13 Chapter 13 - The USJ

"Today's training will be a little different."

Aizawa stood before the class, his usual sardonic voice droning over the hushed class. "You'll have three instructors," He continued. "Me, All Might, and another faculty member will be keeping tabs on you." The students all murmured to each other. Three pros? Izuku thought. Is that because of the break in?

A few days ago, the school had been in uproar when the intruder alarm sounded suddenly during the lunch hour. The students had panicked and ran amok as the building was stormed by story-hungry reporters all chomping at the bit for a chance to interview the Symbol of Peace turned UA Teacher, All Might.

The reporters were repelled and order was soon restored to the school, but the fact that they were able to get through UA's security system was a frightening thought. Though the teachers had tried to maintain that everything was status quo, it had not escaped Izuku's notice that security measures seemed to increase around the school.

"Sir!" Sero raised his hand suddenly. "What kind of training is this?"

"Rescue," Responded Aizawa, holding up a large card with the word "RESCUE" embossed in blue bold across it. "You'll be dealing with natural disasters, shipwrecks, stuff like that."

"Disasters, huh?" Said Kiminari smiling nervously. "Sounds like we're in for a big workout."

"Real hero stuff," Said Kirishima. "This is what separates the men from the boys!"

Aizawa activated the costume lockers. "This special training is at an off-campus facility," he said. "So we'll be taking a bus to get there. That's all. Start getting ready."

The students all clambered around the lockers to get their costumes and equipment. Izuku got up to join them. Bruce had trained him extensively on search and rescue and disaster training at the warehouse. He had already demonstrated his prowess in combat, so they all knew he could fight.

Izuku gritted his teeth. All Might was going to be there. Another chance to show the false idol that he not only deserved to be there, but was well on his way to surpass him.

"The bus' open layout completely ruined my boarding strategy," Said Iida sullenly.

"Iida, you really need to chill," Said Mina cheerfully.

The bus jostled slightly as they made their way to their destination. All the students were chatting excitedly. "If we're pointing out the obvious," Said Asui suddenly. "Then there's something I want to say about you." She turned to Izuku.

"Me?" He said. "What about me, Asui?"

"I told you to call me Tsu."

"Sorry."

"You took down arguably three of our strongest classmates almost single-handedly," She said bluntly. "It's not surprising considering you were trained by Batman. I'm actually pretty interested to see how you perform during this exercise. How long have you been his student?

"Eleven Months," Said Izuku.

"No way!" Shouted Kirishima. "You learned all that in eleven months?! What was his training like?"

"Well," Izuku began, but was interrupted by Tsuyu.

"It seems you like to use a lot of explosives," she said. "Do you have any reason why?"

Izuku went silent, averting Tsu's eyes. "Someone I. . . admired," Izuku said finally. "It was his quirk. Explosions."

"Really?" Asked Uraraka, interested. "Sounds dangerous."

"It sounds awesome!" Said Kirishima excitedly. "He must have been strong! Was he a pro? Did he go to UA?"

"No," Said Izuku. "He wasn't a pro. He wanted to go to UA but he. . . never got the chance." A shadow passed over Izuku's eyes. He was sweating, his hands were shaking. He wanted to end the conversation now. After ten seconds of silence, his friends excited expressions turned to concern.

"Midoriya?" Said Kirishima.

"Are you OK?" Asked Tsu.

Izuku was saved from answering by the voice of Aizawa. "We're here." The students all rushed to the window. Over the trees in the distance they saw an enormous, domed structure. It reminded Izuku of Disney's EPCOT building. As the bus pulled to the entrance, they noticed a strange figure waiting for them.

Standing about five feet tall was what looked like to be some sort of an astronaut. He had a large, rolled body layered inside a thick white suit, two large white eyes were visible from inside his darkened domed helmet. Izuku recognized him immediately as the Space Hero, Thirteen.

"Hello, everyone!" Said Thirteen cheerfully. His voice sounded synthetic, as he was speaking through a radio system in his suit. "I've been waiting for you."

The class gathered around, starstruck by the hero's presence. Thirteen had developed a stellar reputation as a hero who specialized in search and rescue. His quirk, Black Hole, allowed him to destroy large amounts of debris and wreckage in minimal time frames, allowing for quick rescue. He has saved more civilians in a single day than most heroes in their entire careers. It would only make sense that he would be heading up this training session.

As they entered the building, Izuku and the others were amazed at the sight before them: a training disaster simulation training grounds that would rival even the Batman's simulators.

"Holy crap!" Said Kirishima. "It looks like some kind of amusement park!"

Thirteen pointed towards each of the areas: "A shipwreck, a landslide, a fire, a windstorm, et. cetera!" He said proudly. "I created this training facility to prepare you to deal with different types of disasters. I call it, the Unforeseen Simulation Joint, but you can call it: USJ!"

Just like Universal Studios Japan, Izuku thought to himself.

"Shouldn't All Might be here already?" Said Aizawa, walking up to Thirteen. "Let me guess, he booked an interview instead."

"Actually, its something else," said Thirteen quietly, holding up three fingers. "Apparently he did too much hero work on the way to school this morning and used up all his power. He's resting in the teacher's lounge."

Izuku scowled. Thought the other students wouldn't know it, Thirteen's three fingers were referring to All Might's three-hour limit. "That man is the height of irresponsibility," said Aizawa, rolling his eyes. "Clock's ticking. Let's get started."

"Listen carefully," said Thirteen to the students. "I'm sure you're aware I have a powerful quirk. It's called Black Hole." Thirteen held up his hand. Each of his five fingers had caps on the end of them. "I can use it to suck up anything and turn it into dust."

Izuku looked at Uraraka. She was hanging onto Thirteen's ever word. He was one of her favorite heroes, after all. "Some of you also have powers that could be dangerous," Thirteen continued. "In our superhuman society, all quirks are certified and stringently regulated, so we often overlook how unsafe they can actually be. Please don't forget that if you lose focus and make the wrong move, your powers can be deadly, even if you're trying to do something virtuous like rescue someone. Today, you're going to use your quirks to save peoples lives. After all, that's what being a hero is all about: ensuring the safety of others."

This resonated strongly with Izuku. Bruce had always told him that the true mark of a hero was not how many enemies you could defeat, but how many lives you can save. Today was the day his training would truly be put to the test.

"Right," said Aizawa. "Now that that's over -"

A large electrical current ran through the lights above them, interrupting Aizawa and startling the students. Behind Aizawa, the fountain in the middle of the USJ sputtered irregularly, and seemed to twist and morph as a black and purple twisting wall began to form. The wall grew larger and larger at a rapid pace, and Aizawa tensed like a cat. The portal erupted in a blast of energy. Something was coming out of it. "Stay together and don't move!" Snapped Aizawa. "Thirteen, protect the students!"

"Has the training started already?" Said Kirishima. "I thought we were rescuing people." Izuku immediately reached to his utility belt, grasping onto a batarang. "Stay back!" Aizawa snapped again. He was placing his goggles on. "This is real. Those are villains." The students gasped in terror. A tall, slender man walked through the wall. He was clad all in black and covered head to toe in what looked to be severed hands. Behind him, one after the other, more and more villains piled in droves out of the wall. There had to be dozens of them.

Finally, the last one came out of the wall. A hulking, bird-like creature, bearing large teeth, two vacant eyes protruding from a see-through, domed structure revealing the creature's brain. It stood at least eight feet tall, rippling muscles across its dark blue body. The Hand-man signaled the creature to stop at his side. The very sight of it drove a chill down Izuku's spine. It wasn't natural.

Izuku tried to turn on his cowl vision. It wasn't functioning. He tried to pull up the interface on his gauntlet computer. It wasn't functioning either. The stark realization of their situation dawned on him. Something was blocking his signal to the batcomputer. He couldn't radio Bruce for help.

They were on their own.