Izuku shook off his nerves after slapping himself, "OK, this is it. A mock battle." He looked around at the other candidates, "How come none of these guys seem nervous at all? Are they that confident? Oh, some of them even have special gear." Then he noticed a familiar face, "Hey, it's her! The nice girl I met at the school gates! The one who kept me from falling. I should probably thank her for helping me back there."
Izuku started to walk over to the girl, but a hand held him back. Izuku turned to see Tenya, who said, "She looks like she's trying to focus on the trials ahead. What are you going to do? Distract her and ruin her chances to succeed?"
Izuku shook his head, "No, of course not!"
The other students noticed Izuku and started to mock him after seeing his behavior earlier. Izuku felt like everyone was already writing him off.
Present Mic's voice boomed loudly over the speakers, "Right, let's start. Get movin'! There are no countdowns in real battles. Run, run, run, listeners! You're wasting airtime here!"
Izuku turned around and saw that everyone had already started running into the battle center, "Crap, I'm already behind. Hey, wait up! Save some villains for me!"
Over at the battle center where Danny was, he stood at the back of the crowd so no one would notice him. He had just transformed into Phantom when the battle started. He turned invisible and flew right through all the other candidates.
"Now," Danny thought. "If I was a villain robot, where would I be?" Suddenly a 2 point villain popped out of nowhere and Danny shouted, "Perfect!" He shot an ecto blast, destroying it instantly. The other combatants were confused as Danny was still invisible so they couldn't see who made the shot. Danny chuckled and his voice echoed, making the other contestants shiver a bit with fear.
Danny saw another villain robot, a 3 point one, come toward some contestants who weren't paying attention, and Phantom turned visible and flew down and grabbed the contestants before they were crushed. He shot an ecto beam from his eyes for good measure and destroyed the robot. He flew to the ground and dropped the contestants off, "You guys should probably be more observant. These robots are coming out of everywhere."
The guys he saved were stunned at the ghost boy standing before them. Other contestants nearby were murmuring debating where Phantom came from and how strong he looked. Phantom flew away looking for more robots to fight.
Meanwhile, Izuku was still running far behind the crowd in his group, "Just calm down. This is fine. I have plenty of time. I'll catch up to them. After all, I've got All Might's power in me."
He thought back to earlier that morning when he got All Might's power through swallowing a lock of his hair. All Might told him that the power should kick in maybe two to three hours after ingesting the hair. The hero also warned him that even though he molded his body into a proper vessel, he did it in a hurry so he had to be cautious as he hadn't even taken the power for a test drive. As the physical backlash of One For All can be intense.
As Izuku was thinking about what All Might said, a 1 point robot charged out from the building in front of him. "Whoa, a one pointer!"
The robot charged at him, but Izuku couldn't move his feet for some reason. "I'm gonna die!"
But then the robot was destroyed by a contestant named Aoyama, who had the Quirk: Naval Laser. "Merci," Aoyama thanked Izuku. "We make a great team with you as my decoy. Although, I doubt I'll be seeing too much of you in the future. Adieu!"
He sped off leaving Izuku there alone. Present Mic's voice came over the loudspeakers, "Six minutes and two seconds left!"
Izuku started to freak out, "Not good, not good!" He started to run again, looking around for robots to destroy for points, but all he could find were robots already destroyed.
He looked and saw the girl from earlier. She was using her Quirk: Gravity to levitate the robots in the air then drop them to the ground, destroying them. She saw her progress, "OK, that should be at least 28 points."
Tenya came running in, thanks to his Quirk: Engine, and hyper kicked the robot destroying it. "That puts me at 45!"
Izuku really was starting to freak out, "How'd they get so many?" He looked around and saw students everywhere destroying robots left right and center. "At this rate, there won't be any enemies left. I'm gonna fail!"
What the contestants didn't know was that they were being monitored by the principal and the other teachers of the school. The principal commented, "Clearly the examinees have no idea how many villains are present, or their locations. They have limited time, must cover a vast area, and hunt down every last target. Some use information gathering to plan out their strategies, while others rely on speed to pull ahead of their peers. Of course remaining calm under pressure can be a huge advantage. As can pure power and combat ability. The most successful students use a combination of all these tactics. They're the ones who rack up the highest scores."
One teacher commented, "Hmm. I'd say this year's group looks promising."
"Well, there's still plenty of time before it's over," Another teacher commented. "The real test is yet to come."
"Also," a third teacher added. "It seems there is at least one student using all the tactics in the book. That white haired kid flying around knocking robots down like they're nothing. But he's also being observant of his surroundings and keeping the other contestants safe. Even rescuing them if he needs to. He's almost like a seasoned pro."
Danny was indeed fighting his way through all the robots quickly and rescuing students at the same time. He was only using his flying, phasing, strength, and ecto blast powers during this mock battle. He had no need to go full strength. Plus, he wanted to give the other students a chance to get some points as well.
He floated in the sky slightly above the buildings looking down below, "Well, I haven't been fully keeping track, but I know I have at least 60 points from those robots I destroyed. Not to mention I've saved a few people here and there that weren't paying attention. Now, I wonder how Izuku is doing."
Back where the teachers were watching, a teacher pushed a button that released the 0 point robot to all of the battle centers, but it was enormous.
Izuku looked up at the one that emerged in the battle center he was in, "Isn't that a little extreme?" Other examinees started running away. Izuku realized he had to do the same, "This is a disaster! I've gotta run and find some smaller villains. I'm still at zero points!"
Present Mic's voice boomed over the speakers, "Less than two minutes remaining!"
Izuku really started to panic, "What? Two minutes remaining? Everything All Might and Danny did for me, all that training, it'll be wasted!"
Suddenly he heard a voice cry in pain. He looked behind him and saw that the girl from earlier was trapped until some rubble. In an instance, the same feeling he felt during the sludge monster incident came back to him, and his feet started moving on their own, toward the giant robot. One For All activated in his legs and he jumped high into the sky.
All Might's words rang in his ears as he drew back his arm to throw a punch, "There are no combat points rewarded for taking down the humongous villain. But there is opportunity. A chance to shine. To show what you're really made of. So clench your buttcheeks, kid. And yell this from the depths of your heart!"
"Smash!" Izuku shouted. He punched the robot right in its face and it toppled to the ground.
All Might was watching this along with the other teachers, "That's right. Show who you are. Embody what it means to be a hero. Nothing is nobler than self-sacrifice."
The principal was sitting next to All Might, "It looks like he's not the only one going after the zero pointer." He pointed to a screen that showed Phantom, holding back one of the robot's arms.
Phantom had been up in the sky when the giant robot popped out. He saw the other examinees running away. But then he heard a cry for help. Peering his eyes to the ground, he saw a sleeve waving erratically. Focusing his vision, what was invisible became visible to him and he saw a girl trapped under some rubble. Realizing the danger she was in, he flew down with incredible speed and held back the hand that was about to crush the girl.
"Silly robot," Danny said. "Don't you know it's impolite to raise a hand towards a lady?" He focused all the ecto energy he had left into his hands and sent it all to the robot, obliterating it into ash.
Phantom took some deep breaths, then turned and pulled up the rubble and threw it to the side. He reached a hand down to the invisible girl, "Are you alright?"
The girl took Phantom's hand and stood up, "Yes, thank you. How did you see me?"
"Part of my Quirk," Phantom answered. "Since I can become invisible myself, I also can see things that are invisible. Speaking of which, you might want to fix your shirt."
The girl looked down to see her shirt was ripped in the front, so her boobs were exposed, but since she was invisible, no one else could see them. She glared up at Phantom, "Are you a pervert?!"
Danny shook his head, "No, I'm not! I didn't notice until just now. I didn't mean to offend you. I was just trying to be courteous."
The girl fixed her shirt, "Fine. I'll accept that, for now."
Back with Izuku, he was still in the air, "This is kind of like when I tried to save Kacchan. I moved without thinking. But now I have a Quirk, real power."
"Just one minute left!" Present Mic's voice boomed out.
Izuku realized he was now free falling and started to freak out. He tried using One For All, but his arm and legs were broken. He tried thinking of a strategy to stop his fall, but then the girl he saved slapped him in the face, using her Quirk to stop his fall. She herself was floating on a piece of a robot. She held her hands together and released her power, safely putting herself and Izuku on the ground. But then she threw up, as using too much of her power causes her to get sick.
Izuku laid motionless on the ground, "I'm alive. That girl….She stopped my fall again. Sure seemed to take a lot out of her. But at least she doesn't look injured. That's a relief. Now, I just need to go earn one point…"
He tried to get up so he could earn points, but then Present Mic's voice boomed, "And that's it! Time's up!"
Izuku started to sob as he realized he got zero points, then he fell unconscious. Other examinees gathered around him, talking about what he did. They were surprised that he had power like that, but felt pity that he got zero points, even after showing off a move like he did.
Tenya was standing nearby, "They're all missing the point. Don't they see what he did? He sacrificed everything. Just to save that girl. He must have known how little time was left, how many points he needed to pass, that he was putting his life on the line. But despite those concerns, he didn't hesitate to jump. If this hadn't been an exam, then, of course, I would have done the same thing! Wait….the exam….the judges. They saw that."
"Very nice." An old woman, named Recovery Girl, walked up. "Good work all around. You're heroes in my eyes, every one of you. Here, reward yourselves. Have some gummies." The students mumbled their thanks. She walked over to Izuku, "Oh, my goodness. You were hurt this badly by your Quirk, sonny?" She puckered up her lips as they extended right onto Izuku.
Other examinees were grossed out, but Aoyama said, "That mademoiselle is the heart of UA. You all are watching a school nurse in action. The Youthful Heroine, Recovery Girl. Her Quirk has a tremendous boost of healing power. She's the only reason UA can hold these reckless exams. Look, she's saving him months of recovery time."
Recovery Girl smiled at her work, "All right. He'll be fine now. Anyone else injured?"
Tenya was still thinking, "I wonder. What if the exam had other parameters I didn't take into account? It's possible."
Danny met up with Izuku outside of the school. He saw the somber look on his face. Izuku told him what happened and how he didn't destroy any robots worth points, but did destroy the giant zero point robot. Danny reassured Izuku that what he did was still heroic and hopefully the judges will see that. But Izuku wasn't 100% convinced. They both went back home for a well earned rest.
One week later, Izuku was sitting eating dinner with his mother. But Izuku was just staring at the eyes of the dead fish sitting in front of him. Izuku's mother was trying to get his attention, "Izuku? Snap out of it. Izuku. Why are you smiling at that fish? Should I be worried about you, honey?"
Izuku shook his head to clear his thoughts, "Oh, sorry, no. I just spaced out for a minute." He then started to eat his dinner rapidly.
Later when his mother was doing the dishes, Izuku sat on the couch thinking to himself, "Based on my own estimates, I barely passed the written part of the exam. Not that it really matters, since I ended up with a big fat zero in the mock battle. Not a single point. And ever since the exam, I haven't been able to get in touch with All Might. Danny-kun can't either. At least Danny has been keeping my spirits up. But I bet he aced that mock battle. Given how awesome he is."
He sighed, and his mother noticed, "I know. Waiting for the results is terrible."
"I guess," Izuku muttered.
His mother continued, "No matter what, I just want you to know that I'm proud of you and I think you're really cool, sweetie."
She walked to the front door while Izuku thought, "I haven't told my mom about All Might or his secret. Neither has Danny to his sister. We want him to continue being the Symbol of Peace for everyone, the number one hero. Besides, he trusted us. So, we've been keeping our mouths shut."
He picked up a set of weights and started to do an arm workout, "All Might. Somehow, someway, you saw potential in me. Same with you, Danny-kun. But I failed. I let all of us down. I'm sorry. But I'll keep trying."
Suddenly his mom came rushing in, "A letter, Izuku. They came, Izuku. Look! You got a letter! They're here! Your test results from UA!"
Izuku took the letter and went straight to his room and sat down at his desk. His mother started to pace outside his door. Izuku took a deep breath and tore open the letter, revealing a strange looking device.
Suddenly a projection started to play, and All Might's face popped up, "Booya! I am here as a projection now!"
Izuku was confused as to why All Might was on the projection, "Wait, All Might. But this is from UA, isn't it?"
All Might on the projection continued, "I know it's been a while, but with great power comes a great amount of paperwork. My apologies, young man. The truth is, I didn't come to this city just to fight villains. You're looking at the newest UA faculty member."
Izuku was shocked, "You're seriously going to be working at UA?"
Someone outside of the shot was miming to All Might, who said, "Huh? Yes, what's the matter? Who's showboating? Oh, sorry, I'll wrap it up, but I have to show him something first. Wait, I have to do how many of these things? Right! So, moving on! Even though you passed the written test, you got zero combat points in the practical exam. Sorry."
Izuku started to cry, "I know that. That's all I've been thinking about. I'm a failure."
But All Might continued, "Fortunately, there were other factors. But before we get to that, I have another surprise. Here, look! A short clip for your viewing pleasure!"
The clip started at the brown haired girl popped up, "Um, do you have a sec? Sorry to interrupt."
Izuku realized, "It's that nice girl."
All Might said, "She showed up after the exam to talk about you, young man. What did she have to say? You'll have to stay tuned to find out!"
He pressed play and the clip continued where the girl was talking to Present Mic, "You know that boy with the really messy hair and all the freckles? It's hard to describe his face. He's kinda plain-looking. I was wondering, would it be possible to give him some of the points I earned in the exam? I heard him say something about wanting to just get one point in, which just seems crazy. How could someone who took down that huge villain all by himself not have any points in the end? He would've had a better score if he hadn't stopped to help me. He saved me. I have to make it up to him. Please, sir. Can't you just give him my points?"
All Might stopped the clip, "You have a Quirk now, yes. But it's your actions that inspire others. And that's why I am here. You see, the practical exam was not graded on combat alone."
That shocked Izuku. All Might pressed play on the clip and Present Mic spoke, "Thanks for showin' up to the station with your request. But there's no reason to give him your points. The kid's chartin' well on his own."
All Might stopped the clip and stepped in front of the camera, "How could a hero course reject someone who is committed to saving others, no matter the consequences for himself? After all, that is what makes a hero. And that's what my alma mater is all about. Training those who would risk their lives for the greater good. So, we have rescue points. A panel of judges watches, and they award points for heroic acts beyond just fighting villains. Izuku Midoriya, 60 Rescue Points! And Ochaco Uraraka, 45 Rescue Points! You both passed the exam!"
Izuku couldn't believe what he was hearing as he started to cry, "Is this some kind of joke?"
All Might looked at the camera, held out his hand, and said, "Welcome, Izuku. You've made it. You're now a part of the hero academia."
Izuku's tears started to roll down his face as he realized he just got into the school of his dreams. He nodded his thanks and dried his tears. He got up and opened the door to where his mother was waiting. He simply smiled at her, which told her that he passed. She started to cry and gave him a big hug.
Over at Danny's apartment, he was thinking about Izuku mostly. He knew without a shadow of a doubt that he would get into UA, but he was worried that Izuku would not. But the cries of Izuku's mother shouting, "Oh, my baby! Congrats!" was heard through the walls as Izuku's apartment was really close to his.
Danny smiled, "Congrats, Dude. You've earned it."
Jazz then came walking into his room, "Danny, a letter just arrived from UA. It's your test results." She handed him the letter and walked out to give him some privacy.
Danny sat up and ripped the envelope open and a small device fell out. A projection started to play, as All Might's face appeared, "Booya! I am here in this projection! Sorry for the delay. With great power comes a great amount of paperwork."
Danny snorted, "Did he seriously just parody Spiderman?"
All Might continued, "Now, you have not only passed the written exam, but you passed the practical exam with flying colors. You earned 70 Combat Points. But that wasn't the only factor that was judged. There were also Rescue Points, and you impressed the judges greatly. Danny Fenton, 70 Rescue Points! You looked like an experienced pro out there. Not only did you take care of beating those villains, but you also showed your compassion for your fellow man with all those rescues. Why, you even took down that giant robot just to save someone. That is what I'd call self-sacrifice. Now, Danny Fenton. Welcome to UA. Congratulations."
Danny smiled as Jazz ran into the room and hugged him, "Congrats, little brother. I knew you could do it."
"Yeah," Danny replied. "I did it. I didn't realize they were giving us points for rescuing people. I mean, that is part of the job too. It looks like I'm going to UA with Izuku. Let's see what this hero academia is made of."
