With frightening speed, the repulsive creature closed the distance between it and the weakened hero and extended its leg, delivering a strike to their face with the sole of its rotted, decaying foot. The force of the attack projected All Might backwards with incredible velocity, and upon impacting the damaged building behind him, the entire foundation crumbled and collapsed upon him.

The suspense and tension was unbearable for the ensemble of citizens who waited anxiously for a signal that their protector had survived the destruction. The zealous All Might followers in the crowds were adamant that he'd persevere. He was All Might after all, and he always managed to overcome even the most threatening of adversaries.

As the dust and ash slowly dispelled, the hero's silhouette became visible once more, confirming that he was still conscious. Intense relief and comfort overcame the civilians. But upon witnessing his expression, a confronting discovery was made - the hero's iconic smile was now disturbingly absent.

Throughout the fight, his trademark grin that inspired hope and courage gradually disappeared, and his demeanour devolved from one of confidence to its current form - one of intense anguish and pain. All Might had more than established himself as an unstoppable, unyielding force of justice, and now here he was - appearing as if he was on the verge of collapsing and submitting to this exceedingly dangerous foe. The crowds pleaded for him to stand, but the expression displayed on the hero's face denounced any possibilities of a potential comeback. All Might's eyes expressed pure fear, despair and hopelessness.

A faint whisper emerged from the hero's trembling lips as they wiped the blood decorating their mouth. "S-such…such strength…"

An unbearable, piercing screech alerted the crowd and All Might's attention back to his opponent. The creature methodically approached, scraping its claws across its chest and digging their nails into their flesh, producing a trident of bloody lines that vanished just as quickly as they appeared. The creature's rapid tissue regeneration was in full display. All Might tensed, immediately recognising the gesture as a signal that the creature wasn't affected by his presence.

All Might channelled all his remaining strength and resolve into returning to his feet, but before he could, his face became enveloped by the monster's palm and talons, and they effortlessly elevated him off the ground. The hero contested against the foe's mighty grip as he wrapped his hands around their wrist, but this only caused the towering monstrosity to tighten its hold of him.

As the hero struggled to escape their clutches, All Might, as well as the attentive watchers, instinctively tensed upon witnessing the beast draw back a clenched fist, preparing for what could very well be the finishing blow. All Might clenched his eyes shut and prepared himself for the end.

But no such sensations of pain came. Upon inspection, All Might discovered his foe had hesitated. Just what on Earth had happened? The hero was then treated to an unexpected noise – what sounded like a menacing sizzle. The creature's attention was diverted elsewhere, and following their gaze All Might discovered what appeared to be greenish slime decorating the monster's retracted arm. And upon closer examination, this substance appeared to be inflicting severe damage.

Suddenly, the monster's arm completely detached from its body, followed by a screech of pain. The substance had dissolved through the creature's flesh, and faster than its tissue regeneration could operate.

"Oi, ugly!"

An unexpected, voice demanded the beast's attention, and upon turning to investigate, All Might too discovered the silhouette of a young woman slowly approaching their position. But it was no ordinary citizen. Upon studying their colourful attire and unmistakable pink skin, All Might discovered this hero had once been a student of his, and they'd been the source of the dismemberment.

"Let him go", she commanded.

The monster hissed menacingly.

The young woman pointed threateningly. "I said, 'let him go!'"

Extending a hand desperately, All Might pleaded for her to retreat; this opponent was far too powerful, even for him. But the colourful hero did not. Instead, she planted her feet firmly, exhibiting confidence and courage he only wished he possessed.

All Might soon found himself released from its grasp and he was lazily discarded. Far too exhausted to move, he could only watch in terror as the now one-armed monstrosity charged at his saviour.

A small smirk appeared on the young woman's face. "Well, if that's how you want it…"

The monster closed the distance and plunged it's fist into the concrete in an effort to crush its new opponent, but the young woman dodged it effortlessly. The onlookers and All Might soon realised the soles of the young woman's boots were producing the very same acidic substance, and the trail of slime beside her confirmed she'd relied on it as a means of movement and evasion. But even more impressive was her reaction, as upon avoiding the oncoming attack, the monster had left itself vulnerable to a counter. The young woman retaliated by saturating the remaining arm with her acidic slime, prompting her foe to howl in pain. It tried desperately to discard the slime, but the efforts were in vain as that arm too succumbed to the damage inflicted and detached from the body accordingly.

The monster was desperately trying to regenerate the lost limbs, but any such recovery was negated by the remaining slime still dissolving the flesh. Deprived of its initial instruments for attack, the beast desperately lunged at her with its jaws extended, but like before, the young woman evaded the strikes gracefully. After performing an elegant pirouette, she seized the opportunity for a counter-attack and coated its right leg with her Quirk. It didn't take long before the beast collapsed onto the concrete, now incapable of standing.

The young woman studied the monster as it wriggled and convulsed vigorously. In spite of the carnage and destruction this thing had inflicted upon the city and its inhabitants, for a brief second she almost pitied it. What had motivated this being to commit such horrible acts? She wasn't, however, emotionally content with ending another living creature's life, and instead produced a large torrent of slime to create a boundary surrounding her foe. The action had proved successful as the monster dared not venture any farther towards the harmful substance.

With her opponent now incapacitated, the young woman released a deep exhale of relief and exhaustion, turned to inspect the fallen hero, and she was relieved to see All Might slowly but surely returning to his knees.

"Young Ashido?"

Mina felt her heartbeat accelerate. He actually recognised her. "S-sir, can you stand? Are you alright?" She asked fearfully, offering her hand.

After accepting it, Mina gently supported him back to his feet. What was even more relieving for her, however, was that his iconic smile had finally returned.

"I am now" he answered, wounded and exhausted. The global icon bowed his head appreciatively. "Thank you. I owe you my life."

Mina desperately tried to maintain her composure in front of one of her idols. Some of her excitement, however, manifested – in the form of her legs shaking eagerly. She laughed nervously. "W-well, I couldn't just sit back and watch the greatest hero of all time suffer…"

A soft chuckle escaped from the man before he placed a hand gently on her shoulder.

"I believe that title belongs to you now."

Mina's heart skipped as she struggled to process that comment; had he really just said that? The young woman didn't have much time to evaluate the information as she was suddenly treated to an unexpected noise – what sounded like cheering and applause.

Inspecting the surroundings, Mina discovered the ensemble of innocent people All Might had protected were applauding wildly. Mina was about to step aside and allow them to praise their hero when she discovered that their attention was directed at her. Was this ovation really for her?

"The people wish to know the name of their hero" explained All Might, followed by an affirming nod, "and so do I."

Her hero identity had been a subject she'd spent many hours evaluating, and while there were many names she wished to be identified by, there was one she was particularly keen on pursuing.

The young woman nodded confidently. "Alien Queen."

"An inspiring name indeed."

The towering hero suddenly erupted into laughter – a sound of nostalgia and familiarity that resonated with surrounding crowds, including Mina. "It's fine now" he announced courageously, "why?" He motioned towards the young woman adjacent him. "Because the new defendant of peace and justice is here: Alien Queen."

Totally unprepared for such an announcement, Mina was in the process of protesting such a bold and inaccurate declaration when she was abruptly treated to the return of the intense cheering and applause. But now, it was accompanied by the hero name being chanted repeatedly with the energy and passion usually reserved for heroes like All Might. Mina couldn't fathom what was happening. Completely overwhelmed with delight, the young woman bit her lip to control her excitement and nervously raised a hand for the audience. The crowd immediately responded, and their applause grew louder.

"May I ask you of something?"

Mina immediately straightened her posture. "Yes, sir. Of course."

Such a question provoked insatiable curiosity as she eagerly speculating what All Might could want of her. Mina's anxious mind immediately arrived at the most unlikely conclusion, but the one she hoped ever so much for. Was this really happening? Was the greatest hero to ever grace the Earth really going to bestow upon her his prestigious title?

All Might presented another one of his inspiring grins before whispering in her ear. "Can you wake up, Mina?"

It was only after a few seconds did those words register.

"E-excuse me, sir?"

All Might's smile widened before he unexpectedly erupted. "Wake up, Mina!"


No sooner than after he'd repeated his words did Mina find the ruined city, the civilians and All Might had all vanished from sight, replaced with the familiar locale she recognised as her bedroom. She stirred uncomfortably; her mouth was dry and her eyes hadn't properly adjusted to the window's light illuminating the room. And because of the lingering sleep paralysis, she hadn't been able to acknowledge the figure in the doorway entrance.

"Mina. Up! Now!" Her mother instructed sternly. "If you aren't ready in ten minutes, I'm leaving without you." The command was accompanied by the closing of her door.

The young woman lethargically rolled over onto her stomach, groaning into her pillow. And just when her dream had reached the climax.


Unfolding the aluminium wrapper, Mina removed the buttered toast she'd been offered before being ushered out the door urgently. Because of her tardiness, no time had been available for a decent breakfast. Instead, Mina proceeded to nibble on the lukewarm slice of toast as she absent-mindedly gazed outside the passenger seat window.

Apart of her was still disgruntled from being awoken prematurely, but the dominating part of her being felt remorseful for upsetting her mother with her carelessness and negligent time-management. And if the rhythmic rapping of finger's gripping the steering wheel were a signal to go by, they were still displeased.

Mina sighed as her gaze migrated to her lap. "...Sorry."

Allowing time for her apology to register, she returned her attention to discover her mother was still concentrating on the road. "Every morning, I swear..."

"It's not every morning."

"I've had to wake you up three times in the past week." The older woman shook her head. "I don't want this to become part of your routine."

Mina disposed of the aluminium and folded her arms, disheartened. "Great, you hate me now…"

"I don't…"

Mina observed her mother divert their attention towards her with a contrite expression.

"I just really wish you wouldn't insist on staying up so late on school nights. How are you supposed to concentrate the next day if you haven't properly rested?"

Mina acknowledged; perhaps she had started staying up later than she was expected to.

"I know I don't go to be as early as I used to, but it's not something you need to worry about. I'm older now."

"I just don't want this to affect your progress at school", her mother confessed softly.

Noticing the distress her mother was experiencing, Mina adopted a hopeful smile. "It's not, I promise" she reassured. "If I really was struggling, don't you think the school would have contacted you by now?"

Her mother acknowledged with a nod. "You're right; I am overreacting."

Relieved to see her mother was improving, Mina elected to better explain herself for her carelessness. "I had a legit reason why I stayed up so late. I was on the phone with a friend, and they-"

Mina hesitated, remembering that the extended conversation she'd exchanged with Toru was incredibly personal, and sharing that information was breach of trust and confidentiality. The invisible girl had pleaded with her to keep it a secret, and Mina had promised them she would respect their wishes.

"I know. I could hear you last night."

Mina's body tensed. Just how much had her mother heard of their conversation? It was supposed to private.

Her mother offered a small smile. "I'm proud of you for doing that."

Mina averted her gaze bashfully. She certainly didn't believe she deserved such praise when all she'd done was offer a listening ear for her distressed friend.

"I just don't want to have to keep waking you every morning. I mean, how can you aspire to be a professional hero if you don't maintain a balanced sleeping schedule?"

"Oh, don't be like that…" Mina groaned, displeased that her mother had played that card.

"I'm just saying, do you think All Might or Endeavour have their mothers wake them up every morning?"

A smile graced the student's face over that amusing thought. "Well, we don't know that, do we? I mean, they might. You never know."

Her mother returned the smile. "I would hope not."

Although she still believed her sleeping schedule was no cause for real alarm, Mino still acknowledged that some adjustments would have to be made to better improve the pattern. Her mother had been speaking from a place of truth.

"I'll go to be earlier from now on, if you want."

"Thank you. I would appreciate that very much. You know that I don't mind how long you're awake on weekends, it's just…during the week, and when you have school the next day…"

"I understand. When do you want me in bed?"

"Before midnight, please, or even earlier if that's possible" they explained, 'just so you can get enough hours of sleep. If you continue staying up past midnight, you're going to fall into a pattern, and one I don't want you to adopt. What if I hadn't been there to wake you? You might've slept in and missed attendance in the morning."

Mina scoffed over that notion. "That won't happen."

"I'm just saying it could've. Just imagine what you might miss out on if you don't attend school on time."

"Yeah, the school might get attacked again."

Mina hadn't meant to insinuate anything unpleasant or confronting. Her remark had just been a bout of dark humour. But from her mother's frightened gaze, they evidently hadn't interpreted the comment Mina intended.

It had been some time since the League of Villains held the Class of 1-A hostage, and although Mina and her fellow students had long since come to terms with that incident, their recovery time still hadn't made that experience any less traumatic. And Mina immediately regretted joking about what had been such a very harrowing experience for not just the students and teachers but their families.

Mina laughed nervously. "That was a joke" she explained desperately, but her mother didn't respond. Instead, the older woman returned to concentrating exclusively on the road; the exact reaction the young woman didn't wish for.

Disappointed in herself, Mina acknowledged she'd overstepped a personal boundary. Realising there was nothing more she could say, Mina elected to refrain from speaking entirely for the duration of their drive, and occupied the rest of the time by gazing out the window.

Mina rubbed her brow to ease her discomfort. It was clear her sleeping pattern wasn't the only habit she needed to improve upon.