11 Chapter 11 - Combat Training

All Might held the old red hero costume that marked his Silver Age period. It was time for him to teach his first class. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't a little nervous. He always had imagined that he would be a good teacher, but in light of recent events with Midoriya and Batman, now he wasn't so sure.

He was going to be teaching combat training to the class of 1-A. The prospect was daunting to him, especially with Midoriya. He saw his performance in the exam and the Gauntlet, but fighting against machines was very different from fighting against a living person. He had to be sure that things didn't get out of hand. He especially wanted to make sure that Midoriya didn't get hurt.

But there was also a part of him that was excited to see what else Midoriya was capable of.

Since his performance in the gauntlet, Izuku had become quite popular with class 1-A. He had already made some friends, especially with Iida. Despite their animosity when they first met, Izuku found that he was a passionate, helpful and considerate person at heart. He looked up to his brother, the hero Ingenium, and wanted to live up to his legacy, something Izuku respected.

All of the students of class 1-A had great quirks, and Izuku could immediately see why they were chosen for the hero program. He made it a point to study all of their quirks, strengths and weaknesses. Batman had lectured Izuku intensely on the importance of knowing the full extent of a subject's ability, even if that subject is your ally.

"Allegiances are never set in stone," Batman had said. "At any time, any given moment, your ally could become your enemy. Knowing what they can do and how to bring them down could be the difference between lives saved and lives lost."

It had been a hard lesson to learn at first. He idolized the hero community, and to think that any one of them could turn rogue was a frightening thought.

Conversely, word had spread quickly throughout the school that UA had accepted its first quirkless student. Izuku would receive awkward glances and conversations would hush as he passed them. On occasion, he could hear their whispered conversations:

"Is that him?"

"That's him, the quirkless kid."

"How did he even get in?"

"I hear he was sponsored."

"No, he passed the entrance exam. They say he took down the zero-pointer."

" No way! "

"Some of the students from class 1-A say he even passed The Gauntlet."

"Aizawa's student crusher? I don't believe it."

"I guess we'll see how long he lasts."

Izuku had grown used to the attention, but still found it annoying. But he wouldn't let it distract him. He had to remain focused if he wanted to surpass them.

Back in class 1-A, Izuku was going over his notebook silently to himself when -

"I AM HERE!" A voice shouted into the classroom. Izuku jumped to see All Might, in full hero form, dramatically posing in the doorway. "Coming through the door like a hero!"

The class gazed in awe and wonder as All Might marched to the front of the room. They were chatting to each other, excited that All Might was teaching here, amazed and star struck that they could see the number one hero in person.

Izuku's face remained passive, but his stomach was churning into knots. It had been over ten months since their meeting on the rooftop. Despite his appearance now, in his mind's eye, Izuku could see through it to the thin, sickly character underneath. Izuku had completely disavowed the hero after their meeting, and seeing him in person again brought back unpleasant memories: the sludge monster, his dream dying, and worst of all, Kacchan. When All Might got to the front of the room, his shadowy eyes seemed to focus squarely on Izuku, who simply returned to his notebook as if he noticed nothing.

All Might coughed a bit awkwardly. He supposed Izuku's reaction to his presence was only natural. "Welcome to the most important class at UA High!" He said. "Think of it as 'Hero-ing 101!' Here you will learn the basics of being a pro, and what it means to fight in the name of good!"

The class around Izuku was hanging onto All Might's every word. "Right, then, let's get to it!" He said. In dramatic fashion, he thrust forward a large card in his hand that said "BATTLE" on it. "Today we'll pull no punches. Fight training!" The class started murmuring to themselves again.

"Real combat?"

"This early?"

"Well, it is UA High."

"But one of the keys of being a hero," Continued All Might, pointing to the side wall of the class. "Is looking good!" sections of the wall began to open, revealing several numbered locker compartments, each one containing a different hero costume for the Class 1-A students. "These were designed for you based on your quirk registration forms and the requests you sent in before school started. Get yourselves suited up and meet me at Training Ground Beta!"

With a flash, All Might dashed out of the classroom and disappeared down the hallway. All the students gathered around their respective numbers. Izuku opened his locker with a smile. All the students had costumes that were designed by an exclusive clothing company partnered with the school. He was the only one who didn't have a suit made with that company. When he was accepted, he had already come up with a few designs, but never got a chance to send in the form. When he went to the Warehouse the night he was accepted, Bruce and Alfred had already surprised him with a suit that they had made for him based on his designs, with some personal additions from Bruce, all compliments of WayneTech.

Now it would be the perfect time for a field test.

The students all entered into the training grounds. Each student had a unique costume that was specific to how their quirks. Ranging from all different types of colors and materials, they all looked like they had come straight out of a comic book.

Izuku stepped out of the shadow of the gate entry into the light of the Training Grounds. He wore a black jumpsuit made from a composite of Kevlar and ballistic nylon, with flexible carbon armor plating sewn directly into it. The plating was heavier on his chest, abdominals, and shoulders. His hands and forearms were covered by heavy-duty combat gauntlets, made from the same flexible carbon composite, with three curved blades sticking from the sides. His right gauntlet had a minicomputer in the top of the arm that connected by satellite to the batcomputer.

His boots were thick and insulated, designed for combat and functionality. He wore a black hood to cover his wavy green hair, and a black mask that covered his eyes and face. The eyes allowed him to connect to the batcomputer for cowl vision and detective mode. The mask also served as a voice modulator and respirator for emergencies. The mask connected to and covered his ears, allowing him to utilize radio contact, but also used external sensors to heighten his hearing and peripheral senses.

At his waist was his trademark gray utility belt, but with more gadgets and useful support items attached to it, including his trusty grapple gun, remote-control batarangs, and a few grenade canisters of his own design. To top it all off, there was a small, black bat symbol etched into the right breast plating.

The group marveled at their costume designs. When Izuku walked out, they all took a moment to take in his costume. Izuku looked like a soldier ready to go to war.

"That costume is so cool!" Shouted Kirishima, the red, spiky-haired student. "I didn't know you could have weapons."

"Some heroes have support items to help them with their quirks," Said Aoyama, the blonde-haired boy with a penchant for fashion. "Like me with my navel laser," he added, brandishing his large belt.

"But Midoriya doesn't have a quirk," Said Yaoyarozu, the student with the large pony-tail. "So if that's the case, these are offensive items, are they not?"

Izuku found the attention a little overwhelming. "Some of them," Said Izuku simply, his voice filtering through the mask. "I have many tools."

"That's so cool Deku!" Said Uraraka. Izuku took a moment to notice her costume. She wore a skin-tight bodysuit with large gauntlets and boots, as well as a helmet with a clear visor. It was lucky that he was wearing a mask, otherwise she would have seen him blushing. "I should have been more specific about what I wanted," She explained. "This bodysuit is not really my style."

"All right, students!" Shouted All Might. They all lined up, turning their attention to him. "Now that you're ready, it's time for combat training!"

"Sir," Said a student in heavy armor. "I have a question."

That's Iida's voice, thought Izuku. So, that's him under there. I see he wanted to go for an Ingenium-type look. Pretty cool.

"This is the fake city from our entrance exam," Iida remarked. "Does that mean we are going to be doing urban battles again?"

"Not quite," said All Might, holding up two fingers. "I'm going to move you two steps ahead. Most of the villain fights you see on the news take place outside. However, statistically speaking, run-ins with the most dastardly evildoers take place indoors. Truly intelligent criminals stay hidden in the shadows." Batman had informed Izuku of the same statistic. This is the exact reason for Batman's modus operandi . If one controls the shadows, the villains have nowhere to hide.

"For this training exercise," Continued All Might. "You'll be split into teams of good guys and bad guys and fight two on two indoor battles."

"Isn't this a little advanced?" Said Asui, the frog-like student.

"The best training is what you get on the battlefield," Said All Might enthusiastically. "But remember, you can't just punch a robot this time. You're dealing with actual people now." All Might paused, his finger bouncing from one person to the next as he counted the students. "I see that we are an uneven group, so two teams will be paired up as three on three."

All Might had the team draw lots to decide the match up. Izuku was a part of one of the three on three teams, paired up with Uraraka and Shoji, the student with tentacle-like arms that can morph into different appendages. The other three on three team consisted of Iida, Todoroki, and Kirishima.

All Might took out a paper. "Right," he said. "Now that the teams have been selected, here is your objective: the villains have hidden a nuclear missile somewhere in their hideout. The heroes must try and foil their plans. To do that, the good guys have to catch the evildoers or recover the weapon. Likewise, the bad guys succeed if they protect their payload or capture the heroes."

"We're going to have our three on three teams go first," said All Might, reaching into two boxes, one reading "Villains" and one reading "Heroes." Upon drawing, it was determined that Izuku's team were going to be the heroes for this battle.

The class walked over to an empty building that would act as the villain team's hideout. "Bad guys, you can go on in and set up," said All Might. "In five minutes, the heroes will be let loose."

Iida, Todoroki, and Kirishima went in. Kirishima and Iida were already discussing strategy. Before going in, Todoroki shot a sideways look at Izuku, one that he could not quite place the meaning of. Izuku shrugged it off, and turned to his team.

"Ok guys," He said. "We're up against some staunch competition. We're going to need to keep our guard up. Let's do our best out there."

"Yeah!" Said Uraraka, throwing her fist in the air. Shoji merely nodded in acknowledgment. As the rest of the class left with All Might to the control room to watch, Izuku realized that this would be the first time he had ever worked in a team like this before. He had learned a great deal from Bruce, but he preferred to work alone, and that philosophy rubbed off on Izuku.

But Alfred saw things differently, and on one occasion even made a point of quoting Winston Churchill to him: "There is only one thing worse than fighting with allies, and that is fighting without them."

And right now, Izuku could use all the allies he could get.

"Even though this is training," said Iida. "It pains me to be aligned with criminal behavior."

Iida, Kirishima, and Todoroki had made their way upwards to the fake nuclear missile. They were readying themselves for the coming battle. Iida was meticulously going over the room, taking in all the details as if with a fine-tooth comb.

"No sweat, dude!" Said Kirishima cheerfully. "This is just a fake battle after all. Let's just win this thing!"

"You really think it will be that easy?" Said Todoroki quietly, inspecting the missile. "Against Midoriya?"

"You're right," said Iida. "He has proven himself to be a formidable opponent, both during the entrance exam and The Gauntlet. We must not underestimate him."

"And then there are the others," said Todoroki. "We don't know much about them, other than their quirks."

"Well," said Iida. "Shoji seems to be more geared towards reconnaissance, while Uraraka is able to make things float. It was effective during the exam, but I'm not sure how well they would fare against humans."

"Regardless, we'll have to stay one step ahead of them," said Todoroki. "I'll stay here and guard the missile. Iida, your speed could come in handy, perhaps you can scout ahead for them?"

"Of course," said Iida.

"I can take on Midoriya," said Kirishima confidently. "No way he'll get past my quirk!"

"Then it's settled," said Todoroki.

"Teams A and D!" All Might's voice yelled over the speakers. "Your time starts now!"

"I can hear them," said Shoji, one of his arms contorted into a large ear, the other a mouth he was speaking from. "They're on the third floor."

"Confirmed," Said Izuku, his mask distorting his voice into a deep bass. He was looking upward, the goggles of his mask glowing blue. Before the exam started, he calibrated his detective vision to focus on body temperature. Detective vision could see though the walls and the floors. Just as Shoji said, three red shapes were gathered together on the third floor. One of them took off with blinding speed. "Iida's on the move," Izuku added. "He must be scouting ahead."

"What about Kirishima and Todoroki?" Asked Shoji.

"It looks like Kirishima took off in the opposite direction," Izuku replied. "I believe that Todoroki is staying behind to guard the missile."

"How can you tell?" Asked Uraraka.

"The detective vision in my goggles can detect body heat," replied Izuku. "One of them has an irregular temperature to them: half red and half blue. It must be Todoroki's quirk." Izuku turned back to Shoji and Uraraka. "I have a plan, but we don't have much time. Iida will be on us in minutes."

Izuku took two canisters off his utility belt and handed them to Shoji and Uraraka. "Take these," he said. "One for each of you, so you have to make them count."

"What are they?" Asked Uraraka.

"Adhesive grenades," Said Izuku. "They'll release a glue-like substance once the pin is pulled. Iida's speed is impressive, but it's because of the engines in his calves. This means that his speed is limited to his legs."

"So you're saying," Said Shoji. "Take out his legs, and we've got him?"

"Exactly."

"What about Kirishima?" Said Uraraka.

"Kirishima's quirk is 'hardening,'" said Izuku. "That suggests he's limited to close-quarters combat. I'll engage him myself. Once he's down, you two will rendezvous on the second floor, by the window."

"The window?" Asked Shoji. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to confront Todoroki," said Izuku. "And here is what I need you to do. . ."

Iida sped through the hallways at lightning speed. If he could find the hero team quickly, perhaps he could use the capture tape All Might had given them against them and end this battle quickly.

"Come out, you hero dogs!" He said in his best villain voice. He had concluded that since he was playing a villain in this scenario, he should act the part to the best of his ability. "I will find you!"

That's when he saw him. There was Midoriya, standing down the hallway clear as day. "Aha!" Exclaimed Iida. "You can't escape me now, hero!" As quick as he could, he ran towards Izuku, capture tape in hand.

With blinding speed, so quick that Iida had almost missed it, Midoriya had pulled a small orb from his belt and threw it to the ground. The orb erupted in a puff of smoke, catching Iida off guard. He tried to stop before hitting the smoke, but he was running at full speed, causing him to slip and stumble into the smoke.

The smoke stung his eyes and lungs. Coughing, he waved his hand to clear the air. After a minute, the smoke dissipated, and Midoriya was gone. "Todoroki, Kirishima," said Iida to his comlink. "I lost Midoriya."

"How?" Replied Todoroki's voice.

"He. . . disappeared in a cloud of smoke," Even as he said it, Iida knew it sounded ridiculous.

"He what? " said Kirishima.

"I'll find him, don't worry," said Iida, getting up and taking off again.

"Where'd he go?"

"I just saw him, then he disappeared when he threw that smoke bomb!"

"Can he even do that?"

"He just did !"

The students were all chattering among each other as they watched the battle on the security monitors. All Might had to admit, it was a clever way to avoid capture. After a minute or so, Iida resumed his course, looking for the hero team.

After they split up, Midoriya went off alone, while Shoji and Uraraka went off together. Iida had arrived a few minutes later and quickly caught up to Midoriya. This was the whole purpose of the test: pitting students against each other to see how well they could plan and adapt to changes. Midoriya was already proving his ability to do so with Iida. But the battle was just starting, and he had to do more if he wanted to win.

Iida was trying to catch up with Midoriya, but he wasn't sure which way he went. As he continued to run, he began to think he had gone the wrong way when -

A small canister rolled into his path. Iida had just managed to see it in time as it exploded into a pale ooze across the floor. He knew he didn't have time to stop. Thinking quickly, he leaped into the air, his momentum carrying him over the ooze and landing him to safety. He turned to see a startled Uraraka in the corridor the canister rolled from. "Nice try, hero!" Said Iida. "But you weren't quick enough!" He pulled the capture tape from his belt and proceeded towards her.

But there was a loud "POP" near his feet, startling him. He couldn't move.

He looked down at his feet. They were encased in the ooze, past his engine mufflers, restricting his quirk. He looked over to the ooze that he just leaped over, but it didn't extend farther than a few meters.

He looked down at his feet again and saw it: a second canister. He tried in vain to pull his feet from the ooze, but it was too late. The ooze had hardened. He was trapped.

"In the name of villainy, I demand you to release me!" Said Iida, struggling. Suddenly, he felt two large hands clasp around his wrists, pulling them behind him. He turned back to see Shoji restraining him with the capture tape.

"Midoriya," he said, placing one finger in his ear to activate his comlink. "It worked. Iida is down."

"Iida is what?!"

"Iida is down," repeated Todoroki. "He was captured. You need to stop Midoriya before they get any further."

"That was pretty quick," Kirishima said to himself. He was starting to feel a little anxious, but slapped himself. "Get a hold of yourself. Be a man! You got this!"

Out of nowhere, what looked like a large bat came flying towards Kirishima. He lifted his arms in defense, and the bat hit him with a metallic "clang!" He put his arms down to see a bat-shaped shuriken sticking out of his forearm. Because of his hardened form, it didn't hurt him or go in very far, just enough to stay there. Kirishima looked up. "Midoriya!" He shouted. Izuku turned and ran down the hallway, Kirishima in hot pursuit.

"I found Midoriya," Kirishima said over his comlink. "I'm tailing him now!"

He followed him through two hallways. Kirishima was fast, but Izuku seemed to be much faster. Turning the corner at the end of the second hallway, he stopped dead. The way ahead was dark and foreboding. It didn't feel right. There was no way this was a coincidence. Midoriya led him there on purpose. But he couldn't back down, he had a job to do. Slowly, he pressed on.

"I know you're there, Midoriya," he said into the darkness. "Come out and fight like a man!"

From the shadows, more of the bat-like shurikens came hurtling towards him at blinding speed. Instinctively, Kirishima activated his quirk, and they collided with his rock-like skin, one after the other. This time, however, a few seconds after impact, the shurikens exploded. The force of the explosions knocked him backwards off his feet and into the wall behind him. Shaking his head, he stood up and brushed himself off. He had put a large dent in the wall, but he was otherwise unharmed.

"Nice try, Midoriya!" Said Kirishima. "That's not gonna work on me!"

Without a word, Izuku dropped from the shadowy ceiling and launched his grapple gun towards Kirishima. The grapple hook wrapped around Kirishima's arm as he raised it in defense. Izuku launched the secondary wire of the grapple gun behind him, which attached itself in a wall. The gun recoiled, bringing Kirishima flying across the hall, past Izuku, and slamming into the wall on the other end with a loud crash. Kirishima lay there a moment, and then staggered to his feet.

"Is that all you got?!" He said defiantly.

"Actually, I was testing you," said Izuku. "I wanted to see how durable your skin really is."

"Well, as you can see, not much can hurt me when I'm in this form," said Kirishima proudly.

"That makes me feel better," said Izuku.

Kirishima blinked. "For what?"

Izuku pressed the button on the explosive gel detonator.

The floor beneath Kirishima exploded, crumbling and falling through the ceiling below, sending him with it. He kept falling, and falling, and falling, finally landing with a loud crash, like the sound of a boulder falling off a cliff.

Izuku leaned over the crater, staring into the rubble three floors down. "You all right?" He called after him. Kirishima returned a weak thumbs up before passing out.

I like him, Izuku thought to himself. He's got spirit. Izuku raised Uraraka and Shoji on his comlink. "Kirishima is down. Now for the final phase."

"Did you see that?!" Shouted Mineta, the short, purple-haired student. The class was chattering in amazement. All Might found himself once again surprised beyond measure at Midoriya's resourcefulness.

Midoriya and Kirishima were on the third floor. Not only did Midoriya rig the floor beneath him to explode, but the two floors under him had exploded as well, sending him down three stories into the rubble below. He used the explosive batarangs and the grapple gun maneuver to test the density of Kirishima's skin before carrying out his plan. If his skin didn't hold up against them, it wouldn't have held up against the fall. He didn't want to hurt Kirishima, just incapacitate him. This was all calculated and planned in advance.

This kid was good. Really good.

"Kirishima? Kirishima?"

Todoroki had heard the explosion and tried to raise Kirishima on his comlink. As he had expected: radio silence. He was on his own.

It wouldn't be long now until Midoriya was upon him. He had to act fast. He threw up a wall of ice around the missile and himself. He didn't think it would stop him, but it would at least slow him down. If he did manage to get through the ice, Midoriya would still have to contend with him.

And so he waited.

After a minute, he could see the silhouette of Midoriya through the ice. He was inspecting the wall Todoroki created. Todoroki readied himself. He guessed that Midoriya was looking for the right spot to place his explosives. But instead, he put both hands on the ice wall. After a few seconds Todoroki saw a crack in the ice wall. Before he could react, Midoriya punched his way through, shattering the ice wall like glass.

"How?" Was all Todoroki could say. Izuku lifted his hands. They were glowing red in the palms.

"Thermal gloves," He said. "My mentor has faced a few ice villains in his time, and he designed my suit with an environmental regulator. He's not one to leave things to chance."

"I see," said Todoroki. "Let's see how well it works against my ice."

Todoroki launched a flurry of frost and ice at Izuku, who leaped away in the nick of time. Todoroki didn't let up his barrage, and continued to throw his ice while Izuku continued to dodge.

"I see you're only using your right side," said Izuku, back-flipping over two ice pillars sent his way. "That coincides with the white in your hair. I wondered about that."

"Hold still!" Todoroki was getting annoyed. His ice was more effective in large open spaces. It was difficult to use freely in tight, enclosed spaces, such as the hideout room. It didn't help that Midoriya was so quick on his feet and maneuverable.

"You're Endeavor's son, aren't you?" Izuku said.

Todoroki froze. He stopped throwing ice and stood dead in his tracks, as if his mind had stopped functioning properly at the mention of his father. "I recognize your last name," Izuku said. "And you were one of four students who were admitted on recommendation, which would make sense since Endeavor is the number two hero and alumni at this school." Todoroki didn't know what to say. The way he explained it sounded so simple, but so bizarre at the same time.

"That begs the question," Izuku continued. "Does that mean your left side is fire?"

Todoroki's eyes widened. His hands were shaking. He looked at his right arm, which was covered in frost. He had used too much of his ice, he was feeling cold.

"Why don't you use your left side?" Asked Midoriya. It wasn't mocking, but a genuine question. "If it's anything like your ice, it must be immensely powerful."

"Stop talking!" Todoroki shouted, blasting more ice at Midoriya. He drew three explosive batarangs from his belt and threw them towards Todoroki, who threw up his hands in defense. The batarangs arched and flew past Todoroki, missing the missile by inches and embedding themselves into the wall behind it.

"Foolish," said Todoroki. "If this were real, and you hadn't missed, we'd all be dead."

"I didn't miss," Said Izuku. Pressing the detonator, he shouted into his comlink: "Uraraka, Shoji, now!!"

The wall behind Todoroki exploded, revealing to his shock Shoji and Uraraka, suspended in midair outside the building where the wall used to be.

Before Todoroki could react, he felt something heavy and strong wrap around him, pinning his arms to his side. Izuku had thrown a wire bola around him to keep him from attacking. Shoji, using all his strength, threw Uraraka towards the missile, who continued to keep them both suspended in midair.

All Todoroki could do was watch as Uraraka made contact with the missile, wrapping her arms and legs around it and hugging the side of it tightly. There was a pause, and over the speakers came All Might's booming voice:

"Team A wins!!"

The class cheered behind All Might. He breathed a heavy sigh of relief. The clean-up robots began their work, and Midoriya was checking on his classmates.

Midoriya and his team came through this exercise unscathed, due to his strategy and leadership. Not only did he prove he was capable of operating against foes with strong quirks, but he was able to work in a team function.

Simply put, he smashed this exercise.

All Might felt he could no longer deny it. Midoriya was becoming a hero. Bruce had trained him better than he ever could. Perhaps all this time he was wrong. Maybe you didn't need a quirk to be a hero. What would Nana think -

Nana.

All For One.

All Might's heart dropped. He still remembered that day, when All For One's reign of terror came to an end. The sheer power of a hundred years worth of stolen quirks raging against him. He was nearly killed, and in the end was very lucky to walk away with just a hole in his side.

It was true, Midoriya was strong, and getting stronger every day. But would it be enough?

Only time will tell.