MyHeroAssociation

by PhineasFlash25

After a Mysterious-Cube falls from the sky, Class-1A finds themselves transported to a strange alternate-universe, and until they can return home to stop All-For-One and Shigaraki, they must train under the Class-S Heroes of this Other-World, and grow strong enough to win the Final-War that awaits them... (An Alternate Take on Lumpeistbark3's CYA: What Defines A Hero Series)

12. Chapter-11: Pain and Progress

My Hero Association Chapter-11

Pain and Progress

Month 1: Week 4:

---

A Quick Word from the Author:

Hey Howdy Hello, Everyone! Sorry for the long wait. Chapter-11 ended up being more tedious to complete than I had anticipated. Plus, I was going back and forth over whether I should include this one very-important character moment in this chapter, or save it for Chapter-12. Ultimately, I settled on the latter.

Also, WOW, this series just exceeded 110 followers and favorites?! That's nuts! Thank you all SO MUCH for your support! Let's say we aim for 200!

---

While You Were in Recovery: Bakugo, Todoroki, Kuseno

5 days had come and gone, and both Todoroki and Bakugo had been discharged from the hospital. Doctor Kuseno signed all the paperwork, drove the two teens back to his lab, and if things went according to plan, they'd both be finished with their procedures in time to join their Class for dinner.

The last 5 days had been agony for Bakugo, as he was constantly berated with text-messages of sympathy and concern from his classmates, or the occasional photos from Kirishima and Kaminari, showing-off what kind of training they were doing or the monsters they had defeated.

"This had better be worth it." Bakugo grumbled as he laid back in a motorized wheelchair and studied the messages and updates on his phone. He was waiting just outside the operating-room for Todoroki's procedure to be finished. Bakugo's entire right-arm was busted and put in a cast, so he had to rely on his left-hand to swipe and type. Each new message made him more and more impatient.

Kirishima had texted him saying he helped to crush a prison-riot alongside DarkShine, and Kaminari was being taught martial-arts by Lightning-Max. And worst of all, PinkCheeks had texted him, gushing over how incredible Izuku was at Bang's Dojo, and how even the Tail-Guy was getting a lot tougher thanks to the Old Man's fighting-style.

"When the stupid surgery's finished, I should probably look for a martial-art to study, too." Bakugo thought, remembering the time when Izuku completely humiliated him by predicting his moves and judo-flipping him, way back when they first entered UA and were doing their first combat exercises.

"It's not just his Quirk I need to keep pace with, he's getting a lot more skilled in battle, too." Bakugo contemplated. "They all are. And there's no friggin' way that I'm letting him embarrass me like that a second time."

Kuseno's laboratory was quiet, the soft hum of machinery being the only sound as Bakugo stared at the ceiling. His mind racing as he replayed the events of his last battle. The Diamond-Dominion had been relentless, their crystalline bodies completely impervious to damage. Every explosion he unleashed, every ounce of strength he poured into the fight, and he barely left a mark.

Then Saitama showed up, his unimpressive appearance masking the raw power he'd displayed. One Punch. That's all it took for him to obliterate the army that had brought both him and Todoroki to the brink of death.

"Someday, somehow, I'll reach that level. Even if it takes my entire life, I'll get there!" Bakugo thought to himself. His contemplations were then interrupted by the sound of the operating-room's door opening. There was Doctor Kuseno, with a gentle smile on his face.

"Your friend's procedure was a success. He's still unconscious, but he'll wake up soon. I'm ready to do you now."

Bakugo nudged the control-stick to his wheelchair and motored his way into the operating-room.

"Well, here goes everything..."

---

Preparing For the Interview: King, SweetMask, Shinsou

Today was a break from King and Shinsou's usual routine. Instead of practicing videogames or running errands, King was scheduled to meet up with SweetMask and plan for the upcoming interview. Both he and Shinsou got onto the metro-line and travelled to City-S, where SweetMask's main studio was located. King spent most of the train-ride playing more videogames on his handheld controller, while Shinsou looked out the window to observe the landscape they travelled through. The commute lasted over two hours, as City-S was on the opposite side of the continent, and as soon they got off, they were swarmed by a group of fans waiting near the station. King was really smart though, having brought a notepad with dozens of autographs that he had already signed in advance, for just such an occasion. After distributing said autographs, and reluctantly agreeing to have his picture taken with some of them, the crowd finally dispersed and allowed them to carry on with their day.

"See, this is why I hate using the metro," King said. "Now that there's an official and exclusive trainline for Heroes and Association agents, people will just wait near the stations and ambush me for an autograph. It's exhausting."

"Yeah, I bet that would get old pretty fast." Shinsou agreed.

It was funny. King was hyped-up as though he were the AllMight of this world, and even vaguely resembled AllMight in appearance to some extent, but that was where the similarities ended.

"He's a lot more like Mr. Aizawa," Shinsou thought. "He never wanted to be in the spotlight either."

Once they made it to SweetMask's studio, they were escorted to his office by a sharply dressed secretary. As they walked through the hallways and passed by various rooms, Shinsou noticed that most of the facility had little to do with SweetMask's job as a Class-A Hero, and more to do with his work as an actor, model, and singer, along with his position as an executive for the Association.

Shinsou wondered how anyone could possibly juggle so many jobs all at once. He imagined that the Idol-Hero must have an incredibly packed schedule. As if on cue to confirm his thoughts, they entered SweetMask's office to find him talking to someone on the phone.

"Seriously?! After everything that I've done for this institution?! If it weren't for me, the Association would have gone under years ago! I deserve the highest security-clearance, I deserve to be kept in the loop, especially if you are to keep turning to me every single time that there's a PR crisis!... Oh, really? And how am I supposed to do that when you refuse to disclose multiple key details?... Well, unlike you, I care less about maintaining the illusion of transparency and credibility, and more about actually being transparent and credible! That is the only..."

Suddenly, SweetMask's frustrated tone and expression gave way to shock and silence. He then resumed talking, now with a more tentative voice.

"I see... Well, if Blast was the one to insist on this policy, then I suppose I must concede. Apologies... Yes, I... Understood... Yes, you as well."

He hung up, and looked across the room to see King and Shinsou. His expression brightened.

"Excellent! Thank you for coming, King. And I take it you must be Shinsou, correct?"

"Yes, sir." Shinsou confirmed. He speculated that the Idol-Hero must've been talking to either Sitch or his assistant Jinzuren. It sounded like he was frustrated with them for keeping the full story about his Class's arrival secret. Blast and Sitch had urged them not to mention the Cube to anyone, but since the Cube was how they were transported here in the first place, keeping it a secret left some massive holes in their story.

"Very good," SweetMask said. "Now that you're both here, we can begin planning and rehearsing for the coming interview next week."

Despite being a live interview, the entire exchange would be fully scripted in advance, and the news anchor they'd be talking with had already agreed to the terms, as had the entire channel. The very first thing they would do is completely debunk the allegations of the kids being monsters. Unfortunately, though, due to the circumstances of HOW Shinsou and his classmates arrived in this world being strictly classified, they would simply have to invent a cover-story.

"The more sympathetic it is, the better," SweetMask noted. "And it will also need to explain why the children are against using lethal-force, but still reassure the public that despite this, they will always prioritize the lives of civilians over the monsters."

SweetMask then glared at Shinsou, his golden eyes seemingly boring into his very soul.

"That is your priority, correct?"

"Yes, of course it is." Shinsou confirmed, and SweetMask's intimidating gaze vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

"We should also emphasize the fact that two of the children are already Class-S, and that two more of them are Class-A. We're living in a very dangerous time, and people desperately wish to feel safe. The prospect of gaining not one, but two Class-S Heroes will certainly sway public opinion in the children's favor. We'll gloss over some of the weaker ones, and for Shinsou, we'll simply keep your abilities a closely guarded secret, but we'll heavily imply that whatever your Quirk is, it's far more powerful than your Class-C status would suggest."

Shinsou quickly realized that the interview wasn't really an interview at all, it was propaganda. The whole thing was scripted, the anchor was only going to ask easy questions, and the script was designed to hype-up the kids as promising young heroes, and make the Association look as good as possible. They weren't just setting the record straight to avoid false allegations; SweetMask and the Association were trying to hijack the narrative to protect and improve their own images as well.

"No wonder Aizawa hated the media so much," Shinsou thought. "They're basically just advertisement companies that cover for and play up whichever person or group that they're in bed with."

Still, he wasn't about to complain about it. He and his friends had enough going on, and the last thing they needed was for the public to brand them as monsters. They needed to focus on getting stronger, and the fewer complications, the better.

---

Our First Fight: Uraraka, Midoriya, Ojiro, Bang, Charanko

It had been 5 days since Uraraka first joined Midoriya and Ojiro's training under Bang, and all three students had continued to develop and sharpen their techniques. Ojiro was still pulling ahead of his peers, having already begun a new series of exercises outside, which were meant to reinforce his body and teach him how to enter the Stone-State, which was the second half of Bang's fighting-style, and the antithesis to the Flow-State. Unlike the Flow-State, which is a state of being that grants the flexibility and momentum of Flowing-Water, the Stone-State grants one the strength and fortitude of Crushing-Rock. A true master of the Fist of Flowing-Water Crushing-Rock is able to rapidly switch between these two abilities on a dime, and Ojiro had already vowed that by the time they returned home, he would be able to do exactly that.

Midoriya was also excited to continue his training with Bang, hoping to gain more proficiency and experience with the Flow-State so that he could catch up with Ojiro. Bang must've anticipated this, and began the day with a lecture, describing more of the science and philosophy surrounding not just his own fighting-style, but also for several other martial-arts of this world.

"The human person is composed of three dimensions of being," Bang explained. "There is the body, the mind, and the soul, and all three possess extraordinary potential. Physical energy flows through the body via the circulatory-system, with the heart acting as the center-point. Mental energy flows through the nervous-system, with the brain acting as the center of the mind. Lastly there is Spiritual energy, also known as ki, which also circulates through our bodies, on an invisible network known simply as ki-lines, and just like how the heart and the brain are the centers of physical and mental energy-flow, our souls have what is called the Core, an invisible center located in our abdominal region. Due to their spiritual nature, the Core and ki-lines cannot be perceived or quantified by conventional science like how the circulatory and nervous-systems can, although we can perceive the effects of the Core and ki-lines."

Midoriya was jotting down everything Bang said in a notebook he had brought with him that day. Recently he used some of the money he gained from hero-work to buy several notebooks, and had begun writing a whole new series of "Hero-Analysis" journals, recording everything he had learned about the heroes of this world, and had an entire journal dedicated exclusively to Bang and his martial-arts lessons. Uraraka watched him zealously recording Bang's every word, and couldn't help but giggle at the sight of it. Bang continued with his lecture.

"The apex of the Flow-State, and the Fist of Flowing-Water Crushing-Rock as a whole, involves the ability to harness, magnify and synchronize the flow of all three types of living-energy within us. This will create a sort of positive feedback-loop between them, optimizing your performance and transcending the pre-conceived limits of body, mind, and soul. This is called FreeFlow-Focus and Ki-Control."

As Midoriya wrote it down, he contemplated Bang's lesson in relation to the power of One-For-All. Whenever he activated his Full-Cowling, he imagined flipping a switch and igniting a surge of energy within him, and then distributing that energy throughout his entire body. But what if he was still thinking too small? What if he imagined circulating the power, like blood flowing through a person's arteries? What if he took the visualization technique that he used to enter the Flow-State, and tried applying it to his Quirk as well? He would need to test that out later.

Bang concluded his lecture, and their training began in earnest, going through a rigorous series of drills and forms. Uraraka still struggled with the unfamiliar movements, but was determined not to fall behind. Midoriya watched her out of the corner of his eye, noting the fire in her expression.

After half an hour of practicing forms, Bang called for sparring matches.

"Uraraka, you're up first. Ojiro, you'll be her opponent."

The two bowed to each other before entering their stances. Midoriya stood at the sidelines, watching intently. Ojiro's Tail whipped behind him as he took on a defensive stance, while Uraraka tried to mirror him.

The match began. Uraraka immediately went on the offense, but Ojiro was quick, using his tail to block and deflect Uraraka's attacks and then counter with a series of concentrated jabs and kicks. She struggled to keep up with him at first, but as the bout continued, Uraraka began to adapt to Ojiro's tricks, and was landing hits of her own.

"Good! Stay focused!" Bang called out, his voice firm but encouraging.

Uraraka managed to get a grip on Ojiro's arm, activating her Quirk to make him weightless. Siezing the moment, she grappled and tossed Ojiro, sending him flying out of bounds, then released her Quirk's effects on him, causing him to fall to the floor.

"Match goes to Uraraka!" Bang declared.

Uraraka blinked in surprise, taking heavy gasps of air as she processed her victory. Ojiro got back on his feet and smiled.

"Nice job, Uraraka! I can definitely see why Bakugo struggled against you in the Sports-Festival."

Uraraka blushed, remembering her match with Bakugo. Some people assumed that she must've put up a good fight because of how long it lasted, but she knew the truth. Bakugo wasn't struggling against her at all. The only reason she lasted as long as she did was because Bakugo was being careful not to accidentally kill her with his Explosion Quirk. Sure, Bakugo may shout things like "DIE!" and "I'LL KILL YOU!" during combat a lot, but anyone who really got to know him would realize that it's mostly just bluster and hyperbole on his part.

The next match was between Midoriya and Bang. Midoriya closed his eyes and visualized the river, while at the same time activated his Full-Cowling. He imagined circulating the energy through his veins, nerves, and even the ki-lines that Bang described... But nothing happened.

Bang chuckled. "You're trying to run before you can walk. Ki-Control cannot be mastered overnight, I'm afraid, and neither can the higher levels of the Flow-State. It took me several years of rigorous training and meditation before I could achieve such a level of mastery. For now, simply focus on visualizing the river as you did before."

Midoriya nodded, and reassumed his fighting-stance, He spent a few seconds imagining a gentle stream growing into powerful rapids, and in a flash of emerald electricity, he dashed into the fight.

The duel was nothing short of spectacular. Seeing Midoriya enter the Flow-State, and now feeling his power-level skyrocketing to its maximum as they traded blows, Bang used a Smashing-Boulder Palm-Strike to blast him away, and Midoriya was sent flying across the room. Assuming a defensive stance, Bang took in a very deep breath, and exhaled a shimmering white mist. Midoriya landed on the wall and kicked off of it, flying back towards his opponent. He balled his right-hand into a fist and was about to punch Bang in the face with a Texas-Smash, but then his DangerSense went off, which along with the Flow-State, was the only thing that allowed him to block Bang's counterattack. Bang's muscles were now surging with a newfound energy, and a shimmering white aura seemed to emanate off of him, almost as if he were using his own Full-Cowling, and his attacks became that much faster and more ferocious.

Midoriya was quickly overwhelmed by the offensive, and once Bang landed a single strike, he had the Flow-State knocked right out of him, and Bang promptly secured his victory.

"Excellent work, Midoriya," Bang commended. "You lasted a full 3 seconds longer than yesterday."

The sparring rotation continued for some time, until Bang finally called out the last one.

"Final match—Midoriya and Uraraka."

Both young heroes stood up straight after hearing their names called. For these past few days, Uraraka had been trying her best to impress Deku, especially whenever it was her turn to spar with him. But each time they fought, it was clear that Midoriya was holding back even more than usual. At first, Uraraka assumed that he just didn't want to hit a girl, being the kind and chivalrous hero that he was, but she suspected that there was more to it than that. She felt that Midoriya still only saw her as someone who needed to be protected, not as someone who could protect others.

Midoriya and Uraraka met each other on the mat in the middle of the dojo. They bowed, and Midoriya took a fighting stance that was very loose, and his feet very light. Externally, he was as tranquil as the calmest lake with the clearest water, but internally, he was terrified.

No matter how many times they sparred, Midoriya never felt any less anxious about fighting Uraraka. Even if it's only training, it just didn't feel right to hit her. Uraraka was his first real friend, unless he counted Kacchan, who for a long time was more of a bully to him than a friend. The last thing that he wanted was to ever see her get hurt, much less by his own hand.

Uraraka tried to steady herself, meeting Deku's gaze, but she felt her chest tighten under his gentle expression. She didn't want gentleness right now. She wanted to prove that she was strong enough to stand by his side...

Bang gave the signal, and Uraraka rushed forward, swinging her fist with all the power she could summon. Midoriya sidestepped it effortlessly, evading and deflecting her punch with minimal movement. She reset her stance, and continued pressuring him, trying to mimic Bang's forms and techniques, but Midoriya kept dodging and blocking, always two steps ahead, able to predict her every move with his DangerSense.

Uraraka's frustration began to build. No matter what she tried, Midoriya wouldn't go on the offensive; he hadn't even activated his Full-Cowling. He only weaved around her attacks, one after another, dodging but never attacking.

"He's never this gentle with anyone else." she angrily thought as she continued to attack. Finally, she stopped, catching her breath as she clenched her fists tightly.

"Is... Something wrong?" Midoriya asked, not sure why she paused her assault.

"Why won't you fight me?" Uraraka asked, her voice trembling with the weight of all her frustrations. "Stop holding back so much! Stop treating me like… like I'm just some fragile little girl that you need to be so gentle with!"

Midoriya looked taken aback, shifting uncomfortably under her intense gaze. "Uraraka, I'm not… I just don't want to ever hurt you..."

"I know, THAT'S THE PROBLEM!" she shot back, her voice far louder than she intended. The whole dojo went silent as she continued.

"Deku, we're all heroes. We're all training for the same thing; To protect everyone we care about and to stop whatever's coming for us. I need you to fight me for real. Because if you keep treating me like I'm weak, then how will I ever get stronger? I know that I'm weak, and I don't want to stay that way! That's the whole reason I'm here! So please, just fight me! Fight me for real! Fight me like how you would fight Bakugo!"

Her words hung in the air, cutting deep. Midoriya's expression tightened, pain flashing in his eyes. He looked down, his fists shaking as he struggled to find the right words.

"You… don't understand. I just can't… I could never fight you like that. Not you." he said, his words barely a whisper. "I'm sorry."

With that, he turned abruptly and walked out of the dojo, breaking into a run as he left. Uraraka felt her heart sinking as her best friend ran out the door.

Bang walked up behind Uraraka, and gently placed his hand on her shoulder. He tried to console her, but he sensed that there was nothing he could do to cheer the girl up.

"Master Bang," Uraraka said, struggling not to cry. "Is it okay if I spend the rest of the day off? I'm sorry to ask, but I just..."

"Of course it is." Bang assured her. "You've been training very hard these past five days, and there's no shame in needing to take a small break."

Uraraka thanked her sensei, and called the Association for an early ride back to HQ.

Meanwhile, Midoriya shot through the streets of City-Z, tears beginning to blur his vision.

He understood why Uraraka was upset, but no matter how strong she became, he knew that he could never bring himself to hit her. Even if they were equal in strength, he could never hit someone he cared so much about.

---

Out and About: Stinger, Yaoyorozu, Lightning-Max, Kaminari

Kaminari and Yaoyorozu returned to Drive-Knight's lab, and both Stinger and Lightning-Max were there waiting for them as well.

"Hey, kids! Max and I are about to head out on patrol together, and both of you are gonna join us today. Sound cool?" Stinger asked.

"Heck yeah! I'm always down for some action!" Kaminari said, pumping his fist in excitement.

"This will be a great opportunity for the both of us to practice using our Quirks in combination with each other." Yaoyorozu agreed.

"That is good," Drive-Knight stated. "Because I have an experiment I must run today, and neither of you have the security-clearance for it. This will give you both something to do outside of my lab for the day, and also gain more real-world combat experience."

Yaoyorozu and Kaminari nodded in understanding, and followed their coaches out into the city, leaving Drive-Knight to focus on whatever classified experiment he was working on.

"So, what's that on your arm?" Stinger asked, pointing to the device attached to Kaminari's wrist.

"Oh this? It's how I get around the detriments of my Quirk. I can shoot out these disks from here, and it lets me focus my electricity at a specific target, instead of zapping everything and everyone." Kaminari explained while trying to flip one of his pointer-disks in the air like a coin, but ended up missing the catch, making Yaoyorozu and Stinger laugh at his mad scramble to pick it back up.

"So, where are we going today, Stinger?" Yaoyorozu asked.

"We're headed to City-G. City-D's been a lot quieter lately, but Monster-activity has drastically increased over in City-G, so that's where we're needed. It's a little farther away though, so we'll be taking the metro-line."

After a short walk to their local station, the two Class-A Heroes and their sidekicks got aboard the metro, and took their seats in one of the cars.

Kaminari was excited, but Yaoyorozu was worried. So far, her patrols with Stinger were mostly apprehending petty criminals, and the only 'monsters' she had fought were the giant mutated fungi, not talking, sentient creatures. She knew what the general response to monsters was in this world, regardless of whether or not they had sentience and a sense of self.

"Stinger... Killing unintelligent monsters is one thing... but what about the monsters that used to be human? What about the families of people that turned into monsters?" Yaoyorozu asked.

Stinger, who looked like he was trying to take a nap during the commute, opened his eyes and looked at Yaoyorozu as he she just insulted him.

"Yeah, what about them?! Look, I can respect you wanting to keep your hands clean, but sparing the lives of monsters is just plain stupid! I don't care if they used to be human, a monster's a monster, so don't act all holier-than-thou, just because you can't accept that fact!"

This took Yaoyorozu off-guard, as Stinger never spoke to her so harshly before.

"I... didn't mean to sound sanctimonious." she said. "I was just concerned about..."

Stinger sighed. "Yeah, I get it. But that's why we came up with our deal, right? I'll stick by it, so you better make sure you get stronger so you can handle it."

"You two made a deal?" Kaminari asked.

"Yes, Stinger and I agreed that if I could subdue the monster myself, we would capture it, but if I can't, then he would kill it."

"Well, that should be a lot simpler with me here." Kaminari said, sticking a thumb to his chest.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that; Monsters have been getting a lot stronger these past few years. There aren't many Wolf-Level monsters running around anymore. And if it's a Demon-Level monster, then just forget about it. Trust me, I speak from experience." Lightning-Max told them.

"Can you remind me what the Threat-Level hierarchy is again?" Kaminari asked Yaoyorozu.

"Wolves are the Threat-Level we're most adequate to deal with as we are now. They're the weakest type of enemy. However, sometimes, depending on the matchup, we might also be able to handle Tiger-Level Threats, as different monsters have different strengths and weaknesses." Yaoyorozu explained.

"Alright, I think I get it." Kaminari said. "So it's kind of like the different stats, classes and elements in an RPG. Water could beat fire, but a Level-150 fire-mage would absolutely dominate a Level-3 water-mage. But if their stats were more evenly-matched, then the water-mage would have the advantage instead. So even if a Hero has a Quirk or ability that would normally hard-counter a monster's own ability or exploit its weakness, if the monster's a higher Threat-Level, and therefore has way higher stats and more MP, than it would still be too strong for the Hero to handle."

Yaoyorozu just stared at Kaminari. "I... don't know what an RPG is. Or MP."

Kaminari then spent the next half-hour explaining RPGs to Yaoyorozu, talking about his personal favorite MMOs, and the various different strategies that go into playing said games. Yaoyorozu, who never once had any interest in videogames before now, was surprised and impressed at how complex and strategic they could be.

The rest of the trip was rather mundane, mostly just them watching the different landmarks they passed on their way to City-G. Once they arrived, they were immediately greeted with the sound of alarms. Three monsters were spotted around the city, each being Threat-Level: Tiger. Thinking quickly, Stinger decided to split the group in two. He and Yaoyorozu would go after one of the monsters, while Kaminari and Lightning-Max would target another. When the kids asked about the third monster, he assured them that there were other heroes in the city that should be able to take care of it, and if not, the four of them would reunite to finish off the third together. Once they all agreed to the plan, they split up and went after their targets.

Lightning-Max and Kaminari made it to the scene where the first monster was rampaging. The creature was a gigantic stick-bug, and the two Lightning Heroes were able to dispatch it in mere seconds. Meanwhile, Yaoyorozu and Stinger found themselves fighting a giant green-and-black caterpillar, gluttonously munching on everything in sight. Yaoyorozu created a massive, high-tech energy-cannon called the Neural-Impactor, one of the many new weapons developed by Drive-Knight that her tactical-visor had the schematics for, and the most powerful non-lethal weapon in her arsenal. Stinger got the caterpillar's attention while Yaoyorozu prepared her attack, and once it was lured into position, she pulled the trigger and incapacitated the beast with a single shot.

"Impressive," Stinger said. "With gear like that, you might actually qualify for Class-S soon enough."

"I'm flattered, but... Creating an item this big... Takes a lot out of me..." Yaoyorozu said in between exhausted breaths. "It uses up the lipids in my body... and drains my stamina."

"You'll have time to rest later. But first, we still have one more monster to take down."

Stinger, Yaoyorozu, Lightning-Max and Kaminari all converged towards the site of the third monster-attack, but unlike the previous two, it wasn't a singular monster, but rather an entire army of giant cobalt-colored ants with sharp, serrated mandibles. Two other heroes were already on the scene when they arrived. One of them was a blonde man with a bow-and-arrow wearing a light-blue costume, while the other was wearing a white karate gi, along with a bulky toad-mask over his head like one worn by a mascot for an amusement park, and was armed with a sickle and chain.

The two heroes were barely managing to hold the line against the ants, striking multiple times before retreating back to a safer position. Yaoyorozu was about to join the battle, when Stinger held out his arm in front of her.

"Shouldn't we be helping them?" Yaoyorozu asked.

"They probably don't want us to. It would split the credit and notoriety." Stinger explained while they observed the battle from afar. "Just as a professional courtesy, we'll let them have this one, and only join in if they really need us to."

"Credit and notoriety?"

"You kids sure don't know much about the profession you're trying to be a part of, do you?" Stinger said with a laugh before elaborating. "In order to make it as a professional hero, you gotta stay active and continue to defeat monsters and resolve incidents, and the higher the Threat-Level of the monsters you defeat, and the less help you have in defeating them, the more your standing in the Association will increase, especially if you have a lower rank."

"So even in this world, there's an incentive amongst heroes to compete against each other..." Yaoyorozu thought.

"Shouldn't they all be working together instead?" Kaminari questioned.

"It happens occasionally. We don't really hate each other or anything, but we don't want to get in the way of each other's advancement." Lightning-Max stated.

"And the fastest way to advance is by doing things yourself." Kaminari commented.

"You're starting to get it." Stinger said with a smile and nod.

After a couple of minutes passed, the Archer-Hero ran out of arrows to fire, and the hero known as ChainToad held the ants off while his colleague made a tactical-retreat.

"I assume you guys are heroes, right? If you don't have any wide-range attacks, I suggest getting out of here, there's gotta be at least a hundred of 'em, and once you attack one, the rest'll all gang up on you." The Archer wheezed out.

"Are there any civilians in the area?" Yaoyorozu asked.

"No, they've all been cleared out."

"Good. You said they get aggressive if you attack some of them, right? Creation-Queen, you mind?" Kaminari asked. Picking up on what Kaminari wanted to do, Yaoyorozu created one of her cement guns and began shooting into the horde of insects, immobilizing a few of them. The rest of the ants quickly took notice and collectively redirected their hostility towards the heroes. Once the ants were all coming after them, Yaoyorozu created a giant insulated tarp for her and the others to shield themselves with, and signaled to Kaminari that they were ready. The colony of ants surrounded him, and Kaminari activated his Quirk, raising the voltage and wattage as high as he possibly could without frying his brain.

"INDISCRIMINATE-SHOCK! 5.5-MILLION VOLTS!"

A surge of yellow electricity blasted outwards all around him, hitting and chaining through the colony of monsterized ants and zapping them all to a near crisp. ChainToad and the Archer-Hero came out from under the insulated cover and stared in amazement.

"Whoa..."

"Yeah, I'm pretty damn strong when I wanna be." Kaminari said, briefly flashing his electricity.

"Well, it looks like the threat is neutralized." Yaoyorozu stated. "Would you mind calling the Association to pick this up, Mister…"

"You can call me Shooter, Class-B Rank-33. And sure, I'll call them up. Don't worry, I'll make sure to give you both the credit for this one." The Archer said.

"Thanks." Yaoyorozu replied.

With Shooter and ChainToad staying behind to watch the ants, the other four heroes began their commute back to City-D, boarding the metro and returning back to Drive-Knight's lab. However, the entire facility was locked-down, and when they attempted to enter through the front door, they were instead greeted by a recorded audio-message from Drive-Knight, explaining that he was not yet done with his classified experiments, and recommended that they find something else to do to pass the time.

"Damn, what do ya think he's up to in there?" Kaminari asked. "And why's it taking so long?"

"Based on what I've heard about Drive-Knight, he's probably developing some kind of countermeasures against the other Class-S Heroes," Lightning-Max said. "He's extremely paranoid, doesn't trust anyone, and never goes into a fight without collecting intel on his opponent first."

"Well, whatever he's up to... Creation-Queen, how about a sparring-match?" Stinger said.

"Really? Now?" Yaoyorozu asked.

"Sure, why not? Nothing else going on. There's a park nearby that would be perfect." Stinger said with a cocky grin. Yaoyorozu nodded, and the two trekked over to City-D's Central-Park. Meanwhile, Kaminari followed Lightning-Max to a nearby dojo, as Max wanted a more formal location to train Kaminari in his Hyper-Karate martial-arts.

Just as Stinger had promised. The park was a vast patch of green in the heart of an urban jungle, with rolling green hills and the occasional tree, concrete paths for joggers, a fountain, and plenty of benches and picnic tables. They found an open space that wasn't being used by any civilians, and both teacher and student drew their weapons, with Stinger using his signature bamboo spear, and Yaoyorozu wielding her upgraded bo-staff and entering her fighting-stance.

After an hour of staff-training, Stinger and Yaoyorozu rested on a bench in the park and started chugging down the bottles of water they brought with them. Once they had quenched their thirst, they started up another conversation while they waited for Kaminari and Lightning-Max to return.

"Hey, uh, I'm sorry for what I said before," Stinger said. "About you acting holier-than-thou. I don't think you're actually like that, you just... Touched a sensitive topic for me."

"Really? How so?" Yaoyorozu asked.

"You were asking before about the families of people who turned into monsters, and how they would feel about us killing them. You and your friends still think there's a chance that some of these monsters can be cured, but if that's true... Well, I just don't want it to be true."

"What?! Why not?!" Yaoyorozu asked. She could hardly believe her ears. "Why wouldn't somebody want monsters to be cured instead of killed? Is Stinger just a murderous psychopath who enjoys killing? Why else would he not want to believe..."

"Because if humans really can be cured of Monsterization, then that means that I killed my older brother when I didn't have to." Stinger answered. "And I'd never be able to live with myself if that were the case."

"You... You what?" Yaoyorozu was confused at first, but then quickly pieced it together, and her eyes widened in shock and realization. Stinger continued to explain.

"Two years ago, my older brother Zackery had monsterized. Nobody saw it coming, and I still to this day have no idea what could've caused it. I mean, he had a fiancé, a successful career, loving parents, he had his health, he had everything. Usually when people turn into monsters, they're either driven to that point by some kind of extreme suffering or discontent, or they were already evil to begin with, and then they just went the extra mile. But Zackery wasn't either of those things. He was a good person, and his life was good. So why did he turn?"

"Did he... Hurt anyone?" Yaoyorozu asked.

"Yeah, he did. Killed his own fiancé and almost killed me. But the Zackery I knew would never have done anything like that. He was always so friendly and easygoing..."

Stinger wasn't looking at Yaoyorozu anymore, instead he was staring off into the distance as he recounted the events that first led him to becoming a professional hero.

"Which is why I say killing them is the better option. It's essentially a different person entirely..."

He finally turned back to face Yaoyorozu for what he said next.

"Don't give people false-hope of their loved ones coming back."

Yaoyorozu remained silent for the rest of the day, thinking about her mentor's advice.

"Is it really false-hope? If there is even a chance that monsters can be cured, it would be wrong not to try, wouldn't it?"

Yaoyorozu understood where Stinger was coming from. He didn't want to face the possibility that there was hope for his brother after all, and that he had robbed him of that chance to be saved. Having to live with that kind of guilt... It only made sense that he'd feel the way that he did.

"Are there other heroes in this world who feel the same way?" she wondered. Maybe she really was acting holier-than-thou, assuming that Stinger and others like him simply didn't care if monsters were redeemable and only wanted to kill them for the fun of it. She never even considered that it might actually be the other way around; That maybe they don't enjoy killing them at all, but desperately need to believe that killing them is truly necessary and justified, or else they could never forgive themselves.

"Is that why some villains are so stubborn, and refuse to ever admit that what they're doing is wrong?" Yaoyorozu asked herself. "Are they just running and hiding from a guilty conscience as well?"

---

Think Outside the Box: Tank-Toppers, Shoji

For the last 2-weeks, Shoji had been training and patrolling alongside the TankToppers. As their leader, TankTop-Master was usually preoccupied with interviews, battling the stronger monsters, or training in his personal gym at the TankToppers Headquarters, meaning that Shoji rarely got to see him. The responsibility of training him had been outsourced to TankGirl and TankTop-Philosopher. They reasoned that until Shoji was at the same level as the two of them, or higher, then there was simply no point in him training directly under TankTop-Master himself.

The three of them were currently in the weight-machine room inside of the TankToppers Headquarters. As he worked alongside them, he realized that a number of the machines mostly focused on building upper-body strength, ignoring strength of the lower-body completely. He decided to ask his two companions about this peculiarity.

"I don't know, it's some weird fixation with biceps. Maybe we still have our own leg-days, but it's just not the focus. Most of the TankToppers fight primarily with their fists, so they may just not find the need to work on their legs as much." TankGirl offered with a shrug, earning a nod from Shoji.

"You're much the same in that regard, so far I've only seen you punch when you enter combat." TankTop-Philosopher said.

"Well, when you can sprout as many arms as I can, it's only natural. An overwhelming number of blows often make quick work of most opponents, who don't usually have even half as many arms." Shoji stated confidently, earning a laugh from TankGirl.

"Well, generally I would agree with you, but what if a monster is just fast enough to keep up with them all regardless? I'm sure TankTop-Philosopher could dodge most of your punches, even if you sprouted a dozen more, and If I'm remembering correctly, I didn't fare too badly against you when we had our sparring-session yesterday." she said with a cheeky smile.

"You're correct about that, there are things I can try to approve on when using my ability but I'm not sure how. What other appendages could I create to fight better?" Shoji asked.

"I don't know, I'm still curious about how your DupliArms work." TankGirl said, speaking her thoughts out loud, not really looking for an answer. Before he could answer one of her rambling questions, TankTop-Philosopher spoke his own thoughts.

"I think you're going about it all wrong. Maybe you don't need to create anything more with your DupliArms. Instead, simply change the angle of attack."

"What do you mean?" Shoji questioned. Was he suggesting not to aim at the opponent, or to target a specific part of the opponent? The TankTop-Philosopher decided it would be better to show him what he was talking about, and proposed that they sparred each other in the boxing-ring. Shoji obliged, heading to the ring and stepping over the ropes. TankGirl stood back and watched.

"Attack me as if I were a real threat. No need to hold back." TankTop-Philosopher said as he put his book down on the bench before joining him in the ring. Shoji nodded his head and sprouted out multiple arms, then TankGirl signaled for him to begin.

Shoji began to unleash a rapid barrage at his mentor, firing his signature OctoBlows, but most of his attacks were missing their mark, and those that didn't were blocked by Philosopher's hands. After a few minutes, Shoji began to tire out, and his mentor secured victory.

"What'd I tell you? He can block and evade your attacks no problem!" TankGirl shouted with a smile from the sidelines.

"I wanted to display the hazards of the way you're fighting. If your opponent can perceive and outmaneuver your attacks, then you end up wasting your energy. However, if you can alter the trajectory of your attacks, then you can become more unpredictable, and harder to evade or block." TankTop-Philosopher began.

"And how do you expect me to do that?" Shoji questioned.

"Well, it depends on how your arms work, really. When you produce a new limb, does it just immediately take shape, or can you choose when and where that extra appendage sprouts out?" TankTop-Philosopher asked.

"If I understand what you're saying, then yes." Shoji said, demonstrating it by growing an extension from his back at will, with his metal under-suit morphing along with it.

"Excellent, now do something similar with your hands. As you're throwing a punch with your standard limbs, try to rapidly grow a new appendage, and then from that appendage throw your actual punch. This should allow you to attack from multiple angles that your opponent will not so easily expect." TankTop-Philosopher concluded.

"Hmm... I never tried something like that, but I'll give it a shot." Shoji complied. He started growing out an arm and then formed another arm with a fist from that appendage. It worked, but the punch was incredibly flimsy, mostly flopping to the ground lacking power.

"Looks like I need a little more 'oomph' to make this work." Shoji commented.

"You just need to increase the speed of your arm-duplication. It's not unlike a regular punch that you're able to wind-up with the rest of your body. Think of when you're growing the arm and fist as the wind-up. Create it as fast as possible, and have it explode outward." TankTop-Philosopher instructed. Shoji nodded his head and tried to do as his instructor said, he grew another limb, and tried to explosively grow his fist out from that extremity. The technique worked much better this time, his fist blasting forth with greater speed and power.

"WOOHOO! There you go, Shoji!" TankGirl cheered from the side.

"Yes, there it is. If you can sharpen that technique, you'll be able to attack your opponents faster, and from different angles to throw them off, then follow-up with your main barrage." Philosopher commented. Shoji nodded. He thought about how, if he missed his target, then the attack would potentially leave him exposed for a counterattack, so that his opponent could grab his arm and then break it. But then he figured that it was just one of his DupliArms, which are expendable, so it didn't really matter if his opponents had the chance to attack that part of him. In fact, he could use it as a decoy to draw their attention away from the parts of him that couldn't grow back, or distract them from his real attack.

"Alright then, I'll work on it." Shoji said as he continued to practice his new technique. He also tried to think of a name for this new fighting-style of his.

---

Bunnies Will End the World: Child-Emperor, Mina, Jiro, Koda, MetalBat

For the last week, Child-Emperor had been keeping the monsterized bunnies inside the enclosure in his lab, feeding them vast quantities of red-meat just as they agreed to. The bunnies had become less hostile, though their ravenous hunger was proving difficult to satisfy, wolfing down the meat and finishing their meals within seconds. And while they were no longer foaming at the mouth and screeching various threats, they were still very distrustful of everyone except for Koda. Even Ashido hadn't quite been able to win them over, much to her disappointment.

Koda was currently sitting inside the exhibit with the bunnies. It had been modified since he had last visited, now being much larger and with more accommodations to simulate a wild pasture. While he and the bunnies conversed, Child-Emperor was working at his computer, and showing Jiro and Ashido some of the data he had collected on their 'guests'.

"After a week of research and testing, I believe it's safe to say that my hypothesis was correct."

"What hypothesis?" Ashido asked, causing Jiro to groan.

"Weren't you listening the other day? The rabbits all changed from being herbivores to carnivores when they first monsterized, but their metabolisms still run at the same rate as normal rabbits."

Ashido just stared at Jiro, her odd eyes blinking in confusion.

"They burn calories faster, and that's why they're so hungry all the time?"

"Ohhhhh, okay, I get it now!" Ashido said with a perky smile, but Jiro had her doubts.

"Honestly, she's almost as stupid as..."

"That's right, but it's a little more extreme than that," Child-Emperor replied. "You see, most large carnivorous creatures, such as crocodiles or tigers, require a lot of fuel, but burn the fuel relatively slowly. This is why crocodiles can go for very long periods of time without food, and then satisfy themselves with only one large or medium-sized meal. In contrast, smaller animals that are also herbivores, such as rabbits, have fast metabolisms, meaning they consume and burn through their fuel much quicker, and need to constantly be eating. When these rabbits monsterized, they grew significantly bigger and stronger, and also switched to a carnivorous diet, but their metabolic-rate didn't change along with the rest of them. By my calculations, they need to eat at least twice their own body-weight every 36-hours, or they'll suffer from malnutrition, and die not too long after. Metabolic-rates like that in carnivores? The only comparison would be found in some species of shrew or weasel."

"Except these guys are much, much bigger." Jiro said.

"That's right," Child-Emperor said, spinning around in his chair to face the two girls now. "So even if Koda's able to convince them never to harm humans again, it would still be too dangerous to let them back into the wild. There's a reason why larger predators are supposed to have much slower metabolic-rates than their prey. If they have faster metabolisms like these rabbits do, they'd end up eating all the other animals in the ecosystem faster than their populations can replenish themselves. If we let these rabbits loose as they are now, they'll consume every source of meat on sight and wreak havoc on the ecological-balance. And if their reproduction-rate has also remained unaltered like their metabolic-rates are..."

"Oh no..." Jiro said, a look of worry growing on her face.

"What? What's the problem?" Ashido asked.

"You ever heard the saying, 'multiply like rabbits'?" Jiro asked. "That's because rabbits can reproduce crazy fast. I don't know the exact statistics, but, well..."

"If their reproduction-rates are the same as with normal rabbits, these creatures will proliferate offspring at an extremely dangerous rate, and the threat they pose to the entire biosphere will grow just as quickly. It's a general rule in nature that prey must outnumber predators at least 10 to 1, otherwise there just wouldn't be enough prey to sustain them, and every animal would go extinct. So a species of large predators with the metabolic and reproductive rates of small prey..."

"Could wipe out all life on Earth!" Jiro shouted.

"What, FOR REAL?!" Ashido cried. "Those fluffy bunnies are a GOD-LEVEL THREAT?!"

"Not exactly" Child-Emperor corrected her. "A God-Level Threat would be a monster that's powerful enough to cause global-extinction or planetary-destruction singlehandedly, and within a very short period of time. These monsterized rabbits could theoretically cause a mass-extinction level event, but only by reproducing exponentially and consuming every other animal over a much longer period of time. And of course, that's assuming they even can reproduce at the same rate as normal rabbits, and that there aren't any heroes powerful enough to stop the infestation. I'm pretty sure FlashyFlash or Metal-Knight could exterminate them before it ever comes to that."

"Okay, so not a God-Level Threat, BUT STILL!" Ashido said.

"Yeah, I'm starting to think maybe this was a bad idea..." Jiro said. "If they're really that dangerous, and if there's no way to cure them..."

"There is, it'll be ready within the next three days." Child-Emperor said, casually spinning back around and returning to work on his computer. Now it was Jiro's turn to stare confusedly.

"...Huh?"

"Now that I've confirmed my hypothesis, and run a full scan of their cellular makeup and physiology, and mapped most of their genetic-code, developing a gene-therapy to adjust their metabolisms should be a sinch. I give it three, maybe four days tops before I have a cure ready."

"Seriously, just like that?" Jiro asked.

"Yep."

"But aren't you the one who told us that nobody's ever been able to cure Monsterization?"

"I'm not curing their Monsterization, only their extreme appetites," Child-Emperor clarified. "They'll still be giant sentient rabbits with a carnivorous diet, but at least they won't constantly be starving and needing to gorge on tons and tons of meat all the time."

"Still, that might as well be considered a cure, right?" Jiro said.

"Possibly, but just because they won't need to eat that much anymore, doesn't mean they can't still pose a threat to humans. We're still counting on your friend to rehabilitate them."

As if on cue, Koda exited the exhibit, and Ashido rushed over to speak with him.

"Hey Koda, so how are things going between you and the bunnies?" she asked. "Did you put in a good word for me?"

"I did, but they're still not going to let you pet them, if that's what you want."

"Aww, why not?" Ashido asked, stomping her foot down and pouting like a spoiled rich-girl.

"Well, the three of you were the ones who captured them."

"Yeah, but we totally spared their lives when other heroes would've just killed them! That's gotta count for something, right?"

"They're coming around." Koda assured her. "It takes time to gain someone's trust. Especially if their trust was broken in the past."

"Hmm, yeah, I get it." Ashido conceded.

"You kids really think you can talk-no-jutsu those damn bunnies into being friendly?" someone asked. The kids all turned around to see MetalBat waiting in the corner, leaning back against the wall. He was so quiet and uninvolved in the conversation up until now that they had completely forgotten he was even still there. Koda then responded to his question.

"I mean, they weren't always like that, right? They used to be just ordinary rabbits. And yeah, maybe... maybe too much has happened for them to just go back to the way they were, but..."

Koda looked for the right words. After a few seconds, he continued to speak.

"Well, if these rabbits were able to change once, then maybe they could change again. And maybe this time, it could be a change for the better."

"Awww... You're such a big softy, Koda!" Ashido said, rubbing his head in.

"You really do care for them, don't you? Do they remind you of the pet rabbit you have back home?" Jiro suggested. "What was his name... Bugsy, right?"

Koda hesitantly nodded. In truth he had almost forgotten about his rabbit back home, with everything that's been going on, though perhaps subconsciously the monsterized bunnies had reminded him of his pet.

"I guess so... I hope Bugsy's doing okay." Koda said with a bit of worry in his tone.

"I'm sure the school is taking good care of him." Jiro commented

"Yeah, they probably gave him to your parents or something." Ashido suggested rubbing the young teens shoulder to ease his worries. It was working, if only slightly.

Jiro, however, was suddenly reminded of her own parents, and everyone else they had left back home, and the crisis threatening their world. It was enough to ruin her mood.

"Hey, about that... Do you guys think we're ever gonna get back home?" Jiro quietly asked, afraid of what their answers might be, but too troubled by the question to keep it to herself.

"Uh... It'll be fine! I'm sure Midoriya or someone will figure it out." Ashido assured her, but not quite as confidently as she would have liked, and Jiro's Quirk took notice.

"You damn liar..." Jiro bitterly thought.

"Yeah, the Association said they were going to work on it..." Koda added, and unlike Ashido, there was no dishonesty in his voice at all. But instead of being grateful for his honesty, Jiro was furious at him for his naivety.

"And you actually trusted them when they said that?! Cause I sure don't!" Jiro snapped. She distinctly remembered when they first arrived in this world, and Sitch promised they would do everything in their power to return them home. She could hear a suspicious wavering in Sitch's voice when he said that, something she had come to recognize as a clear sign of someone being insincere, or at the very least, not being entirely committed to keeping their word.

"I don't buy for a second that the Association actually cares about any of us," Jiro continued, "They're just using us as powerful heroes they can add to their own forces. They'll let us think that they're doing everything they can to send us home, but I doubt they're even trying. With all the crazy monsters and alien-invaders that this world gets thrashed by on the regular, there's just no way that the Association would let all of us go that easily. They're gonna keep us around and exploit us for as long as they can."

"How can you be so sure, though?" Koda asked, startled by Jiro's sudden snapping at him. She was usually very calm and level-headed, but every so often, she would show an angsty and irritable side of her that would lash-out at something someone says.

"I just am, okay!" Jiro insisted. "It doesn't make any sense for those Association suits to actually help us. Even if they weren't all a bunch of corporate or bureaucratic scumbags, they're number-one priority is to protect this world, not ours. They won't ever help us return home as long as we're useful to them."

"Hate to say it, but she's got a point," MetalBat stated. "Monster attacks have been increasing in scale and frequency for years, and the Association's been struggling to keep up. Not many powerful heroes on the payroll, so it makes sense they'd recruit you all and have us train you. They're always searching for new Class-S Heroes they can add to their war-chest."

Ashido and Koda shared a glance of concern. They didn't want to believe it, but now that Jiro and MetalBat had both called the Association's honesty into question, they couldn't think of a strong argument in their defense.

"If you want, I could clear up some of my schedule and conduct my own research to try and get you guys home," Child-Emperor suggested. "I can't promise that I'll be able to get results, but I can at least give it a try."

Ashido rushed in and gave Child-Emperor a gigantic bear-hug, and thanked the Child-Hero for promising to help them.

"Thank you thank you THANK YOU!" Ashido squealed, as Child-Emperor tried to get out of her hold.

"Ya see, Jiro, we've got nothing to worry about!" Koda assured her, but Jiro still wasn't feeling very optimistic. She knew that Child-Emperor was telling the truth, at least, but even so, there was no guarantee that he could find a way to send them back to their own world. Such a thing might not even be possible.

"What if this was a one-way trip?" she wondered. "What if we're just stuck here forever?"

"So um, now what are you all gonna do?" Koda asked, hoping to change the subject.

"Oh, we wanted you to come on patrol with us!" Ashido exclaimed.

"Sure! Now that I've finished visiting with the Bunnies, I'm basically free for the rest of the day." Koda replied.

"Really? What about your training with MetalBat?" Jiro asked. "How's that been going?"

"Ugh... it's going… Fine, I guess." Koda said, rubbing the back of his neck. "He's been teaching me some of the basics in how to fight, and he's giving me a serious workout routine, but there's nothing he can really do to improve my Quirk, and he says I'm still only a Class-C in physical-ability."

"That's where I come in..." Child-Emperor said, pushing a button on his computer and summoning one of the robots to hover over to them, carrying a tray of high-tech gadgets.

"I finished building a new sound-amplifier for you, and for Jiro I built a special net-gun that carries ten-rounds at a time and the nets are made of ultra-steel fibers and carry a 12-thousand-volt charge. Should be more than effective against anything Threat-Level Tiger and below, provided the nets are big enough to envelop them."

Jiro examined her new capture-weapon and smiled.

"Nice. I've been wanting a way to permanently restrain villains once I've stunned them with my Quirk. Otherwise, I'd have to keep my eyes on them and keep blasting them with soundwaves."

"Yeah, but it doesn't exactly go with your whole 'punk-rock' gimmick. Shouldn't your support-item be something tied to music in some way?" Ashido asked.

"After we get back home and save the world, and I become a pro-hero with my own agency and merchandise, maybe then I'll worry about staying on-brand." Jiro remarked. "But until then, I'll just take whatever lets me kick the most ass. Now let's get going."

---

Still a Long Way to Go: Midoriya

The afternoon air rushed past Midoriya as he leapt across the rooftops of City-Z, his mind racing as fast as his body. His fight — or rather, his non-fight — with Uraraka was weighing heavily on him.

"It's not that I don't respect her or anything," he thought to himself. "I just don't want to see her hurt. And I especially don't want to be the one that hurts her."

Suddenly, his DangerSense went off, and Midoriya adjusted his course to see what was going on.

He landed on a rooftop, scanning the streets below. A group of masked men were sprinting out of a bodega, carrying bags filled with stolen cash and merchandise. Midoriya pushed his thoughts aside, and dropped down in front of the fleeing criminals, his green lightning dimming as he lowered his Full-Cowling down to 5%. He doubted these bandits would put up much of a fight, and he wanted to test his martial-arts against real enemies, without relying on raw power.

"Going somewhere?" he asked.

The thugs skidded to a stop, shocked at Midoriya's sudden entrance blocking their escape.

"Aw damn it—I thought you said no heroes were patrolling 'round here!" one of them shouted.

"Must be a new guy or something." another suggested.

A third, armed with a crowbar, stepped forward. "Big deal! There's five of us and only one of him!"

The five goons rushed him all at once, but Midoriya was far too quick. Using DangerSense and the Flow-State, he was able to evade and counter every attack they threw at him. He caught the thug's crowbar mid-swing, snatching it out of his hands and kicking him in the gut, all in one swift motion. Another swung a knife at him, but Midoriya ducked, then with his index and middle finger extended in a sideways gun-hand gesture, he struck his adversary's pressure-points, turning him off like a light. With a quick burst of BlackWhip, he restrained the rest before they had any time to react.

The whole fight was over in roughly 3 seconds.

After tying up the criminals and returning the stolen money and goods to the bodega's owner, Midoriya resumed his patrol. City-Z was unusually quiet that day, with only petty criminals and one Tiger-Level monster appearing. The monster in question called itself the Alpha-Troll. It was a fat humanoid creature with warthog tusks for teeth, a nose-ring, and stood a little over 9-feet tall. Midoriya defeated the Alpha-Troll with a single kick at only 10% Full-Cowling, and casually restrained it with his BlackWhip. Many civilians cheered when they saw how quickly and easily he had neutralized the monster, and rushed over to ask for his autograph. Midoriya, not used to the kind of attention he was getting, nervously tried to answer their questions and explain that he didn't keep a pen and notepad with him to sign autographs with...

Then his DangerSense flared, and the ground shook.

Midoriya froze as a deep, guttural growl echoed through the streets, sending chills down his spine. The air grew thick with a pungent, rotten stench, as if the very city itself was decaying.

A massive shadow loomed over him. Slowly, he turned around—and felt his blood run cold.

Standing in the middle of the street was a hulking, grotesque thing. It was at least 30-feet tall, with sickly, turd-brown skin that looked like it was rotting off its body. Its jagged, yellow teeth jutted out from its oversized maw, and its eyes glowed with cruel, animalistic hunger. It licked its lips.

"Everybody, RUN!" Midoriya shouted. The civilians all ran the other way in panic, as Midoriya and the new monster —The Omega-Ogre— began their clash.

Midoriya barely had time to react before the Omega-Ogre struck. He dodged just in time as the pavement where he once stood exploded under the force of the Ogre's fist. Shards of broken concrete were blasted upwards and fell down around him as he backflipped out of the way.

"Damn it, this thing is fast for its size!" he thought, powering-up his Full-Cowling to 85%. Then, using BlackWhip to form a giant slingshot, he launched himself at the monster, striking it with a Double Manchester-Smash. His feet impacted the Ogre's stomach, but surprisingly the monster stood its ground, tanking the force of the attack and barely getting pushed back an inch.

The Omega-Ogre grinned.

Midoriya's eyes widened. "It's tough..."

The creature swung its massive arm. Midoriya leapt out of the way, but not fast enough—the sheer pressure from the attack sent him flying into a nearby building. He crashed through several walls, rolling to a stop on the floor.

"Crap!" he groaned, picking himself up. He had barely taken the hit at all, and yet his left-shoulder was aching just from being grazed by the Ogre's attack.

"This thing is on a whole other level. Way stronger than that dinosaur I fought!"

As if on cue, a monster-alarm went off to confirm Midoriya's thoughts.

"Warning! Warning! A monster has appeared in City-Z! Threat-Level: Dragon! All civilians, please evacuate immediately!"

Before he could strategize, the Omega-Ogre reached into the building, its fingers crashing through concrete and rebar as it grabbed Midoriya in its massive, calloused palm.

"GOTCHA!" the hideous creature snarled. As it aggressively pulled Midoriya out of the multi-storied office building, like a child pulling a doll out of a dollhouse, the entire structure began to collapse. Midoriya prayed that all the civilians had evacuated already.

The Ogre began squeezing, and Midoriya felt his ribs groan under the immense pressure. He struggled, trying to pry its fingers open and free himself, but the monster's grip was unlike anything he'd ever felt before.

"No—!"

He gritted his teeth, trying to focus through the pain. For the first time in a long time, Midoriya felt totally helpless. He was reminded of his first battle against the villain Muscular, and how he was nearly crushed to death under the weight and pressure of his raw strength. After casually defeating that same villain a year later, he thought he had left those feelings of weakness behind, and that the only ones he had left to fear were Shigaraki and All-For-One, but he was wrong.

Blast had shown him the truth, that he was a big fish in a small pond. And There's Always a Bigger Fish.

"No—!"

The Ogre's grip tightened, and his vision blurred.

"No—!"

The Omega-Ogre grinned, bringing him closer to its jagged, rotting teeth...

"NOOOO!"

For a brief second, Midoriya boosted his power from 85% all the way to 100%, and with a full-body flex, instantly broke free from the Omega-Ogre's vicelike grip, knocking the monster backwards from the explosive release of emerald energy. The Ogre was shocked to see that its right hand was completely blown to bits, and in the very next second, Midoriya wrapped it up in BlackWhips, and rocketed up into the sky, towing the monster behind him. Once they were both high in the stratosphere. Midoriya powered back up to 100% for just a few seconds and unleashed a Detroit-Smash in the Ogre's face. This time his attack made it spit blood, and unleashed a powerful gust of wind, which was ionized by his energy, causing it to glow the same deep green as his electrical aura, eyes, and hair.

Using Float to keep himself airborne, and BlackWhip to hold the Omega-Ogre up there with him, Midoriya continued to fly around, using his AirForce techniques to propel himself. He landed several more blows on his adversary, each time briefly powering-up to 100% at the moment of impact. The Ogre was neither prepared nor equipped for an aerial battle, and with his new strategy, Midoriya began chipping away at its endurance.

Finally, having charged-up enough kinetic-energy, Midoriya prepared his finishing-move.

"One-For-All: Full-Cowling: 85%..."

"And in Just My Right-Leg and Fingers, 100%..."

"Plus FaJin... Equals..."

After flying back a bit from the Ogre, Midoriya released his BlackWhip coils, and used his AirForce finger-flicks to propel himself forward...

"Pseudo 115%... ST. LOUIS SMAAASH!"

Midoriya's super-energized foot impacted the Omega-Ogre's face, and blasted the creature miles and miles into the distant horizon, landing in a desert area closer to Association Headquarters than the urban areas of City-Z. Using another burst of energy from FaJin, Midoriya flew down to see that the Ogre was knocked unconscious, lying in a massive crater and bleeding out from where its right hand used to be.

Midoriya pulled out his cellphone and contacted the Association, informing them of the monster's status and location. Jinzuren, the Association agent who works directly under Sitch, thanked Midoriya for his contribution, and told him that a prisoner transport was on its way to pick the Ogre up. Midoriya gave a worn-out sigh as he put his phone back in his pocket and looked down at the enemy before his feet.

"So, this is what Threat-Level: Dragon is like..."

The Omega-Ogre was strong. Really strong. It took everything he had to defeat it, and even then, it still felt like a close call. If he hadn't taken the fight up into the sky and continued to fight it on the ground instead, he might've lost.

"If there're more monsters out there as strong as this one... or even stronger... Then I've still got a long way to go..."

---

A Frustrated Call: Uraraka, Bakugo, Todoroki

"How does it feel?" Todoroki asked as Bakugo walked out of the operating-room, having regained full use of his legs, and was now feeling out and testing his right-arm, which was also fully restored.

"Feels like they were never broken in the first place." Bakugo said. Rubbing his left hand on his right shoulder, he began flexing his biceps and wiggling his fingers around. His dexterity and sense of touch was still a bit numb from the painkillers used in the operation, but otherwise he was fully recovered from his injuries.

"Same here," Todoroki added. "And apparently the Xenonite substance that Kuseno infused our bones with is relatively lightweight, so it shouldn't weigh us down very much at all."

"And that's only one improvement I made," Kuseno said, as he exited the operating-room to join the two young heroes. "The muscle-implants will boost your physical strength by about a hundredfold, and I injected you both with a nanite serum that will enhance your immune systems and help you heal from injuries faster. They will halt your bleeding and eliminate most forms of poison. They can even jumpstart your hearts in case you ever go into cardiac-arrest."

Todoroki nodded. Originally, he was hesitant about being injected with nanotech, but Kuseno's argument convinced him, and even Bakugo, that such an enhancement would inevitably come in clutch one day. Even if they have superior combat abilities, there were plenty of monsters and villains out there who fight dirty, and may try to poison them rather than face them head-on, and since none of these modifications have replaced their organics, only added onto them, they'd still be vulnerable to things like poison and disease, if it weren't for the nanites.

"At this point, you should both have the strength and durability to outperform the vast majority of Class-A Heroes." Kuseno promised. "And I'll let you know when I've finished developing a superior model of muscle-implants."

Kuseno then turned to Todoroki. "And I must say, Todoroki, studying your Quirk was truly fascinating, and illuminating. I believe reverse-engineering your physiology may be the key to overcoming one of my biggest challenges in upgrading Genos. You see, he's always asking for more and more firepower, but..."

"But the more firepower he has, the more he ends up overheating, right?" Todoroki interrupted. "But my Quirk allows me to rapidly cool myself back down, and thus nullify the overheating issue."

Kuseno smiled. "Yes, exactly. It's a truly incredible power, and if I could even halfway replicate the rapid-cooldown and incorporate it into Genos' cybernetics, it would go a long way to making him stronger as well."

Todoroki tried to hide his discomfort. Despite his best efforts to move on, whenever someone complimented him on his Quirk, and especially the inherent advantages of having both Fire and Ice, he still couldn't help but be reminded of his father, and all the pain and brokenness that he had wrought on their family, a family he had started for the most selfish of reasons...

But he knew that Kuseno and Genos had nothing to do with any of that, and if his Quirk could somehow help the Cyborg, just like he's been helping him and Bakugo...

"In that case, I'd be happy to run a few more tests at some point, provide whatever data you need to reverse-engineer my temperature-regulation." Todoroki offered.

"Just get over it already," he thought to himself. "My power is a force for good, regardless of how it came to be. And the father who did those things to my family doesn't even exist anymore. Why can't I just forget about it and move on? I doubt Midoriya still dwells on any of the stuff Bakugo put him through when they were in grade-school."

"I say we head over to the Gorge and have a sparring-match," Bakugo butted in. "You can be Mushroom-head's little muse later; I want to test out these upgrades we got first, see if they're as good as we've been told."

"That's an excellent idea," Kuseno agreed. "There's still a few more hours of daytime left, so now's the time to go there and train."

"Oh, by the way," Todoroki added, "Uraraka was texting you while you were in the middle of your procedure. You might want to check your phone and see what she wanted."

Bakugo grunted. He picked up his phone and checked his messages. Sure enough, he had several missed calls, and several text-messages from Pink-Cheeks. He called her number, and Uraraka immediately answered.

"Bakugo, what took you so long?!" she yelled from the other side of the line. She was back at Association Headquarters, resting in her bedroom when her phone rang.

"I was in surgery, you idiot!" Bakugo shouted back.

"Oh! Sorry..." she replied, this time quieter and more embarrassed. "Umm... How did it go?"

"I'm fine. Just tell me what you want."

"I want you to fight me!" Uraraka told him. Bakugo immediately made a face that, if turned into words, would've been...

"The hell are you talking about? You got a death-wish or somethin'?"

"What? NO! I just need someone who's willing to actually fight me and won't hold back! I need a sparring-partner, not a friend! And I still remember how you fought me back in the Sports-Festival!"

"The geezer's not training you hard enough?"

"Bang's alright, but Deku won't fight me for real! We were sparring today, and he was just being so... so... So DEKU! It's just... I mean... AGGGHH!"

Unlike Bakugo, Uraraka didn't have it in her to swear, even when she was this angry.

"He's still dead-set on fighting All-For-One and Shigaraki by himself!" she went on. "I thought... I hoped that if he saw how much stronger we were getting, he'd finally stop worrying about us, but nothing's changed since we got here! That's why I need to spar with you instead! Because you never hold back or go easy on your opponents, no matter who they are, and because Deku never goes easy on you, either! So, if I can put up a better fight against you, then that would prove that I'm not some helpless weakling holding him back!"

Uraraka was stammering and tripping over her own words at this point, her words growing faster and more anxious.

"I need to get way stronger, so strong that not even he could still be worried about..."

"Don't be an idiot!" Bakugo scolded her. "This isn't about being strong or weak; Izuku's dead-set on protecting you for the exact same reason you're obsessed with proving that you don't need him to. Neither of you are ever gonna stop worrying about each other, no matter how strong you get! So Just Tell the Damn Nerd How You Feel Already!"

Uraraka's face turned as red as Kirishima's hair, and her stuttering grew even worse.

"I...I... I-I don't... Wh... What are you..."

"You know exactly what I'm talking about!" Bakugo shouted. "How freaking long are you going to wait? Just tell him already, cause he's never gonna know unless you do."

Bakugo hung up before Uraraka could say anything back to him, and turned his attention back to Todoroki.

"Alright, let's go already!"

---

(A Quick Disclaimer by the Author:)

I'm so sorry to say that, although Bakugo and Todoroki WILL be having an Epic Rematch to their Sports-Festival fight, their Rematch will NOT be covered in this chapter, but will instead be shown later via flashbacks in Chapter-12. Super sorry 'bout that, but it felt very Anime-ish to do it this way, and I think it'll work well for what I have planned. Thank-you for your patience!

---

Deliberations: Class-1A

Everyone was excited to welcome Bakugo and Todoroki back to their new home at Association HQ, with Kaminari and Ashido both grilling them about the modifications they were given, and Kirishima in particular wanting to spar with Bakugo in one of the HQ's training-gyms, to see how much tougher his friend was now, and whether or not he was able to keep up.

"Hah! I'd kick your ass into next-week, Brickhead!" Bakugo laughed.

"Only one way to know for sure!" Kirishima countered. "Unless you're too scared that I'll kick your ass instead!"

While the two of them argued, Hagakure and Tokoyami were talking to Yaoyorozu and Kaminari, both pairs talking about their experiences with ZombieMan and Drive-Knight respectively.

Aoyama and Shinsou discussed their plans for the upcoming interview with King and SweetMask, while Asui, Jiro, Ashido and Koda all talked about their days of training, including the progress made in rehabilitating the monsterized bunnies.

"If they can be cured and reformed, then maybe there's hope for Jordon, too." Asui thought out loud.

To celebrate Bakugo and Todoroki's recovery, the Class ordered buffalo chicken-wings for dinner, with Bakugo ordering the spiciest flavor possible. As they ate, Midoriya noticed that Uraraka was nowhere to be seen.

"Hey, guys, have any of you seen Uraraka? There's some stuff I need to talk to her about."

"No idea. I think maybe she turned in early." Asui told him.

"Oh, I see..." Midoriya muttered, as he looked down at the boneless buffalo wings on his plate. After a long minute, he decided he wasn't very hungry anymore, and left the table without another word. With him gone, Bakugo and Kirishima immediately called dibs on his remaining buffalo wings, still hungry even after finishing their own shares.

Midoriya headed for bedroom, ready to go to sleep, but before he did, he stopped by Uraraka's room and gently knocked on the door.

"Hey, Uraraka? I, uh, wanted to apologize for earlier today. You were right about me going too easy on you, and I'm sorry. But I swear I didn't mean to be disrespectful to you or anything, It's just that... You're my friend, and I don't like seeing you hurt, and, well..."

Midoriya sighed. She was probably already asleep.

"I'll just have to apologize to her in the morning..."

(Next Morning...)

Midoriya rushed down to the training-gym, and there was Uraraka, training with her Quirk, levitating multiple enormous barbells, dumbbells and many other heavy objects that now floated aimlessly throughout the gym, WHILE she was inside the Gravity-Chamber, performing pull-ups in 6-Times Gravity. Midoriya rushed to the door of the Gravity-Chamber and shut it off. Uraraka was startled by the increased gravity in the chamber suddenly vanishing, and losing her grip on the pull-up bar, fell to the floor. Midoriya immediately opened the door and rushed in.

"Uraraka! What the hell are you doing?!"

"Deku?" Uraraka weakly said, struggling to get back on her feet. "What are you doing here?!"

"What am I... What are YOU doing here?! You weren't around during dinner last night, and when I knocked on the door to your room to say I was sorry, you never responded, so I assumed you'd already gone to sleep. But then we all woke up this morning, and you were just... GONE! I thought maybe somebody had gotten to you! I've been looking all over for you! You scared me! You scared all of us!"

Uraraka gulped. "I'm... I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to make you worry or anything, I just... Wanted to get some more training in."

"So, you woke up early and started training in here by yourself?" Midoriya asked. Uraraka looked away, her pink cheeks turning red.

"Actually... I didn't wake up early... I just... never went to bed."

Midoriya's jaw dropped. "You... never went to bed? So, you've just been training in here all night?"

"Yeah."

"So, when I knocked on the door to your bedroom, and you didn't answer... You weren't even there?"

"Nope."

"Did you even have anything to eat last night?"

"...Nope."

Midoriya was furious. "And you didn't even bother to tell any of us?! Weren't you paying attention to what Kirishima and Sato had told us? The Gravity-Chamber is dangerous! You should NEVER use it unsupervised! You could've gotten yourself killed!"

"I'M SORRY, OKAY!" Uraraka shouted, now sounding more angsty and defensive than apologetic. She pressed the pads of her fingertips together, and all the weights floating in the gym outside the Gravity-Chamber fell down with a resounding THUD. Uraraka willed herself not to hurl from the fatigue of training both her Quirk and her body all night, and Midoriya's concern only grew.

"Uraraka, you can't just go without meals or sleep like this and..."

"Oh, but YOU CAN?! Don't lecture me about not taking care of myself, Deku! Don't lecture me about disappearing and making my friends worry! Don't lecture me about going out on my own and nearly getting myself killed, and not even caring about how it would hurt the ones who care about me! YOU STILL TO THIS DAY HAVEN'T APOLOGIZED TO ME, WHEN YOU DID ALL THOSE THINGS!"

Midoriya was completely taken aback. "Is that what this was all about?" he thought. He almost never heard Uraraka get so angry before, not with him, or with anyone else for that matter.

Uraraka had tears running down her face now, and muttered something under her breath.

"You're so selfish..."

"Huh?" Midoriya genuinely couldn't hear her, but this only made Uraraka even more upset.

"YOU'RE SO SELFISH! YOU'RE NOT TRYING TO PROTECT ME, DEKU! YOU'RE NOT TRYING TO PROTECT ANYONE BUT YOURSELF! You're so afraid of one of us getting hurt, because of how it would make you feel, but how do you think we all felt when you ran away? How do you think I felt?! You said you didn't want to ever hurt me... But You Already Did."

Uraraka turned around and ran away crying, leaving a stunned Midoriya to ponder her words.

Nobody had ever accused him of being Selfish before. Quite the opposite, actually. People were always telling Midoriya that he was too far too reckless and didn't care enough about himself and his own well-being. He never once imagined that it could be selfish of him to protect and prioritize the safety of others before himself. How could it be? Protecting others at his own expense was the completely Unselfish thing to do. At least that's what he always thought...

---

Author's Notes:

Hey everyone! Hope you're all enjoying the New Year so far! Now, to answer some questions and clarify some things:

1. The weapon that Yaoyorozu uses in this chapter, an energy-rifle called the Neural-Impactor, is pulled directly from the pages of a classic Superman comic by Alan Moore titled "For the Man Who Has Everything", and more specifically the Animated Adaptation of said comic from Justice-League Unlimited. While fighting Mongul in the Fortress of Solitude, WonderWoman gets thrown into the armory and picks this weapon up, and blasts Mongul in the face with it. Sometimes when trying to come up with cool names and ideas for weapons or monsters and stuff, I'll just pull ideas from other franchises and rewrite them into different contexts.

As its name implies, the Neural-Impactor assaults the target's central nervous-system and will shut it down in a manner similar to the Piercing-Fang Nerve-Strike that Bang uses. With this weapon, Yaoyorozu can one-shot KO almost any monster that's Threat-Level: Tiger and below, provided they're within range and that she doesn't miss, and at max-power the Neural-Impactor can even mess with Low Demon-Level monsters, but only to the extent that it makes their bodies numb for a few seconds.

2. The Omega-Ogre is on the border-tier between Mid and High Dragon-Level, meaning he's just as strong as Carnage-Kabuto, and even more disgusting.

3. At this point, Kirishima's gotten strong enough to train in the Gravity-Chamber at 8-Times Gravity, while Sato is able to handle 6-Times Gravity, and is approaching 7.

4. In my head-canon interpretation, One-For-All's "percentages" are actually an exponential power-increase rather than linear. I mean, just looking at the MASSIVE power-gap between 5% and 100%, there is simply NO WAY that it's only a 20-Times increase, right? More like Times-10 to the 20th-Power or something even wilder. So, when Midoriya jumps from 85% Full-Cowling to 100%, I'd say that this is either a hundredfold or a thousandfold power-boost. And no, this isn't Midoriya's Quirk-Awakening, just another serious step forward in mastering One-For-All. It's like he says to himself in the chapter; Still a Long Way to Go before he Awakens ALL SEVEN Quirk-Factors, but when he finally does Awaken them all, Deku's gonna be insanely cracked!

Well, that's it for now. When Chapter-12 comes out, it'll mark the end of the First-Act, and the beginning of the Second-Act. It's gonna have a TON of Action, and some very, VERY important character moments that will shape the story going forward. Thanks again for reading and supporting my story! Feel free to post thorough reviews for each new chapter, and hit the follow and favorite buttons to get notifications and stuff if you haven't already.

Thank you all, and GodSpeed!