After a ten-minute break, the second round of matches was about to start. After spinning the wheel, it was decided that Izuku would be facing Marco first.
Izuku sighed as he stepped out into the arena and saw his surrogate brother step in as well. The two looked at each other with determination in their eyes before getting into fighting stances.
As soon as Midnight signaled the match to start, Marco made the first move as he placed his palm on the ground, using the Stone element to send a massive fist of rock at Izuku, who jumped over the attack and pulled his arm back.
"TEXAS SMASH!"
With a powerful shockwave punch, Izuku smashed the rock fist as Marco stood his ground before grinning and switching to the Lightning element, electricity sparking from his fists as he punched them both forward, sending a single massive bolt at Izuku.
The verdant-haired lad had little time to react as the lightning bolt impacted against him, sending him flying back as he quickly fired [Blackwhip], tethering him to the arena as he pulled himself back to deliver a double dropkick to Marco's face.
However, Click had turned into his Scarab Shield mode and helped Marco block the attack as he pushed Izuku back.
"Dad sure taught you well, didn't he?"
"Yeah, both him and my birth father, Mata Nui...but my mom also taught me a few tricks, LIKE THIS!"
Switching to the Water element, Marco spat out a massive torrent of water that formed into a literal tsunami. Izuku knew he needed to act quickly and held his fingers in a flicking motion.
"DELAWARE SMASH!"
Firing a massive air bullet, Izuku punched a hole through the tsunami, breaking its formation as he lunged through the opening and threw a punch at Marco, who blocked again with Click.
"You've been getting even stronger! How much of [One For All] are you using now?"
"I think about 20%!"
"Damn! Only that much?! At this rate, you'll be even stronger than All-Might!"
Toshinori was certainly thinking so as well as he watched the spectacle. Then again, he knew that was the whole point, for OFA to become stronger with each successive user.
"Both Young Midoriya and Young Marco are not letting up. They are truly viewing each other as worthy opponents in every sense of the word."
Marco smirked as he then switched to Air, swiping his hand and forming a tornado that sent Izuku spinning, only for the freckled boy to counter-move against the wind currents and then deliver a spinning kick.
"ST. LOUIS SMASH!"
The fluctuation of air currents caused Marco to lose his footing as the force made him fall out of the arena before he could even react. Click turned back to normal and landed on his chest as he groaned in defeat.
"AND BY PROCESS OF RING OUT, IZUKU MIDORIYA WINS!" Midnight announced.
Marco sighed as he sat up, only to find Izuku offering his hand to him. Smiling, the Toa accepted his brother's help and got back to his feet as Click perched back on his shoulder.
"You think Master Hisashi would be proud of me?"
"I'm sure Dad already is..."
The next match was between Katsuki and Tony, both boys had some history and it was time to lay it all bare as they glared at each other in the arena.
"No holding back on either side, got it?" Katsuki said. "You may adapt to everything but you can still be beaten if I find the right opening."
"Heh, I look forward to seeing what you can do." Tony chuckled.
With a war cry, the two charged at each other, fists aimed high. As soon as they met in the center of the arena, they began wailing blows at each other over and over again.
"HOLY SHIT, IT'S A FLURRY OF BLOWS RIGHT OFF THE BAT!" Present Mic exclaimed.
Katsuki scowled as he cupped an explosion in his hand before delivering a blast-powered punch to Tony's face, burning most of it in the process only for it to regenerate near-instantly.
"Nice try!"
Spear-tipped tentacles burst from Tony's back and slashed at Katsuki, who bobbed and weaved through them before grabbing the reptilian boy by the waist and delivering a German Suplex.
"See? All I need to do is find the opening!"
Tony turned his hands into claws and dug into the ground before wrapping his legs around Katsuki, pulling him to the floor and holding him in a chokehold. The blonde bomber gagged as he struggled to break free before throwing a wild explosion that hit Tony in the face, causing him to become momentarily distracted enough for Katsuki to break free.
"That's what I'm talking about! No mercy!" Katsuki grinned as he got up and checked his throat before crouching down. "I think this means I can go all out myself!"
Tony grinned as he got up as well, a black crust forming over his right arm as it began bulging bigger and bigger, spikes protruding from it for added strength as Katsuki leaped into the air, spiraling around as he channeled his explosive sweat to turn himself into a human missile.
"HOWITZER IMPACT!"
"GIVE ME EVERYTHING!" Tony roared as he punched his massive spiked fist forward.
The two blows collided mid-air, tearing up the arena and sending a massive shock wave across the stadium.
"HOLY SHIT!" Eijirou cried as everyone held onto their seats, Minoru almost got blown away before Applejack caught him.
"Who won? WHO WON?!" Elleanor said, feeling very panicked at the thought of her brother and boyfriend being hurt.
"Hold on, I think the smoke is clearing, guys!" Rainbow said.
To everyone's shock, both boys were still standing. However, Tony had been pushed out of bounds by the force of the blow, unable to adapt in time. As for Katsuki, he was hunched over, drenched in sweat, and breathing heavily.
"Looks like...you win this round..."
Tony stood up straight, Katsuki following suit as they both shook hands, their faces neutral but their eyes full of respect.
"By process of ring out, the victory goes to Katsuki Bakugou!" Midnight announced.
Izuku let out a deep sigh of relief, seeing nothing truly bad had happened to either opponent. However, he noticed Ghidorah getting up, a look of determination on his face as the randomizer had decided he would face Shoto next.
"Wish me luck, guys."
"BEAT. HIS. ASS." Rainbow mouthed, referring to Shoto as Ghidorah smirked and walked off.
After getting a drink of water to freshen up, Ghidorah prepared for his match against Shoto, only to bump into Endeavor.
"Lor D. Ghidorah, son of Lor D. Achilles, the Unstoppable Beast. Considered by many to be one of the top villains around until he willingly turned himself into the authorities."
"Yeah, my dad was a legend in his own right. He had a good heart, but he believed that in order for good to truly flourish, evil had to stand in its way."
"Despite the countless disasters he caused in his many fights against so many heroes, including me, he always made sure no civilians were harmed and if they were, he compensated for the damages himself. A rarity for villain standards." Endeavor noted.
"I know my dad's philosophy but I aim to be a Hero. I want to show the world that monsters can save people too." Ghidorah said. "Is there any other reason you came to talk with me?"
"I expect you to give everything you have against Shoto," Endeavor said, straight to the point. "Just so long as you don't kill or cripple him, anything is fair game if you can make him see how irresponsible his pledge is."
"Why would you want your son to lose?"
"I have not been the best father to him..." Endeavor admitted with a sigh. "I hurt him in ways that not even I can fully forgive myself for. Because of my actions, he has no concept of the real world. The only reason he accepted a recommendation is that he thought it was no different from the entrance exam."
"Bakugou, Midoriya, and Twilight called him out on that just a little earlier." Ghidorah chuckled. "But despite their words, it doesn't seem to have sunk in."
"Perhaps fate decreed you be his opponent." Endeavor guessed. "So that you could be the one to beat reality into him."
Ghidorah nodded as he walked off. "Trust me, old man. I'm gonna make him feel what it's like to crawl on your hands and knees to even taste the smallest victory."
"THE CROWD IS GIDDY WITH ANTICIPATION!" Present Mic called out. "THIS BATTLE IS BOUND TO BE EPIC! FIRST, WE HAVE THE GUY WHO WON BY AN AVALANCHE, GIVE IT UP FOR SHOTO TODOROKI!"
Shoto entered the arena as the crowd cheered, but he kept a cold glare all the same.
"AND NEXT, WE HAVE THE WALKING CALAMITY, THE NATURAL DISASTER OF JUSTICE, HE MAY BE THE SON OF A VILLAIN, BUT HE'S GONNA SHOW THE WORLD THAT HE'S A TRUE HERO! LET'S HEAR IT FOR LOR D. GHIDORAH!"
Ghidorah smirked. It was no secret he was the son of Lor D. Achilles, but he wasn't afraid to have his name known as he folded his arms, glaring at Shoto from the other side.
"You'd better be prepared to use your entire Quirk this time, Todoroki. Because if you don't... I will be winning this fight."
"My shitty old man was able to fight your father to a standstill." Shoto scowled. "I'm sure one of the sons will triumph over the other."
"Yeah, you're right...one of them will." Ghidorah grinned, showing his sharp teeth as his pupils turned into tiger-like slits.
As soon as the match began, Shoto quickly launched a flurry of ice but Ghidorah simply took a deep breath and fired a stream of concentrated magma from his mouth.
The ice flow melted against the bubbling heat of the magma, the glacier being reduced to water and steam in an instant. Shoto scowled as he saw how easily Ghidorah bypassed his attack.
"Dammit, he has a more versatile amount of elements at his disposal! Will I really need to close the distance in order to win? But even then he'll have the advantage due to his greater strength."
Ghidorah then barreled toward Shoto, his fists being engulfed in bone armor with spiked knuckles as he delivered a rapid flurry of punches that Shoto tried to block with an ice wall but the horned boy tore through the obstacle like it was made of paper.
"Man, Ghidorah is just smashing through Shoto's ice attacks!" Derpy said.
"Man, no wonder people say there's always a bigger fish!" Flash commented.
"Fucking Icy-Hot bastard..." Katsuki scowled. "He needs to learn to adapt. All he's doing is throwing rocks at a brick wall."
Realizing he wasn't getting anywhere just launching ice, Shoto decided to go on the offensive, creating an ice sheet to run across. However, he was shocked when Ghidorah's back tore open, revealing a pair of dragon-like wings.
"The thing is Todoroki...My father's genes were different from other people's. Because of that, when I awakened my Quirk, I didn't get one...I GOT FOUR!"
"Yes, according to Ghidorah's file, he has four registered Quirks; [Disaster], which was inherited from his father, [Blood Manipulation], which allows him to manipulate blood, [Bone Manipulation], which allows him to manipulate bones, and [Calamity Beast], which allows him to transform into various mythical monsters at will." Aizawa clarified.
Ghidorah flew into the air before diving down at Shoto with his fists outstretched only for Shoto to fire off more ice to try and trap him.
"Got you!"
"Do you?" Ghidorah smirked as his entire body was coated in a purple venomous acid that ate away at the ice, forcing Shoto to quickly back away, lest the poison hit him as well.
Ghidorah stood back up, the poison acid dissipating off his body as he popped his shoulders.
"Never dealt with somebody who can take all your little ice tricks and keep coming?" Ghidorah taunted as he folded his arms. "You gotta learn to change your strategy when faced with that little problem."
Shoto was breathing heavily, both from overusing his ice and also from fear at just how unstoppable Ghidorah was.
"I know I could handle this better if I used that damned Fire Quirk," Shoto thought. "But HE's watching right now. I can see his disappointed face. But I won't give him the satisfaction... Even if I have to lose. But I don't intend to lose at all!"
Shoto began mustering all the ice he could manage as he fired off a huge glacier at Ghidorah. The horned boy was barely fazed as he began growing, navy blue fur covering his skin as his hands turned into claws...
Suddenly, a massive claw slash smashed through the glacier, reducing it into a mass of snow and chunks as Shoto's eyes widened, Ghidorah having transformed into a massive werewolf-like form with razor-sharp claws and glowing red eyes.
"No...it can't be...it's impossible...!"
"What's wrong? Are you gonna CRY?" Ghidorah mocked, his voice lower and deeper in his beastly form. "You're shaking, is it your Quirk or because you know you can't beat me?!"
Shoto struggled to remain standing as Ghidorah approached him, each footstep sounding like a tremor that rocked the entire planet.
"You must have forgotten a crucial fact; your Quirk is still a physical ability. Normally you wait until a battle is over before using any sort of heat to warm your body up so you don't suffer hypothermia. But you stubbornly refuse to do so during a fight, no matter how practical it would be."
In desperation, Shoto rushed at Ghidorah with his fist pulled back, only for the beast boy to backhand him to the ground nonchalantly, a look of disdain on his face.
"Even after seeing how much Uraraka put into her fight with Bakugou...how much Yaoyorozu struggled against my attacks...you still insist on using only half your Quirk?!"
Ghidorah stomped his foot onto Shoto's chest hard, forming a crater and sending a shockwave that shook the stadium.
"WHY DO YOU KEEP DOING THIS?!" Ghidorah roared, bending down to get in Shoto's face. "YOU'RE ONLY FIGHTING FOR YOURSELF! YOU DON'T EVEN CARE HOW MANY INNOCENT PEOPLE HAVE TO DIE BECAUSE YOU REFUSED TO GIVE IT YOUR ALL TO BE A HERO!"
Shoto struggled to pull Ghidorah off of him as the beastly boy pointed his fingers to his head.
"THINK, TODOROKI, THINK! IF YOU KEEP GOING DOWN THIS PATH, YOU'LL SOON FACE A VILLAIN WHO CAN'T BE STOPPED BY JUST A LITTLE ICE, NO MATTER HOW GOOD YOU GET AT USING IT! YOU'LL HAVE TO FACE DEATH IN THE FACE AS HE MOCKS YOU FOR TAKING THE COWARD'S WAY OUT! AND IF YOU DON'T DIE FROM IT, YOU'LL HAVE TO FACE COUNTLESS FAMILIES WHO LOST LOVED ONES! CHILDREN, PARENTS, PETS! ALL BECAUSE OF YOUR COWARDICE!"
Overwhelmed with emotion, Shoto unleashed as much ice as he could, forcing Ghidorah off of him as he slowly got up. As for Ghidorah, he turned back to normal as he shook his head in disgust.
"Your attitude is pathetic."
Ghidorah plowed his fist into Shoto's midsection, forcing him back a bit.
"Your PLEDGE is pathetic."
He punched Shoto across the face, feeling his jaw snapping against his knuckles.
"YOU'RE pathetic," Ghidorah said as Shoto fell to the floor. "I can't possibly imagine what your life must have been like... But if all you care about is rejecting your father by using only half your real power... Then you don't deserve to be number one at anything!"
Shoto turned to look at Ghidorah, his nose and lips were bleeding as he struggled to crawl back to his feet. Ghidorah made no moves, he simply gauged Shoto's reaction, waiting for what he planned to do next.
As Shoto stared at the beastly boy's disappointed glare, he thought back to his childhood. Before Endeavor realized he had gone too far, before Celestia managed to make him see reason, he had never allowed Shoto the chance to have friends, believing his son to be destined for a far greater position.
Rei had called her mom on the night of the incident, voicing concerns that her children were starting to become like Endeavor. She had been unable to look at Shoto without seeing Enji, and she felt like she couldn't raise her children anymore. When Shoto asked what Rei was even saying, that's what caused her to snap. Shoto had always blamed his father for what happened and still did.
"I will reject you... I refuse... To use your left side..."
"You really are a fool then," Ghidorah said, shaking his head. "You want to know something? I have the same Quirk as my father yet it's not an extension of him, I use it as my own power. He used it to be a villain but I choose to use it as a HERO!"
Shoto's eyes widened as Ghidorah's words caused another memory to surface.
"Just remember... Stay true to yourself."
"Are you going to take the coward's way out?" Ghidorah asked with finality. "Keep hiding behind just half your power?! OR ARE YOU GONNA FIGHT WITH EVERYTHING YOU GOT?!"
That was the final trigger Shoto needed. His left side heated up, and flames finally started surging forward, melting the ice forming on his right side.
"SHOTOOOOOOOOOO!" Endeavor shouted, his flames billowing. "YOU HAVE FINALLY ACCEPTED YOURSELF! YOUR POWER IS NOT MINE OR REI'S, IT IS YOURS! USE YOUR POWER TO BECOME THE HERO YOU ARE DESTINED TO BE!"
"Man, what a doting father, huh?" Denki sarcastically commented.
Ghidorah just chuckled. "This is gonna be fun."
With fire and ice combined, Shoto launched himself full force at Ghidorah, who decided to meet him in kind with a giant claw of ice and a giant claw of fire from both arms as he lunged with full force.
The two surges of fire and ice hit each other hard, forcing Cementoss to form a dome around the arena to contain the resulting explosion. But even then, some of the force broke through the concrete barrier and forced everyone into their seats.
After the explosion was contained, Cementoss lowered the dome as he and Midnight gasped, seeing Ghidorah and Shoto, both shirtless and covered in marks and burns as they were both still standing...only Shoto was unconscious and Ghidorah was barely keeping himself awake.
"BY PROCESS OF KNOCKOUT, LOR D. GHIDORAH IS THE WINNER!"
In the League of Villains' bar, Tomura couldn't help but nearly choke on his drink in shock at the spectacle he saw.
"So he's the son of the Beast King, huh? Kinda glad it wasn't him I was facing at the USJ, I would've gotten even worse than just the loss of my hands."
"Ghidorah could have easily crushed Endeavor's child, but he inherited his father's code of honor," Tirek commented.
Nightmare Moon scoffed. "An admirable action, but in the end, it mattered not. Todoroki was still crushed in the end."
Ghidorah had made sure to bring Shoto to Recovery Girl's infirmary despite his own injuries and returned to the bleachers, wearing a new gym shirt as he sat down.
"Man, that was awesome, Ghidorah!" Pinkie said. "You helped Shoto out too!"
"Although did you have to beat him around as hard as you did?" Starlight asked worriedly. "I mean, just saying..."
Ghidorah sighed. "I was angry, I'll admit. But I held myself back so I didn't take his head off his shoulders or tear a hole through his stomach."
"Still, you turned into a frickin' WEREWOLF!" Minoru cried. "There's gotta be tons of Pro Heroes who want you as their Sidekick now!"
"Somehow I doubt it..." Ghidorah said.
Once the arena was repaired following the intense battle, the matches continued with Rainbow Dash against Ibara. Ibara tried to entangle Rainbow with her vines but she simply flew out of range and then conjured up a massive storm cloud that sent a downpour of rain on the vine-haired girl, making her hair go damp.
With Ibara's vines dampened and temporarily useless, Rainbow picked her up and tossed her gently out of the ring.
"Winner by ring out, Rainbow Dash!" Midnight announced.
Pinkie Pie and Rarity's match was a rather quick one. While Rarity tried to trap Pinkie in a ring of crystals, the excitable girl managed to pull out a pogo stick and bounced on it over the ring before diving down and smacking Rarity with her butt, sending her to the ground and unconscious in seconds.
"Damn, why couldn't that have been me?!" Minoru complained as everyone looked at him weirdly. "What? I'm a guy, alright? Sue me!"
The next fight was against Fluttershy and Tenya. Fluttershy sent several vines to try and entangle Tenya but he managed to outpace them before using his Recipro Burst to completely overwhelm Fluttershy and carry her out of the ring as gently as possible.
"The winner is Tenya Iida!" Midnight announced.
"I'm sorry, Fluttershy. I wasn't too rough was I?" Tenya asked as he made sure Fluttershy was okay.
"Y-Yes, I'm fine...just a little disappointed."
Tenya nodded in understanding. As he and Fluttershy went to the waiting room, he made a call on his phone.
"Tensei, are you there? It's me, Tenya."
"I am currently on a mission and cannot answer the phone. Please leave a message!" Tensei's voicemail replied, making Tenya sigh as he put his phone away for the time being.
Next was a match between Eijirou and Applejack. Both of their Quirks were evenly matched with each other as Eijirou threw a punch to Applejack's stomach hard enough to make her take a few steps back.
"Not bad, partner. You certainly got a haymaker on ya!"
Eijirou grinned. "Hey, our Quirks are similar on paper, but I can also sharpen my body too when I harden it!"
"And you forget that my Quirk lets me ignore pain!" Applejack smirked back.
The two began barraging each other with blows but eventually, Applejack managed to duck underneath a right hook and then delivered a bucking kick to Eijirou's jaw, which was hard enough to send him flying out of the ring.
"Winner by ring out, Applejack!" Midnight announced.
The final match of Round 2 was between Twilight and Tempest. Tempest had started the match by sending a burst of purple flames at Twilight, who blocked with a magic barrier before condensing the flames into a bubble, which she threw at Tempest like a grenade.
"I hope I didn't miss anything," Tenya said as he joined his classmates in the stands.
"Nope, you're just in time for the good stuff!" Junko giggled, using thermal vision to see the fight to compensate for her blindness.
"Where did you go after your match with Fluttershy?" Kira asked.
"I was hoping my brother Tensei might be watching from the stands but I didn't see him after my last match. I tried calling him but it seems he's on a mission in the city." Tenya explained.
"I'm sure he'll be more than happy to hear about how far you've come when you can talk with him, Iida." Ochako smiled.
Back in the arena, Tempest had sent a sharp blade of wind at Twilight, who teleported past it before forming a pair of magical blades and lunging at Tempest, who formed a pair of swords made of ice to block them. The two clashed for what felt like hours before Tempest suddenly found her foot stuck to the ground, looking down to see some type of magic sigil gluing her feet.
"What the?!"
"Sorry, I set up a trap ahead of time to catch you off-guard! That's checkmate!"
With a magical blast mimicking a shotgun, Twilight sent Tempest out of bounds.
"Winner by ring out, Twilight Sparkle!" Midnight announced.
Meanwhile, the reason Tensei couldn't pick up his younger brother's call was that he was on a mission, and a serious one at that.
He quickly turned into a dark alley, seeing a figure looming over the corpse of a female Pro Hero, who had her throat cut open and her eyes open wide with tears running down her face as blood pooled around her.
"There you are... Hero Killer!"
And that's Round 2 done with! I hope I didn't make Ghidorah go too hard on Shoto but I was kinda going for an Omni-Man vs Homelander-type approach.