Waiting Room: Day…
Aside from varying days of rest, everyone in 1-A trained harder than ever for the Sports Festival. Now, there was no more preparation to be had. Each class was assigned to a single waiting room, stationed underneath the stadium, after getting changed into their P.E. uniforms.
"Man, I wish we could wear our costumes!" Mina complained while Ojiro stretched his arms next to her. "It's hard to stand out in these!"
"Well, I guess it makes things fair that way." Mashirao answered. "I mean, not everyone in the school gets costumes like we do."
Rex walked on into the room. "Alright everyone, I've been informed we'll be lining up in ten minutes so get ready to move out soon."
"I wonder what they have in store for us?" Sato wondered, already looking nervous.
"It does not matter what the obstacle is." Tokoyami asserted with his unshakeable demeanor. "We must persevere."
There was a round of general agreement from the class.
"Midoriya. Salazar." The two boys turned to see Todoroki approaching them, his expression as neutral as ever.
"What's up, Todoroki?" The green-haired boy asked politely.
The half-and-half young man glanced at each of them. "From an objective standpoint, I'm stronger than you, Midoriya. As for you Salazar, I noted your lack of use in what I hear is 'Full Evo'. Safe to say, you lack control meaning I understand my abilities better than you."
"Pretty sure I recall you using only a little heat compared to how much ice I've seen, Todoroki." Rex smirked at him. "You sure you understand your Quirk as well as you claim?" That made the half and half boy glare more firmly at him. "Anyways, what is your point in all this?"
"Midoriya has All Might in his corner, while people in our school, even the upper classmen, are saying you could be the next Symbol of Peace, Salazar." Todoroki answered, looking at each boy in turn. "The only thing you need to understand, in relation to those facts, is that I will beat you."
"Whoa, why the sudden declaration of war?" Kirishima asked as he approached and put a hand on Shoto's shoulder.
"We aren't here to be friends." Todoroki snapped before pushing his arm off and walking away. "Don't forget, this is a competition."
"Wait a sec, Todoroki." Midoriya muttered, stopping the boy. "Of course, you're stronger than me, you got in on recommendations, after all, but don't think for one second that I'll let you leave me in the dust. I'm shooting for the top with everything I've got."
"Fine." The heterochronic boy declared.
Bakugo was frustrated he hadn't been mentioned.
Stadium
As the class walked down the hallway to the stadium, they could hear Present Mic. "YOU KNOW 'EM! I LOVE 'EM! THIS CLASS OF HEROES-IN-TRAINING HAVE COME OUT ON TOP OF AN ACTUAL VILLAIN ATTACK, AND NOW THEY'RE READY TO SHOW THE WORLD WHAT PLUS ULTRA LOOKS LIKE! IT'S HERO COURSE'S CLASS 1-A!"
The roar of the crowd managed to compete with the pro's voice as the students came out into the daylight. Many of them did their best to smile and wave while Present Mic introduced the other classes one by one. Given their positions in Class 1-A, Rex and Izuku led theirs.
"I didn't know there'd be so many people." Izuku commented nervously.
"Fairly certain Aizawa warned us about this a month ago." Rex reminded.
"Everyone, quiet!" a female voice commanded.
It was accompanied by the sound of a whip cracking. The source of both was an attractive woman with long black hair, bright blue eyes, and a dominatrix outfit.
"Is it appropriate for high school teacher to be wearing that?" Tokoyami grumbled.
"It's time for the student pledge which will be given by Rex Salazar!" The woman announced suddenly, surprising several of the students in class 1-A.
Rex confidently strolled up onto stage and took to the microphone. He had been told by his teacher he'd be expected to give the class pledge since he scored the highest on the entrance exam.
"Hello, Japan!" Rex declared as he removed the mic from the stand. "To make this official, my goal is to become the next Symbol of Peace. I know that's a bold statement, but I aim to prove it today. Of course, I realize I got stiff competition from every other person competing today.
To all of you, I say give it your best. After all, no one should be here today with the intention of playing games. Personally, I'm here to let everyone know I can make an impact on the world. I think that's something everyone should have in their minds.
After all, the day we leave UA is the day we begin contributing to shaping the world. Now, I'm about to turn things back over to Midnight, but first I want to hear the school motto from everyone, the students to the audience. Let's all go beyond…"
Rex's words managed to stir up the crowd to the point they all spoke the last two words with him. "PLUS ULTRA!"
Done talking, Rex put the mike back and stepped off the stage amid thunderous applause.
"Dude, that was such a manly speech!" Kirishima exclaimed.
"Well spoken, Salazar." Iida said approvingly.
"Yeah, nice job." Midoriya added.
Midnight didn't give them much of a chance to talk among themselves. "Alright!" She brandished her whip. "Time to cut the chatter and see what fate has in store for you! Let's announce the first game!"
She pointed with her whip at a screen atop the stadium. As soon as she spoke, the words began blurring rapidly in a mixture of colors, but it didn't take long for them to stop. The words 'Obstacle Course' were displayed with a green border.
"The rules are simple." Midnight announced. "The course is four kilometers, once around the stadium, with the finish line being exactly where you started." She licked her lips suggestively. "I don't want to restrain anyone, so don't leave the course. Beyond that, you are free to use your Quirks to your heart's desire! Now then contestants, take your places!"
Obstacle Course
Almost everyone in the eleven classes gathered as close to the exit gate as possible. In Rex's case, he purposefully took the back of the pack. The moment the buzzer went off, he built his Boogie Pack and utilized it to soar over the crowd.
From what he's seen of Todoroki, Rex knew he had to get out of the tunnel yesterday. He was right on that assumption as cold air began to fill the tunnel. Fortunately, Salazar just managed to break into the open before the ice truly went off.
This resulted in Rex and Shoto breaking free of the tunnel at the same time before the former soared ahead. After all, his Boogie Pack has serious speed, and this time he wasn't expected to stop at a mere fifty meters like he had been with his Rex Ride during the Quirk Apprehension.
While Rex effortlessly took the lead, Shoto deployed ice ahead of himself to skate forward in a vain attempt to try and keep up. That said, his ice hadn't worked entirely on all of Class 1-A. Despite not having the speed to get ahead like Salazar, many still dealt with it effectively.
Kendo had managed to enlarge and smash her hands on the ground; not in too dissimilar a way as Rex could sometimes use his Smack Hands. She soared over what Shoto had iced and was able to start running.
She was by no means alone. Joining her in managing to escape were the likes of Bakugo, Yuga, Momo, and Kirishima. They used explosions, laser, created a pole to vault with, and simply lept clear of it all, respectively.
"Nice trick, Todoroki!" Momo called out.
Bakugo had his sights set on Rex ahead of him. "Get back here, tin can!"
Bakugo was now airborne as well and firing explosions; however, he was still currently behind Todoroki. Rex did look back at everyone before locking eyes with Katsuki, smirking, and maxing out his Boogie Pack's speed. Then, there were people like Ojiro and Tokoyami.
They used their respective Quirks to avoid the ice, Mina applied her acid to glide atop it, Kaminari sparked with enough electricity to crack the ice underfoot as he ran, and Izuku used Full Cowling to jump along the walls at the sides.
Everyone else who managed to free themselves basically had to contend with the ice as normal, which slowed them down. Shinso had seemingly gotten three individuals to carry him. Though, each of them had vacant looks in their eyes.
Unfortiunately for practically everyone, Rex had a huge advantage being airborne. When he came upon the first obstacle, robots from the first exam, he just flew over the grouping of smaller ones and effortlessly weaved through the zero pointers.
This prompted Todoroki to act fast, without a word, freezing a few of the zero pointers to create a ramp. As he ran up it, Bakugo roared blasting over the slightly slowed half and half student. His full attention was on blasting explosion after explosion as he tried to close the gap.
Once Shoto was over the zero pointer, we was back to his ice sliding method at now double time as he'd just been put in third. By the time the rest caught up, the ice Shoto had created cracked sending those zero pointers crashing and leaving no easy way forward for the rest.
"At the robot inferno, Salazar only bolsters his lead while Bakugo manages to overtake Todoroki, who had to expend time creating his own path forward!" Mic declared over the speaker system. "Still, all three clear the first obstacle before anyone else arrived."
"It's the zero pointers from the entrance exam." Denki took a step back. "This time, Salazar had no incentive to take even one out."
"So, this is what the other students were up against in the entrance exams." Momo noted. "It makes sense how Izuku and Rex would have gotten the reps they did."
Kirishima and Tetsu Tetsu were the first to rush forward. The former utilized his hardening while the latter was coated in steel, and both ended up utterly wrecking a smaller robot standing in their way until their eyes locked.
"Our Quirks are basically the same!" Kirishima exclaimed as both ran up some of the wreckage Todoroki left behind.
"You damn copycat!" Tetsutetsu retorted.
Izuku was quick to blitz around them and up the wreckage as he went at his current, comfortable max of 8%. This left the rest to deal with the robots, which was a challenge the rest of 1-A would not shy away from. In fact, they were the ones mostly clearing said path for others.
With the front runners, Rex made it too and started soaring over a chasm with numerous dots of earth to land on and wires one could utilize to get to the other side. He looked back only to notice Bakugo had effectively overtaken Shoto but said half and half student was still gliding along. "
Looks like those two are my most persistent competition which means it's time to double my speed." Rex disassembled his Boogie Pack and fell while building his Rex Ride. "Let's see them keep up with this!"
The hover bike caught him, and he gunned it to widen the gap more. This only prompted the pair behind him to redouble their efforts, clearing the chasm quickly, in a bid to try and keep up. Unfortunately for them, going at double their prior speed wasn't exactly a possibility.
"Salazar has just bust out a faster ride, prompting Bakugo and Todoroki to speed up." Mic declared. "As they attempt to catch up to first place, Midoriya is quickly covering ground and will be onto the second obstacle shortly."
As Mic said, Izuku quickly reached the chasm himself and lunged from ground-to-ground. He was quick to reach the other side before speeding onward after the three front runners. The remaining students couldn't instantly close the chasm like the prior four had.
"When did they even have time to build something like this?" Ochaco asked.
Tsu merely took a leap onto one of the lines before pressing onward. "This is my moment."
"She's fast." Kendo noted.
She and Ochaco heard a laugh behind them only to turn and see some pink haired girl.
"Yes, finally this is my chance to show off what I can do." The girl declared happily. "My support items will steal the spotlight form these wannabe Heroes."
"Who are you calling wannabees!" Denki yelled as he ran by her, jumped, and managed to catch the wires before rushing across as fast as he could manage. "I'm aiming to be a Hero just like my best bud in first place."
"Yeah, fairly certainly you can't say you'll take the spotlight when the first four have it." Mina called out as she ran by and used her acid to help her glid along a different wire overtaking Denki. "Maybe stop yapping and actually get moving."
"How rude!" Mei declared offended. "My babies deserve all the grandstanding in the world! Why, just observe what they can do! Go, wire arrows and hover soles!"
She fired off and hooked one of the sections of land before using her soles to blitz forward, taking a leap into the chasm. With a simple press of a button, she was reeled to that section of land and glided up it with a laugh.
"I won't lose." Ochaco declared firmly.
At this point, she moved with the various other students who were trying to cross.
"Rex Salazar is not slowing down!" Mic declared. "He has reached the last obstacle of the minefield, and his hover bike is simply perfect for it as it does not need to touch the ground. This leaves the whole obstacle for the rest to deal with."
By the time Mic was done announcing that, Rex was already over the minefield. He was currently speeding full force for the finish line. Despite knowing he has the lead; Salazar wouldn't do something stupid by slowing down now.
He sped right on in through the tunnel and popped out the other, back in the stadium, prompting Mic to announce it. "THE FIRST ONE BACK IN THE STADIUM IS REX SALAZAR!"
The crowd went wild, as confetti rained around Salazar, to the point everyone still in the race could hear them from wherever they were along the course.
"THAT DAMN TIN CAN!" Bakugo roared.
He was already feeling a lot of pain from pushing himself this hard, but officially losing out on first place gave him renewed rage to keep at it.
"I don't have any choice." Upon reaching the mines, so close behind Bakugo, Shoto was already icing the obstacle over. "No matter how it helps others, I got can't slow down!"
Due to no hesitation, Shoto quickly drew neck and neck with Bakugo. Both were still fast respectively, but they had considerably slowed compared to what they'd been at prior. This is why it was no surprise that Izuku was managing to effectively close the gap.
"I can do this! I unfortunately lost out on first, but I can take second! I just need to move!" Midoriya thought.
All three boys cleared the minefield at the exact same time creating, for a split second, a three-way bid for second place. Then, one of them took second place, definitively, heading into the tunnel. Even then, the prior two still pushed themselves to reclaim that spot.
In the end, it was no use. Izuku crossed into the stadium, panting heavily from how much he pushed himself in Full Cowling 8%, next making him second place. Katsuki came in third. He was now drenched in sweat, painfully gripped both his arms, and was enraged.
"Tin can…Deku…" Katsuki growled to himself. "No way. I lost to both…"
Todoroki had come in fourth with a lot of his body coated in ice. He was shivering awfully and panting heavily. The half and half student cast silent glares at Midoriya and Salazar before leaving to attend to his wellbeing.
"After Salazar takes a commanding first, spots two, three, and four are filled one after another." Mic declared. "Let's hear applause for all four of these students. They took such a commanding lead to the point every other student is either just leaving the chasm or reaching the mine field."
League of Villian's Base
Van Kleiss was walking along the hall contemplating the ways in which he could help the boy grow. Just as with his ally, he saw potential in what Tomura Shigaraki could bring; however, he needed to be carefully molded, especially compared to who he was in his attack on the USJ.
Provided things lined up, Van Kleiss knew his own goal of finally dragging this world out of the stagnation it'd been in would be achieved. The winds of change were already a gentle breeze on. Eventually, once the storm ragged, something new would be born.
On his walk, the mentor noticed an open door. Inside, Tomura was watching a screen which showed a familiar face Van Kleiss was all too familiar with before shifting to three other boys. Shigaraki was scratching his neck in irritation.
"It's that brat." Tomura growled.
Van Kleiss strolled into the room. "You're holding a grudge?"
Shigaraki swiftly turned to him. "Haven't you ever been told to respect your master's privacy?"
"That is by no means our standing, and you know it." Van Kleiss smirked. "My role is to observe and advise."
"Master already teaches me what I need to know." Tomura pointed at the second screen in the room which showed the Audio Only text as usual. "He tells me to scout my foes, so I'm watching the UA Sports Festival."
"Since our target is the Symbol of Peace, it would be wise to know who he is teaching and how to combat them." The voice continued. "Also, should the need arise to combat any of these children, then the both of you would be ready to dispose of them."
"That is certainly wise, old friend." Van Kleiss smiled. "I suppose I shall observe as well."
Both people within the room looked at the screen. Even though Tomura wanted this man out of his room, his master elected to have them observe this together in hopes it'd help Shigaraki tolerate Van Kleiss better.
Stadium
The crowd did most certainly applaud all their hard work. Fortunately, it wouldn't take much longer before the remaining students would start running in to take placements after fourth.
"The first game is finally over, so it's time to take a look at those standings." Midnight declared.
1st Rex Salazar
2nd Izuku Midoriya
3rd Katsuki Bakugo
4th Shoto Todoroki
5th Ibara Shiozaki
6th Juzo Honenuki
7th Tenya Iida
8th Fumikage Tokoyami
9th Hanta Sero
10th Mina Ashido
11th Eijiro Kirishima
12th Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu
13th Momo Yaoyorozu
14th Mashirao Ojiro
15th Denki Kaminari
16th Yosetsu Awase
17th Tsuyu Asui
18th Mezo Shoji
19th Rikido Sato
20th Ochako Uraraka
21st Itsuka Kendo
22nd Koji Koda
23rd Kyoka Jiro
24th Sen Kaibara
25th Kosei Tsuburaba
26th Koji Bondo
27th Reiko Yanagi
28th Hitoshi Shinso
29th Jurota Shishida
30th Shihai Kuroiro
31st Yui Kodai
32nd Hiryu Rin
33rd Nirengeki Shoda
34th Kinoko Komori
35th Togaru Kamakiri
36th Neito Monama
37th Pony Tsunotori
38th Toru Hagakure
39th Setsuna Tokage
40th Manga Fukidashi
41st Mei Hatsume
42nd Yuga Aoyama
"Only the top 42 shall advance to the next round, but don't feel to let down if you didn't make the cut." Midnight liked her lips. "We've prepared other opportunities for you to shine. Now, the real fun begins." She brandished her whip and gestured toward the screen.
"What do we have in store for you next? A nightmare or a fantasy?" Once again, the screen began to spin before the words 'Cavalry Battle' appeared amid a yellow frame. "Oh, if that is not a classic, then I don't know what is."
"Like the playground game?" Rikido asked.
"It's not an individual event." Tsu stated. "I wonder how they'll split us up."
"Allow me to explain!" Midnight declared to head off any further discussion. "Each of you may form teams anywhere between two and four people, and each person will be assigned points based on how they placed in the Obstacle Course!"
"That means teams will have totals based around how much each person is worth." Ochaco reasoned.
Mina grinned. "Yeah-huh!"
Apparently, Midnight heard them because she cracked her whip. "How about you all shut up while I explain!" With the students subdued, she continued. "Starting with forty-second place, the value is five points. From there, each spot gets an additional five points."
She then flashed a wicked smile. "The person that came in first place is worth…ten million points!" Everyone immediately turned to look at Rex, and while he was stunned to have such a large total, he accepted it in stride.
"That's right, it's survival of the fittest. If you can take down the number one, you are certain of your place in the final round. Each team will be given a headband based on the points they total to.
The one you are given must be worn on your forehead until you snag another. Once you do, all headbands you have may be worn from the neck up. Additionally, Quirks can be used as much as you desire; however, you cannot make another team fall, or shove them out of bounds.
If you do, I'll slap you with a red card which disqualifies you. If your team goes out of bounds on its own, you will also be ejected from the game. Other than that, do as you please! You've got fifteen minutes to choose your teams, so get moving!"
Izuku found himself swarmed with people who wanted to join him. While it was understandable given his improvements and scoring, it was still a little much given he wasn't completely over his timidness.
"Pick me!" Sato declared.
"No way, I'm your guy!" Sero interjected.
"You'll need my Quirk!" That was Jiro.
"I don't want to beg, but please!" Aoyama whimpered.
Midoriya looked around at all of them before his eyes settled on someone in the distance. "Sorry guys." He started walking. "You might end up rethinking who you want to join based on how this goes."
"Well, this makes sense." The first thing Rex noticed was that no one seemed eager to partner up with him. "No matter how good I might have come off, no one is hedging their bets on keeping their headbands. It's a better strategy to take head bands instead."
"Hey Rex." Izuku had moved before the guy with a smile. "Is there room on your team for me?"
"You kidding?" Salazar patted the guy's shoulder with a smile. "At this point, I always got a spot for you." At that moment, Mina and Denki approached the pair. "You guys?"
"Sorry, my man." Denki apologized. "This isn't what you likely think it is. Truth is, we're proud to be friends with you; however, we don't want to piggy back off you."
"In fact, we don't even want to piggy back off each other." Mina added. "That's why, I'm going to get in with Bakugo's team."
"Shoto already asked me to be on his." Kaminari declared. "In short, we want to compete against you and ourselves."
"Well, can't take it too hard with how passionate you two are." Rex smiled in acceptance. "It's fine because Izuku and I will come up with something. Now, you should probably get going; especially you Mina if you want to make Katsuki's team."
The couple smiled before taking off. This left the pair to come up with something else due to Salazar's options being off the table now. Fortunately, a third member would end up seeking them out.
"Salazar. Deku." It was Ochaco. "Let's team up."
"Are you sure about this?" Izuku asked.
"We'll have ten million points, so everyone will be gunning for us." Rex added.
"If we run away the whole time, then we'll win, right?" Uraraka asked.
"Actually, that's a good idea considering the people we currently have." Izuku voiced. "I can even think of three solid options to bolster our chances if we decide on a fourth member."
"Let's max out the team by seeing if any of your options are willing." Rex declared.
So, Izuku led them to his first choice.
"Iida, will you join our team?" Rex asked.
"I apologize, but I'm afraid I must refuse." Tenya declared, stunning the group. "Since this all started, I've been losing to Midoriya and Salazar. Please, don't take this as an insult. Izuku, you are a great friend while you are strong Salazar.
If I simply followed along with you, I'd never get stronger. Bakugo and Todoroki, have challenged you both already, but they're not the only ones who wish to rival you two." He walked over joining Todoroki, Yaoyorozu, and Denki. "I'll try my best to defeat you."
"Well, looks like he had similar ideas to Denki and Mina." Rex had noticed his two team members were rather dejected by this result, so he patted their shoulders. "Hey, Izuku still has two more in mind, so let's go grab one of them quick."
"Hold it right there!" The person shouting was that Support Course girl who thrust her face invasively close to Rex's. "Team up with me, person in first place!"
"My friend here has a plan, and I don't think it included you." Rex looked at Izuku who shook his head indicating she was not part of his plan. "Yeah, I'll have to ask that you go."
"What does he know!?" The girl shouted back. "Everyone's going to be watching the guy that came in first, so I want to use that to my advantage. If you wear my inventions, my beautiful babies are sure to be noticed by support companies. That's a sure win in my book!"
"Rex asked you to leave." Ochaco stepped in. "I think that means you should go."
"Not happening!" The girl shot back; her eyes still fixed on Salazar. "I'm Mei Hatsume, and I'll be joining your team, person in first place!"
"Look, I appreciate the offer, but I trust whatever plan Midoriya has cooked up." Rex retorted. "You'll simply need to find another team."
"Not so fast." Mei declared as she refused to take no for an answer. "If these two extras are holding you back, then let's ditch them."
"Extras?" Izuku and Uraraka couldn't help thinking of Katsuki at this point.
"I was trying to be nice, but your suggestion to ditch my comrades is a hard no." Rex gave her a hard stare. "In fact, the way you've conducted yourself makes me see you as someone who gives support a bad name. Since that's what my family does, you can imagine I'm solid on this."
"Fine!" Mei turned on her heel. "I bet people will still hire me if my tech takes down the guy at the top!"
"Thanks for sticking with us, Rex." Izuku stated sincerely.
Ochaco nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that was really cool of you."
"After how you two joined me, I couldn't betray you like that." Rex started walking. "Now, let's hurry. One of Izuku's remaining options must be willing to join us, and I don't want them to suddenly be snatched up into someone else's team."
They soon came upon Izuku's second option.
"Shoji, will you join our team?" Rex asked.
Mezo seemed interested and formed one of his mouths. "I'm listening…"
There was some shake up to be had in the Obstacle Course. Just in case it isn't obvious, Rex broke no rules by flying over most the course since he was still technically within the confines of said course. He switched to the Rex Ride at the end, because according to the Generator Rex wiki, the Rex Ride can move at double the Boogie Pack's speed. Boogie Pack is 100 to Rex Ride's 200. I will not clarify if that is how Rex moved here.
Basically, infer it as you like. Either Rex was that fast, meaning Shoto and Katsuki were nearly moving at 200 mph themselves, or the speeds they moved were more manageable. Regardless of how you see it, the fact remains that Rex came in first. Then, Izuku managed to come in second which I feel would then give Katsuki the resolve to take third place like he did in canon. This ultimately pushes Shoto to fourth here.
Beyond that, Momo, Mina, and Denki did better due to the changes of this story while everyone else hasn't changed too much compared to their canon selves. Now, this leaves us with the coming Calvery Battle where I clearly have a different team in mind beyond simply booting Mei from team Midoriya. Yes, Mezo will join this team. this will obviously see the creation of some different teams come next chapter as well.