Transformers MHA, Arc 2: Earthrise

by The Omni-Remnant

After a rather intense adventure and the U.A. Sports Festival approaching fast, Izuku and his friends have two important things to do; improve their Quirks in time for the festival… and hide a bunch of giant alien robots. That proves to be easier said than done, especially when enemies on Earth and from beyond the stars end up coming for them…

78. Parents in Peril

A/N: Good morning, everybody! Welcome back to Transformers MHA and… well, this is gonna be the last chapter for a while. Ben 10 RWBY Month is technically getting an early start this year, so for the next six weeks, I'm gonna be shifting all of my focus over there. I know, seems like a long time, but we'll be back here before we know it. …Also, to compensate, I may add an extra week to Transformers MHA Month come January, just so everything's fair.

But man… this week officially marks 40 YEARS of Transformers. …And I've been alive for well over half of that time. Born during the Beast Era, grew up with the Unicron Trilogy, Live Action Movies and Animated, experienced the Aligned Continuity during my teenaged years, and now in adulthood I pretty much exclusively just collect the toys. It's been a bit since a Transformers show truly clicked with me, if I'm being honest, though all of them since Prime HAVE had their good qualities. All the same, though, this franchise will never stop being my favorite of all time, so with that said… Happy 40th Anniversary, Transformers.

On that note, what the HECK are we all still doing here?! Transformers One is out in theaters and we should all be going THERE to celebrate! …Okay, I'm only HALF joking, but really, I can't WAIT to go see this new movie. How serendipitous that this chapter is releasing on the same day, huh? With that said, let's get to this chapter proper, shall we? This is…

Chapter 78: Parents in Peril

…..

The day was here. Parent's Day. And needless to say, the team were a bit on edge. But not because of what lied in wait for them when they got to school, either. The 1-A students were all ready and prepped for that, especially after an entire evening of making sure their letters were as concise and heartfelt as possible. …Though admittedly, they all had to hold an intervention for Tenya over video chat to convince him to whittle his letter down from forty pages to… twenty. He wasn't about to budge any further than that, so that was an hour and a half that none of them would be getting back. But no, as far as the team were concerned, they were as ready as they were ever going to be for Parent's Day.

…What NONE of them were prepared for was the fact that nearly ALL of their rides were indisposed at the moment. Bumblebee, Bulkhead, Arcee, Strongarm, Jazz, even Sideswipe and Sunstreaker were all no-shows. In fact, if what they heard was true, almost EVERY Autobot was preoccupied with something else, so their ride to school was… less than comfortable. And why was that?

Because the only Autobot available to pick them up… was Optimus. And he intended to drive them ALL to school So, there they were, sitting in the dimly lit echo chamber that was Prime's trailer, rumbling in their seats which, while it had seatbelts, they still weren't entirely secure. It was to the point where it was almost maddening for the 1-A Students, but they kept their composure all the same. Because thankfully, they had someone they could take their frustrations out on.

"S-So, Roller, is this w-what you experience ALL the t-time back here?" Izuku asked, his shaky gaze landing on the Mini-Con sitting at the control panel for the Combat Deck.

"Ah-hahah… well, more or less. Though I have a magnetic clamp that helps mitigate moments like this." Roller chuckled.

Kyoka grimaced, clenching her seat as she kept getting jostled. "G-Good for y-you!"

"G-Gotta admit, th-this isn't what I imagined c-coming to s-school with an Autobot would be like…" Kaida stammered, this being her first carpool with the group ever.

"T-T-Trust me, it's a l-lot smoother!" Mina asserted, her teeth grit together, trying to keep them all in her head. "S-S-Seriously, why c-couldn't our normal rides take us to school l-like always?!"

Roller sighed and placed his hands on his hips. "Because, Mina, the other Autobots are currently on a global mission attempting to locate relics."

That managed to pique Tenya's interest. "O-Oh, so then Red Alert d-decoded another location?"

"No, unfortunately. The decoding method is proving to be… a bit time-consuming, so Optimus proposed that the other Autobots go out on scouting missions to try and locate them the old-fashioned way."

Eijiro raised a skeptical brow to Roller. "S-So… basically, you guys are f-flying by the seat of your pants?"

"I… suppose?" Roller scratched his head. "I'm not all that familiar with pants, but I guess that's as good a comparison as any." Just then, much to the relief of the teens, they could feel Optimus start pulling to a stop, which was capped off by a loud hiss and the rear doors of his trailer opening up. "Ah! And here we are! Have a fine day at school, kids!"

"Yeah, sure, we'll try." Mina deadpanned as she and the others made their way out. The pink girl had been the only one on the team who still had butterflies in her stomach over the whole "reading a letter of appreciation out loud" thing, and the bumpy ride to school hadn't helped her with that much. She and the rest of the group marched their way to the school, bringing them to Prime's cab section along the way… which was when she let her grievances known. "YO, PRIME!"

Optimus' holoform leaned his head out the driver's side window, peering down at them. "Ah, good, you all appear to be thoroughly prepared for the day." Orion grinned down at them with a nod. "I wish you all the best of luck."

Before Izuku could reply, Mina cut him off, hollering; "Easy for you to say! How would you feel if ya had to read a totally embarrassing letter out loud to the whole freakin' class?!" She jerked her thumb toward his trailer. "And getting ping-ponged around in that giant freaking BOX didn't help either!"

Denki rubbed his neck with a wince. "Yeah, hope we don't gotta do that again. That was super hard on my back…"

"At least it was air conditioned…" Shoto noted.

"I apologize, children." Orion lowered his head. "I know that this must not be an easy task for any of you, but know this; I have faith that you will do well in this assignment." His smile returned… though there seemed to be a knowing glint in his eye. "And who knows? Perhaps it won't be entirely what you're expecting."

Ochako pondered on the Prime's words, finding some truth in them. "Well, Mr. Aizawa IS always throwing curveballs at us when it comes to his teachings…"

"I suppose we'll have to see if that's the case today." Momo concurred before she and the others bowed to Prime. "We'll see you this afternoon, Optimus… though if I may ask… could we take the GroundBridge back to base around the back of the school?"

"Hmhm, of course." the Autobot leader affirmed, waving the teens off. "Best of luck to you all." With that, Optimus pulled away from the curb and went to the school parking lot… only to make a beeline for the U.A. training grounds. "And now… to wait."

…..

Things were relatively calm in the classroom when the group entered, all things considered. Everyone was chatting away, expressing their nervousness over the coming proceedings, talking about which of their parents were coming, the standard fare. …But the moment the door opened, everyone's attention was immediately drawn to them, with one half of the class locking eyes with the other. While most of the team were slightly unnerved, though, Tenya felt no uneasiness as he greeted the others. "Hello, everyone! And Happy Parent's Day to you all!"

Kyoka eyed him with an unamused glare. "Seriously? Dude, it's not a holiday…"

"Uh, hey there, guys…" Ojiro uttered. "Glad ya made it."

"'Bout time!" Sero exclaimed, folding his arms over his chest. "What exactly took you guys? You're normally on time, but you're cuttin' it pretty close here."

All of a sudden, Toru gave a small huff, the invisible girl sticking her chin up at the others… even if they couldn't see it. "Hmph! Betcha their special rides didn't show up today."

Kyoka's scowl was redirected toward her desk neighbor. "For your information, Toru, we DID have a bit of a hiccup this morning. And because of that, we ended up having to ride to school in the back of a—"

"N-Now hold on, l-let's not fly off the handle here!" Izuku ushered, stopping Kyoka before she went too far. "The last thing we need is our parents seeing us not getting along, am I right?"

While again, no one could tell, Toru pouted and sat herself back down. "Yeah, I guess so… but you guys should still count yourselves lucky! You know how awesome it'd be if the REST of us didn't have to ride the trains?"

"Ah, c'mon, the trains aren't that bad, are they?" Eijiro asked. "I mean, they get ya around pretty fast all the same, right?"

"I'm not talking about how fast they are! I mean all of the weirdos you see on there!" Toru shuddered at the thought, rubbing the goosebumps on her arms. "Eugh, I always feel like some gross, perverted dudes are watching me…"

Kaida's gaze was sympathetic as she came over and pat her friend's shoulder. "Oh, girl, I totally get where you're coming from. Trust me, I've seen and heard my fair share of… incidents like that. Listen, if you ever feel like carpooling, I think we could work something out."

At that, Toru's head shot up. "Hah! Are you serious?! Kaida, that'd be so cool! Would it really be okay?"

Momo and the others, though, were a bit unsure. "Well… I suppose, though we'd have to talk to Orion about it first. He's the one who usually gives permission for that sort of thing."

"I'm not hearing a "no", so I'll take it!" Toru cheered, pumping a fist into the air.

"That does kinda sound fun, ribbit." Tsu said, placing a finger on her chin as she recalled the previous day's events. "Riding around in Sadie's care WAS pretty comfy."

Sato sent a hopeful smile to the others. "Maybe you could put in a good word for all of us? We could make it like, a whole class thing!"

The group slightly flinched at the suggestion, but thankfully, there were some who were against the idea. "I'd rather not be burden on them." Tokoyami piped up, keeping his eyes closed and his arms crossed. "Remember, this is a team of professionals who're associated with the military that we're talking about. I can imagine that it's already fairly difficult for them to handle half of our class as it is."

"Oui, I would rather not participate either." Aoyama concurred, flaring his hand above his head. "After all, I already have my own personal transport to school, thank you very much."

Koji Koda, ever the silent one, merely nodded in agreement, while Shoji hummed at his classmate's point. "Right. Probably best not to keep them from their business even longer than they already do." He peered over to the half of the class associated with these "professionals". "You guys are pretty lucky, though. Just from our Hero Training courses alone, I can tell that you've exceeded in placed with the other half of our class struggles thanks to their tutelage."

"Ah… hehe, w-well, I wouldn't say it makes THAT much of a difference…" Izuku stammered, only to be spooked when Katsuki slammed his hands on his desk. "Eep!"

"For god's sake, could we STOP TALKIN' about Deku's stupid friends?!" the explosive blonde shouted. "I swear, it's all I hear every other freakin' day!"

"Bakugo! Calm yourself!" Tenya scolded. "This is Parent's Day! What would they think if they walked in right now and saw you bringing such a shameful display to our class?"

With an irritated growl, Bakugo sat back down in his seat, making it a point to prop his feet up on his desk. "Ah, that ol' hag of mine can think what she wants! Not like I care or anything."

Izuku's eyes widened when he heard that. '…Aunt Mitsuki is the one coming for him? Oh boy, this ought to be interesting…' Clearing his throat, Izuku tried to bring everything back to a calmer level. "A-Ah, how about we all just take our seats, huh? Mr. Aizawa's bound to be here soon, after all…" And so, the entire class did exactly that. They took their seats and they waited…

…And waited. …And waited… until they noticed that two minutes had passed after the initial bell and there was no sign of their teacher anywhere. "…Something's wrong." Momo noted.

"Yeah, VERY wrong." Ochako fidgeted in her seat. "Mr. Aizawa's never usually late."

"Think he forgot to set his alarm or something?" Denki suggested.

But Eijiro shook his head. "Nah. He's tired all the time, but never THAT tired, I think."

Tenya, however, was pretty much in panic mode at this point. "A U.A. Educator late on an exhibition day?! Why, a situation this dire could shake the very foundations of our school!" As he went on his tirade, his arms began spinning like the wheels of a locomotive, making everyone cringe.

Sero, meanwhile, tried to calm the panicking president. "C'mon, even Mr. Aizawa's human. Everyone's like from time to time."

"But Sero! Heroes are locked into an eternal battle against the ticking clock! It can mean life or death for those needing to be saved, so even a single second of tardiness is a grave sin!"

"Dude, get a grip." Kyoka groaned, only to notice Izuku deep in thought in front of her. "…Somethin' on your mind, Green Bean?"

Turning around, Izuku met her gaze, his expression etched with concern. "Well, it's just… Mr. Aizawa is never late. Even after getting his face beaten up by that Nomu back during the USJ incident, he came back after the day off we had. It was like business as usual for him, even if he was wrapped up in bandages."

Kyoka pursed her lips, admitting that it was rather unlike their teacher. "Yeah, you've got a good point. …Maybe he got held up meeting our parents ahead of schedule or something?" She waved her hand with a small smile. "Let's not make a mountain out of a molehill or whatever, okay? I bet he'll show up soon."

As it would happen, though, he wouldn't. In fact, the bell rang marking the end of homeroom, and still there was no sign of Aizawa. By that point, the chattering intensified, and Momo wondered out loud; "Isn't it nearly time for our parents to arrive as well?"

"Yeah, not just yet, but pretty soon…" Shoto affirmed, suddenly feeling a tad worried about his sister's wellbeing.

"But we haven't seen a single one of 'em yet. Hang on, my mom told me she'd text me when she got here…" Kaida fished into her backpack and pulled out her cellphone… only to see no recent messages. "…Oh crud."

Mina suddenly made another suggestion, though she didn't seem too confident in it. "M-Maybe they got lost? U.A. IS huge after all."

Once again, Tenya shot up out of his seat, moving to the front of the class. "Attention, all! As class president, I will travel to the staff room to check if anything is happening. Please wait here until I return!" However, before he could leave… everyone's phones buzzed in unison.

"Hah!" Kaida gasped, hoping that it was her mom… only to find something even more shocking. It was coming from the class's own group chat, and it was a message from none other than their homeroom teacher himself. "Mr. Aizawa! He's okay! But… wait…" Upon closer inspection, the message was actually somewhat ominous;

"Ride bus to Cityscape Training Ground. Now."

The message was incredibly blunt, yet effective. They could practically hear their teacher ordering them to do so. "The cityscape?" Izuku pondered. "But why?"

At that moment, a lightbulb was switched on in Denki's head, as if his own Quirk had sparked a realization. "I've got it! Mr. Aizawa probably wants to hold the class, letter reading, and the facility tour all in one place! It's only "rational", as he'd say." His point did seem sound, so they reluctantly began to move out of their seats and out to the front of the school.

"It doesn't seem we have a choice." Tenya resolved, leading the way. "Be sure not to forget your letters, everyone!"

…..

After making the bus trip around campus, the teens arrived at Training Ground Beta: the Cityscape. They approached the outside gates and, to their surprise, they opened automatically for them… even though there weren't any signs of other people around. "…Is anyone else starting to get a bit creeped out?" Ochako asked, huddling close to Tsu and Momo.

"Yeah, kinda." Tsu concurred, only slightly less offput than her friend.

"More to the point, this sucks!" Bakugo barked, his scowl ever present. "Seriously, why the hell wouldn't Aizawa just tell us to meet him here in the first place?!"

His statement managed to put Izuku back into thinking mode, which Kyoka once again noticed. "Alright, what's on your mind now?" she nudged him with her elbow.

"It's just… making us waste time like this? Does that sound like Mr. Aizawa to you?" the greenette inquired.

Tenya vehemently shook his head. "No, it does not. I quite agree."

Shoto also concurred with this thought. "Right. Everything that Aizawa does is completely rational. This seems like it doesn't fit with his usual M-O."

"Or wait! Perhaps this could be all intentional on Mr. Aizawa's part!" Tenya stated, beginning to wrap his head around the situation. Everyone eyed him confusedly, though, so he explained further. "For heroes, the call to action can arrive at any moment. This could be an exercise designed to test our reactions."

"Hm… that's possible, sure." Shoto said. "We're probably just overthinking things."

But then, Mezo Shoji came to a sudden stop, with one of his many Dupli-Arms transforming into a nose as he caught a whiff of something. "Wait, hold on. does anyone else smell… gasoline?"

His question made the students take stock of their surroundings, sniffing their air where they did indeed get the faintest hint of gas. "Uh… maybe it's a fake pile-up somewhere further in?" Denki guessed. "Ya know, for training purpos—"

"AAIIIIIIIIIIEEEE!"

Unfortunately, his presumption was drowned out by a loud, shrill scream that came from around the next bend, which made all of the students jump in shock. "W-W-What was that?" Toru stammered, putting her guard up. Before long, several more cries could be heard joining the scream, and by that point, the smell of gas was getting much stronger.

All of this made Izuku pick up the pace, prompting the others to do so as well. "It came from down here! Come on!" They rounded the next corner… and what they saw just down that street left them all dumbfounded. "W-Wha…"

"The hell is all of this?!" Eijiro exclaimed.

Before them laid a cleared lot, the buildings that had once occupied the space having been smashed to craggy piles of rubble on either side, blocking off two other streets. In the middle of this lot was a massive pit, probably around twenty meters in diameter, with a large cubic cage that seemed to be floating on a small platform above its center. Upon closer inspection, though, the teens saw that the cage was instead balancing on a precarious, slender tower, shaped almost like an apple core after the rest had been eaten away. And most shocking of all were the people who were screaming inside the cage… that being, their parents.

Ochako's eyes widened in horror. "Dad?!"

"OCHAKO!" Ogura Uraraka exclaimed, meeting his daughter's eyes.

"MOM?!" Izuku, Kyoka and Kaida all shouted simultaneously.

Tenya and Momo had also spotted their own moms as well. "Mother?!"

"Kids!" Inko cried out, frantically waving her hand outside the bars with Mika Jiro, Tae Iida, Yua Yaoyorozu, and Krista Kiryu joining her.

It was then that Shoto's eyes widened, seeing that his sister was in there with them, too. "Fuyumi…"

"Shoto!" the white-haired woman gripped the bars, her eyes full of fear. "Please, help us!"

The entirety of Class 1-A wasted no time in scampering toward the edge of the pit, where the stench of gas quickly became quite pungent. Peering over the edge with her fingers clamped over her nose, Ochako grimaced at the sight of the layer of stagnant liquid just eight or nine meters below. "Yech, is this really ALL gasoline?"

"How in the world did this happen?!" Momo exclaimed. "And where's Mr. Aizawa?! He's the one who told us to come in the first place!"

Just then however, a cold, mechanical voice rand out to answer the panicked student's questions. "Aizawa is down for a nap. A nice DIRT nap…" Despite the artificial tone, the words were practically filled with malice, and it was enough to make the students fear the worst.

"A… dirt nap?" Sero repeated.

"Don't tell me…" Sato uttered, clutching at his shirt at the unthinkable.

"I-It can't be!" Denki denied, playing it all off as a joke. "Har-har, very funny, but April Fool's Day was a LONG time ago. S-So whoever you are, you'd better show yourself!"

The metallic voice piped up again. "Calm yourselves. You're free to think this is a joke, but be aware that there are hostages in play…"

It didn't take Izuku long to figure out who the "hostages" were. He had already been subjected to one parental kidnapping this month, so that was obvious. 'At least this time I know exactly where my mother is. Compared to Silas, whoever this guy is, he isn't one for subtly. But just WHERE is he?'

After a few moments of scanning around, though, Shoji had caught on to where the owner of the mysterious voice was. "He's not anywhere out here. The voice is coming form inside the cage." he clarified.

"Correct… I am in here, with them." The words prompted all of the parents to scurry to the corners of the cage, allowing the perpetrator to come forward from the back of the cage. He was a tall figure dressed all in black. From his mask, to his suit and cape, even the cowl he wore over his head. He also had on a very wide-brimmed black hat to add to his mysterious nature, as if he had just stepped out of a pulpy comic from the 1930's. At this moment, Tenya pulled out his phone to make a call, only for the man to advise against it. "I should mention now that contacting your school or the authorities is not permitted. Ah, and I'm afraid little Denki's Quirk cannot help you either."

"W-What the hell, man?" Denki was now quite petrified. This guy somehow knew his name and what his Quirk was.

Izuku's brow furrowed at that. "Kaminari, if he knows about your Quirk, it stands to reason he knows about all of ours, too."

"Indeed." the villain went on. "Fleeing or sneaking outside help is also forbidden. Any of you attempt to run, and it will be your respective parent that pays the price."

Ogura rattled the bars of the cage, not liking the sound of that. "Dangit! Can't do a thing about these solid bars!"

"D-Dad, please!" Ochako beseeched, feeling utterly helpless. "Don't do anything reckless!"

Directly next to Ogura, Yua called out to her daughter. "H-Help us, Momo!"

"You mustn't panic, mother, remain calm!" The Creation user brought a hand to her chest, shaken by the shocked state of her normally composed mother.

Next with Yua and Ogura as well was a large man with a big, toad-like head… though he had human skin. Obviously, this had to be Tsuyu's father. "Croak… croak…"

The frog girl immediately became more concerned. "That croak means danger… ribbit…" Given the distress in Tsu's voice, it was enough to make everyone worried. She was the most levelheaded student in 1-A, after all. Their teacher, dead? Their parents, hostages? None of it felt real.

However, while most everyone was in panic mode, Izuku and Kyoka were more angry than anything else. This had been the SECOND time their parents had been put into a perilous position in the same month, and they were both laser focused on the problem at hand as a result. "How… how did this happen?" Izuku seethed. "WHY is it happening?!"

The masked man spoke again. "An easy question to answer. I flunked out of U.A. High. Gaining entry in the hopes of becoming a hero was all I ever had. That an excellent specimen such as myself failed is proof enough that this world is cruel and misaligned. Imagine that. Me, a dropout?" He pointed at the teens. "However, if left to your own devices, only the brightest futures await you children, that's why I—"

"Oh, shut the HELL up!" Kyoka snapped, shutting the villain up. "That's your stupid sob story? THAT is the whole reason why you felt the need to hold all of our parents hostage?!" She smacked her forehead. "I don't think I've ever heard anything more self-centered in my entire life! And I've heard BAKUGO'S tirades!"

"EXACTLY!" Katsuki exclaimed, gritting his teeth at the villain. "I can't believe I'm sayin' this, but I agree with Ears! Screw your little tantrum, it's time we blew you to Kingdom Co—wait, hold on, WHAT did you say about me going on tirades?!"

Kyoka sighed and shook her head. "And you were doing so well, too. Can we just focus on the asshole who's got our parents?"

"…Fine, but I won't forget that remark. NOW LET'S GO!" With that, Bakugo put on his indomitable grin, igniting his hand in a series of small explosions as he dashed to the edge. He was about to let his fiery momentum carry him across to the platform… when… *CHNK* "GYAAAHH!" Kyoka stuck him with one of her jacks right to the back of the knee, bringing him to a halt. "AAARRGGH! What the hell, Ears?!"

"Dude, the hostages!" Kyoka reminded. "Ya know, our parents? He's got them right where he wants them and can do anything if we act out of line!"

Upon second glance, Katsuki saw that the villain had grabbed his own mother, Mitsuki, by the arm. He clicked his tongue in annoyance… but even still, even Kyoka could see that there was some etching of worry on his features. …Even if it didn't extend to his words. "Dammit! Great job getting yourself caught, hag!"

And just like that, Mitsuki went from abject fear to intense rage. "I've told you a million times not to call me "hag", ya little punk!"

"…Wow." Eijiro uttered as everyone's gaze was brought to Mitsuki at her outburst. "I, uh… see the family resemblance."

"That s'posed to be a compliment, broomhead?" Katsuki retorted.

But what they failed to notice was that, inside the cage, Inko was muttering something to her best friend; "Mitsuki, please… we're hostages, remember?"

"Oh, whoops!" Mitsuki blinked. "True enough…"

"Pipe down." The masked man said, giving Mitsuki a light shove back into Inko… though his eyes beneath the mask belied his glare with an apologetic gaze.

Back with the teens, they were just impressed with the moxie that Mitsuki displayed. "That woman has nerves of steel." Tenya commented.

"Heh, yep… Aunt Mitsuki, same as ever." Izuku concurred… which earned him several intrigued eyes and a death stare from Katsuki. "Ah… a-anyway, we should go by her example and not be scared! We should retaliate… even if it's not in a direct way." Putting on his best commanding expression, Izuku called back to the villain. "What are you after here?"

"What am I after? One thing only." The villain raised a single finger. "The utter destruction of you golden children and your bright futures. And slaughtering your parents while you watch is just a fun way to do it."

Ojiro felt his jaw clench, both in fear and frustration seeing his own mother unable to do anything in the case. "All this… just to get to us?"

"You got beef with us?!" Kirishima raged, hardening his fists and bashing them together. "Then bring it! But leave our folks out of this!"

The villain shook his head. "Oh, but it isn't your bodies I aim to destroy. No, it will be that much more painful when your parents suffer and you would-be heroes have no body but yourselves to blame." The students could practically hear the sneer under the man's mask, which only made them more upset.

"If you truly walked the path of a hero once, then stop this foolishness!" Momo screamed, unable to contain herself.

Mina backed her up heartedly. "Exactly! And you're headed for the slammer once all is said and done!"

"Oh, I have no intention of escaping." the villain clarified. "After all, I have nothing left to lose. So, for my final act, I might as well savor your descent into agony as you watch your parents perish." He turned to the cowering crowd of adults in the cage with him. "Now… which one should I start with?"

As the man monologued, though, Izuku was busy thinking up a strategy. 'Getting our parents out of there means doing something about the villain. But dealing with him means we need a way to shield the hostages…' Unbeknownst to even himself, his thoughts turned into his signature rambles. "But it's not like we can free them without noticing… the cage is too exposed. No blind spots… plus it's about ten meters to the platform across the pit. He's sure to spot us making a move… darn, I've got nothi—" *CHNK* "GYAAAH!"

Removing her jack from his neck, Kyoka brought Izuku out of his own head. "Shh. Keep it down, or he'll hear you."

"Eh… r-right." Izuku bowed apologetically. "Sorry, Kyoka, couldn't help it."

"No ideas then, Midoriya?" Tenya asked quietly, with Shoto, Kaida, Ochako and Momo huddling around them as well. Seeing the greenette shake his head, Shoto nodded in understanding. "Alright, then we will need to find some way to distract him." But, right at that moment…

*HONK-HOOOONK*

Everyone let out a gasp at the loud horn that blared out from behind them, prompting the entire class to spin around. There, much to the relief of Izuku and the others, was none other than Optimus, rolling straight toward them at max speed. "Op—ORION!" Denki caught himself, waving down the Freightliner as it approached. "Haha! Yes! Everything's gonna be okay!"

"W-What the heck is he doing here?!" Ojiro did a doubletake, along with half of the class.

"He's the one who brought us to school today." Kaida explained with a wide grin. "And thank god he did! Orion! HELP!"

Thankfully, Orion had every intention of doing so. "Hold on, kids! I'm almost—" *CHHHKT—WHRR* "H-Ha—AAAAHH!" All at once, Class 1-A's hopes sank as they watched the street directly in front of them open up… and unfortunately, Optimus didn't stop soon enough. All they could do was watch as he and his entire truck plummeted into the inky darkness below. And then… *CRASH*

The teens gasped in horror, with those closest to the Autobot leader shouting; "NO!" Izuku rushed to the edge of the opening, screaming; "ORION!" desperately into the dark abyss.

"MWAHAHAHA! Did you think I didn't PLAN for that?!" the villain exclaimed from the cage, thrusting a finger toward the class. "I noted Mr. Pax's presence even before you children arrived! Consider THAT my contingency plan in case anyone ELSE decides they want to be the hero here!"

Izuku was about to go ballistic, as tears began welling up in his eyes… but thankfully, the sound of Optimus' voice gave him hope. "Kids!"

"O-Orion?!" the greenette gasped, prompting his classmates to stare down into the open hatch as well. "You're alive?!"

"Wow, that's impressive." Sero noted.

The Autobot leader called back; "I am alright! But my rig's been totaled! Even if I make it back up there, I won't be of much help to you, I'm afraid! I will try contacting the others to see if they can get here, but until then…"

As his thoughts cleared, Izuku remembered that it'd take more to take Optimus out than just a massive drop… but he had to keep up appearances for the rest of the class. 'Half of the class knows, the other half doesn't. We should strive to keep it that way.' With that, Izuku took a deep breath, his resolve steeled in that moment. "Okay then… I guess we'll have to handle this ourselves, then!"

"Are you sure?!" Prime shouted.

"It's the only way!" Izuku asserted, with the rest of the class finding their own nerve as well. "They have our parents, so we can't just sit by and do nothing!"

After a few seconds, Optimus ultimately agreed. "I cannot argue, Izuku. Just please, be careful!

With a final nod, Izuku replied; "Right!" before turning his attention back to the class. "Okay, so back to what we were talking about. We need a distraction."

"Ahem, perhaps moi could be of some assistance?" The team's attention shifted to Aoyama, the glittery blonde student wearing that seemingly permanent haughty smile of his. "Stand back, friends! With my glorious shine, I'd say being distracting is part of my expertise, non?"

He struck a pose and gave his classmates a pretentious wink, which Kyoka could only be annoyed by. "…If the shoe fits, I guess." she deadpanned.

"I'll take that as a "yes"!" Aoyama practically pirouetted toward the edge of the pit, striking even more flaunty poses. "This unsightly crime simply won't do! After all, who could possibly commit such evil while looking upon my beautiful visage?"

"We'll help out, too!" Eijiro insisted, with Denki, Sato and Sero joining him. "For our parents, right, guys?" He received a collective "YEAH!" from the group as they joined Aoyama, shouting obscenities at the villain.

As the distraction commenced, Shoto leaned toward Izuku. "This should be your chance. They all know we're in a tight spot, so our only chance would be a sneak attack from you."

"Think so?"

Shoto reassured Izuku with a nod. "You're good at it. Smashing the unsmashable and all that."

A determined grin came to Izuku as he balled a fist. "Right, gotcha." With that, he turned his attention back to strategy making. 'Sneak attack. Gotta get the drop on him and pin him down, of only for a second. Enough time for Iida and Kacchan to get over there, at least…' And then, the idea came to him. 'Of course! It's all about sneaking…' He beckoned three of the class's girls to come over. "Yaoyorozu, Uraraka, Hagakure, I need you for this."

Once he explained his plan to them, Momo was behind it in a heartbeat. "A stun gun? That's brilliant!"

"Yeah, I was thinking of something pocket-sized, just so it could stay under the villain's radar." Izuku balled a fist. "But still with plenty of oomph, you know?"

"I can do that, yes." Within seconds, Momo produced the device from her arm, handing it to Izuku. "I made it brown so he's less likely to notice."

Izuku bowed in gratitude. "Great, thanks, Yaoyorozu." His focus went to Toru next. "And Hagakure, I'm going to have you take this over across the pit. I'm going to have Uraraka float you over, and from there…"

"I'll sneak up and shock him!" Toru pumped her arms, psyching herself up to do it. "Yeah, that sounds like a great plan, Midoriya. Just… gimme a sec. Gotta make sure I'm totally out of sight." To that end, the invisible girl began taking off her school uniform, prompting Izuku to look away bashfully. Of course, he knew that it didn't technically matter since there was nothing to see… but it was still a girl undressing in front of him.

Kyoka couldn't help but roll her eyes. 'Hmph, well at least he's got a sense of modesty.'

Once Izuku felt a tap on his shoulder, he brought his head up and saw… nothing. Though by the sound of her breathing, he knew that Toru was right there in front of him. "I'm ready." The One for All inheritor readily passed the stun gun off to her, allowing Ochako to handle the rest.

"You ready?"

"Let's do this." Toru confirmed, allowing Ochako to touch her shoulders and send her floating over the pit full of gas, all while the boys continued to distract the villain.

As Izuku sent out a silent prayer for his plan to work, the villain groaned in irritation, nearly at his wit's end. So much so that he failed to notice the weapon landing directly next to him, Toru having crouched down to remain as out of sight as possible. "I said SILENCE!" the man barked. "Do not make me repeat myself again!" He set his sights on a brown-haired woman in the corner. "Perhaps the most boisterous child's parent should be the one to die? Then you might see things differently…"

Toru tightened her lips, leaning in ever so slightly, centimeter by centimeter through the bars. 'Almost… almost…' She was mere inches away from his leg, her finger on the trigger to make the stun gun crackle and spark. But before it could make contact, the villain whirled around, kicking it away and making Toru gasp. "AH!"

"Hmph! It seems the invisible pest as wormed its way over here!" Shaking with rage, the man threw open the cage door and stepped out, drawing a lighter from inside his cape and igniting it. "I had hoped to serve up individual doses of suffering, but no matter! We will all dine in hell… TOGETHER!"

"DON'T DO IT!" Izuku screamed… only for his pleas to fall on deaf ears as the man dropped the lit ignitor into the gasoline, transforming the pit into a raging inferno. "NO!" A blast of hot air entered his lungs and singed his cheeks, watching in vain as the flames began to grow higher and higher.

"IZUKU!" Inko cried out, extending her hand from the cage. Izuku reached back instinctively, but a gust of wind fanned the flames even higher, obscuring his mother from view.

"No… No, no, NO—ACH!"

Before he could succumb to despair, Izuku was brought out of it by a sudden jab to the shoulder. It was Bakugo, and he met his childhood friend's eyes with anger and determination. "What the hell are you doing, Deku?! You really that stupid?!" His grim scowl twisted into a vicious grin as he eyed the villain across the way. "This is the perfect chance, dumbass!" He spun toward Ochako and pointed at her. "Pink Cheeks, get me floating!"

Having no time to argue, Ochako did as he demanded and he rocketed toward the villain using his Quirk. "K-Kacchan!" Izuku exclaimed.

Just then, an icy blast shot past all of them, sticking the villain to the ground so he couldn't get away. …Though it also almost hit Katsuki, which he took issue with. "HEY! Careful with that, you half n' half bastard!" Shoto ignored Bakugo's chiding as the Explosion user diverted his sights back to the villain. "Ya like wearin' black?! Why not try black and BLUE?!" He then tackled the villain to the ground, successfully pinning him.

"Well, I guess that's one way of doing it." Kyoka furrowed her brow as she nodded to the others. "Let's get over there, too!"

"Agreed! Todoroki, Tokoyami, follow me!" Once he got Ochako to make him float as well, Tenya used his Engine to rocket over the gap, with Shoto and Fumikage following suit.

"Hey, I ain't about to be left outta this!" Kaida insisted, bringing out her Pterodactyl wings to fly after them.

Izuku leaned forward, allowing Kyoka to climb onto his back. Though before they leapt over, Ochako approached them with pleading eyes. "Please… make sure my dad is okay."

"Of course." Kyoka said, she and Izuku smiling to her reassuringly. "Be back in a jiff!" At her word, Izuku activated Full Cowling and they were over the gap in a single bound, meeting with the rest of the group. Kyoka wasted no time getting off Izuku and rushing up to the cage. "Mom!"

"Hah, Kyoka!" Reaching through the bars, Mika was visibly relieved, with the rest of the teens' respective parents meeting them as well. "I can't believe this! You'd think they'd take more precautions after the UJS incident…"

The younger Earphone Jack user grimaced at the reminder. "Yeah… I'm gonna have a chat with the other teachers once all this is over. But don't worry, I'm here to save you!" But then, her eyes spotted the lock at the front of the cage, where she realized that getting in wouldn't be easy. "Gah, damn, it's an electronic lock. Anyone know how to hack into this thing?"

Unexpectedly, Kaida was the one to respond. "Oh, don't worry, I've got the perfect lock pick…" From her back end, a massive ankylosaurus tail emerged, which she raised up high in preparation. "RIGHT HERE! Stand back, everybody!" The adults all did as she said and she CLOBBERED the lock right off… along with smashing the doors wide open. "Alright, everybody out!" The first one to sprint out was, of course, Krista, who embraced her daughter right then and there. "AH! Mom! Seriously?!"

"Oh, my hero!" the paleontology professor declared.

After Izuku greeted his own mother, he quickly went over to the explosive blonde. "Kacchan!"

Katsuki was still pinning the man down, using small explosions to keep him in check. "This shit-eating punk's not so tough." he balked. "Got him handled, all on my own."

Just then, Mitsuki dashed in and shouted at him. "Katsuki! Don't say shit!"

"Buzz off, hag!"

From there, the mother and son got into a shouting match, the former forgoing any celebration of being freed to berate her son. Izuku forced a weak grin at the bickering duo before noticing that the villain had pulled out a small device from within his cape. "What… hold on!" Izuku gasped, reaching down… but it was too late. The villain's thumb came down and hit the device with a click, causing an explosion from below… and the platform they were standing on began to sway unstably.

"GAH! What'd you do, dammit?!" Bakugo snapped.

"As I said, the gates of hell await us all."

The villain's response sent a chill down all of their spines. "This guy really is nuts." Kyoka concluded. "He placed explosives in advance!"

Back on solid ground, Ojiro called out to the group. "HEY! The base below you is collapsing! You've gotta get off that platform, asap!"

They could see that they were using fire extinguishers that Momo made to put out the fires, but that wouldn't be much help with the precarious position that they were in. "Dang it! We'll never kill the flames in time at that rate." Ochako grumbled.

"Rather than extinguish the inferno, perhaps a more rational solution…" Momo pondered before an idea sparked in her head. "AH! I've got it!"

As the Creation user got to work, Shoto began putting his own plan into motion. It wasn't much, but he was using his ice to create a tendril that latched onto the pit's outer edge, keeping the tower upright for the time being. But even so, the ice wasn't going to last for long, and neither would Shoto be able to keep the cold up for an extended period. Meanwhile, Iida was busy gathering the parents. "Ladies first! Please, grab a hold of me!"

Inko was reluctant, however, keeping close to her son. "B-But…"

"Mom…" Izuku gave her arm a comforting squeeze, wearing his best smile. "I promise… I saved you once already. I'm gonna do it again."

"Hah… Izuku." Inko began to tear up, seeing her son so confident.

Shoto's voice rang out as his ice tendril began melting even further. "Damn… Midoriya, whatever you do, do it soon!" He poured on the power to thicken the ice bridge, but it just kept melting away.

"Ice bridge… slipping… sliding?" And just like that, things connected in Izuku's mind. "That's it! We need a slide!"

Tenya, though, wasn't in the mood for that. "Stop joking around, Midoriya! There's no time for playing!"

"No, Iida, a slide like from our rescue training!"

"The evacuation shute?"

"Right, we just need a way to slide everyone across the ice bridge before it gives out."

Shoto wasn't so certain about the plan, though. "I doubt there's enough time for Yaoyorozu to create a tarp that big enough…"

"It's nearly ready, actually!" Momo's announcement managed to take everyone off guard, even more so when they saw the massive tarp come bursting out of her back, ripping through her shirt. "I've been working on this fireproof sheet since a few moments ago! Uraraka, Sero, it's your turn now!"

"Okay!" Ochako gave the tape her magic touch before passing it to Sero.

"Here we go!" …Who then proceeded to use his Tape Quirk to sling the tarp across the pit to the others.

Seeing his own opportunity, Tokoyami summoned his own Quirk. "Grab it, Dark Shadow!"

The bird-like entity emerged from under his clothes and lunged forward. "Aye-aye!" Dark Shadow caught the tarp and passed it to Izuku.

"Thanks!" Waving across the way, Izuku expressed his gratitude to Momo. "Should've known you'd be on top of things, Yaoyorozu!" After getting a thumbs-up from her, he proceeded to lay out the tarp in front of the adults. "Okay, everyone, please climb aboard!" With the ground swaying more and more by the second, the parents wasted no time in complying. "You here with us, Hagakure?"

He received a touch to his shoulder from thin air. "Sure am! Let's get outta here!"

Izuku couldn't agree more. "Iida, use your Engine to pull from the front. The rest of us will push from behind. And Todoroki, you keep blasting your ice until the very last second!"

Shoto gave an affirming nod as Tokoyami inquired; "What about the villain?"

"Right here!" Katsuki lifted the helpless man off the group, all the fight having seemed to have left him. "Let's go, you. Any funny business and you go boom, got it?" The explosive blonde shoved the man onto the tarp, allowing Kyoka and Toru to take him from there. The ground suddenly heaved beneath them, leading Tenya to grab the corners at the front of the tarp.

"Here I go, Midoriya!" Once everyone was in place, and the ice bridge was thick enough, Tenya began powering up his Engine, big time. "No holding back… Torque Over, RECIPROBURST!" *BOOM* A pair of explosions and streams of sooty smoke propelled Tenya forward, with Izuku, Bakugo, Kaida and Tokoyami pushing from behind. The four of them were doing their best to match their class president's contribution, with even Dark Shadow helping by lifting the rear corners of the tarp.

The group flew across the ice bridge with Shoto climbing aboard at the last possible second, with Tenya's feet reaching the opposite side before the parents even had a chance to scream. "YES! Alrigh—WOAH!" Just as Ochako's prayers seemed to be answered, though, the tower in the center crashed, taking the ice bridge with it, leaving Izuku and the others at the rear to fall and dangle from the edge of the tarp with no footholds to speak of. "AH! Oh no!"

Out of Izuku's backpocket, the pages of his letter fell into the fire below, though obviously, he was too preoccupied to notice. Sensing the tarp might fall, Tenya braced himself in placed while Kyoka, Ochako and the others rushed back to help pull them up. "Hold on, Celery Stick!" At the count of three, the class yanked the tarp up, pulling their classmates back to the surface…

…Only for Inko's grip on the tarp to slip at the sudden jolt, causing her to fall into the pit. "AAAAAHH!"

"No! MOM!" Izuku reached out, ready to let go of the tarp himself… only for the black-clad villain of all people to lunge out and take hold of Inko's arm, gripping the edge with his other hand as they hung over the flaming precipice. Using all his strength, the man hoisted them both back up to the surface, where Izuku and the others stared dumbfoundedly. "She… she's safe…"

"Izuku!" Rushing for her son, Inko fell into his embrace. "Oh my gosh, are you okay?!"

"Am I okay? I should be asking you that!" A sigh passed the boy's lips as he smiled at her. "But yes, I'm alright…" He allowed his mother to weep into his chest, both completely relieved and tired after the whole ordeal. But even so, Izuku kept his sights trained on the villain. "But you! What was all that about?!"

The man chortled and nodded to him. "Congratulations. The exercise is over."

"The… exercise?"

Eijiro thrust a finger to the black-clad man. "Someone grab him! We gotta contact the school!"

Denki's features became pale at another thought. "And… we'll have to find where he stashed Mr. Aizawa." The students could feel their insides churn at the thought… until a familiar, listless voice piped up from the rubble not far away.

"Me? I'm right here." The students all became wide-eyed as they saw Aizawa emerge from the debris, tiredly sauntering his way over to them. "Now… explanations."

…..

It was a ruse. All of it had been one giant, elaborate ruse in the form of an exercise tying into their recent rescue lessons. Everyone had been in on it, their parents included, and apparently the "villain" was simply a local theater troop actor. The students couldn't believe it, to say the least. And that's when Izuku realized. "Wait… if EVERYONE was in on it… does that mean…"

*WHRRRRR*

As if on cue, a hydraulic lift began to rise up from underground… bringing Orion Pax and his "rig" back to the surface, none the worse for wear. The man wore a proud smile and extended a hand to the students. "My deepest compliments to all of you, Class 1-A. Excellent job in completing this exercise."

"OP—Orion! You were in on this, too?!" Kyoka exclaimed.

"Indeed, and the rest of the team were clued in as well. That is the true reason why they could not take you to school today." Orion approached the students with a knowing grin. "Because then, you would not have been as concerned and driven as you were to rescue your parents. And by taking myself out of the picture upon my immediate arrival, I could just tell that your determination was only increased. I apologize for being… deceitful for lack of a better word."

Mina and the girls narrowed their eyes at him. "Yeah… and here I thought you were supposed to be against the whole "deception" thing."

Momo was keen to let her own thoughts be known. "Yes, don't you think this was a bit much?" She spun around to Aizawa. "I mean, one wrong move and somebody could've gotten terribly hurt! Or worse!"

Orion's brows furrowed guiltily. "Hmm… Momo, Mina, I understand your concerns, believe me. But sometimes, the best lessons are built on the back of deception. Rest assured, though, none of you nor your parents were in any real danger."

"Exactly." Aizawa asserted, still completely nonchalant. "We were prepared for the worst, so no, it wasn't "a bit much". Besides, pros are no strangers to danger, so an exercise with lower stakes wouldn't do you much good."

"I… suppose that's true." Momo conceded.

"Were you scared? Scared for your mother?"

"Yes, quite."

Aizawa nodded again. "Words alone can't express your love for your families. When faced with losing them, however… this provided that valuable experience." He glanced from student to student. "A proper rescue demands strength, skill, knowledge, and decisiveness. But emotion can easily cloud judgement. Anyone hoping to become a hero can't very well be flustered by a family member in danger. This exercise, under the guise of "Parents' Day", was meant to teach you all just that."

Momo bowed her head in understanding, along with the rest of the class. "Yes, sir."

"One more thing; it's not just about keeping a level head." Aizawa continued. "The people you aim to save—their lives are more than just their own. They too have families waiting for them to come home. Take that to heart."

Again, the class collectively bowed and said; "Yes, sir."

"Now, though every hostage was rescued, this could've gone better." Aizawa's next point made everyone doubletake nervously as he listed off; "You struggled far too much against this single opponent. Wasted too much time. And the stun gun? Hardly the most rational option. Choosing to distract the villain by talking to him was an unrefined approach, and it meant putting your eggs into one basket. I've got plenty more to say, but for now… you all passed. By a slim margin." The class let out a united sigh, mostly out of exhaustion, but also relief that they had passed. "I want one page on what you've learned from this, due tomorrow."

Amongst the instant wave of grumbles, Tenya's hand shot up. "And what of the letters of appreciation? Another one of your "rational deceptions" to disguise the true intent of this exercise, sir?"

Aizawa peered back to the class president. "Well, didn't writing that letter get you thinking about your family more than usual?"

"It did, indeed!" Tenya affirmed, instantly persuaded as the end-of-period bell rang out.

"We're done for today. Parents—thank you for all your assistance." After the teacher and adults exchanged bows, the students began drifting toward their respective parents.

Tae met her son with a bright grin. "Tenya, that final dash was incredible."

"Only thanks to the orange juice you squeeze for me this morning, mother." Tenya replied.

Ogura met his daughter with a pat on the back. "You good, Ochako?"

"Relieved, mostly… blegh!" the brunette promptly yacked on the sidewalk, her nerves getting the better of her.

Even so, the father gave her all his support. "You did great, honey."

"Urf… thanks."

Meanwhile, the Bakugos were engaged in a war of words. "Why's your mouth so goddamned foul, boy?!" Mitsuki raged.

"Learned from the best, hag!" Katsuki retorted.

"I got it from you, though!"

Far from the squabbling mother and son, Fuyumi was busy talking to her little brother, who had grouped up with Kaida and her mother, too. "We're lucky it was just me here on Parent's Day… Mom might've fainted right off the bat, having to play a hostage." She received a silent nod from Shoto before turning to the Kiryus. "But I gotta say, it's so nice to see you two!"

"Likewise, Fuyumi, dear." Krista and Kaida bowed. "How is your mother?"

The young woman leaned over to her brother and nudged him with her elbow. "Doing pretty well, especially since this one started visiting more frequently."

Krista brightened up at that. "Well that's so nice to hear. I hope I get to meet her one day…"

Just then, Aizawa came walking over to the group. "Excuse me, Miss Todoroki." Fuyumi perked up as he addressed her. "Here at U.A., most of our Basic Hero Training classes are recorded, and this one is no exception. If you want, I could give your brother a copy of the footage tomorrow."

"Wow! Could you, really?"

"Mhm. There's no harm in having the rest of your family view it."

"Thank you so much." Fuyumi bowed again as Aizawa walked away, facing her brother yet again. "He must've realized that I wanted Mom to see it, but couldn't bring any recording stuff with me into the school. You'll have to thank him later, Shoto. Mom's gonna be thrilled."

With a stoic expression, Shoto nodded, though Kaida could tell just from his eyes lighting up that he was equally as thrilled. "Sure… and yeah, she will."

Across the way, Inko was profusely apologizing to her own son. "I'm so sorry I couldn't tell you! Your teacher said it was all part of a larger lesson, so I only wanted to help, however possible."

"I-It's okay, mom, really." Izuku assured with a shake of his head. He glanced down at her navy-blue outfit, seeing that it was caked with dirt and soot. 'That's why she mentioned it getting stained. Boy, I can't believe I didn't pick up on that.'

"Gotta say, though, I think we put on some pretty convincing performances." Mika spoke up, walking over with Kyoka. She gazed upon her daughter with pride. "Sweetie, when you said "I'm here to save you", you came off as a true hero in that moment… though I will say that I think your FIRST rescue this month was a lot more epic, hehe."

Kyoka rolled her eyes, leaning her head against her mom's shoulder. "Yeah, well, you guys were in REAL danger back then, so that's to be expected." She eyed Izuku sympathetically. "And Green Bean… sorry about your letter."

With a short sigh, Izuku's shoulders slumped forward. "Hah, well… what're you gonna do, right?" He focused directly on his mother, though. "But letter or no letter, I just wanna say… I'm sorry for making you worry all the time. But… I gotta keep trying, harder and harder."

"Of course." Inko accepted, reaching out to touch his arm as her eyes welled with tears. "And your mom's watching over you. How about some nice katsudon tonight?"

"After today? Yeah, that sounds good."

Just then, Orion and the masked villain came walking over, much to the Jiros' confusion. Izuku and Inko, however, were looking directly at the masked man, almost expectedly. "I would say that this event wrapped up rather well." the Autobot leader concluded, reaching to the masked man's shoulder. "Though of course, I think we should take a moment to acknowledge his performance as well."

"I was gonna say…" Izuku raised a brow with a knowing smirk. "Is that you, All Might?"

"Hah! Correctomundo, young Midoriya." He peered back, checking to make sure that everyone else was leaving the site before removing his hat and cowl, revealing himself to be none other than Toshinori Yagi. "Phew, lemme tell ya, between the all-black costume and the fire, it was getting HOT under there."

Snapping his fingers, Izuku pointed right at his mentor. "I knew it had to be you. Who else would leap into action to rescue someone like that?"

Toshinori chuckled, reminding his protégé; "Hehe, yes, aside from you, of course. But yeah, I broke character a bit at the last moment there, but what can I say?" His gaze shifted toward Inko, nodding to her. "I couldn't very well stay still knowing I could prevent your mother from such a grizzly fate."

Beaming brightly to the skinny blond man, Inko giggled a little and bowed in gratitude. "And I'm very glad you did, Toshi. I had a feeling something was up when that happened."

"…Wait." Everything came to a screeching halt for Izuku in that moment. "Did… did you just call him—"

"Ah, right, I should've mentioned." Inko cleared her throat. "Toshinori and I have been discussing you over phone chat for about a week now, Izuku."

"We thought it'd be prudent to exchange contact info in the event that I couldn't get ahold of you." Toshinori explained further. "Gotta say, though, your mother is quite the conversationalist, young Midoriya."

Izuku really wasn't sure how to process this… or the fact that his mother and his mentor were laughing in happy unison at the moment. 'This is weird… definitely weird.' All the same, he shook the thoughts away for now. That could be addressed at a different time. For now, everyone seemed happy, so he didn't want to rain on anyone's parade. "W-Well, I guess that makes sense. …But still, after this whole thing, I realized that I still have a long way to go."

Kyoka stared at her best friend incredulously. "What the heck are you on about, Izuku?! You're the one who pretty much took charge of the whole situation."

"Yeah, but my stun gun plan backfired and we had to improvise the rest." Izuku reminded. "Mr. Aizawa was right, a more rational plan would've been better. A-And… if All Might hadn't saved mom—"

"You would've gotten the job done yourself." Toshinori insisted, placing a hand on his protégé's shoulder. "Humility's great, kid, but it's starting to get on my nerves!"

That only made things worse for the boy, though. "Gah! That's the last thing I want, All Might!"

With a low chortle, the Pro Hero winked to Izuku. "Haha, that's just a little American joke there, kid."

"…Which part of that was American?" Kyoka questioned, her mother and Inko giving nothing but shrugs.

"Listen, the important thing is to stay humble." All Might advised his student. "But accept genuine praise when it comes your way. All joking aside, you were a force to be reckoned with today. You had the determination to save every last hostage, the composure to put together a strategy, and the leadership to get your friends working together." He gave Izuku a thumbs up. "Tough enough to make any villain cry uncle, I'd say."

Optimus approached the two, standing beside them. "I couldn't have put it any better, my friend. You did incredibly well today, Izuku. And I'm certain that this experience will aid you in your future hero career."

Izuku's smile returned at his mentors' praise. "Right. Thank you both."

"Of course. Now, I believe it is time we return to headquarters." Orion ushered the two families to follow him. "I'm certain that the other Autobots will be keen to know of your exploits here today." With a hearty agreement, they went to follow the rest back to the school… unaware that they were being watched by someone high atop a nearby building.

…..

The mysterious suited man from the day before kept his eye on the group as they departed, his focus still mainly on Izuku like the day before. "Hm… very well done, indeed, Izuku Midoriya." he said to himself, raising his head to look off into the distance. "Perhaps you do have the right potential for what your future holds…"

*Gather 'Round* *Gather 'Round*

The man's eyebrows perked up as a small, mechanical spider approached him, only to then transform into a bulky, flat-screened phone. Picking the device up, he saw immediately who was calling him, and he couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Of course…" He answered the call, bringing it to his ear. "Yes, hello?"

"Hey, it's me." came another man's voice from the other end.

"Ah, senpai, I had a feeling you'd be calling soon." He paused for a moment to reconsider. "Or… should I call you "kouhai" since I've technically been at this longer than you? It's honestly quite confusing."

"Does it really matter?" the caller's tone was quite brazen, but he got back to business quick. "How goes the mission I asked of you?"

The suited man glanced back down, seeing Izuku and the others leaving the facility. "Pretty well so far. The young man with the green hair you asked me to watch over has been progressing fairly quickly." His smile widened a little. "He may indeed have the capabilities needed to become one of us."

A thoughtful hum came from his colleague. "Hm… very good. If he's developing quickly, then maybe he'll stand a chance at what's to come…"

"There you go again with this whole "incoming threat" thing." The man shook his head. "What about you, then? You're still watching over that boy with the alien watch and his team, right? And you said that they have a Rider among them?"

"Two now, actually." the caller replied. "It's been a fairly eventful day here."

"Ah, I see." His brows furrowing in confusion, the man asked; "Question, though… why assign me to watch over this boy? I would've thought you'd ask your little golden boy to do it since he seems like such a big fan…"

That got a chuckle out of the caller. "Hah… Kaguya's still fairly inexperienced, despite his demeanor. And besides, he'd be a bit… much for that boy to handle if he were to encounter him. That's why I think you'd be a much better fit." There was another momentary pause before he went on. "So, can I count on you to continue keeping watch over him?"

"Hm… sure, why not? …Though don't be surprised if I bring some friends to help out, in case I get bored."

He could practically hear his colleague roll his eyes. "Hah, sure, because of course a deity like you would get easily bored. …I've got to go now. I think it's almost time that I reveal my presence to the team."

"Ah, good luck with that. See you." With that, the man hung up and walked across the roof, thinking to himself about what was to come. "Izuku Midoriya… we'll see if you have what it takes." The sound of bells rang out and he disappeared in a flash of blue light, almost as if he were never there at all.

Down below, Izuku's head perked up right as he was about to leave the training ground, his ears twitching as he caught the faint sound out in the distance. "What in the…" He stared out toward the cityscape for a couple seconds… but saw nothing. "Huh, odd." With a shrug of his shoulders, he pursued Kyoka, All Might and Prime, eager to get back to base and tell everyone of what he'd accomplished that day.

…..

A/N: And on that enigmatic note, I think we can end the chapter right here. Though for those of you who've been keeping up with my OTHER story, this might not be AS cryptic of a hint of what's to come. Because yes, this IS set up for a big event later down the road, and trust me, I've got PLANS brewing in the back of my mind that I'm eager to share with all of you regarding that. …But that'll come at a later date. All I'll say right now is… the next Ben 10 RWBY chapter may show the OTHER side of this conversation, hehe…

For now, let's celebrate the fact that Class 1-A managed to work together to overcome another one of Aizawa's "natural deceptions" and passed their rescue exercise… though admittedly by the slimmest of margins. Aizawa really can't let them have a break, can they? Even on the supposed "Parent's Day". But hey, at least the parents themselves played their parts well… though Mitsuki DID almost break character, but hey, are we really surprised? Between her and her son, I'm surprised that neither of them have blown their voices out yet.

And of course, gotta give props to All Might for making a convincing villain, as well as Optimus for playing his part in helping drive the students forward. Of course, I HAD to include at least one Autobot into this chapter, and given the occasion, Prime made the most sense. He may not have played the biggest role, but his presence is still appreciated, I'm sure. On that note, however, we're definitely gonna be getting more Transformers action next time!

And now, the Preview! With Parent's Day behind them, the students find themselves… caught up in more chaos as another artifact's location is pinpointed. However, at the same time, Strongarm and Sideswipe find themselves in another one of their arguments, so instead of the ENTIRE Autobot team getting sent out… Optimus decides to just send them. However, this artifact ends up having some… magnetic side effects. Next Time: Metal Attraction. Can Sideswipe and Strongarm learn to work together… while STUCK together? …While Swindle and MECH are after them?! Tune in next time to find out, but until then, thanks for reading, everybody. Stay safe out there and of course, as always…

GO BEYOND! PLUS ULTRA!