To say that I was dreading this day was a massive understatement. It was just coming towards the latter half of the week but instead of the relief some students might feel from the lack of work needed or the oncoming joy from the weekend, I just couldn't shake the feeling of anticipation and nervousness. It definitely doesn't help at this point that people are noticing. Not just Neito and Mei anymore, Yubi of all people noticed. The fact that the most eccentric of the Hatsume had tried to have a private talk with me was… surreal.
It certainly didn't help that I had stuck around after school to talk to Power Loader. As far as I had told Mei and Neito, it was to let him know about Mei's… explosive past. And admittedly it was also partly that. But what I had done was asked him to look over my hero costume and check for any damage from the Heroes vs Villains exercise.
The move was risky. It threatened to expose all about the upcoming defence. Nedzu had insisted that he would try to keep the attack on a need to know basis due to one of the students having to talk about it. It had been my request too – I couldn't risk the potential traitor being one of the U.A. staff members after all and talking about a traitor this quickly would demolish all the plans and all the need for security. I'd be putting my classmates in danger for nothing.
… usually, Neito and Mei would've snapped me out of this funk, but I had intentionally told them to go on without me and I'd catch up. It's been getting harder and harder to disguise my tension as anything else. And given that I can tell I'm tense right now; they'd figure it out in seconds.
I just need to hope I can get through class without giving it away out of guilt.
"Hey, you ok Nebulos-san? You're looking a bit… high strung today." Jiro noted
Shoji, the lower face masked wonder with six arms, nodded as one of his extra limbs changed shape. "Plus, you've been tapping your foot against the ground ever since you sat down. Something up?"
Oh no. I hadn't considered homeroom. The one time of day that can allow for the most talking outside of lunch. I let out a weak chuckle and waved down the comments. "N-nah, just… I think it's starting to get to me now. The realization of just where we are. What we're doing. Just how much of a step up this is from… only a few months ago." Thankfully I hadn't been so nervous that I had swollen part of the suit yet. I had vented it part way to U.A. though just to make sure.
Jiro just smirked. "So, what's happened is you've got the jitters a bit later than the rest of us." She summed up.
I turned and tried my best to shoot a deadpan look. "You say that like Midoriya-san hasn't been showing them since day 1," I noted with as dry a voice as possible.
"Honestly the whole class seems like that, kero" Tsyu, having just walked in, commented. "That is, very emotional. Very vibrant. It's kinda nice to see actually. I was worried I might have to be comic relief."
… I can't tell if she's being serious or kidding because Tsyu rarely changes her voice and her face… well, having a face elongated to be more frog-like means it falls squarely into the uncanny valley, making it seem just off enough that someone might find it disturbing. I don't think it is, but it can also make it really hard to tell from her face if she's joking or not.
"Have to admit, it is nice to see a class and be able to tell who everyone is just from how they act without looking for Quirks," Jiro admitted. "Even without the mask or the arms, I'd still be able to tell if someone was Shoji-san because of how serious and dedicated you are to things."
Shoji's arm-mouth smiled. "Could same the same about Nebulous-san by looking for someone who seems determined to help others out." He insisted.
Ouch, right in the feels, especially with the fact I'm… not exactly doing that with what's happening this afternoon.
Thank whatever merciful deity or source of power actually exists in this universe, the first class after Homeroom was maths with Ectoplasm. No group work, no talking, just a whole host of number issues I can try and lose myself in to distract me. And it helps that thanks to how Ectoplasm's Quirk works, he can divide himself up to give each of the students as much individual attention as they need. I would have killed for a teacher who could do that in my old life. Sometimes students just don't react well to the methods applied to a whole class.
… mostly because I was one of those types who managed to completely misunderstand and mangle an essay exam in my last life because the question for it was worded differently. With Neito, Mei and now Class 1-A around being more sociable, I don't think I'd ever make the same mistake thankfully.
"Nebulos-san. Are you ok?"
I jumped slightly as the voice shook me out of my own thoughts… ah, Ectoplasm-sensei had come up to me while I was zoned out. If Neito ever hears of this he's never going to let me live it down.
"Ah, yes, sorry sensei. Just a bit… distracted by my own thoughts." I admitted with a sheepish smile.
The afternoon can't come soon enough. I just hope everyone has stuck to the plan.
"What do you mean you couldn't stick to the plan?!" I half shouted, suit puffed up and using a nearby wall in the same meeting room as before to support myself. Sitting in the same room, currently opposite me, was a rather gaunt and also slightly spooked Toshinori Yagi - NOT All Might, Toshinori! – as well as Principal Nedzu who seemed put out himself.
"I'm sorry young Nebulos, really!" Toshinori insisted. "But I was on my commute and, well, there was this villain who had taken a family hostage, one that Kamui Woods and Mt. Lady were having issues with-"
"If you're going to be honest with the lad then maybe you should mention the other two incidents as well." Nedzu interrupted.
Toshinori discreetly coughed into his fist at that. "Ah… well… I heard that someone else had barricaded themselves in the next town over…"
Deep breaths Andros, you can't murder the Symbol of Peace for doing his job and following his heroic instincts that Midoriya basically has himself, you'd be doing All for One's job for him. As I focused, I endured the now-dulled itch of absorbing the Nebula Gas back into my body through all my pores. I had been just about to go to lunch when Aizawa had passed by and asked to talk to me… but had instead brought me to the meeting room and made his own retreat, probably to prepare. "Sensei, I get why you did it. Frankly, I know it's what drew you to Midoriya-san in the first place." Thankfully without Aizawa, I could talk a little more freely on that subject. "But… couldn't you have left everything after the first villain to other heroes?"
Toshinori sighed. "I expected Nedzu to be the one to give me that sort of talking to, not one of my students." He noted with a slight smile before gripping his knees a little harder. "To be honest… I could have. As you guessed, none of the situations after Mt. Lady and Kamui Woods needed my help. But I went there because I couldn't live with myself if I had just kept going if I hadn't acted and someone died."
"And now we run the risk of it happening anyway." I pointed out… before Nedzu shook his head.
"Not necessarily," Nedzu explained, arms folded behind his back. "The initial security has already been sorted for your class going there, and once a message gets back to U.A. we can be there as fast as we can."
Toshinori… actually smiled at that. Not just a brief grin like before. "And besides, while I don't have much… I did try to keep your plan in mind earlier on young Nebulos." He explained as he slowly stood up. "It's true what you said before. That by saving other lives I've risked the lives of your class, and for that I'm sorry. But thanks to your warning I pushed myself to get my heroics done as fast as I could."
I tilted my head for a moment as I tried to figure out what he was getting at… and then stumbled back with my mouth agape. "Y-y-you realized you weren't going to have enough time to be there from the start… so you've saved up more. You're even here earlier than usual." I spluttered out.
Toshinori nodded, keeping that All Might grin from the start. "I'll be there as fast as I can once I hear. It's all I can really offer right now, sadly." And at that, he seemed to sink into his chair… and I winced. Ouch, right, I forgot that even if it annoys me, it's probably killing All Might that he managed to almost derail the plan.
… that being that not only was he going to be there with us, but an extra one of the staff members would be as well. The staff member would help Thirteen protect everyone while Aizawa and All Might would rush and take on Shigaraki and the Nomu. It's not going to be that easy or that fast now sadly.
It wasn't just me. While I doubt the others noticed compared to how tired he usually is, it wasn't a hard guess for me to notice that Aizawa was handling the stress in his own way… that being that his eyes seemed to have slightly bigger bags under them than usual, indicating he hadn't had his midday nap today so he could stay fully alert.
Look when you spend a bit of time about a man you learn his overuse of sleeping habits.
"Today your Hero Basic Training has turned into a special class with four different teachers," Aizawa stated. "All Might, myself, and two guest teachers we will be meeting at the location." Oh? The second is due to meet us there, why? "This is because of the type of training you're performing today." With that Aizawa reached into his capture tool and pulled out the placard I had been dreading to see because of what it meant.
Rescue.
Even though we were told if we should choose to bring our costumes or not, for a large part the only thing really left behind seemed to be headgear. For the likes of Bakugo and Kirishima, it made sense, they don't get more protection than normal from theirs… but…
"Iida-san, why didn't you bring your helmet?" I asked… despite being nearer to the back of the bus and Iida being near the front.
"Nebulos-san, don't yell across the bus!" Iida insisted… before thrusting an arm towards his face. "While the protection it gives me is useful, in a rescue scenario a greater field of vision would be required!"
Huh, fair point, even if the helmet might have been better but I couldn't exactly tell people what costume to wear. Midoriya has to go without his headgear… or his costume at all really, given what Bakugo did to it. Mineta still looks like he's wearing an oversized diaper but at least the balls on the side of his suit could let him save himself from a fall in a bad situation. But when it comes to a lack of practicality…
"Todoroki-san, I need to ask this," I admitted. "Why do you cover your right side in ice? It does look like a nice effect, but I keep wondering how you keep yourself from getting hypothermia"
Todoroki opened his eyes at that and gave me a look. Not a Look per se, just the standard loner look Todoroki apparently gave before Midoriya gets to him. "I'm very good at temperature regulation."
…
No, that seems to be all he's saying, given that he's closed his eyes again. Aaaand now Bakugou's yelling at Tsyu for insulting him so I missed that conversation-
"Course, it's not too flashy but there's always Andros-kun's Quirk." Mina pointed out. "Way to make a dangerous Quirk strong!"
I blushed under the currently on helmet. Of course, I was wearing the Night Rogue suit again, my control is better but in a battle situation, I'd rather the battle armour. "I mean it's not that strong. Unless I can learn to control the Smash, I can't go all out with my Quirk, especially not around others." I admitted. "I just try to use simple physics."
"Newton's Third Law." I whipped my head around and stared in shock at Bakugou of all people pointing it out. "You're using the pressure of your steam to push yourself faster."
"Huh, so there's more to him than just insults," Kaminari noted
"Of course I fucking know it!" Bakugou called out. "I use the same thing with my explosions! It's a basic idea!"
Aaand there's the return to normalcy. Frankly, right now it's actually fairly comforting to see.
As we arrived at the USJ, I gawked at just who was standing there. It wasn't just the Space Hero Thirteen dressed in… oh wait, Thirteen never stated a gender did… they? They, I'm sticking to them and the like or it's going to get tricky and the last thing I want to do is accidentally insult Thirteen, who has one of the highest disaster rescue records in the country! And that Astronaut suit looks awesome.
… thank you MightyAllMight – the internet user I still get into occasional hero debates with - for bombarding me with hero facts.
In addition there was also the Excavation Hero Power Loader, who it seemed had come fully prepared with his powerful mech that looked more akin to a mechanical exo-frame, an extension of himself complete with the digging tips at the end of the hands, but with the additions of what I was pretty sure were rocket launchers on the shoulders. Just goes to show not only what can be done with support items, but also how a weak-seeming Quirk can be strong.
"Everyone, we've been waiting for you." Thirteen said, their voice perfectly calm despite what was to come… but I suppose it makes sense. This is meant to be a disaster in and of itself, and they're used to those situations.
"The space hero Thirteen and… the excavation hero Power Loader!" Izuku gushed. "I can see why Thirteen is here, you're known for your rescue work, but what about you Power Loader-sensei?"
Power Loader let out a huff. "I might not be known for it, but I have the title 'Excavation hero' for a reason. With my Quirk and my frame, if there's ever an issue with debris I can handle it. We thought that given you could be rescuing people far down or buried under things, my point of view might help out."
After that, I zoned out… not into my own thoughts but using the fact I had my helmet on to look around for any sign of the villains as we entered, or someone who might give them a signal. Nothing. If there actually was a traitor, they either were either not in Class 1-A, very good at hiding it or having done so beforehand. And honestly, that does worry me, especially as I'm not sure I could say the same for other popular traitor candidates outside the class itself.
"Everyone, I'm sure you're aware of my Quirk Black Hole." Thirteen said, speaking up and… I can't tell with their suit on, but I think their gaze lingered on me for a moment. "I can suck up anything and turn it into dust.
"You've been able to use that power to save people from all kinds of disasters, right?" Izuku asked
"Yes, but it's a power that can kill easily. Some of you have Quirks like that, right?" Ok yeah, that was definitely a look towards me not just from Thirteen but a chunk of the class. "In a superhuman society, personal Quirks have been certified and stringently regulated, so that doesn't seem to be a problem at first glance. However, please don't forget there are many Quirks that can kill with the wrong step."
"Even with the right support to help out your Quirk, to control or contain it, many Quirks can still be extremely dangerous." Power Loader continued as he raised one of his arms up. "My own Quirk just seems like it'd be good for digging, but if I used these to dig and a person is there, it could be very dangerous for them. It's why the fitness test is there, to understand the possibility of your own powers – and what you might need help with."
"And All Might's combat training allowed you to realize how dangerous those powers are when used on others." Thirteen picked up, splaying out their hands. "This class is a fresh start! You will learn how to use your Quirks to save people's lives! You don't have powers so you can harm others-" oh the irony given what's about to happen – "I hope you leave here with some understanding of how to use your power to help-"
And then I hear a buzz, and I instantly snap my head to the right to look as an arc of lighting travels across the lights, causing them to dim all at once. Instantly Aizawa, Thirteen and Power loader turned to look out towards the water fountain and-
A hospital room filled with darkness. Darkness surrounding me everywhere. And those yellow eyes!
My throat briefly seizes up as I see the dark portal erupt into the widespread dark mist that is Kurogiri, his piercing yellow eyes floating in mid-air as a hand seems to pull at him from within, exposing a gaze that I could barely see and yet instantly filled me with dread as I realized the only person it could be. Shigaraki Tomura. As more villains emerge, I can feel an ever-increasing sense of dread as it dawns on me that I hadn't even recognized even half of how risky this plan was. Just how dangerous these people were.
"Don't move!" Everyone's heads turned as Aizawa - no, Eraserhead – slid his goggles on. "Those are villains. Thirteen, Power Loader, you know what to do."
Power Loaded nodded as he maneuvered his frame, apparently ready to charge down the stairs if he had to. And given that the Nomu has just shown up, I'm starting to realize just why they picked Power Loader. Shigaraki had said the only way to hurt the Nomu was to school at it… but that all depends if that frame can take All Might-level punches.
Shigaraki's hands spread wide as he said… something. Trying to listen to a madman is bad enough, but it's worse when he only talks quietly.
"How could villains get here?" Kirishima asked.
"Sensei, what about the sensors?" Momo asked.
Thirteen turned back slightly. "We have them but…"
"It's almost certain they're jamming them," I muttered darkly as I gripped my fists. Stupid stupid stupid! This was a bad idea from the start!
Todoroki frowned slightly more than usual. "Or they've appeared all around the school. Either way, if the sensors aren't responding that means they have someone with a Quirk that can do that. An isolated area away from the main campus during a time when a class is supposed to be here? They may be fools, but they aren't dumb." Todoroki noted. "This surprise attack had some grand goal in mind."
Power Loader shook his head. "It might also be a jammer they got their hands on that's blocking it, but that's a good assessment." He noted… before his mech seemed to pull back slightly. "Kaminari, you have an electrical Quirk correct? You might be able to get around their jamming, try to call the school!"
"We're leaving it to you Thirteen," Eraserhead noted before he LEAPT into the air with the sort of reflexes that reminded me that this world wasn't entirely normal, quickly followed behind by Power loader taking a running jump to much less spectacular heights and slightly off to the right… before a plume of dust and dirt went up into the air as he clearly started digging as soon as a claw could hit the ground. Immediately Eraserhead spring into action, the Quirks of the forward most villains seeming to fail as they're grabbed, pulled up into the air and forced to collide with each other, their bodies soon dropped to the ground.
Izuku shook his head. "This isn't good. He specializes in capture missions, not fighting, and he can't erase all their Quirks." He explained.
"Everyone needs to have more than one trick to be a hero." Thirteen explained calmly, highlighted as a rough looking villain rushed at Eraserhead, only to be jumped over and snared in the capture tool, used as an impromptu weapon against the other villains. As he continued to punch, ensnare, kick and otherwise make the villains look like they were standing still, pitfalls started to open in the field, plumes of dirt erupting as villains vanished into them and never seemed to come out. Power Loader's mech no doubt, using Eraserhead's athletic and fast-paced style to ensure he wouldn't be caught in the same trap.
Still, we had to move, hopefully my warning about Kurogiri's power would be good enough as we turned around and started to head back towards the entrance- only for a pool of black energy to form, from which the darkness soon erupted. Damnit, that brief moment of blinking!
The eyes the eyes the eyes!
I forced myself to gulp as Kurogiri floated before us. "I won't let you escape." He warned. "Nice to meet you. We are the League of Villains. It might be presumptuous, but we invited ourselves into the home of heroes, U.A. High School, in order to have All Might, the symbol of peace, take his last breath."
… that sounds like he's reading off a damn script given the sort of exposition he's giving.
"I believe All Might should be here. Has there been some sort of change? It would look quite embarrassing if our schedule was off and we've arrived on the wrong day," Kurogiri noted, the darkness starting to unfold.
Wait, shit, this is-
Before I can even act on my own impulse Kirishima and Bakugou leap at Kurogiri, a massive explosion issuing from Bakugou at that.
"Did you consider that you'd be beaten by us before you did it?" Kirishima bragged.
"Get back!" I called out. "He's made of mist, that wouldn't have done anything!"
"You should listen to your friend there," Kurogiri responded, the dust clearing slowly as he reformed his body and exposed the metal collar that was his one weakness. "But then I believe we've met bef-"
Before he can finish that sentence, angry hisses sounded out as I fired off all the jets from my pipes at once to rush at the man of dark mist, one hand outstretched as I reached for him… only for Kurogiri to open a hole in his mists.
"-ore. Ah yes, that gas. It's been a long five years, hasn't it, Nebulos Andros?" Kurogiri continued, almost sounding… fond. "Regardless, while I plan to scatter all of you… you're a particular interest." A dark tendril suddenly lashed out from behind while the rest of him surged out to surround the others! "Your classmates will be scattered to be tortured… but I have a plan for you."
As much as I'd like to say I managed to avoid the tendril, I couldn't gather up much pressure in the pipes after what had just happened, and I wasn't prepared enough to push out a barrier of the gas around me. I launched out a punch… and it simply sunk into the mist before it surrounded me.
If it wasn't for the sudden stumble I made I wouldn't have even realized I'd been forced into another area at first… at least until the mist from Kurogiri's portal cleared and showed me that I was in the middle of one of the forests. And I was also surrounded by four others! A man who looked like a walking iguana was clinging to one of the nearby trees, while a man doing his damndest to distract from the floating skull that was his head by having bulked up on muscles and dressing only in jeans started to pound his fist into his hand. A woman dressed in only a crop top and shorts suddenly seemed to shine as her body turned metallic and her arms into blades. Finally, to complete the quartet was what looked to be relatively short person… dressed in a massive black cloak.
"So, this is that one Kurogiri has a beef with?" The deep-voiced woman asked. "I don' get why we need ta wait, I want to peel it off layer by layer… first the suit and then his-"
"Yes, yes, we get it." The raspy voice of the cloaked figure hissed out as they seemed to slump slightly. "No wonder Kurogiri asked me to come with, you would be half-way through skinning him by now."
The woman smirked at that while the skull-faced man looked at her. "No skinning. The kid is too useful." He stated with a… shockingly high-pitched voice.
Iguanaman seems to just mutter to himself as I slowly looked around. Densely populated section of the woods, not much room to maneuver but it gives the mutant quirked Iguana plenty of room to get to me, blade Quirk sadist lady seems to be built for close combat, and there are two others who I can't guess at their Quirks quite yet… but a question remains.
"What do you know about me?" I asked. "Why aren't we fighting yet?"
"The kid's eager!" The woman growled out; her face contorted into a smirk. Before she can say or do anything however, a small portal opened in the air above us, Kurogiri's yellow eyes peering out from it.
"Nebulos Andros. It has been a while." Kurogiri spoke with a warmth that he definitely didn't deserve. "While the situation has changed in the last five years, I will still offer you a chance. A chance to not only join the winning side but to maybe even save your classmates. After all, you don't want them to die because my friends got sloppy, do you?"
I looked up at the portal and glared at Kurogiri. "If you think claiming that your garage sale villains you have with you are good enough to take down my classmates, then you've managed to get dumber in the last few years," I growled out. "And as much as I'd love to get your hopes up before I say this… I refuse. I'm not joining your League."
Kurogiri sighed at that. "I had hoped you were smarter now than you were then. It seems I was wrong. Take the boy. Alive and unskinned." Kurogiri noted before his portal seemed to vanish-
And immediately a beam of energy fired from the skull man's eyes as blade-woman rushed at me. An attack rush? That's fine, they think their Quirks are enough to take me down… but I've been building up pressure since I got tossed through the portal! An angry set of hisses fires out as it flings me forward, fist outstretched straight into the gut of the metallic woman and out of the way of the beams!
I hissed in pain and clutched my hand after that… ends up even in this world, punching someone who can turn themselves into metal results in a hurt hand, even with the protection this suit offers. But I smirked as the woman crashed into a nearby tree from the blow. I barely get a moment's reprieve however as something sticky wraps around me and pulled at me, flinging me towards the Iguanaman!
Firing out a slight push of Nebula gas I start to flip in the air… letting me lash out with a kick into the iguanaman's face! Unfortunately, while he does get knocked against the tree and lets me go it just meant I've started falling towards the Muscled Skull! Another beam blazed out from his eyes and up towards me as I brought my arms forward, but these beams, while they hit like a punch to the gut, don't come out nearly as fast as Aoyama's! It's enough to endure as I land on the ground with my suit smoking slightly, clearly having taken some damage to the arms.
I growled and lashed out with a punch, the muscled man replying in kind with enough force to knock me back against the tree, but to my delight, he's clutching at his hand afterwards. "You punch hard kid. But that's cause of the suit, isn't it?" He asked.
"Away, he's mine!" Suddenly Blade-woman leaped out from behind her, her hand formed into a scythe being brought down towards me- and then suddenly she's stopped, a dark aura surrounding her.
"Ah mou." The cloaked figure – letting out a Japanese phrase for frustration – groaned. "Of course, you couldn't stick to things. Let me fix that!" And with that, the woman turned in mid-air 180 degrees and her metallic body flew towards me! I leapt out of the way of the falling woman and winced as I heard a loud crash against the tree.
"Oi, you old hag! What was that for?" Blade-woman yelled out.
The cloaked figure shifted and seemed to glare at the bladed woman. "You went for a death blow. Not only were you trying to kill him, but your blade would have gotten you stuck in the tree before you even landed." The… older woman it seemed, hissed. "You need to have precision with your blades, like this!"
Suddenly the cloaked woman leaped into the air with speed and agility I hadn't been expecting, and out from under her cloak a series of knives, all coated in the same black aura, rushed out, blades glinting in the light! I will freely admit I let out a yelp as I leaped into a roll in front of me, using the enhanced speed of the suit to avoid the knives, if only barely! "There, not a one would have killed!" The cloaked woman finished, landing on one of the tree branches.
"That's a fucking lie and-" The bladed woman's mouth was suddenly covered up by a tongue briefly before it pulled back.
"No swearing. Child present." Iguana… Chameleon? Chameleonman I'm guessing, rasped out.
The bladed woman snorted. "Oh yeah, we're just trying to beat him up, swearing crosses a line." She growled before she ran at me again. I leapt into the air only to find a laser blast rushing at me! I kicked off a nearby tree to try and avoid it but the Chameleonman's tongue is coming for me- actually, you know what, he can have me! I unleashed the pressure I'd been building up – less consciously and more out of stress – and rocketed towards the man, landing a punch that cratered the tree he laid against.
I… I managed to take one of them out! I can do this! This will work! "So, who's ne-"
I didn't notice the knife coming towards me until the last moment. Even though I leaned back and started to fall, it still managed to cut into my arms, carving in twin gashes in the suit. Nebula gas hissed from the suit as the leak lessened the amount I was pushing through the engine, and any remaining pressure in the pipes left it as it escaped through the hole.
As I hit the ground, I let out a groan while I slowly pulled myself to my feet, even as the old woman leaped into the branch I had just been in. "Not so confident are you now young man?" She crooned out as she pulled back the cowl of her robes, revealing a withered face and a white mane of hair. "It looks like I was right though… he was using the gas to power that suit of his." She noted, three knives floating up alongside her as I slowly pulled myself up… only for a blast to lance out and narrowly miss me as the laser-flinging skull walked over.
"Don't try it, kid, it's over. You lost." He growled out… which would sound ridiculous thanks to the pitch if he wasn't so close to being right, the bladed lady smirking as she walked closer towards me.
"Well, if I can't cut his skin…" She said… before letting her blade shine in the light. "I'll just have to cut his suit to shreds."
And then I realized something… and started to laugh. A little chuckle at first, and then outright laughter echoed out through the distortion of my helmet. "But that's just it. You haven't won." I remarked… before I slipped both of my arms out of the now pointless gauntlets. "Because I don't need the suit around your lot."
And at that, I let loose streams of Nebula Gas, the bladed woman being grabbed by the aura of the old lady and pulled back as the Skull fired a blast straight at me. I grunted as the blast hit, but he moved back as I let the gas condense and swirl around my general area. My suit is there to stop me turning people into Smash because it's a bad thing to do. But these are villains, not civilians, and as much as I hate to turn anyone, I could do with a rampaging monster right now.
"Take this!" I yelled, and the gas burst forth like a python of dark grey haze, chasing at first after the skull, who had clearly considered this and continued to move back, never taking his eyes off of it as it changed and raced after the old woman from behind, even as she merely leapt from branch to branch before launching another knife towards me, which I just rolled out of the way of.
"Seems like you two are at a fucking standstill," Blade-woman complained. "Throw me at him!"
The old lady let out a shrill laugh. "And let you get turned into one of the monsters that gas makes? Think before you speak child!"
"I WILL MURDER YOU SLOWLY HAG!"
I let out a heavy sigh… but at the very least the psycho had a point. As much as I'd love to pretend otherwise, I can only control so much Nebula Gas, and with them in the trees, I can't just force the gas up there… mostly 'cause I'm having to keep it down at the moment. "You guys can't win. Eventually one of my friends or the teachers will contact the school. None of you could take on All Might… most of you couldn't handle Eraserhead aside from maybe the old lady." I pointed out
"Oh, maybe in my prime sonny, but kind of you to say." The old knife-wielder insisted. "At least ONE person here has manners!"
"Slowly and painfully!"
The Laser Skull just let out a huff at that and I just let that little conversation pass. "So, as I was saying… just surrender and maybe you won't get as much time in prison." I offered.
"I don't think that's necessary." My blood ran cold as I heard Kurogiri's voice again, a dark flicker of his head spawning in the centre of the area. "I should have figured that with you being among the best of the best, you might be able to hold them off. But to have one of you already down is frankly disappointing." Kurogiri noted.
Laser Skull sighed. "You said nothing about him being stronger and faster than most kids." He remarked as he folded his arms.
"A new trick, but not entirely unexpected. Would a Hero rely on monster-making as his first option?" Kurogiri countered… before his gaze shifted to me. "That being said… my my, you have pinned them down, haven't you? And the same trick you used on me."
I simply glared at him from inside my mask. "Seems scumbags know what to be worried about."
"Perhaps. But your game is over." Kurogiri remarked.
"Like hell!" I shouted, the gas gathering into a rough fist shape and flinging itself toward Kurogiri-
Only for a portal to open just in front of it. "I've tested my portals on your gas since then. How is your friends' resilience to it?" Kurogiri threatened.
My eyes widened and I reached out and grabbed at the gas, forcing it to a halt barely before it got into the portal.
"That's a good boy," Kurogiri remarked snidely. "Now unless you want to infect your friends… I'd suck it all back in." Other portals started to open alongside the Nebula Gas. I let out a low growl at that, glaring at Kurogiri as he was blatantly playing dirty… but then again, he's a villain. I sighed and pulled the gas back towards my arms, hissing as I felt the uncomfortable itch of sucking so much back in. "You're fast becoming a problem, Nebulos Andros. Too much of a problem to have to deal with compared to Nomu. Kill him."
Kurogiri's face stayed floating in the air as the Laser Skull's blasts became far bright and a blast lanced towards my face, so fast that I barely managed to force my head to the left, the laser smashing through the side of the helmet as I did! I've barely stumbled out of the way and go to run- only for there to be another tree right in front of me!
"Finally! Toss me hag!" Blade-woman declared gleefully. I turned around and saw her float into position, both arms suddenly sharpening even more, like actual swords… had she been dulling them before? "I want to see the fear in his eyes before I kill him!"
"Such a shame, he was a nice young man too." The old lady muttered before she thrust out her hands as the blade-woman flew towards me. Everything seemed to slow for a moment
Don't get snippy with the kid!
Kaniko-san…
You don't need to blame yourself.
Aizawa-sensei…
It's like discovering a brand new element!
That's your safety suit!
Yubi-san, Te-san…
Even if he is going to help me test out one of my babies later.
Every time Andros!
Mei, Neito…
Mina-chan is fine!
Heard about how you dealt with Aoyama, nice job!
This is going to be fun with people like you guys around!
My classmates… no. No, I don't want this! I don't want to die! I won't die!
And then suddenly my world turned grey.
Kurogiri's eyes widened as he watched Ferrus, as she called herself, be stopped in mid-air before the sudden billowing cloud of gas. He had been prepared to open a portal to make good on his threat, but the cloud hadn't spread, in fact, it seemed to pool and collect around Nebulos Andros. The young man let out a scream that sounded like a mix of fear and rage, as the cloud of smoke started to flash with red-tinged white light, illuminating the silhouette of Nebulos within it. It seemed that in desperation he was trying to turn himself into a monster. A desperate and foolish move at that. He had prepared this team with the idea that they may need to take on a monster, what did he hope to achieve by losing-
And then suddenly the gas started to clear, seemingly starting to be sucked into the changed figure. For a moment Kurogiri thought that all it had done was change the colour of his suit, the pure black on black of the lower half having changed so that the boots, kneepads and the stripe of red leading to a section around the pelvic region – and just that region – were all a darker crimson, with the straps connecting the kneepads to the suit and wrapped around the boots silver while the rest of the lower section was a more vibrant red.
Above the belt was a different story. While keeping the same abdominal plating the previous suit had but in crimson on a red undersuit, the wires had changed to white and blue. The emblem on the chest of the suit had changed from a yellow bat into a cyan cobra, ready to strike and with its tail going behind to the right and then coiling to the left behind it. The pipes on the previous shoulder pads had disappeared, while the pads themselves were red with layers of metal towards the head and in a strip down the middle of each, with some metal pipes embossed on the front of them.
The elbow guards and gauntlets had lost their spikes, both turned crimson with a silver strap connected to the elbow guard. The same blue and white wires ran down the new arms strapped in metal bands that seemed to be holding in a larger metal cable on each side. The pipework had all seemed to change in that it now wrapped around the neck area of the suit like some metallic collar, only two pipes running down either side of the emblem at the front. Finally, the red helmet – with the same changed wires – maintained a similar shape, but with the yellow bat replaced once more with a cyan cobra with darker blue eye-like lenses built into the helmet behind it, the tail running down to where the mouth guard would be and up the right like an antenna. The only other change seemed to be that the smokestack of a horn seemed to be now designed to look like it had each layer of the stack supported by cris-crossing beams.
At that Kurogiri noticed that Nebulous Andros. or whatever he had become had stared down at himself before he looked up and started to chuckle. But his voice was different, deeper, modulated and slightly rougher sounding.
"Now then…" Nebulous Andros said, craning his neck as if to pop stiff joints. "Shall we begin the experiment?"
And then the silence exploded into the flurry of battle.
