A/N: Writing fight scenes sucks… Review Responses at the end.
Opening Song:
"The Beginning" by One OK Rock
The rules of this exercise were simple. At least three of the five team members had to make it out of the maze without being captured by the Patrolbot Juniors in order to win. If three of the five teammates were captured or surrendered, the match would be forfeit and the entire team would lose. There was no time limit, but Cementoss would be pouring out layers of cement continuously, so the longer the teams took to get out of the maze, the larger the maze would become.
Also, any attempts to break down the walls of the maze would immediately be countered by an extra layer of cement. Clearly, the best way to win was by fighting the Patrolbot Juniors together, as a team.
The maze itself was cramped and devoid of light, save for a few streaks and flashes that snaked through the corners of the walls, emanating from the openings at the far ends of the maze. Team One had almost made it all the way through without any incident and even though they were passing through a narrowing hallway that left them completely in the dark, they could almost hear the voices of their classmates nearby. They were so close to the exit now!
"Man," Kirishima grunted as he felt his way alongside the wall to his left. "I sure wish Mister Aizawa would have let us brought along some night vision gear or something."
"What?" Bakugo grunted with a hideous smile. "Scared of the dark, Dumb Hair?"
"My name is Kirishima!" Eijiro yelled, annoyed. "And no, I'm not scared. It's just annoying. We could be attacked any second now by those creepy little androids, and not even see them coming."
"Aw, quit whining and keep up with the rest of us," Bakugo ordered. He widened his eyes in an attempt to see further beyond, but everything was pitch black. As the team progressed, they were completely enveloped by the darkness.
Bakugo growled softly.
"Grr. Hey, Racoon Eyes!" He barked. When nobody responded, he yelled again. "Hey, Pink Horns! I'm talkin' to you!"
"M-Me?!" Mina spoke up angrily.
"Yeah, you! Can't those weird eyes of yours see in the dark or something?"
"Hell no I can't see in the dark, dude. Just because they look like raccoon eyes doesn't mean-,"
"What about you, Pigtails? I've seen your eyes light up before."
Videl gritted her teeth and shook her head.
"Fat chance!" she grunted. "Weren't you listening to Blondie, earlier? Those little bastards can detect Quirks. I'm not about to activate mine and paint a big fat target on my back just because Red's afraid of the dark."
"Aw, c'mon! I told you, I'm not afraid of the dark!" Kirishima whined, annoyed.
"Oh? You scared of a bunch of scrapyard copycats, Pigtails?" Bakugo teased.
"Hell no!" Videl yelled back. Suddenly, the wall narrowed so much that only one person could fit in at a time. Videl and Bakugo instantly tangled at the mouth of the corridor. In an effort to feel his way out of the tightening hallway, Bakugo's hands accidentally glided up her body and pressed against Videl's chest.
"Hey- what the-?" Videl yelped. "What the hell do you think you're doing, Bakudork?! Get your filthy hands off of me, you perv!"
"Ugh! As if, you uncute Pigtailed loser! Move the hell outta my way!" Bakugo yelled back, trying to untangle himself from the pigtailed girl.
"Hey, what's that sound?" Mina said, feeling a slight tremble on the walls.
"Holy crap!" Kaminari yelped, his voice beginning to strain with panic. "Is it just me or does that sound like a million angry bugs closing in?"
"You're right!" Mina screamed. "I think the Juniors found us!"
Mina and Kaminari suddenly surged forward, pushing Kirishima straight onto Videl and Bakugo, who were still fighting to get untangled from each other at the narrowed hallway.
"AAARRGH! I SAID MOVE!" Bakugo roared, shoving Videl away from him, roughly. The tiny framed girl disappeared into the void of darkness.
"Ow!" She yelped as she tumbled across the cement, landing against a wall with a dry thud.
"Videl!" Kirishima pushed past the sandy blonde and knelt down next to Videl, helping her get to her feet.
"What the hell, Bakugo?" he yelled back as Bakugo stepped through the hallway, followed by Mina and Kaminari. "She could have hit her head on something! Pushing girls around – just what kind of a man are you?"
Videl picked herself up angrily, wiping the blood off her elbow with her blue gym jacket.
"You ASSHOLE!" she roared with tears.
"Shut up!" Bakugo yelled, starting to feel his way through the maze, not even stopping to check up on his teammate. "It wasn't even that hard of a fall. I already told you to stay out of my way. If you can't keep up with me, then go back. I'm gonna get to the end of this damn maze, with or without you extras."
Mina and Denki regrouped with Videl and Kirishima as the echo of Bakugo's footsteps disappeared around the corner of the wall.
"Let him go," Videl growled, wiping her tears from the pain. "We don't need him. Just stick together and we'll be fine. Keep your eyes peeled. If anybody sees something, say something."
"What we really need is a little light," Kaminari said, lifting his hands up. "I can't see a damn thing-"
"No, wait!" Videl yelled, but it was too late. Bright electricity sparkled around Kaminari's hands and flowed up his fingers, illuminating the large room they were in. Finally, they could see each other clearly.
"Ohh, that wound doesn't look so good," Kirishima said worriedly. He ripped his sleeve off and tied it around Videl's bleeding elbow. "There."
"hehehehehehehehehehehehehehe." dozens of tiny voices began to cackle in the dark.
"Oh, no," Videl whispered, looking up as dozens of purple LED eyes flashed to life around them, triggered by the sudden activation of Kaminari's electric Quirk. The Juniors were like insects, crawling over each other around the ceiling of the maze. There were dozens of them!
"Get to the exit," Videl ordered, her voice agitated. She looked around at her teammates who were paralyzed with fear. "Hey! Don't just stand there, move it! I'll cover you. Red, you're with me!"
"Got it! You heard her, let's move it!" Kirishima yelled as the Juniors started dropping from the ceiling. Kaminari pushed Mina in front of him and the two ran around the corner of the maze wall towards Bakugo.
Kirishima's arms hardened and the bright orange star appeared at Videl's feet, spinning wildly as she used her Star Power to strengthen her fists and legs. As soon as the first wave of androids rushed them, the two jumped forward to meet them.
"Eagle Kick!" Videl yelled, extending her foot. With the added Star Power, her kick was strong enough to pulverize the android that flew towards her. She surged forward again, this time connecting an android's face with her elbow. "Hawk Charge!"
"Red Gauntlet!" Kirishima sliced through the androids effortlessly next to Videl, but in a matter of seconds, they were completely overwhelmed. Some of the androids peeled off from the main swarm to attack Mina and Kaminari up ahead.
Mina jumped and flipped athletically, dodging the androids' attempts to grab her, all the while unleashing powerful waves of acid that melted through the Junior's exterior shell until one of the explosion Juniors charged at her at full speed, sending a massive explosion towards her that knocked her off her feet. Before she could recover, two juniors wrapped themselves around her arms, rendering her helpless as they took off with her into the air.
"E! Help me!" Mina cried as she disappeared into the shadows.
"Minaaaaa!" Kirishima jumped after her, reaching out to her, but was hit from behind with a massive explosion. That wasn't just any attack, he now realized – it was Bakugo's!
"They imitated Bakugo's explosion!" Kirishima yelled, sharpening his arms and slicing through one of the Juniors.
"Mina Ashido has been captured," Mister Aizawa's dull voice sounded from hidden speakers somewhere.
"Dammit!" Kirishima yelled, punching the cement wall. I'm so sorry, Pinky!
A few feet away from him, Kaminari was struggling with a swarm of androids who surrounded him. Three androids latched onto him and set off Bakugo's explosions, sending Kaminari's body into a macabre dance.
"Denki!"
"Okay, then, you gross little gremlins!" Kaminari yelled through ragged breaths, struggling to get to his feet as five more androids dropped from the ceiling to surround him. "Try this one on for size. Indiscriminate Shock: 1.2 Million volts!"
Kaminari became a blinding source of light and electricity for a second as his power charged through the core of his body and came rushing out like a thundering river through his fingertips!
"You twerps are friiiiiiied!"
The electric surge hit the ground and poured over the advancing androids. The ones caught in the massive wave of electricity were instantly fried, but there were some androids who managed to leap out of the way. The attack cleared the way towards the exit.
"Now's our chance!" Kirishima yelled, grabbing Videl's hand and running for the exit. "Come on, Kaminari. Time to go… Oy, Kaminari?!"
Denki was no longer following them. In fact, it seemed like Kaminari was no longer even conscious of his surroundings.
"Yay!" he giggled in a monotone voice, jerking his thumbs up in front of him. His eyes gave off a short-circuit look. "Kaminari!"
Denki Kaminari. Quirk – Electrification.
He can discharge electricity and emit it out of his body in powerful blasts, but if he goes over his wattage limit, his brain short-circuits and he turns into a huge idiot for a while!
As Kaminari walked around, waving his thumbs in the air, he was picked up by another android and taken into the shadows.
"Denki Kaminari has been captured." Aizawa's voice said. "Bakugo, I strongly suggest you return to your team and regroup. One more capture or a surrender will mean you lose this match."
"Dammit!" Kirishima yelled, punching at an incoming Junior with a hardened hand. This time, the Junior was ready for him. It twisted in midair and swiped away Eijiro's fist with a swift roundhouse. It spun again, bringing its left elbow around, hard. The blow struck Kirishima's head. The force was intense, and Kirishima realized in horror that the bot had just imitated his own Quirk – it's blue scaled body hardened into a far stronger material.
"AHAHAHA!" The android cackled at the fallen redhead before suddenly being sliced in half from behind. It fell forward with a gasp and deactivated with a small explosion. Kirishima looked up to see Videl's eyes glowing blue, an orange star glowing at her feet. She had used her Quirk to sharpen the edge of her hand, using it like a blade to slice through the androids, just like Kirishima's Quirk.
"Get up, Red!" She yelled, desperately, grabbing Eijiro's hand and pulling him to his feet. "You heard Aizawa, right? If they capture one more teammate, we'll lose the match!" The two charged for the exit, where Bakugo was standing, arms crossed, surrounded by mountain of destroyed bots.
"About time you joined the party, you damn weaklings," Bakugo laughed. A Junior jumped at Bakugo, spraying acid at him. Bakugo jumped back, clearing the dangerous wave of acid and twisting into a back-flip towards a Junior with a hardening Quirk. With a battle hungry laugh, Bakugo caught the hardened Junior and flung it, using his explosions to propel the android around to send the android flying towards the acid Junior. The two collided and Bakugo finished them off by putting his hands together and lighting them both up with a huge explosion that rocked the walls of the maze.
He landed on his feet lightly as the charred remains of the bots landed around him. He turned and ran out of the maze into the light outside. "Come on!" he yelled.
"Wow. Amazing!" Videl whispered. "Who knew Bakugo was such a great fighter!"
"Videl, look! That's the exit!" Kirishima said, pointing at the bright light at the end of the spacious room. He exchanged a relieved smile with Videl and took her hand again. "That's it, we made it."
The two teens ran off towards the light, but just before they could make it, there was a rumble on the ground. Videl turned to see dozens of Androids flying towards them. There was no way they would make it out of the maze on time. She had to make her stand here and now.
"Get to the exit!" she yelled, dropping Kirishima's hand and turning around, running towards the swarm of androids behind them.
"What are you doing?" Kirishima yelled back.
"Just go!"
The orange star appeared at Videl's feet. One shot, that's all she needed. She was going to pour every ounce of her star power and immobilize the swarm of androids. That should buy her enough time for both of them to make it to the exit. The star beneath her glowed and spun, zipping up her feet and gathering at her crossed palms.
"Star Power: Full Spectrum!" She yelled, as the power gathered into an orb. Suddenly, the floor glowed as one of the bots erupted in electricity – Kaminari's Quirk. The bolt of electricity zipped forward and the next instant, it had traveled up Videl's leg.
"Ahhhh!" she cried through gritted teeth. Her star power blasted away, completely missing the swarm.
"Videl!" Eijiro cried. Videl's body convulsed as the electricity coarsed through her. Finally, she collapsed to the floor in a smoking heap. The Juniors laughed hysterically and jumped down to take their final prize. Videl groaned, opening her eyes in time to see the electric Junior powering up for yet another bolt of electricity. This time, for sure, it would knock her unconscious.
Videl struggled to move – to crawl away from the advancing bot. The Android's fingertips glowed and a bolt of electricity shot forward, barreling towards her. Instinctively, she closed her eyes, unable to dodge in time, waiting for the final blow… but it never came. When she opened her eyes, Kirishima was on top of her. He had jumped in between her and the android, hardening his body and tanking the blow. His scarlet eyes were glued shot, his pointed teeth gritting as the electricity flowed through him.
"Red?" Videl gasped, weakly.
"It's… okay… I got you," he tried his best to smile down at her before he was hit with another bolt of electricity. His body twisted unnaturally, but he refused to move. "Just gotta keep… getting… harder!"
"Red," Videl whimpered, her eyes watering. "Why?"
Why was he doing this? Why didn't he just let her get captured? Why was he putting himself through this punishment?
The next Junior to attack used Mina's acid. It splashed over Kirishima's hardened body, sizzling and dissolving through him. Kirishima cried with pain as blood began to seep from the cracks in his skin.
"Red, stop! Get up! Please! You don't have to take this for me!" Videl cupped Eijiro's bleeding cheeks, desperately trying to heal him, but she had no more Star Power left in her. "Get out of here! Please!"
Bakugo's explosions rocked Eijiro's back, but still, he laid on top of Videl's body, refusing to let her get hit by the attacks.
"I'm not leaving you behind, Videl," he whispered again, in pain. His eyes were watery and bloodshot when he opened them. His body had finally reached its limit. Still he smiled at her. "I'm 'sposed to be… your human shield, remember?"
"Dammit, Red!" Videl sobbed.
The next attack rocked Kirishima and finally, his eyes rolled to the back of his head. He slumped forward limply, completely unconscious. The merciless electric android powered up again, intent on hitting Eijiro and Videl one last time.
"No! No! No! No!" Videl cried, wrapping her arms around Kirishima's neck. "Stop! Mister Aizawa! Stop it! Please! I surrender!" she cried.
Instantly the bots that were flying towards her stopped and stared at each other.
"Awww!" they cooed in disappointment, lowering their arms as Aizawa hit the Idle button, sending all of the androids a signal to stop attacking immediately. Bakugo was already standing next to his class, watching everything on the giant monitor. He was absolutely livid.
"Huh?! What does she mean, she surrenders?"
"It means she forfeited the match."
"Uh-uh, no way!" Bakugo growled. "There's no way we're losing this match, not when we're so close to winning! Get the hell up, Dumb Hair! Pick him up, Pigtails!"
"It's over," Aizawa said, dryly. "Team One has lost the match."
CHAPTER FOURTEEN – STRATEGY! STRATEGY! STRATEGY!
As the assistant robots carried Eijiro and Videl to the nurse's office in stretchers, Gohan couldn't help but feel shaken by the brutality he had just witnessed. The Patrolbot Juniors, though programmed to stun and arrest, were ruthless, even against students. There was no way they were going to hold back if they had the chance to take any of his teammates down.
And the crazy part was that this was supposed to be the androids' weakest version! After each round, they became much more powerful. Team 2 was up next. As soon as Todoroki stepped foot into the tunnel, it was over. He completely froze the maze, and the only androids that had been able to escape were the ones that imitated Mina's acid Quirk, but those were very few and far between.
Most of the androids had opted for taking Bakugo's powerful explosion Quirk, or Kaminari's electricity. So the very few that did have Mina's Quirk were easily dispatched by Momo's team. Team 2 came out of the maze, freezing and trembling, wrapped in the thermal blankets that Momo had created for them. Not one member of their team was lost.
Team 3 only lost Koda to the bots, but thanks to Iida's quick thinking and leadership, they were able to implement Tokoyami's mighty Dark Shadow, Sato's seemingly endless Sugar Rush, and Shoji's useful multi arm Quirk to clear the maze fairly quickly. They burst out of the maze, bruised and scorched, but still intact.
"Team 3 has won the match!" Aizawa announced, and the whole class cheered. "Team 4, get ready to head into the tunnel. As soon as Cementoss opens the door, your match will begin. You're the final team left before we finish for the day, so give us a good show, okay?"
Gohan nodded and let out a breath. This is it. Our time to shine, he thought.
The team was silent as they waited for the massive door to the tunnel to open.
Gohan looked up to see Ochaco striding back and forth, rubbing her arms nervously. Midoriya was muttering to himself about something, and Melissa was examining her Power Pole, the only support item she was allowed to bring.
"I have a bad feeling about this, Gohan," Tsu croaked. She was squatting near the entrance where Gohan was leaning.
"Nervous?" Gohan asked her with a smile.
"You saw what those things did to poor Kirishima," she said, shaking her head. "I'm surprised you can be so calm before facing such a ferocious enemy."
Gohan shrugged.
"Call it experience, I guess," he said. "This won't be the first time I'm faced with a mountain of a challenge. Sometimes, you just have to take your eyes off the peak of the mountain and just focus on taking one more step up the climb. Before you know it, you'll be reaching the top."
"Ribbit. I know. But it just feels like we're totally under-prepared to face off such a brutal swarm of merciless androids, that's all."
"No," Gohan said, shaking his head slowly. "No, that's not true at all. We have just what we need to beat the androids."
"We do?" Asui asked. "How do you figure?"
Gohan pushed off the wall and motioned towards the team.
"Look around. We've got Melissa, a tech genius whose family built these machines and therefore has more knowledge than anyone about them; we've got Midoriya, who's really good at coming up with strategy and thinking outside of the box, not to mention that powerful Quirk of his; we've got Ochaco, who can literally take the weight off of us and help us get through the maze quicker, and we've got you, Tsu. You can camouflage and cling on to walls. We've got the dream team! These poor androids don't stand a chance."
"Well, I appreciate the faith you have in us, Gohan," Tsu sighed. "I'll do my best not to let you down. What's the plan, then?"
"All right, team," Gohan nodded, gathering his team together and looking from Midoriya to Melissa, Asui to Uraraka. "What do we know about the enemy? Obviously, they can read power levels and interpret Quirk data somehow."
"It's the jewels on the palm of their hands," Melissa said as she finished reassembling the Power Pole and slipping it into the Malachite sheath strapped to her back. "They act as power conduits that attract emitter-type Quirk attacks to analyze, reproduce and redirect back at the target. But if they want to mimic mutation-type or transformation-type Quirks, they'll have to physically touch you."
"Meaning, they'll be within arms reach…" Tsu pondered. "They'll have to come down and fight on our terms."
"Precisely. Also, if I'm remembering correctly, there's a safety mechanism that doesn't allow them to increase more than five percent output over the original attack's power level. After all, the Juniors are designed to subdue, not to kill."
The door opened with an ominous creak, cement grinding against cement, and Gohan lead his team inside.
They followed the dimly lit tunnel that lead into the maze, turning right at the first wall. Gohan had everyone press against the wall as Tsu crawled overhead, peering around the corner. Even though there was less light here, Tsu's green bio-luminescent eyes let her see in the dark.
"We're clear," she whispered to Gohan. "Okay, follow me, and stay close."
"Okay, we're moving forward, everyone. Keep your eyes open."
"Five percent, huh?" Gohan nodded. "What if we regulate our power? Ochaco, Midoriya and I have all been working on managing the amount of power we use in our attacks. So maybe instead of hitting them with a hundred percent of our power right off the bat, we could use half of that and mask the full extent of our Quirks. Then we can have the element of surprise on our side."
"Great idea," Melissa said, still thinking. "But be careful not to let them absorb your power, Gohan. Even though you have limitations, the Androids are powered by Neon Batteries. They will have endless energy. That's why they can use Kaminari's indiscriminate shock without short-circuiting. And there's still one major advantage they have over the majority of us. They can fly – we can't."
Gohan looked over to Izuku, who was rubbing his chinand muttering to himself.
"Midoriya?" Gohan asked. "What do you think?"
Izuku sighed.
"It's probably nothing," he said. "But I keep thinking about the first and third matches. The androids didn't attack until after the teams reached the end of the maze, where they had a lot more space to move around. So I'm thinking, and this may be a gamble, but what if we activate our Quirks and draw the Juniors to us before then?"
"Bottleneck them in while we're still at the start of the maze, huh?" Gohan rubbed his chin. "That's actually not a bad idea! Sure, we'll have to fight them for a little longer, but their mobility will be severely cut off."
"Which means they won't be able to attack from behind…" Tsu added.
"Or gang up on us from above," Gohan said.
Gohan lead the team forward, following the sound of Tsu's sticky footsteps along the wall. After navigating through the maze for a few minutes, they reached an area where the hallway narrowed quite a bit. Gohan immediately recognized the area as the place where Koda had been taken in the previous match.
"Gohan!" Tsu called out. "I can see them crawling on the ceiling, heading straight for us!"
"Okay, Team," Gohan said, kneeling down. "This is where we make our stand. Everyone ready?"
Everyone nodded and Gohan turned to Tsu.
"Tsu, let's ring the dinner bell, then."
"Ribbit!" Tsu's tongue shot out into the darkness, slapping the side of one of the androids that was crawling overhead. Gohan jumped to his feet.
"Over here, you oversized metal beatles!" he yelled waving his hands. The android's eyes lit up with life and it smirked at Gohan, acquiring him as a target. "Come and get me!"
"Ahhhhhahahaha!" It held it's palms out, setting out miniature explosions from them.
"So, you chose to mimic Bakugo's Quirk, huh?" Gohan laughed, putting his fists against his waist. "You probably should've gone with someone stronger!"
The Android dropped from the ceiling with an obnoxious cackle, flying straight towards Gohan. Gohan smiled and with a single move, he vanished from sight, reappearing directly in front of the Android. He grabbed the android by the wrist and held him up.
"Because Bakugo's just not strong enough to take me on," Gohan smiled. His palm glowed with power and the next instant, before the android could register Gohan's Quirk to defend against it, a brilliant sea of light erupted from Gohan's hands, washing over the Android completely and illuminating the dark maze.
The sudden surge in power vaporized the android and awakened the rest. Dozens of purple LED eyes came alive. But as they dropped and surged forward, many got stuck trying to fly through the tightened corridors of the maze.
"Hmm. Too bad," Gohan said, bringing his hands up over his head. "MASENKO-HAAAA!"
"Well, if any of them manage to get past me and Tsu…" Gohan chewed on his lip for a moment, looking at Melissa. "Then you and Uraraka will just have to play a little game of Baseball."
"Baseball?" Melissa asked, raising an eyebrow.
"That's right!" Ochaco said, swinging an imaginary baseball bat in the air. "I've been working on a new technique that lets me trap things in zero gravity. I can trap them and pitch them to your Power Pole and bam! Instant Home Run!"
Melissa slowly nodded.
"That could work," she agreed.
An android wielding Iida's engine Quirk slipped past Gohan and Midoriya, who were taking on the front of the swarm. It zipped in a zig-zag line straight towards Melissa, but Tsuyu leaped on top of it and pushed it down towards Ochaco, who, in a swift move, flew up towards it and slapped its wings, activating her Quirk on it. Using all her strength, she flung the weightless android towards Melissa, who was waiting for it.
"Now!" Ochaco yelled. "Batter up, Melissa!"
"Extend, Power Pole!" Melissa yelled, getting a firm grip on her weapon. The red pole lurched forward in size and Melissa swung it around hard, connecting with the android's body and sending it flying back. It flew straight into the midst of the swarm, where Midoriya leaped forward.
"DELAWARE… SMASH!" Midoriya yelled, flicking one finger to send a mighty gust of wind. The air force broke his finger, but it did crush the dozen or so androids that were stuck in the tight corridor. That was the last of them for now. That was the third finger that Midoriya had broken in this match. He clutched his left hand with pain, but kept moving forward.
"Deku!" Melissa cried, worriedly. "Your hand!"
"It's okay," Midoriya assured her. "At least this way I'm still standing."
"Hang in there, Midoriya. We'll be out of here in no time," Gohan yelled. He looked around and didn't see any more androids trying to get to them for the time being. "Looks clear. Okay, let's go!"
"Once we get to the final room, Tsu will use her tongue to grab Midoriya and Melissa, and hold onto Uraraka with her Frog Grip. Ochaco, I want you to use your Quirk to make them all weightless and fly them out towards the exit as fast as you can."
"What about you?" Ochaco asked.
"I'll cover you all," Gohan said. "I've got a new move that I know they won't be expecting."
"'kay," Ochaco nodded, her eyebrows furrowing. "Let's do this, Team 4! Plus Ultra style!"
Gohan's fists clenched with excitement. Their plan had finally come together.
"Okay, we've got a plan now; one the androids won't see coming. Stay low and stay close. Let the enemy make the first move. They're bound to make a mistake and when they do, that's when we strike. Awise warrior who once wrote that in the midst of chaos, there is opportunity. So if it gets hectic out there, don't panic. Use your head. Remember, what Mister Aizawa told us this morning; the best defense is a good offense. Let's show those little tin cans what UA's made of!"
"Right!"
"Right!"
"Yeah!"
"Ribbit!"
This was it! Gohan recognized this room. They crossed an incredibly tight hallway and Gohan summoned a ball of ki to his palm, illuminating the entire room. It was the same spacious room where Team 1 had fallen earlier in the day. That only meant one thing – they were one room away from exiting the maze.
It also meant that they would encounter the heaviest resistance here.
Suddenly, an explosion rocked the maze, seemingly out of nowhere, knocking the team to their feet. Gohan landed on the ground and rolled around to see a translucent shadow heading straight for Ochaco.
"Ochaco!" he yelled, firing off a ki blast. The blast obliterated its target, who had combined Tsu's camouflage with Bakugo's explosion, but not before it was able to send a series of explosions barreling towards the girl. Gohan got there in time to tank the explosions, summoning his ki to his crossed arms, using his newly learned Dragon Scale move. He gathered the kinetic energy of the explosions and sent it back at the androids, catching some in the blast and eviscerating them.
"Wow! Did you see that, Gohan?!" Ochaco said breathlessly. "They're learning to combine Quirks now!"
Gohan nodded.
"We need to get to the exit now!" he yelled. "Everyone, get ready to run. I'm gonna pour all of my energy and destroy the last few walls of the maze. Once you see a chance, I want everyone to stick to the plan and get out of here as fast as you can! Midoriya, Ochaco, can I get some cover while I charge up?"
"Leave it to us!" Ochaco called.
Gohan looked up at her proudly and Ochaco smiled sweetly at him.
The two held each other's gaze for a moment.
Midoriya blinked, his confused eyes flicking between Ochaco and Gohan.
"Uh, guys," he gulped. "Hate to break the moment, but in case you're wondering, the swarm's here!"
"Right!" Ochaco and Gohan said, turning their backs to each other.
"TEXASSS SMASSSSH!" Midoriya yelled, slamming a fist into the concrete.
"GRAVITY CAGE!" Uraraka activated her Quirk on the rubble. Several large pieces of cement floated in midair.
"Here we go!" Melissa yelled, swinging her Power Pole at the floating rocks and sending them hurling towards the incoming androids.
As they covered him, Gohan closed his eyes and concentrated, squatting down and bringing his hands together at the wrists. This was the first time he was going to use one of his most powerful ki blasts after the Zenkai Boost. Let's hope Piccolo's right about the power upgrade!
Power surged from his core and poured out onto the palms of his hands in the form of a blinding blue light. Gohan took the charged energy and brought it down beside his ribs, where it gathered more energy violently. "KAAAMEHAAAMEHAAAA!"
To Gohan's absolute surprise, his signature ki blast did not burst out in the form of a tightly concentrated stream like every other time before. This time, the Kamehameha wave burst out like a blazing tsunami, engulfing every Android in sight. The wave pierced several walls of the maze and blasted out the exit door.
Back in the monitor room, everyone gasped, taken aback by Gohan's sudden display of power.
"What?!" Aizawa said to himself, his eyes narrowing. How the hell did the kid go and get so strong in just two weeks?! Of course, he knew Gohan was strong from the beginning, but this was an entirely new level for him. The amount of sheer power that blast packed had been enough to blast a hole not just through the entire maze, but through the walls of Gym Gamma itself!
Gohan stared at the enormous hole, bewildered.
"Wow! Look at the power!" Ochaco said, amazed. Even the androids stopped to gape at the titanic display of raw power.
"Now's your chance!" Gohan called back, shaking the thoughts from his head. "Come on! Hurry before Cementoss can rebuild the walls. Asui!"
"Ribbit! I told you to call me Tsu!" the frog girl called. Her tongue shot forward and wrapped around Midoriya and Melissa. "I've got them!"
"Ochaco!" Gohan called. "Use your Quirk on Tsu and get them out of here through the hole I just made. Hurry!"
"What about you?" Ochaco cried with a strained voice as she sent another android flying back. Another explosion android flew towards them, unleashing a series of explosions. Gohan jumped in front of Ochaco and crossed his arms, summoning a ki shield around them. The android landed against the shield and was batted away by the extended Power Pole, but not before jabbing a hardened boot into Gohan's thigh.
Gohan screamed with pain and fell, the shield deactivating around them.
"Gohan!" Ochaco cried, using her Quirk to pick the fallen young Saiyan up.
"Go," he said, his teeth grinding with pain.
"Go? I can't leave you like this!" Ochaco protested. "You can barely stand!"
"Stick to the plan. The team needs you right now. I'll cover you guys!"
Ochaco glanced desperately from Gohan to Asui, who held Melissa and Midoriya up with her tongue behind them.
"If I fall, but you all make it out, we'll win anyways. But if Tsu can't get Midoriya and Melissa out, we'll be goners!"
Ochaco stomped her foot in frustration.
"Oooh, alright, fine! But you better be right behind us!" Ochaco panted.
Gohan nodded breathlessly and caressed her chin lightly with his finger.
"I will," he said, catching his breath. "Get going."
Ochaco nodded and ran off towards Asui and the rest of the team. The walls were beginning to close in now, as Cementoss had begun to rebuild the maze. Ochaco leaped forward into flight, just in time to catch Tsu and the rest of the team.
"Hang on tight, Tsu!" she cried, activating her Quirk. Tsuyu jumped on top of Ochaco's back and her sticky frog fingers clung on for dear life. With a hand extended, Ochaco flew off with her teammates in tow towards the light of day.
Behind them, Midoriya did his best to ignore the fact that he was pressed up against Melissa's body, as they were both wrapped closely by Tsuyu's tongue.
Once he was sure they had gotten a good distance away, Gohan turned back towards the swarm. They were preparing for a final assault on Gohan. He could see the various Quirks they had imitated, manifesting in their hands. Others, who had copied mutation Quirks had even grown extra limbs, like Shoji. They all flew towards their remaining target.
This is it. The final stand! That last Kamehameha had taken so much stamina, and the hardened boot stuck on the side of his thigh made it difficult for Gohan to stand. Still, if he could buy his teammates enough time to make it out of the maze, they would win.
"Dragon Scale attack!" Gohan yelled. He raised a hand and clutched it at the wrist with his other hand. Electricity ran up his wrist and gathered around his hand, hardening his index and middle fingers. Golden light wrapped around his fingers and Gohan leaped forward to meet the androids in the middle of the room.
Ochaco flew through the last wall of the maze into the final room with the rest of her team behind her. They finally reached the final room. From here, they had to climb up a flight of stairs, where the exit door awaited them. Ochaco gently landed, putting her team down.
"What's wrong?" Tsu asked, concerned. "Are you feeling nauseous again?"
Ochaco shook her head.
"The room looks clear. I'm sure you guys can make it out to the exit without running into any more androids."
"Right…" Melissa said, straightening her glasses. "But where are you going?"
"I'm going back to help Gohan," Ochaco said, activating her Quirk. The pink sparkling aura enveloped her and she lifted up into the air and started flying back.
"Wait, hold on a second!" Melissa said, reaching up and grabbing Ochaco's arm.
"Don't try to stop me," she barked angrily.
"I'm not! I've been talking to Midoriya. He's got a plan."
Back at the Monitor room, everyone was amazed that the team didn't just go up the stairs to exit the maze.
"But they're so close to victory," Yaoyorozu pondered aloud, holding a hand on her chin. "Even if Gohan does get captured, the four of them exiting the maze would give them the win. It doesn't make any sense."
"They're inspired by Gohan's sacrifice," Aizawa said. "And in returning for their classmate, they're demonstrating that they understand the spirit of this exercise. Winning was never the objective."
The class gasped.
"It's… not?" Momo asked.
"That's right," Aizawa smiled, watching as Midoriya, Melissa, Ochaco and Asui ran back to help Gohan. "The objective was for you all to learn to trust your instincts, as well as to strengthen your faith in yourselves, and to use your powers to defend those around you. Team Four has learned a valuable lesson in heroism today."
Momo looked back at her team. They had completely relied on Todoroki's overwhelming power to make it through the maze, yet they hadn't learned to sharpen their Quirks together as a team. They'd won, but in winning, they'd failed.
As the team captain, she was responsible for devising that strategy.
It was all her fault.
Momo clenched her hands into fists and her eyes sank to the floor.
Back in the maze, Gohan roared as he leaped between the androids, tearing them down with his hardened fingers. No matter how many bots he tore down, they just kept pouring in. His body was beginning to feel the wear. A hardening bot flew past him, activating Iida's quirk. In a flash, it had sliced through Gohan's abdomen. Gohan grunted and jumped back defensively, where another android that was mimicking Ochaco's zero gravity caught him in a gravity cage.
For a moment, Gohan floated in mid-air and the same android grew a third arm, mimicking Shoji. It put together all three arms and brought the interlaced fist on top of Gohan's head, sending him spinning to the ground below.
Gohan landed on his back, and his vision blurred for a moment, before another android came flying mercilessly at him.
"Eagle Kick!" it yelled, landing on top of Gohan on the ground with its glowing heels. Gohan felt two of his ribs shatter with a sickening thud. Instantly, the android began to laugh at Gohan like a demented hyena. It's fingers began to glow, preparing to shoot electricity out of its fingertips –
"Hawk Charge!" The star power android attacked the electric android, pinning him against the cement wall and tearing it in half with a kick. Gohan stared in confusion, doing his best to squirm away, but a sharp, electric pain shot up through his broken ribs, and all he could do was lay on the ground, wheezing for air.
As his head slumped back, what he saw confused him even more. The androids had turned against each other and were now fighting themselves! He blinked at the bizarre sight, not sure what to make of it. That's when he saw it - the camouflaged translucent tongue shooting back and forth with incredible speed.
"Asui!" Gohan cried in relief.
"I told you," she said, her tongue flicking back and forth between the androids. "Call me Tsu!"
Her tongue was shooting forward, lathering random androids with a toxic mucous that held the scent of their teammates. This confused the androids' targeting computers, and they immediately began fighting each other.
Ochaco flew down next to him and activated her Quirk on Gohan. He slowly rose up in the air and she took him in her arms.
"I got you, Gohan!" she told him, pressing him against her tightly. "Can you fly?"
"I can try," Gohan said, strained.
"Okay, just give me your speed. Tsu!"
"Ribbit!"
Tsu wrapped her tongue around Ochaco's waist and was pulled along with them. Ochaco flew with her teammates towards the exit, where Midoriya and Melissa were waiting.
The androids swarmed again and flew towards the team in hot pursuit.
"Here they come!" Melissa called out. "Extend, Power Pole!"
She placed the enlarging pole on the ground and it burst in size, acting like a load-bearing column against wall above them.
"Ochaco! The column to your right," Midoriya yelled. "Get to it now! Gohan, we need you to destroy the load-bearing wall over there. If we do this together, we're going to bring the entire maze down on those androids!"
"Right!" Ochaco nodded.
"Alright," Gohan nodded, extending one arm out and aiming it towards the wall, ignoring the pain in his body screaming at him. Once again, pain gathered around his palm.
"KAAAAMEEEEEHAAAAMEEEEEE-"
Ochaco reached the column and held onto it.
"Ready!" She called.
Electricity flowed all over Midoriya's body as he powered up his Quirk.
"DETROOOOOIIIIT SMAAAAAASH!"
"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
As Gohan's blast pulverized the final wall holding the ceiling of the maze up, Izuku smashed through the roof of the maze, causing a massive chain reaction. The ceiling careened forward and began to topple down.
"Uraraka! Now!" Midoriya cried with pain as his arm broke.
"Right!"
Ochaco activated her Quirk on the pillar that had now detached from the rest of the maze.
"Sorry about this, cuties! Improvised Special Move: The Comet Home Run!"
She swung the pillar around like a baseball bat, catching all of the debris from the crumbling walls and sending them speeding towards the incoming swarm of androids, tearing them to shreds. The walls began to crumble as the maze caved in on itself, burying all remaining androids within.
"Time to go!" Melissa called, swinging Midoriya's good arm over her shoulder and helping him climb up the stairs towards the exit. The two made it out of the maze safely.
Ochaco flew forward and caught Gohan and Tsu with her Quirk and as the maze collapsed. Gohan fired off several blasts to clear their flight path and finally, the trio managed to escape just in the nick of time. The maze caved in, turning into nothing more than a giant heap of cement.
Ochaco glided gently down to the floor with Gohan in her arms, and Tsu finally unwound her tongue from her waist and the three collapsed to the floor, completely breathless and exhausted. Gohan closed his eyes, breathing heavily. Slowly he started to chuckle, and then to laugh out loud.
"What's so funny?" Ochaco asked, turning to her side to look him in the eyes. Gohan smiled up at her.
"Ochaco Uraraka – you're my Hero!"
"Don't thank me," she said, patting him tenderly on the cheek. "Thank Izuku. He's the one that came up with the plan last minute."
"Is that right?" Gohan asked, amazed. "I knew we could count on him."
Beside them, Midoriya groaned with pain.
"It worked!" Melissa was saying as she sat up and stared at the fallen rubble. "Deku! Your plan worked!"
Midoriya nodded.
"Yay! Go Team Four!" he said, tiredly, before letting his arm drop from exhaustion.
"Team Four wins the match!" Aizawa called out from the speakers.
Closing Song:
"1,000,000 Times" by My First Story
Videl sat up in one of the beds in the nurse's office. Even though Recovery Girl had asked her to try to sleep to speed up the recuperation process, Videl just couldn't keep her eyes closed. In her mind's eye, she could still see Kirishima laying over her, blocking the incoming attacks from the Patrolbots.
Why? Why would he do that?
That was the question she kept asking herself over and over again. She needed answers.
Videl waited until Recovery Girl had left the room and turned the lights off before leaning over and swiping the curtain from the next bed aside.
Kirishima was in bad shape. His entire torso from his waist up to his jaw was bandaged and an IV bag overhead connected to his arm through a tube.
His eyes fluttered open and he squinted against the light, looking around his new surroundings.
"Videl," he whispered, groggily. "Are you okay?"
His concern of her over himself brought tears to Videl's eyes.
"You colossal dummy," she told him, wiping her eyes. "You're the one that's all bandaged up. Why did you feel the need to throw yourself on top of me like that? We lost because of that, you know. I had to forfeit the match before those damn bugs killed you."
"I'm sorry," he groaned. "I just didn't wanna see you get hurt. What kind 'o man would I be if I left you to face those little demons alone?"
Videl's hands tightened around the iron bar of the hospital bed.
"Nobody's ever done anything like that for me before," she confessed, almost to herself. "I've always been Videl Satan, the toughest kid in school. She never needed any help from anybody. No matter how hard she got hit, she always got back up and kept taking the hits like a Champ. But sometimes the hits do hurt, especially when you have to face them alone. So she hid behind a wall of stone, pretending to be tough, even though on the inside, it's all plastic – fake."
Kirishima sighed.
"Trust me, I know the feeling well." He said with an encouraging smile. "You try to make yourself unbreakable so that nothin' can hurt you anymore. It's like puttin' on a mask – or dyin' your hair bright red, huh? But the insecurity is still there, just waitin' for you to take the mask off when you finally find yourself alone."
Videl looked up at Kirishima's scarlet eyes.
A moment of silence fell over the two teens.
Finally, Kirishima laid his head back against the pillow.
"How are the others?" he asked.
"How do you think? Probably devastated. We're the only team that lost, thanks to Bakugo."
"We should make it up to them. Maybe we can take them somewhere this weekend. Pinky loves goin' out in groups. It'll be fun!"
Videl looked down at her hands and sighed.
"Yeah, why not?" she said as she started to climb back on her bed.
"Oh, and Red?" she said, before closing the curtain again.
"Yeah?"
"Umm… About grabbing that bite to eat… it's Friday, so… You can take me after school, or whatever. I don't really care, okay? I mean, unless you really want to… but you're still paying, got it?"
"Hell yeah!"
(…)
MOORI'S VILLAGE – NAMEK
"Hey, man!" Gohan said into the phone. "They're about to start serving dinner. You know how Chef Melone gets if someone gets to the dinner table after we give thanks. Where are you, anyway?"
"Sorry, I got caught up in a meeting, but I'm not too far away now," Dende responded. "But you guys go ahead and eat, I'm not really hungry."
Gohan had invited some of his new friends to one of the newest properties of the Dragon Clan. Moori's village sat on land that used to be a deforested and contaminated by manufacturing plants before these had moved into the city. After a while, the land had been abandoned as little more than a massive junkyard, which the New Namek Housing Project purchased for renovation.
It would now serve as the main headquarters of the Dragon Clan, headed by Grand Elder Moori, while the NNHP would continue operating out of Papaya Island and the Lookout for its charity and social services. By now, all traces of the old manufacturing plants had been discarded, and Dende had invented purifiers for the water that surrounded the village.
Slowly, the bright blue grass of the Ajisa trees had begun to spread, and the land was beginning to look more and more like the traditional Namek of older days. Out here in the open air, Gohan almost felt like he was in a completely different planet – one with no major cities or roadways or pollution. It almost made him think of Mount Paozu. Some day, when he had life figured out and he was ready to settle down, he would find a place just like this and raise a family in peace, away from the rushing life of the big city.
Dende showed up incredibly late, as usual. But Gohan couldn't get mad at him. He was the CEO of the NNHP at the ripe age of 16, after all. It wasn't his fault, but he was still going to pay for it.
"I told you I wasn't hungry so you go and order an extra large soup like an ass," Dende growled, his antennae twitching.
"Hey, I figured you worked up an appetite as late as you were," Gohan laughed. "Come on, let me introduce you to everyone."
They spent the next hour eating with the Dragon Clan and talking about their plans for the future as Heroes, as well as discussing the awesome new moves they had used in the exercise today.
Gohan breathed in a huge sigh of relief, feeling peaceful for the first time in a very long time. He couldn't help but smile as he watched Ochaco giggle uncontrollably at one of Dende's terrible jokes. He caught himself staring at her and smiled to himself.
"Hey, Ochaco," he said. "There's something I really wanted to show you here. If you're finished eating, I mean."
"Yeah, sure!" Ochaco said, cheerfully, getting up to follow Gohan out of the banquet hall.
Melissa turned to Izuku.
"Hey, Deku!" She told him, excitedly. "I'm going to hit the snack bar. There's a triple chocolate fountain that's practically screaming out my name. Wanna come check it out with me?"
"Yeah, why not," he laughed, picking up the plate with his one good hand. The other was still bandaged from the fight earlier.
"Well," Tsu said, sipping her drink through a straw. "I guess it's just you and me, huh?"
"Yeah…" Dende twiddled his thumbs. That shameless bastard. He knows exactly what he's doing! I'm so going to get him back for this!
(…)
Gohan took Ochaco for a walk along the river that ran through the village. They both admired the quiet beauty of nature as they walked side by side. After that, he took her to the Ajisa Field, where the Namekians were transferring the Ajisa Saplings straight to the blue-grassed soil, where it would continue to grow.
Gohan brought a potted sapling and handed a shovel to Ochaco, and the two started digging as Gohan went on to explain the importance of the Ajisa Tree to the Namekian People. Ochaco's eyes sparkled in the afternoon sky as she listened to him talk about all of the life lessons he'd learned just by studying the blue-leaf trees. He was so innocent and kind and pure… it made Ochaco's heart flutter. Whyyyyy am I finding his kindness so dang attractive?! Ochaco fought against the weird thoughts with a smile.
"So… How's you're side doing?" Ochaco asked as they worked, trying her best to focus on digging a hole instead of on Gohan's beautiful dark eyes.
"Oh, it's as good as new," Gohan said, patting his side where his ribs had been broken just hours earlier. "Recovery Girl's really the best, isn't she?"
"Yeah, we're so lucky to have her," Ochaco agreed. "Who would have known that UA training would be so brutal."
"No kidding! About that, I actually wanted to get the chance to say, thanks for coming back for me," Gohan said, putting the shovel down and grabbing the potted, blue-leaved sapling.
"Hey, we're not just a team, we're best friends, right?" Ochaco said, tilting her head happily as she started to push the soil on her side over the roots of the Ajisa Sapling. "We're always going to be in this together."
"Together," Gohan agreed, pushing his side of the soil over the roots of the Ajisa sapling. He was still staring into Ochaco's eyes and did not notice his fingers sliding in between hers through the soft soil. Their hands tenderly closed into the gaps of each other's fingers.
Gohan looked down at Ochaco's hands, interlaced with his own.
"We… we should probably go wash up now," he said, after a moment.
Ochaco quickly removed her hands.
"Yeah, you're probably right," she said.
A/N: Thanks for making it to the end of yet another chapter. I hope you liked the maze exercise. They whole point was to get the teams to bond and strengthen their Quirks as they fought off against my prototype versions of Cell Juniors. Will we see more of them in the future? No comment he he he
Videl is a teensie bit ooc from the Pigtailed Videl we know and love, but there's a reason for that. Something deeply buried inside her that we'll get to fully explore when she gets her dedicated arc in the next season. Let me know what you guys think of this chapter.
I know, my action writing is hot garbage. I SUCK AT WRITING COMBAT. So I hope we can get through these fight sequences and get back to watching our characters grow and bond. Anyway, that's all for now.
Onto the Review Responses:
Guest chapter 13 . Nov 29
Its about time for a new chapter and boi thats one heck of a cliffhanger there, looking forward to gohan vs bakugo (onesided match lmao)
Hi Guest! Thank you so much for reading! While they didn't fight in this chapter, Bakugo and Gohan will definitely get their day of fate, and yeah, it is definitely going to be a clash between an unstoppable force and a very movable, very human object that thinks itself immovable lol
Xeno Gohan chapter 13 . Nov 29
Great chapter! I like your thought process regarding Gohan's hairdo and the league of villains huh, interesting. Gohan bout to beat up Bakugo in the next chapter lol
XENO! Congratulations on being my One-Hundredth Review! I really appreciate the support! It means so much to me! And I'm glad you liked the thought process behind Gohan's hair. Sometimes, I end up questioning whether I'm giving too much importance to random stuff here on this fic, but hopefully it will all pay off in the end.
You can expect Gohan to fight Bakugo early next season after the USJ incident. Bakugo's been rattling Gohan's chain, so what's he gonna do when Gohan let's lose? You'll find out soon! Hehe
Thanks again for your continued support! It means everything to me!
X3runner chapter 13 . Dec 1
Kinda hoping gero isn't like a secret bad guy since that would probably crush Melissa. Man when you bakugo makes the cannon interactions (pre super ) between vegita and goku look healthy that's quite the accomplishment. The guy has a legit Napoleon complex without being short. I also dug how gohan went full bro/wingman for izuku would be nice to see izuku pay it forward. Gohan and Melissa are giving me a cannon goku and bulma vibe best platonic buds of opposite genders that would likely be the godparents to each others kids. Is gohan going to have a second secret hero identity since he'd have to make a new one aside from the one he's used to save uraraka. I dig the chapter hope you keep it up.
Yeah, you're right, he's been such a huge role in her life and one of her personal cheerleaders, even when she's been down. It would definitely be devastating if he turns out to be a huge villain.
Sorry! I realized that my Bakugo might be a bit unhinged, even more so than in the anime. But he's so much fun to write. He doesn't care what you look like or if you are man or woman. He is an equal opportunity hater. Definitely masks his inferiority complex with a superiority complex. But I love my angry little human Pomeranian. I can't wait to help him start the process of being reformed.
And I find your description of Deku and Mel's relationship to be super interesting. With so many romantic ships taking off in this fic, it might actually be a nice change of pace to see just two really close, platonic best friends. Maybe in the future they'll also fall for each other? But for now, they're just really good friends, bound together by having All Might in their lives.
And finally, as for the hero identity, I plan to let his regular personality be his "Hero Identity" while he will still use the Dragon alter ego to do things he wouldn't be allowed to do legally, like operate without a license or go after villains in other jurisdictions, etc.
Random Flame Reviewer – Thanks for the reviews. lol