The first match was starting in the City Zone, Eijirou, Rikidou, Nimona, and Tetsutetsu were in the center of the mock city waiting for the signal. No matter how the four looked at it, the odds were not in their favor; Cementoss had a large amount of material to work with thanks to his [Cement] Quirk.
"Yo, guys, we can't fight Cementoss-Sensei head-on, so let's make a plan," Eijirou suggested.
"Why not just charge through whatever he throws at us?" Tetsutetsu asked.
"Probably a dumb idea. I mean, he can control this whole dang city!" Nimona said, gesturing to the zone they were in.
"Yeah, but he has to stay still to best control his Quirk." Eijirou pointed out. "Plus, he's not very fast mobility-wise."
"But at the same time, he can make concrete walls all day, while we're saddled with a time limit," Rikidou said.
"How about this?" Tetsutetsu spoke up. "Two of us will charge in from the front and keep him occupied. And the other two can go in from above. The buildings here are made from steel and rebar, not concrete, so he can't affect them."
"Wow, good plan, Tets!" Nimona smiled. "Guess your head isn't all tin up in there!"
As the signal blared, Cementoss began erecting concrete walls to block off the four teens. Tetsutetsu turned his body into metal and began pounding through with Rikidou joining him, downing a sugar pack to buff up with his [Sugar Rush] Quirk.
Nimona transformed into a large eagle and picked up Eijirou by the shoulders in her talons, carrying him up to the top of the nearest buildings as Tetsutetsu and Rikidou tore through wall after wall.
Cementoss was making more walls to box in what he thought was four students, so he was taken by surprise when Nimona transformed into a gorilla, dropping down on him with Eijirou in her hands as they performed the oldest move in Superhero History; A Fastball Special.
Eijirou was thrown at near-cannonball speeds as he hardened himself. Cementoss tried to erect a wall between himself and his student but wasn't fast enough. Eijirou hit the ground running as he charged the Cement Hero with cuffs in hand, tackling him to the ground. When the cuffs were slapped on, the horn blared, signaling the students winning.
"Hell yeah!" Eijirou cheered as Nimona turned back to normal, the two sharing a high-five as Rikidou and Tetsutetsu made their way over.
"Nice work. You made sure to prevent the fight from being drawn out to avoid overextending your limits." Cementoss praised. "And you made sure to keep my attention on one point while attacking from another."
The second match was taking place in the Labirynth Zone with Tsuyu, Fumikage, Penny, and Itsuka teamed up together.
"Ectoplasm is probably waiting for us at the gate." Itsuka guessed as Penny's eyes glowed before beeping.
"Indeed, he is currently waiting at the gate 1km from this location."
As the signal blared, several of Ectoplasm's clones manifested around the four, making them quickly get on-guard.
"And he doesn't even need to move when the clones can do the dirty work for him!" Tsuyu noted.
"And it is too bright for Dark Shadow to be at his most effective in combat," Fumikage added. "It's time we switch up our plans!"
"Indeed!" Penny said before shadows surrounded her. "CONFIGURATION: DARK SHADOW!"
As Fumikage called out Dark Shadow, the shadows surrounding Penny formed into a shapeless mass that wrapped itself around her and Itsuka while Fumikage had Dark Shadow wrap himself around Tsuyu and send her into the air. The frog-like girl quickly lashed out her tongue to pull Fumikage up as well.
"Well, thank goodness we were able to talk strategy before coming here." Itsuka sighed as she and Penny joined the other two.
"We need to get higher and see if we can find some shadows for Tokoyami and Dark Shadow," Tsuyu said.
"Indeed, Ectoplasm can make up to thirty clones at once and he can both recall and redeploy them as needed. The clones also share information between each other and the real Ectoplasm." Penny pointed out. "He can also emit as much of the ectoplasmic substance for his clones as he needs."
Fumikage nodded. "We need to keep on the move, and prevent them from sharing our location easily."
The four stuck to their plan, taking out any clones that got in their way. Soon, they found the exit, which was being guarded by the real Ectoplasm.
"You've done well getting past the others. But I have one final move to make!"
The Ectoplasmic Hero's throat bulged before he barfed out a massive amount of Ectoplasm at once, creating a giant clone of himself.
"GIANT BITE DETENTION!"
"Oh, crap..." Itsuka cursed.
"Friend Kendo, I think it's best if we work together on this," Penny said before her hands began turning into giant metal blocky fists. "CONFIGURATION: BIG FIST!"
"I see what you're saying!" Itsuka smiled as she enlarged her own hands. "Tokoyami, Asui, win this for us!"
"Call me Tsu, please!" Tsuyu insisted as she and Fumikage moved out of the way while Itsuka and Penny lunged at the giant clone.
"A clever move..." Ectoplasm noted as he saw Itsuka and Penny keep the giant clone occupied while Tsuyu and Fumikage came at him. "But just because I can't make more clones when the giant is out doesn't mean I'm defenseless by myself!"
True to his words, as Fumikage sent Dark Shadow out and Tsuyu went for a flying kick, Ectoplasm was able to hold them off, showing exceptional combat skills in his own right.
"You truly are a formidable opponent, as befitting a Pro Hero." Fumikage noted. "However, Dark Shadow is not without his tricks!"
Dark Shadow gave a cheeky grin as his body seemed to become even darker and more metallic. Ectoplasm's eyes widened when he realized the sentient Quirk was using Armament Haki. Unable to react in time, Dark Shadow slammed into him and allowed Tsuyu to leap up and slap the cuffs on his legs.
Penny and Itsuka watched as the giant clone they were fighting disintegrated into mush, allowing them to join back up with Fumikage and Tsuyu.
"Congratulations, you were able to divert the attention of my giant clone in order to make a move for me." Ectoplasm praised.
The third match was already underway with Power Loader using his Quirk, [Iron Claws], to dig under the Dirt Zone, creating pitfalls to limit Tenya, Oujiro, Rebecca, and Tsuburaba's mobility.
"Dammit! I don't see how my Quirk is gonna be much help here!" Tsuburaba cursed.
"Given the odds, it might be better to run for help," Tenya said.
Rebecca's eyes flashed for a moment, using special Infrared Sensors to see the nearby pitfalls and gesturing to Oujiro to whack a rock into the middle of the field to reveal one of the pitfalls she spotted.
"Choomies, I feel like a direct confrontation would probably work better. Let's zerg rush that guy's ass and force him out into the open!"
Tenya rubbed his chin. "Rather on point, but with the right mindset, I can get behind it."
Oujiro quickly climbed on Tenya's back while Tsuburaba climbed on Rebecca's.
"You try to touch anything weird and I'll pound ya!" The Cyborg Girl snapped as Tsuburaba wisely kept his hands to himself.
"RECIPRO BURST!"
"OVERDRIVE!"
Tenya and Rebecca quickly raced past most of the traps, keeping their sights on the gate knowing that Power Loader would try to guard it. Sure enough, he emerged from the ground right in front of them.
"Not so fast!"
"GOT YA!" Tsuburaba shouted before using his Quirk, [Solid Air], to blow a barrier of solidified air in front of Power Loader, causing him to falter as Oujiro leaped off Tenya's back and wrapped his tail around the Support Course teacher, leaving him wide open to be cuffed.
"Impressive, you took the risk of a head-on fight when it was the only option open and you made sure no one got injured."
"Pound it, Choomie!" Rebecca grinned, offering her fist to Tenya, who couldn't help but smile and reciprocate the fist bump.
Next up was Momo, Shoto, Kinoko, and Reiko facing Aizawa in the Suburban Zone.
"This is where it gets real. I hope we know what we're getting into." Momo said worriedly.
"I'm shaking in my boots!" Kinoko shivered nervously. "And yeah, Shake Mushrooms are a thing!"
"Eraserhead will indeed prove to be a most hateful opponent," Reiko noted.
"Don't worry, I have a plan," Shoto said as they ran through the alleys. "Start making small objects. Preferably ones that can be used for support. If you suddenly can't make any, then Eraser Head must be close by."
"Ah, I see what you're sayin'!" Kinoko noted as she began using her Quirk, [Mushroom], to leave mushrooms sprouting behind them.
Momo and Reiko followed suit, the former popping Russian nesting dolls from her body while the latter levitated them with her Quirk, [Poltergeist]. Every so often, they had to stop so that Momo could catch her breath, no doubt due to her now much larger and heavier body slowing her down somewhat.
"Is something corrupting you?" Reiko asked Momo, helping her steady.
"I'm still thinking back to my time with Lady Tsuru. She said she wanted to help me improve my self-confidence. While she helped a lot during internships, I can't help but still feel ashamed at having let myself go like this."
"Awww, but you're so much Blusher now!" Kinoko quipped as she snuggled up to Momo's big round soft belly, making the chubby girl blush.
"You shouldn't be ashamed of your body," Shoto said. "As long as you can still perform as a Hero, why should it matter?"
"Plus, now you're just like Yasakani," Reiko said. "Soft and Tender but Strong and Fierce."
Suddenly, Momo's eyes widened when she felt some kind of premonition, seeing Aizawa not too far away from their location. Being well-versed in these things, Momo realized she was using Observation Haki.
"Aizawa-Sensei is nearby!"
"You brats had a good strategy for detecting me, but now is the time for action."
"RUN!" Shoto ordered the girls as he took a defensive stance to hold Aizawa off.
Momo, Kinoko, and Reiko fled as Shoto fended their teacher off. However, without his Quirk, he was quickly tied up in his Capture Tape.
"Even with your training under Garp, you've got a long way to go," Aizawa said as he strung Shoto up by the length of his body, hanging from some telephone wires.
I hope you realize I can still burn or freeze these restraints while you're gone,"
"True, but you might want to watch where you land," Aizawa said as he tossed a handful of caltrops over the ground just under Shoto before running off.
"Amanita second opinion on that plan!" Kinoko punned as Shoto suddenly turned to see her, Reiko, and Momo nearby.
"I thought you were running for the exit."
"You were trying to put a lot of the burden on yourself, but isn't that how your father does hero work? Aren't you trying to be a different sort of hero than him?" Momo asked, making Shoto flinch.
"We figured your plan had some holes despite the cleverly placed machinations. So we hid while he was distracted with containing you and guessed that he would pursue in the direction we had fled." Reiko explained.
Kinoko suddenly looked up. "Oh Honeycups!"
The four looked to see Aizawa running along the wires back to them, having figured out their ploy. Luckily, Momo already had a plan in mind.
"Everyone, close your eyes!" She shouted as she threw the nesting dolls she created into the air as soon as Aizawa got close and leaped toward them.
"What the-?"
Aizawa struck the dolls near him out of the way but that proved to be a mistake as the dolls contained flashbang grenades in them. And opening up the dolls had just triggered them to explode.
As the Erasure Hero was left blinded and deafened, Momo took the time to cut Shoto down before the group of four made their way out of his field of vision.
"While it's good we cleared some distance, what do you suggest?" Shoto asked. "After all, he can still take out our Quirks the second he sees us."
"But he can only erase the Quirk itself, not the things a Quirk makes." Momo pointed out. "For example, he shut down my ability to make more nesting dolls and flashbangs, but that didn't suddenly cause the ones I already made to cease to exist. In the same vein, if you were to create an ice construct..."
Shoto's eyes widened in realization before nodding his head. Aizawa, who had recovered, tried to get closer and unleash his Capture Tape but due to the flashbangs from earlier, he had to blink much quicker, allowing Shoto to make his move.
"HEAVEN PIERCING ICE WALL!"
Aizawa had just enough time to back away as a giant glacier erupted from Shoto's right side, blocking his view of the students.
"Just like that time in the Sports Festival. So this is what they were waiting for."
As Shoto kept Aizawa distracted, Momo created a large Capture Tape of her own from her big belly.
"Now this capture scarf isn't the same as Aizawa-Sensei's since I don't know the exact composition. I had to research the materials from scratch." Momo explained.
"We must also consider this zone as a real residential area, which means keeping damage to a minimum," Reiko added.
"Let's not waste this Chantrelle!" Kinoko said.
Reiko used her Quirk to levitate some black cloaks and led them out from behind the ice wall. Aizawa went after them, only to realize too late he'd been duped. Momo then used a catapult she created to launch her makeshift Capture Tape at the teacher, who tried to get back, only for his binding technique to work against him.
Shoto, using one of the black cloaks Reiko was levitating as cover from [Erasure], sent a volley of fire at full force toward the Capture Tape, which was made from nitinol alloy, a special memory alloy that will return to its normal shape when exposed to heat, allowing Aizawa to be wrapped up.
"We are the champignons!" Kinoko cheered.
The next match had Ochako, Yuuga, Bondo, and Manga against Thirteen and already, the four young heroes-in-training were having issues.
The quartet were just barely holding on to a railing in the Arena Zone. They had almost reached the gate, only for Thirteen to catch them in the reach of [Black Hole].
"To be honest, the teachers couldn't have picked a more fitting opponent for us!" Yuuga admitted. "Neither gravity nor light can work in a black hole! I'm normally not one for bad puns, but this Quirk sucks!"
"A-And my glue and Manga's onomatopoeia can't work either!" Bondo added in panic.
"What can we even do?!" Ochako asked before thinking. "What would Deku and Hilda-Chan do...? Wait, why am I thinking of them?!"
"Uraraka..." Yuuga began, a flash of inspiration in his eyes. "Do you perhaps...have a crush on Midoriya and Yasakani?"
Manga's speech bubble head ended up forming into a heart bubble shape and if he had a mouth, he'd be grinning mischievously. Bondo also blushed shyly, almost as if what he was hearing was scandalous.
Ochako's face heated up and immediately put her hands to her cheeks, causing her to get pulled toward Thirteen. However, despite being in the role of a Villain, Thirteen was still a Rescue Hero first and foremost and due to how dangerous her Quirk was, she had long developed a knee-jerk reaction whenever she saw a living being flying at her.
Once Ochako realized the truth when Thirteen closed her finger caps, she immediately went to work. Using the same combat tactics that Gunhead helped teach her when he offered his assistance to train her alongside Tatsumaki and Fubuki, Ochako quickly had Thirteen swept to the ground in an effective pin.
Thirteen was shocked but couldn't exactly make a move as Bondo used his Quirk, [Cemedine], to cover her hands in glue, preventing her from opening up her finger caps again. Manga then created some onomatopoeia to act as a barrier to prevent her from escaping, allowing Yuuga to beam his way over and slap the cuffs on her.
"Non, non! I'm afraid this victory is ours!"
The sixth match was taking place in the Industrial Zone and right now, Mina, Denki, Setsuna, and Kuroiro were trying to find the exit while avoiding the wreckage Nedzu was dropping on them.
"Comrades, the Rat Lord is trying to steer us in the wrong direction and box us in!" Kuroiro said. "We cannot play by his tricks!"
Setsuna detached the top half of her head with her eyes with her Quirk, [Lizard Tail Splitter], in order to try and find where Nedzu was hiding and soon saw him piloting a crane.
"Guys, he's north. Five or six blocks on a crane. There's a straight path if we turn left. Wanna catch him?"
"Ashido, perhaps it is wise if you melt those together," Kuroiro suggested as Mina saw him pointing at some metal pipes and beams that were close to one another.
"You got it, Shihai!"
Mina showcased a new ability to create acid in a powerful stream with skilled accuracy at the desired locations. When the acid wore off, there was a metal line connecting an area close by to a massive water leak under the crane.
"I think I see what you're getting at!" Denki grinned as he discharged a massive amount of electricity into the edge of the beam. The current raced through the path of least resistance before frying the principal's crane and the electric teen's head.
Kuroiro then used his Quirk, [Black], to snake across the shadowed areas of the rubble and toward Nedzu, soon popping out and opening the door to cuff the principal.
"The game has ended for you, O' Rat Lord. Our righteous darkness has bored a hole right through your plan!"
Nedzu couldn't help but smile. "Impressive work. Instead of playing the game I laid out, you fought on your own terms and made good decisions regarding how to approach and capture me."
In the Forest Zone, Kyouka, Kouji, Jurota, and Rin were making their way through the trees.
"We're obviously going to be outclassed by Present Mic in a direct confrontation," Kyouka decided. "So instead we should try and make for the escape gate to get help."
"A wise decision, Lady Jirou." Jurota said, using his Quirk, [Beast] to enhance his sense of smell. "Unfortunately, from what I'm smelling, Present Mic is waiting for us right in front of the gate."
Suddenly, a massive soundwave from Present Mic's [Voice] Quirk rocketed through the area. Jurota howled in pain as he shrunk back to normal, clutching his ears as Kyouka, Kouji, and Rin did the same.
"So loud...!" Rin grunted before turning to Kouji. "Yo, Kouda! Can you try calling some of your animal friends to distract Present Mic?!"
"There's no way there are any animals in the area after that!" Kouji clarified through sign language. "Present Mic's voice would have scared them off!"
More of Present Mic's sound blasts surged in their location. While he wasn't really aiming, his Quirk had a wide area of effect to make up for it.
"He's like a high-powered death amp!" Kyouka realized. "If we don't do something we're never gonna pass this exam! Or at least go deaf!"
"It's particularly aggravating for you and I due to our highly sensitive senses, Lady Jirou!" Jurota grunted.
Rin suddenly noticed an ant on a rock the four were currently hiding behind and turned to Kouji, an idea popping into his mind.
"Hey, Kouda! Your Quirk works on bugs right?! Think you can command the little guys to burrow underground and catch Mic by surprise?!"
Kouji paled when he saw the ant on the rock but then remembered a moment he spent with Melony during internships.
"I have a good friend named Katy whose Quirk allows her to communicate with insects and even command them in swarms. Almost like your Quirk in a way. She says that bugs are misunderstood creatures and most of them don't even mean any real harm. You shouldn't have to be afraid, Kouda."
"COME ON OUT!" Present Mic called out, his Quirk echoing through the area.
"Gotta drown this out!" Kyouka grunted, placing her jacks in the speakers on her gloves. Her rapid heartbeat created a counter-wave that canceled out the sonic attack. "That worked!"
Rin covered his arms in bright green dragon-like scales with his Quirk, aptly called [Scales], and used the enhanced strength to lift the rock, revealing a whole horde of bugs underneath.
Despite his fear, Kouji steeled his nerves and got as close as he could to the insects, speaking loudly and very fast.
"Now's the time, tiny ones! Hear my call and burrow toward the loud monster who's been scaring everyone!"
"YOU CAN ACTUALLY TALK?!" Kyouka gawked.
Over with Present Mic, the Voice Hero was confused when he saw the ground start coming up near him. He completely freaked out when the large amount of invertebrates started crawling up his leg.
"You gotta be kidding me! They sent bugs underground to attack me where sound doesn't travel!? This is why I hate the outdoors!"
Present Mic let out a screech of terror into the sky. When the four arrived at the exit gate, they saw him passed out and foaming at the mouth.
"Rather grotesque a fate we besmirched on our teacher." Jurota frowned.
The next match involved Tooru, Shouji, Shouda, and Ibara facing Snipe in the Underground Zone. Already, the Gunslinger Hero was pinning the quartet down with gunfire.
"If this keeps up we won't be able to reach the goal!" Tooru said.
"Oh Lord, please send us a divine signal." Ibara prayed as Snipe threw out a smoke grenade.
"This might be our chance. Snipe's [Homing] Quirk might be able to track us, but he still can't see Hagakure if she goes invisible." Shouji said.
"We'll try to keep him distracted!" Shouda said, using his Quirk, [Twin Impact], to double the impacts caused by Snipe's bullets hitting the area, keeping the Pro Hero distracted as Tooru turned invisible and snuck through the smoke.
"We should provide a worthy cover for our comrade," Ibara said as she and Shouji split off from the pillar, Shouda using his Quirk to double the damage to it, causing it to topple over.
"If you're trying to run for the exit, you're doing a sloppy job of it." Snipe scoffed as he aimed at Shouji, Ibara, and Shouda, keeping them on the move with gunfire before Shouda stopped and held his hands up.
"Wait, we surrender!"
"You're giving up way too easy. Where's the fourth member of your little posse?"
"Gotcha!"
Snipe received his answer when he felt a pair of cuffs slap onto him. Causing him to move in confusion before bumping his elbow into Tooru's chest, making her turn visible.
"Snipe-Sensei, you pervert!"
Shouji and Shouda couldn't help but laugh as Snipe tried to explain himself while Ibara prayed for the teacher to be absolved of his 'sins' by God's forgiveness.
The next match had Minoru, Sero, Hitoshi, and Sen in the Mountain Zone against Midnight. Sero had taped his helmet shut to prevent any of Midnight's sleeping gas from her Quirk, [Somnambulist], from hitting him. The other three boys, who lacked masks of their own, had been given strips of Sero's tape to cover their mouths and noses with just enough room for them to breathe.
"Shouldn't we try heading for the gate?" Sen asked.
"She's never gonna let us get close to it. We've either got to trap her away from the gate, or try and capture her ourselves." Hitoshi said.
Minoru nodded. "As much as I'd love to be smothered by those heavenly thighs, that's the only way we're getting out of this."
"Let's hope Ben didn't hear you say that from the interviewing room, he's protective of his Mama." Sero joked.
Midnight was slowly walking after the boys. She had earlier tried to quickly overwhelm them by creating the biggest sphere of influence possible with her sleeping powder. It had nearly worked, though Sero had managed to toss Minoru away.
However, Midnight didn't expect Sen to rescue Sero by using his Quirk, [Gyrate], to spin his arms like drills and fan away the gas before pulling Sero to safety.
Like Momo, Midnight had opted to keep all the weight she had gained from the cake monster incident during internships. In fact, some could say that she looked even more gorgeous with all that blubber on her.
"You naughty little boys are only driving my fire even more."
"Midnight-Sensei, you're kinda making us uncomfortable!" Hitoshi said, hoping to use his Quirk on her, but Midnight was smart enough to know when he was trying to lead her on. "Well, it was worth a shot..."
As the boys prepared for their next move, Minoru began thinking to himself, remembering the incident at the USJ.
"All my life, I wanted to be a super cool person so that everyone would like me and actually give me the time of day instead of just passing me off as some loser midget. Maybe even hook up with a cute girl as well. I thought being a Hero would help me do that." The dwarfish boy thought. "But then I learned something important during the USJ Incident; People don't become heroes to be cool, they become heroes BECAUSE they're cool. Well, now it's time to show that I can be a Hero too!"
With the tape over his mouth and nose, he pulled off several of his hairballs and rushed at Midnight.
"Oy, Mineta! What the hell are you doing?!" Sen barked.
"We've got you know!"
"So you're using tape to block my scent," Midnight realized. "But do you really think you can beat me in a state of suffocation!"
She lashed her whip but Minoru used his smaller size to his advantage to dodge out of the way before tossing several of the hairballs he pulled out in a flurry.
"GRAPE RUSH!"
Midnight gasped as she found her whip stuck to the ground and her hand stuck to the whip's grip. With her body covered in Minoru's adhesive hairballs, she was left vulnerable to the others.
"How's that for naughty boys?" Hitoshi taunted.
"Clever-" Midnight began, only to immediately be caught in Hitoshi's mind control, allowing Sero and Sen to work together to tie her up and cuff her.
"Man, our classmates are just...so cool!" Ben smiled as he turned to Izuku, who nodded.
"The last three matches are underway. Let's get this show on the road!"
In the next chapter, we handle the last three Final Exam match-ups and then have a little chat between two arch-rivals.
Be sure to check out this story's TV Tropes page and add to it if you wish. I'd really appreciate it.