Orders were handed out and followed, the exam had begun in earnest.

The street they were going to be working through was a mess, made all the more difficult by the thick layer of dust hanging in the air. While normal eyes wouldn’t be able to go very far, enhanced vision suites would allow Robin to keep her long lines of sight open. She could’ve quickly established a Kill-Field around her fellow teammates, picking off any robots who would approach them. The idea of working with Quirked individuals simmered in her mind, a quiet growing anger that was prevented only from their apparent reliance on the bird. Both of the student prospects had placed their lot in her basket that she would carry them to the finish line, and if that’s what it took to get into UAU then she would drag them out of hell.

Her mission was the priority and she wasn’t about to let children stop her.

Her rifle coughed twice more, another robot fell unceremoniously as its Central Processing Hub was removed from its shell. The bullets penetrated through into some concrete, the lead never again going to see the light of day. Before she could pull the trigger on another robot, a blob of color entered her scope as a hostage ran through her line of fire. Her finger slipped from the trigger and back out of the well as she watched the person run up to her, a smirk barely hidden on their face. A grim smirk spread across her face, for being so smug they didn’t actually know how close to dying they were.

Robin looked at her teammates who were directing traffic her way. A smart move, barring the fact that they were going to tempt fate by crossing the street. The scowl turned to a grimace as she peered over her shoulder toward the exit.

She had to do everything, didn’t she?

She pulled a hand from the grip and pulled out several flares from her rig. The lid popped off and the flare ripped to life as it hit the ground. The second one was thrown towards the entrance and what could only be the exit for the hostages. “Please follow the flares, proceed to the exit.” her voice didn’t exude confidence, more like irritation. It made sense for her to direct traffic, but every second she wasn’t keeping overwatch on the other two was another second they could find themselves in trouble.

Not that she particularly cared… at least, not about the boy.

Her head whipped back around to catch Freja brutalizing a robot with her bat and Akagi returning a monster punch to another. A nod was all she gave them as she brought her rifle back up, taking a few shots at robots in poor positioning.

This was going… too well. Wasn’t there that whole bot with negative gravity they should’ve been worrying about?

Freja Helt reijiro akagi Fuyuko

An exasperated sigh ripped from her as Zen insisted on actually following through with some non-lethal option. Objectively, they were just right. Robin should at the very least pretend she cares about her outward appearance. If she was going to be a hero it wouldn’t all be fighting robots. She would at least need to pretend that she intended to take people alive. Would she be able to fit a pepperball gun onto her drone? Probably not, there was already enough tech on it as it stood. No need to make it an even more obvious target.

“What, you mean people wouldn’t like it if i maimed a criminal? They weren’t gonna use it for anything good anyway, I might as well take their leg.” She paused to really let Zen sit with the thought of her blowing someone’s leg off. “Fuck, yeah, whatever you say.” She pouted, “obviously you’re right. Whatever, It should be easy enough to make. Again, the hard part is just picking a payload, but who says I can’t have them all. There’s this on shotgun with a rotating magazine… thing, in case you need to swap loads without dropping your magazine.” The shotgun in question was a little long for her taste, and since it was tube fed, cutting down the length would mean cutting the magazine capacity…. But it would be hard to argue against the benefit of carrying 12 gauge shells. Buckshot, slugs, beanbag, maybe even something else. It had 4 separate magazine slots, she had choices.

“I mean, sure. Being able to fly is neat. Really don’t know how the world looks until you see it from a bird's-eye perspective.” She shrugged before placing her wrist next to the edge of the table, “That is, you know, if you figure that all my bones are hollow and just waiting to be broken.”

A soft thud reverberated the table as a sharp pain ran up her arm, all the while never breaking eye contact with Zen. She didn’t need to look after all, this wasn’t the first time she broke her wrist and it wouldn’t be the last.

“No, but like, are you naturally that big or is it like, steroids? I gotta know.”

Zenkai Hatake

“Oh hey, nice of you to drop in.” She spoke without breaking her attention from the task at hand. It wasn’t unusual for the Irishman to fall like this, honestly speaking he’s probably fallen more times than the bird. Memories came to mind of many bruises and injuries sustained while learning to fly. She was pretty sure she had even broken a limb, although it wasn’t like it would’ve been an issue for long for her. Pain was distinctly seared into her memories though, the only reminder of her past failures.

Of course, it all helped her to be the bird she was today. Good with the bad, she supposed.

“Me, Oh, I’m just playing with a new toy.” she stated plainly, her hand tapping the attache case. “Just normal, boring stuff really. Though, what was that? Coming in on my turf?” she would smirk from under her helmet for purely her own benefit.

Maybe deep down she did feel territorial about the air. It was her space, she was the one with the wings and the hollow bones and the low red blood cell count. It didn’t seem fair that someone with a quirk like Farrin’s would be able to also walk on thin air. He never had to go through the pain of breaking a limb from bumping into a counter, and don’t even get her started on stubbing her toe.

As she would listen to Farrin speak she would stoop down and unclasp the case at her feet and from it she pulled a small quadcopter styled drone. It was wholly unassuming, but it was just a prototype at the end of the day. She tapped the power button once and after a short delay received a confirmation in her helmet that the devices were talking. A new screen popped up in the corner of her vision displaying what the drone’s camera saw. Of course, this was just her and Farrin… for now. She looked back at the Time Turner, “Isn’t it cute?” A genuine smile forming across her face.

Farrin

Eyes rolled from under the helmet that had quickly become her identity, these kids didn’t know how to take no for an answer. They had practically begged her to stay, to work together in order to ensure they could pass this exam, to ensure they were able to attend this school. It made Helmet’s stomach turn, how desperate were these two? To what end were they willing to delve in order to pass this exam, In order to become a problem on the grand scale of this country? The world needed less Heroes, and it needed them to work together like she needed a bullet in her head.

Before they could resort to groveling, various warnings flashed through her vision. Radio waves commonly associated with the detonation of explosives were picked up, and a full second later the world shattered around them. Glass was sent flying as debris crumbled to the ground of the once proud building, only to be ripped back upward in defiance to gravity. Helmet’s expression turned somber. She knew it was a test, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that these incidents would happen far too often with so many heroes running around.

While her two “Partners” spoke amongst themselves about a plan of action, she would survey the scene. The helmet flipped between various filters, each more illuminating than the last. There were dozens of heat signatures that resembled civilians, and a dozen more that didn’t quite match. Less biped in the human sense, and more hunched over, animalistic. More than likely robots but the overall low heat, punctuated by areas of intense heat where critical components lay. At least they weren’t endangering people in these mock attacks, although there would’ve been no complaints if she would’ve been able to take a shot at a hero this early.

Before responding to the desperate pleas of the two other children, she whipped the rifle off of the sling. It came clear and found itself nestled into her shoulder, her thumb catching the safety purely out of muscle memory. The sights found themselves already centered on the critical component of the robot as she clipped off two rounds. The heavy rifle coughed through the suppressor, sending the two rounds downrange into their target.

Strike first.

The robot recoiled against the round, its body fragmenting as the steel penetrators pierced right through the shell, any internal components, and back the other side drawing a deep sigh from the bird. Overpenetration was always an issue for her. She rolled her eyes under her visor and glanced back at the other students. They stopped, waiting to see if she was going to join them properly in this exam. The tension hung in the air as debris was literally doing the same as her mind looked for any reason to simply abandon them… until her vision settled on the bat.

It was an overall ordinary aluminum baseball bat. Perhaps dinged up from use, but just that, normal. If the girl was super strong, you’d expect it to be reinforced, or on life support, but no. It was simply a baseball bat. She looked up to the person attached to the bat.

Was she… quirkless? Or just stupid?

She showed no signs of having a quirk, unlike the boy who was so quick to inform them that he could take a hit. At his height and build, a defensive quirk made the most sense for him… but she lacked any of the necessary confidence brought in from having a quirk. Her words stumbled over each other in a desperate attempt to get Robin on her side, desperation one only felt if they knew they didn’t have a chance otherwise.

She reached into her pack and pulled out two small devices before tossing them to her… teammates. They were simply just IR strobes, but with the dust being kicked up, It would be nice to know where these two were without much stress. “Here, so I don't shoot you.” The light would blink quietly amongst the panic, “Evacuation is a good place to start, I’ll keep you covered.” She stated plainly, against her own better judgment.

While this was an exam for their capabilities, this was quickly turning into a test of Robin’s patience.

Freja Helt reijiro akagi Fuyuko

Hero?

It felt like a status symbol more than the civil servant it was meant to me. A popularity contest where the prize is adoration from the whole of Japan. Free reign for the strongest this country had to offer because if any one of them went off the leash, do you really think they could’ve been wrangled back? If a single Hero had decided that doing good was simply too hard, that helping the people they swore to protect was too complicated, their optimism was too hard a mask to keep on, do you really believe your saviors would sacrifice their comfort for your life?

Do you really think yourself so special that God would risk burns to pull you from the furnace?

The winged girl let a breath she had forgotten she had taken, her body tensed from the perception of danger all around. ‘Act like a Hero’? The proctor had no idea what she was actually telling these kids. Telling the children gathered to act with their best interest, take the easy route, become an existential threat to any citizen they encountered? Handing a gun to a toddler would’ve been less destructive.

Equally damning would have two of these Hero-wannabes find themselves as her partners, as this had become a group exam. They were each so naïve to the world, each capable of so many atrocities.

“Oh, hey. Wasn’t really aware this would’ve been a group exam.” She stated plainly as she fitted her helmet on, the boot-up process already underway. “I don’t really do partners so I'm sure you’ll understand.” she finished, as she backed away from the two students, too far gone for their own good. If they were lucky they would’ve washed out of the exam. Save themselves, and Japan, from their own foolish hearts. And if they didn’t fail here and went on to truly become a hero, Robin wouldn’t mind saving Japan from them years down the line.

Freja Helt reijiro akagi Fuyuko

Another package could only mean one thing to Robin. A new addition to her equipment. I guess ‘new addition’ wasn’t truly accurate, it was a modification to an existing piece… but that's besides the point. But it would require a testing period to at least become familiar with the interface. The device was already attached and strapped to the back panel of her armor rig and the connection to the helmet could be made from the comfort of her dorm room, but to truly get a handle for it she would need some open space.



And she had it on good authority that there might be other people at the Physical Education Center. She wasn’t really one for human company, but moving targets always made for better training.



She stepped into the Gym kitted out with the relevant gear to Farrin already punching through boulders. Or, almost through boulders. His fists were landing with a terrifying amount of force and the very air shuddered with each impact. Robin would pay him no mind, as had become their tradition. It was rude to interrupt and becoming the next boulder to be punched was not on her schedule today.



She found a quiet spot to perch and ran a quick diagnostic of her systems. A small tablet was produced and after a few directed taps she gave a satisfied nod. Everything still seemed to be running nominally and there were no major issues in the past 15 minutes. It was really coming up Robin.



The helmet was quickly fitted on and she was greeted by the all-too familiar boot up of her heads up display… except, there were a few new additions to her view. The satellite image of her surroundings had a small, blank panel inlet on top and there were several counters on the side, each flashing zero. Everything was connecting perfectly it seemed. She placed the tablet back in the recess in her vest with another satisfied nod.


Farrin

The air had a bite to it. The sun was falling below the horizon as the twilight took a firm hold of the countryside. Fireflies blinked in the forest creating constellations hung in the trees for anyone so lucky to be witness to the fleeting joy. Crickets chirped amongst themselves, holding a choir only they understood. The sky was a wash of purples and scarlet, creating a mural that clashed against the darkness of the treetops.

And it was all white noise to Robin as she racked the bolt, loading a fresh round into the chamber of her rifle. The light blue backlight of her visor carefully observed her equipment. Rifle, spare magazine, an IFAK, and various other odds and ends were all packed in their rightful place to the chagrin of the Hero who was overseeing this whole affair.

“Look, just don’t shoot me, ‘kay?” He muttered. Once enthusiastic, now jaded over his accompanying students, LightFix was assigned to poke around in the woods, and to assist him he had asked the local Hero School for volunteers.

Robin’s eyes rolled under her helmet, “Look, it wasn’t even my idea to be here!” she countered, “Besides, just don’t get in my way and you’ll be able to walk away from this night.” her head cocked to the side in the same manner one would smirk, as her visor flipped through all the various vision enhancements. It switched between a light blue, to a faint green, and a pale white and back again. If she was alone, she might’ve been able to ‘stage’ an accident for LightFix. Clear up one quirk ahead of schedule. Fortunately for her grumpy supervision, he had asked for two volunteers and since she was here, Zen should hopefully be here shortly.

She adjusted the weight of her pack on her shoulders, her mind running through the relevant facts. There was a monster, or something, loose in the woods and they sent children to deal with it. Not heroes, Students. What was the point of paying Heroes exorbitant salaries if the plan was to gum up the tracks with interns. Again, she rolled her eyes at the audacity of Heroes.

“So, when’s ya frien’ gonna get hea’?” He asked, refusing to fully pronounce a single word.

“So, when’ya gonna stop askin’? I told you, no idea.” Robin retorted. “I’d prefer if they were here sooner though, as the current company is rather lacking.”


Zenkai Hatake king