Holy hell this took forever. For some reason, I had so much difficulty writing this chapter and I don't know why. Anyway, this chapter concludes the Labyrinth mini-arc and next week we get to see some more of the classes of USAEI.
Side note: F*** HER NAME IS CLARA NOT CLARE YOU MORON BUIXY! GODDAMNIT! I'm gonna change that immediately.
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: This is also the final week to submit characters for Class FH1, which is the secondary class. I've already gotten about twenty submissions and am going to have to make some hard decisions, but don't you worry. I am going to have almost if not all of the submitted OCs show up, most likely has Pro Heroes and Sidekicks. However, they won't appear until around Arc 7 or 8, which will be the Summer Internship Arc. Later this week (if I remember) I will be adding a list of all known characters, their Quirks if we know them, and a small blurb about them personality and history wise. I will also be posting the "Initial Arc Plan" in the Author's note to next chapter.
I hope you enjoy. Feel free to review, PM, or email me if you have any questions, comments, or concerns.
Purpose of a Hero
"Let's rumble!" Epiphany smirked and charged at Melody with her wooden bat, which glowed with a bright white aura, held perpendicular to her waist. To the red-haired girl's surprise, the bat elongated into a very sharp looking wooden spear. Trying to give herself some time to rest her Quirk, Melody darted just to the side of the blow and used her fist as a hammer into the other redhead's neck. Just like her previous attack, the attack landed but didn't seem to harm Epiphany, though Melody could clearly feel her blow connect. 'This is bad. She can't be hurt? Think Mel, think.' She grunted when the blunt end of the spear connected with her stomach after she dodged another jab of the point. "That all you got?"
"You wish," Melody replied, matching the other girl's confident smirk. However, this was only a bluff. A coy tactic to hide the discomfort caused by the attack. 'This girl packs a punch. Friggin' A, can't go back to Wraith yet. Remember dad's combat lessons. Just stay calm and look for an opening.' She thought as Epiphany landed another hit to her hip, making the redhead stumble slightly. 'Granted he never did tell me what to do when I can't hurt someone.' Suddenly the spear began to glow a bright white and, to Melody's continued shock, morphed into a massive battle ax.
"Let's try this one!"
Epiphany
Her Quirk: Wood-Make
She can reshape and resize any source of wood. However, the strength of the altered form is determined by the type of wood used.
"Don't give up yet!" The crimson-haired girl yelled as she raised the ax above her head and swung down, impacting the spot Melody stood just seconds before. Now inside of Epiphany's guard, the redhead hit the girl in the jaw with an uppercut and followed quickly with a slew foot. The spirit girl used the handle of her ax to catch herself, remain on her feet, and kick back at Melody, missing but managing to put off the girl's assault. 'She's skilled with her weapon, but her hand-to-hand isn't as good. She's very good regardless, but if I could actually hurt her this fight would most likely be over...way to sound cocky Halloway.' Melody was broken out of her thoughts by the sound of wind whipping towards her and ducked just in time to avoid having her head taken off.
"Epiphany! Fall back!" Sirius called, clearly exasperated by the spirit girl's insistence on fighting. Clearly ignoring her partner, Epiphany took another swing at Melody, with the redhead barely dodging in time. The boy shouted at her again, making her sigh dramatically.
"Don't be so Sirius!" The crimson-haired girl yelled back, snickering slightly to herself as she forced Melody to take several more steps back.
"Haven't heard that one before," The indigo-haired boy muttered sarcastically. Distracted by their banter, Melody again managed to land a fairly solid blow to her opponent's chest with a kick, putting some distance but once again not causing any damage. 'I'm gonna run outta gas soon if I don't deal with these two.' She thought bitterly and narrowly moved out of the way of another downward stroke of the wooden ax. This gave her a brief second to notice something crucial. 'Wait...why aren't they attacking two-on-one? Even if he isn't much of a fighter, Sirius could land some hits while I'm distracted by Epiphany, yet he's just standing there. Think. Wait! Could that be it? This'll go poorly if I'm wrong but...alright, I need a distraction.' The redhead resolved as she shifted into her Wraith form to avoid another attack. Seeing this Epiphany hesitated in attacking, leading to a brief standstill in the battle. Suddenly though, a massive explosion ripped through the arena and a massive billow of white steam rose up from a point further into the maze. 'Perfect timing!' Melody grinned widely and initiated her plan.
"Holy sh-" Epiphany began, her eyes opened wide as she stared at the steam cloud. She never even saw Melody coming until her fellow redhead had kicked the legs out from under her. Her balance lost, Epiphany swore and fell backward onto her rear, the blunt side of the ax clocking her in the head for good measure.
"Sorry!" Melody cried out over her shoulder as she darted towards Sirius, who was also looking at the explosion, his guard completely down. Without breaking her speedy pace as she socked him in the face. The small boy went down hard and Epiphany yelped in pain and grabbed the exact spot on her cheek where her host had been punched.
"Man, when you can actually feel it, that girl has a wicked right hook," the spirit girl said approvingly as she watched the redhead disappear deeper into the maze. She then sighed as her gaze turned to Sirius, who was still lying on the ground, still as a corpse. "Oi! Get up ya baby!"
"That hurt you know!" The indigo-haired boy cried indignantly.
"Yeah, yeah, excuses. Oh...oh! Pfft–" Epiphany began to laugh hysterically when Sirius turned to face her, revealing a large welt on the cheek where Melody's fist had connected.
Purpose of a Hero
Melody could only stare in awe at the scene before her. After she had run away from Epiphany and Sirius, she decided to head towards the explosion, since that looked like it was close to the middle of the maze. Seeing a very beat up Rylee explained the steam explosion from earlier, but Melody was shocked to see the boy with scars covering his exposed skin, Narruk, was basically unharmed. His only distinguishable injury was a small burn mark on his left arm. Suddenly his nostrils flared and his head shot over to stare at the newcomer. 'Did...did he just smell me? What the heck is his Quirk?' Melody thought as she prepared to shift. The boy's sudden change in posture caught Rylee's eye and she followed his gaze, sighing in what the redhead thought was relief at the sight of her. "Melody? Glad you're here. Listen, this guy is extremely tough, so I think we should take him on together. We can go for the goal after he's out, otherwise, we don't stand a chance."
"Sure thing!" Melody called back to Rylee, who's very voice sounded tired and wounded. 'I have no idea what this guy can do, but the best course of action would be for me to go on the attack and Rylee to support from distance. Whenever she attacks I can phase, plus she's pretty bad off. We just gotta figure out what this guy's Quirk is.' The redhead took a deep breath and stood straight up. "Alright! Rylee you-"
"Melody!" The steam Quirk user yelled in worry as Narruk cleared the distance between him and the newcomer in a fraction of a second. Before the girl could even think of turning into her Wraith, he had grabbed her by the throat and slammed her into the ground. At her scream, Narruk turned his eyes, which seemed somewhat feral in comparison to what she'd seen at the beginning of the fight, on her. With inhuman speed, he dashed at her, which she countered by releasing a blast of pressurized steam from the holes in her chest. "Steam Wall!"
Unfortunately, her counter was in vain as the boy rammed into her, not getting a clear shot through the thick fog, sending her soaring into one of the metal walls of the labyrinth. The air left the brunette's lungs at the impact, her eyes closed and fists clenched. 'Damn! I've sent everything I have at this guy. Nothing affects him. How the hell strong is he?' Rylee thought as she attempted to stand back up, only to fall back down and grit her teeth. "You fought well. Stay down."
Purpose of a Hero
"By reaching the center of the maze first, Narruk Mondronen is our third victor!" Holl bellowed as the scarred boy reached the center of the maze and slumped down against one of the walls, holding his head. The rest of the class was abuzz with excitement.
"Narruk and Rylee fought for quite a while didn't they?" Andrew asked over his shoulder to Kira, who nodded enthusiastically.
"That wasn't fighting, moron," Clara added flippantly, having overheard his comment. Her naturally loud voice drew the attention of most of the crowd, which caused her to try and glare at everyone simultaneously. "He was toying with her."
"Ms. Ramirez has a good point. Care to expand on what you said?" Holl asked, giving the girl a steady gaze, no doubt in response to whatever the magenta-haired girl thinking at that moment. She scoffed and shook her head before speaking again.
"If no one else noticed it-"
"He was holding back against her for most of the fight," Lyon cut in suddenly, giving Narruk an appraising glance.
"Hey, asshole!" Clara roared at the orange-haired boy, who completely disregarded her.
"Toying wouldn't be the word I would use, but in essence yes. He was toying with her," He explained, only causing the girl to become more enraged. "Anyway, the correct way to explain that fight would be to say he was holding back, pulling his punches, however, you want to put it. I daresay he would've won regardless, but the explosion trap set off by Rylee was the first wound he received which seemed to make his fighting style more...animalistic."
"Well said, MacAllister. Now, while Halloway and Ingram are taken to the nurse, you may wanna go as well Wilsk that was a nasty right you took, let's get onto the last match and then we're done for the day. You should already know who is up, but just in case...Clara Ramirez, Marcus McPherson, Kira Kazani, and Lyle Wolfbane. Let's end this one with a bang, eh?"
"Hey, Kazani." The multi-haired girl stopped in place and turned to look at Clara, who was looking at her with disgust. The magenta-haired girl shoved past her while muttering, "Don't hold back out there."
"O-Okay?" Kira murmured, looking at the girl with a bewildered expression.
"I believe she respects strength and is unnerved by that Narruk fellow, who seemed to show undaunted power," Lyon's silky voice supplied from directly behind the girl, making her jump. In response to her wide eyes and agape mouth, the orange-haired boy smiled lightly and looked towards the figure of Clara as she stalked towards the starting gates of the labyrinth. "She is quite confident at first glance, but upon closer inspection, her cracks begin to show. Although, I could just be reading her wrong. It wouldn't be the first time I've read someone without knowing all of the facts and been completely incorrect."
"Uh...thanks?" Kira said unsurely, not entirely certain what to think of the boy.
"Get going, Kazani! We haven't got all day!" Holl shouted from his place next to the video screen. The multi-haired girl swiftly apologized and rushed off to find an open gate.
Purpose of a Hero
As Kira immediately found out...Marcus McPherson was insanely skilled. She had only been in the maze a few moments before catching sight of and attempting to ambush the grey-haired boy. This ambush attempt failed to put it simply. The moment she had tried to sneak up to him, her clumsiness reared its ugly head and she tripped over her own two feet, falling facefirst onto the metal floor. "Woah! That didn't feel very good. Oh! Hey...Marcus, right? I suppose this is the part where we fight!" When she received no response, Kira frowned and charged, her eyes glowing a bright red. The bottoms of her feet also began to emit a red aura and there was a small popping sound as her right foot connected with the metal floor and a boom as the ground beneath that same foot exploded and sent her flying towards the boy, whose eyes narrowed.
"Bad idea," he muttered, crossing his arms over his face to block her punch. To his, and everyone in the viewing area's shock, the punch had the same effect on his arms as her foot did on the ground. The boy slid back a few paces from the force of the explosion and grimaced at the smell of burnt flesh.
Kira Kazani
Her Quirk: Pyroclasm
Kira is able to produce superheated shockwaves from her hands and feet that greatly increase her movements and attacks.
"How was that?" Kira taunted, though Marcus showed no sign of being perturbed. She charged at him again, her feet creating shockwaves with every step. However, as her fist neared his face for a second time, it was suddenly shot back in the opposite direction, nearly dislocating her shoulder in the process. "What the hell!?"
"My Quirk," Marcus replied simply.
Marcus McPherson
His Quirk: Physics
Marcus can absorb energy in any of its states and use it to power up himself, or repel others.
"A man of few words, huh? That's fine. As long as you don't cry when I beat you!" The multi-haired girl mocked as she leaped forward and drew her fist back to punch. Once she saw his guard raise again, she dropped her fist and slammed her foot into his side, causing another reaction that sent Marcus crashing into a metal wall. The boy grunted in pain and glared at Kira, who had a snarky smile plastered on her face. "Still not going to say anything, Marky?"
"You're insufferable."
"There ya go! Progress." Just by his response, Kira could tell she was getting to him. Her eyes again started glowing a bright, demonic red and she bent her knees to take off on another assault. However, when she began her charge, with Marcus preparing himself as well, they were interrupted by a body being thrown by them. Said body, which Kira recognized as the fourth person in their group Lyle, bashed into the wall and fell to the ground.
"Little shit! Talk to me like that again!"
"Uh-oh. I know that angry voice," Kira practically sang, turning to face Clara, who as usual looked enraged. The girl had what looked like chemical burns covering the right side of her face and her arm on that same side. Blinded by anger, it took her a moment to notice the two other people in the room. "Hiya Clara."
"Shut up, moron. Alright, which one of you is next? I wanna get this over with quickly," the magenta-haired girl demanded, cracking her knuckles and neck. In response, Kira dashed forward and swung her left foot into a high kick. Seeing the attack coming, Clara smirked and ducked before slamming her fist into the girl's stomach. Kira grunted as she flew back several feet and crashed into one of the metal walls of the maze. "I told you not to hold back, Kazani. Are you really this weak? And don't think I don't see you dicking around over there, McPerson."
"Fiery Steps!" The multi-haired girl said as she took off in a Pyroclasm-enhanced sprint at the latecomer, who grinned wolfishly and took a deep breath, angling her head to be able to hit both of her opponents, something Marcus saw too late as his vision was blocked by the charging Kira.
"Howl Bazooka!" The girl roared. Just as the Pyroclasm user got close, the intensity of the shout increased to the point she could feel it shaking in her bones. Around Clara, the Quirk resistant metal of the labyrinth started to creak and whine. As the metal bent, creating a large dent in both the floor and walls, Kira was sent soaring into Marcus, but didn't stop until the both of them landed in a heap twenty feet away from their starting positions. She glared at the two of them with a look of reproach in her eyes. 'Dad, I hate to admit it but you were right. Heroes are weak, pathetic. These idiots didn't stand a chance against me. He was right about that Halloway girl. Getting taken down in a single blow is shameful, no matter how strong your opponent.' The girl thought as she stalked deeper into the maze, her rage building with every wrong turn. She growled when she realized that her father had popped into her thoughts again. "That sonofabitch, get outta my head."
Purpose of a Hero
Two Days Ago
"So, you're leaving, then?" Richard Ramirez inquired from his seat behind a large, neatly organized desk. Standing in front of him, Clara sneered and pulled up the handle on her suitcase.
"Yep. Bye."
"Not so fast, Clara." The very sound of his voice caused the magenta-haired girl's blood to boil with hatred. She kept her back turned when the sound of his cushioned chair sliding back across the wood floor echoed throughout his study. His heavy footsteps grew closer, and consequently so did her breaking point. 'Just let me leave already. The sooner I get out of this house the happier I'll be.' She almost lost her cool when she felt his large hand clamp onto her shoulder and his opposite arm come swinging around with a pair of pictures. The first photo was one Clara had seen many times in the past. In it stood her father and a black-haired woman with very vivid green eyes. The second photo had a nearly identical girl, only with red hair instead of black and also appeared to be ten years younger. "That traitor Teardrop's daughter. I have it on good authority that she is not only in your year but in your class as well."
"So?" She asked hotly.
"None of your attitude. Back to the point, I want you to grind this girl into the dust. Without a doubt, she is just as useless as her mother. People like this need to be taught early that they aren't meant for the Hero world."
"I suppose you would've told Teardrop that yourself if you weren't so busy sucking her face." The second the words left her mouth, Clara regretted the words, only for the reason that she hated what happened when her father got angry. Luckily she managed to brace herself in time for the blow to her stomach, a reaction she had honed over the years, though it didn't do much to stop the air from being forced from her lungs.
"If you ever say that again, I won't hold back in our next training session." As tough as she acted, this threat legitimately scared her. In training, her father was relentless enough as is. When he didn't hold back the aftermath would certainly leave her sore for the next week. She stiffly nodded and straightened back up, trying not to show any sort of evidence that she was in pain. "Speaking of training, I expect you to not only keep up with your classwork but also report back here every single Sunday for a session."
"Yes...sir."
Purpose of a Hero
"What the hell. Where did that little scab run off to?" Clara snarled as she hunted for Lyle Wolfbane. After she had made sure both Marcus and Kira were down for the count, both bleeding profusely from the ears, she had noticed the boy from earlier had disappeared and immediately began hunting for him. "I swear to everything that is holy I will rip the little bastard limb from limb for making a fool of me. Cowardly opossum."
"That's it! Lyle Wolfbane has made it to the center of the maze! That makes him our fourth and final student to pass. Anyone, uh amongst the four of you left, who is injured please report to the nurse's office with the rest of them. Other than that, take the rest of the day off to recuperate before tomorrow when real classes begin. Lunch will still be served at the normal time for those of you interested. Great work today!" Derrick's voice called over the intercom system. For a moment, Clara simply stood there, frozen, before swearing under her breathe and punching the nearest wall, resulting in a resounding thump.
"HOW THE HELL DO I GET OUT OF HERE!?"
Purpose of a Hero
Melody's head felt fuzzy. 'What the heck happened? Where am I?' She thought, moving her hands slightly and felt a very comfortable, cool sheet beneath her. 'Last I remember...Narruk was rushing me. I couldn't even shift in time.' The girl rubbed her throat with one hand, wincing when she made contact with it. "It'll be bruised for the next few days. I had to wait until you woke up to use my Quirk, so excuse the pain," the feminine voice of the school nurse said as the pink-haired woman, who looked to be in her late twenties, pushed aside the dividing curtain. Seeing Melody staring at her inquisitively, she laughed lightly. "My Quirk is Painkiller. It allows me to remove any sort of pain that my patients are feeling, the reason I had to wait for you to wake up is that it's easy to become addicted to my Quirk in large doses."
"O...kay," Melody croaked out, grimacing as her throat seized up. The nurse walked over and placed a splayed palm on her neck. To the girl's immense surprise, the pinkette's hand glowed a soft teal and the pain in her throat immediately vanished. "T-That's incredible!"
"Why thank you. You were my last patient, so feel free to take it easy for as long as you need before heading back to the dorms. I've gotta go have a word with that idiot husband of mine. Putting you kids through something like this on the first day of school? Absolutely asinine." She sighed, reaching her arms up to straighten the loose bun holding her hair out of her eyes.
"Thank you so much, Mrs. Holl I assume?"
"Call me Leena. The less I'm associated with my moronic husband the better. He's probably hiding too, I know he can easily hear from this range. He'll have to come home at some point, then I can let him have it. You hear me, Derrick? You are sleeping on the couch," The woman muttered as she exited the room, leaving Melody, who could barely contain her laughter, behind.
"That was close," a masculine sounding voice spoke up suddenly as the curtain on the other side of the redhead slid open to reveal her teacher.
"Mr. Holl?"
"I've found it's best to just hide underneath her nose. She never looks here and I got to make sure all my injured students were okay. Uh, anyway...good work today Melody. Narruk told me to tell you he's sorry, Kira and Andi also seemed pretty worried. You've made friends fast," the man observed as he also made his way out of the room. "Make sure you hang onto those who are worth it. Never let something stupid come between you and a close friend, or you'll regret it for the rest of your life."
Melody stared at her white sheets in confusion until the man's footsteps faded into silence. 'Did...did he mean mom? He looked so sad...I wonder what happened between him and my mom.' The redhead sighed as she lied back and started counting the small dots that covered the ceiling panels, trying to get her mind off of the events of the day. "I guess it wasn't such a bad first day. That Narruk guy is uber strong, glad I got to fight him, despite the outcome. I wonder how Kira's fight did. She'd have been up against...oh, oh no I hope she's okay. Maybe Clara got taken out before they even fought. That Marcus guy might be strong, he seems pretty intense. I can't say much about that Lyle, though." Her musings were suddenly cut off, however, as the sound of very heavy footsteps reached her ears. "Uh-oh."
"MY DEAREST MELLY! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU!?"
"DON'T YELL IN A FRIGGIN SCHOOL YOU MORON!"
Purpose of a Hero
Not much to say here, soooooooooooooooooooooooooo
NEXT TIME ON PURPOSE OF A HERO!
Chapter Seven: What's in a Name?