The Bright Hero, Cobalt

Chapter Five

A/N: Thanks again to my editors, Penguin Lord 0029 and nightwind83. They are paragons of awesomeness.

"Normal speech."

"Buff Might speech."

'Sign language.'

'Thoughts without intent to convey feelings and ideas. Some will be conveyed unintentionally. Some will not.'

"Telepathy, or thought with intent to convey ideas and feelings."

Evening After The First Day

Minoru fucked up. He fucked up hard. He got into U.A. alright, but there was a bloody mind reader in the class. The guy must be REALLY good at preventing himself from reading the minds of his classmates, or he's got some crazy method to get around the issues that would come from a passive mind reading quirk, or he'd have definitely gotten the purple gremlin in trouble already. However, Minoru drew attention to himself. The attention of said mind-reader.

No matter how good Izuku Midoriya was at preventing himself from reading minds, it would only be a matter of time before his less than heroic thoughts got him booted, so drastic measures would have to be made to make this entire endeavor worthwhile. As he gazed upon the normal-looking phone, carrying an incredibly small, removable camera within, he perverted the idea of Plus Ultra, panicky thoughts preventing intelligent decision-making.

Second Day Of School

Izuku was pumped for class today. Katsuki, Ochako, and even Tenya were excited as well, though only the former three were obvious about it, Tenya seemingly always high-strung. However, this was a bit of an issue. Two days in a row of being as incredibly happy as he was meant that he would probably need to use his emergency hall pass sooner than he'd hoped. He gave Ochako and Katsuki express permission to explain how he contained his mind reading abilities at the moment, along with what made his 'walls' come down more quickly.

The class they were taking at the moment was a newer one, having only come into existence in hero schools within the last decade. Villain History and Psychology. It was typically taught by members of the Police force, or reformed villains, who had decided to become heroes after deciding a life of crime wasn't for them. It was decided at some point that knowing your enemy was an incredibly useful asset for a hero, to better prepare for their future careers. As there weren't many villains who turned a new leaf in the past decade, There were less than ten hero schools in the country that had a reformed villain teaching the class.

U.A. was fortunate enough to have TWO such reformed villains. A pair who had performed mostly harmless crimes, and were known for their...uniqueness.

Gentleman and Lady Love were an odd couple, one being abnormally tall and the other being incredibly short, and that was just the tip of the iceberg. The two were incredibly flamboyant, deciding to continue wearing the outfits they'd worn as villains, so that they could never forget their crimes, as well as to inspire other villains to denounce their villainy, showing that redemption was not impossible. Gentleman made a habit of chewing the scenery, as those in various fandoms would call it, but dang, was he good at it, and Lady Love was a one trick pony, but it was a DAMN good trick when used correctly.

Izuku was very interested to learn from the reformed husband-wife duo. Speaking of which…

"My dear view- I mean, students! Apologies, I finished recording some footage before I got here. I might take a moment to adjust completely. Welcome to Villain History and Psychology, where you will learn to get in the heads of your foes, and hopefully stop them before their schemes can even begin! I am the Reformed Hero, Gentleman! My wife, Lady Love, will be with us soon. She is preparing some interesting lesson material at the moment, but you needn't worry. She has never let me down before, and I'm certain you will all be able to say the same when you've all graduated," the older-looking man said, pouring a cup of tea as he stood, a relaxing blend to help with the stresses of teaching.

Izuku was vibrating in his seat. He'd heard the story of Gentleman, and honestly empathised with him a bit. After all, he'd started off as a hero student, and an act of heroism that went wrong ruined his chances of continuing down that path for a time. Izuku knew very well that, in some alternate timeline, he fell to the pressure of an unattainable dream and bullying, and turned to villainy, so to see that somebody who had done that was able to turn their life around reinforced his faith in humanity many times over upon learning of the fate of the villains Gentle Criminal and La Brava.

However… 'Oh, crud! My time's almost up now?! I was really looking forward to this, but I can't miss Heroics Class no matter what today!' he thought in a panic, and raised his hand, conveying urgency into Gentleman's mind.

"Oh? Izuku Midoriya, what seems to be the issue? You seem incredibly nervous, young man," Gentleman queried, a look of concern on his face.

"Um, well, I need that emergency hall pass. I've been really excited the last day or so, and seeing you in person combined with the anticipation of Heroics Class later-" Izuku yammered, going into a mumblestorm in his nervousness before Gentleman held up a hand to halt his rambling.

"Say no more, young man. It's unfortunate you'll miss my first class, but I understand that needs must, and Heroics will always be more important than my class to a prospective hero. Take your pass and find someplace nice and quiet. I would suggest one of the forests closer to the U.A. Barrier. If you get the right spot, there will be enough animals to focus on, to help cool down quicker," the third newest teacher at U.A. offered, walking to the door to meet Izuku on the way. The young greenette took the pass, and sped off in a flash of blue light.

Walking back to his desk, Gentleman noticed quickly that he'd unintentionally used wording that seemed to simultaneously reveal too much and too little. Probably shouldn't have mentioned the animals out loud. "Oh, dear, I appear to have caused that young man trouble. Young Uraraka, could you explain the situation to young Midoriya, and ask if I can quell the nerves of your classmates?"

Ochako sighed. "I've already told him. I'll just explain it, since he's already said either Katsuki or I can explain in full if he needs somebody to while he's not around. He's basically got a time limit of sorts for how long he can restrain his ability to read the minds of others, and being happy makes that time limit shorten a lot. He's really excited to be here, so he's been happy non-stop for a while, and his time limit has gone by a lot quicker. He's basically gonna look for a place that's got no people, and if there are any animals intelligent enough to have coherent thoughts and feelings to listen to in the area, it takes even less time to 'recharge', so to speak. He was really proud that he only really heard the thoughts of one of you yesterday, and it was for half an instant, so this method seems to be working well for now," the brunette explained, then sat down, giving Izuku a status update, since it seems nobody's upset anymore. That seemed to cheer him up. Now they could get back to the lesson…

"Gentle!" a voice shouted from a cabinet in the back, before Lady Love emerged, laptop in hand with an upset look on her face. "A suspicious file tried to upload from a device in this room!"

Several students appeared confused. They knew Lady Love was on the shorter side, but to hide in a cabinet for as long as she had...wait, why was she in there in the first place?

Gentleman was about to attempt to diffuse the situation, before a small purple blur bounced from his seat to the window, leaping out and tossing purple balls to the ground to continue his escape. The Reformed Hero sighed, and after pressing a few buttons on his watch, asked, "What was so suspicious about the file? Why is my student fleeing as if he's committed a crime?"

Lady Love scowled. "It's called 4, and I only watched a few seconds...He's got a recording of students from a very rude angle! He's fleeing as if he's committed a crime because he has committed a crime!" she exclaimed angrily.

Gentleman pinched the bridge of his nose, then checked his watch. "Oh, good. Our quirk suppressors have been deactivated. I'm reinforcing the Barrier now. Lady Love, let's go stretch our muscles a bit and catch this uncouth youngster," 1-A's current sensei said, a frown in place of his normally happy expression.

Katsuki laughed maniacally, pointing out the window. "Oh, man, that purple gremlin fuck screwed up hard!"

Upon hearing this, everybody looked out the window to a mildly horrifying sight. Minoru had apparently picked the same area Izuku had gone as his escape route, and the greenette had caught him, holding him with his green aura, a shoe held on Izuku's opposite side, noticeably being kept away from the gremlin. It would have been only a little scary, if not for the fact that they were floating ominously towards the classroom. That made it significantly more intimidating.

Then Izuku ruined the intimidating look by poking his head through the window at an awkward angle, floating the shoe in after. "Where do you want me to put him? He left the main body of the phone in his desk in a panic, and the camera is in his shoe," he asked, floating the shoe over to the desk in front of the room for safekeeping.

As this was happening, Denki whispered over to Kyouka, "How did the cinnamon roll turn into a sith lord and back again so quickly?" Kyouka's response was to smack him with one of her jacks, the blond getting close enough in his excitement to make her nervous, a blush dusting her cheeks.

Just then, Aizawa burst into the room, looked around to assess the situation, and relaxed a bit. "Okay, why are two problem children floating outside the classroom and not at their desks?" he asked grumpily.

Tenya went from sitting to standing up straight in maybe half a second, arms robotting around as he reported the situation. "Aizawa-sensei, Mineta-san has recorded an illicit video, and he nearly-"

Gentleman tapped his cane to the floor loudly, interrupting Tenya's explanation. "Young Iida, your enthusiasm is appreciated, and it is a quality sought out in heroes, but now is not the time. Good job regardless. I will take it from here. Lady Love, the class is yours. I will meet young Midoriya outside with Shota-kun here, and we will take care of Mineta-san. I am very sorry your lesson plan was ruined by today's events. Maybe in a few months we can try it again," the dashing hero said, apologizing to his wife and partner before heading downstairs to meet Izuku outside.

Lady Love sighed, and walked over to the desk at the front of the classroom, leaping on top of it and sitting in a comfy spot she and Gentleman had set up for when she lectures. Her shortness made the standard desks too large for her to properly do her job while seated at them normally, but her sweetheart made sure to figure out a way to get around that. She offhandedly noted that their quirk suppressors had reactivated, and smiled, knowing that while her husband enjoyed using his quirk, he hated fighting if it wasn't needed. The beeping of the easily hidden bands signaled to her that neither of them would need to get rough, much less with a minor.

Aiba Manami sighed, and said to the class, "Since my lesson plan got thrown out the window, how about a Q and A? You, the happy pink one with the horns. Ashido Mina-san, right? You're fast. What's your question?"

Mina giggled, happy she got to ask her question. "So, you and Gentleman are married, right? How did the two of you meet?" she asked, the shipper in her wanting to know all the details.

Manami smiled, a giggle escaping her as well. "I'm so used to people asking more about the rehabilitation Gentle and I went through. It's nice that somebody likes us enough to wonder how our relationship started. Well, Gentle was a youtuber as well as a villain, and his passion for what he did, along with his charming looks and aversion to violence, attracted me to him. Admittedly, going to visit him was a very stupid move on my part. I didn't know nearly enough about him to be sure he wouldn't kill me or anything like that, and none of you should ever go to a known villain's home or lair on your own, even when you've gone pro. Thankfully, though, he happened to not be very different off camera than he was on camera. I approached him, claiming to be his biggest fan, and he and I hit it off. We committed petty crimes, some breaking and entering, nothing really big for a while, just being a nuisance to heroes. Our biggest plot was where we got caught, and it was due to something completely unrelated! Since we'd been dating as villains, we decided, as soon as we were done turning our lives around, we'd tie the knot, and now we're a power couple!" she explained, a grin on her face as she thought of the dates they'd gone on, both before and after becoming heroes.

Hanta raised his hand quickest next, and Lady Love called on him. "Um, no offense, but how are you two married? Aren't you a kid like us?" he asked, then got glared at by several girls in the room, along with a disappointed look from Koji and a three-handed facepalm from Mezo.

Lady Love erupted much like one of the students currently under her watch would at times. "Damnit, kid, I've got dwarfism! I'm only three years younger than Gentle! Don't make fun of short people!" she shouted, frightening Hanta with her abrupt one-eighty from happy to angry, then pouted and muttered under her breath about how she can't even go out drinking with Midnight and Thirteen without having to prove she's not a kid.

Ochako raised her hand next, and the pink-haired heroine picked her out next. "So, sorry, but this is Izuku's question, not mine. He says you and Gentleman have a rescue tally you keep track of. What is it at currently, if you don't mind his asking?" she asked, a bright smile on her face.

Lady Love blinked in astonishment, then smiled. "Gentle and I don't get to go in the field much, but we've proudly got a rescue tally of thirty-three. Twenty of those are a class from when a field trip nearly went wrong, and seven are bystanders that got caught up in the same incident. The other six are from smaller incidents, none of them newsworthy, but important nonetheless," she answered with her head tilted to the side happily.

A knock at the door interrupted the class's whispers of awe at the impressive feat of saving an entire class from the same incident, along with more than a few bystanders. Aizawa poked his head in, and said, "Hey, Manami-san. We need your technical expertise with Mineta's equipment, since he's being less than cooperative. I'll take these kids off your hands for now."

Lady Love rolled her eyes. "You're hopeless. Have fun with your nap, and don't expel anymore students today. I like some of these kids already," she replied as she leaped from the desktop to the doorway, waving as she left.

Eraserhead got up to the front of the class and looked lazily over them for a moment. "The rest of the period is a free period now. I'm gonna rest my eyes for a bit. Try not to set anything on fire in the meantime, or do anything else that'd force me to expel one of you," he drawled before sitting at the desk and leaning back.

A big-lipped young man, Sato Rikido, raised his hand, hoping to get Aizawa's attention before he got too relaxed. Aizawa nodded at him, gesturing for him to ask whatever's on his mind. "So, Mineta-san's actually expelled, right?" he asked.

Aizawa let out a sigh. "Yes, he's expelled. The video he took had really bad stuff on it. Several of you kids should expect compensation at a later date, either from the school or Mineta's family. I don't think he'll be accepted at any hero course after this," he explained, before going to get some shuteye.

Most of the students were muttering quietly to themselves about the incident, though a few were excitedly whispering about what they thought the heroics class coming up would be like. Ochako rolled her eyes as she reassured Izuku for the hundredth time that no, what Minoru did was not his fault, smiling despite herself at the lovable worrywart.

Later, In Heroics 101

"I AM...ENTERING THE CLASSROOM LIKE A HERO!" he exclaimed, somehow managing to flap the cape of his Silver Age costume despite the lack of any wind.

Japan's greatest hero and largest ham wasted no time, posing dramatically before pulling a sign with the day's lesson on it from some kind of hammerspace. "Today's lesson pulls no punches! We're going to do some Battle Training!" he exclaimed, the sign in question saying Battle Training on it.

If the class wasn't excited before, they certainly were now, with Ochako, Izuku, and Mina all forgetting about the subject matter being discussed only a moment ago. With a flourish, All Might gestured to the wall on the side of the room facing the hallway. "And for this exercise, we've got your hero costumes, designed as you each instructed by our wonderful Support Course students! Take a moment to change into them, and meet up at Training Ground Beta!" the musclebound hero exclaimed, then marched off happily in the direction of the aforementioned training ground.

Several Minutes Later, At Training Ground Beta

Each of the students made their way to the entrance of Beta, an urban training ground, and took a moment to appreciate each other's costumes. Katsuki's costume was one Izuku had known about for a long time, noting the pair of grenade-shaped gauntlets he had boasted about thinking up long ago.

Izuku and Tenya stood facing each other, both looking like very different robots from one another. Tenya's armor was clearly meant to look inspiring and be aerodynamic, while Izuku's was incredibly bulky, and likely weighed a great amount. Green aura was leaking a bit from within. Ochako couldn't help but sputter out a laugh. It looked a lot like they were sizing each other up, even though she could hear Izuku's internal monologue nerding out about the design of his friend's armor. Tenya might be sizing Izuku up for all she knew, but all she knew for certain was that he was thinking hard about something.

Her laughter got the two to look at her, both of them waving. She made her way over, her shock-absorbant layer thick enough to protect against fairly powerful impacts. The helmet was the same as she'd originally thought up, giving off an astronaut vibe, but was joined by a respirator that hung around her neck, attached to a small oxygen tank on her back, for emergencies where she might be flung into the sky while her weight is reduced. Only she and Izuku were aware of the fact that beneath that armor was an actual skintight suit, to help with her nausea, and for if she needed more mobility in a hurry. The shock-absorbant layer was meant to be easily removed in a pinch, and the oxygen tank and respirator would come off with it. A pair of large armored boots and small gauntlets with handles attached completed the look, made from a strong, lightweight material.

The front of Izuku's helmet flipped back, revealing his face beneath. "It feels like we're all getting ready to go to space instead of learning to be heroes," he joked, noticing the sci-fi theme the three of them seemed to have.

Tenya chuckled from behind his helmet. "Yes, well, heroes come in all shapes and sizes, after all. Your armor looks familiar for some reason. I like the look of it regardless. And Uraraka-kun, I would think you were an actual astronaut if not for the boots and less-than-airtight helmet!" he commented.

Ochako grinned. "Yeah, Izuku and I helped each other with our costume designs, though Izuku's looks different from what we'd thought up," she explained.

Izuku shrugged, his mobility limited in the armor. "There was a note saying that it does everything I wanted it to do, and an apology from Power Loader-sensei. Apparently one of the members of the support course insisted on working on mine, and he let her. He says that if I'm unsatisfied with it, my original costume is on standby, but I'm really liking this one," he explained, then added with a bit of a concerned tone, "Apparently, though, this support course student has already got a superior model in the works. She must be incredibly dedicated, and I'm not sure how to feel about somebody I've never met feeling that way about me…"

Tenya mirrored Izuku, shrugging as well. "We'll find out what's up with this later. For now, we should focus on the upcoming class," he suggested, then gestured in the direction of the rest of the class, who had made their way to stand before All Might.

The number one hero of Japan grinned at the class before him, proud of the costume designs everybody came up with, though he'd have to ask somebody to have a word with Yaoyorozu about her costume, and possibly Tooru, if her outfit was what he thought it was. The technology existed for heroes like them that would allow their quirks to work even without the...well, lack of costume in certain places. Izuku was really rubbing off on him. He hadn't studied quirks as much as he had in the last few months in a very long time!

"Each of you look so darn cool in your outfits! Some of you will upgrade your costumes over time like I have, and some of you will simply get larger versions of the same outfits, but regardless, today you get to really strut your stuff! Now, before we begin, do any of you have questions?" he hammed up, chewing the scenery as he taught in the hopes of getting the class excited despite the incident from earlier.

"Will we be fighting robots like in the practical exam?"

"Are we going to have to worry about being expelled?"

"How hard are we allowed to fight today?"

"Don't I just look fabulous in this cape?"

All Might was simultaneously amazed and humbled by the excitement of his class. He gave a sheepish look, and tried to convey to his successor, "I'm sorry for being so pathetic here, but can you remind me what was just asked, and by who? I need to get better at teaching!"

Izuku rolled his eyes with a smile, and conveyed the relevant info to his idol, who then answered the class in order. "First, no, you will not. Second, no, you will not. Third, you will have to hold back quite a bit more than in the practical exam. Fourth, ARE YOU KIDDING? YOU LOOK ABSOLUTELY MAJESTIC!" the muscle bound man explained.

All Might sighed a bit. "I apologize. I'm new to this whole teaching thing, so I'm gonna be a bit amateurish for a while," he explained, then brought out a notecard, and read aloud, "Today, you will be working on indoor combat. Students will be paired into teams of two, and some will be heroes while others are villains. As Mineta has been expelled for less than decent behavior, one of you will need to fight twice. One of you may either volunteer, or we will draw lots. The villain teams will be attempting to protect a nuclear device from the hero teams, either by capturing the heroes, or by holding them off for ten minutes. The hero teams will be attempting to stop the villains, either by touching the bomb, thus 'capturing' it, or by capturing the villain team. Teams will be decided at random."

Tenya raised his hand. "I'm sorry, All Might-sensei, but is it wise to leave teams up to chance like that?" he asked, genuinely curious.

Katsuki chuckled from nearby. "Villain attacks happen whenever and wherever villains feel like. The team ups that happen in these situations are just as random, because there's only so much time to counter," he explained, a grin on his face. 'Izuku, I hope I get to fight you. I want to feel how strong you've become firsthand! Show me the Hero who will avenge Deku!'

Izuku turned slightly towards Katsuki, having heard and felt that deep within his heart. His visor dropped, and he smiled a little, a blush on his now hidden face. "Kacchan, I want to fight you too. I want to know how strong you've become, too!"

Katsuki nearly jumped upon hearing this, but his grin intensified upon realizing what just happened. The entire class pulled lots, and it seemed some deity was smiling upon Izuku's group of friends. Katsuki and Tenya had made up a villain team, and Izuku and Ochako had formed a hero team. They were up against each other, and their match was first. Before Tenya and Katsuki headed into the building, the ash blond held his fist out towards Izuku. The greenette blinked, having lifted his visor when their group had left the observation building, and grinned, bumping his fist against Katsuki's.

"You have five minutes to prepare, Villain Team, before the Hero Team begins their attack. I will announce when the match is to start. Until then, use those noggins, you bunch of newbies!" All Might called over the PA system.

And so, it began.

Inside The Building, With Katsuki And Tenya

Tenya inspected the faux bomb they were meant to protect, giving it a light tap with the back of his fist. "So, Bakugo-kun. Between the two of us, you know the most about our opponents, or at the very least, Izuku. What can you tell me about what we're up against?" he asked, turning to look at the explosive youngster.

Katsuki sighed. "I can tell you that it's very possible his quirk isn't his greatest strength. I was an absolute monster towards him before that sludge villain incident, but I'm not blind. Even when we all believed him to be quirkless, he's been incredibly observant. He's always been the smartest kid I've known, and given time, he'll probably figure out things about your quirk that even you don't know. He's already done it with mine, after all," he confessed, then gazed down at his palms and explained, "I did some tests last night, with the help of my parents. My hearing is actually going a bit, and my quirk is probably a big part of the reason why. One thing's for certain. We can't take him or Uraraka-san lightly, or we're toast. One other thing, though."

At this, he turned to look at Tenya, and glared. "I know one thing about him that he doesn't know, and you can't tell him or Uraraka-san. Something happened to him before I ever even met him, and it's left something behind. The evidence is on his back, in that one spot normal humans can't reach. If we get past his armor, do not attack him from behind. You'll be dealing with me if you uncover whatever the fuck that thing is, exercise or not. I'm not letting his life get fucked up anymore than it might already be. Other than that. I suggest we shore up our defenses here, and try to work as a team to beat them. Get everything not nailed down out of the room in a hurry. He and Uraraka-san can both use random objects as projectiles, and we do not want this to turn into bullet hell."

Tenya removed his helmet, a concerned look on his face. "You really want to help him, don't you?" he asked, a hint of pride in his voice.

Katsuki scowled. "Whether I deserve his friendship anymore or not is a moot point. He's decided he still wants to be my friend, and I'm not going to make the mistake I made when we were four years old, and slap his hand away because of my stupid fucking pride. I'm gonna be a hero, and I'll do my damndest to save him from whatever the fuck happened to him as an infant. I need yours and Uraraka-san's help to do that, and probably others as well. But I also really wanna see how strong he's gotten, so this might get a little crazy."

"Hero team, villain team, the exercise starts NOW!"

Katsuki grinned manically. "Izuku's been surprising me a lot lately. I hope he does it again!"

With Izuku And Ochako

Izuku looked Ochako in the eye, his hand bare, along with hers. "Well, time to start. Do you consent?" he asked, his gaze serious despite Ochako having issues not bursting into laughter at his wording.

"Midoriya-kun, you're wording this really weirdly. I get that you want to make sure it's okay with me, but it's not that big a deal," she said with a grin.

The green-eyed boy frowned. "Isn't it? If anything, this is way more intimate than sex. For the remainder of this exercise, or until one or both of us decide to stop, we will share everything," he reiterated his point from when they first discovered this ability.

Ochako rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I get why this is important to you. Honestly, if you were perverted or naturally violent, I'd be very much against this. However," with this, she grasped his hand in hers, careful to keep her pinky off. "I'm doing this with you, and I know I can trust you. So, with that in mind, yes, I consent."

Izuku smiled. "Uraraka-chan, thank you so much for being my friend."

And in that instant, two minds, two hearts, two bodies, were united. Wordlessly, the two released their hands, with Izuku's armor covering his once more, and they walked into the building together. The two made their way to the center of the first floor, and green aura flowed around Ochako's right arm, forming a brace for their next attack.

"G-Force Combo Move: Right Arm, One Hundred Gs!" the two spoke as one, practicing for when they eventually would be in the field. With Ochako's arm braced with green aura, she put all of her gravity into it, then multiplied it and-

THWOOOM

The punch to the floor rattled the building, destroying every window and knocking furniture around, but otherwise doing little damage. Just as planned.

With Katsuki And Tenya

The villain team stumbled for a moment as what felt like a short-lived earthquake hit the area. Seeing as no alarms were going off, Katsuki and Tenya both quickly realized that it had, in fact, been an attack by their opponents.

Tenya turned to Katsuki, his panicked look hidden by his helmet. "Is Midoriya-kun the kind of person to do things like this for intimidation?!" he asked, alarmed.

Katsuki shook his head. "No, and Ochako doesn't seem the type to try this either. There's probably some tactical reason for it, so watch-" he was interrupted when the floor beneath him exploded into pieces, with Izuku coming up, grabbing him, and changing directions, smashing him into a wall.

"FUCK! DAMNIT, IZUKU! THAT FUCKING HURT LIKE A BITCH!" Katsuki exploded, both verbally and literally, blasting Izuku's armored form with his quirk to get him off. Ochako fell into the room from below, the ceiling becoming the floor for her before she sprung off of it and fell at Tenya, the armored speedster barely managing to dodge before his opponent's armored boot hit the floor where he'd been standing.

"Uraraka-kun! In the name of Villainy, I will stop you!" Tenya exclaimed, getting into character for the exercise. Ochako merely grinned at him, and flung herself into an attack. The two continued their dance, Tenya attacking and dodging, with Ochako seeming to be pushing him in very confusing directions. He found out very quickly what was going on, when upon dodging one of her attacks, his arm was grabbed by Izuku's hand, the boy having been facing away from him when he did it. Izuku then got his green aura around Tenya, and flung him at Katsuki, who was just about to leap at Izuku.

The villain team found themselves backed up against the bomb upon getting back up, with Izuku and Ochako facing them from across the room. Ochako grinned, and from the glowing coming off of Izuku's armor, Katsuki had the feeling he was grinning as well.

"G-Force Combo Move: Unlimited Platform Works!" the two said as one, and with a few clicking sounds, Izuku's armor came apart into multiple pieces, which floated around the room ominously. Katsuki noted that he was right about Izuku's grin.

Katsuki groaned. "I went into this knowing I shouldn't underestimate Izuku, but fuck. I managed to do it anyway," he said, seeing exactly what was going on.

Tenya put his hand on Katsuki's shoulder. "Don't worry. Evil will succeed this day!" he exclaimed, hamming it up, then rushing to attack the two of them. It went poorly. Ochako grabbed him as he ran to attack the unarmored Izuku, and flung him into the air behind her partner, where a piece of armor floated into place for Tenya to smack into. The armor piece placed itself at Tenya's gut, and shoved him into the floor next to Katsuki. Tenya stood up on wobbly legs, and placed a hand on Katsuki's shoulder again, this time for support. "I stand corrected. Evil will have to try again some other time."

Katsuki rolled his eyes. "Four-eyes, they've done something completely fucking insane. Hey, you two! Are you even two separate people right now?!" he asked, flabbergasted at how utterly curbstomped he and Tenya were getting.

Izuku put his hand to his chin, now able to move better with only the costume made by his mother on him. "Yes and no, honestly," he answered.

Ochako continued for him. "We're sharing senses, thoughts, pretty much everything right now. It's really weird having a different center of mass when we focus more on what's going on in the other's body. I'm not Ochako," she said.

"And I'm not Izuku," Izuku said.

"We are Izuku and Ochako," they said simultaneously, then smiled with the innocent smile each were known for, only with the faces swapped. "And we win."

The bunch of armor pieces, which had been hovering around ominously for the most part, now flew at the villain team in earnest, becoming like a storm of moving parts. Ochako and Izuku flitted in and out of the storm as they made their way through Katsuki and Tenya's defenses, then passed them entirely, none of them really sure which of them touched the bomb first.

"Hero Team Wins!"

The ash blond swore with words the author cannot write here, for they are incredibly offensive and should only be spoken amongst Scotsmen and sailors. Izuku and Ochako desynced, and gave each other a high five, followed by Izuku being sent flying and getting knocked out by an unfortunate smack against the ceiling, and his three friends trying to safely catch him as he floated around the room.