A/N: Hey all, sorry it's been a while. You've probably already read the update which this chapter has replaced.
Thank you to everyone for your support and/or appreciation of this story.
Sorry if this chapter feels lackluster, it's been a while since I've gotten any real writing done.
Before I forget, I obviously don't own the franchises to either Marvel or MHA. With that out of the way, enjoy!
"Look at that, folks! Izuku Midoriya and Fumikage Tokoyami from class 1-A have taken to the air and are quickly approaching the first obstacle! Will they fight The Horde for some style points? Or will they fly right over to pass Todoroki and Bakugo?"
As the two flew over the field, a swarm of robots appeared beneath them seemingly out of the blue. Chunks of ice that towered over even All Might and ground shaking explosions come from the middle. At the center was Bakugo and Todoroki, both of whom took turns trading blows between wiping out handfuls of the robots used in the entrance exams.
"You want to have some fun?"
"While 'fun' may not be the word I would use, I do believe it would be appropriate to display some of our skills." Tokoyami replied.
"Let's kick some metal ass!" Dark Shadow shouted, much less elegantly.
Having easily reached an agreement, Tokoyami and Izuku tipped downwards and began a rapid descent towards the first obstacle.
Izuku's wings and tail retracted into his body and were replaced by two sets of tendrils, all of which ended in a morningstar-like club. Another set of three reached from under his gym uniform and shot towards the ground.
Immediately he was rushed by the robots. Automated cries of "Eliminating target" came from the machines; the closest were cut off before they could finish.
"Well would ya look at that! Turns out the airborne duo decided to join the fray!" Mic announced for those in the audience.
"Hey, when exactly did Izuku's quirk develop? I thought he still had that pinky digit and all," Mitsuki questioned. From beside her, Masaru leaned forward, evidently eager for the explanation as well.
"See…it was maybe a year ago. Something happened and it triggered his quirk's appearance. I still don't really know all too much about it, to be honest," Inko offered, trying not to give away anything that could be troublesome in the near future.
"Huh. Well, the brat hasn't mentioned much, so I was kind of curious."
"I understand. But he's been working hard to make up for years of practice that his classmates have over him. I'm very proud and love seeing him so close to becoming a hero like he's always wanted."
"Things are getting a little boring. Perhaps it's time to turn things up a notch!" the announcing hero exclaimed. The viewers couldn't see him push a button, but they could watch as multiple zero pointers rose from beneath the ground and stood to their full heights.
"Isn't that the robot from the entrance exam?" Tokoyami questioned aloud as he and Dark Shadow battered aside the smaller robots that tried to attack.
"First one's mine!" Izuku and Scarlet declared. Without hesitating, Izuku charged towards the treads of the closest zero pointer and leapt onto the gigantic robot. Even as Bakugo shouted at him to "Get away from the damn robot so I can kill it", Izuku quickly scaled the zero pointer and reached the top of the head.
The back of his gym uniform tore apart as multiple tendrils ripped their way through and slid down the sides of the robot's head like slippery oil. Upon reaching the bottom, the extensions all began contracting in unison. Metal whined as the pressure grew, then buckled like paper being folded by a child. Small sparks erupted from where electrical cords snapped or were torn by the ripped metal.
With a final squeeze, the exaggerated head of the zero pointer imploded under the powerful tendrils into a sphere of jagged metal shards and fizzling wires. Just as quickly as it had appeared, the first zero pointer fell, finally landing with an earthshaking crash.
"Well that was fun. But maybe we should get back to the race," Izuku offered before dashing off in the direction of the finish line.
"Hey! Don't think you can leave me behind like that you damned nerd!" Bakugo angrily declared. With a quick succession of carefully aimed explosions, the blonde sped in the same direction, followed closely behind by Todoroki on a sheet of ice and Tokoyami, who was once again being carried by his quirk.
"That was interesting! Looks like we have four contenders aiming for first place! But maybe this next obstacle will slow them down some. Just hope they don't fall into The Aby-"
Mere moments before Present Mic could finish calling the obstacle's name, all four students from 1-A approached and passed the deep chasm without slowing down. Bakugo, who had taken first from Izuku, flew right over without bothering to look down. Izuku shout out four tendrils and used them to cross the wires and platforms like a spider crawling along its own web.
Todoroki froze over a single wire and merely slid across as if he had been on solid ground, and Dark Shadow flew over the obstacle with Tokoyami still in his arms.
"Oh, I guess I should have seen that coming. Hey Sho, who do you think will win?"
A sigh could be heard over the speakers as the teacher in question aired his disdain in being singled out. "Given the way things are looking, I'd bet on Bakugo, seeing as he's only increasing the distance between himself and the others. However, Midoriya, for whatever reason, isn't flying at the moment. If he decides to, he could possibly catch up. But that's only accounting the four in the lead at the moment. Tenya Iida could very well pass them all if he gets a long enough straightaway, seeing as speed is his specialty. Not to mention what any of the other classes might have up their sleeves."
"You hear that folks? You all just witnessed Shota speaking more than a single sentence in one go, quite a rarity if I do say so myself!"
"This is why I never want to be an announcer with you," the dark clad teacher muttered just loud enough to be picked up by his microphone.
"Would you look at that! More students have reached The Abyss! The Uraraka girl from Shota's class flies over with ease! Setsuna Tokage from Vlad's class also flies over!"
Many of the screens displayed the students reaching the second obstacle. On top of the competitors Present Mic was announcing, several of the General Education and Support students were actually passing the Heroics classes.
"That's not very cool!" Mic suddenly shouted as one screen focused on Tenya Iida, who was making his way across the wires in a fashion similar to Todoroki's method.
"Anyhoo, let's get back to the little listeners in the lead!"
Bakugo's arms were starting to ache, but such was a side effect of continuous use of his quirk. The blonde grit his teeth and let his feet touch the ground. As much as he wanted to win by the largest margin possible, he knew it would be smarter to not overuse his quirk during the first event. There were still two more events to win and he wasn't going to lose just because he made a stupid mistake early on.
'I'm still way ahead of all those extras,' Bakugo reminded himself. 'Even Half 'n' Half can't catch me. I'll show him I'm the only one he should have challenged.'
He sneered as he already imagined putting his two classmates in the ground and willing the Festival.
He was going to be the Number One hero. And heroes don't lose.
But still, something was off.
'And there goes Todoroki,' Midoriya thought as he slipped from second into third. The bichromatic teen did not even spare a glance back as he slid past on his ever growing ice path.
"Midoriya, why are you letting them pass you? I am sure you could have kept first," Tokoyami asked.
"You'll see," Izuku replied cryptically.
Up ahead, he saw large explosions of some kind of pink gas erupt from the ground, accompanied by Bakugo's own explosions.
Furthermore, a large sign reading "Minefield" indicated the final obstacle of the race.
'Interesting,' Izuku thought, then turned to Tokoyami and Dark Shadow, who were still flying beside him. "You might want to get some altitude. This will probably get messy."
"If ya say so," Dark Shadow replied, already carrying Tokoyami up into the air and eventually over the first stretch of the field.
Contrary to what most competitors would do, Izuku stopped right before the minefield.
"Let's have a bit of fun," he said to himself.
"Oh, I like where this is going." Scarlet and Izuku put their hands on the ground. Skin and flesh quickly expanded and deformed into lengthy extensions that burrowed through the ground. Small trails snaked just under the surface of the field as mines were searched for. Whenever one was found, it was swiftly wrapped up and brought to the surface.
"What is he doing?" Mitsuki asked Inko over the loud announcements from Present Mic, who was too preoccupied with Bakugo and Todoroki. The two had gotten into a careful fight once Todoroki caught up and tied for first.
"I think he's about to level the playing field. Or the minefield in this case," Inko suggested. The screen that had displayed Izuku switched over to the racing students that were quickly approaching the final obstacle.
Luckily, another screen switched from Todoroki and Bakugo's awkward battle of dancing over mines to Izuku from another angle.
Both of the battling teens took note of the changing terrain, but were too focused on trying to take first to think about the implications.
Until the entire minefield was plunged into pink gas with scores of overlapping erupting mines.
His ears were ringing. Everywhere he looked, all he saw was pink. He could not even tell which direction he was facing.
In an effort to pick himself up, Todoroki's right wrist screamed in pain.
'I must have landed on it badly when I was thrown into the air,' the teen realized as he winced and shifted his weight to the left arm. 'Of course it has to be his side that doesn't hurt.'
"What the hell did that damn nerd do? I'm gonna kill him!" he heard Bakugo shout from not far away. A very faint silhouette of the explosive teen was barely distinguishable through the pink gas.
An unnecessary question in his opinion. Obviously, the green-haired classmate had somehow activated most, if not every mine in the field.
Which meant everyone else had a clear shot for the finish line. And all they had to do was run straight. He had to figure out which way to go first.
Using his left foot, a pillar of ice shot from beneath him and lifted him high into the air and above the slowly dispersing gas. The stadium was a bit to his right, less than half a field's length away.
The son of Endeavor leapt from the pillar and created a sloping trail much like a slide beneath him. Beside him, Bakugo's explosions rang out as the teen flew just above the gas as well.
"Damn it Half 'n' Half! You're not beating me!" the blonde loudly declared as he put more juice into his explosions.
Both teens used their quirks in any way they could to either push themselves faster or slow down the other. The tunnel into the stadium quickly approached, reminding the two of how close they were to being either first or second.
With a final push, Bakugo let himself take a glancing hit from Todoroki's ice to launch himself forward with enough power to make his arms cry out in pain.
'Shut up stupid arms!' he shouted internally. His mood quickly changed from competitive rage to prideful joy as he flew into the stadium just ahead of his red and white haired classmate.
"And Katsuki Bakugo narrowly beats Shoto Todoroki for third and fourth place, respectively!"
All color drained from his face in an instant.
There had to be a mistake; he was Katsuki Bakugo. He didn't get third, he got first. He had beaten all the other extras, right?
That's when he noticed Todoroki glaring not at him, but at two other classmates.
Izuku and Tokoyami.
The damned nerd and Beakface had somehow beaten him?
Present Mic's verbal count of the other students crossing the finish line fell on his deaf ears as he tried to comprehend the fact that not just one, but two extras had passed him and stolen first and second from him.
"Oh, Katsuki looks pissed."
"That's stating the obvious," Masaru muttered, already mentally preparing for the indignant shouts his son was going to release once they got home.
"I still can't believe Izuku and the bird one managed to cover so much distance in a short while," Inko said. "But I guess it makes sense that Tokoyami would come in first, seeing as he was high enough in the air to be unaffected by the explosions. And Izuku probably used the farthest reaching tendrils to pull himself across the field, like a grappling hook," the woman explained.
A few rows above her, Inko heard some of the Business students go back and forth about "stocks" and "marketability" of the students.
"So what do you think will be next?" Mitsuki questioned.
"Well, Izuku and I have watched enough Sports Festivals to get a grasp of the pattern. Usually it's a free-for-all first, then some form of teamwork based event that can range from groups as small as pairs to two whole teams, like last year's Capture The Flag."
"What do you want to bet Izuku and Katsuki are forced to team up one way or another?" Katsuki's mother joked.
Inko and Masaru laughed at the idea of the two being forced to pair up against the rest of the students. Admittedly, they would make a powerful duo if they could get along for more than six and a half seconds.
"And there we are! Forty-first and forty-second cross the line! Sorry everyone else, but better luck next year!" Mic announced rather unapologetically as the purple-haired boy that sent the declaration of war barely made the cutoff.
"We'll take a half hour intermission for the students to catch their breaths! Make sure to hit the food stands and other service stations set up by the Business students! Yeah!"
Let me know how you think this one came out; there was a lot of jumping around and scene changes galore.
One more note: I'll probably put this one on a short hiatus to focus on another fic I haven't updated in too long. But fear not, I still have no intentions of dropping this fic.
Have a safe day everyone!