Chapter 64: Welcome to the Jungle
Demigods and humans, there are a few things that are universal constants among these beings. The need to breathe. Or eat. Or drink water. Or even companionship. But chief among these similarities is the almost universal hatred of being woken up early.
"Up and at'em, freshmen!!"
Hence the multitude of groans and creative curses (or not so creative from a certain explosive blond) coming from a number of teenagers as they're woken up on their first official day of training camp, and woken at a much earlier hour than usual.
Machines slowly whirl and buzz to life, a music player turning on while lights brighten around the large open room the boys of Class 1-A stay in, each in their own bed that had risen from the ground the night before. Tech litters the walls and ceiling, with exposed wires sticking out of random points. A few doors off to the side lead to bathrooms and a couple of private changing areas.
Opening his eyes to nothing but blurriness around him, Izuku squints, attempting to force his vision to focus through pure willpower. Slowly, a smiling face begins to take shape in front of him, and the teen reacts in what he feels is a completely rational way given how early he's being shaken awake.
Izuku conjures a dagger and stabs at the face, mumbling at the perpetrator to leave him alone.
"Great form, Midoriya!" Mirio compliments brightly as he leans over the green-haired boy's bed, already in his costume, Izuku's blade passing harmlessly through his eye. The head of the Big Three moves his face away from the weapon. "Even when half-asleep, you were still aware enough to harm me in a place that would also compromise my vision, great work!"
"Midoriya!" Iida chops, marching over to Izuku's bed, fully dressed with only a few hairs out of place. "You were aware it was Togata you were stabbing when you attacked, correct?!"
"Hm?" Izuku rubs his eye, still stubbornly refusing to sit up. "Oh. Yeah, sure." The son of Loki makes a great show of yawning. "When'd you get here, Mirio?"
Iida looks indignant and ready to lecture some more, but Mirio laughs him off. "Principal Nezu had us teleport in this morning," Mirio answers Izuku, before turning to Iida. "And it's alright, I'm used to Midoriya trying to stab me while barely awake! Back when he was coming over to the school a lot last year to spend time with Eri, I was put in charge of waking both of them up when they'd fall asleep watching a movie or something! Midoriya's always stabbed when he's woken up, and Eri picked up the habit!"
"That's awful!" Iida says full-heartedly, placing a clenched fist over his chest. "No one was hurt, were they?!"
"I don't think so?" Mirio's chuckle could definitely be described as nervous. "But I volunteered for the job after Aizawa-sensei sent in Mic-sensei a few times!"
"…How are you both so loud so early?" Izuku covers his head with his pillow.
Mirio laughs, leaning back with his hands on his hips. "Enthusiasm and a thirst to help the next generation of heroes be the absolute best they can be!"
"…Someone give me the word and I'll brainwash him right here, right now," Shinso deadpans, sitting up in his bed with a mug of coffee already in his hand.
"Caffeine!" Tenko jolts up at the smell, stretching his arms. "Where'd you get coffee?" Shinso gestures to the small and portable coffee maker that sits by his bed. "I thought they told us to only pack the essentials?" Tenko's eyebrow arches.
"I did." Shinso pours himself another cup before offering one to Tenko.
The gamer sits frozen for a moment, before snorting and taking the hot beverage. "Guess I can't blame ya, I did the same thing with my inventory." Tenko reaches into his backpack and grabs an energy drink, making sure not to waste any time before pouring it into his coffee. Shinso gasps. Whether it's in horror or wonder is yet to be seen. "Even with this, I still don't get how you're so awake right now."
"That's my secret, Cheat Code." Shinso holds out his coffee to the blue-haired boy before taking a sip. "I'm always awake."
"Enough dilly-dallying!" Mirio claps his hands a few times, causing a few more boys to sit up, glaring at their senior. "Your teachers are already waiting for you in the cafeteria! Remember, the early bird gets the worm!"
"Yeah." Izuku turns back over, trying to get comfortable once more under his blanket. "But the second mouse gets the cheese."
Mirio raises a finger, mouth opening to respond before faltering for a moment. But then his happiness returns in full force. "HA! That's a good one! I've never heard it before. Still." Izuku yelps as Mirio, with little effort, yanks him off the bed and into the air. "It's time to get up! Oh!" He looks around the room. "And some of the adults had bets going on if any of you would try to sneak over to the girls' bunks, so congratulations on none of you trying that!"
"They should have more faith in us than that!" Izuku argues, doing his best to keep as much of his dignity as he can while he dangles over the ground. "No one here would try something like-" A thoughtful look comes over him. "Okay, most of the guys here wouldn't try that," Izuku corrects himself as he tilts his head, his gaze finding his cousin as he slowly gets out of bed.
"What would I-" Denki's eyes widen, his whole body suddenly going more alert. "What?! No! I wouldn't try that!" Everyone continues to stare at him. Even Bakugo is giving him a 'seriously?' look. "I wouldn't!"
"We're not saying you'd do anything to the other girls…" Izuku begins carefully. "But with Tokage…"
"That's funny coming from the guy who tried to get a hotel room alone with Uraraka on I-Island!!" Denki retaliates.
A chorus of "oooohs" echo around the room.
Izuku goes a bit red at some of the scathing looks he gets from a few of the guys, mainly Mirio and Iida. But he's not one to back down that easily. "Yeah, maybe I did. But that was only after you came up with the idea to switch rooms in the first place so you could be with Tokage!"
The "oooohs" now ring louder. "He's got you there!" Sero shouts, thoroughly enjoying the show.
"W-whatever man." Denki tries to nonchalantly shrug it off. It doesn't work. "That still doesn't prove a thing! I wouldn't-"
"-do that!" Tokage repeats. Kendo raises an unimpressed eyebrow as Nejire snickers behind her. "Honest! Kaminari and I have a lot more control than that!" As all the girls in the room continue to stare, Tokage huffs, turning over on her bed. "Bitches. All of you!"
The room erupts in laughter.
"Line up!" Peter shouts, turning down the music that had been playing throughout the sleeping quarters and hitting play on a new one.
Class 1-A and 1-B's fatigue and worry about their upcoming training all but evaporates as they take in their surroundings. All of the teens stand on an empty platform where a ship would usually dock, taking in the expanse of the city in front of them. Buildings of all shapes and sizes litter the space station, with the layout even taking advantage of the artificial gravity to have a few of the structures on their side or upside down.
Above them, spaceships straight out of sci-fi movies fly around them. There is no sky, giving them a clear view of the stars surrounding them. The Guardians stand, almost posing, at the head of the classes. Actually, scratch that, Peter is definitely posing. Next to them, the girl who had briefly introduced herself as Kitty to them all last night waves a little shyly. Aizawa and Logan stand with their arms crossed with the big three between them, the 1-A homeroom teacher looking particularly impatient to get started.
Peter whistles, bringing all eyes back on him. "Good morning. There's nothing like being greeted by your smiling faces so early in the morning." Not a single student is smiling at him. "Now. I had planned to start your day with the complete history of the Guardians, from our founding to today. However." He pulls a bottle out of his pocket. "Due to some unforeseen circumstances, we'll be skipping all of that." Peter pops a few pills in his mouth. "I was up late doing… important hero work… and got a headache. So I'll give you the cliff notes."
"Uh huh." Rocket pulls a tablet out from behind him and begins to type on it. "How much you lose to Howard this time?"
"I didn't lose…" Peter disagrees, shaking his head at his teammate's audacity. "I merely failed to win. Didn't you have that write up thing for-"
"Yeah, yeah, right here." Rocket hands the tablet to Kitty. "Read it aloud, kid."
Clearing her throat, Kitty holds up the device. "Written by Rocket Raccoon. Listed below is a brief introduction of each Guardian, just in case Peter Quill is option one: Hungover. Option two: Slept through opening meeting. Option three: Captured by unknown forces. Option four: He's probably hungover. Option five: Dead. Option six-"
"I think they get it, Kitty…" Peter sighs.
"Groot. Fearless in a firefight, will never leave a person behind, and an awesome best friend. Rocket. Super genius and a wiz with explosives and tech. Definitely the leader. Gamora. Adopted daughter and trained by Thanos. Enough said. Drax the Destroyer. Galactic war hero. May have killed a few people before that. Cosmo. Absolutely will read your thoughts without permission. Enjoys belly rubs. Mantis. Also enjoys belly rubs. And last, and most certainly least, Peter Quill."
They all wait, but Kitty simply lowers the tablet. "W-what?" Peter looks back and forth between her and Rocket. "That's all you wrote?!"
"…There was a character limit."
"A character limit?! Well you can take that limit and go fu-" Gamora and Mantis make noises to interrupt him, gesturing to the large group of kids around them. Sighing, Peter tries again. "Why don't you go lick yourself, okay?" Rocket just squints, confused, as Peter looks up at the two women. "That better?"
"I think that's probably as good as it's going to get," Gamora answers honestly.
"I bet that's not the first time she's had to say that to him," Rocket snickers, elbowing Drax, who laughs along.
"Thank goodness," Mantis sighs in relief. "We almost said fuck in front of the kids again." Gamora facepalms as many of the teens chuckle.
"Moving on!" Peter raises a finger. For what reason? He doesn't know, but it feels right. "The Guardians of the Galaxy are a team. One that has been good at what they do for a long time. And what is it we do? Mantis, redeem yourself!"
"Kicking ass. Taking names. And we're all out of ass."
"No, it's we're out of names- close enough!" Peter declares. "Kicking ass is what we do! And we still have plenty of ass to go around!"
"Tell me when it's over." Aizawa buries his face into his scarf.
"Does anyone know how we accomplish so much?" Peter asks the group.
"Your quirks." Bakugo more or less growls out from the front.
"Your technology?!" Mina climbs over several people to have her guess heard.
"Experience?" Kendo pipes up.
"Having the most dangerous woman in the galaxy on your team?" Gamora cheekily responds from behind him.
"Never listening to a thing you say?" Rocket tries.
"I am Groot?"
"Teamwork! Okay!" Peter cuts everyone off. "It's teamwork. And trusting that the person beside you, no matter how much of an asshole they typically are," he eyes Rocket up and down, "has your back as much as you have theirs."
"With Bakugo in our class, we won't have much a choice." Jiro doesn't even attempt to whisper it.
"You wanna run that by me again, Ears?!!"
"Hey! Kill each other on your own time! And somewhere we don't have cameras!" Peter once again calls attention back to himself, with Kirishima patting Bakugo to get him to turn back around and, well not exactly calm down but get him out of a state of wanting to launch one of his classmates into space. A true challenge.
"Back to teamwork, that's gonna be the running theme of your training here," Peter tells them. He tilts his head at Cosmo, who uses her telekinesis to deposit small cubes into everyone's hands. "In the spirit of that theme, you've all been paired with at least one person from the other class to be in your training areas. Get to know each other.
"In a couple of minutes, a few ships are gonna arrive that will take you all to your training sites. Those cubes tell you which ship to get on and what you'll be doing. Myself, the Guardians, your teachers, and student volunteers will be rotating around all of your sites to help. Cosmo, as the head of our security, will be monitoring you all through our camera system. If you need something, just say it and she'll do the rest."
Peter looks around to see if anyone else has anything to add, but when none of them do, he shrugs. "Also, we know some of you haven't picked out your hero names yet, so if you want some advice, don't be afraid to ask."
"Tch. There's nothing wrong with my hero name," Bakugo complains.
"What was it supposed to be?" Kitty asks as she brings up the files they have about each student on the tablet.
"King Explosion Murder."
Kitty stops, giving him a confused look. "Really? Not letting you use that is kinda dumb. I have a friend I go to school with back home with a hero name like that, which she's allowed to use."
Bakugo's expression turns from its usual perpetual anger to one of slight curiosity. "What is it?"
"Negasonic Teenage Warhead."
The explosive blond's jaw dips slightly. "Negasonic Teenage-"
"WHAT THE SHIT?!" Bakugo yells in fury as Denki jumps over him, shouting in both surprise and glee. "THAT'S LIKE THE COOLEST NAME EVER!!"
"I KNOW RIGHT?!" Kitty mirrors his enthusiasm, laughing while she takes out her phone. "Hold on, I gotta send what you said in this group chat I'm in."
Logan's phone dings. He hums in curiosity, was that Kitty's text? The old hero isn't in any group chats with his student so it couldn't be? He checks his phone.
Deadpool 3 Waiting Room
E. Normus Peter: HEY!! Got the pint sized cat's text. Tell those brats to stop ripping me off!! Make the author come up with their own lines for once!
Hugh Janus: …How do you keep getting my number, Wade?
E. Normus Peter: CUZ I'M BATMAN
Logan tilts his head. "Who the hell is Batman?"
"No, yours is better!" Mina says to Kitty, the two arguing about which of their hero names is better. "We need another opinion…" Mina gasps. "Shinso!"
Hitoshi freezes, many eyes on him now, his hiding spot in the back of the group exposed. Mina's eyes sparkle as they zero in on him. He may not survive. "You don't know most of our hero names, yeah?" Hitoshi keeps still, maybe she'll lose sight of him if he doesn't move. Mina's extroverted energy and a hungry T-Rex charging you, that's the same thing, right?
"Which of our code names is better?!" The acid user continues, unbothered by his silence. "Pryde's name, Shadowcat, or-"
"Shadowcat."
His quick response actually takes Mina aback for a moment, but she recovers fast. "You didn't even listen to what my name is!"
"Didn't have to. Her name has 'cat' in it. Therefore, it's better," Hitoshi replies like it's obvious.
"Not to worry, Ms Mina." Cosmo trots over to the teens, rubbing her head under the pink girl's hand. "Your name is far superior."
"You're just a hater, Cosmo." Kitty sticks her tongue out at the dog. "I can't help it if some people prefer a smarter, cleaner, and far more independent animal like a cat for a pet."
"Brainwashing comes in many forms. No cat could ever measure up to me."
"I bet my cat Goose could," Hitoshi challenges, not one to let slander of cats go so easily.
"False."
"You know what-"
Peter sighs at the sight of the teens arguing with what was supposed to be his intelligent friend in Cosmo. "I don't think the kids are the only ones in for a long day." He looks out at the rest of the students. "But let's make the most out of it. Everyone!" A few ships land behind Peter. "Go break some eggs."
Clang!
Tenya shakes the sweat from his face, not daring to wipe it with his arm and take his eyes off of his opponent. In his hands, the Ebony Blade practically pulses in fury, hating how bad they have been losing this fight. That anger makes itself more apparent on Kamakiri's face next to him, the boy wiping his face as he rises back to his feet, readying the blades of his quirk.
Gamora shoots them a little smirk, spinning her own sword in her hands. "Again."
The transport station they're in vibrates, a mag rail of different supplies and goods roars past the combatants to make deliveries to different parts of the space station. Stacks and shelves of goods surround them on all sides as robots automatically go around them to fulfill their programming and keep the vital piece of the station up and running.
At Gamora's word, the boys charge, with Kamakiri leading. He creates several blades from his forearms and swipes furiously at Gamora, but she merely dodges and backs away from his attacks, only gracing him with an actual block of her sword every now and then.
Tenya is next, thrusting his blade and swiping at any part of the hero he can get to, and while he does feel a bit of satisfaction at the fact that she has to actually block more of his attacks, Gamora still doesn't seem fazed.
Suddenly, the woman twists as Kamakiri's attack hits her sword, throwing him into an unprepared Tenya and knocking him off balance. His 1-B companion takes a hard hit to the face by Gamora's sword hilt, and Tenya's anger swells again. No!! He is not going to lose again!
The Ebony Blade charges up an energy blast. It only takes seconds, but that's enough time for the experienced hero to kick the sword out of Tenya's hand just as the blast hits, only affecting him.
Dazed and disoriented, the bespectacled boy climbs back to his feet, clutching his head. It hurts from both the pain and what feels like hundreds of voices screaming at him all at once.
"Hey!"
Tenya's eyes snap open as Gamora claps in front of his face. "Welcome back. Don't let it get to you. You're the one on charge, never forget that." She points to his blade. "Retrieve your weapon." Tenya takes a step, but she stops him. "You should be able to summon it back to you at any time, try it."
Holding out his hand, and admittedly feeling a little foolish, Tenya asks- no, he demands that the Ebony Blade return to him, as he is its master. As expected, nothing. He tries again to no avail. Tenya can practically feel the impatience radiating off of Kamakiri as he constantly fails to summon his sword back to him.
However, he can also still feel the sword's frustration with their repeated losses. So, Tenya switches strategies. Holding out his hand, he once again calls for his sword. 'Return to me at once! We will not ever have the chance for victory against this foe if you do not!'
And to his shock, the sword does! The blade flies through the air back to him. Tenya is so shocked in fact, that instead of trying to catch the blade, he ducks.
Thankfully, Gamora's reflexes are much better than his, and she catches the sword. "Well, you got half it down at least, that's a start," she says with a slight jovial tone, handing him back his weapon. "Do that when there's a bunch of enemies between you, and the sword and you might be onto something," Gamora jokes, before heading back to stand in front of the two boys.
"After a couple of spars, it's pretty clear what each of your issues are." She inclines her head to Kamakiri. "You have no technique."
"I don't need one!!"
"And while bull rushing and overwhelming an enemy with the amount of swords you have might work on some no name punks," Gamora presses on through being interrupted, "against anyone with any type of training, you lose and you lose hard. I have some drills for you to go over." When Kamakiri doesn't look pleased, Gamora adds, "or I can spend the next couple of days smashing your face into asphalt. We can find out which you prefer, bruises to your ego or to your body."
Kamakiri grumbles but agrees. Nodding, Gamora turns to Tenya. "You have technique and training, but it's the wrong kind."
"While I have no doubt in your skill and the knowledge you have to pass down," Tenya starts his reply, "but my friend Midoriya was kind enough to assist me-"
"And he did good by showing you the basics," Gamora cuts in. "The problem is, he started teaching you how to fight his way. And if his style is anything like his father's, it's a form that focuses on quick and aggressive strikes up close and agility to back off when they have to. Good for him, bad for you."
She taps the Ebony Blade with the tip of her sword, before doing the same to his shoulder and leg. "You're built more like, well more like a knight. Instead of speed and aggression, your technique should revolve around slower, more methodical moves and keeping distance from your opponent so you can build power or use your quirk to close the gap when they aren't ready." She points to Kamakiri. "He should not be getting to me before you do. Everytime he does, I'm going to make you run a lap around this base."
"H-how big is this station?" Tenya almost doesn't want to know. And judging by the smile he gets in return, he definitely doesn't want to know.
"And lastly… brighten up!" Gamora shouts, startling both boys. "Seriously, you both have the charisma of a calculator, learn to be more approachable. It'll help when rescuing civilians or luring enemies into traps." She readies her sword again. "One more spar before I have you two running drills the rest of the day, ready?"
As he suspected, Tenya still has so much to learn.
Shoto stomps his foot down in frustration, exhaling and ironically feeling the burn as he lets out a surge of ice from around him, frost slipping out from in between his gritted teeth, his body temperature dramatically dropping.
At the same time, Shoto's two training partners get to work. Honenuki, who has been attempting to sink them both, moves to turn the layer of ice Shoto has just covered the ground with into another layer of gel. Meanwhile, Midoriya forms the ice around him into as many objects as he can think of as fast as he can.
The three students train in a large, empty, indoor space, perfect for their expansive attacks to not harm others, while some music plays in the background from a speaker he can't see. Which is good with what is set to happen next. Shoto's left arm ignites in flames, causing him to suck on a deep breath as his body temperature rapidly increases in temperature. Something he'll have to get used to in order to ever use his two quirks at the same time.
He's supposed to pick one of them to attack at random so they could defend themselves and practice their reflexes, but to the half-and-half user's ever expanding frustration, his flames don't travel in the sole direction of Honenuki like he wants. Instead, his flames travel like a wave to both of the other teens.
Honenuki gasps in surprise, before sinking into his own quicksand to avoid the attack. Midoriya, in a similar state of panic, covers himself with as much ice as he can, hiding behind his newly created shield.
The fire washes over them, and Shoto immediately douses the attack, bounding over to Midoriya to begin cooling him off. "Ah! No, Todoroki! I'm alright, I promise!" Shoto gives him a flat look as he frosts his friend over anyway. He may not have known Midoriya as long as some of the others, but the demigod's tendency to downplay injuries has been duly noted.
Actually, would his flat look just be his normal look? Ashido has told him his normal expression is pretty deadpan. Shoto supposes that's better than Toru calling it 'resting hot-guy face.'
"No, no! That's alright!" Honenuki climbs out of his quirk, hardening the surface beneath him. "I'm okay too by the way! No reason to worry!"
A gaggle of laughter catches the students' attention from the other side of the room, where they see four men, or rather, four humanoid figures cackling all over one another. They all wear the same things, green and orange plated armor with hoods and masks covering their faces with large packs on their backs. What really catches Shoto's attention however, are the large guns strapped onto each of their backs.
Midoriya must sense the same thing he does because he's already shoving Shoto closer to Honenuki, his daggers out and ready. One of the figures takes a step closer to them and they all tense, but their concentration breaks when a window shatters above them.
The music on the speakers switches songs as Star-Lord falls from above, activating his rocket shoes at the last second to slow his descent, landing with a grace Shoto didn't know the man was capable of in front of the armed men.
He places a hand to his ear, his mask receding to reveal his face. "Security breach located, Cosmo. I'll take it from here, good work." He moves to lower his hand but stops. "Yes, yes you did good." He pauses before lowering his voice. "Yes, okay, yes! You're a very good dog, the best. I'll get you a damn treat when I get back, alright? Good." Star-Lord claps his hands, looking up to address those in front of him. "Gentlemen, I believe you're aware that you are way out of bounds right now."
One of the men steps forward and responds in some alien language Shoto doesn't understand. Next to him, Midoriya snorts, as does Star-Lord. "You really expect me to believe you got lost?"
The alien nods, explaining himself more. "Ohhhhh!" Quill says dramatically, placing his hands on his belt. "Your transport dropped you off here by accident! That explains it! Except…" he taps his chin. "We've cut off this part of the station, so if a transport came anywhere near here, we would've known." The alien yells in his face. "Well, I ain't callin' you a truther, that's for sure."
The aliens look at one another as Quill repositions his hands at his side. "Did you wanna try again? I'll even give you all time to get your stories straight. Go ahead. Turn around, form a circle, jerk around a few ideas. A… circle jerk if you would-"
The lead alien reaches for his gun, but before he even has a chance to raise it, Quill shoots him in the leg with his own blaster. The intruder screeches in pain, falling to his side. The others attempt to grab their own weapons but Star-Lord whistles at them, already having his second blaster trained on the group. "Hey. Ray, Egon, and Winston, I'm not callin' you, don't give me a reason." He winks at them.
The remaining aliens put their hands up as a small transport with flashing lights lowers itself from above them. "Guess that makes you Peter. Good name, right dude?" Quill bumps his blaster against the alien on the ground, who groans. If it's in pain or annoyance is unclear.
The transport lands, and the aliens begin to load themselves on until, "Wait." Quill walks up to the alien he had shot, who was being held up by his companions, and reaches into his pocket. He digs for a second, before pulling out a few crumpled bills and coins. "Dinner's on you tonight."
The intruder shakes his head before being helped into the ship and flown away. "You kids alright?" Quill asks, rocketing over to their group.
"That was awesome!" Midoriya compliments excitedly, writing at a million and a half miles per hour in his notebook. "You drew your guns so fast! Were you purposefully baiting them so they'd be angry and mess up? I'm guessing you couldn't act until they did? I bet you knew the answers to your questions before you asked them. Your rocker shoes activated so fast! How fast can you go in them? How-"
Shoto walks over to a table off to the side, flipping through it as he makes his way back over to the group. He needs to find…ah, here it is. Uraraka's advice on how to stop Midoriya's rambling when one cannot employ her method of kissing him.
Closing his notebook, Shoto raises his hand and aims carefully. One wrong move can get him bitten at this stage, as he saw with Iida not too long ago. Lining up his finger carefully, Shoto sees his chance and lunges, poking the son of Loki in the cheek.
"-really the only one who can shoot them- ah! Ahhh! Okay, Todoroki, okay! I get it! I'm done!" Midoriya shoves his friend's finger off his face.
Peter blinks. "Did…anyone else have any questions?" Honenuki raises his hand. "Dude, do I look like a teacher? Just ask."
"Did you rob that man after shooting him?"
"I wouldn't think of it as robbing him." Peter bites the inside of his cheek in thought for a moment. "Think of it more like he was so grateful I showed him how stupid he was being, he decided to donate to the cause." When none of the kids look convinced, he adds, "Look, it's part of being a Guardian. Do a little good. Do a little bad. Keeps the universe balanced or whatever."
"I wanna be a Guardian!" Midoriya is vibrating so much, he might phase through the floor.
"And Gamora says I can be a bad influence on kids." Peter shakes his head, chuckling. "I guess that just goes to show- hey where did one of my guns go?"
The decoy Midoriya next to them vanishes just as the real Midoriya appears some distance away holding exactly what Shoto thought he'd be holding. Midoriya raises Star-Lord's gun to the wall, messing with the buttons. "How do you change the modes? Will it just fire if I pull the trigger-" The demigod gets his answer immediately.
The weapon fires the strongest burst of wind Shoto has ever felt, and Midoriya is sent screaming into the air, holding the gun for dear life as he flies up through the window Peter crashed through and out of eyesight.
The rest of them stand in silence, looking up for any sign of Midoriya, but when they get none, Honenuki speaks up. "Um…" he starts to put his hand up but quickly puts it down. "Shouldn't someone go after him?…."
Peter hums, clicking his tongue. "Maybe." He puts a hand to his ear. "You get all that Cosmo? Yeah, good. And you got eyes on him? Alright, keep me updated." The hero looks back down at the students. "No, as long as he doesn't hit any ships up there he should…he should probably be fine. Plus, this is a good learning opportunity."
"On the dangers of mishandling a weapon?" Shoto questions.
"On not touching my goddamn stuff," Peter clarifies bluntly, turning off the music.
"Oh, my…" Momo puts a hand to her mouth as Rocket dumps a heap of technology in front of her. She and the Guardian find themselves in a large warehouse that isn't too dissimilar to one of I-Island's labs, with its assortment of work areas and tech thrown around them. "These are?…"
"Pretty much anything I could find lying around." The raccoon picks through the pile. "Aero-Rigs, bubble shields, space pods, gravity boots, med-packs, and weapons from Xander to Jotunheim. Basically, as much stuff not from Earth I could find. And you're gonna start learning what each of them are made of."
"O-oh!!" Momo realizes. "Of course! The technology here in space is far more advanced than anything we have on Earth, so if I were to learn how to create an assortment of items for the heroes to use, we'd be at a great advantage, brilliant!!"
"Hm?" Rocket looks up from scanning one of the items. "Oh yeah, that too I guess." He scans the next item. "Six thousand credits?! Seriously?!" He taps the item. "Hey, make sure you make a bunch of these specifically."
"Bu-but wait, wouldn't that be…" Momo's voice drops to a whisper. "Illegal?"
"Hahahahahahaha- oh, you're serious." Rocket shrugs, scanning a gun and throwing it aside haphazardly. "To do any good in the universe, you gotta do a little bad. You won't get anywhere following the straight line of the law. If you don't believe me, why don't you ask your precious Avengers or X-Men about the secret vigilante groups they each have."
Momo wants to disagree with him, but she's seen similar results with her own eyes from Midoriya in the way he's always bent the rules to his advantage. But he's never gone so far as to break the law at least, right?
Picking up the closest item to her and entering its details on the computer Rocket had given her so she could retrieve its molecular structure, Momo glances up at the raccoon organizing the items for her. "If I'm going to be making items all day. My quirk requires-"
"I know what your quirk needs. Groot will be delivering food here after he finishes getting a few of the groups set up."
Upon hearing the mention of the other hero, Momo gulps. "Sir? Is Groot's language easy to understand?"
"About as easy as any other language," Rocket shrugs, not realizing how much that doesn't help her. "If you ever make your way to Asgard, apparently they teach it there." He hopped off the table. "Start with those, I'm going to go see your friend with the whips. If he's gonna have those, he might as well get the rest of the armor too!"
Peter motions at Honenuki. "Go practice over there for a minute, I'll be by to give you some advice once I'm done with Todoroki." The 1-B student complies, moving over to the other side of the area, leaving Shoto curious as to what the hero wants to say to him alone.
"So." Star-Lord's voice is casual. He tinkers with his remaining gun, holstering it. "Is it your mom or dad?"
"What?" Shoto narrows his eyes, already feeling his defenses go up.
Peter snorts, placing his hands on his hips. "Don't 'what' me, you're talking to the poster child for daddy issues, you think I can't recognize it in others?" Shoto stays silent. "Nothing?" He eyes the scorch marks on the ground. "Let me tell you what I think. I'm thinking whatever's making you give Logan's brooding a run for his money has to do with your fire, considering how shit you are with it compared to your ice. Your file says your dad's a pro with a fire quirk. Am I getting anywhere?"
"You don't know what you're talking about." Shoto walks away, but to his growing frustration, Peter leisurely follows.
"That's fine, I get it." The hero raises his hands in surrender as they walk. "Some guy you don't know prying into your personal life, I wouldn't say anything either. Trust me, I've been told many times 'I have no tact.'" Peter puts the last part in air quotes. "Whatever the heck that means. I'm just trying to see where you're at with it."
When Shoto continues to say nothing and stare straight ahead, Peter sighs, hitting a button on a control panel secured around his wrist. One of the walls opens up and a bulky robot walks out, standing in their way. "Do me a favor, melt that guy down."
Even though he's not sure why he's doing it, Shoto complies, letting loose a torrent of fire from his hand that envelops both the robot and the corner of the building it's in. Feeling a bit of sweat come down the side of his face, the son of the number two hero bites his lip, producing even more flames when the robot refuses to go down. It takes another minute or two, but eventually, the android begins to melt.
"Alright, that's enough." Shoto's flames go out the instant Peter speaks, the teen already cooling himself down. He could already feel blisters starting to form. "You wanna tell me what you did wrong?" Peter smirks down at him. Shoto glares back. "Oooh, that's cold. But I guess on brand for you. Let me show you."
A second robot takes the place of the old as Peter has his gun out in a flash, firing his own stream of fire from it. But unlike Shoto's, Peter's flames are condensed. While the teen's attack scorched the entire corner of the building, Star-Lord's fire focuses entirely on the robot, overpowering it immediately. In seconds, it begins to melt.
"Your fire is wild," Peter says, halting his attack. "All over the place. You're wasting the power it produces by spreading it too thin."
"Controlling fire that comes from your own body is a lot different than a gun," Shoto responds, his tone sharp and annoyed.
"Is it now?" The fire-and-ice user has to quickly switch gears to catch the weapon Peter throws to him. "If that's true, why don't you give it a try?" Behind the man, a third robot gets into position.
Rolling his eyes at whatever this waste of time is, Shoto aims and pulls the trigger. But his mismatched eyes quickly bulge when the gun produces the same wild fire he created before. At the same time, he can feel a slight tug inside him. The same he feels whenever he uses his quirk, except the toll on his body is greatly lessened. Shoto lowers the gun, peering up at Peter.
"Confused?" The hero laughs a little, taking back the gun. "The elemental guns aren't just tech, but a combination of both tech and magic, conjuring whatever element I want to fire when I need it. You with me? To do that, they're controlled by their user's will."
Shoto connects the dots. "So when Midoriya fired the gun…"
"The kid is excitable and wild," Peter chortles. "That means the air he produced would be the same."
"Speaking of…" Shoto looks back up at the broken window. "He hasn't come down for a while. Is he-"
"Kid's fine. Cosmo's keeping track of him with the cameras."
"Thanks for the catch." Izuku rubs the back of his head, laughing sheepishly. His face is flush from both flying through the air and being a bit embarrassed at having to be saved. "Who knows how long I would've been up there if you hadn't been flying around."
"Yeah, no problem!" Nejire nods rapidly, getting in Izuku's face. "I was flying around the station and- oh, you know that, you just said that! Silly me. But I was flying around, and I see this green bush soaring through the air and doing all these crazy zig-zags. It was like a cat with zoomies! And I'm supposed to be flying between all of the training sites to see if anyone needs help, but I just can't help but stop because bushes don't fly! That'd be crazy! And I would know since I just found out aliens exist which is somehow even crazier but only barely! Wait, you'd know since you're a-"
"Hold on, hold on!" Izuku waves his hands in front of Nejire to grab her attention. "You're going to all the training sites?" The blue-haired girl has to think about it for a second, putting her finger to her cheek before replying with a 'yup!' "Can you take me with you? I know a lot about my ice and I wanna help as many of my classmates as I can, just in case another Ultron-"
The green-haired boy cuts himself off, swallowing his saliva and shaking his head. "I'd just like to make sure they're the best they can be." Flashes of watching all of his friends nearly die to different Ultrons plague the trickster's mind. He can't- he won't let anything happen to any of them.
"Oh, don't be sad! You look like a depressed rabbit! I'll take you! But…" Nejire looks him up and down. "Neglecting your own training just to help your friends is probably a bad idea. A big part of being a hero is trusting everyone to do their job! Like, I've never worried about Tamaki or Mirio! People have said they're worried about me but I think that was for a different reason! Plus, you don't look very heavy, and my quirk makes me tired really, really fast, so I don't think we'd make it very far-"
She looks away from Midoriya for only a moment, but when she glances back, the boy is gone, replaced by a-
"Bunny!!"
Shoto nods in understanding to Peter, looking between his arm and the gun. "I see… how are you able to keep your blast of fire so concentrated?"
"You answered your own question." Peter seems entertained by Shoto's annoyed look. "Concentration, kid. I'm able to block everything out and just focus on what I'm doing. I'm guessing when you use your fire you got a lot on your mind?"
A single flame travels down Shoto's arm, causing it to twitch. A lot on his mind is an understatement. How about he starts with thinking about training under his father growing up. To be worked so hard he'd throw up all over the gym floor. Or having to constantly think back to the Sports Festival and everything Midoriya told him. To have to repeatedly remind himself that it is his quirk. So yeah, Star-Lord could say there is a lot on Shoto's mind when he uses his fire.
But instead of saying all of that, he just nods.
"Figured." Peter sighs, taking a step to lean against the wall, messing with the configuration of his gun. Shoto isn't sure if he's actually doing anything, or just needs something to do with his hands. "I used to have a lot on my mind too."
The hero chews over his words. "Look, I don't know what you've been through, and you still don't have to tell me, but just listen. I had a shitty old man who didn't care about me. Hell, he literally created me just to use me for what he wanted." Shoto perks up. "Which was universal domination by the way," he coughs, "not that it's a competition or anything. And all of that was after I found out he killed my mom."
Shoto screws his eyes shut, the memory of his father smacking his mother burned into his brain. "So, yeah. Definitely a lot on my mind," Peter finishes.
Star-Lord is patient with him, giving Shoto the few seconds he needs to find his voice. "And how did you stop thinking about it?"
Peter hums, staring off into the distance. "I… don't think you really do? But you learn to stop focusing on it so much. Like yeah, except for my mom, there's not much to write home about with my family. But I learned something important." Peter looks back at him. "Family doesn't have to be blood. Hell," he laughs. "You see that annoying ass raccoon back there? Family doesn't even have to be the same species."
"If not…" Shoto's mind begins to churn. One's family isn't a subject he ever gave much thought. Mainly because it was never one that seemed to need thought. Family is those you are related to. Simple as that. However… "Then how do you know when another is your family?"
"You'll know…" Peter scans the room, checking to see if they're being watched. "Because if you're ever feeling lost, just look at them. If after, you're feeling found, you'll know your answer. Anyone can be a brother to you, or a sister. Motherly love doesn't have to come from your mom." Peter snickers, looking away from Shoto while rubbing his sleeve over his eyes. And just 'cause some sperm giver was your father, doesn't mean he's your daddy. Understand?"
"Yeah," Shoto answers without thinking. He flexes his right hand. "Yeah, I do." A choice. He gets to choose whom he considers family. A simple revelation, but one he has surprisingly never considered. Not that he has ever been given a choice most of his life.
"Awesome." A new robot walks out. "Wanna go again?"
He doesn't take the time to answer, the teen choosing to instead unleash a new wave of flames without preamble. Not focusing on all of his worries and anxieties, instead, Shoto concentrates only on his fire and the robot, trying to force his quirk onto the android and the android alone.
And while the fire did shrink in a bit and continue to focus on the bot, Shoto can already feel the heat becoming too much for him. Any ice he tries to make instantly burns up as he feels his skin start to crack, he yells in pain, falling to his hands and knees exhausted.
Relief comes in the form of a cool mist Peter sprays over him from his gun. Shoto gives him his gratitude, carefully getting to his feet as he starts to use his own ice to finish cooling him off. "I… had it. For a couple of moments I had it. But my body couldn't take any more."
"Yeah, it was starting to look real good, kid. Hm." Crossing his arms in thought, Peter looks from the robot back to Shoto and vice-versa. "Huh. Your body can probably build that resistance over time, but that's gonna take a while, and I'm not exactly known for my patience…" Flipping his gun over, Peter holds it out to him. "Try this again."
Almost as confused as the last time he was handed the weapon, Shoto again complies. He fires the gun once more, focusing on that tug the gun gives his quirk and concentrating. Before nearly dropping the device in surprise when his fire compresses itself quickly, keeping focus on the bot.
Within ten seconds, it starts to melt once more, and although Shoto can start to feel the fatigue draining away at him, most of the pain is dulled. He lets go of the trigger, glancing back to a satisfied Peter. "Yeah, that's what I thought. You're capable, but your body isn't physically ready." He takes the gun back. "You guys are allowed to use support items, yeah? You think you might wanna try to learn this?" The hero asks while shaking the blaster in his hand.
"I… might."
Peter shrugs. "Up to you. We can head over to Rocket's little warehouse of death in a bit to see if he has the parts to make you a spare or two to try." Shoto agrees, heading over to the bench to start writing down everything the hero had told him. "You sure do like that book. And they told me Midoriya was the one who liked his notebooks."
Shoto pauses, debating. While he wasn't anywhere near comfortable sharing his past with the man, he still feels it's only right he tell Peter something after the hero shared what happened with his parents. "I have only recently become social and started to interact regularly with my peers. And while I have been grateful for their acceptance and patience with me, there are still times I can feel… overwhelmed by everything going on around me. The notebook helps ground me."
"Been there," Peter admits. "And that works for you?" Shoto shrugs. "Well if you're still feeling a bit adventurous." The hero throws him something from his pocket, which the teen catches. Opening his hand, Shoto squints at what he finds. An old mp3 player and headphones, from the beginning of the 21st century. "I still prefer cassettes, but thought you might like something just a bit newer. "Try 'em out."
Shoto does, sticking one of the earbuds in and hitting play on the device, letting the music fill his head. He takes a deep breath, letting his muscles relax, opening and stretching his jaw, which he hadn't even realized was clenched.
The aches and burns are still there, but with his mind starting to take in the lyrics of the music and the melody, his pain becomes secondary. Another deep breath. Shoto is still aware of what's going on around him. Honenuki turning different surfaces to liquid, the dull sound of spaceships above, and Peter grinning while tapping his hand on his leg to a beat in his head. But somehow, the music keeps him in his own head. Just a simple reminder to not get lost.
"…Thanks," Shoto says, turning it down a bit.
"No prob!" Peter salutes him. "Just remember what I said about your quirk and family, keep practicing, and we'll head out to Rocket in a bit! Good work, kid!" The hero spins around and walks in the direction of Honenuki, Shoto watching him as he does.
Yuga Aoyama groans in pain as he fires his naval laser. Above him, waves of drones fly down at him in increasingly bigger groups, firing stun lasers at him, forcing the blond to have to dodge and return fire at the same time.
All the while his tummy really hurt. This is such connerie!
Yuga dives for cover, assisted by Pony's horns, before she sends them back out to attack the bots. The Frenchman shakes the dizziness out of his vison, giving himself a second to recover his breath, but nearly yells in surprise when he looks up, only to immediately relax.
"Bonjour, Cosmo," he greets the Guardian who had been observing their exercise, but the dog doesn't answer, just merely tilts her head at him. "Is everything okay?" Again, no answer. Cosmo just continues to stare. "I will go back to practicing then?"
When he doesn't receive a response for a third time, Yuga runs back out to Pony, leaving Cosmo alone with her thoughts, and a low whine escaping her throat.