Hayze is walking to school by himself.
Hayze (Narrating):
U.A. was finally ready to reopen after a week of security reevaluations, not that it was exactly necessary. The attackers' leader alluded to Mr. Walker that they obtained intel about the field trip during the Sports Festival. Since the attackers infiltrated U.A. when the school’s security was at its most lenient, it can be reasonably assumed that they didn’t think they could get in it regularly, meaning that U.A.’s security wasn’t the problem: it was complacency. There hadn’t been an incident in such a long time, so the school’s guard was dropped. It was a costly mistake.
Hayze sees a few people across the street staring at him.
Person 1:
That’s one of the kids from the Sports Festival. He was in the Semi-Finals!
Person 2:
Man, I always forget they’re just regular students. The Sports Festival makes them look like they’re ready to be heroes.
Person 3:
Did you see the news about what happened on their field trip? They took down multiple villains and drove off the rest; I’d say U.A.’s got an eye for talent.
Hayze looks away and keeps walking.
Hayze:
(It’s weird being recognized like this, between the Sports Festival and that night, pretty much everyone knows our faces.)
Hayze turns a corner; U.A. is in sight.
Hayze:
(I wonder what the plan is for the internship program? Is it still going to happen, or are we going back to regular classes? It Makes me wonder what-)
Ash:
Hey Hayze!
Hayze spots Ash ahead of him. He walks up next to her.
Hayze:
Hey, Ash! How are you doing?
Ash:
You too, Hayze!
Awkward silence.
Hayze:
You thought I said good morning, didn’t you?
Ash:
There’s a slight chance… Anyway, it’s been a long week off, but I’m ready to get back to school!
Hayze:
It’s good to see your spirit hasn’t dampened after everything that happened…
Ash:
Oh, I wouldn’t let something like that get under my skin! The only thing on my mind is getting better so I can do more next time.
Hayze:
Speaking of that, how are you doing? What was it like being in that bubble for so long?
Ash:
I’ve been doing okay. It was really scary; it felt claustrophobic, but knowing that people were trying to rescue me was reassuring.
Hayze:
(I hope she doesn’t feel betrayed that I didn’t go with Silver and Eve to help her.) So… you could see everything that was happening around you?
Ash:
Kind of, the whole world felt bigger because it was, but I could see around me. I watched the fight as it happened; it was all bizarre. I’m a little sad that guy got away, but I’m sure we’ll get him next time.
Hayze:
You think there will be a next time?
Ash:
Is there any reason to believe there won’t?
Hayze:
Good point…
Awkward silence.
Ash:
So, uh, what happened to you when the chase broke out? I only saw Eve and Silver; suddenly, you were gone.
Hayze:
Blair was in the same position as you. I don’t know if you saw, but she got captured a little after you did.
Ash:
Yeah, I watched that guy shoot her with one of his needles, and then the other one put her in a bubble just like me. I didn’t see where she went after that.
Hayze:
She was given to the masked girl; after we took down the bubble guy, I saw that Silver and Eve were chasing after the needle dude, but nobody was going for Blair, so I made a choice to split off.
Ash:
Well, if that was the case, I understand, after all, Blair wouldn’t have made it back if not for you, and Silver and Eve didn’t need you after all.
Hayze:
Yeah, I’m just glad everyone made it back at the end of the day.
Ash:
Yup and everything is back to normal.
Hayze:
That’s the hope.
Inside the classroom, all 20 students are sitting at their desks. Mr. Walker is standing at the podium at the front of the room.
Walker:
Alright, everyone, today we’ll be doing an “exciting” activity.
Wes:
(Punching Alden?)
Aaron:
(Shooting Alden?)
Alden:
(Praising me?)
Walker:
Today, you’ll be deciding on your preliminary code names.
Most of the students are excited.
Zach:
(Sweet, hero names, I gotta come up with something cool!)
Jace:
(This is so awesome! I’ve been looking forward to this since the day I got accepted into U.A.!)
Lilith:
(Oh man, we’re coming up with hero names already?)
Karma:
(This feels a little early, but I’m sure this has something to do with the incident in the woods.)
Walker:
You’re going to need your code names for your internships. You’ll be getting an up-close and personal look at your future career under the supervision and guidance of a pro hero.
Silver:
(So we still are doing internships after all.)
Aaron:
(Dope, now I’m excited to see how many hero agencies want me.)
Alexis:
(This will be fun.)
Walker:
These code names aren’t permanent, so don’t stress too much, but for the time being, they will be identifying you, so take this seriously. We’ll discuss the internships once everyone has decided upon their names.
Walker grabs a bunch of small whiteboards and a bag of dry erase markers.
Walker:
Alden, pass these around.
Alden:
I see, trusting me because I’ll do the best job!
Alden gets up from his desk and starts walking towards Walker. Suddenly the door to the room gets kicked in and hits Alden; he and the door break through the window and fall out of the building.
Alden:
AHH
HHH
HHH
HHH
HHH!
Fatal enters.
Fatal:
Alright, is everyone ready for hero names!
Everyone:
Yeah!
Fatal notices the empty seat.
Fatal:
Oh god, did I do it again?
Walker:
Yeah, but don’t worry, it was Alden.
Fatal:
Oh, okay, let’s get to work, everyone!
Everyone:
Yeah!
Everyone takes a whiteboard and marker and starts thinking about their names; Walker starts napping at his desk.
Wes:
(Just don’t do anything that Aaron can make fun of, that’s the only goal here.)
Aaron:
(God, I hope Wes chooses something I can make fun of.)
Zach:
(Man, this is a lot of pressure. I’ve gotta come up with something cool!)
Angel:
(Hm, I wonder what I should choose.)
Jace:
(Spring Man? No. Super Spring Man? Still no.)
Lilith:
(Uh….)
Ash:
(Come on, Ash, think!)
Silver:
(This is simple.)
Demetri:
(Thank god I can finally shake off the “useless brothers” moniker.)
Isaiah:
(I hope Demetri doesn’t choose useless 1 or something, then I’d have to write useless 2, and I’m definitely useless 1.)
Kevin:
(This is important for showing what kind of hero I am, so I need to come up with something that shows how powerful I am.)
Blair:
(Alright, something clever.)
Eve:
(I’ll just do something simple, this is only temporary after all, no need to get in a fuss.)
A few minutes pass.
Fatal:
Alright, who would like to present theirs first! You have to get my approval, so don’t do anything inappropriate.
Most of the students get nervous.
Jace:
(We have to present these!)
Wes:
(FUCK!)
Gus:
(I’m sure this will go well.)
Isaiah:
(Who has the balls to go first?)
Justus walks to the front of the class and presents his whiteboard.
Justus:
I will go by Justice.
Isaiah, Gus, Zach, Jace, and Wes:
(THAT’S IT?)
Fatal:
A little on the nose, but hey, it works.
Justus looks at his whiteboard.
Justus:
(Changing the end of my name in my hero name is part of breaking off from his shadow, this is much more important to me than any of them realize.)
Fatal:
Who is next?
Justus sits down, Aaron steps forward.
Aaron:
Howitzer!
Wes:
(Leave it to Aaron to just name himself after his best attack…)
Zach:
(These are so on the nose! What, am I supposed to just go with Bone Boy?)
Angel:
(Do I just go with Angel then or?)
Fatal:
Okay, again, a little on the nose… anyone more creative wanna take a stab at it?
Aaron sits down, Jake steps forward.
Hayze:
(This’ll be interesting.)
Wes:
(Oh god…)
Jake:
I’ll be The Teleportation Hero: Naptime!
Everyone is dumbfounded.
Fatal:
Just… okay, it’s fine, just… just sit down, please.
Jake:
Is it good?
Fatal:
……sure.
Jake:
Good because my other idea was Chicken Nugget Enforcer.
Fatal:
I said sit down.
Jake sits down, Jace steps forward.
Jace:
The Spring Hero: Slinkster.
Fatal:
I- I- I guess?
Jace:
What? You didn’t say anything to Jake about going with Naptime! That’s not even his quirk!
Fatal:
Just sit down, Slinkster.
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Jace bangs his head against the whiteboard.
Jace:
DAMMIT! I KNEW IT WAS DUMB!
Jace sits down and sulks; Karma steps forward.
Karma:
I shall be The Time-Traveling Hero: Temporalia.
Fatal:
There’s the creativity I was looking for! Good job, Karma!
Karma:
Thank you.
Alden limps through the doorway, bruised and bloody.
Alden:
Why… why didn’t anyone come to help me?
Nobody even notices Alden; Karma sits down.
Alden:
…I know you can hear me!
Zach steps forward.
Zach:
I’m going by Marrow Man!
Fatal:
Generic, but I like the alliteration.
Zach:
Thanks; I didn’t want to go too complex.
Alden pushes Zach out of the way.
Alden:
And I’m The Best!
Everyone stares at Alden blankly. Walker wakes up from his nap, opens a portal beneath Alden, and drops him on his desk.
Alden:
Ow…
Walker:
Approved, now everyone get back to work.
Walker returns to his nap. Then, the students begin rattling off their names.
Gus:
I’m Gas Manager.
Fatal:
Like Task Manager?
Gus:
…Yeah, that…
Angel:
The Angelic Hero: Zephyr
Fatal:
That’s heavenly!
Lilith:
Um… Miss Monarch.
Fatal:
Fitting.
Blair:
Lady Lava.
Someone:
Copycat.
Blair:
WHO SAID THAT!
Everyone is silent.
Blair:
That’s what I thought!
Alexis:
I’ll be Origamigal.
Fatal:
Nice one.
Eve:
Magnette.
Fatal:
Simple but fitting.
Someone:
What about Double D Diva?
Eve:
I’m going to assume that was Alden.
Nobody answers; Alden gets up from the debris of his desk.
Alden:
What’s going on? I thought I heard my name.
Eve walks over to Alden and beats the shit out of him. Everyone ignores it.
Alden:
AHHHHHH!
Demetri:
I’m the Master of Puppets.
Isaiah:
And I’m Oculus.
Fatal:
Those are good names, but why are you two going together?
They look at each other.
Demetri:
HEY! IT WAS MY TURN!
Isaiah:
NO! IT WAS MINE!
Walker stares at them with dagger eyes.
Isaiah:
My mistake.
Demetri:
Yup, no problem, no big deal.
They both sit down.
Fatal:
Alright, that leaves Silver, Kevin, Hayze, Wes, and Ash.
Silver steps forward.
Silver:
Silverstripe.
Fatal:
Yeah, it works.
Silver:
I thought so.
Silver sits down, Hayze steps forward.
Hayze:
I’m not big on having a hero name, so I’ll just stick with Hayze.
Fatal:
If that’s what you want to do.
Hayze:
(It’s already my nickname, so it works for me.)
Hayze sits down, Wes steps forward.
Wes:
Uh, I’ll be The Reflection Hero: Mirror Shot.
Aaron:
More like Cum Shot, am I right?
Everyone, including Fatal, starts laughing.
Wes:
FUCK YOU, AARON! I WORKED HARD ON THIS!
Aaron:
Ha-ha, loser!
Fatal:
Alright, Wes, sit down, Ash or Kevin, you’re up.
Wes takes his seat in defeat, Kevin steps forward.
Kevin:
I’m Goliath.
Fatal:
Powerful.
Kevin:
Well, that’s what I was going for.
Kevin takes his seat, Ash steps forward.
Fatal:
Last one.
Ash:
I’ll be simple: I’m Ghost Girl.
Fatal:
Simple is fine if you’re happy with your name. It doesn’t need to be much.
Ash:
Thanks, Ms. Fatal.
Ash takes her seat.
Fatal:
Well, that went quicker than expected; I guess Walker will explain how your internships will go from here. HEY DAMIEN!
Walker wakes up and grabs a bunch of papers from his desk. He then stands in front of the class.
Walker:
Alright, now that you all have hero names, I’ll explain in further detail how the internships will operate; they’ll last 10 days, you’ll leave on Wednesday this week, and the internships officially begin the following day. They will formally end the next Saturday, and you’ll be back to school that Monday. Those who received offers from hero agencies will choose from among those. Everyone else will choose from 40 hero agencies who agreed to take on interns from your class. Agencies can have different specialties that their heroes focus on; keep that in mind when selecting. If you want to specialize in rescue work, for example, you probably don’t want to choose an agency that fights many villains. You have until the end of tomorrow to hand in your choices, good luck.
Everyone gets nervous.
Zach:
Just two days?
Walker:
Normally, we’d give you more time, but the recent… incident forced us to take on a quicker timeline. It’s not too big an issue though, 10 of you didn’t receive any offers, so your choices will be simpler. As for the nine of you who did receive offers, here’s the breakdown:
Internship Offers
Justus
5,044
Silver
4,256
Kevin
4,132
Aaron
3,730
Angel
471
Alexis
439
Zach
161
Ash
67
Wes
1
Wes jumps for joy.
Wes:
YES, I GOT ONE!
Walker stares menacingly at Wes. Wes promptly sits down.
Walker:
Normally, it’s not
this
top-heavy, but only six of you made it to the second round of the Sports Festival Finals, so it’s not that surprising.
Everyone looks at the list.
Aaron:
(I made Top 4 and still got less than Silver? What did he do to get that many offers?)
Wes:
*tears in his eyes* (I’m just happy someone wants me.)
Alexis:
(More than I expected for getting knocked out in the first round.)
Kevin:
(I still need to catch up to those two.)
Silver:
(My reputation seems to weigh more than my performance.)
Justus:
(There’s only one offer that matters to me. I know you’re among them.)
Zach:
(I wish I could have gotten more, but I guess I should be happy considering the ass-kicking I got from Aaron was all they got to see of me.)
Angel:
(Nice, I didn’t show off much, but I still got the 5th most offers.)
Ash:
(Well… it’s better than nothing given that I forfeited…)
Hayze looks devastated.
Hayze:
(I got… none?)
Fatal starts passing out the internship forms.
Jace:
*whispering to Zach* Man, Hayze got none.
Zach:
*whispering* Yeah, and he made the top 4. I wonder what put everyone off.
Walker:
Alright, that’s enough for now. See you all back here in an hour.
Everyone heads to lunch. Hayze is the last out of the classroom.
Walker:
One second, Hayze.
Hayze stops and approaches Walker.
Walker:
I know you’re probably disappointed about not getting any offers, but fortunately for you, that’s not the case.
Hayze:
What? What does that mean?
Walker:
Don’t try to play it off. I know that you were listening to what I said; 9 students received offers, but 10 didn’t. That leaves one outlier.
Hayze:
I did notice that, but if I’m being honest, I thought you meant Alden wasn’t even an option.
Walker:
You know what, that’s a very fair point, anyway I don’t have the full details on why you were omitted from being selected, but the principal wants to speak with you.
Hayze:
(The principal?) Um, okay?
Walker:
Just head to his office; he’ll explain your situation.
Walker leaves.
Hayze:
(My situation?)
Hayze arrives at the principal’s office.
Hayze:
(I don’t know what’s going on, but I hope it’s something good.)
Hayze knocks on the door.
Ewing:
*muffled* Come in!
Hayze opens the door and walks into the room.
Ewing:
Ah, Hayze! It’s good to see you, please take a seat.
Hayze sits down in the chair in front of Ewing’s desk.
Ewing:
I’m sure you have a lot of questions about why you weren’t eligible to receive offers from hero agencies.
Hayze:
Well, not a lot, just one: Why?
Ewing laughs.
Ewing:
I guess that is true.
Ewing gets quiet for a second.
Hayze:
Is something wrong, sir?
Ewing:
This is the first time we’ve been able to talk in private, and it’s also the first time I can address your unique circumstances.
Hayze:
What are you-
Ewing:
I was very disappointed to hear that Dr. Moore made the rash and reckless decision to experiment with her quirk serum again.
Hayze:
(That’s right, Dr. Moore mentioned that Ewing was aware of her life’s work.)
Ewing:
I threatened to fire her on the spot. She got lucky her sister, Ms. Fatal, and your old acquaintance Mr. Hunt were willing to go to bat for her. Hunt took responsibility for not stopping her. He knew that your healing quirk had piqued the interest of Dr. Moore, but he didn’t think she would be so quick to use you as a lab rat, however.
Hayze:
(She never told me that…)
Ewing:
I spared her job after being informed that you were aspiring to be a U.A. student. At the very least, you could end up being an asset to this school. I watched your entrance examination closely, and I was impressed with your performance.
Hayze:
Uh, thank you, sir!
Ewing:
Don’t get it twisted, I was still angry, but I was relieved that Dr. Moore at least picked someone who understands the gravity of his own abilities and has the intelligence and skill set of a hero. Once I saw your HAE scores and performance in the entrance exam, I understood exactly why you were of interest to Dr. Moore. But, I’d like to hear everything from your perspective before I continue.
Hayze is quiet for a few moments.
Hayze:
It was kind of a weird circumstance, and it all happened so quickly, we both had what the other wanted, and we didn’t want to wait to have it. Dr. Moore wanted answers about how her serum would affect someone who already had a quirk, and I wanted the chance to be a hero. I didn’t have anything left to lose at that point: No parents, no close friends, and no chance at my dream without her help, so I guess that’s why I didn’t hesitate when I was given the option.
A few more seconds of silence pass.
Ewing:
I don’t blame you. I’ll be honest; if I was in your shoes, I would have done the same thing. It was irresponsible of Dr. Moore to even give you the offer. However, you’re one of the top students in your class currently, so all's well that ends well. But, let me ask you this question: do you know how many people are aware of Dr. Moore’s quirk serum?
Hayze:
She told me that I was the sixth person. Fatal, you, Recovery Girl, Mr. Hunt, and the second person Dr. Moore used the serum on are the others.
Ewing:
Well, you’re about to meet the seventh.
Hayze:
What? You mean there’s someone who knows about the serum that Dr. Moore isn’t aware of?
Ewing:
Yes, he’s the one who told me about it. I never gave Dr. Moore my source when I confronted her about the serum for the first time. He’s been made aware of your situation and has volunteered to train you. He’s who you’ll be completing your internship with.
Hayze:
I don’t even get a choice?
Ewing:
Hayze, as Dr. Moore is an employee of this school, her choices reflect upon it. You are our responsibility, and if it got out that Moore lured a teenager here to conduct experiments on him, it would NOT go over well.
Hayze:
I guess I can see that…
Ewing:
Therefore, it’s imperative that you are successful so we can at least say the ends justified the means. And while you’ve given us no reason to believe you cannot accomplish that on your own. We have to make some decisions on your behalf to ensure you do. This is one of them, and before you say anything else. I need you to understand that the person I’m trusting to train you is very qualified for the job. He was one of the best students I ever had, and I have no doubt he could have been a Top 10 hero if he didn’t choose to live a different life.
Hayze:
He decided to forgo his career?
Ewing:
Yes, but that’s none of my business to discuss with you.
Ewing places some papers down on the table.
Ewing:
Here is the information on him and where you’ll meet to begin your internship.
Hayze picks up the papers and examines them.
Hayze:
(Adrian Rodgers… aka “The Copycat.”)
