Just as both I and Todoroki predicted, the villains performed a secondary attack in the very spot we had constructed the recovery area. What the villains and the exam observers didn’t expect was Todoroki’s and my immediate reaction to the intrusion.
His blast of ice froze the walls and covered the floor before our combined blast of flames from him and heat vision from me covered all of the generic villains that entered the breach in the wall. All of the mooks came to an immediate stop from the double assault, slipped and fell, and the danger they were going to cause was removed.
“It seems we underestimated the amount of resistance we would have.” Gang Orca said as he stepped through the trap and successfully resisted both the ice and the heat. He was a terrifying hero, just because he looked like a 7 foot tall killer whale.
Todoroki and I exchanged knowing looks, seeing proof that the examiners had sent out one of their strongest heroes, and we nodded to each other. He went low and I went high. Gang Orka, the hero that was pretending to be a villain, was caught off-guard as Todoroki froze his lower legs to the floor in a mini glacier and I punched the killer whale’s face.
The pretend villain fell backwards and his upper body hit the ground with the force of a small earthquake, then he didn’t move. We paused and waited for a moment, just to see if the villain would move, and he didn’t. We had successfully knocked him out and I held out a fist to Todoroki, whom gave me that small smile again and bumped my fist with one of his.
After a judicial application of more ice to secure the prisoners, we went back to work helping the others. Thanks to Todoroki’s carefully constructed ice beds under my direction, that kept everyone cool but not freezing, and my own efforts to bring everyone back to the rescue area to allow the other potential heroes to gather as much rescue points as possible, we were sure that everyone would pass the second part of the exam.
It wasn’t long before the other teams sent out to deal with the villains finished their part in it and they secured their prisoners as well. Instead of making the announcement cutting the event short, the head guy kept talking to the others in the booth with him.
I nodded at Todoroki and motioned towards the disaster area, put a few other students in charge of the recovery section, then we both went out to rescue as many civilians we could before the hour was over. He could make perfect ice braces for everything and I easily retrieved many trapped civilians, which proved how effective we could be, both as singular heroes and as a team.
“That’s TIME!” The head guy shouted through the loudspeaker. “Everyone head back to the entrance!”
When I didn’t stop my current rescue of two women from a balcony, whom clung to me with girly laughs, the head guy looked surprised that only a few of the students actually listened to him and had stopped what they were doing. They were the ones that were already back at the recovery area, so stopping there didn’t harm anyone.
Both Todoroki and I continued to help as much as we could, which just so happened to impress the civilians that we were rescuing. I explained to the two women I was carrying that just because a person in authority tells us to stop being a hero because the work shift ended, that didn’t absolve us of our responsibility or gave us the right to leave someone trapped or hurt so we could head home for a meal or to meet up with friends.
Everyone around us, both civilians and potential heroes alike, fully agreed with that sentiment. We all gathered as many rescuees as we could and I had Todoroki make us a huge sled for everyone to climb onto, with handrails for them to hold on. I picked the entire thing up and flew back to the recovery area. I landed gently and set the sled down, then we all treated them and talked to them as if they were really in need of help.
“All injured civilians have been rescued from the hazard zone.” The head guy announced. “That concludes the Provisional License Exam!”
The students cheered and clapped hands, shared high fives, and congratulated each other. The second part of the exam had ended and the names of everyone that passed were announced. Because it was scored on pivotal decisions made during an emergency situation, with all of us working together after my initial orders, everyone there had passed by doing what they did best.
After we were allowed to shower and clean up in the locker rooms, we returned to the meeting area and the same woman that handed out the targets and balls in the first part of the exam started passing out something that was going to change all of our lives. I couldn’t help it as I gave her a huge smile and accepted the blue hero card that was my provisional license.
“I didn’t doubt you for a second… after you got rid of the foul mouthed idiot.” She joked and I laughed. She sauntered off towards the next hero, shaking her hips as she went.
My eyes did not glance down at her perky ass, though. They were instead drawn to the brown haired girl that had asked me out earlier. She had the same huge smile on her face that I did and she held up her card. I held mine up as well and we walked towards one another. We tapped them together twice, as if testing that they were real, and she hopped up into the air and gave me a quick kiss.
“Cell phone?” Ochako asked.
I pulled mine out and she put her number in. Her pocket rang a second later and she answered it, saved my number in her contacts, and gave me my phone back.
“School’s not in session for another week.” Ochako commented, her tone suggestive.
“I might be convinced to leave my house at some point in the future.” I commented back with a crooked smile.
“You’re totally going to make me ask again, aren’t you?” Ochako asked, her face slightly red.
“Why would I ever want to see you acting so cute?” I asked back, making her blush fully. “Before I can agree to anything, I’ve got to check in at home first, just in case.”
“Me, too.” Ochako said, excitedly. “My parents are gonna freak out, I just know it!”
I laughed and nodded, then I pulled her into a hug, making her sigh happily. “I’ll text you tonight and we can work out when we can safely get together without disappointing our parental figures.”
Ochako nodded and let me go, gave me a look that was full of promise, then she walked back over to her friends. She was immediately bombarded with questions and the group walked off.
“You did it.” A squeaky voice said and I turned to look, only I had to tilt my head way down to look at the very short Principal Nezu.
“Despite all the hurdles you’ve managed to put in front of me.” I responded and he nodded. “Have you accepted Melissa Shield into UA yet?”
Nezu nodded again. “She took the spot Mister Midoriya should have had.”
“Ah, because of All Might’s support. It switched from him to her, and since he’s a staff member…” I started to say and he held up a paw to stop me.
“That’s not what I’m here to talk about.” Nezu interrupted. “I’ve put the word out to all existing agencies that you are to not be hired during this internship period.”
“I knew you would.” I said and he raised his eyebrows in question. “Both I and Lois Lane have embarrassed you over your idiotic policy of allowing a sole teacher to have the same veto power than you yourself had.” I told him. “Unfortunately, you didn’t bother keeping any of that power to use on him when he screwed up, several times now, and everyone knows it.”
Nezu sighed. “Yes, they do. Also because of Miss Lane.”
“Are you that against someone pointing out the flaws in your decisions that you’ll use all of the apparent powers you have, and every favor you’ve built up over the years, to stop me from becoming a hero?” I asked and he didn’t answer. “You know, just because you have super intelligence, that doesn’t mean you’re always right.”
Nezu opened his little furry mouth to say something, probably that he was.
“Lois proves that truth every single day.” I said and he looked surprised. “It’s why she became an investigative reporter, to dig out the facts and to find out the truth. Unlike you, she doesn’t have the desire or the need to prove herself to anyone. She does what she does because it’s important to her to prove things for herself.”
Nezu could only nod in acceptance.
“You’re planning to have the Hero Commission revoke my provisional license if I can’t be hired by a registered Hero Agency, aren’t you?” I asked.
“Yes.” Nezu said. “Once you fail at it, you have to come to me to arrange proper schooling and to find you an appropriate apprenticeship to place you under to learn how to be a real hero.”
“One that always listens to you and seeks your approval.” I said.
“Of course. I am the smartest being on this planet.” Nezu boasted.
“No, you only think you are.” I said and he looked surprised. “If you had been really smart, you never would have revealed how manipulative you are to anyone. It’s a rookie mistake and you think you’re too smart for anyone to call you out for it.”
Nezu frowned up at me. “I’ve been doing this job for years…”
“Mei Hatsume had the same problem. She gained access to more power than she ever thought possible and it went straight to her head. All she could think about was how far she could go, how much she could do, if there was nothing restricting her or holding her back.” I explained. “If she hadn’t reached far beyond her current capacity to handle, she could have had control of the entire world by the time she was twenty and no one would have been the wiser.”
Nezu looked shocked and at a loss for words.
“It’s okay, I took care of it.” I said and smiled down at him. “I’m also not going to fall into your obvious trap.”
“Your school principal has agreed to…”
“I’m no longer under his authority, obviously.” I said and wagged my license in his face.
“You still have to attend school…”
“After this week off, I have to spend the next two weeks at an internship and not in school, actually. Who knows what will happen after that?” I asked him.
Nezu closed his mouth and didn’t say anything further.
“Have a good day, Principal Nezu.” I said and turned and walked away. “I hope to never see you again; but, if I do see you in person, you better hope it’s not because I’m there at UA to arrest you for corruption, coercion, fraud, and bribery.”
The little creature’s white fur seemed to get whiter and I held in my laugh until I left the facility. I laughed pretty hard at rattling the smug little animal and jogged at a normal pace to the train station and hopped on the next available train.
Despite having my license, I couldn’t use it legally until I was hired by an agency, which was what Nezu was trying to threaten me with. That meant I needed to go home as soon as possible to see the progress of the plans that Lois and Rachel had come up with.
*
While her son was doing his best to become a licensed hero, Lois had been sitting in with both Rachel and Amanda to interview potential employees. Having a full list of company employees, even if they had no experience previously, would help legitimize their registered business as a fully working one.
Secretaries, cooks, janitors, and several other key personnel, that were normally overlooked at a hero agency because their work usually happened behind the scenes and out of sight, needed to be hired. Who was their main target demographic for that? The people that had been marginalized for having quirks that weren’t hero material or had failed at hero school.
Their second target was set on the general students from the various academies, especially the ones that had just graduated and then on the students that were about to graduate. They were eager and willing to work hard to get a job at an up-and-coming hero agency. Lois felt a little relief when most of the applicants had been excited when they heard it was Supreme’s agency and they signed on immediately.
Thanks to Rachel and Amanda having so much experience running Endeavor’s Hero Agency, they easily finished the appropriate paperwork and assigned the most experienced people to the right spots and where they would do the most good for the company. It had taken most of the day to do all of that and it left them barely any time to contact the hero sidekicks that had already applied to work there and informed them that they were hired. They were to report in on Monday to discuss schedules.
Amanda had also taken Connor Kent’s advice and hired Karen Starr as her secretary and Karen was grateful for both being considered for such a high position and for being trusted so much. She was now the senior secretary of Supreme’s Hero Agency and her previous work under both Rachel and Amanda was invaluable.
Karen was also overjoyed at having an actual staff of her own and not the rotating temporary workers that Endeavor had at his agency. She had been a temp worker herself and did not want to go through the same things Rachel and Amanda had before. Her three assistants also looked really happy to have their own desks and were enthusiastic about working for a brand new hero agency.
Just as the day came to a close, Lois watched as Rachel and Amanda gave a final lecture to the receptionist at the front desk about what her main duty was and what her assistant would be doing for her. As Lois listened to the lecture end, the front door of the building opened and in strode the person the agency belonged to.
“Connor!” Lois gasped when she saw the happy smile on his face.
Connor took out the blue card with the word HERO printed on the front and held it up.
“YES!” Lois yelled and ran over to him and jumped into his arms.
Connor easily caught her and swung her around. The both of them barely restrained themselves from kissing each other deeply in celebration. Instead, they settled for a tight hug and Connor set her down on her feet and let her out of the embrace.
“Congratulations, Mister Kent.” Rachel said and handed him a clipboard with a form. “Please sign here, initial there, and I’ll stamp it with the agency’s officially registered seal of authenticity.”
Connor gave her a knowing look before he took the clipboard. He read through it, just in case, and he nodded at the clear wording and not being screwed over with bureaucracy. He signed his name, initialled where Rachel indicated, and she took the clipboard back and stamped it.
“Welcome to Supreme’s Hero Agency, Supreme.” Rachel said with an official tone of voice and held a hand out for him to shake.
“Thank you.” Connor said and shook the offered hand. “I’m very happy to be here.”
“As am I.” Amanda said and shook his hand next. “This is your receptionist, Deborah Morgan.”
Connor shook her hand and looked at the last woman, whom was very short, dark haired, and looked like she had been through two wars and survived to tell the tale.
“This is my assistant, Yukio Kutsuna.” Deborah introduced.
Connor shook the woman’s hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Yukio blinked her eyes at him, as if surprised. “You’re not being sarcastic?”
Connor let out a short laugh. “I think I’d have several female hands smack me a few times if I wasn’t genuine with my compliments.”
“Damn right.” Lois and Rachel said at the same time, then both had their faces go red with embarrassment.
Connor just laughed again. “Did you see how strong that automatic reaction was?”
The short woman smiled and nodded. “I will enjoy working here.”
“So will I.” Connor said and smiled at her before he turned and locked eyes with Lois. “So will everyone else.”
Lois smiled back and nodded, too. Thanks to her, Rachel, and Amanda pooling their savings together with the money Connor had earned, they had afforded the cost of a modest five storey building not far from downtown, which would give them the largest exposure with the local population on a regular basis.
That was the next step in their plan to make Supreme’s Hero Agency the best in the country.
