Chapter 62
A Handful of Hope
"Gettin' some bad vibes here," Hawks said as he leaned back on the couch. "It almost feels like you guys don't like me."
Panzer very slowly turned his hand into a flamethrower, and then back again. "Well, let's see, mein freund—you spied on a teenager, agreed to work for people who planned to kill said teenager, allowed a civilian to be kidnapped and tortured by Villains, and if the reports are correct, have done nothing for your Sidekick, who was brainwashed into having a second, evil personality."
"Oh, and now you're working with a mass murderer," Ranger added, and glared pointedly at Stain.
For his part, the Hero Killer was doing his best to ignore them, and settled for cleaning the armory's worth of blades he had with him.
"If it helps, I fully intend to let the courts judge me when this is over," Hawks said calmly. "I know I've done terrible things, and even if I did them for the greater good, that just doesn't sit right with me anymore."
"What changed?" All Might asked.
Hawks smiled sadly. "I met Midoriya. That kid was so damn earnest about being a Hero, and I knew he wouldn't be the threat the Commission thought he was. They just got more and more paranoid, and I couldn't take it anymore."
Nezu sipped his tea before speaking. "I have already spoken to Hawks about his change of heart, and I believe that he is being genuine. You do not have to like him, but if you trust me, then you can trust him."
"You still haven't explained him," Stars And Stripes said, pointing at Stain.
Nezu sighed. "Well, that one is new for me, too."
"It's a recent development," Hawks explained. "He sought me out, and pretty much demanded to let him help me. As far as Stain is concerned, there are only worthy Heroes left, but the League of Villains has a very real chance of tipping the scales to the point of no return. At this point, I'd rather have him with us than against us."
Maccabee shrugged. "Fair enough. We could be making far worse deals with far worse devils."
Stain scoffed. "I'll take that as a compliment."
"Don't," Maccabee said darkly. "As soon as this is over, we're putting you in the deepest hole we can find."
"And as long as you Heroes continue to live up to expectations, I'll happily go there," Stain said. "The one good thing about Shigaraki's efforts is that the fakes have been torn out of society."
That was something All Might could see, though he wouldn't have phrased it that way. After Jaku, almost thirty percent of Japan's surviving Heroes had retired, and those that had done more endorsements than patrols but hadn't retired had quickly changed their ways. Those Heroes that remained were determined to save the world, or die trying, and now that One For All wasn't weighing down on his mind, All Might could say he had never been prouder of his colleagues.
"Very well, if we've got the elephant in the room sorted out, there's one thing Hawks has yet to divulge." Gentleman Jack sipped his tea. "You said that you had not only located Shigaraki's base, but also knew how to enter that base. From how you phrased it, I can only assume that there is a trick to entering it, and you've discovered that trick, but you have not told us how you learned it."
Hawks grinned. "Let's just say that not all of Shigaraki's people are as loyal to him as he thinks."
…
Midoriya forced himself to smile as Eri chattered nonstop about everything she had done since he'd left. It wasn't that he didn't want to listen to her, far from it, but he was exhausted, and everything hurt. Still, he pushed the pain away, just like he always did; his body hadn't betrayed him yet, so he could go on for a little longer.
"And then Recovery Girl let me fix Momo's ear!" Eri finished with a wide grin. "She's all better now!"
"That's great, Eri; I'm so proud of you." He really was; despite everything that had happened, Eri had clearly become much more confident and outgoing. The only thing Midoriya was upset about was that he hadn't been there to see her heal.
Eri's smile somehow grew wider, and she threw her arms around him. "I'm so glad you're back, Izu!"
"S-so am I," Midoriya said through gritted teeth; Eri might have been small, but physical contact caused him more than a little pain.
Fortunately, Uraraka noticed, and gently pried Eri off him. "Okay, young lady, I think we've all had a very stressful day. Why don't you go to your room and get some sleep, and we'll see you in the morning?"
Eri paused. "Both of you will be here?"
"Of course," Midoriya said, forcing himself not to stutter. "I'm not going anywhere."
Uraraka led Eri upstairs, followed shortly by most of the students; after everything that had happened today, they were exhausted. Even the Rising Stars reluctantly left, even though all they wanted was to stay with Midoriya. Fortunately, other than the paint outside, Power Loader's robots had fixed the damaged dorms, so everyone was able to go to their rooms. Midoriya raised an eyebrow when he saw his friends pair off and go into the same rooms.
"Is th-that a recent d-development?" he asked.
Uraraka blinked. "What? Oh, yeah, that started about three months after you left. Don't ask about Tenya and Momo, though; they still haven't said if they're together or not."
"Oh." Midoriya shifted in his wheelchair. "Do… do y-you have a roommate?"
"Only if you count Eri." Uraraka tried to smile impishly, but her blush ruined it. "The only other person I want to share a room with is you."
Midoriya blushed right back, but flinched when blood burst from one nostril. "Ow. Damn it, not again."
Uraraka grabbed a box of tissues and helped clean up the blood. "Do you just randomly spurt blood now?"
"Well, I have n-nosebleeds because of micro-strokes," Midoriya said tiredly, and held a trembling hand to his head. "The headaches that come with are annoying, but I've had worse."
Uraraka paled. "You've been having strokes?"
"I get healed by Cathleen once a day to fix it, but the damage is starting to overtake her Quirk."
"… Who's Cathleen?"
Midoriya blinked. "Oh, r-right. That's Stars And Stripes' real name."
"You're on a real-name basis with America's top Hero?"
"I'm on a real-name b-basis w-with all of them, as l-long as we're not working." Midoriya shrugged. "We're j-just almost always w-working, so I d-don't usually get a chance."
Uraraka wasn't sure how to feel about that. On the one hand, she was glad that Midoriya had people he could trust while he was effectively on the run, but on the other hand, part of her didn't want him to be so casual with people outside of the Rising Stars. It almost felt like the foreign Heroes were stealing him away from them. She pushed the thought away; without them, there was a very good chance that Midoriya would have died before coming home.
The sound of footsteps got her attention, and she saw Bakugo stalking up to them. He looked determined, but not angry; after living under the same roof as him for so long, Uraraka had finally learned when he was unapproachable.
"Deku," Bakugo growled, but without any of his usual fire. "We need to talk."
Midoriya sighed. "Can it w-wait? I've had a l-long day."
"We all might be dead in a couple of days, nerd, and I'm not gonna die without talking to you about some shit."
Uraraka narrowed her eyes and moved between the two boys. "He needs time to rest."
"Out of the way, Round Face," Bakugo snarled. "This is between me and Deku."
Before Uraraka could snap back, she felt a trembling hand brush against hers. "I'll be f-fine, Ochako. C-can you s-stay w-with Eri?"
That was a low blow, but Uraraka knew he was right; instead, she glared at Bakugo. "Make it quick."
As soon as she was upstairs, Bakugo sat down across from Midoriya. "You're such an asshole."
Midoriya raised an eyebrow. "Isn't th-that usually your thing?"
"Shut up." Bakugo took a deep breath. "You never had a Quirk. It was always that watch."
"Yes."
"So you're still a Quirkless loser and a fraud." Before Midoriya could respond, Bakugo kept going. "But I'm a loser, too. I was never supposed to have powers—none of us were. Some alien bastard decided to play god, and I got lucky. We both got lucky."
"I'm dying. I don't feel lucky."
"Will you shut up and let me apologize, you goddamn nerd?" Bakugo scowled. "Look, I treated you like shit because I had powers and you didn't, but I only got a Quirk because of that Azmuth guy. I didn't earn anything, and when you got that watch, it just… I don't know, leveled the playing field." He sighed. "And I shouldn't have treated you like shit in the first place. I fucked up, and… I'm sorry."
Midoriya was quiet for a long time; finally, he nodded. "It's l-like you said: we all m-might be dead in a c-couple of days. Compared t-to the end of the w-world, you b-bullying me isn't such a big d-deal. Apology accepted."
"Whatever, nerd." Bakugo stood up, but paused as he headed to the stairs. "No matter what happens, I'm still gonna get one of the top Villains and explode their face."
"I hope y-you do," Midoriya said, but his expression grew serious. "But l-let me handle Shigaraki."
Bakugo smirked. "Hey, if you fuck up and can't kill him, I'll be happy to finish the job."
Before Midoriya could respond, Bakugo left, leaving Midoriya alone with his thoughts. It was a state he was getting more and more used to, since he was usually too exhausted to anything other than think. He ran through every possibility of the fight he knew would happen; he considered how to fight the League of Villains, but he was mostly focused on Shigaraki. The only people he thought had a chance of beating Shigaraki, other than himself, was Stars And Stripes, and All Might.
At least All Might wasn't trying to arrest him anymore… apparently. If Midoriya was lucky, maybe All Might could convince the rest of Japan to stop hating him; it would certainly be a nice change of pace.
"Everything okay, Izuku?"
He turned in his wheelchair and saw Uraraka by the foot of the stairs. "I thought you were with Eri."
"She's fast asleep." Uraraka gently kissed his cheek. "You know, if you're really so sick, you should also get some sleep, and I've got space in my room."
Midoriya shrugged. "It m-might be hard f-for me to get up the s-stairs."
"Then you're lucky you're dating me." With a gentle press of her hand, Uraraka used her Quirk on him and carefully picked him up in her arms. "I kinda figured you would be embarrassed by this."
"W-wouldn't be the first t-time I've had to b-be carried like this." Midoriya smiled weakly. "Stripes and Geosynch usually have t-to help me when I d-don't have a w-wheelchair."
"Aw, I thought I'd be the first."
The two shared a small laugh as Uraraka brought him into her room. Eri was already asleep, but she still smiled as her 'parents' got into bed on either side of her.
"See you t-tomorrow," Midoriya whispered.
Uraraka's smile could almost be seen in the dark. "You have no idea how good it feels to hear you say that."
Midoriya smiled back, ignoring how much it hurt. "Actually, I th-think I d-do."
…
All Might sat in an empty classroom, alone with his thoughts. Guilt gnawed at him like never before, replacing the irrational anger that had driven him for the last year. Midoriya was innocent in all this, and he had turned half a country against him out of paranoia. It didn't matter that he had been influenced by One For All; instead of inspiring hope, he'd created fear of a young man who could have been the world's greatest Hero.
The door slid open, and All Might raised an eyebrow when he saw Hawks step in. "It's a little late. Shouldn't you be asleep?"
Hawks scoffed. "I'd ask you the same thing."
"One of the benefits of my Quirk is incredible stamina," All Might pointed out. "You don't have an excuse."
"Yeah, the many benefits of One For All." Hawks smirked at All Might's surprise. "The HPSC knew about your Quirk for years. They didn't have a reason to do anything about it; you were so obsessed with saving everyone that you were never considered a threat. Also, I'm pretty sure the Commission had, like, ten different ways to get rid of you if it came to that."
"And yet they chose to be more overt with young Midoriya."
"Not really. They bugged your home and office years ago."
All Might blinked. "What?"
"The Commission had their own ranking system, grading Heroes from ten to one, one being the most dangerous if they ever went bad," Hawks revealed. "For a while, you were the only Grade One—then Midoriya showed up. Pretty sure they would have made a Grade Zero for him, but, you know, they're all dead now."
If what was left of the HPSC hadn't been dissolved, All Might would have been tempted to do something about this breach of trust. Then again, he'd tried to get Bakugo to do the same thing to Midoriya—though it had backfired—because All Might saw Midoriya as a threat.
The parallels were strong, and he did not like it.
"Why are you here, Hawks?"
The other Hero leaned back in a chair. "I felt like visiting the other person in this school that everyone wants to protect Midoriya from. Birds of a feather, and all that."
"I'm trying to fix that," All Might said.
"Hey, so am I! We're even more alike." A few of Hawks' feathers drifted around his head, and he watched them dance as he spoke. "Look, we both screwed up when it comes to the kid. Even if he forgives us, and I'll be very surprised if he does, he's never gonna trust us again."
"That's well within his right."
"But not trusting us in the field could get someone killed," Hawks continued. "The coming fight is going to be bloody, and I doubt all of us will come back, but if we can prevent at least one death, I'll be happy."
All Might nodded. "We must either operate away from young Midoriya, or trust that he is mature enough to put aside his personal feelings for the duration of the mission."
Hawks' feathers returned to his wings, and he sighed. "Man, how pathetic are we? You, me, Endeavor, the Heroes from around the world… we're supposed to be the ones everyone can rely on, but here we are, putting all our hopes on one dying kid."
All Might closed his eyes. "Can young Midoriya defeat Shigaraki? Even if we stop that monster from reaching his full power, is anyone strong enough to take him down at this point?"
Hawks smiled grimly. "I've said it before, and I'll say it again: being a spy has plenty of advantages. I have a feeling that Midoriya has been hiding something that might tip the scales in our favor."
"I hope you're right." All Might clenched his fists, and tried to hide the smallest trembles he felt. "For all our sakes."
…
For the briefest moment, Todoroki thought that his girlfriend was trying to strangle him as he woke up. Fortunately, he didn't reflexively burst into flames or try to impale his attacker with ice—if there was one truly good thing to come out of his training with Endeavor, it was that he had mastered his control over his Quirk.
"Mina, why are you hugging me so much?" He didn't mind, especially in the privacy of their room, but she didn't spontaneously hug him like this for no reason.
"I'm happy, Shoto, and you should be, too!" Ashido grinned and hugged him even tighter. "Midori's back, and he brought some of the heaviest hitters on the planet! We've got a real shot to end this nightmare!"
As much as Todoroki hated to bring down her good mood, there was one fact that she was avoiding. "Izuku is still dying."
Ashido's arms slackened around him, and she rested her forehead on his shoulder; her horns had grown a little longer over the last year, and one of them now poked his jaw.
"I know," she whispered. "But those Celestialsapien guys closed off our universe because of Shigaraki, right? If we beat him, maybe they'll let Azmuth back, and he can save Midori!"
Todoroki sighed. "I really hope you're right." He looked at the time. "Sato should have breakfast ready soon."
"Ooh, if he's in even half as good a mood as me, he'll make a lot of food." Ashido slid out of bed. "Nezu-sensei won't make us take any classes, will he? I don't want to wear my school uniform today."
"It's Saturday," Todoroki reminded her.
Ashido blinked. "Huh. With everything going on, I kinda forgot about that."
Todoroki sighed again, but he wasn't surprised; after all, the only ones in the class that remotely cared about school anymore were Yaoyorozu and Iida, and the teachers weren't exactly on their case about it.
After they were dressed, they headed downstairs, but as soon as they saw Midoriya, Todoroki could almost feel Ashido's good mood plummet. Midoriya had looked bad yesterday, but he looked even worse today; he looked like he hadn't slept, and his skin stood out in stark contrast to his dark scars. Even from a distance, he looked like he was trembling in his wheelchair, and Uraraka was holding a small trash can filled with bloody tissues.
"S-sorry about the m-mess," Midoriya said as his nose finally stopped bleeding.
"It is fine," Tokoyami said calmly as he sipped his tea.
"Not to me," Dark Shadow grumbled as he cleaned up a small puddle of blood.
"Is everything okay?" Todoroki asked.
"J-just a b-bloody nose," Midoriya said. "It happens s-sometimes."
"When you have a small stroke," Uraraka muttered.
Ashido's skin turned a much lighter shade of pink. "What!?"
"I've had w-worse days," Midoriya said. "Stars And Stripes w-will replace the b-blood I l-lost."
Todoroki took a deep breath in an effort to stay calm. "Should we ask Nezu-sensei to bring her here?"
Midoriya pointed to a series of buttons on the side of his wheelchair. "Melissa b-built in some alerts f-for situations l-like this. She sh-should be here in a m-minute."
Ashido let out a sigh of relief. "So, you'll be okay?"
Midoriya shrugged. "I w-won't die t-today, if th-that's what you mean. H-hey, Shoto, could I have some ice? I've got a h-headache."
Todoroki blinked, and then nodded. "Sure, no problem."
A few seconds after Todoroki wrapped a chunk of ice in a bundle of paper towels and handed it to Midoriya, the door opened, and Stars And Stripes marched in. She wasn't wearing her costume, just jeans and a white shirt; she glanced at the blood still being cleaned up by Dark Shadow, and sighed.
"How bad was it?" she asked.
Midoriya sighed. "Scale of one to t-ten? Maybe a f-four."
"Huh. That's not as bad as it's been." Stripes put her hand on his head. "Izuku Midoriya will regain all the blood he's lost today."
Immediately, some color returned to Midoriya's face, and he looked a little stronger. He smiled up at the American. "Thanks, Cathleen."
"Anytime, kiddo." Stripes glanced at her phone. "All right, we've got a strategy meeting in an hour. You want to be there, or do you want one of us to take notes for you?"
"I'll be th-there." Midoriya might have been too weak to stand, but his eyes revealed his determination. "I'm g-going to see this th-through."
"Good man." Stripes held out a fist, and Midoriya completed the fist-bump. "Take it easy, all right? And no going alien unless there's an emergency; save your strength."
"Y-yes, Mom."
Todoroki had been focused on Midoriya until then, but he now noticed a certain tension in Ashido. She appeared to be just shy of glaring at Stars And Stripes, and now that he was paying attention, all of the Rising Stars were giving the American looks of varying degrees of suspicion.
Todoroki could confidently say that he was a very rational person, other than for matters of his family. In fact, he prided himself on not letting his emotions clouding his judgment; it allowed him to take in a situation with a lot more objectivity. As such, he quickly realized what was going on—his friends were jealous of whatever relationship Midoriya had formed with the foreign Heroes.
He could understand where they were coming from; Midoriya was their friend, family in all but blood, but some strangers seemed to be taking him away from them.
Except that they were wrong, Todoroki knew. They had kept watched Midoriya's back, helped guide him with their experience, and brought him home when he was needed most. Any jealousy or resentment that the Rising Stars might have felt was just misplaced anger at themselves for not being out there with him.
And, as Todoroki kept an eye on his friends who were still glaring at the American, it was something that they would have to discuss.
…
Midoriya kept his expression impassive as so many Pro Heroes sat down in the briefing room. He knew all of them, at least by name, while others he knew personally. All Might was there, and though he no longer wanted to arrest—or punch—Midoriya anymore, the young man was still wary.
And then there was Hawks. Even if he'd been forced to do all the things he'd done, the betrayal from a man who had mentored him, inspired him in a way All Might hadn't, ran deep. In fact, if the international Heroes hadn't promised to beat Hawks to a pulp if he even looked at Midoriya funny—and had promised not to leave him in a room with the man—he might have attacked Hawks right then and there.
At least Midoriya and the international Heroes weren't the only ones unhappy with Hawks. Mirko outright flipped him the bird—which more than one person found ironic—before ruffling Midoriya's hair with a grin.
"Good to have you back," the Rabbit Hero said. "Ready to kick some ass?"
Midoriya nodded. "Absolutely."
"I like her," Panzer stage-whispered.
Even if he had really whispered, Mirko would have heard him; she grinned at the big German and made finger-guns at him, and Panzer looked inordinately smug.
Lemillion was also there, flanked by Suneater and Spirala; the former Big Three each gave him a quick hug before sitting close by. Midoriya appreciated how even Suneater met Hawks' gaze, just so he could glare at him.
"Welcome, all of you," Nezu said from the podium at the far end of the room. "As you are all aware, we will be launching a major operation against the League of Villains tomorrow. I cannot stress enough how important it is that we succeed, because if we do not, Shigaraki Tomura will kill us all."
Rock Lock, a Pro Hero that had been involved in dozens of high-profile cases and operations in recent years, raised his hand. "Hold on, I know that punk is strong, but what do you mean 'kill us all'?"
Nezu glanced at Sir Nighteye, who adjusted his glasses. "What we are about to tell you is top-secret. Normally, I would give you the option to back out if you feel you cannot keep this to yourselves, but there is no time to replace anyone."
For five minutes, Nezu and Nighteye explained that Shigaraki had effectively cobbled together Celestialsapien DNA from the various Quirks he had obtained, and how he was on the verge of achieving omnipotence.
More than a few Heroes looked terrified, but they regained their composure by being confronted with a simple, binary choice: they could give in to despair, and certainly die, or stand and fight, and have a chance at survival. Since losing meant the deaths of everyone they loved, the choice was clear.
"For the last year, we have put all our efforts and resources into two objectives," Nezu said. "First, was to contain the League's operations as much as possible; unfortunately, we have only been partially successful, though I consider every life saved a victory. Our second objective was to locate the League's base of operation, before launching an all-out attack. Until now, we were failing at that, but Hawks was contacted by a member of the League who has lost faith in the organization."
Nighteye pressed a button on his phone, and a screen unfolded from the ceiling; on the screen was a picture of Spinner. Midoriya was so surprised that he coughed up a spurt of blood—that zealot had switched sides!?
"Before anyone asks any questions, Spinner joined the League out of a misguided belief that Stain supported Shigaraki," Hawks said with a roll of his eyes. "Once I got Spinner in contact with Stain, he learned the truth; he wasn't happy, to put it lightly. Fortunately, because Spinner is actually one of the weakest members of the League, most people don't pay attention to him, so he's been able to provide a whole lot of information without being noticed."
"More than a location of the base, we know the approximate layout of the facility," Nezu continued. "You will be provided with all the information we have, and I suggest you study it thoroughly. It also contains everything we have on the known members of the League, including who best to fight against them."
Rock Lock picked up the tablet he had been provided before the meeting started, and quickly skimmed through the files, until he found something alarming. "Wait, you're including kids in the attack!?"
Midoriya picked up his own tablet and saw that, yes, students from UA, Shiketsu, and Ketsubutsu were all part of the strike force. He also saw that he and the Rising Stars, as well as Bakugo, were listed as 'Special Assets'.
He raised a trembling hand to ask a question, but Nighteye spoke before he could voice it. "Most of the students will operate in support roles, as they did at Jaku and Gunga. Some, however, have the experience, raw power, or both, that make them invaluable for the actual attack. I am aware that putting children in the line of fire is an unpleasant prospect, but in this situation, we cannot keep them safe if we fail."
Rock Lock looked at Midoriya, unconvinced. "This kid looks like he's about to kick the bucket. What makes him a Special Asset?"
All Might abruptly stood up. "Deku has the best chance of success against Shigaraki. I know that he will win."
Midoriya blinked—not just at the blatant show of support from the man who had been calling for his arrest just a day earlier, but because All Might had addressed him by his Hero name.
"They may be students," Endeavor added, "but they've been fighting the Villains just as much as any of us over the last year. They are Heroes; issuing them full licenses is just a formality at this point."
Any other protests died unspoken; it was hard to speak out when there was support from both All Might and Endeavor.
The meeting went on for a little while longer, mostly to discuss logistics, but it eventually petered out. The Heroes started to leave, both to read up on what they needed to for tomorrow's battle, and to gather their thoughts.
"You okay?" Lemillion asked Midoriya quietly. "About tomorrow, I mean; Melissa told me how sick you are."
Midoriya sighed. "I'm n-not okay. I'm s-scared that s-someone is g-going to get killed b-before I stop Shigaraki."
Spirala moved to hug him, but Suneater stopped her, silently reminding her that Midoriya was easily hurt these days. "It's gonna be okay, flying buddy. We know you can take Shigaraki down, and we'll stop all of his Villain friends."
Midoriya nodded, but he looked even more exhausted than before. "I hope you're right."
…
That night, Stars And Stripes joined the other international Heroes outside of the shelter Nezu had set aside for them. None of them were in their costumes, just casual civilian clothes—though Jack still managed to look as proper as ever—as they studied the files Nezu had provided. It was nothing they didn't already know, but it didn't hurt to go over them again.
"Endeavor mentioned he wanted to take on Dabi," Stripes said offhandedly.
"A father should take responsibility for his son." Monkey King raised an eyebrow at the looks he was getting. "What? Nezu mentioned it during one of his messages a few months back. It was important, and I pay attention, unlike Panzer."
"Never going to let the thing in Madrid go, are you?" the German in question asked.
"I'm more surprised that you said something out loud," Stripes said. "That file specifically mentioned that we should keep that info to ourselves."
Monkey King just rolled his eyes. "Still, Endeavor might have a problem with Dabi; they both overheat, but Dabi has a much higher output."
"That's why I'm going with him."
The Heroes jumped to their feet when they saw Todoroki walking up to them, followed by the other Rising Stars.
"Melissa told us you wanted to talk, but you guys should wear bells or something," Maccabee said, and then shrugged. "Or we are really off our game tonight, I can't tell."
"I apologize if we startled you," Iida said with a bow. "However, we wanted to speak to you regarding Izuku."
Ranger looked at all of them, and then raised an eyebrow. "Wow. I didn't know you all were as protective of him as he is of you."
Yaoyorozu blinked. "Pardon?"
"Izuku told us about you, before his condition began to deteriorate," Geosynch explained. "He told us that you were as close to him as family. I can see you feel the same way."
"He's my twin," Ashido said forcefully.
Maccabee peered closer at her. "Ah, the eyes. You're a little taller than him now; poor kid has been too sick to grow."
"Seriously, though, if Izuku wasn't talking about the mission, he was talking about you all," Panzer said. "Getting back to you was a large part of what kept him going."
With every word, the Rising Stars started to relax; clearly, they had nothing to worry about regarding the older Heroes stealing Midoriya away from them. If anything, it was starting to sound like Midoriya thought of the foreign Heroes as friends from work. They probably still held a special place in his heart—traveling around the world in an attempt to save it certainly forged bonds—but they hadn't replaced the Rising Stars.
"Speaking of Izuku, I figured he'd be spending as much time as he could with you guys," Stripes noted.
"He asked to be given some time to rest," Iida said. "We took that opportunity to speak to you about certain matters, but I believe our fears were groundless."
Sero facepalmed. "Way to be subtle, Tenya."
Monkey King laughed, and held out a hand to Geosynch. "Pay up. I told you they were jealous."
The Russian Hero sighed, and then transferred some money with her phone; a moment later, she paused. "Wait a moment. Did Izuku ask for a room to himself when he wanted to rest?"
Asui nodded. "Yes, ribbit. Why?"
Jack grimaced. "Blast it, that boy knows better! He needs more rest before trying, especially with an operation tomorrow!"
Stripes was already moving. "Come on, let's stop him before he hurts himself."
…
When the large group burst into the dorms, they found Midoriya in his wheelchair, sweating and gasping for air. He didn't just look exhausted, but also frustrated, which had the Rising Stars worried.
Uraraka reached out to him. "Izuku, are you—"
She was cut off when Stripes barged past to smack Midoriya upside the head. "You idiot!"
"S-So I've b-been told," Midoriya said dryly.
Yaoyorozu noticed how worried the Pros were, and her eyes narrowed. "What did Izuku do, and should we also hit him?"
Jack shook his head, though he still looked concerned. "Izuku's condition means that we can only hit him a very limited number of times, and Cathleen beat us to it."
Todoroki raised an eyebrow. "Doesn't Stars And Stripes have super-strength?"
"Only when she wants to," Jack replied.
Asui noted Stripes' enormous biceps. "Still, ribbit…"
"You still have not explained what Izuku has done to warrant assaulting him," Iida said.
"Oh, that." Maccabee sighed. "He turned into a Celestialsapien."
There was absolute silence as the students digested that.
Then Ashido grabbed Midoriya by the shoulders. "Wait, what!? You can turn into the same thing Shigaraki is turning into!? Since when? Why haven't you used that to kick his ass yet!?"
Midoriya winced, both from the shouting, and the pressure from Ashido's grip. "I c-can't use it. They w-won't let me."
Ashido let go. "Who's 'they'?"
Midoriya sank into his wheelchair. "Sagacius and Fury. The t-two other p-personalities of Alien X. I c-can't use Alien X unless I c-can get at least one of th-them to agree with me, and n-neither of them will. I've b-been trying f-for months."
"And every time he does, he gets a little bit worse," Geosynch added. "Even turning into Alien X severely taxes his health. For a while, he tried every single day, but after two weeks straight, he had a heart attack, so we forced him to stop."
Monkey King sighed. "But we might actually need Alien X in the end, so we limited his attempts to once every week."
Sero paled. "He had a heart attack!?"
"It's b-been a rough year," Midoriya mumbled.
Stripes pinched the bridge of her nose. "Just… just get some sleep, okay? We kinda have to save the world tomorrow, and our odds get even worse if we're exhausted. If we survive, you guys can spend as much time as you want tearing Izuku a new one."
Midoriya glared at her. "Gee, th-thanks."
Stripes rolled her eyes. "The glare is scary, but you lose points for the stutter and looking half-dead." She turned to the other international Heroes. "Come on, guys; let's give them some time."
As soon as they were gone, the Rising Stars grouped up around Midoriya; they all knew they couldn't do much in the way of physical contact, but they tried to convey what they were feeling with just their presence.
"This ends t-tomorrow," Midoriya whispered. "One w-way or another, I w-won't let Shigaraki hurt anyone else."
"And we'll be right by your side," Uraraka reminded him.
"Th-thanks." Midoriya smiled and gently rested his hand on hers.
"Besides," Ashido said brightly, "if Shigaraki isn't at full power, then you won't need to use that Alien X guy, right?"
Midoriya nodded. "I hope so."
…
All For One looked over at the League with his restored eyes; he kept up the confident smirk that had unnerved so many of his enemies and rivals, despite his news.
"We are about to come under attack."
Dabi raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"
"My information network might have taken a hit, but I have enough informants to know that something is about to happen. Heroes are gathering from all over Japan, which implies a massive operation. The most likely target is this location."
"Shigaraki isn't ready to move yet," Compress said. "And without Twice, we don't have the numbers to effectively counter them."
Nine shook his head. "This facility is more than sufficient. They won't be able to send large groups against us, and since they know nothing about this place, they won't know to send in small, elite teams."
"I am not so sure," All For One said. "The speed with which the Heroes are gathering means that they must have already formulated a plan; the presence of foreign Heroes, and the return of Midoriya Izuku, is also a worrying sign. All that suggests that they somehow know not only where we are, but how best to fight us on our own turf."
Lady Nagant leaned back in her chair. "Are you suggesting that someone leaked intel to the Heroes?"
"Oh, I'm positive." All For One's smile stretched into a full grin. "Or do you deny it… Spinner?"
All eyes turned to the lizard-man in question; for a moment, his eyes went wide. "How did you know?"
"I knew you were a liability from the moment you were brought to the League of Villains." All For One slowly rose to his feet, as did the other Villains. "You were always the weakest of us, and your devotion to Stain meant that you were never fully aligned with Tomura's path. Once I learned that Stain had escaped Tartarus, I knew that you might turn on us."
Spinner was trembling with fear, but he managed to draw a sword and stood his ground. "If you think I'll go down without a fight—"
"That's exactly what you'll do." Shigaraki stepped out of a warp gate as it appeared behind Spinner and grabbed him by the neck. "I'm disappointed, Spinner."
Knowing he was about to die, Spinner became oddly serene. "I should have killed you when I had the chance."
"Normally, I'd agree with you," Shigaraki said amiably. "But you never had a chance to begin with."
With a casual tug, Spinner's head was ripped from his body. Blood sprayed everywhere, though only Skeptic was bothered by it; everyone else had been covered in worse at some point in their lives.
"Are you ready to travel?" Nine asked. "If the Heroes are gathering, we need to move."
"We're not going anywhere." Shigaraki nudged Spinner's corpse out of the way and sat in his bloodstained chair. "I want them to come, to face me in a final battle. They can send whoever they want—All Might, Stars And Stripes, even Deku, but it won't matter. I am beyond all them now, and tomorrow, everyone will see that.
It's time this world learns who its master is."