Morning arrived over Tokyo in gold.
Sunlight poured through the glass walls of the Stark penthouse, catching against polished metal, holographic displays and the ridiculous number of half-finished projects Tony had somehow accumulated after being in Japan for less than forty-eight hours.
The kitchen smelled of coffee and toast.
Mostly coffee.
Tony Stark was already awake.
Of course he was.
He stood barefoot at the kitchen island in black trousers and a white shirt, tie hanging loose around his neck. Three holographic displays floated in front of him.
One showed U.A.'s entrance-exam information.
Another displayed a three-dimensional model of his cardiovascular system.
The third showed the Mark XXIII.
Except there wasn't a physical Mark XXIII anywhere in the room.
The armor was already with him.
Or, more accurately—
inside him.
Extremis had allowed Tony to take nanotechnology somewhere conventional engineers couldn't.
Billions of microscopic machines remained distributed throughout specialized storage pathways in his body, dormant until called upon. They weren't replacing his cells or circulating randomly through his bloodstream. Extremis controlled them, his technopathic connection keeping every machine synchronized with his nervous system.
And lately Tony had discovered another advantage.
Materials.
His Arc Reactor and Extremis-enhanced nervous system could tolerate carefully engineered suspensions of certain metals.
Gold-titanium.
Trace vibranium.
Potentially other exotic materials eventually.
Introduce them safely, allow Extremis and the nanites to process them, and Tony could incorporate those materials into subsequent armor configurations.
In other words—
Tony didn't have to take his armor somewhere to upgrade it.
He could eventually upgrade himself and let the armor follow.
At least theoretically.
Tony raised his coffee.
"JARVIS."
"Yes, sir?"
"Vibranium integration simulation."
"Still running."
"Results?"
"Still potentially fatal."
Tony frowned.
Pepper Potts entered the kitchen.
"Good."
Tony looked over.
"You weren't part of this conversation."
"I heard 'potentially fatal.' I became part of the conversation."
She was already dressed for U.A.'s entrance exam.
Pepper's red hair fell over the shoulders of a loose jacket, beneath which she wore a Stark-designed combat suit. Her Rescue armor wasn't active yet; its nanotechnology was contained in a compact housing Tony had designed specifically for her.
Tony looked her over.
"Telemetry?"
"Green."
"Bio-field regulator?"
"Green."
"Emergency medical system?"
"Green."
"Repulsor stabilization?"
Pepper stared at him.
"Tony."
"That's not a color."
"Everything works."
Tony smiled.
"See? Was that difficult?"
Pepper looked at the holographic model of Tony's chest.
"You're still thinking about putting liquid vibranium into yourself."
"Microscopically suspended vibranium."
"You're describing it more scientifically because you think that'll make it sound less insane."
"It usually works."
"Not on me."
"Unfortunately."
Bruce walked in.
He ducked beneath the doorway automatically.
Seven feet of green teenage scientist wearing glasses and carrying a cup of green tea.
Tony looked at him.
"Banner."
"Stark."
Bruce glanced at the simulation.
"Still trying the vibranium integration?"
Pepper pointed.
"Don't encourage him."
Bruce sat.
"I was going to tell him his current bonding model is inefficient."
Tony slowly turned.
Pepper closed her eyes.
"Oh, fantastic."
Bruce reached toward the hologram.
"If you introduce it directly through the bloodstream, you're asking Extremis to simultaneously manage cellular protection, material distribution and reactor integration."
Tony stared.
Then smiled.
"You have an alternative."
Bruce smiled back.
Pepper looked between them.
"No."
Neither listened.
"Introduce it through the reactor's existing biological interface," Bruce suggested. "Let Extremis establish compatibility before systemic distribution."
Tony immediately started modifying the simulation.
"That could work."
Pepper pointed between them.
"Entrance exam."
Tony waved dismissively.
"We've got time."
"You have forty minutes."
Tony stopped.
"Why didn't anyone tell me?"
"I've been telling you for twenty minutes."
Tony dismissed every hologram.
"Okay! Science postponed."
Rhodey walked in.
"There's a sentence I never thought I'd hear."
Happy followed.
He was already wearing Stark Security tactical gear.
Tony looked around.
"Everyone ready?"
Bruce raised his tea.
Rhodey nodded.
Pepper smiled.
Happy checked his watch.
"You're the one we're waiting for."
Tony straightened his tie.
"Good."
Pepper stared.
"You're wearing that?"
Tony looked down.
Three-piece black suit.
Perfectly tailored.
Polished shoes.
Tie.
"What's wrong with it?"
"It's a combat examination."
"I'm aware."
"You're going to fight robots."
"Pepper."
Tony picked up his sunglasses.
"First impressions matter."
U.A. High was enormous.
Tony had seen the schematics.
That didn't quite prepare him for seeing the campus itself.
The school rose over the surrounding district like somebody had given an architect unlimited money and told them to design a fortress for superheroes.
Tony approved.
Mostly.
He'd already identified seventeen things he'd change.
The Stark vehicles stopped outside the entrance.
Tony stepped out.
And immediately attracted attention.
Not because anyone knew him as Iron Man.
Iron Man didn't exist.
Not yet.
There were no photographs of red-and-gold armor flying over Manhattan.
No Iron Man merchandise.
No hero rankings.
No public identity.
Tony Stark was famous for entirely different reasons.
Stark Industries.
Arc Reactor technology.
Support equipment.
His intelligence.
And, perhaps most unusually, his Quirk.
Whispers spread.
"That's Tony Stark."
"The Stark Industries kid?"
"He's taking the entrance exam?"
"Why?"
"Isn't he already running their Japanese branch?"
Tony adjusted his cufflinks.
Pepper stepped beside him.
"You're enjoying this."
"A little."
"A lot."
Tony smiled.
"A lot."
Bruce climbed from the second vehicle.
The whispers changed immediately.
People stared.
Bruce noticed.
He always noticed.
Seven feet of green muscle made anonymity difficult.
Tony glanced toward him.
"You good?"
Bruce adjusted his glasses.
"Fine."
That was enough.
Steve and Bucky were waiting near the entrance.
Steve wore dark-blue tactical gear with his shield secured across his back.
Bucky wore black.
His metallic arm remained uncovered.
Steve looked at Tony.
Then slowly looked down at Tony's suit.
"You're taking the entrance exam dressed for a board meeting."
Tony looked at Steve's uniform.
"You're dressed like a flag."
Bucky laughed.
Steve sighed.
"We've known each other two days."
"And already we're close."
Pepper walked between them.
"No property damage before the exam."
Tony pointed toward Steve.
"Tell him."
Steve stared.
"I haven't done anything."
"Yet."
Bruce looked toward Bucky.
"Are they always like this?"
Bucky nodded.
"Apparently our fathers were worse."
Happy joined them.
"Great. Generational stupidity."
Tony looked offended.
"Generational excellence."
A voice erupted from inside the building.
"ENTRANCE EXAM CANDIDATES! LET'S GET MOVING!"
Tony's eyebrows rose.
"Okay."
He smiled.
"I like whoever that is."
Present Mic was somehow louder in person.
Tony sat between Pepper and Bruce as the pro hero explained the practical examination.
Villain robots.
Different point values.
Separate combat zones.
Rescue opportunities.
Time limit.
Straightforward.
Tony was almost disappointed.
Then the zero-pointer appeared on screen.
Tony leaned forward.
"Now we're talking."
Pepper whispered:
"No."
"I didn't say anything."
"You made the face."
"What face?"
"The same face you make before doing something expensive."
Tony smiled.
Present Mic continued explaining.
Candidates would be separated.
Tony checked his assignment.
ZONE A.
Pepper: ZONE C.
Bruce: ZONE D.
Steve: ZONE B.
Bucky: ZONE F.
Happy had his own zone.
Rhodey as well.
Good.
Tony preferred it that way.
Nobody could accuse them of carrying each other.
Steve glanced toward Tony.
"Try not to get yourself killed."
Tony stood.
"Backup is for people expecting failure."
Steve shook his head.
"You're impossible."
"Frequently."
The gates to Zone A opened.
Students prepared themselves.
Someone stretched.
Another candidate generated electricity between his fingers.
A girl hardened her skin.
Tony stood in the middle of them.
Still wearing his suit.
One student looked at him.
"Dude."
Tony glanced over.
"What?"
"Where's your hero costume?"
Tony smiled.
"What hero costume?"
The student blinked.
Then Present Mic's voice thundered overhead.
"GO!"
Everyone ran.
Tony didn't.
Dozens of candidates charged into the mock city.
Tony calmly adjusted his tie.
Three seconds.
Four.
Five.
A robot rounded the corner.
The student beside Tony looked back.
"Is Stark seriously just standing there?"
Tony rolled his shoulders.
"JARVIS."
"Yes, sir?"
"Let's make an impression."
His Arc Reactor brightened.
HMMMMMMMMM.
Tony's technopathic connection opened completely.
The nanites answered.
They emerged through microscopic Extremis-controlled channels and spread across his skin in a flowing metallic wave.
Red raced across his torso.
Gold formed around his arms and legs.
Boots sealed.
Gauntlets formed.
Chest plating locked around the biological Arc Reactor interface without obstructing it.
The helmet flowed upward.
The faceplate closed.
Blue eyes ignited.
The nearby students stopped running.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody knew what they were looking at.
Tony looked at his hands.
MARK XXIII ONLINE.
J.A.R.V.I.S. spoke privately through his neural interface.
"Systems nominal."
Tony smiled inside the helmet.
"Let's go to work."
Repulsors fired.
BOOM.
Tony vanished into the sky.
Nezu watched from the observation room.
Several teachers stared at the monitor.
Aizawa's sleeping bag had somehow made it into the room.
He opened one eye.
"What is that?"
Power Loader leaned toward the screen.
"I don't know."
Nezu smiled over his tea.
"I believe we're finding out."
Tony banked between buildings.
J.A.R.V.I.S. marked targets.
Three one-pointers.
Two two-pointers.
One three-pointer.
Tony didn't fire immediately.
He analysed.
Movement patterns.
Armor thickness.
Power systems.
Weak points.
Then—
THOOM.
One repulsor blast punched through a robot's central processor.
Tony rotated.
A micro-missile disabled another.
He caught a third robot's arm, redirected its momentum and threw it through the fourth.
The fifth attempted to strike him.
Tony ducked.
"Slow."
He drove a repulsor-assisted punch through its chest.
Students stopped to stare.
Tony noticed.
"JARVIS?"
"Sir?"
"They're staring."
"You are an unidentified flying armored individual dismantling U.A.'s examination robots with military precision."
"Jealousy."
"That would not have been my assessment."
Tony rocketed away.
He didn't simply destroy robots.
He rescued people.
A falling wall—
Tony caught it.
A candidate trapped beneath debris—
nanites flowed temporarily from his gauntlet, forming a hydraulic brace while Tony pulled them free.
A malfunctioning robot nearly crushed another student—
Tony hacked it before it completed the movement.
The machine simply froze.
Tony landed on its head.
"Technology."
He tapped it.
"My home field."
Then he blasted away.
By the time Tony had enough points to comfortably pass, he stopped.
Not because he was tired.
He wasn't.
Because he'd proved what he needed to prove.
Tony landed on a rooftop.
The armor withdrew.
Nanites flowed backward across him.
Red and gold disappeared beneath his clothing until Tony Stark stood there again.
Black suit.
Perfect tie.
Not even sweating.
He checked his watch.
"Plenty of time."
J.A.R.V.I.S. responded.
"Your examination has not concluded."
"Mine has."
Tony sat on the edge of the building.
"Let's see how everyone else is doing."
"U.A. examination feeds are encrypted."
Tony smiled.
J.A.R.V.I.S. paused.
"I assume that statement has encouraged you."
"Very much."
Tony's eyes unfocused slightly.
He didn't need a keyboard.
Extremis connected his nervous system directly into the surrounding technological environment.
U.A.'s wireless network appeared inside his perception almost like another sense.
Firewalls.
Encryption.
Access controls.
Tony moved through them.
J.A.R.V.I.S. assisted.
Three seconds.
Access.
"Sir."
"Yes?"
"You have illegally accessed U.A. High School's examination network."
"Allegedly."
"You are currently inside it."
"Still feels alleged."
Multiple feeds appeared through Tony's AR display.
Pepper first.
Pepper wasn't chasing combat points.
Of course she wasn't.
Tony watched her Rescue armor deploy around her as falling debris threatened three candidates.
Pink energy erupted.
A force field formed overhead.
The concrete smashed against it.
Pepper strained.
Held.
Then pushed upward.
Students escaped.
Tony smiled.
"That's my girl."
J.A.R.V.I.S. paused.
"Would you like me to record that statement?"
Tony's smile disappeared.
"No."
"Recording saved."
"Delete it."
"I don't believe I will, sir."
Tony stared ahead.
"I'm reconsidering giving you personality."
Bruce was next.
The Gamma Density Regulator worked.
Mostly.
Bruce had chosen not to reduce himself very much for the exam.
Tony understood why.
This was a hero test.
Bruce wasn't going to pretend he wasn't powerful.
A three-pointer charged him.
Bruce caught it.
Stopped it dead.
Looked at it.
Then carefully placed it sideways.
Tony frowned.
"Why didn't he smash it?"
The answer came immediately.
Another candidate was trapped behind it.
Bruce removed the obstacle first.
Helped the student out.
Asked if they were injured.
Only then did he turn toward the robot.
The machine swung.
Bruce punched it once.
The entire upper half disappeared.
Tony smiled.
"Banner."
Bruce wasn't rampaging.
Wasn't roaring.
Wasn't becoming somebody else.
He was thinking.
Every movement deliberate.
Every ounce of absurd strength controlled by the same mind capable of discussing gamma harmonics until three in the morning.
The Hulk wasn't something Bruce became.
Bruce Banner was Hulk.
And Tony suspected U.A. was going to have a difficult time figuring out what to do with him.
Steve and Bucky were exactly as irritatingly coordinated as Tony expected.
Steve's shield ricocheted through three robots.
Bucky's arm reshaped.
He caught the returning shield with his metal hand.
Steve yelled:
"Bucky!"
Bucky threw.
Steve caught it without looking.
Tony groaned.
"Show-offs."
J.A.R.V.I.S. paused.
"Sir."
"What?"
"I believe that accusation demonstrates limited self-awareness."
"Whose side are you on?"
Tony switched feeds.
Happy.
Rhodey.
Other candidates.
Then something caught J.A.R.V.I.S.'s attention.
"Sir."
A new feed enlarged.
Tony frowned.
"Who's that?"
Green hair.
Freckles.
Teenage boy.
Nothing about him initially screamed future Number One Hero.
He looked nervous.
Actually—
terrified.
Tony watched him run.
"He hasn't scored."
"Correct."
"What's his Quirk?"
"U.A. registration identifies it as Stockpile."
Tony frowned.
"That's vague."
"Extremely."
Tony watched.
The kid moved differently from everyone else.
He wasn't weak.
Tony could tell that immediately.
His body was trained.
His instincts weren't bad either.
But he was hesitating.
Holding something back.
"Why isn't he using it?"
"Unknown."
Then the ground shook.
Tony looked toward the feed.
The zero-pointer appeared.
Students ran.
Tony expected the green-haired kid to do the same.
Then—
someone screamed.
A brunette girl was trapped beneath rubble.
Tony leaned forward.
The green-haired boy stopped.
Looked at her.
And everything about him changed.
Fear disappeared.
Not because he stopped being afraid.
Because someone needed help more than he needed safety.
The kid ran toward the zero-pointer.
Tony's expression became serious.
"Okay."
The boy jumped.
Energy erupted through him.
Tony's reactor reacted instinctively to the enormous output.
His eyes widened.
"JARVIS."
"Scanning."
The kid punched.
The zero-pointer practically exploded.
Tony stood.
"Jesus Christ."
The boy fell.
Tony immediately noticed the arm.
Wrong angle.
Swelling already beginning.
Fractures.
Multiple.
The brunette girl used her gravity Quirk to save him from hitting the ground.
Tony barely noticed.
He was staring at the boy's arm.
"He broke himself."
"Yes."
Tony's expression hardened.
"That Quirk broke his arm."
"Correct."
"That's terrible design."
J.A.R.V.I.S. paused.
"Quirks are not designed, sir."
"Everything has a design."
Tony enlarged the footage.
The kid was hurt.
Badly.
And yet the first thing he did was look toward the girl he'd saved.
Not himself.
Her.
Tony went quiet.
"What's gravity girl's name?"
"I cannot access candidate identities without opening protected student records."
Tony thought.
"Don't."
J.A.R.V.I.S. paused.
That was unusual.
"Very good, sir."
Tony pointed toward her image.
"Tag her as Gravity Girl for now."
"Tagged."
Then Tony pointed toward the green-haired boy.
"And him."
J.A.R.V.I.S. scanned.
"Candidate identity similarly protected."
"Don't need it."
Tony watched the boy clutch his broken arm.
"Start a file."
"Title?"
Tony thought.
GREEN KID — QUIRK FAILURE
J.A.R.V.I.S. created it.
Tony frowned.
"No."
"Sir?"
"Change it."
"To?"
Tony stared at the screen.
GREEN KID — FIX THIS
J.A.R.V.I.S. paused.
"Created."
Tony started pacing.
"Option one: support suit. Distribute kinetic feedback across the entire body."
"Possible."
"Option two: reinforced gauntlet. Catch the force before it reaches the bones."
"Possible."
"Option three: teach him not to dump everything through one limb."
"Likely advisable."
Tony pointed.
"See? Already improving him."
Then J.A.R.V.I.S. spoke.
"Sir."
Tony stopped.
"What?"
"I have completed the passive biometric scan."
"And?"
There was an unusual pause.
J.A.R.V.I.S. displayed an energy graph.
Tony's smile disappeared.
He'd seen that waveform before.
Yesterday.
All Might.
Tony stepped closer.
"No."
"Energy-frequency correlation: ninety-nine point—"
"Don't say it."
"—nine percent."
Tony stared.
The green-haired boy.
The impossible output.
The hidden Quirk registration.
The green lightning.
Tony remembered All Might talking about his son.
Izuku.
But Tony hadn't seen him.
Hadn't been given a picture.
And All Might certainly hadn't told Tony which U.A. candidate was his kid.
Tony looked between the stored scan of Toshinori and the kid.
Same fundamental energy signature.
Different expression.
But J.A.R.V.I.S. wasn't finished.
"Additional anomalies detected."
Tony's eyes narrowed.
"What anomalies?"
"Multiple distinct Quirk-factor expressions are embedded within the candidate's primary energy signature."
Tony went completely still.
"Multiple?"
"Correct."
"How many?"
"Insufficient data for definitive classification."
Tony watched additional readings appear.
One signature associated with kinetic stockpiling.
Another with energy accumulation.
Several more dormant patterns.
Tony's scientific curiosity went nuclear.
"You're telling me this kid has multiple Quirk expressions inside one Quirk?"
"That is the most likely interpretation."
Tony looked toward the feed.
The boy was being treated.
Tony slowly smiled.
Not mockery.
Interest.
Serious interest.
"Okay, Green Kid."
He enlarged the file.
"You're officially on my radar."
J.A.R.V.I.S. responded:
"Should I continue passive observation?"
Tony looked at the broken arm.
"No invasive scans. No personal records."
A beat.
"Just Quirk telemetry if we encounter him again."
"Understood."
Tony looked toward the preliminary support-system model.
"And keep working on this."
"The support suit?"
Tony shook his head.
"Not yet."
He pointed at the kid.
"I don't want to build something that lets him keep breaking himself safely."
Tony's mind was already racing.
"If we're going to fix this, we fix the actual problem."
"Quirk control."
"Exactly."
He looked at the energy graph.
"Figure out why his body can't safely regulate its own output."
J.A.R.V.I.S. paused.
"And if the problem cannot be corrected?"
Tony smiled.
"Then we build him something."
Tony disconnected from U.A.'s network before anyone could trace him.
Or so he thought.
Inside the faculty observation room, Nezu slowly lowered his tea.
A small notification blinked on his private monitor.
UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TERMINATED.
Aizawa noticed.
"We were hacked?"
Nezu smiled.
"Briefly."
"By whom?"
Nezu replayed Tony Stark's examination footage.
Red-and-gold armor flowed around the teenager's body.
Tony launched into the sky.
Nezu's smile widened.
"I have a suspicion."
Aizawa stared.
"And you're smiling because?"
"Because, Aizawa…"
Nezu took another sip.
"…school is about to become considerably more interesting."
The candidates gathered outside after the examination.
Tony found Pepper first.
She immediately walked toward him.
"How many?"
Tony frowned.
"How many what?"
"Systems did you hack?"
Tony looked offended.
"Why does everyone assume I hacked something?"
Rhodey approached.
"Because you disappear for twenty minutes and come back looking entertained."
Bruce joined them.
"Also you hack things."
Happy nodded.
"Constantly."
Steve and Bucky arrived last.
Steve looked at Tony.
"How'd you do?"
Tony shrugged.
"Enough."
Steve narrowed his eyes.
"Enough?"
Pepper translated.
"He annihilated his zone and got bored."
Tony smiled.
Steve shook his head.
Then Bruce noticed Tony was distracted.
"You saw something."
Tony looked toward him.
Bruce knew that expression.
Scientific curiosity.
But there was something else underneath it.
Concern.
Tony glanced back toward U.A.
"Some green-haired kid."
Bruce raised an eyebrow.
"That's surprisingly vague coming from you."
"I don't know his name."
"What happened?"
Tony mimed a punch.
"Used his Quirk."
Then pointed toward his arm.
"Destroyed his own bones."
Bruce's expression immediately became serious.
"Recoil?"
"Something like it."
Tony started walking.
"I want to fix it."
Pepper smiled faintly.
There it was.
Tony could pretend it was about engineering.
Could pretend it was because inefficient Quirks annoyed him.
Could pretend he simply couldn't tolerate bad design.
Pepper knew him better.
Tony had watched a complete stranger destroy his own body to save someone else.
And now Tony Stark had decided that stranger shouldn't have to do it again.
Steve fell into step beside him.
"You don't even know the kid."
Tony shrugged.
"Don't need to."
Steve looked at him for a moment.
Then smiled.
Tony noticed.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"No. That's a Rogers look."
"A Rogers look?"
"Judgmental optimism."
Bucky laughed.
Steve shook his head.
Tony continued walking.
Behind them, U.A. stood against the Tokyo skyline.
None of them knew whether they'd passed.
Not officially.
Tony wasn't particularly worried.
Neither was Bruce.
Steve pretended he wasn't.
Bucky actually wasn't.
Pepper was already planning what they'd need if they did.
Happy was thinking about security.
Rhodey was thinking about logistics.
They were still teenagers.
Still applicants.
Still figuring out what kind of heroes they wanted to become.
There was no Iron Man.
No Captain America.
No Hulk.
No Rescue.
No Winter Soldier.
No Avengers.
Those names hadn't been earned yet.
Today there was only Tony.
Pepper.
Bruce.
Steve.
Bucky.
Happy.
Rhodey.
And somewhere behind them, a green-haired boy Tony didn't know had just unknowingly become Stark's newest engineering problem.
Tony smiled.
"JARVIS?"
"Yes, sir?"
"Green Kid file."
"Open."
"Add one note."
"What would you like it to say?"
Tony looked back at U.A.
DON'T LET HIM BREAK HIMSELF AGAIN.
"Saved."
Tony put on his sunglasses.
"Good."
Because Tony Stark had spent his entire life learning one lesson from Howard:
When everyone else looked at something broken and said that's just how it is—
a Stark looked at it and asked:
Why?