Hey dudes. Here's this weeks chapter. I want to apologize up front if this chapter seems a bit...all over the place, but I don't really wanna stretch out this intro arc much more.

Which brings me to the current poll. So far, the votes are as follows

MHA: The Sandman-3

Pokemon Journeys: Hoenn-2

Soul Eater: Atlantis Rising-2

Avengers: Nova-0

I kinda expected the Avengers story to be the least popular, so I've decided now to replace it. In all honesty, I was really just using it as a place holder since I hadn't finished the anime I wanted to do a story for. So, as of now...The fourth story on the poll will be:

Raging Tides: A Bleach Story. Yep, I just finished the Bleach manga and have decided to do an OC fic that follows these events. It will follow a young boy by the name of Kyo Maki as he comes to grips with life in the Soul Society following his death.

POLL ON MY PROFILE GO VOTE. FIRST TO, as of now, TEN VOTES WILL BE THE WINNER! YOU CAN VOTE FOR UP TO 2!

Remember, If you don't vote Puff Daddy will put a cap in yo ass (10 Brownie points if you get this reference)

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy. There are two, maybe three depending on your opinion of Carlyle, massive surprises/events in this story that will set up a ton of future plotlines.

As always, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns just shoot me a PM or review and I will answer promptly.

Purpose of a Hero

To say Melody was nervous would be an understatement. Today was their first combat training class, which by itself didn't scare her as much as the expression of Clara's face did. To her, it looked like a mix of smugness, arrogance, and for some reason excitement. Thankfully, it was at that moment that Narruk, who was standing at her left side, moved ever so slightly to cut off the direct sightline connecting the two girls. "Don't let her get to you, Melody."

"Yeah, I know," the redhead sighed. On her other side, Kira groaned and hung her head.

"Jeez, why is every teacher at this school like ten minutes late to their first class!?" She exclaimed. 'Unfortunately she's not wrong. Three out of the five teachers we've met so far have been late. Mr. Holl arrived nearly halfway through the class, Ms. Whittaker took like ten, and we've been standing here for like nine minutes already.' Melody thought, watching with amusement as Kira and Clara began going at it, the latter annoyed with the former's whiny tone. Before the two girls could really get into it, however, the door to 'Gym Eight', which is where most combat lessons for the lower years took place, swung open and a pale looking woman with snowy white hair and an eyepatch covering her right socket dragged herself to the center of the gym. 'She's the woman that proctored the physical exam.'

"Listen up, I'm not going to repeat myself. This class is pretty simple, the objective is to learn how to fight with your hands, or...other body parts, instead of your Quirks. Now, get into pairs and spar. If needed I'll intervene and give advice or whatever but no Quirk usage. Go," the woman said unenthusiastically, much to Melody's amusement, which quickly faded as a pit grew in her stomach. 'Just...stay away from Clara. To be honest, I'd rather go against someone like Eris or Kira, they both seem like decent fighters and aren't as...buff as Clara.'

"Oi! Halloway, let's go," Narruk suddenly called, ushering Melody into one of the corners of the gym, far away from the magenta-haired girl, who had been glaring at the two of them, but settled down when Kira all but jumped her. Little by little, the class settled into a routine. With how many times she was being thrown to the floor by the scarred boy, he seemed to not be keen on holding back against her, she was able to observe quite a few of the fights.

Sirius and Hazel were hesitantly exchanging blows, neither seeming to know how to proceed in the spar. The indigo-haired boy threw a sloppy punch that the girl should have easily been able to counter, were it not for the fact that Sirius tripped and tumbled into her, causing both of them to fall into a pile on the ground. 'Maybe this class is good for them.'

Across the gym, Lyle was struggling to keep up with Andrew, as he seemed to have more experience in hand-to-hand combat. Lyle tried to sweep the other boy's legs out from under him, but his opponent dodged with ease and managed to land a hit to his ribcage. 'Andrew is pretty good at this. I guess he is the second-ranked student in our class. Lyle was ranked eighth, but I'm guessing his overall score was elevated by the written test. He seems intelligent.'

Seeming to have taken pity on the smaller girl, Diana was working with Andi, teaching her how to throw a real punch. While she was listening and going through the motions that the lizard girl told her to, the antennae-eared girl was more interested in asking questions about the logistics of Diana's Quirk. 'Oh Andi, you're too curious for your own good. Diana is so nice to help her out.'

Meanwhile, Oliver and Eris seemed to be having an all-out brawl. As Kira and Clara's fight was fueled by their fledgling rivalry, these two appeared, to Melody at least, to be enjoying themselves. Even the black-haired boy, who had been quite reserved so far, had a small grin on his face as he evaded a high kick from the brunette, the girl looked to be having the time of her life. 'From what I heard those two had a pretty intense battle in the labyrinth. I guess they still had a score to settle.'

An irritated shout drew the girl's attention away from Narruk, which was a mistake as his foot slammed into her thigh. She ignored the pain, simply smiling at the scarred boy's apology, then glanced back at the duel going on between Rylee and Lyon. Though maybe calling it a fight was generous. Every single attack the caramel-haired girl threw, Lyon simply dodged. The boy's incredible dodging skills, combined with the fact that his ever-present grin was plastered on his face, was getting on Rylee's nerves. 'That's...quite a mismatch. It's becoming increasingly clear how he got the first spot. I feel bad for Rylee, she keeps getting put up against opponents tougher than her.' The battle was somewhat hypnotic to watch, and it looked to Melody that she wasn't the only one watching. Nearly every sparring pair had stopped what they were doing, with the exception of Kira and Clara, and watched as Rylee's attacks became increasingly erratic, trying to throw her opponent off. 'Every time she tries to up the ante, Lyon just seems to get better. I wonder how a battle between him and Narruk, or god forbid Clara, would go.'

"PISS OFF YOU PUNK!" Clara roared as Kira went flying by Melody, causing her hair to whip wildly due to the force of the throw, and slam directly into Rylee. While the two girls laid on the ground, both groaning in pain, the magenta-haired girl stomped over towards Ms. Hanoka, her face enraged. "Why the hell are we just sparring like this? It's completely irrelevant, I already know I can beat anyone in this damned class without breaking a sweat."

"You think so?" The combat teacher asked, raising an eyebrow and looking overall unimpressed. As Clara opened her mouth to continue her tirade, Ms. Hanoka leaped off of her perch on top of the folded up bleachers and landed quietly, her body seeming to not make a noise as she did so. "Fine. I suppose it's time I get involved with this class. You all appear to have potential, but your skills are unrefined and juvenile. Ms. Ramirez, I expected more considering who your father is."

"What?" Clara growled, her voice sounding far more dangerous than Melody had ever heard before. If the redhead was honest with herself, the mix of venom and pain in the girl's voice was far more frightening than any of her previous threats. Ms. Hanoka however, only smiled and stood up straighter, the multiple blades strapped to her body jangling as she did so.

"This is perhaps the most important class you will take during your time here at the Forge. You can have all the knowledge in the world on what to do and what not to do in a crisis situation, but when you're up against a villain, if you can't fight, adapt, and overcome...it'll cost you your life. Over the next four years, I will drill this idea into your head until each of you can hold your own in combat. As for you, Ms. Ramirez, if you are unsatisfied with fighting your classmates, I'd be happy to give everyone an example of what I'm talking about." The woman's words sent a chill running down Melody's spine and she could tell, by the way, he stiffened, that Narruk experienced something similar.

"You want me to fight you? Finally, something interesting!" Clara exclaimed, lowering herself into a fighting position.

"Everyone, please move to the sidelines. Ms. Ramirez, since this is technically a lesson, I'm giving you permission to use your Quirk. As such, I will not hold back either, we will continue until one of us concedes, is that alright with you?" The teacher asked, her expression and tone neutral but having a very deadly undertone. This didn't seem to phase Clara though, as she moved silently to one side of the gym and began stretching. 'Either Clara is way too confident in herself, which is probably the case, or she is seriously underestimating Ms. Hanoka. While she hasn't revealed her past yet, every teacher at this school is a current or former Pro Hero, this fight'll be over in a second.'

"Something's odd about this, wouldn't you say?" Narruk asked her, his gaze on their teacher.

"What'd you mean?"

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say she was waiting for someone to challenge her. That look in her eyes when she first asked Clara to fight her was...unhinged," the scarred boy said morosely. Melody's brow knitted in bemusement at the look of recognition in his eyes. It took a minute, but when she looked back at her own battle against him, the one thing she remembered before being knocked out was the feral...unhinged look in the boy's amber eyes. Before she could think further on that, Ms. Hanoka spoke up.

"Begin." Without even allowing her to finish the word, Clara surged forward and screamed, the vibrations caused by her Quirk made the entire gym shake, and forced Melody and the others to cover their ears. When the tremor calmed slightly, the redhead removed her hands and turned her head back up, gasping at what she saw. Ms. Hanoka stood, just inches away from the magenta-haired girl, a long, curved knife pressed up against the latter's throat. Clara's eyes were as large as dinner plates and her breath came in hesitant spurts. After a moment, the teacher removed her knife and stepped back, leaving Clara to take a deep breath and stumble back slightly. "You have potential, but right now your skills are weak. Against any proper villain, you would inevitably be slain. This is the harsh reality. Throw away any misconceptions about your own strength and get this through your heads. You. Are. Not. Strong. Enough. Yet."

"Holy shit," Narruk muttered from beside her. "Clara's scream looked like it had no effect."

"You...bastard. Cut the shit. What did you do to evade my attack?" The magenta-haired girl murmured, her voice barely audible.

"Nothing. Your attack was weak, as I've said."

"BULLSHIT! I AM NOT WEAK! YOU'VE GOT SOME SORT OF QUIRK THAT ALLOWS YOU TO NULLIFY MY VOICE!" Clara boomed, her previous anger returning in force.

"You couldn't be further from the truth. I wasn't lying, your attack was weak. You may be able to defeat your classmates, hell you could even beat some minor thugs. You're Quirk has amazing potential if your father is anything to go off of." Once again, Melody noticed how Clara bristled at the mention of the third-ranked Hero. "However, you are too early in your development. Don't get a big head just because you can defeat classmates who have just as much, if not less, experience in battle than you do. I've been a Pro for several years and fighting opponents stronger than me for far longer."

"Go to hell. Just because you have a stupid power that can nullify my voice doesn't make you better than me." Despite the verbal lashing she'd just received, Clara still argued, trying to keep her pride intact. Something Ms. Hanoka ignored wholeheartedly.

"That would be impossible. I have no way to block or nullify your abilities." As the teacher said this a thin line of red came streaming out of her left ear. "I just have experience ten times what you have now. Besides...I'm Quirkless."

Purpose of a Hero

Melody sighed as she walked down the busy streets that surrounded the U.S.A.E.I campus. In the years since it was first built the area around the school had traded in old warehouses for a variety of shops and restaurants, all to suit the needs of the country's most promising students. Currently, the redhead was trying to both recover from the day's classes and familiarize herself with the miniature city. 'There's so much here just to mostly cater to students. Though I'm not very surprised. This is the largest Hero school in all of North America.' She grinned as she saw a few of her fellow students, she could tell by the uniforms they were wearing that they were juniors, horsing around in front of an electronics store, seemingly arguing how to best spend their money. However, that's when she noticed the store directly next to that one and her eye began to twitch in irritation. "You have got to be kidding me," she said aloud as she stared at the small, two-story building. Just above the glass door, there was a sign that read; 'Halloway Pizzeria'. The redhead stood in awe, and quite a bit of annoyance, as she stared up at the exact replica of her childhood home. Once she heard the quick moving, heavy footsteps she knew what would happen next.

"MELLY MY DARLING! YOU'VE COME TO VISIT!" Carlyle Halloway bellowed as he scooped the girl up and squeezed her into a hug, one that nearly knocked the breath out of her. In response, she raised her arm and slammed her elbow onto the top of her father's head. "Melly, how can you be so violent!?"

"SHUT IT OLD MAN, YOU'VE GOT SOME EXPLAINING TO DO!" She roared as the redheaded man dropped her, rubbing the spot where she had struck him. In her rage, she stomped into the restaurant and was shocked to see it looked exactly like the one she remembered, even the dent in the wall where she had slammed her father's head after a particularly annoying comment he had made around the time she had begun puberty. "H-How the heck did you manage this? It looks precisely like the one in Brooklyn."

"Uh, well…"

"What did you do?" Melody sighed, resting her face into her palm. Her father's expression turned somewhat sheepish and he rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"I, uh...may have had an old friend capable of moving objects through space from one place to another," Carlyle explained. In the following moments, all his daughter could do was shake her head. However, before she could berate him anymore, a loud clanging sound echoed from the kitchen and her father's expression turned to one of glee and then false impatience. "ANTHONY YOU BETTER NOT HAVE BROKEN ANOTHER DISH OR I AM TAKING IT OUT OF YOUR PAYCHECK!"

"For Christ's sake dad," Melody muttered as her father stomped away. After a moment of hearing her father's yells from the next room, the redhead stood up and made her way towards the door that had once led to the second-floor apartment. 'I guess he wasn't lying.' She thought as she stared at the living room she'd grown up playing in. A small smile came over her face as she settled down onto the couch. 'It really doesn't feel like it's been less than a week since I moved out. Despite dad's eccentricities, yelling, cooking...and midnight training sessions, this place will always be home.'

"So Melly, how have your classes been so far?" Carlyle asked as he appeared at the top of the stairs. She had been so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she hadn't noticed his heavy footfalls.

"Good I suppose. It's only been two days since I last saw you after all. Uh, yesterday we chose our codenames and today we had combat training. It went well, but then Clara, that's Seismos' kid, challenged our teacher. She lost...bad. Then we figured out that Ms. Hanoka is just like you, dad."

"Oh really?" Carlyle asked with a sly smile, making Melody roll her eyes.

"Figures you already know. I'm glad that your drinking buddy tells you everything that goes on at school," the redhead said sarcastically.

"Now, now Melly. Mr. Ivanov is a very old friend of mine. He likes to keep me informed, or so he says. Really I think he's just absolute crap at holding his liquor," Carlyle said with a grin. "Anyway, you said you've picked codenames? Tell me, which did you go with? I know you had a few in mind. My favorite was Casper!"

"DAD! THAT WAS FROM WHEN I WAS FIVE!" The redhead yelled, her cheeks glowing slightly at the mention of her childhood Hero name.

"Aw, but Melly it was such a cute name! That was your favorite story when you were younger!" Her father whined. When his daughter huffed and turned her head away stubbornly, he sobbed and grabbed a picture of Harmony from the coffee table and hugged it close to his chest. "Oh, Harmony! Our daughter has become so cruel with age! What should I do!?"

"Jeez, don't start crying dad, no one wants to see that. You're an ugly crier."

"Runs in the family," Her father laughed, ignoring her exasperated glare, and announced that she was staying for dinner that night, to which she quickly tried every excuse she could think of, but to no avail. While the food was just a greasy as usual, and her father no less insane, the redhead smiled as her father once again screamed at Anthony for something beyond the teen's control. 'Please...don't ever change dad.' By the time she returned to the dorms, the sun had already set and Melody felt exhausted. She didn't even change out of her uniform, just taking a second to kick off her shoes, before collapsing into bed.

Purpose of a Hero

Deep in the heart of New York City, an African American man dressed in a dark blue, nearly black, tuxedo walked confidently down Fifth Avenue. He paid no heed to anyone as he walked, as in his mind they were no more than ants under his boot. Eventually, he stopped in front of a small jewelry store and pulled a small crystal key from his breast pocket. He then unlocked and opened the door, stepping into the dark store. As he walked over to the very back wall of the store, he took out a device, this time out of his left pant pocket, and pressed its only button, causing the wall to shutter and slide open slightly, revealing a set of stairs descending below the store. Down below he heard two voices, which seemed to be arguing, and smiled. 'Those two never seem to get enough of each other. I wonder what more will come from this?' He wondered as he stepped into a well-lit room to see a man with golden hair yelling, every once and a while a small burst of flames would escape from between his teeth, at a tall, pink-haired woman who responded to each of his insults with one of her own. "YOU PRETENTIOUS MORON!"

"QUIET FIRE IDIOT!"

"Spitfire, Puppeteer, enough," said a cold voice from the other end of the room. "It seems like Mr. Smith has arrived. Hopefully with good news?"

"Shut up, Prophet," the two aggressors said in unison, but were ignored as the third person, an elderly looking man with wispy gray hair and a murderous smile, stepped forward to welcome the newcomer.

"Prophet, playing the mediator as usual?" The man in the tuxedo inquired.

"With such noisy children, elders must step in to correct such behavior. In any case, you've arrived just in time. Master Plague is scheduled to arrive any moment now. I believe he is expecting a guest from overseas."

"Hm? I hope it isn't that despicable Michaelangelo from the Red Sun organization in Europe. I've never met more of an insufferable brute. Who else are we waiting on, then?"

"I believe Spitfire's team is arriving shortly, not that I very much appreciate his choices. An all-out assault would've been so much simpler to pull off. However, he says that would lead to unnecessary lose of life," Prophet explained with a scoff. Just then the sound of something extremely heavy coming down the stairs resonated throughout the underground base. After a moment, a creature resembling more of a bowling ball than an actual man landed facefirst on the metal floor before jumping to his feet and waving enthusiastically at those assembled.

"'Allo everyone! I just fell dahn the bloody stairs we should right cop them less slippery," the man commented, in a thick cockney accent, as he took slow, heavy steps over to Spitfire, who looked slightly exasperated by the sudden appearance of the man.

"Hey, Barty. Where're the others?"

"Ah, well I got so excited ter see everyone that I kinda ran and left them back there," Barty replied simply, scratching the top of his head, which was covered by an awful looking white powder wig. Spitfire nodded, as if he'd been expecting this, and glanced over to the stairway where a group of three others had just arrived. At the front of the pack was a pale man with platinum blond hair, dressed in black, who yawned and held up one of his gloved hands in greeting. Behind him stood a man with bright orange hair and was covered in burn marks, as well as a figure whose face was hidden behind a mask, resembling that of a crying clown.

"Leech, Kaboom, and Switch. Thanks for coming," Spitfire said lazily in greeting.

"No problem boss, not much else to do," the pale man, Leech, replied, a heavy northeastern accent present in his voice.

"When do we get to blow shit up?" The orange haired man, Kaboom, asked, his tone sound twitchy and hyper. The third figure stayed silent, simply taking his place at Spitfire's side. Suddenly, a door slid open on the far right wall of the room and two people walked out. Every single person in the room, including the massive Barty, immediately dropped to one knee when the man known as Plague entered.

"I'm happy we could get three of the five here tonight. Unfortunately, Vesuvius and Cryomancer could not join us tonight, but no matter. There are some things I wish to discuss before our guest arrives." Plague spoke as though each word he said first went through a meat grinder. Despite that, his raspy words were filled with amusement. "First off, Puppet. How is our latest member adjusting to their role?"

"About as well as I expected. My abilities are able to seal their memories so those with...certain abilities won't be able to circumvent us. As of now, we have yet another piece played in our favor."

"Excellent. Spitfire? How goes the mission?" Plague asked though Spitfire could hear the indifference in his tone. 'Bastard. He says I'm one of the five, but that's bull. This is just a test. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if he set up this mission to fail. I show you, you son of a bitch.'

"Eh, good as you expect. I changed up Prophet's plan to just be a small team. I figure we can get in easier and blow the place to hell a lot quicker if it's a small number of us."

"Acceptable. Mason?"

"Our revenue is steady, but costs have begun to rise with all the covering up and construction we've done recently with our new recruits. I actually had a small proposal for you, sir. Regarding a way we can bolster income and lower expendatures if you are willing to hear it." However, before the master could answer, an alarm began to sound. Someone was entering the base uninvited, or...that's what the alarm was supposed to be for. Plague grinned, his bright blue eyes shining slightly. Spitfire sighed and leaned against one of the room's desks, completely uninterested in whoever the master's 'special guest' was. Prophet raised one of his hands and the alarm stopped, just as Puppeteer swallowed heavily. While the room waited in anticipation there was a disturbance in the air near the staircase. Seemingly out of mid-air, a black portal began to form, and someone started to step out of it. A man...covered in hands.

Purpose of a Hero

Huh, that was unexpected. Clara gets her ass kicked, Carlyle moves a building, and a mysterious person visits the Black Order. Wonder who it could be? (Kinda obvious)

Anyway, thanks so much for reading guys, and don't forget to vote for which story you'd like me to write on the side! Later

NEXT TIME ON THE PURPOSE OF A HERO!

Specialty Classes and Evil Rising