Fatal gathers the students in front of the cabin bright and early morning.

Wes: Why are we doing this so early? We have all day to do stuff…

Gus: Yeah, I’m barely even awake…

Jace: Well, that’s better than Jake…

They look back at Jake napping on the ground.

Gus: He’s got the right idea.

Eve kicks Jake in the head.

Jake: *groans* Ow…

Eve: If we have to be up this early, then you do too!

Hayze: (Can’t blame the guy, we all look ready to keel over, they didn’t warn us we’d have to be up at 5:45 in the morning…)

Fatal: Alright, everyone, because the motto of this field trip is teambuilding… we might as well start with some combo moves!

Wes: (Hey, something up my alley… finally.)

Fatal: You’ll be randomly put into groups of two; you’ll then have 1 hour to work with your partner on a combo move that utilizes both of your quirks. After that, you’ll showcase the move to Mr. EMD, Mr. Walker, and me, and we’ll give it a score. The group with the highest score at the end wins!

Kevin: (God, how do I combine my quirk with anyone else’s?)

Silver: (Combo moves, eh? This will be good for me to learn to work with my classmates better.)

Blair: Quick question, what do the winners get?

Fatal: That’s for me to know and you to find out.

Gus: *under breath* Lazy answer…

Fatal: I HEARD THAT!

Gus cowers in fear.

Aaron: (Whatever I’ll take the bragging rights.)

Fatal: Alright, everyone, I have 20 slips of paper here with letters on them, find the person with the same letter as you and get to work.

Everyone grabs slips of paper and are assigned to these pairs:

A: Angel, Alden

B: Kevin, Isaiah

C: Aaron, Alexis

D: Ash, Zach

E: Demetri, Jace

F: Jake, Gus

G: Justus, Karma

H: Hayze, Blair

I: Wes, Lilith

J: Silver, Eve

The groups disperse throughout the field and begin conversing with each other.

Eve: Well, do you have any ideas? I got nothing.

Silver: Depends on how your quirk interacts with my silver dust. If you were to touch a dust pile, would only the dust you touched be magnetized, or would the entire stack be magnetized?

Eve: As long as it’s packed together tightly, probably the whole pile.

Silver: Well, then that gives me an idea.

Silver detaches one of his dust canisters from his belt and hands it to Eve. Eve instantly drops the container, and it smacks against the ground.

Eve: How- how heavy is that?

Silver: It’s a lot of dust. Carrying around six canisters restricts my speed and movement; that’s why I rely heavily on defensive strategies in combat.

Eve: It must be nice having a quirk so powerful that you can sacrifice your speed and make it stronger. My quirk doesn’t have that level of versatility, and I can’t help but believe that’s the reason I wasn’t picked for a team in the Sports Festival.

Silver: What makes you think that’s why you weren’t picked?

Eve: When Justus surveyed who was leftover… he picked Gus over me. He's almost as lazy as Jake is, yet he got selected over me… So I think it’s because Gus has a more dependable quirk.

Silver thinks for a moment.

Silver: Eve, I hate to be the one to break this to you, but your quirk isn’t the reason you wound up with the useless brothers and Jake.

Eve: Then why?

Silver: *sighs* The difference between you and Gus isn’t the power of your quirks. We’ve all seen what you’re capable of when your power is put to good use. But, Justus was looking for someone with composure he could count upon and a team player. Gus has shown on multiple occasions that although he’s lazy, he doesn’t neglect his team and follows orders when needed. You’re strong, we know that, but if there’s anything we’ve all learned up to this point, it’s that strength isn’t everything. The Sports Festival was an ample opportunity for all of us, and we didn’t want to take a risk… and that’s how we viewed you.

Eve: I-

Eve absorbs everything Silver just said.

Eve: (I was fixated on why Gus was chosen over me that I didn’t think of the opposite: why was I a worse option than him.) Thanks, Silver; I’ll keep that in mind.

Silver: Don’t mention it. Now let’s nail this exercise.

Eve: Right!

Alden and Angel attempt to cooperate.

Alden: Alright, Angle, it’s your lucky day that you’re paired with me!

Angel: It sure is… (Does he really not know my name after 2 months…)

Alden: So, our combo move is this: I show off my skills while you watch!

Angel: One problem, we need to incorporate both of our quirks.

Alden: Oh, then watch me while flying!

Angel: (I’m not gonna get through to this guy, so I might as well just humor him.) Alright, sounds like a plan.

Alden: Good! Then it’s time to practice!

Jake and Gus are both napping instead of doing the task. Jace and Demetri are watching them.

Jace: Man, those two guys are so lazy, it makes me wonder how they even got into this school.

Demetri: We’ve wondered about that enough at this point; let’s just try to figure out this combo move quick.

Jace: You seem moody, something wrong?

Demetri: *sighs* I’m just tired of being considered useless! I was in alright standing with the class even after the fight with Mr. Walker on the first day, but then the exercise against Hive Five and the Sports Festival happened, and now nobody here takes me seriously! It just kind of wears on you after a while.

Jace: You’re not useless.

Demetri: I know you guys call us the useless brothers!

Jace: Yeah, but who cares what we think? Your Puppet Master quirk is cool; maybe try focusing on that instead.

Demetri: *groans* Whatever, let’s just get this done.

Jace: Hey man, get mad all you like, but you’re not doing yourself any favors crawling around in bushes trying to steal underwear.

Demetri gets red.

Demetri: That’s not what we were doing!

Jace: Sure…

Cut to Justus and Karma.

Justus: Before I say my idea, do you have any of your own?

Karma: I- uh- no, you can say yours.

Justus: (Her confidence is shot… but part of that is my fault.) When you fought Colossus, you used your quirk to accelerate your attack, so the impact was faster and had more force when you tossed him. I was thinking of using that to our advantage by having you throw me.

Karma: That could work and make your punch even stronger than it would normally be, which is pretty astounding considering how strong you are already. After all, it only took one punch for you to take me out.

Awkward silence.

Justus: I- I want to apologize for that Karma; my head wasn’t in the right place. I shouldn’t have been so harsh.

Karma: It was a fight; you did what you had to do to win. I just happened to be on the wrong side of that. Let’s just try our best at this, okay?

Justus: I- I guess.

Karma: (I’m just acting as a booster to Justus, no way I can screw that up…)

Ash and Zach try brainstorming a move.

Zach: So, uh… I got nothing.

Ash: Uh... me too.

Zach: Not much we can do together.

Ash: Yeah, unfortunately, I can’t make others enter the astral plane unless it’s for combat purposes.

Zach: I’m sure we can come up with something… sorry, I’m not really a big planning guy… I kind of just do what comes to my head.

Ash: It’s alright; up until the tournament, I didn’t rely enough on myself, so I’m still getting used to figuring out how my quirk can be used in more complex ways. I’ve kind of used others as a crutch to cover my own weakness.

Zach: Hey, don’t beat yourself up about that, I look around at guys like Silver, Justus, Kevin, Aaron, and even Hayze, and I want to be up there with those guys as one of the heavy hitters, but all of them have a killer instinct in them that makes them who they are, and I’m just not like that. I rely on others too much too, I let those guys take charge and play second fiddle to them because that’s kind of how I am.

Ash: Yeah, those guys are amazing, I don’t think I can shoot that high, but I still want to be looked at as assertive, confident, and competent in my own right.

Zach: Yeah… me too…

Kevin has Isaiah use his death glare.

Kevin: Damn, that thing is powerful, and you’ve had that the whole time?

Isaiah: Yeah, you guys know I mentioned it on the first day, right?

Kevin: You know what, now that you mention it, I don’t.

Isaiah: *sighs* goddammit.

Kevin: Anyway, I guess you can sit on my shoulders and shoot lasers while I run around.

Isaiah: You say that so casually… are you even taking this seriously?

Kevin: Not really; this whole thing feels a little like a chore. I can’t really see you and me fighting together because our fighting styles are so different. I doubt we’ll ever work together again.

Isaiah: What do you mean by that?

Kevin: I mean you’re-

Isaiah: Please don’t say useless…

Kevin hesitates.

Kevin: Useless.

Isaiah: *sighs* goddamnit.

Wes and Lilith are standing together awkwardly.

Lilith: You have no clue what we could do together, too, right?

Wes: Oh, thank god it isn’t just me!

Lilith: I’m sure we can come up with something; we can be a great team!

Wes: Wait… what?

Lilith: Uh… I said we could be a great team…

Wes: Which means you think I can be useful?

Lilith: Y- …. Yes?

Wes: YEAH! FUCK YOU AARON, SOMEONE THINKS I’M USEFUL!

Lilith: I’m scared…

Wes: Sorry… I’m just conditioned to believe I’m useless at all times, so that felt good.

Lilith: Okay…

Wes realizes how weird he’s acting.

Wes: Okay, you know what, let’s just start over. Hi, I’m Wes; it’s nice to meet you.

Aaron starts looking around.

Alexis: What’s wrong?

Aaron: I just felt a disturbance.

Alexis: What kind of disturbance?

Aaron: I usually only get those when Wes has been complimented. It lets me know I need to rebalance the universe, but this one subsided. He must have gotten too excited and creeped out Lilith.

Alexis: Wes being happy disbalances the universe?

Aaron: Yes, it’s my duty to insult Wes at any given opportunity to keep this balance, it’s a tough job, but it’s mine.

Alexis: That’s pretty far to go for a joke, but I like a guy who’s committed.

Aaron: Oh ho ho.

Alexis: Is this all friendships are like for guys?

Aaron: Well, ours is a little extreme, but yeah, we shit on each other; it’s all in good fun.

Alexis: Yeah, that does sound fun. So… you still pissed about losing in the tournament?

Aaron: It burns at my soul every day. I really wanted that gold medal.

Alexis: At least you didn’t lose in the first round.

Aaron: You didn’t lose in the first round; you tied with Wes.

Alexis: That really feels like a loss, though…

Aaron: Yeah, actually, I’m gonna agree with that.

Alexis: It’s too bad; I would have enjoyed our fight.

Aaron: Yeah… it would have been a good one.

Alexis: Maybe you would have spilled your tragic backstory to me instead of Kevin.

Aaron: Hey, he asked about it!

Alexis: Yeah, I guess that’s true.

Aaron: Speaking of which, why are you trying to become a hero? You’re a pretty down-to-earth girl; I guess I’m just curious.

Alexis: Simple: money.

Aaron smiles.

Aaron: I like a girl who knows what she wants.

Alexis: Oh ho ho. But in all seriousness, I’m not really the fame and glory type, this job pays well, and I’m gonna do it to the best of my ability, that’s all. So sorry, I don’t have a flashback for you to watch.

Aaron: Hey, not all of us can have sad stories, then they’d all just be stories.

Alexis: Yeah, I guess that’s true.

Hayze (with red eyes) and Blair work on their combo move; Blair has her lava pistols out.

Hayze: Alright, pretty simple concept here: You shoot lava, and I coat the lava with fire.

Blair: Doesn’t that seem redundant? I don’t think we’ll score high.

Hayze: I’m mostly suggesting this because I think it will look cool. We don’t really know what they’re judging us on, so the visual appeal could help.

Blair: Ah, good idea!

Blair fires the lava pistol, and Hayze uses his pyrokinesis to coat the lava shot in flames; it lands on the ground and fizzles out.

Hayze: Well, there we go, it works.

Hayze notices Blair looks nervous.

Hayze: Is something wrong?

Blair: I uh… I’m sorry for what I said to you before your fight with Sydney… I told you you couldn’t win, and then you proved me wrong, so I’ve felt guilty.

Hayze smiles.

Hayze: It’s alright. I’m sure you weren’t the only one who thought I was screwed. But at least you tried to make sure I would be okay, so thanks, I appreciate that.

Blair: Uh yeah… I… you’re welcome?

Hayze: Speaking of being okay, how have you been doing since you fought her? It was pretty tough to watch.

Blair: It stung at first, but I’m over it; I think everyone who lost in the tournament is. We have two more of those during our time at U.A.; there’s no need to get caught up in what happened during the first one.

Hayze: That was a pretty calm answer.

Blair: What’s that supposed to mean?

Hayze: N- nothing!

Blair: *sighs* I’m taking anger management classes; I’m trying to get better at controlling my emotions when I’m fighting. Keep a clear head, you know?

Hayze: Well, that’s good to hear. You should be proud you’re trying to improve yourself. That takes a lot of courage.

Blair: Thanks… and also thank you for treating me like I’m Blair, and not the angry girl or flat girl because I’m getting really tired of that…

Hayze: Yeah… no problem (I kind of get why she’s got a short fuse, she’s always been picked on, so she needed to stand up for herself, and there’s no point in faulting someone for that.)

The pairs continue practicing until the hour is up and everyone gathers in front of Fatal, Walker, and EMD.

Fatal: Alright, everyone, one at a time, you’ll present your combination attacks to us. After your team presents, we’ll each give it a score out of 10 for a maximum of 30 points. We’ll start with Group A and go onward from there. Good luck, and let’s begin!

A montage begins starting with Angel and Alden. Angel flaps his wings and watches as Alden extends his fingernails and punches the air. The teachers have disappointed looks on their faces.

Fatal, 0.

EMD, 0.

Walker, -10.

Alden cries on the ground. Isaiah climbs on Kevin’s shoulders, Kevin charges around while Isaiah fires off death glares.

Fatal, 6.

EMD, 6.

Walker, 4.

Aaron transforms his arm into a grenade launcher and fires a grenade into the air. Alexis then covers the grenade in paper and detonates it, causing a massive explosion.

Fatal, 9.

EMD, 8.

Walker, 7.

Zach and Ash walk up and shrug their arms; they’ve got nothing.

Fatal, 0.

EMD, 0.

Walker, 0.

Demetri uses his strings to take control of Jace and have him move more fluidly with his springs and contract them much faster.

Fatal, 6.

EMD, 7.

Walker, 3.

Jake and Gus are still napping.

Fatal, 0.

EMD, ?.

Walker, -100.

Karma grabs Justus and accelerates herself forward, sending Justus flying and colliding with a tree fist first, knocking it down completely.

Fatal, 8.

EMD, 8.

Walker, 7.

Blair shoots her lava pistol multiple times, and Hayze coats each one in flames.

Fatal, 8.

EMD, 7.

Walker, 4.

Lilith generates some wind, and Wes reflects it in another direction.

Fatal, 5.

EMD, 4.

Walker, 2.

Silver deploys a canister of silver dust, and Eve touches that pile, takes another canister, and starts running from Silver. She then opens her canister and touches the dust within with her other hand, the dust comes out at an extreme speed, and the two piles meet in the middle and simulate a crusher.

Fatal, 10.

EMD, 8.

Walker, 8.

Everyone gathers in front of the three judges again, and Fatal walks forward with a piece of paper.

Fatal: With a score of 26 out of 30, Silver and Eve are the winners!

Everyone claps for Silver and Eve.

Eve: Alright! Now, what do we win?

Silver: I’m also curious about that.

Walker steps forward.

Walker: Well, it’s time to start your next training exercise. You’re all gonna do laps around the cabin until dinner time.

The Entire Class: WHAT!

Walker: You heard me.

Jace: But it’s like 7 in the morning, and dinner isn’t until 6 in the afternoon!

Walker: Yup, better get moving. Silver and Eve can stop an hour earlier because they won the combination training exercise.

Silver and Eve: Yay…

Walker: Anyway, get to it.

Everyone starts running. Eventually, the sky turns to nighttime, and the group completes their task. They all begin relaxing inside the cabin.

Kevin: It’s like he wanted us to die…

Jake: I can’t feel my legs…

Wes: Shut up! You were sleeping longer than any of us!

Karma: At least dinner was good…

Ash: Yeah, but I’m still wiped out…

Walker, EMD, and Fatal are gathered by the front door.

EMD: They had fun today.

Fatal: Yeah, they really should have enjoyed the combination training more. They didn’t realize what was coming.

EMD: That was pretty brutal even for you, Walker.

Walker: Well, they can relax for the next two days; I have nothing else planned on this trip.

EMD: That seems like Ill preparation on your part Walker…

Fatal: More like laziness.

Walker: I agree with both. This trip is a waste of time.

Fatal: Huh?

Fatal notices something outside.

Fatal: Hey, do you guys see that?

EMD and Walker both look; they see a light flickering on and off by the tree line.

Fatal: What could that be?

Walker: I don’t know. I’ll check it out.

EMD: No, Walker, it’s probably nothing. Let me go check it out; I’ll be real quick.

Walker hesitates.

Walker: Fine, but be careful.

EMD: Okay, I’ll be back in a sec. You should go and make sure the students are all accounted for.

Walker: Good idea.

Walker heads to the students; EMD opens the door and walks out. He then swiftly runs over to the tree line and stops at the light; he picks it up and sees it’s a flashlight left lying on the ground.

EMD: Who left this out here?

Suddenly the trees start rustling. EMD drops the flashlight and puts his fists up.

EMD: Is someone there?

A yo-yo comes out from the tree line and wraps around EMD, restraining him.

EMD: I guess that answers my question.

Fatal sees what’s going on.

Fatal: *yelling* Damien! There’s someone out there going after EMD!

The students look concerned.

Gus: What did she just say?

Aaron: What’s going on?

Walker: Something is in the woods by the looks of it; stay in the cabin unless me, Fatal, or EMD tell you otherwise, got it? This isn’t a joke; follow my orders, or there will be severe consequences!

They all nod their heads as Walker runs to the door with Fatal.

Walker: Let’s go.

Fatal: Right!

7 people emerge from the tree line. Among them is Jagger, a shirtless man with massive muscles that stands 75 feet tall, a guy with Yo-yos coming from his hands, and three more boys and a girl.

Jagger: Hello, Hero.

EMD: Hello, sinister-looking child.

Jagger: Very funny. Look, I won’t waste your time; we’re here for the students in that cabin. If you get in our way, then you’ll die.

EMD: Like any of you could kill me!

Jagger: You’re right. None of us can.

EMD: Alright, well then, I guess I won’t waste your time!

EMD starts vibrating the molecules in his body so fast that he phases out of the yo-yo wrapped around him. Fatal and Walker come running out of the cabin.

Jagger: Are you really going to do this? I told you you’re going to die if you get in our way, don’t throw your life away, hero.

EMD: The name is Eat My Dust, or EMD for short, and I’m not going to let a bunch of kids walk out of the woods and start barking orders at me! I’ve sworn an oath to protect the students of U.A. and will stand by that oath even if it costs me my life!

Jagger: *sighs* Are you sure about that?

EMD: What about that sentence would make you think I’m unsure? I’m the fastest man alive; even if you were stronger than me, you wouldn’t be able to catch me! So, my final answer is yes, now leave this place and never return!

Jagger looks frustrated.

Jagger: I was told to keep the body count to 0 if possible, but you’re forcing my hand.

EMD: Bring it on.

Jagger: *deep breath* Shame.

Jagger uses his fingers to mimic slicing a throat.

EMD: What does that mean?

Jagger: The end of your life.

EMD: Fat chance-

Suddenly, EMD starts getting pulled to his left, his feet leave the ground so he can’t run, he gets a panicked look on his face.

EMD: WHAT’S GOING ON!

He turns his head to see he is heading straight towards a cloaked figure with a mask over their face, holding their hand out toward them.

EMD: (There’s another one?)

As he quickly approaches, the masked figure uses their other hand to unsheathe a sword and points it straight at EMD.

EMD: (I’m going to collide with that sword!)

Fatal and Walker spot EMD.

Fatal: Shit! Try to make a portal!

Walker: He’s moving too quickly! It won’t open in time!

Fatal: What!

EMD can do nothing to escape. He continues to get pulled toward the cloaked figure until their sword stabs through his abdomen.

EMD: AHHH!

Walker: EMD!

Fatal: NO!

Blood starts coming from EMD’s mouth; he looks down at the sword poking out through his lower chest. He can’t speak; he has a pained and fearful look on his face. The cloaked figure puts their foot

up and kicks him off the sword. He falls to the ground, blood filling his mouth.

EMD: *choking*

The cloaked figure kneels down beside him and speaks to him in a feminine voice.

Cloaked Figure: I’m sorry.

EMD tries to talk, but he just gargles blood, then he stops moving and breathing altogether.

Cloaked Figure: Goodbye.

The cloaked figure closes EMD’s eyes. Walker and Fatal watch with horrified looks on their faces.

Walker: EMD…

The students have gathered by the windows and witnessed what happened; they look terrified.

Jagger: *sighs* I told him not to get in our way.

Jagger’s group have looks of indifference on their faces. Fatal starts hyperventilating in pure rage. Her eyes begin to glow, she shouts at the top of her lungs:

Fatal: I’M GONNA KILL YOU!