(A few days later)

The men who had broken into Mei's house were never found, and no DNA evidence had been left behind at the scene. After the men were teleported away, the police and several heroes that were close by at the time came to the scene. The police took their statements on what happened, and after grilling Izuku and Bakugo for what they had done, the police got in contact with Hana and Bakugo's parents. Everyone agreed that it would be best for the mother and daughter to move to a new location for the time being, and the Bakugos were more than glad to invite them into their home. The police and heroes promised to find those men and investigate the strange symbol that had been left behind. But other than that, all they could do was wait.

'Today's the day,' Izuku thought to himself as he fiddled with his tie in the bathroom mirror. He needed to hurry up and get ready since Kacchan and Mei would be here for him any minute to pick him up and go to UA. Mei was still a little shaken up from what had happened at her house a few days ago, but with her friends, the police, and the heroes reassuring her everything would be okay, she had calmed down enough to continue going to school. And nothing, nothing was going to keep her away from today.

Today was the sports festival, where the students at UA would show off their skills and their quirks in hopes of impressing pro heroes and getting sent agency offers. Receiving one meant they would train and work alongside pro heroes in actual urban settings, and it meant they were getting closer to becoming pros themselves. While Izuku was excited about the sports festival, he was also nervous, as All Might and Bakugo had put a lot of pressure on him to do well and reach the end of it.

'If I don't see you in the finals, you're fucking dead!' The angry blond's threat was still vivid in Izuku's mind.

Izuku felt rather confident in himself, and believed he'd do well in whatever UA had in store for them. He didn't mean to sound cocky or anything, but considering he had his metal power and could use 15% of One For All without any trouble, it was understandable why he thought he'd go far. He also felt confident in his friends and classmates, and had a feeling this sports festival would be one very few people would forget about.

A buzzing dragged his attention away from his neatly tied tie, and he looked down to his cellphone. A number he had never seen before was displayed on the screen, and it was one from the United States of all places, New York, to be exact. But what was stranger was that no caller ID was displayed above it.

He shrugged, assuming it was just a scam or prank, and declined it.

"Izuku! Katsuki and Mei are here!" his mom called from the living room.

"Coming mom!"

(Secret facility)

A man stared at the screen of his phone. His eye narrowed.

"That motherfucker's ghosting me."

"Director, it's about to start soon," a female voice said from beside him. The man was sitting on a couch, and the woman sat in a chair to the left of it.

"Turn it on and hold all of my calls. I want to see what this kid is made of."

(UA waiting room)

Class 1A, all of whom were currently in their gym uniforms rather than their actual hero costumes, were waiting to be called out. It was like this in order to keep things as fair and equal as possible. If hero costumes were indeed allowed, students like Bakugo and even Toru would have a larger advantage.

"I wonder what they'll have in-store for us in the first round," Sato wondered out loud, knee bouncing under the table. Tokoyami sat to his left, and Shoji stood to his left.

"No matter what they've prepared for us, we must persevere," Tokoyami said seriously. Shoji nodded in agreement.

"You've seen every sports festival, right nerd? What do you think they'll throw at us first?" Bakugo asked his green-haired friend. The blond was currently sitting on top of a metal table, while Izuku leaned against it to his right.

"It changes every year, so I can't say for sure what round one will be." Izuku shrugged, uncertain. "It'll probably be something that'll let everyone show off…so maybe the obstacle course?"

Before the conversation could continue, the door to the room opened wide before Iida walked in.

"Everyone! We'll be entering the arena soon!" he informed the class, causing most of the class to get more nervous, and others, more excited.

"Midoriya," a voice said from his right side, causing him and Bakugo to turn. They watched as Todoroki walked over to them.

"Todoroki. What's up?"

Everyone stopped their conversations and turned to watch the two with interest. The half hot/half cold user had never addressed nor talked to Izuku before, meaning this was probably something important.

"I think from an objective standpoint; I think it's fairly clear to say that I'm stronger than you," he said, surprising everyone, especially the greenette.

"I prefer facts over opinions, but please, continue," Izuku replied.

"However, you have All Might in your corner helping you out," he said, causing Izuku's and Bakugo's eyes to widen. Why would he say that? Did he know something was going on? How much did he know? "I'm not here to pry about what's going on between the two of you, but know that I will beat you."

"The hell did you say?" Bakugo growled, getting off of the table and standing beside Izuku. "The only one here beating the nerd is me!"

"Whoa, what's with all these declarations of war?" Kaminari asked with a small smile just as Kirishima got up and walked over to them.

"Yeah, what's the big deal? Why are you picking a fight all of the sudden? And right before we get started?" Kirishima questioned, placing a hand on Todoroki's shoulder, and the heterochromia teen knocked his hand off in return.

"We're not here to be each other's friends. Don't forget this isn't a team effort."

"Everyone just calm down," Izuku said as he stepped between Bakugo and Todoroki. "There's no need for fights, or threats, or declarations of war. We're all here for the same goal: to show the world just what we're made of. Any fighting needs to happen on the field, not in the locker room. Understood?"

Bakugo huffed in annoyance, but sat back down on the table with his arms crossed over his chest. Todoroki glared at Izuku for a few more seconds before walking away to the other side of the room, causing the greenet to sigh.

'Today's going to be a long day.'

(In the stadium)

"HEY NOW! MAKE SOME NOISE, YOU RABID SPORTS FANS! GET THOSE CAMERAS PREPPED, MEDIA WHORES! THIS YEAR, WE'RE BRINGING YOU SOME OF THE HOTTEST PERFORMANCES IN UA SPORTS FESTIVAL HISTORY, GUARANTEED! I'VE ONLY GOT ONE QUESTION BEFORE WE START THE SHOW: ARE YOU READY?!" Present Mic shouted into his microphone, causing the crowd to go crazy and scream and cheer in excitement. "LET ME HEAR YOU SCREAM AS OUR STUDENTS MAKE THEIR WAY TO THE MAIN STAGE!"

The light at the end of the tunnel was blinding, but the students kept pushing forward until they were free from the darkness. The crowd grew louder as class 1A, with Izuku leading, stepped out of the tunnel. Lights from professional cameras to tiny cellphones went off as they walked through the grass and towards the stage. The other classes followed, and everyone finally lined up before the stage.

"WELCOME BACK TO THE UA SPORTS FESTIVAL! WHERE UP AND COMING HEROES WILL PUT EVERYTHING ON THE FIELD AS THEY FIGHT FOR THE CHANCE TO ACHIEVE WORLD-WIDE FAME! THIS FIRST GROUP IS NO STRANGER TO THE SPOTLIGHT. YOU KNOW THEM FROM WITHSTANDING A VILLAIN ATTACK! THEY'RE THE DAZZILING STUDENTS WHO FILLED YOUR TV WITH SOLID GOLD SKILLS! THAT'S RIGHT, IT'S THE HERO COURSE STUDENTS OF CLASS 1A!" Mic informed the crowd, embarrassing some of the students at their introduction.

"So many people," Izuku murmured.

"Hopefully we can still give our best performances, even though everyone is watching us. I suppose it's just another aspect of being a hero," Iida replied from his left. "We'll just have to learn to deal with it, I suppose."

"Present Mic sure did talk us up a lot; makes me kinda worried. How you holding up, man?" Kirishima asked the explosive blond.

"I'm fired the fuck up and ready to kick everyone's ass."

"Classic Kacchan," Izuku sighed with a small smile.

"THEY HAVEN'T BEEN GETTING NEARLY AS MUCH SCREEN TIME, BUT THIS NEXT GROUP IS STILL CHOCK FULL OF TALENT! WELCOME TO THE FIELD HERO COURSE CLASS 1B! NEXT UP, GENERAL STUDIES CLASS C, D, AND E! SUPPORT CLASSES F, G, AND H! AND FINALLY THE BUSINESS CLASS I, J, AND K! GIVE IT UP FOR ALL OF UA'S FIRST YEAR CONTESTANTS!"

Across the sea of students some were fired up to prove themselves, to prove that they should've been put in the higher up classes from the beginning. Others were bummed due to thinking they were here just to make the hero classes look good, and were ready for this to end. Some were planning on throwing the first round just so they could chill and relax the rest of the day and watch everyone else make a fool of themselves.

There was a loud whipping sound through the stadium, causing everyone to stop their cheers and screams. Midnight stood on the stage, wearing her hero costume with a whip grasped in her hands.

"Someone should talk to her about what she's wearing," Kirishima whispered.

"Yeah, that costume should come with a warning," Kaminari agreed.

"Is that really appropriate apparel for a high school game?" Tokoyami asked.

"Silence everyone!" she shouted into the mic, whipping her toy yet again into the air, causing some to shudder in fright, and others…well, you should know. "And now for the student pledge, we have Izuku Midoriya!" she informed the crowd loudly, causing many of 1A to become surprised.

"Ayy, class rep representing! Knock em dead, dude!" Kaminari exclaimed in excitement.

"Make us look good, maybe it'll make kids hate us less over what Bakugo said," Sero whispered.

"The hell did you say, Soy Sauce?!"

Ignoring his friend, Izuku nodded towards the two and made his way up onto the stage.

"CLASS 1A'S VERY OWN IZUKU MIDORIYA, WHO SCORED FIRST DURING THE HERO COURSE ENTRANCE EXAM! MIDORIYA IS ONE OF TWO STUDENTS IN 1A WHO HAS TWO QUIRKS! A QUIRK THAT CONTROLS METAL AND A STRENGTH ENHANCEMENT QUIRK!" Present Mic informed the crowd.

Izuku stared into the endless crowd of attenders and opened his mouth to speak.

(Minutes later: announcer box)

Present Mic awoke to crying, and groggily opened his eyes. He rubbed the gunk out of them and turned to his life-long friend.

"Are-are you crying?" he asked Aizawa.

"That speech was beautiful," Aizawa said, not answering the question as the bandages around his eyes grew wet. Present Mic cocked his head and turned his attention to the field, where Izuku was walking down the stage. He could see Midnight was holding herself back from jumping the boy then and there.

"Was… was it that good?"

"I can die happy now."

"OKAY, well, let's move on!" He laughed awkwardly, wondering just what the hell he had missed.

(On the field)

"Dude, you've made like half the stadium cry., Bakugo informed his friend as the greenet stood next to him.

"I spoke from the heart, what can I say?"

"So manly!" Kirishima whimpered from in front of him.

"Without further ado, it's time for us to get started!" Midnight shouted into her mic. "This is where you begin feeling the pain! The first fateful game of the festival is-" She stopped herself, pointing back to a holographic sign as it popped up behind her. It started to spin, before landing on the first game. "-the obstacle race! All classes will participate in this treacherous contest! The course is four kilometers outside of the stadium! I don't want to restrain anyone, at least in this game, so as long as you don't leave the course, you're free to do whatever your heart desires!" she said, causing the crowd, and some students, to cheer.

"Now then, take your places, contestants!"

"Do your best 1A! Show everyone what you're made!" Izuku shouted as everyone made their way to the red gate, which served as their starting line.

"Right!" many shouted in unison, fired up to prove themselves to everyone…for some, it was mainly to impress the class rep.

The first of the three green lights went black.

'Time to keep my promise, time to step up!'

The second turned black.

'Time for Plus Ultra!'

The third and last followed the pattern.

"Begin!"

So in the original CD, Izuku wasn't exactly calm or cool headed when he spoke to Todoroki in the locker room. Originally he said "I'll remember them, as long as you remember mine. This is a lot of big talk coming from someone who refuses to use their daddies quirk. Maybe you can back up your claim after you finally man up enough to use it." Izuku snapped, walking past Todoroki and knocking his shoulder against the other males. He stopped at the doorway. "You want to prove that you're better than me? That you're stronger than me? Meet me in the ring rather than spew your high and mighty bullshit." He walked out after that, just as the light above the doorway turned green, signaling them to make their way towards the stadium." But that's not very 'Captain America' now is it? So yeah, I changed that but kept the Aizawa thing cause it still cracks me up.

Moving on, I'm feeling a lot better since my wisdom teeth extraction. Still not 100%, but time heals all wounds and whatever. Gonna try to crank out another chap or 2 before I start school next week. Hopefully my college will come out by then and either delay it a week or switch to online. Idk, we'll see. I'm still sad I wasn't able to get up to chap 40 by the time school started, but I'll get there eventually.

Speaking of new chaps, just a warning but they'll be very similar to the original CD. In fact I plan on just copy and pasting, but adding some polish and fixing things up since in the original story, I let Izuku use his shield during the sports festival since he was weaker in that story than in this one.

Let's see...I think that's everything. See ya in chap 26!