Chapter Text
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Nezu was ecstatic.
This coming school year was shaping up to be one of the most interesting he’s had since he became the principal of UA. Not even considering the hero course, some of the incoming General Studies students were shaping up to become the next generation of scholars and doctors, which brought Nezu no shortage of pride. He may not be their principal just yet, but he was glad to have a hand in their upcoming education.
Aside from that, the creativity already flowing from the minds of the prospective Support students was frankly astounding. Even the business prowess from children not yet in high school was nothing short of remarkable if his glance at the Business Course Exams were anything to go by.
Then comes the upcoming Hero Course.
Nezu could already tell that this year’s coming students would be some of the strongest and most dedicated he’s had since some of the students that have since become his staff.
At the start of the Hero Course Practical, not one, not two, but five students took off with Present Mic’s sudden start. A new school record, up from the previous three. Nezu could already tell that two of them would need some serious attitude adjustments over the course of their time at UA, if they even got in. They were both unreasonably aggressive, and judging by the audio picked up by Nezu’s personal drones, they lacked regard for the people around them.
Another one of the five, one invisible girl, only got the memo from the other early starter she was conversing with. Which brings Nezu to the last two quick starts. The first, Melissa Shield. A quirkless transfer student, from I-Island no less, who was attempting to enroll in the hybrid course program and the person that prompted the third starter.
And judging on how she was tearing through the bots in her battle center with her self-made support gear, while simultaneously protecting her fellow examinees, she would likely succeed.
The other and final one, Midoriya Izuku. Another quirkless hero hopeful who, instead of using completely self-made gear and applying to the hybrid program, was using technology he helped one of the Support Course applicants develop.
And what an interesting device it was. According to the device report Nezu requested along with the inspection of the Adaptive Combat Morpher Mark Four, the device accessed a whole different dimension. The energy from the so-called Morphin Grid is then channeled to give the user a seemingly magical transformation, along with increased strength, speed, and knowledge on how to fight.
And that was just the general benefits granted.
The report also detailed abilities unique to the Morpher that Midoriya was using, leading Nezu to believe that the other such devices also granted special abilities.
It just made Nezu want to pick the brain of the Morpher’s creator, one Kenji Masaru.
But that was for later. Now, Nezu gets a front row seat to witness Midoriya, as well as all the other examinees, in action.
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Duck. Strike out with a kick in retaliation.
Catch the arm of a different Krybot as it throws a punch at his back. Twist and throw the offending bot over his shoulder into another group.
Izuku turns and launches a punch at a Bluehead, stunning it for a vital few moments. He capitalizes by gripping the shoulders of the two pointer robot and jumps, balancing upside down atop the shoulders of the Bluehead.
He leans back the way he came up, letting his weight carry him into a swinging kick that connects with the Blueheads chest. Izuku springboards off of the now destroyed robot, flipping into a crouch. Not for long though as he takes off quickly, the squeal of tires accompanying him again.
Izuku reaches down and pulls the weapon from his hip. “Nitro Blaster.” He aims at a stray one pointer about to attack another examinee. Izuku pulls the trigger of the weapon, blowing the lone Krybot apart, even as he turns the corner to continue his search for points.
As he turns onto a side street he spots a lone three pointer.
In place of hands, it has needle-like weapons, as well as large shoulder pads ending in spiked tips. Its body is mostly humanoid, though with blue and pink stripes on its arms and legs, while a turtle patterned plate protects its chest, engraved with the name ‘Dragoul’ in small lettering. Its head extends on a segmented neck with two U-shaped crests on top of its head like a triceratop’s neck frill. Instead of a mouth, it has two protrusions with jagged teeth split with a gap in the middle.
Izuku doesn’t slow down, even as a veritable legion of Krybots came crawling out of the woodworks of the fake city to join the Dragoul. He levels his blaster at the assembled crowd of enemies and downs six of them by the time he reaches the group.
“Nitro Sword.”
With a flick of his wrist, the blaster in his grip transforms. The barrel extends and the grip shifts, pushing the weapon into a vague simile of a sword, which Izuku quickly slashes at an attacking Bluehead with. He kicks out behind himself, knocking a Krybot off balance long enough for him to cut down a different one before he drives his sword through the robot.
Izuku let go of his grip on his sword as a pair of Blueheads swung their clawed hands down from either side of him. He crouches and brings his Morpher above his head, pressing one of the buttons with his other hand to manifest a purple, dome-like energy shield that blocked both attacks. He pushes back up against his attackers, staggering them.
He reaches out, letting the shield fade away, and grips his swords again. He pries it out of the downed Krybot, then spins, cleaving through the twin Blueheads before they can recover.
Finally, alone with the three pointer again, Izuku takes a chance to rest, though not without getting into a defensive stance, the handle of his sword down by his right hip and the tip pointing towards his lone opponent.
The past five minutes had been the longest, most chaotic, action-filled time of his life, and Izuku wouldn’t have it any other way. Between mowing through countless Krybots and Blueheads, the more prolonged encounters with the alien-like three pointers, as well as stepping in to protect other examinees from sneak attacks and debris, Izuku had been in almost constant motion.
Through said encounters, he had racked up a respectable fifty-nine points from destroying the bots. Adding the points from his fight just a moment ago should bring him up to seventy-three total if he had been counting correctly.
With one last huff, Izuku cracks a smirk hidden by his helmet and shifts his stance. Flowing from the safe and stable plow guard into something a little riskier—although it is his favorite guard because how dumb it is. He leans forward slightly, his left foot in the front of his stance, bringing the handle of the blade to his front and pointing the blade towards the ground.
A guard so wide and open that only a fool would fall for the obvious trap it displays.
And it would seem that, whatever program controlling the robots is foolish enough to fall for it as the Dragoul finally rushes at Izuku, one needle-arm poised to strike.
He lets it approach, only to snap his sword up and parry the robot’s attack, knocking it off course. Izuku easily channels his momentum from the parry into a diagonal slash across the chest of the Dragoul, quickly followed up by a shoulder charge that knocks the alien down.
As it writhes on the ground, Izuku plants his foot on the Dragoul’s chestpiece, stopping its movement. He brings his sword up to his shoulder then lops the robot’s head off in one clean strike.
Seventy-six points, four minutes left.
Izuku stepped away from the now motionless Dragoul about to sprint off to go gather more points, but got interrupted by the shrill sound of an alarm and synthetic female voice speaking through some kind of hidden announcement system.
“Variant three pointer defeated, Zero Point Protocol activated. Examinees, please take precaution.”
The ground began to shake, forcing Izuku to widen his stance to not fall over. He looked around, finally catching a glimpse of the supposed zero pointer as it rose above the buildings surrounding the main street of the battle center.
The eight-plus story tall buildings.
The zero pointer is quite literally the same as the robot he just beat, only distinguished by its size and the engraving ‘Dragoul II’ on its chest.
…
Izuku was suddenly very glad he and Masaru did that upgrade.
He reaches down and holsters his sword, which shifts back into the blaster form. He reaches over to a pouch on his belt and pulls out a power cell similar to the one he used to morph. The only difference is that this one is all black except for the front, which has the number five printed onto it in the same style to the one on his chest.
‘They always say go big or go home, and I don’t plan on leaving.’
Izuku turned and sprinted down the quickest path back towards the main street, absently shoving the engine cell back into his belt.
He needs space for this.
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Nemuri had the dumbest smile on her face.
She knew it. Her friends knew it. Her boss knew it, hell even her newest coworker, All Might himself knew it.
But she couldn’t help herself.
When she heard that, not one, but two quirkless children had applied to the Hero Course, she had instantly volunteered to be their monitor for rule violations, hero points, or if they are in need of help. They’re not the only ones she has to monitor, but they are definitely the two she’s paying the most attention too.
It probably doesn’t help that Nezu said he’d give her a highlight reel of the two of them to bring home to her twin niece and nephew. They need people in similar situations to look up to now more than ever. With the two of them being in the (projected) last generation of humans that were quirkless, they’re lonelier than ever, but the two prospective hero course students would hopefully change that.
And hopefully they would grow more confident in their quirkless status after seeing Midoriya and Shield in action. Lord knows they both need it after being given up by Nemuri’s sister and taken in by Nemuri herself (yet another reason she wasn’t close to her family).
Nemuri shook her head, ridding herself of that train of thought. She looked back down to watch as Midoriya sprinted through the alleys of battle ground Beta, likely to help the other examinees run away from the recently activated zero pointer, which caused Nemuri to turn to watch the screen she dedicated to Shield.
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Melissa raises her shield (ha) to block the blast from a three pointer.
The robot had green, scaly skin with white armor pieces across its body, highlighted with red. However, instead of a head, it has an ugly mix of a sunflower and a mouth, only instead of seeds it has a single eye that it keeps blasting lasers from. All in all, it’ll probably haunt Melissa’s dreams for a few weeks.
As the One Eye, as engraved on its chestpiece, finally stops shooting its laser at her, Melissa quickly brings her shield down and levels one of her many weapons at it. A trigger pull sends twelve gauge buckshot into the robot and blasts it apart (only allowed since she custom made the ammo to vaporize before it hurts an actual human).
Melissa doesn’t slow down, especially since she feels the impact of a punch from a Krybot that snuck up on her. Thanks to her armor, an abomination of futuristic and medieval knight, fur cape and all, she doesn’t is neither hurt nor staggered, leaving her to spin around to face the offending machine.
The walking tank of a girl grips the handle of her shield even tighter, causing a set of saw teeth to pop out of the edge of it. Melissa throws a punch directly at the Krybot’s neck, the rev of a chainsaw brings a giddy smile to her face as she cuts through the one pointer’s neck. The body of the robot falls to the floor, giving Melissa time to look around and gather her thoughts.
Eighty-six points in seven minutes. Melissa couldn’t be prouder of herself.
When she was building her gear, nicknamed the Praetor Suit by her dad, she had been nervous that the built-in strength augmentation tech would be negated by the weight of the suit and her weapons. That fear was unfounded, thankfully, as she had been storming through the faux industrial zone.
She had been able to tear through robot after robot with her self-made weapons, themed similarly to her armor and only usable due to the strength increase. In between taking down crowds of enemies, Melissa had also been covering for the other examinees. From blocking blows that would have taken the other hero hopefuls out of the test, to sawing through debris with her shield to free trapped people.
She knew she really didn’t need to, but she’s trying to be a hero. What kind of hero would abandon people in need?
A sudden alarm broke Melissa out of her own mind.
“Two minutes remaining, Variant three pointer undefeated. Activating Zero Point Protocol. Examinees, please take precaution.”
A rumble went through the ground of the fake industrial zone and loose debris was sent careening onto the floor. If she wasn’t wearing armor that weighed almost two hundred pounds, she may have stumbled, but as it was, she just took the time to look around, only to watch as a giant robot marked with the name ‘Dragoul II’ engraved on its chest rose from the ground.
‘How much money does this school spend on the Entrance Exam alone?!’
The massive mechanized monster was easily larger than a skyscraper.
The Dragoul swung its needle-like arm, destroying the top of a nearby building. Melissa had to hold up her shield to block some of the debris from hitting her, not that it would do anything to her.
…
‘Wells, I was hoping to use this anyways.’
She quickly holstered her shotgun and shield, then reached under her cape to pull out the largest weapon in her arsonal. One that hurts her every time she fires it.
A really big fucking gun.
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Toshinori let out a small, wet cough wiping away at the dribble of blood that followed it. He continued tabbing through camera views of different examinees. Nezu had agreed to let him have a way to watch the examinees other than the communal screens at the front of the room, allowing him to assess each of the hero hopefuls.
So far, it hasn’t been great.
He’d only seen two potential candidates for inheriting One For All, but he knew both of them wouldn’t accept it.
Young Midoriya, as he had learned from the file associated with each dedicated view of the examinees, already refused to listen to anything the hero had to say. The one time they met after the Sludge Villain Incident—as named by the media—the boy had flat out refused to let Toshinori speak and ignored him when he got the chance.
Melissa—his honorary niece—on the other hand had heard his offer and promptly refused. She wanted to be a hero on her own terms, with her own tech, and to create her own legacy. He, of course, is proud of her for wanting to do so, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t sad he missed out on the perfect candidate.
Speaking of Melissa…
Toshinori glanced up from the tablet he was given as live footage of Melissa popped up on the largest of the main screens. He watched curiously as she stared down the zero pointer, having to block some debris with that fancy shield of hers.
The weapon she pulled out after sent a shiver down his spine. Shaped like a ballista of old with chains instead of strings. Melissa pulled the loading mechanism back into the ready position then loaded what looked like a wooden stake that she grabbed from underneath her cape. Toshinori watched as his niece loaded her weapon then steadied it at the slowly lumbering form of her battle center’s zero pointer.
A yellowish-green energy slowly starts digging through the grain of the wood, bursting out the tip to form a vague arrowhead. The group of spectators watch on eagerly as Melissa braces herself, spreading her feet wide, and making final adjustments to her aim.
She pulls the trigger.
The latch releases.
The chains snap forward, launching the projectile at an impossible speed. The arrow makes contact a moment later and explodes.
The initial blast created a hole the size of a large sedan, but the following lightning blasts and shockwave blew the zero pointer into pieces.
The observation similarly explodes, only into surprised exclamations instead of a green fireball.
“What the hell was that?!”
“Since when did she have that?”
“Majima actually approved that?!”
“Where did she even pull that out from?”
Toshinori was flabbergasted himself. He knew his niece was making some impressive tech, having seen her tests of the Praetor Suit she was currently wearing, but he didn’t know she managed to make something like this.
Without warning, the screen changed from Melissa as she dropped her weapon and clutched her shoulder, instead focusing on the black-suited form of Young Midoriya, right as he pressed a button on the device on his left wrist.
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She reached as far under the concrete slab as she could, while not heavy it was a struggle to try to get a solid grip on it. Slowly, the girl lifted the debris, freeing the examinee trapped underneath.
“Get out of here,” the girl grunts out, propping the rock against her shoulder. The fellow examinee she helped slowly crawls out, then gets to their feet and runs away from the lumbering zero pointer, leaving her to drop the rubble.
The young woman was about to join them, when a panicked call for help interrupts her. She looked back in the direction of the so-called Dragoul II, only to see a girl with a brown bob cut trapped in the path of the massive robot.
She turns around fully, already taking off in a sprint, only for a different voice to call out.
“Hey Invisigirl, need some help?”
Toru glances back just in time for a black blur to scoop her off her feet, the sound of tires against pavement accompanying the motion. Toru wraps her arms around the boy’s neck for stability, letting out a yelp of surprise. “A little warning please?!” She yells over the rapid stomping of feet.
“Sorry! But, that girl needs help and I can get us there faster.” The boy yells back, dodging a bit of falling debris and speeding up. Toru had to admit, he was right. At the pace they were going it felt like she was speeding down the highway on a motorcycle. “I’m Midoriya by the way.”
“Hagakure!” She calls back, holding on tighter as Midoriya leaps off a fallen slab of concrete to avoid a stray Krybot. He finally slides to a stop next to the brown haired girl, letting Toru down at the same time.
“Get her to safety, I’ll distract the big ugly over here!”
Toru nods, turning to start digging the other girl out of the rubble—thankfully made easier by the girl’s quirk. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched as Midoriya brought the device mounted on his wrist up then pressed a button on it.
The black suited boy crossed his arms in front of his chest then brought them down sides. As he did so, a holographic five—the same as on his chest—projected forward. Out of the projection came another hologram, this only looking like a mix between a wolf’s head and a police car, about the size of an RC car.
Midoriya reached down to his golden belt and pulled out some kind of black rectangle. The back of the hologram opened up and he threw the item into the opening. The projection suddenly filled in, becoming physical, and drove forward.
Midoriya seems to fade out of existence as the vehicle begins to grow. And grow. And grow…
‘Holy shit.’
The giant vehicle revved, the nose of it wiggling like a wolf snout, before shooting off at a speed something that large shouldn’t be able to move.
The Dragoul brought its needle arm back to strike at the rapidly approaching vehicle, but missed as it swerved. For a moment, it looked like the massive car would slam into a building, however that fear was dashed when the vehicle jumped… Somehow.
Toru watched on in awe as the vehicle landed on the side of a building then proceeded to drift down the length of the street. It finally landed back on the ground, now behind the zero pointer, which rapidly spun to face the car.
“What the fuck..?” The sound of the brown haired girl’s voice snapped Toru out of her daze, reminding her that she still needs to free her. Toru quickly sets about lifting the slab of concrete pinning the girl’s leg. Once the girl crawls free, the invisible girl pulls her into a fireman’s carry and turns to run away from the clash of the titans going on behind her.
Her progress was interrupted, however, by rubble crashing to the ground, blocking off her only path back. Toru has no clue when or how it got there, but she just took it as her que to turn back around to observe the fight. She turned just in time for both of the girls to witness the giant car reverse to dodge another strike from the Dragoul II.
Suddenly, the vehicle revved wildly before shooting forward. It jumped up into the air again—however the hell it did that—and careened towards the zero pointer. A volley of lasers flew out from the nose/grill of the car, blowing chunks out of the body of its opponent. The vehicle finally slammed into the Dragoul, throwing it to the ground of the battle center, destroyed at last, though not without kicking up a small dust storm.
The vehicle landed a moment later, another wave of dust bellowing out from its landing zone. It drifted sharply to bleed off speed before finally coming to a stop about ten meters away from Toru and the girl she was carrying.
The invisible girl and her brown-haired luggage were stunned silent. But not for long as the girl on her shoulders spoke up.
“Did we just see the same thing?”
“A giant car shoot lasers at an even bigger robot-dragon thing? Yes, yes we did.”
The now familiar black suit clad form of Midoriya peeks out from over the side of the massive car, then suddenly jumps from it, launching far enough to land about a meter away from the duo. Behind him, the vehicle seems to fade out of existence, only leaving some purple sparks that disappear a moment later.
“Are you two alright?” Midoriya asks, arms and legs shaking violently. Toru just nods dumbly and judging by the movement against her shoulder, so does the girl. “Good, cause I’m not. The zord took a lot out of me.”
Before Toru can question what he means, the boy spasms, his suit bursting into purple sparks like his, now named, zord. Without warning, he collapsed, his muscles still twitching with what looked like some kind of green energy.
That wasn’t what worried Toru however.
“Am I supposed to carry both of you?!”
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