The second day of the training camp began at 5:30 in the morning. Class A was inside an arena sized gymnasium with their teacher, still half-asleep. Peter stood next to Tyrone, who acting as a support to Tandy. The girl was leaning into her best friend, out like a light and snoring quietly.

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen!" Said Mr. Murdock. "Today, we'll begin your Training Camp in earnest. The goal of this week is to increase everyone's overall strength and with it, to obtain their provisional licenses. This is to prepare you all against the hostilities becoming more real by the minute, so proceed carefully. Thompson!"

The teacher tossed Flash one of the balls they used for the assessment test at the start of the year. "Try throwing that," he went on. "You're previous record, take right after you started school, was 705.2 meters. Let's see how much you improved Throw it at that target there."

"Oh, we're checking our progress?" Asked Kamala.

"Makes sense, considering everything that's happened so far," put in Luke. "Maybe he can throw it a mile or something now!

"Do it, Flash!" Encouraged Amadeus.

The boy in question took a few steps forward and swung his throwing arm, "RRRRAAAUUUGGGHHHH!!"

Everyone watched as the ball hit the bullseye, and the machine calculated the new record: 709.6 meters.

The class was visibly surprised to hear that Flash's results were barely higher than last time.

"Huh," The young Hulk commented. "That's not what I expected..."

"It's been roughly four months since you started high school," Murdock said. "Through various experiences, you've improved by leaps and bounds. But that development has primarily been at the mental and technical levels, with some increase in stamina."

The teacher smirked, somewhat unnerving his students. "Which is why this camp will be devoted to increasing the physical aspects of your Quirks through intensive training, as well as learning about cleanup and minimizing collateral by going out with Damage Control in shifts with Class B."

"It'll be hard work, and you'll feel like dying," he concluded. "But try not to actually do it. So, here's what you're gonna do..."


Everyone had been split up across the gymnasium. It had been built for the express purpose of training Quirks during the Crew's off hours, so there was a ton of room and a variety of options for the students. Within ten minutes, yells filled the air.

Wanda and Nico were using their powers to move a metric ton of sand over and back a distance of 400 meters. Wanda was using her Hex to try and maintain the sand in a solid cube shape without completely transforming it, while Nico used different spells to push it forward. They would switch once getting to the end.

Pietro ran laps around the outer track as Gwen set up portals in different locations at random to make him react to the sudden change. Gwen herself was trying to increase the time in between portal creation by trying to keep pace with the speedster.

Tyrone trained within a covered zone to try and overcome his 'hunger' and tame his darker impulses. Tandy would use her daggers to keep him at bay and ensure he didn't overdo it. She'd throw light daggers at moving targets when she wasn't doing that.

Azari and Ava were sparring, trying to use their heightened agility as well as martial arts to gain ground against the other.

Roberto used his flames to boil a barrel full of water as Seol attempted to keep it cool with her ice.

Groot focused on creating branches and vines at a faster pace, while Kei scribbled furiously on a drawing before moving onto another.

Amadeus attempted to keep Sam in place as the helmeted boy was attached to cables and was trying to fly away as hard as he could.

Danny would try to increase the speed of his Chi Manipulation in other parts of his body, and would strike at Luke, who would be bracing against the shots to improve his toughness.

Flash and Laura would struggle to complete increasingly difficult tasks, all the while keeping their respective fury's in check.

Kamala would try and chase after Peter, using her Quirk to stretch and swing along side him, as well as growing her hands to try and grab the boy. Peter himself was blindfolded, forced to rely on his Spider-Sense to avoid danger.

Every morning for 3 days, it went on in this fashion before getting to break for a 30 minute lunch. Then, the Crew would arrive with Class B to switch out for the afternoon shift. They would load up in the truck and be driven to whatever site was being worked on that day.

Between lectures on safety and Quirk restraint in public, they would be moving or disposing of debris with simple hand tools and gloves. No Quirk use was allowed during these times, given how this was meant to be a physical workout to toughen other aspects of their bodies naturally.

By 6pm, the entire class would fall in to the giant cafeteria, completely exhausted. It was up to them to prepare their own food, and they would typically work together (some more grudgingly than others) to create simple, yet filling meals.

On this particular night, Class 1-A was having beef stew. They'd placed the ingredients in crockpots and let them simmer all day, so by the time training for the day was finished, it was ready. The meat was tender, the vegetables were cooked just enough, and the thick broth warmed the stomach when it hit.

Ordinarily, Ricky would be sitting by himself off to the side, waiting for the students to leave so he could help himself to leftovers. But this time, he was nowhere to be found. Filling up a bowl, Peter carried it as he walked toward the elevator.

"Hey Pete, where're you going?" Asked Pietro.

"I'm bringing some dinner up to Ricky," he replied, pressing a button to open the doors. "He wasn't around earlier."

"Oh yeah, I did notice a lack of hateful staring earlier," Gwen added. "You sure it's a good idea to poke the bear? He clearly wants nothing to do with us."

Peter shrugged as he stepped into the car. "Won't know until I try," he said, the doors closing in front of him.


Ricky sat down at the edge of the office, staring out the glass window at the city. However, as he sat there, his stomach began to growl. The boy was hungry, but he ignored it. He refused to be near those pointless Heroes in training any longer. Instead, he focused on his book until a voice caught him off-guard.

"You really should eat, you know?" Ricky whirled his head around to see Peter standing in the room, a steaming bowl in his hands. As the boy snarled at him, Peter frowned a bit, "I brought some stew.'

"No way! How'd you find this place?" Ricky exclaimed, shocked by Peter's sudden appearance. "This is my secret hideout!!"

"I saw you up here yesterday, but I didn't say anything," Peter replied, stepping forward. "Anyway, I figured your Uncle would want you to eat something." He stopped a few feet away from him and sat the bowl down on the coffee table.

"Whatever. I'm just fine," the boy said bluntly. "Get lost. I don't wanna hang out with you. So forget about this place."

Peter raised an eyebrow and looked around. "Doesn't really look like much of a hideout," he commented. "You ever think of decorating it?"

"Hmph. Spending your entire life trying to improve your Quirk," Ricky scoffed. "It's dumb! All you want to do is show off."

"What? That's not true," Peter insisted. "We're trying to be Heroes so we can save lives."

"And what's that going to get you? Leave me alone!" The boy snapped.

Peter frowned at the kid, but looked down. He had to pick his next words carefully if he wanted to get through to the kid.

"Your mom was Demolisher, right?" Asked Peter, cautiously. "I heard she was an amazing person, not just as a Hero."

Ricky looked away and dropped his head in anger. "Go away," he said. "Everyone here's so crazy. Calling people stupid names like 'hero' and 'villain' and then killing each other because of it. Always focusing on their Quirks. If she hadn't been showing off, she'd still be here. And they're idiots for not getting it."

Peter looked at Ricky sadly. Now he was starting to understand. Ricky didn't just hate Heroes; he hated Quirks, and the superhuman society they were built around. It reminded him of the Hero Killer, but this boy hated it because of what happened to his mother.

"We're done here," the boy shouted, burying his face in his book. "Go back downstairs with the other losers!"

Peter began to walk away, but he didn't want to leave the boy alone in such a foul mood like this. It was time for a last ditch effort.

"I get it, you know," Peter began quietly. "What you're going through."

Ricky glared as he continued staring at his book, "What!? How can you-"

"I lost my parents too," he said, cutting him off.

This actually got the boy's attention, and he finally turned to look at Peter. He could see the older teen was being truthful. The way he said it, there was pain in his words. A kind of pain that Ricky knew all too well.

"I was about your age when it happened," Peter went on, sitting down on the couch. "They weren't superheroes battling the forces of evil or whatever. Just a couple of scientists trying to make the world a better place in their own way. They died in a plane crash while traveling, and the work they did was so top secret that everything about the wreck was classified. I didn't even get to bury them, I know nothing about why it happened. They were just gone..."

Ricky sat in silence, the anger in his heart and mind settling for just a moment as he found common ground in this most unlikely of sources. Silence lingered in the air, until finally, Ricky spoke up.

"They never found the guy who killed my mom either..." he said hesitantly. "They just said he had big muscles and a metal mask."

Peter nodded, "And that doesn't exactly narrow it down these days, does it? I'm sorry, Ricky." He glanced down at the stew, "You should have some of that, before it gets cold..."

Ricky eyed the bowl suspiciously, and then Peter himself, before closing his book. He cautiously picked it up and drank some the broth, before lowering it back down onto the table. "Does it... get better?" He asked, "...The hurt?"

"With time," Peter replied honestly. "But I don't think it ever really leaves. The best thing you can do is focus on all of the good times you had when life gets hard. It's gotten me to this point in life, so I must be doing something right."

"Why do you wanna do it?" Ricky turned toward the teenager.

"Do what?" Peter asked.

"Beat up bad guys," Ricky clarified. "It doesn't make any sense why anyone wants to do such a stupid job!"

"Being a hero isn't about beating up the bad guys," Peter said, before pausing, his more recent experiences flashing through his head. "Well, sometimes it is. But that's not why I want to be a Hero."

"Them why?" Ricky persisted.

"Because with great power, there must also come great responsibility," replied the young hero in training. "Someone important to me said that once, but I guess I didn't really get it at the time. Let's just say I learned my lesson the hard way..."

He shook his head, as if trying not to remember the unpleasantness of that night. "My point is, I have a gift," Peter went on. "So I should use it in ways that'll help those who weren't equally gifted. Just like it's your power to either accept or reject Quirks. You can reject them all you want, but all it'll do is make the responsibility you have harder."

Ricky was silent for a moment, as if contemplating something. He then turned away from Peter, "Can you leave now? I want to be alone..." He didn't yell this time, but his tone was still quite bitter.

Peter sighed as he reluctantly got to his feet, "Sure, kid. Just... think about what I said, ok? You might not agree with what your Uncle does, but maybe watch him next time he's on a job. You might learn something."

With that, Peter closed the door to the office behind him and went back downstairs to rejoin his classmates. The boy turned once he was done, as if making sure the teenager was actually gone, before turning back to read his book.


Across the street, several buildings down, a trio observed the Damage Control headquarters from a snow covered moving truck. The one in the driver's seat was Mike Kowalski, one of the newest recruits to the League of Villains. The burned man was better know by his alias; Vengeance. He wore his trademark black leather and watched as the Wrecking Crew's giant vehicle entered its garage bay.

"You sure they're staying here?" Asked a red haired woman sitting next to him. This was Sinthea Schmidt, another new recruit. She wore a black and red outfit, and shivered as she attempted to warm her exposed arms. "It's freezing! Why can't we turn the engine on??"

"Blame yourself for wearing an outfit without sleeves, mon cher," the mustached man in purple replied, thumbing back to the cargo hold. "At least you're not in the back with the others." The last of the trio was Georges Batroc, known as 'Batroc the Leaper' in certain circles.

"In any case, no. We're supposed to look like we're an empty truck until we get confirmation," added Kowalski, turning toward the redhead. "And our source is genuine. Once we know for sure what they're doing tonight, we'll make our move."

Sinthea grunted, letting the back of her head his her headrest in exasperation. "I'm just so bored! We've got enough manpower, don't we? Why don't we just storm the place?"

"Like they did at M.A? Non," Batroc said, lowering a pair of binoculars. "Just look what happened to them! Besides, there is a team of Pros ready and willing to do battle at all times. I would rather we not strike on their, how do you say... home turf? I should think the League would not want history to repeat itself."

"Agreed," put in Kowalski. "We'll get our chance, but for now, just be patient." He turned toward them, "How do the masks fit?"

"It's nothing too stylish, but they'll get the job done," Sinthea replied. "Amazing what you can find on the black market these days."

"How many more are we expecting to join us for the mission?" Asked Batroc.

"We're picking up four more, and the rest will-" At that moment, Kowalski received a message on his phone. He brought it up and read the text, eyes narrowing. "It's a 'go' for tomorrow," he said. "We have the location confirmed, all we have to do now is avoid detection until they get there."

"Oh, is that all?" Sinthea rolled her eyes, "And here I thought we were gonna knock on the door and invite them to play!"

"Sarcasm does not become you," Batroc noted, much to the redhead's chagrin.

"Cut it out, you two," Kowalski ordered, his scarred hand gripping the steering wheel in annoyance. "According to our source, they're going out later to a more open location, split up into groups. That's where we'll strike..."

His hand clenched the wheel, and his eyes began glowing a slight green hue, "The first thing we have to do is take away their sense of peace, and show them that their lives rest in our hands..."


The next day, training continued for the students. Although some began to feel the strain more than others. 5 students in particular were running around a track after their teacher, who rode on the back of an automated cart and 'encouraged' them to do better.

"Hey remedial group," Mr. Murdock called back to the struggling teens. "Don't slack off, keep moving or you'll fall behind."

"Yes, sir..." Gwen, Sam, Amadeus, Laura and Nico groaned, struggling to continue their laps around the track.

"Please..." Gwen panted, sweat pouring down her brow. "I need more beauty sleep."

"Who knew yesterday's extra lessons..." Nico groaned.

"...would go until two in the morning..." Amadeus went on.

"...and start back up at seven?" Laura concluded.

Sam looked like he was going to throw up, he was so exhausted.

"I warned you it'd be tough," Murdock said. "Remember, you're not just improving your Quirks. You're also working to overcome the many weaknesses that revealed themselves in the midterms."

The teens yelped as the cart abruptly stopped, mercifully giving them a chance to stop however briefly. "Think carefully about why you're more tired than the others before you start whining," he went on. "You have a lot more to improve on here."

"Right..." They groaned.

The teacher cocked his head in the direction of another student, "Wanda Maximoff! The same goes for you too. You managed to pass, but it was narrowly done after almost losing all sense of control."

Wanda gulped, recalling the circumstances of her exam.

"Don't lose focus," Murdock continued, now addressing the rest of his class as the cart began to move along the track again. "Each of you can move faster! And no matter what you're doing, just remember where you started from! Don't forget who you were before M.A. Always keep in mind why you're sweating, and why your limits keep getting tested. That's what it means to improve!"

"Where I started..." Flash murmured, forming tendrils with his Quirk.

"Who I am..." Roberto stared at the chains in his hands.

"How I got here..." Peter swung down from the high ceiling and began to keep pace jogging with the cart. "Hey, that reminds me, Mr. Murdock? I have a question."

"Go ahead," the teacher nodded.

"It's already the fourth day of camp," Peter said. "I was just wondering, are Iron Man or any other teachers from M.A joining us?"

"Like I said before, we came out here to keep the camp a secret from the villains," Murdock replied. "Hardly anyone knows where we are, and we'd prefer to keep it that way."

"That's why you're training with us," said Thunderball, helping Groot bench press an entire slab of concrete.

"Right," said Murdock, before turning back towards Peter. "In any case, Iron Man's one of the League's targets, so for your safety, it's better to not have him here. Hard to keep anything a secret when he stands out as much as he does..."

Peter nodded and slowed down, his questions answered. And although he understood the rationale of his instructor, he couldn't help but feel disappointed. It would've been nice to have his mentor around to ask for some pointers.

At that moment, however, Class B came in, accompanied by the rest of the Wrecking Crew. They'd finished accompanying them on a few cleanup runs and were understandably tired.

"Hey, perfect timing!" Thunderball waved them over, "Murdock, should we stop 'em now? It's about that time."

"By all means," the teacher nodded, much to the relief of the 5 runners.

"Everybody listen up!" Thunderball called out, "Eat up quick and meet us back at the truck. You won't need your costumes, but if they'll help against the cold, feel free to wear 'em. We've got a little treat scheduled for you all tonight."

This got everyone's attention, as they glanced tiredly up towards the quartet of heroes.

"That's right," Piledriver added. "You guys've been working hard, so now you get to play hard! We're pitting you two classes against each other in a sort of friendly competition. How's that sound?"

"Honestly, it just sounds like more training," a tired Sharon said, rubbing her aching neck. "And training in the dark, no less."

"Revelry in the darkness," Tyrone muttered.

"Seriously, how much can we do in one day?" Asked one of the Class B students.

"Heh," Loki chuckled. "At least we'll have a chance to put those Class A miscreants in their place."

"Alright, that's enough slackin' off!" Called a voice, as a 3 foot tall, anamorphic duck in a brown suit waddled in, much to the shock of the Class A Students.

"W-What the hell is that thing!?" Asked a stunned Amadeus Cho.

"Oh-em-geeee!!!" Squealed Gwen, running over to hug him. "It's so cute!!! Can I pet it!?"

"Hey, hey!! Hands off tha' feathahs!" The duck scowled, warding off the blonde girl with pink highlights. "I'm a professional, not a petting zoo!"

Class 1-B Homeroom Teacher: Howard the Duck. Quirk; Duckman. He's basically a walking, talking duck who's the size of a human with intelligence to match.

"You've got an hour to eat and rest up," the duck man said. "Then get geared up and back here before the truck leaves, got it?"

"Yes sir!" The Class B students said in unison, as they made their way toward the kitchen.

"Hmmm, Howard runs a tight ship as usual," Murdock thought aloud before addressing his own students. "That goes for the rest of you, make sure you're dressed and ready to leave an hour from now. So eat quickly."

"Yes sir..." His students replied, somewhat less enthusiastically, and eager to stop training for a bit.


On this night, the students once again opted for a simple yet filling dinner in the form of grilled cheese and tomato soup. Flash Thompson of all people was responsible for flipping the sandwiches over the stove with a spatula.

"Gotta say, I didn't expect you to be good at this," commented Luke. "It's kinda weird."

"What do you mean, 'it's weird'?" Flash retorted, "All I've gotta do is make sure they don't burn, it's not exactly rocket science!!"

"Yeah, but I think more than a few of us expected them charred," Laura teased.

Thompson rolled his eyes and backed away from the stove, "You do it if you're so confident then! I don't need to hear this crap!"

Over at one of the tables, Peter and Roberto sat eating their dinner, when the latter decided to bring up the conversation he'd overheard earlier.

"Did you need Iron Man for a particular reason?" He asked, "I heard you asking Mr. Murdock about him."

"Mmm?" Peter paused, his mouth full of sandwich before swallowing. "Oh, yeah I did. I wanted to ask for advice about something. That kid who was around before, Ricky. You remember him?"

Reyes nodded, "Piledriver's nephew."

"Right, well I spoke to him a bit last night, tried to figure out what makes him tic," Peter went on. "Turns out its not heroes that he hates, it's the entire concept of superhumans, Quirks and everything."

"Is that so?" The Hispanic boy raised an eyebrow, now a little more intrigued over what could've brought on such a mindset. "Is he Quirkless?"

Peter shrugged, "Not as far as I know, but it didn't exactly come up in conversation. Anyway, I tried talking to him, and it felt like we connected at one point, but now I'm just wondering if I made things worse..."

Roberto nodded, drinking some of his soup, "I see."

"A guy like Mr. Stark has a lot of experience with stuff like that, probably more than someone like Mr. Murdock who, let's face it, isn't exactly the most personable guy..." Peter shook his head, "I was just wondering what he would have done to help if he'd been here. I mean, what would you say to a kid like that, Roberto?"

"It depends," replied Reyes, considering his answer. He thought back to moments during his life, in particular, his Sports Festival battle against the boy speaking to him at that moment.

"To have a complete stranger try and change your mindset sounds like a pretty irritating conversation," he began. "What I think matters are actions. You have to show him what you're trying to prove, comprende? If you're going to rely on words alone, then they'd better be incredibly powerful. In the end, what you say doesn't matter nearly as much as what you actually do."

"Huh..." The boy mulled over the answer he'd received. "I guess you're right. I don't know him, so anything I say probably didn't mean all that much."

"I don't know what your goal is when it comes to this child," Reyes continued. "But you probably shouldn't stick your nose in a delicate situation. You tend to cut to the heart of people's feelings, and it can be annoying."

"Eheh," Peter chuckled ruefully, rubbing the back of his head. "Right. Guess I can't help myself sometimes..."

"You guys!" Azari cut them off, taking his bowl and plate up to the sink. "Your hands aren't moving! We'll never make it to the truck in time if you don't finish your meals!!"


A half hour later, the students were all dressed in winter garb and some minor costume parts as they stood before the truck. The Wrecking Crew waited atop the loading dock as they prepared to disembark.

"Perfect!" Wrecker nodding approvingly. "Now that you've filled your bellies and cleaned the dishes. It's time for..."

"Fun and Games!!!" Amadeus, Sam, and Nico exclaimed, leaping into the air.

"We're definitely gonna win, whatever this is!" Laura grinned, punching a fist into her palm.

"Not so fast," Murdock interjected. "It pains me to say it, but the remedial class will be having lessons with me tonight instead."

Gwen's jaw dropped, "You've gotta be kidding me!!" She tried to form a portal and escape, but was very quickly lassoed into submission by Murdock's connected batons.

"Sorry, but your training during the day didn't impress me," he continued. "So I'll be using this time, too."

"Oh, give me a break!" Yelled Sam and Nico.

"I just wanna prove my strength!" Added Laura and Cho.

The group regretfully trailed their instructor away from the truck, Gwen being dragged along by Mr. Murdock, much to the amusement of a particular Class B student.

"Ha!!" Loki mocked, pointing at the departing students. "That's what you get for acting so high and mighty!!"

"What're you laughin' at, Odinson?" Howard marched over from the side. "You're going with 'em. You failed your Midterm physical too, remember?"

"What!?" The boy became flustered, "B-But Mr. Duck, I thought I- ack!!!"

"No excuses!" The duck man grabbed Loki by his ear and pulled him along after the others. "If you really wanna stick it to the other class, then you've gotta get on their level first!"

"Owowowow!!! He complained, struggling to keep pace with his teacher as they disappeared into the classroom set for the remedial students.

Bulldozer exhaled, glad for the brief moment of chaos to be over. "Okay, so what we have planned for you guys is a little something called 'Kimodameshi'," he said.

"Oooh, I know this!" Seol said excitedly, "It's a Japanese test of courage!! But don't we need a bit of space for something like this?"

The hero nodded, "Just look across the street. All the space you need out there."

The student's eyes widened, as before them was the vast layout of Central Park. "No way!!" Exclaimed an excited Wanda, "We get to do it there!?"

"That's right," Piledriver grinned. "We've got it closed off for the night, so it's all yours. Just try not to make a mess."

His statement was met with cheers from the crowd of students.

Bulldozer cleared his throat, "So, the idea is one class will start out as 'scarers', and once in place, the other class will leave in pairs as they progress down a marked path. In this case, you'll follow these yellow flags." He held one up as an example, "Your job is to make it to the end of the route, pick up the tag with your name on it, and make it back."

"Class B is going to start out as our 'scarers'. When they're in place," added Thunderball. "Class A will leave in pairs every three minutes. Once every group makes it through, you'll switch positions."

"Revelry in the darkness," said Tyrone.

Wanda looked nervously at her classmate, "Why does he keep saying that?"

"Now, a quick warning," Wrecker put in. "Those who are scarers aren't allowed to make physical contact. Use your Quirks to terrify the others, got it? The winners are the creative students who make the most people quit the path!!"

"I see!" Azari exclaimed, "They're encouraging us to stoke our imaginations as we compete with each other, all while showing us more uses for our Quirks in the process. As expected of M.A!"

Peter and Wanda sweat dropped a bit. "He certainly knows how to see a situation in another light, doesn't he?" Asked the redhead.

"At this point, I think it's legitimately part of his Quirk," Peter deadpanned.

"All right!" Piledriver held up a box, "Everyone draw to see who your partner will be." Several students lined up and drew a name, until only one remained.

"Wait a minute," Peter said, nervously. "If we're in teams of two... And 5 of us are in extra lessons..." He reached into the box, feeling nothing as his fingers scraped against the cardboard.

"Sorry Peter," Wanda apologized. "We were all randomly assigned. It's not that nobody chose you or anything."

"Maybe you can go with Ricky?" Piledriver offered, gesturing to the boy standing off to the side. He looked at Peter briefly, before looking away as if to avoid eye contact.

But Peter sat alone and facing away from the others, a dark shadow over his head. "I've been forsaken..." He lamented.

"How about I join you, then?" A familiar voice called over, catching the boy's attention. There stood Riri Williams, wearing a winter coat and scarf, raising a hand in greeting.

"Riri?" Peter smiled, returning the greeting and standing back up. "You're getting in on this? I figured you'd be knee deep in gadget repair right now, or inspecting the Crew's machines to see how they worked!"

"Eh, I did that when I first got here!" Riri grinned, "And I'm taking a break from working in the lab. Professor Foster insisted I spend at least 2 hours outside each day."

"Who's she again?" Seol whispered to Tandy.

"She had the energy bubble Quirk in the Sports Festival," she whispered back. "Real tech head, and it looks like she's close with Peter."

"Oh," Seol replied, before a smirk grew on her face. "Oh... Is it like that then?"

"Only one way to find out," Tandy grinned cheekily.

"That's settled then," Piledriver smiled. "The two of you can be a team. Class B, spread out along the path ahead. You've got 10 minutes. After that, we'll start sending the pairs through. Understood?"

"Yes!!!" The students declared.


20 minutes later, Class B had set up their positions and the first teams of Class A students were walking down the path. Thunderball and Bulldozer waited at the end, ready to give out the tags. However, not everyone was happy with their selected partner. Flash in particular hadn't been too enthusiastic over being paired up with Roberto.

"Listen up, Tree," He'd glowered toward Groot. "Trade partners with me."

"Sorry Flash," Pietro grinned cheekily. "No takebacks in this little game of life."

"Revelry in the darkness," Tyrone said once more, recalling their bickering as he heard a pair of screams off in the snowy distance.

"Sounds like someone's having fun," Peter said.

"You talking about the walkers or the scarers?" Asked Riri, an eyebrow raised.

"Take your pick," the boy shrugged.

"Next team!" Called Wrecker, "That'd be you two, Stretch and Sparkles."

Kamala and Wanda nervously stepped into the park, leaving behind the relative safety of the others. Once more, they heard screams of terror.

"I'm getting scared, Kamala," Wanda said. "And those screams aren't helping."

"I think that was Ava and Seol," Kamala replied, offering a hand. "Here, hold on tight and don't be afraid. We'll get through this one step at a time."

Wanda nodded and took the hand, "Mm-hm..."


One of the Class B students laughed, hidden behind a bush with her classmate. She wore a light purple winter coat, a belt with several devices attached, and a black quiver on her back. "Nice going, Kenny!" She said. "You managed to scare everybody so far, ya big, beautiful, hairy goof!"

Shanon couldn't help but chuckle, "Yeah, you're the star of the night so far!"

Kenny, now in his gorilla form, grinned at his classmates. He wore a form fitting one piece tunic that covered his torso.

"Seriously, I can't get over how funny Thompson and Reyes' reactions were. They were like, 'Oh. Oh. Oh," He shivered for dramatic effect before doubling over with laughter. "I thought they were supposed to be tough! But I guess anyone would freak out when confronted by a roaring gorilla in the middle of Central Park!"

Sharon sniffed the air, "Hey. You guys smell that?"

The other two mimicked her actions. "I think something's burning nearby," the girl in purple said.

"Huh, that's weird," Kenny added. "Now that you mention it, it's kinda hazy out here. You think maybe Reyes and Thompson got so freaked out... they-"

He paused, the boy's breathing suddenly increased. Kenny's eyes went wide, as though he'd seen something terrifying.

"Kenny?" Sharon asked cautiously.

Without warning, the boy roared at the top of his lungs and began to thrash around wildly. "Get back!!!" He exclaimed, eyes getting redder. "Get it away from me!!!" The crashed through the brush, destroying a nearby fountain in a blind rampage.

Sharon gasped, noticing the smoke getting closer. On closer inspection, it had a yellow hue to it. "Kate, don't breathe it in!!" She warned, "This smoke, it's hallucinogenic!!"


Back with the main group, as they waited for their turn to proceed down the trail, Peter and Riri were talking about Support tech.

"So you got the tracker working?" She asked, looking over a round, dime sized disk that previously stuck to one of Peter's web shooters.

"Yeah, it's not too big or heavy," the boy explained with a smile as Riri handed his homemade support tech back. He stuck it back in place along his wrist, "And it sticks like a magnet, so it's ideal for using on cars. I wanna use my webs to attach it to non-metal objects, it's just a matter of adjusting the timing... on..."

"Peter?" Riri asked, tilting her head as her friend trailed off mid sentence. Peter's smile faded away as he felt something very wrong. His Spider-Sense was acting up again, alerting him that there was something dangerous around.

But this wasn't like the last time it happened, it didn't instantly come to him and warn him of the danger and where it was coming from. This was more of a tingle; a sense of dread that something wasn't right and that it was coming. He walked forward and slowly looked around.

"Peter?" Kei asked, confused as he watched his classmate start to wander almost aimlessly. This got the attention of the others as he stared in the direction of the forest that the other students were in.

"Sorry, but it's not your turn," Piledriver said.

Peter didn't reply. He stopped and looked in another direction. His expression morphed into a look of dread as he faced the direction of the building.

"Peter, what is the matter?" Riri asked as she approached him.

The boy turned his head again, looking off in the direction of seemingly nowhere. "Something's wrong," he said worriedly.

"What? Do you sense something?" Azari asked, making his way over.

"'Sense something'?" Piledriver asked, blinking in confusion. "Is that something his Quirk can-"

"Hold on," Wrecker said to his teammate. He sniffed the air, "Anyone else smell something nasty?"

"Look over there!" Kei exclaimed, pointing to trails of smoke rising from the forest in the distance.

"Yellow smoke..." said Piledriver, eyes narrowing to focus.

"Has something been set ablaze?" Asked Azari. "Surely Reyes would not have used his Quirk to defend himself?"

"No, this isn't smoke from a fire..." Wrecker said, walking forward. His continence became more serious, "It's a gas..."

On cue, Kowalski exited a section of the park, appearing before everyone on a bridge. "Now, it begins," he said, as he shot a burst of green flames into the forest.

"What the hell's that!?" Luke exclaimed, pointed toward the fire.

"Hey, what's happening?" Riri asked Peter, nervously.

"Piledriver!" Wrecker threw a gas mask over to his teammate and stood before the remaining teenagers, putting a mask of his own on.

"Everyone get back," he warned, composed but serious. "Don't breathe the gas, and retreat into the headquarters. I'll activate the safety protocols. Piledriver, warn the others."

Piledriver pressed a button on the radio he wore on his chest and began to relay a warning. As he spoke, Sinthea and Batroc walked up and stopped just behind Vengeance, illuminated by his flames.

"Split up and take them down," said the flame wielding villain. "This next generation of those who believe they deserve the title of 'hero'."

Sinthea cackled in anticipation, her hammer resting across her shoulders. Batroc stretched his legs. Four more imposing figures in shadow prepared for action. One was large and armored, another was tall and slim, a third carried weapons, and a fourth had glowing yellow eyes within an enlarged head, and held a sharp sickle blade attached to a chain.

"I wish we could get in on the fun here," added the man with the glowing eyes, as he started to swing his chain-sickle. "But I think our new friends can handle the cleanup crew!"

With that remark, the group rushed off in different directions, the largest of the bunch charged toward the headquarters.

"What? No way!" Kei grew increasingly nervous, "I thought they made sure no one could find us!! So why the heck are there villains attacking this place!?"

"This is bad..." Wrecker grimaced, the hero's trademark crowbar began to glow as he powered himself up, anticipating a rough battle ahead. He turned to his teammate, "Stick with this group, put the headquarters under lockdown until I get back with the others!"

Piledriver nodded, "Everybody this way!!" He led the teenagers toward the entrance, pressing a button to try and seal off the windows and any other way in. As the hero scanned over the Class A students, however, his eyes widened in fear. "Wait, where's Ricky!?" He asked.

"I'd say you have more pressing concerns, hero!!" Called a voice, and something swooped down from the sky, cutting off the group's escape route. Clad in a new green and black outfit, floating above the main entrance, was the Vulture. Several more figures appeared, leaping in to surround the remaining teenagers and the pair of pro heroes.

The first was a man composed entirely of sand. The second wore a yellow and brown outfit with metal gauntlets. The third had lion-esque features and wore a leather vest with matching pants. The fourth had a pale, featureless mask and wore a blue business suit while armed held a pair of pistols. And the fifth was a muscular man with a pair of horns on his forehead, and wore a sort of grey combat suit.

There were six of them in total, counting Vulture, each of them geared up and ready for battle.

"The Vanguard Action Squad can handle a few pesky children," growled Kraven, claws exposed. "Your battle lies with the Sinister Six!!!"

.

.

.


Barber's Chair

• Well, things certainly took a turn for the worse at the end! If you paid attention, you should be able to recognize a few of the members of this version of the Vanguard Action Squad (Yes, I'm sticking with the original name for this group like in MHA. At least for now.)

• 1-B's teacher is introduced here, and I decided to go with a more obscure character in the form of Howard the Duck. Some may know the name from the horrible '80's movie of the same name. He's also appeared briefly in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies.

• Given the large number of Villains, I decided to split them up. The Vanguard will pursue the teens in the forest, while the Sinister Six focuses on securing the building as well as the heroes protecting the students still within.