Chapter 63
Gatecrasher
The sun rose over UA, and Midoriya joined the crowd of Heroes gathering before several hundred police officers. A few of those officers spotted him, and would have moved to arrest him, if All Might hadn't crossed his arms in front of them and shook his head. Midoriya offered All Might a small nod in thanks, but otherwise ignored him. He would fight alongside the man, but forgiveness was a long ways off.
At least All Might would be forgiven in time—Togata had told Midoriya about the man's influence from One For All, so there was some excuse. Hawks, however, was studiously ignored as Midoriya passed him; in fact, he would have roughly pushed past him, but his wheelchair made that difficult.
"You ready?" Stars And Stripes asked quietly as Deku wheeled up to her.
"As I'll e-ever be," Deku said quietly. "W-what about you guys?"
Stripes grinned down at him. "I'm more excited than anything else. I mean, we're on a mission to save the world; this is what Heroes are supposed to do."
"I'm glad you get that," Stain said as he checked his blades. "I'd hate to have to come after you."
There was a flash of green light, and then Diamondhead stood between Stripes and Stain. "Try it, you piece of crap."
Stain just chuckled and walked off.
"Thanks for the backup, but I didn't need it," Stripes said confidently.
Diamondhead shrugged. "Maybe, but I did it anyway. Nobody messes with my friends."
"Aw, that's so sweet." Stripes playfully swatted his shoulder, then pointed to the wheelchair. "Now go be with your girlfriend until the operation starts."
Deku turned back to normal, and practically collapsed in his wheelchair. "Okay."
"Sorry about that," Hawks said to Stripes after Deku left. "Stain is a necessary evil, but as long as he's here, I've tried to keep his comments to a minimum."
"You say that like I care what a murderer like him says." Stripes crossed her arms. "Just so you know, he's not the only one I'm gonna settle things with when this is done."
Hawks huffed out a laugh. "Hey, if the courts decide I should lose my license, or even send me to prison, I'll accept it. I just want to make sure that all the stuff the Commission did was actually worth something."
"Just so we're clear." Stripes adjusted her mask for a moment. "Just stay alive. It's a lot harder to stay mad at a dead man."
"Ooh, tempting, but I've already promised to stay alive long enough for Mirko to kick my ass." Hawks grinned. "See you around. Try to keep the kid in one piece, okay?"
Stripes scowled as Hawks wandered off. "Bastard just had to get the last word in."
…
"Is everyone ready?" Genesis asked. "Uravity, did you get new wings?"
"I didn't need to." Uravity spun in place to show off her backpack. "Hatsume was able to repair them, good as new."
Genesis nodded. "Virtus, you mentioned that your legs were sore the other day. How are you feeling?"
"Completely normal," Virtus said. "I just needed to stretch them out for a while."
"Good to hear." Genesis looked around. "Does anyone else have any concerns?"
"I just wish it would stop raining," Cellophane complained. "It always messes with my tape."
"Speak for yourself, ribbit." Froppy held out her arms and stepped into the rain. "This feels great."
Triumph looked to his side. "Deku, are you okay?"
"N-not really, b-but if I s-start talking about everything wrong w-with m-me, we'll be here all d-day." Still, Deku managed a smile. "Let's j-just get this d-done."
"When this is over, we're gonna figure out a way to save you," Alien Queen said, her voice uncharacteristically serious. "Even if we have to punch each of those Celestialsapiens in the face until they let Azmuth come here."
Deku laughed around a mouthful of blood. "I'd l-like to see that."
Uravity smiled at him, and then at the rest of them. "We're all coming back after this."
Virtus puffed up his chest. "Of course! We will have much to do after this is over! It would be irresponsible to leave it for everyone else."
"Hey, after everything we've been through, we deserve a party." Alien Queen put her arm on Triumph's shoulder. "And I can't trust any of you guys to plan a good party."
Cellophane stuck his tongue out at her. "I'll have you know I'm almost as much fun as you, and I bet I could get Kaminari and Jiro to help out." He shrugged. "But, you know, that's a lot of work, so you have to stay alive."
Genesis grimaced. "Please don't talk about work. All the schoolwork we'll have to make up is going to be a nightmare."
Froppy shook her head. "After the last year, homework will be a vacation, ribbit."
"As long as I stop Toya—I mean, Dabi, then I'll be satisfied." Triumph blinked, and backtracked. "But if you're all safe after this, I'll be happy."
"Love you too," Alien Queen said sarcastically, though the kiss she gave him took the sting out of her words.
"All right, listen up!" Endeavor shouted, making the younger Heroes jump. "We'll be moving out in five minutes! Get your heads in the game!"
Deku spotted Stars And Stripes waving him over, but he stopped long enough to force himself to his feet and gave Uravity a kiss.
"You know, ribbit, I think he might be a keeper," Froppy said with a grin that managed to match Alien Queen's.
Deku shared one more smile with his friends, but deep down, he was terrified that it would be for the last time.
…
"Why am I not surprised?" Stars And Stripes looked at the house in front of them with disbelief. "Come on, how did Shigaraki's childhood home not pop up on our radar before now?"
"We investigated it as soon as we learned his real identity," Nighteye said, sounding slightly offended. "This was, however, before he gained his new powers. There was no reason to maintain surveillance of this place."
"And it's not as easy as it looks," Hawks added. "Shigaraki manipulated space underneath the house, effectively creating what Spinner called a pocket dimension. Even then, you need a password spoken using the voice of one of the League members to get inside."
Stripes rubbed her temples. "Great, it's getting more complicated. How do we get in?"
Hawks grinned and held up his phone. "Apparently, you can just use a recording of a League member's voice."
"Oh. That's cool."
Despite his nonchalant attitude, Hawks gripped one of his longer flight feathers like a sword as he pulled open the door of the house. Deku, as Diamondhead, Endeavor, All Might, and the international Heroes were close by, ready to react if something went wrong.
Hawks held up his phone and pressed a button; after a brief pause, Spinner's voice came out of the phone. "We can do whatever we want."
The floor directly beyond the door opened up like a puzzle box, unfolding in impossible geometries. The first Heroes, led by Hawks and Stain, immediately charged in, followed closely by the Rising Stars, Ground Zero, Lemillion, Spirala and Suneater. However, just as Nighteye was about to lead the second wave, the floor closed up behind them.
"Hawks, can you hear me? The entrance just closed." Nighteye waited for a reply, but all he heard was static. "Hawks, respond! All Might? Lemillion? Deku!"
Mirko's remaining eye went wide, and she kicked a nearby stone clear through the house. "Son of a bitch! It's a trap!"
…
Deku instinctively turned into Spidermonkey as he fell, but there was a terrifying moment where there was only the inky black of the void, and he thought he would fall forever. Then, just as suddenly as it began, he landed on springy floorboards with a simian shriek.
He looked around, and found himself in a long hallway that turned and went beyond his field of view. Spidermonkey thought he was alone at first, but a groan informed him that he wasn't; Stripes pushed herself to her feet and scowled.
"Oh, crap, this just went sideways." Her hand went to her earpiece. "Can anyone hear me?"
Spidermonkey's hopes that they would be reunited with the rest of the strike force were dashed when Stripes cursed and dropped her hand.
"Just static," she said. "Look, if we made it here, then I'm betting that everyone else did as well."
"Right." Spidermonkey closed all four of his eyes as he thought. "Shigaraki could have just let us fall forever, but he didn't. He wants us to fight, so that he can make a statement by beating us, but he's not stupid enough to let us all fight in one group."
"Right, his file mentioned he was smart." Stripes shook her head. "I hate it when they're smart."
Spidermonkey looked around. "We should get moving. Maybe we'll run into some of the others."
"Better than just standing here, hoping to get rescued." Stripes held out her arms. "Go back to normal, and I'll carry you until you need to fight."
Normally, Deku would have objected, but Stripes had reflexes comparable to All Might; if anyone could risk having her hands occupied, it was her. He nodded, and hopped into her arms just before he transformed.
"You're even lighter than I remember," Stripes commented as she broke into a jog. "I really hope we can get you fixed up soon."
Deku nodded. "S-so do I."
…
"Oh, I've been looking forward to this."
Hawks sighed as Re-Destro loomed over him and Stain. "As much as I would love to take you down, Yotsubashi, we're in a bit of a hurry. How about you surrender, we knock you out, and we go on our merry way?"
"Speak for yourself," Stain growled, and pointed his sword at Re-Destro's face. "I want to tear this coward apart."
Re-Destro laughed. "Since one of you is willing to fight me, I will give you a hint: Shigaraki has created a series of arenas for you Heroes, that you can only leave if you defeat your opponents. In this case, that is me."
Hawks raised an eyebrow. "How do we know if you're telling the truth?"
The glint in Re-Destro's eyes was beyond fanatical. "Shigaraki has ascended beyond the need for lies."
Stain tensed. "Can I cut him now?"
"Yeah. Go low."
Hawks moved first, flying at such speed that he appeared to be in several places at once. His feathers peppered Re-Destro's hide, but failed to do more than scratch him. Stain slid between Re-Destro's legs and lashed out with his sword; tempered steel did more than Hawks' feathers, but the blade still came away clean.
"I can cut into his skin, but not break it," Stain called out.
"Just keep hitting him!" Hawks flew just out of range of Re-Destro's massive arms. "I'll take care of the rest!"
"You can't expect me to just let you carry out your little plan," Re-Destro said with a sneer, and then clapped his hands together, creating a shockwave that sent Hawks tumbling through the air.
"You do fall into that level of stupid," Hawks taunted as he stabilized in midair. He launched a barrage of feathers that barely left a mark on Re-Destro's skin.
Stain lunged again, this time stabbing a large knife into the back of Re-Destro's knee. Unlike before, the blade dug deep enough to come away bloody, and Stain quickly wiped his tongue across the steel. Almost immediately, Re-Destro collapsed, though his stress was high enough to keep his Quirk active.
"Any idea what his blood type is?" Hawks asked.
"Do I look like a blood bank to you?" Stain knelt by Re-Destro's head. "We don't really have a way to restrain him, and Shigaraki is far more dangerous."
Hawks' face went terrifyingly blank. "You're right."
"You think I'm afraid of death?" Re-Destro laughed. "I've proven my loyalty to Shigaraki; after he kills you, he'll just bring me back to life!"
"I seriously doubt that, since you didn't even slow us down for five minutes." Hawks looked around at the damaged room they'd been sent to. There was only one door, and though he knew they had to go through it, he was a little concerned about the blood seeping underneath it.
"I'll make it quick," Stain promised, and leveled his sword at one of Re-Destro's eyes. "There's no protection there, you coward."
Just as Stain thrust forward, a warp gate opened underneath Re-Destro and spirited him away. Hawks fired several feathers, but the gate closed just before they impacted the Villain's hide.
"I really hate Kurogiri," Hawks muttered.
"We have no choice but to keep going," Stain said. "If we stay here, we'll just be easy targets for the next enemy Kurogiri sends our way."
"Yeah, yeah." Hawks opened the door, and grimaced. "Oh, dammit."
Stain turned and saw what prompted Hawks' reaction. Spinner's severed head was impaled on a stick, with a sign hanging from his slack jaw that read 'Traitor'.
"How well did you know him?" Stain asked.
"Well enough that he had good intentions, at first." Hawks sighed. "He got dealt a bad hand. He was treated badly by people who hated Mutant-types, and couldn't find a peaceful way to change things. He had a lot of anger, just waiting for something to give it shape; you inspired him, but Shigaraki gave him a path. After a while, he realized it wasn't what he thought it was, so he contacted me."
"I'm surprised it took him so long to realize that Shigaraki wasn't the man he wanted him to be."
Hawks raised an eyebrow. "How long did it take you to realize that All Might wasn't on the up-and-up?"
Stain grimaced, and shoved past him. "Point taken; let's get going."
Hawks spared a moment to look at Spinner's head and offered a silent prayer; he then stretched out his wings, and flew after Stain.
…
Genesis fell out of the warp gate with an undignified yelp, and right into the arms of Panzer, who set her down to free himself up for a fight so quickly that it made Genesis dizzy. It took her crucial seconds to get her bearings, and a part of her was embarrassed to make such a rookie mistake in front of a veteran Hero.
What she saw made no sense. They appeared to be on an island, filled with cliffs and trees, but Genesis didn't recognize it from any geography of Japan. Above them, the sun felt real, but the rest of the 'sky' was a massive dome, with false clouds moving on mechanical rails. From what she could tell, the 'ocean' was more like a massive pool that stretched out for over a mile; she could see a long, spiraling bridge connecting the island to what she assumed was an exit.
"Where are we?" she asked, and then came to a terrifying realization. "Where are the others?"
"I don't know," Panzer admitted. "I think Kurogiri scattered us around the base, to pick us off in small groups."
"You're quite right," a familiar voice called out from the shadow of the trees. "Shigaraki wanted us to prove that we can defeat any Hero in a one-on-one fight, and set up arenas for all of us."
"This isn't a one-on-one fight, Nine!" Genesis called out.
"It might as well be," Nine said as he stepped into view. "You're a child, with no place on this battlefield."
Genesis felt no small amount of anger at the dismissal. Had her friends been paired up with the various Heroes simply because Shigaraki didn't consider them a factor? Genesis wasn't an aggressive person by nature, but she suddenly had a desire to beat Nine bloody, just to prove that she wasn't some helpless little girl.
Panzer cracked his knuckles. "Hello, Nine. Do you remember what you did in Berlin three years ago?"
Nine raised an eyebrow. "I recall killing several people."
"Including Precision; he was my best friend, and you stole his Quirk, right before you killed him." Panzer's arms transformed into heavy machine guns. "I'm going to enjoy taking you down."
"Oh, I remember now." Energy gathered around Nine's fingertips. "His Quirk was wasted on such a weak little man. I'm putting it to much better use."
Panzer growled, and then opened fire; a rain of heavy-caliber rounds smashed against the barrier Nine quickly created. Before the Villain could return fire, one of Panzer's arms transformed into a flamethrower and doused the area around Nine's feet with napalm. Nine had to back up before his legs were engulfed in flames, but Panzer wasn't about to let him regain his footing; the lower half of his body became a set of motorized tracks that roared to life, and he pursued, maintaining fire the entire time.
"You're quite good," Nine said, even as he blocked more bullets. "If you and I had been in Berlin at the same time, I might not have been able to win."
Something moved in the corner of Nine's eye, and he turned just as a flashbang grenade went off, blinding him for a moment. Genesis wasn't done, however, and opened fire with the cannon she had created in the opening moments of the fight. Nine created another barrier with his other hand, blocking the shell, but he was clearly angry; a Hydra burst from his back and lunged at Genesis, swallowing her up in a single bite.
Panzer stopped his assault and turned. "No!"
Nine smirked behind his mask, but it vanished when he heard an odd buzzing noise from within the Hydra's mouth. It grew louder and louder, until an enormous circular saw split his construct in half; Genesis tossed aside the powered saw she'd created, and hurled another grenade as she rolled to her feet.
"I'm all right!" she cried. "Don't stop attacking! Make him wear himself out!"
Panzer grinned widely, and his flamethrower turned into a missile launcher. "Remind me to offer you a job as my Sidekick after this!"
Nine blocked the first two missiles, and casually slapped aside the grenade; while the former were standard explosive weapons, but the latter was filled with tear gas that flowed around Nine's barrier. His mask kept him from breathing it in, but some still got in his eyes, blinding him for precious seconds. To keep himself save, two more Hydras emerged, flailing about to give himself space.
Panzer and Genesis weren't about to give him that luxury. Genesis created dozens of bomblets, and placed them into a loose net; she hurled the net over the writhing Hydras, where it opened up and released the explosives, creating an impressive series of small blasts. Panzer turned his entire body into a tank, with a rack of missiles over the turret; all of the weapons fired, destroying one Hydra and sending Nine tumbling back. The Villain's suit was damaged, and there was a deep cut above his eye, but to the shock of the Heroes, it sealed up in seconds.
Nine chuckled. "You had the right idea; my biggest weakness was that my own Quirks overwhelmed my stamina quickly. That's why I've been searching for a powerful healing Quirk, to counter that effect. Fortunately, between Shigaraki and All For One, I've been modified enough that the healing Quirk I did have is much more potent. I can handle anything you can dish out."
Panzer transformed back into his human shape. "You are forgetting one very important fact about Quirks: there is always a limit."
"True, but I doubt that I'll reach mine before you reach yours." Nine whipped out one hand. "And thank you for giving me a moment to concentrate."
Panzer wasn't the top Hero of Germany for nothing; the Laser Bullets that would have pierced his skull only grazed his jaw and cut a furrow across his shoulder. Since Panzer was focusing more on dodging at that moment, Nine turned his attention to Genesis; another Laser Bullet and a flash of pain later, and Genesis staggered back without the pinkie finger of her left hand. She bit back a scream of pain, but stubbornly refused to let it overwhelm her focus; she quickly formed bandages around the stump of her finger, and broke into a run.
"You piece of—" Panzer let out a stream of expletives that, had Genesis understood German, would have made her blush.
"What's the matter, Hero?" Nine taunted. "I killed your friend in Berlin, and now I'm about to kill that girl. Some Hero you are; you can't even save one pathetic life."
Panzer's legs became motorized wheels, and he sped away from more lasers, but it put him out of position to help Genesis. This time, Nine sent three Hydras after her; she was able to stop one with a hastily-created explosive charge, but the second sank its teeth into her thigh. The only reason the limb wasn't torn off was because Genesis created a hinged ring of tungsten almost six inches thick around her leg at the last second, which snapped the teeth of the Hydra. The third one almost bit into her skull, but she managed to roll out of the way; instead, it snapped down on her ponytail, cutting it in half and letting the rest flutter free of the tie.
Genesis let the tungsten fall off of her leg and continued to run. She knew she was starting to run low on lipids, but her main problem was that she was losing blood, and there was a risk of her going into shock. The only reason she hadn't was because of the adrenaline, and that wouldn't last forever.
"Get down!"
Genesis threw herself to the ground at Panzer's shout; Nine created another barrier, but he wasn't expecting the barrage of rockets that rained down around him. The explosions battered him from all sides, and he staggered; his focus wavered for just a moment, and that left him open. Genesis use the opportunity to create a crude crossbow, and fired a bolt into his leg.
"Nice shot," Panzer said as he rolled over to her, trailing blood behind him.
"If I had more time, I could make something much more effective," Genesis said humbly.
"Then I'll give you that time." Panzer's machines withdrew into his body, and he began marching towards Nine, who pulled the bolt from his leg with a snarl.
"Rather arrogant of you to approach me without your machines," Nine said as his wound healed.
"I like to fight fair." Panzer held his arms out. "How about a game? I'll give you one free shot, and if I'm still alive, you give me one free shot. We keep doing that until one of us dies."
Nine chuckled. "You're either insane, or an idiot. I could kill you with a single shot. Even so, I know what you're doing. You're buying time for the girl to make something much more powerful."
Panzer shrugged. "I mean, could you blame me for trying?"
"Of course not. In fact, I would be disappointed if you didn't try every trick in the book to stop me, and I'll admit that you're powerful enough to give me a real fight." Nine shed his charred jacket, and raised one arm. "Out of respect for your ability, I'll finish you off with my most powerful Quirk."
"That storm, right?" Panzer's forearms turned into jackhammers. "I thought using that drained you too much."
"I told you that my healing Quirk was enhanced," Nine reminded him. "Now, I can use it five times before I need to rest."
"Is it wise for you to tell me that?" Panzer readied himself to move.
"Not if you're dead after the first shot." Nine made a downward sweep with his arm, lightning gathered—
"Panzer, go!"
—and just as it struck, it veered off-course to hit the lightning rod that Genesis created. Panzer's jackhammers smashed through the partially-formed barrier Nine tried to raise, and smashed him in the chest. Genesis could hear the sickening crack of shattered bone, but she didn't let it distract her from finishing her weapon; with a grunt of effort, she plugged it into the battery, and staggered over to the firing controls.
In theory, building a railgun wasn't too difficult; just a large piece of tungsten, accelerated by a powerful electromagnet. The technical specifications were much more complicated, but it was arguably one of the most powerful weapons Genesis could create, and with enemies such as Shigaraki and All For One on the loose, she couldn't take chances. She had brought her plan up with Hatsume, who had helped smooth out some of the engineering details before assuring her that it would work.
The only issue was her supply of lipids; between the requirements for the railgun and what she had already expended, she was exhausted. She would only get one shot, and if she missed, she would be helpless for the rest of the fight.
With a sinister hum, the railgun powered up; electricity crackled between the two prongs of the barrel, and the tungsten shell began to rotate in place. The weapon turned as Genesis adjusted the aim, but a new problem arose—Panzer was far too close to Nine.
"Get out of there!" she shouted.
"No time!" Panzer roared back. "Do what you have to do, or we're both dead!"
Genesis knew he was right, but she still hesitated. What should I do? What would Izuku do?
Then she remembered that Deku had gone on the run because it was the only thing he could do to stop Shigaraki. He was determined to cross the line few Heroes ever did, and was killing himself to do it, because there was no other choice.
She pulled the trigger.
There was a louder hum, and then the railgun fired. The shockwave from the shell launching at several times the speed of sound sent Genesis tumbling back, but it was far worse for her targets. Nine tried to block the shot—first with his Hydras, which were too slow, and then his barrier, which stood no chance against a weapon capable of destroying a battleship.
Panzer, while not directly hit, was still sent flying, and he landed in a broken heap by the shore of the island. Genesis staggered to her feet and limped over to the fallen Hero, terrified that she had just killed him. To her relief, she saw his chest rise and fall, and she collapsed to her knees next to him.
"Ow," Panzer moaned, and forced himself into a sitting position. "That hurt."
"How are you not hurt more?" Genesis asked.
Panzer spat out blood, and grinned. "I turned everything under my skin into machinery. When I cut my Quirk, my body parts return to the state they were in before I transformed them. I've even trained myself to revert to human form on instinct if I'm not consciously building something, so I can heal even when I'm unconscious."
"That's incredible."
"Thanks, but it's not perfect." Panzer reached into a pouch in his belt and pulled out several pills. "Too much transforming uses up the iron in my body, so I've got to take iron supplements pretty much every day."
Genesis winced. "I'm sorry."
Panzer shrugged and swallowed the pills. "I used to need them every hour, but Ms. Shield created a much more potent kind of supplement. It's actually a supercharged version of what Deku takes."
Genesis nodded shakily, and pulled out a high-calorie snack bar from her skirt. "Wait, where's Nine!?"
The two looked around, but the only sign that the Villain had been there at all was the top half of his skull. Genesis was glad she hadn't eaten her food yet, because she immediately threw up. She had killed someone. She had killed someone.
"He was too dangerous for just two of us to try to take him alive," Panzer said evenly. "If there was even one more Pro Hero with us, I would have suggested it, but there's a reason more than a dozen countries have kill-on-sight orders for him."
Genesis nodded shakily; she remembered hearing about how Aizawa had killed Villains during the USJ attack, but there was a difference between Underground Heroes doing what needed to be done, and the Heroes expected to serve as examples for their countries.
"Should we get going?" she asked, desperate to change the subject.
"As much as I'd like to go now, we're not in great shape." Panzer looked pointedly at her hand, missing a finger and still bleeding sluggishly.
"I… it doesn't hurt," Genesis noted.
"That's not a good thing." Panzer's hand turned into a blowtorch. "I'd prefer you go to a hospital, but that might not be happening for a while. Bite down on something; this is going to hurt."
Genesis removed her skirt and bunched it up before biting down hard as Panzer cauterized the stump of her finger. She nearly passed out from the pain, but she remembered that Uraraka had gone through much worse at the training camp. If she could survive losing her whole arm, then Genesis could withstand losing a finger.
"We take…" Genesis shuddered from the pain, but pushed through. "We take a few minutes to rest, and then we need to find the others."
"Agreed." Panzer looked towards the exit. "Hopefully, their battles aren't as intense as ours."
…
"You know, I think the universe is against me being with Izuku," Uravity grumbled.
Geosynch raised an eyebrow. "How do you mean?"
"We get separated for a year, and just when I plan to not let him out of my sight, we end up… wherever we are, and he's nowhere to be found."
"As sweet as your concern is, I would like to know where we are." Geosynch frowned as she adjusted her hat. "This appears to look like a regular neighborhood."
Uravity looked around. "This whole place is fake. Look, those clouds are just cutouts. I think this is like a simulation; we have something like this in UA."
Geosynch smiled. "Ah, I remember the simulations for Hero work when I was in Moscow Hero Academy. We used abandoned neighborhoods that needed to be demolished for reconstruction, though."
"Well, we should probably get out of here and find the others." Uravity activated her wings, and then used her Quirk on herself to fly into the air.
Geosynch barely had time to shout a warning before a thick lock of red hair whipped out towards the younger girl. Uravity tucked in her wings and twisted out of the way; what would have cut her head off only left a furrow on one side of her helmet.
"Oh, you're much better than the last time we danced," Slice taunted from the roof of a house. "Maybe you'll only lose part of a limb this go around."
Uravity scowled behind her helmet. "Or maybe you'll end up falling twenty stories straight down."
Geosynch used her own Quirk to fly up to Uravity's position. "Ah, I read this one's file. She is the one who hurt you, yes? Izuku was very angry when he mentioned that." The sound of deranged laughter made Geosynch scowl. "She is staying hidden. I cannot lock onto her with my Quirk if I cannot see her."
"I could draw her out," Uravity offered.
"Brave, but risky."
"It's either that, or we stay here all day, and we don't have time for that." Uravity's prosthetic trembled, but she forced it still through sheer willpower. "Besides, I've been practicing a lot since the last time I faced Slice."
"Good." Geosynch grinned. "Then we shall kick her ass."
Slice heard her words, and laughed more as tendrils of hair lashed about, too fast for Geosynch to lock onto. They cut apart chunks of concrete and hurled them at the Heroes with the force of a cannon, but unlike Slice, the debris was fully within Geosynch's field of vision, and stopped in midair.
"Thank you," she said, and launched them straight back at the source.
Slice's laughter turned into a frustrated snarl; her hair whipped out to destroy the debris, but Geosynch still had control of the smaller pieces, and could now track where Slice was hiding. The rocks arced around Slice's cover, peppering the area with shrapnel; there was another angry shout, and Slice darted into the open. She was so focused on the older Hero that she didn't notice the shadow hanging over her until the chunk of rubble Uravity had been maneuvering started to fall.
"Oh, you little bitch!" Slice cut apart the car-sized piece of concrete an instant before it hit her, but doing so left her open for just an instant.
Uravity had canceled her Quirk on not just her improvised weapon, but also herself, and was falling just behind the rubble. With Slice's hair outstretched, Uravity's boot had a clear shot to Slice's face. Blood sprayed out from both of them—from Slice's nose, and Uravity's leg after a flailing strand of Slice's hair had nicked her.
Compared to the agony of losing her arm, the simple flesh wound was nothing. Uravity powered through it and continued attacking with a flurry of punches and kicks. Even with reinforced boots and a metal arm, Uravity wasn't doing much damage, but she wasn't trying to; like almost every Quirk, Slice needed to focus to use hers, and it was much more of a challenge when getting pummeled.
With those two so close, Geosynch couldn't risk catching Uravity in her Quirk, and then spending precious seconds untangling them. Doing so could get the younger girl killed. However, Geosynch had another idea; she landed on the ground and created a super-condensed field of gravity around her fist, then slammed it into the street, shattering it into thousands of pieces. She then gathered up the shrapnel with her Quirk and created a field of razor-sharp concrete orbiting her, and ran towards the combat.
Uravity and Slice saw her approach at the same time; the former kicked the latter towards the Russian, and then flew into the air. Slice had enough time to catch her breath, and then brought a long lock of hair slashing down, but Geosynch was prepared. Her barrier of rubble had been sharpened by her Quirk, so when Slice tried to cut through it, it was her hair that was cut, not Geosynch.
Slice shrieked as a large part of her precious hair fell lifelessly to the ground. "You bitch! How dare you!"
Geosynch just smiled, while Slice realized that she'd suddenly made a very big mistake. She whirled around, just in time for Uravity to slug her in the face with all the strength her metal arm could muster. There was a sickening crunch as several bloody teeth flew free, but Uravity had to duck under more flailing hair before she could follow through.
Annoyed that the Villain was still on her feet, Geosynch began firing the elements of her barrier at Slice. The shrapnel cut more strands of hair away, even as those pieces of debris were cut into dust. Slice didn't just fight defensively, however, and fired strands of her hair like bullets, and they were able to pass through Geosynch's shield; her white costume now had dozens of small red dots as the hairs pierced her flesh.
With Geosynch staggering back in pain, Slice turned to deal with Uravity once and for all. She lashed out with her remaining hair, aiming for where Uravity's shoulder met her torso, so that she could cut off another limb. It would certainly make her feel better watching the girl writhe in agony with yet another missing limb, just like last time.
Except it didn't happen. Uravity had been training relentlessly since receiving her prosthetic, determined to never suffer that kind of injury again. Over the last year—when not on patrol, doing schoolwork, or taking care of Eri—she had been pushing her reflexes to nearly superhuman levels. Slice's hair was fast, but Uravity's reaction was faster; plus, she had seen that move before, and knew what to expect. She twisted out of the way of Slice's hair, took a single step to the right, and drove her metal fist into Slice's temple; the Villain dropped like a rock, even as Uravity spun with her own momentum and slid into a classic 'superhero landing'.
"Nice job," Geosynch said as she pulled out the now-limp hair from her wounds.
"Thanks for the opening," Uravity replied, and winced. "We need to patch ourselves up, and then find the others."
"Agreed, but there is one more thing." Geosynch used more of her shrapnel to quickly shave Slice's head, and then buried her up to her neck in debris. "Now, she is not a threat to anyone."
"Yeah." Uravity rubbed her right shoulder, phantom pains shooting through her as she thought about what Slice had done to her. "I just hope the others are doing well."
…
"Nine and Slice, both beaten, and you had to pull Re-Destro out of the fight." Shigaraki sat on his throne and sighed. "Slice was always a mid-tier player, but Nine was one of my best, and now he's done."
"There is still Dabi, Machia, and All For One," Kurogiri said. "They remain extremely powerful."
"Well, yeah, but Nine was the first to really swear loyalty to me," Shigaraki countered. "Dabi only stayed with the League for a chance to kill Endeavor—and don't get me wrong, I'm fine with wanting revenge—and I forced All For One to be loyal to me. Only Machia genuinely swore allegiance." He sighed again. "This game is starting out as a real disappointment. Skeptic, are the others ready for their fights?"
Skeptic, who had been quivering with rage after watching Re-Destro lose, turned back to his computer. "Yes, sir. The other battles should be starting within the next few minutes; you can view them at your leisure."
Shigaraki nodded and leaned back as several screens turned on. He was eager to see the results of the fights, but he kept one eye on a particular screen, which showed Stars And Stripes—and more importantly, Deku—hurtling down a series of corridors.
"The preliminaries are over," he said quietly. "Time for the game to really begin."
Chapter 64
Grudge Match
"Well, this is getting annoying," Stars And Stripes huffed. "I swear we're going in circles."
Deku coughed, and pointed to the wall with a trembling hand. "I d-don't know, that w-wallpaper looks different."
"I'll take your word for it," Stripes said, and looked down at him, still held in her arms. "How are you holding up?"
"I'd b-be better if y-you could r-run smoother." Deku's weak smile told her he was joking, but he then got serious. "I hope the others are okay."
Stripes wanted to reassure him, but the stakes were too high, and she respected him too much, to give empty words.
"So do I."
…
Lemillion was surprised when he fell out of the warp gate, but he was more surprised that he had landed in what looked like an entire city. For a moment, he wondered if Kurogiri had sent them somewhere else in Japan, but everything looked… off. The signs were at a slightly odd angle, and the buildings were empty.
"Did Shigaraki make his own version of the USJ?" he asked out loud.
"It definitely feels that way, huh?"
Lemillion whirled, and sighed in relief as Spirala, who had spoken, as well as Suneater and Ground Zero flew over to him. "Glad to see you guys are okay. Did you see anyone else on your way here?"
"No, but we just fell out of that shitty portal," Ground Zero growled. "I'm gonna kill Kurogiri when I find him."
"I'll help," Spirala agreed, to the surprise of the boys. "He used his stupid warp gate to make me hurt Izuku at the USJ, and I want some payback."
"That's not very heroic, young Hado!" All Might boomed as he landed next to them; his sudden arrival made Suneater squeak, and hide behind his girlfriend. "Sorry about that, young Amajiki."
Lemillion frowned. "Okay, this is a pretty strong group right here. Why would Shigaraki have so many of us sent here? It would have made more sense to split us up and take us out one by one."
All Might crossed his arms. "My best guess would be that we are either trapped somewhere with no way out, or we were sent here to face someone who can fight all of us at once."
As if the universe heard him, there was a sudden chill in the air; it wasn't a change in temperature, but a sense of primal fear that reached deep into their souls. The Heroes slowly turned, and saw a man down the street; he wore a suit, as if he was merely headed to work. He was younger than when All Might last saw him, but he recognized that face; it was the face he had all but destroyed almost a decade ago. It was also the face that had haunted his nightmares for years.
"All For One," All Might growled, the words both a threat and a warning.
"Ah, All Might!" All For One waved, as if he was speaking to an old friend, not someone who wanted nothing more than to see him erased from the world. "I'm so glad Tomura was willing to humor my desire to face you one more time. And he brought your successor! Wonderful, now I can end my brother's Quirk once and for all."
Ground Zero scowled. "Hey, asshole! Those two aren't the only ones here to fight you!"
All For One chuckled, infuriating Ground Zero further. "Oh, please. You think you're a match for me? You're an insect, trying to throw your weight around in a fight between titans."
"Wait until this 'insect' bites your fuckin' eyes out," Ground Zero muttered.
All Might slowly tensed. "Part of me wants nothing more than to tell you all to run, while I handle this."
"And what about the rest of you?" Lemillion asked.
"When I tried to take All For One down by myself, it almost destroyed me, and I couldn't even finish the job." All Might grinned. "This time… I think things will work out better if we all attack him."
Spirala rubbed her hands together. "Sounds good to me!"
Ground Zero cackled. "Hell yeah!"
Lemillion flexed his hands. "That's what I was hoping you'd say, All Might."
Suneater sighed. "Normally, I'd say we're all going to die, and then one of you would say something inspiring to get me to fight… but I think we should just skip all that and get right to taking this monster down."
"Well said, young Amajiki." All Might crouched low. "We'll need to give everything we have and more to beat All For One."
All For One continued to chuckle. "You hope to beat me? You poor, deluded fool. You think I haven't prepared for this battle? I won't be defeated like last time."
"Of course you won't," Lemillion agreed with a wide smile. "You're going to be defeated in a whole different way."
"I suppose I walked right into that one," All For One said affably, and then raised one hand and curled his fingers. "But I suppose that's enough banter. Shall we end this little rivalry, All Might?"
"Brace yourselves," All Might snapped; it was the last thing he said before vanishing in a blur, moving so fast that the nearest windows shattered. The younger Heroes would have been blown off their feet, but Lemillion was now strong enough to withstand the shockwave, Ground Zero created enough explosions in the opposite direction to keep himself in place, and Suneater kept himself and Spirala rooted with several large tentacles that wrapped around a streetlight.
All For One met All Might's punch with a huge mass of black-and-red tendrils that sprouted from his fingers and spread like an enormous thorn bush. All Might was still able to power through it, but it slowed him down enough for All For One to bat him aside with his other arm.
"I still have the Shock Absorption Quirk from our fight in Kamino," he sneered. "It is more than capable of stopping you, even at your peak, if your momentum is bled off. Plus, I have a few new Quirks." The arm that had fended off All Might glowed with a red light that briefly spread over All For One's body, and then faded. "This particular Quirk stockpiles kinetic energy in the human body, increasing that body's physical strength; on its own, it takes a great deal of time to build up, but with the Shock Absorption, it's quite devastating. Think of it like a dark cousin to your own Quirk, only it doesn't need to steal strength from dead failures."
"They didn't fail!" All For One looked down just as Lemillion popped up with a devastating uppercut that sent him staggering back, despite his Shock Absorption.
"Oh?" All For One spat out a trickle of blood. "I would call dying at my hands over and over a resounding failure."
"If that's what you think, then you're even more blind than when you didn't have eyes." Lemillion put his fists on his hips. "They may have died, yeah, but each of them left a guide, a signpost, for the next bearer of One For All. Each of them came closer and closer to defeating you; just look at the last couple of times you fought All Might."
"There's a difference between those fights and now," All For One said, as All Might rejoined his successor. "This time, I am both prepared, and strong enough."
"For just me, maybe," All Might said. "But what about all of us?"
All For One glanced up, just as Suneater spat a cloud of ink into the air between them. It blocked the Villain's vision for only a second, but it was enough for Spirala to set up a massive spiral of energy and hurl it at him. All For One scoffed, and didn't even try to block; he stepped through the blast with barely more than a scuff on his suit. Rather than be discouraged, Spirala grinned and flew back; All For One raised an eyebrow, and then whirled when he heard a crackling sound behind him.
"What was that you were saying about bug bites, asshole?" Ground Zero aimed both of his glowing palms at the Villain. "DOUBLE HOWITZER IMPACT!"
The point-blank explosion that followed sent All For One flying back, clean through a building and out the other side. One of his arms was scorched and bleeding, and part of his face was torn all the way to the bone. All For One arrested his flight in midair and stood up straight; he aimed his working hand at Ground Zero, and what looked like a miniature sun formed around his forearm.
"Solar Generation," he said, as his wounded flesh slowly mended; the light of the small sun turned black. "Dark Ball… and let's throw in Impure Beam and Air Cannon on top of that. After wounding me as you did, you deserve to die from more than just one Quirk."
Ground Zero sneered up at him. "Bring it."
Just as All For One began to fire his combination attack, Lemillion launched himself out of the ground at impossible speed, and used Blackwhip to snag the Villain's arm. He pulled, throwing off his aim, and giving All Might a clean shot with an elbow-drop that shattered All For One's arm.
"Clever," All For One admitted, even as he used blades sprouting from his other arm, now healed, to leave a deep gash across All Might's chest and send him plummeting to the ground. "I have far more options when it comes to Quirks, but teaming up against me helps level the playing field."
"Don't flatter yourself," Ground Zero growled. "We spent months training with Deku, before we even heard of you!"
All For One sneered, but his view of Ground Zero was blocked by a cloud of thick smoke that poured out of Lemillion, who was floating nearby. Using multiple Quirks at once was more difficult for the younger man, and his eyes were closed. All For One took the opportunity and fired another blast of air at him, but instead of using Permeation, Lemillion gracefully spun out of the way, his eyes still closed.
"You'll have to explain that one to me," All For One said.
Lemillion grinned. "You fought against all the previous holders of One For All. Don't you remember Danger Sense?"
"Ah, of course." All For One chuckled as his injuries finished healing. "That was the Fourth User, was it not? An early-warning system, if I recall. It made killing him substantially more difficult. And you're using Smokescreen as well; both of those Quirks make finding you quite irritating. Then again, the earlier users of my brother's Quirk were more concerned with hiding and running away."
"That was always their plan," Lemillion said, as golden energy crackled around him. "The early users knew they couldn't stand against you in a fight, so they decided to buy time, to let One For All grow across generations. They didn't know that their combined Quirks would carry on once One For All grew strong enough, but I'll take all the help I can get against you."
All For One paused as he considered that. Lemillion could almost see the gears turning in the man's mind as he recalled the previous users' Quirks, and how much stronger they could have become. At that moment, between Lemillion and All Might, as well as the other three, All For One might have thought that he was genuinely threatened.
Lemillion's theory was confirmed when All For One launched blasts of air pressure in rapid succession with one hand, bombarding Ground Zero's location, while hurling beams of heat at Spirala and Suneater as he moved away from Lemillion.
"Get him on the ground!" All Might shouted, even as he countered All For One's air-blasts with his own rapid-fire Texas Smash.
Lemillion latched onto the Villain's leg with Blackwhip and reeled himself in close. All For One tried to shake him off, but Lemillion had Permeation up, only solidifying his knuckles when they made contact with All For One's face.
Distracted by the punches, All For One didn't react in time to stop Suneater from latching onto his back. Suneater had tossed away his hooded cloak, and swallowed a handful of food from several pouches. His head sprouted two enormous horns, his legs split into six crab legs, his hands morphed into armored tentacles, and a giant scorpion's tail arced over his head.
"Vast Hybrid," Suneater said behind the armored mask that formed around his face. "Manticore Chimera!"
All For One scowled as Suneater's tail stabbed into his neck, and he felt the burning venom searing through him. "Quite a dangerous Quirk you have, young man. I foresee many uses for it, once it is mine!"
"You're not taking anything from anyone!" Spirala shouted as she put one hand on the side of All For One's face and blasted him at point-blank range.
Between the three of them, All For One was dragged to the street, but no sooner had they done that that he reached back to grab Suneater by one of his horns. He ripped him away and slammed him into the street with enough strength to leave a crater in the pavement. Spirala tried to put some distance between them, but All For One grabbed her by the ankle and squeezed; she screamed as her ankle and part of her calf was crushed.
"Nejire!" Armored tentacles wrapped around All For One as Suneater stabbed him with his scorpion tail over and over. Then it was Suneater's turn to scream as enormous blades popped out of All For One's torso, shearing away the tentacles; Suneater was then knocked out when All For One hit him with a backhand that sent him crashing into a building.
"Is that all you children can do?" All For One asked as he casually dropped Spirala on the ground; she screamed again when he stomped down on her back, and the sickening crack of her spine breaking echoed through the air.
There was a blur of motion, and then a furious Lemillion was across the street, Spirala cradled in one arm. His other arm had snagged All For One with Blackwhip and hurled him towards Ground Zero and All Might; between the explosions of the former and the air-pressure blasts of the latter, All For One was launched through several buildings.
"This isn't working," All Might hissed through the pain of the gash on his chest. "When I fought him seven years ago, I had to do so much damage that it burned out his healing Quirks, but he didn't have Shock Absorption before. It's cutting the damage we're doing by at least half."
"Then it's a good thing there are more of us this time," Lemillion said as he gently put Spirala down; between her leg and her back, she needed medical attention now, but All For One wasn't going to give them time to get help. He was also worried about Suneater, who hadn't gotten back up, but Lemillion was stuck between who he could save right in front of him, and who he could only guess at.
"Young Bakugo, I want you to stay here with young Hado," All Might ordered. "Young Togata and I will have to finish this on our own."
Ground Zero clearly wanted to protest, but a whimper from Spirala made him stop. "Fuck! Okay, I'll make sure she doesn't die. And I'll find Stomach Boy, make sure he isn't dead."
Lemillion tried to smile at him, but between his anger at All For One and his fear for his friends, he wasn't in the right place to offer support. Instead, he nodded at All Might, and launched himself in the direction of All For One.
The Villain was pushing debris off of himself when the two Heroes arrived. He opened his mouth to speak, to taunt them, but neither of his opponents were in the mood to talk; All Might slammed both of his fists into All For One's chest, shattering bones and bursting organs, and when he bounced into the air, Lemillion punched him straight in the stomach. Unlike All Might, however, Lemillion had added a twist to his attack by using two of his other Quirks—Gearshift. It robbed All For One of his own velocity, keeping him locked in place, along with Fa Jin, which unleashed stockpiled kinetic energy; with those two powers, Lemillion's punch didn't bleed off, but instead, the kinetic energy bounced around inside All For One's body, doing massive damage.
This time, All For One actually roared in pain, even as his healing Quirks knitted together his torn flesh and broken bones. He lashed out with an arm bulging with increased muscle, but All Might caught his blow and locked the limb like a professional wrestler. He lifted All For One over his shoulder and slammed him back down, but before he could follow up, the arm he held erupted with curved blades, scoring deep cuts across All Might's arms and side. The burning pain made All Might let go, and All For One flipped to his feet to avoid Lemillion's next attack.
"I'm surprised by your ferocity," All For One panted. "Are you so worried about Tomura that you don't have time to play with me?"
"Oh, trust me, we've got time to put you down," Lemillion growled.
All For One chuckled. "Poor fool. You don't seem to realize what Tomura has become. Even I don't hold a candle to his power."
"Don't think we're so ignorant," All Might panted. "We know that Shigaraki is on the verge of becoming a Celestialsapien, and if that happens, he will become omnipotent."
"Ah, so that is what it's called." All For One grinned through bloody teeth. "'Celestialsapien'… it has a nice ring."
"And if he becomes that powerful, what do you think happens to the League of Villains?" Lemillion asked. "He won't exactly need help."
All For One shook his head, his face a picture of disappointment. "One thing you Heroes never understood was how we Villains try to keep our word with each other. We can't trust Heroes, the police, or even our own families—I'm living proof of that, aren't I? Fellow Villains, on the other hand, are in the same situation. If we are to survive, we must be able to trust each other, unless one Villain is in competition with another. Tomura is many things, but I raised him to be a true Villain; he will hold to that unwritten code, and give those loyal to him a seat at the table."
"I can't tell if he's playing some con, or if he really believes that," Lemillion said to All Might. "Either way, we need to stop him."
"Agreed, young Togata." All Might took a deep breath. "This time, we don't stop until he doesn't get up."
All For One grinned. "Then, by all means, come and get me."
Lemillion and All Might moved at the same time, practically vanishing as they attacked from both sides. All For One leapt into the air, firing blasts of energy from one hand, and a tornado from the other. All Might countered the tornado with a Texas Smash, and Lemillion phased through everything else; he then rocketed into the air, passed through All For One, and snagged his back with Blackwhip. Lemillion spun around and drove a Fa Jin- and Gearshift-powered kick right into All For One's spine.
"Doesn't feel so good when it happens to you, does it!?" Lemillion shouted.
All For One just laughed through a mouthful of blood, and vanished, replaced by a surprised All Might, just as he was throwing another punch. Lemillion was so shocked that he didn't react to Danger Sense, didn't activate Permeation in time, and if it weren't for One For All boosting his durability, the punch would have splattered his head across several city blocks. As it was, he was still sent hurtling through more than one building.
"Ah, Replace," All For One mused. "Your successor didn't pay much attention to the last fight between you and I, did he?"
All Might landed in a crouch and whirled; to All For One's surprise, he was smiling. "I wouldn't say that."
All For One blinked, and tensed when he heard a voice. "FORCE UNLEASHED!"
All For One immediately raised one arm, but when Lemillion came back, bloody and with one eye ruined, Permeation let him pass through the Villain's guard and punch him square in the chest. At the same time, All Might charged, and put everything he had into his next blow.
"UNITED STATES OF SMASH!"
The combined blow shattered every bone in All For One's body, and with Gearshift holding him in place, the damage was even worse to his internal organs. Blood spurted from his mouth and eyes; he looked surprised, even scared, before limply falling to the ground.
That wasn't to say that the Heroes had it all their own way. Gearshift might have locked All For One in place, but two users of One For All catching the same target between them resulted in serious blowback, and they were sent rocketing in opposite directions. All Might hit the street at the same time as his nemesis, while Lemillion hit the same building All For One had launched him into mere moments earlier.
All Might staggered to his feet, cradling his right arm; he could tell that it was broken in at least two places, but he could still make a fist, so if he had to throw a punch, he could. He cautiously approached All For One; he was exhausted, but ready to force his body to fight if he had to.
Fortunately, All For One's mangled body didn't so much as twitch. His blood-covered eyes were glazed over, and when All Might reached for a pulse, he felt… nothing. All For One's heart wasn't beating, and he wasn't breathing; his skull was distorted in a way that no brain could withstand, and his ribs and spine had torn through almost every one of his organs.
All For One was finally dead.
"It's over," All Might whispered, and sank to his knees. "Nana… he's finally gone. You and all the others can rest." His moment with the dead passed when he realized that only one holder of One For All was here. "Young Togata!"
Almost as if it was rewarding him for achieving the point of its existence, One For All surged through him, pushing him through the agony of moving as he searched for his successor. He found him after a few minutes, half-buried in rubble; Lemillion's arm was even more broken than All Might's, but his left eye was clearly destroyed. It was a wonder that the young man hadn't gone into shock from blood loss, and All Might would eat his boots if Lemillion didn't have a concussion.
But he was alive, and that was more than most who had fought All For One could say.
All Might carefully picked up his successor, but as he turned to rejoin the others, the strength left his body, and he collapsed; all he could manage was to twist to avoid landing on top of Lemillion.
"Ow," he muttered, and brought a hand to one of his many injuries; the amount of blood covering that hand was… well, it was more than All Might was comfortable seeing outside of his body. "First things first, we need to get patched up. If I can at least get the bleeding to stop, maybe I can help fight Shigaraki."
Except that wouldn't happen, and All Might knew it. Maybe, if he had Recovery Girl and a few hours to rest, he would be more than a liability in the fight against Shigaraki. But he didn't have either of those things, and if he tried fighting in this state, all he would do is get himself killed. True, one of Shigaraki's strongest allies was gone, but that was the only thing All Might would be able to contribute. He had a feeling that the rest would be up to Midoriya.
All Might chuckled to himself. Just a few days ago, he was all but obsessed with defeating Midoriya; now, he was putting all his hopes on the young man.
Surprisingly, he was all right with that.
…
"I'm shocked," Kurogiri all but whispered.
"I'm not," Shigaraki said. "All For One was arrogant after I restored him. He lost to All Might twice before; he should have known that two users of One For all would be too much for him. Still, he managed to keep both All Might and Lemillion out of future fights, so it's not like it was a bad loss."
"Did you fear All Might in the coming battle?" For perhaps the first time since Shigaraki had met him, he heard a calculating edge in Kurogiri's voice.
"Unlike All For One, I'm not so arrogant that I don't see All Might's power as a factor against me, and Lemillion is even stronger," Shigaraki said carefully. "But neither of them are the ones I want to fight. Stars And Stripes, Deku… they're the ones with the power to call themselves a rival to what I can do."
"That is a surprising thing to hear."
Shigaraki chuckled. "Simply punching things is nothing compared to what I have become."
…
"You guys are a fucking mess," Ground Zero said as All Might carried Lemillion over to him. "Is mini-you alive?"
All Might nodded wearily. "Yes, but neither of us are in any shape to carry on fighting. How are the others?"
Ground Zero grimaced and glanced at the fallen Suneater and Spirala. "The wimp won't wake up—took a bad hit to the head. The other one passed out, but she told me she couldn't feel her legs."
All Might didn't bother to hide his wince. If Amajiki had been hit in the head hard enough to stay unconscious, there was a chance of serious brain damage, and Hado was clearly paralyzed from the waist down. On top of that, Togata had lost his eye; three young Heroes, barely a year out of high school, had been horribly injured on All Might's watch, and he felt the weight of that guilt on his soul.
"What happened to the evil fucker?" Ground Zero asked.
"He won't hurt anyone ever again."
Ground Zero's eyes widened for a moment. "You killed him, huh? Well, you won in the end, and that's what matters."
"Young Bakugo, I have a request." All Might did his best to draw himself up to his full height. "I will stay with these three, and once I've determined if they can be safely moved, I will try to find a way to get them some help. In the meantime, I'd like you to see if you can find any of the others, and assist them in their battles. I doubt any of the others in the League of Villains are as dangerous as All For One, and our fellow Heroes would be grateful for any help."
Ground Zero glanced down; he had barely fought against All For One, and compared to everyone else, he was more than ready for another fight.
"Yeah, I can do that. I can't let that goddamn nerd get all the glory, right?"
All Might chuckled, but there was no humor behind it. "Young Bakugo, I have a feeling that there will be plenty of glory to go around."
…
Maccabee sighed for the third time in as many minutes as he walked through what looked like a city that had recently been through a massive fire. "Virtus, you need to calm down."
"That is rather difficult, considering our situation," Virtus snapped. "We have no idea where the others are, or even if they are still alive!"
"And there is nothing either of us can do about that," Maccabee said calmly. "Our mission is to stop Shigaraki; the others know that, and they're going to try to do the same thing. If things go right, we'll meet up with them on the way, and if they go wrong, the best way we can help them is by stopping Shigaraki ourselves."
Virtus let out an uncharacteristically bitter laugh. "There are very few people who could fight Shigaraki at Jaku, and we are not among them. And Shigaraki is much stronger now."
Maccabee shrugged. "This is a tactical situation, not a strategic one. We are in survival mode, and we need to take this one objective at a time."
As if the universe needed to prove him right, the only warning the two had was a single glint in the distance. Like all Israeli Heroes, Maccabee had served in the military for some time, and knew what that glint was.
"Sniper!"
While Maccabee had the instincts, Virtus had the speed; he grabbed the older man and pulled him into a burned-out building an instant before a massive slug would have torn his head off.
"Okay, new objective," Maccabee growled. "We need to survive this."
…
"That is a problem," Monkey King said with forced nonchalance.
Alien Queen didn't even try to hide her own fear. "Yeah, and his name is Gigantomachia!"
The enormous monster sneered down at them from the top of the false mountain, his nails extending into enormous claws.
"Please tell me you have a plan," Alien Queen begged.
"Actually, I do." Monkey King turned and sprinted towards the forest surrounding the mountain. "Run as fast as you can!"
…
Chimera grinned around his cigar, then spat it out and ground it under his boot. "You know, I always wanted to see how I'd do against one of the best Heroes on the planet."
"You really should be careful what you wish for," Gentleman Jack smiled back, but his was cold. "You just might get it."
Chimera laughed, and then spun on his heel to backhand Froppy as she leaped at him, shattering her helmet with a single blow. "What, did you think that would work on me?"
"Well, the toxin going into your skin certainly helps," Jack said with a smirk.
Chimera coughed, saw the slime on his hand, and then narrowed his eyes. "Oh, you two are dead."
…
"You know, if I wasn't so worried about my friends, and if the fate of the world wasn't at stake, this would be pretty cool," Cellophane said as he swung through the trees of the jungle Kurogiri had sent him and Ranger.
The Australian glanced up at him. "How d'you figure?"
"I mean, I'm working with one of the top Heroes in the world. How could I not think this is cool?"
Ranger chuckled. "You remind me of one of my Sidekicks. Good kid, a little too eager; got his face clawed up by an angry koala."
"That sounds like a funny story." Cellophane's smile vanished as a warp gate appeared. "And I'm gonna have to ask about it later, because we've got a problem."
Re-Destro laughed as he stepped through the warp gate. "Oh, that is an understatement."
…
Triumph tried not to think about how the place Kurogiri had warped him and Endeavor to was eerily similar to the Todoroki home. The only difference was the lack of awards for Endeavor on the walls. Even if they had been there, Triumph was sure that Dabi would have burned them off as he waited for them.
"Hello, Dad," Dabi said, his smile a deranged parody of the one Endeavor remembered his eldest son having as a child. "Hey, Shoto. You both ready to die?"