Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia. If I did, I would have given all of Class 1-A and 1-B equal love and attention.
Also, please no scam comments. I don't have any interest in making my fics into comics.
As the students raced through the gate, Present Mic was up in the announcer box with Aizawa.
"And they're off to a racing start! Care to give any predictions as to who might win, Sho?"
Aizawa sighed. "How the hell did you rope me into this?"
"Come on! Do it for our friendship!"
"Fair enough. Right now I couldn't give any sort of rational answer off the top of my head. Even General Ed students can find new uses for their Quirks that they didn't think of during the Entrance Exam. It was designed to be as impartial as possible, but sometimes a promising student slips through the cracks because they don't fully understand how the exam works. It'll be interesting to see if any of them can prove they have more potential than a student from the Hero Course."
The gate was getting crowded, already showcasing the first unofficial obstacle of the race. However, many of the students in Class 1-A and even some of 1-B were finding their own way through.
Minoru launched his hairballs to bounce off people, Izuku leaped above everyone's heads and ran along one of the walls along with Le, who seemed to skate on them. Ben simply grew wings made from aurora light to fly over everyone and Morimoto turned his arms into bird wings to get above everyone.
The biggest lead came when Shoto launched an ice wave to trap most of the students and skate ahead. He then noticed Katsuki, Momo, Fumikage, Yuuga, and Eijirou using their own tricks to bypass the ice. In fact, all of Class 1-A was taking an early lead over the others.
Izuku used great leaps to stomp on the ice, cracking it to make it easier to navigate, adapting his leg muscles and bones to cushion the impact. Kirby inhaled some ice and was soon donned in a blue parka with an ice crown, his skin also turning pale blue as he seemed to gracefully skate on Shoto's ice floor.
Wankuro transformed into a Wendigo, allowing her to move across the ice without issue while Morimoto turned his feet into skates to move on the ice. Mayumi protuded energy skates from her own cybernetic feet to get ahead and Akatani was lagging behind, an uncertain look on his face.
"So, are you ready to win the festival?"
Akatani turned around to see Hitoshi was tailing beside him, a grin on his face.
"'No, actual-"
"Help me across the course."
Akatani complied unthinkingly, carrying Hitoshi on his back.
Minoru tossed his hairballs and bounced off them while Tsumi seemed to move across on all fours, which were clawed and taloned. Shoto noticed that most of Class 1-B was doing well at dodging his ice too, save for one blonde who seemed to focus too much on hanging back and asking other students about their Quirks.
"Damn you, Monoma..." Le cursed internally as he saw this. "Your arrogance already got our class in trouble before. Now your ego is sabotaging your own efforts."
Suddenly, the robots from the entrance exam appeared. Minoru barely dodged one attack before landing in Tsumi's arms.
"Looks like we hit the first obstacle!"
"Awwww crap!" Minoru exclaimed.
"Holy shit!" Denki called out. "I think those are the zero-pointers!"
"So what! We've smashed 'im!" Wankuro said with a courageous grin. "LET'S GO!"
As for Izuku and his friends, he sprouted black wings to carry Tsumi into the air as she activated her regular Light Buster and charged up a shot before aiming it at one of the zero-pointers.
"MEGA BUSTER SHOT!"
The robot's head was caved in from the powerful light blast, falling limp to the ground. Morimoto turned his legs into springs and bounced into the air before morphing both his arms into a giant hammer that he slammed on another zero-pointer while Ben unleashed a massive plasma storm.
"They certainly make it look easy," Shoto admitted, conjuring up an ice wall. "But I wish these robots were a bit more challenging. Especially since dear old dad is watching."
The ice hit another zero-pointer, completely wiping it out. He deliberately timed it so that it was frozen while off-balance. Too late to stop Izuku and his friends, who had pulled ahead, but perhaps enough to give himself more of a lead and hurry to catch up.
One of the robots ended up landing on Eijirou, but he was able to smash his way through using Hardening and break free.
"Damn you, Todoroki! Anyone but me would have been killed if this fell on them!"
"Damn that jerk!" Called out Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu from Class 1-B, his entire body turned into pure metal with his Quirk, Steel. "I'm gonna smash that ice guy when I get my hands on him! Anyone but me would have been killed if this fell on them!"
"You gotta be kidding me!" Eijirou complained as he ran forward. "Our Quirks are basically the same! How am I supposed to stand out with someone like you around?"
Sero and Fumikage flew over the robots using their tape and Dark Shadow respectively. Minoru was riding on Tsumi's back as she scaled up a robot with clawed hands and feet. Most of the other students were getting stymied and working together, with only the Hero Course students from Classes 1-A and 1-B leading the pack.
"Class 1-A has really learned not to hesitate. My own class is doing everything they can to keep up. However..." Vlad King began as he looked at the blonde kid. "Monoma Neito thinks he's clever by hanging back and observing the other students. He forgets this isn't about the competition, it's about standing out from the crowd. Even in the early matches, going hard and doing well, even if you don't make it to the next round, can get you noticed."
"Did he not learn anything from your earlier lesson?" Serpenshia asked.
"I fear he took away the wrong lesson from it. Most of Class 1-B has come to understand that what happened at the USJ was a harrowing experience while Le, Kirby, Wankuro, and Akatani already knew from the start what it was, which is why they were the only ones who passed." Vlad King said. "But Monoma only took the fact that the lesson was staged as proof that the USJ was staged."
Tooru noticed some of the debris from one of the robots, a flat piece of metal, and smirked as she took out some genetic fibers that she was allowed to use to turn an object she touched invisibly. Her gym outfit was also specially designed with this material so that she could take full advantage of her Quirk.
With the debris in hand, she smashed through some of the robots, using the metal as both a weapon and shield. Meanwhile, Momo had undone part of her top in order to create a large cannon to take down the robots and Oujiro smashed through with his tail.
Kirby had inhaled one of the robots and was now clad in some kind of mecha armor, which had all sorts of features such as rocket fists, a jetpack, and missiles.
"Normally we recommend avoiding the zero-pointers, but if you have to fight them, they're just big, slow, dumb pieces of metal. Easy to hit. You just gotta do it smart." Snipe said as he watched the Hero Course decimate said robots
All-Might nodded, eagerly watching Izuku as he continued to dominate the top spots in the race.
"You're doing well, in spite of the pressure, my boy. The world has its eyes on you right now, and you're not disappointing them."
"The students have started to pass the Robo-Inferno!" Present Mic said excitedly. "But next up is a high-rise obstacle that we like to call... The Fall!"
The Fall turned out to be a deep pit, with numerous columns inside connected by tightropes.
"When did they have time to build something like this?" Ochako wondered.
"This is where I get to shine, ribbit," Tsuyu said as she made a great leap and effortlessly landed on one of the tightropes, clinging to it with ease.
Another female chuckle came up behind Mina and Ochako. It was a girl with bright pink hair wearing technological goggles.
"This is my chance to show what my super cute babies can do. My support items will steal the spotlight."
"Who's this?" Mina asked.
"Her name's Mei Hatsume, she's a classmate of mine in the Support Course," Mayumi said as she stopped by the two. "Her Quirk, Zoom, lets her see things from far away."
Mei fired off grapple lines attached to her waist and flew across the pit using a set of hover soles. Mayumi chuckled as she activated magnetic braces in her cybernetic feet to connect to the tightrope and swiftly run across.
"My super cute babies are sure to make a splash! I hope all those companies out there are watching!"
Up ahead, the race was still neck and neck with Izuku, Katsuki, Ben, and Morimoto, who were making giant leaps with their Quirks and not even using the tightropes. Shoto skated across said tightropes using his ice, only using his left side to heat himself up when necessary.
However, Ben then immediately saw something up ahead and his eyes widened.
"Heads up, boys! Minefield!"
"Big deal, we're all blast-proof!" Katsuki scoffed. "Let's just barrel through and reach the finish line!"
Tsumi cackled as she flew over the minefield with Minoru still riding on her back, screaming his head off as Le suddenly surrounded himself in cyan energy and zipped around like a laser while Kirby, still in his Mecha Form, flew with his jetpack. Wankuro had turned into a Garuda and was flying alongside Kirby and Le while Akatani was still carrying Hitoshi in a dazed state.
"Oooh, this is gonna be a challenge!" Morimoto smirked.
"This is where the big upsets can happen, folks!" Present Mic called out. "The minefield is the equalizer of our Obstacle Race! Those in the lead are at a big disadvantage, and those who fell behind have a chance to catch up!"
While still carrying Minoru, Tsumi spotted Shoto catching up to the others, trying to avoid the mines while propelling himself with quick ice shots. Clicking her tongue, she then channeled dark purple miasma in her hands before spinning around and throwing it.
"Get ready for some chaos!"
The miasma's impact caused a massive detonation in front of Shoto. Izuku took advantage of this to position himself near the explosion so the shockwave propelled him forward. The others noticed the ice path and quickly raced forward.
"Wha-? Where am I?" Akatani asked in a dazed state.
"Don't ask questions! Just keep running!" Hitoshi said as he got off Akatani's shoulders and moved on foot.
"Wait! What the hell did you do to me?!"
Tooru gathered together a bunch of mines in order to propel herself ahead of the pack. As for Shoto, he recovered from Tsumi's trick and snarled furiously while Ben noticed and shook his head.
"What an arrogant piece of shit. Still not giving it his all..."
"These students are so amazing! Just what are you teaching them, Sho?!" Present Mic called out.
"This has nothing to do with me. Each of them is powered by their own drive. Midoriya especially has developed his own battle style, taking cues from both All-Might and Regenizard."
"You heard it here first, folks! Aizawa is a bad teacher!"
"Hey!"
Ultimately, Izuku made his way past the gate first, followed closely by Tsumi, Le, Kirby, Wankuro, and Minoru, then Ben, Mayumi, and Morimoto, Katsuki and Ochako, Akatani, Hitoshi, and the rest of 1-A and 1-B.
Needless to say, the crowd went wild while back at the Midoriya household, Inko was crying tears of joy as she watched with the Bakugous and her husband, Anthony 'Tony' Panelle-Midoriya AKA Regenizard.
"That's our boy, Inko." The Hard-to-Destroy Hero smiled proudly.
"Hey, it's that kid who helped Elle-Ate beat that Sludge Villain," Mount Lady said.
Metal Bat gave an impressed whistle. "Kid really knows how to take full advantage of his Quirk. No wonder he caught All-Might's eye."
"Isn't his dad your pal Regenizard?" Death Arms asked Vigorshy, who nodded.
"Yes, Regenizard and I were old classmates back in our school days. Humorously enough, we both went to UA on recommendation from the SCP Foundation."
Tomura and the Scarlet Council were also watching the Sports Festival. Begrudgingly, Tomura had to commend Izuku's success.
"I honestly would have been disappointed if he couldn't clear the obstacle race. Anyone who can practically beat me on first go yet lose to a bunch of NPCs can't be worth my time."
Sin Scholar hummed. "Yes, you see it, don't you...the drive to challenge everything that boy stands for. THAT is what we want you to become."
Izuku took a few seconds to catch his breath before looking around at the cheering crowd and spotted All-Might applauding him. Smiling, Midoriya raised his fist to the sky, giving a cheer of victory.
"You can sure take a whooping, can't ya?!" Ben laughed as he and Morimoto lifted their best friend up on their shoulders.
Already the students of the Business Course were talking about how Izuku would be easy to market. Since the Business Course had no interest in truly participating in the events, none of them had any desire to be actual Pro Heroes, they instead performed market simulations on the other participants and ran vendors around the festival grounds.
Katsuki came out of the gate completely sore, and in fifth place, but still satisfied with the result.
"Way to beat that Icy-Hot bastard, Deku. I knew at least one of us had to."
Shoto, however, was not as satisfied. Endeavor was the #2 Hero, and right now Shoto was feeling far too much like this was a Xerox generation, with him all the way in twentieth place.
"Deku!" Ochako called out, running over, tired but excited after getting sixteenth place. "That was amazing! I can't believe you got first place!"
Without thinking, she wound up hugging Izuku, causing him to go red and for the rest of his friends to smirk as Mayumi came in, having gotten tenth. Tenya cleared his throat to get their attention, and Ochako quickly let Midoriya go out of embarrassment.
"That was outstanding work, Midoriya. Even with my speed, I was only able to get sixth place. Still respectable, though. I just hope my brother was watching."
"You hoping to intern with him when this is over?" Izuku asked.
"Our family has had a long history of learning from each other. Though sometimes we branch out and improve what we already have by learning from other agencies." Tenya said. "While I would like to show Tensei how much I've improved, I feel I could learn better from someone outside my family's agencies."
"Either that or you could try learning from one of the SCP Foundation Heroes or even one of the S-Rankers," Morimoto noted. "I think Flashy Flash could give you some pointers."
"The obstacle race is officially settled! Let's take a look at the final standings!" Midnight called out.
Everyone looked at the scoreboard to see that everyone from Class 1-A and 1-B had passed, along with Hitoshi and Mei.
"Whooo! I know you're also a Hero Course student but TWO Support Course students passing?" Mei cheered to Mayumi. "That's just unthinkable!"
Mayumi giggled. "You really gave quite a show there, Mei."
"Now don't you little angels worry if you didn't make the cut. We've prepared other opportunities for you to shine!" Midnight said. "But right now is where the real fun begins. This next round will provide you with the chance to really thrust yourself into the limelight!"
"MOM! I KNOW THIS IS YOUR HERO PERSONA BUT COME ON!" Ben complained.
Midnight giggled as she ignored her adopted son before spinning the roulette, which soon landed on...
"CAVALRY BATTLE!"
"Ah, man! I'm terrible at those!" Denki complained.
"Alright!" Wankuro cheered.
"All participants will form teams of two to four, with one person riding on top. No different from your typical playground game, but with one difference. Each of you has been assigned a different point value based on your position in the Obstacle Race." Midnight explained. "Depending on who is teamed up, they will have a different point value. The points go up in increments of five, with the person in 42nd only being worth five points and so on up. However, the person in first will be worth a whopping ten million points!"
Izuku blanched in disbelief as he realized this just painted a massive target on his back. Ben, Morimoto, and Mayumi winced sympathetically while Kirby waddled over and patted Izuku on the leg to console him.
"This would be a chance for anyone to go from zero to sixty going into the final round. I'll need to make sure I pick a good team for this..." Izuku said to himself as he looked over to Todoroki. "Especially if I'm going to push him to finally stop holding back."
Figured I'd do these one challenge by chapter to make the pacing more easier.
Also, figured I'd give you the rundown on the other three additional 1-B student's Quirks.
-BIO TIME-
[LEDEN 'LE' ULTIMAVE]
Quirk: Chaos Force
Quirk Description: Chaos Force allows Le to tap into a unique energy field that allows him to use a myriad of different powers limited only by his imagination. He can fire spears of energy, move at super speeds, teleport, create weapons and other constructs, and more.
[KIRBY HOSHIBOSHI]
Quirk: Hoyo
Quirk Description: Hoyo allows Kirby to inhale just about anything no matter how big it may be. Certain things he inhales will allow him to transform into different forms, each with their own unique abilities and powers. Too much damage will make him lose the transformation and he can consume just about anything and store it in a pocket dimension in his stomach.
[WANKURO NIKAIDO]
Quirk: Genome
Quirk Description: Genome allows Wankuro to transform into a wide variety of animals and other beasts, including ones from myth such as werewolves, wendigos, garudas, minotaurs, mermaids, and more. Each transformation has its own unique capabilities and she can switch between them on the fly at will.