Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

They had lost...

After saving the wizard from the alien, shooting said alien out of the Space Donut, and joining Mr. Stark and Dr. Strange to some planet and meeting a ragtag group of people with weird abilities... they banded together to fight Thanos, the Mad Titan. The Last of his Kind. Wielder of the Infinity Stones.

Peter Parker was just going to school in the bus that day...

Now he saw his new comrades fade away one after the other, and he-

It's coming...

He can sense it yet...

He can't avoid it.

No matter how hard he struggles... he too will fade.

Peter felt sick, wanting to vomit. His heart was clenched as he staggered amongst the debris towards Mr. Stark. "Mister Stark? I don't feel so good..." He uttered. He saw the look of pure despair and horror in Mr. Stark's face as he stumbled towards him.

"You're alright." Tony said as calmly as possible, hugging him as tight as possible.

"I don't know what's- I don't know what's happening. I don't-" He fell into his chest, hearing Tony wince but he hugged him as tight as he could, and Peter couldn't control it. He felt it's many pinpricks... and he wept. This was different when he was young and he lost his parents. This was different when he got bit and then lost Uncle Ben and did nothing...

The ones closed to him had died.

And he was going to join them.

"Save me, save me! I don't wanna go, I don't wanna go, sir, please. Please, I don't wanna go. I don't wanna go..." He sobbed, and he felt his legs get weak as Tony lied him down. The older man, the Iron Man, leader of the Avengers and his hero, his idol, bloodied and bruised and broken after fighting that monster... was shedding tears too.

Peter took a deep breath, looking back up at him... HE couldn't feel his shoulder blades, or his feet. He saw the loss in Tony's eyes... the despair and sheer horror of he was witnessing...

He saw himself. Back when he was cradling Uncle Benjamin Parker and...it gave him some semblance of peace. Was this how Uncle Ben felt when he was passing away? Losing a loved one in his arms... now it has come full circle.

Aunt May... Ned... Michelle... Mr. Stark...

"I'm sorry."

He exhaled one last time, and felt his entire body go numb. And darkness took him.

(X)

It was cool and dark there...

And then there was light.

Peter Parker gasped for air, sitting up and panting. It felt as if he was underwater for the longest time, chest rising and falling as he looked around, his sight blurry as he tried to adjust to the environment around him. "Mr. Stark!" He tried to sit up, feeling nothing but pavement as he stumbled and fell on his knees. He gasped, looking at his hands, then down at his body, still covered in the nano-machine powered Iron Spider suit. He looked back and forth, head on a swivel.

This wasn't the orange tinted alien world, one of ruined ships and buildings and potholes. It had a blue sky... buildings... the sounds of the hustle and bustle of the suburbs. He looked over the edge, realizing he was on top of a skyscraper.

He stumbled backward, gripping and releasing his fists as he looked down at his hands. Just...what was going on? Peter can see billboards in the distance that had unique Asian words, the likes of which you only see in Chinatown or Little Tokyo. And... some english.

"Where... am I? Didn't... I die?" He asked, remembering how death crawled all over him and yet he could not escape. Peter tapped his wrist, trying to draw up some communicator. He got his helmet back on however, the nanomachines sliding over his face as he looked through the Heads Up Display.

Energy Levels=Normal.

Communications=No Connection

"No connection... but wh-" He was cut off by the sound of sirens and of explosions, making him perk up and look in the distance.

Some.. giant man-shark-big nose thingy causing a rampage. He was bigger than a three story building!

Peter... didn't know what was going on. Didn't know where he was.

But people were in trouble. He saw train tracks leading to the commotion...

This was a neighborhood after all.

He will ask questions later. For now...

"Time to be a Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man."

Peter began slinging towards the giant shark man, which is a good thing because it means his web shooters still work. Other good things, people were happy to see him!

They shout and wave at him as he soars over them. One boy looks up, mouth hanging open as Peter waves down to him. They were speaking in foreign tongue.

Another tug on his webs, a flip for the audience, and he lands in his crouch atop a powerline.

Good news, people are cheering for him showing up!

Bad news, Shark Giant sees him. No time to think on how he got here, when this guy is running amok.

"Hey big guy, I know everyone likes to see Shamu but you're taking the cosplay a little too seriously."

Shark Man blinks, only to grit his teeth and swipe at the tower. His hand tears through the metal, sending it over the edge of the bridge.

"Oh geez!" Peter screams.

He fires out a line of web, catching it but man this thing is heavy! A crash, and suddenly there's no weight. Peter glances over and there's someone under that huge spire. A guy that could give the Incredible Hulk a run for his money for muscles and has a really pronounced jawline! He's struggling to keep the tower off ground, but he looks up at Peter. There's surprise, and Peter feels the need to be anywhere but here!

He dives to the side, just as the shark man's hand smashes where he once was. Flipping onto his outstretched arm, Peter runs up his arm even as the shark giant tries to swat him off. His hit goes wide as Peter dodges by inches.

"Hey you know you're standing on a train track, people use these to get to work you know!" Peter says, getting close enough to crack his foot against the shark's snot.

He stumbles, but catches himself and stars at Peter with rage in his eyes.

"てめえのようなバグごときにぶっつぶしてやる!!!"

"I have no clue what that means, but I'm pretty sure it's nothing nice." Peter spoke to himself, then he saw Asian words lace out on screen and then transform into English.

"Translation of classical Kanji: I'll crush you like the bug you are."

Huh, the suit has a translator, that's neat.

Shark Giant swings, only to roar in frustration as Peter dodges yet again. However his attention is soon drawn by someone that looks like he's made of wood. He reaches out and did his arms just turn into tree branches!? And they're wrapping around Sharkgiant's arm! Peter landed beside the dark spandex-covered woodman, amazed.

"Are you made of wood?! That's awesome!" Peter gushes.

The wood guy stares at him

"キッド？"

"Translation: A kid?"

"Well more of a teenager re-"

A face full of shark man fist cuts Peter off, a long and loud drawn out "EAALLLLYYY?!" Sounding out. Weightlessness and dizziness fill Peter, and on reflex, he throws out two lines of webbing to slow himself down. They connect, and Peter gets way to close to the crowd of people that he'd like. Most move away, but one kid stares at him with stars in his eyes. A plain face with freckles and a mop of untidy green hair.

"Hey man, bye man!" Peter yells, pulling against the webbing and launching him right back into the thick of it.

His flight is perfect, the shark guy is too focused on wood man. Oh this is going to be so co-

"Canyon Cannon!" And a massive beige leg, or rather an even bigger giant appeared, striking the Shark Giant, and sending him flying! But Peter couldn't stop his flight towards-

So like a fly on a windshield, Peter slammed into a rear the size of his room. Good news, not the worse hit, since it was soft, nor did the following fall back down to the ground hurt that badly, with his head hitting the pavement. The Iron Spider suit protected the worst, but the sense of exhaustion from his fight on Titan combined with a concussion was taking him into a nap.

Bad news, when Peter shakes the stars out of his eyes, muscle-jaw man, the wood guy and the biggest woman he's ever seen are staring down at him.

"Uhh... hi." He waved, before closing his eyes as he heard the sounds of sirens.

Chapter Text

You know what sucks? Waking up after a fight.

Don’t get it twisted, waking up after a fight is a great thing, it’s the biggest sign that you got out of the fight, a literal wake up call. However, everything sucks. Your entire body aches, some or every part of you hurts to move, you want to eat or drink, the list goes on.

Why couldn’t you wake up nice and comfy after a fight? Is that to much to ask? You put your butt through the tough stuff to get here, would it be so hard to wake up all nice and cozy? You know, get something out of getting your butt kicked.

Unfortunately, even with Mr Starks awesome suit, waking up still sucks.

“Ugh, Mr Stark, your suits not that comfy to sleep in.”

Wait, Mr Stark...

Space...

Aliens...

Thanos...

Shamu!

Big butt!

...

Feeling the numbness all over him as death sweeps over him and reduces him to-

Peter gasped and jumped up, latching to the ceiling before he could stop himself. Out of ceilings he’s crawled on, wasn't that bad. Clean but pretty bland. Not very fair, most cells don’t really go all out with the color anyway.

Wait a minute, cell?

Peter looked around, his suits visors picking up on every detail that came his way. Sure enough, he’s in a jail cell. One plank for a bed, one toilet, one big light but no window and no bars?

… aren’t those important?

Either way, Peter falls from the ceiling. He needed to find someone, there are too many questions going through his head. First and foremost? Why is he not dead?

Wait no, bad question for now.

Better question, when was there so many superheroes? Did the Avengers have a recruitment drive while he was in space?

And where the heck is he? Why were there giants and wood-people now? Sure there was the alien lady with antenna and Drax looking all clay-like, but this was even stranger. He walked forward, only to bounce straight off. Shaking off the hit, Peter blinked and held out a hand. He took a step forward, and his hand hit something solid.

“Invisible walls?”

There’s a sound of footsteps and Peter sees the creepiest mime ever! He’s in a police uniform, why?

"Umm... hello?" He asked, waving his hand.

The mime tilts his head in confusion.

“彼は起きていますか” comes a voice.

“Translating: Is he awake?”

Another police officer, this one looking like a normal person walks in with black hair and asian features and a scowl. Peter blinks, “Oh yeah, I just got up,” he says rubbing his shoulders, “Ummm.. hello there Officer? I just want to let you know that I didn't do anything wrong. I helped with saving some civilians from that monster-guy earlier. Not that I’m telling you guys how do your jobs. Keep up the good work, thank you for your service and all that you… police.”

The officer’s fance scrunches in confusion, and the mime hasn’t moved from his position.

“あなたはこれのどれかを手に入れましたか” he asks his partner.

“Translating: You getting any of this?”

The mime shakes his head. Oh crap they don’t understand him! How are they going to talk? How is he going to get back to New York!? Wait, they’re bringing out a phone. Officer nods at mime guy and suddenly, Peter can’t hear anymore.

Did they just ghost him?

That’s just mean!

"Okay, not cool ghosting me like that!" Peter shouted, sitting on the edge of the bed with crossed arms. He looked around the walls of his cell... He could maybe punch his way out, or utilize the Iron Spider's legs to chip his way out, but he has a lot of respect for the police. He doesn't want to cause any trouble, not when he can just contact Mr. Stark and-

Mr. Stark...

Peter let out a sigh and his shoulder slumped, looking at the floor. He had to get information. Or was this all just some crazy dream and he droned out on the bus. Maybe that's it. All he has to do is wait for Ned to wake him up.

Oh well, no point complaining about it. Officer man looked to be in a heated conversation over the phone. With his back turned, Peter didn’t have a clue what he was saying.

Could this suit read lips?

Peter shook his head. This was one of Mr Stark’s suits, of course it could read lips? Right?

The officer puts away the phone and turns enough for Peter to see him gulp. Then immediately he stands at attention, the mime right behind him following. A second later, a new officer in a much nicer uniform comes in. He stands there, tux and all with short faded red hair and mismatched eyes. One red, one black. He glances a red eye back at mime, whose hands go on a machine gun pace while the other officer grabs a chair from the left.

Tux man sits down and straightens his tie, running a hand through his hair. “Hello.”

Peter blinked. “You can speak english?”

“A little bit.” He responded, his accent thick, but coherent.

“Oh thank god you have no idea how long I thought I was going to have to read subtitles in my suit. Makes everything really distracting cause like people are talking but stuff is happening so what do I focus on the words or the action it gets really confusing man. So... thanks." Peter said, springing up. He just has to keep on talking... and he'll wake up.

The tux man took the entire breathless ramble in stride, albeit with a quirked eyebrow.

“I’m sure it is. Now, I am Police Chief Botan Fukuda, I run this precinct.”

“Oh nice to meet you sir,” Peter said with a nod. “I’m Spiderman.”

Botan raised an eyebrow, “Bit early to give yourself a hero name isn’t it, Vigilante?"

“Isn’t naming yourself like the first thing that you do? I mean, I can't give my real name and all because, identities and all."

Botan looked more confused. "Young man, I believe you are mistaken." and his eyes narrowed, making Peter nervous. “It’s illegal to use your quirk without a hero licence. We ran your face through the database, no licence for anyone matching your description or your costume. We even tried to remove it, but it would not budge.”

"Oh, uhh..." Peter then felt the nanomachines slink back over his face, giving him a clear view of a suddenly surprised Botan and his two other officers. "How about that?

"You can... control your costume?"

"I... guess? Mr. Stark made this and he... He can explain everything! Just contact Tony Stark and-"

"One at a time, young man." Botan snapped, it made Peter pause.

That’s… disheartening. Peter thought that after that fiasco during homecoming would get his name at least out there. More importantly though...

“A Quirk?”

“Powers,” Botan clarified, as if it was the most common thing in the world. "Did you hit your head too hard when you hit the pavement?"

“Oh. I..." The young man from Queens paused. "So... why does everyone have superpowers?"

"彼は頭を強く叩いた" Said the officer behind him. Peter perked up.

"What did he say?" Botan rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Nothing. You're an American teenage boy, here in Japan and yet you know not even a hint of our language?" He asked annoyed. Peter bit his lip, blushing.

"I uhhh... well... this is all a dream anyway so... yeah?" Peter shrugged. The red haired man let out a sigh.

“Now, I don’t want to do this to someone who helped keep damage to a minimum, as the media happened to like your little stunt in assisting the local heroes and I would like to get by without being crucified in the tabloids, but the laws are here for a reason and you committed a crime."

"What did I do wrong?!" Peter asked. "So me, helping people, is a crime?!"

"You used your Quirk without a hero license. Is there a guardian that we can call? There’s a lot of paperwork that’ll go a lot faster if we contact your parents."

Peter paused, then he sat up.

"Just, contact Tony Stark. You know, Ironman." Botan's eyebrow rose.

"Ironman?"

...

What?

"Yeah, THE Ironman! Leader of the Avengers, Earth's Mightiest Heroes?"

"たぶん彼は病院に行くべきです" The normal officer behind the Police Chief stated and Peter was becoming frustrated.

"I know many heroes, but I have never heard of this Iron Man."

"CEO of Stark Industries, the biggest tech company on the planet! Who doesn't know him?"

"Calm down." Botan snapped. "Listen, we know nothing of this... Stark Industries or even this Tony Stark." He looked back at the policeman and muttered. "メモ帳してください" The officer handed him a notepad and a pen, and he sat back, ready to write. "Now, tell me... what is your name."

"I am Spid-"

"Your normal name," Botan growled, not wanting to stutter as Peter bit his lip, gripping onto the bed sheet. He let out a sigh. "If you’re worried about your identity, don’t be,” Botan taps the badge on his lapel, “I swore an oath when I put on this badge, nothing is leaving this room unless you want it to. Young man” His eyes softened. "I only want to help you. But I can only do so if you answer my questions. Do you understand?"

Peter sighed in relief, and bit his lip. "Okay... my name is Peter Parker." It felt like toxin coming out of his mouth, saying those words while in the Iron Spider suit under these circumstances. Now he'll never have a chance to be a hero again if he ever went back home.

"Age?"

"16." Botan began writing.

"Place of birth?"

"Queens, New York-wait, did everyone turn to dust!" Peter shouted, standing up, frantic.

"What are you talking about?" Botan asked.

"Thanos he... he won and he left and... everyone was turning to dust and..." Peter hugged himself, breathing hard as his mind got to work. He was not on Titan or even back in New York. He was in some town in Japan with some Mime-policeguy and there's giants and wood people walking around. They talk of Quirks and hero licenses as if they treat hero'ing as a simple as driving a car. They don't know of Mr. Stark or the Avengers.

What...

What in the hell is happening right now.

"Mr. Parker." Botan voice cut through. "What are do you mean about people turning to dust."

That's right...

He turned to dust too. He couldn't escape whatever Thanos did...

He died.

He... literally died.

He died and... just woke up in... in some new place.

"Can..." Peter's voice came out, and it sounded weak. Almost like a sob. "Can I just...write down my contacts, and... see if you can talk to them?"

The police chief was incredulous, but upon seeing Peter's visage, it softened. The swelling of tears, the teenage enthusiasm crumbling before him, it was a tidal wave of emotion. He snapped his fingers, and the Mime made more hand gestures. The fellow officer had a hand on his gun as the Police chief walked over to the sullen Peter and handed him the notepad and pen.

"Write them down. Then we can try our best to contact them."

Please... Please let this be some dream.

"Can you pinch me too?" Peter asked as he began writing, looking up at him.

"Mr. Parker?"

"Do it!" Peter snapped. "Anywhere! Just... wake me-" Botan flicked Peter's forehead, and Peter felt the little inconvenience... But he felt it.

He did not wake up.

All of that happened. The aliens. Dr. Strange. The Space Donut. Helping Mr. Stark save the wizard. Going to Titan. Meeting the Guardians of the Galaxy. Fighting Thanos...

And losing as he was reduced to ash.

"It was real." He resumed writing, even with Botan looming over him. Peter finished handing him the contacts list.

Please... please just... let him be back home and something weird happened. That's all he asks.

Botan took the notepad and walked to the door. "We will get to work on these, see if we can contact your guardian or parents." He snapped his finger, and the Mime made more hand gestures. He turned to the officer. "彼に食べ物をもらおう。"

"ハイ" And the officer departed as Peter turned around, lying on his bed.

"We will do our best, Mr. Parker." Botan said. "I promise." And he left the cell and walked down the hall, leaving Peter to his thoughts.

This has to be a dream...

It has to be.

Peter hugged the pillow and brought it against his face. "Please wake up... please wake up..."

(X)

"Okay then." Fukuda Botan muttered as he left the cell ward and stared out to Officers Fujiwara Toshio and Kimihito Sei as they sat in the general working area of the Musutafu Police Department. Other officers were at work and busy at their terminals as the Police Chief rubbed the bridge of his nose. "This is something else."

"You ask me Chief?" Toshio snarked. "Think the foreigner's lying. Giving us croc tears." Sei, the mime, looked at his partner with an incredulous look. "I'm serious! We get kids all the time about this and-"

"He seemed genuinely confused when I told him even basic level information. Quirks. Not knowing of Quirk Regulations which is enforced even in the United States. This keeps adding up more and more."

"Explain his costume then. Must be his Quirk right? We couldn't even take it off! And you saw how it slid down his face like... like sand!" Toshio elaborated in exaggerated detail. "It has be."

"I don't know, something tells me this kid either hit his head too hard on the pavement when he confronted that Villain, or... something is definitely amiss." Botan murmured, cupping his chin. "Hey Hanazawa-Kun!"

"Yes Sir?" Asked a young mousy-looking intern with glasses, coming up. She even had big mouse ears on her head.

"Mind running these contacts over to the US Embassy? These are the contacts our vigilante gave us." He handed him the notepad Parker had written down, then Hanazawa scurried off.

It maybe a long shot, and not worth the effort yet...

It wouldn't hurt to do his due diligence. And beside that...

The web slinging. That costume of his and how it moved. How it prevented little if any injury on his person when they picked him up and put him through the scanner in the ambulance en route to the station. The camera feeds of his acrobats and body strength. The head had symptoms of concussion at first... but when they arrived, there was no more. As if he had healed subconsciously.

No one should have more than one Quirk. Regeneration, control over some substance that makes up his costume, which even translated for him apparently that it picked up on what Toshio was saying...

"I'm gonna make a call to an old friend. You go and make sure that-"

"Finally, there you are!" Said a female voice, making the three law enforcers turn their heads, and walking towards them was non other than Takeyama Yu, the new heroine who has debuted in their region within the last week plus by the moniker of Mt. Lady. Right behind the spandex-covered blonde was the dark-spandex and wood-armed Nishiya Shinji, also known as Kamui Woods. "I was looking for ya Chief Fukuda." The woman elaborated as some officers made way for her. "I wasn't getting any response that my Report was filed in, so here it is in person."

"Ah. Mt. Lady, welcome." Botan stood at attention as the statuesque rookie handed him a file. He opened it, glimpsing through. "Odd how our response team hasn't gotten back to your firm. Was it anything on our end?"

"Has to be, our internet's going along fine." Mt. Lady stated with a wave of her hand. "Kamui here at least is able to do a good job in making sure our bandwidth and net are running. Right?"

"Yes, I'm glad." Kamui remarked with a roll of his eyes. Botan saw the camera footage of the incident, with the villain being detained and under anaesthesia as not to transform into a giant again. Kamui Woods was doing a good job keeping the villain under wraps, and then Parker showed up and made some clear rookie mistakes before he slung back into the fray in annoying the villain, right into Mt. Lady who took the credit.

"So, that creep detained?" She asked, hand on her hip.

"Which one, the villain or the one who flew into your ass?" Toshio snarked. Kamui Woods sniggered, making the woman fume.

"I meant the villain! Besides, I saw the social media feeds. Kid was flying in before I," And she emphasized that "I". "Took down that monster with an all mighty kick."

"You were late to the scene." Kamui Woods remarked. "What took you, especially with your first giant villain encounter?"

"Excuse me, I had to find an open enough area to get a running start for my Canyon Cannon attack!" She barked back. "Besides no harm done! No one was hurt after all right!"

"Except millions of yen in collateral damage due to the villain and your footsteps messing up the train tracks." Botan remarked, making Mt. Lady blanch up. "But rest assured, the Public Transit and the government will repair it. They made sure the tracks were insured. And the villain is under wraps. He'll tried within the week and we will need your report to assist the Prosecutor's Office in throwing him in jail."

"That's all well and good." Mt. Lady stated with a sigh. "How about the kid? He seems like a newcomer." She looked back at the shorter Kamui who shrugged.

"I talked to the other neighboring firms and agencies. No one matches his costume description of a dark blue and red-with-gold trim and a spider on their chest on their roster, so he's a Vigilante." He elaborated. "I take it he will be let go with a warning? He sounded like a teenager, and a foreigner to boot given his English. American maybe?"

"That's the thing." Botan crossed his arms. "It's a... complex story, but you hit the nails on the head Mr. Woods." The Police Chief gestured for an intern to come by and he handed her the file. "Our vigilante is indeed American and a teenager, with... unique circumstances. See..."

He told them everything, from Parker's lack of Quirk knowledge to his saying of 'Avengers, Earth's greatest heroes' and other oddball terms Parker relayed to him. Both Kamui and Mt. Lady had wide eyes.

"He did hit his head on the pavement. Concussion?" Kamui mused.

"The paramedics had him under their scanners while they treated him. Couldn't get through his costume no matter how hard their tried. Plus, he seemed to have healed, despite showing signs at first."

"One man with strength, web-flinging, and self-healing Quirk? That's impossible."

"It's his costume Mr. Woods." Toshio answered. "If I had to guess, it did it for him. We got a visual when he was able to make it disappear."

"How strange..." Kanui cupped the chin of his wooden mask. Mt. Lady quirked her eyebrow.

"You guys haven't called his parents yet, if he is a teenager?"

"We're running by them now. We-"

"Chief Fukuda!" It was Hanazawa, making Toshio raise his eyes.

"That was fast."

"Yes?"

"I'm back... we ran by the names our vigilante gave us. Here is the report the US Embassy gave us." Kamui crossed his arms.

"So your servers are running fine. It's on our end then. Apologies." He pinched the bridge of his mask as Mt. Lady giggled.

"Shoulda paid the bill Kamui. Gotta keep an eye on things, like bills... and the prize."

"Oh shut up gloryhog."

"No searches?" Botan muttered, breaking the two's potential argument as they looked at him. Toshio and Sei looked over his shoulder.

"That's impossible. Embassy has to be screwing...with us." Toshio's skepticism faded as he saw the papers handed back from the Embassy via email.

May Parker. Residence: Queens, New York. Married to Benjamin Parker.
No Results Found in Japan or United States.

Edward 'Ned' Leeds. Residence: Queens, New York. Son of Leonard and Belle Leeds.
No Results Found in Japan or United States.

Michelle 'MJ' Jones. Residence: Queens, New York. Daughter of Brock and Mary Jones.
No Results Found in Japan or United States.

Anthony 'Tony' Stark. Residence: Malibu, California and Manhattan, New York. Founder of Stark Industries and the Avengers. Super hero: Ironman.
No Results Found in Japan or United States.

"The Embassy's database is tied directly to the US Governments as well as ours." Botan murmured, biting his lip. The database would have ran by all the words Parker had written down to find any commonality or connection. The fact that nothing came up was incredible.

"He's lying." Toshio stated. "He's-"

"Not lying till I say so." Botan growled. "I'm gonna make a call to an old friend, see if he can help us clear the air here. He doesn't even have a visa so he's here in this country illegally, with no guardian or parents to speak of." He took a deep breath.

So Peter is either an incredible liar... or there's something going on here.

"You gonna stick around?" He asked towards the two pro Heroes as he got his phone out.

"I need to get back on patrol. Takeyama, you stay here and monitor the situation regarding our vigilante."

"Huhhhh?!" Mt. Lady whined. "Why not? I can go out on patrol too!"

"I'll call you if we are in dire need, but I need someone who can edit our report to file in at this station. I'm not leaving this vigilante matter untouched and I want someone here to write it down to show that we did handle this situation and know the full extent of what happened to all parties." Kamui Woods stated as he turned around. "And consider this a little lesson before you go glory hunting. I didn't recruit you to my firm to put in a bad reputation of collateral damage." He walked around, and Mt. Lady crossed her arms and fumed.

"You can wait in the break room if you like. You're welcome to explore around the station." Botan said as the phone rang a few more times.

"Tch." Mt. Lady scoffed. "Whatever. I was planning on going on my lunch break anyway. I'll check up on that vigilante kid when I can and grab a bite. And I was hoping to get some Waha Grill too... Not some cafeteria..." Botan droned her sulking as he saw the pro walk down to the cell ward as he heard his phone click.

"This better be good Fukuda, and not some boring purse snatcher." Growled an old cranky voice.

"Sir? Are you calling, that guy?" Toshio asked. Botan nodded, and made a hand gesture to tell the sketpic to shut up.

"Hello Hyu-sensei. I have a unique case for you I want you to examine for us."

"Get on with it."

"American foreign teenager with the possibility of multiple quirks or just his costume, claiming he knows nothing of Quirks or laws of our country, and has no sign of parentage or guardianship." Botan elaborated.

There was silence on the other end of the line.

"You're serious?" Hyu asked, with a raised eye going by the end of the line.

"Why would I lie?"

Silence again.

"I'll be there in ten minutes. This sounds... a modicum better than the rest of your rabble. Hopefully it's worth it."

"Thank you. We will be expecting you shortly." Botan hung up and looked at Toshio.

"Go to the mail room and get lots of paper. And pens. You too Sei." Sei gave a salute and trotted to the mail room.

"How much?" Toshio asked with a raised eye.

“Lots.”

(X)

It was as she feared, the cafeteria had no variety. With a heavy sigh, Takeyama Yu took her sandwich and dropped into the closest empty chair in the mess hall. Biting into her food like it insulted her, she let herself frown at the news as images of Shinji appeared on screen as he went on patrol.

That should be her out there. Shinji might have his fanbase, but she brought all the money shots to the agency thanks to the paparazzi. More attention will be on her and the firm as a result. Munching on admittedly, good roast beef, she shook her head. There was so much more to think about other than food or fame.

Should she apologize to Shinji? Maybe he’ll let this one go, it was her debut after all.

Naaah, too much work. Besides, she had to make a huge impression! She has to become an iconic, marketable, and impressionable pro after all! Any word out there is a good word in her book.

Especially making an impression on the poor lonely male demographic, both young and old~.

It’s not her fault that she was late. Did he have any idea how many places she could transform safety, even with scouting around the Musutafu Ward? Then, she should know, she counted all of them. Sure those are only the constantly empty parts being alone the train tracks , but who knows when the next villain is going to go running through the street and run amok?

But, the one thing on her mind was the spider-kid who collided with her backside after her special crafted hero move, Canyon Cannon. And he had a nasty fall too. Enough for him to make the assumption that he knew nothing of Quirks.

She shook her head, where did that come from? Well, now that she thought about it, why did he do it? Sure the chief said he didn’t know anything about quirks, which is frankly ridiculous from an objective standpoint. Anyone who didn’t know about quirks was either living under a rock or crazy.

But then where did he get his suit? Enough so that he suffered no damage.

Where did he learn to control his quirk? To fling around… enhanced spider silk and have those acrobatic feats. He had to had trained those hard and overtime. Couldn’t just roll out of bed and do that.

Yu groaned. This is too much thinking! There has to be a simple explanation for this. Maybe he’s a kid that got caught up in some dastardly plot to undermine the very institutions that she fought for! Maybe he was a secret alien!

Or maybe he’s just some scared kid who doesn’t know where he is. Yet took the time anyway to help, even if it meant breaking the law.

Yu’s train of thought came to a screeching halt. That’s… not impossible. Despite how hard they work, heroes were only human despite how some quirks can change appearances. They couldn’t be everywhere at once, and accidents happened. A kid left without their parents due to quirk activity, it’s not impossible. A foreign kid is certainly in that realm of possibility.

And it didn’t have to be villains. It can be anyone.

Sometimes… quirks didn’t show up at the best of times. Even with parental guidance.

She was living proof after all.

She gripped her arm, the food in front of her looking less appetizing by the second.

A scream snapped Yu out of her thoughts. Down the hall an intern ran, with stacks of paper up to their chins as they almost tripped before catching themselves.

Who in the world needs that much paper?

(X)

Araki Hyu. The Dream Drawer.

No two words brought more dread into the eyes of an experienced office other than ‘paperwork time’ or ‘new villain’. The man was a legend for those that had the honor of serving with him. His quirk turned what could’ve been baseless leads into solid convictions. He had to have around the clock protection from crime rings and villains aiming not to get exposed.

And then All Might came onto the scene, and few people had to come to him anymore, as All Might had an accurate nose for trouble. Plus Araki wanted less time in the spotlight. His work can draw the eyes of those of unsavory background...

When everyone was scratching their heads trying to figure out a case, he would walk in and solve the entire thing in an hour. All they needed was the suspect and he alone would give the proof whether they were guilty or innocent or complicit.

Every officer in the Musutafu Police Department looked at his plaque every time that they walked into work every morning, though few of them knew what it entailed. Or cared, given the scowl Araki always gave from said plaque.

After all, the former detective has been happily retired since All Might’s debut. He took his experiences and life stories of the many cases he helped crack or saved those who were persecuted unfairly and took that with him into becoming a mangaka. Botan had read some when his son had found out about his former mentor in Seinen Leap.

He really should tell his wife to be more observant of his son reads… That magazine can get a bit… racy and violent.

But, every police department has had Araki on call so many times that it drove most of them into the red more times than any of their accountants. Araki was good, but he didn’t come cheap as time wore on and he took advantage of his leverage. This call alone will probably cut the overtime budget. Hopefully it was worth it.

“Is everything ready?” Botan asked Toshio who nodded.

“Yes sir, the paper is in the cell block with the vigilante, Sei is watching him.”

“Good,” Botan muttered, rubbing tired eyes as he glanced at the one clock on his desk. Araki was due any second, but the old cop had a far more pressing question enter his mind.

“And how was he?”

“The vigilante? Kid didn’t even look at us when we brought the paper and pens in. He’s just sitting on his bed.”

“He didn’t even ask why?”

Toshio shook his head, “Not a peep came out. Not like we can understand him. And vice versa.”

Botan tried in vain to keep the scowl off his face. Peter was getting more despondent by the minute.

“Chief, he’s here,” came Hanazawa from behind the door.

Toshio actually bristled. Botan didn’t blame him.

“Did he ask for his clearance?”

“It was the first thing he asked.”

Botan sighed, at least he hadn’t changed.

The chief made his way out of his office, and not even two steps out did a voice call.

“Fukuda!!”

The chief kept up a stone face even as Toshio started fuming next to him. Araki Hyu was taller than most would expect him to be for someone of his age. Long scraggly aging white hair draped his face and framed an old coat that has been worn for many a year. He walked with a limp in his right leg, the telltale tapping of his cane as he walked towards the two policeman as a man with an agenda to keep. He also carried a briefcase in his free hand.

“Hyu-sensei, thank you for com-”

“Spare me the pleasantries.” Hyu interrupted with a snarl. “The sun is setting, the train was packed full of damn annoying brats gushing over some punk’s explosive quirk and my muse is thirsty. Where is the boy?”

“In detention,” came Toshio curt reply. “We were making preparations for you and-“

The old artist’s eyes glinted with distaste as he finally realized that the other cop was there. His eye wandered to his badge and he let out a smirk.

“Ah young Fujiwara-chan, still a lieutenant I see. Peaked early I assume?"

Toshio’s eye twitched and Botan pinched the bridge of his nose.

“And you’re not topping the charts anymore, old man.”

Hyu scoffed, “Unlike you, my work doesn’t just fall into my lap.”

“Gentlemen, remember why we’re here,” Botan interrupted cutting off anymore arguing. “Hyu-sensei if you could follow me.” The old man rolled his eyes.

“I remember where detention is. My memory hasn’t gone to dust just yet.”

“Unfortunately.” Toshio grumbled.

Said grumbling was silenced with a single glare from the chief. Despite being the senior officers, the two of them had to subject themselves to the looks of the younger staff as a civilian, albeit a retired detective, walked through the station like he owned the place. Hyu had a laser focus that Botan hadn’t seen in a long time. He’s clearly bought into the description of what he told him.

“Something going on?” Asked Mt. Lady as she was depositing her tray and noticed Botan walk with his group back into the detention area.

“We’re gonna have an interview with Parker.” Toshio replied. “Araki here is gonna make it easier on us and use his Quirk to read his mind.”

“Araki, mind-wait, Araki Hyu, the Dream Drawer?”

“I don’t draw dreams.” Hyu hissed. “I make sketches of memories.” He grumbled. “And now I’m gonna have an audience, so you all better zip it when I get to work.” He began to limp with a faster pace.

“He’s grumpier than I imagined.” Mt. Lady mumbled.

“Trust me, he can be worse.” Toshio added as they walked into the doors.

“This better be worth my time, or I’m billing you double, Fukuda.” The old man growled as they made their way through the cell ward. Sei greeted them with a salute as Parker was still in bed before turning to face them.

“This him?” Hyu asked.

Botan nodded and Hyu frowned. Parker was sitting on his bed like Toshio had said, and he was in the fetal position before he noticed the group. Mt. Lady stood out of the way, leaning against the wall and out of sight from Parker as not to disturb the bitter old man. Next to the invisible wall, the stack of paper and a collection of pens on the table with a stool were waiting. The older man inspected Peter like how one would view an insect with a microscope.

“He doesn’t look like much, at a glance.”

“Weren’t you the one to tell me not to judge appearances?” Botan asked.

“You think I’m stupid? Of course I know that, fool. ” Hyu muttered. “There maybe more to this foreign brat. Heard some mutterings from the younger generation over their phones over some incident this morning.” Botan snapped his fingers at Sei as the mime dropped the invisible wall. The mangaka limped inside with his case, pulling the table close to the stool by the bed, as Peter sat up, looking worried.

“Mr. Parker,” Botan said in English.

“What’s going on? Who is this old guy here?” Peter asked in concern, seeing the scary looking old man give him a frown as he

“This man here is Hyu Araki, he’s going to put things into perspective for us and give us an understanding of what is going on. Just let him touch your head, relax, and we’ll have an interview.”

Peter was looking back and forth between him and the mangaka as he got his papers in order by his right. Hyu was getting impatient.

“Botan-”

“Did you find them?” Peter asked, voice dry. “Did you find… anything?”

He kept a stone face. He didn’t need to know. Botan didn’t become a cop to crush a child’s hope, at least… not yet.

“We’re still waiting for results from the US Embassy. Once we do, you’ll be the first to know. I promise.”

He saw Peter nod into his knees.

“Alright. I… I know in America, that I usually need a lawyer for these things and… I guess I don’t have that here in Japan.”

“I can assure you, we just want perspective, then we can interview you and… get in touch with the contacts you sent us. Once we have a clearer picture Mr. Parker, we can sign some paperwork, hand you a warning, and send you off on your way.” Botan assured in a soft voice.

He felt sick telling him this.

Peter shuffled to the edge of his bed and chuckled without a hint of mirth. “So I just… relax?”

“Yes. Just lie down on your back, head closest to Hyu-sensei here, and close your eyes.”

Another nod, the action looking more robotic every second. Peter lied down on his back, looking up at the frowning old man as he got his pens and papers ready.

“He’s ready Hyu-sensei.”

“About time.” Hyu scoffed.

“Just breathe in and out, relax Mr. Parker.” Botan assured in English.

“Is he… like, gonna read my mind?” Peter inquired. “I mean, I saw a wood guy and some giant lady and you mentioned how people can have super powers… So… just… avoid any parts of me on a computer... Late a night... You know.” He shrugged. “Not, check on those.”

Botan let out a deep exhale through his nose as he heard a female snigger. “Of course.”

Teenagers.

“Who was that?” Peter asked, hearing Mt. Lady’s stifled laugh.

“No one.”

“What now?” Hyu asked. “What did he say?”

“He said he’s ready.” Botan replied in Japanese. “Now relax. We’re starting.” Peter nodded and closed his eyes.

The old man placed his palm on Peter’s head as if he was checking for a fever and Toshio swore he saw Hyu’s eyes glow. Then he drew.

Hyu’s pen was a blur across the paper, and Sei’s mouth dropped. Mt. Lady came out behind the wall and saw the pen fly across the paper as Toshio removed the first page and slid the next one under it, and Hyu went about lightning fast. That speed…

“Has to be his quirk right?” She asked.

“No. Pure skill and technique, refined over years and his distaste for editors.” Botan answered, amazed as Sei began to collect the sketches the mangaka was drawing at a speed no human being can do… and of such high quality for that matter as well.

The first page was of a younger Peter Parker standing next to a happy couple over a birthday cake. Next Peter was looking up to a man in a suit of armor. The suit had so much detail, every shine and every plate shown in all its magnificence.

A side effect of Araki Hyu’s Quirk; Musememory, the more cherished the memory, the greater the detail.

A scrapped robot laid shattered at the boys feet, and in the distance a spinning sign said ‘Stark Expo’.

That name again. Stark.

The final detail was a speech bubble over the iron man’s head.

“Nice work.”

So that's Ironman...

The next pages of pictures flashed by, but in equal if not greater detail. Peter, older now, laughing with a chubby boy while they worked on some kind of toy set.

A strange spider biting a hand.

The sight of a coffin being lowered into the ground. ‘Benjamin Parker’ painted brightly on the tombstone. The sight of a weeping woman to the side and a mass of mourners all around.

Peter looking at a cheap imitation of the suit he now wore, made of stuff made at home like a hoodie and some store bought items.

Creating some tub filled with a white substance.

Fighting some street level thugs. He really is experienced after all.

Meeting a middle aged man with a small beard and mustache, sitting with him on the bed. This was Tony Stark.

Another memory flashed by, Peter, in a better suit, standing next to several heroes, the red-and yellowed steel hero from before with an individual in jet black feline-esque body armor and a black and steel armored hero staring down an equally diverse set of opponents, including a blue armored man with a shield, a man with a metal arm, a man who can fly, and some red-costumed… giant?

Holding together a torn in half ferry by his webbing.

Speaking in that man again. Tony Stark on a high rise, and very stern and serious was he.

Fighting against a black-and-green villain with metal wings in the sky. Mr. Toombs was his name.

Seeing a girl walk off with a sad look in her eye.

Meeting a bored girl who was amusing, but fascinating non the less.

Looking up at a flying circular ship hovering over New York.

Fighting villains… one a monstrous brute with a hammer, the other slender and using telekinesis.

Flying out beyond the atmosphere, seeing the darkness of space and falling… before landing on the alien ship.

Saving a red-caped individual with scars on his hands.

Tony Stark, the Iron Man, looking like a King and knighting him. “You’re an Avenger now.” Said the text bubble.

Being held at gunpoint by a man with weapons beyond anything Botan had ever seen. Seeing people with unique features such as dark skin with red tattoos, or glowing antennae with big black eyes… with the specter of some alien creature with a mouth razor sharp teeth coming out of it’s mouth looming behind her.

A different world, of ruined skyscrapers, satellites, and sinkholes.

He can hear Hyu toss pens aside as he drew them dry of ink, grabbing new ones and sketching at light speed, his eyes glowing but laser focused.

A bald giant of a man with a single gauntlet, holding him by the throat. “Little Insect!” Was the text bubble.

Holding down that giant before a simply dressed man hit the giant in the face with his unique weapon, fury and despair written on both his, Tony’s and even the giant’s faces.

Some… meteor shower, putting people on web-lines and flying through the debris as hell rained down around him.

Botan’s mouth was agape.

The men and woman turning to dust!?

Peter, holding the man that gave him his suit, as Tony Stark was crying, the despair written all over him with the bubbles "It's going to be alright" above him as the world dissolved around him.

And then… a pitch black page.

Followed by the skyline of Musutafu, with the sight of that very same shark-giant villain in the background.

“Chief?” Toshio asked, seeing Botan go through the fast paced sketches, all detailed with ink and not needing a redraft. Perfect detail. “What… the hell?”

“Hyu-sensei… what is the meaning of this?” He asked, as the old man dropped the last of his many pens as he leaned back, panting and sweating as his right hand was trembling from the heavy usage. Hyu looked over at him,looking exhausted as a man of his age should be, yet he began to laugh, a wide grin on his face.

“What is this? What is this?!” Hyu ruffled Peter’s head, making the boy open his eyes in confusion at the act. “This! Is a goldmine! This.” He grabbed the papers in Botan’s hands, going through them and inspecting them. “My word… so much material! At last! Something new and fresh! My muse! Ohhh yes at long last, I can feel them churning in my head haha!” Hyu giddily exclaimed. Toshio and Botan eyed Hyu as if he just grew an additional head.

“Did… something happen?” Mt. Lady asked incredulously.

“Something incredible indeed young miss! This, will be fine notes and material for my next manga!” He turned towards Botan. “Well you didn’t let me down Fukuda. God I feel like a new man! I need to take these home.”

“We need them for the case you old twit!” Toshio barked.

“Oh relax Fujiwara-chan.” Hyu rolled his eyes. “I’m just going to scan copies.” He patted the younger man on the chest, Toshio pucking his face. “You need to live a little, stop being so serious.” He turned back towards Botan.

“Your account will be charged when I noti-“

“Save it Fukuda, you don’t have to bill me. The scans of these?” He held all the sketches up in his right hand. “Is more than enough payment.” He let out a deep and relieved sigh, before he looked back at Peter, who was as confused as anyone.

“Fukuda.” Hyu coughed in his throat, taking his cane and walking up to him as he began to whisper to him. “This boy here, Peter Benjamin Parker, is innocent, of anything and everything.” He stated with a solemn look in his eyes. “The only thing this boy is guilty of is ignorance of the laws of our world, and that is no crime.”

“Our world?” Botan raised a quirked eyebrow. Hyu nodded.

“You won't believe this... This boy… comes from a world where most of the population is quirkless. Only a handful of individuals.” He reached into his folder, grabbing out select pages. The standing in line and facing the shield man and red giant. The aliens. The wizard. The black-green winged villain. “Have abilities that can be called such, but even then they are quirkless, aside from a few.”

“What are you talking about. You’re saying… Parker is…”

“From another world. Another Earth, but not ours. Another dimension perhaps. Or a time, I do not know. What is certain, he was not born on this Earth, this... plane of existence. He came... from another. And this… monster.” Hyu held out a page of the sneering growling monster of a man with the unique gauntlet, saying ‘Little Insect’ at the reader. “Is to blame. And he did… such damage. So much so… I was able to glimpse at death for the first time.”

Botan was agog. Hyu may be a grouch. A curmudgeon. Unpleasant. Irritable. But a liar he was not. He felt a pit form in his gut.

“What else about this world?”

“What his world lacks in Quirks… makes up in technology. The stuff there… is only the advancements our society, no, our entire world can dream of! It's like magic! And the existence of-“

“Umm, Mr. Fukuda?” Peter asked, cutting into their conversation. Hyu would have barked if it were anyone else, but he kept his silence.

“Yes, Mr. Parker?” Botan asked. This boy… the suit… his lack of knowledge… all of it… combined with the sketches Hyu has made…

Could it be true? It could just be amnesia. Or some villain with a gauntlet like that but… even when he was a young rookie and met Hyu in his younger days… He’s never seen Hyu manage to get the image of death in his drawings.

That pure pitch black page that took up two whole pens.

The void. Nothingness.

So… there was no afterlife. And that… that frightened him to the core.

Peter had died.

A young innocent teenage boy, wanting to do the right thing, has died.

And he came back to life.

Botan did everything in his power to keep a straight face.

“Ummm… can I get something to eat?”

“Oh yes, of course.” Botan smiled for the first time, forced as it was. “What would you like? Me and Hyu-sensei here are almost finished, then we can get you something to eat and then we can have our interview.”

“Uh.. anything really, I guess.”

“He died Fukuda.” Hyu whispered. “The alien titan in my drawings, Thanos, murdered him somehow. Yet he wakes up in our world and rushes to save others without caring of his own wellbeing.” The old man gained Botan’s gaze. “He’s a hero through and through. He deserves better than some cafeteria slop if you ask me.”

Botan took a deep breath, taking the old mangaka's counsel. “Tell you what, do you have any… favorite food at all?” He asked. Peter raised an eyebrow.

“My favorite? Well… usually cherry pie made by my Aunt but…” His face fell. “I can go for some pizza.”

“Fujiwara-chan.” Hyu barked. “Get him some pizza. I picked up pizza at the end there.” He said in Japanese.

“What? Why do I have to do it!”

“Favorite topping?” Botan inquired, ignoring the bickering between the two.

“Ummm… just pepperoni is fine.” Peter replied, voice soft. “When will we get word from the Embassy?”

“When we get it, you’ll be the first to know.” Botan walked towards Peter, putting his hand on his shoulder and giving him a reaffirming squeeze. “I promise.” He looked back at Toshio and snapped his fingers. “Toshio-kun. Pepperoni Pizza. Just go to the pizzeria across the street and bill it to the station. Go. And give Hanaz-”

“I’ll give the sketches to Hanazawa-san for her to scan.” Hyu said. “Then I’ll take the originals and be on my way.” He patted the Police chief on the shoulder. “You did good today Fukuda. When I finish my pilot, I'll make a character named after you, and drinks on me.” He had a wide splitting smile on his face. Botan hasn't seen Hyu this... overjoyed in years. Yet was solemn regarding the details about Parker.

Toshio sighed. “Tch.” And he walked off out of the ward. Botan offered a small smile.

“I’ll be expecting that. And thank you so much for coming.” He bowed lightly. “We are truly grateful, Hyu-sensei.”

“Save it, I’m the one who should be thanking you.” Hyu beamed as he grabbed his cane and began limping off, walking past a confused and bewildered Mt. Lady, who had remained silent and out of Peter’s sight.

“What was… that about?” She asked.

“This case… Just got a lot more fascinating and-“

“Who is that? That voice sounds familiar.” Asked Peter, standing up from his bed. Sei made his hand gestures, and the invisible wall came back up once again.

“He asking for me?” Mt. Lady whispered, walking on out as Peter’s eyes rose up.

“You’re the giant lady I slung into!” The blonde super heroine smirked.

“That is Mt. Lady to you young man.” She declared in English before turning to Botan. “You look like you could take five. Let me have a talk with the kid.”

“I appreciate it. Kimihito-kun, stand watch.” Sei saluted as Botan left the pro to talk with the vigilante. He can hear Hyu giggling like a kid in a candy store as his papers got scanned. He saw Toshio outside walking down the sidewalk.

He was here to give a simple warning to a foreign kid and send him back to the States. That was what he had planned a half hour ago.

He never would have imagined that this would happened. Aliens. Quirkless worlds. Technology that is like quirks. Literal death. Alternate dimensions.

It was too much to take in. Hyu's sketches never lie. The man would never compromise his integrity for some wild fantasy. The sketches combined with Par-No. Peter's reaction, were starting to connect.

Botan let out a sigh. He promised he would quit. His wife practically forced him to.

When he stepped outside in the crisp air, he reached into his pocket and grabbed a cigarette, lighting it and taking a drag.

Because damnit he needs the buzz right now.

“Just what the fuck did I myself get into?”

Chapter Text

"Alrighty then!" Yu called, sitting down on the stool, which has been taken behind the invisible wall. Sei's eyebrow quirked up with her arrival.

In front of her Peter shifted on his bed. The poor boy was looking down at the floor before it rose up, unchanging. Going by the look of his eyes, his mind was not thinking about her or anything else. Just the uneasy anxiety of wanting an answer. He bit his lower lip a little, as he finally noticed her. The act made the heroine smirk a little at being acknowledged.

"So…"

"So…?" Yu prodded.

Gotta get the kid talking. That's always the best way to help someone out. A little talk went a long way. After all, All Might was laughing and talking nonstop for a reason. Saying how everything will be alright by his presence alone.

Peter's cheeks flushed and he looked away.

"Sorry for… flying into your butt earlier."

Yu blinked once, twice. Then she couldn't stop it. She threw a hand over her mouth, sniggering and suppressing her laughter. That's what he's embarrassed about? The act made Peter's eyes rise up as he rose his hands in surrender.

"I swear I didn't mean it, I was aiming for Shamu!"

He thought the villain was a whale!

Yu couldn't take it. She began to guffaw, head on in her arms as she hit the table with a balled fist, her muffled laugher sounding out the room. This Parker was a riot!

"Oh…oh… Oh boy," Yu panted while rubbing her eyes, "I needed a good laugh."

"Uhh, you're welcome?" Peter offered.

"I am actually," Yu said, "You and Shinji really made things easy for me today. I am Mt. Lady by the way."

Peter's eyebrow went up a notch, "Your superhero name is Mt. Lady… and who is Shinji?" Yu then snapped her fingers.

"Oh, right, Kamui Woods."

The eyebrow only went up and Yu mentally slapped herself. This kid was American, of course he didn't know any of the local heroes.

"You remember the wood guy that was trying to tie up, pfft," She smirked. "Shamu?" She tried to be serious, but for the life of her it couldn't come out. Peter's eyes shot open.

"Oh the wood-arm guy!"

"Yeah, that guy." Yu smiled, "He was really annoyed I kept my eye on the prize."

"You mean… defeating Shamu?"

The blonde nodded, "Yep. Here in Japan, a professional hero's salary is dependent on how many villains we catch, how much we help everyone with our quirks, rescue others or use said quirks for general works and more, depending on your certification!"

Peter nodded, soaking up the info like a sponge. "And yours, your quirk, is… getting bigger? Like, Gulliver? Or like in that 'Honey I blew up the Kid' movie?" he guessed. "I mean, given your hero name it makes sense."

"I… have never heard of a Gulliver or that movie unless it is some American B-Movie but you are correct. My Quirk is Gigantification," Yu clarified, "I can go from my height to sixty-three meters tall. Pretty amazing, right?" The blonde beamed, eyes closed as the rookie hero preened.

Peter shrugged, "It's not the first time I've seen it."

Yu's smile dropped from her face, eyebrows tilted in confusion. "Really?" Seriously?

"Yeah, and the giant guy I fought against once, not Shamu but another guy, he could go smaller too, like ant-sized."

Oh that is so unfair! Someone can change their size at will! Yu huffed, crossing her arms. "Well not all of us can have a candy bag of powers." She blinked and looked him over, making Peter scoot back a little. "Speaking of that, what is your quirk? Is it spitting out web from your wrists? Like, converting your bloodstream into webbing?"

Peter blinked and then shook his head. "No, my ah, web shooters are just a part of my suit."

Part of the suit? "Huh, who made them?"

Peter scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "I did."

"You did!" Yu exclaimed.

"In my garage originally," He added. "With some help they were improved of course! By Mr... Stark." He said, looking a bit downcast, but the superhero didn't care about that bit. Peter made those things? According to the report those webs were strong enough to hold up a falling powerline.

What are those things made out of? How did he make the intricacies of a projectile shooter of a material strong enough to hold power lines and prevent bolt cutters from cutting through them! They needed blow torches for the silk.

This kid is getting stranger by the minute.

"In your garage originally before some Stark guy tuned them up huh…Cool. So is it your acrobatics? Is that it?"

"I… don't really know."

Now it was Yu's turn to raise an eyebrow? Her mask didn't help, but Peter got the message.

"I mean I'm a lot stronger and I'm flexible and there's… there's this feeling I get when something's about to hit me and helps me react. There's that."

"Hmm." Yu hummed, puffing her cheeks and furrowing her brow in thought.

That was an interesting set of powers. What kind of combination lead to what he had? Attribute quirks maybe? Yu grumbled, she knew she should've paid more attention to Quirk Applications class.

"So uh…" Peter said snapping Yu out of her thoughts.

"So..?" she prodded with a tilt of her head.

"Your uh… English is really good."

Yu nodded and her smile grew to split her face in two. English was one of the subjects she aced back in U.A., thanks in no part to her American grandpa she talked with back when she attended the prestigious academy. "Thanks! Japanese maybe my natural tongue but English I have gotten quite affluent with! Do you know any other languages?" she asked.

"I know some Spanish."

"Did you ever want to go to Spain?"

"Uh no, I haven't been out of the states until…." He trailed off, his shoulders sagging as he looked off, thinking of something else, and Yu frowned despite herself. The kid, he was going so well too and now she just had to ring it back around to him sulking over… whatever it is he's sulking about. None of that! What kind of hero would she be if she couldn't help a poor hormonal teenager smile!

"Can you lower it?" She asked, looking at Kimihito. The mime nodded, using his gestures to lower the invisible wall. When she made a gesture to knock, feeling nothing, she walked around the table and stood in front of the teen.

"Hey," she said as gently as she could, standing up and putting a hand on Peter's shoulder, "Don't let it get to you. You'll just get a warning and be on your way once your parents are here and-"

Peter barked out a laugh so devoid of humor it made Yu's heart ache. He didn't meet her eyes, looking to the ground. "Yeah, why should I. I just broke the law." He snarked, half angry at being talked down too and half sad due to something else. And Mt. Lady felt nostalgic looking at Peter… because it felt like looking at herself once upon a time.

"Yeah, you did." Yu admitted. "But who doesn't! People speed over the limit in their cars everyday. Who cares if you broke the law? Everyone once in their life breaks that quirk law. I know I did. Kamui Woods, my colleague did once. We all do."

"Wouldn't the the police care?" Peter offered.

"Pssht," Yu waved it off, "Don't worry about them, just think about all the people you helped me save." Peter looked up, and Yu smiled at him, giving him her best thumbs up. "You went in there to help. That makes you a hero in my book."

The boy was silent, but he offered a small smile of appreciation. "Thanks." He muttered, taking a deep breath.

"Just wait a little longer, you'll be swinging through the city saving everyone in no time. You'll probably be sent back home to America, but I know you'll be a great hero some day!" Yu said with praise.

Before Peter could reply, he was cut off as a voice in Japanese called from the down the hall.

"Mt. Lady-san!"

Yu and Peter looked down the hall where the mousy intern ran towards them.

"Unregistered quirk user is wreaking havoc downtown. Death Jaw is on the scene but there's a hostage!"

"Where?" Yu asked in Japanese.

"Downtown, in front of the station."

"I'll be right there," Mt. Lady nodded, walking out of the cell.

"Wait what's going on?" He asked.

Peter started to get up but Yu held a finger. Sei noticed the movement and moved his hands fast, erecting the invisible wall.

"You stay here." She spoke in English again. "Hostage situation with a villain. Gotta go handle it. "

"Let me-!"

"I said that you had to wait," Yu interrupted with more serious tone, "You don't have your license and you're still waiting for a call. Just let the pros handle things for now."

Peter slumped back on his bed, and Yu felt like she know what it was like to kick a puppy. "I'll see you off before you head out." she promised. "I'll be back. Promise."

With that, she took off, dodging officers on her way out of the station.

(X)

Peter saw her leave, and he sat on the bed, breathing hard as he gripped his interlocked hands hard. Sei stood at attention by the entrance to the cell, as usual.

To think someone was being held hostage… someone was in trouble.

He looked over at Sei who was standing hands behind his back. "Hey uhh… Mr. Mime?" He asked, waving his hand. The Mime noticed him, eyes focused. "So uhhh… do you like, have a phone?"

The mime quirked an eyebrow. "I'm not gonna take it! You have the wall cutting this table in half, right? So I can just like," Peter sat on the stool, pulling it up to the table and sitting down. He knocked on the invisible wall. "I just wanna, get a clue on the hostage situation. Stream the news? Or can you… even understand what I'm saying?"

The mime shook his head. Peter sighed, biting his lower lip and standing up and getting back on the bed. He lied down, looking up at the ceiling and breathing in and out. "Damn." He muttered under his breath.

There was someone in trouble, and he's stuck in this stupid cell. And he cannot act. He could break his way out… but Mr. Fukuda and Mt. Lady were so nice and told him of the laws… He had already broke one law today, even if out of ignorance. And he got some old man to read his mind or something…

He took a deep breath, closing his eyes and trying to force himself to take a nap. This whole spectacle has to be some dream… And the contacts should be coming in by now…

(X)

One of the officers arrived back with some pizza, so that was a welcome reprieve. Peter managed to eat… the whole pie due skipping on breakfast and his body's physiology demanding high amounts of calories before going back to the bunk. The grouchy officer who was with the mime left without a word. Or even responding him, only saying "Heru isu Pizza."

It was over an hour until Peter heard footsteps in the detention area, making him open his eyes. He must have drifted off into a nap. He sat up, seeing Fukuda Botan walk in with a briefcase.

"Any word?" He asked, getting to his feet.

"Apologies for the hold up Mr. Parker." Botan said as he sat in the chair across from Peter as the boy did the same. "We handled the hostage situation and the villain is being detained." At that word, Peter saw that older officer who gave him the pizza walk behind behind him down the hallway and…

What's with the milk gallon full of sludge?

"Anyways." He said, grabbing out a notepad and pen. "I was hoping we can begin our interview."

"What's the word. On my contacts. The embassy?" Peter asked. "Did you get Tony Stark or Mae Parker on the line?" He asked in rapid fire, eyes wide and full of hope, desperate to latch onto anything.

Mr. Fukuda frowned, reaching into the briefcase as he looked at Kimihito and nodded. The mime did some gestures, and looked like he was lifting something. The Police Chief slid some papers across the table to Peter.

"When I got back from the situation, I made a call to the Embassy to double check. Triple check." He spoke, tone sullen as Peter looked over the results, seeing the insignia of the United States and spotting the word Embassy within the insignia.

Mae Parker. Residence: Queens, New York. Married to Benjamin Parker.
No Results Found in Japan or United States.

Edward 'Ned' Leeds. Residence: Queens, New York. Son of Leonard and Belle Leeds.
No Results Found in Japan or United States.

Michelle 'MJ' Jones. Residence: Queens, New York. Daughter of Brock and Mary Jones.
No Results Found in Japan or United States.

Anthony 'Tony' Stark. Residence: Malibu, California and Manhattan, New York. Founder of Stark Industries and the Avengers. Super hero: Ironman.
No Results Found in Japan or United States.

...

No.

No.

Just-No. No.

No no no.

Nononononononononononono.

"No. No." Peter muttered, gripping the paper, looking behind the back to see if this was a joke. "This… this…"

"Mr. Parker, I-"

"No… No!" He roared, grabbing the chair he was sitting on and throwing it to the wall, hard and making it crash. "Fuuuuck!" He brought his arms down on the bed with a yell, crunching it in two as he let out a sob. He heard the clicking of guns and he felt a tingling down his spine and turned.

He saw the mime being wide eyed and nervous, gun raised while Botan was quiet, eyes sad and sympathetic. The chief didn't even move.

"I died… I fucking died… I fucking died… It was real oh god…" Peter sobbed, coughing and letting out gasps as he began to weep. He slouched down, grabbing the sheets and muffling a massive roar.

Everyone… Mr. Stark. Aunt Mae. Ned. MJ. Even that asshat Flash Thompson. Happy. The Guardians. Dr. Strange.

"I'm dead… I fucking died there… everyone…" He uttered, feeling the lump in his throat as he continued to weep. He heard a foreign mutter, footsteps, and felt a hand on his shoulder. Peter turned around, ready to lash out…

And saw the warm eyes of Mr. Fukuda, kneeling down beside him.

"I… I am sorry for everything, Mr. Parker. I truly am."

Peter was quiet, taking deep breaths. "Wha… I…I dunno…Uhh…" He stammered over and over, the pit in his stomach still there. "Fucking…" He hugged Mr. Fukuda, hard.

"艦長!" Said a voice, the old pizza officer said, poking his head through the door. Peter didn't care, feeling Fukuda's hands on his shoulder.

"Mr. Parker." Botan said softly, as Peter looked up, eyes red with tears as the older Japanese man put a hand on his head. "We… we need to get our interview in. Then… we need to go from there."

"But how?" Peter squeaked out, chin moving up and down as he closed his eyes, sobbing a little.

"I don't know… I never have felt with a situation like this but… protocol is protocol, Mr. Par…" He paused, taking a deep breath. "Peter." Peter bit his lip, closing his eyes and nodded.

"Okay… fine…" Peter… felt lost. Adrift. He didn't know what the hell he was going to do. Botan turned towards the chair and walked towards the other end and took his seat. Peter spotted the stool the old man, Araki his name was, he didn't remember, used and took it and placed it on his end of the table. "Sorry for…well… the chair and bed…" He whispered lightly, eyes glued to the steel table.

"It is alright. Most inmates tend to cause damage anyway. We have spares" Botan reassured. "Now, I just want to know about you and correlate what Hyu-sensei gave us… then we can proceed from there."

"Where am I going to go?" Peter asked. The red haired man ran his hand through his hair, taking a deep breath.

"We'll… cross that bridge when we get there. Is that the saying?" He asked, Peter nodded. "Okay then…" He heard a pen being clicked. "Do you wanna start from the beginning?"

"Sure…"

"Alright." He reached into the briefcase, grabbing a smartphone, or some recording device, and pressing something. "このインタビューは機密保持を目的としたもので、警察署または法律に関するすべての事項を対象としています。 問題の容疑者はアメリカ人であり、したがってこのインタビューは英語で行われます." He paused, turning towards Peter. "Let us begin, Peter."

"'Kay'…"

"What is your name."

"Peter Parker."

"How old are you."

"Sixteen…"

"Where is your place of birth and residence." Botan scribbled on the pen.

"Queens, New York City."

"Do you have any parents?" Peter wanted to not answer but… he had to get through this. He was feeling numb.

"I used to."

"What happened to them?"

"They died in a plane crash when I was very young, just barely a year old."

"I see. That is saddening. Who are your guardians then, in that case." Peter bit his lip.

"Aunt Mae Parker."

"Do you have an Uncle?" Peter took a sharp inhale. He remembered the joy of Uncle Ben when celebrating his birthday, taking him out for bike rides, teaching how to make gadgets in the garage…

And how he died… and he was buried.

"Yes… Uncle Ben… He passed away… two years ago."

"I see. I am sorry."

"Me too." Peter muttered.

"What are you doing in Japan?" Botan asked, and Peter looked up at him, silent. "Mr. Parker. I will ask again. What are-"

"I don't know I… I was dead… or I think I was."

"You died?" Botan asked rhetorically. "How?"

"It's… It's a long story." Peter whispered, heart still aching over the revelation. Botan remained silent, and nodded.

"It is fine. Tell me. However wild it is." Peter lifted his head up.

"If… If I told you I… I came from a world without… quirks and there was only a few, very few, people with superpowers… with wizards and big powerful aliens and rocks that were formed from the Big Bang that can do crazy stuff… all caused by some giant purple alien muscle guy... would you believe me?" Peter was ready for the incredulous look again.

But Botan was straight faced, nodding as his eyes looked into his briefcase for a minute and then back to Peter.

"I do. Now, tell me from the beginning. How did you come here to Japan?"

The brown haired boy took a deep breath, biting his lip. "I'll start… from the beginning. How I became Spider-Man then… that should give you a clearer picture." Peter heard footsteps in the hallway lightly, but paid no mind.

"Tell me everything."

And then he told him.

(X)

"Alright." Botan nodded. "That is enough." He turned towards the recorder. "このインタビューは機密保持を目的としたもので、警察署または法律に関するすべての事項を対象としています。 容疑者はすべての質問に正直に答え、当局に義務付けています。 このインタビューは正式に終わりました." And he tapped on the button, ending the recording.

"Now then. This interview will be kept as evidence for your participation in the train station incident and will be kept in the fullest of confidence. In addition... we must now handle your current situation." Botan elaborated.

"How?" The brown haired boy asked. "I... I have no one." He smiled ruefully. "No parents. No aunts and uncles. No Avengers no Mr. Stark no wizards or aliens." He lifted his hands with a shrug. "I.. I'm homeless. I'm just a refugee, with... with no home to go to." Peter let out a sigh, before it became a sob. "I'm an orphan."

Botan sighed. "And you are right... but... we could try to fix this." Peter's eyes looked up at him, daring him to seek a resolution. "As a Police Chief, I know many connections that help assist the department with cases and with those who are up to no good. Your situation Peter, is unlike anything I have ever encountered in my career, or anyone else have had. You came from another world, another dimension even, and I believe you given what Hyu-sensei told us. And with no one like you in this world... It means that the United States would be hard pressed to accept you, even if you are American in citizenship. You have no birth certificate, no connections, no capital, nothing. Only your name, your word, and the clothes on your back."

"Then how!" Peter yelled. "How do you fix this then!?" He asked, crossing his arms and glaring at Botan. He knows he should not be angry with him but... damnit he doesn't know what to do at this point!

"I know many connections, Peter." Botan's voice was solid and firm. He leaned forward. "It wouldn't be too hard to ask for someone to forge you a visa."

"A... visa?" Peter asked. "Like a, visa gift card."

"No. A visa is a document that states your intention on entering a foreign country and residing there for purposes. From there, you have options to possibly apply for membership and residency. The issue is, it would have to be Japanese, as I have no connections with American or British forgers." Peter bit his lip.

Okay... so he would have to be here for... what? "So... the visa would be for me to do, what?"

"Easy. Going to school. The easiest way to acquire a Visa without jumping through hundreds of loopholes is by applying to become a foreign transfer student." Botan stretched his arms. "I know, my nephew went to America to become a foreign exchange student. So I have a clue on the process."

So... Apply for foreign visa. And use it to go to school. "Okay." Peter furrowed his brow in thought. "So... I go to school and then-"

"You become a Hero." Peter perked up.

"Wait, what do you mean."

"Japan has the best Hero Schools in East Asia, rivaled only by the ones in Dubai and Jerusalem. With your suit's technology, your abilities, your skills and experience, you would be perfect in becoming a hero." Botan elaborated. "And besides, you tried to intervene in the villain incident at the train station. After dying no less at the hands of this... Thanos." He said, letting the name roll off the tongue. It was name meant to inspire intimidation, that much is true. "You cared not for yourself, but for others, even if it didn't involve you. If that is not a hero, I don't know what is."

Peter took in deep breaths, staring at Mr. Fukuda with appreciation as he bit his lip.

"So... This guy you know can get me a visa... and I have to go to school and become a Hero."

"Yes. I can only get visas that can help you apply for schooling and for application for residency here in Japan. When you become an adult and graduate, you are welcome to apply for dual citizenship in America and seek a career here, but you must build a foundation first in this brave new world you have landed in Peter." Botan said as he stowed his many pages of notes he had wrote down during the interview. "Plus, we need to find you a guardian."

"A guardian, right... But who?"

(X)

"How about me?"

Both men jumped in surprise, Peter more than Botan as the spandex-clad Mt. Lady came out of her super awesome hiding spot. He definitely didn't see her behind the concrete and steel wall.

"You?" Peter asked. The blonde tried not to pout too much. What's with that tone? Did he not believe her? Even the Chief didn't look convinced.

"Forgive me Mt. Lady-san, I thank you for your help in the apprehension of the sludge villain," Botan said in Japanese, "But this matter is probably best left to foster services."

Yu felt her eye twitch as she scoffed. Oh yes, Foster care. They'll do their level best to put Peter with the best guardians that he could get. Ones that knew of his situation, that knew of his heroic spirit, who knew that he needed to be with someone that actually knew what he was dealing with and not some made up cockamany cover up story.

Yes, foster care would be absolutely perfect for him.

Peter needs to be anywhere BUT foster care.

"Oh don't be such a sour puss," Yu waved off.

"I'm not a sour puss, this is a serious matter." Botan narrowed his eyes, "The paperwork alone is going to be monstrous, even with using… less than legal avenues to get him settled and coming up with a convincing background for him on why an American boy with no parents or other relatives or contacts is being placed in a Japanese Foster Care system. We can't just dump him to the Americans, they'll deny him as he isn't a citizen and doesn't know his situation."

"And just throwing him to Foster homes won't help him any good at all! He was ready to go out there and help handle the Sludgeguy situation with me at a drop of a hat, not even batting an eye." Yu placed a hand on her chest. "If that ain't heroism coursing through his veins I don't know what is, and going to some shanty foster home is going to do him no good!" She can speak to experience on that front.

"Uh… what are you guys talking about?" Peter asked curiously in English, confused as to why the adults were arguing in Japanese, hiding something from him in all likelihood.

Yu turned around and gave a thumbs up, "We're just sorting out your room. You know, boring adult stuff." Botan rolled his eyes and exhaled through his nose hard. The brown haired wall crawler blinked and glanced at Officer Kimihito who shrugged.

"O-Okay."

"Awesome." Yu turned on the chief after reassuring the teen. "Leave him with me. I can take care of him." The red haired man looked back to Peter, then to Yu who stood with her hands on her hips. His story, his past, what Mt. Lady had just said combined with his resume... The boy was a hero through and through, even in defiance of the rules...

He never grew up in Foster care. He doesn't know what it's like. Botan pinched the bridge of his nose and ran his hand over his face, staring down the shorter blonde haired superhero. "Do you really think you can take care of a teenage boy and prepping him for hero school, while being a pro?" Botan asked, seriously. "Can you accept that commitment? Feeding him? Clothing him?" He asked in Japanese, terse.

And Yu realized why Botan has been a Police Chief for all these years given his serious tone. The rational part of her brain was kicking her heart. What on earth was she thinking? She had no clue how to be a guardian. But... it couldn't be too hard, be kind, understanding, supportive, all that good stuff and more. It's not like raising a baby with diapers and constant crying or anything!

Yet she will need to do that. Give Peter a roof over his head. Food. Clothes. Necessities. All while being a full time pro.

This... was going to be a challenge.

But she couldn't find the strength to take it back. She was a woman of her word. She has known Peter for all of one day… but damnit he needed her. If she walked out of this station without him by her side, she'd never live it down. She could walk on the red carpet as the number one hero, not just in Japan but globally and it would feel hollow. Being unable to save that one person when she was in a position to.

Because at the end of the day, she couldn't stop being selfish long enough to help a confused, terrified teenager. Not when she was one too once.

So to the chief, she cracked a grin, a daredevil one. "Big talk coming from a chief who's going to break the law to help him out."

Botan blanched, then scoffed. "I've got twenty years of seniority in this office AND connections. You've got a few days and change under your belt."

The superheroine rolled her eyes anyway. "Tomayto tomato, it'll at least give him a place to stay for tonight." She paused, sneaking a glance at Peter who waved nervously. "And a wardrobe change. Can't go walking around in a costume after all."

Botan's eyes darted between the heroine and Peter, the later freezing under the mismatched gaze. Yu was honestly impressed at the intensity in the chief's eyes. He looked like a shogi player working twelve moves ahead. Every option, every failure. He closed his eyes, and let out a big sigh. He snapped his fingers at Officer Sei, and the mime dropped the barrier. "You better treat him well," Botan muttered under his breath, "Peter," he spoke in English. The teenager straightened at the sound of his name.

"You're free to go." He held up a hand before Peter could ask anything, "All the paperwork will be handled on our end, but for now, Mt. Lady here will be acting as your guardian until you can get settled. Can't exactly keep you here overnight and all. Your... circumstances are unique after all."

Peter stood there, agog at Yu, realizing what has happened. "You… you would do that for me? I... we only just met and-"

"Of course," Yu responded in English, grinning ear to ear, eyes closed., "It's what heroes do."

"A-Alright then."

"Thank you for your cooperation Peter." Botan said, stepping to the side, offering his hand. The brown haired boy perked up and shook the police chief's hand firmly. The man bowed his head lightly in response.

"No, thanks for all your help." Peter replied. "I... I don't know what I would do if I hadn't met you."He frowned and leaned towards Yu. "You're supposed to bow in Japan, right?" he whispered. Yu held back a snort and nodded. Peter grimaced, but nevertheless, the sweet boy did his best bow that he could give, much deeper than a normal person.

One that Botan returned with a smile and a chuckle. "Not so deep, but you're on the right track. And it's fine, I am only doing my job. And don't worry Peter. Before you know it," he leaned in, a cheeky smirk on his face. "I'll be telling my son that I knew the great hero Spiderman before he even started."

Peter lit up at the praise, letting out a laugh. The boy really seemed to look up to the officer as he hugged him. Botan froze up, blushing at the contact before settling his hand atop of his head. Peter backed off, his face just as red. "Sorry I... don't know what came over me and..."

"you've... had a trying experience." Botan put it as best as he could. "A hug is... not uncalled for."

"Come on," Yu tapped Peter's shoulder, "It's getting late and we need to get you some clothes before the stores close."

Peter paled as he looked down, apparently just now remembering that he had on his suit.

"Yeah." He said, only to blanch further. "Oh yeah, lemme take it off... somehow..." Peter tapped around the Iron Spider suit, standing back as the two adults looked at him curiously. Sei knew his job was finished and gave the trio room as he left the detention area. "Ummm..."

"Is... something the matter?" Botan asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"Yeah I uhh... this is kinda weird but... this suit is a second suit and I don't know how to turn it off." Peter was running his hands over his body, looking around, much to the look of utter confusion from both Yu and the police chief. "Where did Mr. Stark put an off button at..." He finished running his hands over his chest and was patting and poking. Then it hit him.

The suit hit him when he was running out of oxygen on the Space Donut in... "The back!" His hands hit the his shoulder blades as he began to search around... when his palm hit the spot between his shoulder blades, then it went up, hitting the nape of his neck. Something whirred and clicked. Botan's eyes rose up and Yu's mouth dropped as Peter felt sand move around, the nanites moving around up to Peter's head. He looked down, seeing his normal bright red-and-blue suit come back as he heard a clinking sound as a device fell. Using his reflexes, Peter caught it and held it up.

It was some kind of device, like if a FitBit watch but for around the neck, with some pad the size of a watch-clock, with a bright light blue light emitting from it. Peter narrowed his eyes, seeing... his thumbprint. So Mr. Stark attuned the suit to be able to only be accessed by him, with the nanites stored inside.

"An Arc Reactor powers the Iron Spider..." Peter muttered under his breath, in awe.

"Well now." Botan muttered. "I was not expecting this but..." He shrugged. "After today, I don't think anything surprises me anymore."

"Oh, ummm... I can keep this right?" Peter held the device close to his chest.

"We're not going to take it." Botan shook his head. "What your costume is won't leave this room. Whatever is stored in that thing, is something we may not be able to understand." He eyed Peter's hands. "I trust you'll keep it safe and out of the wrong hands." The teen nodded, clutching it tightly.

"I will."

"Well, that's all well and good but..." Mt. Lady pointed at his chest. "Your other costume?"

"Oh crap, I left my clothes behind that Seven-Eleven." Peter muttered. "I... am only wearing my underwear, under this." His hand went over his suit he got when he went to Germany, and he was investigating Mr. Toombs with Kar-

"Karen!" Peter yelled, tapping his suit. "Karen can you hear me?! Karen!" Yu was caught off guard by the sudden desperation in the American's voice. Even Yu tilted her head.

"Whose Karen?" Botan asked, as Peter's shoulders slumped.

"The suit's... AI. I forgot to bring her up during our talk." Botan rolled his eyes. "I need to find her, I need to...take this off." He bit his lip, looking at the duo. "Sorry..."

"It's fine. I'll lend you my coat, you can wear that. It's a big trenchcoat that's beige and on that coat rack near my office. Hopefully that can help." He shrugged. Peter perked up.

"I'll return it once I get clothing. I promise." He said seriously. Botan could see it in his eyes, that Peter would follow through on his word.

"I'll hold you to that." The chief looked down at the blonde heroine. "You two have to be places now. I need to sort paperwork and do my job."

"Sure thing."

"Don't worry about it, I know a great place to go shopping." Yu smirked, patting him on the shoulder. "I'm a Pro so I can walk around in my costume and just say it's a 'patrol'. Death Jaw is gonna file the report in for Sludgedude anyway. Now let's go shopping! I can't wait to get you all the gucci and sauve attire!" Yu declared as Peter blanched, rolling his eyes.

"Gucci." He muttered, but it went unnoticed by the blonde as the two walked out of the detention center.

Botan was alone, and he went back to his briefcase, looking through the pictures of Peter's past, and then back out to the fast talking blonde and her younger ward.

Those images of saving others time and again. His motivation, the sight of a dying man, his Uncle Ben, in his arms, with the notable words in a thought bubble... The words Peter associates with his deceased unc-no. Parent.

Those with great power, bear the mantle of responsibility.

Everything else, has been to save others less stronger than him. To fight those who abuse their power. Who commit evil.

Botan smiled. "Peter Parker..." He looked at another photo, one of Peter looking at himself in the reflection of a skyscraper window, the backdrop of New York City behind him. In his blue and red with web-design costume. "Spiderman...

"I will be expecting great things from you." He grinned, and he stowed the pictures. Time to get back to work.

(X)

Yu wanted to cry. She wanted to be sick. She wanted to wail.

Gucci and suave. That was all the rage these days. He was a teenager. A teenage boy yeah, but he had to have something! His costume was so cool! How it can be so compact and small and formfitting and sleek and yet... and yet!

How can his casual be so… plain. The two of them had went straight Viper's Bite, Uwabami's personnel department store chain. Sure the snake hero might take her modeling career way to seriously, the tramp had no taste and was so... gaudy and bourgeois, but at least she kept her some of her stores affordable for the common man and woman. Something about making everyone feel the best even if they couldn't look as good at her, was how she put it.

Yu was going to show that... flashy hag one of these days, even if her commercials, social media trends, and online magazine and website ads were making this easier, keeping Yu's new fans away. She will get that exposure and fame! One day she will oust that hussy! She will see!

But, first things first, before she could stop that travesty that was the snake tramp, she had a crisis in front of her.

"Is… is that it?" Yu asked, hoping beyond hope. "No Denison? Jean-Paul? Ronaldo? Maximillien?"

Peter's choice of speaking to him, in the height of fashion, was a simple beige t-shirt, red hoodie jacket and normal blue jeans with the large trench coat he borrowed tucked into a bundle under his arm. How a boy with such an amazing suit settle for something like that… she had no clue.

Peter blinked and looked down. "Uh yeah, this is the cheapest set I could find. I'm... not really a fan of that super expensive richy stuff. Like, some stuff had a lot of zeroes."

Yu scrunched her face before it hit her. She bonked her head. "Currency." She muttered in Japanese. "Oh don't worry about it." She said in English. "Here in Japan, one US dollar goes for about 100 yen." Peter blinked.

"Great I'm right on budget then."

What?

"That couldn't be more than 1500 yen! You got this off the bargain-bin!" Peter flinched, and Yu immediately winced. "I mean, money isn't an issue right now Peter, don't you wanna, well, look nice?"

"Well, not now." Yu notched an eyebrow and Peter hefted his suit closer to his chest.

"I-I mean you get paid by how many villains you chetch, you just started out and you only got one villain." Yu couldn't hold back a groan.

"That's not how all heroes get paid! Villain catching is a bonus! I have a flat salary with potential for raises based on my performance, with arresting villains, saving civilians, and defeating criminals netting me bonuses. It's how it's like for all heroes, and even then some heroes don't handle criminals! Like some handle natural disasters or rescue or coast guard... it's not all villain-based!" She let out a big sigh. "You have no clue how to spoil yourself."

Peter looked downcast. "I'm just… doing what I'm used to is all." Those words made the blonde regret her little tidbit.

What he's used to. That pit was forming in her gut as she bit her lower lip. She heard the interview. Everytime that Peter mentioned living with his aunt and uncle, he never once complained that they didn't have what they needed. How Uncle Ben worked as an electrician and Aunt Mae as a waitress. He made it seem like he grew up like every normal kid, only getting the odd supplies because his aunt didn't believe in spoiling him. But if fifteen American dollars worth of a shopping spree is his idea of normal...

Yu walked up, and straightened the lended coat so it sat straighter on Peter's shoulders. A quick flip of his hair to the side gave her a sight worth grinning about.

"It looks perfect." Peter gave her a wry look, and Yu couldn't stop rolling her eyes, chuckling all the way through it. "Come on, let's get those clothes and back to my apartment. I don't know about you, but I'm starving. We'll get you more clothes later, but this should help hold you over."

(X)

You know, out of all the things that have happened today, finding a set of clothes his size had been a small victory. And it had nothing on what was happening right now.

The superhero Mt. Lady, or Yu as she wanted to be called, was taking him in as his guardian, at least for now. Her, someone who was a full time superhero was taking him in after only knowing him for an hour at most. It was… it was like Aunt Mae had come back, like she hadn't been away at all. Well, minus the boisterous enthusasium and mild Japanese accent.

This... whole day has been like one bad dream, but a silver lining that wasn't there before has arrived.

Yu's apartment was a lot closer to the train station than Peter would've thought. Not that he was complaining, it was also close to downtown and he knew that had its benefits.

"Here we are!" Yu called, opening the door to her apartment.

Peter walked in, and was immediately beset with a familiar space. A small living room with a cheap sofa in front of a TV connected to the kitchen. A single window patio giving a view of the great city.

Though, that's where the familiarity stopped.

The floor around the couch was littered with used chip bags, and a set of clothes had been haphazardly thrown on the couch. Dishes were nearly bursting out of the sink, and the one room that he could see had a bed that looked like it hadn't been made in its entire life. And the room smelt musty.

Despite the chaos that Mae would ground Peter for, Yu beamed.

"Welcome to my, er, our tiny corner of heaven."

"Y-yeah its…"

"Amazing, homy, perfect?" Yu supplied.

Messy was the first word that came to mind, but one look from Yu threw that thought right out the window.

"Yeah."

Yu beamed. "Now, food," she marched to the kitchen like she was on a mission from god. She threw open the fridge door and even from the doorway Peter could hear the groan. "Uh, still nothing good. Sorry Peter, supper's gonna have to wait."

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I forgot to get groceries with the craziness of the day. I've only got enough for a thai dish. Not much of a housewarming mea-"

"That's great." Yu leaned back behind the fridge door to get a better look at him as he put the bundle of clothes on the sofa. They stopped by the MPD to give Mr. Fukuda his coat back, but he was busy doing work in his office, so they didn't stop by to see him. Regardless, Peter fulfilled his promise.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I like Thai." Yu frowned but relented with a shrug.

"Alright, wash some dishes while I get to work. There should be some soap under the sink."

"Got it. Lemme get changed first." Peter went into the bathroom and stripped out of the Suit and looked at it, realizing the mask wasn't there. Where-

Oh yeah. Space Donut. He couldn't breathe. Was Karen in there? Or was she... in the chest area? He ran his hand over the spider insignia. His symbol. "Where are you." Peter muttered, making it a promise to inspect the suit whenever he could to try and get in touch with her. But... going by her apartment, and due to his lack of connections and of the local tongue, Peter won't be getting anywhere. He patted the symbol as he finished stripping and folding his suit, knowing he would have to wash it(thankfully it was waterproof) and changed into his new clothes. He walked out, seeing Yu struggle to clean up the kitchen. She definitely was not used to eating in it seems. Or cooking for herself.

His hands immediately went to work with the familiar motions of scrubbing dishes. Soon, the entire apartment had the aroma of rice and vegetables. Yu didn't stop frowning at her work, but Peter didn't mind.

"So..." Peter looked up at her as he finished loading the dishwasher and was running it. He can understand basic appliances easily enough. "What will I do?"

"Well." Yu mused as she looked at the directions, muttering in Japanese on how to cook Pad Thai. "First, I'm gonna have to sign paperwork to have you become my legal ward, once Fukuda gets you that forged visa. Then, with our relationship set." She moved the rice pan a little. "You'll have to apply to go to a school. If my memory is right..." She put an index finger to her lip. "You'll need to sign up for a Foreign Exchange Class. It's a class that brings in foreign students and teaches them Japanese and other subjects to help them get you acclimated. Then." She snapped her fingers, looking at the brown haired boy with a grin. "We get you, into U.A."

Peter was following along, making notes in his head as he began to take some clean spray, a wet sponge and hot water to the countertops, going around and cleaning as he looked back at the older and still-dressed in her costume blonde. "U.A.?"

"The best Hero academy in Japan, if not all East Asia." Mt. Lady said with pride. "I graduated there a couple of years ago from the Hero Department they have. In fact, some people say it's the best in the world, outside of maybe the Manton Institute of Heroes in Los Angeles and Xavier Private Charter School in Boston." She scrunched her face. "Maaaaybe the Ubermenschschule in Berlin can be on par? Or London's King's Cross Coll-"

"I get it, U.A. is the top hero school in Japan. Got it." Peter surmised, taking some paper towels to dry off. He applied some elbow grease to get some serious stains off. "How will I get in? Will you help?" Peter began to make a mental checklist in his mind... Find a way to talk to Karen. Adjust and learn Japanese. Pray Yu is his sole guardian. And...and... go to this U.A. to become a hero, apparently.

"You'll get an easy in thanks to me being an Alumni." Yu stated as she flipped the stir fry and rice. "But due to, well, me being just a simple student who graduated and not some all-popular hero with loads of money, I don't think you'll get in on recommendations, meaning you'll have to take the Entrance Exam to enter U.A. Academy." The superheroine turned down the heat. "Am I doing this right? I dunno... anyways, my word will you get the door open, it's up to you, however, to get an education so you can be eligible for an application. So when we get you into that foreign exchange course, you will pass and get your credentials..." The sun was setting behind the blinds as Peter looked up at the taller blonde. Yu's ruby red eyes were soft. "And then..."

Elsewhere, a skeletal man with glowing sapphire orbs stared at a young green haired boy, crying tears of gratitude with his hand to his heart, down the street with the backdrop of an orange sky and a setting sun. And they spoke the same words.

To the ones who will wield great power.

To the ones who will one day inherit the mantle of responsibility.

The mantle of the strongest heroes.

"You can become a hero."

Chapter Text

Four days, it has been four days since Peter... arrived in Japan. And if he was being honest, he was still getting used to it. Not just the language, even if that was a problem, it was the people. There was normal looking people of course... but so many of them looked like things out of a kid's sketchbook with animal or other odd stuff. He could have sworn he saw one kid's head be nothing but a... comic strip page!

Not that any of them were bad! Yu and Chief Fukuda had already done so much for him. Him, a kid from America, a kid from another universe! It was because of them that he had a roof over his head, food to eat, and a chance to be a normal teenager again.

At least, this world's version of normal.

"I'm heading out on patrol!"

Peter turned, catching Yu, in full costume as she made her way through the living room. He smiled and waved, taking care not to mess anything up in the kitchen as he was busy unloading the dishwasher from the night before.

"Good luck and have a good day Yu."

Yu smiled, but it couldn't stop the whine that came through. A small part of Peter laughed at Yu's situation. Back home, being Spider Man was the best part of the day. Finally, after hours of pretending to be something he wasn't he could cut loose and help people. What he loved doing the most. Even the little things like giving directions and helping little old ladies cross the street felt... more with the suit on. Spending all day like that, not having to worry about grades, bullies, hell school in general and be paid for doing the right thing sounded like a dream come true.

Apparently, Yu didn't feel the same way. At least, not this early in the morning, given how wide she yawned.

"I've only got morning patrols today so I'll be back around 3. We can get you some more clothes after that, okay?"

"Sounds good."

"Oh! And a phone, in case you needed to call while you're out and when you got to school eventually." Peter was thankful that this whole crazy world had some familiarity. Their phones were normal smartphones, albeit with new features. He'd adjust to that easily when he has the chance.

"Thanks, Yu."

"Also the chief should be coming by sometime to give you your visa," Yu called, grabbing a poptart to munch on while on the go.

"Already?" That was awful fast. Didn't that stuff take a while? The movies made it seem like it took a bit of time. All the paperwork, making a digital past, taking a mugshot and putting it on quality cards took a montage. Yu shrugged, looking just as surprised as Peter even through her mask.

"Botan called in a few favors. Good thing too, classes start tomorrow for high schoolers like ya. Given your height, Botan had to de-age you, making you fifteen so that you can enter U.A. and have the convenient excuse of being held back a year since, well, they do it in America a lot."

He has to retake freshman year? Balls. "Don't remind me," Peter mumbled getting back to unloading.

"Don't worry about it, you'll be fine and-hold on a second."

Yu tapped her ear and after a second rolled her eyes.

"私は私の道を進んでいます、Shinjiを意味しないでください。," she said to the earpiece.

Her pout grew with every passing second, she made a face and turned her hand into a yammering puppet. Peter giggled at the sight. Her eyes twinkled at the sound only for the call to rip the moment apart.

"うんうん私にちょっと. That was Kamui," she explained, "I'm late for pre patrol checkup apparently. The jerk is probably salty about 'Shamu'." A quick slap to the face forced her to brighten up. She beamed, hand on the door. "See you soon Peter," she waved on her way out.

"Bye." Peter waved back as best he could, but his heart wasn't in it. Cause now was the worst part of the day.

The waiting.

It just felt wrong sitting around for things to happen to him. Back before the Homecoming fiasco with Mr. Toombs, he could kill the time with his patrols as Spider Man. Here though, that was a big no no. He could walk around, but with no suit to translate he'd get lost pretty quickly and that would lead to a headache for Yu. If he had a phone, it would be easier... He can watch TV, try and pick up and speak phrases. He heard that NBA players back home in his own world, ones who came from Europe, were able to learn English through watching TV shows and listening to hip hop music. Once he gets his own phone, he will need to listen on the music here.

Aside from watching TV, the only other thing was tinkering around with Mr. Starks suit, which lasted all of two hours on the first day before he gave up. Peter thought he could get something out of it, he got that stupid baby monitor program out of the suit back before the ferry incident.

But the Iron Spider suit? Not a chance.

He tried to tinker with the Mr. Stark's other suit, the one he got for the Germany trip, and found a small USB-sized compartment that must have contained Karen and the necessary functions of the suit. It had the same blue glow of an Arc Reactor when he looked it from the inside of his suit, as if there was stitched in patch on the inside of someone's shirt, after all but...

Yu's apartment wasn't exactly the best place to hack into a multi-million dollar superhero costume. And he didn't have the mask and it's HUD to help connect with Karen. He kicked himself mentally for tearing off the mask when he got on the Space Donut. If he hadn't... he could have had Karen through the fight, been able to get by a lot easier... have someone familiar to talk to. He had a feeling the Suit Mask would have connected well with the neural interface, but alas, he can only rely on the neural interface for now.

Nothing he could do for now. He would pat the spider symbol on the suit, and would look at it affectionately before going about his day.

So with all those options out of the running, the only thing left was helping out where he could. He set the cleaned dishes aside and made his way to the living room where he looked out at the battlefield before him.

The war between him, and the laundry being piled up in Yu's room.

Cleaning wasn't much to pay Yu back for all that she's doing for him. She told him as much, waving off his concerns like she'd gotten used to all this. He still remembered her surprise when she came back to a visible carpet, then a cleaned up bedroom. Just because she'd gotten used to it, didn't mean they both needed to live in a barn. Peter quickly picked up his supplies from the counter and set to work on the windows, dusting the TV and vacuuming the carpet. Simply chores to keep his hands busy.

Cause if he was busy he could focus on the sheen that he knew he could get out of the windows, or buff the color in the aging carpet, and not think about what happened.

It didn't always work, but Peter didn't let it stop him.

He was going to learn, he was going to be something great.

And that day his visa arrived in the mail. Turns out Fukuda sent it via mail instead of in person. Fair enough.

Step one was finished, now onto step two: School.

(X)

Turns out, Peter really shouldn't have worried about getting lost. His new phone was, fortunately, the newest model that Yu could get. It didn't have even a tenth of the bells and whistles that came with Mr Stark's suit. Not that it was a competition, nothing would even get close to his tech even in a world full of superpowers. Anyway, the map app had an english option and with it and a few directions from Yu, Peter made his way to his new classroom.

Musutafu Foreign Exchange Class at the local community college.

Yu had given him a quick rundown that schools worked a little differently here in Japan. Apparently, there were half-days in the schedule, only lasting from 8 to noon. Now that was awesome, less school was always a blessing.

What wasn't was the fact that Saturday's were a school day! Six school days a week. That's a crime.

Small upside, Sundays were still off.

Peter shook his head. It wasn't much of an upside when he had to walk to his class alone. Every step following the crowd and his map to the college in agonizing silence without Ned.

Without... any of his friends around.

It made the knot in his gut twist. He was going to school, but there was no Ned, no MJ, hell he would take Flash. Someone to make the college feel like somewhere he could fit in. It felt even weirder when he flashed his ID to the guard at the gate. Yu had insisted that everything had come through for them, but it didn't feel like it.

Because even looking at the other students as he arrived in his classroom, all the legal paper in the world didn't spot him from feeling like he stood out. He remembered that there was supposed eight percent of everyone born globally was supposed to have a power or a quirk but this was too much. He saw a guy who's entire body was covered in eyes. A girl who's tongue was wrapped around her neck like a scarf. There's even a guy that looked like his eyes were on fire.

He shook it off and went to the first seat that looked open next to a blonde girl with two massive horns sticking out of her head and had a unique nose. She shrank into her seat when Peter got closer. She had a mix of Asiatic and caucasian features. Looking around, he saw some other kids looking like him, or kids of darker skin tone talking with accented English.

"Ah, hi." he tried.

Bit of a longshot in hindsight. Sure it was a class for foreigners but not all of them would know english.

"Hi," she muttered back.

Huh, looks like he was wrong.

"I'm Peter," he said holding out a hand.

She looked at the hand and blanched.

"I'm Pony."

"... like the horse?"

"Y-yeah." she said.

"Well ah... nice to meet you?" he offered.

"N-nice to meet you too."

"So..." he said sitting down, "Why are you here?"

Pony perked up at the question, only to turn her gaze to her desk.

"I-I'm hoping that I can take the entrance exam to U.A. I just came here from Texas to live with my dad and I need to get adjusted to living life in Japan." Peter blinked and Pony shook her head. "I know it's a long shot. Me, a foreigner trying to get into the same school that All Might went to, even though he got his career jump started in America..." She gave him a timid laugh, rubbing the base of her horns. "It's really silly saying it outloud isn't it?"

"No it isn't. Not at all." Peter learned of this All Might. Think Captain America with the strength of the Hulk to boot. And far more charismatic from what clips he has seen of him.

Pony turned back, the edge of a smile coming to her.

"Really?"

"I mean, I'm trying to get there too."

"Really!?"

Peter jumped at the volume, with Pony leaning very closely and he had to duck his head a little to avoid her horns, she had an over-eager grin on her face. She shifted in her seat before holding out a hand.

"L-let's start this over. I'm Pony Tsunotori, from Austin, Texas."

Peter took the hand and gave it a firm squeeze.

"Peter . Peter Parker." He smiled. "I'm... from Queens."

"You have a New York accent too! I can tell." The girl beamed, and Peter allowed himself to smile. Well, he just made his first friend. He can see her horse-like tail swish more often.

And then the classes began, Pony was willing to look over Peter's starting kanji and help him improve, as she knew more Japanese than he did. In return, Peter noticed a problem in her algebra work.

By the end of the day, the thought of coming back to the class didn't seem so bad. Only downside was telling Yu about it and she was egging him about loving horses a bit too much, and on girls.

U.A. Entrance Exam is in ten months.

(X)

And so began Peter Parker's ten months of education and acclimation.

Days turned to weeks, and Peter was finally able to make out words and sentences while out eating in downtown. His Japanese calligraphy and penmanship needs work, but he can get a better grasp of the tongue, along with typing it on a keyboard. But... there was some embarrassing moments.

"I would like a number four with a shake please." Said a giraffe-man in front of him at Grab'n'Go, a nearby burger joint as Peter waited behind him. He picked up on the words, processing them in his head. When the cute twin-tailed cashier took his order he walked off.

"Welcome to Grab'n'Go! How may I take your order?" The young girl asked with pep, inputting the previous order in her pad. Peter remembered what the giraffe-man said, biting his lip.

"I like four number please shake." He said, grinning. There, he got-

It wrong, given how she laughed. "Oh? A number four witha ice creamu shayku?" The teen girl asked in heavy accented English.

"Japanese, still trying... to learn." Peter admitted, blushing as she blushed.

"You can do it!" She chirped in English. "Number four with a shake, coming right up." Peter paid with the debit card Yu loaned him and he walked to the table remembering his number. He ran a hand over his face.

"I like four number please shake... or is it Like number...four... I shake please-gah!" He broke out of his Japanese and groaned. "This is gonna take work."

(X)

The weeks began to fly. Peter writing the repetition of Japanese hiragana, katakana, and Kanji with Pony helping beside him. He had started bad at worst, averagely at best at first, but he was getting the hang of it. He handed his first hand drawn essay to his teacher...

Got a 70.

Not bad... got to improve. Pony would pat him on the back, even as she got in the 90s.

(X)

"A number four and shake please!" Peter exclaimed at the joint, beaming.

"You're getting the hang of it, keep it up!" The cashier giggled, inputting the order. Peter let out a light laugh.

(X)

"I would like apply for membership at U.A. Academy so that I become hero." Peter stated, sitting on the couch as Yu nodded. "Like that?"

"Closer... you're missing some words. Let me help ya... after we get some Italian!"

(X)

Peter would get restless many a time. Deciding to keep in shape, Yu managed to get him a gym membership that was near the beachfront that was open 24/7. Peter would sometimes jog to the gym early in the morning(and giving Yu her poptarts all warmed up for breakfast). Doing weights and exercises there... was so liberating as opposed to back in his... old home. He can just lift and breeze through weights or many kilometer-per-hour speeds on the treadmill before showering a little and jogging to class to catch up with Pony. It helps that it is on the way to the Foreign Exchange Class, given how the community college was only several blocks from the beach. The fastest route was along the beach road... but the sight of mountains of trash and pollution in one of its parks repulsed him, and he took to walking some streets within. Didn't need to walk by a landfill. How come no one has cleaned it up yet?

One day, while deciding to go on the fast route to lift some major weights(topping a thousand pounds each. The Gym was built for Quirk users). He was running by.. noticing that the landfill looked smaller, and he can hear yelling within. As he kept his eye on the noises, he can hear phrases of "Harder! Put your back into it!" and "You wanna be a hero, clench your butt and push that tire!".

Ooookay then.

Not paying much mind, he resumed his jog to the gym without incident.

(X)

"More weight!" Peter yelled at a supervisor, putting on more slabs of concrete on the bars. He strained and pushed up. One...two...three...four...five...

Nice and easy. This is a breeze! At least he's not some skinny wimp. At least, not the image he presented back home to hide his powers.

Benching a ton was a cinch. He finished, breathing out a sigh of relief.

"Going to be a hero kid?" Asked the trainer, a round brick-looking man. Literally, he was made of bricks.

"Yeah. Going to U.A., I am!" Peter grinned.

(X)

"Get down from there!" Yu chided, seeing Peter make a webbing-hammock and relaxing in his Iron Spider suit as he read some Japanese history, muttering the words as he read the characters and assigned the faces he sees through out Japan's history.

"What? My sheets are in the washer. I've been sleeping on a couch for the last several months after all." It is a one bedroom apartment after all. Yu promised that she'll hire movers and they get a two bedroom when she gets a salary increase.

"Can't you just sit and read like a normal person?"

"Nah. I'm out of the way anyway. It's your." Peter fired a web shot at the calendar beside Yu. It was Sunday. "turn to do cleaning."

The costumed Mt. Lady grumbled, hand taking the webbing and removing it. Peter made sure he went for a non-stick silk this time. Last month they had to deal with a web symbol over Sunday. "Fiiiiine... I miss my organized chaos."

Peter laughed. "Organized Chaos, that is not." He said in Japanese, not english.

The act made Yu, who was going to her room to change out of her costume come back with wide eyes. Peter grinned behind his mask, going back to his reading as the suit's scanning allowed him to translate the words for him to speak out and mutter. "Getting better, I am."

Yu could only smile. She thought this whole guardianship thing would be tough...

She never imagined it would be this...fulfilling!

"that's how long ago that was?! Jeez! Why aren't we in space by now!" Peter yelled in English. Yu slumped. Hopefully he'll speak Japanese more often, as much as she appreciates the English tuning up she gets from speaking to him.

(X)

Peter sat on his bed, his calligraphy essay complete as he looked at the Stark Suit in his hands, specially focusing on the chest area and his hands going over the spider-insignia, feeling the small patch within. The module that contained Karen. He took some scissors, biting his lip as he took it to his suit...

But it wouldn't cut. He snipped, and snipped, but couldn't make a tear.

Until the sharpness of the blade wore out and Peter sighed. So much for accessing the glowing blue compartment.

"Always thinking ahead Mr. Stark..." He was grateful for the suits protection but this... the one he wished for it not to be so... effective.

Better get to revising his essay.

(X)

Peter would jog toward the gym, and sometimes... he would see a boy passing by, panting and breathing hard.

Green hair... Then again, he's seen the U.A. Sports Festival on Television and saw this one super cute and curvy girl with navy blue hair that was all natural.

But that kid looks... familiar.

Nah, gotta get his spot at the treadmill. Time to sprint for a good forty miles. No way he will let that old-cheetah lady take it.

(X)

"I would like a surf-and-turf special with a side of fried rice, please." Peter said, reading the menu and handing it to the waiter.

"Your Japanese is very good boy!" The Octopus man said, using his many tentacles to write down the order.

Yu beamed as she sat next to him, sitting with at a Teppan as an Octopus man got to work. Man... this food is good, he would never barf it up!

(X)

Peter was doing study hall with Pony, finishing up his social studies as he looked at the monsoon outside. The landfill he passed by a few times was getting smaller, so he went by there early this morning on his jog. He's never been sick since the bite, so all he was at class was simply drenched.

But who would even clean up that place in this weather? Someone crazy no doubt.

(X)

Peter sighed as he relaxed under the sun on Sunday. Sun and Sunday... that felt so right. He took a dip in the ocean and was just cool to get some rays. This was California-esque sun right here, and he never went to California!

(X)

He continued his studies. He kept his always fit body in shape. Peter spoke more with others and was handling conversation easier.

One day, before the sight of a setting sun, he found a hillside in a park that overlook Musutafu. He took a knife and carved out names and initials on them, with a big heart in the middle.

Uncle B.
Mr. S.
Aunt M. Ned. MJ.
Peter Q. Drax. Mantis. Dr. S.

Never forget, love you always.

"Now... I can visit you guys, whenever I can." He said under his breath, standing back as he witnessed the little carving he made. He looked up, and Peter admired the tree. "Hope you like the tatoo tree. It was made with love." Peter patted it, and he turned around, collecting his backpack, walking as crisp as ever towards downtown and home.

He always made sure to visit, every Saturday night when he could to tell the tree of his week, what he has planned. He would get some stares from onlookers, but he didn't cause a commotion. Even an officer who thought Peter was loitering understood when Peter gave him a good cover story of 'Friends and family in the USA who passed away'. And tree hasn't been touched by anyone else since.

And he continued to go there. Every Saturday.

(X)

"Happy birthday!" Yu exclaimed as she presented a...crudy made vanilla cake. Homemade no doubt. "I was so busy I-"

"You remembered?" Peter asked, jaw agape. It was August 10th.

"Of course! Come on, we're gonna have cake and, good news too~"

"What is it?" Peter asked, as the blonde woman offered a gift.

"We're going to Universal Studios Japan! I got some vacation days!"

(X)

Universal Studios Japan was a blast. He's never been a theme park, so they went early in the morning and took a bullet train to Osaka and hit on all the rides till closing time. It was Sunday, and it would usually be Yu's turn to clean. But she did so Saturday night before...

(X)

Summer turned to Fall. The grades continued to excel. The language and mannerisms easier to understand. His friendship with Pony going strong, as she was cute in her own way. Yu was improving in her hero career, bagging enough captures and popularity polls to justify and increase in salary.

Fall turned to winter. Christmas gifts were exchanged. He even gave Mr. Fukuda a gift in the form of a space heater to tackle to the winter, which the old man appreciated with a late gift in the form a five thousand yen gift card to Amazon(another familiar company in this world, thank god). The New Years came and went. Valentines Day and... White Day was unique. Turns out chocolate exchanges were used instead of cards. He and Pony swapped Chocolates, and he gave Mt. Lady the same.

The manga magazine Seinen Leap had a new manga too, called 'Arachnophobia' by the man who read his mind, Araki Hyu, which was... intriguing. A boy born from a spider aiming to become a hero with the help of a Tin Man and a Wizard in a ruined decaying wor-

Peter stopped after one issue. It felt a little...close to home.

And gym trip by gym trip, the landfill by the beach-park got smaller and smaller. In conjunction, Peter's acclimation became easier and easier. He passed the Foreign Exchange Class in December with Pony.

"I'll see you at U.A. Let's do our best, Peter!" The blonde girl exclaimed as she looked at her grades. As and Bs. Peter looked down at his own.

90s in all except Calligraphy, which was in the mid 80s.

"Yeah, let's kick ass when we get to U.A., Pony!"

It was time to apply to U.A. for the Winter term!

(X)

February 24th, a Saturday.

Peter came by the tree. "I'm going to do it everyone." He said after recounting the week. "I will... be a hero. A hero you all can be proud of." His eyes settled on the Mr. S. "I'll be that friendly neighborhood Spider Man." He smiled, resting his forehead on the aged carvings. "I love you, and... I'll come by again next week if I can. If I don't... well... Just blame school." Peter took a deep breath, looking away. He can see Yu waiting by the road n her car, looking up at him. He sniffed, wiping his eyes.

"I love you." He kissed the tree, resting his forehead, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. He reopened them.

"I'll make you proud. I promise."

(X)

February 26th. The day of the U.A. Entrance Exam.

Peter couldn't sleep. It was time to become a hero! He couldn't contain himself, getting out of bed and still in his PJs, Peter went to the rooftop of his apartment complex and looked out over Musutafu. He didn't care that he can see that landfill is gone. Or the beautiful sunrise.

He was done. Done of the waiting, being confined to the gym and the apartment to use any semblance of his powers. He can finally spread his wings and free his cage.

He took a deep breath.

Done.

He was finally done.

Peter Parker had that thought in his head. As did another youth, one whose ten months was pure hell and nightmarish, all for his dream.

And whooped in pure and utter joy.

Miles away, the youth roared the top of his lungs until he couldn't breathe, exhausted to the core.

Peter Parker had tears of joy down his face, the crisp morning air waking him up as he danced and let more "Woohoo!

Midoriya Izuku was drenched in sweat, tears, snot, grime, and ached all over as he howled at the rising sun... but he was done.

They had aced the trials put before them, and passed in flying colors. The two had changed over the ten months.

But the real test for them both would begin today.

At the U.A. Entrance Exam.

(X)

The car ride to the U.A. testing center flew by for Peter. He double and triple checked that the Iron Spider module and his suit was in his bag along with whatever pens that he would need for the written exam. He had tested months ago that the Iron Spider module could only work with the Spider Man Suit since without Karen, Peter would have to rely on the neural interface to utilize his webshooters and nanite-legs on his back. By the time that he was finished running a hand over the symbol on the chest of his suit, the ride was over and before he knew it, he was walking towards navy blue archway emblazoned with the symbol of the best Hero Academy in all of Japan. Yu said she was going to go back to work with a wink as she drove off. She had given him a good luck, but she also told him to give it his all. U.A. Academy had the best course for a reason: it's standards were as high as one would expect from a school with it's reputation. Three percent was the average acceptance rate each year. If Peter wanted to get in, he'd have to go beyond, like Yu. Like All Might, the worldwide Symbol of Peace.

And he would.

He wasn't just some kid from America like his papers said. He could read the signs directing him towards the testing centers. He could understand the mutterings of the crowd as they gushed about being here.

He was Spider Man.

He was an Avenger!

And he was going to make everyone that got him here proud.

Taking his assigned seat, he saw a card in front of him. Exam cards, oh right, Yu talked about those didn't she? Something about splitting people up into different centers for the practical. But before that, there was the written test. Signs directed Peter's every turn until he arrived at a door labeled 'Standard Orientation'.

However there was another door with a recommendation sign going over it. One student got a little close, and the sign above them flashed red, screeching a small alarm. The student jumped back and quickly made his way to the standard Orientation door. Peter followed him in, only to stop as someone else walked by, heading to the Recommendation door.

She was… oh god Peter didn't have the words. She filled out her school uniform in all the right ways, maybe as statuesque as that blue hair girl from the Sports Festival on TV he saw. Stunning, no not even close. She made Liz look like a six out of ten. Long black hair tied in a cute ponytail, a little taller than him. Sharp eyes, elegant posture, she had it all.

He should probably stop staring before it got awkward.

...where was he supposed to be going again?

"Out of the way extra!"

Peter flinched out of the way as a sandy-blond boy tried to shove Peter to the side with his pocketed arm. He sneered when he couldn't get a hand on Peter, Peter noticing those sharp red eyes of his, huffing and stomping his way into the auditorium.

What's his deal?

He turned and the pretty girl was gone. So with slumped shoulders, he trudged his way in. Second he got in Peter saw the hundreds of already filled seats, making his jaw drop. Was this like, how college kids did classes, with hundreds of people? A message directing students to sit at their assigned seats and not to touch the exam in front of them was displayed on the wall. Peter reached into his pocket, double checking his exam card that had come in the day before.

Exam Ticket: Examinee No.: 6110
Test Location: Battle Center B

Okay that put Peter around the middle of the auditorium. He descended down the stairs, passing a student that had a hawk for a head and… is that a floating set of clothes? Must be an invisibility quirk. He noticed some stares his directions, probably due to the fact he didn't, well, look Japanese. Either way, he dropped his things at the seat behind some Private-school looking student with black-blue hair and thick glasses. He was rimrod straight, with unblinking eyes laser focused on the projection in front of him.

A bit high strung though Peter had gotten lucky with Pony. Couldn't hurt to try.

"Hello." Peter held out a hand. "I'm Pe-"

"I appreciate your attempt at socializing," The boy said, his voice terse and clipped. "But if you wouldn't mind I need to focus on the exam. As should you!" His face settled on Peter's for a moment. "A foreigner? Anyways, we are being given the chance to earn our place at the most prestigious academy in all of Japan. if I were you, show some respect!" Peter blanched.

"Jeez, sorry." He muttered in English. Glasses narrowed his eyes and turned back towards the screen. Peter slumped in his chair, doing his best to ignore the snickers and mutters around him. He can hear mutterings of "Stupid Gaijin" and "He American or British? Or maybe Australian" or "Bet he's so wild and insane like those American heroes they couldn't even accept him at Manton or Xavier". He scanned the crowd again, and caught sight of Pony, smiling a few rows down. She must have noticed him She waved, and Peter waved back cracking a small grin. She tried to send one back, but a shiver made it wavy. Looks like she's nervous. It's all right, at least they both had one friend here. Beside her, some sun-kissed blond kid, not the angry one from before but one as well dressed as Glasses gave a lazy smirk his direction.

A very smug and lazy one at that.

"Alright boys and girls, this is your school DJ coming to you live from the monitoring room!" came a voice from the loudspeakers, "This is your official message to get rockin on those tests in front of you! But no cheating, this is a hero course so I'll be keeping a groovy eye on everyone here! You've got two hours to complete the written before we get to the main course! Your time begins… RIGHT NOW!"

The monitor switched from the symbol to a digital countdown clock, and the auditorium was filled with the sounds of tapping pencils.

Peter flipped his test over and all but slammed the tip of his pencil onto the answer.

(X)

"TIME'S UP! PENCILS DOWN!" Said the voice in thick English.

Peter let out a breath he didn't remember holding. In front of him his test lay completely, down to the last period. Compared to the tests had gotten back home at his school, this was easy. It almost gave Peter the impression that the school was taking it easy on them.

Or maybe, the written test didn't matter as much as the practical. As if to answer him, the the lights cut out, drawing everyone attention to a blond man with deep shades and a boombox strapped around his neck standing. Present Mic, the voice hero. Peter listened to a few of his podcasts, since he tends to combine English with his speech.

He should thank him in private for helping him get acclimated to Japan at some point, should he pass.

"WELCOME TO TODAY'S LIVE PERFORMANCE! EVERYONE SAY HEY!"

Dead silence met his ears. Peter gave a light "Hey..?" and waved. He got a sideways glare from Glasses again, and a few chuckles.

Talk about awkward, though Mic thrived on it, smiling a megawatt grin.

"HEY LEAST I GOT A CROWD! WELL THAT'S COOL MY EXAMINEE LISTENERS! I'M HERE TO PRESENT THE GUIDELINES OF YOUR PRACTICAL EXAM! ARE YOU READY!? YEAH!"

Again, silence met his hype outcry. Not total silence, Peter could hear someone muttering nonstop a few rows down. He narrowed his eyes... wait, that's the angry blond kid from before and... green hair again?

"NOW LIKE YOUR APPLICATIONS SAID, YOU'RE NOW GOING TO BE THROWING DOWN IN OUR SUPER HIP URBAN SETTINGS! THAT'S RIGHT BOYS AND GIRLS, YOU'RE GOING TO BE ROCKIN OUT IN THIS TEN MINUTE MOCK BATTLE!"

The monitor behind him changed, showing a pseudo map of the auditorium and seven testing centers.

"Gird your loins my friends, after I drop the mic here you'll be going to your specified battle centers sound good? OKAY!?"

When silence met him for a third time, the hero laughed it off. Snapping his fingers, the monitor changed again.

"Alright, do me a solid and check out your targets. There are three types of foe villains in each center. You'll earn points based their level of difficulty so don't chose wisely and put on your buffs. Your goal is to use your quirks to shred these villains and earn points to raise your level all the way up! But check it," he warned, "Make sure you're keeping things heroic, attacking other examinee's is the biggest no no that we can have!" That made sense, no point in being a hero if you're going to hurt people. Though, why did Peter hear someone groan behind him? Whatever it was, in front of him, Glasses raised his hand.

"Excuse me sir, I have a question!"

Mic's grin widened at the attention.

"Hit me!" he said, and Glasses was suddenly spotlighted for everyone to see.

"On the printout, there are four types of villains, yet you say that there are three? With all respect, if this is an error then it is a great disservice to us and the reputation of U.A.! We are exemplary students, so we expect the best from Japan's most notable school!"

Continuing on his tirade, Glasses threw an accusative finger at some kid with green hair. Wait, didn't Peter see him before? He looked familiar.

"You've been muttering this entire time, stop it. If you can't bother to take things seriously, just leave. You're distracting the rest of us." He glowered. Green hair hung his head in shame and Peter heard more than one student giggle. Peter only frowned. So what if he was muttering? This was U.A., everyone's allowed to be nervous.

"Take a chill pill man." Peter muttered under his breath in English.

"And you be quiet, American." Glasses whispered back with English, thick but legible, with another sideways glare. "Speak our language or leave."

Okay now he was just becoming a fucker at this point. "Foreigner." Glasses muttered under his own breath in his tongue. At least Flash had the stones, however small they were, to openly throw insults. Not like he can back them up. But Glasses did look tall and strong, so Peter rolled his eyes. Yu did tell him that foreign exchange students could face some discrimination due to how Japan wasn't exactly a melting pot of other cultures like Europe or America is. He'll just have to roll with it.

"Alright alright," Mic said, silencing the hall, "Examinee No.: 7111. Thanks for calling in with your request," he said, giving him a thumbs up. "The fourth villain type is worth zero points!"

Peter blinked and looked down the row, Pony shot him a confused glance. Peter shrugged, what's the point of a villain not worth anything?

"You kids ever play Super Mario Bros? That guy is the thawmp to your chances, he'll be there to get in your way. There's one in every battle center, it's not impossible to beat it, but you're on the clock and there's really no point. I recommend that my listeners ignore it and focus on the ones topping the charts!" His question answered, Glasses gave a polite bow and sat back down. A few students whispered how it's like a video game. The points, the boss, everything was set up like one. Strange but what hasn't been?

"That's all for today listeners! Head to your battle centers with a little gift. A sample of our school motto. As general Napoleon Bonaparte laid down, 'a true hero is one who overcomes life's misfortunes'. Mhm, now that's one tasty sound bite." He quirked an eyebrow, eyeing everyone expectantly, "So you ready to go beyond? Let me hear a PLUS ULTRA!"

"..."

"Okay! GOOD LUCK!"

(X)

The trip to the battlegrounds was a quick bus ride. Once everyone was there, the busses were used as individual changing rooms for anyone that needed it. He put on the Suit first... and slapped the Iron Spider Module on the nap of his neck, feeling the nanites slide over him and his HUD come to life. When Peter stepped out, he felt like everyone's eyes were on him.

"Whoa look at that costume!"

"Someone's overcompensating."

"Who does he think he is, he's not even a hero yet!"

"That looks so cool!"

"Talk about manly... but sleek, like a sports car."

His mask hid the flush overtaking him. Maybe putting on Mr Starks suit was a bit much.

But he had no choice! He had to do his best! He wasn't nothing without it but he had a promise to keep.

He checked the crowd and thankfully, found a set of horns sticking out of the crowd. Like a true hero, the crowd parted in awe as Peter made his way through, all muttering as Pony was talking with the smug blond kid from before, and some red haired girl with green eyes.

"Hey Pony." He waved. Pony noticed her name being called and her jaw dropped at his voice.

"Whoa! Peter, is that you!?" She said in English, utterly surprised.

"Yeah, you like the suit?"

"Like?" Pony beamed, "I love it! That's an actual superhero costume! Who made it for you?!"

"Whoa. That looks... unique. Very pro-style" The red haired girl muttered in Japanese. The blond shrugged.

"He's just showing off is all. Why else would he hide his face so much?"

Peter rolled his eyes and nodded, "Yeah, my ah, idol... made this for me."

Pony's jaw dropped even further. "You got a hero to make that? Who is it?"

"Unfair." someone said from the sidelines. "Some cutsey idol made that for him!" Peter slapped his head.

"Yeah wish I could have my own suit."

"Very stylish."

"I meant more my... role model." Peter spoke in Japanese. "Sorry for slipping into English. Familiarity and all that."

"It's okay! I just made some friends during the written test." Pony beamed, her eyes bright as she almost bounced. "Let's do our best!"

"Right." Peter nodded.

"Best of luck to you, foreigner." The blond kid stated. "You'll need it to get into Japan's best hero institution." He got a glare from the red haired girl as he walked off, her following.

"ALRIGHT LET'S START!"

Everyone stopped and saw Present Mic atop what looked to be a guard tower.

"GET MOVING! THERE ARE NO COUNTDOWNS IN REAL BATTLES! RUN RUN RUN LISTENERS YOU'RE WASTING AIRTIME!"

Like a gunshot everyone took off. Pony went off like a racehorse and Peter felt his heart bang in his chest. He wiped his hand out, and a line of webbing grabbed the nearest building. With a might heave he launched himself over the gasping crowd.

"What the-!"

"Look at him go!"

"Is that some sling shot?!"

He hoped he didn't distract them too much. He could see some green haired kid at the very back lagg-

What is it with him seeing green haired kids!?

Never mind that, focus on the exam.

Because this was it, the start line. He flipped in the air, arms wide as he spotted the first set of green-tank looking combat robots. Peter smirked under his mask as he fired some web to the ground, and pulled himself to the ground like the bullet and crashed into the robot feet first, his nanite legs sprouting to break his fall as he saw the gallery of robots swerving from the urban street blocks. The robot behind him was split in two.

Time to spread his wings, and Peter grinned behind his mask.

'Look out U.A., here comes your friendly neighborhood Spider Man!'

Chapter Text

Boring.

Not a word that Todoroki Shoto would've thought would come to him during the U.A. practical exam for recommended students, but that's what came to him. He sat in the recreational room along with the rest of his recommended peers. According to policy, their recommendations were meant to substitute for their involvement in the practical either because they didn't need to, or couldn't. This was just a waste of time in his eyes in order to scout the school before hand and get a clue on where to go and what to do with himself.

In his case, it was probably to give the rest of rabble a chance. They were all painfully average, barely an impressive quirk and quality among them. The rest of his recommended peers didn't impress him either. A rich girl with admittedly good looks, a smirking jabber mouth of some girl and an eyesore. Nothing to draw his attention away from the screen before him.

For some reason that Shoto couldn't fathom, they were allowed to watch the rest of the applicants as they went through their practical exam.

Was it some kind of incentive to take notes? To analyze those that could become their teammates? Their classmates and peers?

Unlikely, but Shoto would believe anything at this point. The applicants on the screen went about with no armor and barely a special set of gear among-

Hold on, what was that?

Shoto leaned forward and he was vaguely aware that the other recommended students had stopped talking to each other. All of their eyes were glued to the screen as a red and gold suited student with a spider insignia on his chest smashed his way through faux villains like they were paper. Punches shredding the green tank-robots, kicks severing heads with ease…

And then spider legs just grew out of his back and cut down any that his fist missed!

"Is that his quirk? That's super cool!" Tokage Setsuna chirped, leaning forward.

"Jeez… are the robots that weak or is this dude that good?" Honenuki Juzo mused with his arms crossed.

Yaoyorozu Momo remained silent, sight transfixed as the red-gold examinee flung… something out of his wrist and… was he flying?!

"Whooaaa, a hookshot! Like in the Zelda games! This kid's rad!" Setsuna beamed.

Shoto narrowed his eyes.

Who was this kid?

(X)

"Ah yeah!"

The sound of exploding metal was music to Peter's ears. Swinging through the false city, Peter felt more alive than he had in months. This was what he was missing. Swinging around, beating villains, doing something good.

Being Spider Man!

Oh how he missed this.

Swinging around a building, Peter saw a line of One and Two Pointers. His HUD blew up, tracing a path in between the faux villains. Not wasting any time, Peter cut his web and fell like a meteor towards the tank. The machine's red eye only had time to look up at him before Peter crashed straight through it with a diving missile axe-kick, severing it in two.

And he wasn't done there.

When the Two Pointer swiped with its claw, Peter flipped over, sticking along for the ride. On his impromptu slingshot, Peter was sent speeding towards a One Pointer. Twisting in the air, the boy from Queen's sailed over it, webbing it as he went. With his feet on the ground and a mighty heave, he swing the One Pointer in a devastating throw. What faux villains were close enough were smashed to pieces by the world's most unorthodox bowling ball as the webbed-up clusterbot knocked them out like pins.

"Striiiiike!" Peter cheered, laughing. "Oh yes it's good to be back!"

The webbing went slack as the 'ball' smashed into a Three Pointer. It screeched as its parts tried to keep it upright, but the effort was wasted when Peter kicked off its head as he swung by. He slung some web back for the ruined head and charged at a One Pointer.

"Wade's on the breakaway! Does he handle it? He lobs it to-!" Peter threw the head up, avoiding the One Pointer's strike and used web to bring the head down to his hand, going for a one-handed slam dunk.

"JAMES!" Peter roared, pushing down on the air and then slapping his chest before giving out a cheer. The robot, now headless and the projectile head used to slam now slag, fell lifeless to the ground.

With all of the targets destroyed, his HUD went back to scanning for villains.

It wasn't Karen, but Mr. Stark really outdid himself with the neural interface. He outdid himself on everything that he built, but this is so cool! Every time that something came into view, his HUD would mark it red.

Even his suit was buying into this whole video game idea!

He heard explosions and he walked around the block. Peter saw Glasses running down the street. He turned around when he saw the row of broken robots. And he thought Peter wasn't taking this seriously. Swinging over a building, he saw some guy with silver hair, no mouth and six arms blink in surprise. Peter waved, and one of the six arms hesitantly waved back.

Wiping out another line of web, Peter followed the sound of explosions. He turned the corner and the building he was latched to shook. Danger flashed in the back of his head, and he wiped out another line as fast as he could. He pulled himself up just as the window under him shattered. A tank marked with a three exploded from the building like an angry god, uncaring of the three story fall that was to come. Even as gravity took hold it leveled a turret at him, and way too many missiles popped out.

"Oh no you don't!"

Peter's web shooters became machine guns, webbing up the barrels. The red eye blinked, then knew no more as the missiles detonated in their casings. The explosion shot Peter into the building, and from his back he felt the spider legs catch him in his fall.

"Ugh, I don't remember that ever happening to Mario." Shaking himself off, he looked up and saw the red eyes of three Two Pointers. Every one of their tires screeched, rushing towards him like their brother before him.

"Bring it on WALL-E's!" Peter screamed.

He jumped to the ceiling, barely dodging the first of his attackers. Dropping down, he webbed the closest villain's turret to the right, forcing it to fire on its friend. He ducked just in time to avoid a hit, and an Iron Spider leg cut through his would be attacker like butter, goring it.

On instinct, he webbed the wheels of one, freezing it in place next to the window. Like a madman, he rushed forward, knocking the villain and himself out of the building. Gravity took care of that as the robot exploded in a mighty crash.

Though that had nothing on the real sound of commotion. Peter swung into what looked like the biggest clearing in the center. The remains of broken and destroyed robots littered the ground as his peers went to work breaking everything that they could see. But there was one that didn't look like he was doing to good. A small boy with what looked like grapes on his head ran for his life, a Three Pointer hot on his trail.

Its turret was raised and Peter slung towards the small kid. He slung his webbing down, grabbing the kid and pulling him to safety as he looked back, firing another rapid fire set of webs to clog up the missile vents. He slung to the ground with ease using his nanite-spider legs, easing the grape-haired kid.

"You okay?!" Peter asked.

"I had him right where I wanted him in my trap you jerk, what was that for!" The bratty kid spoke with a lisp. Peter tilted his head.

Whelp. Guess he's okay.

"Good to hear! I'm having a good day too not gonna lie! Good luck on the exam!"

"Hey come back!" Peter was already running and was swinging back to the melee. "Those points were miiiiine!" His voice was drowned out. He didn't see any traps from his initial view… so maybe he was lying? He did't mind either way, there had to be some time left for the kid to get some points. It had to be a while, ten minutes wasn't long enough to do much. He'd gotten lucky with how many robots he'd run into. Was that enough to pass? Actually did they even say how many points that you needed to have to pass?

A scream of frustration knocked him out of his thoughts. Below him, a spiky black haired boy was wrestling with a massive Two Pointer. He was holding it back, but Peter could see the worry as a One Pointer rushed forward, spear arm ready to gank the edgy redhead.

No seriously, his arms had edges.

Peter dropped to the ground behind it and fired some webs, grabbing hold. The robot jerked to a stop. Peter heard a few beeps, and it suddenly got a lot harder to hold this thing back.

Wait, that gave him an idea.

"Hey Edgy!" he called, "Have a swing!"

The edgy boy's eyes glinted and he grinned a toothy grin. "Now that's what I call manly!" he screamed.

Gritting his teeth, the boy turned, throwing the Two Pointer over him right as Peter cut the webbing. The overzealous One Pointer went off full tilt into the tumbling Two Pointer. The two scrap heaps blew apart, leaving Peter and the black haired boy safe for now. The boy ran up to the costumed hero. "Bro that was radical!" He then fully looked him over. "And your costume is awesome! Your parents pros or something?"

"Doesn't even crack my top five, and my role model gave it to me." The quip came out on reflex, but the boys red eyes beamed with delight.

"That's awesome man! You came prepared!"

"S-sure," A pressing concern arose over his new edgy-armed friend, was the number of faux villains in the square. Despite the students, they were getting overwhelmed. "Gotta run! Peace!" Peter's body moved on autopilot, throwing out another line towards the growing swarm of students and robots alike. Time was precious, the exam important.

But what kind of friendly neighborhood Spider Man would he be if he didn't look out for the little guy?

(X)

"Come on come on! We're going to miss it! He's gonna ace this and I'm not gonna miss it!"

"Takeyama, it's been three minutes. And I'm sure you're not even allowed to watch."

Yu pouted, Nemuri felt the urge to smack her understudy with her whip. She was about to observe the Practical Exam to take part in Evaluations, but not even a minute in and she's already in Big Sister mode seeing her understudy and kouhai Takeyama Yu, the superheroine Mt. Lady, outside her office and begging to watch. Yu was an intern once at the female-only firm Nemuri used to be a member of and she would call her senpai if only for old time's sake. Now she's gotten mouthy and whiny and snarky and bratty and-

Really, nothing has changed about her. Aside from Yu becoming a full time pro in Musutafu. She felt proud to see that intern become a hero, albeit one that can be a bit loud and a glory hog. Her heart was in the right place... but right now, her mind was not!

She maybe alumni but she isn't faculty! Most importantly, she couldn't let Yu know of one of the teachers inside the Hall of Judgement was a far weakened All Might, who was set to join the faculty this year as a teacher. Yet Yu possessed a one track mind (a blessing and a curse in Midnight's opinion) and alumni are allowed on campus, per Nezu's policy. Giving her the entryway to go to her office and pounce on her senpai for a chance to watch the Practical.

She also dropped the bombshell of adopting a kid, who was an acquaintance of her grandparent's acquaintances that she didn't tell her senpai about for the last ten months and change until now. Oh, since she took in some American kid who was an acquaintance of her grandparents' acquaintances so he could get into U.A. using her good word as extra sauce to get in. Strangely, he couldn't get apply to the American Hero schools Manton or Xavier? Odd.

"We've missed the start of the exam!"

"Yu-chan, calm down," Namuri said, tapping her old friend on the shoulder, trying to be soft and easy on her. "You're not allowed to-"

The words died in the X-Rated Heroine's throat as the blonde grabbed her arm.

"Is get to the monitor room right now!"

With strength betraying her quirk, Yu dragged the older woman down the hall. For a second, Nemuri felt what every purse must've felt on a sale day. The two seconds of travel time felt like an hour, and only when Yu finally found the monitor room could Nemuri pry herself free. She frowned, and the black haired minx of a heroine tore a part of her skintight costume.

"Sorry Takeyama, you forced my hand." Nemuri muttered as the pink mist from her quirk, Somnambulist, seeping into the blonde. The blonde looked dizzy. "Take a nap."

"But I… wanna see… Peter…" She mumbled, eyes becoming sleepy as she slouched against the teacher. Nemuri caught her and set her down against the wall. Before long, the woman was out like a light. She patted her friend's head and strutted into the darkened room after inputting the key code.

"You're letting light in. And you're late." Muttered Aizawa Shouta, Eraserhead, from across the room with a cross look.

Nemuri shrugged. Inside, the famed 'Hall of Judgement' was in full swing. All of the teachers, sans herself, were in their assigned spots, looking over the dozens of monitors streaming the feed from the different battle centers. Cementoss glanced over from his seat, offering a kind smile. Ectoplasm and Snipe only gave a nod while the famed mousy principal kept his eye on the prize. Toshinori Yagi, All Might, sat right beside him in his skeletal form.

The final hero in the room and the only one that wasn't in his seat was the insomniac and long dark haired Aizawa. Like always, the Erasure Hero looked like he'd spent the last two days staring at paperwork.

Given the term being so close, she wouldn't put it past him.

"Got a reason for your tardiness?" His eye twitched, and Nemuri couldn't resist flashing him a smile.

"I'm here every year to check on our cute little students to be of course~"

Aizawa stared at her nonplussed, "I meant with whoever was outside. I heard voices."

"Oh that? Just Mt. Lady. She wanted to watch her ward perform buuuut, confidentiality." Nemuri made her way to her seat, eyeing Toshinori.

"How long till your friend wakes up?" The Symbol of Peace asked.

"Fifteen minutes to a half hour give or take. Girls get over my quirk faster than boys. So, what did I-"

"Look at him go!" Nemuri was cut off by Thirteen's excited gasp, and her sapphire eyes turned towards the camera feeds from Battle Center B.

The red-and-gold suited hero was slicing through robots like a knife through butter, thanks in no part to those metallic legs on his back. And he was busy using his webbing to pull students away from falling hazards or robots about to ambush examinees! "That his quirk?" She asked. Yu wasn't very specific on Peter Parker's abilities when they chatted. She only said that Peter would 'ace it' and that she wanted to witness it.
Guess she was not exaggerating.

"Doesn't look like it, it sprouts in and out at a whim. Plus he fired some sort of sticking shot. Or webbing." Snipe mused.

"Has to be, see some of the shots he missed? Forms like a spider's web. Fits given the spider-symbol on his chest." Yagi concurred. "But that suit… is very well crafted. Nothing I've seen since those prototype suits the Shield Foundation would make on I-Island…"

"And it seems he's gotten an understanding of the exercise down pat." Nezu beamed, Parker using his webbing to keep a lamp post from falling on them before slinging through the battlefield. "Speed. Power. Utility. Able to act on instinct and without hesitation. Gather information from the high ground. He is showing loads of promise. He's already at forty points Villain Poin-! Oh, actually make that forty-five now."

"And that's not even counting the possible Rescue Points he is accumulating once we go over the tape in closer detail!" Thirteen said with an impressed air.

"Parker certainly is talented," Cementoss mused from his chair, scratching his… flat chin. "Although I feel we may have to put in some limitations on equipment going into next year…"

"Talented doesn't cut it," Ectoplasm commented, "Look at the way he maneuvers his webbing, his acrobatics, and the way he pulls himself to his target and destination with blinding speed. Only one who has him beat in speed is the Iida kid on the ground. You don't learn those moves on the playground."

"It certainly speaks to his skill." Nezu leaned back in his chair, beady eyes examining Parker's footage. "When you consider his power, it does remind me of something." He turned towards Yagi, he looked back, but his eyes were on monitors regarding Battle Center's A and B.

"Yeah, makes you wonder where he got that experience…" Aizawa grumbled. "What do we know of this Parker's background? Aside from that one vigilante report in Musutafu."

"Apparently he is from New York, family members all deceased." Ectoplasm looked over the electronic file. "Takeyama Yu, hero name Mt. Lady, is his guardian here in Japan." Nemuri could spot Aizawa's eyes narrowing down at her.

"Peter is talented! I mean, if we're going by that vigilante report he committed ten months ago-" Nemuri spoke in Parker's defense.

"You don't have to worry about his report," Cementoss said, "If ignorance is a crime then I'm afraid all of us need to be put away. We all committed that once or twice as youngsters." She let out a sigh of relief. "Besides, they're more lax on it in America than here in Japan. Plus… I don't think we can look at a gift horse in the mouth, considering how exemplary Parker has performed thus far."

"Though this costume of his certainly gives him the edge in this test. Yu-chan wasn't kidding when she said Peter would be able to ace this no sweat." Nemuri watched as Parker now used his spider-legs to gore another robot. Now he's over fifty Villain points! She let out a whistle. "It's almost unfair."

"Not really Midnight," Snipe turned towards the minx, "The preliminary test are still a daunting task, regardless of experience or talent."

"Astute as always, Snipe," Nezu smiled, "Like the other students, he doesn't know how many villains there are in the center nor their locations, even though he has done a good job finding their location by utilizing the high ground with his acrobatics and web-slinging. With their limited time and the vast area, the challenge of accumulating points is daunting even for the most talented of our applicants. Some use information gathering to plan out assaults, while others use speed and maneuverability to get ahead of their peers."

He paused, taking note of a certain screen depicting the foreign boy winging over a building to land atop a three pointer with a diving drop kick. He then took a robot head, kicked up on his feet a few times like a hockey-sack, and kicked it at a one pointer.

He's closing in on sixty.

"He's joy-riding, thinking this is all a game." Aizawa growled, no longer leaning with his back to the wall but with his shoulder, eyes focused on the monitor where Parker is. The way he treated the robot parts as props for playing around… irked him. "At least that wild child in Battle Center A." His red eyes due to lack of sleep saw one blonde applicant tearing through robots like paper, looming over the wreckage. "Is taking this seriously."

"You sound frustrated Aizawa-san." Thirteen turned her head towards her colleague.

"If he was taking this as seriously as that blonde exploding kid." Aizawa closed his eyes. "Wouldn't surprise me if he got to your Villain Point record, All Might."

Yagi perked up, looking back. "You're… certainly right. But… Parker, has been doing other things too. He's been helping his fellow examinees in acquiring points and saving them!" He let out a soft smile. "It's going to be interesting to see the total value for the rescue points when we go over the ta-." But his face fell when he saw one monitor… one with a green haired boy just struggling to even tag a robot and get point and take part in the feeding frenzy. Nezu leaned forward in his chair.

"Though remaining calm is a huge advantage, as well as possessing raw power. The best students use a combination of all of these aspects to excel. They're the ones that rack up the highest scores. And both Peter Parker and Bakugo Katsuki are exemplifying this in spades." The monitors beside them, with the blonde haired Bakugo Katsuki roaring into battle with his hands firing explosive blasts into a throng of robots, while the armored Peter Parker fired web-shots to some robots and used his spider legs to fling himself upwards, bring them all together… right to be sliced like how an apple gets sliced in an apple-slicer appliance, then slinging out to avoid the explosion, firing a web-line to pull an examinee out of the explosive radius.

The Iida child, who was watching all of this was befuddled as Parker slung by, giving him a salute, and deposited the examinee to a safe distance before slinging off to the next. He looked back at the examinee, blinking and trying to absorb what just happened.

Parker has to be knocking on sixty-six at least now. They're almost evenly matched! Him and Bakugo! But the lead belonged to Bakugo of Battle Center A, if only by a hair. And Bakugo was focusing solely on destroying the robots. Parker was busy saving and destroying.

This was going to be one talented freshman class coming in.

However…

"Is it time?" Yagi asked.

Nezu nodded, "Yes, Ectoplasm, begin the true test."

If it weren't for his ever present grin, Nemuri would've thought that Ectoplasm was laughing. He reached forward and flicked the Yaruki Switch.

And the entire building shook.

(X)

Peter heard rumbling and saw building quake and shake and he turned. And… a robot that towered over complexes and buildings appeared, looking like some robotic mobile fortress. This…

"The Zero Pointer WALL-E!" Peter said aloud, seeing many of the examinees stop in their tracks, utterly paralyzed at the sight. The robot lifted up an arm and Peter saw it bring it down, sending a massive shockwave of dust and debris and force down the street!

He noticed countless examinees run the opposite direction, including Glasses and Red and… wait there was a kid down there! Why isn't he moving!

Peter pondered what to do. Fight the thing? He lost count of his points after thirty or so… eh should be okay right? Or flee, like how Present Mic suggested? His interior thought process was in motion until his HUD spotted someone… underneath the debris! It was a girl! She was trapped!

"Oh shit!" Peter yelled, flinging his web to a nearby building. He made up his mind, flying towards the girl and boy. "Gotta get to them!" He flung himself, getting closer to the robot.

Get them to his web? No… too far. In this case… Gotta make a diversion! Peter aimed his web shooter towards the Zero Pointer behemoth…

Only for his spine to tingle and he aimed it the other way, avoiding a human-sized bullet heading towards the robot! Peter landed on the side of a building as he looked up with widened eyes.

And witnessed that green haired kid in the teal jumpsuit rear back his fist…!

"SMAAAASH!"

With a roar, the kid obliterated the the face of the robot with one punch!

Does… even the Hulk had that kind of power? He heard the Hulk stopped a Chitauri Space Whale with one punch… but never obliterate it!

"Whoa…. That was awesome!" Peter yelled out, seeing the giant robot, the one that was an obstacle for all the examinees… crumble in a heap! Then he noticed…

That kid was falling!

"Oh crap baskets! I'm coming!" Peter slung down, firing webbing at the kid and bringing him with an embrace, despite the utter agony the boy seemed to be in. Peter was about to fire another web sling towards a skyscraper to fly to safety until he felt someone touch his arm… Wait, what happened to his fall? "Hmmm?" He was about to spring his Nanite legs to stop it until he saw what occurred, seeing that same girl who was pinned under the rubble, now floating atop a missile pod right beside him, many feet above the ground! Cute round face, chocolate brown hair in a work out jacket and normal T-shirt. Very cute too!

Wait. Floating? "Whoa… I'm floating! Like I'm in space or something!" Peter exclaimed in English as he floated downward… then tapped the floor with his feet as the pod came down with a crash. She muttered "Release" weakly in Japanese too…

"Hey, you ok-" Peter asked in Japanese before pausing, seeing the girl look… really ill. Then she proceeded to barf and the boy looked away. "Oof… uhhh… well… you're unharmed right?" She gave something of a thumbs up. He then looked at the boy in his arms, the green haired youth looking up at him with wide eyes.

And freckles.

Hold the phone.

"Wait. You…" Peter murmured.

"Aren't you that hero from… that giant villain…" Green hair muttered, before seizing up and stifling his moans. He was in massive amounts of pain it seemed.

"You're that kid!" Peter exclaimed. No way! This kid… was the one he had a "Hi Bye" moment when he got here! He looked like that same kid he would jog by sometimes and-

He was that kid! They were one on the same and-Oh crap he's hurt! "Whoa whoa what's wrong!"

"Let me go! Let me go!" Green uttered, writhing and squirming to get out of Peter's arms, even if the act made him howl in pain. Peter held him with both of his arms, but his hand gripping Green's right shoulder only made it worse. He writhed out of Peter's grasp and was crawling on the ground.

"Dude serious what is-" then Peter saw his bloodied, bruised, and mangled legs, and reverted from Japanese to English. "Oh my god your legs! Medic! We need a doctor in the house! Anybody! Oh Jesus Christ!" He covered his face. "Aaaagh thats Gordon Hayward and J.J. Watt combined but worse! Fuck!" He exclaimed, backing off as his nanites slid down his face, feeling his stomach turn in knots.

Seeing the girl look nauseous staring at him. the pain expressions from Green combined with his legs and-oh fuck his arm is the same. No limb should be at that angle.

…

Not a good idea to have cerea-

Peter turned around, going behind a piece of debris and hurling. The brunette continued to puke, as if sympathetically this time. And Green continued to mutter "Need points! Need points! Just one!"

"Time's!" Called out Present Mic's voice over the loudspeakers. "Up!"

Green's paused, snot and tears dribbling down his face as he looked to be utterly crushed. As if someone just took out his heart. Brunette stopped, resting on top of the pod and Peter finished excising his breakfast as he took deep breaths.

"Hey Green", Peter mentioned, calling him 'Midori', making the boy turn his head around, as if that was his name and Peter paused. He… looked destroyed. His eyes…

Were the same as his own, many months ago.

"We-" He paused. "Gotta get you to a doctor. Stat."

(X)

"Good lord… did you see that kid in Battle Center B?" Juzo said with his arms crossed. "He took out the gimmick with one punch!"

"But at a price," Momo pointed at the green haired boy who had his face in the dirt, even though the red-gold armored boy, now possessing brown hair and fair distinct caucasian features, was by his side, talking to him. "That quirk he has… has some serious backlash it seems."

"Yeah, but jeez! Talk about power! Could sink an entire cruise ship or rip a plane in two with a single punch!" Setsuna exclaimed as she sipped some water. "Still, how the heck can that kid even be a hero? Personally, the foreign boy talking to him? Now that's hero stuff right there!"

"Are you referring to his combat abilities? He seemed to be on par with that berserker in Battle Center A." The elegant brunette stated, as the wavy haired girl beamed.

"Yeah, but like, did you see how Spider-guy was just flying around tagging and saving others? Heck, I saw him help other students get points when it was a straight competition!" Setsuna grinned. "Seems like if he was focusing on just robot killing he may have outdone angry blondie there.

"Spider guy?" Momo said aloud with a quirked eyebrow.

"Yeah, emblem on his chest. It's that of a spider!"

"Well that's not very heroic. Spider's are usually ugly and creepy crawly." The wavy haired brunette didn't seem to care about her pony-tailed counterpart.

"Well he's making them look mighty cool if he ask me. How many points did he get? I mean, he got a lot by the five minute mark, had to have been like, dozens right?"

"He has a lot, like, I lost count after thirty-five or so. Maybe he was doing it out of charity?" Juzo wondered. The lipless-boy turned towards the bi-color haired boy who was quiet, glaring at the screens. "What do you think? Todoroki?"

Todoroki Shoto was silent, eyes on Spider Guy. That suit… it just fell over like sand all over his face. The spider legs that sprouted and shrank with no storage compartment in sight. Was it his Quirk? No… Explain the web from his wrists? Or his incredible power and speed and agility. Or how he avoided the green haired kid as if… he knew he was coming.

How did someone this talented not get a recommendation. This is absurd.

"That kid, the foreigner." Shoto said aloud. "He fell through the cracks."

"Why he didn't get recommended you mean?" Setsuna asked. The dark green haired girl shrugged. "Well, it happens. I mean, some of the best heroes come from nowhere."

"Still… the way he fought and handled the situation… whenever he wasn't acting like a fool and playing around." The heterochromic eyed youth growled. "Looked like a pro. He has to have had experience."

"Do we know the name of this kid?" Juzo asked.

"Nope, but I can't wait to meet this Spider Guy!"

"Spider Guy…" Momo muttered off to the top of her lips, seeing the boy call out for help for the green haired one. "The way he went about fighting… saving and helping…."

Shoto remained silent, gripping his hands. His aim is to become the next All Might… without using… the old man's quirk. The blonde haired berserker looked easy to read, given his mannerisms during the battle. But this Spider Guy…

Might prove to be a very troublesome rival indeed.

But, today certainly was not boring at least.

(X)

Iida Tenya was befuddled as he sucked in oxygen, gazing at the scene of that American he scolded from before trying to bring some comfort to the green haired mumbler from the written exam.

How… And why.

It was utterly astonishing when he noticed a red-gold armored individual flying and flipping amongst the buildings and landing in the melees. And using a combination of some metallic out-of-nowhere legs, kicks and punches and… spider webs, he was trashing U.A. finest practice robots. Was this the best U.A. had to offer for applicants to attend their academy? Or was it simply the American's sheer and raw power? His quirk puzzled him. Was it the suit, the legs, the web, the feats…

But he also noticed the American… was having fun. He heard him hooting and hollering and sounding as if he was treating this as some sort of recreational activity, and it irked the blue haired heir to no end, motivating him to push harder.

Yet while Tenya was busy kicking robots into scrap, he noticed the American… saving others from falling debris, robots about to ambush or overwhelm applicants, or other hazards. He even helped some acquire points!

And on top of that, he rushed in to save that girl from the Zero Pointer, when it was in everyone's best interest to run and avoid it in the closing minute of the exam. And it wasn't just him… but the mumbler too.

Neither of them hesitated to save her.

Tenya blushed. Of course, if this wasn't a test he would have too! He was just caught up in the heat of the exam is all! Perhaps…

Did those two saw something beyond the point-accumulation of robot slaying? Some… deeper meaning? The judges had to have seen them act. And U.A. was a school for heroes….

"Very nice very nice," A kind old voice snapped Tenya out of his thoughts. He turned and like with the rest of the examinees noticed the famed U.A. nurse Recovery Girl. Everyone was happy, but Tenya barely noticed the American look up from the green haired boy, still trying to console him before he noticed the old woman's presence.

"Hey are you a doctor! This guy needs help! His arms and legs are pointing in different directions!" Recovery Girl frowned, and slowly made her way over. The American got out of her way, sweating and nervously glancing at the boy below. "He hurt himself pretty badly when he took out the Zero Pointer WALL-E, can you help him?"

Recovery Girl smiled at him, "Oh course, that's why I'm here. Here, have some candy young man. And your Japanese is quite good, if I do say so myself, even with your American accent I can tell you speak fluently."

The foreign boy gingerly accepted the offered candy.

"Um thanks but the kid…"

"I'm on it, don't worry." Recovery Girl finally looked down at the boy, "Oh my, were you hurt this badly by your own quirk sonny?"

She puckered her lips and gave him a big fat kiss. Tenya felt himself blanch, and the American outright dropped his candy with his jaw dropped. Then her quirk started to work. Before everyone's eyes the boy's broken arm and legs slowly mended themselves back into the proper places. The American let out a long sigh of relief.

"Thank you. He had me worried there for a second… Like, he looked like Gordon Hayward mixed with Marshon Lattimore and-"

"No thanks necessary sonny, just doing my job. Are you hurt as well?"

"Oh no, I'm fine, thanks."

"Well get yourself cleaned up. Wouldn't want you to go home smelling like sweat and dirt now would we."

"I'll ah, get right on that." The American boy nodded.

Recovery girl beamed a small smile and glanced around "If anyone else needs healing just say the word. If not, you youngsters should all head home, you've done enough for today. You'll know your results within the week."

Tenya nodded. Of course, the exam was over, and the judges needed time to review all that transpired. He joined the crowd of students that didn't need healing in walking towards the exit. The American however, started walking in the opposite direction. Where on earth was he going? Did he hit his head during the exam and not remember where he came from? "What's he up to?" Tenya mused to himself aloud.

"Where are you going young man?" Recovery Girl called out, seeing the boy walk into the city. "The exit is that way!"

"Oh, i'm gonna check the rest of the city." The American said, as if it was matter of fact. The old woman raised an eyebrow.

"If you're trying to score extra credit, I'm afraid there's none here." Recovery Girl shook her head, only for the foreign boy to look confused.

"Extra credit?" Now it was Tenya and Recovery Girl's turn to be perplexed.

"Isn't that what you're going for?"

"I was going to try and find anyone I could and help clean up. The city here is a mess anyway." The boy mused, hands on his hips as he looked over the battleground of ruined robots.

Clean up? Half of the city is destroyed, and it was a practice city at that. It was U.A.'s jurisdiction to do with it however it wished. Did he not understand that?

Tenya's eyes widened. Wait, it's part of U.A. That made it school property. This site was a Practical Exam. Does that mean this is just another classroom? It's possible, U.A. is the best and its resources need to match it. Clearly he misjudged this Ameri-this kid if he was able to look this far ahead. Cleaning up the classroom after an exam, of course! How could he have been so dense! He truly is more observant than he had thought! Recovery Girl laughed heartily, patting the boy on the leg.

"Oh that's sweet of you, but U.A. has drones already out and cleaning up this mess. As for helping everyone else," she paused as drone came down the street with a medical stretcher and an injured applicant, "We've got that covered too. Just leave it to us."

"Alright," the American said with a nod. "If you insist."

Recovery Girl smiled and reluctantly, the American joined the crowd. Like sand, his suit overtook his head, returning it to the mask that Tenya had seen through the exam. He noticed him standing there and he waved.

"Hey Glasses, do good on the exam?"

"I…. Hope so."

"Well, did you feel good about it?" He asked, walking past.

"I-Of course. I felt like I did my best."

"Sweet! Congrats, and best of luck to ya!" He then trotted off, leaving Tenya alone.

What a strange boy with an even stranger suit. He must have had professional help and backers to have a suit of that caliber. Other examinees parted and made way for the foreigner, whispering in hushed tones, all in awe.

(X)

That was it.

The test was over, but the work had just begun. Aizawa Shouta would have the names on his desk within the hour. All Might had already left to go prepare for film evaluations. Principal Nezu worked in strange ways, but he'd worked with the mouse long enough to know how he thought. He'd throw both Bakugo and Parker into his class, no doubt about it. The rest were up in the air, but those two were set. The berserker genius, given his 100 on the written exam, and the foreign enigma, who got a 70 in his written… but aced the Practical with flying colors; both in his room for him to observe and mentor.

Oh joy.

He was too tired for this. Also who the hell was banging on the door?

"Guess she's up," Nemuri mused.

Oh, right, Mt. Lady. Aizawa opened the door and tilted his head to avoid an overzealous fist hitting his shoulder. The young heroine, right now dressed in casual, yelped in surprise and embarrassment, and Aizawa already felt a stab of annoyance. "Quiet down, this is the hallway, not the locker room."

"Sorry," she said, hanging her head. "I just wanted to see how Peter performs is all…"

"You can be apologize by answering something for me." Mt. Lady perked her head up, "What's Parker's quirk?"

Yu blinked, then narrowed her eyes. "Why do you want to know?" Her eyes brightened a second later. "Did he do well?"

"I-"

"Of course he did, he'll never let me down!" Yu squealed even as Aizawa felt his eye twitch.

"Am under no obligation to tell you." he finished through gritted teeth, "Parker's results are official U.A. information and are under strict confidentiality. Regardless of you being an alum I can't just say-"

"That he did great Yu-chan!"

Aizawa groaned and turned around and glared. God damnit Midnight. Ever heard loose lips sink ships? Never open Pandora's Box? At her friend's answer, Yu went from excited to beaming with pride. "Really?!"

"Yep, he'll be somewhere in the top ten at least once we get everything settled down."

"Midnight you're not helping," Aizawa groaned.

"Oh lighten up Eraser," Nemuri gave her fellow teacher a good natured pat on the back, "Yu-chan knows not to let anything slip. Right?"

"Hehe, yeah, totally."

"That didn't sound very sincere." Nemuri smirked, and the blonde waved her arms.

"I won't tell! I promise! Please don't put me asleep again."

"Please put her to sleep again," Aizawa droned. Two sentences and he was already ready to clock out of this conversation. Unfortunately, he still had questions. "Takeyama-san, his showings say he's got a lot more experience than just one vigilante report would suggest," the black haired man stated with crossed arms "You wouldn't happen to know about that, would you?"

"Well y-you see-"

"Oh don't be such a stick in the mud Aizawa," Nemuri said, waving the comment aside, "It's not like the kid couldn't have a teacher before now. Probably had one with his family before they passed away or something."

"Y-Yeah, that's it. He did have a mentor in America!" Mt. Lady added, "Speaking of Peter, I should probably go find him."

"Aww, but we just started," Nemuri pouts.

"I'll tell you everything next time you're in Musutafu, drinks are on me," Mt. Lady promised.

"Who is his mentor? Who gave him his suit? Answer me!" Eraser demanded, but Yu had already untangled herself from her friend and rushed down the hall as fast as her legs could take her. Aizawa narrowed his eyes, only for Nemuri to scoff next to him.

"He's not the worst we've had. Relax."

"The records don't add up." Aizawa growled to which Nemuri shrugged.

"So what if they don't? He's not the first with a shady background that we've let in, and he won't be the last. He's a hero in the making, you know that, don't you?"

"Hm." Aizawa huffed. Despite his grievances, the kid did spend most of his time saving people instead of rushing villains, largely because he was able to destroy the robots so fast and with such efficiency. But that didn't stop him from wondering and his inquisitive nature to ask the big questions. Too many facts didn't add up. This kid just happened to have a vigilante report during Mt. Lady's debut? He just so happened to be a friend of the family to get him guardianship? He just so happened to have tech worthy of a professional hero? The report came from the Musutafu Police Department, same one that cooperates with Mt. Lady's hero firm…

One unknown he could let slide, two would get his attention, three was begging him to question it. Four was a bright neon sign inviting him in.

And he would. After all, Shouta would have all year to get what he needed. Both from Peter, and other outside sources.

(X)

Peter had changed out of his costume and back into his street clothes when he got on the bus heading back to the U.A. campus. Everyone was muttering and whispering at him, eyes wide and Peter couldn't help but blush a little. So this is what it's like to have your identity on display huh. Well… if Mr. Stark and the Avengers can handle some publicity, so can he. He would have to, since he no longer has to live a double life. He can be both Spider Man and Peter Parker.

Once he graduates that is.

Although no one is willing to sit beside him on the bus. He even spotted Glasses sitting up front, deep in thought and sometimes giving him a look, not hostile but rather musing, deep in thought. Peter let it slide though. He looked out the window, seeing the buildings of U.A.'s main campus until he heard a voice.

"Um, hello?" He perked up, looking over and it was the same brown haired girl from the Practical Exam who floated him and Green. She was out of her Practical Exam clothes and in her school's uniform, with a heavy jacket due to the February weather and a skirt.

Speaking of, he didn't see Green at all. Maybe he was on a different bus? Peter did come onto the bus first after all. Pony must be on a different bus too, as there was multiple buses for Battle Center B.

"Oh, hey. You're the float girl from earlier. Thanks for the save." Peter smiled. "Need a seat?" Not like he needed the save, since he would have used his web or spider legs to break his fall, but he appreciated the sentiment nonetheless.

"Oh, sure! And you're welcome." The girl placed her things in her lap and took her place beside him.

"I'm Peter, by the way. Peter Parker."

"Uraraka Ochako. It's nice to meet you, Parker-san." Ochako bowed lightly.

"Likewise." He turned back as the last of the kids filed in, and they were off, the bus moving down the road. And there was silence between them, with Ochako looking down.

"So… That green haired kid…" Peter mused. "He really saved your bacon, didn't he."

"Yeah! He did, when we get to the main campus, I am going to find Present Mic-san and ask him if I can hand over some of my points." The brunette stated, looking resolute. Peter perked up.

"That's right… he said he needed points…" Peter remembered, cupping his chin. He looked back at the girl who was looking ahead as they moved along the bus. "Wanna go together?"

"Eh?" Ochako turned in confusion. "You're going to hand over some of your points too?"

"Sure! I mean, the Zero Pointer robot may have cost, like, zero. But he saved you." Peter closed his eyes. "And this is a hero school. Green's quirk may be out of control, but he just needs tutelage and guidance. If a hero school doesn't let someone like him in, then that's just screwed up, don't you think?"

"Say… you're right!" Ochako stated, before beaming. "Maybe if we give some of our points together, he can pass! I don't recall him having found a robot to destroy while I was busy floating them up and crashing them and helping others. And he did save my life!"

Wow, she was cute when she smiled. A country-homely style of cute. Peter nodded. "It's a deal then. So, does your quirk make you float things?" He asked, sitting in his chair as he began to talk and socialize with Ochako.

So apparently Ochako's quirk is Zero Gravity, her Quirk gives her the power to manipulate gravity upon touching solid things with the pads on her fingers. The targets then become weightless. She is able to activate or cancel her ability's effects by closing her fingers together, and saying 'Release'. But if she floats herself or exceeds her weight limit of three tons, she becomes nauseous, hence her losing her lunch after she saved him and Green.

"Wow… that's so coooool." Peter said in utter awe. Ochako blushed, rubbing the back of her head. "That must make things super easy around the house for ya."

"Oh it's not all that. I did catch you flying around the city earlier. You're super cool yourself. So, what's your Quirk like?" Ochako asked with intrigue.

"Well…" Peter scratched his chin. "How do I put this…" He crossed his arms and began to think hard. He couldn't just say it's his suit, or his strength or agility… Wait… don't Spiders themselves have super strength? "You know how Spiders have like, super strength?"

Ochako blinked and tilted her head in confusion. "I mean," Peter caught himself, remembering his vocabulary. "For their size? Relative to their size?" He said the last sentence in English, and the brunette perked up.

"Ohhhhhh, that explains your strength and agility! Like, ants themselves can handle up to many times their bodyweight relative to their size, and it's the same for you, but with spiders?"

"Yeah!" Peter snapped. "Like that. I don't really have a name for it so… Spider Feats?" He grinned awkwardly, and the girl laughed, making Peter blanch up. A qurik with a picture of a cute spider running with with cute footsies and bootsies instead of their tensile clawed legs. That painted a not-so-heroic picture.

"I'm sure you'll come up with a cool name in time. Then how does that explain the spider legs from your back and those zip lines you were using?"

"Oh those? That's from my super suit. My… mentor gave it to me." The American boy said as he rested in his chair, looking out as he held the bag containing his normal suit and the Iron Spider module. "Helped me enhance my abilities and use them to my very best."

"No kidding… You looked like a pro out there." Ochako felt the bus come to a stop, and looked out the window as she perked up. "Oh look! There's Present Mic-san. Let's go to him now!" The kids began to file out of the bus one at time, Peter standing behind (and being taller than) the brown haired girl. When they finally got off, the two of them ran towards the faculty building and entered the lobby in which the blonde haired DJ was talking with some staff members. The Voice Hero turned around, beaming as he noticed the duo.

"Hey hey hey it's my audience from the Written Exam!" He stated with a wide grin, pointing at Peter. "What can I do for you two? The Exams are over, so your parents will come along to pick ya up soon!"

The two stood side by side as Peter looked at Ochako. "Excuse me… but…" She paused, trying to find the words. "That curly haired boy, with the freckles… You know, the super plain looking one?"

"He also had green hair and took out the Zero Pointer with one punch?" Peter added. "I was hoping if we could give him some of our points?"

"Oh~?" Mic quirked an eyebrow, intrigued and amused giving his rising smirk.

"Yeah, at the end he was saying that he needed points. Just one point! That means he didn't get any points during the Exam right?" Ochako surmised. "At least… Can we give him some of our points? I think I got in the twenties or something?"

"Yeah and I lost count after thirty five or so." Peter waved a hand. "I got some points to spare, I would be more than happy to give him some."

"Exactly, he saved my life!" Ochako declared, and Mic's grin was enough to split his face in two.

"And he took out a robot that could have been a major danger to everyone. Like, if this was real life, that robot would have caused a lot of damage and would have been a danger to heroes and civilians alike." Peter exclaimed. "The fact he was able to take out that robot, saving potentially others and definitely saving Uraraka-san here, means that Green there is a hero through and through." Ochako quirked an eye. Midori?

"Green?"

"I dunno his name so…" Peter shrugged.

Mic offered a closed mouth grin, patting Ochako on the head. "Well, I'm afraid we can't just take and give some points, dear Listeners, but, you two don't need to worry about a thing." He said with a snap. "After all, what is a Hero Course that rejects those who saves others? That's anything but a Hero Course." He winked. Ochako and Peter perked up.

"So… he'll pass, right?" Ochako asked, hopeful. Peter remained silent, on the edge of his seat.

Mic snapped his fingers. "We'll go over the film, but… I doubt there is anything to really comb over. Your lil friend there gave it his all in the act of saving others, since there is a hidden bonus system to the test." He then showed a toothy grin. "As for how much your friend will earn, well, you'll see next spring~" Ochako and Peter perked up.

"So we both passed too?"

"Oh I bet, but as for how much points you both get from the Villain Point and the hidden bonus system? You'll just have to see." Mic snapped his fingers. "Now if you'll excuse me, I got some work to do, so two go on home and rest up. Asta la vista babes!"

"Oh! Oh! I know that movie!" Peter jumped, speaking in English. He began snapping his fingers and trying to guess the movie. "What is the name? Grrr it's at the tip of my tongue! Was it the one with the robotpeople or the masked alien guys?!"

"Right! Thank you very much, Present Mic-san!" Ochako bowed deeply. Peter did so, but not as deep as he was recovering overh is. The blonde hero laughed and waved his arm.

"Go beat the traffic kiddos!" Peter and Ochako rose up and looked at each other, beaming.

"He's going to pass! I'm so glad!" She chirped as the two walked out of the faculty building. Peter laughed and offered his hand to high five, which the young girl gladly accepted.

"I know, I'm happy for the kid. I… actually kinda know him."

"Eh? You do?"

"Yeah, lives around my neighborhood, or at least in Musutafu." The brown haired boy elaborated. "Seen him a couple times, but never had the chance to talk to him." They were walking back to towards the parking lot and line of cars, where other students were meeting up with their parents or awaiting pick up to go to the train station. "I'll definitely talk to him when I can though."

"Yeah, and I can't wait to see you back here Parker-san!" Ochako smiled. "Let's do our best to become great heroes!"

"Absolutely." Peter nodded, hands in his pockets as he heard someone call out for Ochako. He spotted a man waving at her in an old and dingy looking truck.

"Oh, that's my dad. I'll see you later!"

"Bye Uraraka-san!" Peter waved, and the girl trotted with a skip to her step towards her parent. The boy from Queens smiled and leaned against a tree, looking at his phone until he got a text. Yu was in the school looking for him and will meet him by her car.

He trotted out to the parking lot, ready to go on home.

(X)

The evening was a blur of enjoyment, with Peter and Yu going out for teppan again as they went over their day. Apparently Yu tried to crash the party at the faculty observing the practical exam, but she was unable to gain entry even though her senpai, Kayama Nemuri AKA Midnight, was one of the faculty members. The fact that she was amongst the teaching staff made Peter raise an eyebrow.

And gained a twisted fascination in hoping that the X-Rated Heroine may be his teacher.

But their dinner was enjoyable, him relaying what he went through during both tests. He felt confident in both the Written and Practical portions, and Yu confirmed that she has a good hunch he will pass. They finished dinner and went on home to their apartment.

With Yu being at her firm for a while, she got a raise and was able to get a new flat, albeit in the same complex. Peter no longer has to sleep on the couch or web-hammocks. He has his own bed, his own room. They got home, they took their showers and were turning in for the night. "So… I'll get my acceptance letter within the week?"

"Yeah, sometimes it's tomorrow. Sometime it is a week." The blonde shrugged. "Just be patient, tomorrow we got to get you school supplies. You start in March after all, and that's only a few days off." The brown haired boy nodded.

"Alright, I'm gonna hit the hay." Peter waved, going to his room. He closed the door, hearing Yu call out 'Good night'.

He took a deep breath, content and happy to realize that he's going to become a hero. Peter looked at his bed.

Sleep should be a welcome reprieve.

Not for him.

He shed his clothes, plopping down on the bed. He's making his big step into becoming a professional hero. His dream to help others. Become a Friendly Neighborhood Spider Man.

Peter closed his eyes and turned over, gripping the sheets.

…

He hasn't told Yu. He hasn't told a soul. His physiology hid it well.

The terrors he sees in his dreams. The nightmares.

His comrades and loved ones turning to dust.

Being choked by the Mad Titan.

Rushing into Mr. Stark's arms… before Peter turned to ash.

The numbness as his body crumples like burnt char.

The cold void of death.

Peter curled up, letting out a sigh as he tried to force himself to sleep.

Tomorrow is another day.

(X)

A week later, it finally came. Peter was on the couch fiddling with some old computer parts that he managed to salvage from the local dumpster. Yu had been mortified when he brought it in, but he couldn't just leave it. Quality parts like this didn't fall out of the sky and it kept his hands busy.

The bell rang, and Peter heard a single letter fall through the mail slot. His hands froze, and in the kitchen, Yu dropped something. As one, they leaned over to see what had come through. On that plain white envelope was a single stamp marked with the UA symbol.

"It's here!" Yu screamed in delight.

Peter walked over and picked it up, bracing himself right before Yu slammed into his back, hugging him/trying to get the letter. "Open it open it!"

"Easy!" Peter quickly ripped the seal free from the letter. Inside was a small handwritten note and what looked like a tiny arc reactor. Except without the energy or the glowing parts. Yu plucked the disk before Peter could ask and threw it on the counter. It clicked as it landed, and a large screen projected came into view.

"Behold! For I am here… as a projection!" The voice of All Might, the Symbol of Peace and Justice, dressed in a nice yellow pinstripe suit, boomed out of the speakers. Peter flinched, he was expecting something, but a booming picture of the Number One Hero exploding into the living room was not it.

"All Might? What is he doing in a U.A. letter?" Yu wondered aloud.

"I know what you must be thinking. Why am I here? Well it's to congratulate you on your exemplary performance in the practical exam a week ago, Young Peter Parker."

"Huh, that's new," Yu said, picking up her drink, "Since when did the Number One hero help with U.A. admissions?"

"For you see, you're not only looking at the Number One Hero, you're looking at the newest U.A. faculty member!"

Peter ducked just in time to avoid his guardian's spit take. "Say what?! Nemuri-chan hid that from me!?" Peter ignored Yu's rant and couldn't take his eyes off the screen. Even though the speakers, he could feel it. The raw charisma of the Number One Hero, the strength, it all poured out of All Might like a waterfall.

"And as a faculty member, I heard about you and Young Uraraka's request to give away your points."

"Wait what!?" Yu screamed before looking at Peter as if he destroyed a ceremonial urn. "What for?!"

"A kid I met saved a girl but he had no points, what was I supposed to do?" Peter asked.

"Truly admirable, both of you, but there is no need to worry! Like you might have guessed, the practical exam wasn't graded on Villain Points alone! After all, what kind of hero course would turn away someone willing to save others, regardless of the consequences to themselves? That's what heroism is all about, so there are Rescue Points!"

The screen flashed, and Peter's eyes bulged at the sight.

It was a name next to number eight.

"To Midoriya Izuku, 60 Rescue Points!"

The camera panned up to fourth place.

"To Uraraka Ochako, 45 Rescue Points!"

Another flash, and Peter felt his jaw drop to the floor. Cause right there, right next to the first place, number one, was his name.

"And to you, Peter Parker, 70 Rescue Points and 69 Villain Points, nearly catching my own record, you have passed at the pinnacle of the first year rankings!" All Might then took out a napkin, dabbing his forehead, ever present smile on his visage. "I'm going to be honest, you had me sweating there! But, this is not nervousness, no, but anxiety and excitement! And I'm sure you must be feeling the same too, Young Parker!"

He… he did pass, but at first place? Peter began to laugh in disbelief. He had a feeling he passed… but get to number one like that! Yu grabbed his shoulders and giggled, but he couldn't hear her. All Might's grin widened as he reached out to the screen.

"I know you've trained hard to get to this spot, so allow me be the first to say it."

All Might eyed the screen once more, and across the city, two boys heard the Symbol of Peace say the same words.

"Welcome, to your Hero Academia."

The projection shut off, and in a small apartment, a green haired boy couldn't stop the tears from flowing. In another, a boy not of this world smiled bright, getting watery eyed as Yu cackled, jumping up and down for joy.

He… he did it, didn't he?

Did you see that Mr. Stark?

Uncle Ben?

One step closer… One step closer to being the friendly neighborhood Spider Man he dreams to be.

Hopefully the dreams will be worth it at this point.

Chapter Text

The cold airs of winter gave way into spring. Over the weeks, Peter had tinkered with the computer parts he found in trash heaps and his room was like a work bench where he was busy working late into the night... And that hologram projector he got from U.A. in the acceptance letter was his focus as he used his tools and moved with precision.

"Okay..." He muttered, eyeing the suit in his hand, feeling the small compartment where the mainframe lied. Where Karen was stored. Peter bit his lip and tried to poke a hole with a needle... but it wouldn't go. Just like with scissors. Bolt cutters. Sharpened knives. And now something as light and small as needle, he couldn't penetrate it.

He looked at the motherboard he made from the hologram projector, with its various hook ups. Peter grabbed the suit and flung it at the wall behind him before collapsing on his chair, hands in his face. "Fuck!" He yelled, muffled by his hands.

So much for that. He can't access Karen. Not with the tools this world has, or with the computers they have. It's not as sophisticated as the Stark laptops he and Ned would run. And he has no access to any resources that can puncture the suit, especially the region closest to the compartment by the spider emblem. It was like working with technology from the era of E.T. and the Goonies, yet had some impressive stuff like holograms. It just baffled him...

His shoulders shuddered as he sobbed a little. He needs to clean this up when he can. He needs to focus on getting ready for his first day at U.A. Academy tomorrow. Sort out his school clothes for the week, make some new web fluid to insert into the suit.

Maybe Pony is in his class. Or Midori or Uraraka. Even Edgy too. Think of nicer things.

He got up and walked over, grabbing his suit and holding it in his hand. "Sorry Karen... I'll have to wait till I get some high tech stuff to access you. And sorry for...throwing you against a wall. I'm just..." Peter paused, taking a deep breath and sitting back down as he looked at his messy desk, letting out a deep exhale. He needed to clean up. "I'll get to you soon. Okay?"

No response. He went over to his closet and hung up his suit, where he had his weekly arrangement of his school uniform hung up. He had Yu order five shirts and pants so he wouldn't use the same one every day. He'd just use Monday's uniform on the half day on Saturday.

He'll never get over half school on Saturdays.

(X)

"Kick some ass Peter!” Yu yelled from her car as Peter opened it, looking back at the blonde as he carried his backpack. He was in his trousers, jacket, and short sleeve shirt with his tie a little loose... and he gave a thumbs up.

And thus, Peter's High School career begins! Again.

Peter walked up the pathway form the parking lot, as other students came filing in from the public transit stop as well. Peter had his hands in his pockets as he gazed at the towers of U.A.'s main academic campus and through the front gate. The brown haired boy wondered what his classmates will be... maybe Pony will be there? Or Glasses? Hopefully Uraraka-san got in. He looked down at his phone, seeing that he was in Class 1-A. Or simply, Class A.

"Okay... 1-A should be on the first floor? Wait, check the map." Peter corrected himself, seeing a map of the school right inside the doors leading into the facility. He looked over the map, detailing the layout of each floor, other students doing the same. Some gave him a second glance, obviously due to the fact that he was a foreigner. "Let's see... Support... second Years... Genera Educati-there! Hero Course! Room 1-A!"

Peter beamed, standing up straight as he walked down the hall. He had time before class began. He noticed a spiky red haired boy walking forward, muttering to himself as he looked at his phone as he navigated the hallway. "Stairs is that way... elevator is closer, might as well take that." Wait, his voice sounded familiar.

"Edgy?" Peter asked, and the kid perked up, turning around. He had the same red eyes and a tough but charming demeanor about him, and his hair, no longer long and black, but spiky and scarlet! Yeah, it was him! From the Practical?

"Wait..." The kid pointed at him. "You that armored spider-guy?"

"Yeah!" Edgy had a toothy grin as he went up and shook Peter's hand.

"So you were the guy going around taking out robots left and right! You were the talk on my bus when we finished. Name’s Kirishima Eijirou! What's yours?"

"Peter, Peter Parker. I'm from America."

"I can tell, your Japanese is good!" He grinned. "So, you in the Hero Course too?"

"Yeah, was just heading there myself. Class A."

"Same here! Lead the way! So, where in America you from? What brings ya here to Japan?" Eijirou asked with a wide and beaming grin.

"Well... I heard U.A. was among the best of the best schools so... I wanted to go there!" Peter said with a scratch of his cheek. Not like he has a choice in the matter, might as well stick with that as his cover story, that he and Yu would go over as to why he was in Japan. Not like he can leave anyways. "All Might came from U.A. right? So, I wanna follow in his footsteps! Oh, and I’m from New York City as well. Specifically Queens.“ There, that should help. Everything seemed to revolve around All Might anyway.

"Smart move. I'm aiming to be like my idol, Crimson Riot myself, hence why I dyed my hair after the Practical. He may have not gone to U.A., but I wanna be just like him someday!" Eijirou pointing a thumb at his chest. "That's a man's man right there! And I’ve always wanted to go New York someday. Maybe when we become Pros we can go there together and you give me a tour! So... do you know who our teacher is? I know All Might just began teaching at U.A. and all..."

"No clue." Eijirou had his hands behind his back at Peter’s response as they walked into an elevator and pressed the button the floor U.A. was going to be in... except the door didn't close all the way as a hand stopped it.

And it was the angry-looking red eyed blond kid from the Written Exam entering, scowl on his face. "This going up to the floor where Class 1-A is?" He asked, his eyes settled on Peter, narrowing a little before going back to Eijirou.

"Yeah, you in there too?" Blondie smirked.

"Of course. I aced both tests after all. Getting in here was a breeze." He said confidently, hands in pockets as he leaned against the wall. "Might have been a little rough for you extras I bet."

"Extras?" Peter asked in Japanese, earning Blondie's attention.

"Yeah, I'm going to be Number One around here. The top hero, like All Might." He smirked darkly as the elevator came to a stop. "So if you don't wanna die or anything, just don't get in my way."

Die?! What was he on about?

"Excuse me?" Peter asked following Blondie as Eijirou followed suit. Up ahead Peter could see that six armed dude from before entering a classroom, followed by some plain looking girl with short hair and-what's with those long ear lobes? Blondie looked over his shoulder with a scowl.

"Did I stutter, foreinger?" He sneered. "I said." Blondie spoke in English. Eligible, but accented. "I'm going to be Number One. The strongest hero, like All Might. And you, are a redshirt. An extra. A stepping stone."

Peter frowned and his eye twitched. So, blondie's one of those kind of guys huh?

"Yeah, whatever man. Let's just get to class. I'm not here to start anything okay.” Peter rebuked in English. Eijirou looked confused.

"Whoa, you know English too?" He asked in Japanese.

"What, think I wouldn't?" Blondie asked as if he was insulted, glaring at the redhead. He stormed off, walking ahead at a faster pace.

"Jerk." Peter muttered. Eijirou offered a slight smile.

"Maybe he's just nervous." He mused as Peter kept his eyes on the sulking blonde as they entered the class. Whoa, the doorway’s tall.

"Guess it's fitting, if they get tall students or teachers..." Peter mused as he entered the classroom. Everyone was filing in, and some were busy socializing. He looked around, and the brown haired boy began to take stock of who his future classmates would be.

He can see... an invisible floating shirt and gloves talking with some blonde guy with... a very thick tail. Some dude with the head of a crow looked like he was sleeping, eyes closed. Some blonde haired dude was talking with a plain looking guy with black hair, and that same ear-lobe girl from before was talking with them too. There was some big looking boys, one who looked like one of those dinosaur-people from that Dinosaur sitcom and the other was built like a Mac-truck with big lips.

"Yooo! Kirishima-kun! You made it! Thought you might have gotten lost for a minute there." Said a female voice as Peter saw someone run up to them. Pink hair, pink skin, small antenna, golden eyes with pitch black sclera, and with a bright disposition. Eijirou blushed a little.

"T-Thanks Ashido-san. Anytime..." Gone was the confident and boisterous young man and in his place a shy and bashful boy. Girls can do that, Peter knows. The pinkette stepped aside as Blondie sauntered over and got to a seat, plopping down, leaning back and resting his feet on it. Seriously, he acted like he owned the damn place. "What Center were you in?" The redhead asked the pinkette.

"I was in Battle Center D. But I got enough to pass!" She turned her attention onto Peter. "Made a friend? Ohhhh a foreign student too! I'm Ashido Mina!" She held out a hand, grinning ear to ear. "Nice tameetcha!"

Peter was taken aback. Sure she's seen a lot of strange people... but Mina seemed so... normal despite the pink... everything. And reminded him of Mantis, with those short antenna of her's.

"Peter. Peter Parker." The brown haired boy took her hand and shook it. "The pleasure is mine. I met Kirishima-san here during our Practical Exam too. Helped him take out a robot or two."

"Help? We did a tag team move that's what!" Eijirou grinned. "He used his webbing and armor to sling up some faux villains and he swung him towards me and I grabbed mine and we crunched them together!" Mina let out an "Ohhhh~"

"Raaad." She cheesed. "Well, it's nice finally meet ya Parker-kun! Could use some more cuties like you in class. Americans do add a certain spice to things~” She added with a wink. Both Eijirou and Peter blanched up, pink on their cheeks. Peter was speechless while Eijirou was blubbering while Mina chortled. “I’m joking, I’m joking! We're here to be Pro Heroes after all." She waved her hand. "I can't wait to hear what stories you had back in America, your Japanese is really good!"

"Yeah... you're right. Heh. Thanks." Peter smiled awkwardly. Well... when you look past the fact that Mina has pink hair and skin and eyes that... honestly do look very exotic now he can look closer... she definitely was a looker in her own right.

Goodness those are beautiful eyes.

"Ah! It's you!" Said a voice, and Peter turned around, and at the door was Glasses, standing tall and in his uniform. Peter raised a hand.

"Oh. Hey Glasses." The tall boy perked up, before adjusting his spectacles and walking towards the American, and then bowing deeply. Eijirou and Mina were talking but had their eyes on Glasses.

"Let me first say... that I apologize for my conduct to you during the Written Exam. I..." He put a hand to his chest, looking away. "I clearly misjudged you. You clearly saw some deeper meaning during the Practical Exam didn't you, as you went about assisting others with their scores and saving those less skilled or fortunate. That...that was the true test of what makes a hero! Helping others when it was about a point competition!" He bit his lower lip. "I... on the other hand, did not realize that until after the exam was finished. If they had told us of the Rescue Point System it would have made the act of saving others feel disingenuous and fraudulent to boot! A clever way to evaluate those with a heroic spirit, one in which I did not measure! As much as I hate to admit it, but you are truly a superior and exemplary student than me! U.A. is more than honored to have you!"

Peter was silent, blinking. "I...ummm... thanks. Apology accepted. I... apologize for my, misconduct as well. You know, nerves can sometimes get the best of us. Were you nervous before the Practical? The Written Exam was a bit tricky.“

"I will not lie, I was nervous, considering this was Japan's finest hero institution and those tests were quite important. You were calm all throughout, aiming to share that air of relief to others, and I even had other base discriminatory bias towards you and did not see the message you were trying to convey. As a hero-in-training I must learn to overcome those biases and learn from others in order to become not just a better hero but a better person!" Glasses finished his rant as he noticed Peter offering his hand. Good lord how does he breathe talking for so long.

"It's cool man, we all get that way. I'm sorry we got off on the wrong foot. My name is Peter Parker. What's yours? I doubt me calling you Glasses is something you prefer for the long run.” Peter offered with a grin. The boy blinked, before returning his content expression as he shook it. His blue eyes softened as he gave the American a firm shake.

"And I am Iida Tenya. It is a pleasure to meet you and have you as a fellow peer here at U.A. Academy, Parker-san."

"Can all ya'll shaddup and get a room, I'm trying to relax before the teacher gets here." Blondie growled out, looking lazily at Tenya and Peter. The blue haired youth noticed Blondie's feet on the desk and puffed his chest out in righteous indignation. The other students were busy getting into their seats.

"Take that foot off your desk right now!" He demanded, Blondie only smirked, as if welcoming it.

"Huh~?”

"You're disrespecting school property like that you cretin!" Blondie only scoffed, enjoying the banter.

"Like I care of the opinion of an extra. Where you from?"

"Somei Private High, why does that matter?" The red eyed boy smirked, sneering up at Tenya..

"Somei huh? You must think you're better than me!" He grinned. "Gonna be fun blowing ya to bits and knocking ya down a peg, elite!”

"B-Blowing me to bits!" Tenya acted as if he had been slapped. "You're trying to become a hero aren't you? How awful!" Blondie kept that devil's grin on him while Peter put a hand on Tenya's shoulder.

"Iida-san, let's not get riled up." He felt Blondie's eyes on him. "We should get ready for class and-

"Huh~?" He cut him off. "Not get riled up? What, you from some hotshot American Elite School too?" He smirked. "Go on American." Blondie goaded in English. "Where are you from?"

Peter looked at him, took a deep breath, opening his eyes and was about to reply...

And there at the doorway was Green, standing like a deer in headlights as everyone turned towards him.

"Oh hey Green!" Peter waved, calling him 'Midori', walking casually over to Green as Tenya... marched. "I'm glad to see you passed!"

(X)

Midoriya Izuku didn't know what to think. When he got there, he saw that tall boy, Iida Tenya, talking with Kaachan before Kaachan stared daggers at the American boy for walking away from him, before settling his eyes on him and the anger dyed down to a simmering glare.

O-Onto nicer things!

The American. Parker. Peter Parker.

The same boy apparently was at the Musutafu incident with that giant villain that correlated with Mt. Lady's debut, wearing gear and possessing the skills of a pro.

Who looked like the same boy he would run to clean up the beach park early in the morning during his ten months of training.

And was the same one who saved him from a deadly fall after defeating the Zero Pointer. Who was about to fight that thing to save the girl he talked to (which he didn't) on that day.

And they both were the ones who wanted to give him some of his points.

He was a boy who just wanted to help. Someone with the skills, gear, and abilities of a Pro, with almost as much power as Kaachan, wanted to help him. An absolute nobody, a quirkless failure to most. A quirkless ant to Kaachan's eyes. Even after seeing One for All mess up his body, he still spent the last few seconds trying to get him a doctor.

And now, he walked up and gave Izuku a congratulatory pat on the shoulder. Though the green haired boy couldn’t do much to answer him when Tenya marched towards him.

“Greetings! I’m Iida Tenya from the Somei Priva-”

“I already heard you!” Izuku cut him off.

Parker chuckled a little as Iida composed himself. This is the part when he introduces himself? Yeah, that’s what he should do! “I’m Midoriya Izuku, it’s nice to meet you Iida-san, and you too P-Parker-san.” He bowed deeply in reverence.

Parker scratched his head in embarrassment. “I don’t think I need to have a san, Midoriya-san. Call me Peter or Parker, I guess.”

“Yeah,” Izuku grumbled, “All you did was save me...” ‘And you’re using honorifics for others when you yourself don’t want any…’

“What was that?” Parker asked with a quirked eyebrow.

“NOTHING!” Izuku shouted with a clammed up expression. Parker blinked and still had that confused expression, and Iida cleared his throat.

“Midoriya, allow me to apologize for my actions.” Parker scratched his head nervously, someone like him could get nervous?

“Is this about the whole misjudging thing? It’s cool you don’t need to man. Like, you apologized-”

“I only apologized to you!” Iida pointed out, waving his hand, “But I need to atone for my actions against both of you!”

“Uhh sure you… do you?” Parker offered. “Didn’t you already apologize to me?”

Izuku on the other hand darted his gaze between the two boys. What on earth were they talking about? Iida turned to the green haired boy and bowed? Why is he bowing!? What did he do to deserve this? Parker gave Izuku an sympathetic look and slowly stepped back. Izuku panicked, no don’t leave! He needed to tell him something!

“Midoriya,” Oh gosh Iida talking! And he looks so serious, “I must say, when I first saw you, you were dishonoring the other students during the written exam with your mutterings.” Izuku flushed, averting his gaze, because it’s not like he could stop himself. Present Mic had come on stage, and he couldn't stop his geeking out. “But I see now, that your mutterings were simply a sign of your observational abilities!” Parker blinked, and was looking back and forth between the two. "You and Parker-san both perceived the true nature of the practical exam,” Iida continued, Parker raising his hand to interject when he was called 'san' but stopped. “I on the other hand was too focused on the surface level details. I must confess, even if I don't like it, but you two are the superior students!”

“Said the exact same thing, only different.” Parker muttered a little with a blank face. “It’s cool man. Relax.”

Izuku… didn’t know how to react to this? What was he supposed to say? Iida was so serious, but the green haired boy didn’t perceive anything. He just reacted on instinct. Being honest, he’s lucky he got through on his Rescue Points.

“Nevertheless, receive my humblest apologies!” Iida declared. "To you both!"

He bowed, and as one, Parker and Izuku leaned back. They shared an awkward look, even as Iida grit his teeth in some unknown frustration.

Geeze, is everyone in this class but the American weird?

“Oh I know that curly hair! The plain looking boy!”

Izuku jolted upright while the brown haired boy grinned. He turned and felt his face heat up. It was the nice girl, Uraraka Ochako, and she looked really cute in that uniform!!

Wait, she and Parker were in his class? What were the odds? Astronomical, but Izuku couldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth. This was the perfect opportunity to thank them for trying to help him! All he had to do was tell them-

“Yo, Uraraka-san,” Peter calls from behind him. Izuku froze up.

Wait, they knew each other-Oh yeah, they were in the video.

Uraraka beamed jumping to the side and giving the American a kind smile.

“Heya Parker-kun! Guess you made it!”

“I'm glad you made it too. And we're in the same class to boot!” Parker gave a thumbs up, and Uraraka's grin could split her face in two. Wait, he’s talking to a girl!? And he's acting so confidently about it too!

“Oh don’t be so humble, you were great with all the amazing swinging and spider legs and stuff! Almost as cool as Midoriya's awesome punch!” She gave off mock punching to emphasize her words.

“Yeah, That was pretty cool,” Parker agreed, turning towards Izuku with an approving smile.

Both of them were looking at him. Were they… were they calling him amazing? They were the ones that saved him! He just did what All Might told him to do. Wait, he has their attention, this is his chance! Izuku stammered and had his hands around his head as he tried to figure out a proper response.

“I-I g-guess I should be thanking you two for trying to g-give me points.” Both brown haired youth's perked up.

“Huh, how did you know about that?” Uraraka asked with a tilt of her head.

Wait, she didn’t know she was being recorded? A quick look revealed that Parker was just as shocked as her. Oh gosh, he probably wasn’t supposed to say that!

“I uhh mean, ah, what?”

Did that work?

“Did All Might tell you?” Parker asked. "Over the holoprojector-thingy."

It didn’t! Behind him, Uraraka looked at the American questionably.

“All Might, why would he talk to Midoriya-san?” She caught what she had said, immediately became flushed and threw out her hands, “Not that you’re not awesome or anything I’m just saying that he’s the Number One hero and you’re so ordinary.”

That didn’t make him feel any better. Izuku shoulders slumped, deflating like a balloon, while the tall Iida adjusted his glasses.

“I believe Parker-san is correct when of our acceptance holo-projectiors. They explained our placement as well as our total points.” Iida crossed his arms. "I got Cementoss congratulating me, so you two receiving praise from All Might while being accepted... truly U.A. is honored to have you in its halls."

"You said the same thing again." Peter muttered a little.

That’s right, his video put him at eighth place. Where did Parker get? While Izuku was busy trying to tag one robot, he could see Parker zipping around sling shoting and taking robots down as if they were paper!

“That?” Uraraka then laughed, rubbing the back of her head. “Sorry about that, I guess I was so excited that I forgot about it.”

“I don’t see how considering it tells our practical rankings.” Iida pointed out with some hand gestures.

Parker bit his lower lip and he slowly moved back.

“Yeah, those uhhh. P-pretty cool stuff right? Silly me for bringing that up. Hehehe.”

“Yeah! Made my parents real proud coming in fourth, what about you guys?” Uraraka beamed, looking back between the boys.

“I managed to secure the seventh place,” Iida said turning to Parker who was a lot further away that Midoriya remembered, “What about you? Where did you place?”

Parker swallowed something in his throat and muttered something.

"I didn't hear you. What did you say?" Izuku asked. He had to have had a high score right. Top Three maybe?

Parker took a deep breath. "I got in First." He admitted, looking pale.

First.

That one word dropped a bomb in the classroom, where everyone had been paying attention to Iida's antics and the Gimmick-killer in Izuku. Uraraka’s jaw dropped, Iida eye's were like plates. And that was nothing compared to what the class’ reaction. Eyes that were on him immediately shifted to Peter. Some of them were curious, like the sparkling blond boy in the front. Others were analyzing, like the piercing gaze of the bird headed boy. Other's not as surprised, like the pig-tailed girl in the back, or the red-white haired boy sitting close to her with very narrow eyes. Others in astonishment like the blonde kid talking to the earlobes girl.

And then there was Kaachan.

Izuku paled as he saw the smoldering aura from the blonde. He saw that when Kaachan demanded to know how Izuku passed that day back at Aldera Junior High. But this...

His crimson eyes were burning holes in the American’s head. His teeth were barred as he let out a soft, but audible growl. He was gripping the seat so hard that he might start cracking along with a mini explosion popping in his hands.

Reactions might have been missed, but Midoriya heard the collective thought.

This American, out of everyone trying to get into U.A. Academy, out of everyone in this class, in the Hero Course, got first in the Practical Exam.

Peter Parker, out of every first year, was the closest to being a pro, and everyone knew it.

(X)

'Way to go Peter, not even the first day of school and you’ve already put a bullseye on your back. Least it only took a couple of weeks before Flash pegged me and Ned.' It just came out, it’s not like he was trying to brag. He was answering a question during a conversation. Heck with his Villain total, he should’ve gotten second. He only got that far with help from the Iron Spider suit. If he didn’t have that, who knows where he would’ve gotten. Maybe around Tenya's score? Or more? He didn’t know.

Didn't’t stop the rest of the class from looking at him like a hunk of meat or a circus act.

Okay, not the best metaphor, but Peter never worked as the center of attention. All these eyes on him, some of them coming from normal looking students to the blonde guy and wait a second?

In the back, there was that drop dead gorgeous girl from in front of the recommendation section. Her eyes were narrowing, and Peter could imagine a thousand of those calculations going through her head and he just noticed that she was sitting behind him! She glanced down to his chest, and Peter couldn’t help but follow her gaze. Did he have something on his shirt? He patted around it, and the girl noticed, then looked away.

A few rows back, a multiarm guy raised his eyebrows at him.. Why was the floating girl clothes blushing, with those pink marks where the head would be? "Woooow... he got first?" He can hear the voice as the clothes leaned towards a black haired kid.

"I-It has to be a joke, right?"

Peter bit his lip and took a deep breath. He looked out of the corner of his eye, the angry-blonde gripping his desk as if he was ready to pounce. Just steer clear of him and-

“If you’re going to waste time talking about points then you should leave.”

Dead silence filled the room. Everyone turned to the source of the voice. It was… a scruffy, tired-looking long-shaggy black haired man in a yellow full body sleeping bag? Ochako jumped back in fright, seeking refuge behind Midoriya. The man stared at all of them, nonplussed before scrambling for something in his bag.

“Welcome to U.A.’s Hero Course…” he muttered tiredly. Sleeping Bag brought his hand out holding a full bag of squeezable applesauce. One suck drained the entire thing, slurping loudly and not giving a single fuck. Peter blanched, as did the rest of his peers. What is with this guy? He’d seen some weird guys, sure, but Star Lord not knowing that Missouri was on Earth was completely different from this fellow.

“It took you eight seconds to quiet down,” Baggy Eyes said as he crawled out of the bag, dressed in a weird black outfit with a utility belt around his waist and a long scarf tied around his neck. Has he combed that head of his like, ever? His black hair was so long and unkempt! “Time is precious. You lot could do me a favor and be rational about it. If do so, I'd appreciate it.” A tired eye made its way to Peter, who was standing near the bank.

“You’re not supposed to be up there, that’s my spot. Get to your seat please.”

Peter looked around and sure enough, he was at the front of the class. "Gah! S-Sorry!" He backed away.

With tired eyes he groaned as he entered the classroom, “Hello, I’m Aizawa Shouta, your teacher. Nice to meet you all.” His delivery was so bored and devoid of emotion that Peter joined the rest of the class in surprise. This guy was the homeroom teacher of a hero academy? He looked ready to drop dead from exhaustion, not teach a class.

Clearly no one told him that everyone needs sleep, because he set his eyes on Peter again.

“You’re not in your seat, in fact, most of you aren’t."

Peter and the other doorway companions didn’t need to be told twice. They quickly made their way to their seats, either the ones that they marked or had to sit in. In Peter’s case, he was lucky enough to return to his backpack. But as he approached, he felt something tingle in the back of his head. He looked to the side, and saw a student next to the cute girl was glaring at him. His red and white hair shadowed his eyes, and gave the burn scar over his left eye an almost malicious light.

The look he was giving him, Peter recognized it. It was the same look some of the heroes gave him back in Germany. They weren’t nearly as scary looking but it was the same look. Captain America’s gaze was filled with concern and curiosity, and the Soldier and Falcon were more surprised with his showings to look at him any differently.

This guy though he looked… expectant?

What was his deal?

He took his seat in time to see Mr. Aizawa reach into his bag and pull out a blue with white-trim gym uniform.

“Right, put these on as quick as you can and head outside.”

"W-Where to?" Peter asked.

"The Training Grounds."

Training grounds, didn’t they need to get to orientation? As if his quirk was hearing the unspoken question, Aizawa frowned. “What are you doing?" he asked, "Do heroes stand around when they’ve received an order? Get to it.”

“Yes sir!” came the reply of most of the class.

Peter didn’t know, but he did what he was told. What were they going to do on the training grounds, and on the first day?

(X)

"A Quirk Apprehension Test?!" The students all said as one. Shouta was irritated but kept his composure. Uraraka came up to him.

"What about orientation? We're gonna miss it!" Boy this girl didn't get it.

"If you want to become Heroes, you can't waste time on pointless ceremonies." Shouta stated as he looked back at the crowd of youths. "U.A. is known for it's freestyle educational system. That applies to us teachers as well, so I can run my class as I see fit." The entire class just looked confused.

"Alright." He turned towards the group. "Ball Throw. Standing Long Jump. Fifty Meter Dash. Endurance Training. Grip Strength. Side to side stepping. Upper body training. And seated Toe touch. You did all of these in middle school during your Standard Non-Quirk Gym Tests." Shouta took a deep breath. Time to vent a little and educate. "Japan still insists on prohibiting Quirks when calculating the averages of those records as to give those with less power more of a chance. It's not rational. The Department of Education is just procrastinating and wasting time for those who should be ahead of the pack.” He turned towards the crowd, his tired eyes settling on the seething berserker genius.

"Bakugo." He perked up. "How far can you throw in middle school without using your Quirk?"

"Sixty-seven meters, give or take." Bakugo said resolutely. Shouta reached into a bucket beside him and tossed him a U.A. Quirk Test softball.

"Great. Now try it with your Quirk. Anything goes. Just don't leave the circle." He stepped back, grabbing the work phone that will track all the results of the test. "Give it all you got."

Bakugo stretched his limbs, walking into the circle. "Alright then here goes..." He got into position, and wound up his arm.

And followed through all his might, an explosive blast leaving his hand. "DIE!" Bakugo roared. Shouta could hear the confused mutterings from the rest of the class.

Well, he did whatever he needed to. The ball landed faraway, and Shouta looked down at the result. "Knowing the limits of your abilities is crucial.” He showed the phone. 705.2 meters. Not a surprise, in his estimation. Bakugo was a wild horse, but his potential was oozing off him like water from a sponge. "That's the first rational step to figuring out what kind of heroes you'll be." The entire class was in awe, giving praise to the blonde who seemed to smirk.

Genius Berserker, and loves to preen like a peacock when given praise. Lovely.

Midoriya seemed nervous, looking around as the class socialized and talked about how they're gonna use their Quirks. Parker looked at it all and was impressed judging by how he looked at Bakugo, before looking at his own hands.

But here are these brats going on and on on how the Hero Course was fun and awesome.

Oh how wrong they are.

"Awesome, you say?" Shouta asked, before leering at the teens. "You're hoping to become Pro Heroes in three years time, and you think it's gonna be all fun and games?" That made the crowd shut up. And the man put forth his most intimidating smirk, combined with his hair, he was looking like something out of a horror movie. Good. "Idiots... We will be taking eight physical tests. The one with the lowest score across all eight events will be judged hopeless, without any potential… and will be expelled on the spot."

"Whaaaaat?!” A lot of the students air was deflated, and Shouta couldn't contain his smirk as he lifted up his hair, showing his eyes, despite the tired look and bags under them, showed focus and that he was not playing around. Time to put some fear into these brats and give them the kick in the ass they need!

"Your fate is in your hands. Now show me what you got!”

"The one with the lowest score will be expelled?! It's only the first day! I mean... I even..." Uraraka was lost for words. "That isn't fair!"

"And natural disasters are?" Shouta retorted on the spot. "Highway accidents and Villain Incidents? Calamity is always lurking around the corner. The world isn't fair, and it is a hero's job to correct that and make it fair. For the next three years, U.A. will be throwing constant adversity upon your shoulders to ensure you go beyond your limits. To surpass them and ascend to new heights.” He had a smirk, gesturing to them to come. "That is Plus Ultra. Use the powers given to you to overcome that adversity, and you'll thrive here. So bring your A-Game." He pocketed his hands, gesturing to the students. "Now then, we've done enough talking. It's time we begin."

And this is where the fun begins.

(X)

The First Test. Fifty Meter Dash.

Iida Tenya did well, no surprise. 3.04 seconds using his quirk, Engine. Will have to see how he does in other events, Shouta made a mental note. Asui Tsuyu got a 5.58. Considering her partner, she wasn't bad.

Uraraka Ochako got a 7.15, thanks to using her Quirk on her clothes. Creative, but she has use her quirk on her entire body to be more effective. Without getting as queasy too. Her partner, Mashirao Ojiro got a 6.91. Room for Improvement, could strengthen that tail of his.

Aoyama Yuga was a bit of a peacocky-pratter mouth, but he used his Navel Laser well enough during the dash. 5.51 seconds. And Ashido Mina is in great shape, being right on his tail and passing with a 5.40.

Testing their Quirks to their limits allows him to see their room for growth. That will always be tied to how they utilize their abilities.

Next up, Midoriya and Bakugo, students 17 and 18 on his chart. They started and-

“Turbo!” Bakugo was racing down the lane, the blasts from his hands propelling him to a 4.13. Impressive, fits with the film he watched of Battle Center A's Practical Exam. Midoriya not so much. 7.02. Well, least he was in shape.

"Last ones." Students 19 and 20. Parker and Yaoyorozu.

(X)

Peter got to the staring line after seeing Izuku look after Bakugo leave. He looked down at his jumpsuit, seeing Aizawa standing at the far end with the robots that measure their speed. Back home... he had to lag, to purposefully fail as to not draw eyes about his powers. He looked to the side, seeing the taller dark haired beauty.

Goodness... Liz may have been super cute... but Yaoyorozu Momo was so… hot. She filled out that gym un-

Wait! Don't stare! Think! Focus on the run!

Now... he no longer has to hold back. No longer having to worry about living a double life. Hiding his identity and abilities. Go Plus Ultra, as Mr. Aizawa put it. "Let's do our best, Yaoyorozu-san. Let’s hit it hard and hit it fast!“ Peter offered a smile, looking at as the girl turned. Yaoyorozu returned it with a small one and nodded.

"Likewise." Woman of few words. Okay. No biggie. MJ was one too... well... she was a girl of many words. Just a lot of snarky ones. He got got down onto his hands, feet propped. He then heard a loud thumping noise and beside him, he saw... a Moped?! And Yaoyorozu got on it!

Wait, is that even allowed? Did she just make it on the spot?!

Never mind that, don't hold back. He can go all out now.

"Runner's on your marks!" The robot shouted out. They got set. "Ready!" And the gun fired.

Peter raced, going as hard and as fast as he could and before he knew it, he was across with a skid. He looked back, and just saw Yaoyorozu finish behind him as she hit the brakes, looking at him with wide eyes. The robot chimed.

“4.23 seconds!" Then the second chime. "4.90 seconds!"

"Alright, next test. Let's move it people." Aizawa shouted. Peter looked at his hands. He had to fake the runs at time but now... 4.23 seconds?

He let out a laugh, smiling. This is just the Practical Exam all over again. Time to have some fun! And she summoned a scooter from like, another dimension or something! Cool! He will have to ask her about her ability!

“You were... not joking. You are fast! And cool scooter!” Peter exclaimed.

Yaoyorozu brushed aside her hair as she got off the moped, and Peter perked up and blushed.

"Well... I did say let's do our best, right?" She replied added, and the boy chuckled.

"You did pretty well yourself! Come on, let's move on to the next event." Peter offered his hand with a grin. Time to properly introduce himself rather than him learn names from the name tags on the desk. "I'm Peter. Peter Parker. I’m the guy who sits behind you, by the way.“ He shrugged, offering a nervous grin. Yaoyorozu blinked, and then offered a soft smile as she took it.

"Yaoyorozu Momo. It is a pleasure to meet you, Parker-san."

"The same for me." Peter replied and deep down...

He was overjoyed. He's talking to the most beautiful girl and-

"Mush people." Aizawa said, and the two teens jumped and began to jog to where the rest of the class was mingling as they made their way to the gym.

(X)

Shouta looked at the score on his phone. Iida got first, no surprise there. Then Bakugo in second... and Parker third, and Yaoyorozu fourth. But her versality and creativity... As expected of a Recommended Student. He's never gotten one in the last few years. She's a shoe in for sure. As for Parker...

'Guess he doesn't need that suit after all. That was all physical power alone though. Nothing too special, I guess.’ He thought as he saw Peter walk with the students towards the gym.

(X)

Second Test: Grip Strength.

Peter looked down at the hand-held device. Objective was simple: Grip as hard as you can to measure it out the highest score. "Okay... here goes." He saw many other students gripping theres, that one Sato Rikido being allowed to eat some cupcakes for his quirk. He got a suger high thanks to his quirk, Sugar Dope, and went over 700 kilograms! He noticed some students gather around Shoji Mezo, with nearly 540 kilograms from his gripping. Peter bit his lip and looked at his. He gripped as hard as he could. Go all out, like what Mr. Aizawa said... He has to keep reminding himself that. This is a hero school, not like back home.

He heard a beep and looked down.

999.99 kilograms.

"Uhhhh... Mr. Ai-I mean." Peter paused, reverting back to Japanese. "Aizawa-sensei." The black haired man lazily looked over as Peter showed the device's results. He then looked down at the phone. “Is there a stronger grip-monitor or-"

"You're good. Just put it back." Aizawa stated as Peter nodded.

"Okay then... I-"

"Whoa that's a lot of Nines!" Mina exclaimed as she looked over, about to turn her’s in when she saw Peter’s device.

"Huh? Someone beat my mark?" The muscular Sato walked over, no longer in his sugar-induced craze. “Whoa that’s cool!" He said, impressed.

"Uhh... hehe. Yeah." Peter laughed. "I... guess I did?" All this much attention? How did Mr. Stark handle all of this?

"Did you actually get nine hundred and ninety-nine kilos or did the machine break?" Mina mused. Kirishima finished his and checked the score.

"Break? I bet he went beyond that! Seriously, you did more than Sato or Shoji!" He slapped Peter's back, and the boy blushed. “Nice one!”

"T-Thanks... Just doing my best is all." The Boy from Queens replied, doing his best to avoid the simmering glare from Bakugo who was gripping his device over and over. Izuku was looking at him with awe... before looking at his own in dejection.

(X)

'And here I thought we wouldn't get another All Might.' Shouta mused as he looked at the score after Parker and the rest of the students turned in the devices. The score on his phone... was unreadable. Zeroes across the board. Yet the device read 999.99 kilograms.

His strength. His speed. His equipment from the Practical Exam.

All the devices were turned off, except Parker's and Yaoyorozu's, because he broke the damn machine by his grip alone while the girl summoned a clamp and kept applying pressure until the machine too broke, which was understandable. And on top of tha-

The feeling of being watched... Shouta turned his head, and peering from the windows high above the gym was Toshinori Yagi, in his All Might form. He noticed and slinked back out of sight.

Shouta narrowed his eyes. Parker's becoming more of an anomaly the more he showed off his skills. And All Might is snooping on him? Did he hear of his track record in failing many students during his tenure at U.A.? And yet decided to check on the one class that has someone like Parker…

Hmm.

He altered the score, adding the note saying ‘Enough’ to Parker’s and Yaoyorozu's Zeros.

Onto the next then.

(X)

Third Test: Standing Long Jump.

Parker cleared the sandbox with ease. No surprise there. Only a few others managed to do so as well, including Iida, Bakugo, Aoyama, and Todoroki who scaled the jump using their quirks. Yaoyorozu managed to conjure a javelin and used that to get air and distance.

Very impressive crop so far.

(X)

Fourth Test: Repeated Side Steps.

Parker aced it again, going at incredible speeds without any of the long wind up that Iida has to do. Got on top, with only Bakugo behind him in time and reps.

(X)

Fifth Test: Ball Throw.

So far so good. Everyone’s been taking their tests and using their quirks in predictable ways, some have shown creativity but that’s par for the course. The few class geniuses who can apply these go onto thrive, as do those with unnatural talent.

Todoroki Shoto has been doing alright on his end, getting above average marks using his ice quirk. Pity he isn’t using his fire ability for some reason, but his ice has carried him well enough for the events that mattered.

Bakugo Katsuki was top three easily, in utilizing his quirk to complete the exercises. His Explosion can make him fly over short distances, and the combat purposes can be applied to any scenario. Aggressive and abrasive he may be, but talented he is in spades.

Yet Peter Parker was acing this, and Shouta was beginning to become more convinced that there’s more to this kid than meets the eye. He was number one, well, so far. But if he kept this up, he should tackle the rest of the tests fine.

Hell, he’d have to forsake his teaching career to fail him at this point. Then again, his logical ruse is working in ensuring these kids are busting their humps and using their heads to use their abilities in creative ways. Many of the students applied that principle with the Ball Throw, some going far, others not so much.

Thankfully this event was going by fast, and now they are at Uraraka Ochako.

Shouta saw Uraraka throw her ball and it kept going… and going… and going.

Expected, but at least she had the idea to utilize that. So there’s something of a brain behind that dollish face of her’s.

Phone came out as Infinite, and Shouta showed it. The entire classed yelled “Infinity!?” at once. They really shouldn’t be shocked by this. All the girl did was use her head.

And then there’s the dead-last, Midoriya Izuku. It was like seeing a watermelon decompose over weeks, only replace weeks with minutes and ‘watermelon’ with ‘Midoriya’s composure’.

The boy’s self-destructive quirk had yet to be manifested, and he was going by on paltry physical feats alone.

Without a doubt, he’s hopeless. A fish out of water. Shouta saw him try to calm down, ready to throw the softball.

And the glow of his arm.

Not happening.

Shouta didn’t blink as his scarf and hair began to wave as if he was underwater, the ball plummeted a mere 46 meters. Midoriya was befuddled.

He doesn’t belong here.

“I erased your quirk.” He elaborated, earning Midoriya’s attention as he froze, and Shouta focused his quirk, Erasure, on him solely. “That stupid Entrance Exam… should be revised and changed if it allowed someone like you on these grounds.” He growled, and Midoriya didn’t seem to take his stance on U.A.’s entrance exam, more focused on his goggles around his neck.

“My quirks was erased! Wait, those goggles… you’re Eraserhead, the Erasure Hero!” Well, hopeless he maybe, but he knows his homework. The rest of the class didn’t know about it. Which is fine, since he doesn’t like the spotlight. In fact he does everything he can to avoid it. Going underground is what he does best. As for Midoriya? He’d be a smart student, but a hero?

Maybe in his wildest dreams.

“I saw it, how you can’t control your Quirk. You’d just be incapacitated again if you used it.” Shouta pocketed his hands. “Hoping for a helping hand?” He sneered, glaring down at him.

Midoriy shook his head. “N-No it’s not like tha-“ Enough. Shouta used the scarf and had it wrap around the green haired runt to pull him in closer.

“Whatever the outcome, your quirk would have made you into a liability. A deadweight to those who you are planning to save and those who you work alongside.” Shouta remembered of that man who was eavesdropping them. He’s going to have to talk to him to stop it with this. This is irritating. “Once upon a time, a certain hot blooded hero, saved over a thousand people during a disaster and it made him legend. You have that same reckless altruism about you as he did. But you’re useless if you can only save one person and only one person alone.” He narrowed his eyes. “Midoriya Izuku, with that power of yours… you cannot become a hero.”

Todoroki can with some nudging to use his fire. Bakugo can be a hero, with some refinement and coaching. Parker absolutely, although he can use some common sense pointers and not be as bumbling at times.

But Midoriya?

Absolutely Hopeless.

He let out a sigh and pocketed his hands, his scarf twirling back to normal around his neck as he walked off to give the boy some space. He closed his eyes, god that feels so good. “You got your quirk back, so give it another go. Let’s get this over with.”

The students began muttering about themselves, all about the boy. Bakugo seemed to be like him, anticipating that the kid will fail, no matter what.

“Hey Midoriya!” Parker called out, waving his hand. “Do your best!”

Well, least he has one supporter. Shouta finished applying some eyedrops, a much needed relief for his quirk and for what little sleep he gets and stared at the green haired boy.

Either way, he doesn’t belong here at this school. Not one bit.

He seems to be muttering… Midoriya is rearing back to throw.

At 100% and ruining his arm and being a deadweight for the rest of the tests, or zero percent and just flop on his face? What will he-

Wait what?

The glowing is on…. His finger!?

“SMAAAASH!”

And the ball rocketed out of his hand like a cannon, sailing high to the gasps and awe of the class. Shouta went to his phone, inspecting the score.

He didn’t utilize his full power to his arm or hand… he concentrated it to his finger tip the moment the ball was about to leave!

705.3 meters!

“Sensei!” Shouta looked up, and Midoriya was grinning, even with tears in his eyes, and gripped his hand, the one with the broken index finger at that. “I… can still move!”

“This kid…!” The black haired man couldn’t hold back his grin. The awe of what had transpired…

This kid has a brain! Honest to god creativity and intellect! To utilize that self-destructive power for maximum efficiency and minimum drawback. The focus to concentrate such a power to a small point for perhaps multiple uses…

He wasn’t expecting surprises. And Aizawa Shouta got one. A pleasant surprise to be sure. Heck, in past prior entrance exams he’s… never been this giddy before.

Well, guess he’s not hopeless after all. With that head, and maybe with the right teaching and control…

He may become a hero yet.

“Awesome! That’s a hero throw if I’ve ever seen one!” Uraraka shouted with glee.

“Holy crap that’s awesome,” Parker gasped in awe. "It flew out like it was fired out of a cannon!"

“Impressive but his finger appears to be swollen,” Iida pointed out, adjusting his glasses. “He’s hurt regardless.”

“But hey, you know the saying!” Kirishima added. “No pain no gain right! Hell, he got even higher than Bakugo! He’s second only to you Uraraka!”

Parker had enough sense to damp his enthusiasm and take a closer look. Midoryia's finger was red, and swollen so badly it looked like something out of a cartoon. “Oh yeah, his finger looks like it’s broken.” He shrugged. "It’s a lot better than his arms were though. If he can power up just his finger, he could use his power a lot more. Start small, work from there.“

Shouta scowled. They were missing the point. Midoriya's improvisation was impressive, but he had still managed to hurt himself, and badly enough to need medical attention. Not much, nothing Recovery Girl couldn't handle, but enough to cause trouble on a mission, or in a fight if Midoriya found a way to use up his fingers, like bullets in a pistol. But Parker was getting warmer. He has something of a brain too at least.

If Midoriya could master his new Quirk, enough so to not hurt himself, it would serve him well; very well. But he wasn't there yet. Not by a long shot.

Shouta glanced back at the class, who were staring at Midoriya in awe and surprise. But none of them looked half so surprised as Bakugo.

No. Not surprise. Not mere bewilderment, or confusion. The boy's face, already built for a permanent scowl, was set in utter, brain-frozen astonishment.

Then it was gone, replaced with something far worse, far more fitting for what Shouta had seen of Bakugo's personality.

Rage. Infernal, homicidal, carpet-chewing rage. The rage that only a shattered ego could unleash.

"What the fuck!?” Bakugo charged, his quirk blasting him along. “Explain yourself Deku! You lying snake!”

Shouta sighed. Nothing to be done. Muttering irritably to himself, he readied his capture scarf and focused on the blond. He flung out the scarf, snatching Bakugo instantly...

Only for Parker tackle Bakugo and held him, taking off right after he saw Bakugo rage towards Midoriya. He was fast. He grabbed Bakugo's arms as he held him, forcing them out and away from him, where his explosions could not reach. He would have tackled him to the ground had it not been for the scarf.

"Get off me Redshirt!" roared Bakugo, struggling under Parker's grip and the scarf. "I'll kill you!"

“What’s your problem?!" demanded Parker. "All he did was throw a damn ball!"

“Shut up! You don’t know a damn thing about me! Fuck off!” Bakugo’s hands writhed and aimed his way, but no explosions came out, much to the blonde’s surprise. "What the-! My quirk! This fucking scarf!"

“That’s enough.” Shouta hissed as Bakugo snarled as he struggled against the scarf with Peter also in its thrall, glaring at Shouta with wrathful eyes.

“W-What? Why is your scarf so damn strong?”

“You got this, Aizawa-Sensei?” Parker asked. "Ummm, yeah... you kinda do now actually, hehe." He avoided his head to avoid a backwards headbutt from the seething blond. He let go and walked back, watching Bakugo struggle under the scarf's embrace and not Peter tackling him.

“Yes, although your contribution was unnecessary Parker. As for the scarf, it is a capture weapon," Shouta explained. "It's made of carbon fiber and a rather special metal alloy which I'm not going to tell you about. Now stand down!" The last he barked like a drill sergeant, glaring hard at Bakugo, the boy tried to glare back, snarling like a mad dog. Shouta’s seen worse. "You really don't want to make me use my quirk," he added for effect. "It gives me serious dry eye, and I'm running low on eye drops." He said that last sentence low and dark.

A second passed, and the blond finally stopped struggling. Shouta called back his scarf and closed his eyes, deactivating the quirk.

“You’re wasting time. Whoever’s next can step up.”

Midoriya took the distraction as his cue to leave. Parker hurried over to join him, as did Iida and Uraraka, and a few others. Bakugo glared after them, his gaze hot with bitter, burning hatred.

Good grief. Why did he have to get the hard cases every year? Couldn't Vlad take some of them? Couldn't he have some nice, normal students for once? A class with no dark pasts, murderous rivalries, or mental cases?

He knew the reason. With a quirk like his, he was the best-qualified to handle any trouble; at least without killing or maiming anyone.

He scanned his itching eyes over the crowd of students. They were showing signs of talent, or at least some of them were. If anything, he was being lenient in only expelling one. This class could stand to lose at least five, like Hagakure, Sero, and others like Jirou or Koda. The mouse would complain, but the couches in his office were divine anyway.

Not Parker though. Shouta could see how the others were looking at him, and it was no surprise. First on the Practical, and outshining almost everyone in every category. Bakugo was his closest peer in terms of results, and even his luster was looking dull these days.

The American stood, loosening up his arm and glancing down at his hands. What was going through his head? Whatever it was, it was a distraction.

Shouta threw Parker the ball. The kid caught it without even looking. Impressive spacial awareness.

“Anytime you want to throw it Parker,” Shouta called.

The boy flinched and nodded. Shouta looked down at his phone, time to see what he can do.

(X)

Katsuki Bakugo was annoyed.

No, not annoyed. Annoyed he could cope with. Annoyed he was used to. Annoyed was a daily occurrence. He was annoyed with mom. He was annoyed with riding the bus. He was annoyed at his old junior high.

He was not annoyed.

He was outraged. He was pissed.

First, fucking Deku of all people made it into U.A. That alone was enough to make his blood boil. But then he somehow managed to throw the ball further than he did. He had put everything into that throw! And yet Deku had had outperformed him! Deku!

It was wrong! It didn't make sense! It wasn't supposed to be like this! He was just Deku! Powerless, worthless, Deku! A Quirkless Ant!

Had he hidden it for all those years? Had he just pretended to be a Quirkless? But then why? What could he gain from everyone thinking he was a total freakish loser?

Bakugo shivered as his mind ran wild. Was Deku mocking him behind his back? Had he been mocking him all this time? Was this some plot to make himself look good, and Bakugo look stupid?

That lying little snake! He played the long con and Katsuki fell for it hook line and sinker! Like a fool! Like a loser!

Bakugo clenched his fists, gritted his teeth. All those crocodile tears, all those wimpy speeches about heroism, all those offerings for 'help'. It was all just a cover for his goal, to rise to the highest level and surpass All Might! And he, Bakugo, was just a stepping stone on that road!

Worse than a liar. A goddamn hypocrite!

And there was Parker, that irritating, stupid-looking foreigner! The one who stumbled around like some kind of idiot, yet somehow got first on the Practical! How the hell did he get in?

He had cheated. He had to have cheated. If not, the judges were clearly out of line! They must have been foreigners too, letting one of their own into what was supposed to be an elite Japanese school!

That or they were blind, insane, corrupt, or smoking something during his performance. Any of those made about as much sense.

One way or another, he didn't belong there. He was a foreigner, a fish out of water, going where he had no business of being!

Aizawa threw the ball, and Bakugo almost gaped when Parker caught it without even looking up.

How the heck did he manage that? It couldn't have been his peripheral vision; the angle was wrong. Was it reflexes?

And that strength. When Parker had held him down like that...

“Anytime you want to throw it Parker,” Aizawa said. The extra looked away sheepishly.

“Not like Rivera… like Puig… okay.” He muttered lightly in English.

Bakugo could just make it out. Rivera? Puig? The fuck are those?

Parker wound up his arm, corked his entire body…and threw it, like a baseball player throwing from outfield to home plate, putting as much torque as he could. A single blast of sound and force washed over Katsuki and the extras as the ball sailed through the air. It’s trail had nothing on his, it just flew further.

And further.

And further until they could barely see it.

Aizawa turned around, and displayed the number.

921.5 meters.

'Are you fucking kidding me!?’

There’s… there’s no way! That’s impossible! How did he get that high!?

Katsuki blinked, but the number remained the same. 921 meters, a full two hundred ahead of his own score. His jaw dropped open, his eyes as wide as plates. The extras behind him cried out in surprise.

“W-wow that’s strong,” said that tape dude.

“That’s awesome!” The invisible girl chirped.

“Well he got first in the Practical I was in, so it’s not too surprising” Octopus arms added with his… arm-tentacle mouth.

"And here I thought I was going to be the strongest," Big lips and muscles mused. "U.A. really is full of surprises...."

Surprises? Surprises? Parker had just blown everyone else out of the water! Even gravity girl couldn't compete! He was like...like...

A mini All Might! He had a mini All Might in his class!

Katsuki struggled for breath. His lungs felt like they were full of liquid concrete. There was no escape, no denying what he had seen.

The American… was stronger than him. With nothing but his own raw strength, he beat out his Explosion. His physical feats surpassing him.

Was… was that first place in the Practical not a fluke?

Katsuki clenched his fist and ground his teeth. No, that wasn't it. That couldn't be it. He was nothing but dumb muscle, switching to English and fumbling through conversations when flustered. Stick to Japanese since you’re in Japan you ignorant jackass!

A-And his quirk didn’t have the versatility of Katsuki’s! He could apply it to everything that this redshirt couldn't do and more! He could fly! He could fire explosive blasts up close and from range! All he could do was be the most watered down form of his idol. Nothing more, nothing less! He didn't even care if that rich bitch just made a bazooka to fire out the ball and double up on Parker's score. She's like gravity girl. A cheater.

‘Enjoy your time in the sun while you can.’

His snarl became a devil's smirk. Fine. A challenge. A worthy obstacle for him to overcome in order to get to the top. All Might faced his challenges with a smile on his face. He would do the same.

‘Because when I surpass you, I’m gonna relish knocking you off that fucking ivory tower of yours! Just you wait! Peter Parker!’

(X)

The next few tests passed without much excitement. Not that Peter was complaining. Anything beside the fiasco with Izuku’s ball throw would be fine for him. The only one complaining about the seated toe touch was Izuku due to his finger.

Then came the sit ups. Passed with ease. And finally the long distance run.

It was like running through the golf course back home. No way to use his webs, and having to go on foot like everyone else. Tenya and Bakugo blasted in front of everyone else with their quirks, while Peter trailed behind them. He kept up a faster pace than he remembered ever using in gym class and once more he finished without even breaking a sweat. Tenya gave him an impressed nod, and Bakugo sneered. The latter looked drenched in sweat and exhausted, but Tenya and Peter, while sweaty, were holding up just fine.

What was his problem? First it was a glare after hearing Peter got first, now he looked ready to rip his head off just for doing well. Well, he did tackle him but he was trying to stop him from assaulting Izuku! What was he supposed to do?

And besides, why did an asshole like him want to be a hero anyway? He’d been anything but hero material that day. He'd even tried to attack Izuku, and for no good reason!

And why call him Deku like that? Pet name maybe? Insult?

“If you’re done standing around, the final results are in.” Mr. Aizawa called out.

Guess this is it, whoever was in last place would be kicked out. Peter looked back and saw Izuku collapsed on the floor after his run. Everyone walked around him, Peter walked over and gave him a helping hand up. Bit awkward when Izuku couldn’t use his good hand, but he got him up.

“T-Thanks.”

“Anytime. Keep your head up.” Peter said with a grin. “I’m sure you did well! You did on that ball throw!” He said before he turned towards the results shown from the holo-projector on the teacher’s phone.

1. Peter Parker.
2. Yaoyorozu Momo.
3. Todoroki Shoto.
4. Bakugo Katsuki.
5. Iida Tenya.
6. Tokoyami Fumikage.
7. Shoji Mezo.
8. Ojiro Mashirao
9. Kirishima Eijirou
10. Ashido Mina.
11. Uraraka Ochako.
12. Koda Koji.
13. Sato Rikido.
14. Tsuyu Asui.
15. Aoyama Yuga.
16. Sero Hanta.
17. Denki Kaminari.
18. Jirou Kyoka.
19. Hagakure Tooru.
20. Midoriya Izuku.

Midoriya looked like he wanted the earth to swallow him whole. Oh yeah, the expulsion rule for being dead-last...

Peter bit his lip and took a deep breath. Midoriya hadn't done well on the other tests after the ball throw, and for good reason. He hadn't had time to go to the nurse's office and get his finger fixed. He bit his lip, awaiting Aizawa's declaration and ousting of-

“Oh yeah, that part of me expelling one of you? I lied.”

“Wait what!” Peter yelled in English, Aizawa's words snapping him back to reality.

“I mean, what!” He switched back to Japanese. But no one seemed to have noticed his faux-pas. The whole class looked utterly stunned. And as for Aizawa, that had to be the biggest troll grin Peter had ever seen!

“It was all a logical ruse, meant to bring out the best in all of you.” He elaborated with a chuckle and a toothy grin. Everyone in the class gasped.

“Whaaaaat?!” Iida, Uraraka, and Midoriya in various shades of pale and surprise shouted out in unison. It made Peter shrink away a little. To the side, Yaoyorozu sighed.

“What, you took him seriously? It was obvious a lie if you actually thought about it.” Peter blinked, looking to the side, gears turning... then like a microwave chime, he snapped his fingers.

“Ah. If we hadn’t had that threat hanging over us…” Peter mused.

“I wouldn’t be able to assess the best you could do.” Aizawa explained as he rubbed his eyes. “Urgency brings out the best in others, showing their true colors."

"Anyways,” he sighed, turning around. “We’re done here. Your syllabus and documents about the Hero Course are in your classroom. Give’em a look when you can. Oh, Midoriya.”

The green haired boy perked up as the dark haired man handed him a slip of paper. “Go to Recovery Girl. Tomorrow’s going to be just hard if not harder after all. Be at your best, ok?”

Midoriya nodded dumbly as he took the note, and Peter smiled, walking up and patting the boy on the back.

“Hey! You did your best and you didn’t get fail right! I say that’s a good day.”

He saw the look on the boy's face. He was still stunned.

"Still… mean trick by Aizawa-Sensei, but I can see where he’s coming from... so he's gonna be my teacher.” Peter didn't like his methods at first but... he can see why he did it.

(X)

He couldn’t shake it.

Parker’s powers weren’t the big question mark, no. Speed, strength, agility, many strong heroes acquire these. Yet, the stamina he displayed when he had the students run themselves ragged? Wouldn’t raise much of an eyebrow if he was just a strong individual.

It was the other factors outside the Apprehension Test.

That suit for one. The web slinging must be a part of it. The experience he displayed while fighting the faux villains.

But, specifically that suit of his. That would fall over his head like sand and form glowing blue eyes, form giant metal spider legs. It was a technology Shouta had never seen before.

Parker was a riddle, wrapped in an enigma, and served in a dorky, good-natured smile. He had mysterious and powerful technology at his disposal, and combat experience that most third years could only dream of. But he was still just a young boy.

A boy, starting here in in U.A. as a freshman. Just around the same time as-

“Aizawa, you big fat liar!”

Shouta emerged from his reverie. It was hard to think with a voice like that bellowing in his ears.

“Figured you were watching me All Might. You were peeking in around the halfway point, weren’t you.” Shouta droned, hands pocketed as he looked up at the muscular titan of a man. The blond Goliath laughed.

“Perceptive aren’t you! And I tried my best to be as sneaky as possible! It appears I have much to learn!”

He grinned. He always grinned.

“Anyways, a ‘tactical ruse?’ You do know April fools was a week ago. You expelled an entire class of freshman last year!”

“Yep.” Shouta replied.

“You toss aside those with zero prospects without batting an eye, and yet not go back on your word?” The Symbol of Peace snapped his finger. “Could it be that that one boy, Midoriya, you can see his promise too don’t you?”

Shouta sighed. So, he brings up the dead last from the tests? Could he be dodging him preemptively?

“You like Midoriya? And here I thought you had an eye on the foreign kid.” All Might perked up.

“Oh? What about Young Parker?”

“Unlike Midoriya he came here to U.A. with some of the best grade equipment I have ever seen and he came within a hair’s breath of breaking your record during the Practical Exam. And his abilities…”

He turned to face All Might, and the giant flinched a little.

"...are a lot like yours… All Might.”

“Wait.” Yagi tilted his head. “Why are you talking about Young Parker? He has loads of promise and potential with a great heroic spirit to boot! And I would assume that he would ace your exam with flying colors. You’d have to try to fail him, considering your track record! But, back on track, what-“

Shouta let out a loud sigh of frustration He was getting cranky. Tired. And planning out the year was going to take time. He missed his sleeping bag.

“Midoriya… isn’t as hopeless as I thought. That’s all I can say. And as for Parker well…”

He turned back, giving All Might a light glare.

“He has potential oozing out of him. Yet he's a free spirit, with a good heart. And that equipment too. Unusual, no?”

All Might still looked confused, as if he couldn’t put two and two together to make four. Or was really bad at answering direct questions.

“Eh? What do you mean? I am still confused about Young Parker...”

Fuck it, he was playing dumb.

“Fine. Forget it. We’ll talk about this later.” Shouta snarled, and stalked off. He had too much to think about, especially with this new class.

Endeavor’s son Todoroki Shoto; enough said. Yaoyorozu Momo was looking versatile indeed, in addition to her intelligence and creativity she will be a powerhouse with enough knowledge. The Iida line was still going strong, in the form of their youngest son. Bakugo Katsuki, the finest marble Shouta had ever seen, but in need of a lot of polish; not to mention an attitude adjustment. And Midoriya Izuku…was showing a little promise, if only because he seemed to have a brain; more so than most of last year's failures. If he could use that brain, and get his quirk under proper control, he would go far.

And then there was Peter Parker.

The more Aizawa Shouta thought of him, the less he liked it. Most teachers would be appalled at the idea of investigating their own students. It was a breach of trust, not to mention professional ethics. But most teachers weren't Aizawa Shouta.

Tomorrow, Mic and All Might were in charge of the Class A kids. That would usually give him time to rest.

Not this time.

‘I’m going to find out who you truly are Peter Parker. Your powers. Your experience. Your equipment. It’s a combination I have never seen… and I’m going to get to the bottom of it.’

His eyes darkened as he retreated to the U.A. Academy building. He’ll keep this on the down low and to the side. For now, he needed to do some research and fine combing of Parker's background...

(X)

Peter had to be honest with himself; he was getting annoyed.

This world had a lot of cool stuff. The hologram projectors, the faux villain robots, and hundreds of heroes with equipment that wouldn’t feel out of place in Mr. Stark’s museum. and maybe even in his R&D labs.

Then he found himself in a normal locker room. Peter wasn’t expecting the royal treatment, but this was U.A., the best hero academy in all of Japan! Couldn't they spare a little money for repairs?

Like the hole that lead directly to the girl’s changing room?

"Uhhh girls!" he called out through the hole, not looking into it, just speaking at it. "There's a hole here! I'm gonna ask the janitors to clog it up okay! Some pervs left it here! And I'm looking away from the hole, mouth closest to the hole, but eyes not from it! So, I'm not peeking or anything!"

He could hear the gasps of a male behind him, and a few from the hole.

"I'll clog it up with some paper and notify a faculty member at once. Thank you very much Parker-san!" called a voice in reply. It was Yaoyorozu!

"Anytime!" He glanced into the hole, just in time to see it fill up. The act made him smile. To think Yaoyoro... Momo would reply back.

"How could youuuuu?!" Kaminari Denki wailed in despair. The American rolled his eyes.

"Oh hush and grow up." Peter muttered as he returned to his locker. Yeah, every world had it’s pervs and weirdos, but come on, seriously?

On the plus side, Bakugo had came and left faster than anyone else. Which was cool with Peter. The further away that he was from that guy, the better. What his beef was with Izuku, Peter had no clue. But it didn’t mean he could be a jerk to everyone because of it. How could someone like him become a hero? If this was back home, he would have been called out by the teachers. Then again... his quirk.

With a sigh, Peter threw on his shirt and got the feeling that someone was looking at him. He turned around to see Eijirou looking him over.

“... hi, Kirishima-san? Eijirou-san? What do you prefer” Peter offered.

The red haired boy grinned at the attention. Peter didn’t know what he was talking about until Eijirou lifted up the sleeve to Peter’s arm.

“You eat raw iron for breakfast or somethin'? And whatever you like to call me. You've earned it in spades!”

The boy blushed under the red eyes.

“I uh… work out?” Peter offered weakly.

Eijirou chuckled, a shit-eating grin on his face. He stepped back and left the American to finish changing. In the back of the room, Denki banged his head against the locker.

“It’s not fair man! Iida’s got legs, Sato’s a mountain and... then there's Parker! And he destroyed a parting gift from those who came before us! Why is the world so cruel!?”

Ojiro did his best to help, patting the distraught boy with his tail. Peter… didn’t know what he was watching.

“Is he going to be okay?” he asked Koda. The quiet lizardish-looking boy shrugged, and Peter sighed. That’s fair.

Ignoring the anguished cries of his classmate, Peter finished changing. He quickly made his way out, where he found Tenya standing looking at a wall-mounted map of the school. He had a serious air about him.

“You alright Iida?” The tall blue haired boy glanced back, grinning a welcoming smile.

“Yes Parker-san I’m quite alright. I’m only memorizing the layout of the school for future reference.”

Peter tried not to look as confused as he felt. Wasn't the point of a map so that you didn't need to memorize it? He had seen such maps posted all over the school. There was no way anyone could get lost.

Then again, there was no great harm in it either. He had done it himself, after a fashion, navigating through Queens and New York by the landmarks.

“Ok, I, er, good luck? See you tomorrow,” Peter offered. Iida took the awkwardness in stride, waving Peter off before returning to his study of the map; hand on chin, mumbling to himself. Peter left him to it, turning down the hall.

Only to step to the side as a hand reached for his shoulder.

The American looked to see Eijirou, clad in uniform, not even blink at Peter’s dodge.

“Dude do you have eyes on the back of your head?”

“Uh,” Peter started, scratching the back of his head nervously, “No-”

“Cause that would be freakin sweet!” Eijirou interrupted, flashing a grin and flexing for no reason. "Talk about winning the lottery!

“I-if you say so.”

“Hey don’t be nervous man,” Eijirou said slapping Peter on the back as the pair towards the exit. “You crushed that quirk test! First day here and you’re already at the top! That’s what I call staking a claim! And don't mind Kaminari. He'll get over it, maybe.”

Peter didn’t answer him. How could he? He wasn’t trying to stake anything, he was just doing what he was told. Before, he couldn’t do a thing with his power. He had to act weak, let his books fall out of his bag and stumble when someone bumped into him.

Like everyone else in his school, he had to act normal.

Here though, being super was the normal. They didn’t even blink at the list of things that the spider-bite allowed him to do. Mr. Aizawa looked tired more than anything, and Bakugo was a can of worms that Peter definitely didn’t want to open. Again.

Still, hearing someone as hype as Eijiro shouting his praises was weird.

“Got to say,” Eijiro continued, “that was an awesome three-sixty Aizawa-Sensei pulled on us. I was on the edge for the whole test!”

He gave Peter an expectant look and Peter nodded.

“Y-yeah it was wild.”

“Sure was, I was seriously thinking that Aizawa-sensei was going to kick one of us out for a second there.”

“I must apologise, I guess I should’ve said something.”

The two boys stopped in their tracks. Because while the world was filled with superheroes, there was one thing and one thing that was guaranteed to stop a highschool boy in their tracks. A pretty black haired girl that was obviously talking to them. Yaoyorozu Momo walked up to the two, a cute apologetic smile on her face, her eyes filled with gratitude as she settled upon Peter. Peter felt his face heat up.

“Oh hi Momoyozu. Ack! I mean Sorry... Yaoyorozu-san."

How can he botch saying her name! Damnit Peter! He was so calm and natural during the tests but now he's back to being the shy guy he was back home. He jerked, rubbing his arm while Eijirou sniggered. Yaoyorozu blinked, and then giggled.

"It's alright Parker-san. You truly out did yourself during the tests today. I thought you had it figured out too, no?"

"Well... I had a feeling he was only saying that to light a fire under our buts, but I thought he was serious on the explusion thing. But he seriously looked like he was ready to fail a few people so I was... worried." The black haired beauty blinked.

"I see, you were worried about the others more than yourself then?" Peter nodded, scratching his arm.

"Yeah, in a way... don’t worry about that Yaoyorozu-san. It all worked out.” At those words, he saw something soften in her eyes towards him.

"Huh, others over yourself. Manly indeed." Eijirou said with a nod, arms crossed.

All the same, Peter couldn’t help but feel like that was just luck. Aizawa seemed like he enjoyed every second of watching Peter and the others squirm at the thought of being expelled at making the bottom of the list. Especially Izuku. The teacher looked pissed every time that the green haired boy went up to the plate during each test.

Then the ball throw happened and something happened. He could hear the disdain and disgust fade into pure joy and surprise after Izuku completed the test in third place(second technically, Ochako didn't count because she broke the test). Well either way, it was still the first day, and they all got through it.

“Worked out? I was scared to death!” Peter turned and saw Uraraka Ochako rushing towards them with a relieved look on her face. The brown haired gravity girl huffed and took a deep breath to compose herself.

“Sorry about that,” Yaoyorozu said apologetically, “I probably should’ve said something.”

“Yeah, not all of us are smart enough to work that out,” Eijirou points out.

Yaoyorozu looked down, apologetically.

“But it was no big deal,” Peter added quickly, nudging Eijirou in the arm a little harder than usual. "I mean, Aizawa-sensei did that for us to learn. And, we learned! That's the job of a teacher right?"

Eijiro bark out of laugh, even Uraraka hid a giggle behind her hand.

“What are you talking about, it’s not like you had anything to worry about Mr. First Place.”

Peter groaned, did that seriously have to be a nickname? American, Foreigner, even redshirt was better than that. Unfortunately, didn’t seem like anyone there agreed.

“Yeah Parker-kun! You really kicked butt out there,” Uraraka praised. "I mean, you made that ball throw out line like a cannon shot from a tank! Or when you looked like a blur in the side-step!" The American groaned lightly again, his cheeks pink. "Oh! By the way, I know Americans call each other by their first name a lot, so do you prefer Parker or Peter?"

"W-Whichever is fine by you. Whatever's comfortable." Peter bit his lip as he saw the black haired beauty again approach.

“Not the words that I would’ve chosen, but you performed admirably” Yaoyorozu agreed, crossing her arms. "You belong here. Without a shadow of a doubt."

Naaaah all this praaaaaaaise...

Now Peter’s face was heating up for a completely different reason. He really shouldn’t be getting complimented just for following directions. He took a step back, and blanched. In the distance, he saw the clock. Ten after three, he was going to miss the bus!

“Thanks guys, but hey uhhh look at the time! I-I’ll see you tomorrow gotta catch the bus!” Peter called. "Peace!" he yelled in English.

With that, he turned and all but sprinted down the hall and out of the school. He pushed the door open and didn’t stop running. On the first day of U.A., the students were treated to the sight of a foreign student literally sprinting out of the Hero Course. The only one who didn’t was Midoriya, who was too busy in his own thoughts to hear Peter coming. The poor guy jumped out of his skin when Peter rushed passed.

“Hey Midoriya bye Midoriya!” Peter blurted out while fast.

The spider themed hero-in-training saw just enough to catch Izuku standing in place awkwardly raising a hand in a wave. As soon as he was out of the grounds, Peter was met with the bus coming to a stop. Slowing to a stop, he let out a sigh and then heard himself laugh.

World of superpowers, hero professions, and many other oddities the first thing that he’s worried about upon leaving school was missing the bus back home.

Huh, guess it wasn’t too different from high school after all.

He sat down inside, looking as he heard the bus clink. Looking at his phone, he got some texts from Yu saying she will be working late and...

'Be sure to get some phone #s from your classmates okay! Always pays off to have a friend or two!'

Phone numb-

"Ah crap I forgot to get numbers." Peter muttered to himself. Ah well. He'd get it tomorrow when he was back in class.

The brown haired wall crawler allowed himself to smile. High school may have its warts and typical negative stuff. But not having to hold back; being able to go all out and be who he truly was without hiding behind a mask. It was all so liberating.

'Did you get into your class Peter?' Came a text. It was from Pony! Peter smiled and typed back.

'Yeah. Did good. You?'

'I did great! :D hopefully we can have lunch together, although I should have lunch with my Class....'

'We'll see how it goes. See ya tomorrow!'

He couldn't wait for tomorrow.

Chapter Text

“He what!?!”

Peter slinked further into his seat, hoping beyond hope that the cushions would overtake him and protect him from the angry face of his guardian. Sadly, that’s not how life or physics worked, and he was left looking at Yu’s wide and livid eyes. The anger died slightly as she popped another sushi roll in, but it remained.

After he got home, Yu demanded that she and Peter go out as a celebration for him having finished his first day. And when he said demanded, Yu demanded like a terrorist holding hostages.

She even glared at him when he mentioned the cost and muttered something about needing to treat himself. So when she asked him where he wanted to go, he chose the local sushi bar a few blocks from the apartment. Good food on the cheap. It was what he was used to, even after living in this new world for under a year.

Though Yu didn’t look too happy about it. He had no clue why; he was saving her a good chunk of change. Trying to turn the conversation away from money, he went over the day's events. Which included the quirk assessment test, which led to this.

“He was trying to get us to go all out, he wasn’t going to expel any of us,” Peter said in defense of his teacher, “And it worked. You should’ve seen them Yu, they’re powers are amazing!”

He smiled, poking at his food as he remembered all of them. A tail straight off of a monster kangaroo, a belly button laser, turning into the hulk by eating cake of all things and the raw power of Izuku's throw! Of course, there were some bad apples. Bakugo was a jerk, and that’s one of the kinder words Peter could use to describe him. But at the same time, there’s Mina, exotic, exuberant, creative with her acid. And Momo. Smart, cute, an awesome power, kind…

“Peter, you’re blushing~.”

Peter jerked up from his thought, biting his lower inner lip. Yu blinked, then something sparkled, and suddenly Peter really didn’t like that look in her eyes as her smirk turned predatory.

“So…” Yu said, a wry smile spreading over her.

Panic raced through Peter faster than any bullet. He knew that look. It was the same look that Aunt May had when he so much as mentioned Liz back home. He inched back, but the booth refused to bend yet again. Yu giggled at the attempt, soaking up his embarrassment for all that it was worth.

“Meet any cute girls?”

"No!" Peter said on reflex, only to feel a pang of guilt when he remembered Momo, Ochako, and Mina. “W-well," he stammered, "There's a few in my class."

"Oooooh," Yu purred, eyes practically glowing with interest as she ate another sushi roll, "Any of them stand out?"

Peter nodded, "Well... M-Momo-san is really nice."

Yu was taken aback. She probably meant it as a joke. Teenage boys fawning over the cute girl in their class just to get some fun. Given how he was in the hero course, Peter was bound to run into someone that checked his boxes. So why with the surprise?

"... you're already on a first name basis?" Yu pressed.

A knowing smile split her face, and Peter felt his face heat up. His hand was on his chopsticks instantly.

"This is really nice sushi, can we talk about that?"

Impossibly, Yu's grin was like the Cheshire Cat now, and Peter looked on in desperation.

“Please?” Peter begged.

Yu eyed her little ward. Seconds stretched to minutes. Until finally, Yu cracked. She guffawed, eating up the teenager's embarrassment with a tear in her eye. Peter felt his shoulders slump.

"You're mean."

Yu waved him off, trying desperately to compose herself.

"I'm sorry I'm sorry!" she stopped and took a long drink of water, "It's just," she sniggered, "you can crush robots, but no, girls are what get you. Boys, they never change!"

Peter felt the table call to him, begging him to smash his face upon its surface. It might hurt now, but it would save him from this. Yu wasn't saying anything new, after all, MJ pegged him and Ned as losers almost every day(although looking back is was almost endearing). Hearing Yu say it made him wonder what caused girls like Liz to say yes to him asking her out in the first place. And why MJ seemed to talk a lot and send playful insults, as if she was a cat.

Was she flirting with him and he didn't notice?

Was he cursed? Was that it?

"How's Pony doing?"

Peter perked up at that. Finally, a conversation that wouldn't end with him making a fool of himself.

"Oh! She's great, she got into her class, 1-B I think."

Yu frowned a little but nodded along, "Good for her," she said taking a bite of sushi, "She'll do great."

"I hope so, according to her, all their teacher did was put them through an obstacle course for training." The no expulsion caveat went unsaid.

"Yeah, that's what happens. You get the wrong homeroom teacher, and life can be hell." Yu explained. "Heard a lot of bad rumors, so she lucked out."

No surprise there, Peter thought. With his quirk and the capture weapon around his neck, Aizawa basically had the entire class under control at a literal glance. Class B probably had Quirks that didn't need a Quirk-Nullification ability on hand in case problem children went awry.

Like Bakugo. And... maybe himself? Well.. he doesn't consider himself a problem child! At least, maybe?

"But that's behind you. Just focus on studying, do your best, and you'll make it out fine and dandy. And then, you'll be a Friendly Neighborhood Spider Man slinging with me side by side daily." She took a sip of sake, downing the saucer in one sip.

Peter nodded, yeah, that's all he needed to do.

"And don't forget to get those girl's numbers."

Peter spat out his drink and snapped to Yu.

"Why?!" She let out a snort.

"So I can see that face more often," Yu snickered.

At that moment, Peter lost the battle, and let his head fall to the waiting table below to the sound of Yu's witch-like cackle filling the booth. Some patrons gave them an odd look, but Mt. Lady could give less of a hoot.

(X)

Coming back to the door’s of U.A. was far less nerve-wracking the second time through. Even being a superhero school, at the end of the day, it was still just high school. The bus ride was quick and forgettable with his music in hand. Apparently, certain classical bands were the same, the old songs that Aunt May loved listening to like Lynyrd Skynyrd. So when Peter pushed open the doors, there’s nothing. A small spring in his step, but a familiar one.

He’s back.

No aliens, no space donuts, just him and high school. All of its simple problems, stupid homework, and silly drama. That last one was going to be a pain back home, but at the end of the day, it was safe. A few seconds of embarrassment was better, it just was. And even if it felt like it wasn't, a single fact kept the spring in his step.

He could use his powers! He still couldn't get over that. Months of hiding it, and then suddenly he's top of the food chain. How did that happen, and to him of all people? He had no clue, but he might as well get used to it. As much as the praise got to him, it was the new normal.

A better normal… and he liked the sound of that.

Well, at least normal in the day is good. At night though...

Onto better things!

The second he thought that he turned the corner, and immediately jumped out of the way of a green haired girl. Unfortunately, she wasn’t nearly as fast and stumbled forward, yelping in surprise. She caught herself at the last minute as her hair seemed to move, catching her fall, but sadly, her books fell to the floor. Peter caught her sigh as she bent down.

“Hey let me get those,” he said, putting his bag aside.

His hands moved on autopilot, grabbing all the books, stacking them and handing them back so fast she only got one back in her hands. Now that he could get a good look at her, Peter had to admit she was kind of cute with how her hair was branded like a hundred vines. And she had a soft face, elegant and without impurity. If Momo was the top model and Ochako the girl-next-door, then this girl was like a choir girl.

“Thank you,” she said in gratitude, her voice soft and melodic.

“Hey it’s kind of my fault,” Peter chuckled nervously handing back the books. "I wasn't paying attention and caught you by surprise." When he was sure she had a handle on them, he smiled, “I’m Peter Parker by the way.”

“Shiozaki Ibara, and I am from Class B,” Shiozaki answered, “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Parker-san.”

Peter hid his surprise by reaching for his bag, “Eh? You know about me?”

“Yes, your friend Pony is in my class, she speaks very highly of you in what small interactions we have had, or when I am in her proximity.”

That made Peter pause for a second. Oh right, she and Pony were in the same class. That made more sense. What was a little strange was what she actually said. It took a second, but it finally clocked. Pony spoke highly of him? That’s really nice of her. It brought a grin to Peter as he adjusted his bag.

“Yeah, she’s pretty great. Knew her when we both came here to Japan to brush up on our Japanese, or for me, learn from scratch.”

“She seems rather fond of you, if I do say.”

Peter blinked. “S-she’s a really good friend, I wouldn't have improved on my Japanese as much if it hadn't been for her teaching me some of the harder stuff...." At this point, his head doing it’s best impression of a bobblehead. However, that stopped when he felt a tingle behind him.

“Yes, best have it keep it that way, Parker-san. We don’t appreciate the advances to our class since we are rivals.”

Peter turned around to see a platinum blond blue eyed boy with a soft smile accompanied by yet another cute girl with flowing black-green hair and sweet little fang popping out of a big smile. Behind both of them is a massive guy with silver hair and grit that made it looked like he was flexing with every step. Thankfully, the final group was an orange haired girl that looked incredibly girl-next-door. She had a firm hand on the blonde’s shoulder, something that he was blissfully unaware of. A quick tug from her made the blond stumble back a little.

“Be nice,” the orangette demanded with a soft but terse tone. The blond laughed it off, shrugging and holding his hands in surrender. Seriously, what's with Peter and blond guys these days.

“My Kendo-”

The girl, Kendo apparently, pulled a little harder.

“Don’t you Kendo-chan me,” she said, “You don’t go around speaking for all of us. Who knows, he could be a nice guy.” She looked up to Peter, “You are a nice guy right?”

Peter slowly nodded.

“Well... why wouldn't I be?”

A reptilian smile spread over the girl next to her as she sniggered. She stalked towards him, eyeing every inch and sending a few thousand warning bells through Peter’s head. It was like an exaggerated toe-drag step as she prowled towards him.

Why they were telling him to watch her hands, he didn’t know. And he didn't want to. She stopped her impromptu search of his face, and the smirk only widened.

“Gotta say, they make them real nice where you come from don’t they?”

… come again?

“What?”

Kendo and the silver guy shared his question, throwing the girl strange looks. The blonde boy looked aghast like she'd just offered to kick a puppy.

The girl ignored them all giggled at his apparent misfortune, “Shishishishi I’m just messing with ya, lighten up!" She gave him a soft elbow before offering her hand. "Tokage Setsuna,” she said. "Class B. Finally got the pleasure to meetcha in person!"

"Oh well, it's nice to meet you," Peter said quickly. "I'm Peter, but... I think you already know me. Well, the American boy that is."

"Who doesn't? Rumor spread about ya quick how you got in first on the Practical." Setsuna winked and pointing to the blonde, “This bundle of envy and resentment right there-”

“Excuse you!” the blond yelled in defiance.

“Is Monoma Nieto." Setsuna finished, earning a gasp of betrayal from the blonde. "He's a decent guy, but his pride and desire to be on top can be a bit gratin'." Moving on, her finger turned towards Kendo, "As you probably guessed, his handler is Kendo Itsuka, Class B's resident Onee-san!” the orange-haired in question girl waved.

"Hello there, Peter." Itsuka said in accented English, making Peter let out a small laugh of relief.

"Big sister of the class? You just... accepting it?" He replied back in his native tongue.

"Someone's got to." Itsuka smiled, eyes closed with a bashful toothy grin. "I hope you do the same for Class A, okay? We are all here to become heroes after all."

"I picked up Class A and Become Heroes. Did I miss anything?" The steel haired guy asked. Setsuna shrugged.

"Nah, you're..." She let out a snort, giving him an elbow. "Solid." And she sniggered a ton. Itsuka puffed out her cheeks in a suppressed laugh, Neito snorted while the taller boy just looked confused. Ibara, who had been silent tilted her head.

"Is this a joke that went over my head."

Setsuna took the entire thing in stride glancing back to the final member of their party.

“And finally, the big guy is-”

“MY NAME IS TETSUTETSU TETSUTETSU OF CLASS 1B! HEARD A LOT ABOUT YA PARKER! NICE TO MEET YA!”

Peter and everyone around him winced slightly at the volume. Did this guy have any idea of volume control? If he did, everyone else hadn't seen it, because they shook it off like it was nothing. Neito took the chance to step forward with a sly smile and a glint in his eye.

“As my good friend said, we are the star students of Class 1B, and we know all about you, Peter Parker. Or, Class 1A's Ace... or the First Year Phenom.”

Setsuna rolled her eyes. "Course he says that with Honenuki not around..." Who is that?

He stepped forward, and Peter felt like there was supposed to be dramatic music playing in the background. This guy was so... extra with his advance. On the plus side, he wasn't a massive jerk about it.

Still is... acting like a small jerk though.

“Er, Pony talked about me, I heard,” Peter said. "And can tell..." She... may have to put a lid on it. So many people are knowing about him now! First all that paise yesterday and now this?

“But did you hear about what she said about you!?” Neito asked, cocky grin overtaking him as he had a hand on his head, “She said you were the top of the Practical Exam!" Itsuka rolled her eyes and looked at Neito with the deadest of deadpan stares. "Be that as it may, know this," Nieto continued, "just because you got in first, Doesn’t mean that you’ll remain on top forever! As the old saying goes: no king rules forever! Your position as Ace is but temporary, a spot one of your classmates, nay someone OTHER than your class not to just become ace, but the best of all First Years! Maybe even a student from Class 1B!"

"He is a ranter." Setsuna intoned.

"Does he... breathe or pause?" Peter asked with a quirked eyebrow. Where are these nicknames coming from. He gave no approval on that!

"I don't think he has a pause button inside him."

"Yes! Soon!" Neito continued, grinning like a lunatic. "A student will rise from 1B to take that spot away from you and drag you down to the rest of the mas-GAWK!”

The boy’s eyes went white, and he slouched forward, falling face first in front of Peter, out like a light. He slowly looked up to see Itsuka frowning at the prone boy, lowering her hand.

"Theeere's the pause button." Setsuna snapped her finger at the orangette with a grin. And Peter felt... a jolt through him.

Why.

Why did he feel... sick at the sound of a snap?

“Note to self, catch him next time,” Itsuka whispered. "Well, we'll see you around Parker-kun. Take care and excuse Monoma-kun for his theatrics. If you'll excuse me." Without a word, she threw Neito over her shoulder like a bag of flower. And if that wasn’t enough, she just started walking. Setsuna snorted, and Tetsutetsu gritted his teeth.

“Damnit! One hit, and he’s out again! Guys’ got to work on his endurance!”

Peter felt a bead of sweat run down his neck. Again?

“Is he going to be ok?” Peter asked.

Itsuka stopped glancing at the prone form on her shoulder.

“Probably?” she guessed.

Peter raised a finger, “That’s…" he started, only to drop his finger, "Not very helpful.”

“Don’t sweat it,” Setsuna said, throwing off the hero's concerns, “He’s a hero, he’s got to get used to taking the L’s sometime, might as well start early.”

“That’s not why we’re here,” Shiozaki said from the back. She really was a woman of few word-

Wait Ibara is still here?! He’d completely forgotten about her. She’d just stood there with her books with the most straightlaced expression that Peter had ever seen. Didn't look like anything in the past few minutes phased her. Speaking of her, what the hell is up with all the girls here? Was there a meeting that everyone had to be cute or a bombshell? Japan was filled with them so far!

With the conversation that he and Yu had last night, not that he was complaining-Nooooope he’s going to stop right there!

He fought off the blush going to him. Think of anything else, don’t be an idiot, make friends, don’t embarrass yourself by thinking of-

“Yo Pony-chan” Itsuka smiled.

Peter choked again. He turned and saw his friend standing at the edge of the stairs. She looked just as confused at Neito and Itsuka as Peter did. Ignoring them, her face lit up when she saw Peter.

“Oh! Hey Peter!”

“H-Hey Pony, Good morning...” Peter stammered trying to get a handle on his thoughts.

Pony’s own smile, however, stayed strong, beaming like a warm spring day.

“Are you excited for our first day?"

"Yeah," Peter nodded, "It's... probably going to be really interesting."

Pony beamed, "Totally, it’s going to be so fucking awesome!”

Peter blanched, and Itsuka looked horrified. Neito's body convsuled, and a snort came out from his unconcious self. A snort of laughter.

“Pony-chan!” she called.

"My word, such vulgarity!" Ibara added.

Tetsutetsu just blinked. "Well... what's wrong with an awesome day that's... flipping awesome?" He asked, censoring himself.

With everyone’s stares on her, Pony’s smile faltered, her ears drooping. She seemingly shrunk back, her confidence shattering in an instant.

“D-did I say something wrong?”

Peter's chest lurched, she sounded so sad. Ohhhh god it feels like he just slapped a puppy. When they graduated from Language School did she pick up some bad habits or phrases?

“No no no,” he said quickly in English, “It’s just, we’re not supposed to talk like that, we have to be super polite.”

“Really?” Pony asked back in her native tongue, “I was told it was a good way to start the day though!”

Itsuka’s eyes narrowed, “Who told you that?” She was able to pick up on the conversation. Setsuna stood cross armed with an amused smirk, while the gray haired boy and vine-haired girl stood looking confused.

“Neito did, he gave me some pointers on how to speak some easy slang,” Pony pointed at the blond over her shoulder.

As one, four pairs of eyes locked on the prone form over Itsuka's shoulder. They all caught 'Neito' in that foreign sentence. A second passed, then two, and suddenly, Peter felt the urge to run away from the orange haired girl. She smiled a sickeningly sweet smile. She let out a soft sigh.

“It’s nice to meet you Parker-kun, but if you’ll excuse me, Tetsutetsu-kun and I need to fix something.”

The big silver haired brute blinked, scratching his head.

“We do?”

“Yes," Itsuka reinforced, making it clear it was a command and not a request. "We do.”

Peter could see the gears turning in Tetsutetsu's head. Then, like a lightbulb went off, everything fell into place.

“Oh, yeah, alright,” he said. "Sure."

"Excellent," Itsuka added with a bright grin.

And with that, she walked off, her assistant right behind her. "If you'll excuse me. Have a good day at school Parker-san, and thank you for the assistance." Ibara bowed lightly and followed. The dark green haired lizard eyed girl turned towards Peter and walked around him.

“Welp, that's enough for one day. See you around cutey,” Setsuna winked. Pony's eyebrows rose up and her mouth dropped. Before she can say anything, the lizard-eyed girl reached out and grabbed the Texan blonde before she could object. Poor girl nearly tripped in her grip and quickly managed to turn and wave down the hall.

“I’ll see you at lunch Peter!” Pony called with a wave.

And just like that, Peter was alone in the hallway with absolutely no idea what the heck just happened. He shook his head, it’s nothing special. It was only one thing. He needed to focus on class and everything that comes with it.

He opened the door and-

“Get your feet off the desk!”

“Oh fuck off!”

-this is what met him.

Peter tried not to sigh. Yep, just like high school.

Good.

And he felt all eyes on him as he entered. Bakugo glowered and glared, while Tenya raised a hand.

"Ah! Good morning Parker!"

"Morning Iida." Peter walked past with a light nod as he eyed his desk. Time to settle in. He-

Noticed a lot of people looking his way, and he did his best to ignore them as he sat behind Momo. "Morning Yaoyorozu."

"Good morning, Parker-san." Momo stated with a nod as the rest of the students began to file in for the day. Peter looked out to his class, seeing them mingle a little before the day began. Someone from here must have leaked out how he got first in the Practical. He doubted Neito saw him and Ochako and the camera when he tried to give Izuku points after the Practical, so that must mean someone must have told another and then that person told another and like a virus it began to circulate. He took a deep breath and looked at his school supplies.

Just... make it through. At his prior high school he lied under the radar, now the spotlight was on him, all for having fun at that.

Mr. Stark was always in the spotlight, got to adapt and-

"Yo Parker-kun!" Mina bounded over. "Or do you prefer Peter? I know in America you get called by your first name a lot instead of surname, so, what do you feel most comfortable with?"

"Oh uh." Well that is sudden. "Peter's fine. Do you like Mina or Ashido?" Mina offered a big grin.

"Call me Mina!"

"Getting awfully cozy with others lately, haven't you?" Smirked Eijirou who sat close by. "Then again, that's how you've always been I guess. And you can call me whatever ya want." He pointed his thumb at his chest. "A guy like you deserves it after all."

"Well uhh... thanks for the accommodations, I guess. Ummm..." Peter looked down at the syllabus. "So... we have Homeroom to start to basically prepare us for the day, then English, Math, Japanese, Lunch and then Hero Classes." Really is a school, guess they want to make sure a kid is educated here first in case the Hero profession doesn't work out.

"Yeaaah... it sucks." Mina pouted. "I wanted to do more hero training, but that's only for after lunch."

"I understand how you feel," Momo elaborated behind Peter. "But, U.A. is only doing it's job in ensuring we are educated in matters outside of heroism. Who knows, there can be some skills we can learn, as English is a viable asset to learn."

"Yeah, but our Ace here can handle a-okay." Eijirou smirked. "He is from America, English might be so boring you might pass out!" Again with the Ace thing... first Class B was calling him something like that, now this.

"Sharp minds enable great cunning." Tokoyami cut in, arms crossed and... brooding as usual. He must have been agreeing with Momo.

Peter laughed, looking up. "Well... Like, I know English just fine, but the pronouns and adjectives and all that complex stuff can be a bit complicated..." That's his worst subject after all. Math and Science are like second nature to him. Sentence structure and verbs and all that junk? He and Ned had a rough time with it back home.

"Ahhh so it's like Advanced Japanese for us then? And how to write in differing characters and dialects?" Oh god the Katakana-Hiragana stuff. He and Pony crammed hard on this back in Foreign Exchange Class... Peter nodded at Mina's assertion, making the pinkette give an affirmative "Hmm".

"Well, if you need any help, I would be happy to assist and correct you." Momo stated as Peter looked back. "I'm sure you will handle a lot of English to start, but if you need assistance on any of the nuances and complexities I can help as best as I can." The brown haired boy felt his cheeks warm up and looked away.

"Y-Yeah, thanks. I'll do my best to help too if you guys need any help with English and speaking it." Eijirou offered a big grin and a thumbs up. Peter saw a bouncing shirt walk across.

"Oh oh! I could use the help in English! I wasn't very good at it back in Middle School!" Hagakure chirped as her gloves were fisted up, but in excitement as she seemed to bounce on the balls of her feet.

"I could use some pointers as well, if only to improve." The bird headed boy stated as he looked over at Peter. He looked cross and menacing, but he didn't sound like it. Only brooding. And he felt eyes on him... and on Momo too due to the English advice.

"Uhhhh... it's a dat-I mean, plan then." He looked over at Momo. "We could help together?" The black haired girl seemed to beam at the prospect of helping.

"Of course! Me and Peter-san would be happy to help and-Oh!" her face turned bright red as she caught herself. "I mean, uh, Parker-san, would be glad to assist, if you wish of course." Suddenly Peter felt nostalgic while Mina barked out a laugh and Hagakure emitted an "Oooh~" in a teasing nature. He could only nod dumbly as Eijirou scoffed out a smirk.

"Totally sweet!" He said in English, heavily accented. "Now, we should head back to our desks." The red head stated back in Japanese. "Class is about to start any minute now."

And everyone got back to their seats, and Peter looked to the window, seeing Momo's eyes there. And then they met.

And back to their desks their eyesights were locked, Peter rolling his pencil up and down his desk as he did his best to calm down his heartbeat.

Todoroki gazing at him a ton didn't help either. Just say something dude. You're looking creepy.

(X)

And class began, with Aizawa not present and Present Mic taking over and going over the day, which was elaborated in the syllabus. First was English, in which he playfulled called on Peter a lot to state out sentences for everyone to repeat at first, and then others were called upon.

Izuku was surprisingly fluent, with Bakugo being decent when he spoke in the tongue of America. Tokoyami, Sato, and Mina had rougher times, with the latter muttering 'song lyrics were easier'. The best were surprisingly Aoyama and Jirou, with Todoroki being very eligible.

Listening to Momo, Mina, and Ochako talk in English was a sliding scale of down-right angelic to darn cute. Although Peter can sense an aura of boredom descending upon the classroom.

(X)

Classes continued. Math was a breeze, Japanese was rough but Momo made it incredibly bearable with her assistance, and lunch came around. Apparently U.A. hired a... cooking hero to make some of the finest cuisine. Or at least be in charge. Although his face looked... super mechanical, Lunch Rush seemed super friendly. He even had a photo of his wife and four children by the register!

Well... Good for him!

Before Peter had to spend food for the cheap for, well, cheap food, now he can get the best in town? Talk about a deal.

And lunch was a fun affair, eating with Eijirou, Mina, and Denki who seemed to have moved on from the locker room despair fest. Must have went through the five stages of... was it grief or death? Peter wasn't sure. Kaminari Denki did seem friendly, even if a bit envious as Pony joined them for eating, eating plenty of cooked greens as she is a vegetarian. And here Peter thought there was no vegetarians from Texas but... she is part horse.

When Peter would go for seconds, Setsuna would be prowling around grinning at him with playful eyes, but not of the friends-to-all-things aura that Mina had or the social butterfly Hagakure was. Rather... she seemed to gaze on him like a cat does with a mouse. Wanting to... play around. Yet observant too. Kinda of like MJ minus the stone face snark. He always had the feeling he was being watched while he had lunch with the others, but he chalked that up to the fact that the First Year Phenom rumors were going about. Oh, and that he was an American at a Japanese Hero High School.

Well... Setsuna was friendly at least. Pony speaks very highly of her, Ibara, Itsuka, and some Honenuki Juzo guy and a Kanbara dude. Maybe he should hang with her more. She has a unique vibe about her considering her lizard-like eyes.

Alas, all good things come to an end, with lunch ending and Peter satisfied for the coming hours ahead. Because now... was Hero Training!

(X)

"I have coooooome!" Yelled a boisterous, mighty voice that made the entire class perk up at the sight. He heard Izuku glean down in front of him. "He's heeere!" he whispered.

"Through the door totally normal!" Declared All Might as he arrived to the door, dressed in his Silver Age red body costume with a blue cape. Everyone in the class was excited. Peter let out a laugh of awe.

What he knew of All Might was only from the news, the articles written about him. How he saved hundreds if not thousands of lives during many disasters not just in Japan, but all over the world in safety and relief. He who was responsible for Japan's gigantic plunge in crime rate. The one who helped negotiate peace treaties and agreements between many countries as a mediator and arbitrator. And he did it all with a smile on his face, as if it was glued on.

The Symbol of Peace: All Might.

Peter's smile was wide. "Oh my god it's really him." He knew he was teaching here, what with his holo projector but still... this was amazing!

"He really is teaching here at U.A.! This is gonna be rad!" Eijirou pumped his fist.

"Hero Basic Training, also called Heroing 101! That will be the class that will define you into the heroes you wish to be!" The blonde haired titan of a man posed, reaching into... something. "Be prepared, for today we will be going into a crucial element of Hero training!" And he pulled out a card with the words 'battle' being inscribed on there. "Battle Training!"

"Battle...!" Peter heard Bakugo mutter that out, almost in utter glee and excitement. Izuku was... not as enthusiastic. "Training?" He finished.

"Indeed! and for that, you'll need these!" And to the wall beside him, compartments began to open up with numbers as all the students was chatting and twittering with joy and glee. "The Support Department created these in accordance to your requests and to the Quirk Registry Forms you signed before applying here to U.A.! You will need to wear these!"

"Costumes alright!" Mina yelled, and everyone was shouting in agreement and with exuberation. All Might seemed to revel in it as all the students got up one at a time. Peter couldn't contain his grin as he saw them all stand up and get in line towards the numbered compartments to get their costumes.

All Might twirled his cape as he prepared to depart. "Prepare to change into these and meet me in Battle Center B! I'll see you the-"

"Mr. All Might!" The blond man stopped, seeing Tenya, who was standing in line as Mina and Aoyama got their belongings, raising his hand. "I see contents within each box of the twenty compartments for our seatins, but yet, for Compartment 19 I do not see anything! I fear the Support Department must have forgotten about one of my fellow peers!"

"Oh, Box 19? No need young Iida, though your concern and observational skills are noted!" All Might waved his hand. "Young Peter Parker's equipment was already cleared and he already has it on his person!" Peter felt eyes on him. He... was the only one in his seat after all.

"Wait, Parker has equipment?" Sato asked.

"It can't be homemade, U.A. has some of the best costume making services around right?" Asui mused with a big finger to her chin.

"Oh he has one alright! And it's super cool!" Ochako beamed out. Peter stood up in his chair, feeling nervous as he knew what was coming.

"Uhhh, Ochako-san? I-"

"He can fire webbing and sprout like, totally rad metal legs from his back! It fits his spider-motif too! He rocked it when he went into the Practical Exam with me, Deku-kun, and Iida-kun!" Ochako looked at him, and Peter blanched as again he felt all eyes on him.

"He has his own gear?" Bakugo growled as he looked at him.

"Of course... how silly of me, I forgot." Tenya uttered.

Todoroki remained silent, but he didn't look surprised.

"I wonder who made his gear..." Hanta mused.

"But the Support Department gave it the a-okay, so in any case, I'll see you all at the Battle Center! So long!" And All Might as gone, leaving Peter to fidget around with his backpack.

"Yeah." He stated, smiling awkwardly as he shrugged, seeing his classmates get their boxes. "I... am already good so... no need to worry about me!" The brown haired wall crawler got up and shouldered his backpack and walked outside. Anything to get away from the stares! He remembered the location of the Battle Center and he decided to go there first... but he didn't want to leave his friends behind.

Peter waited, taking a big sigh. "Mr. Stark was always looked at... be like him. Be better than him." He muttered to himself lightly. Easier said than done...

(X)

So... that must have been how he got first on the Practical.

Katsuki grinned. He only got through due to his toys. His power was noteworthy, but at the end of the day it was just dumb and speed, nothing his raw power of Explosion and its versatility can't match.

Shoot webbing? Spider legs? Could be a threat, but if he gets a chance to fight him... with his requested gear.

A devil's grin split his face in two as he got his box. The best outcome is to take down the American down a several dozen pegs... or to blast that snake in the face for making him look like a fool for all these years. He gave Deku a glare as he stormed past the line.

To finally stomp that ant under his boot, or defeat the strongest person in his class, and reaffirm his footing as top dog like back in his Junior High days.

Ohhhhh hohohoho today is going to be a good day. Katsuki just knows it.

(X)

And a good day it is. The sun was out as all the students began to file down the tunnel in their equipment. All Might grinned at the sight. Today was their first foray into heroism! Well... most of them, as Young Midoriya has a glimmer of experience already. And Young Parker has a vigilante report to his credit.

“Keep an eye on him,” Aizawa had said to him before taking the day off to do, whatever, “He’s got too many tricks up his sleeve.”

His dedication to discovering his classes strengths was commendable, but All Might couldn’t bring himself to agree with it. Even if Young Midoriya and Parker are in this class, he had to treat them and grade them like he would any other student, just like his teacher did before him.

Without all the scary parts of course.

Besides, Parker was instinctively saving others from hazards during the Practical Exam! It reminded him a lot of himself back when he first started here at U.A. decades ago. Aizawa is just overthinking on things as usual. Young Parker was a hero through and through!

All Might reflexively clenched a fist. Get it together Toshinori. You handle paparazzi on a daily basis. Kids should be a piece of cake! Time to teach! Go Plus Ultra!

"Looking good is important ladies and gentleman! As they say, clothes make the pros ladies and gentlemen! And behold you are the proof! Take this to heart, because from now on, you’re all heroes in training!"

And the students came out, all dressed in their custom costumes. Some looked somewhat normal or plain, like Tokoyami Fumikage's dark cloak, Jirou Kyoka's punk get up with her special boots, all the way to Aoyama Yuga's armor and cape, Iida Tenya's custom armor with engine divots by his legs, and Bakugo Katsuki's combat attire with grenade gauntlets, combat boots, and dark mask.

Yet the most complex, covering himself head to toe in his costume was without a doubt Peter Parker as he came out, and everyone in the class gave him impressed looks, some even gave 'Whoa's and ahhh's at him walking past. Red with gold and blue, glowing blue eyes and lights on his palm with a bright spider insignia on his chest.

The mysterious suit. Yagi had no mind for science. He had what everyone else had. Eyes. Anyone could see that it was leagues better than anything even he could get his hands on, since he didn't file an equipment request to the Support Department, saying that he already had gear. If David could get his hands on it, he’d probably die of excitement right then and there.

Speaking of excitement, Young Parker’s young peers swarmed the poor boy.

"Wow, that's Parker!" Kaminari exclaimed.

"I couldn't tell. Jeez, it looks like he's covered in metal!" Jirou added.

"He truly is shining! Tres bien, Parker!" Aoyama declared as he inspected and gazed all over Parker like an artist would a sculpture. Parker's blue eyes only quirked in confusion.

"He had some bright red body suit when I saw him enter his changing room." Tokoyami mused. "Maybe it changes color when put on?"

"Does leave little for the imagination." Asui commented, and Ashido who was busy looking over him heard the comment and brightened up, her cheeks darkening.

"I mean... it is pretty form fitting, but who else isn't? Mine is!" Sato declared.

"How did he even get it on? It's like Jirou says, he's wearing metal or something!" The invisible Hagakure said-wait invisible? That means she's-

Oh.

W-Well all fine additions! Even if he can hear Young Parker's groaning from afar. Bakugo was giving the American a sideways sneer, while Todoroki didn't seem to care, as if he already knew.

"Shall we begin, you bunch of zygotes?!" Yagi declared proudly, saving himself and Young Parker from some strange thoughts. "It's time to begin our Battle Trials! And-" He paused, as he set his eyes on his successor, the one who has inherited One for All from him. Midoriya Izuku's costume...

Green, with a utility belt, a mask with...a wide toothy smile and...

Oh god was he copying his hairstyle with those horn-ears?! Yagi didn't know if he should cringe or if he should laugh. Heck, probably both. "You're so obvious!" He muttered to himself as he sniggered in his hand. Composing himself, Yagi cleared his throat, “Now that everyone’s here, it’s time for combat training!”

“Sir!” Young Iida’s hand shot up. The boy went for the traditional armored style of his family line. He filled the shoes well. “This is the fake city from our entrance exam. Does that mean we’ll be conducting urban battles again?”

Oh thank goodness for an easy question.

Yagi flashed a peace sign, “Not quite! We’re moving two steps ahead. Most of the villain fights that you see in the news take place outdoors,” and didn’t he know it, barely took a few minutes before someone with a camera caught him and suddenly his face was all over the news while he was in the middle of a fight! “However, statistically speaking run-ins with the craftiest evildoers take place indoors.”

Young Midoriya nods, however, Parker flinched. A subtle thing, a small switch of his fingers, but definitely a reaction. Did the boy have more experience outside of the report? Maybe Aizawa’s search could have some merit. Whenever he's done with it.

But conspiracy thoughts are for later! Parker is a hero! Not a villain! There’s a class to teach!

“Think about it, backroom deals, home invasions, secret layers. Truly clever villains stick to the shadows. For this training exercise, you’ll be split into teams of heroes and villains and fight two on two indoor battles!”

From the front row, the green-bodysuit wearing Asui tilted her head, “Isn’t this a little advanced?”

Oh boy another easy question! Yagi was on a roll today!

“The best training comes from the greatest teacher: Experience.”

That adage was never truer in Hero work. Take away all the quirks and flashy moves, and when you get down to it, the one with the more experience comes out on top more times than not. The number of times where he rushed in thinking that his strength would be enough bit Yagi in the ass more times than he’d care to admit. Part of him wanted to say that, but these students needed to come to their own conclusions else the lessons would never stick.

They will fail, but he will be there to pick them up!

However, there’s one point that needed to be addressed.

“But remember,” Yagi continued, “you can’t just punch a robot this time, you’re dealing with actual people now!”

“Sir, will you be the one deciding who wins?” Yaoyorozu inquired.

“How much can we hurt the other team?” Bakugo asked, his eye twitching towards Parker.

“Do we need to worry about someone being expelled like yesterday?” Ochako asked worriedly.

“Will you be splitting us up based on chance or comparative skill?” Iida asked.

“Isn’t this cape fantastic?”

Oh god too many questions! He's on a time limit here people!

“Grk, I wasn’t finished talking,” Yagi moaned.

Not to worry, he could work with this. After all he came prepared! He reached in and grabbed his Specially Calculated Reflexive Incident Preparation Tool.

"A notebook?" Parker tilted his head in confusion.

Moving on! Where was he? Oh yes.

“Listen up! The situation is as follows, the villains have hidden a nuclear missile in their hideout, the heroes must foil their plans. To do that, the heroes must either catch the villains or recover the weapon. Likewise, the villains win if they capture the heroes or protect their payload!”

That was a good explanation, right? An action movie set up with a simple yet productive plan perfect for the first day of Hero Training! Yagi glanced around nodding heads and calculating gazes. They’re getting it, excellent!

“Time’s limited, and we’ll decide teams by drawing lots!” Yagi declared holding up the lot box.

“Isn’t there a better way?” Iida asked.

“Think about it, pros often have to team up with heroes from other agencies on the spot, so maybe that’s why we're doing it here,” Midoriya said matter of fact.

“Plus at the end of the day we’re out there helping people, so it doesn’t matter who you work with so long as you help,” Parker added. "Can't just pick and choose sadly." He finished with a shrug. "Gotta work with the cards dealt to ya..."

“I see, life is a random series of events. Excuse my rudeness.” Iida apologized with a bow. Parker seemed to be looking to the side, deep in thought... but back to Iida!

… yes! That’s the reason! Yagi totally didn't run out of paper in his notes. He shook it off, keeping up his signature grin.

“No sweat, let’s draw!” he declared.

One by one the students came up to the lato box.

Team A: Uraraka and Midoriya.

Team B: Todoroki and Shoji.

Team C: Parker and Yaoyorozu.

Team D: Bakugo and Iida.

Team E: Aoyama and Ashido.

Team F: Sato and Koda.

Team G: Kaminari and Jirou.

Team H: Tokoyami and Asui.

Team I: Ojiro and Hagakure.

Team J: Kirishima and Sero.

Yes, the odds were in his favor. The balance of power and skill seemed evenly distributed... for the most part. How did Parker and Yaoyorozu get matched up on the same team? Must have been the algorithm. Though Young Midoriya and Parker look like they’re frozen in place from their partners.

Ah, nerves of excitement for the upcoming trials!

Throwing the balls in the hero and villain boxes and giving them a good shake, Yagi pulled the balls declaring, “The first teams to be fighting are these guys!” he announced.

Teams D and A for the villains and heroes respectfully. The surprise on Young Bakugo and Midoriya's face was palpable. One looked ready to tear down the entire building while the other wanted to jump in a hole he was so despondent.

Oh dear.

“Alright, everyone knows their roles. The two teams stay here. Everyone else can head to the monitoring room to watch. The Villain Team has five minutes of preparatory time in their building.”

“Yes sir,” the class chorused.

With their orders, the heroes in training left the two teams were they stood. As he went by, Parker tapped Midoriya on the shoulder.

“Good luck,” he said before walking off.

Midoriya didn’t acknowledge it. His gaze was firmly on Bakugo. The explosive genius glared daggers at his middle school friend, only to jump as Midoriya held his ground. And it only served to make the blond even angrier. Yagi’s successor had a look in his eyes that the Hero remembered seeing on the beach.

Determination.

(X)

“You think they’re going to be okay?” Peter asked, to no one in particular. Around him, his classmates had crowded into the command centre, staring past him at the drama to come.

“Who?” Eijirou asked over his shoulder.

“Bakugo and Izuku,” Peter explained, “You guys remember how Bakugo reacted to Izuku's throw, the guy flipped out.”

“Didn’t you try to stop Bakugo back then?” the frog-girl Asui asked.

Peter shrugged, “I did, but I can’t do anything up here.”

Before him stood an array of monitors, each one connected to a camera inside the building, covering the interior from every concievable angle. They showed only hallways and rooms, empty byt for the enormous fake bomb that was the focal point of the exercise.

At least, Peter hoped it was fake. This was a school that counted building-sized mecha among its training tools. He could not assume too much of its restraint, or sanity.

On one monitor, connected to the sole outside camera, they could see All Might giving instructions to the two teams.

“So taking all bets! Who’s gonna win?” Denki called out. He grinned. No one else did.

“I don’t think we should be betting on something like this,” Momo said, cocking an eyebrow.

“Come on!" pleaded Denki, raising his hands in surrender. "I’m just trying to have some fun.”

“Well my money's on Bakugo,” Eijirou declared, ignoring the conversation and jumping in with a flex, “That guy's quirk packs a real punch, and Midoriya and Ochako can’t do much about that.”

“The difference in power is staggering,” Tokoyami agreed, “That is until you remember Midoriya’s quirk.”

Sero’s eyes lit up, “Oh yeah, all he’s got to do is punch once, and it’s all over.”

“I don’t know…” Peter murmured.

“Huh, you got something to say, Ace?” Eijirou asked.

As one, the class turned to look at Peter. Thankfully his face was hidden behind the Iron Spider, so they could not see his grimace. That nickname, it was going to stick now, wasn't it? First Neito called him a First Year Phenom, now Eijirou called him Ace?

“Well I probably shouldn’t say…”

“No, please continue Parker-san,” Momo placates, offering a gentle, expectant look. "I’m sure we’d all like to hear whatever insight you have."

Sure enough, he had everyone's attention. Even Todoroki was looking at him with something other than smoldering resentment as he leaned against the wall arms crossed.

Okay... how to phrase this...

“I’m just saying...don’t get me wrong...Izuku's strong. I was there when he took out the Zero Pointer. He blew that thing's head off with just one punch.”

“So what’s the problem?” Ojiro asked, “If I remember correctly you outclassed him in everything during the tests.”

“Yeah but I don’t think I could blast the robot with one punch. If it was me...I probably would have used webbing to stall it or slow it down. There was Ochako to consider."

He looked back on screen, seeing the brunette talk to the green hero-trainee. When Bakugo had been chasing Izuku, he looked like he was out for blood. Now they were on opposite sides.

Peter was really starting to worry.

“But the difference is that your quirk don’t hurt you like Izuku's does,” Asui cut in.

Peter nodded, “Yeah, his arms and legs were beyond messed up. Sure Izuku can blow them away, but if they block it, or just jump out of the way, he’s down an arm or a finger, and they’re no worse for wear. It’s too big a trade-off.”

“You say that, but Bakugo and Iida have to get lucky upwards of ten times,” Shoji said from one of his creepy mouth arms, “Midoriya only needs to be lucky once.”

"Like a defensive boxer versus a knock-out artist in boxing. But he could bring the building down.” Sato shrugs.

The floating set of gloves that was Hagakure gasped, “Do you think that’ll happen?!”

The sugar giant shrugged, “I wouldn’t put it past someone like Bakugo.”

It was sad, but Peter couldn’t bring himself to disagree with him. Bakugo was a loose cannon, and this entire lesson was going to give him an excuse to go all out against Izuku. They were on entirely different levels as far as power went, but Shoji was right. Izuku needed only one shot, but Bakugo could fire as many times as he liked; and even one of those was a force to be reckoned with.

Being indoors would be more of a hindrance to Izuku than Bakugo. The blonde brute was a jerk and the only one of the two that could launch an attack without breaking down a wall. From what he could see, neither of them had a tech advantage either. Unless there was something to those grenade-gauntlets that he had missed.

“You’re sure taking this seriously.”

“Well, it is a class,” Peter said.

Jiro glanced up at him and shrugged, “If you say so, Mr. Ace.” The last she said in accented english.

Peter groaned and looked at the ceiling, and he caught her smirk in the corner of his eye.

"Listen, don't sweat it. You belong here just like the rest of us." She gave a thumbs up.

“I AM HERE!”

Behind them, the door burst open, revealing the Number One hero with an actual trail of smoke behind him. How fast was he going?

“Ah Young Parker, getting the best seat in the house I see!" bellowed All Might.

“Just trying to watch."

At the order, the Iron Spider peeled his mask away. The feeling of sand washing over his face that came with the mask was replaced with heat of the climate controlled room as oohs and awws echoed through the room.

“Wow, that’s so cool,” Mina cooed. "It slinked back like... like... a cobra's hood!"

“Fascinating,” mused Tokoyami.

"Did all of that just slink to that thingy at the back of his neck?" Asui mused aloud.

"Dude, you gotta tell me where and how you got your gear!" Denki exclaimed.

'You wouldn't believe me if I told you.' Peter tried to hide his embarrassment by focusing on the screens, but that stopped with a single gruff laugh from All Might.

“Shying away from the limelight Young Parker?”

“... is it that obvious?” he asked. "I've... never been so... noticeable before."

All Might nodded, confirming Peter’s fears. The fact alone was almost as embarrassing as hearing the praises to begin with. A few calls of appreciation shouldn’t affect him, but they did. And he's getting them in an avalanche. He wasn’t Mr. Stark. He didn’t deserve their cheers, their praise.

He hadn’t done anything to earn it anyway. He was just having fun in the Practical Exam and Quirk Test. He hasn't busted his hump like his peers had! He doesn't deserve it!

Peter flinched as a massive hand placed itself gently on his shoulder. The Number One hero was smiling down at him, but his smile was smaller more understanding.

“Take heart Peter Parker," The blond giant spoke softly and warmly in English. It was perfect, as if he had spoken it his whole life. "Whether you think you did or not, you’ve earned your spot here. That is something that objectively true. And you are hero material, just like me.”

Peter… had no words. Could he hear his thoughts? The titan laughed, clapping him on the back playfully. Peter smiled back; he didn’t know why hearing it from All Might made it feel... okay.

He looked back, seeing the class all smile at him... except for Todoroki, who only seemed to narrow his eyes more. Baaaack to focusing on the screens!

“Alright,” All Might called into the speaker, speaking in Japanese. “Let’s begin the indoor combat training. Team A, Team D, the clock starts now!”

Stepping away from the mic, All Might brought out a small notebook in pen. The goofy sight didn’t do a thing to Peter’s respect as the man turned back, “Pay attention students, think about what you would do in this situation.”

What he would do… Peter began to think.

Well, to start, if he was a hero(which he is), Peter would do his best to find out where the bomb was being kept. If this were real, that would be the villains only real chip they could be playing unless they had hostages. Finding it would take the most time, so he’d probably swing around the building and see if he could get in through the windows using stealth and not busting a wall in to make noise. Unless they were stupid enough to put the bomb in a room with an open window, Peter would have to chance it by finding a window where he could enter the building safely. Least, that's his thinking.

On screen, Izuku shared his thought, forgoing the front door and jumping through the ground floor window with Ochako hot on his heels. The two heroes made slow going down the hallways, an issue Peter didn’t see himself having with that danger feeling of his. Without it, Izuku took point, checking behind the corners for any attack.

Even so, Bakugo seemingly appeared behind one, rushing the two with a glowing fist that put a hole in the wall. Peter gasped, did Izuku and Ochako get out of the way? That blast looked like it was going to hurt!

“Sneak attacks Bakugo? What kind of man pulls cheap shit like that?” Eijirou asked through gritted teeth.

“Vile as it might seem it’s a viable strategy. He’s playing the part and acting like a villain.” All Might confirmed.

A role that Bakugo seemed far too comfortable with in Peter’s opinion. The only thing that distracted him was the sight of Izuku and Ochako standing somewhat uninjured in the smoke. The two boys rushed one another, and Peter saw some jaws hit the floor as Izuku grabbed Bakugo’s arm, twisted like a dancer and slammed the explosive jerk into the floor.

“Damn Midoriya got some moves,” Denki whistled.

He sure did, and the sight of them was enough to keep Bakugo from going at it again. Then he started talking to someone. There was no sound from the screen, so Peter was at a loss.

“Hey what gives, who’s Bakugo talking to?” Eijirou asked, “Can we get some sound with these screens?”

“He’s talking to his partner through a radio,” All Might explained pointing out a small blue piece in the kids ear, “I gave it to him before the match started, as well as a floor plan of the building and some capture tape!” he declared, withdrawing a roll from the stand in front of him, “Once you’ve wrapped this around your opponent, you’ve captured them.”

“Within the fifteen minute timelinie,” Momo said.

“Correct!”

Mina frowned, “Then the heroes are at a huge disadvantage.”

“Aren’t we always?” Peter asked.

Mina cocked an eyebrow at him, and she was only the first. Suddenly he was back as the center of attention.

Don’t worry, be like Mr. Stark, and it’s like All Might said. He had earned his place. He took a deep breath.

“I mean uhh... well, we’re reacting to whatever the villains have planned beforehand right? They’re always sneaking around, planning something so they're, um, not noticed. Then ... uhhh... how do I say that... they’ll always have the time to make a plan, or set up a trap in case they get caught. As for, well, us? We’ve got to go in blind, think on the spot and do what we can with, well, what we have. They don’t have to play fair, but uhhhh..." Gosh, all these eyes on him as they listened to him. He looked to the side, bashfully. "We’re the ones that are being trusted to do something, and that's saving lives. That's what heroes do.”

The botched-speech earned him wide-eyed stares. Eijirou grinned while Momo flashed an appreciative smile. Peter quickly looked away, but in doing so, he saw a look different from the rest. Todoroki’s eyes, on the other hand, was narrowed into slits and... was he thinking on something or just really hating his guts for some reason? What did Peter do now? All Might guffawed.

“Well said! ! Even if the odds aren’t in our favor, we fight nonetheless!”

The heroes declaration was met with a chorus of smiles all around. All Might raised a fist in the air, “All together now, let’s hear a Plus Ultra!”

Noise exploded into the room as everyone joined in the mantra of the school. Peter joined in as best he could, but his arm dropped.

"He's moving," he called.

All Might turn around just in time to see Bakugo rush with an explosive kick. Izuku held his own, blocking and screaming something that makes Ochako rush down the hall. The green-suited hero-in-training wrapped Bakugo's ankle in capture tape, but he abandoned that the second that Bakugo slammed an explosive fist into the wall where Izuku was. He jumped back and held his own for a second before taking off down the hallway.

That gave Peter pause. Why wasn't he using his quirk? In a hallway like that, he could end it with one punch. Peter remembered the way that the Zero Pointer went down, how ungodly amounts of force was slammed into it from one point. One punch here at the very edge of the building wouldn't bring it down, and Bakugo would be hard pressed to dodge something that powerful.

Then it clicked.

Izuku didn't want to hurt Bakugo. He wanted to win without his quirk or hurting him. Might be something else, but considering how Izuku turned tail and ran off, Peter couldn't help but think he was right even if only a little bit. Without an opponent in front of him, Bakugo roared and for the first time, Peter was thankful there wasn't any sound from the feed.

"That guy's got some serious anger issues, it's kind of scary" Sero said.

No kidding. The jerk looked like he could start giving the Hulk a run for his money in the angry screaming department. Hopefully, it didn't get too bad.

And the fight raged. Izuku dodged, but Bakugo adapted to Izuku's counter attacks, closing the gap. Peter became transfixed on the scene. Even if he was planning something, Izuku was in a bad situation.

Meanwhile, Ochako had reached the bomb room. And...she was laughing.

"Ooookay." Peter stated, taking in Tenya's posing. Momo sighed.

"I think Tenya is taking the role of 'villain' too seriously here, she mused, crossing her arms.

Bakugo had reached Izuku, and forced him to turn and fight. His face was a mask of murderous rage, and Izuku was little different. Just what had passed between them? What could Izuku have said or done to enrage Bakugo so?

"All Might he's raising his gauntlet." He pointed out. "I have a bad feeling about this."

All Might perked up.

"Wait Young Bakugo! Stop! Are you trying to kill him!?"

Peter could see the bloodthirsty grin on his face, teeth bared as he pulled in pin...and read his lips.

"He'll survive, as long he dodges!"

He pulled, and a fiery blast erupted out down the hallway! As one the class gasped. Peter clenched his fists. All Might called out to Izuku.

The past dissipated. Izulu had indeed dodgd. Peter heard All Might barked into the radio, threatening to stop the exercise if Bakugo did that again, while Eijirou asked for it to be stopped regardless.

And this kid wanted to be a hero.

That.... that... jerk!

No...

He's not a jerk. He's... despicable.

Peter gritted his teeth and balled his fists, glaring darkly at the screen.

"You...thug" Peter growled in English. He felt his classmates staring at him, doubtless wondering what venomous curse he had just snarled, for the tone could be nothing else. He paid them no mind. To do such a thing, even when pretending to be a villain, it was too much.

Bakugo continued to attack Izuku, blasting him with well-aimed counters, and using his quirk to boost his speed, tossing Izuku around like a ragdoll. Ochako was trying to secure the weapon, despite Tenya running around with it. The students, from Todoroki to Momo, were complimenting Bakugo on his strategy.

But Peter could not. He could not stop thinking about that face, that fury in his red eyes. Even Captain America and his group back in Germany had not looked at him so hatefully.

Heinous. Murderous.

That is Bakugo Katsuki.

Hero-in-training.

The thought... made Peter sick to his stomach.

Izuku and Bakugo charged, bringing their fists back. Closer and closer they came, and at the last moment Izuku dodged, taking the blast to his face, and fired his glowing arm upwards in a punch.

The cameras shook, as did the building. and the feed in the bomb room showed a massive gaping hole, gale force winds whipping around it. Ochako swung a broken column like a baseball bat, firing the debris at Tenya. Tenya dodged, and Ochako leapt across, snatching the bomb from him.

"They won!" Mina yelled. All Might's smile got a bit wider....

"The Hero Team.... wins!" he yelled. The class cheered and whooped their approval.

On the feed, Izuku collapsed, his left arm mangled and red, his whole body looking as if it had been used as a punching bag. Bakugo stared in horrified disbelief, slumping to his knees.

"The Losing team is nearly unscathed, while the winning team has been put through the wringer." Tokoyami mused. "They may have lost the battle, but they won the war."

"Even so it's not right." Peter hissed, speaking to the ground and at the Monitor. "He almost killed Midoriya! What's the deal? Why didn't you stop the fight when Bakugo used his grenade-blast thingy! That could have killed..."

But All Might wasn't there.

"...him?" he finished, bewildered. And then he saw that All Might was in the same room as Bakugo! Talking to him, and... comforting him!

He-He's a teacher yeah, so... talking to his students was par for the job... But...

That doesn't change what just happened. What had occured during this exercise.

Even if Bakugo looked like as if he saw his dog get run over in front of him... that's no excuse. None of this was. This was a school for pete's sake. There was no reason to go in with the intention to kill, even if imitating villainly. That weapon would have killed Izuku if not turned him into char had he not dodged. He gripped his fists and glared at the screen.

Bakugo wanted to surpass All Might, to be better than him.

"Yeah, I'm going to be Number One around here. The top hero, like All Might." He smirked darkly as the elevator came to a stop. "So if you don't wanna die or anything, just don't get in my way."

Peter wanted to be better than Mr. Stark. By being smarter. Stronger. Being a better hero. He would never forget that talk on the rooftop over the bay, the Statue of Liberty in the background after he helped Peter save that ferry. Mr. Stark wanted Peter to be better than him as a hero.

But this...

Bakugo Katsuki. Hero-in-goddamn-training.

"He doesn't deserve the right." He glowered in his native tongue, low and darkly, taking a deep breath as he pondered how the hell this school for heroes would let some thug into their ranks.

And ignored the look Asui Tsuyu was giving him.

(X)

Shoto noticed Parker's countenance darken even from behind all the students.

Was he close to Midoriya? Or did he have a grudge against Bakugo? He didn't seem very confrontational, and had tried to dispel all manner of conflict from before. The one exception was when he stopped Bakugo after the Ball Throw, only for Aizawa to interfere.

On the screen, medical bots were carrying Izuku away, and All Might was escorting the other three students. Uraraka looked exhausted, Bakugo looked miserable, and Lida looked depressed.

That is, until he was told that he was the MVP of the battle. Peter was still getting used to the idea that a human chin could actually hit the floor.

"I wonder why? Would anyone like to answer?" All Might asked.

Shoto rolled his eyes. Uraraka was clearly the MVP. She saw an opportunity and took it, and won the day. Iida was acting like a loon and couldn't work with Bakugo, who clearly was a lone wolf motivated by a grudge.

"It was because Uraraka's attack was dangerous," Yaoyorozu piped in. "Her flying debris might have hit the bomb and detonated it."

She had a point, Shoto supposed.

"Still." Parker cut in, "Bakugo should have been defending the bomb. If Iida had gone down on offense, his speed and power would have made it nigh impossible for Uraraka and Midoriya to counter-attack." He crossed his arms.

"A fine point indeed Parker-san," Yaoyorozu concluded with a nod, hands on her hips. "We have to work from the bottom up and support each other, otherwise we will never be top heroes!"

"Yeah, I guess so." Parker finished as he took a deep breath. "So, Mr. All Might, we gonna continue or what? And Izuku's gonna be okay right?"

"Rest assured Young Parker, he is being looked at in the infirmary as we speak. Ah yes!" The Number One Hero jogged over and grabbed the hero and villain ball boxes. "Let us move onto the next trial! The next battle will be in another building."

At his words, the camera feeds changed to a whole new location. "And next up is..." He muttered, rummaging around, pulling out two balls.

Hero Ball B. And Villain Ball C.

"Team B will be the Heroes! And Team C the villains!" All Might declared.

Shoto narrowed his eyes as Parker perked up, gazing at Yaoyorozu who glanced back at him.

"Woooow! Recommended on Recommended violence!" Kaminari whooped.

"It's more than that, this is a clash of the top ten! Yaoyorozu and Parker are literally one and two, with Todoroki on their heels and Shoji is no slouch!" added Kirishima. "Can't wait to see how ya perform Ace!"

"A Clash of the Titans... Of the Elites." Tokoyami muttered darkly.

"Anyone get the feeling we may lose another building?" Jirou asked aloud.

"Hey, we're gonna be working together." Shoji Mezo walked towards him, one of his arms speaking. "So, we're against the top two of the class eh?"

"That we are..." Shoto finished, glancing at Parker as he talked with his teammate. The dark air that hung over him was gone, and his old awkwardness had returned as he and Yaoyorozu discussed strategy.

He and her had their Recommended Exams in private rooms, os his only knowledge of her Quirk is from the Aizawa's Test. But... he knows what Parker can do. He only showed his ice ability during that test, but he's seen Parker in action, along with his suit.

Peter Parker might well be the strongest amongst them. Maybe even the fastest in reflexes. And his gear better than anything he's seen.

Nonetheless, he was another tower to climb, a trial to overcome, if Shoto was to become a hero like the beaming Symbol of Peace. He's overcome using only his ice. He will do so again.

"Let's go and plan. We'll finish his quick." Shoto turned towards his taller comrade, who nodded and they followed. He ignored the cheers and excited chittering of his peers.

'You may have me beat in many ways... but I will defeat you to become the top hero.' Todoroki Shoto thought as he remembered his oath. 'And this is just another step for me to take... using only my ice. You will be that stepping stone... Peter Parker'.

Chapter Text

Five minutes of preparation. Not even close to the amount of time that Momo would’ve wanted to have against someone like Todoroki Shoto. While lower than her in terms of the recommendation scores, his quirk was on a wholly different level compared to hers. What it lacked in clear versatility, it had significant speed and range from what she has witnessed. A formidable combination, to say nothing of the skill that he displayed during the quirk assessment test. So five minutes to make materials wouldn’t be too much, but she could make it work. Parker-san seemingly had the same thought, leading the way out of the monitor room towards their destination, their opponents following close behind.

Shoji Mezo kept his pace brisk but respectful as he followed Todoroki. The monochrome boy gazed unblinkingly at Parker. Possibly gauging threats and planning to counter their abilities. He would only know her own quirk by association to what she showed in the assessment. Barely a fraction of what it was capable of, but enough to make reasonable deductions. The same could not be said for knowing the capabilities of Parker.

Both of them had the opportunity to witness his prowess during the Practical Exam. Powerful, but not insurmountable.

She can see Parker looking away a couple of times, but would pause. Taking a look behind her, she can see why as they walked. Todoroki and Shoji were walking behind them, the former with a serious expression and the latter... being readless. Parker must want to talk, but can't due to their presence.

In the corner of her eye, Shoji perked up whenever Parker was seen making a gesture, and Todoroki’s gaze sharpened. Parker paused, wisely stopping before he could say anything that could wreak havoc on any future plans. She shook her head. Not here, not yet.

The rest of the trip was done in silence, Momo and Parker stopping before the front entrance. Todoroki took a position against the closest wall, folding his arms but remaining vigilant with Shoji next to him.

Parker glanced to her, “... uh, now what?”

A query that Momo didn’t have an answer for. Fortunately, that was unnecessary as Parker’s gazed snapped to the street.

“I AM HERE!” All Might declared, little more than a red blur before sliding to a stop.

“Oh geez!” Parker gasped, jumping back.

“Fret not young Parker! For I am here to give you these!”

The Symbol of Peace handed over a box, one that Momo quickly opened. Inside was a detailed map of the building with a floor-plan, as well as matching short range radios.

“These are yours to use as you see fit,” All Might explained, “Embody villainy, and think from the perspective of an evildoer.”

Parker flinched, his fist clenching which gave All Might sensei pause. He grinned his famous grin, raising a placating hand.

“Worry not, I know what you four are capable of, but remember,” All Might declared sternly, “The point of the exercise is only to simulate villainy for the sake of your classmates. If you so much as attempt the level of destruction that young Bakugo caused, I will intervene.”

Momo nodded, a fair compromise considering the devastation that the previous match caused. Parker however, tilted his head mild confusion evident even through his mask. If their teacher noticed, he didn’t give any tells, waving to the four of them.

“Your five minutes begins when you set foot into the building! Good luck!”

And with that, the Symbol of Peace rocketed down the street, no doubt returning to the monitor chamber. Parker’s shoulders fell and Momo took hold of one of the radios and fixed it in her ear.

“Parker-san,” Momo said, causing the American to turn to her. She handed the second radio, starting on a brisk pace, “We need to set up.”

“Yeah, right, five minutes prep and all that,” Parker said, his mask falling away long enough for him to put in his radio as he followed her into the building. Their five minutes start now.

With the map in hand, Momo started down the long hallways, careful not to say a thing until she was positive that she could speak without being overheard. One couldn’t take any chances when discussing intel, especially with minimal time to plan. And with Shoji's Dupli-Arms and how versatile that Quirk can be.

First: recognize the terrain, battles are won and lost on the advantages that can be utilized.

“Parker-san, according to these plans, the first two floors are labyrinths, multiple corners and blank rooms to confuse our opponents.”

Case and point, they passed an open door leading to an empty room. Parker looked in, “Think we should booby trap them on the early floors?”

An interesting thought, but Momo shook her head.

“We don’t have the time. With our time limit, it would be more advantageous to defend our objective. Let Todoroki and Shoji waste their time learning the layout. Every second that we have to prepare gives us another advantage.”

“Also gives them time to plan too,” Parker points out.

“Fair assumption, but neither of them have quirks that will benefit from the extra time.” She said, going up the first flight of stairs, “So long as we can stop them from getting a hand on the weapon, we can win.”

That particular statement made Parker perk up.

“They’ve got to touch the bomb?” he asked.

Momo nodded, and she got the feeling that Peter was smiling.

“How about I web up the bomb? If it’s covered in web, they can’t ‘secure’ it,” Parker said with air quotes.

That was a good idea. Momo remembered what the substance holding back the faux villains. Holding up a fake weapon was well within its capabilities. She nodded and showed the floor plan.

“Alright, take this and make sure the webbing is thick enough so they can’t touch anything.”

“Got it,” Parker said, taking the offered plan, “What about you?”

Momo allowed a small smirk in response.

“Don’t worry, I’ve already memorized the layout. I have a trick or two.”

“You… okay, well, see you soon,” he wiped his hand out allowing the pull of the webbing to rocket him away.

Soon enough he was out of sight, and Momo wasted no time, taking off full tilt along the path she remembered. First right, second left, up the stairs then fourth right and she would arrive. She began to make her traps, and proceeded to head up to the next floor.

As expected, her sense of directions didn’t lead her astray. At the designated turn, she arrived to the sight of Parker hoisting the bomb upwards with three lines of webbing far enough that even Shoji wouldn’t be able to reach it without assistance. With practiced precision, her foreign peer then swung around the weapon, covering every available inch in the white substance. A few moments later, the weapon resembled a rather large hanging egg. Cutting the line, Parker landed on the ground, glancing back at her.

“All done,” he said, jerking a thumb at the completed project, “Now what?”

Momo looked around, several pillars that could be used for cover, but not much else beyond the weapon itself. It will have to do.

“I suggest we fortify this position.” Momo said, “The door can be barricaded, I even placed some booby traps on the lower floor.”

“Want me to web it up?” the young American asked and raising, but Momo held up a hand.

“That’s unnecessary, save your ammunition for later and let me. No doubt you lost a great deal coating the weapon.”

“I still got a good chunk left,” Parker said, only for the eyes of his mask to blink, “Wait, ammunition?”

“Your…” she paused, “Web launches run on a limited supply, correct?”

Parker nodded, “Yeah, but how’d you figure that out?”

“It was during the quirk assessment,” Momo said, “During the test, you never used your webs. There were plenty of chances, but you didn’t while you used them regularly during the practical. So, the webs are a tool associated with your suit.” She notched an eyebrow, “Is it that surprising to figure out?”

“Kinda yeah,” Parker admitted, “Most people think it’s part of my quirk, since, you know, my quirk being 'Spider'.”

Reasonable. He does have the physiological traits of one, including strength and agility relative to their size. Momo had the advantage of seeing him with and without his suit, so the deduction came relatively easily. It would be a stretch to say anyone who didn’t have those two pieces would figure it out. But moving onward, there was more that needed to be done.

Todoroki could freeze anything they put up, so any electrical grids would be useless. Basic reinforcements wouldn’t do much, but it would have to do.

“Okay, we bar the door, how do we do that?” Parker asked, somehow, the mask looked like it was raising a non existent eyebrow.

Momo felt a smirk spread across her lips as she focused on her quirk. Iron and carbon for the base, coated with zinc for environmental protection. An inch thick for durability, 820 mm in length, and exactly a ¼ meter tall for efficanty. With the base set, the rainbow lights danced across her arm as the first of many rods came out.

“Whoa!” Parker called out. Momo ignored his surprise, focus on making each of the renforcement slides. They’ll need to break off the doorknob, but the design would accommodate stacking with interlocking tops and bases. When all of them were out, Momo ignored the pang of tiredness that started to form in her stomach.

“How do you do that?” Parker asked. "I mean, I remember you making like, a moped, clamps, a pole, and a bazooka during the quirk test but uhh, do you have like, a pocket dimension where you store things to use on a whim?"

Momo blinked.

“Not... that fantastical I am afraid. My quirk allows me to recreate anything so long as it’s non living and that I understand its molecular composition. I just need lipids and calories as fuel in order to create the materials.”

Peter was speechless, “Anything?” he breathed. "That's even cooler! So you had to make like, the sulfur needed for that bazooka and the oil for the moped and... jeez, you're a genius!"

The surprise from him was palpable. And the praise from him, someone of his skill and technique was something to hear. However, it was nothing new. Her parents called her a genius when her quirk manifested. A prodigy, a straight shot to the top and so much more. The potential was limitless they said, so long as she remained diligent.

“Kind words, but we need to stay focused.”

The eyes on Parker’s mask went wide.

“Right, yeah,” He jumped away as she hefted the first reinforcement, setting it up against the base of the only door. With a click, the first fell into place. Second it was done, she quickly made the others needed to fully cover the door. Behind her, she caught Parker grabbing the map from a nearby box.

“Hmm, they only got one way in, and they’re gonna have to bust it down.” he hummed contemplatively, “Oh, I got it! I think got something, you ever see that old movie Home Alone?”

Momo stopped and glanced back, tilting her head. “Is that an American film?” Parker paused.

“... it’s a... an old classic, but we can work with that. You just need to make a mixture of..." His looked off, thinking, then he cupped his hands and whispered... chemical ingredients? Salicylic acid, touline, methanol, and more, all with differing amounts. Parker knows his chemistry!

He stopped, his mask dissolving away from his face so he could quirk an eyebrow.

“You get all that?”

Momo repeated the list back in her head along with the amounts he provided. What kind of compound was that? From what she could tell it would just be a liquid that would react rather poorly to air.

“Yes, but what does that help us-”

The timer sounded off, their prep time finished. Parker grimaced, “Ok, no need to panic, we can work with this.”

“Yes, start putting the reinforcements in, I’ll start making your compound. Does it need to be in a sealed container?”

Parker nodded, “Keep it pressurized. Could make for a good bomb. If Todoroki freezes it, he’ll risk trapping himself.” he said, clicking the reinforcements into place.

Another good idea, so with instructions, Momo combined the necessary compounds. The list of compounds made the creation slow, but the fruits of her labor came through in the shape of a globe. The container would shatter, spreading the compound in a burst of webbing.

“Uh, Yaoyorozu-san…” Parker says.

His voice trailed off and he looked at the door. Momo saw her breath in the air, but how? Then, a layer of frost erupted out covering the wall and spreading like a plague. Momo gasped, but Peter reacted. He jumped with more power than you would expect from someone of his frame. The instant he was close, the metal legs sprouted out of his back, pinning him to the ceiling and slicing away at the ice. In the same moment, a line of web grabbed Momo’s hand and hoisted her up. She yelped as the wave of ice just missed her feet as he pulled her up, and one of the spider legs went down to cradle her. She held onto the glass globe in her ams too.

“You alright?” Parker called.

A moment passed and she suddenly realized she hadn't answered. Momo turned pink... with those metallic legs and webbing holding her up... she was very close to him! His chest was inches from her's!

“Y-yes I’m fine.”

“That’s good,” Parker said, looking around as he descended, plopping Momo down on the floor as his legs slinked back into his back. Where, Momo couldn't find. “Wow, Todoroki doesn’t mess around,” he whistled. He didn't seem fazed in the act of saving her.

“He was probably hoping to take us out with that attack.”

“But he didn’t,” The American said, tone evident of him smirking.

His eyes flash, and Momo could see the gears turning, “You want to use that.”

“As best we can, he doesn’t know that we’re free, at least not immobilized or hampered” Momo said, holding up one of the makeshift grenades, “I can rig these to detonate when they breach the door. Does that movie you were talking about have anything else?”

Even through the mask, Momo knew that Parker was smiling. "Well, before I tell ya what the movie is about..."

(X)

"Jeez, you don't hold back do you." Shoji Mezo commented as he looked in from the outside. The entire building was encased in ice and frost, and inside the dual-haired boy looked back.

"It's nothing." he said.

Shoto felt a twinge of pride inside bloom forth. Parker may have all the gear and natural ability. But against a unique power with conviction attached, even he would falter. The minimal display that Shoto had shown so far would pay off here. They would never have guessed that he was capable of this. It wouldn’t immobilize them, not with Parker’s strength and Yaoyorozu’s quirk at play, but it would give them pause. Perhaps even to immobilize Yaoyorozu completely and leave Parker alone in a two on one fight, or for him to fight Parker and let Shoji get to the bomb. Even so, he couldn’t be cocky. Going in alone would be suicide. He gestured for Shoji to enter, and they walked into the icebox of a building, footsteps crunching under the ice below.

"Wait." Shoji called out, and Shoto whirled back on him with a raised eye. "I'm picking movement."

Shoto nodded, he was right, Parker wasn't frozen. He narrowed his eyes as he looked up at the ceiling.

"How many?"

"Two. Again."

Yaoyorozu broke free?! The girl either had some kind of gear planned... but he made sure his ice would even sink through the soles of shoes to their feet!

So much for expecting a two for one. They'll have to fight them on equal terms then, even if Yaoyorozu is injured.

"Want me to go outside again? You give this another instant-freeze?" Shoji asked from one of his mouth-arms. The Todoroki heir shook his head.

"We're wasting enough time as is. Relay their position. Once we find them we’ll fight them head to head. We have to get to the bomb, or make sure those two are captured." Shoto warmed up his body to counteract the biting cold, his breath evident as he took an exhale.

"Got it." Shoji said.

The two of them made it to the second floor, but no sign of the bomb as they combed it, running about and stopping in order to get a clue on what the villain team was doing. Shoto wouldn’t put it past the villain team to going go against the grain and not have the weapon on the highest floor. Wouldn't hurt to skim each floor just in case.

"Movement,” Shoji called out again, his arm-ears perking up as Shoto stopped, his ice at the ready.

The ear’s twerk once before one morphs to a mouth, “Several floors above us... One of them is in boots... the other is... not in soles?"

"Elaborate?" Shoto asked, turning around. The one in boots has to be Yaoyorozu trying to cover her wounded feet. Has to be, right?

"As if someone is digging into the ice and the wall with like, a mining tool." The red-white haired boy narrowed his eyes.

"Where?"

Another twerk, then a grimace. "The one in the boots is running around... they’re climbing up the stairs, my guess to the top most floor. The second one is hard to pin down, it's high enough not be on the floor..." His ears throbbed. Shoji was trying his hardest to pin point it, given his human head had narrowed eyes in intense focus. "Maybe... not on the ceiling?"

'Those legs.' Shoto growled mentally. He began to think out loud. "Parker must be planning to ambush us from the floor below. His strength can be used to bust through from a lower floor, while Yaoyorozu has the top most floor littered with whatever she is creating. She could be protecting the bomb, or she's using those movements along with Parker's as a feint to fool us into thinking the bomb is on the fourth floor."

"We can know where they are, but the moment they stop moving I lose them." Shoji replied. "And they can hear us coming." He stepped on the ice, hearing the crunching to emphasize his point. "We move at the same time, the noise makes it hard to track. We stay still I can pinpoint them, but we lose time."

The dual haired boy grit his teeth. "The fact that there is movement on the top most floors means they moved the bomb to the fourth or fifth floor. Let's ignore the third floor and go right there." He began to jog towards the next stair way.

"Right."

(X)

"You about ready?" Peter asked through his earpiece as he called off his mask, finger pressing to his ear.

"Just about. I made the items you suggested, along with some others. It's only a matter of time."

"Yeah. Get ready..." Peter's mask slinked on as he carefully crawled across the ceiling, his spider legs digging into the ice and crawling across as he got into a blind spot. This was the room beside the stair way... he was busy slinging and crawling to the wall and utilizing Momo's gadgets... now he has to wait... and then spring the trap!

At first it was quiet... and then he can hear the crunching of footsteps, and Peter could hear his heartbeat.

He made sure to keep his metal legs still, his hands however had a hard time clinging to the icy wall, so his best bet was to remain was still as possible.

If they check the fourth floor... he will be right on top of them. If they go to the fifth and ignore the fourth, he will only have a few seconds before he can climb up and get the drop.

Win win. What would a villain do.

No.

What would Mr. Toomes do. He began to think...

Adrian Toomes was a clever and crafty guy, not a talker. Let his actions speak for him and played to his strengths whenever he could. When he did talk, it was more to the side...

Todoroki can freeze things. Shoji is strong and has multiple arms with mouths and eyes that can grow on them.

He remembered Mr. Toomes gunning for him hard back on Mr. Stark's plane, considering how they both knew each other's circumstances. Shoji is strong... but he can be handled. He's no Mr. Toomes.

Todoroki has to go down first, or take down Shoji fast and within seconds and then focus entirely on the Ice User. And Momo must have thought that through by now too.

Ice crunching. Peter held his breath. Here they come...

"Should we check the fourth floor?" Shoji's voice came out.

"Check for movement." It was Todoroki, and Peter remained still, holding his breath..

"I got a little bit of movement in the top level... nothing here. Should we split up to check? You on the Fourth and me on the Fifth?"

Peter bit his tongue. If he fought Todoroki head to head, he could handle him somehow. But if he went upstairs to fight Momo... she would have a hard time. Shoji is tough, but it would take time to stop him before helping Momo.

Come on... Stick together...

"No, change of plans. The previous team split up and look what happened there. We stick together."

Yes!

He heard the crunching of footsteps, waiting until he can hear them climb the stairs. Ice breaking again and again...

"Using a Flashbang grenade. Come at them now." Momo whispered into his earpiece. That was his cue.

He then heard one of them shout, and then a bang. Momo's flashbang!

He fell down softly on all fours, slinking back his legs as the ice cracked up top. He fired his web, slinging towards the wall and then in mid-flight, firing upwards through the stairwell.

He pulled himself up with a strong tug and he arrived at a view...

Right down the hallway was Momo, shield on her arm and... a baseball launcher by her side. And several meters in front of him, within the hallway and heading towards her was Todoroki first, then Shoji second. Both of whom were stunned by the flashbang grenade Momo.

In that split second, Peter fired his webbing at Shoji's back. "Now!" He yelled.

The eyes on Shoji's arms flashed towards him, wide in shock. Todoroki turned spun, ice at the ready.

Then Momo flipped the switch on her detonator.

The floor below Todoroki gave out, and with a yell, the dual haired boy fell to the fourth floor below courtesy of the depth charges that were insulated and Peter pulled Shoji in, catching him off guard... but he used his arms to stop his pull towards the wall crawler, latching onto the hallway edges and stopping at the doorway.

Peter used that momentum to deliver a mighty dive kick, striking the tall boy in the back and sending him past the open hole and skidding along the icy hallway, Peter right behind the stunned Shoji. He saw Momo sprint towards the open hole, conjuring a massive steel plate right out of her stomach and slammed it on top of the hole. That will buy time against Todoroki, at least a little.

The brown haired boy skidded along the ice, sliding and almost tripping before his spider-legs sprouted to catch his fall. Shoji was up on all... his arms and legs and turned towards him. His eyes angled towards Momo who turned to the baseball launcher.

"No sir!" Peter fired some webbing, grabbing Shoji before he could dive into a sideways room and bringing him in. He used his spider legs to both support him and to bind him as Shoji grunted. He struggled, but Peter held tight, his spider legs tightening around him like an anaconda. Tried as he might, he wasn’t getting out. So it came as a shock when Peter kicked him away, sending him stumbling over the ice. Right into Momo's line of fire.

"Fire!" Peter called.

With a clear shot, Momo fired the baseball launcher. Shoji grunted and yelled as he was pelted, but instead of baseballs it was... giant balls of white goo that was splattering all over him, hitting his legs and arms. Peter then tackled him, grabbing the capture tape he had around his neck and wrapping it around Shoji's waist... it only made the boy struggle more as he let out more yelps of pain before being brought to his knees from the onslaught of baseball-sized paintballs...

Filled of the webbing formula he gave. Peter gave it a tug, wrapping the tape around him and he turned his head.

Just in time to hear the sound of destroyed debris from the floor below. Todoroki was coming!

"Shoji captured! Parker-san, keep Todoroki busy while I finish setting up," Momo said through the earpiece.

She couldn’t see it, but Peter nodded, firing some webbing and slung himself towards the stairwell, latching onto the wall...

He felt his goosebumps and head tingle, and he pressed his whole body against the wall. He felt the surging pillar of ice behind him as he punched the entire wall out. And not a moment too soon, as the spot he occupied was covered in ice.

Unfortunately, that led outside. Gravity took hold, dragging Peter down, forcing him to land on a crouch in the waiting ally. He looked up and blanched. This… this didn’t could as excessive damage did it? Well, All Might hadn’t said anything so it’s good.

Yeah, totally good.

Peter fired another line, pulling himself up. His feet stuck to the wall effortlessly, letting him sprint up the wall and across the building. One last line to anchor himself, Peter jumped and used the line to sling himself straight through the boarded window on the other side of the building. It shattered against his suit, skidding on the fresh coat of ice on the floor stopping right at the end of the hallway.

And at the other end of the hall near the stairway, was a glaring Todoroki Shoto.

"Lets go popsicle!" Peter called out in English. Ack! Mr. Toomes wouldn't have said tha- "Oh shit!" Peter dived to the room he came from, avoiding a surging torrent of ice as it smashed against the wall before it began to travel inside!

Peter used his metal legs to spring himself towards the next wall, busting it with his fist as he did his best to avoid the incoming surge of ice behind him. Punch. Kick. Hole in the wall. He'll reach the end of all this ice before long! He'll get Todoroki soon!

Turns out, sooner than he thought. Peter skidded into the last room, seeing Todoroki on the other end with a wide eye. Peter aimed his arm, but the dual haired boy was on the move, using his ice to go down the wall as Peter latched onto the opposing room and slung, escaping the room-filling frost. Peter skidded, turning his head and seeing Todoroki look back at him, peeking from the edge of the door.

And a surge of ice exploded towards him again!

"Shazbot!" Peter yelled as he fired web at the wall and pulled, taking off and destroying it, jumping through another one or those annoying (but awesome) ice blasts. He rolled and glanced around. Good news, he wasn’t frozen. Bad news, another wall was gone and Todoroki was moving... gliding on his ice as he gestured with his arms to target him! "Okay careful!" Another rush, and other wall destroyed, "We're gonna!" Peter charged forward, jumping up and latching to the ceiling and taking off before Todoroki could get too far. "Wreck the building!" And again, with Todoroki aiming with his arms, ice pillars shot out "Like the last one!" Peter jumped, narrowly avoiding getting trapped in another trashed room. "So can you please stop!"

Ohhh so much for being like Mr. Toomes! And this was the last room! No choice, time to go at him!

"Parker-san! I'm coming down to assist!" Momo shouted in his ear.

Good, he just has to buy his attention!

Peter pivoted towards Todoroki, and he used his spider legs to steady himself and then launch towards the gamut of ice, reared back his fist, and delivered a massive punch.

The blow caused the ice torrent to crack and crumble like a very crispy deep fried corn tortilla, and Todoroki's eyes widened as Peter closed the gap...

But he backed off, using a backwards ice surge and riding with it back down the hallway. He fired another pillar of ice...

And Peter jumped to the ceiling, latching on with his spider legs and looking at Todoroki as the ice surge missed him. The red haired boy was half-covered in ice, and his non-ice covered side looked super frosty to boot. He angled his spider legs and his limbs, and Peter took off towards him. Todoroki's eyes widened as he back off, sliding with his ice to avoid a dive kick before sending another surge.

Peter took to the ceiling inside, using the precious instants before the ice spread up from the walls. He crawled for all he was worth, and then slinked into the room.

"Come and get me hero! That all you got!" Peter shouted, adrenaline fueling him as he heard Todoroki move again on his ice, appearing through one of the ruined holes in the wall from another room. His face was a vicious glare of frustration and focus as Peter avoided an ice spire, launching and punching the ceiling-to-floor ice surge.

Got to keep buying time!

Peter used his web to sling himself into another room he caused via truck-sized hole, landed and saw Todoroki trying to recover. Is... is he slowing down?

(X)

His fingers twitched, but he couldn’t feel them. Shoto gritted his teeth, desperately blocking out the pain from the few parts of his left side that haven’t gone numb. A few streams were all he could manage before he had to even out again.

But that would take time, and right now, time wasn’t a resource that Shoto had to much of.

Everytime that Shoto thought he could get a clear shot, Parker would dip dive through the air and even on and sometimes through the damn walls to avoid everything. He never stopped moving. When his hands couldn’t latch on to something, his webs would pull him away. If ice so much as touched him, his legs would sprout out, slicing away any ice that came close. Or he'd punch or kick his way through the walls, weakened by his instant-freeze.

It was like trying to hold down the breeze from a hurricane. Faster than anything had the right to be, and far stronger than you could ever imagine.

Shoto clenched his fist, no. He was only psyching himself out letting the thoughts get to him. All he needed was one clear shot, and when he was trapped, no amount of strength would help him. With no leverage, physics wouldn’t allow him to escape. Yaoyorozu would be far easier to deal with.

There was a chance, he hadn’t lost yet.

Parker’s red head popped out of the hole that he made. Not good, he was still recovering. Shoto glanced back, the stairs were behind him, perfect. He possessed the advantage in position for now. Frost spread across his left side with renewed vigor as he sent a massive stream of ice. With only his head in the wall, he wouldn’t grab Parker.

But he wasn’t trying to.

“Holy!” Parker called, wisely jumping back from the literal wall that Shoto summoned forth.

Within seconds, the entire room was filled with ice. A giant rectangular block, sealing Peter in the previous room and giving Shoto some breathing room for the floor above. Even if Yaoyorozu had more charges above, there was nothing to drop down to. Parker would be able to break through. He needed to move.

“OKAY I heard about chilling out but this is ridiculous!” Parker screamed from the other end.

Despite himself, Shoto felt his shoulders slump and gritted his teeth in annoyance. Did the American ever stop talking?

Even if he did, he didn’t have time. Shoto’s foot crunched on the ice and he bolted up the stairs. The air burned, freezing his lungs even as he drew upon the tiniest section of his left side to mitigate the effects, heating up as much as he could to try and fire more surges. He got to the top flight, and was met with Yaoyorozu coming down the far stairwell, a window to her back. She had a black visor over her eyes, as well as a paintball gun, a belt of white balls-in-plastic containers on her back no doubted created with all the free time that she was given.

They reacted as one.

She raised her weapon, Shoto slapped his right hand against the wall. The flash freeze that followed made Yaoyorozu gasp in surprise. She reached to her belt and threw-

A blast ripped through the wall, cutting off the stream as Shoto staggered back, his eyes burning and his ears ringing.

Another flash bang?

It was one way of stopping a ranged attack. Shoto couldn’t see a thing. He dropped low, and forced a protective wall of ice in front of himself. Something splattered against it in rapid fire. He blinked through the haze and saw that she was prone against the floor. No, not prone, in a sniper position! She eyed down the sights of... some kind of sniper scope on the paintball gun! He ducked behind his makeshift barrier. Smart move, keeping him at a distance while buying time. He could barely hear a thing with his ears still ringing, and no doubt Parker heard the blast as well. He’d be coming straight for them, and from behind too. A two on one would be the end of him. With his agility, Shoto had seconds, maybe moments before Parker came in. She was on the upper floor, hand on her weapon and a fresh grenade next to her. The glasses protected her from the flash, but he didn’t see any ear plugs. Maybe she didn’t have any, but Shoto didn’t think the girl was capable of making a mistake so obivous.

She was good.

But Shoto had to be better. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

He had to get in close and risk it anyway. If he freezed this hallway, he’d block off the only way up and have to go outside. That wasn’t even an option. Outside with the open space, he could go all out, but Parker would be even more of a nuisance with more room to manuever. But he has time. Five minutes is an eternity while in combat. Shoto didn’t have the stamina to fire off more ice thanks to the building-level flash freeze less he feel the aftereffects of frostbite. He could fire two, maybe three more streams before needing his fire inside him to recharge. It would be enough. Hopefully.

Shoto lept over his barrier, and willed another surge to carry him, sliding across the room weaving through shots, closing the distance. If he went for the bomb, he'd be walking into another death trap. Got to neutralize her, make an ice wall, than flash freeze the bomb room and get to the bomb. He'll have seconds left, but he can still win this. Yaoyorozu reached behind her and awkwardly pulled the pin at another flashbang. She threw it, but Shoto was ready.

He shot another wave, sending it up the wall and catching the flashbang in a prison of ice, smothering it before it could go off. Yaoyorozu yelped in surprise and Shoto had the advantage. His left side burned with frost, but it was worth it.

One more, and he was too close for her to use any other tricks.

Shoto screeched to a halt and aimed his arm. Yaoyorozu tried to push herself up, but she wouldn’t be fast enough.

"I win." He uttered, getting ready to fire...

Which is when the window behind her shattered, Parker busting through like a runaway train, arms out stretched, along with the spider legs.

His hand whipped out, webbing pulling Yaoyorozu to safety before sliding down the hallway on the ice. Shit, Shoto only had one more stream left before he would suffer the effects of frostbite. Parker was closing in, Yaoyorozu was getting up.

He had to get them both, now or never!

Shoto stepped forward, forcing his stream to angle Parker to his right, only for the spider to jump to Shoto’s left. He slide across the wall, five meters, three, and then lept at him, a fist raised to end it.

But just his fist. No spiderlegs, no webs, just him. Time seemed to slow down...

Shoto could hit him, he knows he can! He raises his hand, and for a second, a river of fire rages just beneath the skin. It melts the ice, sparks dance on his fingers, the frost on his right side hisses...

The hiss of steam….

The eyes of madness. One maddened by abuse and neglect, at wits end. The other obsessed with desire, burning with disdain.

The hiss grew even sharper. Louder.

And Shoto stopped, the sparks winking out.

And then Parker’s fist met his stomach. He gasped for air, the hit sending him sprawling back. A kick to his ribs sent him stumbling into the wall. His head hit hard, throwing stars into his vision. And he couldn't breathe either.

What hit him? Shoto fought to keep his eyes open. He tried to move his hand, but it wouldn’t obey him. It was stuck to the floor. When did that happen? His vision refocused looked down, and saw that the rest of his body was pinned to the floor with globs of the white substance. His one arm that was free was being held down by Parker. His fire-arm. Yaoyorozu lowered her weapon and Parker stared at him through that mask of his, holding out his hand as the black haired girl handed him something. He moved to the side and wrapped something around his hand. Shoto was struggling to breathe trying to get air in him, along with the pain his stomach was experiencing was making him lose focus.

The capture tape.

Did… did he lose?

“Villain team… WINS!” All Might’s voice screamed at the edge of clarity.

Huh… guess that’s that.

“Hoo man!” Parker sighed, “Not gonna lie, this was getting a bit crazy, even for me. That was intense!”

If he was expecting a laugh, Shoto didn’t have it in him. Yaoyorozu didn’t either. Between two stares, the American deflated but recovered fast. On his back one of the legs came out. It was a scary sight, not being able to move as a spider leg looked ready to run him through.

“Let’s get you out of that stuff, so chill out.”

The mask morphed underneath, no doubt smiling at the disbelieving looks of the two recommended students in the room. Yaoyorozu sighed, muttering something.

Shoto… had no words.

He lost… to this? This...easy going bumbling foreigner?

The leg flashed down, cutting the webbing and Shoto felt his other arm come free.

“Yeah that stuff is going to dissolve in about an hour.” Parker said. "Sorry about that." He shrugged as he went about cutting and tearing the webbing from the floor using his spider legs as if they were surgical tools. "You know, gotta think like a villain and all. Tried to but... you really gave me a scare."

“It’s fine,” Shoto said iritibly, putting his left hand against the wall as he helped himself up, ignoring Parker's hand to help him up.

“Er, if you say so man. You fought great by the way. Thought I was gonna lose and get captured for a couple of times there.”

"You were exemplary yourself." Shoto glanced back at the American shrugging from the look that Yaoyorozu had given them. Ignoring them, he brought the dregs of fire that he dared, keeping it within his body to warm himself. The ice hissed, making his eye burn in a phantom pain as the ice around his vicinity melted away.

“WOAH!” Parker screamed, “You can use heat too!? That’s awesome! So like, your Quirk is Fire and Ice? That's so cool!”

Shoto stared at his hand as it defrosted, voice low. "Yes. Yes it is."

No.

The hiss of the steam.

No it isn’t.

(X)

"Haaa hahaha! A job well done students!" All Might declared, hands on his hips as he looked over the four students who returned from the building. The entirety of Class A was muttering and in hubub watching the fight take fold, and what a spectacle it was! Tactics and powers on full display! Truly and incredible performance from both parties! "You carried out your roles well! Take heart Young Todoroki, Young Shoji." He saw the taller boy and the dual-haired boy perk up. "While you suffered a defeat, in the end this is a lesson, and the point of it all is to learn from your experiences. Win or lose, you'll learn something. Now then class!" He declared, turning towards the mass of students. Young Midoriya hasn't returned yet. Must be resting due to Recovery Girl's Quirk.

If this keeps up, she's going to start lashing at him. Yagi knows it. "Who do you think amongst the Hero and Villain teams is the MVP?" Some of the boys in the class were hooting and hollering during the fight as if they were watching a sports event. Ahh the enthusiasm of youth! "Feel free to contribute!"

"Well... Parker's strength and speed was the biggest reason they wound up winning in the end right?" Kaminari stated. "Like, did you see how he moved using his web, legs and ability! Jeez, like, he is the closest here to being a pro than any of us!"

Young Bakugo, who only seemed to grow more despondent before going into pure panic and shock throughout the fight only seemed to keep deflating. A strong ego is usually one that is very fragile... he will need to console him after the Battle Training when he gets the chance.

"Well yeah, but Yaoyorozu was only saved by Parker because he somehow knew the ice was coming! Like, if it was anyone else, they wouldn't have been able to move!" Hagakure waved her gloves. "Plus Todoroki was able to fight effectively without, well, totally ruining the building. Well... he kinda did, but not to the level of destroying the weapon or the villain hideout!"

"Yeah, how about when Parker and Todoroki finally clashed! The Ace versus the Son of Endeavor! That was a fight worthy of a hero and villain clash! Real men in a no holds barred brawl!" Kirishima pumped his fists. Todoroki's eye twitched a little.

"I thought Parker was simply majestique with his acrobatic skills~" Aoyama said with a pose.

"Wait, but Shoji was doing a decent job scouting them beforehand... his Quirk would be super useful in hideout raiding." Sato mused. Throughout all this, Parker was biting his lip and looking sheepishly away from all the praise. Todoroki seemed neutral while reading Shoji was like reading a brick wall.

"I think the MVP is Yaoyorozu." Asui said with a raised hand, a wide finger on her chin. Yaoyorozu, who has been silent, perked up.

"Yeah... I'm inclined to agree too." Jirou added, the punk girl snapping her finger. "Like, sure Parker was able to react and save her from Todoroki's ice and he was able to get the drop on them when they got to the top floors... but most of him and Yaoyorozu's team winning was due to luck. Parker managed to bust himself out of the building he was going too fast."

Young Parker chuckled, rubbing the back of his head.

"Oh? Anything else? Young Asui? Young Jirou?" All Might beamed, and the two black haired girls perked up.

"Plus, Yaoyorozu set up all those traps and tools. The depth charges. The Baseball launcher. The flashbang grenades. And that wierd white webbing too. All non-lethal, doesn't cause too much damage to the hideout, and it was those items that wound up being the different in the Villain Team getting the win." Jirou crossed her arms, taking a slow time processing it all as she said it. "That about right?"

"I think if Yaoyorozu wasn't involved, Parker may not have gotten the win against Todoroki either because of that too." Asui added. "Those depths charges knocked Shoji out of the fight, leaving Todoroki to fend for himself against Parker and Yaoyorozu."

"You are indeed correct you two! Both teams had integral functions and roles in their teams, and they performed them admirably!" Yagi stated with a hearty laugh. "Sometimes in battle, luck can determine the outcome, even with a match as close as Young Parker and Todoroki's!"

"Plus throughout the fight both of them were trying to hit each other and not be hit." Young Uraraka exclaimed. "practically a 180 when Deku fought Bakugo..."

"Deku?" Parker asked curiously, looking at the brown haired girl who laughed.

"Oh, it's the nickname Midoriya chose for himself! In fact he wanted it to be his hero name! Deku, the name of a hero!" Bakugo looked like he wanted to slink into a corner. "Plus I think it's super cute if you ask me!"

"Okay then... Well, Izuku could be read as Deku... Anyway, back on topic..." Parker rubbed the back of his head. "I knew if I got caught by the ice I was probably done for so... yeah. I was trying to tag Todoroki before he can tag me." He shrugged. Todoroki rubbed his middle, grimacing. He'd have some bruising, but there was no lasting damage. The crow-headed boy, Tokoyami Fumikage nodded.

"First strike wins..."

"Precisely! Sometimes even the most tense of encounters can be defined by whoever lands the first blow! And take heart to those who are on the Hero Teams, as young Parker stated earlier, we Heroes are at a disadvantage when it comes to fighting villains in their lairs, as they have time and preparation to thwart those who try to stop their evil-doing ways!" All Might beamed, looking at the four students. "You four aced this exercise in flying colors. Well done."

Shoji Mezo stood at attention. Todoroki Shoto perked up. While Yaoyorozu Momo and Peter Parker beamed as the Symbol of Peace praised them.

"Alright then. Let's get onto the next battle!"

(X)

"We did great, Yaoyorozu." Parker said as they watched the rest of the battles on the screen. Momo perked up, turning around and saw the brown haired boy looking her way. The girl nodded.

"Well, like how All Might-sensei said, we had time to prepare. Those depth charges we had basically set the outcome of the fight, that and your web fluid I used for the normal and giant paintballs." Momo smiled lightly. "I can see why you're fond of such a formula. It has so many practical uses!" Parker had a bit of pink on his cheeks.

"Well, yeah... I guess it does. My suit does have-I mean." He caught himself, looking down a little. "Used to be able to other things with my webbing. Like, fire web grenades or have them be electromagnetically charged to essentially be a tazer."

"How come it only is used to?" Momo inquired. Parker's suit was like nothing she had ever seen. And he says there are limits to it?

"Well, let's just say..." He reached around and grabbed his arm. "It got damaged a little in the past due to a dumb mistake I made and I lost..." Parker looked down, as if looking at his chest. "Something vital to me because of it."

"I see... well, maybe you can have your suit be inspected by the Support Department? I'm sure they would be able to look over your costume." The boy turned towards the brunette.

"Really? Think they would help?" He asked, and the girl couldn't help but nod.

"U.A. has some of the best facilities in the world, and their Support Department did design many of our hero costumes and equipment. I'm sure they can do something about your suit to improve or repair anything."

Parker seemed to brighten up. "I'll have to stop by them then after school. Thanks alot!" He looked up, seeing the screens and the battles unfold. "You, umm... were awesome out there too."

Momo blushed, looking aside. "Well, like I said... we won only because we had time to prepare and we had the necessary items. Without you I doubt we would have stopped Todoroki and the raw power he had. So we won because of you Parker-san, you don't have to be so modest. Plus you were able to keep up with Todoroki's attacks and be able to stun Shoji and eventually Todoroki in turn to get us the victory." And the boy took a deep breath, biting his lip and looking pink in the cheeks too.

"I mean, uhhh...looking at the rest of Class A," He saw Tokoyami and Asui glide and hop down the hall using their quirks as they engaged their opposing team. "I don't think I would not have been able to stop Todoroki on my own. Like, um, sure, I’m good but you’re…” The two teens were looking away, unsure of what to make of their praise of each other. Peter then let out a soft laugh. "Tell you what... how about we, uh, both admit we did a great job. Equal credit all around? Fifty-fifty?"

"A-Agreed! I definitely concur! Now, we should pay attention to our classmates, Peter-san. After all, we do need to support each other and cheer each other on."

"If we want to be top heroes." Peter finished, and the two looked at each other...

Before focusing back on screen, the boy again biting his lip and Momo crossing her arms.

...

Did she just call him by his first name?

Oh goodness she did!

She was thankful she was in front of the class. Her face was becoming as red as her revealing blouse! And all of this was happening within the first few days of school too!

She didn't notice Peter sometimes... on occasion, would look over with his eyes at her crossed arms at her full chest, for just a moment before focusing back on the screens, and looking around scratching his head.

(X)

Finally… the day was fucking over.

Katsuki got out of that stupid classroom the second the bells tolled. Some of the extras in his class tried to stop him, to talk to him and socialize, but he didn’t let them. He didn’t even know who said what, and even only a few steps out of the hallway did he forget what they even tried to say.

Whatever, it wasn’t anything important, Katsuki just needed to go. The sooner he could get away from today, the better. No one was around to stop him, and that was perfectly fine. All he needed was him to get home, do homework, put up with that old cow, kill the germs in his teeth and dirt in his hair with a shower, then get some nice sleep.

Away from this place. His first… loss.

Damnit, even thinking that word was enough to piss him off. He shook it off, it didn’t mean anything. It was just a flook. He even won on a goddamn technicality.

Just like that redshirt getting in first place. That redshirt that won his match against….

He gritted his teeth, but even so, he could still see it. The ice coating the walls in an instant. The foreign bastard smashing through the walls and the ice like they were nothing.

And Katsuki? He looked down at his hand, the arm that couldn’t stop Deku of all people. With a point-blank blast. It was still as stone, strong, ready to unleash an explosion at any second.

But it wasn’t enough.

He clenched it. It was because he didn’t know. All these years, all this time, Deku could do it. He could punch his way through a building. He could stand up for himself. His Quirk had so much raw power.

At least, he thought he could.

He thought he could…. Win.

"Tch." Katsuki thew his hand into his pocket. He couldn’t even look at it anymore. What the fuck was he thinking? Of course he could win! His quirk could do more than any of these damn extras! The redshirt had power, but he had nothing on his blasts! Ice guy looked like he was slowing down around the end of the fight!

Except, the American threw further than him during the test.

Endeavor's brat had an ability that could have neutralized him from opening tap. He didn't have the foreigner's sixth sense somehow. His feet would have gotten stuck.

T-that didn’t matter! He could still do more with a little thinking! Like that rich bitch, who thought up a way to beat that ice guy even when everything froze over.

It didn’t matter. It didn’t matter! It was irrelevant! Katsuki wouldn’t lose to those freaks! All Might has never lost! And he plans to surpass him and be the greatest hero in the history of mankind! The man who never loses!

But he lost to-

He clenched his fist, smothering an explosion before it could blast away this stupid fucking entrance. It was one thing to see something like that, to know that he couldn’t beat them.

The ice.

The speed.

He shivered, what…. What was he supposed to do? It so fucked up!

Why?

Why did-

“Kaachan!” a voice called.

'Oh for fucks sake.'

He kept on walking, he didn’t need to hear anything from that little snake.

“Wait up!”

Katsuki stopped, he didn’t know why. Did some fucked up part of him want to listen to Deku, his hanger on from days past? No, the little bastard was just going to keep running after him, screaming in his ear until he got what he wanted.

“What?” The blond boy demanded.

Deku slowed to a stop, that stupid fear in his eyes still wrapped in his stupid wrecked excuse of a suit. Was it homemade because it sure as hell looked like it. His lip trembled, why the fuck did he do that? Why does he have to act scared with a power like his? He should be proud and confident! And yet all he did was act like a meek loser. A quirkless ant.

Easy, just so Deku can laugh behind his back for making Katsuki look like a fool for the better part of a fucking decade. Was his lame looking mom in on it too? Did she help with this long con he pulled off at Katsuki's expense?

What more did he gain, looking down at him like this?

“I have to tell you something.” Deku said, “Maybe then, you’ll understand what’s been going on.”

Katsuki kept his face flat, but inside the urge to explode started to build. 'Going on? You’ve been lying to my face for years, what else is there to understand?'

“I wasn’t hiding my quirk from you.”

Katsuki gripped the inside pant leg. 'Oh you shut up. I never lied about my quirk once in my goddamn life you don't have that fucking excuse!'

“It was given to me by someone else. Recently.”

The blond perked up. What was that? He was given a quirk? That’s impossible, you can’t just give someone a quirk. If a power like that existed, the internet would be all over it. Deku shrank under his stare, going deeper into his little act.

“But I can’t tell you who I got it from so don’t ask. I know, it’s like something out of a comic book, only this time it’s real.”

Katsuki felt his teeth grit together. Deku was really going this far to sell his act? Just cut the crap! In fact, quit being a hero and be an actor! He'd finally be good for once!

“The thing is, I don’t really have control over this power yet. I haven’t figured out how to make it my own, but I’m trying.”

The explosion raged just beneath the surface. Is Deku… was he seriously trying to feed him this crap!? Out of all the stupid lies he could’ve fed him, this is what he came up with? More fucking lies? Not one ounce of truth?

“That’s why I didn’t want to use it against you in the exercize. But it was the only way I had a chance at winning.”

Katsuki was trembling now. A chance at winning, stop it.

“I’ve still got a lot to learn. I know that. “

Just stop, Katsuki didn’t want to hear it! From anyone else he could ignore it, but coming out of... goddamn Deku, he couldn’t.

This... stupid apology.

“You’ll see, I’ll work until I have control over this borrowed quirk. And I’ll finally beat you with my own power!”

For a second, Katsuki couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He just stared at the ruined victor in front of him. Deku, the quirkless kid that played hero when he couldn’t even protect himself. The kid that followed him around for years because he was envious of the power that he had.

The kid that had more power than he did was serious, more serious than he remembered him being in years.

And he said, that he was going to use a borrowed quirk to beat him?

He said that, to his fucking face!

Snake!

“How dumb do you think I am?” Katsuki seethed, startling the little bastard,” Borrowed power?” he repeated, the words tasting like shit on his tongue, “Don’t talk to me like I’m an idiot.”

He gripped his pant leg tighter, but the trembling remained. He didn’t want to hear it! Not from him.

'Deku...'

“You already made a fool out of me,” Katsuki admitted.

'Don't you dare...'

“Did you come here to rub it in? I LOST! And to make it worse it was to you! I fell for your fucking lie like a loser too!”

'Give me pity!'

“And that’s not all!” Katsuki screamed, “I couldn’t get first, I could just watch! When I was watching that Ice guy and that damned redshirt.” Tears gathered in his eyes. “I realized I couldn’t beat either of them in a straight fight!” he screamed. "I would have been trashed by them both!"

He didn’t give a shit who heard him, it was the truth! Every word burned, but he couldn’t stop them!

He remembered how it felt, standing there in that monitoring room as the redshift fought the ice guy.

He never felt so powerless in his life, so stupid.

“Damnit, damnit, damnit!”

Bakugo forced himself to look at him, the person who beat him with tears in his eyes. Deku jerked back. Yeah, go on, he could laugh it up. He got to see Bakugo cry.

'Is that what you wanted Deku? Satisfied you lying little shit?'

“Enjoy your victory Deku! You won’t get another! I’m just getting started! Got that? I’m gonna be the number one hero, and there’s no one that’s going to stand in my way! Not you, not that ice guy or even that fucking redshirt! No one!” he declared.

And Deku, stared right back at him with wide eyes.

With that, Katsuki turned away, wiping the stupid tears out of his eyes.

“You’ll never beat me again you bastard. D-Don’t even try.” Fuck now even his voice was cracking. Don't fucking cry... just don't.

Just how low could he get today?

“THERE YOU ARE! BA-KU-GO I found you!” The number one hero declared, putting his stupid hands on Bakugo’s shoulders. God damnit what did All Might want? “Listen well my boy, Pride is a valuable asset to have, but there’s plenty more that you need-”

“Let go of me All Might. Right now.”

The symbol of peace glanced down, stupid confusion on his face. What did he need to know? Katsuki didn’t need anything and certainly nothing from him! He's getting pity from that fucking snake. Last thing he needs his consolation from his idol.

“I’m gunna be even more famous than you, so back off.”

Finally, the older hero took his hands off him and let him leave. Katsuki stormed out of the gate.

Finally, the day was fucking over.

Chapter Text

After class got out, Peter was happy to get away from all the hubbub and mobbing his classmates were giving him. Eijirou wanted to do a friendly spar, Sato wanted to arm wrestle, Hagakure Tooru wanted to see his Iron Spider again, as did Aoyama, but it was too much for him. He remembered Momo's words and managed to duck out of class when the bell sounded. He said goodbyes towards his classmates and to Momo and jogged on out.

"Let's see... Support Department... Development Studio." Peter murmured as he looked over a map. It was in that part of campus, okay then. He looked in his backpack where his folded up suit was located and remembered his conversation with Momo.

"U.A. has some of the best facilities in the world, and their Support Department did design many of our hero costumes and equipment. I'm sure they can do something about your suit to improve or repair anything."

Those were her words. If they can find a way to do what he has failed to do in the last year to free Karen... who knows what he can do. But now that he's a student, he has more access to resources he didn't have prior. No longer can he simply use homemade stuff with parts and tools from the garbage. Now he can get top of the line tools needed to access her.

But the suit... he remembered how complex it was when he first utilized it. How it had multiple wirings and intricate connections that he was only able to access thanks to having Stark Industry-brand tools. That and his own know-how.

He texted Yu. 'Will be late heading home. Doing an errand.' Send. Peter pocketed his phone and walked towards the building that contained U.A. Academy's Support Department. Before long, he came upon a massive metal door with the words DEVELOPMENT STUDIO written at the top. "Okay... here-"

And he heard the sound of machinery activate from within, along with...cackling laughter. "MWAAAHAHAHA! YES! LIFT OFF MY DARLINGS! TAKE FLIGHT AND BE FREE AS A BIIIIRD~!" Peter sidestepped the door, and the metal doors flew open as someone came sprawling out onto the floor. The voice was female, and she was wearing something large and clumsy looking on her feet that was whirring and smoking.

"Dangit Hatsume!" Yelled a voice from within. "You better not have caused any damage in the hallway ya hear!"

"Gyahaha! Rest assured Power Loader Sensei!" The prone person, Hatsume gave a thumbs up even with her voice muffled by the floor. She was in baggy cargo points as she was on her knees, bottom sticking out. Peter was wide eyed at this exchange. "Nothing damaged! Just my dead skin on the rug for the janitorial bots to clean!"

Okay now thats just going too specific.

"Honestly, you develop something as complex as this in day two and I'm contemplating putting a child-leash on ya." The older-sounding male voice tsked as Peter saw him walk out. He was a short and skinny man wearing nothing but jeans, boots, fingerless gloves and a rectangular excavator claw for a helmet for sorts. He can see some orange hair sticking out from the back. "But if you damage things up, I'm gonna have to kick you out for good!"

"Okay Sensei!" The girl was up on her feet, wobbling a bit thanks to her very complex metal boots and Peter noticed her pink hair. Very very pink yet all natural. Kind of like Mina. He saw her turn and Peter noticed a wide grin on her visage combined with bright yellow eyes that... lookd like targets? Bullseyes? "Oh hi there!"

"eh? Who's-oh, it's you." Power Loader said with crossed arms. "You must be Peter Parker right?"

"Oh-Uh, hello there Power Loader Sensei!" Peter bowed. "Y-Yeah, that's me."

"You're in the hero course right? What are you doing around here? Class is out for the day.”

"Peter Parker?" Hatsume spoke out, and Peter saw her stomp towards him, eyes wide as Peter stepped back, until he found himself against the wall. Here it comes... more silly unwanted praise. "Never heard of ya!"

Wait, what?

"Hatsume, down. Please." Power Loader rolled his eyes as he stepped forward. "Get back inside the studio and take off your boots. You're making more of a mess in the hallway!"

"Okay!" Hatsume pressed something on her belt, and Peter noticed some wires conencted to her boots as she... floated, whirring as she hopped up and down. He can hear her giggle as Peter saw her go.

She... doesn't know about him? How? Was she pulling his leg?

"I apologize for my student's forward nature, turns out she's like that all time." Power Loader focused his attention on Peter. "And doesn't have volume control too..."

"I can tell...Oh, and to answer your question, well..." Peter unshouldered his backpack and held it in his arms. "Is it possible for you to maybe give a look at my costume? I... I need your help." He felt his heart tigthen. It's now or never.

"Oh? What for? Of all the students of Class 1-A you didn't submit a Costume Request, saying you already had one." He crossed his arms. Peter couldn't read his face given how it was hidden behind the mask. "Did you get it damaged during the Battle Training today or somethin'?"

"Oh no not that, I... it happened before and-"

"Is a costume damaged!" Hatsume came jogging out, her chest...bouncing up and down in her charcoal grey blouse which made Peter pucker his lips at the sight and moved his eyes away. "Can I fix it! Please please please?!"

"I never gave ya persmission! And you just finished your first piece of equipment! You need a break Hatsume."

"Breaks are for the weak!" She declared, face and tone of constant joy and enthusasiam not changing. "I wanna have a looksie at equipment! Tech! Anything!" She stood in front of Peter, beaming. "I am Hatsume Mei of the Support Course! First year! Now gimme your suit!"

Peter held onto his backpack a little, and Power Loader put a hand on her shoulder.

"What's the issue? Come on inside." He gestured Peter to follow, and the boy did just that. This... Hatsume was weird, as she kept walking with him, smile seemingly glued onto her face like All Might as her yellow eyes was...

Oh god was she looking him over!

Maybe coming here was a mist-

No... do it for Karen. He has to ask. He has to try!

The inside of the Development Studio was like a complex first class engineering room... And it made Peter gasp at all the tools stacked on the various shelves. The computers. The 3-D Printers. The machines needed to make parts and circuitry board makers. The countless measuring machines and deburring devices. The assembly lines. A room to the side with the words BAR STOCK being labed. The metalic saws. The workbenches. The blueprints.

Oh gosh... was... was this...

Heaven?

"Uhhh Parker?" Power Loader waved a hand in front of his face. "You're drooling."

"You are an inventor too! I know those eyes of yours!" Peter felt someone take his hand and he clammed up. How come he didn't sense it coming! Mei took Peter's hand into her own, and Peter can feel all the oil and grime and calouses on her fingers.

Has she been doing this all her life? Hatsume tilted her head. "The look of your eyes as you inspected the Kanban Mk. 4 3-D Printers, or the Kilgore Diamond-Edged Saws, and the state of the art computer modules! I know it, you!" She held it up, smiling with unbridled joy and hugging his arm. "Are like me~. Someone who absolutely adore and lives for the art of making so...so many..."

"Babies." She said, almost... huskily. But still loud.

Wait... making babi-

Oh god his arm was in her cleavage! Those eyes looking at him like meat!

Oh god he was being hit on!

Somebody heeeelp! He can't mooooove!

"Hatsume, let'em go and speak. Seriously, he's turning as a red as a tomato, you mad witch." Power Loader cut in and the girl let go of Peter, but she had her hands behind her back as she gave the American space. Didn't stop those bullseye-eyes of hers to keep roving over him like a weaponsight. "So, you need help with your gear? What is it then?"

"Oh ummm..." Peter took a deep breath. Focus on the Pro Hero Teacher before him and the objective at hand. Not the pink haired grease girl who was softer than he had originally thought thanks to her embrace and sudden declaration. "Well... it is kind of a long story... see, I got my gear." He remembered his cover story and took a deep breath. "From my role model back in America. He handed me two pieces of equipment. The Spider Suit and the Iron Spider Module, which acts as a reinforcment piece of gear for the Spider suit." There, step one complete. "But... sometime in the past I... I made a mistake and ummm..." Peter looked at the floor, his shoulders deflating.

If only he didn't take his mask off when on the Space Donut like an idiot.

Karen could have helped back on Titan. She could have offered a different plan. Maybe turn the tide against Thanos.

And the fact that his suit was still functioning and able to receive web fluid injections manually proves that she is still active. But he can't see her. Nor talk to her. Nor hear her.

She was alive. Trapped. And he had to do something. The resources he had back home at Yu’s was inadequate. But here in U.A.? It maybe possible to free her!

"I lost something very vital and important to this costume. It's... how do I say this." Peter bit his lip, seeing how Power Loader and Hatsume was giving him their full attention. He took a deep breath. "Would you... believe me if I told you that this suit had a... unique function to it?"

"All hero costumes are unique kid. It comes with the business. Some maybe similar, but just like with Quirks, no one costume is the same unless it's intentional." Power Loader elaborated. "What is it? Going by the look on your face, ya seem to have a connection with this suit."

"Well yeah, and.. well... it happened months ago, before I came to Japan and... I wouldn't be troubling you about it if I could handle it or fix it on my own and-"

"So you do invent things?" Power Loader inquired, his tone belaying a raised eye.

"Well. Yeah, I do and uhhh-" He saw Power Loader raise a hand, towards Hatsume who seemed ready to pounce. The girl seemed to be busy unhooking her complex hoverboots. "This suit I tried to fix myself in my own time while learning the lanaguage here, but I can't. Tools I had on me were no good.”

"So how come your role model can't fix it?" Hatsume asked.

Peter felt his heart clamp up, and he looked away. The girl's question was blunt yet sharp like an arrow. He let out an exhale.

"Because he... he's gone." He heard Hatsume yelp when he noticed out of the corner of his eye Power Loader swat her upside the head. Hatsume's smile turned a little upside down.

"oh... Uhh... Sorry, didn't mean to bring up bad memories." Her voice was a bit low.

"We won't ask how he passed. We won't pry Parker." Power Loader toned. "So, you lost your access to your mentor's resources when he died I assume? That suit and your Iron Spider module must be his last mementos to you."

"you...can say that."

"And you want us to fix the suit? And not the module?"

"Yeah but... there's a lot mroe to the suit. Very very complex stuff."

"Like what?"

Here goes. Time to drop the bomb.

"Would you believe if I told you my hero costume has an Artificial Intelligence attached to it but I can no longer access it due to a dumb mistake I made and lost my one and only way of communicating with said AI in my hero costume, that also has an unlimited power source?"

Hatsume's jaw dropped, eyes wide.

Power Loader stood there, still as stone. He might’ve blinked behind his helmet, but Peter couldn’t tell. A second later, the teacher clicks his tongue and held up a finger.

“Say that again, I don’t think I heard ya right.”

Peter tried not to chuckle, not too far off from what he expected. At least they didn’t laugh.

“There’s an AI,” Peter paused for a second, “In the suit. It controls the main functions, gives me advice, and is… a friend.”

Hatsume’s bottom lip trembled, her smile which was coming back after she unintentionally brought up Mr. Stark faltering yet again. Power Loader’s face was a thin line. After a few seconds he jerked his head towards a machine in the back.

“Put her on the X-Ray, we’ll get things sorted out.”

“You believe me?” Peter asked, perking up,

“Not in the slightest,” Power Loader admitted, putting a placating hand before Peter could say anything, “Don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen some pretty nifty stuff come out of this here lab. Built the holo-projectors myself during my second year, but ya gotta understand where I’m comin from.”

“Where’s there to come from?!” Hatsume screeched with her hands in the air, “Peter’s friend is trapped! We have to rescue them!”

“Her name is Karen.” Peter added.

Power Loader's mouth quirked into one of surprise, and Hatsume’s eyes looked like they were going to bust out of her head and he could hear her whine in anticipation. She snapped back to Power Loader so fast that Peter wouldn’t be surprised if she got whiplash.

“You see! This is nothing short of a rescue operation! We need to act now before-”

“I get it! Will you let me finish!?” Power Loader screamed, pushing the young girl back, “I’m just saying, I’ve got a pretty fine source of intel coming out of every major tech outlet this side of the world, and every one of em says the same thing: Artificial Intelligence is at least twenty years away at the earliest estimates. Then you throw on infinite power source on top of it? Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, I’ve gotta say how it is and what is it is too good to be true.”

“It’s just in my suit!” Peter said, “You don’t have to worry about any robot going crazy or anything. Oh! Like uhhh, liek the bad guys from those robot people movies, the one with the glowing red eyes and from a bad future and uhh... but yeah! Karen's harmless!"

“And how many villians wouldn’t kill to get that from yah?” Power Loader shot, looking back with what Peter had to guess to be a mild glare.

Peter froze, even Hatsume seemed shocked by the seriousness in her teacher's tone. The support hero leaned against the nearby desk, barely managing it from the bulk strapped to his back.

“I saw your suit on display during the Practical Exam. Best damn tech that I’ve ever seen in a while, pushin into the best gear most pros walk out with. And a workin complex AI? Son, you’re asking for a target on your back, and as a teacher, your teacher since you're a student here, I can’t let yah do that to yourself without looking into it. Normally I could call you crazy and leave my studio, but considering your suit and how it performed, there is some benefit of the doubt here. And this is very dangerous waters we're about to tread, going into tech we aren't even ready for.”

Peter… couldn’t argue with him. Mr. Stark had god knows how many people try to get their hands on his suit, what could they do if they had access to the Iron Spider or Karen? He bit his lip as he looked down. Wow he... he's gotten by nicely.

“Course, that’s what I’m supposed to say to ya,” Power Loader continued.

Peter perked up, what was that?

The teacher smirked, “But I can’t really call myself a hero if I keep someone from helping their friend now can I?” Peter brightened up like the sun, letting out a laugh.

This… this was great. No, better than great, this was everything that Peter had hoped for. A hopeful smile split his face, and the loud cheer of Hatsume next to him only made it grow.

“Alright!” Hatsume cheered.

“Thank you so much,” Peter bowed, taking a deep breath to stymy the overflow of emotion inside him.

“Don’t sweat it kid,” Power Loader waving off the praise, “but I gotta say this stays between us, which means you gotta keep your trap shut Hatsume.” He said, turning towards the pinkette.

“Why are you only telling me?” Hatsume asked with an oblivious grin.

“You know why,” Power Loader deadpanned.

The girl tilted her head. Power Loader looked like he needed a stiff drink as he sighed. Moving away from the enthusiastic inventor, he headed over to the machine that Peter guessed was the residential X-Ray machine. With the teacher behind the controls, Peter unzipped his bag and pulled out his suit.

The first gift that Mr. Stark had given him, the thing that he gave back when he showed he was something without it.

Peter’s first suit.

“Ooooo! A fiber optic interface with a centralized vacuum seal!” Hatsume squeeled behind him, eyes gazing down at it. "Only the best space suits have that kind of make up!" Peter jerked back, holding the suit and the girl back at arm's length. “Gimme gimme!”

“Hatsume! Down!” Power Loader yelled, “Making me feel my age.” the hero muttered. "Not even thirty-two yet..."

“Sorry~” Hatsume said in a singsong.

The girl casually hummed a tune, looking over Power Loaders work with fake interest. Her eyes never left the suit, not that Peter could blame her. Clearly she was… really into machines. Poor girl would’ve flipped if she saw Mr. Stark’s suit. And... are her eyes zeroing in, like a camera zoom? Those bullseyes looked more intense...

In front of him, the machine wirled to life, a scanning pad lighting up in the center that Power Loader pointed at.

“Right on there.”

Peter nodded, placing the suit down. The pad lit up, a line of light tracing the suit before the monitor at the end of the lad lit up with an outline of the suit. Peter remembered the lining of the suit from the Homecoming fiasco, but seeing just how much wiring there was in the suit was still a sight to behold. It was like looking at the circulation map of the human body. Dozens of circuits spreading out from a central hub located just over the spider symbol. In the center of it all, a bright light that eclipsed everything else sat, ready and waiting.

The greatest technological marvel in the world, created in a cave nonetheless, the Arc Reactor.

Peter remembered reading about it growing up, an essentially unlimited pool of clean energy to power anything given the resources capable of handling the charge. Before the Battle of New York, Mr. Stark was planning on powering the entire city with the energy stemming from the hub at the base of what would become the Avengers Tower. He still was, although politicians blocked him from time to time, so other cities and towns got it instead. It was slow and gradual, but it would have brought a clean world without the use of fossil fuels.

“It’s… it’s…. Beautiful,” Hatsume drooled, her eyes sparkling over the X-Ray blueprint. It was as if she was gazing at something she had never seen before, something so mesmerizing to the eyes it would make most men weep. Heck even her eyes looked a bit wet!

“Well now, I’ll be damned,” Power Loader swore, taking a deep breath to soak in the new information. “That’s some power. You know it’s output?” He reached for his pocket, grabbing a canteen and drinking some water, or tea, the American couldn't tell.

“Don’t know exactly,” Peter admitted, “but if my math is correct,” and most of the time it was, “About 2.6 gigajoules a second.”

Power Loader spat out his water and began to cough, turning away.

“2.6 gigajoules?!” Hatsume screamed, “That’s amazing! How does it work?” she asked, getting far, far too close for comfort. "What's its function? Running time? Does it need a charge? Is it solar powered!"

Peter could barely lean back far enough to avoid… those from touching him. She was... just below Momo...mayb- Mind out of the gutter! Out out out!

“It cycles an assigned input around a palladium core and feeds the excess through the suit, and it has small solar fibers inbedded to let it recharge out in daylight.”

“Avoiding overload by keeping the energy contained and providing a continuous stream of energy in case of system failure.” Power Loader finished, hand on chin. "Combined with a backup of power to help recharge it..."

Peter nodded and Power Loader whistled, and let out a laugh of disbelief.

“And here I thought the toys out in I-Island are neat, you’re sitting on a technological marvel here Parker. Like..." He lifted a hand. "Your mentor could have sold this for a fortune, hell, he would have set up five generations for life if he sold this. And knowing you, you want to honor his legacy... Wow..."

“Maybe,” Peter admitted with a blush, “But the problem is that Karen is right in the center of… all that. Near the Arc Reactor.”

"Arc Reactor? That's the power source?" Power Loader asked.

"Yeah."

He pointed at the center mass of circuits surrounding the miniature Arc Reactor. An AI chip the size of a penny right beside it, in the center of the most intricate system that any engineer could ever hope to build in this world. And Mr. Stark built the first model in a cave!

“Then we sure got a pickle on our hands,” Power Loader admitted, “But I don’t think that it’ll be a problem.”

“Your really think so!?” Peter asked, loud and surprised.

“Yep,” Power Loader said pointing to Hatsume, “Little witch over there might be a pain, but her eyes have got the best focus this side of a atomic scope with steady hands to boot. Only two days and she's been killing it and has a ton of promise. So long as she’s willing to-”

“I can start right now!” Hatsume declared, holding a scalpel high, a printed out X-Ray blueprint and pens and others measuring tools in her arms “Let me at those sweet circuits! I’ll have Parker-san's adopted baby out in no time!”

That’s… not what Karen was, but this was great! Momo was right, this really was the perfect place to get what he needed. Peter beamed from ear to ear.

“At least let me get a better scan of the suit before you get your greedy hands on it,” Power Loader scowled, “And don’t you have homework you need to finish? You need to make your second piece of viable equipment, those hover boots may be incredible for someone on their second day, but that still only counts as one item.”

“Oh that’s nothing,” Hatsume waved off, “I’ll have it done in ten hours or so~.” She giggled with a toothy girn.

Peter checked the clock and blanched, “Isn’t that… three in the morning?”

“Yep,” Hatsume said, popping the ‘p’.

“What about, you know, sleep? Parents? Eating?”

Hatsume blew a raspberry, rolling her eyes, “Sleep is for those who can’t see that there are babies that need to be saved! And my parents don't mind! They love the fact I'm not around much, they snooze they lose!"

“Scan first!” Power loader screamed, before muttering something about doing one nice thing for first years. "Can't believe I'm gonna have to sleep in my office... That should take the rest of the night, by the way,” the hero continued, “Can’t be too careful with something like this. I'll help supervise. You, Parker, should head on home. Only students with permsission from their teachers are allowed on campus after hours.”

Peter nodded, “Alright, when should I come in?” It was getting a bit late anyway.

“How about lunch?” Hatsume offered, “You won’t have to miss out on your big important hero classes and we can have plenty of time looking over this…” the girl looked at the scream, foaming at the mouth as she stared at the suit, “Beautiful baby~.” She spoke that out almost low, bed-like.

Peter… didn’t know what to think. Weird? Definitely. Helpful?

Peter couldn’t thank them enough.

For the first time since he got here, the idea of talking to Karen wasn’t a dream anymore, and it was all because of these two.

“Thank you.” He said softly, and both the pinkette and the armored hero looked back with matching grins.

"Don't mention, we're just doing our jobs. Besides, I wanna have a hand at this too whenever I can. You should head on home, leave it to us." And Peter felt at ease, leaving the suit with the two as he left campus for home.

(X)

Aizawa Shouta turned off the window of the last Battle Trial that All Might had going earlier today. Today he took a day off to prepare some curriculum for the semester ahead, as well as make a pitch to some hero firms out there that were willing to do a summer based internship for the entire class. He sent out some emails, hoping for a bite and got back a couple, but they were all on a 'play by ear' basis considering their work as pros. The closest one, an hour and half drive to the mainland of Honshu was the national park where the Wild Wild Pussycats, who specialize in forest and mountain rescue missions, were located. He may have to stick with them, but even then the internship camp is something he'll have to toss by the Principal.

Heroes have little if any days off. It is something Class A will have to learn. So far it's only a bud, an idea. Hopefully the mouse will approve and the Pussycats aren't tangled up in any rescue operations.

Along with that, and getting much needed sleep for nearly eight hours, the black haired man looked out to the city of Korozan, the neighboring ward next to Musutafu polluting the night sky with its many lights, and sighed as he sipped some coffee and turned around in his chair. Being a hero who specialized in the underground meant zero endorsement deals... but the government pay was twice, if not triple the normal rate. After all, Shouta had to deal with the most heinous of villains who didn't show out in daylight. Being a teacher at U.A. was a decent change of pace, and a much safer salary, but the man still had that itch... The thirst to know. To investigate.

Before him on a small bulletin board was a fledging case bulletin board.

PETER PARKER. In bright red English letters.

And below that, lines connecting several facts based on the info in U.A.'s database and his observations.

BORN: QUEENS BORROUGH, NEW YORK USA.
NO KNOWN RELATIVES, ALL DECEASED ACCORDING TO APPLICATION.
LEGAL GUARDIAN: TAKEYAMA YU, AKA MT. LADY.

He had a photo of Mt. Lady beside it.

QUIRK: 'SPIDER'. POSSESSES THE STRENGTH, SPEED, AND REFLEXES OF A SPIDER RELATIVE TO HIS SIZE.
-Could possess spatial awareness or some measure of precognition. Able to foresee danger or anyone coming when not in his line of sight.
-Could fire webbing from wrist or other locations? Need to learn more.
HERO COSTUME: UNKNOWN, BUILT BY AN UNKNOWN MANUFACTURER, CLAIMS TO BE DECEASED ACCORDING TO APPLICATION.

A picture of Parker in his metalic-red and gold costume flying around in Battle Center B was beside it, and Shouta crossed his arms. He even had a photo of a quirk test softball beside it.

TAKEYAMA'S RELATION: 'FRIEND OF A RELATIVE'.
-All relatives deceased. Did he have no where to go?
-If so, why didn't the US put him in foster care? Why come to Japan?

EXPERIENCE: ONE VIGILANTE REPORT IN THE MUSUTAFU WARD DEALING WITH A GIANT VILLAIN. MT. LADY, KAMUI WOODS, AND MUSUTAFU POLICE DEPARTMENT WERE INVOLVED. NOTHING ELSE MENTIONED.

Many photos beside this factoid, with the villain getting drop kicked by the giantess, with Parker... colliding into her big rump in midflight like a fly to a windshield.

It was the only good picture he can find of that incident. The search engines had nothing but ass shots.

And in that same photo, Parker was in the same uniform as the one he used in the Practical exam.

"Alright..." Shouta muttered aloud, blinking in the sanctuary of his luxury high rise flat. "Let's see..."

Parker is in Japan, based on a story where all of his relatives were deceased, Mt. Lady happened to be a close friend of one of them, and took him in, despite being a professional hero and a relative newcomer wanting to make her mark in the competitive hero business.

Top it all off with a costume most pros would salivate over, combined with experience of one, at least one as experienced as Mt. Lady going over the video clips of the giant villain incident and the Practical Exam.

All of this... sounds so unrealistic. Did Parker's family have no other friends to take in the poor child? Was foster care that ineffective in America to take in a kid as talented as this? No body? Were his family recluses? Then how does that explain the suit? Were they inventors? The legs that come from nowhere. The webs. The durability and power.

He narrowed his eyes. All of this... just isn't adding up. At all. And it was wracking at his brain. His experience investigating underground villains, crime rings, and deadly serial killers was telling him that all of this, did not make any sense. Shouta had to get to the bottom of it. Leaving any stone unturned can leave a deadly spider to sink its fangs into some innocent. His mentor said it best:

"Seek the truth, for truth will forever bring peace of mind. It may not be you, but it may be others."

There was no doubting Parker's personality. He was a bit bumbling. Nice to others. Tries to avoid confrontation, and is altruistic given his gang rush of Bakugo during the Quirk Test to save Midoriya and his actions during the Practical. Unnecessary given his carbon scarf's reaction time, but a noteworthy observation nonetheless.

He scanned over the board, looking for an angle. A starting line for his little side investigation.

No relatives. Moved from New York to Japan just last year. Vigilante report occured right after as Parker moved to help Mt. Lady with a villain.

Did... he have no knowledge on Quirk Laws, something that was instilled into all children as to not interfere with hero and villain business without being certified? Was his family former heroes? Where did he get his gear? Why would an American prodigy, perhaps the best student Shouta may have had in his class ever with his work ethic, smarts, Quirk, potential, everything checked out. He had the makings of a model student.

But his gear... the pro gear that shredded robots like paper. His experience in fighting them... and it only doubled down too after seeing his fight with Todoroki and Shoji. He is not an inexperienced first year. Not even close. He reminds him more of Togota Mirio, the exemplary third year who was in Class 1-B two years back, and had been one of the most progidigal U.A. students to date.

It just is not adding up. Where to begin... where...

"The best start is..." His eyes scanned over his fledging board, and his brain racked. His mentor said that locations were key. They are the backdrop of all incidents and people will remember the location of whenever an incident occured.

Shouta's eyes grabbed a dart. In what free time he had not spent sleeping, he would enjoy a good scotch and play some darts in a local bar to take some stress out before heading back to his flat for, well, sleeping. It helped him even blend in whenever he was in a seedy establishment too, playing with thugs in order to overhear deals, transactions, or wait till a suspect arrived for him to tail.

"There."

He flung it, and it hit the POLICE in MUSUTAFU POLICE DEPARTMENT.

(X)

“What’s it like having All Might as a teacher?”

“Can you tell us anything about the hero course now that he’s teaching?”

“How do you think he’s doing as a teacher?”

"How are you enjoying Japan so far?"

Peter groaned externally, could he just get to class? What is with all these reporters? The second he got off the bus the hoard of reporters had hounded him the instant they saw him in the U.A. uniform. Next thing he knew cameras, phones, mics you name it and they were being thrown in his face before he could do anything. Midoriya looked as mortified as he did, but his green haired classmate had enough sense to leave with an excuse about needing to get to the nurse's office before it got to bad for him.

“Tell us, the people of Japan need to know!” demanded a particularly pushy reporter.

“He… smiles a lot?” Peter offered. "He's big and strong, jumps over a building in a single leap, blazes trails when he runs. I don't know, this is only day three for me here at U.A."

The reporter gave him a flat look and Peter tried to move back. This is what Mr. Stark dealt with daily? Geeze there was praise and then there was this. A whole nother level of crazy.

“Sorry,” Peter said gently pushing the mic away, “I got to get to class.”

“Wait!” The reporter called. "I have a couple more-ack!"

Peter scooted back, but the poor man was already in the center of a group. Didn’t give much room to move your legs. His foot hitched against another reporter's leg, and from there, gravity did its magic. The man toppled forward, and Peter winced at a crunch. The man picked himself up and glanced down. The mic… was toast. At least several hundred thousand yen of recording equipment destroyed beyond repair.

The reporter slowly looked back up at Peter, pure rage in his eyes.

“I’m sorry!” Peter apologized in English out of habit, but it only seemed to ignite the rage even further.

“You little menace!" The reporter bellowed, "Mark my words, I’ll have your-”

“You’ll have nothing.”

The man stopped, and Peter’s head snapped to see Mr. Aizawa lazily shuffle over to the horde, hands in pockets. His droopy eyes glanced his way, “Get to class Parker. I'll handle this.”

“Yes sir,” Peter said, grateful for the save. "Thank you."

"Hnn."

He didn’t need to be told twice.

Peter made it about halfway to the door before a boom stopped him in his tracks. He turned around, and-wait? Does this school have blast doors on the gate? Geez, combined with the robots, the teachers... what was wrong with this school?

He made it to class, walking through the halls with a renewed step in his vigor. Eh, it was an accident. The reporter will probably bill it to his newspaper company as such. Can't charge a kid after all.

Then Peter noticed more looks his way as he made his way to class, and he can guess why. The rumors are still going on through out school. He slumped in his jacket, biting his lip as he kept his eyes to the ground.

No, gotta be like Mr. Stark! He can't help it when he does so good that people know! This is a hero school! Be proud! Show it! Flaunt it!

...

Okay that didn't last long. Peter groaned again as he can hear whispers from other first year students. He climbed up the stairs fast, and he saw Pony approaching from the hallway!

"Hey Peter!" Pony called out with a friendly wave, walking towards him with a bright expression. Peter relaxed, waving back. "So, I was wondering, do you wanna hang out for lunch today?" She asked in English. Close by, Peter saw some other students mingling, one of them being Setsuna, some chubby kid and a girl with very long and wide brown hair covering her eyes, making her head look almost like a mushroom in a way.

"Oh, hey Pony ummm." Peter paused, taking a deep breath. "Thanks for the offer, but I'm gonna be busy during lunch. Working on a project." The blond texan girl blinked, and he saw her shoulders fall a bit. "And it's super important, has to relate to my costume and all."

"Oh!" She perked up, and Peter didn't feel as guilty. Gosh Pony has the best, and the worst puppy eyes. "Did your costume get damaged in your Battle Trials? We had ours in the morning, and I was paired with Kinoko over there!" She pointed over to the group towards the mushroom-looking girl who perked up. She offered a light wave, and the chubby kid turned, noticing Peter and Pony talking before whispering with her.

"No not really... in a sense. It's just getting a good look over and I'm needed there is all." Peter offered an apologetic smile. "Maybe tomorrow or after school? I saw a great ice-cream and taiyaki shop close by we can hit up whenever." Pony's ears perked up and her tail swished.

"That's amazing! I'll see how our class is like, since Mr. Vlad teaches us a lot and helps us refine our abilities. I gotta get to class, so we'll see how our homework is like and go from there!"

He saw Setsuna throw in a wave after as Pony went to join her classmates.

"Sounds like a plan Pony. Later!" Peter turned towards the Class 1-A door and entered, taking his seat behind Momo. "Morning, Yaoyorozu-san." He greeted in English.

"Good morning Parker-san. Did you sleep well?" She replied back softly as Peter went to grab his notebooks. He replied with a "Mmhmm". He can hear the other students mingle and socialize with each other, and Peter was silently glad they got all their mobbing of him after his clash with Todoroki out of their system. He saw Shoji nod his head, or an arm-head, in his direction, almost out of acknowledgement. He looked around, seeing Todoroki in his desk.

"Morning Todoroki-san."

"Good morning." He replied back neutrally and curt. Peter opened his mouth in hopes of starting a conversation, but paused when he looked at how Todoroki... didn't seem to be in much of a mood. Then again, as long as he's known him, he never is.

Bakugo up in front only gave Peter a glare before looking back in front.

"Alright, quiet down." Everyone in class stopped their talking when they saw Mr. Aizawa enter the classroom. "Good, instant response. Let's start up some homeroom." He reached down, pulling out some paper. "I looked over all of your grades and evaluations from yesterday's Battle Training. Good work, all of you." His gaze went to Peter's side of the room.

"Bakugo," Peter saw the blond perk up and Peter looked away, scowling. He almost forgot about him. And they're in the same row too. He may not be barking loud and proud, but that doesn't excuse what he did prior. "Grow up and stop sulking like a child. You're talented, don't let one loss be the end of the world." He can hear the frustration in Bakugo's sigh as he looked down.

"Yeah, whatever..."

"And it looks like Midoriya ended the day with another broken arm," Izuku perked up, and while Peter couldn't see his face, his body language was obvious. He wasn't happy with himself. "Get your quirk under control, we can't keep having you be broken after every exercise. Trying ain't gonna cut it. You have the potential to overcome this with hard work. Get to work on it, and show some urgency. You can do it."

"Right!" Izuku replied, his tone bright. Peter felt Aizawa's eyes on him and Momo.

"Parker and Yaoyorozu got top marks, although if I had to critique you two I suggest trying to keep damage to your base to a minimal next time, but given your opponent and their abilities with the environment it was necessary, so I am not going to rag too much on that. Good work communicating with each other and formulating a plan to counter your opponents. You aced it."

"Thank you sensei." Momo said with a bow.

"Y-Yeah, thank's sir." Peter stammered. Not everyday he expected his long haired shaggy teacher to give out praise like this. He could hear Eijirou give a chuckle and give him a sideways smirk. Up past Izuku, the American can see Bakugo's shoulders slump just a little.

"Todoroki. Shoji. Be more diligent next time when in the villain's lair. Showing such discipline can mean the difference between victory and defeat, otherwise you two did good despite your setback. Learn from it and keep your heads up. You'll get'em next time."

"Yes sir." Shoji replied, and Todoroki gave a nod.

"Now then, our first order of business will decide this class' fate." Aizawa said sternly, and everyone in class was on edge. Was it another Qurik Test? Could it be another pass or expel exercise?!

"You all need to pick a Class Representative."

There was a massive sigh of relief amongst the students. Finally, normal school stuff!

And Peter groaned as he heard everyone in class yelled and gave their pitches. It was as loud as a dang sportsbar. Everyone from Eijirou to Jirou Kyouka, Mina and Aoyama, even Bakugo got into the race as they spoke over each other on wanting to be the one to represent Class A. Back home, Peter never sought to be elected or lead like that. He just wanted to do his job and the tasks necessary to get through life. That and his duty to be a friendly neighborhood Spider Man would have clashed with class politics.

Would Mr. Stark want to be the leader? Well, he was the leader of his company, but everyone knew Captain America lead the Avengers. Mr. Stark was mainly his number two. But... he still led his company.

Peter sighed. He's dealt with enough people looking his way and praising him. He already had enough as is, he'll sit this out.

"Please quiet everyone!" Showed Tenya whom Peter looked over behind the mob of students with their hands raised. Everyone in class settled down, turning towards the blue haired young man. "The duty of Class Representative is a great responsibility to bear, but ambition does not equal merit or ability! The position requires that the Class Representative in question earn the trust and respect of all the constituents within its classroom. Therefore, the most logical objective to find our Class Representative is through a democratic election, and leave it to a vote!"

Tenya said all of this, with his hand raised in the air, and he seemed to know it too, considering he was shaking in shame. Everyone had the same thought: you just want all of us to vote for you.

"You sure this is gonna work?" Denki had his eyebrows raised.

"We've only known each other for a few days, how do we know who to trust?" Asui asked,

"Yeah, and everyone will just vote for themselves right?" the red haired boy added.

"And that is precisely why anyone who manages to acquire multiple votes, will be best suited for the job! They will have earned the trust and respect of their fellow man to lead them in our class going forward! Sensei, is this alright by you! The voting that is!" Tenya inquired. Aizawa seemed sleepy, getting into his sleeping bag.

"Don't care, just make sure it's done by the time my nap's done." And then he fell to the floor with a flop.

"Alright! Everyone take a piece of paper and put their name on it, and then pass it forward! I will do a voting count and list all nominees on the board!" Tenya had finished writing down on a piece of paper, folding it and placing it in a pile on the front desk as Aizawa... slithered his way to a corner to get out of the way and closed his eyes.

"Okay... Who to vote..." Peter murmured as he began to go over the class. Class President... who is best suited... He looked behind him, and saw Momo handing him a piece of paper. She had a soft look on her face as he took it and passed it forward. Everyone in the class was muttering to themselves...

And he felt several eyes on him. Some students were staring his and her way.

'I have a bad feeling about this.' He took a deep breath, looking down...

He made his choice, wrote it down and passed it forward to Izuku.

Five minutes later, the votes were tallied and the results were posted on the chalkboard. Like Eijirou said, a lot of people just voted for themselves, earning at least a spot on the board.

The results though… weren’t what Peter was expecting.

“I got four votes?” he asked.

He blinked, sure he was seeing something, but the results remained. Sure it was nothing compared to Momo's five, but still!

“Ok you idiots!” Bakugo screamed, jumping from his desk in a blind rage, “Who the fuck voted for the redshirt!?”

“What did you think someone was going to vote for you?” Sero asked with a snarky smirk.

The boy with tape coming out of his arms quickly held up his hands in surrender as the blond bomber turned on him. Peter on the other hand… didn’t know what to make of this. Why the heck would someone vote for him? He barely talked to anyone in 1A, he wasn't the social butterfly like Mina was; he talked to Pony more than some.

But his name was there, so he had to be the deputy.

He sighed, slumping in his chair. When he thought that he should be more like Mr. Stark, he didn’t mean so soon.

“Zero votes...” Peter winced, yeah this definitely hurt Tenya more than it did him. The tall and broad boy was downtrodden, barely hanging on as he fought with the urge to break down right then and there. “I thought this might happen, but I can’t argue with the system that I created.” He uttered, lower lip shaking. "This is the bed I made... I must lie in it!"

He turned to look at the victors, Peter smiling nervously.

“S-Sorry man, it just worked out like this.”

The American wanted to cheer the guy up, he wasn’t good with social cues but it was probably pretty obvious where he stood. Instead, Tenya's head only dipped further. On the plus side, Izuku looked relieved. At least one of them is coming out of this relaxed.

“If you’re all finished, come up to the front of the class,” Mr. Aizawa called from his corner groggily.

Wait they had to go up front? Oh why did this happen? Peter felt a tap on his shoulder, Momo gesturing to the front. ‘Why did it have to be me?’ Peter thought solemnly taking a spot next to her up front. He groaned lightly as he followed her up.

“Alright the Class Rep is Yaoyorozu, and the Deputy is Parker.” Aizawa said.

Was that man ever going to come out of his sleeping bag? Next to him, Momo sighed, “Not what I had in mind...” Guess she didn't vote for herself. She wasn't a part of the big hullabaloo of students making pitches, and neither was he. And yet, here they were.

“Right there with you,” Peter whispered.

Good, at least Momo was with him in not wanting this. Didn’t really matter because everyone else looked ecstatic with only two big no’s. Bakugo looked ready to blow him through a wall, even halfway across the room Peter felt his hair stand on end. Tenya looked ready to find a shovel and dig a hole to lie in. Todoroki looked as stoic as ever.

“You know, this might be pretty good,” Asui said from the front row, finger to her chin.

"Yeah, now that I think about it..." Mina mused as she narrowed her eyes and began to think. "I think we really got the best possible candidates!"

“Yeah I’m down with the smartest girl and strongest guy leading the charge,” Eijirou added. "Only makes sense for our elites to take charge."

"Yaoyorozu was on top of our training results, plus Parker is our Ace!" Denki added.

"The elites on top..." Tokoyami uttered.

If anything, that made Bakugo even angrier, growling louder in frustration. Peter and Momo shared a look as Aizawa went over the schedule on the day, the black haired beauty offering an apologetic smile.

Didn’t help, but it was better than nothing. And Peter couldn't help but return it.

(X)

Ah the media. What good little vultures, picking and scrapping at every little piece of fame that they could get their hands on. Stupid pesky things trying in vain to share in the spotlight, trapped in the spur of the moment.

Completely forgetting about the entire point.

Chasing their heroes, groveling at their feet and worshiping them like gods. Not the new gods, the first, those little eyesores that no one likes to talk about. The ones that came down with lightning and fire the second they didn’t get their way, destroying everything that they didn’t agree with. They brought order and justice by their rules. Their merit made them kings.

As was their right.

But these new gods? They were nothing. Cheap action figures playing at greatness, breaking and implementing justice when it suited them.

Puppets, tangled in strings at the bottom of a chest, waiting for the real players to come around.

Cause that’s all this was. A big game between those who had their eyes opened wide enough to see the pieces. To see who controlled who.

One player looked out, over the crowd of vultures as they pecked at the castle of his final boss. So close, but out of reach like all pesky invisible walls or rainbow bridges.

He’d have to get rid of it, and go straight for the prize.

And why shouldn’t he? Why waste so many hours of gameplay fighting the mooks and throw away NPC’s that won’t matter. All that mattered, was getting to the final boss.

Though, taking out some NPC’s along the way sounded pretty fun.

What’s stopping him from doing that? He was the player, why shouldn’t he play? In fact, he was the only player. The main protagonist of his story, his game of righteous retribution to bring down the society that ruined his life.

First move of the day… start the main quest.

(X)

Math was a bore, more so than usual. When you're seventeen years of age posing as a sixteen year old, and your birthday was this August, it made for the fact that Peter redoing similar math he did back in his world, it was like being held back due to failure, yet he didn't fail his classes. He failed- Forget it move on. This class made him think because it was such a breeze. That was totally fine with Peter, any time that he could spend thinking was a good thing.

Wait, not good thing, a bad thing, very very bad thing. Thinking would let his mind travel places. Sometimes when Mr. Snipe would hear a correct answer, Peter would shiver and feel cold at the sound of him on occasion, snapping. He didn't know why.

And now he has more duties... because now? He was the Deputy Rep.

What was he supposed to do!? He didn’t even know what the Class Rep and the Deputy were supposed to do. No one ever voted for him back home, and he made it intentionally so as to not let it get in the way of his hero work, plus he had no idea how to even lead. Not that Peter ever put himself out there to get the votes, but that’s besides the point. What was the point was that Peter had no clue what he was supposed to do. Did he have to organize things? He could probably do that so long as he knew what the heck he was doing. He needed guidance.

Did he have to speak for the class? Oh god the thought alone made him groan lightly. Public speaking was always a hit or miss, but for an entire class of future superheroes? Count him out! Maybe easy for Mr. Stark but he has like, three decades on him! How can he?!

The bell chimes and Mr Snipe left the room, a mass of sighs following in his wake. Peter on the other hand jerked forward from the slap on his back.

“Look whose thinkin' like Aristotle!” Eijirou said, his shark grin flashing in the light, “Already putting yourself to work there aren't ya Ace.”

Peter wanted to die. First that nickname and now this!

“I didn’t ask for this,” Peter mumbled, looking at his desk with a slump to his shoulders.

“Whether you asked for it or not.” Tenya said from the side, walking over. “It is your duty to uphold your station to the best of your ability.”

“I… ugh,” peter groaned, letting his head fall to his desk. "I dunno how..."

“Hey don’t sweat it!” Eijiro said, barely managing to make peter twitch with another hard pat on the back, “You’ve busted up robots this stuff should be a piece of cake! Just do you and adapt! You'll be fine!”

“You have no idea what Class Rep's do do you?” Tokoyomi commented, his normal glare looking his way, but Peter can sense no malice from him. He always seemed to glare, but he seemed...well... affable enough?

The wall crawler's face just went blank, answering the question for everyone.

“I don’t either,” Peter admitted. "This... is my first time ever being elected by a vote." He looked away, unable to look at his peers.

“Really?” Tenya asked, surprise clear in his tone, “I would’ve thought you were familiar with such a position. ”

Peter looked up from his seat, blinking the spots from his eyes.

“Really?”

Tenya nodded, “You really must stop selling yourself short Parker-San. You’ve shown to be extremely observant, thoughtful and resourceful." He stated with hand gestures. "Only you and Midoriya were capable of seeing through the Practical Exam's true hidden purpose, and even went a step beyond in helping the less fortunate in their struggles. Combine that with your humble nature, quick thinking on your feet and affable personality, and you were an obvious choice.” He gulped, biting his lip. "Even I must admit that, as much as I dislike it, but the facts are the facts."

Peter blinked again, and noticed a good chunk of the class had also listened in to Tenya’s little spiel. Momo was nodding her encouragement, same with Midoriya. Shoto… couldn’t care less.

Bakugo wanted to kill him, nothing new there.

So it was just him?

Huh, Peter didn’t know how to take this. He scratched the back of his head, offering a small smile.

“Umm... Thanks man... I'll do my best not to let all of you down.”

“No worries Parker-san.” Tenya adjusted his glasses.

“He brings up some excellent points,” Momo adds on softly "Besides, this job is going to be draining,” Momo admits, “But after yesterday, it’s nothing we can’t handle, as long as we support each other and put our minds to it.” She then smiled a bit wider.

That put Peter at ease. After her reaction, he would’ve thought that Momo would be having second thoughts. Of course she was getting over this faster than him. She probably had to deal with this more than he did, considering her intelligence and stature and good lucks she must have been elected a lot in her junior high! Girl was a mini Mr. Stark with how smart she was.

Top it all off, she was going to be dealing with more than he could ever handle. The least he could do was support her the best he can. He's been voted by his peers and friends. It's now his responsibility.

Eijirou whistled, “Damn you really are confident aren’t yah?”

Momo shook her head, shocking the brawler, “Not at all, there’s simply no reason to complain about it. Everyone votes for one reason or another."

Eijirou shrugged “I just figured the best should be doing that kinda stuff from jump, hence my vote for him.”

“What did you say!?” Bakugo screamed.

The boy seemingly flew over to their side of the classroom, over a horrified Midoriya and a confused Sero.

“You voted for him!?”

The red headed boy just shrugged as Bakugo‘s rage went straight over his head. "What of it? Use your head man, I mean, it was down to those two, since Tenya was clearly thirsty for it, so I went with a coin flip on those two."

"Got some nerve saying that with a straight face about that redshirt! And you!" Bakugo rounded on Peter. "You don't deserve it one bit, even with all your power you never belonged here!"

It could have been a HIM as the Class Rep and he did it by a coin flip?! Peter could see the steam exiting the blond bomber's ears.

Just one more class and it would be lunch. Then finally he would be safe, just a little bit longer. He sighed in frustration, looking off.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you damnit!" Peter moved his hand, seeing the blond slam his hand on his desk, his red eyes boring down at him. Those same murderous red eyes that... almost tried to kill Izuku with that gauntlet blast. The brown haired American gritted his teeth, glaring back.

"Back off." He said quietly. "You're on my desk." Bakugo sneered, baring his teeth.

"Make me, American." He hissed back in English, hand gripping the side of Peter's desk.

"H-Hang on Kacchan, n-no need for violence!" Izuku waved his arms, and he got a full on glare from the blond. He shrinked back behind his chair.

"Fuck off Deku, this has nothing to do with you!"

"Kacchan?" Peter asked aloud, looking at Izuku and then at Bakugo. His name is Bakugo Katsuki, and the chan suffix is usually reserved for those with a great deal of affection. It also kinda sounded like a more formal term for mother. So...

His anger faded, replaced with confusion.

“Cease your bickering Bakugo!” Tenya shouted, “You’re disturbing the rest of the class!”

“Piss off four eyes!”

“Geez some guys have no chill,” Denki said from his seat, leaning back and resting his feet atop of it.

“Hey, look at it like this, we get a show before lunch bell,” Mina smiled, amused by the theatrics.

“I wouldn’t call this a show.” Shoji deadpanned from one of his mouth-arms.

“More of an annoyance,” Tokoyami chimed. The silent and shy Koda seemed to nod with the bird-headed boy.

“I heard that bird brain!”

The blond shifted away from Peter, his new target known. As one Peter heard him and Izuku sigh. He glanced at him and gave a wry smile.

Looks like both of them wanted lunch to get here sooner.

"So... uh..." He saw Bakugo stomp over and rant at Tokoyami, but the shadow-using boy simply closed his eyes and replied back in simple retorts. "Kacchan? You know him?" Peter asked, and Izuku perked up. "That name and stuff..."

"Oh! Well, me and Kacchan were childhood friends actually." Izuku answered, fiddling his fingers. "We live in the same neighborhood too. And I've known him since forever!"

"So like..." Peter tilted his head. "You two exchange nicknames and he..." He heard Bakugo pause, turning around from Tokoyami. "Uhhh... how do I say this..." Izuku blinked, and then he paled as if he knew what was coming. "Bullies you? This an inside joke you two have as friends? I'm lost here."

Izuku looked as white as a ghost as he waved his arms, while Bakugo was back by him now, blushing and angry. Sero and Denki were guffawing in their seats while Mina was sniggering. Even Tokoyami had a ghost of a smile on his beak. "N-n-n-n-n-no at at all! It's not like that at all! We were just f-f-friends!"

“That doesn’t explain anything,” Ochako said from her side of the room..

“Yeah, what’s the deal? He pissed you beat him or something?”

Peter didn’t think that Izuku could get any paler, but that’s what happened. Kid looked like Peter just stepped onto sacred ground.

Different note, why did he feel like he needed to duck?

Peter’s head snapped down right as a mini pop crashed over him.

"The fuck did you just say ya bastard?!" Well he sure was acting defensive! Way to go Peter, first day as Deputy and you question you’re starting this. Crapbaskets.

"Hey man don’t take it personally, everyone loses!"

"I don’t think-!"

And finally the lunch bell rang out, and Peter got out of his seat, and he walked past a seething Bakugo with his bags. He sidestepped a hand and walked out, pinching the bridge of his nose. He ignored Bakugo's shouts for him to come back.

Faster he gets to the studio to work on Karen, the better. He even planned ahead and brought a homemade lunch.

Maybe Hatsume likes sushi?

(X)

Peter didn’t know what to think when he arrived at the support lab. Power Loader and Hatsume were here just like they said they would be. Only Power Loader looked ready to face palm and Hatsume was…

“So beautiful~.”

...drooling.

On the main monitor, the first true Spider-suit was displayed in all its glory. Where once was nothing but a mess of circuits and veins was a detailed map, each layer describing a different set of circuits in the intricate system. The teacher even went a step further, creating a small table that stretched out the suit. The initial layer was off, something Peter couldn't do back at the apartment with the tools he had, revealing the mass underneath. A crazy mess that Peter remembered fiddling with back during Homecoming, but the table was set up to highlight the map of the circuits as lights underneath the suit. All in all, it looked like a really expensive, really fancy game of operation.

A game of operation that probably costs a few billion yen, but that’s a thought for another day.

What needed to be thought about was the fact that Hatsume looked ready to snuggle with the suit. She didn’t even notice when he came in.

“Is she gonna be ok?” he asked.

Power Loader glanced at the girl, “Probably not.”

Peter tried not to frown, the teacher didn’t sound too worried about that. Moving on, he put a hand on Hatsume. She didn’t flinch. He gave her a quick shake, “Hey Hatsume-”

“Parker! Good morning!” Hatsume screamed, her head snapping back to him so fast she had to have given herself whiplash.

“It’s ah, afternoon Hatsume.”

“Is it?” Hatsume glanced at a clock and shrugged, “Didn’t notice.”

She reached over and took a long swig of something in a thermos. Peter didn’t know what was in it, but he could make a pretty good guess.

“Did you… sleep?”

“Nope.” she and Power Loader said simultaneously.

That… couldn’t be good.

“Don’t bother,” Power Loader grumbled, “Been there, wasted the time, and no, it wasn’t worth it.”

Okay then.

“So…” Peter trailed off, stepping around Hatsume to look over the suit, “Do you have any idea how to start?”

“We were waiting for you actually,” Power Loader admitted.

His large metal hand pointed at the mini Arc Reactor in the center of the chest.

“See the biggest problem that we’ll have to deal with is this little beauty. Damn things sittin' right on top of what we think is the housing component of your little AI friend.”

He turned to the monitor and the layers peeled away until just the circuits connected directly to the arc reactor remained. That included one particular wire connected to something no bigger than a flash drive under it.

“Hooked that thing up to the breaker and nearly blasted every piece of tech by overload in this here room,” Power Loader explained.

“Can’t you take it out?”

“I was getting to that,” Power Loader said, “First step that you kids will have to do is reroute the power from this… battery?”

“Arc Reactor.” Peter corrected.

“So cool~.” Hatsume cooed. Power Loader gave his student a sideways looks, shaking it off.

“Anyways, this here Arc Reactor is providing the power to this whole deal as you know.” Power Loader explained, “You can get to individual blocks in the programing, but this little drive has more wires sticking out of it than All Might has reporters. Removing it from the connection could cause overloads in other areas, short circuiting the entire suit, and if that happens you can kiss your friend goodbye. And maybe your entire suit all together, since your webshooters are a part of it.”

Peter blanched, that definitely wasn’t something that needed to happen.

“So we gotta keep everything cycling while removing it?” Peter guessed.

Power Loader nodded, “That’s the idea. Not right now though. You’ve got your hero courses that need your suit, and I still haven’t gotten a full scan of this thing. We will need to do it in spurts. Give you back the suit, you do your exercises, then your return the suit here and we can get back to work, make some degree of progress whenever we can, then give it back to you whenever you do more hero training.”

Peter blinked, what was the monitor for then? Power Loader chuckled, “That’s only around half. I haven’t even gotten to the internal circuitry of the Arc Reactor and who knows what’ll happen if we mess with that. And I doubt I wanna go into the details if we get that power source messed up.”

Peter’s shoulders slumped. So long story short, they were still a long way from getting Karen out. But, at least... finally, after nearly a year of adjusting to a brand new world, a brand new culture and language, it was happening. Power Loader looked the boy over and smiled.

“Don’t worry kid. Just let my make a few calls, I can get this entire thing a project for Hatsume and I’ll be able to work as much magic that I can. I'll need her eyes in order to surgically remove the wires without damaging the thing, but it'll take time. In the meantime,” his smile fell off his face, a frown surging to replace it, “You can keep that little witch off the suit!”

Peter turned and... what was Hatsume doing? She was all over the suit, running her finger along the circuitry. She has letting out a soft sigh and... blushing.

“For god sake Hatsume! No touching until the scan is finished!”

“Oops,” the mechanic said, not even bothering to look guilty.

Peter heard the old hero groan and shoo the boy away.

“Start working on that redirection issue. Keep you and the mad genius busy for now.”

“A-alright,” Peter said, “Do you have any old computers?”

The older hero frowned, “What you need those for?”

Peter chuckled nervously, “Well, the Arc Reactor is giving out a lot of power. Whatever we’re building is going to have to have plenty of copper wiring to handle the power surge.”

Power Loader stood there for a second before nodding his head.

“Yer right, you got a brain between your shoulders after all.” He smirked under his helmet. "As expected of the rumored 'First Year Phenom'."

“Uh… thanks?”

“Nothing against you, but more than one hero course student has gotten out of this school not knowing the difference between a wrench and a crowbar,” Power Loader jokes, “All of our scrapped stuff is in the other room, Hatsume knows where.”

With that, the older hero went back to his station, which left Peter to talk to Hatsume. Who was at least wasn’t touching the suit anymore. She was so close that she could probably smell his deodorant off of it, but Peter will take what he can get.

“Hey Hatsume.”

The girl glanced up, target eyes shining, “Batteries.” she said.

Peter blinked, “What?”

“If your little guess on the power output of your suit is right, we’re going to need something that’ll hold all that power and there’s only a few batteries that I know can withstand that kind of wattage.”

Peter nodded, “Okay, where are they.”

“No where, I just haven’t made it yet! Will soon though!”

That… honestly, Peter didn’t know what he was expecting.

“So where should we start.”

The girl paused.

“We’re going to need supplies.”

“A lot of copper?” Peter offered.

The mechanic beamed.

(X)

As Parker and Hatsume talked over electronics and engineering to themselves, locking themselves within the scrap room, the pro hero teacher Maijima Higari, also known as Power Loader, couldn't help but shake his head and smile. He had very little sleep, having to sleep in his office chair and giving Hatsume a stern warning on if she broke anything while he was asleep she would get kicked out, for good. For real too, since he's not around to watch.

Hatsume Mei was a first year student in his few years of teaching he'd never thought he would get. A mad genius whose ambition and passion to create her 'babies' was so strong her own parents were nearly at wits end trying to get their daughter from ruining their garage. Thankfully they sent her to U.A., and she aced the Support Department Entrance Exam with near-perfect marks. And Higari knew he had a prodigy on his hands, one he had to let grow and flourish and evolve to new heights. While this may seem unfair to other Support Course students, in his mind, fair was a place that judges pigs. You judge heroes by their merit. By that same token, the ones who support the heroes should be evaluated in a similar light and given just as affordable privleges. He did create the reward for whoever got top marks in his course to get access to his studio while his Teacher Assistants helped with the majority of the students in the Support Course. And Hatsume earned it with her hard work and natural talent. A rare combination that the orange haired bachelor couldn't afford to hold such a talent back.

She grated his nerves, and she was mad. Yet the old saying 'as mad as a fox' existed. Combined with her quirk Zoom, she can create parts and equipment with pinpoint accuracy and best of all, isn't afraid of failure. Hell, she laughs at it when she made a nearly functional set of hover boots on day one. Many in the Support Course would whisper about how Peter Parker was doing from rumors spreading about, but soon many within U.A.'s halls will know the name of Hatsume Mei.

It made Higari grin with pride. He'll give her the warnings just enough for her not to abuse the rules, and last night showed she was willing to toe the line and displayed an altruistic spirit befitting of those who want to be heroes. Parker's suit was out of this world, stuff he's only seen at I-Island. And that Iron Spider Module of his was but an asset to this suit, one that made it even better.

"If only I could meet his mentor and shake his hand." He talked to himself as he looked at the clock. It was lunch time, and Hatsume would usually just eat protein bars on the go between work stations for nourishment. Now he can finally get to work and eat something of sustenance. He walked over to his personal fridge and opened it, licking his chops at the sight of his personal homemade bento. He reached in-

The warning claxons broke his personal reverie, and Power Loader perked up, hearing the alarms outside the hallway. Those alarms... someone infiltrated the school and broke through the blast doors?!

“SECURITY LEVEL 3 HAS BEEN BROKEN. ALL STUDENTS, PLEASE EVACULATE IN AN ORDERLY FASHION.”

"Mr. Power Loader!" Parker's head poked out of the scrap shed. "What's going on?!"

The Studio was too far away for an evacuation site, and during lunch hour the hallways will be packed, and the students may be panicking too. This wasn't a drill. Higari turned towards him.

"Stay in that room and hide." Power Loader pointed. "Don't come out until the coast is clear or I come back. This is an order." He ran over to a bookshelf, pulling a book out and finding a keypad inbedded in. He tapped his password, 4L13N, and out came his special mech suit. He got inside, strapping in and hooking up.

"W-What do we do? What's Level 3?"

"Just stay in there! I'll tell you everything when I get back. And lock the door. And tell Hatsume if she breaks this I won't just kick her out for good I'll expel her!" No time to play around. A villain had attacked the campus. Genius or no, the threat of expulsion should set her straight to follow his orders.

Parker nodded, closing the door as Higari let out a sigh of relief. The suit activated, he began to slide downwards and then down a hall and then upwards, leaving the studio and his personal hangar bay to a launch funnel which sent him out into one of the courtyards on campus.

The Pro Hero, Power Loader, was locked and loaded. He heard his comm crackle in his helmet.

"What's the situation? Where's the villains?!" He yelled.

"It's okay Loader." It was Thirteen. "The press mob outside the school is inside."

Wait... no villains? The media was here?!

"How the hell they get past the blast doors?!" He barked as he looked around, unsure of if he should head to the front. "A villain could have snuck in right? I mean, for them to do so they have had to destroy the blast doors?!"

"Only one was destroyed, and don't worry, Eraser and Mic are handling it as best they can." Thirteen replied. "But, Nezu wants all the teachers to try and calm the students. From the camera feeds, it's utter bedlam over in the cafeteria!"

"No kidding, always hated that place. Way too crowded." Higari muttered under his breath. "Well, we should remain careful. I'll tell my students it's just a false alarm. Does Nezu wants us to convene soon?"

"Read my mind. He's already called the police, they should handle the media mob soon enough. I'm gonna calm down my students. Thirteen, out."

"Got it." Higari sighed, slumping in his mechsuit. "Press corp huh... damn vultures... Did they bring a bomb to the blast door? Those things were designed to withstand friggin cannon fire, I designed'em myself..."

It had to be a Quirk, and Higari gritted his teeth. Someone had to have destroyed the blast door and let the media inside.

Still, nothing he can do about it. He had to tell his TAs everything is fine and assure his students. He was a teacher after all. He piloted his suit back to his hangar and jumped down.

In ten minutes time he disembarked, called in his TAs giving the all clear and returned to his studio. He walked over to the scrap room and knocked on the door.

"Parker, Hatsume, coast is clear." He said. He waited, and Higari heard the door unlock and out came Parker.

"What happened? Was the villain caught? Anyone hurt?"

"Don't worry, it was just the press corps." He held up his hands. "Nothing to worry about." He lied a little at the end. Some students had to have gotten some bruises during the frarackus in the cafeteria. Those hallways couldn't handle hundreds of students at once running for their lives. Say...

"Where's Hatsume?" He asked, looking around.

"Oh yeah, she's-" Parker stepped aside, moving away from a fallen scrap computer brain. "Up there." And he stepped to the side. "And there." And another came crashing down.

"Hatsume you're gonna cause a concussion to someone who isn’t careful! Stop tossing them like they're hot potatoes!" Higari shook his fist.

"We just need the copper from the PC units Sensei! Nothing more nothing less, and time is of the essence!" She called out from the top most shelf of the many scrap shelves within the gym-sized scrap room. He looked down, and the usually clear front area was litered with busted and tossed computers.

"Did... she not even hear the alarm?"

"I told her, but it didn't register." Parker shrugged, seeing another PC unit fall out and break into pieces.

In one ear and out the other... Higari couldn't help but laugh.

She was mad alright. As mad as a fox.

"Alright. Lunch should be ending soon thanks to that premature alarm. Parker, you should head back to your hero class. Depending on how things go after we deal with those vultures." Power Loader tossed a thumb over his shoulder. "We may have to do a thorough investigation of the school. I'll have Mei re-calibrate your suit back to normal for you to take home. While the press may have got on campus, they may have had help..."

"From what?" Parker asked, biting his lip.

"A villain."

(X)

A villain.

It had to be. Shouta glared at the ruined blast door in front of him. He had to place his hero course in study hall so he and his colleagues could investigate the damage. The blast door, a part of the U.A. Barrier System, strong enough to withstand a ramming car, tank shells, four layers deep of the toughest steel money could buy and Power Loader can refine, reduced to dust.

Parker returned last to his class after the students got the all clear from the security system, ending lunch early. He said he was having lunch at the Support Department, to which a quick text to Maijima confirmed. They finished up some remaining homeroom activities, with Parker apologizing for not being there to help in the chaos. Yaoyorozu handled it well too. The two may have not appreciated getting their new positions, but accountability was important, and the class accepted their apologies, even if Yaoyorozu was not to blame, and Parker was on the other side of the school, there was nothing he could do. It was just mass mania and scared children being scared children. Midoriya suggested that Iida could have a position as an assistant to the Class Rep and her deputy in the form of a Class Secretary. Parker took that idea and morphed it around into a Chief of Staff, to which many of the class voiced their approval. The second oldest son of the Iida clan looked almost ready to cry on the spot before accepting the position and vowing his utmost to help.

Iida has a good head on his shoulders and was as by-the-book as any, if a bit too strict with himself. He'll be a good hero worthy of his family's name, and the fact for Parker and Yaoyorozu to listen to the class for a suggestion to better it and for their future was a good sign for them to delegate their authority.

All well and good, but damn did they take too long.

"No ordinary reporter did this." Principal Nezu, the short mouse-dog-bear said darkly with his hands behind his back, surveying the damage. "This was the work of a villain... did they infiltrate our campus..."

Infiltration of the campus... This was not the start of the year Shouta wanted. He gripped his fists. It had to be because of All Might's presence. And someone was smart enough not to engage in a direct fight and assault, since they would have been defeated within minutes from the heroes defending their institution, to say nothing of All Might rushing in, even if he was off-campus on a day off.

Parker's investigation will have to wait. This was more pressing. And this...

"Or was this a declaration of war?"

Chapter Text

Yu snapped awake, leaping out of bed as an almighty crash reverberated through the walls.

She was not a light sleeper by any standard. Even after going through a hero course, heavy sleeping was never a habit that she ever shook off. Which is why she invested far too much Yen into an alarm clock guaranteed to wake even her up. Hero work was exhausting after all, and some days, she hit the hay harder than her old classmates hit the bar.

Nevertheless, the day before was a good day. No major outbreaks and the only thing to tire her out was Shinji’s ranting over… something, she forgot.

Maybe that’s why the sound of something shattering against the living room wall shot her straight out of bed. Was it a burglar? In her apartment? Home invasions weren’t uncommon, but there was nothing she had that was worth-

“PETER!” She cried.

Adrenaline woke her up faster than any coffee could have managed. She was out of her room in a flash, slamming on the lights, eyes darting straight to the door, the window.

Nothing. Nothing was open, no one had gotten in.

But there was Peter, on his knees, the shattered remains of his dingy little alarm clock cracking the drywall. He gasped for air, cold sweat dripping down his face.

Then he saw Yu.

Whatever color was left in him vanished, his eyes wide and red.

“Y-Yu, I-I’m s-so,”

He stopped as Yu swooped down upon him, wrapping him in her arms. Peter flinched in surprise, but as the moments passed, he relaxed into her embrace.

“Sorry for waking you,” Peter whispered in English.

Yu shook her head, “Hey hey hey... It’s alright.”

She pulled away, holding the boy at arm's length, smiling tremulously. She tried to smile, hiding her disquiet. His clothes were clammy with sweat. What had happened to him?

Peter shivered, eyes dropping to the floor and Yu forced herself to swallow the lump in her throat.

“Do you want some tea?” she asked, forcing the smile back.

Fragile as the offer was, it snapped Peter into looking at her. And Peter, ever the kind boy, waved his hands nervously, “Y-you don’t have to do that.”

“But you’re still cold,” he wasn’t, he felt like he was on fire. But Yu didn’t let that show, “You’re getting tea.”

“But-”

“No buts,” Yu said, her voice filled with an authority that she didn’t know she had.

If Peter’s wide eyes were anything to go by, he was just as surprised. Knowing better than to argue, he picked himself off the floor and followed Yu to the kitchen. He sat at the kitchen counter as Yu got to work on the teapot. He didn’t say anything, his usual quippy mouth dry for what had to be a long time.

Problem? Definitely, but what was she supposed to say?

She’s supposed to ask what’s going on, right? Or did that just make it worse? She tapped the edge of the pot nervously, stealing glances at Peter. He ran a hand through his hair, staring at the table. No, couldn’t get much worse than this. She shook her head, what was she thinking? All Might talked and smiled all the time. She just needed to do that and it’ll all be better.

Right?

“So…” Yu started, her commanding manner gone. “How’s school?”

A beat passed before he answered.

“It’s ah... fine.”

Yu nodded, “That’s good, that’s good.”

She tapped the pot, and when she glanced back, Peter still hadn’t looked up. Okay… so what now? Was she doing this wrong?

What was she saying, of course she was. Just be like All Might? Fat chance. If just smiling and talking was all that she needed to do, she’d be the number one hero by now.

God why didn’t she pay attention in class? They had to have something on talking to people in distress. A big smile wouldn’t do everything, but that’s all she had. She gripped the handle of the pot till her knuckles went white.

‘Get a grip Yu, you can do this, you said you could do this.’

The words only made her shoulders slump, something that she was grateful that Peter didn’t notice. Silly thought. He’d seen her walk into the apartment drained of everything she had, flopping on her couch looking like a wreck. He’d seen her mess up on making eggs in the morning.

And looking unsupportive worried her.

The pot steamed, and Yu nearly jumped out her skin. She stifled a yelp and did her best to finish up the drink while Peter kept staring down at the dingy counter. He only looked up when she finally sat down, tea mugs in hand. He gingerly took his drink when Yu offered, and sipped at it, cringing a little at the taste.

The blonde tried not to feel too offended, this was her best tea after all.

“Still not a tea drinker?” Yu asked with a slight smile.

Peter shook his head, chuckling nervously, “Not really a tea guy I guess.”

“You’ll grow into it,” Yu waved it off.

Peter snorted, giving her a wry look, “Trying to convert me?”

“Japan is trying to convert you,” Yu corrected, “I’m just her humble servant in a noble quest~.”

Peter pursed his lips, “You’re ah… gonna be here a while then.”

“I can wait,” she said. For anything.

Peter nodded, a little bit of that light coming back to him.

“Sorry about the clock. Freaked out...”

“About what?” Yu asked on reflex.

Peter recoiled, sinking into his chair, that little light snuffed out. Yu wanted to punch herself. Why did she have to be here? Anyone would’ve been better! Shinji could handle this better!

“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to,” she said quickly, “I mean, everyone’s got their secrets. I mean, this one time I-”

“Yu...” Peter whispered.

She could barely hear him, but that one word stopped her dead. He looked up, a sad smile that didn’t belong on his face, but was there regardless. It looked too old for someone like him, and the sight of it almost brought Yu to tears.

“This… isn’t the first time I’ve woken up like this,” he admitted.

Yu gripped her cup, shifting once again. “C-Can I help?” she asked.

Peter looked at her for a moment before shaking his head and looking down.

“I don’t think you can.”

A knife twisted in Yu’s chest. She steeled herself and leaned in, causing the boy to blink in mute surprise.

“I can try,” she promised.

She reached over, taking one of his hands in hers. She gave it a soft squeeze and waited. He stared down at the hand. Something flashed through his mind, and he wiped something out of his eyes.

“What is it?” she asked.

Peter didn’t meet her gaze. He shook his head.

“It’s nothing. Just… before I… got to Japan, I was in a fight,” he stopped, and a bark of mirthless laughter escaped him, “And I couldn’t do anything.”

He pulled away, and ran a hand through his hair again. Yu bit her inner cheek... she remembered back at the station, eavesdropping in and listening through the interview Botan was having with Peter. Spaceships. Quirkless worlds yet had technology that put this world to shame. Wizards. Aliens. Magical rocks formed from the Big Bang. It was still impossible to comprehend, even now nearly a year later.

“We could’ve won, we were so close. We had everything: Dr. Strange, Mr. Stark, the Guardians, we were holding him back. Everytime he pulled something we came right back, and we almost won, but then everything fell apart,” he said cryptically, “I put my all into it, I did everything I could, and then I…. I…”

He shook, and when he looked up, Yu gasped at the tears on his face.

“I can still feel him winning. Choking me and...”

Yu was petrified. What on earth had he been through? Who were these people he described? And who or what had they been fighting?

She jumped out of her chair and stalked over. She gripped both her hands on his shoulders, forcing him to look at her.

“Peter, listen to me, whatever it is, he won't come. And even if he did, we'll deal with him. ”

He clearly didn't believe her. His eyes were old, burned-out, their light drowned by a horror he could not describe. She gripped a little harder, hiding her doubts, forcing her voice not to crack.

“You’re here, and whatever he is, we'll deal with him. Every pro will stop him from coming back. Me, Kamui Woods, your teachers, All Might, everyone.”

She forward, pulling him into the tightest hug she’d ever given him.

“No one is going to hurt you, I promise.”

Peter stiffened in her grasp, and for a second, he didn’t move only to nod resolutely into her shoulder. She patted once and jerked her head back to the couch.

“Get some sleep, okay?”

...

"Alright... thanks Yu."

"Don't mention it buddy..."

Peter shrugged but followed her advice. He wobbled over to the couch and threw the covers over himself. Yu cleaned the cups and went straight to her own bed. She dropped and sighed for all she was worth.

Now she felt so much older. She was going to be a mess when she woke up. An extra cup of coffee would have to do. This was worth it.

All the while, Peter lay awake, gripping his pillow, trying not to remember that last battle, and that face.

Insect.

(X)

Peter left early the next morning, yawning like it was going out of style. Another bad night, another hard morning. Except this one hit.. maybe the hardest he's ever had.

He ate some MgRonalds en route to the bus stop along with sipping some tea. Once aboard, he stared out of the window, barely noticing the city beyond. The tea didn't help like before. Not even close.

He saw his reflection, with the red, bleary eyes. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, giving himself a quick slap to wake up. It lasted a second before the urge to yawn came right back.

The bus came to a complete stop, and the students began to file out. Peter followed on, using the bars to pull himself up as he got off. The world was blurry, unfocused, as Peter took long deep breaths through his nose.

Time to take the stairs. Oh. He's already inside. That was fast.

He took step by step, looking down as he gripped the stair rail. Why was he feeling so drained? Why couldn't he get any sleep?

It was those nightmares, of course. They had been getting worse and worse, and he wasn't sure how much longer he could go without sleep. He'd hoped not to bother Yu at least, but that ship had sailed, and she had seen a side of him he had hoped to keep hidden for months.

He hated that. She had enough on her plate being a pro hero without his issues.

Peter tripped, missing a step and stumbling before catching himself. He shook his head. This was getting beyond a joke.

"Peter!"

Peter jumped, eyes wide as he looked around. There behind him was a the blonde and blue eyed Pony, pouting in evident annoyance.

"I was calling for you for over a minute!" she complained in English. "What was-oh jeez, are you okay?" Her annoyance turned to worry as she saw the state he was in.

"I'm fine. Just... didn't sleep well, last night." More like over the last year.

"I can tell, you're looking a little like that scary Mr. Aizawa."

“Hey he’s not that scary,” Peter said, then he grimaced remembering the Quirk Tests, and Pony raised an accusing eyebrow. “.. okay, he’s a little scary.”

“Little scary? Have you heard the rumors?” Pony was incredulous. “They say he’s a secret ninja that stalks his targets, learning everything about them before bam! He strikes!”

Peter stared at his friend's… enthusiasm. Mr. Aizawa, a secret ninja? Mr. Aizawa, who only got out of his sleeping bag when he absolutely had to?

His eyes fluttered shut, forcing him to bite his cheek to stay awake. Geeze, just thinking about a nap made him tired.

“Wow, you’re really are tired. You wanna... go out sometime another day? Maybe on Sunday?"

"Oh uhhh, the taiyaki, right?" Peter shook his head a little. "I think I could do it, yeah. Maybe they can have... maybe green tea or an expresso ice cream, or something. I dunno."

"You sure you wanna go after school?” She tilted her head.

“Maybe we can bring some friends... if that works" Peter offered.

"Like me?" said a new voice in accented English. Both Pony and Peter looked up the stairs to see a smirking Setsuna leaning against the rail. "Yo, Parker. Pony." She reverted back to her native tongue. Pony puffed her cheeks.

"You can't just invite yourself Tokage." The horned girl reprimanded, the lizard-eyed girl didn't seem to mind as she focused on Peter.

"Must have been cramming for last night or something, Parker?" She asked, picking up on his haggard eyes.

"Uhhh... yeah." Peter lied. "Worked on calligraphy. Still gotta brush up on characters."

"Tell me about it. But, I can see on roping in some other students in Class 1-B in and maybe we can make this a nice social outing." She put her hands on her hips. "Vlad-Sensei wants us to compete with Class 1-A to outdo, since last semester 1-B's freshman didn't do so hot. But nothing wrong with being friends with competition." She put her arm around Pony, smiling widely. "Riiight?" Pony's ears fluffed up and she looked away.

"I guess... I have a feeling you'll just come along anyway." The greenette giggled, poking Pony on the nose.

"Only a few days and ya know me well Tsunotori. And Parker, I recommend getting some scented candles or listening to music or sounds of the ocean. That helps lure me to sleep." She waved her hand. "In any case, we should head to class Pony, we're doing hero courses early."

"Oh yeah that's right, we're doing the thing!" Pony perked up. "Well, we'll catch each other later Peter? My schedule is a bit off since we're doing hero courses first and then all of our normal classes later."

"Yeah, Class A usually has its hero class after lunch," replied Peter as the two climbed to the top of the stairs and walked down the hallway towards their rooms. "We'll be busy all day, all of us."

"Can't wait to get some redbean taiyaki. Heck I can go for some right now!" Setsuna chirped, and the blonde Texan girl looked back at the boy from Queens and smiled.

"I can go for some vanilla myself." Pony sighed. Then the morning bell sounded, and Setsuna clicked her tongue.

"Whelp, see ya around Parker. Vlad-Sensei likes us being punctual. We gotta surpass Class A after all." She winked. Pony gave her a glare before softening on Peter.

"I'll see you around Pony. I'll treat for the taiyaki, if we get around to it." He waved, and the girl beamed, trotting back to class with a skip in her step. Peter had a soft smile, taking a deep breath... and felt a wave of exhaustion wash over him as he looked at the Class A door.

Whelp! Time to get on with the day.

(X)

Nothing.

No light, no screams, not even a wind.

But there was a hand. It reached forward. The skinny hand turned... massive, golden, with jewels on its knuckles. Thumb and finger came together, and...

Snap

Peter jerked up with a gasp. His hand snapped out in reflex, grabbing at the hand, trying to....

“Holy crap that was fast! Ah... and hard too... Ow...”

Peter blinked away the black spots and looked around, taking deep breaths. A few of his classmates were looking back at him, or more specifically, his hand which was wrapped around Eijirou’s hand in a vice-like grip. Peter slinked his hand back, letting the red haired boy shake it out.

“Sorry about that. Spooked me. You okay?”

“Hey don’t sweat it, I was seein' if you were really out like a light.” Ejirou rubbed his wrist a little, “Man, math really took it out of you.”

Math? Oh, right, Math class. Boring, very boring. From the look everyone was giving him, he missed the entire thing and since everyone was here…

“Did I sleep through lunch?”

“Yes,” Tokoyami muttered from the side, arms crossed.

Peter sighed, damnit, he missed his chance to work on Karen. Well, he’d find a way, text Hatsume that he was late. Wait, he didn’t have her number. Crapbaskets.

“Parker-san, I have a spare bento if you’re hungry.” Momo said behind him as he looked back, her face softening with worry.

“Thanks, but I’ve got my own.” Peter grumbled, rubbing his eyes.

“Still though, I hadn’t pegged you for a sleeper,” Sato said, the ever quite Koda nodding next to him.

“Indeed, such actions wouldn't be deplorable, but as you are the Deputy Representative I must stress that these actions are inexcusable!” Tenya declared with moving arms.

"Sorry... had trouble sleeping." Peter… couldn’t argue with that. He was the Deputy, he probably had to keep up appearances and such. The door opened up and Mr. Aizawa slunk in.

“Settle down, it’s time for class.”

“Yes sir!’ Tenya shouted, all but jumping back into his seat.

The sleepy teacher sighed at the enthusiasm and cleared his throat.

“Alright, today’s training is going to be a little different. You’re going to be having three instructors. Myself, All Might, and another hero will be keeping tabs on you.”

A wave of surprise swept through the class. Three heros for their class? Seemed a bit overkill to Peter, but there was that break in.

“Sir,” Sero says, raising a hand, “What kind of training are we doing today?”

Yeah, that was the big question wasn’t it? Aizawa took out a card from his pocket and displayed it to the class.

“Rescue. Natural disasters, shipwrecks, and stuff like that.”

Rescue? Excited murmurs filled the class, but Peter couldn’t join them. He was still groggy, drained.

“Guys settle down, I’m not finished,” Aizawa muttered, annoyance lacing every word.

He barely raised his voice, but immediately the talking stopped.

“What you wear in this exercise is up to you. Anything you can bring to the table is allowed,” his gaze paused on Peter for a second before looking at Bakugo, “I know you like your costumes, but keep in mind you haven’t gotten used to them yet and they might hamper your growth, in the end though it's up to you on that front."

At that, everyone glanced at Peter, they weren’t even subtle about it. Aizawa rolled his eyes, pulling out a remote and causing the numbed storage vaults to come out, the nineteen box filled. He blinked, did Power Loader finish that scan he was talking about? He can see his own box, labeled 19, come out and have his suit and the Iron Spider Module. He must have put the suit back together in time for him.

“The facility is off campus, so meet out front for the bus dressed up. We leave in fifteen minutes, dismissed.”

(X)

Small miracles, Peter loved them.

With there being a ride to the facility, Peter had plenty of time to chow down on his premade lunch. Aizawa gave him a tired look but didn’t say anything about it.

Peter saw one look at the inside of the bus and just climbed aboard, much to Tenya’s dismay. The guy had a whistle and a seating chart planned already. What did the guy do in his spare time?

With everyone piling in, at the front of the bus were himself, Denki, Mina, and Tenya on one of the larger couches while Aoyama, Asui, Izuku, and Eijiro took the other seat. Everyone else piled into the booths leading into the back. Bakugo glared at Peter as he came in, scoffing at the American’s lunch as he went by. Todoroki on the other hand didn’t even look his way. Eventually, everyone got in, and the bus was underway. Being the last one in, the Tenya slumped in his seat next to Peter and Mina.

“The busses open layout ruined my boarding strategy,” he sulked.

“Iida you really need to loosen up,” Mina said, giving him a pat on the back.

“Well if we’re pointing out the obvious, I’ve got something to say,” Asui said, only to look at Izuku, “About you Midoriya.”

The green haired boy shared his surprise, eyes shooting open and scooting back a little.

“Me? What do you mean Asui?”

“Call me Tsu,” Asui deadpanned, causing the boy to deflate. “Your quirk, it’s a little like All Mights.”

“What? Really? You think so huh?” Izuku said, turning away nervously, “I guess I never thought about it. I guess it’s similar.”

“Wait a second,” Eijirou jumped in, “You’re forgetting All Might doesn’t hurt himself Asui.”

Izuku sighed in relief. Peter had his eyes half-lidded as he looked at the passing forestry outside.

“Still,” Eijirou continued, “I bet it’s cool to have flashy quirk, you could do some pretty cool stuff with it. Mine is pretty strong, but it’s got nothing on guys like you and Parker.”

Peter just put away his lunch when he heard that, “What do you mean?”

“Dude, with those moves and that costume you’ve got flash to spare!” Eijirou declared.

“My navel laser is the flashiest quirk here I do say~” Aoyama beamed, chin resting on his hands.

“But it doesn’t do too good when it hurts your stomach sweety.” Mina cheekily added. The flashy blonde flinched.

“Well if anyone here’s got the loudest quirks, all we got to look at Todoroki and Bakugo.” Ejirou pointed at the two mentioned in boys in the back rows. A few seats down, Bakugo simmered, glaring out the window while Todoroki was looking out the window, not paying attention to the conversation.

“True, but Todoroki is too stoic,” Asui said. "And besides, Bakugo is always too angry so I don’t think he’ll ever be popular.”

Bakugo’s eyes went white and he all but jumped out of his seat.

“What did you say? I’ll kick your ass!”

Asui, having more guts than Peter thought she would have just pointed at the boy, “You see?”

Peter opened his eyes now. Man he was loud.

“You know we basically just met you, so it’s kind of telling that we all know your personality is basically a flaming pile of shit.” Denki teased with a smirk.

Bakugo turned on him, his face a mask of rage. Peter scowled. He really wasn’t in the mood for this. God he was so loud. His head was hurting. Aching.

“You’re going to regret the day that you applied to this school asshole!”

“Just shut up." Peter sniped harshly under his breath.

And everyone went quiet. So much for under his breath.

He heard stomping and Peter looked up, seeing a furious Bakugo look down at him, teeth barred.

"Back off," Peter muttered, gritting his teeth in a scowl. God he was so damn tired. He didn't want to deal with this. Much less with him.

"Bakugo, Parker, enough." Aizawa growled, eyes set squarely on the two, his arms crossed. The American did just that, looking away from Bakugo.

"Tch." Bakugo stomped back to his seat. "Loser." He muttered under his breath. Peter glared back under his eyes.

'You don't deserve to be here you thug.' Peter thought darkly before looking back out to enjoy the scenery and close his eyes.

"Heh, jeez. Man of few words aren't ya Ace?" Eijirou commented. Great, he had an audience.

"Just tired. Sorry for being cranky and causing trouble." Peter uttered, rubbing his eyes again.

"I can tell... you look like you haven't slept a wink." Eijirou mused.

"Look alive people, we're here." Aizawa stated.

The bus pulled up to a massive dome which looked to be larger than any sports stadium he's seen. Maybe Jerry World in Dallas was as big? No, this was far bigger.

The dome's exterior was impressive enough. But it was nothing compared to the inside. As the students filed into the stadium behind their teacher, they saw it for themselves.

The interior was divided into six different sections; each one unique. A giant dome with fire artwork. A similar looking one with rain drops. A massive pool with a boat and slide. Another being a hill emulating a landslide. A mountainous section to round it off.

Peter was taking in everything, but had a hard time listening as the Astronaut-looking Pro Hero Thirteen began to drag on and on... it was getting harder to pay attention he... just wants to sleep. So bad.

"You sure you want to take part in this assignment Parker-san?"

Peter turned his head, and Momo was there, looking worried.

"You've been looking exhausted all day now. Could you talk to Aizawa-sensei perhaps to talk over things?"

"Oh ummm... I'll be fine Yaoyorozu-san." Peter rubbed his eyes. "Don't worry about me one bit."

"But you don't look like you’re at one hundred percent."

"I am! I got some sleep okay? I did!"

For an hour. Or two hours. Peter sighed, hand over his face as he realize he didn't have the Iron Spider mask on. Feeling the metal slink over him woke him up a little.

"Sorry... snapped again..."

"It's alright, I'm just worried about you. I am Class 1-A's Rep, and you're my Deputy. It comes with the position."

"I know I know..." Peter rubbed his eyes. "I'll get a full day's sleep when I get home today." He sighed, opening them again as he heard Thirteen mention something about a 'USJ'. "Isn't that Universal Studios Japan?"

"It's... Unforeseen Simulation Joint." Momo elaborated as Peter stood up straight. Focus... Focus...

Now Thirteen was talking to Aizawa for some reason. Why were they whispering to each other?

"So I guess we're gonna be doing rescue work here?"

"Seems so. Let's partner up again." Momo smiled lightly. "You did a lot in carrying the weight back in the Battle Trials. It's only fair I return the favor."

"This again?" Peter smiled back. "I told ya, we got equal credit. Still..." He focused back on the teachers as Thirteen began to talk again.

"Okay first I need to go over some points... one... two... maybe four? Five?" The entire class seemed to roll their eyes before the Astronaut looking hero held out her hand, starting with her first point. "As some of you know, my Quirk is called Black Hole... and it can suck in anything and turn it into dust."

Peter gasped sharply, feeling his heart seize up.

"Parker-san?" Momo asked. He was breathing too hard. She would notice!

"I'm fine. I'm fine." Peter shook his head. He can feel some students turn their heads his way. He heard Thirteen mention how their Quirks could be so dangerous if handled incorrectly. "I'm fine... I'm fine."

"You don't sound fine and you didn't look fine on the bus. You looked ready to pass out, and you sound like it too." Momo sternly commended, and she put her hand on his shoulder. "When Aizawa-sensei is done with Thirteen-sensei we're going to talk to them. You're not acting yourself and you may get hurt during an exercise!"

"I'm alright!" Peter said under his breath, "I'll be..." He paused, looking down at the floor, sighing and deflating like a balloon. "Just let me get through the day.”

"Is there something you'd like to share, Parker?" Thirteen asked, cutting through and Peter perked up. Now everyone's eyes were on him, and he gripped his fists. Bakugo seemed to scoff in amusement, while Aizawa just flatly stared at him. Momo looked worried.

He noticed All Might wasn't there. Wasn't he supposed to be here as Mr. Aizawa said? Odd.

"N-Nothing. I'm alright. sorry for interrupting." Peter muttered, looking down and bowing lightly. Momo sighed. "Just not, um. Having a good day, it'll get better from here," he whispered, as Thirteen elaborated how the class would be doing exercises to open new perspective on saving others. He patted his cheeks. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to sound so rude."

"It's... alright." She said softly. "You don't seem like the kind of person to stay up all night all the time, so I'm sure you had a good reason for having a hard time sleeping. But you and I are Class Reps now. We have a standard to uphold, and we need to be at our best to support each other."

"I know, I know." He wished he didn't have to stay up. But it was the only way to stave them off.

He gripped his arm tightly and heard the sound of applause, with Thirteen bowing. Ah, she must have finished going through her points. He'd need to get a refresher from Eijirou.

"All right then Class." The tingly feeling racing down his spine. "First off-"

The lights went out in the dome.

Peter perked up, his fatigue vanishing as a cold thrill ran through his entire body. Goosebumps. He had felt this once before... when the Space Donut appeared over New York!

Aizawa paused, and turned around as Peter rushed to his side to get a look. Down in the central plaza of the USJ by the fountain was a black vortex, spinning and growing. A hand appeared and from it, gripping the portal...

Unkept shaggy teal hair. The face covered by what looked like a severed human hand, and a single, blood-red eye. Two golden lights appeared from the black-purple mass above the figure as they stepped out. More and more of them; all vaguely human, but no two alike. Some clutched weapons. Some were weapons.

"Stick together now and don't move!" Aizawa barked. "Thirteen! Protect the students!"

"What is that?" Eijirou asked in confusion. "I thought this was a rescue exercise?"

Peter didn't need to know. The look in that man's eye, clearly visible through his mask, was proof enough.

These guys... were villains.

"Parker get back with the students now!" Aizawa yelled, putting on his yellow goggles. "This is real, those are villains!"

Besides the hands-man, a massive black beaked titan walked out beside him. He wore nothing but cargo-pants, and his brain was... exposed.

"But Mr. Aizawa-"

"Get back there now! You're exhausted! Follow my orders, now!" Aizawa barked in English. Peter nodded, backing away. The rest of the class stared in stunned disbelief.

"Villains! That can't be!"

"What villains would be dumb enough to sneak into U.A.?!"

"Sensei!" Momo turned towards Aizawa and Thirteen. "Why aren't the intruder sensors going off?"

"They are! The systems aren't lying! They're all green" Thirteen confirmed, looking at her watch. "Which means..."

"Someone's jamming the signal," Todoroki stepped up, looking down at the mob of thugs down by the central plaza. "A quirk, or some kind of device."

"We're far from the main campus, there's only two adults here, so they came in here with a plan." Peter added. "They had to."

“Bit over the top for us, isn’t it?” Eijirou asked.

"Be that as it may,” Momo said, “This too coordinated to be an ordinary sneak-attack.”

“She’s right, something's up." Izuku murmured.

Whatever it was, Aizawa didn’t care. He stepped forward only stopping to turn to his fellow teacher.

"Thirteen, evacuate the students now, and try calling the school outside the facility!" he said, his hands moving to scarf. "One of these villains has to be using some kind of signal-jamming quirk. Kaminari!" Denki perked up. "Try using your quirk to either throw it off or call for help. I'm counting on you."

"R-Right!" The blond electric user stammered, nervous.

"But sensei, you can't fight them alone!" Izuku yelled out.

He was right. There were too many of them. His quirk only could only work if he kept his eyes open, and that’s way to many for just him. He looked down, seeing the mob march towards them... they were heading closer to the stairs.

He looked at Aizawa, who was focusing solely on the villain mob.

"No hero is one trick pony..." He muttered, and he flung his scarf out. Peter felt nostalgic as the shaggy-haired man leapt into the melee.

Wow! He was amazing! None of them could even get close, and any that did got punched or kicked into next week or got caught in his scarf. But already they were surrounding him. Dozens. Maybe over fifty. Sixty!

Peter gripped his fists, and felt Momo's hand on his shoulder. "Peter-san we have to go now!"

“But-”

“Aizawa-sensei can handle himself.” Momo said, “We need to go, you too Midoriya.”

The green-haired boy snapped out of his stupor, almost just noticing that he was still there. He nodded his agreement and Peter… couldn’t argue with her. He was a pro, and he could handle himself long enough until help arrived.

“Ok, let’s go,” Peter said, taking off, the sounds of battle fading behind him.

Unfortunately for everyone there, even the entrance to the USJ was long. It was two hundred meters to the door. Peter managed to get to the main group before he felt his hairs stand on end.

“Something’s coming!” he warned.

Todoroki cast him a questioning glance, only to stop as another black portal appeared in front of them. Thirteen stopped dead, eyes wide as the black miasma spewed out of the ground. It grew and spread with twin glowing golden eyes staring down at them. Peter jumped forward, his spider legs at the ready. Next to him, Todoroki clenched his fist, ice spreading across his arm while the rest of the class also dropped into whatever stances they could manage.

“There is no escape,” The mass spoke, a deep rumbling sound the sent a shiver down Peter’s spine, “But where are my manners? Allow me to introduce ourselves. We are the League of Villains. My apologies for inviting ourselves to your little gathering unannounced.”

Geeze, and people say that Peter liked to talk. Fine by him, his hud was already alight with scanners looking over this guy. Everything that could be seen was gas, but, wait a second, there was something else….

“You see, we just had to say hello, and see this famed training ground of Justice for ourselves. A fitting place for All Might to take his last breath, wouldn’t you agree?”

Peter’s eyes narrowed, so that’s what they were here for, a chance at the number one hero. He remembered Aizawa saying that All Might was supposed to be here. A flash, and his hud centered it’s pieces around something in the black mass. A set of metal plates connected to the gas, hidden from normal sight by a thick layer of whatever he was made of.

“Though I must say that I find myself deeply disappointed," the black mass mused. "The schedule said that he was supposed to be here, but there’s no sign of him."

It huffed, spreading out it’s thick essence like tentacles towards them.

“Ah, well, it matters not, I still have a role to play.”

Next to him, Peter heard a click. Thirteen raised his hand, only to stop when Bakugo and Eijirou jumped forwards like madmen. Battle cries split the air, right before an explosion tore at the space around the black mass. Peter held up a hand to shield himself from the dust, barely catching the outlines of the two boys.

“Did you think we were just gonna stand around and let you tear up the place?” Eijiro asked, his voice filled with a confidence that Peter wished he shared.

But as the smoke cleared, even that faded away. The black mass was fine, save for a clear view on the metal brace on his neck. There, its gotta be the weak point. He wiped his hand forward, shooting a line of webbing that hit the solid bracer. A grunt of frustration echoed out of the mass. It seemed to pull away, but Peter wasn't going to let go.

“Eijiro, Bakugo, go for the bracer!” Peter shouted. "In the center!"

The two looked shocked, but both of them grinned.

“Nice eyes Ace!” Eijirou shouted.

“Out of the way meathead!” Bakugo screamed.

“Both of you, get out of the way!” Thirteen ordered.

The two paused in their charge stopped to glance back at the Astronaut hero. Peter grunted out of frustration at Thirteen. They had it under control! They-

“Ah, as expected of your school,” the mass complimented.

And then the living miasma exploded, spreading the mass and covering everyone. He heard a scream, and saw Momo standing close to Jirou.

"Momo-san!" Peter yelled, jumping at them as the black miasma surged forth.

“I believe it would be best to let you meet my comrades, and your demise... now..." Black filled his vision, and Peter felt a tingling sensation rush down his spine, ordering him to run. No... he had to get to Momo and Jirou! They were closest! He got to them both, embracing them and hearing surprised gasps from the two girls. He saw nothing but darkness, but he felt the girls. They weren't dead!

"Parker?!"

"Peter-san?!"

"BEGONE!"

Peter felt the webbing go slack, and the next thing he knew, he was somewhere else. First thing that came to him was the fact he wasn’t alone. Next to him, Momo blinked in confusion and Jirou was the same way as they were on their knees. They were in a rocky expanse, specially made for some sort of mountain simulation.

“What the hell?” Jirou asked, looking around.

“You guys ok?” Peter asked, his mask sliding off.

“I’m fine,” Momo admitted, but she looked nervous. "You didn't have to rescue us, but I appreciate the sentiment. Thank you."

“Been better,” Jirou said, “Where are we?”

“Looks like the mountain zone,” Momo mused.

He scanned the boulders, only to freeze as someone started to move. One became two, two became four, and soon a ring of villains started crawling out of the woodwork. Peter’s mask slid back into place, and on instinct he moved back to back with his companions. Almost all of the villains laughed maliciously as they approached, relishing the slaughter to come. Even the ones without weapons were scary in their own right, wrapped in mummy wrappings or looking like something out of Friday the Thirteenth.

A particularly big guy advanced on Peter, cracking his knuckles. Some of them licked their chops. Peter dropped low, ready to attack the second this guy got close. Momo pulled a shield out one arm, and a sword out of the other. She handed the sword to a grateful Jirou Kyoka before making another.

“How many are there?” Momo asked.

Peter looked around, his hud marking everyone in a short haze of red.

“My visor says thirty-seven.”

Jirou grimaced, “This isn't going to be good.”

“Stay close, we’ll make it through this.” Momo promised, but Peter caught the fear in her eyes. And in Jirou's.

He'll protect them both.

He willed his spider legs to spring out, “Here they come.”

At that, the villains charged.

Chapter Text

Peter flung himself into the fray, unleashing his webs to pin the first foe. Trapped, they could not evade his lariat, his legs striking their necks and knocking them to the ground. He leapt up, firing off yet more webbing at the throng of thugs charging towards him.

“Die!” shrieked an obese woman, a cleaver held high over her head as she bore down upon him. Peter side-stepped, moving like water as the cleaver slashed through empty air, then kicked her in the face. The woman fell, crashing straight into the throng of villains behind her, toppling them like ninepins.

A tingle, down his spine.

“Parker! Move!"

It was Jirou. Peter jumped to the side, a loud bass sound pushing away the loose stones before the invisible force of Earphone Jack slammed into the mob. They clutched their ears, howling in agony.

"Thanks for the heads up!" he yelled, ducking a pipe and driving his fist into an unsuspecting hooligan’s face. He jumped and spun, his leg catching a bandanna-covered villain and hurling him away.

Another thug came on, this one with a giant boulder, a boulder that was actually his hand, held high overhead.

“Oh boy!” Peter dodged the downward swing and let loose with both webbers; wrapping his opponent in thick white silk, binding him fast. He yanked his arms, and the villain tottered and fell towards him.

“Time to rock your world!”

He spun like a dancer and kicked, his foot catching the trapped villain and sending him flying. Parker landed, and could have sworn he could hear teeth popping as his target crashed into yet more of his fellows.

He glanced about, trying to follow the battle, to make sense of the furious melee. There was Momo with her paintball gun, downing thugs with well-aimed shots; some in the face, some in the hands, best of all in the legs, the paint trapping them much as his webbing did. Jirou was at her back, the punk girl firing shockwaves at anyone who drew to close. Short range and long range, fighting back to back, a fine time working on the fly.

"Jirou, take this!" Momo handed her the paintball gun. "Just toss it when you're out!"

"Heh! Appreciate it!"

Jirou grinned as she took aim, and the villains scattered to avoid her sights. "Let's make some noise!"

She clicked her ear-jacks to her boots, unleashing another shockwave to immobilise her targets. Momo flung out some iron spiked tacks, and then a capture net. The net caught a group of hooligans as they tried to outflank her, slowing them long enough for Peter to add his web bullets, putting them out of the fight.

"Whoa, cool Momo-san! Seriously, you can make anything!" Peter called out with a thumbs up. He sidestepped, a dagger whistling through empty air, then drove a quick spider leg into the owner’s kidney.

"I can pin all these villains down, Peter-san, I need a higher vantage point!" Momo called out. "If you can send me to that higher ledge…!" She swung her staff, knocking away a pipe, and tripping the skull-faced thug right into a vat of white goo behind her calf, “…I can handle this.”

“Oh! Got a plan?"

"Yes! Jirou-san, if you can stun them long enough in front of us the plan can work!"

"Whatever you say Class Rep! Any plan is a good one!" Jirou avoided a snake-faced villain. "Gah! He almost bit me!"

"I'll do a lot more than tha-GAH!" He was silenced as Peter landed on him, knocking him flat.

"Okay, so, Jirou stuns!" He whipped around, firing some webbing at their feet. "You do the thingy, and what do I do?" Momo smirked.

"Just get me up there, then pick off any we don't get."

"You're going down bug boy!" yelled the hockey-mask villain.

"How are these brats so strong!? They're only kids!"

"Just rush em!"

Peter smiled back, and shot her a thumbs-up.

"Leave it to me!"

He grabbed Momo in his arms and leapt up, carrying her like a bride on her wedding day. With a mighty leap, Peter reached the higher outcropping and set her gently down.

“Okay, you do your thing, I’ll do my thing!”

He turned towards the mob, and flung himself into the melee.

“Hey buddy, I'm not a bug! I'm an arachnid!"

He loosed two lines of webbing, then curled up with his spider legs and pulled himself towards them , crashing into them like a bowling ball.

"Striiiike!" Peter whooped, leaping to his feet and blinding them with webbing.

"Gah!"

"Can't see! The fuck is this white shit!?"

"Is this guy a pro?!"

Peter landed, and lashed out at his enemies. His spine continued to tingle.

"Parker! Keep them busy a little more!!"

"'Kay!" Peter fired some webbing, pulling himself out of the way for another soundwave. Those enemies not already unconscious reeled in agony, clutching their ears. Some, the strongest, forced themselves to go on, approaching Jirou and Momo. But Momo had fashioned herself a baseball gun, and was tormenting her attackers with balls of white goo.

“Oh jeez!” she griped, as she saw the tattered state of her skimpy red skirt.

Peter ducked as massive fist, and dodged a swinging club. He hopped over a low kick, the attacker’s bladed spurs hissing through the air. He lashed out with fist and foot, knocking his enemies flying.

He saw her hand glow with the rainbow as she put her hand on top of the glass tube, baseball sized pellets going down the hatch. She flipped the switch, Peter jumped out of the way.

A barrage of web-filled paintballs erupted onto the villain horde. They yelped and howled as white goo splattered all over them, some of them even sticking together. Some tried to make for cover behind boulders or their fallen comrades, but it didn't do much good.

"Jirou! Give them an earful!" Momo called out.

"Leave it..." Jirou gritted her teeth, a bead of sweat running down her brow "…to me!"

She unleashed another soundblast, louder and more terrible than any before. Peter had to clasp his hands to his ears, wincing at the pain of its passage. All that heard it fell over in ear-rending agony, rendered helpless by the sound.

All but a few, who forced themselves onward.

Peter waved his hand, and the punk girl noticed, ending the onslaught. Peter fired two web-lines, throwing himself onto the handful who remained. With kicks and blows he downed them, weakened and drained as they were, until only one remained.

"There we go." He dropped the bad guy like a sack of potatoes, hands on his hips as the villain writhed and squirmed. "You ain't going nowhere."

"Gaaah... fuck you, ya damn brat!" snarled the thug. Peter could hear the last remaining villain stagger upward, and he looked back.

He flung a web line and caught the thug before he could retreat, bringing the rat-faced bad guy down with a crash. But the villain’s feet caught his eye, more like the talons of a bird than a human’s legs. Peter webbed them tight as Momo and Jirou approached.

“Okay baddie, how did this happen?" Peter asked, arms crossed.

"Ngggghn..., I ain't telling you nothing!" the rat villain cursed, spitting up at Peter. Thankfully his mask was on and he rolled his eyes. "You can take out my finger nails, pluck my whiskers or send me back to the slammer! I ain't sayin' squat!"

"Huh, funny, considering his mutation quirk" commented Jirou, hands rubbing her ear-jacks. Momo appeared beside her, her red top in tatters.

"Ummm, you gonna change clothes or what? You're barely modest right now!" added Jirou hastily, her cheeks pink.

"I can just make some patches or make a new top, it's fine" replied Momo, smiling as her arm glowed, her ravaged top remaking itself under the touch of her quirk. “So, he’s not going to talk?”

“Guess not. But…”

Momo brought her hand out, the rainbow lights flittering, and in it was a pair of metal pliers with a ring inside. Peter cocked his head, trying to work out what it was for, and then saw Jirou’s jaw hit the floor.

“I suppose there are other ways.”

Ratface was as pale as a sheet as she advanced on him. "Whoa whoa whoa whoa time out time out! Spider Guy, you gotta help another brother here! Your teammate is insane man! Insane!"

"What are you talking about?" Momo simply clenched the pliers, and some... metal blade appeared through the ring and-

Oh.

Oh dear.

"Ummm, Momo-san? Isn't this going a wee bit too far?" He then turned towards Ratface, or whatever his name was. "You better start talking man, for your own good." 'Note to self, never make Momo-san mad...'

"I never knew you had it in you..." Jirou muttered with widened eyes. Momo bit her lip, blushing stepping to avoid the rat's vision as she glared at Peter and nudged at the... cow tool.

Ohhhh, so that's it. Peter looked back down at the shivering rat.

"Yeah man, better start singing if I were you. Otherwise…" Peter held out his index finger, then with his other hand, made a scissor motion and an audible "Snip" on the outstretched finger. Ratface screamed like a little girl as his thighs clenched together.

"Okay okay okay fine just, don't do that to me! Please!"

"Will you tell us anything?" Jirou asked, her earphone jacks coiling like snakes as she glared down at him, arms crossed. She must have caught it.

"Everything! Just please, not that! You want my name? Social security? Where I buried a couple thousand yen for a rainy day? You can have it!"

"We..." Momo paused, blinking. "Just want to know how you got in here..."

"Oh, that's it? Well, we were just a small gang, just crash some ATMs and steal some purses, just to get by from our shitty lives, well, most of us were till the Hands-guy said 'hey, wanna kill the Symbol of Peace and some dumb hero-kids? Partner with us'. Well, I'm just paraphrasing here." The rat shook his head. "We just wanted to get rid of that stupid paragon you kids put on a pedestal and…"

Momo clenched the tool, it making an audible 'Snip' sound and his growing bravado wilted like a flower before a blizzard.

"Please don't use that thing on me please please pleaaaase..." he sobbed, his aggression turning to despair as he blubbered out and wept.

Gosh this... was fitting, considering his quirk. But... Peter couldn’t blame him.

"So all these guys were recruited by Hands-guy." Peter murmured. "And if I had to guess, the black mist dude warped them all here for you all to hide?"

"Kurogiri? Yeah, that's his name, how did you know that?"

Kurogiri? Oh, black mist. "That's the warp guy's name? What about Hands-guy?"

"I don't know his name? He said, 'follow me and I can kill All Might'. We were friggin’ homeless man, we had nowhere to go and…"

He paused, and for good reason as both Peter, Momo, and Jirou turned towards the flood zone. A giant lightshow of electric sparks cascaded around the massive pool.

"That must be Kaminari!" Jirou yelled.

"We don't know that. Could be a villain with a quirk that's similar." Momo cut in as she looked out beyond it. "But, it wouldn't hurt to investigate."

"Lemme see..." Peter zoomed in with his mask, looking around the water and found... a lot of bodies rising to the surface, eyes rolled over and gargling foam.
And there by the boat was a floating Kaminari Denki, looking stupid and thrusting his thumbs out.

The villains were twitching and spasming, so he could not have killed them.

Well, maybe. He looked over to the boat...

And there was Izuku and Asui! They were safe!

"We're good, that's Kaminari. Midoriya and Asui are with him." Jirou sighed in relief.

"Alright, least we know some of us are okay. Guess him going full stupid has its benefits." The purple haired girl looked to the side. "Unlike last time. Still Parker, your costume is the best. Like seriously, how did you get that designed before you even got to U.A.?"

"It's... a long story. I'll tell you about it when we get out of this alive. Maybe we can talk over Taiyaki and ice cream? Me and a friend or two are going already so..."

"I appreciate the socializing Peter-san, Jirou-san, but we have more pressing matters to attend to." Momo cut in, and both teens perked up. "The fact they sent him to a zone filled with water means you guys had no clue of our quirks then, don't you agree?" It made sense. Denki was a toaster, and he got tossed into a literal bath tub which had to be filled with villains with aquatic quirks. Hopefully his group hadn’t been frazzled too badly.

"We just came in here to kill the Symbol of Peace and, well, scare you guys. Well, at least me. I know some of these guys were straight up killers, but not me! I just wanted to see All Might die up close!"

Peter sighed. "We're wasting time. If Kaminari and his group is finished up, we should go down to the central plaza and back up Aizawa-sensei. He won't hold out for long."

"He's right." Momo turned towards the rat villain. "You’ve been cooperative with us, and you have our thanks. When the heroes come, I'll put in a good word for you. Hopefully you won't be punished too harshly because of it."

Momo turned to leave, then noticed the bridge was down. "Darn... we're trapped up here."

"I can get us both across." Peter gestured. "But I'll uh, have to carry you both."

The black haired beauty turned, blushing lightly.

"Really?"

"Well, one of your will have to go on my back, the other I'll have to carry with one hand." Peter turned towards Ratface. "Hey thanks for the info. The webbing will dissolve in an hour or so, but hey, pro's will be here by then. So, I guess chill and relax?"

"On a rock face? Yeah, thanks buddy." Ratface Canaryleg rolled his eyes and sighed, looking up and resigning himself to his fate.

"You weren't really gonna... do it weren't you?" Peter asked in a whisper, unable to contain himself. Momo blanched.

"Heavens no! My gesture to you made it obvious!"

"Okay, just double checking.” Peter decided not to press the matter further. “Now, we should get going to the Central Plaza." He bent down. "First come first serve."
Momo was the first, wrapping her arms around his neck... and he felt her large breasts squish against his back.

Peter took a deep breath. There'd been those times he'd look at Liz and wonder, and she's more slimmer than Momo. But.. nothing like this. Why was she so big and soft and smart and…

"Oi, Parker. You zooming in on something again?" Jirou asked, waving in front of his face.

"Oh, sorry. Come in." He wrapped an arm around Momo to support her, trying desperately not to grab her butt, then picked up Jirou bridal-style. It was an awkward arrangement, and Parker felt even more awkward when Momo wrapped her legs around his waist. With his free hand, he had Jirou secured, with Momo wrapping his arms around his neck and her bare legs around his waist.

He didn't move. Oh lord if Yu saw him now...

"Uhhh, Parker? You're not moving,” said Jirou. “Is this okay? I hope it's not any trouble."

"Nope!" Peter yelped. "None at all!"

He couldn’t use his webbing, and his spider legs were covered by Momo’s…Momo’s…

“Leave it to me!”

He took a running start, Momo tightening her arms and legs, and he leapt over the expanse, clearing it in a single leap. He landed at a run, accelerating into a sprint.

"We're not too heavy I hope?" Momo asked.

"None at all! This will get us faster too!" Peter called back as he sprinted down the trail. He made mighty leaps, landing across boulders and rocks until he made it to the entrance of the mountain zone. Once on solid ground, he let Jirou down, and felt Momo let go.

“You two okay?”

"I'm alright. Gotta say, that was fast.” Jirou looked back up at the mountain zone. "Good move Parker."

"Don't mention it, hehe." Peter rubbed the back of his head as he turned towards Momo, who had a little pink on her cheeks.

"Okay." He looked into her eyes, and saw her gaze meet his before they both looked away. He patted his cheeks.

"Game face Peter, game face. Villains are everywhere and Mr. Aizawa is in danger."

He turned, running towards the trees, Momo and Jirou in hot pursuit.

Peter got to the edge of the central plaza, looking out over the huge open space that was the center of a brawl. A second later, Peter’s visor lit up, highlighting everyone he could see. At the pool, he could see Izuku and Asui carrying a dumbfounded Denki standing next to… someone. It was the teal haired Hand-man. He turned and Peter felt his blood freeze. Because there, near the edge of the stairway, was Mr. Aizawa, face down next to bloody and broken goggles.

That was nothing on the monster standing over him.

A towering obsidian mass of muscle and scars that dwarfed Aizawa. It barely needed one hand to hold him down, a finger driving his face into the dirt.

Even from the other end of the clearing, Peter heard something snap.

“Parker,” Jirou whispered, “Why are you just… standing there…”

Her voice faded away, her blood draining from her face as the sight of Aizawa came to her.

“Oh god.” Momo breathed behind him, hands over her mouth in shock.

She took the words right out of Peter’s mouth. Aizawa was a pro, a professional hero who was supposed to teach them how to be heroes themselves. Now he was face down, in a pool of his own blood.

The monstrosity turned, revealing a beak filled with razor-sharp teeth, its bloodshot eyes fixing on Izuku and the others. Peter tensed. He had to do something. They had to act. The others would be dead if they didn’t!

The second Peter finished the thought, Izuku launched out of the water, his arm glowing with barely restrained power.

“Get away from him!” he roared.

Peter felt that tingle on the back of his neck. Quick as he could, he grabbed hold of Jirou and Momo again as his Spider legs anchored themselves into the earth.

“Hold on!” he shouted.

Whatever they said next was drowned out when Izuku's first struck home, and the clearing erupted with all the power of a tornado.

(X)

Moments earlier...

“Divide and conquer?” Shoto mused, “Forgive me, but you thugs don’t have the quirks to threaten All Might.”

He stepped forward, his foot cracking against the icy expanse that he had created. It was instinct more than anything that compelled him. One moment he was watching Parker point out a weakness in the fog villain and the next thing he knew he was stuck in a landslide with a few dozen thugs in front of him.

Naturally, he froze them in place before they could so much as think. A bumbling fool he might be, but the American gave Shoto sound experience. Freeze everything before it could be a problem. A few of them stared at him, horror coming through what little sense they had left.

“W-what is this kid!?” they screamed.

Kid? He didn’t classify.

Nevertheless, if anything it showed just how low level these guys were. According to the fog villain, they came here to kill All Might. At first, Shoto thought that these guys might actually have the power to back up that claim. They went through the trouble of getting them here, so they had to have something.

Then all of these guys were caught in his first attack.

Low level cannon fodder trying to overwhelm him and his peers with numbers. A small silver lining, Shoto supposed. If this was indicative of their quality, everyone else should be fine.

Then again, there was that obsidian brute next to the leader.

Shoto frowned. He was starting to hate unknowns.

“Hey,” he said, causing the closest villain to flinch within his icy prison, “If you stay in there any longer, you skin will rot away from frostbite, but luckily for you, I’m trying to be a hero. If you tell me what makes you think you can kill All Might, then I’ll let you out.”

The villain, a lizard looking heteromorphic growled as Shoto got closer.

“Nice try kid, but no one’s going to talk that easily-”

Wrong answer.

Shoto rested his left finger against the villains forehead and started to turn up the heat. The ice melted away, and the blazing heat touched his skin.

“AH! STOP STOP I’LL TALK I’LL TALK!”

Right answer.

True to his word, Shoto pulled his finger back, tapping the same spot with his right side, cooling off what little damage was made. It left a pit in his stomach to use such tactics, but he didn’t have the luxury of time, not when everyone else was in danger.
“Well? What is it?” Shoto asked.

“H-hey don’t expect too much, we’re only street guys so don’t go…”

“Skip the preamble,” Shoto demanded, “Plan, now.”

“There wasn’t one!” the villain admitted.

Shoto narrowed his eyes and the villain shivered from something other than the cold.

“It’s the truth! That hand kid, Shigaraki, said he had something that could kill All Might and then that black thing tore up our gang until we agreed to help him!”

“So you really are nothing but cannon fodder,” Shoto muttered. "So much for information."

“Hey I’m right here ya shitty brat!”

He kept going, screaming something obscene, but Shoto ignored him. It looked as if he was giving them a little too much credit about thinking this through. Overwhelm the most talented hero prospects in all of Japan through numbers alone? Shoto could commend them for their efforts if the effort wasn’t completely wasted.

However, the thought didn’t bring him any comfort. Because if they didn’t have much of a plan, but still came here confident that they could take down All Might.

That was something to worry about.

A loud crack reverberated through the chamber, like a bomb going off. Shoto’s head snapped around, and he saw the waters of the artificial lake roiling as if in a tempest, a gust of hot wind passing over him.

What the hell was that?

(X)

Peter could barely keep his eyes open as the hot wind buffeted him. As it stopped, he let out a breath he didn’t remember holding in.

As the dust cleared, that black thing was in front of Izuku, no worse for wear, arms spread. Peter couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Izuku's punch made the Hulk's look tame, and this thing didn’t even budge! It just stood there, holding Aizawa in one of its massive hands like a ragdoll, staring down at the green haired boy with those crazed eyes.

“That was quite the special attack you just pulled off, lotta force too,” Hand-man said, his voice a dry rasp like something out of a slasher movie. "You trying to be All Might, brat?”

He let out a sickening laugh, shrugging at Izuku's efforts as the black thing clamped down on the boy's arm.

“Well, whatever.” he said. "Time to die."

He reached towards a stunned Asui. Peter was moving before he knew what he was doing, jumping for all he was worth, spider-legs propelling him like a rocket. He jumped, clearing half the plaza, launching a line of webbing straight at Hand-man. But Handy was quick, and dodged the white silk at the last moment, eyeing Peter from behind his mask.

Peter came down, driving his foot into the obsidian titan’s chest. But the monster didn’t even flinch, and Peter bounced off its bare chest, his leg a mass of pain. He landed on his palm, ignoring the pain in his leg as he flipped and landed on his feet, narrowing his blue eyes at the duo.

“Oh, and who’s this?” mused Hand-man, regarding him with mild interest.

“Someone who saw you guys having a party, decided to crash it!” Peter yelled. He readied his web launchers; he could blind them at least.

“Noumu,” Handy commanded, and the beaked monstrosity, Noumu, moved. It let out a roar and stepped in front of Handy, Peter’s two strands splattering over its raised forearm. Seeing her chance, Asui leapt out of the water, a still-chuckling Denki over her shoulder. She shot out her tongue, wrapping it around Izuku and pulling him free of Noumu’s grip. Handy let out a bark, and started shaking in what could only be frustration and rage.

“Now look at what you did,” Handy hissed glaring his red eyes at Peter, “Rather rude of you, sticking your nose into other people's business.”

“That's the thing with party crashers, we come in unannounced!” retorted Peter. Gritting his teeth, he pulled.

And the Noumu thing didn’t even budge.

Oh come on! Even Captain America had to pull back when he threw down with Peter! What was with this thing?

“Parker-san!” Momo called. Peter glanced as the two ladies rushed up behind him. Hand-man groaned, scratching his neck.

“Oh joy, more kids,” he griped.

“Parker-san! Cut your webbing!” Izuku shouted, clutching his finger. He stood in front of Asui and Denki, looking like he was holding back a grimace.

“In the middle of something Midoriya!” Peter grunted, putting his back into the pull.

Still nothing. Holy crap this thing just wouldn't move! Peter gritted his teeth. Please, just give him something.

“No you don’t understand!” Izuku screamed, “This thing, they made it to kill All Might!”

Peter’s mind went blank. How could this be true? He knew they had come to kill All Might as part of some sick plan, but a part of him just couldn’t accept it. He was All Might, the symbol of peace, the best hero in the world!

Peter’s head turned slowly to the monster in front of him. It smiled with a mouth full of daggers, its eyes crazed and inhuman, its form a monolith of muscle and scars, in its fist his unconscious teacher.

And it had taken Izuku’s blow, his skyscraper-robot-busting punch, without so much as flinching.

A sick laugh nearly made him jump out of his skin. The handed villain's eyes curved up, revealing him smiling a sick ear to ear grin.

“Oh yes. You see, this Noumu here was specially made to kill the Symbol of Peace. His quirk, Shock Absorption, can take anything the great Number One Hero could dish out, and just as strong, with raw physical power power to match. A big old punching bag that hits you back, with speed to boot!”

He cackled some more. Peter felt his hair stand on end, and a voice in the back of his head screamed.

'Run.'

The great mass looked almost confused as it played with the webbing in its hand, dropping Aizawa like a piece of trash. It didn’t even look down when the teacher landed on his bad arm.

“Parker-san,” Momo whispered behind him, “We need to escape.”

“I’m open to ideas,” Peter hissed back.

Momo grimaced as she looked around. “We have numbers, we need to use that to get in and get Aizawa-sensei out of here.”

“All for it Rep,” Jirou murmured loudly, “But did you miss the part where crazy over there said the big guy was supposed to take down All Might? What can we do?!”

Momo nodded and the worry on her face tripled as she looked to Peter. The American blinked and grimaced.

“Oh,” he said, at a loss.

“I know, but you’re the only one here that has a chance.” she said, her breath hitching as Hand-man started to move forward, his eyes blood red. “You’re the most agile out of all of us besides Asui and with your suit you can do something with your webs. Just…” she stopped, a bead of sweat running down her face as Hands wiggled his fingers, “Give us as much time as you can.”

Peter gulped, but he nodded. Dread it as he might, he was their best bet. He clenched his fist, trying in vain to stop his hands from shaking.

"Whatever it takes" he agreed.

“Jirou,” Momo continued, her skin alight with her quirk, “Keep the other one away with your sound.”

“Got it.” the punk girl said, ear-jacks plugging in. She swallowed something and gave Peter a worried look.

“Good luck Peter,” she said in English.

“You too,” Peter breathed back in his native tongue.

He lowered his stance and glared. Noumu stood in front of him, ready and waiting and not having moved an inch forward. Jirou said something that made Midoriya and Asui get into fighting stances of their own, but Peter couldn’t let himself hear it.

He could do this, he could do this.

It hadn’t said a thing beyond giving a soft grunt, and that growl of challenge when Handy was threatened. Moreover, it didn’t even move until Handy said something. Did that mean it was nothing but a crazed attack dog?

Peter didn’t know if that made him feel better or worse.

He shook his head, and swallowed his fear. It didn’t matter what he thought he had to do this. He tensed, and his hair stood on end.

“Noumu,” Handy narrowed his eyes, and pointed with his finger. “Sic'em."

The beast perked up, and took a step towards him.... Then it charged, a bullet train of muscle heading right towards Peter. The American tensed, waiting for the chance to get out of the way. He saw Izuku and Asui get Aizawa, trying to lift him to get him out of the battlefield. Good, get him out of there and…

"Hold on! Noumu, get them!" Handy ordered, pointing at them!

Peter's heart clenched up as the beast paused, and its head whipped towards the two kids by the pool. Against all laws of reason, Noumu somehow switched direction, sprinting towards Izuku and Asui.

"No you don't!" Peter shouted, firing his webbing from both wrists, sticking the fluid onto Noumu's ankles and tugging as hard as he could.

The massive beast lurched and stumbled, struggling to move towards its designated targets as Peter pulled and strained, struggling to hold the thing back. The spider legs carved trenches into the ground, scraping and scratching at the plaza pavement as he dug them in harder. It was like trying to pull back a runaway train.

Asui and Izuku, to their credit, didn't freeze in panic, though he could see the fear on their faces they held tight to Aizawa and moved fast to get out of danger.

A shiver ran down Peter's spine, his senses warning him a split second before it happened.

Maybe if he'd been more attentive, maybe if he hadn't lost sleep the outcome would have changed, he would have reacted faster.

Noumu moved, as though suddenly realizing what was wrong, it grabbed onto the webbing ripping the two strands in a single, massive fist and pulling. Hard.

Peter's own strength, amplified through the suit, and the dug-in spider legs gave a second of resistance before Noumu's strength ripped him clear off the ground, tearing the arachnid appendages out of the asphalt like the roots off a tree, sending Peter flying headlong towards the obsidian monster.

He curled himself into a ball, spider legs coiling in front of him to form a protective shell, blocking out his vision as he saw Noumu chamber its massive black fist.

The blow that landed shattered the spider legs like fine metal glass, then slammed into Peter. Spider-web cracks spread over the surface of his suit, nano-bots glimmering like particles of dust as they tumbled away.

Peter felt the wind rush from his chest, his head crashing back against his spine and then forward again as the blow hurled him back, away. His limbs went limp, his mind a blank, as he bounced away like a ragdoll. Only by instinct, by some flicker of muscle memory, did he manage to control the tumble, and steady himself.

"Parker!"

"Peter-san!" He heard Momo yelp.

Peter breathed hard, sucking down greedy lungfuls of air as he saw the nanomachines flow over the broken armor like liquid mercury, Mr. Stark's tech desperately trying to repair itself.

"Noumu, get those two brats with Eraserhead now!" The voice was like a jumpstart to Peter's foggy brain. And he remembered his classmates, Aizawa, the danger they were in.

All at once, before he could think, before he could grasp the pain he should be in, he leapt to his feet. His arms came up, firing lines of webbing at the obsidian monstrosity, catching the beast at the nape of its neck and yanking as hard as he could. The monster let out a screech of surprise, stumbling as it lost balance, taken by surprise.

Peter let go as it clawed at the webbing, lest it pull him again. He released a breath, one he hadn’t realized he had been holding.

And then the beast was on top of him. In the blink of an eye it had moved twenty feet. It was all Peter could do to raise his arms in a cross-guard before Noumu’s foot, nearly the size of his torso, smashed into his chest.

He coughed, feeling metal at the back of his throat. Warning symbols flashed across his HUD as the kick flung him back, telling of systems damage and injuries.

He hit the ground in a backwards roll, reaching his feet in a motion that looked smoother than he felt, stumbling at the last step before his spider senses warned him again.

He tried to move.

Too slow.

He saw the monster's massive, open palm grab onto him, a single fist nearly wrapping all the way around his torso before its twin wrapped around the other side.

The pressure was immense, and Peter struggled and writhed, trying to pry open its tight grip.

He tried to summon the spider legs, the suits warnings flashing red.

Noumu held him up, and Peter felt his legs dangling off the ground. He thrust out his hands, firing two web lines at the ground behind Noumu, pulling.

For all his effort, the monster stepped back, stumbling off balance for a moment before it caught itself.

He felt the grip get tighter.

Peter tried to suck down a breath. It was hard, and getting harder. The pressure on his ribs was becoming unbearable. His arms shook as he forced them to make fists, slamming his arms down over Noumu's wrists, trying to make it give. His spider legs tried to pry himself loose, but no go.

He looked up, finding the titan's leering eyes and grinning sharp-tooth beak staring back at him.

Peter fired off a web line onto the monster's exposed brain. But Noumu, with a sped he had not hitherto shown, dodged the shot with a flick of his neck.

The suit splintered, cracked and collapsed. He could feel the metal digging into his skin, every breath felt like it was being sucked through a straw.

Then he heard and felt something crack in his chest, sharp pain lancing like fire across his lungs. He arched his back, he tried to scream.

But he didn't have the air to do it.

(X)

"Parker-san!" Izuku yelled, face etched in horror.

They had managed to get Aizawa-sensei over to a giggling "Whey"ing Kaminari by some bushes. But when they had come back to help, the fight was already over. The fight had lasted only seconds, with both Noumu and Peter moving faster than he could imagine. It was just like when that Hand-guy rushed them!
And now Peter was trapped in Noumu’s grasp, being slowly crushed to death.

"Ribbit..." Tsuyu whimpered, fearful and despairing.

The teal-haired youth leapt back, dodging a sound blast and a paintball volley from Jirou and Yaoyorozu. He landed by Noumu, cackling with evident delight at his evil handiwork.

"Not so smart, are you brats!" He yelled. "Ya should have listened to Eraserhead's advice and ran when ya had the chance. Instead, all you did was trade a battered old man for a kid who's gonna be paraplegic soon! Tisk tisk tisk..."

Izuku gritted his teeth. That… damn villain!

"Let him go!" Yaoyorozu yelled. She had her paintball rifle at the ready, and Jirou did likewise with her amp-boots.

'Think... think! What do I do?!’ Izuku wracked his brain, trying to think of something. He had to think of something.

Suddenly, the air crackled and rumbled, and Izuku paused. The black miasma formed, two golden eyes forming menacingly as the teal haired psychopath turned his head in acknowledgment.

"Shigaraki Tomura."

"Ah, Kurogiri... is Thirteen dead?"

As if he couldn't feel the pit in his stomach get even deeper. No... Not Thirteen!

"Oh no..." Tsu uttered, thinking the same thing as Izuku, eyes wide in horror.

"Thirteen is incapacitated for the time being. However, some students were able to evade my mass warp... and subsequently, one of them escaped the facility."

Wait... someone escaped?! Who! Who could have escaped that! The only ones who could outrun the sudden teleportation would be Parker, Kacchan and-

Iida...

It had to have been Iida!

"Oh?" Shigaraki, the black wearing hands-wraped villain tilted his head. "Oh...ohhh...ohhhhhhhhhgggnnn..." His hand began to scratch at his neck... harder and harder as he twitched and groaned loader. "Kurogiriiiii... You're so lucky you're my ride out of here, or you'd be so dead... god-fucking-dammit..."

Iida escaped... so help was on the way!

"All Might and the teachers will be coming!" Tsuyu chirped, and Izuku felt his heart soar. All Might may have been late for whatever reason, but he would save the day! He knew it!

Shigaraki let out a sigh, his arms out in mock defeat. "Well shit. Game Over... we don't stand a chance against an army of Pros... We should leave now buuuuut..."

His head tilted, and Izuku could see his cheekbones rise and his eyes curve with a sick smirk. "This little Spider is to blame for holding us up with his little tricks. Those bitches and that one All Might wannabe would be splattered across the floor by now otherwise. Noumu."

The beast's eyes rose up, paying attention to its master.

"Kill him. Slowly."

"No!" Izuku gasped, and the beasts hands gripped Peter's abdomen even tighter. Parker struggled, but could not escape as Noumu squeezed tighter, and tighter.

Then slammed him against the ground, so hard that the ground cratered beneath him.

Noumu let out a sound, something between a growl and a hiss, slamming Peter into the dirt as the muscles along its arms bulged and bunched. Parker writhed in his grip, hands scrabbling for the Monster's fingers. Izuku was close enough to hear him trying to suck down a breath through the mask, the sound like half-choked wheezing and clicks.

"Let him go!" He saw Jirou fire a soundblast, and Yaoyorozu fired another volley. Only for them to vanish into a black void, as another appeared right in front of him.

"Midoriya-chan!" Tsuyu grabbed him with her tongue and leapt, avoiding the onslaught of paintballs. But no sound came.

So Kurogiri could nullify Jirou's Earphone Jack! And negate any ranged attack!

They landed back into the central plaza, away from the bushes and trees where Aizawa and Kaminari were lying. Thankfully the paintballs didn't hit anywhere near them.

The suit was groaning, bending and cracking as Noumu crushed the armor like a tin can, a broken stump of a spider leg twitched and scraped along the dirt over Peter's shoulder. Shigaraki laughed.

"How does it feel? Dying as if under a metal press! If there's anyone to blame, blame All Might! He wasn't here to protect you all. He was supposed to be here, teaching his students, and yet he's absent, letting a poor innocent child die a hero while he's out being a glory-seeking fool and smiling for the cameras! Any blood shed today... is on the hands of the Symbol of Peace! Ain't that ironic or what! Hyahahahahaha!" Shigaraki ranted and raved before laughing as Izuku clenched his fist. He had never felt so useless! Parker was dying before him, and he could do nothing! How could he be the world’s greatest hero if he couldn’t even save…

"DIE!"

The cry was familiar. Two of the villains were sent flying as Bakugo Katsuki leapt into the fray, explosions erupting all around him. He landed, and aimed both of his grenade gauntlets at Shigaraki and Kurogiri, his face a mask of battle-rage.

Kurogiri grunted, unimpressed. Noumu did not seem to notice. Only Shigaraki dodged the blasts.

“Eat this!" Kirishima Eijrou rushed in with his jagged arms, swinging at Shigaraki. The masked youth dodged his strikes before reaching out with his hands. Then a paintball struck him in the shoulder, making him yelp in pain and surprise.

"Insolent children!" Kurogiri hissed as he expanded himself, only for a giant mass of ice spikes to drive into the black mass and stun the black mist villain, making him grunt and warp away before the ice could freeze over.

"Sorry for the wait!" Todoroki Shoto called he ran from the bushes, standing between Izuku's retreating team and Momo's group. They had effectively surrounded the League of Villains!

Now they could counter attack!

(X)

Peter was dying.

She was no fool. She was not so naïve as to take his silence for endurance, that he could not feel the pain.

He did not scream, because his lungs had no air to scream with. His torso was being crushed slowly, squeezed between Noumu’s fists. Ribs were surely broken, and more and more would break, until his lungs were punctured, and his heart pierced.

Think Momo, think!

Noumu. Quirk: Shock Absorption. Super Strength, Super Speed. Obeys commands. Great reflexes. All Might Counter.

Shigaraki Tomura. Quirk: Unknown. Has to involve his hands, as he tried to leap in and grab her and Jirou.

Kurogiri. Quirk: some kind of warping/teleportation vortex ability. Can transport individuals and mass groups of peoples. Can even transfer objects and cancel sound. If he was able to defeat Thirteen, he must have used Black Hole against the Pro Hero.

Think Momo think!

He was dying. Peter Parker was dying! Because she put him in that situation!

THINK MOMO THINK!!!!

Todoroki’s ice lanced out, grabbing Noumu’s legs. Kurogiri was trying to warp Kirishima and Bakugo, but Bakugo pulled the pin on his Grenade Gauntlet, and with a roar, fired at the giant mass with an explosive fireball. She heard the villain cry out in agony and drop them, slinking away. Shigaraki leapt away, and Kirishima’s eyes focussed on Noumu.

"Parker!" he yelled.

"Don't go in! That black guy is as strong as All Might!" Jirou yelled. "You won't put a scratch on him!"

"Seriously!? What the fuck do we do!"

"We blast their faces off! That's what!"

Bakugo race after Kurogiri, using his Turbo Boost blasts to chase after the warping villain. Todoroki summoned a segment of ice spires, only for Shigaraki to dodge, and with a touch... disintegrated them!

Think Momo... think...

She saw Noumu move its legs, tearing his limb free from Todoroki’s glacier. It did not so much as grunt, though Momo could see exposed muscles under torn, bleeding flesh. Her gut churned at the sight, and then the flesh reformed over the horrid wounds.

High Speed Regeneration too?

Think... think... what could defeat such a creature? All Might Counter... with Regeneration added. How can a person... no, that monster have multiple quirks!

Parker wasn't moving. But he was still alive, for the moment. He had to be alive! He couldn’t die! He couldn’t!

Think Momo think! Think Momo think! Think Momo think!

Think! What was the best possible situation here!

Think...

That's it!

"Everyone! I have a plan!"

Everyone’s eyes were on her, good. Even Bakugo had an eye on her. Apparently even he was in the mood to listen…for once.

“Todoroki,” she said, getting the monochrome haired boy’s attention, “Use your ice, everything you have to slow that monster down. Go for his feet, force him to drop Peter-san. Anything.”

Shoto nodded, letting out a breath of chilled air as he focused on his target.

“Bakugo-!”

“Don’t tell me what to do richgirl!” he shrieked, unleashing another wave of explosions into Kurogiri, the black mass warping it away. But the villain was occupied, at least for the moment.

“Keep doing what you’re doing then! Kirishima, get ready to jump in and grab Peter-san when you find an opening.”

The red headed boy didn’t even hesitate, nodding and spreading his hardening all over his body, his eyes taking on a serious sheen. "Got it."

“Jirou,” Momo called, flinching as another glacier shattered like glass against Noumu's backhanded blows, the still form of Peter still tight in its grip.

“What do you nee-?” Jirou stopped and gritted her teeth, dodging a swipe from the teal-haired psycho before sending another blast of sound at Shigaraki, forcing him to jump back.

“Keep Shigaraki from giving it orders! Deafen it! Make sure it can’t hear me!”

The punk-girl’s eyes almost shot out of their sockets.

“Are you insane? That thing will-”

“Peter-san's dead if I don't!” Momo glared at her comrade, daring her to deny it, or to offer some better plan.

Jirou did not. They didn’t have time. Momo could see the fear in her eyes, and she understood it only too well. It had to be the craziest idea she had ever come up with.

But they were heroes-in-training, doing crazy things to save people came with the territory. Jirou gritted her teeth and aimed. "All right! Eat this ya freaks!"

Jirou focused everything she had on Noumu and Shigaraki, the bass soundwave washing over them. Momo dashed to the side, her heart pounding in her chest, her skin bubbling with her quirk. She saw Jirou dodge Shigaraki’s lunging swipe, Bakugo blasting away, Kurogiri dodging effortlessly.

Momo shook her head, she couldn't get distracted. She had to make this quick or else-

The ground shook, almost sending Momo into a tumble. She spared a second to look at what happened, and wished she hadn’t. She was behind it, so she got a full view of the awesome power on display. Noumu, the monster, ripping its legs free from Todoroki’s ice as it held Parker in his grasp.

Without a second thought, it slammed its fist down, ripping a fissure in the earth. With its new leverage, the obsidian titan started ripping chunks out of the ground. The bloodshot eyes of the beaked fiend snapped to Jirou and the rest, and then threw the chunk of debris like a softball pitch. Jirou tried to jump back, but Kirishima dove in front of her, and with a roar, threw his shoulder into the debris and took the hit, the chunk shattering as it impacted.

"You okay Jirou!"

"Thanks for the save! I'm fine!"

"Less talking more Bass Blasting!"

Jirou followed through on Kirishima's quip, and with a hop, slammed her boots into the ground as her Earphone Jacks fired another soundwave at Noumu.

Momo could barely keep it out, pulling out the results of her quirk; a large wrapped bag about the size of a mason jar. The lid was primed with a fuse, and the underside was coated in the webbing formula.

No better adhesive around. Thank you Peter-san.

Momo’s skin bubbled with goosebumps, the temperature plummeting with Todoroki’s newest ice surge. The beast darted to the right, dodging the river of ice and winding up for another shot. It threw, and Todoroki threw up his hand, ice rising in a wall to guard him. The chunk struck the ice, shattering it like glass, and sending Todoroki flying, rolling across the ground before Asui’s tongue scooped him up.

Seeing her chance, Momo sprinted straight at Noumu. Kirishima saw her, and he charged too, straight at Noumu’s front. She saw Jirou ready her boots, and conjured ear muffs to cover her ears; just in time as the sound wave crashed over her, her eardrums ringing.

"Not so fast!" Shigaraki caught on, and, charged straight at Noumu. The brute turned at the sight of its master, ignoring Momo as she approached. “Noumu!”

"Full blast!" Jirou roared. Blood oozed from Noumu’s ears as the wave struck, sending Shigaraki to the ground, clutching his head in agony as he howled.

She jumped as high as she could, her arms barely managing to stick the object against the back of the titan's neck. She kicked off its back, and then flung herself out of reach. The monster jerked, surprised.

And Peter fell from its grip, hitting the ground with a thump.

“I got you!” Kirishima leapt in, grabbing Peter and dashing away, his friend over his shoulder like a sack. Shigaraki paused, and glanced up at Noumu with wide eyes.

And he chuckled at the sight of the box.

“What did you think you’re gonna do…”

He stopped, noticing the fuse in her hand. He was so close Momo could hear his gasp, and see the moment of understanding in his eyes. "Noumu! Take that thin..."

Momo pulled the fuse.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then the air around Noumu went from 23 Celcius to 2500 in the blink of an eye. A miniature sun blossomed on the back of the monster’s neck. Momo twisted her head away, blinded by the light, the heat searing her skin.

A Thermite charge. The standard reaction was five times hotter than most fire or heat quirks in general. She had made a point to shape it, channelling all the explosive energy straight into Noumu's neck, while adding enough chemicals to bring down a skyscraper. Nothing less would have worked.

The charge burned through Noumu’s upper spine, its chest glowing as the blast reached its core, burning down and up as it's head was incincerated. Its legs buckled, and the dreadful thing flopped forward like a dead fish, the fiery glow spreading up through its pectorals, and burning open the skin.

She could see its insides, its charred and burning lung tissue, the fluttering, beating heart trying desperately to keep blood pumping even as the blood around it boiled and hissed. Then the heart was charred.

The monster hit the ground and did not move, only it's legs remaining. The stench of burned meat hung it he air, making Momo want to throw up.

For a moment, no one moved.

Then several things happened at once.

"Impossible!" Kurogiri yelled in utter shock.

"You're open!" Bakugo roared, his hands weaving through and blasting the Warp User by his metal brace. The villain shouted in pain and fell to the ground with a crash, Bakugo right on top of him.

Shigaraki shrieked, like a toddler throwing a temper tantrum, and charged straight for Kirishima and Peter!

"Peter-san! Kirishima!" Momo yelled. She began to create a paintball rifle... but she couldn’t make it in time! She needed time!

"No you don't!" Kirishima yelled, swiping at him. But Shigaraki ducked under the swing and lashed out like a viper, his hand grabbing ahold of his shoulder pads. "Gah!" The pads faded to dust, and Kirishima jumped back on reflex. Shigaraki's hand swiped at him, before Asui's tongue wrapped around Kirishima's arm and pulled the red haired boy away.

Leaving Peter on the ground, helpless before Shigaraki’s murderous rage. Momo’s heart froze.

“Oh shit!” cried Kirishima, as he realised his mistake. Shigaraki grabbed Peter’s face, and held him up for all to see, his forefinger hovering over Peter’s forehead. Peter hung there, seemingly unconscious. Momo let out a cry and dropped her half-made gun, pulling out a metal staff and charging at Shigaraki. But the psychotic was too fast, leaping away from her.

“Parker!” Jirou screamed.

"Let him go!" Kirishima shouted, almost weeping with shame. Bakugo glanced from Kurogiri to Parker, suddenly indecisive. Todoroki landed nearby, as did Asui, eyes wide with dread as they surrounded the villain.

“Alright you brats!” bellowed Shigaraki, brandishing Peter’s hanging form. “Nobody move or this little spider bites the dust!”

Momo felt her blood freeze. There was nothing she could do.

“All I need to do is put my index finger down, just a twitch and he’s dust. Ya hear me!” he spat through gritted teeth. He taps his middle finger against Peter’s head, but kept his index finger from touching the metal.

"Peter-san...!"

(X)

How did this happen? How the goddamn hell did this happen?! This was so fucking unfair!

This… this wasn’t how it was supposed to go!

Teacher gave him such a nice toy, one to counter everything All Might had. Kurogiri helped as he gathered his own legion of cannon fodder to help take down All Might and whoever was around.

Instead… these fucking bastard kids killed Noumu, captured Kurogiri and forced him to use the little spider as a meatshield. It was cool when Eraserhead was doing his best. Watching the pro get stomped and his bones and face crushed was better than beating any boss on hard mode.

Then this little spider decided he wanted to play hero.

Give the kid a little credit, he lasted longer than Eraserhead did against his Noumu.

But when Noumu crushed him, suddenly all these fucking kids decide to turn up the difficulty and started using cheat codes, as if taking out the spider activated some Nightmare Mode or trigger. Did they all get kissy kissy kumbaya in only a few days time?! What makes a bug worth ruining all of his fun?

Now, Shigaraki Tomura wasn’t like Teacher. He couldn’t predict every little thing that could come up. Not that he didn’t have the power to dust any problems that came his way, but he wasn’t an idiot. These kids had delayed them long enough. Kurogiri said one of them got out, so any second now the Pros were going to bust down the door for their precious indoctrinated soldiers.

He needed to get out of there. Teacher was going to be so disappointed in him, but that was better than letting himself get caught!

Except he couldn’t, not unless he made grenade brat with the stupid hair let go of Kurogiri. That dumbass bartender better fucking be smart enough to know they had to go, like now!

Damn shame too. He'd love to kill that fat titty slut for killing Noumu, but escaping took priority. It was Game Over.

Time was ticking away, so thankfully, he got himself the best key item he could ask for.

“You, blonde brat,” he said, pointing at the grenade asshole, “Let Kurogiri go, and I’ll let your friend go. Equal trade.”

“Fuck that!” the brat screamed, “We’re not gonna take orders from psychopaths like you!”

“Yeah who do you think we are?!” the redhead roared. "You'd just kill Parker the moment we let your mist friend go!"

Kid put on a brave face, but Tomura could see the fear in his eyes, in all of their eyes, especially in that skimpy whore. These kids were only playing heroes when one of their own was on the line. They didn’t have the resolve to hit him where it counted. All they needed was a little push and they would be nothing. Like scared little children.

Like Teacher said: destroy your enemy's hope, and they will crumble around you.

“You know, my quirk is pretty great,” Tomura spoke with a smirk, ignoring the confused looks of the brats, “It’s called Decay. Everything I wrap all my five fingers around fades to dust. Metal, rocks, ice, whatever it is, it turns to ash.” He pauses, letting a funny grin spread over his face as he let out a dark chuckle. “But what gets really interesting is when I grab hold of soft, tender, flesh.” Yeah... twist the knife. Push it in deeper. Make them pause even longer. Just enough for Kurogiri to find an opening. Any opening.

The redhead flinched back, and even the ice user brat hesitated.

“I learned a long time ago you see, My quirk doesn’t work as fast as any of you think, in fact it goes much slower than you'd expect. At least, to the poor S.O.B. that it’s being used on. You see, it has to go through everything to finish it off. Layer by layer, skin and muscle turn to ash, but not fast enough to stop your nerves from screaming every excruciating inch of flesh falls away. Ask Eraserhead.”

Tomura took a steap forward from his kneeling, hand still on the armored brat's head, and all of the kids save for the blonde stepped back.

They were scared, perfect. They were like sheep before the wolf.

“I wonder what your friend will feel? My fingers so close to his head. Do you think he’ll feel his face falling away? His skull crumbling, his brain screaming as he’s eaten away inch by inch until there’s nothing left? It’ll be quick from your perspective." He lifted his hand, snapping his fingers. "Quick as a snap, and he’ll fade away. But for him? It'd feel like an eternity of crumbling away into a pile of powdered bone and ash. And you know what?"

He stops, cheekbones rising and eyes curving as he couldn't contain his ear-to-ear grin.

“I really don’t know. I’ve honestly never used my quirk on someone’s head like this before. I know! How about we see what it's like together! As the old saying goes, you learn something new every day right!"

Yes yes yes. The fear in their faces, the color draining from their skin!

"And isn't this a school right! Why don't we learn something new together!”

Tomura couldn’t help himself at the sight, the utter hopelessness in their eyes, it was fucking hilarious! He didn’t stop the wonderful laughter that slipped through his lips. "Kyahahaha! You should see the looks on your faces!" Tomura cackled loudly and proudly, guffawing. Yes! He has these pathetic brats by the balls! This power! This feeling of authority! He's never felt a high like this in his life! No wonder Teacher was so good at this! He savored the sound for a second, sighing and calming down before looking at the explosive kid, who was looking on in morbid horror with clenched teeth.

Heroism; always good for a laugh!

“So… anytime you want to let Kurogiri go, the sooner you can fix your broken Spider Man here.” Tomura cooed. "Don't you wanna save him or what~? His breathing doesn't sound too healthy right now. Might need to get him some help real fast, lest he drown in his blood."

The blond flinched but kept his palms firmly on Kurogiri. “You think I’m an idiot!” the kid screamed, “Why would you let him go!? He’s just trash to you! Second this guy’s free, you’ll kill him!”

Tomura narrowed his eyes. Kid was right. This bug was too much trouble to keep around. If he matures, he'd be trouble down the road too. Plus, he pissed him off! He didn’t deserve to breath for the crap that he put Tomura through!

The leader of the League of Villains forced a shrug.

“Now why would I do that?” he asked, “I’m only trying to get away from you horrible heroes after all.”

He looked around, taking in the broken Central Plaza and shattered remains of the mini-glacier. The charred remains of Noumu.

"After all, if this is what the heroes of tomorrow will do to cities and its naer'do'wells.” Tomura spat out the word, gritting his teeth as he glared hard at the kids, and he remembered... the old days. “What the fuck has this world come to?”

The blonde grit his teeth, a line of sweat running down his brow. Tomura stared him down, his index finger moving ever closer to the bug’s neck.

If he killed him now... their shock might give them enough time for Kurogiri to make a mass warp, getting the brats far away from here, then he and the bartender could escape. He has no idea if those thugs had killed any more of the students but...

His index finger began to fall. He felt the armored spider brat below him vibrate and shake harder, and he can see their mouths opening as time slowed down. Tomura's eye curved in a sick glee.

'I win.'

Only to stop when the door to the building exploded, sending shockwaves through the USJ.

Everyone turned to the door as a mountainous figure stepped out of the smoke, standing at the top of the stairs overlooking the plaza. The great Symbol of Peace, gritting his teeth, not a smile in sight.

Tomura felt his hope plummet. His blood ran as cold as the Artic Sea.

He had to get out of there, he had to! Maybe if he sprinted towards the blonde now he-

Then something exploded behind him as he realized there was one brat unaccounted for.

(X)

The last thing Peter saw before the suit went dark was Todoroki's ice swallow up the Noumu's legs and waist.

Then there was nothing he could see. Nothing he could do.

He couldn't scream. Couldn't breathe. He felt blood in his mouth, it felt sticky on his chin and neck. Fire burned through his chest. Every breath was agony as he felt yet another crunch rattle through his diaphragm, increasing the agony tenfold.

The suit's warning signs flashed red in front of his eyes; diagrams and blueprints highlighting the damage. His eyes swam in his skull as he tried to read the data feeling shards of metal slicing up his stomach, sides and back, digging into him as the monster kept tightening its grip.

What did Noumu do? What system did it break? Power converter? Motor control? Neural uplink?

Then the suit was disabled. His HUD going dark.

Peter's brain was fogged, vision blurry, the words too small for him to read as dark crept at the edge of his eyes.

He couldn't move. He couldn't move. He was trapped in a dark metal coffin and he couldn't move.

Before it was like a python tightening its grip around his spine and lungs... now it was like a demolishing press, and even if he could move he doubted he'd have the strength to fight back.

He tried to wiggle. To move. Anything. But... the beast only pressed down harder... Pain was all he knew. He couldn't hear a thing. He couldn't move. He couldn't scream.

He had to escape...

But he couldn't escape the fact that he was dying. Again.

No.

No.

Not again.

He felt the pinpricks before back then...

It was happening again. Again, he couldn't do a thing. Again, all he knew was endless torture, trapped in Mr. Stark's suit. The suit he wore when being made an Avenger.

'I don't wanna die.'

Again.

'Save me.'

Someone.

'Help me.'

Please!

'Anybody!' Peter thought, words not forming as he coughed lightly again, trying his utmost to move before he felt himself be lifted off the ground and swayed around like a ragdoll in the beast's grasp. It was like being on a one-person wild ride at an amusement park, but blindfolded and with perforated lungs.
He couldn't make out the voices, the pain was too much...

Was... were his classmates fighting? Were they fighting to save him?

Peter couldn't breathe as he heard the sound of a heavy bass wash over him, the suit muffling out the heavy soundwave. He coughed again, more blood caking his mouth and nose.

Was... was he going to drown in his own blood?

Then he felt himself free, the Noumu letting go before someone else's hands caught him. It made Peter wince and he would have howled in discomfort, had he been able to speak and not have the taste of metal in his mouth.

"I got you!" That voice. It was muffled but, through the pain, Peter recognized it!

'Eijirou...'

He felt him move as he was draped over Eijirou's back, then he stopped. He tried to move, lift an arm but his suit couldn't, and even if he did he felt his ribs contract and he coughed more again. The redhead was now standing still... and the goosebumps faded.

Before it came roaring back, and Eijirou was wildly moving again, as if he was trying to dodge. Who. Who was it?

He hit the floor, head cracking against the ground as Peter's eyes widened as white hot pain seared through his body like a fire poker was jammed through this spine. And the voice in the back of his head was telling to him. 'You can run!'

But he can't. He was too weak. Too tired. Too hurt.

As he laid on the ground, Peter felt fingers on his crown and the goosebumps were erect and on all ends. This... this feeling.

Only back on Titan. Before he died.

His heart stopped, and he froze.

He was... able to make out noises. He can just hear Momo and Jirou and Eijirou... He closed his eyes... and Peter did his best to listen, as hard and as acute as he could.

“You, blondie..." It was light, but raspy. It sounded like Handy. “Let Kurogiri go, and I’ll let your friend go...”

Blonde... Bakugo... he had the mist villain then...

“Fuck that!”

...

He felt his heart drop, a coiling, insidious fear wrapping around his chest.

He was going to die...

He was going to die again.

Peter felt a pressure at the forehead of his mask, a single finger pressing down. "You know, my quirk is pretty great... It’s called Decay. Everything fades to dust. Metal, rocks, ice, whatever it is, it turns to ash.”

All of a sudden.

Peter couldn't breathe. Not because he tried... but because his entire body was locked.

No.

No.

No no no….

His heart stopped. His body froze. Yet the tingling feeling only increased, no longer was it goosebumps... it was mixing in with the pain of his abdomen.

Please no.

"... turn to ash..."

'Help me .'

“...Do you think he’ll feel his face falling away... His skull crumbling, his brain screaming as he’s eaten away inch by inch until there’s nothing left?"

'Yu...'

"It’ll be quick from your perspective..."

'Aunt May...'

A snap of a finger.

"...and he’ll fade away... into a pile of powdered bone and ash. And you know what?"

'Mr. Stark...'

Peter can't breathe. The goosebumps has become like the needles digging into each square centimeter of his skin. The fingers on his head.

He was doing to die.

'I don't wanna go. I don't wanna go. I don't wanna go. I don't wanna go. I don't wanna go. I don't wanna go.'

No one was going to save him. No one was going to help him. Momo and the others couldn't move due to the hostage situation.

Bakugo said no.

He was going die.

'I don't wanna go. I don't wanna go. I don't wanna go. I don't wanna go. I don't wanna go. I don't wanna go.'

Help.

Please.

'IdontwannagoIdontwannagoIdontwannagoIdontwannagoIdontwannagoIdontwannago. I DON'T WANNA GO!'

Peter felt the hairs on his body go ramrod, as he can sense, as if awakening something, his entire body in the darkness... he can see himself. The four fingers attached, the arm... the body... and the sick demented, dry and chapped grin of Handy as the index finger was falling down.

Time began to slow. He could see every outline of his face, his eyes leering in evil delight as the finger came down.

He remembered the dark orange sky. Mr. Stark's arms wrapped around him. The cold dead ground.

Yu. Chief Fukuda. Pony. Eijirou. Mina. Ibarra. Setsuna. Tenya. Denki. Shoji. Mr. Aizawa. Midoriya. Mr. All Might. Jirou. Momo...

'I'm sorry...'

Then the entire picture in his mind, of the sonar-like vision of Handy became frazzled. He saw him turn, face no longer in sick demented glee, but in pure despair and horror, mouth open wide, as were his eyes.

"DETROIT!"

He heard a voice, piercing the darkness, like a beacon, loud and almost shrill.

Midoriya Izuku.

"SMAAAAASH!"

Chapter Text

Toshinori Yagi felt his temper begin to flare.

Young Iida had explained the situation as well as he could. The poor boy looked like he had run for his life, and looking out among the field of the former training center, he had.

In the Central Plaza, the Number One Hero saw the dozens of downed villains; plus a few stragglers staying clear from the fight. In the distance, a scorched and blasted battlefield of broken ice and fissured floors. Thirteen was surrounded by her students, her back ripped open, possibly by her own quirk. He saw young Uraraka and young Ashido lugging an incapacitated Kaminari up the stairs.

He felt the eyes of the children upon him, tears of relief falling freely from their faces, screaming his name as he arrived.

It made his fist clench. This wasn’t a training compound, this was a warzone. And those villains had done this.

All because he didn't take Tsukauchi's advice and hire a personal driver. All because he didn't trust the local hero firms to handle crime. All because he was stubborn, and wanted to do everything himself, just as Sorahiko had said, all those years ago.

All because of that, he had not been there. He had let Aizawa and Thirteen fight alone. And the children...

He knew how they felt. He knew their despair, their dread, at facing a villain so powerful that they had no hope of victory. He had been there, and had paid the price.

But they were younger than he had been. Too young.

“Don’t worry students! It will be all right!”

He ripped his tie off, his teeth bared as his temper seethed to the surface.

“Because I am here!!!”

A blast echoed through the clearing, drowning out their cries of relief. There was only one who could have made it.

Yagi was moving before young Uraraka could turn her head. He was at the bottom of the stairwell in an instant, fists ready for the first villain to appear.

Too late.

A villian, at least, Yagi hoped so, skipped along the floor of the plaza like a stone on a pond. Literal hands fell from him, and blood poured free from a smashed and broken face.

"Shigaraki!" came a deep voice, and the black mass that was under a distracted young Bakugo slipped out, as lightly as if it were a cloud of smoke. It vanished, and then appeared again, a black miasma catching the ailing Shigaraki, holding his limp body in its tendrils. Within the hovering morass, a pair of yellow eyes widened as they saw Yagi.

Was that the one Young Iida had mentioned?

"No you don’t!”

He rushed forward, throwing a Texas Smash towards the duo. But the warping villain was ready, opening a vortex right in front of his fist, while an even bigger one opened behind him.

"No!" Yagi bolted, gusts of wind following in his wake. But too late, as the living cloud vanished into the vortex, carrying its crippled comrade along with it.

And they were gone.

“All Might!”

Yagi’s eyes snapped around, and the knife in his chest twisted as he saw a broken and mangled Izuku lying nearby. Biting down his horrr, he rushed his fallen successor's side. But the boy shook his head.

“P-Parker-san...” He stammered, biting back the pain. Yagi followed the boy's gaze, and saw the group of young Todoroki, Young Yaoyorozu, and Young Kirishima, kneeling around a prone form.

It was Peter Parker. His red and gold suit, once so marvellous to behold, was peeling away to reveal torn clothes and bruised flesh. The light that had shone in his eyes was gone, and the suit's colours were muted, as if the very life was fading from it.

Todoroki saw him approach, and motioned for Yaoyorozu to move aside. The young woman was shaking, but she made room for him. Her skin was peeling. Had she been burnt? Kirishima had it too.

“He hasn’t moved,” young Todoroki explained, “But he’s breathing, if barely. We need to get him out. Now! ”

“Don’t worry, I am here!" declared All Might, forcing out the heroic, stentorian tone. "He’s going to be fine.”

He knelt down, and pressed his fingers against the metal, easing the scraps away from Parker's body, until he could get his fingers under and pull them free. He vaguely noticed young Jirou and young Asui approaching from behind him, but focussed on his work. Piece by piece, the ruined armour came away. Finally the mask was lifted, and he heard young Yaoyoruzu gasp.

The boy’s eyes were half lidded, his mouth and chin caked red with blood. His breath came out hoarse and ragged. A quick glance at his bruised chest confirmed All Might's suspcion; his ribs were broken.

"Ah...haaaah..." Parker looked up, his eyes blinking against the light. "Ev...Ever..." He coughed, blood dripping down his lip.

“Don't talk, just breathe Young Parker. I am here."He cupped the boy's cheek, for what comfort it might offer.

"What happened to him?” Yagi asked.

Yaoyorozu looked away, her eyes squeezed shut. Kirishima was staring at the floor, as if he hoped to sink into it and disappear. Todoroki’s eyes hardened and he looked at what looked to All Might like a pair of burning tree trunks. It took him a very unsettling moment to register that they were legs.

“He fought against that,” Todoroki said, jerking his head to the remains, “The villains called it a Noumu. According to them, it was a monster designed by the villains to fight you and kill you. Parker managed to stall it."

Todoroki's gaze softened at Parker as All Might turned over the wounded American, and continued removing his armour. Against him? They really went this far just for a shot at him?

Young Bakugo finally walked over, joining the group as All Might continued to scrape away the thin armor, seeing Parker's bruised chest.

“Bastard got the crap beaten out of him, that's what happened,” young Bakugo stated. Yagi sighed inwardly as Todoroki narrowed his eyes, and Jirou bared her teeth. Young Bakugo badly needed an attitude transplant; or failing that, a crash course in tact.

“Whatever the case, it doesn’t matter!" he declared, ending the confrontation before it could begin. “Young Parker and Midoriya need medical attention, and your peers need assistance! Yaoyorozu, can you create a stretcher for the two of them?”

“R-Right,” Yaoyorozu spoke for the first time.

“Kirishima!” Yagi continued, the redhead perked up at the mention of his name, “You and Young Bakugo need to carry them to the entrance. Rendezvous with your classmates there and wait for the teachers and first responders. I’ll make sure the rest of your classmates are safe!"

“Yes sir,” the students, minus Bakugo, echoed.

The young blaster was still looking down at Parker, his face seemingly indifferent. His hands hung at his sides, clenched into fists and shaking. The boy was scared, and doing a middling job of hiding it. Yagi could see the battle behind his narrowed eyes, as pity, self-loathing, and anger warred for dominance.

Finally, Yaoyorozu finished her stretchers. As gently as he could, Yagi picked up Peter and placed him on the nearest stretcher; Asui doing likewise for Midoriya.

“Keep them steady,” he instructed, “No quick movements. Todoroki, Yaoyorozu, use everything you can to mitigate their injuries until the ambulances arrive.”

“Yes sir,” they said, each of them taking a different end of Parker’s stretcher.

“Bakugo,” Yagi started.

“Yeah yeah I’ll keep an eye on them for you,” Bakugo growled, taking the front end of Midoryia’s stretcher. Todoroki took the other end.

"You're gonna be okay man, just hang tough, just look at me okay!" Kirishima yelled, holding Parker's stretcher as he and Momo carried the wounded American. Todoroki picked up the front end, without a word.

"Don't go to sleep, just look at us Peter-san. Please, please hang on!" pleaded Momo, ignoring her peeling skin and the pain that was causing.

Without a word, the group set off with their respective passengers, carefully easing the stretchers up the stairs. Yagi returned his gaze to the ruined plaza. The other villains had long since vanished; either hiding from him or running for their lives.

He clenched a fist. To hell with only having a few more minutes left! he had work to do!

(X)

A moment earlier.

It was comfortable, in the dark.

He felt calm, at ease. He could hear the drip-drip of the IV, the whirring of the machinery. He could sense the faint twitches of of his and the good doctor's creations in their tanks

Then he heard the air crack. He had heard it before. His scarred hand pushed on the button to raise his seat. He could see the miasma forming in front of him.

And then a thud, and the Symbol of Evil sprung to his feet as the smell of blood was in the air.

Kurogiri had explicit instructions on only to warp to his private domicile in case of an emergency. That meant...

"Tomura." All for One muttered. He rose from his throne, pulling his IV rack as he strode forward. "Oh Tomura..."

He could see the blurred outline of Tomura, twitching and gasping in agony. Most of his top row of teeth were gone or shattered, his lips oozing blood. He knelt down, and put a hand on Tomura's shoulder.

"What's going on!" came a cranky old voice. "My sensors are-"

"Enough Doctor, this matter doesn't concern you."

He picked up the whimpering youth and placed him on the bed, feeling his IV remove itself in the process. The bald and scarred King of Crime saw his comrade float to the other side, his golden eyes low and nearly closed in regret.

"Teeeeeee...T-Teach...Teeaaaac..." Tomura uttered, hand outreached.

All for One took it, and on reflex, Tomura's thumb went out, as their hands interclasped.

"Don't talk Tomura. Save your strength." He lifted a hand, and the black-and-red prongs of his Quirk went down, piercing the teal haired youth's face. All for One took a deep breath, and he focused his blind gaze upon Kurogiri.

If Tomura was here in this state, then...

"I assume by your silence, the mission was a failure."

It was rhetorical a question. Tomura had been well-trained, enough to keep up with the most agile of Pros. He had no experience, but his floor was far higher than any child attending U.A. Academy.

"Yes, sir." Kurogiri replied as the black and red lines from All for One's fingers glowed in the dark, alongside the computer screens behind the tall man.

He let out a sigh. "All Might, always the thorn at my side it seems."

"Sir, if I may..." Kurogiri hesitated. "We followed the schedule that we acquired from your intelligence sources. We even jammed the facility and its communications. But..." His golden eyes looked down. "All Might... was not present."

All for One opened his mouth with a click, then closed it, then looked down at Tomura, whose eyes was becoming half lidded. The side effect of Morphine Touch, Regeneration, Bone Regrowth, and all other sorts of quirks. He'll be sleeping like a baby for the next couple of days.

"I see... So, the hundred plus thugs you and Tomura recruited failed, as did the Noumu I designed to hold down All Might?"

"Yes sir. I... I am sorry sir. The students at U.A. were more trouble than even we had anticipated. Some of them were able to defeat the ruffians we coerced and came upon me, Tomura, and the Noumu."

"Tea...thher..." Tomura uttered, slurring under the Morphine. "I... hailed... I... I huldnt hill All Hight..."

All for One was blind, but he knew his student's eyes. Those yes full of shame, self-loathing, and despair. The same he saw when he was a scared little boy. He patted Tomura's head; the gentlest gesture he could manage with a body like his.
"It is alright Tomura. I'm not angry or disappointed. I'm only glad that you and Kurogiri are alive. Please, just rest. Know that you are in safe hands."

"Will he be staying here?" The Mist Villain asked.

"The healing will take time. My quirks are doing their job. So." All for One turned towards his minion. "How did my Noumu get killed? The good doctor won't be pleased. He put in a lot of effort into creating that." He let out a sigh. "Such a shame."
Kurogiri didn't have shoulders, but the Symbol of Evil could see his body - for want of a better word - slump.

"The students concocted a plan. At first they were only half a dozen, then more showed up. Their Quirks were troublesome." His golden eyes narrowed as a black tendril rubbed his metal brace. "Very troublesome."

"They would have to be in order to pin you down, along with killing the Noumu. I don't recall any student of Class 1-A having a Quirk that could do realistic damage to Noumu, outside of the electric user or Endeavor's son."

"It was neither, although Todoroki Shoto had a hand in delaying me and Noumu. At first, an armored student stalled Noumu for a time, but it allowed the others to intervene. Students with explosion quirks. Frog-like abilities. There was even a girl with a Quirk that appeared to bring forth any item. Might be a storage related ability or based in chemistry."

"Oh?" All for One smirked. Well now. Something just piqued his interest. "Like?"

"She was able to kill Noumu with a Thermite Charge that she had created from her body. Right on the nape of the neck, incinerated the brain and the heart."

"To say nothing of the spine." The scarred blind man let out a chuckle. "Hm. Seems the heroes of tomorrow are becoming quite ruthless."

"Ih has hhem... hose...hreeeeeee..." Tomura slurred, his new teeth emerging from the gums. All for One knew the hatred he felt, and it pleased him. The boy would be out for a while. He deserved to rant a little.
"And who are those three? Name them Tomura. Name them so you can etch them into your mind. So that you may seek vengeance for your failure. Learn from it Tomura, and become better. Stronger for it."

Besides, he needed a little push.

"he hitch... ah heard... hames henthioned... haaa... haaa... Ha'm gonna hhccccchcuk her up..." The youth slurred, his fists clenching as his teeth regrew. "Hen... the one... who attacked mheeeee... he Hall hight 'annabe...c-couldn't catch his name...hut hai'll yemember his thupid phucking face... hat... hexploding thithead... Hendva's kid... and then... and then then then theeeeeeeeeeen... heee... the whone who halled Nhoumu... the hirst dominoooooooogngnggrrrrhhhh" He growled, even under the influence, eyes widening in hate.

He growled, his new teeth together, able to enunciate a little better. "Those kids.. I... I...I...Iiiiiiiiii~!" And his eyes lit up with one last burst of energy as he roared at the top of his lungs. And All for One couldn't hold back his toothy grin.

'Yes child. Let hate be your guide. Vengeance is a powerful motivator. It will drive you to your goal. Let it fester. Let it grow like a wildfire Tomura. I started the downfall of this Hero Society.'

"I WILL KILL THEM ALL!"

'And you will finish...'

"EVERY LAST FUCKING ONE OF THEM!"

'What I started.'

(X)

Izuku winced as he felt Recovery Girl's lips upon him after he had been kissed. He was now being carried out as he looked over at Parker. He had been kissed first by the Head Nurse. She hadn't said a word, acting fast as she smooched the American, and the nurses began to lift him up. Izuku felt himself be carried up, and he saw the ambulance to the side as the first responders began to swarm the facility, talking to his classmates.

Mr. Aizawa and Thirteen were being looked at by Recovery Girl now, the diminutive woman having no time to give Izuku any lectures on his quirk, although he had a feeling that would come later.

He could feel his strength failing as he saw Iida and Uraraka close in on him.

"We'll come by Deku! I promise!" Uraraka said.

The green haired boy let out a sigh and a thumbs up with his good hand before he felt himself be raised into an ambulance, and he drifted off the moment he heard the van's sirens scream.

(X)

Yagi couldn’t help but sigh at the clock in front of him.

Three hours? Just a measly three hours? Had so much happened in so little time?

Word got out about the attack on the USJ, not that Yagi was surprised. An entire class of students ends up being attacked by a group of villains, an organized group of villains no less. Stories like that rarely took long to spread.
Then it went national.

Principal Nezu was putting his genius to good work. The mouse hadn’t left the briefing room since the children had been taken home. He had talked to police, news outlets, fellow heroes and worst of all, concerned citizens. An official press conference was due within the week, but the official statement - about how they were taking care of the students and planning on improving security – came first. All had been done over social media, with Nezu providing only a few soundbites.

He wanted time to prepare, and he wasn’t getting it. Hotels were booked all over Musutafu as news outlets from all over Japan were camped outside of U.A. Academy, grilling any faculty member or student leaving campus after hours for comments. Nezu had effectively shut down the school, sending the students away to recover until the storm passed. The teachers were already preparing online assignments, though the Hero Courses were being thoroughly vetted, Class 1-A especially.

Yagi had not faced the media. He could not, not until Nezu as ready. He had settled for a quick post to keep the buzzards occupied;

"As a U.A. faculty member, I am not at liberty to discuss the school's position at this time. We will discuss the unfortunate incident very soon."

If he had given them the truth... the board of directors would have thrown the book at him, and at Nezu too. He had been late, due to getting a dressing-down over being tardy and burning up his time limit. That in itself would be bad enough, but if that little bit of copy were to make the papers, then the time limit itself, and the horrid truth it concealed, would not be long after it.

He stifled a groan. God, this was all his fault. He allowed children to fight killers, thieves, thugs, a sociopathic Decay-user, a warp user, and a biological monstrosity designed just to kill him. No hero should have had their first time in combat at this age. There shouldn’t even have been a first time. This was a school. Not a hero firm.

Yagi slammed his hand down on the counter in front of him, his skeletal fingers shaking from the impact.

All For One was laughing out there, he just knew it. All Might, the oh so great Symbol of Peace and Justice, late to save his own students from what he was training them to fight.

Protecting them was supposed to be the one part of this teaching job that he could get right. Yet...

He looked down at the stack of paperwork in front of him; much of it the curriculum for before and after the U.A. Sports Festival. Bare bones stuff really; mostly about making sure he didn’t go over his time limit, so he could spend more time to spend as Symbol of Peace outside the walls of the school. Helping the city as best he could, while his students trudged along and his co-workers put in the heavy lifting around the school.

The thought made Yagi sigh. All in all, it wasn’t the worst way to phrase 'try to ignore your problems and let us handle it’ he’d heard, but it was up there.

Gods, what would Nana do in this situation?

He glanced down at the student information. Names, quirks, addresses…

His eyes stopped at the last line, reading off the street names and zip codes.

"A TEXT IS HERE!" came his phone, and Yagi looked at it.

'Midoriya is awake. Want to see him?' It was from Suzenji Chiyo, Recovery Girl.

Well, might as well start close.
He stepped out of his office and walked through U.A.'s vacant halls. The sun shone through the wall-to-wall windows leading out to empty front lot. A good thing. The less people he had to talk to outside of his All Might form the better. Even so, in his skinny body his footsteps echoed throughout the hall.

Geez, when was the last time the school was this quiet? Yagi couldn’t remember the last time they had to shut down the school. Yet they bucked that trend within a week of classes.
He rolled his eyes as he descended the last set of stairs. At this point he was on autopilot, his feet walking the rest of him down the hall while his mind continued to wonder. What the heck else could he do with the time that he had? He could barely teach the class with the time he had, and anything beyond that felt like a pipe dream. Midoriya was the only student that he could teach in his skeletal form, but even then he would be neglecting everyone else.

Yagi stopped in front of the door and felt his shoulders slump. His sensei made this look so much easier, why couldn’t he?

Opening the door, Yagi caught a glimpse of young Midoriya in the bed closest to the window. In the bed adjacent... young Parker was still out like a light, IVs hooked him as monitors beeped.

That's odd.

"All Might!" Midoriya chirped up, and the blonde skeletal man waved.

"Hey."

He noticed Chiyo's closed eye gaze, her frown deepening. Oh boy, here it comes.

"So, how you doing?" he asked.

"Well, still a bit tired and weak. But I'm okay otherwise."

"I'm letting him stay until I know for sure he can walk safely on his own. The entire school is swamped with police and media." Chiyo muttered as she looked out the window, seeing the morass of vans, buses, and other vehicles. "He’s already gone and got himself hurt," She opened an eye, staring hard at All Might. "Thanks in large part to no teaching or refinement."

"Ergh." Yagi grunted. "I-I know... I need to be on the ball next time."
He turned his attention to Young Parker. A hospital gown covered most of his body, but Yagi could see numerous wraps and bandages around his chest. His heart clenched at the sight, but the gears in his head were turning. Peter Parker was one of the strongest and most able students in Class 1-A. Why wasn't he healing?

"How come Young Parker isn't awake yet? You did heal him yes?"

Recovery Girl let out a sigh.

"Parker is healing yes, but it's going at a snail's pace. Remember, my quirk needs stamina to work, and Parker... has none. He's practically running on fumes. When I noticed this, I had my staff do an MRI on him. His muscle and bone structure are fine, outside of his broken ribs and stressed lungs, but it was his brain, All Might."

Chiyo took off her glasses, rubbing her eyes.

"His brain looked exhausted, activity flaring to simply ensure the body would keep up. I've only seen this in extreme insomniacs."

"Excuse me but..." Midoriya spoke out. "P-Parker-san did look rather sleepy today."

"Did he look like this any time prior?" Chiyo asked as she turned towards his successor. Midoriya bit his lip.

"No... Not at all. He was always active and fine... until today. It was like, he did an all-nighter for some reason."

"He crashed, if I had to guess." Chiyo frowned. "I informed his guardian of his status over the phone, so she will be here soon." She crossed her arms. "I'll give her a piece of my mind then. The boy has the brain of someone who has stayed up far too long with too little sleep!"

"But that doesn't make sense! I've never seen him have any energy drinks, well, from what I can see." Midoriya added. "It, there has to be a reason."

"The boy hasn't had sleep, but was able to brush it off because of his physiology. His muscle structures going from the MRI alone... were incredible. He has the body of a hero in their prime." Chiyo turned in her chair, bringing up an X-ray on her computer. "This is due to his Spider quirk, if I had to guess."

Yagi sighed. "Poor kid..." He turned towards Midoriya next. "Midoriya, I'm sorry I wasn't here on time to save you and the other students." He frowned. "I... I did something idiotic, and I was delayed because of it.”

He couldn’t even keep his head up, the shame forcing his gaze down. "I burnt most of my time in my hero form doing heroic deeds on my commute."

Midoriya bit his lip.

"I... I see.” the boy said slowly, shifting in his seats. He tried to crack a grin, “W-Well, i-it's okay All Might. I'm sure you meant no harm and-"

"It's on me regardless,” Yagi interrupted, his voice low, “Because I didn't realize my own limits, and didn’t let my fellow heroes handle it, you all suffered. No child should have gone what you, Parker, or anyone else in your class had to go through. It was all my fault."

"Hmmm..." Chiyo hummed. "I know the old mouse gave you a good talk, but I felt it wasn't enough to get the point home, even if you're new here."

Yagi flinched, gripping his fists for the verbal lashing that was to come. The old lady sighed.

"But...I can see it in your eyes. Me piling on won’t do you any good. You just have to build yourself up." She turned back towards her computer. "Be better All Might. We don't know if there will be a next time."

"R-Right, yes ma'am." Yagi stood at attention. She really hasn't changed back from the old days. He can feel Midoriya's gaze on him, and Yagi pulled a chair and sat next to him.

"So... Midoriya." He leaned forward, arms resting on his knees. "How are you holding up?" Yagi did his best to offer a toothy grin. Izuku bit his lip and looked down.

"Well... you see I... I know I'll be okay but... I'm worried for Parker-san, mostly."

Yagi chuckled ruefully.

'You haven't changed. Always worrying for others over yourself.' "How so? I mean, you were in a dangerous situation."

"Well, to be fair I have experience already! W-What with the sludge villain and... to be honest, I didn't do much. All I did was throw two punches, one of them failed against that Noumu... oh yeah! When I punched him All Might I... I didn't have backlash!"

"Hmm?" Chiyo turned, and All Might perked up.

"You didn't get hurt when you hit him?"

In any other context that probably would’ve made Yagi’s day. Now however, he could only watch as Midoriya thought, his fingers moving like he was writing in an invisible notebook.

"Yeah, but I don’t know why..." Izuku held out his hand, clenching it as he looked at its scars. Yagi felt a pinprick puncture his heart. "Maybe something was different since all I wanted was for them to be blown away. To get them away from my classmates... Maybe, from that I unconsciously managed to prevent the egg in the microwave from explodin-"

Yagi coughed out blood and laughed. What an analogy! So boring and bland... but unique! So fitting of young Midoriya!

"Sorry sorry, please continue!"

"Well uhh…” the boy said, flushing in embarrassment, “I-it’s just a theory cause when I struck Shigaraki." Midoriya clenched his fist. "I still felt my arm go, but.. it wasn't as bad as that time I fought Kacchan or the Zero Pointer Robot... if those times I was at one hundred percent, maybe I was at... fifty? Forty maybe?"

Yagi honestly didn’t know what to think. To think that Midoriya had gotten this much better with his Quirk this fast. A live fire situation was the last thing he could have done to Midoriya, but in the end his successor had thrived, in his own way.

"Maybe,” Yagi admitted, taking a seat on the edge of the bed, “Although I'd wager it was far less given how that villain's head wasn't an exploding melon. I guess in his case, his head really was the egg and you were the microwave!"

"A bit morbid of an analogy there, Toshinori." Chiyo muttered. All Might perked up and slumped up. Wow. That was morbid...

"Sorry..." He rubbed the back of his head. "So anyway Midori-"

"Where is he! Where is Peter!" called out a female voice, and Yagi's blood froze. On instinct he jumped to his feet just as the door to the nurses office exploded.

(X)

This day couldn't get any worse, Mt. Lady thought.

At home, she burned her tongue with a cup of coffee that was too hot. At work, she got Shinji riding her for getting a friggin scan upside down. On patrol, she dropped her guard, being unable to transform due to some muscle-dickhead of a villain holding a family hostage after a bank robbery. Just when she thought the rest of the day would be a breeze, even if there was not many thugs around to bag and tag... She got the phone call from the Nurses Office while just returning to the agency with some ramen from a local Korean Fusion joint.

Two-thousand yen gone to waste when she dropped the bowl, but she didn't care. Takeyama Yu sped from downtown to U.A., trying to call Nemuri-senpai but Midnight hadn't replied. She stopped bothering after she made it to the parking lot and sprinted towards U.A.'s front gate, which was closed off, complete with the blast doors. She had dodged the media packs outside, and then noticed Chief Fukuda Botan at the entrance to the U.A. Campus, guiding his force like a maestro performing Beethoven at the London Philharmonic.

She's never seen an opera, but considering how much chaos there was, Fukuda was excelling and when they locked eyes, she noticed how his face went pale. He said something and the iron doors opened up.

The blonde sprinted through the offered opening, giving a single thank you on her way past. The front doors of U.A barely even slowed her down, neither did her pivot as she turned down the hall, memory guiding her to where the Nurse's Office was. She kept up the pace for as long as she could, her legs and lungs were burning, but she saw the door!

"Where is he! Where’s Peter!" she yelled, slamming the door open. Her normally conditioned and smooth platinum blonde hair a mess as she panted, looking around.

"Ah, Takeyama. You came much faster than I anticipated!" said Recovery Girl from her desk.

Yu looked past her, past the skinny man standing in front of the other cot, and her blood turned to ice as she ran towards him.

Peter was in bed, needles and IVs strapped to him, a mask over his face. A gown covered most of his body, but what was visible was bruised almost black.
“I-I’ll be outside,” the skinny man said.

Yu heard the door open and close, but her eyes never left Peter, her ward. The ward she told, she 'promised' that nothing bad was gonna happen to him.

"What happened?" she asked, her voice shaky as she turned towards Recovery Girl. Chiyo closed her eyes. "I know Parker got hurt in an attack but..."

It didn't make sense. How did Peter end up like this? How? With his abilities and gear... this was the last thing she expected.

"The Unforeseen Simulation Joint was attacked by a group calling themselves 'The League of Villains', who were planning to kill All Might." Recovery Girl said. "Parker protected his friends from the villains and..." She sighed, and Yu understood.

"Don’t worry, the fact is, Takeyama, he's going to make it." She got out of her chair and walked towards the taller woman with her cane. "But I have questions for you."

"What do you need?”

"Just some answers,” Recovery girl said, “You’re Parker's guardian, so can you tell me why it he's been sleep deprived?"

Yu stiffened as the nurse turned towards her computer, the MRIs on display. Yu wasn’t the best at the medical side of her job, but even she could tell that something was wrong with the scan.

"Did you notice anything strange about his behavior before today?”

Yu’s mind flash back to the night before, “Y-yes, and I’m sorry I just found out-"

"You didn't notice until today too?" Yu perked up seeing the green haired kid lying in the bed across from Peter. She was so focused on her charge that she hadn’t noticed him.

She nodded, “We talked last night. He’s been having nightmares.”

"Nightmares... That explains a little." Chiyo muttered. "His brain is overworked. Taxed with stress and trying to keep up. Nightmares can do that to a person."

She sighed. Yu opened and closed her mouth, a hand resting against the pole at the end of Peter's bed for support.

"I... I didn't know he... he was always fine. Then last night..." Her voice trailed off. The talk was burned into her memory, and the implications that came with it. “Peter,” Yu started, gently caressing his hair, “What he went through to get to Japan, I barely know half the story, but he...”

She stopped, barely managing to speak through the lump in her throat. She knew he lost a fight, coming over from an entirely different world, leaving family and friends behind…
“He... lost a lot in his life. He..." Yu bit her lip. She... didn't know much. But he had to have lost something. Someone.

“He...lost someone after a fight in the US, to a villain. It was the reason he had to live with me. He has no one left. I was an acquaintance of his family so... here we are."

Yu heard the plain boy gasp, and saw Chiyo shuffling over to her side. The small woman said nothing, simply looking at the boy with new understanding.

“I… thought I helped by giving him support, but-” Yu stopped when she felt Chiyo take her free hand in hers. Chiyo offered her a warm smile, even though Yu's red eyes were getting redder with tears.

"He'll be alright Takeyama.” She promised.

Yu whipped her eyes, “I know, I just."

“You’ve done enough, Takeyama,” Chiyo consoled, “Despite what you think, you did well to look after him.”

“I still didn’t notice,” Yu whispered dejectedly. "I'm his guardian, his parent basically, and I-"

“Don’t blame yourself, you weren’t the only one. The faculty didn't notice until it was too late.” Chiyo said, “All we can do, is learn from our past mistakes. And more forward."

Yu nodded, and she hugged Chiyo. "Thank you auntie..." She uttered with a sob, remembering Recovery Girl's preferred nickname. And here she was, taking care of Yu years after she left these halls. In a way, she was the closest thing she had to an auntie. Not like her family did much for her then...

Chiyo smiled warmly, and drew her into a frail hug.

"I may not have children... but all the young ones who walk through these halls, they might as well be mine. Even those who have graduated and started families of their own.”
She broke the hug and drew back, squeezing her shoulder gently.

“Parker will be up and running in a few days. He needs rest, and after what he’s been through, the young man deserves it. If anything comes up, you’ll be the first to know. I know the best hospital director here in Musutafu myself. He'll let you in, and the moment he's better, just sign some paperwork and he's out. My quirk will have him as good as new."

"Yes...yes.. I..." Yu looked back at Peter.

“I'll check in every day until you wake up,” she whispered. “Then... we're getting ya hotpot."

She kissed him on the forehead and straightened up. She headed for the door, giving Peter one last look.

'I'll visit you tomorrow... promise.' She closed the door and walked away, her footsteps ringing in the empty halls.

(X)

For the first time in his life, Yagi was thankful for his skeletal form.

The heroine, Mt Lady if he remembered correctly, hadn’t even given him a second glance. He waited a few seconds before sighing and pushing open the door, letting him hear young Midoriya let out a similar cry of relief from above.

“That was scary for a second there,” Midoriya breathed.

“You don’t have to tell me, thought my heart was going to jump out of my chest.”

“No need to be dramatic All Might,” Chiyo reprimanded, “You would’ve been fine. I'm actually glad you acted normal rather than hide under a bed or something. She probably thought you were Midoriya's parent or something.”

Yagi shook his head, “Recovery Girl, we’ve been over this.”

“Oh I know,” Chiyo cuts in, turning back to her desk, “The symbol of peace needs to keep everything a secret for the greater good.”

Yagi felt his shoulders slump, this conversation again. No, it could happen later. For now, he needed to discuss.

“Anyway, back to what we were talking about, Young Midoriya.”

The young boy blinked, his eyes lighting up with realization.

“Oh, right, the percentages!”

“Keep it down will yah?” Yagi said, finger over lips, the free hand pointing at Parker.

“Sorry!” the young hero said, all but jumping out of bed.

“That’s not… anyway, what I was going to say was from what I’ve seen, it’s around fifty percent if you’re lucky. My guess, you’re only good for about five percent for total control.”

“ONLY FIVE PER-”

“SHHH!”

The teacher’s eyes darted to the resting Parker, and Midoriya immediately flushed with shame.

“Y-you really think that I can only manage five percent?”

“Well,” Yagi said, feeling a bead of sweat run down his neck, “It’s a guess on my part. To tell you the truth, I really didn’t have this kinda trouble when I got One for All.” Yagi played at the distraught look that Midoriya was giving him, “Not that you’re not doing an amazing job! You’re going Plus Ultra on everything and I couldn’t be more proud!”

“Then, what should I do?”

Chiyo stopped what she was doing and shot Yagi a scathing look.

“J-just focus on recovering,” Yagi stammered out, “Once you’re back on your feet, I’ll get you all the help you need, and all the time that you deserve.”

Young Midoriya’s eyes practically swelled with tears. Geez this kid and his tear ducts.

“Don’t start crying, it’s a bad look for you.”

Midoriya sniffled, wiping away his tears and giving a resolute nod.

“S-sorry.”

“And stop apologizing,” Yagi reprimanded, but he couldn’t keep the smile off his face, “Just get better. Can’t be a hero without resting up can you?”

Midoryia nodded once more, this time with determination shining in his young eyes instead of tears. God, his successor was a handful, but he was a good kid just trying to do his best.

And so was he honestly.

He was no Nana, but this was a decent start. An overabundance of concern and worry, and no small amount of pride when looking at him.

Truly, this is how teaching should feel.

“Finally, a good idea coming out of that mouth of yours.” Yagi actually felt like dying.

“Chiyo… did yah have to ruin the moment?”

(X)

The next day...

“Thank you all for coming. I know that you have questions, and as the Principal of U.A I swear to answer each and every one of them.”

And with that one sentence, the floodgates opened. Reporters yelled out their questions, the clamour blending into an ear-hammered cacophony.

Nezu kept his face completely emotionless, even as his eyes darted between the different reporters. He recognized most of them, top of their fields in one way or another. Any that he didn’t recognize were in the back, the novice and young ready to watch the masters.

Next to him, Vlad tensed. Aizawa would have joined him, but he was still in the hospital with Parker. And All Might was doing his interviews as per their plan. The rest of the teaching staff was focused on their jobs.

Seemed like he understood the trial in front of them as well.
Nezu gave a small nod, and Vlad let out a long breath and pointed at a reporter in the middle at random. The reporter was a young man, stress making lines across his face. Even so, he zeroed in on the mousy principal.

The entire room went quiet, save the click of cameras and the flipping of pages. Many of them got their recorders and phones out.

“Kirigaya Yoshikazu, Hosu Tribune. Principal Nezu, U.A. prides itself on giving students the best instruction to become the next generation of heroes. Yet, despite your schools impressive record, how did villains manage to infiltrate the campus?”

Nezu leaned in to the mic and cleared his throat.
“The villains possessed several quirks that worked in conjunction with one another to circumvent the previous security. I have already signed off on renovations to the school grounds with additional security features to deter any further attempts.”

Kirigaya's eyes narrowed, “Be that as it may, as much as we would like to take you at your word, the villains already, as you said, circumvented your security already. Despite these new additions, how can you be so sure that they will be enough to protect the students within your school?”

“Because now we know what we’re dealing with,” Nezu answered, the brawny man’s face totally neutral despite the tense grip he had on his hands, “Thanks to the efforts of our fellow heroes, we’ve ascertained the name and abilities of most of the so called, League of Villain members. Next question.”

The reporter’s eyes narrowed further, but he sat back down, allowing a dozen other hands to pop up.

Nezu pointed his paw at another reporter, a woman he recognized for covering on sight attacks.

“Professor, you said that it was thanks to the efforts of your fellow heroes that you were allowed to capture and detain the ‘League of Villains’ correct?”

Vlad’s grip tightened, and Nezu had to fight to keep his face level.

“Yes I did.”

The edges of the reporters mouth curled up. “You said that, but according to the police reports, most of the information comes from the testimonies from the students, not the heroes, correct?”

Vlad winced, he knew what was coming. He shot Nezu a pleading glance, no doubt hoping for an answer.

“Yes.”

“Well, despite the wealth of information, the fact of the matter remains that the reports were gained through actual confrontation with the villains. Students, who have yet to complete a single month within your halls were put against villains. Not only that, but there were two names on the list of students that bare repeating. Izuku Midoriya, and Peter Parker.”

Nezu stopped the gasp from escaping his lips, but he could only sit there and hear the horrified whispers passing between the reported. He had been waiting for this question, but he honestly hadn’t expect it to be asked so soon. If he had to guess, they were paying close attention to the gossip mill amongst students in social media. Someone from the Hero Course must have split the beans by accident. Interrogation from the villains all caught and rounded up was another option, but it was far too soon, and he trusted Fukuda to keep a tight lid on such things.

“We’re not denying that students were injured in the attack,” Vlad cut in, taking the mic. “As you pointed out, the students had little time to prepare.”

"Then why was All Might not present to save the students." The reporter glowered, trying to match Class 1-B's teacher in masculine prowess. The white haired teacher narrowed his eyes, but said nothing. Nezu closed his. He took the mic.

'Forgive me Toshinori, but it must be done.'

“Simply because the students weren’t the target,” Nezu explained, “As you no doubt have read, the League of Villains main objective was to eliminate All Might. Everything in their objective is simply a means to that end.”

“But All Might wasn’t on sight until the end of the attack,” the reporter pointed out.

“Because he was dealing with crime elsewhere in the city. While the class takes priority, the Symbol of Peace felt that it was right to defend every citizen that calls this city home while on his commute. Make no mistake, this was coordinated, it was ruthless, but it was also unexceptional.”

He leaned in, his beady eyes darting to every single reporter, capturing their attention with a fire that they rarely got to see from him. Time to wrap this up in a bow.

“As such, going beyond the upgrades to U.A. security and infrastructure, I have reached out to several local hero agencies for their assistance in apprehending these criminals. To seek villainy is inexcusable, to bring children into the line of fire even more so. The protection of these students remains our top priority, but make no mistake. All Might won’t simply take this attack lightly. Even now he works tirelessly to apprehend these criminals while maintaining the security of our students even when they’re not the grounds, as are the local hero agencies who are willing to assist the school in placing several heroes here on campus to act as additional security, boots on the ground. Let it be known, the League of Villains has demanded the attention of All Might, and they have received the attention of every hero within the Musutafu Ward. I’m announcing now, that the U.A Sports Festival will be a testament to this promise. They will not stop us from giving these students the best education into the hero field possible. We will not be deterred, nor will we falter. We will go beyond.”

He leaned in, cupping the mic.

The reporters jumped out of their seats just like he knew they would. Humans, while impressive and capable of many great things, were predictable in some aspects. Give them an inch in one direction, and they’ll scurry along the mile to find out what it was.

"Plus Ultra. Thank you for your time."

Nezu allowed himself a small smile as he and Vlad stood up, ignoring the camera lights and demands for more questions. Don't answer all of them. Be clear, and give them a resounding answer. Both to the media, and to the League of Villains.

(X)

That day...

The day was a half-day for the faculty, with Nezu imploring all students to remain in their homes and not come back to class yet; and use this time to heal and to catch up on any studying. All Might and Nezu then took the time to interview Bakugo Katsuki and Todoroki Shoto.

Young Bakugo's interview was quick and curt. He and Young Kirishima were warped to the Urban Zone, defeated the thugs that tried to ambush them, then joined the Plaza Battle. Bakugo was able to handle the 'miasma fucker', as he called the one named Kurogir. He even said how he didn't wish to barter with the psycho Hand guy, Shigaraki Tomura. Don't negotiate with villains. Give them an inch, and they'd take a mile, he said.

All Might didn't blame him... but again, he was... curt. Blunt as a hammer when a scalpel was all that was needed. Bakugo was silent in regards to Parker... before saying how he 'screwed' up before leaving the interview.

He wasn't referring to himself, of course.

Curt. Way way too curt despite all his talent.

With Young Todoroki it was short, again. The son of Endeavor provided a more in-depth insight into the villain's plans; having interrogated one using his ice. Not the most... heroic thing to do, but desperate times.

He had seen the Plaza Battle and came as fast as he could, working in conjunction with Young Yaoyorozu and the group as they stalled the Noumu and Shigaraki. He felt guilty for not doing anything to save Parker, but he understood where Bakugo was coming from. Young Todoroki even admitted he would have gone about it a different way, but seeing how it played out... perhaps the best outcome was achieved.

And All Might had to power down for the day, and he couldn't go out hero'ing or make a public appearance given his time limit.

What a shitty day.

Toshinori and Nezu wrapped up the interviews, then spent the rest of the day inspecting the campus’ security systems. All Might headed back to his office, and got some sleep on the couch.

“Oh, hey Toshinori,” a voice called.

The skeletal man glanced up from the couch, seeing a tired Kayama Nemuri step into the room. She looked weary, physically and emotionally. The bags under her eyes barely stuck out of her eyeshadow, but they were there.

“Kayama, thought you’d be out of here by now,” Yagi commented. "Burning the midnight oil?" He then blinked. "Um, no pun intended."

The R rated heroine shook her head, the motion almost making her stumble as she rubbed at her temples.

“Truth be told I’m just getting started.”

Toshinori winced, “Like?” He had a feeling of what was coming...

“Friend trouble,” Kayama corrected, taking a seat on the couch as Yagi sat up to give her room, “She’s been beside herself worrying about one of your students.”

“Which one?”

There were plenty to be worried about, but one stood out.

“Parker.”

Yagi’s gut twisted.

“She’s a hero herself, she knows the risks, but it’s…a little too close to home. She's been texting me every hour. She came yesterday right?”

“I can imagine,” Yagi said solemnly. "And she did, but Recovery Girl sent her off after an hour or so.”

“Yeah, but he’s in good hands, as I keep telling her for the twentieth time. Recovery Girl's people will work their magic and he’ll be back up and running before anyone knows it.”
Kayama tried a smile, but it faltered.

"If he does wake up that is. I've never seen a people sleep longer than a day when under Recovery Girl's quirk. Sleep deprivation? Yu-chan has been adamant that he doesn't stay up late on his phone or playing games. And the only time I've seen him passing out was the day of the incident." She rubbed her forehead. "This is all just one big disaster."

"You can say that again." Yagi felt himself nod along, wanting to smile but unable to manage it. He kept heading down to the directory, only to stop once more on the addresses.

“Kayama, could you do me a favor and give my plans to Vlad?”

“Sure,” the heroine said, picking up the stack of papers, “Heading home to bed?”

“Yeah,” Yagi said, sifting through the directory, “Something like that. School's out tomorrow, and I'm going to make some personal stops." He picked up the directory and carried it, grabbing his jacket. "You can rest on the couch if you want."

"Appreciate it, get some sleep Toshinori."

"You too, Kayama."

(X)

The next day...

Yagi double-checked the address in front of him in his little notebook, ignoring the stares and gasps of surprise from passers-by. It was definitely the place.

Yagi steeled himself as best he could, and gently knocked on the front door. A few seconds later, Young Kirishima walked out, dressed in work out attire and drenched in sweat. Boy’s eyes nearly burst out of their sockets when he saw Yagi standing there.

“Woah All Might-sensei!”

“Greeting’s Young Kirishima!” All Might called, throwing on his trademarked smile. “For I am here! It seems you’re doing rather well! Working out?"

Indeed, the young man had a thin line of sweat running down his brow.

“Y-Yeah,” Kirishima says, flashing a toothy grin, “I’ve been hitting the old punching bag. Not much else to do with classes being suspended and all.”

“Yes,” All Might said, “About that… could I come in?”

Kirishima’s grin faltered at Yagi’s change of tone. Nevertheless, the boy nodded and stepped to the side letting the hero, dressed in his yellow pinstripe suit, pass through. The inner house wasn’t much to talk about. Standard living room with a connecting kitchen centred around a large tv and a set of framed pictures of the young man and his family.

“Bit weird for you to show up unannounced, sensei,” Kirishima said. "Would have showered and gotten dressed if so."

“I’ve already contacted your parents, they know I’ve come to talk to you.”

“Huh, alright must have forgotten then. You want some tea or anything, sensei?” Kirishima offered, heading straight for the kitchen.

“I’m perfectly fine, thank you though. Please, have a seat. I don't wish to take up as much of your time.”

The red-headed brawler shrugged, pulling out a bottle of water from the fridge.

“So what brings you here?” He asked almost rhetorically.

Here it comes. All Might felt another pang of guilt wash over him. This wouldn’t be the first time he did this talk. Many a hero came to him for advice and he would always do his best.

But this…. They were kids. Dealing with trauma caused by his mistake.

“I was,” Yagi paused, clearing his throat and ridding himself of some nerves, “Hoping I could… talk to you about the League of Villains attack.”

The young hero-to-be froze, the water dripping off the side of his face. For a second, he looked like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Yagi took a deep breath, this is where it was going to start being difficult.

'Don’t worry Yagi, you can handle this. Just do your best, and don’t beat around the bush.'

He waited maybe three more seconds before Kirishima noticed his current predicament. He wiped off his face and forced a light-hearted chuckle.

“Oh, that beat down we gave those villains?” His smile was the widest and most forced he had ever seen.

“It was quite the harrowing experience,” Yagi leaned forward, elbows on his knees and fingers clasped, “You must’ve been scared.”

Kirishima rolled his eyes, flashing a confident grin, one that no doubt would fool most scared civilians. “Pfft. Scared? Man sensei do you know who you’re talking about? Those mooks weren’t enough to shake this man right here.”

“I’m not disputing that,” Yagi said quickly, smile still present but tone stern. “I’m simply here to ask you how you’ve been handling it.”

The boy took another swig of his water, but slower this time.

“I’ve been handling it fine!” Kirishima declared. “If anything it’s just making me ready for the next chance to deck those bastards for messing up our school.”

“I’m sure you are,” Yagi nodded along, “However, I doubt that’s all of it.”

Kirishima shot him a confused look, only for his eyes to light up.

“Oh yeah, I’m pretty worried for Parker, guy went through a lot." He paused, concern flashing through the smile. “Is he doing alright? Haven't heard from him.”

All Might relaxed in his chair. “He’s with Recovery Girl, I’ve no doubt that he’ll be back on his feet before you know it.”

Kirishima let out a sigh of relief, his shoulders relaxing for the first time since they started talking.

“Oh that’s good, but yeah, you don’t have to worry about me teach,” Kirishima said, posing with a flex of his bicep, “This man is as solid as stone and ready to give those villains a good thrashing!” His smile was wide, ear to ear.

His hand holding his water...

Yagi shook his head, he couldn't let this continue.

“I know that, but I’m sorry, I can’t believe you.”

Kirishima blinked, “What, you think I’m not telling the truth or somethin?”

“No I’m sure you are,” Yagi answered. The red haired student looked surprised before gritting his teeth and leaning forward, defiant.

“Then what’s the matter!?”

“What’s the matter is that you haven’t stopped shaking since I mentioned the attack and young Parker.”

The pro pointed at the bottle in Kirishima’s hand, the water revealing the tremble in his hand that his smile tried to hide. The redhead noticed, and slowly, his smile fell off his face, his red eyes growing wider. All Might stayed still, resolute even with his smile on his visage.

“I’m not going to say anything that you don’t want me to. Everything here is just between us. I am not here as the Symbol of Peace, but as your teacher, and your friend.”

Kirishima nodded, the action almost robotic as the brawler slump down onto one of the kitchen seats. He stared at his water bottle, waiting for something to come to him. He let out a mirthless laugh, biting his lip.

“It’s just…"

He paused, biting his lip. He closed his eyes and letting out a heartbroken sigh.

"I was right there man.” Kirishima smiling ruefully now, eyes looking down, “Bakugo and I got in there, we were so sure that we could take those guys out. All of us, like, there was no way we can lose. We're heroes. The good guys."

He shook his head, sucking his lips in.

"Then when we got there… and Ace was banged up. After watching his match against Todoroki, I thought that guy could jump away from anything. Can handle anything thrown his way but…. there he was, in that Noumu things grip.” He took a deep breath. "And not moving..."

Yagi nodded, “I read young Yaoyorozu’s testimony. According to her, young Parker volunteered to go along with a plan that put him against Noumu to get Aizawa to safety. According to her, he was the only reason it didn’t charge after young Asui, Midoriya, and Kaminari; with its level of power they would not have lasted. I’ve no doubt that they owe him their lives.”

Kirishima cracked a grin, as mirthless as before.

“Yeah, that’s our Ace for you, always the best.” He gripped his fists, his hands shaking as he looked away, out towards the window and taking deep breaths through his nose.

Yagi stared at the boy for a second, then it clicked.

“Not everything can be solved with your fists, young Kirishima. The odds were stacked against you, you can’t blame yourself for what happened.”

“Really?” Kirishima asked, staring hard at the blonde superhero. “’Cause that’s what it feels like. I felt... I felt hopeless!"

“Don’t sell yourself short,” Yagi said, “From what I know, you caught young Parker and protected him from the thermite charge, you even had some minor burns."

“Only to drop him and let him get captured!” Kirishima yelled, jumping to his feet, eyes bright with looming tears. “I mean what kinda hero does that? Yaoyorozu was riding on me to get Parker out of there, and all I did was let that handy guy grab him!” He gripped his fists. "I dropped the ball! Literally! And Parker could have died because of my.. of me..!" He bit his lip, breathing in hard as he fell back on the couch, hands to his face. "Oh god... Ohh..."

“And if you weren’t there, what would they have done? Young Yaoyorozu and the others?”

Kirishima looked away, running a hand through his hair, “I-I don’t know, Yaoyorozu and Todoroki would’ve come up with something. They're smarter than me after all. I'm just... muscle. They could have handled it better than I could have, screw up I was."

“Against a monster that had super regeneration, shock absorption, and strength rivalling my own?” Yagi asked. "Your classmates Quirks are impressive, but I doubt they would have lasted long without your help."

Kirishima had no words. The boy slumped back deeper in his chair, and let out a sob as he squeezed his eyes shut, tears streaming. Toshinori got up and put a hand on the young heroes shoulder, firm but gentle.

“A hero isn’t measured by how quickly they can take down the villain or how hard they can hit or if they have fallen. They are measured by the people they save... and if they get back up on their feet. There were heroes long before me who were willing to throw themselves into danger to protect their friends and others.”

Kirishima shook, not meeting Yagi’s gaze. "It's all my... if I hadn't dropped him I-"

“Look at me." All Might ordered, and the redhead looked up. “If you want to blame anyone, blame me. I wasn’t there when you needed me. I failed as your teacher, and you and your peers paid the price for it. But you? No matter what you say, you were there, you helped, you did your best, and you saved your friend, do you understand?”

Kirishima nodded his head and whipped the tears from his eyes. When he looked back up. Yagi could see that old confidence shining through.

He smiled, one much smaller than the large and fake one before... but it was sincere, and All Might returned it with a gusto.

But he knew that he wasn’t finished.

(X)

“Thank you for stopping by, but it’s unnecessary,” The broad and built Mr. Asui spoke, sitting with his daughter and wife.

Well, least he knew where she got her frog quirk from... Both of her parents were frogs!

Tsuyu was silent as her father spoke, the trio sitting on the couch as the Symbol of Peace sat in a chair across from a coffee table.

The frog-like girl squatted on her chair, looking more at the textbook in front of her than the teacher. Yagi honestly felt pretty out of place. He waited for a sigh, a little tick like Young Kirishima to indicate anything eating at the girl.

Instead, he found… nothing. Even the parents were easier to read.

“You’re taking this well, young Asui” All Might asked nervously.

“If you’re wondering if I don’t know how serious it was, don’t worry, I'm aware." Her wide eyes looked back at him. "Chances are that we would’ve died if things had gone even a little bit differently. If Parker hadn't saved me and Midoriya-chan, I'd probably be in the morgue right now."

Mrs. Asui took a deep breath, biting her lip and looking to the side. Yagi blanched at the girl's bluntness and somehow found the strength to nod.

“Y-yes, I’m sorry for that.”

He could feel Mrs. Asui narrow her eyes at him, and All Might felt fine with the nonverbal blame, but he saw Young Asui give her mother a nudge, not happy to see her mother blame her teacher.

“Don’t worry about it,” the frog girl said casually, “It was the worst kind of situation, but thankfully we all got out of it. As much as it might seem weird to say, there’s not really too much point in worrying what might’ve happened when it didn’t. They showed up, we did our best, we got out and we’ll train to make sure that it doesn’t happen again, ribbit.”

Yagi gulped. “That’s… very mature of you.”

“Thank you, ribbit,” Tsuyu admitted, “And if you don’t mind me saying Sensei, I appreciate the visit.”

Yagi perked up, “Really?”

“Yeah, it feels good knowing that U.A is willing to go this far to check up on us.”

"Indeed. Tsu-chan and I talked a lot over the past day or so." Mr. Asui spoke. "But our girl is strong and she's handled this better than I could have."

"You better make sure to thank this Parker-san." Mrs. Asui turned to her daughter. "He is your hero you know."

"Obviously, but he hasn't gotten out of bed yet. No word yet, ribbit." Tsuyu responded to her parents. "Got a get well soon card and Z's Candy for him too. Everybody likes chocolate after all. Well, except maybe dogs. And health freaks. Ashido-chan is getting everyone together to make a scrapbook."

Yagi launched to his feet, “Hahaha! Of course! You’re the heroes of tomorrow after all! No one in U.A is more important than you!”

He coughed into his hand seeing Mrs. Asui roll her eyes, even though Tsuyu smiled lightly at him showing off his charisma.

“But if you’re fine, then I shall leave you to your studies! I am off to visit your other classmates! Take care Young Asui, and...”
He paused, bowing deep in respect to the parents.

"Thank you for accepting me into your household, Mr. and Mrs. Asui."

"Don't mention. You maybe the Symbol of Peace." Mr. Asui spoke with a gravely voice, which made sense since he was a toad. "But you're only human in the end. We all make mistakes."

"Just don't do it again." Mrs. Asui added sternly as she stood up, storming off to the kitchen despite the look from her daughter. Tsuyu looked back, feeling offended.

"Don't mind Mom. She was worried sick. Like, she broke out into hives when I got home after she heard the news." Yagi nodded. Well... that is one worrywort of a mama-bear... or mama-frog in this case.

"I can understand Young Asui. If you need anything." He reached into his pocket, giving to her what he gave Kirishima, Todoroki, and Bakugo. "Don't be afraid to call this line if there is anything weighing on your mind in regards to this incident."

All Might gave a friendly wave.

"And now, I am off!" He took off, heading straight to his car, then shrank down to his skeletal form the moment he was out of sight. He let out a deep sigh and spotted the next address in his handy dandy notebook.

The wealthy uptown neighborhood of Nyabu Heights. Yaoyorozu's estate. That's next.

Ten down... Ten to go.

(X)

She was quiet, eerily so.

Yagi couldn’t pretend that he had a perfect grasp on all of his students’ personalities, but from what he remember, young Yaoyorozu was no stranger to conversation. With how effortlessly she deconstructed the Hero vs Villains exercise, he wouldn’t be surprised if her grades were the top of the class despite her peers possessing no shortage of tactical skills themselves.

Yet her appearance made his blood chill. He didn’t know her well, but she had always taken care of her appearance, looking as professional as her preference for skimpy attire allowed.

Now she was dressed in pajamas and a bathrobe. Her long obsidian hair was a scraggly, knotted mess. There were bags under her eyes. All in all, she looked like she had been in bed for two days.

Even so, her eyes were downcast, barely looking at All Might even as she served him a cup of tea, her hand shaking just a little.

“I hope you like green,” she croaked lightly, taking a seat on the comfortable chair behind her. All Might did his best to keep his smile up. He thought Kirishima was the worst. He was wrong.

“It has been a while,” Yagi admitted, “But I do remember enjoying a good cup every now and then.”

He kept up his smile, even though the cup barely fit in his massive hands. Yaoyorozu took her own and sipped once. Twice.

The trembling of her hands was clearly visible now, little ripples and jumps in the tea she held in her hand.

She set the cup down on the table, clasping her hands over her lap.

“I’m sure you’ve no doubt figured out why I’ve come.” Time to get to the point.

Momo nodded, not taking her eyes off the tea on the table between them.

“Most students only get their first taste of live combat in their internships,” Yagi said, “But you were had to contend with it early. I suspect you need to speak of it."

She didn't move. Yagi shifted in his seat.

“I understand if you feel like you don't want to talk... but, as your teacher I cannot emphasize enough how important it is that you do." He gripped at his knees lightly.

Yaoyorozu’s head snapped up. “Oh no no! I want to it’s just that…”

She set her cup down, and averted her eyes in something resembling shame. She coughed.

“I don’t know what to say.”

“Anything you want to say,” All Might confirmed, leaning forward, “I’m here to listen and help. If you want, this conversation doesn't need to reach your parents. They’re doing well, I hope?"

Surely they must have heard the news. Yaoyorozu blinked as if the thought never occurred to her.

“Oh, yes, that would be best, wouldn’t it. And yes they... they called me when I came home. They're at a conference in Dubai right now." All Might perked up. Dubai? Why that was where…

"I-Island is there right now is it? Touring the world?"

He recalled that her parents had connections there. Father was an investor of sorts, while the mother had ties to security groups across the world. For the first time he saw Momo's eyes lit up.

"Yes, they were on holiday touring the Middle East. Since my dad has work tied with I-Island, they figured to schedule it when I-Island came to Dubai for an expo. They're going to fly back tomorrow though." Yaoyorozu shook her head as the light faded. "I made them worry."

"Don't be ashamed. Your parents are only doing their jobs." All Might reassured. "Now..." He rested his elbows on his knees, inter clasping his hands. “Something’s weighing on your mind, isn’t it?”

Yaoyorozu gripped her arm and nodded. “I just, I can’t stop thinking about it. That monst-Noumu thing… what was it?”

Yagi shrugged, “According to the reports? Something made to hold several quirks and fight me. You were courageous to take it on.”

"Yes, I... I had to. After all, I am a hero in training." The girl muttered, looking at the table. All Might relaxed a little.

"Do you have any questions about, well, 'it'." Yaoyorozu bit her lip.

"I had…I had no choice. I, whatever situation I thought of that... that didn't end with that, everyone would have-"

"Do you regret killing the Noumu?" All Might asked, and the black haired girl gripped at her robe, shaking.

"There was no other way... it was made to kill you and... if I didn't do what I did... I don't even know if it was being brainwashed or made from a laboratory or it was a plain sociopath." The girl shook her head. "I... I killed... I killed... oh god...." She looked up, eyes wet. "All Might-san have you... you've killed before in the past... yes?"

All Might was silent, as still as a statue.

"No. I have not." He said. "But I recognize that is a luxury I have because of my abilities. I know of many fine, exemplary Heroes who don't share it." He leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees as he drew closer to the distraught girl. "Our profession is a dangerous one Young Yaoyorozu. The fact you are saying these things, contemplating them, is good. One can't be a hero if they care nothing in regards to taking a life, even a villainous and heinous one. Killing isn't something we heroes should do. Should ever want to do. Unfortunately, sometimes there is a situation that is so impossible to overcome that in order to save lives, one must be lost in the process." He rubbed his forehead a little, reaching forward and taking a sip of tea.

"As I said, I've never had to. But, if I have no choice, if the choice is between an innocent, or a friend, or a fellow Hero... then I won't regret my choice, even if it means I do not like it. We heroes don't really have a say when a crisis gets out of control. All we can do is handle it as best we can."

All Might leaned forward, resting his elbows on his mighty knees as Yaoyorozu looked back with wide eyes.

"Killing should only come as a last resort, Yaoyorozu." His voice was stern, but not harsh. It was lecturing, but not condescending. "As you said in your testimony to the police, you thought of the best possible situation to save yourself and your classmates. Had you not have concocted your plan it would have been worse. That was your last resort."

"And because of it Peter-san…!" She paused, eyes watering as she put her hands to her face. "Forgive me... I shouldn't shout..." She bowed her head. All Might raised a hand. This was feeling a little familiar, sadly but thankfully.

“Don’t apologize, it's quite understandable.”

The girl froze at Yagi’s words. She took several deep breaths, but it didn’t stop the shiver from running through her.

“I’ve been thinking... about that moment in the plaza,” she whispered, “I keep running through the variables over and over in my head. Asui, Midoriya, and Kaminari were in danger, Mr. Aizawa was a hostage. We had to give a distraction for the three of them to escape the leader, and occupy Noumu so we could get Aizawa-sensei.”

She grips her head, her fingers digging into her scalp.

“I-I try to think of s-something but there’s nothing. I didn’t have all the information, I couldn’t make anything that would help that wouldn’t put Aizawa in danger. Maybe if Todoroki arrived sooner, maybe if we kept the leader talking long enough for you to arrive things would’ve been different, but, it didn’t. All I could think of was sending Parker to fight it, and what I had to do to get him out of it.” She shook her head, letting out a sob. "I tried to think of me creating new items. New strategies but... they ended up in worse scenarios than the one we had and Peter-san..." Yaoyorozu looked away, biting her lower lip. She couldn't bring herself to finish her sentence, and Yagi felt a nostalgic pit in his stomach form.

He was in those shoes, or slippers in Yaoyorozu's case, decades ago. Following that day in that dark sea when he failed to save the closest thing he had to a mother.

Her breath hitched, and she trembled at the mere memory. "I don't know... how we could have been better... I tried and tried to think of the best scenario with what we got and." Yaoyorozu let out a bitter sigh. "And because of it, Peter-san hasn't woken up..."

“You can’t blame yourself,” Yagi said, as gently as he could, his usual bombast absent. “I’ve had countless what ifs in my time, some of them even keep me up to this day.”

Young Yaoyorozu didn’t need to have those kind of thoughts now. In a perfect world, she’d never have them again.

Give what had happened though...

“The actions you took were the best possible scenario, as you yourself stated back when you were questioned. Never killing a villain is one thing. But not doing so and resulting in a comrade perishing is an entirely different matter. You must accept your action, and that it was the one winning strategy. No matter what happens, as Heroes we have to keep going, living with the consequences of our actions and how they affect those we serve. At the end of the day, if you ask Parker, I don’t think he will ever blame you for your plan. He knew the risks, and while I know that’s a small comfort, it’s something that you shouldn’t ignore.”

Yaoyorozu stiffly whipped a tear out of her eye and shook her head.

“How can you be sure? Peter-san... I don't know how he'll react...”

The question gave Yagi pause, then the answer came to him.

“Someone like him, willing to throw himself against impossible odds for saving his peers and classmates,” Yagi stated, “His suit might be broken, but Parker is a rare breed of young hero. When he wakes up, I’m sure he won’t regret a thing.”

The young girl didn’t nod, but she finally looked him in the eye. All Might smiled widely, and flashed a thumbs up.

“Take heart young Yaoyorozu. Your journey as heroes is just beginning. This is but one part, a small bump in the road in front of your starting line. Learn from it, and no matter what you’ve lost, let it help you to face the challenges ahead.”

This time, she did move. A single resolute nod.

"I got a text from Ashido-san this... morning, she was getting some of Peter’s classmates together. We were going to visit him in the hospital tomorrow."

“I'm sure he will appreciate it,” he promised. And Yong Yaoyorozu smiled for the first time in what he gathered was several days.

“Thank you.”

(X)

‘You can be anything you want Pete, but you gotta remember, when you have power, you alone bear the mantle…’

‘You’re different.’

‘You got heart kid.’

‘I wanted you to be better.’

'You're an Avenger now.'

(X)

A day later.

The first thing that Peter felt was relief. The plush of the covers over him, the bed below him. It was divine. Peter felt himself sink deeper and deeper into the mattress.

Sweet Jesus, he had missed this. It was bliss, but it couldn’t last. The weariness that had been sinking into him for what felt like a whole year was finally gone. As much as he might want to doze all day, his body wouldn’t let him. He opened his eyes, and looked around. He was in a hospital room, or that was what it looked like anyway. There was an IV machine by his side, and a bedside table with a vase of flowers. The flowers looked fresh, lively.

But what really surprised him were the cards.

They piled on the table, some of them close to falling off. The only thing stopping them was a book, its pages blocky and uneven with pieces of paper sticking out of it at odd intervals. Peter reached out, his finger barely managing to get far enough to touch it. He felt that old sticking sensation and he pulled the book to him.

Get Well, said the title, with glitter and stars stickered onto the top.

It was a nice sight, but pulling the book back started spilling the letters onto the floor. From behind an opening door, there came a gasping sound.

Midoriya was there. With a great big grin, his eyes bubbling with joyful tears.
“You’re awake! Hey-"

"This is a hospital! Quiet!" snapped someone – probably a nurse - from outside.

“Sorry!” Midoriya fiddled with his fingers as he walked inside. Then he noticed the book in his hands and a smile emerged on his freckled face. “I see you’ve found your little gift.”

Peter looked down at the book, running a finger down the cover.

“Yeah, who made it?”

“It was Ashido-san’s idea."

“Mina?”

“Yeah when you didn’t wake up on time she…” Midoriya's enthusiasm petered out as the words out of his mouth caught up to him.

“On time?” Peter repeated, “How long have I been out?” He looked around and out the window. This wasn't U.A., but a hospital. He must have been transported.

Izuku rubbed his arm, looking to the side. “About three days, give or take.”

Three days?

Peter didn’t know what to think. He’d seen Recovery Girl fix Midoriya's arms and legs in seconds back at the entrance exam. Was he so beaten up that it took Recovery Girl that long to fix him up?

Two pairs of bloodshot eyes. One having razor sharp teeth, the other with patched dry skin with the devil's grin...

He grabbed his wrist as the phantom shock jolted through him. Peter took a deep exhale through his nose.

“You don’t have to worry about classes too,” Izuku continued, “They were cancelled after the USJ incident. In fact, we have a few days left. Oh, and Recovery Girl told me to tell that you should have healthy meals and at least ten hours of sleep a night. Only, ummm, paraphrasing of course.”

"Yeah... right. Rest. Got it." Peter nodded. Rest, yes, that would be the best thing to do.
Silence followed. A long, awkward silence; the kind that happened when both had something they needed to say, but didn’t know how to say it.

“I know that you’ve been having nightmares.”

Peter winced. How did that happen? Was he talking in his sleep? What else might he have revealed? "Ummm, I was there when Recovery Girl talked to your guardian, Mt. Lady-san. They had a big talk about it too and she looked worried sick.

Yu showed up? Peter felt his stomach churn. God, it was like the time that Aunt May freaked out after she found him with the spider suit on. The American bit his lip and sighed, looking away. Izuku took a seat close by. "Do you... wanna talk about it? Recovery Girl said that your brain scans weren't good, least from what I know."

“It’s… difficult,” Peter admitted, closing his eyes. How can one tell of seeing their comrades turn to dust, have the implication that their only family and few loved ones joined them, and leaving their one and only idol and hero alone on a dead alien planet.

That's not even getting to the part of literally dying.

“And that I’m here to help you, whenever you want.” Peter opened his eyes. Izuku was staring at him, his eyes resolute; in a way Peter hadn’t quite thought him capable of. "I... I don't know how I can help but... if there is anything I can do, anything at all..."

A tense silence followed. Peter stared down at the sheets below him. He knew what he was saying. He was grateful, happy to see Izuku open an ear to him.

But… it wasn’t that simple. What was he supposed to say? That he came from a completely different universe? That he fought aliens alongside heroes and wizards? That he got his ‘quirk’ from a spider bite? That he had seen technology that was little more than magic to everyone here?

That he died?

Peter looked down, then back up as his chocolate eyes met Izuku's emerald orbs. Those same eyes wanting, pleading to help him.

He wouldn’t believe him. No one would. They'd take him for a fool, or a lunatic. He would have to go with the cover story he and Yu had gone over months back. A veiled version of the truth...

“I-”

“HE’S AWAKE!”

Peter jerked back, and Midoriya almost fell out of his chair as Mina all but exploded through the doorway. The pinkette had a bundle of fresh flowers in her hands, but they were quickly forgotten, thrust into the hands of a surprised Tenya who barely managed to catch them.

“Ace is awake!? HEY ACE!” Eijirou called, barrelling through the door and racing to his bedside, sending Tenya stumbling into the wall. “Uh… sorry there.” Eijirou admitted, as he saw his classmate’s predicament. Tenya adjusted his glasses, frowning at Kirishima,

“Kirishima, your enthusiasm is commendable, but this is a-!”

"Quiet!" bellowed a passing nurse, making them all jump.

"…a hospital!" Tenya finished his sentence in a loud whisper. "Be courteous!"

He blushed. Mina and Eijirou had the decency to look a little embarrassed about their behavior too.

"You're all here?" Peter asked aloud, eyes wide. The door opened again, and in came Ochako, Momo, and Asui.

“Sorry about that,” Ochako said with an indoor voice. "Was grabbing something to snack on with Asui." .

"Heya Parker." The frog girl waved cheerfully; or about as cheerfully as she could manage.

"H-Hey Asui-san."

"No need to be formal, just call me Tsu." Asu-Tsuyu said with her long lips forming a light grin. Peter looked over to Momo, who was dressed in a black blouse and form fitting jeans.

Momo flinched when she caught Peter’s gaze.

“I might’ve gotten a little excited when I saw Parker,” Mina admitted, rubbing the back of her head as she giggled.

“Y-yeah, you know how it is,” Eijirou added nervously.

“I’m surprised that door is still on its hinges! I swear no one knows how to properly enter an office anymore!" Tenya whispered loudly, again. Everyone looked at him funny.

'You were shouting too you know.' Everyone thought in unison.

Peter barked out a laugh, he honestly couldn’t believe it. They were okay! Beyond Midoriya getting hurt, nothing had happened! They were unharmed! He let out a sigh of relief.

Thank god.

“When did you wake up, Parker? Ribbit,” asked Asui, as they all gathered around the bed.

“Just now,” Peter answered. Mina’s eyes light up at the sight of the book in front of him.
“Yes~!” She squealed. “You found your book!”

“S-sure did. Thanks for making it. I was just about to read it too."

“No sweat!” Mina declared, with a thumbs up.

“After what you've done for us, it was the least that we could do,” Tenya said. The American held up the book, finally taking it in...

The English words "Fight! Get Well Soon!" were on the front page, with red, gold, and blue highlights as he turned the page, finding the first of many get-well cards he will need to read. But man...

So much glitter!

“It’s really…” Peter paused, struggling to find the right word, “Sparkly?”

Mina and Ochako shared a look and nervously coughed into their hands. “Yeah well, you see, Aoyama wanted to help out as well and he kinda…” Ochako trailed off and Peter knew exactly where she was going. Mina couldn't help but snicker.

“Guess I’ve been giving people a hard time,” Peter's shoulders slumped a little.

“Not really,” Asui said, “With classes cancelled, it was getting rather boring all things considered. Just some online stuff and us being cooped up at home."

“I know right?” Eijirou asked, “I haven’t done anything except punching the old bag and all..." His red eyes trailed, looking at the pony-tailed heiress who was fidgeting with whatever she was holding. "Hey Yaoyorozu, you doing all right?” Kirishima asked.

“Yes,” Tenya said, adjusting his glasses, “You’ve been rather quiet this entire time.”

The girl stiffened under the attention. She looked down at the floor, and Peter could practically see the dread in her eyes. They had small bags under them. Was she not getting enough sleep?

“Momo-san?”

She jerked back. For a second, it looks like she wanted to run. Then her shoulders slumped, and Peter saw tears at the corners of her eyes.

“Parker-san… I’m sor-.”

"Were you hurt at all during the attack?"

Momo paused, eyes widened as she looked at Peter.

"E-Eh?"

"Are you you okay? Did those villains hurt you?"

"I... n-no. No they didn't I... I got a few burns but nothing major. Recovery Girl healed them in no time."

"That's good. I'm just happy." Peter gave her a warm smile. "That you're all okay. The plan worked, we all got out of there. That... that's good enough by me."

Momo remained quiet, pink rising to her cheeks as she stood still. She smiled lightly, rubbing her eyes.

"Yes. T-That's right. That's all that matters."

"Well, the Sports Festival will still take place." Tenya stated. "It will occur in a week's time, according to the press conference Principal Nezu gave a couple of days ago. You sure you want to participate?"

Oh yeah! He remembered! It was in the syllabus! "Why not. I mean, I am your Deputy Rep. I gotta step up and- His stomach growled, loudly, and Peter let out a sigh as they all burst out laughing. “And I need to get something in me. I'm starving!"

"I'll get something from the cafeteria!" Mina declared. "Oi, Eijirou-kun, mush!" She tugged on the red haired boy's arm, tugging him along.

"Okay okay, easy!"

"I'll come with you! Parker, what would you like to eat?"

"Well... anything."

"Anything coming right-"

"QUIET!" roared the same nurse again. Mina shrank, and the rest all tiptoed carefully out of the room.

"…up."

(X)

The next hour or so went by fast. Peter and his friends ate in his room, making sure to keep quiet. A doctor came by for a quick check up, and Peter was as good as new thanks to Recovery Girl. All that remained was to sign some papers, and he was free to go! Peter was glad to have seen his friends. Glad to hang out with them, to talk with them, and laugh with them. And what they all wanted to talk about was the Sports Festival; a competition hosted by U.A., and broadcast across the country. It was a week away, and Peter was wanted to get ready. A lot of hero firms would be watching, ready to scout the most promising candidates. He looked over them all. Ochako and Izuku chatting with Tenya, Mina and Eijirou gossiping with Tsuyu cutting in. They hadn’t gotten hurt, not permanently anyway. He was so relieved.

"Peter!"

Peter perked up, and saw Yu racing towards him. She was wearing her hero costume, her arms outstretched to embrace him. The next thing he knew, he was in her arms, his head on her shoulder. She hugged him tight, and he couldn’t help but return it.

"Whoaaaa, It's Mt. Lady!" Ochako said with a squeal. "You were right Deku!"

"Wait, she's your guardian?" Momo inquired with raised eyebrows. Peter let go and turned towards the pony tailed girl and nodded.

"Yeah, she-"

"You're up and at'em buddy! You doing okay Peter?" Yu asked in idiosyncratic but enthusiastic English, and Peter looked up, letting out a soft laugh.

"I'm alright Yu." He replied in his native tongue, smiling back. It felt so good to see her like this.

"You sure? You hungry at all? Wanna go get hotpot? Got an email saying that you're given the all clear from the medical staff." She then noticed the group of students in the room and the mass array of trays and food. "Or... wanna put a, what do you Americans call it? A 'rain check', on that?"

"What is she saying? I heard hotpot mentioned." Eijirou whispered in Japanese to Tsuyu.

"Beats me, English is the one subject I have trouble with." The frog girl replied back.

"Yeah, we can do that tomorrow or on the weekend. I'm gonna have a lot of work to do going forward."

"You aren't doing any work, you need relaxation and sleep." Yu said sternly. "I-" She paused, looking at the kids, and sighed. "We'll talk in the car. I don't wanna make a scene in front of your friends."

"You got it." The brown haired boy turned towards the group, beaming down as he collected the scrapbook full of cards. He had plenty of reading to do, and thank-you notes to write.

"Guys," Peter spoke in Japanese. "Thanks for checking in on me over the last day or so. I appreciate it."

"You'd do the same for us man. We're just happy you're up and walking." Eijioru waved his hand, grinning. Ochako beamed while Tsuyu waved her wide hand.

"School is out in two more days, that's more than enough time for you to catch up on sleep I bet!" Mina beamed with her arms behind her head. Peter turned towards Izuku.

The boy who saved him, and he held out his hand.

"Hey, Midoriya." Izuku perked up as he stood up, the shorter green haired boy looking up at the taller brown haired youth. "Thank you, for saving me." Izuku blinked, and then blushed.

"W-Well uh, I mean, I was only!" He paused, taking the time to regain his composure as he took a deep breath. Then he opened them, his green eyes staring back as he took Peter's hand and shook it. "It's not a problem. I mean, we are all heroes in training. Like how Kirishima said, you'd do the same for all of us."

Peter looked towards Momo after shaking his hand. "And thank you all, you all had a hand in saving the class." His gaze focused from Tenya, Eijirou, Ochako, Tsuyu, Kirishima, Mina, and finally Momo and Izuku.

'And me.' He finished mentally.

Peter let out a soft smile, nodding. "We should all keep in touch more often."

"Sounds like a plan. I suggest we have a group chat!" Mina raised her hand, eyes closed with a beaming toothy grin.

"I wouldn't mind that." Tsuyu added with a slight smile of her own, waving.

"Yeah, we can all be study buddies in this case. Help each other improve!" Ochako had her closed fist meet her open hand.

"A wise idea. A way to help us better ourselves as students as well as strengthen camaraderie... I approve!" Tenya stated with a raised hand of his own, rising it higher than even the pink-skinned pinkette.

"I could use it. My written scores wasn't something to write home about." Eijirou laughed bashfully, rubbing the back of his head as he pulled out his phone.

"Oh! That's right I don't have my phone on me, but I'd be happy to exchange my number." Peter said as his friends got out their mobiles. "Hey, if anyone has Jirou's or Todoroki's number, maybe they can join too?"

"I don't have Jirou-san's number, but I'll be sure to ask her the next time I see. Same with Todoroki-san." Momo had her phone out.

Eijioru stood up, grabbing his mobile. "Here, tell it."

"Hang on let me get mine!" Mina rummaged through her purse.

So Peter gave his number to them all.

"I'll reply to your texts when I have it and it's charged up." He gave a big wide smile. "So, I'll see you all on... Friday I think? It's Wednesday right now so..."

"Yeah, one day of school and a half day, the next week the Sports Festival." Tsuyu covered for him.

"If you need to call on anything, if ya need to talk, I'm a ringaway Ace." Eijirou pointed at his chest with a gusto.

"I would be happy to assist in Class duties and what to offer as suggestions going forward! I am your Class Secretary after all!" Tenya waved his arms again.

"Are you... available for call any time, outside of school hours, Parker-san?" Momo asked lightly. "If you want to, well, talk that is." Her obsidian pearl-like eyes stared back into his.

"Well, ummm, I'm gonna be busy with stuff before the Festival." He looked back, seeing Yu cross her arms. "After I get enough sleep that is."

He noticed Yu standing by, looking patient, but he shouldn't keep her waiting.

"Okay you all." Came a doctor who looked like a giraffe, poking his long head inside. "Parker-san, you're free to go. I hope all of you follow suit as well. Got a nurse who was up in my case about loud kids." Mina bit her lip, while Eijirou looked away sheepishly.

"We will depart at once, thank you for taking care of our friend." Tenya stated with a bow.

"Just doing our jobs." The doctor's head then left the room and everyone got up and began walking towards the front courtyard, leaving the facility.

"Okay everybody... I'll see you on Friday! Oh, and Uraraka." Peter turned towards the brunette, who perked up.

"Yeah?"

"You called Izuku 'Deku' several times, from what I heard back during Battle Trials. Why do you call him that?" It does mean worthless, from what he can recall.

"Oh! Sure thing." The bubbly brunette stepped forth, standing beside the green haired boy who suddenly became as stiff as a statue thanks to being the topic of discussion. "I thought it was super cute when I heard it!" Ochako added with a beaming grin. "He even declared how it was the name of a hero too during the Battle Trial. Two birds with one stone I say!"

"IT TOTALLY IS!" Izuku yelled, grinning stupidly and making Mina and Tenya wince.

"Not so loud! You'll attract that nurse!" Mina whispered. "She could be anywhere..."

"Okay, well, if you like, you can call me Peter. Or Parker, whichever makes ya comfy." Peter came up, patting Izuku on the shoulder. "I owe ya. For now though, let's focus on being the best heroes we can be."

Izuku's flustered nature faded, and Momo stepped forward.

"Yes, let's. For all of us." She declared softly. The setting sun was pouring in from the windows, rays of light shining on them all.

"Alright, see ya guys soon. And I'll hear from ya'll too." Peter waved. "I have a lot of people to catch up with when my phone is charged, like Pony and Hatsume. So I apologize in advance if I don't get back to ya."

"Just an emoji is okay." Mina gave an okay sign, beaming. Peter nodded and turned towards Yu.

"Sorry for keeping you waiting. You ready?" He asked. The blonde didn't look the least bit annoyed, smiling.

"I'm happy you're okay... and I'm happy you've made some great friends Peter. Come on, let's go." Peter grabbed his belongings and walked off, hearing the chattering of his friends behind him as he and Yu walked down the lane leading to the parking structure, covered in shade from the trees lining both sides.

He looked back, seeing his classmates talk in the courtyard, ready to their separate ways as they looked illuminated by the grace of the sun.

They were unharmed. They won. They were safe. They won.

They won... but he...

He lost. Again.

He couldn't do a thing. He felt powerless in that monster's grip, in that man's grasp. Peter looked down, the shade of the trees pouring in becoming darker as he and Yu walked through the empty hospital, getting farther away from the light filled cafeteria.

He felt like... like...

A weak, meek, pathetic, insect.

Peter looked up, teeth clenched and eyes becoming sharp. His hands balled tighter into fists.

He remained silent, as he and Yu walked towards the dark and empty car park.

Chapter Text

One day prior...

The day he got out of the hospital, Aizawa Shouta had work to do. The work of a hero is never truly over, as the old saying goes. Vlad was busy with Class B, and U.A. didn’t have much of a substitute for his class. Besides, he was able to walk and use an arm. That was good enough in his book to do his job. Even from his hospital room he could speak into a speech to text machine to get a head start with lesson plans. With the Sports Festival drawing near, he didn’t have time to waste with needless pleasantries like simply waiting for the chance to go back to his office.

Damaged as he was, Shouta was a pro, and he needed to hold himself to a standard. Even so, his stubbornness could only get him so far. He wouldn’t have gotten as far as he did without cashing in on a few favors that Vlad owed him, and even then he wouldn’t be able to do much more than give opening statements in homeroom for the next week, and that’s if he was lucky. Snipe was kind enough to offer to take over the grunt work with the grading, and Midnight had offered more than once to take over if Shouta didn’t feel up to it for a day.

He declined. Out of everything, he needed to be in class tomorrow for the announcement of the festival. Midnight might be a wonderful teacher, but Shouta couldn’t trust her to properly convey the gravitas of the situation to his class. Foolish? More than likely, but All Might wasn’t the only stubborn man in UA.

So Shouta was released, but he’d have to rest when not teaching. He was also given a prescription of painkillers to deal with the aches of his body healing over time. He was thankful for Present Mic for picking him up and dropping him off at his flat. Not so thankful for the crappy singing and blaring radio. Made him wish for the silence of the hospital. He was going in and out of consciousness throughout his stay, as he hadn't had much time to ponder. The moment he got to his home he got a proper shower, dressed up as best as he could, and then it was back to UA, despite his long time friend's concerns.

After all, they had a meeting to attend. Special Cases Detective Tsukauichi Naomasa, who was also representing the interests of the Musutafu PD, had been holding a briefing in UA with all faculty members present, including All Might in his thin form.

As he did his best to edit the curriculum to Class 1-A's syllabus with one hand in his office, Shouta remembered the details. The ones called Kurogiri and Shigaraki Tomura were easy, since the latter was the one of the reasons his elbow was a giant red patchy mess. It was the All Might-counter villain, Noumu, and what had happened that made him feel on edge.

His students, who had been separated by Kurogiri's mass warp, had joined the fray to save not only him, but also Midoriya Izuku, Asui Tsuyu, and Kaminari Denki. Most of them got out unscathed. Yaoyorozu Momo had flash burns, as did Kirishima Eijirou, but nothing Recovery Girl and a good night's sleep couldn't fix. Midoriya used his quirk, again. And Peter Parker got the worst of it, given the injuries he sustained saving Midoriya and his group from the obsidian beast. Yet it was those three, in addition to Todoroki Shoto and Bakugo Katsuki that helped turn the tide, with Yaoyorozu killing the Noumu and Midoriya breaking his body saving Parker from Shigaraki. Thirteen was up on her feet too, but she was given the day off to rest at home.

This wasn't what Shouta had wanted, to throw his students into livefire combat in a simulation facility where the point was to rescue others. So the best he could do was levy the pros and cons.

He reached for some eye drops, plucking them into his dry eyelids. The sleep and recovery did his eyes some good, but Recovery Girl could only do so much given the damage to his skull. Catastrophic damage to his eye sockets.

Great, and here he thought his dry eye was bad. He’d have to test how long he could keep his quirk active once all this blew over.

Face fractures aside, there were some pros to this. His students got experience that only a few third years could claim, experience that would help them grow into becoming heroes. From what he has heard, they also fought incredibly well as a team, Yaoyorozu proving herself to be an exceptional on-the-fly tactician and leader. Even Bakugo was able to be receptive, albeit from Todoroki's testimony his role was 'blast the warp bastard'. Plus, they all got out alive to live another day.

The cons? Midoriya kept up the habit of breaking his body in order to save one person, making him useless had his strike missed Shigaraki. Yaoyorozu was forced to kill. Parker was injured and was in the hospital for more than a day despite Chiyo’s quirk. The trauma many of the students had suffered potentially could be severe, had to be for the few that tried to save him from Shigaraki. Lastly, the media shitstorm that came down while he was away was something he groaned at. UA will be under a microscope going forward. Thankfully Nezu's press conference did its job, and All Might was busy with interviewing the students one by one to reassure them. That should help, in some form.

Shouta sighed. Yes, the first kill. Every hero who had been alive enough and involved in combat situations. Facing a villain who wouldn't yield. Where lives were on the line.

Shouta made a mental note to talk to Yaoyorozu on the side. From what Toshinori had texted him, he was going to her estate next after visiting Kirishima and Asui. Still, she would need some form of assurance from her teacher.

As would Peter Parker, who had lost his gear to the Noumu. That fancy metallic costume had to be scrapped by All Might in order to treat him, and was with Power Loader. Still, Parker was alive.

A miracle in it of itself, given how he threw himself against the Noumu, agreeing to Yaoyorozu’s plan...

"As if one self destructive fool wasn’t enough for this class." Shouta said to himself as he continued typing with his good arm, altering the dates on the syllabus. The three days off would throw things, and would cut into his students training for the Sports Festival which would be in a week and a half once classes were back in session. But heroes adapt. They have to in order to do their duty to society.

As he looked at the syllabus of exams and various training dates, he glanced at the summer section. If he sent a few emails, he could pitch for a summer camp of some kind, depending on how well his class was performing. Although he would need a better grasp of them once he sees them in action at the Sports Festival, feedback from their internships, and then Final Exams.

He typed in ‘To be Determined’. Something to table for now.

With a few more edits, Shouta finished the updated syllabus. Now to tackle the schedule and calendar for the Sports Festival. He looked at the docket, mainly the order of events for the First Year students.

Preliminary Obstacle Course Race, Random Event, and then Battle Tournament. Under the random events were a selection of games and events the students would partake in, the ones who got the top places in the race. Calvary Battle, Labyrinth Hunt, Kingdom on the Hill among so many others. There was a box for a suggested event that the teachers can offer, but would have to explain the rules.

Narrowing his eyes, Shouta began to think. Calvary Battle was a four-man team free for all for the headbands of enemy teams. Labyrinth Hunt was Tag on Steroids within a giant moving maze, courtesy of Cementoss and Power Loader with a point-system similar to the Practical Exam. Finally, Kingdom on the Hill was a four man team of whoever was the four people on top of a position, and had to kick off whoever was coming onto said position.

Small team games, or individual free for alls.

...

There.

That can be an event for the First Years to tackle. Shouta began to type, fingers tacking on the keyboard.

(X)

Current Day...

Katsuki grunted as he pulled up on his pull bar in his bedroom, sweat dripping from his brow as he narrowed his eyes and gripped the bar hard. The last three days had made him stir crazy. Nothing has happened save for All Might coming by his place and talking to him about the USJ. That and online coursework, which was a breeze. His dad was a being a literal hen in how much he was asking if he was okay.

Least mom got the idea. He was fine. Katsuki was fine physically and mentally.

And yet... he felt cheated.

He glowered as he dropped down, finishing his rep as he went over, sipping on some protein shake and wiping the sweat off his face with a towel.

The blond looked at his hands, remembering how they had that warp bastard pinned... then the second he was distracted and saw his idol combined with Deku giving Handjob a haymaker, Warpfuck got out of dodge with him. It was so fast he...!

Katsuki scoffed, tossing the rag to the side as he departed from his bedroom, content with his private exercises as he walked down the stairs and through the living room where Dad was vacuuming. He'd been doing that all morning!

"Aren't you done yet?" Katsuki asked as he walked past the brown haired man. His father perked up, blinking.

"Oh well, not really. It is spring and I have to do spring cleaning after all. Plus, the office gave me some time off in light of the USJ incident, since I did say you were accepted and all into it's hero course" He said with a goofy smile. Katsuki narrowed his eyes and looked around. All Might was here a few days ago.

He twitched. Did All Might notice that he and his family let the house go unkept for a bit! How did he not! Damnit all how could he have not noticed himself!

"Need help?" Katsuki growled, going over to the cabinet and pulling out an apron. Dad looked surprised.

"You aren't going to practice your Quirk in the garage?"

"All Might was here, and things have been a tornado for us with you getting that promotion and Mom not being especially good doing this." Katsuki grabbed some paper towels and spray. He took a deep breath, eyeing the window sills and he bared his teeth.

"DIE DUST BUNNIES!" He yelled, spraying and wiping the window boards with a furor. ‘How dare you jackasses show yourself when All Might was here! Go to hell! Be purged! Die!’ He roared mentally as he glared smoldering daggers at the window boards as if they owed him lunch money.

"So vigorous, just like your mother." Dad laughed kindly, and Katsuki's eye twitched as he continued to wipe the window sills, going around and scrubbing and cleaning with a fervor. "This is the first sign of life I have seen from you lately too. Mom was getting a little worried and all, but she told me to give you some space."

"Broken clock's right twice a day then." Katsuki uttered, finishing the window sills before going to the floorboards against the wall.

"Is the upcoming Sports Festival making you any nervous? You can talk to me you know." Dad offered, and Katsuki turned, red eyes glaring.

"Of course not, you think I'm an idiot!?" He turned around. "I've been looking forward to it ever since I got here. It's the fact that Parker ended up losing."

"Parker?" His father uttered before he snapped his fingers. "Oh right! Peter Parker, his name was through the news. He was hurt during the attack wasn't he?"

"Got the crap beaten out of him, and lost something too." His costume. That fancy powerful suit of his that allowed him to go toe-to-toe with Icy Hot. Even with that he didn't stand a chance against that monster. Katsuki looked down at his hands, the source of his powerful god-blessed quirk, Explosion.

He had that warp bastard on the ropes. He would have sent Handjob flying even more so than that damn Deku did...

But Katsuki knew, he couldn't have beaten that Noumu thing with his power. Not as he is now.

"I see... I am sorry to hear that. You know, you usually labeled your classmates with labels, like 'richgirl' or 'four eyes'." Dad mused, cupping his chin. "For you to actually label one of them by name means he's quite important to you isn't he!” He snapped his fingers and offered a big stupid grin.

The blond flinched, glowering before getting on his knees and spraying the white floorboards and using hard elbow grease. "Parker is one of the strongest kids in class. That's all to it really. But he won't be that way for long."

"Ah, you plan on surpassing him then? You always say you want to surpass All Might as the world's most famous and richest hero." Katsuki felt a hand on his shoulder and he looked up, and Bakugo Masaru looked down with warm eyes. "The fact you're taking this one step at a time is good son. You're shooting for the stars at first, but it is always wise to shoot for the hilltop, and then work your way up a mountain no?"

"Babysteps huh?" Katsuki muttered, eyes looking off in thought before looking back at the floorboard. "Whatever. Let's focus on cleaning up all this. You're a lot better at cleaning than Mom is."

"Now now your mother is a woman of many talents. Just like you." Dad kindly scolded him before going back to the vacuum, turning it back on. Katsuki looked back with a glare, softening his gaze a bit before focusing back on the floorboards, scowling with abandon.

He couldn't beat Parker or Icy-Hot with gear. He couldn't defeat that Noumu with gear. The Sports Festival will be held without gear.

That is where he will surpass him, and show that Parker where he stood on the totem pole.

No villains getting in the way. No gear letting anyone cheat.

No flukes, just the truth of what would happen. Katsuki grinned darkly at the prospect...

But first things first...

"WHY WON'T THIS MARK GO! FUCK YOU! DIE!"

"Be careful! You might tear a ligament in your elbow, and language! Your mother-"

"What did I hear you say Katsuki?!" Came a shrill voice from the garage, and Masaru's shoulder slumped. Katsuki growled out a sigh of frustration.

"May be home..."

(X)

Alright, the final interview.

If Yagi Toshinori was being perfectly honest, he’d been dreading this since he got the news of Young Parkers awakening. According to Midoriya, the boy awoke and had a healthy conversation with his peers. It warmed Toshinori’s heart to hear that, the boy deserved some goodness after what he been through.

Only for the details of said conversation to come to him from Recovery Girl.

Parker lost his family, his mentor, to a villian. The same mentor that gave him the suit that he so proudly wore in his first exercise. The suit that now lay shattered into a million pieces in Power Loaders office.

He didn’t know much about technology, David would attest to that any day of the week.

However, the feeling of losing a mentor to a villian. A villian that even with every drop of blood shed from you and your allies, still remained standing. A gruesome burden to bare.

Toshinori could relate, but then again, he was older when his tragedy came. He had Gran Torino, a mentor level headed and who knew the truth to confide in. Peter only had his guardian. A hero in her own right, but far too fresh to deal with something like this.

She’d grow, but not quickly enough to help.

And that had to be its own hell.

Regardless of what it was, Toshinori only got a voicemail when he called, apparently his guardian, was on patrol. Not the situation he wanted to have this conversation in, but Toshinori would make do. Dragging up the steps of the apartment complex in his skeletal form, he gave a quick glance down the hall, insuring the coast is clear before enlarging. Smile etched into his face, Toshinori knocked against the fated door.

And it opens to reveal Parker with a rag over his shoulder and a spray bottle in his hand.

“Oh, ah, hey All Might,” Parker greets, pulling headphones free from his ears.

“Morning to you Young Parker! I wanted to see how you’ve been fairing, so that is why...” All Might declared with a friendly wave, and then posed. “I am here!”

Parker blinked, then his eyes go wide with realization.

“Oh yeah the interviews, come on in,” Parker says.

The young hero steps out of the doorway, allowing Toshinori to look out over a living room that was… something.

If Toshinori wanted to be nice, he would call it a perfect example of a cleaned up flat, save for what looks like boxes filled with scrap parts leading off into a bedroom to the side. There was papers with blueprints on the coffee table as well, being made from graph paper.

“Sorry about the mess,” Parker says, pushing a box into his room “I’ve just been keeping my hands busy. My room’s a bit chaotic right now.”

“I can imagine, with all that you’ve been through,” Toshinori laments as he takes a seat.

Parker nodded in agreement, “Yeah.” He finished with a shrug. “Would you like any tea?”

“It’s alright, I won’t be here for long. I can tell you are busy, given what's going on in your bedroom at a glance.” He paused, taking a seat by the couch as Parker took a seat close by.

An uneasy silence fell upon them as the Number One Hero scratched his neck. “So… How are you holding up?”

“I’m doing fine.” Parker looked at him confused, “You alright All Might?”

“Me? Oh, er, yes! Everything’s fine! Perfectly Plus Ultra here,” Toshinori said, forcing out a chuckle as he offered a thumbs up, “I came to ask to see if you were doing alright, considering what happened and all.”

“I mean, I am,” Parker confirmed with him looking to his room and then back again.

Toshinori blinked. There was something wrong. Parker wasn’t looking at him much as his other students had. He has to be in another place mentally. Using this work as a way of distraction.

Or maybe Toshinori didn’t know what he was thinking when it came to teenagers again and was thinking too much into it. Geez it’s like Young Asui’s interview all over again. But he has to get the crux of why he is here!

“Anyways, I’m sure you know why I am here.” All Might leaned forward, gazing at Parker. “I’m sure your friends told you?”

“Yeah, Midoriya and Ashido texted me how you were coming around asking if we were okay. And sir,” Parker took a deep breath, then smiled. “I’m alright.”

“Are you sure? You seem to be working quite hard.”

“It’s more of a hobby. Before I met my mentor, I tended to tinker around with things like this.” Parker shook his head. “Besides, I get to improve within the comfort of my own home.”

“Still, the ordeal you went through back at the USJ… It must have been frightening.” Toshinori stated. Parker bit the inside of his mouth.

“Well, yeah. Obviously.”

“Were you scared?”

“Scared? Course I was. But, who else could have stopped that… that thing.” Parker bit his lower lip before taking a sigh. “But, I’m just happy no one else got hurt.” He then smiled. “If anyone did on my watch… I don’t know what I could have done with myself.”

Toshinori paused, and a silence fell between the two. “Besides,” Parker continued. “I agreed to the plan Momo-san made. We knew what was at stake if we didn’t intervene. No one died after all.” He then gave a big grin. “So, big win for the good guys!”

“Even so, you’re talking in a general sense. I am here asking about you.” All Might reiterated.

“And I am fine. Sensei, you… you don’t have to worry. I…” Parker paused, as if he was about to reassure Toshinori. Then he looked to the side. “I am coping, if that’s what you’re wondering. I’m talking with my friends every day so… I’m not gonna let this slow me down.” He laughed. “Gotta be a friendly neighborhood Spider Man!”

“Spider Man?” All Might quirked his eyebrow. “I see you came up with your hero name?”

“Yeah, have had it, um, in my head, for a while. You know.” He made some hand gestures. “Spider is my quirk? I can do whatever a Spider can? Makes perfect sense!”

Toshinori nodded along, the boy put up a good front, but Toshinori knew an act when he saw one. The boy was keeping his mind focused, distancing himself from the simple reality of the situation. There was a chance that he was telling the truth, that Toshinori was worrying over nothing, but he couldn’t take that risk. Parker was his student, and he deserved better management than simple hope. Toshinori made a mental note to text Aizawa when he was finished, even as he kept his his face neutral watching Parker pick up his supplies.

“Still… I need to improve my skills.” Parker looked at the blueprint. “I made these with the mindset of what stuff I can get my hands on, but something is missing. I just don’t know what.”

“No reason to sound so discouraged! Judging by the look!” Toshinori quickly declared, gesturing at the blueprints, “You look like you’re making plenty of progress on…” Toshinori awkwardly scratched his face, “W-whatever it is you’re doing.” What is he doing? This looks like the complex stuff Power Loader does!

Peter lit up, “It’s really cool, I’m trying to get the holo projector to hook to an internal feedback loop so the speakers can output any sound that comes out of the programing, and hoping I can connect it to a central mainframe. But I need to make to make a program that can receive this so I can access it on a computer so it can function properly. That way it can receive voice commands and- I’m boring you aren’t I?”

“Oh! Oh not at all! Sounds exciting!” All Might said out loud, offering a big thumbs up. “Technology of this level is beyond my pay grade, but judging by your vocabulary describing your processes and goals, it sounds like you have everything under control.”

Parker lit up, bashfully looking over his work.

“I want to make it as good as I can.”

“To match the work of your mentor?”

Peter barks out a laugh, “What? N-no. His tech is just… even Power Loader is stumped, and I don’t think I’m ever going to get that good.”

Toshinori watched as the boy gasined a far away look in his eyes. There was a lot to take in. Admiration, reverence, a hint of regret, but most of all, respect.

Whoever they were, Toshinori had to admit, they must’ve done something great to have Parker remember them like this.

“Take heart young Parker,” All Might declared with a hand on the American’s shoulder, speaking in English. “While it might seem like a fools dream, it is the greatest honor for a mentor to see their protegee surpass them.”

Parker looked back up at him, his full attention set. “Well, I was more hoping to be a better hero than him more then be smarter than him, if you know what I mean. Doesn’t mean I can’t try though.”

“That’s the mindset of a hero right there!” The Symbol of Peace declared with a muscular pose. “You can do it!”

Parker looked respectful, but doubtful as well. Not that Toshinori could blame him. Even for him, after becoming the Number One Hero, recognized the world over, he felt little more than a pale imitation of Nana. A hero who could see something in a idealistic fool she barely knew and trusted him with a the greatest gift that she could give. He may have impacted the world… she impacted him.

Toshinori had only just started to get that part down.

“And remember, just because you think you can’t surpass him, it doesn’t matter.”

Parker blinked, his face scrunching trying to follow All Might’s train of thought.

“Why doesn’t it matter?”

Toshinori smiled down at him, his dark and blue eyes radiating the warmth of a sun into Peter’s own brown orbs.

“Because he believed that you could before you even tried. I may not know this man, but I am sure he had that same mindset the moment he chose you.”

The young man stiffened under his touch. For a second, the boy didn’t even breath. Then, the corner of his eyes began to water.

“No matter what comes, I promise as your teacher to do everything that I can to let you flourish. I will help you achieve your dreams. If you need any help.” All Might put a fist to his broad bicep. “Know that I am here. And by the time that you step out of the halls of U.A, you’ll be a hero worthy of creating that same admiration in someone else. As he did for you, you will do for them.” He grinned. “It happened for me after all, and it will for you Spider Man, the friendly neighborhood hero.”

Peter looked down at the blueprints, then back up at All Might, smile wide as his chocolate eyes beamed. “Thanks…”

(X)

That night...

All Might had left jovially, and Peter had the flat to himself as Yu got home from a long day of work. They made dinner as Peter cleaned up his mess in his room, then he went about in touching up the rest of the apartment. After some showers and dishes, it was time to turn in.

“You better get your sleep Peter.” Yu stated as she embraced her ward. The American hugged back, his head on her shoulder as she parked back. “I’ll be up at six, but you better be in bed and asleep.”

“Yeah, sure.” Peter replied with a smile as the two went into their individual bedrooms. He’s going to stick with his bed, no longer the couch. The lights were off and Casa Takeyama went dark.

While Yu dozed off peacefully, the American was still awake, a hand reaching out towards the ceiling.

He imagined the cool second skin of the Iron Spider Suit washing over him… Then he remembered how it became locked, and the black ceiling overhead… He can see scars and razor sharp teeth.

Peter turned over in bed, clutching his sheets as he took deep breaths. He closed his eyes, and he urged himself to sleep, counting down from one hundred.

…

He woke up, earlier than he would like as Peter sat up, looking at his alarm clock.

Two in the morning, despite him getting a good five hours sleep. He sat back down, taking deep breaths. “One hundred, ninety-nine, ninety-ei…” He paused, exhaling sharply through his nose as he got up and tip toed around. He put on his casual clothing, his eyes darting to the mass of blue prints and boxes of spare parts by his desk. He tip-toed through his room and to the living room. He can hear the snoring from Yu’s bedroom as he got his keys and phone, and silently exited his apartment. In his pockets were the folded blueprints.

He’s used to this. He did this a ton over the summer when he first acquired his powers back home. Aunt May was none the wiser.

Peter exited the complex, hands in jacket and hood up as he walked amongst the streets under the night sky. Very few people up and about, with the streets being scarce save for the occaisional truck or taxi. As he walked, his eyes were to the ground.

He let it… He let it get broken.

His last gift from Mr. Stark.

Peter closed his eyes, feeling them water up as he made his way to U.A. He pulled out his phone, checking his email to see the one sent from Power Loader. The head of the Support Department gave him an electronic key to let him access onto U.A.’s campus after hours along with entry into his development studio, as a form of a gift in his get-well card he sent electronically.

“I gotta fix it.” How can he be an amazing friendly neighborhood Spider Man without that suit. The suit that let him become the ace. That let him do so many things people can’t do.

“I gotta fix it...” He stepped aside someone walking past, almost bumping into them. Looking down at the puddle, the person had dark hair and dark blemish-like markings on his face. Peter didn’t tell, he was looking down at the ground.

“I gotta fix it.” Peter uttered again as he pocketed his phone, making his way down the boulevard. In the distance, the U.A. Academy stood atop of a hill under the moon.

(X)

The man paused, looking back at the English speaker. His blue-green eyes showed a bit of curiosity before he shrugged.

No matter. Probably some dumb kid looking to meet a dealer. He felt his phone vibrate.

‘Gonna talk business with ya soon. Meet me at this bar.’

Giran.

The man typed back.

‘OK’. And man known as Dabi got back on his walk, emerald eyes peering as he turned into a dark alleyway, his daily commute within the underbelly of superhuman society.

(X)

It wasn't uncommon for Mei to wake up in the lab. Power Loader always had a conniption when he found her on the couch, work table, or on the floor or amongst the scrap in the spare parts room, so she'd taken to hiding in the air conditioning vents sometimes. Besides, her babies needed her. They slept better that way. She slept better knowing they were so close!

What was uncommon however was for her to wake up to the sound of someone else in the lab. Someone who wasn't supposed to be here, judging by the sound of how they were rifling through Homura's toolbox. (Yes, she could tell who's toolbox by sound, she'd done it enough to have them memorized)

Never one for shyness or caution, the pinkette wiggled and shimmied herself along the air vent peering through the slits to find- Oh!

She pushed the vent open with a laugh. "Oh! Parker!"

The web head didn't even look up or flinch from his work, staring down at cracked, broken mask of his Iron Spider suit, laying on the workstation.

Mei would be the first to admit, she wasn't the best with people, but even she could tell something was wrong when someone was standing in the lab at... three in the morning, were staring at a broken piece of equipment and hadn't reacted to someone hanging from an air-vent.

That's the kind of thing that she did. Only she did it with a smile.

Parker was not smiling.

She dangled from the vent, squinting her peculiar eyes and zooming her vision to see him up close. She used her custom grappling hook and lowered herself down, hair dangling as she looked at the American upside down.

"Hellooooo." She reached down, ready to snap her fingers over his head. “Anybody ho-”

His hand struck straight up, too fast for her to see and caught her fingers before she could complete the motion.

His grip, for a second hurt, but the moment he recognized her she could feel all the tension leave his grip, staring up at her with wide eyes.

"O-Oh! Hatsume? What are you doing here?" He croaked. His voice sounded raspy, dry.

She could see his face now, and there was a redness to his eyes that told even her socially innept self that he'd probably been crying. Or maybe not sleeping?

"I was sleeping." She answered, bringing her smile back to her face as she reached down to poke him on the nose. "The question is, what are you doin here Parker! You a night owl, or an early bird?”

His hand reached up, brushing his nose and she could see when his brain seemed to reset looking away from her and back down towards the broken mask.

"I just... I gotta fix it." He muttered, narrowing his eyes.

The bridge of Mei's nose crinkled.

For her, this would be perfectly normal. Good even.

For other people though...

"Didn't you just get out of the hospital? Like... yesterday? Or was it the day before... No It was yesterday! I remember!"

"I've gotta fix it." He repeated. Not even looking up at her as he leaned over the workbench, grabbing micropiters and magnifying glasses, along with grabbing some pens and graph paper.

"I thought you didn't know ho-" Peter rounded on her, eyes burning in fury.

"I have to fix it!" He shouted this time, shrieking the last two words, and it made her jump where she hung upside down, nearly losing her 'footing' on the vent and her grip on her hook

There was a silence between them. The anger left him as fast as it came. Mei’s yellow eyes softened.

"H-hey. Parker. You okay?"

"Sorry for the yell but… I... I just gotta fix it." His voice was soft now.

"Why?"

"I need this suit.”

"Not this badly right?" She hedged, and she saw his shoulders tense and bunch up. "I mean…” She tilted her head, her thick pink locks brushing against her face. “The suit doesn't make the hero."

He sucked down a sharp breath, and stiffened, looking up at her like he was seeing her for the first time.

"What?"

"The suit doesn't make the hero?" She repeated, blinking stupidly down at him as he blinked stupidly up at her. "I mean... The support gear's nice to have but the Support gear needs a hero, a Hero doesn't need the support gear. You don’t support the gear, the gear supports you!”

He stared up at her, and she could see in his eyes the moment something at the back of his gaze... clicked with him. All of a sudden his body relaxed, and a tension she hadn't even known had been rushing through him seemed to bleed out as he smiled, letting out a breathless laugh as his fingers brushed over the crown of the helmet.

"I... yeah. You're right Hatsume.”

He stepped away moving towards one of the chairs and seemingly collapsing on it. Like the weight of the whole world suddenly crumbled off of his shoulders.

His smile... it was so relieved Mei had to wonder just what she'd said. She looked puzzled, tilting her head again as the American looked up at the ceiling as if he had a Eureka moment, or remembered something vital.

After almost a minute of him sitting and her hanging (honestly the blood was rushing to her head. It gave her that familiar fuzzy feeling like when she was fixing the underside of heavy machinery too long) he looked up at her, realizing that the mad inventor was upside down.

"What are you doing in the vents?"

"Sleeping!" She repeated. "What else do you do in vents!?"

He blinked and stared at her like she was the weirdo in this conversation.

"You want some breakfast?" He finally asked, standing up and walking over, the two’s faces. “I know of a place close by that’s open, well, twenty four seven.”

Her smile came back twofold. "Best idea you've had all day!" He sniffed, then scrunched his face.

“Ehh… After you take a shower first.”

“Ohhhh okay. You’re treating though!”

(X)

Peter finished making tune ups and leaving the blueprints in the studio as he took a cleaner Hatsume to the local diner, and the two got breakfast and filled their bellies. Hatsume had to get back to get a few more Zzzs before Power Loader checked in at six, while Peter bid his farewell and returned back to the apartment, sneaking in around five. He got into bed, took a refreshed nap and before long he heard Yu lumbering about for coffee like a zombie. After a shower and grooming, Peter was off to school, with his charge none the wiser of his little nightly outing.

Walking through the halls of U.A. felt… strange. It was weird to think that, but experiencing it was something else. Hard to believe that in only two days Peter’s view could be changed so much. Going from happiness, to anxiety all the way to calming is a mood whiplash no matter how anyone sliced it.

Then again, this wasn’t just an ordinary week for him.

Even for him, the kid that went from helping people cross the street to fighting Captain America halfway across the world, it was too much.

But even so, walking up to the doors of Class-1A made his shoulders relax. He didn’t notice it at first, but after walking through the doors, he saw the reason. Todoroki was staring down at a paper on his desk, Bakugo was brooding as always, and Midoriya was mumbling to himself, his hands blurs over his notebook. The way Eijiro, Mina, and Ochako all chatted away around the red heads desk, the only one missing was...

Momo did nothing but smile warmly and wave. Peter waved back, but as he stood there, a certain brawler noticed him.

“Hey hey! There he is!” Eijiro declared, “Ace is back!”

One by one, the rest of the class turned to him. Smiles and welcome backs flooded from the classroom. The four armed Shoji gave a silent wave, Denki threw a thumbs up his way. Todoroki gave him a slight nod from his desk, though he didn’t look like he was trying to burn a hole in his head anymore. From what Peter remembered, his card was a simple “Get well soon.”

“Welcome back man!” Sato declared with a fist to his chest.

“Now we’re all back together again!” Mina pumped her fist up.

“March of victors…” Tokoyami muttered, eyes closed and arms crossed.

“Glad to see ya back on your feet man. Looked pretty roughed up but hey, you are our class Ace!” Sero patted him on the back with a wide grin.

“Thanks guys. And thanks for the get well booklet too. It was fun to read.” He looked over to Aoyama who was sitting at his desk smiling, chin resting on his hands. “A bit overkill on the glitter though. Hehe.”

“Nothing can ever be overkill when it comes to shining and twinkling! There can be no limit to such things.” Aoyama responded looking back.

“Trust me, this is coming from me. Ya kinda went overboard…” Mina added, and the French-Japanese boy flinched and looked away.

Peter laughed a bit but felt a tingle run down his back as he turned his head, and his eyes locked with the source.

Bakugo Katsuki. The one person in the class who didn’t send a card. Thug looked ready to light Peter on fire with his narrowed gaze alone. Guy looked angry, then again he always looked angry, but this was more so than usual, not as hot and wild, but cold and sharp. He wasn’t baring teeth as he looked away.

Huh? What did he want?

Whatever it was, it was nothing compared to Eijiro who wrapped an arm around Peter’s neck.

“Welcome back man!”

“Oh! It’s good to be back Eijiro,” Peter said, an smile effortlessly spreading across his face.

“As wonderful as it is to see you again, we need to sit down,” Tenya screamed, waving his hands, “It’s almost homeroom! Take your seats!”

“You’re not in your seat either dude,” Sero commented as he got to his seat.

The bi-speckled boy paled and bolted for his seat, even as Peter disengaged from Eijiro and plopped down on his seat, behind Midoriya and in front of Momo.

“Welcome back, Parker-san.” Came Momo’s voice as he looked back, and he saw those relieved and warm obsidian pearls.

“Yeah, feels good to be back.”

He meant it too. He saw Momo smile warmly back, and he felt at peace just looking back at her.

But even as he thought of homeroom, Peter couldn’t help but wonder...

“Hey Midoriya,” Peter called to the boy in front of him, “Who’s teaching our class for today?”

“I…” the boy’s voice trailed off as the realization hit him, “I couldn’t say. I don’t know anything about substitutes.”

“Oh yeah, Aizawa-sensei got pretty bangged up didn’t he?” Sero said.

“Guess we’ll just have to see,” Momo added.

Peter sank into his seat. Guess she was right, they couldn’t exactly make a guess of what would happen. A sub seemed like the best option.

Peter shrugged, “Or Mr. Aizawa could just walk in and say-”

“Morning,” Aizawa said, walking through the door covered head to toe in bandages, one arm in a cast-and-sling. The other had a cast but the fingers were visible.

As one, a dozen heads snapped to Peter to see the American as pale as a ghost holding his hands in surrender.

“I swear I was kidding. I can't look into the future.”

“Regardless of the reactions, I’m glad to see that you’re doing well sensei!” Tenya declared.

“I wouldn’t call that doing well,” Ochako said, voicing everyone's reaction. “He looks like a mummy.” She added with a whisper, to which Mina nodded.

“No matter what you think, my welfare isn’t important. Don’t worry about it. If I can walk and talk, then I can teach.” Aizawa grumbled, taking his spot in front of the class.

Then he looked up, and all traces of tiredness were wiped away, replaced with stone cold seriousness.

“Because your fight is just beginning.”

Peter tilted his head, Midoriya shivered in front of him, and even Bakugo leaned forward.

“Our fight?” Bakugo questioned.

“Don’t tell me...” Midoriya muttered.

“That’s right, the U.A Sports festival is right around the corner.”

…

“THAT’S JUST A NORMAL SCHOOL THING!” the class erupted.

Peter felt the urge to bang his head against the desk. So serious, and it was just the festival? Geeze he thought it was going to be villians for a second.

“Hey what’s going on?” Eijiro called out, “Should we really be doing this? I mean, sure it’s listed in the syllabus but we just had a villian attack. Shouldn’t we, I don’t know, wait for it to blow over or something?”

Aizawa sighed. “If I’m being completely honest, it is in rather poor taste, so we’re in the same boat,” he said, and Peter felt an awkward air descend across the class, “However, after the press conference, Principal Nezu is insisting that it go forward. Despite the timing, or, more likely, because of the timing, it’s the perfect opportunity to show how effective UA’s crisis management protocols are and that everything is fine. At least, that’s the mindset.”

Peter nodded, it made sense. The Sports Festival was huge, even when he first came to this world. He remembered Yu asking the day off specifically so the two of them could watch it.

“And the principal is pulling out all the stops for this,” Aizawa continued, “Compared to the past years, there’ll be five times the police presence, and to top it all off, Nezu pulled in some favors. Among the heroes attending the event, Gang Orca, Endeavor, Edge Shot, and Mirko will be in attendance both to scout and to provide security. And that’s not counting the local hero agencies and other firms in neighboring wards wanting to help pitch in. And All Might himself of course."

“Mirko is here! The number one female hero!” Mina excitedly declared. “That’s awesome!”

“And the number two hero in all of Japan too! Man, we get to see Todoroki’s dad in person!” Denki added.

Peter heard someone whistle, and he couldn’t blame them. From what he remembered, those were three of the top ten heroes in the country. Though, he did get a tingly feeling at the mention of Todoroki Enji, the Flame Hero Endeavor. He turned his head around, noticing Todoroki looking out the window, glaring.

“With the aftermath of the attack being at the forefront of the news, the number of heroes that will be watching this event will skyrocket, not just here in Japan, but a few other foreign firms will be attending as well. This is the greatest opportunity for you first years that you’ll get, maybe the best any Class has had. You were the class that fought the villains, you saw action before almost anyone else has. They’ll be watching you, so this isn’t something that can just be cancelled over a few villains.” Peter raised his hand, and he felt Aizawa’s gaze upon him. “Parker?”

“So this is one big job interview?” Peter asked. It sure did sound like it.

“In a sense Parker-san, the festival is designed to test students in a variety of different ways.” Momo explained. “See how we adapt and what not.”

“The perfect battleground to show your worth,” Tokoyami commented with crossed arms.

“Yeah, they’ll be looking to hire us as sidekicks after we graduate!” Denki said excitedly.

“And a lot of those sidekicks never make it big, kinda like you Kaminari,” Kyoka added cheekily.

The blond clenched his chest. “Really…?”

“Yaoyorozu got in one, so there’s your answer. Comments aside, if you manage to get picked up by a big named hero, you’ll gain valuable experience, however,” Aizawa stressed, “Your time is limited. This opportunity only comes along three times in your entire school tenor, if you don’t give it your all, you’ll be overlooked and never made it as a pro. So show the pros what you’re made of, and make a future for yourselves. You got three shots, make it count. Am I clear?”

“Yes sensei!” the class corrused.

Even as his voice echoed with the others, the tips of Peter’s fingers pulled against the edge of his desk. The perfect opportunity in front of the entire world.

There was no better chance to make good on his promise.

“Alright, that’s all for homeroom, class dismissed.”

Chapter Text

Lunchtime.

Free from the horrors that came with Vlad-sensei’s classes, Neito ranted about being better than 1A while Tetsutetsu kept screaming.

Ok, maybe Pony was over-exaggerating a little, but she couldn’t help it! She hadn’t stopped shaking since the announcement. The Sports Festival was just around the corner, and everyone was abuzz. Normal casual conversations around the lunch hall had been replaced with harsh whispers and talks of training. There was a focus, a drive, in everyone that she hadn’t seen before.

Well, almost everyone.

“You know,” Peter said through bites of rice, “I thought the obsession with rice was a bit weird when I first came here, but this is really good.”

“Glad to see our tastes are rubbing off on you, Parker,” Setsuna commented with a wry smile.

“Still won’t drink tea,” Peter shot back, “Not going to get me there.”

The greenette just shrugged, popping a dumpling into her mouth, “I can wait. You’ll turn.”

Peter rolled his eyes, and Pony noticed his gaze dart to her.

“You ok there Pony?”

The horse girl heard herself yip, almost dropping her burger. She tried to compose herself while giving him a thumbs-up, “Who me? Yeah, I’m all right.”

“Nervous?” Setsuna asked. “You know, about the Festival.”

Pony tried to keep a straight face, and failed. Her shoulders slumped.

“Yeah.”

“I’m a bit nervous too Pony, I’m sure everyone is.” Peter said as he dabbed his mouth. “I mean, everyone in our grade range that is. We’re all in the same boat.”

“Yeah but, all of Japan will be watching us! So many cameras pointed at us…” Pony scratched at one of her horns. “Guess I’m just a bit stage-shy.”

“You’ll do great. Don’t worry about it. Just do you.” Peter smiled, waving it off. “Speaking of, what’s been going on in your classes?”

“Just Quirk refinement for the most part. I had to do loads of heavy lifting.” Setsuna waved with a hand nonchalantly, leaning back. “So I didn’t make as much progress as Pony here.” Peter perked up.

“Oh yeah,” The lizard girl grinned, knowing she had the American’s attention. “Pony got a real gameface the last couple of hero lessons before and after classes were suspended. She busted her hump, lemme tell ya. Last training session, she figured out how to fly with her horns!”

Peter nearly dropped his fork, as he stared at Pony in surprise and delight.

“Hold on, you can fly?”

“Ah…” Pony blushed, looking away. “I mean, we had to get better in order to catch up. I mean, as Vlad-sensei said, Class A last semester outdid Class B, so we had to pick up the slack! I just trained some more is all!”

“Pony, you can fly.” Peter beamed, grinning. “That is awesome!”

Setsuna chuckled like the Cheshire Cat. “How many pros have that sort of ability? And hey, you can get a better shot in America too since you’re bilingual! That’s always a selling point on resumes.”

The Texan girl couldn’t help but cup her cheeks. “Well…”

“Look, just take what we have been taught into the Festival.” Setsuna leant forward conspiratorially. “You’ll do great. You need to make a certain someone proud huuuuh.”
She winked. Peter quirked his eyebrow as he fiddled with his chopsticks again.

“Who? Her parents?”

Pony fumed, and elbowed Setsuna in the arm.

“Yeah! Parents will be watching via livestream! Don’t want to let Ma and Pa down! Haha!” She laughed overly loud, nudging her green haired peer with her knee. Setsuna only giggled at her trolling. Please please please don’t notice Peter!

“You know, we never did have that taiyaki date,” Peter commented, tossing his tray on top of the allotted tray-slot near the disposal.

Date?!

Pony perked up, almost choking before she composed herself, and Peter glanced her way. “After all, everyone needs a study break right?”

Behind Pony, she heard Setsuna choke on something. Peter glanced at her, but the girl waved him off, stifling a laugh behind her hand.

“Uh, ok?” Peter replied awkwardly, “Later I guess,” Peter said while waving goodbye.

Pony could barely bring herself to wave back as her friend walked into mass of students. She didn’t even flinch when Setsuna snaked her arm around her neck.

“So… taiyaki?” she repeated, her grin clearly serpentine as she looked at her fellow classmate. Pony nodded, the motion was almost robotic at this point. “Can I come?”

Pony gave her friend the flattest look she could muster.

“Do you have to?”

“No,” Setsuna admitted.

Pony couldn’t stop herself from sighing, “But you want to?” she guessed.

“Atta girl Pony!” Setsuna declared as she slapped Pony on the back, “You’re learning!”

“You would just barge in even if I said no anyway…”

“And what, deny the opportunity for friends bonding? Heavens no!” Pony rolled her eyes at the lizard girl’s laughter.

Still, being together with Peter after what he has been through. Spending time with him again was the least she could do. She was thankful to Ashido of Class A for informing her of the booklet they were making.

As she saw Peter walk off, her mind went to the Sports Festival. This would be her chance to show how far she’d come while in Class B. To make her parents proud, to show how she was that much closer to achieving her dream as a hero.

(X)

‘You need to go out there, and tell the world that I AM HERE! And whatever you do, don’t forget that drive you felt when you were cleaning the beach.’

Midoriya Izuku felt his shoulders slump as he made his way back to homeroom. Geez, All Might really didn’t do anything halfway huh? Izuku could barely walk out of that office, much less find an answer to his idol’s lesson.

Sure, the difference between those who aimed for the top and those that didn’t was slight at his level, but how can that little difference make the big waves in society like All Might said? Izuku could understand it giving people more drive, but it seemed like there was a deeper meaning behind it somewhere.

And the fact that he reminded Izuku of his trials at the beach. Was it the willingness to go Plus Ultra on everything? Even the little things? Of course, Izuku could also just be overthinking this. There might not even be an answer, it could just be a way to get him mentally prepared for all the training he had to do for the festival.

Loathe as he is to admit it, he wasn’t nearly good enough to stand out in his current state. Kaachan, Todoroki, and Parker were leagues ahead of him in terms of power and versatility with their quirks. Since he couldn’t control his own quirk he’d have to build his base, which meant good meals and an improved training regimen; if he hoped to gain anything substantial in the time before the festival.

His thoughts were cut off as he bumped into someone.

“I-I’m sorry.”

“Hey man, it’s fine.”

Izuku looked up and saw Parker standing in front of a vending machine, inserting some coins for a random treat. Izuku saw the machine whirl… but the chosen cookie didn’t pop out! It was stuck.

“Happens to me all the time,” Parker sighed as he slapped the side of the vending machine, causing the cookie to fall down. “What’s up Midori?” Parker was looking over at him quizzically.

“Oh ah Parker-san, nothing much just thinking,” Izuku said, nervously scratching his cheek.

“No surprise, heard you muttering up a storm for a second there.”

“Y-you heard that?” Izuku asked nervously.

“Yeah, my senses have been dialled up to eleven from my quirk, get a lot of input.”

Well that was… embarrassing for Izuku. The young successor deflated, looking away from the American, “Oh, I didn’t know that.” Parker shrugged before he reached down and got his snack from the machine. He tore open the wrapper and offered it to Izuku. Not wanting to be rude, Izuku took a chunk of the offered cookie and took a bite at the same time as the American.

“You’re good man, chill,” Parker waved a hand as he grinned lightly.

“I know,” Izuku said, even as he straightened up and put on his serious face, “I’m just trying to focus. I’ve got a long way to go to control my quirk before I’m ready to call myself a hero.”
He looked down at his hand, seeing the scars on it.

“Do you need help with that?”

Izuku nearly tripped.

“W-what?” he asked, looking at Parker questioningly.

“Well, more of your control thing,” Parker admitted, “You went through a lot there, but that was the big one. Plus, with the Sports Festival around the corner you gotta get that quirk of yours under control.”

“Y-you heard all that?” Izuku asked, feeling his embarrassment grow. Oh no, was he mumbling out loud to himself again?

“Uhhh…” Parker looked away, confirming Izuku’s worst fears. He was!

But, there was a silver lining. Parker was willing to help. The foreign student always seemed to have an idea ready, even in the worst situation. Maybe he had some insight that Izuku just didn’t see?

Yes, that’s got to be it!

“But, you think you know a way to help me with my control?” Izuku asked.

The American hummed for a second, the focus in his eyes leaving as he no doubt pictured the perfect strategy to help Izuku take one step closer on his path to being a-

“Nope. I’ve got nothing.”

And just like that, all of Izuku’s hopes died.

“Oh.”

“B-but I’m sure we can come up with something,” Parker said quickly, “How about… training partners?”

Izuku straightened slightly.

“Y-yeah, sure, what should we start with?”

Parker didn’t meet his gaze.

“I was kinda hoping you had an idea,” the American admitted. “I mean, it’s your quirk, not mine.”

Izuku… had no words, except for one.

“...oh.”

Parker chuckled nervously. “... think of something later?” he offered. “Gives us both time to think on it.”

“S-sure.”

Not the best plan but… it was a start. Parker’s phone began to vibrate. He ducked into an empty classroom, Izuku following on. “Hello? Oh, hey Momo-san!”
Izuku perked up. Yaoyorozu was on the phone? Oh gosh, he was talking to her so casually too!

“You want to get together to study a bit and plan for the Festival?” A brief pause ensued before Peter nodded. “Don’t worry about breaks, I’m actually going out to do that with a few friends of mine.” Parker looked off as he paced around, Izuku watching him all the while. Oh, how he wished he could talk to a girl over the phone so easily!

“They’re from Class B. You wanna come with? Okay cool, meet me by that Taiyaki place outside of school.” Parker nodded. “It’s called Somi Somi. Yeah. Okay, see ya then Momo-san.” He hung up and looked at Izuku before looking confused. “Um, Midori? Is there,” He pointed at his face. “Something on my face?”

Ack! He was staring too long!

“N-Nothing! Sorry, I should get going! C-Can I message you about when we should get together soon?” Izuku spoke in a higher octave, pink rushing to his cheeks.

“Yeah, no worries. See ya then, Midoriya.” He smiled, patting Izuku on the back as he walked off.

Izuku blushed and shook his head. He had study hall to do! Got to catch up on math!

(X)

After school...

Pony didn’t think that this could get any worse. However, she’d forgotten how nice Peter was.

“I’d like a nutella, custard, and red bean taiyaki please!” Peter beamed as he gave his order at the front counter in front of Somi Somi, the local taiyaki joint near U.A.’s campus.
“What do you girls want?”

Yaoyorozu Momo looked pleased, while Pony looked perturbed. Setsuna on the other hand…

“Huh, guess Parker-san really is a player.” She smirked as she took in the sight.

“Hey,” Peter said, getting everyone’s attention again. “Like I said, you girls want anything?”

“I’ll have what you’re having, Parker-san.” Momo offered her debit card. “And I’ll pay. Don’t worry.”

Pony’s ears seemed to droop further. Setsuna took it upon herself to pat her friend on the back.

“Don’t worry, we’re amongst friends. Yaomomo isn’t a bad dude. She's nothing like that Bakugo guy Tetsutetsu mentioned in the group text.” The American girl sighed. Yes, their overly loud classmate was on caps lock cruise control when he came in. The blonde boy was a jerk, but he didn’t represent all of Class A, despite what Neito might claim.

Unless all that gossip on social media was true.

“I wanted it to be just us.” Pony muttered as Momo and Peter got their fish-shaped waffle pastries and were talking about… chemical formulas. Yeah, that was beyond her paygrade.

“You’ll get him next time.” Setsuna winked, “You just gotta be more forward, you know, like how most Americans like you and Parker are!”

“It’s not like that.” Pony whispered harshly. “It’s easier said than do-”

“Pony? Tokage?” Peter asked. “Something up?”

“Huh? Oh, nothing! Come on, let’s make our order.” Setsuna dragged her blonde friend along, who seemed to only move at the serpentine girl’s behest.

Pony made a note to approach Peter in the future and ask for an outing.

Alone.

(X)

That night...

The underground flat was dim and dark, hidden away in the back alleys of Camino Ward’s residential district. As he reached the door, Dabi checked his watch. 02:00. He knocked three times, paused, then knocked twice in quick succession. The door opened, and the dark-haired man saw his business partner.

“Evening Dabi.” Giran said with a tip of his cap.

“Giran.”

“Come on in, it’s humid out there and I don’t wanna burn AC.” The underworld middleman stepped aside to let Dabi in. “So, get the job done?”

Dabi reached into his coat, and pulled out a plastic bag, setting it down on the kitchen table. To the side he heard a… loud slurping noise.

Giran took the bag, bringing it up to his eyes to inspect its contents. He let out a whistle.

“Jeez, guy’s finger looks like an overcooked sausage, or a burnt marshmallow. He give ya any trouble?”

“He didn’t pay up, so he paid another way.” Dabi stated as a matter of fact. “As you said in the email.”

He heard the sound of slurping, he turned, seeing the source of the noise coming from behind a couch.

“Don’t mind her, she’s one of my newest partners.” Giran waved a hand as Dabi stood up, walking over.

And he caught the smell of blood as he saw a man lying motionless on the floor; his clothes slashed to ribbons, his face and chest a ruin of slashes and stab wounds; the kind that would have made a younger Dabi vomit. Crouching beside him was a girl, sucking blood from his neck with a metal straw. But for two buns, her blonde hair was wild and unkempt. Her eyes were on the verge of rolling into her skull, blood leaking from her lips as slurped and slurped, shivering in… delight? She even moaned, giggling and shuddering as she rocked back and forth. All at once she removed the straw, and then bit down on the dead man’s neck; driving long canines into his flesh. He had not been dead long; probably just the last few minutes. From the state of him, the girl had gone completely wild.

Dabi had seen many things in his time in the underworld. She must be a real freak.

“Partner?” Dabi said aloud, looking back to his associate.

“She’s very... enthusiastic. Poor sap owed a lot of people money. When he didn’t pay up, well… I set her up with him, she happened to like him a lot and...” He brought a finger to his neck, letting out a “Grrrrhk” sound. “I’ll take whatever he has left to pawn off for collateral, but, that’s one less creditor to worry about.” She liked the person she was gonna kill? Who thinks like that?

“Pretty risky to bring a kill to your place. Especially one so fresh.”

“I know of some proper cleaners, don’t worry.” Giran patted him on the back as he guided Dabi away from the blood-sucking blonde.

“Anyways, here it is,” he reached into his pocket, and handed Dabi a fat wad of bills. “Your payment.”

“Pleasure doing business with you.” Dabi pocketed the money. Giran was a bit slimy, but he wasn’t as bad as those psychotic Yakuza thugs. And he had connections in high places, and high places meant connections to those with cold hard cash.

“Likewise. So,” Giran clicked his tongue. “I got word that I may be getting a big score soon. And I want you to be in on it.”

Dabi looked at him, suddenly suspicious.

“Like what?”

“Well, nothing’s really set in stone, but stay on the downlow for now. In three weeks or so, I’ll have more information. It’s gonna be quite profitable too.” Giran grinned, showing off his grills as his eyes seemed to be shine with Yen and dollar signs.

Dabi didn’t care less. HE just needed money, and if he could get rid of some scummy dishonest people doing it? Well, all the better.

“You know how to find me then.” He looked over, seeing the corpse’s feet behind the couch slink further as he heard more bestial noises from the girl.

Yep. Definitely a freak.

“I won’t keep ya waiting. I got another job, but it’s for the missus here.” Giran patted him on the back as he escorted him to the entrance. “We’ll keep in touch?”

Dabi got to the door, his blue-green eyes looking back at his shorter shady confidant. “We shall.” And he closed the door. Sooner he got away from that bloodsucker, the better.

(X)

The next day...

It was early morning on Dagoba Beach, with Parker gazing down at his watch. The stars were still out, but the dawn was approaching soon. Better to work out early, he had suggested .
He suppressed a yawn, rubbing his eyes as he stood on the sand.

“Hey Parker-san!” Izuku waved as he jogged towards the American. Peter perked up at the sound, and turned to regard him. Like him, he was in workout fatigues; those light green ones from before, back in the Practical Exam.

“Yo.” Parker waved, and Izuku arrived with a light sheen of sweat on his brow. “Ready to go for a run? Heard running on sand helps better build stamina.”

“Sure!” He said, getting down to remove his shoes and socks. “I’ve never really worked out with someone of my own age group. Most I have had is just, well, a trainer.”

“A trainer huh? Well, no worries. Now we can talk while we run.” Parker had his hands on his hips. “Sleep well, I hope?”

“Yeah! I’ve gotten better at training over the last year while I prepared to go to U.A.” Deku replied as he got up and shifted into a jog. The American followed suit.

“I see. Another thing from your trainer?” He asked, the two now trotting through the sand, Musutafu to their right and the sea to their left.

“You could say that.” Deku beamed with a wide grin. Parker couldn’t help but smile back.

“Nice job recommending this place too man.” Parker panted a little. “Thought this place was supposed to be messy! It’s so clean!” Izuku blushed under the praise.

“You don’t have to tell me twice, I had a hand in cleaning it!” Wait, now he sounded cocky! “I mean, not to boast or anything! It was, just, a part of my training routine is all…”

“It’s fine,” Parker looked back. “You did good cleaning this up. I’m surprised... that the city...” He took deep breaths. “...hasn’t cleaned this up sooner.” They ran past an empty lifeguard tower.

“Well, trash has to go somewhere, sadly.” Deku replied, wiping his brow. Before long, the two made it to another tower, then another, and over a dozen towers passed before they stopped to take a breather before starting their next set.

“Okay.” Parker took a seat by the tower. “Let’s talk ideas.” He saw Izuku reach for his water bottle, taking a swig before capping it.

“About my quirk?” Deku asked, to which the American nodded.

“Yeah. Let’s start with what your Quirk is.” Izuku bit his lip. He couldn’t tell Parker his secret. He had already sort of told Kaachan already… And All Might was fine with it, but Parker might catch on quicker than his childhood friend could. He was thankful that Kaachan hadn’t figured it out.

“Well, umm… how do I say this…” Izuku fiddled with his fingers a bit. “Well… it’s… a bit complicated.”

“How so?” The American quirked an eyebrow. Izuku panicked. Don’t give it away!

“Well, uhhh,” Izuku looked to the side, trying to find the words. “I haven’t had a chance to use my, um, quirk all my life due to its recoil effect, as you saw back at the Entrance Exam.”

“Oh yeah.” Parker blanched. “I remember.”

“It’s sort of a double-edged sword for me right now. Like… I can only use two modes of my power.” Izuku looked down at his fist, flexing it slowly. “Either at zero percent or at max power, one hundred percent.” He frowned. “But… I had something happen to me lately. Or rather, something I noticed about my quirk.” He looked back at Peter. “Parker-san, um, don’t mind if I talk about the…” Izuku stopped, his voice trailing off.

Parker blinked and crossed his arms.

“About the what?” he asked, and Izuku looked to the side since he was unable to look him in the eye.

“The USJ.” Izuku said quickly.

His Deputy Representative stared back and sighed.

“Feel free man. Don’t let what happened to me get you down.” Peter rubbed the back of his head as he got up and stretched his arms. “I knew going in that I had to save Aizawa from that beast. I told Yaoyorozu whatever it takes, and I meant it. Besides,” He knelt down, stretching his legs. “You did save me from Shigaraki.” Peter looked back up with sincere eyes. “That counts for something, and thanks for that, by the way. Sorry if it’s a repeat, but I wanted to tell you that in person.”

The sky was beginning to turn orange as Izuku stood frozen, and then he blushed.

“Oh, well! It’s nothing! I mean, you would have done the same for me if you were in my shoes!” He waved his arms, looking to the side. “I couldn’t just stand there…”
He paused, looking back at Parker. Peter smiled back softly. “So don’t let what happened to me result in you walking on eggshells. What about the USJ?”

“Well… when I first struck the Noumu, I was trying to save Asui, I mean Tsuyu-san from Shigaraki. I punched with all I had and yet… my body didn’t suffer any recoil at all!” He looked down at his hands. “My body didn’t break. Granted I got the Noumu instead, but I could still move afterward.”

“And that’s when me, Momo-san, and Jirou-san came in.” Peter mused. “So that tornado came from you. Not surprising, what you were able to do against the Zero Pointer and in the Battle Trial.” The American got up, now performing standing-toe-touches. “So… you said you could only use your power at max or none at all. Did you use max power when you got out of the water to defend Tsuyu?”

“Max power…” Izuku mused, the words resounding in his mind as he looked back in those precious few moments. When he tried to save her from Shigaraki’s hands, all he wanted was to get him away from her. His body moved on its own. But…

He never used max power. Not until he had to use his legs to fling himself towards Shigaraki when the man had Peter hostage. And again when he used his arm…

Because he was about to use an ability that could level building-sized robots and bust through ceilings like paper…

“I held back then.” Izuku said aloud. “I didn’t want to kill them, just to get them away.”

“You’re not the only one with super strength.” Peter suggested as he took a seat. “So you held back subconsciously, I can get that. But, from the moment you leapt from the water to the ground.” He pointed. “Did you use your power then?”

“I mean, it was so fast I…” Izuku looked away. “I don’t remember much but… maybe I did.” He then remembered his conversation with All Might back in the hospital room; how he guessed that Izuku could only use five percent of his power.

“Well, you had to. I mean, getting from the water to ground level without climbing has to be exhausting,” Peter said. “The other times I saw you use your quirk, you focused the power into your arms, legs, or your finger that one time.”

Izuku deflated where he stood, “Don’t remind me, I still hear Mr. Aizawa lecturing me about my control when I go to sleep.”

“That’s… not healthy,” Parker commented, which only made Izuku slump further. “Hey, but it’s a place to start.” The American quickly recovered, “How are you controlling it now?”

“Oh,” Izuku said perking up, “It’s sort of like a feeling of whoosh! And capow! Like an egg exploding in a microwave!”

The American stared at him blankly, and Izuku felt like jumping into a hole right then and there. All Might at least understood the reference and the cheesiness. Parker was gonna think that he’s a superdork now! Izuku wrapped his arms around his head, trying to look away.

“I-I know it’s really lame-”

“It’s like the radiation is overtaking you and you’re on the verge of bursting!” Parker explained, clapping his hands. “That’s perfect!” Huh… That’s a more scientific/comic book-like analogy. Better than an egg in a microwave.

“Y-yeah,” Izuku said nervously, “I thought so too.”

Parker turned away, his eyes taking on a faraway look, “Hmm, if that’s what we’re working with, maybe you should start thinking like a pressure cooker on overdrive!”

“G-good idea, but the pressure sounds like it could blow my arm off,” Izuku said.

Parker grimaced, “Yeah don’t want that. I don’t know maybe you should set it to something like… boil?”

The image of Izuku’s arm lighting on fire filled his mind. He shook his head at the sight.

“Yeah…no.”

“Oven,” the American offered. Izuku’s arm being roasted alive in a rotisserie didn’t paint a pleasant picture...

“Not much better.” The brown haired boy seethed and shrugged.

“Then I got nothing,” Parker said, slumping with exasperation.

“It’s ok, I wasn’t expecting anything big.”

“Yeah, I’m not much of a master chef,” Parker admitted, “I just cook things through and hope for the best.”

Cook things through…

Izuku’s eyes widened as he looked down. “That’s it!”

“Huh?” Peter mused aloud. Izuku looked down at his hands, grinning as he gripped his fists.

‘I had it all wrong! I was only using One for All in my arms and legs at max power! But when I used it in another way, through my whole body, I managed to get the proper image of the egg not exploding in the microwave!’ Izuku’s heart leapt as he conjured his ability. He felt the heat of his inherited Quirk surge through his body. He gritted his teeth, the red lines surging through his body.

‘Five percent… Don’t concentrate it all into one or two places… let it spread…’ And the rainbow lights surged from one to another. Parker stood up, eyes wide as Izuku’s body glowed.

‘Throughout! Cook it through!’ Izuku focused, and the red lines faded, and green lightning emtted from his body as the American blinked.

“Did… something big just happen?” Parker asked. Izuku grinned as he looked back.

“Parker-san! Thank you… you helped me realize something very important about my ability just now!” Izuku felt the heat cover his entire body, but it wasn’t as intense as those times from before. It was like a warm feeling surging through all of his pores now. This… this was One for All!

He was one step closer to being just like All Might!

“Well.” Peter looked to the side before clasping his hands. Then he saw the joy and revelation within the green haired boy’s eyes and he couldn’t help but grin with him. “I’m glad that I could help, man!” He laughed, going up to him. “Is this light you’re emitting, the lightning around you, your power under control?”

Izuku released a breath, and the light faded as he sighed. So that was how it felt to let One for All surge through his body at five percent. It was incredible! He raised his head, and he smiled back at Peter.

“Yeah. My power was a bit rough to figure out, but I had to imagine an egg in the microwave in order for me to control it. But your analogy helped me get to that picture faster!” He looked at his hands. He had to tell All Might about this in class! Heck, he had to text him ASAP! Maybe he could come to the beach today, or Izuku could show him at U.A.!

“Glad I could help,” Peter offered his hand.

“Yeah.” Izuku walked up, and as the rising sun rose over the town, the two boys shook hands. “Parker-san. Let’s do our best at the Sports Festival!” He grinned, and Peter couldn’t help but smile back as the sun’s light overtook them.

“You got it.”

(X)

Later that day...

It had taken him six years, but Toshinori had finally found something more painful than his injury.

Paperwork.

God, was it always this bad? Even hero work didn’t have this mountain of paper perpetually poised to ambush him. Granted it was a mountain that he’d made, but he was above complaining about it.

With the lessons being minimal, Toshinori took it upon himself to diversify the plans going forward. Nezu wanted him resting and planning with the police, but with his three hours already spent for the day, his skeletal form came with an abundance of free time. Which left him with few options to pass the time. Normally he’d grab a bite to eat before heading home to watch the news.

And he tried that, until he learned that it was all nothing but preparations for the Sports Festival. Who would be serving food, who was on groundskeeping duty during off-hours, who would be there as security, the whole nine yards.

Try as he might, Toshinori really couldn’t bring himself to listen to things that he already knew. The only thing that he took from the news was that Nezu was really pulling out all the stops. Information on villain activity was practically non-existent on the main channels. Now Toshinori would never say that it was a bad thing, but it still surprised him that the Principal was able to get this much done, if it was him at all.

So he turned to the schoolwork that he had just accepted. Nezu was kind enough to give him the basics, but after the interviews, Toshinori couldn’t just sit back and let this be done for him. He needed to make his own mark on the lessons, give them the practical edge that Nezu as a principal just didn’t have.

But that unleashed the mountain.

Because, dear god, Nezu was thorough. Did all teachers have it this rough when designing their own curriculum? U.A. was rather laissez-faire when it came to teaching methods, but the bare bones to get to that point were intense!

Every single student was accounted for, but in his opinion the lessons were too broad. Some refinement would be necessary, like specific exercises with certain students acting in critical roles. Rescues were out for now - the less that the children had to even think about USJ, the better - though that did leave open the option of open city combat. Many of the students in Class A had perfect Quirks for combat.

Though, he had better make a note for ground rules. The last thing he needed was another Bakugo incident.

The Symbol of Peace stopped in his musings as his phone rang out, "A PHONE CALL IS HERE!" Thank goodness no one was around. He checked the phone.

Midoriya!

Toshinori answered on the second ring.

“Hey kid, how goes training?” He asked, absentmindedly glancing at the clock. Quarter to ten, geez he’d been working a while.

Then a thought hit him. What on earth did the kid need him for at ten at night?

“A-actually,” Midoriya stuttered, “that’s what I wanted to call you about.”

Toshinori stopped leafing through the papers.

“What is it?” He asked, the conversation receiving his full attention, “Caught a snag with One for All?”

Even through the phone, Toshinori could hear the nervous shake in the kid’s voice.

“No not at all, everything’s fine!” He said. “I just, ah, wanted to show you something. You said that I should call you whenever I had a question about One for All, and I was hoping that you could give me some advice. Unless of course you’re solving a crime in which case it’s really not important-“

“Pump the breaks kid, it’s all right.” Toshinori said, holding back a little chuckle, “I’m sitting here, bored out of my mind. Frankly you’re giving me a break from all this school work and Sports Festival planning.”

“O-oh, I’m glad that I could help then!”

“Yeah yeah,” Toshinori said throwing on a jacket, “Head to the beach, I’ll see you there.”

“I-I’ll be there in a jiffy!” The kid said before the line cut off.

Toshinori rolled his eyes. Geez, kid must’ve found something if he wanted to show him of all people. Granted most kids liked showing off to their idols, but All Might didn’t think that’s what this was about.

Kid took his job as All Might’s successor too seriously. His willingness to train himself into the ground was proof of that. The memory made Toshinori go pale.

Oh crap, did he pull something stupid and get himself hurt again? Recovery Girl was going to kill him at this rate! Toshinori moved with a speed that that belied his skeletal form and jumped into his truck.

The drive down to the beach was quiet, eerily so. Not that his new neighborhood was bad, hell it was probably the safest end of the city. Had to be, the less people hiding in alleys ready to see him change forms, the better. It also didn’t hurt that he made a point to end his routes around here when he had the chance. Having All Might be known to hang around an area didn’t exactly give an open invitation to criminals. No, it was more like the whole city was holding its breath for the festival tomorrow. The best and brightest showing their stuff.

And Midoriya had something to show him the night before such as event.

He didn’t know if he should feel worried or proud. Proud felt more appropriate. Showed that the kid was making progress despite the attack. Good for him, he didn’t need something like that holding him back.

Toshinori pulled into the beachfront, the sands still as clear as they were when young Midoriya finished both his training and cleaning the mountain of trash. Even from the parking lot, Toshinori could see the kid, dressed in casual attire, pacing in the sands below. Climbing out, he saw that the kid was already in mutter mode.

“Got to imagine the egg getting cooked all over or else I could risk-”

“Working hard kid?” Toshinori asked. He was making word-salad heaps to himself all over again...

Young Midoriya nearly jumped out of his skin at Toshinori’s arrival.

“HI ALL-!”

Toshinori’s hand snapped over Midoriya’s mouth.

“Not so loud kid!” Toshinori shushed, finger to his lips “We’ve been over this!”

“Swory,” Midoriya mumbled, eyes wide.

Toshinori held in a sigh, this was going to be his whole night, wasn’t it?

“So what was so important? You sounded like you wanted to tell something big.”

“Oh right,” Midoriya said, “I-I think I’ve got something with One for All.”

Toshinori raised an eyebrow; so it was a breakthrough. That was good, but what was it? He focused, giving the green haired boy his full attention.

Then Midoriya lowered into a stance.

And he started to glow.

Not figuratively either. Lines of raw power arched across his skin, highlighting his arms and legs, with two lines framing his face. The air around him crackled with energy, and Toshinori could feel the barely restrained power of One For All begging to be let loose. But it wasn’t like the times during the Entrance Exam and the Battle Trial when Midoriya’s arm was glowing like the sun, this was… under control. Harnessed.

Toshinori never felt more proud of anything else in his life as a wide grin began to spread across his skeletal face.

He wondered, did Nana feel like this? Looking at him?

“Are you ok All Might?” Young Midoriya asked.

Toshinori blinked, when had the kid stopped using his power? Well, whatever, shaking his head, Toshinori let out a small chuckle and cracked a smile.

“Oh yeah don’t worry about me, just an old man letting his mind wander.”

Midoriya’s shoulders slumped, “You’re not that old, All Might.”

“We can trade lies all day,” Toshinori snorted, “But I got to say, that’s some progress that you’ve made, looks like you’re finally getting the hang of it. When did you figure this out?”

“J-just today, I was brainstorming with Parker early this morning and it just clicked.”

Huh, well, good for him.

“Well, guess miracles do happen,” Toshinori comments, “Could you try it again?”

Midoriya nodded and got back to powering up. It was quicker this time, showing a degree of control that wasn’t there before, and right when he needed it too. Lucky him.

Oh, who was he kidding? Getting a hang of One for All before when he really needed it was a godsend. Though, with his current limit he probably couldn’t do a whole lot.

Speaking of which, why hadn’t he moved?

Toshinori glanced over, and sure enough, Young Midoriya was still clenched in concentration.

“Ah, you doing alright there Midoriya?” Toshinori asked in concern.

A pain-filled nod came out of Midoriya.

“J-just trying to get used to it.”

Toshinori nodded and waited, but nothing came of it.

“Can you… move?”

Midoriya looked up but it looked like it cost him his soul.

“I-I think so.”

Toshinori nodded again, “So ah, you gonna… do that?”

“Yes I’ll-!” Midoriya declared.

Only for a sound like a rubber band snapping occur and for him to fall over in a huff. Toshinori winced, sand didn’t look like the best benchmark.

“Or I’ll just die.” Midoriya said from the ground.

“Hey hey hey,” Toshinori said, putting a hand on his student’s shoulder, “No need to go that far. It’s a good start, and it shows how far that you’ve come. You’re looking more and more like my successor everyday.”

Midoriya looked up with watering eyes. Geez this kid and his tear ducts.

“Oh god stop crying kid, you’re gonna ruin the moment. Now if I were you, I’d start training with your body under this control-state you got going. You’ve got over a week.” Toshinori then grinned wide. “Then you can announce ‘I Am Here’ to the world.”

His successor wiped away his tears, gave a determined smile and nodded.

(X)

The day before the Sports Festival...

Peter was at work in the studio with Mei, on the 3D Printer. Mei was busy with her new ‘babies’ that she was planning for the Festival, while Peter was working on creating new gadgets to use on the side. He wasn’t going to risk the suit he used back in Germany out in the field. Not until they got Karen out.

All at once his phone buzzed. Grabbing it, he checked it out. A new email!

‘Dear Peter Parker,

According to the specifications listed in the email you provided, along with the ability of the support gear in question, it has been evaluated by the committee overlooking the U.A. Sports Festival. We have given you the clear to utilize the ‘Web Shooters’ for the event. You may only use this piece of equipment, as it befits your ‘Spider’ Quirk.

If you have any questions, do not be afraid to contact us.

U.A. Sports Festival Evaluation Committee’

Peter beamed. The printer beeped as it finished its work; a refined and sleeker model of his web shooters. He put them on the workbench, and set to work with the parts he had created earlier. He had found he could work much faster in the studio than at home; even with his Stark-brand tools.

He grabbed a vial of his web formula and inserted it into the device. Putting the vial aside, Peter slapped the device onto his wrist as it slinked across, latching on and creating the spigot, trigger, cartridge, and light showing the web fluid’s stock. He aimed and gently activated the gadget, causing a line of web to shoot out and latch onto his thermos near the fridge. He pulled back, catching his thermos before taking a sip of water.

“Ohh!” Hatsume perked up, pausing to sip on a drink as she lifted up her goggles. She ran over, bending down to look at Peter’s wrist. “This is one of your babies isn’t it?”

“You could say that. Petition came through too, so I can use this at the Sports Festival.” He grinned back at the mad inventor. “Hope your ‘babies’ put on a good show too!”

“Hehe~” Hatsume chuckled, hand to her bosom as she posed. “My babies will make all the rich investors and companies go coocoo for Cocoa Puffs! You can rest easy there!”

“Can I see them?” She wagged her finger, grinning like a fox.

“Ah ah ah, not until the Festival. It would be a spoiler for you to see. Hehe~” The girl skipped back to her work station, welding together some boots after putting on a protective mask. Peter grinned and looked at his web shooter on his wrist. They needed a few more tweaks, getting the right PSI in the barrels, but they were almost done.

They were almost ready, and it was almost time.

(X)

That night...

Sweat dripped off his brow. He could barely see the training post in front of him. But still, he thrust, he kicked, he lashed out against the unmoving wood. Sad as he was to say, there was little to no technique in it. With his right side alone, the skillset of his opponents almost didn’t even matter. Yet he needed the speed and the sudden surprising burst of movement to direct his quirk at any opportunity.

Then the alarm sounded, and Shoto Todoroki dropped to the ground, only to force himself back up to his feet as fast as he could. The second he straightened, he stopped for a moment before dropping again. His arms burned, and his legs screamed for relief, but he gave no quarter.

After all, he couldn’t finish yet, he hadn’t even started training.

The alarm sounded, and Shoto thrust his right side against the dummy, flash-freezing it down to the core. He pulled his hand back, looked down to his left side and held back a scoff of disgust at the shivering present there.

Glancing down his family training dojo, he resigned himself to the number of dummies that stood frozen. Ten concentrated lines of ice before he began to feel the effects.

He would need more.

With the time that he had left, tonight would be the last time to truly push his limits.

And with another dozen posts, there was no time like the present.

He trotted over to the next post and reset the timer on his phone.

“Shoto?” his sister called.

Shoto held back a sigh, glancing to the edge of the field where his sister had seemingly popped out of the woodwork.

“Did you need something, Fuyumi?”

His older sister scratched her cheek nervously, hesitantly glancing back.

“It’s just… father’s returned from work.”

Shoto’s narrowed. He turned his attention back to the dummy and started the countdown.

“So?” he asked, striking at the top of the dummy.

“H-he wanted to speak to y-” Fuyumi jumped as the dummy was all but encased in ice.

Shoto slowly turned to her, his left side shaking from something other than the cold.

“So?” he repeated.

Fuyumi wilted under his gaze, and a twinge of guilt wormed its way into his chest. He turned around, stopping the timer on his phone before it could interrupt them.

“H-he’s adamant.”

“He has legs,” Shoto said bitterly, “If he wants to talk, he can walk here himself.”

“I also have ears, as much as I’m sure it pains you to hear.”

It took a herculean effort not to crush his phone or freeze it at the sound of that man’s voice. Turning around, he almost didn’t recognize the man that stood at the door of the dojo, as much of a blessing as that would be. The old man was still in his hero uniform, but without his mask and his flaming beard.

The two things that didn’t change were that flat look, and that judging glare.

As if he had the right to judge Shoto for anything.

“Fuyumi, get dinner finished, and have your brother help. Don’t wait for Shoto and I, we clearly have a lot to talk about.”
He didn’t even look at her as he spoke. The older hero must’ve seen the growing resentment, yet he simply waltzed into the dojo, experienced eyes looking over the training posts. He walked up to one, and with a single backhanded strike, shattered it into a million pieces. Shoto didn’t even let himself blink at the impact, he didn’t even move.

“Down to the core,” Enji stated, and if he were anyone else, Shoto might’ve thought he was impressed. “If you continue this foolishness, you’ll only diminish the usefulness of your fire.”

Shoto huffed, and what a shame that would be. Unfortunately, the old man noticed.

“Is there a particular reason why you’re insisting on this little rebellion of yours?”

“I already told you why,” Shoto all but growled.

“Oh yes,” Enji drawled, “You’ve made yourself quite clear. You’ll be a hero only using your right side.” The old hero barked out a harsh laugh, but there was no levity in his eyes. “Grow up. You’re not a child anymore, and all you’re doing is disgracing me and your family. Besides,” the old man reached into his pocket and pulled out a small slip of paper, “According to your records, your mother’s quirk isn’t worth the respect you’re giving it.”

The ground under Shoto froze, only stopping short of the man in front of him, the number two hero flaring his own quirk, melting the ice in an instant. His eyes burned with a heat revealing that fire, but his smarmy smile gave it a disgusting smugness that made Shoto, who glared venomously, want to vomit.

“What are you talking about?” The youngest Todoroki demanded.

Enji waved the piece of paper in his hands, “Your records from U.A, they reveal quite a different story than what you’re telling.”

Shoto’s clenched his fist, how the hell did he get those? The records weren’t supposed to be released until after the festival at the earliest.

“Don’t look so surprised,” Enji said, “Being the number two hero allows me many privileges, on top of being an alumnus. After the USJ attack, I thought it prudent to check in with how you’re doing, given your testimony.”

“How considerate of you.”

“Of course,” Enji scowled, “Despite what you feel, I am still your father, I have all the right to request to see the progress of my greatest creation.”

Shoto seethed, baring his teeth. That title. That little moniker that had been hanging over Shoto’s head for as long as he could remember. The thing that made this man raise him, barely knowing he had siblings.

The thing that made his mother…

Shoto’s eye burned, phantom memories searing through him. But even so, he didn’t give the man in front of him the satisfaction of thinking that he reacted to his words.

“I’m in the top five for all of my classes,” Shoto pointed out.

“Not good enough when it comes to your quirk assessment,” Enji countered, “Nor in your mock battles. As my son, being number one is expected.”

“It’s the beginning of the year,” Shoto said, but even he knew that was a weak argument.

“That’s no excuse and you know it!” Endeavor barked, “What the hell is this?!” He asked waving the print in his hands, “Losing to a heteromorphic quirk, to a mere ‘spider’ one, and a foreigner to boot! Is your rebellion really worth losing to an insect quirk? Losing to a nobody? This… Peter Parker?” He spat out the name like a curse.

Shoto counted to five in his head, closing his eyes.

It helped. Barely.

“Whatever report you got, it had to have had mentioned how I was without my partner, who was neutralized first, and I was against that spider and his partner by myself-“

“Excuses!” The ‘hero’ roared, “As a Todoroki, my son, an entire army is fair odds when it comes to battle! All of your teachers have commented on your refusal to use your left side! You may have been getting by using your right, but you will meet a brick wall sooner or later, as your confrontation with that foreigner classmate of yours in the Battle Trial showed.”

“They haven’t mentioned it to me,” Shoto bit back, gritting his teeth.

Enji huffed, “Bunch of cowards, you’re their student, and if you’re doing something so stupid that even they notice they should inform you. At least your homeroom teacher has enough sense. According to him, your rebellion is hindering your growth in all areas. If you used it, there’s no reason you shouldn’t be at the top of all of your classes, if not your entire grade.”

Enji crushed the report into ash, letting the flakes fall to the ground, all the while keeping his stare sorely focused on Shoto.

For a long moment, neither of them said a word. Shoto didn’t blink under the gaze, despite the power that his father held, this was nothing. Just a tired, bitter old man who couldn’t achieve the rank of number one projecting onto a child that didn’t choose to be here.

And what was worse, it was at moments like these that he actually looked like he was proud of Shoto. The fact that he could meet his gaze without backing down anymore, that of all things brought some pride to Enji’s eyes. That his son had a spine.

“However, with the festival coming up, you have an opportunity to make up for your mistakes.”

Shoto rolled his eyes, turning back to the posts.

“I don’t need you to tell me to win. I was going to do that regardless.”

“And I expect nothing less,” The old man said, “Looking through your competition, there should be little standing in your way. However, the events of the festival are designed to hinder and challenge all quirks, even one like yours. So for now,” Shoto glanced around, and was met with another stack of paper, “You have homework.”

Shoto gave the paper a half glance, only to level a flat look at the hero in front of him.

“And this is?”

“The previous events for the festival,” Enji explained, “Worthless competition or not, you would do best to familiarize yourself with what could occur. To prepare for what may come.”

“I thought you wanted me to win by myself?” Shoto asked, his voice a tone that he didn’t feel.

“I said I expect nothing less than victory from you,” The old man clarified with a huff, “But even I don’t go into a situation blind. To do so is foolishness.”

Shoto’s eyes narrowed and Enji only smirked.

“Consider this a gift, one of many that I’ve given you.”

There was a moment of complete calm as Shoto reaches out and took the offered stack of paper with his left side. He saw the cover of the paper, dating the events from when Enji himself was going through U.A. as a student.

A gift he had called it.

Then Shoto stared right at him before willing his left side to burn the papers to ash. Enji’s smouldering glare intensified, the minute pride that he had in Shoto’s resolve gone like the wind.

“I don’t need your gifts,” Shoto declared, shaking his hand as he tossed away the cinders. “Just like how I don’t need you.”

“So you squander it just like all the others,” Enji sneered, his voice a barely restrained calm as his green eyes burned with a silent rage.

He turned around, his massive grip burning his fingers into the door, “The festival is the last time that you’ll be allowed to continue this little rebellion of yours, do I make myself clear? If you continue this… You will not want to see the consequences.”

Shoto didn’t answer, but then again, they both knew that he wouldn’t. So the so-called hero left, leaving Shoto alone with a slam of the sliding door. He heard Endeavor’s heavy footfalls as he left this wing of the compound, not even bothering to say goodbye to his own daughter. So much for a family dinner.

Good riddance.

He was calm for a second, then he lashed out with a grunt, a smoking hand smashing through the closest straw dummy.

Weak ice, it needed to be denser, it needed to be better. It had to be. He couldn’t prove that man right.

His ice would be sufficient, Shoto promised that. He was going to win the festival, no matter who stood in his way or who had the eye of the greater hero.

And he would do it all without that quirk.

He didn’t need him. Shoto would show Endeavor that he didn’t need to be present in his life. Shoto would manage on his own.

Just so he could show just how worthless the old man’s little desire was to him.

If he had to trample over his fellow students to do it…

“So be it.” Shoto hissed, and he fired an ice spear, piercing several dummies as he about-faced, visage locked in a scowl as he prepared to turn in for the night.

If anyone saw him go, they would noticed how the look in his eyes was just like Endeavor’s, simmering with self-destructive fury.

Chapter Text

That morning

Within the confines of his bedroom, Izuku took a deep breath.

He conjured One for All, feeling the surge of power as he pictured the image in his head.
Every morning, every evening, every night; in his room, or in a bathroom stall at U.A.; he had carried out this ritual. He could have used the Battle Centres at U.A.; but he wanted this to be a surprise.

First a simple workout; pushups and pullups, and some situps, his body glowing green with the exertion. This done, he pulled on his running fatigues. It was 05:00, and with the start of the Sports Festival at noon, the First Year class was not due on campus until 09:00. That left him a good hour before breakfast.

Izuku slipped out of the apartment, quietly so as not to wake his mother, and headed for Dagoba Beach. The beach was deserted, as it usually was so early in the morning; the lifeguard towers marking his morning run.

Izuku dropped into a starting crouch. He felt his power wash over him, the red lines surging and fading as green lightning crackled over him.

He can do this!

“One for All… Five Percent!”

He took off in a run, a sandstorm erupting behind his pounding feet. He had mastered it! He was moving!

He tripped on some sand, and fell, rolling over and over until he halted in a tangled heap.

Izuku’s head popped out of the dune. He coughed, spitting out sand.

“Okay…” He stood up, groaning as he patted himself, getting the sand off of him. The boy took a deep breath and channelled his power.

It’s like learning how to ride a bike. Just got to get used to it.

(X)

“What do you mean I have to be outside security!?” Yu shrieked.

Then she faltered, glancing at the door of her room. Two inches of wood wasn’t much to block the sound, and she just promised Peter that she was going to be quiet so he could finish his speech.

She was looking forward to it. Peter was getting to throw out an awesome opening statement for the world to hear! And Shinji thought that Peter wasn’t going anywhere until he was at least a second year. HA!

Speaking of her wood-using colleague, Yu heard a groan from the other end of the line.

“We’ve been over this Yu,” Shinji sighed, “These are direct orders from the U.A faculty and the chief of police. The decision has been made.”

“It’s a stupid decision! And I’m calling you to correct it! Put Fukuda on the line!”

There was a bang on the other end of the line, no doubt Shinji finally giving into Yu’s demands!

“No.”

Or not.

Yu pouted, even though the man couldn’t see it.

“Can I at least have a break when Peter comes on?”

“I don’t know, maybe,” Shinji said, “You’ll have to take it up with Death Arms, he’s the one in charge of your unit.”

Yu hummed, “So you’re saying there’s a chance.”

“... goodbye Takeyama.”

“No wait!” Yu shrieked, but the line cut off.

Yu glared at the phone in her hand. That jerk! Just one small favor, was that too much to ask? Oh well, it’s not all lost. There was still Death Arms.

Who she’s never really gotten the chance to talk to… oh boy.

Well, Yu will deal with that when she gets to the arena. Speaking of that, she’d better get moving. Last thing she needed to be was late, even if it was the worst job there.

“Peter,” Yu called, “Are you all set?”

There was a pause, and Yu could’ve swore she heard something fall from the other room.

“Y-Yeah!”

Yu frowned, that didn’t sound too confident.

“You have your uniform?” She asked, slipping her mask over her eyes.

“I’m wearing it,” Peter replied, wearing his red, white and blue U.A. PE suit.

Smartass.

“Your web shooters?” Yu pushed, even as she checked her makeup in the mirror. She’d need to get new eyeliner soon, this fade was not working for her anymore.

“I’m getting those at the arena!”

Yu blinked, “why?”

“Something about no last minute changes,” Peter replied.

Huh, makes sense. Taking one last look, Yu figured she was at least passable if not above average for the reporters there. Even if everyone’s attention should be on the kids, a little shot here and there wouldn’t be too much to ask.

“Well you should finish up we’re about to…” her voice trailed off as she actually got a look at Peter.

The boy was nose deep in a script that had been sitting on the kitchen table for days now.

As the student with the highest score in the practical, Peter was obligated to represent the first years in the opening ceremony. At first, Yu had winced at the news. Peter never struck her as the speech-giving type, and in front of pretty much every able bodied person in Japan watching, it would only make it worse.

Instead he seemed… oddly okay with it. Sure he was shaking up a storm when he got the news, but after the initial shock wore off, he started writing. Apparently he had some idea what he should say.

Which was good, because Yu hadn’t a clue.

“You okay Peter?” she asked.

The boy glanced up, his free hand gripping the table for support.

“I’m good, I’m good,” Peter said, “Just… trying to get the words down.”

“Nervous?” Yu asked.

Peter nodded, his head shaking like a bobble head.

“Yeah but it’s not like it’ll be that bad. I’m just messing up in front of… everyone… oh boy.”

“Don’t worry about it!” Yu said quickly, “Just ah, take a deep breath before you start! Yeah, deep breath.”

Peter glanced up, giving her a questioning look that made the heroine wilt.

“I don’t know,” she admitted, “They didn’t have speech class when I was in school ok!”

“They didn’t have it when I was going through either,” Peter pointed out.

Yu felt her smile dip, “But you’re fine.”

Peter chuckled nervously, but he clearly didn’t believe her. Pouting a little, she walked up and gave his hair a quick rough shake. He reacted instantly, almost before her hand even touched his hair. Yu smirked, and attacked with her other hand, forcing Peter to go on the defensive. He could’ve shoved her back, she knew that, but Peter just tried to swat her hands aside, barely containing a stupid laugh as he did so.

“Knock it off,” Peter chuckled lightly.

“Only when you stop being a sourpuss,” Yu responded, reaching for his head once more.

She couldn’t get it, and when she finally stopped, she winked at him.

“It’s just a little speech. Barely take a minute, and hey, you can just imagine you’re All Might.”

“All Might?” Peter repeated.

“Yeah, you know, all smiles, puffed up chest, just look confident and you’ll make it work,” Yu said.

She jerked her head, “Now come on, I gotta be there early for security so your heading over soon too.”

“Ok ok I’m coming,” Peter grumbled, but even as he rolled his eyes, he couldn’t stop the smirk spreading across his face.

And that’s what Yu was hoping for. A big old smile from the best in class 1 A. That’s what Peter needed to be today.

It’s what he was going to be.

“Just remember to knock um dead Peter,” Yu reminded.

“I ah, don’t think I should.”

“Well, not with that attitude.”

(X)

Everyone in the locker room was on edge. Peter could sense it as he walked in. His web shooters, approved by the Evaluation Committee, were waiting for him. Tenya was trying to get everyone ready, but no one was listening. Enjiro and Ojiro were stretching, readying themselves for the trials to come. Izuku muttered to himself as he flipped through a notebook.

As much as Peter felt sorry for Tenya, he still had to get ready himself. Now, where was that locker?

He scanned the walls till he found locker number 19. Opening up, Peter couldn’t help but smile at the box waiting for him, and that grin only grew when he saw the twin set of launchers underneath.

Clasping them over his wrist, Peter flicked the activation switch, sending a few test shots of webbing into the locker. So far so good.

“Ready for the big show there Ace?”

Peter rolled his eyes for show, grinning at the brawler as he approached with Mina by his side.

“Ah… sort of,” Peter said, holding up a hand.

Eijiro high fived him before Mina could even get a word in. The pinkette pouted for a moment before brightening up.

“I can’t wait! This is going to be the best day ever!” Mina declared, gripping her fists and almost bouncing on her feet.

Peter laughed nervously, what he wouldn’t give to have her confidence.

“It certainly will be memorable,” Momo said. She looked pretty shaken herself, but she kept up a small grin to boost her confidence.

“Yeah, let’s do our best, right Midoriya?” Eijiro asked, blinking when he saw the state of the poor boy.

His eyes scanned through the pages of his notebook, flipping through the pages at an increasingly fast rate. He was still mumbling to himself too...

“Does he even stop to breath?” Peter asked, watching the stream of mumbles coming out of the green haired boy.

“Uh, Midoriya,” Ejiro said, shaking him.

Midoriya shrieked, nearly dropping his notebook.

“Oh, Kirishima,” Midoriya chirped, fumbling his notebook behind him.

“You okay man?” Peter asked.

“Me? Oh yeah, I’m fine.”

“You sure? You look like Parker,” Mina said.

Said American blinked. “Wait, what do I look like?”

Mina paused, thrown by the retort.

“You look like you’re late to Mr Aizawa’s class,” she said, a megawatt grin spreading across her face. She shot Peter at thumbs up.

“I…didn’t think it was that bad,” commented Peter sourly.

“You’re not,” Momo pointed out, “This is a stressful situation for everyone.”

“Y-yeah,” Peter said, “Just listen to Momo, Midoriya, you’re not the only-”

“Midoriya.”

Peter stopped, watching as Shoto approached, glaring down at Izuku. The room fell silent, all eyes upon him as he passed. He shot Peter a scathing look, which only made the American blink.

What did he do?

“What is it Todoroki?”

Shoto focused back on Midoriya, causing the boy to shrink under his gaze.

“Objectively speaking, I’m better than you.”

Peter blinked, and he glanced at Momo who looked just as confused. What had brought all this on?

“However,” Todoroki stressed, “All Might’s got his eye on you. I don’t know why, but I don’t care. Doesn’t matter that you have his attention,” he stopped, his stare switching to Peter for a second, “Or whatever bumbling fool is distracting everyone else, because I will beat you.”

The room went silent, everyone staring at Shoto in varying degrees of disbelief. Denki was the first to break the silence.

“Holy crap, we throwing out declarations of war!?”

“Hey man, what’s the big deal?” Eijiro said, putting a hand on Shoto’s shoulder, “Why’re you picking a figh-”

Shoto shrugged him off, throwing the brawler a glare.

“I don’t care,” Shoto said, his words as cold as his quirk, “I’m here to be the best, not to make friends.”

“You feel like that all you want man,” Peter said, “But you think you could spread your quirk and chill out a little?”

Next to him, Mina stifled a laugh, and Momo sighed. The pale-haired boy narrowed his eyes as he focused on Peter.

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, Parker,” Shoto retorted, “But this is serious.”

Peter stepped back, holding up his hands to placate Shoto, smiling uneasily.

“Sorry, I have a bad habit of making jokes in tense situations.”

The ice-user lightly rolled his eyes.

“Todoroki.”

It was Izuku. Shoto turned towards him, the rest of the class doing likewise. Izuku’s hands were shaking, and his eyes were glued to the floor.

“I don’t know why you felt the need to say that. You’re clearly better than me, and I can’t really compare to most people here.”

His eyes darted upwards, taking nervous glances at Shoto, Bakugo sitting in the background, and even Peter.

“But, I’m not going to just stand here and let you take the top,” Izuku declared, looking up and staring down one of the strongest in their class.

And he wasn’t shaking.

“I’m not gonna hold back. I’m going for the top too.”

Shoto’s eyes narrowed, and he answered with the slightest of nods. The two boys stared each other down, the air so thick that Peter had to swallow the block of ice that found its way into his throat.

“This is getting really intense,” Peter whispered.

Next to him, Momo shifted, but she nodded her agreement.

“No kidding, and it’s almost time to go out,” Mina said.

Peter grimaced slightly at the reminder and looked down at the speech folded up in his hand.

“Okay everyone, let’s look alive! Let’s act as professional and hero-like as can be!” Tenya shouted as he waved his arms, relieving the tension in the locker room.

Peter stood up, pocketing his speech and walking over to Momo. “You ready?”

The black haired girl nodded and turned towards the class.

“Everyone remember the walkthrough this morning. We line up based on our seating chart. The world is watching us, let’s put our best foot forward!” Momo stated, hands on her hips. She gave a light smile.

“Alright, just breath easy, smile and wave to the crowd.” Peter laughed, shaking his shoulders. “Helps when dealing with lots of people looking at you.” He would know, as he would do that back in Queens when doing Spider-Man things. Now? Doesn’t have the mask. He gestured with his hand, and he and Momo began walking towards the door.

“Taking charge? As expected of our Class Reps!” declared Eijiro with a grin, as he and the rest of the class followed suit, leaving their lockers and following the American out of the room. Momo and Izuku walked by his side. Tenya marched to the left, while Bakugo and Todoroki were in the rear with the rest of the students following behind the two leaders.

They strode out of the locker room, everyone silent as they began to get prepare for the roar of the audience within the massive stadium.

“You okay?” Peter asked under his breath in English, looking towards Momo. The girl noticed and the boy blushed. “Sorry, fell into English.”

“It’s alright, I’m a little nervous too but…”

She paused, and looked away, a strange awkwardness coming over her.

“Let’s do our best to support each other and win.” She forced herself to look at him, and smiled. The American blinked and grinned a little back.

“Yeah. You said it.” He felt a tapping on his shoulder, and glanced back to see Izuku there. He wasn’t eavesdropping was he?

“Yeah Midori?” Peter asked in Japanese.

“Parker-san....” Izuku replied. “Thank you again for helping, but... “

A daredevil smiled flashed across his face.

“If we’re meant to go against each other, I’m not gonna hold back, even if you did help get my power under control.”

Momo smiled back, confidence bouncing off her as Peter turned towards her.

“You helped him?” she asked in English. Peter shrugged with a wry smile.

“When you got a friend in need…” he mused in his native tongue, then turned back to Izuku.

“If you say that, then I guess I won’t pull my punches either.”

Peter winked. Izuku grinned, nodding.

They entered the tunnel, the roar of the crowd dulled by the concrete and steel, the bright light of the stadium floor dead ahead. The ex-Avenger took a deep breath.

“Alright.” Peter patted his cheeks, “Let’s do this.”

They walked out, the roar of the crowd hitting Peter like a hammer as he stepped into the sunlight.

“WELCOME EVERYONE ONE AND ALL TO THE U.A. SPORTS FESTIVAL, WHERE ONCE A YEAR YOU GET TO SEE OUR HEROES IN TRAINING DUKE IT OUT FOR FAME, GLORY, AND A CHANCE TO IMPRESS THE BEST OF THE REST!”

Peter looked around and gulped lightly, biting his tongue. Good lord… there was so many people! He’d seen big crowds in Manhattan, but never like this! This had to be what superstar athletes felt like.

“Be cool… act like LeBron... Be chill like Steph…” Peter muttered to himself in English. Momo quirked an eyebrow over his way.

“I’m sorry, but what was that?” She asked. The brown haired boy perked up and laughed.

“Oh! Just some role models I know back home. Hehe.” Peter rubbed the back of his head before coughing into his hand. “Okay, gameface now.”

“FOR THOSE WHO DON’T KNOW ME I AM YOUR HOST AND MC OF THE FIRST YEAR CIRCUIT, PRESENT MIC! JOINING ME FOR COLOR COMMENTARY IS MUMMYZAWA! ALSO KNOWN AS ERASERHEAD!”

“Why did I come here…” muttered the voice of Aizawa. Peter looked back, and he saw Denki, Mina, and Sero fighting to stifle their laughter.

“THIS YEAR’S FIRST YEAR CROP OF HERO PROSPECTS MIGHT BE THE BEST IN A LONG WHILE! YOU KNOW’EM, YOU LOVE’EM! THEY FOUGHT THE BAD GUYS AND DEFENDED OUR CAMPUS! GIVE IT UP FOR THE HERO COURSE’S CLASS 1-A!!!”

The cheers somehow got even louder; a deafening cry that made Peter wince. He’d seen plenty of loud crowds in stadiums back home, but this was ridiculous.

“Man, talk about Mic-sensei being a hype man.” Denki stated, looking off bashfully. Peter nodded, this was getting overboard for his liking.

Though, Todoroki didn’t seem to mind it, and Eijiro grinned confidently.

“I’m getting pumped up now!” the brawler declared.

“To think all these people and news outlets are more interested in us for what we went through. It’s kind of messed up…” Ojiro said awkwardly.

“It’s like with being in a rock band, the more controversy, the more eyeballs.” Kyoka answered as she glanced from side to side, inspecting the crowds.

“So many people…” Izuku stammered, biting his lip as he waved. Peter took a deep breath, focusing dead ahead as he tried to focus. He had to look strong and cool for his classmates.

“Don’t worry about it Midoriya, Ace here is taking it in stride.” Eijiro patted the green haired boy on the back, pointing at Peter. Peter looked back, waving as he let out a nervous smile.

“Or he’s just as nervous as the rest of us.” Jirou muttered. Peter closed his eyes and turned forward.

Dangit! So much for acting like a cool and chill NBA Superstar! He felt Momo pat him on the shoulder in assurance.

“AND HERE ARE THE REST OF THE FIRST YEAR CLASSES! FROM THE HERO COURSE, CLASS B!”

Peter turned, and saw yet more students advance from the tunnels. The nearst was Class 1-B, with Pony in the lead; glancing around in clear awe. Setsuna was grinning and noticed, waving back at him; he returned the favor. He saw Kendo and Tetsutetsu, and Monoma as well, who seemed to give him a sly sideways glance.

“FOLLOWING UP ARE CLASSES C, D, AND E FROM GENERAL EDUCATION!”

Peter saw the larger group of students walking forth, and from the crowd he spotted that purple haired boy who made his declaration of war the other day. It didn’t help matters that Bakugo seemed to throw gasoline into the fire. But Bakugo was beyond saving anyway.

“NEXT FROM THE SUPPORT COURSE, ARE CLASSES F, G, AND H!”

From the other throng of students, Peter could just barely make out Hatsume walking out in her gear and couldn’t help but grin. He couldn’t wait to see her gadgets in action! He tuned out the rest of the Business Course as he got to the allotted station for Class A, all the students forming up based on seating chart. He stood by Izuku, Momo, Todoroki and Bakugo.

(X)

On the edge of the audience, the Flame Hero Endeavor looked down as he saw the foreign brat lead Class A. He narrowed his eyes.

“So that’s him. The Spider” he muttered, arms crossed. Shoto had better surpass him and use his gift. If he failed, he should at the very least do so utilizing his firepower.

This was his first shot. To declare to the world that the Son of Endeavor was to be the pinnacle of this grade class, no, the peak of this generation. To be the one who would surpass All Might and knock him from his mountain. No king rules forever, as the old saying goes.

Shoto would have to change. He would have to abandon his foolish pride, and stop squandering his gifts, the gifts he had given him. A fine mind, a heart of steel, and a thousand and one ways to use his ice. If only he would put the same effort into his fire! Third years with work-study experience would be as nothing!

For some… no-name nobody from nowhere to beat Shoto…

Enji shook his head. No need for bad memories. His youngest son had been fighting with one hand tied behind his back. On purpose.

His crossed arms tightened as he glared down at his rebellious son. The son who was everything he had ever dreamed of, yet seemed so bent on defying him. Today it would end. It had to end.

The Todoroki Family had no room for fools who deluded themselves.

(X)

“Alright, are we nice and comfy boys and girls!” Midnight declared as she swung her pom-pom… whip… thingy around. The R-Rated Hero beamed under the lights as many students, mostly those of the unfair sex, gawked in awe and lust.

“Why’s Midnight still in her hero costume?” asked Peter, his cheeks almost the colour of his old costume. He turned, seeing Momo looking at him.

“Sorry it’s-”

He expected her to snap at him, or roll her eyes. Instead she laughed.

“It’s alright. That’s our confident sensei.”

Did Momo not get it? Or was she viewing this from a different angle?

Peter blinked and shrugged. Kayama Nemuri was a good friend of Yu’s. His guardian had told him of how she helped her through school, and took her on as an intern. What she did at Midnight’s firm, Yu had not said. Peter got the impression it was something best left unsaid.

She was a good Art teacher though. A bit too… teasing for one. Sero had a hard time focusing in that class.

“Last year it was Snipe. Guess they change it up…” Izuku nodded awkwardly.

“Is it even okay for a teacher to wear that in a school event?” Tokoyami asked.

“Silence!” demanded Midnight, cracking her whip. The students snapped to attention.

“Now, the Grade Representative to give the Student Pledge for the First Years is Peter Parker! Come on up!”

Peter took a deep breath, exhaling deeply as he felt his heart clench. His speech was in his pocket? He patted it. Good, still there.

“Wait how did the Red Shirt get the pledge?!” Bakugo barked.

“Parker got first on the Entrance Exam in total score in our grade.” Todoroki stated, looking over at the blonde. “So he’s our rep.” Bakugo scoffed and looked away.

Peter walked up the steps, and time seemed to slow down as he tried to remember his speech. How he got here to this point, what had to happened to get here…

He drew in a long, slow breath, and then another, slowing his hammering heart, as he strode to the centre of the stage. Midnight offered him the mic.

“Go on ahead,” she said, smiling warmly as she stepped aside. Peter took up position, and the entire stadium seemed to focus on him; thousands of eyes staring down at that one single spot.

The envious and disillusioned stares from General Education Department. His Hero Course peers. The Support Course eager to hear from the Mad Witch’s bestie.

Peter looked down, closed his eyes and took one more deep breath.

“All right, here we go…” He spoke in Japanese, thinking each word through. The world was watching. Like Mr. Aizawa said, make this opportunity count.

“So, where do we begin?” Peter asked. He took a breath, looking down and remembering everything that led him here. The good times with Yu and his new friends…

Yet he came here because of how he died.

There is so much attention because he was in an incident where he almost died. Again. He reopened his eyes.

“There have been a lot of rumors about our year out there from the news, from within U.A.” Peter said, his voice ringing with a confidence he barely felt. He was just trying to remember the speech, remember the next word.

“Whatever you heard, the truth is that we’re not here just for ourselves. Every one of us has a mentor that they look up to, a parent, or a friend. We’re here to make them proud, and to show that it wasn’t just favours or talents that got us here.”

The entire stadium went quiet, eager to listen. That was his hook.

Deep breath, and say it. He had this.

“U.A has given us the chance to help everyone we can, to serve our communities and save others from danger and misfortune, and we’re not going to let any of you down. It’s our responsibility, our duty, to ensure that we rise to the occasion and surpass those who came before us. At least, that’s how many of us see it.”

His tone turned somber.

“Because for those of us to have gotten to this point, to this stage in our lives, sacrifices had to been made.” Peter paused, looking out to the crowd. “Reality…”

He bit his lower lip and rubbed his eye, trying to find the right words.

“…s not what we want most of the time.” He turned his speech over, seeing how a silence has fallen over the crowd. Peter had their complete attention.

“It is easy to sail when winds and waters are kind. Life isn’t fair most of the time though. Sometimes the waters are uncontrollable. Sometimes the winds too hard, or none come at all and you’re stuck. The only thing you can do, is adapt, move forward, and survive.” He pocketed his speech.

“We all have a responsibility to those who came before us, the ones who we admire.”

He paused.

“We owe to them for helping us get here, and to not give it our all in living up to their ideals would be to let them down. That is what we must do in these rough times. Live up to the ideals of our idols. Surpass them, outdo them, go above and beyond. “

Peter leaned into the microphone.

“May the best thrive. Go beyond, Plus Ultra.” He stepped back and bowed in respect. “Thank you very much.”

Silence. More silence. Did they hate it? Had he just made a complete fool of himself?

Then he heard it. Clapping. Just the one, and then another, and more and more. It was coming from among the students, and then it spread. Soon the whole grade was applauding; not with wild enthusiasm, but not just forcing it either. A respectful response, to a respectable speech.

Peter bowed again. It was done, over with.

Next to him, Midnight gave a polite clap and gestured towards the grounds.

“Well said Parker.” She spoke with sincerity.

Peter stepped off the stage to the awaiting claps of his peers. He offered a small smile as he got to his spot.

(X)

Well now, that was certainly something.

Shouta focused on Peter as he made his speech. The fighting clown of his class was being uncharacteristically serious.

“He’s actually taking this seriously,” he muttered to himself, away from the mic.

“WHAT A WAY TO KICKSTART THIS SPORTS FESTIVAL! AS EXPECTED OF THE FIRST YEAR PHENOM WHO HAS TURNED HEADS HERE! GIVE IT UP FOR PETER PARKER!

Shouta sighed, glaring at Hizashi a look. He wished he had a volume button; or failing that, a pair of ear plugs.

But no mistake, Parker had changed. He wasn’t nervous, or cracking jokes. He was actually taking this seriously.

He leaned forward in his seat, watching closely.

(X)

“That… sounded a little more somber than I thought” Shinji said, with his arms crossed. He glanced at his colleague, Mt Lady. She was staring up at the screen, munching on some dango she had finagled from a nearby vendor.

Then again, her ward had been in the hospital. It must have given him some perspective.

“You gonna be alright Takeyama?” Shinji asked, and Takeyama perked up.

“Oh, uh, I’ll be fine. Just, Peter’s doing his best for his peers is all!” She shot him a broad smile.

“Whatever you say. Finish that up. We got a job to focus on.” The mild concern in her eyes vanished as she rolled her eyes and finished her dango sticks.

“Fine fine… oh! A Meatbun stand! And the server is…”

Shinji followed her eyes, seeing some college kid serving meat buns and his hand met his helmet.

(X)

“Hnn, that was Peter Parker huh?” Shinso Hitoshi mused aloud as he finished clapping, standing amongst his fellow students in the General Education Department. He saw the foreigner walk back to his Class A cohorts and get back in line, hands in pockets.

He seemed focussed, more so than Shinso had expected. Maybe he wouldn’t be such an easy mark after all.

That said, Parker seemed nice enough. He wasn’t that blond asshat or the green haired dweeb. He did give a good speech.

Well, it was high time to make his reality how he wants it.

Hitoshi made a mental note and began to scope out his class, recalling some of the more belligerent boys. One little insult and they’d blow their top, and smooth sailing from there.

The purple haired boy couldn’t help but grin.

(X)

As Parker walked past, Izuku saw him take his place. That didn’t sound like the happy and encouraging Peter Parker who helped him on the beach, or the one who encouraged him. He said some serious words to help motivate the class, but for some reason, Parker was looking at the ground. His eyes were… off. As if he was looking off into a far off place, not here at this loud stadium.

He had seemed almost forlorn, as if speaking at a funeral. What could be going through his head?

Izuku gripped his fists, taking a deep breath and focusing forward at Midnight-sensei. As much as he wanted to congratulate Peter on his speech, he had to focus now.

He took a deep breath, looking up to the skyboxes far above, trying to make out All Might’s yellow pinstripe suit.

It was close. It was almost time for him to make his declaration to the world.

Midoriya Izuku is here!

(X)

“Alright then! With that being said, we can proceed with the first event!” Midnight declared, twirling her whip. Behind her, a massive Holographic screen appeared; the words PRELIMINARY EVENT at the top. The middle of the screen begin to spin like a slot machine.

“The first event is what weeds out the pretenders from the contenders, so, what could it be?”

She smirked, playing it up to the audience as the screen continued spinning. Peter patted his pockets. Web shooters were still in there. Good.

“Now then, our Preliminary Event of the First Year Grade Sports Festival is!” Midnight posed, pointing towards the screen as it stopped. “This!”

OBSTACLE RACE.

Self-explanatory. A race involving an obstacle course. Peter took a deep breath, and he felt a pat on his shoulder.

“That was a good speech Parker.” Momo murmured in English. “You ready?”

Peter chuckled softly. He didn’t want to worry her, but it felt…good somehow.

“I’m fine. No worries.” The speech had brought back memories, a lot of memories. His friends didn’t need to know about them.

“Now then!” Midnight’s voice made the two Class Reps pause. “As the title implies, you will be taking part in a race involving all the classes within your grade! The race is four kilometers long, taking you around the stadium and outside of the vendor grounds! You’ll find many obstacles which you must overcome! Anything goes as long as long as you remain inside the race track!”

The black haired vixen grinned a confident grin.

“And no lethal moves, which goes without saying! If you get knocked off the course, you’re disqualified! Students, take your places by the front gate!”

She pointed over to the side of the field. There stood a massive gate, with three red lights set overhead, leading to a tunnel heading out of the stadium. Peter fingered his webshooters as he and the other students headed for the starting position.

This was it.

“Alright then my little ones, one your marks!”

The first red light faded. Many heroes were watching. His class was here. He was their deputy rep. He had a duty to fulfil.

All of the more the reason to come out of this on top. To not leave any doubt. To never lose.

“Get set!”

One light left. Peter slapped the web shooters onto his wrists, feeling the familiar sensation of them wrapping around. He didn’t hear anything as he bent down, hands on the ground as he dropped into a sprinter’s crouch. The students crowded around, trying to get as close to the front line as possible.

He felt his fingers dig into the grass. His muscles tensed up as he closed his eyes. He felt the familiar goosebumps, and he lifted his head, eyes sharp as steel.

They were darker than usual. Like a spider’s.

The light turned green.

“GO!”

The mob of students erupted, yelling as they charged into the tunnel. Peter leapt, flying over the crowd and flinging out his hands. He fired, his webs flashing out and hitting the walls of the tunnel. With one pull, he propelled himself over the mob and into the tunnel.

He hit the ground and ran. Never, not in all his life, had he run so fast. He could hear the students behind him, yelling in anger and frustration as the mass of bodies was stuck fast; wedged in the tunnel.

Peter saw movement up ahead; just a twitch, but it was there. Before him was the dirt track, flanked by trees. He saw the movements again, as something burst from the foliage.

“TARGET ACQUIRED. DESTROY.”

Robots rolled onto the track; One, Two, and Three Pointers. Peter ducked under a One Pointer’s swipe, then spun on his heel and lashed out with a kick. It tore the robot in two, and Peter landed and ran, his legs like a blur as he raced through the robot platoon.

Platforms rose ahead of him, but Peter paid them no heed. Focus on the race.

On one of the platforms stood a giant Zero Pointer Robot, its many red irises focusing in on Peter. Peter gritted his teeth, and fired his web at the head. He saw the behemoth move an arm, its fist flashing down towards him.

He heard Present Mic yell something, but Peter heard nothing as he soared towards the behemoth’s head, twirling like a drill in mid-air. He punctured the giant, tearing through its mighty head and flying out the other side, in a cloud of wires and metal fragments.

As Peter fell, he could hear the robot groan and begin to topple. He fired off his web, felt it latch on something, and pulled himself towards the track.

He tumbled, landed on his feet, and broke into a sprint, his feet falling so hard that the ground erupted beneath them.

“LOOK AT HIM GO! PARKER HAS CLEARED THE ROBO INFERNO! HE’S LIKE A CHEETAH OUT THERE!” Present Mic yelled.

Peter pressed on, veering towards the left edge of the track. It was something he had picked up watching the horse races with Aunt May. Hug the wall, and cut off anyone behind you.

“BUT BE CAREFUL! THE NEXT OBSTACLE FOR PARKER IS THE FAAAALL! YOU HIT ROCK BOTTOM, YOU’RE OUT!”

Peter saw the trees part, and just beyond was a vast ravine, filled with spires and connecting cords. He let out his breath, and sprinted onward, straight towards the ravine.

“HE’S STILL GOING! IS HE GONNA JUMP!?”

Peter launched, flying over the spires and platforms, legs together and arms outstretched like an Olympic diver; or that blonde kid from that rescue mouse movie he saw as a kid.

“HE DIIIIIIID!!!” Mic howled.

Peter felt himself slowing, beginning to fall. He reached out with one arm, loosing a stream of web at one of the spires. It hit, and he fell into the swing, feeling the web pull taught as it took his weight. He could see the bottom, with its jelly and red lasers. For a moment he thought he would fall, that he had misjudged the angle.

But he hadn’t. The swing was carrying him up, and up; up through the canyon, until he felt the web draw level was like being back in New York again; swinging on the Brooklyn Bridge, and through Manhattan, the wind on his masked face, and the sky bright above him.

He cut off the web, letting momentum carry him up into the sky. As he felt himself reach the apogee, he glanced down. He was two thirds of the way across the ravine. He could do this!

“HE’S BACK OUUUUUUT! THE SPIDER OF U.A. IS ON A TEAR!”

Peter exhaled, forcing down the euphoria lest it distract him. He fired his webs, this time at the trees lining the gorge. With a mighty pull he launched himself towards them, and landed in tumble amid their roots.

No time to lie around. He leapt to his feet and broke again into a sprint, not even bothering to brush away the dirt.

He inhaled, as the track curled away in a massive curve. This felt like the last leg of the race. Two obstacles? No, three since the entry gate was one…

Exhale. He could see the tree line thinning as he veered from the left edge of the track to the middle. The next obstacle was ahead.

An open dirt field.

Seriously?

Peter felt his spine tingle, and he leapt into the air. He could see the field below, and the billboards that lined it; the billboard with the huge skulls and the cartoon explosions.

A minefield.

A nonlethal one, obviously; but still troublesome for a student.

He wasn’t like most students though.

Peter landed on the ground, and let out a breath. The tingling had gone. He leapt again, clearing the field. He could see the stadium ahead, hear the roar of the crowd.

He could see the tunnel!

“INCREDIBLE! PETER PARKER OF CLASS 1-A HAS BLOWN THIS RACE SO FAR IT’S LIKE LEDECKY AT THE OLYMPICS! NO ONE HAS EVEN TOUCHED THE FALL YET!”

Peter raced through, a cloud of dust behind him as he blazed through the tunnel, and out onto the field.

“AND PARKER HAS WON THE RACE! WHAT A FINISH! NOT SINCE ALL MIGHT HAS U.A. SEEN THE LIKE!”

Peter skidded to a halt. The crowd wan on its feet, screaming its approbation, the sound thundering around him like a storm.

“Phew…” he wiped his brow as he looked around, a part of him struggling to take it all in.

“What an amazing performance! Come on over here and refuel, Parker-kun!”

Midnight waved, standing over by a table piled with water bottles, Gatorade cases, and…

“Oh! Orange slices!” Peter chirped. He trotted over the table, eyes fixed on the plates of fruit slices, laid on gleaming ice, his mouth watering at the prospect. Midnight winked at him as he grabbed a piece and bit down; letting the cool, tangy juice run over his dry tongue, sending shivers down his spine.

He turned, looking up at the videoboards around the stadium. How was were the others doing?

He could see the first group of students. They were reaching the Fall. "Let’s go guys."

He smiled as he took a water bottle, opening it up. He was rooting for them.

Well, most of them.

Chapter Text

Fuck.

Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck! How could this happen!? A single fucking second out of the gate and Parker was already in the lead? And if that wasn’t bad enough, Icy-Hot couldn’t even freeze the ground fast enough to stop the rest of the extras.

Katsuki grit his teeth, unleashing an explosion that propelled him to the front of the gate.

“I ain’t letting you off that easy, Icy-Hot!”

But even as he said that he wasn’t the only one taking the chance. The blonde saw Horn Girl take flight of all things over the little flash-freeze that Icy-Hot had started. The Red Blockhead jumped straight through and even the rich girl got ahead using a pole to propel herself forward. Even Elbow Guy, Fancy Pants, and the Bird even managed to avoid the crowd.

Huh, guess he gave Icy-Hot’s little trick a little too much credit if almost every extra from his class got out of it.

The Bird and the Horn Girl from the other class flew over the stunned mob of students, and they were behind the ice user. Katsuki grinned, he could handle this. Just blast them aside, get to the emo, blast him sky-high, and then gun towards Parker!

Then he would wi-

A green blur flashed past him, kicking off the wall next to him and getting ahead at a sprint. It hung in the air for a moment before it landed in front of him and took off after Icy-Hot.

Unmistakably, a mop of green hair signaled it’s arrival, green lightning trailing behind him.

No.

Katsuki almost tripped, eyes as wide as plates.

A pit formed in his stomach, his blood chilling as he saw Bird and Horn Girl zoom past him. What the hell was that? Where did that ability come from? A few weeks ago all Deku could do was break his stupid arm like glass in a single shot. Now his quirk... was doing this for him!? It didn’t make any sense, you couldn’t just upgrade your quirk on the fly! Not that fast! It was impossible! You had to figure it out, to practice with it! He couldn’t push himself like this with that recoil!

Of all the people to overtake... It had to be him.

Yet Deku could just pull this shit out of his ass like he’d…

Was he holding back again back then!? Put up all that to mock him!?

ON NATIONAL TV TOO!?

NONONONONONONO!!!

Katsuki clenched his fist so hard that it felt like his explosive quirk would set off a warhead in his hand. Is this what he was going for? Every single event, when he thought it would be a good time to show off, he would just reveal another facet of his power that he’d just been hiding? Just to rub it in his face again?

That slimy, little Deku.

That fucking snake!

“HEY!” Katsuki roared, “WHERE THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU’RE GOING, DEKU!? YOU FUCKEEEER!”

He let loose another explosion behind him, rocketing the boy closer to the front, past the extras and to his true targets.

He landed with his legs already in motion, pushing off like a sprinter just as he always practiced, arms behind him firing at Turbo Speed. The tell-all sound of machinery moving caused him to look away from those two, and onto the little display that the U.A. staff tried to pass off as an obstacle.

Even the old Zero Pointers wouldn’t be a threat. But as Katsuki got closer, he could already see they were occupied with something else. Icy-Hot unleashed a wave of ice, turning a Zero Pointer into a popsicle. The metal creaked, a few of the extras yelling in excitement at the new opening that Icy-Hot ran towards.

Idiots, it was a false opening, one that would crush them the second that gravity took hold. Even so, Katsuki grit his teeth. These extras... Declaring wars? Getting ahead of him? Preaching bullshit of serving and mentors like some weakling! Lying about quirks. Wanting to be a hero. Hiding behind croc tears and a wimpy demeanor for over a goddamn decade to make him look like a dumbass! AGAIN AND AGAIN!

“Who the fuck do you think you are!?” Katsuki roared, red eyes blazing in fury.

He launched himself forward, through the dust cloud and the stupid Zero Pointer that dared to get in his way. Its red eyes blinked at him as he smashed into it. Katsuki put his palms flat against the machine’s head, and his explosions tore through the pathetic piece of tin like it was made of wet cardboard. With barely a discernible effort, he rode the scrap pile to the ground, pushing himself forward with another blast when another explosion echoed throughout the clearing. He looked back, seeing some of the Zero Pointers get stunned and their heads smoking.

That sounded like a fucking cannon?! Who had a quirk that could do-

He shook his head, Katsuki needed to focus. He was in front, he could see Icy-Hot ahead, Deku behind him with Horn Girl...

This wasn’t over, not by a long shot!

“Did you think those were going to stop me!?” he roared, the wind screaming in his ears.

The finish line already in his mind’s eye, Katsuki flew onward, using his blasts to propel him after the quartet who were ahead of him, and the prize he aimed to take. Parker’s spot in the totem pole.

(X)

Well, that was certainly something.

Shoto certainly expected such feats out of some of his class, they’d already proven themselves worthwhile in combat, but the stream of students that followed him after his opening salvo was somewhat disappointing. He didn’t want to put on the ice too thick, speed was the goal in this scenario, but clearly, he needed to put more power in such a move next time. He didn’t hold anything back when faced with the Zero Pointers. Couldn’t afford to. Besides, they slowed a lot of the herd back there when he froze one with a glacier on purpose.

The obstacles that had bored him even so far back as the Recommendation Exam made him long for a test that was a little more threatening. Though, for his complaints, it did give him a chance to set an example for the old man.

In the back of his mind, the traitorous part of his brain commented on how he could simply jet over the mechs, setting himself down with his fire. Or use the fire to melt the robots to slow down the students behind him and focus entirely on Parker.

He dismissed those thoughts as quickly as they came.

Not a chance. Not here, especially not in front of all these people.

Not in front of the old man. He would rather die than give him the satisfaction.

For now, there was another problem that awaited him. He figured Parker to be someone who stuck to the rest of the group, cracking jokes, and bumbling like a fool to trip everyone up. Clearly, he was mistaken on more than one front. Shoto always assumed that the American’s suit was what gave him such a notable increase in his abilities. Yes, the application test had him physically at the top, but Shoto didn’t think the margin between them was this wide.

He growled to himself. He’d underestimated Parker, again.

Damnit, the old man was watching, and this was the showing he was giving? Glancing behind him, the rest of his peers were putting on a far better showing than him. Yaoyorozu was laying down support fire with a bazooka, bringing down another Zero Pointer. The main threats were little more than speedbumps to his fellow students.

Spectacular.

Shoto leaped as high as he could over a downed Three-Pointer, summoning an ice slide underneath himself. He could see Parker ahead, the dust evident of his speed. If he could get close, he could simply freeze his webbing or leg and bring him down.

Shoto felt his hair stand on end as he could feel someone gaining on him. He turned his head slightly, and saw that Midoriya was right behind him! Shoto’s eyes widened. When did he get this fast?!

“DEKUUUU!” Bakugo came roaring in, firing off explosive blasts to catch the green haired boy off guard. Midoriya jumped away with a yelp, trying to avoid the explosions.

“BUT BE CAREFUL! THE NEXT OBSTACLE FOR PARKER IS THE FAAAALL! YOU HIT ROCK BOTTOM, YOU’RE OUT!” Came Present Mic’s voice, and Shoto perked up as he focused on his run.

“He’s already at the next obstacle!” Shoto thought aloud, and he conjured his ice, allowing him to surge down the path. The dust cloud was gone and the heterochromatic-eyed boy bared his teeth in frustration.

He couldn’t afford to lose. Not like this!

(X)

“There,” Momo kicked aside her howitzer as she felt a thud land behind her. “Done.” She grabbed her motor-powered skateboard as the other students ran around the wreckage of the robots. Momo kicked herself mentally for getting caught in that mob, but seeing Peter jump through the entry gate was a masterstroke. He’d inspired her and her peers to leap on through!

She threw the skateboard to the ground and got on, speeding off as she felt the clamps tighten around her feet and sped through some surprised students who made way to avoid getting run over. “Make way!”

“Hey, what the hell!”

“Where did she get that?!”

“Is she in Support?!”

“That’s cheating!” Momo smirked a little as she went on ahead.

“Hahahaha! I got you now, you Class-A thot!” Chortled some… purple haired ball kid who looked super short, zooming in as he pulled out… some purple balls from his head. “I’ll just hitch a ride to the good life and take your spot! Only fair that you repay us all,” He monologued. “Since all you and your stupid class have done is bring trouble on our school you-”

“TARGET ACQUIRED. DESTROY.”

And a One Pointer Robot came from nowhere from the side and swung, hitting the kid.

“Waaaaaaaaaaah!” The punch from the robot sent the shorty flying. Momo had to duck as the loudmouth’s tiny form soared out into the track. Guess he’s not out ye-

“Eat this you creep!” A General Ed student who looked like a beige-coated red eyed cat girl spun around, bashing him with two flaming tails. He was launched once again into the air.

“That’s for being in the girls’ locker room!” Yelled another, the dark haired girl swatted at him with long and black fingernails, apparently having elongated like spears.

“Oooora!” A green haired girl fired out her arm, string attached to her from the forearm to elbow as it connected to the purple haired boy’s cheek, sending him flying out of the track, into a tree and down to the ground.

“MINETA MINORU. RETIRE!” Said a Camera bot as Momo raced past some of her peers. She could hear the General Education students jeer at her and see… some girls give a thumbs-up.

“What a strange student…” Momo mused before her train of thought was cut off by Present Mic.

“HE’S STILL GOING! IS HE GONNA JUMP!?”

Momo perked up. “Peter-san?” Oh right, he was still far ahead. She had to catch up! The black haired beauty put more pressure on the gas and floored it.

(X)

Mineta Minoru twitched as he landed in the bushes, eyes downcast as he realized that he was the first one to be kicked out of the race. He raised his head...

Maybe Mom was right…

“I should have been a dentist…”

Or dad may have some internship openings… His newspaper was looking to hire new people…

Maybe he could get girls that way...

“HE DIIIIIIID!!!” Minoru’s face met the dirt as he sighed upon hearing Present Mic’s voice.

Damn that Class 1-A.

Just damn them.

(X)

The tires of her skateboard screeched as Momo maintained her momentum, the other contestants up ahead as she turned. Those few days practicing in that horse race track had definitely paid off! Todoroki was leading the pack, with Tokoyami and Tsunotori making fast progress, but behind them… Midoriya was dodging a rampaging Bakugo!

“Kacchan! We have a race to finish!”

“Go to hell, you snake! I’m making sure that you lose first!” Bakugo barked, swiping as he ran, Midoriya avoiding a blast. “After all this shit you’ve pulled, your word to me is dead! Dead!” Momo continued to drive, thinking over her options. Smirking, she began to put her quirk to work, her stomach glowing as the canister of a paintball gun emerged.

“Oh, no you don’t!” Yelled a voice as Momo ducked a swipe, yelping as she maintained control on her motor-powered board. The black haired beauty looked behind her as she began to overtake the bickering Midoriya and Bakugo. Tokoyami’s gaze was in her direction, sprinting as Dark Shadow was out, its glowing gold eyes on her as it sped forth.

“I won’t let you stop us!” Tokoyami declared. “Dark Shadow, don’t let her make anything!”

“Roger!” The Shadow Construct obeyed, and while Tokoyami lagged behind, the beast was able to pull Tokoyami up in big mighty leaps. While in the air, the fast shadow he had created zoomed in on Momo.

The girl growled, swerving to the side to avoid a strike as she managed to overtake them both. She put the pedal to the metal, gaining on Todoroki as she slowed down, reaching to her stomach to bring forth her conjured paintball gun with web-balls in the ammo container.

She aimed, but Todoroki seemed to notice as he stopped his ice surge forward, running as before as he looked back. He growled, and with a swipe of his arm, summoned a massive surge of ice. She fired a few shots, but she had to bail out now!

“Crap!” Momo had to toss the gun as she abandoned her trusty skateboard, but she was ready for this!

She conjured a bodyboard from her back, causing her shirt to be torn from the back and she was left in her sports bra. Momo grabbed it and turned, using it to skid off the ground to soften her landing. Momo yelped as she hung on, bouncing and skidding. She got up on her feet, staggering a little before breaking out into a run. She was behind Todoroki still, going around his ice wall. No time to pick up the paintball rifle, had to focus on the race!

“Back off birdbrain!” Yelled Bakugo behind her as she heard more explosions, looking back to see the blonde bomber stun Dark Shadow as he had overtaken him. He then went into Turbo Speed, blasting forth. “And stay in your lane, rich girl!” He roared, gaining on her before Midoriya sprinted past, brushing aside Bakugo. His red eyes surged with fury as he roared, going after the green haired boy who seemed as intent on catching up as he was.

Momo bit her inner cheek. Think. Conjuring another skateboard may take too much-

“HE’S BACK OUUUUUUT! THE SPIDER OF U.A. IS ON A TEAR! BAKUGO IS PUSHING AWAY TOKOYAMI AS HE TRAILS TODOROKI AND YAOYOROZU! MIDORIYA IS NIPPING AT THE BLONDE BOMBER’S HEELS! OHHHH HE DOESN’T LOOK HAPPY! OH, THERE COMES IIDA NOW! NOW CLASS 1-B’S TSUNOTORI IS ZOOMING IN!”

Momo’s eyes widened as she glanced back. Sure enough, the dust cloud that was Iida was coming up quickly. She needed to slow him down. In raw speed, Iida would outpace anything that she could make. And behind him, Tsunotori was gaining as well, hugging the left side of the track like a racehorse while flying on her horns like a skateboard.

She was in her sports bra and pants, but this wouldn’t get to her. Be like Midnight. Be proud and don’t be ashamed of revealing too much. Her quirk needed as much skin as possible to be exposed anyway!

Momo conjured two flashbangs in her arms, catching them as she grabbed them. Earbuds formed in her ears. As she did, she sensed Midoriya and Bakugo to her right, fighting amongst themselves (well, one of them was). Tokoyami right behind her, given how Dark Shadow’s...shadow... was obscuring the ground. And Tenya was about to pass her by on the left.

“PARKER IS APPROACHING THE MINEFIELD! HE ISN’T STOPPING AGAIN! WHAT WILL HE DO NOW?! WILL HE BE ABLE TO SEE THE MINES? OR BE SENT FLYING OUT OF THE RACE?!”

The reactions of her classmates upon hearing that Peter had gotten to the next obstacle made them perk up. That was her opening!

“How about this!”

She threw them up in the air and closed her eyes as the twin flashbangs detonated, stunning all involved as she went on ahead. The force of the twin flash grenades made her stagger, but it didn’t stop her run. Dead ahead, she saw the obstacle that Present Mic spoke of earlier. The Fall.

“INCREDIBLE! PETER PARKER OF CLASS 1-A HAS BLOWN THIS RACE UP LIKE A LEDECKY! NO ONE HAS EVEN TOUCHED THE FALL YE-AH, THERE ARE SOME WHO JUST GOT THERE!

Todoroki had paused before jumping onto a cord, zooming down it with his ice. Momo felt a pit in her gut. This was gonna slow her down big time! Take the cords? No… Peter got across this obstacle no sweat. And he was approaching the end too! “Got to catch up!”

Which meant that he used his web shooters. A line to swing across! The black beauty began to get to work, her midsection glowing as she got to creating a new handy-dandy item.

(X)

“Damn, I need to get across!” Izuku said aloud as he jumped to the side, avoiding a blast from Kacchan. His childhood friend was frothing with anger as he aimed and swung at him, using his Turbo Speed to propel himself ahead of his old friend at every opportunity. Izuku bit his cheek, whenever he had a chance to pass Kacchan, he blocked him off like a race car.

He couldn’t afford to lose here! Parker was already so far ahead! He knew that his friend was strong…

He never knew the divide between him and the American student was so wide! He needed to tell the world ‘I Am Here’. As grateful as he was to Parker for helping him get one step closer to mastering One for All, he’d told Todoroki that he wasn’t gonna hold back.

Then again… neither did Peter. Maybe that’s what Izuku got for poking the bear.

They got to the edge of the Fall as Todoroki got to the next spire, running across the platform and riding his ice along a cord.

“AND PARKER HAS WON THE RACE! WHAT A FINISH! NOT SINCE ALL MIGHT HAS WALKED U.A.’s HALLS HAVE WE SEEN SUCH A FEAT IN TERMS OF SPEED AND TECHNIQUE! HE RAN LIKE A FORMULA RACE CAR. HE TOOK OFF LIKE A JET! I DON’T KNOW HOW HE DID IT BUT HE DID! WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY ABOUT YOUR STUDENT, ERASER?”

“He’s already won?!” Izuku gasped. So there was only one more obstacle after this, the minefield!

“Goddamniiiiiit!” Kacchan roared as he blasted off, flying over the ravine. “I’ll get you next time Deku! You hear me?!” He looked back as Izuku looked at the cords and gulped.

The spires were a good distance away. Maybe one leap while using One For All could work? No, he couldn’t risk it. If he missed, he would fall and be out of the race!

“Slow and steady as Mom says.” Izuku muttered, going to a cord and hanging from it as he began to make his way across. His muscles and lungs burned from the running, but this wasn’t as bad as his training while cleaning up the beach. His training had paid off, and using One For All, his body glowed as he began to move faster.

“Here I go!” Tsunotori whooped as she flew across with her horns above him. He saw Dark Shadow extend across the abyss and pull Tokoyami to a spire. Izuku gritted his teeth, and he began to go down the cord faster, finally reaching the spire. He got up, taking a breather as he looked around. Todoroki was several spires ahead, and Kacchan was using his Explosion to launch himself forward, but the two seemed to be neck and neck.

“I see that you’re copying me Midoriya-chan!” Yelled a voice as Izuku looked across to another platform as he got down to get across to the next platform. Tsuyu was there smiling as she walked the tightrope using her hands and feet. Unlike Izuku who had to hang upside down, she was still upright!

“Well, gotta make sure I make it across!” Izuku yelled back with a light grin. “You holding up? Asu-I mean, Tsuyu-san-whoa!” Izuku lost his grip before reclaiming it. He clammed up, hanging onto the tightrope.

“Good catch. And I’m doing good. You look great yourself! Hurry it up though! Others are getting to the beginning and will catch up!” She encouraged as she pitter-pattered across the tightrope. Izuku took a deep breath, body glowing with One For All as he began to skitter to the next platform. He got there and looked up, Tokoyami was ahead of him, and Todoroki and Kacchan were near the end!

“My older brother is watching me! I must look as proper as possible as a member of the Iida Family!” Iida yelled as Izuku turned, seeing the Class Secretary use his Engine to skid across the rope to the next spire. Arms out wide, and he… Was he T-Posing?

“HE LOOKS SO LAME!” Present Mic hollered and Izuku turned…

Other platforms were close by. If he could time it right… He’d get across with a leap! Izuku focused, conjuring his power as heat gathered in his body. He dashed forward and with one mighty leap, Izuku yelled as he landed on the next platform.

“Phew! Okay… That was faster than tightroping.” Izuku turned ahead, seeing that Todoroki and Kacchan-

Were at the end!

“Here we go!” Izuku yelled as he ran, green lightning emitting from his body as he took a great leap, landing on a nearby platform. He grinned.

“I can do this!” He backed off, ready to jump before he noticed some mad cackling.

“WATCH OUT WORLD! BEHOLD YE MIGHTY AND DESPAIR WHILE GAZING UPON MY BABIES!” Yelled a female voice as a pink haired girl reeled herself from one spire to the next using her own Support Gear, hookshots attached to some vest and… were those hoverboots?! She was laughing like a madwoman too! Right behind her, a massive tangle of green vines was on the move, moving from one spire to another like a slinky going down some stairs. What kind of quirk was that!? “NOTICE ME COMPANIEEEEES!”

“I made it throuuuuugh!” Yelled a voice as Izuku jumped to the next spire, and she saw a very flustered and scared Yaoyorozu swinging up by courtesy of a grappling hook! She had another one too in her free arm as she aimed, firing it at the end of The Fall?!

No time to get distracted. Time to catch up!

(X)

“WOOOHOOO! THAT’S WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT!” Mt. Lady shrieked, pumping her arms.

Close by in the stands, Kamui Woods had to cover his ears. His fellow hero had her eyes glued to the screen along the stadium’s vendor area, practically pushing civilians aside to see the boy, Parker, complete his race. Her excitement had been tame at first, a glance or two while they went on their patrols, but this was getting ridiculous.

“Just let her go,” Death Arms said in resignation, “I don’t think she’ll be listening to us.”

“She could at least take her job seriously,” Shinji muttered.

Death Arms shrugged, “Sure, but think about it this way, she can’t exactly wiggle out of anything else today now that you’ve got this to bring up.”

Shinji perked up. The older hero had a point there. However, there was still something bugging him.

“That kid, Parker, his name ring a bell to you?”

“Sure does,” Death Arms confirmed, “He was the vigilante that showed up during Mt. Lady's debut.”

“The spider kid?” Shinji asked, befuddled. That kid swung right into an active villain takedown, crashing into Mt. Lady if he recalled things correctly. That wasn’t all either. Shinji remembered personally bringing him to the police after he got knocked out. He also remembered putting Yu on guard duty for her little stunt that very same day.

“How’d he get into U.A?” Shinji asked.

Death Arms shrugged, “Don’t know. Transfer from America from what I remember reading. The report was an oversight, you know how American heroes operate, ‘jump in first’ kinda mentality.”

Shinji raised an eyebrow at the casualness of the comment, but he didn’t argue. He simply watched as his partner continued to gush over, apparently, her ward’s success.

“Still, kid’s got a future ahead of him.”

Shinji chuckled, “You might as well say that about all those Hero Course kids. See any that catch your eye?”

Death Arms nodded, pointing at the camera as it showed a blonde that was throwing explosions at his peers, knocking them back before they could overtake him.

“Kid looks like he’s got some power.”

“I’d worry more about the screaming,” Shinji pointed out.

Again the large hero shrugged, “Can’t win them all, and it gives us a place to start. What about you?”

Shinji hummed as the camera drifted over the students. The bird-headed student with his shadow was expertly dodging attacks as well as creating openings for himself. The kid that looked like a carbon copy of Ingenium looked like he had a smart head on his shoulders. If he was being perfectly honest, he could pick out something for each of them.

That being said…

“I’ll wait till the second event to tell you.”

Death Arms nodded, “All yours, but anyway we should be-” the big man stopped, glaring at the sight in front of him, “Mt. Lady, for the last time you can’t take free samples!”

“But they’re so good~!” she complained, bag full of pocky. “I forgot to eat breakfaaaaaast~”

Shinji rubbed his now aching forehead. This day couldn’t end fast enough.

(X)

Incredible.

That was a word Aizawa tossed about in his head as Present Mic yelled color commentary to the crowd. Todoroki and Bakugo were neck and neck as they fired ice surges and explosive blasts at each other as they approached the minefield.

The USJ incident, while traumatic and something he would not wish upon anyone, had tempered his students in a crucible.

Midoriya, by hook or by crook, got that self-destructive quirk under control. He was able to keep pace with Bakugo and the others in his class at the start of the race, and even took out some robots. He could now save people, and with that head of his, he’d have a good and long hero career ahead of him.

Yaoyorozu’s confidence and skill on the fly was nothing short of outstanding. Using her gear not to slow down her opponents but focusing on the race at hand allowed her to get ahead to the top ten spots, and she got to the other side courtesy of two grappling hookshots and a comfy medicine ball to land on to resume her chase. Aizawa had no words.

All of his students were doing well. Ashido was emulating Iida in sliding across the cords. Asui, Ojiro, Shoji, Tokoyami, and even Aoyama were traversing The Fall no problem. Uraraka was taking it slow and steady using her gravity jump.

And there were many in Vlad’s class that were excelling, and Aizawa made note of two. The one that Parker was apparently friends with before getting to U.A, and the catholic girl.

“BAKUGO AND TODOROKI HAVE MADE IT TO THE MINEFIELD! TSUNOTORI AND IIDA ARE HOT ON THEIR TAILS! AHHH! MIDORIYA MADE IT ACROSS, PASSING OVER YAOYOROZU AND NOW HE’S GAINING ON THEM QUICK, FAST, AND IN A HURRY! YOUR STUDENTS HAVE BEEN KILLING IT TODAY, MUMMYZAWA!”

Aizawa groaned.

“Don’t call me that. Anyways, the ones in front have undergone a baptism by fire. They came prepared for this” Aizawa replied.

“YOU CAN SAY THAT AGAIN! HECK, YOU MAY JUST HAVE THE NEXT ALL MIGHT IN YOUR CLASS!” Aizawa’s eyes went from the screens to the arena, seeing Parker cheering his fellow students on as he looked up at the screens.

A kind boy, reverting back to the bumbling joker the second that the danger was over.

His eyes panned over to the teachers’ box, seeing Yagi in his thin form watching with some of the other teachers and they narrowed. Mic’s words…

Once the Festival and his classes’ internships were over, he was getting back to his investigation ASAP. Because if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, acts like a duck…

It ain’t a damn mongoose.

His eyes went back to the screens, and Aizawa saw Bakugo and Todoroki making slow progress across the minefield, but it was Bakugo who was pulling ahead whenever Todoroki didn’t fire any ice surges at him.

Parker’s curbstomp victory had lit a fire under them, and now they were doing their damndest to fight for second place. The look on their faces, cold rage in Todoroki’s, and white hot fury in the blonde’s was evident. They were mad at the circumstances, and at themselves.

Parker was on top, and they were definitely gunning for him.

“HERE COMES TSUNOTORI NOW! SHE’S FLYING OVER THE MINEFIELD NO SWEAT!”

(X)

“I can do this!” Pony muttered as she flew down low, head aching as she had used her horns from the very beginning of the race. Seeing Peter jump over the stuck crowd got her the idea and it had definitely helped, as her using some General Ed students to hop over Todoroki’s ice freeze paid handsome dividends. Shiozaki was doing really good, essentially making herself into a massive ball of vines and rolling across the track like an Indiana Jones boulder with a mind of its own.

She had to get past the explosive obstacles, then she could book it in a run. She was approaching Todoroki and Bakugo, who were fighting with each other for second place as Todoroki paid extra care to not step on any landmines while Bakugo simply used his blasts to keep him aloft as he swiped at the bicolor-haired boy. They were bickering too, and she could barely make out the words “war” and “me” in their tussle of words.

Present Mic’s commentary made the two turn their heads, and Pony felt two pairs of eyes, one icy green and the other fiery red turn on her, making her blood freeze. Both of their teeth were bared.

“Get lost!/DIE!” They yelled, firing a combined explosive blast and ice surge right at her!

“Gah!” Pony mustered the willpower to veer to the side, head aching as she avoided their mutual assault. She was on two horns, that was her limit right now. She could use one of the horns on her head to retaliate… but that would make her teeter towards the ground.

“Fine… you wanna play rough…” Pony muttered in English. “I’ll play ya!” She roared as she zoomed forth, rising high above on her two horns. She could see the racers behind her slow down. She saw the green haired kid, Yaoyorozu, Shiozaki, the crow-head boy approach the minefield.

Right now, to beat that exploding jerk and Endeavor’s kid, she had to go beyond!

“Plus Ultra Texas Style!” And she kicked off her horns, using her hooves to aim them downwards, right in front of the two fighting boys.

The horns struck the darker mine patches, and the pink explosion engulfed them all, the force pushing her back as two more horns popped up on her head. “Alright!” She got back down, landing on her two new horns, and began to zoom towards the minefield exit.

“WHAT A MOVE BY CLASS 1-B’S PONY TSUNOTORI! SHE TOOK OUT TODOROKI AND BAKUGO FROM CLASS 1-A WITH TWO WELL-AIMED HORN STRIKES AND IS ABOUT TO LOCK UP SECOND PLACE! OH WAIT, HERE COMES THE CALVARY!” Present Mic yelled over the speakers, making the blonde perk up. Who was coming in fast over the minefield?

“Huh?!”

“Reciproooo Buuuuuurst!” Pony looked back, seeing the Iida boy take long strides, face contorted in concentration as he did his utmost to get through the minefield, pink explosions going off behind him. From the other side of the track, a cacophony of explosions occurred as Ibara rolled towards her!

Pony gasped, and got closer to the exit, only for a massive explosion to ring out from the beginning of the minefield!

“WHAT’S THIS?! SOMEONE’S SETTING OFF THE MINES ON PURPOSE-” Pony’s heart fell the moment she saw the person gaining on her using the explosion.

Yaoyorozu had a face full of determination as she came in flying across the field, another motor-powered skateboard screaming as it rolled over the mines one by one, pink explosions behind her as if she was in an action movie with those pants and sports bra of her’s, hair flailing wildly. Anyone that was close enough got a face full of detonations, knocking them aside as the black haired beauty pushed for the lead. She was also using the path having been tread by Bakugo and Todoroki, one that now featured fewer mines thanks to their combined efforts.

“YAOYOROZU IS GUNNING FOR FIRST IN THIS RACE!” Pony saw her pass by below her! “SCRATCH THAT! SHE’S TAKEN THE LEAD!” Pony grit her teeth, eyes alit in anger.

“No you don’t!” ‘This is my moment! Not yours!’ The blonde growled as she conjured a horn, and sent it flying at the black haired girl. Pony had come this far. She wouldn’t let her get another win!

Pony was flying forward as her control on her horns made her stagger, and as she got to the edge of the minefield she was teetering close to the ground as her third horn was aimed for the incoming Yaoyorozu. Beside her, the massive vine boulder of Ibara was rolling in, and to the side, Iida was charging forth, both of them utilizing the new road created by Yaoyorozu. Behind her, she could see Todoroki and Bakugo sprinting forth as they no longer cared about fighting each other…

“Sorry everyone!” Yaoyorozu saw her horn coming in, she propped herself up on the board…

“I’m gonna win!” She roared, and twisted her feet on the seat as she kicked it down to the ground and she sprung forward.

And her new skateboard exploded like a primed grenade as it collided against a mine!

Pony yelled as the pink dust overtook her, sending her flying through the opening in Ibara’s vine boulder and into the girl herself. Ibara quickly lost control of her quirk and they rolled in a tumble.

Yaoyorozu was in front!

“YAOYOROZU HAS TAKEN THE LEAD! SHE’S IN THE HOME STRETCH NOW!”

(X)

Momo’s lungs burned hotter than she ever thought they could.

Every step felt like a mile with her stomach churning in displeasure, the results of her quirk dragging her down. Her arms pumped, but she didn’t let herself slow down. The end was so close, just a final push into the tunnel and out again and she’d be across the finish line!

Just a few more steps. Please, please let this work!

Without looking back, she threw her last creation, a single container of Parker’s web fluid. It wasn’t much, but she had nothing left. Maybe if she was lucky…

“WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS!?!”

Her luck held. For a second, she had the strength to smile. Caught Bakugo.

Momo dug in her heels, putting just a little more into this final push. It was so close, she could see the light at the end of the tunnel!

But the sound of thundering footsteps echoed in her ears. She closed her eyes. No, she was so close, but she pressed on, gunning it..

But it wasn’t enough.

Momo felt herself tilt forward, and everything she had left went into one last jump, arms outstretched. One last chance to make it though! Time seemed to slow. She opened her eyes, hoping, pleading for nothing to be close.

Only to see the edge of a blonde horn edge forward from her left, and a roaring class secretary coming up fast on the right.

Time returned to normal, and Momo fell to the ground in a heap. On the plus side, she heard two other people hit the ground close to her. The three of them were close, too close. Pony was on her side on the ground, having lept cross using her horns, groaning while Iida was panting hard, hands on his knees.

Was it enough? Did she get close enough to take it?

“I CAN’T BELIEVE IT, WE HAVE A PHOTO FINISH FOR THE AGES!” Present Mic’s voice roared from one of no doubt dozens of speakers all around the stadium, “I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHO GOT ACROSS I COULDN’T TELL BUT LET’S LOOK TO THE JUMBOTRON FOR THAT SWEET FRAME BY FRAME ACTION!”

Momo forced her neck to crane up. She had to see, she couldn’t deal with anything less than concrete proof. Up there, on the mighty screen above, a picture-perfect recreation of the entrance streamed for all to see. She could see herself, drenched in sweat desperately trying to edge forward as much as she could.

Only, Pony’s horns were just a little bit further than her fingers could reach.

Momo’s face fell down to the unforgiving dirt. She clenched her hands, she hadn’t fast enough.

“THERE YOU HAVE IT LADIES AND GENTS! AFTER THE CLOSEST SECOND PLACE RUN IN SPORTS FESTIVAL HISTORY! I CAN’T BELIEVE IT! AFTER AN AMAZING COMEBACK PONY TSUNOTORI EDGES OUT FOR SECOND PLACE FOLLOWED BY YAOYOROZU MOMO AND IIDA TENYA! I’M ON THE EDGE OF MY SEAT, WILL THIS MADNESS EVER END!?!” Present Mic howled as the crowd roared in approval, entertained and cheering for the prospects.

“Yeah, that’s the point of a finish line,” said Aizawa’s drawl as it came through.

Momo could barely move. It took all she had left to look back up, feeling a shadow loom over her.

Where Parker was standing over her, a bottle of water in one hand and an orange in the other.

“Cutie?” he offered, grin on his face.

And despite herself, Momo could help but laugh, “I’d love one,” she said.

“Well you’re in luck, they’ve got a ton of them over by the stands,” Parker said, handing over the offered food and helping her to her feet before turning to the lump of blonde hair close by.

“Pony, your horns can blow up too!?” he asked, helping his fellow american to her feet as well.

The blonde blushed a little at the proximity, something she tried to play off by scratching her head awkwardly.

“Ummm, not really… just aimed them towards a mine is all.”

“Still, that was so awesome!” Parker finished, “How-how do you make them fly? Honestly Pony, your horns don’t obey the laws of physics. Your power is so cool, you were flying in as if you were on a flying skateboard!” He turned back towards Momo. “And you were fantastic too, Momo! You got across The Fall using my move!”

Momo blushed, laughing a bit. “That so? Well… I had to get across as fast as possible somehow. The grappling hooks were my best option.”

“Yeah and…” Peter looked down, seeing that Momo had lost her shirt and… was in her pants and shoes and sports bra. Dirt and dust covered her, along with a hot sheen of sweat. Parker bit his lip and looked away. “You gonna be alright being so-”

“GOOOOOOODDDDDAAAAAMMMIIIITTTT!!!!”

Momo, who was about to reassure Peter that her lack of a shirt was fine, turned around just in time to see a massive explosion rock the finish line. A frothing, livid Bakugo was staring at Midoriya who was panting in the area in front of him, hands on his knees. Todoroki came in right after with an ice surge, landing in a tumble as he panted, steam coming off of him as he defrosted. The bomber’s bloodshot eyes snapped to Parker, who seemingly knew when Bakugo was going to look at him as he glanced back at the perfect time. Bakugo bore a hole in Parker’s and her head with his sight, but Peter simply took a bite of an orange. The blonde tisked and moved away, frustrated and angry.

“He looks angry.”

“That is quite the obvious statement Parker,” Tokoyami pointed out, casually taking his place as he arrived.

“Parker-san!” Came Iida who marched over, hand clutching water bottle. “You did an exemplary job! For you to jump over the crowd and not to engage with the robots in the first obstacle, your judgement is truly admirable. As your Class Secretary I am proud to have you as my Representative, but I must admonish myself for not seeing such a thing sooner! For the teachers have-”

“He’s gonna ramble for a while, ain’t he?” Par… Peter muttered over towards Momo, to which the dark haired girl could only chuckle as a great mass of vines came surging in while Iida continued to toss out word salad.

“You can say that again. Let’s wait for the others and cheer them on!” Peter beamed, nodding.

“You got it, let’s try and help Midori up first though. Guy looks like he ran a marathon. Well, he technically did, sooo…” The two walked over together towards the panting boy.

Momo could see the simmering glare that Todoroki was sending there way as the boy was still crouching on the ground, slamming a fist into it before getting back up and storming towards the water bottle and orange tables.

(X)

Yagi Toshinori thought he would see a lot of things today. The Sports Festival was the perfect opportunity to strut your stuff as it were. He said as much to Young Midoriya before he started training and there was no doubt in his mind that everyone was showing their best.

Still, the American casually eating oranges in the middle of the field, sitting down and watching the other students was getting to be a bit much. He… didn’t expect Parker to clear this event so fast.

He told Midoriya to tell the world that ‘he was here’. Instead, he was lumped in the pack with the top ten finishers. But still…

He managed to properly utilize One for All in the field, even using it to avoid an angry Bakugo and use it to jump great distances. This was a far cry from where he was two weeks ago, where a single usage of One For All meant a visit with Recovery Girl.

Midoriya didn’t shoot for the stars, but he landed on the moon. That was a great starting point, and Toshinori felt pride blossom inside him.

Still… Midoriya’s path to become the next All Might. The next Symbol of Peace and Justice had hit a roadblock. An American brown haired one who was good friends with Midoriya as he was busy talking with him and his peers. Present Mic said it best, no one in U.A. history had finished the Obstacle Race faster than All Might. The next one to come close? Off by twenty seconds? Was Peter Parker.

The trek to climb got tougher, no doubt about it. Still… He didn’t expect this from Parker. At all.

“I’ll be damned,” Toshinori muttered.

Next to him, Thirteen and Snipe nodded their agreement.

“Honestly, good for him,” Snipe commented, “Aizawa’s apparently been having trouble getting him to take something seriously.”

“I guess,” Toshinori shrugged.

The domed head of Thirteen glanced his way.

“Not happy with the first place winner there, Yagi?” the space-themed hero asked.

Toshinori grimaced, waving his hands placatingly, “No no no, I’m happy for him. He’s my student after all.”

Though, even as he said that, he had been hoping for a different result. The starting event could’ve been step one on Young Midoriya’s quest forward. He was a good kid, so much so that he deserved the title as his successor, but he was a hero that wanted to save others. That core desire went completely against what the Sports Festival was about, in a competition sense at least. Bad as he was to admit his part in it, heroes nowadays depended on popular opinion to stay afloat and relevant in their new profession. It had gotten to the point that in events like this, those that sought to beat everyone else no matter the cost were the ones who normally succeeded.

Not the best though, but if it kept producing quality heroes, Toshinori wouldn’t cry home about it.

“Doesn’t look like he has to,” Snipe commented, the gunslinger hero craning his neck upward, “Looks like Endeavor’s hogging the disappointment all to himself.”

Toshinori and Thirteen shifted their gaze to where the gunslinger was looking. Sure enough, Endeavor was seething, his fiery beard growing white hot to the point that the civilians around him were starting to get out of their seats, sweat pouring out of them just from being near him. He was biting his lip, and Toshinori could see red dripping from it. The guardrail that served as the Number Two hero’s support actually melted in his hands as he pushed off, stalking away, leaving charred footprints in his wake.

“And I thought he was a hothead before,” Thirteen muttered.

Understatement of the century where Toshinori was concerned. Endeavor looked like a man who had things he wanted to say and while Toshinori couldn’t even dream of Endeavor hurting pedestrians and his students, there was nothing stopping him from having some choice words for the students participating. The hidden Number One hero glanced back at the finish line and spotted a certain head of red and white hair. The young hero in question was drenched in sweat from his sprint, but he still eyed the sidelines of the stands.

Toshinori felt an inkling of disappointment rise in him as well. Despite what Endeavor felt about the results, this was an important moment for his son that he should see.

“I’ll talk to him in a minute,” Toshinori promised.

“You sure you wanna wait?” Snipe asked, “No time like the present.”

“Don’t worry, it’ll have my undivided attention in a moment. Gotta do something first.”

He felt both the heroes next to him quirk up their eyebrows, but Toshinori paid them no mind. He simply stared at the finish line, where a green head of hair laced in lightning had come through shortly before Endeavor’s son. His protege was standing up, panting, yet he looked around until he found Toshinori sitting there in the teacher’s box, grinning.

And Toshinori met his stare with a bony smile and a thumbs-up.

His successor returned a shaky thumbs-up himself, only to get distracted as his peers began to talk to him, Iida and Parker specifically.

“Got a soft spot for Midoriya there, Yagi?” Snipe asked.

“Something like that, tell me the highlights when I get back.”

“Will do,” Thirteen said.

Toshinori waved the two heroes farewell, walking as casually as he could to the nearest bathroom. Not the best place to transform, but options were limited in an event as televised and populated as the Sports Festival. Protected by the stalls, the Number One hero powered up and immediately made his way to the stairwell. It wasn’t hard to pick up Endeavor’s trail, no one else was raising the temperature by forty degrees Celsius around him..

He caught him right at the edge of the third floor, and All Might put on his best smile.

“Hey there, Endeavor!” Toshinori declared.

The fire hero actually crushed the guardrail at his side. And if looks could kill, Toshinori would be having some tea with Nana right now.

“Not enjoying the festival?”

Enji huffed, “Got that through that thick skull of yours? Do me a favor and find some talkshow to waste your time on.”

He turned away, but Toshinori wasn’t going to let him go. He leaped in front of him, forcing the hero to stop as he leaned against the wall amicably. His former classmate didn’t look amused, licking the cut on his lip, green eyes wanting to bore right through him.

“Oh come now Endeavor, don’t be like that. It’s been such a long time that I thought we could at least say hello.”

Endeavor flinched at that. Guess he could still surprise the fiery hero after all these years.

“You actually have something to say then?”

“Speaking truthfully, I was hoping that I could ask you what’s gotten you so hot under the collar. Never knew you for one to cause distractions during events like this, even if a professional like yourself takes your job seriously doing security. I was wondering if I could help. Is it family problems? Eat something that didn’t agree with you?”

Enji stared at Toshinori for a long moment, the fire on his fist going white hot and making All Might internally beg for a swift breeze. His eye was twitching in barely constrained anger.

“That’s what you’re on about?”

“W-well,” Toshinori said, hands up in surrender, “If it’s nothing, I’m sorry for wasting your time.”

“Now you’re sorry?” Endeavor scoffed, “That’s a first, as if making that copy of yours and bringing him here wasn’t enough.”

Toshinori flinched, was he talking about Young Midoriya? Copy? What in the world did he mean? Wait, did he know!?

The fiery hero turned back, fuming.

Toshinori felt his hand start to clench, but he let the hero go. This particular stairway was going to the breakroom for the rest of the security staff. Even so, it would probably be best for Young Midoriya and the rest if he watched from their waiting areas.

“Wait, hold on Endeavor!” He got to the bottom of the stairway, seeing the black and red hero sulk off.

“Get lost! I have a job to do!” He roared back, not even turning to face him as Toshinori recoiled a little. Endeavor marched away down the hallway.

“Oh dear, whatever pickle did I get myself into… still…” He began to walk up the stairs to use the restroom to change back.

Young Todoroki was already damaged. If his father had all that in mind…

What could he do?

He perked up at the sound of the fireworks. The race was over?

(X)

With a crack of her whip, Midnight swung her tool around as all the students were in the stadium. “It’s finally over, let’s check out the results! For the next event, the ones who will advance are the top 32! And they are!”

As one, the stadium looked to the jumbotron as the list began to file in, starting from the first place down. Shoto narrowed his eyes as he gripped his fists, biting his lower lip. The pictures panned over the top 32.

1: Peter Parker

2: Pony Tsunotori

3: Yaoyorozu Momo

4: Iida Tenya

5: Midoriya Izuku

6: Bakugo Katsuki

7: Todoroki Shoto

8: Shiozaki Ibara

9: Honenuki Juzo

10: Tokoyami Fumikage

11: Sero Hanta

12: Tokage Setsuna

13: Kirishima Eijiro

14: Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu

15: Ojiro Mashirao

16: Awase Yousei

17: Asui Tsuyu

18: Shoji Mezo

19: Sato Rikido

20: Uraraka Ochako

21: Ashido Mina

22: Hatsume Mei

23: Jirou Kyoka

24: Shinso Hitoshi

25: Shishida Jurota

26: Kuroiro Shihai

27: Kendo Itsuka

28: Monoma Neito

29: Kaminari Denki

30: Kaibara Sen

31: Kamakiri Togaru

32: Hagakure Tooru

Parker was socializing with Yaoyorozu, Iida and Kirishima without a care in the world, and Tsunotori herself was getting swamped by her Class B peers for doing so well. Tokage in particular seemed overjoyed.

“The top 32 from this qualifying round will move on!” Midnight declared, “But if you didn’t make it, don’t worry, we’ve got another way for you to show your stuff. But for now, the main section really begins, the press is going to be jumping out of their seats with what we’ve got!”

The R-rated heroine gestured to the screen, where a dozen names and events flashed by faster than anyone could see. “Now then, whatever will our next event be? What could possibly top such an amazing photo climax~ and such a dominating performance from our First Year Phenom~” She teased, smirking widely.

Parker bit his lower lip, while Yaoyorozu looked nonplussed. She didn’t seem fazed. Midoriya’s face was beet-red though.

“We’re on television, seriously?” Tokoyami sternly reminded her. Kaminari was grinning dumbly, as was Sero who laughed. Jirou rolled her eyes.

Shoto saw the screen pass by as he sipped on some water. Get on with it already.

The screen then slowed down, panning over Kingdom on a Hill… then Cavalry Battle…

Before settling on…

“New Event?” Shoto said aloud, and he wasn’t alone as his fellow peers who weren’t downtrodden over the results of what had happened began to discuss amongst themselves. Except for Bakugo, who looked ready to have an aneurysm.

“New Event?” Kamakiri muttered. “What gives? There’s no title.”

“Could it be a ruse?” Asui mused with a finger to her chin.

“Sensei!” Iida raised his hand, gaining Midnight’s and subsequently the teacher’s attention. “I must-”

“Silence!” Midnight cracked the whip, making the Class Secretary yelp. “Now, I’m sure you and the audience are wondering...” She smirked, licking her lips. “Whatever could this mean? What is ‘New Event’? Well, it is a first for U.A. as well, for this event will be...” She held her hand out, blue eyes wide with hype. “The first to be held here at the Sports Festival! You all should be honored to take part!”

“Wait, this event is a first? Made this year?” Sero said aloud.

“That’s so cool!” Kirishima added. Shoto narrowed his eyes.

What new event? Could they be throwing off people who had observed past Sports Festivals? If so, well… not like the old man’s homework would have done any good, if he even bothered looking at it before he burned it in front of his face.

Man, that was such a good feeling.

“But first!” Midnight pointed at the student body. “I must ask for the students who finished outside the Top 32 to return to their designated seating areas in the stadium! You all performed well out there, and your time to shine will come after the Top 32 engage in the next event!” Shoto saw many of his grade, mostly the General Education and Support Course students take their leave, the General Ed classes giving the top 32 dirty looks as they left.

“It’ll be okay Aoyama, you’ll get ’em next time!” Ashido patted the back of her blonde foreign friend, who walked off, hands on his stomach and in dire need of the bathroom. “Koda-kun!” The dejected-looking dino boy perked up at the pinkette. “Can you help Aoyama here to the bathroom? I don’t think he can get there on his own.” The mute gentle giant nodded, and with purpose helped the Half-French out of the stadium. “And he’s ready to blow too!” Koda looked mortified, and began to trot, practically picking up Aoyama and running towards the tunnels.

“I shouldn’t have lasered myself over the minefield… oh lala…” He groaned as Koda assisted him. Shoto focused back on his fellow students, eyes on Parker.

Midoriya had gotten that quirk of his under control, but that wasn’t all that had happened. It was Parker’s… dominance.

He didn’t need his gear. He was strong on his own. He was the closest thing to a pro this school has in it's halls.

He clenched his fist and bit his lip, hard enough to draw blood. He had intended to succeed with flying covers and show that old man that he didn’t need his fire.

Yet Shoto didn’t even finish in the top five. How could he be like All Might, his idol, if he wasn’t the creme de la creme?

Damn it all…

He could feel the heat come off of Bakugo to the side, whose eyes were white with rage as he glared over at Parker and Midoriya, who were now talking with Uraraka and Asui too.

…

He shouldn’t have called out Midoriya. He was a fool for focusing on him when the real obstacle in his path to the top was that damn joking clown.

Shoto took a deep breath and calmed himself. Don’t be like Bakugo, he mentally repeated to himself.

This was only the first event, he would get back on top in the next one. Even with All Might having his eyes on Midoriya, after that performance, the Symbol of Peace would have to be blind and stupid to not notice Parker’s potential.

“Alright then! Since we have calmed down, the first stage of the second event is…” Midnight licked her lips, everyone on the edge of their seats.

“Is…?” Shoto said aloud.

“An intermission with ice cream!” She yelled with the biggest grin, and the entire stadium gasped and groaned.

“What the hell, lady! Get on with it!” Bakugo roared at a higher octave then usual.

“Nooooo, she’s into blue balls!” Sero wailed in despair.

“We need a break here, we just ran a marathon like our lives depended on it!” Hagakure jumped up and down. “Seriously… I thought I was gonna die back there… but Shiozaki-san cleared a huge path for me, as did Iida-kun!”

“Oh? I helped in assisting you?” The vine haired girl spoke out, hands interclasped. “I am pleased to be of service miss, for doing good deeds is what is expected of a hero, and I am fortunate that you were able to succeed..” Her voice was melodic and soft while Shoto focused back on Midnight as he saw the invisible girl and Shiozaki talk amongst themselves, some Class B students joining in. Hagakure was bouncy as usual, while Shiozaki seemed grounded.

“Now then,” several robots began to roll out of the tunnels, carrying several large crates of sorts. “We will take a fifteen minute break, in that time be sure to use our concessions and the restroom. Oh, and one more thing Top 32.” Midnight had the entire group of students’ attention, Shoto perking up.

“Keep the Ice Cream sticks and don’t destroy them. For they are pivotal for the next event!”

The Ice Cream Sticks? What for? This new event was setting up to be an odd one.

He could hear commercials playing on the jumbotron on top, with highlights of the race taking place. Most of them Parker’s, with shades of Tsunotori, Yaoyorozu, the support girl, and bits and pieces of himself and Bakugo.

Mostly Parker, with the headline ‘Most dominant performance since All Might’.

Inhale, exhale. Don’t break the stick.

Shoto did his best to keep a calm face, keeping the boiling frustration within.

(X)

“Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck!” Katsuki cursed under his breath as he gnashed at his ice cream, munching and chewing hard as his fist shook in rage.

He’d lost. He lost the race not only to Deku… but to some no-name foreigner Horn Girl, Four Eyes, Rich Bitch, and… fucking Parker!

If it hadn’t been for Icy-Hot getting in his way, he would have blasted Parker skyhigh, or at least to the bottom of that goddamn ravine and out of the race.

His teeth grinded as he ate fast, ignoring his brain freeze as he sulked on his own, no other student coming near him as he fumed. Heads would roll, Bakugo Katsuki would make sure of that!

The next event better pit him against Deku though, just so he can blast that lying hypocrite’s head off.

First Deku, no explanation needed.

Then Icy-Hot for being the annoying fucker that he is. He would have gotten second if not for him, and that still made Katsuki livid at the thought.

Then Rich Bitch. That skateboard of her’s was what stunned him before. Then that god damn white goo of her’s made slow down and not get second!

Fuck the idea of settling for silver medal still pisses him off!

And finally Parker, to finish off the walls in his way and cement his place at the top. Thinking back to that speech by Parker… They would be his sacrifices for that goal. He calmed, smirking as his red eyes simmered in a controlled malice. 'This ain't over... not by a long shot.'

He looked down, noticing something odd about his ice cream stick. “The hell is this?”

(X)

“Huh, free ice cream.” Peter mused as the robots came in by him, Izuku, Ochako, Tenya, Momo, Mina, and Eijirou. The lids opened up, revealing ice cream bars galore! “Oh! I know these kinds, they have these at Walmart!” There was Cookies & Cream and Strawberry Shortcake!

“There’s 32 in all, so one for each contestant!” The assistant robot chimed as everyone grabbed a bar and tore off the wrapper.

“I could use the food. All that creation probably took a good deal out of me.” Momo mused as she began to munch on the bar. “The oranges and gatorade helped, but ice cream goes a long way for me too in regaining my lipids.”

“Eat girl! You were going wild on those cuties earlier.” Peter grinned ear to ear, and Momo seemed to bounce in joy at the praise. Mina didn't look as enthused.

“You’re lucky! You get to eat whatever you want and not get fat!” The black eyed pinkette pouted as she munched on her’s. “Not fair… Wish my acid used lipids too…”

“I wonder why the next event involves Ice Cream Sticks…” Ochako muttered as she began to eat at a fast pace.

“Well, it says it is new, so I’m sure we will know sooner than later.” Eijoru answered before turning towards Peter. “Gotta say Ace! You killed it today!”

“Well, I did my best.” Peter shrugged, laughing lightly. Izuku bit his lip.

“Yeah, no kidding... “ He looked down at the ground. “I did so well too…”

“Your best is being modest. Didja hear what Present Mic said? Parker-kun had the best performance in the Obstacle Race since All Might!” Mina cheered, her black and gold eyes shining on Peter. “That’s some crazy good company!” Peter blushed a bit. All he did was his best and…

Enjoyed himself a lot more than he had in awhile. A long while.

Izuku’s shoulders seemed to slump some more as he ate at his ice cream bar.

“Cheer up Deku!” Ochako chirped. “You were so fast out of the gate too, bouncing on the walls like that!” She took one last bite of her ice cream bar, finishing it in a hurry. “You were like a ninja and-Agh!” She hung onto her head, face contorting in discomfort. “Brain freeeeeze…”

“Pacing oneself when indulging in ice cream is important.” Momo stated, eating her’s with her pinky outstretched. Mina stifled a giggle. The group seemed to laugh before Izuku pointed at Ochako’s ice cream stick.

“Hey Uraraka… that ice cream stick of yours, it has a blue tip!” He pointed out, and the cute brunette perked up as everyone seemed to notice.

“Hey, why’s mine red?” Said a voice and the group turned, seeing Kamikiri Togaru holding his up. His ice cream tip was red!

“You know the drill my precious kittens~” Midnight cooed, swaying her arm. “Finish your treats and let us see those cute sticks of yours!”

“Okay this is getting really out of hand here! There’s children watching!” Yelled Tokoyami’s voice from afar. The black haired minx didn’t look amused.

“Silence, Puritan!”

Peter didn’t care much, even if Midnight was facing away and her back was towards him an- Just finish the bar! ‘You looked at Momo-san enough today as it is!’ He thought to himself as he took a bite from his ice cream bar at the top. He swallowed his bit after chewing. His stick was red!

“I’m red!”

“Same here!” Izuku said aloud.

“I’m blue!” Eijiro shouted.

“Me too!” Mina joined in.

“I’m blue as well…” Tenya muttered, staring down at his stick as he looked at Momo, as did Peter.

Her stick was red.

“Alright! It seems everyone has finished their treats! A heartfelt thank you to those who had brain freeze to get the results faster.” Midnight declared. “Now, to all who have red sticks, gather to my right. For blue, to my left! For the stage as been set…” She grinned darkly as all the students looked at their sticks, and then at each other.

“For the War of the Flags is about to begin!”

Chapter Text

“War… of the Flags?” Izuku muttered to himself. Along with his peers and the stadium, gossip began to emerge on what such a title meant.

“Oh! Must be like Capture the Flag! I played that game back in Junior High!” Mina waved her hand, jumping on her feet.

“Hey I remember playing that game, but only on some online games myself.” Sero stated as he looked around his group of peers.

“Likewise.” Tokoyami muttered, looking down at his stick. “And it seems that those ice creams we ate determined our positioning.”

“Most of you are correct, yes!” Midnight exclaimed as she pointed up to the board. “But, this is no ordinary Capture the Flag. It is a war between you all. The Red Kingdom versus the Blue Kingdom!” Some of the students were hyped at the statement, but Peter could see how some weren’t as eager.

“Isn’t it just easier to say teams?” Kirishima asked to himself. “Still, she’s so active in her movements…” The brawler blushed, looking uneasy.

“Oh no, let her keep going.” Denki elbowed the redhead as he grinned up at the stage.

“Now then! We will now explain the rules, but first, our cameras have located all of the contestants who will be on their respective teams!” The board split into two, with the bright words RED and BLUE on the right and left sides respectively. Sixteen squares appeared under each one, and the pictures were quickly filled in.

Peter glanced at his stick before checking out his peers. It was a perfect split of fifty/fifty. Then he looked up at the board and felt a smile spread over his face.

For the RED Team.

Peter Parker, Pony Tsunotori, Yaoyorozu Momo, Midoriya Izuku, Honenuki Juzo, Tokoyami Fumikage, Ojiro Mashirao, Awase Yousei, Asui Tsuyu, Shoji Mezo, Sato Rikido, Jirou Kyoka, Shinso Hitoshi, Shishida Jurota, Sen Kaibara, and Kamakiri Togaru.

“Looks like I’m with you guys,” He looked at Momo and Izuku, then towards the nearby Tokoyami, before gazing afar at the Class B crowd. Pony was staring right back at him.

“And I’m with everyone else.” Ochako pointed at the screen, specifically at the BLUE side, and Peter began to bite his lower lip.

Iida Tenya, Bakugo Katsuki, Todoroki Shoto, Shiozaki Ibara, Sero Hanta, Tokage Setsuna, Kirishima Eijirou, Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu, Uraraka Ochako, Ashido Mina, Hatsume Mei, Kuroiro Shihai, Kendo Itsuka, Monoma Neito, Kaminari Denki, and Hagakure Tooru.

“Holy crap, look at our team!” Mina exclaimed with wide eyes.

“I’m with him?!” Yelled Kirishima, and Peter heard a similar phrase from afar as he and the redhead turned towards the mass of Class B students, seeing Tetsutetsu look right back with widened eyes.

“So this is the makeup of our team... “ Tenya mused, cupping his chin. Peter saw Izuku’s head turn, and saw the reason why.

Bakugo was staring them down, having the biggest smirk on his face as his red eyes bore into them both. Todoroki was close by, eyes narrowed at them… or was it at Bakugo? They were close by and from their vantage point Todoroki was behind the blond bomber.

“Now then!” Midnight’s voice cut through the gossip. “I must ask for all students, specifically in your assigned factions to gather and talk amongst each other! After that, proceed to the west and east tunnels please to leave the stadium floor!”

“Huh? Why’s that?” Denki asked before Midnight cracked her whip.

“Silence and obey my commands!” She barked, and the blonde yelped out a “Yes Ma’am!” before going over to his team as they began to gather. Todoroki and Bakugo were walking with their hands in their pockets, the former expressionless, the latter with the devil’s grin.

“Well, I suppose this is goodbye for now.” Tenya stated as he looked over at Peter and Izuku. “Midoriya, Parker. I am honored to have you both as my peers but…” He paused, looking at them both with a determined expression. “I must live up to the expectations of my family and make my older brother proud. As the youngest of the Iida sons, it is my duty to do so. So I will aim to win, even if I must go through you both.”

“Bring it on, Iida.” Peter grinned, giving a fist. “May the best man win.” Tenya blinked.

“What is this fist you’re offering?”

“Man, you really are lacking in knowing about the bro-code.” Kirishima rolled his eyes as he walked over, bumping Peter’s fist. “I like ya tons Ace, but I ain’t holding back!”

“Good luck to ya both!” Peter said before he turned his head, seeing Ochako stand before Izuku.

“Deku… I… I consider you to be a good friend, a great one even.” The brunette girl paused, taking a deep breath as she stood before the nervous-looking green haired boy. She opened her eyes, now possessing a face similar to Iida’s. She wasn’t going to pull her punches. “But I have to win this for my family. I have to go beyond and ensure that they don’t have to work another hard day in their lives. So I’m going for it with all I’ve got.” She gulped, biting her lip. “So do the same, Deku!”

“U-Uh right!” Izuku coughed, regaining his composure. “I, I understand what you’re going through and all.” He noticed his fellow red teammates start to walk past him towards the tunnel. “But I won’t give up either. We have dreams we need to fulfill after all.” The girl gave him a determined smile, nodding as she walked off, Kirishima, Tenya, and Mina close behind.

“And then there was four…” Tokoyami uttered darkly.

“Enough dawdling, let’s go to the other side and wait for Midnight-sensei’s instructions.” Momo patted Peter’s shoulder, and the American nodded.

“Alrighty then, let’s go.” He began to walk across the stadium into the tunnel, Izuku, Momo and Tokoyami at his back as he joined his new teammates. Many familiar faces made him feel at ease as he got to the tunnel’s entrance. Yet he felt many eyes on him as Pony walked up to him with a smile on her visage.

“Hey Peter.” Peter returned her enthusiasm with a nod.

“Pony.” He saw other students from Class B arrive. “And hello to you guys too!” There was Kamakiri in all his reptile glory, Shishida growling with his trademark beastial fury, and finally Honenuki Juzo with his lipless face and wide-slitted eyes.

Lots of heteromorphs here...

“Alright!” The R-Rated Hero’s voice cut through the arena before they had a chance to say hi. “Before you all have a chance to confer with your fellow teammates, it’s time that we change the field!” Midnight snapped her fingers.

Peter shivered, and over the roar of the crowd the stadium began to shake.

“What the hell is that?!” Shishida yelled.

“Is it an earthquake?!” Sato was looking around, panicking.

“No it’s not. It’s too… controlled!” Jirou had her earphone jacks in a wall as she listened in. “Shoji, you hear it too?”

The tall multi-armed boy shifted his arms into ears. “Yeah, it’s only on here too. Which means…”

“Hey guys look!” Yelled Sen Kaibara, pointing into the field as everyone turned, gasping.

Way ahead of them, the grass field began to split in two, and then four before it began to sink deeper into the earth! It continued to rumble and shake, the platform Midnight was on slinking back towards the stadium wall and no longer being in the center. Then, from before the group a massive column of spires began to rise up in conjunction with giant boulders. The boulders and rocks were auburn and red, and far ahead, near the blue team’s tunnel, were blue and steel gray buildings and warehouses!

“This is incredible! They even changed up the stadium!” Sato yelled.

“No kidding here!” Kamakiri added, in awe of the change of scenery.

“Now then!” A holographic projection appeared in front of the group as they stood by the tunnel’s entrance, and a pair of robots rolled over while carrying a crate, one that was similar to the one that contained the ice cream from before. Midnight stood next to the projection. “I am addressing the Red and Blue Kingdoms now, and to the audience, I will now relay to you all the rules of this new event, The War of the Flags!

“As you may have surmised, the War of the Flags is essentially a far more complex version of Capture the Flag!” A map displaying the stadium appeared, with two halves on each side. One blue with the letter B in it, the other red with the letter R. “Two teams must collect points via one of two methods in order to attain victory!” Sixteen circles appeared within each half of the circle. “The first method is to obtain the ‘Silver Flags’!” The robots in front of the group opened the crate, within were… five silver armbands with red highlights. And above them, a golden armband with a red highlight. “Each Silver Flag is worth twenty points!” A gauge appeared above the stadium circle, with the numbers going from Zero to 100 appearing, with increments of 20 rising. “You must capture the opposing team’s Silver Flags and bring them back to the King’s Ring!” Within each of the halves, a golden light popped up, with the various dots in the halves going back and forth. “Do so, and your team gets 20 points! The first team to 100 points,” Some blue dots had blinking white lights after clashing in the red half, returning to the blue side and into the golden ring. “Wins the war!”

“So we have to wear an armband then?” Juzo mused. “And prevent the enemies from getting it, while protecting our own. Sounds simple enough!” The lipless boy grinned, then again, with no lips he looked like he was always grinning.

“There is a second method, keep listening.” Tokoyami mused with crossed arms.

“The second method, involves the Gold Flag!” Several Red dots encroached into blue territory, assaulting the golden ring, and one dot was glowing gold as it retreated back to the red half of the field. “Players can choose to attack the King’s Ring and take the King’s Flag to return to their own King’s Ring. Do so...” And the gauge, which had shrunk down, went from zero to 100 the moment the gold dot hit the red-gold circle. “And your team gets an automatic victory!”

“Wait, so what’s stopping players from just ganging up on the golden ring? They could just rush us!” Yousei exclaimed.

“Not entirely.” Momo mused, hand on her chin. “This is a war, meaning that we must employ battle tactics, whether they be for offense, or defense.”

“Of course, no war last forever! And there will be a fifteen minute time limit for the contestants to muster as many points as possible! If the time limit expires and no team has reached 100, the team with the highest score wins!” Midnight explained some more, waving her whip-baton. “Of course, in case we have a tie…” She licked her lips, biting her lips in anticipation. “Then it is up to the Kings to stand proud, and fight for their kingdom’s honor in a sudden deathmatch!”

“Can’t you just say one-on-one and leave out the dramatics?” Juzo asked with a quirked eyebrow.

“Of course, I mean more a match in tournament format.” Midnight began to strut around, the two golden dots on each side coming forth as they met in the center of the split ring, duking it out. “It would follow tournament rules. The match will go on until a combatant is unable to continue or suffers a ringout, falls unconscious, or is disqualified. There, that explains the basic rules of this game. But wait, there’s more!”

“Come on! Let’s get on with it already! See blue flag, get flag, and protect our own! We get it!” Shishida complained, growling.

“Yeah, let us go at that ice punk for freezing my shoes!” Kamakiri hissed, his fingers elongating and sharpening into blades. “And that exploding asshole too who got me in the face back at the entry gate! I need to pay them back tenfold!”

“Now now little darlings~” Midnight cooed, finger to her lips, winking. “We’re not even to the foreplay yet and you’re all so eager. Patience please~”

“Graaaaaaaagh~!” Tokoyami roared in frustration.

“Now, as you can see, there are six total flags you must protect. Depending on placement in your races will determine who bears the silver flags and the King’s Flags. Now then! Behold our rankings!” Midnight pointed upwards, as the two divided teams became one with the same ranking as before, but each member of the Top 32 had a red or blue outline. Peter perked up, seeing that he was at the top. The next closest Blue Team member was…

“The King of the Red Team will be Class 1-A’s Peter Parker! While the King of the Blue Team is Class 1-A’s Iida Tenya!” Both Peter and Tenya’s icons became golden with either a red or a blue background.

“He gets to be king huh?” Kamakiri sneered, and Peter turned, seeing the lizard boy glower at him.

“He got first in the race, Togaru-san.” Pony stepped in. “He deserves it.” The taller bladed lizard didn’t seem too pleased with his peer speaking up for Peter as he took a step forward, only for Izuku, Momo, Jirou and Tokoyami to stand at Peter’s flanks. Shishida, Awase, and Sen backed up Togaru.

“Everyone calm down!” Juzo stepped up between the two groups. “I know we are in different classes, and Vlad-sensei wants us to be rivals with Class 1-A.” The blonde rolled his eyes. “Lord knows how far Monoma has taken that mindset… But we can’t afford to be at each other’s throats. This is a team event!”

“You’re siding with our foes, Honenuki?” Kamakiri hissed, before his slittered eyes settled on Momo. “Or is it that you Recommended’s have some sort of boys’ club I don’t know about?”

“Quit it you guys, we’re here to go onto the next event, not fight amongst ourselves.” Asui stated as she walked up beside Juzo, the dark-greenette glancing between her peers. She didn’t seem at all perturbed by the lizard boy’s glare. “Besides, at the end of the day, we all want to be heroes, right?”

“That’s correct, and even with all this, I have a feeling that our chemistry is probably better.” Shoji said as he got the attention of everyone in the room.

“Why’s that?” Sen asked, and one of Shoji’s arms pointed across the stadium.

Where the group heard an explosive blast, and cursing galore. “They have a Bakugo.”

“W-Well, Kacchan is really strong though… very strong.” Izuku mused, biting his lower lip.

“Now then,” Midnight’s voice cut off the conversation. “I will go on to the assessment of the Silver Knights, bearers of these Flags! We determined those by ranking of Prime Numbers, so for those who aren’t math-savvy, here are your silver knights on each team!” She waved her whip, and the icons representing the contestants began to glow. Peter immediately thought of the Prime Numbers in his head.

1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23 and 29.

“That means!” Peter looked at his classmates, and then at the holographic screen.

Red Team Silver Knights:

Pony Tsunotaori, Yaoyorozu Momo, Midoriya Izuku, Asui Tsuyu, and Sato Rikido.

“I’m a Silver Knight?!” Izuku yelped.

“Whoa, me too!” Sato added, eyes wide as he looked at the screen, skin not as pale white as Izuku’s.

“How come Class 1-A gets more Silver-bearers?” Shishida grumbled.

“It’s because of our placement.” Momo explained, looking back at the disgruntled and beastial-looking young man. “Pony got second, myself third. Midoriya fifth. Asui seventeenth, and Sato nineteenth.”

“Hey, look at the Blue Silver Knights!” Asui said, and the group turned, seeing several of the blue team members’ names glow with silver hues.

Blue Team Silver Knights:

Bakugo Katsuki, Todoroki Shoto, Sero Hanta, Kirishima Eijiro and Kaminari Denki.

“Hang on a second!” Ojiro raised his hand. “Bakugo got fourth, that’s divisible by more than one!” Midnight, even hundreds of meters away seemed to have heard him as more muttering picked up amongst the crowd.

“Bakugo is a unique exception, as the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 5th spots are all occupied by either Kings or Silver Knights. As Parker has the Number One spot and the golden flag, along with Jirou Kyoka and Kamikiri Togaru being on the red team courtesy of the ice cream sticks of fate, we opted that Bakugo be a fill-in for the number one slot needed to round out the Silver Knights.” The R-Rated Hero explained as she went over the details. The holographic screen changed, with two halves shown. One in red, the other in blue. Peter and Tenya were the Kings, and their respective Silver Knights below them.

“So we gotta aim for the Silvers, get the armbands or risk going straight for the king,” Momo went over to the crate, taking her armband and wrapping it around her arm. “While protecting ours.”

“Which means it's better if the Silver Knights hang back in their respective zones.” Jirou added in. “Leave the flag-taking to us.”

“I noticed something.” Spoke up a voice for the first time, and Shinso Hitoshi, the kid from General Ed walked forward, hands in his pockets. “Is it me, or are the Silver Knights and Kings… mainly the most destructive and mobile quirk users?” He drawled in a bored tone. Everyone perked up, and even Peter’s head got to work.

Yeah… It was! Bakugo, Todoroki, himself, Izuku and Sato were very destructive, and Momo could be too depending on her creations. While Tsuyu, Pony, Sero, himself, Izuku, and even Bakugo were highly mobile!

“Say…” Izuku snapped his fingers, and Peter took a sharp intake of breath, feeling a chill run down his spine as he looked over at the green haired boy, biting his tongue. “You’re right!”

“Indeed, our team makeups are so unique and diverse… oh the variety! So much to choose from~” Midnight swooned, hugging herself and pressing her arms against her breasts. Man… what a sight. Peter could hear Kaminari and Sero cheering far across the stadium. But the immediate sound of Tokoyami banging his head against the wall with an even angrier Dark Shadow was more prominent.

“Tch.” Jirou scoffed. “Pervs.”

“Now then! For the major rules!” Midnight waved her arm. “One last time. Anything goes in the arena, so long as you do not use lethal force or disobey a referee’s commands! Joining me for this event and monitoring the War will be two of Class 1-A’s faculty!” She waved her whip, and to either side of her rose platforms containing their two teachers. Cementoss stood to the right, while Ectoplasm was on her left. “Utilizing lethal force or disobedience of a command will result in immediate disqualification! And, one more thing.” She smirked, licking her lips. “In the wars of fantasy and myth, they say the kings fight on the front lines in order to inspire the troops, well, this is no war of magic and wonder! This is a war for keeps! The Kings must stay behind their frontlines and place their faith in their soldiers!”

Peter felt a pit form in his gut. As Midnight had explained the event in detail, he felt confident that he could go around swinging and jumping while getting the armbands from the enemy team, or save any armbands for his own squad.

“For you see, the King of each team must remain within the King’s Ring! If a King moves out of the ring via his own free will and not by an enemy, the entire team is disqualified!” Peter felt everyone’s eyes on him as he bit his lip.

“Shit.” He uttered, shaking his head.

“Well, there goes that option.” Jirou rolled her eyes.

“We’ll just have to do it ourselves.” Sato’s fist met his open palm.

“Don’t be so hasty.” Shoji corrected his muscular peer. “You’re a Silver Knight, you have to remain here and hide from the enemy team.”

“That’s right, if Peter can’t move beyond his ring, neither can Iida!” Pony spoke out. “That works for us too! You all saw how fast HE was!”

“Doesn’t do anything about Todoroki and Bakugo though. They may be Silver Knights, but they’re incredibly powerful, not to mention the fact that they may be out for blood.” Asui pointed out. She turned towards the group of Izuku, Pony, Peter and Momo. Before Izuku could break out in a cold sweat, Pony stepped up.

“No matter, bring them on.” The blonde girl said, her blue eyes alight with a fire. “I’ll kick their butts again for sure.”

“That’s the spirit, Pony!” Shishida roared proudly. Tokoyami winced at the sudden outburst.

“However,” Midnight’s voice cut in again, and she smirked before the screen. “If a King’s armband is taken by the enemy team, then the enemy foes hath awoken a sleeping giant, for a King in the War of the Flags is no slovenly idiot King, but a King of merit and power! The King will be able to reclaim their armband and, in addition, be able to fight with their troops in the battlefield to retrieve the enemy flags! Of course, to cover that problem, if a Silver Knight loses their armband but has it be recovered by an ally, that ally becomes the new Silver Knight and must protect their armband! But don’t be fooled, it’s not just the Knights that you have to worry about! Each of you will be graded according to your performance! Each act of heroism, cunning, and strategy will gain you favor in the eyes of the masses. Everyone has a chance to advance, win or lose. After all, heroes come from every corner of the world, but be warned, any act that could be considered villainous will only diminish your role. That means no backstabbing or excessive violence against your teammates! ” The black haired woman sighed, wiping her brow. “Now that, was a mouthful. Quite... a mouthful.” Midnight cooed, giggling seductively and biting her lip.

“Lalalalalalala!” Tokoyami had his ears covered and Dark Shadow was raving as his eye twitched.

“Oh, grow up and grow a pair already you wuss!” Kamakiri barked, glaring at him.

“Now, most hero situations call for sudden and random team-ups. Since the selection of field was decided at random,” Midnight crossed her arms. “You will be allowed to enter your field of play and assess the battlefield. Points to defend. Ambush. Vital chokepoints and routes. Or even places to hide! You have ten minutes to form a plan of attack against the enemy team. The enemy has peers from your classes, as your allies have people you have never met or talked to in the hallways even!” She waved her baton as Peter looked back at his teammates, no, his comrades for his event as they looked to him. Momo, Izuku, Asui, and Sato had finished putting on their armbands. Peter walked over to the crate containing his golden armband. He took it, wrapping it around his arm and tightening the velcro.

“But now is the chance to forge camaraderie! The foes of yesterday become the allies of today! Your ten minutes,” The robots containing the crates rolled away, and Cementoss and Ectoplasm stepped down into the divided field. “Start now! Prepare!” Above her, a timer began to count down from 10:00.

“Alright then everyone.” Peter said, as he walked forth, his Silver Knights trailing behind him. Momo and Izuku to his right, Pony with Sato on his left, Tsuyu in their wake. “Let’s do this!” The rest of his team, the ones who had the best chance to go into the opposing team’s side and capture any flags, strode on forth.

The War of the Flags was about to begin.

(X)

For the first time in a while, Shouta wondered if the universe had it out for him. Because when he had proposed a change to the original strategy, he figured that Nezu would pull some strings and make it a more team-focused event than just a bunch of trainees slapping each other with their powers.

Leave it to the producers and the Board of Directors of this whole headache to turn it into a reality TV show.

Next to him, Present Mic was going over the events again for the radio listeners as well as spew hot air while the investors no doubt got their mandatory airtime shilling out whatever product chain supported the major heroes nowadays. He would get some flak later, but for now, the problem in front of him was far more interesting.

He could forgive the average viewer for thinking that the win would probably go to the Blue Team. Out of the two teams, they had the most raw firepower and straightforward fighters. Todoroki and Bakugo in particular were two of the most talented and highly destructive combatants in the entire school. Todoroki’s ice quirk needed a few members of the Red Team on constant standby if they wanted to even move with the recommended student capable of simply freezing the entire enemy team's side with barely a touch of his hand, or coating the battlefield in ice. Anyone that wasn’t caught was left vulnerable to Bakugo’s blasts. For all the hot air that the boy was spouting, he was no pushover in terms of tactical flexibility. The boy had shown remarkable skill in close-quarters combat, and his range of destructive capability spoke for itself.

Then you wouldn’t be mistaken for looking at the two brawlers next. Kirishima and Tetsutetsu, two boys with quirks so similar that many would be forgiven for thinking they were related in some way. Shouta didn’t know the extent of their durability, but the two of them were the easy choices for a win as far as brawling was concerned.

And that wasn’t even getting into the range of tactical options up their sleeves. Kaminari was a walking bomb, only needing to get close to an enemy group before taking out at least a few of the red team, though his position as a Knight limited him in that aspect. One max discharge and he’d be incapacitated. But in terms of stealth, the Blue Team had the overwhelming advantage. Kuroiro and Hagakure’s quirks were practically made for situations like this. Plenty of dark corners and alleyways for them to use in surprising their opponents.

However, pretty much everything that he said, with the exception of the stealth category, could go to the Red Team as well. Midoriya finally got his head on straight and found a way to use his quirk that wasn’t just shattering his limbs for single strikes. The mummified hero searched through the stands, but couldn’t find one particularly irresponsible Symbol of Peace. Either way, Aizawa didn’t know what Midoriya could do with his new powers, but given how the race turned out, he was at least as mobile and durable as his supposed-childhood friend.

The more he thought about it, every advantage that either team had over the other was simply negated. Bakugo and Todoroki were powerful and widely destructive, but plenty of students on the red team had shown the capability to break out of the ice or at least hold off Bakugo long enough to get a numbers advantage. If anyone wanted to talk about mobility, Shouta would simply point out that the two most mobile of the teams, Parker and Iida, were confined in their king rings. Tsunotori and Sero were the exceptions, but Tokoyami was no slouch in his ability to utilize his quirk for rapid movement as well. And as for stealth, both Shoji and Jirou had their ways to detect invisible targets, and that wasn’t even getting started on Parker’s seemingly precognitive reaction times. He and Sato could easily keep up with Kirishima and Tetsutetsu in a brawl as well. Hell, they would outright win with Parker’s ability alone.

Even the support was countered, at least marginally. That Hatsume girl was getting quite the praise from Power Loader in his off time. The girl had a knack for creating a variety of support tools even with her seemingly simple quirk. She would at the very least have something to support the backlines just like Yaoyorozu would bolster hers.

To top it all off, anyone he hadn’t thought about could simply turn the tables with a single good placement or a surprise use of their quirks. That General Ed boy… he would be a player in this, even if most would write him off and focus on the bigger threats like the two big guns of his class or the resident loudmouth of class 1-B. Monoma... that boy would thrive here with so many quirks to copy.

It would come down to how well they could plan within the time they got, and if they could keep certain personalities in check.

“ALRIGHT LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WE’RE ABOUT TO GET THIS PARTY STARTED! THE BIGGEST NAMES FOR THE FIRST YEAR CLASS ARE ABOUT TO GO HEAD TO HEAD IN THE BIGGEST SLOBBERKNOCKER THIS SIDE OF JAPAN!”

“Is slobberknocker even a word?” Shouta grumbled.

But of course, Hizashi ignored him, “BUT THE VIEWERS HAVE TO KNOW, MY MAN AIZAWA, WHO DO YOU THINK IS GOING TO TAKE THIS? WHERE DOES THE NINJA MAN STAND?”

“Don’t know, could go either way.” Shouta said with a shrug.

“OH COME ON! YOU GOTTA HAVE SOMETHING FOR THE WONDERFUL VIEWERS AT HOME!” Mic complained, “COME ON, WHAT DO YOU GOT!?!”

Aizawa glanced at the two sides of the arena, the rocky landscape and the sprawling city. Too many variables, too many limitations.

Even so…

“I’ll just say that if you’re thinking this is going to be easy for one team, you’ve got another thing coming. Any hero worth their salt can tell that many of the quirks used by the contestants here can cancel each other out.”

“HOW OMINOUS! BUT THERE YOU HAVE IT FOLKS, WE’VE GOT AN EVEN SPLIT FROM THE ERASER HERO HIMSELF! PERSONALLY I’M MORE OF A RED GUY BUT DON’T FORGET TO POST YOUR GUESSES ON OUR PAGE AND WE’LL GET RIGHT BACK TO YOU…”

Present Mic kept going on about the news site that was hosting this entire thing, so he ignored him and focused back on the two teams. There was another factor that he didn’t mention. Class 1-A had previously used their powers in a live-fire situation, and as such among other factors, the relationship with Class 1-B was strenuous at best. There were exceptions, but that just proved the rule.

The team's biggest obstacles, would be one another, he was sure of it. It was the perfect opportunity for them to get over it though.

Huh, wonder if Vlad had a hand in that one?

“AND DON’T FORGET TO SUBSCRIBE!”

Shouta sighed, of course they had a subscription page. What other useless thing would they have next? T-shirts?

(X)

“So… how do you guys want to play this?” Peter asked his fellow armband-wearing peers. They made their way to the King Ring within their allotted space. Thankfully, it was marked with some pretty shiny gold paint. The space itself was limited, about fifteen square yards, around the size and circumference of a house, then again they were on the roof of one of the buildings that Mr. Cementoss had made. Beside him was a giant bath-sized bowl of sorts with lasers inside. They must be for holding the captured flags. Thankfully, he was on top of a building, one of many that dotted the arena along with boulders and cliff faces down below on ground level.

What he wouldn’t give to trade spaces with Momo. She would lock down this place with so many traps that he probably couldn’t think of all the ways. Bomb every door and bunker down there or something like that. Sato was checking his remaining cubes of sugar, counting them out and grimacing at the number he ended up with. Asui simply leaped between the makeshift light-poles, her frog eyes glancing around every once in a while. Momo was the same, the looking around portion at least, not the leaping part. Finally, Midoriya was muttering up a storm as per normal, only breaking out of it when Peter asked his question.

“I think we should form a defence around the building and below us,” Midoriya muttered, “Parker’s band is the most valuable, so protecting that is our best bet.”

“Won’t work, Ribbit,” Asui said from her pole, “I’ve got money on Todoroki and Bakugo rushing this place the second that the buzzer sounds. We can build things up as best we can, but you saw what Todoroki did to that Zero Pointer in the race, chances are he’s going to make his first battle test feat look like nothing in comparison. He’d just make a big glacier and wreck the building.”

Midoryia blanched, and the fellow knights nodded their heads in understanding. Except for Peter.

“I uh, actually don’t know what he did,” Peter admitted.

The five around him blinked.

“Oh right, you were way ahead,” Sato explained as he turned towards his shorter classmate, “Basically, he turned the Zero Pointer into a snow-cone faster you could blink. Then made it fall down on top of Kirishima and a Class B guy.”

Peter blinked once, then twice, “... Okay. Midoriya, I liked your plan at first, but now I don’t, no offense.”

“N-none taken,” Midoriya stuttered.

“But what do we do now?” Pony asked, her peers from Class B behind her. “If we’re not defending Peter here, are we just running around like chickens with our heads cut off?”

“Not the analogy that I would use,” Momo muttered under her breath before she spoke up. “Regardless, I think it would be best if we spread out our flags as much as possible.”

“Wouldn’t that just leave us as easy pickings for the other team when they come through?” Sato points out.

“If they come through,” Momo stressed, “I doubt that our teammates will simply let them pass when the judges will be evaluating their progress. The event is more than simply taking the bands after all.”

Peter nodded, crossing his arms, “Then are we cool with everyone splitting up?”

“Not splitting up,” Midoriya jumped in, looking between his teammates. “Teams.”

Everyone glanced at the green haired boy, who broke out in a nervous sweat as he glanced down at the floor.

“Just hear me out, Yaoyorozu, do you have a-”

He was cut off as she handed him a permanent marker and a piece of paper.

“Thanks, now, this is what I’m thinking. Right now, with the luck of the placements, we have a good balance of mobility and power,” he said, drawing on the paper.

After a few seconds, he got a makeshift drawing of the two sides of the arena, as well as the marked king circles. “With our quirks, I say we set up in four groups. Parker-san and Yaoyorozu-san stay within the king’s circle, making as much as she can with her quirk.” Izuku

“We’ve been over this Midoriya, Todoroki is just going to freeze everything,” Asui said.

“Not if she’s prepared,” Izuku countered, “You two fought Todoroki before, all you have to do is avoid the initial ice salvo and you can counterattack! Then Yaoyorozu can retreat into the building to stall for time if need be.”

“I can also make communicators,” Momo offers, her skin already bubbling, revealing a set of walkie-talkies, “That way if I’m ambushed I can call for help.” She began to distribute them, even Class B’s group taking them.

“As another group we can protect Pony.” Kamakiri stated, looking back at Sen, Shishida, and Awase. “She’s our ace right now, and we have experience working together as classmates.” He looked over to Juzo. “You gonna join in too, Honenuki?”

“I’m better off going for the flags. My quirk lets me swim in the earth after all.” He pointed at himself. “And I can hinder any and all who get in my way.”

“So you’re on offense then.” Peter stated, grabbing a walkie-talkie and handing it to the ash-blonde. “It’s better that we all communicate.” The lipless boy had a ghost of a grin as he pocketed the device.

“Sounds like a plan.”

“So we all can call for help,” Asui said, grabbing one of the walkie-talkies with her tongue.

“That’s good for the two reps, but what about the rest of us?” Sato asked.

“I was getting to that,” Midoriya said, drawing two other circles, one on each side of the King’s Circle, “We hide out in these areas around here, close enough to assist if needed, but far enough away that we can serve as distractions to anyone looking to take Parker-san’s band. Right now, I think I should be with Asui while Pony-san and Sato-san team up. That way, if any of us are found or need assistance, there’s someone there that can make a quick escape.”

Peter blinked. That was… really good. It was like a big game of tag, but with human lifelines instead of a safe zone.

“That’s right, Asui and Pony are both super mobile, and you two are bruisers!” Juzo stated, clapping his hands. “Gotta say, you’re smarter than you look!”

“That doesn’t sound bad at all, let’s do it!” Sato grinned, offering a thumbs-up.

Upon hearing such praise, Izuku jerked back, a nervous line of sweat running down his face.

“I just uh, thought of it while I was a kid. I threw a lot of ideas into my hero journals and city combat came up a lot so I-I remembered an idea I had,” Midoriya stammered, “You guys don’t have to agree to it!” he shouted, flailing his arms, “If you don’t like it just say so! I understand.”

Pony hummed a bit before she glanced at Sato who stared right back.

“How heavy are you?” she asked, matter of fact and sternly.

“Around 90 kg,” Sato admitted.

Both Peter and Pony stared blankly at him.

“About 200 pounds,” Momo clarified.

The Americans shot her a thankful look but Pony looked hesitant.

“I can work with it, so long as he doesn’t move around too much,” Pony commented.

“We’ll still protect ya! Besides, we can’t leave ya alone with this lumux!” Kamakiri declared. Sato looked offended.

“What did I do?!”

“Hang on, while I understand your feelings in wanting to help defend a Knight.” Momo interjected. “It may be best if you take part in the attack.”

“Huh? I get to be on offense?” Kamakiri asked with a quirked eyebrow.

“Obviously.” Shinso drawled, walking up to them. “Honenuki there may be a Recommended Student, but I doubt he can do all the heavy lifting. He’ll need backup.” Midoriya looked over a the purple haired boy.

“Wow… impressive. So we have various teams protecting our flags,” Izuku looked at Pony and Sato, then at Asui. “A team to help with defense of the King’s Ring.” He turned towards Yaoyorozu, Shoji and Jirou. “And our attack squad.” A group of Kamakiri, Shishida, Awase, Sen, Ojiro, and Tokoyami stood proud, with Juzo in front.

“Going by our capabilities, I think Tokoyami and Honenuki have the best chances as flag returners.” Ojiro stated as he looked over his team. “They are the fastest ones outside of our knights.” The ash-blonde nodded.

“Good eye,” he turned towards the raven haired boy. “Let’s do our best out there.” Tokoyami nodded.

“Indeed. Let us revel in the darkness.” Juzo blinked, looking back at Kamakiri and the others.

“Tch… he’s like Kuroiro ain’t he…” Sen muttered under his breath.

“Speaking of, Shihai might be able to counter him too…” Shishida whispered, causing the shadow user to perk up.

“What is this Kuroiro Shihai’s quirk and how can he counter my ability?”

Momo finished making the walkie-talkies and passed them out as the Attack Squad got to work, talking strategy. Peter walked over to his fellow Knights.

“Guess this is the part where we say good luck?” Peter offered.

“Luck? Who says we need it?” Sato said confidently, flexing with a grin.

“Yeah, we all know, let’s move Midoriya,” Asui began leaping away.

“Yeah, we better…” Izuku started, only for his voice to trail off as he noticed Asui’s tongue wrap around his waist. The boy looked at his classmates in surprise before being yanked away by a tongue that probably could lift a car, Izuku yelping as Asui began to hop with Izuku off the building and into the rocks and warehouses below. Peter added that to another thing around here that didn’t obey the laws of physics to see Pony get on all fours, gesturing at Sato to get on.

Sato worriedly looked back at him, and Peter shrugged. The sugar giant tentatively took a seat on her back. To her credit, she didn’t even buckle, only staring back at Peter after Sato got himself situated. Kamakiri and Shishida glared holes into Sato’s head, making the muscular boy gulp.

“Call the second you’re in trouble.” Pony stated, patting her pocket where her communicator was.

Peter held up his walkie-talkie, “You’ll be the first to know.” He replied in his native tongue.

The girl smiled tentatively before taking a few careful steps.

“So, do I just sit back?” Sato asked as they prepared to leave.

“Kick me and I drop you.” She growled, not happy to be in such a position as they leapt off the building to a nearby warehouse, using her horns to levitate downward, one horn on her hand, the other on her knee to float downward.

Peter’s shoulders slumped as his friend carried the big man away. He saw Momo pour something over the drawing, covering it up only to look at the building to her left.

“Call when you need me,” Peter offered again, waiting only for her to smile back before she trotted down the stairwell, the Attack Squad behind her.

“Parker.” Shinso’s voice spoke out, and Peter turned, seeing that the only remaining resident on the rooftop was the purple haired General Ed student. The fact that he made it here was incredible. “I’ll handle getting a flag or two myself. Green over there didn’t seem to delegate a role to me so…” He shrugged. Peter blushed.

“Oh, well, sorry… I don’t know your abilities and you weren’t in the Hero Course and, not that that’s a bad thing and all-”

“Relax.” Shinso said, “I have my own methods for grabbing a flag. All I need is to sneak in the other side unnoticed, and I have a feeling that I’ll have a good chance.” His eyes turned and Peter followed his gaze, seeing small explosions flare up in the distance, presumably where the other team had gathered. Bakugo must be arguing with his teammates. “They have a lot of power, but seems like fate rewarded me with a team possessing some brains.”

“You sure that you can handle getting a flag solo? If you wanna be on defense or attack you can.” Peter assured him, but Shinso shook his head.

“It’s alright, I need to stand out in my own way. Not that many guys of the team seemed to notice me, and that in of itself is an advantage.” Shinso walked towards the stairwell leading downward. “Do me a favor and don’t get taken out” He smirked, looking back. “I’ve got some plans for this event, so do your best Peter Parker.” And the baggy-eyed kid left, Peter quirking an eye. He knew Shinso that wanted to be in the Hero Course, so that maybe what he was going for.

“Uh… Good luck then!” Peter called out.

He didn’t get an answer back, so he walked towards the edge of the building, sitting down on it as he felt the wind pass by, hearing the ambiance of the crowd and the overhead sounds of the jumbotron’s commercials.

He felt a tick on the back of his neck, and he looked up to see a hovering robot with a camera in the center focus in on him. The crowd roared their approval, and Peter checked out the jumbotron.

There, for everyone to see was him, perched at the edge of a building. He threw out a peace sign and smiled.

The crowd promptly went wild.

It made him laugh. Every single voice looking out and cheering just for him sitting and for lack of a better word, posing on the edge of a building. It was all a little silly.

But before Peter could dwell on it, a blast echoed throughout the stadium. He squinted his eyes, and he swore he could see a small pillar of smoke erupt from the enemy side.

Looked like the Blue Team was getting along as well as it could with Bakugo on their team. He prayed that such discord would continue.

(X)

Shoto stared down at the armband in his hand. A rather simple thing, but he guessed that was the point. Wouldn’t be too hard to take it off anyone, again, probably the point. Wrapping the band around his upper arm on his right side, he saw that Bakugo was doing much the same. The blonde had been smiling ever since the teams were announced. His look was disturbing to say the least, but Shoto paid it no mind.

A single target in the center of an enclosed space that he couldn’t leave unless his band was taken. Parker was practically sitting there, waiting for an attack, daring him. Considering that Yaoyorozu was nearby, they would probably hold out in one of the buildings like they did in the training exercise.

They’d beaten him back then, but things would be different this time. He wouldn’t just flash-freeze the building… he would destroy it with one giant glacier.

With his old man watching, there was no point in holding back. If someone got caught… it didn’t matter. Even with the judges, only the knights truly mattered. If anyone wanted to take his, they were welcome to try. Shoto pulled the armband tight, rotating his shoulder a few times to make sure he had ease of movement.

“Alright everyone, let’s bring our heads together.”

Shoto glanced up at the speaker. Kendo Itsuka, the class representative of 1-B if he remembered correctly.

“Indeed Kendo-san,” Iida said, adjusting his glasses, “I suggest forming a defensive perimeter. When the Red Team comes to attack us, we can utilize superior terrain and catch them-”

“FUCK THAT!”

Uraraka eeped as Bakugo blasted the rock he was sitting under to smithereens. His eyes had a bloodshot madness to them that Shoto knew all too well. The eyes of someone so frustrated that all logic was thrown out the window for a single, obsessive goal.

“I’m not waiting! That fucking Redshirt has sat too pretty for too long! His ass is mine, and I’m not waiting for anyone to come to me before I blast that brat to kingdom come.” He gritted his teeth, baring them.

Shoto rolled his eyes, of course he would have his reasons for going after Parker, petty as they were. Not that he was in any state to throw stones. At the very least, Bakugo would serve as a good distraction.

“So you’re just going to throw yourself against a dozen of our classmates and what? Walk out of there with all the armbands?” Kendo asked incredulously, crossing her arms.

“And what if I do?” Bakugo asked, turning to the orange haired girl. “I betcha I can.” He smirked darkly at her.

To her credit, the rep of class 1-B didn’t even flinch.

“And what if you get your ass laid flat on the concrete because you couldn’t see a punch coming?” Kendo countered, “They get an armband, and we lose one of our knights and are down 20 points.”

“I’d pay good money to see that,” The lizard-like girl grumbled on the side, sitting on a rock with her chin cupped in her hands.

“What did you say!?” Bakugo roared at the girl. She only seemed to grin widely, knowing that she had struck a nerve.

His hand popped with explosions, but Tetsutetsu immediately stepped in between them. He crossed his arms, and his skin turned to metal as he puffed up his chest and stared Bakugo down.

“She said exactly what she wanted to say, got that?” Tetsutetsu growled, looking down at the blonde.

Bakugo’s hands twitched, letting out another, far louder pop.

“You got something to say, you metal freak?” The metallic boy snarled and was about to retort before a voice cut him to the punch.

“No, but I’m sure I can speak for him.”

Every head turned to the source of the interruption. The other blond boy with well-kept hair, all but strutting to the center of their little group. Bakugo glared at him, leading to the two blonds to stare one another down, one with a sneer and the other with a cocky little smirk.

“What the hell do you want?”

“Nothing much,” the other blonde mentioned.

“Neito-kun,” Kendo pressed, “This isn’t the time. Planning. Now.”

“Really?” the blonde named Neito asked, “I believe this is the perfect time. After all, we’re trusting one of the most important things in this little tournament to him. And frankly, I don’t trust him.”

Bakugo gerked, “You think I’m gonna get taken out by a bunch of extras?” He growled, fists quivering.

“Yes, actually I do,” Neito said, his smirk widening, “You intend to go straight for the King, Parker, right?”

The edges of Bakugo’s mouth twitched, “Yes, did yah not hear what I said a few fucking seconds ago?”

Neito casually shrugged, a move that came as a surprise to Uraraka and the floating uniform that was Hagakure. He didn’t show any fear or irritation at Bakugo’s attitude and aggressiveness. He almost seemed to welcome it even.

“I understand, except that I heard through the grapevine that that particular king, Parker-san, he has you beaten in every category, hasn’t he?”

Uraraka and Kirishima gasped at the declaration. Even Hatsume looked up from her project to give the conversation a once-over. Sero winced, and even Kendo looked at Neito like he was insane.

Bakugo… was deathly still, eyebrow twitching.

“Care to repeat that?”

“Easy now guys, we gotta plan here…” Kirishima tried to calm them down, feeling the temperature rise up in the clearing.

“Uhhh Monoma, I know you hate 1-A but… is this going a bit too far?” Setsuna asked. “We’re supposed to be on a team here. You know, enemy of my enemy is my friend and all that?”

“That won't work here, Setsuna.” Kurorio muttered, correcting her. "Not with him."

“What? It’s a fact, isn’t it?” Neito asked innocently. “I mean, you heard the people right? First Year Phenom? The Golden Boy?” His eyes flicked over to Kirishima. “Ace? And what of you? For someone who seems to be quite so angry at him, I bet you want to be the best. To aim for the top but the fact of the matter is...” His smirk broke out into a smug grin. “You couldn’t even break into the top five!”

“Enough.” Shoto hissed, standing up and conjuring an ice wall to come between the seething Bakugo and a surprised Monoma Neito. HE walked up, eyes glaring into them both. “Midnight said that this competition is more than just win or lose, and us yelling at each other won’t do us any favors. I suggest you keep whatever superiority complexes you have to yourselves.” He glowered before walking away.

“Todoroki-kun! Where are you going?” Uraraka called out, Shoto leaving with his hands in his pockets.

“I already have a plan. I’ll end this game within a few minutes.” He had his eyes on the target building, specifically at the top. There, where the Red Team’s King was. Shoto looked back, seeing Tenya stand in his own Ring that was surrounded by a clearing of rocks and boulders with the laser bowl.

“You ain’t gonna take his armband! I am, Icy-Hot!” Bakugo barked, departing after him despite the cries from Kendo and his other peers. Before long they were walking side by side, eyes forward.

“Unlike you I have fought him before, so if you don’t want your flag to be taken like a fool...” Shoto turned his head, his grey eye boring a hole into Bakugo’s head. “I suggest you help with finding and attacking the other Silver Knights, or at the very least help with defense.”

“Go to hell, you two-faced bastard.” Bakugo sneered. “I’ll win my own way. Not yours, use that cute ice sculpting skill of yours and make a wall.”

“That makes two of us.” And with that said the two glowering teens continued to march through the hodgepodge mix of buildings and boulders, eyes set on the tower far ahead.

(X)

“Those two… I can’t believe this!” Itsuka yelled, sighing before turning to Neito, her Deputy Representative and resident headache. “What is your problem!? Those are two of our Silver Knights and you made them go right into the frontlines when the bell starts!”

“Come on Kendo-chan, we both know that those two are better on offense than defense.” Neito responded, smirking all the while. “They’ll throw themselves against the enemy while our team collects the flags and and holds out.” He turned towards Setsuna who waved. “I trust that you’ll help with matters?”

“Oh yeah, leave it to me.” She smirked. Kendo looked at the greenette who noticed her gaze and winked. True… Setsuna was very good at stealth, along with Hagakure they could infiltrate any part of the Blue Kingdom and find a Silver Knight. “Me and Hagakure-san can sneak around and find any flags. After that we can make a ruckus and those two hotheads will come running I bet.”

“Are you sure that this is a good idea, leaving those two alone? They may get overwhelmed!” Hagakure waved her glove in concern. “Besides, if we get Parker-kun’s flag, he gets involved in the battle!”

“As would I!” Iida declared. “Don’t forget about me now!”

“I’m pretty sure that those two,” Kuroiro muttered lightly. “Will be fine on their own. Monoma’s right. Those two have a lot of power, but I doubt they can be reigned in.”

“Still… I’m a bit concerned. They have Yaoyorozu on their team, and-” Uraraka was abruptly shoved to the side by Hatsume.

“HAVE NO FEAR MY TEAMMATES, BEHOLD!” She looked like she had just run a marathon, lugging a cart of sorts. “I MADE SOME EXTRA BABIES FOR JUST THIS OCCASION!” She opened the lid, revealing an assortment of devices and gadgets inside. “IN CASE I WAS ABLE TO MAKE IT THROUGH TO THE NEXT ROUND, I SPENT AN ALL NIGHTER ON THESE THE OTHER DAY, NYEHEHE~!” Sero flinched while Ashido stepped forward, inspecting some of the gear. Gloves, boots, vests and goggles galore!

“Did you get any sleep at all?” He asked, unsure of what to make of the Support Course girl who had run into the locker room to get her gear. As a member of the Support Course, she was able to use any gadgets she made during the Sports Festival in order to catch up with the Hero Course students. And there wasn’t anything in the rules against dispersion of said gear in case of a team exercise…

“Nope!” Hatsume declared, showing off an assortment of gear. “Now put them on! I’ll explain their functions and then we can get to work!”

“I’ll explain our plan here, since Bakugo and Todoroki clearly want no part of this.” Itsuka rolled her eyes. “We need to assault Parker’s stronghold, at least enough to act as a diversion. Parker-san cannot leave his King’s Ring at the top of the tower. That means we need a strike team in order to have his attention and their team’s other defenders.”

“Leave it to me! I wanna have a go at Ace myself.” Kirishima raised his hand, as did Tetsutetsu. “Huh, why are you coming with?!”

“What, you think I’d let you hog that guy to yourself? Parker’s an okay guy but I gotta beat him. He’s in Class A!”

“I should go with him.” Ashido patted Itsuka on the back, and the orangette was glad that the pinkette had a semblance of a brain. “I’ve known Kirishima-kun for a long time. Chemistry may go a long way for us!”

“I agree.” Shihai uttered, standing up from his perch. “Kendo-san, let me stick to defense. The sun is getting higher in the sky.” He looked up, eyes narrowed. “It’ll be hard for me to use my shadows on offense. Plus we’ve worked together on those obstacle courses Vlad-sensei made for us.”

“A smart ploy Shihai-kun.” Neito drawled. “Then I’ll assist with the offense as well. With any luck, Bakugo and Todoroki should be close enough for me to use my quirk.”

“Is it just me though, or do we have little room for defense? We have a stealth team, a small group for attackers and defenders, and then we have Todoroki and Bakugo. We’re gonna be stretched a little thin here.” Sero said aloud in concern before Itsuka turned, her green eyes twinkling. She looked over at Uraraka, Ibara, and Kaminari.

“Our numbers are few, but I have a feeling that our defense is pretty stout. Uraraka, if you can use your Gravity quirk on the boulders to help block the various chokepoints or flank areas that would be helpful. Ibara-san.” The vine haired girl who had remained silent and stoic perked up, ignorant of the way Kaminari was blushing near her. “Can I have you patrol the perimeter of the boulders around the King’s Ring?”

“I am appalled at the idea of inflicting harm to another in the name of sport, but if I am to become a hero, I must do what is needed and not what I want,” Ibara declared, hands interlocked. “I only hope that this game is not as combative as a war. War is truly a heinous and sad thing to witness, as our Lord must be grieving for us high in heaven. But if I must aid in the defense of our ring, then I will."

Kaminari and Sero sighed. “Wow… her voice is so…”

“Angelic…” The tape user finished, and Itsuka chuckled.

“Sero-kun, Kaminari-kun, you two are our remaining knights, what with Kirishima-kun leading the attack on Red Team’s fortress.” Itsuka put on a pair of hover soles that Hatsume provided. “We need you to hang back here in our zone, most importantly near the King’s Ring so that myself, Ibara-san, Uraraka and Hatsume-san can come rescue you. Can you do that?”

“Wait, hang on.” Kaminari looked at his black haired friend, grinning. “Are we in the care of three girls?”

“Two cute ones at that.” Sero nodded, arms crossed and grinning. Kendo quirked an eyebrow, smirking in amusement. Setsuna seemed to share her enthusiasm.

“And who is the other? Chopped liver?” Uraraka didn’t seem to care, and Kendo was glad that she didn’t lose her temper like most girls in the various rom-com manga that she read from time to time.

Speaking of which, this week she was gonna binge-read that new manga by Hyu Araki! But first, gotta focus on the Festival...

“Heck no!” Kaminari roared, before waving his hands and bowing. “For it is she… and her divine grace and baritones blessed by the gods on high… Long may she reign~” He spoke in a lower, fragile and subdued tone. Kendi could just about see the light of heaven shining upon him.

Ibara could only tilt her head in confusion. “Hmm? There is only one God, I do not know what you speak of, Kaminari-san.”

“I am not worthy~!” The blond electric user covered his eyes, being overly dramatic with an arm draped over his sight. Sero didn’t seem all too affected.

“I like her too dude, but you miiiight be pushing it too hard.” The long-armed tape user laughed.

“Nah, let the guy dream.” Setsuna added. “Anyways, Hagakure-chan, let’s get ready. Wanna go as a team?”

“Ah! Sure thing!” Hagakure waved, and the invisible girl began to walk away with Setsuna.

“We’ll be back with some flags, we’re going to hide somewhere close to the half-line.” Setsuna waved. Itsuka turned towards her defense team as Tenya stood calmly in his Ring.

Uraraka, Ibara, Sero, Kaminari, Hatsume and Kuroiro.

She could work with this.

“Alright then.” She turned, looking out towards the building that Peter Parker was sitting on. She thought that Parker was a decent guy, one she kinda wished was in her class. She could use a cooler head as a Deputy Representative. Neito-kun could be charismatic… whenever he wasn’t making a fool of himself.

“Let’s go show the pros what we’ve got! Iida-kun, leave the defense to us and have a seat!” Itsuka grinned.

“Very well, I am in your care!”

“One minute until the War begins!” And the Timer began to count down from 59 seconds as the orange haired martial artist licked her lips.

(X)

Why was there always a countdown? There weren’t countdowns in real life. If heroes didn’t show up in time, everything would go to hell, and Lord knows how many lives would be ruined. On second thought, considering the members of the Hero Course, it wasn’t too far out there to expect that of them.

Shinso Hitoshi had a lot of thoughts on the current resident members of the hero course; and all of them boiled down to one word.

Special.

Every single one of them was seemingly born with a quirk perfectly suited to some kind of facet of mainline hero work. Big flashy powers that packed a punch, fast powers that would let them run straight into danger, even silent quirks that were perfect for getting in and out with every secret an enemy would want to hold on to.

He had to prove to the world that he was special too. How else could he make his dream of being a hero come true? If it meant ousting one of Parker’s classmates to do so, so be it.

Or maybe a spot in Class B. He’d be fine with that too.

Not that he could complain about his current team. For all of the ego rumored to pour out of the Hero Course, the current team was workable. He was honestly expecting Parker to stick him on defense, or just tell him to hide. Instead, he let him go to the frontlines without even knowing his quirk. Pretty stupid when Hitoshi thought about it, way too trusting. But again, he could work with that. If he had enough faith in a General Ed kid like him to have come this far, what else could he do but to prove himself worthy? “Only fair I repay that faith in kind.” He muttered under his breath as he exited the building. He made his way to the far edge of the arena, hugging whatever cover he could find until he could see the rocky edge of the blue team's field.

Except, he didn’t stop there. There were plenty of boulders to serve as cover on the other side, options that he exploited instantly. After all, the ref never said anything about going over into enemy territory before the countdown started, it was just implied. Cunning and Strategy earned people recognition, right?

So who cares if someone got a little head start? Heroes were supposed to get everything they had on a villain before circumstances went from bad to worse. The crowd roared their approval, and Hitoshi glanced up to see Parker posing on the edge of his ring. The bigshot of the Hero Course gave a peace sign before the display turned back to its timer. He kept going, walking a bit further till he heard the faint sounds of voices. He peeked out of his corner as much as he dared, and saw a head of blonde and black hair nervously looking at the countdown.

Hitoshi couldn’t help but grin. This was going to be way too easy.

(X)

As the final ten seconds counted down, the entire stadium seemed to hold its breath. No one moved, everyone stood ready. Kirishima clenched his fist, preemptively hardening himself as the final seconds ticked down. Next to him, Tetsutetsu of Class 1-B bared his teeth and entered his metal form. On his other side, Bakugo’s eyes had a focus that most men would dream of having. His finger twitched, an explosion popping off. Behind him, Todoroki said nothing, his eyes twitching towards the stands for one reason or another.

Then the timer hit zero, Midnight’s voice booming out. The alarm blared, with the crowd roaring as it did so.

“Let the War begin!”

And before she was even finished, Eijiro, Tetsutetsu, Todoroki and Bakugo were already moving. Bakugo took point, sprinting forward, but why was he holding back on the explosions?

“Why are you not blasting off there, Bakugo?” Eijiro asked.

“You think I’m an idiot?!” Bakugo screamed back as the team passed into the enemy field, “I’m only here to teach Redshirt a lesson, I’m not wasting any time fighting extras, that’s what you’re here for!”

Eijiro swore he heard Todoroki huff, and next to him, he noticed Tetsutetsu grit his teeth, “You know, if we weren’t on the same team I’d kick your ass!”

“You’d try,” Bakugo called back, his gaze firmly focused on the road ahead.

“How about we give it a try first!”

All four of them looked up just as two members of the Red Team leapt down from the buildings above. The green haired heteromorphic kid grinned as he came down right on top of Eijiro, his hand extending out into a sword. Eijiro threw his hands up, and saw sparks erupt on his hardened skin. Kamakiri Togaru snarled as he pushed Kirishima away and the redhead was on the defensive. Bursting through the wall of a building like some parody of the Kool-Aid Man, Sen thrust his drill hands straight at Tetsutetsu, forcing the boy to dodge or get pummeled.

“Sen! What the hell are-!”

“Dark Shadow!”

Bakugo stopped mid-motion, his eyes darting to the corner as the shadowy bird of Tokoyami’s quirk reared out. He rushed forward to strike, but Todoroki threw an ice wall in front of him, forcing the bird construct to slam into it.

He screamed something else to Todoroki, but Kirishima couldn’t tell what it was. Kamakiri’s sword swept at his hair, probably trying to get him to dodge to the left. But Kirishima’s quirk was made for situations like this!

He willed the hardening over his fingers and grasped the swords in each hand.

“Sorry bud, but you’re not cutting this guy,” Eijiro grinned, but it still used almost everything he had to keep the swords in place.

“Yeah, you’re not half bad!” Kamakiri screamed, grinning back, a blade forming out of his forehead as he went in for a headbutt.

One that Kirishima met with his own. The two boys grappled in a deadlock, neither of them willing to give ground. The two never looked away, the battles of those around them irrelevant to their struggle. Only, Kamakiri wasn’t as strong as he hoped. With the surprise over, Kirishima slowly bent the swords back, pushing against the reptilian blade user. He grinned when Kamakiri grit his teeth, trying and failing to hold his opponent back. Reeling back, Kirishima threw an enhanced headbutt, shattering the sword on the boy’s head and sending him stumbling back, giving Kirishima plenty of space to throw a clean right hook at the boy’s face.

“Grrraaaaaaaoooor!” Shishida Jurota charged forth, bursting through Todoroki’s ice and jumping into the melee as Tetsutetsu parried blows from his classmate.

“Now this is real low!” Tetsutetsu yelled before backing off. Shishida pounded the ground he was on a moment ago before charging on all fours. A spray of acid onto the ground coated his hands, making him bark in pain and lose his footing, rolling to the ground in a heap.

“Take this!” Mina swung her hands, acid splashing out as she aimed. Eijiro and Kamakiri’s deadlock was broken as the lizard boy had to fall back. Kirishima saw some acid leak and burn the ground!

“Mina, be careful!” He yelled, the pinkette blushing in mortification.

“Sorry! I’ll aim b-”

“You’re open!” Tokoyami came in, Dark Shadow striking Mina and sending her sprawling to the ground. Kirishima grit his teeth and charged against the raven headed boy, yelling as he leapt up. Tokoyami looked back, nonplussed.

“Look out copycat!” Yelled Tetsutetsu before Kirishima felt a punch impact his arm. The boy grunted as he was sent flying, Shishida recovering as he decked the redhead. Kirishima recovered, landing near Mina and helping her up.

“Shaaaaaaa~!” Kamakiri charged, swinging his blade hands until Tetsutetsu got in the way, parrying them with his steel arms and ducking a strike before the silverette punched his lizard peer in the face, launching him off his feet.

“You okay copycat?!” Tetsutetsu yelled, hands raised in a boxer’s stance. Kirishima sharpened his skin as he saw Sen and Shishida approach. Mina was at his back.

“I’m fine! Hey, where’s Bakugo and Todo-whoa!” Eijiro felt himself sinking! The ground felt like thick mud, yet it was consuming him like quicksand! Mina gasped beside him.

“WHAT A START! THE RED AND BLUE TEAMS HAVE BEGUN THEIR CLASH NEAR THE HALFWAY POINT! AND BLUE TEAM’S ADVANCE PARTY SEEMED TO HAVE SPLIT UP!” Present Mic yelled. Kirishima perked up.

“Bakugo, you jeeeeerk!” Eijiro yelled. Of course he would dump them and go off on his own. So where in the hell was Todoroki?! He saw a shadow loom overhead, and he looked up to see that Dark Shadow was gunning for his arm! Where his armband was! Kirishima swatted at the dark construct, but the monster simply held onto his arms and extended its neck, grabbing his armband by its beak!

“Return!” Tokoyami commanded as Dark Shadow reeled in its target and Kirishima felt his blood chill.

“Shit!”

“Oh no!” Mina exclaimed.

“Damnit… that’s a dirty play Honenunki!” Tetsutetsu cursed.

“Get up to the ring now!” Kamakiri yelled as Tokoyami retreated, taking the armband into his hands as Dark Shadow helped him scale the building quickly.

“WHAT A MOVE BY THE REDS! THE ATTACKERS HAD A SILVER KNIGHT WITH THEM, AND THEY’RE PAYING THE PRICE! TOKOYAMI IS HEADING TOWARDS HIS RING WITH A FLAG!”

(X)

Juzo swam under the arena, holding his breath as he kept going forward. Using his Softening Quirk, he was able to neutralize the Blue assault group long enough for his Red teammates to get an opening. Kendo was foolish to have a Silver Knight not named Todoroki or Bakugo be a part of the strike force.

He came up for air, looking around to get a clue on his position. The ash-blonde saw some buildings and boulders around him. Juzo quickly glanced back, seeing his teammate Tokoyami climb up the building towards the King’s Ring where Parker was.

He saw an exploding dart chasing after him, or more specifically where Parker was on the building!

He grabbed his walkie-talkie. “Guys, Bakugo’s converging on Parker! He’s ignoring Tokoyami! No sign of Todoroki anywhere either!” He whispered.

“Leave him to me!” It was Yaoyorozu’s voice. “The counter measure is ready. Peter-san, I’ll toss one up, you need to get to the center of the circle!”

“Right.” Parker replied, sounding calm despite the rampaging Silver Knight gunning for him. Juzo smirked.

“Damn, wish I had ya in my class.” He muttered before taking a deep breath, going back under. He has a job to do, and that was to win.

(X)

Shoto departed from the main group, wanting to get in position to assault Parker without getting caught up in the melee. They had the Red Team’s attention, now he could commence his assault. He bent down, ice gathering below as it ruptured the earth.

He looked up, seeing Parker looking down from the ledge.

A shadow being cast over him made the Silver Knight pause, and charging down with a dive kick was Midoriya Izuku, covering in green lightning. Shoto jumped out of the way, seeing Midoriya strike the earth. His arm went to his band as he covered it in ice.

Right on time too, Asui’s tongue smacked it and sent Shoto flying back a couple of meters. He landed on his feet, seeing Asui atop a lamppost. He narrowed his eyes, bending down and conjuring an ice pillar to push him away from a charging Midoriya. The poor boy jumped away, green lightning arcing out and licking against the wall of ice. He skidded to a stop on the ground, wincing from the impact. Shoto readied another blast, only to jump back as Asui flung a rock the size of his entire body straight at him. It cracked the ground in the space that he had been standing in just a moment ago. When he finally got his bearings, both of the enemy Silver Knights were rushing towards him. He glanced towards the tower, Shoto’s gray and green eyes were alight with cold fury. He was fortunate that Midoriya was in his line of fire as he saw Parker looking down at the melee and the incoming Bakugo.

“Sorry…” Shoto hissed as ice surged all around him, and he could see the fear in Midoriya’s eyes mid-charge. Asui’s tongue lashed out, wrapping around him.

He let loose the torrent, and everything froze.

(X)

“There you are!” Bakugo roared as Peter looked up from the center of the King ring. He jumped back, avoiding the exploding berserker’s flying kick and landing near the edge of the ring.

“Dumb move not going for Tokoyami.” Peter stated, his hands shooting to his pockets as Bakugo landed while grinning darkly at the target of his ire.

“Who cares if your team gets some points?” Bakugo snarled. “We all know why I’m here for you Redshirt.” He approached, hands outstretched as he took a step closer to the golden ring’s center. “All alone, you and me.” He grinned, aiming his hands at Peter. “I will be the one at the top!”

He stepped forward and blasted off, readying an explosion with one free hand!

“YOU GOT THAT!?”

Bakugo closed the distance faster than he’d ever flown before. But somehow, Peter bent back like he was in a limbo game, letting Bakugo sail over him. Fine for him, Bakugo just threw his palm in Peter’s face, another explosion already erupting. Then Peter twisted, his hand a blur coming out of his pockets. Bakugo heard a click some something in the american’s hand, then a white mass of powder covered him as he had his arms out to defend. Bakugo kept going, throwing out a hand to blast Parker.

But nothing happened.

“What the fuUUUUUUU-!” he screamed, the floor under him exploding. Peter blinked, smiling. Looks like it worked.

“I’m sorry, what was that you were saying?” Peter asked to no one in particular. Tokoyami finally emerged over the building’s ledge, landing on his feet as he handed the silver armband to Dark Shadow. The beast flew in, and deposited the band into the bowl.

“WHAT A TURN OF EVENTS! BAKUGO MADE IT TO THE KING’S RING OF THE RED TEAM BUT FELL INTO A TRAP!! TOKOYAMI HAS DEPOSITED A SILVER FLAG! THAT’S NOW 20 LOVE RED TEAAAM!” Present Mic yelled, and on the jumbotron the Red Team’s bar went up by 20 points. Peter smirked as he looked over at Tokoyami.

“Mind getting Bakugo’s flag? Can’t really move from my circle here.” He pointed into the hole below. “Momo can use some backup.”

“With pleasure.” Tokoyami nodded. “Dark Shadow, let’s go.”

“Aye aye!”

(X)

Wind rushed in Bakugo’s ears. Goddamnit! He let his guard down and let that cocky bastard land a sneak attack on him.

Bakugo twisted in mid-air, tucking into a defensive roll in a... sandbox? White filled his vision as he coughed, standing up. It stung like a bitch, but he could still move. Bakugo felt gravity take him before he landed hard on his ass.

“Godfuckingdamnit!” Katsuki roared as he got up. He had landed in some white powdery sand in a sandbox for some dumb reason. It was the same stuff that Parker had thrown at him! He looked around, seeing a vacant space before him with only the stairwells and supports surrounding him. No windows or light were pouring in. Standing twenty feet away was Richgirl, paintball rifle in her arms.

That’s right… she did that same trick to Icy-Hot during the Battle Trials! Fuck, he should have just stayed airborne!

“You’ll pay for that!” Katsuki roared, glaring down the defiant girl as she aimed. He could close the distance but he-

Wasn’t exploding. His red eyes widened as he looked down at his hands that were covered in white powder as he aimed behind him again. “What the?! That smell!”

Baby powder!

He felt a shot from Richgirl’s weapon hit his shoulder and Katsuki yelped in pain, gritting his teeth as he ran for it, trying to get the white substance off of him. He dragged his palm against the wall jumping behind a pillar for some semblance of cover.

“There you are!” Dark Shadow’s voice became deeper and more violent as Tokoyami landed in his previous position. This floor was partially cut off from the sunlight outside, and Katsuki felt fear grip his heart. He jumped, avoiding the shadow beast’s claw strike. The Dark Shadow from before was the size of a large dog. Now it was as big as a horse, one with golden eyes that were even more demonic and features just as frightening. Katsuki raised his hands up in defense.

Only to get a projectile to his hand, making Katsuki yell in pain as he broke out in a run. He could hear the shadow beast give chase as he panted.

He had to get this white stuff off of him and get a better angle on these assholes! He kept running behind pillars, sprinting as much as possible while Dark Shadow gave chase and Richgirl fired when the opportunity presented itself. Katsuki could hear the whizzing of her pellets and he looked down, seeing a welt on his hand under the white powder that stopped him from utilizing his quirk.

Katuski gritted his teeth and kicked himself. Parker had fooled him! He’d lured him into a trap and he fell for it hook, line, and sinker.

How could he have been so-

The entire building shook as both occupants in the room looked up.

“What was that!?” Bird yelled, his larger and more aggressive Dark Shadow growling beside him. The windows off to the side burst as ice spears surged forth, the force of the wind making all three jump away from the sudden danger. The entire side of the building was now covered in ice!

“It’s Todoroki!” Richgirl yelled as Katsuki rolled across the ground, eyeing the stairwell. He scoffed and broke out into a sprint. If he could get there, he’d be able to rub this shit off, get to Parker, get his gold flag and fly back to Four-Eyes!

He had to win this!

(X)

Peter jumped back from the ledge as he looked back at the side of the building. The entire north side of the building was in the process of being consumed by a mountain-sized glacier. The entire arena and especially the audience was slack-jawed at the incredible display of power. There was no commentary even from Present Mic or Aizawa!

“Holy shit.” He uttered as he saw Todoroki appear on top of the glacier.

Peter checked his web shooters and leapt back to the center of his ring, carefully avoiding the hole that Bakugo had fallen through. Midoriya and Asui were on that side of their field, with Pony and Sato on the south side. He took a deep breath.

He had to stay on the roof that was the extent of the King’s Ring. If he moved out of bounds by accident, his team lost. If Todoroki pushed him out or took his golden armband, it was fine. But Bakugo was still below him, and them giving up the Gold Flag was something Peter didn’t want to deal with, even if it meant he could join the battle.

He needed to attain victory as he heard the crunching and cracking of ice.

Todoroki began to slide down, pushing himself forth in a charge.

Chapter Text

There was a moment, a tiny, fleeting moment of pride standing atop the mountain of ice. Shoto felt like he could hear a pin drop in the silence of the stadium. The crowd didn’t seem to breathe, even the commentators were speechless.

Best of all, his father was surely watching Parker staring up at him with more surprise than he’d ever shown in front of him. Back in their initial encounter, he doubted that Parker would’ve thought Shoto capable of this. The full power of his right side, the only side he needed to use to become a hero. All that he needed to do was win this game and then everyone would know it.

All that was left was to take his opponent’s band and-

“Holy shit dude! Do you make snow cones?” Shoto’s lip twitched, followed by his eye.

….

… five minutes.

That was all he wanted.

Couldn’t he have five minutes of silence against Peter Parker?

Did he not know that there wasn’t supposed to be this much talking in the middle of a fight? Whatever. He needed to finish this before the other Silver Knights got any ideas and intercepted him. With an annoyed glare, he leapt from the summit of his creation. He slammed his foot down upon landing on the glacier’s slope, willing another stream to break off of the glacier and wash over Parker’s ring. The wave covered the entire rooftop of the tower, consuming the ring, leaving him nowhere to run. Yet even still, he jumped high and over the wave, coming down alongside his opponent, aiming his webline towards him. Shoto jumped to the side, avoiding Parker’s dive kick as it cracked the ice like a hammer.

Unfortunately for him, Shoto had made the top of the glacier unstable.

A literal ton of ice fell down, crashing into the roof of the ring and breaking it like an egg. And it didn’t stop there. The pull launched Parker into the air, and Shoto noticed a line of webbing bring a fresh piece of rubble with him.

“Hey man!” Parker called from the air, “Chill!”

Shoto growled at the pun, his attention momentarily stolen away from the rocking coming right towards him. No, not towards him, near him! Shoto jumped forward, creating another stream to sliding down to and rushing forward with renewed vigor, ignoring the cold burning his right side as the ice began to cake his limbs. Parker landed on the wall of his ring, or what was left of it. Shoto launched another stream of ice, but Parker simply jumped to the side. He didn’t let up, firing two streams at once, one directly at Parker, and the other towards the only known-broken part of the rooftop.

Only for Parker to pirouette in midair, using one of his previous streams as a foothold to launch himself straight at the enemy Silver Knight. On instinct, Shoto willed a wall of ice to form in defense.

His left side screamed from the cold, and the wall of ice in front of him shattered like glass from a mighty punch. Next thing he knew, a twirling Parker’s foot cracked against his jaw. The world spun around the son of Endeavor as the momentum of the hit sent him spinning off balance right off the roof, yelled in pain. He recovered after a debilitating moment, twisting as he conjured more ice to form a slide. He took it, sliding down at an angle as his body got nicked and battered from his own ice. He curved downwards from his massive ice slide, and angled down into an alleyway. Shoto yelped upon exiting the ice ramp, rolling across the ground, hands wrapped around his head as he finally came to a stop.