10

Chapter Text

Aizawa watched Midoriya closer this time as the man walked into the viewing room. 

There was a staff slung across his back now. His smile was light, excited, and his eyes grew curious again when he saw the other teachers.

But there was also the ease in which the weapon rested on his back, the way power rippled across his skin as he moved, how his eyes had scanned all of them like he was grasping all their strengths and weaknesses instantly.

"Midoriya-san! Welcome back to U.A!" Nezu greeted cheerfully. Any hints of his fear at their last meeting were already analyzed and dealt with.

"Thanks, Nezu."

"You've already met Aizawa Shota, aka Eraserhead, 1-A's homeroom teacher and Head of the Heroics Department." Aizawa nodded to the white-haired man, watching him glance back at him in recognition. "This is Sekijiro Kan, aka Vlad King, another Heroics teacher. He also has 1-B's homeroom. Here we have Ectoplasm and Ken Ishiyama, aka Cementoss, who teach mathematics and modern literature, respectively. Lastly we have Thirteen, who specializes in rescue, and Majima Higari, also known as Power Loader. He's the Head of the Support Department."

Midoriya seemed quite confused at their hero names, obviously trying not to stare at Cementoss, but smiled genuinely. "It's great to meet you all." 

Aizawa stepped forward, feeling the familiar weight of his capture scarf warm his neck. 

"Midoriya-san, your exam will be in three parts. First, is the Rescue portion." Aizawa gestured out the testing window at the fake city. Majima held up one of the robotic dummies. They were nearly as large as an adult.

"These are the 'hostages' you will save, found in various buildings." Aizawa continued. "Several safe spots have been placed around the city, and once you bring a hostage there you will be granted points. They have sensors on them for damage, and points can be reduced if they are 'injured'. If a hostage robot is 'killed', they do not grant any points." 

"There will be enemy robots, which represent villains and monsters. You can destroy them for a low amount of points, and they will be an obstacle in retrieving the hostages safely. The exam portion will end after 30 minutes have passed, or all the hostages have been rescued. Us staff will be grading your performance for the duration of this exam. Any questions?" 

"Do I have any limitations?" Midoriya questioned.

"Other than keeping building damage and injury to the hostages to a minimum? Not really."

Midoriya grinned. "That makes it easy."

There wasn't a hint of arrogance in his voice, the statement said as fact.

They watched Midoriya on screen, the many cameras in the fake city providing a nearly perfect view. He seemed completely relaxed, examining the constructed buildings. 

The white-haired man stood in the middle of the city, waiting. He seemed completely relaxed in his white t-shirt, his staff still sheathed.

"Begin!" Nezu announced through the speaker, and-

Midoriya vanished.

Aizawa blinked, confused. Midoriya wasn't appearing on any of the other cams either.

"Where did he-" Kan started.

Thirteen cut him off. "Look, the extraction point!" 

At the grassy square, a hostage robot had suddenly appeared, completely undamaged. Then another, and another, piling on top of each other.

A street full of villain robots turned into a street full of scrap metal. 

"He's not teleporting." Kan realized. "He's just moving so fast we can't even see him on the cameras. That's incredible. It's like All Might..."

"I made these robots extra durable, and he's not using that metal staff of his yet they're being obliterated. That means Midoriya's got more than speed. His control is perfect too, each villain destroyed and every hostage rushed to safety undamaged." Majima said.

"What even is his quirk?" 

"Mutant enhancer." Aizawa answered. "His strength and speed grow exponentially as he trains."

Midoriya flickered into view on a rooftop. After a second of deliberation, he blurred out of sight and a building further along was searched through, hostages appearing outside.

"He's using the easy vantage points to target buildings with a higher concentration of villains." Aizawa commented. "Midoriya's already hit all the obvious targets, we're seeing more of him now as-"

A loud beep from the speakers cut him off, signaling the end of the test.

Nezu grinned. "Truly excellent! I don't think anyone's ever done this that fast before!"

"W-What?! It's only been a minute! That's a half hour rescue exam!" Thirteen blurted, incredulously.

Kan and Majima just stared at the screens in pure shock. Ectoplasm gave Aizawa a pained glance, visible even through the mask, and Aizawa let out a deep sigh.

This next part wasn't going to be fun.

"Congrats on completing the first stage, Midoriya-san! Don't worry, this second portion will be a little more interesting."

"Three of our staff will be released-"

"We're not pets, Nezu." Kan interjected.

"-into the city!" Nezu continued. "The staff win if they wrap their capture tape around you, or outlast you for the full 30 minute duration. Midoriya-san, you win if you knock out every hero within that time!"

Aizawa winced.

On-screen, Midoriya hummed. "I'm guessing you gave me some limitations this time, right?"

"Correct! You have to limit your overwhelming speed and strength to normal human capabilities for mobility and hand to hand combat! However, you may use small amounts of your strength in other ways."

"And my magic?" 

"You're free to use your reinforcement magic as you wish! I'm quite interested in seeing your capabilities with it, after all."

"Alright. Well, I'm ready, I guess."

Eraserhead leapt through the rooftops, jumping from building to building with familiar ease. Ectoplasm ran next to him, his powerful prosthetics making long strides.

Ectoplasm's clones made their way in different directions, combing through the streets and camping different buildings. Aizawa remembered when his friend had thirty clones, an invaluable resource in any intelligence mission.

Now he had a hundred clones, all reporting information as they looked for one Midoriya Izuku.

"You see the snowy powerhouse yet?" Kan's voice crackled through the earpiece.

"Sno-no, not yet." Ectoplasm answered, shaking his head at the nickname. "We've found scraps of bots though, and they lead a pretty clear path to at least where he's been."

"We'll keep following the trail. Kan, I know you're terrible at stealth, but be careful." 

"Hey! I'm great at sneaking around!"

"Kan. You're wearing red and white." 

Ectoplasm sighed. "Can you two banter...after?"

"Fine. Hey Ectoplasm, can you send me another clone? Aizawa just made me worried to be here with only five." 

Ectoplasm stilled next to Eraserhead, making him stop too. "Five? Wait, there are only five of my clones there. I gave you ten. Vlad King-"

The earpiece fizzled out.

Simultaneously, both underground heroes turned to rush in his direction, adrenaline rising. Vlad King was a pro hero for a reason, and he had several clones with him. But Midoriya somehow got the drop on him, without even using his speed. It was another tense few seconds before they reached the fight.

Midoriya was pushing back Vlad King in hand-to-hand combat, countering each punch with two of his own. The Ectoplasm clones circled around him, exploiting openings and keeping the pressure of the blood hero.

Vlad King clenched his fist, enveloping Midoriya in blood and pinning his arms to his chest. Green eyes opened wide in surprise, meaning Kan had probably saved his quirk for just the right moment.

A clone jumped in, metal leg gleaming in the light as it swung in an arc towards the man's face. At the same time, another clone flipped forward, heel crashing down in a powerful axe kick.

Midoriya leaned back, the first kick passing close enough to ruffle his hair. At the same time, he kicked straight up, blocking the axe kick with his foot. Midoriya then twisted, the second clone falling and the first one couldn't react fast enough to dodge a kick that pierced straight through, returning him to harmless white ectoplasm.

Kan's blood formed into a greatsword, thrusting forward. The snowy powerhouse sidestepped easily, the blade cutting open his blood restraints. Kan's face broke its stoic mask as a freed fist shot towards him, only to be stopped by a grey capture scarf as Eraserhead finally got close enough.

Midoriya shook it off easily and swung his other hand at Eraserhead-

Eraserhead's mind flashed back to the footage, of Midoriya ripping apart a Sunset Wolf with that same hand-

and he instantly dropped to the ground, pulling his scarf back out of the way. The blade of wind streaked above his head, slicing through a stop sign. Eraserhead activated Erasure(almost losing his composure at the sheer amount of mana that he could now see) yet was still forced to dodge more wind blades. He felt one graze his arm, blood dripping to the ground.

Erasure proved Midoriya wasn't using any kind of magic right now; the air itself turned into a weapon from the sheer amount of strength he possessed. That power was currently being held back because of Nezu's limitation, judging by the fact that Midoriya fighting them hand to hand hadn't ripped the heroes apart instantly. 

Eraserhead's capture scarf snaked through the projectiles, reaching the man and stopping him from firing again. Midoriya paused, looking down at the scarf once again wrapped around his hand.

"Huh. Never seen any material like that before. How the hell is this thing doing all that?" 

The real Ectoplasm suddenly struck down from his blind spot and Midoriya rolled out of the way, his arm still held tight by the capture weapon.

Ectoplasm's leg hit the ground, the impact resonating through Eraserhead's body and forming a large crater into the city ground. He kept up the assault, powerful kicks letting out force every hit as Midoriya blocked them with one hand.

"Those legs are pretty interesting. Are they a mutation or something?" 

"Nope. They're prosthetics. You would be amazed at how cool alien metal is."

Midoriya sighed, almost wistful. "Yeah, I probably would be."

Eraserhead and Vlad King broke into the conversation, Kan's greatsword formed into gauntlets of blood to avoid cutting Eraserhead's scarf as the capture weapon lashed out at Midoriya like it had a mind of its own. They fought together with Ectoplasm seamlessly, building on years of field experience.

But their opponent was ridiculously skilled. Midoriya flowed through the battle, catching Kan's enhanced fist before ducking through a swarm of metal legs as the remaining four clones attacked. His style was a mix of Karate and many others, but mainly something Eraserhead had never even seen before. Every move was perfectly calculated, punches and kicks deflecting attacks and breaking through their teamwork. The fight got even harder when Midoriya finally got time to shake the scarf off again, giving him another limb to fight with.

Eraserhead kept Erasure on Midoriya, not letting him use magic. They had no idea what his real capabilities were with it, but given how they were already struggling Eraserhead really didn't want to let him have an ability.

Before they realized it, Midoriya had maneuvered the fight back to their original position. He picked up the fallen stop sign, spinning it above his head. Then it was already lashing out, grey metal flashing as the red octagon bashed through clones easily. It moved faster and faster, beating back Kan's blood.

Eraserhead's scarf whipped forward to stop the makeshift weapon, but expecting it Midoriya's hand easily snatched it out of the air.

He'd been too careless.

Midoriya pulled , yanking Eraserhead towards him. He caught Ectoplasm's kick with his other hand, moving Eraserhead in front of him like a shield in the same instant. Kan's blood punch stopped inches away from Eraserhead's face, and he could see the way the blood hero's face froze at what had almost just happened. Kan also seemed pale; he was reaching his quirk limit.

Midoriya used the distraction to swing Ectoplasm at them like a human baseball bat. Aizawa gritted his teeth against the blow, feeling his wounded arm ache, and rolled back onto his feet. Blood spikes suddenly rose, finally crushing Midoriya's pole and forcing the man to leap back, giving them some breathing room. Midoriya started to rush again and Eraserhead forced his body to get up again-

Then reinforcements finally arrived.

98 Ectoplasm clones, two of which newly reformed, emerged from the city. Duplicates came from every side, running through the streets and dropping from the rooftops. Together, they surrounded the white-haired man.

Midoriya's green eyes went wide.

"Oh shi-"

He was cut off by a storm of bodies landing on him, covering him from view completely. It was a whirlwind of glinting metal and masks, a white t-shirt standing out vividly in the army's attack. 

Kan supported from the back, attacks launching at Midoriya at the perfect time. The attacks were slowing down, probably from the amount of blood needed just to keep pressure on their opponent. 

Eraserhead jumped into the tornado, supporting Ectoplasm's attacks with his own strikes and adding the element of unpredictability. Vicious kicks landed, actually pushing Midoriya back as Eraserhead's scarf disrupted the white-haired man's attacks.

But as time went on, Midoriya got less and less overwhelmed, somehow adapting to fighting 101 enemies at the same time.

He was learning , understanding their fighting styles more and more. The number of clones was dropping as they were taken out with decisive blows.

Eraserhead felt the energy around him grow frantic, more and more combos being countered as Midoriya ducked under one kick, blocked another, and used the momentum to sidestep a third, punched through the stomach of a fourth, let the fifth dissipate from an unlucky spike, and then suddenly grabbed the sixth and threw him at Eraserhead . There was no time to dodge, the sudden impact to his head hit the underground hero like a train-

Eraserhead finally blinked, his eyes closing in a single, agonizing moment-

-and then everything went purple.

In a split second, a hundred chains shot out, piercing every Ectoplasm clone at once. They were beautiful, a vast network of linked pieces of mana bursting into existence at once. The real Ectoplasm(how did Midoriya know ) and Vlad King were both slammed into a building, the impact knocking them unconscious.

Eraserhead watched Midoriya speak, the entire area around them filled with purple light.

"Good fight, Eraserhead."

The man tapped his head with a single finger and Eraserhead fell back, the darkness pulling him into a much-needed nap.

Izuku watched a woman walk up to him, casually stepping through the craters and damage in the fake city despite her use of a cane. She was short, and her hair was gray. 

This was an old human, right? Gods stopped physically aging at a certain point, so this was his first time seeing someone with gray hair and wrinkly skin- how interesting.

The cane brought him out of his thoughts, clacking against the ground as she reached him. The woman glanced down at the fallen Eraserhead before her eyebrow raised at the other two heroes slumped against a wall.

"Did you do this?" 

"Uh...yeah?" Izuku answered hesitantly. She was wearing a costume too, so it was probably her friends he just knocked out.

She only nodded. "Do you have any injuries?"

"No, not really. Um...who are you?"

"I'm Recovery Girl, the one who keeps all these idiots alive." Recovery Girl answered, bending down to kiss Aizawa on the forehead. Instantly, the cut on the underground hero's arm began to close, without even a scar. Izuku's eyes widened. Healing abilities were pretty rare, and literally lifesavers.

"Midoriya Izuku. I might be a teacher here." 

"Might?"

"The Principal's giving me these...practical exams right now."

"Ah, so that's why you've beaten up those three."

Izuku looked down, a little sheepish. "Sorry about that."

Recovery Girl hummed. "It's alright. This is actually better than usual; no one was injured too badly. Well, the two over there are probably going to have a concussion, and at least a terrible headache." 

Izuku winced. He didn't think he had overestimated the heroes, but smashing people into buildings was a delicate art.

Izuku picked up the three fallen teachers on her request, laying them over his shoulder as he followed Recovery Girl to the infirmary. 

"Planning on hurting any more of my coworkers?"

Izuku tightened his hand on Eraserhead's leg, keeping him from slipping.

"Well, there's apparently one more part of the exam..."

They got to her office, and Izuku carefully placed each hero in a hospital bed. He wasn't really sure what to do after that, waiting awkwardly as she looked them over. 

Recovery Girl waved her cane at him. "You know where the infirmary is now. Go, get back to whatever that insane rat is making you do."

Izuku paused. "You're the only reason this school even runs, aren't you?"

The hero sighed.

Izuku only had to wait minutes before the Principal's excited voice rang throughout the fake city once again. 

"You've progressed to the final part of this exam. This part will be a test of endurance. Either escape the city or hold off your enemy for the full half-hour mark. You lose if you're knocked unconscious, or are unable to fight! Your only limitation, this time, is that you won't be allowed to use magic."

Nezu stressed that it was an endurance test, and didn't even mention defeating the enemy as a win condition. Izuku hadn't even unsheathed his staff yet, so this was probably meant to force him to go all out.

There was no warning or command to begin this time. Izuku closed his eyes, focusing with his mana sense on the energy from the other side of the fake city.

It was a dense red, coiled around a body that was approaching at high speeds. The magic was familiar. For a second, Izuku thought it was Sekhmet somehow, but then he noticed that her bright green was missing from the mass. This person was more erratic, like lightning was lancing through their mana circuits.

Izuku opened his eyes as a man landed around fifty meters in front of him, the force traveling throughout the ground as the air stirred. 

Blonde hair like Sekhmet and bright blue eyes like Kensei, but Izuku could easily tell it was a coincidence. Despite the power radiating off him, the man was completely human. Yet his mana felt like Sekhmet's, as if he had taken part of her strength. Huh. Something to think about later.

The tall man wore an eye-catching red, yellow, and blue costume, and his muscles rippled across it as he straightened to full height. Even Izuku knew who this man was, the hero who filled most of young Izuku's notebooks, well known for his unstoppable speed and strength.

All Might. A bold name, unless you were also the Strongest Hero.

Young Izuku had wanted the man's autograph so badly, and Izuku just wanted to see how 'unstoppable' the man was. How things had changed.

All Might laughed, warm and loud enough to echo around them. "You aren't running away, it seems."

Izuku shrugged. "Nope."

"That's some real confidence you have there, young man!" All Might boomed. "Let's see if you can back it up!"

All Might rushed forwards, right arm back in one of the most telegraphed punches Izuku had ever seen. Barely any of the mana was in the attack, and Izuku almost sighed as he watched it slowly reach towards him.

Izuku hadn't been underestimated this much in a long time.

He didn't like it very much.

Izuku grabbed the large arm, twisting his body with it as he controlled the approaching momentum. He lifted All Might over his shoulder, slamming his body down into the concrete.

"As a human with that much raw power, you probably have to hold back on people all the time. I bet it's rare that you get to go all out, fight with everything you have."

All Might aimed a punch at his chin, recovering instantly.

Izuku caught it easily, watching as shock filled the hero's face. He punched All Might's chest at twice the speed of the initial blow, sending him skidding back against the asphalt. 

"But now is a great time to do so."

The hero's iconic smile turned into something more intense as his blue eyes narrowed.

All Might raised his arms in front of him, actually getting into a stance. His muscles tensed against the costume, his mana starting to flow throughout his body. You didn't get a far as someone like the Number One Hero without being able to read people.

The first blow slammed into his hand, the shockwave ripping at his t-shirt. The second one was a bit stronger than the first, the third punch moving faster than both. His arms protected his upper body, but for some reason, All Might was also shifting his body to keep Izuku's view off the left side of his stomach.

All Might was a boxer. His legs served as a strong foundation, letting him attack at high speeds as his fists flew. Izuku kept on the defensive, blocking and weaving through each strike. They were targeted; whoever taught All Might seemed to know what they were doing.

Hm.

Izuku started to get an idea of All Might's strength and began to counter.

Izuku's physical capabilities weren't an ability. They were him , strength slowly trained through so much training. He couldn't turn it off- meaning he was essentially a walking bomb. Of course, this didn't matter when it was just him and Aurora; it didn't really matter if he accidentally broke a table or dropped a building. But it would matter eventually, he knew that. The first time he visited Heaven only reaffirmed it.

So Izuku practiced controlling his strength, of knowing exactly how much power he needed to use. He had worked at it until it became instinct.

Izuku deflected All Might's next hit, and this time his fist collided with All Might's stomach with the exact same force. 

The blonde winced from the blow, and his fist smashed down. Izuku flipped over the arm to land a powerful kick on his back, already ducking under the next blow, on reflex, as All Might spun around. All Might's fist clenched, mana rushing into it. 

"Nebraska..."

All Might's arm suddenly spun , rotating mid-strike in a circle as it launched forward and formed a horizontal tornado.

"SMASH!"

The whirlwind struck Izuku by surprise, the force blasting him through the street.

Izuku tumbled across the ground, pushing himself to his feet. 

Now that was interesting.

All Might pushed his advantage, crossing the distance instantly for another punch.

Izuku sidestepped, and in the same movement his leg swung up into a powerful roundhouse kick. It viciously collided with All Might's left side, the man's eyes opening wide from the impact. His body went smashing through walls and windows as he flew sideways, buildings collapsing in his wake. Izuku leaped after him, watching the man slow to a stop in the debris.

"You guard your side too much. Maybe a recently healed injury?" Izuku asked.

"Yes. Healed while I drifted. I am one of the few lucky ones, who was given far more than others from the adventure." All Might replied, struggling to his feet. "Before, I couldn't even fight a few hours, but then I was back in my prime once more." He stared back at Izuku. "You were right, there have rarely been monsters and people to push me tha far since the fight that injured me."

All Might grinned, teeth flashing. "Would you like to challenge me for the title of 'Strongest Hero?'"

Izuku grinned back. Then he flickered.

Izuku appeared in front of All Might's face, moving so fast the air shook, flipping forward in an axe kick. All Might crossed both arms above him to block it on instinct, gritting his teeth under the blow.

Izuku brought his hands down on the blonde's head.

The shockwave blasted away the rubble around them, shattering the nearby windows.

Izuku pushed off, knocking the hero away and backflipping onto his feet. He kept up the assault, increasing the tempo with every attack, every movement as All Might was forced to push himself to keep up. The air shook with every strike, the city vibrating under their feet.

"Texas SMASH!" 

Izuku blocked the punch, the burst of wind blowing back his white hair. Izuku kicked up and All Might barely ducked in time, losing a blonde tuft of hair. In the same motion he struck down, bringing all his force onto the ground.

"Detroit SMASH!"

Izuku jumped, watching the earth crumble below him. All Might's legs tensed, enhancement magic flooding into them-

"CAROLINA-"

The hero shot into the air like a bullet towards Izuku, red lighting trailing behind him, arms crossed. There was nowhere to dodge without his magic-

"SMASH!"

Izuku raised both arms against the double chop, blocking the strike in time. All Might's head swung forward into a headbutt as they floated.

Izuku twisted in mid-air to avoid it, kick crashing into All Might and knocking him back towards the earth-

"New Hampshire Smash!"

-where the blonde immediately punched the ground, rocketing him back towards Izuku.

The hero's back hit Izuku's face, the sudden pain disorienting him for a moment before instinct took over. He crossed his arms over All Might then leaned back, suplexing the hero into the ground in a painful takedown.

The already mutilated ground broke further, the crater stretching wide.

Izuku pushed himself back onto his feet as the blonde pulled his head out of the ground, cracking his neck.

"Got anything else?" All Might asked, raising his fists again.

"Can you take any more, All Might?" Izuku teased back.

All Might laughed, blood running down his cheek. "Are you familiar with the concept of Plus Ultra, Midoriya?"

"'Further beyond', right?"

"Right. It's the motto of U.A, the school that I graduated from, and exactly what I'm about to show you."

All Might's fist reared back, and his legs tensed.

The red lightning was back, this time crackling around the hero's entire body. Izuku could feel All Might's mana as a tangible force, and might have mistaken him for a god if he didn't know who he was. 

The energy grew and grew, blue eyes glowing as they contrasted with flashing red.

All Might kicked off the ruined street, a shockwave rippling through the ruined road behind him. 

"UNITED STATES OF-"

He moved faster and faster as the punch streaked towards Izuku-

Then started to slow. The red lightning emitting off him froze.

All Might's entire body was moving at a crawl, like it was underwater as the blonde slowly inched towards Izuku. Sweat could be seen on the man's forehead, unmoving.

Izuku started walking, stepping in front of the nearly frozen hero for a better look. 

This is the result of what Sekhmet did over 1200 years ago. Her small blessing of enhancement magic stockpiled and then exponentially increased, power growing more and more...

200 years was quite a while for humans. In another few centuries, how far would this power go? Soon, this ability would be on par with an average god, if humans could still handle it. Even now, the fact that All Might's body was still moving , albeit at an incredibly slow pace, was proof of that.

Izuku walked in a circle around the blonde hero. All Might's eyes were wide, slowly tracking him. They were the only things moving near Izuku's speed.

It was Sekhmet's mana, but like Izuku's blessing, it had adapted to each person it was passed to until the small changes added up like a game of Telephone.

Izuku stood in front of All Might and his outstretched fist.

Then Izuku slowed back down and punched.

All Might shot forward, jumping back into motion like a released spring as his final blow rushed forward-

"-SMASH!" All Might boomed.

-right past his target. The force destroyed the buildings behind him, the wind shattering as a shockwave tore into the ground-

"Smash." Izuku said softly.

-while Izuku's punch rammed into All Might's stomach at twice the force of his final smash. The man bent forward, curling into the blow before it launched him flying, the sound of him slamming into a building across the city still an audible boom. There was no sudden blitz from his opponent, this time, so Izuku assumed he finally unconscious.

He wasn't dead, Izuku hadn't hit him that hard. Probably.

Izuku looked at the destruction around him, of broken buildings and torn roads in the demolished fake city. Not a single window was left unscathed, and debris was strewn everywhere as craters littered the streets.

The snowy powerhouse hummed, rolling back his shoulders.

"Well, that was fun."