Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“That’s enough trouble from you, you slippery little bastard,” All Might swirled the sludge villain around in the soda bottle he trapped him in. Japan’s number one hero had spent the better part of his daily limit trying to track the villain down, and finally got him when he had made the fatal error of attacking the cashier of the convenience store All Might stopped at while in Civilian Mode. The hero put the bottle in a bag on the ground and deflated back into the skeleton of Toshinori Yagi that had become his default. He would drop his charge off at a police station later. For now he sat on a bench overlooking Takoba Beach.

It was a favorite place of his to sit and watch the sunrise. Very heavy emphasis on ‘was’. Now there was more trash than sand, years of neglect turning the place into an unofficial garbage dump. Not even the vast horizon was safe from the mountains formed.

“Um, excuse me,” Toshi spun to face the voice. It was a brown-haired boy in his late teens wearing an open blue hoodie with what looked like burn marks, but seemed to be intentional patterns on the cloth. His face was covered by a round white mask with two glowing red circles for eyes that blinked at the sudden movement. The boy held out a soda bottle. The one the sludge villain was trapped in. Toshi whipped back around to see the bag was empty. He was so lost in thought he didn’t even notice the villain escaping. “I-is this yours? It was rolling away.”

“Ah, yes, thank you young…”

“Z,” He pronounced it as Americans did.

“Young Z, you’ve helped me more than you realize,” The name sounded familiar to the hero, but he couldn’t put a finger on why. He took the bottle and put it back into the bag once more and tied it closed.

“It wasn’t a bother,” The young man shrugged, then looked out at the beach as Toshi did.

“You’d be surprised at how difficult it can be to get someone to pick up a bottle, much less any of that,” He gestured to the mass before the two. “Tell me, do you plan to become a hero?”

“Yes, I aim to attend U.A. when classes start next year,” Z answered brightly, the eyes on his mask turning into arches to show his excitement.

“Well, I work with quite a few. I may not look like it, but I’m a pretty popular advisor,” Z’s eyes squinted slightly at the not-quite-a-lie but he didn’t comment on it. “So would you want to hear what I have to say?”

“Sure.”

“Being a hero is more than defeating the villain at the end of the day. Sometimes you beat them before lunch!” The laugh he got encouraged him to keep going. “Villains cause messes and it’s on the heroes to clean them up, every part of it. Even after Catastrophe was put down, someone had to sweep the streets, so I ask that you keep that in mind and try not to let the spotlight blind you, alright?”

“I do have this,” Z said after a moment, tapping his mask. “So that’ll be of help.”

“I hope it does,” Toshi rose up, bag firmly in hand. “Now I have to take my leave, but I look forward to your debut, Young Z.”

“Thank you Al-,” The boy stopped suddenly. “Actually, I never got your name, did I?”

“Eh, I’m not that important, but call me Yagi if we meet again.”

“I will, Yagi,” Z remained at Takoba as he watched Japan’s top hero return to his duties.

Z looked over the beach, an absolute wasteland that no one person could hope to salvage on their own. Fortunately, such tasks were ones he excelled at.

~~~

“.... oh.... my.... GOODNESS!!!” All Might bulked up in a second through sheer jubilation. It was early the next day and something compelled him to visit Takoba before his patrol began. It was just as he remembered it from all those years ago. Spotless sands and the ocean perfectly reflecting the rising sun. He could feel the weight of all the vanished trash being lifted off his own shoulders. Could that boy have really done this himself? If he did, then maybe... Maybe All Might had found the one he was looking for. If such a person wasn’t the type who would go out of their way to perform such a feat because of a single conversation, then none were.

A distant explosion then pulled him from his thoughts. The fact that he had to start the clock so early in the day was unfortunate, but so long as he had time at all he had no reason not to act.

He leapt into the air and made a beeline right for the smoke rising into the air. He stopped on a rooftop above the scene and assessed the situation. Three heroes were present: Mt Lady, a newbie All Might remembered from her recent debut, and Kamui Woods and Death Arms who had been in the game for a few years now. Fires were spreading to nearby buildings, Mt Lady was helping those in the higher floors get to safety and Kamui Woods was trying his best to keep things contained, but his branches could only last so long before becoming ash. Death Arms was taking on the source of the problem, and upon seeing it All Might felt his blood run cold.

The very sludge villain he caught yesterday was loose again and this time he hadn’t been around to stop him before he caught someone. Thrashing within the goop was a teenage boy in a school uniform with spiky blonde hair, explosions coming from his palms. It seemed the source of the fire was him trying to free himself in panic. Death Arms swung at the villain, but his attacks were ineffective against the liquid body and only put the captive boy in even more danger.

All Might knew he would have the exact same problem, the amount of force he’d have to use to blow the sludge villain off the boy could cause serious injury, but he couldn’t let any more seconds go to waste.

And neither would someone in the crowd. A girl burst through the mob and blitzed right at the sludge villain, long brown hair tied back and trailing behind her. She untied the blue hoodie around her waist and threw it over the sludge villain’s eyes. 

A blue hoodie with very distinct burn-like marks on it and something round in one of the pockets.

In the moment of confusion, the girl grabbed the explosive boy and dragged him free. All Might jumped from his rooftop and hurtled towards the villain. “To think heroes such as us needed help from the ones we were supposed to protect! From my pride and shame, you have my utmost thanks and apologies!” He shouted out as he flew down and launched his attack. “DETROIT SMASH!”

The sludge villain was torn to bits under the pressure of the attack and splattered all over the place. All Might waved to the cheering crowd while making a mental note to run his clothes through the washer twice. Once the police arrived he made sure to supervise the collection process personally and got an explanation as to what happened with the sludge villain. Apparently someone had accidentally knocked the bottle off a table and the villain rolled his way out the door until running into the schoolboy who kicked the bottle so hard the cap snapped off. 

Once that was taken care of All Might picked the blue hoodie off the ground and went to find the girl who saved the blonde boy, the true hero of the hour. She was being lectured by Death Arms for rushing in like that but wasn’t paying attention. She had her head turned to the side, green eyes focused on something else, and was gnashing her teeth, waiting to be let free. “Are ya done, or are ya gonna keep whingin' at me for savin' a life?”

“Listen here-”

“Oi, give her a break,” Mt Lady smacked the other hero upside the head. “We were busy and you were useless. I’m not gonna let you give a kid shit for putting her ass on the line.”

“ Thank you!”

“She’s right!” Everyone jumped at All Might’s declaration. For someone his size he was weirdly good at being unnoticed when he wanted to be. “Now allow me to take this young lady aside before the vultures strike!”

“Huh?” The girl looked confused for a second then noticed the number of cameras heading towards her. “Oh shit.”

“Don’t worry, magazine covers are where my ass belongs, take her and go,” The girl gave Mt Lady a salute as the heroine waved to the press. All Might picked up the brown haired girl and leapt away.

~

“A’ight, thanks for the lift, but I gotta go big guy, catch ya later,” The girl said quickly as soon as All Might set her down and tried to walk away.

“Wait a minute, young lady, I have something to ask you,” She halted and turned around to look at All Might again. “What made you act? There are few non-heroes who would so readily put themselves on the line like you did, and you didn’t even use your Quirk. That’s not something you see in just anyone.”

“Tch,” The girl looked away from him, and he noticed for the first time that her eyes didn’t seem to move, always staring straight ahead. “I acted before I could think, what makes ya think that makes me special?”

“Well, what about the beach?” She froze at that, finally noticing the hoodie All Might was holding out for her, mask poking out of its pocket. “You were wearing this yesterday, Young-”

“Zetta,” She cut him off and grabbed her hoodie. “I’m genderfluid, my Quirk lets me transition when I want, and when I’m a girl you call me Zetta.”

“Young Zetta,” She nodded and put on her mask, the eyes it displayed still being red, then motioned for him to continue as he returned to Civilian Mode. “That wasn’t in the heat of the moment. In fact, you must've waited for the sun to fully set and then worked most of the night. So why risk being caught for public quirk usage for something like that?”

“... Because it was somethin' I could fix,” Zetta looked up at the sky while thinking about the rest of her answer. “I don’t word good when it comes to my own thoughts, but what happened was there was a problem in front of me, and it was one I could solve easily, just like with the sludge guy, so there was no reason for me not to.”

“Besides your personal safety, that is.”

“Why would I let a hypothetical like that get in the way of helping someone in actual danger?” Zetta asked with complete sincerity. 

“... You are the one.”

“Huh?” She jumped back as All Might buffed up once more.

“I had been planning on this search taking longer, but now there is no doubt in my heart! You are who I’ve been looking for! I have decided that you are worthy of receiving my blessing, my Quirk!!”

“... Um,” Zetta looked away sheepishly after a moment of silence. “I... Kinda... Already have it.”

“What.”

Chapter Text

All Might stood completely still as he processed Zetta’s words. How did she have his quirk? There was only one way to transfer One for All, and it was voluntary. Well, there was one other method, but he put that one down five years ago at the cost of his organs. Could it be that his enemy’s bloodline-

“No, I’m not All for One’s kid,” Zetta’s voice snapped him back to reality, and almost sent him away just as quickly. She reached out and grabbed his hand before he could protest. “It’ll be easier to show than tell.”

In a blink he went from an empty street to a void. Despite no overhead light source he could see clearly and was overwhelmed by the sheer nothingness that stretched on and on.

“Welcome to the Lab!” Zetta gave a dramatic bow, her appearance having altered quite a bit. Her eyes were no longer green, but red like her mask’s. Entirely red. No distinction between pupil, iris, or sclera, just two red orbs. Her teeth were a mess, all chipped and cracked like a cartoon character who bit a rock. Then he saw her empty sleeve fluttering at her side, her right arm gone, shoulder and all. 

“Young Zetta I- Forgive me I just-” All Might had so many questions swirling through his head and barely knew where to start.

“I think I can answer a few of them with this,” Zetta snapped her fingers and a screen popped up from the ground to hover in front of her. She turned it around and it displayed a woman very similar to Zetta with tied up brown hair and completely orange eyes. All Might recognized her immediately from a meeting a little over a decade ago. “I know you’ve met, but this is my mother Nnez. Though you probably know her as-”

“The United States’ number two hero; Matriarch,” He completed for her. Nnez was known for taking in children whose quirks proved hard to handle, being one such child herself, thus her hero name. This certainly explained how Zetta could know All for One’s name, but there were still other questions to be addressed. “I wasn’t aware she had any biological children.”

“Mother Mine prefers to not mention that,” Zetta said, her overly formal title for Nnez clashing with her earlier roughness throwing All Might for yet another loop. “She wanted to keep me out of the spotlight when I was younger, both for my own safety and to make sure those under her care didn’t feel like I was getting special treatment just because of our blood.”

“I see…” His mind drifted uncomfortably to Endeavor, but what admittedly little he knew of Nnez’s reputation discouraged that comparison.

“Anyway, this is my Quirk,” Zetta snapped her fingers again and walls of screens erupted from the ground. Some were neatly sorted, others clustered together and overlapped each other. A few remained embedded in the ground, Zetta giving those a quiet look before continuing. “Absolute Mimicry. Any Quirk I encounter is replicated here for me to access and use myself. I call this place the Lab as I can test each Quirk here,” She called a screen over and swiped on it. The screen glowed green as she crossed her fingers then jumped up onto an invisible platform. “Ta-da!”

“I see,” Zetta’s mimicry struck a little too close to All for One for All Might’s liking, but he had seen this girl’s spirit was undeniably one of a hero. “So is my Quirk on one of these screens?”

“No, it’s…” She pointed upwards. “That,” All Might followed her extended finger and saw a series of floating ruins arranged like a constellation in the sky. “That is One for All, but I can’t reach those ruins, something forces me back. I think it’s because of my Quirk copying the factors within One for All clashing with its requirements of needing to be passed down.”

“Well, once I do, then you should be able to explore it freely,” Zetta turned away from him. “What’s wrong? Is there something else?”

“I…” For the first time, he saw a look of worry on Zetta’s face. Even when running towards the sludge villain, she remained focused, but now the metaphorical mask cracked. “Tell me, what do you know of Catastrophe?”

“... More than the public but not everything,” He recalled the many case reports on the event known as Catastrophe. “About 15 years ago, in a major US city, there was an explosion of green flame. For the next half hour it ran rampant and caused devastation. It was finally put down thanks to the efforts of three heroes, including Matriarch. Once it was over it was discovered that Catastrophe was the result of Quirk overuse overwhelming the user, a tragedy to even the one at the heart of it all, but their identity was never- ...Oh.”

“Yes,” Zetta turned away from him fully.

“But... No, that can’t be right, you would’ve been-” He realized the contradiction wasn’t one at all. “... You would’ve been a young child. The age where one’s Quirk manifested.”

“The first Quirk I copied was my mother’s, followed by countless others before I realized what was happening. As I overloaded, Mother Mine’s Quirk accelerated my growth so my body could withstand the power, but not my mind, thus the rampage,” Her tone remained matter-of-fact but he could tell she was struggling. “I haven’t aged since then, but in theory I should start again once my actual age catches up.”

“... Young Zetta,” All Might knelt down and turned her around to pull her into a hug. “I understand wanting to make up for your mistakes-”

“No,” The roughness in her voice was back and she broke free of the embrace. “That has no influence on me wanting to be a hero. I don’t think I need to redeem myself for something that happened out of my control, but I can’t ignore that it still matters. I am still known as Catastrophe, regardless of what I do that will follow me, but I want to be a hero because I want to help people. I like helping, and this Quirk lets me.”

“Then why do you think you’re not worthy of mine?”

“One for All is your only Quirk, once you pass it on then your time will be even shorter. Giving it to me... I have control over my Quirk, but I don’t know what One for All will do once it’s in my system proper. I don’t want to have you give up your ability to be a hero and end up making me even more of a walking nuke!” Zetta’s voice was a mix of emotions, all underlined by her fear of uncertainty. “So do you still think I’m the one you’re looking for?” Zetta’s eyes didn’t leave the ground. 

“Hm…” All Might looked up to the sky archipelago of One for All, the legacy he wanted to entrust to the one before him. He suddenly noticed a figure on one of the islands. A woman in a hero outfit, a black bodysuit, white cape, and yellow gloves and boots with short black hair tied up. She seemed to be shouting something down to him but the distance meant he couldn’t hear. Eventually she stopped and simply gave him a thumbs up. Any doubt Zetta’s tale may have given him was blown away instantly. “I could not be more certain. I will make sure the world will always recognize you as a hero first.”

Zetta grabbed his arm again and suddenly they were back in the street they had been before. It didn’t seem like any time had passed, but before he could think more on that Zetta drew All Might’s attention as she rubbed at her eyes. She looked back up at him with those same fully red eyes she had in the Lab.

“Th-thank you.”

“Now,” He reached up and plucked a hair from his head. “Eat this!”

“What.”

Chapter Text

Zetta was having a day and a half.

Yesterday she ran into the Symbol of Peace powered down and looking over a garbage filled beach. She hadn’t met him before, but the conversation they had left her pleased to see he was just as noble as her mother described. She worried about him being as ridiculous as also described, but that was for future Zetta or Z to deal with.

That night she cleaned the beach and took a break in the Lab to reset the Quirks she had active to do so. Then something hit her head. That, to put it mildly, scared the shit out of her as the Lab was a mental construct so there shouldn’t be anything in here besides her and the Quirks she copied. 

Then she looked up.

Eight floating ruins now occupied the sky of her Quirk. She didn’t even know there was a sky, all the screens that monitor her copied Quirks came from the ground. What had hit her was a rock from one of those ruins. She had a feeling someone was looking down from them, but she couldn’t see anyone on them.

Zetta stomped her foot and summoned screens for the recent Quirks she copied. She found the one with All Might’s face on it, but the details were glitched out. She could make a little bit out, the name being One for All and it being a kind of stockpiling. She figured being in Japan would mean running into All Might sooner or later, but now she had a reason to seek him out.

That got off to a flying start with the sludge villain attacking that kid. With the chaos, she couldn’t blame the other heroes for prioritizing those they could help, but the guy who decided the sludge villain was his job couldn’t realize his Quirk was useless and to try something else. Eventually she just got too frustrated and ran in herself, which worked out. Unfortunately it worked out too well, as she also reencountered All Might who recognized her hoodie, and offered her his Quirk.

She figured ‘fuck it’ and told him a lot of stuff really quickly. A bit more than she meant to. It was one thing to explain she was genderfluid, that All Might made no mention of it made her thankful beyond belief, but confessing she was also the disaster he had explicitly mentioned in their previous conversation was quite another. He seemed to get it in the end, and told her he’d help her be known as a hero, so overall not a bad go for her first exposition dump.

Then he told her to eat his hair and that made her freeze.

“... Well you see-” 

“Can ya turn around for a second, k thanks,” Zetta cut All Might off and spun him around. She did a quick scan to make sure no one was watching them and clapped. A few seconds after checking on things, Z spun All Might back around, still holding out his hair. “Sorry, I tend to swap when I need to collect myself and I don’t like people seeing me swap.”

“No need to justify yourself to me, Young Z, but the explanation is appreciated all the same. Now to give you my own, you see my Quirk can only be passed down by ingesting my DNA. This was what my master did, so…” Ok, there was the ridiculousness Nnez mentioned. Z took the hair and closed his hands around it. A second later he opened them back up to reveal he created a chocolate around the hair and popped it into his mouth. “Exactly how many quirks do you have, Young Z?”

“I’ve stopped keeping count, honestly,” Z answered once he swallowed. He could get the exact number if he wanted, but he’d rather not be more aware of the power he had than he already did. “So when shou-”

He cut himself off and grabbed All Might’s arm to bring him into the Lab again.

The terrain of the mindscape was shifting. Large chunks of the ground rose out of the ground in cubes and started to shift around.

“I-” All Might watched the scene in wonder. “My master told me that One for All affected the wielder’s Quirk, but I didn’t think it would be like this.”

“I-” Z meanwhile was very very unsettled with the unnatural actions of his Quirk as last time it didn’t go so well. “Actually this is also on me, I should’ve asked more before accepting your Quirk.”

As his Quirk continued its actions, Z saw that it was building a staircase to the ruins of One for All, which were lowering themselves. He made for the stairs and started his ascent with All Might following close behind. The lowest island had nothing but a throne with a blank form sitting on it, two big strands of hair hanging down like All Might’s in Civilian Mode.

“That’s... Uncomfortable,” All Might looked at the ghost of himself and Z had to agree. “But would that mean-”

“Hey!” Z looked at the new voice and saw a woman take form on the next island over. “I’m Nana Shimura, the seventh wielder and that big dum-dum’s treacher!”

“MASTER!” All Might lept towards her, but something invisible stopped his momentum and sent him flying back.

“Apologies, Toshi, but this is Z’s realm, so you’re limited by his access,” A thin man with long white hair manifested next to Nana. “I am the First, Yoichi Shigaraki, so I have free reign, but Z will need to unlock access to us individually.”

“Ok pause” Z held his hand up. “I want to check on something before we go any further,” He stomped on the ground and far below there was a series of dings. A few seconds later a series of boxes flew by and one landed on each floating ruin. Z was fairly certain he could hear various voices shouting and cursing in response. Nana certainly did when hers landed right behind her. “Huh, they’re boxes now.”

“Is that important?” Yoichi asked, casually inspecting Nana’s box.

“I don’t know yet,” Z moved to the boxes that landed on the island he and All Might were on. One was One for All, but the other was for a Quirk he wanted on hand just in case. He touched One for All and the box floated up and glowed like the screens used to. Like before it had the Quirk name, the user’s preferred name, and a brief summary of the Quirk’s basic functions. Unlike before, there was now a section with ‘L O R E’ written on it, so at least Z’s probably-sentient Quirk was having fun. He activated the second box he summoned. An intelligence-enhancing Quirk from Zero, his mother’s Support Tech. He scrolled through the text wall while listening to All Might talk with his predecessors.

“Hey, Toshi!” Nana flashed a gleaming smile and a thumbs up. “You did good. I’m proud.”

“Master...” Even though he technically didn’t have eyes in the Lab, All Might started to tear up.

“And don’t worry too much about how you’re doing while training the ninth. We’ll pick up the slack like we are now!”

“Master!” The shock of that made Toshi revert to Civilian Mode. “I’m sorry, I got caught up in finding someone perfect and forgot to tell him everything I should have.”

“And done,” Z walked away from the One for All box as it drifted to the ground. “So I’m dealing with a 200 year sibling rivalry, I’ll get access to the other users’ Quirks once I get a handle on One for All, and there was a non-zero chance I was just gonna explode when the Quirk transferred, am I missing anything?”

“No,” Yoichi tilted his head. “You seem to be taking this in stride. I had expected you to be... Less put together at first.”

“I am losing my mind, just internally,” Z had long ago developed a habit to process things once he was in a private space without people observing. “But I don’t think I get to tell other people their backstories are a bit much. Also I’m the kid of a top hero, this isn’t the first conspiracy I’ve learned about.”

“And you’re still up for this?” Nana had a look of concern Z recognized from the few occasions his mother had worn it. One for him rather than about . “I trust Toshi’s judgment, but I don’t want you getting too far into things because you feel you have to. You can still spit up the hair and reject us before we become too ingrained.”

“I’m certain. I will take my position as the Ninth,” Following Z’s declaration a bridge was formed, connecting All Might’s island to Nana’s. “And I take it that you accept me.”

“Of course!” Nana gave him a smile and thumbs up. “Now get some rest and let One for All get settled. Try not to break any of his legs, Toshi.”

“I won’t,” All Might gave his master a bow, then turned to Z. “In case it wouldn’t be too much of a bother, could you... Invite me here again in the future? I have a lot I’d like to discuss.”

“Anytime,” All Might drew Z into an embrace before a snap brought the two back to reality, All Might back in Hero Mode. As soon as they had, Z felt his phone buzz in his pocket. “Is that something important, Young Z?”

“Let’s see... It’s a text from…” Z checked the name. “Nezu, the dean of UA, he wants to meet to discuss what just happened.”

“What.”

Chapter Text

“Am I a dog, a mouse, or a bear? What matters is; I’m the dean!” Nezu announced as his guests entered his office. “And you aim to be my student.”

“Correct,” Z answered as he took his seat across the Quirked animal’s desk, with All Might in Civilian Mode right beside him. After a second, Z’s focus switched to something invisible right above Nezu. “Huh, I can see those in real-space now.”

“Oh, you can see the summary from your mimicry?” Nezu clapped his hands in delight. “Fascinating! If it happens to list my species, do keep that a secret. It’s a game I’d rather not spoil for others to play.”

“I will neither confirm nor deny if it provides me that information,” Z took another look at the summary. “Ah, ok, High Specs; an intelligence enhancing Quirk. That explains a few things.”

“Oh?” Nezu was a little disappointed that he would miss out on some fun, but Z had a sense of familiarity that made the chimera interested all the same.

“Zero, my mother’s support technician, also has one. We’ve long stopped questioning how he does what he does and knows what he knows.”

“Then...” All Might spoke for the first time since entering the room. “What precisely do you wish to discuss, Nezu? I’m guessing you already know about Young Z’s inheritance, so I’m not quite sure what else would warrant a personal meeting so far from the start of the school year.”

“Well I have no doubt in my mind that Z will pass the recommendation entrance exam, but therein lies the problem.”

“What about Zetta?” Z guessed, and got a quick nod from Nezu. He noticed All Might looking a little uncertain so elaborated. “I don’t want to show that I have multiple Quirks at first. Even if All for One is considered a myth by most and few are likely to immediately connect me to Catastrophe, it’d still raise more questions that I’d like to address, especially to people I’m not familiar with.”

“I wish for all my students to feel comfortable and able to live as themselves in every sense,” Nezu recalled flashes of his past as a test subject, unable to simply exist as he wanted to. “And Z’s comfort requires the use of his Quirk in a way that clashes with his desires to keep his privacy. Fortunately, I have a solution!”

“You want me to take the general entrance exam as Zetta?”

“Indeed!” Nezu expected to feel a little annoyed at having his thunder stolen, but instead he felt relieved and a touch of excitement that he finally met someone who could keep up with him. “That way all of your faces would be recognized as a student of UA by those inside and out! Of course it’s up to you which one you’ll officially attend as, but this way no flags will be raised if you decide to swap in your free time.”

“Hm,” The eyes on Z’s mask narrowed as he thought about the proposal. “That’s probably the best option. It’s a very short-term solution, but I only want some time to get adjusted and determine if I can trust my classmates before coming out to them.”

“Yet you were so ready to bear all of that to me,” All Might said to his successor. “I thank you for your trust in me, but how were you certain of how I’d react?”

“Well... My mother always spoke highly of you. She said you were a ridiculous man whose strength was only matched by your love of theatrics,” All Might wilted slightly, but he agreed they were fair critiques. “But there wasn’t a single other person who ever embodied the word ‘hero’ as you did.”

“I- Thank you.”

“Now, back to business,” Nezu clapped to get everyone’s attention. “I assume Z has already picked the Quirks we’ll register under each identity.”

“Yes,” Z crossed his fingers then tapped on an invisible surface. “I’ll be using this barrier Quirk, then as Zetta I have an energy Quirk that I think will sync well with One for All.”

“Lovely!” Nezu looked at the monitor on his desk. “I believe that’s everything I wanted to cover for today. Yagi, I trust you to help Z get a handle on his new power, and I look forward to you both joining us next semester.”

“Of course.”

“I won’t disappoint,” Z and All Might bowed and left. 

~

“Young Z, be honest, what are your plans for the next few months?” Toshi asked his successor. “I will assist you as best I can, but I imagine it won’t take you very long to get a handle on your new power.”

“I’m still getting used to living in Japan and on my own, honestly. That and figuring out exactly who I want to be as ‘Zetta’,” Z paused for a minute before speaking again. “I wasn’t able to truly... experiment at home. Not for fear of my mother rejecting me, she would be the last to do anything like that, but there were circumstances that made me put things on hold, which meant I had a lot of time to question myself.”

“Is that the cause of your... assertiveness as Zetta?”

“Yeah. It’s to prove my certainty to myself as much as it is to others. As Zetta, I am a woman, and I won’t let that ever be contested.”

“Will you also have two hero names?”

“No, just one. As Z or Zetta, I am still myself, so the Hero me will have one name. I’ve already decided on it.”

“Oh? Care to share?”

“Nope. I’m keeping it a secret.”

“HA! Very well then, I look forward to being able to call you by it one day.”

“... I do too.”

~

A few minutes after the two wielder of One for All left, Nezu called in his other guest for the day.

“You wanted me?” The underground hero Eraserhead slumped down into a chair. The man was more asleep than awake, but did his job well.

“Yes, Aizawa. It concerns someone who, if enrolled, will be placed in your 1-A class.”

“Alright, who is this problem child?”

“They’re Catastrophe.”

“What.”

Chapter Text

Zetta walked through the gates of UA for her second entrance exam. Months had passed since meeting with Nezu and training with One for All began. All Might’s advice wasn’t the best, but it was what worked for him, and Nana didn’t have much better.

Eventually Zetta figured out how to call on OfA’s power, but only about 5% of it. Something kept her from accessing more. Maybe it was all her body could take, maybe her Quirk was keeping her from overloading, she couldn’t quite tell and neither could even Yoichi.

OfA worked well with Hyper Charge, the energy Quirk she had settled on. Its basic application was that it charged up energy Zetta could then use to enforce her body and power her movements without chipping at her actual stamina. It had a drawback of needing time to build up its Charge and balancing her usage with that Charge, but she already did that with her actual Quirk so it didn’t take long to get a handle on it. If the Charge built up too much she would need to do something drastic to expel it all before it started hurting her, such as fire a lazer beam which she had a lot of fun with. She could use OfA to speed things up, but at the cost of her actual stamina, which was very draining when used enough to launch a lazer.

All things considered, her progress was going well. She had already passed the recommendation entrance exam a month prior, so this was more a formality, but also a good chance to meet future classmates.

Like that pink girl falling down.

Wait.

Zetta blitzed forward, grabbed the girl before she hit the ground, and pulled her up to her feet. She had pink skin with fluffy even pinker hair that had yellow horns sticking out and golden irises in the middle of pitch black eyes.

“Sorry for that, but figured ya wouldn’t wanna fall on your face right outta the gate,” Zetta apologized. Yeah, she saved this girl, but she still felt she should say that when she touched someone she didn’t know.

“YOU!” The pink girl shoved a finger in Zetta’s face. “We’re friends now, meet up here later so I can get your name, I got an exam to pass! WAIT UP KIRI!!” The pink girl took off to the hero exam site and Zetta started to make her way over as well.

~

She found her seat in an auditorium but didn’t see the pink girl before the lights dimmed and a spotlight shined down on the pro hero Present Mic.

“CAN I GET A HEY!”

“HEY!” Zetta and only Zetta shouted back. Everyone turned to her like she was the one who acted weird. “Cowards, the lot of ya.”

“WELL AT LEAST ONE OF YOU KNOWS WHAT’S UP!” Present Mic gave Zetta a thumbs up. “Now, heroes-to-be, let’s go over what you’ll be facing!” 

Zetta tried to follow the explanation but kept getting distracted by the summaries her Quirk kept showing her, so closed her eyes to focus on Present Mic’s words after several screens around the room lit up, showing three different robots. 

“Before you are the One, Two, and Three Pointers! You’ll be given ten minutes to destroy as many as you can!”

“Excuse me!” A blue haired guy in glasses stood up. “The pamphlet clearly listed four enemy types, this kind of oversight is utterly unacceptable for an institution such as UA! And you!” He whirled to point at Zetta. “You disturb everyone and then don’t pay attention yourself! Such behavior is unacceptable of a UA hopeful and a lady-”

Zetta snapped her head to the young man so quickly there was an audible crack. He stopped his rant cold and paled under the death glare she poured every ounce of malice she could into.

“Thank you for your astuteness,” Present Mic said with wooden sincerity. “To answer that question, yes there’s a fourth type, but you’re not supposed to attack it. The Zero Pointer is an obstacle that you should avoid rather than run to, there’s literally no benefit to beating it.”

Zetta closed her eyes again to calm down and focus on the rest of Present Mic’s speech. 

~

Zetta walked around the waiting area of the testing site. There was no sign of anything starting just yet, so Zetta took the time to scan the crowd around her and noticed a head of fluffy pink hair among them and started to move towards it.

“What ar-” Zetta felt a hand grab her shoulder and smashed it without missing a beat. “OW!”

She quickly glanced behind her and saw the glasses guy from before clutching his fingers, but didn’t stop to say anything to him. Unfortunately before she could reach the pink girl, Zetta heard Present Mic’s voice.

“AND GO!” She spun towards the test site and started to charge energy as she sprinted to the first robots she could see. She had bashed her first one before realizing no one else had followed her and worrying if she did something wrong. “WHAT’RE YOU WAITING FOR?! THERE AREN’T ANY COUNTDOWNS IN REAL LIFE! GO GO GO!!!”

The rest of the crowd charged in and Zetta got to work destroying the robots she ran into, not bothering to keep a count like some of the others around her were. She also kept an eye out in case anyone had gotten in over their heads. Fortunately she didn’t see anyone in immediate trouble and hoped that it remained like that.

Then the Zero Pointer arrived. 

Present Mic reminded them that it was to be avoided, and Zetta was willing to comply. However, before she could turn to run, she once again saw a head of fluffy pink hair, fallen on the ground face down and leg trapped under some rubble.

The Zero Pointed was moving fast, there was no time to break the rubble trapping the pink girl and get her out, but just enough to blast the giant ass robot. Zetta knew there was no second chance and let One for All flow through to power up a lazer. She felt more than 5% running through her, but acted before she could realize how much extra she was using.

Zetta held her hands up in a triangle and put the Zero Pointer dead center.

“DELTA STREAM!”

A massive beam of energy shot from her hands and disintegrated the Zero Pointer’s outer shell on contact. The blast went through and the massive robot fell, a square hole burned through its core.

Zetta smiled to herself despite the massive fatigue draining away her consciousness. 

Wait. The triangle... Made a square... 

“What.”

Chapter Text

Zetta wasn’t used to sleep. Whenever she closed her eyes, she just went to the Lab, so the experience of ‘waking up’ instead was weird. Even more so when she found herself in the Lab and not in reality.

She had been exhausted by overuse of Hyper Charge before, but never to the point of passing out, which she suspected had to do with more of One for All being unlocked. Zetta looked to the floating islands of the ancient Quirk and saw that new bridges had been formed, adding two more islands to the chain.

Zetta went over to her island in One for All and discovered two more of the previous hosts.

Whom Nana had in headlocks. One was a man with short black hair and a red coat with a tall collar covering the lower part of his face who had accepted his fate and the other was a bald man with goggles and a leather jacket fighting against the Seventh’s grip. Yoichi watched them unconcerned.

“Hey Zetta, meet Fifth and Sixth!” She called over as though she wasn’t strangling two fully grown men. “They were pro heroes themselves in life like me, so you charging in to save that girl got you their approval and access to more of One for All!”

“I was wonderin’ about that,” Zetta gave the two older hosts a flat look. “Ya couldn’t have waited until after I did the stamina drainin’ attack?”

“That’s what I was saying!” Nana finally let the men free from her grasp. “You both know One for All has gotten immensely stronger, but didn’t even give Zetta a heads up!”

“Apologies,” The Sixth muttered.

“LIKE WE KNEW THAT WAS GONNA HAPPEN!” The Fifth shouted after retreating a good distance from Nana. “Anyway, nice to meet you face to face, kid. I’m Diagoro Banjo and the quiet one is En Tayutai.”

“With them now part of your chain, you should have access to half of One for All’s power,” Yoichi said. “However, now that you do have this much power I’m concerned about how much of it your false arm can take,” He pointed at where Zetta’s right arm should’ve been, now empty space in the Lab. “Before you’ve shown admirable control over your output, but given that you’re currently passed out I want to make sure you know your limits.”

“Hm,” Zetta rubbed the stump of her right shoulder. “I think it can withstand One for All coursing through it, but the actual impact of hits I don’t know for sure and I’m not in a hurry to test.”

“I see…” Yoichi paused in thought for a moment. “I think that’s everything of importance for now. You should wake up, it seems you have a visitor.”

~~~

Eraserhead looked at the sleeping form of the natural disaster he was to teach in a few weeks. He was experiencing mixed feelings to say the least. 

Catastrophe happened a few years before he started his own time at UA, and he always felt an uncomfortable amount of thanks to it. After the Quirk-fueled rampage decimated a city, his own Erasure Quirk became a lot more valued, and he wasn’t sure if he would’ve been accepted into the Hero Course without that in his favor.

It was something once hanging over him and now it lay in front of him. 

After the meeting with Nezu, he opted to watch Z take the recommended exam and Zetta the regular one so he could observe them with his own eyes. Now Eraserhead couldn’t help but see Catastrophe for what it was; a child who genuinely wanted to use their immense power for good. Only someone like that would charge in and save a stranger without thinking of the toll of Quirk overuse.

But his rational side didn’t want to let it go that easily. The kid had many names, and one of them was of disaster. So he wanted to make sure that this loss of control was the result of acting before thinking and not carelessness. 

Finally the kid opened her eyes and remained still. Her contact lenses that gave her green eyes with distinguished pupils and sclera had burned away, so it took Eraserhead a moment to realize she was probably looking at him and waiting for him to say something.

“Would you mind facing me so I can tell you’re actually looking at me?” Zetta sat up and turned to him, remaining in a defensive silence he knew well. “I’m Shota Aizawa, or the pro hero Eraserhead, and I’ll be your homeroom teacher during your time at UA. Nezu told me about your situation, every part of it.”

“So you know who and what I am?” Zetta asked carefully.

“Yes.”

“Ok, that saves me a lotta time,” Zetta flopped back down onto the bed then opened an eye and seemed to focus on something next to Aizawa’s head. “Erasure... Can I ask that you not use that on me unless it’s absolutely necessary?”

“Why?” Zetta became defensive again. “I will be honest with you. I can tell you’re a good kid, but I’m still uneasy with having you in my class and I doubt I’ll be the only one. However, so long as you are a student of UA, I will defend you from any and all threats. In exchange I ask that you not hide anything from me. So tell me, why do you want me to go my way to avoid using my Quirk on you?”

“My Quirk is tied to my memories,” Zetta pointed at her head. “I meet someone, I copy their Quirk, but if they die then I lose the ability to use their Quirk as well as my memories of that person. So if your Quirk ‘erases’ mine, then it may take my memories with it, and I’d rather you not do that.”

Aizawa nodded, and then a new question appeared in his mind.

“And what if you are the cause of their death?” Zetta froze, then reached into her jacket’s pocket and took out her mask. She held it to her face, but didn’t put it on fully and the eyes didn’t turn on.

“Then I get their memories of me, including their death,” She remained still for a moment. “It’s not a great feeling.”

“I see,” Aizawa thought of what that implied about a certain day. “Thank you and I apologize for making you answer those questions.”

“It’s fine, you’re just doing what you need to do to keep everyone safe,” Aizawa could feel a touch of venom in her words so offered a change in topic.

“Next week, acceptance letters will be sent out to those who passed the general exam, but I can tell you who your classmates from the recommended one will be if you want. You’ll be meeting them in a few days when you move into the 1-A dorms anyway.”

“Nah, if I’m meetin’ ‘em so soon, then I’ll wait.”

“Very well,” Aizawa stood to leave. “If there’s anything that I can do for you to make you feel more at ease, let me know.”

“Well…” Zetta tilted her head back a little. “There is a favor I’d like to ask. There’s a girl I’d like to have in my class if possible. I don’t actually know her, but she declared me her friend earlier today, so I’d like to have her around when I’m comfortable to come out as... well, as me.”

“That’s up to-” Aizawa started,

Then the PA system crackled to life and Nezu’s voice squeaked out.

“Don’t worry, I have it covered.”

“What.”

Chapter Text

The day for Z to move into the UA dorms had arrived, and he was pleased to be met with a familiar face when he entered the dorm’s common room.

“Hello again, Momo.”

“Hello to you as well, Z,” The Yaoyorozu heiress bowed back. The two were both recommendation students, but they were familiar with each other thanks to the high-class parties their parents occasionally brought them to as small children. Though due to Catastrophe shunting his body to the end of puberty, Z had only started to attend such gatherings again a couple years ago. “The other recommendation student has arrived as well, but it seems he’s decided to remain in his room. I’ve gotten myself situated, so I can provide assistance with your luggage if-” Momo stopped when she saw the several boxes suspended in the air behind Z by his barriers. “Oh, right. Apologies, I forgot that was your Quirk. I suppose I’m rather used to you not using it in public.”

“Yes, I’ve been told it’s a bit hard to see, so Mom told me to avoid using it where I may trip someone,” Technically not a lie, but he still felt bad saying it as Momo nodded in understanding. Despite the usefulness of her Creation, it tends to put people off when they drop a spoon and you offer a replacement made from your flesh, so she limited her Quirk usage when in higher-class company. “So is there a determined setup, or are we free to choose our rooms?”

“Oh!” Momo held up a clipboard she had next to her. “Yes, our arrangements have been determined for us. It seems that they’ve taken the time to modify each room to accommodate each of us, or at least that’s what I assume given that my own was rather... conspicuously spacious, as though they had anticipated the size of the bed I brought before I even chose it.”

“The Dean has an intelligence-enhancement Quirk, stuff like that happens,” Z thought back to the many times Zero has left behind various devices for specific uses without ever receiving a request for them.

“I see…” Momo looked at the clipboard. “Each room has a personal kitchen and bath in addition to the communal ones and gym here on the ground floor. The first floor is empty, for guests who may be visiting or students from other classes who are here past curfew. Then floors two through four have our rooms. You are on floor three, which is where I am as well!” She looked up at Z with a smile. “Perhaps we could give each other a tour of our rooms later?”

“Sure, but I need to set up my stuff first,” Z left with a wave and went up to his room and opened the door. Once all the boxes were in, he clapped and Zetta got to work unpacking. The times she could be here would be a bit scarce for a while, so she wanted to take the chances she could. 

First thing she saw was that Momo was absolutely right about each room being customized given the number of electrical outlets. Zetta had brought a lot of video game consoles, including a few that were modeled after ones from the pre-Quirk era that Zero essentially built from scratch, and her own PC. Nnez had taken to collecting video games as they helped provide a sense of control to kids who often felt like they had none. Zetta especially appreciated them as a way to vent freely. It was hard to bring yourself to properly express frustrations when the last time you did so scarred the planet.

Zetta decided to leave the bulk of the work for a later time and for now to simply set up her bed. She pulled a metal cube from a box and set it down. A few seconds later it unfolded into a large bed and she flopped down on it as she entered the Lab. New classmates in a few days meant more Quirks she’ll be copying, so best to prepare for that ahead of time.

~~~

It was evening on move-in day for the rest of 1-A now, and Zetta was still a bit nervous about meeting the rest of her class. It was nice catching up with Momo over the past few days, but she still never met the third recommendation student, and now there was a whole new set of people she’d have to hide from. Even though it was temporary, she didn’t like it. It didn’t feel very heroic.

A knock at her door snapped back to reality at the sound of someone knocking at her door. She got up, clapped, and Z opened his door to see the pink girl from the entrance exam. Internally, he was happy that she had gotten in, but he had to repress that and the sadness that came with seeing her deflate slightly. She clearly hoped the last member of 1-A would be Zetta, and it ate at him he couldn’t reveal that she was.

“Hey, we’re all meeting up downstairs to introduce ourselves, so come on!” The pink girl dashed to the stairs and Z followed her down to the common room.

There were a dozen people in total, all sitting on various pieces of furniture or standing against the walls.

“This is everyone, then?” Momo referenced her clipboard and took a head count. “There are fourteen members of 1-A in total, but it looks like two have decided to remain in their rooms. Those two are Shoto Todoroki, a fellow recommended student, and Katsuki Bakugo.”

“Todoroki? As in Endeavor’s family name?” The blue haired glasses wearing guy that called Zetta out at the exam asked. Z suddenly wished he had also requested there be someone not in his class. “It is truly fitting that UA would acquire someone of his caliber! However, I do not recognize the other name.”

“I do,” A boy with spiky red hair spoke up. “He got second on the standard entrance exam through villain points alone! He must be pretty manly, huh?”

“Who got first?” Momo asked.

“A girl named Zetta!” The pink girl shouted out. “She saved me from falling on my face, then from my face getting fallen on! I swear, if she didn’t get in, then this whole place is bullshit!”

“I’m sure she’s just in 1-B, or maybe she ended up going somewhere else instead,” The spiky haired boy pulled the pink girl back into her seat and gave her a pat on the back. “Anyway, we should get to introducing ourselves! You!” He pointed at Z. “You got here last, so you introduce yourself first, name and Quirk! Don’t try to get out of it, you gotta take your punishment like a man!”

“Sssure,” Z didn’t get a weird feeling from the emphasis on ‘man’ like he normally did. Somehow the spiky haired boy had made it gender neutral. “Call me Z, please, I don’t like nicknames. I am also a recommendation student alongside Momo and Todoroki. My Quirk is Barrier,” He crossed his fingers and tapped the small surface he made in the air. “I can move them around, but can’t change their shape once manifested. Also I still feel any impact they take, so even though it wouldn’t do any actual damage, a strong enough blow can force my fingers to uncross on reflex,” He paused for a moment and decided to add one more thing. “Also, just to get this out of the way, I’m the child of Matriarch, the Number Two hero of the US.”

“You looked familiar, I knew!” A girl with large gazelle-like horns shouted out in awkward Japanese. “An American also, I am!”

“<Oh, nice,>” Z spoke in English. “<Do you want to go next, then?>”

“<Sure,>” The horned girl paused in thought and swapped back to Japanese. “My name Pony Tsunotori is. Yes, my family name, Japanese is, but up here I didn’t grow and neither my parents did. My Quirk Horn Cannon is,” Pony pointed her fingers next to head to imitate her large horns as they popped off her head and hovered in the air, with a new set growing instantly. “Up to four shoot and control I can, and strong enough to carry a person they are,” She grabbed the horns she popped off and stared at them for a second, then looked at Z. “<I don’t know what to do with these now. Usually I shoot them off and then they get embedded into something and I just leave them there until they crumble away after an hour-ish.>”

“<There’s a trashcan in the kitchen, toss them in there,>” Pony thanked him and trotted away as he explained to the others in Japanese.

“<I am fluent in English as well, Tsunotori,>” Momo said when the horned girl returned. “<If Z isn’t available, you can ask me for assistance if you need it.>”

“<Ah, thanks,>” Pony bowed as she took her seat.

“Another horn buddy to the collection,” The pink girl whispered to herself, causing those who heard to stifle their laughs. “Ah, shit, guess I volunteered myself then,” She said with mock resignation. “I’m Mina Ashido, dancer extraordinaire! My Quirk is Acid, which I’m not gonna demonstrate for obvious reasons! I can produce it from anywhere on my body and control its PH level, though it saps my hydration, so I need to drink a lot to produce my acid.”

“Does the acidity of the drink affect your acid?” The blue-haired glasses guy asked.

“Sadly no, but I do like drinking undiluted lemon juice.”

“Ah, I see. I asked given the nature of my own Quirk,” He raised a leg up to show off metal pipes sticking out of his calf. “My name is Tenya Ida, and my Quirk is called Engine and it runs on orange juice, so I must manage that while also making sure I don’t overheat and stall my engines.”

“Ida… That sounds familiar,” A blonde with black stripes in his hair muttered.

“You would be thinking of my older brother, the Turbo Hero Ingenium!” Ida exclaimed. “He attended UA, and now I wish to follow in his footsteps to become just as great a hero as him one day!”

“Oh, neat,” The blonde looked like he was getting intimidated by the number of legacy students in his class. “Uh, guess I’m next then. I’m Denki Kaminari, my Quirk’s Electrification,” He spread his fingers and a current of electricity crackled between them. “It’s pretty strong, but it’s also really easy to overuse and leave me as a potato for a bit, so, uh, please bear with me when that happens and don’t think less of me for what I may do in that state.”

“Nah, being here is more than enough proof of how manly you are!” The spiky-haired guy shouted out, then realized everyone was focused on him now. “The name’s Eijiro Kirishima and the Quirk’s Hardening!” He flexed an arm and it suddenly gained a rock-like texture. “It’s not the flashiest, I know, but it’s still awesome! Hey, Z, make a barrier for me so I can show off!”

“... Are you sure?” Z asked, amused by Kirishima’s sheer enthusiasm.

“Yeah!”

“Alright, try not to break something,” Z crossed his fingers and made a small barrier appear in front of Kirishima. The red-head tapped the surface then threw a punch at it. Z felt the impact shake down his arm and watched Kirishima for his reaction. The Hardening user pulled his hand back and shook it as shards of... something fell off it.

“Thanks man! But uh... Yeah, ow, that hurt more than I thought,” Mina burst into laughter at Kirishima’s admittance.

“That was a poor idea, kero ,” A girl with big black eyes and long green hair tied in a big bow commented. She then took that as a chance to get her introduction out of the way. “I’m Tsuyu Asui, but call me Tsu, kero . My Quirk is Frog which lets me do things a frog can do, kero .”

“Is there a specific species of frog your Quirk is based on, or is it just... ‘frog’?” Z asked, familiar with how vague certain Quirk descriptions can be.

“Just ‘frog’, kero . It takes here and there from various species, so I figured out most of my powers through trial and error, kero ,” Tsu explained. 

There was a moment of silence until a girl with short purple hair raised her hand and started talking.

“I’m Kyoka Jiro. My Quirk is Earphone Jack,” She twirled her aux cord-like earlobe around her finger. “I can plug them into anything and channel my heartbeat through them. It includes super hearing, too, so I apologize in advance if I overhear anything sensitive.”

“Likewise,” A tall guy with his face mostly hidden behind silver hair and a facemask spoke from a mouth formed at the end of one of several arms. “Mezo Shoji, Dupli-Arms lets me recreate body parts from the ends of my arms, and any sensory organs I make are stronger than normal, so chances are that I’ll also hear something I wasn’t meant to.”

“Worry not, my friends. It would be unbecoming of us as hero hopefuls to judge you for the darkness of your own Quirks,” A literal raven-headed boy spoke from the darkest corner of the room. “As for myself, I have been christened as Fumikage Tokoyami, and my power has been bestowed the name... Dark Shadow.”

“Heya,” A bird-like creature made of pure darkness with glowing yellow eyes popped out from behind Tokoyami. Everyone took a moment to register the full sentient Quirk in front of them, and Z quickly entered the Lab to file the Dark Shadow he copied under ‘Not To Be Used Under Any Circumstances’. “I’m Dark Shadow, they/them, and just go along with Fumi’s ‘darkness’ thing, ok? He’s committed to the bi-,” They got cut off as Tokoyami shoved them out of sight.

“Leave me be, you maddening banquet of darkness,” As he fought with his own Quirk a cough sounded from a set of floating clothes.

“I’m Tooru Hagakure!” A semi-transparent girl raised up her arms and shook her wrists, her many bracelets making a loud clacking. “My Quirk is Invisibility as you can see! Or... Can’t.”

“... Oh am I not supposed to see you?” All heads turned to Z. Again. He was getting a little tired of being the focus this much. He sighed and grabbed his mask. He pulled it to the side enough so everyone could see an eye for a couple seconds, then put it back in place. “My eyes are entirely pupil, and my mom’s are the same. It’s due to a mutation Quirk we both ended up inheriting in part, so we literally see things differently. It’s the same with my barriers. I’m told they’re fully transparent, but I can see them just fine.”

“Can…” Tooru’s voice was slightly muffled by her hands that were now in front of her face. “Can I ask you some stuff later?”

“Sure,” She nodded at Z’s answer. “So who’s next?”

“I believe I’m the last one,” Momo raised her hand. “I’m Momo Yaoyorozu, and I’m fine with being called Momo given my family name being quite the mouthful. My Quirk is Creation. Using my lipids, I can create a substance I call Momochi-” She stopped as Z couldn’t hold back his abrupt laughter.

“Sorry, I didn’t know you actually took that name!”

“You two know each other, kero ?”

“We’ve met a couple times before the recommended exam,” Momo explained. “My parents donate to the organization Matriarch runs, and I’ve been brought along to their meetings in the past and met Z during some of those. We first met after my Quirk manifested, but before his did. We were sat next to each other and I made a small ball, intending to roll it back and forth as a little game to pass the time. Instead, Z picked it up and popped it into his mouth.”

“I was three!” He defended himself in vain against the chorus of laughter and mock gagging.

“As he chewed on it, he compared it to mochi and then rephrased it as ‘momochi’,” Momo continued. “I was still in shock at what he had done, but the name made me laugh, so I adopted it. I can produce Momochi in one of two ways, the first is in its Pure form,” Momo tugged at her belly and a small glob pulled away. She closed her fist around the Momochi and it formed into a staff. “The other is in its Constructed form,” Then, she closed her eyes in focus and another staff started to form directly out of her abdomen. She held the two up, then hit them against each other. The first one bent around the second, but regained its shape once Momo pulled them apart. “I can make Pure Momochi change its shape freely, but it isn’t very sturdy, and Constructed will retain its shape at the cost of taking a little longer to create. However, both still start to degrade after twenty four hours.”

“Can you make clothes out of it?” Mina asked.

“Yes, Momochi can take on the form of various materials, but not necessarily their exact properties. I can make a vest that looks and feels like it’s made of bulletproof material, but there’s no guarantee that it would provide that level of protection,” A chime rang throughout campus, signaling the nearing of curfew. “Oh, I didn’t realize so much time had passed! We should prepare to head to bed. Classes start tomorrow after all.”

Everyone muttered their agreement, most still tired from moving in, and started to head to their rooms. Tooru approached Z and quickly covered her face again.

“W-what color is my hair? And my eyes?” She asked. “I-I’ve been invisible since birth, so I don’t know.”

“Your hair is...” Z focused on Tooru. She was still semi-transparent, so he had to put in effort to focus on her and not what was behind her. “Mostly yellow-green, but with hints of pinks and reds. Your irises have layers. The outer is a mix of darker greens and blue, and the inner is of lighter oranges and yellows.

“So that’s what I look like...” She ran her fingers through her hair, pulling a lock down in front of her eyes in an attempt to see what Z did. “... Oh god, my hair is an absolute mess isn’t it? I can’t exactly style it, so it has to just be everywhere.”

“Yeah, it is a bit. You also have very bushy eyelashes,” Tooru covered her face even more at that, but let her hands down as she let out a huge breath.

“You think you could draw me sometime? I don’t care if it’s terrible, I just want an idea.”

“Sure, but for now we should get to bed,” Tooru nodded and followed Z up the stairs. Turns out, they were on the same floor together as was Mina. Z didn’t have a super-hearing Quirk active but he still felt Nezu’s laughter in the distance. Tooru went into her room to sleep, and Z headed to his to get to sorting these new powers he had, his previous nervousness lifted away. He still wanted to meet the other two members of 1-A, and Ida had him worried slightly, but he was starting to feel more and more that UA was a place he could safely be himself as much as herself.

Chapter Text

“I’m simply saying that you should give a courtesy introduction-”

“AND I’M TELLING YOU TO FUCK OFF!!”

“Well this is a lovely start,” Jiro had her hands over her ears as Ida tried in vain to get who she assumed was Bakugo to show any amount of manners in 1-A’s classroom. “Z, your barriers wouldn’t happen to be soundproof, would they?”

“Unfortunately no,” Z was also covering his ears. Bakugo’s shouting was too much even for those with non-super hearing. “I can do this, though.”

“YOU AIN’T THE BOSS OF ME, FO-” Bakugo’s shouts halted as Z crossed his fingers and made a barrier wrapping around the blonde’s mouth.

“Finally, inner peace,” Shoji muttered and a few others applauded the newfound silence.

“MMMHMHHMHMM!!” Bakugo clawed at the barrier gag. Then he suddenly stopped and his eyes fixed on something outside the classroom’s entrance. Everyone else followed his gaze and saw a yellow lump on the ground.

“It took you eight seconds to notice me,” The lump arose and a tired looking man slid out of it. “It should’ve been sooner, had you not been a distraction to yourself and your classmates,” He squinted at Bakugo for a second. “Whoever is using their Quirk on him, stop it. It was warranted, but I’m not letting any of you get into the habit of using your Quirks on fellow students just because they annoy you.”

“WHO THE HELL DID THAT?!” Bakugo shouted out once Z uncrossed his fingers, and then promptly found a new gag around his mouth in the form of the large scarf the tired looking man wore.

“I, however, am a teacher, so I can take action to stop behavior that annoys me-I mean compromises my ability to perform my job. Specifically, I am your homeroom teacher, Shoto Aizawa,” Aizawa ignored the varying emotions the students of 1-A had on their faces and dug out something from his sleeping bag and threw them onto his desk. “Now, get changed into your gym clothes and get out to the courtyard.”

“What about orientation?!” Ida cried out.

“If you want to listen to Nezu ramble be my guest, but this is the Hero course and one of the most important lessons you’ll learn is that you can’t waste time,” Aizawa released Bakugo, who finally stayed quiet, and walked out of the room. Then he poked his head back in after a second. “Get to it.”

~~~

“Ten minutes,” Aizawa held a stopwatch. “Decent enough, I suppose, but we’re gonna work on that. A second lost is a life lost in this field.”

“Um, may I inquire as to what we’re doing out here?” Momo asked.

“I thought that’d be rather obvious,” Aizawa pulled out a ball. “You all took gym tests at your previous schools, but you weren’t allowed to use your Quirks in accordance with the law. However, in this course you will be regularly using your Quirks, so we’re going to establish a new baseline for you to work with. Bakugo,” Aizawa tossed the blonde the ball. “How far was your throw in high school?”

“About 70 meters.”

“Ok, now use your Quirk,” Aizawa pointed to a circle drawn on the ground. “Do whatever you have to, just stay inside of that.”

“Alright then,” Bakugo put on a savage grin as he started to wind up, and everyone covered their ears. They didn’t know his Quirk, but given everything else about him it was probably loud.

And it was.

“DIE!” 

BOOM!!!

A strong backblast kicked up a cloud of dust and by the time it settled the ball had landed and Aizawa held up a counter that read 720 meters.

“The first step is knowing your limits, so you can work to overcome them. You want to be heroes, then get ready to put in the work.”

“Oh this’ll be fun!” Mina shouted and she froze as Aizawa slowly turned to her.

“‘Fun’ you say?” He let out a huge sigh. “Allow me to disabuse you of that notion. This is the hero course, you’re preparing for hero work. You will be fighting for not just your own life, but those of others. All Might gets away with his theatrics because he can do them without compromising his effectiveness in the field, and that is a luxury you can’t afford. I expect you to take this class seriously and if I find you’re unable to then I will not hesitate to send you down to General Ed or even expel you entirely. Are we clear?”

“Yes!” The class answered as one.

“Then let’s begin.”

~~~

“And now we’re done, so let’s review,” Aizawa announced to a mix of cheers and exhausted groans. “I’m just gonna go event-by-event and point out the standouts, which means I’ll be skipping over some events where there were none.”

Aizawa kept notes for each event, mainly to record the highlights to use to flex on Vlad and so he had stories when Present Mic and Midnight inevitably asked.

50 meter dash

Aizawa paired everyone with those he figured would be of similar speed, making the first round be between Z and Ida.

“Go!” Z made a little jump and pointed his crossed fingers forward. The barrier he made slammed into his back and flew him down the track and over the                                 finish line in less than three seconds, just slightly beating Ida and barely managing to land on his feet rather than his face. “I’m also going to give you max points for the long jump, save us both the time,” Aizawa muttered.

“That hardly seems professional,” Ida chopped in protest. 

“In the field, you need every second you can get. I’ll happily take shortcuts to lessen the work I need to do, and you all need to get used to looking for them as well. Find ways to save your energy. Next pair, get in place.” 

The other notable performances included Bakugo propelling himself with explosions and Ashido using her acid to slide along the track.

Grip strength

Overall, a solid display of power, with Shoji fusing one set of arms into a single fist, and ingenuity as Yaoyorozu made a vise and Z pressed his gauge between two barriers until it maxed out.

Standing Long Jump

Even ignoring Z’s pass, there were many standouts in this event. Bakugo temporarily achieved flight with well timed explosions, Asui’s powerful legs shot her far over the end of the sand pit, and Tsunotori had her horns carry her which made Aizawa mark her down as tied with Z in this category.

Ball Toss

Again, a series of creative Quirk uses. Yaoyorozu made a catapult which was quite effective, if time consuming to set up. Tsunotori held the ball in her horns and sent them speeding away until they hit the end of her  range and the ball went flying a good distance more.

And then Z.

“Are you going to want this back?” Z asked as he caught the ball.

“It’s just a ball, but if you can bring it back then I’ll include that distance as part of your throw.”

“WHAT?!” A few members of 1-A shouted out.

“None of you asked,” Was Aizawa’s only acknowledgement.

“Yeet,” Z tossed the ball and it shot into the distance. He kept his crossed fingers stretched out while keeping an eye on Aizawa who eventually held up the counter with an infinity symbol on it.

“I think that means you’ve hit low orbit. Can you still bring it back?”

“Yep,” Z pointed his crossed fingers back at himself and a few seconds later the ball came rocketing back into his hand. Aizawa wasn’t sure how he would calculate that, but considering that it was Z he doubted it really mattered. 

Endurance Run

Z and Tsunotori utilized their Quirks to fly again, Ashido skated along her acid, and Yaoyorozu shaped her Momochi into a bike.

As for those who were actually running, Ida maintained an impressive pace and Kirishima didn’t show any sign of exhaustion from the prior tests, which was impressive even with his Quirk boosting his endurance. 

Once it was clear the only ones still in were the ones who could keep going for hours, Aizawa ended the test and gathered everyone for the review.

=

“With that done, here are the scores,” Aizawa clicked the device he held and a projection lit up to show a leaderboard.

Everyone checked to see where they landed. Z, Momo, and Todoroki took the top three spots, while Hagakure and Jiro found themselves at the bottom.

It was in that moment that everyone paused and made a double take at the boy with half-red half-white hair and a scar over his left eye who had been with them this entire time. Todoroki didn’t react to everyone recognizing his presence.

“Now remember, this is to establish a baseline,” Aizawa called out. “You each now know where you need to improve, and I expect you to do so. You have the smaller gym in your dorms as well as the main campus gym and access to the various training grounds if you put in a request to use them. Especially Jiro and Hagakure,” The two flinched at being called out. “You two did well, if you hadn’t you’d be going to Present Mic’s Gen Ed class right now, but remember that while your Quirks are useful in a fight, Hero work is about more than taking down bad guys so keep in shape, got it?”

“Yep!” Tooru shouted back and Jiro simply nodded.

“Alright, class dismissed, that’s all I wanted to cover for today, use the rest to reflect,” Aizawa moved away and turned the corner before anyone could stop him. They were done, but he had one more person to talk to. “How you managed to remain undetected by anyone astounds me.”

“Well, I’m certain at least one of your students noticed me,” All Might answered, his ever present smile undiminished outside of his usual hero suit.

“What are you doing here anyway?”

“Would you be surprised if I said someone in 1-A has caught my eye?” 

“It’s Z, isn’t it?” Aizawa cut through the Number One’s theatrics. “If Nezu told me, I assume he told you the same thing about their... Situation.”

“Actually, Young Z told me themself.”

“They- Why?”

“Because I have his Quirk,” Z’s voice came from behind Aizawa. “Or rather, he gave it to me.”

“What.”

Chapter Text

“I AM-” The whole of Class 1-A was in disbelief at the voice right outside their classroom. They had heard the rumors, but none truly believed them to be confirmed. “COMING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!”

“All Might!”

“He’s really our teacher…”

“That’s his Silver Age costume, so cool!”

“<I wonder if I can get his autograph…>”

“Now then, let’s cut to the chase! This is Basic Heroics, and today’s subject is…” All Might paused for the perfect length of time. “COMBAT! And for that, you need to look the part!” He pulled out a remote and clicked it to reveal a series of panels in the classroom’s wall. “All of you filled out special request forms for your-”

“COSTUMES!” 1-A shouted, some even already out of their seats.

“Indeed! The outfit makes the man, so they say, and your costume is just as important as your Quirks! Change into them, then head to Training Ground Beta!” All Might dashed out of the room as everyone grabbed their suitcase and followed.

~~~

Z finished changing and looked at himself in the mirror. He had on only the lower half of his mask, now with a large grin literally cracked onto its surface, leaving his entirely red eyes exposed for all to see. His outfit consisted of a tattered version of the blue hoodie he liked to wear, a plain white t-shirt, and a large black skirt obscuring his lower half. Underneath he had pants with many pockets to house whatever emergency supplies one may need and he stood on a barrier made by crossing his toes that gave the impression of him gliding like a specter. Finally, he had three-fingered gloves to help his crossed fingers stay in place.

It was all exactly what he wanted.

He willed his barrier to move and joined the rest of his classmates at Ground Beta.

The reaction to his hero costume was what he expected. Many gave him looks of confusion, a couple were very unsettled, Ida was about to have an aneurysm, and Bakugo was laughing his ass off.

“IS THAT A FUCKING SKIRT?!”

“Yes,” Z said simply. He ignored any response Bakugo had, and turned to Momo. She wore plates of armor that had an off-white substance between them, and two very large spherical shoulder pads. “Is your outfit made of Momochi?”

“It is,” Momo answered brightly. “Well, the underlining is,” She pulled on the armor plate covering the back of her left hand and it popped off, showing the malleable material underneath. She placed the plate back and it sunk into place. “This lets me maintain both high defense and maneuverability! And these shoulder pads store excess Momochi for creation of weapons, or reinforcement of armor,” She flexed her right arm, and the shoulder orb decreased in size as the Momochi under the armor bulked up, giving the illusion that Momo was making her very limbs grow. She then held out her palm and the Momochi traveled further up her arm and shot out as a bo staff. She twirled it around, then absorbed it back into her suit, shoulder orb returning to the size it was before. “I was quite happy when I was able to put this all together on my own.”

“It’s impressive.”

 “Thank you.”

“Now then!” All Might reentered the scene with Aizawa in his sleeping bag slung over his shoulder. “Today’s focus will be indoor battle training! The majority of battles against villains are indoors, where wanton destruction isn’t an option! You all will be split into two teams, villains and heroes, and each team has their own tasks!”

“This seems a bit complicated, kero.”

“Actually it’s too simple,” Aizawa called from his sleeping bag. “This is more fitting for high schoolers, honestly.”

“And the best teacher is practical experience!” All Might struck a pose, holding up a clenched fist. “Also, it’s better to get in over your head in a controlled environment rather than the real thing!”

“Sir, how will we decide our teammates?!” Ida spoke as he raised his hand. “After all, there are fourteen of us, wouldn’t that leave us with an odd number?”

“For that first part, a lottery!” All Might pulled out a box with a hole in the top from... somewhere. “And as for the numbers issue, we’ll simply have two teams of three that’ll face each other to keep things fair, since this is the first lesson. Everyone, take a number!”

Once everyone had claimed a ball with a number, Aizawa’s hand popped out holding the remote he had during the physical trials and clicked it.

“AND HERE ARE THE TEAMS!!!” All Might announced as a hologram display shot out.

Team 1: Katsuki Bakugo and Tenya Ida

Team 2: Mezo Shoji and Fumikage Tokoyami

Team 3: Z and Pony Tsunotori

Team 4: Eijiro Kirishima and Kyoka Jiro

Team 5: Momo Yaoyorozu and Mina Ashido and Denki Kaminari

Team 6: Shoto Todoroki and Tsuyu Asui and Tooru Hagakure

“Now that we have that sorted, let’s go over your tasks,” All Might pulled out a piece of paper and read his notes off it. “In the designated building, the Villain team must defend a mock bomb for the allotted time while the Heroes must infiltrate and defuse it! For this exercise, touching the bomb will count as a defusing. Either side can also win by incapacitating the other side,” He paused at that and put on a serious look that made many in 1-A shiver. “I am trusting you all to exercise proper restraint. Just as I do not unleash all of my strength to stop every purse snatcher, I expect all of you to know what is an appropriate level of power to use on a fellow classmate. Understood?”

“Yes, sir!”

“Alright!” Japan’s Number One swapped back to his usual cheerful demeanor and reached into two more boxes he now had beside him. “Then let’s pick the participants for the first round! BEHOLD!”

Round 1: Team 2 (Heroes) vs Team 4 (Villains)

“DAMMIT!” Bakugo shouted, clearly not happy at having to wait his turn. Then he suddenly realized something and immediately calmed down, which those around him found more unsettling.

“Teams 2 and 4, follow me! Everyone else, follow Eraserhead to the viewing room!” 1-A’s homeroom teacher was already almost out of sight, making the non-participants break into a sprint to keep up.

~~~

Z put on glasses to watch the various monitors as the two teams prepared and his classmates speculated on how the sides would perform.

“Bluelight glasses?” Momo asked. She was the only one besides Pony who had come near Z since he put on his hero costume, though Mina and Kaminari had followed her now. “I would imagine that eyes such as yours are especially vulnerable.”

“They are,” Z turned to face her head-on. “It’s part of why I have my mask to begin with.”

“ Pft ,” Mina stifled a laugh, then jumped a little when Z looked at her. “Sorry, just, the way you look directly at her made me think of owls, and that’s a funny image in my head.”

“Hm,” Z turned back to the screens. “I don’t need to, but I look directly at who I’m talking to when my mask is off so they know I’m addressing them. It’s a habit my mom has as well.”

“That you’re harder to read without your mask, is funny,” Pony chuckled.

“BEGIN!” All Might’s announcement made everyone in the room jump and focus on the monitors.

On the villain’s side, Kirishima left Jiro alone with the bomb. They had picked a room in the corner of the building with two possible entrances.  Jiro had one earlobe jack plugged into the ground and another moving back and forth between the two entrances. Z guessed she was staying behind as she wasn’t as good at direct combat like her opponents and Kirishima.

With the heroes’, Shoji and Tokoyami had made their way inside and Shoji was using his extra ears as a radar. He suddenly focused on something and a second later Kirishima came barreling out of nowhere and started trying to knock the larger student down.

Shoji used his extra arms to fight back and Tokoyami took the opportunity to venture deeper into the building.

From there, Shoji and Kirishima were at a stalemate, so Z focused on the other match up. Tokoyami was knocking out the lights as he went with Dark Shadow, but sight wasn’t the sense his opponent was using. Jiro kept track of Tokoyami’s location the entire time, and once he got too close she plugged a jack into her boots and blasted a sound wave towards him.

Dark Shadow wrapped around their master and took the brunt of the attack, so Tokoyami was free to stand back up and try again. Jiro held out as best she could, but the sound blasts were taking more of a toll on her than Tokoyami, so eventually she had to hold her hands up in surrender and let Tokoyami claim the bomb and victory for his team.

~~~

“Excellent first round, all of you,” All Might applauded the two teams as they rejoined the class. “Now, for the rest, who would you give the title of MVP?”

“Jiro.”

“Jiro,” The mentioned girl looked in surprise at Z and Momo’s simultaneous answers.

“Even though she lost?” All Might was intrigued, to say the least. “Care to explain?”

“Do you want to go first or should I?” Momo offered Z.

“You.”

“Very well, ahem . Shoji and Tokoyami won, but it was through sheer brute force. Shoji remained occupied with Kirishima the whole round, and while Tokoyami did best Jiro, that was due to him being able to allow Dark Shadow to take the blows for him and keep going rather than attempt to develop a strategy. As said, Kirishima did admirably, granted. He coordinated with his teammate and worked to avoid letting the Hero team get too close to the bomb’s location, and while he didn’t let Shoji get past him, in doing so he left himself unable to defend his ally. Jiro defended the bomb directly, and took steps to be able to do so as effectively as possible. Had the time limit been even a minute less, she would’ve easily won the trial. Z?”

“Her Quirk use was what decided for me,” Z began his analysis. “With it she maintained positioning of everyone in the building, and managed to ward off Tokoyami for an extended period of time, only faltering due to her opponent’s stamina being greater than hers. In comparison, Kirishima, Shoji, and Tokoyami all used theirs as more blunt instruments.”

“Any objections?” All Might looked over 1-A, all of them looking as overloaded by the information as he felt. “Very well! Jiro gets the MVP slot for round one! Now let’s get things set up for round two!”

~~~

Round Two: Team 3 (Heroes) vs Team 1 (Villains)

“<I still can’t believe All Might’s our teacher,>” Pony jumped in place in excitement. “<I see where Star and Stripe gets it from! Oh! Do you know Star and Stripe, like, personally?>”

“<She’s basically my aunt,>” Nnez had described her relationship with Cathleen as being the first one where she was the one being adopted. When Nnez first entered the Hero scene, Cathleen all but physically carried her around. Nnez’s Quirk was unparalleled when it came to mitigating collateral damage, so the US Number One appreciated having her nearby so she didn’t need to worry about holding back. She was one of the few that Nnez personally told the truth about Catastrophe to, and the exact kind of person Z needed after that day.

“<That’s so cool! Also, um, is your costume based on your mother’s?>”

“<In part,>” Yes, he had taken from Nnez’s simple outfit of an orange jacket, black turtleneck, and white skirt, but there was another part of Z’s costume that she had inspired that few would be able to guess. “<I can answer more questions later, for now we should strategize,>” He pointed at Pony’s horns. “<Those can support your weight, right?>”

“<Yeah, but I can’t really fly with them,>” Pony popped her horns off and tucked them under her armpits to levitate off the ground. “<And I can’t stand on them, like you do with your barriers.>”

“<I can attach them to your legs,>” Z made a circle in the air with one of his gloves’ fingers. “<Does that work?>”

“<Huh. No idea, but let’s try it,>” Pony moved her detached horns to be against her thighs, and Z crossed his ring and pinky fingers on each hand to make a barrier wrap around her horn and leg. Once done, she carefully willed her horns to float and bent her legs like she was standing on a skateboard in mid-air to maintain her balance. “<... Holy cow, it’s working.>”

“<Good.>” 

“BEGIN!” All Might’s voice rang through their earpieces, and the two flew towards their goal.

=

“Bakugo, where are you going?!”

“TO WIN!” Bakugo ditched Ida as soon as he could. He had his sights set on Z. That physical test the hobo put them through had Z at the top, so that’s who Bakugo had to beat. He wasn’t about to let his unchallenged spot at the top go so easily. He hadn’t faltered before, and he wasn’t going to now.

=

“<I’ll go inside>,” Z pointed upwards. “<You fly around and try to see if you can find the bomb from the outside and then break through a window.>”

“<Alright, call for help if you need it!>” Pony shot up into the air, leaving Z amused, but genuinely thankful that Pony was concerned for his physical wellbeing. He dispelled the barrier he was standing on to free his crossed toes and walked into the building. Waiting for him in the lobby was Bakugo, still breathing heavily from the mad dash he made to get here, and cackling at the arrival of his opponent.

“Yes?” Z asked. He knew Bakugo was competitive from the physical test, but here he seemed a lot more manic.

“Oh, I’m just happy that I don’t have to waste time chasing you down! You all told each other your Quirks, right? Well here’s mine,” Bakugo pointed a grenade-shaped gauntlet at Z and hooked a finger through the pin sticking out of it. “My palms secrete an explosive sweat, and these gauntlets store it over time. So if I release it all at once…” Z didn’t like where this was going.

“Bakugo, remember what I said earlier,” All Might said. “You are to recognize what is and is not a fitting level of force, and what you’re planning far exceeds it.”

“HE’S GOT A SHIELD, HOW ELSE AM I GONNA BREAK THROUGH?!” Bakugo shouted as he pulled the pin.

Ping

One second.

Two.

“WHERE THE HELL’S THE-!?”

“Bakugo,” All Might’s voice left no room for argument. “Stand down.”

“NO! I’M NOT DONE-” Bakugo launched himself at Z, but crashed into a barrier. He stumbled around, and bumped into a barrier that was behind him as well. Then Bakugo realized what had happened. Z had encased him in a dome. Had his gauntlet gone off as intended, he would’ve taken the full force of his own attack. “I…”

“Lost,” Z walked past Bakugo, not sparing him a glance and leaving the blonde to sit with his thoughts.

“<Z, I found the bomb!>” Pony’s voice came through Z’s earpiece. <Ida’s running around with it, but I can’t catch him!>”

“<I’ve dealt with Bakugo, so I’ll be there a second,>” Z jumped in the air and encased himself in a barrier. He could sense the location of the barriers attached to Pony moving above him. “<Stop moving, but point your leg at where Ida is,>” Pony complied and Z made his calculations. Once he had a sense of Ida’s location he shot upwards and burst through the ceiling to the floor above, right in front of the speedster who failed to stop in time and crashed into a barrier Z made in front of him.

“AND THE HEROES WIN!” All Might announced. Z offered a hand to Ida, who took it after a moment. Pony started flipping in the air until she got dizzy and leaned on Z for support as everyone returned to the viewing room.

~~~

“While the MVP status is obvious,” All Might began. Pony and Ida nodded towards Z while Bakugo remained catatonic. “I will still ask the class for their thoughts on everyone’s performance!”

“I agree on Z’s MVP status, but I do have a critique of his performance,” Momo said. “I understand the shortest path is a straight line, but had this been an actual explosive, appearing directly in the path of Ida would’ve been highly reckless.”

“Fair,” Z responded.

“Though I suppose Ida carrying around the bomb like that in the first place was itself reckless, but he was committed to his performance as a villain which he did admirably, especially considering the behavior of his partner,” Momo continued. Ida actually teared up a little at the praise sent his way. “And Tsunotori did well adapting to the suggestions of her teammate, and knowing when she couldn’t handle chasing Ida on her own.”

“Very good once again, Young Yaoyorozu,” All Might was a little worried that the level of detail she went into was intimidating. “Anyone else have any comments?”

“Uh,” Kirishima raised his hand. “What exactly happened with Bakugo’s gauntlets?”

“Failsafe,” Aizawa spoke up. “Any parts of your support equipment that could’ve done serious damage were disabled. If Jiro had tried to turn her speakers too high, they would’ve failed. I’m mad that I have to say this on day two , but time for this warning,” He pointed right at Bakugo. “If you think being a hero means you get to swing your Quirks about without restraint, think again. If any of you show this level of disregard for safety again, then I’ll expel you from UA that very second,” With that done, he flopped back down and went right back to sleep.

“... As he said,” All Might took over again. “Now, we still have the three v three match, so let’s get to it!”

~~~

Round 3: Team 6 (Heroes) vs Team 5 (Villains)

“BEGIN!”

Instantly the building was covered in a fine layer of ice.

“What.”

Chapter Text

“Hey isn’t this overkill?!” Tooru shouted at Todoroki as he walked into the freshly frozen building.

“It’ll only be a couple minutes, they’ll be fine,” Came the monotone reply.

“Young Hagakure and Asui,” All Might said through their earpieces.  “If neither of you are comfortable entering the building, then please return to the viewing room so you may observe the match.”

“Ok, kero .”

~~~

“<Brutal,>” Pony whispered. She turned to Z, only to see empty space. She looked around to find him approaching Bakugo, who had taken to simmering in the corner after his loss.

“Excuse me,” Bakugo barely acknowledged Z’s words. “I want to apologize.”

“... The hell you on about?” Bakugo spat out. He looked at Z, trying to gauge if the offer was sincere or not, but Z’s pure red eyes betrayed no intent. “I don’t want your pity.”

“I’m doing this for my own conscience,” Z retorted. “I encased you in a barrier when I thought you were about to launch a powerful attack. Had it gone off, it would’ve injured you greatly. I should not have done that.”

“Don’t look down on me,” Bakugo rage rose to its usual levels. “I would’ve taken that blast no problem.”

“No you wouldn’t have,” Z stated as casually as one would say that the sky was blue. “But that is beside the point. Just as you were wrong in how you attempted to use your Quirk on me, I was wrong to use my Quirk on you as I did today and yesterday, and I wish to let you know I regret doing so.”

“... Piss off already,” Z nodded at that and walked back over to Pony to watch the match.

“<Did you really need to->” Pony whispered to him, but got cut off as Z answered before she finished.

“<He does annoy me, but that doesn’t make what I did ok. And it’s better to apologize now than let it boil into something worse.>”

“Well this sucks,” Tooru muttered as she and Tsuyu rejoined the class.

“Indeed,” All Might agreed. “But for now I ask that you all watch Team 5. They will teach you perhaps the most important lesson you will ever learn here at UA; no matter how hopeless victory may seem, never give up. There is always a path to victory.”

1-A nodded and all looked to the screens to watch the frozen team already working out their plan.

~~~

“Ho-holy shit,” Kaminari shivered as he tried in vain to pull himself from the ice trapping his feet.

“N-no kidd-ding,” Mina was doing even worse with her thinner outfit.

“Hmmm,” Momo was deep in thought. Momochi was an excellent insulator, so she wasn’t feeling the cold as badly as her teammates. She held out her hand and produced a glob of Momochi and held it out to Mina. “Can your acid melt this?”

“Pr-probably. W-why?”

“Simple chemistry,” Momo knew time was limited, so did her best to condense things. “As the Momochi breaks down, it will produce heat, which will melt the ice, and acids mixed with water create a solution that is a very good conductor.”

“S-so Mina coats the Momochi, melts the ice, and I zap whoever comes in?” Kaminari asked.”

“Exactly.”

“I-I’ll do it-t,” Mina took the Momochi glob and got to work.

=

Shoto Todoroki understood why the match wasn’t called instantly, but he still felt that it should’ve been and saved everyone the time.

But if this is what he must do, then he will teach them all the lesson his father drilled into his head. Power is everything.

He finally arrived at the door to the room where the other team was hiding. He started to open it, but stopped when he noticed something seeping out from underneath.

Was that water?

=

“AND VILLAINS WIN!” All Might called out as Todoroki collapsed.

~~~

“You did great out there!” Tooru called out to Team 5’s members. “I wish I could’ve shown you my ninja skills, but this stuff doesn’t provide that much protection,” She pulled on something over her torso and let it go. There was a loud sound as it snapped back into place. She then noticed many of her classmates having a look of surprise. “What?”

“You’ve got invisible clothes?!” Mina shouted out.

“Yes?” Tooru held a finger to her chin. “Did everyone really think I wasn’t wearing anything besides gloves and boots?”

“I mean... Kinda?” Mina gestured to Tooru’s invisible form. “Was I supposed to learn by giving you a slap on the ass or something?”

“Ok, fair,” Tooru admitted. “Not that I would’ve minded.”

“Huh?”

“Hm?”

“Hold on,” Z did nothing to hide the insult he felt. “Did you think that I saw Hagakure nude and didn’t say anything?! ”

“Uh…” Mina took a step back as the blood red orbs that were Z’s eyes were directed straight at her and struggled to answer. “I- Sorry, I didn’t think-”

“Wait, no, it’s- I,” For the first time since he walked out in his hero costume, Z’s bluntness slipped and went back to the softer tone he usually had. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have assumed what you may or may not have thought.”

“Oh, hey, since you can see my outfit can you tell me how it looks?” Tooru bounced as she asked, doing her best to defuse the tension.

“Cute,” Z answered without hesitation and he turned back to face All Might, ignoring the devastation Tooru was left in after her teasing backfired stupendously.

“Now it’s time for the last review for today!” All Might announced.

“Momo is the MVP,” Z started and the rest of the class nodded in agreement. “Her analysis of both her teammates’ Quirks and how they would work alongside hers was nothing short of stellar, especially in contrast to Todoroki not considering for even a second how his teammates would react to the cold.”

“Indeed!” Ida exclaimed. “Such callous disregard of your fellow heroes is utterly unbecoming of a UA student!”

“You’re all too kind,” Momo blushed.

“Mina did great too!” Kirishima shouted out. “She was shivering like mad, but still had the focus to use her Quirk like a man!”

“Awww, thanks Kiri!” Mina wrapped her childhood friend in a big hug.

“Her and Kaminari,” The electric user perked up as Z took over again. “Both of them had Quirks that could’ve become a hazard on their own, particularly Mina’s acid given the potency it needed, but they both used them just as well as Momo did hers.”

“Y-yeah,” Mina’s smile faltered. “Sorry, I appreciate the compliment, but I don’t like making my acid strong enough to seriously harm someone.”

“I see…”

“AND SO!” All Might sensed the dip in the mood and worked to get it back up again. “Your first class in, and another step towards Heroics has been completed! Use what you’ve learned today to go beyond PLUS ULTRA!”

“Also think about visiting 1-H,” Aizawa said from his sleeping bag. “The support course’s labs are open past regular class hours for those who want to tinker. Some of you would be wise to invest in getting support gear. Class dismissed.”

~~~

“What did you bring?” Tooru pointed at the small plastic container Z was holding. She had tagged along with Z and Pony to visit 1-H once they were back into their school uniforms. 

“Cookies,” Z opened the container and offered it to the girls. “The relation between a Hero and their Support Tech is one of the most important in either’s career, so it’s best to get off on the right foot.”

“Great, these are!” Pony practically inhaled the rest of her cookie and grabbed a second before Z could close the container.

“Thanks.”

“So I’m guessing you guys are gonna ask about something that’ll hold Pony’s horns and let her fly like during class?” Tooru pointed to where Z had strapped Pony’s horns on her own legs.

“That’s the plan. What about you?”

“I’m gonna see what kind of stuff they can make for my gloves and boots,” Tooru shook her bracelets and stomped her feet. “I wanted them so I had something visible for my hero costume, but after today I think I should do more with them.”

“Good ide- Wait,” Z held out an arm as they got to the heavily reinforced doors of Class 1-H’s room.

“For what, we are waiting?” Pony asked.

BOOM

Pony and Tooru stood completely still as the doors of 1-H’s lab flew past them.

“DAMMIT HATSUME!”

“Sorry, teach!”

“That,” Z carefully approached the now opened threshold. “Hello? We’re from Class 1-A.”

“Come in!” A man with a large yellow helmet that looked like an excavator claw waved the group over. “I’m Powerloader, the teacher for this class. Let me know what you need and I can find someone who can help you out, or at least put in an order with a larger support company.”

“WAIT!” A pink blur sped to Z. “You’re one of the recommended students right?! The barrier one?! Let me make babies for you!”

“I’m assuming you mean your inventions?” Z asked, doing his best to seem unphased and took a step back. The girl had pink dreadlocks and intense yellow eyes with crosshairs that darted all over him. His mimicry provided the girl’s summary and he learned her name, Mei Hatsume, and her Quirk Zoom. He saw that it had to do with her eyes, which unfortunately made it useless to him.

“Yep!” Hatsume dragged Z to her work table. “People look at me weird when I say that, but I don’t care. I brought my babies into this world and I take care of them as a mother should, even if they tend to blow up on me. Especially when they blow up on me, actually.”

“... I’m making her my Support Tech,” Z called over to Powerloader.

“You have my sincerest condolences,” The pro hero saluted Z before turning back to help Pony and Tooru with their plans.

“R-really?” Mei had not been expecting to be accepted so easily. “But I haven’t shown you anything! I even had a PowerPoint ready for this!”

“You can still show it to me if you want.”

“No, you said you were picking me, verbal contract signed, we’re partners now!” Mei rambled as she reached for a pair of goggles that was a smaller version of the massive ones she wore. “Here, try this baby!”

“Ok…” Z took off his mask and put the goggles on. They fit comfortably, and he found that he didn’t have to be constantly squinting like he usually did when he didn’t have his mask on.

“Your eyes are weird, right? Mine too! Zoom lets me focus on anything up to five kilometers away! The goggle babies I wear help cut down on the glare and keep me focused on what I want to look at, and I figured you’d like that just for basic quality of life stuff and so you can make barriers from a distance. You can do that, right?”

“So long as it’s in my line of sight, yes,” Z took off the goggles and put his mask back on. “Do you think you could make this with one lens?”

“Oh, does looking through only one eye make it easier to focus?” Z nodded in answer to Mei’s question. He also wanted to keep his eyes unobscured as much as possible in his hero outfit. “Yeah, I can do that easily. I also got ideas for capture tools, like foam grenades and capture nets you can trigger by releasing a barrier if you’ve got ideas for those too!”

“I’m interested in hearing everything and anything,” Z had a feeling that this was the start of a very productive partnership.

“YES! We’re gonna get along great… uh…” Mei looked over her workbench for something. She quickly gave up and then asked with complete sincerity. “What’s your name?”

“Z,” That feeling had ever-so-slightly lessened, but he still felt positive overall. 

“Z,” She repeated back. “Z. Like Zoom. Ok I think I can remember that. I’m bad with names, but you’re my first customer, so I should probably remember it.”

“And you should also tell me yours,” Z said so he didn’t have to keep acting like he didn’t know it.

“Mei Hatsume! Future CEO of Hatsume Industries!” Mei thumped her chest. “Together we’ll introduce a new wave of tech to the world of heroes!”

“There’s still paperwork you two need to do,” Powerloader shouted over to them.

“It is done,” Nezu’s voice echoed around the room.

“What.”

Chapter Text

“Today it is finally time,” Aizawa stood before 1-A as he spoke with cold seriousness. “For you to pick your class president and vice president,” He climbed into his sleeping bag. “You’re all legally adults, you can do this on your own.”

“It feels weird to be doing a normal school thing,” Mina said.

“I say we put it to a vote!” Ida stood up with his declaration.

“A good decision,” Momo agreed along with similar affirmations from the rest of the class.

“<Democracy prevails,>” Pony whispered, getting a snort from Z. 

“Very well!” Ida pulled several index cards from his bag. “I ask that everyone follow proper etiquette and not vote for yourselves. First place will be our president, and second shall be the vice, and a tie breaker will be held if needed.”

Ida passed out the cards and Z wrote down Momo, because after yesterday’s class it was clear how valuable she was in a desperate situation. Once everyone had their choices written down, Ida collected the cards and put a tally up on the chalkboard as he went through them.

After a couple minutes he stepped aside and revealed the tally.

Nine for Momo, three for Z, and two ‘don’t cares’.

“O-oh my,” Momo was taken aback by how overwhelming the results were in her favor.

“Huh?” Z meanwhile was surprised that anyone voted for him in the first place. “Me? Really?”

“Yeah!” Pony cheered. “You, my friend are! Why wouldn’t for you I vote?”

“I’m number two,” Tooru rattled the bracelets on one hand. “I would like to have the one person who can see me be someone I can go to.”

“... I was vote three,” Jiro admitted. “I figured that everyone was voting for Momo, but you also gave good advice yesterday, so I wanted to have you as the vice at least.”

“I see... Thanks,” Z was happy that he got the trust of his classmates, but that made the fact that he was still hiding his power and full identity eat at him all the more. It bothered him so much he didn’t notice Momo approach him until she coughed and extended a hand.

“I could not ask for a better vice president at my side, and I look forward to our continuing partnership.”

“Of course,” Z took her hand with his right. He became aware of the metal framework hidden under a layer of false skin and it being yet another lie he knew he had to discard soon.

~~~

“Excuse me, sir!”

“Please, we just have a few questions!”

“Is it true that All Might is teaching here?!”

“Hey, aren’t you the son of Matriarch?!”

“Damn vultures,” Z passed the front gate on the way to lunch and kept a wide berth from the reporters behind the iron pillars of UA’s front entrance. He never figured out the exact range his Quirk needed to mimic another’s without him consciously putting effort into it, but he was glad that it didn’t subject him to even more of a barrage from the press than he was already getting.

“Can I ask you something?” Z jumped at the low voice of Mezo Shoji suddenly appearing next to him. For someone of his size, Shoji was weirdly good at keeping his presence unnoticed until he wanted it to be.

“Sure.”

“Your hero costume,” Shoji traced a jagged smile along his own mask. “Is there a reason for the cracked teeth?”

“Oh, my teeth are actually like that,” Z lifted his mask above his mouth and showed off his shattered smile. “Unlike my eyes, this isn’t due to a mutation, but I’d rather not explain further.”

“I understand,” Shoji tugged at his own mask, but didn’t pull it down. “May I ask as to why you decided to have that covered, but your eyes exposed?”

“Well my mask doesn’t hide my eyes in the first place,” Z pointed to the pure red dots that darted around his mask’s curved surface. “But I want to show them on my terms. Same with my teeth. I do have a more detailed reason, but I don’t want to go into it yet .”

“Is there a specific time you’re waiting for?”

“When I reveal my hero name,” Z answered. “I consider that my ultimate declaration of the hero I want to be, so I’ll explain fully then.”

“Very well,” The two continued to the cafeteria in an unbroken, but comfortable, silence.

~~~

“You I can join?” Pony trotted up to Z and Shoji who had gotten their food and found a table, Shoji sitting at the end given his size.

“Of course,” Z pointed to the seat across from him.

“May I partake as well?” Momo asked, holding a tray with a mountain of food on it. 

“Do you really eat all that?!” The voice of Tooru came along with her own floating tray.

“Well, Momochi is made from my lipids, so I do need to eat quite a lot to maintain a constant supply,” Momo explained as everyone took their seats, with herself next to Z and Tooru across from her.

“It’s a real party over here, huh?” Mina slid into the seat next to Tooru.

“Hope we don’t run out of room,” Kirishima plopped down across from Mina.

“I could just make more,” Z crossed his fingers and set a salt shaker on the barrier for a second, then uncrossing and letting it fall to the table.

“Nah, I call dibs on this spot,” Jiro said as she grabbed a seat and claimed the other end of the table.

“Hm,” Shoji was surprised by the crowd that had appeared, but he found he didn’t mind the sudden company and simply enjoyed listening to his fellow 1-A students chatter amongst themselves.

“Hey, Z, what’s the deal with your hero costume? Kinda made you look more like a villain to me.”

“That’s intentional. I have a reason for it, but I don’t want to go into it right now.”

“Oh wow. You have something you’re dedicated to enough that you don’t care about being seen as a villain? So manly.”

“You keep using that word, but I can’t figure out what its exact meaning is supposed to be...”

“That’s just how Kiri is, Yaomomo.”

“I see. Wait, ‘Yaomomo’?”

“Yeah! It’s a nickname! I give all my friends nicknames! Except Z, since he said not to.”

“I appreciate that.”

It was a weirdly normal sight, varying colors and visibility of those present aside. Everyone was just enjoying their food and conversation with their friends, like typical college students.

Then the alarms started.

Security level three! Security level three! 

All students please evacuate in an orderly fashion!

Unfortunately what happened was the exact opposite, and the 1-A members found themselves having to cling to their table to avoid being thrown off their seats by the ensuing stampede.

“What does that mean?!” Kirishima shouted above the noise.

“It means someone has managed to break their way onto campus!” A passing student explained before the crowd swept him away.

“Tooru!” Z shouted, knowing that it was all too possible for the invisible girl to be shoved down and trampled without anyone realizing.

“I got her!” Mina had a hand clinging to Tooru and another to Kirishima who was doing his best to be a rock parting the stream of people around him.

“Z, make a barrier above the crowd,” Momo directed. “Get everyone on it safely.”

“Got it,” Z pictured the stairs and platform needed in his head and crossed his fingers to manifest them. Shoji grabbed onto the side and pulled himself up while Z helped Pony get up the invisible steps. Together, Z led and Shoji pulled up the rest of their group on the barrier. “Everyone, sit down in case I need to move the barrier.”

The group followed his orders and everyone was holding onto at least one other person, Mina now having both arms wrapped around Tooru and squeezing her for dear life.

“The press,” Shoji had made an eye with his Dupli-Arms and pointed it to the cafeteria’s windows. “It’s just the press.”

“Ok, now how do we tell everyone else that?” Jiro asked. “I had my speakers in my bag, but that’s been kicked away to god knows where now.”

“I can make a megaphone, but it’s not a powerful one,” Momo clenched her fist around a glob of Momochi and closed her eyes in concentration. “It’ll take a few seconds, so if anyone can find a way to get attention, do so now.”

“... I can,” Z worked his jaw a little. “I highly recommend that everyone cover their ears, and I apologize to Jiro and Shoji especially in advance.”

Everyone complied to the best of their abilities as Z took a deep breath.

“ FWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!! ”

The piercing whistle tore right through the noise of the mob and made everyone stop as they tried to protect their ears from the horrible sound.

“ATTENTION! ATTENTION!” Momo spoke through her Momochi megaphone. “The intruders are merely the press, not any nefarious force. Please, calm down and organize yourselves.”

The mess of students mumbled apologies and slowly made their way to the exit while Z kept the 1-A group aloft on his barrier.

“First off, fucking OW,” Jiro was still holding her ears. “Second, good job, but still, OW!”

“It was a necessary evil,” Shoji assured Z, though he still had a pained look in his eyes.

“Ashido, you can let go of Tooru, now,” Z told Mina. She promptly freed Tooru, who was staring into the distance.

“was that what heaven feels like?” Only Z could see Tooru’s face, but she could still be heard by Jiro and Shoji who both turned to her.

“Huh?”

“Hm?”

“…” 

“<Ok, Z, what the hell was that?>” Pony wasn’t even trying to stick to Japanese.

“This,” Z lifted his mask to show his teeth to the group. “It was a discovery I wasn’t looking for, nor wanted to find, but I found it nonetheless.”

“Well it has served us well this day,” Momo absorbed her megaphone back into herself. “And let it put to rest any doubts you may have had about being my vice representative.”

“... yeah.”

“Hey, wait, when were you two on given name terms?” Mina pointed at Z and Tooru. “Something going on here?”

“No!” Tooru said a bit too quickly. “I don’t mind it though. Z can see my face, he can call me by my given name.”

“I had to act quickly and ‘Tooru’ comes to mind before ‘Hagakure’,” Z explained.

“Yet you called me 'Ashido',” Mina squinted at Z.

“Because that’s just the English word <acid>.”

“... Huh,” It was clear that Mina had never had that thought before. “Weird. For the record, I’m fine with you calling me Mina.”

“Noted,” By now the crowd had calmed down and thinned below them, so Z helped everyone get down. No one knew how the press got in, but they all had a feeling there was something more to it than a simple accident.

~~~

“I think it’s safe to say this wasn’t the press,” Aizawa quipped.

“Indeed,” Nezu stood before the hole torn in UA’s entrance, a massive pile of dust now sitting in the gateway. “I’ve already checked the security cameras. There was one person who seemed out of place, but they stayed with a group of reporters during their ‘visit’. I couldn’t tell what they were looking for, but I know what it is they want.”

“And what would that be?”

“War.”

Chapter Text

“Today’s Heroics is rescue,” Aizawa wasted little time getting class started and activated the hidden shelves that held everyone’s hero outfits. “Some of you did request updates to your costumes, but not all have been changed. Take this as a lesson to put in your requests sooner. Also we’re taking a bus to the training site. That’s all, get ready.”

~~~

“Everyone, take a seat, and please try to be courteous of those around you,” Momo directed everyone onto the bus. There were a few rows of seats in the back, but most were facing each other in a single aisle. Momo took a seat in the rows along with Shoji, and Bakugo and Todoroki who sat in the very far corners. Z took a seat at the far end of the aisle, Pony took the seat next to him, and Tooru sat across from them.

“I updates got!” Pony pointed to clasps on her outfit’s sleeves and pants legs. “In here my horns go, and fly they let me. Here too,” She lifted a hoof to show the horseshoe she had on had indents one of her horns could slot into. “Faster kicks and punches they also give!”

“Oh nice!” Tooru held up her gloved hands, which now each had thick metal cuffs around the wrists. “I got these, they’re radioes,” She popped one off to show. “I’m also thinking of getting a set of handcuffs like these.”

“Did you get anything for your boots?” Z asked.

“I did, but I don’t think I’ll keep them,” Tooru held her boots out and clicked her heels. Z didn’t know what he was expecting, but he was surprised when spikes shot out of the soles of Tooru’s boots. She clicked her heels again and the spikes retracted. “This was an idea Powerloader pitched, and I wanted to at least test them before turning them down.”

“I think they’ll be very helpful,” Z gave her a thumbs up. “Your feet and hands are the only parts of you that have any protection, so might as well give them offensive options as well as defensive. And today’s focus is rescue, so there’s probably going to be various terrains that those spikes can help you get across!”

 “You seem excited for this lesson, kero,” Tsuyu commented from her spot next to Tooru. “You aren’t talking like you did during last Heroics class.”

“Yeah, my mom is primarily a rescue hero.”

“She must be an incredibly talented one to achieve the number two position,” Momo said.

“She really is,” Z liked having an opportunity to talk about Nnez’s hero work. “Her Quirk lets her repair anything, often to a better condition than it was before it was broken, which is why she had enough support to start her child care organization in the first place.”

“What is her Quirk, kero?” Tsuyu put a finger on her chin in thought. “I don’t think you’ve mentioned it before, kero.”

“Its name is ‘Correction’. Mom phrases it as being able to ‘right’ a ‘wrong’,” Z said as he made air quotes around the words. “It functions on her own sense of right and wrong, which causes problems on occasion.”

“Such as?” Momo asked.

“If she doesn’t know what is ‘wrong’ then she can’t act to ‘right’ it,” Again, he made the air quotes. “It’s strong, but very very particular in its usage. Its healing is the most finicky.”

“About that, I have heard,” Pony murmured.

“My mom is very steadfast in her beliefs. She has to be for her Quirk to operate,” Z recalled a lecture Nnez had given him long ago. “If someone gets hurt because of their own recklessness, she won’t heal them. It would be ‘wrong’ to remove the consequences of one’s actions when they should have known what they would be.”

“But don’t heroes get hurt all the time?” Tooru interlocked her fingers with a concerned look on her face. 

“She’ll heal them enough so they won’t die, but she refuses to heal someone if she thinks they will run back into danger,” It was around five years ago that Z heard Nnez say similar words to someone over the phone. Ones whose subject he now knew. “If saving a life is ‘right’, then wouldn’t enabling someone to throw it away again be ‘wrong’?”

“Finicky is quite an understatement,” Momo said as she considered Z’s words.

“What happens if a ‘right’ and a ‘wrong’ intersect, kero ?”

“Nothing good,” Was all Z said in response.

~~~

“Hello everyone and welcome!” A woman in astronaut gear greeted them at the front gate of the training area. “Floods, landslides, forest fires, you name it, there’s a zone for it! I am the Space Hero Thirteen and I made this facility myself! This is the Unforeseen Simulation Joint!”

“Wouldn’t Universal Studios Japan have complaints about that acronym?” Mina asked.

“According to Nezu, not anymore!” 

“Hey,” Aizawa lowered his voice as he approached Thirteen. “Where’s All Might?”

“His morning commute was busy, and he hit his limit, but he should be here later.”

“Of course he did,” Aizawa glanced towards Z. He knew All Might couldn’t stop himself from being a hero, but it was still annoying he had trouble prioritizing even his successor. “I’ll ask Nezu to have a word with him after today, I don’t care if the rat already knows I’m going to.”

“Now then,” Thirteen addressed 1-A again. “Before we begin, I want to say a few things. Some of you may know of my Quirk, Black Hole. It lets me turn my body into an all-consuming void.”

“An excellent ability for clearing debris and possibly hazardous materials,” Momo praised.

“Also an unfathomably dangerous one,” Z added, earning a nod from Thirteen.

“As many lives as my Quirk has saved, it is more than capable of taking countless ones, as can many of yours,” Thirteen pointed at the UA students. “I know that many of you had your Quirks manifest around the time of Catastrophe, but what I hope to do today is remind you all that your Quirks are just as capable of protection as they are of destruction.”

Thirteen continued her speech but Z didn’t hear any of it. He was mentally slapping himself for not thinking about the timeline before. 

He was in a class with people around his age, and he never considered how much more Catastrophe would’ve impacted them specifically. 

Mina literally told him she didn’t like to make her acid strong enough to hurt, and he didn’t make the connection until now.

He wondered how they would react to knowing the event that shaped many of their views of their own Quirks was standing right there beside them. 

That some of them considered it a friend.

“Z,” Aizawa’s voice snapped Z out of his spiral. He noticed the rest of the class had entered the USJ with Thirteen and a couple were looking back at him with worry on their faces. “Are you ok?”

“I-” Z started, but the words died in his throat.

“If you want to sit out, I’ll make an excuse for you.”

“No,” Z's monotone returned. “I’ve had to deal with this feeling for fifteen years now. I can manage.”

“Ok, but don’t push yourself. This is rescue practice, and the first rule-”

“Don’t become someone who needs to be rescued,” Z hopped onto a barrier and motioned for Aizawa to do the same. “My mother made sure I knew that.”

“Lucky you,” Aizawa smirked as the barrier flew to catch up with the class. “Now let’s see if the others need that lesson too.”

“ERASERHEAD!” Thirteen suddenly shouted and Aizawa blitzed to her side at the railing overlooking the main plaza.  A small black hole had opened in the air and was rapidly growing. Seconds later, waves of people started to emerge from the void.

“What are those?” Kirishima pointed at the swarm pouring out of the portal. “Some kind of decoys for us to work around?

“No,” Aziawa put on his goggles and lowered himself into a battle stance.
“Those are the real thing. Those are villains.”

Aizawa grabbed his capture scarf and got ready to engage, but then he saw something that made him stop. 

The villains were suddenly moving backwards, pushed by an invisible force. Aizawa looked behind him to see Z pointing one of his glove’s fingers at the intruders and slowly moving forward.

“What the hell?!” The first villain through, a pale man with several severed hands clinging to his body, shouted out. He fought against the barrier trying to shove him back through the portal. “DON’T YOU FUCKING SPAWN CAMP ME!”

He slammed his hand down on the barrier and Z looked at his arm in confusion as it involuntarily shook.

POP

“What.”

Chapter Text

“Were you asshats really being pushed back by a freakin’ bubble ?!” The hand covered man shouted at the other villains around him. “Goddam fodder. Anyway,” He directed a bloodshot eye at the UA students and staff. “Where’s All Might?”

“Thirteen and Eraserhead are present, but according to the staff schedule All Might should be here as well.”

“Seriously? For the first time in his life, the man is nowhere to be seen, and it’s exactly when I want to meet with him?” The hand villain was talking to... Someone, but Z couldn’t tell who.

“That indeed appears to be the case, young master.”

“Fine then... Guess we’ll have to show him we’re worth his time... How many dead kids do you think it’ll take?”

“THIRTEEN!” Aizawa was now as awake as he could possibly be. “Have you established contact with UA?!”

“I already tried, something’s jammed the signal!” Thirteen was fiddling with something on her helmet. “They probably have a villain with a Quirk blocking communications.”

“I see. Z,” Aizawa spoke quietly. “How many of their Quirks have you copied?”

“Everyone there, but none have a Quirk like that,” Z focused on scanning through the summaries rapidly appearing in his head, but he couldn’t escape the feeling that he was missing something.

“Shit. Well I’m assuming the hand one has a destructive Quirk of some kind, given what he did to your barrier, but what about the smoke one?”

“... Smoke?” Z had no idea what Aizawa was talking about. 

“The black smoke with glowing yellow eyes. It’s right next to the hand villain,” Aizawa spoke with increasing urgency and realization.

“I-I don’t see it,” Z looked at the crowd of villains around the plaza again, but didn’t see anything matching Aizawa’s description. 

“What about the giant horrific bird-headed monstrosity with an exposed brain?”

“... There is one limitation to my mimicry,” Z felt a bowling ball hit his stomach. “I can’t copy the dead, and when someone whose Quirk I’ve copied dies, I lose all memories of them. The smoke and the monster are animated corpses. That would be the only reason I can’t perceive them.”

“Stay behind,” Aizawa ordered. “Thirteen, evacuate the students. I’ll hold off as many as I can and try to keep them contained here until reinforcements arrive.”

“Understood,” Thirteen nodded back as Aizawa charged into the crowd. Z watched his teacher nullify the Quirks of long ranged fighters, then use his capture scarf to wrap up a villain with rock-like skin and four arms and use the man as a wrecking ball against another villain. 

Z wanted to assist in some way, but with the hand villain and opponents that were more invisible to him than Tooru was, it would only be a matter of time until he made a mistake. He turned the barrier he was standing on around and hurried after-

“I can’t allow that.”

The class suddenly stopped and Z almost ran into the back of the crowd.

“Allow me to provide a proper introduction. We are the League of Villains, and we’ve come today to put an end to the Symbol of Peace.”

“FAT FUCKING CHANCE!” Bakugo shouted as he and Kaminari suddenly blitzed forth and attacked what looked to Z like empty air.

“Hm. How unexpected. Students you may be, you are certainly stand outs in the field. However, I cannot allow you to continue to interfere like this.”

“EVERYONE GET BACK!” Thirteen called out but it was in vain. Z couldn’t see what everyone else did, but he could still feel the wind swirling around him. He closed his eyes as something wrapped around him.

Then he was in freefall.

He opened his eyes again and saw he was above the Flood Zone and quickly falling down towards it. He spotted a boat in the middle of the water and made a barrier that let him slide all the way down onto it.

“DON’T UNDO IT, KERO !” Z looked back up the barrier slide and saw Tsuyu jumping down it like mad. He uncrossed his fingers once she landed on the boat too. “Thanks, kero .”

“It’s too early for that,” Z gestured to the water’s surface and the shadows rising up to it. “We need to deal with them first.”

“Can’t you make a barrier and fly us over them, kero ?”

“Then what’s to stop them from attacking the others?” Z scanned over the other zones. “It’s likely everyone is dealing with villains. If we don’t do something about these ones then they’ll become a problem for someone else.”

“Fine, but how should-” Tsu’s question was stopped by a sudden wave of ice covering the Flood Zone’s surface. “ Kero .”

“Nevermind, then,” Z looked around the water’s edge and found Todoroki standing there, left side burning to balance the massive ice attack he just did. He saw Z, simply pointed to the USJ’s entrance, and started walking towards the Mountain Zone. “I guess he’s taking out the fodder.”

“He’s learned nothing, kero ,” Tsuyu started shivering.

“Here,” Z took off his hoodie and draped it around her as he stepped onto a newly made barrier. “Let’s get to Aizawa.”

“Slowly, kero . Let me warm up, so I don’t become a rock, kero .”

“Ok,” Z let Tsuyu hop onto his back so she could benefit from his body heat. It was always rather high, so might as well put it to use on occasion.

~~~

“NO!” Thirteen was using her Quirk to consume as much of the smoke as possible as the students around her were teleported away. By the time it had dissipated, only three were left with her; Ida, Pony, and Shoji. 

“Rescue hero, Thirteen,” Thirteen whipped her finger toward the voice. Instantly she knew she made a mistake. A slight tug behind her turned into an unrelenting rending of her suit. “A Quirk such as yours seems to be a trump card, but in these post-Catastrophe times, who would ever allow you to properly train it for combat?”

“Please,” Thirteen used every bit of air she still had to speak what she could. “Run.”

Ida found himself frozen in shock. In an instant, his class, his teachers, everything had fallen apart. Pony launched a set of horns and sent them through the smoke, disrupting the smoke villain’s attempts to teleport them away. Shoji made for the doors and pushed them open.

“RUN IDA!” Shoji shouted. Ida

“I can’t aban-”

“<GO!>” Ida felt a pair of Pony’s horns hook under his arms and carry him towards the doors.

“You can do this! We can survive, just go!” Shoji grabbed Ida and threw him through the doors before they were forced closed again.

‘Hold on, everyone,’ Ida stood and started his mad sprint back to UA. This was his job now. He fought past every instinct telling him he was in over his head and pushed his engines more than ever before. He could only hope he wouldn’t be too late.

~~~

Tooru was alone.

When the smoke villain teleported everyone away, she had thrown out one of her radio cuffs in hopes that it would go with someone so they both would have a voice to talk to.

So far nothing.

She had been thrown out into the Landslide Zone and immediately ran into a half-buried building to hide before any villains found her. The area was constructed to be like a residential area, so she was currently in a closet under a pile of clothes, her own gloves and boots just another pair among the rest.

“Tooru?” The very very quiet voice of Mina Ashido came from the radio Tooru had clutched to her ear.

“i’m here,” The invisible girl whispered back.

“Oh thank god,” Mina sounded close to tears. “I found your cuff on the ground and was worried you had been sent to the fire zone with me and.... And…”

“i’m alive. how’d you know the cuff was a radio?”

“I heard you mention it on the bus, duh.”

“y-you were listening to me?”

“You’re my friend, why wouldn’t I be listening to you?”

“sorry, i guess i’m just used to being... unnoticed,” Tooru had made many efforts to overcome the social problems her invisibility caused, but even with them she was often overlooked. Even at UA, her peers needed a double take to confirm her presence most of the time. Except Z, who could see her, and Mina too now that Tooru thought about it. When the alarm sounded in the cafeteria, those two immediately realized the danger she was in before she herself did and moved to protect her, Mina even prepared to do so with her own body.

“Oh. I-” Tooru felt her heart stop as abruptly as the radio’s feed. 

She did not breathe. She did not think. She remained there, in the dark, and waited for anything to happen.

“I’m still here,” Mina’s voice returned, determination masking her fear. “Villains are chasing me, but I’m not letting them catch me. Just stay alive, ok?”

“ok,” Tooru whispered so softly she barely heard herself. The feed once again went dead, but she no longer felt alone.

~~~

“That’s the last of them,” Bakugo dropped another unconscious villain to the ground.

“Then let’s get to the others,” Kirishima started tearing through the walls of the building the two had been teleported to.

“No, we gotta find that teleporter shit,” Bakugo countered. “He’s how everyone is getting around, so he’s the top priority.”

“Huh you’re... A lot more rational all of a sudden.”

“The hell’s that supposed to mean?!”

“Well after what you tried with Z,” Kirishima pointed to Bakugo’s lack of gauntlets. “Kinda gave the impression that you’re a shoot first ask questions later type of guy. But you’ve handled these villains pretty well.”

“Oh please,” Bakugo suddenly spun in place and caught a chameleon-like villain who had tried to sneak up on him and slammed the villain to the ground with an explosion all in one motion.  “We got nothing to fear from these guys and their inferior Quirks,” Kirishima cringed at the term Bakugo used. He had heard similar phrases thrown at Mina with varying degrees of unsubtlety, and that one was more than enough to send up a red flag.

“Uh… What… What makes them inferior?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Bakugo let a couple explosions pop in his palms. “‘Cause they ain’t mine.”

“Oh, ok,” Kirishima felt a massive wave of relief, but had a feeling that was still something Bakugo should talk to someone about.

~~~

“Well he’s effective at least,” Jiro quipped as she and Momo followed Todoroki after he turned the Mountain Zone into an ice field as well. 

“You would think he would know better than simply using brute force,” Momo observed the many villains frozen in place. “If any of them had the right Quirk-”

“These are all grunts,” Todoroki said, surprising the girls. “There are only a few that pose any threat, and they’re all down there,” He pointed at the central plaza. “I’m doing this to get intel. So far I’ve learned this is part of a plan to kill All Might, and it includes that black creature.”

“K-kill All Might?” Momo shivered at the thought. “How would it do such a thing?”

“I don’t know, that’s what I’m trying to learn, but none of these guys know anything about it, not even its name.”

“Nomu,” Jiro said, a jack pointed towards the central plaza. “The hand guy just called it Nomu, and-”

She fell silent as the now named creature lurched forth and grabbed Aizawa’s arm. Momo gasped as his arm twisted unnaturally, but only Jiro could hear the crunch that went along with it.

~~~

“All good?”

“Mostly, kero ,” Tsuyu hopped off Z’s back as he touched down, but kept his hoodie on. “What now?”

“Nomu!” The sound of the hand villain’s voice was closely followed by Aizawa’s scream of pain.

“That,” Z and Tsuyu made for the central plaza and froze at the wretched sight before them. Z couldn’t see what the name ‘Nomu’ was directed at, but he could see what it had done to Aizawa. He crossed his fingers to make a barrier to protect his teacher, but it failed to manifest. He couldn’t make a barrier form inside a solid object, even if it was one he couldn’t perceive.

“Oi, Kurogiri,” Z watched the hand villain talk to empty space. “Did you off Thirteen?”

“She’s incapacitated. However, one student with a speed enhancing Quirk did escape.”

“Goddammit. So much for a clean sweep. We should leave before more pros arrive,” The hand villain descended into a series of mumbles about ‘game over’ that Z couldn’t fully make out. Then the hand villain turned to him and Tsuyu. “But first. A message from our sponsors.”

“ Ke- ” Tsuyu saw her life flash before her eyes as the hand villain looked at her with full killing intent and appeared before her in a split second. Time slowed to a crawl as his hand reached for her face, then she fell back as something shoved itself in front of her. “- ro .”

“Huh. You know what, I can respect that,” The hand villain chuckled as his grip around Z’s right arm tightened for a second then released as the skin he touched started to crumble away. “In fact, I’ll even let the frog live. The memory of your death should be enough dam-”

BAM!

The hand villain flew back as a metal fist made contact with his face, sending the hand covering it flying away.

“FUCK!” He screeched as he hit the ground. “HAX! I CALL HAX!”

“Try phase two,” Z said as he tore off the scraps of the now-destroyed fake skin sleeve. He didn’t look at Tsuyu for fear of her reaction, not knowing that she was at that moment silently pledging her undying loyalty to him.

“You- Wait,” The hand villain pawed at his uncovered face. “FATHER! Father, where are you!?”

Z tried to figure out what he was talking about, and noticed the severed hand lying on the ground. He made a barrier covering it, but the hand villain just popped it just like before. Z dashed towards the hand villain and pulled back his metal fist. His barriers had no effect on the hand villain, but punches would work just fine. He swung-

whup

“Huh?” Z looked at his fist. It wasn’t moving, but he couldn’t see what it was touching. 

Oh. 

Right. 

The monster. 

He felt something grab him and spin him around before sending him flying into the Windstorm Zone. 

“Serves you right, cheater!” The hand villain shouted at the newly made hole. Tsuyu and Aizawa watched it, praying that Z would emerge, but there was no sign of movement. “Now, where were we?”

=

Z sat in the rubble as he thought about the situation he found himself in. 

An enemy that he couldn’t see, and another that rendered his barriers pointless. 

He had little chance of winning like this. As himself.

So Z raised his hands and clapped.

=

“Now I said I’d spare the frog,” The hand villain squatted over Aizawa’s heavily injured form. “I didn’t say anything about you, though. Nomu?”

The monster lumbered over to its master.

“Kill him.”

The thing called Nomu raised its foot over Aizawa’s head, ready to set it down.

Then there was a sound from the hole in the Windstorm Zone. A second later a figure shot out of it.

“Surprise, bitch !” Zetta screamed as she slammed both feet right into Nomu’s chest and sent it tumbling backwards.

“What.”

Chapter Text

“You doin’ alright, teach?” Tsuyu watched the girl who emerged from the Windstorm Zone walk over to Aizawa and picked him up.

“Did you have to inherit the buffoon’s love of theatrics too?” Aizawa grumbled.

“Hey, this is just how I do,” The girl protested. An orange glow enveloped Aizawa as he was set down next to Tsuyu. 

“ Kero ,” Tsuyu was still recovering from her near-death experience, and this revelation made her brain stop attempting to process anything. The person in front of her was Z, but a girl, and the number of things that implied was overwhelming her.

“Hey,” The girl squatted down in front of Tsuyu. “So first, call me Zetta. Second, I’m sorry for hiding this, I’ll explain stuff later.” 

“Ok, kero ,” Zetta stood back up and stretched her arms. The half-mask she wore was now on the upper half of her face, leaving her actual shattered smile on full display. The mask’s cracked grin now looked like stylized glasses framing her solid red eyes. She also wore her skirt differently, split in the front and back and going down the sides of her legs like tassets.

“How did you know where to attack?” Aizawa’s injuries were slowly starting to heal, and he didn’t seem to be surprised by that.

“I can’t see it, but I can see where everyone else is looking,” Zetta pointed to Tsuyu while keeping her gaze directed towards the hand villain who was losing his shit. 

“WHAT- HOW- WHY- WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?!” The hand villain screeched while scratching manically. “KUROGIRI, EXPLAIN! What is she?!”

“I cannot, young master,” The smoke villain, Kurogiri, appeared next to the hand villain in a human form, wearing a neatly pressed suit and a tall metal collar.

“I’m right here,” Zetta waved to the hand villain, but showed no recognition of the smoke one. “You can just ask me.”

“What. Are. You?” The hand villain ground out. “Because either you have absurd cheats on, or you just beat Jesus’s respawn time.”

“No comment on me being a girl now?”

“You got back up after Nomu used you as a frisbee and then hit him with a flying 2H, that is the least of my concerns,” Tsuyu looked at the monster that Zetta knocked away. It was back up and standing behind its master, but again Zetta didn’t seem to be aware of it. “You also pushed him back. How many buffs did you get on revive?”

“Many,” Tsuyu heard a soft hum start to emanate from Zetta, like a computer starting up. “What’s up with that thing anyway?”

“Nomu is the weapon made to kill All Might,” The hand villain spoke with childish glee. “Shock absorption, strength enchantment,  hyper regeneration, he has all that and more! All Might is a force of nature, so we made our own! Do you really think you can stand up to it?!”

“Well, I just gotta hit him hard enough, right?” The humming grew louder as Zetta got into a battle stance. “No problem.”

“NOMU! ATTACK THAT BITCH!” Tsuyu kept her eyes on the monster as it lunged forward and noticed Zetta turn her head towards her slightly before throwing a punch with her metal fist.

WHAM! 

Just like before she got thrown into the Windstorm Zone, Zetta’s right hand hit Nomu in the gut and stayed there.

“Grab her!” Nomu wrapped a fist around Zetta’s arm and started to whip her around like a child playing with a toy. “What’s wrong? Don’t you just need to ‘hit him hard enough’?”

Tsuyu watched frozen in fear as Zetta got slammed into the ground again and again, the humming growing quieter with each impact.

Then lightning sparked across Zetta’s body and the humming returned louder than ever. She swung her feet around and embedded herself into the ground with Nomu’s next swing.

With her right arm still trapped, she pulled back her left arm as it started to glow. As more and more energy coursed through Zetta’s arm, Tsuyu saw it start to crack and trickles of green flame leak out. The humming turned into a roar as the flames intensified and propelled Zetta’s fist forward and into Nomu’s chest.

“IOTA IMPACT!”

For a second, Tsuyu feared that the attack name was called out in vain, and then all the force Zetta put behind the punch was released with a sonic boom. Nomu vanished in an instant, the only hint of its presence left being the streak of quickly fading green flame that led to a new hole in the USJ’s dome.

“You… little... shit…” The hand villain forced his words through clenched teeth as he scratched at his neck. “After all that trouble. All that work. You just threw it all away,” Then he entered a state of calm. “But you couldn’t have done that without paying a price. Not even All Might is that unbalanced.”

“Try me,” Even Tsuyu could tell Zetta was on the verge of collapsing, but her bravado didn’t slip for even a second. Her left arm was no longer flaming, but the humming had vanished entirely. 

“Alright then,” The hand villain strolled forward to call Zetta on her bluff.

Then the doors to the USJ flew open

“HAVE NO FEAR!” The booming voice of All Might rang out. “FOR I AM HERE!”

“Shit,” The hand villain stopped with his outstretched hand less than a foot from Zetta. “Kurogiri, get me out of here, I ain’t fighting a losing battle. And you,” He pointed at her as he started to disappear. “He won’t always be there for you, and when that moment comes, I will be there instead.”

“I’ll be waitin’, then,” Zetta gave the hand villain a smile and his scream of frustration was cut off as he was teleported away.

“WAIT RIGHT-” All Might shouted as he dashed onto the scene, a trail of unconscious villains in the Number One’s wake. “There... Dammit,” He turned to the two students and one teacher. “Are you alright?”

“There are students scattered around the place and fighting villains, go get them,” Aizawa didn’t bother with pleasantries, and All Might was gone again just as quickly as he had arrived.

After a moment of silence Zetta finally let herself fall backwards onto the ground and took her mask off. She didn’t pass out, but she made no effort to move. Tsuyu approached her and Zetta opened her eyes as she sat down next to her.

“Hey, Tsuyu-”

“Call me Tsu, kero ,” Tsuyu interrupted.

“Ok.” 

“Can I ask my questions now, kero ?”

“To get the obvious one outta the way, genderfluid,” Zetta put simply. “I’ll also explain the multiple Quirks thing once everyone is here.”

“You better,” Aizawa grumbled. His face was patched up, but he still clutched his right elbow. “Why didn’t this heal?”

“If I had to guess, you engaged with the hand guy knowin’ his Quirk and made an error with timin’ your Erasure.”

“Hmph,” Aizawa joined the two on the ground. “And why is my stamina still gone?”

“Because you’d throw yourself back into danger, kero ,” Tsuyu recalled the conversation about Correction on the bus.

“That’s illog-”

“Where All Might is?!” The sound of Pony’s voice cut in as she and Shoji ran to the plaza, a heavily injured Thirteen being carried on a number of Pony’s horns as a make-shift stretcher.

“He’s getting everyone else. Just sit down,” Aizawa rose to check on Thirteen, but Zetta beat him and was already stumbling towards the downed hero. He noticed she had also put her mask back on. “How’s she doing, Zetta?”

“Looks like the teleporting guy tricked her and used her Quirk against her,” Zetta’s hands were already glowing with orange energy. “Mother Mine wouldn’t see that as her fault, lotta chaos goin’ on makes it hard to focus. She’ll be back up in a bit.”

“Good,” Aizawa looked at Pony and Shoji again. “What did you two see?”

“Z was thrown into the Windstorm Zone, then... Zetta, did you say?” Shoji got a nod from Aizawa. “Zetta came out and beat the monster.”

“Sorry for-”

“No,” Shoji cut Zetta off. “None of that. And if you must, only do so once.”

“<So this is Correction,>” Pony watched fascinated as the orange energy slowly knit Thirteen’s spacesuit back together. “<I’ve only seen it in action in videos.>”

“<I’ve seen her use it to fix toasters, but yeah,>” Scenes of Nnez walking down streets ruined by battles and restoring them with her Quirk played in Zetta’s head. It was as though she had domain over time itself. “<It’s kinda like All Might. You see it and it gives you a feeling like everything will be ok.>”

“<Speaking of whom, where’d he go?>”

“<Rescuin’ everyone else.>”

~~~

Mina was on her last legs. 

Between the ongoing inferno and her Quirk usage, she was severely dehydrated and she didn’t know how much longer she could keep evading the few villains that did get sent to the perpetually burning replica city.

She heard the villains shout and for a second she was afraid she had been spotted, but the shouts quickly turned to screams. She dared to take a peek and was wondering if the heat had finally boiled her brain because it sure looked like-

“I AM HERE!” The huge arms of Japan’s number one scooped up Mina. “To save you.”

“All Might…” Mina held up Tooru’s radio cuff and fumbled to activate it. “Tooru, All Might’s here, he’s got me!”

“all might?” Tooru’s voice whispered from the cuff. “i’m still in the landslide zone. the cuff has a tracker. powerloader mentioned a button on the inner part,” Mina checked the ring and found the button. She clicked it and a light started to circle around the metal surface. Eventually it came to a stop pointing towards the Landslide Zone.

“We’re on our way, Tooru,” Mina clung to All Might’s arm as he sprinted towards and through the partly-buried area. He moved in as straight a line as possible, busting down villains and walls alike as he went. Soon the light on the cuff started moving and Mina pointed to a building that had its front entrance still visible. She activated the radio again and called into it. “What floor are you on?”

“fourth,” All Might immediately jumped into the air and landed on a balcony on the fourth floor.

“I’ll leave the finding of Young Tooru to you,” All Might said as he set Mina down. “There are still villains in this area that I must deal with, so hide with her until I return!”

“Ok!” Mina ran into the building and followed the cuff’s light to a closet in a small apartment. Feeling like her heart was about to break through her ribcage, she opened the closet and saw only a pile of clothes. Then she mentally kicked herself and started digging through the pile.  “Tooru, I’m here.” 

She felt the invisible arms of her friend wrap around her and pull her into the closet. Mina couldn’t see Tooru, but could still feel the tears running down the unseen girl’s face.

“I’m fine. We’re fine. All Might is here, we’ll be ok,” The two sat in the dark in silence once more, but not alone. And that was enough for now.

~~~

“I… am here!” All Might started to feel the flame of One for All start to flicker when he returned Mina and Tooru to the plaza, but he kept it burning. He wasted no time picking up the three students he found together in the Mountain Zone.

“They were after you,” The son of Endeavor was unphased by the less than graceful handling. “They brought along a creature called Nomu, it was designed to kill you.” 

“It-” The news nearly made All Might lose his footing. “What happened to it?”

“That,” Jiro pointed to the hole in the USJ’s dome. “It got beat by... her.”

“Young Zetta?” All Might stopped moving entirely. To think such a creature attacked his students, and the one who beat it was- 

Oh. 

Oh no. 

He was so focused on the villains he failed to realize that it was in fact Zetta at the plaza. The weight of the guilt he now carried would make Atlas sweat.

“Is that her name?” Momo looked towards the plaza. “Fitting that she would choose an equivalent to ‘Z’.”

“I ask that you not say anything to her until she approaches you,” All Might asked of his students. He stoked the flame of One for All once more and leapt towards the plaza. He made a grave error this day, and he knew it would be impossible to repair its damage.

~~~

Zetta watched All Might run between the zones and his breathing becoming slightly more labored, his pronouncements of arrival slightly less grand. She could see that even this was taxing All Might far more than it should.

By the time All Might had gotten the last pair of Kirishima and Bakugo, Ida had arrived along with the Pro Heroes among UA’s staff. They made a show bursting in, but once they saw the lack of villains they focused on checking in with the students.

“Well,” Nezu walked up to Zetta. “I assume that we have you to thank, mystery person.”

“Really?” Zetta gave the dean a flat look, but she appreciated the attempt in humor.

“As far as UA is concerned, you are a vigilante who bravely put herself on the line for the sake of our students. Unless you’re ready to change that.”

“I am,” She stood up, took off her mask, and raised a hand to get everyone’s attention. Her classmates looked at her with a mix of emotions. Some had figured out who she was and prepared for the reveal. Others were confused about who this new girl was, and why she was addressing them.

And from Bakugo and Mina simultaneously was a single word.

“What.”

Chapter Text

“Hello, everyone, allow me to introduce myself properly. Both in name and Quirk,” Zetta began, not letting the exclamations get her off track. “I last introduced myself as Z. That is my name when I am male, but when I’m like this I ask you to call me Zetta. Before, I had told you my Quirk was Barrier, but it’s not. My Quirk is Quirk Mimicry,” She noticed a few bristle at that. “When I meet someone, I get the ability to use their Quirk. I have no limits beyond the ones within the Quirks themselves, though some do clash with each other and it’s possible for me to burn myself out by using too many contradictory Quirks at once. I also can’t use Quirks with my right arm as it’s mechanical. I had a special sleeve on it before that allowed for the use of some Quirks, but it’s gone now,” She heard a very quiet and sad ‘kero’ when she mentioned that. “I didn’t want to hide this from you, but I didn’t want to reveal all of me until I was comfortable. Nezu was aware, as was All Might and Aizawa. I do not know if any of the other teachers were informed, and if not I am sorry to you as well.”

“Nonsense,” The 18+ Hero Midnight waved Zetta’s apology off. “It is up to us as heroes and teachers to maintain an environment where everyone feels comfortable being who they are, no matter what.”

“Indeed,” The Hound Hero Hound Dog concurred. “We would never force you into revealing a part of yourself before you were ready, but we are here to support you when you do.”

“Thank you,” Zetta gave the two a bow before returning her focus to her classmates. “I will now take questions.”

Mina was the first to speak up.

“Thank you,” Tears started to form in her eyes as she talked. “I had been wanting to say that to you, and you were right in front of me for so long. You were already in on recommendation, had no reason to take the entrance exam seriously, and still went out of your way to help me. I-I am a little mad you hid this, but don’t you dare say sorry for it, you’ve made up for it hundreds of times over.”

“I-,” Zetta stopped herself from apologizing. “Thank you.”

“Should we tell Ashido that she was never in real danger?” Cementoss whispered to Nezu.

“Well giving a peak behind the curtains like that would defeat the purpose of the Hero Points system, wouldn’t it?” The chimera chuckled. “Also I don’t think it would change how she feels.”

“Hmph,” Hound Dog grunted in disapproval, but knew arguing with Nezu on that topic would be pointless.

“Are you aware of the rumored Quirk Thief?” Ida raised his hand next.

“Yes,” Zetta was familiar with what the general public knew of All for One. The supervillain’s tendency to stay underground for the last few decades and near-complete absence in recent years had eroded his image to that of a boogeyman who lurked in the shadows until he emerged to snatch away Quirks, but the fear he inspired wasn’t damped in the slightest even in that form.

“I see, you were uncertain of how we'd fully accept your identity given how intertwined it is with your Quirk, which you had reason to think we may be wary of,” Ida said and Zetta gave a small nod. “Do not worry, you are our classmate, we will accept every part of you.”

“... Ida, I'm gonna be honest with ya. You were the one I was the most concerned about,” She held up a hand to silence his oncoming protest. “Do ya remember what ya said to me at the entrance exam?”

“Yes, and I profusely apologize for it. Your behavior that day was fitting of a UA hopeful and a l-,” He stopped cold. “Oh. Oh my…” He slowly fell down to the ground and prostrated himself, which was quite impressive given the armor he wore. “I am so so sorry.”

“All good,” It wasn’t, but Zetta felt bad letting Ida beat himself up about something he didn’t know.

“How does your Quirk handle Mutation Quirks?” Momo asked. Zetta was happy to see she was showing a genuine interest in the mechanics of her Quirk.

“I just grow the parts,” Zetta activated Pony’s Quirk and a pair of horns spawned on her head. “Though I don’t like usin’ them. They suddenly give me new body parts that I somehow know how to use, which is a weird feelin’, and I’ve already dealt with enough body dysphoria for a lifetime, thanks.”

“Hm,” Shoji flinched slightly at Zetta’s dismissal of Mutant Quirks, but he understood why she would avoid anything that made her feel physically uncomfortable.

 “Also I can't use a Quirk that clashes with my existing body,” Zetta pointed to her eyes. “These mean I can't use Aizawa's Erasure. The strain is a lot more intense for me.”

“Is that the case for the support girl's Quirk too?” Tooru asked.

“Mei? Yeah, but not to the same extent. I can still use Zoom fine, but it's disorienting and makes movin’ my head a horrendous experience.”

“First name basis already, huh?” Mina leaned in with a mischievous grin.

“... is this the time for that?” Even Kirishima gave Mina a tired look.

“Let me cope!”

“Question,” Jiro stated as she raised her hand. “How should we refer to you when you’re not around?”

“You can just refer to how you saw me last. Try to avoid gender neutral terms if you can. I recognize gender as bullshit, but I value the ones I’ve chosen.”

“So uh,” Kirishima started cautiously. “Should I not use ‘manly’ when you’re Zetta or…”

“I thought I’d have that problem, but no, your use of it still feels respectful somehow.”

“Manly,” Kirishima whispered and sure enough Zetta felt perfectly fine being called it.

“Anyone else?” Zetta waited a bit, but no one spoke up. “If you do have questions for me later or already have ones you would prefer to ask in private, I will hear them there.”

“You. With me,” Bakugo instantly took her offer. “AND NO ONE LISTEN IN!”

“A’ight,” Zetta followed Bakugo until they had a corner to go around.

“Are you mocking me?” The explosive boy asked as soon as they were out of sight of the others. “You had this power but all you used against me was a barrier? Your best idea with the sludge guy was to throw your hoodie at him?!”

“If I were to use my Quirk, that’d be a crime,” Zetta resisted the urge to just turn around and ignore Bakugo. “Also I acted before I realized what I was doin’, so I couldn’t waste time decidin’ on a power.”

“The fuck’s that supposed to mean?

“Bakugo, do you have any idea how many Quirks I’ve copied? Do you know how many dozens come to mind for any small task?”

“JUST FUCKING PICK ONE! It’s not that-” Zetta shoved her hand over Bakugo’s mouth. With a blink she brought him into the Lab and let go. She didn’t give Bakugo time to gawk at the void he was in and tapped her foot on the ground, calling forth pillars and pillars of boxes from the ground. 

“This is my Quirk,” Zetta spread her arms as more and more Quirks rose into the sky. “I have too many options, too many combinations, so I can’t ‘just effin’ pick one’. If I use them carelessly I could seriously hurt someone. You’ve been trainin’ your Quirk since you were four, it grew alongside you. All the Quirks I copy become full grown, I have to learn how to use them at their most complex, like an infant wieldin’ a chainsaw,” She brought them back to reality and let go of Bakugo’s face. “There’s more to this world than just you. Stop blinding yourself with your own explosions and let the dust settle for once.”

“You…” Any other words that Bakugo might’ve had didn’t escape his lips. He got his answer, so he left to rejoin the class.

Zetta leaned against the wall and slid down to the ground. The after effects of Hyper Charge and One for All were nothing compared to the emotional exhaustion she felt now.

“I am here!” All Might announced as he turned the corner. “To check on your wellbeing.”

“Not great, in all honesty.”

“Yes, I would imagine so,” He walked into view of the others and made some gestures to the teachers. Zetta didn’t see who responded, but All Might gave them a thumbs up, then stepped out of view and reverted to Civilian Mode again. Toshi joined Zetta on the ground with a weary sigh. “I will be making an apology to the class as a whole, but I owe you one first and foremost.”

“I had to come out sooner or later, so it’s-”

“No. No it is not,” Toshi spoke with more authority than he ever did as All Might. “You should’ve been able to come out on your own terms, and it was entirely due to my neglect as a teacher, to your classmates and especially to you, my successor. I heard from some of your classmates as I rescued them that you bested a monster meant to kill me. I wish for you to carry the will that One for All embodies, but that shouldn’t have come with the burdens meant for me.”

“Ok.”

“Now take your time and rest,” Toshi inhaled and returned to All Might. “Nezu is getting ready to escort your classmates back to UA, but we can wait a little longer if you need it.”

“I just need a second,” Zetta closed her eyes and returned to the Lab. Sorting Quirks was a reliable way for her to unwind, and she had a new collection to work through.

Immediately upon opening her eyes in the Lab, she felt that something was off. She summoned the most recent copied Quirks and found a box that was warped.

The screen provided no information. Not the Quirk itself nor the name of the user.

Boxes swirled in a storm around Zetta as she checked them all to confirm her fear.

The warped box represented the hand villain’s Quirk.

“What.”

Chapter Text

“Curious,” Nezu studied the warped Quirk box. Zetta didn’t like allowing the hyper-intelligent rodent in the Lab, but this was too big a problem to keep quiet about. “And this is the only time this has happened?”

“Yep,” Zetta gestured to the rows of other boxes she had summoned. “I checked all the other villains from the USJ and nothin’.”

“Fascinating,” Nezu pondered the box a little longer. “If that is all, then we can return to reality. Tomorrow there will be a meeting to discuss the events of the USJ, so I appreciate you showing this to me now.”

“Alright, I’ll let ya go then,” Zetta released Nezu from the Lab and picked up the hand villain’s box. She carried it up to her own One for All Island and found the First waiting for her. “What is it?”

“You can’t visit my island yet, because Second and Third are still being stubborn about your worthiness and Fourth is holding back until you’ve gotten a handle on the amount of One for All you can access, but the box that represents my original Quirk arrived there,” Yoichi pointed at the hand villain’s box. “And it’s warped like this, but not to this extent. Whoever you copied this from had their Quirk Factor tampered with to an extent only one man could do.”

“All for One,” Zetta said as a statement, not a guess.

“Yes,” The first user of One for All nodded. “My brother is active once again, and he’s done something horrible to this man.”

~~~

Zetta returned to the 1-A dorms to find everyone gathered in the common room and Aizawa and All Might standing in front of everyone.

“What is about to happen isn’t to leave this room,” Aizawa warned. 1-A remained silent, but the concern on their faces said enough. He stepped back and let All Might take the lead. 

“I wish to offer my deepest apologies to all of you, but not looking like this,” All Might said without a trace of his eternal smile. “I had an obligation, nay, a duty to all of you as a teacher and a hero, but I shunned it. As a result, one of you had to reveal a face of theirs before they were ready to show it. So, I shall do the same.”

Zetta braced herself and watched a cloud of smoke engulf All Might.

After a few seconds it dissipated and revealed the form of Toshinori Yagi, who knelt on the ground to bow as low as he could.

“I do not expect nor want forgiveness, but it would be against everything I stand for to hide from you the reason I could not be there,” He rose back to his feet and met his students’ eyes. “I utterly and completely failed you today in every possible sense. During our first class I said that I was giving you my trust and then I threw yours to the ground immediately after. In an attempt to rebuild it, let me start with this,” He lifted his shirt to show a grievous scar covering most of his left side. “A few years ago I faced a villain and they took my left lung and stomach. Since then my ability to function as a hero has dwindled greatly, down to less than three hours a day. I used almost all of it on my morning commute today, and it cost you all dearly. I can say that I won’t make that mistake again, but at this time my words mean nothing. I simply hope that you will allow me the opportunity to demonstrate my conviction with future actions.

“Do not say anything to me for now,” He held up a hand to stop already opened mouths. “You all need time to process what happened today. Rest, eat, and comfort one another.”

“Classes tomorrow have been suspended,” Aizawa stepped forward again. “There will be Homeroom for an announcement, however. Hound Dog has set aside time for group and one on one sessions throughout the week and I highly recommend all of you take advantage of that. If you must leave the dorms, do so in groups for safety. Rumors will spread quickly and people will try to swarm you. Any questions?”

“Are the 1-H labs still open?” Zetta pointed at herself. “I’d like to meet with Mei about this.”

“Yes, and try to get Hatsume out of the labs if you can. Powerloader has been concerned about her ability to take care of herself.”

“Allow me to escort you,” Momo requested. “As President and as your friend, I wish to support you.”

“ME TOO!” Mina leapt from her seat.

“Stoppin’ ya there,” Zetta motioned for the couple other 1-A members rising to sit back down. “I don’t need a full personal security squad, guys. I’ll be fine.”

“You better,” Aizawa pointed at the group. “Go to 1-H Labs and then come right back, even if you end up with Hatsume in tow, understood?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. Now go, don’t take long.”

~~~

“No mask?” Mina asked as they walked across campus. Whispers were heard from some of the other students they passed, but none attempted a confrontation.

“I still have it on me, but I don’t wear it when I’m a girl,” Zetta pulled her mask out of her pocket to show the others. “The mask is my face when I’m a guy, and this is my face when I’m a girl, simple as that.”

“I’ve had my own curiosities about your changes to your hero costume,” Momo admitted. “I assume the relocation of your mask is to highlight your eyes, and the splitting of the skirt for combat purposes.”

“Yeah, Hyper Charge is a more physical Quirk, so I need my legs free,” Zetta jumped up and performed a few kicks the air to the applause of her company. “Both my outfits are meant ta mess with what people picture when they think ‘hero’. I’ve got a longer explanation but- Wait,” Zetta paused at the doors to the 1-H labs. She waited a few seconds before taking a breath and approaching the doors herself. “Ok, stand back.”

“Are you su-”

BOOM

Momo and Mina stood in shock at the dust cloud now occupying the space where the lab’s metal door and Zetta once were.

“Ow…”

“OK THAT’S IT!” The angry voice of Power Loader was shortly followed by the pro himself. “No more lab time for you today!”

“What?! No!” A pink haired shape popped up and the dust cleared to reveal Mei Hatsume straddling Zetta.

“... Hi Mei,” Zetta picked Mei up off her and set her down on the ground.

“Zetta, are you ok!?” Momo rushed to help her vice president to her feet, and Zetta did her best to ignore the scheming look Mina had.

“Zetta?” Mei repeated. She looked up and down at her landing pad. “Oh, hey, it’s you. Wait, weren’t you a guy?”

“I am sometimes,” Zetta pulled Mei to her feet before the question fully registered. “Wait, how’d you clock me?”

“Same eyes, hair color, and name starting with Z,” Mei counted on her fingers. 

“My name as a guy doesn’t start with Z, it is Z.”

“Eh, close enough,” Mei turned around to try and enter the labs, but Powerloader had taken advantage of her attention being directed elsewhere to close the doors on her. “Shit.”

“Mei?” Zetta took note of Mei’s many grease stains and recalled Aizawa’s earlier words.

“Yeah?”

“When was the last time you ate somethin’? Or bathed?”

“Recently.”

“How recent?” Mei said nothing for a considerable amount of time. “Mei.”

“What’s an acceptable answer?”

“I don’t think there is one,” Zetta grabbed her support tech’s arm and dragged her away. 

“NO! I NEED TO MAKE MORE BABIES!” Mei tried in vain to escape Zetta’s grasp. “I need to be prepared to show the big businesses what I got!”

“Then we can consider this a business dinner,” Momo took Mei’s other arm in an attempt to calm the girl down. “You are Zetta’s support technician, and should you hope to take on more clients, it would do you well to sit and talk in various settings.”

“And you are?” Mei still tried to tug herself free, but had her eyes locked firmly on Momo.

“Momo Yaoyorozu,” All resistance stopped entirely at the mention of the heiress’ family name.

“Are you by chance looking for a support tech?”

“Not at the moment, but I am open to any ideas you may have.”

“LET’S GO EAT!” Mei rushed ahead, now the one dragging Zetta behind her.

~~~

“So you’re sometimes a girl and got a mimicry Quirk,” Mei said through a mouthful of pasta. “Anything else?”

“I also have this,” Zetta shrugged off her jacket to show her metal arm in full. Mei immediately gulped down the rest of her food and launched forward at the arm, but smacked into a barrier. “Mei. No.”

“Sorry, sorry,” Mei backed away, rubbing her head, but eyes still shining. “I couldn’t resist.”

“This is my arm , I don’t want any modifications to it,” Zetta made sure to have Mei’s full attention as she spoke.

“Aw. I get it, I don’t want anyone to mess with my babies.”

“Thank you,” Zetta reached under her shirt and fiddled with something. A second later her right arm fell down, and she placed it on the table. “Now you can look.”

“Hmmmm,” Mina was intensely focused on Zetta and Mei. For what reason Momo couldn’t fathom, but she eventually gave into her curiosity.

“What is i-” Before Momo could finish asking the question, Mina had whipped towards the heiress and put her mouth over her hand. 

“shhh!” The pink girl quickly glanced to make sure the other two were still focused on studying the mechanical arm. “I’m thinking.”

“About?” Momo kept her voice low to avoid another abrupt silencing.

“I need to get those two to kiss,” Mina said with the most deadly serious conviction Momo had ever heard. “The least I can do for my savior is get her a gf, and they’re clearly interested in each other.”

“On what basis do you make that claim?”

“Ok, so picture yourself as the opposite gender,” Mina started. “Don’t describe it to me, just have that image in your mind.”

“Very well,” Momo closed her eyes and did as Mina asked.

“How many traits does your other self have that you find attractive in the opposite gender?”

“Quite a few, I’ll admit,” Momo was starting to get an idea of where Mina was heading, but wasn’t putting all the pieces together yet.

“Now consider that Zetta is hella ripped.”

“As expected, given the physical nature of her preferred Quirk, but I don’t see what-” Momo opened her eyes at the exact moment Mei chose to lift her tanktop up to wipe her mouth. “Oh my lord, you could grind meat on those.”

“Mei, use a napkin, please,” Zetta pleaded as she offered one. “I’m pretty sure you just made your face dirtier.”

“Oh,” Mei looked down at herself, possibly only just now realizing how filthy she was. “Mind if I wash up here?”

“We’ve got a communal bath and guest rooms on this floor should you wish to stay past curfew and keep talking with Zetta,” Momo called over.

“Nice,” Mei looked down at her clothes again. “Could I borrow a shirt of yours to change into? We’re about the same size,” Mei’s eyes zoomed in on Zetta’s torso, lingering just long enough for Mina to notice and elbow Momo. 

“Sure,” Another elbowing came with Zetta’s delayed answer.

“I’ll join you, come on!” Mina leapt up and dragged Mei away before anyone could stop her.

“Should I be concerned about that?” Zetta asked.

“Possibly,” Momo wasn’t sure what Mina had in mind, but she hoped it was mostly harmless. “You’ve certainly picked a rather eccentric support technician.”

“All of them are like that,” A click sounded as Zetta put her arm back on. “But I’m happy Mei is the one I got.”

“What about her got your attention?” Momo didn’t want to admit it, but Mina’s enthusiasm about a possible romance had planted a seed in her own head.

“It was just because of something she said offhandedly,” Zetta’s gaze unfocused briefly. “We’ve only talked a couple times, but I already feel... Well I’m not sure what I feel.” 

“Oh?” The seed instantly grew into a tree that Momo wanted to have some tea under.

“It’s definitely positive towards Mei, but not like how I feel towards you or the classmates I’ve gotten to be friends with,” Zetta spoke slowly as she found the words to express her thoughts. “It’s… something else. It’s something that I need time to figure out before I can really act on it.”

“Well… I don’t have personal experience with this sort of thing, but going by the descriptions I’ve read in my romance novels, I believe what you described is a ‘crush’.”

“What.”

Chapter Text

“If everyone is here, then we can begin,” Nezu set his now empty cup down. “Detective, if you would share your findings?”

“Of course,” Detective Naomasa Tsukauchi leafed through the stack of papers he had with him. “None of the villains that were apprehended were ones of note. Of the testimonies we’ve gotten so far, the consensus seems to be that they agreed to help the ringleader of this stunt in an attempt to increase their own reputations. As for said ringleader... This is where things get complicated.”

“How so?” Midnight asked.

“There are no registered Quirks matching his destruction Quirk, nor the ‘Warp Gate’ attributed to his accomplice Kurogiri,” Tsukauchi said as he read his papers. “We don’t even have a name, ‘the Hand Villain’ is the best identifier we have currently. What few details we do have were mostly provided by a student of UA, which I’ll defer to Nezu for.”

“It’s that mimic kid in Eraser’s class isn’t it?” 1-B’s homeroom teacher Vlad King asked.

“Indeed,” Nezu nodded. “According to Z, the villain called Kurogiri and the creature called Nomu are animated corpses,” He paused to allow the humans to get over their shocked reactions. All Might already heard a version of this from his successor, but remained quiet about the implications in mixed company. “And adding to this is a detail that was shared with me last night. The Hand Villain’s Quirk appears to have been tampered with, to the extent that its presence within Z’s Quirk is a warped box that can’t be interacted with.”

“Poor guy,” Midnight absentmindedly tugged on the fabric that kept the mist her Quirk produced from accidentally leaking out. “Having a hard to handle Quirk like that is rough on its own, but if it was forced onto him in some sick experiment…”

“He also displayed some… odd behaviors according to the students,” All Might recalled. “It was as though he had an image of the villain he wanted to be, but it kept falling through when something went wrong. He said he respected Young Z’s heroics when he placed his arm in front of Young Asui, but then accused him of being a cheater a second later when he revealed the arm to be metal.”

“Hm,” Nezu considered the analysis of the hand villain. “How immature. Quite like some of our students. I can’t help but wonder what he could become under proper care.”

~~~

“As I said last night, no classes today, but I have an important announcement to make,” Aizawa began. Homeroom hadn’t started yet, but no one could sleep, so everyone had arrived at the classroom as early as they could. “In two weeks time the UA Sports Festival will be held, so start training for it.”

“But we just dealt with a villain attack!” Kaminari protested. “Are you sure it’s a good idea?!”

“This is about more than just UA’s reputation and its sponsors, this is about your future as members of the Hero Course,” Aizawa spoke with complete seriousness. “This will be your first time in the public spotlight and pros will be watching to see if they want to take you on for your work studies and future internships. UA has already taken steps to make the Sports Festival as secure as possible. Several pro heroes will be in attendance, and there will also be some guests of honor from the US.”

“Wait,” It took Z a second to register the plural usage. “So that means-”

“Yes,” Aizawa nodded. “Monarch has contacted UA to confirm that she will be present at the Sports Festival, as will Star And Stripe.”

“Oh…” Z slowly slid down in his seat.

“Does she know?”

“No,” Z pulled himself back up. “I haven’t gotten around to telling her. I wanted to be sure that she had nothing to worry about, that I had been accepted here, and while that point had been reached it’s still something that is hard to figure out how to bring up.”

“I would imagine, but I recommend you do it before the Sports Festival ends,” Aizawa said. “This is your secret to share, but don’t forget that means you’re asking others to attempt to deceive Monarch.”

“I can totally keep a secret!” Mina shouted.

“Appreciated, but Correction will sniff you out instantly,” Z explained. “My mom knows when someone is lying to her and isn’t afraid to push.”

“O-oh,” Mina’s determination dwindled greatly.

“Any other questions? No? Good,” Aizawa immediately pulled his sleeping bag out from under his desk and crawled inside. “I was up all night making phone calls, so only bother me if it’s necessary.”

“You-,” Z was a lot faster to realize the implications this time. “I am so so sorry.”

“hmph,” Aizawa plopped to the ground and a light buzz of conversation overtook the class. Z decided to bunker down and sort through his thoughts in real-time. He was only delaying the inevitable, but he still wasn’t sure how to broach the topic. He was far from the first LGBT+ kid Nnez had raised, but that didn’t make it easier.

“Z?” Momo asked as she approached. “There was a topic of discussion among a few of us last night while you were out, and the announcement of the Sport’s Festival has pushed it more. Given your Quirk, we hypothesized that you would be an excellent sparring partner. Both for those who want to see how someone else approaches our powers, perhaps discovering new avenues we never thought of, and those who want to test themselves against a variety of Quirks.”

“I assume this is leading to asking if I would be willing to spar, or at least discuss Quirks.”

“Yes, I’ve already reserved a training zone for that purpose today.”

“Sure then. Who wanted to join?”

“Let’s see,” Momo produced a clipboard from the aether. “Myself, Kirishima, Mina, Shoji, and Tokoyami.”

“Bit of a large group, but I think I can manage,” Z was surprised at the mention of Tokoyami. He hadn’t interacted with the bird-headed boy nor his sentient Quirk much, but this could be a good opportunity to learn about both.

“Uh,” Jiro raised her hand. One of her jacks was pointed towards the classroom door. “There seems to be a crowd.”

“Why?” Kaminari asked.

“They’re checking out the competition, duh,” Bakugo walked to the door and slammed it open. “GET OUTTA HERE FODDER!”

“Bakugo!” Ida chopped frantically as he attempted to cool down the explosion user. “Their curiosity is no reason to be rude!”

“Is everyone in 1-A like this, or is this an exception?” A purple haired boy with dark rings around his eyes stepped forward.

“YEAH!” A silver haired boy with massive eyelashes shouted from the middle of the crowd. “I’m from 1-B, the other hero course, and if this is all you people got, then I’m not impressed!”

“That’s just him,” Z assured the students. A second later a couple summaries popped up; Hitoshi Shinso, Quirk: Brainwashing and Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu, Quirk: Steel.

“Hm,” Shinso took another look at Bakugo. “Gotta say, my opinion of 1-A has lowered if that guy got in. You guys really prioritize the flashy Quirks above everything else, huh? You know how many Hero Course hopefuls ended up in General Studies because they didn’t have a power that let them destroy a robot?”

“That would be compelling if it weren’t for Tooru,” Z pointed next to him. It still took Shinso a second before he noticed the floating uniform whose owner had an unseen unamused expression. 

“He’s right,” Aizawa rose from his spot on the floor. “For the record, I do think the entrance exam is too heavily biased towards destructive Quirks, but that is Nezu’s intent. Hero work is physically demanding in every field, so Nezu crafted the exam to make sure hero hopefuls with non-combative Quirks have put in the effort to be in shape. Quirks like mine may be able to end the majority of conflicts instantly, but that means nothing if I can’t arrive in time.”

“Hm,” Shinsho looked like he was considering the words, but he wasn’t particularly moved by them.

“Hey what gives!?” 

“The hell man?!”

Meanwhile Bakugo had started to wordlessly shove the crowd aside.

“Uh, you sure you want to do that, man?” Kirishima asked. “You got enough people down on you already, do you really want to add to that?

“Don’t care,” Bakugo kept moving forward. “I’m going for the top, I got no time to listen to those in my way.”

“Damn,” Kaminari muttered as Bakugo disappeared into the mob. “Really not endearing us to the crowds, dude.”

“On one hand, that level of conviction is what one should have going into an event like the Sports Festival,” Momo mused. “On the other…”

“He doesn’t need to be a dick about it?” Jiro suggested.

“Precisely.”

“What about you?” Shinso asked Z. “You say that guy isn’t like the rest, but you’re probably planning on winning too, so how do you differ?”

“Oh simple,” Z walked over to a window and opened it. “Bakugo will push past anyone in his way, but I prefer to go around.”

And then he jumped out.

“What.”

Chapter Text

“So you’re going to take on the role of teacher this afternoon?” Toshi set down some snacks on the table of the teacher’s break room, the window his successor flew in from still open. 

“Yep,” Z took a cracker and slipped it under his mask. “I agreed but... I’m also having some anxieties and wanted to talk about them first.”

“Does it have to do with what Aizawa told me happened right before the USJ incident?” Toshi asked. “Your reaction to Thirteen’s speech?”

“Yes,” Z’s gaze was fixed on the floor. “My classmates are going to ask me about ways to use their Quirks, and I’m probably going to hear how limited their experimentation was because of Catastrophe making them hesitant.”

“Indeed,” Toshi poured himself some tea as he thought about how much more he paid attention to how he exerted his own strength after that day. “But let’s skip past that for now. Let’s start with why you agreed in the first place.”

“Because they are my friends, and they want my help,” Z said simply. “And with the Sports Festival coming up, I want to help them shine.”

“Shouldn’t you be focused on that yourself?” Toshi asked, though he had a feeling he already knew the answer to that question.

“I am the last one who needs to prepare,” Z answered. He paused for a moment to pop the index finger off his metal right hand and fiddled with it in his left. Toshi let his student have time to think in silence until Z continued. “I don’t want to take away all the attention from everyone else, and, as harsh as this sounds, I don’t want to be a hero like you.”

“I think I know what you mean,” Toshi said, even though he couldn’t help but wince at the words. “I was born in an era that needed a Symbol of Peace, but that has come and gone. You shouldn’t feel that you need to live up to that title.”

“That’s not quite what I meant,” Z asked while he reconnected his finger. “Can I ask you something a bit personal?”

“I am an open book, my boy,” Toshi motioned for Z to ask away as he took a sip of his drink.

“You’ve never had a significant other have you?” Z crossed his fingers to make a barrier, protecting himself from the spew of tea. “I’m taking that as a no.”

“I-I am comfortable with my status, thank you.”

“Are you?” Z took his eyes off the floor and met Toshi’s with full seriousness. “You became the Symbol of Peace, but in doing so you lost something. Something that I know I’m already going to fight for.”

“And what would that be?”

“We both have many titles. Hero. Symbol,” Z made a fist with his false hand. “Catastrophe. But I don’t want to be buried under them like you have been. I want to be human.”

“I see,” Toshi considered his pupil’s words, and something stuck out to him. “Tell me, Young Z, did you ask me about my history because there’s someone you-”

Z was out the window again before any more words could be said, which was enough of an answer for Toshi.

~~~

“Let me show you how hard I can get!”

“Do you want to rephrase that?”

“Nope!” 

 Z was the last to arrive at the training zone, and everyone had split up to practice on their own. Kirishima was the first he ran into, who wasted no time.

“BEHOLD!” Kirishima announced as his skin hardened until it looked like he was covered in scales. He held that form for a few seconds before releasing it. “I can hold that level for a while, but it’s taxing. I was wondering if you could think of any ideas on how to compensate for that.”

“Let’s see,” Z popped into the Lab to activate Hardening and started using the Quirk with his left hand. “Wouldn’t localizing your Quirk help with the stamina consumption?”

“Kinda, but it’s more complicated than that,” Kirishima flexed an arm as it reached the maximum hardness state. “I really need to focus to keep it up, so maintaining varying levels of hardness at once is difficult. Most of the time it’s more practical to just harden my entire body.”

“This may be a niche usage, but consider this,” Z stomped on the ground and a wall of concrete rose up next to him. He punched it with a Hardened fist, leaving a crater in the stone. Then he held up a single finger and jabbed the wall, creating a neat hole. “Your Quirk is highly defensive, which is excellent against a lot of offensive Quirks, but turns your fights against other defensive ones into wars of attrition. Focusing all your power into a small point could help break your opponent’s defenses before yours do.”

“Hm…” Kirishima held out two fingers and stabbed the rock wall like Z did. “Yeah, I can work with this. Thanks man! Wanna give me time to get hard so we can go a round?”

“Maybe later. Also please stop.”

“Never!”

~~~

“Make sure you’ve applied enough to prevent any friction or it’ll be a pain in the butt. Literally.”

“Are you guys doing this on purpose?”

“Doing what?”

“Nevermind,” Z shot out more highly diluted acid in front of him as he carefully slid around the area. Mina wanted to be the one to show him a trick or two with her Quirk.

“Do you mind if I ask some stuff?” Mina caught up to Z on an acid slide of her own. “I’d like to learn more about you in situations that aren’t life and death.”

“Fair. Ask away.”

“Well, I know about your mom, but I don’t think you’ve said anything about your dad.”

“I don’t have one.”

“Oh. Sorry for your loss,” Mina blushed slightly from embarrassment.

“Not like that,” Z quickly responded.

“Ah. Fuck that guy then.”

“Also not like that.”

“… Anonymous donor?”

“No,” Mina gave Z a flat look. “My mother conceived me with her own Quirk. I do not know any details beyond that.”

“Wow. That’s a hell of an origin,” A light suddenly went off in Mina’s head. “Wait, aren’t you AMAB?”

“Yes.”

“Where’d the Y chromosome come from?”

“Excellent question,” There was a beat of silence before Mina motioned for Z to continue. “There isn’t anything else, I’m just noting that’s a good question.”

“You really didn’t ask about it?”

“Have you ever asked your parents for details about your conception?”

“Ok, that’s fair,” Mina conceded and the two went back to racing each other on their slides.

~~~

“You can mimic All Might’s Quirk, right?” Shoji asked. Zetta nodded, ignoring an urge to deny the claim as stupid as it would be to do so. “I know it’s an absurd thing to compare myself to, but I still want to see how I measure up to the power of the Number One.” 

“About that,” Zetta debated how to explain One for All’s mechanics in a way that wouldn’t cause All Might problems later. “I can’t use it like him. Turns out it’s percentage based, and I’m only at around 40-ish.”

“Ah,” Shoji sounded disappointed but relieved that he wouldn’t be facing the peak of what All Might could do. “How should we start?”

“Come at me first. I’ll do my best to match,” Zetta took a stance as Shoji threw punches with all six arms. She tapped into One for All and returned the blows, slowly increasing the percentage as Shoji ramped up his own speed, growing even more arms to strike with. The competition continued until Zetta hit her limit and jumped back to end it.

“You all right?”

“Yeah, just not used to goin’ that fast for that long,” Zetta used Correction to alleviate the stress in her left arm while she inspected her right. It was a bit scuffed from the impacts it took, but no serious damage.

“How durable is your prosthetic?” Shoji asked. 

“It’s pretty solid, but eventually it’ll get worn down. I can’t heal it, so I gotta keep tabs on how it’s doin’,” Zetta said while keeping in mind how important that was now that Hyper Charge and One for All were part of her regular moveset. “Let’s go again.”

“Are you sure?” Zetta answered by being the one to start the next round with a rush of fists. 

~~~

“Since you’re making it, shouldn’t it be ‘moch-Z’?”

“I hate that that works,” Z molded a glob of the newly named moch-Z into a matryoshka doll. He and Momo were having him experiment with her Quirk to see if he thought of something she hadn’t before. However, it seems that Momo was the one who had an idea for him.

“Can I suggest something?”

“Go ahead.”

“If, like my Momochi, your moch-Z is generated from your lipids, your DNA, then wouldn’t it also contain your Quirk factor? Could you apply other Quirks you’ve copied onto it?”

“Hold on,” Z held his right arm against his side and stretched moch-Z around it. He dove into the Lab and enabled two Quirks for his test. He held out his right hand and tried to activate Bakugo’s Quirk. Nothing. He then tried to use Kirishima’s power and the moch-Z took on a rock-like texture. “Fascinating.”

“Did you try to use a hand-based Quirk first?” Momo asked, already taking down notes.

“Yeah, Bakugo’s,” The moch-Z arm briefly turned invisible, showing the metal one underneath. Z pinched a little piece of moch-Z off and dropped it on the ground. It immediately lost its transparency upon losing contact with his body. “Seems it can’t handle more than one Quirk at once and it can’t sustain Quirk usage without my direct contact.”

“I wonder if that’ll also have any impact on how quickly it degrades,” Momo murmured while scribbling down ideas. “How well can it maintain Hyper Charge?”

“Let’s see... Could you, uh, look away?” Z asked. Momo nodded and turned around until she heard the clap and Zetta was ready. “Thanks.”

“Forgive me if this is too personal, but is there a reason for why you choose to be a certain gender for certain Quirks?”

“I do not control the gender neuron, and it’s not for lack of tryin’,” Zetta explained as the low hum of Hyper Charge started up. She also let some of One for All loose to speed up the process. “It’s kinda like muscle memory. I’m used ta using some Quirks as a girl and others as a guy, so when I get ready ta use it the switch is flipped.”

“I see-” Momo was cut off by the moch-Z arm exploding. “O-oh. I guess that it’s not structurally stable enough to maintain that level of energy.”

“Yeeeep,” Zetta brushed off bits of moch-Z and reabsorbed what she could. “Still, it’s worth testin’ this out more. I’ll need to meet with Mei later, she’ll want to know about this.”

“Mhm,” Momo was back to writing in her notebook. “You should move onto Tokoyami, I have a lot to think about now.”

~~~

“Nice ta meet ya properly,” Zetta gave the bird-headed boy a small bow. “We haven’t talked, have we?”

“No. I’ve kept my distance from most of our peers. I simply prefer the company of myself.”

“And me,” Dark Shadow popped out to say before they got shoved out of sight by their owner.

“I wished for this union not to learn from you, but rather to impart my own knowledge onto you,” Tokoyami explained. “I feel we are of the same ilk.”

“In what what?”

“You’re afraid of your own Quirk, are you not?” Zetta flinched with how well Tokoyami hit the nail on the head. “Even now, that is a feeling that I am all too familiar with.”

“For good reason too,” Dark Shadow emerged again. “I get stronger in darkness, but that power starts to grow overwhelming. I first manifested in the middle of the night while Fumi was sleeping, and I wrecked the room.”

“I understand my parents’ concern because of that night, but it having occurred only two months after Catastrophe made that paranoia mutate,” Tokoyami said solemnly . “The lights in my room were never turned off. I rarely went out at night, and Dark Shadow was never allowed to take form without a literal checklist of precautions taken.”

“Oh god…” Zetta felt a pit open in her stomach. 

“Allow me to confide in you a secret that rests at the root of my being,” Tokoyami began. “I vowed to become a hero out of spite. I spent much of my youth being regarded as a slumbering beast, and I want to prove those who did so wrong. I want to show that Dark Shadow is a Quirk that can protect, that they and I are more than a disaster waiting to happen. I have an inkling that, having grown in the same age as I, you felt that burden even more with your Quirk.”

“What Fumi’s trying to say,” Dark Shadow cut in. “Is that he’s available if you wanna talk about Quirk-related stress, because we get it. You aren’t alone.”

“I- Thank y- but-” Zetta fled into the Lab to activate a teleportation Quirk as her panic rose. “Sorry- I’m sorry-”

That was all Zetta got out before she vanished.

Chapter Text

Zetta appeared in her room and collapsed onto her bed as tears started to stream down her face. She fumbled a couple times trying to clap, but even on success Z couldn’t stop the flow. He squeezed his eyes shut, retreating to the Lab for isolation but instead found the vestiges of One for All waiting at his side.

“Hey, hey,” Nana tried to comfort him. “It’s ok. You’re safe. We’re here to help.”

“leave me alone,” Z summoned boxes to wall himself off from the spirits, but that proved to be a futile effort as they simply walked through.

“We’re heroes, kid,” Banjo took a seat on the ground. “We’re not going to ignore someone in distress.”

“Talk to us,” Yoichi said as he, Nana, and En joined the Fifth. “We’re here to support you.”

“... He wanted to help me. Me. The one who made his life hell,” Z couldn’t stop the wave of emotion that carried his words. “Tokoyami had every action of his life monitored, and he’s one of the lucky ones. Child abuse due to Quirks has been a thing since they were called Meta Abilities, and it’s been slowly rising as Quirks themselves evolve and become more complicated. Kids being forced to suppress their powers if not abandoned or even locked in basements. After Catastrophe the rate of this skyrocketed. Four year olds ditched or sealed away because their parents were scared of them becoming another global tragedy. Scared of another me . How many are suffering because of that? How many villains have I created?

“how can i call myself a hero?” Z managed before his voice finally gave out. Nana did her best to hug him as she could with non-corporeal arms.

“You’re going to talk to the school counselor,” Yoichi said. “That’s not a suggestion. Go. Now.”

~~~

“I appreciate that you decided to visit,” Hound Dog said as Z entered his office and laid back on the couch set out for patients. “Where do you want to start?”

“What has Nezu told you about me?” Z’s tone was level, but Hound Dog didn’t need heightened senses to tell the turmoil the boy was in.

“Nothing,” Hound Dog suppressed his annoyance at his boss’ love of secrecy. “He didn’t tell us of your gender identity, but I understand he did tell Eraserhead.”

“He did. And… There’s something else Nezu and Aizawa know. Also All Might,” Z continued, voice still monotone. “I am Catastrophe.”

Many images flashed through Hound Dog’s mind. Green flames, buildings reduced to rubble, Monarch- Oh god Monarch. Hound Dog pushed those thoughts out of his mind for now. In front of him was a student that needed to get something out.

“And why have you decided to trust me with this knowledge?”

“Because it’s something I want to be able to say to everyone eventually. Even if it means losing some of them,” The eyes on Z’s mask turned off and he put a hand on his mask, but didn’t remove it. He was forcing himself to maintain a certain face. “I don’t want to lie. I already hid one entire self from them, my honesty is already in doubt. Why would they trust me after finding out a third self? One that has haunted them all their lives. How can I ask for the trust of people whose lives would be objectively better if I didn’t exist?”

“You must let them be the judge,” Hound Dog had a feeling pushing back against Z’s assertion would cause the boy to tunnel more into despair, so chose a different route. “Don’t assume their reactions for them. However you decide to reveal this to your classmates, you must allow them time to process and accept that they may indeed lose trust in you, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible to gain it back.”

Z gave a small nod, but remained quiet.

“I was in high school when Catastrophe happened. Most of the staff here was, in fact,” Hound Dog said. “Quite a few of us decided to become heroes in the wake of it. We saw fear sweep across the world, but we decided to help stand against it. Many students of your year are of the same mindset, but I am curious if that’s the case for you. Why did you want to become a hero?”

“To help people,” Z said simply. “I’ve been watching my mother be a hero all my life. I looked up to her and wanted to be a hero long before my Quirk manifested. Then it did. It took a while to admit it, but that want to be a hero never went away. I still knew what I could do with my Quirk. But now I’m worried that one day I will reach out a hand to someone and they’ll refuse to take it because all they see is Catastrophe.”

“Then you should genuinely consider how you’ll handle the Sports Festival,” Hound Dog advised. “Trust your classmates to be able to present themselves, they already know the competition they face, and focus on putting yourself forward. Your actions at the Sports Festival will set the foundation for how you’ll be seen as a hero, so think hard about what you want to open with.”

“I.. I will,” The eyes on Z’s mask flickered back on and as he rose to leave, a thought occurred in the back of Hound Dog’s mind.

“You have been told that you’ll be doing the opening speech, right?”

“What.”

Chapter Text

Z always considered time to be fake, but never had that sentiment been proven as much as during the days counting down to the Sports Festival.

It had been both a painfully long wait while in class and a rapidly approaching deadline when training.

None of his classmates requested another spar with him after his abrupt teleportation, which he felt bad about. He had apologized to Tokoyami for vanishing and the bird-headed boy took it in stride. Z wasn’t sure if he was just being polite or if Tokoyami had found something out. Either way, he wasn’t in a hurry to risk a repeat of what had happened.

Nnez let Z know she didn’t want both her and Cathleen out of the US for very long, so they wouldn’t be able to meet with him before the festival started. He was mixed on that, he knew he’d have to talk around the details of the USJ but it had been a while since he had been with the two.

Finally the day had come, and 1-A was in their preproom, Momo checking up on everyone to make sure they were ready while Z was bracing himself for the influx of Quirks his Mimicry was about to be assaulted by.

“Z,” The voice of Todoroki called. Z turned to meet the monotone boy’s gaze. “I will beat you.”

“Hey man, don’t try to start anything!” Kirishima said as he tried to pull Todoroki away.

“I’m simply making my intentions clear,” Todoroki shrugged Kirishima’s hand away and his flat eyes scanned over the rest of the class. “As should all of you.”

“He’s right,” Z said, causing many to look at him in surprise. “All of you want to beat me too, right?”

“Well being fair-” Kaminari tried to say, but was quickly drowned out.

“OF COURSE I’M GONNA, ASSHOLE!” Bakugo shouted.

“I wasn’t thinking of anything else,” Shoji gave a series of thumbs-up.

“I have reasonable expectations, kero ,” Tsu said honestly, which fit most of 1-A’s vibes, but a competitive spark had definitely been lit under them all.

“There we go,” Z smiled to himself under his mask.

“Everyone!” Momo called for attention. “It’s time!”

~~~

“HEEEY EVERYYYYBOOOODYY!!” Present Mic’s voice rang throughout the arena. “IT’S FINALLY TIME! WHAT YOU’VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR! THE OPENING CEEEEREEEMOOOONNYY! I AM YOUR HOST, PRESENT MIC- ACK!”

“I’m also here,” Aizawa said while pulling Mic back into his seat and turning down the volume on the louder hero’s speakers. “And I’d like to have functioning ears at the end of this.”

“Fine, fine,” Mic lowered his voice slightly . “This grumpy sonuvabitch is my cohost, Eraserhead! But let’s get to the real stars, huh? Leading the charge is who else but the up and coming heroes themselves! Give it up for CLASS! ONE! A!!!”

The rapturous applause and cheers drowned out even Present Mic. Some members of 1-A were overwhelmed by the sheer number of people present to watch them, though for Z it was in a different way. While others took in the crowd, he kept his gaze fixated on the ground while his Quirk got to work in the background.

“<You doing ok?>” Pony whispered to him.

“<Mostly. I have a small headache, but I’ll be fine,>” Z assured her. It was a bit harsher than what he said, but ultimately nothing compared to the first time he experienced this feeling.

“And they’re not the only ones on the field!” Present Mic continued his piece. “Following them are the members of their sister hero course 1-B! And don’t forget the General Studies, Support, and Business courses!”

“They certainly got us out of the way efficiently,” One of the General Ed students muttered to their peers.

“And who’s that waiting for them at the center stage?! Why, it’s our very own and very lovely referee for the first years’; MIDNIGHT!”

“Hello, everybody!” The 18+ Hero cracked her whip as she took her place on the podium. “Now, to truly get things started, a speech from one of Class 1-A’s members; Z!”

“THAT GUY?!” A familiar voice from 1-B shouted.

“So he’s the big shot, huh?” Hitoshi Shinsho muttered to himself.

“Nezu did tell you about this, right?” Midnight whispered to Z. “Or did he want to see what you came up with on the spot?”

“I had to learn from a third party, so the second,” Z answered.

“Of course he did,” Midnight sighed, then offered Z the mic. “Show them what you got, kid.”

“Will do,” Z accepted the mic and took in the crowd with his eyes properly. He surveyed the masses until he found a pair of pure orange eyes staring back at him and turned to them. “I direct this at the heroes attending today or watching from a distance. I want you all to pay attention to me and my classmates. Put aside what you may have heard about the USJ, that is an experience none of us wish to dwell on. Today we are here to present ourselves as we want to be seen. Take every single one of us seriously, regardless of class. The upcoming job studies mean we’ll be soon looking to you to show us how to be a hero, so look at us now. See who you want to help grow, and plan on how you’ll do so. I also ask this because I am going to overshadow everyone,” A round of boos and shouts of anger came from the students of other classes and from some of the audience, but he persisted. “I don’t say this out of hubris. I am fully aware of my strength, I know the impression it will give, but I don’t want my classmates to suffer for it. At the same time, I will not disrespect them by holding back for their sake. They all will give everything they have, so I will too. We are UA, we are the future of heroes, and I hope you’ll help us along the way.”

“SHOVE IT UP YOUR-” Tetsutetsu started until a pair of disembodied hands covered his mouth.

“Tetsu, he’s serious,” The owner of the hands said. Z remembered her from the recommended entrance exam, Setsuna Tokage. “You have no idea the shit he can pull off.”

“Thanks, Tokage,” Z said as he approached 1-B after handing the mic back to Midnight who gave him a wink and a grin . “I’m not familiar with all of you, but know that I was completely genuine. You’re also Hero Course students, and I don’t want to rob you of anything.”

“I understand,” A girl with long ginger hair in a side ponytail said. “I’m Itsuka Kendo, Class 1-B’s President, and I apologize for the disturbance Tetsutetsu caused before.”

“It’s fine, Bakugo tends to rile everyone up.”

“SHUT IT!” Said explosion user shouted.

“See?”

“Now let’s not dilly dally and get to it!” Midnight declared as a giant monitor displayed a series of cards being shuffled through until it landed on ‘Obstacle Race’. “The first round is a free for all! Only the first 32 will make it into the second round! EVERYONE, GET IN POSITION!”

All the students hurried to the starting gate as the countdown crept closer, many trying not to think too much about the tone Midnight said that last line in.

“START!”

At the sound of the buzzer, Z hopped up onto a barrier right before a sheet of ice coated the ground below him. He spared a glance towards Todoroki before ascending into the sky and willing his barrier forwards, the ground below turning into a blur as he sped past it all.

“FIRST IS ROBO INFERN- WAIT HE’S JUST GOING OVER IT- AND THE FALL- AND THE MINEFIELD TOO!?” Present Mic tried to provide live commentary in vain.

“I told you,” Z said to himself as he directed his barrier across the finish line and touched down back inside the stadium. “I’d overshadow everyone.”

“WHAT A SHOWING!! THINK WE COULD GET A COMMENT BEFORE RETURNING TO THE RACE!?”

“Leave him alone, Mic. He’s got other plans,” Aizawa watched his student fly to a specific spot in the stands; the Pro Hero section.

Z landed next to a woman with long brown hair tied back in a ponytail. She wore a black turtleneck and a long white skirt that reached to the ground, but remained spotless. She looked at him with eyes of pure orange.

“Hi Mom.”

“You need to call more,” Nnez chastised her son before pulling him into a hug.

“Yeah yeah.”

“Hey, what about me!?” As soon as he was released from his mother’s embrace, Z was lifted into the air by the pair of massive arms of Number One of the US.

“Hi to you too, Aunt Cat,” Z got out despite the compression of his lungs.

“Your teacher told me of the USJ. Was there anything about it that he may have withheld?” Nnez asked when he was set down. 

“Nothing that I wouldn’t have wanted you to know,” Z chose the words carefully. Nnez didn’t respond for a moment, then nodded. He guessed Correction told her that there was something being hidden, but she shouldn’t ask about it. 

“Very well,” Nnez turned her attention to the monitors displaying the progress of the other racers. She tapped her staff on the ground, making a small bubble around her, Cathleen, and Z. It was only ‘right’ that she could ask her son some more personal questions without prying eyes and ears. “How many of your classmates know about your Quirk?”

“All of them,” Z answered. “The USJ incident forced me to show it earlier than I would’ve liked, but turns out saving their lives made them pretty accepting of it.”

“You sure that’s a surprise, little hero?” Cathleen nudged Z with a smile.

“A lie is a lie, no matter the intention,” Nnez said, voicing Z’s own thoughts on the matter. “But I’m happy that you’ve found people who can put that aside for you.”

“I am too. Though... I don’t know if they can do it again,” Nnez and Cathleen shared a look before each giving Z another hug. “Some of my teachers know about it, but no classmates.”

“Which ones?”

“Aizawa, Nezu, Hound Dog, and All Might.”

“All Might?!” Cathleen said excitedly, her inner teenage fangirl kicking in. “What did he say?”

“He said he would make sure the world would see me as a hero first,” Z said, leaving out what else All Might declared. He still didn’t think of the passage of OfA as his secret to share.

“That sounds right,” Nnez sighed as she tapped her staff again to dispel the bubble. “What a wonderfully ridiculous man.”

“Do you think you can get an autograph for me and the bros?” Cathleen whispered. “Just one would do, but if you could also gets extras that’d be-”

BOOM!

The explosion announced the rapid approach of the first wave of finishers. Bakugo and Todoroki were leading, with a mix of the two Hero courses close behind.

“Impressive,” Nnez commented. “You did well to keep their morale high. Even those who are near the cutoff are giving it their all.”

“They’re my friends, it’s the least I could do,” Z said, noticing the trace of a smile on Nnez’s face. “Even those not in the Hero Course like Mei deserve to be recognized.”

“And which one is she?”

“The Support course girl with the pink dreads and goggles,” Z pointed out a screen she popped up on. “I’ve already gotten her as my Support Tech.”

“I see,” Nnez looked from the broadcast of Mei to Z and back again. “In case you were worried, I wouldn’t complain if you were to bring me a new daughter.”

“MOM!” Z was thankful his mask didn’t display blushing as he heard some repressed laughs from a few pro heroes in the stands around them.  “Hey, look, the others are finishing, I should go BYE!”

“Good luck, Z!” Cathleen shouted after him though a laugh of her own. “How’d you even clock that, Nnez?”

“I would like to say maternal instinct, but it’s my Quirk considering it ‘right’ I know who my son is interested in so I can save him from heartbreak.”

“And you immediately used that information to tease him?”

“I am his mother. It is only ‘right’ that I embarrass him from time to time.”

“Also it’s funny.”

“That too.”

~~~

“You really weren’t kidding, huh?” Kirishima gave Z a smack on the back. “No holding back, now that’s manly!”

“Not minded, I would have,” Pony added. She had tried copying Z’s flight, but after his showing all the other racers became very aware whenever anyone tried to do something similar. She still ended up ranking high, though.

“AND THAT’S NUMBER THIRTY TWO! ROUND ONE IS DONE!!!” Present Mic’s announcement rang out, and everyone turned to the finish line as Mei bolted across it and right to Z.

“THAT WAS AMAZING!” She beamed at him. “I was already having ideas for babies, but actually seeing you in action has made so many more! We gotta brainstorm after thiiisss,” She started petering out as the exhaustion of the race caught up to her.

“Later,” Z assured her.

“Alright everyone!” Midnight cracked her whip as she took to the stage again. “You all fought for yourselves, but now it’s time to test your teamwork! BEHOLD, THE SECOND EVENT!”

She gestured to the monitor behind her as it read ‘Calvary Battle’ along with an image of Thirteen and Present Mic trying their best to hold All Might aloft.

“For this event, you will assemble into teams of four, and be given headbands with a point value determined by your placing in the first event. Starting at the bottom; 32nd will have five points, 31st will have ten and so forth,” Z did the math and calculated that he would end up with one hundred and si- “But for first place: NEGATIVE ONE THOUSAND POINTS!”

“What.”

Chapter Text

“Negative…”

“ One thousand ?!”

“Indeed,” Aizawa’s voice snapped Z out of his shock. “Normally, the winner of the race would be given ten million points that they would have to defend, but, given Z’s Quirk, we decided to make some adjustments. No sitting behind a barrier or escaping into the sky to run the clock out, now he’ll have to be on the offensive. To save you all the math, that means there are 2480 points in play.”

“But we’re not so cruel that we’d leave him tied up without some slack!” Midnight cracked her whip. “Z will receive two bands, one with the total of his teammates, and a second with the negative points on it! Those looking to steal from him will need to be careful to not nab that one by mistake!”

“Let’s not forget about the rules for everyone else!” Present Mic yelled. “As Midnight gave away, the rider of each team will wear a headband with their team’s points! No hiding it, it must be around the neck or higher! Quirk use is authorized, but purely for movement or to snatch another team’s headband! Any usage of it to directly attack with the intent to harm will get you kicked out!”

“You have ten minutes to assemble a team and strategize,” Aizawa took over. “Go.”

Z fixed his eyes to the ground as he tried to hide his panic.

With such a massive handicap, who would even think of-

“Hey, kero .”

“Still here!” Mei shouted at Z’s side before he fully registered Tsu’s arrival.

“And I make four,” Shoji 

“Oh,” Mina halted mid-step. “Uh. Guess I’ll find someone else then.”

“HEY RACOON EYES!” Bakugo shouted at her.

“I got a name, dude,” She called back.

“C’mon Mina,” Kirishima waved his friend over. “He’s easier to work with than you think.”

“Uh-huh,” Mina rolled her eyes but went to join Bakugo’s team. Z checked the leaderboard again and was a bit surprised to see Bakugo did manage to get second with Todoroki a fraction of a second behind him in third.

“So... You really sure that you want to be on my team?” Z asked the three before him. He checked the scoreboard – Tsu in 12th, Shoji in 13th, and Mei in 32nd – which put their total point value at 210. 

“Yep, kero .”

“Without a doubt.”

“I know nobody else here!” Mei declared, her manic grin not wavering for a second. She dug into her pack and pulled out a left-hand glove which she handed to Z. “Support Course students get to bring any gear they made and I brought this to give to you anyway.”

“Thanks,” Z took the glove and examined it. It was three-fingered like the ones of his hero outfit. He put it on and felt his fingers enter smaller tubes within the gloves’ fingers. “What’d you put in this?”

“Ok so,” Mei took a massive inhale. “I checked your original gloves and noticed you had the fingers to both hide when you had your fingers crossed and to force them to stay crossed, but that meant any impact strong enough to break the barrier would also break your fingers. My glove uses small magnetic sleeves to hold your fingers together, you toggle them one and off by touching the tip of the finger with your thumb, and they turn off if your fingers are under enough stress so you don’t get serious injuries.”

“That’s…” Z felt a weird emotion at Mei making his safety her top priority when designing gear for him, given both her explosive tendencies that rival Bakugo’s, and that Z had enough regeneration Quirks that any injuries he suffered he would recover from instantly, but he still felt comforted by the glove. “Thank you, Mei.”

“I’m a Support Tech, my job is to make sure you don’t get hurt!”

“ Kero ,” Tsu looked between the two and made a mental note. She happened to glance over at Mina who was also fixated on the pair. The two locked eyes and shared a nod. A conversation to be continued later.

“ Ahem ,” Shoji reminded the group of his presence. “What will our formation be? I assume Z will be the rider, and I can easily carry Asui-”

“You can call me Tsu, kero .”

“I can easily carry Tsu as well,” Shoji corrected. “So what will Hatsume’s position be?”

“I got wheels,” Mei lifted her foot as a pair of wheels shot out from her massive boot. She then shifted her pack to be on her front and pulled a set of straps from it. “You can hold onto these with one of those sets of arms and pull me along while I cover our six... Uh... Name?”

“Shoji.”

“Oh, like the game, easy,” A beat of silence passed before Mei realized her error. “Wait, no that’s sho gi . Sorry, if I slip, just keep correcting me,” She looked at Tsu. “And what about you?”

“Tsu, kero .”

“Is the ‘kero’ part of the name?”

“No.”

“Ok, then that’s easy!” Mei beamed at Z. “See? I’m getting this name thing down!”

“Good!” Z gave her a nod and turned to Tsu. “I’ll try to give you a clear shot for you to snatch other bands with your tongue, ok?”

“By holding them in place, kero ?”

“Actually I have something else planned.”

===

“HEY HORNS!” 

“Name, I have!”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever, now get over here,” Mina gave Kirishima another unamused look as Pony approached Bakugo.

“What’s the game plan anyway?” Mina asked.

“Rock Head is here because he’s the only one who can withstand my explosions. Raccoon Eyes, you can use your acid to stop Half-and-Half’s ice, and Horns, your job is to get me where I need to be with your horns.”

“... If exploded, then replace them, I won’t.”

“Tch. Fine.”

===

“Do you understand our strategy?” Todoroki asked Ida, Momo, and Kaminari.

“Yes, but are you sure about refusing to use your left side?” Ida asked. “I can’t help but see that as-”

“I am certain,” Todoroki cut him off and looked towards the pro-hero section of the stands. He met the gaze of his father, but didn’t bother to maintain it for long. But as he started to look away, he noticed Monarch in the stands. She had her own eyes fixed on her son below as he talked with his team, but with a very different emotion than Endeavor’s.

That caused something to stir in him, but he didn’t know what. And he wasn’t sure if he wanted to know.

===

“Don’t lose sight of him,” Tokage warned Tetsutetsu as she and her teammates, Shiozaki and Kamakiri, raised him into the air. “He makes barriers by crossing his fingers, so make sure you pay attention to- shit he has a glove on, this got a lot harder.”

“I can respect a good defense, but I don’t see how this guy could be that threatening here,” Tetsutetsu grumbled. “What the hell did you see him do in the recommendation entrance exam?”

“You guys had robots right? Well the recommendation students had an obstacle course, and turns out-”

“START!!”

“HERE HE COMES!”

“Wha-” Tetsu looked up in time to see Z hurtling towards him and managed to dodge out of the way. “THE HEL-”

Z grabbed a tube shaped barrier he spawned in, spun around on it, and flew right past Tetsu again.

“Is that even allowed?!” Tetsu yelled out, still recovering from having to dodge twice so quickly.

“So long as the rider remains in motion while airborne and doesn’t touch the ground, then yes,” Aizawa ruled.

“THAT!” Tokage shouted. “He smacks himself around with his own barriers, it’s insane !”

“Perhaps we should seek a less threatening adversary,” Shiozaki proposed. “And not immediately antagonize the one with the greatest motive to fight back.”

“That one,” Kamakiri nodded to a team made of two 1-A girls and a couple Gen Ed students. “They had to form their team from the leftovers, so they’ll be easier to handle.”

“CHARGE THEN!”

===

“I missed,” Z said as landed on Shoji’s back. “Did you get anything, Tsu?”

“From one of the 1-B teams, kero ,” She handed him a band with the number 240 on it. Behind them was said team, stuck in a net Mei had launched at them.

“Nice,” He put the band on while doing new calculations. 450 points, so 550 more to break even. No bands had that high a number, but a couple came close-

BOOM

Like Bakugo’s 480.

The explosion user has also opted for the flight plan, and was relying on Pony’s horns to catch him before he fit the ground. Z launched himself with a barrier to intercept Bakugo, but unfortunately his approach was noticed.

“FUCK OFF!” Bakugo held out one hand and made a tube with the other, pointed right at Z, who threw up a barrier between them.

BOOM 

“OW!” The focused impact forced Z’s fingers apart and sent him falling back down. He felt Tsu’s tongue coil around his waist and it pulled him back to his team. “Ok not trying that again.”

“What ne-” Shoji started before he suddenly halted in place. Z glanced down and saw that Shoji’s feet were sinking into the ground. He swiveled to look behind him at the one responsible; Juzo Honenuki of 1-B. Z didn’t know if Honenuki’s Softening would affect his barriers and he wasn’t in a hurry to figure that out.

“I’m making a barrier about two feet in front of you, grab it!” Z told Shoji and the larger student followed through, freeing the team from the trap but leaving them with the problem of needing to get out of Honenuki’s range.

“I GOT THIS!” Mei shouted with the sound of an engine. A second later, her jetpack roared to life and she shot into the air, pulling the rest of the team along with her. Z quickly formed a crude barrier that let them slide down to rather than crash onto the ground. “FLAWLESS!”

“You ok, Shoji? Tsu?” Z asked. He briefly looked behind him to see how Honenuki’s team was responding. Instead of a chase, he saw them as the ones stuck in place by Todoroki’s ice as the scarred student took their band.

“I can keep going.”

“A little motion sick, kero .”

“Hey, I think the scarred guy’s team is-” Mei’s warning came too late.

“RECIPRO BUST!” The sound of Ida’s voice arrived far after his team passed Z’s. 

“I found Todoroki stating this earlier to be blinding hubris, but now I understand that it’s an attitude I must adopt if I want to be a hero,” Ida met Z’s eyes. “No matter how strong you are, I will beat you!”

“Then you better be ready to fight for it!” Z shouted back. He checked his bands, and found the one Tsu got earlier was gone. He guessed between Ida’s speed and the risk of the negative 1000, Todoroki was only able to take the top band.

The two sons of number twos locked eyes. Both had claims they were giving their all to back up, but in this match only one of them will succeed.

The seconds were ticking down and Z knew taking Todoroki’s bands was the best way to win.

“Mei?!” He called to the pink haired inventor. “I need you to blow something up!”

“On purpose?”

“Yeah!”

“YOU GOT IT!” Mei pulled something from her belt and threw it on the ground in front of her team. The device instantly combusted, creating a blinding flash and an obscuring dust could.

“Clever,” Todoroki acknowledged, but kept his gaze focused on the dust. “But not clever enough.”

He waited until he saw the telltale glow of red eyes and glint of an outstretched right arm rushing at him, and commanded his teammates to dodge to the right.

And, unwittingly, into the path of a charging Shoji.

None of them had time to brace themselves as the two teams collided. Todoroki was stunned, but aware enough to feel something grab his bands. Out of sheer panic caused by the threat of losing, he activated the flames of his left side.

But it didn’t deter the thief, and Todoroki soon found his bands gone.

“A LAST MINUTE COMEBACK FOR Z! YOU’VE GOTTA GIVE HIM A HAND FOR THAT PLAY!”

By the time his team regained formation, the dust had cleared and revealed a lone arm and mask hovering in the air.

Meanwhile Z and Tsuyu were hastily putting out the flames of the bands in his left hand before he put them on.

“AND TIIIME!”

Slowly Todoroki looked up at the scoreboard and found his team’s placement.

Zero points.

“What.”