Punch! Six O,clock!

Smack!

Kick! At your-.

Bap!

Duck! He's coming with a-.

Crash!

Riley's head smashed into the sidewalk. The world danced around him in a kaleidoscope of pinks and violets with the shapes of the bent lamppost in front of him swimming over his gaze. A gash broke atop his head with blood spitting from the top of his head.

His head swam with the street around him jumping over his eyes. The strange hiss of a radio hushed through his head with the odd voice breaking up like a CB radio with a bad connection. Despite being taller and more muscular than this Pro-Hero, he could not gain a second of balance to fight him.

"Dazed and Confused?" The pro-hero jeered with his annoying voice. He swung his guitar that he used to bludgeon Riley onto his back and loomed over the poor boy. Riley gasped for air in a heap by the base of a light pole. Blood painted the right side of his face with his muscle shirt torn around his shoulders. Dirt coated his skin with bits of rubble and concrete dotting his brown hair.

Riley saw the light of the world fizzle in and out of focus. A strange gray film flickered through his gaze with the hissing noise droning out Abel's dumb.

Success probability: three percent. Five minutes before end of test.

Riley tried to sit up, but his limbs gave way from lack of energy. He craned his neck towards the bank. He saw there was nobody coming for him from the crumbled structure of the main bank doors.

He searched around where he lay. A rock lay by his hip.

Throwing the rock:

Knocking out Opponent: two percent.

Causing a bruise: fifteen percent.

Missing him: eighty-three percent.

Regardless, Riley reached for the rock. However, a sharp pain jabbed at his shoulder. He yelled out in pain and gripped the bone that was dislocated. His head slumped to his other shoulder with his breath growing shallow and his vision diminishing into a thin, blurred tunnel. He was seconds from passing out.

His eyes lowered. His arms fell to his side. Riley's head throbbed with the blood feeding into his ajar mouth. His teeth polluted by the viscuous liquid, he tasted the copper tint from the blood before his eyes closed.

Riley.

His eyes opened.

Riley. You have to succeed.

For humanity's future.

Riley grit his teeth. He breathed harder with his head hurting more. Despite the assault to his brain, he growled and perched his body sitting up with his left arm. He forced his legs to buckle before him, and he heaved himself upward.

With a terse stumble, he elevated himself. The world steadied itself for just a moment with Riley straightening his stance towards Abel. He balled up his fists and flared his nostrils towards him.

"I…I…." Riley said.

"Huh?" Abel asked with his hand choked around his ear. "Sorry. Can't hear you."

"I must," Riley huffed. "I must…follow…orders!"

Abel frowned. He quirked an eyebrow and dropped his hands in confusion. "Huh? What does that-."

"Bark!"

Before Abel could spin around, a large blur of blonde fur whipped into Riley's gaze. Abel screamed when Sam The Dog sunk his teeth deep into his forearm. He flailed his other arm to push Sam away, but the dog munched on his arm and caused him to fall backwards.

Abel screamed like a little girl with Sam chomping on him. Abel tried to swat him away, but Sam stayed on top of the poor Pro-Hero. Seeing his chance, Riley rushed forward to Abel.

He slid onto his knees next to the screaming man. Riley fell on him with Sam jumping away. His knees dug into Abel's chest and imprisoned him underneath the larger boy.

Music player change.

Plan success: fifty percent.

Riley pulled out his Walkman. He reached for Abel's earbuds and yanked them away. Throwing them to the side, he took the headphones of his Walkman and snapped them over Abel's ears.

"What are you doing?" Abel shouted with Sam growling at him. "What are y-?"

Click.

Another song played. This time, it was from Riley's Walkman. Abel's eyes dilated, and he stopped struggling under Riley. With a deep sigh, he yawned and rested his head back on the concrete. Abel was dead asleep and curled into a small ball on the hot sidewalk. He snored with his chest rising from his shallow breath.

Behind Riley, a shrill whistle pierced the air. Riley startled and spun around. Merle stood by the lamppost. Sam The Dog trounced off Abel's chest and bounded back to Merle. Riley huffed next to the dozing Abel and fell back into a seated position while catching his breath.

"Y'alright?" Merle said in a low voice.

Riley looked down at his blood-tattered shirt and cargo pants. He touched the gash still oozing from his head. The sting made him seethe in pain, but the world shifted in and out of focus.

"I believe so. Where's Sigi?" Riley asked.

Inside the bank, Sigi pushed a plump, middle-aged woman through the hallways of the bank. Traversing the white walls, Sigi poked the plunger handle into the poor lady's back to prod her forward. Sigi, despite being almost a foot shorter than the lady, imposed over her by shunting forward on her tiptoes down the walkway.

"Can you slow down," Janice said. "I can't walk on these heels."

"Quiet," Sigi shouted. She poked her again with the wooden handle.

"Ah!" The lady shouted. "This is the last time I do background acting work."

Passing the break room, Sigi coaxed the lady towards the vault. The silver door held a giant spinning lock with metal arms protruding from the central axis. Sigi pushed the lady forward.

"Spin it," Sigi said.

"It doesn't spin. That's just for display," the lady said. "The keypad opens it."

"Then, open it," Sigi shoved the lady towards the keypad.

Janice glared back at the smaller girl. However, she turned back around and pressed some buttons that made a sharp beep. Then, she pressed the large red button underneath the keypad.

With a hydraulic hiss, the giant steel door swung inward and slithered back towards the vault interior. Sigi rushed inside and peered into the bright vault. Racks of golden bars lined the perimeter with duffel bags full of cash laying on carts.

Sigi pulled Janice's arm and yanked her into the vault. She makes her sit right by a pallet of gold bars and points the plunger at her.

"Stay."

"Like I'm going anywhere with these shoes," she pulled off her heels and massaged her puffed, swollen feet.

Sigi grimaced and turned around to a sound the sight. Instead, she saw the twinkling gold bars shimmering under the bright lights. She rushed over to a duffel bag of money and grabbed the strap. She heaved it upward, but it barely budged an inch with the weight of the bills.

"Money is much heavier than one would think."

Sigi grabbed the plunger from beside the money bag and pointed it to the vault entrance. Standing in the doorway, Monoma clapped in a dramatic fashion and sauntered into the room. The blonde's periwinkle eyes shifted from the bag of money to Sigi. The short girl glared at the man and protected the bag of money by planting herself in front of the table.

"Your little dog friend left to attack Abel," Monoma said. "So I believe he and his owner are taking your partner to safety."

"So?" Sigi said.

"You abandoned your partners for the achievement of the main goal," Monoma stopped by the lady still rubbing her feet. "Even after he saved you from Abel's first attack. If this was a real exercise, that big guy would likely bleed out and die."

"So?" Sigi asked. "I'm actually going to accomplish my goals. I don't need to wait for anybody."

"I respect that," Monoma said. "But even villains need allies. Unless you plan on running out of here past me with that hundred pound bag of cash."

"I'll fight you," Sigi said.

"With your quirk?"

Sigi froze. She stared at Monoma who approached near. He stopped right at pallet of gold just feet away.

"Stay back," Sigi said. "I'm warning you!"

"Or what?" Monoma stepped closer. Sigi pointed the plunger like it was a rifle about to fire into the Pro-Hero's ostentatious silk lapels.

"I'll hit you," Sigi said.

"Oh, to be hit with a plunger! What are you, some cartoon character?" Monoma shouted. "Why don't you use your quirk on me?"

Sigi trailed backwards with Monoma tailing her. She nearly tripped on the edge of the cart, but regained her balance and circled the bag of money. Monoma, with a mirthless smirk, stalked closer and closer.

"I…I don't need to," Sigi said.

"Ah, so you can physically beat me," Monoma said.

"No. I mean, yes. I can," Sigi plastered a brave scowl on her face. Despite that, she rushed backwards with the speed of an escaping gazelle from a predator.

"How confident," Monoma said. "And yet here you are. Running away."

"I'm not running," Sigi shouted. "I'm wearing you dow-. Ah!"

Sigi shouted when her ankle hit the side of a wooden pallet. She yelped and collapsed backwards onto a mound of gold bars. Her back smacked the rough and jagged edges of the gold mountain that did nothing to cushion her fall. She took her thin arms and pulled herself upward towards the top of the mound. The plunger slid down to the base of the pallet, and Monoma's black loafers kicked the weapon away.

"You left your teammates, and now you're alone," Monoma said. "And you won't use your quirk on me."

"I-I don't want to," Sigi stammered. "It'd be way too powerful for you."

"Or is it because you can't use it?" Monoma said.

Sigi swallowed and tried to climb further. Her back ached with pain, and her arms melted into noodles that did nothing but claw on the surface of the precious metal. Her heart sprang up to her throat with her eyes thrashing through the room for some kind of escape. Monoma was a foot away, and his arms were extended out to stop Sigi from moving forward. She gained no purchase on the gold, so she grabbed a bar and clenched it in her fist.

"It's not!" She shouted. Sigi flung the bar towards Monoma's face, but he ducked down. The bar sailed over his head, but the speed carried it and tumbled through the air before smacking the poor lady seated by the entrance in the face.

"Shit!" She shouted. "You hit my new nose!"

Sigi tried again. This time, Monoma grabbed her wrist and squeezed it down onto the gold pile. She yelled and thumped her fist on Monoma's chest, but he simply grabbed her other wrist as well and pinned her down.

Monoma's eyes quivered for a second, then he blinked and stared down at Sigi's frantic face. Then, he laughed.

"Oh, I get it," Monoma said. "You can't use your quirk right now? What? Is it based on whether your outside? The temperature? The time of day?"

"No, it's not!" Sigi shouted.

"And now you're completely defenseless," Monoma said. "No plan. No help. And with an insignificant quirk."

"I'm not insignificant!" Sigi yelled. She flailed within Monoma's grasp, but he laughed in her face and budged none.

"This career path shows who is real and who is a pretender very quickly," Monoma said. "And you, little girl, are only a pretender."

Sigi pulled at her wrists to wrestle them away. Monoma paid no mind and pulled out a yellow roll of tape. The capture tape that would ensure the team's loss. Sigi grunted out with spittle flying from her mouth as the tape neared her wrist. Suddenly, quick flashes flipped through her mind like a small notebook fumbling through pictures of her life.

The empty streets of her town. The lonely, ramshackle buildings. The corner of a tiny living room with a broken window. The rabbit-ear television that flashed images in black-and-white that the little girl sat in front of for hours on end. Outside, the other children frolicking in a weed-infested yard with the hot sun causing her to sweat.

The nights alone on her cot reading mystery books under the thin, itchy cotton sheets with a flashlight.

Picking at her gruel at the end of the orphanage dining table. All talking to each other save for her.

Monoma was right, she thought to herself. She was a pretender that abandoned her partners without a plan. And now, she was going to be the reason they would be kicked out of school.

A pang of guilt stabbed at her neck. Her blood ran cold just as the yellow tape was about to kiss her skin.

She closed her eyes and turned away her head; the shame too much for her to witness.

Bang!

Monoma screamed when a fist smashed into the side of his head. Sigi opened her eyes and peered up at the empty space. Obscuring the bright lights beaming above, a bloodied head popped up and cast a dark shadow over her. The head, emboldened by a golden halo cast from the lights, wiped away a stream of blood from his forehead and stared down at her.

"Riley," Sigi said.

"Are you okay?" He extended a hand out to her.

She stared into his deep green eyes. The serious and determined boy loomed above with a strange fire burning within his gaze. Sigi looked at him with her mouth slightly agape. He came back for her. She had left him, and yet here he was.

She reached her hand out towards Riley. Closer. Closer.

Smack! Another hand grabbed Riley's and tugged him to the side. Sigi propped herself up and saw Monoma tumble on the floor with Riley. He spilled away from him with his eyes quivering again from the activation of his quirk. He rolled apart from Riley and bounded up to his feet. He pressed one of his stopwatches and laughed at Riley.

"Ah, now let's see what you're hiding," Monoma cackled. He stepped back and held out his arms ready to have his being engulfed by Riley's quirk.

Sigi stepped next to Riley. She grabbed a golden bar in a surreptitious mannner and held it behind her back. Riley stared at Monoma with an unsure gaze. If Monoma's quirk was to copy others quirks, than what would happen to his own?

Monoma's laugh soon died down into a steady smirk. Then, that smirk erased from his face. He looked down at his hands. His eyes stopped quivering, and he scratched at his head.

Defeating Monoma Outcome Probables:

Beating him up: Two percent.

Running away: Zero percent.

Stalling to allow Sigi to throw the gold bar: Ninety-eight percent.

"Why didn't I take your quirk?" Monoma asked. "Don't you have a quirk?"

"I…I think I do," Riley said.

"But nothings happening," Monoma said. "How could this possibly-."

"Bark."

Monoma gasped and whipped his head towards the vault entrance. Sam, with his eyes flashing red, growled and bared his blood-stained teeth towards Monoma.

"Ah!" Monoma screeched! "The Dog!"

In his moment of distraction, Sigi reared back her arm. She yelled out and flung the gold bar forward. The metal screamed through the air with a piercing whistle before curving right towards Monoma's forehead.

Smack!

The bar collided with Monoma. He froze with his eyes twitching up to the ceiling. Then, after a moment of hesitation, he crumbled into a heap by the base of a money cart. The gold bar clattered onto the tile next to him, and lay motionless with his limbs twisted over his front.

Sam, still under the pretense of battle, turned his gaze towards the poor woman still seated on the side. He growled at her.

"Ah, shut it, dog," Janice said. "I have two pit bulls and three ex-husbands. You don't scare me.

Merle stepped into the vault. He whistled at Sam, and the dog sat down and wagged his tail in triumph. Merle petted Sam and surveyed the rest of the room.

"Y'all alright?" Merle said.

Riley looked down at Sigi. Her stern scowl melted away when she turned towards Riley. His hair was frazzled and unkempt with bits of pebbles and blood dripping on the ends. His face was riddled in cuts with angry gashes dotting his face and neck. His shirt was torn almost in half with tatters clinging to his muscled chest. One eye almost swollen shut, he forced breath into his lungs when Sigi cleared her throat.

"You beat the other guy, right?"

"We did," Riley said. "And Merle was going to take me to Mister Deku, but-."

"But you still wanted to complete the test," Sigi said.

"No. Well, I guess a little," Riley said. "I just knew that you would be in trouble if Sam wasn't keeping that other guy at bay. So…."

Sigi furrowed her thin brows. "You…came back here…for me?"

"It's not like that," Riley rubbed the back of his head and averted his eyes. "It's just…I wasn't thinking about the test anymore. Just helping you."

"Helping me?"

"Uh…yeah! Cause," Riley trailed off. Then, he snapped his fingers. LAt my old school, it was a military school. And the number one rule was to never leave your partner behind. And…I couldn't leave you behind."

Sigi blinked. Seeing Riley flustered like this was quite amusing. Although why he would be more concerned with her well-being than with getting the money was beyond her.

"Well, I can handle myself just fine," Sigi announced. She crossed her arms and pointed a finger at Riley. "Besides, this is just a test. It's not like that Monoma guy was going to hurt me. I'm sure Deku gave very strict orders to the Pro-Heroes to stop from actually injuring us."

"Speak for yourself," Riley grimaced and pulled out a splinter from his ear. Then, he brushed his hair and found a guitar puck falling out of it and it clacked onto the floor.

Sigi could not help but giggle. Her grin broke her serious facade, and she found herself slightly flushed. Although, she would later reason, it was due to the workout all of them just endured.

"Thanks for the help, Soldier Boy," Sigi said.

Riley turned away to hide the massive blush that fumes over his face. His chest contracted with his body shielding itself from the smaller girl.

"Right. Anytime," he said in a low voice.

"Bark."

Riley and Sigi turned to Sam. Merle's cowboy boots chimed with each step towards them.

"Right," Merle said. "I reckon we get what we can so we can get out of here and-."

Ding!

"Times up!" Deku's voice blared out.

Team C: Fail.

Inside the main control room, Izuku watched over the monitor as the three were taken away on carts towards the hospital floor. Sigi kept shouting about how unfair the system was and how they deserved more time. Merle sighed and rubbed Sam's mane to assuage himself from the unsure possibilities thta lay ahead. Riley passed out and was being carted away without protest.

"This guys were shit," Aiden said to himself and crossed his arms behind his head. "I could do better asleep."

"I think it was extremely heroic and brave of Riley to save Sigi," Mai said. "Exactly what a hero should be."

"But they're not trying to be heroes," Tao grunted while slumped over the back of a table. "In fact, the heroes here were better villains."

"Especially that rock-and-roll guy," Tao said "He was the most annoying guy ever. And how did he make all that footage of himself play on the tv? I didn't need to know his whole life story."

"I thought he was cool," Aiden said. "I even have one of his albums. He's like the ideal hero. Famous, and sometimes fights crime."

"I think it helps us learn where heroes come from," Mai said with a gentle smile. "Even the most brash of us can be heroic."

"Heroes aren't supposed to be brash," Tao said. "They're supposed to be disciplined and endure the pain that society gives them! And what do you mean by 'sometimes fighting crime?' Isn't that what heroes do?"

"Maybe ten years ago," Aiden smacked his lips. "Let's be real. Most heroes now are just celebs that beat up some crackheads on the street. So they say they do something, but really, they just go to movie premieres and whatever."

Izuku, listening in, frowned and turned away from the large screen.

"Is that what you think, Aiden?"

Aiden ran a hand through his luscious red hair. "Yeah. That's what most heroes are. They go on tv and promote some energy drink and then they make some videos of themselves dancing to some dumb song."

"Serious heroes don't do that!" Tao shouted.

"Get with the times, Mao," Aiden chuckled. "Heroes are in it for the fame. Isn't that what you're here for?"

"Of course not. It's to-."

"Bring honor or whatever to your family. I got it," Aiden took a bite of his slice of pepperoni pizza. "But when the agents start calling and bringing you billion dollar contracts for an energy drink, are you saying no?"

Tao scowled at the unserious jock. Izuku, despite disliking Aiden's attitude, completely understood what the boy was saying. In fact, part of him agreed with his views on heroes. It certainly was a bad notion, but more heroes were spending less time actually saving others.

"I'll say that I have no problem with that," Mai said. "It can be used for good. What if a hero advertised good things!"

"Like what?" Aiden asked. "Milk?"

"Healthy living," Mai said. "Family. Staying off drugs. If that means doing a TikTok dance, I won't mind doing it."

"And I won't mind seeing it, either," Aiden smirked at the girl with a wolfish gleam in his eye as he raked his gaze over the girl's body.

Izuku shivered at the gesture. One thing he would never get over was juts how hormonal teenagers could be. Especially American teenagers. Fortunately, before he could wallow further, his phone. He looked down and stared down at the name on his contact screen. A name he had not seen in a while.

Izuku clapped his hands together. "Okay, you're all on in five minutes. You've seen what the others have done, so you all have an advantage. Make a plan, and I'll be back in a minute to take you downstairs."

Izuku hurried out of the room and answered his phone. Before the remaining students could eavesdrop, Izuku disappeared around the corner into the hallway.

"Is he always going to be doing that?" Aiden said.

"Deku is a real hero," Mai said. "Taking time out of working with us to help others, I'm sure."

"If that's what you think," Tao said. He sat back down and sulked in his chair.

"So, Karanashi," Aiden said to Mai in the distance as Tao concentrated on his own breathing. "You know about American football?"

"Oh, it sounds so dangerous! People hitting each other on purpose like that?"

"I was a quarterback at my old school. Maybe I could teach you how to throw sometime."

"Will that make me a better hero?"

"Yeah! You can be my moral support. You can cheer me on as I workout. I'm sure it will benefit both of us."

"Well, I'd love to support all of my class. Not just you."

"Okay. Fine. Just spend longer cheering me on."

Tao fell into a deep trance. The world gave way to a comforting darkness around the boy as his mind disappeared into the ether.

In the hallway, Izuku held the phone up to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Izuku, it's Kirishima. I didn't know who else to call, but I think you're the only one that can help me with this."

"Of course, Kirishima," Izuku said. "What's wrong?"

Silence.

Then….

"My quirk is gone."