Chapter 59: Issue 58 - The LOSV's Bad Exam!
Mastermind practically skipped as he hunted his partners and Kacchan down, his Background Musicinator carrying the loot bag for him. Keeping one eye on the drone camera, he switched to his Supervillain radio. "So, how's it going?"
"I got shot with a beanbag round in the gut,"groaned Inkblot."They're planning something, no doubt about that."
"Busy."Golden Grin replied. Mastermind heard him fire a laser blast after that, so he left it.
"Iida seems to have activated his-"Gentle was cut off by the sound of a buzzsaw scything through the air.
Mastermind winced. "Okay, I genuinely thought he wasn't going to go for that, and I'm sorry for my own additions."
"What did you even-"
He winced as an explosion cut Gentle off. Yep, definitely shouldn't have gone so hard with some of the suggestions. Mei was just incredibly cute when she was suggesting ways to maim his alter ego. "Well, it should be fine. Just try to get him with an EMP or 'coincidentally' hit the shutdown switch, alright?"
"Easier said than done!"La Brava panted, before a gout from a flamethrower sent her running with a panicked yelp.
"Shouto and his friends seem to be thinking of a strategy. Not sure what it is though,"Lady de Winter reported back, sounding strained.
"I've got them pinned down over here!No you don't, they're escaping.QUIET YOU!"Twice alternated between replying and arguing with himself.
"Mine got away, but I've managed to track them down. Let's see if they can manage to escape,"Mr. Warp chirped.
Mastermind beamed. "Sounds like it's all going well! Just remember, give them a chance to try and pass, otherwise it'll look bad!"
"We know,"the League of Supervillains chorused, before returning to their fights.
Mastermind himself smiled fondly at his team. Then one of his drones was taken out by an explosion, and it sharpened into a feral smirk. "Well, time to get on with my own exam! MWAHAHAHA!"
Minoru really, truly, wondered what he could have done to deserve this. He could admit to surreptitiously looking up women's skirts, buying unofficial pro Hero hentai and other perverted antics of that ilk before going on a journey of self improvement. But surely that didn't deserve having to deal with Ashido and Kaminari in their midterms.
They had managed to lose Mr. Warp through a combination of high speed dodges, potshots to throw him off balance and sheer dumb luck. Now, all they had to do was escape.
That was easier said than done.
"Okay, we need to make a left here!" Ashido cried, pointing dramatically.
"Nah, it's the other way!" Kaminari argued, taking a moment to adjust his completely unnecessary glasses. "I'm sure of it!"
It wasn't as if the plan itself was bad - they couldn't beat Mr. Warp or grab the bag, so retreating made sense. It was a great plan, even. Things fell apart because, surprisingly enough,putting on glasses didn't make them smarter.
Still, Minoru didn't want any of them to fail the exam. "Ashido's got the right direction, let's head that way!"
"How are you so sure?" Kaminari asked even as they ran. "I mean, where I chose looks way more exit-y."
"No, this is the right way. It's on the map!" Minoru waved the map Eraserhead had given them of the area, accompanied with a dead-eyed expression and advice to 'try not to die.'
His teammates looked away from him at that. "Oh, right, the map," Kaminari coughed, Ashido whistling in what was supposed to be a nonchalant way. "The map of the exam area with the exits. The exam map sensei gave us. That map?"
Minoru felt his headache double just hearing Kaminari talk. "Yes, that map! Why are you saying it like that?"
Ashido looked sheepish. "I, uh, maybe accidentally panic melted my map when Mr. Warp nearly got me with that net?"
"I left it on the bus after reading it once," Kaminari blinked, realization dawning as he saw the look on Minoru's face. "...That was a bad idea, wasn't it."
"Probably," Mr. Warp commented drily. As they slowly turned to face him, he gave them a little wave from his perch on a telephone pole.
Kaminari and Ashido screeched like banshees, jerking away from the Villain. A jet of acid shot from Ashido's hands in her shock, causing Mr. Warp to disappear in a puff of Quirk-created smoke.
Unfortunately, it hit a telephone pole behind the Villain, melting through the pole and wires overhead. Almost in slow motion, Minoru watched as the pole fell forwards with a twisting groan. And with it, came the live electrical wires, flailing around, way too close-!
Minoru and Mina were far enough away. Kaminari wasn't. And even an electrical Quirk user wasn't immune to the effects of electricity.
Mina's hands clapped to her mouth, and Mr. Warp cursed as he went for Kaminari to try and shove him out of the way, but he was too late. Tears pricked Minoru's eyes as the smell of ozone in the air increased, and electricity crawled over Kaminari's body like angry serpents. He could only watch as his friend got electrocuted, a fatal amount of electricity crawling over Kaminari's body and sinking beneath his skin with nary a twitch-
Wait. What?
Minoru blinked the tears from his eyes. Sure enough, Kaminari didn't even look phased as the last electrical sparks sunk into his body. "...Eh?"
Kaminari seemed stunned as well. "Whoa... didn't know I could do that." He breathed, looking around him with wide eyes.
For a moment Minoru could only stare at Kaminari in disbelief, before shaking his head. Right now, Minoru was just happy that his friend hadn't died a horrible death. "Okay, you absorb electricity, good to know, now let's get moving!" Grabbing Kaminari, he went to run, only for Mr. Warp to cut them off with a flourish.
"Even accounting for an electricity Quirk, that was a close call with death," the Villain stated, before shuddering. "Nedzu would have had our heads if you had died."
Minoru let out a sigh of relief. At least Principal Nedzu wasn't completely insane.
More warping smoke built around Mr. Warp as he posed dramatically. "Now, prepare for more-"
Kaminari cut him off with an electrified fist and a battlecry, only for the Villain to dodge the punch nonchalantly. "You missed," the Villain taunted.
"Did I?" Kaminari grinned slightly woozily as the electricity coating his fist suddenly pulsed outwards. There was a series of sparking, grinding noises that came from Mr. Warp, and suddenly the warping smoke cut off.
Everybody but Kaminari stared at Mr. Warp, trying to understand why the Villain couldn't warp anymore. The Villain seemed stunned. "Wait, what-"
Ashido took the chance to skate forwards on some melted terrain, slinging some acid at Mr. Warp. The Villain thrust out an arm, but nothing happened. Mouth wide open, Minoru threw a ball experimentally at Mr. Warp, and watched in shock as he failed to warp it away. The distinctly unruffled Villain was now distinctly ruffled. "What did you do, young man?"
"EMP, dumbass!" Kaminari cried. "See, I remembered that magnets and electricity are basically the same thing and can break other machines. So I managed to wipe your science stuff to make it easier for us to take you down!"
Mr. Warp audibly gulped as he gestured again, once again failing to use his Quirk. Minoru stared at him, gears turning in his mind. It seemed too good to be true, but if it was... "Wait, did that EMP also mess with your Quirk?!"
He didn't respond, but him backing up further confirmed that thought. Minoru hadn't thought that an EMP could affect a Quirk like that. Then again, Warping Quirks were rare enough that it could work. Maybe he wasn't actually teleporting, but breaking things down on a molecular level and reassembling them through quantum mechanics somewhere else or some other nonsense, and the EMP interfered with that?
No wonder most scientists started crying when Quirks were brought up.
"Exactly as we planned!" Ashido cried, despite no such plan existing.
Kaminari pulled out his set of cuffs, spinning them around his finger. "Man, I never thought we'd actually get to use these!"
A bit of hope bloomed in Minoru's chest as he saw Mr. Warp take a nervous step back as Ashido and Kaminari grinned at him. If they could catch Mr. Warp and lock down the League's main avenue of escape, that would be amazing!
Still, even without his Quirk, Mr. Warp was a slippery one, as proven when he managed to duck out of the way of Ashido's tackle only to furiously backpedal as Kaminari tried to get him with a sparking fist. Minoru aimed carefully in the resulting tangle of people to throw his Pop-Off ball. Mr. Warp was distracted, trying to get away as Kaminari collided with Ashido-
There was a distinct click. And his teammates froze when they heard it. Minoru's eye twitched at the sound even as he threw his ball, missing Mr. Warp. There was no way that had just happened, right?
A look of mortification spread across Ashido's face. Kaminari's cocky grin fell off his face as he turned off white. They looked each other in the eye, jaws dropping in unison. Slowly, they held their arms up.
Somehow, Ashido and Kaminari had handcuffed themselves together. Minoru stared at the pair of them, trying to put into words how disappointed he was. Even Mr. Warp seemed stunned by that. "...Well then."
He faced Minoru down. "Two down, one to go then."
"W-well, you're still going down, Mr. Warp!" Minoru managed, throwing more balls at him. "I've got a three step plan to take you down!"
Sure it was a plan he had just improvised within a few seconds, but it was still a plan.
Mr. Warp dodged the flurry with contemptuous ease. "Oh, please," he sighed. "You could try to hit a bit closer to home."
Minoru grinned as he pressed his fingers to his temples. "Step two! Not quite Grapezone Grenade but I don't have any other cool moves!" He cried out as a cluster of purple balls swarmed Mr. Warp from behind. Kaminari and Ashido tried to intervene as well, but were hampered by being handcuffed to each other.
With a cry of alarm, Mr. Warp rolled to the side to avoid the flurry of balls, his Quirk still obviously on the fritz. "Well, that was something. But if you don't have anything else-"
Suddenly, the bag was pulled from Mr. Warp's hands, throwing him off balance. The Villain made a flailing grab for it, but the bag flew into Minoru's waiting hands. For his part, Minoru just grinned, tired yet proud of himself. "Step three!"
The Villain stared. "How-"
To answer, Minoru turned the bag around. Mr. Warp stared at the purple ball sticking to the bag, before groaning. Minoru couldn't help but grin at his own audacity.
"When did you-?" Kaminari asked.
Ashido's eyes widened. "You didn't miss with that ball you threw when we brawled, did you?"
Minoru looked smug. "I just needed him to let his guard down and loosen his grip. After that, well..."
"TEAM MINETA HAS PASSED!"Present Mic screamed over the intercom.
The Villain sagged at that, then managed to recover. "Congratulations, young Mineta! With that, I bid you adieu." Before Minoru could react he threw something on the ground, releasing a massive puff of light green smoke that obscured him. Desperately Minoru threw a ball where the Villain was hopefully going, but when the smoke cleared it revealed an absence of Villain.
"...Just as planned?" Kaminari tried weakly. "I mean, wediddistract him-"
"Haha, no,"the Principal's voice sounded over the speakers.
Ashido groaned in defeat. Kaminari just slumped, energy spent from the frantic fight. Minoru patted his teammates on the back consolingly. Even though they hadn't caught him, at least it was close.
TEAM MINETA VS MR. WARP: (MOSTLY) PASSED!
MR. WARP: UNABLE TO WARP OUT!
KAMINARI: EMBARRASSED!
MINETA: CONFUSED!
Golden Grin wasn't having the best time with this fight, and hearing that Mr. Compress had been beaten didn't make him feel any better. Being outnumbered three to one was hard enough even with the gadgets Mastermind had equipped, but knowing that the answers he sought were right there was really doing a number on him. Firing another blast at the multi-armed teenager to get him to back off, he found himself ducking under the frog girl's tongue as it lashed out.
For a moment, he considered giving up and trying another day to get answers out of the French kid, then dismissed that thought. Still, he managed a cocky smirk as he jabbed at Froppy. "Come on, give me a-"
An alert in the corner of his eye saved him from getting hit by his uncle's laser, Aoyama ducking back behind his corner. That firmed his resolve.
Now or never.
He reached into his pocket, and unhooked an important piece of tech. "Okay, Heroes, time for a big show!"
Internally, Golden Grin winced.Sorry about this, you two, but I don't want anybody overhearing this.
Their eyes widened as he threw his flashbang. With a blast of sound and noise, both of them were sent reeling. Aoyama was too far away from the blast, just as he had planned. At the same time, he pressed a button on his phone, transmitting a virus La Brava had made to the cameras to cut the sound.
Now, all that was left was a quick interrogation.
A tiny bit of guilt surfaced, but he squashed it. Aoyama was his only lead on finding his uncle, and Golden Grin couldn't ask him anything if he got arrested or the kid locked himself away. Aoyama had to know something. He just had to.
Dodging the laser fired his way, Golden Grin shot towards Aoyama, a false smile on his face. "Really interesting Quirk you've got there, you know! It's pretty similar to one I used to know."
Behind his mask, his fake smile widened. "Especially since it'smy uncle's."
Aoyamafroze.
Inkblot winced, rubbing the bruise the beanbag round had left on her stomach. Her mechanical ears twitched, picking up on the sound of somebody around the corner. "Was not expecting the gun, have to admit..." She grumbled, chasing after them.
After the surprise of being shot and then flash banged had worn off, Inkblot had tried to find the kids. It was pretty odd - she'd seen glimpses of Jirou and Uraraka, and it looked like they were heading for one of the exits. She was pretty sure that they were trying to escape as a team and delay her, but she wasn't going to discount an ambush either.
Off in the distance, she spotted Uraraka making a hard right around a corner. Cracking her knuckles, Inkblot pursued.Not sure what you have planned, kids, but I should be able to deal with it.
She rounded the corner, then immediately flung herself to the side to avoid another shotgun blast. Then she regretted it when a sharp pain lanced through her foot. "The fuck-" She hopped in place, before her face fell at the sheer number of caltrops littering the area. "This is someHome Aloneshit, and I am not okay with that!"
Yaoyorozu didn't look apologetic. Instead, she beamed at her brightly. "Thank you! Now, Jirou!"
Inkblot barely had a second to see the other student come out of an alleyway, jacks plugged into a massive amp. Her face sagged. "Aw, hell-"
The resulting sound wave slammed into Inkblot like she was getting hit with a car. Barely managing to bite back a scream, Inkblot rolled out of the way, before recoiling with a shout of pain as she hit more caltrops.
Yaoyorozu winced. "How are you feeling?"
Currently, Inkblot was feeling proud of herself for not cursing up a storm. Despite herself, a grin split her face. This was way better than the fight clubs, she could say that. "Doing pretty damn well! You're going to need something more impressive than that though!"
Hopefully not too much more. Inkblot could only sell so much before it started getting real.
The tall girl beamed. "Well, in that case... Uraraka!"
Inkblot blinked at that exclamation. Then a shadow crossed over her head. "Hey, what-"
She gaped at the asteroid belt's worth of bins and rocks that floated in the air above her in much the way that said items shouldn't. Uraraka pressed her fingers together, and for an instant they remained hanging in the air.
Then they dropped.
Sometimes, Inkblot's Quirk activated involuntarily, which had turned off a couple of potential partners. In this case, her Quirk created a sign reading 'UH OH' in her hand just before the largest rock hit her square in the face.
Earlier...
"Alright, so we need to make it look like we're running for the exit," Momo gestured, pulling out several caltrops. "Which is our backup if this doesn't work. Fighting her head-on hasn't been working so far, so we need to set the battlefield to our advantage."
Uraraka winced when she saw the caltrops being scattered around. "So how are we going to lure her over here?"
Momo was already working on the cannon, tossing out a pair of ear pieces. "You and Jirou need to make some noise and lead her around while I start setting up. If I make a cannon and an amp for Jirou, we can disorient her enough to take the bag off of her."
"Well, what if that doesn't work?" Jirou asked.
Momo paused. "I... don't have anything planned that wouldn't be potentially fatal," she admitted. "Which is why I was hoping that you had some ideas."
"...I could always pull a Bakugou?" Uraraka offered. "I mean, there's plenty of rubble around here."
"Good idea! And unlike him, I don't think she has the kind of destructive power which would counter such a move." Momo beamed.
Uraraka blinked, then leaned over to whisper to Jirou. "Was Yaomomo always so..."
"Hot - I mean kickass?" Jirou back-pedalled. "I mean - let's - let's just clear the exam."
Off to the side, the Hero students winced in unison as Inkblot's head was driven into her torso by a huge lump of concrete.
"Oh no," Momo whispered, hands on her mouth. "That-that wasn't-"
Then the rock fell off of Inkblot. Her head popped back up, a cartoonishly large lump swelling on it. Stars appeared around her head, spinning. "Ow..."
Uraraka took the opportunity to grab the bag of money from her. She clutched it to her chest as fervently as she would an actual bag of cash that size. "GOT IT!"
Inkblot stared for a second, then hastily jumped back to avoid another net from Yaoyorozu. "Hey, congratulations!" She managed a shaky grin. "Nearly got me, but I've got places to be! See ya later!"
Momo tried to get her, but it was in vain. The Villainess threw a small pellet on the ground, disappearing in the cloud of smoke it created. Momo tried to find her, but after a few moments she had to back down.
Jirou approached, an awkward smile on her face. "Nice one, Yaoyorozu."
A huge grin spread over Momo's own face at that small praise.
TEAM YAOYOROZU: PASSED!
INKBLOT: POSSIBLY CONCUSSED!
Koji was not having a good time right now. It was bad enough that the League of Supervillains had deployed their scary insectoid robots for this fight, but now Iida was adding to that fear as well. Apparently Iida had been carrying an actual armoury's worth of weapons on his person, courtesy of Hatsume and probably Midoriya and Shield, all extending from uncomfortably bug-like limbs.
The good news about his new, horrifying armaments was that Gentle Criminal and La Brava were on the defensive, having to block and dodge attacks from seemingly every angle. The bad news was that everybody else was trying to stay away from Iida's ostensibly controlled chaos of writhing limbs and weapons. Ojiro and Sero were trying to reach the exit, but the Villains kept unintentionally blocking them. As for Koji himself, he was hiding behind a tree, several birds flocking around him for comfort.
"Alright young man, maybe try turning it- " Gentle Criminal was cut off by a flamethrower's guttering spurt, lighting more of the forest on fire and narrowly missing Sero as he tried to swing to the safety of the exit.
"Too close, too close!" Sero yelped. Ojiro wasn't faring much better, the spreading flames preventing him from getting closer to the exit. The erratic movements of the robot spiders, acting on panicked commands La Brava was giving them, wasn't helping.
"I am so sorry Sero! I-I really have no control over my armour!" Iida shouted, genuine panic in his voice. He tried to move an arm, only for it to lash the other way, bouncing off a hasty air shield Gentle Criminal created.
Gentle Criminal winced. "Well, La Brava, time to crack into his armour."
La Brava nodded, fingers flashing over a virtual keyboard. "Doing that - WHOA!" She yelped as Gentle Criminal pulled her out of the way of a robot fist.
"It won't turn off! It won't turn off!" Iida cried.
"I'm guessing that you cannot hack his armour, La Brava?" Gentle Criminal asked, backing away from more weapons.
"N-not good - maybe if I wasn't being attacked I could hack it?" La Brava panted.
Gentle Criminal looked distressed. "We might have to use your-"
La Brava cut him off."We need that for our escape, Gentle! Without it-"
The older Villain swallowed as Iida loomed over them, glowing robot eyes focused squarely on them. "We might not be going as hard as we would for licensed Heroes, but we might have to fight harder just to stay in one piece!"
Koji felt a mixture of relief and despair at hearing that. Apparently the Villains were, in fact, going easy on them for the exam.
Still at least the Villains were having to step up or be overwhelmed, Iida's armour advancing on them with relentless force. La Brava had a screen up in front of her and seemed to be furiously thumbing through options as they dodged Iida's frantically attacking robot limbs. "No, no, that won't-" She cut herself off. "Oh, right, forgot I had this!"
"Please tell me you can stop me," Iida managed. "Even though you are fiendish Villains who put cans in the glass recycling area-" He was cut off once more by his armour's weaponry.
Her gloves lit up brightly as Iida's robot arms unleashed a flurry of punches, bouncing off a hastily placed rubberised section of air. Everybody watched with bated breath as the glow intensified.
A shockwave pulsed from La Brava's gloves, hitting Iida just as he pushed through the barrier."Surrender, League-"
BREOWW...
With that, Iida's suit slumped down, the robot limbs retracting into the main body. While stunned, Sero took the opportunity to wrap him up in tape, to hopefully stop further attacks.
"What the hell was that?" Ojiro panted, pushing himself up.
"Emergency EMP!" La Brava panted. "Almost forgot that Mastermind gave me that!"
"...Thank you?" Iida sounded confused when he said that.
For a moment, there was a peace brokered by Hatsume's inventions not trying to tear everybody apart. Then everybody remembered what they were doing. Sero and Ojiro went to fight only for Gentle Criminal to bounce back.
"Back to our regular schedule! Keep trying, Heroes," the gentlemanly Villain taunted, Sero shot tape at him, only for Gentle to grab it and use it to drag Sero forwards, catching him off balance. More robots interfered with Ojiro, who started to batter their casings with tail, fists and feet.
Looking around, Koji spotted an unburnt part of the forest leading to the exit. Gentle Criminal and La Brava were too focused on Sero and Ojiro, and the robots were nowhere near him. There was a chance he could escape and pass their team!
He went to run for the exit, only to be cut off by a cry from Sero. Turning his head, he saw Sero fighting and clearly losing against Gentle, unable to land his tape. Koda turned back to what he was doing only to freeze in place. What was he doing?
Everybody else was trying their hardest, and here he was, flinching away from the Villains' robots because he was afraid of insects. He'd wanted to be brave, had been brave in the USJ. Maybe because there weren't any bug themed Villains... Even so, that shouldn't have been enough to stop him from helping his friends!
What kind of a hero would he be if he didn't fight these Villains?
Koda took a deep breath, trembling yet determined. Then he narrowed his eyes, cracked his knuckles, and proceeded to demonstrate exactly how he managed to get into 1-A when he couldn't take animals into the exam area.
Gentle Criminal stared, slack jawed, as he watched the formerly timid Koda justgrab a robot and tear it in half lengthways, a newly determined look on his face. Absently he finished pinning the Tape boy down using the young man's own tape. Next to him, La Brava matched his stare. "Uh, did we know he could do that-"
Gentle tried to lunge forwards to deal with the young man, only to be stopped by the tail boy - Obito? - throwing a punch at him and forcing him to engage. When did he even get in front of Gentle? Did he have some sort of stealth ability on top of the tail?
His focus was pulled for a split second in blocking the surprise attack, then shoving his opponent away. Which was apparently enough time for the animal boy to call out to the forest, trembling yet determined. "C-c-come, little friends! I-I know it's loud here, but together, we-we can beat them!"
Gentle Criminal turned, ready to give a speech-!
He stopped, eyes twitching as he saw what had happened. La Brava stared at the same sight, eyes wide in fear.
Unfortunately for them, what Koda had summoned weren't the normal animals. Instead, they were creepy, skittering, horrifying bugs. The swarm tensed, then started creeping towards them in a teeming mass of chitinous horror.
La Brava trembled, eyes wide. Gentle Criminal tried to reassure her. "N-now, L-La Brava, well... we can-they're just a few... bugs..." His eye twitched as he fought to maintain his composure. "N-nothing to be scared of-"
A huge spider chose that moment to drop onto his shoulder. His composure shattered.
Dropping the sack of loot on the ground, Gentle Criminal and La Brava exited stage right, pursued by Koda and a swarm of insects.
Ojiro paused, watching the Villains who had harassed them for what felt like hours flee in terror from the least intimidating member of their group. Though he did had to admit that Koda was now the most terrifying member of class with that horde of insects stunt. "...What."
Sero shrugged from where he had been tied down by his own tape. "Did not expect that from Koda."
With nothing else to say, Ojiro picked up the bag. "Did... did we pass?"
The klaxon sounding answered that question.
TEAM IIDA PASSED - LOOT SECURE!
...WAIT, WHO IS THE TAIL GUY AGAIN?
GENTLE AND LA BRAVA: ABLE TO FIGHT YET CONFUSED AND TERRIFIED!
Present Mic glanced over at Nedzu as they watched Koda's rampage, the mysterious mammal cackling in glee as the timid boy sent hardened Villains screaming and crying for their mothers. He felt proud of doing so without passing out from so many horrifying, skittering insects on screen. "Quick question, because I think it's on all our minds... why the relative lenience on Mastermind and his League's behalf?"
He cringed back a bit at the stares he got, but rallied. "Don't get me wrong - the guy's a riot, and his super-villainy has incidentally helped people out!"
Then a more serious look crossed his face. "Still, he's actually a Villain. He's hurt Heroes and endangered innocents on multiple occasions, on top of all the robberies and weird crimes he's actually committed. So why are we going to give him a head start once the exams are done?!"
everybody apart from Nedzu grimaced at that. That was a big sticking point with the faculty - that after letting the League of Supervillains into U.A once more, they were having to give them ahead start.Only Nedzu's menacing smile implying he knew their darkest secrets would make them keep their word on that front.
Principal Nedzu just grinned. "Oh, that's a bit of a long story when I talked with him. But the short answer is, he managed to figure out what species I am, and so I decided to let him have that."
Upon seeing their shocked stares, he laughed. "No, really! He actually figured it out - the only people who have gotten it right over the years have just been guessing. And for that, I shall show him a shred of mercy!"
Present Mic looked stunned, then a contemplative look crossed his face. "...So, what is your-"
Nedzu tutted. "For that ultimate nugget, you're going to have to try harder than that," he said playfully. "I have to have some secrets after all."
While Present Mic pouted at being thwarted, Nedzu turned back to the screens. "Besides, this is much more interesting than just defeating them all."
From where they were pinned, Fumikage gave Shinsou a Look. When Shinsou had said he wouldn't like it, he had hoped for something considerably... darker than this. "I just want to say that this is a bad plan."
"Oh, it definitely is," Shinsou nodded. He then gave Fumikage a pointed stare. "But do you have a single better idea?"
Fumikage searched his mind for any other way out of this predicament, before sighing morosely. Gritting his beak, he looked over at Dark Shadow. "Are you ready for this dark display?"
"Honestly, I'm surprised we haven't done this bit sooner!"Dark Shadow cackled.
"Pretty sure that most Villains wouldn't fall for it," his purple haired tormentor cheerfully admitted, before nodding. "Alright. Go for it."
Fumikage went to get up, but hesitated. "...It's undignified," he grumbled. He wasn't pouting,dark and brooding Heroesdid not pout. Fumikage was going to stick to his guns on that.
Even though he couldn't find another plan, he still objected to what was required of him. Sure, it could work but it was just so…lame.
"I would have literally been fighting naked if Midoriya and Hatsume hadn't made me this costume!" Tohru shouted from across the room. "You don't get to talk about embarrassment!"
Desperately Fumikage made one last token objection. "T-true, but this goes counter to my bad boy image! I am darkness, I am the night-"
Rolling his eyes, Dark Shadow grabbed Fumikage by the head with his clawed hand. Ignoring the death glare he received, his Quirk pulled Fumikage out, holding a claw to his throat in a threatening fashion"Alright, Twice. Hand over the bag, or the birdbrain gets it!"He roared in an even deeper voice than normal.
Twice's head popped up, a look of panic and horror plain on his face. "Whoa, what?!Man, this guy's crazy if he'd actually do it!"
"Oh yeah, Dark Shadow's crazy. He'd do it in a heartbeat," Shinsou said drily. His Capture Weapon coiled threateningly, waiting for the right moment to strike.
Feeling a part of his dignity die, Fumikage put on a panicked expression. "He-he's not bluffing! Help me!"
After hearing that, Twice's face seemed to collapse. "N-no, not-not again - not again!"
Fumikage and the others paused, seeing the man clutch his head and start crying while muttering to himself. "Um… Twice? It's-it's a bluff…" He trailed off, seeing that Twice was obviously not listening to them.
"I-I-I-I can't! I can't deal, I can't deal with this!" Sobbing, he dropped the oversized bag of money, and then stumbled away, mumbling to himself. "Not splitting, not splitting - gotta get out of here-"
He threw something at the ground, and a puff of black smoke enveloped him. When it cleared, he was gone.
Fumikage exchanged an awkward look with the rest if the group, before Dark Shadow grabbed the bag."...What was up with him?"
Shinsou stared after them, face twisted. "...I don't know."
TEAM FUMIKAGE PASSED - BAG OF MONEY SECURE!
TWICE: UNABLE TO FIGHT!
"...Well, that's the third Villain my students have driven to a mental breakdown today," Eraserhead noted drily.
Nedzu hummed. "That man was already unstable, so I'll give them half points." He made a few notes. "Still, not bad on their part!"
Hound Dog huffed, hackles raised. "That was a strong reaction from Twice. Some sort of adverse reaction with his Quirk in the past?"
"Almost certainly!"
Nedzu turned to Aoyama's exam, and frowned at what he saw. "The audio's gone from the cameras for Golden Grin's arena, and I can't read their lips from here. It might just be an aftereffect of the flash bang, but just in case I'll be sweeping all of the cameras for bugs."
Frowning, Eraserhead turned to the screen. If the Principal was concerned about something, it deserved full attention. On screen, while Asui and Shoji were recovering from the effects of a flash bang, Aoyama and Golden Grin seemed to be staring at each other, not attacking or moving.
What was happening there?
Yuuga stared at Golden Grin, horrified. Ever since All for One had shown up on his doorstep he had known he was a selfish coward, but this was not something he had entertained, even in his nightmares. "...Y-your uncle's Quirk?"
The Villain nodded, serious as the grave. "Yeah. Not a similar Quirk, the exact same one. Funny how you have it, is what I'm saying. Since Quirks are unique and all."
His stomach writhed like a pit of snakes. Yuuga choked down the bile rising in his throat as he tried to find an answer. Golden Grin continued. "He was like a dad to me, especially after my actual dad fucked off to America to avoid paying child support. And he disappeared a couple of years ago, right? But you have his power."
Golden Grin ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "Just tell me where he is, okay? I don't know how you have his Quirk, but you've gotta be copying it or some shit. If you've hurt him, I-I guess I'd have to leave the League with what I would do to you, but... I need to see him."
Yuuga's mind went blank. He had known what he was being forced to do was bad, that he had another person's Quirk. But this was something out of his deepest nightmares.
Guilt and self hatred held his jaw closed. It must have shown on his face, as Golden Grin hesitated. "...Kid, are you okay-"
"I-I am so sorrymonsieur, but I-I do not know anything about your uncle. I... I do not have the words to say how sorry I am," he managed to choke out.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw Shoji and Tsuyu starting to recover, shaking off the effects of that grenade. Frantically, his hand closed on his emergency cheese. Pulling out his glitter pen, he hurriedly scribbled on the wax coating. "Just - just go."
"Hold on-"
He threw it at the Villain's head, where it stuck. "J-justice shall prevail, Villain!" He managed. "I-I won't back down from this fight!"
Golden Grin gawked at him for a moment. Then Shoji tried to grapple him to stop him from escaping. Despite being distracted, Golden Grin was able to duck the attempt, slipping away from Shoji and backing off. Still, one of Shoji's hands managed to grab the sack of fake loot in the attempt. Golden Grin winced, before rolling to avoid Tsuyu's tongue as it lashed out to wrap around him. Coming up, he stared at Yuuga for a second before dusting himself off. "Well, uh, I guess you win this round, Heroes."
His heart clearly wasn't in it.
Tsuyu and Shoji charged, only for Golden Grin to throw a smoke bomb on the ground and vanish. Shoji twisted his eyes and ears around, trying to find where the Villain was. Yuuga forced himself to stand upright, despite how badly he wanted to collapse into a puddle of horror.
"How did you distract him like that?" Shoji asked. "I couldn't see anything about what you were doing. It must have been pretty severe to unbalance him like that."
Another snake started writhing in his stomach. "Oh, I threw my emergency cheese at him." Yuuga gave a tight lipped smile, begging Shoji to not pay him any attention.
"...Why do you have cheese on you?"
"You never know when you need cheese."
Tsuyu patted him on the shoulder, face inscrutable as ever. "Nice try though, kero. It certainly distracted him. You're pretty dependable like that."
His stomach lurched dangerously at that. Bad enough he was the lowest scum imaginable, he had to getpraisedabout it by people who would justifiably hate him if they ever learned the truth. "Certainly! Now,excusez moi,but I need to go to the bathroom! My Quirk, ah-"
"No problem. Thank you for being there for us," Shoji gave him six thumbs up, unaware of how much bile was rising in Yuuga's throat.
Still, Yuuga smiled, before hurrying to the bathroom. He just managed to make it to the toilet before his stress and self hatred poured out of his mouth with the contents of his stomach.
TEAM SHOJI: PASSED!
GOLDEN GRIN: DEFEATED?
AOYAMA: SELF HATING!
Eijiro looked over at Todoroki as they crept forwards. "Are you sure about this? Because a sneak attack... that isn't manly."
"Neither is being crushed by a Villain," his partner pointed out.
He had a point. And a plan as well.
Todoroki, manly dude that he was, had spotted something - specifically, that Lady de Winter's ice responded to her emotions as well as taking over his ice. "It seemed to laugh with her," was his explanation. "It's pretty similar to another ice Quirk I've seen, but it definitely can't be that one."
So the plan was to distract her enough so that she couldn't mount a counter attack - Todoroki hadn't disclosed how he was going to do that, but Eijirou was confident he knew. Combined with that trick of Sato's to get away, they could escape. Eijirou knew that running wasn't manly, but neither was fighting an unwinnable fight when lives weren't on the line.
"How are we going to do that?" Sato had asked.
"I've got something up my sleeves." Todoroki didn't explain further. Eijirou just nodded, since unspoken plans executed under intense pressure generally worked out for everybody.
So here they were, sneaking up on Lady de Winter as she sat on a fence near the exit, humming to herself. Now that he was looking for it, he could hear the hum of ice crystals as they resonated with her voice. He couldn't help but shake his head in admiration of Todoroki's manly observation skills, picking up on that just by himself.
Once they were close, the red and white haired boy looked between them, then released the sign to attack. The sign was in the form of a massive blast of fire.
Lady de Winter's head snapped around at the sound, and with a sweep of her hand she brought up a wall of ice to block it. "You're pretty fired up right now," she chuckled.
Eijirou took the chance to rush forwards and slam into the barrier, breaking it and allowing Todoroki to get closer. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sato getting his fuel ready. "Go for it!" He yelled, even as the ice started creeping towards him.
Todoroki nodded, and came through the opening, fire flaring around him. He wondered what he was going to do to disrupt her focus. Maybe Endeavour had taught him some sort of ultimate distraction technique? When he'd brought that up, Todoroki had stared at him for a second, before dismissing it and sneaking ahead.
The villainess laughed cheerfully as he tried to approach. "Hopefully you're not going to just try rushing-"
"Star and Stripe is a clone of All Might created by the US government," Todoroki stated, face completely straight.
Eijirou stared. Sato stared. Lady de Winter stared. Her ice, thankfully, seemed to have stopped as well as she stared at Todoroki, head tilted. "-me - that's... huh?"
Todoroki lashed out with a blast of fire, which was blocked by an ice wall that was only crazy fast rather than 'blink and you're frozen' fast. "While All Might was a Hero student in America, the CIA took All Might's DNA and created Star and Stripe from that."
Lady de Winter didn't respond to that, only throwing more ice at the three of them. That got disrupted by Todoroki's fire, as well as a conspiracy theory. "The moon landing was real, but the astronauts were killed and replaced by aliens to prevent future moon expeditions."
A strangled hiss of air left her mouth. Eijirou lunged forwards, and grinned when he wasn't immediately frozen, managing to start digging through the ice as a feint. Todoroki's plan was working!
Still, much as he wanted to help, he couldn't. The two elemental Quirks were locked in a clash of fire and ice, with blasts of ice clashing with each other, accompanied by walls and jagged bursts of flame. All of which was manly as hell, but didn't leave them much room to get closer.
And Todoroki kept blurting out conspiracy theories as he fought. Eijiro tried to get close, mildly concerned that his classmate might actually believe some of them.
"Cheese has mind control agents in it." An ice wall that she made crumbled briefly before reforming, distinctly lopsided.
"Detnerat and Feel Good are conspiring with the Hearts and Minds party to bring down Japan." The walls that she had thrown up to block them trembled at that.
She actually stopped, letting out a sigh of exasperation. "You need to stop with those, Shou-chan." Lady de Winter said. She seemed distracted enough. What was weird was that Todoroki suddenly froze up at that statement.
Then she ruffled his hair. Eijirou was confused and slightly weirded out by the gesture, then he realised what had happened. Mastermind must have given her some sort of paralysing gadget that relied on touching hair so she could use it on them! Eijirou knew science wasn't his best subject but he could see that being something Mastermind would cook up with all his other science gadgets.
The point was, Todoroki was now a hostage. Glancing over at Sato, he knew that his friend felt much the same way, just staring at this scene wide eyed.
For a moment it was like he had returned to that huge guy threatening his classmates. Then he shook himself. Sure, he had held back on that fateful day, but not now! Crimson Riot's words echoed in his mind, reminding him of what was truly important. If he couldn't help his friend right now, then he couldn't call himself a man!
With that, Eijirou charged forwards with Sato, fist raised and a roar on his lips. Todoroki had said that his battlecry was 'certainly unique,' which he just took to mean that it was super awesome and manly! Even if it didn't disrupt her powers, he would say he used it to go out like a man!
Fuyumi paused mid affectionate hair ruffle. Around her, she could feel her ice slipping, as she desperately tried to keep up some ice walls to keep the other two away.Wait, what am I doing-?
She must have been more tired from fighting the three of them than she had thought, to get distracted like this. Working as a kindergarten teacher could only help so much in the face of Shouto's borderline inhuman training. The main reason she had gotten this far was because of how her Quirk interacted with ice from other sources. Childhood games with Natsuo and her mother, furthered with experiments with the Freeze Ray, had determined that if some of her ice made contact with outside ice, then she could manipulate it as if it was her own. Even then, it was taking everything she had.
The look on Shouto's face when she'd broken his ice wall the first time had been funny. The fun of being an older sibling, she supposed.
It didn't help that Shouto had kept talking about conspiracy theories. Maybe she should have discouraged it but it was one of the few times that he actually got to act his age, so she'd let it go.
At least Shouto looked as stunned as she was. But that wasn't going to last - already, she could see him starting to get ready for an attack. Hastily she pushed Shouto away as gently as she could, wrapping a band of ice around his arms to slow him down.
Then the red haired boy were charging at her, fist raised. Steeling herself, she stood firm, ready for anything he could do.
"I'M ROCK FUCKING HARD!" The red haired boy - Red Riot? - yelled, a look of righteous fury on his face.
She wasn't ready for that.
Fuyumi stared at him blankly. "...What did you just say?"
"I said, I'm rock! Fucking! Hard! I've never been harder in my life!" Red Riot exclaimed.
Her control slipped. Fuyumi's ice cracked, crumbled, and fell down in her sheer confusion and bafflement at him saying that with a straight face.
Then Sato grabbed her brother and Kirishima. Fuyumi tried to hit them with her ice, but all she could make was a half-hearted wave that tinkled out.
All she could do was watch as Sato drank a can from his belt with a grimace. A pair of white wings then tore through the back of his costume, causing a slight yelp as he started to flap them as he ran. She tried to get a half decent blast of ice ready to catch them but the three of them were airborne.
She watched, dumbfounded, her ice crumbling down to match her confused state of mind. Even as they passed through the gate and Present Mic announced their victory, Fuyumi tried to process that.
…Well, that's one way to do it.
TEAM TODOROKI: ESCAPED!
LADY DE WINTER: CONFUSED!
Eijirou paused as he looked at the wings Sato had grown, the larger boy still hyper from the new influx of caffeine and sugar coursing through his body as he glided down to the ground. "So, Sato?"
"YeahwhatisitKirishimawhatdidyouwant?" Sato panted at about a million miles a minute as he barely stuck the landing.
"Right. So... how do the wings work? I mean, I get the cinnamon candy making heat, but...where do wings come from? Because that's really manly, being able to fly like that."
"That was the advertising gimmick back before Quirks became a thing. I don't know how an ancient assumption like that would work," Todoroki supplied, clearly still distracted by that Villainess' hair paralysing gadget.
"Ohthat'seasy!" Sato opened his mouth. Closed it. Then frowned in contemplation, bloodshot eyes turning thoughtful. With that thought, the wings disappeared in a puff of yellowish smoke, leaving Sato standing there with the back of his costume torn to shreds.
"...If that stops working because you made me question it, I... probably won't be too angry since growing wings sucks and it really hurts. Still," Sato managed. Then his eyelids drooped and he started to slump. "Oh no, having a sugar crash-"
He cut himself short by suddenly falling face forwards, Eijirou just managing to catch him. Not easily, because Eijirou's everything hurt from all of the hardening he had done and the lingering chill. "You were so freaking manly out there, I can't blame you! Now, to Recovery Girl to get a check-up! Because getting proper rest isalsomanly!"
"You keep on using that word." Todoroki said. "I do not think it means what you think it does."
From the ambush position they had agreed on, Katsuki sighed, annoyed by all of this running around. But as much as he wanted to deny it or argue, he had to admit that just rushing Mastermind wasn't enough. The bastard was fast, durable, and hit like a truck. That wasn't even mentioning the gadgets-!
BEEP!
When he heard that, his head whipped around and up. One of those drones had spotted him, its red eye focusing on him. And with the drone-!
"Found you!" Mastermind tore out of an alleyway. "And just in time for this new track,Torero!" Latin pop music started playing. Katsuki's eye twitched as Mastermind kept babbling. "Well, I don't know what the lyrics mean, but it sounds really cool!"
For the record I did, in fact, know what the lyrics mean! La Brava translated for me when I first heard the song. As a Supervillain, I am obliged to lie to the Heroes about anything I can!
Swearing, Katsuki dashed out of the way as Mastermind fired his Freeze Ray at where he was standing. Quickly twisting around, he launched himself at Mastermind with an explosion, another blast raring to go in the other hand. His ire only increased when Mastermind grabbed a dumpster with thatbullshit cheating tractor beam shitand pulled it in front of him to block his attack. "Fuck off with that!"
"It's a valid tactic, Hero!" Mastermind taunted.
"I'm gonna break that shit over your stupid fucking face!" Katsuki roared.
"No you won't!" Mastermind said childishly. Smug prick.
"Yes I will!" Katsuki replied in a mature, measured fashion. Then Mastermind fired his Freeze Ray and there was no time to complain. Still, as Mastermind fired again and he rolled out of the way, Katsuki couldn't help but feel a sense of Deja vu. Something about this situation felt familiar.
In the past...
"MWAHAHAHA!" Deku crowed, laughing dramatically on top of the jungle gym. A towel was tied around his neck in imitation of a cape, not fluttering in the wind despite Deku's best efforts. "I, Lord Evilous, am very evil and villainous! Come beat me if you can, Better All Might!"
Katsuki laughed, hair vaguely styled like All Might's. "I'mma gonna get you, Villain!"
"Nuh uh, I've gotta forcefield so you can't do that!" Deku crowed.
"Well, I'll get around or through it! Superheroes always win, just like All Might!" Katsuki shouted back.
"Nuh uh!"
"Yuh huh!"
The discussion continued along those lines at increasing volume until Deku bit him on the arm. Then it was a free for all brawl.
If Katsuki was willing to reflect on his past more, he might have realised a vital clue as to who Mastermind was. As it was, he shook the vague thought away and went back to trying to murder the Villain in front of him with a grin on his face. Still, his part of the plan was going smoothly - all that needed to happen was for the American and Goggles to do their shit.
His grin turned into a smirk as he unleashed an explosion at the bastard, forcing him to shift to the left to avoid it.Finally, we've got him on the ropes!
Izuku was having a great time!
Kacchan was really going at it, enough that he couldn't find an opening that wasn't risky at the competence an exam demanded. While he was still holding back, it seemed increasingly likely that he would have to use a higher level of contingency just for this fight. It was amazing, just how far the three of them were pushing him!
"LA BRAVA CHECK IF THERE ARE ANY BUGS IN MY HAIR-"
Not so much for the rest of the League, but they were at least safe. Not like he was, as his headship display pinged and he had to duck a punch from Melissa that smashed through the wall of a building.
Melissa and Mei were now on the scene. Izuku's eyes widened as Mei started firing nets at him, managing to avoid catching Kacchan while still harrying him. And Melissa launched another punch, forcing him to activate his spring boots and relocate, managing to get a moment to breath.
Then Kacchan was upon him once more. "Eat shit-"
Izuku ducked under Kacchan's latest explosion and slammed a gauntleted fist into his face, sending him flying back with his nose bleeding. A blur of motion in the corner of his eye alerted him to Melissa bouncing her shield off the terrain to catch him. Grinning, he caught it without even turning his head, and then froze her with his currently unpatented Stasis Beam. "Good try, Heroes!"
Absently his Quirk Scanner activated as Melissa struggled to break free from his stasis grab. He couldn't help it - such an amazing Quirk needed to be examined. Plus, if he could mimic its effects, he might be able to improve his own Full Cowling! "But it seems that I have the better-"
For the second time since he had created it, his scanner malfunctioned. Static and lines of code streaked across his visor as the computer struggled to put it into words.
Scanning Quirk- ERROR! ErRoR: Quirk unscannable for reason:WE WILL NOT BE TAKEN.Divide by melon and restart.
With that bizarre error message, his Quirk Scanner bricked. A cavalcade of error messages spread across his visor.
Izuku blinked, staring into space as he tried to figure out what the hell just happened with his scanner. His Stasis Beam blinked out, dropping Melissa on the ground awkwardly. "Wait, wait, what?"
That hasn't happened since the USJ! How-
His train of thought was derailed just when it had returned to its original tracks by his heads-up alerting him to two massive heat signatures building up behind him. Izuku spun dramatically, only to see Kacchan and Mei charging in, the former corkscrewing through the air, the latter pointing the plasma cannon he had helped make directly at him, its ominous hum filling the air.
"HOWITZER-"
Mastermind's eyes went wide when he saw the crazed looks on their faces, accompanied by a hellish light from their attacks. Behind him, Melissa quickly left the area. He gulped. "Can we talk about this?"
They did not.
"IMPACT!"
"FIRE IN THE HOLE!"
Mayumi carefully tightened the last bolt on her invention, giving it a final polish. Even U.A's Support Course finals were no joke - she hadn't expected the simulated agency she and the other Support students were in to suddenly come under attack by a bunch of Villain robots, but everybody was starting to pump out inventions for the acting Heroes to repel the simulated Villain attack.
Plus Ultra and all that.
A confident smile on her face, she turned to a harried teacher to hand it in. "Alright, I'm done-"
KA-KABOOM!
She barely twitched at the all-too familiar sound of an ungodly explosion going off in the distance, coming from what she assumed was the Heroics exam area. Next to her, Midoriya paused his feverish repair of a sparking chest plate. The rest of the class made various exclamations of panic, not having grown up with explosion happy menaces for friends.
"What the heck was that?" Udekiki yelled.
"I think it came from the training grounds!" Seiyuu exclaimed with Present Mic's voice. "Is it our seniors? I mean, if we're getting an extra hard exam due to Villains..."
"Hey, you think it's the Hero practical?" Kuroyami asked. He clenched a fist, a single tear glistening in his eye. "Cause if it is… that's so manly!"
The rest of the class was divided on what exactly had happened. But Mayumi knew who was to blame. "Mei!"
At the same time, Midoriya exclaimed, "Kacchan!"
They stared at each other for a moment, thinking hard about the explosions their friends typically released. Then Mayumi had a worrying thought and turned to Midoriya, knowing the answer to her question yet not wanting to believe. "Both?"
As another explosion rattled the windows of the exam hall, Midoriya nodded confidently. "Both."
Mayumi sighed, already getting back to work on her project. "Of course it was."
She couldn't imagine what the teachers were thinking, putting the two most explosive students together in one exam. What kind of nightmare scenario required both of them?
Melissa couldn't help the shiver as Mastermind picked himself out of the impact crater, cloak torn to shreds, waistcoat scorched and singed to reveal the armour underneath yet still going. Bakugou and Mei were ready, Bakugou shaking from the force he had unleashed.
Her shield unravelled, reforming into a long strip of fabric.
He staggered slightly, shaking his head to recover, then managed to get into a cocky pose. "W-well, that... that was seriously impressive, Heroes! Yet I am-"
While he was distracted, Melissa threw the unravelled shield at him. It lashed around Mastermind's gauntlet and arm, the bands locking in place to form a vaguely fist shaped blob of a hand.
"-Still -eh?" His monologue stopped. Then the Villain whipped around to Melissa. "WHAT?!"
For her part, Melissa grinned like her girlfriend, grabbing her end of the strand wrapped around his hand in a vice grip. Even the Background Music-Inator changed, a new track coming on."Gotcha."
Earlier...
"It's going to be tough to take the bag off him or get away, but the best way to get past his defences is to disable that tractor beam of his," Melissa explained. "Considering how effective it is at locking our movement down and how badly he's beating us..."
She didn't finish that sentence. She didn't have to.
Bakugou snorted derisively, but he didn't object. "Good fucking luck, bastard's armour is too strong to break."
Melissa had to nod. While she could have used One for All to break the armour, considering it was based on a design that could potentially absorb one of All Might's attacks, combined with its ability to store and release kinetic energy, she didn't want to give Mastermind a full power smash attack to use against them or the teachers in their escape. "Which is why we won't be breaking them. We're going to block the emitters instead."
"How?" Mei asked.
To answer, Melissa held up her Full Gauntlets and shield, unravelling them into their more easily portable form before snapping them back in their regular shape "These are designed to map automatically to the users' hands. Considering where the beam emitter is located, he won't be able to fire with these on him-"
"-And we can pummel the crap out of him without getting caught in that shit!" Bakugou finished.
Mei looked murderous. "Don't risk it - he'll steal your babies and pervert them to evil mad science, rather than regular mad science!" Bakugou just stared at her with an unreadable look on his face.
"Then the tracking devices I added will lead Uncle Might right to their hideout." Melissa smirked. Ever since Mastermind had been on the scene, she'd made a point of incorporating a tracker into her devices. Bakugou actually boggled at that.
Her girlfriend paused. Then a dreamy-eyed look of adoration crossed her face. "Mel, have I told you that I love you and how your mind works?"
"Every time we work together," Melissa smiled warmly at Mei.
"Oh god," Bakugou gagged. "Can we please get to maiming the bastard?"
Melissa nodded, tossing Mei one of her spare Full Gauntlets. "Right, right. So, we need a huge distraction so we can get these on without risking him catching us in the light."
Bakugou's smile widened. "Should be able to manage that." Mei cackled madly, getting the Plasma Cannon ready.
Beaming at them both, Melissa clapped her hands together. "Let's get him."
Mastermind stared at his trapped hand, then flexed them inquisitively. Spurts of green light came out from the gaps of the gauntlet, but the only thing that happened was that the bands of her shield were gripped in a green glow. Cancelling his stasis beam, Mastermind then gave her a small salute. "Clever girl."
A thunderous BOOM heralded Bakugou's return to the fray. The blonde was battered, panting and shaking from the blast he'd just unleashed, but he still grinned as he unleashed another explosion at Mastermind. Mastermind went to counterattack, only for Melissa to pull him to the side, One for All flaring around her.
Even with one arm locked down, Mastermind wasn't giving up. He grabbed the net as it went past, managing to entangle Bakugou as he went for another finisher. Gritting her teeth, Melissa pulled Mastermind towards her with all her might. The Villain fired his stasis beam at her yet again, locking her in place, but Mei used the moment to wrap the other Full Gauntlet on the arm, cutting the beam short.
Mastermind tried to free his hand, sparks starting to build up, before Melissa grabbed him by the arm. The Villain let out a surprised yelp as she then threw him overhead, slamming him on the ground hard enough to knock the wind out of him. "GO!" She yelled to Mei, her girlfriend managing to stagger away.
Izuku's going to be so happy I used that throw on Mastermind!He'd shown it to her a few times. The Villain in question just lay on the ground, clearly stunned.
Melissa went to cuff the prone Villain, only for the Supervillain to go from prone to delivering a sweeping kick to knock her feet from under her. He sprang up and delivered a wild haymaker to an approaching Bakugou. "Nice offort! But you'll have to do better than that!"
She managed to grin. "Probably. But you forgot about Mei."
Mastermind tilted his head, then whipped around. Mei had managed to grab his Background Music-Inator with a robot arm, a shaky, taunting grin on her face. Two of the limbs were holding her in place, the third, battered, managed to snake out and wrap around the bag. It tore it from the machine's grasp with a yell of victory from Mei.
Mastermind stared, then started clapping. Confetti cannons fired from the Background Music-Inator as the klaxon blared, signifying that the exam was over. "MWAHAHAHA! I have to say, you pushed me pretty hard back there!"
Bakugou didn't say anything, just glaring at him. Mei was still wobbling on her feet from his last punch.
He then held up the hands. "Now, I'd rather not have to break this. How do I remove this?"
"Keep it, it's a gift." Melissa beamed brightly. "Since you enjoy taking science from other people so much."
"Ouch," Mastermind mimed an arrow piercing his heart. "Still, you can either remove it, or I use an EMP to disrupt it. Which do you want?"
Mei started for Mastermind, only for Bakugou to grab her by the shoulder. "He's got that fucking Top Ten mode, and you don't have a counter to that," he managed, gritting his teeth as Mei spewed invective at him and Mastermind alike. "You can beat the crap out of him later!"
Mei glared at Katsuki, but stopped struggling, robot arms dropping in dejected rage. Melissa hesitated, then reluctantly undid the bindings under Masterminds' watchful eye. Mastermind flexed his hands, then with a shortelectronic buzzing soundand a small shockwave around his gauntlets, flexed his hands with cheer. "Just had to be sure you didn't leave any surprises!" He beamed at them. "Bye-bye now!"
For an instant, Melissa wanted to charge him and smack him in his face with the full force of One for All. But she held back. After all, Mastermind's design was designed to withstand a full force blow from Uncle Might. That, combined with his Full Cowling mode, meant that Melissa would only be making him stronger. Maybe the Principal had countermeasures in place for him, but she had no idea if they would be able to deal with him.
As Mastermind and his Fight Music-Inator vanished in plumes of green smoke, Melissa could only stare at where they had been standing in frustration. Mei let out a furious howl of rage, robot arms crushing a nearby trash bin.
And Bakugou just exploded figuratively as well as literally. "GODDAMNIT! SHIT!"
Melissa couldn't agree more.
"That was intense!" Present Mic crowed.
Eraserhead had to agree. "Solid plan, well executed. They pushed him much further than we'd expected." He paused. "Though Bakugou needs to work on constructive anger management more." On screen, Bakugou kicked a wall in frustration, only to howl in agony as he presumably broke his toe.
The Principal cackled at that. He then tapped his microphone, watching as Bakugou and Mei continued to rage, Melissa simmering in fury yet considerably more restrained than either of her teammates. "Well, that's all settled. Alright, Snipe, you can stand down now."
"Got it."Snipe reported over the staff intercom.
Present Mic looked confused, then it clicked. "Wait, you had Snipe watching Mastermind?"
Nezu's smile chilled the room to the core. "Yes, he's been keeping a rifle trained on him this whole time. It's a rather exciting design from David Shield really. He said something about showing it to any boy who tried to date his daughter, though I think that Midoriya and Hatsume have already seen it at I-Island."
"...What kind of gun did Shield make?" Present Mic asked, face going pale.
"I believe he described it as a .75 calibre railgun that could accelerate its round to Mach 10," Nezu blithely waved off. Seeing their stares, his smile widened. "And a depleted uranium slug for good measure. Snipe tested it by firing through the Zero Pointer's armour. I imagine it'll take a lot to persuade him to part with it."
Eraserhead fought to keep his cool in the face of the Principal. "That... seems a bit overkill." Whether it was for the stated purpose or for dealing with Mastermind, he wasn't sure.
"Not at all - that armour of Mastermind's is rather tough. Besides, even if it isn't enough the first time, the second or third would definitely mangle Mastermind." A shiver went down Eraserhead's spine at the look in the Principal's eyes. "As I said, if Mastermind had tried anything with our students, he wouldn't have lived long enough to regret it."
In the break area Nedzu had 'generously' gifted them, Mastermind staggered in, before flopping onto a couch. He sorely wanted to take his mask off, but even with La Brava confirming that there were no cameras or recording devices in the room, he wasn't taking any chances. "My everything hurts," he announced tiredly, before a straw extended from his mask and he started to suck greedily from his water bottle.
The rest of the League didn't look much better. Every single one of them looked exhausted, covered in minor scrapes and bruises from the Hero students they had been fighting.
"La Brava, are you sure I don't have any insects on me?" Gentle asked shakily, normally neat hair a mess.
"I-I-I'm sure, Gentle!" La Brava's hands shook as she looked over herself with a mirror. "Where did all those bugs even come from..."
Mr. Compress rubbed his brow as he shrugged off his gear, heading to the replacements Mastermind had felt was necessary. "I think our gear needs some anti-EMP measures, Mastermind."
Mastermind groaned from where he lay on the couch. "I know, I know... I'll fix that when we're back on base. Honestly, I didn't think Kaminari could do that! We're really learning a lot, huh?"
Twice shook in a corner, clutching his head. "It's - I'm not splitting -yes I am -No! I-I'm not going through that again! They aren't going through that like we were!Yes they were. I should give them some pointers."
Lady de Winter gently patted him on the back, eliciting a twitch from the Villain. Parts of her dress were smoking from her fight with Todoroki. "Maybe you should sit the next one out, Twice. What do you think, Golden?"
Golden Grin jolted out of his stupor. "Huh? Oh, right, sure, yeah." He went back to looking at the wall, eyes focused on a point somewhere beyond it.
Izuku was about to ask his friend what had bothered him so much when the intercom crackled. Immediately they tensed."Well, that was certainly an involved exam. Absolutely marvelous performance out there from all of you!"The Principal's cheerful voice echoed through the speaker system.
Mastermind did his best to pretend he wasn't bone tired. "W-well, what did you expect?! We are, after all, the League of Supervillains!"
"Yeah, we're better than the plain, non-super League of Villains in every way," Lady de Winter stated confidently.
"Splendid! In which case, it's nearly time for 1-B's exam!"
"Eh?" He couldn't see her face, but Mastermind could tell that her smile had frozen behind her mask. The rest of the League was similarly still, held there in disbelief.
"Yes, we've managed to repair the grounds after all the damage that's happened! 1-B is nearly ready to face off against your devious League. They'll be in costume and on the grounds in about ten minutes. Just be ready to go."Nedzu's voice oozed syrupy sweetness.
A chorus of groans came from the rest of the League. Mastermind nearly joined in. But he had to put on a brave face. "Well, send them to us! We'll test their very souls with our strength! Right guys?"
The League managed to respond more enthusiastically, to the cheerful clapping of the Principal."I look forward to it! This has been the most fun I've had with Villains in years, after all!"Nedzu's chipper voice cut out, and the speakers went inert once again before Mastermind could correct him.
Mastermind paused for a moment on the couch, then, sighing, started to check his gear for the next wave of students. "Come, League! Let's give them a show." Mild exhaustion tugging at their limbs from working so hard, the rest of the League followed.
The 1-B class couldn't help but be nervous as they looked at their teachers. They had come in, expecting to deal with robots like the entrance exam like their seniors had said. Only for that to be pulled out from under them with this latest revelation.
"Wait, we're not fighting the robots?" Tsuburaba asked nervously.
"Maybe we're going to fight 1-A!" Monoma crowed. "The perfect way to prove that we are the best-"
"Yeah, that would be so sick! If that's the plan, I hope I get to fight Bakugou," Kamakiri grinned viciously. "I've got a score to settle with him."
Monoma stopped his rant to give Kamakiri an odd look. "You have a bit of an obsession with that guy. Don't get me wrong, I hate 1-A as much as anybody else, but you take it a bit far."
"It's a lifelong rivalry!" Kamakiri defended himself.
"You met him once in the Cavalry Race. For, like, five minutes," Monoma said flatly. Not even his rivalry with 1-A had been that intense.
"That's enough time to form a lifelong rivalry!" Kamakiri defended. Monoma opened his mouth to argue further, only for Shishida to interrupt.
"I highly doubt that would be the case, especially since 1-A has already had their exam," the hairy boy interjected. Monoma barely twitched as his ego was punctured expertly.
"So are we fighting the teachers?" Kendo asked. She then cast a nervous look at the assembled teachers, focusing on the small old man in Hero gear. "If we are, I pity whoever's fighting that guy."
"...Why?"
Kendo shuddered, expression dead-eyed. "Never fight a small, smiling old person if you can help it. First rule of Kung Fu."
Yui gave Kendo an odd look. "That seems... oddly specific."
The big sister of 1-B gave them a haggard look. "Trust me, you learn that rule very quickly."
"...Why-"
"Kendo is correct, you would have been fighting the teachers in a sane universe," Vlad King interrupted. "Unfortunately-"
A dramatic plume of green smoke later, and the League of Supervillains was in front of them, accompanied by loud music. New pyrotechnics from Kouro completed their flashy entrance. "MWA-HAHAHA! IT'S US! ARE YOU READY TO GET YOUR EXAM ON?!" Mastermind crowed. The rest of the League tried to match his enthusiasm with varying degrees of success.
Monoma's face went pale. A noise like a dying kettle passed through his lips. "...Did 1-A fight them?" he squeaked.
Vlad King nodded. "Yes, they did. Though I know for a fact that you're going to beat them far more thoroughly than 1-A will."
"Well, originally you were going to fight the teachers, but then the League of Supervillains graciously volunteered to test you students. However, Vlad King specifically requested that you face the teachers instead, getting what he considered a safer and more balanced exam experience!" Nedzu said cheerfully, while the teachers leaned away from him.
Vlad King sighed as the Principal continued. "Funny thing really, but young Monoma here came into my office,requestingthe same format of exam as 1-A to 'prove 1-B is better than 1-A.' I mean, it was going to happen anyway, but it is amusing!"
Kendo snapped her eyes over to stare at Monoma in disbelief and burgeoning rage, the rest of 1-B following suit. The blonde boy managed a weak chuckle under their attention. "...I wouldn't have done it if I'd known it was the League?"
Wordlessly, Kendo pointed her fingers at her narrowed eyes, flicking them between Monoma's and hers. Gulping, Monoma turned back to the actual Villains. "...The Principal said that we were going to be fighting them anyway," he grumbled. "Don't blame me for us fighting these lunatics."
Kendo raised a finger. Stopped. Then lowered it. "...Fair enough."
Mastermind nodded. "So! Who's ready for their exams?" He clapped his hands together cheerfully, almost like a kindergarten teacher. "Don't worry so much, these combat exams are going to be fun!"
Vlad King sighed. "Just get this over with. Please."
As the pairings were revealed for each Villain, Monoma grinned. "Hopefully we're not cut short this time," Monoma tried to console himself. "I-I mean. we're important, aren't we?"
"Oh, every Hero student's important!" Mastermind said cheerfully. "Now, prepare for your... examinations! MWAHAHAHA!"
Thunder boomed as 1-B swallowed anxiously. Monoma managed a smirk. "Yes, exactly! WE aren't just a gag! If this was a story, our struggles would take like two chapters to tell!"
"Ow..." Monoma groaned from his prone position. Similar sentiments came from the rest of the gathered 1-B, in various states of exhaustion or pain. At least they had almost all passed, with the exception of Monoma.
At least the League of Supervillains weren't faring much better than 1-B. To a man, they were exhausted. Not surprising, since they had faced stiff opposition within both first year Hero classes. "Man, that was a tough series of fights!" Mastermind panted.
Mr. Warp adjusted his top hat, dusting it off from their latest exertions. "That was...certainly intense. These students are real golden eggs."
Inkblot weakly nodded. "Yeah, that was pretty insane. Maybe we'll see those fights in a side story or something." Then she blinked. "Okay, that concussion was more serious than I thought."
"Well, League of Super Villains, that was quite exceptional!" Nedzu said, wearing a cheerful smile. The rest of the teachers glared openly at the League, not that Monoma could blame them after what the best first year Hero course had just gone through. "You certainly put them through their paces!"
"But of course we did! Would you expect anything less?" Mastermind blustered.
Nedzu beamed. "Now, 1-B, it is time for you to head to the auditorium. Just for a brief review, nothing more."
Mastermind managed a cheerful wave. "Until you have your license, do-gooders!"
Monoma staggered to his feet, a cocky smirk plastered across his face ill-advisedly. "Well, League of Supervillains... Now that you have seen the unrivalled superiority of 1-B-"
Kendo cuffed him on the back of the neck, dragging him off to the auditorium. Mastermind waved at him cheerfully.
Eraserhead sighed as 1-B left with no objections. While he didn't want to let the League of Supervillains escape, he also didn't want students to get involved in the crossfire of the teachers and League fighting.
"All the students have left?" As Hound Dog nodded, Nedzu turned to the League of Supervillains with a smile. "As promised, U.A's staff and technology are giving you a five minute head start. Starting..." Nedzu pulled out his pocket watch, holding up a finger until the clock started. "Now!"
Mastermind immediately whipped around and started hustling the other Villains to the Mastermobile. "A-alright, League, let's leave! Not because you're telling us but because we want to! Mwahaha-let's go, let's go, let's go!"
Watching the League of Supervillains stagger off after having been exhausted without immediately arresting them with extreme prejudice galled Eraserhead, but he had to hold still. They just had to trust that the Principal actually had a plan and wasn't messing with them.
"That's Part One of my plan completed," Nedzu said cheerfully. Eraserhead's blood pressure spiked as the Principal pulled out a cup of tea and swirled it, looking for all the world completely unconcerned with the dangerous Villains they wereletting have a five minute head start,especially with how the League had escaped confinement without such restrictions.
Then the part about it being Part One registered in his mind. Eraserhead's train of thought derailed and switched to a set of new tracks just hearing that statement from the Principal.
While he started to work through the problem, Present Mic raised an eyebrow, a look of understanding crossing his face. "What, was the plan having them tire themselves out against our students?"
"They're not invincible - they always prefer quick engagements over protracted battles, after all," Nedzu pointed out.
Thinking about the battered state of the League, Eraserhead agreed. His own class of hellions had caused considerable trouble, and that wasn't even going into what 1-B had done to them.
Nedzu beamed brightly. "Ah, the vigour of youth. An easy thing for Villains to underestimate, even somebody as sharp as Mastermind. Two sets of battles almost back to back, against students who have already proven themselves the best of the best in their generation? No mean feat even for them."
"HERE'S MIRKO!"
His smile sharpened as Mirko jumped to intercept the League, a feral grin on her face accompanied by the panicked screams of the League. "Besides, I only said thatU.Awas not going to go after them directly. I said no such thing about the unaffiliated Heroes who have been watching the League's fights over our cameras!"
The teachers stared at the Principal, then their heads whipped around as more Heroes came charging from other testing grounds. "...You are a cruel mammal, sir," Eraserhead managed with only a hint of tremor in his voice.
Nedzu burst into maniacal laughter.
Author's note:
We back baby!
This is the second part of the exams, the counter attack from the students where they pass their exams and shit! It was split from the first because, well.
13,000 words for one relatively minor part of the story, plus the 8k from the previous chapter.
...A split needed to happen. For readability and my own sanity.
The exams are finally over! In all honesty I should have just had the teachers do the exam, it would have been WAY less of a hassle to write. Oh Well.
The exams were a huge change from canon and also what I felt was a giant albatross around my neck. Don't get me wrong, I want to continue writing Villain Notebook. I just honestly didn't want to write these chapters for how long and frustrating they were. That and life getting the way with family, full-time work, and simply relaxing cut into the writing time.
This was the chapter that has nearly driven me to stop writing this fic more than any other chapter, if I hadn't found a satisfactory way to get it over with. Readers on the Discord know that I would have put the chapter out a week earlier at least if I hadn't looked at the Mastermind fight and decided 'that shit is so ass.' One rewrite of it later, and I have something I can be proud of. I like this, it works.
Still, onto happier parts! The League is surrounded by heroes! Nezu still has plans within plans! Will the League escape?! What on Earth is All Might doing?! So many questions, hopefully to be answered!
Please comment. I need food, water, sleep, and comments to survive. Tell me what you liked or hated about this. I want this to be the best it can be, or at least good enough by my standards.