The Next Generation

C11: Who Are They?

In the morning, Mr. Aizawa was gone and Present Mic drove Optimus back to UA. They didn't talk about anything important, and Optimus didn't talk much at all. Present Mic did his best to cheer him up, but Optimus was down in the dumps. Hopefully his classmates could do a better job. They were about five minutes late because Aizawa wanted time to give the class a quick rundown of what happened and then tell them to play nice. He didn't share anything about Optimus's past, or that he knew Megatron.

Of course, Optimus didn't know that because Present Mic was freaking out about being late and then ditched him in the hallway. Optimus frowned and made his way to class. He tried not to think about last night, or Megatron. Present Mic and Mr. Aizawa were right. Even if they let him go, even if he managed to find Megatron, chances were, he wasn't the best candidate.

He was soft. Ratchet always said so too.

Optimus tried to open the door, but it was locked, so he knocked. He didn't have to wait long before Mr. Aizawa opened the door and glared.

"You're late."

Optimus pushed past him and went to his seat without a words. Everyone tried to act casual.

Did they all think he was weak? Optimus hadn't taken Bakugo's words to heart because Midoriya had suggested they not do so, but now he was starting to think about it. His classmates told All Might about his scars. Did they think he was weak? That they couldn't trust him to help them, to back them up?

In this dimension, he wasn't a leader. He wasn't a Prime.

He was a scar.

"As you all know, we're doing rescue training today at the USJ," Mr. Aizawa announced. "So get your hero costumes on and go out front. We have a bus waiting to take your class there."

Everyone got up and left for the changing rooms. Optimus would have preferred to keep to himself, but he was immediately crowded.

"Hey," Iida patted Optimis awkwardly—or maybe every time Iida tried to give someone physical affection, it looked awkward. "I'm glad you're feeling better, Optimus. You gave us quite the scare yesterday."

"Sorry," Optimus replied.

"No, I'm sorry," Iida told him. "I was supposed to be speaking directly to the class, looking over them, and I didn't even realize you were having trouble. But rest assured, from now on, we will always have your back!"

"Yeah!" Kirishima pumped his fist. "You can count on us!"

"I appreciate that," Optimus told them quietly. But I'm supposed to be the one watching over you.

Bakugo shoved past him. "Well, don't ever screw up when we're fighting and I guess I can deal with you, Quirkless."

Midoriya sighed.

They reached the changing rooms and Optimus climbed into his hero costume while the others chatting about what they might expect from the rescue training. It seemed Optimus was forgotten about and he was grateful for that. His school year had enough awkwardness attached to it already.

The class made their way outside, joining with the girls at the halfway point. Everyone except for Midoriya was in their costumes because his hadn't been repaired yet. Optimus stood up and held onto a bar as their bus began moving.

"All Might isn't here," Todoroki pointed out.

"He might already be at the USJ," Iida suggested. "With the other instructor we get to learn from today."

Tsu looked at Midoriya. "Speaking of All Might, Midoriya, you're quirk is awfully similar to his, isn't it?"

"Uh—um, well, no. No! Completely different."