MHA Paragon: Version 2.0

I hope you enjoy this release of MHA Paragon!

Remember to add the book to your collection to stay updated on future publications! Leave a review! And donate power stones so we can climb those rankings! 

And if you still want more, come on over to my Patreon for: 

Advanced chapters [for all fics] (Stockpile: +15)

Multiple Chapter Releases

Character Art

Member Polls

You can also join as a free member for similar perks!

Patreon @: patreon.com/Black_Paladyn 

---

Just like in the 50-meter dash, my instant acceleration gave me the advantage. As such, I was put on the offensive as I closed in on Ida. Testing the waters, I attacked with another palm strike aimed at his chest. Instead of trying to block, Ida did the smart thing and stepped to the side. 

But the moment his weight shifted, he lashed out with a rising kick. I slid to the left, putting myself just outside Ida's reach as his kick spun him around so his back faced me. Seeing his blind spot, I dashed back in without a second thought, my arm cocked back, ready to strike. 

Only for Ida to fall onto his hands as both his feet shot back up in a donkey kick. Not wanting to risk even a glancing blow, I raised both my arms and took the brunt of Ida's kick on my forearms.

My flux hardened and cracked, but I stayed rooted as the flux on my feet absorbed the remaining impact. But Ida wasn't done as he extended his legs and spun with the help of his engines, turning into a human rotary. 

I narrowed my eyes as the wind whipped around me, forcing me back, as the flux around my arms liquified once more. 

'I can feel the cracks,' I thought to myself as my mind raced, 'There are flaws in the design. The force...it can be transferred without problems but not absorbed.' 

Before I could finalize my thoughts, Ida was back on me, his legs carving through the air as he tried to land a hit on me. 

Seeing me on the back foot, Ida's aggressiveness surged as his engines started to glow cherry red. 

Each kick came closer and closer to hitting me, and more than once,e I was forced to block a blow with my hands, my flux cracking with each exchange. 

But with each tingling reverberation, as my flux failed in the face of Ida's blistering kicks, my excitement grew. 'I can feel it—the flaws in my design. The lattice is too compressed when absorbing energy. I can't use the same blueprint for offense and defense. The energy isn't being redirected back into whatever I'm attacking. It needs to be redirected and transferred.' 

An idea started to form in my mind, but I needed a catalyst to bring everything together. So, taking a drastic choice, I withdrew the flux around my feet. 

The change didn't go unnoticed by Ida, as the moment my feet touched the ground, he charged directly at me. 

"Absorb, transfer, redirect," I muttered under my breath as the flux around my arms surged above my elbows, flowing up and across my shoulders and chest. 

Ida's knee rocketed off the ground as he jumped, ready to slam into my chin. The moment the flux spanning both my arms connected, I thrust out my hand, catching Ida's knee. 

Instead of hardening, the flux around my hand formed a hexagonal pattern that quickly spread up my shoulder and down my other arm. 

With the same hand, I reached out and placed it on Ida's chest, sending the kinetic energy of his kick back into him. 

With a bang, Ida was blasted through the air, and his armor cracked from the impact. I grinned as he rolled across the floor before getting to his feet, breathing heavily and his engines sputtering. "I have to thank you, Ida. Without you, I would have never realized such a crucial flaw in my design. It almost makes me want to forgive you for what you said about me not being raised right." 

"This fight isn't over!" Ida roared as his engines sparked to life, though the flames looked significantly weaker than before. 

"I'm afraid so," I said with a sad shake of my head as the flux around my arms was absorbed back into my veins, "And it's not like I don't want to fight you, but I got a teammate who's currently fending off a walking nuke with anger problems. It would be kind shitty of me to be so selfish." 

"You'll still have to defeat me if you want to get to the bomb!" Ida shouted, his eyes burning with righteous fire. 

"Oh buddy, I already have," I replied with a grin, pointing at the ceiling. The moment Ida's head snapped up, a tide of flux surged across the floor from my feet and latched onto Ida's legs, binding them together. 

Ida shouted in surprise, and his engines flared as he tried to break free, stretching the flux around his legs using every last bit of his strength. But the moment his attempt faltered, the flux snapped back into shape, and Ida toppled over, unable to balance. 

"I know, cheap shot, " I droned on while walking towards the bomb, "But all is fair in love and war, right...just to be clear, this is war...you're a handsome guy, Ida, but I just don't swing that way." 

"Atoma!!" Ida roared as he squirmed on the floor, trying to break free of my flux. 

"How many times do I have to tell you...call me Kenji," I replied with a cheeky grin as I tapped the bomb with my pointer finger. 

The moment I made contact with the metal, a blaring buzzer echoed through the building, along with a PA, "Hero Team A has successfully disarmed the bomb. The battle simulation is now over. Please vacant the building so it can be reset for the next group." 

Turning around, I made my way to the staircase, retracting my flux and freeing Ida as my veins returned to their normal state. "We should do this again, Ida; it was fun." 

I didn't hear him respond and didn't bother waiting around as I walked down the staircase. When I reached the floor below, I paused to see that it was riddled with holes and scorch marks. 

"You lost Bakugo! There's no reason to fight anymore!" 

"Like hell I would ever lose to you, Deku! Now sit still and take this hit like a man!" 

"Shit," I muttered as Midoriya's tired voice came up through one of the holes, followed by Bakugo's angry yelling. Without wasting a moment, I jumped down the hole and plummeted to the ground floor. 

I used my flux to absorb the blow as I landed in a crouch just in time to intercept the blast meant for Midoriya. I squeezed my eyes shut, but even then, the flash of light penetrated my eyelids. Still, I didn't let the momentary blindness distract me as I coated my entire right side in flux before the heat of the explosion could reach me. 

Eventually, I managed to open my teary eyes as I waved away the smoke crowding my face, "Damn, Firecracker, you really pack a punch." 

"Kenj!" Midoriya exclaimed worriedly, and I looked over at him to see that not only was one of his arms broken and bent at several angles, most likely from his quirk, his costume was absolutely ruined, but he was still standing. 

"Guess I shouldn't have doubted you after all," I muttered before giving him a thumbs-up, "Glad to see everything went according to plan!" 

"Move out of the way, Pretty Boy, unless you want another taste," Bakugo growled as she held out her hand, which I noticed was missing its gauntlet. 

"Fight's over Firecracker. Save it for another day," I replied, standing up and recalling my flux, "Or better yet, instead of bottling up your rage, how about you put it towards something productive." 

Bakugo glared at me, but I was too tired to care as I walked over to Midoriya and offered him my hand, "Come on, let's get you to the infirmary; if I look at that arm any longer, I'm going to be sick." 

---

"Is Midoriya going to be okay?" Uraraka was the first to approach me as I returned from dropping off Midoriya. 

"Yeah, he's going to be just fine," I replied after taking the cherry-flavored lollipop out of my mouth, "Though let me tell you, Recovery Girl was not happy to see Midoriya. Her berating him was probably more painful than breaking his arm." 

"Really? I've heard she was a kind old lady?" Uraraka asked with a slightly fearful look. 

"Oh no, she's an angel. She even has a pocket full of sweets. Midoriya's just on her bad side for being so reckless and constantly breaking his limbs," I explain before tossing the cherry sucker back into my mouth, "Anyways, what did I miss?" 

Before Uraraka could respond, Mina slid into view with the help of her acid, "Well, after your fight, All Might ask us who out of the four of you was the best. I wanted to say you, but Yaoyorozu beat me to it, with the correct answer being Ida because he stayed behind and played his role." 

"Yeah, can't fault him for that," I replied with a shrug. 

"Though seeing you fight was something else! You barely broke a sweat! And what the hell was that with your quirk at the end where you shattered Ida's armor just by touching him?!" Mina asked enthusiastically. 

I raised an eyebrow, "You guys were watching?" 

"Yeah, look, there are monitors and everything. I think the next round is about to start," Mina pointed up in the air, where a floating hologram stood, showing the entrance of the building. 

The hero team consisted of Shoji and Todoroki, with Ojiro and Hagakure on the villain team. I started to wonder how Shoji and Todoroki would handle the situation, but then Shoji suddenly took a step back at Todoroki's warning as he reached out and placed a hand on the wall. 

Even outside, the temperature plummeted as a cascade of ice spread to encase the entire building in a flash freeze that gave Ojiro and Hagakure no time to react. Stuck to the floor, neither of them could stop Todoroki, who simply walked up to the bomb and touched it.

"Hero Team B has successfully disarmed the bomb. The battle simulation is now over. Please vacant the building so it can be reset for the next group." 

"Holy shit," Mina muttered in shock as she stared at the thick ice covering the building, "They didn't stand a chance." 

The rest of the class mirrored Mina's shock, but as I stared at Todoroki's chilling visage, a burning fire ignited in my eyes as a thought crossed my mind, 'What flaws could you expose if we fought?'