The shopping mall was closed for the rest of the day. Between police and Pros, they did a thorough search of the surrounding area, but came to the conclusion that Shigaraki had been working alone.
"It's a nasty wound to be sure." The paramedic ascertained, tightening the bandages on Izuku's arm. "But you'll be okay. Only the top layer of skin was destroyed, and the disintegration doesn't seem to be spreading."
"That's a relief." Izuku gulped. "I didn't realise that was a possibility."
"Yeah, well you are still just a kid." Snatch arrived in a torrent of sand, leaning casually against the ambulance's side. "Even if you are a stupid brave kid."
"I would have been dead if it wasn't for you." Izuku scrambled to his feet, bowing in respect.
"And a whole lotta more people would have been dead if it wasn't for you." Snatch harrumphed. "I talked to some friends in the force, and they'll let the sanctioned use of your quirk slide this time, given the circumstances. Lucky for you, most people were so terrified, runnin' and screamin', that nobody thought to take a picture."
"Woah, that is lucky." Izuku's eyes widened.
"Keep your nose clean, kid." Snatch gruffed. "Things could've gone real bad for you today. Don't get me wrong, you saved lives, that's a fact, but you still broke the law. This ain't the dark ages no more, our Hero Society don't tolerate vigilantes. Not anymore."
"I'll remember that." Izuku promised.
"See that you do." Snatch grinned. "You got a lotta potential. Don't waste it. Our guest is in custody, just so you know. Apparently he's some League of Villains big shot. Who'd have known?"
Izuku felt the blood drain from his face, like static under his skin.
"I'll be watchin' you." Snatch grinned as he formed tendrils of sand, then slingshot himself away. "See you around, kid."
The bright, morning sun painted the glass panelling of the UA main building in bright light, making the school stand out like a beacon in the city skyline.
"Your mom really wanted to pull you out of UA?" Kendo's eyes widened as they walked towards the assembly point.
"That's the short of it." Izuku sighed. "Though, with the help of mister Tsukauchi, I managed to persuade her not to. It took some convincing but this really was an unrelated villain attack, not really anything to do with UA. Not in any way I can see."
"Hey, Midoriya!" Kaminari called over. "Man, you scared the crap out of us!"
"Yeah, sorry guys." Izuku smiled, joining his classmates.
"Not like it's your fault some psycho tried to kill you." Jirou smirked. "Man, that is a gnarly scar, dude."
"Oh, this?" The skin around Izuku's forearms caved inwards, revealing the gaping imprint of a hand. "Shigaraki managed to grab my arm before Snatch got him."
"And you still took him down!" Kirishima beamed. "That is so manly!"
"Well, I helped keep him busy." Izuku flushed at the compliment.
"It's still impressive." Shoji insisted. "We are all familiar with Shigaraki. He is an exceptionally dangerous opponent."
No one looked his way, but for a moment, everyone in class 1-A was focussed on Minoru Mineta, and the scarring that ran down both sides of his head and face.
"What's the damn hold up?" Bakugou growled as he joined the group.
"We are still waiting on Todoroki and Sero." Yoayorozu explained.
"Tape face I get." Bakugou scowled. "But it's not like Icyhot to be late..."
"They're arriving together." Jirou added. "Their train got delayed by a villain attack on the way."
A rumble passed through the class at that statement.
"Are they in danger?" Ochako asked.
"I don't think so, ribbit." Tsuyu said reassuringly, crouched by her friend. "They said the Pros are just having trouble moving the villain off the tracks."
"It feels like villain attacks have gotten more frequent lately." Izuku puzzled. "All starting with our trip to the mall."
"Are you suggesting there is some connection?" Tokoyami wondered.
"Don't be an idiot, bird head." Bakugou rolled his eyes. "Most people nowadays have quirks, and quirks keep getting stronger. Just makes sense that there would be more villains too."
"Is that them?" Sato breathed a sigh of relief, watching Sero and Todoroki enter the UA grounds.
"About time." Bakugou frowned. "Ponytail, go wake Aizawa up."
"I told you we'd make it!" Sero pumped his fist as they joined the group.
"You guys okay?" Mina asked, rushing to greet them.
"We're fine." Sero smiled. "We weren't really in any danger, promise!"
"Did you get a good look at the villain?" Kaminari asked, joining the quickly forming circle.
"We weren't even near the villain." Shoto replied. "The only reason we even knew of an attack is because they announced it on the train."
"And you can be grateful." Aizawa cut in. "Let's get started. Unfortunately there's been a last minute change of plans."
"What? No way!" Mina cried.
"Man…" Sero facepalmed. "I just got here. And I already told my parents."
"Exactly." Aizawa snapped. "We've been having problems with information leaking from inside the school. As such it made sense to keep our destination a secret until we depart. It was just a-"
"A logical deception." The assembled students chorused.
"Am I really that predictable?" Aizawa raised an eyebrow.
"It's becoming a pattern." Izuku admitted.
"The school has arranged for lodgings from pro heroes in the past." Aizawa continued, unphased. "And we have decided to do so again this year. There are a few reasons for this. First of all, we'll be well away from the public, so you'll be able to properly practise your quirks. Second, should anything happen, or a villain find their way to camp, we'll be more prepared to handle them than if we were just students and teacher, like at the USJ incident."
"At least we're not cancelling the whole trip." Sato sighed in relief.
"Should we really be worried about a villain attack though?" Toru wrung her gloves together.
"Hey Aizawa!" Bakugou's voice cut through the clamour. "Is it true? About Monoma in class B?"
The rest of 1-A quieted down, curiosity tangible.
"Yes." Aizawa narrowed his eyes dangerously.
"You should tell Mic to keep his voice down when talking about dangerous info." Bakugou smirked. "I heard him two hallways away."
"Something happened to Monoma?" Izuku felt his chest tighten.
Aizawa held Bakugou's challenging stare, unblinking.
"He's a damn nerd," Bakugou allowed. "But he deserves to know."
"Midoriya, stay behind." Aizawa kept his eyes on Bakugou. "Everyone else, make your way to the Southern parking area."
They waited as the students walked off.
"Monoma is missing." Aizawa said simply. "We suspect he's been missing since he left the hospital. Perhaps even before that. That's all you need to know for now."
"What happened?" Izuku's mouth felt dry.
"We can discuss that at a later time." Aizawa sighed after a long pause. "I would appreciate it if you kept this information to yourself. Let's get going."
Izuku didn't talk much on the bus.
He sat near the front with Kendo while Shoto and Tokoyami sat behind them.
The trip was altogether uneventful. Izuku was stuck in his head for most of the trip. He couldn't shake the feeling that something big was about to happen.
The world felt like a stormcloud, dark in the sky. It wasn't about whether it would rain, it was about how much time they had until the storm broke.
"Midoriya!" Shoto's eyes widened.
"Yeah, what's up?" Izuku asked, not looking up from scrolling the news on his phone.
"I think I know where the camp is going to be."
Izuku lifted his head, looking out of the window where the iconic mountain range of the Todoroki Family Estate became visible on the horizon.
An excited murmur passed through the bus.
"He lives in a forest?" Kaminari frowned.
"Explains a lot." Mina added, a finger on her cheek.
"Alright," Aizawa sighed, stopping the bus. "Everyone, get out."
"This is supposed to be a rest stop?" Kendo wrinkled her nose in displeasure, regarding the single bench by the side of the road.
The ground sloped sharply into a long stretch of green forest, ending at the foot of the snow capped mountains Izuku was very familiar with.
"We stopped here for a reason." Aizawa explained, last to leave the bus.
"I hope it's a bathroom." Kaminari mumbled.
"It's a flat tire actually." Aizawa explained. With the help of some of the students, the tire was quickly removed. Aizawa regarded the damage, just as Ojiro returned from the back of the bus.
"There's no spare tire." He reported.
"Figures." Aizawa deadpanned. "Can you create one, Yaoyorozu?"
"I can try." Momo replied resolutely. "The threads for the bolts on the wheel will be very difficult to do, and I will have to create the tire separately. So we'll need a way to install and pressurise the tire. I can try to create a simple air compressor."
"No, that won't be necessary." Aizawa sighed. "I'll just call roadside assistance. You should make your way to our lodgings in the meantime."
"You mean we should hitchhike?" Kaminari paled.
"No." Aizawa rolled his eyes. "Todoroki, you know the way, right? Even from this side?"
Shoto nodded.
"Good." Aizawa walked back to the bus. "I'll meet you at the facilities when I can. All of you, make your way there on foot."
"What!?"
"That's ridiculous!"
"No use complaining, you damn extras!" Bakugou snapped. "Let's get moving! Icyhot, take the lead!"
"Yes, class rep." The students grumbled.
"Oh, and another thing." Aizawa smiled through his scarf. "It's almost 9:15. If you don't make it there by 12:30, you won't get any lunch."
"No way!"
"You can't do this!"
"Human rights violation, ribbit!"
"This whole area is private property." Aizawa raised his voice over the complaints. "So feel free to use your quirks."
"Come on." Shoto called, vaulting the barrier next to the road. "We can make it if we hurry."
Bakugou kept his eyes fixed on Aizawa as the rest of 1-A followed Shoto.
"You planned for this, didn't you?" Bakugou accused.
"I'd hurry if I were you." Aizawa leaned against the bus casually. "You never know what could be hiding in the forest."
Bakugou growled, then exploded into the air after his classmates.
Aizawa walked to the front of the bus, retrieving the spare tire he had hidden there.
The ground kicked up in clumps as Bakugou slowed his descent, joining his classmates at the edge of the treeline.
"What are we waiting for?" He growled. "Come on Icyhot!"
"Right." Shoto shook his head. "I could have sworn I saw something… The path is this way."
The trees were old and their canopies grew close together, blanketing the forest in night-like shade. They wandered through, trekking up a hillside in the straightest path towards the facility.
They were nearing a short waterfall, passing over the cliffside when Tokoyami shuddered, his whole body quaking with effort.
"Hey, Shoto! Hold up a minute!" Izuku called, kneeling by his friend. "You okay Fumikage?"
"Y-yes." He spoke unevenly. "I-I will be alright, Midoriya. Just- all this darkness…"
"Let's get a move on, Bird-Head!" Bakugou shouted. "Something's up! This is too easy!"
"It's not too far." Shoto cut in. "We can still make it by lunch time if we speed up a little after a short break."
Izuku nodded in thanks, then turned back to Tokoyami.
"Just let me know if it gets too bad. I can go Upgrade or Heatblast and make some light."
"You guys feel that?" Jirou asked, confused.
Birds burst into the sky, frightened.
"Something startled our animal friends." Koda trembled.
"Is the ground… shaking?" Kirishima wondered. "Couldn't be… must be the waterfall, right?"
"Can we get moving already?" Bakugou barked. "At this rate we'll miss dinner too-"
The hill exploded.
The students screamed in surprised terror as they were hurled into the air.
Shoto reacted first, conjuring a massive torrent of ice on the ground that Bakugou rushed down to detonate into snow.
Kendo flung Uraraka forward, where she removed gravity from several falling students, thrown towards her by Sero while Izuku disappeared in a flash of light.
Tendrils of green energy whipped forward, narrowly catching Sato and Shinsou, while clawed feet like a velociraptor snatched Kirishima from the air.
"Hold on!" Astrodactyl squawked, circling down to the ground. "I'm still getting used to this guy!"
Minetta bounced off a pad of sticky balls on the ground as Tsu swung from a tree with her tongue, carrying Tokoyami under her arms.
"Release!" Urarraka called, dropping the rest of 1-A softly in the snow.
"Look out!" Kirishima shouted as a giant form emerged from the cloud of dust.
"A zero pointer?!" Kaminari dashed away as a giant metal fist plummeted towards the ground.
"Watch it!" Astrodactyl cawed, snatching Toru out of the way with an energy whip just as the ground erupted from the impact.
"DIE!" Bakugou blasted forward, detonating a barrage of explosions in his palms, turning the robot's head into slagged metal. He panted as he dropped back down on the ground, hands shaking.
"Uh… guys…" Uraraka's voice was weak. "I don't think hiking is the test…"
Three more robotic silhouettes emerged from ahead, towering above the treeline while several unblinking red eyes burned in the shadows of the forest around them.
"Revelry in the dark…" Tokoyami murmured.
"Robots?" Bakugou rumbled, his lips quirking. "Alright, you shitty extras, listen up! UA hasn't been what any of us expected and, I don't know about you damn nerds but, I've got a lot of built up frustration…"
Small explosions peppered up the lines on his forearms.
"So I say…" His face split into a feral grin. "Let's use this opportunity to cut loose."
"Hey, Eraserhead!" A sharp female voice called as the teacher dismounted the bus. "Haven't seen you in a while!"
"Kamiji." He smiled as he bowed in greeting. "I see you haven't mellowed out."
"You know it." Moe grinned. "And judging by how fast those kids are breaking your toys, I think you haven't changed a bit!"
"I've grown soft actually." Aizawa smirked. "Or so I'm told."
"Fantastic!" Burnin' laughed. "Then we can use this chance to beat those brats into shape!"
"The monitor room is all set up?"
"Popcorn and everything." Moe led the way up the pristine brushed concrete steps. "How long you think? I'd be surprised if they make it here by breakfast tomorrow!"
"Don't underestimate them." Aizawa cautioned. "Some of these kids have fought real villains."
"I know." Moe beamed, eyes glinting. "Todoroki-sama went over your specifications and made a few… alterations."
Aizawa's eyes widened.
The students of class 1-A stepped out from the treeline cautiously as, even exhausted and shaking, they were wary of any more attacks.
"Wow!" Moe called, clapping as they arrived. A group of other sidekicks were assembled behind her. "Under eight hours! You guys really are something!"
"Moe-chan!" Izuku beamed, stumbling over. "I feel like I haven't seen you in ages!"
"Hey, you brat!" Moe knuckled Izuku's hair, somehow messing it up even further. She leaned forward, throwing an arm around his shoulders. "I heard you took down a villain all by your ickle little self."
"Well, that's not exactly what happened." Izuku stammered. He felt blood rush, among other parts, to his face.
"You'll be staying at the New House." Moe purred, either oblivious to Izuku's discomfort or relishing in it. "You remember where that is, right Midoriya-kun?"
Izuku nodded shakily. The rest of 1-A watched the spectacle with tired enjoyment, apart from Kendo who focussed intensely on the forest beyond, slowly crossing her arms.
"Great!" Moe laughed, punching him in the shoulder. "You can lead the way then. Same rules as with the Agency 'racks."
"Grab your things from the bus." Aizawa added. "You'll be staying two to a room. Drop your bags off and come back down to the mess hall. After dinner you'll bathe and then tomorrow, the training camp really starts."
"Come on!" Bakugou dragged Kirishima towards the bus. "As Class Rep I get first pick!"
"No way!" Kaminari called, limping after them.
"Not… on… my… watch!" Sero added.
The brushed concrete path took the students through the mirrored glass doors. The ground floor was one long hallway, mirrored, with bedrooms lining the hallway walls on either side of the square foyer and identical bathrooms at the ends.
The interior of the facility was utilitarian, decorated sparsely with paintings and immaculately kept plants running up the walls from indoor planters. Elegant carvings traced the corners of the walls where concrete slabs met with tasteful seams.
"Damn, Todoroki." Mina gasped. "You live like this?"
"Explains a lot." Kaminari nodded.
"Boys are on the left and girls on the right." Izuku explained. "Showers are limited to 5 minutes at a time. Feel free to take any room that doesn't have the silver bar in front of the frame removed."
"You're coming with me!" Mina beamed, grabbing Kendo by the arm.
"I- okay?" Kendo followed, looking back over her shoulder to wave to her friends. "See you in the mess!"
"You and me again, Shoto?" Izuku asked, slinging his bag over his shoulder.
"No way." Shoto shook his head, eyes fixed on the Omnitrix.
"I will share with you." Tokoyami said, motioning for Izuku to follow.
They made their way down the hall to an open room.
"Do you want the left bed or the right?" Izuku asked, plopping his bag down on the dresser.
"I don't mind." Tokoyami shrugged.
"Fantastic." Izuku rubbed his hands together. "Let's get down to dinner then. I'm so hungry I haven't been able to transform in over an hour."
Tokoyami watched Izuku dash from the room. Alone in the dim bedroom, he shuddered, walking quickly to get back to the brightly lit hallway.
To everyone's delighted surprise, it turned out that Lunch Rush would be providing the food for dinner.
"Oh man." Izuku moaned, scarfing down his third helping. "I've missed Lunch Rush's cooking."
"That's because he's the only one who can keep up with your appetite!" Moe laughed, before her grin turned malicious. "Enjoy it while it lasts. The pampering ends tonight, Midoriya-kun."
Kendo scowled into her rice from across the table.
After a quick shower, Izuku melted into his bed with a grateful sigh.
"Midoriya?" Tokoyami asked, entering the room, fresh from the shower. "Are you awake?"
"Yeah," Izuku groaned. "What's up?"
"This is… difficult for me to ask…" Tokoyami wrung his hands. "But, do you mind if I keep a light on when we sleep?"
"Not at all." Izuku replied quickly, getting up from his bed to pull a roll-up room divider down from the roof with a smile. "Won't bother me one bit."
"Ah." Tokoyami sighed. "That's a relief. How did you know that was there?"
"The rooms are pretty much identical to the Agency Barracks." Izuku explained, burrowing back into his bed.
"I see. Sleep well, Izuku."
"You too, Fumikage."
"Good morning." Aizawa's tone of voice indicated that he didn't really care how good the morning was. "Yesterday's test was just a warm up. The teal training begins today. Bakugou, step forward."
Bakugou did so, catching a ball chucked by Aizawa.
"Let's start with a demonstration." Aizawa continued. "For those of you who are unaware, this is from the strength trials in the beginning of the semester. Bakugou's record was 705.2 metres. Show me how much you've improved."
"Go to HELL!" Bakugou shouted, then detonated a series of explosions as the ball disappeared.
"As I thought." Aizawa monotone. "709.9 metres."
What?!" Kirishima blanched.
"You've all grown stronger." Aizawa said through his scarf. "Your techniques and minds have improved, that's a fact, but your quirks haven't kept pace. There is a growing hostile force in the world outside the school. This training camp will aim to prepare you enough to face it and, more specifically, to get your provisional licences."
"Usually you only get to take your licence exam in second year." Moe's eyes burned with glee. "So we're gonna have to get you up to the right power level a whole year early."
"You'll wish you were dead from how difficult this will be." Aizawa grinned maliciously. "You're not just going to try and go beyond your limits… we're going to make you break them."
The wind rustled, eerie in the silence.
"Plus Ultra, right?" Aizawa's eyes glinted. "Show me what that means."
Izuku stood near the top of the mountain. Far below on the training grounds, his classmates were using high tech machines and obstacles to strain their quirks to the limit.
"Man you weren't kidding." A gust of green wind blasted tracks in the snow as Cyclone landed. He was one of the 35 sidekicks employed by the Endeavour agency, known for being powerful, but laid back. His quirk, Gale Force, allowed him to emit and control a wind like energy. "Fastcat really is fast!"
"Fasttrack." Izuku sighed.
"Yeah." Cyclone folded his arms. "So, let's get working on your quirk."
"I don't really know how to 'strain' my quirk." Izuku made quotation marks in the air with his fingers. "All of my transformations seem to be at their peak when I transform."
"So Todoroki-Sama says." Cyclone nodded. "And judging by how quickly you ran up here, I don't doubt you. But I wasn't talking about your transformations."
"I don't follow?" Izuku frowned. "My quirk has hard limitations. My transformations are super powerful, but I can only transform for ten minutes exactly. I can only change into the transformations I have unlocked, and the recharge time begins at ten minutes and grows longer the more tired I am."
"So you say." Cyclone grinned, holding out a stopwatch. "I told you to stay transformed until you 'time out'. Take a look at this."
"Twenty minutes?" Izuku's eyes widened. "But- that's- that's impossible… the only time I've ever stayed transformed nearly that long was…"
"In Hosu." Cyclone nodded smugly. "So perhaps your transformations are at their limits already, perhaps not. We'll see that this week. As for your ability to remain transformed and recharge faster…"
Izuku felt his stomach drop.
"Let's roll!" Cannonbolt grinned.
"For this transformation, we'll test the limits of your stamina." Cyclone explained. "Go down the mountain as fast as you can, and then back up. See if you can manage 15 minutes before timing out."
Cannonbolt curled up and blurred down the mountain. He was halfway back up by the time the Omnitrix began beeping. He grit his teeth and sped faster, reaching three quarters of the way before timing out. Izuku skipped like a stone in the snow, then trudged the rest of the way up the mountain.
"Twelve minutes." Cyclone tutted. "Next transformation."
Izuku sighed, then slapped the dial down.
"Be-right back!" Fasttrack smirked, disappearing in a blue blur, then reappeared a minute later. "See."
"Keep going." Cyclone pointed a finger down to the facility below.
Fasttrack's face fell.
A blue blur cut a path of yellow grass through the snow, melting it as he went.
"That's- that's three-hundred and-sixty-laps." Fasttrack shivered from the exertion as he jogged back up to Cyclone.
"Let's make it sixty one." Cyclone grinned.
The Omnitrix began flashing red with a series of beeps, causing Fasttrack to look up hopefully.
"Better make it a quick one." Cyclone said pensively. "I don't think your human form would appreciate another trip up the mountain."
Fasttrack's eyes widened, then he vanished in a blue flash.
"Come on-come on come-on!" He begged, pushing himself harder than he ever had before. He skidded to a halt at the mountain peak a full six seconds before the final red flash.
"Would you look at that?" Cyclone smirked as Izuku lay heaving for breath in the steaming snow. "Fifteen minutes."
"What?!" Izuku spat out a mouthful of snow.
"Here." Cyclone tossed a foil wrapped energy bar to Izuku. "Eat that. While I have you like this, we're gonna see how quickly you can transform again."
Izuku gulped.
"Four-Arms!" The tetramand flexed his massive arms, eight minutes later.
"Alright," Cyclone paged through his notes. "For this transformation, we'll test the limits of your strength and durability. Use the mountain to practise your striking."
"Oh Yeah!" Four-Arms battered the mountain, sending huge chunks of stone blasting out. "This is easy! Like punchin' through cardboard!"
Cyclone smirked. Thirteen minutes passed.
"Okay…" Four-Arms leaned against the gaping hole he carved in the mountainside, rolling one of his lower arms. "This is starting to sting."
"Punching through cardboard is easy." Cyclone explained. "But eventually even cardboard wears you down if there's enough of it. Keep going."
So they continued.
He couldn't really do much to challenge himself as Way Big, so instead they focussed on staying transformed, managing 17 minutes.
Bloxx stretched and contorted his body while Cyclone constantly broke him apart, testing the limits of his regeneration.
Stinkfly flew up and down the mountain carrying progressively heavier objects, such as trees he cut down with his tail.
Upchuck ate and regurgitated objects around him, while constantly staying mobile to avoid attacks from Cyclone.
Lodestar'scontrol over magnetism seemed near perfect, so his time was tested on focus, manipulating many different objects in different ways at the same time, and remaining transformed as long as possible.
Ripjaws swam laps in the lake, testing his agility and speed by catching coins Cyclone flung into the lake at random points, and practised using his enhanced strength to tear through trees and stone with his claws and jaws.
Heatblast tested the limits of his fire generation even as Cyclone sucked the oxygen from the air around him, and attempted using the force of his fire to hover in place.
As one of his newer transformations, Upgrade's time was spent testing his strength and elasticity as well as trying to discover his abilities. When they discovered his eye laser, they practised maintaining it, but found no limit before he timed out.
As Big Chill his strength, manoeuvrability and other abilities were tested. When he began breathing heavily from exertion, they discovered his breath had freezing abilities. Despite being near the end of his transformation at 16 minutes, they had him maintain his freezing breath as long as he could.
Diamondhead's durability was tested but nothing he attacked, or that attacked him, caused any damage. After establishing his physical limits, Diamondhead spent the rest of his time focussing on controlling and producing his crystal shards, learning that he could create larger and smaller constructs through the process.
Astrodactyl avoided attacks from Several students who had projectile type attacks while Cyclone took a well deserved break. They also strained the limit of green energy he could shoot from his wrists while maintaining his top speed.
Waterhazard turned out to be even more durable than Diamondhead, and had the ability to drain, and manipulate, moisture from the air. He was used as a punching bag for the students with strength enhancing and destructive quirks.
He discovered that, beyond omnidirectional vision, Eye Guy could shoot beams of energy from any of the eyes on his body. He could even focus to an extent to create or not create fire, and even create electrical shocks. Most of his time was spent trying not to make Eye puns.
As Wildvine, he could manipulate plants, and generate vines at will. He was fast, elastic and much stronger than expected. He also learned that he could generate seed pods on his back that could explode when thrown. Taking a page from Bakugou's playbook, he was able to create different yields in the explosions as well, making them larger, smaller, or even generate smoke.
Cyclone returned to training Izuku with a vengeance, testing the limits of Spidermonkey's endurance and speed. They also determined the limits of his ability to generate webs, and discovered that he possessed enhanced reflexes to such an extent that he could almost predict attacks before they happened.
They found no task that could challenge the dimwitted Armodrillo. He shrugged off massive hits with little effort, and dug a tunnel deep into the mountain with no effort, so instead he spent his time and slow thinking on trying to spar with Cyclone who couldn't harm him, but evaded his attacks with equally little effort.
The viscous Goop turned out to be completely impervious to physical attacks, and able to alter his body's acidity at will. The only weakness they found was that the small shuttle the Omnitrix dial rested on would throw him into disarray if struck, sending his body flying after it.
Echo-Echo turned out to be an incredibly useful form with cloning abilities. After spending almost 20 minutes without discovering a limit to his cloning ability, they discovered an unexpected side effect. When all the clones vocalised in unison, they were able to create massively devastating sonic attacks, as evidenced by the track of open earth where a large portion of the forest used to be.
At the end of the day, Jury Rigg was Cyclone's least favourite transformation, seeing as the little gremlin disassembled the sidekick's radio, turning it into a jetpack. The rest of Jury Rigg's time was spent cackling madly while dodging attacks from Cyclone, all the while using said jetpack.
The rasping Ghostfreak turned out to be extremely vulnerable to light, burning from sunlight. In the shadows of the forest they discovered his penchant for invisibility, intangibility and, terrifyingly, peeling back his skin to reveal a set of prehensile tentacles.
Izuku couldn't explain it, but he felt… wrong… after using Ghostfreak.
After another three hours of intense training later found Izuku and an equally exhausted group of students from both 1-A and 1-B in the mess hall.
"I could eat a horse." Kirishima complained.
"I can't eat another bite." Sato shook his head, face turning green.
"Like we said yesterday." Moe's voice cut out over the grumbling students. "No more pampering. You wanna eat? Make the food yourselves. Feel free to use the kitchen and outside facilities, just know that we turned off the power for the appliances."
"You guys are true villains." Mina sobbed.
"How do you live with yourselves?!" Kaminari agreed.
"In a disaster, it's the job of the rescue heroes to take care of people." Aizawa explained. "That includes making sure everyone has something to eat. This is part of your training, especially those among you who want to become rescue heroes."
"UA never misses a teaching opportunity, does it?" Uraraka sighed.
"Is there gonna be enough for everyone?" Izuku trembled as his stomach rumbled.
The food wouldn't have been served in a restaurant, but not a single student in either 1-A or 1-B cared.
The rest of the training camp continued in the same manner, the teachers pushing the students to their limits while, time and again, the students broke them.
The students who failed the practical spent their nights revising, while the rest spent their time doing inter-class activities, and getting to know their yearmates. They watched movies, played games and grew closer.
Their efforts training also paid off.
By the end of the week Izuku could effortlessly stay transformed for twenty minutes, and by pushing himself, even stay transformed for as long as thirty minutes, even while physically exerted. His recharge time could be as low as three minutes, as long as he wasn't too tired.
He could even manage to transform for as long as six minutes, while completely physically exhausted and without food for most of the day.
Despite his growing strength and increasing mastery over his alien forms, he couldn't help but feel something was wrong.
The universe felt like a stretched slingshot. Events that should not or should have happened differently pulled, building energy. The strain was building too far and before long, the tension would release, unleashing chaos on the world.
"Meet me in the middle…" Shigaraki rasped. His arm was strapped into cuffs by his side, each of his fingers individually restrained. "The unjust man says…"
Waves rocked Tartarus prison.
"He never stops, does he?" Gyges sighed, eyes fixed on one of the many monitors in the main security room.
"All day every day." Briareos gruffed.
"Meet me in the middle, the unjust man says…" Shigaraki continued muttering, voice acrid from the static sound produced by the monitor. "So you take a step towards him… and he takes two steps back… meet me in the middle, the unjust man says… meet me-"
Shigaraki's voice stopped, his chapped lips splitting into a smile.
Gyges leaned forward, startled.
"What's going on?" Briareos snapped.
"Stay on your toes, boys." Snatch rumbled. From the shadows in the corner of the room, he narrowed his eyes. "Somethin's not right here."
The storm broke.
Rain thundered the roof of Tartarus prison.
On a rooftop in the city across the bridge, a flash of lightning illuminated a small army of dark shapes.
Muscular shifted, anticipation mounting.
Moonfish clinked forward, carried by his bladed teeth.
The small horde of Noumu chittered and chattered, restless at their master's side.
All For One matched his apprentice's smile.
AN:
Man this chapter was hard to write.
Things are really going to start diverging from canon from this point on.
The next two or so chapters are going to be the last that really resemble canon events.
Hope you like where I'm going with it. :)
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TheRealD3lph0xL0v3r
I will, as usual, try to keep up the amazing work :p
No Wild Pussycats here, I'm afraid. And besides, I don't think Izuku is the type to leave his class behind to make sure he gets something anyway.
Mark on the other hand… Yup. No arguments. xD
CCSakuraforever
So Izuku thought that the students of 1-A already knew that the day was Bakugou's birthday, thus unwittingly revealed it, which made Bakugou angry since he wanted to keep it secret.
I hope the start of this chapter will answer your other question. :)
Laitou
I'm glad you liked it! I'm exited to be writing again!
Guest
Here is the next chapter, just for you. ;3