|Chapter 17: Vanguard Action Squad, Go!
Forest, The Next Morning
"Why are we up so early?" Setsuna asked as she and the rest of her class walked through the forest to their training grounds.
Vlad King huffed as he lead them. "You all need to be whipped into proper shape." He demanded. "Last semester was 1A's turn in the spotlight, it's 1B's turn now." The man said. "So we'll be working on developing your quirks!"
Tetsutetsu shed manly tears. "I'm sorry that we're such disappointments, sensei!" He chided himself and the entire class, earning him a few glares.
"How exactly are we going to develop our quirks?" Setsuna asked, confused.
A student with a bug face was also confused. "Can you be more specific?"
Their teacher nodded. "When muscle fibres are overused, they break and become stronger and thicker." He explained. "Quirks are the same; if you continue to use them, they become stronger, and you can negate the weaknesses they have." Vlad smiled. "So… there's only one thing to do!" The class reached the end of their trail and saw the training grounds. "Break through your limits!"
"What the hell!"
Class 1A was spread around the entire training camp and were all going through… let's go with hell.
In Bakugou's training space, the blonde was plunging his hands into boiling hot water and letting off massive explosions. He looked like he was having the time of his life, but they could tell he was tired.
Off in another training space, Todoroki had plunged his entire body into water and was switching between his ice and fire. The space around him switched between being frozen over or charred and the heterochromatic teen was leaning over the side of the barrel he stood in, letting his quirk run on autopilot.
Sero stood on top of a small hill and was wrapping up a number of different heavy objects and swinging them around. His tenacity was admirable but his fatigue was evident as he was sent flying with one of the objects he threw when his tape got jammed.
"Come on!" Kirishima shouted, taking another hit from Ojiro. "More!"
The two were sparring and Ojiro was switching between every tail he could think of. Meanwhile, Kirishima was trying to harden his arms even further. If one looked closely, they could see small black patches appear on his arms before immediately disappearing.
On a hill across from Sero, Kaminari had plugged himself into a generator and was running as much current he could muster while staying mentally sound. Yellow lightning was spiralling around him as he concentrated like hell to keep it close to his body.
Aoyama was shooting off a long blast of lasers from his hands, trying to ignore the agonising pain of keeping it on for more than three seconds. As he continued to blast, the intensity of his blue beams grew and flickered white for a moment.
"I thought we were over this, Dark Shadow!" Tokoyami was in a pitch black cave trying to calm down his wild, sentient quirk. "What happened to our understanding?!"
"What happened to my apples?!" It seemed as though a shadow-enhanced Dark Shadow still had some issues with self-control.
Uraraka's training seemed the most fun. She was rolling down a hill inside a big ball with her quirk activated on herself. But for her, it was hell, and she could barely keep herself from hurling.
"Incoming!" All of Class 1B had to take a step back as Iida zoomed past them at high speeds and ate his dust.
'Seriously, what's the point of training my tongue?' Tsu thought as she scaled a small hill with her tongue stretched to the top like a rope. 'I could be training my legs to be as strong as Mirko.'
Behind her, Sato and Yaoyorozu were feasting on as much food as they could while using their quirks. Yaoyorozu was only using one arm to eat while the other switched forms between a machine gun, shield, and other forms of weaponry. Sato's size was exponentially growing before he concentrated and compressed them into regular size.
On the hill opposite to Tsu, Mina was letting her quirk out the max. She continuously made acid that drilled through both the hill and her hands. However, she was secretly also trying to control the acid's path with her mind as she expelled it. It was only a theory, but she thought she might as well give it a try.
Next to her, Hagakure snuck around in her invisible form doing hit and runs on Shoji while the latter tried his best to block or evade her.
Above them, Jirou was trying to learn how to fly using her soundwaves. "AGH!" It was a work in progress.
The most noticeable area of the training grounds was the mini sized colosseum made out of dirt. "Come on! You can do better than that!" Pixie Bob yelled.
Inside the arena, Akira and Koda were both fighting off wave after wave of dirt beasts. Akira's body was constantly healing itself while Koda's shifted through multiple forms of large animals.
Ibara was the first to speak. "Is this hell?" She couldn't fathom what she would be going through.
"Normally, your quirks would grow naturally with your body…" Vlad started, ignoring her question.
"…But we don't have any time for that." Aizawa said, walking up to them. "And yes, Kendo, the six of us here will be able to watch over all of you." He looked to the class's representative.
The orange haired girl put her hand down.
"Eraser, where's your vice rep?" Vlad asked, noticing the lack of the green-haired powerhouse. "Did you lose him or something?"
Aizawa gave him a tired look. "No, he-"
The ground shook violently and a few of the students dropped to their knees.
The tired pro hero sighed. "He's doing that." Vlad just nodded. "Now, time for you to meet your caretakers."
"We're here to look after you!" A lively woman with green hair cheered.
"We're here to lend a paw!" Mandalay shouted next.
"Coming out of nowhere…" A large buff man with brown hair said ominously.
"Super cute and catlike!" Pixie Bob yelled.
"Wild, Wild…" The group got into a pose. "Pussycats!" They yelled. "Full version!"
"You already know Mandalay and Pixie Bob." Aizawa said. "These two are Ragdoll and Tiger." Said heroes gave them all a thumbs up. "With them here, overseeing all of your training will be easier." His eyes glowed red. "Now get to work!"
"Yes, sensei!" Without another word, they threw themselves into hell.
One Session of Hell Later
"You've gotta be kidding me." Kirishima and Tetsutetsu groaned as they stared at the ingredients in front of them.
"Nope!" Pixie Bob grinned. "Yesterday was the only day you got free food."
Ragdoll appeared next to her. "Don't go making slop just because you're exhausted!"
Izuku immediately rolled up his sleeves and started to grab ingredients. 'Thank Kami Ma taught me how to cook.' His gaze shifted over to his elemental friend. "Todoroki, can I get some fire over here?"
While confused, the heterochromatic teen didn't hesitate to listen to his friend's request. "What are you doing?" Todoroki asked, lighting all of the fire pits with a wave of his hand.
Izuku laid out his ingredients in front of him before separating them. "Making our dinner." He said like it was obvious. "Bakugou, start cutting, I know you know how to work a knife."
The explosive blonde grumbled to himself and began to chop up the vegetables. "Ordering me around, tch, whatever." He didn't stop grumbling even as he diced up the vegetables like a pro-chef.
While Izuku prepared dinner, a few of the girls leaned over to Mina. "You definitely picked a keeper."
The pink-skinned teen's blush remained there until dinner was served.
1 Hour Later
"Thanks for the food!" Everyone said before digging into their meals. When they did, their eyes widened.
"Holy crap!" Kirishima scarfed down as much as he could. "This is amazing!"
Sero nodded next to him. "Midoriya, where'd you learn to cook?" He scarfed down another mouthful. "This is incredible!"
Izuku laughed them off. "This is nothing compared to what my Ma makes." He said as he changed shirts, his first one being dirty. "I learned everything I know about cooking from her." The greenette saw Kota walk off and grabbed two bowls before floating off.
"Midoriya." Tokoyami called out. "Where are you going?"
Izuku watched the small boy's form disappear into the forest and slowly followed. "I'll be back soon enough, enjoy the food." He said with a smile before disappearing into the woods.
On one of the tables, Mina sighed and continued to eat her food. 'Damnit, I can't even be sad, this food is too good for that.' Seriously, the guy was a great cook.
Kota's Hideout
The One For All user followed Kota from the sky all the way to a small mountain with a cave. Upon arriving, he could hear the boy's stomach growling; begging for food. However, the small child ignored his body's cry for food and continued to look out over the camp.
"You should really eat." Izuku said as he floated down in front of Kota. "The curry isn't bad."
Kota's face morphed into a scowl. "What are you doing here?" He asked angrily, standing up. "How'd you find this place?"
Izuku remained floating off the edge of the cliff, not wanting to push anything. "I followed you from the camp." The teen answered. "I figured you'd get hungry."
The child stepped back and crossed his arms. "I'm fine; I don't need any food." He scoffed at him. "Especially from some prick who just wants to show off his quirk."
"Is that what you think heroes are?" Izuku asked. "A quirk popularity contest?" While the boy wasn't entirely wrong for some heroes, it wasn't the only reason.
"Of course that's what heroes are." Kota spat the term out with venom. "You're all the same, you call each other 'heroes' and 'villains'." Drops of water fell from his hands. "But you all just kill each other the same, flaunting off your stupid quirks."
The greenette tilted his head. "Did…" He was pretty sure he was about to push a limit here. "Did you lose someone from a villain attack?"
The child's eyes began to tear up. "So what if I did?" He asked. "What difference does it make?!" His hands shot forward and Izuku barely dodged a fast beam of water aimed at his face.
Izuku's brain instantly began connecting dots and he figured it out. "The Water Hose Duo." He whispered in realisation.
It was still loud enough for Kota to hear and his eyes widened. "Leave!" He shouted.
The teen floated forward and placed the curry down before floating back. "I'm sorry for what happened to them." He gave him a sad smile. "But rejecting everything won't help." Without another word, he took off.
As Kota digested those words he sent another water blast to the face of the mountain, making a small crater.
Mountain Cliff
"I'm here!" A large woman with reddish hair said. "Sorry, I couldn't find the right mountain."
"And that makes seven of us." A black haired man with large scars on his face said. The seven in question were all on a mountain side overlooking the facility.
"I was told I'd get to have fun…" A large man in a cloak said, raising a fist. "When can I let loose?" His bloodlust rolled off him in waves.
"We'll move when all ten of us are here." The scarred man answered. "Until then, we let them think they're safe." He tightened the bandages on his arms. "Let's go."
"I can't wait to taste their blood." A blonde girl in a school uniform said excitedly. "I wonder what they'll taste like?" She asked herself as they walked off.
"Blood…" A man in a black straitjacket mumbled, swaying as he walked away.
A lizard man with a white mask sighed before following. 'Why couldn't I get stuck with sane villains.' He looked to the scarred man and blonde girl. 'At least their Stain sympathisers.'
Back at the camp, Izuku's sleeping form stopped twitching as his danger sense died down.
The Next Day
"Almost…" Jirou said to herself as she slowly gained balance, concentrating on her soundwaves intensity. "Aha!" After what felt like hours, she was comfortably hovering. "I did it!" She threw her hands in the air in a rare show of joy. "Euagh!" Unfortunately she forgot she was floating and promptly fell to the ground.
"Again, Jirou." Aizawa said before turning to Kirishima and pulling him up with his scarf. "No sleeping on the job, Kirishima." He said as he pulled up Kaminari. "That goes for you as well, Kaminari."
The two teens groaned. "So… tired."
If Aizawa had any sympathy for them, he didn't let it show. "I told you this would be tough." The man loosened his scarf's hold on them. "Remember why you're more tired than the rest of your classmates."
The two groaned and slowly got back to their feet.
Izuku sighed as he watched the two regain their energy for a fight. All the pro heroes present had unanimously decided the best way to get all of them with combat quirks to level up was for them to fight him… all at once.
Akira, Shoji, Kota, Sato, Ojiro, Kirishima, and a few other Class B students had joined. Kaminari was there because Akira was showing him a new way to fight with his quirk.
"Alright, Kamakiri, Rin, Kaibara, you three are up next." Kan said to his three students with a smile. "Show him what class B is about."
The three students grinned as they raised their arms and activated their quirks. "Yes, sir."
Outdoor Kitchen, One 'kind-of-but-not-really' Fight Later
Vlad sighed as he watched Akira tend to his students' injuries. 'Seriously, not even a scratch.' He looked over to the greenette that dominated three of his class's hand to hand fighters. 'I knew I should've poached him when I had the chance.'
Izuku, meanwhile, was preparing another meal with Bakugou and Sato. "Thanks, Bakugou." He chucked the chopped carrots he was given into the pot.
"Whatever." The blonde responded before cutting more vegetables. "Just make my plate spicy."
The greenette nodded and continued to cook. "Yeah, yeah, I know." However, he couldn't get the nagging feeling out of his head that something bad was going to happen.
Forest Clearing
"We've filled up our bellies and washed the dishes!" Pixie Bob said. "Now, it's time for…"
"The test of courage!" Mina yelled excitedly, bouncing up and down.
"Yeah!" The other remedial course students shouted, happy to do normal camp activities.
"Actually…" Aizawa started, causing said students to freeze. "You five are with me again tonight."
Mina's eyes widened. "No!" She quickly jumped on to Izuku's back, narrowly dodging Aizawa's scarf. "Don't let him take this away from me, Izuku!" She pleaded with puppy dog eyes.
"Midoriya…" Their teacher activated his quirk. "Give Ashido now or I take her by force." He was mentally daring the greenette to try and stop him. 'Please give me a reason to test who the stronger quirkless fighter is.'
Izuku hesitated for a minute before he, with a heavy heart, grabbed Mina off his back and carried her over to Aizawa. "I'm sorry, Mina." He said as he put her on her feet. "Maybe if you do well tomorrow you might be able to join us for the next activity?" The teen looked to Aizawa with hopeful eyes.
The man wrapped Mina up with his scarf and sighed. "If they do well enough, I'll consider it." Aizawa began to drag them back to the facility and rolled his eyes. 'I almost wanted him to fight back.'
Pixie Bob brought out lots and smiled. "Time to choose pairs!" Her eyes drifted to the 1B students. "And you all have to prepare some scares on the trail." She shooed them off. "Remember, no contact; scare them with your quirks!" The last of the 1B students left their vision and she turned back to 1A. "Well, pick lots."
The students briskly walked up and began to draw lots; the pairs were as follows:
Pair 1: Tokoyami & Shoji
Pair 2: Bakugou & Todoroki
Pair 3: Jirou & Hagakure
Pair 4: Momo & Aoyama
Pair 5: Uraraka & Tsu
Pair 6: Ojiro & Akira
Pair 7: Iida & Kota
Pair 8: Izuku
"Wait, I'm by myself?" Izuku said, counting the pairs again in his head.
"That's rough." Akira said, patting him on the back. "Don't worry though, you'll be fine."
Izuku sighed. 'I should've risked a detention with Aizawa.' He thought to himself.
12 Minutes Later
"Remember, they won't kill you!" Pixie Bob yelled one last time as Uraraka and Tsu disappeared. The screams of the other pairs echoed throughout the forest. "Probably."
As the two walked off, Izuku was dealing with a very big headache. 'What is up with me?' Akira stood next to him, a glowing hand on his back.
"Any better?" The black-haired teen asked.
Izuku shook his head. "I don't know what it is, I just-" The smell of smoke invaded their noses and they looked up to see a strange sight.
The forest in front of them was filled with smoke and a bright blue light illuminated the darkness. "Blue?" Akira asked aloud. "Do any of us have blue fire…?"
Izuku suddenly realised what his headache was and turned around to the source just in time to see Pixie Bob lifted off her feet. "No!" The teen quickly shot to catch her and held the lady mid-air.
"What the hell is this?" Pixie Bob asked, struggling. She looked up and she saw two strangers in front of them, one pointing a giant pole at her.
The greenette saw the two strangers and activated 15% of One For All before smashing his foot into the ground, knocking them off their feet. Pixie Bob stopped glowing and Izuku was able to bring her back to the group.
"Oh you've got to be shitting me." Akira said, looking at the two strangers in front of them. The second was a lizard man with swords. "I thought we made sure this place wouldn't be found."
While the villains were on the ground, Mandalay quickly sent out a message to everyone in the camp. "Everyone, be careful, the camp has been invaded by two villains." She eyed the two in front of her. "There may be more, do not engage, retreat, and get back to camp!"
Mountain Facility
'Damnit!' Aizawa thought as he adjusted his scarf. "Vlad, stay with the students." He began to run out. "I'm going to get everyone else!" With that, he was out of the room, leaving the others to only think of what was happening.
"Villains?" Sero said in disbelief.
"I thought we made extra sure this place was safe!" Sato exclaimed.
Meanwhile, Mina just looked to the door. 'Izuku…'
Kirishima did the same. 'Katsuki …' His fingers twitched and he had to sit down so he wouldn't move.
Middle of the Forest
A boy with a headband pulled along Yaoyorozu's body as she let out a battle cry at the Nomu chasing them. The two classes had been subjected to a large amount of some gas and many of them were knocked out. Yaoyorozu had passed off a few of the knocked out students they found to Kendo while also giving them gas masks. Soon after, they had been ambushed by the Nomu; this only served to severely piss her off.
"Try me!" The onyx-haired girl created a minigun out of her hand and started firing. "Awase, don't slow down!" She shouted back to him before returning full attention to the Nomu. "Die!"
The black-haired teen, Awase, didn't say anything and continued to run. 'At least she has the spirit.' He though optimistically before he spared a look back to the Nomu which was, surprisingly enough, slowing down due to Yaoyorozu's relentless barrage. 'Oh, effective too.'
Forest Clearing
The two villains stood up and looked to the group of pros and hero trainees with sick smiles. "Such a shame, I was planning on crushing her head." The red-haired villain said as she brought her wrapped weapon back.
Pixie-Bob snarled at the woman. "I'm trying to get married; you can't wreck my face!" She sent her hands to the ground and two bi-pedal dirt sentinels rose next to her. These beasts were much less monstrous than what the students faced in the forest; these were refined warriors. "Kids, get out of here, I'll handle these guys."
The villains didn't back down and both brought out their weapons. Removing the cloth from her weapon, the red-haired villain held a giant magnet like it was a bat. The lizard man brought out a giant sword comprised of multiple other blades and sharp weaponry.
"I am Spinner." The lizard man introduced. "I am the one who will spin Stain's dreams into a reality!" He said with passion. "All who are not worthy shall die."
Iida fixed him with a glare. "You'd dare…"
"I am Magne." The red haired woman said. "And we're not gonna be scared out of a fight by some low-level dirt guards." She brought up her magnet and got into a stance.
Tiger also got into a stance while Mandalay ushered the remaining students away. "All of you, get back to camp immediately." She looked to Akira. "Class rep, you're in charge." Her gaze drifted around the forest. "And if any of you run into Kota, grab him as well, please."
Izuku immediately perked up as he remembered Kota's hiding spot. "I know where he is!" He said, getting wide eyes from Mandalay. "I can save him!"
Kota's Hideout
A large man looked at the small child in front of him with a sadistic look covered by his mask. "You wanna trade that hat for this thing?" He asked as he took off his face cover. "They said I had to wear it but it's not like they can stop me."
As his mask was removed, Kota's eyes widened and horror took over his face. "You… You're…"
The large man had buzzed blonde hair and his left eye was scarred, replaced by a strange device that only added to his menacing demeanour. "Well, it won't be too much fun…" Muscle fibres shot out of his arms and the wind blew off his hood.
'Mama… Papa…' Kota only stood still as the man raised his fist. Time seemed to slow down for him and tears rolled out of his eyes in waves; his body refused to move.
"… But this'll definitely get me warmed up!" Without another word, the large man sent his fist towards Kota.
"No!" With a powerful kick, Izuku sent the man's fist flying to the side. "How dare you…!" He hovered in mid-air before spinning around to kick the man in the face, sending him tumbling back. "… Attempt to kill a child!"
With Akira
'He's in danger.' Akira thought as he ran through the forest with the others. 'I can't leave him behind.' Looking ahead, he could see that they were extremely close to the camp. "Sorry, guys." The teen said to the others.
Said others looked at him confused. "What are you apologising for?" Ojiro asked.
"If it is for these dastardly villains, you need not worry, friend!" Iida said, chopping the air. "None of us could have predicted this!"
Akira shook his head with closed eyes. "No…" His eyes shot open and they glowed. "Izuku needs my help." Pushing back, he disappeared into the trees.
Kota's Hideout
The large blonde pushed himself up. "Damn, kid…" He went to re-adjusted his mechanical left eye and grinned when he saw it crumble in his hands. "That's what I call a warrior." Looking up, his remaining eye squinted. "Hey, you're the one we're supposed to capture alive."
"Who the hell are you?" Izuku asked, confused.
"I am Muscular." The man had grabbed a strange device and placed it in his left-eye socket. "My boss said that he wanted you alive." Muscle fibres covered both of his arms. "But I won't be able to hold myself back after that kick." A manic grin crossed his face. "And that's exactly what I want."
Izuku crouched down and placed one fist at his side while keeping the other outstretched. "Come and try it then!" Red veins of power covered his body and he began to glow. "Let's see how long you last!" His fury was soaring after seeing what he attempted with Kota.
The large man, however, relished in the young teen's spirit. "Yes… Yes!" He crouched down. "You are what I've been waiting for!" Without another word, he shot forward.
Somewhere in the Forest
Bakugou and Todoroki both kept their backs as they walked through the forest. "This gas is really starting to piss me off." The explosive teen said as he covered his mouth. "I'll kill whoever made it."
"We have to get back to camp, no detours." Todoroki chided, re-adjusting the unconscious 1B student on his back. "Ragdoll is at the halfway point; she'll be able to handle-"
*Crunch*
Both students paused as they spotted a man in black attire in front of them. Upon further inspection, they could both see he was wearing a straitjacket. The two also could see the small pool of blood he kneeled in front of, as well as the appendage it was coming from.
"Hey…" Bakugou started uneasily. "Who was in front of us again?"
"Tokoyami and…" Todoroki gulped. "Shoji."
"Don't distract me… Beautiful flesh… Not allowed to… Must capture…" A voice rung through the forest, making the teens take an involuntary step back. "I have a job to do." The man turned around to the teens and his face became illuminated by the moonlight, making it easy to see his pried open mouth and sharp teeth.
Bakugou's shocked expression slowly but surely returned to his feral battle smile. "No fighting?" Sparks flew out of his palms. "Piss off…" An explosion rocketed out of his palm and the teen shot forward. "… You bastard!"
Forest Clearing
"Your friends run off cause they were scared?" Magne asked as she blocked a dirt spear. "I thought heroes were supposed to be brave!" She threw away the creature by hitting it with the magnet.
"You picked the wrong forest, villains!" Pixie Bob shouted, sending waves upon waves of dirt monsters to the attackers. "I asked my friends to leave because they can do better things than stand around and watch me destroy you!" She ducked underneath a large sword and sent Spinner away with another dirt wave.
'Damnit!' Spinner thought as three more guards began to assault him. 'This isn't good, she's too strong!' He slashed his blade forward and diced one in half. "Magne, we have to find a way out of here!" The lizard shouted.
Magne huffed as she batted away another dirt clod. "I know!" She reluctantly said. "Wait for an opening!"
Pixie Bob raised herself onto a dirt platform before making more guards. "The only opening you'll see is the Gates of Hell themselves!"
Kota's Hideout
Akira watched on with a worried look as Izuku and the blonde haired villain traded blows. 'I've got to wait until he's still again.' His eyes shifted to Kota and he sighed. 'And I gotta get the kid out of here too.' A large shockwave got his attention again and he saw Izuku had kicked away the man's arm before going to kick him in the face.
"No you don't!" However, the man caught his leg mid-air. "That won't work on me twice!"
Izuku's eyes widened as the grip on his leg grew tighter. 'Crap!' He gritted his teeth as he was lifted higher and slammed into the ground.
Akira's eyes widened and his eyes glowed gold before he shot off from the tree he sat upon. "No!" The teen sped forward and sent a knee straight to the villain's face.
Meanwhile, Izuku dropped to the ground and looked on in confusion. 'Akira?'