"It's almost time for us to go, huh guys?" I said.

"I'm glad. It'll be great to go home and see my mom again. Even with everything that happened, I still can't wait to tell her about my internship." Izuku replied, happily. Iida turned to face him, as he struggled to get his jacket on.

"You know we can't talk about what really happened Midoriya. As far as the public is concerned, Endeavor came along and saved us all from the Hero Killer." Iida reminded. Izuku paused for a second as he put on his shoes.

"Yeah. But I still had a good time. I learned a lot. And it was great meeting Gran Torino. I want to share that with her. She gives me so much encouragement. I know she'll love to hear about all the good stuff going on with me." Izuku said, smiling. The three of us exchanged glances upon hearing his wholesome words. "So, Iida, are you serious about not getting your hand healed? It can be done pretty easily with surgery." Izuku asked. Iida looked down at his arm, which was still bandaged.

"No. I won't get it healed until I've become a true Hero. Until then, it can serve as a reminder of my own foolishness...of what a Hero truly is." Iida declared, seriously. Izuku raised his right hand. It was crooked from the permanent damage he received fighting Todoroki in the Sports Festival. It still irked me that I had missed perhaps the craziest battle of the entire festival.

"I'm the same as you. Let's agree to get stronger together." Izuku simply said. With that, he and Iida exchanged nods.

"Great. Now can you guys stop staring intently at your hands? For gods sake, you look like someone who's trying to decide if they have time to wank off." I spoke, irritated. I walked out of the room without turning back, tired of this damn hospital. We undoubtedly all had a lot going through our heads. Sometimes it was nice to slow down a little and focus on the positives. But not me. Not right now. My mind was filled with the same thoughts. 'I need to improve. What have I learned besides the paperwork side of Hero work? I can refill my blood, yeah. Never doubted I could. It's not enough. Izuku is on a different level than before. He's found a whole new way to use his quirk. I can't be left in everyone's dust...' I thought, obsessively. I reached the hospital entrance and stepped through the sliding doors. A deep exhale escaped me as I was finally out of there.

"Are you alright, Y/N?" Iida asked, catching up. I pulled my phone from my pocket and searched a specific contact. Next, Izuku caught up.

"We've been so occupied with this whole situation that we didn't even consider how you might be feeling. You did get hurt pretty bad..." Izuku added, concerned. I didn't react much. I was focusing on typing a message to Mei Hatsume.

'Mei, it's Y/N. Short notice, but I need some method of traversal. Non-vehicular, effective in and out of combat. Get back to me when you can. Thanks.'

As it sent, I nodded my head and lowered my phone. "I'm fine, guys. Really. My fight with Stain, the injuries I came out with, they didn't really scare me. I mean it did, but I don't have like PTSD or anything. It's more like... Look that sucked, okay? That pain. Even worse, was that feeling of being so detached from reality. It felt like death, I admit it. But that's not what's on my mind, no. Frankly, I'm just done being stuck in this place. Like you guys, I want to go home." I explained.

"Then let's all go home." Iida replied, kindly. After that, we got loaded up on a train, with Mr. Aizawa escorting us. I checked my phone to see that Mei had texted me back.

'Oh, hey! I've definitely got some options you can take a look at. If you want, we can meet up tomorrow and run some tests.'

Time passed and it was now the next day. There was only the weekend left before everyone would have to return to class. I was going to make it count. In my apartment, I bolted for the front door, before my dad caught me by the collar. "Whoa, there! Where you heading, Trouble?" Dad asked.

"(sigh) I've got some stuff I need to take care of before I have to go back to school." I said, freeing myself.

"And that stuff requires you leave the apartment?" Dad asked, condescendingly.

"Kinda, yeah." I replied, sarcastically. Next, my mom stood up from the couch.

"You were attacked just days ago! You were in the hospital until yesterday!" Mom yelled.

"For injuries that have long since been healed." I simply said.

"You were stabbed and suffered multiple cuts!" Mom said again.

"Yes, but now I'm fine! God, we are going round and round here, Mom!" I finally screamed, irritated. My hostility was met with a smack on the back of my head from my father.

"You don't get to talk to us like that." Dad reminded. For a moment, I just stood there. Instead of getting more mad, I wanted to regain a little composure and try this again.

"I'm supposed to meet with a friend to test some support gear..." I began. My parents both reared back.

"I don't think so. There's not going to be another rocket boot incident." Dad ordered.

"Come on, I was a kid! And that only happened once!" I defended.

"Doesn't change the fact that you set part of that playground on fire." Mom countered.

"You have a fire-type quirk, Mom. Like you never accidentally set something on fire?" I argued. My comment got an unresponsive reaction from her that I found amusing.

"Why is this so important?" Dad asked, curiously.

"Because I don't want to get behind. I'm a Hero student. I need to find my weaknesses and figure out ways to get around them. Are you guys saying you're not going to support me anymore?" I asked, sadly. The two looked between each other before turning back to me.

"Where are you running these tests at?" Mom asked.

"The place Izuku and I have trained at lately; Takoba Municipal Beach Park. It's wide open and there's never anyone there." I explained.

"Is it Izuku you're supposed to meet there?" Dad asked.

"No, my friend Mei. She's in the UA Support Course and..." I started.

"Go. Now. It's fine. And remember to have fun!" Mom suddenly interrupted. For some reason, the second I mentioned Mei, she got all smiley and excited. Regardless of what her deal was, I wasn't going to let the opportunity slide by. I grabbed my shoes and took off. A few minutes of running later, and I was there.

"Mei! Morning. So, what do you have for me?" I asked, panting. She had a folding table with different equipment set on it.

"Okay, Y/N! First up, is this baby. I wore it during the sports festival obstacle race. You strap it on and it fires grappling hooks into the structures in front of you, to pull you forward at great speed." Mei explained.

"Yeah, I think I remember seeing you use this. Alright, let's give it a shot." I said.

"Unfortunately we can't fully test it here. This requires some type of standing structure capable of supporting your weight. Otherwise, it's basically cosmetic." Mei stated.

"Then did you agree to meet here if we can't fully test the equipment?" I asked, confused.

"This is a better location for testing my other babies: rocket boots and a rocket pack!" Mei exclaimed, giddily. My face turned almost green as I recalled my previous attempts with such technology...

"Let's just test what we can with this grappling thing, first." I said. Upon looking around, I noticed a large concrete block which was there for reasons I did not know. Regardless, I put on the knock off ODM Gear and tried to stand parallel to the concrete block. With a press of the trigger, a grappling hook shot out like a rocket and stuck within the concrete block.

"Great! Now you're going to want to do the same with the grapple on the other side of your waist. Otherwise, you won't retain your balance and things become wildly unpredictable." Mei explained, casually.

'This girl is dangerous...' I thought, slightly nervous. Just like before, I fired the other grappling hook into the concrete block. It impacted a few feet away and about a foot higher than the first.

"Now you'll want to use the controls on both sides to reel in. On each of them, the dials by your thumbs will control the reel speed." Mei said. I put the dials on a low setting and tensed the triggers of the reeling mechanism. I maintained my balance for a few feet before I slipped on the sand beneath me. Now I was just being dragged on the beach for several yards, towards the concrete block. I remembered the controls just in time and stopped before crashing.

"Not bad. Let's keep this one in mind." I said, breathing hard. I stood up as Mei walked over. "So what powers this thing?" I asked.

"Pressurized gas." Mei replied.

"This could go well with my quirk. But the hand controls mean I couldn't carry anything while wearing it. Or use my pistols. Plus, if the gas is flammable, I'm basically mobile dynamite waiting to be ignited. Plus the grappling hooks will leave holes in buildings everywhere I go..." I thought aloud.

"So, the rocket boots and rocket pack?" Mei asked.

"That would improve my speed and maneuverability, while keeping my hands free... But rocket fuel is extremely hazardous. I would still be screwed against a guy with a gun or a fire quirk... Thanks for coming out here, Mei. But I don't think any of this stuff is going to work..." I exhaled, disappointed. I removed the grapple equipment I was wearing and carried it back to the table with all the gear. Despite my negative reviews, Mei had yet to falter.

"Don't worry. Now I've got some great ideas for grapple gear mk2! It'll take me some time to put it together, though. I don't suppose you'd want to help me assemble it?" Mei asked, curiously.

"Actually Mei, I might have another idea..." I said, thinking.

Timeskip to class:

I was sleeping at my desk in the short time before class would start. It did not last. Loud guffawing from Sero and Kirishima had put an end to it. I looked toward the front of class to see what the hell was so funny. Bakugo had just walked in. It wasn't long before I joined in on the laughter.

"Holy crap! What the heck, Bakugo!" Kirishima and Sero said, laughing.

"Stop laughing! My hair's gotten used to this and I can't get it back the right way! Did you not hear me? I'll kill you both! And don't think I don't see you snickering, L/N!" Bakugo replied, menacingly. The laughing at his expense only continued.

"Kill us? I'd like to see you try, pretty boy!" Sero chuckled.

"What did you call me?!" Bakugo screamed. Then I noticed that the girls were all discussing their internships and couldn't help but overhear.

"What about you Ochaco? How was your week?" Tsu asked.

"I'd say that it was very enlightening." Uraraka said, punching the air.

"What the hell? Did you spend the week with Ronda Rousey or something?" I asked, shocked.

"I think she found her fighting spirit..." Tsu guessed.

"That Battle Hero, Gunhead, must've been something else." Jiro commented.

"Oh Jiro, there were villains during your internship, right?" Tsu asked.

"Awesome! You got to face actual villains?! I'm super jealous!" Ashido exclaimed.

"Seriously, Jiro? That's pretty cool." I said. Her face became slightly red.

"Well, I didn't fight. All I did was help people evacuate and provide logistical support." Jiro replied.

"That's still better than me helping fight villains without permission and then getting reprimanded for it." I chuckled.

"Seriously?! Is that what that group call was about the first night of everyone's internships? I knew I should've joined!" Ashido said, regretfully.

"How did that turn out for you, Y/N? I texted you to ask, but you never responded." Jiro asked, concerned.

"Sorry, I got distracted. To answer your question, I didn't really get in any trouble. It's more like I was on a shorter leash after that. I just hope I'll be able to return to Sir Nighteye's Agency in the future." I hoped.

"I'm glad to hear it worked out for you." Jiro said, smiling.

"As am I. It would be a shame for your potential to be wasted because of one mistake." Yaoyorozu agreed.

"So, how was your week, Tsu?" Ashido asked.

"I spent basically the whole time training and cleaning the ship. Though there was this one day we caught a bunch of drug smugglers." Tsu casually stated. The rest of the girls and myself looked at her with shocked expressions.

"Okay, that's cool!" Ashido and Jiro said, in sync.

"So, what drugs were they smuggling? Cause that's a very important detail. Was it all addictive stuff or was it more on the fun-but-illegal side?" I asked, half serious. The girls just laughed off my question, but I had an American friend who would send me everything from movies, to food, to weed, so I was fairly serious.

"Oh, that's right! The Hero Killer!" Sero suddenly yelled. Iida, Izuku, Todoroki and I all turned.

"You guys got attacked, right? I remember getting that text from Midoriya in the class group chat. But I didn't think anything of it." Kirishima said.

"It's a good thing Endeavor showed up to save you guys." Sato added.

"Yeah. It's a good think Endeavor showed up, right guys?" Iida asked, looking serious.

"Yep." I agreed.

"Definitely." Izuku added. Those of us who knew the truth about that night couldn't help but be evasive. We didn't mean to. It was just a frustrating situation. Even though we got off scot free, it was a trade off because we got almost zero recognition for our bravery.

"Did you guys see the Hero Killer in that crazy video? It's all over the internet. He's almost kinda cool, don't you guys think?" Kaminari asked. The expressions of Izuku, Iida and I all synced up with that comment. Specifically, expressions of shock and resent.

"Kaminari!" Izuku called out.

"Are you freaking kidding me right now?" I said, angrily.

"I understand why people might think he was cool. But his beliefs led him to cold blooded murder. I can't say there's anything cool about that." Iida commented, monotone. Iida looked to his still injured arm.

"Sorry, guys..." Kaminari said, ashamed.

"Okay, this topic has gotten a little too serious for my tastes. Can we all just go back to making fun of Bakugo's hair?" I said, dryly. The room's atmosphere immediately lightened up. Soon after, it was time for our Hero Basic Training Class. As usual, All Might was teaching. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't eager to show off today.

"Okay, I am here. Long time no see, boys and girls! How've you been? For this time's Hero Basic Training, we'll have some fun with a rescue training race!" All Might said, excited.

"This is Field Gamma! You'll break into four five-person groups and go through the training one group at a time. It's a race to see who will rescue me first! Of course, you'll have to keep damage to buildings to a minimum." All Might explained. With that last sentence, he pointed at Bakugo.

"Don't point at me!" Bakugo said, irritated.

"Hey, your hair is back to normal! What'd you finally have to do? Take a vacuum nozzle to it?" I asked, sarcastically.

"Okay! Moving on!" All Might shouted, changing the subject. He had acted before Bakugo could do or say anything in response to me. All Might then split us up into groups. The first group consisted of Izuku, Ojiro, Iida, Ashido and Sero. The rest of us would be watching their progress on a massive screen.

"This group has everyone in the class with good mobility." Sato pointed out.

"Hmm, perhaps Midoriya is at a slight disadvantage." Yaoyorozu disagreed. I somewhat smirked nearby.

"Who do you think'll win? I think Sero'll be first!" Kirishima said, certain.

"Deku will be last!" Bakugo bellowed.

"Want to bet?" I said, seriously.

"Huh?!" Bakugo yelled back. The others looked at me as well.

"You can't be serious, Y/N. You've seen Midoriya's quirk in action as much as we have. It's just not very practical." Kaminari said.

"It's just stupid! He'll come in dead last!" Bakugo repeated.

"Even if he's injured, I still think it'll be Iida." Uraraka said.

"I think it'll be Ashido. She's really athletic!" Mineta reminded.

"But Ojiro's there, too." Kaminari added.

"Start!" All Might yelled. With that, the race was underway. When the race begins, Sero gets out to an early lead only to be suddenly passed by Izuku. Izuku easily maneuvered throughout the terrain by jumping from one area to another, leaving the others in his dust!

"Wow, Midoriya!" many exclaimed.

"Ha ha! I told you all!" I screamed, watching.

"What's with those moves?!" Kaminari said. A big grin appeared on my face, as he was now eating his own words.

"Wow! He's hopping...like..." Uraraka struggled.

"Like Bakugo." I said, spitefully.

Izuku continued his fast pace and was leagues ahead of the others in his group. "Midoriya's jumping?!" Ashido shouted, surprised. Meanwhile Ojiro hung down by his tail nearby.

"His broken bones are already healed?" Ojiro said, in shock.

"Give 'em hell, Izuku!" I said, proudly. Just then, Izuku's foot slipped beneath him and he fell... In the end, Iida had one that race.

"Group one, you can leave the field. Next group, get ready! Keep going like this and prepare for your final exam!" All Might ordered.

"Yes, sir!" Group One replied. I was in Group Two, which was now entering the race area. My group also consisted of Yaoyorozu, Tokoyami, Kaminari and Kirishima. At a glance, one would say that none of us had particularly great speed or agility.

"(chuckles) Time to prove them wrong." I said, quietly. No one had noticed the new boots or other gear I was wearing under my costume's overcoat.

"Start!" All Might yelled. As the race began, my group basically just took off running. I could tell Yaoyorozu was trying to multitask and create some means of transportation, while running. We came up on an obstacle which would require alternate routes, but I didn't let it deter me. I continued to sprint full speed and jumped as high as I could. Then I pressed one of several buttons now built into my shock gloves.

My boots released a gust of pressurized air and propelled me up and over the obstacle in my way. The others were left to go around. From there, I followed a similar pattern to Izuku. I jumped and wall-ran from surface to surface, maintaining my running speed perfectly. Then I came to an open area that was too great to jump. It didn't slow me down. I leaped as far as I could, propelled myself with my boots and when I still had room to go, propelled myself again with similar air boosters around my waist. I had lost some speed but quickly made it up with some more boosting and wall-running.

"Who needs rockets? Or grappling hooks? Now I know how it feels to be a Pilot in Titanfall... Lighter than air..." I said, contently.