Hello crazy, beautiful world! For anyone reading this, thank you so much for taking some time out of your busy lives to indulge in my work.

I have been reading stories on this site for years and after much time, effort and spinning in circles, I've finally found the guts to create something of my own!

For my first story, I decided to write something combining my favorite current show and one my favorite game franchises.The idea of this story came about when I thought about a certain tragic character and decided: "They deserve some happiness." Once I started, I couldn't stop until I had written a prologue and 2 following chapters. I am going to release the first 3 parts in one day, then I will go through the feedback while I work on chapter 3 which will probably take a few weeks, balancing it, family life and working from home.

That being said, this story is going to be an AU of the My Hero world with as many elements and characters brought in from Borderlands as organically as possible. As things move along there are going to be canon divergences as different events and characters show up, hopefully keeping things exciting.

Before I start, I'd like to thank some of my college friends for helping me with proof reading and advice. Creation is a team effort!

Please rate and review!

Lastly, Borderlands belongs to Gearbox and 2KGames and My Hero Academia belongs to Kohei Horikoshi and Funimation. I only came up with this smoothie of emotional insanity. Thank you for giving us such great stories that inspire us and make us happy!

Font/formatting Legend

"This means someone is talking."

'This means someone is thinking to themselves.'

This means it's a flashback.

This means it's a sound effect!*

Angel in a Gilded Cage

White noise; a sound that is popularly described as being similar to a never ending tide, cresting upon a desolate shore.

This was the sound that always awaited her whenever she was to close her eyes.

Technology makes sound, no matter what. Fans whir, lights buzz, and computers hum. Nothing is truly inaudible. However, she had always heard these noises; ever since she had been a little girl, they were always there. It had taken her a while to learn that she was the only one to hear it.

They came from everywhere. It draws power, it makes white noise. After twelve years she had even started to differentiate between all of them. They came in different pitches and frequencies like voices. She could hear the lighter tones emanating from the phones in her pocket and the driver's purse. The deeper warbling from the car's computer. The buzzing that floated along the conversation being held on the radio.

Outside it was like standing in a crowd where everyone is talking simultaneously, voices overlapping each other, making it impossible to hear what a single one is saying. It used to torment her, making her lose sleep from all the noise that never ceased and that she could never escape.

She breathed sharply through her nose and swallowed. Her ears popped and the noise faded. If there was one thing that she could be grateful for, was learning how to drown it out. The noise would always be there, but she could accept it by this point. There was no helping what couldn't be stopped, just endured.

The car shifted as the breaks were applied, making her groan and open her eyes. A tall concrete barrier towered over the sidewalk, a blue arch emblazoned with the golden letters U and A was the only entrance.

"Well, here it is Sugar. My Alma mater." Her driver's honey sweet voice graced her ears. "If those walls could talk… well, they'd probably be whispering like scandalized matrons." She gave an amused chuckle.

"Why?"

"Let's just say I was an advocate for… extracurricular activities." Her driver whispered conspiratorially, the implication setting her skin ablaze.

"I'm... just going to go now." She said as she unlocked her seatbelt and opened the door. Stepping out of the red convertible, she squinted in the bright sun beaming down. Looking past the arch, the enormous buildings of the campus leered over her, as if intimidating her with their size.

"Angel." Turning back she looked at the normally alluring face of her caretaker looking at her with concern. "You're going to do great. You've worked hard and you're a smart girl. You've got this."

Angel's mind stalled for a second, still not used to the positive reinforcement, yet it lit a small warmth in her chest.

"Thank you Hodunk-san." She said, remembering to use one of the honorifics she needed to get used to.

"Six months and you're still treating me like I'm just the woman whose apartment you live in. I thought we were closer than that Sugar." Her caretaker simpered comically, bringing a small smile to her face.

"Sorry… Moxxi-chan." She apologized, receiving a wink for her trouble.

"There you go. Just do your best and you get to choose what's for dinner tonight. Show them who's boss." Moxxi said, closing the door and driving off, leaving her alone on the curb.

Her smile fell the moment the car turned the corner and glancing back to the archway, Angel couldn't stop the butterflies fluttering in her stomach. Taking a shaky breath, she stepped through only to stop.

There were people, but not just any people.

Teenagers.

It would be the first time she was so close to people her own age. They were all walking towards the facility at the end of the path, all in various stages of preparation for the exams. A lot of individuals strode forward confidently with purpose, confident in their quirk's or their other abilities. Others paced nervously, swinging their arms around or other habits to calm themselves. Either way, it was so much different from the countless hours she had spent watching random people from a screen, unaware of her presence, of her existence.

She clenched her fist.

That's right. This could very likely be the day of her first interaction with anyone who wasn't an adult. She never felt so self conscious. Will she say or do something weird? What will they think of her appearance? Will they-

She yelped as someone roughly shoved past her.

"Out of my fucking way you damn extra!" The loud angry voice belonging to the spiky blond haired boy growled, his blood red eyes tearing the strength from her body. He turned and stomped down the path, leaving her shaking on the spot. Her knees hit together as she started to hyperventilate.

She had already screwed up.

Were people looking at her?

What should she do?

She shouldn't have come here, she shouldn't have tried!

"You don't belong out there."

'What do I-?! What do I-?!'

"U-Um… excuse me?"

Page Break

If anyone were to describe Izuku Midoriya to a complete stranger, the words used would be shy, antsy and nervous with healthy dashes of squirreliness sprinkled on top. That was Izuku every day of the week.

This was not an ordinary day. It was THE day! The day that he had persevered against the hell that was the Aim To Pass American Dream Plan!The day he had proven himself ready to accept the power of his idol and greatest hero of all time, All Might! The day of the entrance exam for Yūei, the school of his dreams! It was all leading up to this moment!

So it was expected that he was extra jumpy that morning. The Yūei exam was the final hurdle he needed to overcome to even have a chance of becoming a hero. The written exam would be easy enough, academics was one of the few things he knew he was great at. The practical was the source of his worry. He had no idea what kind of test it would be, just that it would probably be a demonstration of the quirks that he and his peers possess.

His quirk, more accurately All Might's quirk, One For All. Supposedly he should have it now after swallowing the hair given to him by his mentor. Just remembering it made him nauseous. Aside from that feeling, he didn't feel any different. Making him scared on another level. What if he didn't gain All Might's quirk in time for the exam? What if something else went wrong? He wouldn't pass the exam, what would he do if he didn't pass the exam?! What would he-!?

He slapped a hand over his mouth. He had been thinking out loud again hadn't he?

"I need to stop doing that." He told himself.

"Huh? Deku?" A very familiar voice called from behind, making him turn to see his friend(?), acquaintance(?)classmate(yeah that was it), classmate Bakugou approach.

"Oh, Kacchan." Izuku greeted, receiving a scowl in return.

"Shove off before I light you on fire!" He threatened, throwing Izuku into an anxious flurry, his sole defensive reflex as he stepped aside.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get in your way, let's just try to do our best and stuff!" Izuku rambled nervously as Bakugou walked past.

The threat of conflict averted, he sighed in relief as he watched him move away. Shaking his head, he gripped his bag straps in determination.

'I've got to calm down and focus! This is what you and All Might have been working for! Now let's-!'

"Out my fucking way you damn extra!" A familiar voice roared, catching his attention just in time to catch Bakugou angrily shouldering another candidate from his path, the small cry they gave identifying them as a girl.

Even though he wasn't affiliated with his former friend anymore he couldn't help but feel embarrassed at his crass behaviour. The way he carried himself and treated everyone around him made Izuku wonder how well he was going to do at making friends, if he wanted them.

'Not my problem anymore.' He thought as he started walking again, only for him to stop.

The girl that Bakugou ran into earlier wasn't moving.

'Why is she just standing there?' He wondered as he took in her appearance. She was of average height yet thin, her small frame hidden by her dark blue jacket and jeans. From the back she had shoulder length black hair, parted on the right side of her head with a ponytail over her left shoulder. A gym bag hung off her shoulder, probably a change of clothes for the exam.

'Wait… is she… shaking?'

Indeed, as he approached he could notice the girl's body was completely wracked with tremors. Her knees were buckling, her arms were wrapped around her torso and her back was hunching over, as if she was trying to fold in on herself and disappear. Her breath was coming out in rapid, shaky puffs.

Izuku stood there, mind racing over what to do. Was Bakugou's demeanour that terrifying? Perhaps the stress of the exam had built up and the incident with him was the breaking point. Either way, he had to do something otherwise this girl might collapse!

"U-Um… excuse me?"

The girl immediately jolted, then slowly turned to face him.

The first thing he noticed was her single blue eye flashing in the morning sun, dazzling him with how bright it was. The other was concealed by the large bangs that covered most of the left side of her face like a curtain. She was a foreigner, her skin was pale white like a sheet, contrasting against her bright pink lips. Beads of cold sweat trailed down her skin as her single visible eye locked onto him with emotions that he was personally familiar with.

Fear and uncertainty. Fearful and uncertain of what? The exam? Bakugou? Or something else?

It didn't matter, she was terrified and staring at him like he was going to rob her. How could he calm her down?

"Everything is going to be alright!" His mentor's catchphrase echoed in his mind. "You know why? Because I am here!"

He got an idea.

Page Break

She hadn't even meant to turn to the voice, she didn't know why. Her mind was scrambling, tripping over itself trying to figure out what to do.

It was a boy about her size. His head was topped with a mess of verdant hair, wild and unkempt like a bush. Freckles were sprinkled across his cheeks. His eyes were big and round, his pupils a deep green matching his hair, filled with innocence and…

Worry? His brows were converging at the top of his face and his lips twitched as if he wanted to say something to her, but couldn't form the words.

While she studied his features, the boy seemed to have come to a conclusion of some kind, taking a deep breath and scrunching his face up.

'What is he-?' She thought moments before the world slowed.

On the boy's face was the biggest smile she had ever seen.

"Are… you alright?" He asked.

'So bright!' Angel was taken back by the sheer appeasing aura this boy, this stranger possessed! Waves of calm poured from his being, like a ray of sunshine.

It wasn't the first time she had seen a smile in person, her life wasn't that abnormal.

"Everything I do, I do to keep you safe Angel. Can't you see? Now come on, let's get back in the chair."

This smile was different though. It wasn't disarming, placating or patronizing, like she was a child who didn't understand and it wasn't for amusement either. It was a smile that was worn because he wanted to help after noticing she was in trouble, like he was telling her everything would be okay.

Unbeknownst to herself, Angel's arms had slackened, her shaking ceased and her breath was even. She was calm as she continued to listen as the boy started to speak again.

"I mean, you seemed a little phased out there…" The boy scratched the back of his head, a nervous tell it seemed. "I'd um, like to apologize for Kacchan over there."

'Kacchan? Ah, the angry faced boy from earlier. Did he know him? Wait, apologize?'

"He's always been like that with everyone, so he probably didn't mean anything personal by it. He's just always been "Get out of my way or die Deku!" Thats uh, the nickname he has for me." He chuckled bashfully.

'Not only is he trying to make me feel better, he's apologizing for his acquaintance?'

The boy soon went quiet and it took her a few awkward seconds for her to realize why.

'Oh! He's waiting for a response! What do I say?!'

The boy's smile faltered a little while she struggled internally. "W-Well um, you seem better now, so I'm just going to leave. Good luck in the exam." He said with a small bow and turned to leave.

'He's leaving?! No! No! No! I can't just stand here and say nothing!" She begged her lips to move, but nothing came out of her mouth as she watched the boy's back move further away. Her first conversation with someone her age and she was letting it slip through her fingers.

'Come on! Move!'

Page Break

'Maaan that was awkward.' Izuku sighed as he continued towards the doors.

He was one half embarrassed and one half satisfied. He had gone out of his way to try and calm the girl down, going up to her and trying to distract her from her worries.

'What was I thinking? Smiling like a weirdo. She must think I'm creepy with how she was looking at me.'

On the other hand, he seemed to have succeeded as she didn't appear to be panicking anymore. She was probably too preoccupied with the weird kid that started talking to her randomly. He could take a strange feeling of accomplishment in that.

'Oh well. Better to just forget about that.'

Suddenly there was a tug on his sleeve, he looked back.

It was her, he was so distracted he didn't notice her approach. She looked up into his eyes with her own, with eyes that had held such terror and panic, but were now filled with something else.

She had a pursed, yet honest smile on her face.

"Thank you." She said quietly, then released his arm and ran past him towards the doors.

Izuku stood there for a few seconds before he smiled excitedly.

He had helped and talked to a girl!

Page Break

'I talked to someone! A boy! I talked to a boy my age!' Angel could barely contain a squeal of excitement as she walked briskly down the hall on the way to the written exam room, her fists balled against her chest. Her heart beat like a rock star with a drum, but she wasn't afraid this time. She was exhilarated, ecstatic that for the first time ever, she had a real conversation with another teenager.

The fact that she only said two words didn't occur to her.

'I feel like I can do anything!' She thought, stepping into her assigned exam room, for the first time in her life, with confidence.

Her high lasted throughout the entire written exam which tested her knowledge of the laws and regulations that came with the heroic profession, knowledge she was intimately familiar with due to her… previous work. She did waver a little being in the same room as several other applicants but they were spaced far enough apart she managed to push through.

It was when they were called to the auditorium that her anxiety started to worm its way back in. It was the briefing on the practical exam, the dreaded trial that determined the one percent acceptance rate that Yūei was famous for. It would be her one shot for getting into the most renowned hero academy in the world and the one place she could have a chance at a normal school life in peace.

That was why she needed to get accepted no matter what.

She knew that life wouldn't make it easy on her the moment she stepped into the auditorium.

There were so. Many. People. Row after row after row of people. It was all that she could do not to pass out in fright at the sheer number occupying the seats. In an effort to avoid having another panic attack she ran over to one of the far corners of the stands, that way she would potentially only have one person to sit next to and no one behind her.

When she got there, the seat next to the corner was occupied by a boy with a black feathered bird head, sitting in his seat facing forward with a dark intensity.

She was reluctant to sit next to him due to his intimidating presence, but she didn't believe she could make it back across the stands again. So she stepped closer until the boy cocked his head to her, his red eyes strangling any chance she had at saying a word and reminding her too much of a certain blonde.

Shakily she pointed at the seat next to him. He studied her for a second, then nodded and returned his attention to the stage below.

Releasing a breath she didn't know she was holding, Angel set herself down in the chair. She joined the crowd with anxious anticipation as the lights dimmed and a single figure strutted on stage.

Page Break

The briefing was equally thrilling, quelling and vexing. Firstly it was headed by Present Mic, pro hero and popular radio personality. Angel had been star struck when he came out on stage and briefly wondered if she could get an autograph before he explained the exam's conditions.

Robots would be their opponents, points awarded for their defeat, low level baddies worth one point, middle worth two and high worth three. In addition there was to be a fourth enemy worth zero points meant to "go wild and make a lot of noise" according to Mic, whatever that meant.

Disregarding the video game metaphors that Mic made, the details of the challenge had been made clear and they couldn't be more skewed in her favour. Her quirk would likely be the most suited for the task out of all the applicants and she didn't have to worry about holding back against a robot as opposed to a person.

Yet despite that fact, she couldn't stop the iota of worry that rose in her stomach.

'My quirk.' Angel thought as she unconsciously clenched her left hand. This would be the first time she used her quirk to its fullest extent outside of training under Moxxi's watchful eye. They had worked their hardest for the past five months, but her control beyond her basic abilities was shaky at best. She wouldn't have to worry about killing robotic opponents but what if she accidentally hurt one of the applicants, or worse?

'What if it happens again?' She fretted as she was led along with her division to the testing field, shivering in the cool post winter air, dressed in her black tracksuit which was lighter than her earlier attire.

"When you have something that needs doing Sugar, focus on the present. Everyone screws up but you can't let that fear stop you. Don't worry what has and could be, focus on what WILL be. There is nothing more hampering than performance anxiety after all."

She shook her head. She couldn't dwell on the past, she needed to focus on what would very likely determine her future.

Breathe in, breath out. Drown out all fears and distractions. The idle chatter of her fellow applicants faded away as she formed her centre. Nothing else mattered in this moment, only her performance. She rolled up her left sleeve revealing the light blue kaleidoscopic markings that ran all the way from her fingertips up her arm and under her clothes.

There was no turning back.

When the gate opened unannounced she was the only one who immediately charged in, Moxxi had told her they gave no warnings. She had gotten a considerable lead before everyone else realized that the test had started so unceremoniously.

The test took place in a fake city environment, an average Japanese urban centre with office buildings, streets and alleyways in between. There was a lot of ground to cover and many places for the targets to hide, all the other applicants taking off down random paths in search of their first targets.

Angel didn't have to.

Stopping in the middle of an intersection, she closed her eyes and listened. The world faded and the white noise filled her head. There was a lot less surrounding noise than in a real city. The infrastructure had no electrical systems such as lights, ventilation or plumbing, such features would be wasted on a lifeless city meant to be a battlefield. The only devices they had was an abundance of surveillance cameras for the judging board to watch her performance.

They were watching her, assessing if she had what it takes to be in their school.

She shook her head, dismissing her errant thoughts once more. Concentrating, she probed (for lack of a better term) her surroundings. She pushed past the whispering of the cameras and beyond.

There! A series of deep growling scattered throughout the city!

Her destination clear, she broke back into a sprint and turned left off the street into a back alleyway! Inside was a group of robots, bulky, green and the size of cars. They each had a number on their chassis. One, one and two, four points all together. The two-pointer resembled some kind scorpion creature, a round body suspended by four crab legs with a long striking tail on the back and a small head on an equally long neck.

The one pointers made Angel pause for a half second, they were a box body on a large tire with two heavy arms for punching each. She half expected for them to start dancing before all three bots turned to her.

"TARGET ACQUIRED!" They each stated in their empty voices as their red eyes flashed and charged forward.

"Up, down, back and around. Keep it flowing. Up, down, back and around." She chanted to herself.

As they approached a warmth grew within the centre of her chest, spreading like a wildfire through her body, setting her nerves alight with a buzzing sensation.

"Keep it flowing. Up, down, back and around." Her tattoos began to glow, changing from blue to a pure white.

The first one-pointer reared its fist back and swung!

Jumping to the side Angel narrowly avoided getting pummeled by the attack and reached for the side of the robot's arm. Her fingers brushed against the hot surface of the metal and sparks jumped from her skin to the robot's body. The robot immediately started to spasm and shudder then it fell to the ground with a mechanical whine and a groan.

Angel took note of her first takedown, not even breaking stride as the two-pointer's stinger-like tail reared back. Dropping down, she slid on her back under its body, ignoring the burning friction of the asphalt, more afraid of the impact of the metal weapon cracking the ground behind her as she quickly slapped the robot's undercarriage. It groaned and crashed as she scrambled to her feet to confront the last one-pointer. Fortunately it's programming seemed basic at best, a fact proven as it just rushed at her no differently than the last two. Once again dodging out of its telegraphed attack she reached out with her hand once again, but with a different plan in mind.

First with another slap she shocked it like before, but only with enough power to paralyze it to give her enough time to work her magic. It jolted and froze in place, its joints and servos whining as they tried to move.

She laid her palm on its chassis.

Breathing in she said three words, the weight of which she was to carry for the rest of her life.

"Executing... phase shift."

The next moment she felt the warmth in her arm jump from her body as she watched a wave of sparks surge over the metal under her palm. It continued its journey all the way up the robot's body and when it reached the head it shuddered once, twice, then with a beep its red eye flickered and turned blue.

"Entering standby mode. Awaiting orders." It stated, standing straight. Walking behind it, Angel wondered if it technically counted for her score. It was neutralized in a sense, but it was supposed to simulate a villain and she wasn't sure if what she was about to do was legal. Shaking away the distracting thoughts, she climbed onto its back. It didn't matter if she didn't get the point, this robot was going to help her in a different way.

Clambering over its shoulders she rested her legs on either side of its head and held onto it like a steering wheel.

"Go!" She commanded!

The robot's single tire squealed and it took off down the alleyway towards the street! The bright sun briefly flashing her eyes, she was back on the main throughway. Jerking the robot's head to the right, it leaned over and turned towards the centre of the test area.

She closed her eyes. The largest concentration of noise was to the North-East, rippling through her dark mindspace. Plotting an optimal course to allow for as many targets as possible, she opened her eyes and steered left out the intersection then willed the robot to go faster! It leaned forward, its engine roaring as it picked up speed causing her hair to whip around her face in the cold wind!

Down the road she could see some of the other applicants fighting against their own opponents. Deep down she felt guilty for what she was about to do, but she didn't want to dwell on the morality of her strategy.

'This is a test and a competition. I'm playing to win'

She lifted her arms.

Angel swallowed nervously as her self appointed tutor placed an old television set onto a barrel on the far side of the freight container, the room jostling as the train ran down the tracks. The wind blew in from the open side door, the coastline flying by in a blur.

"Alright kid. We know what your quirk can do for the most part, mess with machines and all that stuff. Problem with that is that you need to make physical contact with your target in order for you to work your magic."

"I-Is that really such a problem? Can't I just work with what I know?" Angel asked nervously. She still wasn't used to talking to someone in person despite everything they had gone through.

"Most criminals don't rely on guns and robots these days and even then they aren't just going to let you touch them, so you are going to need to expand your repertoire. With that in mind we are going to do an exercise to prove a little theory of mine." Her tutor said, slapping her gloved hand on the top of the outdated device.

"What theory?"

"I have an idea that people with powers like ours act similarly. We have our own things that we can do but the base and use of our powers might be the same."

"How do you know that could be true? I've never used my powers in any other way."

Her tutor rested her hands on her hips and stared out the door towards the late afternoon sun as if somewhere else. "You're not the first person I've met with similar powers Angel. I met a woman eight years ago named Commandant Steele. She was a leader of a private militia ordered to keep the peace in Iraq. The boys and I fought her in the bombed out ruins of some town she blew to pieces and long story short we killed her. She had control of metals, moving them around and shaping them like clay with her mind, but she could also do something like this."

She raised her pointer finger and at the tip, a pong ball sized orb of plasma formed, glowing with a dangerous intensity and heat despite its size. With a flick of the hand, the orb shot out the open door into the air over the ocean before detonating in a burst of purple energy!

"Ah! So loud!" Angel gaped as her tutor lowered her arm. "Wait, you think I can do that too?!"

"In a way. If my theory holds together you could probably do a lot of the other things I can, possibly with your own spin on it. Steele's was like a cannon shell made of shrapnel."

Angel glanced back at the television set, putting the pieces together. "So I'm gonna try to blow up a tv?"

"Not quite. Like I just said, I believe that the way our quirks work is that we have the same base abilities but with different variations to complement our unique ones. In my case my little hand blast just blows things up with plasma, but if I'm right, yours might do something completely different. We are going to find out what. 'You ready to give it a shot?"

Angel hesitated before pursing her lips and giving a determined nod. "I'll do my best Lilith!"

Leading with her left arm, she braced it below the elbow with her other.

"When I first tried to use my powers, the energy would be unfocused, running rampant. So I came up with a little trick. I used an image in my head to guide the energy, telling it how to behave. Then once you have the image, walk through the steps on how you'd use it. Here's what I used."

Clenching her fist she breathed in once more.

'Load.' The circuit of power coursing through her body began to gather at her wrist, her tattoos pulsing from her centre to her arm.

'Aim.' She cocked her thumb up and pointed her index and middle fingers forward while keeping the last two against her palm. The energy filled her two fingers and the tips began to emanate blue light from within. She pointed towards the closest target she was approaching, a three pointer a couple of applicants were fighting on the sidewalk.

The energy reached its breaking point, begging to be let free.

'Sleep!' With that silent command she released the power contained, a blue bolt of energy shot from her fingers with a bang! The bolt soared over the applicants shoulders and impacted on the three pointer's chassis, washing over the surface causing it to smoke and spasm then fall to the ground inert. The two applicants fighting it jumped back in alarm before quickly realizing what happened.

"What the hell?!"

"Hey that was mine!" They yelled at her as she raced by, their words falling on deaf ears.

'If I count the two bots earlier, then that makes six points.' She counted in her head as she barreled down the road. She repeated the process, steering through the city towards the areas with the highest concentration of noise and shooting each robot she could see. It turned out that riding on the back of a high speed motorized machine to rapidly cover ground combined with the ability to sense and instantly shut down the robots from range was the perfect strategy, before long she had a score of fifty four and possibly the ire of all the other applicants. The odds were so clearly stacked in her favor that the exam resembled less of a test and more of a carnival shooting gallery.

"Ugh…" She groaned, pulling back her firing arm to rest it on her temple. A dull ache had started in her head, an unfortunate side effect to using her quirk in such a way. While communicating with machines was second nature for her at this point, channeling the energy outward or anything beyond that was taxing.

'I need to pace myself.' For all she knew her score was in the lower rankings without a frame of reference and there was less than half the time left. If she incapacitated herself and got left out on the remainder of the points before the exam ended she might not pass.

Closing her eyes once more however, she noticed that there were not many targets left, just a few clusters in the furthest edges of the zone.

'Is this all there is to it?' She wondered reopening her eyes as she passed by some of the other applicants who were still fighting their own targets. She recognized one of them, a tall, athletic boy with trimmed black hair and square lens glasses. He had been vocal during the assembly asking questions about the exam and berating another one of the applicants for being a distraction, whom she couldn't see from where she was sitting. His quirk seemed to be a form of jet engines in his calves which he used to run at incredible speeds and decapitate robots with powerful kicks. He definitely seemed like a shoo-in for a placement.

'Maybe I should ask what his score is?' She thought before sticking a pin in the idea. Why waste valuable time when he likely wouldn't tell her his score? They were competing and he owed her no favors.

'Stop thinking too hard…' She told herself as she glanced away from the boy.'-and get back in the-' she cut herself off as her attention returned to the road, just in time to notice someone running across right in front of her!

"STOOOP!" She screamed in English as she slammed her hands on the robot's head!

Her tattoos pulsed and the robot shuddered.

With a loud bang her mount exploded, all of its parts separated from each other spontaneously.

"AH!" She gaped in surprise. 'At least that person won't get hurt!' She thought to herself. Unfortunately this didn't counter the fact that she was now flying through the air in a shower of metal.

Suddenly she felt something grasp her ankle and she stopped.

In midair.

The robot's remains flew past her and tumbled down the street as she floated there unaffected by gravity, her inertia lost.

She looked back. Holding onto her ankle was the person whom she almost ran over, a bright faced girl with bright rosy cheeks, her brown eyes matching her cropped neck length hair. Carefully, she dragged Angel down through the air like a balloon until she touched the ground.

The girl pressed her fingertips together giving Angel a peak at the small pads they had.

"Release!" She chanted and Angel immediately felt gravity take hold once more, landing on her hands and knees. As soon as she did the girl laced her hands together in a pleading motion.

"OHMYGOSHIMSOSORRY!" She cried as she dramatically bowed her head in apology, the sudden volume causing Angel to jump back in surprise. "I was not looking where I was going! Please forgive me!"

This situation was so sudden Angel didn't know what to do. The person she had almost killed was practically prostrating herself begging forgiveness in the middle of the exam! She hadn't expected having a conversation with a second person today, let alone in such a weird turn of events!

Feeling her heart rate begin to climb again, she took a deep breath to calm herself. She couldn't have another break down, not now. Besides, she had spoken to that nice boy before, she could do it again right?

'Just three words. Just three words.' Swallowing, she opened her mouth.

"I-I… for-"

Then she heard it. A deep wave of noise so loud, it was a tremor running up her spine and flooded her brain!

"AAH!" She gasped in pain and clutched her head, catching the attention of the girl who ran and knelt down to look her over.

"Are you okay?! Do you need a doctor?!"

While touched by the girl's concern, Angel only shook her head. The sudden shock was already fading, she needed to warn the girl.

"Something… Something is-!" Right before she could finish a rumbling began, the ground started to shake!

"What's happening?!" The girl yelled.

Angel closed her eyes trying to find the source of the noise and boy did she! Deep underground was the single largest voice she had ever heard and it was rising! It was getting closer!

'Too close!' She jolted and scrambled to her feet! She grabbed the girl's hand and pulled her along, ignoring her yelp of surprise.

Not two seconds after, the office building across the street exploded, sending concrete, glass and dust everywhere! A giant box shaped form pushed through the debris.

Angel's eyes widened.

Of course. There were four types of enemies for the exam.

Looming over them was the single biggest robot she had ever seen! It looked like the kind of behemoth that would in those old giant monster movies, the ones where they leveled cities!

All around, applicants were running and yelling in fear! A giant danger, its defeat holding no value scorewise, it was best to scatter!

"Come on!" She told the girl whose hand she grasped getting a frantic nod in return. Together they started running away from the Zero-pointer which either by accident or design seemed to be chasing after them! Nearly stumbling from the constant quakes being made by the behemoth's tank treads, Angel couldn't help but remember Present Mic's briefing.

'This is a little bigger than a lot of noise darn it!'

Glancing back she gasped as the Zero-pointer's claw smashed through a parking complex above, scooping a handful of debris and sent it soaring through the air! The sky darkened!

They were going to be crushed.

Angel reached out.

"MOVE!" She screamed and pushed, then everything went black.

Page Break

'THIS IS CRAZY! THIS IS INSANE!' Izuku lay on his back as he gaped at the mechanical monstrosity towering over the city. Going into the practical exam he didn't really have a plan beyond find robots, get points, pass. The what and the why was simple enough, it was the how that was tripping him up. It had been hours since he swallowed All-Might's strand of hair yet he still didn't feel any different.

Thus he had wasted almost the entirety of the exam running frantically looking for some way to earn any points!

The situation had only gone from bad to worse when the Zero-pointer arrived in an eruption of concrete and glass. It was now bearing down on him and the rest of the applicants, rolling down the road and smashing through the adjoining buildings with apathetic and robotic purpose. Screw failing the exam, he might not even live to see tomorrow!

Rolling onto his knees he started scrambling to get back to his feet!

'I'VE GOT TO GET OUT OF HERE! I NEED TO RUN AND GET SOME POINTS!' He thought as he tried to escape. Images of everything he had done, everything he had labored to do, all of his mentor's efforts and gifts had led up to this moment!

'IF I DON'T PASS! EVERYTHING, WILL BE WASTED!'

"SOMEBODY! HELP ME!" A shrill cry cut through the air and he turned back.

Behind him in the middle of the road was a brown haired girl. He briefly remembered seeing her at the gate before the exam started. She seemed to be a bit dirty but otherwise uninjured so why was she calling for help? What was she doing anyway? The Zero-pointer was getting closer by the second!

Glancing down, he noticed that she was trying to move a pile of rubble, frantically lifting pieces many times her size using her quirk to make them seemingly weightless. It was not until she had thrown away a particularly large slab of concrete did he see her goal.

It was her, the girl he had spoken to. Her legs were trapped underneath the rubble. Blood was leaking from a cut on her head. Her face twisted with pain as the other girl tried to pull her out. Behind them the Zero-pointer advanced. She wasn't going to get free in time.

Right then, Izuku remembered the moment they met. How calm and gentle the hand on his shoulder had been. How small and grateful was her smile. The pure emotion that had filled her eye as a result of his actions. Joy.

"Thank you."

She needed help.

Thus he didn't run to safety. He did what a hero does.

Run to the danger.

Page Break

Angel had never been knocked out before. She had seen it done to other people plenty of times through a screen. It had always looked like the victim had just fallen into a deep sleep, so she imagined it to be like a nap of some kind.

Boy was she wrong.

When she first started coming to the world was a mess of sound, a constant ringing echoing through her head as if there were church bells at her ears. Her body swayed like the Earth was rolling in a funnel, spinning around and around. The world around her was black and out of focus, everything in her vision a bunch of warping blobs. Something warm was running down her face.

'Ugh… I'm going to be sick…' She thought as she swallowed, trying to push down her breakfast threatening to escape.

'I'm just… going to take a nap… wait… what was I doing before..?'

Suddenly she felt a tugging on her arm.

She blinked. 'Wait, where's my arm?' She couldn't see or move it, something heavy was holding it down.

The next moment it was lifted off her arm, flooding her vision with light making her eyes burn. A large blob entered her line of sight and started pulling on her arm again. As the ringing started to fade and her vision sharpened her mind began to catch up. She heard a rumbling that seemed to be everywhere and felt it shake the road underneath her. Glancing about she saw ruined buildings and debris litter the ground.

Her memories finally caught up to her. The exam, the girl, the robot.

'Oh right, I pushed the girl out of the way. Did I get buried?'

"Come on!" A familiar voice cried. "We need to get you out!" The pulling on her arm strengthened. Angel looked up.

It was the girl, her face worried and desperate as she kept pulling on Angel's arm.

'She's trying to pull me out? Why? Shouldn't she be going for more points?'

Then she looked behind her and she knew the answer.

The Zero-pointer was steadily approaching, its treads running over a chunk of concrete, pulverizing it into a cloud of dust!

She immediately started to panic, the fear and adrenaline slamming her mind with lucidity. Looking back to the girl Angel gave her a nod and tried to pull herself out from under the rubble.

"AGH!" She screamed! Lightning bolts of pain shot from her right leg making her look back. From what little she could see of her pinned leg, the bottom of her pants torn, she could pick out the large red splotch below her knee and the bone poking her skin.

It was broken.

The girl must have noticed because the next second she had moved around and had begun to lift more slabs off of her. Looking past her, Angel watched the Zero-pointer draw closer. Even with this girl's quirk hastening the process, there wasn't going to be enough time.

A cold, dark feeling wormed its way into her heart. Hanging her head, tears started to bead in her eyes.

'Dad… you were right. I couldn't do this… and now… I'm going to die…'

Suddenly a shockwave of sound and energy burst in front of her, catching her attention! In the middle of the street was an empty crater!

"AH! Who is that!" She heard the girl behind her. Looking back at her, she was wearing an expression of awe as she gazed skyward, prompting Angel to mimic her.

Her eyes widened.

Shooting into the sky was the green haired boy! With a single leap he had ascended right in front of the Zero-pointer's face!

BOOOOOM!* With one punch the robot's skull caved in like a tin can and slowly began to topple backwards as explosions enveloped its body!

Angel gawked in disbelief. The small, gentle boy had destroyed the biggest robot she had ever seen in a single blow!

'Such power!' She thought as she watched him hang in the sky like on the cover of a comic book.

'Wait.' She paused. 'How is he going to get down?'

As if triggered by her observation, the boy started to plummet! Angel's astonishment turned to terror as he fell, finally noticing the way he clutched at his arm and how his legs flapped uselessly in the wind!

'He has no way to land!'

Desperately she tried to pull herself out from under the rubble again, but like before her leg stung in protest.

Out of the corner of her eye, Angel spotted the girl from earlier trying to lift herself up on a piece of the Zero-pointer like an elevator. It raised a couple feet before slamming back down, the girl holding a hand to her mouth, looking like she was going to vomit!

'She can't use her quirk anymore, she used it all on me!'

Glancing back up, the boy was catching speed! She searched around desperately, someone was coming to save him right?

But no. Either out of fear or an inability to do anything, all the other applicants were struck dumb in shock!

No one was coming.

Angel watched as her rescuer fell to his death, killed in his efforts to save her.

"Everyone you ever meet, you will hurt them. You will hurt them and they will die and there is nothing you can do about it."

'He's going to die… because of me…' She thought.

"Hey Lilith…" Angel mumbled as they watched the sunset, hanging their legs out over the edge of the moving train car.

"Hm?"

"You said you think I could do some of the things you and Steele can right?"

Angel clenched her fists.

Lilith quirked her brow at the question. Following Angel's gaze out the door, she saw what was catching her attention and chuckled.

"I did, why?"

"Did she ever..?"

"Yuuup."

The energy flowed once more running down the circuit impulsively, her conscious mind absent.

"How do you do it?! What kind of image thingy do I need to make?! Come on!" She asked with an uncharacteristically childish energy.

Lilith only shook her head. "Sorry kid, but it's not that easy."

Angel tilted her head in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Shooting lasers is one thing Angel, but that… it's… hard to describe. You ever learn how to, oh, um, you ever watch someone learn how to ride a bike when they are a kid?"

She nodded.

"It's kinda like that. One second someone is holding onto the seat and you can't imagine doing it without them, then they just push and you either fall over or you're flying down the road on your own! Then it's just second nature. Does… that make sense?"

"I dunno. Maybe a little? Was that how you learned? Riding a bike?"

"Not really. Bad example." Lilith groaned. "I guess all I can really do is tell you how it really happened. When I was a little girl I was kind of the school freak. Some places are more judging of people's differences and kids can be especially cruel. I had horrible control over my quirk back then, flickering in and out like a bad tv, bursting into flames and the other kids would make fun of my tattoos, saying that I looked like someone couldn't draw within my lines."

She took in a deep breath and sighed. "One day, I was walking home from school. A couple boys thought it'd be fun to do some "target practice", throwing rocks at me. They chased me towards a river, they knew I couldn't swim.

As I got closer to the water, all I could think about… was how much I just wanted to get away. Not just from the boys, but from my problems. My on and off powers, how people treated me, all of it.

I just wanted to be free."

She pushed, the energy surged faster.

"No… that's wrong. It was less of a want… more of a desire."

With each push her head pounded with more and more force, but she didn't stop. Her tattoos flashed from blue to white.

"I didn't want to be free…"

The energy became even more vibrant, jumping from her shoulder towards her back.

"I NEEDED to be free!"

The circuit was filled, there was nowhere for the energy to go.

"And then… I jumped."

Everything was engulfed in white light.

Page Break

"I did it…" Izuku thought to himself. Below him the Zero-pointer exploded into bits. It had happened again. In the instant he saw someone in trouble, he had run headfirst towards the danger without a single thought, let alone a second. Just like ten months ago when he tried to save Katsuki from the sludge villain.

Unlike ten months ago he hadn't been powerless to actually do something this time. It had happened so fast! One second he had been in the street, then there was just a rush of sheer power, coursing through his body! In a flash he had jumped in the face of the Zero-pointer and demolished the robot!

It was all true, he had inherited One for All! He finally had a quirk!

His amazement made him feel like he was flying!

Then it abruptly ended, replaced with a sinking feeling, like he was falling.

'OH CRAP, I AM FALLING!' He realized as the wind whipped around him.

'Wait it's okay! I'll just use One for All again! Yes I'm fine! I'm fine! I'm fine! I'm fine!' He thought, trying to call his new found power into his limbs again, only to be met with daggers of pain making him look at himself.

His right arm was beet red, his knuckles bloody and destroyed as his limb flapped about uselessly! His legs were in the same shape waving around like limp noodles!

'IM BROKEN!'

"Remember young man, you have molded yourself into an adequate vessel for my quirk, but just barely. There might be some backlash." All-Might's words of caution sprung into his head.

'CRAP! I USED IT WITHOUT THINKING! NOW I ONLY HAVE ONE ARM AND NO WAY TO SAVE MYSELF! NO WAIT! I CAN USE A DETROIT SMASH, CUSHION MY FALL! BUT IF I DO THAT… I WON'T BE ABLE TO GET ANY POINTS!'

And so Izuku continued to plummet, his mind racing as he tried to make a decision.

As it happened, fate made it for him.

From somewhere on the ground there was an explosion of light! Instinctively, Izuku shielded his eyes with his good hand.

'What was…' His thoughts cut short as he felt something move in the space in front of him. He looked up and time seemed to stop.

Drifting in the air was a majestic, winged apparition. Their body was a silhouette, overshadowed by the light emanating from their wings, the source of the otherworldly illumination as it floated with its arms outstretched. Their wings were ethereal, composed of pure energy, shimmering and shifting into different shades of white light like an aurora woven into a cloak of feathers. The only other features visible were curving and spiraling lines spread from the tip of their left fingers all the way up to a sloping mark in the centre of their chest, radiating with the same white glow. The sun glistened above their head from behind the clouds, shining golden like a heavenly halo.

Izuku was stupefied in the presence of the wonder before him.

'Is that… an angel?'

Without warning, the being soared to the side out of his vision. The light fell down upon the Earth as he felt a pair of arms wrap themselves below his chest. On either side of him, those gossamer wings fanned out and caught the wind like two sails, his stomach leaping into his throat. A bit jarringly, Izuku's mad descent slowed as he reached the ground.

With a final flash, the light winked out of existence, dropping him roughly onto the pavement, unharmed.

'I'm… safe.' He sighed in disbelief just before he heard the sound of another body hitting the ground making him glance over.

It was the shy girl. Lying on her back almost completely still, he worried she was dead for a moment before he noticed the rise and fall of her chest. Her overall appearance was dirty and battered, her right leg was broken, but she looked like she was going to be alright. She seemed to be asleep or unconscious but with a smile and a look on her face which he could only describe as content.

She had saved his life.

"Thank you…" He choked, then grit his teeth and started dragging himself with his good arm.

"Now all I gotta do… is get one point!"

"TIMES UP! THE EXAM IS OVERRRRRRR!" Present Mic screamed!

Izuku's blood ran cold. "I… failed…" And lost consciousness.

He would later despair, unaware however, of the ramifications of the events that had just taken place shaping not only himself and countless others, but of the girl that lay beside him.

Page Break

"And that's how you learned to fly?"

Lilith nodded. "More or less. It became more natural after that first time."

"I hope I won't need someone throwing rocks at me to do it."

"Hopefully not, but I won't lie and say that the threat didn't play a part in it." Lilith laid a careful palm on her shoulder, not missing how the girl flinched. "The time will come at some point and when it does you will have to be ready for it."

Angel remained quiet for a moment.

"How will I know if I'm ready?"

"You won't know until it happens. Moments like that… no one can really be prepared for. I didn't know what was going to happen, just that I needed to do something. So I jumped. It was a leap of faith."

Angel looked down at her legs swinging over the edge of the boxcar. They sat in silence, neither of them making a sound until Lilith finally groaned and got to her feet.

"Welp, I'm gonna grab a bite to eat. Hopefully the boys got the hibachi grill working. You want anything?"

"Sure."

Lilith walked away, leaving Angel to return her gaze to the flock of birds flying against the setting sun.

"A leap of faith…"