A/N: Morning, everybody! Not as early as last week, but this chapter's still earlier than expected! Gotta say, getting through the Practical Exams has been pretty easy so far, though this chapter WAS a bit more of a project than the last one. And I can foresee the NEXT chapter being a bit more of a handful considering what I have planned. But, even so, we're gonna get through it! So on that note, why don't we get down to it, eh? This is…

Chapter 84: Stripping the Varnish

…..

After retrieving Tenya's boots from the adhesive, Ochako and he made their way to the Monitor Room to rejoin their friends. Thankfully, Aoyama said that he needed to "restyle" himself in the bathroom for a bit, so he wasn't too torn up about it. 'And neither are we.' the Gravity user thought to herself. She couldn't place it, but for some reason, the glittery blonde boy had always given her a weird vibe, and not because of his personality or the way he acted. He just seemed… off in some way, and she wasn't sure why that was. 'Eh, probably nothin', though.' she shrugged off as they finally arrived and the door opened for them.

There, they were met immediately by Izuku and the others, though the roster of onlookers had significantly increased since Ochako had left. Now Strongarm had joined the group as well, along with Momo, too. Their smiles all widened upon their arrival, with Arcee being the first to greet them. "Ah, there she is!" the pink-haired Autobot threw her hands up toward Ochako, looking for a hug. "Our little tide turner herself!"

"A-Aw! Arcee!" Ochako blushed immediately, suddenly feeling sheepish even as she accepted the embrace. "You're so sweet!"

"And Tenya!" Strongarm came up and placed a hand on his shoulder. "What a final act of heroism! Going so far as to launch yourself out of your own SHOES to help her!"

Tenya, in turn, saluted the cadet. "I did so in the name of victory, Strongarm! It was far from what we had planned, but I am quite proud of our performance." He also gave a bow to her as well. "I appreciate the kind words."

"Hm! Congratulations to the both of you." Momo concurred as the other students came up.

Izuku raised his fists excitedly. "You two were great out there! If I were sitting down, I'd have been on the edge of my seat!"

"…Just one thing, though." Mina piped up, eyeing Ochako suspiciously. "Girl, what the HECK did Aoyama say to you that made ya let go of the railing?"

"Oh yeah, we all saw you yell at him after that, too." Bulkhead noted.

In response, Ochako rolled her eyes and said; "Psh, okay, you're not gonna believe this." Everybody leaned in, now quite intrigued. "Aoyama—for some WEIRD reason—thought it'd be appropriate to ask me if I LIKED a certain someone during the fight with Thirteen. He even asked me if I was THINKING about them while I was trying to come up with a plan in the heat of the moment!"

That took everyone aback. "Woah, seriously?" Mina tilted her head. "That's SUPER weird. I mean… okay, Aoyama IS a bit odd, but that just seems out of place."

"Who'd he ask if you liked, though?" Arcee inquired.

Ochako remained tight-lipped and glanced away as she slowly raised her arm and pointed… toward Izuku. The others all looked at the green-haired boy as he himself wore an incredulous face and pointed at himself. "…W-Wait, me? Aoyama thought that you had a crush on ME?"

"I-I know, it's crazy, right?" Ochako stammered awkwardly… only to realize what she just said and began backpedaling while flailing her arms. "N-No, wait, I didn't mean it to sound so mean! I-I'm sure you're a great guy, Deku, but I really see you more as a friend, you know? No hard feelings, but I really think it's best if—"

"Uh, Uraraka, I'm not upset or anything." Izuku assured, causing Ochako to stop in mid-flail. He gave her a kind smile and nodded to her. "And yeah, I agree. I see you as a good friend, too."

With her cheeks flushed red, Ochako took a deep breath to try and calm herself down. "S-So… you're not, like, totally embarrassed right now?"

Izuku could only offer a shrug. "I mean, a little, but I wouldn't let what Aoyama said get to you. After all, I'm sure that you're pretty focused on getting your hero career off the ground."

"O-Of course I am!" Ochako said, suddenly finding her nerve again. "And you're right! He's got NO idea what he's talking about. Besides, you and Kyoka clearly have something going on." When those words left her mouth, Izuku promptly stiffened up with an; "URK!" and then fell flat on his back, completely frozen. "AH! Deku!"

"Oh, you said the "K" word." Mina said cheekily.

Momo placed her hands on her hips, peering down to Izuku with a knowing smirk. "Really, Midoriya, these theatrics aren't necessary. We ALL know how much you like her."

It was Izuku's turn to become beet red as he hid his face behind his hands. "…Y-You don't have to go blurting it out, though…" Before any more could be said, however…

"Team Jiro, Ojiro and Koda. Practical Exam. Ready—GO!"

The group did a doubletake and spun toward the monitor, while Izuku snapped up straight. "Ah! I-It's her turn!"

Just then, the door to the Monitor Room slid open once more, signaling the arrival of Jazz and the return of Sideswipe and Sunstreaker, who had Eijiro and Denki in tow. The five of them were practically sprinting to get in, with Jazz sliding across the floor until he stopped in front of the group. "Yo! Did we miss Kyo's practical?" he asked.

"No, you're just in time!" Recovery Girl announced. "They're just getting started."

"Hah… good!" Eijiro said, nearly out of breath. "Man, when Jazz started sprinting, I wasn't sure we'd be able to keep up!"

Denki, however, was about ready to keel over. "Hah… so… tired… haven't… recovered…"

Sunstreaker gave him a firm pat on the back, nearly sending him to the floor. "Oh, quit your belly-aching, dude. You'll live."

Raising his fists eagerly, Sideswipe put all of his focus on the monitor. "Yeah, now let's see how Kyoka and those guys do out there, huh?"

"Pay attention, ya'll!" Jazz spoke as he helped Izuku off the ground, placing him back on his feet. "You're 'bout see what a complete sonic drown out looks like. Courtesy of Kyoka Jiro!"

"…I wouldn't put too much stock in that, Jazz." Izuku said softly, even though he hated to admit it. "Kyoka can make some noise, sure. …But there's a reason Present Mic is a powerful hero in his own right."

…..

~Training Ground Delta~

After about an hour of planning things out with her teammates, Kyoka felt quite confident in their ability to pass the practical exam. …Kinda. Alright, it wasn't an EASY hour considering her lack of social skills, especially since she was interacting with classmates who weren't in her friend group. But, thankfully, she had found Ojiro and Koda to… actually be pretty chill and understanding. Mainly because, as it happened, they too were somewhat socially challenged. Kyoka found that Masashirao Ojiro was a nice if kinda awkward guy. And Koji Koda? His intimidating, rock monster-like appearance belied a very shy demeanor, to the point where he communicated mostly through hand gestures. …Which was ironic since his Quirk was, apparently, being able to talk to animals.

Even so, they had agreed that a straightforward approach would be the best way to handle the practical, and that's exactly what they were about to do. "So we're all clear." Kyoka said as they scoped out the area from behind a tree. "We avoid combat with Present Mic as much as possible and head for the escape gate."

"Sounds good." Ojiro confirmed, the tailed boy perched in the branches above to better observe his surroundings. Koda gave a silent nod in agreement.

"Then let's hit it. Ojiro, take point. We're right behind you." On her word, Kyoka and the others dashed off, with Ojiro swinging through the trees ahead.

However, at the exact opposite end of the forest, Present Mic himself stood in front of the escape gate, rather lackadaisically at that. He was already over being outside. Even just SEEING the color green was making him uncomfortable. "Hah, let's hurry up and finish this set." he bemoaned as he stuck his fingers up. "Some people got "arbor ardor", but I'm more of a city kid, ya dig?" Taking a deep breath, he unleashed his first attack with a;

"YYYYYEEEEEAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

All at once, HUGE sonic pulses escaped his throat and covered practically the ENTIRE forest, making all of the animals native to the training ground scatter in fear. And once the soundwaves reached the teens, they were left in utter agony. Ojiro let out a scream and fell down, landing hard on his side as his hands whipped up over his ears. "GAAAHH!"

"GYAH! OJIRO!" Kyoka screamed, her and Koji covering their own ears. "So loud!" Thankfully, the attack stopped before long, allowing the duo to help their teammate. "Ojiro! Are you okay?"

"Hah… y-yeah, I think I—gah!" The moment he tried to move his leg, however, Ojiro recoiled and brought it close to his side, feeling it twinge at the elbow. "Ugh! …N-Nope, scratch that. I think I sprained my leg."

"Shit!" Kyoka hissed, spinning around to her uninjured teammate. "Koda! You can control animals with your Quirk, can't you?" Koda nodded to her silently. "Okay, so get some birds to attack him or something!"

However, the rocky boy waved his hands, miming out what he wanted to say; 'Even if I wanted to order them to do that, Present Mic's voice would make them run away!'

Kyoka had gotten pretty good at learning this kind of communication after hanging out with Bumblebee, so she understood him perfectly. …Though that wasn't to say she wasn't too happy about it. "Damn… his shouts make me feel like my eardrums are gonna burst." Her brow furrowed, only now understanding the gravity of their situation. "He's not just better than I thought he'd be… he's like a superpowered DEATH AMP. A speaker of DOOM!"

Ojiro slowly got up, keeping his hurt leg as still as he could while using his tail to balance himself. "I could get close to him… if I could still swing in the trees. But even then, the closer I'd get, the more affective his attacks would be."

"Don't even try." Kyoka shook her head. "Even if we could get close, he'd probably see us coming. …I'll bet he's just standing at the gate, waiting for us." Right as she said that, another sonic attack reverberated around them, forcing them to cover their ears and take cover behind a big log.

"COOOOOOME OOOOOON! IIIII'M GETTING BOOOOOOORRRRED!"

Ojiro's first instinct was to cover his ears with both hands… but then the force of the attack was enough to send him toppling over. "GYAUGH!" The pain that shot through his leg was almost overwhelming, and he didn't want to know how much more had to come before that line was crossed. "W-We need SOME sort of plan!"

Kyoka clenched her jaw as she and Koda peered over the log, thinking of what to do next. "We need a way to take down that voice…" Her gaze drifted down… and that's when she noticed something near her hand. An ant. And then, an idea sparked in her head. She let the insect crawl onto her knuckles and she turned to Koji. "Hey, Koda, you control bugs and stuff, right? Look at this." She presented the ant to him hopefully. "An ally!"

The response she got was… unexpected, to say the least. "…AAAAAAAHH!" Koda grew pale and gave a high-pitched scream, taking Kyoka and Ojiro off guard. The Earphone Jack user brought her hand closer to Koda… and he screamed yet again, hightailing it to a nearby tree to high. "AAAAAAAHH!"

"So… he doesn't like bugs." Kyoka concluded.

Ojiro wore a sympathetic smile. "Hah, who knew?"

"IIIIII'M WAAAAAAAIIIIITIIIING!"

The group were once again assaulted by Present Mic's unbearable attack, and Kyoka had decided that enough was enough. "This won't do much…" She plugged her jacks into her boots, unleashing the biggest sonic attack that she could muster. "But I can try… to cancel him out!"

*BWOOOOOM*

Thankfully, it managed to work somewhat, though only just barely. Across the forest, Present Mic actually staggered a little from the force of the sonic boom. "Woah! Okay, some impressive subwoofers!" the blonde hero concluded. "Trainin' with that cool cat of an Autobot must've really cranked her stereo up. …Still not as loud as me, though."

Back with the teens, they were starting to run out of options, with Kyoka looking to Ojiro hopefully. "Gah… do you have any plans, Ojiro?!" she shouted, struggling to hear herself over the ringing in her ears.

"Really wish I did, but—ow—nothing's coming to mind."

"LET'S MAKE SOME NOOOOOOIIIIIISE!"

"GYAAAAHH!" Kyoka clutched her ears, but it only had very little effect. Her Quirk was NOT well suited to something like this. 'We need a way to get past his voice!' she thought to herself. 'At this rate, we won't even SEE him before time runs out.' Once the attack stopped, she whipped her head back to the frightened rock boy. "KODA! Just tell me if it's possible for you to control bugs or not, okay?!" She saw him give a meager thumbs up from his hiding place, to which she plugged her jack into a nearby rock. "Good!" With a powerful sonic pulse, Kyoka shattered the boulder with ease, exposing the insects living under it. Ants, cockroaches, centipedes, even some earth worms.

…And they all frightened Koda to his core. "AAAAAAH!"

"Sorry, I know it's scary!" Kyoka called, imploring for his help. "But—"

"HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEYYYY!"

The sudden yell from Present Mic took Kyoka off guard, leaving her ears exposed for just a second before she clamped her hands back over them. Even so, it was one second of utter agony. "AUGH! Our opponent is too strong! This is the only thing I can think of! If you pull it off, we might still have a chance!"

"Please, Koda!" Ojiro pleaded, still writhing in pain on the ground. "You wanna be a hero, right? Then we gotta pass!"

Their words made Koji bring his head up, his eyes full of tears as he looked at his classmates. …And it was then that he noticed something that made his stomach drop. Even through all of the pain, Kyoka was still smiling to him supportively… and her ears were dripping red. 'J-Jiro's ears are… bleeding! Her and Ojiro are hurting… because of ME.' His sights moved down to the collection of insects wriggling in the dirt, making him drop to his rear as he trembled fearfully. He clutched his head as he started to panic, unsure of what to do… but then, he remembered something. Something that his mother had said when he got his entrance exam results;

"You got into U.A. HIGH?! I'm so happy for you! Oh, my little Koji, I'm so proud!"

'Wait… I DID get into U.A. High. Where all the best pros are trained!' Clenching his teeth, Koda brought his hands down, starting to find his resolve. 'My heart should be without fear! I have to be PLUS ULTRA!' With that final push, Koji fell forward onto his knees and elbows, propping his face over the bugs to speak to them with his Anivoice. "Go on, tiny ones, hear my call! Now is the time for you to take out the man who's responsible for all this terrible noise!"

Needless to say, Kyoka and Ojiro were both astonished. Not just for the fact that he was speaking… but also his voice was FAR from what they were expecting. Instead of being deep and intimidating, it was high and raspy. "YOU CAN TALK?!" Kyoka exclaimed.

"Huh, who knew?" Ojiro commented.

Back at the escape gate, Present Mic was tapping his foot and whistling a little tune, waiting to see if the students would be making ANY move. "What's the deal? Are they gonna run the clock out and hide the whole time? …Hm?" Just then, he felt something… move beneath his foot, bringing his gaze down toward the dirt below. There, he could see something pierce through the upper layer… and then it exploded with an uncountable number of creepy crawlies swarming up his leg. "GUH! OH GOOOO—AAAGGHH!"

The teacher was starting to feel faint as they crawled up his leg, feeling incredibly overcome by the discomforting sensation. 'They're traveling underground where sound doesn't travel well! Ah man, this is why I HATE the outdoors so much—'

*WHAM*

Just then, from out of the woods, Koji came barreling through carrying the injured Ojiro on his back while Kyoka ran by his side. Not wanting to feel left out, though, the Tail user SLAMMED his muscley extra appendage into Present Mic's face, knocking him out while he foamed from the mouth. "Sorry, Mr. Mic! But that was for the leg!" The trio crossed the finish line, prompting the buzzer to sound.

"Team Jiro, Ojiro and Koda have passed the final!"

…..

The entire Monitor Room was completely stunned into silence at the unexpected tactic they'd just witnessed. Out of all the things that any of them could've thought that Kyoka's team could use to win… bugs wasn't one of them. Just looking at the state of Present Mic was enough to give them all the jitters. The only one who WASN'T silent however were, predictably, Izuku and Jazz, who gave loud cheers the moment Kyoka sprinted across that finish line. "WOOO! Yeah, that's what I'm talkin' about!" the Autobot Lieutenant shouted, pounding a fist against his chest. "Way to show 'em!"

"Haha! Yes!" Izuku pumped his fist in victory. "Kyoka's plan was great, and Koda's execution of it was so awesome! Top it all off with one final hit from Ojiro and things went a LOT better than expected!"

"Ahem, well… I suppose you could give them an "A" for creativity, at least." Tenya concluded with a wince.

"Yeah, and a "G" for "Gross"." Ochako asserted.

Mina stuck her tongue out as well. "Bleh, yeah, I could've gone my whole life without seeing that." It was only then, however, that she noticed that the resident nurse was fuming a little. "Uh, Recovery Girl? You okay?"

To answer her question, the elderly woman changed the camera view to focus on the very much incapacitated Present Mic. Laying on the ground on his side, still foaming at the mouth, with a horrified grin on his face. "Hmph! I just can't believe he let a bunch of BUGS beat him. That boy's always been averse to the outdoors, but I didn't think it was THIS bad."

The Autobots and students all smiled with awkward chuckles at the nurse's words. "Hehe… well, even so, you gotta admit that it WAS a pretty clever play." Windblade reasoned. "Even if it was a bit unorthodox."

"I suppose, yes." Recovery Girl said as she got out of her chair for the first time that day. "Hah, but, even if they won, there's still injuries to be treated. Though the fact that they're only cropping up now is a good thing…"

Before she could get to her temporary office across the room—marked with a very colorful billboard—the door to the Monitor Room opened and a certain voice piped up. "Allow me to join you, Recovery Girl." Red Alert said as he entered… with none other than Shoto by his side. "Right after I drop this one off."

"Ah! The Bathroom Hider reveals himself!" Mina beamed. "There you are! Finally decided to join us, eh?"

"…Not exactly by choice." the Half-Cold Half-Hot user muttered, just loud enough for the group to hear as Red and Recovery Girl went to the nurse's office. "Kaida probably would've dragged me here herself if she wasn't up next."

Mina pouted and folded her arms across her chest. "Wow, what's your problem, sassy pants?" Shoto's response was… to look away from her and instead at Midoriya. "Hey! I'm talking to you, ya know!"

"Sorry, I just like being alone to think." Shoto answered bluntly before moving on, leaving Mina to huff turn away. "…Midoriya, I hear you wanted to see me?" he continued.

Izuku furrowed his brow, unsurprised by his demeanor. Ever since they became friends, he had noticed that Shoto Todoroki was a very standoffish individual. He never really liked to interact with people he wasn't wholly familiar with, so it was not shocking to see him blow off anyone else. At most, the only ones Shoto really interacted with at all were himself, Iida and Kaida, even after learning about the Autobots. …Though he did tend to gravitate toward Optimus from time to time, though Izuku was pretty sure he knew why. 'Prime despises his father's attitude, after all.' Even so, he needed to get back on topic. "Uh, yeah, I wanted to talk strategy with you. Our practical against All Might isn't gonna be easy, after all."

"That's an understatement." Shoto agreed.

"You're going up against what is ostensively an unstoppable force." Tenya added, approaching the duo. "Though rather than countering it with an immovable object, the three of you are also practically unstoppable."

Shoto eyed Iida with a curt nod. "Yeah, only difference is that All Might is even MORE unstoppable than the three of us combined. There's a reason why we were pitted against him, after all."

Izuku clenched a fist at his side. "Our Quirks are strong, for sure, but they're no match against him." He tightened his lips worriedly. "I also have another idea as to why they set us up like this… because while you and I get along, Kacchan has it out for both of us for different reasons."

"Hm, very good point." Momo said, placing a hand on her chin. "With Midoriya, it's obvious why there's tension… but Todoroki…"

Ochako raised her brows at the realization; none of them really knew WHY Bakugo seemed to have it out for Shoto. "Hey, yeah, what IS Bakugo's problem with you?"

"Not sure." Shoto shrugged. "Never really thought to ask, and I doubt I'd get an answer."

"Heh, knowing him, ya probably wouldn't." Eijiro commented. "And you know Bakugo's gonna wanna fight All Might instead of run for the escape route."

"So what're you gonna do?" Denki asked, leading the two boys to eye one another.

Izuku bit his lip hesitantly, but in time, he came up with an answer. Though it wasn't exactly one that he was thrilled about. "…We're gonna have to talk to him, too."

…..

Deep underground within one of M.E.C.H.'s many temporary headquarters, Silas and his entourage made their way to the main control room… with several agents' eyes following them. Of course, this wasn't unexpected. After all, they had FIVE giant robots with them. Two was one thing, but with the extra company, it was bound to turn heads. And then, of course, came the mutters and whispers alongside the attention; "Swindle and Skullcruncher are back?" "Yeah, but who're the new bots?" "Probably the Cons that brought him back to their ship." "Then that means… that's Starscream?"

Thundercracker and Skywarp looked around to the astonished humans, not used to all of the attention. "Huh, pretty sure this is the first time a bunch of humans haven't either run away or tried to fight us." the latter commented.

"Kinda…" Thundercracker said while mentally adding; 'But not really.' He thought back to the one nonconfrontational interaction he'd ever had with a human, her kindness still resonating with him even now. 'Doubt she even remembers that, though.' The blue Seeker thought. 'Her kidnapping probably overshadows ALL of that…'

"You bots might wanna get used to that." Professor Sutton said, the teenaged prodigy turning on her heel to walk backwards while looking up at the Decepticons. "If this alliance goes well, you're probably gonna be workin' with us for a good while."

Starscream hummed and replied; "Let us hope that is the case, child."

That made Penelope narrow her eyes. "Don't push it, dude. I'm sixteen, but I've got a mental capacity that puts most adults to shame."

"Interesting." Starscream said, only half-focused on the conversation. His optics focused in on Silas instead. "So, this "Mr. Black", he is an eccentric one, I take it?"

"For the most part, yes." Silas affirmed. "But he is also one of the most brilliant minds this side of the hemisphere. He's the one who created the technology that the SUV use in their operations." Penelope cleared her throat and Silas promptly corrected himself. "…For the most part."

Colossus Rhodes picked it up from there. "Mr. Black specializes in bio-technology, meaning that he creates tech that enhances human beings on the molecular level…" To demonstrate, he activated his back-mounted enhancements and buffed up to his muscular form right then and there, becoming a behemoth of a man right in front of them. "Gah… such as he's done to me."

The Seekers were all left with wide optics at the transformation. "Woah! That is insane!" Thundercracker exclaimed. "…Though, wait, why would you need these enhancements? Doesn't your race have natural superpowers already?"

"…Only eighty percent of the population have Quirks." Nanosec grumbled bitterly, with the rest of the SUV also grimacing with him. "And those people like to lord that fact over Quirkless guys like us."

"And the most pompous out of all of them are those so-called "heroes"." Angry Archer added with massive air quotes. "The supposed protectors of this world who act more like luminaries than actual bringers of justice."

Starscream pursed his lips upon hearing this. "Hm, yes… I've seen that many heroes tend to have a certain pomp and circumstance to them." His focus shifted back to Silas. "And I can only guess that your aim in this new world order of yours is to surpass those with Quirks with grand technological advancement?"

"Correct." Silas nodded. "The heroes and Quirked masses of this world have sat on their pedestals for far too long." He clenched his fist, furthering; "And we intend to knock them down by getting this world back on track with technology." Just then, one of the M.E.C.H. agents approached and saluted him.

"Sir, we still have Mr. Black on hold. He's eager to speak with you."

Silas grumbled slightly, but went to the main control terminal to answer the call. "I'm sure he has. Swindle, Skullcruncher, it'd probably be best for the two of you to explain what's going on to him."

The criminal duo were hesitant at first, but ultimately knew that there wasn't much arguing against Silas. Not unless they wanted to cause a scene. "Hah… yeah, I guess you're right." Swindle accepted, with him and his Predacon mentor stepping within the screen's sights. With that, Silas pressed the "Call" button, putting Mr. Black's through once again.

Upon the screen appeared a large letter "B" inside of a hexagon, no doubt the mysterious man's signature symbol. "Ah, there you are, Silas." Mr. Blake spoke, his voice laced with an accent that none of the Decepticons could place. "I was beginning to wonder if something had happened, I—wait… Swindle? Skullcruncher? Is that you I see back there?"

"…He can see them?" Thundercracker whispered, leaning down to Professor Sutton.

"Yeah, he's got a cam on his end." Penelope confirmed. "He just doesn't wanna risk his own identity getting exposed to the wrong people. He's got his hands in legal AND illegal stuff."

Skywarp nodded in understanding. "I see. And if his unlawful practices are exposed, he'll be ruined. Treading on thin ice, by the sounds of it."

Swindle, meanwhile, was putting on his best business man smile for the benefactor. "Hey-hey, Mr. Black! Been a while since we last talked. How've ya been?"

"…Deflecting the subject, I see." Mr. Black stated, making Swindle wince. "Don't think I haven't heard what happened to you recently. How are you even there? Did you escape your former comrades?"

The question made Starscream glower at the Combaticon, who hastily denied the claim. "Ah-ha… well, you see, that's actually a funny story—"

"We've brought them here to form a more powerful alliance." Skullcruncher said bluntly, taking Swindle off guard. "It's a better alternative than bein' locked up in the brig fer abandoning the cause, ya know."

The answer made Starscream deadpan. Granted, it was the truth, but he never expected the Predacon to be so up front about it. Still, it seemed to make Mr. Black intrigued. "Is that so? Interesting… are they here right now?"

Swindle abdicated and bowed his head, gesturing toward Starscream as he stepped aside. "Why yes, they are. Mr. Black, allow me to introduce your to the Decepticon's esteemed second-in-command and unrivaled commander of the Seeker Armada… Starscream." The presentation was so good that Starscream ignored the amount of sarcasm in Swindle's voice, instead stepping into the screen's field of view to introduce himself.

"Mr. Black, I presume." the Seeker greeted. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance."

From the speaker, an fascinated hum came form the man. "Mmm, well aren't you just a tall, flying death machine? Well, any ally of Swindle's is a welcome ally of mine. He's already shared many technological marvels with our little group here." From his point of view, Mr. Black could see Silas scowling, which he had to hide his pleasure in seeing. "…I'm assuming that you can offer much of the same, Mr. Scream?"

"Formalities are unneeded, Mr. Black." Starscream waved off. "But yes, the Decepticons are willing to offer M.E.C.H. further advances in technology… in exchange for certain favors, of course."

"Well of course. Recompense is no stranger to one such as myself." Mr. Black assured. "But what KIND of favors are we talking here?"

"Namely, aid in dismantling our enemies, the Autobots. Along with their many heroic allies."

On the other end, Mr. Black nodded in understanding. "Ah, yes, the ones who caused us so much trouble in retrieving the DNGS a month or so back." Him uttering the name garnered a few chortles from his followers, but he ultimately ignored them. "I can understand why you would be so frustrated with them. They seem to be a well-coordinated unit, especially when working with superheroes. And luckily for you, our goals seem to align in some way."

Starscream's smile widened at the prospect. "Indeed. I take it that you're not a fan of heroes either. Quirkless yourself, perhaps?"

"Oh-hoho, no, no, I do have a Quirk. Though sadly it is one that is so… insignificant that it barely constitutes as one." Mr. Black's tone was audibly bitter as he spoke about his power. "I have the ability to secret corrosive sludge from my fingertips."

The Cons all looked to one another in perplexedly. "That… actually sounds pretty useful." Skywarp said in confusion.

"And it would be… if I wasn't limited to only about a pint a day. I have never been able to exceed that limit, so any use it would have been is completely null and void." There was a breif pause before they heard a *clap* come from Mr. Black's end, smacking his hands together while shifting the subject of conversation. "BUT, with any luck, my biotech research should prove fruitful in my endeavor; to enhance the Quirks of those who aren't fortunate enough to have flashy powers and MAKE them flashy! Which is why I called in the first place."

This left Starscream and the other Decepticons surprised. "Really?" The lead Seeker glanced down to Silas. "And you're alright with this?"

Silas gave a short sigh, placing his hands on his hips. "As much as it pains me to say it, yes, I am. Black's goals and mine might not align exactly, but the end result is the same; to improve the world through technology. Whether it be through biotech or mechanical enhancements, we WILL bring about change in some way." His attention went back to his benefactor on call. "Which leads me to ask… what did you want to talk about, Mr. Black?"

"Hmhm, well, I bring good news, Silas. The final stage of my prototype formula is ready to be tested, and I have several men lined up that would happily volunteer for the job." Mr. Black explained before the screen changed, showing a map of Lake Michigan, a red dot indicating a remote island off the coast of Detroit. "I would like for you and I to meet at the usual spot so that I can show you the progress that I've made. What do you say? Interested?"

The M.E.C.H. leader narrowed his eyes. "…So long as it doesn't end the way your LAST prototype did, then yes."

"Oh, I can assure you, Silas, this will be QUITE different than the previous… er, mishap." Mr. Black promised before inviting the Seeker commander. "Oh, and you are more than welcome to come as well, Starscream. I'm certain that you and the Decepticons would find this very useful in your endeavors."

Starscream had to admit, his interest was piqued. "…When would this meeting take place?"

"In two weeks. I run on a very tight schedule, so I apologize if there is any inconveniences."

But the second-in-command shook his head. "Oh, no, no, it isn't inconvenient at all." A wicked smirk appeared upon his features. "In fact… I believe that there will be even MORE people of interest arriving in that time frame. Consider it a deal, good sir. Hmhmhm…"

…..

Kyoka let out a sigh of relief as she opened her eyes. The ringing in her ears had finally stopped… along with the bleeding. It had taken a lot of strength to get up and run to the finish line after Present Mic's attacks, but she had insisted to Koda that helping Ojiro out was the main priority. She could deal with some bleeding ears, but the tailed boy would never escape with only one leg. But thankfully, they had all made it to Recovery Girl's temporary office, where she and Red Alert—or Dr. Randal, rather—were treating them.

"Hah… finally." the punk rocker sighed as she sat up. "I can hear myself THINK again."

"You're quite lucky to have only suffered some bleeding." Recovery Girl noted. "Present Mic's known to have left plenty of people completely deaf."

Dr. Randal huffed at that as he finished splinting Ojiro's leg. "Hmph, well if he had done that, you know what would've happened, right?"

The elderly nurse nodded. "Oh, certainly. Would've smacked him on the back of the head while making sure this young lady got better treatment."

"…Seems a bit more lenient than I was thinking."

Kyoka rolled her eyes and got up out of bed. "Psh, whatever. But y'know, as much as Present Mic's voice hurts… he may have given me an idea for a new piece of support gear." She craned her head toward the doctor. "I'm gonna have to see Mei later once this is over."

"Hmhm, and I'm sure she'd be more than willing to help out." On that note, Randal finished up on Ojiro's leg, giving him a pat on the shoulder. "Ah, but there you go, young man. Between Recovery Girl's Quirk and this splint, you should be back on your feet by the end of the day."

"Thank you very much, doctor." Ojiro bowed his head in respect before he and Kyoka looked to the opposite end of the room, where Koda sat with a sheepish smile. "And Koda, thank you."

Koda's eyes widened a little, only to then shrink away bashfully. With a bright smile, Kyoka went over and raised her hand to him. "Dude, c'mon, you really pulled through for the team out there. Without you, we would've been sunk." He managed to return eye contact with her as she gave him a supportive nod. "You're hero material, Koda, and don't let anybody tell you different." Eventually, Koda managed to smile as well and he reciprocated her high five, to which Kyoka pointed at him. "There ya go. …Also, don't be afraid to speak up from time to time. A certain friend of mine will tell you that making your voice heard is key to being a good hero."

The rocky boy hesitated for a moment… but managed to get out a few words. "I… I-I'll try. Th-Thank you, Jiro… for believing in me."

Recovery Girl cleared her throat, garnering their attention. "Speaking of said boy…" She pointed her needle can toward the other entrance to her office, the one that she had come through. "He and the other members of your little friend group are in there waiting for you. Don't want to keep them waiting for much longer, do you?"

"Oh, they are?" Kyoka turned to head toward the door, but then she stopped, spinning back around when she realized that she wasn't about to invite the others. "Oh, sorry, do you guys wanna come with? I think we can watch the rest of the tests in there."

But Ojiro gave her a wave, showing that it was okay. "Nah, you go on ahead. I think I'm just gonna rest here a bit." Koda also sent her a reassuring nod, waving as well. "Besides, I think we're gonna wait it out until the last test comes around. Because… hoo boy, THAT'S gonna be something to see."

"The last test…" It wasn't a surprise to Kyoka in the least, considering who were up last. 'Izuku, Todoroki and Bakugo… versus All Might. Dear god, there won't be anything left.' Even so, she smile to the duo and laughed it off. "Hehe, yeah, I can see why. I'll see you guys then, I guess." Bidding the two farewell, she followed Recovery Girl and Doctor Randal to the door that led to the Monitor Room… where she was met with a thunderous applause right off the bat. "WAH!"

"WOO! There she IS!" Jazz announced as everyone else cheered for her arrival. He approached his human partner and raised his hand. "Glad to see you're still kickin', girl! Up top!"

"Hah, holy crap, guys." the purplette reciprocated the gesture as she looked out at her friends. "What the hell? Was all this really necessary? I honestly didn't do much during that test."

From the crowd, Izuku made his way forward, offering evidence to the contrary. "Maybe not in terms of combat, but Kyoka, you're the reason why Koda was able to make such a great comeback." He held his hand up to her with an encouraging grin. "You helped motivate him to that off. You should be really proud of yourself."

A slight blush appeared on Kyoka's cheeks, but she quickly got a hold of herself and clasped her hand with Izuku's. "Hah, thanks. I owe a lot to that guy." Out the corner of her eye, Kyoka then spotted a certain red and white-haired boy, whose attention was still intently on the large screen. With a sly grin, she waltzed over, leaned in and said; "Yo, Bathroom Boy, how were the stalls?" She got the exact reaction she was hoping for; subtle horror.

"…How did you—"

"Kaida."

"Hah, why am I not surprised?" Shoto rubbed his temples, thoroughly annoyed. "Once all of our tests are over, I'm just gonna hide somewhere."

Kyoka's grin widened at that. "Preferably not the bathrooms, right?" The sight of Shoto's eye slightly twitching gave her life, and it was obvious that everyone else did too since they all quietly chuckled. "Relax, Todoroki, we're not making fun of you or anything."

"It feels like you are."

"We're not, trust me. Even Kaida was laughing about it earlier." That managed to take Shoto by surprise, his eyes shifting back to her. "This is just what having a group of friends is like, ya know? We have fun." Her response was a quiet hum from the boy as his attention went back to the monitor, which made her look up toward the screen as well. It was only then did she realize that the next test was already underway. "Oh, guess I missed the start of this one, huh?"

"Yes, but you haven't missed much." Momo elaborated. "It started only five minutes ago… though so far, Hagakure, Shinso and Shoji haven't had much luck."

On the screen, the three aforementioned students were in the middle of a giant parking lot building with massive pillars holding the structure up. And, at the moment, they were hiding behind one of these concrete supports, keeping out of sight from Snipe. "How has this not ended already, though?" Kyoka questioned. "With Shinso's power, it should be a piece of cake."

"Well, that's the thing…" Bulkhead pointed at Snipe. "He hasn't said a word since the test started. And Shinso's been doin' nothing but trying to goad him into talking."

"How can you tell?" Mina asked. "His whole face is covered."

"When you work with troops that constantly keep their mouths covered by faceplates, you know when they're talking." Bulkhead furthered, narrowing his eyes at the screen. "And Snipe? He hasn't let out a single peep."

…..

In the parking building itself, things weren't looking too good for the young heroes as they kept as still as they could behind their hiding place. Ever since they started, Snipe had been a silent attacker… in everything but the shots from his gun. He too was behind cover, but even so, neither Toru, Shoji or Shinso could get a beat on him thanks to his seemingly perfect quickdraw technique. And by that point, the Invisible Girl was starting to get frustrated. "Guys, at this rate, we'll be trapped forever!" she exclaimed, waving her gloved hands around.

Mezo Shoji was remaining on look out, though, keeping a cool head despite the circumstances. He used his Dupli-Arms to create an extra-large eye and a secondary mouth for surveillance purposes. "Don't worry, he's only one man." Shoji said with his main mouth before switching to the second one, which had an audibly higher pitch. "Still, escaping this will be a herculean task. Our only advantage is our opponent is slowed by those weights."

"Yeah… because otherwise, he's got us outmatched." Shinso grumbled, his own irritation growing by the second. "If only I could get him to say SOMETHING, then maybe…"

*PSSSSSSTTT*

The purple-haired boy was taken off guard when, all of a sudden, a green can was thrown into the center of the lot and unleashed a huge cloud of smoke, which began obscuring everything around them. "Smoke bomb." Shoji said, narrowing his eyes to try and see their opponent through the haze. "He's trying to blind us. Though at least it's going to affect his vison at the same time—"

*BANG-BA-BA-BANG*

His assumption proved false as several bullets cracked through their pillar hiding place, causing it to start crumbling. "Scratch that. Run!" Shoji wasn't about to argue with Shinso as they sprinted away, quickly taking cover behind a different pillar.

"Hah… are you alright, Hagakure?" Shoji asked, assuming his classmate followed. "…Hagakure?" He spun around and, where they had once hidden, the only trace of the Invisible Girl left were her boots and gloves. It didn't take long for Hitoshi to notice as well, and by then, Shoji had gotten an idea. "So that's it… Shinso, I've got a plan."

"You do?" Shinso raised a brow. "I'm all ears."

"…How good are you at impressions?"

As the duo formulated their plan, Snipe slowly kept approaching through the fog, his sidearm still at the ready for anything. 'This is all too easy.' he thought to himself. 'Time to wrap this—hm?' It was then, however, that he saw a large figure sprinting toward him through the smoke, with six large tentacles spread out and ready to attack. 'Not so fast, kid!' In rapid succession, Snipe unleashed a volley of shots toward the ground, making a line that made Shoji come to a halt. The smoke began to lift and the Dupli-Arms user raised his appendages, all while shouting;

"Are you crazy?! You could've hit me!"

Snipe smirked, knowing that wasn't the case. "Relax, kid, that was just a—" And then, just like that, his mind went blank, his arms falling limp at his sides… right as Hagakure came in to slap them over his wrists.

"Haha! VICTORY!" Toru exclaimed.

Beneath his mask, Shoji smirked. The plan worked. "Gotcha. Nice work, both of you."

"You're just lucky we sound pretty similar already." Shinso commented as he emerged from the lifting fog. "Hagakure, good idea getting ahead of us like that."

"Ah, it's no biggie!" Toru shrugged. "But how'd you finally get Snipe to say something?"

Shoji pointed at his masked face. "We tricked him into thinking that I had said something, when really, it was Shinso doing an impression of me."

They could hear Toru applauding the idea. "Ooh, nice! Oh, hey! You know Shinso, if you ever DO become a hero, maybe you should get a voice modulator or something, to make yourself sound like other people and trick bad guys!"

Hitoshi blinked, surprised by the suggestion… but not opposed to it. "Huh, you know, that's actually not a bad idea. I'll keep that in mind." He turned his attention to Snipe and released him from his Quirk. "You're free. The test is over."

"H-Huh?!" Snipe whipped his head around in confusion… and then looked down to see that he was cuffed. "…Gah, dagnabbit!"

…..

"Team Hagakure, Shinso and Shoji have passed the exam."

Upon hearing the announcement, those in the Monitor Room were overjoyed by the result. "Yes! Just as I expected." Momo beamed happily. "When it comes to stealth ops, no one in class is better than Hagakure."

"Yeah, plus Shoji and Shinso's plan to trick Mr. Snipe with ventriloquism was great, too!" Izuku pumped his fist, seeing the latter smiling with the other students on the screen. "If this doesn't convince Principal Nezu and Mr. Aizawa that he belongs in the Hero Course, then nothing will!" Just then, the sound of the door opening drew everyone's focus behind them, where none other than Bumblebee's holoform came striding in. "Oh, hey Bee!"

"Well, well, it would seem that the gang is all here." Recovery Girl commented, looking around at the giant group of students and their Autobot parters.

Sideswipe gave a shrug. "Well, everyone but Prime, that is. Anyone seen him?"

Sunstreaker scratched his chin thoughtfully. "I'm pretty sure I saw him talking with All Might a little while ago, though I've got no idea where he is now."

"Hmm…" Izuku mulled over that in his head, finding it strange. 'Why would Prime not be here? I'm guessing if he's with All Might, then he's with the other teachers, which by proxy means that they've got their own observation room. Still, it's really weird that he wouldn't just join—' *shink* "GYAAAH!"

Kyoka had jabbed one of her jacks into Izuku's arm, bringing him out of his trance. "Green Bean, you're muttering again."

"Ugh, sorry, sorry!" Izuku apologized, bowing his head profusely. "I really have no clue how that happens!" His apology was suddenly halted when Bumblebee came up and clasped a hand on his shoulder, sending him a reassuring grin and a thumbs up. "…Hah, yeah, guess you're right. I AM getting better at keeping it in check." He then saw Bee jab his thumb over his shoulder, which Izuku took to mean that he should get going. "Oh, yeah, you're right…" He looked to Shoto with a serious gaze. "Todoroki, our test is up after this one."

Shoto gave a curt nod. "Yeah… but we'll have time to make it." His sights went straight back to the monitor. "Kaida's test is up, and I'd rather not miss it."

"Hm, yeah, exactly my thought." Izuku agreed.

Momo couldn't help but raise a brow. "Are you sure? I thought that the two of you wanted to talk strategy with Bakugo?"

The greenette gave a shrug. "Well, yeah, we do… but I want to make sure I see everyone else fight. It's super interesting to see how each team uses their Quirks." He raised a confident fist. "And I also feel like I'm getting stronger just watching them. All of our classmates are so amazing. I have faith that all of us can pass this final!"

Despite Izuku's motivational speech, though… Eijiro and Denki were much less confident. "Er… ya might wanna put a pin in that." the spikey redhead said with a meek smile.

"Yeah… seems like one of our dudes might've checked out." Denki pointed up to the screen… where a sleeping Hanta Sero was resting his head… on the thighs of Midnight, like they were a pillow.

Immediately, Bumblebee recognized the look on the R-Rated Hero's face. She was out for blood, and she would get it no matter what she had to do. And all the while, Kaida and Sato were running for their lives. '…They dead.'

…..

Kaida couldn't understand this. Their plan had been so simple, and yet it crumbled to dust practically a minute in. They were going to surprise Midnight and restrain her before she could even use her Quirk, with Sero's tape being a key factor in the plan. …But then the Somnambulist user had gotten the drop on them right as they had reached the escape gate, resulting in Kaida getting flung away from Sero's tape while he shouted; "SATO! Get her outta here!"

"GYAH!" Before she could protest, she landed on the Sugar Rush user's back as he sprinted off, leaving Sero to his fate. "Hey! W-Wait a second!"

But it was too late. Sero felt his helmet get grabbed on each side, causing it to open and allow Midnight's mist to seep into his lungs, making him fall asleep immediately. She allowed him to fall gently into her lap, caressing her hand through his hair all the while. "Yes, that's right. Have a nice nap…" she soothed as her gaze locked onto the retreating duo. "What's the matter, kids? Plan falling apart at the seams?"

"Damn you, you vile mistress!" Kaida shook her fist in retribution. "We'll be BACK!"

Midnight could only lick her lips with a sultry hum. "Mmm… I'm looking forward to it."

Once Sato was sure that they were a fair distance into the rocky terrain that was their test course, he set Kaida down to catch his breath. "Hah… hah… well, Plan A failed." he concluded. "So… I'm open to a backup plan if you got one."

"Ugh! We didn't HAVE any backup plans!" Kaida gripped her hair, panic starting to settle in. "Sero was our best chance at restraining her and now, HE'S TAKING A NAPPY-POO!"

"Hey, Sero specifically told me to get YOU outta there while he sacrificed himself because he knew that you had a better chance at making a plan to get us all outta here." Sato reasoned, giving her a serious look. "I know that the situation's stressful, but I'm sure we can find a way out of it if we put our heads together."

Kaida pursed her lips, placing a finger on her chin while wracking her brain. What COULD they do? When it came to Midnight, she knew only two things about her power; it put people to sleep and it worked on boys better than girls. And then there was her signature whip weapon, which she was a master at. "…She's got plenty of things that we can go after, but we'd need to get close, which isn't an option." Kaida muttered to herself. "We'd need to get past that sleep mist first, but…" she trailed off as she noticed something hanging from her body, and it was then that an idea came to her. "Wait! Maybe that could work!"

Sato was confused as she reached down and began unraveling the tape that was stuck to her torso. "Huh? What're you talkin' about?"

Holding the tape up to him, Kiada said; "Sero's tape was supposed to be what got us the victory. Maybe it still can—"

*CRACK*

"Gah!" The duo gasped and whirled around, seeing an approaching figure veiled in pink mist.

"I thought I'd stay posted at the escape gate until time ran out…" Midnight said as her form became more visible, tugging at her whip with both hands. "But on second thought, I have a deeper itch that needs to be scratched. If I see someone running away from me and screaming…" Her expression took on a twisted grin, gazing hungrily at the duo as she licked her lips. "…my sadistic side aches so back that I can't sit still!"

Kaida and Sato were trembling at this point, afraid of what their teacher might do to them. "Sh-She's like a predator who's cornered her prey!" the latter screamed.

"PHRASING!" Kaida shouted.

With every click of her heels against the rocky surface, Midnight slowly but surely approached the two, almost like a serial killer in a movie. "Give in, you know it's over! One tiny breath and you'll both submit to me!" Her eyes widened in excitement at the prospect. "Then I'll have absolute control of you!"

In a split second, Kaida brought out a Brachiosaurus Tail from her rear to wrap around Sato and run away with him. "MOVE! And keep your face covered!"

But of course, this only excited Midnight more. "Oh perfect! I do LOVE the chase!" She saw the duo bound behind a particularly large boulder, which she didn't particularly think was a good hiding spot. "Come now, surely you don't expect to evade my scent like that. How long do you suppose you can keep your mouths and noses shut, hm?"

"You think we don't have a plan?!" Kaida called back… right as the boulder began to rise up from the ground. "We just had to put some distance between us and you!"

As it turned out, Sato was the one lifting the boulder above his head, having downed two packs of sugar to increase his power… before then slapping a bunch of tape over his mouth and nose. "Shorry, Mish Midnight!" he muffled before throwing the whole boulder at her.

"Ah-ha!" With a great leap, Midnight not only dodged the boulder, but actually rebounded off of it to launch herself toward the duo. "Hah! You think you can win THAT easily?!" As she came in, she ripped off more of the thin fabric covering her arms, unleashing more of her Somnambulist mist. "Here! Just TRY and resist this!"

However, the pink haze wouldn't end up reaching the students. "NOW, KAIDA!" Sato hollered.

"Pterodactyl Wings!" From behind Sato, a pair of large, membraned wings emerged and began flapping, kicking up a powerful gust of wind that sent the pink mist whipping away and knocked Midnight out of the air.

The R-Rated Hero managed to stick the landing, though, and she snapped her whip out toward Kaida, only for it to be intercepted by Sato's arm. Midnight gave a gasp and nearly fell forward when the whip was yanked out of her hands. She tried to unleash more of her sleep mist, but the winds from Kaida's wings were still far too powerful. "Hah… cornered, I see. But even so, you shouldn't assume I'm defenseless!" With a skip and jump, she went to kick Sato straight in the chest, only to be surprised when Kaida flew over his head with cuffs in hand.

"And you shouldn't assume that WE'RE not gonna let you do anything!" Swooping straight down, Kaida slapped the cuffs over one of Midnight's wrists, effectively landing them the win.

"Team Kiryu, Sato and Sero have passed the exam!"

Midnight blinked as the reality sunk in for her, leading her to lift up her mask and smile at the duo. "Hah, very impressive you two! Definitely wasn't expecting that. Congratulations."

Kaida and Sato both smiled wide and high-fived. "Haha! HELL YEAH! We did it, Sato!"

"We sure did!" Sato pulled the tape off his face. "Though we owe Sero one, too. Without this, we might've been sunk."

"Ah, yes…" Midnight craned her head back toward the escape gate, where she had left Sero asleep. "…He may get points docked for getting himself captured, but I'm sure that he'll be fine… maybe." She turned her attention back to the larger student. "Sato, would you be a dear and collect him for us?"

The yellow-costumed hero-in-training gave a salute. "Sure thing, Miss Midnight." With that, Sato ran back to the escape gate and gathered Sero, lugging him over his shoulder as the two ladies strolled behind him.

Midnight took the opportunity to lean in and whisper; "By the way, Kaida, I think you'll be happy to know that the other Autobots have been watching everyone this entire time."

"W-Wait, really?" Kaida did a doubletake, not expecting that news.

"Yep, we allowed Red Alert to tap into the security footage and post it as a live feed back to Autobot HQ." Midnight winked. "So I'm sure that a certain someone is going to be quite proud of your performance today. I believe his name is… "Grimlock", correct?"

Kaida smiled from ear to ear and nodded to her. She was already overjoyed over her victory, but knowing that Grimlock had seen it, it made her even happier. "…Yeah. Yeah, that's him." She took a deep breath as their group made their way back to the main building, content with her performance. But even so, she knew that there was still one match to go, and there was no way she was going to miss watching that one. 'Midoriya… Shoto… good luck.' Her features soured when she remembered who ELSE was in that group. 'And Bakugo… I swear, if you drag those two down, you will NEVER hear the end of it from me.'

…..

A/N: And oh-ho does Kaida mean that. Trust me, next chapter is gonna be a pretty crazy time for Izuku, Shoto and Katsuki, that's for sure. But in the meantime, let's hear it for the rest of our 1-A students for making it through their exams! Heck, even Shinso managed to use his Quirk effectively through the use of some trickery (which will indeed lead to something handy for him in the future). Though unfortunately, it seems that Sero didn't get to do much during his exam with his team. Ah well… at least his tape came in handy. Nice try, dude.

On that note, though, let's hear it for Kyoka, Koda and Ojiro for making it through their test! Present Mic definitely didn't make it easy for them, that's for sure. But in the end, the silent shy boy came through with the use of his Quirk! Command them insects, Koda! And enjoy that win!

And… hoo boy, seems that we might be getting closer to learning Mr. Black's true identity, though I'm sure that most of you who have keen observation skills have already guessed who it is at this point. Even so, it seems that Starscream's gonna be putting off meeting him in person until Megatron's away team gets to Earth. Still… the idea that he's whipped up some biotech that can ENHANCE a person's Quirk… yeah, that doesn't sound too good. But with that said…

And now, the Preview! It's finally time for the final Practical Exam! …And hoo boy, are our trio in for a BIG surprise. Because, as some might've already guessed… it's not just gonna be All Might that they're facing. Join me next time for… One Shall Pass, One Shall Fail. Can Izuku, Shoto and Katsuki prove that they have… The Touch? Thanks for reading, everybody, and I'll catch you next time! As always, stay safe out there, and remember:

GO BEYOND! PLUS ULTRA!