"Begin when you two are ready."

Mark watched as Tyler's entire body turned to stone, the male's expression calculating as he stood in a defensive position and waited to see what Mark would do.

"You waiting for an invitation?" Mark taunted with a smirk to hide his nerves, Tyler ignoring the comment as remained still like a statue.

The raven haired male circled around Tyler like a lion circling its prey as he tried to think of a plan, Tyler interrupting his thoughts by swinging a fist towards Mark's face.

"Shit!" Mark cursed as Tyler's fist grazed his cheek, causing pain to flare up as he retreated back.

"Give this fight your all!" Jackaboy urged the pair, Mark feeling a spark of rage flicker inside of him as he fought to ignore the pain.

I can't fail my mom...my dad, Mark thought with fierce determination as he desperately searched for a weakness in Tyler's quirk.

I know I have to make Tyler lower his guard somehow so I can get past his quirk to get a hit in, but how?

"I can see that you're taking the whole PMA thing to heart." Tyler observed as he calmly waited for Mark to retaliate, only causing Mark to feel angrier than before.

Tyler, his friend since childhood, was taunting him, mocking him, all because he wanted to be a hero like him.

"Just stop it!" Mark blurted, becoming more impatient by the second as he tried to think of a way to get Tyler to lower his guard.

"I have to pretend that you're not my friend in this fight, or I don't think I can get through this." Tyler admitted as he bowed his head.

"Sorry Mark." Tyler apologized as he looked into Mark's eyes, sincerity shining in his eyes as he lashed out at Mark once more.

Mark waited until the last minute before dodging, Tyler lowering his guard as Mark slowed down time for a brief moment.

"No," Mark corrected as he found parts of Tyler's body not protected by the stone and formed a fist.

"I should be the one apologizing."

With that, Mark found an opening in Tyler's stone barrier and kicked his legs out from underneath him before pinning him to the floor and punching him in the head to knock him out.

"Impressive Mark, you did well." Jackaboy praised, pride swelling inside Mark as he swiped the beads of blood off of his face.

"C'mon, let's get back up to the others so I can announce who made it." Jackaboy encouraged Mark as he picked up Tyler, the male nodding as he followed Jackaboy into the elevator.

Mark was surrounded by his other friends as soon as the doors opened, all of them congratulating him as Tyler woke up.

"That as awesome Mark!" Ethan gushed as Mark awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, Marvin nodding in agreement.

"It was smart."

Tyler rubbed his head with a wince as he smiled at Mark, stiffening in surprise when the dark haired teen pulled him into a hug.

"I'm sorry, I don't want to have to fight you ever again." Mark whispered, Jackaboy watching the two with a grin.

"Now since the exams are over, you'll learn if you made it or not!" Jackaboy shouted over the sounds of the crowd, causing them to all fall silent.

"So without further ado, the people who made it into the International Hero Academy is...everyone!" Jackaboy announced, eliciting cheers from the new students.

"Isn't that just cute."

Mark felt shivers trail down his spine at the sound of the familiar voice, the teen turning along with the others to see the man he had tried to save from the bus standing in the doorway with a grin.

"Anti." Jackaboy growled quietly, his fingers curling into fists as he stepped in front of the students to protect them.

"Why are you here?" Jackaboy demanded coldly, Anti merely laughing as he twirled his knife in his hand.

"Why, I'm just here to see what I'm up against." Anti replied nonchalantly, scanning the crowd until his cobalt blue eyes landed on Mark.

"I recognize you, you tried to use your quirk to save me from that bus." Anti recounted, Mark flinching as all eyes turned on him.

"I-I didn't know who you were at first!" Mark stammered defensively, Jackaboy keeping his attention on Anti as the villain casually sauntered forward.

"You made a mistake coming here alone Anti." Jackaboy warned as he raised his fists, scowling as Anti rolled his eyes with a chuckle.

"You really think that I came here alone? Please, I'm crazy, not stupid." Anti countered before using his quirk to disappear, the students murmuring amongst each other while Mark waited for bated breath for something to happen.

"There's no need to panic students, Anti was bluff-"

Jackaboy broke off when the doors blew open, the electricity going out as shards of glass flew across the room.

Mark squinted in the darkness to find a group of familiar villains gathered outside, his heart falling as Jackaboy moved forward to protect them.

"Who are they?" Tyler whispered fearfully, Mark hesitating before reluctantly answering despite his every instinct screaming at him to stay silent.

"They....they're my family."