Welcome to the Heroes: Rising Arc of "Through the Rough"! This is going to be an interesting set of ten chapters to write. For one, I get to look back on "Omni Force: HEROES RISING" and improve from that. For another, I get to work with a lot of fun new characters for this arc, especially the Dark Stars.
Getting them introduced before this arc was a priority for me. And giving them a bit of background should be something that'll really get the ball rolling going forward. Expect to see a lot of action and a lot of moments between Izuku and Rebecca! I'm ready to really get things going before getting into things like Season 5!
Enjoy, everyone!
THROUGH THE ROUGH
Snowflakes fell lightly over the mountain road. It was well past midnight with vehicles zooming along the pavement, far from a bright city in the distance. Headlights glared on as about four sports cars were in pursuit of a large, armored truck. In the red vehicle leading the chase and at the wheel was Rock Lock, while beside him another hero with a costume similar to that of a medieval knight.
They were the first to make their approach on the armored truck, coming up on its right. With the exhausts pumping out flames to give their car a final push, they approached the driver's window. And inside, they saw the lizard-like face of Spinner…
"That's Shuichi Iguchi!" Rock Lock exclaimed upon recognizing him.
"So it is the League of Villains!" the knight-like hero realized, sticking his head out of the window as he made the barrel-like fingers of his left hand come together in the form of a machine gun. Before he could attempt to fire though, Spinner turned the steering wheel of the truck to the right, crushing the car against the adjacent wall of the road and causing it to move off the ground.
Rock Lock grimaced as he tried to steer the vehicle out of its pinned position. Sparks flew through the window they rode against as both heroes ended up squishing together. Thankfully, their vehicle found its way out of the literal hard place as the left door fell off while they swerved, managing to regain traction on the road as they continued their pursuit with the three other cars. In the meantime, Spinner moved the truck to the left to pin the blue sports car against the railing beside the cliff. After a few moments, it ended up flipping over the railing and plummeting down below in a massive explosion. Seeing that frustrated the gunner hero.
"Damn it!" he cursed, firing off a flurry of shots from his left hand while holding it steady with his right. Unfortunately, his bullets did little more than dent the back of the truck's metal doors. "No luck!" he yelled out.
"Then let's get closer!" Rock Lock decided, taking a tighter grip on the steering wheel. Their car zoomed forward along the road after the armored truck, turning around the bend. The gunner hero readied his right arm, shattering the windshield with another spray of bullets that were aimed for the truck. Again, they just seemed to only dent the doors as sparks flew about wildly with each impact.
All of a sudden, glass shattered from the right side window of the truck. Sticking out from it was Dabi, who held out his left hand as blue sparks came off of it. Rock Lock grimaced in realization. He swerved the car as a plume of blue flames was about to engulf them.
"Deadbolt!" he yelled, making the steering wheel glow a bright red. The car then flipped over, landing on its side as it locked in place and took the flames from the villain to its undercarriage, shielding a silver car as it rode up the hill beside the road. "Sorry, we're out!" Rock Lock apologized, carrying the gunner hero out of the enflamed vehicle they were in. The silver car practically leapt over the armored truck from its climb up the hillside, landing in front of it as its front end was severely damaged.
"Take this!" a blonde-haired, spectacled female hero exclaimed, sticking out of her vehicle's sunroof as she flung out electrically-charged whips towards the truck. Spinner pushed his foot against the pedal hard. The truck rammed into the silver car, knocking it aside as it spun out, while the electric hero bounced hard along the road. Now only one car was left in pursuit of the villains.
"Upsy-daisy…!" Compress grunted as he opened a hatch at the truck's roof to stick himself out, "So very persistent!" he remarked, prepping a trio of blue marbles in between the fingers of his left hand. He flung them out onto the road. They glowed brightly before popping open to reveal a metal that dug into the pavement like a spike trap. The lone pursuit vehicle couldn't stop in time, striking the fence and flipping over across the road before getting caught up in an explosion. However, Compress noticed a black gloved hand reach up to the truck's roof from its end.
"What are you up to…" the lone hero began as he clawed himself up, revealing that he had a left laser eye prepped to fire, "you bastards?!" he yelled out.
"You expect us answer that?" Dabi retorted in question upon sticking himself up beside Compress, launching a blast of blue flames from his left hand. They engulfed the hero as he screamed in agony, falling off of the truck. Meanwhile, Spinner smacked his right fist against the steering wheel in frustration.
"How do the heroes know our route?!" he wondered angrily, clenching his teeth.
"Someone must've talked…" Dabi muttered as a suggestion.
"A leak?!" Compress exclaimed out of shock, "Who is it?" he inquired with anger present in his tone.
"How should I know?" Dabi grumbled in question. The cargo the three of them were carrying was a large, fluid-filled tank that harbored a humanoid figure. It glowed an ominous violet, illuminating the rest of the hold. Spinner looked into the lone mirror at his left and saw a pair of headlights approaching from behind.
"Hey, we got one more on our tail!" he called out to his comrades. Emerging from the hatch with Compress was Maria, making him grimace under his mask with embarrassment.
"Shit, we've got the IUA on us, too…" she realized. Inside the lone vehicle was Holy, who shifted the throttle before speeding closer.
"Hmph," the Compress Quirk user scoffed, readying another trio of marbles in between his fingers, "I'm actually quite honored that the IUA's taken an interest in our little troupe…" he admitted, "Perhaps this performance'll make us even more famous!" he proclaimed, flicking the marbles out onto the road. They burst open in flashes of blue light, revealing large rocks. In her car, Holy huffed with a smirk.
"How amateur…" she remarked as her purple energy lines appeared upon her arms. The incoming rocks all melted suddenly, splattering onto the road as she drove by them.
"What?!" Compress exclaimed in shock.
"Guess Toga and the others weren't pulling our legs when they said she had a melting Quirk…" Maria realized, "Spinner, step on it!" she insisted of the lizard-like man driving, "She gets close enough, we're done for!" she pointed out.
"Easier said than done here!" he yelled back, "I go faster, and we fall off a cliff!" he pointed out seriously.
"You shouldn't be worrying about that…" another voice chimed in through the communication line the quartet of villains shared, much to their surprise.
'Who the hell was that?!' they all wondered. Meanwhile, they had yet to realize that the road ahead was being cut off.
"The rest of the pursuit team is out, but I'm closing in," Holy confirmed over the communication line shared amongst the heroes, "Once I melt the tires, you all should focus on stopping this thing," she advised on. Having listened to her further down the road was Endeavor, who was gathered with many other heroes.
"Copy that," he responded, lowering his left arm from his ear, "You can leave the rest to me," he assured as the truck was on its approach.
"Ah!" Spinner gasped, widening his eyes, "Endeavor!" he exclaimed.
"The lead actor in this heroic farce…" Compress muttered upon noticing who was ahead, while Dabi prepped himself by igniting his right hand with cobalt blue flames.
"Workin' so late at night…" he noted, sounding impressed as the Flame Hero took a ready stance and ignited his fist in fire, while the others hurried off for cover, "I hope you get no retirement!" he shouted, firing off a stream of blue flames towards his foe.
"JET BURN!" Endeavor roared, launching a fiery beam from his fist. The attacks collided in a fierce torrent of orange and blue fire, which dissipated quickly. The Flame Hero scoffed in frustration.
"Better get out of the way!" Spinner yelled from the driver's seat of the truck as he pressed down hard on the gas pedal, "I don't mind running you over!" he mentioned loudly. Endeavor wasn't intimidated. He crossed both of his arms over his face. Meanwhile, Holy rolled her window down and stuck her left hand out.
"Melty Kiss!" she exclaimed as purple energy lines reappeared upon her arm. The back left tires suddenly burst in a melting explosion, with sparks flying as those aboard grimacing.
"That Holy is quite the supporting actress…" Compress remarked.
"I'll stall her," Maria decided, leaping down and stretching her legs to land atop the windshield of the I.U.A. Hero's car, causing her to gasp in surprise as she tried to shake her off by swerving, having to slow down in the process. That left the armored truck still heading toward Endeavor, whose body radiated with heat.
"Now would be a good time to duck," Dabi advised to Compress, enticing him to jump back into the truck as his comrade lit both of his hands up with blue flames. Heat built up around Endeavor's body as his flames roared wildly. His pyrokinetic foe had his blue fire build up as well. He unleashed a huge stream of it towards the Flame Hero, who still appeared to be charging himself up. But not for long…
"PROMINENCE…" he began to echo as the flames burned brightly and billowed mightily around him, sparking as he uncrossed his arms, "BURRRRRRRRRRRRRNNNNNNNNNN!" he roared, unleashing a massive burst of fire that completely engulfed Dabi's and the armored truck. The vehicle started to hit the side railing as the fire had surrounded it, burning through the windows.
'Damn…' Spinner inwardly cursed as he was trying desperately to brace himself from the flames, 'Time's up…' he realized before the entirety of his body dissolved into a brownish sludge.
'Endeavor…' Dabi uttered inwardly before he and Compressed also fell apart into the same substance before the fire engulfed them. The Flame Hero propelled himself up off of the road by shooting flames from his feet, avoiding the fiery truck as it rolled towards the bend with its tires screeching. Without a driver, it crashed through the railing and tumbled down the mountainside into the forest.
Meanwhile, Holy pulled the emergency brake of her car as she spun the wheel, spinning around. She managed to throw Maria off of the windshield as she crashed against the guardrail in a pained grunt. As the car came to a stop, the dual-type Quirk user quickly got out, running over to the downed villain, who groaned as she sat up.
"Stay where you are, Slime!" she demanded, getting her attention as she saw the gold-glowing hair of the I.U.A. Hero, "You're already in enough hot water after working for Drakken…" she noted with a glare. However, the Slime Quirk user chuckled.
"Oh, don't you worry…" she responded, with her body dissolving into a brownish sludge, "I'm working for someone better than Mister Joe now…" she affirmed, turning into a puddle that lied upon the ground. Holy grimaced.
"Endeavor, we have a problem…" she confirmed, putting her right hand onto her communicator, "Can you tell if the other League members are in the truck?" she inquired.
"I can't really see them at the moment…" the Hellflame Quirk user responded over the line, "We've got two more villains we're dealing with here!" he pointed out to her surprise.
"I'm on my way!" she affirmed, getting into her car before driving over. As the smoldering truck continued to burn in the woods below, the Flame Hero thrusted his fists to unleash fireballs towards a pair of figures that had appeared before him the moment he attempted to make an approach.
"I'm guessing you're with the League?" he presumed, narrowing his eyes onto the two before him, being none other than Clown and Killer.
"Hehehehehe…" the former chuckled, "Yes and no, my dear Endeavor…" he answered as he took a ready stance, "We're merely assisting the League with their latest ordeal…" he confessed.
"And what may that be?" the Hellflame Quirk user inquired.
"Well…" Killer began, activating a long blade of energy over his right arm, "that would be telling, wouldn't it?" he presumed, lunging out at the Flame Hero and swiping at him rapidly with his weapon, forcing him to fall back, "What's wrong?!" the android inquired, "Can't use your flames after so many powerful attacks?!" he guessed, swiping his foe's right cheek as a small cut appeared. Endeavor growled.
"Flashfire Fist…" he began to his opponent's surprise, "JET… BURRRNNNN!" he roared, unleashing a fiery beam from a white-hot point on his right fist. However, Clown hopped over, bringing forth a ring of fire with a snap of his fingers. The beam went through it… and instantly vanished. "What?!" the Hellflame Quirk user exclaimed in shock.
"Hehe…" the clown-like android chuckled, "You should worry about the other heroes, Killer," he advised of his partner, who seemed annoyed, "Endeavor's always going to go beyond, you know…" he mentioned.
"Tch," Killer scoffed, noticing the other heroes arriving on the scene, "Fine…" he muttered, lunging out at them.
"Hey, who the hell is—?!" One hero failed to finish his shout as the android slashed past him, followed by wounding a few others with his blade. He was set to pierce through another, only to find his weapon melting off of his arm. He gasped in surprise, turning to see Holy there with her right hand extended as purple markings shined along her arm.
"You're like the two from Kyushu, aren't you?" she presumed, "Both you and your friend…" she added with narrowed eyes. Killer cracked a smirk, silently chuckling.
"Woo!" Clown exclaimed as he hopped around, evading each of the fireballs shot his way from Endeavor, who growled in frustration.
"Endeavor!" Holy called out, getting his attention, "They're both androids!" she confirmed to his surprise, "There's no need to go and hold back!" she added in affirmation.
"Oh, is that right?" Clown wondered aloud. With that, the Flame Hero made fire emit from the tips of his fingers.
"Flashfire Fist…" he began to bellow, unleashing thin beams of fire from his fingertips, "HELL SPIDER!" he roared. Clown yelped, trying to hop away from the rays. However, they managed to slice off both his right arm and left leg as he fell onto the pavement.
"AAAAHHH!" he screamed with agony. Endeavor scoffed, knowing it was a front as he could clearly see the metal within the arm and leg of his foe. Looking over at the scene, Killer grimaced.
"Clown!" he cried out, attempting to run over to him.
"Melty Kiss!" Holy exclaimed as she stuck her hand out at the short android. His legs dissolved in a melting explosion, causing him to topple over onto the ground as he clenched his teeth together in pain.
"You… bitch…!" he growled out.
"Feigning pain is only going to make this worse for you and your friend," the I.U.A. Hero noted as she approached, "One look at you, and I can tell you're not human," she mentioned, making Killer snarl.
"Hmph," Endeavor scoffed, "It was foolish of you to try and stall for time," he pointed out, approaching the downed Clown. However, he blinked in surprise to see the sadistic smile upon his face.
"What makes you think we didn't do just that?" he inquired back. He and Killer both chuckled. All of a sudden, both of them disappeared into thin air.
"What?!" Holy exclaimed, seeing the melted hole in the road, "But I could've sworn…" she said, looking at her hand. Looking around, Endeavor saw the cleaves in the road, along with the smoldering fire nearby.
"They tricked us…" he realized with a grimace.
"Then must mean…!" the I.U.A. Hero concluded, looking over the guardrail. The armored truck was no longer enflamed, lying on the ground with its back doors opened. "Dammit!" the dual-type Quirk user cursed. A certain individual had already arrived on the scene as both Endeavor and Holy came down to the crash site moments later.
"Hm?" the former uttered upon seeing who it was after landing, "What are you doing, Hawks?" he asked the Wing Hero as he approached, seeing that the red-winged man was crouched down beside the truck, inspecting it carefully as he rubbed at his head, "If you were here, you could've given us a hand," he pointed out. Hawks stood up.
"Aw, don't bite my head off, Endeavor," he pleaded casually, "I just now flew in!" he claimed with a sheepish grin.
"How is it that a man as fast as yourself would end up arriving so late?" Holy wondered as she walked over, folding her arms underneath her chest.
"Sorry, really!" Hawks apologized with his hands raised, "Got tied up with some stuff and didn't get the call until the whole mission started," he told his fellow heroes. They looked to each other for a moment.
"Where's the League?" Holy asked as she glanced around.
"They were doubles, courtesy of Twice," the Wing Hero replied, seeing her squat and look through the shattered windshield. She narrowed her eyes on the small traces of brown sludge on the driver's seat. Moments later, Endeavor was the first to enter the back of the truck.
"What is that thing?" he asked upon seeing the empty tank at the end of the hold.
"Think it's a life support system," Hawks replied as Holy ventured inside to get a closer look, "Hi-tech…" he mentioned, "To haul around a new type of Nomu, maybe?" he suggested unsurely.
"A Nomu…" Endeavor repeated, remembering the last Nomu he fought… when he almost lost his life. Hawks had his gloved right hand over his mouth and chin, trying to think of what could've been inside the life support tank.
"They were transporting something valuable in here…" he concluded, glancing off to the side, "The question is… what?" he wondered as up on the road above, fire trucks and police cars had arrived on the scene.
"Whatever it is, we need to find it…" Holy affirmed, "The fact that the League were the ones transporting it makes it all the worse…" she mentioned grimly. Within the forest above the mountain road, a certain figure was walking along a dirt path. It was a man of reasonable height with fair skin and thin, rectangular gray eyes with white pupils. He also had white hair that reaches just past his shoulders, worn swept back away from his face. Upon him was a large black mask that covered him from his chest to just above his nose, four extra pieces winding around the exposed skin of his face and around his head. Four darker plates covered each side of his neck, lined with dark purple, and he had what appeared to be something similar to the flat muzzle of a gas mask over his mouth that was decorated with seven gray studs, as well as a large purple and black cylinder protruding from each of his shoulder blades. Below this, he wore a full-body suit of a similar design, with plates of black covering his entire body, leaving only his fingers exposed.
"Huh… huh…" he breathed heavily as he trudged along the path, approaching the light emanating from the headlights of two vehicles ahead of him. In front of them were three figures.
"Sure took your time meeting back up with us, Nine…" one of the figures grumbled out of frustration in a gruff, male voice. He was an animalistic-looking man with traits of different animals. While he retained a humanoid figure, he had blue fur, a wolf-like head, hands resembling an eagle's talons and a crocodile's tail. He wore a brown trench coat over a blue dress shirt and jeans fastened with a belt. He had his dark hair styled into dreadlocks.
The one to his left was a young woman with fair skin, blue eyes that sloped inwards, and noticeably full, glossy lips. She also possessed straight, shiny red hair with chin-length bangs that partially obscured her right eye, the back part of which reached down to her thighs while two front strands appeared long enough to reach past her feet. She wore it tied together at the ends down her back, the two longer strands left to fall down to her knees before looping back up behind her. She wore a pale purple blouse with frilled cuffs, the collar upturned, and a pearl string necklace of a similar color. Over this was a short, navy blue dress with a collar so low it dipped all the way down to her waist, as well as a thick brown belt that was fastened in three places around her waist. She also wore dark red gloves and frilled, thigh-high socks of a purple color, and a pair of black boots with knee-high protrusions worn over the top, two bands of red binding them to her calves around the back. Along with this, she sported a black choker with a small red circle in the center, as well as a black domino mask over her eyes.
The last of the group was a tall, lanky man with pale orange eyes that were baggy and slanted forward and straight gray hair. His most distinguishing feature was his numerous burgundy-colored bandages, which wrapped around every part of his body except for his hands and eyes. Over his bandages, he wore a dark gray combat vest, light gray skin-tight pants with beige knee guards, and a set of black fingerless gloves. He also wore grey dress shoes with dark detailing, along with a brown garter belt holding numerous pouches held up by a belt around his waist. A small sword was being carried upon his left shoulder.
"It was worth the wait," the suited man responded, turning around to look down at the vast city that lied before them, "The experiment was a success," he told his comrades. They all grinned, glad to hear the news. Meanwhile, the man known as Nine continued to look down at the city as his eyes glowed a bright yellow. The wind rushed by his silvery white hair.
"Well, don't leave us out of the fun…" another voice chimed in, getting their attentions as they turned to see both Clown and Killer emerging from the shrubbery.
"Who the hell…?!" Chimera snarled out.
"It's alright," Nine assured to his friends' surprise, "They're with the doctor," he pointed out.
"As are we," another voice chimed in, causing the group to turn and see another pair of figures approach, being both Wizard and Brigandine. The latter of the two kept a large and imposing body, appearing as a heavily armored knight with large pauldrons and a face shaped like that of a lion's with brown wavy hair. "You can refer to us as the Dark Stars," the green-haired android confirmed.
"Dark Stars?" Mummy repeated.
"Like the opposite of the Shining Star Heroes…" Slice realized.
"Ohoho!" Clown chuckled, "Good observation…" he commented.
"After we're done assisting you in your mission, we'll be going to wipe out the Shining Star Heroes ourselves," Brigandine confirmed.
"For it is our glorious purpose to surpass those old relics of Ziggy's disgraced past!" Clown proclaimed, giggling all the while.
"Ziggy's past?" Mummy repeated.
"It's unimportant at the moment," Wizard said, "For now, we will help you get what you need… and leave it at that," he decided.
"Very well," Nine responded, "Now…" he continued, turning his sights onto the nearby city, "let's begin," he insisted.
X
The sun shined brightly over a large island out in the middle of the ocean. Many people were gathered at the beach, enjoying the beautiful day. Sitting up at the lifeguard station was Mezo Shoji, who formed multiple eyes and ears at the tips of his tentacles to watch out for any issues that could potentially arise. Meanwhile, there seemed to be a problem occurring at the local beachside building.
"Come hang out with us, gorgeous!" one man requested as he and his friend had approached two women, who obviously looked uncomfortable.
"No thanks," one of them responded as she turned away.
"Yeah, we don't need creeps like you around to have a good time…" the other muttered out, crossing her arms.
"Aw, come on…" the two men pleaded simultaneously as they approached the pair, "Let's have some f—! AAHHH!" they yelped as they suddenly fell over onto their faces, having unknowingly stepped on a pair of sticky purple balls that stuck to their feet.
"Huh?" both women uttered in confusion, wondering who had done that.
"Some guys are just total creeps, aren't they?" a nasally voice guessed from behind, catching their attentions as they turned around. Standing there was Minoru Mineta, dressed in his costume as he flipped a sticky ball in his right hand. "Good thing you've got a classy dude like me here," he remarked, flashing a toothy grin. Both women smiled as they jogged over… and passed by him.
"Thank you so much!" they exclaimed in gratitude. Minoru blinked in confusion, glancing back to see that they were mistakenly thanking Mashirao Ojiro, who was also in his costume.
"Um, no! It wasn't me!" he stuttered out while blushing, frantically waving his hands.
"HEY!" Minoru yelled, trying to get the attention of the beachgoers, "It was me! I'm the one who stopped those creeps!" he cried out to no avail. Apparently, his short stature wasn't too noticeable…
"Waahhh!" a little boy screamed from the ocean, splashing wildly as the current was pulling him towards the rocks nearby.
"Someone help my baby!" his mother screamed from the beach. Hopping by her was Tsuyu Asui, who dove into the water and quickly swam towards where the little boy was. She shot out her long tongue from her mouth, having it wrap around his torso before lifting him up out of the water.
"RRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" a sugar-charged Rikido Sato roared as he hurried over to the scene in a boat, rowing rapidly. As he arrived, Tsuyu lowered the little boy into his arms. "Hey kid…" he greeted, catching his attention as he looked to see the exhausted look on the Sugar Rush Quirk user's face, "you good…?" he asked tiredly.
"WAAAAAHHHH!" the little boy screamed in fright.
"Wh-What's wrong…?" Rikido asked with a stutter. Tsuyu had poked out her head from the water to witness the scene.
"I think you scared him, ribbit…" she bluntly pointed out with a croak as a bead of sweat rolled down her head. Moments after the child was reunited with his mother at the shore, several strands of tape were being shot out and tied together between two wood poles by Hanta Sero, spelling out the kanji for 'Keep away'.
"Back! Everyone, back!" Dark Shadow yelled to the murmuring crowd on the scene, protruding from Fumikage Tokoyami as he and Hanta were tasked with blocking off the now dangerous area of the beach. As the people slowly dispersed, watching from afar were Shoto Todoroki and Homura Kogetsu.
"Is it really okay for them to be showing off their powers like that?" the former wondered aloud.
"Our teachers did mention that displaying our Quirks' potential could help put civilians at ease," the latter noted in response.
"Hey, Shoto!" a voice called out, catching their attentions as they saw one of the vendors nearby approach them with an empty ice chest, "Can you please give me some ice?" he asked of the Half-Cold, Half-Hot Quirk user, "I just ran out…" he sheepishly admitted. In just an instant, the red-and-white-haired teen formed a giant shard of ice in front of himself. It was twice as tall as he was, much to the bearded vendor's shock.
"Will this do?" he inquired.
"O-Of course!" the vendor stuttered out in reply, evidently thankful for the quick supply.
"Allow me to help," Homura chimed in, drawing forth an energy blade in her right hand as her red markings appeared along her arms. She slashed at the ice rapidly, causing pieces to fall into the ice chest, piling up.
"Oh, thank you, Valkyrie!" the vendor exclaimed gratefully, causing her to blink in surprise before she smiled a little. Shoto smiled himself, glad for her. From afar at a grassy ledge, a pair of kids were watching the Class 1-A students working hard to keep the beach safe and help out whenever needed. One was a young boy with brown eyes, curly, light brown hair, and a small patch of freckles in the middle of his face. He wore a pair of blue overalls with dark blue straps over a white t-shirt, accompanied by light blue sandals. He also carried a small, yellow messenger bag that has an oddly-shaped pin fastened onto the strap. Additionally, he sported a bracelet with a floral charm along with a large sun hat which had a blue band on the crown and a light blue stripe on the rim.
As he was sitting down and observing the aspiring heroes, standing beside him was a small girl with dark brown eyes, straight brown hair styled into pigtails with dark pink bubble-shaped bands, and a small patch of freckles in the middle of her face. She wore a pink dress with dark pink overall straps and buttons over a black tank top, and white sandals with a pink stripe wrapped around the sole, and dark pink flower decorations at the sides. On her left wrist was a bracelet with a floral charm, identical to the one the young boy beside her had. She also wore a large sun hat with a dark pink scarf and bow at the crown and a light pink stripe at the rim.
"There are so many heroes…" the little boy noted in awe, smiling at the sight of the students at the beach.
"Hmph…" the girl next to him huffed disdainfully. She seemed annoyed that he appeared to like the aspiring heroes so much. Elsewhere on the island was a small, two-story building with a sign out front that read 'Iogi Heights' above another signboard that read 'U.A. High School 1-A Agency'. Inside, a phone rang.
"UA Hero Agency!" Mina Ashido's voice echoed as she picked up the phone inside, being seated in front of a computer monitor. She listened to the caller for a moment. "Sure, I'll send someone right away!" she promised, putting the phone down onto its stand before getting onto her feet, "Kaminari!" she called out into the room, "Head to the West District," she instructed to him, "Mister Matsuda's battery's dead," she mentioned.
"Jeez, again?" Denki Kaminari complained, pushing his chair back so he could get up from his seat, "Why can't the old man buy a new one already?" he grumbled in wonder.
"I could try to remodel it for him…" Weisz Steiner suggested as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Then why don't you go too, Arsenal?" Kyoka Jiro advised to his surprise.
"Yeah, go get 'em, Chargebolt and Arsenal!" Mina cheered with a pump of her right fist.
"Go! Go!" the others in the room repeated as they pumped up their own fists.
"We're on it!" Denki responded, now enthusiastic about going thanks to the supportive cheers of his classmates.
"Huh…" Weisz sighed as he trudged after the Electrification Quirk user. The room they were in was basically a spacious computer lounge, with enough devices for each student of Class 1-A to utilize. Amongst those in the room was Yuga Aoyama, who had just answered a call from his phone.
"Wi, you have reached UA Hero Agency," he said, "where we strive to solve all your problems with a sparkle~," he added with a wink.
"You found the lost dog?" Toru Hagakure asked as she held onto her phone in her gloved left hand.
"Sure did," Koji Koda's voice answered from the other end of the communication line. He was elsewhere on the island, holding an excited beauceron puppy while talking into his smartphone, "And don't worry, he's doing just fine," he assured as the puppy licked his face happily.
"Good work!" Toru responded over the phone, "Now all that's left is… a missing parrot!" she reported to him.
"Huh…" Rebecca Bluegarden sighed out as she leaned back in her seat, "So this is what it's like being part of a hero agency…" she concluded, looking up at the ceiling for a moment.
"It's good practice for the future," Kyoka commented, stretching her arms up, "If we become sidekicks, we'll already know how things work…" she mentioned.
"Quite right, Lady Kyoka," Witch Regret's voice chimed in as she entered the room alongside E.M. Pino, "That said, this operator role is only meant for you to understand how the process works," she told the student heroes, "In most cases, reports of crimes and public safety concerns are sent to hero agencies," she started explaining, "They filter out cases and send out heroes and sidekicks where they would be needed most," she mentioned further.
"These first few days, we have been assessing you in the operator role just to gauge how well you can adjust to certain circumstances," the little android added, "Witch and I will be taking over soon," she confirmed.
"Of course, you guys are going to need to shift around in groups for day and night shifts," Hermit Mio pointed out nearby while typing on a laptop of her own, "Trouble waits for no one," she remarked.
"Heh," Sister Ivry chuckled nearby as she shrugged her shoulders, "Of course, the real trouble here's mostly just helping folks out," she noted, "So we're counting on you brats to save us the trouble," she affirmed.
"By the end of this project, you will all be given your assessments from us," Witch mentioned, "Your ability to respond to incidents, your actions, and the responses from the citizens of Nabu Island," she listed off, "Those will all factor in how you're graded and how far you've come in your training," she confirmed.
"So be sure to behave," Sister remarked, smirking toward Mina, who shivered in surprise.
"Sister, please don't scare our students," Hermit advised bluntly. Meanwhile, Ochaco Uraraka had just picked up her phone upon getting another call.
"Please, it's my little brother!" a little girl's voice pleaded over the line, "I can't find him anywhere!" she pointed out desperately.
"Stay calm, okay?" Ochaco requested in an assuring tone, understanding the situation, "We can help you," she promised. In the meantime, Momo Yaoyorozu had taken a call nearby.
"No really, it's no trouble at all!" she assured to who she was speaking with, "Of course!" she responded with a nod after a moment of listening. She then set her phone down. "Hey, do you mind?" she inquired of the person sitting across from her, being none other than Tenya Iida, "It sounds like poor Granny Sado threw out her back…" she told him.
"Right, I'm on it!" he responded quickly as he stood up from his seat, "Fear not, Granny! I'm on the way!" he declared, putting his helmet on over his head.
"Lost child in the shopping center!" Ochaco called out, looking around the area, "Is there anyone available to come with me?" she asked, smiling as she noticed a few familiar faces lounging about in the common area.
"Hard pass," Katsuki Bakugo bluntly replied, lying on his back as he was reading an island guidebook in front of the table.
"Come on!" Ochaco yelled in frustration.
"Yeah, obviously you're real busy, Bakugo…" Eijiro Kirishima sarcastically noted as he was seated nearby his usually explosive friend, "Count me in," he said to Ochaco, standing up and turning to face her, "Let's find this kid!" he stated excitedly.
"Yeah, and how's your dumb Quirk help gonna find anything?" Katsuki inquired rhetorically as he peeked over from reading his guidebook. Eijiro grimaced. Despite his power's usefulness, tracking wasn't one of its strong suits…
"We've got a missing kid?" Kyoka guessed as she stood up from her seat, "Okay," she said, twirling his left earlobe jack in her hand, "sounds like I'm up," she concluded based on the information of the mission.
"I can go, too!" Rebecca affirmed, getting up from her seat, "With my speed, we're sure to find that missing kid lickety-split!" she remarked with a confident wink.
"I'm free," Izuku Midoriya chimed in, catching the girls' attentions as they turned to see him stand up from his seat, "I can help look, too," he assured to them. Moments later, he was outside, holding a life preserver around his waist.
'One For All: Full Cowling…' he began inwardly as red lines of energy flowed up his body, making it shine a little, 'Ten Percent!' he exclaimed through his thoughts. Sparks of green electricity emanated all around him.
"Hero Agency…" Ochaco started to say from behind as she touched Kyoka and Rebecca with her fingertips, making them lighter as they grabbed onto the life preserver to keep themselves from floating away.
"Members of Class One-A…" the other two girls continued as Ochaco tapped her padded fingers against each other to make herself float, grabbing the part of the preserver between her classmates.
"Heading out!" the four of them exclaimed. Izuku dashed off, running speedily down the streets with his three female passengers. He glanced back to see the bright smile on his girlfriend's face, enjoying the ride she and the others were on. They raced through the neighborhood and by fields of flowers before reaching the main road, where Izuku proceeded to leap over the railing towards the vast farmland below stretching out towards the main city.
Elsewhere on the island, Fumikage and Shiki Granbell were flying about side by side, as the former was in the air thanks to Dark Shadow, who was wrapped underneath his cloak as it spread its hands out like wings. The bird-headed teen was relaying a message over his cell phone, flying down with the Satan Gravity Quirk user. Having received the call was Mashirao, who ran off from his position at the beachfront to rendezvous with them. At the beach itself, Tsuyu was helping a group of kids learn how to swim as she showed them how to perform the backstroke. To her delight, the children all seemed to get the hang of it right away.
Meanwhile, Izuku and the others were looking throughout the city for the lost boy they had been tasked with finding. They asked a few people if he was around the area while also greeting the locals before hurrying off to the next area. Out on the mountain road, several vehicles were stopped as the remnants of a rockslide blocked off the path ahead. Fortunately, Yuga, Mina and Homura were there. The former of the group fired off a sparkling blue laser from his belt, while the pink-skinned girl beside him stuck her hands out together in the form of a nozzle before spraying out a colorless acid. Both attacks struck the debris, followed by the Soul Blade Quirk user drawing forth a pair of blades into her hands. She lunged forward and slashed at the rocks in a fierce explosion. When the smoke cleared, it revealed that the debris had been completely obliterated. The people cheered for the three students who helped them, while they turned back and posed for their new fans.
Everyone seemed to be hard at work on the island in some way, shape, or form. Tenya was fulfilling his duty of carrying an old woman speedily to the hospital, waving to people along his route. At the harbor, Eijiro was helping a worker fasten the ropes holding down a truckload of supplies upon a vehicle. As the man thanked him, he showed off his hardening in response. However, the baby that the man's wife was holding in a knapsack on her back started to cry at the sight of Eijiro's hardened appearance. His mother smiled reassuringly, while the student panicked, flailing his arms as he tried to think of a way to console the child.
Out in the fields, Denki was charging up a battery connected to a harvester, while Weisz stood by. As the driver could hear the engine start to rev, he looked back towards the students and flashed them a thumbs up, to which they responded with their own as sparks of electricity flew about. Meanwhile, Momo had a multicolored light appear upon her forearm arm before she pulled out a wrench from it. She was repairing a moped outside of a small home. Coming outside of the house was an old woman who carrying an offering of refreshments on a tray for the hardworking young woman.
With her earphone jacks plugged into the sidewalk, Kyoka carefully listened with her hands on her headphones to hear if she could pinpoint the missing child they needed to find. Upon finally detecting something, she pointed off to her right. With sparks of green lightning crackling around his body, Izuku took off in that direction. His girlfriend quickly followed, with Ochaco and Kyoka jogging after them after the latter removed her jacks from the ground.
Atop the tall hill was a small playground. Walking about there was the sunhat-wearing boy who had been viewing the heroes at the beach earlier. He appeared to be looking around for something.
"Heyyy!" a voice called out, catching his attention as he turned around. Coming up the hill and arriving in a single bound was Izuku. The boy stared ahead in amazement. "Are you Katsuma Shimano?" the student asked. The little boy held onto the strap of his bag as he approached. "You got separated from your big sister, right?" he inquired, "Here," he offered, holding out his right hand to the boy, "come with me," he beckoned assuredly. The little boy seemed ready to take his hand…
"There you are!" the pigtailed girl yelled as she was sliding down the metal slide, "It's about time!" she complained as she reached the end.
"Sis!" the little boy exclaimed in surprise, seeing her hop to her feet and start pointing accusingly at the freckled teen.
"What's your name, you slowpoke?!" she questioned demandingly as he stumbled back.
"Hi, my name's Deku!" he quickly introduced, evidently surprised by the little girl's sudden appearance, "And um… you are…?" he asked back unsurely. She put her hands at her hips as she puffed out her cheeks in frustration.
"I'm Mahoro, Katsuma's older sister," she responded, still fuming.
"Oh, then I… guess you found him before I even got here, huh?" Izuku assumed, "Heh, heh…" he sheepishly chuckled, "Lucky…" he commented. At that moment, Rebecca arrived atop the hill, looking ahead at the scene in complete confusion.
"You explain yourself!" Mahoro demanded, "You were looking for him for over an hour!" she pointed out, holding up a smartphone with a stopwatch upon it, showing that much time had indeed passed. The Cat Leaper Quirk blinked. Why did the pigtailed girl feel the need keep track of time? "What took you so long?!" she asked angrily, "UA High is so famous, and this is all they have to offer?!" she inquired as she pointed accusingly at Izuku again, "If they're gonna send us losers like you, then we'd be better off with that geezer we had before!" she pointed out in frustration as she stomped towards the student, causing him to fall onto his rear end. A drop of sweat rolled down his head, astonished from how… enraged the girl was.
"Um, excuse me?" Rebecca chimed in as she approached, getting their attentions, "Is everything alright?" she inquired, arching an eyebrow. Mahoro huffed, turning her head away.
"Uh… I'm sorry…" the One For All inheritor apologized.
"Well, what did they expect?" the little girl muttered out rhetorically, "You are just highschoolers…" she pointed out.
"We…We really are sorry!" Izuku apologized again with a stutter as he rubbed the back of his head.
"At least you're back together now, right?" Rebecca presumed with a giggle, causing the pair of children to blink in surprise. However, Mahoro huffed again.
"There they are!" Ochaco's voice cried out as she and Kyoka were running up the steps. Mahoro took notice and stood up straight, folding her arms over her chest.
"So you think you can do your job properly next time, Deku?" she asked of the freckled teen before her.
"Uh… yeah…" Izuku chimed in assuredly, definitely caught off guard by all that he had just learned, "We'll try to be a little bit faster…" he promised.
"Let's go, Katsuma," Mahoro beckoned as she smugly trotted by the two students.
"Oh," her brother uttered, "'kay…" he said, jogging after her… but not before stopping beside Izuku and Rebecca, "Um…" he tried to say, getting their attentions as they looked to see him fidgeting nervously as he couldn't bring himself to make eye contact with them, "Thanks for your help…" he told them out of gratitude. Both aspiring heroes were somewhat surprised.
"You don't need to thank them for anything," Mahoro chimed in, grabbing her brother's right hand and hurrying off with him, passing by the arriving Ochaco and Kyoka along the way.
"Hey, what's going on with those two?" the Zero-Gravity Quirk user asked as she approached the couple alongside the punk rock girl.
"Why were you apologizing?" Kyoka questioned on, having overheard the conversation. After a moment, Izuku grinned.
"Apparently, we took too long to find him, so his sister yelled at us…" he explained in response.
"Huh?" Kyoka uttered with a tilt of her head and an arched eyebrow, "That's ridiculous…" she commented.
"Still, I'm glad," Izuku admitted to the girls' confusion as they blinked.
"About what?" Kyoka inquired.
"Katsuma's safe!" he replied with a bright grin on his face, "And that's all that really matters, you know?" he implored to his friends. Kyoka seemed somewhat baffled by that answer, rubbing the back of her head. However, Ochaco smiled.
"You know, it's amazing just how 'Deku' you can be sometimes…" she pointed out to the freckled teen.
"Huh?" he uttered in confusion, "I don't understand…" he said. Ochaco flashed him a thumbs-up and a wink.
"I'm saying that you're a hero, through and through!" she exclaimed in a complimentary tone. Rebecca gave off a giggle.
"Guess that means we better keep up the good work," she affirmed as she clenched her right fist, "Can't have any more lost kids around the island, right?" she presumed with a wink to her boyfriend, who blushed.
"R-Right," he stuttered in response, rubbing the back of his head. Kyoka and Ochaco shared a chuckle. The first few days of the class' experience on Nabu Island were looking to be quite memorable.
END
No opening and ending for this arc since it's based around a movie, but we'll be getting quite a bit of content out of these chapters for sure. Based on how I did "Omni Force: HEROES RISING", I'm basically splitting those chapters up into ten parts. And wrapping up around here should be nice.
Thanks for reading, everyone!