Chapter 8: Unlikely Duo
"Alright you bunch of newbies! I hope you're ready, because hero training begins now!"
"Hey Almight, what is it that we're doing exactly?"
"I'm glad you asked young Alexander. Today I'm gonna teach you how to deal with villains! Now, how this'll work is by having everyone separated into teams of two. The teams will be designated as either heroes or villains and will then square off against each other."
The number 1 hero took out a remote and pressed the large button on it. When he did, a monitor appeared behind him where it showed two teams. The hero team was outside a building while the villain team was inside the same building with a bomb.
"As you can see, we will be dealing with a bomb threat. In order for the heroes to win, they must either secure the bomb or capture the villains. As for the villains, their job is to keep the bomb safe or capture the heroes."
Almight brought out a small box. He reached inside and drew a scrap of paper with a letter on it.
"Alright young heroes, this is how we will decide the teams. You will draw one letter from this box and whoever has the matching letter will be your partner."
"Sir, I must ask, why are we deciding teams in this matter? Would it not be better for us to choose our own partners or work with someone who compliments our own abilities?" Iida asked.
"It actually makes sense that we're doing it this way. In real hero work, or really, any kind of work, we won't know who'll be working with or if their quirks work well with ours. So by making it random, we're basically simulating a real life situation."
"Ah, I see, thank you for explaining Alexander. Almight, please forgive me for interrupting."
"Hahaha! No need to worry! Yours was a very valid question," Almight said with a big grin. "Now then, all of you pick a letter and join your teammate!"
We each picked a letter from the box as instructed. We then lined up next to our partners before waiting for Almight to pair up the teams.
I got the letter E and my partner ended up being Mineta. I wasn't really excited about this since Mineta kept avoiding me ever since he called me a monster on the first day. It also didn't help that I noticed how much of a pervert he was and a coward on top of that.
Truth be told, I found myself questioning why he wanted to be a hero when he seems to be scared of his own shadow. Not nearly as much as Bakugou mind you, since that guy is the definition of a villain, but it was still a little strange. My only guess was that Mineta wanted to be a hero because he thought that it would help him overcome his fears. It made the most sense when you think about it.
As I thought about how to best approach this, Almight announced that we would be fighting against Bakugou, ironically enough, and Iida, the two people I couldn't stand. I honestly couldn't help but wonder if this was some kind of cosmic joke. These draws were supposed to be based on luck and yet it felt more like a set up.
Knowing there was no room to argue, I shook my head and looked over at Bakugou. I could practically smell the hatred and malice coming off of him, not that I needed my nose to figure that out. I saw him creating explosions just above his hands while having a sinister smile on his face.
This made me a little uneasy, but I knew someone like him wouldn't let go of what happened during the quirk assessment so easily. That's why I had upped my training since then so that I would be ready if he ever attacked me like that again. Guess it was time to see if it paid off.
With the teams announced, we made our way to a nearby room where we would be watching everyone compete. Almight explained that while we watched, we were to take notes on how everyone uses their quirks and how they work together. We nodded to the pro hero and he started the lesson.
First up was Team A, which was Seteth and Tokoyami vs Team C, which was Sero and Jirou. Team A would be the heroes and team C were the villains. I wasn't too worried about Seteth and Tokoyami since their quirks were very versatile and there were dozens of ways I could see them winning.
Honestly, Sero was the one I was worried about since his quirk didn't match up well against my friends' powers. His tape quirk was great for capture and mobility, but not so great in a fight, especially against those who excel at long range attacks like his opponents. If anything, it was Jirou who team A had to look out for since her sound attacks would do a number on Seteth's sensitive ears.
With all this in mind, I watched the two teams leave the room, wishing both of them good luck. We then turned our attention to the monitor where we saw them getting ready.
After giving them some time to talk and strategize, Almight had them begin. Ordinarily, I would watch the match, but I didn't like the idea of working with someone I didn't know much about. So while everyone else was watching the exercise I decided to fix that.
"Hey Mineta, I think we should talk."
"A-A-Alexander, w-what do you want?"
Sigh "Mineta, I get that I'm intimidating, but you really don't have to be so afraid of me, especially since we're gonna be partners. Now, since you've been trying to steer clear of me, I never got the chance to see how your quirk works. So if we're gonna pass this exercise, I need to know everything about your abilities."
"Well, uh… my quirk is called Pop-off. Basically, I grow these grape looking balls on top of my head that I can pull off. Although, I start to bleed if I pull off too many at once. I'm fine after words, I just need to give my head time to regenerate."
"Oh, so that's how that works. Is there anything special about them? Can you use them as projectiles or something?"
"Short off, but that's not really how they work. See, after I pull them off, they become all sticky, so they stick to walls, ceilings, chairs, people, anything. Although, I can still pick them up without getting stuck and I can use them to bounce around. I can also stick them together like a chain.
"Wow, Mineta, I think your quirk is exactly what we need."
"You… really think so? Also, why is your tail wagging like that?"
"Absolutely! As for my tail, I'll explain everything once we're up. For now though, we should see how Seteth and Tokoyami are doing."
Mineta nodded his head and we walked up to the monitor. As it turns out, we actually didn't miss that much since it looked like neither side had made the first move. All we saw was Seteth flying around the building, most likely searching for the bomb.
"Found it," We heard the black bat say on the monitor.
As we watched Seteth swoop down on Tokoyami, I realized what they were doing. As expected, Seteth used his feet to pick up Tokoyami by his shoulders and fly up to a fifth floor window. The bat boy then let loose a powerful whirlwind that shattered the window with ease.
As soon as we saw that, we turned to the section of the monster that showed the room the bomb was in.
Both Jirou and Sero were caught completely off guard by the attack. they put up their arms to shield themselves from the broken glass that was flying past them.
With the two distracted, Tokoyami called forth Dark Shadow, who flew inside the room. The living shadow then enlarged its right hand and grabbed the bomb before retreating back to its master.
"HERO TEAM WINS!" Almight announced at the top of his voice.
Everyone cheered for the winners of course, everyone but me that is. The reason, I was rolling on the floor in pain while I covered my ears, which Mineta noticed.
"Almight! Something's wrong with Alexander!"
Almight came over to me and asked me what was wrong. I would have been grateful, but he asked in his usual loud voice, even though he wasn't even a foot away from me. Needless to say, I felt worse.
"DAMN IT ALMIGHT! YOUR TOO LOUD!"
At first, I didn't fully understand why I was in so much pain since I trained so hard to control my hearing. But after I calmed down, I realized why it affected me so much.
While the two teams were performing the exercise, everyone was talking and giving their two scents on how they were doing. Since I didn't want to miss anything, I opened up my sense of hearing a little more than usual. It was while I was listening that Almight announced the winners the way he did.
After a couple of apologies, we watched teams B and D face off. Team D, who were playing the villains, won their round. Next was my match and despite the murderous look Bakugou was giving us, I was confident.
Bakugou and Iida left the room first and made their way to the building they would be hiding in. After five minutes, Almight told Mineta and I to take our places.
As we walked to the field, I noticed how scared my partner was. I reassured him that Bakugou was all bark and no bite, which made Mineta laugh a bit.
"So Alexander, do you have a plan for dealing with those two? I know you said my quirk was exactly what we needed, but I don't see how."
"You know Mineta, you really should be more confident in yourself. Even a little kid could see that your quirk is perfect for capturing villains."
"I mean, I get that, but Bakugou can just destroy them with his explosions and Iida can just get out of the way. with his speed."
"Trust me Mineta, we're gonna win this and your quirk is what's gonna help us do it!"
As soon as I said that, Almight told us to begin and we headed into the building. We didn't even make it to the second floor before we heard Bakugou screaming.
"GET OUT HERE YOU DAMN MUTT! I'M GONNA SKIN YOU ALIVE!"
"Did he really come down here just to pick a fight with me? He really is stupid."
"Geez Alexander, he must really have it out for you. No offense, but better you than me."
"Well Mineta, if he's gonna be dumb enough to come to us, might as well put our plan into motion.
After another minute, we heard Bakugou coming down the stairs. When he did, he sent out a bunch of explosions down each of the hallways, most likely to try and smoke us out.
I expected this however, and as soon as he made it to our hallway, poured out some water and had it take the shape of a bow. I then created several ice arrows and shot at Bakugou with the aim and grace of a seasoned marksman.
"Is that all you got!" The bully yelled as he knocked my shots away with an explosion. "Guess you're not as strong as-"
Before Bakugou would finish, I created a giant whirlpool that I threw at him. The explosive boy used another explosion to blast it away, but as soon as he did, a dozen of Mineta's purple balls splattered all over the walls before ricocheting towards the blond boy.
He tried to blast them away too, but the moment the balls got from the whirlpool made them too fast for Bakugou to react too. As soon as he reached out his hands, the balls crashed into him with enough force to push him down the hallway where he got stuck to the wall.
"DAMN… YOU!" he said from behind his grape prison.
"We… we did it, we actually beat Bakugou!" Mineta cheered.
"Never a doubt!"
The two of us were about to head up to face Iida, but before we could take a single step, I felt a chill run down my spine. I turned my head and saw Bakugou's scarlet eyes ablaze with hatred. It was such a surprise that I jumped back out of instinct.
As soon as I did, the explosion user freed his right arm and brought it up to his face. He then used his teeth to pull a small metal rod from his grenade gauntlet before pointing his hand at me.
"DIE LIKE THE DOG THAT YOU ARE!"
I could sense a danger unlike anything I have ever felt before. Normally I'd listen to my instincts, which were telling me to get out of the way, but I didn't. I already stated that I hated that D word more than anything else. So when that bacraut said it, my anger took hold, which forced me to rush him.
Then, just as a giant fireball was about to be unleashed, I kicked Bakugou's arm to the side, forcing the attack down a different corridor. When it did, the sheer force of the explosion caused the entire building to shake and forced me back slightly as I regained my footing. Mineta however, let out a terrified scream as he was sent flying off to who knows where.
When I regained my senses, I was shocked to see a massive hole in the building and most of the corridor's walls gone. I also noticed that several of the pillars have become severely unstable.
"Guess it was a good thing that I let my anger take control there. Had I tried to jump out of the way, there might not have been anything left of this place."
"DAMN IT! WHAT'S IT TAKE TO PUT YOU DOWN?!" Bakugou shouted as he struggled to get his other hand free. "SCREW IT, THERE'S NO WAY YOUR GONNA SURVIVE THIS ONE!"
Understanding what he meant, I lunged at the explosive idiot again. There was no way I was gonna let him let out another of those attacks.
Before I could however, Almight started shouting from our earpieces.
"Stop right there Bakugou! I will not allow you to use that attack again! It comprised the building and it is far too dangerous for this exercise! If you use it again, I will fail you immediately!"
"SHUT UP!"
Bakugou, too blinded by rage to care about the warning, tried to free his hand again, but it was already too late. Thanks to Almight's distraction, I was able to get to his other gauntlet and use my Undine ability on it. When I did, the gauntlet glowed with a brilliant blue light and soon, so did Bakugou.
"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO YOU DAMN MUTT?!"
"Oh, I just got rid of all the Nitroglycerin from your sweat, so now it's just ordinary water. I also went ahead and did the same to all the sweat you gathered in your gauntlet. In other words, you're not using your quirk for a while.
Bakugou stopped moving after that. I doubt he was accepting the reality of the situation since he was way too stubborn than that. It was more likely that he never thought someone could do something like that and that he was just in shock.
Still, I wasn't about to let him get away with what he did, so I delivered a powerful punch to his stomach, before freezing him over, making sure to freeze his face so he could breathe.
After I finished, I noticed Mineta running over to me. He saw what I did and let out a smile filled with relief.
"Alright, that just leaves Iida."
"You go on ahead, I have something I need to say to this guy."
"Um… alright, but don't be too long."
Onced my partner was out of sight and earshot, I gave Bakugou a look of disappointment and spoke.
"You know Bakugou, you really aren't all that impressive. That last attack was definitely something, but it was shortsighted and stupid. Did you even think about what would've happened to everyone if the building collapsed?"
"You keep going on and on about how you're the strongest in the class, yet this is the second time you've lost. I don't know what your problem is, but I really don't care. Whatever score you're looking to settle, leave me out of it, because as far as I'm concerned, we're done!"
As I began to walk away from the captured teen, I heard him call out to me. When I turned around, I saw Bakugou growling like a feral animal.
"SHUT UP YOU DAMN MUTT! HOW DARE YOU TALK TO ME LIKE THAT! I SWEAR, WHEN I GET OUT OF THIS, I'LL KILL YOU! I DON'T CARE ABOUT THIS EXERCISE, I JUST WANT YOU DEAD!"
All I could do was stare. Not in disbelief, but in anger and pity. This guy was beyond pathetic. For him to act like that was something that would have left even Almight speechless.
Seeing this sad sight in front of me, I let out a sigh, shook my head, and spoke.
"You know what Bakugou?" I said with a slight growl. "Gamla lombungr, sugandi toti tik madr."
"What the hell did you just say to me?!"
Without saying another word, I left the explosive boy alone. This fight was over and I still had a job to do.
I continued making my way towards Mineta until I found him on the top floor. When he saw me, he told me that Iida was inside the room he was peeking in. I took a look inside and there, I saw Iida doing some kind of rehearsal.
"So you have come at least foolish here! No, that won't do. HAHA! I see you've made it after dealing with my foolish companion! No, that doesn't sound right either."
"Um… Mineta? What are we looking at?"
"Acting practice, I think?"
I rolled my eyes at the response and walked in. Since Iida was still distracted, I poured out all the water my new water pouch could carry all over the floor. I then let out a burst of my arctic breath, freezing the floor and turning the room into an ice skating rink.
"Gah! Why did it get so cold?" Iida said as he snapped back to reality.
"It's over Iida! Bakugou's taken care of and you have way too big of a disadvantage to win."
Iida was taken aback by our arrival at first, but he quickly recomposed himself and gave me a sinister smirk.
"HAHA! I see you've dispatched my foolish comrade, but I will not go down so easily!"
Not really knowing how to respond to this, I simply jumped on the ice I created and started skating towards the bomb. Iida tried to stop me of course, but because he didn't notice the ice, he ended up slipping and hitting the ground face first.
I thought that would be the end of it, but then the engine in Iida's legs started, causing him to slide down the room until he crashed into a wall. I was about to see if he was ok, but Mineta told to go grab the bomb while he checked on Iida.
I nodded to him and grabbed the bomb just in time for Almight to announce us the winners. I then gave Mineta a high five before letting out a victorious howl that could be heard by everyone, even without the monitors.
With our mission complete, we helped Iida up and walked out the building. We would have helped Bakugou too, but the recovery team had already taken care of him by the time we got out.
"Well done young Alexander and Mineta!" Almight said with his signature smile as we walked back into the monitoring room. "You performed admirably and your teamwork was excellent."
"Thank you Almight," I said as Mineta and I sat Iida down. "By the way, where's Bakugou? I know for a fact that we didn't hurt him too badly, just trapped him.
Almight looked to the side before he looked back at us.
"Bakugou's been taken to the principal's office."
"What?"
"As I said over your earpieces, Bakugou's attack was a clear example of lethal force, which was completely uncalled for. Normally, I would be the one to discipline him. However, it seems he failed to realize that we could all hear his death threats against you. As such, I felt the need to report this to principal Nezu since such things are not tolerated."
"That makes sense, and I'm glad to know you took the appropriate actions. A part of me was worried you'd just let him go with a warning or that you'd leave it to us to figure out."
"If it was just the use of excessive force, that would have been the case since things like that are to be expected here. However, because he made his murderous intentions clear, I was left with no other choice."
"I can't believe Kacchan would go that far," Izuku said sadly.
"He was unstable to begin with," Seteth said in a monotone voice. "He made it clear during the quirk assessment."
"I knew that Bakubro had an attitude, but I still find it hard to believe that he would actually try to kill someone," Kirishima said in disbelief.
"It seems it was a mistake to let him in this school in the first place," Tokoyami said as he crossed his arms.
"That's enough everyone!" Almight said, getting our attention. "Bakugou will be properly dealt with and we still have several teams that need to take their turns. For now, I wanna see what all of you are capable of. It's time to go Beyond, PLUS ULTRA!"