Chapter Four: A Test That Hits Back
"LET'S GET THIS TEST BRIEFING STAAAAAAAAAAARTED!"
As the man on the center of the stage posed and whipped his hands in excitement, the area around him became encased in floodlights and multicolored flashes. Music boomed from the speakers as the screen behind the man flashed with the golden letters of UA, alongside highlights of the classes of old.
The entirety of the auditorium seemed to be in shock at the sudden explosion of sound and light. A majority of the kids were dumbfounded, probably not expecting the prestigious UA Academy to open up with a concert.
And Danny was no exception to this.
"I… Wasn't expecting this when you described UA to me, Sero." Danny commented to his friend over the music. "The way you were talking, I thought it would be a bit snooty or something."
Sero shook his head. "I wasn't expecting this either, Fenton." The tape user smiled. "But this is kind of a breath of fresh air! I was worried this place would be too stuck up with too many rules! But this entrance is definitely more my style!"
Danny withheld an incoming comment about Sero's particular sense of style and laughed. "Well, that I can agree on. UA so far definitely has a style I'm not going to argue with."
And the ghost boy wasn't exaggerating. The music that was currently resonating throughout the space had a beat to it that reminded him of the music he used to listen to with Sam. Definitely a hip-hop rock theme going on with that, which Danny was all on board with.
"Kero," Tsu ribbited. "And to have the first person to greet us be a famous pro hero is very exciting. I never imagined I would be seeing Present Mic in person. It makes me wonder who else we're going to meet if we're chosen to attend."
Danny's eyes widened. "THAT'S Present Mic?" He asked incredulously. He had heard of the pro before. Even listened to his radio show a few times when Seicho had it on. But he had never actually seen what he looked like. Nor did he expect to see him at the UA Entrance Exam.
"Hell yeah it is!" Sero confirmed. "UA is a school that likes to keep pro heroes on staff at all times! They're pretty prestigious for a reason after all! You get to learn from the very best of the best!"
The ghost boy was just as shocked as the rest of the audience now. He had expected some heroes to be helping them out along the way. But Present Mic was, if he remembered correctly, one of the more popular and well known pro heroes of Japan. To have him just setting up the opening act said to Danny that UA had a lot of impressive hero cards to play.
His mind immediately began racing at that possibility. To be trained by top heroes like this… it could get him exactly where he wanted to be. He couldn't afford to screw up this exam.
"Tsu is right," Danny said aloud with anticipation. He couldn't help but lean forward, almost in added excitement. "If a pro hero like Mic, with his public image, is just the opening, this place must be more amazing than I thought."
"WELCOME TO TODAY'S LIVE PERFORMANCE!" Mic called out with eagerness and flare only a radio host could have. "EVERYBODY SAY 'HEY'!"
He was met with the still silence of the audience.
Sero sweat-dropped. "I guess he's a little more unexpected for everyone else as he was for us."
Danny nodded in sympathy. "It… really seems that way."
"WELL, THAT'S COOL, MY EXAMINEE LISTENERS!" The pro hero exclaimed, keeping the performance rolling. "I'M HERE TO PRESENT THE GUIDELINES OF YOUR PRACTICAL! ARE YOU REEEAAAADDDYYY?!"
Even though he was met with silence, Danny felt his hands ball. Here we go.
With another smile, Present Mic snapped his fingers and the screen behind him shifted.
In place of the UA Symbol, there was now a single center spot with eight branching paths. The center was emblazoned with the words "CURRENT LOCATION" while the eight arms numbered off from A to H.
"THIS IS HOW THE TEST WILL GO, MY LISTENERS!" Their presenter said with another flourish of stage presence. "YOU'LL BE EXPERIENCING TEN-MINUTE LONG 'MOCK CITYSCAPE MANEUVERS'! BRING ALONG WHATEVER YOU WANT! AFTER THIS PRESENTATION, YOU'LL EACH HEAD TO AN ASSIGNED TESTING LOCATION!"
Mock cityscape maneuvers? Danny wondered as he continued to examine the screen. What does that mean?
A bit of uncertainty entered the mind of the halfa. Did the others know something he didn't know in regards to this? Was he missing something?
Before he could ask, Sero snapped his fingers beside him, holding up his UA Card.
"That's why we're lettered the way we are!" The tape hero exclaimed. "They want to separate us from the people we know and put us all on our own. Judge us on our own merits."
"Really?" Danny asked, pulling out his own UA Card that he had received upon entry. Sure enough, the letter his card presented, Site C, differed from Sero's Site E.
The halfa frowned. "I mean, I get it. But it does kind of suck to hear that we won't be at the same site. I was hoping to see your face when I overtook your score."
"You say that now, Casper," Sero countered. "But we'll see who has the last laugh when the scores show up."
As Danny chuckled, he felt a light tap on his shoulder. Tsu was regarding him with curious excitement, seemingly awaiting his response as she held up her own card.
"Kero. It looks like we'll be on the same course." The girl said with some excitement as she pointed to the matching 'Site C' that she shared with Danny. "I'm looking forward to that. I'm very curious to see your ability."
"Honestly," Danny agreed as he himself grinned at the idea of their sites matching. "I'm looking forward to the same thing, Tsu."
And he honestly was. He had only known the girl for a very short time, but just the way she carried herself and the way she had almost as much kindness as anyone Danny had met so far, it really made him wonder if she had a really powerful Quirk behind her. That, plus he was just happy to hear that someone he at least partially knew would be at his side during the test.
He didn't want to admit it, but the prospect of taking the exam without Sero there being the guide when he saw things in this world he didn't understand made him slightly nervous. A familiar face, at the very least, would bring a bit of calm to him.
With that exchange, the three hopefuls turned their attention back to the DJ's ongoing and increasingly loudening announcements.
"EACH SITE YOU VISIT IS FILLED WITH THREE KINDS OF FAUX VILLAINS." The hero explained as the screen flickered behind him once more, showing three shadows encircled around a city scape. "POINTS ARE AWARDED FOR DEFEATING EACH ACCORDING TO THEIR RESPECTIVE DIFFICULTY LEVELS!"
Danny looked closely at the shadows, which were slapped with 1p, 2p and 3p white text to help distinguish them. Then the halfa did a double-take.
"Are those… Mario enemies?"
Before he could get an answer or confirm what he had seen, the screen shifted and portrayed a shadow silhouette of Mario (which pretty much confirmed what Danny had seen earlier) hopping over obstacles and gathering coins with each enemy he defeated.
"FEEL FREE TO USE THE FULL ABILITY OF YOUR QUIRK TO DISABLE THESE FAUX VILLAINS AND EARN POINTS! OF COURSE, PLAYING THE ANTIHERO AND ATTACKING OTHER EXAMINEES IS PROHIBITED! YOU DIG?!"
"... May I ask a question?!"
A voice called out from a few rows in front of Danny, drawing the attention of the students around him further as he stood to a full height.
He looked to be a little older and much taller than Danny, with straight dark blue hair and a pair of glasses firmly set in front of his eyes. Danny couldn't see much other than his back and part of his left side, but he could tell the boy wore a suit that basically screamed business.
If anything, he looked like a lawyer preparing to present his case to the court.
His posture was straight as a tree. And he held the paper he presented with as much conduct as if he was presenting the paper that held his one and only autobiography.
With a firm persistence, he slammed his finger to the page and declared exactly what he thought of the content.
"There appear to be no fewer than four varieties of faux villain, on this handout!" He relayed over the rolling crowds of students. "Such a blatant error, if it is one, is highly unbecoming of UA, Japan's top academy! We're all here today in hopes of being molded into model heroes!"
Seemingly without wasting a breath, the student turned and jabbed an accusatory finger up behind him. "And, you, with the curly hair!"
Danny heard a yelp resonate somewhere in the auditorium, no doubt from the student the lawyer dressed boy was addressing.
Now turned so that the halfa could fully read his expression, he watched as his already questioning face towards the student in question shifted into a fierce glare.
"You've been muttering this whole time… it's distracting! If this is some sort of game to you, then please leave immediately!"
"Well, he seems fun." Sero said dryly.
"He's certainly very straightforward." Tsu commented as the apparent accused student in the sights of the bespectacled boy muttered a barely audible apology.
"A little too straightforward, if you ask me." Danny added. The halfa hoped he wasn't sharing a site with him. The last thing he needed when he was still learning the rules of this world was someone who stuck to the rules to the last letter, all while making sure others did too.
"Alright, alright." Present Mic called out to catch the questioning students attention as well as those around him. And, without missing a beat, he whirled around and posed, shooting two finger guns towards them all. "EXAMINEE 7111, THANKS FOR CALLING IN!" He snapped his fingers and flashed a smile. "BUT THE FOURTH FAUX VILLAIN VARIETY GETS YOU ZERO POINTS! HE'S MORE OF AN OBSTACLE THAN ANYTHING ELSE! HAVE YOU ALL PLAYED SUPER MARIO BROS? IT'S KIND OF LIKE A THWOMP! ONLY ONE ON EACH SITE! A 'GIMMICK' THAT'LL RAMPAGE AROUND IN CLOSE QUARTERS!"
Danny, after a moment of revelation and genuine excitement at the thought that this elite hero school was basing their test off retro video games (he hoped all tests would be like that), really took in the words Present Mic had said.
That'll RAMPAGE around in close quarters. The halfa repeated the words inside his head. Why does that sound way more ominous then it should?
Chalking it up to overthinking things, Danny tuned back in as the tall blue haired boy nodded along with the pro hero's words.
"So it's a stage gimmick to be avoided," He muttered aloud as he surveyed the sheet. After a moment, he bowed. "Thank you, sir! I apologize for the interruption!"
Present Mic nodded to him as he took his seat. Then he spread both arms in a welcoming gesture, his smile now shining and wide for all to see.
"THAT'S ALL FROM ME!" He announced with gusto and flare across the auditorium. "I'LL LEAVE MY LISTENERS WITH OUR SCHOOL MOTTO! THE GREAT HERO NAPOLEON BONAPARTE ONCE SAID 'TRUE HEROISM CONSISTS IN BEING SUPERIOR TO THE ILLS OF LIFE.'" The announcer smiled brightly. "PLUS ULTRA! BREAK A LEG, EVERYONE!"
"Plus Ultra!"
The cheer resonated throughout the auditorium as much as the parting words of Present Mic. And the awkwardness that was once present in the crowd of students dispersed as they jumped up, ready to embark to the test.
Danny actually jumped up as well, partly following the crowd's enthusiasm and partly because of his own nerves.
The test was really about to begin. And the halfa couldn't even come close to describing the wave of feelings that bubbled inside of him.
This was the first test he could remember that really examined his powers against other people with powers. It was something he'd never really done before. And he was really deciding if it was best to cheer or throw up about that fact.
Maybe both.
Danny liked to imagine that he wasn't the only one feeling this way. This whole exam room had to be filled with hundreds of kids, most of which didn't seem to come from very fancy schools. There had to be a lot of people who felt the way he was feeling right now, right?
"DUDE!" Sero yelled out as he quickly made his way out the side aisle and towards the exit. "I am HYPED!"
… Well, not Sero anymore. That's for sure.
Tsu noticed the change in attitude as well, regarding the tape user with curious interest as she stepped out into the center aisle as well.
"Kero?" She started quizzically (which got Danny wondering why she did that so often). "You seem to be in a much better mood than before, Sero."
"Hell yeah!" Sero answered, his excitement not dying down. "Didn't you hear Present Mic? This is a takedown test! In a cityscape, no less!" His Cheshire grin expanded even more as he raised his arms and tape dispensers. "My Quirk was MADE for this! Fast maneuvers and angles for even faster takedowns! If I play my cards right, my score is going to be high as hell!"
His friend's statement quickly brought the Ghost Boy back to the question he had had before. And had just been answered. "So 'Cityscape Maneuvers' is just a way of saying very fast action inside a city?"
"Exactly!" The tape hero pointed to his friend with a smirk. "Dodging and weaving in between high-rise buildings and the works! It'll definitely be something that you can get lost in if you're not prepared."
"Well…" Danny flexed out his arms, feeling his nervous energy beginning to jump. "That's definitely a way to put it."
"But I don't see anything to worry about!" He smiled and motioned to both himself and the halfa. "The way our Quirks are, I'd say we wouldn't have any trouble managing a city. When it comes to versatility and speed, I think we got this in the bag."
Danny smiled. "Well, I'm not going to say no on that part. Only thing I'm worried about is that I'm still a bit… out of practice when it comes to flying around during battle. It's going to be a bit of a jump for me."
It was no exaggeration.
His flying around the city when he was invisible or intangible didn't involve any kind of combat, of course. He never really had the opportunity to train during those times out of fear of getting caught and arrested for practicing his Quirk out in public without a license.
And, when it came to his sparring with Sero, his flying was not the center point of training. Sure, he used it to get the drop on Sero in certain places and to get a height advantage when he needed it. But he never really practiced any long term flight while in the middle of fighting.
Sero, now ever the optimist, shook his head in disagreement. "Trust me. The way you hop around and jump during our spars, I don't doubt for a second that it'll come back to you easier than you think, Fenton."
Danny felt a smile at the kind words from his friend. And he was just about to say as much when the tape user's expression shifted to one of mocking.
"And, if it doesn't, I guess that means the highest score between the two of us is practically won, right?"
The halfa pursed his lips and crossed his arms, his own mocking smirk coming across his expression. "This is some very big talk for someone who almost had a breakdown during the ride over here."
Sero fixed the Ghost Boy with a look of betrayal. "You LITTLE… It wasn't a breakdown! It was just nerves! NERVES!"
As Danny laughed and Sero steamed, Tsu turned to them both inquisitively as they stepped out into the morning Sun.
"You both seem very confident about the test taking place in a city setting," The green haired girl commented as she placed a finger on her chin. "Kero. That seems to be a theme among everyone who's taking the Entrance Exam today."
Danny turned his attention away from his complaining friend. "What do you mean?"
"The entire auditorium seemed to perk up at the mention of a cityscape," The girl pointed out. "I feel like a majority have the Quirks necessary to feel they can pull ahead in an exam like this. Maybe strength and power Quirks especially, which will make this exam a very tight competition. Kero. It'll be quite the struggle to take the spotlight in a competition like this."
Danny took a moment to really think about what Tsu was saying. Then he looked back up to Sero, who looked equally as thoughtful as the halfa did. He knew they were thinking the same thing.
Nothing the green haired girl said was wrong. They had a nervous thought about it before as a possibility. But, if what Tsu had seen was correct, then they definitely had their work of standing out among the crowd cut out for them.
But, regardless, Danny nodded. "It's definitely going to be a challenge. Especially since this is something I've never really done before." The halfa then smiled. "But, if there's one thing Sero and I know how to do, it's making ourselves loud in a crowd by just focusing on what we're doing."
"You're right about that," Sero added with a smile of his own. "We do seem to get the majority of attention when we just zone in on our training! We can do exactly the same here!"
"Exactly." Danny agreed before looking back towards the girl. "In the end, the only thing you need to focus on is how you're going about it. At the end of the day, it's not how much better others are than you. It's what you accomplished on your own, you know?"
Tsu met their response with a glance and an expressionless face that had the halfa wondering for a moment if he had said something wrong. Then, she smiled.
"Kero. I very much hope that we all do well on the exam. UA would be very interesting and fun with you guys there."
Maybe it was his nerves really looking for anything to improve his mood, maybe it was just the continuous thoughts of being on the crux of a hero exam to a school he never thought he would step foot in, but her words hit something within him.
The words of an aspiring hero, like Sero, hoping to see Danny at the school with her. They didn't know his past, but they knew they wanted him by his side.
If they did know…
Shaking that thought from his head, he nodded towards Tsu.
"I appreciate that, Tsu. Here's hoping we all end up in class together!"
"Here's hoping!" Sero added with a thumbs up and his own smile, which quickly faded as he spied something a ways away. "But if we still want to hope, we better get moving to the changing rooms. There's lines already piling and I don't want to fight in this school uniform. Come on, Fenton!"
And, before the Ghost Boy could argue, Sero was already speeding down the steps at a pace he had NEVER seen him run at Kaizen.
Moving to follow Sero, Danny waved behind back towards their female companion. "I'll see you at the site, Tsu!"
She gave a wave before making her own way towards the girls locker room. And Danny turned and quickly caught up to the fast walking Sero as they advanced towards the locker room.
As he walked, the muster of feelings that Danny continued to carry since he entered the campus sparked once more, though more out of just excitement and nervousness.
A test at an elite hero school. Danny never imagined those words would be strung together to explain his current reality, much less be the current thought in his head.
Yet, here he was.
Everything that's been happening over the past few hours was something he never imagined ever doing. And it definitely played up his nerves.
But he shook his head. He shouldn't be nervous. He knew he just had to stick to his own thoughts and strategy, do his best and take the steps he wanted to take to continue on to his goal. It was as simple as that.
The halfa only hoped that the test to get to those steps would prove just as simple. It couldn't have been that big of a test, right?
"I didn't think I would ever be eating my own words before a test." Danny, in shock, said to really nobody but himself. Not that the group of UA hopefuls around him really paid any interest in him.
But UA definitely had him doing just that as the constructed cityscape TOWERED in front of the Ghost Boy. Large stretching buildings peppered the entire area beyond the wall, creating a wall of shadow that streamed over the awaiting students.
The wind flowing down streets and intersections of the constructed lanes and buildings whistled, sending up an array of sound that seemed to echo around the area, seemingly showing off just how long the area stretched.
When Danny imagined a cityscape testing ground, he had thought just a small patch of fake buildings in a confined space so that the teachers could at least see what was going on. Something like a gym class with buildings (which made Danny shudder at the thought).
But this… was a lot bigger and wider then he ever imagined.
"How does UA have the money for all of this?" The halfa wondered aloud as he tilted his head and tried to find an end to the stretching city.
"Kero. Most of it is from support by certain Pro Heroes and the community."
The Ghost Boy jumped so high he could swear he saw the tops of some of the buildings. Turning, he found the familier and ever-curious eyes of Tsu staring back at him, head cocked in confusion at his response.
"Oh jeez, Tsu!" Danny said after a breath. "Don't sneak up on me like that!"
"Kero? I'm sorry, Fenton. I didn't mean to scare you."
"Well…" Danny started after a breath, embarrassed that he had fought ghosts hand to hand yet was scared because he wasn't paying attention. "I wouldn't say scare. More just a surprise than anything."
Tsu looked unconvinced, but there was humor in her eyes at that comment.
She was no longer in uniform. Instead, she wore a simple dark green t-shirt and grey shorts, which fit against the backdrop of her bowed green hair very nicely.
Her black formal shoes were also gone. Instead, black and white laced tennis shoes stood in their place. They looked worn and battered, like she had jumped with them on in one place for a solid week. But she seemed comfortable in them, so Danny wasn't about to judge.
He had come from a family of ghost hunters, after all. And that often resulted in a LOT of oil and ectoplasm on his shoes on a daily basis. So he really had no right to judge anyone else's shoes.
Not only that, but Tsu's shoes were actually very similar to his own.
Alongside a plain white shirt and black gym shorts, Danny sported black-and-white running shoes, with sported pads at the bottom and shoelace lining across the sides being the only visible difference.
Seicho had said the outfit would offer him more flexibility and movement in the moment of battle, which Danny could understand.
That being said, wearing the clothes still made him feel like he was about to run the school mile. Which was always a good thing to physically remember as you're about to enter another physical test.
The ghost feeling of burning lungs really stuck out when it wanted to.
Hoping to clear the air from the fact that he was scared and the thought of Mike running, the halfa picked their original conversation up.
"So… support from the community?" The halfa pointed towards the massive city. "That's how they were able to build all of that?"
His doubt and astonishment was clear in his tone, even to his own ears. But the girl nodded.
"Kero. Yes. With UA as popular as it is, it's no surprise so many people want to help the hero community." She looked back up towards the city. "But from what my mother has told me, it's also a factor that they have powerful pros here that can make a place like this without much resources. So it doesn't take a lot of money to get places like this built. At least, not when UA does it."
"That's… amazing." Danny muttered. "My hometown needed a fundraiser just to get the high school pool fixed, yet they can build full cities and tear them down like it's no big deal. Probably with the same amount of money." He laughed. "UA really is something."
"Kero. There's a reason why so many people want to get into UA each year." The green haired girl said. "It's no exception when it comes to being one of the top schools in Japan."
"I'm not disagreeing there." The halfa muttered, still taking in the sight in front of him. He still couldn't believe any of this was real. Even taking into account that he has seen ghost portals and fought people long since dead, this reality just continued to present him with thoughts and ideas he never could have imagined.
And he hadn't even taken the test yet.
For the first time since entering the school, Danny found himself imagining how far this school could take him if he actually got in. He had gotten pretty decent with his powers on his own. With the resources this school had and the teachers they provided, all specializing in powers across the field, they could teach him to become beyond better than what he was before. Here… he could become what he truly aspired to be.
The thought had just begun to spiral in the mind of the halfa when Tsu spoke.
"Where are you from, Fenton?"
Immediately, Danny was brought back to reality in an instant. And his eyes drew back to the girl, who looked back at him with genuine curiosity.
At first, Fenton feared he may have let too much information out. He cleared his throat and tried not to sound nervous. "What do you mean?"
Tsu placed an inquisitive finger on her chin. "Kero? You said your hometown has nothing like what UA offers, meaning you're not originally from around here. And your emphasis on words is a bit strange, almost like you're still learning how to pronounce certain words. It gives me the impression that you're not local." She cocked her head. "So I asked. Kero. If you don't want to talk about it, that's understandable."
Danny stared. He had no idea how much Tsu was analyzing what he was saying and what he sounded like. He was even more surprised at how she caught the accent that he swore he got rid of. Just how analyzing was she? Those curious eyes were more intelligent than Danny ever imagined.
He would have to be more careful with what he said around her. The last thing he needed was to get called out for a small stumble of words and have people think he was crazy when he tried to explain it to them.
That being said, he still didn't really see any reason to deny what Tsu was saying. Honestly, he was beginning to like the green haired girl. Her mellowness and straight forward attitude was calming in a way. And he really did hope she got into UA like she wanted.
So the halfa laughed. "No, it's fine, Tsu. I'm not offended. And you're right. I'm not really from here. I'm actually an exchange student from America. I've only been in Japan for about seven months now."
Her eyes widened. "America? Kero. You're very far from home."
That's an understatement, Danny thought to himself.
"Kero? Then what made you come to Japan, Fenton?" Tsu continued. "I know the United States has just as many hero schools as Japan with some great reputations. Why come to try out for UA?"
The halfa pursed his lips. He remembered being asked pretty much the exact same question, back when he first joined Kaizen. Back then, he was still struggling with what he wanted and where he wanted to go. And the only answer he could give was that he wanted a change of pace, which was further from the truth. He really wanted to return to what he once was but thought he never could.
Now, with a path available, with his family behind him, there was a different answer that came to mind.
"Well, in a way," Danny said with a slight laugh, remembering the change of once having a firm conviction to hate places like UA to finding out how the same place aligned so well with what he once wanted. "I guess you could say UA was my choice for everything since the beginning. And I figured I might as well see what all the fuss is about."
"ANNNNNND BEGIN!"
The vocalized voice carried across the entirety of the city as Danny, Tsu and the rest of the hopefuls looked up in pure confusion.
There, standing on top of one of the side towers, was Present Mic, wheeling his arm around in excitement.
Begin? Danny thought incredulously. And, as if in response, Present Mic grinned.
"WHAT'S WRONG?! THE TEST'S STARTED! RUN! GO! HEROES NEVER HESITATE! YOU CRAZY KIDS ARE NO EXCEPTION! THE DIE IS CAST! TEN MINUTES ON THE CLOCK!"
"Now?!" Danny asked. "How would we…"
His words were lost as the group around him suddenly took off at a dead run forward, surging towards the vacant city with a panic.
"Kero. Good luck, Fenton." Tsu said honestly to him as, with a burst of agility he wasn't expecting, the green haired girl rocketed off the ground and forward with one powerful jump.
"How…" Danny started before taking off at a run to enter the city as well. "Jeez, Sero wasn't kidding! UA doesn't play around when it comes to their tests."
The other hopefuls were already separating, tearing down different streets and buildings as they searched for targets.
Then Danny shook his head. He couldn't be worrying about any other person right now. That's how he would lose to his own doubt and falter. The most important thing he could do in the moment…
"Is focus on what I'm doing." He murmured as his muscles tensed. "And what I'm going to do next! I'M GOING GHOST!"
A white light immediately enveloped around his hips before splitting both up and down his body. As it travelled, the color in his clothes changed.
His once white shirt became a pure ghostly black, complimenting his now pure white shorts. His entire body took on a glow of energy as his snow-white hair shined white against the piercing green of his eyes.
He was at full power.
And, while he did wish he could change into his full outfit (it was decided by Seicho that using the suit would maybe cause suspicion of vigilantism. Why would he have a prepared suit ready to go otherwise?), he still felt a rush of euphoria at being back in his ghost form.
Five months in and it still felt like such an adrenaline rush.
Grinning, the ghost boy took a few more striding steps before activating his flight. Immediately, his entire body felt weightless. And, as he straightened out into his flying stance, both of his legs snapped together into his whipping tail.
For a brief moment, Danny wanted to look back to see the expressions of the others or, more importantly, what they were doing. Maybe they had already starting cutting into the opponents already.
But, just as quickly as the idea came, Fenton brushed it away.
He didn't know how much energy this test would take. And he couldn't waste a moment. He knew Sero certainly wasn't. And he sure as heck wasn't about to let that tape hero get bragging rights over HIM.
So, with a burst of speed, the halfa turned down an empty street and made his way down the right side of the city and began searching for his robotic enemies.
"They did say… robots, right?" Danny asked himself curiously as he glided. "Wonder if they mean unmanned mechanized suit robots like the ones we had… or different models?" He almost said sentient, but he didn't want to get his hopes up. Or fears, if the latest sci-fi movies were telling the future.
Still, it sparked his interest if this world had the kind of technology to create full on, like, fighting robots. And one part of his mind wondered about that technologically.
"Well, that's assuming they have robots like that," The halfa said as he continued to scan the empty buildings and streets. "And so far, the place seems pretty empty." He frowned. "Are the staff waiting for something? OrOOOOFFF!"
He didn't even get to finish his sentence before Danny felt an object slam into his side with all the force of a car going sixty. He was thrown clear across the street and impacted the sidewalk HARD, skidding across the pavement in a very painful way.
Fenton, after waiting a few moments to remember where his vital organs were, struggled to a stand. "There… they… are." He gasped as he tried to take deep breaths.
And they were indeed very much there.
Standing about fifteen feet away from him was a green colored mech style robot. It's coffin shaped head and red camera lens eye rested on a stretching metal snake like neck that connected to its lightly armored automaton body. It had no visible legs. Instead, it had a holder that held a large primed and ready wheel. The entire mechanism was attached to a rotation device on the bottom that seemed to be there for easy maneuvering and speed. Instead of arms, it held shield like plates that were primed and ready for action. And Danny knew that it knew exactly how to use them, considering that was probably what hit him in the first place.
But regardless, Danny had to admit, it was probably the coolest thing he had ever seen.
The red eye of the bot shined. "Target locked! Prepare for extermination!"
Danny almost felt his jaw drop. "Talking too? Oh that's so cool."
The robot design was definitely ripped straight out of a comic book. And Danny made a mental note to himself that he would have to definitely ask how the heck they made things like this.
But it would have to wait, seeing as how the bot was currently charging towards him, prepping another swing of its arm.
Despite the pain, immediate adrenaline coursed through the halfa's body as the bot closed in. It was fast. But his tape-using sparring partner was much faster.
With a burst of energy, the halfa rocketed off the sidewalk and skimmed the side of the attack, arcing around the side of the opponent as its attack impacted and cracked against the empty sidewalk. It may have gotten the initial drop on the halfa, but Danny was ensuring it wouldn't happen again. This would be his fight to win.
Now directly behind the bot and floating just enough to get a view of it's craning head to try and get a visual for a counterattack, Danny channeled his ghost energy to the palm of his hand.
It wasn't a lot. Not even close to the amount he could put into his blasts. But using full power on every blast would drain his daily energy faster. And, looking at his enemy, he didn't think he needed his full power. He could be very wrong about that, but he would rather take a risk then drain what energy he had.
As the camera lens eye fell on him, Danny smiled.
"Sorry about this, Sparky." He quipped. Then he fired.
FWOOOM
A ray of ghost energy shot from his palm and slammed directly into the eye of the robot.
The back of its head exploded out in a brilliant green flash, sending wires and plating everywhere at the same moment it's body flew back, crashing against the ground with a hard THOOM.
It was down.
Danny looked on for a moment, waiting for a sci-fi esque return from the grave. When it didn't come, he felt a rush of ecstatic energy.
He could take down these bots pretty easily, as long as he played it smart. In other words, he could gain quite the lead on Sero and, more importantly, hold his own in this test. And, maybe, this world
"One down," He said with a smile and turned back down the road. "One point. And a school's worth to go."
As he flew, the halfa became aware of distant explosions and booms deeper within the city.
"Sounds like the others are finding bots too," Danny said to himself. He turned another corner. "I better find more of my own before they all get taken."
And, as the halfa quickly found out, he wouldn't have to look far.
The next corner turn had him quickly backpedaling and looping with a "WOAH" from a fast moving large metal tank that barreled past him.
The object careened towards a side building and impacted, sending smoke and debris scattering across the empty street.
"What the heck was that?" Danny said, trying to recover from his shock. He looked down the street and made eye contact with a quickly advancing second object. "Oh. And I almost thought it was all an accident. Unless you did do it by accident?"
"Target locked! Prepare for extermination!"
"Target locked! Prepare for extermination!"
"Okay, I didn't think so."
The bot that advanced down the street was slightly bulkier than the first Danny had encountered, with three metal crab like legs attached and supporting it's round center head. Three perfectly lined red eyes gleamed in the sunlight as it skittered forward, only being shaded by it's two swinging metal tails that seemed just as locked on the halfa as the rest of the body was. A bright yellow "2" stood out on it's plated left leg, identifying itself to the halfa as it advanced.
As it closed the distance, the second 2-Pointer advanced from the cratered building, shaded in dust and debris, but no less eager to engage in battle with the ghost boy.
"Two on one?" Danny asked as he tensed his muscles. "Come on, guys. A little unfair, don't you think?"
Neither gave him a reply. Instead, they opted to charge forward in unison, enclosing the halfa against the corner building he was pressed against. Both pairs of tails were raised in anticipation as they scuttled with astonishing speed towards their target.
Danny didn't doubt his own speed, but he knew that he would hold more of an advantage when they were too preoccupied to know he was coming. Their speed was definitely something to take note of. So, with that in mind…
As the bots closed in, their tails ready for impact, Danny let his ghost energy flow once more. Not to his hands, but instead to his whole body.
Intangible.
Immediately, his body shimmered and he lightened to an immense degree as he became almost completely see-through.
With a smile, the halfa let himself drop back into the wall behind him, phasing through at the exact moment the two two-pointers made impact.
Stone and cement shattered around him, mixing with the fine dust that floated up in unison with the roar of metal against structure. Danny, unharmed through it all, used the explosion of sight and sound to roll and shoot up back above where the bots impacted, his body already readily moving the ghost energy to his next move.
The ghost boy's breathing heavied slightly, but remained steady as he changed his angle mid-air and centered himself almost directly above the two, their tails still stuck within the building itself.
Without missing a beat, the halfa drew the remainder of his ghost energy to both palms, where he readied a ball of glowing green electricity.
Taking a breath, Danny drew back his arms at the same moment the bots withdrew their tails… and fired.
The bolt of ghost energy soared over the two struggling bots and towards what was left of the wall, breaking away the rest of the support holding the building up and bringing it all crashing down on top of Danny's opponents.
In his mind, he knew he could have fired on the bots itself. But, seeing that the plating on them was thicker than the first one, he figured it would save his energy to have the building take care of them.
And, as it turned out, the building was more than happy to.
Neither bot stood a chance as, with a thrum of electricity and crunching metal, they disappeared and vanished under an avalanche of rubble. The only thing visible towards the end were their snake-like metal tails, which were now slumped limply over the remains of the structure.
Danny chuckled as another wave of happiness rushed within him.
"That's two down, four more points and one more step to making sure Sero eats his…" The halfa faltered as a sudden wave of ache hit him. His flight almost dropped completely before he shook himself out of it. "Whoa."
Must have used too much ghost energy at once, Danny thought to himself with a frown. I probably could have evaded that last attack instead of phasing like I did.
Even though he had gotten better at controlling his energy, his body liked to remind him at certain points that the energy he had apparently wasn't large like before. Whether it's a change that came from this new world or one that popped up because he hadn't used his powers for a solid two months, Danny still wasn't sure. But he did have to be cautious.
He flexed his arm and felt energy spark along it. "Still have a lot left," The halfa confirmed with a smile. "I'll just have to hit a lot more smarter than harder."
With that, Danny flew up and back towards the inner city, his eyes scanning for more targets, his nerves still fluttering between nervousness and an excitement the halfa couldn't even begin to describe.
"This generation of heroes certainly shows much promise!" The small white furred individual said from his bulking seat in front of the screens. "Such a wide battlefield and limited time seems to bring out the best in them."
"Certainly," Another voice echoed, this one from a brown jacketed dark figure with exposed teeth. His tone vibrated, almost as if three versions of himself were speaking at once. "It also seems to open up the playing field to strategies that really show off the potential they have with their Quirks. Quite a few have already impressed me."
"Having an entire group of hopefuls competing for a chance to enter UA opens up all kinds of decisions when it comes to Quirks and plans," A woman with pure black hair, blue eyes and a white and black uniform tightened around her voluptuous body said. A blush and a smile played across her expression. "It's so inspiring."
"It's certainly good to see so much variety!" The white furred individual agreed. "There are those who can assess the situation in an instant, those who will never be late to the party, those who can cope with any given situation, and then there are the natural-born warriors…"
As he said this, the figure was tapping at the large keyboard below the screen, flicking between different camera feeds from across the sites, focusing in on key individuals.
They caught glances of many different people and Quirks at play: a masked white haired person with many arms and wings perched atop a roof. A short black haired girl throwing a nail the size of a small pool.A bespectacled black haired boy racing across the battlefield at alarming speed, kicking down bots at every opportunity. A pink skinned girl shooting down bot after bot with a smile, a laugh and a boost of what looked to be acid. A blonde muscled boy ripping through bot after bot in massive explosions. A boy with black spiky hair shooting in between bots and counterattacking with great speed thanks to his lines of tape.
And a snow-white haired boy with green eyes, his legs combined into a flowing wisp and his hands glowing with green energy.
Another figure, one with a mask and cowboy hat, spoke. "In one way or another, they all seem pretty much the same. Fightin' enemies like this creates arrogance. And they all seem very arrogant at the moment. Pretty hard to decide who has what it takes."
"Agreed!" The mousy individual said with a smile. "But that won't be a problem for long!"
He looked down to a small red button lined with yellow and black warning paint, glowing in the shaded darkness of the room.
"The next and proper phase of the test will be starting soon, after all."
Dodge. Blast.
"Twenty-five!"
Dodge. Blast.
"Twenty-seven!"
Dodge. Blast.
"Twenty-niWHOA!"
Danny felt himself catch his breath as one of the two pointers took a swing at him with both tails, forcing him to circle and dodge mid-air.
"Dang it. Just when I was getting into the groove of things too."
"Target locked! Prepare for extermination!"
"Please find something new to say." Danny pleaded as he channeled his ghost energy to his fists. "It really lost its touch with me about twelve times ago."
Both the halfa and his opponent were now on the outskirts of the center of the fake city, where the other hopefuls and bots had all massed. The city itself was now in shambles, with craters and downed buildings peppering the forward and backstreets. Explosions of energy and impacts echoed a ways into the city itself, signaling to the ghost boy that he was getting closer and closer to the other hopefuls with each bot he got.
Which wasn't intentional. It was mainly because the outside of the city was now relatively bot and point free. But Danny didn't really mind that. He kind of did want a better look at both his competition and who could be his classmates in the future. Plus, he was always curious about what other Quirks could be around. This world defied any kind of explanation for him already, so it was kind of really cool to see what else it could create power-wise.
But before he could worry about any of that…
The twin metal tails swung down once more at immense speed, ready to smack the halfa out of the air.
Instead, the ghost boy arced in the air as easy as a fish in water, sidestepping the blow with ease.
"Dodge." Danny said aloud before twisting his palm forward and channeling another energy blast forward. "Blast."
The ghost boy shot forward and tore right through the center of the bot's face, sending it reeling back for a moment before slumping forward, defeated.
"Okay, that's twenty-nine." Danny commented as he floated above the debris and redirected what was left of the ghost energy in his hands to the rest of his body.
Energy wise, he still had a lot left in the tank. He had been playing this smarter then he had before and it looked to be paying off.
"Now I just have to play as smart for the whole rest of the test." Danny said to himself as he floated up and forward, towards the center of the city.
The whole trip there was a mirage of instinct for Danny. Every bot he encountered (which wasn't many), he countered and destroyed. They weren't hard enemies. Danny had faced MUCH worse than them, after all. But they could still pack plenty hits in a group, which is why the halfa dispatched them as quick as he could so they couldn't group up on him.
He guessed he had only been at for almost a minute when he ran into another hopeful hero.
The halfa had been approaching down an empty street when the building at the end exploded into rubble.
A bashed up one-pointer had been thrown through one side of the wall by what looked to be a giant gear, cracking under the weight of the large object.
"What the heck?" Danny wondered, trying to find out where exactly the enlarged gear had come from as he approached. And he quickly found his answer as he saw a girl leave the dust and haze of the building.
The girl had shoulder-length, bob-shaped hair, side-swept to her right with some shorter strands hanging above her eyes. She had fair skin, an athletic build, cerulean eyes, and she was wearing a neutral expression on her face that could have rivaled Tsu's.
She wore a simple red t-shirt, green shorts and grey zip-up exercise jacket.
She didn't notice Danny's approach. Instead, she had her attention focused solely on the downed bot. Both of her hands were clasped together, almost in concentration. But, as soon as she saw her enemy was down for good, she loosened them.
There was no change in her expression. Instead she turned and began to quickly make her way down the street, no doubt looking for more opponents.
Danny, although VERY interested in what her powers were, felt she probably wasn't open to any kind of companionship at the moment and was just about to leave down the side street when a whir of noise caught his attention.
Only a few feet behind the girl, down another open street that dipped in between two large buildings, a rolling one-pointer tore out in the open and raised a fist to strike her in the back.
"Target locked!" It exclaimed as the girl turned too late to react. "Prepare for-"
Danny didn't hesitate. Seizing the opportunity, the halfa shot forward at the same moment he fired a blast from his palm.
The energy shot slammed into the bot's back, severing its top from it's bottom and throwing what remained forward, where the girl swiftly dodged out of the way.
Her eyes immediately drew to Danny and the halfa couldn't tell if it was curiosity or anger in her look as he stopped at a hover a little above her. Maybe both.
"Sorry about swiping your point!" Danny said with an embarrassed smile. "But I didn't think you would mind. You were about to get hit in the back."
The girl looked at him coldly (or warmly. Or something. Danny couldn't tell.) "... It's deserved. Didn't see this coming. Thank you."
"No problem at all!" The halfa replied, glad to see she was friendly. Another explosion snapped the halfa back into the moment, bringing back his realization that he still needed to gather points. "Well, I hope to see you around! My name is Fenton Danny, by the way. It was nice to meet you!"
As the ghost boy flew past her, she nodded to him. "My name is Kodai Yui."
Danny smiled and waved to the girl before focusing his attention back to his flight. How long had it been since this started. Three minutes? Four? It had all begun to blur so much.
But either way, Danny knew he needed to gather more points. He had no idea how Sero was doing, but it was better to be safe than sorry and rack up as many bot kills as he could.
It took him even less time to find the heart of the fighting. About ten people stood and ran around a small center point of roads that met there and stretched across the length of the fake city.
Body upon body of different pointed bots lay wrecked within a semi-ring around the group, with more bodies being piled on as more and more of the combat robots came out to challenge the small group of heroes.
Danny almost could have mistaken it for a movie scene. A last stand of sorts. But it was taken away by the fact that the hopefuls look more determined and thrilled than battle hardened. Which was fair. Danny was having a lot more fun than anything else throughout the course of this test.
The barrage of different powers on display was also something the halfa had never experienced before. And it was certainly blowing his mind now.
One person, seemingly made out of darkness, was hopping in between shadows and picking off bots with swipes and strikes at their head and legs before sinking back into the darkness with a smile.
Another, a black-red haired sharp-toothed boy, was slamming his seemingly rocked infused fists into any bot that got too close, roaring with energy as he tore through the metal with ease.
Another more familiar figure was jumping in between bots at a quick speed, bouncing between robotic legs and fists as easily hopped forward and into metal chests, sending the hulks crashing hard onto the street below. All without breaking a sweat.
"What the heck is Tsu's power that lets her do all that?" Danny wondered as he looked on at the green haired girl. But he didn't spend a lot of time on that thought.
Instead, he focused on his landing and fire as he flew forward. He channeled more of his ghost energy into his palms and threw another blast forward as he skidded amongst the other hopefuls, sending a one pointer flying back towards the backstreets.
Danny wasn't sure if he destroyed it or not, but he hoped it would still count as a point. He used a little more energy than he would have liked there. He wanted to make it worth it.
He didn't have to worry about that when it came to the other bots, however. With them, they charged forward and towards Danny, reciting the same line they had many times before. The halfa had to make every shot count for them. They were now a bit too bunched up to be sloppy about it now.
The explosions and roars of the other hopefuls were now around him and closer than ever before. The halfa didn't even think they noticed that he had joined the fray. But that was fine.
Don't worry about anyone else. Worry about yourself.
"Just focus on my own points," The ghost boy muttered as he swung another bolt at a three-pointer. "Get what I can, hope for the best. Hopefully best enough to beat out Sero."
Thirty-five.
Thirty-seven.
Thirty-eight.
Forty.
Soon enough, Danny was starting his own pile among the circle, numerous enough that he was beginning to feel proud. And he still had a sizable amount of energy left.
He was starting to wonder why exactly people with powers on par with his had trouble with the UA Entrance Exam at all.
KRRRSSSSHHHH
All of the sudden, the entire atmosphere of the battle changed as a building down one of the connecting streets suddenly crumbled and broke apart, crashing to and cracking the street below.
Behind the dusted remains loomed what was probably one of the biggest bots Danny had ever seen.
It held a shell-like body that was lined with thick, tank-like armor that shined in the mid-morning Sun, running down it's bus-sized arms. It had whirring mechanical crab-like legs that punched craters the size of cars into the street with every step. And it looked over the hopefuls with a craning building-sized head, it's flat face peppered with eight glowing red eyes the size of bowling balls.
If all that wasn't bad enough, it let out a mechanical growl that shook the windows and rattled the inside of Danny's head, alongside everyone else.
"That's the gimmick?!" He exclaimed in shock and awe at the immense size of the bot.
Danny admitted he had been confident before. But now, with this giant robot looking down on him and advancing… he really didn't feel so confident.
Heck, it took a powerful burst of his energy to knock down two and three pointers. He KNEW that he wouldn't be able to punch through that things armor. Not without way more energy than he could use.
The zero-pointer took another step, cracking the street once more and sending another rush of dust and debris down the road itself.
Around Fenton, the other students, once frozen in shock like he was, took off running and scattered in all directions as they worked to avoid the massive enemy. Apparently, they all came to the same realization that they couldn't fight this bot.
"Maybe they have the right idea," Danny considered as he backpedaled from his circle. "I'm not going to be able to fight that thing, but maybe with the points I have, I can pull back to the streets and maybe…"
That thought, and Danny's own footsteps, stopped as he watched the zero-pointer turn it's massive head to it's right, following a group of hopefuls that had fled down the street. Without waiting, the bot stepped forward and pursued, covering ground with massive steps and bringing half the corner structure down as it's shoulder brushed into it.
Rays of energy and light hit the bot in retaliation as it pursued, but that only bounced off it's armor as it stepped forward.
Almost immediately, the halfa's muscles tensed without warning. His fists clenched as a secondary response.
He should have kept moving. Danny had his own points to worry about. And he knew using his energy on a big enemy like that would reduce him enough to basically get himself stuck with his current point count. And, even forgetting Sero for a moment, he still had no idea if it was enough to beat out some of the other hopefuls. He had no doubt there were other, more powerful Quirks competing here the same as him. What if he needed more?
To stand out, just worry about yourself.
It was a sound thought. But, seeing the fact that this bot would make sure that some people would NEVER have the points to get to UA, some people who were probably better heroes than he could ever dream of being…
As if on instinct, Danny already had a plan. And he was even quicker to act on it.
His legs slamming together into the wisp tail, the halfa shot up quickly and turned to face the back of the bot, his two palms clapping together to create another singular green ball of energy.
"With the amount of ghost energy I'm using," Danny said aloud. "This better get your attention! HEY YOU OVERSIZED TRASH-CAN!"
With a swing of his arms, Danny fired a thickened blast of energy right to the middle point of the bot's neck, sending it stumbling forward slightly.
Danny hoped he would at least leave a burn or a loose wire with that attack. Something so he could gage how much power he would actually need. Instead, the armor point he hit was completely unscathed. As if he had never even hit it.
"Oh great." The halfa groaned as the zero-pointer turned it's massive head and fixed eight red glows on the ghost boy. "... Hi."
The next thing Danny knew, the hand of the massive machine was shooting up and towards him, as if snatching a ball out of the air.
Intangibility.
Immediately, ghost energy shimmered around the entirety of Danny's body, making him unhittable at the moment the zero-pointers hand was to impact.
Wind rushed through the ears of the halfa as the massive hand passed harmlessly through the air and himself.
With a quick sigh of relief, Fenton shot forward and straight into the chest of the robot before it had a moment to plan its next shot.
The ghost boy intended to find an opening where he could phase in and wreck the robot from the inside the best he could so he could buy time for the others to get away. But he quickly ran into a problem.
"It's all too tight!" Danny complained as he shifted through layer after layer of armor with only millimeters of space between them. "If I phase out anywhere, I'll just end up crushed." He frowned. Plan A was a bust. "Onto Plan B."
He would rather have avoided Plan B if he was being honest, but he didn't see another choice.
The halfa popped out of the side of the bot at the same speed he had entered, causing the very confused zero-pointer to whirl it's massive body to try and catch a glimpse of it's attacker, clearing another two buildings as it did so.
Channeling the power back to his palms, Danny fired two semi-powerful bolts forward and directly to the face of the bot. It didn't hurt it, but it definitely seemed to make it angry.
"What's the matter, you bucket of bolts?" Fenton taunted. "Need me to slow down so you can catch your breath? Or are you actually going to try to hit me now?"
If Fenton had questioned if it was possible to anger a robot, he may have just gotten an answer.
The zero-pointer ripped forward in pursuit of Danny, completely turning away from the now clear street it had been pursuing on and more towards the center where the halfa floated.
All the while, Danny constantly shifted his gaze from the closing bot to the fleeing hopefuls. Before anything else, he wanted to make sure everyone was clear. It was his whole plan, after all.
His powers were perfect for a wasp approach of bugging a large target then bugging out. He only hoped he could keep the bot occupied long enough with what power he had left. Of course, according to Seicho, he had no issue being annoying without his powers.
"Try and keep up!" Danny called out as he fired some weakened shots forward to keep the bot's attention. "The only reason I'm moving so slow is to give you a fair chance."
Another mechanical groan filled the air as the massive bot closed the distance in a few steps and swung its arm out to grab at Danny again.
Invisibility!
His body shimmered with energy again. And this time, Danny felt himself catch his breath. He didn't have a lot left in him. But what energy he used had done its job.
As he floated out of reach of the hand, his body became translucent against the air and the zero-pointer suddenly craned its head, confused.
Danny, unseen, took a moment to catch his breath.
Okay, He thought. I'll use my invisibility to draw it away from the crowds. It'll look for me for a while, then I can draw it back to-
The zero-pointer suddenly whipped it's giant head to the right, locking on a small group of students Danny hadn't seen before in the middle of fighting off small bots and fleeing. With a growl, the giant mech stepped forward, shaking the ground around them and tipping a loose chunk of wall from a crushed building towards an unknowing figure who had broken off from the rest of the group and was in the midst of holding off two one-pointers with his knuckles.
"CRAP!" Danny exclaimed, dropping invisibility at the same moment he zoomed towards the figure.
The zero-pointers sights immediately snapped to him, but the halfa fired back. He channeled the last of his energy left over from invisibility with a little extra to hurl another blast towards the looming head of the giant bot.
It struck dead in the center of the eyes, causing the bot to flinch and stumble, giving the halfa the break he needed.
The ghost boy slammed into the unsuspecting hopeful, who let out a gutteral OOF, and channeled another large section of his dwindling reserve of ghost energy.
Intangibility!
Immediately, both of them were shrouded in green energy at the same moment the loose wall fell and crashed on both of them. There was an explosion of sound and dust around them, but both Danny and his companion were unharmed. Now standing in the midst of loose rocks and broken wall, the halfa let go of intangibility.
"You okay?" He asked the stranger as he tried to catch his breath at the same moment.
"Okay?!" The black haired boy exclaimed in such a loud voice, it made Fenton jump. He gave a sharp-toothed grin. "Yeah! Thanks to your manly as hell Quirk, I'm totally fine! That was AWESOME!" He clenched both of his fists so hard, Danny swore he saw sparks. His red eyes were almost complete obscured by his bangs, but the glow in them was very noticeable, alongside his shark-like teeth. "You are one hell of a man!"
Danny blinked. "Um… thanks." He said genuinely before he teetered slightly, his breathing heavy.
His companion's grin faltered. "Hey, are you okay man?"
"I'm fine." Danny assured, standing up straight. He was almost at his limit. And the zero-pointer was still coming. "Look, just get all the applicants out of here. And gather as many points as you can. I'll keep the big guy occupied."
"No way!" He retorted, his grin returning. "A man doesn't leave another behind!"
Wow. Danny thought. This guy's intense.
Behind them, the zero-pointer stood up fully and loomed over the street they stood on.
Danny turned to face it, channeling what energy he had left. "I appreciate the offer, but somebody has to keep that thing distracted so others who deserve it get the points they need. I'll be that guy. You just get the points you need to pass! Go be a hero!"
Without waiting for a response, the halfa ran forward and fired another shot at the zero-pointer, bringing it's full attention back to him.
"TWO MINUTES REMAINING!" The voice of Present Mic echoed throughout the city.
The ghost boy flinched. A part of him was screaming in his mind, reminding him of the points he was supposed to gather. But he kept his eyes locked on the advancing bot.
Some of these people deserve to get here a lot more than I do, Danny argued with himself. Let them have a chance. Besides, it's been a while since you last fought a giant robot.
With a smile, Danny pushed forward, readying himself for another blast as the zero-pointer's massive metal hand lowered towards him. It was moments away from impact when…
KLAAANNGG
In a shower of sparks and noise, the hand was pushed away from the halfa at the last moment. All courtesy from the black haired shark-toothed boy Danny had saved moments ago.
With his shoulder against the palm and his fist driving into the armor, the boy, with a roar, pushed the hand away, causing the zero-pointer to falter. It also caused Danny to falter, too.
"What are you…" The halfa began in a mix of shock and amazement.
"I told you!" The kid smiled, looking back at Danny hand holding up a fist. His skin was sharpened along the fist and arm, making him look like he had an entirely stone arm. "A man doesn't leave another man behind! Everyone who was with me already got away! And I wanted to make sure you weren't in this fight alone!" He slammed both of his fists together in excitement, creating another shower of parks. "Names Kirishima Ejiro! And I'm not backing down, no matter how big the enemy!"
Danny was shocked. In the moment, he was ready to sacrifice his own potential at points on his own. Part of him still wanted to tell Kirishima to go back and get what points he needed in the less than two minutes they had left. Be the hero he wanted to be.
But, with the outright determination that glowed from the guy's eyes, he knew that he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. He wanted to help Danny distract the bot. And he wasn't stopping till he did exactly that.
… It had been a while since he had someone help him in a fight.
"I still think you should leave, Kirishima," Danny said after a moment before charging up his attack once more. "But, if you really want to help me, I'm definitely not going to argue. Especially when my energy is getting spent already."
The zero-pointer stepped forward once more, intending to advance on both Danny and Kirishima. Instead, with another flare from his hand, Danny sent another spot of energy forward and against the bot's head, causing it to flinch again.
"My name's Fenton Danny." Danny said with the beginnings of a smile appearing on his expression. "It's nice to meet you, Kirishima. What do you say we keep this bucket of bolts busy for the next minute or so?"
"Hell yeah!" Kirishima exclaimed, sending his stone skin across both arms in an instant. "Let's give him something to remember us by!"
From then on, it became a dance Danny wasn't expecting.
The zero-pointer continued it's relentless forward motion, trying to take hold of either it's opponents. It's red eyes always remain locked on both Fenton and Kirishima and pursued with absolute determination. Which was what both the hopefuls were hoping for. All attention was on them, allowing many to get well out of the way of the zero-pointer. And the two kept well out of the grasp of the massive bot.
Kirishima was a literal tank, ramming any palm that was opened by the zero-pointer and popping out before it could close, which caused a throwback of the robot's hand and more time for them to breathe. Kirishima kept this role up even as they backed up further down the street, never faltering from his defense.
And when Kirishima couldn't hit, Danny did. He didn't have a lot of energy remaining, but what he did have was being used effectively. Shot after shot slammed against the face of the zero-pointer, keeping it's focus (or lack thereof) solely on them.
With every hit, the bot switched it's attention to Danny, allowing Kirishima to hit and shift its attention to him. This was the way they kept the focus of the massive zero-pointer on them for a majority of the time left. And this was how Danny lasted as long as he did before finally heaving a big gasp and leaning against a building.
"Fenton!" Kirishima called as he jumped back from another run against the bot.
"How… long has it been?" Danny wondered aloud while bringing both arms forward.
"I think we're just about finished," Kirishima said, heaving his own breaths as he kept his eyes focused on the bot. He definitely looked to be as tired as Danny.
The halfa nodded. "Okay, good. That makes what I'm about to do not stupid."
As the rock tank turned to him in confusion, Danny channeled every OUNCE of what remained of his Ghost Energy and focused it into an ever-growing blast.
"I don't want to find out if we lose points or not if that thing catches us. And you and I are pretty much exhausted, Kirishima." The halfa gave an exhausted but enthusiastic smile. "And, if video games have taught me anything, it's to always go for the overkill."
Recovering from Kirishima's push, the zero-pointer moved forward, shifting to seize it's opponents once again. The street rumbled and cracked with such force, Danny's teeth smacked together. With time almost up, it seemed the bot wasn't holding anything back anymore for this final attempt.
Neither was Danny.
With a yell that sounded to him like a scream of both frustration and finality, the ghost boy fired the last of his energy forward all at once, sending a massive glowing green beam straight up and to the side of the zero-pointers face.
It impacted with a resonating CLANG, causing the bot to whip back with such force, it's armor screeched under the sudden shift. A sizable dent was now visible on the exterior right side face armor of the massive beast as it stumbled back somewhat, crashing into a side building and losing all ground it had gained in it's final advance against the two boys.
The ground shook once more as both metal and steel came crashing down to the street, sending a wave of dust scattering across the area and towards the two.
"Nice freaking shot!" Kirishima exclaimed in joy.
Danny couldn't really answer back however, seeing as how he was falling to the ground, exhaustion hitting him fully the moment the energy left his body.
All that energy… and I only dented it. They REALLY need to tell me how they designed these robots.
He felt himself fall against the road, feeling satisfied that the test was finally over. A small part of him worried over the points he lacked, but it wasn't really the centerpoint of his thoughts. What really mattered to Danny's at the moment was a moment to catch his breath. And the words of Present Mic that bounced off the walls that were like music to his ears.
"TIME IS UP, KIDDOOOOOSSSS!"
Danny felt himself exhale a breath he didn't even know he was holding.
The test had started out easy. But he could definitely see now why it was called one of the hardest hero exams in the city. He felt his body was made of mush and his limbs were gone, almost similar to how he was after his fight with Sero.
The halfa was aware of Kirishima helping him up, but not much else. And definitely not of the crumbling wall of a gutted building breaking off and falling towards the two boys.
SNAP
Immediately, there was a whip like crack in the air, followed by a very determined and very familiar "KERO".
Danny felt a pressure wrap around and pull him into the air at the same moment Kirishima let out a confused "GWAH?!", pulling them out of the way of a falling wall as it crashed to the already damaged road.
As quick as lightning, both Danny and Kirishima found themselves pressed and tied together by a red tendril that balanced them in the air with care.
"What the heck just happened?" Kirishima asked incredulously.
"Kero. It looked like you and Fenton were in trouble. I figured you could use the help."
Danny, even though he was half-exhausted, felt himself smile and chuckle as he looked up at the girl. "Well, that's two I owe you now, Tsu. One for the chair, one for now…. hang on, did you just rescue us with your tongue?"
"What?!" Kirishima exclaimed. "How?! That's so awesome!"
The green haired girl, clinging to the side of one of the buildings like a spider, gave him a nod of her head as she made her way back to the road. All while keeping her VERY long tongue stretched out a ways down to keep both the boys close to the ground. "Kero. It's the most versatile aspect of my Quirk," Tsu replied as she hopped to the road and slowly lowered both Danny and Kirishima down. "Certainly the quickest and strongest option. I probably wouldn't have been able to save you as fast if I hadn't used it. And you don't owe me anything, Fenton. After all, it's only right for me to make sure my friends keep smart and safe."
"... I have so many questions about both of your powers, you don't even know." Danny said with a tired smile to his two companions after a moment to process what had just occurred. He couldn't even begin to think in detail what went on throughout the space of the Entrance Exam. But he still knew what he had to be thankful for. Something he had never really appreciated before: help when he really needed it. "Thanks, you guys. For everything. The test would have been a lot more painful without your help."
"Don't mention it!" Kirishima said with another smile. "From one hero to another, right?"
Tsu nodded. "Kero."
Both Tsu and Kirishima smiled at him. And, for the first time all day, Danny felt himself relax. He didn't know if it was from the completion of the test or from the fact that these aspiring heroes, people like he used to be, were willing to put themselves on the line to help him. Like he belonged and always belonged in this world of heroes.
But that wasn't exactly for him to decide anymore. Now, it was all in the fate of the UA staff evaluating his performance. And, as the trio followed the crowd of other hopefuls for the beginnings of their after-test healing, Danny couldn't help but feel a pang of returning nervousness.
But there was also determination. He had messed up his first chance at becoming who he wanted to be. But, if UA gave him another, things would be different. There wouldn't be another wasted chance.
Not while he held that chance.