Class Act
Mako sat in the conference room of U.A. with all of his teachers, it was the last day of class before summer break began but he had been called the night before and asked to show up early to explain what exactly happened in his absence. Principal Nezu, Aizawa, Midnight, Present Mic, Vlad King, Cementos, Snipe, Recovery Girl, Thirteen, and Powerloader had all gathered at the long oval table with a seat at the end for Mako. He sat down and explained everything that had happened. And the various expressions his teachers had worn hen he entered had all melted away to a mixture of shock, disbelief, anger, disgust, and otherwise blank expressions as he told them everything that happened.
"-so me and my brother just got back yesterday. I debriefed with Cecil already but he wasn't happy that I went off on my own in the first place. Which honestly, I'm glad I did." He admitted, standing by what he told his boss the other day. "I mean these people needed my help….and I wasn't going to say…..no to….them…" he trailed off as Midnight put her ahnds together in front of her face, closed her eyes and leaned her nose and forehead against them. Vlad King was covering his mouth with both ahdns while his elbows leaned on the table. Powerloader was looking down at the table, and thirteen was covering her eyes with her hands.
Aizwa was stoic as ever, but his eye was twitching. The only one who said anything was Present Mic, "…young listener your dad is an asshole."
"MIC!" Midnight barked at him.
He raised his hands, "What?! Am I wrong?" he asked defensively. Aizawa pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers at his friend's lack of tact.
"I mean he's really not." Thirteen muttered before turning to Mako, "What happened to the ship you came in?" she asked him.
Mako shrugged, "It landed at the same place as last time, in the forest north of the city." He answered, "I'd thought Cecil would snatch it up since he already knew I was coming back before he contacted me." He explained. "But I don't know how to really operate it, the Thraxans pre-programed it to take me back to Earth." He added, which considering the Thraxans developed the ship to be piloted by their own people and not a human, was probably for the best. Last thing he wanted to do was crash it into a asteroid when he pressed the wrong button.
"If you could point it out on the map after this, I'd appreciate it." Thirteen said before letting out a sigh. "Mako, this is the second time that you've disobeyed a direct order from your superior." She chastised him. Mako felt his anger begin to boil, he had done exactly what a hero should have done hadn't he? He was told people needed his help and he went, obviously that had been a ruse by his father to draw him in for his help, but wasn't that a risk that all heroes had to take?
"And like I told Cecil, these people needed my help. Yeah they weren't exactly honest about it but my dad put them up to it. And if I hadn't have shown up then their whole planet might have been slaughtered." He said defensively.
Midnight raised a hand, "Don't misunderstand, none of us are condemning your actions-" she provided.
"But this is a pattern that you've shown and it's not one we like to encourage." Aizawa interrupted, giving his student a look. "We may not always agree with Cecil's calls, but the fact that you've disobeyed him, as well as Thirteen during your mission with her is something we can't ignore." He said.
Mako felt his hand clench, "Then what exactly should have I done?" he challenged, "Ignored these people who needed my help?" he asked. Aiawa gave him a even look, "I had a chance to save lives, and I took it. That's what being a superhero is right?" he asked.
Sniped adjusted his cowboy hat, "Listen kiddo, we're not saying your wrong in what you think, but you seem to forget that your just a student. It's our job to teach you what you need to know, you're still here to learn and grow." He replied on his fellow teacher's behalf. "No one should ask a seventeen-year-old to save a planet."
Mako blinked at them collectively but stayed silent, Nezu noticed the young man's reaction and smiled a little, "Young Metuki, what do you think of that assessment?" he inquired, making a few of the teachers and Mako himself look at him in confusion, "Be honest with us, do you understand why we're concerned?"
Mako thought about his response for a moment before answering, "I mean…..I understand why, I mean typically this isn't something that anyone should have to deal with but….." he trailed off. Nezu nodded in encouragement. Mako glanced over at Aizawa, "On the first day of class, you told us about how unfair life can be. People get hit by natural disasters, killed by rampaging villains, or worse." He recalled. Aizawa nodded, "And back then I thought you were…..well sensei I thought you were being harsh for the sake of it. But your right. Life isn't fair. And you also told us that it's our jobs as heroes to try and help when things go wrong." He also recalled.
Aizawa felt himself stiffen a little as he felt Midnight and Mic shoot him a look, his colleagues had more than once criticized how he taught his students. On more then one occasion he would expel an entire class to test their own resolve. And while the results usually worked out in his favor, Midnight and Mic had constantly told him that it'd come back to bite him in the ass one day. Between him and Bakugo, they're never going to let me live this down. He thought dryly. "That's true, but you have to understand that I was referring to when you graduate." He added dryly.
Mako shook his head, "No I get that but that's just it, life isn't fair and it's not going to just wait for me to finish school." He replied with a hint of frustration. He held up a finger, "The League attacks the USJ." He raised another, "Then my dad turns out to want to conquer the planet." Another rose, "We get invaded by aliens who are actually working for the Viltrumites." He added another, "Stain attacks one of my classmate's family." He held up his thumb, "And now the Viltrumites know my dad left his post and now wants me to take over the planet. I don't think they're exactly going to let everyone finish their Finals before they start slaughtering people by the millions." He said darkly, thinking back to how much of Thraxia had been destroyed by the Viltrumites in such a short time.
Mako let out a deep breath, "You're treating me like a kid, I get that. But I can't afford to be. Honestly none of us can. We're going to be superheroes one day and that means we need to face the reality of the situation." he said earnestly. "I didn't know what it meant at first, I didn't know that people can get killed because of the mistakes you make. I get that now, so does almost everyone else in the class." He said, thinking back to the carnage that they had all witnessed his father commit on the remaining villains of the USJ when he arrived.
Midnight frowned at how true the statement rang within her. She and Hound Dog had spoken to most of the students after the USJ, they were all in states of shock due to the trauma of what transpired that day. Mina had nightmares about seeing the villains get splattered by Omni-Man, Ojiro was showing some small signs of PTSD with how he would assume a defensive stance whenever he was unexpectedly touched. Mineta spent an hour crying in Hound Dog's office without even saying anything.
It broke her heart to see her students deal with psychological issues that most seasons pros dealt with at such a young age. Nezu clasped his paws together in front of him, "It's true. You and your class have gone through many trials since starting this school year, many of which were unforeseen by us. And you have my apologies for that." He said.
Mako blinked in surprise, he never really thought that the teachers were at fault with how things turned out regarding the past events. But in hindsight maybe there was more that they could have done to prevent the League of Villains from attacking, but other than that everything else was out of their hands. "And while you have proven yourself capable time and time again, we as your teachers wish to keep you safe. However, as you have stated, that doesn't seem to be possible given your circumstances." He said before chuckling. "My, what a catch 22!"
The principal leaned back in his chair and smiled, "Your class is unique, there is no doubt there. Your own experiences have shown that you do have the heart of a hero Mr. Metuki, in fact your actions and those of your classmates has made us discuss the possibility of having our first years take the provisional license exam upon your return from summer break." He revealed.
Mako blinked in surprise, a provisional license allowed them to act as pro heroes in case of an emergency they're witness to. Due to his work with Cecil he was basically allowed to do that with confirmation from his boss. But giving everyone else the possibility of getting their license this early was, as he saw it, a good call to make considering the fact that trouble keeps seeming to find them.
Aizawa gave Nezu a glare, "I wasn't going to tell them that until after their training camp trip so they could focus on what we have planned there."
Mako shook his head, "Listen I'm not ignoring what your concern is, if I was a teacher I'd probably be doing the same thing. But if one of my students was the only one who could help save lives?" he asked, "Then to me the right thing is to let them do it, it's dangerous yeah, but that's part of this life. I mean how many times have you all risked your lives for us?" he asked.
Thirteen sighed to herself, while it was pretty simple reasoning on Mako's part it wasn't entirely wrong, "Your heart is in the right place Mako, but you're forgetting something important." She said before turning to him. "What if you die? What if we let you go off to do whatever you or Cecil wants and you end up dying because of it? What then?" she asked, hoping the splash of reality would make him reconsider.
"Then I die." Mako replied curtly..
That response caused the room to fall to silence with all their attention on the student, before they could voice their concerns he continued. "But that's the risk that comes with being a hero. We go into dangerous situations to save lives when standard means of protection and rescue aren't enough." he said, reciting one of the earliest definitions of what constituted a professional hero. "All of you have taken that risk, and you're teaching us about those risks so we know what we're getting ourselves into. But I already know the risks, I've seen what happens firsthand when we can't do anything." he said grimly.
For Aizawa, this was the equivalent of a crimson red flag being waved in front of his face.
Snipe shook his head, "Look kid, the only part we're concerned about is that you're putting yourself in situations that you're not ready for yet." He added in. "Take this Thraxa business, you're not in the wrong for wanting to help. But if you had waited and given us time, then maybe more heroes could have come to aid you."
Thirteen raised her hand, "And not to mention you didn't consider the fact that the Thraxans were deceiving you." She added in. Mako winced at the critique, "It's a hero's job to help those in need, but we're also at risk for this."
Mako nodded in understanding, "Yeah, I understand that. I can't just take people at their word. I still want to help people but…" he trailed off, this was officially the second time his father had basically lied to him to try and get him to do something. Only this time his dad was actually in the right, despite how mad at him he had been when the Viltrumites attacked, he wouldn't have just left those people if they needed his help.
"Is there anything else?" he asked.
Nezu shook his head, "No, thank you for your time Mr. Metuki. We'll have Recovery Girl stop by your home this evening to inspect your younger brother." The principal told him, Mako nodded and stood from the chair before taking his leave. As the student exited the room, Nezu looked around the table to his fellow instructors. "Thoughts?"
"I still think his dad is an asshole." Mic said.
"The ask of that man is insane." Power Loader said in agreement.
Midnight rubbed her temples as she leaned onto the large conference table, "He is going to need so much therapy." She bemoaned, feeling sorry that her student had to through even more trauma due to the actions of his father.
"I know that you and Hounddog split the responsibilities of Class 1A's mental wellbeing, but honestly with what this kid has been going through? We might need to start thinking of getting a professional." Vlad King said thoughtfully. He sighed, "Though I don't like the idea of our school needing someone like that." He admitted.
"But overall, I think Mako is handling things about as well as any of us would." Cementos said.
Midnight looked over at him unsurely, "I'm not sure, he's going under a lot of pressure for anyone as a pro hero, let alone a student." She said, glancing back at the door that Mako had exited the room from. "I'm worried that he's being pushed towards a breaking point."
For the second time today, Mako regaled what transpired on Thraxa, this time however it was to all of his classmates when everyone was gathered and asking him what happened. Like with the teachers he was met with dead silence at first. This however did not last as Mina cupped her hands over her mouth and let out a long, drawn out groan, "Wwwwwhhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaatttt tttthhhhhhheeeee ffffuuuuuccccckkkkkk?" she asked before face planting on her desk. The rest of his class was fairing no better than her.
Iida raised his hand vertically before dropping it without any real enthusiasm, "That is…a lot to process…."
Mezo's eyes, blinked while the hand he had morphed onto one of his tentacles dropped open. Kaminari and Mineta were both shaking in fear from what Mako had told them about the Viltrumites that he had encountered, Kirishima meanwhile was the opposite and was visibly angered by all that he had heard. "That just pisses me off! They just think they can say they own everything and everyone here and that we'll be ok with it?!" he said, his skin hardening in response to the news.
Mako rubbed the back of his head, "Yeah it's not exactly ideal."
Jiro pulled her jacks down with her hands as her head leaned back in her seat, "Dude, no offense….but if I ever see your dad, I'm gonna kill him." she said in dark tone.
"Same." Uraraka said, making Izuku turn to her in surprise at how ready she was to jump on the bandwagon.
"Ditto, Kero." Tysu croaked in agreement.
"That man is a menace to women everywhere." Tooru agreed.
Iida turned to them, "Ladies I realize that Mako's father's actions are reprehensible but as heroes in training we cannot condone murder! Right Yaoyorozu?" he asked, turning to his vice president, only to see that she too had a dark look on her face. "Er….Yaoyorozu?" he asked unsurely.
Momo was silent as she took out her phone, and tapped a few buttons on it before all the phones of the girl's in the class rang. Opening it up, they saw that Momo had started a new group chat.
And thus the .:Kill Omni-Man Club:. Was formed.
"YAOMOMO!" Iida yelled in shock before Mako set his hand on his shoulder.
"Don't, just….let them have this." he said.
Uraraka looked up from her flip phone to her friend, "How's your mom dealing with all of this?" she asked with concern. She had only met Kali a few times, the first being shortly after Nolan's intentions were revealed and she was at her lowest, but every encounter since then had shown that she was improving emotionally. But this could easily have sent her back to square one.
Mako rubbed the back of his head, "She's handling it about as well as I am. It's weird but…..what are we going to do? He's still our family, we can't just abandon him on another planet with a bunch of strangers." he said with a shrug. While most only children growing up would probably long for another sibling, having Izuku in his life had been a way to fill that desire he had. But now as a young adult, with no father in his life, and suddenly having an infant to look out for? That would be hard to adjust to for anyone, but piling on all the baggage that came with his alien half brother came with just made it an even bigger thing to adjust to.
But Kali was handling it, she was taking the day off to get supplies for his new brother, while also getting what little remained of Mako's own baby clothes, toys, and any other miscellaneous things they still owned after moving to Japan that came from that period of Mako's life. Thankful money wouldn't be an issue, between what Mako earned from the GDA and what Kali brought home, it wouldn't be a financial issue, but they still needed to get a babysitter to watch over him while Mako and Kali were at school and work.
Uraka nodded somberly, "And you? I mean…..they put you in charge of taking over Earth." she pointed out.
Todoroki tilted his head, "Well he's obviously not going to do that." he said, "But the real question is, when are they coming to see the progress you've made?" he asked, knowing what the real danger was to their appointment of Mako.
The young man shook his head, "I don't know, it could be any time really. They said I had a hundred years but they could just as well be lying and will come to check up on me before then." he reasoned, recalling Cecil's theory on the whole thing.
Todoroki's head dipped in thought, "Well the fact that they didn't just replace you with someone else is strange." he pointed out.
Ojiro nodded in agreement, "That's a good point, I mean they knew that your not exactly thrilled about any of this, so wouldn't it be easier if they took you and just sent another Viltrumite to earth instead?" he asked curiously.
Tokoyami's bird head turned to the tailed student, "It could have something to do with what Mako's father said at the USJ." he pointed out, the others in the class turned to the darkness user in inquiry, "From the video we saw, he mentioned that once the empire started spreading it's influence, they spread themselves too thin and had to re-evaluate how they conquered planets." he reminded everyone.
Iida cupped his chin, "That's right, they expanded too fast and too quickly, so it could be that they're preoccupied with their expansion that they can't spare anyone else." he reasoned. "Similar things have happened to our own armies in history, the Axis powers of WW2 for example had to halt their expansion of Eastern Europe for similar reasons." he pointed out.
Mineta groaned, "Uggghhhh why am I learning already, class hasn't even started."
Mako gave the grape haired student a sharp look, "Because this shit is important." he said bitterly, making the smaller student swallow at the tone he carried. Mako ran a hand over his face, "In any case it sounds like we're not in any immediate danger, and if they send a viltrumite to check in on me, I think I might be able to take them." he said with a little confidence. Obviously the question after that was if he could beat a viltrumite then what? Having one captured would be nice but he wasn't sure if there was anything they had that could hold one.
A few of the others looked relieved at that news, Izuku however seemed deep in thought, before Mako could ask though, the door slid open and Aizawa stepped into the room. Within a second everyone was in their seats, as not to incur the wrath of their homeroom teacher. Looking around the teacher hummed, "Good." he said, satisfied with his students' discipline.
Walking up to his desk the teacher set the papers in his hands down before addressing his student. "Good morning class. Now, in regards to your final exams, we sadly had some students not pass." he said, cueing a handful of student's heads to bow in shae. Mina, Kaminari, Kirishima, Sato, and even Bakugo had all failed their exams. But only Bakugo had failed due to his refusal to work with his teammates, and the reminder of that reasoning made him grit his teeth in aggravation. "But thankfully you'll all be going to the training camp along with us." The teacher added, causing the four other student's heads to shoot up in surprise, "everyone cleared the written tests, but the practical? Kirishima, Kaminari, Ashsido, Sato, Sero, and Bakugo all failed." he explained.
Mako blinked in surprise at the mention of Bakugo failing, he knew that the teachers were going to be more strict with him after their last conversation, and he'll admit that he was glad to hear it, but it briefly confused him why he failed. I mean the objective was just to….wait. He thought as he looked over at Sero who hung his head low at his name being mentioned. Mineta had bragged that he was the one responsible for their win while Sero was knocked out by Midnight. So it wasn't just about passing through the gate or capturing the 'villain'. He realized.
"So when you were talking about crushing us?" Oijiro asked their teacher.
Aizawa nodded, "That was meant to push you, we're talking about training camp here. Out of all those here, the people who failed are the ones who need this the most aftr all." he reasoned before flashing the class a grin, "It was just a rational deception to push you all." he said, the entire class flashing back to their very first lesson with the teacher on the first day of class.
Iida was shaking with both admiration and indignation at being so skillfully deceived….but also flat out lied to their faces. "Sensei how do you expect us to trust you now that you've lied to us twice?!" he exclaimed. Mako snorted while Urarka let out a small laugh in her seat behind the class rep.
The teacher shrugged, "I don't. BUt consider this, it's not entirely a lie." he said, causing the students who were up in out of their seats celebrating their 'victory' to pause. "Failure is still Failure, you six will receive special supplemental courses. And to be honest, it'll be far worse than summer school." he added, effectively sucking whatever relief the five students felt out of their bodies. "I'll pass put the camp manuals, take one and pass it back." he said as he gathered up a handful of stapled papers and passed it to Iida who distributed them to each row of desks. "Today will be a training day, however if between now and the training camp you wish to use the facilities, you can reach out to me and the other teachers to schedule time for you to use them." he told the students.
As the brochures were passed through the class, Bakugo remained in his seat, his eyes focused squarely on one other student in the classroom in glaring anger.
After Class 1A had studied the manuals that their teacher had passed out, they were given a period to look over the supplies before heading to training site Gamma for their last day of training. With everyone in their hero costumes, the students spread out through the site with Aizawa walking about and observing what they were doing….well, everyone but ONE person in their hero costumes rather. "Huh, it's kind of weird seeing you in the training clothes Mako." Izuku commented as he and his friend trained. With Mako's latest brush with the Viltrumites, the last remaining costume Melissa made him was shredded beyond reasonable repair. So that left Mako the option of wearing the U.A. track suit to train in.
Currently, the two friends were rushing through the fake city, Mako flying while Izuku pushed himself to keep up on foot while also improving on his maneuverability. Izuku leapt up onto a car and sprung off to the side of a wall which he managed to run alongside before launching off that over Mako's head. "Yeah Melissa wasn't thrilled about it either, but she told me I should have a suit ready by the end of the day, I'll fly there after school to pick it up." he told him.
Izuku nodded as he fell back down to the ground, landing in a roll to keep his momentum, Mako smirked at his friend's show of ability. "Couple weeks ago you couldn't land to save your life, now look at you." he joked. Izuku turned back and smiled at him proudly, "How about we pick up the pace, race you to the edge of the city?" he challenged.
Izuku gave him an excited but determined nod, "Alright, but no holding back just because you can fly!" he told him as he sprinted ahead at full speed, easily going faster than a car on the road could, however Mako was MUCH faster than a car. With a small burst of air behind him, Mako rocketed past his friend. "...yeah I should have expected that." Izuku admitted his speed was good, but it could be better. As he began to try and gain some speed however, an explosive blast further down the road made the two friends slow to a stop.
Bakugo was in the road, and he was glaring at them, "Oooh shit." Mako muttered as he landed. Izuku swallowed, while he admitted he wasn't exactly disappointed that Bakugo had failed the exam, Izuku knew better than anyone how long he could carry a grudge. He'd been carrying one against Izuku for almost a decade now and for what, he still didn't know, but today's repercussions probably added fuel to that proverbial fire.
"You." Bakugo barked as he stormed over to the two of them.
He….he wouldn't just start a fight would he? Izuku wondered, the look on Bakugo's face told him he definitely would. Thankfully for everyoneIzuku could see Aizawa out the corner of his eye, moving closer to them to intercept with one hand on his capture scarf. But before he could do anything, Bakugo spoke.
"Fucking move it Deku! I'm not talking to you!" he shouted at him.
That made the inheritor blink, Bakugo pointed at Mako, "You and me, we need to have words." he said. Mako's face hardened and Izuku suddenly felt like he was intruding on something. However he stood his ground, looking back to Bakugo. "K…..Bakugo-" he corrected himself, seeing Aizawa also come to a stop a few feet away with his hand still on his scarf. "-if you have an issue with Mako, then you have one with me." he said firmly.
The explosive user looked at him like he just slapped him, "What?" he growled out.
Error! ERROR! RETREAT! FALL BACK! Izuku's mind told him.
Mako meanwhile stepped forward, "Whatever you got to say to me, you can say in front of him." he said without any sort of fear in his voice. Bakugo's attention was drawn back to his primary target, the entire sene was one that Izuku had seen a hundred times over. Bakugo would come after him, Mako would step up between them and stand up to him. However this time, he had come for Mako, which as far as Izuku knew, was something he never, ever had done before today.
That wasn't a good sign.
"You failed me." Bakugo growled out at Mako. The half alien stood his ground and glared at him, "If you had just fucking done what I told you to do we would have won! But instead you threw me away and made me loose!" he yelled in anger at him, a few pops of explosions in his hands breaking the silence that followed.
Invincible glared at him, "Is that seriously what you think?" he asked in disbelief, "Oh my g-you are the most self absorbed douchebag I've ever met! You failed because you didn't work with us you jackass!" he yelled back at him. Bakugo gritted his teeth, "Maybe we had a chance at beating All Might if we worked together but what did you do? You wanted to win all by yourself, so you just spat on any idea we had!" he argued.
"I didn't need some fucking extra-!" Bakugo began making Mako's fist clench.
"Oh will you shut up about extras!? My life doesn't revolve around you!" he interrupted, he held a hand out to his friend. "Izuku's life doesn't either, hell none of ours do!"
Aizawa watched his two students fire off back and forth between one another, he had seen the look on Bakugo's face in class when he was told he failed the exam. And he also clocked in how his focus was immediately on Mako afterword, it was so obvious what exactly was going to happen that even All Might would have realized it. He was intending on stopping any violence before it could break out but so far it was just arguing. And while he should break this up, he also knew that this had been building long before these three had entered U.A.
"Bakugo, Mako." he said, making the two who hadn't noticed him turn to him. "If you want to settle this, Mako is right. We failed you because the point of your exercise was to cooperate with others. You refused to do so." he said. The blonde haired young man gritted his teeth,
He focused once more on Mako, "...Sensei." he finally said, "I want to spar against Mako."
Izuku and Aizawa both had the same thought, Oh shit.
Mako seemed taken aback, his first thought was to outright deny it, spars were fine among the class as long as both students consented to it without any pressure. And he had no problem turning down Bakugo…but this was different. Not only was this a long time coming, not only had Bakugo just given him a completely open and guilt free means of getting payback that's been ten years in the making. It also provided a chance for something else, to put Bakugo into perspective.
Mako turned to Aizawa and tilted his head over to the side, the teacher raised a brow but nodded, and the two walked off to the side to discuss this in relative privacy. Leaving Izuku and Bakugo alone.
And while Izuku had committed to not trying to reconcile with Bakugo like he said he was with Mako, this warranted an intervention on his part. "Bakugo you can't do this."
Katsuki turned to him, "Fuck off Deku." he spat out.
"Bakugo, I know for a fact that Mako has been wanting this for years now and you just gave him the chance to do it!" he explained in a panicked whisper. Mako was his best friend, and he was willing to admit that Bakugo was a jerk but that didn't mean he wanted something bad to happen to him. Like his best friend possibly crippling him in some way.
Bakugo snapped his head to him, "Deku. Fuck. Off." he growled out.
Izuku opened his mouth, but then closed it, "Alright. Fine." he Bakugo was going to be this way, then this was what was gonna happen.
Aizawa and Mako returned a moment later, "Alright, here's what's going to happen. Mako agrees to spar with you. However, there's going to be a few conditions." he began. He raised a finger, "One, Recovery Girl will be close by in case either one of you needs medical attention." he said, which was reasonable to Bakugo. "Two, no one will interfere with this match unless it's me or another teacher." he said, looking pointedly at Izuku who winced under his teacher's look. "And finally, this spar won't end until one of you is unconscious or gives up."
Bakugo blinked in surprise at the last rule, before a excited look crossed his face, "Agreed."
There were a number of things that made U.A. Different from most schools in the world. And even fewer things that made it different from other hero schools. However the one constant of every school, no matter what time or place, no matter what grade or prestige, was this. If two students were going to fight, then it was going to draw a crowd. In this case the crowd happened to be the rest of class 1A, who after Aizawa told them to pause their training immediately clocked in on sparks going off between Bakugo and Mako.
"You think Mako has a chance?" Sero asked in a low mutter while both the students were readying themselves. Bakugo checking his grenade gauntlets and Mako stretching his arms over his head.
Jiro gave him a confused look, "What are you talking about? If anyone here is at a disadvantage it's Bakugo. His quirk is strong but Mako has more experience than any of us." she pointed out. "Not to mention the guy is probably one of the strongest of our class." she added. Bakugo was as well, but the real question was if Bakugo could even hurt the student whose actual superhero name was Invincible. Then again, Bakugo was someone who had a tendency to surprise everyone with his tenacity, and his ingenuity.
Aizawa and Recovery Girl, the latter of which didn't look entirely pleased by this situation, stood off to the side with the students. "Use this as a chance to observe your classmates' tactics, see what you can apply to your own battle strategies." he told them. He got a collective nod of understanding from his students before he turned to the two sparing partners. "Mako, Bakugo, you may begin when ready." he said.
Normally they would have expected Bakugo to launch into an attack right away, but instead he assumed a ready stance while Mako balled his fists. The explosive quirk user wasn't dumb, he knew that while not as good as him, Mako wasn't someone to dismiss either, having seen him in action during the Kresh invasion a month ago.
Suddenly, Mako shot forward across the ground and stopped before Bakugo with a fist cocked and ready! Backup ducked underneath the left hook, raising up to counter he didn't expect Invincible to swing his entire body with the punch and swing his other fist back into the side of his head!
Bakugo slid back across the ground, Mako kept his offensive up and flew after him, skimming across the ground with his feet just hovering a few inches in the air. Katsuki's hands faced down and blasted himself over Mako, the using the chance to tag his back with an explosion! But Invincible, much to bakugo's shock, didn't even flinch!
Instead, Mako pivoted with his feel and shot up into Backgo, landing a hard strike to his chest! Katsuki gritted his teeth as he was flung back into the air, Mako shot after him and raised both his arms to unleash a more powerful explosion that at the very least made the Viltrumite falter and wince. Bakugo then shot himself down to the ground and with his hands still raised up, and in a similar manner to how he destroyed Uraraka's final attack in the Sports Festival, unleashed a massive and powerful explosion!
The glass windows of the buildings in the area shattered from the force of the explosion, the two's classmates who were watching the spectacle with baited breath. Uraraka winced at the familiar explosive force that had washed over them, she knew that Mako was tougher than the stadium that the tournament had been held on but she still felt the phantom pain of the burns she sustained from her battle with Bakugo.
As the smoke cleared however, she was shocked to see that the explosion had only damaged the clothes Mako was wearing, blowing off the top portion of his tracksuit and leaving him in his black tee undershirt like she had been. She only hoped that this wouldn't be a repeat of her match in any other sense.
Mako looked down at Bakugo, his skin not so much as bruised from the explosions, and lifted a hand to his left nostril, and blew some soot out the other. Katsuki glared up at him, before he could unleash a torrent of the same powerful explosions, Mako shot down into the ground! The force of his impact shattering the earth beneath his feet and uplifting the ground Bakugo had planted himself on! The blonde bomber hit the ground in a roll and growled, "You want to end this before this gets bad?" Mako called out to him as he walked towards him.
Bakugo's teeth clenched, "FUCK YOU!" he said before lifting his hand and reaching for his gauntlet's pin!
Aizawa's eyes widened, while his target was Mako, he was also standing between Bakugo and himself, along with the rest of the class! "Bakugo stop!" he yelled! But before Aizawa could even speak, Mako had shot forward and just as Bakugo grabbed the pin, grabbed the gauntlet and redirected the blast up into the sky! However it wasn't until after Mako had grabbed him that he pulled the pin, Mako glared at him as he realized what he had done.
He wanted to bring Mako in close at the threat of the rest of the class getting hurt! "No. Fuck. You. Backugo." Mako growled out as the explosion ripped through the air above them.
Mako slammed his fist forward with a CRUNCH! Blood spewed out of Bakugo's broken nose as he stumbled back, "You want to win that bad? That you bluff hurting your classmates you fucker?!" he roared as he shot forward with a knee to Bakugo's gut! The air was knocked out of Bakugo's surprised lungs as Mako punched him again, spilling blood onto the pavement with the blow.
The hits he had tanked before had hurt for sure, it was like getting hit with a cinderblock, but these were like getting hit by a speeding car. And that meant one thing, Mako had been holding back. That revelation pissed him off, he lifted his other had but begore he could unleash another explosive, Mako reached out and grabbed his hand and forced it closed with his grip. "Give. Up." Mako spat out as Bakugo regained his breath.
Aizawa watched the quick exchange with strained eyes, while her quirk would normally have been able to stop Bakugo from his behavior, the fact that he used the sweat stored in his gauntlets to attack meant his quirk was useless to prevent it. But the fact that Bakugo had feined the attack until Mako got in close showed him that Bakugo wasn't blind with rage enough to endanger the other students. "This is starting to get out of hand." Recovery Girl said beside him. Aizawa looked over at her and saw her not visibly worried but more irritated.
"If either of them go too far, this match is over." he said evenly.
Recovery Girl gave him a critical look, "Like it should have been when Midoriya was breaking his fingers over and over again in the festival?" she asked sardonically. Aizawa winced at that, she had given Midnight a reaming out for the ages after the sports festival for her not stopping the fight then.
Aizawa simply sighed, he was likely the next one to be reamed out.
Bakugo finally caught his breath, and used it to spit on Mako's chest, "Again. Fuck you." he growled out, Mako gritted his teeth and with his hand still grabbing Bakugo's, pulled him in and uppercutted him into the air, flipping back through the air he tried to catch himself on the ground but ended up landing face down into the ground. "You think….your better than me?! Holding back like you are?!" he growled out.
Mako looked down at him, staring at him as Bakugo looked up at him defiantly, "Bakugo, if I wanted to? If I really wanted to? I could kill you." he said coldly. "That's not me boasting, not me being coy, or just saying shit to rile you up. If I hit you as hard as I could? I would kill you." he said with a factual tone.
Bakugo glared at him unflinchingly, "...your just like your old man."
Mako felt like he had been struck, "What?"
"You're looking down at me, you think you're better than me just because you were born with that power of yours!" he barked out. He looked down in spiteful vigor, "Ever since I met you, you acted like you were better than me. And it was just because your dad was a pro." he craned his head back up to Mako. "You acted like you were better than me, when really all you were is like your old man."
The class let out a collective wince, Bakugo's insults were not quiet and everyone knew that Mako's feeling about his father were complicated to say the least. "Anyone else thinking this is getting a little too personal?" Mina asked.
Jiro nodded, "Yeah, this is kinda low for Bakugo I think…..should this stop?" she asked.
Aizawa frowned, while Bakugo's insults were severe, they weren't anything to end a match over, and villains wouldn't hesitate to use personal matters against heroes. And like Mako himself had said, they can't coddle these kids forever.
Mako took a deep breath, held it for a moment, and when he opened his eyes, he looked Bakugo in the eyes, "Your a idiot." he said simply, "You think that matters? Why do you even care what I think about you? Hell you hate me!"
"I respect you moron!" Bakugo barked out. Mako faltered, and suddenly felt like he needed a shower, "You stood up against your old man, nearly died because of it. You didn't win, but you didn't back down." the blonde explained as he stood up from the ground. His hands lowered to a fighting stance along with his hips. "But for years you treated me like I was nobody, like I was some piece of dirt to wipe off your shoe! I worked hard to get where I am, so you better fucking acknowledge me!" he roared before blasting off into the air, each explosion increasing his speed but also spinning him.
Mako recognized this move, "HOWITZER IMPACT!" Bkugo roared as the tornado of explosions turned to him and slammed into him head-on! Mako was sent back into the building he was in front of, the impact of which destabilized the building and caused the entire front portion to crumble on top of him!
Bakugo stood from the small crater he had made, his arms sore from bearing the brunt of those explosions, but a grin spread on his face.
And it slowly disappeared as the rubble shifted, and the entire front of the building was lifted up over Mako's head and tossed aside. Mako had a bloody nose, but that was all, "Ok, you want me to treat you seriously? Fine." Mako told him.
The teen flew up to him as fast as Iida would, his strike to his face sent him flying back but before he could even go a few feet down the street, Mako flew behind him and kneed him up into the air. Mako flew after him, striking him again and again in a different direction with him curving around in midair to reconnect with him. Bakugo's bearings, which were somewhat used to aerial maneuvers, were now shot.
Mako's strikes weren't his full strength, he didn't want to seriously hurt Bakugo, just enough to put him out of commission like he would do with a villain. But he would be lying if he said every single hit didn't feel satisfying.
It stopped when Bakugo hit the ground again, nothing was broken but his body was raked with pain. Mako landed beside him, the viltrumite taking a breath. "That's me being serious, if you were a villain? I'd make sure you were out cold. And I wouldn't have humored you with all the destruction you did." he said, looking at the street that his and Bakugo's attacks had trashed. He looked down at Bakugo as the blond turned his head, a bloody cut on his head leaking down his face as he glared up at him. But what he saw wasn't smugness, or self satisfaction, or even pity, what Mako's face carried was a stern look.
"I'll admit, I didn't think much of you when we were growing up. But it wasn't because I thought you were weak or something, I thought you were just an asshole. And I didn't like you because of that." he said, glancing over at the class who seemed to be taken aback by the attacks he had just pulled off. He looked over at Izuku, and leaned down to Bakugo, "You told my best friend to kill himself. He might forgive you for that? But I don't." he said in a low whisper.
Katsuki visibly reacted to that, "I'll be honest, I don't think you belong here. You're not a hero, everyone keeps telling me that you deserve a second chance. But me? I see someone who's more concerned about beating the bad guy than saving lives, and I want you to know right now that when you fight someone you can't beat? This is where you're going to be, on the ground in a pool of your own blood…with everyone around you dying because you can't do anything." Mako said.
He was silent for a moment, "I know because that's what I was. I got cocky, just like you said, but it took my whole world to shatter to see what was really important. I think about that fight every single day. Not because I lost, but because of the people I didn't save…and even though I don't like you….even if I hate you…I don't want you to go through that." Mako said before standing up.
As he turned to get Recovery Gril to heal Bakugo, he felt a hand grab his ankle, stopping, he looked down at his opponent and saw Katsuki's eyes bearing into his, "I….won't….give….up….." he said, a few small explosions popping against his leg. Mako almost felt for him, Bakugo was easily one of the most determined people he had ever met in his life. Unfortunately he was also a capital A Asshole.
A few moments later, an unconscious Katsuki was escorted to Recovery Girl's office for treatment.
(Flashback)
Aizawa wasn't sure why Mako had pulled him aside after Bakugo's challenge to spar, but he was glad for it. When the student and teacher were far enough away to be out of Bakugo's earshot he finally spoke, "Sensei, what do you think I should do?" Mako asked him. "Because part of me really wants to accept."
Aizawa let out a hum of understanding, "You want my opinion on it so you don't make a rash decision." he recognized. Mako nodded in affirmation, the gesture giving Aizawa a sign that Mako could actually learn from his mistakes at a reasonable pace. "While I can't sway you either way, I urge you to consider what the outcome of this may be. If you don't indulge Bakugo, then this issue between you two will continue to grow. However if you face him now and loose-"
Mako shook his head, "I wouldn't loose." he said confidently, his teacher gave him an unimpressed look. Mako took it as his way of asking for an explanation, "Bakugo's strong, but his quirk hasn't gotten any stronger. I have though." he reasoned. The last time he fought Bakugo was back during the combat exercise with the hero and villain teams. Back then his explosions had hurt, and while Bakugo's style of fighting had refined, from what Kirishima, who regularly sparred with Bakugo, had told him his explosions were consistently the same.
Aizawa sighed, "Alright then, then if you fight him and defeat him? Bakugo will resent you for it and you'll only be even more in his sights." he told him knowingly.
Mako crossed his arms, "Ok but….well, what if we do what you were trying to do with us for the Final exam?" he suggested. Aizawa raised a brow, "You wanted Bakugo to get some humble pie and realize that he's not the king of the hill. If I beat him, like, definitively beat him, then would that make him learn?" he asked.
Aizawa pursed his lips together, it wasn't a bad idea in theory, and it would also allow both of the students to finally vent their frustrations with one another and possibly let them break this wall between them. "What your suggesting…..would require you to beat Bakugo badly." he noted.
"I mean you guys let him blow Izuku halfway to hell on the second day here." Mako replied, Aizawa gave him a look, that happened mainly due to the fact that All Might was an incompetent teacher. "I'm not going to hurt him badly, I'll use the same ammount of force I would use to subdue a villain. Bakugo needs a reality check, and maybe this is the best way to give him one."
Aizawa considered it, it wouldn't be as though losing to Mako would undo his failure, but it might be able to drive the lesson they were trying to instill home…..
"If I say you stop, you stop, no questions asked." he stated. "Recovery Girl will be here in case an accident happens but under no circumstances are you to do any permanent damage to Bakugo. Understand?" Aizawa asked sternly. Mako nodded in understanding.
School was over now, and while Mako's and Bakugo's fight had been brutal, Bakugo suffered no permanent damage. The worst he experienced were some bruised ribs from the strikes that Mako had landed on him, but aside from that and the broken nose, he would be fine after Recovery Girl treated him. After classes had let out for the day, Mako had flown to I-Island really quick to pick up his costume from Melissa, who had gone ahead and made a spare for him to wear when he eventually destroyed his other suit. "Do you get mad when my suits get trashed?" Mako asked as he held up his costume in front of him.
Melissa was at her workbench with her red watch on the table, connected to it were a number of wires that fed into a computer she had in her lap with her feet kicked up. She looked up from her computer and smirked at him, "Not really, your suit is probably one of the most simple ones I have. Well yours and Bulletproof's." she said before looking back down at her computer. "My dad was telling me about this one guy whose quirk is the ability to manipulate diamonds, so he has them embedded into his suit. That get's trashed? My dad has to charge him a couple hundred thousand bucks for a replacement." she informed him.
Mako winced at the idea of his suits costing him that much, while Melissa was against it at first, he insisted on paying her back for all her services that she's done for him professionally. Which given what he made with the GDA wasn't a big dent in his savings. "So what are you working on now?" he asked, shoving his suit into his bag and walking over to her, leaning over the back of the chair she was in to look at her scream. On it were a number of blueprint images that seemed simple, a glove, a shield, and-, "And is that a pogo stick?" he asked.
Melissa craned her head up to look at him, "Watch this."
"Bad pun but go on." He replied, watching as she typed a command into her laptop, the watch on the table suddenly burst to life! A trip of white light emerged out of the watch and formed into the shape of the pogo stick on the screen. Mako blinked in surprise as the light the strip produced died down and a red pogo stick now sat on the table. "What the hell?" he asked with excited confusion.
Melissa grinned at him, "Nanotechnology! I've been working on the practical application of this for the last year and a half and I finally got it to work!" she said excitedly, picking the pogo stick up off the table and hopping on it. The stick bouncing her around the workshop at a considerable distance while Mako watched in astonishment. Melissa was giggling in joy the entire time, jumping around the room in a complete circle she came to a stop before Mako. Setting the stick against the workbench she tapped the side of the watch and the stick formed back into a strip and recede back into the watch where it came from.
"I….but…how?" he asked.
Melissa adjusted her glasses so they were looking directly at him, the excitement on her face making him smile as she gathered her thoughts. "Ok, ok, ok, so the concept of Nanobots have been around for a while. Mostly for medical practices, which I think is still a step in the right direction, but they usually focus on the idea of each machine acting independently. But I thought, 'Why?'" she asked, walking around Mako and picking the laptop off the seat where she was sitting. She opened a new window and showed him it, on the screen was a simple looking machine that was ovular with incredibly tiny rotor fans that lifted it up off the ground. "I thought of a different application to it, what if instead of having them act individually, they all act as one?" she asked, the screen showing a number of the machines connecting to one another, each one stacking on top of each other.
Soon they began to spread out in various directions, when the digital process was finished, they had formed the shape of a cube. "I've been doing basic tests right now, but this shows me that I can use these guys to form complicated machinery. Imagine if you can carry a prison transport in your pocket for apprehending villains? Or if you need to stabilize a structure, these can create weight supports to ensure structures don't collapse. Or if someone is bleeding out? They can be used to seal the wound closed painlessly!" she said, listing off the various applications for her invention with growing excitement.
She picked up the watch from the table and held it in both her hands, running her thumb over the screen she took a breath. "I…I can't believe it…..I actually did it."
Mako walked over and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her into a hug, "Of course you did, your a genius." he told her.
Melissa shook her head, "No, Mako you don't understand. When I met you? This was what I was working on that was driving me crazy and I finally got it and….." she let out a long relieved breath as she leaned her head on his shoulder. She raised ehr hand and wiped a tear from her eye, "God I'm sorry this is dumb, I shouldn't be getting emotional over this.'' She apologized.
Mako turned her to him and smiled, "Don't be sorry, I can't imagine what that must feel like. But be proud of yourself, seriously this is pretty awesome." he replied as she reached into the pocket and pulled out a handkerchief to wipe her eyes with. "So what's the next step for this then?" he asked.
She cleared her throat, "Well, I can do some simple shapes and machines right now. I gotta stress test this to see exactly how far I can push the complexities of the machine interlocking. Plus I need to find out what a reasonable budget for this would be." she listened. She paused as she looked down at the watch in her hands, an absent minded thought crossed her mind, but she shook her head.
Her boyfriend noticed the gesture, "What is it?" he asked.
Melissa sighed, "It's…..well it's just a thought. And I mean a really later stage thought, which I'm not sure would even work, I just thought it because of course I did why wouldn't I? Who wouldn't?" I just-" she rambled before Mako leaned over and pressed his lips to her cheek, making her stop and her cheeks redden a little. "Sorry."
"Ok Midoriya, from the top." he teased.
Melissa took a deep breath, "Well, if I can make this replicate complicated machinery, then I could basically have these things make anything for me…say a jetpack. Or bulletproof armor….or gauntlets that can create incredible concussive force." she said, looking at Mako directly. He raised an eyebrow, if these things could make anything then that meant that those things would probably be possible.
"Ok, yeah. Sure that makes sense." he agreed.
Melissa stepped away, "And…..I became a support student to help people, I wanted to be like my dad. I wanted to save lives. I don't have a quirk so it was the next best thing…but….what if this is the next best thing?" she asked as she turned around to face him.
It took a minute to really process what she was implying. And when it clicked, his face turned to shock, "Melissa…..are you saying you could be a superhero with this stuff?"
The blonde inventor pursed her lips together, "I mean…..not in the LEGAL sense, I mean it's just a thought but with this technology I could in theory approximate other people's quirks with what I could create." she explained somewhat nervously.
Mako however could only stare at her, he was quiet for a moment as he considered his next words very carefully. "Melissa…are you sure that that's a good idea?" His girlfriend blinked at the worried tone in his voice, "Look I…..I know you want to help people, and that's not a bad thing. But…being a hero is….." he looked down at the ground between them, thinking back to what he told Bakugo laying on the ground beaten, "It's a hard life." he decided.
Melissa crossed her arms under her chest, "I know…it's just a thought but…..if I can save lives like you can, shouldn't I?" she asked as she walked over to the workbench beside Mako and placed the watch on it. She turned her head to him, her blue eyes looking directly into his with no anger at his hesitation, "I'm just thinking about it. I just….I don't care about fighting bad guys, I just want to help people." she told him.
That information made Mako feel a little better at least, but even then rescue situations came with their own set of risks. "I know, I know, just…maybe we should talk more about this before you make a decision? I mean it's yours to make but…Melissa I care about you, and I've been doing this for a while now. And you should know what you're getting yourself into." he explained.
He was worried that his concern might sound condescending to Melissa, however it seemed that she was conflicted about the idea as well as she nodded in agreement. "Yeah, of course. I mean…you know what it's like." she said.
Mako smiled at what she meant, not having any powers for a long time had been a specific type of frustrating, and what Melissa was suggesting was the equivalent of her finding out she could have her own powers. "Exactly, which is why I hope you're taking what I'm saying seriously."
Melissa managed a smirk, "Oh I never take anything you say seriously." she teased, "I mean how do I really know that purple baby you have at home isn't your own? Some bug mistress I had no idea about?" she joked. Mako smoked at her before moving forward and pulling her in by her waist.
"There's only one person who I have my eyes on….and she's standing right in front of me." he told her earnestly as his forehead pressed against her's. Melissa smirked before leaning up and kissing him on the lips, as they pulled away and embraced, Mako's eyes looked over to the watch on the table.
This was going to change things, he just knew it.
AN: Yes, I am alive and well. Yes, I've seen the new season of Invincible and it's everything I wanted it to be and more. Unfortunately it didn't come back when I thought it was going to. But that's what I get for trusting unreliable sources on the internet. I do think it'll be back by the end of this month (January 2024) but if not then I still got the comics.
Speaking of which, Happy new year everyone!
I hope everyone had a good holiday, regardless of what you celebrate, and that your going to have a better year than the last one.
I'm not going to answer the reviews this chapter mainly bcause someone has been review spamming the SHIT out of this story. To which point, guest, i appreciate your excitement, but I'm going to ask that you tone down your reviews. And to please keep them relevant to the chapters your posting them to. And also please be aware that not everyone has read the comics so posting a bunch of spoilers for what is going to happen later on isn't something I'm cool with. I should have put this out there before and that's my bad, but I'm assuming most people who are reading this came from the show and not the book. So I'm trying to keep things vague.
Also please don't take this the wrong way but I'm not really accepting suggestions right now for the story. I have this pretty planned out in general, a couple things are shifting around but that's mainly just me deciding to change some dumb stuff I thought of earlier. Once we get to that point I'll share said dumb shit.
Anyway, happy new year guys, can't wait for next episode!