Thalia stood under the red gate. She felt a constant tingling in the middle of her chest. She pushed it down.
One of the three lights on the top of the gate went off.
It was packed. Thalia held her ground.
The second light went off.
Thalia's expression turned into one of hardened determination. She readied herself.
Dad's gonna be watching.
The third and final light went off.
"Begin!" Shouted Midnight.
It became twice as packed real fast. Thalia felt crushed between the sheer amount of people. She clutched her fist. Determined, she put her hands on the shoulders of the person in front of her. She didn't recognize him. She hefted herself onto them, and ignoring the cry of surprise, she leapt off, shapeshifting into a falcon. Several cries of surprise and anger sounded from under her.
"And we're off to a racing start! How 'bout some color commentary, mummy man?" Present Mic shouted.
"How did you talk me into this?" Thalia heard Aizawa respond. She stifled a squawk of laughter.
"What should we be paying attention to in the early stages of the race?" Present Mic asked.
"The door." Aizawa said bluntly. Well, he wasn't wrong.
Below her, Thalia heard people shouting and screaming. That kind of packed space probably would've made her panic.
Suddenly, Thalia was blown forward with a freezing wind, and she flipped several times, her feathers frosting. She let out a 'scree!' of panic. She was blown out of the tunnel, and she quickly caught herself before she hit the ground, flapping her wings to get the frost off. She looked down to see ice coating the ground and the wall around the tunnel's opening. Right outside it was the students, all frozen to the floor.
"Apologies." Thalia heard Todoroki mutter unapologetically. Thalia was glad she'd shapeshifted. Behind her, Bakugo, Momo, Eijirou and Aoyama had blown out of their temporary frozen prisons, all yelling.
"Nice try, Todoroki!" Shouted Momo, a hard look in her eyes.
"I won't let you get away so easily, you icy-hot bastard! You stupid lamb!" Bakugo shouted, flying forward with his explosions. Ojiro was also behind them. He'd used his tail to fly forward.
"You've frozen me in place before, it won't happen again!" He said proudly. Several other people, including Ochako, had broken from his icy trap. A small boy with purple hair(?) threw little purple balls all over the ice, bouncing from them.
"You think you're so cool, you 1-A bastard, but I've outsmarted you! How pathetic!" He shouted. "Eat this! My special attack!" He took a purple ball off his head only to be smacked to the side by a robotic hand.
Wait... a robotic hand?
Thalia's beak hung open. The robots from the entrance exam? Several one-pointers, two-pointers, and three-pointers- and even more zero-pointers- occupied the ground on front of them.
"Target acquired." A one-pointer said gutturally. "Terminate them."
Thalia had torn through these before. She circled the area above the other contestants- who'd all stopped in their tracks- though she didn't fly too high for the fear of getting disqualified for leaving the arena.
"Ooh! Enemies have shown up out of nowhere! I bet we're in for a treat, here! A test of strength and cunning! It's a Robo Inferno!" Exclaimed Present Mic. Thalia noticed that these were much bigger than the actual robots.
A zero-pointer reached its arm toward her, and she dove down and shapeshifted into a lion, roaring with intensity, and tore her claws right through the arm of the robot that reached for her. Before she hit the ground, she shapeshifted back into a bird. Another robot reached for her, and she shapeshifted into a leopard, running up its arm and tearing her claws through its neck, shredding all the way through dozens and dozens of thick cords and wires, ripping its head off.
Before it fell, she leapt off, transforming into her normal self to catch a breath as she fell. She was smirking wildly, however, contesting Bakugo in an evil-looking expression. She was having... fun. She didn't even notice that she'd lost two of her fingernails when her claws tore off attacking the robot. She transformed back into a bird, catching her fall. Her wings felt heavy and sore, and she panted hard as she arced upward. Blood leaked out of two of her talons.
She watched Todoroki freeze all the robots, however, while they were off-balance. Hoping with a sick stomach that the other students would be okay, Thalia flew forward through the icy mist that soothed her body and claws, only a few meters behind Todoroki.
"That's Dragomir and Todoroki from class 1-A flying ahead- literally, in Dragomir's case- to an early lead with a devastating display of strength on both parts! Amazing! Those two are ones we should watch- it almost seems almost unfair!" Present Mic shouted. "Thoughts?"
"Todoroki's attack was both offensive and defensive, while Dragomir's was really only offensive-" Aizawa began, but was interrupted.
"No wonder he was let in on recommendations! And it's clear to see why Dragomir was on top of the leaderboard for the Entrance Exam, with her chart-topping moves! Todoroki'd never even fought those Robo Infernos before, but they didn't even stand a chance against his catastrophic attack!" Present Mic interrupted him.
A rather short- but buff- olive-skinned and partially scaly man with a bushy, gray-streaked beard, a bald head with huge, straight, twisted horns growing from his eyebrows watched from the sectioned-off area in the heroes' seats in the stadium with narrowed eyes, his arms crossed over his massive titanium chest plate.
"The first-year students are already off to one rockin' start! And it's only the first round! Talk about a cruel obstacle course! Our players are racing against each other in a vicious battle where anything goes so long as they stay on the track! We'll continue to bring you live updates and pulse-pounding action thanks to the camera robots placed around the course! The stakes are high!" Present Mic announced. "We've got a whole school of top-notch students trying to be heroes, but do they really stand a chance against our heavy metal swarm of Robo Infernos?"
Thalia was half diving, half flying behind Todoroki when she heard another announcement.
"Class 1-A's Bakugo is rocketing over the obstacles! Clever! For those of you who though the first obstacle was easy, let's see how you flying folks feel about the second one!" Thalia winced at his announcement. Bakugo must be right behind them, and she knew he wouldn't hesitate to blow her right out of the sky. However, he wasn't her biggest problem.
"If they take a spill, they're out! If they wanna pass this test, they gotta get creative! It's The Fall!" Thalia heard Present Mic. It would be a breeze for her. She could just fly over. As she began to do that, she heard whooshing below her. With a squawk, she turned herself sideways and narrowly dodged a metal tentacle that came from far below her.
"That's right! Those of you with flying quirks have it just as hard! These metal tentacles have only one purpose- to grab you and drag you down to your disqualification!" Present Mic announced. Thalia panicked as another tentacle reached up at her, and she dodged it again, this time landing on a pillar close to the middle, and shapeshifting back. She landed roughly on her knees, panting hard. She wiped the sweat off her upper lip, looking ahead of her.
People were starting to cross The Fall, and the tentacles were starting to rise up. There must've been hundreds. Thalia grit her teeth. What am I gonna do!? Thalia thought frantically, taking a deep breath and glaring at the ground. She looked back up at the tentacles. They were about as thick as Thalia's torso, and they moved rather slowly.
Maybe if I shift into...
Thalia shapeshifted into a hummingbird and launched off the pillar she was on- Todoroki was already skating by her when she flew off. A tentacle launched itself at her, and she dodged the machine with ease. It was as if they were all moving in slow motion. She vaguely heard Present Mic say something about flashy quirks.
"Looks like Todoroki is still skating by easily! Dragomir is still taking the harder path of flight, but it seems the reflexes of a tiny little hummingbird is just enough to get her past!" Present Mic shouted.
In seconds, she was diving down to the ground at the end of The Fall, and shapeshifted back to her normal self, panting hard. She was ahead of the majority of the students, but Todoroki and Bakugo were still ahead of her by a few dozen meters.
Thalia glanced down at her two missing fingernails, which had stopped bleeding for the most part. The skin there was far more sensitive and sent uncomfortable tingles down her spine. It was probably the closest thing to pain she could feel.
She pushed through her exhaustion and discomfort and sprinted forward, chasing after the two boys.
She watched Bakugo and Todoroki ahead of her, and the three came across two signs with a big skull on it that read 'DANGER MINES!'. Thalia frowned as she looked ahead at the dirt plain right on front of the finish line. To her dismay, there was a complex web of ropes a few meters above the field, preventing her from just flying across, even as something small, like a hummingbird or even a bee. She flew down beside the two boys who were stopped on front of the obstacle and shapeshifted into her normal self, front-flipping midair to break her fall. Her jacket was open, showing her pink and purple training outfit underneath.
Finally! Thalia thought with a huff.
"And now, we're finally approaching the last obstacle. Everyone had better tread carefully. You're stepping onto a minefield! If you look carefully, you can see where those little bombs are buried, so keep your eyes on the ground, folks! By the way, those land mines were designed for the games, so they might be loud and flashy, but they're not all that powerful. Just enough to make ya wet your pants! Oh, and for those with wings, there's a blockage of metal-fiber ropes! Impossible to break through or fly between!" Shouted Present Mic, seeming a bit too excited at the end.
"Get a hold of yourself." Aizawa muttered.
Thalia gritted her teeth. This should be easy... I can just transform into a hummingbird again and fly beneath the ropes.
She did just so, morphing into the small creature once more.
"And just like that, Dragomir has taken the first place title, using the same hummingbird form as she did before! That metal webbing doesn't seem to be a problem for her at all! But wait, Bakugo is closing in behind her..." Thalia glanced behind her, eyes wide. Bakugo was, indeed, right behind her. With a tweet of panic, she flew faster. The net was intricate, and she'd almost ran straight into the ropes several times, her exhaustion getting the best of her.
"The media here is going crazy! There's nothing they love more than an upset! And can our three leaders fight and stay in the lead?" Thalia gritted her teeth- well, beak. Her muscles and lungs burned like hell. If she stopped, she'd be pretty much out of commission, and she'd lose first place.
"Stupid fucking lamb! What the hell do you think you're doing!?" Bakugo shouted from below her. He was gaining on her.
"What does it look like!? Getting that 2,000 yen!" Thalia tweeted back. She felt the heat of an explosion sent in her direction and the coolness of ice making a wall just ahead of her. Thankfully, hummingbird reflexes came in handy. But she had to go above the wall, and that gave Bakugo the advantage.
"I won't fucking hesitate to blow you to hell!" Bakugo shouted as he passed her, sending her another explosion. Thalia dodged, but some of her feathers were singeing.
"No!" They both shouted as Todoroki overcame them. She was quickly moving ahead, but the ropes seemed to get several times more complicated, forcing her to expend most of her mental energy on maneuvering. She flinched when she heard an explosion- one that was almost as loud as Bakugo's.
"What's with that huge explosion in the back!? That was way more powerful than it should be!"
"Another villain attack!?" Thought Thalia out loud with worry. Out of the cloud, around the top, something green shot out.
Midoriya..?
"Incredible! What just happened!? Whatever the case, class 1-A's Izuku Midoriya is suddenly in hot pursuit of first place!" Thalia paled and immediately flew faster. Under normal circumstances, Thalia would've easily cleared them all in seconds, but the ropes made that incredibly difficult.
"Hey! Where do you think you're going!?" Shouted Bakugo.
"To the finish line!" Thalia yelled back, her voice strained.
"Strike that! The lead is his!" Present Mic yelled as Midoriya shot over Thalia like a shooting star, going over the ropes, riding a piece of debris from an Entrance Exam robot.
"No!" Thalia yelled.
"Deku... What the hell do you think you're doing, huh!?" Bakugo yelled.
"Look at that plot twist! He's flying over the ropes! Those three aren't fighting anymore, they're chasing Midoriya! That's what having a common enemy will do in this competition! This fight is still far from over, however!" Present Mic shouted. Midoriya was losing speed, and Thalia was now just behind him while Bakugo and Todoroki were just behind her. He was falling into the net, but it seemed he's already thought ahead. As soon as he reached the carbon fiber ropes, he threw down another mine, and it exploded on contact, sending him above again.
"In a stunning move, Midoriya has blasted past his classmates from 1-A! I don't believe it- he cleared the minefield in an instant!" Present Mic announced.
Thalia growled loudly and shot through the pink mist, barely pulling ahead of Todoroki and Bakugo.
"Eraser Head, your students are amazing! What the heck are you teaching them?"
"This has nothing to do with me." Aizawa responded to Present Mic, "Each of them are powered by their own drive to succeed."
"There ya have it! Eraser Head is a terrible teacher!"
"I'm what?"
Thalia grew excited as she saw the stadium directly ahead of her. The netting had ended, and she was good to fly freely. She heard Bakugo's explosions and Todoroki's frosting. Thalia's muscles hurt. Her lungs burned and her beak felt like it was gonna fall off. She pulled ahead.
"Who would've imagined at the beginning of this race that the climax would be a non-stop mega mix of surprises!?"
Midoriya was only a few meters on front of her. If she could only pull ahead-
"The first to make it back into the stadium is the first-place winner! Izuku Midoriya is our champion!" Thalia heard the cheers directly ahead of her. She stopped behind him, and fell back to her normal form, hitting the ground with an 'oof!'. She was bent over, panting hard. Her vision was blurred and she felt like she was about to faint.
"And right behind him is Dragomir Thalia, our second-place winner!"
"Thalia, are you alright?" Midoriya asked, putting a hand on her shoulder. Thalia gave him a nod, although her vision was lagging and she couldn't calm down her breathing, it was like her body was begging for more and more oxygen.
"The contestants are pouring in one after the other! Let's hear some applause for all our competitors as we prepare the results!"
"Deku! Thalia! That was amazing!" The two looked up to see Ochako, who was tiredly running over to the two.
"Thank y-"
"Aaaagh, I can't believe y'all are the top two! I'm so jealous!" Ochako interrupted him.
"U-uh, it was nothing!" Midoriya blushed, wrapping his arms around his face.
"Thalia, are you okay? You look like you're about to throw up- ouch! What happened to your fingernails!?" Ochako said, worriedly switching her attention to Thalia, who's skin was pale and sweaty. She picked up Thalia's hand- her two fingers where her fingernails were ripped off were stained with blood. Yeah, Thalia was so exhausted she was slightly nauseous, but she didn't quite feel like throwing up.
"Y-yeah, just shapeshifted like, way too many times. And I just ran my ass off. And I ripped my nails out while ripping up those robots. I just need some rest..." She replied, swaying. Ochako put an arm around her and Thalia leaned on Ochako, who was breathing deeply and slowly, causing Thalia to start matching her breathing pattern. She glanced at Bakugo, who looked pissed. Seeing as she got a place above him, she thought it would be for the better if she avoided him for now. She would get that 2,000 yen later.
"The first game for the first years is finally over, and what a game it was! Now, let's take a quick look at the standings, shall we?" Midnight announced. Midoriya got first place, Thalia had made second place, Todoroki at third, Bakugo at fourth, and so on.
"Only the top thirty-two will advance to the next round, but don't be too let down if you didn't make the cut! We've prepared other opportunities for you to shine. Now the real fun is about to begin. The chance to fully move yourselves into the limelight! Give it your best!" Midnight raised her tassel once more, the hologram behind her doing the slot machine spin again.
"Let's see what we have in store for you next! Will your wildest fantasies come to life? What could it be? The waiting is torture." She teased. "Prepare yourselves... for a small intermission!" The audience and students groaned collectively as the slot-machine-hologram stopped to show the words "Water Break".
Thalia let out a long sigh, her face relieved.
"Nine realms, I thought I was gonna die! I'm so glad we're not running straight into another event." Thalia moaned. Several bots rolled out of the tunnels, bright red coolers in their clutches.
"The break will last for fifteen minutes! Just keep in mind- make sure to drink all your water, and to not destroy your bottle once you're done with your water. They will be crucial for the next event." Midnight informed with a wink.
Thalia took her water bottle from the cooler with haste, unscrewing the top and downing about half the tall bottle.
"Thalia, chill out with the water! You could get sick!" Ochako scolded. Thalia gave Ochako a small laugh.
"It's fine, Chako-chan." Thalia assured her.
After Recovery Girl approached her after a few other students, healed her fingernails and gave her a stamina candy, Thalia glanced in Bakugo's direction. He was glaring down at his water bottle, looking pissed off still, sitting cross-legged on the ground. Thalia figured if she sat by him, he wouldn't mind. She walked in his direction. If he noticed, he didn't show it. She stopped a few inches away. No reaction. It was probably safe.
Thalia laid down by him, her legs lopsided, leaning toward Bakugo but not touching him. She sipped her water, not saying anything. Still no reaction from Bakugo. However, she enjoyed the silence, as it was a comfortable one around them, as it always was. To her, at least. She didn't know if it was comfortable to him or not. However, again, he didn't show it.
"Hey... Are you... Y'know... O-okay?" Bakugo grumbled quietly. Thalia was caught off guard, and she looked in his direction, genuinely surprised.
"Huh?" Was all Thalia could muster through her shock. Bakugo growled.
"Never mind, you stupid lamb." He snapped louder. Thalia put her water bottle down.
"Hey, don't get defensive. I was just surprised. I'm okay, this water really helped. Thanks for asking." Thalia tried to keep her tone casual. "You did really good in the race. I'm sure you'll score higher in the next event." Bakugo looked like he wanted to shout, but swallowed it down.
"...Thanks."
"Woah, what's this!?" Thalia heard someone exclaim.
"Hey, that's pretty cool!"
"Yoo!"
Thalia lifted her head, the blush slowly disappearing. She noticed those that had finished their water were looking in amazement down at their bottles. She'd had been so thirsty that she hadn't even noticed what her water bottle looked like. It was mostly clear with the letters "U.A." in black stretched across one side and the bottom was the same color. However, the people that'd finished their water had either a silver or gold water bottle.
Her mouth gaped, Thalia exchanged a quick, surprised glance with Bakugo, and they both chugged their waters. The water bottles both faded to gold. Thalia sent Bakugo an excited grin, her eyes lighting up, clinking her water bottle with his. He blushed and looked away with a quiet 'whatever'.
"Hey! You two! What color'd you get?" Eijirou shouted, jogging over to his two friends. Thalia raised her water bottle.
"We got gold!" Thalia exclaimed. Eijirou's smile widened, crouching by Thalia.
"Let's go! Me, too! That's exciting! I wonder if we're gonna be a part of a team or something." Eijirou thought out loud. Thalia giggled.
"I hope so! That would be exciting." Thalia replied. Bakugo remained silent, but held up his golden water bottle.
"We better be on the same team. I'm not gonna be on a team with a buncha weak extras." Bakugo muttered.
"Aww, you don't consider us weak extras?" Thalia teased the ash-blonde.
"Your fifteen minutes are up!" Shouted Midnight.
"Wow, that was fast." Thalia muttered.
"You may notice that your water bottles are now either gold or silver. These bottles were designed to fade into another color once the majority of the water was gone. Now, those who have a gold water bottle, gather to my right. And silver, to my left. Teams have now been balanced. Our next game of Capture the Flag is about to begin!"
Thalia's eyes sparkled. Bakugo got up and started walking, as did Eijirou. But Thalia had an idea- she wanted to test something.
"Bakugo!" Thalia shouted. The boy turned his head, sending a glare that said 'what?'. Thalia stuck her arms out.
"Help me up." She raised an arm, sending him a pout. Bakugo bared his teeth, and turned back around. However, after a few moments, he shouted 'whatever!' and stormed toward her with an angry glare, and took her hand, yanking her up. Thalia yelped as she was yoinked forward, stopping herself much closer to Bakugo than she'd like to be.
Bakugo stared at her, his glare softened to an startled look, and Thalia looked up at him with her eyebrows slightly raised. They were merely inches apart, and that settled in after a few moments, and a blush dusted both their cheeks.
He smells like caramel... Thalia noticed, slightly surprised. She expected him to smell like sweat.
"Thanks..." She said. Bakugo gritted his teeth and hardened his glare, growling as he pushed her away. Unlike Bakugo's normal hostility, for some reason, that hurt more. Bakugo saw it in her expression, and bit his lip like he regretted doing it, but then turned around with a scoff. Thalia bit her lip and grabbed her water bottle and followed them, confused.
Eijirou watched the whole thing with a smirk, knowing exactly what was going on, finally having caught on to their... situation. Mina stood beside him, and they exchanged mischievous expressions and hushed speech interrupted with an occasional giggle.
Thalia was standing with Bakugo, Eijirou, Midoriya (to Bakugo's dismay), Ochako, Iida, Todoroki, Kaminari, Mina, Sero, Momo, Tokoyami, two students from class 1-B, a girl from support and... Grimace! Thalia glared at the purple-haired boy, and he grinned back teasingly. Too bad I can't punch his face. She was looking across the way at Ojiro, Tsu, Sato, Shoji, Koda, Kyoka, Aoyama, and the rest she didn't recognize.
The words "Capture the Flag" appeared on the screen behind Midnight with an image of a person holding a flag.
"Oh, Capture the Flag!? That's like, my favorite game type!" Kaminari exclaimed. Thalia's face lit up. She also loved Capture the Flag.
"Allow me to explain." Midnight began, turning to the hologram. "The participants will be split into two teams of sixteen. The battlefield will be split into thirds- a home base for both teams- Goldtropolis and Silver City- and a 'war zone' that's claimed by neither of the teams. Once your teammate is on the other team's zone, the other team can incapacitate and capture your teammate and take them to 'jail'. To get your teammate out of 'jail', you must go into the other team's 'jail' and release them. However, only one person can be released per person. If there are no releases left, your teammate will be in 'jail' for the rest of the game.
"There will be three flags on each team's home base. Your goal is to take all three of the other team's flags and return them to the magnetic circle on your home base. Your flags can be hidden in any way as long as they are placed in a magnetic circle and they're still visible to the naked eye. The only time a flag should be off of a magnetic circle is if someone is running with it. When you have a flag on you, you're considered a 'runner' and your team must protect you at all costs. You can also reclaim your flags from the enemy team's base. However, you risk getting jailed and losing the flag by doing that. The first team with all of the enemy's flags in the circle win the round and are able to move on to the next round. Remember- you can't injure your enemies too bad, or it could result in a disqualification. Do you all understand?"
"Yes ma'am!" Shouted all the students.
They all stood against the edge of the stadium so Cementoss could create the mock city used for the battle. Midnight's platform was moved to the outside of the stadium, away from the students, and large spires rose from the ground, half of them golden and half of them silver. In the middle, there was a rubble-strewn wasteland that looked to be the war zone. Thalia noticed that there were boulders and big chunks of debris she could easily use for cover.
"Now! All of you go into your bases and you may strategize for twenty minutes! After that..." Midnight licked her lips. "the game shall begin!" The crowd cheered at that.
Thalia's team stood atop the tallest building they could find in the mock city. It felt impossibly big. The buildings all had a yellow tint to it. Kaminari pinched his chin and looked at the three floating, golden flags within their magnetic circle.
"These must be the flags we need to defend." He observed. From beside her, Bakugo bared his teeth.
"No shit!" He growled. The other students all sweatdropped. Working with Bakugo would be difficult. Thalia warily spoke up.
"It may be difficult, but if we wanna win this, we have to work together." She eyed Bakugo in particular.
"Shut up, stupid lamb, I'm amazing at teamwork!" He shouted, causing Thalia to pinch her nose.
"Yes, this is not something we can be foolish about." Tokoyami agreed, his beak pointing downward. Dark Shadow lingered at his side.
"Right, so we should assign a defense team to defend the flags and jail their offense, and a runner team who will capture their flags without getting caught." Iida began.
"Before we do that, we need a basic understanding of each others' quirks." Momo piped up.
"Hey, remember, we can't give too many away. We'll be goin' up against each other in the next event if we win this." Said Eijirou.
"When." Thalia and Bakugo chorused.
"To start, I am Iida Tenya, class 1-A's president. My quirk is Engine, and the engines in my calves make it so I can boost my speed. I believe I would be best for offense and running."
"I'm Dragomir Thalia and I can shapeshift into anything biological. I think I'd be best for offense, but I can swing either way."
"Remember, we should keep the offensive team small so we have less people to worry about." Grimace said. "I'm Shinso Hitoshi. I can brainwash." The team gasped.
"Wow! That's so cool!" Mina exclaimed. "I'm Ashido Mina, and I can secrete acid from anywhere on my body."
"I am Shiozaki Ibara, and my quirk is vines. I can control my hair and its length, and use it to attack and defend. I can also control them after detachment. I think I would be better for defense." Shiozaki said. Kaminari was swooning over her.
"I'm Kaminari Denki, my quirk is electrification, I'd be good for either defense or offense. Also, you're hot." Shiozaki pretended she didn't hear him, sweatdropping. Thalia snorted.
"Sorry about him, girl, he's always looking for a piece of ass." Kaminari stared at Thalia as if she were screwing up his game, though he did that enough for himself.
"I'm Kirishima Eijirou, and my quirk is hardening. I can harden my skin, and I honestly can't imagine myself being good at offense." Eijirou admitted, rubbing the back of his neck.
"I'm Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu, and my quirk is steel, and I can turn my skin into steel. I'd be better for defense." Tetsutetsu? Thalia bit her lip to keep from snorting.
Hey, wait... that's the boy from when the Sports Festival was announced! Thalia pursed her lips and looked down. Working with them both should be a little difficult.
"I'm Uraraka Ochako, and my quirk is zero gravity! If I touch an object, it'll become weightless. Honestly, I'd better stick with defense." She admitted.
"I'm Sero Hanta, and my quirk is tape. I have tape dispensers in my elbows. I'd have to be on defense, it's good for capturing people."
"My name is Tokoyami Fumikage, and my quirk is Dark Shadow, as you can see." Tokoyami said, motioning to Dark Shadow, who sent the group a smile. "I'd be good for either offense or defense."
"My name is Yaoyorozu Momo, and my quirk is Creation- I can create anything non-living. I'd be best for defense."
"Hi! I'm Hatsume Mei! My quirk is zoom, and I can see several kilometers ahead with them, but I think my babies would be amazing for offense!" The pink-haired girl said, a wide smile on her face. The others all sweatdropped.
"I-I'm Midoriya Izuku, and m-my quirk is-" Thalia knew he'd have a hard time explaining his situation, so she cut in.
"Well, that's all of us. We should strategize!" She exclaimed. Midoriya sent her a grateful look.
"Wait, what about Midoriya?" Asked Tetsutetsu accusingly. Thalia glanced at Midoriya again, who looked nervous.
"His quirk won't be useful for this, but his intellect will be." She assured. Surprisingly, Tetsutetsu didn't ask more, though he did look suspicious. Bakugo gave her an odd look, and Midoriya looked grateful.
"Right, it'll pretty much put him out of commission if he uses it." Agreed Tsu, helping her case, putting a finger on her lip.
"Okay, we should focus on the offensive team first." Said Iida.
"Think of the fastest or stealthiest people on our team. Dragomir, Ashido, Iida. They're good for offense." Mina grinned at Tokoyami's words. Iida looked touched- he had the same expression he had back at the first battle training when Momo was explaining why he was the MVP.
"I wanna be on offense." Bakugo growled loudly, breaking the joyful atmosphere. No one's arguing with you there. The team thought in unison.
"Bakugo on defense? What a joke." Kaminari laughed. Bakugo sent him a withering glare, which he yelped and cowered under.
"Hey, think about it. Having some of the most powerful on offense as well as defense would be smart- and other than Kirishima, Dragomir is the only one here he'll actually work with." Said Sero, motioning to the two. Bakugo bared his teeth and small explosions popped out of his hand. Thalia gave him a glare, and Bakugo, seemingly reading her mind, huffed and crossed his arms.
Not the time.
"Exhibit A." Said Ochako smugly. Bakugo started yelling angrily at Ochako unintelligibly, ruining the effect.
"On the contrary, Shiozaki, Kirishima, Tetsutetsu, Sero and Hatsume would be amazing for defense." Midoriya pointed out once everyone was calmed down.
"Hey!" Hatsume whined. "I need to be on offense, I need the support companies to see the potential in my babies!"
"Hatsume, you're the only support student that made it past the obstacle race. I'm sure their eyes are on you, regardless. Your quirk will be extremely useful for seeing others approaching at a distance." Momo debated. Seeing that she made a point, Hatsume pouted.
"...Okay." The gadget-covered girl said, clearly upset. Thalia got an idea.
"Hey, you can be offensive-defensive! Hold on, Momo, do you think you can make communications devices?" Thalia said, multiple ideas coming at once. Hatsume brightened at her words. Momo also smiled.
"Yes, that is within my abilities." She replied with a smile. Thalia grinned back.
"So then, Hatsume can still look out for enemies while still being the first thing they hit!" She said excitedly.
"And with the communications devices, we can be updated with our situation." Todoroki spoke up for the first time. "I should be the first thing they meet when they get here. I'm probably the strongest here besides Dragomir, and she's going on offense." He said quietly. Bakugo growled, but didn't say anything.
"Then you and Hatsume can be on the front lines together- we need you both there." Said Momo, before anyone else could say anything.
"Shinso, you should be on offense." Midoriya spoke up, catching most of the team off guard- including Shinso.
"But that doesn't make sense! He doesn't have a speed or stealth quirk." Kaminari protested. Thalia thought about it for a moment, and reluctantly agreed.
"No, wait. Midoriya's right." Thalia interjected, shocking everyone, including Shinso. "You could just tell them to stop defending the flag, right?" Thalia prompted, looking at Shinso.
"I can probably tell the majority of them to stand down, but I can't make them fight each other." He answered neutrally, as if further gauging her character. Thalia nodded.
"That's perfect! Then I agree with Tsu. You should totally be on offense." She said excitedly. Shinso looked away bashfully.
"Okay. I suppose you all have a point." He agreed, a small smile aimed at her. While he had pissed her off a few weeks ago, she was glad they could make up and work together. Thalia felt Bakugo tense next to her. When she looked at him, he was glaring at Shinso. She nudged him.
"Cut it out." She hissed.
"Don't tell me what to do." Bakugo hissed quietly. However, he complied.
"Oh! Tetsutetsu should be on offense!" Said Mina. Tetsutetsu perked.
"Eh!?" He asked, alarmed. He crossed his arms, staring at Mina.
"Oh, right! There's a lot of 1-B's students in the other class, and we don't know anything about them! Plus, your Steel quirk has offensive capabilities. Mina's right, we totally need you." Thalia agreed brightly. Tetsutetsu blushed.
"Okay, sure." He agreed, grinning. He seemed to have forgotten all about the crowding of 1-A's door three weeks ago.
"THREE MINUTES!" Midnight's voice echoes throughout the stadium. Thalia looked up, and back down at the flags the team had surrounded.
"Shit, the flags!" Kaminari cursed.
"We need a defense team for each flag. Quirks that work together." Thalia said intensely.
"What's the total defense team?" Asked Tetsutetsu.
"Me, Shiozaki, Midoriya, Uraraka, Kirishima, Tokoyami, Yaoyorozu and Kaminari." said Sero. "Minus Hatsume and Todoroki, who'll be on the front lines."
"That's not divisible by three. We'll need to make it uneven." Said Todoroki.
"Okay, we'll make three teams- two will have to have three while the other has two." Said Momo.
"Uraraka, you and me should defend a flag- I have an idea." Said Sero. Ochako nodded enthusiastically.
"Right. Shiozaki, you, Kaminari and Tokoyami could be a team." Said Iida. Kaminari swooned, but Ochako slapped the back of his head.
"Good thinking, Iida!" Said Mina.
"That would leave Midoriya with Yaoyorozu and Kirishima." Said Tokoyami. "Their quirks make up for Midoriya's inability to use his."
"We can work together." Smiled Momo. Shiozaki, Sero and Momo each took a flag and stood with their respective teams. Thalia stood with the offensive and offensive-defensive team.
"Booooop! Your time for strategizing is up! I hope you've got a good plan for the trial ahead. You have two hours to get the other team's three flags. Your time starts now!" Midnight announced.
"And the second event has officially begun! Got any predictions, ninja man?" Exclaimed Present Mic.
"They're both pretty equally matched. It could go either way." Aizawa responded dryly.
"And there you have it, folks! Even the Erasure Hero himself can't tell who's gonna win! This is sure to be a battle that goes down in history!" Said Present Mic.
Thalia flinched at the announcements. She hoped Present Mic wouldn't reveal her location to the other team.
"Alright, let's get moving! We have to get there before they get here, else we stay fighting in the middle the whole time!" Iida exclaimed. The team all nodded.
"I have faith in us!" Said Shiozaki wistfully.
"We totally got this in the bag!" Exclaimed Kaminari.
"Good luck, you guys! Keep in contact!" Said Mina. Thalia tuned them out as she morphed into a massive fox bat- her head surpassing Iida's. Enormous bat wings burst through her clothing, and she folded them against her sides. Luckily, her comms device stayed in.
"Shit, my P.E. uniform." Thalia muttered, looking at the holes she'd ripped in the back. Shinso and Hatsume gave her awestruck looks. Thalia sat down, a little tired from the big shift.
"Why didn't you just use into your dragon form?" Asked Iida. Thalia clenched her massive jaw, looking away.
"Because my dear old dad's watching me." Thalia spat bitterly. Todoroki gave the shapeshifter a supremely surprised look.
"Oh... My... God!" Exclaimed Hatsume, stars in her eyes. Thalia blushed.
"Tell me, how does your body transform you? When you said anything biological, did you mean plants, too? Can you turn into mythological creatures, like a hydra or a Manticore?" Thalia was rendered speechless from all her questions.
"I..." Thalia trailed off, not sure how to answer all that. Could she transform into a plant?
"Stop ogling and let's fucking get on with it." Bakugo growled. Shinso and Hatsume both sent him glares.
"I can only carry a few of you, so Iida, Mina, Bakugo, you guys might have to get over there on your own. Shinso, Tetsutetsu, y'all can ride." Thalia told them. Despite what Thalia told them, Bakugo ignored her and blasted himself up Thalia's back, sitting right behind her shoulder blades. Thalia gave him an odd look.
"Bakugo..?" She trailed off. Bakugo refused to respond, just repelled any questioning looks with glares. Thalia sighed. "I can handle you three just fine."
Mina had to physically keep her squeal down. Instead, she slapped Eijirou's shoulder multiple times, and Eijirou did the same to her, discreetly matching her energy.
"They may not have the upper hand with power as far as we know, but they'll be able to see us coming. They have Jiro and Shoji. Tetsutetsu, any other people we should look out for?" Iida asked. We can't just sit here and strategize. They could be on their way! Thalia laid down all the way, her head on the ground.
"We can strategize in the air- we don't have a second to lose. Tetsutetsu, Shinso, get on. Iida, Mina, you guys are fine with running, right?" Asked Thalia. Tetsutetsu and Shinso climbed on, Tetsutetsu behind Bakugo and Shinso behind them.
"Yes, we should be alright." Iida replied. Thalia exchanged glances with Todoroki, and they nodded at each other. Standing up, Thalia spread her massive wings, and flapped. Soon, she was in the air.
"Woah..." Said Tetsutetsu. She heard a small laugh from behind her. For some reason, Bakugo's hand on her shoulder made her face warm.
"So, any quirks in particular we should watch out for?" Asked Iida using the comms. Iida and Mina were both, thankfully, catching up with them.
"I think your Shoji and Jiro should be the only ones that can see us at a distance. Although there... Are a few we should be wary of." Said Tetsutetsu.
"Like what?" Asked Shinso.
"Tsurbaraba can create solid air, he's sure to be on defense. The thing is, his air walls can be kinda fragile, so Bakugo and I shouldn't have much of a problem with him. Bondo might be on the offensive defensive, he can shoot some pretty strong glue. And uh... Dragomir, you may wanna change forms." Thalia jerked her head to the side, confused.
"Why's that?" She responded, flapping her wings.
"Kuroiro's quirk allows him to merge into anything black, so he could possibly take control of you and use you against us." Replied Tetsutetsu. Thalia hummed.
"Okay." She replied, "But I'll have to land before I can do that." As if on cue, they arrived on the other team's side- only to have to dodge a sparkling blue laser that was sent right by Thalia's face.
"Woah!" Shouted Tetsutetsu. They all gripped onto her as she moved to the side. She got an uncomfortable tingle down her back as they all tugged on her short fur. The fur on the side of her face was singed when another laser was fired to her left.
"Shit!" Exclaimed Thalia. "Hold on!" Her passengers all hung on tight. Thalia gritted her teeth as she did a barrel roll, dodging some more lasers.. She heard Tetsutetsu, Shinso and Bakugo all shout in alarm and panic as they were all turned upside-down briefly. Thankfully, she didn't lose any of them.
"What was that!?" Asked Tetsutetsu, alarmed. Thalia looked ahead to see a blonde boy standing on top of a tall building, his hands on his hips.
"That's Aoyama." Thalia managed, gritting her teeth as she dodged more lasers. As time went on, Thalia noticed, the lasers got weaker and shorter.
"We just need to get past him, not defeat him." Shinso pointed out. Thalia gritted her teeth as she flipped once more to avoid a laser.
"Just fuckin' fly past him, dumbass!" Shouted Bakugo, half-panicked. Thalia growled.
"Why don't you try fucking flying, sparky?" Thalia snarled back. Bakugo silenced, but she felt him suddenly push off her and his weight was lifted- increasing her mobility in the air.
"Bakugo, what the hell are you doing!?" Shouted Tetsutetsu. Thalia felt their weight both lean to her left as they looked to where Bakugo fell off. Thalia didn't panic- she knew what he was gonna do the moment he hopped off.
With a loud explosion and screaming, he was in the air once more. Letting out a cry, he propelled himself toward Aoyama, who became paler than he already was from overuse of his quirk.
"I'LL KILL YOU, BELLY BUTTON LASER!" Shouted Bakugo, sending a particularly strong explosion toward Aoyama, orange and gray enveloping them. Aoyama let out a girlish scream- and as Thalia glided now peacefully through the air, she saw the smoke from the explosion clear with Bakugo standing and Aoyama face-down on the ground. Thalia sent him a toothy smile when he turned his head toward her.
Landing beside him, she folded her wings and her passengers dismounted. She shifted back to her human self.
Beside her, Aoyama was out cold, clearly out of commission. Thalia set her frequency to the team channel.
"Hey, team gold? We made it to the other side." She said.
"Sweet!" Exclaimed Kaminari.
"Any sign of the enemy team?" Asked Momo.
"We only ran into their offensive defensive. No offensive team that I can see." Iida reported.
"Right. Good luck, you guys. Bring those flags home." Tokoyami said.
"We will." Thalia said determinedly. With that, Thalia switched back to the offensive frequency.
"Yo, Iida, Mina. Where you at? Do we have to save your asses?" Asked Thalia.
"Yeah, we're good. My acid's really effective against his glue, so we just knocked him out. Poor guy, he reminds me of Koda." Replied Mina, her voice sympathetic.
"Great! So, are you gonna meet us and go after one flag as a unit, or are we gonna split up?" Asked Tetsutetsu.
"I think it's best we attack as a unit, as to overwhelm them." Said Iida.
"No. I can handle a defense team on my own. If they had the same idea as we did, they'll have teams of two to three people. I can handle that. The rest of you should split up into teams as well." Argued Shinso. Thalia looked at him with a frown, but nodded.
"Okay. I'll have the same confidence in you as you have in yourself, then." Thalia affirmed, "I'll go north and look for the flag there. Bakugo, you with me?" Bakugo's glare was deepened, and his arms were crossed. He nodded.
"Right. Mina, stay with me. Tetsutetsu, come with me. We'll attack the northwest. Shinso, can you handle the northeast?" Asked Iida.
"Yeah." Said Shinso.
"Alright." Tetsutetsu affirmed. Silver coated his body, and he jumped down the side of the building with a screech, a faint boom! being heard a few seconds after.
He has the same quirk as Eijirou... Thalia sweatdropped. She turned to Shinso.
"You okay getting there on your own?" She asked the purple-haired boy. He nodded.
"Yeah, I should be fine. Don't worry, I'll get the flag." Shinso said. Thalia nodded.
"Okay. Hey, good luck." Thalia smiled toothily, sending him a thumbs-up. Shinso sent her a small smile back, returning her thumbs-up. Hearing a growl behind her, however, the back of Thalia's uniform was tugged backward.
"Hey-" Thalia said, her tone strangulated.
"Let's go!" Bakugo snarled. Thalia shook his hand off her collar and glared at him.
"Fuck off! I'm coming!" Thalia snapped back. In front of them, Shinso let out a sigh of annoyance and started roof-hopping to the northeast in search of the flag.
Thalia shapeshifted into her past form, but made her fur blonde, and Bakugo mounted her, his hands on her shoulder blades. Standing up, she launched herself into the air roughly. She felt Bakugo almost fall off, and he gripped onto her horns at the base. Thalia's head was pulled back, and she stopped in the air, and Bakugo almost fell off. She blushed wildly, getting an odd feeling in her chest. That felt...
"Hey! Watch it, stupid-ass lamb!" Bakugo snapped. Thalia responded with a growl, climbing the air.
"Don't touch my damn horns!" She angrily said. He took his hands off and wrapped his arms around her neck, which was arguably worse. Silver City seemed impossibly big- as Goldtropolis seemed to be as well. Thalia squinted her eyes looking for any sign of a flag.
"And general studies' Shinso has stolen the first flag of the game already!" Thalia looked up, shocked.
"What..?" Thalia breathed, amazed. Already?
"He is now in hot pursuit of home base- and it seems that Team Silver is just letting him leave!" Exclaimed Present Mic.
Right. Mind control.
"On the way back with a flag. Anyone wanna come protect me?" Thalia heard Shinso say into the mic.
"On the way." Chorused Tenya, Mina and Tetsutetsu.
"Wow, Shinso! How'd you get the flag so quickly!?" Exclaimed Eijirou.
"I have my secrets." Shinso responded.
"Mind control, you red-haired idiot!" Bakugo shouted into the mic. Suddenly, Thalia was knocked out of the sky with a blast of soundwaves.
Jiro!
"What the shit-!?" Shouted Bakugo as Thalia spiraled, trying to regain balance. Flapping her wings hard, her muscles burning, she was able to land safely on a building nearby. Bakugo let go, immediately scanning for the source of the attack.
"I think we found them." Thalia commented, looking right ahead at a taller building with broken windows. Right inside were- as far as Thalia could tell- Jiro and an unfamiliar, tall, hairy guy. Inside was also the flag, floating gently on its magnetic circle.
"Let's fucking get them!" Bakugo roared. Thalia didn't move.
"Hold on, we can't just rush in there-"
"Yes the fuck we can! Let's fucking go already!" Bakugo said raucously. Thalia huffed, supposing he was right.
"Fine, dammit." Thalia growled. She spread her wings and shot forward- only to be blown backward by Jiro's soundwaves. And she was spiraling in the air again.
"Shit!" Thalia cursed. "What did I say, asshole!?" Bakugo was screaming behind her, again holding onto her neck for dear life. She flapped up and away from Jiro's weaponized sound. She hovered in the air, panting. The beat of her wings was the only sound around them- other than the battle between the other people, of course.
Bakugo was breathing hard on her back, and he suddenly tightened his grip considerably and growled. Thalia coughed when he did so.
"Hey! Baka-go! You're choking me!" Thalia choked out. Bakugo removed his arms, small explosions emanating from behind her.
"Fucking annoying ass bitch!" He growled. Thalia sighed.
"Calm your tits, dynamite. We'll find another way around." Thalia said flatly. Bakugo growled from behind her.
"What did you just call me!?" He roared. Thalia ignored him and flapped her wings, taking them both to the top of the building. Bakugo jumped off as she landed, and Thalia shapeshifted back, panting. They exchanged looks. Thalia moved her gaze to the roof access door a few feet ahead of them. Bakugo followed her vision and they looked back at each other once more.
"Two for team Gold's jail! Mashiro Ojiro and Sen Kaibara join Yosetsu Awase in prison! Go save your teammates, Silver!" Shouted Present Mic. Nice, we're winning a lot easier than I thought we would.
"Let's go." Said Thalia. He nodded, and they ran toward the door. Bakugo growled as he sent a powerful explosion toward the door, knocking it down. Once it was out of the way, they ran down the stairs they were met with.
"I think they were about five floors down from the roof." Thalia commented as they ran.
"Six." Corrected Bakugo breathily. Thalia hummed and nodded. In silence, they both jumped down the stairway, hopping from rail to rail. Six floors later, they stopped at the door that inevitably led to the flag. Exchanging looks, Bakugo was readying himself to knock the door down, but Thalia put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him. Bakugo sent her a glare, but was met with a rather intense look. Thalia put a finger on her lips ad jerked her head toward the door. Bakugo frowned, but his eyes widened as he heard.
"...Jiro, do you hear them?" Asked a deep male voice. Their eyes widened, and they didn't move a muscle, not even daring to breathe.
"...I heard movement earlier, but they're gone now. I think they're lost." Said Jiro. Bakugo moved his gaze to Thalia, who turned her head to look at him.
"Stay here." He hissed.
"What was that?" Asked Jiro. Thalia gave him a small nod. Bakugo's lips grew into a wide smirk, and he raised his hand, and explosion igniting against his palm and blowing the door down. Thalia stood back as he screamed and ran into the room.
"Give me the flag, you bastards!" Jiro and the beast-looking man both yelped in alarm. Thalia watched the beast man grow into an actual beast, his P.E. uniform changing with him as Thalia's would. She gasped, and watched him go after Bakugo with a roar, who was fighting with Jiro.
"Oh no you don't!" Shouted Thalia, swiftly transmuting herself into a polar bear with a height rivaling his. With a snarl, she attacked him, pinning him to the ground with an oof!. "Let's duke this out, beast to beast!"
"So we shall!" The beast student cried back, charging at her.
"Bakugo, get the flag!" Thalia roared, struggling against the beast. Jiro had lost the fight against Bakugo- she was laying on the ground, knocked out cold by Bakugo's hits. The boy turned to her.
"Don't fucking tell me what to do!" Exclaimed Bakugo, using his explosions to propel him toward the flag. Suddenly, beast man threw her off his back, and she landed on her spine with a roar of pain. Bakugo looked behind him to see the beast man charging him. He yelled, sending a strong explosion in his direction. The beast man roared in pain and surprise as the heat and force slapped him in the face, effectively stopping him in his tracks. To finish him off, she roared and whacked his face with a large paw, disorienting him.
Thalia picked herself up and dashed toward Bakugo as he reached for the flag. Beast man regained his focus- but he was too late. The flag was taken and Thalia had caught him on her back, shifting into a blonde bat.
"Hey! Give that back, you fiends!" Beast man roared. Bakugo smirked as Thalia opened her wings.
"In your dreams, sucker. Have fun losing!" He said scornfully. Thalia launched forward, shattering through the window ahead. Thalia whooped as they left, sending an open grin to Bakugo, who grinned back, holding the flag up.
"Look at that! Team Gold has already taken two flags! Will they win this by a landslide? What do you think, mummy man?" Present Mic exclaimed.
"It could go either way." Said Aizawa bluntly.
"Second flag, on the way home." Thalia said into the comms as she brought herself and Bakugo out of the city.
"Hell yeah!" Mina exclaimed.
"Aw yeah! That's our Dragomir and Bakugo!" Cheered Eijirou.
"Hurry up and win, we're being attacked!" Cried Kaminari.
"They got past Todoroki!?" Thalia exclaimed.
"We didn't see anyone pass us!" Said Hatsume.
"How!?" Exclaimed Kaminari incredulously.
"Don't worry. We'll win this before they even get the chance to take a flag home." Assured Eijirou.
"Ashido, Tetsutetsu and I are going for the other flag. I request that others wait for us in the Warzone while we transfer the last flag." Said Iida.
"Okay, Bakugo and I'll be there. Let us just drop off the flag." Thalia confirmed, looking at Bakugo. He didn't seem to be in discontent at her words.
"They're in the lead. They have a good chance of winning. But don't give up on the other team, yet. They also have very strong quirks and abilities that could easily counter some of the strongest in the gold team." Said Aizawa flatly.
"Woah! Hold on, all of Gold's prisoners have escaped their prison! It seems that Kaibara's drill hands have cut through the bars with ease!" Exclaimed Present Mic.
Thalia made it to home base, and without a problem (thankfully), Thalia landed on the building with the magnetic circle with one silver flag already on it, and Bakugo dismounted her, holding the flag in one hand.
"Wow, good job, you guys!" Exclaimed Hatsume. Todoroki nodded at Thalia, who dipped her massive head in response. Bakugo walked calmly down to the magnetic circle, placing the flag there. It floated up and down, matching the rhythm of the other flag.
"And that's two flags for gold! Will they win this by a landslide? Or will the silver team pull a sike-naw and steal all their flags instead!? The tension is high!" Present Mic screamed. Thalia sweatdropped. Why does he have to be so extra?
"Calm down, Hizashi. Stop being so extra." Aizawa said monotonously. Thalia snorted. Mr. Aizawa was a better commentary partner than she assumed he would.
"Holy smokes! Team Silver's last flag has been stolen! If they get this home, Team Gold wins the game!" Exclaimed Present Mic. Thalia paled.
"Bakugo, let's go!" Thalia shouted. Without another word, a fired-up look on is face that Thalia found oddly attractive, Bakugo leapt onto her back. As soon as Bakugo sat, Thalia leapt off, her wings spread. Bakugo had his arms wrapped around Thalia's neck again, and she had an odd feeling in her chest that she hated.
Thalia saw a plume of dust on the ground at the east entrance. She dove, the speed ruffling her fur and blowing through Bakugo's hair. A glint of silver and a shape told her it was Iida, holding the flag. As she got closer, she saw his desperate, determined look and his white knuckles. He was going faster than Thalia had ever seen him going.
It took a moment to see the people behind him.
It was close to half of the enemy team. She recognized Ojiro and Sato, but the other five she didn't recognize. Tetsutetsu and Mina were close behind him, and Mina was constantly sending out her acid to trip them up, but Thalia could see burns on her arms and hands.
"I got this." Bakugo said lowly, a dark and malevolent aura in his tone. Thalia smirked.
"Okay. You better get them, Bakugo. I believe in you." Thalia said quietly, turning her head to reveal a smirk. Bakugo smirked wildly back. Once Thalia was over the other team, they had nearly caught up to Thalia and the flag.
"Depositing backup." Said Thalia into the mic. Iida, Tetsutetsu and Mina all looked up at the sky. Thalia did a barrel roll, and Bakugo fell off like a missile. He spun in the air as he fell, tendrils of smoke curling around his falling form.
"Howitzer Impact!" He screamed. The team below him all yelled in panic as an enormous explosion overtook them.
Thalia blushed.
He used my idea. They had shot ideas back and forth sometimes when hanging out as a trio. It was something she suggested, but Bakugo shot it down, calling it stupid. I guess it wasn't as stupid as you thought, huh?
"Wow! Bakugo just decimated the mob of chasers with a devastating display of strength! Team Gold has this in the bag!" Present Mic screamed.
"Bakugo!" Thalia shouted, unsure if he had landed okay. He roared in response, sending off more explosions.
He's fine.
"Thalia, my engines are stalling!" Cried Iida, panicked.
"Say no more. On my way." Thalia said, giving the plume of smoke one last look before she dove down, landing beside the stalled Iida.
"Ward them off, guys, I can take Iida home." Thalia commanded, laying down so Iida could mount her.
"No worries, Thalia. Get that flag home." Mina said tiredly, her voice laced with pain.
"Yeah, Dragomir. Y'all got this, we can hold off whoever isn't incapacitated by the explosion." Said Tetsutetsu, punching his palm, a Bakugo-like smirk on his face.
"Good luck. This'll be over in a few minutes." Thalia assured, standing up when Iida got comfortable on her back.
"What is this!? One of gold's flags have been taken!" Shouted Present Mic.
"Huh!?" Exclaimed Iida, Thalia, Tetsutetsu and Mina.
"I'm so sorry! Kuroiro took control of Dark Shadow!" Exclaimed Tokoyami, sounding disappointed in himself.
"No worries, Tokoyami. This game'll be over soon." Thalia assured.
"What a turn of events! Does Team Silver have a chance of winning now? Or will Gold make it to the plate before they get the chance!?" Shouted Present Mic.
She pushed off, spreading her wings, and flapped herself higher. She heard Iida cry out in surprise behind her, his legs tightening around her ribs. She flew as fast as she could, seeing the two flags floating on their magnetic circle. When she was but meters away, she saw a boy with pitch black skin holding a golden flag climb up the building.
"No!" Thalia and Iida shouted at the same time, panic flooding through their bodies. They were so close, so, so close!
However, he was quickly trapped in ice by Todoroki. The boy turned to look at the duo with the flag. Thalia and Iida were relieved. Thalia didn't realize her speed, and crashed onto the building, throwing Iida off and the flag out of his hands. They both grunted in pain as the wind was knocked out of them both. The flag clattered on the ground...
...but it reached the magnetic circle. It floated alongside the other two.
A loud 'bloop' resonated through the stadium.
"Gold team wins!" Announced Midnight. Thalia shapeshifted back, battered and beat but grinning. Iida got up, sticking out his hand for Thalia to take.
"We did it, Iida! Guys! We won!" Thalia exclaimed, taking Iida's hand and then wrapping her arms tightly around the taller boy. He looked taken aback, but didn't have the chance to react. She let go of him, jumping on her toes. She walked over to Todoroki, holding her hand up.
"Todoroki, that was an incredible save!" She gushed. Todoroki looked a little surprised with the attention, but returned her high-five.
"Hell. Fucking. Yes!" Kaminari exclaimed.
"Please, do not be so vulgar!" Begged Shiozaki.
"Fuck yeah!" Shouted Bakugo, to Thalia's relief and Shiozaki's dismay. Her sigh was heard on the mic. She also heard Midoriya sobbing. The boy encased in ice was cursing, angry and disappointed.
"We did it!" Exclaimed Ochako.
"Team Gold moves on to the next match!" Midnight announced.
"An overwhelming win for team gold! Not even a chance for the other team!" Shrieked Present Mic.
"Calm your ass down." Groaned Aizawa. The audience burst out laughing.
sorry for the long-ass chapter, lol. just wanna say that i don't remember the specific one, but i got the idea for capture the flag from someone else.
reviews
Unamed: I have a 2 questions 1 i have yet to see thalia turn into another person not there nothing wrong with that its just that a i hope to see it soon 2 is koji kodas quirk anivoice affect andrija since she turns into animals daily just curious
1. as we saw in the USJ chapter, turning into another human makes her feel icky. but it may come up ;) 2. well, maybe to a certain extent. she still has her brain when she shapeshifts.
M: Love this! Exciting chapter! Glad you went with another event like capture the flag! Love Bakugou and Thalia moments! Love their nicknames for each other! So proud of everyone! Love that you highlight the other characters! Looking forward to the next chapter!
thank you so much M you're amazing
TheSmartOne: Hello again it time for todays animals
1 A Hummingbird has incredible flight control they say it can go backwards while being upside down and very quickly and gracefully and are the only bird to hover perfectly in the air
2 a fly can dodge anything because they can can see the world more slowly do to the fact their rate if perception is 250 hertz to compare the human has 60hertz meaning they see and understand the world almost 5 times faster which is what make them very annoying to hit because the see the world in literal slow motion although the body has to respond by then so even if they see it coming they have to have the power to dodge it
PS im going to be gone for a bit so i hope to see more while im gone
PSS 2 bonus facts Since i will be gone for a bit ;(
3 The velvet worm has the ability to shoot out super sticky glue that only gets stickier and harder the dryer it gets
4 the bombardier beetle has the most unique biological chemical reaction And the way it works is that two chemical gland mix forming a non reactive but once the third one is mixed it will expel poison violently think of like bakugos explosión and minas acid combined the hot chemical liquid is actually boiling poison that can kill insects drive away small animals and even hurt humans to some extent course not permanent but since it will be bigger i would use that as a last resort since it will be used at a much larger dosage that could horribly kill a person like imagine the pain of. A burning hot acidic poison so i hope your oc will use that correctly
PPSS these Two bonus animals are my favorite insects :) so i hope you use their unique biological weapons wisely
heh, i actually ended up using a hummingbird for this thanks to your comment. also, your bugs are awesome. i may use them in the future :)
Sythus1234: Few fanfics are so good that I can actually feel for the character, you succeded in that, consider the fic followed and favved :)
bro thank you so much, i try so hard to make thalia seem like a real person, that means a lot.
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edited 11•21•24
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