"As expected, most of the ones pushing ahead are in Class A," said Snipe.
All Might, in his shrunken form, grimaced. "It's not like the other classes are bad, but…" When you've been attacked by villains, you know there's no time to waste by standing around. Well…
All Might's eyes fell onto one Kagamine Len, who seemed to be standing there in a daze.
Go, Young Kagamine. All Might had felt nothing but guilt for how they'd confronted the boy about maybe being a villain. He may very well become one without proper guidance. He is just a boy with a troubled past that I can't comprehend, much like Midoriya… and he's got some things to work through.
But he also has so much potential. Go, young Kagamine! Use your strength!
𖦹𖦹𖦹
Go, the yellow energy snarled, and Len found his focus again. My friends are getting through and going forward, so let me match them, maybe even help them if I can! He followed Tsu's example, warping up onto the same surfaces she jumped onto, one at a time. In seven flashes he was up and over the wall of scrap metal that had once been the robots. One flash to the top would have been too much, but he could keep up his rhythm from before.
The hyperactive energy I have makes me fast and instinctive, but also easily distracted. Anything like the swipe that robot gave me can throw me off for too long. His head still felt fuzzy, but he was getting over it. I don't care about regaining the lead; I don't want that responsibility. But I do… want to make it to the next round!
More robots, including massive zero pointers, were alive behind the barrier. Len flashed in a bob-and-weave manner, avoiding the shadows of their attacks and making progress all the time. Iida burst forward with his engines and kicked a small robot. Jiro took out another with a direct sonic wave via an earplug. Kaminari electrocuted two more. Ojiro crushed one with his tail. Uraraka floated up three one-pointers and then had them fall and explode. Midoriya sliced one's arm off with a piece of scrap metal, and then ran forward, keeping the metal on him. The line of zero pointers loomed, but a series of explosions took them out in succession. Len glanced around in confusion. Didn't Bakugo go on ahead?
It was Yaoyorozu firing a cannon.
Len grinned. Our class is pushing ahead! All of us! He was happy to be surrounded by them, to move forward as a group. With the path clear, the rest of the students were coming too, but they were behind. Iida was pushing ahead of him now, but Len laughed, feeling free. His warps came more and more easily, as natural as if he were just running through portals. He'd never used his powers so much, but it didn't feel exhausting. This was the first time he'd ever gotten to show them off to the world!
𖦹𖦹𖦹
"WELL, THE FIRST BARRIER IS CLEARED! BUT WHAT ABOUT THE SECOND?"
Shota wished he could rub his ears. "Do you have to shout everything at the top of your lungs? The mic is doing your work just fine, you know."
"Todoroki Shoto is already across, having frozen the ropes!"
Shota looked. Indeed, the second barrier was a wide pit, with spires that led up to platforms, connected by tightropes. Todoroki had already made it across, although Bakugo was not far behind. Neither were Kirishima or Sero or Tokoyami. Iida began to cross next, using his engines to balance himself precariously.
"That's so uncool!" Mic declared.
Meanwhile, in the crowd, all the buzz was about Todoroki.
"That guy's insanely powerful!"
"He's the son of Endeavor, I heard."
"Real shit? The number two hero? Only second to All Might?"
"Oh man. Every agency's gonna be fighting over him."
"Whatever happened to the other guy in the lead, the teleporter?"
"Oh look, here he comes now."
Shota watched as Kagamine warped from platform to platform carefully, taking a short break inbetween. His face was patient, focused. Many of the platforms were ten or more meters apart, meaning each warp he was doing took all his effort. As a result, his pace was slow, although still faster than many of the others. He was still in the top ten, although Shota knew that if the boy really pushed himself he could have been done with the course already.
I still have yet to truly get his gears turning. I will need to work on that. What Kagamine needed was a real challenge.
𖦹𖦹𖦹
Ashido Mina stopped short in front of the pit, Uraraka and Tsu next to her. Several of their classmates had gone on ahead, including Len, who was now about halfway across the pit.
"Dang, how do we get past this!" Mina exclaimed.
"When did they even have time to build this…" Uraraka wondered aloud.
"Ribbit." Tsu hopped onto the first tightrope and began to crawl her way across.
Mina's jaw dropped. "Hey, wait up Tsu!" I can't let ALL my friends do better than me! I promised I would try for the top, and challenge Todoroki and them! This isn't going to cut it!
Before she could get moving, though, a girl with pink hair leapt out into the pit, firing some kind of cable that swung her across. "Listen up all you support companies!" the girl sang. "I, Hatsume Mei, am here for you. This is my time to shine! Bask in the glory of all my wonderful babies!" She swung out of sight, laughing maniacally.
"WHAT! The support students can use their gadgets?" Uraraka asked in disbelief.
"Well, yeah." The purple-haired boy Shinso came sauntering up, scratching his neck. "You hero students have your combat training that gives you an advantage, right? Those gadgets are the support students' equivalent of that."
Mina's lip curled. This guy again. Who does he think he is? "Tsk. That's misplaced equality, if you ask me!" She jumped onto the tightrope, using her acid to slide across. Thanks to years of dancing, her balance was great. It was like snowboarding! "Ha HA!"
"Mina, wait up!" Uraraka cried.
"Bite my dust, gravity girl! First place, here I come!"