Chapter 32
Izuku watched the beam of energy that Melissa fired, crossing the room towards her father, as though it were moving in slow motion. He could see Dr. Shield's shocked expression as it slowly morphed into horror with the light of the red beam reflecting in his eyes. As it inched closer, the teen's heroic instincts flared up. That need to save everyone in front of him, even if they were a villain. Dr. Shield had done horrible things and was planning on doing more, but having him die by his own daughter's hands wasn't justice. No, he needed to stand before the courts so that the world knew what he had done and receive judgment.
But, just as Izuku was about to fly forward in a vain attempt to save the mad scientist, time resumed at its normal speed. The beam of energy that Melissa had fired shot towards her father's head…only to miss it. The heat from the blast seemed to graze the man, looking like his ear was badly tanned and burning away some of his hair, but did little more than that. But before either Dr. Shield or Izuku could let out a sigh of relief, the attack struck its true target: the computer council right behind the man. The metal seemed to warp for a moment as the attack struck before it exploded in a blast of fire. Dr. Shield was flown forward onto the ground with his lab coat now burned and with several small shards of metal impaled into his back, creating red spots.
That wasn't the only thing that happened. As the mad Shield landed on the ground, an alarm sounded in the Vault. The two villains that were still standing looked around in alarm as the safety boxes, as one, closed. Both tried to shout something, but their words fell on deaf ears as all the containers were ejected, flying out into the sky, leaving holes where they had once been, revealing the night sky.
"NO!" screamed Wolfram as he dove to the floor. Seeing this, Izuku used his flight to suddenly appear in front of the man feet first. Before the villain knew what was happening, he felt the soles of Midoriya's shoes colliding with his face. Wolfram screamed as he was pushed up and over so that he would fall on his back. Only, Izuku wasn't going to let that happen.
"Divide," said Izuku as he touched the villain while landing on the ground. As he felt the now familiar surge of energy from the villain entering his body, Deku spun around on his feet while deactivating his wings in order to land a spinning kick right into the back of Wolfram.
Feeling weakened and off balance, the villain stumbled forward…right into the path of a waiting Itsuka Kendo. With a loud yell, she sent a powerful, non-quirk-powered blow right into the man's gut. A punch so powerful that Izuku could see the impact on the other side as the man doubled over. Stomach juices spewed out of Wolfram's mouth, almost landing on Itsuka's dress as she grabbed the sides of his head and proceeded to hold him in place while her knee collided with his face. As the mask cracked and fell off his face, his nose probably breaking as well, Itsuka pushed the man up so that he was standing upright. Kendo then bent her legs slightly, her fists raised and tightened, before unleashing more attacks. These blows were rapidly paced, nothing more than a series of blurs to the naked eye. But everyone could hear the sound of flesh being struck as well as a number of bones being broken.
"Not so tough without your guns, men, and quirk," shouted Kendo as she paused, pulling back a fist which suddenly enlarged. The man was is so much pain right now that all he could do was let out a little squeak. Then, as Battle Fist went for the knock-out blow, Izuku joined in. He flew behind the villain, kicking the back of his ankles at the same time Kendo struck his face. The end result was having the man spin in the air before landing on his face, blood slowly pooling around it.
Of course, they didn't leave him like that as they knew that, if he had the strength to do so, he would activate his quirk the moment he was able to. And while the power using that quirk was cut in half, with everything at stake, no one was willing to take any chances. So Battle Fist straddled the man's back before grabbing Wolfram's wrists and pulling them behind his back.
With Wolfram subdued, Izuku turned to look at the last man standing: Sam. Only he found that Sam wasn't standing. The mad scientist's assistant had fallen to the ground, his body trembling as he looked at the scene before him while clutching the Quirk Amplification device close to his chest. Like it was some sort of treasure that he had to keep safe from them who, in his mind, were the bandits. Also, er, he was wetting himself.
"Melissa," groaned Dr. Shield, grabbing everyone's attention. The insane doctor had his palms on the floor, looking like he was trying to push himself up. But, whether it was because he was afraid to or didn't have the strength, he just stayed where he was. Meanwhile, his gaze was locked onto his daughter with an expression that screamed of betrayal. "How could you? Don't you understand anything that I said? All Might-"
"Uncle Might isn't here right now, Dr. Shield," replied Melissa, her tone somewhat neutral while tears still ran down her face. "That's why we had to step up. We're going to protect the world from villains like you!"
As Izuku walked over to David Shield, ready to use Divine Dividing on him to ensure he would be too weak to cause any more trouble, an explosion was heard coming from the hall they had come from. That and a lot of swearing. For a moment, Izuku wondered if Bakugo had somehow managed to arrive on the island. However, that thought died when he realized a few things. One: while the voice sounded angry and pissed off, it wasn't Bakugo's voice. Two: the person swearing up a storm was doing it in English. And three: he had heard that voice before.
A large explosion sent a massive plume of fire and heat into the room, along with the source of the swearing: Will Wrouble. The American teen who had sexually harassed Pony was sent flying into the room, his arms waving about frantically as he did so. Sadly, his course sent him flying right into Itsuka, knocking her off the villain and tumbling onto the ground. As the foul-mouthed teen scrambled to his feet, Wolfram touched the ground with his quirk.
Izuku braced himself for the worst to happen. For Wolfram to manipulate the floor so that it was covered in spikes or maybe make a dome around him in order to buy time to recover his strength. What happened instead was…underwhelming. The floor around Itsuka shifted slightly before turning into metal cables. Thin metal cables tried to latch around her ankles and wrists to bind her to the ground. However, not only were they thin but also slow. So slow in fact that Itsuka was able to get off the ground and move in time so that only one of her ankles was captured. Not like it mattered as she enlarged her hand before karate chopping it off with only some slight redness to show for it.
"Kid, where the fuck is everyone else?" demanded Wolfram, his gaze shifting from the heroes to the lone villain who had arrived. "And what's with those explosions?"
"Who cares where all those useless idiots are?!" yelled Will, looking disheveled. "Right now, you need to protect me from that freak! Without any earth around I can't use my quirk!"
"And you're calling everyone else useless," muttered Wolfram as he slammed both his palms on the ground. As his expression looked like he was massively straining himself to do some herculean task, multiple thin stands of metal launched out of the ground around him and flew towards Kendo, Melissa, and Izuku. Seeing this, Itsuka leapt to the side only to find that they followed her. As she began to backflip away from them, both Izuku and Melissa took to the air to around the wires coming after them. Like with Kendo, they followed them as well.
"Don't just stand there!" barked Wolfram to Will while never taking his eyes off the three teens that had weakened and beaten him down. Blood and sweat dripped down from his face as he gritted his teeth, trying to use all the power his quirk currently had at his disposal to capture them. "Get the Doc out of here. I'm not leaving this job empty-handed!"
"Screw that!" yelled Will. "Who's going to protect me from that-" Will got no further as another explosion could be heard, followed by the sounds of metal grinding against metal. Smoke shot out from the hallway and into the room. For a moment, everyone just stayed where they were as they coughed until the sounds of footsteps began to echo from the hallway.
"Nowhere left to run, gilipollas," said Gel as she walked into the room, her appearance stunning Izuku for a moment. The most telling and noticeable thing that drew his attention was the dried blood. It caked her chest and arms as well as parts of her face. But, given how casually she was moving at the moment with her hands in her pockets, Izuku could tell that the blood wasn't hers unless she had a slime monster that could patch up wounds. The second thing that stunned him was her expression. In the brief time he had known her, Gel seemed like a calm and friendly girl. So seeing an angry snarl on her face, one that showed off her jagged and pointy teeth as she looked at Will made her almost unrecognizable. Then, finally, there were the tears. They seemed almost unending, flowing down her face like twin waterfalls that constantly left wet spots on the ground.
And she wasn't alone. Slithering beside her were two pink slime creatures. Both of them were around the size of a large rat and had the general shape of a slug. Along their bottoms were at least a dozen or so tiny stubs that could have been tentacle-like, which they used to help move across the floor quickly. On top of their heads were a pair of eye stalks, while at the front of their bodies was a beak.
Izuku was about to ask what was going on, but before he could, Gel's slime hair turned pink as she created another one of those slime monsters. It slithered down her neck before she reached for and grabbed it. With a sudden, rage-fueled scream, she flung the slug slime over towards Will. The villainous teen let out a cry before lunging to the side, knocking into Sam before scrambling over the assistant.
When the slime collided with the ground near where Will had been standing, Izuku understood why the teen was so afraid. The pink slug expanded, the insides bubbling and becoming chaotic before suddenly exploding. Fire and force pushed everyone to the side, save for Gel, who stood there with hate in her eyes while no doubt having braced herself. When the fire subsided, there was a new hole in the wall, and the floor was practically destroyed. Sam was screaming, both from the burns that covered half his body as well as for the plans for his device that were now on fire.
"Gel!" screamed Izuku in a clear panic, noticing the two other pink slugs on the ground were still moving. Both had already made their way halfway across the Vault, making a beeline towards Will while their beaks made an unnerving chattering noise. It didn't take a genius to realize that they were some sort of exploding slimes, no doubt meant to latch onto their target before detonating. However, from what Izuku just saw, if they latched onto Will, then it would be the end for him. Worse, if multiple explosions went off, it might end up killing everyone else here as well.
Meanwhile, Wolfram was not idle. He used the moment to use his quirk, touching the ground in order to create more cables that came out of the ground near Gel. Izuku watched as they wrapped around Gel, binding her arms to her torso and forcing her legs together. Though he also wondered for a moment if the man had some weird fetish because the way Gel was bound also extenuated some of her feminine features.
Gel, however, just screamed in primal rage as she thrashed in her bonds. Several cuts appeared on her costume, and there was even blood leaking out. But she didn't stop. She just kept screaming, drawing the attention of Dr. Shield.
"Gel, calm down," said Izuku as he moved to her, thinking on the best way to get her out. He couldn't slam his foot down on the cords as it was more likely to end up injuring her even more. His best course would be to use Divine Dividing to weaken them, but he would have to do so with each cord.
Thankfully, Melissa had a better idea. Using her wrist-mounted lasers, she fired several shots of the thin red beams. They collided with cords, melting them through and allowing the grey-skinned girl to go free, causing Wolfram to swear.
Just then, there was another explosion. One that nearly knocked Melissa out of the air, only saved due to her A.I. system making the adjustments to her flight system to keep her airborne. Dr, Shield, however, was not so lucky as he was thrown to the side and skidded across the floor and almost falling through one of the openings left by the now departed safety boxes. As for Will, the teen looked like a cornered animal as he was now standing with two massive holes in the wall on either side of him.
"Gel, you need to calm down," said Izuku again, turning in time to see that the American teen was walking towards her target with the fury of hell in her eyes. Seeing this, he got in front of her and stopped the girl by placing his hands on her shoulders so that he could use Divine Dividing on her should he need to. "Gel, we got them. If you don't stop now, someone might die!"
"That's the plan," said Gel, while choking back a sob. "I'm going to kill him. I'm going to kill that Bastardo."
"Gel, if you do that then-" began Izuku, trying to talk sense into the girl but was interrupted when she suddenly screamed in his face.
"HE KILLED HIM! HE KILLED ANDREW! BLEAK IS DEAD AND IT'S ALL BECAUSE OF HIM!"
Izuku froze, the world going silent as so many things happened in his mind. Pieces like the blood on her body and that she had arrived here alone suddenly fell into place, making Midoriya ashamed he hadn't figured it out sooner. What's more, Andrew's death was on his hands as well. That thought numbed Izuku. It had been his idea to act. It had been his idea to separate. Sure, they couldn't just sit around doing nothing and now that he knew what the villains were really after, he was grateful that they had acted. But it was still his actions that had cost Bleak his life. For the first time, one of his plans had cost someone their life.
Was there a way he could have prevented this? What could he have done better?
Tears were beginning to appear in his eyes. However, he forced himself not to break down as Gel pushed against him. As he held her back, the teen glanced over to where Dr. Shield was. The man was looking at the scene while unable to hide a frown as he lay there. No doubt this sight further cemented his belief that there were no other heroes who were worthy of protecting the world and doing what All Might would do. He probably wasn't even considering the fact that, once Gel found out he was responsible for this situation, she would turn her rage onto him after dealing with Wolfram. So, Izuku had to do the hardest job of a hero: protecting lives.
"Gel, this is my fault," breathed Izuku as she continued to try and get past him.
"You didn't kill him," yelled Gel. "He did! He's hurt so many people! If Andrew…That monster just keeps hurting others and now someone is dead because of him! I can't forgive him! I won't!"
"Then don't!" yelled Izuku back, snapping her focus away from her target. "Look, I…I didn't know if there's anything I can tell you that could make you feel better right now. I don't know how close you were to Bleak or what he meant to you. All I can see is that he was someone important to you. You don't have to forgive him." A fresh wave of tears began to appear from Gel's eyes. "But…do you really want to become more like Will? Just lashing out and hurting people in the moment? Becoming a villain?"
That seemed to do the trick as Gel suddenly looked like she had been slapped. While Izuku was still inexperienced in this sort of thing, he didn't think saying 'Would Bleak have wanted you to become a villain' wasn't the best way to get through to her. So, instead, he had taken a gamble by being honest with her. Warning her that she would become more like the person she hated the most right now. And it seemed to work…at least right now.
For a moment, Gel just stood there. Then, she brought her arms down to hug herself as she let out a long wail. It was a loud, ugly sound that made Izuku hate both Dr. Shield and himself all the more. Though he supposed he hated David Shield more, as he seemed utterly indifferent to the suffering his actions had caused. But, Izuku supposed that was the difference between them. So, while Dr. Sheild would no doubt try to spew his insane rationale to justify his action when this was all over, Izuku would take responsibility for his plan.
The sound of something heavy dropping to the floor then caught Izuku's attention. He turned, seeing that it was Wolfram with Itsuka standing over the heavily sweating man. The orange-haired girl was standing over the man, taking in some deep breaths before looking over at Izuku and Gel with a sadness in her eyes. No doubt she was feeling the pain of losing a hero-in-training on this mission, even if she knew him even less than Izuku had. Meanwhile, Melissa had landed next to her 'father' while her large dragon cannon pointed right at his back. Sam could be heard whimpering in pain, sobbing that all his hard work was now truly in vain.
And as for Will…
"No! No! It can't end like this! I won't let it end this way!" screamed the teen, drawing everyone's attention to him. Will was on his knees on the platform overlooking them. "No matter what happens, I will become the greatest hero this world has ever seen! You're all nothing compared to me! Nothing!" As Will screamed this, he looked around. No doubt searching for something he could use to save himself. Only, there was nothing and no one that could help save him now. He was on his own.
Then, without warning, Will lunged at something near one of the holes in the wall. For a brief moment, Izuku had thought he was planning on leaping out and falling to his death to avoid jail. However, that was not the case as he got back onto his knees with something in his hands. By the time Izuku registered that it was the Quirk Amplifier, Will had already put it on his head. Instantly, the device lit up as veins appeared all over the villainous teen's forehead. As Will threw back his head to begin laughing like a manic, Izuku, Itsuka, and Melissa all readied themselves for what was to come. For what they heard, the Quirk Amplifier could drastically increase the power of one's quirk. So, while they waited for Melissa to inform them of Rockback's quirk, the safest thing to do was wait.
And wait.
After several long seconds of nothing happening, Izuku looked over to Dr. Shield. The mad scientist seemed just as confused as Izuku felt. Clearly, something should have happened right now if Will had activated his quirk.
"Don't worry about him," sniffed Gel, using her sleeve to wipe away the tears as she began walking over to Will, who was still laughing. "His quirk requires there to be earth nearby for him to do anything. You know, stuff like rocks and dirt. Heck, he even tried to use the soil in potted plants on his way up here to try and protect himself. So it's pretty pointless to-"
"GET DOWN!" screamed Melissa, shooting over to tackle the three other teens to the ground as images appeared on her visor. Just in time to as a large rock, dripping with water, crashed through the tower walls, causing chunks of metal and water to land on the backs of the heroes as it continued to fly towards Will. Then another, much larger rock crashed through the wall above them. And then another. Soon, so many wet rocks had crashed through the tower that it was destroyed, with its remains falling to the ground below. And in the middle of it all was Will, still laughing as the rocks pressed against him before carrying him out into the night sky.
Once the danger had passed, Izuku and the rest of the young heroes stood up and took in the sight before them. All the earth, from all the small parks on the island, had already been lifted into the air, creating a ring around the rocks that had taken Rockback. But that wasn't all as thanks to the lights of the island, they could see more was happening out in the ocean. Large chunks of what Izuku assumed was the ocean floor were rising to the surface, where they hovered for a moment before shooting towards the earth quirk user. Screams could now he heard as some of those rocks didn't fully rise into the air, crashing through the wall that surrounded I-Island before colliding into buildings. Fires were beginning to appear as were a good number of smoky pillars.
"Oh no. No, no, no," whispered Gel. "This…this is impossible. Will has never been able to lift this much earth before or from so far away."
"You can thank Dr. Shield for that," growled Melissa as she turned her head to shoot her father a dirty look. "He was planning on handing out the device that's doing all this like it was candy on Halloween. Necessary sacrifices for the greater good, right?"
Dr. Shield didn't have a response to this. Now on his hands and knees, he looked out on the destruction his machine had caused with genuine horror. Considering how callous he had been before, this briefly surprised Izuku.
You shouldn't be surprised, commented Albion. I have seen his type many times before. They speak of the ends justifying the means when doing good. However, they say that when they believe they will never witness the effects of their own actions with their own eyes. It's easier to do horrific things when the results only appear as numbers in a report or on a scene. To have those actions reach his own home is a different matter.
'So he was perfectly willing to throw the world into chaos and destroy lives because he thought it wouldn't affect him personally,' thought Izuku, feeling renewed disgust at Dr. Shield.
Yes, he never thought the leopard he unleashed would eat his face, agreed Albion with a mental nod.
Unwilling to just stand there doing nothing, as well as not wanting to be anywhere near the once respected Dr. Shield, Izuku took off into the sky. Masses of rocks numbering in the hundreds were still in the air, heading to the core where Rockback was, while seeming to fuse together to form what looked like a body. Izuku could already see a face that reminded him of an angry gorilla, an overly muscular chest, and the beginning of an arm.
With the air so full of traffic, Izuku felt less confident with his flying. Before coming to I-Island, Izuku had rarely ever had to deal with others who could encroach upon what felt like his domain. Pony was one when she used her horns, while Bakugo, using his explosions, was another. And tonight he had had to deal with all those drones. However, the drones had been made of lighter material in order to remain airborne, thus making them easier to deal with. They had also had their own formation. But this? Masses of rock bigger than he was and probably weighing tons were flying all over the place. Some rose from the ground while others came crashing from each side. It was chaos.
In fact, one massive rock seemed to appear right in front of Izuku, forcing the teen to stop just in the nick of time as the tip of his nose grazed the surface and completely blocked his vision. This lasted for several seconds, allowing Izuku to move forward and not a moment too soon. Why? Because another massive boulder shot up right where he had been. Then another nearly clipped his legs and wing, forcing Izuku to spin onto his side.
Thankfully, Izuku had some help. Melissa had taken to the air as well, hefting her dragon cannon and blasting the rocks apart as she tried to get closer to the core where Rockback was. However, she was not moving as quickly as Izuku had been, no doubt her A.I. system urging her to slow down in order to be safe. As for the rocks, several of them exploded once they received a direct hit of the red energy beam. However, the fragments didn't fall to the ground. Instead, they remained airborne, moving farther towards the quirk user that had summoned them.
"Pathetic. Both of you," laughed Rockback as he swung a newly formed arm in their direction. Thinking quickly, Izuku shot upwards to get away from the limb that dwarfed the one on the zero-pointer. But it was difficult as he had to zig and zag his way around all the other rocks while doing his best not to lose speed.
Somehow, the green-haired teen managed to get out of the way and when he did, he turned to look at his ally. "Melissa!" he called out, seeing that while she was fast, her speed was nowhere near his. As such, he was just in time to see the massive rock arm colliding with her side. The teen could see sparks and hear her crying out as she went spiraling to the side.
Seeing this, Izuku was ready to fly out and save her…but was stopped when he felt a force connect with his back. Midoriya screamed in pain, realizing it was another limb of stone created by Rockback. The fist pushed his forward, sending the teen crashing through the metal walls of the tower.
And, as Will laughed in glee while his body continued to form, the A.I. system known as Papa had finished correcting the I-Island security system.
-x-
In the Ballroom, all of the energy bands holding the heroes captive suddenly released their holds. Heroes from all over the world got up, one after the other, with determined looks in their eyes. Though there was one hero who didn't: All Might. One moment, Japan's Number One Hero was lying on the ground, and the next he was gone, leaving behind a surprisingly accurate All Might-shaped hole in the wall when he could have used the doors.
"That moron," growled Endeavor as he stared at the hole. To anyone else, they would have assumed that it was about the hole and believed that Endeavor was being petty. Or that he was upset that All Might was heading out to fight the leader of the villains, giving him all the glory. Hisashi, on the other hand, thought he knew what Endeavor was getting at. Yes, All Might was heading straight to the top of the tower. No doubt to find David, who, to be fair, was at this moment a hostage. But so had the rest of the people in the room. Also, he was probably heading up there to prove that he was right about Dr. Shield.
Hisashi just sighed at that. All Might probably assumed that the rest of the hostages would be safe since there were so many other heroes around. However, that would be easier said than done, given that these were heroes from all over the world. There were few who could get them to gather around a single cause or get them to agree to a single strategy like the Symbol of Peace. Instead, the man left them to fend for themselves.
"All heroes! Listen up!" yelled Endeavor after only a moment had passed since staring at the door and turning to face the crowd. "Our first priority is to get the civilians to safety. To the members of the council, you will be directing us to the nearest emergency shelter while the heroes will act as an escort. Once they are secure, we, the heroes, will take back the island. It doesn't matter if you see one of the goons or the boss: you see them, you take them down."
"Ah, why don't we just let All Might handle this?" asked a hero in the back, gaining a few nods from others in the crowd.
"Yeah, why should be listen to you?" asked a well-dressed man who looked more comfortable in a board room than fighting crime or in a lab.
"All we have to do is wait here and All Might will save the day," said a third, this time a scientist.
Hisashi let out a noise of irritation. What Enji was suggesting was basic, something that he learned about during his time training to be a sidekick. This area, while looking nice, wasn't safe. It wasn't secure. There was a glass roof above then that, should something happen, when broken send thousands of shards of glass raining down on them. Or, should the villains return while All Might was dealing with Wolfram, could open fire on them with their guns or quirks? Or what if All Might needed to go all out? They needed to move these people somewhere safe!
Endeavor seemed annoyed by this as well. But he continued, no doubt seeing the nods he was getting from many of the pro heroes in the crowd.
"Listen, the sooner we deal with this situation the sooner we can take back the island," said the pro hero loudly, sounding like he wished he could just order them around. Sadly, both men knew he didn't have that and was wasting precious seconds trying to convince these people to see reason.
"Yeah," said the hero in the back. "That's why we should just stay here and let All Might handle it. You know, not to get in the way of someone like him. Hell, he's probably done by now." At that, several people voiced their agreement loudly.
Hisashi grit his teeth, a small bit of fire escaping his mouth as he looked at all of them. As his hands balled into fists, there was a small voice inside of him that told him that this was just the way of the world. That everyone trusts that All Might will save the day, no matter who they are or where they're from. If All Might is in the area, then there was no need to fear. The voice then pointed out that this wasn't his problem so there was no need for him to get so worked up about all this. Just let Endeavor handle this. After all, he was the hero here, and Hisashi was just some nobody.
Before this voice could say anything more, Hisashi mentally roared at it to shut up so he could turn his attention to the idiots in the crowd.
"Have all of you forgotten what just happened to us?" Hisashi demanded loudly, fire escaping his mouth as he spoke. This caused most of the partygoers to jump before growing silent. Meanwhile, Endeavor just stood there as he eyed the man with his arms crossed over his chest without interrupting Hisashi. "Don't tell me you all just conveniently forgot that All Might was with us, lying on the ground and bound, until a moment ago. That just proves that even the best can be taken down!"
"Ah, well," began that same hero in the back, clearly having lost some of his confidence. "He was just taken by surprise. Besides, those energy bands were deactivated, meaning security is back to normal."
"Oh, you know that for sure?" demanded Hisashi. "What if it was just a glitch caused by the villains screwing around with the system? What if only this floor is back to normal and All Might just ran into some other security just like this? Or maybe you're right and security is back to normal with the villains getting everything they need? For all we know, they're waiting to unload everything they stole on All Might just to make a show of it!"
"Then we got to run," said that same hero, now looking panicked. "If All Might can't handle them, then what can we do?"
"The job you signed up for. The job you put your blood, sweat, and tears into. Or, at least, you should have," came the voice of Kamen America as she and the rest of her team moved up to the front. She then pointed a thumb in Hisashi's direction. "I agree with this guy. All Might got taken down once today, so there's a chance he might need some back-up. Plus, there are other villains out there. We need to take them down before they do something dangerous. Like breaking into hotels to get hostages or something like that."
"A few of my students are still out there, missing," came the voice of Robstone as he limped up to stand by Hisashi. For a moment, their eyes locked before the elder man nodded. As if he realized that Hisashi was worried about someone out there as well. Then he turned to face the crowd. "It is my responsibility to find them and bring them home safely, not All Might's. So I'm going out there after I make sure all you good people are somewhere safe. And if I find that they have been harmed…well, then I'm going to need to deal with them myself. So if you feel the same way, then let's get moving. But, if you don't, stay with the civilians like that fake hero over there." At that moment, Robstone pointed to the hero in the back. "We won't miss you in the slightest. But, if you do, when you get back home, you'd better close up shop. Hero work isn't for cowards and fools."
There was a brief pause, with the only people moving being the members of the council. But soon, other heroes moved forward. Some stood by Endeavor, ready to follow the man's lead, while others looked down the hallway where All Might and Ms. Pan had gone. Neither could be seen, and the screams of rage from the black haired woman could no longer be heard. Someone would have to look for her and make sure that the villain was ok.
Sadly, not every hero stepped forward. A handful remained where they were with their heads down and unable to look the other heroes in the eye. A few of them muttered something about watching over the guests, but Hisashi knew that was a lie. They were scared. They were heroes who mostly dealt with small-time criminals instead of heavily armed villain groups. And what Hisashi said was correct, with their freedom only due to a fluke, they didn't want to risk being recaptured.
Soon, they all began to move but a hand on Hisashi's shoulder caused him to remain where he was. A hand he was very familiar with. Turning around, he found himself looking up and the intense expression of his old boss.
"Midoriya, I'm going to ask you for a big favor," he began slowly, his eyes moving briefly towards Fuyumi and Natsuo. "I need someone competent to look after my children. And, sad to say, you are the only one staying at the shelter that just barely fits that description."
For a moment, Hisashi was stunned. Normally, people would have taken what he had said as an insult of sorts. But, to Hisashi, being called more competent than other pro heroes was a massive boost to his pride. Also, this sort of felt like the good old days. He would be doing what he used to do, watching over Endeavor's family. And who knows, doing this for the man might earn him some brownie points for when they have to talk after all this was over. The man might even forget about yelling at him!
However, there was Izuku.
"Come on, old man," hissed Natsuo as he glared daggers at his father. "We're not little kids anymore. Besides, Uncle Hisashi has his own kid to worry about."
"He's right Dad," agreed Fuyumi, her tone more gentle. "I'm sure Uncle Hisashi is worried about Izuku. And he was training to be a sidekick. So wouldn't it make more sense for him to join you and the rest of the heroes?"
Hisashi fought back a gulp. So far, he had been unable to do anything as there was literally nothing he could have done to help his son. Both when he had first been captured by the villains and after he heard those same villains mention kids causing trouble. But now that he was free and could actually do something?
The flames around Endeavor's face flared for a moment but he said nothing. To his children at least. "Hisashi, don't worry about your son," said Endeavor. "I promise I'll keep an eye out for him and, when I find him, I'll order him to head to the emergency shelter. So, there's no need for you to worry about him. Just focus on protecting my children."
Hisashi stood there for a moment as he processed what he was being told. Yes, he was worried about his son. Keeping him safe was the reason he had made himself miserable for so many years, staying away from the people he cared about out of fear that his happiness would result in their pain. That Inko and Izuku would get hurt as part of his curse. So, if he just went along with what Endeavor said while twisting himself into knots then Izuku would be alright. He could just let All Might, Endeavor, and the other heroes be the stars of the night while he appeared to be the coward. It might cause Izuku to hate him even more than he no doubt already did. Even that orange-haired girl who was clearly fond of his son would give up on him.
Just as Hisashi was about to answer Endeavor in the affirmative, something old and frankly forgotten stirred in him. It was the same drive that caused him to head out to become a sidekick. The same force that helped him go through all that training with the Flaming Sidekickers. It was the desire to be a good father. The type of dad that his son could brag about. To provide for his own family, head held high, knowing he was one of the sidekicks for Japan's Number Two Hero.
And as that feeling reemerged, so to did other feelings and thoughts. His son, his only son that he barely had anything close to calling a relationship with, was out there right now. Sure, Izuku was much younger, probably in better shape, had a better quirk, and was being trained by All Might…but Hisashi didn't care about all that. Right now, he realized that all he wanted was the same thing he always wanted: to make sure Izuku was safe. He didn't care if he became the happiest man alive after finding his son safe and sound; he'd damn the curse. And, if need be, he'd triple the amount or misery he put on himself if it meant making sure his son was ok.
"Not this time, Todoroki," said Hisashi as he looked up at Enji, whose eyes had gone wide from shock. Then, just as they were about to narrow, Hisashi continued. "It's a big island, and you're going to need every competent hero willing to help to root out the villains. Me? I was nothing more than a sidekick. So, let me do the job you trained me to do. After we find the kids, I'll be the one to bring them back to the emergency shelter. That way, you don't lose any real heroes."
Enji's face was unreadable for a moment. He just looked at Hisashi dead in the eyes before, finally, letting out a huff.
"I don't have time to argue with you on this," said the man with a huff as he turned around. "Well, come on. The sooner we find those brats, the sooner we can get all of you to an emergency shelter. Just do you're best to stay out of the way."
"Yes sir," said Hisashi as he saluted the man, more out of an old habit than anything else. Then he took the hands of his niece and nephew to take them to the shelter before heading out to find his son.
-x-
Izuku groaned as he slowly opened his eyes. He was aware that he had lost consciousness after his body had collided with the metal wall of the building due to the force of the blow from Rockback. What surprised him was that he hadn't done splat. Maybe he had used Divine Dividing upon impact in some brief, split-second survival instinct to make the wall weaker? Maybe all those years of surviving Bakugo's explosions had made him tougher? Or maybe it was just dumb luck. Whatever the case, he didn't come out of it unharmed. He could feel he had deep cuts along his sides that would scar, and some of his bones felt broken. But he was alive and could still move.
A crumbling noise followed by some splashing sounds helped kick Izuku's brain into focusing more on his situation. The first thing that he was aware of was that his head was resting on something soft but firm while the rest of him was on the ground. There was a thin layer of water on the floor as well, deep enough so that he could feel the ripples moving about and hear the gentle lapping against the wall.
Izuku was about to force himself up in order to get a better idea of his condition as well as figuring out where he was and how to get back to his friends, when movement caught his attention. In the dim light of the room, he was something moving in between the shadows. For all he knew, it could have been anything from a test animal or villain using their quirk. So, he remained still for the moment, fearing that sudden movement could cause it to lash out at him as he focused in on where he had seen the movement. What it was, he had no idea. Just that it was small and thin, reminding the teen of a ferret. Only much, much longer. Maybe a snake? No, it wasn't slithering. It was shooting forward through the water on the floor, almost like it was a liquid itself. Whatever it was, it slid behind a computer terminal and out of view.
Before Izuku wondered what he should do, either to just fly off and forget what he saw or find the creature to see if it was an injured test subject, he heard a groan. One that was both human-sounding and very close to him. This was then followed by shifting focused under his head. Pieces began falling into place and Izuku realized where he had landed, quickly getting up and moving back with his face burning bright red.
The good news was that he hadn't pulled the anime cliché of his head landing on a girl's breasts.
The bad news was that he had landed on a girl's ass. His head had been resting on her barely covered ass cheeks!
As he realized this, Albion had crashed. In his head, the dragon was making the same sound that the teen heard wherever he received the blue screen of dread on his computer. What's more, he could almost see his partner on his side with foam coming out of his mouth as the sound escaped his throat.
Just then, the girl's head, which had been resting on her arms and out of the water, lifted. Backing away and ready to apologize, Izuku watched as she got on her knees before lifting her arms into the air to stretch them while yawning in the cutest way he had ever heard. It almost reminded him of a kitten meowing for the first time.
As she did this, Izuku took a moment to take in her full appearance. The first thing he noticed was just how damp she was, the dim light of the room reflecting off her bare skin, causing it to glisten. Which was admittedly a lot as all she was wearing was a white sports bra that clung to her B-cup breasts as well as matching white shorts. Her form was lean, reminding him of a jogger's build. But what really caught his attention was her hair: purple and indigo that went all the way down to her hips. It was messy, with plenty of tufts pointing outwards despite the amount of water clinging to it. He also noticed that she had bangs that curved inward on both sides of her face, Seeing her like this caused Izuku's heart to thump the same way it did when he first met Itsuka. Then, the girl opened her eyes, causing Izuku to gasp.
"Y-You're Lady Nagant!" he exclaimed, his eyes growing wide and sparkling with excitement. There was a reason for this beyond her being a hero: she had been his first hero crush! He could still remember the way he felt when he first saw her picture in a hero forum, a wide smile on her face as she moved through the air. He had no idea what was going through her mind when that image was taken, but it stuck out to him and his only thoughts were 'she's really pretty'.
Sadly, shortly after that picture was taken, Lady Nagant was arrested for murder. Following a link that had been attached to the picture brought Izuku to a slightly less crowded forum claiming that the pro hero had been framed for murder. Izuku's first instinct was to get out of them and never accept anything from these people again. But before he could, the teen's curiosity won through and, as he read what they were saying, he brought up other windows to check in real time. What he read at first was supported by the news: that Lady Nagant had murdered another hero whom she had a disagreement with or something to that effect, and was then sentenced to Tartarus. However, the people in the article said that everything had happened way to fast. This was a hero killing another hero, something that rarely ever happened and, when it did, had been accidental. There was just so little information that anyone could find
Normally, Izuku would have thought that whoever wrote this was a person who wore a tinfoil hat. But, as he looked at the article and at her picture, he thought that there might be a kernel of truth there. There were no details between her and this other hero, not even what their disagreement had been about. None of the old papers or articles he could pull up online spoke of them. What's more, her trial had been behind closed doors with the Hero Safety Commission not even revealing the name of the judge who had sentenced her. All of this was very odd. But, then again, there had been a great deal of chaos around that time as the President of the HPSC had been murdered around the same time. Perhaps the reason for the lack of coverage had to do with that.
In the end, Izuku kept her picture on his computer for about a year. Every time he looked at it, seeing that smile, he wondered what was going through her mind when it was taken. Or be would just stare at it, blushing as his mind put out a few fantasies that he had.
"It's Kaina Tsutsumi," said the girl, as Izuku froze on the spot. And not because of what she said. "I haven't…been…Lady…" Tsutsumi's voice trailed off as one hand went to her throat while her face took on an expression of terror. She then looked down at herself, breathing increasingly fast, before her hands began to pat down her body.
It was then that she looked around while Izuku kept his head down slightly. He had already put the pieces together. The lab he was in, the lab he crashed into, was the one where Dr. Shield had been performing his experiments. He had crashed through the wall and into whatever it was that had been containing her. He remembered that the Sacred Gear that rewound a person's age required them to be submerged, so it was most likely a tank that he had also crashed through, knocking them both onto the ground. It explained why the floor was wet.
Another sudden splash of the water caused Izuku to look up. Tsutsumi was now on her feet, racing towards a corner of the room where he could see a medical sink on the wall along with a small mirror. When she reached it, her hands gripped the sides of the sink tightly as she continued to breathe hard and tremble with her eyes locked onto her reflection.
"This…This is a nightmare," she gasped. "I look like I did when they….before they…back when I was…no, no, no. no. Wake me up. Please, wake me up. Don't do this to me. Don't do this to me!" As that last part came out as a scream, Tsutsumi's arm transformed, opening up so that an organic rifle came out of her elbow, which she then pointed at the mirror. Pointing the barrel at her reflection, right between the wide eyes filled with fear.
Seeing this, Izuku sprang to his feet and rushed over to the girl. She jumped when she saw him heading towards her, but her state of mind wouldn't allow her to react in time as Izuku closed the distance while placing his hands on her shoulders. At first, she shook her head and seemed ready to push him away with her normal hand only to pause before touching him.
"Please, listen. I need you to calm down," said Izuku as he locked eyes with Tsutsumi. For a moment, the girl just stood there. She didn't say another word, but her breathing soon before to matched Izuku's. "Ok, what do you remember last?"
"I," began Tsutsumi before taking a loud gulp. "I remember being pulled out of my cell. Then shoved into this container. All steal. No windows. Air was controlled." She then shook her head before taking another gulp. "I heard the Tartarus Guards telling someone I wouldn't be any trouble. But they lowered the oxygen in my container anyway. I was out and…oh. Oh. They must have undressed me while I was knocked out."
Izuku grimaced at that while seeing new fear spreading all over Tsutsumi's face. He could imagine all the horrific scenarios that she was going through in her head. All the horrible things that Dr. Shield or Sam might have done to her while she was helpless. And it made Izuku sick.
The one thing that he was now certain of was that Lady Nagant's memories were still intact. She was still the same person she had been, just now in a much younger body.
Then Tsutsumi reached out, hesitating before touching Izuku's shoulder. Her hand hovered there for a moment as if she were afraid to touch him before pushing past her fear to grip him. "What…What is going on here?" she asked. "And who are you?"
"Ok," began Izuku, wishing he had the time to better prepare himself for this. "My name is Izuku Midoriya. I'm a first-year student at U.A. Right now, we're on I-Island during the expo. There was a villain attack. The man behind it is Dr. Shield. Do you know who he is?" After Tsutsumi nodded vigorously, Izuku continued. He did his best to keep things condensed and not go into a muttering spree. He didn't tell her about Dr. Shield's rationale for doing all this, just what the man had done. Letting the villains onto I-Island so that they could steal all the technology here, and that he had been experimenting with age reversal. Using people like her.
As he spoke, Tsutsumi seemed to calm down. She didn't interrupt him, her fear-filled eyes being replaced with ones full of a cold fury. Eyes that Izuku was glad were not directed at him.
"There were rumors going around back at Tartarus," she whispered, slowly turning her head. Izuku followed her gaze, which had landed on what looked like a laundry chute. However, above it, written in English, was the word 'Incinerator'. Seeing that forced Izuku to hold back a shudder. No doubt that was where the Doctor and Sam had disposed of the clothing Tsutsumi had been wearing as well as any personal belongings she had. Maybe even the bodies.
"Even after all this time, they're still making the same mistakes," Tsutsumi whispered again as she walked towards the chute. "Sacrificing others for the greater good. Getting rid of the stuff they don't want the rest of the world to see."
Before Izuku could ask what she meant by that, the tower shook. The earth rumbled while a crashing noise could be heard. Quickly, the two teens turned their heads to the only opening in the room: the whole Izuku had come through. Large enough to the point where they should have been able to see through it, but from where they stood, there was nothing. So, in order to get a better view, the two teens carefully moved towards the opening.
What they saw was a monster still in the making. To Izuku, it looked like one of the characters from Pokémon that Pony had shown him: Machamp. It stood nearly the size of the tower, muscles carved and formed from massive boulders. The thing had four arms, two on each side, that looked big enough to pick up the zero-pointer like it was a toy. One thing that Izuku noticed was that this golem thing also had a tail, long and tipped with plenty of spikes. Meanwhile, the face was still being formed, though Izuku could see that Rockback was forming it to look like his own. As for the villain himself, he was sticking out in the middle of the forehead like a zit. Squinting his eyes, Midoriya could see that Will's arms and legs were covered in rock with the rest of him sticking out like the decorative mast of a ship.
"Well," began Tsutsumi. "That's something you don't see every day."
"Yeah," breathed Izuku before activating his wings. He was about to take off, only to have Lady Nagant's gun block his path. Turning his head to look at her, he found Tsutsumi giving him a look like he was crazy.
"Where do you think you're going?" she demanded, her tone reminding him of Itsuka's when she was in Class Rep mode. Tsutsumi then gestured to his bruised and battered body with her gun. "You are not exactly in the best shape right now. What do you think you can do against that?"
"Whatever I can," replied Izuku. "I just can't let that maniac do whatever he wants. There are still people in the building. Not to mention all over the island. Given what I've seen and heard of him, well, there's no telling how many people he'll hurt. So, I have to do something until the heroes arrive." He then gave Tsutsumi a small smile. "But, I wouldn't say no to some help."
That seemed to throw Tsutsumi off a bit. "Me? You want my help?" she asked, clearly shocked while her arm returned to normal. She then looked out the hole, past the monster. To where the flickering lights of the other buildings were. Those belonging to homes and hotels, full of people.
"Oh God, when was the last time I went on a mission to," she began before trailing off, a small smile appearing on her face. But then, an instant later, she became very serious. "Alright. I'll help you take down this guy."
"Great," said Izuku with a grin before looking a little nervous. "And, if it's not too much trouble, can we try doing it without killing him?"
Tsutsumi looked a little taken aback by that but nodded. "I would prefer not to have more blood on my hands," she whispered. "At least, not his. But, if it comes down to him or us, then I will shoot to kill."
"Last resort," breathed Izuku, the weight of the situation on them. But he nodded in understanding. The situation had already spiraled well out of control with one person confirmed dead. And if Will continued to escalate things, then, as much as Izuku didn't want to, they might need to take that final option.
Without wasting any more time, Lady Nagant walked behind Izuku. Once there, she wrapped her left arm around his neck while using her right to grab his wrist and bring it to her butt. Midoriya blushed at this, but understood what she wanted. So, after taking a deep breath, he reached behind him to take hold of her butt to help keep the girl in place while at the same time she extended her right arm upwards.
Then, something happened. Both Izuku and Tsutsumi heard something moving rapidly through the water behind them, heading right towards the two of them. Midoriya then felt something wet moving up his pants legs. It began to pulse as it continued to move up his spine, pressing into his body while-
What's this? You're quirkless? Izuku's eyes widened at the new voice in his head and Albion seemed to awaken from his shocked stupor. The voice was musical in nature, reminding the teen of flutes and wind chimes that came together in perfect harmony to form words.
'Albion, what's going on?' asked Izuku as he felt this presence moving deeper inside him. It was like this thing was merging with his spine before forming roots.
I…I don't know, replied the ancient dragon. This is unlike anything I have ever experienced before.
Oh, there's someone else in here as well? asked the voice that now sounded a bit more feminine. A…a dragon? I thought…oh. Oh, I am so sorry about this. We really shouldn't have bonded like this. Sorry in advance.
'Wait, what do you,' began Izuku but stopped when his world shifted.
Izuku found himself standing in a strange place, unlike anywhere he had ever been before. It was like a jungle, but instead of greenery everywhere, the plants had leaves that were either black or red. All of the leaves had spikes and barbs that dripped with poison. Not that it meant anything to the dominant people here; long, stretchy, goo-like beings that slithered all over the place in all the colors of the rainbow. Izuku didn't know how this came to him, but he knew that this race had the heart of heroes. Each one longed to find a partner, one who they would bond with in order to unlock the full extent of their abilities. To fight evil and bring peace as was their teaching from their God.
But there was a white one whom the others denied access to the stars. It was not out of malice, but rather it was too young. It still needed time to grow and mature before it could find a partner. But the white one refused. It felt it was ready now. So it ran away, off to some distant part of the Milky Way where none of their kind had ever gone before. It knew it would find its partner.
However, the planet the white one found was…wrong. The dominant life forms had some odd mutation they called quirks that repelled the white one from bonding with them. As for the other life forms, they would make decent temporary hosts but lacked the mental power to use the white one's gifts. Time passed and the white one was all alone.
But one day all that changed. At that time, it had bound itself to a fox. In search of food, the fox had entered into a park only to be found by several of the dominant young ones. The fox tried to run, but it was too late. The young ones gleefully attacked it with their quirks. They wanted to see what their powers could do to a living creature. To show off. To see how flashy they could make their attacks in preparation to becoming heroes. The white one mentally growled at that, cursing them while wondering what had led them to think this was acceptable.
Then the friend came. A young boy. He tried to stop them, using a wooden stick. Not striking them down from behind, but standing in front of the fox to guard it. The other young ones laughed, attacking the friend with everything they had. They broke the stick easily while mocking the friend. They called the friend names such as loser, quirkless freak, and baby while they made him bleed. But the friend just got back onto his feet, even when it hurt. Always looking back at the fix, seeing it was still there and waiting for it to flee. The white one wanted to help the friend, to give him strength. Because, in this moment, the friend was worthy
So the white one left the fox, who wanted to flee and leave the friend behind. The white one did not blame the fox. The white one shot out from the fox and into the wounds of the boy. It sang with joy, finding his body would accept the white one as well as the gifts of its race. But, most importantly, the friend's heart was good. The friend wanted to help others, to be a hero in the stories he read. So, in that moment, the pair made a pact to bind their fates together.
Before Izuku or Albion could say anything else, the scene shifted.
"No, no, no, no," cried Gel quickly, making it in time to catch Bleak as he nearly tumbled to his side. Tears feeling from Izuku's eyes, watching as blood flowed out from Bleak's mouth now that the white substance was gone. He didn't need to see the light dimming from the teen's eyes to know what was going on. He was watching the moment Andrew died. "Come on, stay with me. Stay with me Bleak. I-It's going to be ok. We're going to make it out of here. We're," Gel paused to gulp as tears formed in her eyes and her heart thundered in her chest. "Remember, we're going to read Lady Mechanika together. Just you and me. Just you and me."
At the same time, Izuku could hear another voice. One that Gel didn't seem to hear.
I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I-I miscalculated. I should have put more of a barrier between you and the rock. There's so much d-damage. I…I don't think I can fix this. I don't think I can fix this.
"A-Angel," whispered Bleak, the voice stopping when he spoke.
"Oh no, oh no," sobbed Gel. "You…You can't be seeing angels right now. Please, just stay with me. Just stay with me. They'll fix you r-right up."
"Leave…me," whispered Bleak, blood seeping from his mouth as he spoke. "Save…yourself."
No. No, no, no, no. We're a team. We promised each other we'd be together till the end. I'm not going to form another bond with someone else. Come on. Please. Just hang in there. I'll figure something out.
"No, no, no," wept Gel, still unaware of the other voice. "I'm not leaving you here all alone. Please, just stop talking and save your strength. Ok, h-how about this. J-Just listen to my voice, ok? J-Just focus on that and stay with me. Ok?"
Bleak, however, turned his head to look at her. "A-Alexis…I…was…looking…forward," was all he was able to say before the light finally left his eyes and his body went limp. At the same time, the core of the white one left his body while wailing in its mind. It then watched as Will escaped, unable to do anything in that moment other than collecting the rest of its body.
Then, without warning, Izuku was back in the lab and he could tell that not even a moment had passed. Looking behind him, he could see that Tsutsumi was looking around. No doubt trying to find the source of that slashing noise.
Sorry about that. The name my last host gave me is Angel. Now, would you mind helping me kill Will before I die?