[23:Free Bird]
"It's time for the finale, folks! We have a thrilling showdown between Eleanor and Bakugo!" Present Mic's voice boomed throughout the stadium.
YES! YES! YES! Bakugo beat Shoto! This was my preferred outcome!
"Eleanor! This fight is mine to win! I'll get you back for the race and cavalry battle!" Bakugo screamed at me from the other side. Except for this attitude.
"Can you shut up already, man? I've about had it with you. You're a real oosik, you know?"
"I'm a what?"
"Don't worry about it."
Oh man, I can get away with so much stuff like that, since they have no idea. Gotta love a good language barrier.
I think we all know what's going to happen here. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. But Bakugo was a little different. His mood is going to make him rush in a bit faster than I can send out a proper swarm, but it only takes one.
"Begin!"
"ELEANOR! DIE!" Bakugo screamed as he launched himself at me with explosions from his arms.
Well, I started running. As I ran, I let out a few drones. And lo and behold.
Crack! An aerial flashbang exploded in the air above Bakugo.
"AHHH! DO YOU DO ANYTHING ELSE?!" Bakugo screamed yet again. You know, this can be kind of funny, but I want to win. Unfortunately, he was making explosions all over the place. He's adapted a bit, but it's nothing I can't handle.
"Yeah, I do." I said as a drone started shooting bullets at him.
Oh, they were rubber bullets. I'm not at the point of using real bullets. Yet. These things are used in riot control.
The impact was nasty to hear as the rubber bullets hit him. I looked over at Midnight, and she seemed to be talking through an earpiece. Okay, no more rubber bullets, that'll get me disqualified probably. I stopped the drones from shooting rubber bullets, so I switched to bean bag rounds.
"DIE, STUPID MACHINES!" Bakugo unleashed relentless explosions as multiple drones were taken out by each blast. Pieces of metal and wiring fell from the sky. He propelled himself upwards with his explosions as he took out more and more drones.
But I can replace those losses. I simply summoned more. The occasional flashbang here and there, smoke being released across the arena, and an occasional bean bag round. All done by my drones. I simply stood in the arena as I saw Bakugo waste energy on destroying my drones.
"Good, good, let the anger and hatred flow through you, Bakugo."
"Shut up!" An intense blast destroyed even more drones.
Fine, he wants to focus on drones so much, I'll herd him like a sheep.
I controlled my drones to keep attacking. Each of his explosions has recoil; it's simple physics. When he makes an explosion, he goes the other way. I'll make him go out of bounds from his own actions. I ordered the drones to mass in a certain direction and unleash constant and annoying attacks, so he'll be forced to attack.
Boom! Another explosion. I massed more drones, keeping up the attacks. I'm sure by this point, he was attacking by feeling where he was being hit from the most instead of by sight. With so many flashbangs, he can't see properly, which means he doesn't know he's going to disqualify himself.
Boom! Again.
Boom! Again
Boom! Again.
And again! Again!
Armed and dangerous! Am I right?
He was launching himself upwards, and now he's launching himself downwards towards the ground.
Until…thud! His back hit the ground, and as soon as he did…"Bakugo is out of bounds! The winner is Eleanor!" Midnight announced, and the whole crowd went nuts. Macadamia.
I saw a live video of me on the big screens. I lifted my fist in the air. Man, if only I had an American flag so I could wave it around.
But I did it! I won! The first American to win the sports festival! I've brought glory to my country!
Hold on! I need to do this while I have the moment! I took my tablet out of my coat, and still having access to the stadium systems, I played another song, perhaps one of the most American songs out there, and one used by USA hockey. Free Bird.
That guitar solo blasted through the stadium as I set off fireworks at the same time. Hell yeah, and this is just the start. Wait until I get on that podium.
/\\//\\//\
I had to get ready for the award ceremony. Oh, yeah, there's that thing with Tenya's brother, right? I'll worry about it later. Important things first.
I was gathering a few things before I went on the podium. Most importantly, an American flag. It was for when I appeared, but also because I was curious about something. When I made my big entrance, the American flag on the parachute looked a bit off with the stars, but I thought it was just the cut-off from the space on the parachute. Actually, seeing it here? The stripes were the same, but the pattern of the stars wasn't. It followed a 7-6-7-6-7-6-7-6 pattern…which adds up to 52. There are only two possible places I could think of. Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. Yeah, this is how I know I'm in a fictional world, because there's no way in hell Congress would ever do this.
You know, if I were from Puerto Rico, I would never want to become a US state. I honestly don't understand why the people there want to become a state. Here's my reasoning: if Puerto Rico becomes a state, then the people there have to pay federal income taxes. That alone should dissuade literally everyone from wanting to become a US state. But again, here we are. Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., are new states of the union. Good for them, I guess.
I draped the American flag over my shoulder as I got on the first-place spot on the podium. In second place was Bakugo, who was restrained and staring daggers at me. And third place was Shoto. Just a little bit of a change, nothing serious.
Here we go. I had a little show prepared for this as well.
/\\//\\//\
"Let's welcome the winners of this year's sports festival!" Midnight's said as the floor opened up. Smoke flowed out, obscuring the winner before it eventually cleared out. In first place was Eleanor, waving her hand. The cameras all focused on her, which in turn also captured the American flag draped over her right shoulder.
The cameras also captured Bakugo and Shoto, but given Bakugo's temperament, the cameras ignored him, so the attention was skewed to Eleanor and Shoto.
"And now to introduce the medals! Who else but All Might!"
From the roof of the stadium, All Might entered, landing a superhero entrance. The crowd went even crazier. All Might let out his signature laugh before he went to get the medals.
He approached Shoto first. "Young Todoroki, I won't press you on why you never used your other side, but I hope you overcome the obstacles in your mind that stops you. It'll make you a better hero."
All Might went to Bakugo next. "Young man, your temper may need a bit of an improvement, but your skill is nothing to laugh at. You'll be a good hero."
Then it was Eleanor's turn. "Young lady, you remind me a bit of myself. I went over to America and debuted there, and you seem to be doing the same here in Japan. Your quirk is perhaps the most versatile I've seen, but it also carries a lot of danger. I know things in America are a bit different, but this place is different. Nonetheless, that was an amazing entrance!" All Might put the gold medal around her neck.
As soon as he did, red, white, and blue fireworks went off around the stadium. Free Bird played around the stadium, but what caught most people's attention was a bird that was flying around. It had brown feathers, a white head, and a yellow beak. Yes, a bald eagle was flying around the stadium as the song played and as fireworks went off. Though it looked real, it was just a drone made by Eleanor.
The eagle drone flew around the stadium before it perched on Eleanor's shoulder. As it did, she held up the American flag as high as she could. Multiple cameras caught the moment. Such a picture would be perfect for the media. The American journalists snapped as many pictures as they could.
"Maybe tone down the patriotism a bit, Young Hayes. But it is a good show." All Might said as he saw the scene.
"Let me have this one, All Might. This is a big moment not only for me, but also for my country. I have to celebrate as much as I can, because I'm representing the United States of America!" Eleanor shouted as she got off the podium and ran around to parade her achievements, the bald eagle drone following just above her.
"Well, she's gone all out with it. But I won't complain about the increase in viewership. This will certainly be remembered for quite a bit of time." Back in a small room, Nezu watched all this happen.