The first semester at U.A. ended with a series of exams that, for Tom Jacker, felt more like tedious formalities than actual challenges. He passed the written exams by "borrowing" answers from the minds of the smartest students around him using a subtle telekinetic touch on their exam papers. The practical exams were much the same; his opponents (often the teachers themselves) were incapacitated in the quickest and most unexpected ways, frequently by him simply teleporting behind them and knocking them out before they even knew what was happening.
The announcement of the summer training camp was met with enthusiasm by most of Class 1-A. It was an opportunity to get stronger, to push their limits. Tom, initially, found the idea of "camping in the woods" thoroughly unappealing.
"A forest? Bugs? Sleeping on the ground?" he complained to Yosetsu Awase from Class 1-B, who happened to overhear him during the announcement. "I'd rather face a hundred Nomu than mosquitoes."
Nevertheless, Aizawa and Principal Nezu "strongly suggested" that Tom participate. They saw it as another opportunity to observe him in a different environment, far from the city bustle and the potential for greater property damage. Besides, Tom heard rumors that this camp would be incredibly tough and designed to push students to their absolute limits. This piqued his curiosity slightly. Could U.A. finally offer him something a little... challenging? (He highly doubted it, but at least it was a change of scenery from routine boredom.)
The bus ride to the camp location was filled with the students' laughter and excitement. Tom, as usual, chose a seat at the very back, wearing headphones (which weren't playing any music) and pretending to sleep, ignoring the surrounding hubbub.
The bus finally stopped at the edge of a cliff overlooking a dense forest below. There, they were greeted by four Pro Heroes in colorful, cat-themed costumes: the Wild, Wild Pussycats. There was the calm and leading Mandalay, the muscular and fierce-faced Tiger, the hyperactive Ragdoll with a permanent wide smile, and the energetic Pixie-Bob with striking blue hair.
"Welcome to our territory, U.A. kittens!" Mandalay exclaimed cheerfully.
It was then that Pixie-Bob's sharp eyes landed on Tom, who had just disembarked from the bus with his typical lazy demeanor. Tom was a new face, and despite his attempts to look bored and uninterested, an undeniable aura of power surrounded him.
"Oooh! Who's this handsome new kitty?" Pixie-Bob shrieked, her eyes sparkling with enthusiasm. She immediately darted in front of Tom, circling him as if appraising a prized racehorse. "I'm Pixie-Bob! And I'm still single and ready to mingle!" She winked flirtatiously. "You look strong! How old are you? Oh, don't tell me, let me guess! Eighteen? Nineteen? Twenty-one? Age is just a number, right, sweetie?"
Tom merely stared at her with a flat expression, completely unfazed by the Pro Hero's enthusiasm, which only seemed to make Pixie-Bob more intrigued. The other students could only stifle their laughter or roll their eyes at their mentor's antics.
"Alright, no time to relax!" Mandalay said, cutting in before Pixie-Bob could take her efforts any further. "You have three hours to reach our lodge at the foot of that mountain. And you have to go through this forest!" She pointed to the dark and ominous-looking Forest of Demonic Beasts.
With that, the ground beneath Class 1-A's feet suddenly shifted. Pixie-Bob's Earth Flow Quirk created a giant wave of earth that violently tossed all the students into the forest below.
"Have fun!" Ragdoll shouted from the clifftop, waving cheerfully.
The students landed in various ways, most far from graceful. They had barely oriented themselves when they were immediately surrounded by giant clay monsters, creations of Pixie-Bob's Quirk. The fight was unavoidable.
Tom, in contrast, landed casually on a high tree branch, observing his classmates struggling below. "So troublesome," he muttered. He watched Bakugo angrily blast monsters, Todoroki freeze them with cold efficiency, and Midoriya smash them with his still unstable punches.
He decided to "help" a little, more because he wanted to get to the lodge quickly and possibly find food than out of altruism. He didn't fight the monsters one by one like the others. Instead, he used Telekinesis to uproot several giant trees, then wielded them like giant fly swatters, crushing dozens of clay monsters in a few powerful swings. Then, feeling that was still not exciting enough and a bit slow, he activated his Gigantification Quirk.
His body enlarged rapidly, towering high above the trees. The students and clay monsters now looked like tiny toys beneath his massive feet. With one giant step, he was in the middle of the forest. With a second step, he had almost reached the other side.
"Hey, everyone!" bellowed the giant version of Tom, his voice echoing throughout the forest. "Need a ride?" He bent down and offered his palm, which was as large as a small field.
Class 1-A stared at the sight with a mixture of horror, amazement, and a slight sense of despair at the absurdity of the situation. Their tough training exercise had just turned into a ridiculous one-man power show.
After some brief debate (and a lot of protesting shouts from Bakugo, who felt his pride was being trampled), they finally accepted the "offer," carefully climbing onto Tom's palm. With a few more giant steps, Tom carried them all to the Pussycats' lodge in less than ten minutes from when they were thrown into the forest, leaving behind giant footprints and pulverized clay monsters.
They arrived at the lodge, much faster than the Pro Heroes had anticipated. The Pussycats, especially Pixie-Bob, stared at Tom's spectacular arrival with their jaws agape.
"He... he can turn into a giant too?" Pixie-Bob whispered to Mandalay, her eyes sparkling even brighter with admiration and perhaps a little fear. "I think I've really found someone special!"
Tom returned to his normal size, looking completely unfatigued, just letting out a small yawn. "We're here. Is there any food?"
Aizawa, who had arrived with the other Pussycats via a safer route, could only massage his forehead. This training camp was going to be far more complicated than he had imagined.
The summer training camp began with brutal intensity the next day, just as Aizawa and the Wild, Wild Pussycats had promised. The students of Class 1-A and 1-B were forced to push their Quirks to their absolute limits and even beyond. Bakugo spent hours plunging his hands into boiling water to enlarge his sweat glands and increase the power of his explosions, his shouts echoing through the training area. Todoroki simultaneously practiced using his fire and ice sides, creating steam and ice on a massive scale. Midoriya, under Tiger's guidance, tried to better control One For All, his body battered but his spirit undeterred.
And Tom Jacker? He spent most of his time sitting under a shady tree, sometimes wearing sunglasses he'd acquired from who-knows-where, observing his suffering classmates with a faintly amused smile. When asked to participate in the "Quirk enhancement" training, he just shrugged.
"My Quirk is already perfect," he told Tiger, who was trying to make him do strenuous physical exercises. As a demonstration, Tom merely glanced at Tiger, and the muscular Pro Hero was suddenly lifted a few inches off the ground by an unseen telekinetic force, spun slowly, then gently lowered back down. Tiger could only growl in frustration, powerless against the invisible force.
Pixie-Bob, on the other hand, saw Tom's lack of participation as a golden opportunity. "Oh, strong Tom-kun!" she'd exclaim, often appearing suddenly beside Tom with a bowl of fresh fruit or a cold drink. "You must be so tired from having such immense power. Want me to massage your shoulders? Or perhaps you need some 'special training' with me to release all that pent-up energy?" Every sentence was accompanied by a flirtatious wink.
Tom usually just responded with a mysterious smile or an ambiguous comment that left Pixie-Bob even more curious and confused. "My pent-up energy could bring down a mountain, Pixie-san. I'm not sure you're ready for that."
Nevertheless, there was a strange sense of anticipation in the air. Tom, with all his extraordinary power, was starting to feel a bit bored with this monotonous training routine. This training offered him no challenge at all. He began to hope something more... interesting would happen. Something to break his boredom.
And his wish was granted in the most unexpected and chaotic way.
That night, as the students were undergoing a "test of courage" led by the Pussycats as part of their recreation after a hard day's training, the atmosphere suddenly turned grim. The forest, previously filled only with the sounds of nocturnal insects and the nervous laughter of students trying to scare each other, was now shrouded in a thick, acrid smoke and an eerie blue light that illuminated the trees from a distance.
"Gas! It's poison gas!" shouted one of the Class 1-B students, his voice cracking with panic.
Then, from within the shadows of the forest, now burning in several spots, figures began to emerge. They were the Vanguard Action Squad from the League of Villains. Dabi with his deadly blue flames blazing in his hands, Muscular with his horrifyingly bulging muscles and sadistic grin, Moonfish with his elongating, clattering blade-teeth, Himiko Toga with her crazed smile full of bloodlust, Twice talking to himself in two contradictory voices, and several other members.
"Time to start the show!" Dabi exclaimed, unleashing a wave of blue fire that quickly incinerated a section of the forest, cutting off an escape route.
The Pro Heroes immediately sprang into action. Mandalay used her Telepath Quirk to send a message to all the students: "All students, return to the main facility as quickly as possible! Do not engage! This is not a drill, this is a real attack!"
Panic ensued. The students, though hero-aspirants, were still too young and inexperienced to face a coordinated attack from villains of this caliber. They started running, some trying to fight back, others attempting to protect their friends.
But amidst the chaos, one person was not panicking at all. Tom Jacker, who was standing near the edge of the forest when the attack began, was actually smiling broadly. The same smile he had when he saw Nomu at the USJ, or when he saw the raging Djinn, or when Griffin O'Connor tried to fight him. It was the smile of a collector who had just stumbled upon a hidden toy store filled with rare and interesting items.
"Well, now," he muttered to himself, his eyes sparkling as he watched Muscular demolish a large tree with a single punch and Moonfish slice through a boulder with his steel teeth. "Finally, something interesting."
The scent of Mustard's poison gas began to spread, making several students cough and their eyes sting. But Tom just inhaled it deeply as if it were expensive perfume, his immortality rendering him immune to such toxins. He looked at his terrified and confused classmates running for their lives, then at the villains who were smirking victoriously, reveling in the terror they were creating.
This was no longer training. This was no longer just a disturbance. This was a buffet. And Tom Jacker was very hungry.