Okay, I'm sorry, but I have three words for you.

Prepare your ass.

Yeah, welcome to the fucking gallows. This is the gateway to hell.

I'm about to update the FUCK out of this book and the only thing that can possibly stop me is my impending carpal tunnel and maybe this bottle of lemonade if I accidentally tip it over. After this chapter, what am I doing? Writing another. What am I doing after that, might you ask?

Writing a n o t h e r

So basically shit is getting real. Plus ultra. Godspeed. Leggo.

Third person pov

The bus ride to the USJ was relatively uneventful. Kaminari insulted Bakugo and almost died for it, Mineta was a creeper, and Tsuyu sparked a conversation about quirks and Shoji and Lillian both managed to avoid simply by huddling together and pretending to be immersed in a conversation about the difference between a bison and a buffalo. Apparently there was one.

The USJ, even from the outside, was nothing short of amazing. It was a gigantic white dome that reminded Lillian of space for no particular reason other than it looked reasonably futuristic and extremely modern. The entire class was in awe as they filed off the bus, even Todoroki, whose face had only changed expressions about twice since getting on the bus. 

They didn't go inside quite yet. Lillian hovered around Shoji, who had called her a good friend at some point during their ride over, so she supposed standing in his general vicinity was socially acceptable. And if it wasn't, well, fuck. Lillian didn't have time to worry about that. She was too busy trying to hype herself up and shovel together the meager shreds of what was left of her self confidence. Not much, but maybe it would keep her from passing out.

Someone was waiting for them outside the entrance, and Lillian almost shrieked. Ochako (when did she get here?) grabbed Lillian's arm and let out the quietest, most high pitched squeal Lillian had ever heard in her life. She didn't blame her brunette friend. She was doing the exact same thing on the inside.

It was the Pro Hero, Thirteen.

"Hello, everyone! I've been waiting for you!" The rescue hero crowed cheerfully, earning gasps of awe from the entire class. 

"It's the space hero, Thirteen!" Izuku gasped. When did he get here as well? Lillian didn't mind. She liked being surrounded by her friends.

"Woo hoo! Thirteen is one of my favorite heroes!" Ochako squealed, squeezing Lillian's arm. The dark-haired girl forced herself to relax. She was going to do this, and it would be fine. She had a powerful quirk on her side, and she it's not like she didn't have friends who'd support her. If she was going to be a hero, she needed to step up, right? Probably, yes.

"I can't wait to show you what's inside!" Thirteen said. You could tell they were grinning by the way they spoke, and it caused Lillian to smile too, her eyes sparking with excitement as her class let out cheers. Aizawa watched his students with a small smirk on his face, shaking his head a little. 

He was honestly interested to see how they'd do in the various disaster zones. People like Ochako and Jiro had good rescue quirks, one being able to lift things that would normally be too heavy off victims, and the other having the ability to listen for survivors by simply plugging an ear jack into a wall. On the other hand, people like Lillian and Todoroki had quirks that could go either way. Todoroki, who only appeared to use his ice quirk, could easily stabilize buildings with his. Lillian could do the same by freezing a structure in its place.

Stepping into the USJ was like getting a punch in the gut. The air was knocked right out of you, and it took you a second to recenter yourself and process what the fuck was happening. Lillian was glad she didn't have Kaminari's quirk. She would have short circuited everyone in her class and then herself in about the span of two seconds. Even looking at the boy, who'd had his quirk for years, you could tell he was sparking just a little by the way people gravitated away from him.

"Holy crap!" Kirishima, the ever PG roll of hardened cinnamon gasped, a grin stretching across his face. "It looks like some sort of amusement park!"

"A shipwreck. A landslide. A Fire. A windstorm. Et cetera-- I created this training facility to prepare you to deal with different types of disasters." Thirteen opened their arms and seemed to bask in it all. "I call it the Unforeseen Simulation Joint. But you can call it U-S-J!" 

Everyone seemed to have the exact same thought. Even Lillian did as she heard the class whisper it. 

Universal Studios Japan.

But that was besides the point. Lillian took another deep breath. If her classmates could do it, she could too! She wasn't better or less than any of them, right? Right. Totally. This would be fine, she wouldn't die, and it would be great. 

"Hey, shouldn't All Might be here alright?" Aizawa asked idly as he approached Thirteen, who was still posing. Lillian had almost thought she'd accidentally frozen the hero out of excitement for a moment before she saw the space-suit-wearer  blink. Aizawa continued grumpily, "Lemme guess, he booked an interview instead."

Lillian found herself surrounded by her peers as Aizawa and Thirteen talking in hushed voices. "Wow, I can't believe this place. It's totally amazing." Ochako squealed, still latched onto Lillian. The dark-haired girl's eyes darted around nervously, and the brunette seemed to notice. "Hey, don't worry too much! It'll be loads of fun; I promise. Maybe we can team up! I can lift things into the air and you can, what's your quirk again, freeze them in place?"

Lillian's eyes lit up considerably. She could be a big help teaming up with someone else. "Y-Yeah, that would be cool." She stuttered out. Izuku threw himself into the conversation immediately upon hearing the mention of their quirks, or more specifically, the mention of a combo move.

"So your quirk lets you freeze things?" The green-haired boy asked, eyes shining with curiosity. Lillian eased up a bit. She liked talking about quirks!

"Y-Yeah, it's called Freeze Frame. It lets me f-freeze everything in my line of sight f-for a certain amount of time. I-I get really sleepy if I use it for two l-long." Lillian admitted. Truth be told, she'd tried practicing a little in her bedroom. Nothing special, just tossing a pillow in the air and seeing how long she could hold it. In trying not to fall asleep, she actually found herself feeling stabbing stomach pains, and the urge to vomit if she held it too long. She'd need to work on it more.

Aizawa sighed, turning to the class. "The clock's ticking. We should get started." He announced, silencing the small crowd. He moved aside so Thirteen could talk to the class again.

"Excellent!" Thirteen opened their arms again, as though asking for a hug. "Before we begin, let me just say one thing. Well, maybe two things. Possibly three, four, or five." The hero continued, earning raised eyebrows from everyone in the class. The space hero laughed it off and kept on keeping on. "Right, listen carefully! I'm sure you're aware that I have a powerful Quirk. It's called Black Hole. I can use it to suck up anything and turn it into dust."

"Yeah, you've used Black Hole to save people from all sorts of difference disasters, haven't you?" Izuku asked in an awestruck tone.

"That's true, but my Quirk could also very easily be used to kill." Thirteen's tone was serious and grim, earning a few gasps. Lillian didn't feel too surprised. Thirteen's Quirk was, while incredibly powerful, also vert destructive and dangerous. Lillian was glad hers was more low-key. She wouldn't be able to handle the responsibility of trying to rein in such a power.

"Some of you also have powers that can be dangerous. In our superhuman society, all quirks are certified and stringently regulated, so we often overlook how unsafe they can actually be." Thirteen said. Lillian frowned, lowering her head. She was right. Lillian's quirk could also be dangerous in a villain fight with more than one opponent. If she accidentally froze her target along with any surrounding heroes or civilians, it would give any other enemies the opportunity to jump into her frozen scene and deal some major damage.

"Please don't forget that if you lose focus or make the wrong move, your powers can be deadly." Thirteen said, showing off their capped fingers. "Even if you're trying to do something virtuous like rescue someone. Thanks to Aizawa's fitness test, you have a solid idea of your quirk's potential. And because of All Might's combat training, you likely experienced how dangerous your powers can be when used against other people."

Lillian looked at her feet. That was right. Mina and Aoyama had been completely defenseless when frozen. Paralyzed. 

"Carry those lessons over to this class. Today, you're going to learn how to use your quirks to save people's lives! You won't be using your powers to attack enemies (WHEEZE) or each other, only help. After all, that's what being a hero is all about. Ensuring the safety of others."

Lillian felt herself smile. Thirteen couldn't be more cool!

"That's all I have to say." Thirteen took a bow. "Thank you so much for listening."

The class broke out into cheers, and Lillian joined in for once, feeling more confident and energized than usual. It was all clicking in her mind. She was going to be a hero! She could be a hero. It was possible. She had a useful quirk. She was here, in UA, enrolled. In the hero course. She'd made it into Class 1-A! It was all hitting her right at this moment, and it made her feel... amazing.

"Right. Now that that's over..." Aizawa trailed off as the lights circling the dome began to buzz and flicker. Lillian felt herself tense as electricity began to arc between them, and she saw her teacher narrow his eyes. In the center of the large, stadium-like area, the massive fountain's water flow began to falter. As though something were clogging it and causing the water to come out in short bursts. 

Something was wrong.

It started out as a ripple in the air. Lillian squinted at it as it began to swirl, a black dot forming in the center of the inconsistency, and beginning to twist out into a purple mist. Lillian felt her breath hitch in her throat as a face appeared, a hand latched onto it. Yeah, this was wrong. This was totally and completely wrong. Great! Just when she was finally beginning to feel good about herself. This was a wonderful day. What nice weather! Hah, yeah, cool!

"Everyone stay back and don't move!" Aizawa's voice boomed as people began to file out of the black hole lined with purple fog. "Thirteen, protect the students!"

 "Whoa, what is that thing?" Kirishima was asking the good questions here. Lillian took some deep breaths. She had her classmates here to help her, and there were two pro-heroes present. "Wait, has the training started already? I thought we were rescuing people." 

"Stay back!" Aizawa snaps harshly when a few of her peers try to step forward. Lillian pales when she sees him lift his googles to his eyes. Yeah, this is definitely serious. "This is real. Those are Villains."

Now, listen, Lillian is a kindhearted girl. She's sweet, and soft, and gets flustered easily. But right now? Right now she had a single, very strong thought running through her head. Crashing through her panic like a freight train on vertigo. It pierced straight through all her worries and crashed right into her racing heart with a bang, and all she could think of was one word.

Fuck.