Darrel raced towards Quadrant A, the one that had appeared by his name. Or had it? Even that he was uncertain of now, continuously glancing back up at the occasional screen just to make sure. Adilah had been assigned to a different section, so after a little bit they parted ways, having wished each other good luck. But now Darrel was alone again.. and it was difficult not to get pressed down by the surrounding students, both physically and in terms of his rapidly depleting confidence. He did his best to keep his head up nonetheless. Soon enough, all students had gathered in their respective sections, eagerly awaiting further instructions which came over the intercom.

“We are now ready to commence the exam! It will proceed as follows. You will be faced with three tiers of robotic enemies. Your task is to take them down. Each enemy counts for a certain amount of points that will count towards your final score, the tiers are divided into the 1s, 5s, and 10s range, as indicated on the robots. You are permitted to use any means to defeat the enemies, and are not required to cooperate with your peers.” 

Darrel gulped, that last part really did not sound good. He could already see it, the powerful quirks jumping ahead, taking out all of the enemies without trouble and leaving everyone else in the dust. 

“The exam will last 1 hour, with a constant stream of enemies of all three tiers coming in. You will be monitored the entire time. Only in exceptional circumstances will the examination board intervene. That concludes the instructions. Now…” 

The four sides of the hall began to slide open, revealing that the walls were actually massive gates. And beyond them lay a multi-level terrain, in front of him Darrel could see a cityscape- but when he looked to the side he could also see the glimmer of water. Perhaps the extra challenge here was the presence of different environments. “Let the exam begin!” 

Students rushed forward, almost trampling Darrel in the stampede, who evaded it by darting to the side and staying by the open exam hall. After most kids had passed him Darrel took a deep breath and headed outside. 

In front of him was a city landscape, it would look completely real if it wasn’t barren of people - of course, except for the various aspiring heroes who now raced down the streets. Pouncing on any first enemy they encountered. Darrel stayed along the sideline, just focusing on not getting in the way. He saw the smaller enemies roll in… he could take those. Right? Darrel gulped. He wasn’t even sure. A boy ran past him who had thrown off his shoes. And as he ran his arms were forming into sharp spikes- was that- wood? Darrel looked up, almost as if looking for an answer. 

How could he possibly complete with this? 

---

Ken bolted forward. This was his chance! He had so much energy in him and he was ready to take on anything that came his way. The students had moved out, spreading into the alleys and narrow streets of the artificial city so the robotic enemies were quite evenly distributed. And there! The first opponent Ken could claim for himself, a medium sized robot marked with a number 3. Ken ran towards the wall of one of the buildings, running up its side and then pushing off with his legs, aiming both of his spikes directly for the center of the enemy’s body. His wooden lances pierced through the metal exterior, even coming out the back. As swiftly as he had forced his spikes in, Ken pulled back, allowing the robot to fall on to its back, defeated. Solid! Ken thought to himself, just a few more of these and I’ll be set. He kept moving forward through the city, taking any medium sized enemy he came across. 

But after his fifth one.. they suddenly started to run out. 30 minutes of the exam had already passed. Ken could either wait for another wave to be released or… try taking on a larger enemy. He glanced around, noticing a clearing up ahead, an artificial central square. He ran forward- that would be the perfect place for a big guy to be based. But when Ken rounded the corner, the sight he faced was quite different than he expected. 

In the center of the opening stood one girl with pink hair. Shimmers of metal floating around her and an absolute massacre - tens of slain enemies - at her feet. Ken’s eyes widened; he thought he had been doing good up until then. He bit his lip, thinking about where he could go. The girl must be camping the place where the new medium enemies emerge… and he had a feeling that she wouldn’t hesitate to fight him for her wins. Ken continued looking elsewhere. 

---

Darrel was now almost panicking. He had stayed under the cover of the tall buildings, not attracting the attention of the enemies, but of course, also not defeating any. What do I do... what can I do? The thoughts spiralled. He was snapped out of his panicked trance quite quickly when exiting a darkened alley; stumbling right into the oddly cold embrace of a massive shadow.

The shadow belonged to a gargantuan robot, similar in design to the ones he had seen thus far. It was almost as tall as the buildings on its sides, and it appeared to simply be standing and waiting, its green metal clashing ominously with the surroundings. A huge number 60 was painted in white on its chest. The machine whirred to life, mechanical sensors blinking. And with an earth trembling step it began to move forward. 

SHIT! Darrel’s exit back to the alley was now blocked as he narrowly avoided the first step and desperately started running forward. 

---

Ken was now walking through a smaller alley. When he heard the sudden sound of machinery somewhere up ahead. He ran forward as quickly as he could, thinking that this would likely be his last opportunity. But when he entered the bigger street he was faced with the tallest enemy he had seen yet, and just a little bit in front of it was a boy running for his life. The machine moved quite slowly, but with every step it made up a lot of ground. Ken gestured in the boy’s direction. “Hey!!!! This way!!!” He waved his spike arm.

Darrel looked up when he heard the shout, noticing the boy from the beginning with the wooden spikes standing in front of another alley, waving for Darrel to take cover. Darrel tried to speed up as much as possible, unfortunately, his short legs were letting him down. But as he got closer he noticed how the boy’s spikes were transforming into branches, reaching forward and then hooking Darrel by his clothes. With that the other turned and ran back into the alley, yoinking Darrel with him just as the robot passed them. There was a loud whirring in the air as small objects jettisoned off from the titanic machine and flew off in all directions.

Ken whacked the branch that had hooked Darrel with his arm, releasing the boy and letting the splintered wood fall to the ground when they were safely in the alley. 

“HOLY SHIT!” Ken exclaimed as he was catching his breath “What was that??? I didn’t see any robots that were that huge anywhere else-” 

Darrel clutched his chest, breathing deeply, “,,,,tha-nk you...” He stammered out. 

“Oh yeah - jee - no problem-'' Ken turned to face the other, only now really realizing how scared the boy had been. “Hey, it’s ok. You’re safe.” Ken gently patted the boy’s back with his spike arm. But his reassuring moment was short lived, Ken’s enthusiasm returning as he glanced back out the alley. The robot wasn't pursuing them; it continued down its booming path, perhaps making rounds through the city. Drones were popping out from its tower-like frame, and whizzing after a few students with flying quirks.

Ken turned back to the boy, “You think we can take it down?”

Darrel started up again, “Are you crazy? That thing could have trampled us - ah, me! I don't think that's something intended to be taken down.” 

“But we’re behind it now! And it had a point number on it. There must be something we can do.” Ken paused, before continuing, “What’s your quirk? What can you do? I definitely can’t take it on my own but maybe together …  we could get all these points! 50/50!” 

“I-I-” Darrel tried to respond while processing what the other had said. How is this guy still so energetic? Darrel took one more deep breath, heart rate being around normal again. “My limbs can be stretched - but I haven’t been able to do anything with it. I don’t know how I can help, or what we could do together…” Darrel’s insecurities started spilling out. 

“Hey hey hey- We can work with that!!” Ken beamed back with a friendly smile “What’s your name?” 

“Darrel...” 

“And I’m Ken! Now.. Darrel, do you think that your eh - arm or something - could stretch to the other side of the street?” Ken gestured. 

“Yeah it could…  but I don’t have enough grip usually in my hand to make it last.” 

“Hmm…” Ken took a moment to think, tapping his head with his other spike. Within moments he let out a gasp. “A slingshot!!! We could turn you into a human slingshot!!” 

“Whu- wha-” Darrel was confused. 

“Do you think if I secure you hand in the alley here, and your legs on the other side, that would be enough to keep your arm stretched?” 

Could be possible, Darrel thought, but the question then was: “How would you secure it?” 

“I’d grow roots around it.” Darrel blinked. 

“You can do that!?” What couldn’t this kid do?

“Yeah! And then. I’ll stretch back your arm as much as possible - and if my plan works- I’ll be able to launch myself forward - like an arrow to strike the enemy in the back!” 

Darrel took a moment to process this.. he had never considered using his quirk like this before. “I guess… we could at least try…” 

“That’s more like it! Now - stand right here and put your hand against the wall” Darrel followed the instructions. Ken focused. He started growing roots from his feet, first, securing them in the ground, and then making them grow up and around Darrel’s hand. Then with a kick he freed his foot from its narrow base. “A-alright that should do it.” With this additional growth Ken started feeling the fatigue set in. But he looked out of the alley again, the enemy still moving forward, now further up ahead and almost at the main street. “Ok. Let’s go!”