Let's just get to it! Go! Go! Go to the start of the Sports Festival Arc!
*By the way! There is a fun little surprise for you all at the end of the chapter! Okay get going!
**********(Opening Theme)**********
*Lyric
*Scene
Oh, woah, ohh Oh, woah, ohh Oh, woah, ohh ohh
Izuku slowly walks up a stage as he fades between his alien forms. Below him students look up in anticipation as the crowd cheers.
Instrumental
Izuku makes it to the top of the stage and looks down at his fellow students who look back up at him challengingly.
Itsuka bokura no ue o suresure ni toorisugiteitta ano hikouki o
Izuku flys through the sky on his hoverboard with a smile before running into turbulence and slipping off it
Fushigi na kurai ni oboeteru imi mo nai no ni naze ka
The teenager ends up crashing through a familiar building. A moment later he runs out as Mr. Baumann chases after him with a broom. Inside the store Nezu and Thirteen laugh as they watch the events unfold.
Fugainakute naita hi no yoru ni tada tsuyokunaritai to negatteta
Izuku walks towards class as he's joined by Ochaco and all his friends. They pass by other students such as Hitoshi, Mei, and the 1-B students and a few megawatts as they continue walking.
Sono tame ni hitsuyou na yuuki o sagashimotometeita
Izuku slows down to see Todoroki standing in front of him with a serious expression. Behind him Endeavor glares.
Zankoku na unmei ga sadamatteru to s***
Ochaco meditates as she allows One For All to flow around her as Toshinori looks on. Suddenly Toshinori turns around to look at Izuku in his middle school uniform on the roof.
Sore ga itsu no hi ka boku no mae ni arawareru to s***
Behind Izuku the shadows of his tormentors including Katsuki appear before fading, leaving just Henzu who gives a mock salute.
Tada isshun
Izuku and Henzu are seen laughing together at something.
kono isshun
The two are now standing back to back, Izuku looks sad while Henzu looks angry.
iki ga dekiru nara
Izuku turns to reach out to Henzu who walks away and slowly turns into his mutated form.
Dou demo ii to Omoeta
Izuku a single tear comes down his face before opening his eyes revealing back on the stage as the other students look up at him.
sono kokoro o Instrumental
Slowly a smile appears on his face as the other students give him challenging looks. He returns the challenge by holding his hand out in a 'come and get me' motion
Mou ichido tooku e ike tooku e ike to boku no naka de dare ka ga utau
Izuku runs across the field ducking and dodging other students as they let loose their quirks, such as Mei gliding by in support gear, Shiozaki creating multiple vines, Kendo shattering the ground with her hands and Shinso walking through it all with a cool expression.
Dou shiyou mo nai hodo netsuretsu ni
Ochaco grins as she roars out, all around her gravity begins to distort. Behind her the shadows of the previous wielders appear.
Itsudatte
me o harashita kimi ga nido to kanashimanai you ni waraeru
Heatblast destroys an oncoming glacier, XLR8 races against a certain speedster, Four Arms fights off Dark Shadow, Diamondhead dodges multiple falling rocks only to be consumed in a powerful explosion.
Sonna hiiroo ni naru tame no uta
Izuku runs out of the fire with a determined expression as he runs at all his waiting opponents.
Saraba kakagero Peace Sign
All across the universe multiple aliens look on their screens at the sports festival
Korogatteiku sutoorii o
Izuku grins as he holds the Omnitrix up.
Instrumental
The scene fades out to reveal Izuku in his Hero costume along with the 1-A students as they all head out into battle.
[Illustrated by Drag0n5on]
**********(End Theme)**********
Ch.21 Roaring Start
Izuku Midoriya sits down as he ties up his signature red shoes.
His mother stands by nervously. "Izuku, please be careful and don't get hurt."
"I won't." Izuku grabs his bag and pushes himself up.
"I'll record the whole festival in HD!"
Izuku chuckles and smiles at her, appreciating the sentiment.
Inko gives her son a worried yet excited smile. "Do your best, son."
Izuku nods before turning to the door. "Okay, I'm off!"
That's right, he's off to U.A.'s Sports Festival!
Hordes of media outlets and reports are swarming U.A.'s main gate as fireworks go off above and stalls of food, games, and shops line U.A.'s campus.
A young woman can't stand waiting around until she's allowed to enter. "This security line is huge. What's the deal?"
Her cameraman answers. "A bunch of villains did just break in. Of course the school's being stricter this year. Some people think they shouldn't be holding the festival, considering what happened."
The reporter grins with a predatory-like smile. "Perfect! Nothing brings ratings up like a little controversy! Plus, everybody will tune in to see Class 1-A!" She declares excitedly.
She's right on the nose about that fact. Most of the spectators here today are going to attend the first-year's competition. Usually they'd all be lining up for the third-years because they have the most experience with their Quirks, and thus it's usually a better show. But the draw of witnessing the very students that fought off real villains without any proper experience is too difficult of a notion to pass up.
As for the controversy, U.A. or rather Nezu has a plan for that. Part of it was to call upon a number of pro heroes to help patrol the school grounds as the competition plays out.
Speaking of which.
Mt. Lady eyes the takoyaki greedily. "I'll take one order to go please."
The vendor perks up at the sight of her. "Whoa! Mt. Lady is it really you?"
It is and she's accompanied by Kamui Woods and Death Arms, all of which are wearing security passes to help establish their roles here today.
Mt. Lady ignores the vendor's question as drool drips from the corner of her mouth. "And hold the salt, will you?"
"Of course!" He immediately begins prepping her order. "That's gonna be 1,074.78 yen."
She gaps, not expecting that response at all. It looks like she needs to use a secret technique that only a few can hope to pull off.
She wiggles her hips and presses her arm against her chest as she emanates an alluring charm. "Um…Oh, no, my money is in another costume."
Her technique worked.
"So hot!" The vendor hands over the takoyaki. "This is on the house!"
"Aren't you a dear?!" asks Mt. Lady with just as much passion.
Meanwhile, her companions watch on in disapproval. "Have you no sense of shame?"
After she snags her takoyaki, the three continue with their patrol.
Kamui Woods eyes each vendor and bystander making sure they are clear of any suspicious activity. "I was hoping I'd get to do some scouting while I was here."
Death Arms peers back at the shorter hero. "Yeah, too bad we're stuck working security this time."
Mt. Lady sticks one of the takoyaki into her mouth. "Looks like they called in pro heroes from all over to guard this thing. Quite a show."
"Aw, man." Mina Ashido pulls down on her gym uniform shirt. "I was totally hoping I could wear my costume."
Mashirao Ojiro is stretching his arms nearby. "At least everyone'll be in uniforms. That'll help keep things fair, right?"
Currently the students of Class 1-A are hanging out in their designated waiting area awaiting the signal to begin heading out to the stadium. So in the meantime, they're trying to psych themselves up while calming their own nerves.
Rikido Sato nervously wrings his hands together over the table. "I wonder what they have in store for us in the first round."
Fumikage Tokoyami is seated nearby. "No matter what they've prepared, we must persevere."
Mezo Shoji nods his head. "Right."
The taller multi-limbed student turns to a shaking Izuku as the boy frantically goes over his notecards. "Are you okay…?"
Izuku is too busy to look up. "N-no…!" He has to make sure his speech is a good one, it's only going to be broadcasted worldwide… Oh, no wait it's going to be broadcasted across the whole universe…sure, no pressure or whatever.
The waiting room's door slides open as Tenya Iida, the Class President, bursts into the room. "Everyone get your game faces on! We're entering the arena soon!"
Ochaco Uraraka takes a deep calming breath from her seat.
Tsuyu Asui and Tooru Hagakure are sitting next to her, but they're busy dealing with their own stomach butterflies.
"Uraraka." Calls out a cold-indifferent tone.
Ochaco turns in her seat. "Oh, Todoroki. What's up?"
Izuku and the rest of the class' attention is drawn to Shoto Todoroki as he peers down at the shorter girl.
The dual-haired teen, however, could care less about everyone else listening in on what he has to say. "During the Battle Training…you beat me all on your own."
Oh, that's right she did do that didn't she. Man that was scary, but what's he getting at?
"I underestimated you and I can promise that it will never happen again." The cold-indifferent youth peers down at his left fist. "Twice now you've forced me into wielding those cursed flames." He glares up at her making her wince under his dark-hateful gaze. "I will defeat you only with my ice and prove that I am more capable than you."
Ochaco doesn't know what to say. She thinks back and yeah during the Battle Training it was sort of lucky that she won. In retrospect, she shouldn't have won like she did, hell it actually ended in a draw. Then there was the U.S.J. Incident where she begged him to use his flames…but he refused. Why though? "Todo-"
"Not only that, you've got All Might in your corner, helping you out."
That instantly silences her as she stiffens up in fear that her secret's been found out, from the corner of her eye she sees both Izuku's and Bakugou's ears perk up.
"I'm not here to pry about what's going on between you two." His cold dual-colored eyes pierce into All Might's successor's. "But know that I will beat you."
Ochaco is more than taken back by the bold statement. Where did all this hostility even come from?!
Todoroki turns and lays his eyes on the nervously observing greenette. "The same goes for you."
"Huh?!" The Omnitrix wielder is greatly startled by the sudden change in attention.
He can sense the rest of the class now has their eyes on him.
Todoroki's eyes shift away as if he doesn't want to admit this next part aloud. "You…are by far the most unpredictable and arguably the most powerful of everyone in this very room." The dual-haired teen lets out a deep heavy sigh releasing a cold breath of air. "I don't understand you. Not at all. There's so many things about you that don't add up or make sense: you have such a mysterious and powerful Quirk… You're strategic and that makes you dangerous… But also…you're keeping secrets."
Izuku's breath halts for a minute, what is Todoroki getting at? And by secrets…does he suspect something? Maybe…did Tetrax reveal too much, according to Uraraka he didn't.
Todoroki, however, isn't finished yet. "During the attack on the U.S.J…you were by far the most useful among us."
Specifically how Midoriya was able to fight off the villains all on his own and then single-handedly took out Nue and even Shigaraki all with minimal effort. He even led them to their victory against the League of Villains. Whereas, his ice was useless against Tetrax, Nomu, and there's no doubt that the other villains would have been able to escape his ice. So he gave in and used that bastard's Quirk to fight…and it was maddening! He needs to get stronger; he needs to prove that he can be a hero without that bastard's influence.
"For all intents and purposes, you are the one to beat, today."
Midoriya is, isn't he? His strategic mind and large arsenal of powers makes him the top contender here today.
"And like I told Uraraka, I will beat you, too."
"Todoroki…" Izuku really isn't sure how he's supposed to respond. He's never been threatened or somewhat complimented at the same time before. Yet now…now Todoroki's made it clear that he will be gunning for him. And what's worse, he's now just realizing how silent the rest of the class is, as if they too have just started to realize the truth. Out of everyone in this very room, Midoriya is the top contender for the number one spot.
Bakugou scowls, he loathes that assumption.
Denki Kaminari gasps from his seat. "What's with all these declarations of war lately?" First it was the dude from General Studies, then that loud guy from Class 1-B, and now there's infighting in his own class too.
Eijiro Kirishima gets up looking really concerned. "Yeah, what's the big deal?" He grabs Todoroki's shoulder to try and calm him down. "Why are you pickin' a fight all of a sudden? And right before we get started."
Todoroki bats his hand away, irritated. "We're not here to be each other's friends." He turns and marches away. "Don't forget. This isn't a team effort."
Ochaco can't leave things as they are. "Todoroki!"
The teen in question stops in his tracks. He's willing to hear his opponent out if she desires to speak her own mind. It's only fair.
"You're right… About everything."
Izuku is stunned, but he doesn't interrupt.
"Between the two of us you're the most capable with your Quirk." She inhales readying herself for what she's about to admit. "And I have to agree, if we had a real fight back at the Battle Training you definitely would have won."
The only reason Todoroki considers it a loss was because she surprised and overpowered him at the time. But now things are different, this challenge will be about skills, power, and their own wits all things that Todoroki has in spades compared to her.
"But…I've grown and improved so much since then." Sure it's been slow, but she's ready to take the next step in becoming a true wielder of One For All. "So I'm not going to just lay down and let you take victory. I have things worth fighting for, and I am going to make them come true." She glares right up at her challenger. "I'm going to show the world what I got!" For the sake of her dream, she will achieve victory.
Her determined eyes leer towards Izuku, letting him know that this goes for him as well. After all it's like Todoroki he said, he's the one to beat and if that's what she has to do to win then so be it.
Izuku is a bit taken back by being directed as such, but he understands what she's trying to say.
Todoroki huffs. "Fine. Let's see what you got then."
Bakugou leers at the two, offended that he wasn't even considered a threat by either of them.
Izuku falls into a sullen silence…can he say the same thing? Can he…show the world…the universe what he's got…?
"Hey-o!" Present Mic's image pops up onto the giant flat screens surrounding the interior of the stadium.
The massive crowd of spectators roar in excitement as Present Mic begins to start things off.
"Make some noise all you rabid sports fans! Get those cameras prepped, media hordes!" Present Mic waves his arms about, even jumping out of his seat as pure excitement takes hold. "This year we're bringing you some of the hottest performances in U.A.'s Sports Festival history, guaranteed!"
Sitting beside Present Mic is a mummified Shota Aizawa who ducks down just in time to avoid an accidental slap from his co-host.
Present Mic didn't even notice what he almost did. "I've only got one question before we start this show: Are you ready?!"
The crowd cheers in response as Present Mic's booming voice plays over the sound system.
"Let me hear ya scream as our students make their way to the main stage!"
Present Mic's voice echoes down the dark narrow passageway, as the students of Class 1-A march their way forward ready to take on their next big steps to becoming pro heroes.
Ochaco can almost hear All Might's declaration echoing in her head: That she must think of this as her debut, to introduce herself to the world, and proudly say "I am here!"
Present Mic's voice screams through the speakers as the entirety of Class 1-A steps out onto the field. "This first group are no strangers to the spotlight! You know them for withstanding a villain attack, they're the dazzling students lighting up your TVs with solid gold skills!"
The crowd is in a complete frenzy as they cheer and roar.
"That's right! It's The Hero Course students of Class 1-A!"
Class 1-A gaze up at the massive stadium, they are completely caught off guard by the sight, there are far more people than they expected. It's almost as if all of Japan is here. And all to watch them compete for the glory.
Ochaco suddenly gets hit by a wave of nervousness. "Oh, wow! I didn't know there'd be so many people."
Izuku considers if he should have told Uraraka about how Nezu will be broadcasting all of this into the cosmos, but maybe it would be best to tell her after the competition. No need to scare her even more before they start.
Iida awes at the sight of the screaming audience. "I hope we're still able to give our best performances even though all these eyes are watching us."
Izuku chuckles nervously 'More than you know…'
"I supposed it's just another aspect of being a hero we all have to learn to get used to."
Kirishima gives a tense grin as they all march forward. "Present Mic sure did talk us up a lot. Kinda makes me nervous." He looks to the ash-blonde that's been uncharacteristically quiet all morning. "How you feelin', man?"
"I'm not worried." Bakugou grins darkly. "Makes me wanna win this thing even more."
Present Mic continues to introduce the rest of the first-year classes. "They haven't been getting nearly as much screen time, but this next group is still chock full of talent! Welcome, Hero Course Class 1-B!"
A group of twenty Hero course students march out from a separate gateway from within their group is that loud punk with silver-hair who came to check out their class along with the rest of the school.
"Next up, General Studies Classes C, D, and E!"
Over sixty students march out of the same gateway together, leading the large herd of students is the indigo-haired boy who made it clear to Class 1-A that the entirety of first-years will be gunning for their Hero Course spots.
He stands tall and ready to take his place in said Hero Course.
"Support Classes F, G, and H!"
Mei Hatsume is among this group, and she looks absolutely thrilled to be here.
"And finally, the Business Classes I, J, and K!"
The final of the first-years students walk onto the field.
"Give it up for all of U.A.'s first-year contestants!"
The audience members cheer loudly for the students, they can't wait for this competition to get started.
However, not everyone is happy to be there. Namely those in the General Studies courses.
"I get the feeling we're just here to make the hero students look better."
"I can't wait for this to be over."
The indigo-haired teen ignores his classmates as he moves forward.
"Hey, where's that crystal guy? I thought he was part of Class 1-A."
"He, maybe he got scared off."
"That chick with the pony-tail is hot."
"Shut it."
The feminine and wildly thrilled voice of the chief umpire calls out to the students as they approach the main stage. "Now the introductory speech!"
Everyone quiets down as Midnight struts her stuff across the stage making sure to flaunt her rather risqué costume.
Kirishima has a light blush on his face, as do a number of his fellow classmates. "Uh, someone should talk to Ms. Midnight about what she's wearing."
Kaminari nods. "Yeah. That costume should come with a warning."
Tokoyami, hard to tell if he's affected by Midnight's charm, frowns. "Is that really appropriate apparel for a high school game?"
Minoru Mineta certainly doesn't think so.
"Silence, everyone!" Midnight whips her flogger-style whip. "And for the student pledge we have Izuku Midoriya!"
Class 1-A is surprised to hear that one of their shyest classmates has to give the student pledge.
Izuku nervously and stiffly approaches the stage much like a robot trying to mimic human movements.
Bakugou glares at Izuku's back, he's almost tempted to beat up the nerd. Not just for hogging the attention but for stealing the top spot from under him.
Ochaco is surprised, Deku didn't say anything about this. "Huh, I didn't know Deku was our first-year rep?"
Hanta Sero leans in close. "Well, I guess that broccoli-head did finish first in the Entrance Exam." Not that surprising though, after everything they've seen him do.
A girl from the General Course sighs in annoyance. "Only for the Hero Course exams." She points out.
Ochaco nods. "Oh, right."
Sero frowns. "That girl obviously hates us."
Kaminari grumbles. "Yeah, and we've got Bakugou to thank for them not liking our class"
Bakugou growls. "Shut up! They don't matter anyway."
Izuku makes it the microphone, he digs into his pocket for his notecards, but his hands are shaking so badly he drops the notecards scattering them across the stage. He desperately drops down to gather them up and tries his best to ignore the laughs and chuckles coming from Class 1-B and the General Course students.
"This guy is the student rep?"
"How embarrassing?"
"Ha, I thought Class 1-A was supposed to be better than us-OW!"
"Be nice."
"Ha, he looks like he's going to wet himself."
They're hurtful comments are not at all helping as Izuku frantically tries to put his notecards back in order, but it's no use.
Midnight tries to calm him down by placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. It at least slows down his shaking.
Izuku nervously looks back to his own classmates and several of them offer up kind encouraging smiles and gestures of good luck.
Izuku peers down at his mess of notecards, before tucking them away back into his pocket.
He then takes a look at the audience…
Wow, there's so many of them but yet this is less than a fraction of the beings actually watching him right now. You know, for someone who's about to give a speech to an audience that stretches across the universe, Izuku is surprisingly calm maybe because of how surreal the situation is. But maybe he shouldn't focus on who is watching, but rather who he will be competing against. Yes, he needs to focus here at this moment, in this place, on these people. Otherwise he will never achieve his goals.
So with a calming breath, Izuku approaches the microphone leaning in, he takes another deep breath before beginning.
"Powerless. Useless. Weak."
Immediately, it's like the entire galaxy has silenced itself.
"Those were all things people used to say to me. What hurt the most was when they said that I could never be a hero." Izuku scans the audience and he spots Toshinori Yagi among his fellow teachers in the stands.
"But I've been given a chance and I've been working hard to not let this chance go to waste. And ever since, I've been through so much and so much has changed in my life, and everyday I'm reminded of that."
He has powers now, he has friends, people that willingly support him, and now his entire worldview has been expanded far more than he could have ever conceived on his own.
"And now here I am ready to take on the next big challenge in my life."
Izuku grips the microphone off its stand before turning away to face his fellow competitors.
"I've been made aware that many of you today are seeking to carve out your destinies. You want to defeat my classmates and I."
He eyes Class 1-B.
"You want to become the very best there is."
His eyes drift towards his own class namely to Ochaco and Bakugou.
"And you want to become heroes yourselves."
He scans for the indigo-haired teen.
"Well if you want any of your dreams to come true then you better be willing to work for it. To fight for it!"
He turns back to the spectators. "No matter your background, abilities, or even where you may come from. Then you must fight tooth-and-nail for your dreams and uphold what you believe in!" That is the undisputed truth, hopefully there are those out in the world or rather worlds watching that will be inspired to do what's right. To become part of something bigger than themselves.
"Someone said something today that I never expected; they said I was the most capable one out of Class 1-A." His eyes leer back at the very person who called him out. "And I believe them. As of now I stand at the top of all the other first-years!" He spins around and raises a hand to his competition. "So, if any of you want to succeed then I'm the one to beat today!"
The galactic wide silence stretches on until suddenly cheers erupt from the audience.
As for the student themselves, many of those in the Hero Course look like they're ready to go! Even Bakugou looks excited, but that may be because Deku just essentially painted a giant-ass target on his back. Ochaco is especially excited, admiring Izuku's sudden resolve. As for Todoroki, he is a bit less than pleased to have his own words thrown back at him. But if Midoriya wants them all to fight to achieve the very top then so be it.
Izuku hands the microphone back to Midnight as he confidently strides back down the stage. Those in General Studies back away as if afraid of what he's capable of. Unbeknownst to anyone here is what Izuku is really feeling: 'OH MY GOD! THAT WAS SO SCARY!' He's having an internal panics attack, thankfully his own expression doesn't hint to it. 'What was I thinking?! Why did I do that?! Why didn't I stick to my script?!'
Iida claps Izuku on the back. "Well done Midoriya! That was a fine speech!"
Kirishima grins widely. "No kidding. Ah! I'm so pumped!"
Kyoka Jiro the ever-observant states the obvious. "I hope you know what you're doing, Midoriya. Because now everyone's going to be going after you."
"Eh…!" is his only response.
From within the teachers' personal viewing room, Thirteen just can't seem to stop grinning from underneath their helmet. 'Sheesh, kid! That was great! I can't wait to see how you pull this off.'
Snipe chuckles from beside them. "Ha, that took some real-balls to say."
Vlad King adds in from behind. "No, kidding. He essentially just challenged the entire first-year student body. Heh, he may regret that." His own students will see to that.
Toshinori is unusually silent as his colleague chatter away. 'I guess he hasn't truly forgiven me…' He had no real idea what that Midoriya boy went through before they met, but now…now it just hurts to think about.
Useless, powerless, weak and then being told he couldn't be a hero… Is that how the boy felt when he reached out to him…? When he, the Number One Hero, rejected his dream?
Toshinori eyes the young boy as his classmates surround him. 'Young Midoriya, you truly are something else, aren't you? Despite everything you truly want to become a hero…'
Midnight sees no point in dragging this out any further. "Without further ado! It's time for us to get started!" She whips her flogger. "This is where you begin feeling the pain! The first fateful game of the festival!" A giant holographic screen appears behind her. An image of a large slot appears and begins rolling. "What could it be?"
The students hold their breath as the slot machine continues to spin and spin until it finally comes to a sudden stop.
"Ta-dah!" Midnight sings as the first challenge is presented.
Izuku's brow furrows. "So, it's gonna be an obstacle course."
Midnight goes on to explain the rules. "All eleven classes will participate in this treacherous contest. The track is four kilometers around the outside of the stadium." She raises her flogger. "I don't wanna restrain anyone, at least not in this game." She licks lips as she eyes the little darlings. "As long as you don't leave the course, you're free to do whatever your heart desires!"
The audience is in an uproar, but whether because the competition is going to start or from Midnight's innuendo is unclear.
"Now then, take your places, contestants!"
The students immediately turn and gather around a large red archway that leads into a narrow passage leading to the outside of the stadium. Atop the archway, there are three glowing lights that will be used to signal the starting countdown.
Ochaco readies herself among the sea of students. 'All Might…' She thinks back to her mentor's very words of what she is to achieve today. '"You must introduce yourself to the world, and proudly say 'I am here!'"' She eyes her fellow friends and classmates, each one of them have their own dreams and goals and all of them are aiming for the number one spot. 'I may not be able to fully use One For All but that will change! I'll make sure of it!'
One of the lights shut off.
Izuku grips the Omnitrix, ready to activate in a moment's notice. 'There's so much I have to live up to and for.' He will become a hero and he will live up to the expectations of those supporting him.
From his mom, to his mentor, even Tetrax, and to those out in the universe that may one day depend on him.
The second light dims.
Both Izuku and Ochaco are ready to start. 'I have to go BEYOND!'
Last light shuts off just as the umpire, Midnight, shouts. "BEGIN!"
A stampede of students charge forward all clambering through the narrow hallway.
Izuku races forward, activating the source of his powers, and disappears under a flash of green light.
Ochaco doesn't bother to look at what he turns into, instead she has to focus on herself. As she takes off with her classmates; she can hear Present Mic's voice over the speakers. "And we're off to a racing start! How bout some color commentary. Mummy Man?"
Aizawa sighs. "How did you talk me into this?"
"What should we be paying attention to in the early stages of the race?"
"The doorway." Her homeroom teacher states it like it's the most obvious thing in the world.
"Hey! Hey!"
"You're trampling me!"
"Eek! Something tiny ran over my foot!"
"This is too narrow!"
Students are shoving and pushing their way through the far too small hallway. They are jammed together like a school of sardines trying to fit through a single pipe.
Ochaco tries to elbow and shove her way through, but the sea of students is too much, 'I get it; the teachers are testing us. They want to see how we make it through.'
Ochaco grips her arms and activates her Quirk and with a hard shove she floats up into the air until she's above the sea of students. She kicks off the wall to the opposite end and just in too as the hallway suddenly becomes as cold as a blizzard and ice floods the interior freezing the entire hallway.
Todoroki takes off running and claims the lead right from the start. "Apologies."
He froze almost every student in place, effectively taking many of them out of the running.
Ochaco continues to float forward as she watches others who made it past Todoroki's initial act of sabotage.
Kirishima leaps forward. "Here I come!"
Momo Yaoyorozu pole-vaults herself over the frozen ice and contestants. "Nice trick. Todoroki!"
Bakugou is like a mad dog as he flies through the air. "I won't let you get away so easily!" He thrust his hands back as he releases a blast, pushing himself forward. "You Icy-Hot Bastard!"
Ochaco makes it out of the hallway, releasing her Quirk just as Ojiro, Mina, and Tokoyami pass her by.
As she lands, her feet slip-n-slide across the ice but she soon regains her balance. "I wonder what happened to Deku? I figured he'd be in the lead by now." He could have breezed through all of this as XLR8, or fly over everything as Terraspin, even Feedback is athletic enough to make it through.
"Ahh!"
She recognizes that scream! Ochaco reels around and spots something completely unexpected.
A terrified Grey Matter is slipping and sliding across the ice while also trying to avoid being stepped on by other contestants that also avoided the ice.
"Deku!"
Grey Matter spins around when he hears his name, but a nearby student slips and accidentally kicks the Galvan forward.
"Ahhh!" Grey matter slides across the ice, screaming his head off as feet stomp around him.
Acting fast, Ochaco scoops him up while also trying to keep moving. "Why aren't you XLR8?!"
"YOU THINK I WANTED THIS!?" The Omnitrix decided to mess with him at the last second! It's not his fault the blasted thing has a sense of irony to it!
Meanwhile, the indigo-haired teen watches Class 1-A take the lead as a group of dazed students carry him across the ice. "So they are good at using their powers. Huh?" He smirks.
The current lead, Todoroki, peers back at the stampede of students who managed to avoid his attack. "I didn't expect so many people to dodge that. Especially those from other classes."
He's surprised to see how quickly Mineta is catching up to him. His shorter classmate is using his Sticky Balls as a means to bounce across the ice.
Grey Matter watches from Ochaco's shoulder as Mineta readies to attack Todoroki from behind, but it doesn't go as well as he thinks as a robot bursts out and dunks on the unsuspecting Mineta.
"Are you okay?!" shouts Grey Matter as a 1-Point Mecha blocks their way.
"Targets acquired. Terminate them."
Ochaco comes to a halt as more robots appear before the students. "It's those robots… from the Entrance Exam."
Present Mic's voice rings out. "Ooh! Enemies have shown up out of nowhere!" He must be watching from all the camera robots posted in and around the track. "I bet we're in for a treat here! A test of strength and cunning!"
Todoroki gazes up at huge robotic behemoths.
"It's a Robo Inferno!"
An entire army of robots from the Entrance Exam are blocking the way. You have the 1-Pointers to 3-Pointers, but the ones that stand out are the number of giant Zero-Point Mechas towering over them.
Kaminari skids to a halt along with many others. "Are those the Zero-Point villains from the practical test?!"
Todoroki eyes the behemoths. "So, this is what the other students face in their entrance exams."
Yaoyorozu is in just the same amount of disbelief. "Where's the school even get the funding for these things?" That is an honestly good question, too bad nobody has an answer.
One of the goliath robots stretches its arm down at Todoroki to squash him like a bug.
Todoroki stomps his foot to the ground as ice encases his arm. "They obviously went through a lot of trouble, but I wish they'd prepared something a little more difficult." He presses his hand against the ground and ice floods out around him. He glares up at the Zero-Point Mecha as its giant hand looms over him. "Especially since my dear-old man is watching."
He waves his hand upward and a blizzard of ice pushes the metallic monstrosity back.
The dual-haired teen releases a cold breath of air and takes off not admiring how his own ice has frozen the entire giant in place.
As he runs past the bots, his competitors finally snap out of their astonishment after witnessing such a grand display of power.
"Dude, he stopped the robot!"
"Look! Between its legs! We can get through!"
"Careful, now." states Todoroki. "I froze it while it was off its balance."
Pieces of the robot break apart as the towering mass begins to fall forward.
"On purpose." He doesn't bother to look back as the frozen Zero-Point Mecha collapses onto the ground and possibly onto some students.
Present Mic shouts out gleefully from the commentator's booth. "That's Todoroki from Class 1-A pulling ahead to an early lead with a devastating display! Amazing! He's one we should watch! It almost seems unfair! Thoughts?"
Aizawa's voice cuts in. "His attack was both offensive and defensive."
"No wonder he was let in on recommendations!"
Todoroki keeps going as his teachers sing his praises.
"He'd never even fought those Robo Infernos before! But they didn't stand a chance against his chart-topping moves!"
Meanwhile, more robots appear from within the dust-cloud in the aftermath of Todoroki's wake.
Ochaco scowls in frustration. 'I need to catch up.'
She better keep her wits about her otherwise the other obstacles are going to catch her.
Grey Matter glares at the fallen behemoth. 'Come on Izuku, think! What do I do?' He can't rely on Ochaco for long, he needs to prove himself.
The little alien peers at his hand and a brilliant idea comes to mind making him smile.
Meanwhile, other students are panicking with fear after witnessing the robot collapse on top of a few individuals.
Their concern is unfounded as something or rather someone breaks through the frozen metal husk.
"I'm alive!" screams Kirishima as his hardened skin pushes back the metal.
"Kirishima from Class 1-A! What a hardcore debut for this rookie!"
Kirishima growls at Todoroki's moving form. "Todoroki, I can't believe you pulled something like that. Jeez. Anyone but me woulda been killed."
A different voice echoes from within the metal husk. "Class 1-A really is full a' jerks!" The same guy from Class 1-B breaks through the robot. "I'll smash that ice guy when I get my hands on him!" His entire skin has turned to steel which shines in the sunlight.
"Woah! Tetsutetsu from Class 1-B was also stuck underneath! What are the odds?!"
Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu has long, messy gray hair, his eyes are each lined with a very thick, jagged, tan-colored substance. Like Kirishima, he has rows of sharp, pointed fangs as teeth.
"Ya know, anyone other than me woulda been killed."
Kirishima takes off running as a trail of tears leaks from his eyes. "Our Quirks are basically the same! How am I supposed to stand out now?!"
Tetsutetsu runs off after him. "You damn copycat!"
Others make their own way over the hulking metal monsters, such as Bakugou.
With a booming explosion the mad bomber blasts his way up and over a Zero-Point Mecha. 'No way I'm letting Todoroki beat me.'
With expert aerial acrobatics, he evades a massive punch from the robot before soaring past the goliath's head.
"Class 1-A's Bakugou is rocketing over the obstacles! Clever!"
It is rather surprising to see him purposefully avoiding a fight, but perhaps he's just keeping his eye on the true prize.
Tokoyami and Sero follow along behind him each using their respective Quirks to scale over the metal menace.
The massive audience cheers from within the stadium as they watch the students from the giant screens.
Snipe watches as Bakugou flies away from the first obstacle. "Looks like all the pack leaders are from Class 1-A."
Vlad King huffs. "For now at least."
Thirteen peers over at their colleague. "Maybe but you have to admit that Class 1-A's really doing well today." But where is Midoriya? He hasn't appeared on screen once. And neither has Uraraka for that matter.
Toshinori adds in his own thoughts. "It's not that 1-B and the other students are doing poorly. It's just…"
Aizawa's voice takes over from the commentator's booth. "Class 1-A's learned not to hesitate."
The entire stadium watches as Iida kick stomps a robot. Followed by Jiro jamming her Earphone Jacks into a pair of bots and blasting them with a high-pitched frequency. Even Kaminari takes down a 1-Point Mecha.
Aizawa continues with his explanation. "They've seen what the real world is like. They've felt the fear of facing villains."
Shoji grapples a 1-Point Mecha and with immense strength he flips it onto its back.
"Yet they fight on, trying to overcome that fear."
Ojiro spins through the air before slamming his tail into a bot, hitting its head clean off.
"They've grown. All of them. And they know that they have to act quickly if they want to stay alive."
'I need to try and use One For All otherwise I'm never going to win this!' Ochaco dodges an attack several 1-Point Mechas as Grey Matter hangs on for dear life.
She presses her hands against the two bots before pushing them upward. 'But that doesn't mean I'm helpless!' She grins as the robots fly up.
She releases her Quirk and the bots come crashing down onto the dirt.
Before she can runoff, Grey Matter hops off her shoulder.
"What are you doing?! We have to keep going!"
Grey Matter lands atop one of the bots. "No! This is a competition!" He turns so he can face his friend. "Todoroki was right, we are not friends today. Today we are rivals!"
"What?"
"Uraraka, we each have our own goals! We can't rely on each other. All we can do is use our own skills if we want to make it as heroes."
"But-" She's silenced by a wave of a hand.
She hates to admit it, but he's right. She can't be worried about his problems right now; she needs to focus on her own. Today everyone is a rival.
Grey Matter offers up a grin. "You keep going. I'll catch up." That's a promise.
Ochaco hesitates but gives in. "You may regret that decision. Because I'm going to win!" She turns away and takes off to regain lost time.
Grey Matter smiles and turns to bots as members of Class 1-B and other contestants run on by. "Now." He cracks his fingers, prepping them for what's to come. "Let's get to work."
In the meantime, Ochaco finally arrives at the end of the first obstacle now she just has to be on the lookout for the next one.
From behind her several of the Zero-Point Mechas' heads implode as projectiles are fired into them.
"A piece of cake!" declares Yaoyorozu as she leaves behind the large cannon she built.
Ochaco gazes back in amazement, glad that she's far enough away from the collapsing giants. "Wow, she beat a Zero-Pointer that easily?! No wonder she got in on recommendations!"
But just because she was let in on recommendations doesn't mean the rest of the competitors are slackers either. Ochaco spots a girl from Class 1-B using her vine like hair to move across the track.
At the sight of the skillful competition, Ochaco speeds up. She can almost sense that All Might is watching her, pushing her forward as he cheers her on. Now that there's no more ice or robots in the way she can really let her agility shine through. With the legs that climbed up a mountain for months, she blitzes her way forward with such a fast speed that could make Iida jealous.
Present Mic screams through the speakers. "For those of you who thought the first obstacle was easy. Let's see how ya feel about the second one!"
'Second one?' Ochaco soon catches up to the midway point, and in front of her she sees that she's caught up to Tsuyu and Mina.
She picks up her pace hoping to pass them by. As she does, she leaps forward to claim the lead. That was a mistake.
"Ahhh!" She screams out at the deep dark trench below her.
Tsuyu's sticky pink tongue lashes out, wraps around her waist, and pulls her in before she falls to a useable doom.
Ochaco keels over onto the ground. "Oh, thank you."
Tsuyu smiles down at her. "I guess you should have looked before you leaped."
Mina perks up. "Was that a pun?"
"…Don't tell Midoriya."
As Mina chuckles at Tsuyu's response, Ochaco takes another look at the trench.
"If they take a spill, they're out! If they wanna pass this test, they'll have to get creative. It's The Fall!"
The Fall is a vast dark pit filled with tall stone pillars that are all connected by tightropes.
Ochaco backpedals away from the edge. "When did they even have time to build something like this?"
Tsuyu steps past the gravity-manipulator and then squats down.
Mina eyes the frog girl. "What are you doing?"
"Kero!" Tsuyu jumps out and lands onto a tightrope with no issues. "Kero." She starts moving forward one hand and foot moving at a time. "This is my moment. Easy peasy."
"She's fast." Awes Mina.
A thrilled cackle echoes from behind Ochaco and Mina.
"Yes. Finally." Mei Hatsume's goggles sheen in the light. "This is my chance to show off what I can do."
All across her form, she's wearing an assortment of support items and gear from metallic shoes, strange devices hooked to her belt, and of course her steampunk like goggles.
"My support items are gonna steal the spotlight from these wannabe heroes. Everyone!" She throws hands out in dramatic fashion. "Observe what my brilliant gadgets can do!"
Ochaco instantly recognizes her. "Hey, you're Hatsume!"
"That's right…now who are you?"
"What?! You mean you don't know?!" After all, Hatsume is supposed to be the one creating her support gear!
"Nope." Hatsume states flatly without a care if she sounds rude.
Ochaco sighs not enjoying how self-absorbed this strange girl is.
Mina, however, is upset about a clear injustice. "Hey! How come you got to bring all that stuff?"
Hatsume smiles eagerly, more than happy to explain why she has the gear that she does. "Students in the Hero Course get all kinds of combat training for their Quirks." Her smile turns devilishly mischievous for a moment. "In order to keep things fair and give us a fighting chance, we're allowed to bring whatever gadgets and costumes we want into the games. So long as we developed them ourselves."
She then steps forward. "So, sit back and enjoy the show!" Her wire arrows fire out and pierce into one of the pillars.
"For those of us in the Support Course, this is the perfect obstacle to show off our ingenious ideas and creations to any companies that may want to recruit us!" Her hover soles fire and launch her forward. "Hahahaha!" She jumps into the trench without a care in the world. "I hope employers are watching!" As she descends down, she presses a button and the wire reels her up and onto the side of the pillar. "My super cute little babies are sure to make a splash!" Her hover soles shoot her upward as she cackles in delight. "Hehahaha! Hehahaha!"
"Talk about annoying," grumbles the pink-skinned teen.
Ochaco glares, she can't let the Support Course student get ahead of her. "I won't lose!" She runs forward, pressing her hands against her face and jumps forward allowing Zero-Gravity to do its thing.
"Ugh! This is so unfair!" Mina runs forward too.
Other students run up to take on the next obstacle. One of them happens to be the indigo-haired boy with bags under his eyes. "Interesting." He smirks creepily, watching the students of Class 1-A make their way across. "Heh."
Present Mic comments. "In the world of heroes, it can be hard to get popular without a flashy Quirk. Right, Eraserhead?"
"I don't know what you're talking about, idiot." Present Mic is lucky that Aizawa can't move his arms right now, otherwise he wouldn't hesitate to strangle him with his scarf.
Ochaco lands atop the first pillar, she looks ahead to see how much further she has to go, and she spots Todoroki skating over a frozen tightrope to make it to the opposite end of the obstacle. Bakugou appears to be in hot pursuit of their dual-haired classmate as he flies over The Fall.
She observes the situation and notices how ridiculous Iida looks as he T-poses his way on a tightrope, using his engines to push himself forward. "He looks so silly!" she spit-takes.
She slaps her cheeks and shakes her head. "Don't get distracted! I have a Sports Festival to win."
The stadium is full of chatter as the screens display the skillfulness of each student, especially of those in the lead. Many of the pro heroes in attendance take notice of them especially.
"The dude in first place is so far ahead. Not even that kid who gave the speech is anywhere to be seen."
"His Quirk is really powerful, but it's his natural athletic talent and keen judgment keeping him in first place."
"I'm not surprised. Don't you know who his father is? The Flame Hero, Endeavor!"
"Wait, for real?!"
"That guy's second only to All Might himself."
"Everyone'll be fighting to have him as a Sidekick for sure."
Toshinori can hear them all talking above him. And he has to agree, but this Sports Festival is only just beginning. Anything can happen.
Ochaco makes it across The Fall as Shoji glides over to the end and Yuga Aoyama launches himself over with his Navel Laser.
"The leader's pulling distance between him and the students stuck at The Fall!" shouts Present Mic. "It hasn't been announced how many competitors will make it through to the next round. So, there's no time to relax."
Inko gitters around on the couch, unable to pry her eyes off the television. "Come on, Izuku."
ML-E bounces off her family's couch, cheering at the top of her lungs. "Go Ochan! Go!"
At the same time a crowd of aliens gaze up at the holographic screen displayed over Mr. Baumann's bar.
"This year's first-years really are something."
"No kidding, no wonder they were able to hold off villains all on their own."
"Hey, what happened to that kid with the Omni-something."
"Omnitrix." Mr. Baumann corrects.
Information spreads fast through the alien community of Japan, namely because it is rather small. But even so with Thirteen coming by every now and again, it was only a matter of time before the aliens of Earth found out. So, the pro hero just came out with it so none of them would be thrown for a loop.
"Isn't that girl with the pink-cheeks a Plumber, too?"
"Na, she's more of a cadet."
A rodent-like being throws his head back in annoyance. "Gah! Why are we even watching this?! It's just hero propaganda."
Mr. Baumann tosses a can at the big mouthed rodent. "Shut it, Argit! You can leave if you don't want to watch!"
Argit glowers but keeps his mouth shut.
Mr. Baumann goes back to watching the screen along with his otherworldly customers. 'Come on, Izuku. Where's that fighting spirit of yours?'
A panting Todoroki arrives at the third and final obstacle of the Obstacle Race.
Present Mic's voice booms out to introduce it. "And now, we're finally approaching the last obstacle. Everyone had better tread carefully. You're stepping onto a Minefield!"
The final obstacle is a minefield that stretches far into the distance. Looking closely little mounds of dirt protrude upward, clearly that is where the bombs are hidden. Only issue is the ground is absolutely littered with them.
"If you look carefully you can see where those little bombs are buried. So, keep your eyes on the ground, folks." He adds in the next part for liability sake. "By the way, those land mines were designed for the games. So, they might be loud and flashy, but they're not all that powerful. JUST ENOUGH TO MAKE YOU WET YOUR PANTS!"
Aizawa retorts dryly. "Get a hold of yourself."
Ochaco's head snaps up after hearing Present Mic's announcement 'No way! Did Todoroki already make it to the final obstacle?' She needs to move it! 'Move it Ochaco! You can do it! You can still win this! Maybe…' As she runs, she passes by some more students even those from Class 1-B.
She just needs to call upon One For All if she wants to achieve victory, but the question is: how? How can she utilize its power without disabling herself, or at least with the minimal amount of damage to her body?
As Ochaco nears the third obstacle, other students are making their own way across, but with so many hidden bombs, they only end up getting blown up by booming pink smoke.
With so many bombs everywhere, Todoroki has been reduced to a fast walk instead of a run. 'Very clever. Those in the lead are actually at a disadvantage here.' He keeps his balance despite the explosions in the background. 'Guess it makes for good entertainment.'
A different kind of explosion roars out from behind him.
Todoroki turns around and sees a wickedly grinning Bakugou flying at him at full speed.
"Ha ha ha. It's over. Bastard!" He screams out as one final blast pushes him past Todoroki. "Your declaration of war was to the wrong person!" He thrusts his hand out, but Todoroki dodges his fiery palm.
"Just like that a new student takes the lead!" shouts Present Mic.
They can hear the audience from there, they are in a complete uproar now that Bakugou has caught up to the leader.
"The media here is going crazy! There's nothing they love more than an upset!" And judging from Present Mic's voice he loves it too.
While those two duke it out, other students take advantage of the situation to catch up such as those in the Hero Course classes.
"Hey, hey, hey! The rest of the competitors are catching up, too!" Present Mic returns his attention back to the leaders. "And what's this?!"
Todoroki deflects Bakugou's hand as they keep moving while also avoiding landmines.
"Can our two leaders fight each other and stay in front of the competition?!"
Todoroki grabs Bakugou's arm partly freezing it but the blonde shakes him off before he can do too much damage.
Back at the start of the Minefield, Ochaco has just arrived. 'Darn, they're so far ahead.' She can see the two of them fighting it out, she can assume that Bakugou's ego must have reached its limit and now he's trying to regain some sense of dominance.
But his blunder will be her salvation, she just needs to use it, she needs to use One For All…but how? She could power up her legs with it, but then what? Launch herself forward and hope it's strong enough to get her all the way to the finish line? Unlikely… But what if it wasn't her entire leg?
With a new brilliant idea, Ochaco sets herself up. First, she uses Zero-Gravity on herself making her weightless and then she gets into a running stance lowering herself so she can take off.
While traversing the start of the Minefield, Jiro notices Ochaco's running stance. "What's Uraraka doing?" She doesn't have time to see and keeps going using her stretching Earphone Jacks to help locate the bombs.
'Focus. Just Focus.' All Might's successor inhales and then exhales calming her mind as she focuses on the task at hand. 'Focus on one point.'
She focuses on that feeling of protecting, of saving others that All Might told her to call upon. Her entire body lights up in a dazzling pink aura as One For All courses through her. Her entire body stiffens if she moves there's no doubt, she'd damage her body, now she can't move so she focuses even more, and the light flows down to her legs. Ochaco can feel the immense amount of power flowing through her entire body as One For All streams through her leg and then her foot lights as One For All concentrates within her toe.
And that's all she needs as she takes off like a bullet! She soars over the landmines as a powerful whirlwind trails behind her. "BURST COMET!"
Explosions boom out behind her as she rockets past her fellow classmates and competitors.
The roaring explosion draw Bakugou's and Todoroki's attention and they are more than surprised to see Ochaco racing towards them.
Ochaco is nothing but a blur flying just a foot above the minefield, only her Zero-Gravity to protect her from an exploding fate, as explosions roar behind her in her wake.
She can almost hear All Might screaming "YES!" all the way from the stands, but the pain and swelling of her toe as well as the whipping wind in her face prevent her from hearing him or even Present Mic's commentary.
"Wow! How is she doing that?! Whatever the case, Class 1-A's Ochaco Uraraka is now vying for the top spot!"
She's quickly clearing the Minefield; at this rate she will catch up to the leaders in no time.
"Dammit, Roundface!"
"Uraraka?!"
Bakugou thrusts his arm back and releases a thundering explosion right into the girl's path, he is not about to let someone else take the lead.
Ochaco's eyes widen in terror as she flies uncontrollably right to the fiery eruption.
"Release!" Gravity's pull returns and drags her down and she tumbles across the ground until a landmine bursts into a cloud of pink smoke, thrusting her up into the air.
Despite ending up in an explosion either way, she keeps her composure as she's launched into the air again and right over the two boys before falling back towards the ground.
She quickly uses Zero-Gravity to soften her descent. And just in time too because Todoroki launches a sheet of ice across the ground in an attempt to freeze her in place, unfortunately for him, he essentially created a slippery landing pad for the gravity girl.
"Get out of the way!" shouts Bakugou as he runs forward, he throws his hand as bursts flare out.
Out of reflex, Ochaco grabs Bakugou's arm, turns her boy and pulls him up and over her shoulder slamming him into the ground and onto a landmine that blasts both of them, and the nearby charging Todoroki away.
The three leads are able to regain their balance and keep moving forward while also avoiding attacks from each other.
Bakugou tries to blast them away but they evade or brush off his palms. Ochaco does her best to ignore the pain in her foot while also trying to land a hand on them. But Todoroki encases his skin in ice to repel the effect of her Zero-Gravity.
"Wha?! It's now a three-way brawl for the fini-..." Present Mic goes quiet as someone notified him about something. Whatever it is it must be big if it were to distract him from the three-way brawl for the finish. "Hang on! Hang on! Hang on!"
Ochaco is just able to slap away Todoroki's hand after he grabbed her shoulder and encased it in ice. She vaguely wonders what Present Mic is talking about, but she has to focus on the here and now.
"What's this, it's Izuku Midoriya! And he's quickly approaching from the rear!"
"What?!" cry out the three clashing leaders.
"Yeah, baby!" Grey Matter shouts gleefully from within his newly decked out Mecha as he races through the Obstacle Course at high speed.
After leaving Uraraka he got to work on hijacking a 1-Point Mecha. While taking some parts from a second downed 1-Point Mecha.
His decked out Mecha uses a 1-Point Mecha as the main frame, it's leaning backwards with a second tire hitched to its back for double the speed, the bot's arms are positioned backwards at its sides with its gatling guns towards its rear to act as thrusters, and finally it's robotic head its atop its belly acting as a cockpit for the little alien to drive.
It took him some time of course but definitely well worth it because he's already made it to The Fall.
Grey Matter steps on the gas and with a pull of some wires his high-speed vehicle springs upward as it leaps over the gorge, bouncing from pillar to pillar.
Grey Matter feels a bit guilty as he jumps around, but he's moving far too quickly for other students to move out of the way in time.
"Look out!"
"Coming through!"
"Sorry!"
"Ooh!" That had to hurt.
He instantly arrives at the other side; the tires spin wildly before racing forward with a screech kicking up dirt in its wake.
Grey Matter tugs on more wires making the vehicle race even faster and soon he's coming upon the Minefield. Knowing he can't slow down now; he kicks it into high gear for one last burst of speed that rockets him straight into the Minefield and past his competition.
Explosions trail behind the metallic vehicle, which is durable enough to withstand the blasts, the same could not be said for the students that are unfortunate to be in his direct path.
Meanwhile, the three racing leads are in complete and other awe as Grey Matter races across the entirety of the Minefield.
They only have Present Mic's announcement to clarify who it is that's catching up to them. "Class 1-A's Izuku Midoriya just went from dead last to suddenly being in pursuit for first place!"
"Oh! What a day! What a lovely day!" shouts Grey Matter as he plows right past Ochaco, Bakugou, and Todoroki.
"Strike that! THE LEAD IS HIS!"
The audience roars out at the thrilling development, so much so that they shake the stadium.
The vehicle's thrusters give out, slowing its pace but Grey Matter still keeps the lead. "Hahahaha! Ingenious!" Yes! This worked out so much better than he had thought! 'This is what it means to use what you got!'
And what Grey Matter has is an advanced intellect, and a lot of spare parts to work with! 'Now I'm about to win a race of speed and athletics with pure brain power!'
He better not get too comfortable because the three leads immediately take off after him. "DEKU!" Bakugou rockets after him with a crazed look in his eye. "What the hell do you think you're doing, huh?!"
Todoroki generates an ice path in front of him as he sprints forward. 'This ice path will end up helping others. But there's no time to worry about them!' He's actually somewhat worried now, he was too complacent thinking nobody would catch up to him and now he's paying the price.
Ochaco runs as fast as she can, while still avoiding bombs. 'Sheesh, Deku! You show off!'
"Look at this plot twist!" shouts Present Mic. "Those three aren't fighting anymore! They're chasing Midoriya! That's what having a common enemy will do in this competition! This fight is still far from over, though!"
That's right, anything can still happen.
Ochaco scowls, she's falling behind the others and fast. 'I can't lose! Come on Ochaco!' Her toe is still swollen, but her adrenaline is pushing back her pain.
She needs to use One For All, there are no other options. 'I need to focus! Focus on that feeling of protecting, of saving, of…of…' And then it hits her. 'No…that's not all. I need to allow One For All to flow, while maintaining focus!' But most importantly. 'I have to stop thinking and just do it!' As her resolve shines through, her magnificent pink-aura illuminates around her.
And with a final kick off the ground Ochaco charges forward with such a force of speed and power that she zooms past Bakugou and Todoroki leaving them to deal with the bombs going off behind her.
"Move it, Deku!"
Grey Matter reels around, his eyes popping open just as Ochaco plows right through his Mecha shattering it in a burst of scrapes and wires.
She flies forward, losing focus on One For All. She is not at all sorry as she rolls across the ground, and then slides to her feet. She never stops moving, sprinting forward as fast as her legs can carry her, happily noting that her legs are okay! She had done it! For a minute there she had control of a portion of One For All's power!
Present Mic is going crazy over the new development. "In a stunning move, Uraraka has blasted past her classmates from 1-A. Even demolishing Midoriya's super cool Mecha!"
Ochaco sprints as fast as she can even as something weighs her arm down. She has no time to worry about it, she has to keep going and win this!
Especially as Bakugou and Todoroki are fast approaching, with their more reliable Quirks they are quickly closing the gap.
"Eraserhead, your students are amazing! What the heck are you teaching them?!"
Aizawa's muffled voice speaks with a hint of pride. "This has nothing to do with me."
The three main leads keep on going, moving as fast as their natural abilities can take them through the narrow passageway.
"Each of them is powered by their own drive to succeed."
Ochaco can see the light at the end of the tunnel! She's almost there!
Present Mic laughs out. "There you have it, Eraserhead is a terrible teacher!"
"I'm what?!" shouts Aizawa.
Bakugou's blast echoes behind Ochaco as if he's only an inch behind her.
Present Mic continues to comment. "Who would have imagined at the beginning of this race that the climax would be a non-stop mega mix of surprises?!"
Ochaco can feel the cold-touch of Todoroki's ice on her heels.
So, with one last push with the support of her loved ones and for the sake of her dreams spurring her one Ochaco calls upon One For All one last time.
"BURST COMET!"
And just as Bakugou and Todoroki are about to pass her by, she blasts right past them like a pink-colored comet had fired down from the stars and all to claim victory over the Obstacle Course.
All Might's successor surges into the stadium to the sound of resounding cheers and screams. A tired yet thrilled smile adorns her face as she swings her arm forward just before the finish line. But that's when she notices it. Perched upon her shoulder, Grey Matter smirks at her with a mischievous yet proud look in his eyes.
It takes a second for her to realize that he latched onto her when she blasted straight through his Mecha. But that means…
"How unprecedented! Ochaco Uraraka and Izuku Midoriya are our CHAMPIONS!"
"How It Should Have Ended" (HISHI - this is not canon to story)
Back just before the race began the final light shuts off just as Midnight shouts. "BEGIN!"
A stampede of students charge forward all clambering through the narrow hallway.
Izuku races forward, activating the source of his powers, and disappears under a flash of green light and is replaced by the one-and-only XLR8.
The Kineceleran weaves in and out, around the sea of slow-moving students, even running along the vertical wall at a high speed to avoid the flow of stampeding contestants.
XLR8 bursts out of the doorway far before Todoroki could attempt to freeze anyone in place.
XLR8 is but a blur as he speeds past the Robo Inferno, he's so fast the robots couldn't even register that he ran right past them.
Even The Fall is of no consequence as XLR8 easily skates across the tightropes, zig zagging between pillars before he's on the other side. He turns around briefly to admire how deep the gorge really is before taking off again.
In less than a minute he's already at the Minefield, but even unaware of the dangers ahead of him he keeps on going. Taking advantage of the Kineceleran's natural speed. He blazes a trail right through the Minefield, moving so quickly that the bombs blow up far too late to do anything. Even the sonic blast of the bomb can't reach him as he's already running straight through the passageway and swirls around to a stop after bursting through the finish line and into the stadium to the sound of a stunned audience.
"What! The! HELL!" cries an astonished Present Mic. "IZUKU MIDORIYA OF CLASS 1-A FINISHED THE ENTIRE COURSE IN LESS THAN A MINUTE!"
That's got to be some kind of U.A. record right there!
XLR8 looks towards the start of the race and he can actually still see the last flow of students trying to get through. "Huh… What do you know?"
He honestly thought it would have taken him a lot longer than this. Even the obstacles weren't that bad…sure they look scary, but it was no big deal.
Aizawa deadpans. "This is why I said we should have included more obstacles." Like a maze or some sort of giant obstacle for the students to climb over, even an obstacle that made them stop to solve a puzzle could have at least slowed down the boy a bit.
XLR8 sheepishly chuckles. "He, yeah, sorry…I was too excited." And lucky thing too that the Omnitrix gave him the right alien he needed.
Could you imagine if he became someone like Grey Matter or Ditto? He certainly doesn't want to think about it.
XLR8 looks over at the equally stunned Midnight. "So, now what do I do?"
Midnight snaps out of her daze. "Oh, um…" She tries to regain her composure by whipping her flogger. "You can run the course again!" Oops, she was so out of it she said the worst thing possible.
XLR8 grins as his visor closes down over his face. "Okay!" He zips away to the arch away and begins to lap the other students before most of them are even through the Robo Inferno.
Meanwhile, Toshinori pales in his seat. 'Just…just what is this kid?!'
Thirteen is shaking their head. 'Dammit, Midoriya…I know I said to make a splash, but don't humiliate your classmates in the process, too…!'
Before long XLR8 speeds back into the stadium from the opposite end. "Can I go again?!"
Nearly the entire arena and possibly the entire galaxy cries out all at once. "NOOOOO!"
And that was Ch.21 Roaring Start, I thought it was fun. Plus it was the fastest chapter I was able to upload in the history of this fic. To be fair, I had a preexisting outline to work with (manga/anime). That said, I don't know if I can get the next chapter out just as fast or not, so no promises when it will get here. To be honest I am most excited to get to the individual tournament battles, but we need to get through a few more stuff first. Anyway how was Ch.21? Did you like it? Did you not? Please let me know.
Also I should have probably made this clear sooner, but this fic essentially has two protagonists (Izuku and Ochaco) with the main focus being on Izuku most of the time. So, if you felt like there was a great deal of focus on her in this chapter; that was on purpose. Don't worry though, as I said the main focus will mostly be on Izuku for the most part.
Also The "How It Should Have Ended" (HISHI) above is basically an Omaki but I titled it after a YouTube channel under the same name. They basically animate versions of movies and explain that one or two simple decisions could have changed the entire outcomes of movies: Avengers, Jurassic Park, Star Wars, and so much more. So, basically what I was doing with the Omaki scene was to show what would have happened if the Omnitrix gave Izuku XLR8 from the start. But he ended up getting Grey Matter instead and I'm sticking to that timeline. Anyway I hope you enjoyed the HISHE!
Oh, and for fun let me know which alien (any Ben Ten alien) you would have given Izuku to use during this Obstacle Race and how they would have done it. I'm curious.
*So, I basically combined Episode 15 and 16 of the anime. I didn't see any point of making you guys wait for an outcome by leaving a cliffhanger half way through so I tried to fit the Obstacle Course all in one go. I may not be able to do the same for the next events, however.
*As for why I chose Grey Matter: 1.) I haven't been able to give him a good amount of screen time yet. 2.) I thought it would be nice/fun to have him trick out a robot to win. 3.) Show that brains can beat brawn. 4.) It made it easier to craft out the chapter since I could leave him out near the start of the race and then bring him back in the end for a major comeback.
*Speaking of comebacks, Ochaco's newest special move, Burst Comet, is a move I hope to evolve as she gains more control over One For All.
Responses to "Guest" Reviewers from Ch.20 Last Laugh:
Aztec 13: Wow a other fast one, this chapter is a fun filled one we get to see a classic Ben ten villain zombozo and his circus freaks, hope they show again later, Izuku shows off more of his aliens skills especially with buzzshock I found the SpongeBob references with rip Jaws that is funny, like I said this a fun chapter can't wait for the next chapter , please continue
CreateGunner1209: I know right! These last few chapters have been quick, haven't they? Glad you liked the inclusion of Zombozo and his Freaks. I can't promise that they will return any time soon, but you never know things can change. Anyway I'm glad you thought of Ch.20 as fun. That makes it worth it. And I'm sure you didn't have to wait long for Ch.21.
Atom king: This filler chapter is the most fun one yet, I mean at the start we see Izuku training with each alien, the one with Ditto is great with each one having a different personality now I can't wait to see echo echo to show up just to see another version of that. The terraspin crash-land on Mr Baumann car is really funny I want to see more of that bit.
Now with circus we see some old Ben ten villains zombozo and the circus freaks, I hope they show up again in later chapters maybe join the league of villains.
The last part of the chapter see a team up with Izuku, Ochaco and ML-E, it's great to see her again, ML-E asking for money from Ochaco is also funny, and Ochaco getting a hammer is great too it does remind me of Harley Quinn, but the real best part is at end where Izuku develops a phobia of clowns after all this crazy, now I can't wait for the next chapter.
CreateGunner1209: I'm glad you liked a lot of the jokes in Ch.20 I was worried not all of them would be a hit. I can't promise that Zombozo will make a return, but you never know things can change. I have a few ideas where I can try to bring him back but like I said, no promises. Anyway glad to hear that you enjoyed the chapter greatly and I hope Ch.21 is a good follow up, although more on the serious side of things.
Guest: I have to say that this chapter has put a smile on my face, so I have to ask why so serious?!
Sorry I couldn't resist.
CreateGunner1209: I am kicking myself for not including that reference. I bow to your sense of cleverness.
Shark: Amazing chapter like always. I do wonder how you'll introduce ghostfreak, since out of all of the aliens I'd say he is the most volatile
CreateGunner1209: Thanks. And not to worry I have big plans for Ghostfreak.
Guest: Me encantó este capítulo, en el anterior dijiste que tenías planeado poner a Spitter, pero que otro alienígena te interesaría poner como por ejemplo:
Heatblast
Snare-oh
Ghostfreak
¿Cuál eligirias tú?
Como sea buen capítulo sigue así
CreateGunner1209: Glad you loved Ch.20. Anyway to answer your question: I have a plan on where, where, and how to include every single main Ben Ten alien into Izuku's Omnitrix. So… Yes, I will have Heatblast. Yes, I will have Snare-oh. And Yes, I will have Ghostfreak.
Jiggly Joe (a new review for Ch.1): "It started when an alien device did what it did
It stuck itself upon his wrist with secrets that it hid
Now he's got superpowers he's an ordinary kid
He's Izu Juu!"
It had to be done.
CreateGunner1209: Yes. yes it did.
Atom king: Hey I been checking out the spin off Vigilantes I was wondering if events from the spin off will show up in the story too, cause in the story there's quirk enhancer call Tigger that if more the person use it the more bug like they become, I'm wondering in this story that the quirk enhancer could be alien in origin, that way plumbers and Izuku can be involved, what you think?
CreateGunner1209: Thing is that the events of Vigilantes is technically a prequel to the events of MHA. Although I like the Spinoff series I will not be touching that subject matter. I may do something with Trigger but as of now I have no plan to delve into it.
Guest: do you have plans to give izuku alien x?
CreateGunner1209: I do, but not for a long while. Alien X is far too powerful in my opinion so I don't want to throw him in so quickly.
BlueRanger-Lyric: Hey, great chapter there, I'm really liking how this story is going so far, and I think it's rather funny that Izuku use to not be scared of clowns, but is now scared of them after this (Hope Bakugou never learns of this) as to from Ben 10, Ben use to be Scared of clowns but is not after that episode, and I would love to see a running gag where Uraraka uses her new hammer to wake Bakugou in the head for pissing her off, or anyone that makes her mad (Like Mineta) I also would like to see how those three Pro-Heroes will feel after seeing Izuku in the Sports Festival after this chapter, I'm looking forward to seeing what comes next
P.S.
Sorry for not commenting on the last chapter, didn't have enough time to finish it before the next chapter showed up, anyway I liked how everything played out in that chapter, and I really hope All Might learns the truth about what's really going on soon, so he can properly make it up to Deku
CreateGunner1209: Nice to know you liked Ch.20 and that you thought it was funny. I'm going to try and bring back the hammer, most likely we will see it again when Class 1-A move into their dorms, and maybe a few times before that. I hope you liked this chapter too. And no worries about commenting late, I am making amazing progress with these chapters lately.