35

2Chapter 35: The Provisional License Exam Begins

"Now, we've all heard the rumblings in the ether about who could potentially be the next Number One Hero in Japan," spoke the Grand Priest of the Creature Rejection Clan on his ornate pulpit as he addressed the masses of hooded followers to their righteous cause. "Odds have either that filthy, avian scum, Hawks, or that bunny bitch, Mirko. This is what our proud nation has come to: being represented by a couple of fucking muties! It's repulsive!"

"THEY WILL NOT REPLACE US!" the assembly chanted, raising their lit candlesticks in solidarity.

"No, they shall not!" the Grand Priest continued. "We've been carefully planning our strike for many moons, and the day of our great, human nation's salvation is drawing near. The coming Hero Billboard Chart JP will play host to a number of disgusting creatures and the race traitors that continue to allow them to exist."

The Grand Priest's furious gaze narrowed through the holes in the mask of his red cowl signifying his status, different from the white cowls worn by the rest of the CRC. "One of these race traitors was such a promising boy, but he proved to be nothing more than a lost wretch: Izuku Midoriya. A boy with such power, such promise, such potential to lead our cleansed society to a new tomorrow was nothing more than a tainted bunny-lover!"

"HANG THE BUNNY-LOVER!" the assembly chanted with another raise of their candlesticks.

"And we shall, but another time," the Grand Priest nodded. "For now, our siege of the Hero Billboard Chart JP is paramount. No muties will ever sit upon the throne that once belonged to our blonde, blue-eyed Symbol of Peace!"

"SLAUGHTER THE HERETICS!" chanted the assembly.

"We have already begun the process of obtaining tickets and flooding the arena with undercover CRC operatives," the Grand Priest began once again. "When the mutants have taken their place on stage, we will strike and eliminate the scourge. Hawks, Mirko, Wash, Gang Orca, and perhaps even Shishido should he be present will all be cleansed, as well as any mutants in the audience.

"Now, as for the pure humans in attendance, unless they attack first, do not engage. Allow the mutant-lovers to expose themselves to be purged alongside the animals they choose to lay in the dirt with. If you can smuggle firearms into the building, do not shoot our targets unless they shoot first. That's much too good for those animals. We're going to beat those mutant-lovers to death, and I'm going to personally clip and strip that crimson cockatoo myself!"

The assembly chanted in agreement once more, but one man in the front of the group was having trouble with the hood of his cowl. Readjusting the mask so that he could see better to no avail, he huffed in aggravation. "Damn, I can't see fucking shit out of this thing."

Little did he know, he was not the only one having issues with his mask.

"We ready or what?" another man asked, wishing to continue with the Grand Priest's sermon.

"Hold on, I'm fucking with my eyehole-" he started to respond until a tear could be heard throughout the room. "Ah shit… I just made it worse."

"Who made these fucking masks, anyway?" another disgruntled follower bemoaned, snatching his uncomfortable mask off his cowl.

"Kenjaku's wife," the first man answered.

"Well, make your own goddamn masks!" Kenjaku fired back defensively.

"Look, nobody's saying they don't appreciate what Kaori did," the Grand Priest sighed, having his own issues with the masks that he opted to keep to himself to avoid this very discussion.

"Well, if all I had to do was cut a hole in a sack, I could have cut it better than this!" The second man retorted.

"What about you, Denji; can you see?" another follower asked the teen beside him.

"Not too good," Denji answered. "I mean, if I don't move my head, I can see you pretty good, more or less. But when I start moving, the mask is moving all over, and I'm pretty blind."

Near the exasperated Grand Priest was a man with spiky, white hair that removed his mask to widen the eyeholes, but his mask tore, as well. "Shit. Did anyone bring any extra bags by chance?"

"No, Tobirama, nobody brought an extra bag!" an irritated clansman shouted.

"I'm simply asking," Tobirama replied.

"So, we have to wear them when we attack?" another clansman asked.

"Of course, we do!" the Grand Priest scolded. "If we don't wear them when we attack, that just defeats the purpose of having them!"

"But… we're not wearing them when we enter the stadium," the man countered.

"Because we'll be undercover, monkey!" the Grand Priest lost his patience.

"There's no need for name-calling," the clansman responded.

"Well, I can't see in this fucking thing!" the second clansman shouted, tearing the mask off. "I can't breathe in this fucking thing, and I can't fight in this fucking thing!"

"Well, fuck you all, I'm going home!" Kenjaku huffed as he stood up and stormed to the door. "I watched my wife get 30 bags together for you ungrateful sons of bitches, and all I hear is 'criticize, criticize, criticize'! From now on, don't ask me or mine for shit-"

The door was kicked open before Kenjaku could grab the knob, sending him tumbling back to the rest of the assembly and putting them all on guard. In walked Tomura staring dispassionately at the assembled bigots, followed closely behind by Spinner glaring venomously at them with Twice and Mr. Compress flanking him on either side. Rounding out the group was Kurogiri at the rear, his glowing, yellow gaze making the entire room uncomfortable as he is wont to do.

However, the Grand Priest snarled and slammed his hands to the podium in front of him. "Who are you, and how dare you soil these sacred grounds with the presence of subhuman aberrations?!"

Tomura didn't respond, simply looking back at his reptilian comrade. "Spin, you want the first crack at this one?"

Spinner's glare narrowed through the updated mask over his eyes, switching out the white mask worn by Stain with a blue one to establish his own identity (though he kept the scarf to continue paying tribute). Stepping forward, he unsheathed the two katanas from his back, each one sporting a blue wrap around the handle the same shade as his mask.

"Creature Rejection Clan, you have no place among civilized society!" Spinner declared, readying his blades for battle. "You will be purged for the betterment of mankind!"

The Grand Priest stared at the gecko-man in disgust, and then turned to the assembly. "Do you all hear this inane, fanatical bullshit? Lynch this lizard and his band of race traitors!"

"YOU WILL NOT REPLACE US!" the assembly chanted and charged for the group, Spinner unleashing his own battle cry and meeting the charge head-on.

The massive structure that was National Dagobah Arena loomed over the 1-A like a hungry titan. Cast in its imposing shadow were 18 nervous students about to engage in the culmination of the tumultuous journey they had embarked on since first setting foot on UA's grounds for the entrance exam. Several throats were dry. Others were vibrating in a mixture of excitement and anxiety. Two pairs of eyes narrowed at the building in an effort to mask the unease they felt.

"Let's go beat up some kids from other schools!"

And then there was Izuku, projecting the essences of both his mother and his pseudo-aunt as best as he could to alleviate not only his own anxiety, but the anxiety of his classmates, as well. He could feel the mounting tension shatter with a few snorts amongst them, and he smirked victoriously.

"Midoriya's right!" Kirishima chimed in with a wide grin, blissfully unaware of the giant teen approaching from behind. "Let's call out the usual, you guys. On my mark: go plus-"

"ULTRA!" the interloper finished, snatching everyone's attention to his overly excited joining of a rival school's slogan.

"…You know, it's pretty rude to barge into other people's huddles like that, Inasa," a boy with a straight, purple fringe covering his left eye scolded as he and another student in the same uniform wandered up to the group.

Izuku watched the peculiar scene unfold alongside his classmates, peaking when the tall boy in question, Inasa, apologetically bowed with such ferocity that he cracked the ground with his head. Looking over their uniforms, Izuku recognized them to be from Shiketsu High School, UA's rival in the west. Their heroics program was not only comparable, but directly competitive to their own.

"I wanted to say it just once, PLUS ULTRA!" Inasa excitedly shouted, completely ignoring the blood trickling down his forehead from the earlier impact with the concrete. "See, I really love UA High School! I'm extremely honored to compete against such incredible students!"

…They also certainly weren't lacking in enthusiasm. Izuku's hand ignited in pink flame, and he walked towards the excited teen, extending his arm up to reach the bleeding head wound and sharing the healing fire with him.

"You, uh, you got a little something up there," Izuku awkwardly muttered as his pink flames danced on the boy's head and closed up the wound.

"Oh, wow, it's you!" Inasa remarked, somehow even more excited upon fully processing who was tending to his wound. "Izuku Midoriya! You were so awesome in the UA Sports Festival! And your mom is really awesome, too!"

Putting aside how strange it was for someone to be fanboying over himself and his mother, him mentioning the sports festival made him consider something important: they were all at an inherent disadvantage against everyone else taking the exam by virtue of having their abilities broadcasted internationally. Muttering a "thanks" to Inasa before he forgot to respond entirely, he caught his teacher's eye and tried to convey his worry to the man, to which Aizawa nodded, already knowing where the boy's train of thought was taking him.

Izuku sighed in resignation, cutting off his quirk before realizing that the excitable boy was already gone and standing before Shoto in another deep bow (thankfully, he hadn't brained himself on the concrete this time).

"I'd like to deeply apologize for misjudging you, Todoroki," Inasa stated, his voice now subdued. "At the recommendation exam, the look you had in your eyes was very reminiscent of your father's, so I assumed you were just like him. When he came clean at his press conference, it recontextualized things. I hope you can forgive me one day."

Okay, this was weird. Judging by Shoto's confused and mildly uncomfortable expression, Izuku knew his friend was feeling it, too.

"Uh... what?" Shoto finally responded. He recognized the boy from the recommendation exam, but he didn't have the slightest clue what he was on about.

"Inasa, let's go!" the purple-haired student from earlier called as he and the others from Shiketsu made their way towards the arena.

Inasa sprang to his feet, bid 1-A adieu, and followed after his schoolmates into the exam, leaving an utterly bewildered 1-A in his wake.

"…There's no way that guy's real, right?" Mineta asked his equally dumbstruck classmates.

"Inasa Yoarashi," Aizawa began, earning their undivided attention. "He's strong. He's the same year as you all, and he received the top score among all recommendation students, but for some unknown reason, he turned down his acceptance and enrolled in Shiketsu instead."

"Our age?" Kaminari balked. "That's a grown man!"

"Don't let your guard down," Aizawa advised. "He's the real deal. Keep an eye-"

"Eraser!"

"Fucking hell," Aizawa's heart sank into his colon as he groaned.

"I saw you at the sports festival, but it's been a while since we've been so close in person!" Ms. Joke called out as she made her way over.

"Not long enough," Aizawa started to mutter before a gloved hand mushed his face, and Ms. Joke brushed right past him in favor of her actual target.

"Beacon!" Ms. Joke beamed and ruffled his hair. "How have you been, ya little rascal?"

"I've been doing well," Izuku replied with a smile. "Getting kidnapped was interesting, but I probably wouldn't do it again."

"I hear ya," she laughed. "You try bondage once out of curiosity and realize that it's kind of overrated."

Alright, that wasn't where Izuku was going with that, but whatever.

"Can you not harass my student, Joke?" Aizawa sighed in resigned irritation.

"Nope!" she declined with a grin. "And he was my intern, so that basically makes him our child."

"It almost certainly doesn't."

"So there is a chance, then? That means you're open to getting married after all."

"You are impossible," he unleashed a long-suffering sigh as Ms. Joke guffawed beside him. "So, if you're here, then your students must be, as well."

"That's right!" she confirmed and waved the approaching Ketsubutsu students over. "This is Class 2. There are a few others, but they opted to come in separately."

At the lead of the approaching group was a tall Second-Year with shaggy, dark brown hair, and his gaze immediately zeroed in on Izuku. Quickening his stride, he closed the distance between them and took Izuku's hands in a friendly, enthusiastic greeting.

"Hey, I'm Shindo," the older teen introduced himself with a friendly smile. "Seems like UA's run into a lot of trouble this year. It must've been tough for you."

Izuku quirked an eyebrow at the boy. 'Who the hell does he think he's fooling?'

Next, Shindo latched onto Kaminari to continue his overly friendly greeting and well wishes, then he did the same to Jiro beside him. Izuku turned and caught Bakugo's gaze, and the two had a silent conversation while Shindo was selling his bullshit.

"Is this asshole for real?"

"Let's just hope he's a better hero than he is an actor."

Shindo appeared back in front of Izuku, his smile still firmly in place. "Midoriya, I'm really excited to see you in action! It must've been hard for you with the kidnapping incident. Your fortitude is truly admirable!"

He offered his hand for Izuku to shake. "Today, I'll do my very best to learn from you."

Izuku blinked, then he shrugged and accepted the handshake. "Your smile needs work. I've seen more convincing geniality from a literal villain. Thanks, though."

"Dude, don't be rude!" Kirishima reprimanded, but he was silenced by a grunt from Bakugo.

"The nerd isn't wrong," he said. "His face doesn't match the look in his eyes."

"Don't worry about it," Shindo waived Kirishima's concerns away with his smile. "It just proves how tough his heart is after everything he's endured."

"Hey, get your costumes and head to orientation," Aizawa called out, jolting his class into action. "There's no time to waste."

With every step Dabi took, a fiery imprint was left in the grass underfoot. He calmly wandered through the trees up the mountain he had spent so much time on as a young boy. It was the place where he spilled so much blood, sweat, and tears training himself into the ground just to make his bastard of a father proud. It was always to make his bastard of a father proud.

Then, that night happened, and it was all for nothing.

Now, he was a burned mess that wanted nothing more than to expose that man for the fake, lying piece of dogshit he was before he finally killed him and his little golden boy. So, naturally, he didn't expect the proudest man to ever exist to outright tarnish his legacy by exposing the skeletons in his closet himself, completely undercutting Dabi's machinations at the knees and plunging his entire motivation into the depths of redundancy.

Dabi's already vicious scowl deepened even further. That fucking bastard wasn't supposed to fess up on his own! Dabi was supposed to expose his crimes and the horrible legacy he was responsible for (being Dabi himself) to the world before he burned the bitch to a crisp with the man's own ultimate move. Dabi was supposed to show him that he couldn't run from the past forever and that he reaped exactly what he sowed. Dabi was supposed to destroy faith in heroics and undermine their broken superhuman society, but now, that was all impossible, and it was all because of fucking Endeavor.

Endeavor wasn't supposed to acknowledge his fucking past. He wasn't supposed to stop hiding from his failures. He wasn't supposed to pretend that he wanted to right his wrongs and atone. He was supposed to fucking die!

With a furious yell, Dabi unleashed a plume of blue flame around him, setting the surrounding trees ablaze and quickly igniting a blue forest fire. The sweltering heat stung his scarred, sewed up skin, but he didn't care. Everything he had been planning for so long had come undone in a matter of a single morning. He supposed he could still reveal himself to be Toya Todoroki, but what was even the point? What would that really accomplish? What further damage could he possibly do to that bastard's image that he hadn't already done himself? What would coming out as Endeavor's long thought dead son really do to hero society?

As he stewed in his hatred, he idly thought back on the past few weeks since the undoing of his plans. He didn't even know how many people he had killed in all that time. It didn't really matter anyway; nothing mattered.

The loud snap of a fallen branch amidst the crackling of the flames captured his attention, and he turned to gaze at whoever had enough of a death wish to intrude on his brooding. However, the sight he was met with confused him. Standing a few meters away was a grotesque, grey creature with no arms and an exposed brain that he recognized to be a Nomu.

Why was a fucking Nomu here? Was the League trying to contact him or something? He really didn't want to be part of their little gang after the revelation that Shigaraki was cousins with the Midoriya brat and actively wanted him on their side. He questioned the ashy fuckhead's desire for destruction, particularly after Dabi learned that he killed All For One. Their goals didn't really align, so there was no point in continuing their partnership.

He was strongly considering just torching the creature on the spot, but black sludge suddenly poured out of his mouth, and he fell to his knees as the black gunk enveloped his entire body. He was briefly submerged in jet black nothingness until it faded away, and he was dropped onto a cold, concrete floor. Shaking the cobwebs out of his head, he looked up to see a short, bald man with goggles and a stupid mustache grinning down at him.

"…Do I need an adult?" Dabi asked, idly noting the Nomu that found him in the forest appearing in its own sludge portal.

"I am an adult," Garaki answered with a perverse glee.

Before Dabi could rise to his feet and burn the man to ash, Garaki spoke again. "Toya Todoroki, it has been much too long."

Dabi froze, and a scowl took shape. He was more than prepared to waste the man if he didn't like the answer he would receive to his next question. "Who the fuck are you?"

"I was the one who put you back together all those years ago," Garaki replied.

Dabi's eyes widened as it all came back to him. He woke up on a cold, metal table patched up with thread and staples after he burned himself to a crisp trying to prove himself to Endeavor, and he refused any offers to stay for more treatment in lieu of getting back home…

"Why am I here?" Dabi questioned with narrowed eyes, taking stock of all the Nomu in glass chambers along the wall. "Were you the one making all the Nomus?"

Garaki's grin became even more unhinged. "Ah, I knew you were the competent one of the group."

"Answer my question."

"You're here because you get it."

"What?"

"You get it!" Garaki repeated. "You want wanton destruction and the downfall of society! You live for true chaos! You are fueled by nothing but your hatred and your desire to see the death of your father! You don't have any needless proclivities to self-actualization clouding your judgement, you simply understand the bigger picture! You get it!"

Dabi's narrowed glare had become one of confusion over the course of the doctor's rant.

"I brought you here because you are perfect to see my Lord's desires come to fruition," Garaki continued. "You are far better than that traitorous whelp; you are the one who can truly see the downfall of our society as God intended!"

Dabi wasn't entirely sure what the psycho dwarf was on about, but he could gather that he was probably on the outs with Shigaraki, or perhaps it was the other way around. It didn't really matter either way; the guy had resources, an army of murderous creatures, and a goal that was close enough to his own… or, at least, what his goals once were.

"What's in it for me?" Dabi questioned, opting to bleed the man for as much info and leverage as possible before doing anything else.

"I can fix you," Garaki purred.

Of all the things Dabi was expecting to possibly come out of the man's mouth, that was not one of them.

"Explain," he demanded with a steely glare.

Garaki grinned like a cat that finally caught the canary. "I can negate the one thing keeping you from truly unleashing hell on this world and wiping your father from existence. I can strengthen your body beyond your wildest dreams and allow you to unleash the full breadth of your quirk's power whenever you wish without consequence. I can make you what you were meant to be: even greater than your father."

"…I'm listening."

The massive collection of hero hopefuls had gotten into their costumes and congregated in the room designated for orientation. It was a room that was probably a bit too small to hold over 1500 people, but they made it work, nonetheless.

"Alright then, let's do this exam thing," an exhausted voice reverberated through the room, bringing everyone's attention to the disheveled man in the unkempt suit standing at a podium at the front of the room. "I'm from the Hero Public Safety Commission. The name's Mera."

Emerald eyes hardened at the reveal of the man's employment with the HPSC. Beside him were a few other men in much more crisp suits that were likely from the Commission, as well. Izuku took a few calming breaths; it wouldn't do to slip and set a man on fire right before the exam that would grant him a provisional license.

He could do that afterward.

He was snapped out of his musings by a soft hand lightly running down his back, and he turned to see his best friend gazing at him with nothing but concern.

"Are you okay, Izuku?" Ochako asked, worry bleeding out of her brown eyes. "You're really tense."

"Oh, I'm fine," Izuku clumsily reassured her with a grateful smile. "Thank you for worrying, but I just need to get my head in the game."

Ochako was somewhat mollified by the response, but she resolved to keep an eye on him, nonetheless.

"So, about the content of this license thing," Mera continued to the gathered examinees. "Basically, 1,538 examinees compete in a free-for-all exercise or whatever we're calling it this year. See, we've got a lot of pros around, and since Stain was arrested, many people have had doubts about the status of heroes in society. That doubt was only compounded by Endeavor's confessions afterward, and the public's faith in what a true hero really is has been shaken."

The mood amongst the crowd had become solemn and forlorn. Endeavor, despite his incredibly rough exterior, was still a phenomenal hero, and many of the assembled students looked up to him for both his indomitable power and legendary efficiency. The reveal of his activities behind closed doors had not only shaken the public, but it had shaken many aspiring heroes to their cores, as well.

"But, when you really think about it, getting paid makes sense," Mera continued, regaining the room's rapt attention. "If you're going to save someone, why shouldn't you receive a reward? That's just the way the world works. Whether they're in it for compensation or out of a sense of duty, we've got way too many heroes walking the streets together. Honestly, the time between when an incident begins and when it's resolved is shorter than most of your pro careers will realistically be should you pass this exam in the first place."

'Well, that's encouraging,' Izuku sarcastically thought, and his thoughts were echoed among most of the room. Ms. Joke had clued him in on a similar reality during his internship, but to have it so blatantly confirmed like that...

"You're all here trying to receive your provisional licenses, so you'll be swept up in this tiresome rigmarole yourselves pretty soon," Mera sighed. "Those of you who don't have the speed, power, and competence to take care of villains and criminals quickly and efficiently frankly won't cut it, so that's what you'll be tested on first. The first 100 students to fulfill the requirements will advance to the next test."

That sent the entire room into a tailspin. The implications of the puny fraction of aspiring pros that would even make it to the next round were crashing down on them like a rogue asteroid.

Mera stood up from his seat and leaned forward to level the students with his exhausted yet serious countenance. "All Might has officially retired. Without the Symbol of Peace, a pretty massive hole has been left in our hero society, and that hole needs to be filled. As a result, the bar for what will be accepted has been raised exponentially. You need to be 10 times as good in order to make the cut; as such, only 10% of you will even be considered for promotion."

Izuku frowned. He couldn't say that he was expecting this from the Commission, but it made sense. The loss of the Symbol of Peace and the shameful exile of the No. 2 would necessitate a drastic raise in standards for anyone seeking to fill that void, and the void needed to be filled. Pragmatically, bottlenecking the licensing process to weed out those who aren't the most capable was a good idea. However, he was suspicious about what they would do once they had their ideal batch of heroes in their clutches.

"Anyway, here are the basic rules," Mera continued, pulling out a ball and a small target. "Examinees will be given three of these targets. You can put them anywhere on your body as long as they're on an exposed area. Everyone will also have 6 of these balls. The targets will light up whenever they've been struck by a ball. Once all three targets are struck, you're done. The person who lights up your third target will get credit for your defeat. Knock out two people, and you advance."

The walls of the room came down, revealing them to be standing in the center of the arena fashioned to be a gargantuan collection of different terrains and environments for them to compete in. There was a rocky, almost mountainous terrain, a small city zone, an industrial park, and even a desert oasis. The HPSC had really gone overboard with this.

As the examinees all grouped together by school and ran into the arena to prepare for the incoming fracas, Bakugo, in Bakugo fashion, split up from the group and struck it on his own, and Kirishima was quick to follow right behind him to ensure that he didn't do something stupid and get in way over his head. Izuku expected that, so he hadn't said anything about sticking together beforehand, but he noticed that Shoto was splitting off, as well.

"You're leaving, too, Shoto?" Izuku asked in surprise.

"I can't use my quirk as effectively with allies in close proximity," he explained. "I suggest you do the same; your power can be even more destructive than mine."

That was actually a decent point. Izuku knew that he wouldn't be able to use 2nd Gear for risk of seriously maiming the other examinees at best, but he'd also have to be a little careful about how he went about his offense in general. He'd gotten much more comfortable with wielding his base flames offensively since training camp so that he didn't have to rely on close-quarters combat all of the time, so easing up on the heat a bit was an option, and he still had a ton of weapons at his disposal-

"The exam will now begin."

Izuku immediately pushed his mumble-storm aside and readied for battle. As expected, a significant portion of the other participants congregated in the same zone as 1-A, having already seen their quirks, fighting styles, and weaknesses in action during the sports festival. They were targets right out of the gate, and many students were gleefully taking advantage of the situation. Izuku for damn sure wouldn't be food, and neither would his classmates if he had a damn thing to say about it.

As the impending hailstorm of balls came rushing down at them, several of his classmates readied themselves to defend, but the bright showcase of Izuku igniting grabbed their attention, as did the determined scowl he sported. In a flash, his top half burned violet while his legs burned orange, and each of them found themselves with a violet tendril wrapped around their waist as Izuku stomped, sending a ring of orange fire out around them that quickly shaped itself into a protective dome. The balls bounced harmlessly off of the barrier, and a wave of relief and gratitude washed over the class, but it was short-lived, as a combination attack from two Ketsubutsu students resulted in several hardened balls being torpedoed through the ground and sent on a direct course for 1-A.

Undeterred and with his scowl still in place, a click of his heel created a flat barrier on the ground to completely encase them in the dome, then he slammed his own violet hands to the ground and shot two long, thick spikes through the barrier and into the earth to be firmly anchored. Right as the heat-seeking missiles reached their location, Izuku heaved, and the now anchored spikes grew once again, this time pushing the entire dome upward from the ground and straight into the sky. The balls again bounced harmlessly off of the floor of the barrier, and what had previously been a simple dome on the dirt was now a tower overlooking the bewildered examinees.

"HE DIDN'T DO ANY OF THAT SHIT AT THE SPORTS FESTIVAL!" one examinee indignantly cried out.

The walls of the dome finally came down, and 1-A was lifted higher into the air by the violet tendrils protruding out of their class rep.

"Ready!" Izuku shouted, his hands still planted to the platform to keep the pillars steady. His classmates got the message, each grabbing as many balls as they could hold.

"Aim!" Izuku commanded, and they did so, clueing the others in that they probably needed to take cover.

"FIRE!" Izuku bellowed, and 1-A returned fire with a violent shower of balls at the army of attackers.

During the resulting confusion, Izuku dispelled the pillars and jumped, lengthening the tendrils carrying his classmates to keep them out of harm's way as he did something stupid. Hurtling towards the ground, Izuku fashioned a long, comically large mallet out of his violet flames, and the examinees below went pale when he hefted the massive thing above his head.

"Okay, what the fuck even is his quirk?!" The same teen shouted.

"The power of random bullshit!" another yelled, taking cover from the incoming Looney Tunes attack.

Izuku slammed down on the ground with the mallet, shattering the surrounding terrain and sending nearly everyone into a tailspin. His classmates took the opportunity to continue their assault, pelting the attackers and eliminating them by the handful. Izuku dispelled the tendrils and released them from his hold, allowing them to launch into their own unique assaults and continue mowing down the competition.

Ever so slowly, 1-A was clearing the exam and qualifying for the next portion; simultaneously, over 120 examinees had been eliminated in one fell swoop by a single person. Mera was now wide awake as he watched the chaos unfold. Inasa's absurd display had most of his attention, but he kept an eye on 1-A's showcase, as well, particularly the boy leading the charge. He couldn't help but sigh; Madame President wouldn't be a fan of this, but she did plan specifically for this eventuality.

Meanwhile, Shindo was growing nervous. Izuku Midoriya was substantially more dangerous than he could've anticipated, and that was already a very high bar to clear. Compounding it was the fact that he wasn't even really attacking them, only giving his classmates the opportunity to do so uninhibited. Once Midoriya himself decided to get in on the action, it was likely over for all of them. He needed to separate them, and he needed to do so quickly.

Shindo slammed his hands to the ground and sent a massive vibration through the earth, violently crumbling what was left of the terrain in a trail headed right towards 1-A. He managed to succeed in splitting the well-oiled machine up, but his gaze remained trained on the biggest threat of the group.

The green head in question bounded from airborne stone to stone, dodging any errant balls that happened to cross his path and contorting himself in midair to avoid any sudden attacks from opportunistic examinees. Eventually, he made it back to solid ground, rolling down a hill to create some cover for himself. He was confident in his classmates' collective ability to pass the exam with or without his assistance, and many of them had already qualified as it stood, so it was time for him to start cleaning house.

Luckily, he had just the opportunity to begin, as the subtle vibrations underfoot put him on high alert. The vibrations grew more violent in a sudden crescendo, and before he knew it, a figure burst from the ground behind him. Turning back, a teen with a mole mutation and a drill growing out of his nose was grinning at him like cornered prey. Brandishing three balls, he readied himself to eliminate Izuku from the test, but Izuku wasn't the slightest bit concerned. Igniting a vibrant yellow, all he had to do was vacate his spot and tag the digger before he even knew what hit him.

In that split-second, several things happened. Another figure emerged from the shadows cast by the opposing student and Izuku's golden light show, and faster than even Izuku was expecting, the new arrival snatched the balls from the other boy's hands and used his drill nose as a springboard to backflip onto the crest of the hill acting as cover for Izuku. At first, all Izuku could make out was a girl in an all-black costume moving gracefully around them, but a quick flash of cat ears with a black bow garnishing one of them made his eyes widen.

In one swift motion, the girl pelted the mole-boy with his own weapons, hitting each target with pinpoint accuracy and sending him tumbling away from Izuku. Izuku's head snapped to look at her, and his suspicions were confirmed at the sight of the cat-girl perched on the mound smirking slyly at him.

"Vanta?!" Izuku nearly choked.

"Sup," she replied with a casual wave, snickering at Izuku's dumbstruck expression.

"How come you didn't tell me you were taking the license exam?" he asked when he finally got a hold of himself.

"It was supposed to be a surprise," she shrugged. "You look pretty surprised."

Izuku snorted. "Yeah, well, I wasn't exactly expecting to see you here of all places."

"Yeah, they tend not to let former villains become heroes, huh?" she mused with an exaggerated stroke of her chin. "Luckily for me, since I'm a former vigilante rather than a villain, I get a bit of leeway."

"…Come again?" Izuku questioned.

Vanta blinked. "Did I not tell you that?"

"No!"

"Oh…" Vanta sheepishly chuckled, scratching the space between her ears. "Well, we have a lot to catch up on, then."

She hopped down to the ground, and Izuku finally took stock of her costume. It was quite similar to Jiro's in style, the key differences being that she wore a black skirt over her black jeans and kept her leather jacket zipped up (as well as having a hood).

"But that can all wait," she continued, and she butted her clawed finger into his chest. "You've got an exam to finish."

"Oh, are you already done?" Izuku asked.

"Mhm," she confirmed with a nod. "That last guy was just a chance to show off a little and keep you on your toes. I know where some of your classmates are, so I can plop you over to them and let you work your magic."

As she said that, she grabbed his wrist and led him towards the shadow of the hill, and she sank into it, taking Izuku along for the ride into a black void with various open portals showcasing the outside world from odd angles. Izuku was so fascinated with what he was seeing that he tried to produce his notebook, forgetting that he didn't carry it with him into the exam.

Vanta snorted in amusement at his giddiness over learning about a new quirk. "Yeah, yeah; it's called Shadow Dance. I can travel through the shadows of anyone and anything into this sort of hub world, and I can exit from anywhere, so long as it's in close proximity or I'm familiar with whatever or whoever is casting the shadow."

"This is so fucking awesome," Izuku marveled. "You can pop in from literally anywhere at any time, though I suppose your biggest weakness are areas that don't have any light to cast a shadow with…"

"That's… not exactly true," she sighed. "Traveling is only one half of it. I gain a boost to my strength and speed from sitting in darkness in general. The longer I'm submerged, the greater the boost is, but it comes at a cost."

"Oh," Izuku lowly remarked, now concerned at her somber demeanor. "It's not pretty, is it?"

"No, it truly isn't," she shook her head, and her dull yellow gaze caught sight of a flash of pink on a tight costume. "Here's your stop."

Izuku wasn't prepared for her to yank him through the void, almost swimming toward an odd angle of Ochako's back through the portal. Before he knew it, Vanta was poking her head out of Ochako's shadow. She let go of Izuku's wrist, and with him no longer being in contact with her, the void spat him out like an invader through Ochako's shadow, rocketing him up and over the both of them with an animated scream that was punctuated by an even more cartoonish thud when he impacted the ground.

"Izuku?" Ochako confusedly questioned, turning back to inspect the area behind her, but nothing was there except for her shadow.

Shaking it off, she hurried over to check on her best friend even though she already knew he was fine. Helping him back up to his feet, she brushed some of the dirt off of his costume.

"Where did you come from?" She asked, the absurdity of the situation finally catching up with her and bringing a light smile to her rosy cheeks.

Izuku was about to explain his run-in with Vanta, but he paused, and a fantastic idea came to him at the golden opportunity that had just presented itself.

"The Shadow Realm," he answered, keeping his expression as blank as possible.

"Try again, Kaiba," Ochako deadpanned, and Izuku broke.

"And this is why we're friends," Izuku snickered, brushing the last flecks of dirt out of his hair. "I ran into a friend after we all got separated. I'll introduce you after we pass this portion. Let's go kick some ass."

Ochako beamed. "Damn right."

Mirko sighed at the screen displaying several camera feeds of the free-for-all test. She wasn't particularly interested in any of the examinees barring one, and he was doing as well as she would've expected, so she quickly found her already paper-thin interest vanishing in the wind. She truly did not want to be there, yet there she was sitting in her costume and awaiting the first stage of the exam's conclusion so that she could go out and fight some dumbass kids, hopefully removing the gun pointed at the back of her head.

At least she could run her favorite dumbass through the gauntlet for stealing her flow a second time (though she had to admit, he rocked the look pretty well). That was the only silver lining to this whole mess.

Her ear twitched as the door to the "villain" staging room opened, and the heavy footsteps of Gang Orca entered the puddle of white noise offered by the sounds of battle from the TV.

"I didn't believe them when they said you'd be joining me in testing the hero hopefuls," Gang Orca said as he walked further into the room towards the water cooler to refill his large bottle. "Nurturing the youth never seemed like your style."

"Bitch, I am the youth," she retorted, drawing a snort from her fellow mutant. "They strong-armed me into doing it. I didn't have a choice."

"I find it hard to believe that you would ever accept not having a choice in something," Gang Orca commented, completely filling up his large bottle that he used to keep himself hydrated on land.

"I was called in for a personal sit-down with the President," she bitterly responded. "Refusing wasn't an option."

Gang Orca sighed, knowing all too well that a request directly from the horse's mouth was just being held at gunpoint by another name. "Well, I suppose if anyone could strong-arm the Rabbit Hero of all people, it would be her. Between you and me, that woman is more insidious than any villain I've ever gone up against, All For One included."

"You talk about her like she's fucking Voldemort."

"She might as well be."

"Eh, I'll take Voldemort over her any day."

Gang Orca chuckled. "Careful, she probably has the room bugged to catch all of our conversations."

Mirko scoffed. "She already knows how every hero feels about her. If she cared, a lot more of us would be dead."

"'Us' as in heroes, or 'us' as in heteromorphs?"

"Yes."

"Valid," Gang Orca nodded. "Well, let's continue to buck that trend. The first exam appears to be coming to a close, so it's almost showtime."

Mirko grunted. Her red eyes were fixed on the green-haired hero hopeful she had grown fond of (not that she'd ever admit that out loud) as he made his way toward the winner's circle for the first 100 examinees to complete the first stage. She knew she had to do something. The Commission had him in their crosshairs, and she for damn sure wasn't going to let him fall victim to that ice cold bitch's schemes.

Izuku Midoriya was going to be a great hero, and she'd bet her fucking life on it if need be.

Mera really hated his job. They were somehow always short-staffed in his department, creating even more work for him and depriving him of his much-needed sleep. He could deal with that, though; if perpetual exhaustion was merely the end of it, that would be manageable. Unfortunately, as he gazed tiredly at the screen showcasing the 100 examinees that had passed the first portion of the exam, he was reminded that life was never so simple.

The object of his gaze was Izuku Midoriya. He was watching him and one of his classmates interact with the three examinees that came from Ketsubutsu's Villain Rehabilitation Program (allowing them to take the exam at all was a whole other can of worms in and of itself), particularly Vanta Kuroiro. Her story was a genuinely tragic one; she fell into violent vigilantism from the grief of her friend's blatant homicide being ruled as a suicide by local authorities. Said friend had a heavy cockroach mutation, so it didn't take a genius to put together what actually happened there.

Midoriya seemingly being familiar and interacting with her would certainly only make things more troublesome; not for the Commission, but for himself. He watched the boy's performance in the free-for-all rather closely, and the teen certainly impressed as expected. Mera had honestly hoped he wouldn't; he wished for nothing more than the boy to whiff the first portion and flame out of the exam entirely. He truly didn't deserve what was awaiting him in the second portion, worse still if he managed to make it out of that with his provisional license.

Madame President was looking to make an example out of him, and the only bright side was that she had only taken to doing so indirectly thus far. God have mercy on his soul if she ever saw fit to take a more active approach.

He sighed. There was no use thinking about it now. It was time for the second portion of the licensing exam to begin. Turning on the microphone, he cleared his throat and readied the big, red button that would detonate the various terrains in the arena.

"Alright, for the 100 of you who passed the first test, please direct your attention to the screen."

Pressing the buttons, the cityscape detonated, sending the urban area into disarray and collapsing most of the area.

"Villains have performed a large-scale terrorist attack spanning all over Insert City Name Here. Since most buildings collapsed, there are many injured. Due to heavily damaged roads, the first responders have unfortunately been delayed for the time being. Until emergency services arrive, the heroes in the area will lead the rescue efforts. Your task is to save as many people as you can and help the injured. And with that… BEGIN!"

Mirko stood up and cracked her neck; it was go time. Exiting the room and meeting up with Gang Orca, the two walked down a dark tunnel followed by an army of Gang Orca's sidekicks on their way to cause mayhem amidst the examinees' rescue efforts. For Gang Orca, it was time to test how well these young heroes could multitask, how well they could prioritize, and how effectively they could deal with a real villain scenario.

For Mirko, it was time to get it back in blood once again.

After getting the signal from Mera, Gang Orca blasted a hole through the wall of the arena, and his army of "villains" spilled out into the open. The students were all taken off guard, not expecting to have to deal with villains as they performed search and rescue. The imposing sight of Gang Orca, the No. 9 Pro Hero in the nation, alongside his own personal army, was several kinds of intimidating, and his booming, foreboding voice as he announced his presence did not help matters one bit.

Izuku, having just deposited a hurt civilian to the impromptu medical tent, quickly surveyed the deteriorating situation. The army of villains was slowly making its way into the chaos of examinees and civilians, meanwhile, Gang Orca remained near the hole he created and garnered the most attention from the surrounding students. This had to have been another test.

Igniting yellow, Izuku flashed to a collection of rubble where he could hear a group of civilians crying out for help, slamming a boot into the chest of one of the approaching villains. Not wasting any time, the other villains attacked, but Izuku simply bounced from one man to another in succession like a pinball until they were all down. How ever many other examinees were present could only watch in awe at the lightning-fast display.

"Oh, no, you don't!" manically shouted a voice from above, and Izuku instantly paled.

In a flash, Izuku's upper body burned violet and vines snapped out to wrap around everyone in the vicinity, civilian or otherwise, before Izuku's emerald legs carried them all as far away from the impact zone as possible with a single bound. As expected, Mirko came down with a Luna Arc and absolutely demolished the spot Izuku had just been standing in. She turned her gaze up at Izuku on his descent back to the ground and shot him a feral grin.

"IT SMELLS LIKE BITCH IN HERE!" Mirko cackled with her arms spread to the world. "ALL OF Y'ALL SMELL LIKE BITCH TO ME!"

"Is that…" one of the examinees in Izuku's grasp fearfully began.

"Holy shit," another muttered. "We're doomed."

Izuku dispelled the violet flames and went completely orange from head to toe before stepping forward. "Get the civilians to safety and get out of here."

One of the examinees snapped out of his shock and threw Izuku an annoyed sneer. "I don't take orders from you, UA-"

"That wasn't a request!" Izuku barked, not turning away from Mirko for a single moment. "She is the most dangerous thing here to everyone, hero and civilian alike. I'll lead her as far away from the populous as I can to limit collateral damage. Get the wounded to the medical tent as safely as possible and keep the fuck out of the way!"

If the other examinees had any complaints, they didn't get a chance to voice them before the orange coat covering Izuku detached and formed a massive barrier separating him from the others, leaving himself alone with Mirko's full attention. Then, he made the first move and closed the distance, throwing a blazing, green punch that was easily blocked, and the two launched into a frenetic flurry.

Up in the stands, Aizawa and Ms. Joke were watching the unfolding situation with prominent frowns. A simulated rescue op was one thing; UA had the USJ for that specific purpose. However, throwing an active villain threat on top of it for them to navigate was another thing entirely, and to make matters worse, the villains in question were top heroes that were way out of any student's league.

"Gang Orca alone would be a bit much for seasoned pros in this situation, but Mirko, too?" Ms. Joke questioned in abject confusion. "Maybe I'm overreacting, but I don't feel so great about this."

"No, this is definitely overboard," Aizawa agreed with a narrowed gaze. "It's almost like they're not designed to pass this test at this rate."

"Or maybe someone in particular," Ms. Joke solemnly added, pointing at the face-off between the Rabbit Hero and her intern. "Look."

Aizawa grunted in agitation. "You might be on to something. She went for him first, and she didn't make a move while the others around collected the wounded effectively letting them go and leaving her alone with Midoriya. She wants to fight him in particular."

"And that wouldn't be out of the ordinary for her," Ms. Joke picked up where he left off, "but it begs the question: why send her out there to target him specifically, unless…"

"Separate him from the rest of the test and limit his chances of getting any more points," Aizawa finished.

Ms. Joke slumped in her seat. The HPSC was finally making a move against Beacon. She had hoped that the day wouldn't ever come, but she knew better. "So, what do we do?"

Aizawa sighed. It infuriated him that he couldn't do anything for his student at that moment. "For now, we just hope he pulls through. This is going to be the toughest battle he's ever had, and I'm certain he knows that."

If this was the war Nezu was expecting, then it was officially on.

Izuku and Mirko were locked in a vicious exchange of blows that carried them a good distance away from the rest of the action. This was by design (on both of their accounts, unbeknownst to the other) to not only give themselves the space to have a proper scrap, but to also keep away from prying ears. Regardless of the distance, though, the impacts of their violent clashing could be felt throughout the entire arena, so just about everyone would be inclined to stay away from the battle regardless.

From the perspective of an outside observer, the two appeared to be in a tremendous deadlock that threatened to swallow up and tear apart anyone who dared get too close. In actuality, however, the two were going at half-speed, choosing not to go full throttle in favor of sorting a few things out first.

"So, what brings you here?" Izuku asked as his haymaker was deftly evaded, and he brought his other arm up to block the thunderous kick that followed.

"Oh, ya know, just wanted to pound a bunny wannabe into the ground," Mirko answered as Izuku grabbed her leg and tried to toss her away, but she twisted and locked him into an armbar.

"You could've done that at any time; you didn't have to come to the licensing exam just for a fight," gritted Izuku as he hefted the woman up in a deadlift and slammed her to the ground.

"What can I say? I just couldn't pass up the opportunity," she gritted in return, doing her damndest to maintain her grip through Izuku's repeated slamming, but to no avail.

Izuku's leg burned a bright emerald, and Mirko just narrowly avoided his earth-shattering stomp. "Couldn't, or weren't allowed to?"

"I'm that transparent, huh?" she sighed after rolling to her feet.

Izuku shrugged, and the two dashed again, locking into a brutal test of strength. "Eh, they say that two great fighters can communicate on a different level in battle, even without words."

"That just sounds like some shonen bullshit," Mirko snorted, incrementally overpowering Izuku.

"Exactly what about this whole encounter isn't totally shonen?" Izuku gritted, pushing back as hard as he could and managing to bring them back to equilibrium.

Mirko considered the question, then she shrugged her concession. "Point taken."

"So, who has a gun to your head?" Izuku inquired before rolling onto his back and kicking upward at Mirko as hard as he could to send her airborne, but she held firm and came back down onto Izuku's chest with a vicious stomp.

"The Commission. They strong-armed me into this, and when Madame President wants something from you, you do it, or you cease to be in one way or another."

"What could they possibly have on you?" Izuku grunted, straining to get her weight off of his chest and managing to flip her away from him.

She rolled into a crouch and spun to face Izuku once again. "Let's just say that I didn't have the most squeaky-clean record before I became a hero… and a little bit afterward."

Izuku kipped back up to his feet and rolled the kinks out of his muscles. "Well, I kinda figured that much."

"Fuck off," she chuckled, unable to fight the smile.

"We're far enough away from the rest of the exam to be candid," Izuku stated motioning to the largely vacant, rocky terrain they had commandeered for their absurd brawl. "What's on your mind?"

She sighed. "I'm a lot to handle. I know that. I was even worse when I was younger, though. I got expelled from a hero school in Hiroshima for participating in underground fights. I somehow got into another hero school, but that didn't mean I stopped doing the fights, I just got better about keeping it under wraps."

"So, you were an adrenaline junkie that liked a good fight," Izuku shrugged. "Doesn't sound like effective blackmail material. Feels pretty on-brand in all honesty."

"I also did a ton of cocaine."

"…Oh, well, I suppose that's a little more effective blackmail," Izuku nodded with a hand on his chin. "And you'd rather that not get out, I take it."

"I don't really care one way or the other," Mirko scoffed. "My past is my past, and I've made peace with it. The problem is that it wouldn't end with me. I could say no, and they'd just kill me and get what they wanted anyway. At least this way, I can influence the outcome."

"And what exactly do they want?" Izuku questioned with a quirked eyebrow.

"You," she answered with no joviality to speak of. "Your name was mentioned when I asked why she wanted me to test a bunch of brats, but she didn't give me any explanation. I don't think she's aware that we're familiar with each other."

Izuku's expression hardened. "And you're here to warn me."

"Partially," Mirko confirmed. "Being in the crosshairs of the Commission is never a good thing for anyone, and you don't deserve to have to go through that alone. Watch your back from now on, and I'll be looking out for you, too."

The tension left Mirko's shoulders, and her feral grin returned. "The other thing is that you rock my look pretty well, and they say imitation is the highest form of flattery, but I can't just let that little deed go unpunished, now can I?"

Izuku smirked. "Figured you wouldn't. I'm actually glad we had this reunion. I've picked up a thing or two since our last spar, and I'm dying to show you."

Izuku relaxed and ignited his quirk, the multicolored blaze blanketing him in the familiar cloak. Then, he tensed, and the flames ignited once again, becoming far more intense. Mirko's foot started thumping with increasing vigor as she felt the immense power radiating off of the green head. This was a whole other level than she had ever seen from him, and it excited her beyond description.

"I call this 2nd Gear," Izuku informed, the battle-lust he had developed during his previous spars with Mirko coming back with a vengeance as he entered a fighting stance. "This is the closest I can get to full throttle without tearing my body to shreds. Don't you dare hold back, Mirko!"

Mirko could barely contain herself. Her muscles were flexing, her instincts were blaring, and her grin was damn near psychotic. She was going to love the shit out of this fight.

"Your funeral!" was all that left her mouth before two blurs collided.

Sometimes, I have way too much fun writing a scene, and I have to remind myself that I'm not writing crack.

...But what if I was, though?