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1:
The first time it happens isn’t really the first time. For all of UA’s advanced technology, it was severely lacking in the communications department. Aizawa-sensei was a solo teacher so in his mind it only encouraged independence (and besides, everyone knows he’d have to deal with Nedzu to get better technology and no one wishes that upon Sensei). When All Might handled their training… let’s just say that 1-A knew firsthand how loud their teacher was in the field. When you have All Might’s volume, you don’t need a comm link.
The first time they come up with what seems to be an effective solution, however, is a training day like any other. All across Ground Beta, fake dummies are spread out for half of Class 1-A to find (as they’d been split into two teams of ten, previously).It should be a simple exercise, in and out. Find the dummies, get out. No problem for the crafty Class 1-A, right?
Normally, yes, but when the comms go out…
“Guys? Guys?” Kirishima calls into his comm, then sighs. “This is so unmanly. I can’t believe the comms aren’t working!”
“Yeah, ribbit, it’s a bummer,” Tsuyu agrees, then places a hand to her chin in forethought. “And since we split up to cover more ground, it’ll be nearly impossible to find someone again, ribbit, unless…”
“Unless what?” Kirishima asks curiously.
Tsuyu cups her hands, then calls, “Marco!”
“Tsuyu!” Kirishima hisses. “What was that?”
She shrugs. “I’m willing to bet that Shouji-kun heard that, and we can-”
“Polo~!” comes a shout from above.
“Aoyama? Is that you?” Kirishima yells.
“Oui oui, monsieur!” says Aoyama, gliding down the staircase into the room.
Kirishima laughs disbelievingly, then turns to Tsuyu. “How’d you know that would work?”
“I didn’t, ribbit,” she says. “I thought that Shouji would hear, but this is good, ribbit. And if Yuuga-kun can hear me when I’m yelling…”
“Then I can yell louder and get more people!” Kirishima says excitedly, and immediately moves to try it. “ Marco!”
“Polo!” three more voices shout in unison.
Kirishima and Tsuyu meet each other’s eyes with matching grins, then turn to Aoyama. “Join us?” Tsuyu proposes.
“Why, certainly,” Aoyama agrees. “On trois?”
The other two nod.
“One, two, three! Marco!” they shout in unison.
A chorus of, “Polo!” comes chorusing back and soon enough, the rest of their group comes stampeding over. Each pair has more rescuees in hand, and together they’re able to exit quickly and safely.
Sensei praises them on their quick thinking (though he does have a few choice words on their method of communication- “a direct line to you if the villains arrive. Think smartly, problem children. Still, you did well,” he admits) and sends them on their way, the next group funneling in behind.
“Marco,” Tsuyu whispers to Midoriya as he passes.
His face lights up with all the passion of an analyst presented with an interesting conundrum. And watching the security footage afterwards… Tsuyu would certainly say he figured out what to do.
2:
The second time it happens is a bit more serious yet no less successful in both hilarity and effectiveness.
It’s another day, another round of heroics class, this time back at the USJ for that long awaited rescue training.
The place had been inspected top to bottom, every inch swept for bugs and jammers.
There are random check ins required now anywhere between 7 to 15 minutes involving Aizawa-sensei keeping his phone on max volume in his hand so he can reply with the prepared response phrases whenever an incoming text prompts him.
It’s excessive and yet also feels like it’s not enough but it just has to be so here they are.
Extra teachers today with a patrol car parked right outside and finally they’re ready as they’ll ever be.
Thirteen skips the speech this time and goes straight to dividing up the groups.
Midoriya, Jirou and Shouji in the Ruins Zone with Kirishima as the civilian they’ll be rescuing.
Tsuyu, Uraraka and Todoroki in the Flood Zone rescuing Satou.
Tokoyami, Yaoyorozu and Sero in the Downpour Zone rescuing Hagakure.
Bakugou, Mineta, and Kouda in the Landslide Zone rescuing Aoyama.
Ashido, Iida and Ojiro in the Mountain Zone rescuing Kaminari.
“No tricks.” Thirteen says. “This isn’t a test. For the first round we’ve put you where we honestly think you’ll learn the most. Don’t worry if you’ve been chosen to play a civilian. Rest assured, this is not a reflection on what we think you can learn, as we have also done our best to choose civilians that match the zone to create a more difficult challenge for the ‘heroes’. And in fact we will be rotating till everyone has had a chance to play a civilian and have a chance to be rescued. Those are important skills too since even heroes can be trapped or injured and find themselves in need of rescue so it’s important to know how to act while being rescued so you are helpful and not impeding the heroes that are just trying to help you.”
Thirteen pauses to ensure everyone is listening before finally concluding. “Kirishima, Satou, Hagakure, Aoyama, and Kaminari. We’ve got special suits for the civilians so you won’t get hurt while playing your roles. Follow me and we’ll get you all set up.”
Izuku watches Kirishima go with a thoughtful frown on his face and then eyes the Ruins. Jirou and Shouji approach and Izuku smiles at them.
“Ruins.” He says. “Unstable buildings that could collapse at any moment as well as the remains of ones that have already fallen. You’re both skilled in picking out details such as where the civilian is located, how many villains are around and even the ominous creaking of shaky foundations. I’m one of the physically strongest in the class so to pair me with the two of you in this Zone means the goal is to have me play heavy hitter support to your two scouts. Couple that with Kirishima and his hardening quirk and I think it’s safe to assume he’ll be buried in the rubble somewhere with strict instructions to keep quiet so you’ll have to focus solely on his breathing and heartbeat to narrow down his location so I can dig him out before time runs out.”
His partners blink at him before a slow grin breaks out across Jirou’s face. “Well then. What do you guys say about setting a new record?”
Izuku and Shouji grin back in assent.
***
Shouta Aizawa had been prepared to face many struggles that day.
He’d been prepared for the struggle of splitting his focus between teaching and replying to those damn texts.
He’d been prepared to argue with obstinate students about their group placements and the need to play civilians at all.
And he’d been prepared to do all that on four hours of sleep and only one coffee.
He had not been prepared for the struggle not to knock himself out on the nearest wall when Midoriya’s group strolled into the Ruins, easy as you please, and given a single shout of Marco that Kirishima had automatically responded to on reflex.
They set a new record.
Shouta needs more coffee.
3:
The third time goes, well. It goes.
It’s a class exercise that’s rather reminiscent of their first activity after break; Aizawa-sensei is hidden somewhere in the city and it’s a race to find him. He’s been hiding in increasingly difficult spots- from sliding into the vents and falling asleep to him digging a hole and hiding inside (even later, no one will quite manage to figure out how he did it)- and now Izuku is up next, along with Shinsou, Todoroki, and Sero.
They’ve all got advantages, from Todoroki and Sero’s quick mode of transportation to Shinsou’s brainwashing, but Izuku isn’t exactly lacking himself. Between All Might’s quirk and his training at UA, Izuku should have at least a fighting chance.
“Three!” Yaomomo starts. Aizawa had put her in charge of counting and keeping order, citing her as “the only responsible one,” to which no one had protested. Even this early into the school year, they’d all seen how feral Iida could get when he set his mind to something.
“Two!” Izuku glances at his opponents, then settles deeper into his starting stance.
“One! Go!”
All four of them immediately break into a sprint, Shinsou mouthing off as he runs, “I’m sure none of you lovely gentlemen are interested in last place?”
Izuku smirks a bit and holds himself back from a snarky reply, not that Shinsou would hear it with the faulty comms- they’re all fitted with them in case anything happened and the teachers needed a quick response, but with their effectiveness so far, Izuku wouldn’t hold his breath.
The comms would be necessary because One for All has already propelled him halfway across the arena. Izuku has a few ideas for where Aizawa-sensei would hide, and he’s taking the opportunity to go straight there. Neither Todoroki nor Sero (nor Shinsou, he assumes) follows him, but Izuku knows they’ll come after him soon enough when their own leads turn out to be wrong. He shakes his head and refocuses- if Aizawa really is in the sewers, Izuku might have a ways to go.
Thankfully, once he’s found a displaced manhole lid and slipped inside, it’s easy enough to cover his tracks. It’s a good sign for Izuku, although it could just have easily been displaced by a maintenance crew.
He takes a moment to let his eyes adjust, and then he’s off, One for All shooting him down the tunnels. He zips down various twists in turns, which makes him feel a bit like a pinball, and keeps his eyes peeled for Aizawa-sensei.
Izuku pauses for a moment to catch his breath, and that’s when the building starts to shake.
Instinct takes over and sends him crashing to the floor, arms clamped over his neck. Izuku breathes in and exhales heavily as sediment crashes to the floor. He chances moving one of his arms to tap furiously at his comms, but they’re still silent.
Shit, he thinks. And if Aizawa-sensei really is down here… Izuku knows his teacher is strong, but what is Erasure going to do against crumbling infrastructure?
What if his classmates had followed him down?
Izuku holds his position for a count of three, fighting against himself, until emotionally-driven logic finally wins out and sends him careening down the tunnels once more, looking for Aizawa-sensei (and keeping an eye out for the others, just in case). What if- what if he misses them, what if Aizawa is hiding too well, what if, what if-
And then 1-A’s most stupidly genius idea comes back to him.
“Marco!” he yells, projecting as loudly as possible, still bouncing around with his eyes peeled wide.
A beat later, Aizawa-sensei’s voice comes echoing down the tunnel. “Polo.” He sounds like he regrets every choice he’s ever made.
Izuku can’t hold back a moment of laughter before the gravity of the situation slams his mouth back into a thin, straight line. Right. Izuku needs to concentrate.
“Marco!” he calls again, and Aizawa’s quick, tired response helps him zero in. “I’m almost there, Aizawa-sensei!”
Izuku hasn’t had any time to think about why Aizawa needs his help, and once he arrives he’s glad for it. When the earthquake first hit- even now, little aftershocks send pebbles flying- the tremors had been big enough to send a rock careening, and Aizawa hadn’t been quick enough to avoid it.
“Sensei!” Izuku exclaims, panicked, then forces himself to take a deep breath. Panicking won’t help. For a moment he’s stuck on what to do- lift the rock off immediately or dash off to find help or- when a call sounds from above.
“Marco!”
Izuku meets Aizawa’s eyes, and together they call out, “Polo!”
“They’re down there,” someone says, just barely loud enough for Izuku to hear, and suddenly there’s a hole of light in the ceiling as Sero removes a manhole cover and peeks his head in. “You’re both here, right?”
“Me and Aizawa-sensei,” Izuku confirms, and Sero relays the information to, presumably, the other two. He then hops in the hole, arms at the ready for whatever he might see.
From there, everything goes smoothly, Izuku and Sero working in tandem to bring Aizawa-sensei to safety as Shinsou supervises and offers encouragement and Todoroki brings reinforcements, his ice rendering him the most helpful for this sort of situation.
To think what would have happened without 1-A’s marco polo strategy… a scary thing.
4:
Of course it was Midoriya that first realized this could be weaponized.
It was a bright morning and the hero class was running drills in what was the largest training ground they’d attempted yet.
Midoriya, Jirou and Kaminari vs Satou, Hagakure and Aoyama.
No time limits.
Keep going till an entire team has been captured.
Each team has a scout, a long range attacker and a brawler with plenty of time to scatter and hide before the start was called.
It should have been an even match.
Should have dragged on a bit while the teams duked it out, sustaining losses until one team emerged the victor.
But that's not how it went down at all.
“What the fuck is that nerd doing?” Bakugou growls, sneering at the screen where a commless Midoriya is walking around shouting “Marco!” on top of his lungs.
“Perhaps his earpiece was lost as he ran?” Momo muses, head tilted to the side in thought. “Though it’s quite early for something like that but Midoriya does like his parkour runs and it could have been knocked loose…”
“Naw that’s just what he wants us to think.” Bakugou smirks, leaning back in satisfaction now that he’s seen through the play. “Ears would’ve been able to hear him by now and the nerd’s got one of Pikachu’s disks up his sleeve.”
“But of course!” Iida nods his head energetically. “Midoriya has probably instructed his team to ignore the call and therefore, should he be heard by the enemy from far enough away for them to think he’s one of their own then their own response will give away their location!”
“It’s a risky move.” Todoroki says.. “Midoriya having the disk means his teammates can track him and back him up in attacking anyone that answers him but if the other team realizes it’s a trap then all he’s doing is given away his position instead.”
“You’re forgetting one thing Icyhot.” Bakugou’s grin is practically feral. “They can’t see the disk.”
Onscreen Midoriya is surrounded but he simply grins before whirling to throw the disk at Satou the moment Kaminari comes sparking into view.
The boy goes down and Kaminari quickly wraps him in capture tape before he can recover.
There’s a yelp from Hagakure as Jirou surprise tackles her, the sounds of her steps and breathing more than enough for the hearing hero to track her movements.
Aoyama curses in french as he fires off his quirk but Midoriya flips up and away before launching off a wall to slam the boy into the ground.
“...polo.” The blonde groans.
The classmates wince in sympathy.
5:
After Midoriya’s success, Yaomomo decides it’s her time to shine.
It’s a class game of hide and seek, amped up for the hero course. It’s just like normal, except that when someone ‘finds’ you, they still have to capture you, and that’s what really makes this difficult, as well as the fact that the seekers only have half an hour to find everyone- otherwise they’d be there all day.
Still, Kyouka, Shouji and Sero before her succeeded, so this shouldn’t be a problem for Momo.
When Aizawa deems it’s been long enough and releases Momo, she immediately heads for the tallest building in ground beta. Despite what it may seem, ground beta really isn’t all that big, and Momo has a plan. She spends precious few minutes creating a replica of Aizawa-sensei’s scarf like what she’d made during their final exams, then sectioning it off into several large, but manageable pieces.
Then, when she’s ready, Momo yells, “Marco!” at the top of her lungs.
Sure enough, several of her classmates respond, “Polo!!” and give away their hiding spots, too used to the call and response to ignore it. Momo grins to herself and leaps off the building, using Aizawa’s capture weapon to seamlessly zip around the grounds.
She finds Kaminari first; he’d been hiding in an alleyway and the echo had been enough to give his exact location away.
Once he’s safely zip-tied up, Momo remembers hearing another few voices from this way as well, and sure enough a more thorough search reveals Mina and Ochako hiding.
It’s significantly more difficult to capture them, and very nearly turns into a full blown fight.
With the element of surprise, Momo snags Mina before she can react, but she isn’t so lucky with Ochako, who lunges for Mina and manages to Float the capture weapon, sending her soaring.
Momo brings it crashing down, but not without some serious effort, more from control (to keep from injuring Mina too badly) than actual raw strength. Momo pulls a miniature lighter from her wrist and sets it to the scarf, which immediately locks Mina into place.
Then it’s just her and Ochako, and while Momo really wants to make a canon, she’s learned enough at this point to know that’s a bad move. She doesn’t have the time or fat stores necessary right now, and Ochako isn’t looking to show mercy.
After Momo accidentally gets too close and Ochako sends her soaring, she decides that her fat stores will be fine. This is personal now.
Momo pops a five pound weight out on each wrist and it sends her crashing back down. She takes a moment to steady herself, Ochako too far to reach her, then chucks one of the weights at Ochako, careful to aim it lower rather than high.
“That the best you got?” Ochako taunts, easily sidestepping it.
“Not even close,” Momo says, and leaps to tackle Ochako. She’s sent flying again, but she keeps her legs wrapped around Ochako’s and forces the others fingertips to touch, releasing Momo once again. There’s a nauseas churn in her gut. It she ignore it in favor of quickly creating zip-ties and fastening Ochako’s hands together.
Another one down.
“You fought well,” Momo says, then takes up another reel of capture weapon and swings off, calling, “Marco!”
Not as many people fall for it that time, but between the ones that do and Momo’s instinct she manages to get everyone rounded up, zip-tying Sero’s hands together right as the final buzzer rings.
“...good strategy,” Aizawa tells her, looking like he’d rather be anywhere else, then turns to the rest of the class. “Note this for future consideration; what if a villain picks up on your strategy and uses it against you? Yaoyorozu did an excellent job exploiting your weaknesses.”
Momo practically preens.
6: +1
Shouta eyes his surroundings with a scowl. There’d been a massive storm while his class had been on a trip. An unnatural storm, brought in and exacerbated by a villain’s quirk because of course it was. Even now the stinging rain continues to fall, plastering Shouta’s hair to his face. His kids had apparently organized themselves into groups and then scattered, never mind waiting for someone to bring them comms.
According to Snipe, who had been driving the bus, the kids had briefly entertained the idea of getting Creati to make some before realizing that her quirk would be better served in the triage area since falling trees were keeping the ambulances and emergency personnel from arriving. Shouta himself was only able to get here on foot which has severely impacted his mood. He hefts the box of earpieces in one arm as he loops his capture weapon around a sturdy pole, testing that his scarf won’t slip off just because it’s wet.
“Damned field trip.” He mutters as he continues forward. “It’s not a mall this time Shouta, it’s not even on UA grounds. Like that makes it better.” He is a little salty about this he knows but he’d been against this trip from the start. Granted that was more because a joint training with the Ketsubutsu kids from the licensing exam meant Shouta would need to spend a considerable amount of time dealing with Ms. Joke but still. ‘No thank you’ Shouta had said, except without the thank you and with a ‘Fuck’ before the no.
And so here he is, swinging in the rain to bring supplies to his class because they’d just had to stop the bus and get involved. He’s going to add emergency comms to every single one of their costumes just watch him. A tiny little earpiece they can wear in a small pouch around their necks just in case.
Satisfied with his future plans Shouta focuses once more on his way forward and finally spots the bus. Lightning flashes, illuminating the area for just long enough for Shouta to spot Present Mic, the other chaperone for this trip who had overruled Shouta’s ‘Fuck no!’ with a ‘Hell yeah!’
Shouta is not a petty person but he is tempted to leave the man stranded for that great betrayal. But then, because he is the bigger person ‘Take that Tensei!’ He stops and hands Hizashi an earpiece from the box.
“Eraserhead! Thank goodness!” The blonde crows, twisting his sopping wet hair to one side so he can shove the comm in his ear.
Shouta is too stunned by the man’s wet dog impression to respond.
“So you’re probably wondering where everyone is…”
Shouta hefts the box once to convey his ‘no shit.’
“So um. About that.” Hizashi looks oddly nervous. “So Midoriya, Todoroki and Bakugou went that way.” he arms jerks vaguely to the right. “Think they were trying to track down the villain. Yoayorozu and Shinsou went in that direction to set up triage.” His arm waves to the left. “Tokoyami and Uraraka went um.” His arm shoots towards the sky. “Up.”
“Up.” Shouta repeats unimpressed. If he wasn’t holding this box he’d be crossing his arms.
“Yeah. up.” Hizashi forces a laugh “Think Tokoyami wanted a, birds eye view!”
“...I hate you.”
Hizashi has the good grace to look sheepish. “Well anyway there’s a simple way to track them down.” He takes a deep breath and cups his hands around his mouth.
Shouta’s posture screams ‘fuck no!’ as he activates his quirk in the nick of time.
“MArco- hey what gives? How are they supposed to hear me without my quirk.”
“They don’t need to hear you.” Shouta grumbles, rummaging in his pocket. “And at least have the decency to mute your com before yelling out like a bullhorn.”
“Whoops.” Hizashi fumbles with it as Shouta triumphantly holds up the device from his pocket. “Is that-?” Hizashi gasps.
“Yup.” Shouta replies, already turning it on. He can feel his lips pulling into a grin. “I had support add trackers to each of the problem children’s costumes.” He holds up the screen with twenty flashing dots. Etched along the sides of the device is the program’s name Marco’s Polo Cheats.