Back in the Monitor Room, Claire and Wanda reentered as Peter watched on the big screen. He turned with a big smile towards his classmate, "Wanda! Congratulations on passing!!" He tossed her a bottle of water.

The girl in red blushed slightly, catching the offered beverage, "Thanks Peter. Honestly though, the end of the fight was such a blur, I barely remember it."

"Well you were pretty intense," said the boy. "It was just like your fight with Flash back in the Sports Festival."

"That reminds me," she said, unscrewing the bottle. "I know he calls you 'Wall-Crawler' for... less than friendly reasons. But why do you call him 'Flash'? Was that his nickname or something?"

"Kind of. He did use to play on the school football team," Peter replied, before smirking. "But let's just say he didn't get that name because he runs fast."

Wanda's eyes widened slightly, "Oooh, that sounds like a story! Tell me!! Tell me!!"

Peter grinned mischievously. "I mentioned we knew each other since we were kids, right?" Wanda nodded in response. "Well, one day at daycare, 3 year old Eugene Thompson decided it was too hot outside. So, he takes everything off and runs over to the kiddie pool, buck naked!"

The redhead spat out her water at the mental image, and began to laugh. "Oh my gosh!!" She exclaimed, "That is adorable!"

"Right?" Peter laughed along with her. "About a year later, his Quirk manifests and the guy started getting fawned over by everyone. Parents, teachers, the other kids..."

"But not you?" Asked Wanda.

"Oh I thought his Quirk was cool, there's no arguing that," the boy nodded. "But I also saw what it was doing to him. Blew up his ego, made him think he was better than everyone. And when word got out that I was Quirkless, he decided to use me as his own punching bag to make himself feel good."

This made the girl cringe, "Oof... That sounds rough..."

Peter shrugged, "Wasn't fun, and I knew I couldn't beat him physically. So one day, I started calling him 'Flasher' in public. Just a little dig to remind him that someone remembers a more embarrassing time he'd like to forget."

"Subtle warfare, I like it," Wanda nodded.

"Eventually, the nickname was shortened to 'Flash' once he started playing football and it stuck. But nobody knows how it started, except me," the boy grinned again.

A noise interrupted their laughter as Claire walked in though the door. "Alright you two, settle down," she said. "It looks like the next team is on the move. I suggest you watch this one closely."

"That's right, Roberto and Ava are up against Daredevil..." Peter commented.

"I hope they pass," added Wanda nervously, taking another sip of her water.

Roberto rushed down the dark alleyway, Ava right on his heels. "This place is like a maze," he said. "The paths are too narrow. No way I'll be able to get the Hell Charger in here."

"It's fine," replied Ava, an edge to her voice. "I've been itching for this anyhow."

The boy looked back, "Itching for what?"

"A chance to succeed, what else?" She replied, her yellow eyes narrowed slightly.

Roberto's eyebrow raised as they continued to run, "Well you'll get your shot. Your Quirk gives you enhanced senses, right? Let me know if you notice anything strange."

"Guess your eye's on the prize too, Reyes," Ava commented. "You got a plan or something?"

"Working on it..." Roberto replied, looking around as they continued down a new street.

"I'd expect nothing less," she said.

"What do you mean?" Asked the boy. "It's nothing special."

This made Ava pause, "'Nothing special'?"

Roberto stopped to turn around and face his partner.

"As students who got into M.A. through recommendations, we started from the same place," she went on. "And in terms of what practical skills a hero needs, I'd say we're at about the same level. The difference is, I haven't done anything that stands out."

"During the Cavalry Battle, I was under mind control the whole time, so I didn't feel worthy of a spot in the finals. Which means now more than ever, I need to prove myself. Both as a hero in training, and as the next bearer of the family name."

The boy said nothing, clearly this had been bothering his partner for some time. But before he could comment, something caught his eye, a flicker of movement just overhead.

"Did you see that?" Roberto asked quietly.

Ava looked up immediately, her eyes narrowing. "It's him," she said.

"If you know, then you should take action," said a gruff voice. The students look around for the source of the noise. But before Ava could utilize her enhanced hearing, a red baton bounced off the wall and nearly hit her and Roberto before ricocheting upwards.

From above, Daredevil leapt down, catching the baton and landing in front of his students. "In this case, I'd run like hell," he said darkly. Roberto tried to summon a chain, but Daredevil let out an ultrasonic whistle to disorient the boy.

Roberto grit his teeth, struggling with the pain. He could still move, but that whistle messed with his head. Meaning he couldn't use his Quirk. "Ava, go!!!" He yelled out, throwing a punch at the hero in red as his partner rushed off.

"So that's your plan?" Daredevil comments, leaping backwards. He put his batons together until they made a clicking noise. As the hero pulled apart his weapons, a thin, but strong looking wire was now attached to the ends. Shooting one baton forwards, Daredevil manipulated the other until the wire wrapped around his prey; Roberto.

Securing him to hang from a street pole, the hero tightened the wire and separated it from the batons. "This is perfect," he said. "Either way, I was planning on catching you first since your Quirk is the most troublesome." Daredevil turned off in the direction Ava was running.

"You really think you've caught me, Diablo?" Hissed the tied up boy. "I can burst this wire with my chains, or melt it with my flames..."

"Go ahead, just watch where you fall," replied the hero, tossing back a handful of sharp, metal objects that spread out over the area under Reyes.

"Caltrops?" Asked the boy incredulously. "What are you, some kind of ninja?"

"Something like that..." Daredevil snarked, turning back towards his student. "Things are a bit different from the Danger Room, or the Punisher for that matter. I know the Quirks I'm up against and the number of heroes."

The hero in red took out a new strand of wire and fed it into the end of one of his batons. "I'm fully prepared to take you both down," he went on. "The plan you came up with puts the burden of fighting on yourself."

Roberto stared down at his teacher.

"You saw what she was going through and wanted to be considerate towards her, but maybe you should've talked it over more." With that last remark, he leapt up the fire escape and took off across the building, leaving Roberto with no way to safely escape.

Meanwhile, Ava was using all of her skill to leap from building to building, keeping up a steady pace. How much further is the damn gate!? She thought desperately. Isn't there a shortcut or something?? Where am I even running to?? Why am I running??

A noise caught her attention as Daredevil used his wired up batons to swing over from another building. Ever since the Sports Festival, she's had a lot to prove, thought the hero, zeroing in on her position. As if on cue, Ava pivoted around and got into a fighting stance.

Just as I thought... Daredevil landed atop a roof and threw a baton at the girl. The wire wrapped around Ava's arm, and he yanked back to hold her in place. His student was undeterred, however. Ava held out her free hand flexed her fingers. A set of white, steel claws emerged from the fingertips and she deftly sliced through the wire.

Ava leapt backwards, getting to a higher vantage point to be on the same level as Daredevil. "You should know," she said. "I'm going to make this hurt."

The hero assumed a fighting stance, "You'll try."

At this provocation, Ava leapt forward, narrowly avoiding the other baton Daredevil threw her way. Swiping at him with her claws in a fighting style reminiscent of her namesake, the hero in training had her teacher on the figurative ropes. But Daredevil's own enhanced senses served him well, avoiding each slash of the claws and using a mix of boxing and Krav Maga techniques.

Eventually, he grabbed her arm and judo threw her down on the roof where she landed hard on her back. Ava shook her head to clear it, getting to her feet and preparing to fight again.

She's determined, I'll give her that, thought the blind hero. Ava's always been something of a perfectionist, but after everything that's happened, she's built up an overwhelming sense of inadequacy compared to her peers. This drive to prove herself is going to create more problems that it'll solve. As much as I'd like to help her regain her confidence, that's not my job right now...

"Raaaauuughhh!!!" Ava yelled as she struck at Daredevil with her claws. The teacher pursed his lips together and gave a sharp, high frequency whistle. It destabilized Ava's equilibrium and she lost focus of her Quirk. Using this moment, Daredevil pushed his student off the roof.

Thankfully, Ava was able to get her bearings fast enough to land on her hands and feet in a very cat-like manner. Some scenario appeared to be going through her head as she stared up at her opponent. Finally, she turned and rushed down the street. Back towards her tied up partner. Much better, Daredevil grinned as he took off after her.

Back where he was left, Roberto Reyes swung himself back and forth on the wire. But try as he might, the boy couldn't make his legs reach the post.

"Hijo de Puta," he swore under his breath. Not that it mattered, since nobody else was around. Or so he thought.

"Reyes!!" His head snapped up to see Ava rushing back towards him.

"Ava!?" He was surprised, "What're you doing back here?"

"I'm sorry," she said. "He cut me off, and much as I hate to admit, I can't beat him alone."

Up on the building skyline, a figure in red leap from rooftop to rooftop. Roberto saw him first. "Well if you've got a plan, I'm all ears," he said. "But if you're gonna do something, do it quick! He's coming!!"

Ava whipped her head around to see the teacher approaching. "I've got something, but I'm kinda working on the fly here. So bear with me!" She gathered several of the caltrops from the ground and sliced the wire holding Reyes. He dropped down safely and burst free of his bindings with the chains.

Up above, Daredevil bounced from rooftop to rooftop, his speed increasing as he approached the target. The teacher let out a hiss, the aspect of his Quirk that lets him visualize his surroundings.

Looks like Ava's freed Roberto, he thought. Good, they're going to try and fight together, definitely a smarter alternative. But...

"When I give a signal, can you bind him in one of those chains?" Asked Ava.

"Sure, but it won't be any good if he uses his Quirk," Roberto replied.

"Listen, I've been watching him closely as we fought," she explained. "He hasn't been using that 'whistle' of his as much, and when he does, it's when he's at a close range."

She turned to her partner, "My guess is ever since the attack on the EDR, the range of his Quirk has decreased, and the interval in between uses has increased. If my timing is right, he's about to use it again when he's close enough. You have to catch him before he can use the whistle."

"If I transform, I have a bit more range with the chains," said Roberto. "But you'll need to distract him somehow. Get his attention, distract that radar of his."

Beneath her mask, Ava grinned. "I've got that covered," she said.

Getting in closer, Daredevil could feel the heat rising as he approached the student's position. He didn't need his enhanced senses to know the boy had turned into his Ghost Rider form. Daredevil sucked in a quick breath of air, preparing to use the ultrasonic whistle as he leapt towards the students.

"NOW!!!" Yelled Ava. Through his enhanced senses, Daredevil could detect something being thrown his way. Something small, sharp, and a lot of them... The caltrops!!

His concentration broken, the hero quickly raised his arms to shield his head from the projectiles. Suddenly, he could feel hot metal wrapping around his torso, clinking into place as it snakes upwards and trapped his arms in place.

He landed hard on the ground as Roberto held a chain in each hand, the flames within his skull burning brightly. Ava meanwhile, rushed over and attached the yellow cuffs around Daredevil's gauntlets. This accomplished, the buzzer went off to signal the end of the exam.

Roberto undid the chains and powered down, allowing Daredevil to stand up. "You've been improving your control over your flames," he said. "I thankfully don't feel burned, but I definitely felt the heat. Keep up the hard work."

The boy nodded, but something was nagging at him. "I can't help but feel this went a bit too smoothly," Reyes commented. "Didn't you hear us talking with that super hearing of yours?"

Daredevil nodded, "I caught tail end, but it was enough to get the gist of things." Ava looked a bit downtrodden, she'd forgotten that aspect of her teacher's abilities.

"What I didn't know was you'd timed and monitored my Quirk to this extent," he went on. "And on top of that, you used my own weapons against me. That was very well executed."

Under her mask, Ava's eyes widened at the praise as Daredevil began to walk off. "Remember today, both of you," he said. "Quick thinking and improvising are key tools for a hero. And you did it better than me..."

As if to back his statement, the loudspeaker went off. "Roberto Reyes and Ava Ayala... PASS!!!"

Ava removed her mask, her eyes tearing up slightly as her mouth formed into a big smile. "YES!!!!" She exclaimed, punching her fist into the air. Roberto simply nodded and gave a slight smile.

Up in the Monitor Room, Claire smiled at the screen as Peter and Wanda celebrated their classmate's victory. "You big softy," she said, quietly watching as the Devil of Hell's Kitchen made his way towards the exit.

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Barber's Chair

• I have Spectacular Spider-Man to thank for the origin of Flash's nickname.

• So, this battle ended a bit similarly to the source material, albeit the motives of Ava are a bit different. While Yaoyorozu was struggling to get over indecisiveness and regain confidence, Ava's personality is similar to that of the Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon, hyper focused and a true perfectionist. She's had something to prove ever since the Sports Festival, and this is her chance to do now what she couldn't then.