Chapter 10: Chapter 9: USJ Part One
"You've gotten better." Izuku remarks proudly as he sees Eri slide in another piece of the puzzle box correctly.
"Really?" Eri looks unsure, "I don't think I'm getting any better."
"Nonsense. You know it took me a few days when I first got it before I made progress like this, but you're solving it faster than I did." he smiles as he pats her head affectionately, "You might be more talented than I am."
It was true, this puzzle box gifted to him was meant to test one's affinity to blue mana and was nearly unsolvable without at least some affinity, even then it took him almost a week to complete. For Eri, to progress this much shows she had potential, and he immediately began thinking how strong she would be if given proper training in chronomancy. He would love to introduce her to Teferi if they get the chance.
"Perhaps you need a few tips to finish it off?" Izuku offers, but Eri shook her head determinedly, wanting to finish it herself. He smiles at the focused look she had as she worked on the puzzle box harder, it was honestly adorable but a quick glance at the clock reveals it to be almost twelve.
"Unfortunately it'll have to wait until tomorrow." Izuku says as he plucks the puzzle box from her hands with telekinesis, "It's getting late, Eri."
The child pouts but relents as Izuku picks her up and carries her over to the new bunk bed in his room. Sure there was now a guest room for Eri to sleep in but after the first few nights of her sneaking back into his room, his father decided to turn his bed into a bunk bed for her.
"Can you tell me another story?" she pleads as Izuku tucks her in.
"Of course." he was always eager to tell tales of the exploits of Gatewatch or their individual adventures, "What do you want to hear about this time? Last we left off the dragon was defeated, the knight was buried in his homelands and each of the members of Gatewatch set off on their own paths. The blue mage? The pyromancer?"
"What about the child?" Eri asks him as he suddenly frowned, "You always have something good to say about everyone but the child. Did he do anything cool?"
"I…" Izuku stumbles with his words, "He didn't do anything truly interesting, nothing of note compared to the others. Why do you want to hear of him?"
"Well, I just think he's my favourite." Eri says, surprising him.
"...Why is that?" Izuku asks, genuinely confused. He did nothing of note, wasn't as strong as Gideon or Ajani, nor as smart as Jace or Terferi, didn't possess the firepower of Chandra and could not access green or black mana like Nissa and Liliana. He was never their equal, he was the sidekick at best and a load at worst times.
"I just like how cool he is." Eri says, "Remember how everyone went away after the big bad dragon beat them? And the child ended up in…"
She struggles to pronounce the words so Izuku assisted, "Gobakhan?
He suppresses a shudder at the memory. After his defeat against Bolas, he has Planeswalked away. He was scared out of his mind and just wanted to go anywhere and ended up in the desert where sandstorms of diamond particles nearly flayed him alive. He had to crawl his way to safety with broken ribs, and used what magic he could muster to keep himself alive long enough to throw himself into a cave for shelter where he applied what little healing magic he could before passing out.
Had it not been for the timely arrival of a caravan passing by that brought him to the town of Oasis he would have likely died there. The healers wanted him to rest for at least a week after they found him near death, broken ribs, heavy blood loss, starving and thirsty but he would have none of it, dragging himself out of bed to planeswalk back to try and find his friends.
He eventually regrouped with the Gatewatch in Dominaria where they had defeated another one of the demons Liliana made a pact with as well as obtaining the legendary Blackblade. All that done while he was lying on his back, useless.
"He didn't do anything impressive." Izuku says somewhat bitterly, "While everyone else was doing something he was too weak and injured. By the time he got back the rest of his friends were preparing to fight the dragon once again in Ravnica at the War of the Sparks. And even then what did he do?"
"You said he helped save people, didn't he?" Eri reminds, "He fought those zombies-"
"Eternals. And so did everyone else, he wasn't special." Izuku says grimly. If only she knew the not watered-down version, how many civilians he had failed to save. For every five he saved there was almost always one he reached too late, such was the nature of the War of the Sparks.
"I think he was brave." Eri says with some enthusiasm, "Everyone's way stronger than him but he keeps following them even when he thought it was scary. No matter how bad it gets he keeps getting back up and trying harder. I think that's very cool of him."
"Anyone can be brave." Izuku mutters, "What did I… he did that mattered?"
"He still saved people, right? Even if it wasn't as many as others, he still saved them." she places a hand over his and looks him in the eye, "I think it matters to them."
"..." Izuku was silent, he had heard the same sentiment from others. That he did the best he could to the best of his abilities and that mattered. They should tell that to the graves of those he failed to save. But hearing it from Eri just felt…different.
"Thanks for saying that." he pats her head before putting on a smile, "So… a story with the child? How about an adventure where he accompanied the blue mage to Zendikar to help the elf druid?"
***
Eri's words never left him, constantly there at the back in his mind. For a second he was concerned that she may think that his stories were not just stories. That girl was smart for her age, even for one practically self-taught. From what she said, the Shie Hassaikai kept her in a room full of toys and books, while she ignored the former she used the latter more often and learnt basics as a result.
It was impressive but his blood boiled at the thought of the criminals. Sure, he read how most of them were arrested but their higher ups seemed to have evaded capture which had him very much concerned. Still their resources were all but crippled so he can expect them to not last long. But just in case he set up magical alarms to alert him as well as an emergency teleportation circle to his room just in case. After all, cornered and desperate animals were the most dangerous.
"Can you believe what they're saying about you?" Jirou asks, enraged, interrupting his thoughts as she reads out loud an article on her phone, "Student assaults reporters with his Quirk. Is UA advocating for future heroes to use Quirks violently against civilians? What the shit is this?!"
They were in the midst of transporting to their latest training location via bus, supposedly where they will hone their skills in rescue training.
"They conveniently leave out the literal trespassing reporters." Kaminari grumbles as he looks over her shoulder at the article, "Can you believe some of these comments?"
Kaminari snatched Jirou's phone and showed it to Izuku before getting jabbed in the skull with her earjacks in retaliation. Izuku caught the phone from his hands and skimmed through the comments.
'UA training villains now?'
'What kind of restraint are they teaching kids? If that's how Pro Heroes are gonna behave in future, society's screwed.'
'Are they gonna sue UA for this?'
Dozens of comments of similar sentiment were found and Izuku honestly felt only annoyed before handing the phone back to Jirou.
"Don't take them to heart, they're just idiots looking for attention." Jirou says.
"I agree." Iida says having recovered from his earlier funk about his inability to organise the bus seating positions, "The reporters clearly had ill intent after breaking down the UA gate and trespassing despite several warnings."
"I would've just blasted them all to hell." Bakugou scoffs and Izuku frowns in response.
"While what they did was unlawful there was no need to do anything than to force them out without harm. 'Blasting them all to hell' as you so eloquently put it, is unnecessary violence."
"You always were a fucking pussy." he says and Izuku rolls his eyes at the childish insult intending to let it slide but his friends didn't.
"Bakugou, that is no way to address a classmate and your Class President!" Iida rebukes and chops his arm in his direction.
"Eat a bag of dicks." Bakugou flips him off, "I never even voted for shitty Deku anyways. He ain't my president!"
"What's with calling him Deku anyways?" Jirou asks, getting annoyed by the blonde, "You obviously know his name, so what's that supposed to mean?"
"It's exactly what it means!" the blonde snaps, "Just a shitty useless Deku, that's all he is."
"Useless?" she scoffs, "Remind me who lost their battle trial without being able to fight back."
Bakugou growls and turns to look directly at Izuku instead, "And which one of us ran away for ten fucking years?"
You could hear a pin drop afterwards as Izuku slowly turned to face the angry blonde,
"Bakugou…choose your next words with care." He says slowly, almost threateningly but Bakugou fails to heed this warning.
"What's he talking about?" Kirishima asks, confused at his sudden shift in mood. But before he could reply Bakugou did so for him.
"Look it up shitty hair, this little shit ran away from home for ten years and-"
"You should cease speaking of events you have no idea about. Mind your tongue." Izuku warns, his temper reaching its breaking point but the blonde seems intent on trying to make him snap.
"What? Don't want everyone to know about the coward you are?" He taunts and Izuku clenches his fist until his knuckles turn white.
"Bakugou this is getting too far." Yaoyorozu pipes in at the sight of their class president's barely contained anger, "If this topic is making him uncomfortable you should cease at once."
"I agree!" Iida chops his hands in his direction, "Whatever this topic is, if Midoriya wishes for it to not be discussed, his privacy should be respected!"
"Yeah that's a dick move dude." Kaminari jumps in to defend his friend but Bakugou just snorts dismissively, having said what he wanted to say although some of the class were now glaring at him.
"What the hell was that asshole going on about?" Jirou asks and Izuku sighs. He had hoped that it wouldn't get out but who was he kidding, anyone could have found out if they'd search his name on the Internet.
"It has to do with how I first awakened my…Quirk." He stops himself from saying Spark just in time, "I teleported myself far away but circumstances ensured I was not able to return home until quite recently, a month before the Entrance Exam. Leave it at that. Please."
There was no point lying to someone like Jirou with her enhanced hearing, she'd see right through him and it'll raise suspicion if he lied. It works and Jirou nods in understanding, not wishing to upset her friend anymore.
But it still doesn't change the fact that now everyone is likely wrapping around the fact he had been missing for ten years, wondering what has happened to make him react in such a way. Even Aizawa who he saw was content with letting them solve their own issue was glancing at him with curiosity and perhaps some slight concern from the bus' rear mirror.
There was now an awkward silence but fortunately Yaoyorozu decided on a change in topic to distract from the earlier incident.
"So Midoriya, it appears you have a new support item." she quickly notices the strange baton strap to his waist inside his green sash. Izuku nods, grateful for the distraction and pulls it out to show her and the rest of the class.
"Yes, something to help me focus my skills and abilities, make them more precise which will definitely help in close quarters combat like we had in the battle trials." he says as he extends the baton to its full size as a spear nearly skewering the ceiling of the bus and surprising everyone.
"Holy crap!" Kirishima nearly jumps at the sudden appearance of the spear, "Where did that come from?"
"Just one of its functions." Izuku explains as he shrinks it again to demonstrate, "Make carrying it easier."
"Fascinating, that is very advanced miniaturisation technology." Yaoyorzu looks admiringly, "I hear they've only recently been in production, and even then they're a limited amount because of how expensive it is. Which Support Company created it?"
"Oh, I made it myself." he admits with casualty that surprises her again, "With my Quirk."
"Your Quirk's pretty strange, Midoriya." Tsuyu says from beside him, "There doesn't seem to be anything you can't do."
"Well, as a certain person once said, Quirks are just weird aren't they?" he asks almost sarcastically as he glanced at Melissa who rolled her eyes, "Isn't that a satisfactory answer by itself?"
"You're still going on about that?" Melissa asks dryly, "My Quirk's just a very strong enhancement type, and yours… yours is practically magic!"
Izuku bites his lip to contain a comment on how right she was.
"Well, he's kind of right." she croaks, "It's kinda weird you got that strong of a Quirk within a few weeks of awakening it. And you know, it kind of reminds me of All Might's, only he doesn't use Support Items or injure himself when using it."
"W-well, they're both just similar Quirks." Melissa says almost nervously, "Come on, there's like thousands of strength enhancing Quirks out there."
This seems to trip up Melissa as she begins stuttering out excuses as Izuku observes her reaction carefully. Defensive, evasive, and nervous as if she was hiding something.
"True, but when I compare the two of you it looks like an almost 100% match." Izuku says as sweat starts appearing on Melissa's forehead, "It's like they're the exact same Quirk."
If she had been drinking something he was sure she would have spat it out in surprise judging by the look on her face. So there was some kind of connection between her Quirk and All Might's. Since Quirks were hereditary perhaps a secret daughter of sorts?
"Quit chatting, we're almost there." Aizawa orders from the driver seat of the bus.
The class silences or at least quiets down to a level that Aizawa does not care to complain about, before they arrive at their destination a few minutes later. They step off the bus one by one to be greeted by the sight of a large dome-like structure. But on the inside it was much more impressive than it first appears.
Six areas in this dome building were visible from the entrance, each containing a different environment. One was full of collapsed buildings, another had a large lake with what appears to be a boat in the middle, a mountain area and two smaller domes each with the symbols of fire and water on each of them indicating their environment.
"Holy shit!" Kaminari exclaims, "Is this like the Universal Studios of Japan or something?
"Universal what?" Izuku asks, confused at his remark but still slightly impressed at the sight before him. Looking back he was slightly eating his words about how UA didn't seem that impressive. Sure they lacked the flair of Strixhaven but you can't deny UA was definitely well-funded to create multiple artificial cities and structures like this.
"...You know, I gotta agree with Jirou. Sometimes it feels like talking to an outdated old man."
"Welcome, I'm glad to see you're all here." a voice came from a figure dressed in a thick white suit of sorts with a black dome-shaped helmet and large white eyes. The suit hid their appearance and muffled her voice slightly but it was distinctively feminine.
"Floods, landslides, fires and more." she continues, "This is a practical training area I designed to stimulate all kinds of disasters and accidents. The Unforeseen Simulation Joint."
"It's 13!" Uraraka exclaims with glee as she nudges Melissa, "She's the Space Hero! She's always doing great work in relief efforts! This is so cool, I've always been a big fan of hers!"
13 and Aizawa seemed to be discussing something in hushed whispers and Izuku sees the Space Hero raise three fingers before Aizawa looks annoyed. Well, more annoyed than usual.
"Alright there's been a change of plans." Aizawa announces, "All Might won't be able to be with us today, but lessons will still carry on like attended."
He won't be attending? That was odd. What could possibly inconvenience the world's strongest Pro Hero to an extent that would delay him? He instantly felt worried about the possibilities, perhaps facing a strong villain that hospitalised him. No, not possible, they likely would have heard of it on the news. So what was it?
"Before we begin, just one thing…Or two…Or three…Maybe four?" 13 counts on her fingers before shaking her head, "Nevermind. Most of you should be aware of my Quirk, Blackhole. Everything and anything will be sucked in my vortex and turned to dust."
That…is quite a powerful Quirk. Very terrifying honestly. If everything and anything gets destroyed this woman in front of them was quite literally a weapon of mass destruction. Still, he imagines deploying a spell like that in the middle of a Phyrexian swarm.
"Yeah, and you use your Quirk to safely remove wreckage and save people from disasters." Uraraku says excitedly.
"Yes. But it is also a Quirk that can very easily kill." she says seriously instantly dampening the joyous mood of the class, "And it is no way different from any of the Quirks here. In this superhuman society of ours, Quirks are strictly regulated and requirements for their lawful use are strictly enforced. During Aizawa's test you learnt your Quirks potential, and in All Might's battle trials you all learned the danger of brandishing such power against each other. And with this lesson I hope you will all learn to use your Quirks for the sake of human life. Your Quirks don't exist to hurt others, but to save them and I hope you all leave having fully understood this."
It was a good speech. From the tone of her voice Izuku knows that 13 really believes what she was saying and his respect for her rose. Too many with great power that can be used for destruction often choose chaos, but she was using her power not to fight but to save instead. The amount of training she must have done to precisely remove only objects using her Quirk must be astronomical. He claps once she is done with her speech and many follow him.
"Bravo! Bravo!" Iida applauds the loudest having been touched by her speech. Aizawa looked to be about to say something but then Izuku sensed something in the air, a sudden shift in the area. Something that sent chills down his spine. He reaches for his spear and brings it to full length.
"Midoriya?" Iida asks, seeing his sudden action, "What are you-?"
He points the tip of the spear below the massive staircase that led to the USJ's entrance, at a small speck of black mist near the fountain that was in the centre of the facility. Aizawa notices it as well and his hand goes for his scarf in anticipation.
"I don't suppose that's part of the lesson?" Izuku asks even if he knows the answer in his gut was a no, but he wanted to make sure.
"Definitely not." Aizawa says as he grabs his goggles and puts them on just as the black speck enlarges to form a large wall of black mist where almost immediately other humans began walking out. Dozens of men and women began storming out behind a figure wrapped in hands, but most frighteningly of all was a particular creature standing at nine foot tall with four arms, charcoal black skin and red scars across its muscular body, a birdlike head with an exposed brain. It was a monstrosity.
"Everyone, prepare yourself!" Izuku declares urgently, "Those are enemies!"
"What? You mean like robots from the exam?" Kirishima asks, still in disbelief at the sight.
"No." Aizawa answers, "Those are real villains."
Instantly the class erupts in a panic. Some froze up, some were slower to react, some were shouting in fear, but fortunately some were remaining and thinking clearly.
"Sensei, what about the intruder alarms?" Yaoyorozu asks 13, "Why aren't they activating?"
"They must have a Quirk that is disrupting the signals, meaning we are unable to call for help." Todoroki analyses calmly.
"Iida, get everyone back on the bus and back to campus." Izuku orders with his eyes never leaving the mass group of villains below, "I'll stay with Aizawa and hold them off. We have the high ground, if we can-"
"Not an option." Aizawa interrupts stepping in front of him, "All of you are evacuating immediately. I'll stay and hold them back."
"Against an army like that?" Izuku asks incredulously, "You're just one man, not even-!"
He stops himself before he could say Planeswalker. It was just a simple fact that one ordinary man, even with an ability like his that would give him an advantage, would last long against that small horde. And the feeling he was getting from the large villain…
"Not strong enough? A Pro always needs more than one trick up their sleeves, I'll have them handled." Aizawa says misinterpreting his words, "We don't know if they're attacking the campus as well, you need to keep your classmates safe if outside isn't secure. That's an order!"
Izuku grits his teeth but knows he can't waste time arguing, "I'll get them to the bus and then I'm coming back. Be careful of the villain with the exposed brain, I get a sense it may be the most dangerous out of all of them."
He taps him lightly with the blunt side of his speartip, channelling a white enchantment to shield him.
"Something to protect you. You'll need it." He says before turning back to his class and marching forward while using a commanding voice he hears Gideon use before to rally soldiers, "Everyone rally on me, we're falling back to the bus and to the main campus."
Thankfully they weren't panicking that much and they followed his orders as calmly as they could, but then a mass of black mist appeared before them. Izuku gags at the overwhelming stench of black mana coming from this thing . It was like a Shadow Elemental but more, there was almost something…human about it deep inside.
"Greetings, we-" it said but Izuku doesn't let him finish, thrusting his spear out immediately and blasting a streak of red lightning at the creature without hesitation. Unfortunately the bolt disappears inside of him before appearing again from the mist, directed at Izuku this time who was struck by his own attack. Luckily his shields held but he was sent stumbling backwards into the arms of his classmates.
"How rude." the creature says unaffected by his attack, "Just what are schools teaching you children nowadays?"
Izuku readies his spear in front of him, analysing the creature for potential weaknesses. It was foggy so maybe they can try blasting it away with wind? Or perhaps another counterspell? It seemed like the best option as far as he could see.
"Everyone, just stay where you are." he warns as he keeps a hand behind him that was visibly glowing blue with mana, keeping it hidden from the sight of the villain and letting his class know he had a plan to calm them down. He can't have anyone interfering and risk interrupting the spell.
"I suppose it would only be polite to introduce ourselves." The mist creature says, "Forgive our intrusion but we came here to this institution, this bastion of heroics, for one purpose only. And that is to kill the Symbol of Peace, All Might."
Many of the students tensed at the claim but Izuku kept calm and waited for the counterspell to finish charging up. If he can bring down the mist it might reveal a softer target underneath to be attacked. The mist creature continues monologuing, talking about how unexpected it was that All Might wasn't here giving him more time to charge. Once it was done he swung his arm and shot a blue wave towards the mist creature.
The same time Bakugou and Kirishima leapt forwards with arms swinging, putting their bodies between the mist creature and the counterspell.
"No!" Izuku exclaims as the spell travelled just a bit slower than the two, slamming into their backs and deactivating both their Quirks to their surprise.
The mist creature saw that and ceased his talking, choosing to instead blast a wave of black mist at them. Izuku couldn't do another counterspell that quickly so he slams his spear to the ground in an attempt to create a barrier but the mist was too quick, overwhelming and washing over him before he could finish.
"Begone." The creature says, as Izuku feels himself carried away by the mist, "Writhe in torment until you breathe your last."
***
"Damn it!" he curses as he lands on his feet. If only he had reacted faster, if only he had seen the two charge in, this could have been avoided. How many of his classmates were swept up in it? Glancing around he finds himself alone in some sort of city on fire. Just where were they?
"Well, well, well." a confident voice rang out snapping him out of his thoughts, "What do we have here?"
A swarm of villains come out between the alleys or hang from the edge of windows of flaming buildings. It was immediately apparent that they each possess a Quirk that allows them to fight with an advantage in flames as he sees flaming limbs and weapons, or smoking features, or rocky looking skin.
"Only one for us to play with?" another laughs, "Guess we'll have to take turns."
"Who are you?" he demands, not at all feeling threatened by the dozens surrounding him, "Where is my class?"
They cackle once more, "Shouldn't you be more worried about yourself? But if you're so worried, don't worry. That mist guy scattered them all over this place where the rest of us are having fun with them as we speak. You'll see them again, don't worry…In the afterlife at least."
"...What did you say?" Izuku asks darkly as the words of the villain fully register. Images flash within his mind, Gideon, Jaya, Ajani all of their faces flash through his mind and he grip his spear tight until his knuckles turn white.
Someone tries striking from behind but he doesn't flinch, tapping the floor with his spear the ground crackles with red flaming chains sprang from the earth and wraps around the assailant. Whatever fire resistance he was born with thanks to his Quirk were not enough as the chains seared his flesh before slamming him into the nearest building.
The group of villains were surprised to see one of their own taken down so easily and brutally by a child who didn't even flinch as he burnt the man. And then they all take a step back, their natural instincts reacting as they sense killing intent emanating from the boy, who glares at them with flaming red pupils.
He speaks no words, his rage was nearly overwhelming him but he was still able to think clearly, sharpening and directing his anger through his staff as he slams again on the road under him, cracking it with red energy as flames began erupting from the cracks that now spread into a wide circle around him.
"W-what are you all standing around for?! Kill him!" a man in a skull gasmask and flaming hands shout out, likely the leader. This galvanised them all to charge and overwhelm him before he could strike back. A sound strategy but they made one critical error.
They had thrown a pyromancer who had trained in the Keral Keep in an area completely full of fire. The fire sings out to him as he draws their energy and gives them form, shaping them with his rage.
"What the hell?!" one of them cried as something came from the red cracks in the road grabbing his leg. Creatures of flames and molten rock stars leaping from the cracks, elementals of all shapes and sizes formed by the fire surrounding them and given shape to serve his will. They cackle madly and excitedly like imps before throwing themselves at the villains, throwing flaming fists or stabbing with daggers of fire and swarm his foes.
Each of them were roughly as strong as an average human, even though the villains may be stronger with their Quirks and had terrain advantage so did the elementals. One may fall to a villain but two more would leap on, as long as Izuku kept creating them, and with this humongous supply of red mana he could. The only challenge was maintaining them with his concentration, and the further they go the harder it is to maintain them.
With barely any movement he had taken down a dozen of these villains. There were more remaining but they were on the roof of the burning buildings, slinging down fire, rock and other projectiles at him. He barely flinches as he mentally orders the fire elementals to leap in front of him, intercepting the shots and sacrificing themselves to defend him.
He raises his spear, thrusting it to the sky and dark clouds gather above catching the villain's attention for a moment before he slams the spear again on the ground as red lightning rained from above, thunder crackling as the villains scream in pain.
In the span of a minute ever since he arrived, more than thirty villains laid in defeat. They weren't dead, he held back just enough to make sure of it, but he had no doubts they wished they were after all their burns.
He had the remaining elementals round them all up in a line, restraining the few still conscious as he marched towards them.
"B…bastard…" he growls somewhat dazed as the fire elementals force him to his knees, "Nobody told us we were gonna fight a mons-"
He interrupts the villain's complaint by reaching out and grabbing his neck, lifting him to eye level.
"You're going to tell me everything." he orders but the villain spits some blood at his face instead.
"Eat shit and die." he curses defiantly, "I ain't saying anything."
"You mistake it for a request." he says as he stabs the spear into the ground to free his hand before drawing what little blue mana he could into it and touching the villain's forehead, "You are telling me what I want to know. Whether you like it or not."
***
'Damn it!' Aizawa curses mentally as he fights the horde of villains. He saw that mist villain warp behind and did something to his students judging by the shouting he's heard but he can't take the time to find out with all the villains attacking.
He dodges a fist and wraps the assailant with his capture weapon before using him as a flail against the other villains before slamming him on the ground unconscious. The silver lining was how pathetic these villains were, even an ambush specialist like him that focuses on stealthy takedowns was more than enough to fight them hand-to-hand. The villains were now cautious around him, circling in worry as they hesitate to attack thinking their Quirks would be erased before getting taken down quickly. All but the two villains standing in the back.
Near the fountain was one covered in hands and another with bulging muscles and four arms. He gets a chill down his spine when glancing at the bird villain, it just felt…unnatural. Both of them will definitely be problems, likely above the fodder that he was taking down.
"After all our preparations for the raid, the final boss didn't even show?" the villain with the hands says as he scratches his neck, "How annoying. Maybe killing some of the kids will draw them out?"
"Like hell I'd let you do that!" Aizawa exclaims as he breaks through the ring of villains surrounding him and makes a dash to the hands villain, erasing his Quirk and throwing a piece of his capture weapon at him but to his surprise it was caught with ease. Definitely above the fodder, it was a feat that would've taken good reflexes.
"23 seconds…22 seconds…" the villain mutters barely audibly as he charges forward with impressive speed.
Aizawa grunts and charges to meet the villain, slamming an elbow to his guts that would've knocked the wind out of him if it weren't caught by the villain in time.
"So you're the boss aren't you?" Aizawa asks in the middle of their struggle.
"We keep jumping around so it's hard to tell, but there are moments where your hair falls over your eyes. It's intervals are getting shorter and shorter, and if I'm right it's whenever you spend an action point to erase a Quirk and attack. If so…" the villain says, not answering his question and smiling behind the hand on his face as Aizawa's hair fell just as he was forced to blink, cancelling his Quirk, "Checkmate, Erase-?"
He trails off confused as they both see a layer of white energy glowing between his hand and Aizawa's elbow.
Aizawa immediately remembered when Midoriya had tapped him with his spear and he glowed white for a moment but didn't have time to ask what it was for. Now it was evidently some sort of shield protecting against the villain's Quirk, obviously a touch-based one. Not wasting this chance he slams his head against the villain's, the shield rippling across his face but leaving him unharmed as the villain reeled back in surprise from the blow.
"What?" the villain could only exclaim in surprise and while he was stunned Aizawa twisted his arm and brought it into an armlock, tying both the villain's arms together with his capture weapon.
'A touch based Quirk, he definitely expected it to do something bad to me. If Midoriya hadn't done what he did…' Aizawa didn't want to know what would happen so he reactivated his Quirk after a quick blink.
"You got tricks up your sleeve, Eraserhead." the villain grunts almost respectfully, "But you got one thing wrong. This isn't a boss fight, it's a raid and I'm the DPS. And a raid's never complete without a good tank."
In a flash he sees a black blur before turning around to see a black fist get brought down, slamming his head against the concrete floor. He hears a shattering sound, whatever shield Midoriya made gave away from the impact. It likely saved his head from being turned to mush against the pavement but he was still pinned down with one of his arms in the grapes of the bird villain.
"Your Quirk is to erase another Quirk. Pretty great debuff, and great for an assassin class like you. But those aren't good against tanks like our bio-engineered Noumu." the hand villain says as he disintegrates his capture tape with his Quirk, "You're pretty cool, Eraserhead. But against a foe like this, you might as well be Quirkless."
Aizawa grunts and tries to activate his Quirk by glancing at the black arm, the villain likely had some sort of enhancement Quirk but if he can-
"ARGH!!" he screams in pain as the villain snaps his arm like a twig. He knew he erased his Quirk but he felt no change. The hand villain mentioned 'bio-engineered'... could it be that this power, almost on All Might's level, was just his base?
The Noumu raises his head to smash it in and he braces himself for his grizzly death, hoping that at the very least his students will get out safely when suddenly, a voice rings out loudly across the area.
"STOP!"
***
Izuku rushes out with all the speed he could muster, blowing apart the sealed doors of the Conflagration Zone before rushing out with red lightning trailing behind him. His first thought was to regroup with Aizawa before planning their next step when he sees the sight before him, his teacher pinned by that monstrosity with the villain wrapped in hands standing over him.
He coats himself with blue mana to conceal his presence and footsteps before stepping behind the hands villain, which from his interrogation revealed his name to be Tomura Shigaraki, and shrinks his spear to a shorter handle to turn it into a make-shift dagger before placing it across his throat.
"STOP!" he demands startling the villain who realises the sharp edge pointing at his throat the bird-headed monstrosity realises this as well and roars, preparing to make a move when Izuku shouts, "There's likely enough of a brain in you to realise what happens to him if you move. Stay where you are."
He threatens coldly and the beasts snarl but relents and growls at him with hateful animalistic eyes. Whatever that thing was, it was no human that was for sure but it had an almost animalistic intelligence behind his eyes.
"Oh, what's this? A hero student threatening to kill?" Shigaraki mocks as he slowly brings his hands up to touch the blade, "Just what are they teaching in school nowadays?"
Izuku presses the blade deeper against the skin, breaking it and drawing a drop of blood, "Did I say you can make a move?"
"Do you really have it in you to take a life?" The villain chuckles but Izuku remains firm.
"You won't be my first." he says coldly, "But you…threatening my class? With the intent to kill them?! You'll certainly be my first kill that I won't regret."
His declaration surprises both the villain and his teacher, Shigaraki smiling as he twists his head just enough for their eyes to meet,
"Those eyes…you really have killed before." he smiles behind his macabre mask, "What's a kid like you doing in a school for heroes?"
He asks sounding almost impressed before chuckling, but Izuku ignored him and glanced at his teacher who still had his head held by one of the Noumu's four arms, "Sensei, how bad are your injuries?"
"Broken arm but that's about it." he grunts in pain, "Your shield took the punch but it broke immediately after. This thing's almost as strong as All Might, and that's just its base strength."
So it wasn't a lie. He searched the villain's memories and one of them was Shigaraki proudly proclaiming how his monstrosity could take on All Might physically without a Quirk, now he confirms he wasn't exaggerating to gather followers but it still left the question what type of Quirk it had.
"That's because it's been bioengineered to take him down." Shigaraki chuckles despite the blade pressed against his neck, "What do you think will happen if I ask it to kill Eraserhead? How much do you think will be left?"
It looked about to do so but Izuku quickly reminded the villain of his position, "I'll tear your throat out before that happens. Your league across the USJ, call them off now!"
"Seems like a stalemate." Shigaraki says, "I tell Noumu to kill your teacher, you'll kill me. But if you kill me there's nothing stopping my League or Noumu."
"Midoriya…forget about me." Aizawa orders, "You need to run now!"
Izuku grimaces as his eyes look between the Noumu and his teacher before back at Shigaraki. But there is one thing the villain doesn't know about, if he can read his mind and discern Noumu's capabilities and weaknesses…
"Hey, what the hell do you think you're doing-?" Shigaraki asks as Izuku uses his free hand to grab the back of his head, glowing with blue mana as he plunges into his mind. He doesn't consider the possibility of it being the wrong move.
This mind was…broken, that was the only way to describe it. Buried behind this shattered mind, a sea of rage that bursts at the seams that nearly overwhelms him. Images flash through his mind in a jumbled order, disintegrated corpses, faces of strangers, screaming and begging, pain and so many more coming straight at him in a chaotic and unorganised fashion as he unintentionally lowers his spearhead dagger by an inch.
"Midoriya!" Aizawa shouts in warning as Shigaraki notices this and swings a hand backwards to his face but he recovers in time and slashes at the hand with the blade covered with a red mana field. It sliced through the hand like a hot knife through butter, sending the severed limb flying but cauterising the wound as a side effect from the heat.
The villain takes a second to realise what has happened before screaming in agony for his Noumu to intervene, Izuku doesn't waste any time and extends his spear to full length before thrusting it forward for the throat this time.
The Noumu sees this and immediately it's pre-programmed instincts overtakes to prioritise the safety of Shigaraki, dropping Aizawa like a sack of potatoes and leaping forward to take the blow.
Izuku widens his eyes as he sees the blade deflect off a sheet of crystals. The Noumu now encased with a layer of thick crystals brought down a fist that he barely deflected with a white magic barrier that shattered upon impact but it didn't relent and threw another punch immediately afterwards that sent him flying backwards, stunned.
He slams into the ground, cracking it and realising his mana shield has been brought down more than half from that single punch. It was almost like taking a hit from Nicol Bolas!
The monster roars and charges at him, but he gets back on his feet and dashes forwards to meet it instead. It throws a punch but he draws on blue mana, phasing through the monster before spinning backwards and throwing a spell that slows down time relative to it, freezing it temporarily.
It would only be slowed down for a few moments so he wastes no time and slams his spear down, channelling the local mana and filtering it to its colourless form as he chants a spell.
He hears Shigaraki scream in pain and rage as he used his remaining hand to lunge at him, but Aizawa uses his unbroken arm to throw his capture weapon and ensnare the limb before he could be touched,
"Hands off my student." his teacher growls before engaging the villain to keep him off Izuku's back. He gives a grateful nod before returning his concentration to his spell, focusing his mind on blueprints and material components as the grey mist solidifies into components and gears that slot themself together at a rapid pace.
The time spell wears off at that moment, just as the last construct was created and three large metal golems slide their shields together, interlocking into a towering shield wall.
"Unit alpha-6 locking into position." The lead automaton utters in a mechanical tone as they march towards to meet the Noumu's charge, barely able to hold together to resist a single blow before pushing back with their combined strength to surround it.
With the Noumu occupied he turns his attention to Shigaraki in the midst of a duel with Aizawa. Seeing his creature swarmed by the sentries, he broke off to lunge at Izuku who responded by swinging his spear creating white chains that flew at him, pinning him to the ground as he ranted like a madman about how he was cheating in some sort of game, not that he paid much attention to him, instead turning to his teacher.
"Are you alright?" he asks as Aizawa approaches.
"I'll live, what about the Noumu?" he asks, turning to the three machines that were swarming the creature with interlocking shields, "What are you doing?"
"Yes, they should buy us-" Izuku was about to say when he was interrupted when one of the machines was sent flying in his direction which he deflected with his spear, as it was flung to the side broken before disappearing into grey mist, followed by the other two which were destroyed in a similar fashion.
"...Buy us no time at all." Izuku mutters in worry as the beast roars and charges once more. He grabs Aizawa before he can react and they both phase through the charge once more but just as they phase back the Noumu swung back with two of its arms.
With little time to react he pushed away Aizawa with a blue telekinetic blast before raising his spear to create a barrier between them but the two combined blows shattered it with ease, knocking him back stunned and using a third arm to grab him by the throat.
The creature then opens its mouth to inhale and Izuku gasps as he feels his body feel heavier and his eyelids struggle to keep themselves open. The creature was absorbing his energy?
There was little time to theorise so instead he jams his spear right down its open mouth as it glowed red, firing a bolt of lightning down its throat as it roars in pain before slamming him down, shattering his shields as he loses his spear from the impact.
He had underestimated this beast badly. He tried reaching for the spear but it was just out of his reach and the stamina draining effect of the Noumu made him struggle to focus and cast a spell. Was he going to die?
He grits his teeth at the thought. No, he wasn't going to die to a monster like this. He survived Nicol Bolas, the Phyrexians, the Eldrazi, the vampires of Innestread and so much more. He was not dying to this abomination.
His hand glows blue as he touches the arm around his throat as he tries exerting his will over the monster.
"Get off…" he commands through gritted teeth as he struggles from the lack of air, "Get off…GET OFF!"
Behind the crystal armour the Noumu's dull lifeless eyes glowed blue as its programmed mind was overridden by the spell, forcing it to obey. He was no mindmage on Jace's level so he quickly rolls over to grab the spear, charging it with what red mana he could and thrusting it at the stunned Noumu.
An explosion emits from the tip of the spear, launching the Noumu backwards but it quickly recovers and dashes towards him once more. Bolts of lightning were shot, and streams of flame, and he stabs the spear to the earth and turned it to molten rocks before flinging it at the Noumu but it barreled through all of them without care, barely held back by another white barrier before it shattered it again, and the second one, and the third.
This creature was just too fast. Any spell he could quickly cast was easily shrugged aside while it possessed that crystal armour but if he were to try to cast stronger spells it would take too much time and allow it to pounce on him like so. He would drain himself quickly if the Noumu kept forcing him on the defensive but he couldn't find an opening, each blow shattered a barrier with ease and it had four arms throwing off punches almost too fast for him to react to.
"Get away from him!" a familiar voice shouts followed by a familiar overwhelming presence, "SMASH!"
A blur comes streaking from their side as the Noumu turns its attention to this new threat before raising a single arm, uncovering the crystal layer and revealing its black skin underneath as it caught Melissa's arm creating a shockwave.
The power sent him stumbling back, as well as Aizawa and a chained up Shigaraki but to their shock the Noumu stood unfazed from the blow. That power that destroyed a Zero Pointer with no effort had no effect on this monster.
"What…?" Melissa mutters in shock at her attack's lack of effect when suddenly the remaining crystal armour of the Noumu fell off.
Aizawa's Quirk, he realises as he rushes to take advantage of the now exposed Noumu. The speartip glows with golden white light as he stabs forward, creating dozens of copies of a similar spear that pierces the Noumu's flesh with ease forcing it to release Melissa.
"Get back, now!" He orders he chants for another spell, this time the spear glowing red with blazing flames as his eyes match their intensity. Melissa saw this and leapt backwards as he raised his spear to the air, creating a spiral of flames before directing it at the Noumu still pinned by the dozens of golden spears washing it with a great tornado of flames.
He leaps away back to where Melissa and Aizawa stood, else he will be caught in the blast as well. The creature was engulfed by an explosion of flames that left a flaming and smoking crater, radiating heat intense enough to be felt dozens of feet away.
"Holy shit!" Melissa exclaims in her native tongue as she shields her face from the heat, "So that's you not holding back?"
"Something like that." he pants as the rapid erection of shields begin taking its toll on him, "Is everyone unharmed?"
"I should be asking you two that!" Aizawa scolds as he glares between the two, "Both of you! What were you thinking charging in like that?! Midoriya, that was reckless and irresponsible to engage that villain! And Shield, if that villain didn't lower it's armour I wouldn't have erased it's Quirk! Where did you even come from?!"
Melissa baulks at the intensity of her teacher, "I-I came from the Shipwreck Zone with Tsuyu and Sero, we escaped from some villains and I told them to get back to the entrance but then I saw you two fighting that villain! My body just moved on its own."
"And I owe you for that." Izuku says as he pants, resting against his spear, "If you didn't-"
A roar interrupts them as Izuku groans in annoyance, turning back to face the smoking crater from which the creature was crawling away from, most of its body scorched and burned off but they see muscle fibres quickly stitching themselves back together as black skin regrew with crystal armour encasing it once more before standing at it's full height and roaring.
"It's…it healed itself." Melissa mutters in shock and horror at the sight before it, "Crystal armour and super healing? It has multiple Quirks?!"
"From the looks of it." Aizawa grabs his captured weapon once more, "And it's on All Might's level of power. Damn it, as long as the crystals are protecting it I can't erase its Quirk!"
"And on top of that it's immune to blunt force trauma. All that combined andI can see why they're so confident they can take on All Might." Izuku recalls seeing its flesh ripple from Melissa's punch, "But it needs to bring down its armour to do so. Melissa, can you use your full power again?"
"I-Well, my gauntlets can go three each." Melissa answers, "But I used one for my left gauntlet, so I can do it five more times before they both break."
"Good." he says as he turns to face the Noumu, "You bring down the armour and let Aizawa erase its Quirks, leave everything else to me. We can't let it run around doing as it wishes so we have to take it down now. Understood?"
Aizawa looks at him like he was insane for suggesting it but he growls and readies himself, "This is a terrible idea. But I doubt that thing's going to let you two go even if you run."
"That means you'd have about five chances to take it down." Melissa says as she raises her fist, "Can you do that?"
He nods, "I just need the right openings. I'll be depending on the two of you to do that."
Izuku ignites his spear in flames as he gets into a stance. These villains come to their school bringing promise of torture and death? Not under his watch, not while he has sworn an oath to protect everyone, and he'll do whatever it takes to see it fulfilled.
Over their cold, dead carcasses if necessary.