Chapter 2: Invaders from another World
Deku had never seen the city so quiet. He and Iida walked down the street every step echoing no cars drove down the street and though the streetlights illuminated everything the buildings themselves were dark standing quietly like headstones, a massive graveyard of civilization.
They were no longer in their school uniforms. Deku wore a green costume with long white gloves specially built to absorb the force of his punches and black braces on his legs and special red shoes to absorb and accentuate the force of his kicks a metal facemask sat around his neck and the matching hood lay across his back the two rabbit ears flopping gently against his back. Iida's costume resembled a European knight, it was silver with black accents and gold plated exhausts pipes on his legs to allow him to use his speed quirk.
"I'm surprised at how quickly they got everyone out." Deku said breaking the silence.
"Yes. I really thought people would put up more a fuss having to leave their homes." They walked in silence a little longer. Iida shifted uncomfortably.
"I know that what we're doing is important. Looking for stragglers keeping looters away, but I do wish we had been with Todoroki's group. Battling the invaders would have been great for our future prospects." Iida said.
"I'm kind of glad." Deku replied. "Like you said back at UA, I've always been more comfortable when I can study my enemy's abilities." Iida opened his mouth to respond when a blast echoed from their left. The pair spun, Deku's eyes widened.
"That's the direction of the hospital!" He cried. "They couldn't evacuate some of the patients they could be in danger!"
"Dammit!" Iida said as he took off down the street. Above him he could see Deku leaping from building to building a green streak of light following close behind him.
Deku rounded the corner to the hospital entrance when he was roughly pulled down by Iida. He spun in shock to face his friend. Iida held a hand up. "Wait Midoriya. If we go charging in we'll be at a disadvantage we need to get our bearings first." Deku nodded and took a quick peek over the rubble. The hospital was a warzone. Mt. Lady, a fifty foot superheroine lay still on the opposite side of the building. A giant lizard-man swung a huge axe down at the hero known as Death Arms. The normally impressively large hero blocked the blow from the towering monster. A loud clang of metal on metal echoed through the hospital campus and even from a distance the young heroes could read the pain and exhaustion on his face.
"Cull. Quit playing around." The voice belonged to a slender man in all black who stood calmly by the door. He had beady eyes and no nose. Floating above him the hero Kamuni Woods a young man covered from head to toe in a kind of wooden armor struggled agains a steel girder wrapped around him. The thing man flicked his wrist and Kamuni and the girder went flying into a nearby building with a tremendous crash.
"The sooner we finish up here." The thin man mused as the giant called Cull kicked a weakened Death Arms away into the empty city. "The sooner we can leave this disgusting, primitive planet." The thin man wiped some dust from his sleeve and snarled.
"They're strong." Iida whispered. "We'll need to stop them fast. Use surprise to our advantage." Deku nodded.
"The big guy only seems to have a strength quirk and while he's very strong the two of us should have no trouble stopping him. The other one though, has some kind of telekinetic quirk that we don't know the limits of. If you use your speed to stop him first we can…"
"There are three." Said a soft voice from next to them. The two boys jumped in surprise and Deku let out a slight cry before quickly silencing himself. He quickly peaked over but the slender alien was still complaining and had not heard him. He looked to where the voice had come from and saw no one.
"Hagakure?" He guessed.
"I was with the others but I hid when they attacked. There's no way I could fight those aliens. There was a woman with them she went inside. She's looking from someone." She said. Iida cursed taking another look over the debris.
"We have to get in. The patients are our number one priority if we clear these two quickly…" Deku put his hand on Iida's shoulder to stop him.
"There's no time. The people inside are our priority. Hagakure, go find more heroes we need help. I'll jump out stall these two. Iida, you have to go in and save those people." The other two nodded. They heard the rhythmic padding of Hagakure running away.
Deku positioned himself in front of the debris curing his middle finger behind his thumb,
"How will I know when to rush in?" Iida asked his legs priming.
"You'll know it when you see it. And Iida?"
"Yeah?"
"Please be fast."
Deku flicked his finger, the pressure from the flick sent debris flying in all directions knocking the two invaders to the ground. Iida saw his opening. The engines on the back of his legs roared to life and in an instant he was inside.
The fight outside shook the walls of the hospital as Iida sped around looking for something, anything out of the ordinary. A door opened in his face and he skidded to a halt just in time to avoid a terrified nurse who came bounding out of the room. As she spotted Iida her eyes winded, she grabbed him and pushed him roughly in front of her
"Thank God you're here. You have to do something! She's a monster!" Iida turned to ask the nurse what she's talking about when a blue woman strode out of the door behind her. She wore a purple bodysuit and twirled a large, strange looking knife in one hand. Her body was a patchwork of flesh and machinery.
"It's rude to run away screaming when someone's talking to you." Her voice had a strange electronic hum behind it. As she spotted Iida she smirked.
"Stop right there! I won't let you terrify this woman any longer." Iida said dropping into a fighting stance. The blue woman chuckled.
"I'll do more than terrify her unless you tell me where my sister, Gamora is right now." Iida cocked his head.
"Gamora? Is that the woman from the spacecraft? If you're here to rescue your sister just know that we never hurt her, she crashed on this planet and we will bring her right to you if you just stop attacking people." Perhaps it was that easy, perhaps this whole disaster was a misunderstanding. Iida's hopes sunk as the blue woman tossed one of her knives at him. He dodged back pressing the nurse against the wall to shield her.
"Rescue her? I'm here to kill her!"
Outside Deku was breathing heavily. His arms felt like they were full of lead and his legs threatened to stop carrying him out of the way of the two villain's attacks. The thin one, whose name was Ebony Maw stroked his chin.
"You're strong child, I'll give you that but also foolish. If you hadn't sent your friend inside perhaps you would have stood a chance. Why would you give your enemy the advantage?" Deku crackled with energy he punched Cull and sent him flying towards Maw. Deku charged after hoping to catch them both off balance only to have to dive out of the way as Maw sent Cull flying back at him.
"Saving the people inside is more important." Deku huffed. A car flew end over end at him and he leapt up punching it into a charging Cull sending monster and car careening into a giant H in the hospital sign. Maw rolled his eyes.
"Now I know you're a fool. This is war boy and in war you have to make sacrifices to win." The glass door of the hospital shattered and the razor sharp pieces careened towards Deku. He flicked his finger sending the glass away but couldn't turn fast enough to avoid a smash from Cull. His vision doubled, he dropped to the ground in a heap his legs refusing to lift him up.
"You're right. You do have to sacrifice to win but I won't sacrifice someone who doesn't have a choice. Being a hero means the only one I'll sacrifice…." Cull brought his axe down but Deku reached up catching it in his hands the green energy surging around him. "Is myself!" He felt the energy surging. He could only safely use his power at about 8% any higher and he risked injuring himself but if he could just go a little farther he might be able to win. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the broken H from the sign rising above the pair.
"As you wish." Maw hissed. The H dropped.
Inside Iida was hopelessly outclassed. In the tight halls of the hospital he didn't have space to maneuver he couldn't line up a powered up kick to take the cyborg down. He ended up pressed against the wall a blade to his throat. The cyborg, Nebula, turned to the terrified nurse.
"Tell me where she is or I''ll start taking pieces off of prince charming here!" The nurse cowered.
"She's over there right in the general ward behind the curtain. They didn't' put her in a special ward in case you came looking." Nebula dropped Iida to the ground
She pulled back the curtain. A green woman lay still on the bed while various machines beeped and whirred next to her and glowing screens displayed her health to anyone who could understand them. Neblua stroked her sister's long black hair.
"How pathetic. The most dangerous woman in the galaxy. Now you know how it feels to be weak and helpless." Nebula raised the blade up in both hands. She brought the blade down but as she did Iida tackled her from the side. The two slammed into the ground the blade slicing Iida's helmet apart his cheek was gashed. He pinned Nebula down.
"This is insane why would you kill your own sister?" Nebula's arm wriggled free she reached out desperaly and pulled a power cord dropping a heavy piece of equipment on Iida he rolled away in a daze.
"Why do you fight so hard to protect a woman you don't know? She's a killer, a traitor she spent out whole lives belittling me, taking what was rightfully mine, and making me look weak. My father pulled my body apart and turned me into this." She gestured to her robotic body. "Just to keep up with her. Then at our moment of victory she tries to take that from me too." She kicked Iida hard. He folded up as she picked up the blade and made her way back to her helpless sister.
"I have a brother too." Iida said. Nebula paused.
"So?"
"All I've ever wanted is to surpass him. I nearly lost him and I realized that being the best means nothing without others around you, friends, and family, someone to push you on. You may have made mistakes in the past, I know I have. Don't make one you can't take back."
"Spoken like a weak fool. I don't need anyone else."
"I do." Iida said and as he did a medical chart floated up and slapped Nebula on the side of the head she spun but didn't see anyone there. She turned back to Iida but it was too late he had leapt in the air and the engine in his leg carried his kick though.
Outside The H dropped towards Deku he braced himself. Just then a white liquid splashed against the H. It dissolved instantly. Deku turned to see a pink girl with shaggy hair and tiny horns on top of her head running toward them. Mina, another member of class 1-A had arrived. Maw raised his hand, the shattered glass rising with it pointing now at Mina.
"How many of you pests are there?" he grumbled.
"Oh, at least a few more." Maw turned just in time to see Kaminari, a blond boy with a black lighting streak in his hair reach out his hand. When he touched Maw a jolt of electricity passed from Kaminari turning the young man into a human tazer. Maw flopped to the ground.
Cull kicked Deku hard he lifted his axe for another stike. His eyes wild with panic he gave out a roar and brought his arms down but no axe came with it. Confused he looked around at the heroes. Deku pointed up. Cull looked up just in time to catch the handle of the axe full in the face dropping him like a ton of bricks. As he fell Deku saw Uraraka standing there. She had floated the axe up while Cull was distracted.
"Boy am I glad to see you." Deku said and she blushed.
Iida stepped out of the ruins of the hospital entryway.
"The other one's restrained inside." He said. "The patients are safe."
"These guys weren't so tough." Kaminari said. "We were all worried about nothing we'll have this wrapped up by lunch." No sooner had he spoken when a wall of blue flame erupted a few blocks behind him. Even from this distance they could feel the heat.
"That's near Endeavor's building." Iida said.
"That wasn't Endeavor's flame." Deku replied. There was a moment of hesitation and they ran towards the destruction.
Here's the Preview: The battle for the infinity stone begins. Two armies fighting for the fate of the universe two sons fighting for the honor of their fathers. If he wants to become the hero he was meant to be Todoroki will have to go beyond, plus ultra!