AN: Hello and welcome, everyone, to the next chapter of EXCELSIOR! I had a lot of fun writing this chapter and I hope you have just as much fun reading it!

As always, eternal thanks to my lovely beta annbe11! She just posted a new Aladdin fic called Of Rats and Royals. It looks like it's gonna be a good one, so be sure to check it out.

Chapter 10 – Tested on the High Seas

After over thirty years of being a hero, Tony was honestly surprised he wasn't bored of doing this by now. But every time he wondered that, he realized how ridiculous that sounded.

Clouds flew by as Tony soared through the sky. Far below him, the concrete jungle of the Mainland sprawl had long since given way to the quaint suburbs and wooded green hills. A hard wind blew in from the sea and Tony made a few minuet changes to his thruster position, just overcoming any change to his flight path. The heads-up display of his visor charted his course, giving him the optimal path to arrive at the SLA campus.

This commute is gonna be hell on my power reserves. I wonder if I can make some low-power flight mode. Hmm… Albatross Mode has a nice ring to it. Maybe I could-

A flashing indicator on his HUD informed him he was nearing his destination. The rolling green pastures eventually gave way to the trees and buildings of the SLA campus. His photoreceptors highlighted the different dorms and training buildings as he angled himself toward the sprawling mansion. He'd always thought mansions were a little pointless, honestly. What was the point of living in the lap of luxury when you were miles away from the nearest restaurant? Not mention the fact that there were no neighbors to show off to. Give him an opulent skyscraper penthouse any day.

He slowly decreased altitude to the roof of the mansion, using the repulsors in his hands to control his descent and bring him in for a smooth landing. When his metal boots clanged against the roof, he allowed himself to relax. He twitched his fingers to give a command to the suit, causing the entire front of the armor to open and allow Tony to step out onto the gravel surface. He put a hand to his chest, cradling the twinge of pain around his arc reactor until it passed. Nodding to himself, he straightened his blazer and put on his sunglasses and baseball cap.

Contrary to the earlier days of his hero career, Tony now tries to do things with little pomp and grandeur when out of his suit. He knows how to be sneaky, due mainly to a lifetime of experience in dodging paparazzi and manic ex-lovers. He's no master of disguise, but he's certainly stealth enough to hide his identity from any casual onlookers. Hence, the hat and glasses that completed his flawless disguise as Not Tony Stark.

The door to the staircase down was bolted with an electronic lock, but the encryption only lasted half a second against the hacking algorithm in Tony's glasses. As he descended the stairs, he made a mental note to talk to Xavier about that.

In contrast to its stony exterior, no expense had been spared to make the inside of the mansion warm and comforting, likely to make it an optimal schooling environment. There was occasionally an adult or two, likely teachers or TAs running errands, but there were no signs of students or hopeful students walking through the halls.

The hopefuls were all crammed into a few of the lecture halls he passed through, taking the written exams in absolute silence. He could practically taste the sheer concentrated stress coming from those rooms. Tony navigated the hallways of the manor, only getting turned around twice before he reached the room, he had been looking for on the second floor. He opened the door and entered without knocking.

The room was an oval-shaped observation center with large multi-screen computer consoles arranged all along the room perimeter. Each screen showed multiple angles of the different Danger Rooms currently running the practical exam. Teachers were at each station, watching the examinees in action and taking notes on their performance while sitting in office swivel chairs.

Except for Hank McCoy, of course. The furry blue man was hanging upside down from the ceiling, his toes somehow finding purchase on a metal bar bolted above his station.

"Sorry I'm late, everyone," Tony announced. "Had to stop a chemical fire over on The Isle. How we doing?"

In the center of the room sat Charles Xavier, floating in his hover chair and looking like a commander overseeing his soldiers. Five different holographic windows floated before him, each one showing a different Danger Room scenario. An armchair was arranged at either side of him, but they both sat empty. He turned his head and nodded.

"Hello, Tony," he said. Some of the other teachers glanced over their shoulders and nodded to Tony, but that was the extent of the greeting. "I was worried you were going to miss the excitement entirely."

"It is a bit of a surprise that he showed up at all," said Magneto from his own work station, turning his helmeted head to give Tony only the barest of cold glances. "I'm sure he has more fun things to do with his time, like destruction of personal property or blacking out Empire City again?

"Pleasure to see you as well, Magnet Man," Tony said dryly, tipping his hat. "And I only blacked out the city once, thank you very much."

Magneto just gave a dismissive 'hrrm' before he turned back to his station and wrote down a few more notes. Xavier looked up at Tony and gestured to a chair beside him.

"Why don't you take a seat?" he said. "You could really use it."

Tony shot Xavier a significant look but took the seat all the same, allowing himself to relax and breathe easier. He looked from screen to screen, intrigued by the sheer variety of scenarios on display. He saw kids fighting gladiators in a Roman coliseum, blasting Martians in outer space, and tearing into giant insects in a dense forest of tree-sized grass.

"That's some pretty impressive tech," Tony said, eyeing all the bizarre danger room creations.

"I prefer the way things used to be," muttered Magneto. "No holograms and no strange locations. Things were much simpler then."

"You just liked seeing our students dodge flamethrowers and giant buzz-saws," Xavier said, giving him a sly look.

"So, what if I did?" sniffed Magneto.

Tony lost interest in the conversation and returned to studying all of the screens. His eyes were always on the move from one side of the room to the other, hoping to catch a glimpse of the one kid he was rooting for.

He was surprised when Xavier gave a low chuckle and he looked at the SLA headmaster.

"Looking for anyone in particular, Tony?" Xavier asked.

"I… I suppose so," Tony said. The image of the kid came to his mind, still bearing that excitable puppy-dog smile of his.

"Let me help you with that," Xavier said before pulling out a tablet and pressing a few keys. At his command, a grid of holographic screens appeared in front of Tony, showing a number of teenagers on a large sailing vessel fending off an attack from monstrous pirates. "Your protege should be… ah, right there." He pointed at one of the screens, currently showing Peter Parker land a jump kick in the face of one of the pirates. The Danger Room construct exploded into digital fragments before Peter suddenly ducked under the sword strike of another trying to sneak up on him. He spun, kicking the legs out from under his attacker before punching down at its face, destroying it as well. "I have to say young Peter is doing quite well," Xavier said, stroking his chin.

Tony pulled his eyes away from the kid and glared at the Professor. He had specifically not informed him of Peter's name beforehand.

"If I'm gonna be teaching here, Chuck, then you're gonna need to stop rooting around in my head whenever you please. If you do it again, I'll give you something scarring from my college years."

"Listen to him, Charles," Magneto said, not taking his eyes away from his screens. "The mind of Tony Stark is the last place a man of your caliber should be."

Tony just rolled his eyes as he heard scattered chuckles from the other teachers. His threat had been a bluff. The years of Tony's life between ages seventeen and twenty-two were a bit of a blur, to be honest. Too much partying, too little sense.

"Any chance I can borrow that helmet of yours for a few days, Magnet Man? I need to keep your buddy here out of my brain."

"We'll see if you earn the privilege, Stark," Magneto responded simply.

Tony turned his attention back to the holographic screen, watching Peter fight back against the pirates while doing his best to avoid being skewered on a cutlass. Xavier was right about one thing. Peter was doing pretty well. Tony didn't even know Peter was capable of pulling off a flip like that.

Next to him, Xavier suddenly started chuckling. When Tony followed his gaze, he saw that Xavier was looking at another view of Peter's Danger Room, but he was instead focused on some girl with long red hair. She had three swords floating above her and was throwing them out to stab unaware pirates before pulling them back.

"It seems that Jean has learned more than a few things from you, Erik," said Xavier, taking hold of the screen and sending it flying across the room to Magneto. Tony noticed a few of the other teachers look up curiously when the girl's name was mentioned, but they turned back to their work. Magneto turned to the screen and chuckled quietly.

"Reminds me of what happened in Argentina," he said.

"I thought so too," said Xavier as Magneto passed the screen back to him.

"Her form could use some work, though," said another teacher watching the same exam. Tony recognized him from a few times they had worked together and that wasn't surprising. Kurt Wagner, the pro hero Nightcrawler, was definitely someone that was impossible to forget with his blue fur, pointed tail, and odd number of digits on his hands and feet. His appearance seemed absolutely demonic but his smile was nonetheless happy as he fondly watched that red-haired girl. "I could probably teach her a few things once lessons start. It would be nice to have little Scharlachrot as a fencing partner."

"Slow down, Kurt," said Xavier. "We can bring that up with Jean after we know the results."

As Xavier went back to watching his own protege, Tony turned back to watch Peter. His eyes widened at what he saw, though.

Things had escalated dramatically in the time that he had been distracted.

"Get out of my face, Blackbeard!" Teddy shouted, slamming his fist into another one of the two-pointer pirates. Its battle cry was abruptly cut off as it was sent flying across the deck before shattering into pixels against the main mast. Teddy hissed through gritted teeth as he kept his eyes moving, looking for the next sign of movement toward him.

Things had become chaotic since the pirates first began attacking. No matter how hard the examinees seemed to fight, there was just no end to these enemies. They just kept climbing up onto the deck in an endless wave of monsters. The first wave of pirates had scattered the examinees and pushed Teddy up the stairs toward the stern of the ship, above the door that had brought them to this arena in the first place.

The moment the pirates began their assault was also the moment a new feature had appeared on the ship. The door they had entered from suddenly gained a bright red neon sign hanging above it. The glowing letters spelled out 'WIMPY BABY PUSS OUT EXIT', presumably giving students the option the flee the test. A few examinees had already taken that option.

As for everyone else, that Peter kid was putting his web-shooters to good use. When he wasn't swinging from the mainsails to knock down pirates like bowling pins, he was bouncing around like some attention deficit jumping bean as he punched and kicked any enemy that came close. He was backflipping over swords that were coming right at his blind spots, but nothing could touch him. He had next to nothing in the way of form or skill, but boy that kid could move.

Teddy scowled when he looked past Peter. On the other side of the ship was that really angry kid from earlier, the one who had been harassing Peter. He was still yelling and cursing up a storm as he swung a cannon over his head, using it to swat aside pirate after pirate as if it were a medieval club.

Most other students were managing to hold their own. Above Teddy's head, a girl with butterfly wings and pink hair would swoop down and grab a pirate before dumping them overboard. Another guy was blasting pirates overboard with bursts of water from his hands while next to him a girl with horns grabbed an enemy by the collar and caved in his face with a headbutt.

A guttural snarl brought Teddy back to the present. A one-pointer pirate climbed over the railing and took notice of Teddy before it lunged forward, looking to cut him in two. Teddy just narrowed his eyes and swung his right fist forward to punch the pirate in the face, bursting him immediately. Teddy flexed his arm and the entire limb rippling with increased muscle mass as he looked for his next opponent.

So far, they'd been facing an endless supply of one-pointer and two-pointer pirates. The two types were pretty easy to tell apart, since the one-pointers were dressed in threadbare sailor clothes while the two-pointers wore tricorn hats and longcoats.

But we still haven't seen a three-pointer yet. I wonder what's going…

A loud thump on the quarterdeck made him stop and spin around, expecting another attack from a normal pirate. Instead, Teddy found himself in the unusual position of having to look up at someone. Or rather, something.

The creature that appeared was massive, a mountain of muscle and mean. Its head looked like that of a hammerhead shark and it had the teeth to match. It had four arms that were decorated with gold bands and each hand held a wicked looking knife. It grinned at him with its mouthful of teeth and snarled.

"I will cut up your meat and serve your heart raw!"

"Okay…" Teddy said, his left hand fumbling at one of the pouches on his belt, "somebody is really having fun when they're programming these things." When he had finally pulled open the velcro patch on the top, Teddy pulled out a square-shaped bar and shoved it in his mouth, chewing as fast as he could while ignoring the awful taste.

"Die!" the three-pointer roared, swinging its two right arms at Teddy. Teddy threw himself back, missing the point of one of the knives by an inch. The monster roared in annoyance and stabbed with one of its left blades. Teddy ducked to the side, allowing the knife to stick itself into the mizzenmast. Teddy jabbed with his larger fist, nailing the three-pointer in the nose and knocking it back a few steps.

All through the altercation, Teddy kept chewing.

The monster finally righted itself and roared at Teddy, its frustration evident, but that was the moment when Teddy swallowed. He smiled as his Quirk took hold of the two-weeks' worth of calcium he had just consumed. The three-pointer charged again, bringing its right arms back to swing at Teddy once again. When both knives struck, however, Teddy just lifted his left arm. There was a loud THUNK as both knives were stopped right in their tracks. The monster blinked and gaped at Teddy's arm, which had suddenly sprouted a large plate of thick bone and stopped the knives in their tracks. The blades had lodged into the bone shield and were stuck fast.

"Not today, ugly," Teddy said with a grin.

Teddy Altman: Quirk — Body Mod

His Quirk enables him to change his body in any way he pleases, creating extra muscle mass on his arms or dense bone protrusions for protection. With focus, he can even morph his limbs into those of animals. However, he can only do this if he understands the full biological structure of what he's making and he needs extra protein and calcium to do anything that increases his mass. He is also unable to change his color.

The three-pointer got over his surprise a moment later and tried to attack with his remaining knife. Teddy seized the creature's wrist in his right hand, using the already increased muscle mass in that arm to hold the weapon at bay. Before the creature could retaliate, Teddy sacrificed some of the bone on his arm to create a stake-like horn on his forehead.

"You had better be worth the points I'm getting for this," he muttered before he headbutted his opponent. The three-pointer didn't have the chance to react before Teddy's new horn plunged into his skull. An instant later, the creature exploded into pixels. Teddy sighed and let himself relax a bit. The horn on his head crumbled to dust as he rubbed at the spot it had been. "Ow… That took way too long. I need to catch up with-"

He was interrupted when another three-pointer climbed over the railing and drew its weapons.

"What? You want some too?" taunted Teddy as he reached into the pouch on the right side of his belt and popped another square in his mouth. He had come up with the idea a while ago to keep his calcium boosters and protein boosters on opposite sides, and right now he needed a lot of protein. His new opponent wasn't content to wait for him and attacked. Teddy raised his bone shield to block the strike from the three-pointer. As the creature snarled and pushed harder to overpower him, Teddy stood his ground and started making a plan.

That was when, out of nowhere, a cord of burning energy whipped through the air, cracking like a gunshot as it coiled around the three-pointer's throat. The creature choked and pulled at its restraint with one of its free arms, but the crackling lash was unyielding. The three-pointer was yanked away from Teddy, giving him enough room to turn his bone shield into a blade. Before he could attack, though, the cord suddenly burst and destroyed the monster.

Teddy turned to his new ally, "Thank for the ass-" he began, but that was when the whole world seemed to freeze.

The young man before him was a vision of dark beauty. The unholy union of a vampire and a fairy tale prince. Actual raven-black hair in an undercut style. A thin, angular face with cheekbones you could cut yourself on. Heavyset eyebrows arched over dark eyes. A firm mouth that was just begging to be kissed. He was a little over a head shorter than Teddy, making his height perfect for hugging. Teddy thought he glimpsed a very slim build being hidden under the boy's baggy black sweatshirt.

Mister Small, Dark, and Handsome gave Teddy a curious look.

"Uh hello?" he asked. "You okay?"

Doing just fine, Hot Stuff…

Before Teddy could embarrass his new ally by saying such things aloud, the battle cry of a holographic pirate reminded him what the point of the day's activities was supposed to be.

"Ye-yeah, I'm good. Just… just a bit worn out." Teddy gave his new ally a nod.

"Better get your breath back fast," he said, looking over his shoulder. "We've got incoming." True to his word, more pirates were climbing over the side of the ship, their glowing eyes holding nothing but murder.

The heat of battle gave Teddy back some of his brain and he was able to say, "By the way, I'm Teddy. What's your name?" as he reorganized his extra calcium to create a smaller bone blade on each arm.

"It's Billy," his ally answered.

"Nice to meet you, Billy. Ready to rock?"

"Sure?" Luckily, Billy's motions were more confident than his answer. While, Teddy crashed into the pirates and started swinging and jabbing, Billy made a sweeping gesture with his arms, twisting his fingers in different signs as he completed the motion. Then, just like that, two glowing disks appeared in his hands. Each was made of several layers of rings with glowing symbols orbiting around a central point. Billy took a crude fighting stance, holding one disk before him like a shield while cocking his other arm back.

"I've always wanted to try this," he muttered, cracking a small smile before he snapped his arm forward and hurled his shield. It spun as it flew through the air, but it veered off course and only managed to knock off the hat of a two-pointer pirate before dissolving into sparks.

Billy sighed in dull acceptance before raising his hand again with a different hand sign and a new glowing symbol launched an energy blast, bursting the pirate he had originally been aiming for.

The two of them worked up a rhythm. Teddy in front using all three of those free boxing lessons he had taken in middle school as Billy stayed back, blasting the pirates with whatever Quirk-magic-laser-thing he had going. One of the pirates got around Teddy and attacked Billy, however. Billy blocked its attack with his remaining shield, but he was sent stumbling back against the captain's wheel. Teddy didn't give that lucky pirate the chance to follow up and just picked up the last one-pointer and threw it. The two holograms collided and burst in unison. Billy blinked in surprise before turning to Teddy. He gave a thankful look and suddenly it seemed to Teddy as if the world shined a little brighter.

"Shit!" shouted a loud voice from the other side of the ship. Teddy blinked in surprise before he caught some movement in the corner of his eye. He saw a dark blur in the air that soon materialized into a dark iron cannon flying through the air.

And it was heading right for Billy.

Teddy didn't even have time to think as he lunged toward the other boy. He made it to him in two steps just as the cannon was beginning the descent of its arc. Teddy wrapped his arms around Billy, already reorganizing his extra bone and cannibalizing as much of his protein as he dared.

In seconds it took for the cannon to rockets towards them, Teddy shrunk his legs and left arm to grow his right arm to twice it's normal size. A large shield of bone appeared on his right forearm.

I've only got one shot at this. Don't mess up, Teddy!

Teddy didn't have a moment to hesitate before the cannon was within range. His arm swung with all the force he could possibly muster, backhanding the cannon with his bone shield. There was a loud CLONG as the cannon was smacked aside, bouncing against the deck and the railing before falling overboard. Teddy stood frozen in place, his arm still shaking with the vibrations of the impact.

Don't change your expression, he thought. Don't you dare show how much that freaking hurt.

"Wow," said Teddy, somewhat breathlessly. "That was close."

He looked down at Billy, taking a moment to get lost in those dark eyes.

"Y-yeah… it was…"

The two of them seemed to enter another world for a second even as chaos continued around them. Then Billy looked away from him with a dusting of red on his cheeks. "You… you can let me go now."

Teddy blinked before he gave a little nod.

"Right. Sorry." He released Billy and stepped away, scratching his head as he looked askance.

That was way too forward, you big oaf. Focus on the exam and figure out where that cannon came from.

Before more monsters came and the battle continued, Teddy scanned out over the rest of the ship. Everyone seemed to minding their own business except…

Teddy's eyes zeroed in on one person who stood idle at the moment. That super angry kid from before was just standing there in the middle of the deck and his eyes focused squarely on the pair of them.

Teddy's eyes narrowed as he deduced what had happened to put him and Billy in danger. The angry kid's expression immediately soured and he angrily turned his back toward Teddy.

"I knew that guy was an asshole," he muttered.

"I knew that kid was an asshole," Tony muttered, staring at the screen.

"What was that, Tony?" Xavier said, glancing at him curiously.

"Despairing at the caliber of students you're letting into this school, Chuck." After a moment, Tony turned and glared at Charles. "Those two almost got flattened by a cannon. What the hell kind of test are you running here?"

"One that was meant to push our prospective students to their limits," said Xavier, showing no outward reaction other than a tightening in his fingers. "This is the sort of path that will place their lives in danger on a daily basis. We must make sure that their resolve is strong enough to take all that the world can throw at them."

"And what about that kid that practically threw that thing?" Tony asked. "Is he gonna get a frowny face on his review?"

"I keep on recommending we deduct points for mess-ups like that," said Magneto, turning in his chair again, "but ever year someone rejects it." His eyes were focused squarely on Xavier, who sighed and rubbed his brow.

"I keep telling you, Erik, it would be a bad start. These students come to us ready and willing to learn to become heroes. So long as no one gets really hurt, I don't see the benefit of having our students start the year with demerits."

"And I keep telling you that-"

"Could the two of you please knock it off?!" snapped one of the other teachers, a pretty woman with curly brown hair pulled into a ponytail. "We're trying to work. Please bicker on your own time."

Tony blinked, feeling kind of impressed. He thought that all of the teachers at this place would have immediately deferred to Xavier. Tony didn't recognize her, though, and he pondered which hero she was.

"Speaking of time," said McCoy from his ceiling perch, "Kitty makes a good point. We have two minutes left."

"Right you are, Henry," said Xavier, resting his hands against the elbows of his hover chair. "Everyone, prepare for the final stage of the exam."

All around the room, the teachers turned to one corner of their control consoles and flipped open a plastic cover that rested atop a large red button.

"What are you guys? Space command?" Tony asked. Everyone ignored him.

"Activate final obstacles on my mark," said Xavier.

An incredible, anticipating silence followed that statement as everyone seemed to hold their breaths. In the back of Tony's mind, he felt a spark of fear for his young student.

Be careful, kid.

"Mark."

Jean let out a little yelp of panic as she dove to the side, sprawling on the deck but avoiding the slash of a two-pointer pirate that had gotten too close. His glowing eyes glared at her before he stomped forward and prepared to attack again. As he was raising his sword for a stab, that was when Jean retaliated. Before he could blink, he was suddenly skewered by her three swords, all of them glowing with the red energy of Jean's telekinesis. A moment later, the enemy burst, letting Jean have the room she needed to stand up again. she swallowed and called back her swords.

I never expected to end up in one of Kurt's movies, she thought with just a hint of bitterness as she turned to see where the next pirate attack might come from. The pirates were becoming scarcer by now. While many examinees were still fighting their hardest, there were noticeably fewer people now than when they had started.

They must have forfeited, Jean thought sadly. She couldn't let herself think about them for too long, however. This was the Entrance Exam. She needed to be more concerned with herself than other people for now. Especially since the test was almost over and that zero-pointer could appear any-

As if in response to her thoughts, the whole boat violently shifted and shuddered. The movements were so jarring that a few students were knocked to the deck. Even Jean almost lost her footing before she grabbed the railing and steadied herself. The remaining pirates also stopped their attacks and turned as one to stare toward the prow of the ship. They didn't even seem to care when a few of the examinees took the chance to burst some pirates with a few cheap shots.

The roar of battle had jarringly died away to a deafening silence. Jean swallowed, feeling the tension in the air as well as the feelings of trepidation from the other students.

Suddenly, two massive suctioned tentacles exploded from the water to grab hold of either side of the ship. Each was as thick as a minivan and stuck fast to the deck. One of the guys who had been a little seasick at the start let out a high pitched yelp as one of the black tentacles slammed down less than a foot away from him and he scrambled backward on all fours.

That's when pressure began squeezing Jean's head as she could sense the panic of those around her, but she bit the inside of her cheek as she tried to strengthen her mental barriers.

The sea in front of the ship continued to roil violently as a huge dark shape emerged from the depths. The monster was immense, seeming to blot out the whole horizon as it rose higher above the water. Its glistening skin was as black as night and covered with scratches and barnacles as water ran off its body in sheets and more of its tentacles rose from the water, standing poised and ready to strike. Two blazing red eyes opened as the giant octopus loomed menacingly over them.

From behind her, Jean heard a girl scream like she was in a horror movie. It pierced through Jean's already weaken barriers and was the final drop in the overflooded bucket.

WHAT THE FUCK KIND OF PLACE IS THIS SCHOOL IS THAT A GODDAMN KRAKEN I NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE I DIDN'T EVEN WANT TO COME HERE DID MR. STARK KNOW THIS WOULD HAPPEN HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO FIGHT THAT THING IT MIGHT IGNORE US IF WE STAY BACK HERE OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD IN OR OUT IN OR OUT OH CHRIST I CAN'T DO THIS RUN I WANNA GO HOME DON'T LET IT GRAB ME DON'T LET IT GRAB ME

A cacophony of panicked, fearful voices rang through Jean's head as more people began outwardly screaming while their minds went into overdrive. The Kraken let out a roar that shook the whole deck as the wandering tentacles came closer and closer to the ship. Jean clutched her head in pain as the deafening thoughts echoed in her brain. Her swords clattered to the deck as she lost her grip on her telekinesis. She cried out as more and more panicked thoughts slammed into her brain.

I DON'T THINK I HAVE A SPELL BIG ENOUGH FOR THAT OH SHIT IF THE MONSTER'S HERE THE TEST IS ALMOST OVER I DON'T HAVE ENOUGH POINTS I DON'T CARE WHAT THAT RED ASSHOLE SAID I'M TAKING THAT THING DOWN I GUESS IT SHOULDN'T BE TOO HARD WE JUST NEED TO AVOID THE TENTACLES RIGHT OH CHRIST THEY'RE GETTING CLOSER

"No more… please… no more…" Jean begged, her will crumbling away. Every closed mental door was immediately thrown open, every hastily erected barrier shattered in the blink of an eye. She felt like her brain was about to pop. She forgot which way was up as the world spun before her. She stumbled, trying to remember how to get her feet underneath her.

THOSE TENTACLES ARE GETTING CLOSER I GOTTA RUN I NEED TO KEEP BILLY BEHIND ME ENJOY THE GROUND YOU DRIPS OH MY GOD SHE'S GONNA FALL

The deck heaved once again and Jean lost her balance entirely. Her hip collided with the ship railing before she tumbled over the side of the ship.

For a moment, Jean was in freefall. She had just enough mental clarity to see the water rushing up at her and know she was about to hit the hard metal floor of the Danger Room. She closed her eyes and braced for impact.

Suddenly something slammed into her from the side and a strong arm wrapped around her midsection. She could hear the sound of someone trying to talk to her from a million miles away.

She blinked her eyes rapidly, trying to clear her vision and figure out what was happening, before she was suddenly pulled upward.

I'm… I'm being rescued?

That thought pierced through the chaotic cloud of thoughts in Jean's head, giving her something real and concrete to latch onto. Jean took advantage of the small moment of clarity and squeezed her eyes shut in effort as she closed mental doors. She quickly stacked brick walls in front of them, desperate for some peace and quiet. Finally, the cacophonous noise was reduced to dull murmurs and her brain no longer felt like Paul Bunyan had hacked into her head. The two of them eventually stopped moving and her rescuer gently maneuvered her so she was able to stand.

Jean opened her eyes and finally looked at her rescuer. She blinked in shock to see it was the climbing boy from earlier, his hazel eyes shining with concern. He had discarded his shoes and the two of them were standing on the lowest sail of the main mast.

"Are you okay?" he asked. Jean gave a nod.

"I'm alright now," she said. "Everyone's panic just kind of… overwhelmed me."

Any further conversation was ended when the Kraken gave a ship-rattling roar. Its eyes were fixed squarely on them and three of its tentacles were reaching up toward them, two from the direction of the prow and one curling around the main mast to come from behind them. The boy looked back and forth, nervousness showing on his face.

"It's boxing us in," he said. "Those tentacles can move way faster than they should. If we try to get past it, it'll grab us."

"Any ideas?" Jean asked. She was out of things she could throw and the Kraken hologram didn't even have a mind she could try to mess with. The climbing boy looked all around before tilting his head toward the crow's nest.

"I think we should head up," he said. "If we climb fast enough, we can slingshot from the flag pole and get over the tentacle before it can grab us. Time has to be running out soon." He looked at her a little hesitantly. "Is it alright if I carry you to the top? I don't want to leave you here."

"Y-yeah," Jean said with a nod. "Lets get moving."

The climbing boy gave a nod of his own before he turned and crouched to his knee.

"Climb on," he said.

Jean gulped and climbed onto his back wrapping her arms around his neck and grabbing fistfuls of his jacket. The boy raised his hand and used his two middle fingers to press some switch in his palm. With a thwip sound, a short stream of white rope shot from a device under his sleeve. He snatched the length of cord out of the air and whipped it around the two of them before tying the two ends together over his belly.

"S-safety first, right?" he said. Jean couldn't see his expression, but she could definitely hear the nervous smile. The boy stood up and turned his attention upward. "Let's do this."

Then Jean was suddenly airborne. The boy she was riding jumped to the next sail above them and then to the column of the mast itself, his feet and hands seeming to find purchase with zero handholds. He moved at a breathtaking pace, faster and more agile than Jean believed a person could move.

Then the boy threw himself almost five feet up the mast just before a tentacle crashed into the spot they had just been.

How did he know that was coming? I certainly didn't.

They were nearing the top of the mast, the crow's nest only a few feet above them. The boy propelled himself upward, taking two strides straight up the side of mast, before launching two more ropes at the railing of the crow's nest and heaving with all his might. The sudden speed sent fear through Jean's heart and she buried her face in the boy's shoulder, her fingers tightening around his jacket.

The two of them crested the crow's nest a mere instant before there was a dull CLONG as the boy collided headfirst with the ceiling of the Danger Room.

Jean gasped at the sudden deceleration as the boy's limbs went slack. The pair of them seemed to hang in the air for a time, as if gravity were deciding whether or not to have mercy on them. After a moment of consideration, the two of them began to plummet back down toward the deck, falling out of control and headfirst toward oblivion.

"No no no no no!" cried Jean. Fear chilled her body as she and boy both fell toward their doom.

Not like this! I have to stop this! I have to save him!

So, as the seconds before impact continued to count down, Jean closed her eyes and reached inside herself. Deep, deep down. Deeper than she had ever done before. Feeling like molten metal was coursing through her veins, she seized every last drop of power and pulled it to the surface with one singular purpose.

SAVE HIM!

In a flash of red light, Jean's Quirk exploded.

Tune in next time for the conclusion to the Entrance Exam. We're almost there guys! I'm so excited!