[ENTRANCE EXAM ARC]

Chapter 6: Prince Kaiser

Kaiser Vult stood stoically against a ventilation duct on the roof of a faux apartment block in the Zoldyque academy exam grounds, on the east side. He and his troupe had entered about last, so as they milled their way about the grounds over to this point they spectacularly encountered zero criminals. Speaking of his troupe, they had garnered his attention, drawing it away from the void of the ceiling with some incessant bickering. He wasn't listening closely but from the looks of things some benign conflict had broken out between the high-class uppity chick of the party, Emilia Davenport, if memory serves, and Michael Balcom, an unserious and shifty looking guy who rubbed Kaiser the wrong way. A resounding slap to the face put an end it quickly, and the girl stormed off to the precipice of the roof in a huff, while Michael stayed back and rubbed his sore cheek, still grinning.

Kaiser decided he should talk to Emilia. He thought it best not to let her ruminate and have things boil over once again, and he needed some information from her anyway. He strode right up and asked his question bluntly.

"Are there any criminals nearby? Notify them and let them come to us," He said. Emilia turned to him, her scowl fading into a polite but disinterest, business-like expression. The girl was tiny in comparison to the hulking Kaiser, or anyone in the troupe for that matter. She had bright blue eyes and eyebrows that were bushier than would usually be befitting for a gentlewoman such as her self. Her hair took the form of two cream colored and drill-shaped pigtails. Aside from that, she had a chubby face with rosy cheeks, a button nose and she wore formal dress. Interestingly to Kaiser though, was her muscle mass, which while not exceptional was beyond what he expected for a small girl. The calluses on her hand also screamed 'fighter' to Kaiser, which piqued his interest, but not enough to draw any expression from him.

"Yes, actually. There's a crowd going past now, they should be on their way in just a moment," She said blankly.

"Numbers?" Kaiser asked.

"Quite a lot, I suppose," Emilia replied, looking out over the skyline of the faux test environment.

"ETA?" Said, Kaiser.

"Now," Said Emilia. There was a rumble from below them, and raucous noise of criminals piling into the building and yelping giddily. Kaiser huffed, stretched his muscles in preparation and turned around to the rest of his troupe.

"So… are we going?" He asked. There was a blank silence from the other members of his troupe.

"Sure thing boss. Was getting tired of waiting…" Answered Michael casually. Michael was a tall boy, the tallest below Kaiser, but athletically, his shape was much poorer. He had albino pale skin and matching white buzzed hair, with the attire of a loose hoodie, unflattering muscle shirt, black cargoes and steel-toed boots that were black to match.

"I'm not your boss. Don't call me your boss," Snapped back Kaiser.

"You seem like a boss to me. You got that strong aura about ya'" Michael grinned. Another member of the Regicide troupe interjected to support Michael. Jin Uzuna was an animalistic looking and lean built boy who was in the middle of the pack when it came to height. He had a wild black mane of hair with horn-like growths extending from either side and sharp external canines and pointed ears. Most notable about him were his disturbing coal-black veins which were clearly visible just under the skin.

"I think I… uh… See where he's coming from. You do have a commanding presence," He said, his tone positive and reassuring. "I think you'd be a good leader," He beamed. Kaiser growled and sneered at the thought of it. He much preferred working alone, so being forced into a group like this was a nightmare scenario.

"Let's just get to work," Kaiser stated, dipping over the edge of the building and entering through a window by a fire escape. Michael gave him a weird look before walking in his direction, only to be given pause by the exclamation of another troupe-mate.

"Hey, why not take the stairs, dumbass?" Said the girl in a snarky tone. She was only slightly less tall than Michael, exactly as tall as Jin, basically. She had a head of straight reddish-brown hair with a dyed blue streak. Her loose fitting shirt gave everyone else a good view of her well-developed musculature, particularly around the biceps. Speaking of the arms, each was adorned fully in tattoos, a pair of sleeves which in one side depicted joyful compositions of life and youth, and on the other side depicted bleakness and death. Her bright blue eyes were only barely enough to take attention away from the grisly scar on her cheek.

"Ah! Alexia! How you doin'?" Said Michael, sauntering up to meet her. They met eyes for a moment, and Alexia's expression instantly turned into a grimace. The girl wasted no time kicking Michael down the stairs by the ass, with Jin following after him. Alexia closed the door after Jin and sat on the wall next to Emilia.

"Man, I don't know that Michael kid very well, but he seems like a cunt, doesn't he?" She asked. Emilia nodded in agreement.

"Hey, boss! Check out this badass gun!" Squeed a Level: Blue as he and his posse of criminals ascended the stairs of the faux apartment block and entered the middle-most floor. The criminal was lanky but with sparse pockets of fat, giving him a lumpy appearance. The Level: Yellow, a bony looking man in dark clothing, scolded his inferior and disregarded the statement, but his enthusiasm was not sated. "Nah Nah, lookie here boss. Check it! Its all shiny, and I bet it packs a punch too, see how wide the barrel is? I'm so glad I rifled through that kid's pockets, god rest his soul… heh… just kidding, fuck him,"

"Do you ever shut up?" Asked the Level: Yellow. The Level: Blue frowned and obliged his better.

"Oooh! Nice gun!" Cooed Michael, appearing suddenly from around the corner. The criminal, lost in his thoughts turned to reply to the student without questioning.

"Yeah, well-" The criminal glanced down to the hand which was holding the gun, and it had disappeared. His eyes shot over to Michal, who he only now realized was his de facto enemy. The boy was holding his gun up to the fluorescent ceiling light, his mouth and eyes wide with glee as the polished metal twinkled.

"Mhm. That's why I borrowed it," Michael continued. "Don't worry though, I'm no thief, I traded it with you. Check in your hand, I left you a little present,"

The Level: Blue turned over his hand slowly, and unfurled his fingers delicately at the same time. There in the base of his palm, a grenade had been placed gingerly. Between his shocked gasps, the Level: Blue could hear it ticking. He couldn't see a pin, either.

"Unfortunately, the pin was just a little too much weight, sorry about that…" Michael hummed, sticking the gun down his pants and turning around. The Level: Blue tried to mouth something angrily, but he never got the chance. He and several buddies not quick enough to dive out of the way or through doors were instantly decimated in the grenade's impressive fireball, and what remained of their mangled bodies bounded around the narrow walls with their blood splattering gorily around.

-/-

Name: MICHAEL BALCOM

Quirk: Swap

Michael can exchange objects that he holds with objects that others within his visual range are holding, provided the two objects are comparable in size. The exchange is silent and usually goes undetected by the subject, making it useful for purposes of stealthy maneuvers and theft.

-/-

The Level: Yellow who had led the group bolted down the corridor at the first sight of danger with the speed of an Olympic sprinter.

"Those idiots! Falling for such a cheap trick! I'll have to flank these shitty kids with what's left of my posse. We can regroup in a minute I'm sure…" He cursed. His sprint has halted summarily when in his state of deep thought he bounced right off the sturdy frame of Kaiser. The examinee snorted like a buffalo, saying nothing but giving a look that said everything. Mostly though, the look said 'fight me'.

"Heh… Are you sure about this, little kiddie? We're in a pretty far off side corridor… If things go poorly your buddies might not be here to bail you out…" They snorted. Kaiser spat on the Level: Yellow's shoe, while he kicked off both of his. The criminal hissed like a cat as they leaped back. Bringing their hands up, they splayed out their fingers and pointed them at Kaiser. Splinters and sharp shards of bone were catapulted out of his body from under the fingernails. They were sharp enough to be lethal, and their speed was to match, Kaiser could tell at a glance, but his stern persona was unflinching. He swung his leg around to the door of a nearby supply closet and grabbed the brass handle with naught but his prehensile toes. Then with a mighty tug, the hefty oaken thing popped right off its hinges. Kaiser swung it around with his legs, thrusting it out in front of him like a shield just in time to block each of his opponent's projectiles. The criminal scoffed. From his shielded position, Kaiser took the time to unleash a potent roundhouse kick into the door, bending and denting it while at the same time sending it skidding upright down the corridor at his foe. The huge door took up so much space in the claustrophobic corridor that there was nowhere do dodge, so the criminal decided not to. With a grunt, plates of bone emerged from under his skin and wrapped around his body, while spiked skeletal protrusions from his soles rooted him to the ground. A fine suit of armor, he thought. He leaned into the attack with a solid stance and deflected the force with ease, stopping the door right in front of him. The criminal laughed and grinned, opening his mouth wide. From the space where his teeth met his gums, rib-like spikes emerged with velocity, shooting out like air from organ pipes and chewing through the thick wood in no time flat. The criminal was feeling cocky; he poked his head through the hole he had made and cheekily stuck out his tongue, a fatal error. Kaiser was already right behind the door, pressed up against a wall so as to not be instantly obvious. He dove fist first through the hole, startling the criminal thoroughly. The reactive recoil of his head was not enough to save him though, Kaiser's fist was faster. Extending only his middle finger, Kaiser shot straight through to the eye, gouging right past it and stabbing knuckle deep into the socket. Stillness. Kaiser felt around with the lone finger, feeling soft brain matter on the end. It was good, he thought, that he had made it through the skull as he had hoped. The criminal couldn't speak or use his quirk, as the brain damage sent waves of death to uneven nerves, making the Level: Yellow go lopsided and floppy before he was totally brain-dead, propped up only by Kaiser's middle finger. The examinee punted the door, making it tip over and drag the criminal along with it as it fell. Kaiser's finger emerged from the Level: Yellow's eye socket with a satisfying pop before the corpse was flattened under the weight of both the door and all six foot six of the muscle-bound Kaiser.

Back in the main corridor, Jin had caught up with Michael, and they took their time with the bodies of the various dead criminals that lay scattered about.

"Hey, really good trick you pulled there! It's an interesting quirk you've got. You'd probably think it's best for a thief, but after seeing that I'm sure it's perfect for an assassin," Jin gushed to his teammate, smiling widely.

"Well, aren't you Mr. Supportive," Michael sighed.

"People say that on occasion," Began Jin. "But to be honest I was hoping you'd leave a couple for me cuz' damn I could go for some killing right about now," He continued.

"You…? I see…" Michael replied, slightly disarmed by how upfront he was.

"Yeah… Been a good while since I just fucking murdered a person. I'm getting really thirsty…" Jin continued, wringing his hands and licking his large canines. Even Michael was put off a bit.

"W-wouldn't have pinned you as the murdering type…" Michael said.

"Let's just say I caved to peer pressure…" replied Jin. Just then, the boy got his wish. Three Level: Blues quite literally burst from the walls, stragglers who had hidden from the explosion by taking cover in the faux apartments. Jin was quick to set his quirk into action, or more accurately it burst into action like a reflex. From the veiny dark lines which traced around Jin's fingers, bright green cysts began to expand and undulate. In only a moment they grew to full size and burst, revealing Jin's now mutated hand. It was vaguely mammalian, but nothing even close to a primate. The most notable feature was the enormous claw-like fingernails which grew explosively even now. He pointed his fingers at the criminals, managing to pierce through all three of them and hold them aloft at a safe distance from his body.

"These claws… they're perfect for warding off your close range attacks…" Said Jin. The nails had gone straight through the criminals, but it didn't appear lethal. Two of them grasped at him in enraged fashion, while the third quietly blew a bubble of expanding water from his crab-like jaw. The bubble was psychically propelled towards the distracted Jin and in an instant fused over his face, encompassing his head. The bubbles which exploded out of his mouth were enough for Michael to apprehend that this was no ordinary bubble. It was full to the brim with water, a perfect weapon for drowning your opponent. Jin grasped at his throat, desperate for a breath. His claws dissipated as his mammalian features melted away into his usual form.

"Crap crap crap… Nothing good around here to swap… This is looking a bit dire, might have to retreat…" Thought Michael, almost turning and running, but then similar cysts began to form around Jin's neck. He stood tall and firm as they overcame his head. They exploded, sending small spurts of embryotic pus into the bubble of water which encased his head. The boy's transformation was revealed, his head had puffed up and was covered in fish-like markings and scales. Most importantly, his neck was now adorned with a fresh set of gills which took in the water and oxygenated Jin's starved lungs.

"A pufferfish mutation… It's two birds with one stone then?" Jin said. "Now I can breath even with this water around my head…" He continued. He took in an incredibly deep breath and his head began to expand even further, becoming engorged as spikes began to emerge. Jin spun around in a burst of energetic activity, his spikes growing long and sharp such that his opponents, along with the walls around them, were bisected with one long and smooth circular motion. He stopped spinning on a dime, his tornado of spikes proving effective. "And I get some weapons to dispatch of the garbage…" He concluded, his pufferfish body melting away as the quirk of the crab-mouthed criminal who now lay dead released his quirk and the bubble popped into a refreshing spurt of cool water.

-/-

Name: JIN UZUNA

Quirk: Selective Evolution

Jin will respond to extreme stimulus by rapidly changing his genetic information to adapt to his circumstances, whether they be harsh environmental conditions, violent threats or challenging obstacles. His mutations tend to mimic real-life animals, and he can only have one at a time. Additionally, certain mutations will take longer for him to 'Evolve' than others, ranging from seconds to minutes based on factors like scale and complexity.

-/-

Emilia had opted to remain on the ceiling as she had previously discussed with Kaiser and the others. An Antennae, not dissimilar to the ones you might find poking out of the top of a radio, extending from the very top of her head as she sat crossed legged on the roof and looked down at seemingly nothing.

"What the hell is that?" Asked Alexia, who had decided similarly to stay up here with the girl so they could watch each other's backs. She brought a forefinger within poking distance of the antenna's tip but was warded off by a bat off the hand from Emilia.

"It's my quirk. It picks bioelectric impulses and converts them into visual stimulus," Responded Emilia. Alexia nodded her head as she tried to pretend she understood.

"Is… that all it does?" Alexia pressed. Emilia sighed.

-/-

Name: Emilia Davenport

Quirk: Antennae

Using the antennae on her head, Emilia can send and receive bioelectrical signals as well as perceive radio waves, static electricity and other forms of energy. Using this, she can interface with technology, detect people and certain objects at range or through walls and overload or override biological or mechanical constructs to aid or hinder their function, deactivating or strengthening them temporarily. In people, she can even induce migraines, vertigo or hallucinations.

-/-

"Oh, that's interesting… So what are you doing exactly?" Alexia asked.

"I'm trying to keep tabs on everyone and watch for anyone coming our way. And before you ask, I can't communicate with any of them, sending any signals beyond basic impulses isn't possible, so meaningful communication is impossible," Elaborated Emilia. She sounded exasperated from having to explain. Alexia rubbed her chin and rested her back against the air vent.

"That's int—"

"Wait," Said Emilia, cutting off her compatriot. There was a sudden urgency in her voice. Alexia stopped speaking and widened her eyes, looking around in a startled fashion. "I would step away from the air vent if I were you," Emilia said ominously. Alexia flinched and scrambled away, turning to keep her eyes on the grate.

"There's one coming up through there?" She inquired frantically. Emilia nodded, backing off herself and getting to her feet. They both focused intently in the direction of the grate, Alexia keeping her eyes on the opening itself, while Emilia traced her sight upwards, following the path of their attacker. There was a clanging, and a low rumbling which bubbled forth from within the metal pipe, as a pair of sinister eyes glinted just at the edge. Alexia reacted instantly, throwing out her hands as if preparing to attack, but before her wind-up was through, a pair of feet slammed hard against the inward side of the grate, buckling it and sending it flying off its hinges at projectile velocities. Alexia was struck and staggered back, stumbling to one side as the grate skidded off to the other. From the pipe, emerged a disturbing looking man with sickly red-purple skin. He was covered head to toe in mucus and wearing naught but the barest that was required to cover his decency, giving the girls plenty of room to observe the regular pattern of thick, fat wrinkles adorning his vertically elongated form. A yellow collar slid up and down his smooth neck, occasionally reaching as high as the bottom lip of his chinless head.

"He's… Like a worm…" Alexia thought, watching his rhythmic swaying and his half fluid, half floppy movements. She lunged forward to attack once more, but in response the worm man hocked and spat, a globule of phlegm striking her arm and splattering over her abdomen. She was disgusted but not exactly phased, that was until the true payload burst forth from the murky white slime. A bright pink glistening worm as thick as a thumb and as long as a ruler wrapped itself tightly around Alexia's arm and bit with unseeable teeth, boring a hole in her arm and emerging from the other side. Alexia screeched and bent over, giving the flesh-eating worm a chance to wrap back around and take another bite. It dug into the flesh once more, before Alexia swallowed her pain and grit her teeth for long enough to grab it by the exposed midsection. She pulled as hard as she could, ripping it out of her arm and holding it aloft in her other arm. Emilia saw the worm man raise one eyebrow, she could make out that he was impressed even under all the freakish facial mutation he was under. Alexia crushed the worm's head in her fist and threw the mushy remains to one side.

The worm man slurred his speech as slime bubbled forth from his mouth.

"That was quite good…" He globbed, his body twisting around with disturbing glee. He wormed his way right out of the air duct and onto the top of it, sitting on his haunches. "So impressive, that was, that I may allow you the privilege of meeting some more of my good friends… Would you like to meet some more of my good friends? I haven't fed them in a while…" He said, opening his mouth to an unnatural wideness. The stench of blood accompanied the horde of carnivorous worms that poured out of his mouth and onto the roof below. They wriggled their way over to Emilia and Alexia at great speed, carpeting the floor.

"Damn… Just on a' these things took a chunk outta me… I'm not sure my quirk is too good in a situation like this…" Alexia groaned, stepping back to avoid the oncoming mass of worms.

"Don't worry about it," Said Emilia. She scrunched up her face, and crouched down, making grunting noises. Alexia could tell she was exerting herself with something somehow, but only when she felt a pounding in her head and the bristling feeling of her hairs standing up did she understand what. A powerful bioelectrical signal surged from her antennae, dominating the worms' primitive minds and overloading them until they died. Now a smattering of curled up dead worms was spread out over the roof, and the worm man grasped his head and leaped up and down, hooting with rage.

"B-bitch! All my worms! I'll kill you!" He screeched. Alexia rolled her eyes at his empty threat. She outstretched both her hands and from each of her palms shot a hefty metal hook like what you might see on a winch that was attached to her hand by a length of smooth black cord. She let both of the hooks dangle down to her ankles before gently spinning them up. With a rush of circular wind, both of them spun up to speeds that made them a plate-shaped blur on either side of the girl. She grinned as she displayed her finesse with the natural weapons, and the Worm man's eyes took on a glint of fear. With a flick of the arm, the hooks whirled toward the Worm man, biting into his flesh and carrying him along with them as their momentum caused them to whirl and twist in the air. Alexia pivoted her whole body, tossing the lengths of cord over her head and making the hooks, and the Worm man along with them. The length of the cord was extended as to go past the edge of the roof, sending the Worm man careening into the wall halfway down the building. He smashed head first into the hard brick while at the same time a deft maneuver from Alexia released him from the hooked cords. His soft body splattered messily against the bricks, leaving the dregs of his corpse to drip to the floor and his yellow collar to shatter on contact with the ground, ever-so-slightly disappointing Alexia.

-/-

Name: Alexia Vordaskaya

Quirk: Grapple

Alexia can produce long cords topped by sharp, heavy hooks from the tips of her extremities (those being, the hands and feet). The cords are durable and light, and she can extend or retract them to bind her opponents or traverse horizontal or vertical distance. The hooks are also powerful slashing weapons when moving at speed. Her hooks contain nerve endings, so snapping one causes pain skin to losing a finger. They will eventually regenerate, but Alexia becomes unable to use her quirk from that limb even to dangle rope for the duration of the regeneration.

-/-

"Hmph, that was relatively impressive, I suppose. How would one go about doing that?" Asked Emilia, expressing curiosity beyond what seemed like a surface level dismissal.

"It's pretty easy. The trick is, once you get going, don't stop," Explained Alexia, beaming in a self-satisfied way. Emilia nodded, seeming almost interested.

"Hey hey hey ladies!" Cried Michael, kicking in the door to the staircase which led up to the ceiling. Emilia and Alexia groaned audibly. "Have either of you seen Kaiser?"

As if in response to the question, the echoing crack of a mighty punch and the shattering of bones blasted from below the precipice of the building's roof, drawing the attention of the four present Regicides. Their eyes traced the body of an unfortunate Level: Blue who had been catapulted into the air by an unseen attacker, and now arced down, smashing onto the floor between them all.

"Hey, would you look at that, free points!" Michael hopped over to the corpse and reached for the Blue Collar which lingered open around their neck. His fingers hadn't even scraped it when Kaiser, apparently the perpetrator of the Level: Blue's demise, threw himself up onto the roof with them.

"Put that down!" He barked sternly, suddenly, and loudly, eliciting a yelp of surprise from Michael.

"W-what the hell was that for?" Stuttered Michael, staggering back from the sudden shock.

"Utterly shameful… You would really skim through this exam on one and three-pointers?" Kaiser growled. Michael looked left, and he looked right.

"Well, what the hell else is there? These points are right here, what the alternative, jackass?" He snarked. Kaiser huffed angrily.

"Weakling. As soon as the exam started, I knew it would be pointless to go around cleaning up these losers. If we're gonna prove ourselves and get stronger, we need to aim for the top," Kaiser said.

"Meaning?" Michael said, fearing he already knew. Alexia gave Kaiser a similar gormless look of anticipation. Jin looked a mixture of afraid and excited, his hands shaking slightly, while it appeared Emilia knew instantly what was up.

"If you mean what I believe you mean, then I'm afraid I can't advise it. Strategically it makes no sense," she scolded disapprovingly.

"I don't care about what you advise. If you've all decided I'm your leader then you have to agree with me," Retorted Kaiser, summarily discarding the girl's input. She felt offended at her disregard but managed to suck it up enough to not get too confrontational.

"So that's it then?" Asked Jin.

"Yup. We're going straight for the Level: Red," Kaiser declared.

Somewhere else, an intimidating figure perused a dark lane casually.

"Now then, anyone left to kill?" Asked a Level: Red criminal aloud. His surroundings were bare, aside from the scars of battles fought and won. Stains of blood and scars in buildings, but no corpses. A principled predator like him left no bodies, it was uncouth. He adjusted his monocle haughtily at the mere disgusting thought of such impoliteness. His tophat too needed a quick readjustment, and the bristling fur on the bridge of his snout got a good pat down too.

This man went by the moniker of 'Badger'. 'Mr Badger' to his acquaintances, and 'Honey' to his pals. It was a plain and obvious name for a badger mutant, but Badger thought that sometimes less is more. For instance, less bodies left on the ground meant more bodies in his tummy, that was just science. He sniffed the air, his sensitive nose seeking out strong prey as it always did. A promising set of smells perched themselves on a faux apartment building over yonder.

"What a delight! I'll greet them right away!" Giggled Badger.

TO BE CONTINUED?

A/N

Hey all! If you received the PM I sent out, then you'll know that unfortunately, this will very likely be the last update for this story! If you didn't know that, now you do! I wanted to deliver on showing off all the student OCs, but I think this stories moment has passed. With that said, I have a new story uploaded, and if you were a fan of that one definitely check it out and tell me your thoughts. And, just for old times sake, what did you all think of these chapters? Where they worth the wait ;) Ok I kid but I still hope you enjoyed them! If ever the mood strikes, I may finish this final segment of the Entrance Exam Arc, because I have a big unfinished chunk that I wasn't able to post with what I have here. No promises, but we may well find out what happens between Honey Badger and the Regicide Troupe yet! Thank you all for reading this story, I'll see you in the next one!

Quick note- One of the OCs in this story was a replacement! The original character I had in that slot was submitted by some fellow who quit fanfiction and did vulgar things to his account, and if you don't know who/what I mean, well I'd rather not tell you!