BEN 10 DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. MY HERO ACADEMIA DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. I THINK I'D RATHER BE A CYBORG THAN HAVE ACTUAL POWERS. NO REASON WHY, OTHER THAN THAT CYBORGS ARE AWESOME.

Now that this arc is officially starting, I have a present for you! An intro! It's my own spin on the MHA intro, and a new one will drop every time the arc changes. No real reason why I didn't start the story with one, I just didn't want to. Oh, and I'm not going to put in the transliteration, because I'd probably unintentionally butcher it. You can listen to the TV-sized opening while reading the intro.

Got it? Got it. Let's get started.

(Peace Sign—Kenshi Yonezu, TV version)

The music starts with Midoriya sitting on a bench, cycling through his aliens. He then nods and gets up; Ben appears next to him and grins. The title 'My Alien Academia' appears, with the word 'Alien' in green.

The scene shifts to Midoriya walking through the halls of school, where he meets the rest of UA's Rising Stars. All of them are in their gym clothes. Uraraka is the first to run over to Midoriya and grabs his hands in excitement; she accidentally uses her Quirk and makes him float, and a flailing Midoriya is quickly brought down to the ground by Asui's tongue as Uraraka releases her Quirk, very embarrassed, while the others smile or laugh. All of them start walking towards the stadium in the background.

The scene changes to focus on Midoriya's face; above him, different people can be seen looking down at him in rapid shots. First are All Might, Nezu, Gran Torino and Sir Nighteye. Next are the Big Three. Finally, there is a silhouette of a man holding up his left arm; on his forearm is a green hourglass symbol. Behind him are many more silhouettes. The music picks up pace as both the silhouette and Midoriya bring their hands down on their respective dials.

Another scene change, and Midoriya is now Wildmutt, and is charging across an arena. The others in UA's Rising Stars are fighting unknown opponents. Yaoyorozu creates a metal staff, Uraraka plunges downward with one hand outstretched, Asui whips her tongue to the side, Sero drags himself forward on his tape, with one leg extended in a kick, Ashido swipes her arms down to create an acid attack shaped like an X, and Iida sprints forward with his boosters at full power.

There are more rapid shots, revealing Hatsume, Shinso, Class 1-B, Bakugo screaming as he attacks, and Todoroki surrounded by freezing air, staring at Midoriya.

The intro ends with Class 1-A in their costumes. UA's Rising Stars are in the front, and Midoriya slams his hand down on the Ultimatrix.

My Alien Academia

Chapter 9

Race to Victory

Izuku tried to start his day like he would any other—he got up, showered, ate his breakfast, brushed his teeth, and tried not to think about everything that could go wrong.

"What if I mess up my speech? What if I don't move on from the first event? What if I make a fool of myself?"

Ben shared an exasperated look with Inko; the boy had been like that all morning.

"Hey, buddy?" Izuku glanced up at Ben. "Maybe you should ask yourself these questions instead: What if your speech goes off without a hitch? What if you win the whole thing? What if you look awesome in front of the whole country?"

Izuku blinked; he… hadn't really thought about it like that. He often focused on the worst possible scenarios, and never the best.

"That… that would be cool," he admitted.

Ben gestured toward him in a 'there you go' manner. "All right, then make it happen. Simple as that."

Izuku smiled; it was tiny, but it was there. "Are you sure you're a tutorial program for heroes, and not a counselor?"

Ben grinned right back. "Dude, I've had to deal with you for almost a year now. I am more than capable of learning."

Inko laughed. "Okay, boys, that's enough; if you don't hurry, you'll miss the train, and I'm sure you don't want that today of all days."

"Right, thanks, Mom!" Izuku darted off to finish getting ready.

Inko turned to Ben. "How do you think he'll do?"

"Honestly?" Ben shrugged. "I don't know. He's been training, and he's got good instincts, but a lot of his competition has spent most of their lives getting ready for this. As long as he thinks things through and doesn't get overwhelmed, I think he'll do fine. If he's smart, he'll win the whole thing."

Inko nodded. "Thank you." Her son, now ready, ran past her towards the door. "Oh, Izuku!"

"Yeah, Mom?" Izuku was surprised when his mother hugged him tightly.

"I don't know if I've said this before, but I want to apologize," Inko said. "When you found out you were Quirkless, and asked me if you could still be a Hero, all I said was that I was sorry. I want you to know now, even if you'd never found that watch, that I am so proud of you. I'm proud of the Hero that I know you'll be. I love you so much, Izuku."

Izuku tried to hold back his tears as he hugged her back. "Thanks, Mom. I love you too."

Inko rubbed her eyes as she stepped back. "Now, go out there and show the whole world what I already know."

Izuku nodded and left the house, but Ben's hologram stayed behind. "I'll keep an eye on him, just in case."

"Thank you," Inko said. "But, please, try to enjoy yourself while you're at the Sports Festival."

Ben grinned. "Hey, helping your son is my primary function; doing that makes me happy."

Inko was about to argue with him, but Ben suddenly flickered wildly for a moment. "What was that?"

Ben looked down at his hands. "Oh, Izuku is pushing the limits of how far I can extend my hologram. No big deal. I'll see you after the Festival is over!"

Inko smiled as Ben vanished, never knowing that he had just lied to her face.

…

Midoriya's leg nervously bounced up and down as he and the rest of Class 1-A waited for their turn to head to the arena entrance. As soon as they had arrived at UA, they had been directed to change into their gym clothes and wait. For most of them, costumes and Support Items were banned in the interest of fairness, but some, like Aoyama and Midoriya, kept the latter, since they needed them in order to use their abilities at all.

"Relax, Midoriya," Yaoyorozu said for the tenth time. "Just keep doing those breathing exercises, or focus on something else, like Quirk analysis."

Midoriya nodded shakily. "Y-you're right, Yaomomo." He pulled out his newest notebook and started jotting something down. "I needed to write down some ideas I wanted to run by Uraraka for her Quirk later."

Uraraka leaned over to read his notes. "Ooh, can I see?"

Midoriya leaned back; Uraraka hadn't realized how close her face was to his. "Uh, it was going to be a surprise!"

That wasn't completely true, but it did make Uraraka move back without him having to be rude. "Cool! I can't wait!"

"Midoriya." Todoroki's voice behind him made Midoriya jump, and he turned around. The other boy was standing with his arms at his sides, his fists clenched.

"Y-yes, Todoroki-san?" Midoriya stood up; something told him that Todoroki was on edge, and he wanted to be ready.

"I don't think I'd be too far off the mark if I said you were the strongest student in our class." Todoroki's gaze sharpened to a razor's edge. "In fact, outside of the Big Three, you might be the most powerful student in the entire school."

Midoriya opened his mouth to say something, but Todoroki kept going.

"That's why I want to challenge you. Here, in the Sports Festival, I want to prove that I can beat anyone without breaking my oath." He turned and walked away. "That's all I wanted to say."

"If that's the case," Midoriya found himself saying, and Todoroki stopped. "Then I should say something too—I'm going to do my best to win out there. If you and I go against each other, just know that I won't give you an easy win."

For an instant, Todoroki's expression could almost be called amused. "I'd be disappointed if you did."

On the other side of the room, Kirishima kept a firm grasp on Bakugo's shoulder. The other boy was twitching in barely-contained fury.

What does that Icy-Hot bastard think he's doing!? He called out Deku, but not me!? That nerd is the only one who's beaten me at anything in this school, and my grades are even better! Fuck, Deku is only the third-best student in the class, behind me and Ponytail! Icy-Hot should be challenging all of the top students, not just Deku! Bakugo's fists tightened so hard that it hurt. I'll show him it was a mistake to underestimate me.

Once Todoroki had returned to his corner, Midoriya sank back into his chair. Sero tapped his shoulder.

"Dude, you okay?"

Midoriya nodded shakily. "Y-yeah, I'm fine. Todoroki-san was just… really intense."

Sero glanced back at the boy in question. "What was that oath he mentioned?"

"Ah, I believe I know." Iida pushed up his glasses. "I recall Todoroki-san saying that he refused to use the fire-related part of his Quirk during combat, and would only use ice."

Yaoyorozu frowned. "Why would he handicap himself like that?"

"I don't know, ribbit," Asui said. "I just hope I don't have to fight him. I don't like cold."

Ashido huffed a laugh. "I don't think any of us want to fight Todoroki. I mean, I guess I could melt his ice, like we talked about."

During the last time they were all at Yaoyorozu's house, they had created scenarios where they had to fight their classmates—or 'people with Quirks like those of our classmates', as Midoriya had politely put it. For Ashido, it depended on whether or not her acid would give out before Todoroki's ice.

Further conversation was halted when an announcement came up in their room, telling them all to head to the arena's entrance. As the students filed out, Midoriya and his friends lingered.

"So… good luck, everyone," he said. "Whatever happens, we're still friends, right?"

"Of course we are, silly!" Ashido wrapped her arms around him. "Come on, guys; group hug before we head out!"

Yaoyorozu and Sero were quick to join in. Uraraka snagged Iida and dragged him into the hug before he could back out, and Asui hugged him from behind so that he couldn't pull free. Midoriya went red-faced for a moment, especially with Ashido, Uraraka and Yaoyorozu directly pressed against him, but he quickly found himself drawing comfort from the group hug. It was nice beyond words to have people who genuinely cared about him, and he cared for them just as much.

"All right, everyone," Midoriya said, with more confidence than he'd had before. "Let's show everyone what the Rising Stars can do!"

His friends all raised a fist into the air. "Yeah!"

…

"And now, the indomitable students who fought off Villains on their first week of school, let's give a big hand for Class 1-A!"

Upon hearing Present Mic's words, Midoriya and Yaoyorozu led their class out into the open air. Midoriya resisted the urge to shield his eyes from the bright morning light, as well as the urge to shrink in on himself as thousands of people applauded and cheered.

"Oh, wow!" Uraraka looked around in obvious awe. "I knew there would be a lot of people, but actually being here makes it all so real, right?"

Midoriya didn't answer; he was doing his best to keep his mind on his speech—more importantly, he was trying to stay focused on who he was giving the speech to.

Class 1-A took its place at the head of the hundreds of students who were competing in the Sports Festival. Midoriya noted the purple-haired boy from before among the General Studies classes; said boy smirked as the Hero Course students assembled, but his eyes were sharp and calculating.

"And now, introducing the referee for the Freshman events this year, it's the R-Rated Hero: Midnight!"

Midoriya had seen Midnight before; she was the Art History teacher, and she was actually quite good at her job. That was surprising, though it did lend credence to the old phrase 'don't judge a book by its cover'. She was a beautiful woman, with long, dark hair, slanted glasses, and a skintight outfit that left little to the imagination; to make her even more provocative, she increased the potency of her Quirk by exposing more skin, which meant that she would often tear parts of her costume.

As Midnight walked up to the podium, she struck a pose and winked. "All of you better behave, or you'll be punished."

Even Mineta looked nervous when Midnight swept her hungry gaze across the crowd of students.

"If she's R-Rated, should she really be teaching at a high school?" asked one student, who obviously didn't attend any of her classes.

Midnight glared at the student in question and waved her flogger-style whip. "Hey! My teaching credentials are completely above the radar!" She quickly composed herself and brought the microphone up to her mouth. "Now, Freshman Representative Midoriya Izuku, come on up here and say a few words!"

Midoriya took a deep breath; this was it. He started walking towards Midnight—he thought that Uraraka had brushed her hand against his as he moved past, but he figured that he'd just imagined it.

Despite how she usually acted, Midnight did care about her students, so when the microphone couldn't pick up her words, she gave him a small, understanding smile.

"Good luck, Midoriya-san; just remember to breathe."

Midoriya nodded, and remembered what Yaoyorozu had advised. He focused not on the cameras that were broadcasting his image across Japan—and much of the world—and not on the throngs of people in the stands. He didn't even focus on most of the other students in front of him; instead, he focused on the six people—and one hologram—present whom he could safely call his best friends.

"Everyone expects us to give our best today," he began. "The world wants us to put on a good show, and UA wants us to make our school proud. Naturally, we're going to do that." The joking tone in his voice at that last part had a few people chuckling. "But, as we at UA are so fond of saying, we go beyond. Today, it's not just about making our school proud, it's about making ourselves proud. Do the absolute best you can, shoot for the top, and no matter what happens, you'll all prove that you deserve to be students here." He raised a fist into the air. "Plus Ultra!"

His actions and words were mirrored not just by many of the students, but also a fair few in the audience, especially UA alumni. With his piece said, Midoriya headed back to his class, all the while trying not to shake uncontrollably. He'd managed to say his speech without stuttering, but all those nerves were coming back at once.

"That was great, Deku-kun!" Uraraka whispered.

Midoriya took a moment to try and steady himself. "Thanks, Uraraka; honestly, I think competing in the actual events will be less scary after all that!"

"All right, everyone!" Midnight waved behind her, and a large screen rose up from a slot in the podium. "It's time to find out what the first event will be, students! Will it be right up your alley, or will it push you to your limits?"

A number of flashing symbols and words flew across the screen, too fast for Midoriya to identify. Finally, the screen settled on two words.

"Obstacle Course!" Present Mic shouted. "The aim may be simple, to get from start to finish, but that's what the obstacles are for! All students, head to the starting line! The first one back to the stadium will be the winner of the first round, and only the top forty-two will move on to the second round! Remember, use of Quirks is permitted, but any serious injuries caused to fellow competitors is grounds for elimination! Good luck, kids!" There was a shuffling sound, followed by a tired sigh. "Also, joining me in commentary is my fellow teacher and Pro Hero, Eraserhead!"

"Why am I here? Did I do something to you in a past life or something?"

"Probably not, or else I wouldn't have had to try so hard to get you here! Come on, where's that smile?"

"Dead in a ditch somewhere. Now, if you're not going to let me take a nap, let's just do our job."

…

The third-year events were later in the day, but that didn't stop the Big Three from coming in early. They had claimed the waiting room for themselves, not because they thought they deserved it, but because they could watch their favorite first-year student compete without interruption.

"Hey, that was a great speech!" Hado floated over the boys so that she could get a better look at the footage on Togata's phone. "What do you think he'll use for the race, huh?"

Togata tapped his chin. "My first guess would be that super-fast one we saw on the first day of school, but Midoriya is full of surprises. He might have a form we haven't seen yet."

"He still hasn't shown me one of his flying ones," Hado pouted. "I want my flying buddy!"

Amajiki sighed. "To be fair, I don't think he's had a chance to use one yet. If I was him, I'd use it now, though."

Togata grinned. "I just hope the kid makes it to the second round; he can't make a big splash if he doesn't get past this one."

…

There was no more time to talk to his friends; by the time everyone had shuffled to the starting line, Midoriya had been separated from them anyway. The different classes had been purposely meshed together to prevent students from combining their efforts at the beginning. It was meant to provide a level playing field for the non-Hero students, but Midoriya admitted that he would have liked to at least start with one of his friends.

"Don't worry," Ben said from the Ultimatrix. "You've got this. You know what alien you'll use here, so don't think about anything else."

Midoriya nodded absently, and his hand rested above the dial. All he had to do was wait for—

"Three, two, one—GO!"

Just before Midoriya could react, cold air flooded the starting line, and then a mass of ice exploded outward, sealing up most of the entrance to the tunnel. Todoroki didn't even look back as his ice propelled him forward. However, his move wasn't enough to stop all of the students, especially those who were prepared.

"That was a dirty trick, Todoroki!" Yaoyorozu shouted as she used a long pole from her hand to vault through a gap in the ice. Sero was right behind her, as was Asui.

Bakugo blew a massive hole in the ice, and then launched himself into the air. "Get back here, Icy-Hot!"

More and more students poured through the gap Bakugo had created. In the rush to get outside, most didn't notice the green flash of light. What they did notice was the red blur that flew over them.

"JETRAY!"

"Holy smokes, folks, that's Midoriya Izuku that just flew past most—scratch that, he just flew past all of the other students! Can we get a shot of his transformation in slow-motion, please?"

On television screens, computers and phones, people all over the world got their first glimpse at one of Midoriya's aliens. This one looked like a red humanoid stingray, with yellow horns and wing membranes, clawed hands at the end of his wings, and jagged teeth under green eyes. Even with the camera slowing down the image, it was clear that Jetray was moving at incredible speeds.

…

Hado clapped her hands in delight. "Yes! Finally, my flying buddy is here!"

Togata grinned. "Man, can you believe that speed? He might be moving faster than All Might!"

Amajiki watched with wide eyes. "I think you're right."

…

In another part of the country, a man sat up in interest. He had been watching the Sports Festival on his phone simply because, for once, he had nothing better to do. Now, he was glad that he did, because the plain, nervous kid from the opening ceremony had suddenly turned into something almost alien in appearance. What really interested him, however, was how fast the boy was moving through the air.

He pulled a sheet of paper from his desk and scribbled out 'Midoriya Izuku', followed by a question mark. He would keep an eye on that one, and if he was lucky, one or two others in his class would catch his attention as well.

…

"Looks like Midoriya is going to be the first to encounter the opening obstacle, ROBO INFERNO!"

"That's a stupid name. It sounds like they're about to dance, not stop the competitors."

Jetray saw the robots coming before anyone else; to him, those Villain stand-ins from the entrance exam were moving in slow motion. Rather than try to fight his way through them, he just flew over them before even the zero-pointers could swat him out of the sky.

"A logical move," Aizawa commented. "Midoriya now holds a sizeable lead over the others; fighting those robots would just give that lead up."

"And since none of the other competitors can fly like Midoriya, they'll have to fight their way through. Either way, the kid leading the pack is just going to keep on leading!"

Todoroki scowled; he had thought that his initial move would give him plenty of space ahead of the others, but he was wrong. Midoriya had transformed into something perfectly suited for this race, and then took the lead—because of course he did—and more than a few of the others were hot on his tail. Bakugo was closest, but Iida and Yaoyorozu were leading the rest of the students.

Once again, Todoroki opened a path for himself by creating huge spikes of ice that drove the robots apart, and then kept on going. Bakugo blew the head off one robot that got in his way, but never actually stopped. Most of the other students were fast enough to avoid the robots, but the slower ones had to fight. One robot in particular, after getting shorted out by Kaminari, fell directly onto two students.

"Oh my god!" one student shouted in horror. "Can people actually die on this!?"

Immediately, Kirishima broke through the metal plating of the robot; he had used his Hardening to protect himself just in time. "Like hell I'd die!" he glared at Kaminari. "Dude, that wasn't cool!"

Kaminari, who had used a good deal of his Quirk to stop the robot, gave a slightly loopy smile. "Sorry."

"Look at that, folks! That's Kirishima Eijiro of Class 1-A! With his Quirk, he's like the ultimate shield and the ultimate spear!"

Another student, one who looked remarkably like Kirishima, but with metal skin, burst out from under the robot as well.

"What the hell, Class 1-A!? Anyone else might have died!"

"And there's Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu of Class 1-B! His Quirk also turns him into the ultimate shield and ultimate spear!"

Kirishima groaned as he began running again. "Come on, I have enough trouble standing out as it is!"

…

Up in a private booth, All Might watched the first event with Nighteye and Gran Torino. For once, he looked smug, rather than nervous alongside the other men.

"I told you he'd do well."

Nighteye merely raised an eyebrow. "Judging by your reaction when the boy transformed, that one is new to you."

"I never bet one which transformation he'd use, only that he'd do well."

Gran Torino, on the other hand, watched with interest as Midoriya crossed the second part of the race. "He's fast in that form. Actually, Toshinori, I'd say he's faster than you were in your prime; going by his movements, he's probably not as maneuverable as you were, but if it came down to a race down a straight path, my money would be on him."

All Might nodded, a little more serious now. "I can think of maybe one or two other Heroes who can come close to that kind of speed these days, and that's being generous."

"How many Heroes do you think will send him offers?" Nighteye asked, less out of actual interest, and more because longer conversations between them were still rare. "Many will try simply to gain the prestige of having such a unique student interning with them."

"Probably less than you'd think," Gran Torino argued. "If the boy shows off more of his forms, he might scare off a lot of the smaller agencies. They'll think he's out of their league."

All Might shrugged. "I have a feeling that many will at least make offers, but they won't expect him to accept. If I were in his position, I'd only take an internship under a Hero who is either successful, experienced, or both."

Gran Torino raised an eyebrow. "Will you make an offer, Toshinori?"

"No, as a teacher, I can't." All Might sighed wistfully. "It would be nice, though; young Midoriya knows about my true form, but he needs someone who can go out on patrol for more than a couple hours every day." He shrugged again when the other men gave him alarmed looks. "My limit has been dropping steadily, ever since I passed on One For All to young Mirio. If I push it, I can make it about two and a half hours, but I can safely manage two without feeling terrible afterwards."

Nighteye awkwardly reached out for the man's shoulder. "All Might…"

The fading Symbol of Peace smiled sadly and shook his head. "Please, let's not think about it today. I'd like to enjoy seeing the next generation of Heroes get their start."

…

"Are you kidding me!?" Uraraka asked as she made it to the second leg of the race. It was a massive canyon, interspersed with columns and ropes.

"Welcome, students, to The Fall!" Present Mic sounded almost gleeful. "If you don't land right, or if you fall off, you're out! Don't worry, you probably won't die! But you all might want to hurry it up; Midoriya has already made it to the third and final leg of the race!"

"Then we'd better hurry up, ribbit!" Asui hopped onto a rope and easily crossed it. "This is my time to shine!"

Uraraka used her Quirk on herself for a few seconds to get a bounding leap, but was nearly knocked off-course by a pink-haired girl who was completely decked out in Support Items.

"Hey, how come she gets all that stuff?" Sero asked as he swung from one column to another on his tape.

"I'm in the Support Course!" the girl shouted over her shoulder as she literally flew on boot-mounted thrusters. "We're allowed to use any equipment we've built!"

Uraraka released her Quirk and rolled to a safe landing on a pillar. She couldn't help but shoot an envious glance at the grappling pitons and wires the pink-haired girl was using to guide her movements.

That would probably come in handy for me, she mused. Maybe I can run that idea by Deku-kun later.

She put a pin in that thought for later; as long as she made it to the next round, she could ask him without feeling like she failed.

…

"Well, folks, I'm not sure if you're surprised that Midoriya has made it to the final stretch, but I know I'm not! Since he's flying, he can avoid the mines we set up, but we've still got a special little something for anyone whose Quirks let them fly for long periods of time! Let's hope Midoriya is as acrobatic as he is fast!"

Jetray barely had time to wonder what Present Mic was talking about when dozens of guns emerged from underground alongside the minefield and opened fire.

Are they trying to kill me!? Jetray thought, but only winced when a clay pigeon glanced against his side. Oh, I see; still hurts, though.

Rather than try to maneuver wildly through the air, Jetray focused on the pigeons that were going to be directly in his path. His eyes glowed green, and then fired bolts of energy that shattered the clay into dust.

"Oh, now that's a surprise," Present Mic commented. "It seems Midoriya has more than speed and flight up his nonexistent sleeves!"

"He's deliberately not mentioning that you've got more than Jetray to turn into," Ben said. "If the crowd thinks you're cool now, just wait until the next event."

"You aren't helping," Jetray muttered as he shot his way through more clay pigeons.

"You want help? Fine; the finish line is coming up in ten seconds."

"Thanks." Jetray swooped in low, under the guns' arcs of fire, and made his way into the tunnel that led back to the stadium. As a last-second idea for flair, he transformed back to human while still flying, and skidded into the stadium like it was a stage.

The crowd loved it; the stadium erupted with cheers and applause. It wasn't just the people in the audience, though. Two of the Big Three were celebrating like Midoriya had already won. Inko was sobbing uncontrollably when she saw her son on television, and halfway around the world, a man who hadn't seen his son in person in over two years couldn't stop his own tears from falling down his face.

…

Midoriya was receiving attention from more than just friendly parties, though. In his cramped room, Shigaraki Tomura glared hatefully at the boy who was tentatively waving to the crowd. He remembered the pain of diamond shards hitting his arm, and his hands rose to his neck as he scratched his skin bloody.

"That brat," he hissed. "I can't believe Sensei wants me to watch this crap. Even if it means I can study that freak's Quirks, all I want is for him to lose."

…

A fair distance away from the stadium, two more people watched the Sports Festival. One was a young man, and the other was a girl in her late teens.

"Not bad," the man said.

"You say that like he was challenged," the girl said, unimpressed. "In fact, I don't think anyone in his class was slowed down much."

"Still, it looks like he's being responsible with the Ultimatrix, so he probably met the criteria for the selection. Azmuth will be happy, anyway, considering he double-checked the parameters, so—huh."

The girl gave him a slightly alarmed look. "What is it?"

"Something else is going on. I'll be right back; let me know if I miss anything cool." There was a flash of green light, and the man vanished.

The girl scoffed. "Showoff."

…

"That's our first-place winner, folks! Midoriya Izuku has taken the Sports Festival by storm! He not only won the first event with a huge gap between him and the other competitors, he may have set a record for first-year students! What do you think, my not-so-enthusiastic co-commentator?"

"I think Midoriya isn't the only one to watch out for. Just because he won the first event doesn't mean he'll continue to do well."

"He's got a point," Ben said. "Don't get cocky."

"Right, I got it." Midoriya had no plans to underestimate anyone; in his mind, anyone's Quirk could beat his aliens if properly utilized, so he had to be careful.

Midoriya's lead was so far ahead of the others that he had a few minutes to kick back and relax. It gave him time to think about something that he'd been toying with since before the Sports Festival began.

"Hey, Ben?" he said, barely moving his lips to avoid looking crazy.

"Yeah?" Ben appeared in front of him, holding up a green foam finger that had 'Go Midoriya!' printed on it.

"I… want you to stop giving me advice for the Festival."

The foam finger vanished, and Ben raised an eyebrow. "If you want, sure, but I'd like to know why."

"This is… this is my chance to really prove myself to myself, if that makes sense. I want to show that I can do things without you or someone else holding my hand."

To his surprise, Ben smiled with obvious pride. "Izuku, I've been hoping you'd do that at some point."

"Really?"

"Yeah! My entire purpose is to get you started, not guide you through every step. Once you can really stand on your own two feet, then I will have achieved my primary directive. As an AI, that's the height of my existence."

"Oh. What happens after that?"

Ben shrugged. "I dunno, maybe I'll kick back and watch you be an awesome Hero. It'll be like going to the movies for me, only I can't get snacks." A tub of popcorn appeared in his hands, and he put a piece in his mouth. "I mean, I can, I just don't eat."

Midoriya fought back a laugh. "Oh, and there was one other thing I wanted to talk to you about—"

"Look at that, folks!" Present Mic shouted. "The rest of the competitors are making their way into the arena! Who's going to make it into the next stage?"

The first of the other students to finish the race was Todoroki, only barely edging out Bakugo. Both boys were panting heavily, but they were in better shape than Midoriya was while human, so it only took them a few minutes to recover. Thirty seconds after them was Iida, who somehow managed to look proud and disappointed at the same time—probably because, while he'd managed to make it into the top five, winning races like this was his thing. Midoriya couldn't help but grin as the rest of his friends showed up; UA's Rising Stars had all made it into the top twenty, at least.

Even better, his entire class had made it to the second round; all of 1-B had also passed, along with the General Studies student, and a pink-haired girl that Midoriya didn't recognize.

"This isn't a surprise," Eraserhead said. "The Hero Course students usually take up the vast majority of the slots for the second event. It's a logical outcome; those students usually have Quirks better-suited to practical applications, such as races and combat. They also tend to be in better shape than the average student."

Midoriya ran up to his friends. "Guys, you all made it!"

"Of… of course we did, Deku-kun," Uraraka panted. "We made a promise, right?"

"Right you are, Ochako!" Ashido danced around the others in excitement. "Ooh, we made it to the second round on our very first Sports Festival! This is awesome!"

"Would you get off of me, you little creep!?" Midoriya and his friends turned to see an orange-haired girl from 1-B wave around an oversized hand; attached to that hand by his sticky balls was Mineta, who had a black eye.

"No way!" the boy shouted. "I got into the second event by doing this!"

"That doesn't explain why you're still touching me!"

Asui sighed. "Why do I get the feeling that every girl in school is going to get a restraining order on him by the end of the year, ribbit?"

Yaoyorozu scowled. "Because he is the worst, simple as that."

"You know, he's getting better," Sero said, though he sounded like he couldn't believe his own words. "Kaminari asked him if he wanted to—and I'm quoting him here—'check out the babes on the beach' with him on Friday, and Mineta said he was busy studying."

Everyone glanced back at Mineta, who was still stuck on the girl's hand and grinning lecherously.

"I don't believe it," Asui said. "Sero, did you smell toast when you overheard that conversation, ribbit?"

"I wasn't having a stroke!" Sero paused. "I mean, I checked, just in case, but I wasn't!"

Midoriya couldn't help but laugh, and his friends joined in; the laughter faded when Midnight called for their attention, and the placements were shown on the screen. Midoriya noted all forty-one other competitors, but he checked on his friends first.

Iida had come in fourth place, Yaoyorozu had come in sixth, Sero had come in seventh, Ashido had come in thirteenth, Asui had gotten seventeenth, and Uraraka had nabbed twentieth place.

Ashido pouted. "I would have gotten a better spot, but I hit one of the mines at the last second."

"Me, too," Uraraka said, and rubbed a sore spot on her leg.

"I had to slow down and figure out my jumps carefully, ribbit" Asui said. "And I could only do short hops anyway."

"Yeah, same with me," Sero added. "My tape didn't set off any mines, but I would have if I'd landed on one."

"All right, kids, enough chitchat!" Midnight called out, getting everyone's attention. "It's time to announce the next event!"

Once again, the screen behind Midnight began to show random words, before finally settling on 'Cavalry Battle'.

Next to Midoriya, Ben raised an eyebrow. "Okay, I'm stumped. What's this?"

Thankfully, Midnight was there to explain. "In theory, this event is like the playground game. Some students will be the 'horse' that carries the 'rider'. However, there's a bit more to it. Each team will be made up of two to four competitors, and whoever is the 'rider' will carry the objective of the game—the collective points you all earned. You see, each of you received a number of points, equal to your ranking on the board. We started at five, and went up by five for every spot. For this event, you'll have to steal as many points as you can, and defend your own points at the same time. Only the top four teams will advance to the final event!"

Okay, so I have two hundred and ten points, Midoriya thought. It might be the highest number, but you could easily take the lead by going after a few other teams. Sounds fair.

"Oh, and we made a special change for the lucky student who got first place." Midnight smiled in a way that made many of them uncomfortable. "You see, the student who got first place is worth… ten million points!"

Midoriya froze, and he was distinctly aware of forty-one pairs of eyes locking onto him.

I'm in trouble.

…

"Okay, I'm back."

The girl crossed her arms. "What were you doing?"

"Taking care of something, like I said."

"… you did something you weren't supposed to, didn't you?"

"As long as you don't know what I did, you can't tell anyone."

"We're only supposed to observe!"

"Nobody saw me! I think. I'm pretty sure."

"You're dead when we get home."

"Wouldn't be the first time."

The girl drew back her fist and punched him in the arm. "Don't ever bring that up again."

"Right, sorry. Let's just watch the next event."

I'm thinking of doing an outro to the arcs, but probably at the last chapter of said arcs. Why? *shrugs*

Anyway, I had the idea of Midoriya using Jetray for the race before I even started writing the story at all. It just makes sense. Also, is it weird that, aside from Bakugo—kind of, because he just sorta skips through the air—there are no students in Midoriya's year who fly? From what I've seen in the manga/anime, there aren't a whole lot of people with Quirks that let them fly. Granted, there are many situations where being able to fly would make said situation very easy, so I can understand why Horikoshi didn't do that.

I also had a few mystery characters show up here. There's the mystery man who is considering Midoriya for an internship already, and that mystery pair who are doing mysterious things. MYSTERY!

Oh, and there's still Mineta being Mineta; trauma doesn't erase being my most disliked character, it just gave me a reason to put him in the background for the most part. He'll take being a Hero seriously, but when his life isn't on the line, he'll still be that perverted little creep we all know and hate.

All right, I'm almost done. Please, consider buying my book, Alpha Sanction, by Josh Gottlieb; you can get a free sample on my website (link in my profile), where you can also buy it as a PDF. You can also buy it as an eBook or a physical copy on Amazon. For those of you who have bought it, thank you; reviews on Amazon are highly appreciated as well. Oh, and I want to let you all know that updates will be coming VERY slowly until my next book, Delta Sanction, is done, but that will hopefully not take very long. Still, updates will be monthly until then.

For those of you who don't want to read my book, but also want to help support me, there is the P-atreon option (link in my profile). Donations are appreciated, and you still get a free copy of my book at the top tier!

Thanks to the following patrons:

Serious Muffins: jafr86, SpaceEmperorSpar, Nimrod009, Anders Lyngbye, Matthias Matanovic, ChaosSpartan575, John Collins, Calleo, Casey Pak, Red Bard, Ultimatrix10

Incredible Muffins: RaptorusMaximus, michaelb958, Crazyman844, Jaeger456, killroy225, Brian McGloughlin

Ultra Muffins: Adam Costello, Jeffrey Perigo, Matthew Bunting, RangersRoll

Next Chapter: Cavalry Battle! Who's willing to stick with Midoriya, despite having the biggest target on his back?

Plus Muffin!