"Three, all in one hour?" Midoriya looked at the newsfeed he had opened on his phone. That morning, All Might had single handedly stopped a trio of incidents, all on his commute to UA. Seeing his life-long idol reminded the student of how the two of them had last directly spoken. He had not been to happy of Midoriya telling Bakugo about the circumstances of how he had gotten a Quirk, but had let it slide seeing as he had not done it to boast, and Bakugo had written it off as nonsense.

Now Brando overhearing it had been another matter. The blonde had not stuck around to find out just who Midoriya had gotten the power from, but he was not one to dismiss anything.

I hate keeping Diego in the dark... but I made a promise to All Might. Eventually, his train came to his destination, and he walked out of the station towards UA. When he was roughly a block away, the Brit who had occupied his thoughts suddenly appeared next to him, making the greenette yelp.

"Hey, Izuku," he started. "I took a different commute home yesterday and wound up in a pretty bad spot of town."

"Really?" Izuku questioned.

He nodded as they walked. "There were a couple of alleyways that would have acted as shortcuts back home. One had a bunch of angry stray dogs, and the other a nest of rattlesnakes. Can you guess which one I took?"

Izuku was dumbstruck. Rattlesnakes in such an urban area? He had only ever seen such reptiles in glass captivity boxes, nature documentaries, and on the head of Uwabami. "I... I don't..."

Brando did not wait for him to come up with an answer and smirked. "The one with the snakes! Because they were ssssssleeping and sssssnoring!"

Izuku faces morphed into a veneer of confusion with a small, lost smile. "... huh?"

"And then maybe after I made it past them, they woke up and started sssssslapping each other in their facesssss! It's a joke, get?!" Despite his gag getting no response, he was not deterred. "Aaahhh, I feel so good today! My body feels so light and the sun is shining! I got a feeling this is gonna be a great day!"

His shining demeanor rubbed off on Izuku, making a genuine grin from on his lips. "You're certainly in a good mood today."

"Why shouldn't I be?" His upward mood did not diminish as they walked the halls and joined their class. "Good morrow, comrades!" He exclaimed as he made his way to the back row of seats, taking his perch next to Gyro, who blinked at him.

"Are you high?" He asked, only to not get an answer. The morning's lessons proceeded as they usually did.

As the quartet of friends say down to enjoy lunch, a fifth member joined them.

"What's going on with you?" Johnny asked as he welcomed himself to a chair next to Iida. "You're never this... positive."

"It's a bright day, Johnny. Might as well enjoy it, right?" Brando took a sizable bite out of his meal. "You don't need a reason to be happy, do you?"

The question struck the American. Happiness was a rarity to him those days. Everybody was up and positive. And him? He was down so low, everybody had to dig him up. His father's words still stung him down to his bones.

"God... you took the wrong son..."

Johnny refocused himself. "Some might, yes." All he truly wanted was to get back to zero and make his late brother proud. Easier said than done.

The two dozen students returned to their home room and found Aizawa, exhausted as ever, standing behind his desk. He got right to the point. "For Foundational Heroics, it was decided that all of you will be supervised by me, All Might, and two others."

That many Pros? Midoriya was surprised. It must be something special.

As his peers began to voice their excitement, their Sensei spoke again. "Don't get ahead of yourselves. Anyway," he pulled out a small remote and pressed the only button on it, making the sections of the far wall slide out, giving them access to their custom outfits, "it's up to you if you want to wear your Hero costumes for this. Some might not he suited for what you're about to face after all. Where we're going is a little far away so we'll be taking a bus."

Not one member of 1-A chose to not wear their Hero garbs. As they all approached the bus, Uraraka looked at Izuku who had a look of sheer determination. "You're not wearing your hood, Deku?"

His visage instantly softened. "No. Diego's claws really tore it up. I'll get it fixed soon." His own line of sight drifted after hearing a small chuckle emit from his blonde friend.

"Alright everybody!" Iida jumped at his duty to lead as they all closed in on the bus. "This will be a smooth ride if we all sit in an organized fashion and form two lines based on our numbers!"

"Our class rep knows how to take the lead," Brando mused.

Sadly for Iida, his instructions went unfollowed and all of 1-A sat as they pleased, leaving him crestfallen.

Mina, sitting next to him, patted his back as he stared at the floor. "It really was all for nothing, huh?"

As most of those present felt their amusement at the sight of their class President, one of them spoke up.

"Hey, Midoriya."

Her fellow greenette again felt the wave of trepidation, excitement, and adrenaline at the aspect of talking to a girl. "Huh?! Oh, hi Asui!"

"Call me Tsu. I always speak what's on my mind, and right now, I can't help but notice that your Quirk reminds me of All Might's."

Terror overtook Midoriya, but he forced a smile onto his paling face. "B-but... it isn't really..."

Before he could get cornered, the spiky redhead Kirishima unknowingly came to his rescue. "But wait a sec. All Might doesn't hurt himself when he fights. The likeness ends there." Midoriya mentally thanked his classmate as he continued. "But I gotta admit. I like the basic enhancer Quirk types." He brought his arm up, and in a flash his skin tightened and hardened. "My Quirk isn't all that flashy. It probably isn't going to grab as much attention Pros usually get."

"Don't put yourself down so much," Izuku assured. "I think that's an incredibly useful Quirk!"

Kirishima shrugged. "Maybe. But if any of us have Quirks that can make it to the big leagues, it's Bakugo and Todoroki."

The first of the three mentioned glanced at them for a moment before letting out a "hmph" and returned to looking out the window.

"True," Brando admitted, never shying away from an opportunity to talk down to people he hated. "But Bakugo is far too loud and arrogant to be popular with the masses."

That statement certainly caught Bakugo's attention. "What did you say, you son of a bitch?!"

Kaminari chuckled. "You know, we've all only been acquainted for an infinitesimal amount of time, but it is blatantly obvious that your personality is akin to garbage in an overrun cesspool."

"Huh?! What the- I'll fucking kill you!"

Midoriya could not believe what was going on. Kacchan was the one being picked on and not him!

Over on the other side of the bus, Momo was aghast. "Such a vulgar conversation."

On either side of her, Uraraka and Gyro laughed.

Next to Midoriya, Brando was strangely quiet. The insult Bakugo had flung at him had not just bounced off of him. Son of a bitch... the indirect slight towards his mother had filled him with anger. Both at Bakugo, for daring to speak of her in such a manner. And at himself. He started to question himself. When was the last time he thought of her? Now the wound had been reopened. He removed his riding helmet and rotated it, making the letters face him. As he stared at them, he remembered her final words vividly.

"Don't be sad, Dio. It's all because of my sin. It's not your fault."

Dio. That is what she always called him. Her little pet name for her only child, her beloved son whom she paid the ultimate price for, just to make sure he never went to bed hungry.

And then, barely a year later, his still-living ancestor with the same name rescued him from squalor. Was it a coincidence... or something else? A sign? It all made him think of an evening that he lacked all the details of...

On a dirt road in rural Great Britain, a fancy car came to a stop. Off in the distance was a large house surrounded by smaller buildings barely able to be seen under the night sky. Pucci deactivated the headlights, thus making the car give off no light.

"Is this the place?" DIO asked, rolling down the tinted window.

"Yeah," the six-year-old Diego confirmed. He had spent his whole life so far at the ranch in front of them.

"The man who ruined your and your mother's eating cups. Where might he be?"

"Feeding the pigs. What are you going to do?"

"I'm just going to talk to him. Nothing major. Don't worry, I'll take care of everything. Pucci, watch him." In an instant, his body became black smoke which then dissipated. It reminded Diego of seeing his breath on a cold day.

"Are you alright, child?" Pucci asked, turning from his spot in the driver's seat to make eye contact with his friend's descendant.

Diego did not respond. He looked at the center of the back row of seats and picked up a leather contraption. The reins he had used on the so-called untamable stallions he had gotten to obey him. He smiled at his prize, having stolen it from the man who had ruined his mother's life.

Pucci could see that DIO's heir was deep in thought, and returned to facing forward, leaving him alone.

Roughly a minute of comfortable silence passed, and DIO opened the car and sat down. He pulled the door shut and said, "drive."

Pucci obeyed without question or hesitation. Diego looked at the man who had promised him so much. Even with only the moon above giving light through the windows, he could see the blood dripping off of his grandfather's fingers.

"Did you see him?" The boy asked.

"Yes. And I made him very aware of what he had done. No need to worry..."

Pulling himself from the few pieces of the memory he had, with images of his mother lingering, the young Brando felt sadness seep into him like an evening fog. He thought of his loving parent and kept his silence as he placed the helmet back on his cranium.

The rest of the ride to their destination went without any significant incident. The bus pulled up to a massive dome, and when they stepped in, each and every one of them was blown away. It was the size of an amusement park. One section was all water, and another engulfed in flames. Waiting for them at the archway near the entrance were two people. One was wearing a voluminous space suit, and the other a green formal suit and sunglasses.

The former spoke first, their voice with a slight echo from behind their helmet. "Floods. Fires. Earthquakes. I designed this place to simulate each and every disaster out there."

Uraraka became absolutely giddy. "It's the Space Hero, 13!"

Next to her, Izuku was just as energetic. "And that's Hierophant Green! Both of them have saved countless people all over the world!"

"I've always been a fan of 13!" Uraraka was having trouble keeping herself in check.

Aizawa walked up to his fellow Pros, noticing that one of them was missing. "Where's All Might? Off giving another TV interview?"

Noriaki Kakyoin, better known as Hierophant Green, adjusted his glasses. "Actually, there were a few incidents on his way to work."

13 nodded and brought up three fingers. "So he's resting in the faculty lounge."

The homeroom teacher shook his head. "That guy is the most irrational person I know..."

"Shall we begin?" Kakyoin suggested.

"Before we do, there's just one or two things to go over... or three... or four..." 13 addressed 1-A. "I'm sure most of you know about my Quirk, Black Hole. My fingertips can make a vortex that turns anything that gets sucked into it to dust. Extremely useful for search and rescue... but my Quirk can easily be used to kill." That claim made the class give their complete and silent attention. "In a way, the same can be said for everyone here. In the society we live in, Quirks and Stands are strictly regulated and lawful use of them is enforced. And for good reason."

"There is indeed danger out there." Hierophant took of his sunglasses, revealing two scars running over both his eyes.

13 continued. "Each of you possess a power that can accidentally take a life with just one misstep. Aizawa's physical tests showed you all your classmates' potential. And All Might's trial of battle showed you just how dangerous each of you can be. So let this lesson be a fresh start! Let today show you that your powers do not exist to hurt others, but to save lives!" The Space Hero gave them all a bow. "Thank you all for listening to me so patiently!"

Uraraka and Iida applauded. "That was so inspiring."

Aizawa was glad the speech was over, even though it was necessary. "Alright then, first thing's first..." He trailed off as a strange feeling overtook him. He and Kakyoin looked down the massive staircase and saw the air seemingly blacken. It started as just a spot, and then it expanded. Out from it came a hand that gripped the brim of it. Following it came the limb's owner, who had yet another hand, disembodied and white, covering his face and running through his blue hair. Whoever it was, he was staring right at the Pros.

"Everybody stay together!" Aizawa shouted. "13! Protect the students!"

"What's going on?" Kirishima asked. "Are they part of another test?"

Kakyoin summoned his green and white humanoid Stand as the blackness expanded, letting numerous people walk past the probable ringleader. "Those are Villains!"

The ebony the ne'er-do-wells had emerged from formed into what could have passed as ghost and two glowing spots of gold appeared on the head. "Eraserhead, Hierophant, and 13." The voice was that of a dignified gentleman. "The curriculum we procured yesterday said All Might was supposed to be here as well."

"Where is he? We went through all this trouble." The first one who had crawled out of the darkness sounded irritated. "Rounding up so many to tag along... and he isn't here? Maybe he'll show that annoying smile... if we kill the kids?"

Those words made all of 1-A fearful.

"Why aren't any of the alarms going off?!" Kakyoin prepared himself.

"Is this the only spot they're attacking?" Todoroki wondered aloud. "An isolated spot away from the main campus..."

Valentine gave her own thoughts. "This was planned too carefully to be random. They must have a solid objective."

Aizawa's hair and scarf began to levitate as he put his goggles on. "13! Start evacuating and try to contact UA! They got around the sensors so one of them might be blocking the alarms!"

Midoriya caught on to what his homeroom teacher and Hierophant were about to do. "Only the two of you are going to fight all of them?! But your style of fighting is one-on-one and surprise ambushes!"

"A good Hero is never just a one trick pony." With that said, he leapt down the staircase, capture device at the ready.

At the bottom of the steps, three of the intruders sprinted up to an optimal shooting spot. One of them, a man with gun barrels for fingers, aimed with glee as his two comrades followed suit. "You dumbass!"

Click click click.

"What?! Where are my bullets?!"

"I'm not firing!"

As they stood there in confusion, Aizawa's capture device strands wrapped around them. He landed, and with strong pull, made the fiber constrict the two Villains and made them bash into each other. As they fell to the ground with migraines, a hulking criminal, nine feet tall and seemingly made of rock, approached him. "So, you're Eraserhead, eh? Can you erase Mutation Quirks?"

"No, he cannot!" Kakyoin landed next to Aizawa, his Stand out and shooting a strange liquid between its hands. "Emerald Splash!" Scores of jewels formed from the bile in his Stand's palms, launching at the newest adversary, ramming into him like bullets. The multiple, high velocity impacts sent him down, letting the Pros get into the middle of the fray. Another intruder attempted to throw a punch, but his hand stopped in midair, not of his own volition. For an instant, before getting kicked in the face, he felt what seemed to be a string around his wrist.

Kakyoin wracked his mind for a long-term battle plan. I could always make a web barrier... but that would leave me vulnerable against so many of them...

The leader looked on from behind his extra hand. "Those two... they're so good in direct combat. And those damn goggles make it impossible to know whose Quirk has been Erased. Even though it's two against thirty, they're still winning." He began scratching his neck. "Pro Heroes are such a pain."

Back near the entrance, Midoriya was watching the fight like a gambler at a slot machine. "I didn't know Aizawa-sensei could-" he felt something dragging him away. He panicked for a moment, thinking it was a villain. Twisting his head, he felt relief to see Brando had his claws latched onto his shoulder.

"Take notes later!" Brando shouted as they and the rest of 1-A followed 13 to the exit. Unfortunately, the same ebony mass from earlier manifested between them and salvation. Only this time the perpetrator spread himself to be five meters tall and wider than a shipping container. Now that he was closer, they could tell his body was not solid, but a sort of opaque fog.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that." Maybe it was his presence. Maybe it was the foreboding color, or perhaps his size, but he succeeded in making his captive audience freeze in place. "Greetings. We are the League of Villains. We came here in the Hope's of extinguishing the life of All Might. Where, might I ask, is he? He was supposed to be teaching in this particular outing." Nobody gave him an answer, and his mass began to spread. "Oh well. I should focus on my role in this." The mist began to surround them all like a shroud.

Before he could completely encapsulate them all, two of the more daring students leapt at him. Kirishima hardened his arm and slashed at him like his limb was a sword, and Bakugo took aim point blank, unleashing an explosion equal to a dozen grenades. Right behind them, Gyro whirred up one of his Steel Balls and tossed it. The attacks made the assaulted portion of the Villain dissipate.

"Bet you didn't see that coming!" Kirishima exclaimed with triumph.

No sooner had the words left his mouth did the black mist start to reform. Brando desperately looked around, but could not find any openings even if he stopped time. "Quite a perilous move," he said, as he willed his body to surround all of the Heroes-in-training. "All of you..." His voice reverberated and seemed to come from all directions. "Will be scattered! And tortured!" The darkness closed in on them. "And slain!"

For the briefest of moments, Midoriya saw only darkness, as if he was in the deepest of caves. Then, a light shined forth and the black gave way, showing him water. Then gravity took hold and he fell. He splashed down and tried to get his bearings. I'm in the flood zone?! He must have a Warping Quirk!

His realization was cut short by the appearance of Gyro splashing down next to him, looking just as shocked as he was. The two stared at each other before a voice rang out. "Chow's here! So long, brats!"

The two young men looked over and saw a half-man, half-shark charging towards them. Midoriya screamed, making a torrent of bubbles escape from his maw and float to the surface. Just as the massive series of teeth were about to take a chunk out of them, Gyro put his hands close together, like he was holding a soccer ball. He focused, and the water between his palms began to swirl. Within an instant, the liquid looked denser and darker. Midoriya gaped as Gyro adjusted his hands and thrust them, and hence the sphere he had formed, forward to the beast's mouth. The Villain bit down on it... and he might as well have tried to eat solid metal.

Then, out of nowhere came Asui holding Mineta, ramming her legs into the aquatic predator. "Hey, Midoriya! Zeppeli!" She opened her mouth and put sprang an extremely extensive tongue. The pink appendage wrapped around them like a rope, and she swam to the surface. Breaching next to a boat in the middle of the flood zone, she made her tongue go up above the deck, and released the two, making them land on their backs.

"This seems familiar," the Italian joked.

Still on the surface of the water, the shortest member of 1-A, Mineta, found a moment of respite as his cheek rested on his rescuer's chest. "You know, Asui... for a frog, you got pretty nice boobs." The remarked earned him a hard impact onto the deck, causing him to let out a pain-filled groan.

Midoriya got to his feet as the three boys' savior climbed the hull, sticking to it with each touch. "Asui, thank you."

She reached the deck rail and climbed aboard. "I told you, call me Tsu."

Gyro removed his remaining Steel Ball and, wondering where the foggy Villain had sent the other one, imbued it with his Spin. With its perpetual rotation active, he held it to his chest. Instantly, his clothes and skin to wind up like a twisted rope. The effect only last a moment before he pulled his signature weapon away, and his body returned to normal. The reason he had done so quickly became evident. All the water that had soaked into his clothes and on his flesh began slipping off as if he was covered in plastic wrap. With a few seconds, he was completely dry. "Well. This isn't a good spot we've found ourselves in."

Midoriya focused on just why all the Villains had shown themselves. "They must have used the press' break-in to steal information. This was planned out. They waited, and now they probably are just going to wait for All Might."

Mineta looked like he was about to burst into tears. "B-b-but All Might'll beat them, right? When he gets here, they'll all run for their lives, right?!"

Tsuyu looked at the diminutive student blankly. "Mineta. The whole reason they came here was to kill All Might. So they probably figured out a way to kill him."

Gyro nodded. "Yeah. And it wouldn't really be beneath them to do it, either. Remember how Mr. Fog back there said they were gonna torture us?"

Their words only worsened Mineta's mental breakdown. It certainly didn't help that several Villains surrounded the boat, waiting in the water for an opportunity to strike them down.

Try as he might, Midoriya could not figure out just why the League of Villains wished to dispose of All Might. "Okay. Maybe they have a plan. And they're just waiting to spring it. So right now, if any of us want to survive, we need to fight!"

Silence filled the air... until it was broken by caterwauling.

"What do you mean 'fight?!'" Mineta was in tears. "We can't do that! We were just normal middle schoolers not too long ago! And now that we're here in a spot where we might lose our lives, you want to fight the bad guys?!"

Is everybody having as fun a time as we are? Gyro wondered.

XXXXXXXXX

Near the entrance, none of the remnants still there were having any luck with the Warping villain. Him being incorporeal had proven to be a rather insurmountable situation.

"Class Rep!" 13 turned to Iida, who stood at attention despite the Villain in from of them. "I have a job for you. Use your Engines to sprint back to the main building and get help. They must have somebody who can block our alarms and communication. If you manage to get out through the exit, they'll be unable to catch you."

Iida felt conflicted. This was a direct request from a teacher and Pro, but... "to abandon my classmates-"

"She said go!" Sato cut him off.

Uraraka had a look of determination. "We'll hold off the Villain for you!"

Ashido began to secret her bodily acid. "You're our best hope, Iida!"

XXXXXXXXX

"This is not what I had in mind today." Johnny summoned Tusk and his nails began to spin. Next to him, Ojiro assumed a fighting stance. Both of them felt an immense heat that warred over them, coming from both the fires all around them as well as the Villains closing in on them. However, neither of them noticed the mummy-esque one in the glass behind them.

"We are severely outnumbered," his tailed companion stated.

"I'm not above running away to a better spot."

"Nor am I."

XXXXXXXXX

Valentine tried to look upwards, but the simulated downpour made that too much a chore. "They must have quite a sprinkler system..." She put her hand on the wall of the faux building next to her, trying to think and stabilize herself with the winds blowing around her. She tried to think of a way out... and her arm began to sink into the wall. She was caught off guard and quickly retreated her limb. She stared at the spot she had pressed on. "I'm not between two..." A dawning realization came to her. "Water. My arm is between the wall... and the water."

She was so entranced by this breakthrough on how she could use D4C, that it did not register that behind her, a puddle from the rain began moving in an unnatural way, a portion of it rising up and forming a claw.

XXXXXXXXX

In another Zone, four more 1-A students huddled close together as the one in the center provided them with weapons. Yaoyorozu pulled a steel staff from her right thigh as Jiro grabbed the sword from the left one. Kaminari kept his own hands free.

Diego let out a "wryyy" as his tail and claws formed. "As a family friend always says, open the game!"