The first thing Tony Stark heard that morning was J.A.R.V.I.S.
"Good morning, sir. U.A. High School admissions results were released approximately fourteen seconds ago."
Tony's eyes opened.
He stared at the ceiling.
Fourteen seconds.
"Why did you wait so long?"
There was the faintest pause.
"I was allowing you to sleep."
Tony sat upright.
"Never do that again."
"Of course, sir."
Across the room, sunlight spilled through the glass walls of the Stark Tower penthouse. Tokyo Bay burned gold beneath the morning sky, ferries moving across the water while hero patrols crossed between buildings in the distance.
Tony swung his feet onto the floor.
"Where's the result?"
"Your father requested that everyone view their admissions together."
Tony stopped.
"Dad has access to my U.A. results?"
"Mr. Stark has access to most things."
Tony frowned.
"That sounds disturbingly familiar."
Twenty minutes later, everyone was gathered around the kitchen island.
Pepper was eating toast.
Rhodey had cereal.
Happy had somehow constructed an entire breakfast.
Steve and Bucky had come down from the guest level.
Bruce sat at the end of the table with a reinforced mug that looked ridiculously small in his enormous green hand.
And Tony—
Tony was surrounded by holograms.
Pepper looked up.
"You've been awake twenty minutes."
"Twenty-three."
"And you're working."
Tony moved a holographic model of the Mark XXIII aside.
"Technically I'm improving."
Bruce glanced toward the floating schematic.
"Repulsor efficiency?"
Tony looked at him.
"One-point-two percent."
Bruce nodded.
"You could probably get another point-four if you change the secondary magnetic confinement geometry."
Tony slowly smiled.
Pepper closed her eyes.
"No."
Bruce frowned.
"What?"
"No science before admissions."
Tony pointed toward Bruce.
"He started it."
"I answered a question."
"You encouraged him," Pepper said.
Happy took a drink.
"Same thing."
J.A.R.V.I.S. interrupted before Tony could defend himself.
"Admissions files are ready."
Every conversation stopped.
That surprised Tony.
He hadn't expected nerves.
Not really.
He knew what he'd done during the exam.
He knew his score would be absurd.
He knew Nezu had already been willing to admit him through recommendation.
But this was different.
He'd chosen to take the exam.
Chosen to be judged like everyone else.
Pepper noticed the tiny change in his expression.
"You're nervous."
Tony immediately looked at her.
"No."
"You are."
"I'm experiencing heightened anticipation."
"That's nervous with extra syllables."
Steve smiled.
Tony pointed.
"Don't encourage her."
J.A.R.V.I.S. projected several envelopes.
Tony leaned back.
"All right."
The first holographic message opened.
A tiny projection of Nezu appeared over the kitchen table.
"Anthony Edward Stark."
Tony muttered:
"Full name. Serious already."
Nezu continued.
"Your written examination score was…"
The principal paused.
Tony leaned forward.
"…perfect."
Tony smiled.
Pepper sighed.
"There it is."
Nezu's hologram continued.
"Your practical score placed you first in villain points and among the highest applicants in rescue points."
Rhodey looked toward Tony.
"Among?"
Tony frowned.
"Who beat me?"
Pepper smacked his shoulder.
"That's what you took from that?"
"Obviously."
Nezu smiled in the recording as if he'd predicted Tony's reaction.
"However, Mr. Stark, U.A. is not interested merely in how efficiently you can destroy machines."
Tony's smile faded slightly.
"We are interested in what you do when nobody asks you to help."
Images appeared.
Tony catching collapsing debris.
Shielding another candidate.
Disabling a malfunctioning robot that threatened students despite it offering no points.
Tony went quieter.
Nezu continued.
"You possess extraordinary intelligence, resources and power. Those things may make you exceptional."
The mouse's expression became more serious.
"They do not automatically make you a hero."
Tony watched.
"Your choices do."
A large word appeared.
ACCEPTED
Pepper threw her arms around Tony before he could say anything.
Tony blinked.
Then smiled and hugged her back.
"Told you."
Pepper pulled away.
"You were absolutely nervous."
"No evidence."
"Your reactor changed pitch."
Tony looked offended.
"That is privileged medical information."
Bruce laughed.
The remaining admissions played.
Pepper—
accepted.
Bruce—
accepted.
Rhodey—
accepted.
Happy—
accepted.
Steve—
accepted.
Bucky—
accepted.
Then another admission notification appeared.
Tony frowned.
"Who's that?"
The hologram opened.
A broad teenage boy with long blond hair appeared in the identification photograph.
THOR ODINSON
Steve smiled.
"He's coming."
Tony looked at him.
"You know Thunder Boy?"
"Met him during an international youth hero program."
Bucky leaned back.
"He's subtle."
Steve laughed.
"No."
"How unsubtle?"
A distant rumble rolled across the perfectly clear Tokyo sky.
Everyone looked toward the window.
Bucky pointed.
"That subtle."
Tony smiled.
"Oh, I'm going to like him."
By the time the group left Stark Tower, Tony had changed into his U.A. uniform.
Mostly.
Pepper stared at him inside the elevator.
"You modified it."
Tony adjusted his tie.
"Tailored."
"You modified a school uniform."
"It fit badly."
"It was custom measured."
"It fit badly emotionally."
Pepper stared at him.
Tony smiled.
Steve looked over.
"How does clothing fit emotionally?"
Tony pointed toward him.
"See, that's why nobody asks Captain Khaki for fashion advice."
"I don't have a hero name."
"You do now."
"No."
Bucky laughed.
Bruce had his own uniform modified simply because standard U.A. clothing had apparently not accounted for seven-foot green teenagers built like armored vehicles.
His jacket stretched across his shoulders.
Tony inspected it.
"We're fixing that tonight."
Bruce looked down.
"It's fine."
"You look like you're about to burst out of it."
Bruce raised an eyebrow.
Tony paused.
"Poor choice of words."
"Very."
U.A. was different when you weren't there for an exam.
The gates didn't feel like an obstacle anymore.
They felt like an invitation.
Students moved through the grounds in groups.
Some talked excitedly.
Others looked terrified.
A few were already demonstrating their Quirks despite teachers repeatedly telling them not to.
Tony liked it immediately.
Then people started staring.
"That's Stark."
"Bruce Banner is enormous."
"Is that Steve Rogers?"
"Wait, Potts got in too?"
"Rhodes?"
"Why are all of them here?"
Tony walked straight through the whispers.
Pepper leaned toward him.
"Don't."
"I haven't done anything."
"You're about to."
Tony smiled toward the staring students.
"Morning."
Several froze.
Pepper sighed.
"See?"
"What?"
"You enjoy making people uncomfortable."
"Only a little."
"Liar."
They reached Class 1-A.
Tony stopped outside.
The door was enormous.
Bruce looked at it.
Then at Tony.
Tony smiled.
"See? U.A. respects architecture."
Bruce walked through without ducking.
"Already better than your jet."
"That was one time."
Class 1-A had been expanded.
U.A.'s new international hero program meant the original Japanese intake remained intact while additional students had been added rather than replacing anyone.
Tony approved of that too.
Nobody lost their opportunity simply because Stark Industries had decided Japan looked interesting.
The room was already loud.
A blond boy with a black lightning streak in his hair was talking animatedly.
A pink-skinned girl laughed beside him.
A boy with glasses was attempting to enforce classroom rules despite nobody having officially given him authority to do so.
A spiky-haired blond sat with his feet up, looking like he was personally offended by oxygen.
Then Tony saw him.
Green hair.
Freckles.
Nervous posture.
Tony stopped walking.
His expression changed.
J.A.R.V.I.S. spoke silently through his internal interface.
"Sir."
Tony knew.
"Yeah."
"Visual confirmation of candidate previously designated Green Kid."
Tony stared.
The boy was writing in a notebook at frightening speed.
Tony's eyes briefly tracked toward his right hand.
Healed.
Mostly.
Extremis-enhanced vision noticed tiny abnormalities in how he moved it.
Residual damage.
"Run passive comparison."
"No invasive scanning?"
"No invasive scanning."
A fraction of a second passed.
"Energy profile correlation with Toshinori Yagi remains greater than ninety-nine percent."
Tony's eyes narrowed.
So this was him.
All Might's son.
Tony didn't know his name yet.
But he knew enough.
The kid from the exam.
The one who'd thrown his entire body into danger to save Gravity Girl.
The one whose own Quirk had punished him for doing it.
Tony's curiosity returned.
So did something else.
Determination.
"Keep the file open."
"Of course."
Pepper bumped his shoulder.
"You stopped."
Tony looked at her.
"What?"
She followed his gaze toward the green-haired student.
"Oh."
Tony immediately started walking again.
Pepper smiled.
"That's him?"
"Who?"
"The kid whose Quirk you've been obsessing over."
"I haven't been obsessing."
"You spent four hours designing skeletal reinforcement."
"It was two and a half."
Pepper looked at him.
Tony sighed.
"Fine."
Izuku Midoriya looked up from his notebook.
And nearly dropped it.
Tony Stark had just walked into his classroom.
Not a photograph.
Not a livestream.
Not a Stark Expo recording.
Actually Tony Stark.
Izuku's brain immediately accelerated.
Anthony Edward Stark. Fifteen. Extremis Quirk. Stark Industries heir. Arc Reactor integrated into cardiovascular physiology. Highest practical examination combat score. Unknown armored support system—
Tony stopped in front of him.
Izuku stopped thinking.
Tony tilted his head.
"You're Green Kid."
Izuku blinked.
"I—what?"
Tony pointed toward his hair.
"Temporary designation."
Izuku stared.
Tony continued.
"You were in the entrance exam."
Izuku's eyes widened.
"You saw that?"
Tony smiled.
"Technically I hacked the examination network."
Izuku's mouth opened.
Iida heard him.
"YOU WHAT?!"
Tony looked over.
Blue-haired boy.
Glasses.
Very loud.
"Oh, I'm going to enjoy this class."
Iida marched toward him.
"Unauthorized access to U.A. systems is a serious violation!"
Tony nodded solemnly.
"You're absolutely right."
Iida stopped.
Tony continued.
"I'll try to feel terrible later."
Iida's arms started chopping through the air.
"You cannot simply—!"
A tired voice came from the floor.
"Yes, he can."
Everyone froze.
There was a yellow sleeping bag in the corner.
Tony stared at it.
The sleeping bag moved.
A man's exhausted face emerged.
"I know he hacked the system."
Tony slowly looked toward Pepper.
Pepper smiled.
"Caught."
Tony looked back.
"How?"
Shota Aizawa stared at him.
"You're not as subtle as you think."
Tony smiled slightly.
"I like you."
"I already don't like you."
"Most great relationships start that way."
Aizawa climbed out of the sleeping bag.
"Sit down."
Tony did.
Immediately.
That made Aizawa more suspicious than arguing would have.
Then thunder hit the building.
The lights flickered.
Everyone looked upward.
Aizawa closed his eyes.
"No."
The classroom door exploded open.
Not literally.
Mostly.
Thor Odinson stood in the doorway.
He was huge for fifteen.
Not Bruce huge.
But tall, broad and built like somebody had designed a Viking and then remembered he was supposed to be a schoolboy.
Long blond hair fell around his shoulders.
A hammer hung at his side.
Static crawled over his uniform.
Thor raised one hand.
"MY APOLOGIES!"
Everyone flinched.
Tony smiled.
Thor continued:
"A STORM DELAYED MY ARRIVAL!"
Aizawa stared.
"You control storms."
Thor paused.
"Aye."
"So the storm you created delayed you."
Thor considered that.
"That is one interpretation."
Tony covered his mouth.
Pepper whispered:
"Don't."
Too late.
Tony laughed.
Thor looked toward him.
Then grinned.
"STARK!"
"Indoor voice, Point Break."
Thor frowned.
"What is Point Break?"
"I'll explain later."
"Excellent!"
Aizawa's hair started floating.
The room went silent.
"Sit."
Thor sat.
Tony whispered:
"Definitely like him."
Aizawa stood before the class.
"My name is Shota Aizawa."
Nobody spoke.
"I'll be your homeroom teacher."
Still silence.
He held up a gym uniform.
"Change."
Kaminari blinked.
"What about orientation?"
"Waste of time."
Aizawa looked across the room.
"You're here because U.A. thinks you could become heroes."
His eyes stopped briefly on Tony.
"Some of you are famous."
Steve.
Thor.
Tony.
Bruce.
"Some come from important families."
Momo.
Shoto.
Pepper.
"Some of you had exceptional entrance scores."
Bakugo smirked.
Tony didn't.
Aizawa continued.
"None of that matters to me."
Tony's expression sharpened.
Now he was interested.
"Outside."
The Quirk Apprehension Test began twenty minutes later.
Tony looked around the training field.
"So we're doing normal fitness tests with superpowers."
Aizawa stared.
"Yes."
Tony nodded.
"I approve."
"Your approval wasn't requested."
"That has never stopped me."
Pepper rubbed her forehead.
Izuku watched from several students away.
Tony noticed.
So did J.A.R.V.I.S.
"Candidate's stress indicators are elevated."
"Yeah."
Tony saw Izuku staring at the ball in Aizawa's hand.
Not excitement.
Fear.
Interesting.
Aizawa threw the ball toward Tony.
"You had the highest practical combat score."
Tony caught it.
"Bragging about me already?"
"Ball throw."
Tony looked down.
"Quirk allowed?"
"Anything that's part of your registered Quirk or approved integrated equipment."
Tony smiled.
"Well."
He stepped into the circle.
"That's convenient."
His reactor brightened.
Aizawa's eyes narrowed slightly.
Nanites emerged.
They flowed from Tony's body in liquid-metal streams, assembling over his right arm.
Not the entire suit.
Just what he needed.
Red-and-gold plating wrapped around his shoulder.
Gauntlet formed.
Repulsor channels illuminated.
The class went silent.
Kirishima leaned forward.
"That is so manly."
Bakugo frowned.
"What the hell is that?"
Momo stared scientifically rather than emotionally.
Mei Hatsume would've probably fainted from happiness if she'd been there.
Aizawa watched the armor.
"It comes from inside your body?"
Tony flexed his fingers.
"Stored nanotechnology under direct neurological control."
Aizawa's expression didn't change.
Inside, he was reconsidering how much paperwork this student was going to create.
Tony wound his arm backward.
J.A.R.V.I.S. calculated the trajectory.
"Repulsor assistance at twelve percent should be sufficient."
Tony frowned.
"Twelve?"
"You are throwing a school ball, sir."
"Fine."
Tony threw.
The repulsor fired simultaneously.
BOOM.
The ball disappeared.
Everyone watched Aizawa's device.
Numbers climbed.
500.
1,000.
2,000.
3,000.
It stopped.
3,290.4 METERS
Silence.
Tony looked around.
"What?"
Kaminari stared.
"You threw it three kilometers!"
Tony looked toward the sky.
"Apparently."
Aizawa wrote something.
Tony leaned closer.
"What'd you write?"
"Annoying."
Tony smiled.
"Accurate."
Then Aizawa called Midoriya.
Tony's attention snapped toward him.
Izuku stepped into the circle.
The fear returned.
Tony could almost see him thinking.
Aizawa handed him the ball.
"Throw."
Izuku swallowed.
Green energy began to flicker.
Tony's expression immediately changed.
"JARVIS."
"Monitoring."
Izuku drew his arm backward.
Tony saw the energy accumulate.
Too much.
Far too much.
"He's doing it again."
Then—
Nothing.
The energy vanished.
Izuku's eyes widened.
Aizawa's hair floated.
His eyes glowed red.
Tony stared.
Quirk cancellation.
Interesting.
Extremely interesting.
Aizawa spoke coldly.
"You intended to destroy your arm."
Izuku froze.
Aizawa continued.
"You become useless after one attack."
Tony's gaze shifted between them.
He agreed with the diagnosis.
Not necessarily the delivery.
Izuku looked down.
Tony watched his fists tighten.
Then Aizawa returned his Quirk.
"Try again."
Izuku breathed.
Tony leaned forward.
Green energy flowed.
But differently this time.
Concentrated.
One finger.
Tony understood immediately.
"Oh."
Izuku threw.
At the final moment—
SMASH!
The ball rocketed into the distance.
Izuku screamed.
One finger turned purple.
But his arm remained functional.
Aizawa checked the distance.
Tony wasn't looking at it.
He was looking at Izuku.
The kid had adapted.
Within seconds.
Under pressure.
Tony smiled.
"Okay."
Pepper heard him.
"What?"
Tony shook his head.
"Nothing."
J.A.R.V.I.S. spoke privately.
"Would you like the Green Kid file updated?"
Tony watched Izuku clutch his finger.
"Yeah."
"New note?"
Tony smiled.
LEARNS FAST.
"Saved."
After the assessment, Tony found Momo Yaoyorozu studying one of her costume design notes.
His attention immediately went to the technical drawing.
Not her.
The suit.
He frowned.
Momo noticed.
"Is something wrong?"
Tony pointed toward the design.
"Your Quirk."
"Yes?"
"Creation. Objects emerge through your skin."
She nodded.
"It requires exposed surface area."
Tony's expression changed.
"That is a terrible support-design compromise."
Momo blinked.
"My costume is designed to permit sufficient exposed skin."
"I understand why."
Tony moved beside her.
"I just don't accept that it's necessary."
She looked confused.
Tony pulled up a hologram.
"What if the material behaved like skin?"
Momo frowned.
"Fabric cannot permit my creations to pass through it without obstruction."
"Normal fabric."
Tony started drawing.
"Not what I'm talking about."
Momo watched the model develop.
A synthetic molecular lattice.
Flexible.
Responsive.
Quirk-factor-sensitive.
Tony continued.
"Create a fabric mapped to your DNA and Quirk expression. When you initiate Creation, the molecular bonds separate around the emerging material, then reseal behind it."
Momo stared.
"That would mean…"
"Full coverage."
Her eyes widened.
"No exposed sections required unless you want them."
Momo looked at the hologram.
"I've asked support companies about something similar."
"And?"
"They said it wasn't possible."
Tony smiled.
Momo immediately recognised that smile despite barely knowing him.
"You disagree."
"I dislike that word."
"What word?"
"Impossible."
Pepper approached from behind.
"He takes it personally."
Tony pointed toward her.
"She gets me."
Momo smiled.
Tony sent the preliminary model to his private server.
"Come to Stark Tower sometime."
Momo blinked.
Tony continued before she could misunderstand.
"Bring your Quirk medical data, costume specifications and whatever support engineers have already tried."
Pepper nudged him.
"Maybe ask normally."
Tony sighed.
"Would you like to work with us on it?"
Momo smiled.
"I would."
"Good."
Pepper looked toward Tony.
"Recruiting?"
"Obviously."
"Flirting?"
Tony glanced at Momo.
Momo raised an eyebrow.
Tony considered his survival prospects.
"Strictly engineering."
Pepper smiled.
"Learning."
Tony caught Izuku before lunch.
"Green Kid."
Izuku turned.
Again.
"Do you actually know my name?"
Tony stopped.
That was fair.
J.A.R.V.I.S. displayed the class roster privately.
IZUKU MIDORIYA
Tony looked at him.
"Midoriya."
Izuku relaxed slightly.
"Tony Stark."
"I know."
Izuku immediately realised how stupid that sounded.
"I mean—obviously I know. Everyone knows. I have notes on your Quirk and the reactor and your support technology and your prosthetic designs and—"
Tony raised a hand.
Izuku stopped.
Tony smiled.
"I like you."
Izuku blinked.
"What?"
"You overanalyse."
Tony pointed toward himself.
"I respect the craft."
Izuku looked strangely happy about that.
Then Tony became serious.
"Show me your hand."
Izuku instinctively pulled it closer.
"Why?"
"Because yesterday you turned your arm into a bag of broken bones and today you nearly did it again."
Izuku looked away.
Tony's tone softened.
"I'm not making fun of you."
Izuku looked back.
Tony tapped his own chest.
"Power that hurts the person using it interests me."
That was true in more ways than Izuku understood.
Tony had spent his entire childhood learning exactly how much energy his own body could survive.
Izuku hesitated.
Then offered his hand.
Tony didn't touch it.
A small holographic scanner formed over his palm.
J.A.R.V.I.S. performed a surface reading.
"Residual microfractures detected."
Izuku jumped.
"Who said that?"
Tony smiled.
"JARVIS."
"You have an AI?"
"Technically several."
Izuku stared.
Tony continued.
"Your problem isn't strength."
Izuku went still.
"Your body can produce the output."
Tony rotated the scan.
"It just can't distribute it."
Izuku swallowed.
Tony didn't mention One For All.
Didn't mention All Might.
Didn't mention the energy match.
That wasn't his secret to expose.
Instead he said:
"You're pouring an ocean through a garden hose."
Izuku looked at his hand.
Tony continued.
"So we change the plumbing."
Izuku looked up.
"We?"
Tony shrugged.
"I've already started."
Izuku's mouth fell open.
"You built something for me?"
"Not yet."
Tony's expression became more serious.
"And I don't want to."
That confused Izuku.
Tony explained.
"A suit is option two."
"What's option one?"
"Fix your control."
Izuku stared.
Tony pointed toward him.
"If your Quirk belongs to you, your body should eventually be capable of using it without destroying itself."
Izuku looked almost uncomfortable with the statement.
Tony noticed.
Interesting.
"Until then," Tony continued, "I can build reinforcement that spreads the recoil."
Izuku's eyes widened.
"Would that work?"
"Probably."
"Probably?"
Tony smiled.
"Science would be extremely boring if I already knew."
Izuku looked down at his hand.
For years he'd dreamed about getting a Quirk.
Then he'd received the strongest one imaginable.
And discovered almost immediately that his own body couldn't withstand it.
Everyone had told him to control it.
Train harder.
Strengthen himself.
Tony Stark was the first person who'd looked at the problem and responded:
Then we'll engineer around it while you learn.
Izuku looked back up.
"Why?"
Tony frowned.
"Why what?"
"Why help me?"
Tony thought about the entrance exam.
A frightened boy seeing somebody trapped beneath rubble.
Running toward danger anyway.
Breaking himself because someone he didn't know needed him.
Tony shrugged.
"I saw what you did for Gravity Girl."
Izuku's face turned red.
"Uraraka?"
Tony pointed.
"So that's her name."
"You didn't know?"
"I wasn't stalking everybody's records."
Izuku stared.
"You hacked U.A."
"Different thing."
"It really isn't."
Tony smiled.
"See? You're learning already."
Izuku laughed despite himself.
Tony extended his hand.
"So."
Izuku looked at it.
"You interested?"
Izuku shook it.
"Yes."
Tony's grip tightened.
"Good."
J.A.R.V.I.S. spoke privately.
"Shall I rename the file, sir?"
Tony smiled.
"Yeah."
The file changed.
IZUKU MIDORIYA — ONE FOR ALL CONTROL PROJECT
Tony paused.
"Remove One For All from the visible title."
"Privacy consideration?"
"Exactly."
The display changed.
IZUKU MIDORIYA — POWER DISTRIBUTION PROJECT
"Better."
The next day, All Might burst through Class 1-A's door.
"I AM—"
Tony looked at his watch.
"—COMING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!"
The class erupted.
All Might stopped dramatically.
Tony stared.
"You rehearsed that."
"Perhaps!"
Tony smiled.
"All right. I respect it."
All Might planted his fists on his hips.
"TODAY…"
Everyone leaned forward.
"…YOU BEGIN HERO TRAINING!"
The room exploded with excitement.
Costume cases emerged from the wall.
Tony stared.
There it was.
The moment he'd been waiting for.
Everyone changed.
When the class assembled outside, Tony looked across them.
Bakugo's combat gear.
Todoroki's equipment.
Momo's original costume.
Ochako's gravity suit.
Izuku's green costume.
Steve's blue tactical uniform and shield.
Bucky's black combat gear.
Pepper's sleek violet-and-silver Rescue system.
Bruce's reinforced gamma suit.
Thor—
Tony stopped.
Thor wore armor.
Cape.
Hammer.
No subtlety whatsoever.
Tony smiled.
"Point Break."
Thor looked delighted.
"STARK!"
"You look ridiculous."
Thor looked at Tony's ordinary black business suit.
"And you appear prepared for taxation."
Tony considered that.
"Fair."
All Might announced the teams.
Tony listened.
Then smiled.
Heroes: Stark and Odinson.
Villains: Bakugo and Todoroki.
Bakugo cracked his knuckles.
Tony looked across the training arena at him.
The blond boy grinned aggressively.
"I've been waiting for this, Stark."
Tony raised an eyebrow.
"We've known each other two days."
"You walk around like you're better than everyone."
Tony thought about it.
"Okay, that's fair."
Todoroki stood beside Bakugo.
Expression flat.
Thor leaned toward Tony.
"He appears angry."
"He's always angry."
"A warrior's spirit!"
"No. I think he genuinely just needs therapy."
The objective was simple.
The villain team protected a mock nuclear weapon.
The heroes captured it.
Tony approved.
Mostly because the fake bomb looked technologically offensive.
The moment the exercise began, Tony's reactor glowed.
Nanites flowed.
Red.
Gold.
Armor sealed around him.
Across the observation room, several students stared.
Kaminari practically pressed himself against the glass.
"That's his COSTUME?!"
Momo watched carefully.
"It isn't merely a costume."
Izuku was already writing.
"The armor responds directly to his Quirk! There's virtually no delay between neurological intention and mechanical response, which means—"
Uraraka leaned over.
"You're muttering."
Izuku stopped.
"Sorry."
Inside the arena, Tony lifted several centimeters from the ground.
Thor spun Mjolnir.
Lightning crawled across the ceiling.
Tony looked over.
"Okay, Ground Rule One."
Thor grinned.
"Aye?"
"Building stays standing."
Thor frowned.
"That restricts several strategies."
"That's why it's a rule."
Then Bakugo attacked.
BOOM!
Tony twisted.
The explosion passed his shoulder.
Bakugo came through the smoke.
"STOP TALKING!"
Tony blocked the next blast with his gauntlet.
"Communication is important!"
Bakugo hit him again.
Tony flew backward.
Armor compensated instantly.
Tony smiled.
"Okay."
Repulsors flared.
"You're fun."
Bakugo snarled.
"QUIT SMILING!"
Tony fired.
Bakugo dodged.
The blast wasn't aimed at him.
It struck the ceiling support behind him.
Bakugo looked upward.
A piece of debris fell.
He blasted it apart.
Tony was already gone.
Bakugo's eyes widened.
Tony had never been trying to hit him.
"JARVIS."
"Route confirmed."
Tony rocketed upward.
"Find the bomb."
Meanwhile, Thor encountered Todoroki.
Ice erupted through the corridor.
Thor planted his feet.
The frozen wave hit him.
Stopped.
For several seconds, nothing moved.
Then—
CRACK.
Lightning exploded outward.
Thor shattered the ice.
He laughed.
"MAGNIFICENT!"
Todoroki stared.
"You're loud."
"So I have been told!"
More ice.
Thor swung Mjolnir.
Thunder met frost.
The building shook.
Tony's voice came over Thor's communicator.
"Ground Rule One!"
Thor looked upward.
"THE BUILDING REMAINS!"
A crack spread across the wall.
Tony paused.
"Technically."
Tony located the bomb.
Bakugo knew he would.
That was why he followed.
Tony entered the room.
Bakugo blasted through the wall behind him.
Tony turned.
"Doors are free."
"SHUT UP!"
Bakugo launched himself forward.
Tony's systems tracked everything.
Trajectory.
Sweat production.
Explosion output.
Temperature.
Muscle tension.
Tony could've met him directly.
Instead—
he moved.
Bakugo missed.
Again.
Tony wasn't fighting to defeat him.
He was learning him.
Bakugo realised it.
That made him angrier.
"STOP ANALYZING ME!"
Tony stopped.
Interesting.
"You noticed."
"YOU'RE LOOKING AT ME LIKE I'M SOME DAMN MACHINE!"
Tony's expression changed behind the helmet.
That hit somewhere unexpected.
Tony lowered his hands slightly.
"You're right."
Bakugo hesitated.
Tony continued.
"My mistake."
Bakugo stared.
Then Tony smiled.
"But you're still guarding the bomb."
Bakugo's eyes widened.
Lightning struck through the floor.
Not at Bakugo.
At the fake weapon.
Thor crashed through from below.
Tony flew forward.
Bakugo turned—
too late.
Tony touched the bomb.
HERO TEAM WINS.
Silence.
Then All Might's voice thundered throughout the building.
"THE HERO TEAM HAS SECURED THE OBJECTIVE!"
Bakugo stood frozen.
Tony's armor retracted from his face.
Bakugo glared at him.
"You tricked me."
Tony smiled.
"That's generally what strategy looks like from the other side."
Bakugo's hands sparked.
Tony raised one finger.
"Exercise is over."
"I KNOW!"
Tony grinned.
He liked Bakugo too.
That was probably going to become a problem.
Later that afternoon, Tony walked into U.A.'s Support Department.
And stopped.
There were machines everywhere.
Prototypes.
Engines.
Robotics.
Armor.
Fabricators.
Explosions.
Tony inhaled.
"Home."
Bruce stood beside him.
"I knew you'd say that."
Power Loader approached.
"Stark."
"Loader."
"Banner."
"Professor."
Power Loader looked at them.
"You're both late."
Tony checked the clock.
"Forty-seven seconds."
"Late."
Tony smiled.
"I respect the precision."
Then someone flew past them.
Literally.
A pink-haired girl chased a small machine across the laboratory.
"COME BACK, BABY NUMBER FORTY-THREE!"
Tony watched.
The machine exploded.
Smoke filled the room.
The girl emerged completely blackened.
She smiled.
Tony slowly turned toward Bruce.
Bruce stared back.
Tony whispered:
"I found another one."
Bruce shook his head.
"No."
Tony pointed.
"She's one of us."
"No."
Mei Hatsume suddenly appeared between them.
Her eyes locked onto Tony's Arc Reactor.
Then Bruce.
Then Tony again.
"Oh my God."
Tony smiled.
"Oh, this is going to be fun."
Pepper found Tony several hours later.
He was standing beside Momo.
Bruce occupied another workstation.
Mei was practically vibrating.
Izuku sat nearby while Tony projected a three-dimensional model of his skeletal system.
Three projects were open simultaneously.
YAOYOROZU — QUIRK-REACTIVE MOLECULAR FABRIC
MIDORIYA — POWER DISTRIBUTION
BANNER — GAMMA DENSITY REGULATOR
Pepper stared.
"You've been here for three hours."
Tony didn't turn.
"Four."
"Dinner."
"Later."
"Tony."
"Science."
Pepper walked over.
Closed one hologram.
Tony stopped.
Closed another.
Tony looked horrified.
She reached for the third.
Tony caught her wrist gently.
"Okay."
Pepper smiled.
"Dinner."
Tony sighed dramatically.
Bruce stood.
Izuku packed his notebook.
Momo smiled.
Mei continued working and apparently hadn't heard any of the conversation.
Tony looked around the laboratory.
This place was chaotic.
Loud.
Competitive.
Filled with people whose abilities shouldn't make sense but somehow did.
People who could create matter from their bodies.
Manipulate gravity.
Produce explosions.
Control ice.
Generate electricity.
Inherit power across generations.
Tony had spent his life surrounded by brilliant people.
But U.A. was different.
Here, science didn't explain everything yet.
That meant there were still questions.
And Tony Stark loved questions.
Pepper stopped at the doorway.
"You coming?"
Tony looked around once more.
Then smiled.
"Yeah."
He followed.
As they walked through the corridors, J.A.R.V.I.S. spoke quietly inside his head.
"Sir?"
"Yeah?"
"Your schedule tomorrow begins at seven-thirty."
Tony frowned.
"Move it to six."
"You have classes at eight-thirty."
"I know."
"What do you intend to do during the additional time?"
Tony glanced toward Izuku walking ahead.
Then Momo.
Then Bruce.
Three problems.
Three projects.
Probably thirty more he'd discover before Friday.
Tony smiled.
"What do you think?"
J.A.R.V.I.S. almost sounded amused.
"I suspected as much."
Tony looked through the enormous windows toward Tokyo.
For the first time since arriving in Japan, Stark Tower wasn't where he wanted to be.
He wanted to come back here tomorrow.
To this ridiculous school.
To these ridiculous people.
To problems nobody had solved yet.
Maybe that was what Howard had meant.
Tony didn't need to prove the Stark name.
He needed to decide what he wanted it to mean.
His reactor hummed beneath his uniform.
Thump.
Hum.
Tony smiled.
U.A. wasn't ready for Tony Stark.
But Tony was starting to realise something.
Maybe Tony Stark wasn't ready for U.A. either.
And for once—
he liked not knowing what came next.