A Spark of Ingenuity

Chapter 7

Within Japan, there was a certain school for heroics. Specialized training put out only the best, and anyone who could be accepted into it was already guaranteed to have employers put their resume at the top of the list. Their history had given the country, and even the world powerful individuals who could turn the tide of battle by just arriving.

This could be credited to their staffing choices, which consisted of active professional heroes who had notable achievements under their belt.

So of course any organization that had an active role in combating villains was eager to learn about an unknown individual who was the current discussion of the nation. It wasn't just his unknown identity, it was the fact he wasn't registered, appearing at just the right time with equipment never before seen. Finally, he was the only one who was able to actually combat the villain as a dangerous field of energized particles prevented any heroes who managed to arrive at the scene a chance to intervene.

All of the school's staff had gathered into the meeting room to watch the official statement from Spark Industries. A large table rested in the center for them to either use notes, catch up on their teaching assignments, or even have a snack.

"He might be an international hero." Midnight, the r rated heroine who wore a rather enticing outfit suggested. "Spark Industries is from I-island and they have incredibly lax rules regarding quirk usage."

"If that was the case there would still be a record of registration." Vlad King, the blood hero with a hero suit to match the theme, had his arms crossed as Obadiah Stane entered onto the screen. "Even if this was his debut."

"He's gotta be a private bodyguard!" A rather loud voice, belonging to the leather clad DJ hero himself Present Mic. "Or even a robot they were working on in secret!"

"That's nothing but gossip." The gruff voice of a man who wrapped himself in a yellow sleeping bag, the underground hero Eraser Head commented. "But he clearly had someone backing him. Power Loader, do you know who might have made that suit?"

The excavation hero, Power Loader had several rough designs or other references all scattered in front of himself. The moment he learned of this, he had tried looking into the suit himself. What it demonstrated according to spectators, the power, strength, speed, durability, all while being able to operate inside such hostile conditions had never been created.

"This is entirely new technology." The man who had made his own power armor admitted in awe. "Plenty of militaries and hero companies have all made something similar, but they would be too expensive to have even one aspect of what this armor, this suit can do. I even hesitate to claim it was from I-island or Spark Industries just because they never showed anything as optimized as this."

"It could be a quirk." A hero dressed as an astronaut, Thirteen herself tried to make sense of it. "Perhaps either a technical one, or maybe even an electrical one that could supply the energy needed."

One man dressed as a lone cowboy wearing a gas mask, Snipe, spun a revolver in his hand as he spoke. "I reckon it would take a lot more than one quirk to get that suit workin'."

"Principal Nezu." A rather scary looking hero wearing a large cloak, Ectoplasm addressed the leader of the school. "What are your thoughts?"

A small white bear, or a large mouse, or perhaps even a combination of the two wore a suit at the head of the table. He sat in his custom high chair as he kept his eyes on the screen listening intently to what was being said. There were many things his brilliant mind had been going over, not just in this recent revelation but also what he found attempting to see if there was any record of this individual before.

Only whispers existed through those who had come forward, claiming to have been rescued by this man before he stood to defend many of Japan's influencing figures.

Some of them mentioned rather lethal means of dealing with those he faced. It was all speculation and couldn't be confirmed, but the rescuers did not criticize his actions.

As for the questions bouncing between his staff, well he felt he that Katsuki Bakugo would soon answer them rather directly given that he seemed to be full of more conviction than ever before seen on television.

"I believe we are about to find out." Nezu pressed his paws together, as Bakugo issued his threat, his challenge, and his answer to the world.

"I am Iron Man." The journalists exploded into questions, Bakugo ignoring them as he kept his firm gaze on the camera until he let go to begin walking off the stage.

"I-is he serious?" Present Mic asked around the room to see if anyone else was sitting in disbelief. "The kid is smart, but could he-"

"If anyone could." Power Loader slid his notes away, as the only answer stated itself openly. "It would be him."

"He said he was going to personally involve himself in the hero industry." The more beastly hero wearing a muzzle looked over to Nezu. "That suit, he made it to be a hero didn't he?"

"Holy shit!" Present Mic kept himself seated as his shades teetered at the edge of his nose. "He's going to apply isn't he?"

"Keep him away." Eraser Head narrowed his eyes at the image of the boy. "A rich pompous kid like that who thinks he can throw himself into-"

"He saved lives." Cementoss, a literal walking block of cement, stood in the boy's defense. "If he didn't take down that villain and save everyone there it would be the biggest blow to our nation's leadership in centuries."

Thirteen rose her hand, proposing an offer. "Why don't we test him then? See how he does in the exams."

"Do we allow the suit?" Vlad King questioned, sparking more murmurs in the room to debate it. "Our curriculum doesn't exactly allow applicants to use any equipment unless it is relevant to their quirk and-"

Power Loader slammed his fist, standing up to make sure this opportunity could not be wasted. "Principal Nezu! He is about to kick in a new age of heroics with or without our involvement. That suit has already shown to allow him to be capable enough to be a hero that we need in this new generation!"

"Are we talking about letting Bakugo apply?" Eraser Head began to accuse. "Or the suit?"

Snipe flicked his revolver out into the air before catching it, leveling his hidden gaze on the man. "You implyin' that the suit did all the work?"

"Eraser Head." The Principal settled his attention on the one who was clearly the most vocal against the idea of Bakugo entering heroics. "We allow everyone a chance to become a hero, even if they don't use conventional methods."

Then he turned over to Power Loader, who he needed to heed his words as well. "As much as we are aware that Bakugo will impact how heroics will change, we cannot show any favoritism despite his position. Especially if he is accepted to give him a proper learning experience."

Power Loader accepted the conditions, confident in Bakugo's ability to pass. In fact, he was so confident he would dare put his own reputation on the line. "In that case, as a professional hero I personally acknowledge his potential as a future hero and recommend him to the hero program."

Nezu accepted the man's proposition. It was daring to be sure but there was no rule against one of the heroes working for the school to personally recommend a future student. "I expect an official letter by the end of the day on my desk. Though given the excitement over this I imagine you won't be the only one to do so."

"Doesn't matter." Power Loader glanced back at the television, the screen showing two images side by side. Bakugo, and the police sketch of the armor. "I believe he can make himself into a hero that's going to fight for the future."

"Well then." Principal Nezu glanced over to Eraser Head, who did not seem happy with the choice. "May I give a word of advice should he be in your class?"

"...you're not joking." Eraser Head pulled a hand out of his sleeping bag, rubbing his drying eyes.

The principal, while not joking, still laughed in amusement at the man's self generated frustration. "I won't accept any expulsion that is based on anything but our school's standards, not your own."

Finally the cellphone in Nezu's pocket began to vibrate madly, the chimera checking it briefly to see several high priority individuals already were attempting to reach out to him. Bakugo was indeed reshaping the work of heroes and UA was expected to be alongside it. It appears this upcoming exam requires a little more oversight.

Within a rebuilt facility with the Spark Industries proudly displayed rested one of the most secure and advanced garages to ever exist was filled with rocking rhythms. The vinyl spun, the needle gliding along its surface as the bass carried over the speakers.

One young man was hard at work, a welding mask over his face as he held a powerful torch between his fingers. He rested it inside the metal plate, fusing the components together in practiced motions as the music built up. All around him lay various parts, heavy armor, powerful motors, a helmet resting to the side with rounded eyes flickered as it was plugged into a computer beside it running through the code held within.

Cutting out the flame to his equipment, Izuku Midoriya rose the mask off his face as he wiped his brow, staring at all he had made and the work left to do. Especially given how there were several armaments he still needed to attach and calibrate to his suit.

Taking a sip from a water bottle next to him, he allowed himself a short moment to cool down. Before he could throw himself back into the work, the music's volume decreased as the automated voice spoke up.

"Incoming call from Katsuki Bakugo." Liz warned him, because Izuku was very aware that Katsuki would not allow him to ignore the call.

Izuku turned over to the screen hovering in front of the wall, projected on it was a very close up point of view of Katuski's highlighted face with a faint rumbling in the background.

"I'm on my way over." Katsuki's eyes were focused ahead. "You do a trial run yet?"

"Soon." Izuku said with little confidence. "I'll make sure it's ready in time for the exams."

"You can't wait until the day of the exams! Have you even practiced shooting any of the weapons?"

"I've been busy." Turning back to the helmet, he eyed the screen next to it as he saw a few concerning things displayed in the code. Great, another thing he needed to work on.

"I swear if you don't get into a hero school this year because you spent all your time letting Whitney Stane suck you off-"

"We're not dating, or doing any of that!" Izuku shouted back towards Katsuki's doubtful face. "She knows I need to focus on the suit and getting into UA."

"Then how come half the time I call she's on the line with you?"

This was getting nowhere, Izuku deciding to point the finger right back at Katsuki. "What about you? Have you finally sorted everything out with Obadiah to handle you telling the world you're Iron Man with no warning?"

"Anything to do with Iron Man is mine alone." Katsuki corrected Izuku's assumptions. "I've told Obadiah too many times to let me handle this."

"Well Whitney said-"

"Shut the fuck up about Whitney already. Why the hell do you think I've barely been in the lab? I have attended meeting after meeting, spoken to my lawyers a thousand times, and made sure that everyone knows the armor isn't for anything else other than me."

Yeah, that's probably why the company is getting so much hassle. Katsuki's very direct message of the Iron Man armor to not be used in the hands of anyone other than himself had made several members of the military, business partners, or even his own company not very happy. Ever since the world saw what his armor could do, he announced he had it, he made it, and he wasn't letting anyone touch it.

No matter how much Katsuki tries to take on all of the responsibility, Spark industries and its affiliates would inevitably suffer any consequences, good or bad for Katsuki's actions. That included his own work space.

Izuku was glad he had his own workspace, because the rest of the lab was a mess even with Katsuki rarely being present anymore. "Are you going to even have time for school?"

"I'll make time. If I can't, I'll buy it. I've already sorted most of it and now that everyone's getting the message about what I'm doing it's calming down enough. That's why I'm coming back to finally finish up the mark 4."

Glancing over to the armory, Izuku saw the mark 3 suit resting in the open bay doors on display. Katsuki had done the repairs necessary to have it working again, but the scars of battle still rested on its scorched armor. Wait a minute.

"Are you piloting the mark 4 right now?" Izuku asked because the fact that Katsuki was using an unfinished product to fly at speeds to race rockets towards him was not comforting.

"I know what I'm doing." Katsuki shot back. "But if you must know it's just a bunch of other stuff I need to arm inside the armor. Besides the repulsors and flares I don't have anything else to kick ass."

"Um, please tell me you did finish the nonlethal-"

"I'm not gonna kill the competition." Katsuki put the boy at ease. "Liz was very annoying about making sure I had fully optimized the output settings and made some other non lethal options in case they pitted us directly against each other. I've worked my ass off and I'll be damned if the only thing keeping me from UA is my own incompetence."

At the word, Izuku tried to estimate just how much time he would need to have his own suit completed in time for the entrance exams. It would be close, too close for comfort. He still hasn't managed to fix his mobility. Anything he came up with required too much power or would require a complete redesign of the armor. The best he could do was a slow jog.

"You're taking the recommended exam right?"

"It's a tougher exam with tougher opponents. I need to show them I'm the best so that they can't come up with an excuse as to why I can't be a hero. I almost didn't just so all those dickrider low ranking heroes that recommended me wouldn't think I owed them anything. So don't even think that you might have my help in the standard hero entrance exam."

"I wasn't." Izuku grimaced towards the stack of application forms resting to the side, along with all the associated requirements.

"Good. Clean up because I'm two minutes out."

The call ended, Izuku sighing as 'Dummy' reached down to grab the papers he was just eyeing. His original creation rolled itself over, handing it to the boy so he could read them over again just in case he somehow read something wrong.

Then Liz spoke up out of concern for his disappointed stare. "Are you not going to tell him?"

"No." Izuku set them down, getting back to work as the music had yet to continue. "If I say anything, he'll either find a way for UA to change the rules or pull his own application. I want to find a way on my own."

"I would find it admirable if I understood why you wouldn't use all available resources to pursue your goals."

"Kacchan isn't a resource, he's a friend." Izuku slid his hand into the arm piece, his fingers wiggling inside the bulky armored ones. It was heavy, and if he hadn't been making sure to strengthen his body there would be no way he could use it if his suit somehow died on him.

"Then why not reach out to the school yourself? If you explain your circumstances I'm sure they'll realize their hero equipment requirements for the exam are not in line with their public stance."

"I don't want special treatment either." He smiled up towards the friendly screen, imagining Liz was looking right at him. "Besides, it's not like there isn't a way. It could give me the chance to actually make my suit capable enough to be a proper hero."

"It seems incredibly roundabout, but I will continue to keep your secret. Just know that if Katsuki Bakugo does hear of this, I am bound by my protocols to share all of our conversations."

"I understand." Izuku held the arm forward, the half assembled mechanism on the side clicking in the empty socket. Well at least that sounded right. "I'll still do my best for the hero course, but if it doesn't work out at least I'll still be able to attend UA."

Snipe and Thirteen were patient as the buses filled with the cream of the crop arrived at the recommendation exam testing grounds. This was just a couple days before the standard entrance exam where UA was expected to have the highest number of examinees in the hero school's history.

They were waiting for the reason to exit the bus.

"Where is he?" Snipe leaned down towards Thirteen, the two heroes appearing unpanicked to the students.

"I don't know." She whispered back. "Nezu confirmed he was coming after having him take the written test in his office. Do you think he's taking his own limo over here?"

"Wouldn' be shocked." In any case, they couldn't wait too long for the boy. It wouldn't be good for half of the country, including a large number of UA's partners or other leaders of the country, to find out they failed him because he was in the bathroom for a little longer.

Still, they had a school to run.

In the crowd, several late middle schoolers had fallen into the routine of their stretches and other warm ups in anticipation of what they would be put through. They stood in front of a wide wall with an open pathway into a landscape filled with variety. Mountains of dirt stood over the walls, canyons and even small structures resembling old western buildings were tucked within the controlled environment.

Among the students recommended to be the best that UA could have, Momo Yaoyorozu had expected someone else to be present at the initial arrival. Yet, to see the son of Endeavor present was something that made her recognize the challenge she would have to match.

It seemed her curiosity over a certain missing examinee was shared amongst the others, a whispering rising between them. After several public statements, alongside non-stop news sources, they had expectations that they began to question now that they weren't met.

"Ok y'all." Snipe called out to get the potential students' attention. "We're about to get started, so pay close attention' because it could save your-"

He stopped, the man turning his head to listen intently as the hero perceived something the rest of them couldn't. Then they heard it, thunder in the distance slowly rolling towards them. The weather was supposed to be clear today, it still appeared so, so why was it getting so loud?

Snipe whipped out his pistol, aiming it for the sky and unleashing a hail of bullets at the approaching object. Everyone ducked down, others curious enough to dare to peek as a man was rocketing right towards them.

"Get down!" Thirteen yelled as she stepped forward with her finger extended towards the intruder.

In a resounded clang, Iron Man had landed before them in a crouch before the heroes. Once they saw the gleam of bright red metal and pale gold, accented by the dull gray that connected larger sections of the armor together, everyone knew they weren't being attacked.

"Should have called." Snipe placed his pistol back in its holster.

"Watch who you're shooting." He didn't seem disturbed, or hurt, as if the bullets of a deadly weapon posed no threat to him. Standing he and Snipe seemed to enter into a staredown.

"I uh-" Thirteen attempted to try and move on from the whole 'coworker shot at a famous person they knew was coming.' "I assume you got approval to use the armor?"

"Your boss knows the details." He didn't bother to look back, never addressing the competition as he kept himself ready for the exam in front of them. Momo noticed that this suit was different from the one she saw before. The design was less bulky, covered the joints better, some of the colors covered new places, and the large wrist gauntlets he had were condensed by almost half their size. That didn't necessarily mean they didn't carry the same force behind them.

"Ahem." Snipe waved to the other students to gather closer after they had begun to seek cover. With the sudden worry leaving them, it quickly turned to excitement for several of them as they swarmed the boy.

"THAT WAS AWESOME IRON MAN!" A taller boy with a shaved head stood right in front of Bakugo, his enthusiasm rising way above the noise of Bakugo's arrival. "I am so excited to get into UA with you! I can't wait to test my metal against yours!"

"Try me."

Those thin slits that were still brighter than the sunny day turned right back towards Momo, the girl wondering if his attention was on her for more than just recognition of their previous meeting.

"Excuse me." Thirteen called back out to them all. "But please quiet down so we can go over a couple of rules, or five, maybe seven-"

"Point is-" The cowboy hero cut her off before she ran over the rules in her mind just to count them "-this test consists of two main parts ya hear? First, find one of these."

He held up a small bright orange bandana from his hand. "Even if ya find one they aint' gonna be easy to get. Once ya do though it's a race to the finish. You cross that line with your price you're safe. Anything goes so long as ya don' try and hurt anyone…..too bad."

"Please avoid violence!" Thirteen tried to lessen the intensity Snipe was leaving them with. "But yes, heroes are expected to face conflict but they avoid injuries whenever possible. If we see you purposely do anything to anyone else that would require a visit to the nurse's office or the hospital you will be disqualified. We're here to teach heroes, not thugs."

"Here's the startin' line." Snipe pointed towards the thin white tape placed along the bottom of the entrance. "Get yourselves ready now."

The teens heeded his word and began rushing to be at the front, only so many of them being able to fit. Momo walked closer, knowing she would already have a disadvantage having to possibly push through multiple bodies so she moved to a prime position and began opening up her jacket so she could make her preparations.

Bakugo remained in place, watching them as he kept his eyes on Snipe, his fingers twitching in anticipation. Just as Momo was walking past him he spoke up.

"I expect to see you to pass." He told her, surprising the girl because she thought she gave a horrible impression on him the one time they talked.

What changed his mind?

"Go."Snipe told them, and in a flurry of quirks firing off a microburst of a harsh blizzard came over them. Heavy winds, chilling ice, and thundering rockets. Momo revved the dirt bike she had made, quickly riding between a few of the frozen students just as she saw a small hand swipe the bandana in Snipe's hand.

"Heck yeah!" A disembodied head of a girl with wavy emerald hair flew forward, connecting the floating pieces of her body together as she began running with haste. "First place is mine!"

Curses, she should have paid more attention to the rules. In that case she would make sure to leave something on her person to allow Momo to track her down should finding her own bandana prove to be a greater challenge.

Flying over the scene, Katsuki could see the entire testing grounds from his perspective. His lenses scanned over it, zooming in on points of interest. There were winding canyons, small wooden shacks, deep mine shafts, and also robots that partially resembled bulls, bison, and horses that even had their own gunslinging androids shooting up towards him.

The nonlethal rubber pellets harmlessly bounced off his armor with no scratches.

"Someone's got a hard on for western films." Katsuki saw a rather large grouping of cattle stampeding through a wider expanse, on a horn of one of the bulls, a bandana tied to it.

"You appear to have company approaching."

On his hud displayed that same guy who had gotten in his face earlier, a wide smile as the wind was literally carrying him through the air. Like he could even compete with him.

Going from a gentle surveillance speed, Katsuki locked onto his golden ticket and instantly cracked the air as he sped through the sound barrier. Flying down he curved up, slowing down the closer he got. Easily gliding over the cattle, his hand reached out as he approached the one bull carrying the bandana.

A harsh beep came into his helmet as his systems identified that something had locked onto him. Katsuki glanced back, seeing that out of the bulls backs, twirling lassos were dancing as they rose. "You have got to be shitting me."

In a short burst he increased his speed, latching his hand around the metal bull's horn before snapping it off. Ropes snatched themselves around his limbs and even his neck, but Bakugo ignored them as he immediately began flying up with greater thrust.

The cables groaned, the metal of the robotic animals creaking as he carried seven of them into the air with him. Away from the rest of the group, Bakugo latched his free hand to grasp at all of his bindings. Clenching them in his palm, he let out a quick controlled burst from his repulsor to sever them.

He dropped them, letting them fall. Then they came rushing right back up to him in a sudden dust devil. The dirt kicked up around him, his sense of direction thrown off as he kept spinning in place.

Then the winds began turning him over head down to push him towards the ground with the bulls right on a collision course with himself.

Yet with instincts like his own he was not worried. Bakugo let out a correcting burst from his free hand and immediately rocketed his boots to kick him out of the storm.

"Oh man, you just continue to blow me away!" The boy standing on a small twister of his own smiled towards Katsuki. "I thought for sure I had you! I bet we could take UA by storm!"

"Incoming." Liz warned as the bulls that were controlled in precise gusts came at him from all sides, but Katsuki knew exactly the source of it all. He darted right for the boy, who attempted to use the cattle in his control to intercept him.

Katsuki didn't deter his path, throwing his fist to shatter one of them, blasting the other, before grabbing the boy and down towards one of the mine shafts. The winds kicked in around him, his flight needing constant corrections but his goal was fast approaching to not matter.

With a mighty throw, Katsuki threw the boy through the top of the mineshaft, blasting the beams of one of the support pillars to seal it closed. Making sure not to waste anymore time Katsuki kicked up his speed, and confirmed the bandana was still in his grasp.

"He's ok in case you were wondering."

"Yeah yeah. I know how to pull my punches."

"It seems he's already discovered the mine has multiple ways out. The one he is following will take him towards his own passing bandana. We will likely be seeing him more often at UA."

Katsuki turned in his flight path, heading towards the end where his optics zoomed towards the small empty town with a single road running through the center. Snipe stood there, right in front of the finish line with a tumbleweed rolling through.

"Let's just dive past him." Katsuki decided, increasing his speed as a projected flight path took him right past the teacher. "I already wasted enough time dealing with-"

With a quickdraw, Snipe shot towards Katsuki once he got close enough to the town. This time, the bullet arrived with enough impact to shoot the boy out of the air, crashing into the center of the town in a crater.

The red armored hand latched onto the top, whining as it pulled Katsuki out. When he stood up, fists clenched at being caught off guard, Snipe flicked the gun back in its holster.

The hero called out to him as they eyed one another in the stand off. "Those bullets pack a punch, don't they? I never get to use them much. Too lethal, but not for you huh?"

"Amor integrity is holding, but I would advise not taking more hits than necessary."

So that's what kind of heat Snipe could pack. Katsuki was worried that their response to his sudden arrival was the best UA could do against villains.

The two remained quiet, keeping still as their hands hovered at their sides. The expressionless lenses of the hero's mask reflected the narrowed glowing slits of the armored helmet. A small breeze brushed the dust off their outfits, Snipe's cloak fluttering in response, the hand waiting over his weapon momentarily concealed behind the fabric.

It did not impede the sensors.

Snipe's hand snapped out as the revolver exploded out a round, to meet a beam of energy that ignited the specialized round mid air and pushed through until slamming into the hero's chest. He was thrown past the finish line, landing on his back dozens of feet away as the air was kicked out of his lungs.

Katsuki walked through the finish line, dropping the bandana over the groaning hero.

"Katsuki Bakugo." Announced a chipper automated voice attached to a camera on the other side. "First place."

"See you in class."

Power Loader was incredibly disappointed. Not to the point where he couldn't do his job, judging the several students that were entering into the support course. Since he was over the class, he was responsible to pick out those who were the best that could create the next generation of hero's costumes and gear.

But, given recent events all of the equipment he had to judge was starting to bore him. Overlooking the twentieth attempt at another set of powered armor that clumsily walked into the room where they were gathering, collapsing before it could even reach the grading station, Power Loader wished Nezu would have allowed him to oversee the recommendation exam so he could have seen in person what inspired all the armor he saw.

The only thing he believed that prevented all of the kids from showing up with their own attempt to recreate the Iron Man armor was the fact that to even make a full body suit took a lot of resources that not everyone had.

That isn't what he was judging, he wanted to know who had the minds to create reliable, functional gear that a hero could use to flip the odds to their favor.

His eyes glanced towards one girl who seemed to constantly be vibrating, her own yellow orbs with targeting markers on them spinning around as she analyzed everything. Must be her quirk, which explains why she was holding a pair of goggles in her hands she seemed especially proud of.

That's what someone who showed promise would bring, something that could apply to a hero's abilities to either enhance, direct, or compensate for a weakness in their quirk. Sure there was all sorts of gear that a hero could request that didn't involve their quirk but it was always basic equipment. In a world where quirks varied widely and carried unique properties the ability to understand and adapt to them was critical.

It was almost time to begin grading and weeding out the best from the rest. He imagined he was going to send out an army of walking tin cans today. If they could get out without stumbling over one another or breaking down. As someone who made their own exo-suit, he knew that most of these kids didn't realize how much effort needed to go towards them.

Power Loader's ears picked up when he heard the distant click of metal against the floor making his way towards the room. He imagined it was one more kid with a suit of his own, but it didn't sound like the others. The footsteps were heavy, even, and they responded quickly. They could walk at the same pace as a person with no lag or last minute corrections.

Perhaps Nezu did grant him a present today, because it took the work of someone who knew what they were doing to make an exosuit with the smooth and responsive steps that he heard.

Making sure his helmet wasn't resting crooked on his head, Power Loader awaited the famous Iron Man suit to step inside.

Except instead of the eye catching red or the gleaming gold, a matted black boot stepped through the doorway. It wasn't streamlined or curved, the plating was thick with sharp edges. Still it moved gently inside, Power Loader almost reacting on instinct when he saw the massive guns that rested over its shoulders.

"Holy shit! It's Iron Man!"

"That's not Iron Man you dolt."

"He's a walking tank!"

"I bet my armor is better."

The armor was a culmination of offense and defense, a dark thick steel kept the pilot well protected but did not restrict movement as far as he could tell. It wasn't just armored well, it was functionally placed. Power Loader examined how each thicker section was because it housed another hidden function or they were meant to protect critical points in the suits design. The helmet itself had a protective collar around the back and the sides, the two rounded lenses with a subtle green glow behind them turned over to the hero.

The pilot made sure to keep his arms pointed down, most likely due to the multiple barrels pointing out from it with the heavier weapons mounted between his neck, on his back, or on the shoulders. Seriously, the fact that he could get this suit moving so well with all that weight already sold it to Power Loader.

"Oh good. I got a little lost for a while." The voice spoke out in a deep tone from the onboard speakers.

"How long?" Power Loader had to ask, because it took a lot of power to move something like that and the fact that he didn't seem in a rush to recharge meant he had more to spare.

"Um, thirty minutes?"

"Uh huh." Power Loader pointed over towards the pink haired girl who he already predicted was going to pass. "Park yourself over there and we'll start."

He nodded, the black suited boy with chrome joints going over to stand next to the girl who did nothing to hide her staring with her yellow quirked eyes running over every inch of the armor.

Izuku stood in place, waiting nervously as Power Loader talked with each of the students, going over the inventions that they brought. He prodded, asked for details, questioning the process and the function, all while looking at the submitted blueprints on the tablet he had in hand.

That was him, the hero who originally gave him the inspiration that he could make a support suit to compensate for his lack of quirk. The same one he had showed to Kacchan that kept the hero trading card in his pocket.

Glancing down at the small circle that represented his power level, Izuku was happy that keeping still with his joints locked allowed the suit to use practically nothing as all he did was look around and record the whole event through his onboard cameras. He had several, needing to make sure that his limited ammunition would not miss or to make sure he did not hit anyone that he wasn't aiming for.

"You're not Iron Man." The girl next to him spoke, who had placed on her goggles and began circling over his suit, running her hands up and down its sections. Izuku remained still, out of shock and because he had locked the joints in the first place.

"A ceramic coating?" The girl asked with a hint of excitement behind her voice before giving it a lick. "Combined with a gold base thermal painting! Oh but what is this beauty made of? Carbon fiber?"

She gave it a couple of knocks to the stomach plating, Hatsume gasping as she heard the way it reverberated. "No! That's a titanium alloy! How is it so light though? Or is it that strong? Is it both?!"

Izuku's fearful expression was hidden behind the helmet as Hatsume leapt up, latching her legs around his waist as she grasped the sides of his head and pressed her eyes right in front of his. "Please tell me you made this beautiful baby! If you cheated-"

"I made this." He screamed it inside the helmet, but the voice filter evened out the volume of it and made his tone sound more resilient in the face of madness. "But, I had someone who believed in me let me use his….garage to make this."

"WHO?!" She demanded, shaking his head back and forth. "I need to know!"

The back of her old and stained jumpsuit was yanked, Power Loader prying her off and setting her down. "Worry about yourself first miss-"

"Mei Hatsume!" She briefly saluted before taking her goggles off to show them off proudly. "This is my latest baby! She can be used to filter out several types of light spectrums and even highlight the ones we don't see! Here, try them-"

"Don't force them on me!" Power Loader held up a hand to block her enthusiasm that tried to shove itself onto his face. "Hand it over."

Happily complying, she dropped the item in his extended hand as he turned them over. After eyeing it from all sides he held the lenses in front of himself and expertly figured out how to switch between the several modes. "This detects electrical interference."

"It can work for the strongest or even the weakest currents!" Hatsume smiled as Power Loader began to look all around the room, specifically towards the other creations. "If you need to figure out if a power line on the street is live, or if one of the smallest wires for a bomb is active, this baby can see it all!"

"Hm." Power Loader kept it in his hand as he began putting in a short note into his tablet. "How come it doesn't work on him?"

Izuku noticed how Power Loader wasn't asking her, he was asking him as he handed the goggles back to Hatsume.

"It would be bad if someone in a suit of metal came into contact with electricity." Izuku summarized.

"I see." Power Loader pulled up the next set of schematics to look over, one that was probably the most in depth of them all. This wasn't just a single invention with a few extra features, this was fully armed and ready for war. "I also notice that your suit has shielding against magnetic interference."

"I've seen how much damage they can cause to someone's project." Or specifically Kacchan's given how Wolfram was able to do so much damage when he was fully capable of manipulating the magnetic fields generated by the arc reactor. Katsuki made it clear that it was sabotaged, someone had messed with his designs because otherwise there was no way that the energy could have escaped the housing before it would automatically shut down.

Power Loader kept glancing back and forth from the specs, the blueprints, to the armor standing in front of him. It was all impressive, and honestly a little far-fetched that a young teen from some general school with a basic background had the kind of resources to make something like this. He needed to see it with his own eyes.

"Can you get out?"

"Yes. If it's an emergency I can eject, but I would need the proper tools to put it back together."

"What about the ones around you?" Power Loader questioned, gesturing to the wall where a collection of various equipment needed for adjustments or last minute fixes were. Since this was UA, they had some of the best.

Izuku undid the lock on his joints, turning himself around to look over what he had to work with. Well, he would prefer to use the high end precision tools he had grown accustomed to but it's not like he's remaking the armor. Just putting the pieces back together. "I could do it."

"Show me." Power Loader ordered, crossing his arms as Izuku took a quick look towards the center of the room before positioning himself towards it. "Stay back."

Something popped inside the armor, a second before the back pieces shot out in a burst of condensed air along with its pilot. With half of the frame and the plating missing to allow Izuku to harmlessly fly out the back, the armor was no longer able to support itself and fell into several pieces that echoed into a pile of expensive metal.

The boy, wearing a military flight suit and combat boots got up from all fours to rub the subtle signs of sweat from his brow. He stood a whole head shorter than his armor, and no one predicted that the boy in the intimidating power house had such a boyish face with freckles.

"Damnit." One of the students in the back pulled a few yen from his pocket, handing it to the one beside him. "I really thought that was going to be Bakugo."

"Ok then." Power Loader gestured to the armor along the ground. "Put it back together, and once you're inside it I-"

"Um." Izuku rose a nervous hand to interrupt the man.

"Don't tell me." Power Loader stood right over him. "You can't put it back together."

This was part of his test, to see if the kid actually made the suit or just had some very high connections to make it for him. Wasn't the first time he's seen it. It was part of the reason he occasionally had the kids explain their tech with specific questions or give them short demonstrations or basic tests such as this. Someone who made this would know exactly how to put it back together.

"I can." Izuku wasn't doubting his ability to do so. "But, it's much harder to try to put it back on myself. I could do it faster but no one would be inside it."

"Hm." The hero really wanted to believe in this kid, so he would give him a chance.

He also really wanted to see this thing have a full proper test. "Put it back on yourself, and if you need some help getting to some hard to reach places let me know. In the meantime I'm going to finish grading some of the other examinees."

By the time he had found half of his future students, Izuku Midoriya had fully armored himself back up again by assembling the back of it first so he could more easily reach the front of himself to put the pieces back on.

He also had the strength to handle all of that equipment without becoming exhausted. This wasn't just an invention, this was this kid's passion project that he devoted all of his mind to.

Power Loader was excited to see how far the kid could take the suit….but he did notice that it could use some improvements towards its top speed.

Guess he was ok not seeing the Iron Man armor today if he would be able to personally oversee this one for the next three years.

Principal Nezu considered himself rather intelligent, considering it was what his quirk was. But part of the reason why he loved overseeing schools was because students could be incredibly versatile in their outcomes. Sure in the more immediate future they were predictable, but their true potential was never seen until they had reached it.

Looking over the footage, he could see that several students realized that tomorrow was coming a lot closer than they initially realized. They pushed themselves farther, constantly finding new ways to apply developing skills, because either they wanted to shape their lives or make a notable impact alongside the rising change.

Or there were a few that hoped they would get their own free suit of armor if that's what heroes were going to be wearing on the regular. Perhaps, but the Iron Man armor was made by one person, for one person only. It was amusing that few could accept the words fronm the inventor's rather loud mouth.

Inside of their viewing room, the one created to oversee the various tests live or review them, they had several screens running over a thousand eager applicants.

"Impressive work for this year." Cementoss commented as they reviewed all of the footage. "It almost makes me wish we had another hero class to accept so many talented applicants."

"Oh yes." Midnight quickly agreed as she observed the examinees with passion. "I would love to have some more young bodies getting all-"

"Don't." Eraser Head warned, looking over the recommendation students alongside Vlad King. "We're working."

"Ohohoho." Present Mic was amused by the grumpy man's response. "Someone's not happy that Bakugo passed with ease."

Eraser Head ignored him, grumbling as he saw how the boy managed to overpower everything around him. "Why was his suit allowed?"

"Because." Principal Nezu spoke up from his chair that had arguably the best view in the room. "Believe it or not, it is part of the boy. I had a very intriguing conversation with him all morning."

"About that." Snipe decided to pitch in after submitting his rating for a particular boy with engines for legs. "Did you tell him he could just fly in without warning?"

"We discussed many things." Nezu's smirk widened a little more. "You can't expect me to remember all of them."

"Alright alright." Thirteen kept Snipe from murdering their boss, going back to watching the girl with a quirk that could manipulate gravity. "We already know Bakugo is going to be attending UA, we have a lot of other kids to get through."

"Indeed." The principal's keen eye landed on their most recent addition to their staff. A rather thin looking one with shaggy blond hair and a sunken face with a permanent shadow handing over his eyes. "Are there any that catch your personal interest?"

The man's body swelled, his muscles tightening inside the suit as his malnourished frame became swollen with raw strength and a mighty smile to match it. "I am impressed by the heroic spirit of so many of these fine young men and women! But, I am curious about one of them."

He tapped the screen, where a certain young man with green curly hair and freckles ran through the battlegrounds, using scraps of robots to take down other ones in notable weak points. "His performance is admirable, and he managed to secure some rescue points as well helping that young girl. But, I can't say I've seen him use his quirk once."

All Might, the number one hero wanted to know more about the young man who had failed the entrance exam not out of lack of effort or spirit, but of a lack of ability to use a quirk.

"Who?" Hound Dog came over with a stack of papers listing the examinee's and their information. "Let me see…..Izuku Midoriya, quirk-"

"Wait." Power Loader finally took his eyes away from the screen replaying the recommendation students. "Did you just say Izuku Midoriya?"

"Do you know him?" Vlad King questioned as Power Loader came over to confirm with his own eyes just who they were talking about.

"Ah damnit." Power Loader put his hands to his hips, cursing himself for missing the obvious. "He applied for the support course with an impressive piece of work. If I knew he was really going for the hero course I would have vouched for him to be able to use it."

Eraser Head gave a scowl towards the man who had unapologetically been using his time to watch the only existing footage of the Iron Man armor. "Don't push your luck."

"What's his quirk?" Thirteen asked, getting back to All Might's question.

"He doesn't have one." Hound Dog showed them the paper, the quirk portion highlighted in particular. "Yes, those without a quirk can apply for the hero course. We get them occasionally, but compared to the rest of the kids their results aren't good enough."

"I knew I should have asked him to give me a live demonstration!" Power Loader prevented himself from swearing even more, partly because he realized the reason this kid had the drive to put all his effort towards making such an impressive suit was for it to allow him to be a hero. "I've said it before and I'll say it even louder, we need to get rid of that stupid rule of hero exam equipment only being allowed if it allows them to use their quirk without harm!"

"We don't grade future heroes by their toys." Eraser Head sternly reminded the support course teacher.

"We can't change the rules to undo the results." Nezu stated wisely as he cupped his paws together. "Though I do think we should revisit some outdated policies for applications before the next school year, I don't believe it will be necessary for this particular individual."

All Might gave an inquisitive hum before Nezu pulled out his own tablet, pulling up Power Loader's finished roster for his students. At the top of the results, was Izuku Midoriya. "I think Izuku Midoriya was well aware of his chances and the rules, and still he came prepared to be in the hero course. Perhaps not now, but when he can prove what he can do against hero students directly in our sports festival."

"Izuku Midoriya." All Might rolled over the name in his mouth as he stared at the young man's image. A quirkless boy, doing whatever he can however he can to fulfill his dream of being a hero. If All Might wanted to give anyone a guaranteed shot, it was him.

Not too far from the school, in a familiar neighborhood, the Bakugo family stood in front of a home they had been apart from for many years.

"Can't believe you never sold it." Katsuki stood on the sidewalk in a navy suit, wearing his favorite shades that had all of the modifications he had planned for the home over his red lenses.

"It was our home." Mitsuki said, wearing a more casual outfit that reflected her tastes from before their ascent into wealth. "The one your father and I felt was perfect to start a family."

"Uh huh." Katsuki began to run the numbers on how much would need to be stripped out to be safe enough to live in should anyone like Wolfram pick a fight with him again. "You know it's not going to be the same."

"I know that." Mitsuki was not offended or saddened by the remark. "I also know that you're going to want to make a lot of changes to it."

"Not my fault." He stated as he and his mother walked towards the front door together. "This place doesn't have any more security than a deadbolt."

It was that moment that Mitsuki gripped the boy's ear, yanking him to the tips of his toes so she could stretch it enough for him to listen. "Maybe we wouldn't need so much if someone kept his damn mouth shut about flaunting being a hero!"

"Oi!" Katsuki ripped himself free, even if the side of his head stung madly. "I was targeted before I made a single suit! This time they'll think twice before knowing that I am fully armed and capable of kicking their asses!"

"Damn right!" Mitsuki had to settle for knowing that her son wasn't going to pull his punches when it mattered. "Just, at least let it look how it did before we went to I-island."

"Yeah." Katsuki took his glasses off to look at the home he spent his childhood in, the one he wanted to leave so much so he could fix himself and have everything he ever wanted. He wasn't going to say something like 'you never know what you have until it's gone.' But, he did miss when things were a lot more simple. "I won't fuck up its charm. But I can't promise anything about the garage."

"Deal." Mitsuki walked up to the door, using the very key handed to her when they bought the house to open it. Inside, things remained relatively the same. It was easier and cheaper to buy a lot of things at the island instead of trying to move it over, even if David Shield offered to assist. So, the furniture, the decor, anything they couldn't pack in a couple of suitcases stayed in the home to collect dust.

Finding her way to one of the hallway walls, they looked over the various family portraits that littered it. When they were younger, happier, together with a father that supported them. Katsuki looked over at one of them, where he had an All Might t-shirt on and showed off his quirk to the camera.

Back then all he could see was him following the man's footsteps, attending UA, acing the exam and blowing the competition away. He did it, he had managed to reach a dream in a way he never imagined at that age.

Reaching up to his chest, feeling the new and greatly improved arc reactor inside of him, he questioned how his life would have been if he didn't injure himself. Would he have been reliant on his quirk, or bothered to see how smart he really was?

Melissa and Izuku, how would he have treated them?

Now that Katsuki was starting to step into that future that the press said Spark Industries would make, Katsuki couldn't help but reflect on the past now that he was inside the very home that represented it.

Now that he had one foot in the past and one in the future, it was time to live in the present.

I could have spent a lot more time on the recommendation exam itself, or even some parts of the hero exam. But, I ended up spending more time with Izuku than I predicted. This is partly because once we get into heroics classes and begin building up things there we're not going to see Izuku much. Yeah, perhaps after class and working on his suit some more but most of the plot is going to happen in heroics.

In case you really wanted to see how Momo did in the exam or how Izuku did in the hero exam, sorry, but I didn't want to spend that much time writing outside of Bakugo's perspective. I will say that Izuku's experience for the hero exam started better than canon, he actually managed to take down a couple of bots but only towards the end when he had scraps to work with. Yes, he saved Ochaco Uraraka.

Ok, this is THE LAST CHANCE for any classmate/student recommendations. If there's a character, either MHA or Iron Man that you want to see in the classes let me know which person for which class. I'm going to take a break from this story for a little bit so I have time to figure it out and work on other projects.

Thanks for reading. Any errors in spelling or inconsistency please point out.

Only Iron Man content and MHA will be used for this story. No other marvel characters will be used.

PowerPufferfish: While I've been putting chapters out very fast lately I don't think that's going to be the norm anymore. I've managed to get everything that I had stuck in my head out so now it's empty and ready to be filled with new ideas.

At any point of the story I get to, I would be thrilled to be able to bounce ideas back and forth for future content. Whenever you've got the time just let me know over a private message.

I can definitely see Air Jet fall into a form of villainy, maybe not super bad villainy but perhaps he ends up cutting corners or making some hasty calls to try and keep up with the sudden expectation of mecha supers. Though when you say Whirlwind, my immediate thought goes to Inasa Yoarashi. He has some real beef with Endeavor and those with anything that reminds him of the hero. Katsuki Bakugo can easily come off as not a good person, especially now that his wealth and influence could make him look like he's looking down on everyone.

I do plan on having villains who are tech based that are a direct cause of Bakugo's new technological race. But some folks in the MHA universe do already seem a close fit to similar power sets for Iron Man villains that it wouldn't be hard to just give them some armor or other tech to make them a larg enough threat to pose as a villain that Iron Man needs to step in and solve.

Not that I'm against Airjet, he could still work and since I didn't find anything about his quirk it could easily be adapted into the story to better fit the villainous persona.

Thanks for all the ideas, and after I take a break and finalize the class rosters I'm going to start figuring out how to set up all these villains to pop up throughout the story, but not unexpectedly. Preferably I would like a three to five chapter gap between introduction to their act as a villain, but we'll see how that happens. I can't say I've ever worked on any other story that featured a lot of villains alongside the MHA ones.

MaleficKing: Thank you so much for bringing up Dadan Tadan. Honestly I don't even remember him at all and after looking up where he's from I remember that OVA but I never noticed him. Yes, anyone who uses a high tech suit should be put to a closer path against or with Iron Man given he is now the world's set peak of super suits.

As for Godzillo, maybe if Bakugo chases a villain to America. I mean he can go there whenever he wants but if we're opening up Iron Man comic characters to short franchise crossovers like that then this story is going to become way too crowded with references or other characters that shouldn't be involved. I mean, there was even an Avengers Attack on Titan comic.