Using Wanda's Quirk, the students burst through the door into the next hallway. Unfortunately, this too has been sealed off. "Blocked again!" Azari said bitterly.

"Great," put in Kei, looking around for another exit, but to no avail. "So what're we supposed to do now?"

Wanda stepped forward, looking visibly tired. "Should I try and break this one open too?" She asked, raising a hand.

"No," replied Peter, stopping her arm from going higher. "You've been pushing yourself with your Quirk all night, I can tell you're running on empty."

"Yeah, plus if you keep busting down doors, it'll alert other villains to our position," added Laura. "Save whatever power you've got left, you'll probably end up needing it later."

Wanda sighed and nodded, lowering her hand, "So how do we get further? Toni? You know this place better than we do."

The girl in question looks over their surroundings, "Based on our location, we're just below the maintenance room for the solar power system. Meaning there should be... aha!" She pointed toward the ceiling, "A hatch!"

"That's perfect!" Azari declared. "There's probably an emergency ladder in the maintenance room, correct?"

"Well, yeah," Toni hesitated. "But there's a problem. It's a manual release, so someone would have to be inside that room to let it down for us. The only way to get there would be to climb through the vent, out to the exterior wall, and then climb until they got to the correct floor before finding the ladder."

"So one of us will have to go through a cramped space like that..." Laura pondered, before turning to Kei. "What about you, shrimp? I think this is a time your size'll come in handy!"

"First off, enough with the height jokes. They're as dull as your bone blades," the boy replied, sarcastically. "Second, I've still got Fireclaw battling downstairs. I can't draw two monsters at once, it takes a big toll on my body."

"Well if we're talking about climbing walls and not falling, then I should probably do it," Peter spoke up. "My Quirk lets me stick to pretty much any surface, so it's made for the job."

"That could work..." Toni said thoughtfully. "You'll still have to fit through the vents though, Peter. Might be a tight squeeze..."

"Hmmm, true," said the boy, looking up at the vent. "Guess I'll just have to get naked!" And he began to quickly remove his outfit.

"Whaaaaaa!?!?" Wanda practically screamed, turning bright red in embarrassment.

Antonia covered her eyes with her hands, while Laura watched in perverse fascination, a cheeky grin on her face. Kei, meanwhile, brought out his sketchbook, ready to take down the sudden bit of 'inspiration'.

"P-Parker!" Azari stuttered, looking away. "While I admire your dedication to the task at hand, I don't think that you-"

"Ah, I'm just kidding!" Peter teased. "I'm wearing a costume under my suit."

Azari turned back around, and indeed, Peter was now standing in a skintight costume which closely resembled the one he wore in his first Hero Class.

Wanda, Azari and Toni breathed sighs of relief, while Laura looked somewhat disappointed and Kei put away his sketchbook.

"Wait, you wore a costume underneath your regular clothes?" Asked Laura. "That's pretty old school!"

"Yeah well, my mentor during the internship week said to always be prepared," Peter replied, attaching his web shooters under his gloves. "And this is a bit tighter than my clothes, so I should be able to fit through the vents easier."

Azari walked over to Peter, placing something in his hand. "This bead will allow us to communicate and track your location," he said. "Place it in your ear, and you should be able to hear me."

The boy nodded and placed the bead where he was told. The tiny round orb shifted, turning into an earpiece that fit comfortably within his inner ear.

"Can you hear me?" Azari asked, bringing his wrist up to speak into the bracelet.

"Um, yeah dude. You're standing right in front of me," Peter quipped. The young Prince blushed slightly, while Wanda and Toni tried with little success to muffle their giggling.

"In any case," Azari muttered, trying to get back on track. "Once you're inside the ventilation, I can activate the bead to scan your immediate surroundings. From there, I can direct you towards the way out."

"Sounds good," Peter said, opening his mask up to put over his head. "Alright, I'll see you guys in a second."

"Be careful up there," warned a nervous Wanda. The boy nodded, pulled his mask on, and shot a stream of web towards the high ceiling. Leaping high and swinging upwards, Peter clutched the vent door and yanked it off the hinges.

"Heads up!" Peter warned, dropping it to the ground. A moment later, he heard a loud crash! Reaching in, Peter heaved his way through the opening.

"Alright, I'm in," he said, and crawled through the dirty ventilation.

"Good, I've got a general scan of the ventilation," Azari's voice said in his ear. "Keep going forward until you get to the split."

Peter brought out his cellphone, using the flashlight to shine the way. Crawling forward as quickly as he could, the boy eventually found himself at the end of the tunnel, only able to go right or left.

"Azari, I'm at the split," said Peter. "Which way do I go?"

"Continue on to your right," Azari replied. "After that, take the next left and go straight on. It will take you directly to the exterior wall."

"How're you holding up, Peter?" Asked Wanda's voice.

"Ugh, man it's a tight squeeze, I feel like John McClain in here," Peter replied, turning off the light and inching his way forward.

"Who is that?" Azari asked.

Peter froze in place, "Seriously? They don't have Die Hard in Wakanda??"

"I... didn't attend the cinema often as a child," the Prince admitted.

"'Cinema??' It's been out like forever!!" He could hear Kei scolding over the comm.

"Azari, buddy. If we get through this, we're having a movie night," Peter grunted, making his way through the vent.

He continued on until finally, Peter felt the breeze from outside as he approached the final ventilation duct. "Here we go," Peter said, taking a deep breath. Pushing out the hatch, he quickly stuck onto the building's wall and pulled himself out.

Unable to help himself, the boy glanced down. He was very high up, much higher than he'd ever been. Peter began to breathe faster, his nerves getting to him. The wind blew past the building, as if trying to pull him off the wall.

"Whooooo, that's high..." Peter muttered, bracing himself and feeling the bitter December wind. "And it's freezing too. Note to self, add thermal threads next time I upgrade my suit..."

"Are you alright?" Asked Azari, concern in his voice. "You're talking to yourself."

"Y-Yeah, I'm good," Peter replied. "Sorry, just trying to distract myself. I've never climbed anything this high before."

"Understandable," Azari sympathized. "But for what it's worth, you won't have to go much higher. It's only one floor. You can do it!"

Peter thought back to the summer, when Uncle Ben helped him learn to climb the walls. His words of encouragement echoed in his mind; "Think of it as a leap of faith..."

Taking a deep breath, the boy began to climb. Applying pressure with his fingertips and toes, the aspiring hero scaled the building side until he came upon a window. Looking inside, he could see various solar panels and generators. This was the right floor, now he needed to find the vent.

Bingo, he thought, finally coming upon it. Taking care not to drop this one, Peter opened the hatch door and made his way inside. He thankfully didn't have to travel within the tunnels long, finding a downward facing vent. After getting no tingle from his Spider Sense, Peter opened it and jumped down.

Entering the lab, he found the emergency hatch with the ladder. Pulling back on a level, Peter opened the door carefully lowered the ladder into place.

"Alright, it's safe to climb!" He called down to his classmates, "Everybody up!!"

One by one, the heroes in training made their way up the steel ladder until they made it up to Peter's floor.

"Well done, Parker," Azari greeted. "You performed your task efficiently and admirably."

Peter removed his mask and took out the earpiece bead, giving it back to the young Prince. "Thanks for being my guy in the chair, Azari," he said. "I probably would've gotten lost if you weren't guiding me!"

Azari gave a nod in response while his brain focused on another matter, 'Guy in the chair'? Is this another reference?

"Don't be modest, Pete!" Antonia said, making her way up. "None of us could've made it up here without your help!"

"I could've if I was stronger..." Kei murmured with disappointment. "Next time, I'll be the hero!"

Laura, having heard him, gave a sympathetic smile and helped the disheartened boy off the ladder. "I don't doubt it," she said. "Thanks for the assist, Peter."

"Yeah, nice work, Wall-Crawler!!" Wanda cheered, "Totally living up to the name!"

Peter blushed at the sudden praise, "A-Alright then! Let's get moving, we don't wanna keep the others waiting!"

"Right!!!" The group collectively cheered.

A few floors below, Flash and Cho were in a stalemate against the Juggernaut, while Fireclaw continued to fight one on one against Mammomax. The monster was holding his own, while the boys continued to struggle.

"Damn it!!" Flash yelled, having another attack on the villain prove to be ineffective. "Does anything stop this guy!?"

"Not so far," Juggernaut grinned darkly. "So are you gonna give up this pointless fighting? Or am I gonna have to squash you and your green pal there?"

"Brawn not done yet!" Cho slammed his fists into his ground, cracking it around him. Much like during the Sports Festival, the prolonged battle seemed to be awakening his more Hulk-like traits. Flash knew this would be problematic, especially since the last time Cho was like this, he began to attack anyone nearby.

"Cho, easy!" Flash warned, getting the green teen's attention. "Listen, I've got an idea, but I need you to focus, alright? 'Cause we've only got one shot at this."

Amadeus seemed to register what his classmate was saying, and through visible effort, managed to settle down. "What's the plan?" He asked, his voice much calmer now.

"See that helmet?" Replied Flash, nodding at the Juggernaut. "If I can get that off, his head'll be open. Think you can hold him still for a minute?"

"Heh, not a problem!" Cho grinned, punching his palm and charging towards the villain. "Let's go, bowling ball!!"

Juggernaut shook his head and began to run forward, "Alright, but you asked for it!!"

The two mountains of muscle collided in the middle, a shockwave spreading throughout the room. They struggled against each other, with Juggernaut once again managing to push Cho backwards.

The young Hulk dug his toes into the ground, straining against the red armor as he continued to be moved against his will. "See? Nothing can stop the Juggernaut, ya brat!!" The villain grinned cockily, "I'm the strongest there is!!"

At this taunting, Cho's eyes began to glow bright green. His muscles grew slightly in size and Juggernaut began to struggle in moving the aspiring hero.

"Wanna...bet!?" He growled. Pushing hard against the ground, Cho brought the villain to a complete stop and with great effort, lifted him just off the ground.

"What!? How're you-!? Let me go!!!" Juggernaut struggled against his captor, completely astonished at the turn of events. He felt a thump as Flash landed on his back. Moving the goo to cover his arms, the boy turned his hands into black claws and grabbed at the eye openings and began to pull.

"Hey!! Get off me, ya damn-" But as much as he struggled, his own arms were held in place by Cho. He couldn't fight back.

"See, I figured out how your Quirk works!" Flash said through gritted teeth, straining with his claws. "When you keep moving forward, ya build up momentum and that makes you stronger. But, if you stop moving..."

A sudden cracking sound began to fill the air, as Flash pulled with all his might, "...Then you lose all that power!!"

Suddenly, with a loud CRACK, a chunk of the villain's helmet broke off. The boy fell off, landing on his back and still holding the piece of metal in his hands.

Juggernaut twisted furiously, a last ditch attempt to free himself. His now open face showed the fear in his eyes as he stared at the green monster who refused to let him go.

"You were wrong..." Cho glared at the villain, gripping him even tighter. "The strongest..." He leaned his forehead back, "...is BRAWN!!!"

He brought it down hard, smashing it against Juggernaut's exposed forehead. The villain's body suddenly went limp as he fell into unconsciousness.

The young Hulk finally released Juggernaut and he collapsed to the ground. Cho himself fell back from exhaustion, turning back into his normal form.

"Whew, that was tough," he said. "Great plan, Flash. And thanks for reining me in back there."

The boy was looking away from him, but Cho could've sworn he heard a faint, "You're welcome."

"Are two done over there yet!?" Fireclaw called over from across the room. He held Mammomax in place with a full-Nelson lock. "I've been waiting to finish this guy off, and you're sitting there chit-chatting!!"

"The hell do you need us for?" Flash yelled back.

"An audience!!" Fireclaw grinned, dropping his grip around the villain's torso. With a might heave, the monster launched himself backwards through the air, landing with Mammomax's head landing first into the ground. It was a perfect German Suplex, and the villain was immediately subdued.

"Now that's how you land a head shot!!" Fireclaw exclaimed proudly, flexing his muscles. But he suddenly froze, as if realizing something. "Aw come on!!! Gimme a break, I just got here!!!"

With that remark, Fireclaw suddenly faded from existence, his time being corporeal was up. Flash sighed, "Glad he's gone, one moron with anger issues is more than enough."

"What're you talking about?" Cho asked, innocently. "I thought you weren't all that angry this time around!"

"I was talking about you, dumbass!!!" Flash roared angrily, but Cho just laughed good-naturedly. "Ugh, whatever. Let's just catch up and find whoever's running this takeover."

The two boys began running towards the stairs, until they were stopped by a sudden alarm. From the wall, a number of robotic security drones deployed and surrounded them. They were humanoid, painted white and blue with golden face plates. What was most striking was a similarity in appearance to an early Iron Man armor.

"Well damn, this just gets better and better," Cho got into a fighting stance and activated his Quirk, becoming big and green again. "You up for a few small fry?"

"You kidding?" Flash smiled darkly as black goo covered his arms, torso, and part of his head, "I've been looking for something else to break!"

"Pyro, those are no ordinary kids in the tower!" Multiple Man spoke into his comm. "I recognize a few of 'em. They're students from M.A's Hero Course. They've got training, and they're getting harder to find!"

The villain swiped through different camera screen, but each one was incapacitated somehow. Either it was destroyed, or it had something white and sticky covering up the lenses.

"The brats are probably trying to restore the security system," Pyro replied from his position. "Be on alert. You sent out security drones, right?"

"Yeah, on the 80th floor, just after I stopped hearing from Mammomax and Juggernaut," he replied.

"Good," said Pyro. "Now raise any barriers from floors 100 to 130 and let 'em pass. Whether they decide to run or fight, the drones will tire 'em out, then Blob can finish the job."

From within his armor, Tony Stark glared at the fire wielding villain. He was beginning to struggle to maintain his armor, with a light steam coming up from various points.

Down in the 4th Basement, Roberto and Luke fought against the Multiple Men head on, but their continued effort was beginning to take its toll. Danny, meanwhile, was fighting a battle of skill against the slippery Toad. Neither was making much headway against the other. Danny had superior skill, but Toad was faster and had powerful legs, making it hard for the boy to strike with his glowing right fist.

"Puño!!" Reyes called over, "Let's switch!!"

Danny nodded and ran back as Roberto shot a chain out towards Toad, narrowly missing him. Danny rushed over to Luke as the two became surrounded by Multiple Men.

The Harlem based hero in training looked to Danny, "You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?"

Danny began to charge up his fist to max power, "Patty Cake?"

Luke raised his hands and braced himself, "Bring it!!"

With a fully charged fist, Danny leapt forward and threw a punch into the waiting palm. The resulting shockwave knocked back the Multiple Men and each one began to vanish with a puff of smoke.

The boys took a moment to catch their breaths as they looked around. Reyes was doing his best, but he was struggling to keep up with the slippery mutant. Toad kept his distance and attacked with his tongue, snapping back and forth like a whip.

Unbeknownst to the villain, however, Roberto was playing possum, allowing him to strike so he could accurately gauge his timing. Finally, the moment arrived. After dodging another tongue strike, Reyes snapped out a left jab, grabbing it in midair.

"Aw 'ell," Toad muttered, his pronunciation off without his tongue in his mouth.

"You have no idea what hell really is," said Reyes, yanking his hand back and pulling Toad his way. His eyes began to glow a fiery orange as he grabbed the villain's shirt with his other hand, "Let me show you..."

One floor below, Riri had finally discovered the correct server tower and was working furiously. Removing and switching wires, setting circuits, she wore a pair of goggles that helped her sort and focus the different parts easier.

"Just a little more..." she muttered, moving the last one into a new position. At that moment, however, an unseen figure was sneaking up on the girl. A Multiple Man who'd managed slip inside undetected. Taking out a knife, he prepared to silently dispose of Riri. Before he could strike however...

BONK!!!

Riri whipped her head around just in time to see the Multiple Man collapse to the floor before bursting smoke. Standing just behind, was Ava Ayala, wielding a steel pipe which had obviously been used to take out the villain.

"You should really pay more attention to your surroundings," said Ava, keeping an eye on the door.

"Eh, I figured Mr. Fast Feet had it covered," Riri shrugged. "Speaking of, where is he? Wasn't he covering the stairs?"

"I never saw him," Ava glanced around. "Still, with how quick he is, he could've run by and we never saw him."

"You're saying he ditched us?" Riri stopped a moment. "Not cool..."

"Maybe he figured the job was done and went to go find his sister," suggested Ava, looking over the Support student's shoulder. "Is it done?"

"It is on our end," Riri nodded, finishing her alterations. "All we can do now is wait to hear from the others." She looked at the Kimoyo Beads on her wrist, hoping they'd activate soon.

Barber's Chair

• I wanted to make sure every student gets a chance to shine. Even if it's doing something small, each one contributes in a big way. Although the continuous fighting and Quirk use is putting extra strain on them, and making completing the mission that much harder.

• The fight between the big villains and the brawler students was fun to write. They played off each other pretty well, I think, while still getting to show why they're formidable. Flash is doing a bit more thinking this time around when it comes to fighting, especially when his partner's a giant green rage monster. Given his own issues with his anger, it was nice to see him be more level headed and not let himself or Cho be consumed by their anger.

• Plenty of combo attacks and switching partners. Luke and Danny of course pair like PB and J when it comes to fighting. And Roberto's fighting style actually worked out against a long range guy like Toad.

• Little anime reference: when a Multiple Man is defeated, it vanishes like one of Naruto's Shadow Clones.