My Hero Academia - Into the Marvelverse

by ShadowNinja77

Class 1A find themselves captured and sent to a new world, a new universe, filled with new kinds of heroes and villains. Now, they'll have to work together to make sense of this new world and find a way back home. I don't own any of these characters. Closed to art commissions!

14. Ravager Assault

"Hmmm, what to do about this?"

The High Evolutionary watched the monitor carefully. It was a Ravager ship that was approaching, the marauding crime syndicate that acted similar to that of a pirate fleet back on Earth. This one, most likely on the prowl for prey, had stumbled upon this ship and decided they wanted to see what sort of prizes lay within.

So, how should he handle this. Of course, dealing with them really wasn't a problem. It would take very little effort to wipe them out. And even if they did make it on board, the sheer number of Hell Spawn was more than enough to take care of them. And the High Evolutionary doubted they had any truly powerful members on board.

No, handling them like that was easy. What was concerning the High Evolutionary right now was if that was the right move.

He had gathered up all the useful information that he could from these children and their Quirks. But evolution wasn't just about DNA. It was about the circumstances and settings that helped guide species to the next stage of evolution, their environment. And if he truly wanted to know more about all this, the High Evolutionary could not keep them like this anymore.

Which was why these Ravagers might actually be a blessing in disguise. Through them, the High Evolutionary could monitor how these Quirked individuals adapted and evolved in certain situations. With that in mind, the High Evolutionary could begin the construction and development of a new society, a new world.

He had tried making a world for his evolved animal-men but it had not gone well thanks to the machinations of the Man-Beast, his most hated creation. The carnage had been…quite something to behold. Still, there were still some survivors making their way in the universe now so it had been a true failure.

He had also tried creating another version of Earth without any superpowers in it. No heroes or villains or anything like that. It had been fascinating to witness the counterparts of the Earthen characters he recalled and how their lives turned out unaffected by the many superpowers plaguing the real Earth.

Still, it hadn't told him much. He was still looking for that perfect society where violence was gone and peace could be reached.

Now, he had something. A world where everyone had superpowers. Yes, that would provide some more insight to his problem. While the High Evolutionary doubted world peace would be found in this society either, it would be different to what he had done before and thus provide different results.

However, there were many other experiments and subjects on board his ship that he did not want to just hand over to the Ravagers.

"Well now, let's see if these little rats can run my maze," he murmured, before saying louder, "move the ship to these exact coordinates and make it look like an escape attempt. Also, lower the shields in sections 23-28 by 40%."

---

After the attack of those weird, robot-animal monsters, things had gone quiet. Todoroki had been prepared for another attack at any moment but hours, maybe even days had gone by and nothing. It was hard to measure time here. The only thing he had to go on was the food delivery three times a day (or what he presumed was three times a day).

He knew something had to happen eventually, he just wasn't sure what. So he was both surprised and also unsurprised when a loud BOOM! shook the ship, jolting him from his position on top one of the fake buildings, testing the ceiling again for any cracks.

"What?" he murmured, looking around. From this position, he could see the entirety of his prison and he saw nothing that could be the source of the explosion. No smoke, no fire, nothing. So it must have happened elsewhere.

Panic began to fill him at that thought. If there was an attack happening, then it must be happening to one of his classmates. He was now even more desperate to escape. But how? He had tried his best but nothing he did had any effect on the walls of this prison.

Well…he hadn't tried everything.

This would drain him, he knew that. But now was no longer the time to play it safe. If his friends were in danger, he had to do something about it, no matter what.

He summoned a path of ice leading him to the edge of the prison, sliding right over to it. He placed his left palm against the wall and focused, bringing up all the heat he could manage.

"Flashfire fist!" he roared, his left side exploding with burning hot flames, smashing his smoldering fist into the wall with everything he had. "Jet Kindling!"

BOOM!

---

Taserface growled in satisfaction as he led his crew down the corridors. He had thought that making entry would be more difficult but they had taken down the wall with one shot and sliced open the door without too much effort. Evidently, the High Evolutionary was a little too overconfident. Still, Taserface wasn't willing to match their powers so he had to make this quick. As much as he'd like to pilfer everything he could from this ship, he had to be smart about this. He gave it only minutes before the High Evolutionary's forces were on them.

"Well?" he growled.

"Scanning…scanning…stupid machine," one of his men, Brahl, muttered, hitting the side of the scanner. "And…ok, got it! Took it long enough. Alright, there are five lifeforms in the immediate vicinity."

"Only five?" Taserface snorted. "Not much but I suppose they have to have some potential. Split up and take them. If the High Evolutionary has them, it's got to be for a reason and should fetch us a good price on the black market. Now go!"

"Right!"

BOOM!

They all paused at the loud explosion ahead of them. "What was that?" Taserface asked, turning back to Brahl.

"Uh…an explosion from one of the cells."

"Huh. Seems one of the prisoners decided to break out. Makes our job easier," Taserface said. "Right, you lot," he pointed. "Find it and bring it back to the ship."

"But sir," one protested. "If its strong enough to break out of its cell, then…well…maybe we should-"

"If it's that strong, that just makes it more important!" Taserface cried. "Now do as I say or get a new hole in your head!"

"Right! Yes sir!" the Ravager cried, quickly dashing towards the sound of the explosion followed by the rest of the group.

Taserface shook his head before looking at the scanner again, choosing the closest lifeform to him. If things went south, he would just take it back to the ship and abandon anyone else left behind. He gestured to some more of his men and moved down the left passageway towards where the cell was.

"This is way easier than I thought it would be," Gef said next to him, huffing. "Though these passageways are a bit long."

"We just started running," Taserface growled, rolling his eyes. Still, he pondered the first half of Gef's words. This was easier than he thought it would be. Way easier. Was there something else going on?

Ah, whatever. It didn't concern him as long as he got his prizes. His pace quickened slightly in anticipation.

---

Uraraka stared down at the costume, lightly touching the material with her fingers. It was light and yet firm. "You made us these in just a night?" she asked, blinking in surprise.

They were all currently in one of the labs the Fantastic Four had set up, looking at the new uniforms made for them and preparing for their training session. They were exact duplicates of their own costumes from back home except they each had the number 4 emblazoned on the front, an apparent FF addition.

"Yes," Reed Richards nodded. "The machine would have been faster but as you can see, we sort of have our own style so it took a bit longer to accommodate your unique designs. Still, it seems it turned out really well."

"I'll say," Tsunotori said, her tail swishing happily. "It feels even better than my old suit."

Uraraka had to agree. While she loved her superhero suit, this one felt slightly more comfortable. Mostly because it wasn't skintight. Her last one had practically been a second layer of skin while this one genuinely felt like a suit, a small amount of breathing room available between her body and the material.

"What is it made of?" Asui asked curiously, pinching the stuff.

"Well," Reed said, pressing his fingers together, an excited look in his eye. "These suits are composed of a rare combination of-"

"Unstable molecules," his wife Susan interrupted. "We call them that because what they actually are is too complicated to get into. Unless you're him," she gestured to Reed who actually looked like he was pouting.

"It really is fascinating," he told her. "A configuration of specific and rare atom-"

"Yes dear, we know."

Uraraka giggled, Reed reminding her slightly of Deku when he got into one of his mutter states.

"So why do you use them instead of other materials?" Rin asked, testing his own suit.

Almost like they'd planned it, Susan turned invisible, her suit doing the same, while Reed stretched out his arm, the suit following along easily, and Johnny caught on fire. When he turned off again, his suit was perfectly fine. Ben was the only one who hadn't done anything, reading a magazine in the corner.

"The suits respond to our powers instantly," Reed explained. "It's, without getting into all the science, a natural response. I can stretch all I want in them and they'll stretch with me without any problem. Johnny over there doesn't need to worry about burning through his suit as it will match his heat. As for Sue…"

"I usually have to concentrate to turn something invisible," she explained, her arm vanished alongside the suit. After hanging out with Hagakure for almost a year, it was weird to see this. "But the suit responds to my powers and adapts, turning invisible as well."

"Wow," Uraraka and Asui said, eyes wide. They turned to each other and then looked back down at their suits.

"If Hagakure had it, it would definitely make life easier for her," Asui commented. "Especially in cold weather."

"Hagakure is your invisible girl, correct?" Reed asked.

"Yeah. But she can't turn hers off like Su…Ms. Storm's here."

"You can just call me Sue, it's fine," Sue said with a smile.

"Right. Hagakure is always invisible. And she can't turn other stuff invisible either. She can refract light though," Uraraka added, thinking about her friend.

"Interesting," Reed nodded. "Sue can do the same by manipulating electromagnetic spectrums."

"It's come in handy a few times," Sue said, clearly thinking back. "So, this Hagakure is always invisible. That must be hard."

"Yeah," Uraraka said, thinking about some of the talks she had with the other girls where she admitted her own insecurities on her powers. But still, she was the most bubbly and energetic of them all except for maybe Mina.

"But if she wore a uniform like this," Asui said thoughtfully, "she would very much appreciate it."

"Wait," Johnny said, looking up with an eyebrow raised. "Does that mean she's running around completely naked?"

"Uh…yeah?" Uraraka said a little hesitantly.

"Huh," Johnny rubbed his chin thoughtfully for a few seconds before a magazine flew across the room and struck him in the face.

"Don't picture it, you freakin' creep!" Ben growled, shaking his head. "She's a teenager for cripe's sake!"

"I wasn't picturing her!" Johnny protested. "But I was picturing other certain ladies. Hmmm…like Zora." A slight grin spread across his face as he said the name right before his face flew backwards as something invisible struck him.

"Sorry about him," Sue apologized with a sheepish smile. "He…gets like that."

"Yeah, we have one too," Asui said, rolling her eyes.

"Ugh, Mineta!" Uraraka muttered, rolling her eyes as well.

"Yeah, he sucks," Rin chimed in. "A week ago he was punished for climbing up our wall to try and see into the girls' bathroom."

"Of course he was," Asui and Uraraka sighed, shaking their heads.

"I wonder," Asui suddenly said, holding out her arm. As they watched, the material began to fade away, turning transparent as Asui activated her camouflage. A second later, it went back to normal. "Wow, you were right," she said, eyes wide in surprise. "I barely had to focus to make it camouflaged."

"Fascinating," Reed said, looking closely at her. "So your abilities, or Quirk as you say, allows you to anything a frog can."

"That's right," Asui nodded. "I hop around a lot and my legs are really strong so I can do it over long distances. I also am an excellent swimmer though the biggest thing is my tongue." She shot it out, letting it stick to the ceiling way above them. She tensed her legs and then shot up to it, landing on the ceiling smoothly and sticking easily.

"Fascinating," Reed repeated. "Truly. Such a remarkable range of abilities."

"I can also secrete a mucus from my stomach that can cause paralysis," Asui said when she came back to the ground.

"Gross," Johnny said. "But very cool. You know, I first thought you were like Toad but you're way cooler than him."

"Way cooler," Ben agreed.

"Toad?" Uraraka questioned. "Is he another hero?"

There was a small moment of silence before Johnny sniggered. "Not exactly," Sue said. "He-"

"He sucks," Johnny said. "That little punk's just a sniveling coward, latching onto the strongest guy around so he can cower behind him. And he's the biggest pervert around. Wanda still gives him the stink eye."

"He has had some moments," Reed acknowledged. "But they are sadly few and far between. Anyway, enough about him. Uraraka," he said, turning to her, "you have power over gravity, correct?"

"That's right," she nodded, bringing her hands together to activate her Quirk, making her float. "It's really just canceling out gravity though," she said as she drifted up into the air. "When I touch something, I make it weightless."

As she moved up, she realized what the FF meant with the suits. She usually felt a slight drag from her clothing and had to use her power on it as well but this suit was responding to her gravity so she practically felt nothing from it.

"How many objects to do you believe you can lift up at once?" Reed asked as she came back down.

"A lot more than I used to," Uraraka said, thinking it over. "The last time I went all out I think was on Nabu Island against those villains. I had to float up a whole bunch of rocks at once to make a landslide but I'm not sure what the full weight was. And I did that twice in a row, so…"

"Not to worry," Reed said. "That is what these tests are for. To accurately gauge your abilities' limits."

"And if we pass, we'll be able to help look for our friends?" Rin checked.

There was a slight hesitancy between Reed and Sue that made Uraraka nervous but Ben just snorted.

"There are plenty of newbie heroes out there tackling whatever they can," he said. "Just look at 'em Champions. They're all your ages and taking on some of the most powerful villains around. And you guys got actual training for this. Far as I'm concerned, you should be out there right now."

"Yes, thank you Ben," Reed sighed.

"So why aren't we?" Rin questioned.

"Yeah, we can help. They're our friends," Uraraka argued.

"It's not about that," Sue said quickly. "The situation is more complicated given where you came from. Unfortunately, we've received word from S.H.I.E.L.D. that…well…"

"They're not helping?" Johnny asked, shaking his head.

"Wait, what?" Asui asked angrily.

"Why wouldn't they help?" Rin chimed in.

"I thought Fury said he'd do whatever he could?" Uraraka added.

"He will, but this evidently comes from the World Security Council who Fury answers to," Reed said and Uraraka noticed both Sue and Ben rolling their eyes. "The Council apparently decided that given you are from another universe, you are not technically residents and thus not their concern." As he talked, Uraraka felt her anger grow and knew the others were feeling the same. "From what we understand, they'd actually prefer to have you under lock and key right now then have you running about causing more chaos. But we've currently placed you under our jurisdiction. However, if you go out…"

"We'd be at risk," Asui finished.

"Your government sucks," Tsunotori said, her tail swishing angrily.

"Yep!" Ben nodded. "It's why we heroes kind of do our own thing and let the government do its thing. Not a lot of trust between the two."

"This is all a tricky situation," Reed admitted. "But not to worry, I promised I would help you and all your friends get back home and I will keep my word. Now, these trials today are my way of understanding your abilities better. Once I see and analyze them for myself, I can map out how they would work in real situations alongside us. Then we can go about working together when we rescue your friends."

This whole thing was still too much for Uraraka to take in. It was why she wasn't really focusing on all the stuff about S.H.I.E.L.D. or this World Security Council. She just wanted to get all her friends back safely. And to do that, these tests of Reed Richards were evidently necessary.

"Ok, let's do this."

---

Todoroki wasn't sure what he was expecting when he broke out. He thought alarms would go off and those strange cybernetic animal hybrids to come after him again. But none of that happened. Instead, the sprinklers went off above him, dousing the flames from his explosions, before promptly shutting off again.

"What is this place?" he wondered briefly before moving. He had to find the others who were captured. How many were there? Were they all here? He hoped so. That would make things easier. But, once he found them, what was the plan? As hard as it was for him to accept, he didn't really have a choice. They were all currently in space. He prayed that Earth was below them and they were just in a station hovering above or something. Or maybe that viewing had been a fantastic hologram or something.

Don't think about that now, he chided himself. Focus on finding your friends. That's what matters!

He dashed down the hallway, looking for any sign of where his friends could be. But once he reached an intersection, he found that hallway looked just like the one he was on. He hesitated before dashing down the new pathway, hoping for anything to lead him to his companions. But he had nothing so far.

That was until he heard the sound of stomping feet.

He turned the corner just in time to see a small group of individuals heading his way dressed in a raggedy reddish garb, all holding large guns in their hands. A few seemed to be heteromorphs. At least, that's what Todoroki was hoping. Given the likelihood of him being in space…well…he really didn't want to go there.

"That must be him!"

"Hey kid, stop right there!"

"Freeze, or we'll shoot!"

They rushed him, guns raised to fire.

"Freeze, you say?" he asked coldly, his right foot pressing down on the metal floor. With barely any effort, a stream of ice shot out, encasing the entire hallway and trapping the villains in cocoons of ice.

"W-w-what the h-hell?" one cried out.

"W-w-we're f-f-frozen!"

"S-s-so c-c-cold!"

Todoroki breathed out carefully before walking forward, leaning in close to the villain in front. "Are you in charge here?" he asked.

"S-s-screw you kid!" the villain growled. He tried to spit but didn't quite make it work, the saliva instead just dribbling off his cheek.

"If you stay frozen like that, your cells will slowly die as your body succumbs to frostbite and hypothermia," he said. "I'd prefer to avoid that outcome, but only if you tell me what I want to know."

"Our c-cells?" one of the villains questioned. "Wha-what the h-hell are those?"

Todoroki blinked, not expecting that response.

"I-idiot! He'll kill us! J-just do what he says!" another cried out.

"Y-yeah, r-right! What d-do you want-t to kn-know?"

"How many guards are here?"

This time, the villain blinked in surprise. "H-how sh-should w-we know?" he replied.

Todoroki frowned. "Aren't you guards too?"

"L-look at our outfits kid! We're R-ravagers!"

"Ravagers?" Todoroki questioned.

"Never h-heard of us?" one of the so-called Ravagers complained. "Come on! We're f-famous! Greatest pirates in the stars!"

Stars, Todoroki noted, feeling a clench in his stomach. That seemed to confirm the fact he was in space. But he still pushed it down, refusing to deal with it right now.

"So you came here to steal?" he surmised.

"Y-yeah! Our captain wanted t-to take some of the High E-evolutionary's p-projects like y-you and sell them!"

The High Evolutionary? Sell them? Todoroki thought. That was a lot of information at once. Evidently, the villain who had captured him and his friends was this High Evolutionary. Some sort of scientist perhaps, based on the name, not that guessing things like that was Todoroki's area of expertise. But evidently he was notorious enough for pirates to know of him and want to steal from him.

"How many Ravagers are here?" he asked quickly.

"O-on this m-mission?" one asked. "B-bout f-fifty of us."

Fifty, Todoroki thought. He'd dealt with seven here but that left still too many out there to take care of. Though, if they were all as weak as these ones, he didn't really think they were in too much trouble. They were even worse than the thugs that attacked the U.S.J.

"B-but there's another hundred b-back on the sh-ship."

"Idiot!" one of the other Ravagers cried. "Why'd-d you t-tell him that?"

"Oh, s-sorry. J-just forget I said it."

Another hundred? That will pose a problem. I need to find the others and get them…

Todoroki paused, unable to finish that thought. Where could they go? Where was safe? Nowhere, apparently. They were stuck on their abductor's ship, the High Evolutionary, and now their only way off was through some villainous pirates who looked like they just crawled out of a dumpster.

There had to be a way off this ship though. Some way. And he would find it. But first, he had to find his friends.

He took off down the hallway the Ravagers had come from as fast as he could.

"Hey, you can't just leave us like this! G-get back here!"

---

BANG!

The weird cybernetic animal thing fell to the ground, a hole blasted through its head. Taserface grunted before turning and firing at another one of the creatures, blowing open its stomach, a mixture of blood and machine oil pouring out.

"These are the High Evolutionary's projects?" he questioned, looking them over. "Must have been the rejects or something. Pathetic!"

Then again, three of his men had been killed by them already so they were worth something. But Taserface expected more from such a lauded figure in the galaxy. Such hideous creatures with weak fighting abilities wouldn't make much coin on the black market. No, he needed something else to make this job worth it.

And he had an inkling on who that might be.

This whole place weirded him out. He had blown his way into this cell and found himself in some of recreated city that only went a few blocks. Some sort of…holding place for a species or something, like at a zoo maybe. He didn't really know and didn't really care, focusing on the inhabitants of the cell. He'd at first thought it was made for the hybrid creatures until he saw something strange, a greenish glow coming from the smaller figure behind the creatures. An instant later, the hybrids attacked. Now, looking around, Taserface couldn't see that figure anywhere, meaning it had run off.

"Brahl, watch our escape! The rest of you, fan out and find that little guy. But don't kill it, understand?"

---

The High Evolutionary watched carefully through the monitors as the Ravagers made it to the first containment unit. He had been surprised when Koji Koda had been able to use his powers to incapacitate and even befriend the Hell Spawn. But against a real threat, with no other animals to aid him, he quickly met defeat. He did his best to hide in the urban environment the High Evolutionary had created, but the Ravagers were used to hunting down their targets and so found the poor boy and tased him into unconsciousness.

"That was to be expected," the High Evolutionary commented. "Still, I was hoping for more. A shame. But our next subject…"

Yes, this one was interesting. Indeed. Toru Hagakure. The Ravagers had invaded her cell as well but found no trace of her. And nor would they, the girl having removed all her clothes to remain unseen. The High Evolutionary had been able to track her with thermal sensors and noted she had fled the Ravagers and gone down the hallway.

"If she keeps that up, there is no doubt she will run into Todoroki," the High Evolutionary mused, fingers pressing together as he contemplated that scenario. "And she will be able to lead him to the others and free them no doubt. Hmmm. But…I haven't yet finished my analysis."

There was not a doubt in the High Evolutionary's mind that Todoroki would emerge victorious against the Ravagers. He was just too powerful for them. But the whole point of the High Evolutionary allowing the Ravagers to attack was to see how all the subjects performed in a real life situation. He couldn't take the chance of that being thwarted. Not yet.

Leaning over the control panel, he pressed a button, opening up padlock 17.

---

Todoroki was heading down a fresh passageway that he felt would lead to where his friends were being kept when he heard a slight rumbling noise. He came to a stop and instantly felt the floor tremble. Some sort of earthquake? No, that couldn't be right. Not if he was in space. Besides, it didn't feel like that. The trembling wasn't continuous like an earthquake was. There was a beat to it, a pounding. Like a series of impact tremors.

Then the second noise hit him. A screeching sound of torn metal, as if someone was continuously ripping a metal bar from the wall. It had started as a humming in the back of his head so he hadn't noticed but now it was much more prominent.

"RAAAWWWRRR!"

Todoroki grimaced as the loud roar echoed down the hallways and he turned around just in time to see something emerge at the end of the hallway. It had pinkish skin, a wipe gaping mouth full of jagged teeth, and so many flailing tentacles it was hard to count them all. It was so big it couldn't quite fit in the hallway so it made its way by gouging through the passageway, hence the screeching sound. It took a second but its small, bulbous eyes landed on him and it gave another cry, doing its best to charge at him.

Todoroki blinked at the sight, his heart pounding wildly. This thing…it was an alien. There was no doubt in his mind. He was on a spaceship being attacked by an alien.

He stamped his foot down, a stream of ice shooting out fast and creating a frozen wall in front of him, completely blocking the passageway before the creature could hit. Then, he turned back around and started running as fast as he could.

Crack!

The creature roared behind him as it beat against the ice wall. Todoroki had even added some spikes to it to help dissuade the creature but that clearly wasn't enough. He didn't know how long his wall would hold against that thing and wasn't willing to wait and find out. He picked up the pace, going as fast as he could.

I have to get the others out of here now! he thought desperately. Somehow!

---

Uraraka stared with wide eyes as the young girl, N'Kalla, finished her run through the chamber. She hadn't known what to expect when the blue boy, Jo, had stepped in but then sections of the ground and walls came loose and even began floating around and then turrets popped out with guns firing lasers at him. Sue had quickly assured the students that they fired stun bolts, nothing too harmful. Still, Jo-Venn couldn't be more than 10-years-old, maybe even younger. But then he moved, racing across the chamber at such a speed Uraraka would have thought that was his Quirk. He'd taken two blades with him into the chamber and used them viciously and effectively, using the moving platforms as cover until he got close enough to eliminate the turrets.

When he was halfway across, blue holographic figures emerged of armored warriors that rushed the boy. Sue again assured them that any blow landed by those figures would just emit a small shock. Where they struck from would light up yellow, orange, or red depending on the severity in real life.

Jo-Venn didn't get a single color, slicing and dicing his way through the chamber with ease.

"Wow," Uraraka murmured.

"He's really good," Rin commented.

"That's my boy," Ben said proudly. Though, Uraraka noted there was a hint of apprehension in his voice.

"How did he get that good?" Asui asked curiously.

Ben sighed then, shaking his head sadly. "He and N'Kalla are aliens," he said, making all four students blink in surprise. Even though they had learned aliens were actually real here, it still came as a shock to actually meet two.

Is that why she said she was a Skrull? Uraraka thought as she looked at N'Kalla again who was tapping her foot impatiently, waiting for her turn in the chamber. I don't know what that is but I guess it's her species. I just thought she was a heteromorph.

"Jo's part of a race called the Kree and they're all…well, they're a militaristic society," Ben said. "They're all about war and conquest and all that stuff. We've tangled with them several times over the years, especially one asshat called Ronan. And then there's N'Kalla's race which are the Skrulls," he continued, affirming Uraraka's suspicions. "They're shapeshifters and are actually more of a nomadic race as they keep looking for a home in the stars. There are a bunch of different factions out there now, divided in the galaxy cause they can't all agree on who's in charge and where they're based and all that. It's kind of messed up. Anyway, the Kree and the Skrulls hate each other and had this long standing war. And then, one of them who's in serious need of a clobberin got a bright idea to strengthen the feud even more and have a child from both sides fight each other constantly to the death."

Uraraka gasped then, her body shaking in revulsion, and she saw the others were the same. Sue was gritting her teeth while Johnny just glowered. N'Kalla had stopped tapping her foot but wasn't looking at them, her fists clenched tightly by her sides.

"That's horrible," Uraraka murmured.

"That's just sick," Rin growled.

"Why would someone do that?" Tsunotori asked sadly.

"Cause it helped propel the hate," Ben said angrily. "Both Jo-Venn and N'Kalla somehow had the best traits of Kree and Skrull warriors downloaded into them and now are some of the best trained soldiers of either race. We found where they were being held by accident really but got them the hell out of there. Pretty soon after that there was another whole battle with the Kree and the Skrulls and another race called the Cotati…it was a whole mess. But the aftermath was that a truce finally broke out between them all and we got to adopt the kids."

"So that's why he's so good," Asui said as Jo-Venn finished the test.

"Yes," N'Kalla said for the first time, taking them by surprise. "We fought each other many times over the years, replaying the greatest battles of the Kree-Skrull War for the Profiteer and the audience's amusement. But we no longer live by the code of our people. Now we are heroes and members of the Fantastic Four and we fight by their side with true honor."

"Aw shucks kid, you're makin me blush!" Ben gushed, taking N'Kalla and hugging her tightly.

"Ack!" she gasped. "Father! You are embarrassing me! Put me down at once!"

At that moment, Jo-Venn returned, a satisfied smirk on his face. "Flawless as always," he proclaimed proudly. "In fact, I think that was a new persona- gah!" he suddenly cried as Ben pulled him into a hug too. "Father! What is happening?"

"I'm so proud of you!"

"Could you please show your affection some other way?"

"Put me down right now!"

Uraraka couldn't help but giggle at the scene alongside Tsunotori while Asui and Rin just smiled. Reed chuckled while Johnny rolled his eyes, smiling as well.

"Like we said, the Fantastic Four is family first," Susan told them.

Once N'Kalla was able to pry herself loose from Ben's hug, she stepped into the chamber next. Uraraka wasn't sure what to expect after Ben had said she was a shapeshifter but evidently it was exactly what he said. Once the simulation began, N'Kalla transformed into a large, green bird and took off, dodging the laser blasts and tearing through the turrets. She transformed again, this time into a large snake, taking out the holographic figures, and then into a tiger.

"So, she can transform into anything?" Asui asked.

"Pretty much. She says she does better with things she knows pretty well," Ben explained.

"All Skrulls have this ability. It's why many other races out there see them as…untrustworthy," Reed explained. "They have used the ability to spy and conquer across the galaxy, taking on the appearances and likenesses of countless individuals."

"Wait, they all do that?" Uraraka asked, realizing the implications. No wonder the Skrull race was so feared. To be able to transform into anyone like that…it wouldn't take much for a whole country to fall, even a planet it seemed.

"Hmph! It is not that impressive," Jo-Venn snorted. "The Kree Empire was able to see through their deceptions more than others and held them at bay."

"Hence the war," Sue added. "There are other planets out there that fought off both empires like the Shi'Ar and the Asgardians to name a few. But those were the biggest at the time and the most geared towards conquest so it was natural they, as they say, lock horns."

"Wait," Asui interjected. "You said the Skrulls were nomadic now. And divided."

"Yes, that's correct," Reed said. "After their home planet was destroyed by, uh, Galactus, the Skrulls lost a good portion of their people and the remainder became wanderers of the galaxy." As he said this, Uraraka noted that he and the other FF members became uneasy. "Though, as fate would have it," Reed quickly said, moving on, "at the same time, the Kree homeworld of Hala had its sun become unstable, causing many disasters on the planet."

"So, this war of theirs tapered off then?" Rin asked.

"Um…not exactly. Both races desperately fought over available resources, so if anything it got a boost," Ben said.

"Though on the other hand, they also became more protective of their people, so they did try to avoid battles when they could," Reed added. "So it also tapered off in some ways."

"So basically, the level of fighting remained the same," Johnny surmised.

"Pretty much, yes," Reed said.

Normally, Uraraka didn't find history lessons all that interesting, but one of alien races? Now that was truly fascinating. Given her powers, she'd always been intrigued by outer space and what lay in the stars. It hadn't really come up during her time at U.A. as there had been no opportunities, but now she had the chance, in this world, to meet alien races and really learn about the stars and what lay in space itself? At least one good thing was coming from all this, though she instantly felt a pang of guilt at the thought of enjoying herself when almost all her classmates were still captured.

Still, she wondered to herself, would she be able to go into outer space?

"So who's Galactus?" Tsunotori asked curiously and Uraraka tensed when she saw the FF all tense up. "Another alien warlord or something?"

"Not…exactly," Reed said carefully. "Galactus…well…he's a discussion for another time," he said quickly as N'Kalla finished the simulation, returning to her original form. "Right now, let's focus on this training session and see what you can do. Now, who wants to go first?"

Despite their talk, Uraraka had been paying attention to the simulation and what she could do so she found herself stepping forward. "I'll do it," she said firmly. This was the next step she had to take to ensure she could help her friends and she refused to fail.

"Excellent," Reed said, directing her to the doors. "Let's get started then."

---

Hagakure honestly didn't know how she was keeping it together. Right now, she was just taking things as they came and really just dealing with them, not even pausing to give them thought. Because if she did, she was afraid she'd have a full breakdown.

Captured by villains. Taken to some strange prison that was modeled after a city block. Learning that said prison was somehow in space. Attacked by horrifying cybernetic animal monsters that she'd just managed to defeat. And now, attacked again by…pirates, it seemed.

At first, when the explosion had gone off, she'd been relieved. She'd thought that maybe, just maybe, she was being rescued and this horrific nightmare was over. But nope. It was worse than that. If being captured by one villain wasn't enough, now she was going to be captured by another group of villains.

Screw that! she'd thought and swiftly removed her clothes, disappearing completely before they could track her down. They knew someone was around as they found her clothes but, thanks to her Quirk, hadn't been able to find her. She'd trained relentlessly these last few months on all the ways she could use her Quirk out in the field and a major asset was obviously stealth. Now, even Shoji and Jiro claimed they had a hard time finding her and they were the best trackers in their class.

She at first thought the pirates coming in were heteromorphs like Shoji or Koda but then she thought, 'if I'm in space, does that mean aliens are real.'

That led to her just pushed everything aside and focusing on finding her friends.

"It's empty sir!" one of the pirates cried from the other side of the fake city block. "No sign of anyone except some strange clothes."

Strange! Hagakura nearly cried out. Those are adorable you heathen freak! Look at what you're wearing! Think you look cool wearing all that rusty leather? Think again! You look like the backup dancers for a failed jazz band!

"Gah, what a bust! Keep looking in case they're hiding somewhere," the leader of the group growled. "The last cell like this wasn't empty and whatever that thing was seemed to have strange powers so maybe whatever's in this one is the same."

Last cell? Hagakure thought desperately. They'd already checked on a cell just like this one and found someone. One of her classmates was here as well…maybe. It seemed logical. But then…where were they? Had these pirates…no, she couldn't go there. It seemed they were intent on capturing right now which meant they'd probably taken whoever it was back to their ship.

"Alright, you two stay here on guard and don't let anyone else in or out," the leader said to two of his men. "You lot," he pointed to several more. "Keep searching until we come back. The rest of you, with me. We still got two more targets."

Hagakure froze at that. Two more? They were going after two more of her classmates from the sounds of it. She glanced at where they were going and then at the other passageway. One classmate versus two. The math was simple there, except one classmate was already in trouble while the others had trouble coming their way.

She struggled for a few seconds but it was really a no-brainer. Maybe one of her classmates was down, but they were all training to be heroes which meant she still had to trust these other two to handle themselves. Besides, she wasn't good at combat as well as others. Her specialty was sneak attacks and stealthy stuff, like rescuing her friend without the enemy knowing.

Good luck you two, she thought, moving down the other passageway. However, she'd only made it a few steps before the pirate leader spoke up again.

"What the hell's taking those fools so long?" he growled and Hagakure turned, flinched when she saw him looking right at her. Of course, he wasn't as she was invisible, but it certainly looked like he was. "They should have caught up to us by now."

"Maybe the final target's a fighter or something," one of the pirates suggested.

"Maybe they got lost. It's like a maze in this place."

"Maybe it's a beautiful woman and they're getting the special treatment, if you know what I mean," another pirate said, winking at his companion in a way that made Hagakure want to hurl.

"We always know what you mean," his companion sighed, shaking him off. "It's a weird thing to say to another Ravager but get your mind out of the damn gutter."

As these Ravagers continued to argue with one another, Hagakure thought about what they'd just said. Final target? So there was someone else here too? Five in total then, apparently. But…that couldn't be right? Where was everyone else?

Maybe they didn't get captured, Hagakure thought, praying desperately that that was the truth. But, there was the chance that the Ravagers here were only after five people. But…

No, no time for all that, she thought to herself. Right now, a classmate was in trouble and she had to save them. That was her priority. She would deal with everything else when she was done.

But before she could make another move, there was a roaring sound that echoed down the hallway, making her skin crawl and the invisible strands of hair stand up.

"Or, the High Evolutionary decided to fight back after all," the Ravager leader growled. "Knew this was too easy. Alright, let's hope our boys can hold whatever that thing is off until we get the rest of the targets on board."

With that said, he and the rest of his posse took off.

"Despicable," Hagakure murmured at his lack of sympathy for his own people before running off as well in the opposite direction. It put her on edge that she was heading for where the roaring sound was coming from but she knew this was where the Ravagers' ship had to be and where her captured classmate was as well. Still, she picked up the pace a little.

Unfortunately, when she reached an intersection, she came to a complete stop, no idea what to do now. She had no idea which direction to choose.

"Damn it," she complained, looking down each passageway for anything that could help her make a decision. But nope, they looked identical. "Ok, ok, ok, I just need to think," she told herself, rubbing her head. "So, if they came here on their own…spaceship," she paused, that word feeling strange in her mouth, "then that means their ship is on the side of this so I just need to take the passageway that leads there. Now, when the villain doing all this showed me outer space from my cell, it was…oh crap," she murmured, realizing she didn't remember where it was in proportion to where she was now. "Damn me and my navigational skills," she muttered. "Alright, guess there's no choice."

She held out a finger on one passageway before quickly pointing at the other and then back again. "Eeny meeny miney moe…" she sang, wagging her finger between the two passageways. "Catch a tiger by the toe…if he…is it getting colder?" she muttered, suddenly feeling a chill in her body. Due to her never being able to wear clothes while doing hero work, she'd gotten used to extreme temperatures so it took a serious change to make her aware of it. But right now, it was definitely getting colder, and fast. In fact, the last time it had gotten this cold was…

She didn't get to finish that thought as she suddenly heard the sound of pounding feet. She turned, both wary and hopeful, and felt a surge of joy when around the corner of the passageway to her left, Todoroki appeared. That was the cold she was feeling, just like when he completely dominated the fight against her and Ojiro during the Battle Trial as well as his one-sided fight against the villains at the U.S.J.

She watched as he turned, stamped his foot down, and shot a mountain of ice back the way he'd come, making something down that passageway roar in pain and frustration.

"Todoroki!" she cried out in relief, rushing to him.

"Huh?" he turned, looking at where she was but of course not seeing her. "Who sa-"

WHAM!

Hagakure gasped as a pink tentacle whipped out, slamming Todoroki into the wall. He grunted in pain, nearly falling over, before the tentacle wrapped around him and began dragging it back to where it had come from.

---

Tokage watched carefully as the villains below her moved around. She'd at first been relieved at the explosion to the wall, thinking she was being rescued. But then she saw her apparent saviors and knew instantly they weren't saviors so she quickly separated her body, flying most of it up to the top of one of the buildings while keeping a few parts of her around lying in wait.

She flew one of her ears down close to where the new arrivals were to listen in.

"Just like the others," one of them commented. "Why a city block of all things?"

"How should I know. Let's just find whoever's here fast."

"We'd better," the one in front of the others growled. "So far we've only got one of our targets and that won't bring us much money. So we can't mess this one up, got it?" he cried out, making the rest of them jump.

"Right!"

"Now fan out and taze anything you see. We're not taking any chances today."

Zap!

"Ow! You flarking bastard, what was that for?"

"He said to taze anything we saw and I saw you."

"You dumbass, that's not what he meant at all. Just stay the hell away from me or I'll blast a fresh hole in your face."

"So they have one of us," Tokage murmured. "Damn it. Alright, well, first things first, need to get out of here."

That would be a little tricky. While she would have hoped all her attackers would leave the exit behind and spread out throughout the block, making her escape easier, they weren't that stupid. Two of them stood on guard at the gate.

"Well, could be worse," Tokage murmured. "I'll just have to take them out."

She waited, watching and listening carefully, until the other attackers had spread out across the block, leaving the two on guard alone. Now was her chance. She detached her arms and floated them down, her body following suit albeit a little behind.

First thing she would have to do would be to relieve them of their weapons. If she could use them herself, great considering she heard them say 'taze' and not 'kill.' Yes, if she could just take them out nice and fast, everything would be great. Because everything had been really shitty up until this point.

She watched carefully, waiting for an opening.

"Hey, you got any more of those puffies on ya?"

"Tsk, no! I mean yes, I do, but-"

"Cool, give me some."

"No!"

"Aw, why not?"

"We're on a job, nutsack!" the villain growled at his companion. "You shouldn't be high right now! You can wait til we're done!"

"But I'm so bored and I could use a good buzz."

"Not my problem. Besides, these are mine and I'm keeping them. If you want some, you'll just have to-"

Now!

Tokage moved, her arms flying forward from behind the guards, whipping over their shoulders to grab their guns.

"What?" they cried simultaneously, struggling from Tokage's sudden attack.

"Gah! It's arms! But…they're…gah! Zombie arms!"

"Ghost arms!" the other villain said at the same time.

"Just shut up and give me those guns you bastards!" Tokage cried, the guns moving around wildly in both her and the villains' grips. But the villains had strengthened their hold on their weapons, refusing to let go. Tokage struggled another few seconds before an idea hit her. "Alright then, let's try this," she said.

With a flick, one of her hands flew from the gun, making a fist right before it struck the villain in the face, knocking him back.

"Narblik!" the other villain cried but Tokage was still wrestling the gun in his hands, neither giving up. As soon as the first villain had fallen, Tokage sent that free hand over to her other one, aiming to strike this villain down as well, but he was ready for it, dodging her fist as it came.

"Damn it," Tokage muttered. She knew this cell of hers was small and they were making noise here so it probably wouldn't be too much longer before the rest of these guys showed up. She needed to end this.

Acting fast, she sent over 50 pieces of herself flying at the remaining guard, the man only able to look up in time in fear before he was swarmed by her body parts, completely overwhelmed. He was only able to cry out once before going down, one of Tokage's knees slamming into his nose at full force and knocking him out cold.

Once he was down, Tokage let her main body descend to the ground, reforming as she did so. She really missed her costume right now. It had been specially made from her own cells so that it worked alongside her Quirk. Right now, she was still in her pajamas from when she'd been captured and so had to be careful how she used her Quirk or else she'd end up naked. As it was, she had to keep her waist and top part of her legs together as well as her upper chest, shoulders, and neck. It was a pain to have to focus on that in a fight but there wasn't much she could do.

"Alright," she muttered as she stood there, fully reformed. "Let-"

Zap!

It was like she'd been struck by that electrical kid from Class 1-A except more focused and way more painful, her back lighting up from where it had been hit. She fell to the ground, writhing and convulsing in pain.

"Ha, so we found another one!" she heard someone say triumphantly behind her. "Good thing you made so much noise, or else we might not have come back in time!"

"Ooh, it's a pretty one. Can I keep her?"

"No! Now shut up and prepare to-"

Tokage moved onto her back, seeing the figures only about a meter away from her, and shot out her legs, the feet detaching and rocketing to both her assailants. Her left foot struck the perverted one right in the face, knocking him flat. But just before her right foot could hit the other guy, he ducked his face at the last second. Faster than she could blink, his gun came up and a second taser shot came at her, striking her right in the chest.

She screamed, pain ripping through her. It was a small bolt of lightning on her chest that just kept going. She could barely focus, barely even think through it all. She was able to make out the figure coming closer, looming over her now.

"A good effort, but you're just too slow. Now be a good girl and stay down."

He fired again and Tokage's mind went blank.

---

Uraraka didn't give herself a chance to think. As soon as Reed said 'go,' she was moving. Reed had said he would be putting the simulation on a medium setting as he felt that would be the best way to gauge their abilities. But honestly, after everything that had happened, part of Uraraka wanted this to be way harder, to relieve her stress.

The platforms began moving randomly as soon as she stepped on them, but that really wasn't a problem for her. Because of her powers, she was used to hopping along things moving in the air. No, the platforms weren't the problem. It was the turrets.

It was five seconds after the platforms started moving that the turrets began to open fire. She was ready for it but it still got her adrenaline pumping as she had to keep moving to avoid getting hit. The turrets tracked her slowly and had to power down about every ten or fifteen seconds before firing up again. To Uraraka, it felt like the amount of time it took a gunman to reload. Clever.

She ducked under a platform, activating her Quirk on herself so that gravity no longer had a hold. She unfortunately realized she wouldn't be able to her power on the platforms as they had some sort of propulsion engines that moved them around. But it didn't matter, for this part she had everything she needed.

Now weightless, she swung herself beneath one of the platforms before the turrets could strike her, waiting only a few more seconds until she heard the soft whine of them powering down. She instantly flipped herself back up and aimed her round gauntlet, firing off the grapple she knew had been added and flying across the chamber, landing about halfway there.

Almost instantly, the simulated warriors formed in front of her.

When watching Jo-Venn and N'Kalla during their runs, Uraraka had wondered how solid these warriors could as they really did look like holograms. But, as one came at her, she ducked under its thrown fist and grabbed hold of it, feeling how solid it was.

Wow, Mr. Richards is amazing to have done something like this, she thought. Back at U.A., they just used robots. But now wasn't the time for thinking like that. She activated her Quirk, thankful to feel it actually work. She then used her momentum just like Gunhead had taught her, throwing the warrior over her shoulder right to where one of the turrets was stationed just as it started to open fire again.

She didn't stop to look at what happened. There were over a dozen enemies left and half as many turrets so she just went with the flow. She kept moving, dodging the turrets' incoming fire and ducking under the next warrior's attack, throwing it into the turret's fire. As she moved, she remembered her teachings from Gunhead, Mr. Aizawa, and all her teachers. She never could have imagined doing something like this before U.A. but now, this was easy for her.

In fact, after being kidnapped and suffering a plane crash and learning she was in another dimension, this was almost relaxing. But she never let her guard down. She knew what was at stake. She had to prove her worth so that when the time came, they would let her go on the mission to save her friends.

She wasn't perfect. Every now and then, a blow landed on her or she was struck by one of the stun bolts the turrets were firing. But those were all minor, her having been able to avoid getting struck too badly. In the meantime, she continually used her Quirk on her opponents, making them all float. They still thrashed around midair but she dealt with them easily like this, able to toss them into the turrets' line of fire until there were none left.

She breathed out heavily, surprised to feel sweat trickling down. She hadn't realized how much energy she'd put into this.

"Well done," Reed said to her through a speaker. "You can come out now."

"Nice job kid," Ben said, offering a grin and a thumbs up.

"Awesome work, Ochaco," Asui told her with a heartfelt smile.

"Not too bad. But not as good as me," Jo-Venn said, receiving a slap from his sister.

"Shut it, you!"

"Looks fun," Rin commented, a smile crossing his face as he rubbed his hands together.

"So, how'd I do?" Uraraka asked, wiping her face with a provided towel.

"Very well done," Reed said, scanning his monitor. "You have a good grasp of your abilities and how to utilize them in combat as well as a heightened fighting prowess. You clearly have good training and experience."

"So does that mean we can go with you when you find the others?" she asked hopefully.

Reed turned away from the monitor to look her in the eyes. "That…is still uncertain," he said a little hesitantly.

"But…why?" Uraraka asked, confused and now concerned. "You said I did well in there."

"Yes, but this is just one training session set at a medium setting," Reed pointed out. "There will be more tests to further judge your capabilities. All your capabilities," he added, looking at the others as well now. "But you have to understand, we already have some leads on who took your friends. And if they are correct, that means that some of the most powerful and dangerous individuals on the planet are involved. Can you see why we are hesitant to include teenagers of whom we just met in missions to fight alongside us now?"

Uraraka paused there. "Yeah," she said slowly, hating that he was right. "But…how dangerous are we talking?"

The FF all shared a look, making her stomach clench up. "You were almost captured by Hydra," Sue reminded them. "Hydra has been around for…well, we don't know how long. But they're a major terrorist organization aiming for complete control of the world. Every time we think we've defeated them, we realize we only defeated a part of them with all other members gone to ground to prepare for an even greater threat. Their leaders are all on the world's most wanted list. So if they were involved with your abduction, then who knows who might else be. But we know they'd have to be as dangerous as Hydra if not more so."

Uraraka thought about Crossbones and Viper, shuddering at their fight in the woods. They hadn't put up much of a fight against any of those Hydra agents. She would have liked to think she'd improved over time but fighting real villains was still something she was getting used to.

On the other hand, she had fought them. Maybe it had been alongside others but during the Overhaul mission, she, Asui, Hado, and Ryukuyu had taken down the massive Yakuza villain Rikiya. She understood the FF's reservations but that just meant she had to prove her worth.

"Alright then," she said, feeling fired up. "What's the next test?"

---

Todoroki had hoped his ice would be more effective in holding the monster back but evidently not as it just kept smashing its way through, as if it was just glass.

"Alright, let's see how you like this," he said, turning and using his left hand to send a river of fire at the beast. It roared in pain as the flames struck, its tentacles rising up to shield its face. As soon as it did, Todoroki stopped the fire and stamped down hard again with his right foot. This time, he put even more power into his attack, completely encasing the entire hallway in ice and trapping the monster inside of it.

He breathed out coolly, eyeing the block of eye warily. "Stay down, would you?" he murmured. "I don't have time to deal with you right now."

Crack.

He winced, seeing the small cracks forming along the ice. "Damn it," he growled, sending a fresh wave of ice to coat the old one before turning and running again. But as he did, he noticed an odd glow and turned his head back just enough to make out a rainbow-like gleam coming right from the creature's mouth.

"That can't be good," he muttered to himself and ran even faster. He'd made it halfway down the next passageway before there was an explosive sound behind him. He turned his head again, his eyes bulging slightly when he saw the beam of multicolored light that shot into the wall behind him, blasting straight through it.

"Of course it fires laser beams," Todoroki muttered, picking up the pace even more. This time, as he stamped his foot down, he didn't create a major obstacle but rather just an icy glaze across the floor. "Hopefully that'll work better," he said, imagining the monster slipping and sliding down the passageway.

He didn't have to imagine for long as the monster came tearing its way at him, reaching the iced over hallway in seconds. Once its tentacle struck the floor though, it slipped out from under it, making the monster go skidding. Todoroki might have found it slightly amusing in another situation, watching as the monster desperately tried to regain its footing or tentacling or whatever but even this wouldn't hold it for long.

"Heaven Piercing Ice Wall," he muttered, sending a fresh wave of ice as the monster slid towards him, this time adding sharp icicles before it struck, letting them hit the monster and stab into it, making it roar out in pain.

"Todoroki!"

"Huh?" he turned in shock at hearing his name, looking for the source instantly. But there was no one there, just an empty hallway. "Who sa-"

WHAM!

Todoroki didn't see it coming, the tentacle breaking through the ice and flying at him so fast that the next thing he knew, he was slammed into the wall. He grunted, feeling like there was acid in his veins from the pain of the blow. He nearly fell over before the tentacle suddenly wrapped itself around him tightly, preventing him from escaping, and began to drag him back to where the monster's snapping jaws were, rainbow sparks still flying around its teeth.

He grimaced, trying to move around, but it was practically impossible, the tentacle's grip on him feeling like an iron coil instead of flesh.

"Fine then," he growled. "Let's see how you like this!"

He might not be able to move, but he still was able to place his right hand onto the monster's flesh. Once he did, he poured his power into this attack, sending a fresh wave of cold ice outwards that froze the tentacle and spread up the appendage, reaching all the way to the main body. The monster shrieked from the attack and tried to free itself now but wasn't able to move its frozen limb.

And, unfortunately, Todoroki realized he couldn't move either, still struck in the monster's grip.

"Not good," he muttered, trying to think of a way out of this. He didn't know how long freezing this creature's tentacle would last but given its strength, he wouldn't count on long. Even so, it had other tentacles and it would realize this any second.

There was only one choice then. He gritted his teeth and gripped even harder with his hand on the tentacle, pushing all his power out, dropping the temperature as fast and as much as possible. The whole hallway froze over, ice appearing on the walls and ceiling now. The monster thrashed around, the cold penetrating it hard. It did its best to escape but at that point its other tentacles were freezing over as well. Todoroki didn't relent, pushing harder. He could feel the chill running up him now, his body warning him of overusing his Quirk, but he didn't stop. Not until, at long last, the ice covered the monster inside and out, completely trapping it. It let out one last growl, more rainbow sparks spurting out from its mouth, before it finally stopped.

Todoroki breathed out, feeling the drain in his body. All he wanted to do now was take a long nap, give himself time to recover. But there was no time for that. He still had to help his friends. And, he was still trapped in the monster's now frozen tentacle.

"Todoroki?"

He flinched at the voice, not expecting it. Again, he looked around as best he could but still saw nothing. Then, he remembered a certain classmate of his. "Hagakure?" he asked hesitantly.

"Todoroki, thank god!" His classmate's voice hit him like a warm breeze and he breathed out in relief, knowing he wasn't alone anymore. "I'm so glad I found you. Though it really would have been better on, you know, less…terrifying circumstances."

"Hagakure, can you help me get free?" Todoroki asked. He may still be trapped in the tentacle but with the appendage now frozen, he should be able to slip out.

"Oh, right! Yes!"

A second later, Todoroki felt a pair of hands grab hold of his shoulders and begin to pull on them. He could hear her grunting as she pulled, could feel the strain on his own body. He did his best to help however he could, wriggling and thrashing his way through the icy tentacle to try and free himself.

"Hold…on…" Hagakure grunted. "Almost…there…just…a…little…bit-YAH!" she cried as she managed to pull Todoroki free, the two landing in a pile on the ground.

Todoroki rose quickly, breathing in relief. "Thanks Hagakure," he said.

"Oh, no problem. I'm just glad I ran into you," she replied. As she talked, she eyed his expression carefully, looking for any blush or a sign of embarrassment or discomfort after he'd landed on her naked body, even if he couldn't see her, but he looked as stoic as always. Hagakure felt both glad and a little disappointed at that but quickly pushed it aside for the bigger problems at hand.

Most notably being the fact that he'd apparently been fighting a monster that looked like it crawled out from the depths of hell.

"Is…is that a Nomu?" Hagakure asked carefully after she got a better look at the monster.

"I…I don't think so," Todoroki answered. Honestly, he hadn't considered that. "Maybe. But…did you see it too?" he suddenly asked. "What the villain holding us here showed us? The fact that we're-"

"In space?" Hagakure finished. "Yeah, yeah I saw it. But…you don't think that this is…" She didn't even finish the sentence, not wanting to.

"I don't know," Todoroki replied. "But this isn't like any Nomu I've ever seen. Honestly, when I first saw it, I thought…it really does look like an alien."

Hagakure let out a soft yelp at that word. She didn't even want to consider that because if she did, it would bring a whole host of other stuff she didn't want to think about. Like how she was trapped in space and the fair chance she wasn't anywhere near Earth right now.

"Look, we can't worry about that now. Did you see any of our classmates?" Todoroki asked hurriedly.

Hagakure shook herself off. He was right, she needed to focus. "No, sorry. But I did overhear them say they caught someone. I was trying to find their ship to help."

"Right," Todoroki nodded. "Then let's go."

"Wait," Hagakure said quickly. "I also heard their leader say they were after five targets. If they've already caught one then…"

"Then there are still two of our classmates here," Todoroki finished. "Right then. I was able to interrogate some of their crew back there and get some answers. There's about fifty of them on this mission but more than a hundred back on their ship."

"A hundred!" Hagakure gasped. "But…how do we…what do we do?"

"Hagakure, you need to go to the ship," Todoroki said.

"What? Wait, just me? Why? Where are you-"

"These…Ravagers aren't that tough," Todoroki said. "I fought a few of them back there and defeated them easily. If they're all that weak then I can handle them without a problem. But with your powers, you can sneak on board and find whoever they took. Once I'm done rescuing the others, I'll come and help you."

"Why can't we just go together?" Hagakure asked.

"These Ravagers' ship will be their, uh, home turf," Todoroki explained, thinking back to when Kirishima had said that during a training exercise. "They have the advantage and it must be a big ship if there are so many of them. With your powers, you will have a better chance of finding our classmate as quickly as possible. Once I'm done, I'll come find you and help."

Hagakure wanted to argue. This whole situation had her completely petrified in fear. It went so far beyond what she would expect at a hero course school. It literally made the U.S.J. look like a walk in the park and she really wanted one of the class's powerhouses by her side to keep her safe.

But she didn't become a hero for safety's sake. She did it to try and help people and make a difference in the world. And right now, her classmate was in trouble and she couldn't let them down.

"Right!" she nodded firmly, even if Todoroki couldn't see it. "I'll-"

ROOOOOOAAAAARRRRR!

They both froze as the loud roar reverberated throughout the passageway and beyond. "Damn," Todoroki growled in annoyance, looking in the general direction of where the sound had come from. "There's another one. And where there's one more, there could be countless. We need to get out of here fast."

"This way!" Hagakure said urgently, grabbing Todoroki by the hand and pulling him back the way she'd come until she arrived at the crossroads. "Here, go this way," she told him, pointing him in the direction she'd just come from. "That should lead you back to where those Ravagers are. There aren't too many side corridors and the ones I saw are all dead ends anyway."

"Got it." Todoroki quickly took off. Hagakure turned from his disappearing form before looking the other direction which must lead to the Ravagers' ship, a ball of fear growing in her.

I am a hero, she reminded herself before rushing away.

---

The High Evolutionary stared at the screens, watching the unfolding chaos with interest, even slightly smirking.

"Question. What was the purpose in releasing the other Abilisks?" Recorder Vim asked.

"It would seem one wasn't enough to deter the young Todoroki," the High Evolutionary noted. "He is quite powerful."

"Observation. He may be able to take down the other two as well. And if the power readings are correct, doing so may wreck a good portion of the ship."

"Yes, thank you Recorder Vim," the High Evolutionary sighed. "Did you not think I would have thought of that? All important resources have been relocated from any areas that would be affected by the boy going all-out." The High Evolutionary turned to the screen monitoring the Ravagers' progress. They had captured the Tokage girl, despite the good fight she'd put up, and were now headed to the final target. The High Evolutionary wondered how Kinoko Komori would fare against them. He had to admit, she was a bit of a wild card. Then again, Todoroki might be able to arrive in time to save her. Or, judging from its movements, one of the Abilisks could as well.

This was all great research.

"Question," Recorder Vim interrupted his musings, leaving him to sigh again. "If the Ravagers are successful in this endeavor, believing they did it all on their own, what is to stop them from repeatedly attacking and stealing from us."

The High Evolutionary pondered that for a few seconds before nodding. "A good question, Recorder. Yes, perhaps I should remind them why messing with me is not in their best interests."

He pressed another button, releasing the Hell Spawn onto the Ravagers.

"Now, I do believe I could go for a good cup of Earl Grey," he said, leaning back in his chair.

"Observation. You have a cup in front of you."

"Is there? Well let me make my own observation which is that this cup is too cold. I prefer my tea hot."

"Question. Then why did you not drink it when it was hot?"

"I got distracted by the screens. Now, go brew me another cup."

"Question. Why not reheat your current cup?"

"There's too little in it, I want a full cup. Now stop procrastinating and go get me another cup."

---

"Gah! What is this stuff?"

"It's in my throat!"

"I can't…breathe!"

"It's mushrooms!"

"Ooh I like mushrooms. Though this does make it a bit kinkier than I would have liked."

"What is wrong with you?"

Kinoko Komori grinned as she leapt off the latest villain, mushrooms already sprouting all over his body. He cried out, trying to rip off as many as he could but it was no use, others rising up to replace them.

It was pretty easy for her to incapacitate the villains. In her time in this prison of hers, especially after the attack from those monstrous cyborg things, she'd made mushrooms after mushrooms all around, spreading them across the entire space. Of course, they didn't last long, only a few hours, but every time she did it, the place became more amenable to mushrooms, allowing more to grow and for them to stay longer. And since she'd had nothing to do other than to practice, that was all she'd done.

Which was clearly paying off from the looks of the choking villains surrounding her.

"What the hell is this kid?" one of the Ravagers cried, tearing a mushroom off his face. "How is she doing this?"

Taserface growled in annoyance from the hole in the wall. He'd sent his people in first, planning to stand watch over the entrance after that last target which had been the right choice after all as he was now only a dozen still standing.

"Boss, look!" the Ravager next to him cried, pointing down.

"What?" Taserface said, following his finger and letting out a yelp when he saw the mushrooms growing right for him. He backed away fast, firing away at them but it didn't do much good, more still coming. He instantly leaned back up, aiming at the girl. This was all her power so if he took her out, then this would end.

"Wah!" she cried, seeing the gun. She threw herself to the side, letting the electric bolt fly overhead. She focused on her power and a much larger mushroom suddenly exploded from the ground in front of her, blocking the next bolt before it could strike. She quickly ran down the fake street, hiding behind the corner of one the fake buildings.

"Damn it," Taserface grunted. "Little bitch scarpered."

"What do we do now, Captain?" Oblo asked.

Taserface looked at the room, assessing their options. They could go after the girl but she had the advantage now that she'd gone into hiding. Apparently, she could extend her damn mushrooms to…well, he didn't know but it seemed pretty far. Enough to take out his men like this. And if he stepped in there, he'd be just like them.

Still, to be taken out by a little brat like this was shameful and he would love nothing more than to tear her a new one. They would need some of the gas canisters from the ship to take her out and help kill off the damn mushrooms. It would take time but…

"SCREEEE!"

Taserface's head whipped around at the noise. "What the hell is that?" he demanded.

"Sounds like those things protecting that stony kid," Oblo replied.

"Ah, right. Those creepy beasts," Taserface nodded.

Just then, another shriek echoed towards them followed by several others. Taserface felt shivers run down his spine as more and more were heard. How many were coming? He looked around, noting just how few men he had left with him, and then back into the large chamber filled with mushrooms.

"Screw this! We've got two already, should be able to get some good money for them. And we get to claim we robbed the High Evolutionary himself! That's good enough for me!"

"Great choice sir!" Oblo cheered along with the other men.

"Now let's get back to the ship! And put some hustle into it!" he added, taking off as the shrieks got louder behind him.

"What about us?" one of the Ravagers covered in mushrooms coughed out.

"Stay or leave, it's up to you!"

---

Todoroki hurried as fast as he could down the passageways. He could hear crashing and roaring sounds behind him from the other monsters heading his way but they still seemed a ways off. Still, given it took everything he had to just take down one of them, he wasn't eager to go up against another one. He had to find the other captives here as soon as possible.

But it wasn't looking good. He'd already passed by two of the large chambers where he assumed Hagakure and whoever these Ravagers had already captured had been staying and just up ahead he spotted a blasted opening in the wall that showed a third one.

"Damn it," he muttered, peeking inside. Just some debris from the blast. Nothing that gave him any hint as to what might have happened here.

"Hello!" he cried out. "It's Todoroki! Anyone there?"

He waited anxiously to the count of thirty but there was no response. He was tempted to keep waiting but there was still one more chamber left. Hopefully whoever was in here had escaped though he figured it was likely the Ravagers had captured them as well. If so, Hagakure would be able to rescue them.

ROOOOAAARRR!

Todoroki cursed softly again at the roar, knowing he couldn't linger anymore. He had to keep moving before that thing and whatever else was loose caught up to him. He dashed back down the passageway when another sound hit him, this one a more piercing cry, like something a bird would make.

"That…sounds familiar," he murmured, trying to place it. But he didn't have long to think before he heard running feet and suddenly a mob of Ravagers appeared at the end of the passageway, the leader coming to a stop once he saw Todoroki.

"Well, well," he grinned, his teeth sticking out with spittle flying. "Looks like we get a third prize yet, eh?"

His men all sniggered behind him, readying their weapons.

"I am Shoto Todoroki," Todoroki said. "And I will warn you only once. Surrender now or you will regret it."

"Is that right kid?" one Ravager chuckled.

"You got some balls on you," another added.

Todoroki frowned, looking himself up and down and spotting no balls on his person. "I warned you," he said simply before calling on his power, the air already turning cold as ice began to form beneath his right foot.

CRASH!

The Ravagers screamed and Todoroki grunted as the wall next to them practically exploded, pieces of flying everywhere as something smashed its way through. Todoroki managed to raise his right hand, a slide of ice forming beneath him and carrying him down the hall and out of harm's way. He glanced back and grimaced when he saw the tentacles appearing through the opening, the familiar monster shoving its toothy jaw seconds later.

"What the hell is that?"

"Kill it!"

The Ravagers opened fire but the monster barely flinched, shaking off the attacks easily. A tentacle whipped into the hallway, sending three of the Ravagers smacking into the wall. Another tentacle came Todoroki's face and he threw himself back on a pillar of ice, the tentacle smashing into it instead of him.

From the looks of things, it appeared they didn't have the fifth target though Todoroki wished he could be sure. He just hoped whoever it was had fought the Ravagers off or managed to escape like Hagakure. He wanted to stay and fight and find out for himself but he wasn't sure if he could handle a second one of these monsters and he was pretty sure there was a third one behind it judging from the roars. The best thing to do right now was to make a strategic exit.

Of course, things didn't work out that way.

"YAAAHHH!"

Todoroki's ears perked up at the scream. It was slightly familiar but he couldn't quite place it. But it was definitely coming from someone other than the Ravagers.

He didn't have to wait long to find out who as a girl in bright red pajamas and a mop of hair over her head came racing around the corner, blaster fire following her. A large mushroom sprouted behind her, catching a blast and nearly collapsing right there.

"Boss, it's the mushroom girl!"

"I see her!"

"Komori," Todoroki breathed, recognizing her from Class B. Then, louder, "Komori!"

The girl looked up, spotting him. "Todoroki! Help! I can-"

There was another blast right at her feet, throwing her to the side. She rolled over the floor before coming to a stop in a crumpled form, barely moving.

"No!" Todoroki growled, moving to help, but as soon as he did, the tentacles monster lashed out again, nearly catching him. He sent a river of flames to its mouth and moved, seeing it reel back from the corner of his eye. He used his leg to create a flow of ice beneath him, skating forward as fast as he could. One of the tentacles whipped his way, making him duck down low to avoid it, slipping right under it.

At that moment, there was a screeching sound and one of those cybernetic animal things came flying from around the corner, a large gun in its hands that it was using to shoot at everything in sight.

"Enough of this," Todoroki grunted, raising his right hand. "Flashfreeze!"

The whole area chilled as he unleashed his power, ice growing across the floor, walls, and ceiling in an instant, all the Ravagers and hybrid creatures as well as the tentacled monsters shivering at the sudden cold. Todoroki used those seconds of cold and confusion to slide the rest of the way down the hallway, reaching Komori's prone form.

"Now heatwave," he said, letting loose a blast of pure heat from his left side, rapidly heating up all the ice and expanding the air around him.

BOOM!

The explosion rocked the ship as the superheated air threw everyone around him aside. Steam covered the entire hallway and he breathed out, feeling drained from using that technique. Still, it had bought him time.

BLARGH!

A rainbow blast of lasers threw the steam aside, scorching the walls and ceiling as the tentacle monster demolished more of the wall, breaking free.

"Damn it," Todoroki growled in frustration. He didn't have the energy or the power to take this thing down like the last one. He was doing his best to regulate his temperature but he needed a few more minutes before he would be ready and he didn't even think that would be enough. Still, he planted his foot down and created a wall of ice, blocking the monster as best he could.

"T-todoroki?"

"Komori?" Todoroki looked down, seeing the girl stir in his arms. "I'm glad you're awake. We have to-"

"SCREEE!"

Todoroki looked up in time to see one of those hybrid beasts bearing down on him. He rolled to the side, pulling Komori with him, the girl crying out in alarm. Todoroki winced, feeling something slash across his back, pain roaring from the wound. He could feel his blood stain his shirt but he was still moving so he didn't focus on that right now. He rolled onto his knees, his left hand coming up just as several more hybrids bore down on him.

"Hell-Spider!" he spat, flames burning from each fingertip, coming out in long fiery strings that burned everything they came across, including the hybrids. Two wolfish beasts howled, flames scorching their chests, while a bird one had its feathers catch fire, sending it flying around in a panic until it slammed into a wall.

"Can you move?" Todoroki asked Komori, helping her to her feet.

"Um…yes, yes I can!" she nodded determinedly.

"Good. We have to get out of here."

Just as he said that, his ice wall crumbled apart, the tentacle monster smashing its way through, letting loose even more of its explosive rainbow breath. Todoroki winced, seeing two of the Ravagers consumed by it, screaming as they collapsed.

"Come on!" he said, moving. But he hadn't taken a step when something struck him from behind, sending waves of pain lancing through his body. He fell to his knees, writhing in pain and doing his best to stay conscious.

"Ha! Looks like we'll be bagging two more targets after all!"

Todoroki managed to turn enough, seeing the leader of the Ravagers approaching.

"Todoroki!" Komori cried out. "You'll pay for that! Mus-"

"No more of that, brat!" the Ravager cried, firing another blast from his gun that struck Komori in the chest, instantly sending bolts of electricity shooting across her whole body. She collapsed on the ground, unconscious. "Ha!" the Ravager cheered. "Taste the power of Taserface!"

Taserface? Todoroki questioned. He grit his teeth, fighting through the pain. He couldn't let Komori down. He had to get them out of here. From what he could tell, none of these Ravagers seemed to have Quirks or if they did, they weren't showing them off. They were all pretty weak but their numbers and weaponry were a problem. Still, it shouldn't be anything he couldn't handle.

In the background, he could see the other Ravagers doing their best to fight off the tentacle monsters. Two were grabbed up and smashed into the wall while a third was struck by the laser breath.

"You know, I would have liked to take you too," Taserface sneered at Todoroki, gun still aimed at him. "You're quite powerful. Could have made some good units off of ya. But you're too powerful. Don't think we could hold ya. You're too much trouble."

"You got that right!" Todoroki practically snarled, throwing his hand up and unleashed a burst of flames from his left side. But Taserface dodged it at the last instant. He fired his gun at Todoroki who just managed to roll out of the way in time. His right hand struck the ground and ice shot up, forming a wall between him and Taserface.

He breathed out, giving himself a few seconds to recover, before he turned towards Komori's unconscious form, lifting her up carefully. "Let's get out of here," he told her, turning towards the open passageway. He stopped a second later, one of the hybrid beasts right in front of him, this one with a giant pig head and several bladed hands that it held out threateningly.

"You will surrender in the name of the High Evolutionary!" the hybrid declared in a surprisingly high-pitched voice.

"I don't think so," Todoroki replied coldly, the hybrid already frozen as he walked past it. "I don't have time to waste on the likes of you."

SMASH!

Todoroki managed to throw himself back in time as the wall next to him practically exploded, a large fleshy tentacle ripping its way through. He grimaced in annoyance as he saw yet another one of those monsters breaking its way through.

"I'm really getting sick of you things," he grunted, shifting Komori in his arms so that he could fire off a blast of his flames through the hole the tentacle had made. Already expecting a counterattack, he used his ice to slide across the ground before the beast even finished its pained cry, three of its tentacles shooting out to where Todoroki had been standing and smashing the floor apart.

Todoroki managed to reach the corner, running as fast as he could. But that was proving to be hard as he'd used up quite a bit of energy fighting off the Ravagers, hybrid creatures, and tentacle monsters. But he refused to give up. He'd managed to save one of his…well, not his classmate but a fellow U.A. hero student. Now he just had to get back to Hagakure and then…

Hagakure. She'd gone to the ship. Which was behind him.

He turned, seeing those tentacles still writhing about as the monster tried to break through the wall. He could still hear the sounds of battle coming from behind his ice wall and knew it would be a complete war zone there. Getting through that would certainly not be easy.

But he didn't have a choice. He had no idea how he could get back from this passageway. This whole damn spaceship or whatever he was on was a maze. And based on what he'd learned so far, the Ravagers had caught two other classmates which meant that they had no reason to stay anymore. They'd probably head back to their ship now and if they took off…well, Todoroki wasn't even sure he could find them. Not in the vastness of space.

"Alright then," he said, readying himself. He placed Komori on his right shoulder, securing her as he lifted his left arm behind him. "Let's go."

He shot forward in a burst of speed, the ice forming under his feet as his left hand propelled himself forward with a constant stream of hot fire. He sped right past the monstrous tentacles, ducking under one as it swung by, and went right towards the ice wall. Right before he struck it, Todoroki had his ice shoot upwards and he threw himself off at the peak, bringing his left hand forward and sending a stream of fire at the wall, burning a hole through it that he fell through.

As soon as he was through, he made out the Ravagers forming a circle against the wall, blasting away at the approaching monsters as well as the few hybrids that were still alive. In that split second, Todoroki saw one tentacle grab hold of a hybrid and crush it while another took a Ravager by the leg and dragged him into the hole in the wall screaming.

He acted fast, the ice already forming again beneath his feet until he was sliding down, his firepower still speeding him along.

"Hey! It's that kid!" he heard one of the Ravagers cry.

"Get him!"

"Forget it! Too much trouble!" Taserface growled. This whole mission had gone sideways on them and it was time to cut their losses. He'd hoped that they could make it back to the ship but this damn Abilisk was making it difficult. He'd already lost half a dozen men to it and it looked like he'd lose more to get free, which he'd be fine with if he also wasn't sure he'd be killed too. Which meant that it was time for the emergency plan. "Alright all of you, activate your spacesuits."

That was the only warning he gave them before he gave the signal, the wall just down the hallway blowing up a few seconds later and opening into the vacuum of space. A minute ago, seeing how things would go, he'd ordered the ship to take off and come around to pick them up. He managed to activate the spacesuit, the shimmering blue energy field spreading over him like some kind of gelatin, right before all the air was ripped from away by the hole and he found himself flying out along with it, soon drifting in the dark blackness of outer space.

He didn't have to wait long before a light struck him, the Ravagers' ship appearing in front of him. He saw the hangar bay opening up and the tractor beam guide him as well as the others inside. As soon as he landed and the doors closed behind him, he removed the suit, grateful to breathe normal air again. Or as normal as it got on this ship.

"Success Captain?" Retch, who'd stayed on the ship, asked.

Taserface growled as he looked at the men he'd brought with him through the ripped hull. Apparently, two of them hadn't activated their suits in time and were now coughing and trying to recover from the exposure to the cold vacuum. "Did the captives make it on board?" he asked.

"Both of them sir."

"Good. They'll do, though I wish we could have bagged a few more. Oh well. Let's just get out of here now."

"Right away sir."

---

"Statement. The Ravagers have blown a hole in the side of the ship to escape," the recorder said.

"Indeed. Quite clever of them I must say," the High Evolutionary acknowledged.

"Question. Do you not wish to close the hole before more damage is done? Shoto Todoroki may be sucked out into space."

"He may, yes. But I'm sure if he does the Ravagers will pick him up. And if not, well, that will be that. But I believe he will rise to the occasion and save himself and his companion as well. So for now, I will not close the hole. I wish to see how this plays out."

The High Evolutionary leaned back in his seat, sipping away at his tea, before he suddenly frowned and looked at his mug. "This doesn't taste like Earl Grey."

"Question. You wished for Earl Grey tea?"

"Yes. I always want Earl Grey. Please, bring me a fresh mug."

"Question. Then why do you have ten boxes of Oolong tea?"

"There was a sale and…the boxes looked like Earl Grey. Now go get me another mug of Earl Grey this time."

"Statement. The boxes of Earl Grey look nothing l-"

"Just go get me another mug!"

---

Todoroki didn't get any warning before the explosion. He had rounded the corner and was sliding down the next hallway when there was the loud boom! behind him. The next thing he knew, there was a rushing sound and he felt himself getting yanked back by some force. On instinct, the ice at his feet grew around him, holding him in place, but he still felt the insane pull.

What is going on? he thought, feeling the air ripping at his face. He could barely keep his grip on Komori, feeling her beginning to slip through his fingers. His whole body was leaning back, the pull getting stronger with each passing second.

Space, he realized. He'd learned about it, how the vacuum of space pulled at any opening. One of the Ravagers or those monsters must have blown a hole to the outside and caused this mess. But that didn't help him. He still had his fire going and was doing everything he could to stay in place but the wind was also pulling on his fire, making it hard to keep it lit. To make matters worse, he was starting to see cracks forming along his ice.

There was only one thing left to do. He wished he could take a breath to prepare but he couldn't even do that with all the air flying by. If he didn't act now, he'd likely pass out soon anyway.

He focused all his power, feeling the cold take over his body. He had to go further, beyond his limits, and make everything as cold as he could. The last time he'd gone this far, he'd been up against Chimera at Nabu Island. But this had to be more. He could feel the chills all along his body, feel everything inside him begin to slow down.

Now!

With a massive heave, he blasted his power out of him and the whole hallway was consumed by a cold so chilling, the air itself froze as Todoroki's ice spread faster than a heartbeat across everything. The vacuum pulled but Todoroki's ice was stronger and faster, encasing everything around him until there was nothing but ice. A fresh wall grew from the ground, this was three times thicker than the last, and it spread from floor to ceiling and wall to wall until the entire passageway was blocked from the ice.

Just like that, the pull disappeared and Todoroki fell back on the ground, taking deep breaths as he sighed in relief. He relaxed his right side, the cold slowly fading as his left side warmed him back up, albeit slowly.

"That was too close," he murmured, slightly in a daze from the exertion. But he didn't stay there long, rising back up soon enough and lifting Komori up. It wasn't over yet. He still had to get to the Ravagers' ship and find Hagakure and get whoever the other two were to safety.

---

"Quite the power on that boy," the High Evolutionary said to himself, watching with interest. "But it seems in moments of crisis, he favors his right side, the ice side. Intriguing. I find most go fiery if they have the option as it brings more destructive power. A dominant hand thing or something more?"

"Statement. The hull breach is beginning to cause significant damage across the ship and one Abilisk has already been lost to the vacuum," the Recorder told him.

"Yes, yes," the High Evolutionary responded distractedly, touching a button on the console. On the screen, the hole in the hull was shown to be covered in a glowing yellow energy field, containing the breach. "Now, what will your next move be, boy?"

"Statement. There is an unidentified object approaching."

"Is there now? How curious. This is proving to be quite the spectacle." The High Evolutionary turned to the monitors, a slight smile gracing his metallic face as he saw who was coming. "Ah yes. Quite the spectacle indeed."

---

Uraraka couldn't sleep. She'd been tossing and turning for an hour now but just couldn't get her body to settle down. She was too restless, too many thoughts on her mind. She wanted to be doing something, anything, to help her friends.

It had been so much easier when Bakugo had been taken. Then, she had known that every teacher at U.A. as well as every pro hero in the country was on the case. She was still worried of course since, as rude as he was, he was her classmate. And he'd shown her some respect after their fight at the Sports Festival. But she knew there was nothing she could do and that way more qualified people were taking care of it.

Now…now that wasn't the case. Now all her friends were captured, held hostage by all sorts of villains across the globe. On another universe too so no U.A. teachers to help. And now, to make matters worse, apparently the main government task force or whatever wouldn't be helping, deeming it not a priority.

She liked the FF, especially Sue. They seemed trustworthy and reliable. She may not have seen them in action yet but given what she'd read about them on the internet, they were held in such high regard for a reason.

But that wasn't enough for her. They were just four people and it seemed like their leader, Reed, was preferring to take the safer route here. There were a few moments in the training session where he reminded her or Mr. Aizawa in terms of feedback. But he was nothing like her teacher as she knew Aizawa wouldn't be sitting around waiting while his students were in danger. He would be doing something about it.

Giving up, Uraraka rose from the bed she'd been provided and carefully slipped out of the room. She took a peek at Asui and Tsunotori asleep in the same room. She wished she could talk to them, especially Asui, about this but didn't want to disturb their rest. Besides, she had a feeling she knew what Asui would tell her and had another feeling that she wouldn't agree.

As she made her way out, her eyes landed on the tablet Sue had given her. Her eyes had practically bugged out at the overly expensive gift and had stammered that there was no way she could accept this. But apparently Reed made them for 'fun' and that taking one really was 'no big deal.' Apparently he had to make them himself as Ben kept breaking his in fits of anger and they were expensive. Uraraka hesitated for a moment before picking it up and taking it with her.

She made her way down to the kitchen, hoping she could get some water to help ease her mind. But as soon as she had a glass, she found herself sitting at the table and opening up the tablet. One of the things Sue had told them all was that the tablets had the database for all known heroes, villains, and certain individuals that didn't consider themselves as either one. Certain information was redacted from Uraraka and the others for classified or private reasons but most of it was available for them to go through given the situation. And she couldn't help but click on the villain file and begin perusing.

There were so many that it took her breath away. She could hardly name more than a handful of villains from back home and most of them were from the League of Villains. But there were hundreds here, pages of them.

She found a key near the top of the page which listed what certain markings meant, some being 'alpha level threat' and others meaning 'FF history.' She found one with the latter marking titled 'Mole Man,' clicking on it in curiosity.

Harvey Elder aka the Mole Man was one of the first villains the Fantastic Four had ever fought. Apparently he was a practically blind older man who, at first glance, looked kind of weak and feeble. Part of him even reminded Uraraka of Mineta, though she felt a tiny bit guilty about that. Only a tiny bit.

But what made the Mole Man a threat was the fact that he had some sort of radar sense that helped him see everything around him and the fact that he was an expert scientist with many tools and weapons he created himself. However, what made him so dangerous was his complete dominion over all the vast creatures that lived beneath the surface. Uraraka's eyes widened as she read about the Moloids, dinosaurs, giant monsters known as Mutates, and more. Mole Man's control over them as well as the seismic technology at his disposal made him a true threat to the FF and other heroes.

Uraraka glanced at a few others like the alchemist Diablo and some guy called the Trapster, but her eyes landed on one name with so many markings it was impossible not to notice.

Doctor Doom. She'd heard all the others back at the Helicarrier talking about him in such a way that she knew he was a big deal.

"Why hello there."

Uraraka yelped at the voice, spilling her water all over the tablet. She yelped again, trying to clean it up and failing. "Oh no, I'm so sorry!" she said, knowing the tablet was ruined now. "I promise I'll pay you back…somehow. I don't know how but-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Johnny Storm said, still smiling. "Take a breath and relax for a minute ok. First of all, the tablet's fine."

"It…it is?" Uraraka questioned, looking at it again. He was right, it was still working normally, like nothing had happened.

"Reed made them all waterproof," Johnny told her. "As well as fireproof and a bunch of other proofs. He's good like that."

"Oh," Uraraka said, flushing from her little freak out.

"So, why are you up?" Johnny asked, opening the cupboard and pulling out a bag of what looked like popcorn. "Can't sleep?"

Uraraka sighed and shook her head. "Too much on my mind."

"Yeah, that tracks," Johnny said, holding out his hand for the bag. A few seconds later, it began to fill up and pop. "The others and I all kind of…well, it was a lot to take in when we got our powers and we had our ups and downs dealing with everything that came with them. And things really just kept getting crazier. But, at some point we just kind of got used to the craziness."

"I don't think I'll ever get used to this," Uraraka murmured.

"Well just take it one day at a time then," Johnny shrugged. "So what are you looking at anyway?"

"Um…the Mole Man?"

"That weirdo?" Johnny asked, eyebrow raised. "Why?"

"I was just curious about the villains this world has and saw he was an old FF villain and…looked him up."

"Yeah, he was technically our first," Johnny nodded. "Good ol' Moley. He's probably stewing down there somewhere and cooking up some new threat to make the surface world pay for its transgressions or whatever. Look, don't worry about him," Johnny told her, grabbing some popcorn and tossing it in his mouth. "There's no way someone like him has your friends, trust me."

"Ok," Uraraka nodded, pausing for a second. "What…what about Doctor Doom?"

Johnny's easygoing expression dropped instantly. "Doomy?" he said and though the name was silly, the man's tone wasn't. "Yeah, unfortunately it would be up his alley."

"So then why aren't we-"

"Look Pink Cheeks," Johnny said, making Uraraka blink in surprise at the nickname, "Doc Doom isn't just any villain. For most of us, he's the villain. The top of the food chain. We've gone up against him countless times and each time…well, it felt like it really could be our last. One time he injected me with something that made my fire burn constantly. Like, I was on fire 24/7. It was insane. I couldn't eat or do anything normal. Couldn't even stay up here without setting everything ablaze."

"Oh my god," Uraraka muttered, horrified. She couldn't imagine something like that. "Why would he do that?"

Johnny's face turned a slight shade of pink and he scratched the back of his head. "Because…he sucks, that's why," he said quickly. "But Doom is more than that. He's smart. Like seriously smart. He's always steps ahead of anyone, even Reed though Stretcho won't admit it. And he's a master scientist, sorcerer, fighter, you name it. Plus he's also technically the ruler of the country of Latveria which gives him diplomatic immunity for whatever he wants to do. Going after him recklessly is a guarantee for death. Or imprisonment in his dungeon or…getting all fiery 24/7. We don't mess with Doom unless we can safely say we'll get out of it. I mean, I'd love to take him down but even I'm not stupid enough to go charging him just like that."

"Oh…" Uraraka said, digesting all that.

"We are working on it, seeing if he was involved in all this. Like I said, it does sound like something he'd do. But…we gotta be careful."

"So then what can I do?" Uraraka sighed, frustrated. "Just sit here and train and wait? And just do nothing?"

Johnny eyed her curiously. "What do you wanna do?" he asked, dumping more popcorn in his mouth.

"I…I don't know," she admitted. "Something."

"Ok. Let's do it."

Uraraka blinked at him in confusion. "Huh?"

"Let's go do something. Reed said you needed more training with us so let's get to it."

"You mean…you want to go to the training room now?"

Johnny snorted. "That thing? Hell no. No, let's go out." For emphasis, he gestured with his thumb behind him to the window. "This is New York. It's basically ground zero for pretty much all the craziness. So about now, there's always something going on. Some crook up to no good, some villain doing something nefarious, some bad guy doing the bad. So let's go take care of them."

Uraraka gaped at him, not believing what she was hearing. "We…we can't do that!" she stammered.

"Why not?" Johnny shrugged. "I do it all the time. Every hero does. Half of them are probably on patrol right now. Heck, I'd bet all of Reed's money that all the Spideys are web-slinging around town as we speak."

Uraraka didn't know what that meant, her brain still trying to keep up with what the guy was saying. Was he really suggesting they just go out on patrol right now? Without any kind of permission or supervision or…oh. Right. They didn't do that here. New world, new rules.

Still…

Uraraka glanced backwards towards the doorway and the rest of the building. She knew she should just stay here. That was what was best. But for whom? Why was it best?

What would Deku do? she started to wonder but then shook it off a second later. This wasn't about what he would do, it what was about what she wanted to do. And she wanted to do something.

"What if we did…something else?" she asked carefully.

"Oh? Like what?" Johnny asked, picking up on the tone in her voice.

"What if we don't just go on patrol but go looking for someone?" she asked. "All those villains…some of them have to be connected, right? Someone has to know someone else."

Johnny eyed her for a few seconds. "That's not really my area of expertise," he admitted and Uraraka felt her spirits fade a little. "But I do know someone who can help with that," he added, making them lift again."

"You do?"

"Yep. Gotta say, those are some bold flavors you're cooking and I like it."

Uraraka knew her friends, especially Asui wouldn't approve, and probably not the FF either. But she hated just doing nothing. This was a new world with new rules and she had to adapt to survive. She wanted, more than anything, to find her friends and if others weren't willing, then she'd do it herself.

She felt the anxiety rising in her but also the adrenaline. This may feel wrong but it also felt right and she was sure this is what she had to do.

"Alright, let's go," Johnny said, finishing off the last of the popcorn.

"So who's this person you know?" she asked as they made their way out of the kitchen and down the hallway.

"I mentioned him to you already. We're gonna go meet up with Spidey."

---

"Oh god."

Hagakure had heard the clanking sounds and had felt the ship move but hadn't wanted to acknowledge what that could mean. She had been able to sneak aboard the Ravagers' ship easily enough, her invisible body slipping right past the freaky-looking guards on duty. She hadn't known what to expect when she got on board, maybe something straight out of those science fiction films. But instead she met what looked like the inside of a garbage truck. The corridors were rusted and filthy, looking like they hadn't been cleaned ever, She felt like she was walking down a passage from a sewer, not a spaceship. She made a mental note to clean her shoes twice as hard next time as just stepping on the floor made her skin crawl.

She'd listened carefully as she came across the Ravagers, making sure to move around them in such a way that they wouldn't even accidentally run into her, keeping her movements silent. Training sessions sure had paid off in a big way.

Because of that, she was able to make her way towards where she believed the two other classmates were being held.

That was when she heard the loud clanking sounds and felt the ship shudder.

"It's probably nothing," she muttered to herself. "Just this junky-ass ship settling is all. Nothing to be concerned ab-"

The ship jerked forward suddenly and she yelped, landing on her hands and knees and then yelping again. "Ah! So sticky!"

She could feel the ship moving and not like it was settling but like it was actually moving. And her heart was moving with it as it filled with dread. This couldn't be happening. She couldn't be…no!

She rushed back down the passageway, looking desperately around for anything that could give her some insight that would help, when there was a crackling noise around her.

"All hands brace," a voice said over the intercom. "We are about to jump."

That could mean multiple things but Hagakure could figure it out for herself. A minute later, she was proven right as the ship jerked forward so fast, she landed back on the floor. But the pain was nothing compared to the fear as she realized she was now trapped on a ship filled with filthy pirates without any backup in the middle of space.

"Oh no…"

---

"I'm ok," Komori said slowly, getting to her feet. She had regained consciousness a minute ago much to Todoroki's relief. "Don't worry about me, we need to keep moving."

"Are you sure?" Todoroki asked, concerned even though he knew she was right.

"We can't waste any more time," she said. "I'm sorry I was a burden on you but I won't from now on. So come on, we've got some friends to save."

Todoroki nodded. They needed to find the Ravagers' ship and reunite with Hagakure who had hopefully found the two others. Though Todoroki was beginning to have serious doubts about this. He'd gone all out with ice powers several times in a row now and he was really feeling the effects of it. He was warming back up thanks to his left side but that would take time to complete, time they didn't have. And according to that one Ravager he'd interrogated, there were more than a hundred Ravagers on board their ship.

Just keep going, he thought to himself, both he and Komori picking up speed now. He couldn't dwell on how difficult this would be, just on getting it done somehow.

However, he soon found himself facing a new problem. He had no idea where to go.

"I thought you said it was this way!" Komori cried.

"I'm sorry," he replied, rubbing his head. "After everything, especially when the wall blew open into space, I got turned around."

"Well we need to find some way."

Todoroki opened his mouth, about to suggest finding those Ravagers he'd had frozen in place, but then realized he actually didn't remember where they were either and so just closed his mouth again. So what could they do? Just wander around blindly until they found something that could help them?

Wham!

Todoroki and Komori jumped back in shock as something flew by them from the intersecting passageway, striking the wall and collapsing against the ground. It took a second for Todoroki to realize it was one of those hybrid creatures, this one looking like an octopus cyborg of some kind. It was oozing some kind of liquid from what looked like stab wounds, its machines parts sparking.

"What the…" was all Komori managed.

"HAHAHAHAHA! I was able to bat that wriggly being away thanks to my incredible strength! It is lucky you were paired with me for this mission due to your incredible weakness!" a booming voice announced.

"So you keep saying," another voice replied. "But I could always have made you do other things to that wriggly being if you keep saying that. Hmmm?"

There was a slight pause. "Very well," the first voice said, a little sullenly.

"What is happening?" Komori muttered under her breath but Todoroki didn't have an idea. Something else was going on here or, more accurately, someone else was here. Maybe more escaped prisoners or maybe these were Ravagers too. Either way, they might have answers that Todoroki desperately needed.

He stepped towards that passageway despite Komori's squeak of alarm and looked ahead to see two figures, one a muscular bald man with no shirt and strange swirling tattoos across his body and the other a young woman with antenna similar to Ashido's springing from her forehead.

"Haha! A new foe appears!" the man cried, seeing Todoroki. "Prepare to meet your doom!"

Todoroki held out his left hand, his right one still not fully recovered, and let his fire bloom out in what he hoped was an intimidating manner. "Who are you?" he asked.

"We are the Guardians of the Galaxy!" the woman told him. "And we are here to kick names and take ass!"

"Yeah, that's right!"

"…What?"

---

NOTE: I AM CLOSED TO ART COMMISSIONS.

And we are back! So sorry for the delay but I hope this was a good read for you all. And Happy Halloween!

Things have been hectic these last few months. I first had to deal with some creative burnout and needed some time away from writing to recharge my batteries. And then I moved to a new town which turned into a complete legal snafu that went down the drain so that was fun. But despite concerns, this story still lives!

Another reason for the delay was actually that I struggled with how this chapter and Todoroki's storyline would go. I will never publish anything unless I'm sure it's as good as can be and until I was sure this was the right direction, I couldn't keep going. Now I have a better idea in mind and while I wasn't able to do some of the things I originally wanted to, it worked out for the best here.

Hope you enjoyed the Recorder appearance. Funny thing was, I was reading the Wikipedia page for Guardians Vol. 3 for more info on High Evolutionary characters and realized that all those scientists were actually called recorders. To hardcore classic fans, that name has another ring as there was a character called the Recorder who followed Thor and later Hercules on their adventures in the stars, including the first appearance of Ego (check it out, great issue). Since I really loved that character, I decided to bring a version here.

Also, in terms of the X-Men, I've been doing back and forth on what to do. So now I want all your opinions. Would you prefer modern comics approach (i.e. Krakoa and all that) or would you prefer X-Men '97 approach or something else? Let me know.

Stay tuned for what comes next and thanks for reading. Leave a review if you can!

Now, I do also want to make some comments about the MCU. I know some people are going back and forth on whether or not it's thriving or dead. My general consensus is that it's based on each project. Some work and some don't. Agatha All Along was something I think a lot of people expected to fail but it turned out to be a real delight (though I'm still upset they came up with original witch characters instead of just using previously comic established ones. Next time Topaz, next time).

However, here are my thoughts regarding Avengers: Doomsday. I can't muster any sort of excitement for it. It's not that I think it'll fail, I just don't care. I think pushing Kang aside was a huge mistake as the build up around him was getting me hyped. I think bringing Robert Downey Jr. back was also a big mistake as there's no way he's going to play Dr. Doom for long and if they turn Marvel's greatest villain (yeah I said it) into a one-film baddie, that would be a travesty to the character's history.

Still, I'm excited for all the 2025 projects as they all look good. I am disappointed Dr. Doom won't appear in the new Fantastic Four film (basically most of my worries center around Dr. Doom now), but I still am curious as to what will happen. So, those are just my thoughts.

Marvel reading:

Fantastic Four: just finished Secret Wars and am now entering the She-Hulk FF era. Pretty good so far but still early. A Small Loss was brilliant though.

Spider-Man: finished Mantlo and Stern's runs and they will be missed. But entered the Black Suit era and am super excited for that. Still too soon for Venom but the hype is there.

Thor: Finally made it to Simonson! Yeah! Surtur Saga's coming and I can't wait! But I read Beta Ray Bill and I already love him!

Captain America: DeMatteis run ending soon but it had its moments. Hoping for a high note.

Avengers: Stern started out strong but right now it's just mediocre (#245). Absolute Vision is coming though as well as West Coast Avengers.

Hulk: read Mantlo's professor Hulk era which was cool and interesting, but now Days of Rage is here and I'm excited.

Iron Man: read Deliverance (#182). Holy shit. That is seriously good. All Iron Man fans, you have to read it.

Daredevil: whatever magic O'Neil brought to Iron Man, it isn't crossing over here. Sorry, but Daredevil's back to being a bit of a slog to read through.

X-Men: Rogue has joined the X-Men and I'm liking her way more as a hero than a villain. Also, I'm watching the Animated Series and I can't believe Kitty Pryde isn't there.