I do not own My Hero Academia or any of its characters.
Complicated Rescue
Lee watched as the Help Us Company, H.U.C. for short, actors got into place among the freshly demolished training center. The next, and last, portion of the exam was to rescue as many of the actors as they could, keep them safe, and escort them to the rescue zone. Except, Lee was having trouble seeing what they were keeping them safe from. The disaster was over.
"What's wrong?" Todoroki asked.
"I don't think it's as simple as a rescue op," Lee said. "He said to keep them safe, but the disaster is over."
Todoroki's eyes narrowed and he nodded. "Good point. Which means there's something else. Villains?"
"Probably pro heroes playing the part, too," Lee grumbled. "Warn everyone to be on the look out."
Todoroki nodded and walked away to spread the word just as a bell began to toll loudly.
"And so it begins," Lee said.
"Villains have performed a large-scale terrorist attack spanning all of insert city name here," Mera said. "Since most buildings collapsed, there are many injured."
"Villain attack," Lee growled, looking to Todoroki, who nodded. "Guess we'll be working defense as well, huh?"
Just then, the room began to unfold again, Lee's jaw dropping. They most definitely were not in the middle of the stadium before.
"Due to damaged roads, the first responders have unfortunately been delayed for the time being," Mera continued.
"What is with these rooms?" Denki asked.
"How the hell did they move us into the stadium without anyone noticing?" Lee asked.
"Until emergency services arrive, heroes in the area will lead the rescue efforts," Mera said. "Your task is to save as many people as you can and help the injured. And with that..." he paused until the walls were fully unfolded. "Begin!"
Everyone took off, Lee zipping from classmate to classmate, warning them to be on the lookout for villains. Then, he shot away from the rest of the group, heading for the city zone first. He skidded to a stop beside a man dressed as an elderly woman. He cringed internally, since the man happened to be build like a tank, but he played along.
"It's going to be alright ma'am," Lee said. "Do you know what's happened?"
"Those darn villains attacked out of nowhere!" the man said in a semi-convincing voice.
"Did you see which way they went?" Lee asked. "If they're still around, it could be unsafe, and I'll have to move you to a different area."
"I don't know," the man said. "I was too scared to look."
"Alright," Lee nodded. "Are you hurt anywhere? Can you breathe alright?"
"I can breathe just fine, but my back hurts really bad," the man said. "I'm a little dizzy."
"Alright," Lee nodded. "Don't move. I'm going to find you something to lay down on. I'll be right back."
"Please, don't leave me!" the man shrieked.
"Don't worry," Lee smiled. "I'm fast. It'll only take me five seconds. I promise."
The man nodded and Lee took off. Four seconds later, he skidded to a stop beside him again, setting down a homemade stretcher made with two metal rods with rubber-coated power cords woven together in between in order to hold the man's much, much higher weight than some old lady would have. He set the stretcher down, carefully laying the man down on it before sighing, looking around. In the distance, he could see the rest of his class.
"Iida!" Lee shouted, waving an arm.
Iida turned, sprinting over and skidded to a stop. "What's going on?"
"Possible broken back," Lee said. "She's on a stretcher but I need a second pair of arms. Also, there's a chance the villains are in the area."
Iida nodded. "Go warn the others and come back, then we'll get her to the collection point and come back."
Lee nodded, speeding off and quickly warning the rest of the class before speeding back. He lifted the foot end of the stretcher, Iida taking the heavier end, and they took off, Lee running at Iida's pace. After a few seconds, they slowed to a stop at the collection point, setting the man down.
"Broken back!" Lee said as several other students ran over, helping them lift the man onto a slab of stone, which was quickly carried away.
Lee picked up the stretcher he'd made and he and Iida turned, starting back toward the rest of the class. However, as they did, explosions began to go off. Both skidded to a stop, looking around. The stadium off to one side exploded, a trail of explosions lit the mountain zone, and several went off in the city.
"A villain has completed another large-scale attack," Mera said.
"Shit!" Lee said. "Iida, go find Todoroki and send him my way!"
"Right!" Iida nodded, streaking off.
Lee turned slowly, looking around carefully. Finally, he spotted the villains. Gang Orca and a dozen-odd men in armored, black, full bodysuits with devices on their right arms. Except, they were right beside the collection point. Lee looked back to the collection point and sped over to them.
"Get the wounded out of here!" Lee ordered. " Once everyone's been taken to a safe location away from the battle, send one runner to each zone. Tell them to send anyone with a strong combat-type Quirk to delay the villains." Lee spotted Midoriya off to the side. "Midoriya, you come with me!"
Midoriya nodded and they turned toward the villains as the other students began to run the wounded away from the villains.
"What can Gang Orca do?" Lee asked.
"Uh...his Quirk is Orcinus!" Midoriya said. "He can do anything a killer whale can do! he has enhanced strength and speed, hypersonic waves that can paralyze his targets!"
Lee nodded. "Legacy, anything we can do against the paralysis?"
"If you focus your quirk to vibrate your ear drums at a specific frequency, you can weaken its ability, though not completely negate it," Legacy said. "Also, I'll need to hear the frequency first."
"Right, got it," Lee nodded.
"Got what?" Midoriya asked. "Who's Legacy?"
"I'll tell you later," Lee said. "I'll stall Gang Orca. He'll probably send in his grunts first, so be careful not to overdo it."
"Right!" Midoriya nodded.
Sure enough, Gang Orca's grunts charged instantly. Midoriya and Lee moved to meet them.
"Remember, we don't need to beat them all, just stall for reinforcements like Todoroki to arrive and for as many civilians to be taken to the collection point as possible," Lee reminded Midoriya. "But none of them can get through and attack the wounded!"
"Right!" Midoriya nodded.
"Get everyone to safety!" Shindo shouted, stepping in front of Lee. "You're the fastest person here, so get going! I'll start hammering away at the villains at one-second intervals!"
"How long can you last?" Lee asked.
"Long enough!" Shindo said, the ground before him ripping itself apart.
"Midoriya, let's go!" Lee said, turning and streaking to the wounded. "Who can be free carried?"
"Those two!" a female student said, pointing at a pair of children.
"You two close your mouths and eyes and hold your breaths until I say so, got it?" Lee asked.
Both nodded, taking a big breath and closing their eyes, covering their mouths. Then, Lee picked them both up, holding them under his arms before speeding away, streaking to the far side of the stadium before setting them down beside a couple of second-year students from Shiketsu.
"Breathe!" Lee said, both children opening their eyes and gasping for breath. "Take care of them!"
The second-years nodded, one of them using a stone-controlling quirk to quickly form a new collection point. Lee turned, taking off again and heading back for more wounded. However, as he was, he saw Gang Orca appear in front of Shindo, the world before Gang Orca seeming to blur in waves coming from his head before Shindo went down hard. Lee sped toward them just as Gang Orca spun, beginning to block a continuous wave of ice from Todoroki. Lee scooped up Shindo and circled around to the wounded, grabbing one whose arm was in a splint and taking off again.
"Hold him off, Todoroki!" Lee shouted, Todoroki nodding.
Lee skidded to a stop beside the other wounded and set the two down just as Inasa, who apparently had a Quirk that let him control wind to form tornados, sent a blast of pressurized wind directly into the ground, shattering Todoroki's ice and blowing several of the villains away. Lee looked to the collection area where Mina, Ojiro, and Fumikage were just arriving. They were enough. He sighed. He wanted to help with the fight, but the wounded needed the help more. He quickly returned to the collection point, picking up two more of the less-wounded civilians and running them back to the new collection point. Then he returned again. However, as he arrived, Todoroki fired a blast of flames just as Inasa sent out a blast of wind, the two strikes deflecting each other, leaving both ineffective. Lee growled as the two began to argue and turned, flashing to the villains and drilling a fist into one's gut, making sure to pull his punches, then dropped the next with an elbow. He shot to a third and drilled a knee into his gut before grabbing him and spinning, hurling him into the next.
"Stop arguing!" Lee shouted, sweeping another villain's feet and spinning, kicking him as he was in the air and sending him bouncing into another villain's legs, that one's head bouncing off the ground and knocking him out. "Todoroki, use ice exclusively for now! Inasa, the wounded are the priority, even more so than stopping the villains!" He flipped over a villain's punch, twisting and slamming a kick into the point where the villain's right shoulder met his neck, dropping him. "Use your Quirk to carry the wounded to the new collection point! You can do it safely so make it quick! Once you're done, come back and help us with the villain!"
Inasa grit his teeth but turned, flying toward the collection point. As he did, Todoroki slammed his right hand into the ground, sending out waves of ice. Lee shot out of the way, watching as Gang Orca blocked the ice wall heading for him using his ultrasonic waves, but the rest of the villains were all trapped in place. Lee nodded and Todoroki stopped just as Lee swung his hands in a circle, forming a massive tornado that swept up every villain but Gang Orca and sent them flying into the stadium wall, knocking them out.
"Nice job!" Todoroki said. "Now, for him."
"He can block your ice from trapping him, but he probably won't stop you from missing and making ice slopes and slanted walls," Lee said. "Get me?"
"Yeah," Todoroki nodded. "I've got it."
He stepped forward, sending out a wave of ice. Gang Orca again blocked it, but the edges continued a little ways past him, forming a pair of walls. Then, Todoroki slammed a hand into the ground. Ice shot along the ground from him and Gang Orca leapt into the air, firing his sonic power downward as ice exploded into the air from below. The ice aimed for him was shattered, but what it left was a maze of shoulder-high walls spaced out and all slanted and rounded.
"Good?" Todoroki asked.
"Perfect," Lee grinned. "Be ready to catch him. I'll stall him for now."
Todoroki nodded and Lee took off, speeding past Gang Orca, who ignored him, blasting a wall in front of him. Then, Lee's fist crashed into the side of his head, knocking him several steps to the side. He watched as Lee skidded partway up a wall, the slant of it turning him before he exploded down off of it and back at Gang Orca. He threw a punch but Lee ducked under it, slamming a fist into his gut. Gang Orca doubled over, and a moment later, Lee returned, slamming another punch into him and sending him blasting through a wall. As Gang Orca was standing, Lee shot forward. Except, this time, he was ready. He flipped over Lee, landing on his feet and firing his sonic attack at the ice Lee was heading for, breaking it apart. Lee skidded to a stop and turned to go back the other way, only to cross his arms in front of his chest as Gang Orca's fist crashed into the arms of his exoskeleton. Lee crashed through a wall of ice back-first and heard a metallic "PING!" before bouncing once and flipping onto his feet, skidding to a stop as his exoskeleton's pieces crashed to the ground along his trail between himself and Gang Orca. Gang Orca grinned wickedly, then spun, blocking a wave of ice from Todoroki. Lee prepared to charge, only for a blast of wind to crash into Gang Orca, hurling him away. Lee looked up as Inasa floated down to hover above them.
"Welcome back!" Lee said. "Is the evacuation done?"
"Nearly," Inasa said. "But your exoskeleton's finished. Help with the evacuation, both of you. I'll hold him off."
"No," Todoroki said. "I remember you. You beat me at the recommendation exam. Which means you're both fast, and have good control I know you hate me because of how I was, and who my father way, but if you can stand to work with me for a second, we might have a chance."
Inasa was silent for a moment before nodding. "Alright. You take the lead."
"Right!" Todoroki said. "Lee, evacuate the wounded."
"Right!" Lee nodded, speeding off to the collection point. "Can anyone be carried as is?"
"No," Iida said. "Remember her?"
He was beside the same man dressed as an old lady as Lee and Iida had carried over originally. Lee nodded and picked up the back end of the stone slab he was laying on and they took off, running at Iida's pace. Lee glanced at Todoroki and Inasa as he ran, seeing Todoroki forming massive ice structures around Gang Orca for Inasa to break apart and use as ammunition with his wind. Gang Orca was struggling. Lee turned back to the front, focusing on the task at hand. Once that patient was done, they'd have to return for more.
They slowed to a stop at the evacuation area and set the makeshift stretcher down, then turned to run back, only for Lee to see Todoroki get hit with a chunk of ice and yell at Inasa, who yelled back. Then, Gang Orca hit Inasa with a blast of his ultrasonic frequency before grabbing Todoroki by the throat, blasting him at point blank range. At the same time, the grunts were getting back up and running toward the collection point. Lee grit his teeth.
"Go!" Iida said. "They need you!"
Lee nodded and shot across the stadium, reaching Gang Orca and sweeping at his legs, only for him to flip over it, blasting Lee. Lee shouted in pain as his body went numb and he bounced and rolled across the ground.
"Analyzing!" Legacy said.
Hurry! Lee thought.
"There, that's the main problems down," Gang Orca said. "Now, I'll take care of the wind user."
Just then, Todoroki burst into a ball of fire just as Inasa sent a massive blast of wind at Todoroki, the wind igniting into a massive fire tornado around Gang Orca. Lee grit his teeth.
How much longer Legacy? Lee asked.
"Almost done!" Legacy said. "You should be able to move in thirty seconds, though your fine motor control will be shot!"
As long as I can run, use my Quirk, and make a fist, it's enough! Lee thought.
Just then, the rest of the grunts fired dozens of blasts of quick-drying cement from the devices on their arms, only for Todoroki to form an ice wall beside himself, blocking it.
"Almost there!" Legacy said.
Just then, Midoriya, Ojiro, Mina, Su, Fumikage, and a Shiketsu student that looked like a walking pile of hair began to take down the grunts rapidly.
"A cyclone prison of wind and fire!" Gang Orca said. "Not bad. An ordinary villain would give up. Would weep, and beg your mercy. but what would you do, if your desperate trap was not enough? You must always be planning your next move!"
"Done!" Legacy said, Lee instantly vibrating his ear drums to match the vibrations Legacy instructed him to, pushing himself up and swaying.
"Todoroki, one more time!" Lee ordered.
The fire vanished instantly, and Inasa took the hint to end his wind. Then, walls and slopes of ice appeared around Gang Orca again. Lee took off instantly, stumbling, but regaining his feet, activating his quirk and beginning to blur around and around Gang Orca, who looked around carefully. He fired off a blast of ultrasonic waves, but instead of being hit, Lee's right fist crashed into Gang Orca's gut, the bones in his forearm shattering, but not badly enough to be untreatable, or to do serious damage to Gang Orca. Gang Orca shouted in pain, staggering back before Lee's right elbow collided with the side of his jaw, snapping his humerus. Grand Orca staggered away and Lee's unbroken fist collided with the end of his snout, breaking both snout and entire arm. Gang Orca shouted in pain, blood spraying out of his snout this time before Lee swept his feet out from under him. Before he could do anything else, however, Gang Orca's ultrasonic waves blasted into him again, hurling him backward. He crashed down hard and Gang Orca walked over, lifting him by the throat.
"You failed, hero," Gang Orca said. "You couldn't stop me."
Lee chuckled, face still contorted in pain from his broken arms. "It was...never about...stopping you." He opened his eyes, grinning widely. "I only had to delay you."
Just then, a buzzer sounded.
"Um, yeah, so, at this time, all of the H.U.C. members who were deployed have been rescued from the disaster zone," Mera announced. "It may seem anticlimactic, but with this the provisional licensing exam has officially been completed."
"Heh," Lee grinned. "Got it."
"After we tally the scores we'll announce the scores here in the arena," Mera continued. "Anyone who's injured should go to the infirmary. The rest of you are free to change clothes wherever you like."
"Sorry boss," one of the grunts said. "I guess we didn't do our job all that well, huh?"
"And your restraining gear must have made it pretty hard to move," another said.
"Oh come on," Lee groaned as Gang Orca set him down gently. "Did you really need to say that as I'm sitting here half-paralyzed and with two broken arms?"
"Will you be able to get to the infirmary alone?" Gang Orca asked.
"I'll manage," Lee said, carefully climbing to his feet. "What about you? I broke you...nose?"
Gang Orca chuckled. "I'll be alone after. I can manage with a broken snout for now."
Lee nodded. "Sorry about that, by the way."
"It's fine," Gang Orca said. "Just proves how powerful you'll become once you've been trained more."
Lee nodded and turned, stumbling away toward the infirmary. When he got there, he found Recovery Girl waiting. He smiled.
"Hello again, Recovery Girl," Lee said.
"Oh, so it's you this time, is it?" Recovery Girl asked. "When I was told I'd have a patient with broken arms, I was thinking it'd be Midoriya again."
"Nope, just me this time," Lee smiled. "I suppose that's what I get for choosing to wear my exoskeleton."
Recovery Girl quickly healed both of his arms as best she could before x-raying them, then formed both a cast. "It'll take a week to heal properly. I swear, between you and Midoriya, I'll never be able to retire."
"Sorry," Lee smiled. "Thank you for doing what you could."
Recovery Girl sighed and nodded just as Momo, Mina, and Toru rushed in wearing their school uniforms, gasping when they saw the casts, both of which extended up to his shoulders with his shirt having been removed, and the bruising reaching out from under them.
"What happened?" Mina asked, worriedly, Recovery Girl walking out of the room.
"My exoskeleton broke too early to stop fighting," Lee sighed. "I managed to hold Gang Orca off, though, and actually managed to break his snout, which was oddly satisfying."
"This isn't the time for jokes!" Momo snapped.
Lee sighed. "I know. Sorry. I couldn't just leave after my exoskeleton broke, and my body wasn't responding well enough for me to rely on kicks, so I kept fighting with my arms."
"But you know you can't do that!" Momo said. "Why would you do something so stupid!?"
"Because if it was a real villain, it would be more important for me to protect the bystanders than to protect my arms," Lee said. "The point of being a hero is that I'm less important than the people around me, so I acted accordingly."
"That's true, but..." Momo trailed off.
"Does it hurt?" Toru asked.
"Not really," Lee said. "I didn't realize Gang Orca was so durable, though. It'll take me a week to heal, and he's getting away with a broken snout that'll be fixed in no time."
"I think your body might actually be less durable than everyone else's," Mina said.
"Maybe," Lee shrugged, then sighed. "I'm sorry. To all of you. I didn't mean to push any of you away. And Momo, I'm sorry for offending you, or making you feel uncomfortable. I swear I didn't mean to."
"What?" Momo asked. "You think you...made me feel uncomfortable?"
"After what happened...you were avoiding me," Lee said. "So...yeah. Didn't I?"
"No!" Momo gasped. "Oh my God! Lee, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to make you feel like you offended me. I just...I've never really, felt like I do for you about anyone else. What happened...caught me off guard, and I wasn't sure how to react. I'm sorry for treating you like you did something wrong. I swear, I was never mad."
"What happened?" Toru asked. "With both of you. All of a sudden, I just woke up one day and Lee was acting like me and Mina did something wrong. Did something happen?"
"Sort of," Lee sighed. "I...had trouble keeping myself in control. My body wanted...more than I did."
"What do you mean?" Toru asked.
"He means that he was making out with Momo and things started to get a little bit further along than they were ready for and both got freaked out," Mina said. "Then when he was kissing me, the same thing happened. Then the next day, he was trying to keep us at an arm's distance., and Momo was keeping him at an arm's distance. Is that about right?"
"Yeah," Lee sighed. "I'm sorry."
"We're not mad at you, so stop apologizing," Momo said. "It's understandable that that happened. It was bound to happen eventually, right? We're...about that age. It's natural."
Lee sighed. "Natural or not, I...I started trying to stay away to try and force myself to decide. It's not fair that I keep acting like I'm dating all three of you."
"Acting like?" Mina asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Lee, we've been over this," Momo said. "Whether you want to admit to it or not, we've all been dating you for a while now."
"And none of us mind," Toru added. "All three of us are fine with things how they are. We don't need you to make a decision."
"We don't want you to," Mina said. "We like things as they are."
"But...it's not fair to any of you," Lee said.
"How?" Mina asked. "We all get to be with you."
"Because...I'm with all three of you," Lee said, brow furrowing.
What part of this weren't they understanding.
"Yes, you're with all three of us, and you won't choose one of us," Mina said. "But on the glass-half-full side, all three of us get to be with you. You obviously care about each of us for who we are, and that's enough for us."
"We don't need you to choose one of us," Toru said. "We're fine sharing you."
"We just want you to stop shutting us out," Momo said. "We miss you. All of us do."
Lee swallowed hard, struggling not to break down. He shouldn't be so happy to hear them say that. He really shouldn't. And yet, he was. He suddenly felt a thousand pounds lighter, and despite his best efforts, tears began to fall.
"Thank you," he smiled. "I..." He stopped himself. He couldn't say that, or at least, not yet. "Thank you."
All three smiled and hugged him. He leaned into them, unable to hug them back. After accouple moments, they pulled back, taking turns kissing him.
"We'll be careful," Mina said. "We don't mind if you struggle with control."
"We'll just have to set boundaries," Toru said.
"I promise not to shut you out again," Momo said, cupping his face. "As long as you promise the same for all of us."
"I promise," Lee nodded.
Momo smiled and nodded, kissing him again for a few seconds before leaning her forehead against his. "Please don't ever let me push you away again. Even if I try, force your way back in."
Lee smiled. "Alright. Just remember, you asked for it."
Momo smiled. "I'll try." She pulled back and Mina's face suddenly lit up.
"We haven't told him yet!" Mina gasped.
"Oh, that's right!" Toru said. "We all passed the exam!"
"Wait, you mean..." Lee trailed off as the three girls nodded, Lee currently able to see Toru as well.
"You too," Momo smiled. "The only two from our class who didn't were Bakugo and Todoroki. And that wind user, Inasa Yoarashi, he also failed. Apparently, he and Todoroki stepping on each other's toes was enough to fail them."
"That doesn't really surprise me," Lee sighed. "I'm surprised I passed, though. I ended up broken."
"But you also evacuated half the wounded yourself, then also sacrificed yourself to delay Gang Orca," Momo said.
"While also getting Yoarashi and Todoroki to at least try to work together, even though they clearly didn't like each other," Mina added.
"You were great!" Toru smiled. "You were a real leader! You knew exactly how to react at every turn!"
She and Mina both smiled widely. "I can't wait to be your sidekick!"
Again Lee's eyes began to water, widening this time. "You still...want to?"
"Of course!" both said.
"Like we said, our feelings haven't changed," Mina said.
"As long as you'll still have us, of course we still want to be your sidekicks," Toru said.
Lee smiled. "Then I guess I need to hurry up and become a hero for you two, after all."
"Why would you not?" Toru asked.
"That's why you didn't wear the exosuit, right?" Momo asked. "Because you didn't know for sure if you wanted to be a hero still?"
Lee sighed. "My original reason for being a Hero was my sister, but she's gone. When you all started to...stay away, I started to question everything. I wasn't sure if I wanted to be a hero anymore, because...I didn't know if I had any reasons left. Aside from my sister, I wanted to help Mina and Toru. And I wanted to help Momo if I could. I never really...cared about helping random people. I wanted to protect those I cared about, and help them. But...I've failed to protect everyone. Everyone I care about was hurt again and again. I couldn't help. And then...I thought I lost the three of you. I...I wasn't sure if I wanted to be a hero anymore."
"You didn't lose us," Mina said, smiling and setting a hand on his shoulder lightly. "We're still here. And we promise not to go anywhere again."
Lee smiled and nodded. "Alright. I'll hold you to that. All of you."
They all smiled and nodded. Lee stood carefully and Momo picked up his school uniform shirt, draping it over his shoulders, buttoning it in the front. They left the infirmary and headed back to the bus they'd be riding back to school, joining the rest of the class.
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