Chapter 11. Theoretical Thursday

Thursday…

The after-hump day.

Today was the day. Richie was determined to make Mei see him for his true self! She would be dazzled and delighted by his genius inventions, he was sure of that fact. One of the class 1-A students had asked specifically for a grenade-like gauntlet to store his sweat, and the blond had been up all night drawing up plans. He was sure that Mei, even as distracted as she got with her 'babies', would take notice!

"Sad. Very sad," Amadeus said as he observed the drooling dunderhead that was his lab partner for the day. "Can't you focus more on finding solutions than ogling your new waifu! Also," he whispered so low only Richie could hear him, "we know that someone has been stealing tech. For all we know, it could be her!"

"No! It's not her! She barely has the concentration to think of one thing at a time!" whispered Donnie frustratingly. "I have to be her lab partner… and it's abysmal!"

"Ummm, don't you mean, absolutely wonderful?" asked Gear.

"Fine. You know what, I'll switch partners with you one of these days…then YOU get to deal with the scatter-brainedness and inability to stay on one thing at any given time!"

Gear smirked. "Dude, I want to deal with that from Mei like only everyday of my life!"

"Would you three please concentrate!" the booming voice of Power Load interrupted. "If you miss even one screw in any one equipment piece, it will most assuredly–"

BOOOM!

"-blow up." The teacher sighed as he looked at the guilty party. Mei snickered, soot covered face getting the mad glow she was known (and loved and abhorred) for, her hair a blackened rose color.

"Mei…seriously…again?"

"That Baby wasn't quite configured properly! Sorry not sorry!" the pink genius said with a thumbs-up and spazzed out, diving headfirst into some parts.

"Oh boy," Loader sighed. He turned his attention to Amadeus and the other two Legionnaires, and said with a hopeful tenure to his voice, "Please tell me you three have something exciting for your first actual assignment…"

Amadeus smirked. "I came up with this concept to creation in about 15 hours." He unveiled some armored boots that had spring loaded mechanical enhancements in the soles. "I call them: The Boots of Springheel Jack!"

"Impressive! I'm assuming that's an American reference?"

"Victorian England, sir."

"Oh. Carry on. Please elaborate further."

"With these boots, a hero, any hero, can leap tall buildings in a single bound!"

"Ah! Like Superman-sama!" the girl next to Amadeus said.

"Indeed! At the highest setting, not even the heights of Mt. Fuji itself can be denied to the wearer! In fact, if you redline the onboard nuclear reactor, you can even launch yourself a full mile up into the sky! That's one point six kilometers." He placed the boots on his feet and pointed a finger in the air didactically. "Observe."

Amadeus then jumped, hopped, skipped, somersaulted, vaulted, gamboled, bounced, bounded, leapt, and yes, springed all about the room. From the floor to the ceiling and off the walls he rocketed like a mechanically assisted jackrabbit at breakneck pace with the boots, avoiding every fragile object, including people, with deft precision. The worst things that followed in his wake were all the papers and pencils and pens and other assorted writing and drawing implements thrown to and fro. And the messed up, frazzled hairdos. And the bruised ego in Gear's case.

After about a minute or so, Power Louder, chuckling, said, "Alright, alright, Kim-shonen. Your demonstration has been quite informative. Now please come back down to earth and stop making a mess of my classroom. And my hair. Do you have any idea how long it takes every morning to style it so immaculately?"

Saluting, Amadeus pushed himself once more off the eastern wall at an upward angle. He slapped the grey metal on the ceiling one last time for good measure and covertly stuck a small Ko Hyojoo sticker there for the lulz. Then, he landed in an epic crouch exactly where he'd begun his little showcase of the Boots of Springheel Jack that would have made an epic movie or video-game poster Spider-Man would've absolutely approved of, especially because it was exactly his style of crouching. Standing back normally on his feet, Amadeus then threw his hands up with a flourish and bowed to the massive amount of applause, cheers, woo-hoos, a couple of wolf whistles from some girls, and fists raised in excited approval he received from everyone in the class–students and sensei included. Even Richie had to throw in at least a reluctant and paltry clap once he saw Mei's hands coming together at 60 CPS ( .Second).

"Quite useful, and a very good first invention! Practical and versatile, with a variety of combat and rescue applications. A support item to be proud of! Bravo, bravo, Kim-shonen!" the teacher proudly exclaimed, beaming beneath his tractor excavator helmet. He turned to Gear expectantly. "Let us hope these other young minds can follow in your… footsteps."

As the entire rest of the class laughed at the grorious dad-joke pun, Gear gulped.

Truly appreciating the enormity of the tough act he had to follow, Richie coughed into a fist and, composing himself like Beethoven's Fifth, said, "I put this together WAY before Amadeus got done!" In actuality, it had taken him two days to complete after agonizing about it for an hour after the assignment had been given, but they didn't need to know that. "I call it…Minipack! It's basically a net-weightless utility belt…but smaller! It reacts to the Quirk of whoever is wearing it, so baddies can't mess with it once it's been linked to the user, which means perfect security from unauthorized users!" He placed Minipack around his waist. "Observe!"

Gear then proceeded to do multiple combat and gymnastic maneuvers in a circuit about the class, his every movement truly as elegant and graceful and balanced as if he wasn't wearing Minipack at all. Something not every utility belt could claim as it was often a surprisingly difficult thing to adjust to and master when superheroes who wore them first put them in the halcyon, nascent days of their careers. Something Richie could attest to when he finally personally joined Virg in his quest to keep Dakota free from the crime threatening to tear it down on a weekly, sometimes even daily, basis.

Ultimately, Gear's display wasn't as flashy as Cho's, true. But at the very least, the fact that he was clearly athletic and acrobatic without technological assistance did give him quite a few more particular looks from the ladies as he booked it around the room, as well as more wolf whistles from them. Especially from Mei, which naturally, made him happy. Amadeus's frumpy face also went the distance in lifting up his spirits majorly.

"Very good, Marsden-shonen. Very good. Not quite as useful, but still good for a first attempt. Excellent even. Definitely leans more understated and utilitarian in nature."

"Well yeah," Gear began, somersaulting back into where he'd begun his showcase. "It is a utility belt at its core."

"I love it!" said Mei, leaning in and squashing her face against Gear. "It's such a cute baby! And it carries itself! Meaning I can cram even more babies inside this baby!"

As Gear got hearts in his eyes and sighed wistfully at the close contact with his pink haired waifu, Power Loader told them to stop, which got them to do just that after some awkward fist coughing.

Amadeus smirked.

"Now then," the support course teacher said, turning to Donatello, "I'm sorry you have to follow those two tough acts, but it's your lot in life to be third and last. Impress me, and I may even let you go first next time."

"Well, Mr. Power Loader sir, I developed: The Honu." The turtle pulled out what looked like a miniature shell with an elbow strap from his… well… shell…and held it aloft for all to see.

"Hmmmm… it doesn't quite resemble a book. Are you sure you want to christen it as such?"

Donny shook his head. "Actually sir, it's Hawaiian in origin. Not hon, but honu."

Power Loader nodded. "Ah. Like Kamehameha."

"Only honu in this case simply means sea turtle and isn't the name of the first monarch of Hawaii. Or a certain turtle destruction wave used by a personal favorite spikey haired shonen protagonist of mine."

The whole class chuckled at that.

"Hahahahaha! I understood that reference!" said Mei.

"Back on topic, please," commanded Power Loader. "Now then, what does it do, Pin-shonen?"

"Does someone have a spare tank of water nearby? It's for demonstration purposes I assure you."

"I'll fetch one!" Misaki, a black-haired student said, running to retrieve a tank. He came back with a small aquarium filled with water. "Is this enough?"

"Perfect. Thank you Misaki-san." Donatello walked to the tank and said to the rest of the class, "Alright everyone, stand back! This could get messy! Haven't fully ironed out all the kinks yet!"

"O! Is this Baby gonna explode?!" asked Mei, headshaking like a bobblehead in excitement.

"No, but it might make the glass of the tank explode. Though not in the way you'd think."

"How then, Pin-shonen?" Power Loader asked, curiously rubbing his helmeted chin.

"Just watch, sensei." Donny pressed a couple buttons on the Honu and then tossed it onto the tank.

The results were as immediate as they were inundating, a visibly blue barrier of energy around the miniature shell looking device activating the instant it was fully submerged in the water of the tank. Though the barrier was set just wide enough not to come into direct contact with the glass or metal parts of the construction as the Honu descended, it seemed to have quite the repellent effect on all the water around it. So much so that it caused it all to start to spill out the top as it sank as close to the bottom as it got before the air cushion it had created around itself just caused it to float a few feet from the bottom of the tank.

As this demonstration went on, no one noticed the short, stubby girl who was secretly and inconspicuously handing something over to a certain designated hall monitor for the day that had entered clandestinely when everyone was distracted.

No one…except the microcameras. The tiny spyware was placed strategically in the four corners of the room by one Amadeus Cho since Tuesday to seek out those who were extra sneaky.

But, back to Donny.

"As you can see, the Honu serves as an emergency life-saving device of sorts. Only instead of floatation primarily, it accomplishes this by creating a highly hydrophobic forcefield around itself that pushes all water it comes into contact with away. This, of course, creates a pocket of air around it that would give a user plenty of time to swim back to the surface before suffocating. Once a user is fully wrapped in the field, it can then be set to also provide quite adequate protection from all types of dangerous marine life, like sharks with laser beams on their heads."

The entire class chuckled at this.

"Hahahahaha! I understood that reference also!" said Mei.

Then, the field around the Honu started visibly flashing on and on until, eventually, the field suddenly grew three times its size. And then the Honu exploded. And then the entire tank exploded, splashing everyone in nasty tank water.

Wiping his face clean, Donny said, "Well, like I said, still some kinks to iron out. Mostly, how to keep the field stable for long enough while preventing… that."

"Well, we can definitely see that you three are very serious about your work," said Power Loader, snickering. "I look forward to giving you more rigorous assignments soon. And your future work."

The bell rang shortly thereafter, eliciting frustrated groans from the working inventors. Unlike the hero course and business course plebeians, these geniuses were always annoyed when their class was interrupted for something as petty as 'meal times' or 'break time.'

Busy little bees and beavers and hummingbirds.

It was an often thankless, certainly dirty job, but someone had to do it.

Someone had to fix and maintain and keep the heroes' gear in the fight.

Someone would always have to play Tech Support for them.

As they filed out through the door, Amadeus pulled out a certain device of his meant to look like a smartphone, his gaze growing steely as he looked at Gear and Mei yucking it up.

MHA-TTT-MHA-TTT-MHA-TTT-MHA-TTT-MHA-TTT-MHA-TTT

In a corner of the softball field, as various Legionnaires and locals from classes 1-A and 1-B mingled, practiced with their 'Quirks,' and or actually just played softball, the theoretical trio from America assigned to the Support Course were in a conspiratory huddle.

"Okay guys, the moment of truth. Let's review the footage I've taken so far today and see if we can find something, anything that could lead us to anything untoward that could lead us to what's really going on here."

Gear sighed. "Okay, Kun-woo. But I'm tellin' ya, we ain't liable to find nuthin' today anymore than we have since your little wiretapping experiment started two days ago."

"Still, it never hurts to double check anyways," pointed out Donny.

"Uh, yeah, it does. Especially if you'd rather be spending precious, schooltime bonding with your new GF. Ever had a girl like you Donny? It's the greatest!"

Amadeus grumbled and Donny just shrugged noncommittally.

"I'm telling you, Jason, Mei is probably working for HYDRA or something."

Gear took GREAT OFFENSE to that, and looked ready to pull out a glove from his pocket and slap Amadeus upside his head with it in defense of his pink haired waifu's honor. "How DARE you sir! For all we know, YOU could be working for Redclaw's terrorist outfit! Or Zodiak! Or, or… some obscure Japan only supervillain org that–"

"Enough!" Donnie snapped. "We don't have time for your bickering. Let's just check the tapes and get it over with it. We'll worry about who's rightness is bigger later."

Amadeus and Gear fixed each other with the look, crossed their arms over their chest in concert, and both huffed out, "Fine!"

Amadeus whipped out his smartphone-like device. He then brought up the feed from today and watched it with the other two flanking him, their heads leaned onto his shoulder. After some very speedy fast forwarding as there was nothing of note for the longest time to any of their eyes, highly trained in analytical speed watching as they were, they slowed down to normal speed at around the time Donny was showcasing the Honu.

"Hey…that hall monitor isn't even in any of the hero related courses. What's she even doing there?" asked Donny.

"Dunno. But I had the misfortune of running into her on day one when I had to rush to the little mechanic's room. Major control freak vibes, man."

"Oh yeah… She's the girl who keeps knocking my shell whenever she sees me, saying she's testing my durability."

"I'm telling you two, it could be HYDRA," said Amadeus.

"And I'm telling you, it could be just a figment of your imagination, dude," said Gear.

"Either way, we need to gather more intel before bringing it up to the rest of the Legion. For all we know, they could just be running a little hush-hush hustle passing on love notes to other classes for lunch money or allowances or something. Typical, innocuous, school stuff," Donnie said wisely.

"Ha! Gear here wishes."

"Man, for the world's seventh smartest dude, you're not really into making sense. Why would I care about a love note being delivered to another class when I'm LITERALLY in the same class as the person that I would want a love note from?! Plus, I don't even need no stinkin' note, cuz she already basically said she's crazy about me!"

"Why are you SO QUICK to rule her out, out of hand?! I mean, you love her because of her BRAIN, right?"

"Amongst other things. Like her passion for destruction and her never give up attitude and her love for her creations. You wouldn't understand."

Amadeus growled and shook his head. "I'm telling you, it's always the ones you least suspect! Especially when it comes to members of the pink gender! I mean think about it: how many superheroes have a femme fatale they're all kissy-face with that got the drop on them the first round because they were so deceptive because they're sometimes in their rogues gallery and some other times helping them fight their rogues gallery! Cat Woman! Black Cat! Volcana! Demona! Big Boss! Stilllll in a dreeeeeeeeeam Snake Eaaaaaater!"

Gear tsked and waved his hand quickly and dismissively. "Man, those last two are completely fictional!" He then looked to the side forlornly. "Sadly."

"My point still stands!"

"Man, your point still stands about as tall as Mineta!"

Donnie sighed in exasperation. "Look guys, we're going to have to continue to observe before making any real conclusions. We have several more hours of class to keep an eye on the rest of the students! Stay focused, please. Like the scientists I know you are–BOTH of you!"

Several arcs of pure lightning sparked between Amadeus and Gear as they proceeded to engage in the mother of all stare off showdowns.

"Perhaps I should alert the telepaths, specifically Raven, about your unsolicited behavior. I'm sure they would come to the conclusion that your insides are better suited to resting on your epidermis," the turtle said.

"No, no, no, no, no!" both Amadeus and Gear said, immediately getting on their knees and begging in the direction of Donny. "Well be good boys! Good! We swear!"

"Good. Now, come on. We have work to do."

The bell rang shortly thereafter.

TT-LOV-TT-LOV-TT-LOV-TT-LOV-TT-LOV-TT-LOV

Yaoyorozu Industries was Japan's premiere Zaibatsu.

With a finger in every lucrative pie going, it was an easier matter to list all of the operations they didn't have going on rather than what they did.

With such monolithic status in the country's legit money making scene, it came as no surprise that they also had quite the stranglehold at the intersection of business and politics. They, along with many other famous brand names, had long lobbied the Japanese government for many, many decades against foreign encroachment into the country by outside capital, especially the oft overwhelming and admittedly rapacious companies from America. Thank you Lex Corp and related foul ilk. Because of their efforts, not a one, not a single brand name or more obscure megacorporation not native to Japanese soil was ever allowed more than a single half of a percent of the nation's market share. Not even Stark Industries after they started making baby bottles in favor of bullets and bombs after their CEO's famous return from his mountain top experience in Afghanistan–and they were the foreign company with the MOST market share.

All that to say, this very focussed, protectionist, isolationist, insular, and thoroughly nationalist mindset of Yaoyorozu Industries had its perks.

One of those perks, Slade found as he rummaged through the joint CEO and COO office of the company, was a very, very nice view of downtown Osaka.

And some very, very interesting and highly…theoretical…underwraps projects. Ones that, while still sadly totally legal and acceptable, had yet to be reported to the relevant Japanese governmental authorities for final approval.

And some very, very interesting documents Slade left on one the desks connecting said CEO and COO to some very, very interesting people that the Japanese public would probably have something to say about if they ever found out.

A shuriken like penlight slammed into the desk next to the documents, barely missing the merc's hand.

"So, you idiots decided to come here anyway. I warned you, helmet one-eye, that I wouldn't join you, but that I would stop anyone that infringed on my territory." The Phantom Thief leveled his gun at the mercenary, grinning in chaotic glee before smoke bombing himself invisible, cackling from the rafters above the desk space.

"Relax, Phantom Thief. I'm not here to steal anything."

Technically true. His helmet had already recorded the relevant information he was there to collect and sent it elsewhere.

"Oh really? Then explain the 'breaking and entering' thing you're doing. Last time I checked, that is basic beginner thievery 101." He smirked.

"Let me answer your question with a question: if a tree in a forest isn't uprooted, only bent slightly by the wind, is it really stolen?"

"Your stalling isn't effective. I already left my calling card. My plan is in motion and as long as you leave in the next ten seconds, I could care less what you do."

"Fine by me," Slade said. "I enjoy a little healthy competition… now and again."

"As do I. Just make sure that if you were here in the name of injustice, that I don't find you. Ever. In Tokyo, Osaka…or anywhere in Japan."

"Believe me. For once, I'm in this country in the name of the highest justice there can be: a justice long overdue."

"Curing your boredom?" the thief asked.

"Partially, but not the full picture. Want the rest? Then you're just going to have to wait and see like all the rest."

"I'll give you a little excitement, then." Joker snickered. "The first one to get on the news and in the papers forks over ten million yen. The loser…takes training for one night under the winner's tutelage."

"Deal. Now if you'll excuse me, I'd rather not shake on it and simply wish to take my leave."

Slade made for one of the spacious and beautifully expansive (and expensive) windows overlooking the fair, most industrial city in Japan.

"Check your pockets."

Slade stopped a few steps from the window. Humoring the super teen pickpocket, he reached for one of the pouches on his utility belt and fished out a card.

A calling card.

With a simple number on it.

"And what in the world is this supposed to–" Slade looked up and back at The Phantom Thief to discover he was no longer in his presence, and had likely long been gone by that point. "Hmmm. And I thought Robin had a bad case of doing that. Pity he so rarely ever did it so elegantly."

A pair of flashlights shining into the room and a dog barking from the hallway beyond brought Slade out of his reminiscing about the simpler times and the good ole halcyon days of yore… before being forced to work with a certain… perennial millennial gaming manchild and his merry band of misfits.

Quickly repocketing the card, Slade sighed and then swiftly used his armor's onboard tech to open the window just enough for him to silently jump through before closing again just as the guards and their dog entered.

Radioing Shigaraki as he free fell thousands of feet towards the ground, Slade said, "It's done. Are you happy now?"

"Very good. You get an extra life. RTB."

"Oh lucky, lucky me."

At the last possible second, Slade pulled out one of his bo staffs and activated its glider function. Hanging on, almost kissing asphalt, he arced himself back up into the sky and began the relatively long flight back to the garage in Mustufu.

MHA-TTT-MHA-TTT-MHA-TTT-MHA-TTT-MHA-TTT-MHA-TTT

Project time. The final such period of the day. Back at the softball field, Donny, Gear, and Amadeus had elected the path of keeping their second/new projects relatively simple and easy by their respective standards. That way they could divert more time and attention to keeping doubly close eyes on the goings on in the class and anything weird or unusual about their fellow students. To further facilitate this, they decided to each have a particular zone for their cone of vision.

Donny's workstation was up in front directly facing the door into the classroom.

Amadeus' was in the center facing the rightmost wall.

And Gear's was in the back facing the leftmost wall.

They observed suspicious persons with eagle eyes, and determined that four students in particular were noteworthy. None of whom were named Mei, however, much to Amadeus's chagrin.

One was named Sujiro Nidokin, a weasley, cropped-haired boy with buck teeth and glasses. The typical nerd. He was the most suspicious because he was always worming his way in other inventors' businesses. He even stole a journal once or twice. He also was in a bad mood most of the time, as if being with lower brainpower life forms was a chore.

Amadeus would set him straight.

Immediately.

He wasn't the World's Seventh Smartest person for nothing if he couldn't vibe-check people who needed a serious vibe check…intellectually.

"Excuse me…You happen to be in my favorite spot. This spot is where my brain gets the most inspiration. Please remove thyself from the premises effective immediately," the nasally voice snarked at Amadeus as a skinny, bony finger jabbed his ribs. "Immediately!"

"Listen here you dimwitted diminutive dunce, I happen to have a big brain Quirk! You will respect my authoritah!"

"The day I respect the authoritah of a newbie to UA is the day I turn in my hardhat and start the life of an average salary man!"

Amadeus quirked a brow. "How is that an inconvenience?"

"Hello! I'm Japanese! IN JAPAN! Do you know what the average salaryman has to put up with in this country?! Of course you don't! Because you are of a lower caste of cognitive function! And most importantly, a lower caste of collaboration."

Cho's inner Korean sick of Japanese ego kicked in, and he shouted, "I'm sick of your blatant braggadocious attitude! We settle this as good inventors should, with an old fashion GYRO-OFF! Winner gets bragging rights for the entire year AND gets to relentlessly heckle the loser!"

"Hahahahaha! You speak to my inner desire for uncontested verbal sadism! Very well! Name your intellectual battlefield of choice, and I shall crush you beneath my iron cranium!"

"Whosoever can create the bigger, badder smart missile in the shortest amount of time wins! And to sweeten the pot, in addition to the perks and cons I already listed, the victor gets to declare themselves the ultimate big brain: master of 5D chess! And the loser must hang his head in shame when in the presence of the victor for all eternity!"

"You're on! Prepare to be soundly defeated and humiliated!"

TEN. MINUTES. LATER.

"Imipossiburu!" shouted Sujiro.

"VERY possiburu," said Amadeus.

"But my design was flawless! It couldn't fail!"

"I'll give you that much: it probably wouldn't have… if you actually finished it before I finished mine."

"But no hard time limit was ever specified! And you've still yet to demonstrate your weapon! I call tomfoolery GAIJIN! Shenanigans! Shenanigans of the highest order!"

"Hey man, I know I said in the shortest amount of time possible, but that kind of implies before the bell rings, and the bell's already rung. Also–"

Amadeus Cho made his missile dance. An elegant samba of precise destruction. It twirled and stopped abruptly before hitting Gear in the back, turned upwards, stopped inches from the Ko Hyojoo sticker on the ceiling, and soared gracefully out the window and into the sky, detonating like a small, inconspicuous firecracker.

As the rest of the class cheered, being much less jealous engineers, Sujiro seethed. "Baaaaahhhhh! I knew I should have gotten it in writing! You will pay gaijin! You will pay!" The eyes of the rival scientist grew hard, a sneer of vengeance set on his face as he balled his fists, pumping one in Cho's direction.

Donnie turned to Amadeus and shuddered. He whispered, "I don't like that glare he's giving you. He must be watched. Nothing good ever came from those kind of eyes."

"Personal experience?"

"Yeah, you can say that."

"Same." Amadeus then smirked. "Raph's hit list that bad?"

"Dude, you have no idea. And no, some idea does not a full idea make here."

Amadeus nodded. "Taking your word for it."

As Gear held all of Mei's babies in his arms as he followed her as she made her way out of the class, Amadeus clasped his hands together, leaned his cheek against them, and started making a kissy face with accompanying noises.

Donny looked at him weirdly, along with a bunch of the other students filing out of the class.

Amadeus, realizing his miscommunication, said, "No, no, no, I wasn't doing it at him!" he said, pointing at Donny. "I was doing it to mock Jason's feelings towards Mei and–"

The other students however laughed and pointed at his humiliation and then just left.

Amadeus, now alone with Donatello, sighed audibly and said, "Nevermind. Let's just go."

"And never mention this awkward misunderstanding to anyone else ever?"

"Well obviously."

Outside, in a dark part of the forests that surrounded U.A., the scorned student scientist still seethed. A figure approached him and, after a short exchange, handed him a slip of paper. Sujiro accepted it willingly, and his face contorted into a twisted smile.

"Your time is coming, gaijin…"

MHA-TTT-MHA-TTT-MHA-TTT-MHA-TTT-MHA-TTT-MHA-TTT

Izuku could barely contain his excitement. Aizawa-Sensei was giving the entire 1-A class the day to go on a legit patrol tomorrow! He thought to himself that 1-B had the same opportunity, and if that was the case, Mustufu would be super extra protected tomorrow. That is, if the classes didn't previously decide to work in teams all over the place, even in Tokyo and as far away as Osaka.

He hoped very much that Tobey would accompany him and Uraraka, as well as several others he planned to ask tonight, including Kacchan, even though it would be a resounding and explosive, "No!"

Before he could ask anything of anyone, however, Deku was assaulted by a foot that, because he was in his head, did not quite register until he was on his butt. Looking up, he saw familiar green and gold gi-pants, and smiled.

"Shou! You caught me-"

"Off guard? Indeed I did. I see you still have not taken to heart that which I told you about tuning into your surroundings when getting absorbed into your head."

Izuku chuckled and nervously rubbed the back of his head with his hand. "Sorry, sorry. Sometimes it's like a blackhole in here: gobbling up all of my outward concentration until all that's left is concentrated speculation."

"I see. Perhaps we can meditate on this further later. For now, I find sparring an excellent way to clear the mind. Care to join me in the gym?"

Izuku nodded. "HAI! Though, if I might ask, could you maybe go a little… more easy with the hands… I was told that too much smashing with my arms could make them bust and leave me a… bilateral amputee." He shivered.

"Practice makes perfect and effort takes practice. I will go as easy as you can physically and mentally handle, but it is you who must choose to better yourself by going beyond perfection. Plus ultra perfection, dare I say." He smirked.

Powerman, walking by with a plate of short rib leftovers, stopped and said, "Hey means no, man."

Izuku groaned and went, "Awwwww! But I like my arms! They let me do stuff!"

"And for future reference, I recommend not explaining yourself thus as you have to me to your opponent, for they will surely use that weakness to their advantage, much like I will be doing to prepare you for such an occurrence," Danny said, walking towards the gym.

Deku, crestfallen, accepted a helping hand from Powerman back to his feet… and one of the ribs the bigger teen offered in consolation for the immense pain he knew was about to befall him.

"Off the record: ever play any fighting games?"

"Uhhh… a little? When I was younger mostly. Odd arcade game here and there," Deku said, mouth full of meaty deliciousness.

"Enough to know what zoning is?"

Deku nodded.

"Then I highly recommend you do everything in your powerset to zone Shou and keep him from putting his hands on you or you from having to put your hands on him. Unless that's the lesson, in which case, you just gotta grin and bear it, man. Just grin and bear it."

Deku nodded again, except this time more hesitantly.

"I hear ya. It's just that… the only move I really have to keep distance is shoot style. And Delaware Smash, but that's more… power intensive on the fingers." He nervously rubbed said fingers in memory of past pain he felt in them.

"Well, then spam shoot style. Not the most creative tactic, but it's your best shot of keeping your arms and fingers comfy and not… chunky salsa. Also, when you can, you might want to look into savate."

"I mean, that's basically shoot style in a nutshell," Izuku said, "but thanks for the advice, Ogie."

"Anytime little man. Anytime," Powerman said, ruffling the younger teen's broccoli hair before continuing on to his business with his ribs.

Finishing his own rib, the green haired fighter descended into the realm of his training session, throwing the bone in a trash can in the room. He knew not what today's lesson would entail, but he was excited nonetheless.

Danny had set up the gym so that the weights and other non-dojo-esque bulky equipment were hidden and out of the way, and the mirrors on the walls were made to look like dojo windows to a mountainous area. Thanks you smart screen technology.

Danny sat in the center of the mat, meditating while he waited for his opponent to stop gawking at the changes to the environment.

Izuku nodded and bowed in, clearing his throat loudly. He needn't have bothered.

Without a word, and with a bow to his pupil, Iron Fist said calmly, "Today, we work on covering your weakness, and building your strength. Your legs are strong, but do not discard your arms just yet."

He leapt to his feet and stanced, motioning Izuku to do the same.

The green menace mirrored his gestures, and charged, yelling a healthy, "Yaaaaaaaa!" He turned mid-strike to deliver a powerful roundhouse kick to Dannty's torso.

The Iron Fist leaped back and grabbed the foot all in one swift motion. "Your strength is useless without proper thought. Stop telegraphing your moves!"

Izuku grit his teeth, backed up, and charged again, this time aiming a punch at Danny's face, but secretly cocking back a foot to deliver a powerful Shoot Style Smash.

The dodge was predictable. The tanking of the hit from the kick with a forearm without even moving back an inch…was not.

"Better, but you're hesitating. If I were a powerful foe, threatening lives and people's safety, I doubt you would show this kind of mercy."

"I…I…I don't want to hurt you, though. I can't go full-"

"-I have stood toe-to-toe against a monster more powerful than ten All-Mights combined. I have bested a literal dragon. I can take whatever you can throw at me. Now, enough excuses. Give me your best. Show me your moves!"

"Ok…One-for-All…FULL COWL!"

The electrifying green power aura around him snapped, the veins of red and yellow opened up on his skin before disappearing again, and his green eyes glowed. "You asked for this…" He growled as he pushed off the floor and delivered a series of kicks that actually made Iron Fist have to evade as he looked for the proper openings.

Unfortunately, there were a lot of them.

"You leave yourself way too open," The Zen Master said calmly as he leaped up, avoiding a roundhouse flurry and positioning himself above Izuku's neck, elbowing him painfully. This threw the other teen face first into the ground, sliding into the wall because of his momentum. Shoot Style may increase his speed, but for this moment, Izuku wished it didn't.

Plaster felt so much harder at mach 10…

Getting up groggily, the teen snarled and positioned himself into a crouched sprinter's stance, feet against the dented wall. He pushed off and went full speed, a broccoli-haired ballistic missile, fist out, right at Danny.

"You must learn how to move mid-strike," Danny coached, dodging the Superman punch effortlessly then kicking Izuku's retreating form in the back, once again sending him face first into the floor, skidding on his countenance across the mat. "Then you wouldn't be susceptible to counterstrikes as easily. You must strike, and evade, and strike as you are evading."

"I'm confused!" Izuku said as he came for another pass, actually hitting Iron Fist in the shoulder as he went past. It shattered the bone, but Iron Fist grit his teeth and tripped up the hero as he was making another pass.

"Enough."

Izuku paused. "Huh?"

"I have identified your strengths and weaknesses, and have determined that your Power is your strength. If you lose that, you are still strong, but your combat skills are lacking. You and Tobey are remarkably similar in that regard."

"Huh. Could have fooled me," Izuku said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "He tends to dance circles whenever we spar."

"Which is why you need to hone not just your muscles, but your mind. Have you ever engaged in combat training without the use of your Quirk?"

"Well…we have self defense classes, but I'm always too busy to attend them for more than ten minutes. So…not really."

"Good," Danny stanced. "An empty pot does not overflow. Turn off your powers. You will learn. Now."

"Hai!"

MHA-TTT-MHA-TTT-MHA-TTT-MHA-TTT-MHA-TTT-MHA-TTT

"YOU'RE BUNKING WITH THE GAIJIN! I THOUGHT YOU HAD YOUR OWN APARTMENT!? WHY ARE YOU HERE!?"

In the lounge of apartment block three, the ears of everyone within a mile radius (or one point six kilometers for native metric-ese speakers) blew out as Bakugo shouted what he did.

"Yo! Who done ruined my pule souffle!?" shouted Cyborg from the kitchen. "Donkey milk don't be growin' on no trees, now! Do ANY of y'all know how expensive it is to import that all the way from Serbia?!"

"Yes. Yes I do," said Momo, casually sipping some oolong from her cup on the coffee table before her.

"SHUT UP, BAKA GAIJIN! Locals turn to speak!" Bakugo retorted. "I ask again, DAMN DEKU…Why the HELL are you here with these GAIJIN? WHY, DAMMIT?!"

"Because his home burned down," Sora said with an unfettered smile and thumb's up.

"NANI!? YOU BURNED DOWN YOUR HOUSE, NERD?!"

Izuku looked down sheepishly, his pointer fingers dancing together in front of him as he remarked nervously, "Well…I…Not exactly. See there was this storm and-"

"DON'T CARE! SHINI!"

"Would you stop yelling?! Man that's the second time! My backup's kapoot cause of you!"

"I said LOCAL SUPREMACY, SUISEKI!"

"OH I KNOW YOU DID NOT JUST CALL ME A TINY STONE!" Cyborg said as he rushed all the way into the lounge from the kitchen so fast his feet looked like wheels and he left a smoking trail in his wake.

Bakugo's face contorted into his 'villain maniacal look' as he grinned ear to ear, eyes bulging and veins popping as he loomed over the other student menacingly. "You wanna argue otherwise, suiseki? I'm getting hot, so let's settle this!" His palms lit up with snaps and pops, sparking threateningly. "Baaaaaaaaakaaaaa suisekiiii!" Bakugo taunted slowly.

Cyborg yanked off his oven mitts and slammed his fists together, his outward appearance becoming hard and grey and craggly like stone. "Boy, now you're just ASKING for that short fuze of yours to get a whole lot shorter!" Cyborg took off his 'kiss the cook' apron and smirked. "Like your height."

"Lez go…You will die," Bakugo growled, grin becoming even more demented, teeth looking sharp. His powers again sparked in his hands. A mini explosion went off in one of them, illustrating his irritation.

Raven cut in then, slamming both boys to opposite sides of the room with her powers shaped like giant raven claws. "Enough! We're trying to study and get ready for our first day of ACTUAL PATROL for ACTUAL CRIME FIGHTING tomorrow, and you two meatheads ARE NOT HELPING!"

"Rache, I'll stop when this baby badguy in training stops being such a baby! And bad!" said Cyborg, struggling against his dark magic restraints.

Bakugo's response devolved into unintelligible noises of rage and frustration, his powers detonating inside the claws still gripping him in the torso.

"Please…don't say things like that, Stone-san! Bakugo may be rash, but he's not a villain!" Izuku pleaded. "He's not!"

"Man, if you don't get bombs for brains up outta here, he's gonna be roadkill!"

"I said ENOUGH!" Raven roared, her four eyes glaring at the undercover roboman in a very clear warning that said roboman mirrored at Raven.

"Dibs on never having that guy on my team," Kaminari whispered to Mineta.

"He's scary. Definitely out of the harem," the diminutive doofus replied. "That is to say…he'll never get one."

"Not with that attitude," the human pikachu said in response.

"What are you two yammering about?" Kirishima asked, saluting Stone. "Making exotic dishes exquisitely and being willing to defend them is the MOST MANLY action a male of the human species can engage in!"

"Huh? Really? Ya know, I thought it was working out," said Toad.

"Oh ye of little brain. And manliness. Your heart is in the right place, but your sense of testosterone needs a coach. I will hold seminars this Sunday if you want," the redhead said, closing his eyes and activating his Quirk on an arm as he flexed.

"Troy-san is fine just the way he is! Giru giru!" Tsu croaked, hugging him for emotional support.

"Ah, you have excellent taste as well! Troy, my friend, you are on your way to being quite the catch!" Kaminari said as he noogied the sandy brown head of the amphibian mutant.

"Dude, taste in what? Flies? And catch of what? Catfish? What are you talking about?"

"Duh, she's totally into you, idiot!" Nova called from his seat on a comfy chair nearby.

"Into what? Come on guys! I don't speak nerd!"

"Into your pants…if you let her," Mineta said, his drool making a small puddle on the floor.

"Can we kill him? Please?" Kim asked, tiredly facepalming.

"We think he has a secret immortality Quirk. So no," Momo sighed in exasperation.

"Also, murder is illegal and wrong and we're heroes. We shouldn't go around bumping off people we don't like… even if they are… lecherous, obnoxious, creepers dangerous to the wellbeing of a healthy society," said Izuku.

"Also, we just have Jiro handle him. Observe…" Momo continued.

Jiro activated her speakers and blew Mineta away with pure sound, having him make a small imprint on the wall.

Near everybody pointed and laughed at his humiliation.

Jean sighed as she got up from her seat and clapped her hands. "Ok, time for a reset. You–" She pointed at Bakugo. "Calm down, or we'll tell your mom."

"Grrrrrrrrr fine! Baka Onna…"

"And you–" She pointed at Cyborg. "Get back in the kitchen and just make something! I don't know and I don't care, just make sure it isn't as vulnerable to loud noises! Or absurdly expensive!"

"Finger sandwiches!" Izuku chimed in hopefully. "I've never had any of those! I heard they're really fun!"

"I'll help by making the desert!" Sato said. "If you'll allow me of course. I don't want to intrude."

Cyborg sighed. "Fine. I guess I'll just have to showcase my mastery of the finer arts of french cooking later."

Ron chimed in with, in an affected posh accent, "Please permit Rufus and I to join you as well, my good Sir Stone. I'm eager to show these locals the glory, nay, the SPLENDOR, of homemade nacos!"

Cyborg and Bakugo walked past each other, Raven having let them go… for the moment. The lightning that shot from the volatile teen met the blue sparks of the half-machine, and they each growled as they passed each other.

Iida zipped in, carrying a box of notepads. The class rep had decided that in order for things to be organized, he needed everyone to write things down. The class 1-B rep, Kendo, shared his sentiment, as she had also provided notepads, complete with colors coding the individual groups.

During class that day, 1-A and 1-B had decided to split into mixed squads of around ten each, with smaller groups called fireteams within those ten to cover more ground. However, they hadn't decided who would be on which squad. They just knew that 1-A and 1-B would work in tandem.

That was what this meeting was for.

"Settle down all of you! Do not shame the very institution that allowed us to become what we are by bickering!" Iida announced boldly, raising his hands for quiet and gesturing to get everyone all in one space.

"Well, I don't care who ends up on my squad, as long as they aren't Mineta."

"The purple bubble-headed short one does seem…undesirable," Starfire agreed.

"Strike two…my life is going to be miserable!" said 'short, purple bubble headed one' groaned from the Shame Corner he put himself in. "Bahhhhh! I don't need this! Even if there is free food involved!" He got up and stormed out… though not before snatching the entire bowl of Setouchi lemon popcorn laid out for purposes of snackage for their rather large pow-wow.

"Need a ride?" Kaminari asked before suddenly getting angry. "And put down the bowl! That's Inko-chan's bowl!"

"Yeah dude, don't steal from my mom," said Izuku. "It's very impolite."

About every single person, including the people going out of their way not to regard him earlier, turned towards Mineta and looked at him as if he was a stain on the escutcheon of Japan. Which, admittedly, he kind of was.

Feeling the sweat start to drop down the back of his neck, he nervously said, "Okay, okay. Ummm… I'll just get a plastic or paper bag and put the stuff there and leave the bowl… here?"

"Yes. That is the correct answer," said Iron Fist for the entire assembly, the typically mild mannered and mentally well adjusted teen narrowing his eyes dangerously on the little midget.

Yelping, Mineta quickly rushed to the kitchen, emptied the bowl in a plastic grocery bag leftover for the purposes of further storage, and came running through the lounge and out the door shouting, rapidfire, with said bag in hand:

"THANK-YOU-KAMINARI-BUT-I-DON'T-NEED-IT-I-CAN-RUN-JUST-FINE-MY-HOME-ISN'T-TOO-FAR-ALSO-I-LEFT-THE-BOWL-IN-THE-KITCHEN-PLEASE-DON'T-KILL-ME-I-HAVE-A-LOT-TO-LIVE-FOR-I-SWEAR!"

Soon, the assembly all heard the front door open and slam shut swiftly and the pitter patter of Mineta's little feet dimmed into nothing, even to those with enhanced hearing.

"Are you guys sure he doesn't have a speed Quirk too?" asked Leonardo.

"No. Quirk stacking is all but impossible in this country," Izuku said, shuddering as he recalled exactly why that was, and wanted to keep the fact he had such a quirk secret. "There have only been two non-bred stacking Quirks, and neither of them were passed on genetically."

"Huh. Interesting. But what exactly do you mean by 'non-bred'?" asked Kim.

"He's referring to Quirk marriages," Todoroki said, lighting up his right side and activating his ice on his left. "Basically, you mix Quirks genetically until you get the combination you want."

"That's…not cool man," Spyke said, shaking his head.

"No. But it's been a thing with mut–Quirk users–of the Far East since the luminescent baby," said Cyclops.

Spyke threw a hand up in the air in total and complete annoyance. "I mean… marrying someone just so you can get a certain power set out of your kids? That's messed up. What, so if they don't give you what you want, you dump them? Or keep farming until you do? Trash plan, man. Messed up."

There were unanimous murmurs from all the foreign students.

Most of the locals even nodded, Shoto included. "As a product of Quirk Breeding, I can attest that it's a flawed, almost barbaric practice that destroyed my family."

An awkward silence ensued for around a minute, no one quite knowing what to say or do after in a way that respected Todoroki but also got them out of this unexpected dark turn in what was supposed to be a relatively simple, easy, and light hearted shop talk about taking the theory of tomorrow's superheroing and turning it into something practical.

That was until Toad, with a look of steely resolve, elected to hop from the admittedly comfortable embrace of Froppy, and land on Todoroki's shoulder. "Hey man, don't take it so rough. At least your parents loved you and still take care of you. Mine? Ha! Couldn't wait to throw me out the house and inta the swamp soon as I could surf my first gator!"

Froppy's big eyes somehow got even bigger at that declaration. "Giru?" she said softly, her interest peaked.

"I've come to terms with this. Hence, why I was not reluctant to bring it up."

Ignoring him, Toad went on to say, "I mean, don't get me wrong, I loved a good fly casserole as much as the next tadpole, but towards the end of my tenure in ye olde casa de la Toad, my parents were really skimping out on the finer things in life to feed their growing boy: like McDonalds!"

"EW! Vas is DAS?! No vone vants to know about your infant dining preferences!" Kurt wailed, holding his mouth. "Vy! VYYYYYY!"

Many of the other students, Legionnaire and local alike, agreed heartily with Kurt and unashamedly shared their disgust.

Not Tsu, though. She was only further… intrigued.

Conversation soon (thankfully) turned back to the matter at hand after that, and the crowd of students got right back to doing the thing they set out to do in the first place without so much interruption.

Toad, taking pride in completing his mission with such flying colors, noticed that a certain froggy female was staring at him in… far more intrigue than normal. Although she barely blinked so he didn't know if she was actually looking at him or beyond him. But she was looking in his general direction, so he took it to mean it was indeed a stare aimed at him. Happily, he hopped off Todoroki and landed back where he'd been.

He received a pat on the head from Froppy for a job well done.

"Giru."

Little did he know that she was secretly now attracted to the air of danger and mystery surrounding him now that he had brought up how exactly he was kicked out of his home: namely the fact that he had regularly surfed alligators.

MHA-TTT-MHA-TTT-MHA-TTT-MHA-TTT-MHA-TTT-MHA-TTT

At the end of the meeting, the final groups for the following day's class patrols looked like this:

SQUAD-1. MUSTUFU, DOWNTOWN

1. The Human Spider (Spider-Man's undercover hero ID).

2. Deku (Izuku Midoriya's hero ID).

3. Taping Hero: Cellophane (Hanta Sero's hero ID).

4. Daughter of Darkness (Raven's undercover hero ID).

5. Kame Orenji (Michaelangelo's undercover hero ID).

6. Fresh Picked Hero: Grape Juice (Minoru Mineta's hero ID).

7. Street Shield (Powerman's undercover hero ID).

8. Dragonfist (Iron Fist's undercover hero ID).

9. Welder (Yosetsu Awase's hero ID).

10. Hearing Hero: Earphone Jack (Kyoka Jiro's hero ID).

11. Plamo (Kojiro Bondo's hero ID).

SQUAD-2. MUSTUFU, TAKOBA BEACH

1. Kame Ao (Leonardo's undercover hero ID).

2. Armodrillo (A-Bomb's undercover hero ID).

3. Gero (Toad's undercover hero ID).

4. Rain Season Hero: Froppy (Tsuyu Asui's hero ID).

5. Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight (Katsuki Bakugo's hero ID).

6. Petting Hero: Anima (Koji Koda's hero ID).

7. Mighty Morphin (Beast Boy's undercover hero ID).

8. Sora (Sora's undercover hero ID).

9. Amalgami (Kevin Levin's undercover hero ID).

10. Bone (Spyke's undercover hero ID).

SQUAD-3. TOKYO, SHINJUKU WARD

1. Very Model (Cyclops' undercover hero ID).

2. The White Ranger (White Tiger's undercover hero ID).

3. Stone (Cyborg's undercover hero ID).

4. Soul Powah (Static's undercover hero ID).

5. Comicman (Manga Fukidashi's hero ID).

6. The Blue Bamf (Nightcrawler's undercover hero ID).

7. Lizardy (Setsuna Tokage's hero ID).

8. Jack Mantis (Togaru Kamakiri's hero ID).

9. Shining Hero: Can't Stop Twinkling (Yuga Aoyama's hero ID).

10. Spiral (Sen Kaibara's hero ID).

SQUAD-4. TOKYO, SHIBUYA WARD

1. AcroBat (Robin's undercover hero ID).

2. Phantom Thief (Neito Monoma's hero ID).

3. Jet-Black Hero: Tsukuyomi (Fumikage Tokoyami's hero ID).

4. Lizardy (Setsuna Tokage's hero ID).

5. Sturdy Hero: Red Riot (Eijiro Kirishima's hero ID).

6. Stun Gun Hero: Chargebolt (Denki Kaminari's hero ID).

7. The Human Rocket (Nova's undercover hero ID).

8. Mudman (Juzo Honenuki's hero ID).

9. Sweets Hero: Sugarman (Rikido Sato's hero ID).

10. Airosmith (Kosei Tsuburaba's hero ID).

SQUAD-5. TOKYO, CHIYODA WARD

1. Supa Spy (Kim Possible's undercover hero ID).

2. Shoto (Shoto Todorki's hero ID).

3. Kiryu Amerikan (Jake Long's undercover hero ID).

4. Buster Ghost (Danny Phantom's undercover hero ID).

5. Gevaudan (Jurota Shishida's hero ID).

6. Long Weizi (Hiryu Rin's hero ID).

7. Stealth Hero: Invisible Girl (Toru Hagakure's hero ID).

8. Mines (Nirengeki Shoda's hero ID).

9. Martial Arts Hero: Tailman (Mashirao Ojiro's hero ID).

10. Tentacle Hero: Tentacole (Mezo Shoji's hero ID).

SQUAD-6. TOKYO, HOSU CITY WARD

1. Turbo Hero: Ingenium (Tenya Iida's hero ID).

2. White Monkey (Ron Stoppable's undercover hero ID).

3. Sunrise (Starfire's undercover hero ID).

4. Uravity (Ochaco Uraraka's hero ID).

5. Creature Feature (Ben Tennyson's undercover hero ID).

6. Kame Akai (Raphael's undercover hero ID).

7. Battle Fist (Itsuka Kendo' hero ID).

8. Real Steel (Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu'a hero ID).

9. Rocketti (Pony Tsunotori's hero ID).

10. Lucky Girl (Gwen Tennyson's undercover hero ID).

SQUAD-7. OSAKA

1. Everything Hero: Creati (Momo Yaoyorozu's hero ID).

2. Mimic (Rogue's undercover hero ID).

3. Marvel Girl (Jean Grey's undercover hero ID).

4. Pinky (Mina Ashido's hero ID).

5. Phaser (Kitty Pryde's undercover hero ID).

6. Rule (Yui Kodai's hero ID).

7. Vine (Ibara Shiozaki hero ID).

8. Shemage (Kinoko Komori's hero ID).

9. Emily (Reiko Yanagi's hero ID).

10. Punch Buggy (Blue Beetle's undercover hero ID).


"Is this acceptable for everyone?" Iida asked.

"No! I refuse to work with ALL GAIJIN!" Bakugo raged. "Put me on damn Deku's team or something!"

"I don't understand, giru," began Froppy, scratching her nose. "Me and Koda-san will be there with you."

"Little consolation when…MOST OF THE EXTRAS ARE GAIJIN! ALL IT TAKES IS MOST OF THEM! FORGET IT! I'm working alone!"

"Now, Kacchan…" Izuku soothed. "Aizawa-sensei said we had to get used to getting THEM used to working with us in a non-training setting."

"NEEEEEEEEEERD! I don't care! Listen, Gaijin gakis, stay OUT of my way, or get BLASTED!"

"Okaaaaaay… anyone ELSE have any complaints?" Jean asked the room.

"Um…yes actually," Kaminari asked. "Why is Punch Buggy of all people over there the only one with…an ACTUAL HAREM?!"

"What can I say? Ladies love the muscle," Jaime said, activating the scarab and enlarging his arms to max and flexing comically, much to the barely contained snickers and outright guffawing of many in the nearly seventy plus group.

"Some of us dig that blue suit! Rawr!" Ashido said, smacking Jaime in the rear playfully.

"YEOW!" Jaime yelped, letting out his inner mexican jumping bean (which was not that hard given his heritage) and falling face first onto the carpet, many in the group pointing and laughing at his unfortunate circumstances.

"The alien acid spitter has assaulted and humiliated us, Jaime Reyes! Allow me to purge the creature in retaliation!"

"Khaji! Not now!" Jaime mentally said to the scarab's AI as he got onto his knees… and massaged his still smarting posterior.

"Taking off and nuking the entire site from orbit is the only way to be sure!"

Blue Beetle honestly didn't know how to react to that… so he promptly turned tail and said, "Bye-guys-see-ya-later-gotta-smash-rocks-cuz-I'm-just-so-manly-bye!" The front doors were then blown off their hinges as Jaime ran for the first nearest and largest rock to smash to assuage Khaji-Da's roiling wrath.

"Our group gets smaller by the minute," Fumikage remarked with eyes closed and head down.

Momo looked mad cross at Ashido and said, "Girl, have you lost that walkman you call a mind of yours? That's assault! If you were working at my parents' company, you'd be fired on the spot!"

"It's not assault if it's playful!"

Ben took notes for later.


AUTHORS NOTES: I just want to thank everyone who's been following this story and making it the most exciting one of my fanfictioning life.

The next upcoming arc and its attendant chapters are gonna be a doozy that you won't see coming. Super detailed, so long, super character based, super heavy on plot and story, super funny, super awesome, and SUPER ACTIONY.

So expect a delay in me and my lovely assistance's usual Sunday schedule for about two weeks. Or in layman's terms, expect us to post the first chapter of the next arc on Sunday, October 27th, 2024, just before Halloween.

Love, He-Who-Sees and BatWingteenavenger!