Chapter 25: Call an Ambulance, But Not for Us

As Midoriya stepped off of the bus, he nearly dropped the case that contained his hero uniform. To be fair, it was pretty unwieldy to begin with, but the weight of the upgrades that Melissa had made for him had surprised him. No version of the Full Gauntlet was ready yet, but she had given him gauntlets and iron-soled shoes that would increase his striking power. The gauntlets had compression sleeves built in to alleviate the mounting damage to his arms.

During the past week of training, he had gone to Recovery Girl to complain of tingling and numbness in his arms. Upon an examination, it was discovered that he had sustained nerve damage to his arms. Fortunately it was only minor and if he didn't injure his arms further, theoretically it would heal on his own.

Aizawa looked at his students, lined up in seating order. For a moment, he was perplexed by the gap between Midoriya and Yaoyorozu before he realized. They had assembled into a missing man formation. His expression hardened. They knew the stakes, even those who hadn't been at Kamino Ward. Over the past week they had been swept up by the fervor of their classmates and inherited their resolve. "I won't waste time here. You know what you have to do. The odds will be against you, your adversaries will have had more training and more experience. Underestimate them at your peril. Go. Show them what it means to be Plus Ultra."

They had barely begun to walk towards the arena where the Provisional Licensing exam would be held, when a female voice called out to their teacher. "Eraser, you dick!"

Aizawa smirked as a greenhaired woman charged towards him. Midoriya and several others recognized her as Miss Joke, one of the more well-known Underground Heroes. "Hello, Emi." He said nonchalantly, "How are you today?"

"You know just how to ruin a perfectly good joke, don't you!" Miss Joke accused.

Aizawa delivered his judgment, devastating and complete in its severity. "Suffer."

Both of them broke out into laughter.

"I feel like we're missing some vital context." Iida said.

"No! You don't say?" Mina snarked.

Miss Joke shrugged. "Oh, I knew about him and Mirko from the start cause our agencies were next to each other. He wanted to keep it a secret because the media is gross."

Yaoyorozu nodded. "I am aware."

"So we came up with the idea of me repeatedly asking Aizawa to marry me. To throw off suspicion, or whatever." She continued.

"For the record," Aizawa noted, "Rumi thought this was hilarious."

"Oh hey, it's UA!"

"And these are my students over at Ketsubutsu!" Miss Joke said.

A boy with black hair darted forward, "Say, you've all met with a terrible fate, haven't you?"

Kaminari tensed. "What do you mean?"

"Don't give this jerk a second thought, Kaminari." Bakugo said. "His words don't match the look in his eyes."

Miss Joke shot a pointed I told you so glance at Yo Shindo. His usual tactic of softening up opponents with manufactured niceness wouldn't work this time.

"Isn't it obvious?" They turned to see Shiketsu High's students arrive. The speaker was a boy with purple hair that partially covered his face. "You lot are unfit to be heroes, after all... you let a comrade die and have future villains in your midst!"

It was as if time was frozen and the ice was an instant away from shattering. The tension was palpable. Finally, Bakugo stepped forward.

"Bakugo, don't!" Iida hissed. "He's trying to provoke us!"

"He's doing a damned good job of it." Midoriya hissed, his hands balled up into fists. Yaoyorozu had a hand on his arm, just enough pressure to keep him from acting rashly. Maki looked like a pressure cooker about to blow, and the only thing holding Kaminari back was one of Jiro's jacks coiled around his arm,

Bakugo said nothing, instead he walked up to the offender and stared him down. "You know, Shiketsu was my second choice if I didn't get into UA." He finally said, "But knowing there are heartless jackasses like you there tells me that I made the right decision."

The boy looked Bakugo up and down, "Of course you would defend them, you reprobate! It's good you went to UA, you would only tarnish the reputation of-"

"Shut the fuck up."

The boy blinked at Bakugo. "Excuse me?"

Alright, just like Ochako did for me at the Sports Festival. "Did I fucking stutter? Go ahead, sit there on your high horse and make all the pronouncements you want. It won't matter. You know why? We've been slogging through neck-deep shit all year. We've faced villains that would send most pros running for the hills. Villains that would kill you where you stand for trying to sit there and preach at them. So go on, keep running your mouth. It'll just make it that much easier for all of us to pass." He turned on his heel and began to walk back to his friends. "Oh, and one more thing. If you're going to call anyone who's fought beside me and bled with me a villain then I don't want your respect."

"Holy crap, man." Kirishima said once Bakugo had returned to the group. "That was manly."

"HAHAHA I LOVE IT!" A thundering voice sounded. "SUCH HOTBLOODED CONVICTION!"

Todoroki was the first to see the newcomer. "Oh, you're..."

"The name's Inasa Yoarashi," He said to no one in particular, "And I love UA! Almost went there, but I decided to go to Shiketsu instead." He shot a piercing glare at Todoroki before bringing a dazzling smile to his face, "I love how you all keep taking the fight to the villains while still being in your first year! IT'S AWESOME!"

"Wait, I remember you. You were at the recommended students' practical exam." Todoroki said, "I need to apologize. I was rude to you. I was so wrapped up in my hatred of my father that I was unconsciously acting just like him. I apologize for any offense."

Yoarashi regarded him, "I don't think we'll ever be friends, but that doesn't mean I can't APPRECIATE YOUR SINCERITY!" He ran off to rejoin his classmates.

"That was... odd." Maki said.

"What did you say to him?" Midoriya asked.

"I don't remember." Todoroki said bluntly, "But I do remember him, and that I said something to him that made him change his mind about coming to UA. Him glaring at me made me realize that he still harbored resentment, so I decided to apologize."

"I'm proud of you, Todoroki." Iida said, "You're starting to recognize non-verbal communication."

Todoroki hummed. "Do you think it was because I asked him if he was Airbuster's secret love child?"

Yaoyorozu's eye twitched. Something in his tone... "Todoroki... was that sarcasm?"

"Yes." He said, "Also, I want you all to call me Shoto. We're friends, after all."

Iida resigned himself to a perpetual state of confusion where Shoto Todoroki was concerned. "As you wish, Shoto."

Mina and Jiro giggled. "Someone's been watching old movies with Melissa again..." Mina teased.

Iida decided to maintain a dignified silence. He knew how to pick his battles.

The ocean air swept across Shigiraki, making his trench coat and hair flutter dramatically. That was fitting, considering the purpose of this meeting. Any minute now, the targets would arrive. He raised a hand to his ear and activated his communicator. "Comm check."

"Support, check." Spinner said.

"Tank, check." Magne said.

"Assassin, check." Mr. Compress said.

"This is stupid." Dabi complained.

Shigiraki rolled his eyes. "What's the matter? Never played League of Legends before?"

After a moment's pause, Dabi replied. "Attack Damage Carry, check."

Spinner cut in. "Targets spotted. Doing split push as predicted. Target Alpha heading to Summoner's location, Target Beta heading to Dragon."

Perfect. "ADC, Tank, Assassin. Take out Target Beta as soon as she enters Dragon. I will handle Target Alpha. Support, keep watch for interference."

After ignoring Dabi's grumbling about using League of Legends slang for operational security -it was foolproof, shut up- Shigiraki took a breath to calm himself. Today was step one in his plan to amass enough forces to rival the heroes.

An unmarked black car pulled up and Eclipse got out of the driver's seat. She had come alone, as requested. Shigiraki fought the urge to smirk. For all of her talk of caution and planning, she was a little too fond of the personal touch and a little too confident in her own power.

Traits that Sensei had taught him how to exploit.

"Shigiraki." Eclipse said. "Something tells me this isn't just a social call."

"How did you fare after Kamino?" Purity was the one who was pissed at him, hence the ambush in a warehouse not far from here. He didn't want her Quirk anyways. The one restriction it had would be awkward to work around.

"My pride was the only real casualty." Eclipse said with a chuckle. "Mister Miracle caught me off guard. It won't happen again. All of my troops made it out due to Kurogiri. Thanks for that, by the way."

"It was no trouble." Shigiraki said, "After all, it wouldn't do to have the heroes start taking chunks out of my army."

Eclipse was a seasoned combatant that could easily render most of the top heroes into a bloody paste. But even she could be taken by surprise. "What do you mean, your-" She was interrupted by Shigiraki grabbing her by the head. She couldn't move, and she couldn't activate her Quirk. "What... what the hell is this?"

Shigiraki grinned, reveling in the power he had over her. Damn, it was easy to see why Sensei had amassed so many Quirks! "Sensei gave me his Quirk. So I'll be taking yours now."

"The QLF won't follow you! They're loyal to me!" Eclipse gasped.

Shigiraki nodded. "Normally, you'd be completely right. Unless I had someone make them rather agreeable to me taking over."

Eclipse's eyes widened as she realized what had happened. That the trust she had put in Shigiraki and the League had led her to this point. "Tomita? How did you convince him?"

Shigiraki spat on the ground. "Pretty sure he got off on using his Quirk on people, and he wasn't loyal to you." He used his free hand to drag a finger along Eclipse's chin. "Don't fret, he paid for his betrayal with his life." Where the hell did that come from? That wasn't me!

Eclipse realized how alone she truly was. There was only a select few QLF members not susceptible to Tomura's Quirk. Off the top of her head she could recall... Fireteam... Malware... and Mieko, her daughter. "Damn you!"

Shigiraki paused for a moment to ensure he wouldn't have another episode like he did earlier. "Damn me? You're one to talk, Miss Mass Murderer. I'm just doing my civic duty."

Eclipse laughed. And laughed. And laughed.

"What's so funny?"

Eclipse looked up at him, eyes still full of defiance. "It's ironic. For how much I hate supercops, here I am. At the end of everything, putting my faith in one of them."

Shigiraki growled. "What are you talking about?"

"Izuku Mi- No. Mister Miracle. Him and his friends, especially the heiress. They'll beat you."

Shigiraki pressed harder with All For One, causing Eclipse to fall to her knees and scream out in pain. She looked up, only to see him looming over her like an angel of death. "Go to hell." She hissed.

Shigiraki smashed her face into the ground. In the instant her resistance failed, he stole her Quirk. As she sat there cradling her broken nose, he acted. "Surface Control."

Eclipse froze. She knew what came next.

Shigiraki created two surfaces and rammed them through her chest and neck. Eclipse died soon after, choking on her own blood.

He took her body and held it over the water. "Decay." In mere moments there was no trace of Eclipse's body, the ash washed away by the surf.

He activated his communicator. "Target Alpha is neutralized. Status on Beta?"

"Dead." Mr. Compress reported. "ADC is complaining about kill stealing."

Shigiraki laughed. Classic. "I'll be there shortly to dispose of the body. Support, check this car for bugs."

"Will do."

Little did any of them know that a drone equipped with a directional microphone up in the sky had seen and heard everything, a drone belonging to one Akemi Matsumoto. Who was better known as the QLF hacker Malware.

"I'm so tired."

While Midoriya related to Yokumiro Mera on a spiritual level, he was still an employee of the HPSC, and thus had earned his suspicion. He glanced around the crowded room. There had to be over a thousand hero course students from all across Japan here!

Mera continued his lament. "The Commission is overworked right now because of All Might's retirement and the destruction in Kamino Ward, and we're understaffed on top of that..." His head dropped down for a moment before he jerked back up. "Ugh. I need some coffee. Anyways, with the departure of All Might and rising concerns about the number of corrupt heroes on the streets, we've had to get more strict about the number of applicants that get through."

Iida tensed up. "I thought it was half of us that got through... is it even less?"

Mera raised a hand. "Only one hundred of you will pass the first test."

The room erupted into chaos as the students protested the drastic change. The only ones that didn't complain were 1-A.

This did not escape Mera's notice. "I find it interesting that the only school represented here that didn't complain was UA's Class 1-A. Whatever, I'm too tired to explain what should be obvious." He waved his hand and several images appeared on the screen. "Everyone will wear three of these targets, and you'll get nine of these special balls. When your targets get hit, they'll turn red. Once all your targets are red, you fail. You pass by knocking three people out."

"That seems simple enough..." Yaoyorozu said.

"Nah." Bakugo said, "There's a catch."

Mera stifled a yawn. "When you knock someone out, one of your targets will turn blue. If that target was red before, that hit no longer counts against you. However, if you sustain a hit to a blue target, you lose that point. We're going to begin distributing targets and balls now. My co-workers will also take down what hero name you want on your license should you pass. If you have Quirks that require preparation, you may begin now."

He slumped over, and other HPSC employees began the process of handing out the targets and balls. Yaoyorozu began to create communicators for her classmates. "Here, in case we get separated."

Midoriya took his and slipped it into his ear. "Good call, Momo. This is probably going to end up being a battle between schools, so we should all work together."

"Agreed." Iida said, "Alright, from here on out, refer to each other by hero names only. This may be just a test, but that's no reason to give anything less than our best."

Kirishima banged his hardened fists together. "Damn straight. Anything less would be an insult."

"Especially with how that Shiketsu asshole was looking down on us." Kaminari said.

A man in a suit approached them. "I'll record your hero names." Everyone began to report their names. There were no surprises until Bakugo and Yaoyorozu.

"Dynamight: The Symbol of Victory." Bakugo said.

The HPSC worker asked for clarification on the spelling, but said nothing else.

"The Fire for Effect Hero: Arsenal."

The man wrote it down, then paused. "You know, not all of us are in lockstep with the President. For what it's worth, I don't agree with what's happened to you."

Yaoyorozu tilted her head to the side, then nodded. "Thank you."

"Alright, Ingenium." Uraraka said, "What's the plan?"

He was taken aback by her new hero uniform for a moment. The colors and visor were still more or less the same, but she wore practical armor over her chest, and the gauntlets and boots had been changed out from the stylized rounded gear she had worn before for more practical gear that served more or less the same purpose. "We stand as one. All of us are passing, that's non-negotiable."

"Hell yeah." Bakugo said, "We're taking this twenty to zero. A complete and total victory."

"You heard him, everyone!" Uraraka said, "Let's go beyond!"

"PLUS ULTRA!" They all chanted.

The test started and the hopefuls were unleashed. The different schools broke off from each other, and an uneasy calm descended.

"Do they know?" Miss Joke asked.

"No." Aizawa said.

"Will it matter?"

"No."

"Everyone be ready!" Midoriya said, "They're going to come for us first!"

"How do you figure that, Mister Miracle?" Kirishima asked.

"The Sports Festival!" Yaoyorozu said.

Midoriya snapped his fingers. "Exactly! It's broadcast nationwide, so they already know our Quirks and our fighting styles... what they were, anyways." As soon as he finished, Danger Sense throbbed. He grunted and clutched his head. "They're coming!"

The Mountain Zone in front of them became alive with other test participants. Ketsubutsu chief among them. "I remember you!" Yo Shindo declared, "The super power that destroys itself and the fallen heiress!"

He kept talking, but Yaoyorozu didn't care. She created her mini Howitzer and fired at the base of the mountain. "Howitzer Shot: Bunker Buster!" The shell burrowed into the mountain before exploding, sending debris everywhere.

The students from the opposing schools began to slide down the collapsing mountain. "Are fireworks the best you've got?" Someone called out.

"Now, Icy-Hot!" Iida called out.

Todoroki stepped forward and stretched forth his right hand. "Flashfreeze Fist: Arctic Terrain." Ice covered the ground in front of the mountain, causing all the people who slid down the mountain to slip and fall. A few kept their balance, but not enough to be a worthwhile threat to 1-A.

Yo Shindo dropped to his hands and knees as soon as he hit the ice. "You call those Ultimate moves? Try this! Tremor: Magnitude Nine!"

Midoriya was already in motion. "BULLET TRAIN SMASH!" He hit Shindo in the head and sent him sprawling before his Quirk could fully activate. He showed no mercy and took out one of his balls, quickly touching all of Shindo's targets. One of his targets lit up blue, indicating one point had been earned.

Midoriya met Shindo's eyes. "You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?" He left without waiting for a response to assist his classmates.

One of the Ketsubutsu students had erected a makeshift fort with some sort of earth manipulation Quirk, and they were throwing balls at 1-A from it, complete with a callout of "Boomerang: Crescent Moon Trajectory!"

The balls burst out of the ground and headed straight for Jiro and Shoji.

"Not so fast! Maximum acidity and solublity!" Mina jumped in the way and waved her hand, squirting acid as she went, "ACID VEIL!" A thick spray of acid vaporized the offending balls.

The action was interrupted by an overhead announcement. "WHAT? Inasa Yoarashi passes with over a hundred points? Uh... well I'm awake now..."

"UA! YOU WILL NOT PASS!" They all looked to see the Shiketsu student who had accosted them earlier. "NONE OF YOU DESERVE TO BE HEROES! NOT WHILE YOU HARBOR VILLAINS LIKE THE SON OF PURITY AND THE YAOYOROZU BITCH!"

Bakugo paled, "You shouldn't have done that."

Tsu nodded. "Terrible decision, really."

"Ha! To think that I, Seiji Shishikura of Shiketsu, would even make a mistake!"

"You pressed the Yaoyorozu button."

"And the Purity Button."

Shishikura looked genuinely confused. "I'm sorry, the what?"

He took a step backwards, right into Maki. "You are a fool." He said. "And you will be humbled. Please learn from your mistakes." Maki promptly grabbed him by the throat and choke-slammed Shishikura into a conveniently created ice wall, courtesy of Todoroki. Maki then threw him at Midoriya, who nailed him with a reverse sobat kick. "SQUALL SMASH!"

Yaoyorozu stood over him and tagged his targets, earning a point for herself. "You shouldn't have done that."

Over the course of the exam, the teachers present had crowded around Aizawa and were badgering him, trying to learn how his students were so strong.

"I know UA is renowned, but come on!" The Shiketsu teacher said, "It's like you have twenty of Inasa!"

"It's simple." Aizawa said, "Their skills and their bonds have been forged in fire, and tempered by intensive training and loss. They've tangled with villains that would make the average pro hero call for Endeavor or All Might. They learned at the USJ that villains can be granted no quarter. At I-Island they learned that when they work together, they can accomplish the impossible. At Kamino Ward, they learned exactly what they are fighting for." He gestured to the arena. "And here? They are showing their resolve even in the face of impossible odds." He nodded. "This is UA's class 1-A. This is my class." He leaned forward and watched as best he could from the distance he was at from the action. "And I can't wait to see the heroes they'll become."

"Always knew you were a softie." Miss Joke said.

Aizawa smirked. "Maybe I am. But I have an image to maintain."

The Shiketsu teacher raised an eyebrow. "You know you're not fooling anyone, right?"

"Yes. It's okay, though." Aizawa said. "They know what's at stake. That's what matters."

It was almost a showdown at the OK Corral. On one side, with a taser at her hip and cup of tea at her lips was Saiko Inteli of Selai Academy.

On the other, stood Momo Yaoyorozu, heiress to nothing, with her ICER pistols on her hips. Honestly, now that she thought about it, that sounded... badass? Was that the word? She would have to ask Mina later.

"What they've done to you is wrong." Inteli said. "Judging you by your father's sins is so unsightly."

Yaoyorozu couldn't help but smile, even with the circumstances and battle raging around them. Her and Inteli were old friends. They also had two points each. "I appreciate your candor as always, Sai."

"I apologize, Yaomomo." Inteli said, "I will be passing, while you will not." She drew her taser and took a sip of tea. "All according to plan."

Yaoyorozu grinned and drew one of her pistols. "You think so, do you?" She moved her other hand behind her back and activated one of the devices that had ended up scattered around the battlefield, a turret that fired shock rounds. The visual feed appeared in her new visor, and she began to manipulate the controls with her upgraded wrist computer. "Would you like to find out why I call myself Arsenal these days?"

"Please, don't insult my intelligence, enhanced or not." Inteli said, "I have both eyes on you. You can't create anything without me knowing it."

Yaoyorozu raised an eyebrow. "Can't I?" She sent a command to the turret to play a voice recording.

"Kept you waiting, huh?"

Inteli whirled around. By a fluke of bad luck, the turret shot missed, and Inteli's taser shot shorted out the turret's targeting. No matter. Yaoyorozu shot her in the back with her ICER.

Inteli instinctively jerked out of the way, causing only a graze, but that was enough for a splitting headache. Her weapon and tea slipped out of her hands, the cup shattering on impact with the ground. "W-what happened to you, Yaomomo?"

"Someone tried to take everything from me. They failed." Yaoyorozu touched a ball to Inteli's last target, securing her position. "And I would rather die than lose anyone else important to me."

Midoriya had found himself in a rather compromising position. He could've sworn he had heard Uraraka call for help, so he ran to her aid, only to find himself pinned to the wall by one of the Shiketsu students. Ironically, he only needed one more point to move on to the next round.

"Izuku Midoriya." The offending student drawled, "You're really cute."

Midoriya realized that the person pinning him to the wall was a girl. Oh crap. "Um, I'm sorry, but I have a girlfriend that I love very much." Why did he always attract the crazy ones? First there was Toga, and now this...

"My name's Camie." She said before scratching his cheek deep enough to draw blood, "I wanna get to know you better, Izuku... having to wait this long... it's only built the anticipation, you know?"

...That sounded familiar. Too familiar. Wait, hadn't Toga said something like that... at Kamino?

Oh no.

Midoriya rammed the back of his head into Camie's face. Once she released him he followed up with a side snap kick.

"Do you really think it's going to be that easy to escape me, Izuku?"

He grinned despite the situation. "Yes." He activated Gear Shift and tagged her targets with a ball. His last target lit up blue and beeped, indicating that he had passed. He proceeded to use the legendary technique of the Joestar family from the ancient classics.

Run away.

With Gear Shift active, he made it to the exit in a blink of an eye, meeting a group of his classmates along the way. "Hey, Midoriya! You passed, right?" Iida called out.

With the grin on his face, he was able to keep the seriously very bad problem of Toga being present under wraps. "Sure did!"

"Great!" Mina said, "That makes us the last ones!"

As they headed toward the exit, Midoriya pulled out his phone and opened up the Secret Cabal group chat. "I have reason to believe that Toga is here at the Provisional Licensing Exam. She's impersonating one of the Shiketsu students, a girl by the name of Camie. She might've gotten a little of my blood.I also prevented her from moving on, so whatever the League was planning here might be dead in the water. The only big concern is what's happened to the Shiketsu student."

Aizawa responded a moment later. "I'll inform the Shiketsu teacher, but we won't report it until the exam finishes. Gran Torino, Are you available?"

"Sure am. I'll start digging."

Yaoyorozu popped in, "Why shouldn't we report it immediately? We could catch her before she leaves!"

After a moment, Aizawa responded. "Two reasons. Reason one: we don't want to give the HPSC any reason to leave you high and dry. Reason two: This is officially a kidnapping case, something you are not equipped to deal with even if you had your licenses. The longer the culprit doesn't know we're on to them, the better."

Midoriya sighed. "Okay, if you say so."

He put his phone away. The first hurdle was cleared, interference from the League notwithstanding. Just what were they up to?

Takeo Sakurai believed that suspicion was a healthy trait. It was what had kept him alive during his time serving in the Japanese Self-Defense Forces, and later what made him so effective as a recruiter, combat instructor, and occasional operative for the QLF.

Also, he was continually amazed that no hero had come knocking on his door, since one of the regulars for the non-QLF self-defense class he taught on Sundays was Melissa Shield. But that wasn't particularly relevant at the moment.

When he had received a message saying the QLF needed to assemble for an emergency meeting? That put him on high alert. That wasn't how Eclipse operated.

The meeting was being held at the address of one of their shell companies the the QLF laundered money and procured resources through. Sakurai entered the meeting room and visibly relaxed when he spotted a head of red hair sitting next to a teenage girl.

The owner of said red hair was Akemi Matsumoto, one of the QLF's best hackers and one of the heads of the Support division. To say he was alive only due to her intel gathering ability was not a stretch. They had a thing. More of a on-again, off-again thing than anything. They were compatible enough, but they just had far too many responsibilities to fully commit.

The teenage girl in question was Mieko Eto. Officially she was an orphan that the QLF had taken in. Unofficially she was Eclipse's daughter. She had the same Quirk as her mother, but had only been able to use the warping function of it.

Sakurai placed a hand on Matsumoto's shoulder, "Hey, Kemi." He said.

She practically jumped out of her skin. "Oh, it's just you. Thank God."

"Why? What's wrong?" Sakurai asked. He glanced over at Mieko. She looked like she had been crying recently. "Akemi, you're setting my nerves on edge."

She took a note out of her pocket and handed it to him. He raised an eyebrow as he took it, "What, are we back in high school?" He said with a laugh.

Matsuomoto's eyes lit up as she laughed. It was a nervous laugh. He hadn't seen her this shaken in years, not since Nightstick -one of the heroes that the HPSC tended to use as an attack dog- had ripped through all of the QLF cells that had been based out in Mie Prefecture. He glanced at Mieko as he opened it. She was looking at him expectantly and there was a... almost pleading look in her eyes, as if she was begging him to help her.

He read it.

Takeo Sakurai was not a man who swore often, and only when things had gone off the rails. He tended to measure how bad operations were going by the amount of times he said shit.

The contents of the note had sent his day to the shit saturation point. Eclipse and Purity were dead. To be more exact, murdered by the League of Villains. Shigiraki had somehow stolen Eclipse's Quirk. He had used Kazuo Tomita to brainwash most of the QLF and CRC into falling in line with an impending reorganization under the banner of the League of Villains. "What's the plan?" He said softly. On seeing the smile on Mirko's face, he snapped to get her attention. "Throttle back, kid. Poker face."

"I don't really have a plan, I just want Shigiraki to lose." Matsuomoto said. "Mieko has... twelve percent of a plan. But..."

"It's kind of insane." Mieko admitted. She handed another note to Sakurai.

This one was exceptionally small, and had only two letters on it.

UA.

"Come on. Not safe to talk here." Sakurai said. After learning what was going on behind the scenes, it was obvious what this meeting was about. He lead them out of the room, only to run into a member of the CRC dressed in white and red robes. "Excuse me."

Mieko started tugging on Matsuomoto's arm. "We should ask Doctor Maita to come with us!"

Sakurai clenched his jaw. Every second they wasted was another second they risked exposure. "Why?"

"Something's going to happen, isn't it?" Maita asked. She sounded like she was in her late forties. "There's been talk of Shigiraki taking over, and if that happens..."

"You'd leave the CRC?" Matsumoto prompted.

Maita nodded. "If it strays from the reasons I joined it, yes."

"Come on, we can't talk here." Sakurai said. He led them on a meandering path through the complex going through several security doors before ending back at his office. "Okay, first of all. Maita, what's your deal?"

"My name is Haru Maita. My villain name is Incense. My husband and children were killed for daring to be on the wrong side of an ISP riot." His gaze flicked between them before continuing, "One of my children... hadn't been born yet."

Sakurai moved on to the next question. They were still in danger, sympathy could come later, "So that's why you joined the CRC. Because..."

"Because it seemed like they were the only group doing anything about the ISP." Maita hugged herself, "I don't... hate complex mutants or heteromorphs just for being what they are. I... hate the ones that run around and think they can do whatever they want."

"Okay. Mieko." Sakurai said, "This... plan of yours. What makes you think it will work?"

"Well, they took Maki in?"

Maita's eyebrows raised into the stratosphere. "Wait... that's your escape plan? Run to UA and hope they give us asylum?"

Sakurai shook his head. "I agree, this seems illogical at best."

"I'm not so sure." Matsuomoto said, she scratched at the scar trailing down her face. "I've been seeing some things when I'm trawling for any juicy intel. Like how UA took in Maki Yoshihiro after he escaped from the CRC." She drew her hair back into a ponytail, like she always did before an operation she had to be in the field for, "Honestly, I don't care. As long as we give Hands McFace the middle finger, I'm golden."

"Maita, you good with this?" Sakurai asked.

She nodded. "Yes.. hah..."

"What is it?" Mieko asked.

"Purity had me heal the injuries of the student the League of Villains abducted. Midoriya, I think his name was?" She shook her head, "And we all know how Kamino Ward played out."

Sakurai nodded. "I was there. I..." He turned away from the group and rested his forehead on the wall. "The job was simple. As part of the reserve squad, I was to back up the League of Villains and kill any heroes trying to grab this... Midoriya. But they were kids. That's one thing... I swore I would never do again..." Someone hugged him from behind, he sighed. He would know Matsuomoto anywhere. He looked back at Mieko and Maita. "Back when I was with the JSDF, we did a joint op with the police and All Might to flush out Dictator. It worked. But before he fled right into All Might's punching range, he set kids on me and my squad." He decided against recounting the graphic details. "And they promoted me for it, right before discharging me for being a late bloomer." He swallowed. "That's why... I hesitated at Kamino. I had that Iida kid dead to rights, but then one of them just shouts... crater something, and then all of my doubles were flattened."

"How would we even get to UA?" Maita asked.

"Leave that to me!" Mieko said, "I just need time to set up the portal."

"So, we're all in agreement?" Sakurai asked, "Defect to UA... not because we want to join the heroes... but because we just want Shigiraki to lose?"

Everyone nodded. "I want that bastard to burn for killing my mom. Even if she did keep trying to push me into being a new her." Mieko seethed.

"Open the portal. Let's get out of here."

Midoriya thought that it was a little on the nose for the HPSC to design the second round to almost perfectly mirror the devastation of Kamino Ward, but that didn't stop him from giving his all. Unlike the previous trial, they had made the decision to break off into small groups.

It become quickly apparent that he and his classmates were less experienced when it came to rescue, but they were nothing if not adaptable. Yaoyorozu, Uraraka, and Tokoyami in particular proved to be especially effective. Midoriya found himself just running rescuees back to the evacuation zone. Which was perfectly fine. He knew that until he got more training he just wasn't as competent at rescue.

He set down the person he had rescued at the triage station that Shiketsu had set up when there was a massive explosion about a hundred feet away from the gathered evacuees.

An announcement blared overhead "Villains have attacked the evac site! Villains have attacked the evac site! Villains have-" It cut off in a burst of static, as Gang Orca and a veritable horde of his sidekicks strode through.

(Music Start: My Hero Academia OST You Say Run)

Midoriya didn't hesitate. "I'll hold them off!" He shouted, "Get the evacuees out of here!"

One of the Ketsubutsu students shook her head, "That's suicide! You can't take on all of them at once and fight Gang Orca!"

Midoriya looked back at her with a smile on his face and flashed her a thumbs-up. "Don't worry, I'll make a miracle!"

With a crackle of Full Cowling he shot towards the threat and began barking orders into his comm. "I need Dynamight, Icy-Hot, and Uravity on me! Arsenal, I need you in a sniper position! Anyone else available who's suited for combat, create a perimeter around the evac zone! Everyone else, continue the rescue!"

Without waiting for an answer, he dove in. "CYCLONE SMASH!" The spinning kick scattered the first wave of the henchmen like bowling pins, and the wind pressure made the rest of them in his vicinity stumble back.

"URAVITY: ZERO-GRAV FIELD!" The henchmen around Midoriya began to float, giving him a straight shot to Gang Orca. "I'll set them up..."

"... And I'll knock them down!" Bakugo yelled before opening fire with the new barrel attachments on his gauntlets. "GAUNTLET FIRE: GATLING BARRAGE!" Explosive shots rang out and blasted the suspended henchmen away.

Midoriya ran straight at Gang Orca as his comm popped. "This is Arsenal, I'm in position. Icy-Hot is approaching from your right, Mister Miracle. Icy-Hot, Fire is recommended. Target is vulnerable to drying out."

Gang Orca threw one of his arms wide, causing his suit and scarf to bluster in an intimidating fashion. "Come to face me eh, Mister Miracle? How will you act?"

He didn't take the bait. He had done that once, and he would never do it again. He dropped into the Dempsey Roll and began to pummel Gang Orca with a barrage of body blows. "TSUNAMI SMASH!"

"Fall back! This is going to be rough!" Todoroki called out, "FLASHFIRE FIST: JET KINDLING!"

Midoriya backpedaled, only just barely avoiding the ferocious blast of flame. "Shoto... isn't that..."

"I know the stakes." Todoroki said, "I can't hold back for petty reasons any longer."

"That's enough out of you!" Gang Orca said. He flexed his muscles and stomped the ground, blowing away the lingering flame. "Take a nap, Icy-Hot! Wolf of the Sea: Paralysis!" Using his orca biology, he blasted Todoroki with ultrasonic waves that caused his body to seize up. Unable to stay upright, he fell down.

Midoriya activated his comm. "TAKE THE SHOT!"

Gang Orca's eyes widened and he crossed his arms in front of him in a defensive posture. With a crack of thunder, Yaoyorozu fired. The dendrotoxin payload hit her target, but without a hit to the chest or head area, Gang Orca was able to remain standing.

Barely.

"The hell... kind of bullets are those?" Gang Orca asked, "No matter. Your sniper should've been watching their six."

True to his word, his sidekicks burst out of the roof access door and fired their cement guns at Yaoyorozu.

The shots sailed right through. "What? A hologram?"

Without warning, a smoke grenade detonated. Yaoyorozu jumped off of the roof over the access door and slapped one of her sticky shockers on each sidekick. "Sweet dreams." She pressed the red button on the trigger in her hand, and the sidekicks were quickly zapped into unconsciousness.

"DYNAMIGHT! URAVITY! NOW!" Midoriya yelled.

"TIME FOR YOU TO LOSE, VILLAIN!" Bakugo roared. "HOWITZER IMPACT!"

Gang Orca was unfazed, as befit his status as a veteran hero. "Say please." He ran forward and snatched Bakugo out of the air before he could unleash the explosion and slammed him into the ground. "Wolf of the Sea: Interceptor!"

That was enough to trigger Uraraka's warlike attitude. She clenched her fist and it began to glow purple. "You'll pay for that! Take this!" She ran at him full tilt, making it to Gang Orca an instant before his guard was back up. "URAVITY: SHOOTING STAR!"

Her fist slammed into his gut and Gang Orca went flying thanks to Uraraka manipulating gravity to make her fist hundreds of times heavier at the moment of impact. "Now, Mister Miracle!"

"Shift into turbo!" Midoriya activated Gear Shift and shot past Gang Orca, using some fancy footwork he spun around to add momentum and unleashed a mighty punch at the rapidly approaching hero. "REDLINE SMASH!" The rapid change in direction was too much for Gang Orca to handle. He hit the ground hard, carving a deep furrow as he went.

He started to laugh. "Oh, you kids... you're something special. Knew it when I saw you at Kamino, and you proved it here. Do your best."

An announcement was made declaring the end of the test.

Midoriya walked over to Gang Orca and gave him a hand up. "We will. That's a promise."

(Music End)

After much too long of a wait, 1-A learned that all twenty of them had passed and earned their Provisional Licenses. Mera had even taken the time to give Yaoyorozu her license personally.

"I'm happy to say that the President was wrong about you." Mera said. "Please take your license so I can go take a nap."

Yaoyorozu laughed, "Thank you. I will not let you down."

Nezu blinked.

If the readings from the security system were accurate, three villains and a teenage girl had just warped onto the UA grounds.

It was strange to have the phenomenon that Aizawa called a Midoriya Moment occur when Izuku Midoriya was not present.

He changed the settings to simply corral the villains. It was most curious that they would choose to warp into UA, especially since they hadn't used a Kurogiri warp gate. Meaning they weren't directly connected to the League. Even then, the question remained. Why would villains choose to flee to one of the greatest strongholds of heroism?

It was just so exciting!

He walked to their location -on the front lawn no less- at a leisurely pace. His phone buzzed. It was an automatic text from the security system giving him the identity of the intruders. The A-Rank villain Fireteam and the B-Rank villains Malware and Incense. The teenage girl even more intriguing, as the system had dug up her hospital records.

Or more accurately, her hospital records had been inputted into the system. By Malware. Curiouser and curiouser... especially given this Mieko Eto's parentage.

She was Eclipse's daughter. And Malware had wanted him to know that.

Soon enough, he was face to face with them. "Hello! I'm afraid you should have taken that left turn at Albuquerque!" Nezu said cheerfully. He studied the villains' reactions. Fireteam and Malware seemed unperturbed, while Incense... didn't know what to make of him. That was normal for members of the CRC, especially for one with Incense's history. Mieko seemed amused by his joke. Wonderful!

Fireteam stepped forward, at least as far forward as he could without getting zapped by the electric fences boxing his group in. "Mr. Principal." Fireteam said, "We have intelligence you need, in exchange we would like asylum."

"Hmm..." This was going to be an extraordinarily tough sell to the HPSC President, especially since she had said no more bending rules. "That depends on the intel."

Malware stepped forward. "Eclipse and Purity are dead, and Shigiraki used Mindslaver to make the majority of the QLF and CRC okay with him taking over."

There was a beat of silence.

"Oh dear." Nezu said. He deactivated the security system, and the electric fence retracted. "Come with me, I dare say that we will be needing quite a bit of tea."

Shigiraki smiled. "Good job, Toga." He turned back to his laptop, "Now that you have some of Izuku Midoriya's blood, we can move to the next step of that plan. But first, a question. What's the best way to attack a hero?"

"Barbecue?" Dabi said.

"Teemo." Spinner snarked.

Shigiraki laughed. "I'll admit, both of those are technically correct." He pressed a button, causing the projector connected to the laptop to light up. It was showing a citizen profile. Of a woman who had a rather weak Class Two Quirk. That only allowed her to call small objects to her.

Inko Midoriya.

"His heart." Shigiraki said. "You target his heart." He shook off the... goblin-y sensation that he had felt after saying that and turned to Toga."In the mean time, feel free to deal with your... guest however you want."

A demented grin blossomed on Toga's face. "Oh, thank you, Tomura!" She threw her arms around him and kissed him on the cheek. "Don't you worry, I'll take such good care of her." She proceeded to walk away, humming some tune only she could hear, leaving Shigiraki alone with Spinner and Dabi.

"What the hell was that?" Shigiraki asked.

"Affection." Dabi replied.

Shigiraki pondered that for a moment. "Huh."

Unaware of the chaos she had left in her wake, Toga walked down to the basement. She giggled. Oh, this was going to be so much fun! With a beep, the door to the makeshift holding cell opened up, revealing Shiketsu student Camie Utsushimi. She barely reacted to Toga's presence, only feebly struggling against her bonds. The League had learned its lesson with Midoriya. Nothing was gained from treating prisoners well.

"Hello, Camie!" Toga said in a sing-song voice, "Today's the big daaaaaaay!"

Camie lifted her head just enough to see Toga. Her eyes were unfocused, and the light in said eyes was almost dead. "You're going to let me go?"

"Nope!" Toga drew a knife and straddled Camie, "There's just too much of a risk of you revealing our location!"

Camie decided to reach for one last vain hope. "Couldn't you just drug me to wipe my memory? Like you have been?"

"If you remember enough to ask me that, then you know too much, sweetie." Toga lifted Camie's chin with the point of her knife, "Don't worry. I'm going to make you beautiful."

Camie weakly heaved a sob, but she had no tears left. "Please... just let me die..."

Toga kissed her. Despair always tasted the best! "Oh, you'll die." She whispered into her ear, "But not before I make you into a masterpiece."

A/N: Alrighty, here we go.

Of course Miss Joke knows. And of course now that the secret is out, Aizawa is going to be unbearably smug about it when appropriate. Cause... who wouldn't?

Hoo boy. Shiketsu and Ketsubutsu did not know who they were messing with. They got stomped. And it only makes sense. 1-A has been through hell and back together and have come out largely unscathed. (Other than Mineta. RIP) So yeah, if anyone talks shit to them, they're gonna give the shit talker the business.

Well, Shigiraki's plan is moving right along, isn't it? Eclipse and Purity are dead, and Shiggy's got Eclipse's Quirk. Now would be a good time to explain how I'm handling All For One. Here's how it works. Stealing or giving a Quirk is not instant. It takes about a minute or so if the target is willing, or anywhere between three to ten minutes if the target is resistant. It also paralyzes the target. Also, when calling up Quirks, there's a hard limit of fifteen at a time. (You'll notice that back in the Kamino battle, when AFO used his ultimate Quirk combo, he only called up fourteen Quirks, with the intent of activating Impact Recoil if All Might met him head on)

As for why he didn't take Purity's Quirk, it has the little caveat of only working on people with the same viewpoint as you. It's why it didn't work on Spinner at Kamino.

Bakugo's true hero name is revealed, and Yaoyorozu changes hers. Pretty straightforward.

Some more of Mirrond's OCs join the party, and yeah, their motivation for switching sides is literally just "I just want Shigiraki to lose." Which is fine. Nothing wrong with that, it's simple and it works. Maybe it's flimsy, but I don't particularly care.

Gang Orca came in expecting 1-A to put up a fight. He did not expect to get smacked down. A couple things. First: that's likely the craziest Uraraka is going to get. Unless I think of something else and I can make it make sense. Second, I... need to stop using Bakugo for the Worf Effect. Luckily he'll get time to shine in the Overhaul Arc. (*cough* Midoriya and Bakugo Vs Overhaul get hype *cough*) Third, bless you Shoto. You're doing great. Without his feud with Inasa, I had to resort to him attempting Flashfire Fist. He has a leg up over canon due to it basically being the same principle as his Flashfreeze Fist. He'll get better.

I couldn't find any canon names for Gang Orca's ultimate attacks, so I made some up. Orcas are called "the wolves of the sea" so I figured it fit.

If I didn't show off anyone's abilities at this point, assume they're at the same level as canon at this point.

Toga. Yikes.