Heya everyone! Chapter 10 is here! But before the reviews, I would like to give a little information. I will be a bit busy for the next upcoming three weeks, so I won't manage to work on a chapter during those times, in fact, there's possibility I won't even manage to work on this story for two months.
There's good points and bad points, the good ones beeing I can plan better or get some good ideas for the next chapters, while the major bad ones is the fact that I'll get y'all waiting... And I won't get to keep my hunger for writing at bay...
On that, thank you all to for paying attention, and I can get on the reviews!
Colossus Bridger: Don't worry, karma will strike back, it always does. And thanks! Yeah, I kinda like to imagine what different peoples think about our clones, I even have some ideas for class 1-B with... Obvious characters with obvious reasons, so yeah.
Now onto the female commando droid fact... So... Where do I start? I had been scrolling on youtube totally randomly when I fell on a video exposing the inside of the droid army. And boy that video was interesting. We only get to see BX Commandos (probably) from the CIS in that story, but damn it's like an entire hierarchy, structure, it's like Earth with the different models of droids replacing countries and populations, some see themselves as superior (common example with B2s and B1s, as the B1s are constantly bullied by the big boys), others remain aside (like the Droidekas who are in packs, and as they don't speak basic, can't communicate with others), etc. Plus, we know that droids have genders! R2-D2 is a male, while R4-P17 (Obi-wan's astromech that got it's head sawed off in Revenge of the Sith, is female. So, I decided to do the same thing with droids!
sharkyawesomness5: Thank you! :)
Chapter 10: Battle Trails (Part 3)
/
The test site stood before Izuku…
A building, six stories high… Gray, monotonous, cold…
One of the people waiting for him inside was the exact opposite… Boiling with anger, ready to explode… The green-haired boy knew what awaited him inside…
A fierce battle.
Kacchan himself had told him.
'I'll make you eat your armor piece by piece, Deku.'
The explosive blond had said with a smile that froze Izuku in place with fear, before his bully disappeared through the entrance. He took his helmet in both hands, looking again at the cold but familiar T-shaped visor, before turning it around and putting it on his head. The very first time he had put it on, Izuku had been disoriented by the darkness and silence that greeted him… But now, he knew what would happen.
His face was scanned, and the helmet activated. The HUD appeared, loading with the various tactical tools he had at his disposal, all indicated in English. Luckily, he wasn't bad with languages.
He raised a hand, snapping his fingers near the audio system of his helmet. Good, it was working. He then synced his communication line to his team's frequency and spoke.
"1 2, 1 2, check, Uraraka, do you copy?"
The brunette's voice filled his helmet, and Izuku lowered the output volume, grimacing.
"Yep! I copy! And you?"
"5 on 5", replied the green-haired boy. He then synced his faceplate with the audio system of his helmet so he could talk without using the comms for now.
"Do you have a plan?" asked the brunette, and Izuku turned his head to look at her.
"Affirmative. We're going to split up."
Uraraka raised an eyebrow.
"Are you sure? I don't want to end up alone with four enemies…"
Izuku smiled behind his helmet.
"Don't worry… That won't happen…", he took on a darker expression, "I'll be engaged in a fight with Kacchan… I know him; he'll want to assert his dominance over me and will focus on me no matter what… That'll give you one less opponent, and a powerful one at that…"
"Midoriya-san… You don't have to face him alone. I can help you…"
Izuku shook his head and took off his helmet… Ochako saw a resigned smile painted on the boy's face, and his green eyes met hers, hazel, behind the pink visor of her helmet.
"No… We need to play on speed… I'm not good at handling my quirk, and even with the close combat lessons I've had with Warden and Focus, I know I probably won't be able to defeat Kacchan. It's even improbable. I know him, no matter what happens, he won't stop until I'm down. I'll take a monumental beating, but I'm ready to endure it. And I need you for the other part of the plan."
He put his helmet back on and pointed to the building's façade.
"I've analyzed the building's structure with the previous matches, and the room where the bomb is placed is…", the green-haired boy counted the windows up to five before saying, "There. The fifth, sixth, and seventh windows lead into the room. You'll need to float up as quickly as possible and wait up there. I imagine the vigilante team will attempt an entry on the top floor to capture the bomb as quickly as possible, and Iida isn't suited for this situation. I've noticed he struggles with turns, and the clones will have no trouble neutralizing him. That's where you come in. You'll need to enter the room as quickly as possible and capture the bomb right under their noses."
Indicated the green-haired boy, his mind analyzing the different probabilities of success…
"It's risky…" noted Ochako…
"Indeed… I'd say there's only around…," Izuku used an integrated calculation and analysis system before giving the result, "37% chance of success."
Ochako had a confident smile.
"I like those odds. I'm so ready!"
Exclaimed the brunette, jumping and raising a fist to the sky. And the two bumped helmets like Warden had indicated they could do. Izuku couldn't help but think how cute the brunette was.
"Together to victory?" asked the green-haired boy.
"Together to victory." confirmed Ochako.
/
In the control room, two clones had their lungs on fire from laughing.
The class looked at them like they were lunatics.
The three lieutenants in the room sighed, exasperated, after putting everything together…
/
"I'm going straight on the offensive; it's time for Deku to take his beating.", said Bakugo with a creepy smile. Iida frowned at his remark.
"That's not the right behavior to have with your classmates. Besides, isn't it a good idea to stay close to the bomb to protect it?"
The blond turned, took two steps, his red eyes glaring at the tall boy with anger.
"DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO, FOUR EYES! I'LL DO WHATEVER I WANT!"
He then raised a hand in front of the boy's eyes and clenched his fist as an explosion was created.
"This Deku wants to act smart? That trash thinks he's better with his useless quirk? I'll show him he has no reason to be here and that he can go cry."
The blond turned around, more explosions forming in the palms of his hands.
"Because I'm stronger than him, and I'll be the future number one."
Iida already knew he didn't like the boy, but talking like that about a friend sparked deep anger and disgust towards him.
"Why so much hatred towards Midoriya-san?"
Bakugo turned to the boy with glasses, his eyes sharp as blades.
"He's inferior! He doesn't have a hero-worthy quirk! He breaks his bones like the miserable idiot he is! He has no value; he could die, and no one would shed a tear for him.", the blond replied, then pointed a finger at the windows.
"Pink Cheeks will pass through there. Beat her up, will you? And those pathetic clones too while you're at it."
Iida was once again repulsed and even took a step back in disgust... This boy was not a good person... He acted... Like a villain... He should talk to Sensei Aizawa about it.
/
-BAM!-
Dozer's fists clashed together as a smile spread across the clone's face.
"I'm ready to charge as always!" exclaimed the trooper.
Checkmate inserted an energy cell into his weapon and tapped it twice to make sure it was properly seated. Unlike his vod who preferred to bulldoze everything in front of him, Checkmate was calmer and more composed, more taciturn. For him, every problem had a strategic solution, every strategy game showed that.
"Don't get carried away, though; we'll still be four against two. I wouldn't want you to get eliminated due to a simple mistake."
"Oh, don't worry! I'm not like Fearless; I always have a plan!", replied the trooper in an upbeat voice, and Checkmate passed a hand over his helmet's visor.
"Of course, you have one because you don't have one. I don't think you need a plan after charging like a raging reek at the person in front of you."
"Hey! I'm not as massive as Shield, am I?!", exclaimed the trooper, pouting.
"I know you're not like him, but still, I'd like to remind you that we're taller than average, and it's not them all who are covered in armor.", replied Checkmate calmly, attaching the grappling hook module to his weapon. Dozer was about to respond but realized it was a good point…
He closed his mouth…
"We'll go through the ceiling; after seeing us do it so often, they must suspect we'll try the top floor, and they'll be waiting for us. They won't expect an attack from above."
/
The preparatory phase came to an end, and an air horn sounded.
"THE EXERCISE BEGINS!" All Might's voice thundered over the field…
/
As soon as the exercise began, Izuku moved forward, taking deep breaths…
"Midoriya!" The green-haired boy turned his head and stopped to look at Ochako.
"Good luck.", wished the brunette. Izuku nodded before resuming his progress toward the door while Ochako canceled her gravity and began to float upward…
Warden and Focus's teachings filled his mind, emptying it of any other thoughts that could distract him…
Once he was close enough to the door, he delivered a powerful kick, dislodging it from its hinges. He entered as the door hit the ground with a loud noise in the dead silence of the building.
His eyes, assisted by his helmet's HUD, scanned the area, a hallway straight ahead, and another branching off to the right.
He opted to go right and advanced cautiously down the corridor, hugging the wall while consulting the various data provided.
He heard Kacchan before he saw him. The sound of distant explosions coming from behind him, picked up by his audio systems from the other hallway, and approaching very quickly.
Then…
"DEKU!"
Izuku spun around just as Kacchan made a sharp turn, flying thanks to his explosions.
The blond's expression, that smile and that gleam in his eyes that promised only pain, made the boy shiver. He pulled himself together.
No, this time, he wouldn't be afraid. His mind was already forming a plan to hold off the blond for as long as possible.
He found it just as the explosive blond swooped down on him like an eagle on its prey. The green-haired boy waited until the last moment, the last second, to duck and roll to the side. Kacchan flew past like a missile where he had been a few seconds earlier, hand pointed forward as an explosion went off where his head had been just moments before.
The explosive blond covered several meters before stopping with his explosions and turning around. Izuku got into a defensive stance. Using One For All wasn't an option; if he broke his bones, he wouldn't be able to hold him off for the necessary time… Kacchan charged and readied his right fist. Izuku had known him for 13 years, so he knew what to expect…
When the punch came…
Izuku sidestepped, grabbed the extended arm, pulled while pivoting, and used the other boy's momentum to send him crashing into the neighboring wall. The green-haired boy then ran while the other got up. He was going to do hit and run. It would waste as much time as possible for the explosive blond.
As soon as he heard explosions approaching behind him, he rolled again, but this time, Kacchan expected it and turned much quicker, releasing an explosion.
Izuku barely had time to raise his arms to protect himself, and the armor on his forearms took the hit. Still, it drew a grunt from the green-haired boy. Kacchan then slammed into him shoulder first, destabilizing the green-haired boy and exposing him to another explosion that sent him rolling on the ground.
"SO DEKU, NOT SO SMART NOW, HUH?", mocked Kacchan as the green-haired boy got up, grunting, and got back into a defensive stance. The blond attacked again, but Izuku dodged, ducking under him, before resuming his escape. "
WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING! I'M NOT DONE WITH YOU!" yelled the blond's voice behind him, this time angry.
The explosions approached again. In front of him, a T-intersection, left or right. Left. Izuku dove to the left just as the blond was about to reach him. He heard the growl of anger as Kacchan must have bounced off the wall with his explosions, losing precious seconds during which Izuku turned into another corridor, then another, thus losing the blond.
The scream of rage that echoed through the corridors was filled with hatred and frustration.
"DEKU! YOU COWARD!"
Izuku decided to circle around… Kacchan wouldn't stop searching for him until he had crushed him…
However, he had the advantage now. His superior equipment allowed him to know where the boy was, so he could set up an ambush. Izuku watched him intently as the blond searched, rage in his eyes as small explosions were continuously created by his hands… When he moved, Izuku moved too, silently, slowly, despite his armor…
And finally…
He advanced slightly faster, lowering his center of gravity to make as little noise as possible…
His armor made a slight creak…
Kacchan turned around. Izuku read surprise in his eyes for a moment before an explosion was sent his way. No more time for the element of surprise. Izuku jumped forward, going through the explosion as his helmet's dampeners blocked the flash and the audio systems shut off for an instant. He landed a punch that hit the blond on the cheek, making him step back two paces.
Izuku didn't give him time to regain his senses; he grabbed him by the shoulder with one hand, delivered two punches to the stomach, before delivering an uppercut that definitively dazed the boy.
To be sure, the green-haired boy threw him against a wall, and Kacchan slid down it, groaning in pain. The green-haired boy felt a pang of guilt suddenly and hesitated to knock him out to be able to tie him up with the capture tape…
This moment cost him victory.
Kacchan had a little time to recover, and an explosion made Izuku step back, destabilized.
He felt his legs swept out from under him and fell heavily to the side, hitting his head hard on the ground. Despite the helmet, he was dazed.
The blond then ripped it off and grabbed his face to repeatedly slam it against the floor.
Each impact sent stronger and stronger signals of pain to his brain until his head was buzzing.
"YOU THOUGHT YOU COULD REACH MY LEVEL, DEKU? YOU'RE NOTHING BUT TRASH! A WORTHLESS NOBODY! YOU DON'T BELONG HERE!"
And the boy let off an explosion in his face.
The intense heat made his blood boil, and a horrible burning sensation ensued…
Izuku screamed as Kacchan laughed and mocked him.
He was in so much pain, unbearable pain… His nerves were overloaded… Too many signals. He felt every nanometer of skin screaming the burning pain of the explosion. His eyes watered, his ears rang.
He wanted to do anything to make the pain stop. He clawed hopelessly at Bakugo's glove, trying to remove the burning hand while struggling.
"TRASH! TRASH! TRASH!" chanted Kacchan mockingly.
Seeing that his futile attempts weren't working, Izuku started to fumble around in panic to find something to save himself… His helmet. Grabbing it clumsily, he hit Kacchan with all his strength.
The burning hand was suddenly withdrawn, a cry of pain and anger rang out. Izuku, driven by primal fear, crawled backward, still holding his helmet, before getting up and staggering out of danger…
As soon as he stopped, his helmet slipped from his hands to the ground… The green-haired boy raised both hands to his face and started scratching his skin. The pain was still intense; he wanted it to stop.
His nails clawed at his swollen, blistered skin, blood flowing from the wounds he created… Patches of skin peeling off…
His ears continued to ring for a while before stopping, but Izuku noticed that the sounds seemed a bit muffled around him… However, what followed, he heard very clearly.
The scream of rage.
He turned suddenly, panic rising in his chest. The training was now useless; he couldn't stay calm; he was lost, disoriented, and injured. The blurry shape of Kacchan was approaching fast. Each explosion he produced stabbed at the green-haired boy's eyes like knives, the signals driving into his already overloaded brain. He reacted purely by instinct.
One For All pulsed through his veins, green lightning appearing around his arm, and he threw a punch. Kacchan dodged at the last moment in a panic, but Izuku felt the bones in his arm break, and a detonation echoed in the confined space.
-Ka-BAOM!-
A concentrated air blast was created by the punch, devastating the hallway, breaking the wall at the end, and shaking the entire building. The explosive blond took advantage of this to send an explosion at Izuku's back, causing him to scream in pain, staggering forward, before turning around and throwing another punch with his injured arm.
Blood sprayed from the lesions on his skin.
The air blast didn't miss Kacchan, who couldn't dodge.
The blond was sent flying several meters and crashed through a wall, letting out a scream. A voice rang out from a loudspeaker.
"YOUNG BAKUGO! YOUNG MIDORIYA! STOP THE EXERCISE! THIS IS GOING TO END BADLY!"
There was a growl, and Kacchan's silhouette appeared in the hole in the wall where he had been, his costume torn in several places, and one of his gloves completely in pieces. The second, however, was pointed straight at him.
"YOUNG BAKUGO, DON'T DO IT! YOU'LL KILL HIM!"
"Not if he dodges…" spat the blond, coughing up blood.
He pulled the pin, and a tide of scorching flames poured out after a massive explosion shook the building once again. Izuku reacted by instinct again, readying a punch with his uninjured arm this time, and punched into the air.
The more or less cool air met the scorching air, causing a simple chemical phenomenon. Hot air being less dense, when it meets denser, cooler air, is pushed upward, and that's what happened. The explosion was redirected upward, tearing through the floors, damaging load-bearing walls and support pillars, causing the front façade of the building to collapse with a majestic but terrifying slowness.
Meanwhile, the powerful gust of air continued its course and struck the explosive blond with the force of a truck.
Debris cascaded down, and a large piece fell on Izuku's head.
/
Ochako waited patiently, clinging to the middle window sill, for the clones to attack the room where the bomb was… But she was starting to get impatient…
Why wasn't the attack happening? She hung on with one hand and let her left arm rest; both were strongly numb.
Suddenly, an explosion shook the building, nearly causing the brunette to lose her grip, but she clung on even tighter.
"Sh-t!" The girl cursed. Was that the attack? No, impossible. And it came from the ground floor. A second tremor shook the building again. F-ck, what was going on down there?
The ledge she was holding onto began to crack from the tremors. Yeah, no, f-ck that. She wasn't staying there.
She launched herself against the window, breaking it, and entered the room where the bomb was, deactivating her quirk, and surprising Iida, who didn't expect her to come in that way.
"STOP RIGHT THERE! I AM THE EMBODIMENT OF EVIL! SURRENDER, FILTHY HERO!"
Shouted the armored boy, to which Ochako couldn't help but laugh… The role didn't suit the blue-haired boy at all…
"What?"
"It doesn't suit you at all!" continued the brunette, laughing before she remembered why she was there. She stopped laughing abruptly, looked at Iida, then at the bomb, then back at Iida. And she sprinted.
Iida rammed her shoulder-first as soon as she took two steps, sending her staggering to the side.
She regained her balance and had just enough time to jump, nullifying her gravity again, as Iida's boot nearly swept her off her feet. The problem was, now she was floating, so Iida just had to grab her foot and run in circles while the brunette tried not to throw up her meager breakfast from the morning.
Then it all stopped suddenly, Iida stopped running, and Ochako calmed her growing nausea. There was a deafening crash, as if the floor was cracking beneath them.
That's… In a way, that's what was happening… Iida released her in his panic while jumping to the side, Ochako, still floating, had to touch the largest pieces of debris from the ceiling, nullifying their gravity and making them float next to her, to avoid being dragged down and killed by the concrete chunks.
After the roof, it was part of the floor that collapsed, falling onto the one below, which in turn collapsed, and thus until everything crashed on the ground. Iida, unlike her, managed to move away from the unstable part but was still recovering from the shock.
Ochako took advantage and started sending debris at the blue-haired boy. He only reacted after the first piece hit his helmet, making him step back, surprised, before he seemed to analyze everything in a few seconds, then reacted.
He ducked to avoid the second piece, the exhaust pipes on his legs roaring to life, and then a sprint made him completely dodge the next debris she sent his way. The brunette fully trusted Izuku's assessment that he struggled in straight lines, but he might not have thought the boy would use the terrain to move as he literally ran on the wall when he took a turn. He jumped onto a piece of debris Ochako hadn't sent yet, then onto another, and his foot came at her.
Fortunately, Ochako had somewhat seen it coming. She touched him at the moment he was about to touch her. However, gravity being gravity, and speed being f-cking speed, his kick still hit the brunette, knocking the wind out of her as her eyes widened to the point they could almost pop out of their sockets, sending her into a wall as she inwardly cursed like a sailor with words that would make the most foul-mouthed characters gasp in surprise at the diversity and especially the presence of certain words definitely not suitable for a girl her age.
If not for the helmet, she would have probably suffered a concussion… She had to stop her quirk to avoid vomiting again.
By doing so, a loud crash was heard as the debris fell below. Iida, who had moved back to the stable part, advanced slowly toward her, boasting about his villainousness.
"HAHA HERO! TASTE YOUR MISERABLE DEFEAT AT THE HANDS OF IIDA THE TERRIBLE!"
Despite her aching head and the less than favorable situation, Ochako couldn't help but chuckle at his words. It didn't suit him at all.
Then.
Suddenly.
"BREACH!" And part of the ceiling warped, twisted, and cracked before collapsing, raising a huge cloud of dust as the sound of an explosion was heard. Two silhouettes fell through the gaping hole in the ceiling, and the sound of blasters was heard.
/
"BREACH!"
Shouted Checkmate, as a gaping hole opened before the two clones following the explosion of the detonator they had placed a bit further away. Dozer jumped inside the hole as the sharp, overheated edges of the hole barely began to cool, and Checkmate followed closely behind. The edges scraped against his armor and jumpsuit, and the clone felt slight burns prickling the affected areas.
No time for that, and besides, it wasn't anything serious. He switched to thermal, spotting the two silhouettes of the two students in a corner.
Dozer and he aligned their sights on the boy, who was, first, the one standing, second, the one with the most dangerous quirk for them. The shots rang out, the yellow training bolts hitting the boy's armor, which didn't seem to bother him much, only making him step back.
"Kriff!" Checkmate exclaimed, noting that the training bolts did the equivalent of blaster fire damage to tank armor. Which is to say, nothing.
In response, there was a roar, and the boy's legs suddenly glowed like two fires in the clones' thermal vision…
But it seemed Dozer had reacted faster than Checkmate. His vod suddenly charged with a powerful yell, emerging from the smoke like a white-clad devil before the blue-haired boy, and tried to grab him. The boy, however, reacted even more quickly, and as soon as Dozer reached out, the blue-haired boy ducked and swept Dozer's legs at phenomenal speed, aided by the acceleration given by his quirk.
The clone fell like a dead weight, groaning. Checkmate, however, had a perfect opening to shoot at one of the spots where the blue-haired boy's armor didn't seem to protect him…
But the shot missed the target by several meters as he suddenly felt himself floating uncontrollably. He turned his head and saw that Ochako had moved, touched him, and was now speeding towards the bomb.
Checkmate aimed and fired, the shot passing just millimeters from the brunette's shoulder but forcing her to roll to the side.
This lapse of time allowed Checkmate to activate his magnetic soles, and the clone found himself upside down, feet on the ceiling, magnetically attracted to the rare metal parts in the ceiling, showering the brunette with shots to prevent her from getting too close to the explosive.
He walked this way to approach the brunette, whose eyes widened when she saw where the shots were coming from and how the clone was hanging from the ceiling, forcing her to quickly change direction to avoid being hit. Checkmate maintained constant pressure by continuously shooting at her.
/
Dozer groaned as his legs left the ground, and he fell heavily to the side. He wasn't going to just stay there doing nothing, not at all.
He raised his weapon and fired a close-range shot; it didn't do any damage, but it made the boy's foot scrape the ground to keep his balance. That was the technique. Dozer continued firing while getting up until the boy suddenly dodged and attacked. The trooper wasn't going to make the same mistake and rolled to the side. He had anticipated well, and the foot passed where his head was a few seconds before.
-PEW! PEW!-
Two more shots to the chest plate made the boy stagger, and Dozer then charged, taking advantage of it. He closed the distance, locked the boy's arms by grabbing his fists and pushing, and landed a devastating headbutt unceremoniously.
The boy cried out in pain as his head snapped back, and Dozer pushed on his arms to destabilize him. It worked, until… The clone suddenly took a kick to the stomach, which catapulted him into the ceiling where he splattered like a mosquito, before falling to the ground with many groans. Dozer tried to get up, but a foot forced him to stay down. He had lost. He had found someone who had managed to resist his strength…
Or maybe not.
"I got you. Surrender, and I'll let you live."
The clone reached a hand to his belt, groaning…
"A clone… never surrenders… Remember this lesson… Villain…"
-Bip!-
And an activated droid popper rolled on the ground…
-ZZZZAP!-
/
An energy explosion forced Ochako and the clone to stop fighting to protect themselves. When she looked at what had happened, she saw that the other clone and Iida were knocked out, electrified, with some sort of electromagnetic grenade lying next to the pair.
She then turned her attention back to her remaining opponent. He was devilishly accurate, and Ochako felt herself sweating every time she heard the crack of the weapon spewing a yellow energy discharge that she had to dodge. Moreover, she hadn't expected her quirk to be countered by something so simple.
She was at his mercy. The brunette rolled to the side again to dodge a discharge and ducked as another discharge grazed the top of her head.
The bomb was right there… So close… Yet so far. And time was almost up.
"F-ck it." Ochako cursed as she turned around. She nullified her gravity and jumped, eyes fixed on the bomb. Two shots hit the ground where she was moments earlier.
The weapon's barrel tracked her and fired again. The brunette had to curl up to avoid being hit, but the discharge passed so close to her back that she felt the crackling of electricity through her suit on her skin.
Then a second shot hit her. Ochako had thought it was just a discharge, which, though painful, could be endured.
Wrong. Apparently, it was like some kind of tazer, a certain constitution could be more affected. It was her case. She kind of felt jealous about Shoji who shrugged the shots without flinching.
She screamed in pain, her body wracked by the sensation of burning, the spasms shaking her body, and the muscle contractions as her brain was overloaded by electricity.
The brunette completely deviated from her target, hitting a wall with force, before floating aimlessly, lacking the strength to direct herself before falling into unconsciousness…
/
Checkmate watched the girl float, unconscious after the impact. She would wake up soon, and he just had to walk to the bomb to touch it, thus ending the exercise...
However, there was no announcement from All Might…
And it was in the deep silence of the room that Checkmate heard the screams, curses, and orders from the ground floor.
/
It was chaos.
It looked like a battlefield, and Dengloy couldn't help but think of all those relief operations they sometimes conducted after passing through a populated city.
He was in charge of the ground search team.
Torda had braved the wretched state of the barely-standing building with five men to go fetch their brothers and the two other students upstairs, while Xyomm had the toughest job: preventing a frantic All Might and very worried classmates from storming in to dig out their comrades themselves, tho their classmates hadn't showed up.
"Brexx, Tarren, be careful, the area you're standing on is highly unstable. Remove the biggest block first, but proceed with caution to avoid causing an avalanche or a landslide."
Prev instructed next to him, holding a datapad linked to his helmet.
"Lieutenant! Screwball detected an anomaly in that pile over there!", Atlas suddenly called, pointing at what remained of a door frame. Dengloy nodded and ordered.
"Honks! Basis! Junior! Copper! Go help clear that area! Quickly!"
The four clones in question hurried to assist, although Junior stayed slightly behind as the medic, preparing to treat the person they might have found. A few minutes of clearing later, Honks and Copper cautiously pulled out a completely unconscious Bakugo.
The medic clone forced them to lay him gently on the ground for examination. Dengloy heard a groan from the medic that announced anything but good news. Then, another shout.
"SITHSPIT! CALL AN AMBULANCE! QUICK! WE HAVE A PERSON IN CRITICAL CONDITION!"
/
"Careful. Avoid stepping on this area.", Hellink indicated, throwing a glowstick on the zone to mark it. Torda looked at the area for a moment… It might appear intact, but by the glowstick's light, one could indeed notice a slight problem: cracks and a sagging ground.
That was why Hellink and Hypno were leading; both being engineers, they could better spot potential dangers. He, Arrow, Hyro, Smoke, and Fix stood just behind them…
The lieutenant instructed Hyro to try contacting the two missing troopers again, and the sergeant nodded, placing a hand on the side of his helmet…
"Dozer, Checkmate, report."
No one responded, the line filled with static. Torda groaned… And kriff…
The group continued to progress slowly until they finally reached the top floor… To discover that the door leading to the room was blocked by debris.
"Clear it.", ordered the lieutenant, and the two engineers in the group got to work, while the other troopers stayed around, ready to intervene if some debris started to fall.
Eventually, the engineers managed to clear a space big enough for them to slip through. Arrow went in first, followed by Fix, then Smoke, Hyro, himself, Hypno, and finally Hellink. Once on the other side, he sighed with relief. The two students and the two troopers were safe.
"Lieutenant.", Checkmate greeted upon seeing him enter.
"Why didn't you respond to communications?" the lieutenant asked, looking around.
Uraraka was leaning against the wall, rubbing her head, an ice pack Fix had given her pressed against her ribs. Iida and Dozer were leaning against a wall, helmets removed, looking completely disoriented and confused, their hair standing on end like hedgehogs. Fix was examining them with rubber gloves.
"A droid popper fried the comm in my helmet.", the clone explained, "Dozer decided to use one to take himself and Iida out of the fight. It worked a little too well."
Torda turned his head towards Fix, the medic confirming, "The electrical overload in their nervous systems will thankfully have few long-term repercussions. However, they are out of commission for a while; any sensory data they receive may not be processed immediately by their brains. We'll have to transport them downstairs."
He then turned his head towards the brunette and asked, "Can you walk?" She nodded.
"By the way… How is Midoriya?"
Torda gritted his teeth, preparing to answer…
"We found the two kids buried under the debris."
Dengloy's voice reported on the command frequency. The lieutenant turned away after excusing himself.
"Please repeat?"
"We found the two kids, they are alive..."
Dengloy repeated, and Torda sighed in relief, "But Midoriya is in critical condition. An ambulance has been called; Xyomm is currently letting them through, and the principal, Eraserhead, and the nurse are also on-site."
The lieutenant's posture suddenly stiffened... and this did not go unnoticed by some people. His brothers looked at him with a certain apprehension, and Fix tensed up, one hand on the side of his own helmet, probably hearing the news from the other medics.
"Warden is losing it, I have to go.", Dengloy suddenly reported, before the comm cut off.
"What's happening?" the brunette asked, anxious...
The lieutenant's gaze passed over his men... They all already suspected that something serious had happened... and the lieutenant's expression only confirmed it...
"We're leaving.", Torda suddenly ordered in a tone that left no room for discussion. The rest nodded and took their captain's comrades to get them out of that cursed building.
/
It was Lockdown and Midnight who assisted the paramedics in stabilizing Midoriya by injecting bacta pads, surprising the paramedics who didn't expect such a level of professionalism from 16-year-olds.
Xyomm sighed; he was on perimeter duty, and it was always the hardest job. The only ones who had to leave were Warden, restrained by Shield and Focus. The trooper was worse than a rabid massiff.
He was yelling, struggling, and trying to grab and bite the two others who were doing everything to keep him from escaping their grip and going to tear apart the explosive blonde that Recovery Girl was treating with the help of Junior.
Eraserhead ran a hand over his face.
"So you're telling me this isn't the first severe accident that has happened during this training… What else happened?", the man asked in a tired voice.
All Might stood next to him, his trademark smile absent from his face, which instead looked filled with worry.
"Our captain was sent to the infirmary with a second-degree burn. Our medic clones removed his armor before taking him there, as it had fused with his arm, and Corporal Mirdip is there too due to a severe concussion from Shoto Todoroki. The rest of the injuries weren't too severe, just two broken fingers by accident for one of my brothers."
The lieutenant replied, looking at the man without flinching. Eraserhead turned to All Might, an annoyed expression on his face.
"All Might, why didn't you stop the exercise at that point?", the raven-haired man asked. The principal's voice interrupted them both, as the principal jumped from the tired teacher's scarf to climb and perch on the blond giant's shoulder.
"Come now, Aizawa-san, no need to start an argument. You know as well as I do that this is All Might's first time teaching at a school. He's learning from his mistakes, be a bit more tolerant."
Eraserhead crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. "Two of my students almost died, and you call that a simple mistake? And we're missing two."
Xyomm stiffened slightly. One of his brother almost died, and two were missing. He said nothing, though.
Just then, Torda's group emerged from the building, and Xyomm took the opportunity to move away, leaving the womp-rat and the tired man to settle their matters. Two strides later, he approached his fellow lieutenant.
"Do you have them?"
The other nodded.
"Yeah, nothing too serious, Iida and Dozer just got shocked. Fix is taking care of them."
Xyomm nodded.
"Is there anything else to do?"
"Yes, take one of your men from the cordon and send him with Uraraka. She feels guilty about what happened to Midoriya."
Xyomm turned his head and looked around for someone to call.
"HEX!"
The medic clone in question turned his head, looking around to see who had called him, and the two lieutenants raised their hands to signal him to come. The medic trotted over and saluted.
"Yes, lieutenant?"
"At ease, soldier. Go with Uraraka and try to comfort her as best you can."
The medic looked for the girl in question before trotting towards her as she was being escorted by Tripwire.
"Vod didn't come?"
Torda suddenly asked.
"Negative, she just commed me, she, Spike, and Rime are preventing the class from rushing in to maintain the little semblance of order we have here."
As if those words had invoked a cursed spell, the wail of the ambulance siren sounded as the vehicle sped away.
At the same moment, another portion of the building began to collapse, forcing the surrounding clones to scatter as large chunks of concrete started to fall and crash to the ground.
The two lieutenants watched this in silence while Dengloy barked orders to the men under his command...
/
Hex approached the pair walking away, the sound of his footsteps making Tripwire turn his head and nod in greeting. The mediclone returned the greeting and indicated that he could go back with the others and that he would take over. Tripwire nodded and, as he passed by the medic, patted his shoulder in encouragement.
The mediclone approached and placed a hand on the silent brunette's back... The medic silently guided her through the corridors to the control room. Hex sighed and said, breaking the silence,
"He'll be fine."
The brunette didn't respond, and her gaze remained distant... Then finally...
"It's my fault Midoriya-san is in the hospital... I should have disobeyed and stayed by his side, maybe then this wouldn't have happened..."
Hex pondered his response...
"It's not your fault... Maybe it wouldn't have happened that way, but think more deeply, why? Why did he ask you to go your separate way?"
The brunette lifted her head this time and looked at the medic, stopping in her tracks. Hex didn't push her and stopped as well.
"Because it was his plan?", Uraraka replied.
Hex looked at her for a long moment. "Midoriya-san is a strategist, but he also has a big heart if Warden and Focus's accounts are to be believed. By separating you from him, he did two things. He knew his opponent, so he knew he would be the target, and he knew you would have one less adversary to fight. He took a risky gamble that could have worked. However, there is another reason he asked you to go your separate way."
The brunette stared at him, listening very attentively...
"He knew the angry pomeranian wouldn't hold back. He was trying to protect you. He didn't want you caught in the crossfire that happened; I don't think he anticipated the cataclysm the fight would become, but I think he knew that if you got hit, you'd be injured. And it wouldn't have been a simple training shot this time."
Uraraka lowered her eyes...
"Don't worry, he's going to survive. If he took all that and stayed alive, there's no reason something tragic should happen."
This last part... Hex believed it less... As a mediclone, he had witnessed many deaths where men seemed out of danger...
'I hope by the Force that what I said is true...'
The medic thought, clenching a fist... At least Uraraka seemed to feel a bit better after what he said...
However, what the medic didn't see was the slight blush that appeared on her cheeks.
/
"Calm down! Don't worry! Everything will be fine!", Spike shouted to be heard over the commotion Momo's classmates were making. Everyone was worried and outraged at the explosive blonde's actions. Momo stood there, a bo staff in hand, silent.
She understood the concern, but all this was pointless. Rime gripped the door frame more firmly when one of her classmates tried to push the clone out of the way.
"But let us through!", an irritated voice exclaimed.
"Negative, you won't help anything over there; my brothers have the situation under control."
Several voices rose and overlapped, forming an amalgam of words that the raven-haired girl couldn't understand at all.
She turned her head when the sound of footsteps approached, and her eyes fell on Hex and Uraraka-san coming closer. With a hand motion, she signaled her vod to stop. Then she turned to her classmates, put a hand on the side of her helmet.
"Listen up, everyone."
Her voice seemed as loud as an explosion, echoing forcefully in the hallway. She heard a groan of pain from her someone and lowered the output volume of her helmet to be less loud…
"Sorry, Jiro," apologized the ravenette, to which a pained 'It's okay' responded before Momo continued, "Listen, I understand you're worried about our comrades, I am too, and if I were in your place, I'd be just as outraged at our comrade's actions, and I'd be ready to rush to them to make sure they're okay. But please, calm down. If you rush in there completely panicked, you won't help at all. On the contrary, it will put more pressure on my brothers who are already under pressure, it will also cause utter chaos, and moreover, it's dangerous."
No voice rose to contradict her, and it stung Momo a bit that they only saw her brothers as nothing... The only one who might have spoken up was Uraraka-san, who seemed to get along well with Warden and Focus, but she remained silent for some unknown reason.
"My brothers have armor, but you don't, and even then it's risky to approach the building, so please, stay calm and stay in the room."
There was hesitation... Then finally, the pressure on Spike and Rime lessened, and the two clones could finally breathe a sigh of relief and massage their sore fingers after holding onto the door handles as they did...
Hex gently nudged Uraraka, and the brunette entered the room. Some of her classmates immediately pounced on her to question her, but Kirishima calmed everyone down to avoid putting pressure on the brunette.
Momo sighed... Well... That was done...
/
Lock woke up with a strong feeling of fatigue.
He put a hand to his forehead and groaned... Why did he feel like he'd been stunned?
The captain then tried to bring his other arm up to rub his eyes, but a sharp pain made him open his mouth to scream, but he closed it tightly, gritting his teeth.
He looked at his arm, just to notice it was covered by a cast, a big one.
The pain seemed to disperse the fog in his brain, and he remembered what had happened. A black rage filled his body, and with eyes full of fury, he searched for the two-tone haired boy... Where was that bastard?
A door opened, and Lock's gaze fell on Recovery Girl, who stepped back a step, surprised by the aura of rage and murder that surrounded the captain.
Noticing her surprise, and especially that she wasn't the person he was looking for, his rage retreated deep into his heart, lurking like a beast, waiting for the right moment to resurface.
"I... I'm sorry, ma'am.", the captain stammered...
The nurse sighed, relaxing and approaching the bed.
"It's okay..."
Behind her, two robots, followed by Lockdown and Midnight, brought in three people. Lock looked at who it was and was surprised to see Dozer, Iida, and a heavily battered Bakugo. It didn't seem fatal, but he raised an eyebrow wondering what could have happened for the boy to be in such a state.
His brothers laid the boys on beds, then Lockdown approached the bed.
"How's the arm?" asked the medic clone.
"It feels like I dipped my arm in lava," replied the captain.
"That's perfectly normal. Do you want the details?"
The captain nodded.
"Yes, please, Lockdown."
Recovery Girl spoke up as the medic clone was about to speak.
"It's not a good idea, normally such injuries are not detailed to the injured to avoid panic attacks and - Wait a second."
The nurse turned to the medic clone.
"Your name is Lockdown?"
The clone nodded.
"Spare my curiosity from this burden, where does that name come from?"
Lock chuckled lightly... And his mind temporarily forgot the worries he had...
And that's it! Seeya next time!