11: Supernova
The rain comes slowly. Lightning shatters the oppressive darkness hanging overhead occasionally, but Izuku is left wandering a blue city as he follows Monitor's directions. Ozone and the smell of rain gradually overpowers the salty scent in the air as the first drops fall, burning his nose. Izuku isn't dressed for the rain. He'd left the house this morning in a ratty old workout hoodie and gym shorts, and he's not looking forward to dealing with the storm at Mach speed. When he finally reaches his destination, he's a little disappointed.
"Really? The warehouses?"
"I tracked several communications from the villains to this location after their warp. None of them have left."
Izuku sighs as he rips the padlock off the gate and throws the chain-link gate open. He barely makes it five steps in when a security guard appears from between the warehouses.
"A kid? You're trespassing, don't make me call the police!" The guard calls. Izuku frowns as the woman puts her hands on her hips.
"These docks are not listed as having active security. They're registered storage for an electronics company based out of Tokyo."
"I take it she's not a security guard?" Izuku frowns.
"Considering the spike in activity surrounding your location, that is highly possible."
"Well that makes it easy." Izuku takes a moment as he makes the first step. He's gotten more and more used to changing gears instantaneously, but this is the first time he's done it under a thunderstorm. Drops of rain stretch out like teardrops and bolts of lightning become branches of faint blue, white and green stretching out across pitch-colored clouds and a blue smoke sky. While he drinks in the sight, he realizes the lightning looks something like broken veins in a bruise.
He stops behind the fake guard and drops her with a light tap, then shuffles towards the alley between the warehouses casually.
"The heroes have mobilized. It seems they will be on their way to you within the hour." Monitor chirps. Izuku can't help but huff. All Might isn't with them, which means no one will be here quickly. His best bet is to leave before they reach the warehouse, but he has a sneaking suspicion that he won't be that lucky.
"I need to hurry, then." He mutters.
"Hey, who the hell are you?" This deep in the alley the guards have dropped the charade, apparently. On the left side of the door is a man who can only be described as lumpy, dressed in a leather vest and torn jeans, while his companion has a pair of tusks peeking out of his lower jaw and a reasonably nice jacket over a white undershirt.
"I'm looking for Stain." Izuku says. The pair share a look (the one in leather shrugs when the one with tusks grunts) and squint down at him.
"Why the hell are you looking for Stain?"
"I've got an appointment with him." Izuku says evenly. "Unless there's someone else whose quirk doesn't fit."
"That cloaked fuck sticks with Shigaraki." Lumpy mutters, scratching his head. "Look, kid, Stain ain't exactly in a good mood these days. No one wants anything to do with him."
"Which cloaked guy?" Izuku prays quietly as genuine fear bleeds into the two of them.
"I think they call him Dabi. Shoots blue fire. Man, I didn't believe it when people said weird shit was happening to people, but that guy isn't human." Tusks says quietly. "Whatever business you got with them, you're better off running kid. Ain't worth it dealing with people like that. You look like a decent sort."
"I… thanks, I guess." Izuku sighs. "I really need to talk to Stain, though. Where's he at?"
"Word is he's three units down. They gave him his own barn for training or something, but the last three guys who went in there all came out carved up like pigs." Lumpy growls. "Ain't right butcherin good people like that. Stain's fucked in the head."
"You're working for Shigaraki and you're calling Stain messed up?" Izuku shakes his head when the pair shrug and brush the comment off.
"Everyone's working for Shigaraki now. The League took over."
"Good to know. Honestly, you guys have been pretty helpful." Izuku smiles apologetically. "Sorry I gotta do this."
They drop soundlessly, and their bodies are tossed on top of the fake security guard behind some forklifts. When Izuku is done he looks at the warehouses and groans as he makes the decision. Heroes are coming. All he has to do is deal with Stain before more people get hurt. As much as he wants to carve through the League's henchmen, he can't afford to waste time on small time villains with Stain hanging around.
He reaches the warehouse without too much trouble. The moment he steps inside he chokes on the smell of blood and sweat. As he retches Stain skids across the ground in the middle of the empty warehouse.
"Deku," The villain growls, growling as Izuku coughs. "I never imagined I'd see you here."
"Yeah, me either." Izuku wheezes. "Not having a nose must be really nice if this is how you live."
"Why are you here? Have you sold yourself to the League?"
"I'm no villain, Stain." He growls, wiping spit from his chin. "Normally I'd leave this to the heroes, but we both know you're on a different level. I came to bring you down."
A grin splits the man's face in the poorly lit warehouse. Izuku's fists clench as the villain draws a katana and runs his tongue over the blade.
"I've been waiting months for this encounter. My speed has been honed to an edge that will cleave you in two, Deku. No false heroes shall escape me when you're out of the way." When Stain disappears, Izuku is genuinely shocked. He didn't think anyone else could move that fast, even if Stain had come close when they first fought one another.
Top speed or not, Izuku can barely keep up as Stain bounces around the warehouse. He's already well past Mach speed when he catches his first glimpse of the man's cape, and his eyes are straining to see the path when he pushes even further. After images chase the hero-killer at this speed. Izuku doesn't move. For several minutes he watches a display so ridiculous that it has him a bit dizzy.
A blade snaps against his forearm suddenly, and the pair drop back to normal speed as Stain glares at Izuku from across the warehouse.
"You… What are you?"
"Just a kid playing hero." Izuku grins as he slips into his stance. "Come quietly or I'll drag you out by your scarf."
"My mission will not fall before a child!" Stain leaps again, and this time Izuku rushes to block. Weapons burn faintly as Stain attacks and Izuku dodges. They dance through the warehouse in near silence, outrunning the sounds of their battle. When Izuku reaches out and shatters blades, new ones appear just as quickly. After what feels like minutes, they grind to a halt with positions reversed.
"Come on, Stain. I thought you were better than this!" Izuku shouts. The look on the hero-killer's face is feral bordering on monstrous. Despite himself, Izuku shudders.
"Die, arrogant brat!" Stain is gone, whipping around the warehouse even faster than before. Izuku winces as he tries to match the assassin and fails. A stray step catches his eye and freezes him place as his eye catches seven Stains with blades aimed at his throat. His eyes widen at the display and his head throbs weakly as fear and instinct overclock his system. A glimpse of the real Stain on his right, twisting so that he can create the afterimage coming for Izuku's side.
In that moment, he grinds his teeth and presses down on his legs, begging them to move. The leap is dangerous: he's been so busy trying not to destroy anything that he's mentally created a limit for this type of thing. Something beneath him shatters as he flies into the sky. When he glances downward to try and gauge how high he's jumped, the warehouse below disappears in a twisted explosion of blue fire.
Landing is touchy. He does his best to crouch and take the impact in his legs. Nothing breaks, which is good. What isn't good is the fact that the warehouse is no longer in one piece, and he's facing two people instead of one.
The newcomer doesn't even look human. Izuku doesn't blink when his eyes scrape over exposed cheekbones and fangs made of melted enamel and bone. Licks of blue fire dance through his fingers and off his tongue when he smiles.
"Well well… I thought you were just some brat with a strength quirk, but that was a pretty crazy jump there, kid." The new villain rasps. His tattered coat flutters in the wind and steam rises from his shoulders as rain strikes him.
"This one is mine, Dabi. Leave us." Stain growls. Izuku snorts as the pair exchange a look.
"You can't keep all the fun to yourself, Stain." Dabi sings, grinning like some kind of Shinigami. Izuku doesn't blame the thugs from earlier now that he's seen it. "What kind of friend hides their toys?"
"This is a test of my ability! Leave us or die beneath my blade!" Stain hisses.
"Try it and you'll never take another step, speedy." Dabi laughs and coughs gouts of azure flame that leave Izuku worried. Everyone he knows has very kindly reminded him that he hasn't tested quirks against his invulnerability. Dealing with Anomalies is an entirely different story. He couldn't have known, he realizes, but the feeling of being in over his head is dulled somewhat. Pulling his phone out of his pocket a bit, Izuku grinds his teeth and does his best to keep his voice down.
"Monitor, get Nezu. Tell them there are two Anomalies with the villains. Blue fire and Stain."
"Done. Sending your location with a request for backup."
That last part is more worrying than anything. Heroes can't fight Anomalies. Izuku wonders if they can handle the villains, let alone dead men and people faster than the speed of sound.
"I hope that message was your will, Deku." Dabi chortles as he walks toward him. "We didn't forget about you."
"I was just texting my parents and telling them I'd be late dealing with some stray dogs," Izuku says quickly, dragging a smile up from somewhere and baring his teeth at the villains. "They always hate it if I don't let them know where I am."
"Are they as dumb as you are? Or did someone else get all the humor in your family?" Dabi stops a few meters away, hands dangling lazily at his sides. Stain, meanwhile, growls from atop a mangled cage housing the warehouse's mechanisms. Izuku holds his breath as the three of them exchange glares. He barely notices as the rain begins to fall in earnest. "You should have told them to go looking for a nice coffin. Not that there'll be anything LEFT!"
Echoes of the explosion dance behind Izuku's eyes as he dives out of the way. His feet scrape against stray sheets of metal and wreckage from the warehouse, distracting him just long enough for Stain to go missing. Dabi's flames turn raindrops into frozen crystal shards and burns his eyes, but he catches a trail and his smile pulls at the edge a bit more.
"Not this time!" Stain's eyes widen when Izuku grabs him and hurls him bodily at the man in the cloak. Dabi doesn't even blink before stepping out of the way, but Izuku is crouched in front of the villain before his eyes can catch up. A fist through the gut sends Dabi flying back onto a newly recovered Stain, and Izuku takes the spare seconds to breathe and rub water from his eyes.
He never imagined he'd have to avoid taking raindrops to the eye in the middle of a fight. That's just not fair.
"You're fast. That's annoying." Dabi rasps. "Here I thought that explosion brat was annoying for throwing up all those smoke screens."
"Explosive…" Izuku's eyes narrow.
"Oh…? You know that brat? He was something, lemme tell you. Almost good enough to take Shigaraki down. Real mouthy, too. But he was pretty fresh. I've met a few people like that. They're easy to burn when they get a little high off being stronger than everyone else." Dabi chuckles, releasing a pair of flames from either side of his lips. "Watching him blow up his own shoulder was really something. Gotta give him credit for that."
Izuku has only felt angry a few times in his life but listening to Dabi talk about Kacchan like that makes something in his gut burn viciously. He forgets to keep smiling and does so in spite of himself, grinning like an animal as he glares at his enemy.
"You…"
(Unbeknownst to both Izuku and Dabi, Stain shudders when he sees Deku's expression tighten; Dabi's eyes glow like his flames, but there's something in this boy's eyes that Stain desperately wishes to run away from)
-00000-
-00000-
Hawks is the first on the scene. There aren't many flying heroes, and despite the danger of the storm everyone knows this isn't the type of situation where they can hold back. As he wings towards the location, he thinks of his meeting with Midoriya Izuku. Some people claim the boy is a menace; some wish they could find the boy called Deku and put him in a hero school. A few, like Hawks, are just curious.
An explosion of blue fire catches his eye and urges him onwards. When he reaches the scene, he can't help but stop and stare.
Down below, the wreckage of a warehouse is scattered across a shallow crater. In the center of the ruins is a man dressed in black throwing bales of ghastly blue fire all over the place. More steam pours upwards every moment, from both attacks and idle patches of dying flame. Hawks isn't sure what the villain is attacking for almost a full minute. After the third fireball dies, he catches a burst of green bouncing off a pile of rubble.
An explosion of sparks comes from nowhere just before blue fire engulfs the empty air. Midoriya grinds to a halt several meters away and disappears again when another villain dressed in scraps of crimson and silver slams a katana into the ground where the boy was standing.
Hawks has seen Edgeshot and All Might up close. The fight below makes Edgeshot look like he's just another hero, not one of the fastest men on the continent.
"Nezu, it's Hawks," He mutters into his earpiece, eyeing the storm for a moment before he moves to patrol the other warehouses. "The kid is keeping the big guns busy. Tell everyone to keep clear of the fight if they value their lives."
"What's Midoriya's status?" Nezu's question takes him by surprise. Hawks grins and sweats into the rain dripping from his bangs.
"I couldn't tell. They're all moving too fast."
"Understood. Keep me informed, I'm getting a call from Gang Orca."
A flash tears the sky over Tokyo Bay in half as the storm begins in earnest.
-00000-
-00000-
Izuku doesn't remember how long they've been fighting.
He remembers when a few raindrops hung between them reflecting the light of Dabi's flame like blue stars on a clear night. Fighting Stain in the warehouse, alone, feels like it might have been an hour ago, even though he knows (in the fleeting thoughts that come between running and dodging) they're all moving too fast for that. The sky was darker, the air burned his nostrils with ozone, the battlefield was still dry at one point. Now it's all he can do not to slip in hidden puddles and wipe water from his face between attacks. Water drags across his skin as he leaps and runs and rolls though the wreckage.
These are the ways he keeps time. It's all he can keep track of beyond his opponents
Stain appears in his line with wide eyes and a pair of kunai. Izuku grapples him for a split second before he flips the villains and kicks him into the air. Blue fire engulfs the scrap metal where Izuku's feet had been a moment after he leaps.
Rinse (his skin and his hair are dry when he lands, but he can feel the water burning off even as it's replaced) repeat (Stain is leaping off a stray pillar, trying to come for Izuku's back again).
I can't. Izuku fends off a blow from Stain's katana and leaps backward, twisting into a backflip to catch Dabi's eyes following him while flames leap from his fingertips. I can't keep running like this! One of us is going to die at this rate…!
He's long past what he thought his limits were. Pain is an afterthought in the face of being roasted alive or skewered. Stain is matching his speed, or Izuku is matching Stain's; the nuance is shredded by the adrenaline flooding his system. Izuku only knows is that he wants Dabi put down hard and that everything is on fire.
Landing is a risk, but the other two take their moment to breathe. The three of them stare at one another uncertainly through the sheets of rain. Steam fills the air and a bolt of lightning cracks open the sky for a moment before they're off.
Stain howls, leaving a single clone as they race towards one another. The quality is so low that Izuku kicks the hero-killer's footing out from under him and grabs the man's scarf as he continues. A faint choking sound distracts him as he flies through the air, but no more than the jet-engine rush of flames licking at their heels. Izuku skids across the pavement as he drags Stain behind a stray pillar and slams him into the pavement hard enough that he actually chokes, just hard enough that he breaks the pavement and leaves a crater. Fire splits around the pillar, keeping the killer safe as Izuku leaps back into the fight.
With Stain down, Izuku rushes Dabi off a half-standing wall and strikes like a viper. A pair of half-assed fireballs rise from his hands as the villain staggers backward, dazed but not down. Then Izuku is off again, barely outrunning a crooked blast.
"You're good…!" Dabi retches into the sheet metal at his feet, all but screaming to be heard over the rain. "Even Shigaraki could land a hit on me before I had him in checkmate, but here you are… What kind of world is this, sending children to fight monsters!?"
"I'm glad you know what you are, at least." Izuku sputters. He's wet now, but too warm to be shivering. Thunder rolls over them as small flames bloom to life around the villain. Stain gasps as he claws his way around the pillar, stumbling over scraps of metal and an old I-beam. "Just give up, both of you! You can't win!"
"That's a bold statement, kid!" Dabi cackles as his hands rise, palms pointed towards one another. Izuku's eyes widen as he thinks of the blasts coming from one hand. He freezes before he leaps, knowing that he's standing right in front of the other warehouses. "But you DAMN HEROES are playing with HANDICAPS!"
Fire moves quickly. Izuku has watched it come to life at this man's hands enough times now to know he has slices of seconds before he's charcoal. When the light reaches his eyes he's sucking in a breath and crossing his arms in front of him. Before it can reach him, a series of concrete barriers rise up between Izuku and Dabi.
"The heroes have arrived. Nezu-san has ordered them to support you instead of engaging." Monitor's voice calls out. Izuku blinks rain from his eyes and takes a deep breath before he charges forward. The light from the other side still hasn't gone out when he breaks through the first several, but when he breaks through the last one, he's covered in molten stone that rolls off his skin like putty. Dabi's hands haven't even stopped steaming when Izuku's cross sends him flying.
Stain is there next. Izuku dodges three attacks before he grabs the villain's katana and shatters it with his grip alone. He coughs and kicks the hero killer in the chest, knocking him to the ground right beside Dabi. When the pair stagger to their feet, Izuku stares them down through dripping bangs.
"GIVE UP!" He shouts, hoping desperately that they'll just collapse right there. The rain is seeping into his skin now and truthfully his body is throbbing.
"LIKE HELL… DICKWEED!" Dabi groans, twisting to unleash another burst of flame. Izuku rushes him and knocks the attack into the sky, then buries a jab in the man's ribs. The grunt of pain is too rewarding when Izuku shoves the zombie off of him. Stain materializes behind and slams a knife into Izuku's back when Izuku sags, but a twist and a backhanded swat sends the man flying and rolling across hills of scrap metal.
Dabi, somehow, climbs to his feet again.
"You're nothing… like that bastard… I've got plenty of fight left!" His voice breaks and he sways on his feet, but he stands regardless.
Before Izuku can stagger out to meet him, a blast of thunder washes over the ruins. Something stands beyond Dabi: something taller than any normal person Izuku has seen, with muscles in all the wrong places and… and tentacles.
"Greetings, surface dwellers." A deep, unsteady voice calls out. Something about it makes the words crawl up and down Izuku's clammy skin, whether it's the twang on the ends of the words or the squelching growl that fills the air as the newcomer speaks. "Our king thanks you for exhausting one another."
Izuku has to claw at his eyes to see clearly through the rain pouring across his face. This thing, whatever it is, towers over Dabi. A single swipe sends rubble flying through the storm easily enough that it would probably break bones if it hit properly. But Dabi darts between its legs and holds up a hand, eyes glowing fiercely.
"Fuck off, freak." The smell of cooked flesh fills the air and dies as quickly as the flame. Izuku stares with wide eyes as the monster twitches and takes a step, two… then collapses lifelessly to the ground. Whatever it is, the height leaves its head lying close enough for Izuku to see the octopus tentacles hanging from its face like a beard. "This is private."
"So, there's still fight in you surface dwellers!" A voice calls out. Izuku spins to find more shapes emerging from the rain, stalking forward behind one that's even taller than the rest. Lightning gives him just enough light that the need to run fills Izuku's gut. He's staring at monsters from the ocean, walking on two legs with muscle that doesn't even make human sense. The one in front is massive and blue green, with fangs longer than Dabi and a crown that looks utterly ridiculous. "That's a shame. Here I was hoping that you'd be easy pickings for the first wave of my invasion."
"Who are you?!" Izuku shouts. The creature grins as it bends over, looking him up and down with amusement running down its fangs like the slime bleeding out of its gums.
"Oh? A child? I always knew you were heathens, but sending a child to fight your battles… How pathetic." A concrete barrier rises between the pair of them, knocking the creature's face into the air. Suddenly Izuku is being dragged away from the fight by someone he can't see, staring as something in the storm roars and new fighting erupts beyond the sheets of rain.
"W-wait! You can't keep me out of this!"
"Don't argue, kid! You're spent!" Someone shouts. Izuku struggles faintly, but his heart isn't in it now that a hero is dragging him out of the way. When they throw him into a warehouse and drag him past a group of restrained villains, Izuku can only hope that the heroes didn't use up all their strength taking out the small fry. He stares up at Best Jeanist and his sulk immediately disappears.
"B-b-Best Jeanist?! What are you…?!"
"Deku." The word cuts off Izuku's fanboy rant like a blade slamming into his gut. He doesn't wilt under the hero's stare, but he doesn't volunteer anything either. "You and I were both liabilities in that fight. Don't argue with a superior."
"Under, uh, I mean, yes sir! Best Jeanist-sama!" Izuku says quickly. He thinks there's a ghost of a smile beyond the man's cowl, but he honestly can't tell.
"I was surprised. The Green Wind Vigilante ended up being our saving grace today."
"W-well…"
"Take the compliment, kid. Stay here, I'm going to go support the others." Best Jeanist claps a hand over Izuku's shoulder and pushes him towards the group of heroes coordinating evacuation of the site. "You did well. Don't push it."
Izuku takes the advice. He sits with the coordinators, listening without really listening as he lets his body catch up. Pain radiates from every limb, but he'd done his job to a point. Sure, he doesn't know if Dabi and Stain are out there taking those monsters' side and reaping the heroes, but he's done enough, apparently.
He itches to go back out. But he sits quietly.
When someone drags a sidekick's mangled chest (just the chest, with entrails and spine hanging and blood still gushing from the wound) through the door, he's sprinting towards the storm without a second thought.
-00000-
-00000-
Hawks has seen large scale attacks before but being out in this storm is hell. Fish faced monsters brush off attacks and stalk through the line of heroes as if they're picking strawberries. Dragging sidekicks out of their claws and jaws isn't enough, even when two of the best heroes in the country are at it. Several are torn in half or eaten piece by piece.
All he can do is watch, until something like a canon sounds from behind them. He panics, staring over his shoulder as he guides feathers to save his allies, only to find an empty storm and light bleeding out of a doorway that wasn't there before.
Whatever is unleashed, screams rip through the storm anew. Something on his right bellows and falls, then turns to a purple mist. Flashes light up the battlefield as bloody mist explodes from several beasts and thunder detonates overhead. Hawks' eyes are wide when heroes fly back behind the safety line and monster limbs are torn from sockets, re-growing halfway before they're torn to bits once more. A roar tears through the rain as one of the beasts closest to Hawks goes down.
Despite what Hawks wants to believe, every time one of the monsters looks like it's only incapacitated, it gets back up. Or tries to. As soon as they look like they'll crawl back into the fight, they're ruthlessly eviscerated. Thunder booms and rain digs down to Hawks' bones as he watches Death carve through the battlefield.
Right when he thinks the fight is over, the beast near the far end of the battlefield roars. The noise alone is enough that the younger sidekicks turn and flee, heading straight for the warehouse behind them. Most of the heroes falter as well. Hawks wants nothing more than to run and hide, but he stares as a large bolt arches through the clouds above and illuminates their savior facing down the massive creature.
Midoriya is a dark green and gray blob in the storm. A child faces down the leader of the enemy, and Hawks' can't help but wonder if they ever stood a chance at all.
"So, you're not just any child?! Fine! I'll face you for my lost men and make you watch as I devour every last human on this filthy surface world!" The monster roars. Hawks flies backward, dragging several people with him, when the earth shakes beneath the battle.
There's something inherently terrifying about hovering in a storm, waiting for lightning bolts as the earth shatters beyond the curtains of rain. Any passing moment Midoriya could lose and the beast could fall upon them. From the tiny snippets Hawks catches of the battle, it's even faster than the fight with Stain and that fire zombie, both of whom have escaped at this point.
Something flies through their line and shatters the warehouse behind them, leaving a gigantic hole in the side. Hawks flinches as Midoriya bursts from the rubble, heaving for breath and soaking wet. Then he's off, slamming into the monster and holding the beast back right in the middle of the heroes' holding position.
"CAN YOU FEEL YOUR PATHETIC LIMBS GIVING IN YET, CHILD?" The monster howls, cackling through spear-sized teeth and throwing spit all over the boy in question. "DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG YOU HAVE BEFORE YOUR TINY BODY BREAKS BENEATH THE STRAIN OF FIGHTING THE GREATEST BEING ON PLANET EARTH?"
"I DON'T WANT TO HURT YOU!" Midoriya is screaming over the rain, desperate to be heard. Hawks' chest burns as the boy's arms cave a little, giving the monster just enough headway to shove him down to one knee. "LEAVE US ALONE!"
"I WILL FEAST ON YOUR MARROW, HUMAN!"
"GaaaAAAAAH!" The scream that follows is barely human. Hawks is hovering ten meters from the deadlock, watching as the pavement cracks beneath Midoriya's feet and shatters as he stands. Midoriya howls loud enough that every hero on the battlefield hears him and a bolt of lightning cracks open the storm above, lighting up their battlefield as if it's broad daylight.
Hawks has a front row seat when Midoriya yanks the creature towards him, off its feet and into the air, then hurls it backward. The light fades as the monster lands on its feet and leers down at Midoriya, howling in his face.
A gale tears through the battlefield before anyone can catch what happens next. Hawks doesn't open his eyes until he registers that the rain is gone and opens his eyes tentatively even then.
Japan's heroes stand beneath a newly opened hole in the storm watching sunlight illuminate a boy with green hair. His fist is cocked straight up, pointing through the headless carcass of a monster who was prepared to kill them all. Overhead, storm clouds churn around the eye of the storm, trying to seal the scar left by Midoriya's blow.
-00000-
-00000-
-000-
The body-camera footage released to the press is choppy and miserable at best. No one sees the majority of what happens in the massacre, but there are enough usable moments that the reports get the point across.
First come shots of Dabi and Stain fighting someone who's essentially invisible to the camera. Only a few minutes of that fight are seen, but the level of the villains is clear enough to send a chill down anyone's spine.
"I don't know who they're fighting, but we've been ordered to leave it alone…" A voice whispers quietly, pressed into a corner as the heroes get in position to invade the warehouses. "All Might is out of the country and this… I don't know, this doesn't seem official. Something is fishy."
When the storm breaks, the recorder is one of the first people to get a good view of the sea creatures. Lightning gives the press just enough clear shots of heroes and sidekicks being ripped apart that the reports following the event are reported as "graphic images from the tragedy" in Chie. Muffled sobbing, screams, thunder and pounding rain fill most of the clips, but one clear moment is replayed across thousands of televisions.
"Please… Please, anyone watching this, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, we can't, I don't think we're going to hold them off…! Even Hawks and Best Jeanist can't fight these monsters! You have to get everyone out, if you can see this you have to evacuate the country! This, they're killing everyone!"
The final few minutes of the footage reveal even more gore than before. Just before the recorder can be caught between three of the monsters, a flash of lightning shows all three turned to a gory mist of blue, purple and green. The camera doesn't blink during the final blow. During the first several runs, no one will claim to know who the boy is, but eventually the credit will go to the Green Wind Vigilante, Deku, for ending the battle. His strength, cleaving the storm in two, leads most to speculate that he has a wind quirk of some kind to help him fight.
Everyone who knows Midoriya Izuku will stop and stare as sunlight pours down on him. In the last moments of the video, he's stumbling backward and falling to his knees, screaming wordlessly into the air. There's no victory in the final moments of the footage; only a boy screaming in the face of what he's done.
-000-
-0-
In the last weeks of October, several things happen...
-0-
-000-
Hardly two or three days after the invasion of the Deep-Sea Kin (what the heroics industry will come to call "The Storm" in the near future), a statue appears on the sands of Dagobah Beach. Most won't question it. Dagobah isn't a popular spot, more of a local getaway, and no one will suspect that the statue wasn't commissioned.
The piece in question is made from marble, nearly ten feet tall, seamlessly carved from a single block. It shows a faceless man, chiseled so perfectly that every muscle and outstanding vein along his chest and arms is clear. He only wears shorts, and they almost look as though they'll come alive in the wind. Blocky sneakers cover his feet under legs carved with as much attention as his upper body.
He stands with arms outstretched, crouched before a schoolgirl who stares over his shoulder. Tears pour down the young girl's face if one peers close, though not many would be able to identify the lifeless expression on her face. Instead, they'll look at the supernova exploding against the man's back. Between the immortalized explosion and marbled muscle flames break and bleed outward, forming something akin to wings and tailfeathers from long blades of stone.
Somehow, the piece looks less like stone and more like a cast. As if someone poured liquid marble over a slice of time and immortalized these two people, saving their expressions just before what should have been certain death. It leaves everyone who stares at it haunted and curious.
Etched across the block at the base is a paragraph of text:
"People called me Deku once because I was useless, but even a useless person was able to save someone. Maybe I can take this name and make it something different. The name was never important in the first place, honestly. All that mattered is that someone needed saving, and I happened to be there."
Deku The Green Wind Vigilante; For my best friend, our hero
(Someday, a few particular people will see this statue and understand what it means, who made it, etc.… But before that, a certain young artist will need to sell his works, to become known amongst the art world for his immaculate portrayal of heroics as well as his blending of styles. That young artist will never use stone as a medium, or ever use his quirk to create official works, but the statue of Deku will not be the last to appear in Musutafu)
-000-
-000-
Despite what Midoriya describes as "physical agony" during his experience in The Storm, he will only be hospitalized for three days. In the weeks after that, he will be subjected to more doctor's appointments and tests than he has ever faced in his life. His schedule will, in fact, be so busy that school becomes an afterthought. Eventually he will respectfully withdraw on the basis that he's transferring to U.A.'s heroics department on a special scholarship.
The tests conducted on Midoriya will reveal a completely average human. Nothing about him, save for his slightly overactive immune system and his rather dense musculature, is beyond physical possibilities. When he breaks the sound barrier and casually lifts several metric tons with one hand in the physical exams, the doctors run every test they can think of.
Nothing ever turns up. Midoriya is listed as Anomaly number one in public record, though he will forever be quirkless.
The trial of Midoriya Izuku is a quiet affair ("why" is debatable, but the most popular theory is that the public prosecutor's KNOW they're going to lose). After his hospitalization, he is brought to court for vigilantism and reckless endangerment, as well as breaking and entering AND destruction of property. What follows is a week-long glimpse into society that the judge, prosecutor, and executives are simply not prepared for.
In bringing Midoriya Izuku to court, the country of Japan has bitten off more than it can chew. The courtroom is packed with heroes and a few touched civilians, aside from people who are far too important to be attending this particular case. Presiding over the case is a judge who has not been informed of the specifics due to how quickly this case was pushed to the front of the line. Defending Midoriya is a local lawyer who no one aside from Midoriya Izuku has ever heard of. From the very beginning, the defense and Midoriya's guests are the single calmest people in the courtroom. Somehow there's a tension in the air that frazzles everyone else. Maybe it's the air of bloodlust leaking out of these people, all of whom have showed up to protect Midoriya.
When it begins, several things come to light. Police and Heroic negligence come first. Discrimination against quirkless people is an undercurrent of the case, one that is danced around for two days before the defense brings it rather harshly into the light. No one wants to touch the subject, but by the end the facts leave them no choice. Reckless endangerment charges almost stick, but the testimony of a certain teacher on Midoriya's behalf prove that Midoriya has put more consideration into preservation of life than several of the heroes who are in the courtroom. His abilities are tested for a full day, recorded by sensors on par or even more accurate than U.A.'s, before the analysts report that Midoriya's use of force is immaculately trained.
After five days, all members of the defense and prosecution are summoned to the judge's chambers. The judge throws a bit of a fit when Midoriya lays out the events of the past several months and then proceeds to tell the judge that he's still not telling them EVERYTHING, because there are secrets of the state far too delicate to be exposed in a public trial.
In the face of additional charges, Midoriya asks to speak with the judge in private. When everyone else has left the room, he slides the judge a card with All Might's personal cell phone number. He tells the judge to ask if All Might knows Midoriya, and what the relationship of their relationship is.
The trial ends two days later, and all charges against Midoriya Izuku are dropped.
Several new investigations are opened in the time after that, but without Midoriya's testimony they are all dropped as well. Needless to say, the public prosecutor's office learns to hate Midoriya Izuku's name after that. Eventually they'll get over it. For the next several years, they will avoid anything with his name out of sheer spite and the knowledge that he's their worst possible enemy on the stand.
-000-
-000-
Midoriya is also called into the office of the chief of police. It happens after his trial, so he goes with a bit of a bad taste in his mouth. After sitting in a long, boring meeting about Anomalies and testifying to the sheer ridiculousness of their abilities, he stands up and stares down the chief of police. He outlines the cases he could make for negligence, several of which are already opened by the prosecutor's office, and he lays down an ultimatum.
When he leaves, Nezu makes plans for Midoriya's transfer to U.A. and the executives of the police force make several phone calls. Midoriya will receive a license for heroics several weeks later in exchange for his silence and the work he's already done in the face of public service.
-000-
-000-
Melissa sighs as she wanders the hospital. She's not lost, per se, but the fact that no one seems to know where her patient is irritates her. Apparently, this happens often. He's not the type of person who enjoys being in a hospital, or the type to let people stick needles in him. Eventually she finds herself walking into the rehabilitation center with a frown that wards off any and all doctors trying to send her away. It helps that no one wants anything to do with the person she's come to find. They're all terrified of him.
Bakugō Katsuki lies in a plank on the floor, doing push-ups on one arm as sweat makes the black tank top cling to his body. She stops for a moment, watching him push himself up and growl as he peaks.
"Two hundred forty-four," He mutters. Melissa closes her eyes and takes a breath, praying for the patience to deal with him, before she throws her folder down on the table with a loud slap.
"Bakugō-san!" He barely looks at her out of the corner of his eye before he does another push up. She growls and stalks over to him, crossing her arms as he finishes this one. In a moment of irritation and pettiness that is normally beneath her, she takes the moment he pauses at his crest to step onto his back.
She does this to annoy him. Not finishing a set is the one thing that Melissa has found that breaks Bakugō's shell and releases the latent anger buried in his chest.
When he doesn't flinch beneath her weight, she frowns. He does the next push-up despite her position, and glares at her when she steps off.
"Get back up there, Doc." He rasps. She returns his glare as he trembles on the floor, then huffs.
"You're not supposed to be exerting yourself." He doesn't respond, only glares at her until she rolls her eyes and gets onto his back again.
They've been doing this for two weeks. Melissa knows all too well that Bakugō will get his way, if only because he's too stubborn and quiet to hold an argument with. So, she waits as he finishes the push-ups to climb off and grabs her folder as he stands and wipes himself down with his towel.
"We can't get any sort of baseline for your physical if you keep stressing yourself, Bakugō-san. If you want to go through with the operation, you need to take some time off and relax."
"Deku ain't relaxing. I ain't gonna lose to the nerd." Bakugō mutters. Melissa rolls her eyes. Partially because she's seen what Izuku-kun is capable of, and partially because this argument has been a constant thing for the past two weeks as well. No matter what, Bakugō refuses to let himself relax while Izuku-kun is stronger than he is.
"You're looking at getting a prosthetic attached on a neural and muscular level, Bakugō-san, this isn't a joke. The operation will be taxing for your body even if you're at peak physical condition!" She rants, stalking forward as he starts hanging crunches.
"Whatever you've got," Bakugō stops and glares at her with the infuriatingly passive expression that's carved into his face. "I'll take it and I'll use to blow Deku away. Got it?"
"And what are you going to do when your prosthetic doesn't take?" Melissa snaps. "Are you going to become a hero with one arm, wandering around doing half the work that Izuku-kun can? This procedure is for your own good, Bakugō-kun!"
His eyes widen in shock when she flicks his forehead and glares down at him. She cuts him off just before he can respond, leaving him slack jawed as her voice raises until she's shouting.
"Your doctor and I have agreed that even if you ARE capable of doing all this without your arm, your prosthetic surgery CAN'T happen while you're physically exhausted and recovering from these insane workouts! So unless you're content to settle down as half the man you COULD be, you will LISTEN TO ME and STOP DOING THIS to yourself!"
After a few moments, Bakugō huffs and looks down at the floor and growls quietly, "Fine."
Melissa is a bit shocked. She didn't actually think that would work. She's gotten so used to people doing things against her advice and making it work anyways that she's this closeto tearing her hair out. Working with Hatsume and Monitor and Izuku-kun has left her numb to the concept of restraint and "realistic". Bakugō-san is just one more example of how ridiculous her life has become.
"What?"
"I said FINE, Doc." Bakugō huffs. "After today I'll take it easy. Just make sure you do it right."
She stares at him for several moments before he scowls.
"What's that dumb ass look for?" Despite the heat and the snarl, Melissa can't help but laugh.
"Nothing, Bakugō-san." Her response leaves him squinting at her suspiciously, but she doesn't care. She turns and walks toward the door, then glances back at him with a smile before she leaves. "I'll be back tomorrow to check up on you. Please try not to blow anything up while you're resting!"
"Fuck off, Doc, I ain't an idiot!" He shouts, already curling towards the ceiling again. If Melissa hesitates at the door, catching a glimpse of the carved muscles exposed when his shirt falls off his stomach, then only the desk clerk would ever know. And the clerk isn't going to tell, considering he's seen the man dragged out of that room shirtless and exhausted. There's a bit of a smile that the two of them share as she waves on her way out, as if they're sharing a secret.
The only thing that the clerk will tell anyone is that someone got Bakugō to agree to something. And that is the single most unbelievable thing in the world, so who would care about the rest?
-000-
-000-
Nezu's office is surprisingly full. Izuku sits on a couch nervously, trying his very best to keep his eyes on the floor between his feet. On his right are a blonde-haired student, Sir Nighteye, and Detective Tsukauchi. To his left are a scraggly man who introduced himself as Aizawa-sensei, known on duty as Eraserhead, and All Might.
It's the beginning of November, and the last month has been so crazy that he's almost numb to the tension in the room. Sadly he's not actually numb to it: the tension leaves him irritated and uncertain of what to do. Nighteye seems angry that Izuku is in the room, which doesn't make sense.
Not that anything makes sense anymore, but oh well. He's still holding out hope.
"I've called you all here for several reasons. The first of which is Midoriya's transfer to U.A." Nezu chirps happily. "Though I'm excited to have such a noble young person such as yourself coming to learn here, I'm worried about your situation. You've been out of school for nearly a month, haven't you?"
"Um, yes sir?" Izuku mutters.
"Then we will appoint you a tutor!" Nezu claims. "Aizawa, will you please inform the chosen party? Heroes are a bit too busy at the moment, so anyone from your class will be fine. I think you had an idea in mind, didn't you?"
"Yes. I'll talk to them." Aizawa groans.
"Good. Now, in regard to Midoriya's transfer, I've determined that our heroics department is somewhat… lacking." Nezu hops of his chair and reappears in front of them, pacing back and worth as he speaks. "Midoriya and Hatsume are Anomalies, both capable of incredible things. Miss Shield has joined them as an ally, and they are working on several things that are beyond the scope of our normal curriculum. That, in addition to Togata-kun's newfound abilities and Bakugō's diagnosis as our third local Anomaly, has led me to this decision regarding next year.
"Hero class S." Nezu stops and looks at each of them in turn, stopping on Izuku in particular. "A group of individuals capable of responding to threats like the one seen in The Storm and the awakening of the Ancient King in Alaska. It will serve as a place where we can gather Anomalies and heroics students, creating a group who will serve as our last defense in the face of villainous Anomalies and monster awakenings. There's too much we don't understand about what's been happening."
"What will Mirio's involvement be?" Nighteye pipes up, glaring at Nezu so harshly that Izuku wants to curl up in a ball and hide, lest he end up under the man's glare. "As a third year, he'll be graduating after one more semester. Why would he be enlisted in this class S?"
"Because he'll need time to adjust to his power. Should he require it, he'll be listed as an assistant teacher to this course and given the time he needs before entering the field. That way, he can serve as your apprentice as well, and teach our Anomalies the true spirit of heroics!" Nezu is grinning, despite the chill in the air. "Regardless, I'd like to keep him here while we're researching the Anomalies as an additional resource."
"Who's going to be teaching this course?" All Might asks, glancing around the room and fiddling with the buttons on his yellow suit jacket. Nezu whirls to face the hero with an even broader grin.
"I have no idea!" Izuku snorts quietly, earning him a glare from Nighteye before Nezu continues. "Midoriya-kun has recommended a teacher from his current school, and I'm in negotiations with him as of this moment. But we'll need someone who's actually capable to teaching these students heroics and fighting, which will be difficult considering their ability. Anomalies need to be studied more before we have a true understanding of their abilities. However, I'm testing a new theory with this class as well, so we'll need it to be someone we trust. I believe that Anomalies evolve through contact and will. People who are exposed to Midoriya, Bakugō and Hatsume may in fact become Anomalies themselves… which would mean that we have to watch them very carefully."
"True." Aizawa sighs. "We can't afford having a class full of that type."
"Not all of us are like Mei-san…" Izuku sighs, scratching the back of his head. "though between her and Kacchan, I can't imagine that the class will be easy to handle."
"Why exactly is Midoriya here in the first place?" Nighteye stands, pressing his glasses up his nose and crossing his arms as they all turn to look at him. "He's not a student, nor is he important to this conversation. He's a child, a vigilante, an Anomaly. Why consult a student on how his class will be managed?"
"Midoriya-kun is here because I asked him to be." Nezu states easily, grinning at Izuku despite the chill in Sir's words. "After resolving our differences, I've agreed that he should have a say in how the Anomalies are managed considering he is, at this moment, our only defense against enemy Anomalies."
"Mirio will prove more than capable against them." Nighteye growls.
"All Might isn't." Izuku stands, looking at Nighteye with strength of will that he doesn't have. "What makes you think Togata-senpai will be able to?"
"Don't speak out of turn." Nighteye hisses, glaring down at him. "You've been a hero for all of two weeks, a vigilante for barely two months and you're far from being an adult. Whatever your experience, the fact that you are here at all goes against all logic."
"Anomalies don't deal with logic, Nighteye-san." Izuku says evenly. "But isn't the class that I'm about to transfer into my business, at least? Principal Nezu-san is asking about instating a new policy for people like me and Mei-san, not for people like Togata-senpai. Your place here is just as questionable as mine."
"And here I thought you didn't have a spine." Nighteye growls. "Your ability to defend the masses is lacking, Midoriya. Togata is the next symbol of Peace, the next number one, and you… You're just a quirkless boy who pushes their nose in where it doesn't belong."
"Someone once told me that putting your nose where it doesn't belong is what heroes do." Izuku says quietly, clenching his fists. "They also told me that people don't decide whether or not they become heroes. We are heroes; that's all that matters. But heroes don't look down on others, Nighteye-san. You're not capable of protecting the masses either, are you?"
They stare at one another for a minute, almost two, before Nighteye takes a breath and looks at the floor. When they take their seats, Nezu nods and clasps his paws behind his back.
"Very good points, both of you." The principal claims solemnly. "But this decision is all but made. As of right now, our only question is who to put in Course S."
"I've got some recommendations from my class." Aizawa says quietly. "And Kan will have some from his. If this is made of first years, we should limit it to the first-year heroics courses and the Big Three."
"I agree. However, I'm considering adding Course S to class 1-A given that they'll be too small and too chaotic to manage otherwise." Nezu chirps. "We'll need to look into creating a dorm for them or moving things around."
"Hatsume and Melissa-san stay in the lab most of the time…" Izuku raises a hand, catching both Nezu and Aizawa's attention. "Why not have them construct a dorm at that level?"
"You'd be too far below ground for us to manage effectively. Besides, that space exists to keep Hatsume isolated for good reasons." Nezu says quickly. "Having people go in and out is enough trouble as it is. Connecting them might be possible, but I'll have to think about that. Now, on to our last reason for calling each of you here…"
-000-
-000-
Izuku heads to Hatsume's lab after the meeting with Togata in tow. He couldn't find it in himself to refuse the boy a meeting with U.A.'s mythical inventing madwoman, though he had to warn the boy extensively.
He gives Togata several minutes to drink in the sight of the massive bunker. Even now, a month after he was last here, the room has evolved again. The labyrinth is starting to be cleaned away by robots of various shapes and sizes. Overhead there are crates full of projects and dormant machines. At a glance, they're a bit larger than those things that shipping vessels carry around and made of an odd black metal that Mei-san won't tell him about.
Hatsume's workstation is, in a word, awesome. Awesome in the sense of odd and strange and incredible that simply can't be described in another word, or in the paltry sense of how the word is most commonly used.
The floor underfoot is a light pink that's easy on the eye. Pink stretches for ten meters on each side, stopping near thick black lines that outline the workstation. Monitor's chassis hangs overhead, grotesque and jaw-dropping still despite the number of trips Izuku has made to this place, and the wall behind the machine is constantly more and more alive with lights and machines. On Izuku's left is an alcove built from the alien black metal that is Hatsume's trademark, and even though Izuku has never seen what that little room is for it terrifies him. Far too many arms hang from the upper portion of the alcove's walls, waiting for some command that haunts Izuku's nightmares.
Why Hatsume likes to craft machines in a way that SCREAMS "mad scientist" is beyond Izuku. He still hasn't figured out if it's on purpose or not.
On their right is the computer station, but now there are two stations and the chairs are hanging from more robotic limbs, surrounded by screens forming a semicircle around the "control chair". It looks very anime, if Izuku had to put a word to it. When dormant the chairs sit on the floor with their ridiculous number of keyboards in front and screens at idle. Actively, there are rings lining the back of the chair and the sides, with cupholders and small tables so that the two inventors can work in any conditions.
In front of them… Well, Izuku doesn't really know. There's still the wall of toolboxes and the pegboard full of tools, but there aren't nearly as many. Now there's only the dental chair turned into a flat exam table, with the weird brain analyzing helmet, and whatever the girls are working on.
"We have guests." Monitor declares. Izuku's eyes widen as the pair leapt to attention and throw a tarp over the project, trying to clean up much faster than Izuku thinks is necessary.
"Are you still not going to tell me what that project is?" He doesn't pout, but he feels like he's close to pouting. They've all gotten a bit closer since he started spending more time down here. Melissa-san is incredibly kind and hardworking, so engrossed by the materials at her disposal now that she's constantly high on her inventions with Mei-san. On the other hand, Mei-san isn't any calmer or more organized, but she's… easier to understand. Izuku has put in the time and talked with Monitor enough to have a bit more insight into how she works.
Not that she makes sense. Whatever goes on in her brain is still beyond him (Melissa, Kābā, Izuku and Power Loader have thrown together a plan for her "robot army" going rogue, so he tries not to worry about that too much) but there's enough good that he just… tries to accept it as who she is.
"Nope!" Melissa-san seems to be the one most excited about it. Mei-san is excited about everything, but Melissa-san is oddly excited about this one. "We're close though, so you'll probably get to see it around December."
"Right." Izuku sighs. "Melissa Shield-san, Hatsume Mei-san, this is Togata-senpai. He's… Well, he's All Might's successor."
Togata-senpai grins when Izuku introduces him that way. He's already been briefed on who these four (including Monitor, because why not) people are courtesy of Nezu. All the same, Izuku is surprised by how easy going the boy is.
"It's wonderful to meet you both! From what Nezu-sama tells me, I'll be watching over you all starting next semester." Togata-senpai grins as Melissa-san looks to Izuku for an answer. Once they've explained the idea behind "S Course" (which sounds much better in Izuku and Togata-senpai's opinion) the four of them end up on a short tour of the facilities.
The alcove is, apparently, a high-tech automated design studio. Izuku doesn't really blink when they turn it on and have it build a small tool. He only shudders at the number of arms and machines whirling around the alcove. From there, they explain the crates, the drones, Mei-san's designs, Monitor (who introduces himself and explains his role in a short conversation) and their various suites that lie beneath the actual lab space.
"Any and all tests you do with One for All or with Midoriya's upper limits have to be conducted down here," Melissa-san explains happily, pressing a button and drawing a massive room out of the floor on the right side of the room. "We've designed it to handle anything All Might is capable of dishing out on top of tracking bio readouts of the people inside."
"We've also got robots that are capable of reaching up to half of All Might's upper strength, so we have training for you both if you want!" Mei-san cackles. "Monitor uses the simulations to build better combat AI so you should use it as often as you want!"
Izuku decides never to use it. Judging from the look he shares with Togata-senpai, they're together on that.
By the time they're done touring the facilities, Izuku has a bit of a headache but he's made a new friend. Hopefully. Nighteye really doesn't like him. Does it count he made a friend and made a negative friend?
Are negative friends even a thing?
-00000-
-000-
-0-
Tachibana and Kābā would kick him for worrying about it, so he'll try not to. Maybe he'll ask them later just to double check.
Monitor: Akira-san, are you certain?
Akira: I need to tell them eventually. Are you sure that this will work?
Monitor: The simulations reveal this will be one hundred percent effective. Even in the face of your older brother, as long as Midoriya-kun is on board there will be no risk to you or anyone else.
Akira: Anyone but my family.
Monitor: Your family is a crime syndicate. They are not my concern.
Akira: Why are you involved in this at all?
Monitor: Because you are a part of Midoriya-kun's extended family, and because there is a chance your brother is an Anomaly.
Akira: I'll tell them, I promise. I just need more time.
Monitor: I'm not certain how much time you will have, Akira-san. But this is your personal matter, and I will be here if you need more urgent extraction. Either of you.
Akira: Izuku-kun didn't ask you to do this? He doesn't know anything?
Monitor: Midoriya-kun is intelligent but incapable of pushing into another person's past. He has no idea of your situation, or else he'd have asked you, would he not?
Akira: You're right, I guess… that's what he's like.
Monitor: Certainly. I'll delete evidence of this communication shortly. Be well, Akira-san. You have my number.