Okay, my last few author's notes have been pretty long, so I'll keep it short.
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Purpose of a Hero
"Alright, the second match is officially over. Diana wins with a time of six minutes and twelve seconds, while Andi follows with fifteen minutes and forty-one seconds bringing the total for Team Two to twenty-two minutes and forty-seven seconds, while Team One has fallen behind considerably currently sitting at thirty-three minutes fifty-eight seconds," Mr. Holl's voice announced over the intercom. Kira gave Andi a sympathetic smile from her seat against the wall as the thoroughly soaked girl sank down next to her. In truth, the race went exactly as most had expected it to. Andi gave it her best shot but, with Diana being a better swimmer and almost immune to her frequencies due to the combination of her awful hearing without hearing aids and the water nullifying her Quirk to a large extent, in the end, the odds were stacked too high against her.
"You did well. If it were anyone beside Diana, I'm sure it would've been closer," the black-eyed girl said cheerily, attempting to raise her friend's spirits. The antennae-eared girl sighed and pulled her knees close to her chest, resting her chin atop them. In all the time they'd known each other, Kira hadn't seen the girl look so dejected.
"I know. From the beginning, I knew I'd lose yet this was the only way to ensure my team's success. My Quirk just isn't really suited to these challenges… well except maybe the bridge. I could've used my Sickness Frequency to make my opponent fall but Eris was adamant that she take that portion after hearing her brother was participating. Anyway, how's the planning for your match coming along?" Kira flinched at the question and glanced over to the other side of the room where Clara stood by herself, glowering at anyone who even looked her way.
"It's… going?"
"You haven't even discussed a strategy have you?" Andi asked dryly, a small smile on her face.
"N-Not really. Narruk has tried but he's a lot more irritable today than I've seen him. Clara is, of course, no help whatsoever and Oliver hasn't even tried. He just said he'd take the town and get it over with. Honestly, I think I should take the lava as it won't really affect my movement but… if Lyon takes that one like I think he will then Clara will absolutely challenge him. Gah! Why did Mr. Holl have to put me with her?" Kira whined dramatically. Beside her, Andi chuckled and shook her head, which despite her display brought the black-eyed girl a sense of relief. 'At least she isn't feeling so down anymore.'
"Hey nerds," a new voice said as its owner sat beside Andi.
"Melody! Where have you been?" The brunette asked. The girl in question grinned sheepishly and that's when Kira noticed the condition she was in. Her costume had been shredded in many places and her visible skin was covered in strange green bandages.
"Had to go to the infirmary. Epiphany's Quirk is not very friendly up close and personal. I had more splinters in me today than I have ever had, and considering the treehouse Nathan and I tried to build was a literal death trap, that's saying something," the girl explained. "You did awesome by the way, Andi."
"You saw?" Andi asked, her previous dispirited attitude making a reappearance. Before Kira could warn her off the subject, Melody nodded and smiled brightly.
"The T.V. in the infirmary. Had you gone up against me you'd have won easily. My Wraith doesn't protect me from non-physical threats." The antennae-eared girl's eyes widened at this and she leaned towards the redhead eagerly.
"Really? How so?"
"Well, obviously your frequencies would hit me since they don't have a solid form, the same can be said about Clara's Quirk. While the destructive aspects wouldn't harm me, the sound generated would blow my eardrums even in my Wraith."
"I never would have guessed. I just assumed your Quirk protected your from all damage."
"Not exactly. It just protects me from physical damage," Melody clarified. "Lyon's fire would also affect me to a lesser extent. The actual flames won't hurt me, but the heat they generate can still torch me… though it'd probably be more of a minor sunburn than an actually harmful burn."
"That means you can still be hit by my burning shockwaves then, eh?" Kira asked with a devious smile. The redhead rolled her eyes and retorted.
"Maybe, if you didn't trip over yourself before getting close to me." The two girls started playfully shoving each other, completely ignoring the fact that Andi was sitting between them. The antennae-eared girl was about to scold them for it but stopped when she realized something and smiled. 'They're trying to cheer me up. Melody knows about my interests in Quirks and Kira always tries to make me laugh. These two…'
"Andi!" Diana's reptilian snout twisted into what passed as a smile for her as she walked up and sat in front of the trio. "You did a good job! Don't let the difference in time get you down, you were insanely fast for someone who didn't have a natural advantage."
"Thanks," she replied meekly, unable to help the wide smile gracing her face. 'I've made some good friends here. I'm so glad I decided to come here,' she thought. Just then, the voice of their teacher cut her off before she could voice these thoughts.
"Everyone ready? Good! Let the third match… BEGIN!" Almost immediately after this declaration all conversation in the observation room died down and every pair of eyes focused on the video screen, which showed a rather enthusiastic Eris racing her much more sedate brother to the rickety bridge. Kira blanched at the sight, thankful that she wasn't Eris or Alexander.
"I have a feeling this is going to go very poorly."
Purpose of a Hero
"Come on, dear brother! Gotta keep up or you'll lose your team's lead and everyone will be really sore!" Eris called happily as she sprinted across the small plateau that proceded the rope bridge. For his part, Alexander was in a dilemma. While he wanted to help his team to win this challenge, the very idea of fighting against his sister in such a dangerous setting made him slightly queasy. 'Damn, Mr. Holl knew this would happen. Ms. Hanoka must have told him about my hesitance to spar with Eris.' The boy scowled and made his way to the challenge at a much more leisurely pace, lost in his thoughts. As such, he was not surprised when Eris made it there first. What did surprise him, however, was when she stood at the edge of the plateau and stuck her tongue out at him.
"You're as childish as ever, Eris."
"You know you love me!" The girl shouted back teasingly before she began making her way across the bridge two moldy planks at a time. For the most part, this strategy paid off for her as she made it about halfway before her foot went through a plank and she was forced to grab on to the frayed rope guard. Her entire right leg, up to the hip, dangled through the hole in the bridge and she grunted in pain. Alexander swore under his breath and raced across the bridge at an even greater speed than hers, though he only made it about a fourth of the way before he ran into the same problem. "Damnit!"
"Ha! I knew that would work!" Eris cheered as she pulled her leg back up without difficulty. 'She tricked me!' Alexander discerned. To further push this point forward, the brunette laughed at his position and continued her way to the other side. 'I really do hate her mischevious side.' With a grunt, he attempted to pull himself back into a more stable position. Unfortunately, he weighed much more than she did, so while the strategy worked for her his extra weight just caused him to snap the only board still holding him up. In a flash, he'd gone from chasing his foolish sister to falling into a deep ravine. "SHIT!"
"... he'll be fine," Eris muttered to herself as she saw her brother in freefall. Before the boy could drop more than fifty meters, his metallic legs began to shift into miniature propulsion rockets. 'Good. He didn't eat much for breakfast this morning so his fuel supply will be low. Probably just enough to get him back on the bridge. Well, well, well dear brother. I think this is checkmate for you! My plan worked to perfection!' Eris celebrated, pumping her fist before turning to continue her way across the bridge. However, due to this, she didn't see her brother's arm transforming into a small cannon, which highly resembled the head of a dragon-like creature.
"Inserting Frost Core: Freezing Hell!" Alexander bellowed as a blizzard shot forth from his hand cannon straight towards Eris. The brunette could only grunt in surprise as the blisteringly cold wind hit her, shaking the bridge beneath her in the process. Now with steady footing and his sister temporarily immobilized by the accumulation of frost on her legs, Alexander carefully began making progress towards her. 'Bastard! Who does he think he is? Attacking his baby sister, cowardly!' While the more rational side of her brain informed her that she had technically provoked him, she ignored it and turned her back to her brother.
"Black Bone Barrage!" She cried, gritting her teeth in pain as several charcoal-colored bones shot from her back at high speeds, forcing Alexander to stop his pursuit and dodge haphazardly. He managed to get out of the way of the first two and block the next three with his armored forearms but the next four hit him simultaneously on either side of his guard. The feeling of one of his ribs cracking nearly made the boy blackout and he shot his sister an annoyed look. While his attack had been geared more towards stopping her, she went full bore and attacked with a ferocity he only saw when she was truly irritated. 'That attack took just as much out of her as it did of me. Now's my chance to catch up. Sister or not, after that, I am winning this.' Unfortunately, it seemed his sister had the same idea because as soon as he started moving, so did Eris, and their determination wasn't the only thing the students were sharing. Every breath he took nearly caused Alexander to lose consciousness, while Eris gave a small yelp of pain with every step, her back bore several small holes that each bled profusely. Despite the pain, Eris' took advantage of her positioning and made it to the other side a good thirty-five meters ahead of Alexander. Biting the inside of her cheek, she created a rather sharp length of bone from her wrist and pointed it tauntingly at her brother. "I win!"
"ERIS DON'T YOU DARE!" Alexander roared as he realized what she intended to do.
"Sorry, dear brother. I've got to make up some time for my team. I hope your ribs aren't too bad!" Eris called back as, in one swift motion, she sliced through the frayed ropes. For a second, time seemed to move in slow motion as the bridge fell. Alexander, at the last possible moment, leaped from the collapsing structure and slammed into the rock wall of the ravine, only barely managing to grab ahold of it. His vision went blurry as his ribs flared up worse than ever. 'If they weren't broken before, they are now. Shit, I should've known she was planning that. I am not looking forward to this climb.'
Purpose of a Hero
"Team One finally gets their first win with Eris' time of eight minutes three seconds, bringing their total to forty-two minutes and one second, while Team Two's Alexander finishes with fifteen minutes flat for a total of thirty-seven minutes and forty-seven seconds. The Final event for this heat will begin momentarily."
"Jeez, that fight was pretty brutal," Narruk remarked, though Andrew didn't miss the undertones of tension in his voice. 'I wonder what's wrong. Narruk is usually a relatively calm person. Most likely something to do with his team,' the Gravity user decided before responding, choosing not to voice his thoughts.
"Alexander seemed pretty hesitant to attack her. If he'd used one of his other elemental attacks he would have easily won."
"His fatal flaw. I hate to think of what he'd do if he faced his sister during the Halloween Festival. Probably embarrass himself," Lyle drawled. The three stood in silence for a moment before the shortest of the group glanced over to the three loners of the class, focusing on the orange-haired boy. "What do you think the deal is with Lyon, then?"
"What'd you mean?" Narruk inquired, following his gaze out of the corner of his eye. The boy in question was standing away from everyone else and had his signature smile on his face while his eyes scanned the map of the twin courses.
"He's… odd, don't you think? If I didn't know any better I'd assume he was unfamiliar with social norms."
"Perhaps he's just a bit socially awkward?" Andrew suggested, though unlike the other two he didn't sneak a glimpse at the subject of their conversation. Lyle shook his head with a frown.
"Maybe. I can't seem to get a solid read on him, he's an enigma." Narruk grunted in agreement with the white-haired boy before leaning his head back against the wall and closing his eyes. 'Lyle has a point. I can't seem to get a read on him anyway and I won't deny that makes me a bit wary.'
"Whatever it is, not really our business. Besides, he seems like an alright guy," Andrew said. Lyon, unaware of his name being the subject of a debate, turned away from the map and started walking over to Clara. When the girl saw him approaching she scowled. 'Not this guy again.'
"What the hell do you want, MacAllister?" Undeterred by the venom in her voice, the orange-haired boy simply stood beside her and was silent for a long moment.
"Don't you think you should try to help your teammates instead of pushing them away?" He inquired. Taken aback, Clara stared at him as if he'd sprouted a second head. "Heroes are meant to help people, yes? I would assume that extends to your fellow Heroes as well as regular civilians."
"Piss off, flame brain. Why the hell would I want to associate with weaklings like Kazani or Mondronen," Clara spat angrily.
"You know, you are quite unlike anyone I've met since coming here. Most of the class is either on the positive side of the spectrum or caught in the middle, though you seem to be fully entrenched in the negative. It's puzzling to me."
"What's puzzling about it?" Clara barked back, appearing more and more frustrated by the conversation by the minute.
"Why would someone with so much potential like yourself intentionally stunt their growth by isolating themselves from their peers. From what I've read having positive relationships with others gives one a reason to grow stronger, yet you seemingly ignore this fact. If I'm correct, you could challenge me for first in the class if you applied yourself in this way," Lyon explained sagely. Clara's face scrunched up in confusion at his words, spurring her responce.
"Don't believe everything you read, moron. 'Positive relationships'? Give me a break. Do you think positive relationships can put out a fire? Stop a rampaging villain? Save people from a natural disaster? No, strength is the only thing that matters. Don't let the accomplishments of a few Heroes fool you into believing that. Crying your enemies into submission is as good a strategy as you jumping into a pool," the girl retorted with a snort. For the first time that she'd known the strange boy, Clara was legitimately shocked to see a frown overtake his expression.
"I see. I suppose I could be wrong. Your line of thinking does indeed seem to have a basis in reality. I have been deemed the strongest in this class, yet have never had a friend in my life, so maybe you are right. However… I hope you are wrong."
"The hell is that supposed to mean, fire idiot?" Clara demanded. 'This asshole… why is it so easy for him to get under my skin?' her mind thought as her body sprung into action, grabbing Lyon by the collar and lifting him in the air. Before he could answer, however, Clara again felt the intense pull of gravity around her. "Go to hell, Abrams."
"As long as you continue to attack your classmates, I will continue to stop you. I believe Narruk said it best earlier. As long as we all follow the path to becoming Heroes, we are on the same side." The magenta-haired girl growled and struggled against the grip of gravity before there was a snap and a wall of fire separated the two, breaking the boy's concentration so that the increased gravity disappeared. Both students looked over in bemusement at Lyon, who held one hand aloof with his middle finger and thumb in position to snap again.
"What? I was simply breaking up a fight between students. No need to look so confused," he said simply, his smile returning.
"No, that's what I was doing," Andrew responded, to which Lyon just shrugged.
"Really? I wasn't aware I was engaged in a conflict. Clara and I were simply discussing our opposing viewpoints. Talks like that do tend to get slightly heated, yes?"
"Piss off, MacAllister. I don't need your sorry ass fighting my battles for me. And get rid of this fire! It's annoying!" Clara roared before stomping off to a deserted corner of the observation room. Andrew shot Lyon one last look of confusion before wandering back to Narruk and Lyle, who both watched the scene with expressions of amusement. Left alone, Lyon sighed and turned his back so that he was facing away from the prying eyes of his classmates. 'This is much more difficult than I imagined. Having to put on this facade of normalcy. She was right… I don't truly belong here.'
Purpose of a Hero
As soon as the word came for the next round to start, Hazel glanced nervously at the ten-lane highway before her. If she were being honest with herself, this was the only part of the challenge that baffled her. 'What kind of obstacle could this be?' She wondered as she took her first step onto the blacktop, noticing that Marcus was clearly waiting for her to do so. Almost immediately, there was a rumbling sound and, if it wasn't for her Quirk, she would have been flattened by the massive eighteen-wheeler that drove past her at a speed such a vehicle should not have been capable of. "What are they thinking? Are they trying to kill us?"
"There must be some sort of trick, right?" Marcus questioned, glancing towards the direction the semi had come from. At the beginning and end of each lane was a dark tunnel just big enough for one of the trucks to fit through. The gray-haired boy experimentally tapped his foot on the asphalt and pulled it back just in time to avoid yet another truck. 'No. No tricks it seems. Just an insanely dangerous game of dodging traffic.' He then smiled and shook his head. "All those times growing up when Oliver told me to go play in traffic… bastard must be loving this."
"Oh well, I guess we've gotta just go for it, then?" Hazel asked nervously. The only answer she received was Marcus rushing past her into the street and barely avoiding a speeding semi. 'Can't just sit around, can I?' With a sigh, the brunette waited for the next truck to pass before she rushed to follow her opponent. The next few moments were spent in a hectic game of 'Chicken' with every step the two students took causing another eighteen-wheeler to appear and nearly flatten them. Around the time of her third near-death experience, Hazel was really starting to get annoyed. To the shock of those watching the match, including Marcus, the girl simply stood in place as a truck drove right at her.
"Move it!" Marcus yelled, unable to contain his worry for his classmate. To his shock, the girl still didn't move and the truck drove through her… quite literally. 'What? How the- an afterimage?' The boy thought in awe. It took a moment to pick her out, but then he saw several Hazels all sprinting across the highway. 'Holy hell.' Only the sound of an approaching vehicle broke him out of his daze as he was forced to dive out of the way. By the time he regained his composure, Hazel had reached the halfway point and stopped. It took him a few minutes to catch up to her and see exactly why she hadn't moved. While the first five lanes had only sent a truck at them when they made contact, the final five seemed to have no quarrel with sending dozens at a time. "You've gotta be joking."
"This… doesn't look good… for our times," Hazel wheezed, obviously winded by her display of speed. Marcus scowled and attempted to focus on the obstacle ahead of him, which was no easy task as the trucks seemed to blend together. "I think… we just gotta… go for it."
"You sure you're up to it?"
"Y-Yeah… definitely!" The brunette replied with fake enthusiasm. And with that, she took off again, dodging in between trucks faster than Marcus could track. 'Damnit. She has a huge advantage here. Maybe I can use my adrenaline? It's supposed to be used for when I overwork my Quirk, but this might be a good enough exception.' Having come to a decision, Marcus flipped open a small compartment on his forearm and pressed one of the two buttons. He winced at the small prick to his thigh but almost immediately breathing became easier and he felt his heart rate increase. He waited for the next truck to pass and used the minuscule interval between two trucks to leap into the next lane. For a moment everything was a blur as he dodged truck after truck, the adrenalin keeping him going at full speed. But, as he was about to reach the final lane, disaster struck.
"And Hazel… er, Camellia Aria has finished with a time of six minutes thirteen seconds!" Mr. Holl's voice bellowed over the intercom. Marcus faltered slightly when he realized that his team had lost and accidentally misstepped into the next lane, right into the path of a speeding semi. 'SHIT!' In the split second before the vehicle made contact, Marcus activated his Quirk and held his hands out to meet the truck. As soon as the truck connected with him, it slowed considerably but the boy grunted as his body temperature spiked. His entire body began to glow orange as sweat poured down his face. 'CHANNEL IT!' His brain screamed at him. As the heat continued to build, albeit, at a slower pace than before, Marcus focused on transferring the energy into his arms and legs with the intention of completely stopping the truck. With the newfound strength, his legs began to tear up the asphalt and his hands dug into the truck's grill. Just before he reached the very end of the highway, the truck slowed to a complete stop and he collapsed, breathing hard. 'Gotta… get up. Gotta… get… up.' Using what little strength he had left in his overheated and overexerted body, Marcus shakily got to his feet and shuffled towards the finish line. 'Thank god this part doesn't have a climbing wall,' he thought as he reached the line and blacked out.
Purpose of a Hero
"Marcus, you idiot," Oliver muttered as he watched his friend being transported to the infirmary by a pair of what looked to be children, or in his opinion Trolls, with wild white hair and milky blind eyes.
"You two go back then?" Kira inquired, looking surprised to hear him talk. Oliver grunted and, seeing he wasn't getting out of this without giving the girl a concrete answer, shook his head in exasperation.
"Yeah. Childhood friends, or whatever. The only reason I'm even here is that he didn't want me wallowing in a public high school in Minnesota. Anyway, have you guys finished fighting enough to formulate a plan, or not?" He demanded, giving his team an irritated look, that was returned by the moody Clara.
"I'm taking the lava. I'll teach that fire bastard to talk to me that way," the magenta-haired girl growled furiously.
"I guess I'll take the town," Narruk, who was currently looking as if he'd been the one hit by a truck, added. Oliver nodded at this and gave Kira an analytical look. The black-eyed girl flinched under his scrutiny and rubbed the back of her neck nervously.
"You take the blacktop. I have a feeling you'll do the least damage there," he said sharply, causing Kira to slump over dejectedly. 'I wonder who the matchups will be. It's annoying not being able to plan ahead for this. The alley… perhaps the best place for me, though it'll be hard to fully stretch. Why does this class have to be so troublesome.'
"ALRIGHT! Planning time is over! Teams Three and Four please move to your designated area and let's get this second heat underway!"
Purpose of a Hero
Okay, so...what'd ya think? I'm sorry about cutting Diana vs. Andi btw. I just really couldn't find a way to make it competitive as Andi's Quirk was almost completely useless in that scenario and Diana had a natural advantage due to her being part Komodo Dragon (Which can swim surprisingly well, fun fact). I did so much research into trying to make the fight/race based in reality but just couldn't find a way to make it competitive. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed the latter two fights. A bit of sibling rivalry (don't worry they were never in any real danger. If they'd fallen there is an anti-gravity thing that was put in place by a former teacher) and Marcus going Toby Maguire Spiderman (sorta) on a speeding truck. Now let's get to the preview!
NEXT TIME ON THE PURPOSE OF A HERO!
Chapter 20: Narruk vs. Andrew