MHA: Zack's Path

Exam Day

"This is unexpected"

Looking around the big circular room that appears to be a black with red lines version of the X-Men's danger room, my eyes can't help but shine at the nostalgia I feel as I remember all those comic books and movies that I used to read and watch, and now I get to walk in what is almost an exact replica of the X-Men's training facility.

To think, this has been relegated to just a room for invention, none of the intense training sessions that could kill a guy if they arn't careful.

"ATTENTION!"

As I look up to a window with what I can only assume is blast-resistant glass, and there i see three memorable figures staring down at everyone collected in the room.

The Excavation Hero: Power Loader - A strict teacher of the support course who loves to see his students excel in an environment without constraints to make their inventions a reality.

The Erasure Hero: Eraser Head - He is a stern teacher driven by logic and can sometimes come off as cold and apathetic, expelling students that he feels are unsuited to U.A, but what most people don't know is that he re-enrolls them a short while after, trying to show them that they can't just sprint to the top with their quirks without effort so that they don't slack of and get themselves killed, this shows his concern for his students well being.

Principal Nezu - He's an eccentric, yet polite, chimera who seems to be part stoat, bear, mouse and dog, and has an unhealthy obsession with tea.

Nezu has an incredibly high IQ thanks to his quirk, and although he has the goal of protecting his students to term them into fine hero's he does love to get back at the human's who tortured him in experiments growing up through almost sadist trading exercises at times.

'Hmm, I don't know why Nezu and Aizawa (Eraser Head) are here, this is just a normal test for the support course. Aizawa could be here to help mitigate any quirk related accidents if someone is dependant on their quirk to create stuff, but why is Nezu here?'

'Does he oversee both the support and hero course entree exams?'

"Quiet down," Power Loader's voice can be heard through the speakers in the room.

"First of all, welcome to the support course entrance exams, the toughest exam to pass in Japan!"

Everyone looked up at Power Loader in shock, myself included, as like everyone else, I had assumed that the hero course was the hardest to qualify for.

"Bet you didn't expect that did you? Unlike the hero course where you could quite literally pass by punching and kicking in the practicals, even if you got low test results, here your intelligence and competence is tested to it's limits.

We will not accept someone who is a danger to not only themselves, but also everyone around them. If you are someone who makes stuff blow up everytime you try to build something, or jumps straight into a project without a carefully laid out plan, you could very well end up expelled on your first day.

Your health and safety are very big concerns at U.A and we only accept the best inventors. No second rate 'geniuses' that only know how to make things explode will be accepted.

While here you will be expected to think up new designs for hero suits to protect them from increasing more dangerous attacks like acid, bullets, explosions, or any other new risks that are found. Tools to help hero's complete their work more efficiently like signal hammers, laser cutters, rocket boots, if possible, maybe even teleportation devices.

We are here not only to invent but to protect the ones that protect everyone else. We are the heroes for the heroes. We keep them safe so that they can keep others safe with peace of mind.

Every item that you create will be heavily scrutinized, ranked, marked, judged. Inadequate inventions that can't pass the safety standard, or are deemed unfit for field work will be thrown away, disassembled, destroyed, and blueprints scrapped.

Your training here may very well be hell for you who are mediocre, those who fall too far behind, or don't get high enough in the innovation rankings multiple weeks in a row will be asked to leave.

If you think that you can't handle this, please turn around and exit the exam room so that we can continue with those prepared to put their all into making their visions a reality and become their own version of a hero."

Gobsmacked by the speech that Power Loader just gave, I couldn't even react for a few moments, still trying to process everything the pro hero had just said.

'The Heroes who protect the heroes, huh?'

I hear a sudden shuffling of feet around me and turn in surprise to see more than three quarters of the examines walking towards the door, looking at the ground as they walked away with disheartened expressions.

'Huh? I thought that speech was rather inspiring. I feel all pumped up!'

"Alright, the twenty three of you that are remaining of the fifty that were in this group of applicants please form up in groups of fives in front of the benches that can now be seen. You have five minutes."

As he finishes speaking, ten platforms slowly rise from the ground, each one equipped with a holographic, touch screen monitor.

After everyone got together I ended up in a group with:

Takao - A guy with a metalizer quirk who can turn any material into a metal he understands.

Seiji - A guy with a concentrated flame quirk who can practically turn his fingers into mini blowtorches.

Yuko - A girl with a materialise quirk, which returns items back to their base materials.

Sora - A girl with a blueprint quirk, she can replacate any blueprint that she has seen or made.

"Alright, times up. As you will have noticed, the benches in front of you all come equipped with a holographic monitor. You can navigate the monitor to open up various compartments littered throughout the room in walls or in the floors to retrieve the materials or tools that you may need.

The first test will be as a group, the second test will be independent with the materials that you have requested prior to coming here.

For both these tests your judges will be myself as the head of the course, principal Nezu as the head of the school, and Professor Aizawa as a experienced pro hero.

Each of us will bring our own take on what is needed and required for an item suitable for a hero which we will assign scores for accordingly.

The first task is to create an tool that a hero can use for an infiltration and stealth mission in a heavily guarded villain hideout.

Remember, we don't want to see any unintentional explosions, and sabotage will not be tolerated. You will also need to remember that this tool has to be quiet, lightweight, and simple to use.

This will be a high risk, and high pressure mission, it's best not to place any undue stress on the hero or add to the time it will take to get in and out with complex controls."

Power Loader looks at the clock on the wall of the observation room that he, Aizawa, and Nezu are standing in before continuing.

"The time is twelve-thirty, you will have thirty minutes to accomplish this task and will finish at one.

Do your best and good luck, you are going to need it. Begin."

I look up at my team members and I can already tell that we are all thinking the same thing.

'Crap, I underestimated the support course entrance exams.'