"I need Eraser's number!"

Katsuki ran a hand through his hair and shook his head in response to Uraraka's questioning glance as he held the phone to his ear, "Izuku, the second round is starting at literally any moment. Can't you get it yourself?"

Midoriya: I don't think I'm home anymore.

"If I was still at home, I would." Izuku said. "But the wifi on the train is terrible and I need to stay on the move! He's your homeroom teacher, so you have his number for emergencies and stuff, right?"

"Yeah, I do, but..." He started, but Uraraka nudged him and he looked toward the stage to see Midnight already climbing the podium. "#@$&*, fine! I'll text it to you!"

Mitsuki: It's an emergency, Katsuki!

Bakugo(huffing): Literally everything involving the nerd is an emergency now.

"Thanks Kacchan! I..."

Katsuki hung up and shoved the phone in his pocket just as Midnight started talking, "Hello students! Are you ready for your next round of torture?"

Katsuki forced himself to pay attention. Sure, the nerd calling and demanding Eraserhead's number with zero explanation was super suspicious, but he didn't have the time to worry about that right now. He and Cheeks had another round to win.

Sero: No, rescuing Hagakure's more important!

"We've seen how capable you are of overcoming obstacles, but can you play well with others?" Midnight asked dramatically. "This next round is all about teamwork! If you don't have chemistry with your teammates in the cavalry battle, you'll be screwed!"

Midnight went over the rules and everything seemed pretty self explanatory. Teams of two to four, rider couldn't touch the ground, don't knock anybody over on purpose, steal all the points. Easy as pie! Except for then she explained the point values.

"And of course," Midnight grinned, "The ones at the top will suffer the most! First place winner of the obstacle course will be worth a whopping 10 million points!"

Uraraka(realizing): Wait, does that mean-

Katsuki heard a small squeak beside him and turned to see Uraraka looking more nauseous than usual. In hindsight, maybe he should have waited for Icyhot to pass before shoving Cheeks over the finish line, but oh well. Live and learn.

Uraraka: Bakugo!

"Oi, Cheeks, calm down." Katsuki grabbed her shoulders. "You're gonna be just fine, alright? You're gonna make these guys regret underestimating you, alright?"

Uraraka took a deep breath and her eyes filled with enough determination to make Katsuki grin, "Yeah, I can do this! Plus Ultra!"

"Plus Ultra, @#$&." Katsuki looked around, "Now which of these extras do we want on our team? Oh, yeah, definitely him."

Shinso: Wait a second-

He stalked off, shooting off a quick text to Izuku with Eraserhead's number as Uraraka followed behind him until they reached a group of blank-eyed hero students, "Oi! Eyebags! Let go of those dummies. You're with us!"

Shinso raised an eyebrow at him, "Why would I do that? Your girlfriend over there has a target on her back a mile wide."

Katsuki grinned, "That just means that it'll be even more impressive when we win. Plus, you're going underground, right? Being the rider'll draw way too much attention. But if we help her win..."

Spinner(to Dabi): Huh, he's really taking your advice to heart.

"Hey!" Uraraka put her hands on her hips. "I don't need your help!"

"Of course not, Cheeks," Katsuki said patiently, "But helping you win gives the two of us a discreet chance to shine. It's mutually beneficial."

(Mitsuki looked vaguely disturbed at Bakugo being described as patient)

Shinso hummed, "So what you're suggesting is that we let the spotlight hero take all the attention while we hide in her shadow, does that sound about right?"

Katsuki shrugged, "Pretty much. So? You in?"

Shinso sighed, "I don't actually have a choice, do I?"

(everyone snorted)

"Nope!" Katsuki smirked and shoved monkey boy to knock him out of Shinso's quirk. "Now, come on, let's go get our rider."

Uraraka: I thought I was gonna be the rider.

Uraraka jogged after him, "I thought I was gonna be the rider."

"You will be." Katsuki said. "No one said we couldn't have two."

Mineta: Yeah, both me and Asui are technically riders.

"So what?" Shinso asked. "We just each put one on our shoulders and hold hands or something?"

"Nah, you don't actually want him touching you." Katsuki narrowed his eyes and searched until he saw who he was looking for, "Oi! Dunce Face! Get over here!"

Kaminari: Wait, me?!

Bakugo: Who else do I call 'dunce face'?

"The kids are doing pretty well." Mic remarked. "That gen-ed student you told me about is pretty impressive. He got onto the second round."

Shinso: Eraserhead told Present Mic about me?

"Good. Now we don't have to come up with an excuse for his transfer." Shouta said. "He's got a real world save under his belt, so I already started the paperwork with Nezu, but he insisted we wait until after the sports festival to make it official."

Shinso(shooting a double take): They're transferring me to the hero course?!

All Might: Of course, young Shinso. You saved someone.

Mic played with the sleeve of his jacket, "Do you really think he'll be able to save Shirakumo?"

Kurogiri: Well he did in Cheat Code... without any help...

Shouta sighed, "With enough training, yes. It's part of why I want him in the hero course. The villain factory's hold on Shirakumo is tighter than it was on Ogawa, so there's no guarantee, but if Shinso can keep strengthening his quirk, he might just be able to pull it off."

"He also works well with Bakugo." Mic pointed out. "They'll be one hell of an underground duo if they decide to team up. We need more underground heroes."

Joke: Yeah, we definitely do.

"We do." Shouta agreed. "Now if only we can convince Viridian to get a license, they can be a trio... what the hell are those problem children doing now?"

(everyone blinked and instinctively looked at Midoriya who looked slightly affronted when he noticed it)

Midoriya: H-hey it's Kacchan's idea this time!

Hitoshi focused on keeping a straight face as Cementoss stared at their team like he was reevaluating all of his life decisions. Midnight just looked like she was about to laugh as her eyes moved back and forth between where he and Bakugo were standing stone-faced on the ground with Uraraka on their shoulders and Kaminari, who was floating 15 feet above them in the air. They had managed to find an extension cord in one of the closets backstage and tied one end around Kaminari's waist, while the other was insulated and currently tied around Uraraka's wrist. It almost looked like she was a little kid getting a piggyback ride and trying not to lose a very special balloon after a long day at an amusement park.

(everyone burst out laughing)

"Well, that's definitely some creative thinking on the part of team Uraraka... or would that be team Kaminari?" Present Mic asked. "Well, either way, let's ask the biggest question on everyone's mind right now. Is that even allowed?!"

Nezu(chuckling): It should be.

"Why the @$#*&( wouldn't it be?" Bakugo argued calmly. "Octopus over there has two riders. If he can have both the grape and the frog, we get Pikachu and Gravity girl."

Midnight lost her battle with laughter and giggled, "As long as he never touches the ground, normal rules for riders apply. It's okay!"

Bakugo scoffed, "Told you it'd be fine."

(everyone chuckled)

Uraraka gave a breathy sigh of relief, "I seriously thought we were gonna get disqualified or something. Kaminari! You still good up there?"

Kaminari grinned and gave them a thumbs up. Hitoshi let the corner of his mouth twitch up into a tiny smile. He'd heard Bakugo's strategy and Kaminari and Uraraka had both added their own two cents, so it looked like they might actually have a chance, but even if they didn't manage to hold onto the 10 million points, they could always steal more.

Mei: Yeah, extra-credit-kun's quirk is going to be perfect for this!

"So if Kaminari has the headband, who has the ability to get it from him?" Hitoshi asked. "Are there any hero students that have flight quirks?"

"No one can fly, but we tend to get creative." Bakugo grinned. "Besides me, Cheeks, and Pikachu up there, our biggest threat is going to be Tornado over there."

Todoroki: Right, Inasa.

"He means Inasa." Uraraka translated. "He has a wind manipulation quirk, so he can easily blow himself up there or blow Kaminari down."

"So we go straight for his team first and get him under my control." Hitoshi stared toward Inasa's team in determination. "Assuming, of course, that he doesn't ruin all our plans before then."

Mt. Lady: I wonder what their plan is.

Kamui: We'll see soon enough.

"Is everybody ready?!" Midnight did a final sweep of her whip and cracked it sharply. "Go!"

The winds around them picked up as every single other team made a beeline for them. Instead of running away, however, their team pushed forward and Hitoshi yelled to be heard above the wind, "Hey tornado kid! What makes you think you even have a chance at winning this?"

Inasa laughed and took the bait, "With enough passion, anything..."

Shinso: And got you.

Hitoshi smirked as Inasa's face went slack. He recognized the other members of his team as Bakugo's other friends that he'd met at the hospital, which meant that even if they didn't know exactly how his quirk worked, they still knew Hitoshi was responsible and it was only a matter of time before they figured out how to wake him up, "How chaotic should I make this fight?"

Mirko: As chaotic as possible!

"Go for more, rather than less." Uraraka suggested. "If people are distracted, they're less likely to figure out a way to get our headband."

"That's what I was thinking." Hitoshi turned back toward Inasa. "With the exception of ours and yours, blow everyone else's headbands into the air."

Gran Torino: Oh, that's really going to shake things up.

Bakugo laughed and they ran away as almost everyone's headbands were literally blown off their heads and started blowing away, "Good thinking, eyebags! Wind boy will be too busy defending his headband to worry about us and the rest of those extras are playing 52 card pickup!"

"Not everyone." Uraraka pointed out. "A couple 1B kids managed to keep theirs and Mineta was protected from the wind by Shoji's arms."

Shishida: Same principle.

"Same thing applies though." Hitoshi said. "If they kept their headbands, they'll have to defend them. If they didn't, they have to either chase it down or steal one from someone else. For us, it's a win win."

"Whoa!" Kaminari yelled and they looked up. "Uh, guys? When did Todoroki get a jetpack?!"

A lot of people: Jetpack?!

Mei: Oh, he must've teamed up with me.

Shouta glared at his phone as it rang for the third time. The first call could have been a telemarketer, but three calls in a row from the same unknown number? Either there was an emergency or the telemarketers were getting more persistent. And it had to be one hell of an emergency if they were calling him in the middle of the sports festival.

Midoriya(panicking): No no pick up!

After another moment, Shouta muted his mic and picked up, "What do you want?"

"Shou!" Mic squawked. "That's not how you're supposed to answer the phone!"

Shouta rolled his eyes at him, then almost dropped his phone as he heard viridian's voice, "Eraser?! Thank god, I almost thought Kacchan had given me the wrong number!"

Midnight(disapprovingly): See, Shou, this is why you should answer your phone on the first ring. What if someone's dying?

Aizawa(sighing): Fine, I'll keep that in mind.

Mic gave him a concerned look as he ran out into the hall, but Shouta couldn't be bothered to care, "No! No, he gave you the right one. What's going on? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Viridian panted. "But I need you to get me into the stadium."

"You mean the one where we're holding the sports festival?" Shouta groaned. "Problem child, we have increased security to keep villains and vigilantes out. That includes you, kid."

Hagakure: Tell him about me and Queen Bee!

"I know, but it's an emergency!" Viridian whined. "One of your students is Queen Bee's current host and this might be our only chance to save her!"

(a few people gulped as they realized what could happen if they didn't manage to catch Queen Bee this time)

Shouta blinked, "Use the service entrance on the east side. I'll grab Nezu and meet you in prep room 3."

Ochaco kept a firm grip on the extension cord and swung Kaminari away from Todoroki as best she could, grateful that he also seemed to be using his magnetism to maneuver himself as well. That left Bakugo and Shinso to fight off the rest of team Todoroki.

"Get your head out of the clouds, Dunce Face!" Bakugo screamed. "Fry the stupid jetpack!"

Kaminari: I'm still not that good with aiming!

"I'm trying!" Kaminari yelled back. "I don't have explosions to guide my momentum like you do, Kacchan!"

"Don't you dare touch my babies!" The support student warned them. "If you break them..."

"Babies?" Shinso asked. "Do you really have children already?"

Mei: Nah, not interested.

"My inventions!" Her eyes lit up briefly before going blank.

"Good work, Eyebags." Bakugo smirked. "Now let's see what those babies can do."

"What did you do to Hatsume?" Iida demanded. "Why would you...?"

Mei: Don't worry about me, engine boy, I'm fine!

"Hand over the hover boots." Shinso ordered. "Those should help Kaminari maneuver, right?"

Awase: Huh, those would work pretty well.

"Yeah." Ochaco yanked on the cord, allowing an ice attack to fly straight over Kaminari's head. "Pikachu! I'm bringing you down!"

Kaminari glanced toward Todoroki, "Please hurry!"

"What are you thinking?" Yaoyorozu shook Hatsume's shoulder and Shinso lunged forward, grabbing the boots from her hands before she could reorient herself and shoving them into Kaminari's hands as soon as he got close enough.

Kaminari: Don't drop them other me!

"Use those to take out Icyhot!" He ordered. "Hurry!"

Ochaco meant to let him up slowly, she really did, but then Yaoyorozu started attacking her with a quarterstaff and she had to let go to defend herself, so he just went rocketing upwards. He didn't lose his grip on the hover boots though, so points to him. Ochaco tried floating Yaoyorozu, but she kept making thin pieces of armor that she could simply detach whenever Ochaco made contact, so she could never float her actual body.

Uraraka: Well that's annoying.

She heard Kaminari yell in triumph and Ochaco looked up, getting an idea right as Todoroki started falling. His team took a second to realize that they probably needed to catch him and in that moment, Ochaco yanked off the plastic insulating her end of the extension cord and plugged it in, for lack of a better term, Iida's arm. Kaminari was producing enough ambient electricity to stun them, but because he wasn't plugged into it, not enough was going down the cord to seriously harm them. Bakugo and Shinso scrambled backwards and Todorki made an ice slide to land at least somewhat safely, using an ice bridge so that he didn't touch the ground as his team slowly recovered.

(everyone winced. Yikes, that was really going to hurt)

Iida: Uraraka?!

Uraraka: I'm sorry!

Bakugo whistled, "Wow, Cheeks, that was brutal. I mean, it worked, but I didn't expect you to go that hard."

Ochaco blushed and put the plastic piece back on the cord, "We needed to get them off our backs, right?"

Shinso shook his head, "Remind me never to mess with you."

A lot of people: Agreed.

Ochaco grinned, "Never mess with me!"

"Noted." Shinso responded dryly. "Who else?"

(everyone giggled)

"Shiozaki and Tsu are both going for the 10 million now that Icyhot's out of the way." Bakugo reported. "But with those boots, Dunce Face has that covered. Everyone else is still scrambling for the other headbands. What are you thinking?"

"I think there's less than a minute left." Shinso said.

Ochaco smiled and touched both of their shoulders, "And I think our advantage is in the air! Blasty, would you be so kind as to give us liftoff."

Honenuki: In theory, they can stay up there while everyone else scrambles for the ten million points.

Bakugo grinned savagely and Shinso held them together as they took to the air. They watched the rest of the mad scramble from above as the final thirty seconds ran out of the clock and Ochaco reeled Kaminari in right as Midnight rang the final bell.

"Team Kaminari wins!"

Kaminari: Yes! We won!

Midoriya: Good job!

Hagakure: Now to see what happens to me...