God of Heroics: Comicman!

"Today's foundational heroics class will be a rescue exercise."

Vlad King stood at the front of the classroom with his arms crossed and a look on his face that said he'd been waiting to announce this.

"You'll be supervised by a three-person team. Myself, All Might, and one other instructor you'll meet at the venue."

"What kind of rescue?" Kaibara asked.

"Disaster scenarios. Floods, fires, earthquakes, landslides, storms. The real situations that kill real people."

"This isn't combat. Nobody is trying to punch you. The enemy is time, collapsing structures, rising water, and your own panic." He uncrossed his arms. "You'll have the option to wear your hero costumes. The training area is offsite, so we're taking a bus. Go get ready. We leave in fifteen."

The locker room buzzed. Most students suited up. Manga pulled on his cobalt blue jacket, checked the throat collar, and clipped his water bottle to his belt. Tetsutetsu was in full chrome-accented gear. Kamakiri's cloak already had blade holes in the collar from last time.

Monoma straightened his tuxedo tie in the mirror and caught Manga watching.

"What?"

"You're wearing a tuxedo to a disaster rescue."

"Heroes should always look their best. Especially in crisis."

"Can’t argue against that." Manga laughed.

The bus was one of those wide, open-cabin models with bench seating that faced inward. Twenty students in hero costumes packed together.

The conversations started before the bus left the U.A. gate.

"So rescue training," Awase said, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. "How do you guys feel about this? My quirk welds stuff together. I can make broken structures stable, fuse beams back in place, seal cracks. I actually think I'm better suited for rescue than combat."

"Vines are obviously natural for rescue," Shiozaki said, hands folded. "I can reach victims trapped in high or low places, create bridges, deal with rubble. The Lord designed my quirk to be a tool of salvation."

"Must be nice," Kamakiri muttered. "I make blades. How the hell do I rescue someone with blades?"

"No clue." 

"What about you, Tetsutetsu?" Tokage leaned across the aisle. "Steel man in a rescue zone."

"I got no clue, dude. This is gonna suck…"

"My quirk is probably the worst for rescue," Kuroiro said from his spot near the back, arms crossed. "I hide in shadows. Shadows don't save people."

"You could scout dark areas without a light source," Honenuki offered. "Collapsed buildings are dark inside. You could find victims nobody else can reach."

Kuroiro's eyes widened slightly. "Hm. The darkness reveals what the light cannot." He smiled to himself.

"There he goes," Kaibara chuckled.

"What about Manga?" Pony asked, leaning forward on her horns. "Your quirk can do, like... everything?"

"Not everything," Manga said. A little thought bubble appeared in his speech bubble, showing a tiny version of himself surrounded by question marks. "But yeah, I've got a lot of options for rescue."

"Show off," Tokage said, but she was smiling.

"What about you, Tokage?" Tsuburaba asked. "How do you rescue someone by falling apart?"

"I send pieces into collapsed buildings to find trapped people. I can see through my detached eyes, talk through a detached mouth, grab with detached hands. I'm basically a search-and-rescue drone built into a person."

"That's so unfair," Awase admitted.

"And yet I only got two votes for class president." She gave the bus a look. Nobody met her eyes as they laughed.

"I think the real question," Monoma said, crossing his legs and steepling his fingers, "is whose quirk is the flashiest for rescue. Because the public doesn't just want heroes who save them. They want heroes who look good doing it."

"Flashiest? Manga, obviously," Kamakiri said. "Giant floating words saving people from burning buildings? The TV cameras would go crazy."

"I disagree," Tokage said. "Tetsutetsu catching a falling car in steel form is way more cinematic."

"You're both wrong," Tsuburaba jumped in. "Imagine Shiozaki lowering people from a cliff with her vine hair. That's a painting. That's art."

Shiozaki blushed and murmured something about the Lord's work not requiring an audience.

"What about popularity though?" Pony asked. "Like, who in this class would be the most popular hero based on personality alone?"

"Kendo," Honenuki said immediately. "She's responsible, likeable, and approachable. Easy number one."

"I'd vote for Fukidashi," Rin said quietly. "Kids would love him. The speech bubble, the costumes, the whole manga theme. He's marketable."

"Marketable!" A little yen sign appeared in Manga's bubble.

"Monoma would be popular with a very specific female demographic," Tokage said, tapping her chin.

"What demographic is that?" Monoma was interested. "I am pretty charming."

"To yourself, maybe."

"I think I'd be popular!" Tetsutetsu declared. "I've got the look! I've got the attitude!"

"You've got the volume," Kamakiri picked at his ear. "Not the same thing."

"Komori would be popular," Kendo said. "The idol hero angle. Cute, quirky, mushroom theme. People would eat it up."

Komori's hidden eyes sparkled. "You really think so? I've always wanted to be an idol hero!"

"Bondo would scare children," Tsuburaba said. Then he looked at Bondo. "No offense."

"It's ok…" Bondo rumbled.

"Honestly?" Kaibara said from his seat. "Popularity rankings don't matter right now. We're first-years. None of us are popular."

"Kaibara, you are super boring sometimes," Tokage told him.

"I know. It's my quirk."

"Your quirk is spinning."

"My secondary quirk is being realistic."

The bus erupted in laughter. Even Kodai’s eyebrows jumped. The conversation spiraled into arguments about hero rankings, hypothetical team-ups, and who could beat who in an arm-wrestling tournament (Tetsutetsu nominated himself as the uncontested champion; Shishida cleared his throat politely; Tetsutetsu didn’t back down).

Then the USJ came into view through the front window, and the bus got loud in excitement.

The Unforeseen Simulation Joint was massive. A dome-shaped building that sat on the campus grounds like a small planet had decided to park itself in the hills. Even from outside, you could sense the scale of it.

They filed off the bus and through the entrance gate, and the interior opened up in front of them like something out of a theme park designed by someone who hated safety.

Six distinct zones spread out from a central plaza like slices of a pie. Ruins to the northeast, collapsed buildings leaning against each other at angles that defied physics. Landslide to the east, a slope of mud and debris. Mountains to the south, jagged cliffs rising into the dome's ceiling. A Conflagration zone to the southwest where actual fires burned behind heat-resistant barriers. Flood to the west, with real water and a capsized ship. Downpour to the northwest, rain sheeting down from overhead pipes in a controlled storm.

"Whoa," Tetsutetsu breathed.

"Indeed," Shishida agreed.

A figure in a puffy white space suit stood at the center of the plaza. Round helmet, dark visor, gloves that covered the fingertips almost completely. The Space Hero: Thirteen.

Some of the students recognized her immediately.

"No. 13!" Pony said, bouncing on her hooves. "The rescue hero! She does amazing disaster relief work! I've always been a fan!"

Thirteen raised a hand in greeting. Her voice was warm and clear behind the helmet.

"Welcome to the USJ! Before we begin, I want to share a few words." She held up a finger. "Or maybe a few more than a few. My quirk is called Black Hole. No matter what gets sucked into its vortex, it turns to dust."

"That quirk is freaking badass," Kamakiri grinned.

"It is a power that could easily be used to kill people. And in that way, it's no different from the quirks of everyone here." She let that settle. "In our society of superhumans, quirks are strictly regulated. We can tell at a glance that this is the makeup of our world. But please don't forget that each of you possesses a quirk that can go wrong. One wrong step is all it takes to accidentally hurt or kill someone."

The grin left Kamakiri's face.

"During All Might's battle trial, I hope you came away with a true sense of the danger of wielding your powers against one another. This lesson will serve as a fresh start! Let's study how to use our quirks for the sake of human life! Your powers do not exist to hurt others. Please leave this exercise having fully understood that your quirks exist to help people!" She bowed. "That is all! Thank you for listening so intently!"

The class clapped. Hard.

"She's amazing," Kendo said.

"I want to be like her when I grow up," Pony whispered.

A thumbs-up emoji appeared in Manga's bubble.

All Might and Vlad King joined Thirteen at the center plaza.

"For today's exercise," Vlad King announced, "you'll be split into six groups and assigned to a disaster zone. Each zone has a simulated rescue scenario with training dummies representing trapped civilians. Your goal is to locate and extract every victim within the time limit."

"After each rotation," All Might added, his voice booming even at conversational volume, "your instructors will critique your performance! Then you'll rotate to a new zone and face a fresh scenario! Think of each zone as a new disaster, and each rotation as a chance to improve!"

Thirteen held up a box. "Groups are random. Draw a colored ball. The color matches your zone."

Twenty hands reached in.

Manga pulled red. Ruins.

He looked around at who else had red.

Kuroiro. Pony. Bondo.

"Let’s do this guys!" he said.

Kuroiro examined his ball. "The ruins. Fitting. Darkness and decay."

Pony held up her ball. "I got red too! We're teammates!"

Bondo made a sound that was either enthusiasm or his normal breathing. Hard to tell.

The other groups formed around them. Tetsutetsu held up a blue ball and immediately fell into a depression. Kamakiri got orange for Conflagration and swore. Kendo pulled green for Mountain and began strategizing with Shishida, who'd drawn the same color.

"To your zones!" Vlad King barked. "First rotation begins now!"

Ruins Zone. First Rotation.

The collapsed buildings were horrifyingly realistic.

Concrete slabs leaned against each other at angles that made Manga's spine tingle just looking at them. Rebar jutted from broken walls like exposed bone. Dust hung in the air. Somewhere deep inside the rubble, sensors blinked, marking the locations of training dummies that the students couldn't see from outside.

A timer on the wall read 15:00 and was counting down.

"Alright," Manga said, looking at his team. "Kuroiro, you're our eyes, buddy. Get in there and help us find some people to save. Your quirk lets you move through dark spaces faster than any of us. Tell us where they are and how they're trapped."

Kuroiro's pale eyes gleamed. "The shadows beckon." He pressed his hand against a dark slab of concrete and sank into it like water into a sponge. Gone.

"Pony, your quirk is perfect for helping people out. Once we know where someone is, you use your horns to pick them up, and carry them to the safe zone. You're the fastest mover on our team."

"Got it!" She detached two horns and they floated above her.

"Bondo, you're our man. If something's about to collapse while we're pulling someone out, you spray it. Your quirk can hold broken pieces together long enough for us to rescue. You're the reason the building doesn't kill us while we're inside it."

Bondo nodded. His head-holes were already dripping with readied adhesive.

"And me," Manga said. "I'll do whatever else is needed."

Thirty seconds in, Kuroiro's voice echoed from inside the rubble. He'd found a shadow that connected through the interior of three collapsed floors and emerged at a gap near the back of the structure.

"First victim! Ground floor, uhh southwest corner! Pinned under a concrete beam across the waist! This doesn’t look safe, Bondo we need you!"

Manga moved. "Bondo, let’s go save our first person. As heroes." Bondo shyly nodded, feeling the encouragement straightening his spine.

They picked their way through the entrance. The building groaned around them. Dust fell from cracks overhead.

Manga found the dummy. A robot dummy in civilian clothes, pinned under a beam that had to weigh several hundred kilos. The ceiling above it was cracked and sagging. One wrong move and the whole section would come down.

"Bondo. Please spray the ceiling. Every crack you can see."

Bondo raised his head and sprayed. Adhesive coated the fractures, seeping into gaps, hardening within seconds. The sagging stopped. The ceiling held.

"Nice work, dude." Manga looked at the beam pinning the dummy. He couldn't lift it. He couldn't Zudon it or the whole structure would shake. He needed something gentle. Something that would move the beam without disturbing anything around it.

"Fuwa-fuwa."

He spoke it softly, aiming the word at the beam. The kanji formed in the air and settled over the concrete. The beam's weight vanished. It lifted off the dummy, rising slowly, gently, floating upward until it pressed against the ceiling Bondo had just stabilized.

"Pony! We got one!"

Pony's horns shot through a gap in the wall, scooped under the dummy, and carried it out through the opening Kuroiro had mapped.

"First victim saved!" Pony called from outside.

Timer: 12:34 remaining.

"Kuroiro. We found another one, yet?"

"Already found it. Second floor, north side. Two victims in the same room. But uh, the stairwell is completely blocked. There's a gap through the eastern wall but it's pretty tight."

Manga looked at the blocked stairwell. Rubble packed from floor to ceiling. He scratched the back of his neck.

"Can't blast through that. The whole thing would come down on us." He looked at the wall of debris for a second. "Okay, what if I stretch it?"

"Stretch... rubble?" Pony tilted her head.

"Nobi-nobi."

He spoke the word at the packed rubble. The kanji settled over the blockage and the concrete shifted. The pieces elongated, thinned, pulled apart from each other like taffy being worked. Gaps opened between them.

"Kuroiro, can you fit through that?"

A pause. Then, from inside the rubble: "I'm already through. Try to keep up."

"Not a problem." Manga grinned. He hit it with a second, smaller Nobi-nobi to widen the gaps enough for Pony's horns to navigate. "Bondo, spray those stretched parts so they stay put please."

Bondo locked the stretched rubble in place with a few quick bursts. The gaps held.

Pony flew both dummies out, one tucked under each arm, horns weaving through the makeshift passage. She scraped her elbow on a piece of rebar on the way back and hissed but didn't stop.

"You good?" Manga called.

"Just a scratch! I'm fine!"

Timer: 8:47.

"Last one," Kuroiro reported, his voice echoing from somewhere above them. "Top floor. One victim. Bad news though. The floor up there is shifting. I can feel it moving when I pass through it. If anyone heavy walks on it, it's coming down."

Manga looked at the building's exterior. Cracked walls, but no openings big enough to fly through.

"We need a way in from outside," Pony said, hovering beside him. "But there's no hole."

"I could make one." Manga chewed on the idea for a second. "But if I hit it too hard the vibration might drop that floor anyway."

"What about a cut?" Kuroiro suggested from inside.

"Yeah... yeah, that could work." Manga faced the exterior wall. "Supa."

The kanji was small and exact, the sound of a clean cut through soft material. It sliced a section of the cracked exterior wall away, no vibration, no shaking, just a smooth incision. The panel tipped outward and landed on the grass with a soft thud.

"There's your door, Pony."

She flew in without hesitating. The floor creaked beneath nothing because she never touched it, hovering on her horns, grabbing the dummy, and flying back out through the hole.

"All victims saved!" Pony announced, landing in the safe zone with the last dummy.

Timer: 5:22 remaining.

The four of them stood in front of the Ruins Zone, dusty and breathing hard, and looked at each other.

"That was freaking sweet!" Pony said in English.

"The shadows performed admirably," Kuroiro agreed, which was his way of saying he had fun.

Bondo made a happy rumbling noise.

A confetti popped in Manga's bubble.

Thirteen appeared with a clipboard.

"Good teamwork. You figured out your roles naturally and adapted when things didn't go as expected. Kuroiro, using your quirk to scout dark interiors without disturbing the structures was clever thinking. That's exactly what rescue work needs."

Kuroiro stood a little taller.

"Tsunotori, your extraction was fast and you didn't panic when the passage was tight. Work on carrying multiple victims at once if you can, it'll save time in real scenarios."

Pony nodded, rubbing her scraped elbow.

"Bondo, the ceiling would have collapsed without your quirk. Structural support isn't glamorous but it keeps people alive. Remember that."

Bondo poked his index together as he nodded with a slightly reddish face.

"Fukidashi. You used your quirk intelligently. You didn't default to force." She paused. "Restraint is harder than power. That was well done."

A little sun emoji appeared in Manga's bubble.

"That said, your team was slow at the start. You were slowest on the first victim; in a real disaster that's the one that costs lives. Find your rhythm faster next time."

The sun emoji dimmed slightly. Fair point.

Between rotations, bits and pieces from the other zones drifted back through instructor radios and the students swapping stories at the central plaza.

Flood Zone:

Tetsutetsu had sunk.

Not on purpose. He'd activated Steel at the edge of the water to wade in, figuring he'd just muscle through it, and went straight to the bottom. Bubbles rose to the surface. A long, concerning pause.

Then he came back up, quirk deactivated, gasping and sputtering, holding a training dummy under one arm.

"I MEANT TO DO THAT!" he shouted, treading water with one arm.

He hadn't. But the second time, he actually did it on purpose. Steel on, sink to the victim, steel off, grab them, kick to the surface. By the third dummy he had a rhythm going. Sink, grab, surface, toss to shore.

Yanagi floated a rescue platform made from debris over the water. Honenuki softened the edge of the capsized ship to create handholds.

All Might's critique: "Young Tetsutetsu! You turned a weakness into a strategy! THAT is the spirit of Plus Ultra! Though perhaps announce the plan to your teammates before you vanish underwater next time. Young Yanagi nearly called for a rescue of the pro hero."

Tetsutetsu laughed nervously. Yanagi's expression didn't change, but she nodded once in confirmation.

Conflagration Zone:

Kamakiri stood at the entrance to a burning building with his blades out, staring at the flames, and came to a realization he didn't enjoy.

"I can't cut fire."

"Nope," Tokage said beside him.

"Well, shit."

Rin went in first. Scales up, heat bouncing off his armor, sweat running down his face. He wasn't comfortable but he was functional. He found the first dummy in a smoke-filled room, threw it over his shoulder, and walked back out.

Kamakiri spent the first attempt standing outside feeling useless. Then on the second run, a locked fire door blocked their path. Rin couldn't break it. Tokage's pieces couldn't grip the handle.

Kamakiri stepped up. Three blades, two cuts, the door fell inward in pieces. He grinned.

After that, he found his lane. Cutting through collapsed hallways, carving openings in walls for Tokage's scouting pieces to fly through, slicing obstacles that Rin's brute force couldn't handle without risking the structure.

By their third dummy, they were moving together. Tokage's eye scouted the layout, called positions. Kamakiri carved the path. Rin went in and came back with the victim.

Vlad King's critique: "Rin, you took point without being asked because you knew your quirk fit. Good instinct. Kamakiri, you were useless for five minutes and then you adapted. In a real fire, five minutes of standing around means people die. Find your role faster."

Kamakiri nodded. He dropped the ball on that one. Couldn’t even deny it.

Mountain Zone:

Shishida transformed and scaled a cliff face with two dummies under his arms, claws biting into stone. Tsuburaba blew air platforms for Kendo and Kodai to reach a victim stranded on a narrow ledge. Kodai enlarged a rope they'd found in the supply kit into something thick enough to rappel with, and Kendo used it to reach a dummy stuck in a crevasse.

Their biggest problem was communication. The wind at height ate their voices. They lost a full two minutes because Tsuburaba couldn't hear Kendo calling for an air platform and she nearly fell.

Thirteen's critique focused on that. "In loud environments, develop hand signals or visual cues. Your quirks are excellent for mountain rescue. Your communication needs to match."

Kendo immediately started working out a signal system with her team.

The rotations continued. Each team cycled to a new zone, and each zone brought new problems.

Manga's team hit Flood on their second rotation. Manga had never dealt with water rescue before and the first thirty seconds were a mess. Thankfully Pony's horns flew fine when wet. Unfortunately, Bondo's adhesive dissolved in water before it could set. Kuroiro couldn't find enough dark surfaces to merge with because the water reflected too much light.

"Okay, this is harder than Ruins," Manga admitted, knee-deep in water, holding a dummy's arm to keep it from floating away.

"Toro-toro."

He aimed it at the water around the capsized ship. The current slowed, the churning surface settling into something manageable. Not calm, but crossable.

"Pony, go now while it's slow."

She dove in, horns pulling her forward like an outboard motor, and reached the ship. Two dummies were inside the hull, accessible through a cracked porthole that Manga widened with a Nobi-nobi from shore.

They figured it out. Messily. Slowly. But they figured it out.

Thirteen's critique was kinder than they deserved. "Water is unforgiving. You struggled, and that's fine. Struggling is how you learn what doesn't work."

On their third rotation, Downpour. Heavy rain, gale-force wind, zero visibility. Manga tried shouting directions and the storm swallowed every word.

"This is impossible!" Pony yelled. Or at least, her mouth moved. The wind took everything.

Manga thought for a second. Then: "Shiin."

A pocket of silence formed around their huddle. The rain still pounded them. The wind still shoved. But inside the Shiin field, they could talk.

"Okay," Manga said, rain streaming off his speech bubble. "Let's figure this out."

They did. Bondo anchored loose debris. Kuroiro found victims by feeling through the dark interiors of buildings the storm had blacked out. Pony flew low, using structures as windbreaks. Manga kept the Shiin field up so they could coordinate.

It wasn't pretty. They were soaked, shivering, and cursing by the end of it. But every dummy made it to the safe zone.

By the end of the final rotation, twenty students stood in the central plaza. Exhausted. Soaked. Singed. Dusty. Some combination of all four.

"Outstanding work today," All Might boomed. "Every one of you showed the heart of a hero! Remember what you learned here! These skills will save lives!"

Thirteen bowed. "Your quirks exist to help people. I hope you felt that truth today."

They did.

The bus ride back was quieter than the ride in. They were exhausted.

Tetsutetsu was asleep against the window within three minutes, a faint snore rattling the glass. Kendo and Tokage compared notes on which zones had been hardest. Monoma wrote in a small notebook.

Manga sat with his head back and his eyes closed. His throat was warm but not raw. He'd paced himself. A calm smiley face floated in his bubble.

It had been a good day.

…

It stopped being a good day at 7:43 PM.

Manga was at his desk at home, sketchbook open, halfway through a new page of his fantasy manga, when his phone went off.

The group chat lit up with the kind of frantic, overlapping messages that only happened when something had gone very wrong.

Kendo: Did anyone else just see the news?

Monoma: Yes.

Tetsutetsu: WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON

Tokage: Class 1-A was attacked at the USJ. Villains. Actual villains.

Awase: wait WHAT

Kaibara: it's on every channel right now

Tokage: The same USJ we were at this morning.

Kendo: Everyone turn on the news.

Manga grabbed the remote and flipped channels. The screen showed the USJ from an aerial shot. Police vehicles. Ambulances. Pro heroes at the perimeter. The dome's entrance was damaged.

A reporter was talking about an organized villain attack on U.A.'s hero course students. Class 1-A. During their rescue training. At the exact facility Class 1-B had been training at hours earlier.

His phone kept buzzing.

Pony: oh my god. are they okay?? is everyone okay???

Shiozaki: Lord have mercy. I am praying for their safety and recovery.

Komori: this is so scary... they were just doing rescue training like us...

Honenuki: Reports say All Might showed up and dealt with the main threat. Some students were injured but no fatalities.

Rin: That's a relief.

Kamakiri: dude. that was US this morning. we were literally there.

Tetsutetsu: IF THOSE VILLAINS HAD COME A FEW HOURS EARLIER WE WOULD'VE BEEN THE ONES FIGHTING THEM

Shishida: I trust the faculty and pro heroes handled it appropriately. Our concern should be for our classmates in 1-A and their wellbeing.

Kendo: Shishida's right. If anyone has connections to 1-A students, check on them. Let them know we're thinking of them.

Awase: does anyone know which students got hurt?

Kaibara: News isn't saying specifics yet.

Shoda: I hope everyone's okay.

Kuroiro: The darkness came for them. But the light held.

Kamakiri: bro this is not the time

Kuroiro: It was meant as support.

Bondo: Hope they're safe.

Tsuburaba: Same.

Kodai: Mm.

Yanagi: Thoughts and prayers to the bereaved.

Shoda: I don't think anyone died, Yanagi-san.

Yanagi: Ah. Then thoughts and well-wishes.

A pause.

Awase: can I come to that morning training with you guys?

Rin: I want in.

Honenuki: Room for one more?

Kaibara: I'll be there at 6.

Pony: me too!!!

Tsuburaba: yeah. I'm coming.

Komori: is it okay if I come? I know I'm not very strong but...

Kuroiro: I shall emerge from the shadows to train alongside you all.

Shiozaki: If this training will help me protect others, then I have a duty to attend.

Kodai: Mm.

Yanagi: I will participate.

Bondo: I want to come.

Manga looked at his phone. Twenty names. The entire class.

His bubble shifted. A little sun broke through the flat line.

Manga: 6 AM. gym. bring water. And have clothes ready for the shower in the locker room afterward. You will sweat.

He set his phone down. Looked at the TV one more time. Then he picked up his pencil and went back to his sketchbook.

There was nothing he could do about what happened to Class 1-A today. But there was something he could do about tomorrow.

He drew until midnight.

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