A.N. Aaand I am here with another chapter. Certainly been a while, guys. Firstly, I can explain this with my diminished desire to cover the current ark. Just feel like something is amiss. Don't worry, we will slug through this. Secondly, I had exams, thesis paper and its defence, but I'm now in possession of a bachelor's. Soo, I was also pretty occupied.

Also, how do you like the cover? I tried my best.

"That was a bit harsh, don't you think?" Kirishima asked his friend.

Danny raised an eyebrow and glanced at the empty seat Kaminari used to occupy. The rest of their classmates followed suit.

"Ya think?" Danny asked and took a sip out of a water bottle. "He will be alright. You know I could do worse."

"I'm pretty sure you broke some of his bones with that chair," Sero pointed out.

"Did he even feel it, though?" Asked Danny. "You know, with his mind fried and all."

"That's an interesting question," Midoriya mumbled as he wrote something in his journal.

"We must not forget what the last two matches taught us," Iida raised his hand. "The damage dealt during the fights may turn out to be more grave than we expect."

"I just hit him with a chair," Danny moaned.

"You have superstrength, Fenton," Jiro reminded him dryly. "Iida-san, isn't your match the next one?"

"Oh, you are right!" Iida exclaimed in horror and bolted under some good-natured laughs from his classmates.

"Who is he fighting against, again?" Asked Kirishima.

"Mei Hatsume," responded Danny.

"We haven't seen her use her Quirk yet," Midoriya said.

"Because it's useless in a fight," Danny was quick to clear the confusion. "It grants her an eyesight strong enough to see several miles ahead. That's why I didn't warn Iida. Didn't see the need. You probably have all seen that it's not her Quirk you should be wary about."

"It's her gadgets," the green-haired student realised. "How do you know of this?"

"Our shared passion for tool-creation makes us meet pretty often," Danny said dramatically. "We occasionally talk."

"Talk how exactly?" Asked Mineta with an expression that obviously hinted at his obscene thoughts.

"It's mostly just sharing of knowledge," answered Phantom without batting an eye. "Although I don't teach the use of ectoplasm in engineering. I'll probably get punished for that."

"By whom?" Mina tilted her head.

"Some very annoying guys with too much power. They're already angry enough with me as it is."

Everyone blinked.

"What have you done to upset them?" Midoriya asked.

"Well, one, I am still alive, despite their best wishes. And two...this will stay between us, I think."

They still couldn't deal with the fact that the Infinite Realms needed a glorified conduit in the form of a monarch. With the previous royal gone, there was only one viable candidate. One who had enough support among the closest lords to upend the Observants' hold over the dead world. They viewed him as a threat, while still not forgetting how Phantom had made a fool out of them, making the world question if their gift of foresight was as impeccable as everyone had believed. But, at some point, an unspoken agreement was reached. Danny, after all, was not eager to ascend from the title of a Prince, content with the rank he already had.

Danny's mind drifted off to the idea that they could actually let him into the treasury had they not been such pricks. It would have saved him plenty of troubles.

Nonetheless, the next match was upon them. An interesting incident took place prior to that, as Iida surprised everyone by actually putting on the support equipment. Problem was, the hero course had to inform the organisers about their gear prior to the tournament. Hence Danny had gone without his tools. However, Iida was allowed to wear the strange contraption on his back. It turned out that Mei was the one to provide him with tools to 'keep things fair'.

"That's bull," Danny commented upon hearing this. "For someone like her to let go of her advantage?"

"Do you think she has an ulterior motive?" Asked Midoriya with concern.

"She's in to advertise her skills and gear, she told me this much," Phantom recalled. "Or what, you thought she's dying to be in the hero course?"

"I...I haven't thought about this," the boy mumbled. "So, this fight is to let her show as much as she can?"

"Yep. But taking the gear from her was stupid. Who knows what she snuck into those."

And the half ghost's prediction was not far from wrong. The following match was...the longest so far. The cause of this was not due to the equilibrium between the two contestants. Rather, the match owed its length to the absolute control Mei had over her opponent. The whole fight immediately turned into a long presentation of everything she had crafted and had brought along, be it the electromagnetic boots, or a capture net, or a plethora of other tools to help her evade each and every attack of the bespectacled hero trainee, who was also aided by the very tools Mei had granted him. To her credit, the backpack and its "Auto-balancers" were not rigged in any way. However, with Iida using them for the first time, he could appear clumsy, unable to get a hold of the pink-haired girl. Most of his classmates pitied Iida, while Bakugo was roaring with laughter. Danny shared the former sentiment mostly, but he was intrigued by some tools he hadn't seen Mei make. For instance, that net she used to capture Iida. If laced with ectoplasm, those nets that were tightly packed into a handgun-sized contraption could be a useful anti-ghost weapon...he was thinking like his father.

Danny caught Kirishima's look.

"What?"

"You are rambling, dude. About ghosts," the redhead responded dryly, to which Danny laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his neck. Kirishima never understood why would Fenton be so interested in making tools so situational and specifically dangerous to him.

The audience was getting extremely tired from the presentation aimed only at a specific group of people. It felt obvious to many as to who was going to win. Mei, however, did something unexpected. For when all of her gadgets were seen by possible employers from support companies, she simply stepped out of bounds. And that meant that the winner was the very person she had been making a fool out of. Needless to say, Iida remained unsatisfied with such cheap victory, but there was no going back.

With one more round behind them, without further ado, the next match came about. And it was something Danny was most curious about. It was, in the essence, an experiment on how well Yanagi's body would fare with all the extra power given to her. Not that Danny had had such intentions initially, but now he had to go through with it. If something happened, he would be there to resolve everything. But of course, he also prayed that he would not have to intervene. It was an uncharted territory — humans that used ectoplasm. And who were still fully alive. Coming from the family of ecto-researchers, he wanted to know more. That interest was born when he first saw Kurogiri.

"Alright, everyone," Present Mic spoke up again. "The next one promises to be as interesting as all the rest. First from the hero course, class 1-A, Ashido Mina! Is something going to come out of these horns? I suppose we'll see! And the second, class 1-B of the hero course as well! Yanagi Reiko, to whom we owe the spectacular show of two-person army of the last match."

Yanagi looked at the ground when Present Mic presented her in such a manner. After all...it wasn't entirely her doing, was it? The girl looked first at Kendo, who was at their own class row, and then at the half ghost, who gave her an encouraging smile. That did not go unnoticed by Kirishima.

"Who exactly are you rooting for here, Fenton?" He asked with mock suspicion.

"Both are good. Mina's my friend, but I feel a certain ectoplasmic bond. That and I hope my little boon will actually be useful."

"Right, you augmented her Quirk, didn't you, Fenton-san?" Midoriya asked excitedly, waiting to scribble everything down.

"Yep. Before that she could only lift smaller objects. With my help...well, you saw it too. As long as she doesn't overextend and waste the energy I left with her, this power boost will stay where it is."

Meanwhile, back with the contestants, Mina was grinning from ear to ear.

"So, you got along with Danny-kun back there," she commented slowly.

Yanagi rewarded her with an ever-emotionless look. "We made a good team," she responded, glancing at her hanging arms and feeling the energy course through her.

"Heh, sure you did," the girl winked, before clapping her hands and splashing gooey acid around.

And once Midnight gave the much expected signal, Mina lunged forward towards her opponent. She realised her vulnerability. A single flick of a palm could ruin it all. So once more, all money were bet on the speed and instant action. She secreted the acid on her path, allowing her to quickly slide forward. Yanagi concentrated her power and moved her palm to meet the approaching pink girl, but Mina instantly tossed the acid her way. Yanagi's attention turned to defending herself as Mina splashed more and more liquid. The poltergeist girl could do little but use her telekinesis to keep the acid away from herself.

Yanagi took a breath and an idea occurred in her head. As Mina circled around, looking for an opening to lunge into her opponent and push her out of bounds, she made sure to secrete more acid. In the scenario most favourable to Mina, Yanagi would turn her back on the pink hero trainee. Mina could only guess that the stark-haired girl needed eye contact, or at least the knowledge of the object's position in order to grab it. Otherwise Yanagi would not be turning around to keep Mina in her sight. So, if she only managed to get behind...

And an observant viewer would see that the acid Mina was throwing was not melting the ground, glimmering with purple and green light close to it. As Mina went for another strike, Yanagi suddenly raised her palms, and all the acid in her hold came together to form a single shield that absorbed the strike.

"Woah!" Present Mic exclaimed. "Would you look at this! That acid cannot melt itself, which makes it a perfect protection! Nice thinking, Yanagi!"

Now Yanagi could take a breather and collect her thoughts, protected by a dome-like shield. Mina was hesitant to come closer, unsure about how well she would end up on another end. Firing more acid only reinforced the improvised barrier. And Yanagi had enough juice to keep it up. And now she could concentrate on the opponent. Watchful so as not to wound Midnight or Cementoss, naive and misplaced those fears as they might have been, Yanagi launched all the acid at her disposal forward, in the form of smaller droplets, flung with the tenacity of a machine gun.

"Careful out there, Ashido," warned Present Mic, "Stopping at this time will be a sentence!"

"You think I don't know that?" Mina complained quietly, dodging the barrage and sliding across the ground.

"Mina is resistant to her acid, no? Won't this attack be pointless?" Sero asked his classmates.

"It has own limits, though," Midoriya was quick to respond, opening his battered journal. "The more she produces, the less resistant her skin is. And she's made plenty."

"Does Yanagi know of this weakness?" Asked Kirishima.

Before all eyes turned to Phantom, whose mouth was full with popcorn.

"It wazhn't me!" He said and gulped it down. "Come on, even if Mina is resistant, being hit by droplets at such speed is gonna hurt."

Yanagi's improvised armaments were close to depleting, but now she had Mina right where she needed it — far away from herself and closer to the edge. The room for reaction turned too small. Yanagi finally tossed the remaining acidic goo away, and raised both arms. Mina felt how her body betrayed her, refusing to move as the familiar purple-greenish glow surrounded her. And then, a small push, and with a loud yelp the pink-skinned girl flew out of bounds, under the ever-excited cheers of the crowd. And especially the classmates of the winner.

"Now I do feel like this is all my fault," Danny mumbled.

"It kinda is, though," Kirishima agreed. "You gave her the trademark OP Fenton juice."

"I want to punch you just for naming it like this," the halfa deadpanned, his shoulders sinking.

And speaking of, Present Mic decided to rub salt in the wound.

"That was a quick, yet outstanding display!"

The halfa banged his head on the metal railing. "Please, don't hate me, Mina. Please, don't hate me, Yanagi," he mumbled.

"That was unnecessary," said Tokoyami, crossing his hands. "It was Yanagi's own skill that let her withstand the initial attack and win."

"Yeah, it's her Quirk and power now...I hope I didn't screw it over for both of them."

The aforementioned railing broke under the teen's forehead.

-Linebreak-

However, it served as a fuel for further thought. Not just to the potential hirers, who had already scribbled down plenty, or the already shocked audience, but also to the less savoury individuals, who resided in their own secluded habitats.

"You heard him, didn't you, Garaki?" All for One laughed. "So we discover that the boy doesn't simply take."

"He is also capable of bestowing power to others," finished a short moustached man in a lab coat.

"Not simply bestowing," the kingpin raised his finger with a grin on his face. "He didn't give her telekinesis, correct? To what limit does this beguiling power go, I wonder."

"This does feel like a next step in the evolution of your Quirk, Master. I see now what you meant."

"Hardly an eye-opener for you, is it, dear friend? Ever so eager to see the substantiation of your theories."

Garaki was old, old enough to see the confirmations all around himself, and within his Master also. He had no need in confirming it further. The ever-present mixing of Quirks was bound to create a highly-combustible substance that would doom them all. Even now his Master's was starting to have difficulties holding so many new Quirks, reluctant as the latter was to admit this. But to someone who was well-versed in the field, like Kyudai, the boy's power seemed...odd.

"The girl seems to be taking the augmentation in stride. I'm surprised the fools around are taking kindly to this, too."

"They are bewitched by the spectacle, is all. Once the dust settles, they will show the expected Caligula-grade paranoia," All for One chuckled. He himself had no interest in anyone but the two students. The one who could be his progeny and, by irony, the one whom he suspected to be the next incarnation and embodiment of what he was fighting against for decades. The girl was irrelevant.

"I also meant that she doesn't show any signs of strain. Usually when someone's power increases to such an extent, bodies just break."

"Like a twig," the villain added. "So many abnormalities, little Daniel."

Garaki had not been in the room for long, and it was his first time hearing the first name of their object of observation. However, it provoked a chain of thoughts that seemed to somewhat click.

"It is his name, correct?" Garaki asked.

"What?" All for One lazily asked. "Ah, yes, it is, from what I see. For a usual western name, it seems to concern you a lot."

"It's just...that person we apprehended snooping around our base. You know we keep him unconscious with electric charges, because it's all that seemed to work. But he mumbles in his sleep, I heard it. And the name 'Danny' keeps popping up way too often."

If the villain's eyes were still intact, they would have gone wide from surprise at a sudden fortune that came their way.

"What an interesting coincidence. Is there a chance we can interrogate him for more?"

"I won't advise waking the furball up. Those ridiculously sharp and large claws are not for show. He cut apart one of my Nomus and the wounds would not heal. Had to rid of that piece of useless lump meat. And apparently, that wolf could make portals. Barely had the time to knock him out before he jumped in."

"Yes, I know that part. And it couldn't be Daniel's doing, for he attained that very power after we caught that canine visitor."

"So you have to understand that we can't possibly contain him if he wakes up. I cut off one of his claws for research, and it's unlike anything I've seen. He also grew another back the next day, so I don't think he even noticed it's gone."

"I'll be there when he does wake up, so you don't have to worry. I'm positively intrigued by the conundrum of our boy-wonder and his entourage. It is great shame that the potential mothers of are all dead or gone with no trace. I could learn more this way."

"But none of them had the Quirks that could alter yours and pass it on. So it must have changed on its own. Has Kurogiri brought any more valuable information on him?"

"He is a child that emerged out of nowhere in all the official documents. An American with an American name, and yet with impeccable Japanese from the seems. And I have too much faith in the governments when it comes to keeping individuals with powerful Quirks in check nowadays. To miss something like him...Someone must have wanted a clean slate," All for One said. "Between this, and his intriguing hobby that he so unfortunately discarded ever since Tomura's daring little scheme, I'm slowly gaining hope that the boy may be amicable to the possible revelation."

"Perhaps he already knows everything."

The villain in turn laughed. "If this is your way of gaining my attention, child, you have certainly succeeded."

Garaki was still uncertain about how he should feel about that sudden excitement of his Master. It wasn't scientific wonder, like his own curiosity. All for One wanted something to come out of this. Whether to get the prodigal 'son' on his side or to simply take what looked like an alluring prize, Garaki could not yet fathom. But for now, waiting is what he was relegated to. Oh, and watching over a metaphorical bomb in his lab.

"I believe I should return to my work, Master."

"Certainly. I wouldn't want to distract you any more."

-Linebreak-

Despite the sense of guilt that suddenly emerged in Danny's stomach, he could deem the impromptu 'experiment' a success. Ectoplasm seemed to mash well enough with Yanagi's Quirk. He knew from experience that doing that to a normal human was much more dangerous. His whole school once got infected with a special ectoplasm-based virus. It did grant them a power or two, but it was slowly eating them apart. Thankfully he resolved the matter before anyone sustained grave injuries. Yanagi's body seemed to have a relative immunity, even without a core.

Soon, before the next match could start, Mina returned, looking awfully chill for someone who just lost an important match.

"Hey, Mina," Danny chuckled nervously. "No hard feelings?"

"Pfft," she huffed. "Of course not! But man, I had no chance, had I?"

"Don't say that," Danny's muffled moan was heard through the palms covering his face.

"Yeah, you did awesome!" Kirishima gave a thumbs up. "Given the situation," he added and got a light slap across the back of his head from the pink girl.

"Just...let's watch the next matches, okay?" Danny offered weakly.

Later, seeing Yanagi return to her joyous classmates and give him a small smile, his consciousness decided to loosen its grip. But it was still a half-assed consolation.

The subsequent fights maintained the high standards of entertainment. The audience was kept excited for each match that followed, for there was evidently always something to be surprised about. It was correct that their powers were very much well known by that point, but it is their inventive uses that actually mattered. It was thanks to skill in combat that Tokoyami triumphed over Yaoyorozu and it was because of that inventiveness that Uraraka managed to stand as long as she did against the unstoppable force Bakugo represented. The latter's display earned him the scorn from the audience, because for the most part it wasn't a fight, it was a beatdown.

Fenton didn't like it either. For he knew that Ochako did nothing to deserve such beating other than being a threat. However, that point of view was born due to his own personal sympathies, he suspected this, so he kept quiet mostly. His own thoughts were loudly voiced by Aizawa. It was true that Bakugo was going hard against Uraraka because he recognised that for all her innocent looks it was still a fight. Danny didn't agree with Aizawa relegating the fierceness purely to the desire to win. Fenton thought of Bakugo as an asshole, and he wasn't going to believe that it wasn't also him being a bastard.

Danny was also reminded that on the way to the top those two would most likely cross paths for the first actual time. And knowing Bakugo, he would give it his all to best someone who teased him about being inferior. And after seeing the unpleasant-looking fight, Danny decided to remind the blonde as to why that teasing took place at all.

Before the next round would start, however, a tie-breaker in the form of an arm-wrestling match would take place. Kirishima and Tetsutetsu had turned out to be an equal match, and no winner had emerged from their fight. Unsurprising, considering how similar the two's Quirks were. Danny made sure to overcompensate for the previous lack of support and root for his friend perhaps too hard.

"Teach that metalhead a lesson, red!" Danny shouted loudly, earning himself confused looks. Everyone but Mina's. She was into this.

"You can do it, Kirishima-kun!"

The two strongmen wrestled for nearly ten minutes, with the platform beneath their elbows barely standing. But finally, with a final roar, Kirishima pushed down the opponent's hand, making the crowd explode in applause. Kirishima moved to the next round, much to the joy of his classmates and friends that rooted for him.

And then there was a fight between Midoriya and Todoroki.

Expectations differed on who you would ask, as was always the case. Midoriya was a glass cannon. As smart as he was, his choices were limited. Danny remembered why he had almost lost the first prelim and first place in the race to him, and it was him capable of using the Quirk without damaging himself. However, it was a momentary success, one that he had no guarantee of repeating. Shinso lost because he was not a fighter, but now, going against the student who was among the strongest, Midoriya's chances weren't as big. One from class 1-A would also remember that it was Todoroki who had challenged Midoriya for a reason probably known only to them. And that meant not going easy on their opponent.

Was it too early for the culmination of their newfound rivalry? Whatever the answer could be, fate had forced its decision down everyone's throats. The battle looked painful, it WAS painful, for neither side wished to relent, to allow a breather. Todoroki had had his hopes of winning it like he always did — by freezing all around him before the enemy could oppose him. Unfortunately, Midoriya had come up with a way to counteract his main weakness. Or, at the very least, delay it. A single finger at a time — a conduit strong enough to break any barrage of ice. But was only buying time. Everyone had seen Todoroki's capacity. Ten strikes, one for each finger broken, was far from it. Midoriya was evidently contemplating his strategy, for the current one wasn't going to last him for long.  And all along, he and Todoroki were saying something to each other, something that couldn't be heard over the deafening noise of the shattering ice.

But Todoroki wasn't just a powerful Quirk, he was also the brains, he managed to catch Midoriya when he tried to evade the strike instead of meeting it head on. And then the green-haired teen had nothing else to do but to use his entire hand. Todoroki was caught unprepared, barely able to summon the wall that stopped him from falling out of grounds, so powerful the punch was. And yet, the result was evident to all, as every viewer could witness the absolutely ruined, purple arm that was in a horrid pain.

Both their respective states were looking grim, enough to cause a stir among the crowds. And doubts among the two judges. Perhaps the battle had to be stopped before they killed each other.

For something snapped in Todoroki's head. For better or worse, for what reason, only the two knew at the moment, but his second half was engulfed in fire that ate part of the arena in another attempt at besting the opponent. The people were shocked to learnt hat only now had the teen used that part of his Quirk. Although it made sense for a son of the Flame Hero to be capable of the feat. Danny was surprised to see this, and also...unpleasantly surprised. Fire was his second most hated thing to be hit by. But the atmosphere was growing tense, for if something so well-hidden was being used, the two must have really been going all out.

Before they could unleash their entire arsenal at a point-blank range, Cementoss tried to summon several walls between them. And yet, the combined force of Midoriya's smashing attack and the concentrated inferno was enough to make the cement barriers bend like cardboards and crumble like glass. With a powerful explosion that made everyone instinctively take cover behind the seat in front. The arena was ruined, and when the smoke cleared, the audience bore witness to Todoroki and his burnt off shirt, and Izuku, who collapsed outside of the ring. The undisputed winner of the match was the one who, albeit temporarily, renounced his shackles. And to the great shame, only he and Midoriya knew how much it meant.

"That was..." Mina mumbled.

"Quite flashy," Danny spoke slowly. "As in, holy shit what just happened?" He asked in genuine astonishment.

"Look at Izuku," gasped Uraraka, who herself wore several bandages, a parting gift from Bakugo. "He's..."

"He looks very bad," finished Iida and jumped from his seat. "We must see him immediately!"

That was the course of action Midoriya's closer friends took. Danny threw another grim glance at Midoriya's downed and bruised figure, which was immediately taken to the nurse office. Empathy emerged, an expected visitor in the heart of someone who himself was in that exact position more times than he dared to count.

"I guess it is a good thing he DIDN'T win," Danny spoke to the classmates around him. "This looks beyond what Recovery Girl can fix easily."

"Yeah, guess you are right," Kirishima nodded. "They both were so manly, though."

"Yep," The halfa leaned back in his seat. "Props to them for setting the bar," he said.

"Indeed," Tokoyami nodded. "People will come to expect the same determination and strength of character from all of us. This is why I am looking forward to the match between us, Fenton-san."

"Same deal here, pal. Same deal," Danny mumbled and slowly got up. "I guess I'll check on the poor guy, too."

"Not like the next match is gonna start like this," Mina pointed at the destruction the fight had left.

Next in line: a battle between Iida and Yanagi. The former had been preparing mentally, for he had need to wash away the humiliation he experienced in the last match. He suspected that by the time of her first confrontation Yanagi was still getting accustomed to what Fenton had given her. However, he had no reason to doubt that this time the girl would want to take him out quickly. Iida was not the one who specialised in ranged combat. Yanagi had observed that much. There weren't any projectiles to use against the enemy, so there was only one thing the poltergeist girl could do.

"Aaaaand, it starts!" Present Mic exclaimed.

Iida lunged forward without delay, he had to act fast. But also without using his calf engines. Momentum could be both his ally and the enemy, he had to be watchful. Yanagi raised her hands and concentrated, her sleepy eyes not diverting from the bespectacled teen. In the next second, she moved away from his direct path, and Iida felt and saw the grasp of telekinetic power. The one that pushed him even further, something Iida had foreseen. But Yanagi made a mistake of letting go after tossing the opponent out of bounds. Before even beginning to fall, Iida turned to face Yanagi. Next second, he unleashed the pent up combustive energy of Recipro-burst. Like a jet engine, it propelled him forward and towards his opponent.

Yanagi's surprise broke the so much needed concentration, prevented her from reacting in full. She managed to slow him down, but not stop outright. The power of the engine overpowered the telekinetic pull and finally Iida rammed into the girl's smaller frame. The force of the push was enough to send Yanagi flying backwards and, with how short the distance to the boundaries was, out of said bounds.

"Yanagi is out of bounds!" Present Mic confirmed. "The victory goes to Iida!"

"When the opponent gets close and personal, her main weakness is revealed," Danny commented.

"But she is nearly invincible at a long range," Midoriya scribbled down.

"Min-maxing as is," added Mina.

Yanagi stood up, dusting the dirt from her gym uniform. Her expression was as emotionless as ever, not letting her frustration that was present there, show. She got too overconfident too quickly, and her defeat was just as swift. That was no way for her to go out, yet here she was. But once again, the internecine debate did not make its way out. Yanagi humbly decided that she would not let something like that happen again and would come up with some more sophisticated uses of her Quirk. But for now, she had to accept her defeat.

-Linebreak-

Danny stretched his muscles in preparation for the next match. Tokoyami was no pushover, he was rightfully considered one of the strongest students of 1-A. And with the ectoplasmic nature of his Quirk, he had the means of at least combatting the most bothersome power of the half-ghost. Intangibility was not as utile anymore. But that also meant that Phantom too had experience and countermeasures against Tokoyami's...alter-ego given shape? Companion? The nature of that bond remained to be seen. Now, however, they stood at the opposing ends of the arena, about to fight for the right to pass to the semi-finals.

"Fenton-san," Tokoyami spoke with all seriousness. "When you said you saw shadows like mine before..."

"I was being genuine," responded Danny, assuming battle stance. "Johnny's is less of a threat, though. The only thing it's good for is pinning you as a bad omen."

And when the bell rang, Phantom was in no hurry to switch into his ghost form. His blue eyes gleamed with the same mischievous glow,the same mischievousness you would expect from him no matter what foe he was facing. Without delay he swiped his hands and fired a blue beam that coated the ground in front of him in a layer of ice, creeping closer to Tokoyami. The feathered hero trainee assaulted the opponent with the ferocious shadow from the get-go. The shadow dodged the ice ray, got closer, raised its arm to block the ray from finally hitting the opponent directly and lunged.

Danny smirked and before the shadow could get him, he slid down across the line of ice he had created, trying to blast the shadow's underbelly. However, the scorching ectoplasm only 'scratched' the quick and nimble creature. Phantom's intention was to get closer to Tokoyami himself and down him with a strong punch. The raven boy was no fool himself. He knew his weakness. When Danny reached the end of his slope and pushed himself to his legs in a swift motion, the shadow was already before him. The hit was absorbed by the Quirk manifestation, which he could swear was smirking.

"Found a way to your heart," Danny kept grinning, too, before from the inside the Shadow felt an intense burning.

Light and alien ectoplasm hurt it equally.

"Shadow! Get him away!" Tokoyami commanded.

The creature swung its huge arm and hit the halfa. Phantom's human body was launched to the side, but he managed to land on his feet and summon a shield against the next attack. The barrier stood firm, but the agile shadow went around it, but Phantom greeted it with an ectoplasm-engulfed fist with a lighting speed. The shadow blocked the strike, but was sent reeling backwards, into the still present shield, that instantly blew up into a mess of light and otherworldly lasers. The screeching shadow retreated back to Tokoyami at the latter's silent order, giving Fenton some room that wasn't near the very edge.

"Fenton manages to stand his ground!" Present Mic commented. "Even when not in his ghost form he is still a formidable force!"

Tokoyami knew this already. He knew not what Fenton's reasoning for allowing a handicap were, but this was not a reason to underestimate his enemy. He was probing the halfa's defences, and Fenton gave him a demonstration. Whatever shape his energy took, he could use it to bash the attacking enemy. Tokoyami had been searching for a possible weakness in his defence, but so far only lighting had proven its worth, and it was something he did not possess.

"Tokoyami, I am getting a bad feeling from this," the shadow spoke to him in panic.

"We will do this," the student responded to the creature humbled by light exposure.

"Huh, so he actually talks," commented Danny. "That's nice to know."

Not a moment too soon, from his eyes emerged another beam of energy, which Tokoyami managed to dodge at the last moment. Fenton kept barraging him with a stream of green blasts, cutting off possible ways of retreating, as he so obviously fired in advance, expecting Tokoyami to run into one of them. It was like a game of dodgeball, ripe with special effects. Nonetheless, the teen quickly realised that dodging would get him nowhere. The only way to get in close proximity was to give Fenton what he wanted. Instead of sending shadow forward, he himself was closing the distance alongside it. The halfa seemed to have taken the bait, and the fighting arena was no longer a mere shooting range for him.

Instead, he let his ice power take over, before he ran towards Tokoyami as well. Before they could enter close combat, Danny fired an ice beam right at Tokoyami's legs, but managed to freeze only one leg. Fenton was about to hit the teen, but once again the shadow blocked his offensive, took the hit and held the ground. With Fenton's human form, and with him not putting ectoplasm into his strikes that time, they were more than a match physically. Tokoyami in the meantime tried to get his leg out of the trap. The ice did not creep far up. With enough twitches he could get the leg out at the expense of his shoe. And the shadow knew it had to buy time. It went for a counterattack, which Danny blocked with his left arm, smirked and opened the palm and revealed another improvised flash-bang.

The shadow reeled in fright, but could not dodge the small explosion and was blasted away.

"Ruffled your feathers, eh?" Phantom commented with a stupid grin. "About time we wrap this up, anyway."

Tokoyami managed to get his leg out and barely had the time to dodge a punch from the ghost that seemed to never give him a breather. The shadow went to attack the halfa once again, looking even smaller than before. Phantom did not stop his advance, raising his arm once more.

"You stay down," he said and blew up another ball of ectoplasm.

The bright light again kept the creature away, leaving the owner defenceless. Tokoyami himself was much less of a fighter than his opponent, he couldn't hope to match, so he had to keep the distance. Fenton pushed himself forward, in order to cut off the retreat of his opponent. The shadow still went after him, guided more by the instinct of an animal pushed into a corner, buying time for the owner to concoct a proper plan. But Tokoyami could see that Fenton was not letting himself be distracted. Each time the shadow got close, it was blasted with light. Unlike the blasts, flash bangs were impossible to dodge. However, when Fenton was once again near Tokoyami, he suddenly vanished from sight, surprising his opponent who had been looking over his shoulder.

Then, he felt like he ran into something. Into a hand that gripped his neck. And whilst not choking, it was firm as dead man's. Fenton dropped the veil of invisibility, holding his another hand with a readied green glowing ball, daring the shadow to try.

"I think we should call it a match," the halfa said, his eyes now blazing with emerald light.

"I...I give up," Tokoyami spoke in a defeated voice.

"Tokoyami surrenders! Fenton is the winner!"

Immediately Danny let go, allowing the raven teen to stand on the ground.

"You did very good," his smirk became a good-natured smile. "But it is daytime, and I just knew what to do. Sometimes matchups are not perfect."

"That's true," mumbled Tokoyami and nodded. "I hoped that the ability to prevent your intangibility will suffice."

Danny chuckled. "Well, that's why I'm a menace to society," he said and followed Tokoyami out of bounds.