"So what's wrong? Can't you stop me?" Allen smiled arrogantly as he lifted the mannequin, facing the helpless looks of the "heroes" watching him.
He was completely immersed in the role of a villain. As such, he wasn't going to be kind to them.
Deku burst out of the building he had crashed into and attacked Allen at full speed, blood still in his mouth.
"Detroit Smash!"
"Your determination is admirable, but you know, being a hero is hard!"
Allen hurled the mannequin into the sky. Deku couldn't help but feel alarmed. He knew All Might was watching. He knew that even though the mannequin was fake, it was a test.
This was an important test as a hero, as the heir to One For All.
Did he deserve the One For All?!
"I won't let any civilian be hurt!" Deku accelerated and caught the mannequin before it hit the ground.
Deku decided to prioritize the safety of the "civilian."
All Might smiled from the monitoring room. Aizawa was also impressed by Deku's mindset—but soon their expressions froze.
"A hero must worry about the lives of the innocent..."
Allen appeared behind Deku and struck him in the back, sending him flying. Despite the pain, Deku turned around, shielding the mannequin from crashing into a truck.
"Ugh—" Deku opened his eyes, only to turn pale.
"They must also worry about not causing too much damage to the city." Allen was holding a massive chunk of pavement above his head, ripped straight from the ground. He didn't hesitate to throw it at Deku, who couldn't move in time.
"Don't forget about me!"
Allen was suddenly covered in ice along with the rubble he had thrown.
Deku smiled at Todoroki, but Todoroki was panting, frost covering parts of his body.
"What are you doing, Midoriya?! Get out of here!"
"Yeah!"
Deku didn't waste a second and ran. He knew his job was to protect the civilians.
*Crack*
"Tsk... monster." Todoroki prepared to freeze Allen as soon as he broke free.
"Who are you calling a monster? You're pretty strong yourself, Shoto Todoroki"
"...!" Todoroki turned around as fast as he could to attack, but his arm was grabbed—along with his neck. "What?! H-How?!"
For a moment, no one understood how Allen had gotten there from inside the ice.
"Oh? You want to know?" Allen smiled maliciously. "Inside the ice, you can't see me. I took advantage of that, cracked the ice a little from the inside to draw all your attention, then tunneled through the ground until I got behind you... Didn't you know? Your power is impressive, but you lack mobility. It's easy to catch you"
Todoroki clenched his teeth. This guy wasn't just strong—he was intelligent. Worse yet, he didn't even seem to be trying.
"Freeze!"
Allen's arm began to be covered in ice, but before it reached his shoulder, he flexed slightly and shattered it.
"So? What are you going to do now?"
"Bastard..."
Allen smiled with disdain. "Don't tell me you expect to beat me using only half of your power?"
"...!"
Before he could react, Allen punched him in the stomach.
"Argh!"
Todoroki spat saliva and dropped to one knee.
Everyone in the monitoring room, who had a clearer view of everything happening, was left speechless.
"That's terrifying..." a boy gasped with an awkward smile. His name was Koji Koda, and he hadn't been selected to fight either.
Among the entire class, his appearance was one of the most peculiar.
Koji was a tall young man with a broad, muscular build and peach-colored skin. His head had the shape of an uneven rock that pointed upward at the top, and his jaw was square-shaped.
"I can't believe he's that strong," Jiro murmured as she watched the screen, a trace of fear in her eyes.
Almost everyone shared that feeling—except Toru, who knew Allen was only acting as a villain.
"Please, I want you to understand one thing," All Might sighed. "Young Walker is deliberately giving them opportunities. In a real scenario, there would be no way to explain his actions to an enemy. Besides, he's only acting like this because I asked him to. He's absolutely not someone you should fear, you know?"
The group seemed to snap out of it and remember that, despite being someone who often teased Bakugo, he wasn't a bad person.
Tsuyu felt embarrassed, since she had been saved by him.
'I'll apologize to Allen-chan later...'
"Putting that aside, that boy has become very strong..." Midnight said with a faint smile. She knew Allen's true nature better than anyone, so she never doubted his intentions for even a moment.
That absolute trust left the students confused. Did Midnight-sensei have some kind of closeness with Allen?
Of course, no one knew that even the beautiful Midnight had slept in his bed the night before. Otherwise, a collective hatred toward Allen would have been born among the male population.
....
Allen didn't give Todoroki a second glance and disappeared.
"I'm sorry, I lost sight of him!" Shoji exclaimed.
This six-armed boy had the ability to replicate organs on his arms, allowing him to create multiple ears and eyes, making him perfect for espionage and reconnaissance.
His job was to locate Allen at all times to coordinate the team's movements. However, no one on the hero team had anticipated that Allen would be so fast, both in the air and on the ground.
"Don't worry, we know he's going after Midoriya-kun. We'll set a trap. For now, move to the next position," a girl's voice said over the radio.
"Understood." Shoji cut the transmission and remained on top of the building for a moment.
"Even so... do we have a chance?"
Elsewhere, Deku was running with the mannequin as fast as he could.
'We're lucky. Allen-san is prioritizing the mannequin I'm carrying. That lets us focus on protecting just this one...'
Deku knew Allen was doing this on purpose. If this were real, he would have destroyed all the other mannequins before dealing with this last one—but he didn't. This was a form of mercy.
'I need to become stronger!'
"Ugh... what?!" Deku felt pain in his head for some reason, but that pain brought a strange sensation—like something was warning him that Allen was approaching.
"He's coming!" Deku changed direction, following that instinct.
"Good instinct, but this time, no..." Allen's words carried an inevitable sentence.
Behind Deku, the ground exploded, and when the dust cleared, Allen stood in the middle of a small crater.
"No!"
A pair of energy beams sliced through the mannequin's head. With a beep, the artificial vital signs of the first mannequin vanished.
"..." Deku stopped.
He was sweating and in pain, but his attention was fixed on the mannequin. He had failed. Despite doing his best, despite Todoroki helping him escape, he had still failed.
Allen walked toward a devastated Deku.
"Being a hero is very difficult. Unlike a villain who only worries about their objectives, you have to carry the weight of many lives..."
When he stopped in front of Deku, he frowned.
"Don't tell me you're going to give up?"
"...!" Deku trembled but didn't move.
"Don't piss me off!" Allen grabbed him by the collar, clearly irritated. This shocked everyone watching, because he had stepped out of his villain role.
"Listen. You won't always be stronger than the villain. You won't always be smarter. You can't predict everything or save everyone. You're not a god! But there's one thing a superhero can't do—and that's give up!"
"...!"
"Your enemy is still standing! You can't lie on the ground and wait for someone to save you! Even if you have to crawl, keep fighting!"
Deku, shaken by Allen's words, grabbed Allen's arms despite the tears in his eyes.
"I haven't given up!"
"That's the spirit!" Allen smiled, then released Deku and clenched his fist to punch him.
Deku crossed his arms to block the blow, but at that moment he heard Momo's voice through an earpiece.
"Close your eyes!"
Deku obeyed without hesitation.
"...!" With his super hearing, Allen heard Momo's words and was surprised—then smiled again, realizing he had been tricked this time.
From a building, Momo threw a bag that burst open, revealing multiple flash grenades. They detonated around Allen and Deku with blinding intensity.
"What are you doing?! Midoriya-kun, you've got work to do!"
Deku, having closed his eyes beforehand, recovered immediately and ran toward another mannequin, grabbed it, and moved on to the next.
No matter the cost, they had to protect at least one civilian.
Allen rubbed his eyes for a second, then looked in Momo's direction.
"Allen, this won't be easy!" the girl said with a fearless smile, making it clear she wasn't afraid of him.
"And what are you going to do to stop me?"
Momo didn't answer. Maintaining her smile, she leaped off the building.
"That's the objective." Allen laughed and flew up, catching Momo.
The girl wrapped her arms around him, then looked up, trying to keep a serious expression—however, her red cheeks betrayed her.
"I—I caught you."
"Seems like it." Allen leaned closer, wearing a half-smile, his gaze intense and his voice slightly deeper. "But why wouldn't I be able to break free?"
Momo's heart was racing. She opened her mouth but couldn't speak. She cursed Allen for being so attractive, then bit her lip. The pain helped her regain control of her thoughts for a moment.
"Because I'm a weak girl, and you might hurt me..." Saying those shameless words, Momo puffed out her cheeks. "You wouldn't hurt me, right?~"
'Cute...' Allen was struck by a bolt of lightning.
....
MJ – Oh, you can never underestimate the impact of a tsundere getting embarrassed.
Rei – It reminds me of a certain someone~
Saya – Who are you talking about?!
Albedo – What a foolish little girl... she's giving herself away.
Saya – What did you say?!
Albedo – Hmph, I could be a tsundere too if I wanted!
Makima – That's impossible. You'd never be able to treat Allen badly...
Albedo – Guh... damn it, why can't it be me?!
....
"You know this wouldn't work against a real villain, right?" Allen asked, raising an eyebrow.
Momo blinked before smiling. "I'm not dealing with a real villain, just a shameless womanizer."
"Hey, I won't allow that. I'm the purest image of righteousness, a man of impeccable honor... in this world."
[Didn't you spank Pop Step some time ago?]
'I don't know what you're talking about, I have no memory, remember?'
[-_-]
"Liar..." Momo puffed out her cheeks again, but this time it seemed more genuine. "You smell like a woman's perfume!"
"...!"
Allen remembered hugging Nemuri before the test began. This revelation, which Nemuri overheard, made her cough awkwardly. As for Toru, she remained silent, but she was surrounded by an aura of misery.
"It's okay, Toru-chan," Tsuyu said, trying to comfort her. Even so, she couldn't help but think that maybe Momo was right and Allen really was a womanizer.
All Might also felt uncomfortable. This was supposed to be a villains-versus-heroes exercise, and in all his life he had never seen such an absurd way of stalling a villain.
It was even embarrassing that Momo had managed to buy more time doing this than the others had by fighting.
Allen shook his head and tightened his grip around Momo's waist.
"W-what are you doing?!"
"Since I can't get rid of you, maybe I should kidnap you..."
Somehow, Allen's words made many girls—both in the MHA world and in the chat—swallow hard.
Kara, Poison Ivy, and Barbara had embarrassing memories resurface in their minds.
"I..." Momo, the main victim, could barely speak.
"Are you thinking I'll take you to my lair, tie you up, and keep you as my personal toy?"
As she imagined that scenario, steam began to rise from Momo's head until she lost consciousness. Allen laughed and landed on a building, pulled a beach towel from his inventory, and gently laid down Momo, whose eyes were spinning.
He fixed her hair before standing up and flying after Deku.
This battle would go down in history: a tactic of seducing the villain, and a villain who knocked a superheroine out using nothing but his charm.
....
Deku, now running with Iida at his side, each carrying two mannequins, suddenly felt a headache.
"What's wrong, Midoriya-kun?!" Iida exclaimed.
"He's coming, Iida-kun!"
Making a decision, Deku threw his two mannequins away and turned around.
"Midoriya-kun?!" Iida caught the mannequins as best he could.
"I'll stop him!"
Deku charged at Allen, leaping high—this time not with his fists, but with a kick.
"SMASH!"
"..." Allen blocked Deku's kick and hurled him into a building.
"DIE!" Bakugo arrived at that moment from the sky, crashing down like a missile onto Allen.
"Stop yelling before you attack, you idiot" Allen grabbed him by the neck and slammed his head into him, breaking his nose and sending him crashing to the ground.
Having defeated Deku and Bakugo, Allen flew toward Iida.
"Go, Dark Shadow!"
From an alleyway, a crow-like shadow emerged and attacked Allen. Allen took the hit as he was pushed through a building. It had decent speed and strength.
"What's wrong, weren't you strong?!" the shadow mocked.
Allen's eyes glowed red. This frightened the shadow, which retreated back to the student who had summoned it. The creature emerged from the boy's stomach, but it wasn't a real monster—it was his Quirk.
[Fumikage Tokoyami
Quirk: Dark Shadow
Type: Emitter]
Tokoyami's appearance was also quite peculiar. His height and build were normal, but he had been born with a head resembling that of a bird—specifically, a crow.
"I'm impressed," Allen said to the unexpected opponent who had managed to stop him for a moment. This boy turned out to be one of the strongest in the class, not losing to Bakugo or Deku.
"I didn't even hurt you. I don't think that deserves your surprise."
"Stopping me here is already impressive," Allen said with a wicked smile. "But it's not enough."
"I'll do more than stop you, villain!"
"Oh? Do you really think you can defeat me, hero?"
"I don't think so..." Despite Tokoyami's words, he didn't look scared or shaken, showing great control over his emotions when facing a threat of Allen's caliber. This was highly appreciated by Aizawa and the other teachers.
Another thing that surprised them was how seriously Allen was taking the villain role—he was even acting like an arrogant, egotistical villain.
"But it's not necessary..."
"There are more than five minutes left. That's more than enough time to wipe out all the civilians, hero!" Allen mocked.
Tokoyami's gaze sharpened. "Then how long can you maintain that power?!"
"..."
Tokoyami's words reminded everyone of a significant detail. Allen wasn't the real Superman—his power had a time limit. All they had to do was endure long enough, and he would stop being so terrifying.
Allen smiled. "That's true... in fact, it just ran out."
Tokoyami opened his eyes, "What?!"
"They did well, heroes." Allen slowly descended until he landed on the ground.
Tokoyami, Deku, Bakugo, Iida, the rest of the students—all of them—All Might, Lady Nagant, the monitoring room, the teachers, the Big Three, and even Principal Nezu were filled with disbelief.
Superman's power had ended?!
Right now?!
"Ahhhh!
Bakugo, overflowing with rage from the earlier humiliation, blasted toward Allen. He wanted to seize this chance to defeat him, to erase his weakness.
"Kacchan, don't do it!" Deku shouted.
In his fury, Bakugo forgot something. Four fragments of golden light shone around Allen, taking the form of cards.
Bakugo's body froze.
"What's wrong, hero? Weren't you going to kill me?" Allen smiled as he grabbed one of those cards.
At this point, no one understood whether Allen losing Superman's power was good news or just more despair.
===