Spirit of Competition

The warehouse which Angstrom Levy had secured for the Muller Twins was located near the shipyards, used originally for holding cargo containers from large ships it had become decommissioned and set for demolition in two years. "Well we have enough space." one of the twins said, wearing the uniform that he and his clone wore with a lab coat over it while his clone wore a pair of goggles on his forehead. "But we're still not sure what your asking of us." he said, turning to their benefactor…or well the main version of the benefactor, as the other versions of him that they met had been moved to another dimension for the time being.

Angstrom folded his arms across his chest, "Well you remember how I told you that my meta-ability works? I can travel through dimensions that I'm aware of? Well until recently I've just been guessing, like trying to find the correct frequency on a radio. But, when I learned about your cloning experiments in another dimension, I realized that this could be the answer I've been looking for." he explained with an excited smile.

The clones looked at one another, the one with he goggles looked at him, "You do understand that our process of cloning involves growing an exact duplicate of you correct?" he asked.

Levy shook his head, "I'm aware but that's not what I'm talking about, I'm referring to how your able to transfer your consciousness." he explained.

The one in the lab coat cupped his chin, "I see….you don't want more duplicates of yourself, you want to transfer their memories into you." he realized, making his counterpart let out an 'ahh' of understanding.

"But we have to ask….why? You've been able to travel to multiple dimensions already by the looks of it. What's the problem?" he asked.

Levy sighed, "The problem is that I only know so much about each dimension I travel to, say I open a portal now and on the other side? It seems fine, harmless even. But there could be a bacterium or a virus that is highly lethal and only targets humans. Once I almost stepped into a radioactive wasteland at the site of where a nuclear bomb detonated." he told them.

"So you want to be able to traverse the multiverse safely, but even then you'll only know as much as those counterparts of yours that you have met." the one in the lab coat reasoned.

Levy nodded as he walked through the warehouse, "Yes, which is why I've had them explore their own dimensions to the greatest extent that each of them could. What would take up my entire lifetime to attempt and probably never accomplish could be reached within ten years at once." he explained. The twins looked at one another in surprise at the possibilities presented by the idea, it could open up a literal door to the multiverse!

"Ok I'll admit this project sounds interesting to say the least, but to do this we'll need time to plan a device that's large enough to house hundreds of thousands of versions of you. Not to mention expand our consciousness transference device to fit that many minds." one of them said.

"Also let's not forget tools, equipment, we'll need to procure all the resources needed to build this device after we plan it and-" the other continued before Angstrom pulled out a phone and tapped the screen, emitting a holographic blueprint that showed a central pillar with rows and rows of seats extending out from it, each seat affixed with a consciousness transfer device that led to the central column. The twins moved in for a closer look, "This is…..exactly what we need….wait a minute….these designs they're…..ahhh I understand! Clever!" one of them said as the other smiled. "But what about supplies?"

Levy smirked, "Why do you think I had a warehouse as our base of operations? In another dimension this place never shut down, and it's where a tech conglomerate holds most of their surplus." he explained with a smirk. "My other builders estimate that this can be done within two weeks, if you need anything else, simply leave a note by the whiteboard on the door, I'll be checking on all the teams' progress and coordinating everything." he said before handing the phone to one of the twins.

The two clones looked at one another in excitement, "When do we begin?"

Mako held his hand up as Izuku's slammed into it, "Dude, come on, put a little into it." he said, his friend shaking his hand from the impact he made to his friend's hand. Mako wore his costume for hero training today, the class had only two weeks to prepare for the sports festival, and Aizawa found it only logical for them to use what time they could in class practically. So until the festival, every other day they would go to Ground Beta, where the empty city was located, and train together.

"It's easier said then done, every time I channel my power into my arm it just goes straight to 100% power." he explained as he raised his hand. Mako watching through his lenses as red veins of glowing power traveled up his arm, like he was tensing some sort of muscle, "It's like….well it's kind of like putting an egg in a microwave, and when I hit something the egg breaks." he explained, looking up at his friend who gave him a blank expression.

"…ok that is the weirdest analogy I think I've ever heard." he said before cupping his chin, "And even weirder that I actually get what you mean." he added before shaking his head. "Have you tried just…..I don't know, turning it off and on again? Like seeing how long you can hold it on?" he asked.

Izuku's expression turned thoughtful as Iida ran behind them down the road in his U.A. sports uniform. "I guess, it could help my body get used to it. I'll have to time myself so that I get every part of my body evenly." he said, looking down at both his arms. Returning his attention to his friend, he tilted his head, "What about you? I mean….if you're not competing in the festival then…." he trailed off. He was shocked by his friend's decision to be sure, but the more he thought about it? He couldn't exactly blame Mako after all he's been through, however what the one student from the support course said worried him. About the stuff changing what course a student could be assigned to if they don't preform well.

The Viltrumite shook his head, "Just because I'm not competing doesn't mean I can't train. My dad told me I need to push myself if I want to improve." he recalled before looking up at the sky. Izuku followed his gaze, "So way I see it? I can probably improve my speed if I fly around as fast as I can for as long as I can. Kind of like jogging." he reasoned, "I mean I don't know how the hell I'm going to work out with my strength." he admitted with a shrug.

Izuku nodded in understanding, "That makes sense….maybe you and Kirishima could spar? His hardening might be able to adapt to your strength and vice versa?" he offered. Mako turned his head down the street where Kirishima had jumped off a rooftop, hardening in midair, and then crashing into the ground. The two waited a beat before the spikey haired student stood from the imprint in the ground with a victorious smile.

"…huh, so that's what I'd looked like if dad actually threw me off the roof." he muttered, recalling how his father's initial plan to test his flight was throwing him from the balcony of his building. "Ok, yeah, good idea."

"Yea-wait, what roof?" Izuku began before Mako flew over to the hardening hero in training, "Hey Kirishima, want to train together?" he offered.

Where he expected reluctance, he was met with excitement in the student's eyes, "Hell yeah man! I actually been meaning to see how I stack up against you!" he said, slamming his fists together and hardening himself as Mako raised his fists.

Mako suddenly dropped them, "Oh and if I accidentally hit you too hard say so? I really don't want to give you a black eye or something." he said before raising his hands again. Kirishima nodded before suddenly shoot out a jab at the other teen. On instinct, Mako's head dipped back, his own fist uppercutting Kirishima who stumbled back. Mako looked at his hand and winced slightly, hitting his friend was like punching….well, a wall.

"Eyes up man!" Kirishima shouted, landing a blow across Mako's face, Kirishima shook his hand at the pain of punching what felt like a rock. He quickly followed up with another strike, but Mako swung his arm up to block while throwing a hit into Kirshima's gut, knocking him back and skidding across the ground. Mako flew after him, the hardening hero dug his feet into the ground and stopped himself, cocking his arm back as Mako approached before swinging a haymaker into the side of the teen's head and knocking him off course into the wall of a nearby building! "Oh crap! Mako you ok!?" he asked in a panic.

The teen shot out from the wall, Kirishima raised his arms to defend his head but Mako's fist collided with his stomach instead, knocking the wind out of the teen and making him fly across the street where he embedded into the wall! Kirishima winced as he opened his eyes, "Oh shit! Sorry!" Mako said in concern as he flew over.

The redhead shook his head, "Nah, your fine man. I shouldn't have dropped my guard." he admitted as he pulled himself out of the wall. "Seriously though, you got some good moves, and man it feels like I'm punching stone when I hit you." he admitted, the other student still giving him a concerned look which he noticed. He flashed Mako a grin, "Dude, seriously I'm fine." he assured.

"Yeah, yeah it's just…..knowing what I can do now….I have to be careful….I need to be careful." he said, looking down at his gloved hands, blinking he saw his entire arms covered with blood. He gasped silently as the sudden visage disappeared, he shook his head as he looked back up to Kirishima who was now looking at HIM with concern.

"You ok man?" he asked.

Invincible nodded, "Yeah, yeah I'm good. If anything sparring with you will help me with my fighting. When I get called away I don't want to keep getting my ass handed to me." he said. Dad kicking my ass around the world showed me what my goal should be. Even when I got hits in, he had me outclassed…..god I gotta catch up. he thought to himself before looking back at Kirishima, "You good to go again?" he asked.

Kirishima nodded, "Yeah, bring it!" he said as his flesh hardened again. He stepped forward and tried to close the distance between them, but Mako flew up with his knee jutting into the underside of his friend's head to counter the attack, knocking him once again back into the wall and dazing the other student for a second, Mako smirked as he blinked. "Um…..do over?" he asked.

As the two sparred, Izuku watched his friend with a worried expression, "Hey Deku!" The green haired boy turned to see Uraraka come down from the air, lacing her hands together so her fingers where touching, "Release!" she said as she restored gravity to herself, looking a little bit pale but it quickly vanishing as she looked up to the boy whose cheeks were blushing a tiny bit, "How's the training going?" she asked.

He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "Well….Mako offered to help me see if we could train my strength but….that didn't really work out." he admitted.

Uraraka looked over to see Mako dash back out of Kirishima's reach, she smiled a little, "I'm glad he's doing better after yesterday." she said, however Izuku didn't smile. Instead he had a frown etched on his features, "Deku?" he stiffened upon being caught. "Is he ok?" she asked. She hadn't been close enough to really see or hear what Omni Man had said to his son, but the way Deku looked when she saw him again? It looked like he had just saw someone he cared about hurt beyond recovery right before his eyes.

He looked down, "He's….not going to compete in the Sports Festival." he told her, making her gasp.

"B-But it's a huge opportunity! We'll only get three chances in our time here and-" she began.

"I know, I know." he assured her, "I said the same thing to him but…after what happened yesterday? He thinks that participating in the festival will be like that but a hundred times worse with how many people will see it." he explained. Uraraka opened her mouth to dispute it, but thinking back to yesterday and how their own school had turned on him? It gave her pause, turning her gaze to Izuku she saw the conflict in his eyes.

"What do you think Deku?" she asked him, "I mean you're his best friend. I haven't known him that long…." she admitted.

Izuku watched as Mako blocked a punch with his forearm, "I think…that he really deserves some time to not hear people say horrible things about him." he said truthfully, recalling how Mako had told him everything last night. And in spite of that, he was still out here training, not for the sports festival but for when people actually needed his help. No…that's why we're all here. he thought with determination.

He turned his head to Uraraka, "I think we should try and give that to him."

The brunette smiled and nodded in agreement with his sentiment, "Yeah…..I think so too." Nether of them noticing a certain spikey haired blond who was taking a break within the building above them. Irritation crossed his face as he looked down the street to where Mako was.

"So…..you haven't heard anything?" Kaminari asked Mako as they gathered up their things for the end of the day.

Mako shook his head, "Nothing, I mean Cecil said that he'd message me, I'd show it to the teachers, and then I'd leave. But nothing." he said as he slung his bag over his shoulder. The electric quirk user scratched his head as Iida stopped to listen in, "He told me that he'll only call me if he needs me, so I guess he doesn't need me for anything." he admitted.

Iida's hand rose up to his chest, "I wouldn't worry about it, if it's anything like pro hero work usually is, the job can be sporadic." he reasoned. "My elder brother for example can go days without being called in. Considering you just agreed, it could be a simple matter of paperwork." he reasoned before holding his fist aloft. "After all! Paperwork is the backbone of law enforcement!" he declared.

Mako and Kaminari both blanched, "Dude. Seriously?"

"It's Iida, when is he not serious?" Mako asked him as they walked towards the door of the class. Thankfully there was no large crowd of students awaiting them today, however instead standing out in the hall was Bakugo. Mako noticed that Bakugo's irritation was directed at him, which while not anything new, was not something he really wanted to deal with, "Yes?" he asked.

"Is it true you're not competing in the Sports Festival?" he asked directly.

Kaminari and Iida turned to the Viltrumite in shock, "Wait, you're not?" Iida asked in surprise.

Mako glanced at Iida before looking back at Bakugo, "First off, where did you hear that?" he asked.

"The damn nerd was talking to round face during training! Now answer me damnit!" he ordered.

Mako rolled his eyes, "No, I'm not. I don't want to be jeered at, spat or, or hated any more then I already am." he said flippantly to the blonde. "Besides what do you even care?" he asked. Bakugo's eyes narrowed at him, "Less competition for you and your inflated ego." he said as he began to walk away from the other student.

"You're a coward." that short phrase made Mako stop dead.

Iida turned to Bakugo, "Bakugo that's uncalled for!" he berated, the blonde ignoring him as he walked after Mako.

"You want to feel shitty about how your old man was a piece of shit? Fine!" he said, not noticing Mako's hands ball into a fist as he turned his head to look back at him in a glare. "But don't disrespect me by saying that this is beneath you!" he argued as he stepped into Mako's personal space.

The teen glowered at him, "Bakugo. Back. Off." Mako growled out.

Kaminari looked between he two uneasily, "Uhh….Bakugo, maybe you should-" he began.

"Did I ask for what you thought bolt head?!" Bakugo barked at him. He turned back to Mako as the lightning user muttered 'bolt head' in confusion before a look of understanding crossed his face. "You think that just because you got a cheap free pass to be a pro makes you above this? Above me?" he hissed out. Mako's fist shook as anger pumped through him, "Well!? Answer-"

WHAM!

Mako's fist cracked Bakugo across the jaw, sending the blonde crashing through the window of the school!

Mako, Iida, and Kaminari all stood in silence, Mako's arm stretched out as he slowly realized what he just did, "Oh…..shit." he muttered before flying out the window and looking down at the ground, the blonde had seemed to recovered in midair and landed on the pavement below. Looking up at Mako, he saw pure rage in his eyes, "Ooooooh shit." he reiterated.

"You are incredibly lucky that no one else was hurt." Aizawa said, his eyes glaring at his student through his bandages in the principal's office. Mako sat in a chair in front of Principal Nezu's desk while Aizawa stood in front of him. He was alerted to what was happed when he heard explosions outside the school with Bakugo blowing up the now slightly charred student. "In fact your also lucky that Bakugo sustained no serious injuries."

Mako looked down, not meeting either of the teacher's gazes until Nezu spoke up, "Mako, we are aware that there's friction between you two. And I know that you know that what you did was wrong." he said wisely. Mako looking up at the principal, the small animal's eyes didn't have the same sort of expression they had yesterday when he walked with him to class, they were full of concern.

"I know, and your right, but….." he faltered for a moment before his brow creased, "He told me I was a coward for not partaking in the sports festival." he explained in aggravation.

Aizawa's gazed leveled at him, "While he had no right to say it in such a manner, you shouldn't let the opinion of others dictate what you do." he said. "Pros are no stranger to criticism and dealing with it is part of the job." he said bluntly. The principal watching as Mako frowned heavier, "He sees you abstaining as saying your better than him. And he sees that as a challenge." he explained.

"Well maybe I don't want to get people telling me I shouldn't be here or that I should be locked up more!" he snapped as he extended his arm out. "And maybe Bakugo needs to be humbled once in a while? He's thought that just because he's got a quirk he's allowed to look down on everyone…..he's no better than my dad." he hissed out.

Nezu and Aizawa looked at one another briefly, the situation becoming instantly more delicate. "Mako, I know that this has been a very trying time for you. And if you truly want to set out the sports festival then you are fully allowed to. We just want to make sure that you understand that what happened today can't happen again." he said.

Mako sighed and nodded, "I know…next time I'll just tell him he's not worth the trouble." he said.

Nezu smiled a little while Aizawa let out a grunt, "Antagonizing him won't help the situation."

"I agree, so as soon as he's ready to stop acting like the world revolves around him? I'll won't antagonize. Until then, well like my mom says. Don't throw stones if you live in a glass house." he replied. Aizawa opened his mouth beneath the bandages to retort but Nezu spoke over him.

"Even so. You understand?" he asked, Mako nodded, "Good. Now then-" he began before all three of their cells beeped at once. Mako blinked and pulled his out and saw a message from Cecil.

[Suit up. Get in the air, await instructions.] the message read. He looked up at his teachers, "Um-" he began.

"We got it, go. We're done here anyway." Nezu assured him. Mako nodded before standing up and exiting the office. Rushing out through the back doors, Mako changed out of his clothes and into his costume he wore underneath them within a second before flying up into the sky, tapping his earpiece and connecting him to Cecil.

"Hey Cecil, I got your message, what's going on?" he asked as he slowed his ascent through the sky.

'We just got word that a villain group known as the Lizard League is attacking a water processing plant on the West Coast of America. We believe their goal is to spread a poison into the filtration system at the compound." Cecil explained as Mako took off towards the East, towards the United States. "Now fair warning, these guys are gonna have numbers but most of them have quirks that aren't dangerous. They rely on firearms and their numbers, both of which shouldn't be an issue for you.' he explained as Mako's arms reached forward and he let himself coast through the clouds.

"Gotcha. Any advice? I've never fought more than one person at a time before." he admitted. All of his pervious fights had been one on one, the only exception being the Muller Twins and he had somewhat of a tough time dealing with them.

'Don't focus on a single target, keep your head on a swivel, and no matter how tough you are don't let them pile on. Doesn't matter if you have the strength of twenty men if those twenty men altogether weigh forty on top of you.' Cecil advised.

The flight to the United States took around 45 minutes, with another ten to fly inland with Cecil's directions to the facility. The treatment plant was located within a valley, Its chain link fence being the only form of defense for the facility. One of which had a massive hole inside of it with a platoon of men in green uniforms with scales on the arms and legs, curved lizard on their chests with arms and legs sticking out as well, advancing inside and shooting at the guards who were falling back towards the main building. Mako took a breath, "Alright Invincible. Let's do this." he said to himself before darting down towards the ground ahead of the villain forces.

Smashing into the ground, the shockwave, made the group of villains' halt in their tracks. When the dust cleared, Invincible floated in front of them, Ok, Mako say something that will make them reconsider their actions, go home, and rethink their lives. "…..hi." That was not it! he thought as the Lizard League recovered from their shock.

"It's Omni Man's kid! Open fire!" one of the shouted before the entire force opened fire on Invincible, the bullets were nothing to the teen but a few of the League's forces unleashed their quirks upon him. Rocks that impacted him harder and faster than bullets, another spitting out acid which he hovered away from, one of them shooting their fingernails at him!

Invincible shot into the group of villains, going through the crowd of villains like a plow through snow until he reached the other side of the crowd. Turning around at the end, he punched a small handful of them away, the ones closet to him rushed him, Mako punching one out into the air as he floated above the ground, "God you guys have no idea how much I want to hit people today!" he exclaimed out as he slammed his fist into a man, sending him sprawling through a crowd of the villains.

One of them leapt up onto the teen's back, "You will not oppress us fascist! Our people have a right!" he declared as he tried to choke Invincible out. The hero in training reached up to the back of the man's uniform and threw him from over his shoulder into one of the larger members. However the group ran around the downed members and rushed towards Invincible. Looking around he saw he had been boxed it. Mako flew forward, his fists hitting two men as he reached them out in front of him.

"Ok, I don't get what your deal is but I'm pretty sure that poisoning the water supply makes you the bad guys here." the hero observed, swiping his arm out and knocking away a group of men as another rushed him, the teen reacted quickly as kicked the man directly in the chest, sending him tumbling back and knocking over the men behind him. Another barrage of gunfire lit up across Mako's back, the turned to see a trio of gunmen firing at him, flying towards one of them, grabbing the gun by the barrel and slamming it up into the man's head while his free hand threw out into to the head of another.

He turned to the final shooter who unloaded the rest of his clip at the teen's chest, when the smoke cleared, both he and Invincible looked down to see his costume still intact. "Wow. Man I gotta visit my suit girl and tell her that this stuff is crazy good against bullets." he said, casually grabbing the gun barrel and bending it, making the weapon useless.

"Hey!" the villain said indignantly. Invincible raised a fist with a silent deadpanned expression, "Uh…I'll just….." he trailed off as he dropped his gun and laid down on the ground with his hands over his head.

"Smart. Now then-" Invincible started before a massive fist hit him in the side of the head! Skidding through the air, Mako recovered and looked to his attacker, in front of him stood a massive man that had a brown version of the uniform these people wore, only the scales on his arms and legs were part of HIM and not the costume. He had a good five feet over Mako with arms and legs thick as trunks, he reminded him of the Nomu but didn't hit nearly as hard.

"You see! You shall not stand in our way!" a voice cried out, Mako looked over to the sound of the voice to see a blonde man with a green bandana over his eyes with white eyes, his skin was a light shade of green with a somewhat different uniform from the others, the scales covering all of him from the neck down with a purple cape. "We shall strike back at this wrongful society for looking down at us! Us who have been subjugated for our mutant quirks! Us who have been looked at like the bottom rung of this society just because we all have reptilian quirks!" he declared. He pointed at the bruiser, "Komodo Dragon! Finish him!"

The teen looked back at the member as he raised his hands up over his head and brought them down, Invincible hands shooting up and grabbing them at the wrists, "Ok, seriously?! That's why you're doing this?" the teen asked as he shot up, kneeing the Komodo Dragon in the face, "I mean at least you guys have quirks! I didn't even get my powers until this year!" he shouted, driving his elbow down on top of the large man's head and slamming him down into the ground face first.

The teen turned to the apparent leader, only to see him sprinting towards the facility with a container in his hand. The man turned his head bask in time to see Invincible zoom in, his fist raised back before all he saw was darkness.

When the leader awoke, he groaned, "ugghhh….what happened?" he asked, raising his hand up only to find it cuffed together. Blinking the dots out of his eyes, he looked around to find himself inside a police transport! "Nooooooo!" he wailed inside the long transport truck as Mako and Donald looked at it from the outside, the police around them hauling the League of Lizard members around into various trucks for transfer.

"Nicely done Invincible. By the time the police arrived they would have already breached the facility." the GDA agent complimented as Mako watched a group of police offers drag the Komodo Dragon into the back of his own transport truck.

"No problem, I was….kind of in the principal's office when you called me. Got me out of there in time." he admitted sheepishly to the agent.

Donald let out a hum, "Oh well…..happy coincidence." he said as a pair of agents walked around them to retrieve the poison canister that the leader, King Lizard, was holding on his person containing the poison. "If they had succeeded in their plan, a small community that gets it's water from this station would have been poisoned with various toxins derived from reptilians." he explained.

Invincible tilted his head, "Wow….these guys go hard with the Lizard theme don't they?" he asked.

"You have no idea." Donald said in an exasperated sigh. Mako chuckled and turned his head to him before he could speak he noticed that the team of S.W.A.T. who was on their way here were staring him down with their hands on their weapons. They were pointed down, but it nevertheless reminded the teen of his reputation, Donald glanced over and put a hand on Mako's shoulder as he led him away, "Don't worry about them. GDA will announce what happened here, feed it through some news networks around the world. Spread the good word." he explained with a smirk.

Mako nodded, "Yeah…..thanks Donald." The agent nodded before the hero took off to the sky, a forlorn expression on his face as Cecil's voice came in over the earpiece.

'Not bad kid. We didn't know Komodo was there as well, he's an enforcer for the League. Glad to know you took him down easy enough.' he said.

"Yeah that was surprisingly easy." he admitted.

'Of course it was, I'm not going to send you into a life-or-death fight kid. I need to see what you can do.' he said, 'But don't think that this is a kid game either, you fail here and people get killed. Simple as that.' he said bluntly.

Mako winced, "Geeze, ok Cecil. Message received. Is there anything else? I probably got to grab my stuff from the school."

'Your good kid. Thanks for the assistance.' he said before hanging up the line.

After dropping by school to pick up his clothes and bag, Mako headed towards home in costume, flying overhead he saw the same number of people camped outside his apartment building. But they seemed less rowdy as they've been over the past few days. "At this point I'm wondering how long they'll be out there." Mako said to himself as he landed on the balcony of his apartment. Pulling his mask off and draping it over his shoulder, he looked inside and saw his mother sitting at the dinner table.

Mako felt himself tense, his mother's words from yesterday still felt like a cold dagger in his chest. He had left early this morning and left a note for her but Nezu told him that they informed his mom about what happened at the school, Well I can't stay out here all day….gotta face the music. he thought as he opened the door and walked inside, his mother turned to him. "Hey…" he greeted awkwardly.

His mother took a deep breath, "I'm sorry." he said, cutting her off before he could speak, surprising her, "I shouldn't have gotten in a fight at school. It's just Bakugo gets under my nerves and I let him and…" he shook his head as his mother stood up from her chair. "I shouldn't have belted him, and I know better and I'm-" he continued before his mother wrapped her arms around him in a tender embrace, cutting him off. "Uhh…"

He didn't think his mom would hug him for punching another student out a window….but considering it was Bakugo…

"Honey, I am so sorry…..beyond words for what I said last night." she said, pulling away from her son to see his shocked expression. "I was drinking and….when I was setting the table it just hit me hard….all that I've known about him…" she trailed off before shaking her head. "But you did the right thing, don't ever let anyone, even me, say different." she said, making her son smile as a well as a weight be lifted off his shoulders.

"Its ok mom…..I know your going through a ton….I get it. I kind of asked myself the same thing." he admitted.

"Don't." Kali said sternly, cupping the sides of his face with her hands, "I know things are hard right now honey. But they will get better, I promise." she said, assuring him with a smile. Mako mirrored with one of his own and nodded, "Now about Bakugo, I was called about it but when I called Mitsuki about it, she said that Bakugo apologized….." Mako gave her a look. "Ok he was told to apologize but it's how he would apologize." she clarified.

"Lot of cursing?" Mako guessed.

Kali smirked, "If it helps Mitsuki told me she made him wash his mouth out with soap." she added, her son snorting out at the mental image of Bakugo being punished in such a way.

As the mother and son broke away from their embrace, Kali returned to the dining room table and opened her laptop once again as her son flew over to the couch and laid down. Ok…today is better than yesterday. Didn't start out that way but it is. he thought before he heard a chime from his bag. Reaching inside it he pulled out his phone and saw he had a message from Melissa!

[Melissa: Hey! I saw you on the news! Congratulations on kicking Lizard butt!] it read. He smiled at her support as he typed out his response.

[Mako: Thanks. Costume holds up surprisingly well against gunfire.]

[Melissa: Actually it's more that it's so close to your skin that it just doesn't penetrate it. But thanks!]

[Melissa: You busy tonight?]

[Mako: No.]

[Melissa: Want to hang out?]

Mako re-read that last message to be sure that he saw right. [Mako: Sure! Where at?]

[Melissa: There's this nice park in the residential district of the island. When can you come over?]

"Hey mom, I'm gonna go hag out with Melissa!" he called back as he flew out the still open door with his phone in his one hand and pulling his mask down over his face with his other.

Arriving at I-Island, he found Melissa awaiting him at the entrance to the park with a welcoming smile. Mako hadn't bothered changing out of his costume as he had forgotten his clothes back at home and didn't want to make Melissa wait for him. "Sorry, I sorta took off without my regular clothes." he apologized sheepishly, pulling his mask off his head.

She shook her head, "It's fine, you're not the only person in costume on the island." she assured him as she lifted herself off the tree. She wore a different outfit than usual, instead of the button up shirt and vest, she wore a simply light blue sleeveless shirt and a pair of light brown cargo pants with a pair of sneakers on her feet. "Thanks for coming, sorry it's so out of your way." she apologized as she led him into the park.

Mako shook his head, "It's no problem, I can't really go out back home right now anyway." he admitted, making the blonde girl frown sadly at the news.

"I'm really sorry you have to deal with that. You and your mom." she said, her hand reaching out and touching his arm.

He turned and smiled at her gratefully, "It's not all bad. My whole class supports me….and I didn't even realize how much that meant to me until they did." he expressed with a small smile of appreciation. He knew that Izuku would always have his back, but seeing the rest of his class stand up for him yesterday was something he really appreciated in hindsight. It didn't change his mind on what he was gong to do for the sports festival, however.

He glanced over to see the blonde inventor smiling happily at the news, "That's really good to hear." she said in relief as they walked along the path of the park, there where a few people around but thankfully no one seemed to pay either of them much mind.

It was at this point that Mako noticed how nice the park was, the grass was perfectly cut, there didn't seem to be any such weeds, there was even a small pond he could see people in boats on. "This place is like a golf course." he said, Melissa snorting at his impression.

"Basically it is. We have groundskeeping robots that are all designed to maintain this place. They go by every morning." she explained as she got a little closer to him, her arm sliding around his at the elbow. "Come this way, there's a great view up on this hill." she urged, pulling him off the path and towards an inclining hillside, Mako meanwhile trying not to blush at the way Melissa held his arm.

Walking up the grassy hill, Mako was surprised by two things, the sight of I-Island stretched out before them, and the small picnic basket and blanket that was set out. "Oh gee, would you look at that. Someone left a perfectly good picnic basket out where I wanted to take you." the blonde said dramatically, making Mako snort.

"You didn't have to do this…..but thank you." he said gratefully as Melissa and him sat down on the plaid blanket and she opened the basket to retrieve a container of meatballs covered in sauce.

She smiled as he watched her open the container, "Well I wanted to do something nice for you…..you've had it really rough lately Mako. And…..well I thought you'd like a little bit of peace." she explained as she set the container down and pulled a pair bowls for the two of them, Mako smiled gratefully as he pulled his gloves off and set them down behind him with his mask.

Dividing the food in half for both of them, the couple ate with plastic forks that easily cut through the meatballs, the pair catching each other up on what's happened over the past few days since they saw each other. Mako omitting the part of getting home last night and what his mother said, "You punched him out a window?!" Melissa gasped.

Mako raised his hands, "Ok in my defense…..he called me a coward." he replied. Melissa still stared at him in disbelief, "Look he had it coming!" he protested.

"Ok yes, sure, but a window?" she asked with a laugh. He shook his head, "I'm surprised you didn't get detention." she admitted in amazement before eating one of the balls of food.

Mako shrugged his shoulders, "I think they're cutting me some slack…I've been….I've been kind of pissed at everything the past few days." he admitted, sliding his leg inward and coiling his knee for him to rest his arms across.

Melissa stared at him, "The Sports Festival." she said, earning a nod from the Viltrumite. She looked ahead to the city part of I-Island, the sun was starting to go down and the Island was just beginning to light up. "I don't know if I could go to it either if I was you…..or at the very least participate in it."

"Yeah…." Mako sighed, "You know, me and Izuku would watch it together every year." he said wistfully. "I didn't even realize that I'd actually have a chance to take part of it when I applied to U.A." he admitted.

The blond watched him recollect, eyes meeting hers for a brief second to see she was watching him intently before looking away. "What about you? You and your dad watch it?" he asked curiously.

She nodded, "Yeah. He actually has these old videos from when All Might was in them." she revealed, Mako turned to her with amusement.

"Seriously? Oh my god Izuku would kill for one of those." he laughed to himself, Melissa chuckling as well. When it died down, Mako was still looking at Melissa and she noticed, he opened his mouth to speak, but closed it just as quick.

"What?" she prodded.

"I….I don't want to be rude." he replied, the shook her head and urged him to continue, "I just…..I was wondering about your mother. You don't need to say anything if you don't want to, I was just curious." he said quickly upon seeing the surprised look his friend had.

She shook her head, "What? No, your fine. I'm just surprised your finally asking me." she assured him with a smile. "She passed away shortly after I was born….I never really knew her, but papa tells me stories about her all the time." she fondly recalled. She ran a hand through her hair, "They met at a support designer convention, she wasn't an inventor but she was a businesswoman. Dad tells me that he would never have gotten this big without her." she laughed.

Mako smiled fondly, "She sounds nice…." he said, his thoughts going to his own mother. She's been more then I have….she fell in love with dad and knew him way longer than I did….she loved him too….I gotta tell her I love her when I get home. he decided.

"My dad met my mom while he was….'working', some villain on a bridge was causing trouble, car got thrown at a woman. Dad went to save her and….." he trailed off before shrugging. The blonde gave him a hand on his shoulder, he glanced at her and smiled supportively as he looked ahead, "I'm still trying to figure out how I feel about everything he's done…he did some awful things but…..I'd open my phone every day and see all the good he's done. And I'd feel proud to be his kid…I hope that in some way he meant that." he admitted.

Her lip tugged to the side of her face unsurely, like his son said, Nolan had done monstrous things for the sake of his people. But during his time here he was without a doubt a hero for decades. "I think he's done some good at the very least." she agreed. "But don't compare yourself to him. I do that with my dad and trust me when I say it can drive you crazy." she admitted sheepishly, making Mako chuckle.

He looked over to Melissa and saw she was looking at him, it made his heart jump up into one of his lungs. She adjusted her glasses, "So…..last time you were here….we were talking about…thinking of each other." she recalled.

Mako was glad she brought water with her for drinks otherwise his throat might be bone dry right now. "Y-Yeah….." he admitted, his leg sliding out as he sat up straight. He took a deep breath, "Um…..Melissa…..I…..I don't know….how much you know about what my dad said to me but…..well he mentioned that Viltrumites….we live for a really long time." he addressed, taking the inventor by surprise. "Like….hundreds of thousands of years…."

"Woah! Really?" she asked in amazement.

"Yea and I….wait what?!" he barked out in bafflement as he turned to her, "You're not…..I mean I didn't…." he was taken off guard by how accepting she was of this fact.

Melissa smiled as she looked away, "I mean…..I'll admit that's…something…..but I don't care about that." she admitted with shrug before looking back to Mako's stupefied face. Her hand lifted from the blanket and laid on top of his. "I…..I like you Mako…..and if we need to address that one day? We will….but for now?" she asked, her thumb gliding along the top of his palm. "I….I want this…do you?" she asked him.

Mako breathed out through his nose, "I…..I do." he admitted.

As Melissa smiled he felt a little numb all over, "I can't believe I just said that." he whispered out loud accidently, the blonde guffawed at his follow up while he covered his mouth to contain his own laugh. Their laughter died down as they looked at one another again, both having pleased smiles from the levity they shared. "So…..we're….." he trailed off. Melissa beamed at him and nodded, "Rad." he replied.

The couple stood up from the picnic blanket, "I'll help you get this stuff cleaned up." he offered, Melissa smiling at his offer as she put the dishes she brought with her away and Mako folded up the blanket and put it in the basket as well. "Thanks for this Melissa…..I really did need this." he admitted.

She turned towards the setting sun and sighed, "It's getting late, I should get back home." she said.

"I can fly you there." Mako offered, holding out his arms as he slipped his gloves back on. Melissa considered it for a moment before nodding, Mako floated over, scooping her up in his arms and took off into the air at a steady speed. Floating across the sky of the island, Melissa looked down and instantly regretted it and threw an arm around Mako's shoulders for security while clutching the basket close to her chest, "I got you." he chuckled in amusement.

"I-I know it's just…..high…." she said as he flew down a little lower so she would feel comfortable. "Thanks." she replied gratefully.

"Sorry, guess when you can fly to space 'high' is kind of….relative." he explained.

Melissa giggled at his sheepishness as they neared the dorm building's roof where she stayed. Reaching the rooftop, he gently set her down onto the roof, Mako setting the Basket down before leaning back up and realizing her arm was still around his shoulder. Melissa's eyes looked into his from behind her glasses, the setting sun beside them glazing off them but Mako didn't mind. "Uhm…" he began.

Melissa's chest puffed out before she stepped in and planted her lips on his, Mako was taken aback in shock by her boldness, but only responded by closing his eyes and wrapping his arms around her waist. Mako had never kissed a girl, he had seen it in movies, tv, comic books, but that was nothing at all compared to the soft touch of her lips upon his.

They only held their place together for only a moment, but when Melissa and he pulled away it felt like hours had passed as the sun had finally set on the horizon. "I'm sorry!" they both exclaimed at once, surprising each other.

"I just…you were….and…" Mako tried to say.

"I know I came on a little strong there but-" Melissa began before they both registered what the other said, the new couple chuckled amongst each other.

Mako cleared his throat as Melissa giggled to herself, "So um that was…..nice…should I thank you? Is that appropriate?" he asked.

She laughed and shook her head, "No, no you don't…..and it was nice." she agreed.

A hundred thoughts went through Mako's mind at that moment, should he tell anyone? No, that wasn't right, he should ask her if they should let others know. Know what? Know that they're dating, are they dating? "Are we dating?" he finally asked.

Melissa's face warmed up slightly but smiled despite it, "I'd like to…..would you?" she asked with the first shred of bashfulness that he'd really seen from her.

Mako smiled, "Absolutely."

AN: Man so much happened here that I actually forgot what started in this chapter until I went back during my spellchecking. So happy early Thanksgiving to everyone! Things are going well with me, I'm scheduled to gradtuate next fall and I'm equal parts terrified and excited!

Until then though my writing for the most part will probably be on here with my fics. Speaking of which, I'm currently in the process of a…well originally I was gonna make it a reboot but then I got a pretty cool idea for something different with it. Check out my Tumblr for a little teaser of the idea I have, nothing set in stone yet but I really like the idea I have.

Anyway on with reviews!

Wolfking0811: Um…..well It's on my browser, and I don't know how you would know about it in the first place if it was deleted….huh….

Messiah of Authors: Yeah honestly I could take a whole comic book without action and just pure character interaction. And yeah I love the bromance between him and Mako, but at this point Izuku is still timid around others, but I feel like last chapter was a big step for him.

awesomerebel55: I mean that's kinda how Izuku would be seen at this point and it's basically what I thought of when writing it.

For'Sleepy: I mean as threatening as Stain is, unless he could get Mako to bleed somehow? He's gonna get his ass kicked. As for the Internship Arc, I have a pretty interesting idea for what happens. I think people will like it.

Super Comrade: Hooray! That's what I was going for!

Maelstrom Ressurected: Mako will have stuff to do during the festival.

Abarrow899: I mean that's easy to say, but I think even All Might would be shaken if a stadium full of heroes started booing him, telling him to kill himself or some such.

ankitarya2301: Ok I see where your coming from, but couple things. 1.) She lost the love of her life in a way that not many, if any, people can comprehend. 2.) she still loves him because just because of all the terrible things he's done doesn't just erase the lives they had before this. 3.) I don't see it as weak for saying something like that, I think it's incredibly human. When you loose something you love you want it back, even if it's not the best thing. 4.) While I understand that you might be upset, I do put major thought into what I write.

D3lph0xL0v3r: I mean….the dude can fly. He would automatically win the first two events in like record time. And that wouldn't exactly help his image like you said.

Sandovalr77: Honestly I could imagine people boycotting the festival if they even allow Mako to compete. And yes I really love Midnight in the role of a consular, I thought of it being Hound Dog but….well as we see this chapter, anger is something that Mako has an issue with. Hound Dog isn't the guy to go to for that.

Kokomo: Not for a minute.

Anti Mage 29: Oh no your fine. Honestly I'm not sure? I love that story but I didn't plan past the first season, and it's really hard to write someone who is blind and trying to describe the world around them using the only other senses they have. But it's also fun in a way.

Sarcasm Sage 626: Really glad your enjoying the story so far and that I'm hitting the emotional beats! Hope you enjoyed this chapter as well.

Guest 2: Oh damnit, thanks, I'll try and find it and fix the error.

Lordbaldomeo: I agree that the train scene in the TV show was amazingly brutal, but I didn't change the scene to try and be better, I did it to try and show the fight from a different perspective. I mean you see it mostly through the eyes of Melissa and David, and you see what's being broadcast around the world. I understand your upset but that's no reason to be rude as to say it's stupidest thing I've done.