The Hero From Beyond (MHA x OC Fanfic)

Chapter 26: Practical Exam

Author's note: So here's my pro hero, Carver, in his hero getup. Carver's quirk is called Dummy Swap, where he always has and is bound to an indestructible effigy of himself. There are two forms shared between the two hosts: indestructible yet lifeless and flexible yet vulnerable. There always has to be one of either form, so at least one of the hosts is not going to be completely safe. Carver's quirk allows him to trade forms with his effigy no matter what his position, like an instant teleportation but with some progress required. Carver's statue can be freely moved but is incredibly heavy due to its unnatural and unidentifiable material. I'm really proud of this character and can't wait to show what he can do in this chapter here. And now, the entire reason I created Carver. Enjoy!

We stand outside the front of a gate leading to a large hedge maze. Not really the most ideal place for a fight. Maybe a theme? The escape gate is on the other side of the place. However, Carver won't be taking it easy on us.

"We sticking to the plan?" Tojuta interrupts my thoughts. "Fight 'im?"

"Yeah. His quirk is basically a load point in a video game that he can set over and over. Immobilize that, and I think we can win. One of us keeps Mr. Carver busy while the other cuffs it. If he swaps, then he plays right into our hands."

A loud buzzer sounds. "Team Seshin and Tojuta. Practical Exam. Ready? Go!"

The gate opens and we run through. So far it's a straight line.

"Y'know," Tojuta looks at me as we run. "Mr. Carver is a skilled fighter. As a pro he wields that stone war hammer and is good at hand on hand. You sure one of us could take him alone?"

"Should be simple. I can phase, so I can just keep him busy, like I said earlier, and wait for your help."

"You're right." He turns his head to face our direction. "We got this! We just need to stay calm and-! What the CRAP!?!"

I turn to see what he's so shocked about. My eyes widen as we stop short and observe our area. What the crap is right! We've arrived at a large clearing but every inch of the place is covered by a stone statue of Mr. Carver. There's gotta be at least a hundred and there's still more up ahead, but only one of them is the real statue. He must've seen right through our plan.

"How on earth are we supposed to find him or his statue in here?!" Tojuta exclaims.

"For a UA teacher, this guy has way too much time on his hands to craft all these." I walk up to a group of statues and compare them. "They've been chiseled to last detail. His clothes, facial features, and everything are perfect. Bit of an ego if you ask me."

"You call it an ego, I call it over-the-top preparation."

"Well, I guess they don't call him 'Carver' for nothing," I comment and laugh a bit.

"Unh! I don't like it. He could show up anywhere. Plus the thought of inanimate objects coming to life and getting the jump on ya can creep a guy out."

"Can't argue with that. It's got a Doctor Who feeling to it, you know?" I take a second to scan over them all. "Let's try to head to the gate for now. If we find him, or vice versa, we'll take him on."

"I'm all for that." Tojuta nods, and we run through the statue garden.

If we play it safe, we might not run into Carver and just make it out without conflict. Yeah, go figure. This is his turf we're running through. He made that clear when he made this place his museum.

There are starting to be more paths in this hedge maze, but they all have a statue in the middle of them, daring us to try our luck down that way. We continue on through a somewhat narrow path with more statues decorating the sides, all having their hands behind their back like they're soldiers. Having no other choice, we press on.