The week came to an end and it was the day of the Heroes Provisional License Exam.
The group came to a quiet hush as Izuku stood on the stage with the Lights. By the end of the past two months, over two thousand members had joined, a few still came every once in a while as well. Based on the postings on the site, many more had joined in other countries. North America, who had a population that seemingly felt very strongly about freedom and rights, had the most members with more still joining. Of course, he could not bring them all. The group in front of him was simply a thousand. Odd that he could call that 'simply.' He cleared his throat.
"Okay. Is everybody ready?"
He looked around. Every member wore a full-body suit of either green, yellow, white, pink, purple, black, or red: the colors of the Lights. Everyone also had a pair of black handcuffs and face mask on. They all grinned.
"YES, CHIEF DEKU!!!"
His sunglasses turned happy and he held up the button. "Let's do this!" He pressed it and Kurogiri opened a warp gate. A ball came flying through it and Izuku caught it. He smirked and walked through the gate with the ball, arriving on the scene of what looked like a landslide zone where all of the test takers had frozen at the site of the gate. Izuku cleared his throat, sunglasses turning to angry red dots.
"Well, well, well," he heard a few test-taking students gasp, "that certainly wasn't nice." The others began to filter through. Izuku looked forward and saw a kid with messy black hair place his hands on the ground. Ground affecting quirk, off ground. He paused for a second.
"JUMP!" His voice echoed and the whole of the Quirkless Reject group, save for a few, did and the ground crumbled beneath them. The kid looked shocked as he predicted his quirk. As soon as Izuku felt his foot hit the ground, he spun and threw the ball at full force, slamming it into the kid's face. "That is no way to welcome newcomers, kid. Learn your manners."
"Y- you!" He turned to the girl in a hero costume. "Wh- why are you here!?"
Izuku smirked under his mask. "You're training to be a hero, trying to even get your provisional license, and you make that sort of face? If I weren't against them, I'd almost feel worried for the hero side and their future forces." He ignored the girl's stunned face and turned to his group. "Scatter! Do as much damage to the area, even students, in the thirty minutes we have! When the gate opens you must go through! If you see one of your comrades wounded when it opens, bring them with you, no one is to be left behind!"
"Yes, Chief!"
"Now, SCATTER!"
They all split into different zones. Quick to react, the heroes in the stands and the background all leaped onto the scene.
One dashed at him, a lady with a bandana and light green hair, Izuku recognized her as Ms. Joke. He spun and grabbed the arm of one of the test takers nearby, violently flinging the test taker towards Ms. Joke. The hero gasped and stopped to catch the student. Suddenly, Ms. Joke made her quirk all too clear. It had almost slipped Izuku's mind until he felt laughter begin to bubble from his throat. At first, it was just a chuckle and he could still fight. However, it soon turned to a full-on maniac laugh. His stomach hurt and his movements word hard to control as his stomach and face hurt badly from laughing so harshly. Ms. Joke grinned as Izuku doubled over laughing. "Well, guess my laughter reaches even you-"
He stopped laughing suddenly. Ms. Joke spun around. "Erase-!" She Gasped as she was caught in a familiar capture weapon. Eraserhead came to reveal himself.
"Go, Chief Deku, I'll handle this one." Izuku glared behind his sunglasses at his own inability to handle the laughing quirk but nodded nonetheless. "Okay, be careful." Izuku ran off to join his comrades in the fight.
He zigzagged around until he came to a small ravine-type place where he found balls of... meat? Kacchan and Kaminari were in the fray and some kid with tiny eyes wearing a costume he had seen quite frequently while running around. It most likely belonged to a certain hero school. There were a few other test takers there as well. About 100 to 150 of the Quirkless Rejects surrounded them.
Kacchan was growling and spewing off some venomous words as another round of Quirkless Rejects jumped in to attack. Only about ten minutes in and he could already see that Kacchan and the other students were pretty well worn out. Izuku grinned. So this is what having this many in numbers can do.
He reached down and picked up a ball. Izuku grinned and with full force, he threw it at Kacchan. On sheer reflex, the blonde body reached out his arm and blew it up. Izuku took the covering of smoke to jump down. He landed behind the tiny eyed kid and grabbed him by the throat.
The kid made a sort of strangled sound as Izuku pinned him to the ground.
"What the hell was that?!" he heard Kacchan scream. The smoke cleared and he whipped around only to meet red eyes to sunglasses with Izuku. "Deku..." Izuku grinned. "Don't let your guard down, Kacchan." "Say wha-!" His eyes went blank. Behind the blonde came Cateye strolling up. Izuku had simply just moved his mouth and Kacchan got brainwashed.
Izuku surveyed the scene. Around twenty of the test takers that were here were knocked out and/or being held captive by Quirkless Rejects members. Some with minor wounds, others with more major ones.
Izuku walked up to the frozen Kacchan.
"W- wait!" He stopped and turned to see the yellow-haired Kaminari reaching out for him. "Oh?" Izuku said aloud. "What do you want... Kaminari?" The electric boy stopped. "I- I'm not the smartest, I know that... but I am not dumb enough to see that th- this isn't good."
"Isn't good?" Izuku scoffed.
Kaminari nodded. "Y- yes? Like, I understand your motives and all b- but, is this all really necessary?" "Kaminari," Izuku said, turning to face the kid head-on, "you're quirk makes you a total dud if you overuse it, am I correct?"
"H- how do you know that?" the electric boy asked timidly.
"Let's just say that I have done my research. Have you ever been made fun of for that?" Kaminari hesitated. "W- well yeah but I've kind of just accepted it now-"
"Accepted it!?" The boy took a step back. "You, Kaminari, have let people run over you, that's what you've done. You say that what we are doing is unnecessary but let me tell you why it is not. Just like you, every single one of us has been relentlessly tried and abused by the world for something we couldn't change. This?" Izuku widely gestured to the scene around them. "This is our way of changing it. Because of what the world has done to us physically and psychologically," he tapped Kaminari's head, "and even when they wouldn't back down, we were forced to move. Otherwise, we would never get out of this endless cycle of pain and torment. You can understand that, right, Kaminari?"
Kaminari averted his gaze. "I- I mean, like, I guess, and all."
Izuku began to circle the electric boy. "Think about it, Kaminari. Every single jab and insult they throw at you. Every time they call you an 'Idiot' or 'Dud.' Even though you have made it all the way into UA High, the most prestigious hero school, they have been still calling you those names, haven't they?"
He stopped behind the boy and placed his hands on his shoulders. Izuku leaned in close to Kaminari's ear.
"Don't you wish you could just, I dunno, make it stop?"
There was a long moment of tense silence before... *ZAP!*
Izuku gasped and leaped backward, hands feeling raw and muscles in his arms tense from the sudden shock. Kaminari spun to face him. "No! W- well, yes. But not this way!"
"Then what will you do?!" Izuku hollered back.
"I-"
"Let them keep running over you? Keep toying with you?"
"No, I-"
"How long will you let it go before you break? Snap! And when you do, the ones closest to you will be the ones to take the forefront of it. Do you really want to put that on them?"
"Of course not!"
"Then you better understand this now, it will not stop unless you make it! Kaminari those 'closest' to you will not stop hurting you. At least before you snap you could be in a place that will accept you and take you in for who you are! Even if you do snap, at least you won't hurt those 'closest' to you!"
Kaminari looked down at his hands. "Kaminari," Izuku said softly, slowly making his way over to the boy. The boy's head snapped up. "S- STAY AWAY!" He pointed a finger at Izuku and a lightning bolt came out of it. Izuku just barely dodged but didn't stop walking towards Kaminari.
"I- I'll shock you! I will!" Izuku grinned. Good, he thought. That is just what I am counting on.
Izuku lifted his hands, ready to rest them on Kaminari's shoulders again when he saw the sparks already began to form.
Just as Kaminari lit his whole body in electricity, Izuku spun and rammed his foot into Kaminari's stomach. The greenette stumbled harshly, just barely catching himself as the shockwave traveled through his steel-souled boots and into his body.
Kaminari gasped and stumbled backward, tripping over his own feet and running into Kacchan.
Kacchan let out a scream, forcefully, and painfully, being ripped of his brainwashed state.
Kaminari let out a gasp and quickly shut off his quirk. Even in his buzzed state, Izuku could see that the side effects of Kaminari's quirk were already beginning to affect the yellow kid's brain and actions but not by much. Kaminari scrambled to his feet and stared down at the fried Kacchan in shock.
"I-"
"You see?" Izuku said, straightening his body, panting from the pain. His nerves and muscles were tense and constricted and his whole body felt like it was vibrating.
It probably was.
Izuku could hardly feel his hands aside from pain as well.
"You did that, Kaminari." The kid whipped around. "I- I did not! Y- you pushed me!"
Izuku gestured slightly, with what little movement he could force his muscles to do, towards Kacchan on the floor. "Are you really going to deny those scorch marks are not made by YOUR quirk?"
Kaminari glanced down at Kacchan, then at the ground. "Th- they are. B- but I didn't want to hurt him..." Izuku put a hand on his own chest. "And I didn't want it to get to this point wither, Kaminari, but this is what happens when those around us push us too far."
Kaminari looked up at him. "Wh- what should I do then?"
Bingo.
Izuku reached his hand out to Kaminari.
"Join us, Kaminari."
The kid's eyes widened. "What?"
Izuku nodded. "In the Quirkless Rejects, we accept everyone who has been rejected. Even you, who has had his name changed from the beloved one his parents gave him to an insult of pain all because of his quirk. You've been rejected and denied of your feelings and name all because of a simple thing like a quirk. But you still want to protect those close to you, right?"
Kaminari nodded. "Y- yes..."
"We can give you something to protect without being put down or ridiculed. We can give you a home, Kaminari." Kaminari took in a short intake of breath. "So, Kaminari, my arm is getting pretty tired here. Will you join us and truly be able to protect what matters most, your soul?" Kaminari looked back and forth between Izuku and Kacchan.
"Oi, Idiot..." They both turned, stunned to see Kacchan, in all of his shaking glory due to the shock, getting to his knees. "Do you really think I am weak enough to be taken down by that? Don't listen to this fool, he's spewing lies." Izuku froze. This cannot be happening!
Hey. Izuku.
The greenette was almost taken aback by the sudden presence of Mikumo who hasn't spoken to Izuku in a week.
Calm down.
Why are you suddenly appearing now? Izuku questioned.
Mainly because if you screw up it is both our bodies. Also... I don't have much time left, obviously. I don't want to spend my last moments with our relationship like this and seeing you fall apart, Mikumo answered. So please calm down. If you truly want to get Kaminari, you need to think clearly.
Izuku took a deep breath. You're right, Mikumo. Thanks.
Izuku looked down at Kacchan. "Hear what he just called you, Kaminari? Even after he obviously heard our conversation."
The blonde still on his knees growled. "I didn't hear nothin' but the end!"
Kaminari looked conflicted. Izuku put his hand on his shoulder. "He wouldn't have replied that way otherwise," Izuku whispered in Kaminari's ear.
"Oi! What you sayin' to him, freak!?" Kacchan yelled as he struggled to get his muscles to work. Izuku ignored him.
"Think about what you could do and how great you could be. No one to ever call you names, your intellect matters little with us. Kaminari, with our help, no one would dare mock you ever again. We could make you feared."
Kaminari looked at him. "B- but my family..."
"What did they do to help you with your tormentors? Nothing! They did nothing for you, Kaminari. They just left you to suffer. You don't need them, only those who truly care about you and your well-being."
Kacchan watched from the ground, red eyes widening. "O- Oi, Dunceface, you ain't really listening to this freak, are you?" Izuku saw Kaminari tense. Wrong move, Kacchan.
Kaminari mumbled something. "What did ya say? Speak louder idiot!" Kaminari snapped his head up to glare at Kacchan. You lose, Kacchan.
"DON'T CALL ME THAT, JERK!" The electric boy pointed his finger at Kacchan and a large bolt of electricity shot from it and hit Kacchan directly. Izuku heard Kacchan scream. When the bolt disappeared, Kacchan was knocked out. "You chose well, Kaminari," Izuku said. Said kid turned to him with an idiotic grin and thumbs up. "Wheeeeeeey..."
Izuku chuckled. "O- of course." He pulled something out of his pocket and strapped it around Kaminari's wrist. "See you around, Kaminari."
"Wheeeeeeey!"
The boy stumbled off. Izuku crouched by Kacchan. "You know, you should really do something about that mouth of yours, Kacchan." He laughed loudly and walked away. Izuku checked his watch. It's about time to go. Izuku pulled out the button and pressed it. A few seconds later, multiple warp gates appeared all around the arena. Izuku and the nearby members gathered near the one closest to them and began to file through, jittery and excited from their first fight.
Izuku stopped outside his when most were already gone. A little piece of paper floating through it and he caught it.
"Denki Kaminari's cellphone number, as requested, Chief Deku," the voice of Kurogiri came through. Izuku smirked as he walked through the gate.
"Much obliged, Kurogiri."
_______________________________
Denki looked around wildly in the hospital bathroom. All of the students were required to get checked out after the attack. He had just found the bracelet on his wrist left by Deku. Under it was a note. He read it over.
-----
"Call this number if you are in trouble, they will be coming for you.
111-XXX-XXX0
- Deku."
-----
Of course, they would be! He remembered all of it, even... attacking Bakugou. It was probably all on the security cameras.
*KNOCK KNOCK*
"Denki Kaminari? Are you about done? The police are here and would like to question you." Denki scrambled around and found his phone in his pocket. "A- ah yes! Please give me a second!" He heard the sound of retreating footsteps and let out a breath of relief he did not know he had been holding. Denki looked between his phone and the note. He could confess to the police and maybe get off using the footage to show how Deku may or may not have been manipulating him or... He could call this number. Either way, he wouldn't be getting off scratch-free. Denki growled. He was never good at such hard decisions.
-----
"No one would dare mock you ever again. We could make you feared."
"You don't need them, only those who truly care about you and your well-being."
"Protect what matters most, your soul?"
"Join us, Kaminari."
-----
"Idiot!" "Dunceface!" "Stupid!"
"Look at this picture! You looked so stupid!" They whapped him on his head. "It's so befitting of that brain of yours!"
"A good quirk doesn't matter if you can't use it without turning out like THAT."
"Failed another test, idiot? What a hopeless being you are."
"You made it into UA? Man, they must be lowering their standards. Maybe I should try the exams next year."
...
"You made it all the way into UA but you will still be nothing more than an idiot. You won't make it through your first year, Dud."
-----
Denki scowled and turned on his phone. It rang a few times before someone on the other end picked up.
"Hello? Denki Kaminari?" It sounded like Deku. Denki quieted his voice. "I- I am in trouble."
...
"Understood. Press the button on your armband." He did so. "Ok, I did." Then... the line cut off. EHHHH!? Wait a second here! Wha-
Soon a warp gate opened in front of Denki and he froze for a good few seconds. "Well, you coming or not?" a voice came through from the other side. Denki took a deep breath and pocketed his phone.
-----
"You won't make it through your first year, Dud."
-----
Denki chuckled. "I guess you were right, Jirou."
Denki stepped through the warp gate and it closed behind him.