MHA Fandom. A casual message from old friends from before UA prompts Mina to consider whether she is really doing everything in her power to be the kind of Hero she wants to be and seek out people who can help her go 'Plus Ultra' Or: "Putting some respect on Mina Ashido's name"

My Hero Academia/Boku No Hero Academia & All associated trademarks are property of Kohei Horikoshi, Shounen Jump, Toho, Studio Bones and Funimation.

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

Acid-Reign

Being distracted from the mind-numbing and Herculean workload assigned to students of UA High, the volume of which was shocking even compared to the most gruelling private schools within Japan's demanding education system was unfortunately not an uncommon occurrence for Mina Ashido.

Though in her defence her lack of progress was not the result of laziness, far from it; she had energy and willpower to spare but simply struggled to direct them.

Currently Mina lay, or more accurately sprawled on her bed in her room at the Heights Alliance dormitories whilst clad in a loose fitting tank-top which hung off her frame to reveal arms and shoulders that were toned and well-muscled due to her training as both a Pro Hero and a dancer, a pair of plain and comfortable grey sweatpants and a pair of extremely fluffy pink socks, it was beginning to get colder after all and more importantly they allowed her to slide along the polished floors of the dorms without having to use her Quirk to melt anything underfoot. Her textbooks lay scattered beside her, each of them laying open and displaying several hastily scribbled notes in their margins where Mina had attempted to make sense of the assignments she had been given before flitting to the next and ultimately deciding that it would simply not be a productive night in that regard; massaging her temples and running her hands through candy-pink hair until it was even more unkempt that the stylised messiness she usually chose she resolved to speak with her teachers the following morning, reasoning that Aizawa was intimidating but would almost certainly not begrudge giving her some extra tuition and in the meantime found herself nodding her head in time to the bass-heavy music that pumped from her headphones whilst sketching almost absently, an old pass-time that she had been putting to more and more use lately as she designed something that she had vague ideas of making a reality even if she wasn't sure how to accomplish it.

A new hero suit.

Or more truthfully an entirely new hero identity; Mina Ashido did not hold grudges, anyone at UA who had encountered her even briefly could attest that she was simply too upbeat and positive for that but nonetheless being told that she couldn't use the 'Alien Queen' moniker that had, unbeknownst to Midnight been a childhood nickname amongst Mina's schoolfriends and instead being forced to make do with a hastily chosen, painfully obvious and yet ill-fitting substitute had stung and it was an injustice that Mina intended to correct, even if the way forward eluded her.

"-When she walks around looking like a fricking porno parody of a different hero; I mean how is that suit okay to wear in a school?" she muttered and grumbled under her breath before catching herself and thinking better of it; she set her sketchpad aside and rolled onto her back whilst letting out a slow breath and mentally counting down from ten, having grudges and arch-nemeses was for villains and a student having a grudge against a Pro-Hero was just laughably one-sided. Instead Mina simply laid on her bed and listened to her music, something upbeat, aggressive and filled with bass that she could feel as much as hear until after only a few moments her thoughts began to wander as they often did.

This time they wandered in the direction of her classmates.

"Still wanna see it" she mumbled tiredly as she considered Todoroki, her current choice in music reminding her of the preparations for the school festival and specifically the fact that the idea for their performance had come from the reserved and polite boy, prompting Mina's rapid-fire and often scattered thoughts to form visions of Todoroki as a secret raver that she couldn't help but laugh at, deciding that it was something she would have to look into further. From there her train of thought progressed to events that had occurred shortly after the festival, Denki Kaminari whom she considered a good friend due to the amount of time they spent gossiping together both in and out of detentions had finally plucked up the courage to ask Kyoka Jirou out on a date, only for the punk to shock the entire class by asking out Denki and Momo first; with the trio eventually finding themselves in an arrangement that worked for everyone.

"Momo does have two hands though" Mina shrugged and sighed "Shame Denki's always busy now….Squad loyalty fam" she trailed off as she silently wondered who would still be awake and present in the common area of the dorms and if it would be worth leaving her room to hang out with them for a few hours; Mineta had recently been removed from class One A in a move that had caused each of the girls in the class to let out sighs of relief though his replacement, Shinso whilst certainly an improvement in some regards was not the most sociable person whilst Kirishima would likely be wherever Bakugo was provided that the volatile blonde hadn't already gone to bed unusually early as he often did, most likely following him around with puppy-dog eyes that made Mina want to simultaneously tease him mercilessly and also be his wing-woman though as fun as the thought was it did little to relieve her stress and the mild headache it was beginning to cause her at that moment.

A distraction came in the form of her phone vibrating as a notification momentarily muted her music and threw her off of her rhythm; plucking the device out of her pocket Mina unlocked the phone and expected to be greeted with either a message from her family ensuring that she was doing well, cute pictures from Momo, Denki and Kyoka's latest date or equally likely a meme from Sero; what she had not been expecting to see was a notification from a group chat that she had not glanced at in far too long and had honestly thought herself to have been removed from

' Mina: Hey Alien Queen! You okay, I know you don't live on the block any more but we haven't heard from you in ages and UA keeps showing up on the news. Everything okay with you?'

"You guys" Mina whined softly, covering her mouth with her hand as she read and reread the message, swallowing a lump that had begun to form in her throat as she saw that old school friends she had distanced herself from to the point of abandonment were still checking in on her.

Mina Ashido was not explicitly poor, though she was certainly not rich or even middle-class; her salaryman father made ends meet and her family, wanting the best for Mina had spent much of their savings and income on their only child's education which had allowed her to attend the same private and well connected middle school as Kirishima, though Mina certainly had her own ideas about where Eijiro's families' money came from even if she would never dream of voicing those ideas in public. Whilst her schooling had been better than average for as long as she could remember Mina had lived in a poor and decidedly disreputable neighbourhood within the Capital City of her prefecture and her friend group outside of school reflected that; looking at the icon for the group chat showed a collection of youths who would almost certainly be described as hoodlums or thugs by any cranky or narrow-minded adult who saw them yet they were good kids even if they occasionally did bend or break certain laws that didn't hurt anybody, Mina knew that well enough; she also knew that each of her old friends had dreamed of being a Hero and attending UA as she was now, going so far as to give themselves nicknames that they had hoped would one day become their brand.

There was 'Slaps' easily recognisable in the photo owing to the fact he was a tower of a young man, with broad shoulders and fore muscular arms ending in oversized hands and 'Bling' a girl Mina's age with diamond hard and glittering skin, the two of them now attended the local high-school in their district and were ostensibly doing well. At the front of the picture was a small and unremarkable looking boy who went by the nickname 'Germ' whose Quirk granted him the ability to shrink down to a microscopic size, a feat that combined with his studies would soon see him studying medicine; beside him was 'Crash' who was capable of rivalling Tenya Iida in terms of speed but unfortunately was also capable of matching Mina's own scatterbrained tendencies and was only able to use their quirk in short bursts before becoming listless and lethargic, Mina had heard however that they had gotten into a trade-school and after years of organising illegal raves and house parties was finally finding a legitimate use for their skills with electronics. There were others in the group 'Sunshine' 'Bug' 'C-Monster' but Mina hadn't heard from them in so long she no longer knew what was happening in their lives.

Leaning imposingly against a wall at the edge of the picture however was the person who had sent the message and the undisputed ringleader of their group of friends; a tall and strong looking boy with a Quirk that left him with clawed hands, a bestial face and shaggy, Mohawk like mane of hair who went by the nickname 'Smiler-Don', the last Mina had heard he had been sent to live with an uncle in Kobe after his mother discovered that he was at least considering vigilante work after failing to get into UA; Mina had been furious but unsurprised, he had always loved the idea of being a hero and had even been the one to give Mina her own nickname after the two of them had watched several age-innapropriate sci-fi and horror films at a sleepover as children.

The memories left Mina's eyes stinging as she tried to form a reply that kept her usual cheer in place and didn't reveal just how much she was struggling or how worried she was about her place at UA.

"Damn it" her voice cracked a little as she set the phone down on her bed, thoughts racing at their usual speed but with an edge to them that felt almost malicious as they threatened to drag her into a depressive spiral. Pulling herself into a sitting position and resting her head in her hands as comfortably as possible whilst avoiding her horns the pink-skinned girl forced herself to focus and turn her keen eye for other peoples' motivations and interpersonal relationships inwards.

Taking a long hard look at herself she was disappointed by what she saw.

"Damn it" she whimpered again before wiping her eyes and once again swallowing the lump in her throat, forcing herself to believe that she was better than this. Mina realised that her problems had begun almost the moment she had arrived at UA and found the workload to be comparable to what she was already used to but without the added stress of financial instability, she struggled in classes but she always got help and pulled through, she hadn't received any offers for internships after the sports festival but UA had provided and she had done well, she had struggled in the provisional licence exam but had ultimately pulled through.

"You got too comfortable" she chastised herself in a tone far more harsh than she used in public "You got way too comfortable" pitch black eyes screwed shut for a moment before opening again, narrowed and filled with fresh fire and determination; Mina had allowed herself to relax and believe that UA was a school like any other and she silently vowed to herself that it would not go on any longer, the world could not afford it, the world needed heroes and with Allmight retired and Endeavour being seriously wounded live on national television barely a month ago it was becoming hauntingly clear that the new generation would need to fill the roles left to them sooner than planned.

The question then became a matter of how.

Slipping off her headphones and typing out a reply to her friends, assuring them that she was well and apologising for her absence whilst allowing herself to appear far more vulnerable than she had initially intended Mina began considering which of her class-mates she could ask for help; she first considered the upper classmen but quickly dismissed the idea as she realised that she simply didn't know enough of them, Katsuki Bakugo was similarly dismissed owing simply to how frightening the boy could be, Mina wanted to improve but the blonde had a dangerous bloodlust to him and even the Pro-Heroes had seen it, Tenya was an obvious choice but Mina had tried to study with the perfectionist before and found that whilst she was similarly demanding whilst teaching dance she just didn't learn much from that style of instruction, Shinso had progressed from the General Studies class and had gone through life with a Quirk that made people wary of him and Mina was sure there was something she could learn from the boy if only he were approachable enough to ask

"Fam!" she exclaimed, striking her forehead with the palm of her hand as the solution came to her, only to massage the spot she swatted; there was someone with the knowledge and ability to help her in this very dorm building and more importantly they were one of the few people who could match Mina herself in terms of sheer upbeat energy and approachability even after everything they had endured; as she sprung to her feet she found herself laughing at how long it had taken her to figure out what needed to be done. She slid towards the door of her room in a single motion only to slip and almost lose her balance as she tried to skid to a halt before rushing back to her bed and grabbing the sketchpad containing rough ideas for her new suit, her thoughts circling back around to the festival as she did so, specifically the song that Jirou had played and Mina found herself grinning wildly as she flung the door open

"I'm a hero too"

---

Izuku Midoriya had retired early for the night though it was not due to any tiredness, quite the opposite in fact, he found himself with far too much energy to simply sit and make small talk with his classmates, watch television or be ritually humiliated at every video game he played against Sero. There had been no PE class or other similar lesson that had required Izuku to push his body and Quirk to any meaningful degree today and as always the result was that he was more than a little restless, something that more than one of his classmates had jokingly said only added to how a much of a 'Human Puppy' he could be, normally he would have simply spent several hours in the school gym but since it was a Friday many of his usual gym-partners were unavailable or simply unwilling and the freckled boy had no intention of pushing himself by weightlifting with nobody to spot for him, after all the injuries he had sustained the idea of a gym related accident being what finally finished him off was almost offensive.

"Kaa-chan would actually kill me" he laughed to himself before letting out a strained grunt of exertion, realising that his childhood friend would see that as an unsatisfactory end to their rivalry; instead Izuku had simply retreated to his room and used the weights there for a smaller yet no less satisfying workout wherein he was far less likely to be accidentally injured.

Only for him to almost drop a dumbbell on his foot when a sudden knock at the door startled him.

"Ah crap!" his voice cracked as the weight thudded into the floor in one of the many indignities of puberty and Izuku winced inwardly, realising that whoever was at the door at likely heard him sound decidedly un-manly; silently hoping that it wasn't Kirishima he called out "It's open!"

Izuku, out of politeness stepped forwards to open the door himself only to be sent staggering backwards as it was flung open and his visitor burst inside energetically; his heel struck the weight he had dropped and he and his guest both found themselves toppling backwards to land in a tangle of limbs at which point Izuku finally realised that it was Mina Ashido who had joined him.

Which he could tell due to the particular shade of the flesh he had found his face pressed into

"Um….Hi" he managed to get the words out without choking on air, though they were still somewhat muffled and Izuku could feel his cheeks heating up to what felt like approximately the temperature of the sun with embarrassment; fortunately Mina herself seemed to be unbothered by the incident

"My bad Deku" she laughed as she leapt back and pulled the boy to his feet, noticing just how much muscle and scar tissue he actually had that was covered by his uniform most of the time

"Hey, um hi Mina….How can-I mean are you….What's up?" Mina watched as Izuku sputtered and stammered, still red-faced as he pulled himself onto his bed and took several deep breaths to steady himself

"Wow Deku, normally only Ururaka can get you this flustered" Mina teased, unable to help herself as a titbit of information she had noticed occurred to her and she took the momentary feigned confusion and half-choked denials as an opportunity to sit down and swivel lazily in the office chair Izuku kept by his desk and take in just how much rare and in many cases vintage Allmight merchandise her classmate had, she had seen it before of course and would expect nothing else from someone who mimicked the legendary heroes' attack-cries even in the hear of battle but truly seeing the sheer scale of his collection was impressive.

It also allowed her a few seconds to collect her thoughts and hide her own nervousness behind her usual happy smile

"Sorry for bothering you, I was just wondering if you could help me with something?"

"Sure, anything" the answer came instantly and Mina wondered just how she hadn't become friends with her messy haired classmate immediately upon meeting him, the boy was pure sunshine

"Well it's just that…." she trailed off, shoulder sagging in an unfamiliar display of dejection and awkwardness before she forced herself to continue "I came to UA to be a hero and I've been struggling and falling behind ever since I got here; you've had one of the biggest improvements out of everyone and always seem to be getting even better at everything you do and I….I need help"

"Oh" the word was almost squeaked out and upon forcing herself to look up and meet his eyes Mina couldn't help but smile; if he had been red-faced at having his face accidentally pressed into her chest then it was nothing compared to his response to the praise that had left him positively glowing.

"So uh, yeah" Mina found herself nervously playing with stands of hair at the back of her neck "You're always the guy with the plans and stuff and I kinda suck at this so I don't know I thought maybe-"

"I'll help" Deku answered brightly and she saw that all of the prior nervousness had vanished from his face and he had the determined look he always had before taking on some seemingly insurmountable challenge combined with a smile that could only be described as fierce "On one condition"

"Uh….Okay?" Mina answered hesitantly, she had never suspected that Deku might the same calibre of pervert as Mineta but would not hesitate to beat sense into him if that were the case, his answer however stopped her short.

"Don't say you suck" he said simply "You're one of the most underrated people in our class, people just don't see what you can do because you're surrounded by people like Kaa-chan and Todoroki or even Tokoyami with Quirks that blow everyone away"

"I mean I passed the provisional license exam but I scraped by" Mina shrugged, her own cheeks colouring slightly at the unexpected compliment though she doubted Izuku would notice due to her unique complexion "I had to do remedial classes at camp remember"

"So study isn't your strong point, you taught me to dance; if you can teach then you can learn" Izuku countered, a hint of exasperation creeping into his voice as he left his bed and manoeuvred passed Mina to begin rummaging through draws and bookshelves in and around his desk until he finally seemed to find what he was looking for a produced not one, but several of the notebooks that Mina often saw him scribbling in.

"You took notes on me?" she asked as she realised what he was doing

"Yeah….I mean, uh they're not all about you, I take notes on everyone's quirks and fighting styles and stuff so uh-"

"Calm down fam" Mina couldn't help but his nervous laughter but at the same time found herself wondering exactly what had happened to leave him so skittish and defensive "I know you're not a creep or anything like that so now I'm just kinda curious what you've been writing about me" Izuku audibly swallowed and Mina found herself grinning widely at how easy to torment he was

"I mean you're really strong!" he answered brightly as he flipped to a random page in one of the notepads, showing that he was either simply trying to find an excuse to hide his face or her actually knew the contents of each book by heart

"You knocked out Aoyama with one punch, that uppercut was brilliant" Izuku cocked his head before adding "Where did you learn to fight like that?"

"The streets fam" Mina gave an almost feral grin as she gave him the truth wrapped in jest

"I don't know exactly what areas you want to improve in but have you ever thought combining your dancing with your fighting style-"

"Like Hip-Hop Kido?" Mina asked, the thought spilling from her lips impulsively

"Yes!" Deku shot back "You follow the American hero leagues as well? All-Might is still considered an honorary member of their hall of fame" the pink-skinned girl fought the urge to roll her eyes at that, of course Izuku knew of Hip-Hop Kido through his tangential connection to the number one hero, Mina herself simply appreciated the unmatched style of the breakdancing hero whose symbol was for some odd reason had always been a Mastodon.

"It's something I was thinking of doing actually" Mina finally admitted "But I'd need to work on my costume, the shoes I have for my quirk are too heavy for it….honestly though I just wish I could pull off some of the big flashy entrances and finishes or the crazy plans that somehow do everything that we need that you can do, you're like five steps ahead of everyone else" looking at Izuku was enough to leave her squirming a little uncomfortably as he stared at her in silence with his jaw hanging agape as though she had grown a second head.

"Mina you're an idiot" his words felt like an electric shock and jolted her into action

"Come on bro that's not-"

"Do you really think that you haven't been doing that already?" Izuku asked, right eye beginning to twitch at the apparent obliviousness of his classmate; he spoke again and jabbed the page of his notebook with each word for emphasis "The match against Aoyama, you found and exploited his weakness perfectly! He wasn't even trying to counter you or your quirk he was just firing his laser! You can't make plans? You can't do flashy….Mina you planned our live show! You have transferable skills you just don't use them!"

"Okay, Okay I get it" Mina waved her hands frantically, sure that ether Deku would burst a blood vessel from apparent stress or that she would from blushing so hard if this continued. Her classmate sighed and flopped back onto his bed with his notes beside him in a way very similar to how Mina herself had been sprawled a short while ago.

"Okay you want me to help you improve overall, I can definitely think of some ways to do that….but it can't be just me, it's gonna need to be a class effort but I think after everything you did for us at the festival everyone will be okay with it"

"Thank you Deku!" Mina gave a happy little jig of pure delight, fighting the urge to hug the boy until something popped

"I have a pretty strict workout routine, but your style is different to mine even if I did base parts of my shoot style on you-"

"Wait you did what?" Mina's eyes widened yet Deku kept talking, his voice taking on that rapid-fire mumbling quality that was often mocked

"So I think before I draw up any kind of routine for you I should probably talk to Ojiro, maybe Shouji and Sato as well….you're stronger than me if we don't include quirks but they both power lift. If you're struggling in class then Momo has a study group and Aizawa would definitely be happy to give you extra tuition if you think you need it" Izuku paused, both for breath and seemingly to consider something as he sat up and took a moment to regard Mina carefully "You want to be able to think of plans for every outcome then you need practice and a lot of experience at problem solving but you also need the information to be able to find the answers….So I'm going to let you borrow my notes and go over what I have on all the big heroes and villains"

"You'd let me go through your notes?" Mina gasped, realising just how much they meant to him, they were something of an obsession and the key to many of his victories

"Because I spent years wanting to be more than I was and I would never stop somebody else from having the chance to achieve that" Izuku's smile was weak and wavering and Mina could tell instantly that there was a lot going unsaid by the tension in his freckled face but all she could focus on at that moment was her own unbridled gratitude

"Thank you so much, I am not gonna let you down-"

"If you want to know how to best maximise your Quirk" Izuku continued, glancing around conspiratorially as though he expected to be attacked for his next words before leaning closer and whispering "Look at some of my notes on Kaa-chan"

"Bakugo?" Mina's face morphed into an expression of utter confusion "Our Quirks are totally different"

"Are they?" Izuku raised a questioning eyebrow "You can both produce highly volatile substances from your skin and you're both really good at close quarters combat….it's just that one of you has a little bit more help" Mina fell silent, contemplating and trying to find what her classmate meant until finally her black and yellow eyes widened dramatically

She knew exactly what she needed to do

"YOU'RE A GENIUS!" this time Mina showed no pretence of reservation and flew off of the chair, throwing herself at Izuku for a crushing hug that left him blushing profusely once again as their bodies were pressed tightly together, a moment later however the contact ended and Izuku barely registered the sound of his door slamming as Mina bolted out of his room, her fluffy socks skidding on the polished floor as she scrabbled frantically towards whatever goal she had in mind; still dazed and enjoying a warm fuzz that had filled his brain the green haired and freckled teen reached out with his scarred right hand to pluck a sheet of paper that was drifting slowly downwards and examine it, realising immediately that it was not one of his notes

"Oh….I get it" he murmured as he saw what Mina had left behind, face becoming a wide smile filled with giddy excitement "You're going Plus Ultra"

---

Mei Hatsume was not what one would consider a social butterfly or frankly any other form of social animal as any astute or even simply observant person would deduce from the fact that even in the UA Support Class, a place where the next generation of Japan's brightest minds were concentrated she was almost always seen alone, usually covered in soot and debris and littered with a collection of cuts, burns and stains whilst either rambling or cackling madly to herself about her 'Babies'. Such behaviours had taken a severe impact on Mei's social life, not that she had noticed or particularly cared and said lack of close friends was why she spent her Friday evenings in the campus workshops and laboratory instead of her class's dorms; it was also why she often went days at a time without even looking at her phone, much less actually taking it from her bedside table though fortunately today was not one of those days, she had been using an app on her phone to remotely control one of her latest creations and work out several minor bugs whilst music that Power-loader would never allowed to be played at a volume that Power-loader would also never allow.

Her experiments and testing had come to an abrupt halt when she received an unexpected text message from Izuku Midoriya.

'Hey so I'm not certain but I think one of my classmates might be looking for you, I was talking to Ashido about maximising her Quirk and she took off' Mei had frowned as she read the message, her eyes shifting and adjusting in a way that unsettled many people, the message was brief and several key data-points were missing that made Deku's logic seem like random and disjointed leaps and conjecture but knowing the Hero Class student as she did she had decided to humour him and prepare herself for company, turning off the music and setting her prototype Babies aside.

Now all she had to do was wait.

She was rewarded soon enough as the pneumatic hiss of the reinforced blast doors sliding open announced her visitors' arrival and Mei caught sight of a blur of pink and grey motion before several jets of pressured and near-freezing air were activated, unleashing torrents of gas that held the newcomer in place whilst stripping away every last particle of anything that they might have dragged in with them and at the same time completely silencing them, though Mei noticed that they were still trying to sputter out a greeting and some kind of explanation; even managing to utter the occasional coherent word.

"The dedication is impressive" Mei cackled darkly before deactivating the pressure-jets to reveal the dishevelled, bedraggled and more than a little distressed form of Mina Ashido who now wore sneakers over her fluffy socks and a hoody that matched her sweatpants which had, like her hair ben blown into a state of utter disarray

"Okay but why though?" Mina choked out which only served to take Mei's twisted hysterics to new heights

"Because this is a clean room, we have a protocol to follow to stop people leaving dust and mud in my Babies" her voice dropped an octave as she leaned closer, becoming something truly ominous "Besides, you came in here ready to ramble….I do the mad scientist rambling in here. Now how can I help you, Midoriya said you wanted to maximise your quirk?"

To say Mina was utterly flabbergasted at this point was an understatement of cosmic proportions.

The acidic hero continued to stare and blink in a comical display of nonplussed confusion as she tried to make sense of everything about Mei Hatsume, her mind continuing to race around various ideas and points of reference as it always seemed to before finally settling on something that she understood, namely the various way people interacted with one another and a specific detail stuck out to her as odd.

"Deku has your number? You two are close like that?"

"Not 'Like that' like that" Mei visibly fought against the urge to give a shudder of revulsion "I upgraded his suits, incorporated some of Babies into it to give him an edge, exactly like what you want me to do for you right?"

"Does Ururaka know that?" the words fell out of Mina faster than her conscious mind could think better of it as she remembered the odd animosity that her usually chipper gravity-warping classmate had shown regarding Mei and the knowing glances that several of the girls in their class had exchanged following it. Mei merely treated her to a derisive snort, eyes narrowing and vivid yellow eyes adjusting like some sort of lenses as she offered a retort

"My crushes or lack thereof, definitely a lack thereof….touching and bodily fluids and ugh" Mei had seemingly almost forgotten Mina's presence for a moment as she stewed in her own disgust before turning back to her "Nobody else's business, now what kind of babies can I make for you?"

"I well….I hadn't really thought this far ahead" Mina admitted privately cursing herself for the exact lack of foresight and planning that had recognised as a weakness only minutes ago "I was talking to Deku and he compared my quirk to Bakugo's, we both produce volatile compounds from our bodies and it hit me, he walks around with a giant fuel tank on each arm-"

"Stop!" Mei raised a hand, stern expression morphing into a grin that could best be described as menacing and unhinged "I'm already having ideas….now I'm going to need a full chemical breakdown of the various acids you can produce. Viscosity, strength, flammability, boiling and freezing temperatures, a full breakdown of how your physiology differs from baselines and-"

"I….um don't have any of that on hand" Mari admitted, fidgeting as Mei took whatever confidence and resolve that pink-skinned girl had mustered and promptly crushed it beneath her mania, playing with her hair she added "I had a sketch of kinda what I was hoping a new suit would look like but I think I left it with Deku"

"You have the power to melt things by touch and you have no scientific curiosity about the limits of your own abilities or how they can used more effectively?" Mei demanded, pinching the bridge of her nose and inhaling sharply

"I mean when you put it like that, yeah I do now" Mina mumbled

"Is the correct answer" Mei stepped close, peering at Mina with a slightly unsettling and utterly manic energy about her "Oh you'll get your new gear Ashido but it comes at a cost, you just volunteered to be my new lab-rat; by researching your Quirk I can find ways to improve my Babies and maybe make some interesting breakthroughs all while helping to make you a better hero….fuel tanks, pfft primitive! Science class is in session and our professors will be 'Trial' and 'Error'" Mina gulped audibly at that, not sure of entirely what she was signing herself up for and knowing that Mei could be single-minded and extreme in her approaches as well as realising that between her classwork, assignments and everything else she had already agreed to she was rapidly running out of time.

She quickly decided that it was worth it, the world needed heroes and she had dreamed of being one for far too long to be denied now.

"Class is in session" she repeated "So let's hope it's a multiple choice quiz" Mei's sudden glare made it clear that the joke was not appreciated.

---

Several weeks had passed since Mina had received an innocuous message from her old friends that had managed, with no intention on its' senders' part to make her re-evaluate her life and take a more pro-active approach to her education and self improvement and Mina would have raged against her past self for their hubris.

If only she had the energy left to rage against anything.

Her life, as she had suspected it would had become little more than work and sleep and though she was finding her classes easier now and had shown marked improvement they were still taking up a larger portion of her day, she had become a regular member of Momo's study group and greatly appreciated the class vice-presidents' help and it had transpired that Aizawa had been more than willing to provide extra tuition for her and had in fact already been doing so for Shinso who needed it to catch up on what he had missed by transferring to the hero course later in the semester; from there Mina had actually managed to have conversations with the gaunt and vaguely sinister boy and had found his note-taking to be immaculate and second only to Deku's in terms of detail.

Outside of classes and homework she was spending several more hours each day on the training regimen that had been devised to help hone her already impressive physical abilities and better combine her different skills, endurance training with Deku, martial arts lessons and sparring with Ojiro, weight training with Sato and Shouji and even on several occasions practising her melee skills against the towering, many-limbed boy had left Mina battered, bruised and exhausted yet still the progress had been undeniable; she had already been one of the wider-set and more muscular girls in the class and that had only been made more pronounced by her training with Mina herself stopping to flex upon catching sight of her more defined abs and biceps in the mirror one morning.

The training regimen had included more than the physical of course, Deku had allowed Mina to peruse the notes he had taken on countless heroes and villains but in return he had expected her to study and memorise them and find ways to apply that knowledge and the pink-skinned girl had found herself been quizzed and sent hypothetical situations that she needed to find solutions to at all hours of the day to ensure she stayed sharp whilst working alongside Mei to deign a fitting suit for her new Pro-Hero identity had become a physics lesson, chemistry lesson and engineering class all wrapped up into one though Mina would be lying if she said that she didn't find the process interesting as well as exciting as she learned new ways to put her Quirk to use.

The problem was that it had left her utterly exhausted which was why Kirishima had found her unconscious in the dormitory common area early on a Saturday afternoon.

"I still can't believe you didn't ask me for help, or even tell me" the faux-redhead lamented as they continued towards wherever he was taking her though there was no true regret or annoyance in it and instead Kirishima merely flashed her a smile full of jagged teeth. Upon being woken up by her understandably concerned friend Mina had explained her recent lack of free time and constant state of exhaustion, as well as the black eye she was sporting from boxing with Shouji the previous evening and being unable to keep track of all of his arms at once; Kirishima had been ecstatic for her and had spent several seconds floundering in search of a suitable adjective where 'Manly' would not do before and idea had occurred to him and he had excitedly told Mina to grab her training uniform whilst he handled some details. Mina, trusting the boy she had known since middle-school had changed into the familiar blue jumpsuit and ventured out into the cold, fresh air as she allowed herself to be led towards whatever Kirishima had in mind though as she saw the building that they were quickly approaching the vague outline of what he was planning began to take shape

"Gym Gamma?" she asked, cocking her head and frowning "This doesn't seem like a good idea"

"No come on it's fine….You don't think I'd just sneak in like a thief of something right? Totally not manly!" Kirishima exclaimed, giving her a look of faux indignation before clarifying "I got permission from All-Might for some extra training, Kaa-chan's gonna meet us there"

"Bakugo?" Mina asked, mouth suddenly dry "Definitely not a good idea bro….he's crazy"

"He's the reigning first year sports festival champ" Kirishima countered "He's the best in our class, if you wanna get better then you've got face the best at some point or you're just not pushing yourself"

Mina paused, mouth working silently for several seconds before she realised that she truthfully couldn't argue against that logic even if Bakugo had been forcibly restrained whilst receiving his medal for winning said competition and was known for an explosive temper and fury that had brought him the attention of heroes and villains alike he was still the reigning champ, as scary and intense as he might be Mina squared her shoulders and forced herself to nod in silent agreement before allowing herself to be led into the gym.

The interior of Gym Gamma was often subject to change, entire landscapes being compressed into the hangar-like space to suit the needs of whatever lesson or exercise was currently underway and currently the training area had a distinctly Sci-Fi feel to it, the overhead lights were dimmed and several cubes of some faintly glowing, translucent material formed towers and platforms all around them

"It looks like Tron in here" Mina muttered "Was someone racing bikes?"

"I think it was an evasion class for the second years" Kirishima answered, both of them falling silent as they caught sight of the lone figure waiting for them amidst the futuristic landscape; Bakugo stood with his muscular arms folded across an equally muscular chest, working out a crick in his neck and glowering menacingly in a display that was made all the more imposing by the ambient lighting of the cubes around him.

Mina was more concerned by the fact that he was clad in his full Hero attire however

"Weird hair what's going on, you called me and said it was important?" the explosive blonde's voice was it's usual raspy and throaty snarl, as if he'd yelled so much that it had left him permanently hoarse and scratchy. Kirishima flashed Mina a devilish smile and as the two of them locked eyes she realised exactly what her friend was about to say

"Oh you son of a-"

"Mina wants to fight you!"

Their was a sudden chill in the air and a silence so profound that it almost defied description until, after glaring at them with narrowed and fiery eyes for several seconds Bakugo finally spoke and Mina was left stunned and if she were entirely honest more than a little insulted by his response

"Am I being pranked? Is this a joke? Weird hair which one of the other extras put you up to this?"

"I wanna fight you!" Mina suddenly snapped, fists clenching as she braced herself and stood her ground "I mean, I wanna train against you….I've been trying to improve and you're the number one in our class-"

"And you want the number one spot Pinky? Not a chance!"

"Don't call me that!" Mina yelled, unsure of why Bakugo was always so angry or how he managed to inspire that same fury in those around him almost at will but she forced herself under control before continuing, she was after all asking for a favour "I'm planning on getting rid of that Hero name, I don't want it and look….I don't care about rankings or who's number one, I just know I can be better and I owe it to myself to try; you're the best person for me to test myself against especially since Midoriya said that our Quirks are kinda similar-"

"THAT QUIRKLESS LOSER SAID WHAT?" the air itself trembled under the force of Bakugo's roar and his eyes took on an unhinged quality as his voice dropped to something quieter yet far more menacing "Okay extra, you wanna fight then let's fight THINK FAST!"

And like that it began

With an almost animal roar of berserk rage Bakugo used an explosion to send himself rocketing forwards, Kirishima leapt aside and Mina raised her guard as her opponent came flying into her personal space with his right arm reared back to deliver one of his customary, earth-shattering hooks yet as her arm flew up and out to deliver a punch to his bicep that would leave the arm hanging limp she saw that Bakugo had made changes to his own strategy, his palm opening to reveal the first flickering sparks of his Quirk being activated.

Mina let out a yelp as she evaded.

Using a move that she had dubbed 'Acid lay-back' she secreted acid through the soles of her purpose built shoes and caused the ground beneath her to melt instantly which in turn allowed her to almost skate backwards and avoid the blow, though she could still smell the air burning around her and was almost certain that a few of her hairs had been singed as Bakugo's attack ripped through the space she had occupied and blasted a tower of minimalist cubes to scorched fragments. Panting heavily she chanced a glance up at her opponent only to see that Bakugo's assault was continuing in earnest, carrying the momentum of his missed attack into a spin he had brought his arms together in a gesture that Mina quickly recognised as the precursor to one of his special moves.

The rapid-fire AP Shot.

"Okay, go time" she breathed out, realising that even without the new equipment that was being made for her it was time to put her training to the test and see just how far she had come; flexing her fingers and concentrating despite her urgency she began to adjust the strength, viscosity and pressure at which her acid was exuded from her skin and whilst it would certainly be far easier with her new suit her ploy worked. Bakugo opened fire and Mina dropped into a crouch, slamming her hands into the ground and using a jet of steaming, pressurised acid to launch herself into the air and over the attack

"YEAH BOI!" Mina exclaimed as she landed, only for her the sense of accomplishment to vanish as she caught sight of Bakugo's murderous expression upon realising that she had used a technique clearly based on his own aerial evasion and more importantly, who had taught her to do it

"DEKU YOU BASTARD!" Bakugo exploded forwards again at blinding speed and it was all Mina could do to cover her face with her forearms before the blow came, this time he did deliver a punch and the force of it sent waves of pain through her arms as it threw her from her feet, only for the blonde to seize her by the ankle and swing her around in a wide arc before using another burst of his Quirk to hurl her through the air, sending her soaring upwards until she went crashing through several stacks of the odd cubes and finally landing in a crumpled heap on a wide open platform several dozen feet in the air that would serve as a fitting arena.

"This bitch empty….yeet" she groaned to herself before dragging herself to her feet, wincing at the pain that coursed through her and using the sleeve of her jumpsuit to wipe at a cut on her cheek, discarding the garment a moment later as it began to smoke on contact with her blood. Doubling over and resting her hands on her knees she listened out for Bakugo's approach and desperately tried to form a plan, not noticing that she began rambling under her breath in a way that was very much like Izuku Midoriya

"Okay, Bakugo is strong, he's fast and he's usually smart but he can definitely be goaded and he gets tunnel vision when he's angry, he doesn't think" Mina stopped and allowed herself a soft chuckle "Well he's definitely angry now, so what do I do when he gets here, he has his gear and-I've got it….HEY FIRECRACKER IS THAT ALL YOU'VE GOT? MINETA HAD A BETTER ARM THAN THAT AND ALL HE DID WAS FAP ALL DAY! YOU WANNA KNOW HOW I KNOW YOU'RE A SCRUB 'LORD EXPLOSION MURDER'? 'COS YOU'RE A TEENAGE BOY WITH A BUCKET OF SWEAT ON EACH ARM AND EVEN AXE BODY-SPRAY WON'T SPONSOR YOU!"

The response was near instantaneous

"I'M RIGHT HERE MELTDOWN!" the yell announced Bakugo's presence a fraction of a second before he burst into view, leaping from one tower around the platform Mina stood on to the next in an effort to confuse and disorient her before coming soaring towards her with a knee extended and aimed at her chest, Mina's training had paid off however and she rolled aside before landing in a crouch and aiming a low, spinning sweep at his legs all the while thinking that 'Meltdown' might not be such a bad hero name.

Bakugo leapt over the sweep and fired an explosive blast at Mina as she rose to her feet only for her to surprise him by avoiding it as she used her athleticism and skills she had picked up as a break dancer to pull herself into something between a roll and a flip that brought her to his left side and inside hie guard where she promptly launched her own counter-attack

"Got ya now" she taunted as a strong, pungent acid began to coat her palms and she lunged close enough to touch the grenade gauntlet mounted on Bakugo's right arm, specifically the small section of the control mechanism that was visible between its' casing and his hand.

She melted it, rendering the device almost useless.

Bakugo thrashed and made to knock her aside with a left hook, Mina reacted on instincts sharpened by years living in a rough neighbourhood and simply headbutted him full in the face and left him with a clearly bloodied nose that trickled and leaked below his mask before weaving beneath his left arm and switching her grip; a moment later the controls for the left gauntlet had been reduced to smoking slag and Mina was presented with the opportunity to deliver a crushing blow to her opponents' elbow or shoulder that would effectively end the fight, she decided against however; bringing herself back from the edge that she had caught herself teetering on and reminding herself that this was supposed to be a sparring match.

Bakugo sensed her hesitation however and it only drove him even further into his rage

"DON'T YOU DARE HOLD BACK!" he finally thrashed and struggled enough to free himself before leaving Mina dazed and stunned with a spinning back kick that caught her previously uninjured cheek and used the opening to raise both hands, sparks bursting into life around them as he used his Quirk even without the aid of his fuel tanks.

A moment later Mina was sailing backwards as she was blasted over the edge of the platform.

Her chest was tight, she was almost certain that some of her ribs had been cracked and every inch of her body burned whilst her chest felt as though it were filled with glass and nails yet still she refused to be beaten so easily and concentrated on creating the strongest, most highly pressurised jet of acid she possibly could; focusing on that above all other concerns including even breaking or managing her fall.

The spray glowed a vivid neon green as it splashed against the platform Bakugo still stood on.

Mina landed hard and painfully, the wind being knocked from her in an instant and her limbs refusing to cooperate with her first few attempts to stand whilst steaming, almost fizzing blood trickled from a gash in her forehead below one of her horns yet she had achieved what she set out to do and the panicked yell from Bakugo and sound of whatever the translucent cubes were made from collapsing under their own weight as they melted confirmed it.

The platform tipped, hurling Bakugo free and bringing the blonde both figuratively and painfully literally down to Mina's level.

"Wanna call it a draw now?" she asked, managing to sound playful despite the way her shoulders sagged and she swayed on her feet as she caught sight of her opponent striding from the wreckage, discarding his gauntlets and sporting several burns where her acid had splashed against his skin.

"You're still holding back!" he accused furiously "LOOK AT THE NEWS ASHIDO! LOOK AT THE WORLD WE LIVE IN! IF YOU WANT TO BE A HERO THEN THAT MEANS GIVING IT YOUR ALL BECAUSE THE LEAGUE OF VILLAINS DON'T PLAY BY RULES AND THEY DON'T SPAR! IF YOU WANT TO SAVE PEOPLE THEN YOU'VE GOTTA BE WILLING TO DO WHAT IT TAKE NOW STOP PLAYING AROUND AND HIT ME WITH EVERYTHING YOU'VE GOT!"

Something about the blondes' tirade resonated and as he surged forwards for another maelstrom of devastating attacks Mina felt something snap within herself.

Bakugo was sprinting rather than using his Quirk, clearly aware enough to conserve his shots now that his external fuel source had been taken from him and so Mina sent a wave of acid from her feet spilling forth to soften the ground, sending her opponent off balance and allowing her to build momentum as she skated and slid forward with practised ease before finally getting close enough to do something she had wanted to do for try for a while and performing one of her breakdancing moves in a fight, leaping and landing upside down supported by one hand as she kicked out with both legs and struck Bakugo in both shoulders with enough force to lift him from his feet. Mina righted herself just in time to see him land on the ground and swiftly handspring himself back to his feet and from there she used his own momentum against him, coating her knuckles in acid and driving her fist up for an uppercut that his chin would come rushing into yet Bakugo managed to move aside just enough that the acidic blow instead melted through the tips of one side of his mask before managing to shove Mina back.

There was no chance to prepare for his counter.

All Mina was aware of was blinding pain and the urge to vomit as an explosion powered blow caught her in the gut and left her doubled over Bakugo's fist, breathless, retching and unable to support herself on suddenly jellied legs; she sunk to her knees just in time for Bakugo's next rocket-propelled punch to strike her square in the face and Mina barely registered his snarl of pain as her blood scorched his knuckles as all she could focus on was the taste of blood in her own mouth, the sensation of her brain rattling inside her skull and the echoing crunch of her nose breaking.

The third blow was a forearm to the neck that left her sprawled on her back and barely able to breathe, yet a blurry figure looming overhead that could only be Bakugo confirmed that the fight was not yet over as it raised a foot to stomp on her skull.

At which point Kirishima, body hardened to rock by his quirk came crashing into Bakugo's chest and pinned the blonde's arms to his sides

"Okay Kaa-chan that's enough, you win bro-"

"THIS ISN'T OVER TIL IT'S OVER; SHE'S NOT DONE YET!" Bakugo roared, spittle flying from his mouth as he lost all semblance of control "NOW EITHER STEP ASIDE OR I'LL SHOOT THROUGH YOU!" That was enough to bring Mina to her senses and force herself onto her hands and knees in a desperate attempt to end this insanity, even if it meant forfeiting; her obsidian eyes watered from the pain yet she could still see the flaring starbursts of Bakugo's quirk as he tried to wrestle free of Kirishima's grasp only for the sparks and flames to suddenly gutter out in a way that the students were all to familiar with.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING YOU BASTARD!" Bakugo's feral scream echoed off of the walls of Gym Gamma and the sudden silence was enough to bring him back from his rage as the reality of the situation set in and he realised that he had just yelled and swore at a teacher.

"I am refereeing this sparring match" Aizawa dead-panned as he loomed over the students, eyes glowing and hair blowing in some unseen wind as he used his Quirk to give him a truly haunting appearance "I understand that Kirishima cleared the use of the training area with Allmight however there should still have been a teacher present to oversee it; as that oversight was on Allmight's part and he was unable to attend himself none of you will be punished and I'm even willing to overlook the outburst as heat of the moment….However this training exercise has clearly gone too far and I'm ending it effective immediately"

"Yes Aizawa Sensei" Mina managed to choke and gasp out as she forced herself to her feet on trembling legs; the Erasure Hero took a moment to regard her before giving an approving nod and unless Mina was very much mistaken the ghost of a smile that tugged at the very corners of his mouth

"Ashido your dedication to your studies has been exemplary these last few weeks and your ranking within the class will reflect that; find me in my office later this afternoon and we'll go over your latest exam. In the meantime you and Bakugo need to see Recovery Girl" Mina nodded and began to limp away, her teachers' praise and obvious pride in her enough to lessen the sting of her defeat if not the physical agony she was in, her attempts to begin immediately analysing the fight and searching for lessons to be learned the way Deku would was brought to a halt however as she realised that Bakugo was not beside her and she managed to hear a snippet of his conversation with Kirishima that left her with wide eyes

"You were gonna shoot through me….you weren't bluffing you were really gonna do it" Kirishima's voice cracked and wavered Mina fought the urge to tackle Bakugo to the ground and pummel him even further when she heard a weak sniffle from her middle-school friend

"I was gonna get the job done, what did I do it in a way that was manly enough for you?" Bakugo demanded in a sneer that dripped contempt from every syllable.

"You're….You're not a good friend Kaa-chan" Kirishima murmured "Honestly you're not even a good person" with that the faux redhead trudged away in utter dejection and Mina finally allowed herself to turn around, catching sight of Bakugo's face and the expression of sudden and utter hopelessness he wore.

It seemed that Kirishima had struck a chord that no amount of concerned teachers or Pro-Heroes ever could.

---

After two more weeks had passed Mina's injuries had healed entirely thanks to the aid of Recovery Girl, though the wizened old nurse had fussed and grumbled about her picking up poor habits from those she studied with during each session and her fight with Bakugo was no longer the most widely discussed piece of gossip amongst all of UA although it did seem likely that it would pass on into the stuff of legend among the schools' alumni, especially as Monoma had loudly and repeatedly used it as a reason to declare Mina an honorary member of Class One B, an affront that the pink-skinned girl would not suffer and had responded to by using an acid not far removed from mere citrus on the loudmouth's lunch.

It was Saturday once again and Mina's training had finally come to a halt, at least for a weekend as Deku had approached her earlier that morning and shown mercy on her by gently diverting her attention away from an app filled with puzzle games on her phone that she'd been using to sharpen her problem solving skills until they were at least comparable to Midoriya's own and noting that she clearly needed to take a break or she wouldn't be able to focus when she needed to and it would defeat the entire purpose of all the hard work she was doing; he had also told her that he was proud of her and happy for her which has left Mina feeling inexplicably lighter and grinning from ear to ear as she did a happy little dance whilst seeing who she could convince to join her for a trip into the city.

She had ended up being joined by Sero, Toru and Kirishima; the invisible girl and the constantly smiling boy whose Quirk was simply too strange to be given a flippant description had been simply happy and relieved that Mina who, until weeks ago had been a regular part of their social group was finally once again able to spend time with them and had spent much of their time wandering through the busy streets catching her up on gossip and chatting animatedly about the potential of a 'Plus Ultra Mina' as they had jokingly dubbed her.

Kirishima was a different story.

Mina had been astute enough to know that the boy was unhappy from the moment he had joined them; many people might have dismissed his choice of a thick black hoodie with the hood pulled up as a response to the weather which had continued to become more chilly with each passing day yet she knew Kirishima well enough to see him with his hair down and without any of its' usual styling and be concerned.

She couldn't directly address the issue however as Sero was busy loudly putting his foot in his mouth.

"Come on man" he whined to the faux redhead who had clearly denied some request "I thought we were supposed to be bros"

"Sero knock it off" Mina warned him, her tone a little more snappish than she had intended due to simple tiredness and enough to get the gangly, almost scrawny boy to turn and face her

"You too?" he cried, putting on a theatrical display of overblown gestures "What happened Mina, you used to hang out all the time, now you've got eyebags like Shinso and a temper like Bakugo"

"Knock it off Sero" Kirishima interjected, the sound of grinding stone punctuating his words as his fists clenched and hardened involuntarily; a flicker of movement from a sleeve that appeared empty reminded the three of them that Toru was present and Mina decided that she would thank the invisible girl later as she led Sero on ahead, allowing Mina and Kirishima to talk

"Hey...are you okay?" she asked cautiously, her usual simply interest in peoples' relationships and any juicy information she could find replaced by genuine worry and kindness which Kirishima evidently recognised and responded to, managing a weak, toothy smile as he answered

"Yeah, Kaa-chan and I….we're working some things out, he doesn't really know how to talk through his problems so it's difficult but maybe y'know" he shrugged and trailed off

"Maybe he'll figure out that you've the biggest cutest crush on him and have had for months" Mina winked, playfully punching his shoulder as he let out an exaggerated groan; the two of them continued on after Sero and Toru, planning to catch up with the pair who had stopped to wait for them as they reached a bridge that spanned a busy street lined with towering buildings with several lanes of traffics and dense crowds of people going about their daily lives as one might expect in a place such as this.

The explosion of glass and screams that ripped through the daily bustle below them was entirely unexpected however

"Aww what the hell?" Sero demanded, peering over the railing of the bridge to try and see what had happened only for his demeanour to change instantly into something more serious "Villain attack!"

"Who is it?" Kirishima snapped as he quickly shed his hoodie, clearly deciding that he did not need his hero attire in order to play the part and put his provisional license to use

"Let me see" Mina interjected before leaping up onto the railings that lined the bridge they had gathered on and peering down to where the emergent criminal was wading through cars that had come screeching to a halt, batting them aside with ease though despite it all Mina found herself letting out a sigh of relief as she realised that this was not some master plan or co-ordinated assault being led by those with grand agendas and was instead simply a run of the mill thug who had held up a local business and torn free of the building in a show of force.

"We're okay" she informed her friends "I know who that is, Deku has notes on this guy, he's pretty small time….we can take him"

"Small time? He isn't small anything look at the size of the guy!" Sero waved frantically at the criminal who had yet to realise they were being observed from above

"Not looking very manly right now Sero" Kirishima noted

"If he's small time why does Deku have notes on him?" Toru asked, the question a reasonable one which Mina quickly answered

"Because he keeps getting away from police and it's weird….I mean where do you hide someone that size" she admitted with a snort "He goes by the name Cronen-Bird and he looks scary and he's really strong but that's kinda it, he's just a guy who robs stores" the truth of Cronen-Bird's Quirk and appearance was a little more complex though Mina lacked the time to properly explain it; she and she supposed also Tokoyami actually had two Quirks but unlike Todoroki were not widely acknowledged as such, both of them had inherited an ability from one parent that was considered a superpower and their 'true' Quirk whilst inheriting a physical mutation from the other that had given them their unique appearances, Cronen-Bird had inherited mutation based Quirks from both of his parents and said physical changes had interacted and combined in interesting and unusual ways.

Or utterly horrifying ways if one were debating standing against him.

Firstly Cronen-Bird stood at roughly eight feet tall and was a hulking slab of muscle that strained and rippled with each movement covered by a thin layer of leathery blue-tinged flesh stretched show taut that it had become translucent and had split in several places, from each split a mound of glossy, midnight black feathers had burst outwards and their edges had become jagged and serrated. The heavily mutated man stood on legs that had power thighs only to taper down to almost skeletal legs which ended in avian, three-toed claws with the inner toe of each foot raised up and ending in a curved sickle-like implement; his chest comfortably wider than Mina and Kirishima stood shoulder to shoulder to say nothing of his own broad shoulders. Cronen-Bird sported four arms, an upper pair that were each larger around at the bicep than the average fire hydrant and ended in massive webbed and clawed hands whilst the lower pair could in truth barely be called arms at all, rather a pair of small but humanoid hands attached to a pair of fleshy tentacles that writhed as if boneless and a final pair of limbs rested across his broad back, a pair of atrophied and flightless wings tipped with stubby claws and coated with the same jagged feathers that grew through his skin. The mans' face was oddly human save for the fang filled beak that grew from it, glaring yellow eyes and a long tongue lined with yet more teeth like that of a goose. All in all Mina realised that it would not be hard at all to mistake this petty criminal for a rampaging Nomu were it not for the fact that he wore denim jeans that had been cut off at the knee, a simple white vest that his powerful physique strained against and a heavy gold chain draped around his neck

"He's not getting away with robbing anyone, not today!" Kirishima yelled furiously "We have licenses, we've gotta stop him"

"I'm with you" Sero assured him, the earlier irritation at each other being dismissed and forgotten "But we need a plan"

"Mina?" the pink-skinned girl couldn't see Toru's face but could feel her eyes on her nonetheless "You're the one who's been doing all the extra training, any ideas?"

"Toru's right….besides I saw you trick a big idiot like that guy into handing himself in to the police in middle-school" Kirishima beamed "We'll follow you're lead"

suddenly Mina's thoughts were racing like never before as a swell of pride mixed with urgent desperation; people were counting on her not just to save them but to lead them as well, was this what the pros felt, was this what Izuku felt when he formed plans that saw them to victory and just when had he become Izuku in her mind rather than Deku.

"Focus Mina" she chided herself, not realising she had spoken aloud; analysing the scene below her and what she had to work with until finally the pieces fell into place

"Okay I think I've got it" she breathed out "We don't know need to beat this guy, we just need to keep him busy until a Pro-Hero gets here and stop him from running off. Toru find your way down there and distract him, try and make him think there's more than one of you and that he's distracted….Sero can you carry Kirishima at his hardest?"

"I think so?" Sero looked at her nonplussed

"Wrecking ball" Mina said simply and the two boys stared at her, utterly gobsmacked and in awe of the suggestion until the faux-redhead gave her a worried look

"Where're you gonna be?"

"Right behind you, I just need to make a call….you trust me?"

"Of course" Kirishima laughed holding out a fist that was now solid rock for Mina to bump her own fist against and just like that the plan was under way, Mina watched as Toru bolted for the nearest stairs and Sero began depositing tape and affixing himself to the edge of the bridge so that he and Kirishima could try and slow Cronen-Bird's momentum then the acid girl herself ran back the way she had come, along the bridge that they had been crossing and quickly pulled her phone out of her pocket

"Come on, pick up, pick up, pick up" she muttered frantically the moment she had dialled, being rewarded with the sound of Mei Hatsume preparing to answer mere moments later "Mei it's me Mina! Listen, there's a villain attack in progress and I'm with a group of other students with provisional licenses; I need to know if you can get that gear you've been working on to me-"

"A chance to field test my new babies?" Mei asked, sounding as though she had been offered unspeakable treasures "Hold on I'm getting your location"

"I don't really have time to hold on" Mina countered "How fast can you get it here?" Mei's response was a truly sinister cackle

"Thirty seven seconds and counting" that answer left her stunned and the only thing that kept Mina from asking if it was a cruel joke was the unmistakeable sound of a launch sequence on the other end of the line. Quickly rushing out to check on her friends' progress Mina winced as she saw that they needed her help, or more accurately any help they could get and silently urged the seconds to pass more quickly; it was a small mercy however that the crowds of pedestrians had largely dispersed and those who had been in vehicles had retreated and abandoned them rather than stand and simply stare or try to record the fight for social media, some basic sense of self preservation kicking in and informing the civilians that there was a reasonable chance of collateral damage being incurred in this particular battle. Seconds passed by at a torturous crawl until finally, exactly as promised Mina saw something hurtling through the air towards appearing like a sleek and massively oversized bullet at first glance she quickly realised that it was some form of prototype, unmanned and absurdly fast drone that Mei had designed and built; moments later the thing had landed, striking the surface of the bridge with enough force to crack pavement and protruding from the surface of the bridge at a slight angle as it billowed smoke and steam.

With a hiss of decompressing air an entire section of the projectile drone slid away and Mina's fears and concerns melted away as she took in the sight that greeted her, her voice jumping several octaves as she let out an exclamation of pure joy

"Holy crap this is so awesome! And that entrance, Mei this thing should come with theme music!" Mei's response was a derisive snort followed by a bored drawl

"It's hilarious that you think it doesn't"

---

As Hanta Sero rolled onto his chest and forced himself up onto his hands and knees, coughing and spitting out a mouthful of blood as he did so all whilst trying to ignore the treacherously tooth shaped fragment that flew from his mouth and skittered across the tarmac he decided that his day was simply not going they way he had planned and that he was not a fan of these developments in the slightest.

However as his grades and lack of placement and sponsorship offers proved, one couldn't always get what they wanted.

"Everyone okay?" he called out, staggered as he pulled himself to his feet and cast his eyes around frantically

"I think my ankle's broken" Toru's weak and pained voice announced from behind a nearby taxi that had been partially crushed and flipped onto its' side; the invisible girl had played her role admirably until Cronen-Bird had seen part of her clothing ducking into cover and quickly seen her ruse for what it was and promptly tackled the car she had hidden behind, injuring Toru in the process but seemingly and hopefully not too seriously; from what he could tell of her quirk Sero suspected that her blood would become visible as it left her body as so he took the lack of crimson stains on the ground as a positive.

The sickening thud of dense and hardened stone on flesh made it clear why Kirishima hadn't answered.

Sero turned and saw that his classmate, or Red Riot as he should rightfully be called whilst fighting crime even whilst in civilian clothes was locked in combat with Cronen-Bird; lashing out with one craggy and reinforced arm for a savage and somewhat uncoordinated right cross followed by a far more precise and equally powerful left jab only for both blows to be caught in Cronen-Bird's upper arms, webbed and taloned fingers closing over Red Riot's hands and bulging muscles straining to the point where they threatened to split his pale blue skin.

"I've seen you on the news kid, you're good but I needed that money so walk away and you can still have a promising career ahead of you" Cronen-Bird's voice seemed oddly normal in comparison to his monstrous form, almost as unexpected as his words which Kirishima took a moment to process even if he never honestly considered the offer

"Walking away wouldn't be very manly now would it"

"Neither is beating up kids but it looks like one of us is gonna have to compromise today" the retort was delivered as Cronen-Bird sank the raised raptor-like talon of each foot into the surface of road to anchor himself before driving his beaked face forward to headbutt Red Riot, truthfully doing little real damage but stunning him for the split second it took for his second pair of arms to slither out and grasp the young hero by the ankles before lashing and cracking like whips to throw Kirishima to the ground. From there Cronen-Bird debated crushing his opponent underfoot but quickly decided against it and picked the faux-redhead up in his larger pair of arms and simply threw at a parked car.

Kirishima smashed though the entire chassis of the vehicle and then the one behind it before finally coming to a stop in a heap of twisted metal and shattered glass that had one been the roof and interior of a sedan

"EIJIRO!" Sero screamed, any sense of protocol or decorum entirely forgotten as he called out his classmates' first name for all, including the villain they faced to hear

"I'm fine!" Kirishima called back, though blood could be seen trickling from several cracks and fissures in his rocky hide as he tried to free himself from the wreckage "I'm just stuck, stop that guy!"

"Right!" there was nothing left to do and Sero found himself doing what came naturally to him despite every ounce of common sense he possessed screaming at him that it was a bad idea.

He charged directly at the hulking criminal.

Without warning his arms shot forward and a stream of tape was propelled forward from each of his elbows in an effort to catch and entangle his adversary only for Cronen-Bird to show that he was at least a little more intelligent than the simple brute muscle Sero had expected; grasping the tape first with his lower arms and crumpling it as he caught it and then using his upper arms to simply drag Sero from his feet and swing him around by his own tape.

Any thought Sero may have had left his head the moment his skull collided with a nearby wall.

"And that's why I wear a helmet" he groaned out, refusing to release his tape even as his vision swam and he blood trickling down from a gash at his hairline, he was almost certain that the impact had left him with the beginnings of a concussion yet it made little difference; before he had any chance to plan or attempt any thing he was pulled from the ground and swung again, this crashing back first into the grill of a parked van with a pained yell as his shoulder was dislocated and finally swung and hurled into the air, sailing limply towards the bridge that his friends had been crossing.

Then something that defied all explanation happened.

His tape was severed, something viscous and steaming striking it and the gangly boy feeling the tautness within his arms slacken as it was corroded away and then, before he could be smashed painfully into the side of the bridge he was snatched out of the air and as tried to twist around and get a glimpse of his rescuer he saw nothing but a flash of familiar pink skin yet his addled and rattled mind refused to process it.

Mina couldn't fly after all.

"Hang on!" the acidic girl's voice called out to him and Sero felt someone cover his body with their own before crashing through a window several stories up before coming skidding to a halt in an office that had mercifully been empty at the time due to either the hour or simply that it was a Saturday. As he was lowered carefully to the floor Sero looked up at his rescuer and saw that it was indeed Mina Ashido.

Though not the way he imagined her.

Her new suit seemed to give the pink-skinned girl an entirely different and more striking demeanour and Sero couldn't help but look her up and down several times just to be certain of what he was seeing.

She high-topped sneakers that greatly resembled Deku's save for their vivid pink colouring and the black armour plating covering the heel, toe and sole made of some lightweight composite that replaced the metal she had previously used; tucked into these sneakers were a pair of loose fitting and plain black pants made of some unknown but durable material that would allow her room to move freely, a pair of neon pink suspenders hung down from the waist and armour plates covered her knees to give her a look that spoke to her love of street fashion and breakdancing whilst also being practical. She wore a form fitting, figure hugging black tank-top though it and her figure were largely hidden from view by the lightweight body armour laid over her chest, a glossy black carapace that evoked her previous outfit though with colours inverted as it featured a leopard-print design with hot pink and teal spots; over this was a pale grey sleeveless jacket with a black fur collar reminiscent of her previous hero attire and a pair of twin tails trailing behind it that reached almost to her knees. Mina's face was hidden from view almost entirely, her white mask had been replaced by a black version that incorporated a pair of heavily tinted goggles covering her eyes as well as a face-plate that covered her mouth in the same glossy black as her body armour which was decorated with stylised fangs detailed in the same pink and teal as the leopard-print in a display that was clearly intended to evoke the 'Alien Queen' moniker she had once wanted.

What Sero couldn't help notice however was her arms, laid bare by her sleeveless jacket it was impossible to miss just how powerful they looked but more important were the gleaming silver gauntlets encasing her hands and forearms; it looked almost as though somebody had stripped Bakugo's grenade gauntlets down to their barest essentials for the sake of keeping them lightweight, a series of tubes and pumps encased in a thin layer of sleek armour with a nozzle fitted over the back of each hand and glistening claws adorning the tip of each finger.

Mina caught Sero staring at her, dumbfounded by both the sight and his concussion and couldn't help but smirk beneath her mask, this was the exact kind of effect she was hoping for.

"Stay here" she told him simply "I've got this" and with that she rand towards the window she had crashed through and leapt, seeing that Cronen-Bird had began to wander away from the scene of his crimes she pointed her arms downwards as she fell, activating her Quirk and using skills she had learned from Mei and techniques that came from studying Bakugo she transformed her acid into a pressurised gas and fired it.

Leaving a contrail of coloured steam behind her as she began to fly after the criminal.

"HEY!" she yelled, wishing she had something more impressive to introduce herself with but it worked nonetheless, the hulking criminal turned and glanced upwards with an expression of resigned annoyance at the sight of another hero hurtling towards him.

Mina, for she was yet to decide on a new alias for herself flew towards a point above Cronen-Bird and to his side where she could use the wall of one of the buildings lining the street as a surface to land on and quickly reorient herself with a flip that Ojiro would have easily recognised as something he had shown her before aiming her hands downwards in a motion reminiscent of Bakugo whilst carefully altering the composition of her acid before firing.

Launching a smoke bomb directly into the criminals' face.

"SHIT! MY EYES, IT STINGS!" she was rewarded with choking and coughing as the towering and monstrous man thrashed and rubbed at his eyes, inwardly she let out a sigh of relief that she had succeeded in not making acid to corrosive yet there was no time to relish the victory as she continued to fall.

With expert precision she landed on an outstretched upper arm muscular enough to support her weight before springing forward and throwing herself into a spinning kick worthy of Deku's Shoot Style that connected with Cronen-Bird's beak and snapped the mans' head to the right before following up with an aerial somersault where she brought hands together and delivered a double-fisted punch to the mans' head that brought him to his knees, beak sinking into the ground beneath him.

"Thank you for Deku's notes and training" Mina chuckled to herself as she landed with a flourish, vaguely aware of citizens who had been taking cover beginning to peer above the proverbial parapet now that the situation seemed to be in hand.

Cronen-Bird was not done however.

"BITCH!" the pained and furious yell announced that he had ripped his beak free of the ground and the towering mutant hurled himself at Mina with murderous intent yet struck nothing but air as the pink-skinned girl swiftly melted the ground beneath her to a malleable state and slid backwards on a film of acid; with a wordless roar of indignation Cronen-Bird reached out and took a nearby stop sign in his hands and promptly tore the steel pole it was mounted on from the ground before bounding closer to Mina and swinging at the side of her face like a bat.

Mina didn't move or flinch.

Instead she put lessons she had learned sparring against Shouji into practice and prepared to turn a larger opponents' momentum against them. She reached out with her left hand and coated her palm in the strongest acid she could muster which her gauntlets quickly enhanced and concentrated as she seized the steel pole whilst stepping to her opponents' guard, driving her shoulder into his chest, her right fist into his bicep and spinning all in a single motion.

Cronen-Bird was sent staggering past Mina in pain and confusion as his weapon was melted away and his upper right arm was left throbbing in pain; Mina herself pressed her advantage taking the sign and pole that melted under her grip and hefting it in both hands.

"THE SIGN SAYS STOP!" she called out before swinging the flat surface into Cronen-Bird's left knee and sending him toppling down into a crouch with a howl of pain only for him to retaliate by thrusting out with his lower, tendril-like limbs and knocking Mina from her feet; her impromptu weapon clattered to the ground and she was winded though the armour kept the blow from doing any real damage.

The criminal was on her in an instant, lunging at her despite the obvious pain he was in; operating on pure adrenaline as he prepared to seize Mina in a crushing bear-hug or simply tackle her to the ground

Mina responded by using a move that had worked well against Bakugo and that she had since perfected and named, intending for it to become one of her signature techniques

"ACID BREAKDOWN!" she sprinted towards the oncoming danger and with her Quirk bolstered by her new gear and the rigorous training she had endured she melted the ground ahead of her, leaving the already hobbled mutant staggering and struggling to keep his balance a Mina closed the distance and leapt into a series of breakdancing manoeuvrers, sweeping at his legs before spinning and landing in a one-handed handstand as she kicked at his gut to leave him doubled over then throwing herself into a flip that culminated in an acid-laced uppercut to the jaw that left scorch marks along the criminals' beak.

Cronen-Bird howled in rage and gave Mina a backhand whose impact sounded like a thunderclap.

As she rolled to a stop she dug the clawed fingers of her gauntlets into the ground and used them as a makeshift brake, tearing shallow trenches into the tarmac before springing to her feet despite the pain. Cronen-Bird staggered and swayed and as the two locked eyes Mina quickly realised that she needed a plan.

"Okay, he's hurt" she muttered behind her mask, adopting the habit she had picked up from Izuku "But the more he gets hurt the stronger and crazier he seems to get, I'm only trying to slow him down but he has the reach and the muscle to keep me at bay so I've gotta keep using his own size and weight against him, but I can't keep taking hits like this….time for the show-stopper" her final words were delivered with a slight grin as she extended her fingers and the claws adorning them slid out on pistons to reveal phials of an acid that glow vivid green, concentrated, pressurised and waiting to be deployed; she was going to end this battle with a single blow regardless of what it took.

Izuku had used her dancing as the basis for his Shoot Style after all, Mina had decided to repay the favour

"Chest Burster Style!" she announced, tensing and preparing to charge; only to be denied the opportunity.

"YOU ARE UNDER ARREST!" with those thundering words Cronen-Bird was brought crashing to his knees as the gigantic and serpentine form of the Pro-Hero Ryukyu in her dragon from came hurtling downwards and began quickly coiling around his stunned and incapacitated form.

The cheer that went up from those brave enough to stay and watch the fight was deafening and Mina saw the flashes of several camera before she snapped out of her daze enough to shift her posture into something more suitably heroic and victorious, seeing this Ryukyu glanced over at her, still in her inhuman form and gave the closest thing to a smile her fanged maw would allow

"You did good for a student, you handled yourself really well….someone from UA will be here to pick you up any second, there's gonna be paperwork and your friends need medical attention" at that Mina heard waves of shocked mutterings passing through the crowd, with her face hidden it seemed that many of them had been unaware that she was in fact a student, let alone a first year and her immediate swell of pride was followed by the realisation that now was the perfect opportunity to rebrand herself and that she needed to decided on a new alias and identity quickly only for those thoughts to be pushed aside in turn as Kirishima, who had finally dragged himself out of the wreckage of several vehicles placed a fleshy hand, untouched by his Quirk on her shoulder

"That was man-That was awesome!"

"Heh, I've learned some cool tricks from our classmates and figured out how to use my Quirk more effectively" she shrugged

"The smoke grenade, the flying!" Kirishima exclaimed "The bad-ass one liner before you hit him with the sign and the suit, Mina the suit is super cool"

"Yeah it is boi" Mina laughed back, finger-gunning as she raised her goggles and lowered her face plate for her old friend to see her wide, beaming smile. Kirishima grinned in turn only for the expression to falter as a thought occurred to him.

"But wait….where did you get changed?"

"And you've ruined it" Mina groaned as she sagged forward dramatically.

---

What had remained of Saturday and the entirety of Sunday had passed by in a blur of paperwork, statements, debriefings and other bureaucratic tedium and Monday had brought the return of lessons for Class One A, Mina included though it was a fair to say that she had learned and focused far less than she or her teachers would have liked.

Her fight against Cronen-Bird had made the news and the fact that she had been cited as an 'Unnamed Provisional Hero' along with her new suit had seen her become the topic of endless gossip and speculation regarding her actions themselves and her reasons for abandoning her previous identity. Mina had given no fuel to their curiosity, spending much of the day occupied by her own thoughts and mumbling under her breath with the sole exception being talking with Izuku at lunch wherein the freckled boy had congratulated her profusely and all but pleaded for a breakdown of the fight both for his own notes and so that he could identify any areas to improve in both Mina's training and his own; after which the conversation had moved to what was troubling the usually cheery girl and the two had bounced ideas off of one another until finally Mina had found the answer she wanted.

And now it was time to put it into practice.

"Ashido I must insist that you follow proper procedure and file the correct paperwork, you can't just barge into a teachers' office and demand-"

"Let her have this Iida" the fact that it was Bakugo's growling voice that came to her defence was a surprise and he quickly added "She'll follow the proper procedure later and you know it….But sometimes you've gotta make a point"

"She's putting on a show again, it's kinda bad-add" Jirou's low and husky tones added from the back of the crowd where she was nestled between Denki and Momo, the electric blonde shooting Mina a proud thumbs up.

The moment classes had ended Mina had informed her classmates of her plan to change her Hero identity officially and had been left swallowing a lump in her throat, almost overcome by emotions as every single member of Class One A had elected to join her and act as official witnesses, leading to Mina marching through the campus flanked by Kirishima on her left who was in turn flanked by Bakugo after the two of them had clearly come to some sort of undertsanding following the faux-redhead putting himself in harms' way and Izuku on her right, with Mina still unsure of when and why she had stopped thinking of him as Deku or Midoriya.

She had wanted to do this whilst wearing her new costume but had been denied and so her school uniform would have to suffice.

She maintained that it would be laughable for her as a student to have any kind of rivalry with a teacher and Pro-Hero, much less consider them a nemesis of any kind yet the fact remained that the right to approve or deny Mina's reinvention of herself fell to Midnight; the same woman who had dismissed her initial choice of alias as unsuitable for hero work and Mina was adamant that she would not be so arbitrarily refused this time; there was of course a proper channel to follow and a correct way of doing things but in Mina's mind heroism required a flair for the dramatic and she intended to make a statement today.

Even if she was nervous and humming the song that Class One A had performed in order to calm herself.

'-I have met so many heroes in my life, gave me the strength and courage to survive, gave me the power to smile every-day, now it's my turn-'

"Mina….we're here, if you're sure?" Deku's cautious words intruded on her thoughts and she turned to see him give her an approving nod and a smile; taking a single slow and deep breath in a futile effort to calm her nerves Mina, with all of her class-mates stood behind her knocked on the door of Midnight's office and then simply strode inside.

"Simply 'thrusting' your way inside I see" Midnight chided with her usual salacious tone and the expected, yet uncalled for double meaning "Not even so much as-"

"I'm hero to change my Hero Alias" Mina interrupted, she had no desire to be rude to a teacher but she would be lying if she said that there wasn't some animosity she felt and more importantly she wanted to do this whilst she still had the nerve; Midnight herself leaned back in her chair and Mina saw that the woman's office was far more tame than one might expect, largely minimalist and unadorned with no traces of its' occupant save for neatly arranged paperwork and a well polished plaque bearing her own hero name and title displayed on her desk.

"Well I can certainly find you the paperwork to file and 'submit' that request'

"With all due respect it's not a request" Mina answered, hearing several gasps from her friends behind her and being almost certain that Iida would implode if this carried on much longer; she strode forwards and reached into the jacket of her school uniform to produce something that had been made specifically for this moment.

A plaque exactly like Midnight's

Momo had provided the base metal and wood with her Quirk and Mina had used her own abilities to engrave it, gathering her acid on the tip of her finger much the way Izuku had often focused his Quirk to a fine point at his fingertip and using it immaculately etch and engrave each kanji; holding the plaque out for the teacher to read Mina announced herself and reintroduced herself to the Hero community as a whole

"The Alien Queen Hero: Acid-Reign"

Midnight remained silent for several agonising moments as she considered the name itself, the play on words and they way it complemented the redesigned suit that she had seen the student using in the reviews of her actions over the weekend; eventually she gave a smirk that would seem predatory despite her best intentions

"Well in regards to paperwork my hands are rather 'Tied up' so there's nothing I can do, but it would be a shame for you to do all this hard work, effort and 'Grinding' for there to be no 'Climax'….So I can give you a provisional approval pending the proper paperwork, I'll need that 'Filled' by the end of the week. Goodbye for now….Acid-Reign" upon hearing Midnight use the name that Mina had chosen for herself and seeing it for the victory that she had hope it would be the newly dubbed 'Alien Queen Hero' rushed out into the hallway in a single leaping bound where she was promptly deafened by her friends cheering and clamouring around her; an enthusiastic fistbump from Kirishima left her stinging knuckles, Kaminari ruffled her hair only for the static he exuded to leave the candy pink locks frizzy, Shoji could be seen looming over others to give a thumbs up with each of his arms, Ojiro gave her a silent nod and Sero offered a high five before she felt herself being hoisted into the air and after a moment of confusion she found herself blushing slightly as she realised that Izuku had lifted her onto his shoulders and that Class One A were carrying her through the campus and treating her like every bit the hero or champion she suddenly felt

"Hey Mina" Izuku called her up to her, his voice seeming somehow bright and sunny yet shy at the same time

"Yeah?"

"Don't think for a minute this means training is over….If anything I'm gonna have to stop holding back so I can train against you properly" Mina found herself wearing a smile that stretched so wide it threatened to fall off of her face as she beamed down at him and gave the same answer that she would have given to any challenger at that moment

"Come get some" There was fresh wave of cheers at that, with laughter and a few wolf-whistles thrown in for good measure but as much as Mina enjoyed untangling the webs of other peoples' relationships she chose to remain happily oblivious at that moment and not unpack what that might mean.

Right now she felt on top of the world and that was what mattered.

Author's Notes:

So, my very first MHA story….This was a lot of fun to write, as I'm sure you can tell by the length of the damn thing.
I actually only watched MHA for the first time a few months ago, it's been on my to do list for literal years but between other writing projects, work and life in general I only had the time when Lock-down happened in the UK in March and then I binged seasons 1-4 in a couple days and the OST has become my go to workout music.
I don't read the Manga and I know there's at least one thing here that contradicts the Manga and what's gonna happen in season five but oh well.
I love the universe and I have ideas for other stories set in it (One involving canon characters and an OC based story) but I'm honestly not a massive part of the MHA community online so I don't know too much about widespread fan interpretations of each character, that being said if anything I've written contrasts with it I honestly don't care, fan interpretation isn't canon and neither is fan-fiction I'll write what I want.
That being said if anybody does want to follow there is a list of where you can do that in my profile.
This story is the product of me doing what basically all RWBY fans do, latching onto one of the background characters and deciding "This one's cool" only to see that if want fan content for said character we're gonna have to make it ourselves….So I decided to put some damn respect on Mina Ashido's name.

Now, let's summarise shall we?:
Scatterbrained/Possibly ADHD Mina with a brain that runs a mile a minute is a headcanon I can get behind.
Mina with fluffy socks that let her slide on wooden floors, I want you to just take a moment and let the mental image marinate.
Okay I can't remember if Mina doodles canonically but I saw an ASMR role-play from Visualsounds1 and it just captured Mina; also the words "No Aizawa Sensei it's not a unicorn it's an English horse" live rent free in my head.
The urge to describe Mina as 'Genki' was overwhelming but it's a Japanese term and I don't want to switch languages in narration for no reason.
Also look, 1A is full of good kids but let's be honest they've all probably had their hearts set on a hero name since they were knee-high, they all had suits designed already and being told "No that's not good enough" by someone whose costume literally forced the powers that be to make regulations is gonna cause some grudges and Pinky is clearly just something Bakugo called her because he didn't bother learning her name.
You can pry "Secret Raver Todoroki" from my cold dead hands.
Jirou does have two hands and that's that on that.
Also, Mina does use words like fam (In the English dub obviously) I was torn whether to tone it down for her or play it up; I didn't want to make her 'Gen Z stereotype' character but the idea of having her talk like a UK 'Roadman' did occur to me as well….Now imagine Mina listening to Drill.
I know Shinso gets put in Class 1B but fuck Mineta, all my homies hate Mineta.
If you read the word "Threw her off her rhythm" and immediately quoted John Mulaney then well done.
We don't have anything on Mina's background beyond the fact that she went to the same middle school as Kirishima so I had to improvise and I'll be honest "Hood kid" Mina is a headcanon that just sits right with me, so I squared the two away by saying that her family aren't poor as such but they live in a big city where the cost of living is high and most of the money went on her education, which means she lives in a poorer part of town and her friends out of school are basically the local chavs. In a way she's kinda like Miles Morales.
There's a theory that Kirishima's family have mob ties and it's one I kinda like.
Slaps, Bling, Germ, Crash, Sunshine, Bug, C-Monster and Smiler-Don; none of these characters will ever be fleshed out but I can't imagine that every kid in this universe doesn't give themselves a hero name at some point; also Smiler-Don is a play on Smilodon, the prehistoric mammal.
I think we see bits of what's behind Mina's smiley persona but it's nice for it get a proper exploration and I feel like the explanation I gave isn't a too far-fetched one, she just didn't know what she was letting herself in for and how much hard work it would be.
Look I'm sorry I know a lot of you love Bakugo but the guy is a dick and if you went to school with him you'd avoid him like the plague.
Gamer Sero, it works and I don't know why.
Do not use gym equipment with no spotter….I have a friend who will never work with his hands again because of that mistake.
Look Deku getting a face full of tits is a lowbrow joke I wouldn't normally make but since MHA has made similar jokes with him and other characters it is what it is, besides; he's a teenage boy and you've gotta have a little realism.
Mina is observant, though she doesn't need to be to spot Ururaka thirsting over Deku, you can see that from the moon.
Mina and Deku are both pure sunshine and it annoys me because I didn't PLAN to ship it.
And now we get to my thesis on why Mina is underrated: Mina has knocked people out cold in one hit, have we even seen Bakugo do that? She can plan like Deku, just slower and she hasn't been seen using it in combat situations she just hasn't been given the limelight that other characters have yet and doesn't have the gear to boost her Quirk that others do.
Hip-Hop Kido with a Mastodon logo is a reference and I hope someone gets it.
Seriously does Mina know that Deku based his Shoot Style on her?
Deku looking around like he expected Bakugo to appear was funny to me but the point stands, Bakugo and Mina both produce a volatile substance from their body and use it to fight, the difference is that one of them get a pair of fuel tanks and the other doesn't (On a related note….Could Momo use her Quirk to create acid or nitroglycerene?)
Y'know how we know Mei is antisocial, she's in a class full of other geniuses and even they don't hang out with her.
The impromptu clean room trick was nasty but let's be honest it's something Mei would probably do.
Of course potential Mei x Deku is what she focused on; but also Ace! Mei is a headcanon that just feels right to me so I'm not gonna question it.
Writing Mei was fun, think I overdid it with the mad scientist routine?
I could have gone into several scenes of detail with Mina's training, or I could just give you the equivalent of a training montage so that's the one I went with.
Also yeah, Shinso is transferring to Hero class from General studies after people have already done placements….he's at a massive disadvantage.
Can you imagine trying to box with Shouji?
Also I called Mina wide-set and that was in no way an insult, that's literally how she's described in the Wiki.
Of course Kirishima brought Bakugo, of course he did.
I wanted a three dimensional arena and wasn't sure what to with so I defaulted to Tron Cubes because it's easier.
Okay so there's a headcanon that Bakugo is actually partially deaf, but what about his voice? Do we think he's always shouting because he can't hear himself any more after all those explosions?
I feel like the way I wrote Bakugo came across like I was dunking on him and that's not strictly true, I just don't sympathise with him and I don't see any point or reason to his attitude.
And Mina was doing so well until she pressed the Deku button.
The season one Bakugo big-hook to start a fight, something that Mina would know to look out for.
Acid Lay-Back is actually what it's called in the Wiki.
See what I mean, Mina can use her Semblance like Bakugo….Although its less explosion and more pure pressure to blast herself up or forward.
Admit it, Mina trash-talking to goad Bakugo out was beautiful and you know it.
Okay a) The headbutt though and b) breaking his gauntlets is the sort of trick she's picked up from training and studying with Deku, followed by using the environment to her advantage.
The one-handed handstand kick that Mina does a couple times is basically the pose she lands in when showing off her breakdancing, you know the one.
Yeah….she did well but she got her shit wrecked in the end, Bakugo can throw hands.
Okay consider Bakugo cussing out Aizawa proof that he wasn't actually intending to blow a hole through Kirishima, he was just way too into the zone and saying shit without thinking.
Aizawa is broody but he'll give credit where it's due, although I have my own issues with him as a character.
Also, this story is not about shipping as much as my brain tried to make it that but still….Enjoy that Kiri x Baku angst.
Fuck Monoma.
Oof, you know it's bad when Kirishima has his hair down in public.
It felt like I was dunking on Sero and it's mainly because I don't really know what to do with him, he's one of those minor characters who only really exists in terms of their interactions with main characters.
Have an OC "Monster of the week villain" and yes the name "Cronen-Bird" is a pun and no I'm not sorry for it at all.
Also yeah, I think it's fair to say that Mina and Tokoyami both actually have two Quirks, it's just that one of them is their physical appearance, 'cos nothing about "Dark Shadow" should make him a bird; so Cronen-Bird has two mutation Quirks stacked on top of each other.
Yay for Mina's internal monologue.
I feel like the plan is something like what Deku would come up with.
Mei Hatsume, if she has a hero name it should be something like "Dues Ex Machine" also the rocket locker was based on the ones in RWBY that were literally introduced in Vol.1 just for one scene in Vol.3.
Oh it's a bad day when you're spitting a tooth out the minute we shift to your perspective.
Toru was kinda just here to be here, sorry any Toru fans.
The banter between Kirishima and Cronen-Bird was nice, I didn't want the guy to be a mindless monster; he's just the average stick up artist you get in every city….Also notice how he didn't put a talon through his chest when he could have.
I'm sorry but scrawny off-brand Spiderman was not winning this fight with a frontal assault and also yeah, that's why his costume comes with a helmet.
Yeah Mina with her new costume and gear can fly the way Bakugo does by turning her acid into a pressurised gas.
The new suit just looks good, captures the sci-fi element of "Alien Queen" keeps the B-Boy and Japanese street fashion vibe of Mina and nods to some of her classmates whose moves she's using whilst being something unique...If I had money to commission someone for art of that suit I definitely would.
And now we get see Mina in all her glory, new gear, new moves and all.
The muscle-guy ripping a sign or something like it out to use as a weapon is one of those nice cliches.
Acid Breakdown is a good name for a signature move right?
"Chest-Burster Style" I am not sorry for it and you can imagine it as whatever you want it to be, I just like the idea that since Deku based his kicking moves on Mina she based a brute force variation of her style on him as well.
Now you might think having Ryukyu show up is a cop-out, but remember they were only trying to hold Cronen-Bird in place until the Pro-Heroes got there, in other words Mina did what she set out to do.
"That was man-That was awesome!" Kirishima overusing the word manly is a trope that I don't want to fall to far into.
But where did she get changed?….In the rocket locker, y'all are nasty.
I'm sure some of you guessed where this scene was going the moment I said that the papers didn't give Mina a hero name.
That Class One A unity is always fun….And have some more mild shipping.
Okay does having the line from Hero Too count as an emotional low blow?
Look I love a good innuendo as much as the next person But Midnight you are in your thirties or forties and you work with kids, fix up darling.
And there we have it, Mina's name although I expect most have you to have figured out that the title of the story would be it.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review