A/N:
There's a spoiler for anime watchers/early manga readers. Sorry, not sorry for that.
Please check A/N at the end.
Chapter 58
"Breaking Point"
When Katsuki walked right through a freaking portal that the Warp Shitstain opened on his way and got caught in chains, he expected something else. Like for those League Of Suckers, or whatever their name was, to demand a ransom for him. Or try to make him talk about whatever shit they wanted.
But life apparently was full of fucking surprises.
So here he was, gawking at Handjob, trying to comprehend what kind of drugs the sucker took to think about this 'offer' with his peanut brain. Blinking away his bewilderment, he scowled lightly.
"Excuse me?" Katsuki asked absolutely stupefied, not really sure where this 'conversation' was going.
"Join us." Handjob said once again with the same seriousness as earlier.
Usually, Katsuki would start swearing, letting the shitty villain know what exactly he thought about it. But considering that lately, he had some terrible days, he did something else.
He laughed long and hard, pulling all of the restraints around his body and rattling the chains from the fucking steel gloves around his hands. This was one of the best jokes that he had ever heard in his life.
Whipping a lone tear with his shoulder and letting out a few more chuckles, he looked ahead, straight into Handy-man eyes.
"Fuck. No." He said slowly, his happy facade dropping.
An irritated groan from Handjob was music to his ears.
Why the fuck did this side character thought that he, Katsuki Bakugo, would lower himself to the fucks like him? Something must have been wrong in his head. He wasn't a freaking villain, nor he would ever become one. The fucking slip up at the worthless school was nothing, but a minor set back in his plans. Sure, not ending U.A.'s Hero Course was humiliating to him. However, he still could take that freaking government test to get his licence. He could be a Hero, showing everyone that his strength mattered the most. Chicken Wings was Top Three, and he didn't finish U.A., so there was a path for him.
A path where he was going to prove All Might wrong and destroy fucking Deku.
"I see that you're having trouble, Tomura."
A voice out of nowhere said, making the hair in the back of his neck stand. Katsuki wasn't scared because of the sudden voice. No, he was scared of the voice itself. It was rather quiet with heavy wheezing in it. But the power in it, those precisely hit notes, that firm articulation... Despite not wanting to admit it, the voice made him feel like some endangered animal that was pushed into a corner, with a predator from the top of the food chain before him. His fight or flight instincts screamed at him, begging him to get the fuck away from here. As far as he only could.
"Katsuki Bakugo." The voice said, greeting him with another wave of terror. "We finally get to meet. It's a great joy for me." The man said happily.
Swallowing his saliva with great difficulty and stealing his nerves, Katsuki looked ahead at the old laptop with 'VOICE ONLY' on the screen. "Who are you? What do you want from me?" He asked, trying to sound like he didn't want to run away from there.
"Ah, where are my manners. You may call me All For One." The man stated it like it would explain everything. "As for what I want from you... I want to talk about your future, young Bakugo."
Toshinori looked ahead, channelling every ounce his hatred at the Symbol Of Evil, who once again stood on the battleground against him.
All of it was going fine. Heroes assembled at the street at which the bar was located. He destroyed the wall with a punch, Kamui Woods bounded the villains with his quirk, Gran Torino knocked Dabi out cold, and Edge Shot anticipated Kurogiri. The other team, at the abandoned warehouse, moved before them, taking out the Nomus in case the League wanted to use them.
And to his giant surprise, there was also young Bakugo, sitting on the chair with his head lowered. He was about to move to the ex-student, getting him away from danger. But some kind of warping quirk took the teen and members of League away, leaving them some Nomus as obstacles.
Hearing through his earpiece a call for backup from the warehouse, he immediately moved there, hoping that other Heroes would be able to take care of those beasts. Pushing his body to its limits, he arriving shortly at the destroyed warehouse surrounded by many buildings in ruin. The team of downed Heroes was here. The League was here. All For One was here too, matching his punch with his own, pushing him away.
And here they were glaring at each other like in some kind of a standoff from the westerns. Toshinori couldn't see his arch-nemesis face due to that black, skull-shaped mask with pipes, but he could bet his money that the bastard was evilly grinning at him.
"You seem a bit out of shape, All Might. You're late by two seconds." The glee in the man's voice only irked him more.
"Your time ends here, All For One." All Might shouted loudly, clenching his fists harder. "I'm going to get rid of you for sure. Your obsession for world domination is going with you to Tartarus."
His answer came in the form of howling, amused laughter that creeped him out. All For One put a hand on his chest and shifted his posture a little, shaking his head in apparent entertainment.
"You think that I did all of this to sate my greed? To stroke my ego?" The man asked, ridiculing him with his tone. "You fool, you know nothing about this world. There are factions that have been with us before the dawn of quirks. Patiently waiting and planning for the right moment to make their plans come into fruition. Some of them may even be older than humanity itself... And soon they will finally step into the light." All For One changed his voice to grimmer one, causing a shiver to course through Toshinori's body. "The world idiotically has been playing cops and robbers for decades, when the real enemy, bloodthirsty barbarians, are coming to our doors. You and your predecessors stopped me time and time again, pushing our world closer to the very edge of the abyss. When your so-called 'peace' and Quirk Society finally crumble like a castle of cards that it is, you'll understand just how wrong you were in trying to stop me. Only those who can understand the reality will be capable of fighting back and protecting our planet... The ones like Izuku Midoriya."
Toshinori tried to wrap his head around the nearly maniacal rant. He knew that the man couldn't be trusted with his words, but something told him that All For One was almost scared. Which was ridiculous. However...
"What does young Midoriya has to do with this?" All Might asked, scowling a little. If that monster was going to do anything to the boy, he would smash his nemesis into outer space.
"Oh, everything." The man replied with a short chuckle. "The boy became a spark for change in our society. Due to his actions, the dirty secrets and true nature of our leaders and Heroes come out. And I'm sure that he's going to become a significant factor in the future. It'd be amusing to see all those Heroes kneeling before him, begging for his guidance in the times of need. From the quirkless boy that they all scorned, admitting that he is indeed one of the greatest minds that were born." The strange glee in All For One's voice made a pit in Toshinori's stomach. "It's interesting, isn't it? For a seemingly powerless boy to hold that much power. He's going to be a wonderful Hero one day, right All Might?"
Once again, he couldn't understand where the man was coming. Why did it sound like young Midoriya was supposed to be some kind of a saviour of the world?
"I don't know what is going through that depraved mind of yours. But as much as it pains me, I have to agree with you. Young Midoriya is going to be a great Hero." Toshinori replied with a bright smile.
"Even if he doesn't have a quirk? Even if all he has is his mind?" All For One pushed forward with a weird interest in his voice.
"Those things don't matter. A just heart and strong will is everything one needs to become an extraordinary Hero." All Might replied with a firm conviction.
The man chuckled darkly to himself. "I hear you loud and clear. But did you... young Bakugo?" All For One asked, stepping to the side, showing the kidnapped teen behind him, and wiping the smile from Toshinori's face.
Crap, he had almost forgotten about the captured teen. Why did they take him in the first place? Were they trying to brainwash the poor boy into joining them? He couldn't allow that. He needed to save young Bakugo. But how? All For One would react to all and any...
The teen started moving toward him. And his arch-nemesis did nothing to stop it. This was his chance! He needed to grab the boy and take him away, so he can go all out against this ancient monster.
He sped forward when young Bakugo was only a few meters away from him. His hand almost secured the outstretched arm of the student.
Then a sudden wave of heat and defying shockwave hit him, pushing him away.
Toshinori looked up, not understanding what had happened. A small wisp of smoke was coming from young Bakugo's palm. The teen himself was looking at him with a blank face and broken gaze. He could clearly see emotions swirling in the red orbs. Confusion, anger, despair...
Betrayal.
"Ah, I see that you finally made your decision, young Bakugo." All For One said, stepping next to the boy.
"What did you do to him?!" Toshinori asked through his teeth.
"That's what so beautiful about it. I did nothing." The man replied, raising his arm to the side in a welcoming gesture. "You and society did it. You're the one responsible for breaking this fine, young man. I just had to show him the ugliness of this world."
Toshinori watched how the teen moved to stand beside the rest of the League. How they welcomed him like he was one of them. It was so wrong. He didn't know what exactly he did wrong, but All Might would be damned if he didn't save him.
But saving meant going through All For One. And that itself posed a significant challenge. If the rest of the League were to support the monster, then he'd be hard-pressed. Additionally, the injured Heroes still were here, and it was plausible that some civilians could may be in the destroyed buildings.
Suddenly, a familiar tune started playing above him. Snapping his head up, he saw a group of drones. The same ones young Midoriya and young Hatsune made. It was from before quirks; Toshinori heard it a few times in America, during rock festivals.
A giant grin plastered on his face. The cavalry was coming.
Since the beginning of the rescue operation, Izuku along with his girlfriends and friend stayed in the command room in Urania. Through the multiple screens, they all watched how it advanced, thanks to surveillance drones that they deployed.
He made a deal with Tsukachi-san. For letting the police and Heroes use Urania and some of his tech, they wouldn't reveal his involvement in the operation. Due to this, he couldn't stay on the bridge. But he believed that Nezu, Alan and Puppy were enough to help all of those pilots using his tech.
However...
"The heck?!" Toshi shouted, pointing at the screen.
"Language." Momo said, but she was too caught up in what was happening.
On the monitor, they all saw how the warehouse basically exploded, destroying every building in the close vicinity. All of the Heroes, even the enormous Mount Lady, was blown away by the explosion. And the cause of it appeared to be a man with a mask and suit?
Izuku wasn't sure, but if he had to guess, then only one name came to his mind. All For One. All Might's arch-nemesis.
Of course, the Number One Hero's statement proved him right. The things weren't looking too good for them. If the two were to fight, the chances of someone being caught in collateral damage was massive. Mostly because All For One wouldn't care about destroying the city, and everyone around it.
"Hey, isn't that Pomeranian?" Mei asked, zooming on the screen.
Snapping his gaze back to the monitor, Izuku saw the Blonde Menace right behind the archvillain. Now, he wasn't fond of the boy thanks to their shared history and what Firecracker almost did to his beloved Momo. However, that wasn't an excuse to leave him in the hands of villains.
But that would mean getting involved in official Hero business, thus giving a real excuse for Torikae and Burning Trash Can to send him to court. As much as it pained him, he would have to sit that one through.
"Oh, no." The faint voice of his taller girl and a gasp brought him out of his thoughts.
On the side screen, he saw the feed from a drone. It was inside a downed building, showing the inside of an apartment. With a family inside.
Looking at the others, he saw that all of them were trying very hard to stay put. The muscles in his legs were begging him to stand up and run to the armoury. He and Toshi still were in their flight suits, so they could be there in no time.
"So... what do we do?" Toshi asked pensively, looking at him.
Turning to his friend, he saw the look in his eyes. The need to go out there, to help those people. To be the Hero, he was meant to be. Shifting his gaze at his girls, he saw the exact same look.
Releasing a sigh, he stood up, making his choice. He would face the consequences later. Smiling lightly at them, he said "Let's go. It's not like we're about to do something irrational."
They chuckled at his analogy and followed him to the doors. However, before they could cross the entrance, they came face to face with the large body of Gang Orca.
The Hero was chosen to be on standby, so he can join the action whenever it was necessary. Izuku suspected that Orca also had another job - making sure that he and the rest of them don't jump into the fray. Which if it was true, would surely prove to be a problem.
"Em… excuse us?" Toshi asked, chuckling awkwardly.
"We need…" The Hero started, before his body froze.
Hearing a sharp his, Izuku turned to the side and saw his friend grasping his head in pain, squeezing his eyes shut.
The teen must have used his quirk on the Hero to make way for them. But it seemed to backfire. Before he could analyze it further, he saw Nezu jump out from behind the Orca with a smug face.
"My, my, so eager for action." The principal stated happily, taping the Hero's leg, breaking the hold of Mind Control. "You're going down there, right?" It sounded closer to the statement than a question.
"There are people trapped inside buildings." Momo replied with a slight edge to her voice.
"That just gives us more reason to send you down there." Orca said, flexing his neck.
"Hey! You won't hold us here, when…" Mei started accusingly but stopped suddenly and blinked. "Say what now?"
"We need you to help us down there. All Might is going to have his hands full with the League's leader, and we don't have enough manpower to deal with the rest of the members, and save all of those trapped people." Nezu explained, already walking with them towards the armoury.
Izuku smirked a little eyeing the principal. "You know that you're breaking the law, allowing a quirkless individual to take part in Hero work."
Nezu released a curt laugh and grinned at him. "Then I hope that we share the bench during the lawsuit."
He snorted at the remark and shook his head in amusement. But quickly got rid of it. He needed to get his head in the game.
"Momo, Mei and Gang Orca go into the Quinjet, start rescue operations. Toshi and I are going to keep the League at bay." He ordered, gaining nods of approval.
Splitting up, and contacting with Alan to get ready the MAMPs, asking to swap something important in his suit, Izuku and Toshi entered the armoury.
The room was spacious, being close to the largest on the ship. On one side of the wall was a holotable and workbenches, along with rows of crafting tools and supplies. On the other side of the room were all gadgets, such as Mei's arrows, both versions of the P.M. 2.0, Sound Gun and many more. Ahead from the entrance were two half oval, lighted up spots with holograms in them, showing which armour was currently loaded up. As for the suits they were held in an adjacent room for the mechanism to quickly swap them if the need arose.
The Mobile Armour Mounting Platforms could be used stationary, like they were about to do, or could be sent to target location to deliver the suit for them.
Pulling the hood over his head, Izuku stepped into his platform and took a relaxed pose. As the mechanism closed the metal door, his feet were enveloped in green boots. From the sides and top, small windows opened, mechanical arms carrying parts of his armour, pushed them into the place and snapped the locks shut. When his helmet was added, and faceplate closed, the floor of the platform opened, dropping him down to the deployed platform.
In it, Izuku looked to the side and saw Toshi right next to him. Under them were the lights of Yokohama, which from their perspective looked like numerous points of the ground. Guess that's what happens when you're almost twenty kilometres above ground.
Nodding to him, he jumped from the platform and ignited his repulsors to full, his friend flying right after him.
"We're right behind you, boys." Mei's voice cut through the comms. "On a side note, the Whale Man looks like he's about to barf." His girl stated bluntly.
"Killer whales aren't supposed to fly, you know?" Orca's replied, although his voice sounded rather weak.
"You can argue about it later." Izuku said, looking at the feeds from the drones. All Might was fighting, but he wasn't fighting like he usually did. Most likely due to Bakugo being there. "Nezu, move Urania closer to the ground."
"You want to intimidate the enemy with your ship? What an ingenious idea!" The principal comment was accompanied by a short, insane chuckle.
Well... if that worked, then it would be nice. However, he was bringing his air cruiser closer for another reason.
When they finally arrived at the destroyed ward, Izuku saw All Might breaking through a wall of azure fire, with his arm pulled back. The skyscraper levelling smash that was unleashed right in the centre of the League got caught into the bulked up arm of All For One. Despite it, the wind pressure from the attack blew away the villains and Bakugo back.
To his great surprise and confusion, Pomeranian shot forward, settling an explosion right into the Number One's face, knocking the Hero back just a tiny bit.
Was Bakugo a villain now? It seemed so. His bully, who wanted to be nothing more than a Hero for fame and glory, became a criminal.
"Deku!" Firecracker screamed at him, launching himself into the air, with a bloodthirsty grin plastered on his face.
Thinking quickly, Izuku moved a little to the side at the last second and brought his elbow to the Blonde Menace's back, pushing the teen back to the ground.
"I'm going to chase them away from the downed Heroes." Toshi told him, already flying at the villains, unleashing a volley of bullets.
The Quinjet flew past him and stopped near the remains of the warehouse. Before it could even lower itself, the back door opened, and Gang Orca jumped down, running up to his fellow companions.
Snapping his gaze back to All Might, he saw that the League's leader was running at him from behind. Flying down, Izuku shot his repulsors at the man, stopping his advance. Hovering a few meters above the ground, he pointed his hands at Shigaraki.
"You won't get past me." He stated firmly, already marking the points at the villain's body.
"Move! I finally have an occasion to get rid of that trash." The man shouted at him, glaring from behind the hand on his face. "I need to help Sensei."
"Yeah, I don't particularly care." Izuku replied nonchalantly.
Parts on his shoulders opened, and two objects shot forward at the criminal. He skillfully dodged the first one, but the second nailed its mark, snapping tightly around the villain's wrist. A few seconds later, a shining dome sprung around the leader's hand, completely enclosing it.
"This is nothing!" Shigaraki barked and slapped his hand at the device. Only for nothing to happen. "What the hell? What did you do!?" The villain gazed at him with a burning hatred.
"A lesson of chemistry for you. That one is made from lead. And no matter how much its decays, lead always stays the same." Izuku replied smugly, smirking a tiny bit behind the faceplate. He developed that one having Shigaraki in mind. He was going to give them to the police after the capture, to ensure that the criminal was as harmless as one could be, but it seemed like he got to use that fantastic baby.
A loud growl came from behind, and a moment later, an explosion hit his back, pushing him from the sky onto the ground. Landing painfully on the debris, he immediately had to dodge a wild swipe from Shigaraki, whose fingers almost touched his helmet. Twisting his palm, he fired a blast at the criminal, creating some distance between them. Not feeling comfortable on the ground, once again Izuku shot up, only to be tackled in the air by a super angry Bakugo.
"It's all your fault!" The Pomeranian screamed at him, settled an explosion on his abdomen.
The wind was knocked from his lungs as his body was launched higher in the air. Getting control over his flight back, Izuku looked ahead and saw that Firecracker was speeding at him like a rocket missile. Having enough, he unleashed a double blast, knocking the Blonde Menace down a bit. Flying up to the teen, Izuku delivered a vicious haymaker to Bakugo's jaw, completely crashing the boy on the ground.
However, before he could make sure that the Pomeranian stayed down, a grey liquid enveloped his body, making him vanish.
"Go to the warehouse." Toshi told him, panting a little.
Flying in that direction, Izuku landed right beside All Might and his friend. Ahead of them were the remaining members of the League Of Villains, Bakugo and All For One, who stood at the centre, just two steps before his followers.
"Even in my wildest imagination, I couldn't foresee that things would go this way." The Symbol Of Evil stated, laughing a little. His voice making goosebumps on Izuku's skin.
"Your rule of terror ends today. Neither you or your League will escape justice." All Might called, tightening his fist.
All For One shook his head in the evident amusement. "Once again, you're mistaken." The villain said as black tendrils shoot out from his fingers, stabbing Kurogiri on his chest. A giant warp gate opened behind them. "Go, Tomura. You have your League. All you need to do is to try again." The man said in an almost fatherly voice.
"Sensei, I can't. With us, you can win here!" Shigaraki pleaded, stepping a bit closer.
"Oh, don't worry, Tomura... I'm not alone." All For One said darkly, looking at them.
Numerous more Warp Gates opened around them in rapid succession. Through them, Nomus of various sizes and colours popped out, screeching at them and flexing their bodies.
"Oh, shit." Toshi said wryly.
Izuku couldn't agree more. Things weren't looking too good for them. Just before he could do or say anything, a powerful blast from All For One pushed him, his friend and All Might back. The same shockwave knocked the League's members through the Warp Gate. Yet before they completely vanished, Izuku caught Bakugo's crimson orbs glaring at him as if they said that this wasn't over.
But now he didn't have time to ponder about that. He was stuck with a bunch of mindless, genetic experiments and one of the most dangerous beings on the planet.
Checking on his map, he saw that his girls were far enough for them to not get caught in the fight. Surely they could use Orca's power to get rid of the monsters, but right now the rescue of the civilians in the rubbles was more critical.
"Ah, so this is your new creation, Izuku Midoriya." All For One called across the battlefield with awe.
Turning around, he saw Urania lowering itself to about a hundred meters above the ground. The lights from the aircraft illuminated the field.
Looks like it was finally time to use his other new baby. But he couldn't risk it being taken down by the Symbol Of Evil. They needed a good distraction...
"Puppy, fetch your dad a NIMSO." Izuku ordered, rising up. "Toshi, occupy the enemy boss for a few seconds. But don't use your quirk on him. You may get a worse headache than with Orca."
"Wait! No, I must..." All Might opposed this idea just as strong as he punched the nearest Nomu.
"Shut it, All Might!" Wow, did he just bossed around to the Number One Hero? Yes, he did.
"Sir, you know that NIMSO is an equivalent with bringing a bazooka to a knife fight?" Alan sassed him but displayed the process nonetheless.
"They have their own bazookas!" Toshi yelled through comms. "Give me some juice on him, boss."
"Well... he's quirk can steal other people powers, he's over two hundred years old..."
"HE IS WHAT?!" Momo asked in shock, apparently listening to what he was saying.
"Has a twisted sense of humour and is rotten to the core." Izuku finished, hovering above the battlefield. Any second now...
His friend stopped a few meters before All For One and looked at the villain. Finally, he tipped his head to the side.
"Huh, so that's how you end up after two hundred years of being alone." The teen said, pointing at the enlarged, grotesque arm of the villain.
"Excuse me?" All For One's voice somehow got caught, his tone signalling that the criminal was absolutely lost.
The maniacal laughter of Mei and Nezu cut through the comms, along with Momo's scolding. Izuku himself could barely restrain himself from joining his girlfriend and the principal. Leave it to Toshi to do something like that in the direst of moments.
A loud clang rung above him. Looking up, he saw that the bottom of Urania opened, releasing a green-gold, giant device. It activated almost immediately, turning on its repulsors and coming to him fast. Two larger parts and few smaller detached themselves from it and shifted in the air. His legs and lower back were enveloped in one of the bigger pieces, mechanisms snapping shut around him. Cutting off the repulsors at his feet, Izuku lowered to the ground, landing with a small bang. Another considerable part wrapped itself on his shoulders and pulled up to his chest. The smaller ones followed to his arms and head, completing the new armour.
His display changed from usual green HUD to a bright orange one, signalling to him that everything secured, online, and Puppy was connected.
"All right... STAND DOWN!" Izuku shouted, his voice carrying through the battlefield thanks to the rest of the NIMSO system that hovered a bit behind him and drones.
All Nomus snapped their heads at him. The beasts looked like they were ready to fight him. Well... so was he.
Two monsters jumped at him, both had a considerable muscle mass. But they still were smaller than his armour. Rising his arms, Izuku fired a powerful repulsor blast at one of them, driving it away. He caught the other in the air and drove it down to the ground, making a small pit. Quickly standing up, he saw another one approaching him fastly. A heavy haymaker to its head launched it across the field, right under Toshi's whips.
"Izuku? What is that?" Momo asked him with awe. She must have seen the display of power.
"NIMSO. Nomu Iron Man Suppression Overarmour." He replied proudly, knocking another beast down.
"And where is mine?" His friend asked somewhat sharply, waving around what seemed to be a bunch of flexible steel spikes coming from one of the monster's back.
Izuku chuckled to himself as he released a steady beam from his hands, knocking many of the beasts down. "Be a good boy, and you may get one for Christmas."
Toshi flew next to him, unleashing his whips at a green Nomu with one arm and a destroyed left side. "Dear Santa Izuku, for my present, I want a massive suit of utter destruction, so I can punch all of these creepy monsters into next week."
"Boys, we could use a bit of help over here." Mei told them quickly.
Looking over the Quinjet's location, he saw that a small group of Nomus was closing on them. They most likely got blown away, due to the crazy shockwaves that All Might's and All For One's punches created.
He couldn't risk potentially catching his girls, Orca and civilians in his repulsors blast. The repulsors in NIMSO were so much more powerful, not only due to the size of the device, but also thanks to the numerous Arc Reactors implanted in the suit.
Running up a little, he used his repulsors to get a bit of a speed boost. Getting close, he swatted away one of the Nomus with his arm. Quickly grabbing the two others, he banged their heads together and threw them away. Turnin to the side, he was met with a fist to the helmet that staggered him a little, but other than that he was fine.
Looking ahead, he saw a tall, bulky, dark skin Nomu. It reminded him a little of the monster from U.S.J., but this one didn't have a beak and had four arms. The beast roared at him and flexed its body, showcasing the muscles.
Izuku straightened himself and looked down upon his enemy. Although this Nomu was over two meters tall, NIMSO was still bigger.
The monster rushed at him, closing the distance almost instantly. It swung the right set of arms at him, hitting on his shoulder and torso, pushing him a little to the side. Before the next attack came, Izuku delivered a powerful jab to the creature's head, gaining a small window. Rising his right arm, the fist retracted into the forearm. Swinging at the beast, the fist sprung back at the last moment, delivering the more powerful hit thanks to the extra force the mechanism provided.
His attack downed the monster, but it wasn't enough. Grabbing it by the face, Izuku threw it in the air and once again prepared his right arm. Hitting Nomu in the centre of the chest, he sent it flying across the battlefield, making it collide with a group of smaller beasts.
Turning around, he saw that Orca took care of the remaining creatures, making the Quinjet with the civilians inside safe from harm's way.
"Quite an impressive suit there, Midoriya-san." The Hero told him, looking up to meet the 'eyes' of the helmet.
"Thank you." Izuku replied quickly, scanning the field.
All Might and All For One were wailing each other near the remains of the warehouse. Any Nomu that tried to get close to the Number One Hero ended up being blown away by the shockwaves the two generated whenever their fists collided. A little bit away, Toshi was taking care of some monsters using the P.M. 3.0 to drill them into the ground or make them pass out. Whatever happened first.
"Izuku." Momo called him, stepping next to his right, admiring his suit. "We only have two more locations from where we can dig up civilians. The rest are deeper under rubble." She informed him with a small frown.
"Okay, I'm going to help Toshi and after that..."
Something dropped before them, raising a massive cloud of dust. A high pitched sounded carried, and the dust disappeared they saw a massive crater with a Nomu unlike any other.
Despite it supporting its body with his arms, they could easily see that it was huge. The muscles it packed rivalled those of All Might's. From the point where the shoulder blades should be a massive bone-like structure started, going along the back of an elongated neck. The neck itself was devoid of the skin. Around its head was a hood made out of the skin, completely shrouding his face in the darkness, leaving only a pair of the yellowish eyes.
"Or I'm going to take care of that." Izuku said quickly.
"Good choice." Orca stated in deadpanned voice.
"Y-you... stroong. Let-t us fight!" The Nomu yelled at him in a deep, crazed voice.
Izuku blinked. Excuse him? Did that thing just speak? Since when did those bioengineered bulldozers could talk? Okay... The ability to speak usually meant that the creature was intelligent. And intelligent Nomu meant problems.
Great...
The monster rushed at him, surprising Izuku with its speed. The next thing he knew, he was up in the air with a massive dent in the abdomen area. Getting a grip, he used repulsors to stabilize himself, hovering in the air.
Looking down, he saw that the thing's arms changed to resemble wings and sets of thrusters came out from its body, propelling the Nomu at him.
"SH-SHOW MEEEE YO-OOUR S-S-STREENGTH!" The monster shouted. His hood got pushed back, revealing a disgusting face... or rather a brain with a pair of eyes and a mouth with a ray of jagged teeth.
Air combat was Izuku's speciality, his domain. Using repulsors, he spun around, marginally avoiding being hit. Releasing a quick pulse from the chest repulsor, he hit the beast on the arm, leaving a nasty burn.
"Not eno-enough!" Nomu yelled, instantly regenerating the damage.
Of course, it could regenerate...
Activating a device, his left hand shot forward, still connected by a thick cable. It hit its mark, grabbing the creature's leg. Turning around, Izuku pulled hard, swinging the beast to the ground. Unfortunately, it lessened the damage with its thrusters.
"Cage!" Izuku shouted, flying down.
At his command the NIMSO Delivery System deployed a group of tall, metal beams that hit the ground around the Nomu, zapping it with a high voltage. Then it closed, creating an angular dome.
Izuku knew that it would slow the thing down at best. It was too powerful to contain behind the thick titanium plates. He was proven right, when a loud banging came from the inside, along with dents outside.
Getting into position, compartments on his chest opened, showing an array of speakers. When the cage's wall burst out, showing a massive arm, Izuku activated the P.M. 3.0. The soundwaves destroyed everything on its path, clearing the ground from debris and pushing the beast along the remains of the cage into what was once a block of flats.
Not being the one to risk it, he shot two long blasts from his hand repulsors, hoping that it put him down.
After the dust settled down, he saw the Nomu, still standing, despite two massive holes in its body. It laughed at him, making it as creepy as it could get. And then all the damage he did simply disappeared.
Clicking his tongue in displeasure, Izuku shot forward, preparing to deliver a robust right punch. Before he got in the striking distance, the creature rose its arm, and it shot at him a mass of muscles and skin. It hit his arm, destroying it in the process.
"Crap! Puppy, give me a hand." Izuku called hastily, already rising up in the air.
The Nomu followed him. To try and stop it, he released a giant, constant beam from his left repulsor, slowing it down just a little. However, it was enough, as the parts came to him, assembling his new right arm. Seeing what exactly it was, Izuku grinned at his child's choice.
Stopping the blast, he swung his right fist, hitting the monster across the head. It was so powerful that the muscles on its neck tore, almost decapitating the Nomu. Tensing his chest, he released an Unibeam, cutting the rest of the tissue.
Izuku breathed out. There was no way that...
An alert made him look down. From the head, a mass of bones, muscles and skin burst out, creating a new body. The beast stood up, flexing a little, making a cracking sound.
Just how ridiculous was this thing's regeneration?!
It smiled creepily at him. Before it could move, Toshi flew at the monster from behind, hitting it with his whips, leaving long gushes.
"Weak!" The Nomu shouted, swatting his friend away like a ragdoll.
Angered by it, Izuku shot at the beast, hitting it with his leg. Trapping the monster underneath him, he brought his right arm to its head. The fist began pounding the creature in rapid succession.
Another mass of tissue sprung forward, hitting him on the side, making him move from his place. The beast stood up and jumped at him. Barely avoiding a fist to his helmet, Izuku delivered a vicious left uppercut. Grabbing the thing by its arm, he pounded it against the ground left and right, hoping that it would at the very least daze the monster.
Thrusters with roaring flames came from its back, making him lose his grip. Nomu flew up a little, making a distance between them, before landing. It looked at him with crazy excitement, no doubt enjoying the battle.
Izuku took that moment to gather his thoughts. Powerful hits did nothing. His repulsors weren't faring any better. The sound weapon would only destroy the place even more. As long as the head remained intact, there was no way that he could win. He had to go for a killing blow. But he doubted that the monster would allow him to just blast its brain to bits.
Suddenly a powerful shock wave hit them. Izuku was at the edge of it, so it only staggered him a little. But the Nomu was closer to the centre of it, making it lose its footing.
Not being the one to look into the gift horse's mouth, Izuku quickly pushed his feet repulsors to the max, flying at the beast. After delivering a fast one-two combo, he then kicked it hard in the abdomen, rising the thing's body in the air. Grabbing it by the neck with his left, Izuku pushed his right fist into its mouth, destroying the monster's teeth. Opening his palm, he fired a beam, making the insides light up.
However, it seemed that it still wasn't enough. The creature used its legs against his body, trying to wriggle out. Izuku allowed it to happen, extending his left arm till the end of the cable. Then he pulled it back up, bringing the Nomu close to him.
Narrowly avoiding the wild swipe, he secured his hold on the Nomu's head. Pushing it against his chest, he tilted his body slightly up and released an Unibeam, keeping going until he felt that his right palm lost its grip. Releasing his hold, he allowed the body to lifelessly fall on the ground, a cloud of smoke still coming from the neck.
Gazing at his palm, he saw that it was piping hot but otherwise was fine. He needed to kiss Mei later for suggesting tungsten as a material.
Looking to the side, his breathing stopped. All Might... The Number One Hero wasn't in his buffed form. His skinny body was kneeling on the ground on a small island, between two deep trenches. Behind him was a terrified woman. What made it even worse was the fact that a news helicopter was above them. The whole world learnt about their favourite Hero true form.
Gritting his teeth, Izuku flew to All Might, gently putting his hand on the man's back.
"How are you holding up?" He asked, looking ahead at the All For One.
"Been better." Yagi-san replied hoarsely, coughing up a mouthful of blood.
"Ah, if it isn't Izuku Midoriya." The Symbol Of Evil called him, stepping a little closer. "I must say I'm hugely impressed with you and your work. That armour of yours bested my High-End Nomu. It still needed a few months of work, but it was by far the most powerful in my arsenal. Additionally, I must commend you on your music taste. AC/DC, Guns 'N' Roses, Black Sabbath... My younger days are coming back to me." The man said in delight.
"Your strongest, you say? Seems like it could use an upgrade." Izuku replied snarkily, standing up.
All For One chuckled a little. "Perhaps you're right. But now if you could step aside. I still need to finish my business with All Might here." The man's right arm bulged with muscles, black spikes grew from it.
However, before either of them could make a move, a red glove came from the ground, hitting All For One across the face, making him fly away.
"POWEEEEEEEEEEEEER!" Togata-senpai shouted, standing proudly with arms on his hips and white lightning cracking across his body.
Thank God that this time the teen was wearing his costume.
"Young Togata?!" All Might asked, standing up on his shaky legs.
"Ah, hey there. Sir called me, saying that you needed a hand." The boy replied, smiling brightly. Then he peeked at Izuku and whistled. "Nice armour, greenhorn."
A clapping sounded through the battlefield. Snapping his head to the side, Izuku saw All For One walking to them. He was relatively unharmed, but his mask was destroyed, showing his scarred head and a giant grin.
"And now your successor joins the fray! Just how pathetic you are, to need so much help, All Might?" The villain questioned provocatively.
The Quinjet flew above them, from its back Gang Orca jumped off, landing next to Togata-senpai. As the plane continued its way, Izuku saw Momo with a Gatling gun on a tripod. His girlfriend unleashed a volley of bullets at All For One, but all of them bounced off from some kind of invisible force field.
"So, what's the plan?" Toshi asked, stopping next to them.
"Win." All Might stated firmly, his body once again going into its buff form.
Just how cheesy the man could get?
The Number One and Togata-senpai shot forward, clashing their fist with All For One, creating a giant shockwave.
Izuku rose up and caught Orca by his arm, lifting the man from the ground.
"Toshi, go from the other side." He ordered, flying in the arc, dropping the Hero near the battle. "Blast him with a soundwave!" Wow, he was really bossy today, ordering Heroes left and right.
Nonetheless, Gang Orca followed his instructions, releasing hypersonic waves at All For One. From across, Toshi did the same with a P.M. 3.0, trapping the villain in a chamber of sound. The Symbol Of Evil visually cringed, almost falling into his knees. Yet, the man still pushed through, releasing an airblast that swooped his friend and the Hero from their feet.
Using that moment, Izuku shot his left arm, catching the criminal in his grasp. He threw the man in the wide arc. But before All For One could hit the ground, Togata-senpai popped out from it, planting his fist against the Symbol Of Evil's face, causing him to fly high into the air.
There he was met with All Might's attack. The Hero brought his massive fist down, crashing it against the man's head. All For One's body shot down, hitting the ground with force so great that all of the debris there to fly into the air.
After the cloud settled, Izuku saw a massive crater. Before it stood All Might in his true form, left arm above the Hero's head, while his right was a bloody mess, lifelessly hanging against his body. The first rays of the sun hit the man's body, illuminating him like something holy.
With it, Izuku knew that they had won.
Defeat. All For One was utterly defeated, once and for all. Oh, he did not doubt that there was no escaping from his fate now. While the power of his healing quirks would keep him alive, his body took too much damage to function properly ever again.
If only he could laugh right now, he would do it. But unfortunately, he was tightly strapped to a metal chair, with belts restraining his every movement, keeping his body rigid. Over his mouth and nose was an oxygen mask, for which he was grateful for. Around him were guards from Tartarus, most likely aiming guns at him. He could feel the faint sound of the engine, meaning that they were still transporting him to the prison.
He couldn't use his echolocation quirk or the one that allowed him to precisely sense temperatures. As he was also heavily drugged. While it numbed the pain, it also took away his ability to control his quirks. Only the ones that were always active functioned somewhat correctly.
All For One already started thinking about his future life in the depths of Tartarus. Strapped to a wheelchair, numerous pipes and wires hooked into his body with machine guns pointed at his head non-stop. It almost sounded like retirement.
Suddenly all sounds vanished. No more engine, no more silent whispers from the guards. He could now clearly hear his own, heavy breathing and blood pumping in his veins. What was going on?
The clang of the boots stepping towards him sounded through the void around him. The pace was leisure, like whoever was walking to him had all the time in the world.
"Ah, All For One. What a great pleasure is to finally meet you." The person said in a deep, male, slightly smug tone. "Don't bother answering. You took quite a beating at Kamino. I'm actually amazed that you're still conscious."
A mass of questions flooded his mind. Who was that man? Why was he here? How he got here? What did that mysterious man want from him?
While under normal conditions, he would love to dive into a long-winded conversation, right now he was disturbed by it. An unknown man showing up out of nowhere, in a highly secures truck, seemingly knowing him, all while he couldn't even move his pinky.
"Do you mind if I smoke?" The man asked, his speech ever so slightly muted, most likely due to a cigarette in his mouth. "It's my dirty pleasure. I've tried to break with it, but I just can't. Once I've even tried those herbal ones, you know, made from flower petals and so on. But it turns out those are even more disgusting than tobacco." He said to him and took a look puff, breathing it out slowly, filling the transportation chamber with smoke.
Additionally, All For One was utterly lost by those actions.
"You know, when I first heard about you, about your unimaginable power, your seemingly unlimited potential… I was truly awed." The man said, his voice matching his words. "And when my interest was picked, I began to gather information about you. Even the smallest rumour didn't miss me. As my knowledge grew… so did my disgust." He said bluntly, his tone as flat as it could get.
All For One heard the slow steps around him. Even without his eyes and his quirks, he felt the man's burning, judging gaze lingering on his form.
"You're so pathetic. Nothing more than a greedy parasite, stealing from others left and right, leaving misery and grief behind." It sounded like the man spat out those words. "You preached to All Might, how you wanted to save the world from those who are waiting in the shadows, yet all you ever did was mindless destruction."
What?! How did he know about the talk he had with All Might before their battle? There was no one except for downed Heroes and League.
"That being said, I pity you. In fact, I can understand you a little." The man stated genuinely, stopping in front of him and blowing a little bit of smoke at his face. "After everything you did for Quirked people when quirks showed up, the payback the government gave you was in the form of basically brainwashing your younger brother, that could no doubt push you over the edge."
All For One's jaw hung loose. How did that man get his hands on this? All of this lay beneath a thick web of lies and half-truths made two centuries ago.
"Although it doesn't make it lesser after all of the horrid choices you've made. Instead of forging yourself into something greater, you've become a power-sucking leech, scared of even the smallest shadow. Even your League Of 'Villains'…" The man released a snort at the mention of the organization. "More like a League Of Psychopaths and Brats with Issues. Perfect ground for followers that can't deviate from trying to fulfil your ego pandering goals."
The man stopped talking and walked around the room a little more. He understood this man actions less and less. Whoever they were, they knew about him more than anyone else ever did.
"You know, at first I wanted to wait for a little. Wait for you to be in a Tartarus' cell, to sneak in and have this little chat of ours. But after seeing Kamino, I understood that I can't exactly risk having you around for much longer. The chances that this unstable successor of yours gets the idea about trying to rescue you and succeeding in it, however, low the chances in it are, they still exist." The man said from somewhere around him. "So I need to get rid of you now."
Gathering his strength and fighting against the dryness in his throat, All For One finally said the first words since the man showed up. "W-who… re… yo…?"
The man chuckled a little, giving it a mysterious and sinister vibe. "I suppose that I can grant you the knowledge about my identity before I send you to the deepest pit in hell… During my lifetime, I've been called many names. However, the ones I proud myself the most are the husband of a very strong woman and father of a wonderful child." The man said fondly. "But to those who follow and oppose me, know me as different names. Lately, I've been calling myself something new, but I don't want you to hear it. It is reserved for a certain someone. However… you may know me as Dragon." The man whispered the last part, saying the last word in Chinese.
If All For One still had eyes, they would be as wide as saucers. He had heard about the man. How could he not? The person before him was the king of the Asian Underground, holding China, Taiwan and a small part of India in his iron grasp. Even after his sudden disappearance about two decades ago just to reaper one later, he still was the most feared to be in there. This was one of the people that All For One knew he would have to cross his paths in the future if he wanted to realize his plans. It wasn't the meeting that he was looking forward to.
"Well… my words are said, and my time here is coming to an end. Goodbye forever, Dr Kaoru Minakami." Dragon stated coldly, pushing his hand against All For One's chest.
There was a sudden sensation. Like something extremely hot touched him, only to change into the overbearing coldness and then into a void. It spread slowly, enveloping him in a blanket made out of the abyss.
While this happened, All For One couldn't help but feel excited. The man, who even he was fearing, finally started making moves, stepping into the daylight. He wondered what was going to happen soon. How much the world was going to change without him being there.
He etched into his dying mind the fact that Dragon somehow knew his real name. If the man possessed even this knowledge, then most likely nothing could stop him.
"Ah, I'd give everything for her cooking right now. Hotel with a Two Michelin Stars restaurant? Yeah, right. They can't even get a proper homey dish right."
Those were the final words that All For One would ever hear.
A/N:
I AM... UPLOADING THIS EPISODE ON A VERY SPECIAL DAY!
Well... that took longer than expected. I wanted to release that one on 22nd, as it was the half-year anniversary for this fic. Yes, guys, it's been already so long. And wow... something that started out of my whim, turned into something so amazing. All Thanks to you! I can't thank you enough for all of your support.
I hope that you all had merry Christmas. And those who don't celebrate it, I hope that you had great days.
But now, as I mentioned earlier. Today, the 28th of December is a very special day. Why do you ask? Because... OUR LORD AND SAVIOUR STANLEY MARTIN LIEBER A.K.A. STAN LEE WAS BORN! Additionally, it's my birthday, but who cares. Not me. Anyways, without good, old, Stan, we couldn't enjoy all of the wonders from Marvel and this fic.
Stay safe and see you in the next upgrade.