Walker and Hive Five depart the training area. Alden is writhing in pain while still magnetized to Isaiah.
Alden: *high pitched* I THOUGHT IT WAS CLEVER!
Aaron: Alden, this is a lesson for life; just because it’s clever doesn’t mean it’s worth getting your nuts kicked so hard that you can’t stand straight.
Eve rubs her temples.
Eve: That was so bad... we didn’t even take one of them down.
Demetri: Yeah, it’s too bad that Blair shot Isaiah and purposely answered a question wrong; we lost two people because of her-
Blair kicks Demetri in the nuts.
Demetri: *high pitched* I THOUGHT THIS WAS ALDEN’S THING.
Aaron: (I'd be mad that these guys cost us this exercise, but there’s really no use crying over spilled milk. Alden and Demetri are writhing on the ground in pain… so I'll take that, I guess.) Alright, I think we should start heading back; the day is almost over.
Eve: Yeah, that’s fine. I have to do one thing, though.
Eve touches Isaiah’s knee with her left hand and Demetri’s forehead with her right. They magnetize each other.
Isaiah: What the hell? What is this for!
Isaiah looks into Eve’s rage-filled eyes.
Isaiah: Nevermind, have a nice day.
Eve: Good answer.
Eve and Aaron leave, Blair and Hayze follow.
Blair: Sorry you got dragged into this.
Hayze: Eh, it's alright, the damage is done, just gotta worry about the sports festival at this point.
Blair: Yeah… and uh… thanks for trying to cheer me up at the end there. You didn’t have to.
Hayze: You had a bad day. It was the least I could do, considering that my whole purpose in that exercise was to fall into the abyss.
Blair: You did get the short end of the stick on that end...
Hayze: Are you doing okay now? Sorry about Isaiah, Demetri, and Alden. Not all of us guys are like that.
Blair: Like what? Judge women on the size of their boobs?
Hayze: ...that’s one way to put it. I was gonna say some of us care more about personality, but that works.
Blair: And you think my personality is one guys would care about?
Hayze: (Oh god, I’ve heard about this… the female question trap! No matter what you answer, they get mad, and you’re wrong! What should I do? If I say yes, she hits me; if I say no, she hits me! No strategy can get me out of this. I’m doomed!)
Aaron overhears the question Blair asked Hayze.
Aaron: (Oh no! Hayze has been trapped! I have to save him before he gets beaten to death!)
Aaron shoots Hayze with a bean bag to the chest, Hayze falls to the ground in agonizing pain.
Aaron: Oh no! I miss fired!
Blair: Jesus Christ! Is he okay?
Aaron: I'll take him to Recovery Girl!
Aaron picks Hayze up and runs away from Blair.
Hayze: *groans*
Aaron: Don’t worry, buddy! I saved you from that trap she set! Think of it this way, would you rather a bean bag to the chest or a swift kick to the nuts from a volcanic rock enforced leg?
Hayze: *groans*
Aaron: That’s what I thought.
Eve and Blair watch as Aaron runs off with Hayze.
Eve: What was that?
Blair: I don’t know. I was having a good talk with Hayze when Aaron shot him all of a sudden.
Eve: Huh, weird...
At the nurse's office, Recovery Girl heals Hayze’s bruised chest.
Recovery Girl: Okay, you’re all good now.
Hayze: Thank you, Recovery Girl.
Recovery Girl turns to Aaron.
Recovery Girl: You should be more careful. You could have seriously injured him.
Aaron: Yes, ma’am, It won’t happen again.
Recovery Girl: It better not! You two are good to go, have a nice day.
Recovery Girl leaves.
Aaron: Jesus Hayze, I thought you were smart! How could you let Blair corner you with a question like that!
Hayze: I was just trying to be nice!
Aaron: You’re lucky I overheard everything. Otherwise, you’d probably be dead.
Hayze: Did you really need to bean bag me?
Aaron: It was the only choice!
Hayze: Couldn’t you have just broken up the conversation!
Aaron: That might not have worked, and if I interjected, I could have roped myself in! I only had one choice. Hayze, you would have died today if not for me; I’ll take my thank you now.
Hayze: *sighs* Thanks for shattering my ribcage with a bean bag to the chest.
Aaron: You're welcome, now if I were you, I'd avoid being alone with her for at least a week just in case she asks that godforsaken question again.
Hayze: Don’t have to tell me twice; I don’t want to end up like those two.
They look over to see Alden and Demetri both holding their swollen nut sacks. Hayze and Aaron leave the room.
Aaron: Well, the day is over; I guess it’s time to head home.
Hayze: I’ve actually got to go meet someone; I’ll see you tomorrow.
Aaron: Yeah, see ya, man.
Aaron and Hayze walk their separate ways.
A flashback starts.
Hayze walks into Dr. Moore’s lab.
Moore: Hey Hayze, long time no see, how has U.A. been treating you?
Hayze: It's been pretty good so far. The first couple of weeks have been better than expected; we did some rescue training today with Ms. Fatal.
Moore: That’s good, and have you experienced any adverse side effects from the experiment?
Hayze: No… why should I be expecting some?
Moore: N- n- no no no, I was just making sure.
Hayze: (That wasn't very convincing.) Anyway, Mr. Walker brought up something about a Sports Festival in a couple of weeks. I just wanted to ask you about it and see if you think I'll be ready to compete in it.
Moore: Oh, the Sports Festival, yeah, it's basically a school-wide event where all the classes compete in three rounds of elimination-based competitions; the last student standing wins. Head scouts from various hero agencies will be watching with some in attendance, so members of the hero course need to perform to the best of their ability. After the event occurs, you’ll be offered internship opportunities for a few months from now.
Hayze: Internships already? We’ve only been here for 2 weeks.
Moore: They happen early, but they’re an important part of exposing you kids to the careers you’ll someday be living. They’re essential for your education. Unfortunately, given your status, it might be hard for you to get enticing offers, so you’re going to want to aim for first place when you compete.
Hayze: Jesus, first place?
Moore: If you want any shot at getting a valuable internship, that’s what it will take.
Hayze: I literally tried out my wind quirk for the first time yesterday, and I haven’t even tried my water or earth quirks out yet. I’ve been trying to develop some moves, but it’s going to take me up until the sports festival to have some attacks and moves ready for competition. If this thing is round-based, it’ll be hard for me to see myself making it out of the first round.
Moore: Well, I have an idea for that.
This piques Hayze’s interest.
Moore: U.A. has a branch of education known as the “Support Class.” Students in that area of study specialize in creating various gadgets that heroes incorporate into their costumes. I teach those students how to integrate scientific concepts into the tech they create. I could ask one of my students to make some gear for you.
Hayze: If they think they can, and you think it will help, then I’m down.
Moore: Okay, but just a fair warning… the student I have in mind is not exactly normal…
Hayze: What does that mean?
Moore: You'll find out If they say yes, I'll let you know when they're done, and you can pick up the gear.
Hayze: Okay then.
The flashback ends.
Hayze is walking down the hall of the Support Wing of the School.
Hayze: (I guess I get to find out what Dr. Moore meant by “not exactly normal,” the room should be on the left.)
Hayze enters a room to see a girl working on a giant cannon-like weapon.
Hayze: Uh... are you Tara?
Tara looks up from her work.
Tara: Pretend you never saw this.
Hayze: Okay, but what is it?
Tara: It’s called the Orgasmorator! It-
Hayze: Wait… repeat that?
Tara: It’s called the Orgasmorator!
Hayze: Please don’t tell me it gives people orgasms.
Tara: It gives people orgasms.
Hayze: *sighs* Of course it does.
Tara: Well, it’s not working right now, so all it does is give the shooter orgasms, and while that’s been a lot of fun, I’ve been trying to correct it all day. Wanna give it a try?
Hayze: No, why would I- *sighs* Look, I’m Hayze; Dr. Moore told me you were working on gear to use with my quirk.
Tara: Oh, right, Hayze! Sorry, I forgot Dr. Moore told me you would come by; let me go grab it for you.
Hayze looks at the orgasmorator.
Hayze: Why would you even try to create something like this?
Tara digs through a pile of junk, searching.
Tara: Simple, it will make me all-powerful!
Hayze: How?
Tara: If I pointed it at you and said, give me your wallet and social security number, or I’ll shoot you and use the integrated camera to film you and put it on YouTube, what would you do.
Hayze: Probably give you more than that just to be safe...
Tara: See! I’d be all-powerful!
Hayze: You know, now that you mention it, this thing probably is more threatening than a gun.
Tara’s eyes light up.
Tara: SO YOU’RE SAYING I HAVE A GOOD IDEA!
Hayze: What if I say no?
Tara: I shoot the Orgasmorator at you.
Hayze: But I thought you said it just gives the shooter orgasms?
Tara: Yup.
Hayze is silent for a moment.
Hayze: Yes, you have a good idea.
Tara: YAY, THANK YOU! For this act of kindness, I promise to never use the Orgasmorator on you when I rule the world!
Hayze: Uh… thank you, can you still find me the gear you made me, though?
Tara: Oh, right!
Tara goes back to searching.
Hayze: (Okay, this is what you meant by “not exactly normal,” Dr. Moore. This girl somehow is scarier than Blair and Eve combined, and that’s saying something...)
Tara: Oh, by the way, if you tell anyone about the Orgasmorator, I’ll tell everyone that you hesitated for a moment to ponder whether or not you wanted to see me give myself an orgasm by shooting the defective gun at you.
Hayze: Please just stop using the word Orgasm, and I literally won’t ever mention that we met.
Tara: I FOUND IT.
Tara holds in her hand a metal gauntlet that she forces onto Hayze’s left hand.
Hayze: Uh, so what does it do?
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Tara: I call it: The E.M.I.L.Y. aka Elemental Machine I Like Yielding.
Hayze: That acronym doesn’t make sense.
Tara: I COULDN’T THINK OF A Y WORD, BUT I GOT ATTACHED TO EMILY OKAY!
Hayze: Okay, okay, what does it do?
Tara: I watched an extensive amount of your battles and asked Ms. Fatal and Dr. Moore some questions about what they know. Basically, there are five buttons, each color representing the power it corresponds to. Once the button is pushed, you receive a weapon that will help in your control and application of your ability, don’t think of it as training wheels; think of it more as a prosthetic leg, and you’re an amputee.
Hayze: (Man, she got serious now that she’s talking about her invention.) So, if I press this red one for fire.
Hayze presses the red button, and a rectangular black item pops out of the side of the gadget. Hayze grabs it.
Tara: Wave your arm forcefully.
Hayze does so, and the rectangular item expands outward and becomes the limb of a bow.
Tara: That is a bow limb made out of Tungsten, a metal with an extremely high melting point.
Hayze: Okay, where is the string?
Tara: I'll give you one guess...
Hayze: *hesitates* Oh, fire, I get it.
Tara: From what I heard from what I've seen and heard, temperature control was an issue for you when trying to use fireballs and just making long-range attacks, in general, wasn't very practical, now you can use this bow in conjunction with your fire quirk to send fire arrows at opponents at much higher speeds. You see, heating fire in the shape of an arrow is much easier than heating a sphere because an arrow is just a straight line, and with higher speeds, there is less chance that the fire fizzles out before reaching your opponent.
Hayze: Wow, this is actually pretty damn cool.
Tara: Well, I’d love to stay around and hear what the other weapons you made me do, but I gotta head home and train for the Sports Festival.
Tara: Oh, don’t worry, there are instructions for each weapon on this cheat sheet!
Tara hands Hayze a piece of paper.
Hayze: Oh, thanks.
Tara: And you also don’t have to worry about registering it for the Sports Festival. I forged your signature, so all the paperwork is done.
Hayze: You… did what?
Tara: Have a nice day!
Tara pushes Hayze out of the room and closes the door.
Hayze: (Weird girl... I’m gonna get out of here before I start to hear noises from behind this door.)
Hayze leaves. The next day, Class 1-A is gathered in U.A.’s stadium. They are in their gym uniforms, Fatal and Walker are in front of them.
Walker: Tomorrow you’ll compete in the Sports Festival, so we’ll be doing some basic training exercises today. I’ll let you spar with one another, just don’t do any damage to U.A.’s stadium, the Sports Festival will be held here tomorrow. Get the lay of the land and maybe figure out who you can trust while you’re at it. Fatal and I will supervise you. Also, I’ll be announcing the first set of class rankings at the end of class today.
Everyone’s interest is piqued.
Silver: How will we be ranked?
Walker: It's based on your performance over the last month, including your academics and practical work in hero exercises. If there are any more questions, I’ll answer them when the rankings are posted. You’re all dismissed.
Hayze, Aaron, Kevin, and Wes group up.
Aaron: Alright, Wes, let’s work on some combination moves!
Wes: You just want to shoot at me more...
Aaron: Is there a problem?
Wes: *sighs* No, there is no problem.
Aaron: That’s what I thought.
Aaron and Wes leave.
Kevin: So Hayze, how are you feeling heading into tomorrow?
Hayze: I’m alright, but I wish I felt a little more prepared. I’m worried about how I stack up and against all of the hero students.
Kevin: The competition is only for the first years, but it’s really only between our class and class 1-B.
Hayze: Oh really?
Kevin: Yeah, and I’ve been hearing those guys are really tough, but little do they know that the scariest people here are in this class.
Hayze: Who would that be?
Kevin: Just look around; it’s pretty clear this class is thin on the bottom.
Hayze looks and sees Jake is napping in the bleachers, and Alden somehow already has been beaten to near-death by someone.
Hayze: Fair point.
Kevin: I’m not sure how their girls stack up against ours, but ours are powerful; there isn’t really one I’d want to fight head-on. Well, besides Ash, maybe, her quirk seems more vicious in groups.
Hayze: You act like the girls are just monsters ready to kill all men on sight.
Kevin: After what happened with Blair and Eve in that last exercise yesterday, it wouldn’t surprise me.
Hayze: Again, fair point.
Blair, Lilith, Ash, and Alexis are watching Eve and Karma spar with one another.
Lilith: Are you guys ready for the Sports Festival?
Ash: Hell, yeah, I am!
Alexis: Woah, that was the most enthusiastic I’ve ever seen you, Ash.
Ash: Sorry, I’ve been trying out being more assertive. I hear guys are into that.
Alexis: Well, some of the guys in this class are more interested in what size our boobs are than how we act.
Ash: Yeah… about that... Blair, are you doing okay?
Blair: Huh y- yeah.
Ash: That’s good. That was pretty rude of Isaiah.
Blair: Oh, I've shaken it off; I’m too tough to let a little embarrassing thing like that weigh me down.
Alexis: Which part, the fact that he asked about your bra size or the fact that Hive Five revealed that you pad?
Blair folds up in the fetal position.
Ash: Oh god! Why did you do that?
Alexis: It was a genuine question.
Blair: *under her breath* She has no balls to kick; what do I do?
Lilith: Cheer… up… Blair?
Alexis: I’ll say I’m looking forward to showing all those hero scouts what I can do.
Ash: Yeah, me too. I’m also interested to see how strong class 1-B is.
Alexis: That too; apparently, they’re supposedly just as strong if not stronger as a whole than us. I'd probably go with the latter there, too, because we have Alden, Jake, Demetri, and Isaiah dragging us down.
Karma: You never know though, they could have some delinquents of their own.
Alexis: That’s true.
Blair: *under her breath* Oh god, there could be more of them!
Eve: Pfft, whatever, I bet they can’t hold a candle to us.
Lilith: I hope so.
Ash: I know so!
Aaron is commanding Demetri and Isaiah once again, with Zach and Wes standing off to the side.
Aaron: Alright, boys, yesterday didn’t go according to plan, but tomorrow is a different day for us!
Isaiah and Demetri: Sir, yessir!
Wes: (Oh god, Aaron has roped these two fools into believing in him… poor bastards...)
Aaron: Okay, but on a serious note, you two have done nothing of value up to this point, and a lot of the people in this class are starting to write you off.
Wes: (Starting?)
Aaron: This is your chance to show that you’re not just two perverted idiots.
Isaiah: Yeah, you’re right Aaron, we have to try and show that we’re not pushovers like Wes!
Wes: Wait, what?
Demetri: Wes has set the bar low enough for us to rise above!
Wes: No! No, I haven’t!
Aaron: That's the spirit, boys! Say it with me now: Fuck you, Wes!
Isaiah and Demetri: Fuck you, Wes!
Aaron: Again!
Isaiah and Demetri: Fuck you, Wes!
Wes is dumbfounded.
Wes: (These guys actually follow Aaron like dogs because of how strong he is…)
Zach: *To Wes* So… you doing okay, man?
Wes: Just… I can’t believe this is actually happening before my eyes.
Zach: What?
Wes: Aaron getting more powerful.
Fatal and Walker are watching from afar.
Fatal: What do you think their chances are?
Walker: The ones on top will do fine; I’m hoping the rankings will tell those on the bottom to shift gears and start proving they’re worth a damn to their classmates.
Fatal: The Sports Festival separates the best from the worst, that’s for sure. Remember our 1st Sports Festival? I recall our fight like it was yesterday.
Walker: I forfeited.
Fatal: Yeah… you did...
Walker: I saw what you did to your previous opponent, so I didn’t want to take my chances.
Fatal is dead quiet.
Fatal: Sorry, I guess I just repressed the memories of what exactly happened in the tournament.
Walker: It’s alright, it’s not like I actually cared about winning.
Fatal looks at Hayze.
Fatal: (The Sports Festival was the first time I lost control of my quirk, god I hope that doesn’t happen to him, with the way his quirk works… it could hit him worse than it hit me and her… way worse. I was lucky it took nearly eight full years before the loss of control kicked in, but with her… it was only a few months. I feel so guilty not telling him what is coming, but I know it won’t help him to have to worry about something that we have no idea when it will come.)
Walker: Rachel.
Fatal: W- what?
Walker: You were pretty deep thought there. Are you okay?
Fatal: Yeah, just thinking about the past.
Walker looks at Fatal with concern but ignores it. Justus is doing push-ups by himself.
Justus: (500!) *sits up* (I can’t stop thinking about what Silver said to me, my embarrassment at the hands of my father was a massive blow to my ego. But Silver sees me as a rival, and I can’t let a signal hiccup along the way deter me from my path. I will be the number 1 hero in the world someday, but first, I need to be the number 1 hero of this class. I need to stop isolating myself out of shame and start showing these classmates of mine that I am someone worth looking at as a rival.)
The students continue training for another hour before Walker interrupts them.
Walker: Alright, everyone, gather up!
Everyone gathers in front of a screen that is set up.
Walker: Here are your rankings. I hope that for some of you, this is an encouragement to do better, and for the rest, this tells you not to get complacent:
#1 Ryne Verdugo #11 Adam Hayze #2 Justus Grey #12 Wes Zunino #3 Kevin Bohm #13 Ash Wright #4 Aaron Zamora #14 Jace Neil #5 Alexis Meadows #15 Lilith Weber #6 Zach Crawford #16 Gus Riggs #7 Karma Montgomery #17 Jake Kopech #8 Angel Northcroft #18 Alden Taillon #9 Eve Avery #19 Isaiah Ware #10 Blair Maddox #20 Demetri Perish
Silver: (As expected. I’ll have to keep it this way.)
Justus: (Being number 2 is a good start, I’ll have to use the Sports Festival to step up my game and usurp Silver.)
Isaiah and Demetri: (WHY AM I LOWER THAN ALDEN!)
Jake: (I hope that’s how many chicken nuggets I get.)
Ash: (I could do better, but I’m okay with where I am for now.)
Wes: (I’M NOT LAST YAY!) *tears roll down face*
Jace: (I’M NOT THAT BAD! am I?)
Karma: (A little lower than I expected, but I’m the second highest girl, so I’ll take that.)
Blair: (I’ve gotta get out of double digits!)
Zach: (I’ll be in the Top 5 before the end of the Sports Festival, count on it!)
Alden: (I guess being higher in number is better, eh? That has to be it!)
Eve: (Not good enough.)
Aaron: (#4? Pfft, I’ll show them what “#4” can do tomorrow!)
Gus: (Ah, near the bottom, right where I like it, although all the girls are ahead of me…)
Angel: (I’ll take 8.)
Kevin: (I’m just getting warmed up, I’m coming to that number 1 spot, Silver.)
Hayze: (Middle of the pack, that’s where I’ve tried to hover from the start, but I want to be in that top 5 soon. I’ll have to do what Dr. Moore told me to do… win the Sports Festival and prove to everyone that I’m a hero worth believing in!)