Heya! So today is kind of a special chapter... It isn't chapter 8, more like in between the 7th and the 8th one... So to explain, those kind of chapters actually don't fit or don't have important impact on the story, it's just character development or precisions on events unfolding out of the story.

Anyway, hope you enjoy!

Reviews:

Colossus Bridger: We won't get any other models of battle droids in this story, I already think that for some peoples it might think 'How the hell does BX droids popped out of nowhere?', and I actually haven't planned anything else CIS apart from them, it can change in the future, but I myself highly doubt it. For now, their little side villains, but soon will take high importance... One thing I can say already, they won't partake in the USJ, but we will see in major events in the future. And also... How long will people think their appearance is due to a quirk is the question hehe...

Agusfedredhunter: Ah... I think I might have confused you a little... Sorry if I did. So. The Horn Hunters (squad Mu-74), are a BX droid commando squad, not a new type of droid. I apologize once again if I caused confusion.


Chapter 7-1: Weapon License Test

/

The door opened, and Aizawa stopped talking to look at the person standing in the doorway... well, in this case, the two people.

"Captain, you are requested by the principal.", Mirdip said, nodding his head to the side. Lock stood up in silence, under the gazes of the entire class who wondered why he was being called.

Everyone except Momo and Alpha squad.

However, as he was about to leave, he stopped and spoke to the second person outside the room, hidden from the others' view.

"Virr, give me your carbine." A hand extended, holding the requested weapon, which Lock took and inspected with an expert eye before nodding.

"You can go in guys, stay at the back with the others and stay quiet."

With that, Lock left. As his steps faded away, the other two armored teens entered. The class watched them intently, seeming to study them to satisfy their curiosity... They bore similar markings to those of their comrades, however, the one named Mirdip seemed to have flame-like patterns on his forearms and the bottom of his helmet. A huge green triangle was proudly displayed on his chest plate. However, what caught the eyes of many was undeniably the fact that the armor seemed more massive, equipped with some kind of backpack with an antenna, and the massive flamethrower, fortunately unlit, which the soldier casually held on his shoulder with one hand. The two headed to the back and stood with the others, exchanging brief salutes with the other armored teens. The class watched them for a while before a throat-clearing sound redirected their attention to Aizawa-Sensei, who was waiting.

"As I was saying, you will have several main class hours with me during the week, where we will address possible issues you might encounter throughout the year, even though a majority of this class will be coursework. Am I clear?"

Everyone nodded.

"Perfect. You have the rest of the hour to yourselves. Your modern art teacher will come to introduce themselves to you afterward. However, please keep the noise down, I'm going to take a nap."

No sooner said than done. The tired man collapsed face-first onto his desk, and snoring could be heard. The class remained in complete silence for a while... Then, some students grouped together and started talking among themselves.

Momo herself stood up and approached the squad at the perfect moment to hear Mirdip say.

"And there, as soon as we entered the auditorium, I swear I saw a womp rat of this size dressed in a suit and tie, standing behind a podium, speaking."

Neex ran a hand behind his neck, letting out a sigh...

"I knew we'd see weird things, but a talking rat..."

"And the worst is yet to come...", Omen murmured softly. Momo spoke up, cutting off any response that would have left her vods' lips.

"Nezu is one of the few cases of animals having developed a quirk. The rest are just mutation quirks that permanently adapt the user's body and give them animal abilities. A good example would be the pro hero Mirko, who permanently has rabbit-like abilities.", the raven-haired girl explained, before placing her hands on her hips.

"So? Besides the 'monstrous womp rat' you met in the auditorium who is the principal of this establishment, what else was said?"

It was Virr who spoke up.

"To be honest, not much. We were introduced to the staff of the establishment, except for Mr. Eraserhead here who gave you your test. We were also presented with the security protocols with different alert codes and the main rules of the establishment. A complete overview of the different areas of the campus, with the main zones, grounds, infrastructures, and their roles was explained to us. The events that will take place throughout the year, such as the UA Sports Festival, the Provisional License Exam, internships, and such were briefly introduced. Regarding the core subject, orientation, it was explained that we would keep our course next year if everything went well, otherwise, students deemed unfit would be reassigned to other courses like support, Gen Ed, and general."

Momo nodded, absorbing the information.

"Thank you, Virr."

The mentioned clone gave a smile that Momo could guess despite his helmet.

"You're welcome, vod. If you need any details, I still have the recording from the helmet."

"That will be fine, I have an idea of what was said... However, Lock will need it... By the way, weapon handling license, right?"

"That's right."

"That won't be a problem then.", the ravenette murmured to herself. But she knew her vods had heard her thanks to their audio sensors when they nodded their heads as well.

/

When Lock arrived at the principal's office, he knocked on the door.

"Come in.", someone inside responded. Lock pushed the door handle with one hand, the DC-15S carbine in the other, and entered. He immediately found himself facing two people. Behind a finely decorated desk sat a... womp rat?

No. Not a womp rat, but rather a simple rat, with white, well-groomed fur, dressed in an elegant suit and tie. Two black, piercing eyes, one crossed by a scar, observed him with doubled attention.

The second person, on the other hand, was dressed in an outfit reminiscent of cowboys in the westerns that some of his brothers enjoyed so much. A red cape that somewhat hid the bare, crossed arms resting on the cuirass the man wore on his torso, and also revealed the yellow pants and gray boots with spurs that the man wore. However, what caught Lock's eye was the leather belt equipped with two holsters housing the man's pistols.

Snipe, Lock recognized. The man slightly raised his cowboy hat, adorned with a metal plate bearing a stylized 'S,' and the tan gas mask, which had ear protectors attached and showed the man's blue-black dreadlocks, turned towards him.

"Finally, here you are, Yaoyorozu Lock. I imagine you know why you are here?" Nezu asked.

"Affirmative, Principal.", Lock responded a bit stiffly... Unfortunately, the tone Nezu had used made him react out of habit and instinct. If the principal noticed, however, he did not say or show it.

"Perfect. We ask for your understanding regarding our lack of instructions; it was mainly to prevent any weapon tampering."

Lock chuckled inwardly. He could never have done it anyway, even if he wanted to. Even their engineers didn't dare tinker with the blasters for fear they'd explode in their faces. That's also why when a weapon was broken or malfunctioned, they received a new one.

"I understand.", the captain replied.

"Your examiner will be the pro-hero Snipe.", the chimera indicated, looking at Snipe, who tipped his hat slightly in greeting.

"Follow my instructions and everything should go smoothly.", the pistol-wielding hero indicated.

"As for the results, you will have them within the week. Good luck." Nezu said, his tone softening slightly towards the end, as a small encouraging smile appeared on his face. Lock nodded, remaining serious, and followed Snipe as he left the office. Immediately, Snipe struck up a conversation.

"It's been a while since I had students who use firearms, to be honest, it makes me happy."

"I imagine so.", Lock replied before asking, "Is there a reason for your choice of costume, if I may ask?"

The hero crossed his arms behind his head, and Lock noticed he actually wore tan gloves and black arm guards, which he hadn't seen earlier, before answering.

"No, no! I'm glad someone asks me for once. I have American origins, from Texas to be precise."

Lock nodded before saying in perfect English, "Alright, I understand."

The hero turned his head and laughed.

"Yeah mate, comin' from the land of cowboys and revolvers! My family still owns a good ol' ranch…"

Snipe responded with a strongly pronounced regional accent. This reminded Lock of worlds like Onderon that had the same accent when they spoke Ang- no, in this case, he could say Basic.

They finally arrived in front of a sort of large hangar while speaking English and talking about things related to westerns. Snipe switched back to Japanese.

"Here we are! The Gamma Gymnasium!"

The hero pushed the door open before entering, with Lock following his examiner. There were several mannequins at the other end of the field, and several tables with different munitions displayed. Lock could have sworn they were at a shooting range.

"Alright, let's begin. I'll introduce you to my weapons, and then you'll introduce yours.", the pro-hero said, drawing one of his pistols from its holster. Lock's eyes widened... The weapon was the largest projectile pistol he had ever seen...

"My two pistols are based on a Pfeifer-Zeliska .600 Nitro Express revolver, the largest handgun that existed in the Pre-Quirk era. I managed to modify it to have a cylinder capable of firing ten rubber bullets. Even though I can fire a real bullet."

As an example, he pulled out a rubber bullet and loaded a real bullet from the table before pointing his revolver, cocking the hammer, at a mannequin. The shot went off with a deafening detonation, and Snipe's forearm jerked upward because of the recoil. The mannequin Snipe had shot at had its head blown off.

"As you can see, I can't shoot real bullets at targets, as they are too dangerous, and the law states that a hero is not allowed to intentionally kill a villain. Your turn.", Snipe indicated, showing the carbine that Lock held in his hands.

The captain took a deep breath...

"My clones and I call this weapon a DC-15S blaster carbine, a more compact version of the DC-15A blaster rifle, that some of my brothers use, and my weapon of choice. It is capable of firing 500 shots with a maximum effective range of 250 meters. It operates on the principle of a gas cartridge, which, once it passes through the ionization system and is injected into the ignition chamber, undergoes hyper-ionization to transform it into a plasma spark that is fired through the barrel. Unfortunately, this weapon is not very accurate due to a power regulator defect."

Lock removed the cartridge to show it.

"We insert the cartridge just before the ionization system, in the middle of the weapon."

The captain put it back in with a resounding click.

"We have several firing modes with this weapon. Three to be precise: lethal, stun, and training. The latter two will be the most commonly used for hero work, as they are non-lethal if my deduction is correct. Currently, my weapon's safety is engaged and it is set to stun mode. The DC-15S is also equipped with a secondary stock that acts as a stabilizer once unfolded."

Snipe slowly nodded, now partially sitting on the table.

"I see...", he then pointed at the weapon, "Tell me, what gas does your carbine use?"

"I cannot answer that question, sir, honestly, I have never wondered."

Snipe remained silent for a moment before asking,

"Do you have an idea in which situations you might use your three modes?"

"Affirmative, sir. The training mode could be used in training with my classmates or for crowd control if heroes are ever called to large protests. The stun mode would also have similar uses, though I could add neutralizing villains to that. The lethal mode should only be used as a last resort."

The pro-hero tilted his head, and for a moment, Lock feared he had answered the question incorrectly.

"What kind of situations would you consider a last resort?"

The captain thought for a few seconds...

"In case of the complete inefficacy of the stun mode on a given target, and even then, its use would only be to target limbs such as arms and legs. The plasma cauterizes the impact area, so bleeding should be minimal or non-existent. The second scenario would be in case of critical self-defense."

Inwardly, Snipe appreciated what the boy had just said; it was extremely well-precised and well-thought-out.

"I see. Now, I would like to see your accuracy and your ability to handle your weapon. Please stand in front of me, behind that line there.", the pro indicated, to which Lock immediately complied.

"You will shoot in training mode at the mannequin in front of you. At 'Top!' you can fire, but to also see if you don't have an itchy trigger finger, I may not necessarily say 'Top!' and you must not shoot if that is the case."

Lock nodded and disengaged the safety, switching to training mode with the same movement. He then focused on the target, pointing his weapon at the mannequin...

"Banana!"

The captain had no reaction...

"Donut!"

Inhale...

"Burger!"

Exhale... He emptied his mind...

"Fire!"

A rubber ball was launched in front of him... He understood what Snipe was trying to do... He was trying to distract him...

"Hot dog!"

Another rubber ball bounced off his temple...

"Top!"

Lock pulled the trigger, and a burst of six yellow plasma beams flashed through the air as they flew toward the mannequin... All but one hit. Two in the left arm, one in the right leg, and two in the stomach. The last one deviated significantly, missing the head by a good meter and hitting a wall.

"Not bad... Honestly, I expected as much given the dexterity you showed with your pistol during the entrance exam..."

Lock gave a small appreciative smile.

"Thank you, sir."

"However, there are some points that caught my attention."

Lock felt his heart leap in his chest...

"Your shooting stance, where did you learn it? I barely saw any recoil in your shoulder."

He was relieved... He had thought it would be worse.

"Affirmative. I adapted a shooting stance used by armies around the world to fit my size and needs. The recoil is thus absorbed by the shoulder as you saw, but muscle tension allows me to minimize the recoil. The weapon, being already inaccurate, would become more problematic with dispersion due to recoil."

Snipe nodded again, curious...

"You seem to know a lot about this kind of subject..."

"Affirmative, my passion for the field of warfare ensures these knowledge.", replied Lock, half-lying, half-truthfully. Snipe remained silent...

"I understand. Well then... Can you give me a demonstration of the lethal mode?"

Lock looked back at his weapon and switched the firing mode, keeping his finger away from the trigger to avoid accidental firing. Once done, he shouldered his weapon again, aimed, and fired. This time, the mannequin suffered significant damage. The lasers had hit it at the hip, head, and torso, and of the eight shots fired, two missed their target, creating two smoking marks on the back wall... Snipe was impressed by this, not expecting such damage... For instance, the head had been cleanly pierced by the laser, and the lower torso, where two shots had hit, collapsed on itself.

"Well... I'll be damned..."

The captain held back a smile at the teacher's astonishment.

"I-Uh..." Snipe started, before collecting himself, "You can return to class, your results will come within the week as indicated."

Lock nodded, before bowing.

"Thank you, Snipe-Sensei, for the time you have given me."

The hero nodded, and Lock turned on his heels before walking away and leaving the gym. He also re-engaged his weapon's safety...

/

Midnight-Sensei was currently presenting the year's program, after she had stopped doing a sketch and teasing the medic clone of the same name, who seemed about to die of embarrassment with what had been insinuated by the heroine...

Especially the 'fanboy' part due to his name... Momo couldn't help but giggle imagining her vod's face, red as a tomato... And the worst part was that Midnight couldn't remove his helmet to breathe and cool off because the rest of the squad would take advantage of it to laugh... So the medic clone decided to stay in his corner...

At one point, Midnight seemed to notice and approached with a big smile.

"Oh boy... Here we go again..." giggled Fearless just behind Momo, eliciting a small laugh from the rest of the class except for a certain dwarf with purple hair who was cursing the medic clone inwardly, tears in his eyes.

"Well? There's no need to be embarrassed..."

Fortunately, Midnight had his helmet on, because if he was tomato-colored, he turned strawberry red... The main problem the medic clone was currently facing was the fact that... Midnight had... A certain natural charm, which was accentuated by his costume, making any attempt to remain neutral psychologically and physically impossible...

"I am not embarrassed, Midnight-Sensei.", replied the medic, trying to keep his voice impassive, and some could give him credit for that.

"Oh~? Do you believe that, darling~?" asked Midnight teasingly, leaning down to bring her face to the visor's level. The medic clone's movement of surprise was minimal, but it was noticed by the attentive eyes of his brothers and sister who burst out laughing. Another person noticed the movement, and the class's pinkette took out a small piece of paper to jot something down, hiding her small smile...

"Absolutely certain, Sensei.", replied Midnight.

'Damn it, they'll hear about this', the medic clone swore internally.

"I don't think that's the case... Why don't you take off your helmet~? Besides, I'm curious to see what you look like in real life... and not through a screen..." asked the heroine. At that moment, the clone froze.

Fortunately, someone knocked on the door at that very moment, diverting Midnight's attention from the poor medic clone...

"Come in!"

The door opened, and Lock's head appeared. He looked perplexed at the scene unfolding in front of him...

"I was at an exam for a weapon handling license," explained Lock. "Oh, it was for you then...", replied Midnight, straightening up and returning to the board.

To Midnight's great relief, unfortunately, he accidentally let out a sigh of relief...

"You can go sit in your place... Oh, and I almost forgot."

She looked directly at the medic clone.

"We're not done yet~.", said the woman with a slightly sadistic smile that sent a shiver down the clone's spine.

Lock went to sit down, his gaze repeatedly passing over the two Midnights in the room... Completely clueless of what happened minutes before.

"Did I miss something?"

Momo giggled, casting little glances at the strawberry-colored clone behind his helmet.

"Yep, you missed one of the most embarrassing moments in the history..."

The medic clone looked a bit outraged.

"We'll see about that.", Midnight grumbled.


Hope you enjoyed! ;)

Also broke the fourth wall in the last three sentences... But oh well, guess I'm not digging a hole but rather building a wall now...